Golnor

This is quite something: Malaysia's Foreign Minister says the U.S. are holding the world as "ransom" with their blockade of Hormuz and are "causing enormous harm to the world." Full quote here (from bernama.com/bm/am/news.php… and kosmo.com.my/2026/04/14/mal…): "I don't know the purpose [of the U.S. blockade], because the Strait of Hormuz should not be besieged. Previously, Iran had agreed to open the strait on condition that the 10 points raised during the Islamabad negotiations be accepted by the US. [Blocking the route] will further worsen the world's economic, agricultural and energy situation - it will become more acute. A war between America and Iran, or Iran and Israel - that is their war. The world cannot be made a ransom [hostage] for any purpose whatsoever, and likewise America cannot act this way, because the world will face huge problems. As I said earlier, [we ask that] they [the US] reconsider this siege - no going in, no going out through the Strait of Hormuz - because it is causing enormous harm to the world. We ask the US to lift whatever form of blockade so that commercial shipping can pass through, and we ask Iran to also consider, for the welfare of the peoples of the world, allowing ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz." This is a very unusually strong statement by Malaysia, typically fairly soft-spoken. Importantly there is a regional aspect to this because neighboring Singapore has also been vocal on this issue but solely against Iran, they haven't said anything - that I could see - against the U.S. blockade even though the legal and economic logic is virtually identical in both cases. One could argue it's "smart" of Singapore not to antagonize the U.S. except that Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's FM, specifically said in his own statement against Iran's blockade (mfa.gov.sg/newsroom/press…) that he was upholding "principle, not taking sides" and that free passage in Hormuz contains "no exception for security, no exception for the environment, and no exception for war." Those are his words, not mine. If that is really the standard then it's Malaysia - not Singapore - that is upholding it right now in asking both the US and Iran to let ships through. For all the legal precision of Balakrishnan's speech, Singapore seems to be defending only half of it.

Free Marwan Barghouti! Free all Palestinian Prisoners! Free Palestine! Barghouti has been in prison for 24 years today. This is an outrage against humanity.

The ceasefire kabuki is a sham. The Russian Security Council nailed it. It's all part of a tactical fog previous to a mini-ground invasion. Possibly via Kharg. Plus using cells in Khuzestan and Salafi-jihadis from Pak Balochistan. It's all about maximum pressure on China.

Desai and Hudson on the mounting absurdity of Trump’s War on Iran in its new, more rarefied Blockade Phase. The Economic Fallout of Absurdity Politics - Geopolitical Economy Hour w... youtu.be/xGQfx6j_N6g?si… via @YouTube

I rarely have reasons to be proud of France these days, but this is definitely one. France's parliament just voted - unanimously, 170 votes to 0 - a law that institutionalizes the restitution of cultural artifacts looted during the colonial era (the law covers a massive 157-year period). It's going absolutely viral in Chinese social media because of this speech 👇 by MP @JPatrierLeitus who noted in Parliament that it included items stolen to China during the joint British-French sack of the Summer Palace in 1860. Patrier-Leitus cites Victor Hugo's famous 1861 letter to Captain Butler, the British officer who wrote to him seeking his endorsement of the expedition - and got the exact opposite. Hugo wrote (whole letter here: yuanmingyuan.eu/en/the-looting…): "One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly. Mixed up in all this is the name of Elgin, which inevitably calls to mind the Parthenon. What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better, so that nothing of it should be left. All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient. It contained not only masterpieces of art, but masses of jewelry. What a great exploit, what a windfall! One of the two victors filled his pockets; when the other saw this he filled his coffers. And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits. We Europeans are the civilized ones, and for us the Chinese are the barbarians. This is what civilization has done to barbarism. Before history, one of the two bandits will be called France; the other will be called England. But I protest, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity! the crimes of those who lead are not the fault of those who are led; Governments are sometimes bandits, peoples never. The French empire has pocketed half of this victory, and today with a kind of proprietorial naivety it displays the splendid bric-a-brac of the Summer Palace. I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China. Meanwhile, there is a theft and two thieves. I take note. This, Sir, is how much approval I give to the China expedition." Hugo's letter is so revered in China that a bronze bust of him stands today at the Summer Palace ruins - I believe the only instance of a Westerner honored in China at the site of his own country's crime. A powerful testament of how much a single act of intellectual honesty can redeem, if not a nation, then at least a name. Hugo was also prescient: as Patrier-Leitus notes, that day "when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China" has indeed come (even though the "delivered and cleansed" part is, overall, pretty questionable in the current context). This new law doesn't only concern China and the Summer Palace: it concerns ALL stolen artifacts by France during the period ranging between November 1815 and April 1972 - corresponding to the start of the second French colonial empire to the entry into force of the UNESCO convention on cultural property. It's a massive scope: 157 years, thousands of objects and dozens of nations with potential claims. It's France reckoning with its colonial past in an unprecedented way and the fact ALL of France's MPs voted in favor of the law, without a single exception, is also pretty remarkable. Hopefully this will also serve as a signal to other countries, especially the UK - the other "bandit" in Hugo's letter. There is this Chinese saying from the Zuo Zhuan (左传), one of the foundational Confucian classics: "To err and be able to correct it - there is no greater virtue." ("过而能改，善莫大焉", "guò ér néng gǎi, shàn mò dà yān"). France, with this law, proved its virtue.

“Time changes. Crimes don’t.”

Unreal... The sheer chutzpah of calling China an "unreliable global partner" in this context when you're the ones who caused the disruption. Like a pyromaniac lecturing someone for buying too many fire extinguishers during a fire they started.

Grandmaster Lavrov, in Beijing, face to face with Xi - part of the preparation for Putin's incoming trip to China: Russia and China "play the role of stabilizers" for the Global Majority/Global South. The Global South totally understands what that means.

Guess who's parked in the northern Arabian Sea, roughly 500 nautical miles east of the Strait of Hormuz: The Chinese Type 054A missile frigate Daqing. That's just the start. The PLA Navy can send many more if CENTCOM starts having funny ideas.

When 12 people were killed in Charlie Hebdo attacks, World Leaders thronged to Paris for a Solidarity March But no world leader has organised a march to protest killing 2000 civilians, ~200 children, ~300 women, 7 journalists, 178 health workers, and 3 UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Orban lost the election. There is now nothing to stop the EU from pouring billions more into financing their war, which will very likely trigger a direct war with Russia. Not a great day for Europe and peace.

The Epstine Class reminding us that only when their preferred candidates win, it‘s democracy. War criminals really should stop lecturing about democracy.

CHINA BLOCKADES BABOON OF BARBARIA'S BLOCKADE It took only a few words by Chinese Minister of Defense, Admiral Dong Jun. Especially this segment: "Our ships are moving in and out of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. We have trade and energy agreements with Iran. We will respect and honour them and expect others not to meddle in our affairs. Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz and it is open for us.” Does CENTCOM have the balls to go to war against China? Obviously not. Ergo...

🚨🇮🇱 BREAKING: The International Court of Justice has just ruled that Israel has committed genocide. Israel’s actions violated the genocide convention.

To counter Iran illegally taking control of the strait of hormuz. Trump now wants to illegally take control of the strait of hormuz. No double standards involved.

Barbaria: A bunch of amateurs. Totally unprepared. Not even the courtesy of a previous contact to confirm the agenda. Only a few pages on generalities. Staged the usual Big Hollywood Show with 300 extras. Civilization: All pros. Crammed with pages and pages of detailed data. Only the technical explanation for the nuclear issue ran for 120 pages. Barbaria came to dictate. Never negotiate.

When Western states hijack Russian vessels, the media makes great efforts to make it sound legal by referring to a “shadow fleet" and unilateral sanctions. When the British cannot engage in piracy because the Russian navy protects the ships, the same media informs us that international law is the reason for not boarding the ships.

The aircraft that took the Iranian negotiators to Pakistan was called Minab 168 for the 168 girls killed by the US-Israelis. It carried not just their photos on 168 seats but also their backpacks. It was a powerful symbol of what the negotiators carried with them in their hearts. They came to negotiate with them in mind. No more war.

"Wake-up call." That's how many in #Taiwan now view the mainland's rapid technological rise, according to Taiwan political commentator Zhong Xiangyu. Western narratives try to cast suspicion on this, but that framing is no longer sticking. People in #Taiwan are tired of being held hostage by politics. They want peace, not war. #Mainland #KMT #ChengLiWun #CorePoint

The Iranian delegation is finally on the way to Islamabad in two Meraj Airlines planes. Ghalibaf played his hand masterfully. Ceasefire in Lebanon starting Saturday. $7 billion unblocked in Qatar. Barbaria begged for the ceasefire. It cannot let it collapse.