There's nothing King Donald the 1st would like than a quagmire to continue the distraction from the KOMPROMAT Bibi and Vlad might otherwise release to the world press showing DJT raping, abusing, and killing youngsters. Read Wm. Sascha Riley's posts on the net. The cat's out of the bag but the KOMPROMAT will be irrefutable, if it ever gets released.
With this Epstein-Iran War he's definitely going for that "wartime President" vibe. Both to distract from the Trump-Epstein coverup; and to rally the Base heading further into the primary season.
But time is most definitely against him. His Epstein-Iran war has effectively closed the Straits of Hormuz. Through which 20% of the world's oil supply passes, 85% of it bound for Asia. If the war drags on, expect to pay a lot more at the pump; and a global recession.
The only winners so far are Big Oil--including Putin, Inc. Russian oil--which will soon be making a lot more than the barely break-even $70/barrel. Today, Brent Crude reached $78/barrel.---only a 10% increase. Whether futures ever reach the $150/barrel reached during the Bush-Cheney Surge remains to be seen. But it's early days yet.
That Brent only increased 10% in a day's trading suggests that this war will not be protracted. Administration "market whisperers" have no doubt been working Wall Street. Otherwise, futures would likely be a *lot* higher.
Trump has historically been hyperfixated on gas prices here in the US. He'll likely call off the dogs if prices rise overmuch, as a serious spike in fossil fuel prices will invariably catastrphize the upcoming GOP drubbing in November.
Trump is a bully and sees bullying as the only form of geopolitics. Real easy for his fat backside to sit in the Oval Office and to declare war. He is going to leave us with another quagmire war, unresolved Gaza and Ukraine, and maybe even Nigeria.
This whole destructive regime chaos will take us decades to recover from. But we, the grass-roots Americans, will accomplish this.
1)The U.S. attacked the Korean people and Truman successfully convinced the American public we were "defending" "south" Koreans against depredations of "North" Koreans.
Korea has a continuously existing culture which is 4700 years old. They do not need America to settle their problems for them. They threw us out and we call it an "armistice." It did not take long for Truman to finally fire that monster general Douglas MacArthur. Yet the monster was given victory parades when he returned to American soil. I remember.
2) The U.S. military did not lose one major battle during 10 years in Viet Nam. The U.S. nevertheless lost the war and the Vietnamese people threw us out. The communist party took over the entire country. Vietnamese civilization has a continuous existence of 4000 years. They do not need the U.S. to solve their problems. I remember.
3) the U. S. made war on Iraq for a decade and lost. I remember.
4) the U.S. made war on Afghanistan for 2 decades and lost. I remember.
5) Persian civilization is 5000 years old. Will we remember this war? Come to your own conclusion!
6)At the end of hostilities of WWl not one foreign soldier had his foot on German soil. Yet the Germans "lost" the war. 20 years later Germany continued the war and we call it WWll. I was born during WWll. I remember.
7)What really is "war?" and what constitutes "victory?" and "defeat?" in the modern era.
Thanks, GM, for publishing this today. I, like many others, note that it’s not that many globally who are losing sleep about the Supreme Leader’s death. We have our own version of someone who would never openly say they are similar to the deceased Iranian leader, but to millions in the U.S., globally, we see little difference between the leaders of either the U.S. or Iranian regimes. We are a nation of rules and laws, and our two-hundred fifty-year-old Constitution still stands despite the 45th/47th snubbing his responsibility to act in accordance with it. For many Americans we agree, that because this president is incapable of following rules and laws he swore an oath to uphold and obey, he has brought upon himself, acts that truly he should be impeached for and then held to account by the DOJ, Attorney’s General, and charged accordingly for the laws broken and put on trial before a judge and a jury of his peers.
I spent most of my career working for the United Nations. I often referred (to the angst of many colleagues) to the fact that the bureaucratic methods we were working under were hindering, if not stopping, the progress we were attempting to achieve; however, it never crossed my mind to disobey the rules and regulations for obvious reasons.
The 47th, his cabinet, the Republican legislature for the most part, and millions of Americans are wrong in every sense of the word for letting the 47th administration continue up to 2028. The mission of the 47th administration of the United States in its entirety has, is, and will continue to wreak havoc on our democracy until, like Iran, there is a backlash by citizens at the voting booth and, if it ever happens, Congress succeeds and the courts take the appropriate actions to impeach the President for high crimes and misdemeanors he and he alone is committing against the American People.
If we go back to the late seventies to the present and we look at the adult lives of both the 47th and the deceased Iranian Leader, in terms of abusing power, directly and or indirectly, regarding the lives of citizens in both countries, many might agree that there is little difference insofar as abusive, dictatorial behaviors unbecoming a leader.
Throughout history, many nasty leaders have died of old age in their sleep, but so have quite a number of horrible leaders met their own demise as a result of their own actions against their citizens and sovereign nations.
Everyone who disagrees with this 47th administration and its actions, should not be afraid to tell others, who think the 47th administration is doing a spot-on job, why that is patently false, and plan to show up at peaceful organized NO KINGS protests and get their real IDs in order and plan to show up and vote NO in November to the 47th administration, its Republican legislators, so that at least the House falls to the opposition Democrats. Everything done from January twentieth 2025, by the current administration and legislative bodies, is a direct affront to the norms this country has established under its Constitution, and everything from birthright citizenship to Jeffery Epstein, Venezuela, and now Iran is smoke and mirrors bullshit. The Heritage Foundation gave the near, middle, and far right its playbook, Mandate for Leadership, the conservative promise, 2025, and they are following it hook, line, and sinker. We, the opposition, have a right and a duty to counter what is happening on Substack, in public, and in the voting booth to rid our country of this illiberal democracy before 2028. The real war being fought by the U.S. is between those who want to destroy our democracy (by ignoring our Constitution, but are too inept or corrupt or both to amend it within the bounds of Constitutional Law) and those of us, regardless of political affiliation, who believe in the Constitution, its amendments, the rule of law, and the right to self determination at the ballot box. Urging all not fall prey to the diversions (like Iran, etc.) happening. Nice day to all.
The only thing I’m certain of is the Iranians are too smart to rely on Trump and won’t see this as their chance. I don’t see them seizing any opportunity from our nitwit president. If they weren’t smart enough before, they are now having seen what he did to our country.
Thanks, GM, for publishing this today. I, like many others, note that it’s not that many globally who are losing sleep about the Supreme Leader’s death. We have our own version of someone who would never openly say they are similar to the deceased Iranian leader, but to millions in the U.S., globally, we see little difference between the leaders of either the U.S. or Iranian regimes. We are a nation of rules and laws, and our two-hundred fifty-year-old Constitution still stands despite the 45th/47th snubbing his responsibility to act in accordance with it. For many Americans we agree, that because this president is incapable of following rules and laws he swore an oath to uphold and obey, he has brought upon himself, acts that truly he should be impeached for and then held to account by the DOJ, Attorney’s General, and charged accordingly for the laws broken and put on trial before a judge and a jury of his peers.
I spent most of my career working for the United Nations. I often referred (to the angst of many colleagues) to the fact that the bureaucratic methods we were working under were hindering, if not stopping, the progress we were attempting to achieve; however, it never crossed my mind to disobey the rules and regulations for obvious reasons.
The 47th, his cabinet, the Republican legislature for the most part, and millions of Americans are wrong in every sense of the word for letting the 47th administration continue up to 2028. The mission of the 47th administration of the United States in its entirety has, is, and will continue to wreak havoc on our democracy until, like Iran, there is a backlash by citizens at the voting booth and, if it ever happens, Congress succeeds and the courts take the appropriate actions to impeach the President for high crimes and misdemeanors he and he alone is committing against the American People.
If we go back to the late seventies to the present and we look at the adult lives of both the 47th and the deceased Iranian Leader, in terms of abusing power, directly and or indirectly, regarding the lives of citizens in both countries, many might agree that there is little difference insofar as abusive, dictatorial behaviors unbecoming a leader.
Throughout history, many nasty leaders have died of old age in their sleep, but so have quite a number of horrible leaders met their own demise as a result of their own actions against their citizens and sovereign nations.
Everyone who disagrees with this 47th administration and its actions, should not be afraid to tell others, who think the 47th administration is doing a spot-on job, why that is patently false, and plan to show up at peaceful organized NO KINGS protests and get their real IDs in order and plan to show up and vote NO in November to the 47th administration, its Republican legislators, so that at least the House falls to the opposition Democrats. Everything done from January twentieth 2025, by the current administration and legislative bodies, is a direct affront to the norms this country has established under its Constitution, and everything from birthright citizenship to Jeffery Epstein, Venezuela, and now Iran is smoke and mirrors bullshit. The Heritage Foundation gave the near, middle, and far right its playbook, Mandate for Leadership, the conservative promise, 2025, and they are following it hook, line, and sinker. We, the opposition, have a right and a duty to counter what is happening on Substack, in public, and in the voting booth to rid our country of this illiberal democracy before 2028. The real war being fought by the U.S. is between those who want to destroy our democracy (by ignoring our Constitution, but are too inept or corrupt or both to amend it within the bounds of Constitutional Law) and those of us, regardless of political affiliation, who believe in the Constitution, its amendments, the rule of law, and the right to self determination at the ballot box. Urging all not fall prey to the diversions (like Iran, etc.) happening. Nice day to all.
I really don't know but one of my friends was the military governor of a province in Iraq, and we were able to bribe the shiites
It could be that Reza Pahlavi (Current head of the royal house) will be accepted as interim leader.
I've laid this out elsewhere: Iran is not as monolitic as depicted. Google. Iran is ethnically and religiously diverse, with Persians making up about 61% of the population, alongside large minorities like Azerbaijanis (18–19%), Kurds (10%), Lors, Baloch, and Arabs. While the Constitution recognizes Zoroastrians, Jews, and ChristiansBaháʼís and other groups face significant discrimination and prosecution. Ethnic minorities often experience marginalization in education, employment, and political representation
Well done summery of the situation. Thanks so much. WE need regime change here...hopefully 2026 election cycle will start that process. Only a hopeful thought.
There's nothing King Donald the 1st would like than a quagmire to continue the distraction from the KOMPROMAT Bibi and Vlad might otherwise release to the world press showing DJT raping, abusing, and killing youngsters. Read Wm. Sascha Riley's posts on the net. The cat's out of the bag but the KOMPROMAT will be irrefutable, if it ever gets released.
With this Epstein-Iran War he's definitely going for that "wartime President" vibe. Both to distract from the Trump-Epstein coverup; and to rally the Base heading further into the primary season.
But time is most definitely against him. His Epstein-Iran war has effectively closed the Straits of Hormuz. Through which 20% of the world's oil supply passes, 85% of it bound for Asia. If the war drags on, expect to pay a lot more at the pump; and a global recession.
The only winners so far are Big Oil--including Putin, Inc. Russian oil--which will soon be making a lot more than the barely break-even $70/barrel. Today, Brent Crude reached $78/barrel.---only a 10% increase. Whether futures ever reach the $150/barrel reached during the Bush-Cheney Surge remains to be seen. But it's early days yet.
That Brent only increased 10% in a day's trading suggests that this war will not be protracted. Administration "market whisperers" have no doubt been working Wall Street. Otherwise, futures would likely be a *lot* higher.
Trump has historically been hyperfixated on gas prices here in the US. He'll likely call off the dogs if prices rise overmuch, as a serious spike in fossil fuel prices will invariably catastrphize the upcoming GOP drubbing in November.
Love your work Gloria. Please keep going. The Epstein files are this bad...
We all probably missed the other photos release showing a network of medical
support staff to "take care of his girls" while the bombs were flying to Iran.
Disgusting.
"They" don't want a middle class. Don't care about a middle class. None.Of.It.
They want wealth and slaves.. the means to get there doesn't matter.
Great analysis and commentary, Gloria!
Trump is a bully and sees bullying as the only form of geopolitics. Real easy for his fat backside to sit in the Oval Office and to declare war. He is going to leave us with another quagmire war, unresolved Gaza and Ukraine, and maybe even Nigeria.
This whole destructive regime chaos will take us decades to recover from. But we, the grass-roots Americans, will accomplish this.
Learned American leadership self dealing and dishonest. Working for lobbyists.
Ms. Maloney. What do I think? Several things:
1)The U.S. attacked the Korean people and Truman successfully convinced the American public we were "defending" "south" Koreans against depredations of "North" Koreans.
Korea has a continuously existing culture which is 4700 years old. They do not need America to settle their problems for them. They threw us out and we call it an "armistice." It did not take long for Truman to finally fire that monster general Douglas MacArthur. Yet the monster was given victory parades when he returned to American soil. I remember.
2) The U.S. military did not lose one major battle during 10 years in Viet Nam. The U.S. nevertheless lost the war and the Vietnamese people threw us out. The communist party took over the entire country. Vietnamese civilization has a continuous existence of 4000 years. They do not need the U.S. to solve their problems. I remember.
3) the U. S. made war on Iraq for a decade and lost. I remember.
4) the U.S. made war on Afghanistan for 2 decades and lost. I remember.
5) Persian civilization is 5000 years old. Will we remember this war? Come to your own conclusion!
6)At the end of hostilities of WWl not one foreign soldier had his foot on German soil. Yet the Germans "lost" the war. 20 years later Germany continued the war and we call it WWll. I was born during WWll. I remember.
7)What really is "war?" and what constitutes "victory?" and "defeat?" in the modern era.
Victory is making a fortune no matter which side claims victory and no matter how many people suffer or die.
Ms. Maloney. Good answer.
Thank you.
Thanks, GM, for publishing this today. I, like many others, note that it’s not that many globally who are losing sleep about the Supreme Leader’s death. We have our own version of someone who would never openly say they are similar to the deceased Iranian leader, but to millions in the U.S., globally, we see little difference between the leaders of either the U.S. or Iranian regimes. We are a nation of rules and laws, and our two-hundred fifty-year-old Constitution still stands despite the 45th/47th snubbing his responsibility to act in accordance with it. For many Americans we agree, that because this president is incapable of following rules and laws he swore an oath to uphold and obey, he has brought upon himself, acts that truly he should be impeached for and then held to account by the DOJ, Attorney’s General, and charged accordingly for the laws broken and put on trial before a judge and a jury of his peers.
I spent most of my career working for the United Nations. I often referred (to the angst of many colleagues) to the fact that the bureaucratic methods we were working under were hindering, if not stopping, the progress we were attempting to achieve; however, it never crossed my mind to disobey the rules and regulations for obvious reasons.
The 47th, his cabinet, the Republican legislature for the most part, and millions of Americans are wrong in every sense of the word for letting the 47th administration continue up to 2028. The mission of the 47th administration of the United States in its entirety has, is, and will continue to wreak havoc on our democracy until, like Iran, there is a backlash by citizens at the voting booth and, if it ever happens, Congress succeeds and the courts take the appropriate actions to impeach the President for high crimes and misdemeanors he and he alone is committing against the American People.
If we go back to the late seventies to the present and we look at the adult lives of both the 47th and the deceased Iranian Leader, in terms of abusing power, directly and or indirectly, regarding the lives of citizens in both countries, many might agree that there is little difference insofar as abusive, dictatorial behaviors unbecoming a leader.
Throughout history, many nasty leaders have died of old age in their sleep, but so have quite a number of horrible leaders met their own demise as a result of their own actions against their citizens and sovereign nations.
Everyone who disagrees with this 47th administration and its actions, should not be afraid to tell others, who think the 47th administration is doing a spot-on job, why that is patently false, and plan to show up at peaceful organized NO KINGS protests and get their real IDs in order and plan to show up and vote NO in November to the 47th administration, its Republican legislators, so that at least the House falls to the opposition Democrats. Everything done from January twentieth 2025, by the current administration and legislative bodies, is a direct affront to the norms this country has established under its Constitution, and everything from birthright citizenship to Jeffery Epstein, Venezuela, and now Iran is smoke and mirrors bullshit. The Heritage Foundation gave the near, middle, and far right its playbook, Mandate for Leadership, the conservative promise, 2025, and they are following it hook, line, and sinker. We, the opposition, have a right and a duty to counter what is happening on Substack, in public, and in the voting booth to rid our country of this illiberal democracy before 2028. The real war being fought by the U.S. is between those who want to destroy our democracy (by ignoring our Constitution, but are too inept or corrupt or both to amend it within the bounds of Constitutional Law) and those of us, regardless of political affiliation, who believe in the Constitution, its amendments, the rule of law, and the right to self determination at the ballot box. Urging all not fall prey to the diversions (like Iran, etc.) happening. Nice day to all.
The only thing I’m certain of is the Iranians are too smart to rely on Trump and won’t see this as their chance. I don’t see them seizing any opportunity from our nitwit president. If they weren’t smart enough before, they are now having seen what he did to our country.
Thanks, GM, for publishing this today. I, like many others, note that it’s not that many globally who are losing sleep about the Supreme Leader’s death. We have our own version of someone who would never openly say they are similar to the deceased Iranian leader, but to millions in the U.S., globally, we see little difference between the leaders of either the U.S. or Iranian regimes. We are a nation of rules and laws, and our two-hundred fifty-year-old Constitution still stands despite the 45th/47th snubbing his responsibility to act in accordance with it. For many Americans we agree, that because this president is incapable of following rules and laws he swore an oath to uphold and obey, he has brought upon himself, acts that truly he should be impeached for and then held to account by the DOJ, Attorney’s General, and charged accordingly for the laws broken and put on trial before a judge and a jury of his peers.
I spent most of my career working for the United Nations. I often referred (to the angst of many colleagues) to the fact that the bureaucratic methods we were working under were hindering, if not stopping, the progress we were attempting to achieve; however, it never crossed my mind to disobey the rules and regulations for obvious reasons.
The 47th, his cabinet, the Republican legislature for the most part, and millions of Americans are wrong in every sense of the word for letting the 47th administration continue up to 2028. The mission of the 47th administration of the United States in its entirety has, is, and will continue to wreak havoc on our democracy until, like Iran, there is a backlash by citizens at the voting booth and, if it ever happens, Congress succeeds and the courts take the appropriate actions to impeach the President for high crimes and misdemeanors he and he alone is committing against the American People.
If we go back to the late seventies to the present and we look at the adult lives of both the 47th and the deceased Iranian Leader, in terms of abusing power, directly and or indirectly, regarding the lives of citizens in both countries, many might agree that there is little difference insofar as abusive, dictatorial behaviors unbecoming a leader.
Throughout history, many nasty leaders have died of old age in their sleep, but so have quite a number of horrible leaders met their own demise as a result of their own actions against their citizens and sovereign nations.
Everyone who disagrees with this 47th administration and its actions, should not be afraid to tell others, who think the 47th administration is doing a spot-on job, why that is patently false, and plan to show up at peaceful organized NO KINGS protests and get their real IDs in order and plan to show up and vote NO in November to the 47th administration, its Republican legislators, so that at least the House falls to the opposition Democrats. Everything done from January twentieth 2025, by the current administration and legislative bodies, is a direct affront to the norms this country has established under its Constitution, and everything from birthright citizenship to Jeffery Epstein, Venezuela, and now Iran is smoke and mirrors bullshit. The Heritage Foundation gave the near, middle, and far right its playbook, Mandate for Leadership, the conservative promise, 2025, and they are following it hook, line, and sinker. We, the opposition, have a right and a duty to counter what is happening on Substack, in public, and in the voting booth to rid our country of this illiberal democracy before 2028. The real war being fought by the U.S. is between those who want to destroy our democracy (by ignoring our Constitution, but are too inept or corrupt or both to amend it within the bounds of Constitutional Law) and those of us, regardless of political affiliation, who believe in the Constitution, its amendments, the rule of law, and the right to self determination at the ballot box. Urging all not fall prey to the diversions (like Iran, etc.) happening. Nice day to all.
Nice day to you, Henry. Take care.
I really don't know but one of my friends was the military governor of a province in Iraq, and we were able to bribe the shiites
It could be that Reza Pahlavi (Current head of the royal house) will be accepted as interim leader.
I've laid this out elsewhere: Iran is not as monolitic as depicted. Google. Iran is ethnically and religiously diverse, with Persians making up about 61% of the population, alongside large minorities like Azerbaijanis (18–19%), Kurds (10%), Lors, Baloch, and Arabs. While the Constitution recognizes Zoroastrians, Jews, and ChristiansBaháʼís and other groups face significant discrimination and prosecution. Ethnic minorities often experience marginalization in education, employment, and political representation
We've been watching Tousi TV. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJec0wv1EUomjrBNt1xCTA
Gloria, don't know if you've seen Jonathan Larsen's essay from yesterday. Pretty sobering, to put it mildly:
"U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for 'Armageddon', Return of Jesus
Advocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military"
https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us-troops-were-told-iran-war-is-for
That's insane.
"Did we learn anything from the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq/Afganistan?"
In a word:
No.
Well done summery of the situation. Thanks so much. WE need regime change here...hopefully 2026 election cycle will start that process. Only a hopeful thought.
You're very kind. I'm embarrassed. Take care.