Well, and the other thing is, exactly zero oil tankers going through that region fly the American flag, so no matter what Iran would be attacking someone other than the US.  (not that the Bahamas or Liberia could do anything about it)  But more importantly, someone bought that oil, and they're going to be none too happy about Iran blowing it up.  So, Iran winds of committing acts of war against numerous nations by their actions.  Secondly, Iran doesn't "own" the Straight, so it's not theirs to close.  The Straight isn't owned by anyone, it is under the territorial control of Oman and Iran.  So, Oman has a say in what's going on here too.  And while Oman and Iran are generally friendly under normal circumstances, I don't think Oman wants to rock the international boat at that level.

(Yesterday, 10:12 AM)Ksihkehe Wrote: This president?

George J. Trump?

It took me a moment . . . ROFL

Who wants to buy some "I did that" stickers featuring Trump to stick on their local gas pumps?

We can fund the forum entirely via the TDS market segment if prices go up, but also fund it via the "our greatest ally" market segment if prices go down.

Myke, you're not going to have to resort to selling gas station THC after all. It'll be a steady income, sustainably sourced from free-range retards.


   

(Yesterday, 11:07 AM)Ksihkehe Wrote: Who wants to buy some "I did that" stickers featuring Trump to stick on their local gas pumps?

We can fund the forum entirely via the TDS market segment if prices go up, but also fund it via the "our greatest ally" market segment if prices go down.

Myke, you're not going to have to resort to selling gas station THC after all. It'll be a steady income, sustainably sourced from free-range retards.

Eh?

I'm keeping that side-hustle right where it is, thanks ..

Since the steel market croaked I need something to do ..

 

Stepping off the planet to take a look at world events, I don't think this is honestly a 'real' war; it's theater to usher in a new age, just like 9/ll , WMD, Covid, et al.

I firmly believe in a spiritual/emotional componant to our presence that amasses energy; energy that's malable, for those vampires that know how to use it.
Fear is one of the strongest emotions humans have, and it's been used extensively in recent years to further the agenda a select few have planned out for mankind. People are giving away their power every time they allow themselves to have an emotional reaction to our orchastrated fake news.

This is rich:

Quote:Russia has strongly condemned the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, calling it a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law. On June 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the U.S. strikes as an "unprovoked act of aggression" and emphasized Moscow's support for Iran during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Russian Condemnation: The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement strongly opposing the U.S. airstrikes, warning that they threaten regional and global security. Russia emphasized that the strikes were a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter.

How can somebody say something like this and keep a straight face? 

(Yesterday, 10:12 AM)Ksihkehe Wrote: This president?

George J. Trump?

I think there's a lot of truth in that picture. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one who gets it!

Trump has been overly gung-ho to implement AI, which of course will require government control to 'keep us safe'. Today, we're being warned of credible threats to cyber security. 

The Patriot Act is going to look like child's play soon.

I found this interesting, since recently re-reading Jean Dixon's predictions, specifically one where she saw Russia and India joining forces, creating a railway between countries and becoming the world's super power....which leads to a face-off with China.
I've never put much stock in her predictions as she seems to have a lot more misses than hits, but I may have to give her this one.

Quote:If you ever feel useless, just remember the USA took 4 Presidents, thousands of lives, trillions of dollar and 20 years to replace Taliban with Taliban.
And by the way, I don’t think Iran build a nuke. They are trying but haven’t built one successfully yet. However, they helped building a train linking Moscow to India.

As shown in the map below, the rail line connects oil/ gas and coal directly to Russia, India, and the BRICS block (red line). No tankers, no U.S. Navy, no petrodollar. No SWIFT. No IMF. No permission. And that’s why they got bombed (major cause in my opinion). Not for uranium (or maybe just a bit). For sovereignty.

Quote:It's called pipeline politics, and it's what drive most wars- natural resources. Colonialism never ended…

And if that’s not enough, the news is telling you to brace for attacks from people you’ll never see. They will pass new security measures, boost defence budgets, and take away more of your privacy. All in the name of protecting us from a threat they create…

They don't work for the U.S. they work for Israel in the U.S… What's sad is Israel doesn't even like you.

(Yesterday, 04:01 PM)Nugget Wrote: ....

So, it's a different conversation really, but China's "Belt & Road initiative" is a really BIG deal, and something which could easily change the trading dynamics all over the European and Asian continent(s).  The initiative is actually far larger than what is shown in the diagram above, and it's not only about oil; it's about all kinds of different goods and commodities.  It has the potential to have dramatic impacts to international trade across the entire region.  And what's even more surprising is that most people have no idea this has been under development for decades, and only recently come to light in western media.  I can remember reading bits and pieces of the plan when I was working over in SE Asia, but the 'big picture' of the overall plan was never presented, only just elements of it.

The route shown in the diagram above is only one of about three to four different major routes out of China overland rather than by sea.  About a year ago I ran across a fantastic expose on YT about some absolutely crazy international political gyrations and negotiations in Djibouti and Ethiopia.  And when I say "crazy", I mean it.  It was full of intrigue, secrecy, global mind-fk's and much more,  almost beyond imagination.  China is not going at this in a small way (at all).  They are effectively propping up the economies of entire countries just to make this happen.  And the craziest thing about this video I came across was that it dove into only just one tiny piece of the overall objective...something other countries thought would be impossible to even attempt (and the Chinese not only attempted it, but succeeded at the impossible).  I'll have to see if I can find that YT piece again; I wouldn't even mind watching it again myself.  

We often hear people say things like..."China is trying to take over the World"...and I've always taken that with a grain of salt, but to see the master-plan of the Belt & Road initiative is a real eye-opener!  China is banking their entire future on this working, and as it stands right now about 2/3rds of it has already been completed...without most of the rest of the world even knowing it was happening.  I mean, this isn't small development here and there either, the entire program is trillions upon trillions of dollars.  It's actually pretty staggering when you look into it.

I loathe wikipedia as a source, but here is a wiki link to a summary of what's going on at a high level.  It's a decent primer to figure out what elements you might want jump off and look into in more detail (non-wikipedia of course).

China's Belt and Road Initiative

I'll see if I can scare up the video I referred to above and if I find it I'll add and edit including the link for that.

(7 hours ago)FCD Wrote:

Quote:So, it's a different conversation really, but China's "Belt & Road initiative" is a really BIG deal,

Is it reqally? I don't think it is. I think our world is a hair's width away from being run on a global scale, and China is part of the plan. TPTB are sure world communism is the way to go, from what I'm seeing.



China's Belt and Road Initiative

I'll see if I can scare up the video I referred to above and if I find it I'll add and edit including the link for that.

Thank you for scaring it up!

Is it really...what?  A different discussion?  Or, a really BIG deal?

Yes, I feel it is a really big deal when you take in the scope of the overall program.  Just the infrastructure pieces alone are on the scale of the modern equivalent of the Pyramids at Giza.

Regarding a different discussion, all I really meant was it would be off-topic for a "US Strikes Iran" thread.  It's definitely worthy of a discussion, but a separate one might allow it to be more focused on the BRI exclusively.

Edit - I don't really think it's about China taking over the World, at least not the BRI alone anyway. But it definitely cuts the West out of a massive amount of trade, which is kind of the whole idea. When you look at how the BRI is structured, it's basically planned to establish major trade routes which avoid Western countries and established trade routes altogether. It's also exponentially faster to ship commodities and trade goods via those routes. Rather than sailing halfway across the globe, the new trade routes cut straight (or close to it) across Asia and Europe directly to Eastern bloc countries. The US and the West control the oceans, and that's a risk which requires a country to maintain diplomatic relations to keep those routes open. With the BRI, no such diplomatic relations are required, so China can basically tell Western countries to "shove it" and there's not a damn thing the West can do about it. Consequently, it's not as much about China gaining any control, as much as it's about the West losing control, and a LOT of international leverage. So, in that regard, yes, it's about control in a sort of abstract sense. Depending on one's views about Western colonialism (or lack thereof) it's a big deal.

Edit 2 - And, as I write this, there is another similar groundbreaking development happening also. Right now Russia is sending one of their brand new heavy ice class ice breaking LNG carriers over the Northern route to Asia for the first time. These ships can traverse the Northern Passage without requiring heavy ice breaker escorts. So, much like the BRI going 'from' China, these new routes through the Northern Passage are shipping commodities from Russia 'to' China. Like the BRI, but in the other direction.