Mapping The Hormuz Blockade: At Least 15 US Navy Ships Are In Place

"Hubris Generally Precedes Clusterf**k": Does It Smell Like Victory? Authored by James Howard Kunstler, The message seems to be something like the USA isn’t messing around with all those strike forces in the waters around Iran. The Islamic Republic suddenly looks like Rock-and-Hard-Place-Land. Everybody and his uncle are trying to figure out the calculus in play, World War Three or a happy ending? You’re seeing the most significant US military build-up over there in memory. Smells a little bit like first Gulf War, 1991 — minus all those allies we roped in then. Mr. Trump (via...

Media Says 'Gambling' Trump Got Lucky On The Economy Democrats have been predicting doom and gloom ever since Trump returned to office, yet the economic calamity they assured us would come has yet to materialize. But rather than give Trump credit, the narrative being pushed now is that his wins are just dumb luck. (Washington Post staff illustration; photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post, iStock) That’s certainly the message of a Politico piece headlined "Trump Keeps Gambling With the Economy — And Getting Away With It.”  "President Donald Trump has spent his...

Iranian Missiles Pound Israel Overnight After US Claims Progress On Talks; Tehran Appoints Larijani Successor, Cuts Gas Flows To Turkey Summary Backchannel diplomacy vs skepticism: Abbas Araghchi reportedly signaled openness to negotiations with the US via envoy Steve Witkoff, but Israeli officials say chances of a deal remain very low. Heavy exchange of fire and testing red lines: Iran continues missile and drone waves targeting Israel and US bases, amid reports of overnight airstrikes on military and gas infrastructure near Isfahan. Iran reshuffles its security leadership, appointing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr: he's a former...