[RE]

PROSPECT.ORG 2026-04-09

The War Is Bad. The Cease-Fire Doesn’t Exist. The Future Is Awful.

It took not even 24 hours for the tollbooth on the Strait of Hormuz to snap shut. Israel, whose desires to act as a saboteur and trap the United States into the war it desperately wanted us to conduct couldn’t be more obvious, spent Wednesday pounding central Beirut with airstrikes, hitting 100 targets in ten minutes, with at least 112 dead.

Iran and the U.S. have very different conceptions of whether Lebanon counts as part of the nascent cease-fire. After Donald Trump confirmed that in his view Israel and Lebanon are in a "separate skirmish," which conflicts with the view of Pakistan, the country that mediated the dispute, Iran showed its displeasure by closing the strait to oil tankers, and now the Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened military action against "aggressors in the region" (Israel) if the Lebanon attacks continue.

Diner Headline: Trumpolini's Operation Epic Fail  Negotiates Ceaseless Fire Agreement.

RE

[K-Dog]

Yolanda is a country.  Jules is a country.  And Ringo represents the Fascist States of America.
The first step in this cognitive test, is to correctly identify the countries that Yolanda and Jules represent.  Vincent is Saudi Arabia.  The fat man is the rest of the world.

The question is can Ringo keep Yolanda cool.  He did in the movie.  But that is where the analogy breaks down.  As in the movie, Ringo does not get the briefcase.  Ringo has to settle for the Saudi Sovereign Fund wallets from the other diners in the room.

This is a pretty solid rhyme if you correctly identify the country Jules is playing.

It breaks down only because Ringo can't keep his bitch cool.

Unlike in the movie, Yolanda calls the shots.  That is bad news.

Honey Bunny is a problem.




Regardless the glowing nuclear material in the briefcase does not change hands.

Ringo's mother does not like Yolanda.

And it's a rhyming day.


What fire begets this fire, like torches thrown into the straw?
If no one asks, then no one answers, that's how every empire falls

[K-Dog]

AAJTAK.IN 2026-04-09

'Shehbaaz had clearly said...', even after the ceasefire, the attack on Lebanon, Bifra Iran

In the midst of a rapidly changing situation in the Middle East, Iran has made it clear that Lebanon cannot be excluded from any ceasefire agreement with the US. Iran has clearly indicated that any long-term peace deal in the region will be possible only if Lebanon is included in it.

TRIBUNE.COM.PK 2026-04-09

Trump says Israel will be 'scaling back' attacks on Lebanon after appeal to Netanyahu

'I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,' he says

Low-key means continue and carry-on Donald.  You just told the world how evil you are again.

[K-Dog]

TRUTHOUT.ORG 2026-04-10

Trump Reportedly Agreed to Include Lebanon in Ceasefire But Lied About It Anyway

The death toll from Israel’s massive, 10-minute blitz on Lebanon on Wednesday has surpassed 300 people.

"Vice President J.D. Vance stated that Iran had a "legitimate misunderstanding" about Lebanon's inclusion in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, saying, "I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't."

Never have I read a more mealy-mouth admission of 'We Lied To Them,' it was all part of the performance.  If you meet a Buddha on the road who suggests Vance should be president, you know what to do.  We do not need this shape-shifting smokey-eyed actor who only plays the part of being a man.

[K-Dog]

TASNIMNEWS.IR 2026-04-11

Iran Has Good Will, but Distrusts US

Twice within less than a year, in the middle of negotiations, and despite the Iranian side’s good faith, they attacked us and committed numerous war crimes.

Going through the motions, because hey whacha-gonna-do.  But as these men walk the red carpet they already know that Israel is not going to let Trump make peace.  These men are doing what they have to do, but they went to bed and woke up knowing that Trump wears a dog collar.

[RE]

OILPRICE.COM 2026-04-18

Oil Slides but the Real Test Comes This Weekend

Oil markets are fixated on this weekend’s second round of US-Iran talks, with hopes rising for a negotiated end to the Strait of Hormuz’s 45-day blockade. Iran’s announcements that navigation through Hormuz is open come after Trump managed to seal a shaky Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, sending ICE Brent below $90 per barrel again. The negotiations in Islamabad will be oil’s ‘make it or break it’ moment, as any failure would amplify the IEA’s warnings of impending fuel shortages and demand collapse.

With the price dropping to $80 on the Ceaseless Fire, I think you can officially say Demand Destruction has already begun.  A lot of the world simply can't afford to buy oil at $100+/bbl.  Not getting enough bids.

RE

[RE]

TIME.COM 2026-04-19

The Bigger Energy Lesson Behind Iran’s Control Over the Strait of Hormuz

Oil takes big swings up and down on the basis of President Trump’s latest Truth Social post. Today’s announcement from Iran that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial traffic boosted the stock market and sent oil prices tumbling.

Still, the direction further out remains murky.  But the answer may be right in front of us: long-term structural volatility. The world has woken up to a new baseline of instability in the Middle East that won't go away so long as the current regime in Iran remains and the country can control or simply block the Strait of Hormuz. And that instability is bound to create price volatility.

Forget the volatility in oil prices.  Wait until the shortfalls in FOOD PRODUCTION start showing up next year.  The volatility won't just be in the markets.  It will be in the streets.

RE

[RE]

IRANINTL.COM 2026-04-19

The Hormuz get out of jail card turned to a grave

For decades the IRGC relied on its ability to threaten closure of the Strait of Hormuz as its premier economic shield and golden get out of jail card.  Roughly 21 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum products normally transit the strait.

That volume accounts for one fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption and one quarter of all seaborne traded oil.  Yet the destinations of those flows expose the asymmetry that ultimately doomed the strategy.

Here's a wild new projection for the result of the closure of the Hormuz straight!  This guy figures it's a doomed strategy since alternate routes will be built to move the oil and the FSoA will up its exports to cover the global shortfall inside a year or so.  By 5 years everything is back to normal and Iran is marginalized.  In a decade the regime collapses.

Most entertaining is that he thinks Trumpolini is a forward thinking strategic GENIUS!!! 🤪

"The Hormuz closure wasn't a surprise to any serious person, one might argue Trump turned what the enemy believed to be a leverage to a ticking time bomb trap the IRGC just walked into.

IRGC was never the end goal, China is."


Opinions welcome.

RE

[K-Dog]

In a decade the regime collapses.

By that time Earth will be like cockroaches on Mars.

[RE]

In a decade the regime collapses.
By that time Earth will be like cockroaches on Mars.

New pipelines might relieve the oil transport some, won't do much for fertilizer though.  How many people will be left after 5 years of fertilizer shortages?

RE

[RE]

THECONVERSATION.COM 2026-04-22

The end of oil? As fuel shocks cascade, 53 nations gather to plan a fossil fuel phaseout

Ironically for Trump and his oil industry donors, this crisis may be an irreversible tipping point for clean energy.

For years, fossil fuel advocates spruiked oil, gas and coal as "reliable" energy. That narrative has been reversed. Fossil fuels have become expensive and unreliable, while renewables are cheap, reliable and secure.  For the first time ever, more than 50 nations will gather next week in Colombia to hash out how to wind down and end their dependence on coal, oil and gas. The history-making conference was planned before the Iran war. But this year's energy crisis has greatly raised the stakes.

Problem solved!  I was getting worried. 🙄

RE

[K-Dog]

Problem solved!  I was getting worried. 🙄

RE

And fertilizer is a by-product.👍

[TDoS]

In a decade the regime collapses.

A good one! They said the world would collapse in a decade back in 1970, but I think that was more global cooling, starvation and whatnot. But can't we think bigger than just a regime? I mean, how are you going to attract clicks from anyone other than a couple of us and the MIB unless you got all in with COOLER stuff?

[RE]

A good one! They said the world would collapse in a decade back in 1970, but I think that was more global cooling, starvation and whatnot. But can't we think bigger than just a regime?

Doubtful this guy bought into Peak Oil.  He's almost certainly a Collapse Denier, an obvious idiot.  His whole theory is based on the premise that Trumpolini is a strategic genius and inside a decade all the the oil will be smoothly flowing again via new routes.  Anybody who buys this idea is a few BTUs short of melting an ice cube.  I'd hazard the guess his IQ is measured in the negative imaginary irrational numbers.  He's probably a geologist or oil trader.  lol.

RE

[TDoS]

Doubtful this guy bought into Peak Oil.

I've never claimed that everyone was equally ignorant on the topic. Just those that were willing to demonstrably prove it.

He's almost certainly a Collapse Denier, an obvious idiot.  His whole theory is based on the premise that Trumpolini is a strategic genius and inside a decade all the the oil will be smoothly flowing again via new routes.

Strikes me as perfectly idiotic theory.

Anybody who buys this idea is a few BTUs short of melting an ice cube.

Or alternatively, he would fit right in with peak oilers circa 2000-2005 or so.

I'd hazard the guess his IQ is measured in the negative imaginary irrational numbers.

I would not. Low IQs are not required to be suckered into a theory, be it him, or PhD's who have their own collapse theories that come and go. Guy McPherson being just one example.

People of all IQ's make a decision to BELIEVE. If they have low IQs, they stop there. If they have PhD's, they weave a tale, mixing in facts, history, supposition and "what-ifs", with a hint of "and I've got a PhD" and presto!   Dr Colin Campbell...global peak oil...1990. ASPO in Europe with Colin and Ugo. And others. IQ had nothing to do with how they talked themselves into drawing a conclusion so easily known to be a crock.

He's probably a geologist or oil trader.  lol.

RE

Certainly Colin was a geologist, and Ugo something like physical chemistry? McPherson wasn't a geologist either.

Oh yes...and I should mention...neither am I. But some people....they are so smart....they believe anything they think. Or find on LinkedIn. 😀😀 So in this regard, you are in some educated company even without a PhD, and also BELEIVING in your conclusions because, hey, you is smartz too!