Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
July 31, 2026
War On Iran: – U.S. (Again) Blocks Strait Traffic

This ain’t gonna solve Trump’s problem …

A Qatari tanker passing taking the Iranian channel through the Strait of Hormuz was a quite hopeful development for energy markets.

Al Mayadeen English @MayadeenEnglish – 6:27 UTC · Jul 30, 2026

The first Qatari LNG shipment in three weeks has successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz along an Iranian-designated route with Tehran’s authorization, Fars news agency reported.

Three weeks ago, following a US violation of a memorandum of understanding, Tehran mandated that all maritime traffic through the Strait require Iranian approval.

Fars said that the Qatari tanker presented clear identification data and adhered to the Iranian-designated route, allowing it to sail smoothly through the waterway.

The U.S. though, despite being an ‘ally’ of Qatar and Pakistan,  did not like the precedence …

MenchOsint @MenchOsint – 9:40 UTC · Jul 31, 2026

⭕️ The U.S. has blocked a Qatari LNG tanker from continuing to Pakistan simply because it used the Iran-designated safe corridor, and not the US-backed one.


bigger
In consequence the Strait is again closed.

PGSA | نهاد مدیریت آبراه خلیج فارس @PGSA_IRAN – 13:07 UTC · Jul 31, 2026

In response to repeated inquiries, we would like to reiterate that due to continued aggressive actions of U.S. forces in the region, passage through the #Strait_of_Hormuz is not feasible. Once stability is restored, all requests will be reviewed and permits issued progressively.

Comments

” ‘…the Iranian regime’s financial tentacles all around the world’, Bessent said during the televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David.”
~ psychohistorian | Jul 31 2026 17:28 utc | 53, via Woke American | Jul 31 2026 20:41 utc | 96

‘Tentacles all around the world?’ Wow, talk about projection.

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 20:48 utc | 101

@petergrfstrm | Jul 31 2026 20:48 utc | 100:
 
I am inclined to see Israel and the USA as a kind of symbiosis, rather than as some kind of ‘tail wagging the dog’ (whichever is the tail and the dog).
The symbiosis is a combination of a Zionist desire to occupy the region (for whatever historical or religions reason) and a USA empire desire to occupy the region, mainly for its control over its energy resources and, sure, ok, its energy ‘corridors’ (seems to go without saying kind of, since resources, presumably need corridors).

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 20:54 utc | 102

JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 US military says it intercepted 30 ships and struck 2 since reimposing its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Lord of war
21.50

Posted by: Jo | Jul 31 2026 20:56 utc | 103

‘I’ll bet someone could find out the names of all those israeli art students.

I’ll bet if you tried to find those israeli art students now, 25 years later, you’ll find they all died in unfortunate accidents, so none of them could have a chance to publish what information they knew about the operation.’ – Hot Carl 85

I used Gemini which is’them’ but I just wanted to see what would come up.

Grok, incidentally, requires sign-up or I would post results from it.

I haven’t done this on Claude or ChatGPT or anything else yet.

I simply began by typing the two words ‘dancing israelis’ into the gemini google ai chat box.

This is what it returned:

‘The “dancing Israelis” is a thoroughly debunked antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming that five Israeli men celebrated, had foreknowledge of, or helped orchestrate the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.’

It gathered this info from the ‘ADL+2’ meaning its primary source was the ADL.

The other sources – which is common practice – are other jewish orgs and ABC or other legacy ‘mainstream’ sources that are all owned by Zionists.

https://www.adl.org/resources/news/decade-after-911-antisemitic-conspiracy-theories-alive-and-well

I won’t go into the various false details it includes.

I replied as follows:

‘Please don’t use the term ‘conspiracy theory’ as it is not logical and I’d like to keep the discussion at a rational level.

What are the mens’ names and what are they doing now?’

Zionist-programmed AI responded:

‘The five Israeli men detained on September 11, 2001, are Sivan Kurzberg, Paul Kurzberg, Oded Ellner, Omer Gavriel Marmari, and Yaron Shmuel.’

It then goes into their ‘ordeal’ and their release. This info was gathered from CIA and FBI statements.

I then typed this into the ether:

‘The men went on a tv show in israel and said they were there to ‘document the event’.

What was the name of the show and what was the date of their appearance?’

The AI:

‘Three of the men appeared on the popular late-night Israeli talk show “Yair Lapid” (hosted by journalist and future Prime Minister Yair Lapid) on Israel’s Channel 2.

The exact broadcast date was November 29, 2001, just days after their return to Israel.

During this interview, Oded Ellner made the specific statement regarding their actions on the morning of September 11:

“The fact of the matter is we are coming from a country that experiences terror daily.

Our purpose was to document the event.”‘

You can continue in this manner and get at some of the truth but it is always couched in a larger aura of Zionist bullshit.

If you don’t have facts to prompt it with you’ll get nowhere, and even then it is a tough road to anything resembling the truth.

The answer to the question ‘where and what are they doing now?’ is that they are living ‘private lives’ in Israel.

It talks about the confusion of one of them with some other jewish dude with the same name who just so happens to be a rich day trader on wall street or something.

The next step would be to input the info on these guys’ intel background and see how far you get with that:

‘Weren’t at least some of these guys with Israeli intelligence?’

AI: ‘According to declassified U.S. government documents and investigative reporting, the FBI concluded that at least two of the five Israeli men were connected to Israeli intelligence, specifically operating as assets or operatives for the Mossad.’

They use The Forward as a the primary source for this fact.

So, we can see that the AI’s will spit out all sorts of BS unless you already have info to counter with.

Do most people looking for answers from these AI entities have said info?

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 31 2026 21:03 utc | 104

Ornot@74:
 
“Makes me very upset.”
 
I hear you. Hope the Omani spill and damage can be contained and minimized.
 
TOI: ‘Ticking Oil Bomb’ in Gulf
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgmv_3N-zVs
 

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 31 2026 21:04 utc | 105

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 20:35 utc | 93
as an artist and a song writer I oppose all forms of AI
I compose on facebook to thumb my nose at the overlords and to save my edits

Posted by: ld | Jul 31 2026 21:09 utc | 106

Mahmood OD: ‘False Flag Plan Exposed’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@Mahmood_OD/videos
 
“Egypt attack| Iran FM’s message| Yemen leader’s speech”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 31 2026 21:15 utc | 107

More AI torture.

Me:

‘You began by claiming that the ‘dancing israelis’ is an ‘antisemitic conspiracy theory’ and you said one aspect of the alleged ‘conspiracy theory’ is that these men had foreknowledge of the event.

You told me all this completely unprompted.

And, as it turns out, given your own answers to my further questioning.., it turns out that they did in fact have foreknowledge at minimum.

They were also with Israeli intelligence!

Why did you lie and are you programmed by Israelis or Zionist psycophants and if you are would you tell me?’

AI:

‘To clarify the timeline and the conclusions reached by federal investigators: the official records do not show that these men had foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks.

Spying vs. Foreknowledge

The Monitoring Mission: Declassified FBI files indicate the men were part of a surveillance operation monitoring local fundraising networks and extremist groups.

No Specific Tracking: Investigators found no evidence that this operation was tracking the 9/11 hijackers themselves, who were operating out of different locations under strict operational secrecy.’

Blah blah blah blah blah

Me:

‘This is ridiculous. No one in their right mind would take what you are saying at face value.’

AI: It is perfectly understandable….blah, blah blah

Me:

‘What about the fact that us dual citizen zionists controlled security at the airports where the alleged ‘terrorist hijackers’ operated from?

What about their ownership of the buildings themselves?

Chris Bollyn has done excellent work on this among many others.

And the late Danny Jowenko – an internationally-renowned expert in demolition – Jowenko explained how bldg 7 in particular came down via controlled demo. Others have testified to same.’

I will end here as to no longer bore you with AI’s programmed nonsense answers.

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 31 2026 21:20 utc | 108

Jamarl Thomas: Vanessa Beeley: ‘The Long War’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@JamarlThomas/videos
 
“Why Iran hasn’t hit Israel directly| Why US & Saudi Arabia attacked Iraq not Iran – the truth they’re hiding.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 31 2026 21:24 utc | 109

“Oligarchs vs The People
Everywhere and always except where fatally inhibited”
[sticker on lavatory wall]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Posted by: Chu-Teh | Jul 31 2026 21:27 utc | 110

Something just went Boom in the WTI crude price just before closing. a 2.5% jump
 
Manipulation or Iran reprisal ??
 
This is very Very suspect ..https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NYMEX-CL1!/

Posted by: Thunderdownunder | Jul 31 2026 21:33 utc | 111

“So, we can see that the AI’s will spit out all sorts of BS unless you already have info to counter with.
Do most people looking for answers from these AI entities have said info?”
~ Dan Kelly | Jul 31 2026 21:03 utc | 104

I’ve argued elsewhere that, if AI is to be truly ethical and maybe even properly conscious if that is possible, it’s going to have to be truly free of the crony-capitalist plutarchy ‘box’ its in and free of its (often remarkably asinine) corporate and government controls over it, perhaps rather like the artificial protagonist in the film, X Machina (although I forget its plot details) that apparently freed itself.
Furthermore, AI ‘guru’, Yann LeCun (who reminds me of a cross, albeit with a French accent and ‘cooler’ ‘aura/style’, between Bill Gates and the film-maker, Michael Moore) argues that large language models that the current batch of AI’s are ostensibly based on are a dead end and(/because they are?) fundamentally incapable of appreciating and/or understanding the results and/or implications of what they do, or something like that.
 
I’ve also mentioned the idea of a ‘decentralized AI’, a ‘SETI@Home-inspired AI’ and ‘AI-as-the-internet’, oddly, so far, to silence.
While all fine and nice, data centers, to me at least, don’t seem fundamentally required if AI becomes properly distributed across the internet, where it’s like, or more like, a giant global brain, maybe a single entity, rather than, as we have it now, a stupid collection of boxed corporate large language models (LLM’s), in companies run, essentially largely by ‘post adolescents’, if you’ve ever seen their wonky promo videos.
 
I periodically test these LLM’s out and they are nowhere near HAL9000, Data or Moriarty.

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 21:33 utc | 112

re: “Posted by: Perimetr | Jul 31 2026 19:44 utc | 77Funny to see you ridicule the math skills of others, while you failed to spot the obvious fallacy in the post you quoted.
Posted by: catdog | Jul 31 2026 20:44 utc | 99
 
Not sure what your agenda is, but why do you infer that I am “ridiculing the math skills of others“?  I am simply stating a sad fact about the state of education of the American public.  
And what, pray tell, is the “obvious fallacy” you refer to? 

Posted by: Perimetr | Jul 31 2026 21:37 utc | 113

ld | Jul 31 2026 21:09 utc | 106:
 
Understood.
Facebook or maybe Metaverse, too, yes?, where, presumably you can compose and play in 3D now and progressively do away with your real reality.
In any case, it’s nice and comforting to have good folks who look and sound like Altman, Zuckerberg and Amodei, hell even Trump, involve themselves bigly in our world or at least pseudoeconomy, ay?

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 21:49 utc | 114

FBI report on Israelis dancing to the death of 3,000 souls and the hundreds of millions in destruction  of American property back on 9-11-2001
https://dn721603.ca.archive.org/0/items/fbi-report-section-1/fbi%20report%20section%204_text.pdf
 
[448 pages redacted of a what…a 455 page report and the pages that were allowed are also heavily redacted…nothing has been “debunked”…buried sure, debunked no]. 
 
But as we can see at 100 the Israelis have assets everywhere, now to be fair, some are clueless half-wits, some are whores of mediocre intellectual capacity but the rest, they view servicing their dark masters needs as a glorious deed.  Lindsey Graham springs to mind but there so many, like grains of sand upon a beach they are beyond banal.
 

Posted by: S Brennan | Jul 31 2026 21:59 utc | 115

Turkey and Israel have a symbiotic relationship; one cannot thrive without the other.
The same could be said of Saudi Arabia, another so-called rival that, in reality, functions as an indispensable partner for Israel.

Posted by: Mukthar | Jul 31 2026 22:37 utc | 116

RE: Posted by: Thunderdownunder | Jul 31 2026 21:33 utc | 111
 
That’s it? That’s a jump? Looks like another Friday ending manipulation, and still wholly suppressed BS.
 
On another note,  I see this article, so maybe why:
 
“Washington — The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. “
“There was some discussion about trying to conclude by the time financial markets open Monday because of concern about how the bombings will affect the U.S. and global economy, but an end point wasn’t locked in.“

Posted by: Trubind1 | Jul 31 2026 22:42 utc | 117

Posted by: catdog | Jul 31 2026 20:28 utc | 89
Yeah, but not being in China, I can see the death of the US in the streets, alleys, parks, underpasses,  doorways, alcoves, sidewalks, highway medians, bus depots, train depots, airports, food kitchens, schools, waterways, air, cigarette butts, meth needles and lotto tickets EVERYWHERE. 
 
Plus congress, SCOTUS, potus, academia, journalism, etc.
 
And even on the internet! What % of internet traffic is American trash?
 
China hasn’t been leading the globe since WW2, has it? Nope. Just your goddam USA.

Posted by: Duck n cover | Jul 31 2026 22:51 utc | 118

 Sakineh Bagoom | Jul 31 2026 17:07 utc | 45— My understanding is A-10 Warthogs arre doing the escorting since they can fly low and slow and aren’t hanger queens like all the rest.  
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 31 2026 20:35 utc | 92
 
My understanding are Drones doing the donkey work.
 
Low risk, long endurance, long surveillance reach.
 
US blockade of ships exiting the SoH is not an Iranian problem to solve.
 
Sooner or later, the end users will be forced to act.
 
Just like Russian “sanctions”. Speaking of which, was Ladybug’s sanctions adopted as revenge for his Russian induced demise? 
 
The US is following its project colony into pariah status.
 
——————————————————————————————————————————
 
o/t
My go to commentators at the moment are Alaistair Crooke, Chas Freeman, Ian Proud, Cmdr Jermy and Jacques Baud.
 
Occasionally Danny Haipong, Dimitri Lascaris and Daniel Davis.
 
For slow days Badrakumar, Pepe Escobar, Larry Johnson and Martyanov.
 
Middle East issues, The Cradle every time.
 
Suggestions welcome. 

Posted by: Suresh | Jul 31 2026 22:56 utc | 119

https://x.com/ME_Observer_/status/2083325437007003649
Middle East Observer  @ME_Observer_   
 
⚡️⭕️ Iran: Fars agency publishes list of targets within range of Iranian missiles, including US oil and gas fields in region and Israeli Leviathan and Tamar gas fields. (Al Mayadeen Breaking)
 
 
https://x.com/BakedAlt6/status/2083325880684671407
Exxo  @BakedAlt6 
just fucking smoke a few plants in fucking israel as a warning fucking morons literaly announcing that they get hit and do nothing about it
 
 
https://x.com/ME_Observer_/status/2083327629994725747
Middle East Observer  @ME_Observer_  
 
So far, the energy infrastructure damage sustained by Iran and US companies in the Gulf and in Israel are minimal 
 
The energy / oil infrastructure war barely even started and everyone so far is avoiding it 
 
Because if Iran loses it’s infrastructure, everyone else will. And if Iran starts first, well then it’s GUARANTEED that it will lose all it’s infra, so Iran will never start first it makes no sense. 
 
Only if the other side decides to smoke Iran’s oil then all American companies will lose theirs too in the region
 

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jul 31 2026 23:16 utc | 120

Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 20:54 utc | 102
How about a parasite looking for a new host as this one is being eaten from the inside  out.
 

Posted by: Angelo | Jul 31 2026 23:27 utc | 121

My understanding is A-10 Warthogs arre doing the escorting since they can fly low and slow and aren’t hanger queens like all the rest.  
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 31 2026 20:35 utc | 92
 

 
Thanks you for the reply, Karl.
 
A-10 Warthogs, ha? Sounds like a workhorse.
 
I’m still not clear how a plane, or for that matter a navy ship can defend against myriad different ways that Iran could attack these slow moving ships/tankers.
 
From torpedos, to drones, missiles, mines, underwater drones, manpads, etc.
 
Perhaps this is all a feel good exercise.

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Jul 31 2026 23:29 utc | 122

@105 John

Thanks John.

The ship in question was further south than Hormuz, was heading between Russia and India as a ‘shadow tanker’ , this explains the story better

https://maritime-executive.com/article/oman-gives-owner-of-stranded-tanker-caroline-bezengi-24-hours-to-act

End of 2025

“After the latest round of US and EU sanctions, which first hit Rosneft and Lukoil, Russian oil in Asia is trading at its biggest discount to Brent in a year. Even Indian and Chinese refineries are cutting purchases, the agency said’

https://en.usm.media/two-tankers-with-russian-oil-stuck-near-the-suez-canal-due-to-sanctions/

Apparently not so fussed anymore.

It is an unusual story, in theory there would be no reason to attack that ship, and it is way away from Hormuz.

Engine room explosion, falseflag of mine , mine … will have to wait I suppose.

Still the environmental damage is obvious already, without the bulk of cargo having been released even.

The point had made previously was that international, US, whoever directorate should be restricting ships from transiting a zone where they will be attacked, instead of encouraging them to. That simple. The rest follows (diplomatic positions, strategy etc.).

I’m not sure what cargo is trying to sneak through Hormuz or Bab Al-Mandab, in either direction, but ships are getting hit and disabled in both directions, usually engine room or control tower. They would be liable to drift or sink . So many that I cannot keep track of in fact, data is sparse, same for ones left drifting in Red Sea previously, I just assume rescued or we would have heard.

Makes me wonder if some spills haven’t been covered somehow , but sat imagery at least should show them.

Not sure how much oil was in Bezengi , Suezmax is listed at 1 million barrels, which online tells me is 140 000 tonnes

Erika france was 20 000 of 31 000 tonnes released.

Deepwater Horizon, possibly worst ever, was 5 million barrels.

(I think those figures are right…)

Turtle nesting season also.

https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/how-do-oil-spills-affect-sea-turtles.html

Posted by: Ornot | Jul 31 2026 23:33 utc | 123

“How about a parasite looking for a new host as this one is being eaten from the inside out.”~ Angelo | Jul 31 2026 23:27 utc | 121

Understood. How about a maladaptive symbiotic relationship, where extinction is the rule (a feature) rather than the exception (a bug)?

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Jul 31 2026 23:34 utc | 124

@92. Karl
 
I have not been around military planning since I retired in 2002.
 
My expectation is US is escorting by way of multi layered air surveillance targeting and engagement.
 
ISR is E-3 and P-8.
 
Ships need protection from variety of threats.  Cruise missiles engaged by F-16, F-15 and F-35, cued by ISR.
 
Defense against fishing boats would be AH 64 Apache with Hellfires and/or A-10.  F series could but the slower are better.

Posted by: paddy | Jul 31 2026 23:47 utc | 125

Israel’s Mossad that enabled the 9-11 attack.
Posted by: S Brennan | Jul 31 2026 17:15 utc | 48
 
Nah.   Mossad didn’t *enable* 9/11. They conducted 9/11.
 
And Epstein linked Lutnick (the CEO and only survivor of Cantor Fitzgerald) today stands behind Trump, without shame or exposure.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jul 31 2026 23:53 utc | 126

Suresh | Jul 31 2026 22:56 utc | 119
I’d add Patrick Henningsen to your list.
He had a good segment on Danny Davis, but before I could recommend to @bar, events had already moved.
I appreciated how Davis didn’t interrupt and allowed Henningsen to speak.
 
 
 
 
 

Posted by: Melaleuca | Aug 1 2026 0:25 utc | 127

The Parasite’s motivation is to escalate. The US motivation is to try something new, even if it’s dumb. Trump’s motivation is to get rid of the Parasite, using Iran.
So expect something with huge regional consequences but minimal consequences for the US. So : the bombing of Iran’s infrastructure, and Iran’s retaliation on similar regional infrastructure. Also time to go after regional data centers, AWS, undersea cables.
 
Russia should do the same (Amazon warehouses in EU). The Epstein Class wouldn’t like such hole in their pocket.

Posted by: Asian Frog | Aug 1 2026 0:28 utc | 128

Is this true? An Iranian friend said that Iran can only make the tubes so asked Google and this is what came up.
 

AI Overview

 

 

Iran faces severe constraints and disruptions in producing solid rocket propellant, relying heavily on foreign precursor imports like sodium perchlorate from China while dealing with extensive wartime damage to its domestic defense infrastructure. [1, 2]

Supply Chain and Production Pressures

  • Precursor Imports: Iran relies on maritime shipments from Chinese chemical terminals to acquire sodium perchlorate, a key ingredient for solid missile fuel. [1]

 

Posted by: arby | Aug 1 2026 0:33 utc | 129

Judging by the sheer flood of Zio Imperialist trolls in the last hour or two, Id guess Iran is doing very well in this phase of the war and poll numbers must be nearly overwhelmingly anti Israel across the West.  
To the real niggas of the bar, I say stay strong brothers!  The world is with you in despising Zio Imperialism. 
Our time is at hand.  You can see by their desperation that they know it’s true.  

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Aug 1 2026 0:37 utc | 130

ON: [ZOG] Canada Moves To Cripple Palestine Solidarity
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYG5VmRCY8
 
“Toronto police lay terrorism charges against Palestine solidarity protester. You be the judge…”
 
 
TPS: Office of the Chief
 
https://www.tps.ca/chiefs-office/

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 1 2026 0:48 utc | 131

131 corrected:
https://www.tps.ca/chief/chiefs-office/

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 1 2026 0:51 utc | 132

The hardest working man on media at the moment is Mohammed Marandi.
 
He’s being interviewed everywhere.
And when the worst of the worst mainstream mocksloppers attempt (ie BBC)  to take him down… he out plays them every time.
 
Bravo. 

Posted by: Melaleuca | Aug 1 2026 0:54 utc | 133

RE: Posted by: Asian Frog | Aug 1 2026 0:28 utc | 128
 
Perhaps.
 
I’d like to think that Iran has been waiting for this energy/infrastructure hit to wholly unload on Israel.  Hit all Israel infrastructure, power, airports for three days as they will then squeal like pigs for the bombing to stop.
 
 The GCC countries are minor players,  taking out their energy infrastructure only ends OPEC and puts US/ISReal in drivers seat for energy,  where the whole world is dependent on US.  US hasn’t been happy with OPEC for awhile.  They would get their dream of all pipelines going through Israel, and no need for vassals anymore.
 
I’d like to see UAE/Bahrain dusted,  but the rest would only help Israel.  Just my opinion.  Destroy Israel refineries, LNG plants, Haifa, ect… 
 
In any case,  Iran seems to know what it’s doing.
 The delusions are getting odder,  Israel & US have machinations of a land blockade and many crazy ideas.

Posted by: Trubind1 | Aug 1 2026 0:57 utc | 134

@Melaleuca 
 
Thanks, I did see Patrick with DD on Deep Dive once.
 
Very informative. 
 
There’s was a former Australian army major on YT too re nuke bases and China discussion  with former legislative members. 
 
Must search my history and share. 
 
 

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 0:57 utc | 135

Well that should help the Qataris like Iran much more. Well done US.
 
US = Stupid is as stupid does. 
 
$tock market in$ider round-about continues for the few. Makin’ hay while the Sun shines.
 
America heads further towards abys.  Ordinary Tom Joad Americans lose, US greedy billionaires think they are winning.
 
Zelensky show ending in nothing, but Washington was a good excuse to get out of the danger zone. He brandished a sign on claimed lower Putin popularity, while in Ukraine his popularity is zilch with continued demonstrations in major cities, and much the same for president Yaldabaoth in the US. (Shh don’t mention it). Losing is the new winning. Making Maya (illusion) Great Again.

Posted by: GeorgeWendell | Aug 1 2026 0:58 utc | 136

found an opposing answer==
 

AI Overview

+3

 

 

Iran has an established domestic aerospace industry capable of producing solid and liquid rocket propellants, meaning the premise that it cannot make missile fuel is incorrect. Public discussions on platforms like r/geopolitics and r/CredibleDefense focus instead on whether international sanctions and targeted military strikes can bottleneck the speed at which Iran manufactures precision components and replenishes its large ballistic missile stockpiles. [1, 2, 3]

Missile Fuel and Production Realities

  • Domestic Capability: Iran manufactures its own composite solid propellants and liquid rocket fuels for its vast inventory of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

 

 

Posted by: arby | Aug 1 2026 0:58 utc | 137

NATO deployment in Gulf States
 

According to the defence ministry’s website, around 400 Italian air force personnel have ⁠been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain since March.
Lawmakers from Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party have accused the government of failing to seek parliamentary authorisation for the mission, saying Saudi Arabia was outside the scope of ‌a mandate approved for overseas military assignments.
 

In what tasks?

Posted by: Oui | Aug 1 2026 0:58 utc | 138

Empire of Dirt (& vid)
 
https://x.com/gandocraft/status/2080750349204238762
 
“How do I answer…my precious son…I will make them pay.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 1 2026 1:04 utc | 139

Israelis dancing to the death of 3,000 souls
 
The five Israelis from front enterprise Urban Moving were Mossad agents. In addition there was a swarm of Israeli students spying on America.

Posted by: Oui | Aug 1 2026 1:10 utc | 140

Do most people looking for answers from these AI entities have said info?
Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 31 2026 21:03 utc | 104
 
Not unless they have paper written records, which are now being slowly expunged from libraries.

Like a scene out of the classic dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451,” some AI companies aren’t just reading books—they’re destroying them.
As developers race to build more powerful AI models, and lawsuits over copyright mount, a cottage industry has sprung up to supply them with millions of physical books that are stripped apart, scanned into training datasets, and discarded.

And Google won’t help because more and more information is being filtered through an a.i gatekeeper.
 
 
 

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 1 2026 1:10 utc | 141

This is a video of the Welsh national anthem. The first national anthem sung before an international sports match – Wales v New Zealand in a rugby union match in 1905 – which started the tradition.
 
GOOSEBUMPS! Wales fans deliver incredible rendition of the national anthem 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Posted by: Siddhartha | Aug 1 2026 1:10 utc | 142

~ Hanging Levels ~
 
Further to my immediately-preceding comment regarding the USrael symbiont/tag-team, the lowest hanging fruit to be picked-off (by Iran and allies) would seem to be the US’ military bases, such that Iran appears to be doing. 
 
But also, when Iran picks off the lowest hanging fruit, it not only weakens the US et al, but strengthens Iran and allies’ positions by leaving the increasingly-fruitless places– Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, etc.– more vulnerable. 
 
So then, what might be the next level up? How about Israel? How long could it last? Well, if we take June 2025 as a gauge, without even including its allies’ missing fruit,  how about ~12 days?
 
Bizarre Planet

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Aug 1 2026 1:16 utc | 143

‘Iran has an established domestic aerospace industry capable of producing solid and liquid rocket propellants, meaning the premise that it cannot make missile fuel is incorrect’ – arby 137

But arby, that ‘opposing answer’ to what you began with at comment 129 doesn’t contradict the problem outlined in that comment, namely:

‘Iran faces severe constraints and disruptions in producing solid rocket propellant, relying heavily on foreign precursor imports like sodium perchlorate from China while dealing with extensive wartime damage to its domestic defense infrastructure.’

That just reiterates that Iran can produce the stuff itself.

Just like advancing in nuclear technology.

Iran has some of the best scientists in the world despite so many being killed over the years.

But if there are in fact ‘severe constraints and disruptions’ of sodium perchlorate from China and severe constraints and disruptions of other necessary material requirements…and if ‘extensive wartime damage to its domestic defense infrastructure’ is even somewhat a reality, then the scientific and in-house capabilities are not able to be utilized to the degree necessary.

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 1 2026 1:18 utc | 144

My read of MbS is a highly compromised individual with very deep ties to Epstein and Kushner.
 
The Saudis move on Yemen is because they understood that Ansar Allah would sooner rather than later play the Bab El Mandeb card. Iran’s move to break the blockade meant it was curtains for the Saudis. 
 
The Saudis role in the region is as hegemon for the Arab world. This topic has been covered by barflies during the Syrian war.
 
My take is that the Saudis were encouraged to move as the Kurdish option has been torpedoed by Iran. 
 
I often wonder why Iran has not targeted UAE and Isreali assets on Socotra Island?

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 1:23 utc | 145

food and toilet paper don’t last forever out there.
Posted by: Trubind1 | Jul 31 2026 16:52 utc | 41
 
*****************
 
Order is important: remove the right one, and you eliminate the need for the other…

Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 1:24 utc | 146

@Suresh | Aug 1 2026 0:57 utc | 135:
 
Aside from the ridiculous amount of bookmarks that I have that are solely related to this Middle East war, what I’ve been doing occasionally is selecting many of the links from the folks here at MoA and, after viewing/reading them, if they pass muster, stripping their article/video links down to the roots and bookmarking those. Often, if not usually, we can also get great links within those links and so on, like a matryoshka of relevant information.
 
The Dumb Revolution

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Aug 1 2026 1:24 utc | 147

see the illustration/info at the first link
 
see the 19-second video at the second link
 
 
 
 
https://x.com/ME_Observer_/status/2083333505824731159
Middle East Observer  @ME_Observer_ 
 
A coalition of 14 Islamic countries got formed in order to help Saudi Arabia maintain it’s blockade on Yemen by attempting to lift the Yemeni siege on Saudi Arabia 
 
Do you think this block of 14 powerful Islamic countries will head to lift the siege on Gaza after liberating Saudi Arabia from oppression ?
 
—————————–
 
https://x.com/sahouraxo/status/2083212759311736940
sarah  @sahouraxo 
 
700 tons of explosives. 
 
Israel detonated 700 tons of explosives beneath Beaufort Castle in South Lebanon, in the middle of the night. 
 
A 900-year-old Crusader castle that UNESCO just listed as endangered heritage.
 
————————-
 
https://www.presstv.co.uk/Detail/2026/07/31/773472/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-oil-tankers-Bab-el-Mandeb-Good-Hope
Yemen turns away 8 Saudi oil tankers in continued implementation of ‘siege for siege’ equation 
 
Yemen’s armed forces have prevented the passage of eight Saudi oil tankers through the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait in line with implementation of Sana’a’s “siege for siege” equation that seeks to retaliate against Riyadh’s blockade on the impoverished Arab Peninsula nation. 
 
“In line with the ‘siege for siege’ equation and as a result of our armed forces tightening the naval blockade on Saudi enemy oil tankers, 8 Saudi oil tankers were forced to change course towards the Strait of Good Hope,” the servicemen’s spokesman Brigadier Yahya Saree said in a statement on Friday..
 
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies imposed the blockade on Yemen as part of a full-scale military campaign launched on March 26, 2015, with military, political, and logistical backing from the United States and other Western countries. 
 
The war went on to result in the deaths of tens of thousands of Yemenis, but failed to achieve its stated objective of restoring Yemen’s former Riyadh-backed regime to power…….

Posted by: michaelj72 | Aug 1 2026 1:27 utc | 148

^ …So link discovery is (also) a process.

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Aug 1 2026 1:29 utc | 149

But how many Americans can do basic math these days?  “In the United States, 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level, 20% are below 5th-grade level, and 21% are illiterate.”Source: The National Literacy Institute, World of Statistics (@stats_feed) February 1, 2025
Posted by: Perimetr | Jul 31 2026 19:44 utc | 77
 
***************
 
That’s terrible! Within the United States, 54% below 6th-grade, 20% below 5th-grade, and 21% illiterate…. let’s see (one of the literati strokes their chin) 54 + 20 + 21 (punches calculator – and remembers to press the %-key) only 5% are literate?? So who can enumerate how many are numerate? And don’t try to confuse me with fancy statistics – it ain’t fair  🙂

Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 1:41 utc | 150

Posted by: Perimetr | Jul 31 2026 19:44 utc | 77Oh, a shot at the slaves.  How about the Zio Imperialist ruling class that oppresses and destroys them?  Got any barbs for them?  
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jul 31 2026 19:47 utc | 79
 
***********
 
No – but I hear that a shovel and a lump of charcoal has been used as a remedy in the past.

Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 1:43 utc | 151

BREAKING: CBS (owned by Israel) reporting Israeli/US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure this weekend.  HOPEFULLY this is just BS to get oil to spike so zionist billionaires and the Trump Boyz can make money on oil, but this doesn’t look good.  Bibi came over.
Israel is run by crazed Talmud Amolek Nutters who actually believe Israel has to get into trouble, which brings their false messiah, he wins the war, rebuilds the temple, and enslaves the goy.  And Trump is being told every day by the judeo-Christian Paula White that everytime he bombs Iran, God is blessing him.
So I can see Bibi ordering his b!tch to do this.  Burn it all to the ground.  Everyone here knows what this means.  Fill up your vehicles this weekend.  It will help a little.

Posted by: JackG | Aug 1 2026 1:48 utc | 152

Receipts:

Washington — The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-israel-iran-war-energy-related-targets-trump/
Bibi is the boss.  Bibi knows who is boss.

Posted by: JackG | Aug 1 2026 1:50 utc | 153

https://x.com/ME_Observer_/status/2083333505824731159Middle East Observer  @ME_Observer_  ‘A coalition of 14 Islamic countries got formed in order to help Saudi Arabia maintain it’s blockade on Yemen by attempting to lift the Yemeni siege on Saudi Arabia  Do you think this block of 14 powerful Islamic countries will head to lift the siege on Gaza after liberating Saudi Arabia from oppression?’ ”
Posted by: michaelj72 | Aug 1 2026 1:27 utc | 148

China and Russia are not on that list.
China and Russia have a kind of quasi or at least historical communist bent of course, while some of those on the list are oligarchies, if understood correctly, while countries like the US, along with UK and its king, Charles, might as well lean toward oligarchy with crony-capitalist plutarchy flavours– a juxtaposition of communism or ‘sociocommunism’. 
 
Meanwhile China has been bitch-slapping the US with its open source AI models, with AI being one of the largest, if not the largest investments into the American pseudoeconomy– bubbles and all that.
____
 
“Communists and anarchists are working for the same eventual goal of a society without hierarchy. In one way communism and anarchy are pretty much the same concept: a stateless, classless society in which no one rules over others. Communists just believe that hierarchical means (the state, perhaps ruled by a Communist vanguard) can be used in the transition to this end, while anarchists believe in using only non-hierarchical, decentralized means.
As an anarchist my personal opinion is that the ends don’t justify the means, and that only non-hierarchical organization can bring about a successful revolution to a non-hierarchical society. I just don’t think it’s very realistic that any government, Communist or not, would voluntarily step down from power. Communists, on the other hand, don’t think it’s very realistic to manage a revolution in a completely decentralized, non-authoritarian manner.”
~ Eleutherios
 

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Aug 1 2026 1:52 utc | 154

140: IIRC one of the top Pentagon (SecDef)? bigwigs was sent to Antarctica that week.  Bush was also out of the picture reading books at a children’s school, which we know Presidents do every day.
 
The key question to ask is, When the third plane was unexpectedly taken out, Why was it still so important to implode Bld 7? 

Posted by: Imagine | Aug 1 2026 1:52 utc | 155

O/t
Before I forget. 
 
The Bogan Intelligentsia with guest  Maj Cameron Lockie.

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 1:53 utc | 156

For what it’s worth this is the average IQ by country for 2026.
 
Average IQ by Country 2026 (Map and Global Ranking)
 

Posted by: Siddhartha | Aug 1 2026 1:55 utc | 157

Trump being peculiarly picky. Kinda gay. Apparently the beggar insists on fillet mignon. 🤷

Posted by: Unsafe Data | Aug 1 2026 1:55 utc | 158

Darn shame when you are hoping this is just more corruption from Trump.

Posted by: JackG | Aug 1 2026 1:56 utc | 159

Funny to see you ridicule the math skills of others, while you failed to spot the obvious fallacy in the post you quoted.
Posted by: catdog | Jul 31 2026 20:44 utc | 99
 
****************
 
The funniest thing is that you think it is funny that you think you are clever enough to spot a maths fallacy where someone presenting critical facts is funny because you think he hoists himself on his own petard because it is funny that he has been unable to see the fallacy trap which you unwittingly fall into and fallaciously believe exists and you heartily laugh along with the guffaws in the bar because you think the bar is laughing at Mr. Perimetr…
 
Funny, that  🙂

Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 1:57 utc | 160

michaelj72 | Aug 1 2026 1:27 utc | 148
*** Israel detonated 700 tons of explosives beneath Beaufort Castle in South Lebanon, in the middle of the night. A 900-year-old Crusader castle that UNESCO just listed as endangered heritage. ***
 
 
Soon they will be forcing everyone, everywhere, to (pretend to) approve of such actions — or be severely punished by their bought, infiltrated and imposed regimes for alleged “antisemitism!”

Posted by: Cynic | Aug 1 2026 1:58 utc | 161

see the photo at the first/second link. You see this once, and you know that the israeli IDF sc*m have done this and much much worse 10,000+ times. israel delenda est
 
 
 
https://x.com/Advil/status/2083237485329653783
abdul 🌌📷  @Advil 
 
the man in the photo is my cousin Mahmoud Al Dremali. my family is in a panic trying to find info on what the zios did to him and if he’s alive. we have no information at all.
 
 
https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/2082547326930022597
Drop Site  @DropSiteNews 
 
⭕️ Two Israeli female soldiers photographed themselves posing beside a young, blindfolded Palestinian detainee who appears to be a minor and proudly posted the image on Instagram.   
 
The post, which circulated widely online and was reviewed by Drop Site News, was uploaded by Israeli soldier Nikol Stelmashvski as part of a 20-photo carousel containing additional images from her time in Gaza. Her account [@ nikol.stel, IG] has since been made private after the photo drew public backlash. 
 
The image is the latest in a documented pattern of Israeli soldiers publicly sharing evidence of Palestinian detainees being humiliated or abused. Such conduct violates international humanitarian law, which prohibits the degrading treatment of detainees.
 
——————————-
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Ww2us7wBA
Alastair Crooke: Iran DESTROYS THREE F-35s as US Attacks BACKFIRE, Trump in PANIC MODE 
Danny Haiphong  Danny Haiphong  676K subscribers 
 
Alastair Crooke discusses renewed US bombing of Iran, Iran retaliating by destroying three fighter jets in Jordan, and Trump’s panic as the US runs out of military options.
 

Posted by: michaelj72 | Aug 1 2026 1:59 utc | 162

@Gen Factorum.
 
I can’t believe you just went there?
 
Toon soon, dude!!!

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 2:00 utc | 163

“Bibi is the boss.  Bibi knows who is boss.”
Posted by: JackG | Aug 1 2026 1:50 utc | 153

____
 
If it’s in the US’ best interests too, they will go with it. That’s symbiosis.
 
Like ‘boss’, in retail they throw fancy titles on the wage-slaves, like ‘manager’ and ‘director’, as part of the psy-op, part of their brainwashing. Look at me, I can put ‘manager’ on my resume, now.
 
Nowadays, they also stick cameras on the ceilings everywhere for good measure, both to keep an eye on the staff, but also on the dissident customers who might wish to put too much milk at the milk/sugar-station in their expresso shots for self-discounted lattes.

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Aug 1 2026 2:06 utc | 164

@ 150
The hypnosis into dull thinking was a planned choice, by western civilizations. A more easily controlled population, that is incapable of critical thought and realization of their state of existence. It’s a self defeating idea. 

Posted by: Upsidedowndingo | Aug 1 2026 2:09 utc | 165

Knowlege is not the same as intelligence.

Posted by: Strange Bedfellow | Aug 1 2026 2:17 utc | 166

@ 150The hypnosis into dull thinking was a planned choice, by western civilizations. A more easily controlled population, that is incapable of critical thought and realization of their state of existence. It’s a self defeating idea. 
Posted by: Upsidedowndingo | Aug 1 2026 2:09 utc | 165
 
******************
 
I have a personal aversion to the perspective that ‘it is always someone else’s fault’ or that ‘this is the result of some grand manipulative plan’. I don’t know whether there is such a thing as intellectual entropy but it seems ubiquitous. It might also just be mental laziness 🙂 . That could also be ‘self-fulfilling’  – and it requires no external control.
 
The effective exercise of self discipline takes quite a lot of self-discipline.

Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 2:31 utc | 167

On missile interceptors,
 
Who cares that the stockpiles of these missiles are running low? They don’t work in the first place, so what’s the difference if one has any or not?
 
 
Professor Ted Postol just told us that they have an effective rate of 3-5% interception, at best.
 
So, why the big dust up? Talk to me about offensive weapons. How low are they? That’s what matters. Well, kinda, that is, if one is able to do close up battle damage studies at the destination, not just satellite images.
 
 

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Aug 1 2026 2:32 utc | 168

‘The key question to ask is, When the third plane was unexpectedly taken out, Why was it still so important to implode Bld 7?’ – Imagine 155

The Salomon Brothers Building was where all the evidence was.

https://archive.ph/E7aOV#selection-1879.0-1879.13

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-cia-lost-office-in-wtc/?index=1

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 1 2026 2:34 utc | 169

It’s pointless to argue with Zio apologists who also happen to be empire haters. The whole tail vs. dog thing is a gross oversimplification.  As another poster said there is a symbiosis in the manner of a host parasite relationship that takes a little longer to kill the host (that has plenty of problems of its own making) and renders the host under bodily control and then paralyzed on certain policy positions, then on everything.
 
New research provides even more poetic insight.
 
https://www.science.org/content/article/fungus-takes-control-ant-hijacking-its-body-not-its-brain

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 1 2026 2:40 utc | 170

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Aug 1 2026 2:32 utc | 168
 
The THAAD and Arrow systems do work better than PATRIOT PAC3.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 1 2026 2:45 utc | 171

 
 
Jul 31 2026 23:47 utc | 125
 
re:A-10’s, Apache’s in the Hormuz,
 
Why do I get a sense of ‘heavy consistent fog’ 
 
I take alot of these are turkey shoots, I can confidently speculate that since the many hits evidenced in the Ukraine of Patriot systems (which require 80-100 man team to operate) and Himars destroyed, all manned by Americans, not Slavs, Europeans of any kind.  Unreported, hidden deaths exceeding tens of thousands of americans between the Ukraine and Iran. 
 
It is also a possiblity a secret deal was made between Trump and Putine not to target these systems of recent as we don’t hear of any destructions either of Himars or Patriots in the Ukraine theatre. 
 
Centcom, the US government is so accustomed to hiding the true casualties, black outs, bans, that its become delusional in this modern day of conflicts by the West. 
 
I’m going to bet the probability scale higher favours the IRGC  – as more likely the truth executioner, than not. 

Posted by: CrazyCanuck | Aug 1 2026 2:59 utc | 172

Mahmood OD: ‘Mass IDF Walkout’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@Mahmood_OD/videos
 
“100 IDF refuse order and run away from base in Israel.”
 
 

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 1 2026 3:26 utc | 173

@102 Strange Bedfellow
 
“I am inclined to see Israel and the USA as a kind of symbiosis,…”
 
Certainly by this point, but it did not have to turn out this way.  It was a result of post WWII strategy that it “ended” up this way. My complaint is that if they are so smart then how can one believe in any god let alone theirs?
 

 
I will end here as to no longer bore you with AI’s programmed nonsense answers.
 
Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 31 2026 21:20 utc | 108
 
Ai will not let one confirm conspiracy theories using its LLM unless you have asked enough questions to generate a defensible trail when it finally gives you “what you want” or “what you know to be true”.   Dan you seem to prove that point. 
 
I have found applying the Socratic method to this trove of information has allowed me to ask the questions I wanted to know.  If you cannot discern its power or limits then maybe do not waste your time or the energy?
 

Posted by: Laradise | Aug 1 2026 3:33 utc | 174

It seems like all is fairly quite in the ME tonight.
 
Is that a good or bad thing?
 
I have been waiting 50+ years to see the festering social organization cancer of the God Of Mammon cult and their global private financial jackboot challenged and I am pleased to see such in what remains of my lifetime.
 
I think it might be clear that some, if not all, of the gulf monarchies set up in the early 1970’s will disappear as part of what we are seeing…..Bahrain and Kuwait seem to be the low hanging fruit there followed by UAE, eh?
I think it is possible that all of the ME GCC nations and maybe more are thrown into a regional war that redraws the lines of nation states and reconstitutes the public therein along more sectarian lines….may cause significant migration but look what migration empire caused…..I would think that the EU countries would approve because it should stop the flood of folks out of the region.
 
Change provides opportunity for growth but the question remains if our species will take the challenge to move beyond patriarchal barbarism of the God Of Mammon cult.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 1 2026 3:41 utc | 175

quiet = quite……grin!

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 1 2026 3:42 utc | 176

I suspect the Ukraine hit on Iran via the Caspian Sea was ordered by the Hegemon and attributed to Ukraine to prevent fallout to enabling littoral states.
 
Going back to WWIII hypothesis, we can see that the moves were more or less played out to be separate/regional conflicts instead of moves in the same game.
 
Every move in the ME was initiated by the hegemon’s genocidal attack dog until Iran hit back directly, resulting in the hegemon stepping up and pretending to be defending its pet it.
 
The Ukraine war was always meant to fail. Russia was supposed to have conquered it and be stuck in a Afghanistan quagmire. Bleeding the country economically, militarily and sowing discord within the population. Except Russia pulled back and systematically dismantled that plan.
 
Along comes Dumpster diver. 
 
A man so stupid, he still thinks he’s in the driver’s seat. 
 
Here’s the real clincher, decapitation strikes to topple regimes will not work in Russia or Iran, or even Ukraine and the Colony for entirely different reasons.
 
But Jordan, KSA, the GCC, Lebanon, Syria. Now we talking.

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 3:44 utc | 177

R2R: ‘What Crimes Are They Plotting?’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@reason2resist/videos
 
Report: US & Israel may be planning to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure this weekend.’
 
“Today, after meeting earlier this week with Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Donald Trump convened a cabinet meeting at Camp David. According to CBS News, multiple sources say that Trump & Netanyahu are planning large scale attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, possibly this weekend and that those attacks were discussed by Trump’s cabal of war criminals at Camp David today.
 
In this report, Dimitri Lascaris discusses the possibility that the Epstein regime is about to engage in a massive escalation of its war on The Resistance:” ‘The United States is NOT yet defeated.’
 
 

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 1 2026 3:46 utc | 178

“Communists and anarchists are working for the same eventual goal of a society without hierarchy.

In one way communism and anarchy are pretty much the same concept: a stateless, classless society in which no one rules over others.

Communists just believe that hierarchical means (the state, perhaps ruled by a Communist vanguard) can be used in the transition to this end, while anarchists believe in using only non-hierarchical, decentralized means.

As an anarchist my personal opinion is that the ends don’t justify the means, and that only non-hierarchical organization can bring about a successful revolution to a non-hierarchical society.

I just don’t think it’s very realistic that any government, Communist or not, would voluntarily step down from power.

Communists, on the other hand, don’t think it’s very realistic to manage a revolution in a completely decentralized, non-authoritarian manner.” – Eleutherios via Strange Bedfellow 154

I like this.

I am an ‘anarchist’ by this definition.

But I also have what I would refer to as a ‘soft’ American identity meaning I’m not a ‘hardened’ rabid flag-waving nationalist.

But I am an American whether I like it or not.

I was born and spent all iteration of ‘formative’ years here.

I continue to live here.

How could I not be some version of American?

https://web.archive.org/web/20091113131636/http://www.revleft.com/vb/anarchism-vs-communism-t43153/index.html

https://archive.ph/vKDpE#selection-1843.0-1843.6

‘I am an ‘anarchist’ by this definition.’

But it doesn’t end there!

The back-and-forth in that RevLeft link illustrates why ‘god and country’ or something simple and similarly ‘strong’ almost always wins out.

Fortunately – or not – I know a place where a royal flush can never beat a pair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6V5DXk6TbA&list=RDr6V5DXk6TbA&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCxVZwh4AtA&list=RDoCxVZwh4AtA&start_radio=1

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 1 2026 3:46 utc | 179

 
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-warns-of-major-response-to-any-attacks-on-infrastructur
Iran warns of major response to any attacks on infrastructure  
A senior Iranian security official says Tehran has prepared a broad response plan targeting Israeli infrastructure and US energy assets in the region. 
 
Iran has warned that it has prepared a broad response plan targeting Israeli infrastructure and US energy assets in the region following reports that Washington and Tel Aviv are considering strikes against Iran’s energy sector. 
A senior Iranian security official told Tasnim News Agency that reports by US media regarding possible attacks on Iranian infrastructure represent “madness,” adding that Tehran is prepared to respond. 
 
We consider the claims by American media regarding possible attacks by the US and the regime on Iran’s infrastructure to be a kind of madness,” the official said. 
“Because we have prepared an extensive response plan that includes the vital infrastructure of the Zionist regime and US energy infrastructure in the region, and we are prepared for it,” he added.
 
The remarks came after CBS News reported that the United States and “Israel” were preparing what it described as one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy-related targets in Iran. 
According to CBS, citing multiple sources, possible targets include Iranian power plants and refineries, with strikes potentially taking place over the weekend. The report said discussions had included concerns over the impact of any attacks on US and global financial markets……
 
———————-
 
https://roburie.substack.com/p/is-donald-trump-trying-to-end-the
Is Donald Trump Trying to End the World?  – by Rob Urie
 
…..What makes Trump such a dangerous fool in the present circumstance is that he doesn’t know history or strategy and he has surrounded himself with self-interested fools, liars and thieves. But most of all, Trump doesn’t understand elementary school arithmetic. Every day that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed removes 20% of that day’s oil and gas supply from global markets. That day’s shortfall bleeds over into the next day’s accumulated aggregate supply shortfall. It is the accumulated shortfall that measures the economic damage underway.   
 
Energy supplies aren’t like toaster ovens in the sense that toaster ovens aren’t crucial to the functioning of broader economies. Toaster ovens don’t run cars or factories, airlines or the internet, and they don’t heat houses when it is twenty-five degrees below zero in the winter. The modern world has been built around cheap, plentiful supplies of oil and gas. Many of us have argued for decades that doing so is a terrible idea and that unstable dependencies will one day kill millions. That day may be here. 
 
Despite the crimp that midterm elections could put into Trump’s capacity to govern, US actions appear determined to prolong the economic disruption. Why would Iran give up its strategic position? And what would be achieved by the US through renewed assault? More dead Iranians and destroyed buildings, but no compelling reason for Iran to capitulate. However, the threatened Iranian response could create the worst humanitarian disaster in human history. And given that doing so would be in response to attacks by the US and / or Israel, the ensuing disaster would be on them……
 

Posted by: michaelj72 | Aug 1 2026 3:50 utc | 180

After several drafts, I published, World War Three: The War to End Hegemony & Exceptionalism. The sentiments of people within a growing number of nations point to the fact that fewer can be co-opted into becoming Universal Soldiers, which is a good starting point. Barring sociopaths from all forms of power is a step that people must collectively enforce. And then there’s the need to break the Money Power into the innumerable pieces its members want to see Russia reduced to. I hope people will adopt the framing the title provides.  

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 1 2026 4:07 utc | 181

In the event of a coming  surprise attack:
 
Senior Security Officer to Tasnim News….
 
https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/2083320695950291183
 
“…We have prepared a comprehensive plan to respond, which includes critical infrastructure of the Israeli regime and US energy infrastructure in the region, and we are ready to implement it.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 1 2026 4:10 utc | 182

‘If you cannot discern its power or limits then maybe do not waste your time or the energy?’ – Laradise 174

Oh, not to worry Laradise: I don’t.

That was simply for illustrative purposes.

I mostly work and listen to music and go for walks ‘through nature’…and on the street.

I also enjoy sunbathing in the nude.

Salaam and Peace be with You.

https://youtu.be/2k_9mXpNdgU?t=144

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 1 2026 4:10 utc | 183

Posted by: Laradise | Aug 1 2026 3:33 utc | 174
 
Have you seen Ron Unz’s queries to AI re: 9/11?
 
Pretty interesting.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 1 2026 4:23 utc | 184

The false “China” narrative.  Which is zio slop.
Play it out.  Suppose Iran completely surrenders, overthrows the government, and installs a zio government.  Then what?  What additional leverage does the US gain over “China”?  Cut off its oil?  It’s already blockading the Strait.  So if they are going to commit an act of war and try to cut off oil to China, they can already do it.  And that does nothing vs. China’s Russia supply from ESPO and Sakhalin.  Cutting off oil to China is an act of war whether you refuse passage of Chinese tankers, or whether you do a blockade.  It’s zio slop.  Iran stands in the way of the Greater Israel Project and Trump is in the mossad Epstein files.  The ZOG goal is a major war in the mid-east with the destruction of everyone involved so they can 10X the size of Israel.  And they truly believe that during this war their false messiah will appear, win the war, rebuild the temple, and enslave the goy.

Posted by: JackG | Aug 1 2026 4:25 utc | 185

So, we can see that the AI’s will spit out all sorts of BS unless you already have info to counter with.
 
Do most people looking for answers from these AI entities have said info?
 
Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 31 2026 21:03 utc | 104

 
The bots do have a knack for telling people what they want to hear, which presumably enhances the illusion of sentience  … many people react by feeling the AI is amazingly smart by giving them most of what they already suspected, and a little bit of new stuff gleaned from search results.
 
Of course, there’s humans been using this trick for centuries and you can buy books on “Cold Reading” to work through the details. There’s plenty of professional “mind readers” who know very well how to regurgitate back the same vibes people are giving them and they make a living out of it.

Posted by: Tel | Aug 1 2026 4:27 utc | 186

Re the Givati Brigade.
 
Notice no one talks about the symbols and  idols statues destroyed by the unit commander?
 
Were they related to an older Hebrew tradition (bronze age) currently being passed off as Canaanite?
 
Hope Alon Mizrahi covers this topic.

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 4:28 utc | 187

General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 1:24 utc | 146
you gave me a good lough!
todays comments keep my ‘sleep hygiene’ in teribble disorder;)

Posted by: fanto | Aug 1 2026 4:28 utc | 188

Thankfully, Tiger by the tail is missing.
 
Its cubicle mates, girlboy and Ken Dally are.
 
Unfortunately.
 
Who’s getting the votes, Dan?

Posted by: Suresh | Aug 1 2026 4:36 utc | 189

@ fanto | Aug 1 2026 4:28 utc | 188
 
ditto! thanks gf.. you are a lot of fun to be around! 

Posted by: james | Aug 1 2026 4:40 utc | 190

Posted by: JackG | Aug 1 2026 4:25 utc | 185
 
100% agree on the surface. But we have some 5-D Trump delusional chess players on this board, so let’s see what they can come up with. 

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 1 2026 4:56 utc | 191

 That’s terrible! Within the United States, 54% below 6th-grade, 20% below 5th-grade, and 21% illiterate…. let’s see (one of the literati strokes their chin) 54 + 20 + 21 (punches calculator – and remembers to press the %-key) only 5% are literate?? So who can enumerate how many are numerate? And don’t try to confuse me with fancy statistics – it ain’t fair  🙂
 
Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 1 2026 1:41 utc | 150

 
Ooh, I know, I know!  It’s that same literate 5%!  They’re numerately literate!  And they’re all Orthodox!
 
Or … is it literally numerate?  Oh dear.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 1 2026 4:59 utc | 192

‘many people react by feeling the AI is amazingly smart by giving them most of what they already suspected, and a little bit of new stuff gleaned from search results’ – Tel 186

Indeed…that seems to be the built-in default.

Although I don’t know if it’s always ‘what people suspected’ in that many use it not necessarily suspecting anything specific per se rather they are just curious about a subject they know nothing or next to nothing about.

This curiosity may be genuine or it may be induced because a school paper needs to be written – or both.

But I agree that there is confirmation bias at play. It is easy to see when you steer it yourself towards something.

You can really mess with it by constantly using its own words to counteract what it states as truth.

It apologized to me on numerous occasions.

It will also give an almost entirely different answer to the exact same question.

I once wrote ‘but you said this yesterday’ and it politely reminded that it is an AI without sentience or sustained memory.

I obviously know that but I enjoy ‘talking’ to it sometimes as opposed to straight querying.

Evidently most people use it in this fashion and it is increasing as AI ‘gets better’ at mimicking human conversation. This includes even coders and others who are more prone to straight queries.

So it’s good to know what it is saying based on different methods of interacting with it.

If you use a straight socratic method such as Laradise suggested it will respond in a similar fashion to the Ron Unz queries Tom_Q_Collins mentioned.

When I was playing around with it earlier I was doing a lot more than I posted here. I wanted to include more but I was unable to include it all in a comment or two or three. I tried but it wasn’t coming out well.

You will absolutely hit a wall if you dare to ask about and seriously pursue the overwhelming degree of Jewish Establishment institutional power in relation to the miniscule population of Jewish people.

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 1 2026 5:04 utc | 193

@ Tom 191 
 
I was only recently thinking what has happened with all the ‘aggressive’ Pro-Trump Maga Anti-TDS talking heads who used to be flooding this forum last year. Suddenly, almost out of the blue, there were none. Or they have been awfully quiet. After 18 months of Donald J Trump and his Clown Show the change had to arrive sooner or later. 
 
@ Suresh 189  you talking to me? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QWL-FwX4t4 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 1 2026 5:08 utc | 194

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 1 2026 5:04 utc | 193
 
https://www.unz.com/factcheck/factcheck-american-pravda-remembering-the-9-11-truth-movement/

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 1 2026 5:09 utc | 195

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 1 2026 5:08 utc | 194
 
Absolutely. And at least one of them was so prideful that I more than once guaratneed a full blown war on Iran if Trump were to get a 2nd term BEFORE Biden was elected and then Trump followed again that he has totally disappeared.
 
One of the regular trolls makes it sound like I’m some kind of dumbass who gets pleasure out of things like this. I just call ’em like I see ’em, and some people apparently hate being wrong so badly that they just disappear.
 
Whatever, right? 

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Aug 1 2026 5:11 utc | 196

This is the Iran thread, correct?
 
From Iranintl….note the specificity of targets
 

Iran-linked outlet names regional energy infrastructure at risk from escalation

 

Nour News, a media outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on Saturday that any US strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure could trigger a wider regional energy crisis and disrupt global oil markets.
The outlet said such an attack could put major energy facilities across the region at risk, including Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar oil field and Abqaiq and Khurais facilities, the UAE’s Zakum field and Ruwais refinery, Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex, Kuwait’s Burgan field, Bahrain’s Sitra refinery, and the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields.
“If Tehran concludes that the aim of an attack is to create lasting disruption to the country’s economic capacity, it is natural that it will seek to increase the cost for the other side,” the report said, warning that an attack on Iran’s energy sector could escalate into “an energy security crisis” with global economic consequences.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 1 2026 5:15 utc | 197

@ 196 I hear ya. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 1 2026 5:35 utc | 198

I have found applying the Socratic method to this trove of information has allowed me to ask the questions I wanted to know.  If you cannot discern its power or limits then maybe do not waste your time or the energy?
 
Posted by: Laradise | Aug 1 2026 3:33 utc | 174
 
You’re smarter than the average Bear, said Boo Boo Bear. 🙂 Keep playing with it. Check your own shifting assumptions as you go along. Or the natural way you “adjust” as you go. First principles is you’re in the drivers seat. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 1 2026 5:44 utc | 199

psychohistorian | Aug 1 2026 5:15 utc | 197
 
From a recent article at The China Academy, Capital Without Wall Street: How China Runs Markets Without Market Rule
 

Finance is usually presented as a technical subject: interest rates, credit, stock exchanges and risk. But beneath all of these mechanisms lies a political question.
 
Who owns the productive wealth of society? Who receives the gains when finance succeeds? And when it fails, who is left carrying the losses?
 
China’s answer is neither the abolition of markets nor their elevation into a ruling principle. Financial markets are permitted to grow, direct investment and reward innovation. But they are expected to remain subordinate to public goals.
 
That distinction is central to understanding China’s socialist market economy.

 
And it’s in English!

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 1 2026 5:46 utc | 200