US President Donald Trump has declared that the US Navy will immediately begin a “blockade” of the Strait of Hormuz after talks with Iran in Islamabad ended without agreement. He accused Tehran of extortion, referring to the fees charged to vessels seeking to traverse the strategically vital waterway.

“I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” the US president stated on Truth Social. He went on to claim that “other Countries will be involved with this Blockade.”

Trump also said the US Navy will begin destroying Iranian mines in the strait, threatening that Tehran’s forces attempting to obstruct the effort “will be BLOWN TO HELL!”

Just as world events have forced him to update his famous thesis on “the end of history”, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama this week sought to backtrack on his later book that characterised the United States as a “high-trust society”.

Trump has an Achilles heel, and the Iran war has exposed it

America’s standing in the world is at a low ebb – not just because of the way Trump has prosecuted the war against Iran, but because of how he’s pursued foreign policy more broadly.

BY Michael Koziol

[Professor Schlevogt]... There is a time for goodbye – and a time for reunion.

When foreign companies beat a hasty retreat from Russia in 2022 amid the Ukraine conflict, they framed their departures as a moral necessity.

In truth, for many, it was a costly act of panic: Abrupt, politically driven, and strategically short-sighted.

Now, as the global business climate is tempered by a more sober reality, the moment has come for foreign multinationals to reconsider – true to the old wisdom that illness is best treated early, before it turns chronic.

Returning to Russia is not merely an opportunity for commercial redemption; it is a strategic imperative for those seeking long-term relevance in one of the world’s most critical markets – and an exceptional opportunity for first-time entrants far-sighted and bold enough to seize it.

The high-level talks involving the Iranian, US and Pakistani delegations in Islamabad are continuing into Saturday night, a senior White House official has confirmed to the press.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is leading the Iranian side; US Vice President J.D. Vance heads the American team.

Iran has arrived with a message of deep mistrust. Ghalibaf said Tehran has goodwill despite the US attacking Iran “twice within less than a year” in the middle of negotiations.

Vance struck a similar tone, saying earlier that he expects productive talks while warning Iran not to “play” the US.

AS THE PRICE OF GOLD AND THE AVAILABILITY OF OIL ARE ROCKING THE BOAT SO TO SPEAK, AFTER YEARS OF PETRODOLLAR AND AMERICAN DOMINATION OF ECONOMIC EXCHANGE, ONE NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH VALUES…

BUYING AND SELLING STUFF IS BASICALLY AT THE CORE OF DEMOCRATIC VALUES. WE CAN BELIEVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS, IN EQUAL VOTES AND ALL EQUITABLE HANDSHAKES, WE ARE AT THE MERCY OF WHAT WE NEED AND WANT. WANTS AND NEEDS ARE OFTEN THE RESULTANTS OF MANIPULATION OF POLITICAL MECHANISMS AND OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISING COMPETITION. 

AS ISRAEL HAS BEEN THE MAJOR ROGUE NATION AMONGST ALL NATIONS FOR MANY YEARS, WE ARE "DEEPLY CONCERNED" THAT TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE "DEEPLY CONCERNED" AND AFRAID OF MENTIONING ISRAEL AND GENOCIDE IN THE SAME SENTENCE...

AND THE EPSTEIN DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN PARTIES OF AMERICA SEEM TO BE UNABLE TO FREE THEMSELVES FROM THE ELECTORAL CASH COMING FROM ISRAEL... MEANWHILE THE AMERICAN ADMINISTRATIONS PROVIDES WEAPONS AND CASH TO ISRAEL TO WAGE WAR IN ORDER TO GROW INTO THE MONSTER "GREATER ISRAEL"... THE MORE CASH TO ISRAEL, THE MORE CASH TO THE CONGRESSPEOPLE... IT IS THERE IN PLAIN SIGHT TO BE SEEN BUT TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE BLIND BECAUSE THEY CHOOSE...

Despite propaganda to the contrary, Israel is not a democracy and never has been...

29 November 2019

During my most recent appearance on Judge Napolitano’s Judging Freedom on Wednesday I expressed the view that the ongoing ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was a scam designed to support Israeli interests in the region and to give both Tel Aviv and the White House breathing room to prepare for the next major assault on Iran.

When Is a Ceasefire a Scam?

Trump and Israel will make sure the war against Iran continues

BY PHILIP GIRALDI

“A moon will rise from my darkness.” This slightly adapted line comes from the English version of a poem by Mahmoud Darwish – one of the most important voices in modern Arabic literature. Born in 1941 in the Palestinian village of Al-Birwa, east of Acre, Darwish shared the experiences of flight, displacement, loss, and exile with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. He found words for their suffering, their grief, their life in exile, and their enduring connection to their homeland – words that resonated widely and offered strength.
   

“A moon will rise from the darkness”

by Karin Leukefeld

During his tour of the Middle East early this month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Syria, a country that until recently was a close ally of Russia. The Ukrainian president's visit to the Syrian capital Damascus and his talks with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa mark the resumption and strengthening of Ukraine's diplomatic efforts in the region.

Ukraine and Syria tighten relations

Lilia Rzheutska

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Syria was not only a diplomatic gesture but motivated by strategic considerations regarding Russia, once a strong supporter of the Middle Eastern state

The administration of US President Donald Trump is “weaponizing Christianity” to justify its actions in the Middle East, while Israel continues to act with impunity as much of the West turns a blind eye, Irish activist and satirist Tadhg Hickey has said.

Trump administration ‘weaponizing Christianity’ as Israel acts with impunity – activist

The US president’s rhetoric is unbecoming of a world leader while the West continues to turn a blind eye to Israeli crimes in Gaza and beyond, Tadhg Hickey has said....

As Journalists Are Killed, the World Looks Away

We reported on one of these deaths yesterday. Today, there are more.

President Donald Trump couldn’t get over European allies’ refusal to allow the U.S. access to military bases for the Iran war. And he made that clear to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday in an hourslong, closed-door rant that focused on little else.

What Trump’s blowup with Rutte was really about

The president’s tirade against NATO chief Mark Rutte stemmed from his frustration that allies wouldn’t let the U.S. access military bases for attacks against Iran.

By ELI STOKOLS, PAUL MCLEARY and JACK DETSCH

On the planet of the elevated ape

An old monkey like me dear

Can only admire Willy Shakespeare

Who could in six words state

The essence of my tragedy

                                   To be or not to be

with a question asked in fear

that small sapiens can hear

to applaud someone like Albert

Hiding our reality of relative might

Behind the mass of not much to the speed of light

By the square of itself not obviously why

Thus energy becomes impossible to fight

As we slip-on our rainbow tainted shirt

The unfortunate disease of unintelligentisis

Infects all our delinquent leading elders

Dumb as bricks elected like fish feathers

They never reach compos mentis 

Says a self-indulgent fired apprentice

The Farrer by-election could reveal whether Coalition voters are shifting towards One Nation or prefer independents, with implications for future political strategy.

The Farrer by-election offers the Liberal and National parties a unique opportunity to discover what their supporters truly think about how closely they should align themselves with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.

David Solomon