Afternoon music
Tweets seen
If that were to happen, at the same time as oil and gas shipment via the Strait of Hormuz is interrupted, the EU economies would suffer a massive hit, potentially.
You never see the BBC or Sky News reporting on the almost daily attacks on Russian civilians by the forces of the Kiev regime.
Most of those other countries rely on hydrocarbon exports, so will recover once the war is over. Dubai’s economy is only about 1% or 2% oil and gas, and it relies on tourism, general business etc, so a prolonged shutdown will cripple it, or even kill it off (economically).
Of course, in the very unlikely event that Russia were to target Israel, even with non-nuclear missiles, that would reduce Israel to rubble, and (if a nuclear attack) possibly kill all of its inhabitants i.e. about half of the Jews in the world.
At present, however, the situation suits Putin quite well, as I blogged some time ago. The price of oil and gas is higher each day; Russia is a major producer and is receiving, daily, tens of billions of dollars (equivalent) more than it was a month ago.
Also, the diplomatic and image stock of the USA is falling proportionately. The Americans and Israelis are killing off the present top leadership in Iran, but it remains to be seen whether that alone can determine the outcome of the war. Maybe not.
As the American leadership flounders, Putin and the Russian government look steady, and focussed by comparison.
There is also the point that the Kiev regime is in peril of seeming an irrelevant sideline, not really at the centre of events. Putin must be pleased at that.
Politically, in the EU, economic downturn must play well for Putin, as the System parties in many countries face populist and other upsurge.
Putin can sit back, not get involved, and watch as Trump’s crazy war, and his fealty to the Jews and Israel, trashes the European economies, the Kiev regime’s prospects, and the NATO alliance.
[“Iran posed no threat’: US top intel official resigns over war pushed by Israel lobby
Retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis highlights the resignation letter of the National Counterterrorism Center director, who stated he could no longer support the war in Iran in good conscience.
The official said Iran posed no imminent threat and that the US entered the conflict due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.“]
Wall. Squad. End.
Starmer-stein has run out of road.
As blogged previously, Starmer-stein is being pulled in opposite directions: Israel and the Jewish lobby, which put Starmer where he is today, want him to get Britain (more directly) involved on the Israeli side of the war; many of Starmer’s and Labour’s present or former voters, though, now are non-white, often Muslim, and Labour’s recent by-election failures point out the electoral dangers of further alienating the anti-Israel voters (including many white English/British former Labour voters).
…and that is without even considering the delayed “Ukrainian rent boys” trial…
Much as in other recent polls: Reform clearly ahead but underwhelming. One new thing is the Con Party as second in terms of MPs, though only just. Would translate to a Commons with about 324 Reform UK MPs (2 short of an overall majority), Cons 85 (weak official Opposition), LibDems 61, Lab 58, Greens 50, SNP 43.
As in most other recent opinion polls, on those figures Starmer would lose his own seat.
Ian Robert Millard 