"War, huh, good God, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" - Trump Thread #157

[Spandauer]

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker
(War) Friend only to The Undertaker
(Edwin Starr 1970, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong)

Unless, of course, your name ends in Trump, when it ain't nothing but an opportunity to grift, deflect and destroy.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5496818-beware-the-ides-of-march-trump-thread-156

Jesus Christ.

Apparently we’re now going to be helping with the Strait of Hormuz? What happened?

Significant news on the CNN feed:

"US F-35 damaged by suspected Iranian fire makes emergency landing, sources say

By Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann

A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing. Hawkins said the aircraft landed safely, and the incident is under investigation.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”
The incident would be the first time Iran has hit a US aircraft in the war started in late February. Both the US and Israel are flying F-35s in the conflict; the aircraft costs upwards of $100 million.
The emergency landing comes as senior US officials continue to claim widespread success in its campaign against Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday morning that the US is “winning decisively” and that Iran’s air defenses have been “flattened.”"

I expect this means the US will want revenge. And it's odd to describe the pilot as being in a stable condition.

stable condition

relevant in the context of injuries?

The more I think about it, the more I think the UK should have immediately told Trump we were sending our toppest ships - HMS Potemkin and HMS Donald Trump to the region to help out.

And then (much like Trump) quietly forgotten all about it.

If any lackey tried being clever and saying "Mr. President, the UK doesn't have boats of that name" then a quick tap of the nose and say "that's what the Iranians think too."

No idea. That's why I think it odd. It can't just be superficial damage then.

Does this go on the prayer scoreboard ?

Well, yes.
I suppose he will be turning in his grave...

I try not to mock people who believe in a god. Any god. Their god.

But there's something about the American Religion that just makes me choke on a nice cup of tea IYSWIM.

This incredible snip from the Sky feed :

"US and Israeli war goals are different, Trump's spy chief says
The American and Israeli objectives during the military campaign in Iran are not the same, Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, has told a Congress hearing.
"The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government," she said.
"We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership.
"The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missiles launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their navy.""

This bit again :

"We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership. "

In other words, she does not know. She is guessing, based on what they are doing.

Should Trump not be issuing them all with free Trump phones so they can actually talk to each other ?

CNN :

"Iranian ballistic missile strikes major refinery in northern Israel
By Tal Shalev and Jeremy Diamond
An Iranian missile struck the Haifa oil refinery complex on Thursday, three Israeli sources confirmed to CNN.
Emergency teams have been dispatched to the scene to assess the extent of the damage. No injuries have been reported.
Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority said crews are conducting searches at the scene and working to extinguish a fire that broke out as other teams check for a suspected hazardous materials incident.
The Bazan Group oil refineries are one of Israel’s largest energy companies, operating the main refinery facility for fuel and chemical production in the Haifa Bay area."

That will be one of the destroyed missiles will it Mr T ?

Should Trump not be issuing them all with free Trump phones so they can actually talk to each other ?

May I suggest pagers ?

The fawning has started again, starting with Japan

And they still missed the Epstein files

Thick and fast updates. Sky :

Japan 'stepping up... unlike NATO', Trump says
Donald Trump opens the floor to questions and is immediately asked about the Iran war.
He says he believes Japan will be "stepping up to the plate" on the war, before going on to say "unlike NATO".
The US president also says "I'm not putting troops anywhere - and if I was, I wouldn't tell you."
He goes on to call the conflict "an excursion", adding that "it's going to be over with pretty soon".
Speaking about Iran, he adds: "Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their anti-aircraft equipment is gone, we're flying wherever we want... their leadership is gone.
"I had to take this little excursion and do something that no other president had the courage to do."

An excursion That's inventive.

This bit : "I'm not putting troops anywhere - and if I was, I wouldn't tell you."

Knowing Trump he would not tell the troops either. He will just claim they nipped in, won the war, and got back to base before anyone noticed they were gone.

@RedTagAlan I can't just let "Mr T" dangle there...the amount of gold around his neck...🤣🤣

I doubt he's a member of the "A" team...more a member of the "spurs frat".

Closer to home the winning continues.

Nice work if you can get it from Daddy, and his enormous contributions ✨

But not for everybody.

Royer Perez-Jimenez was 19 years old. He died by suicide at 3am on March 16 at Glades County Detention Center in Florida. He is the 2nd person to die in ICE custody this week, the 13th this year, and the 42nd under Trump. 🧵

ICE detention deaths are now occurring at a rate of roughly one every four days. Three weeks ago that rate was one every six days. The pace is accelerating, and Congress has not launched a single investigation.
https://bsky.app/profile/austinkocher.com/post/3mhg34umbav2z

Far too modern and woke for Texas.

After the UK PPE model ...

All helped by this guy and his moll.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dhs-contractors-told-white-house-officials-asked-pay-corey-lewandowski-rcna263744

"Congress"

What's that when it's at home ?

I am surprised some more energetic activists haven't turned up in DC with a load of sheet glass and exhibit cards to create a museum of Congress, with multimedia displays to show people how they used to matter.

They could follow the Titanic museum and visitors could get a badge with a name on it to see whether that representative sank or swam.

Well he did escape Vietnam.

Up above you in Canada, I saw the equivalent of 5.73 USD/Gallon yesterday (2.08 CA/l), up from under 1.70/l last month. Thanking the stars I have an ev. That isn't the highest price we've seen for gas. A few years ago it was about 2.25/l but that included more taxes.

Nothing shows respect quite like ignoring a request for privacy

https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/2034422722290409928

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mhgfj7joct2p

Trump: "Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"