Schrödinger's Strait - Trump Thread #162A

[Spandauer]

The Strait of Schrödinger remains open and closed, safe and dangerous, insurable and uninsurable, blockaded and free.

"You put your tanker in, you put your tanker out
In, out, in, out, you sail it all about
You do the Straits of Hormuz and you turn around
That’s what it’s all about!"

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!

Got overwhelmed by the 🍊💩's idiot fuckery last time and missed out thread #161 so have designated this one as fake #162...A

Trump’s Final Term Ends in: - Countdown Timer
Thanks for link @CaveMum

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5516057-he-has-no-deal-he-has-no-dice-trump-thread-162

What have the Brits ever done for anyone eh ? Apart from the industrial revolution, systems of law, tarmac roads and trains. What have they done for us ?

Erm.. Independence days ?

:-)

With specific regard to the Trump administration, The Rest is Politics US (TRIP US), with Katty Kaye and Anthony Scaramucci is quite interesting: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-rest-is-politics-us-goalhanger-TteCYaxvn8J/
They supposedly have their finger on the Washington political pulse, although I personally feel they are overly optimistic with regard to the damage Trump and his lot have done and are doing to democracy.

Someone on these threads recommended the Bulwark podcast which I have started following.

Yes! That sprang out at me too.

I’m here!

My regular political-themed podcasts:

The Rest is Politics (UK & world events) - Alistair Campbell & Rory Stewart
The Rest is Politics US (USA focus) - Katty Kay & Antony Scaramucci
Political Currency (UK mainly but also some global) - Ed Balls & George Osborne
Quite Right - (mainly U.K.) Michael Gove (controversial I know!)
Pod Save America & Pod Save the World - same rotating group of presenters, all ex-Obama staffers so generally a left leaning take on events.

There’s also a Pod Save the U.K. podcast but it’s too left-wing and sanctimonious for my tastes so I stopped listening!

The Rest is Money (Robert Peston & Steph McGovern) also talks a lot of politics, though mainly from an economic perspective.

Thank you for the suggestions!

@CaveMum to the rescue. Anyway, I'm fully fibred up now - WoooHooo!🎆🎇✨🎉

You can't get rid of me that easily

😁

Glad your downtime was limited @JoshLymanSwagger, we’re getting the fancy-pants Fibre Broadband in a few weeks too!

We've had fast fibre broadband since early in its roll out. Mumsnet still runs like a lame dog on it 😅

Heather Cox Richardson does a daily FB page and also a YouTube video update. She is an American political historian and is documenting The state of politics and events in the US. I find her both accurate and less dramatic than other political commentators. Especially Rory.

I did notice that, and it made me think about the differences between power, size of army and desire to conquer. Not all countries with a large army was interested in empire building. Defense/trade considerations too?

We had ours upgraded last week. The only difference we've noticed is that it now reaches to the bottom of the garden, when it never used to, so thats a good thing.

I don't watch many podcasts, I've seen too many people go down rabbit holes, so rather than watch a commentator talk about their interpretation of sources, with their own bias, I would rather read the sources- if that makes sense.

I would also feel the need to balance the podcasts, so if I watch one with a left leaning spin, then I might have to watch something from gbeebies to balance it.

Yes, I read her every day, she is my go-to reading as soon as she has posted in the morning!

Just as an aside, can I ask the good folks on here....

I will be transiting through Los Angeles airport in the not too distant future. We have to get off the plane even though we will be put back on the same plane back to Europe. It's 2 hours and we have to get an ESTA and go through border control. Will they really check my phone, do I need to delete all my social media? (I am a bit verbal on SM! ) I am obviously not putting on the ESTA all my accounts like here, X, bluesky etc...
Has anyone had any experience of this...

I hate to say it but I think that we managed to keep what we had because we were willing to be cruel.

Friend went tothe US recently and didn't have her phone checked. She was miffed as she'd "cleansed" her Facebook. She did that because a friend of hers had had her phone checked and been denied entry but she did have a high profile job and is politically active so had likely been flagged to check.

Circus and clowns.

OVERNIGHT: Trump Admin files latest court motion in support of White House ballroom

It reads like a Trump Truth Social post, with random capitalization, accusations the plaintiffs are "very bad for our country", suffer "Trump Derangement Syndrome", etc.
bsky.app/profile/macfarlanenews.bsky.social/post/3mkkfwtun5k2r

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287645/gov.uscourts.dcd.287645.79.0.pdf

Would have been so much easier just to get planning permission.

The truth is, as an island power, Britain has never been able to command what you'd call a continental army. However what Britain did command - from necessity - was a navy.

And it turns out if you have a navy, you can pretty much do without a massive army. Just blockade your enemies and let nature take it's course. You enemy will either surrender, starve, or end up overthrown with a new regime desperate to eat.

If you want to overthink it, you could argue it's a more feminine approach to warfare, rather than the big dick swing of "look at the size of MY army" that appeals to so many rather risible rulers.

"It is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission"

Past: Military power eg "Britannia rules the waves".
Future: Economic/tech dominance the next space for global 'empire building'?

New TRUTH !

Go on then. Open it. Get your Presidential scissors and cut the ribbon. What's all the fucking about for ? I am sure you will even get a free pair of solid gold scissors to keep.

Att..

As I said elsewhere, I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the markets just opened and the UAE pulled out of OPEC

I had only just read the UAE news. Shocker!

UAE quits Opec in win for Trump as oil cartel weakened
The United Arab Emirates has quit the Opec oil cartel in a heavy blow to the group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, amid the global energy shock caused by the Iran war.
The stunning loss of the UAE, a longstanding Opec member, could create disarray and weaken the group, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
Opec Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the strait of Hormuz, a narrow choke point between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, because of Iranian threats and attacks against vessels.
UAE quits Opec in ‘pivotal moment’ for oil producing group – as it happened
Read more
The UAE’s energy ministry said that the constraints on the strait meant the decision to leave would not have a huge effect on the market. Leaving Opec will give it greater “flexibility” and was in line with its “long-term strategic and economic vision”, he said.
The UAE joined Opec in 1967 through the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and remained in the organisation when the UAE was formed in 1971. Its departure will come into effect on Friday.

However, the UAE’s exit from Opec, and its sister group Opec+, represents a big win for Donald Trump, who has accused the organisation of “ripping off the rest of the world” by inflating oil prices.
The Brent crude oil price has reached as high as $119.50 a barrel since the outbreak of the war in Iran. On Tuesday, it rose 3.4% to $111.67.
The US president has also linked American military support for the Gulf with oil prices, saying that while his country defends Opec members, they “exploit this by imposing high oil prices”.

15.28 BST
The UAE’s decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, Associated Press points out.
The UAE has pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low — meaning it wasn’t able to sell as much oil to the world as it had wanted.
Regional politics are also likely at play. The UAE has had increasingly frosty relations with Saudi Arabia, OPEC‘s largest producer, over political and economic matters in the Mideast, even after both came under attack by fellow OPEC member Iran during the war.

The King can drive a big boat. He could give Turd a few pointers.