Welcome to The Now

 No; but listen to Rachel Blevins and Elijah Magnier discuss what's really going on:

 

 As Dialogue Works' guest explains, intelligence must be as objective as possible to get the most honest assessment. If your data-gathers and analyzers can't separate their biases from their work, the findings will always be skewed (comments start around 10-minute mark):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 That's apparently the suggestion from Lindsay Hooper (CEO of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), who spoke at the World Economic Forum: No riddle me this: Who will control these assets? Who determine their prices? What if these assets are not found in the nations of the answers to Q1 and Q2? Sounds to me like the wars for oil and "rare earths" will pale in comparison to the wars over water, soil and air?

 All because it involves Russia working with African countries:

 

 

 Let's not forget the source of every distraction (both serious and silly) we're experiencing: calls for the "Epstein Files" (aka, the names of the accused abusers and details of their actions) to be released. To that end, MintPress News highlights Epstein-related revelations that may have flown under the radar , including: Epstein's role in war with Iran; How Epstein leaned on noted people like Noam Chomsky and Steve Bannon; Epstein's impact on internet culture; Who was possibly responsible for Epstein's death.

  Call them the Elite, Deep State, 1%, Epstein Class, Donors or all of the above; they are the ones who want to fight these wars, not the people.

 

 

 

 

 We're entering the heart of the "find out" phase. But what else do you expect from a real-estate slumlord-turned-reality show host-turned president?  Anyway, via Middle East Eye : Democratic senators said on Tuesday night that the US has “no plan” for the war on Iran, after President Donald Trump’s administration conducted a two-hour behind-closed-doors briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee. This absence of any coordinated strategic thinking extends to the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint, regime change in Iran and the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. Following the Trump administration’s briefing on Tuesday, a procession of opposition senators came out to condemn what they described as the illegality, incoherence and lies surrounding the war, with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland saying Trump was simply doing what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had wanted to do for 40 years. “ What you hear behind closed do...

  Case in Point : "mass deportations" is OUT and "removing violent criminals" is IN: The Trump White House is reportedly urging House Republicans to cease touting the mass deportation strategy it has championed ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. According to Axios’s Katie Santaliz and Marc Caputo, “White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair privately urged House Republicans on Tuesday to stop emphasizing ‘mass deportations’ and instead focus their messaging on removing violent criminals.” President Donald Trump and his allies have long touted immigration and border security as one of his top priorities, and Trump moved back into the White House last year after promising to initiate a mass deportation program on the campaign trail. His advantage on the issue has shrunk, however, amid a rash of controversial stories, and especially the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both of whom were shot by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. Trump decided...

 I asked Google: "How long does it take the United States to make a tomahawk missile?" Google responded: It takes approximately 18 to 24 months for the U.S. to build a single Tomahawk cruise missile. Production is slowed by a thin supplier base for specialized components, such as solid rocket motors and advanced sensors. While the minimum sustainment rate is about 90 units per year, the Pentagon is working to increase production.  Production Time: 1.5 to 2 years per missile. Production Rate: Approximately 90 per year (minimum), with capacity to scale. Bottlenecks: Shortages in the solid rocket motor supply chain and specialized, single-source components. Cost: Roughly $2.2 million per missile. Considering that the United States was not fully stocked before they attacked Iran, and the likelihood that other similar ammunitions were neither fully stoked nor being manufactured at a faster rate, people really need to start asking how long the United States can continue before ente...

  If this is true, I say:

 

 

 

  Apparently : As the United States continues to strike Iran roughly 10 days since ordered by President Donald Trump, questions about how long the war may last have been coupled with the prospect of a military draft that administration officials admit remains "on the table.” Six U.S. soldiers have been killed in the war that Trump has continually defended on the backdrop of what he and other senior officials have attributed to “an imminent threat” posed by Iran towards the U.S., Israel and other Middle East nations. The potential length of this conflict has drawn many assumptions, as Trump has floated a “4-5 weeks” duration while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been more clandestine in presenting any particular timeframe due to not giving away U.S. military strategies. That, in turn, has led to questions of whether U.S. troops could ultimately be on the ground in Iran due to airstrikes historically not providing enough military might over time for sustainability.  On Sunday...

 Two Rachel Blevins videos explain. First, her interview with Foad Izadi who addresses the logic of some of the military targets: Then, there is Sharmine Narwani who discusses the impact on the Gulf: Bottom Line: Iran has more leverage than most people thought going into this conflict.

 Mojtaba Khamenei, son of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been chosen to succeed his father. The world and the markets react .

 

 Anyone who's been following American politics, especially stories involving West Asia/Middle East/Persian Gulf, knows that there's always been speculation regarding what US Senator Lindsey Graham loves. There have been jokes, teasing, inferences...but the Senator has been relatively tight-lipped despite being a very vocal figure in foreign policy. Interesting that it took a war against Iran to shed some light on the issue; Senator Graham loves...oil & money : Hawkish US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has expressed concern over Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities.  On Sunday, Graham, a strong supporter of the US and Israel's war on Iran, wrote on X that Israel had shown “amazing capability when it comes to collapsing the murderous regime in Iran,” adding the US was appreciative.  “However, there will be a day soon that the Iranian people will be in charge of their own fate, not the murderous ayatollah’s regime,” he said. “ In that regard, please be cautious a...

 Based on mainstream and Western-friendly media, appareently so.  However, Elijah Magnier explains a key phrase/wording that many people missed, which adds a whole new context to what Iran was saying:

 

 

 There is always GI Rights Hotline :

 

 

  Via the Associate Press : A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, hornlike growths may seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists say there’s no reason to be spooked — the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus. The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasizing horns. Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including “Frankenstein bunnies,” “demon rabbits” and “zombie rabbits.” But their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago. The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists’ knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such ...

  Huh . Oil giant Shell has secured new agreements with both Venezuela and Kazakhstan, advancing its oil and gas exploration ventures in these regions. In Venezuela, Shell signed multiple exploration agreements with the government, encompassing offshore natural gas, and onshore oil and gas opportunities, reported Reuters. Additionally, technical and commercial agreements have been established with VEPICA, KBR and Baker Hughes. This development follows a meeting between US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez. The agreements facilitate the advancement of the Dragon gas project, which has faced delays due to shifting US policies towards Venezuela. Shell indicated earlier this year that US licences would enable project advancement. Trinidad’s Energy Minister, Roodal Moonilal, said that exporting first gas to Trinidad from the Dragon project is expected by the third quarter of 2027, with the aim of boosting output at the Atlantic LNG plant. In Kazakhs...

  Via Newsweek : The House of Representatives has voted to block an effort by Republican Representative Nancy Mace to make public all congressional sexual misconduct and harassment reports, effectively killing the proposal. In a 357-65 vote on Wednesday, the House moved to refer Mace's resolution to the House Ethics Committee—a procedural step that halted the measure. A spokeswoman for Mace directed Newsweek toward the congresswoman's public statement and posts on X when approached for comment. In her statement, Mace said: "The victims deserved better. The American people deserved better. Every member who voted to keep these records buried voted to protect power over people. We won't let it go and neither should you."

 

 According to CNN and Axios , it looks very likely.

  Just remember that this was planned out before Trump got elected . The true policy-makers just adapt how they get the current president to go along with the plan .

 

  Key Points/Highlights: The Iranian vessel was not part of the conflict; it was returning to Iran from a training exercise being conducted in India (before the US and Israel attacked Iran). India is in a energy boondoggle much like Europe: In India's case, they put all of their "chips" in oil resources from West Asian vassal states that (because they house US military bases) are being bombed by Iran and prohibited from sending anything through the Strait of Hormuz .   China is sending materials (and parts) to Iran so they can continue to make weapons...and they are using routes that the United States cannot disrupt easily. As Brian Berletic put it : "It remains to be seen how effective Iran's strategy is - b ut sinking Iranian warships at dock or in non-combat transit is symbolic, not symptomatic ."

 

 

 

  In case you need a visual:

 

  Here's the interview that Ali Abunimah referenced:

 A follow-up to a previous story ...

 

 The New Atlas explains why China is not throwing caution to the wind to "save" Iran:

 

 

 

 

Remember how close the United States and Iran were to a deal ? Well according to President Trump's favorite lawyer ( for now ) Steve Witkoff , Iran spent the negotiations bragging: Witkoff: Iranians bragged of uranium for 11 bombs US special envoy Witkoff, who together with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner led Washington’s negotiations with Tehran over the disputed nuclear program, said that Iran’s top negotiators boasted in the first round of talks this year of having enough highly enriched uranium to build 11 nuclear bombs. “In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly — with no shame — that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% [enriched uranium] and that they’re aware that could make 11 nuclear bombs,” Witkoff told Fox. Trump has asserted that the US “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities during the 12-day war last June, which would ostensibly render Iran incapable of immediately turning that enriched uranium into a bomb. Still, Witkoff said the Iran...

 

 Unless you like the intro music, you can start around the 25-minute mark. Either way, Medhurst has a good 3 & 1/2 hours of news, updates, video clips and commentary to share:

 Protestors vs a US Embassy (Baghdad): The Trump Administration tries to retroactively prep Americans: Iran has drones and drones and drones and drones: Jerusalem experiencing Iranian retaliation earlier today:  

 Why? Up until 2014, our defense contractors work building missiles in a way that maximized their profits but slowed down productivity . At best, we can sustain projectile-based fighting (offense and defense) for about a week . Also, a lot of the military budget is spent on Tricare .  Our stockpiles has been depleted (see also the above link) in other combat operations and replenishment is both costly and time-consuming (as in: would take years to replenish ).   All an opponent of the US Military has to do is survive the initial attack, kinda like:

  Like I've said before: maybe sending your real estate agent and son-in-law (both who only had Israel's best interests in mind) to "negotiate" probably wasn't the best idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So apparently the plan is: Israel attacks Iran Iran (as it has previously and repeatedly promised) will interpret this as an attack from the United States and retaliate (either against Israel or the US) The United States "steps in" to "protect" Israel.  Of course, Iran has indicated that whether an American proxy is used or not, America will be considered responsible. 

 

 

 

 

It's becoming a sad choice for any nation that "dares" to "defy" the United States by merely existing outside of the military, financial and economic demands of the West: give up your sovereignty and ability to defend yourself (so your nation-state can be all but destroyed), or create a weapon of such destructive capabilities that even the US Military backs down...  If only the United States did not equate its own existence with dominating the rest of the planet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The American Left has many strong, passionate, intelligent people in it . I won't go into names here directly (mostly because that would distract from the message here and my opinion on specific people and/or groups isn't the point), but if you read enough posts on this space you'll get a good idea of who some of those people are, and hopefully an inkling of the degree I agree with each of them (and trust me, no one gets 100% agreement from me, regardless of the videos and links and references).  The American Left is also having a problem getting the portion of America who hasn't completely embraced the Democratic Party/Republican Party duopoly to at least consider an alternative to the dangerous actions and consequences of aligning with the capitalist-to-fascist pipeline, to the point where people who grew up watching movies like Star Wars, the Hunger Games and Harry Potter are openly asking questions like "How did we get here?" or "Are we living in an...

 

 

 

"No" to AOC . "No" to Kamala Harris . "No" to Gavin Newsom . "No" to Pete Buttigieg . "No" to any Democrat who is not for the following at least: Universal Healthcare (as in, declare a national health emergency and give every American Medicare); End the occupation and genocide in Gaza (they know exactly which people and country to contact); End ICE (as in, ICE is no more; no "reforms"); Raise taxes on the wealthiest 3% of Americans; Tie the Minimum Wage to Wall Street (If Wall Street makes $$$, than MW earners make more $$$); Cut the military budget by at least 60%. End all tariffs and sanctions.  If they cannot agree to all of the above, they should not even be considered a candidate for president. And while we're talking about asks, here's a few more: Eliminate the AUMF and give Congress back the power to declare war; Bring back the draft; Invite DC and Puerto Rico to become states, and give Hawaii a chance to contin...

 

 Lee Camp explains:

  Via CNN : The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe, a striking loss for the White House on an issue that has been central to the president’s foreign policy and economic agenda. The decision is arguably the most important loss the second Trump administration has sustained at the conservative Supreme Court, which last year repeatedly sided with the president in a series of emergency rulings on immigration, the firing of the leaders of independent agencies and deep cuts to government spending. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority and the court agreed 6-3 that the tariffs exceeded the law. The court, however, did not say what should happen to the more than $130 billion in tariffs that has already been collected. “The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” Roberts wrote for the court. “In light of...