Grab a chair, kick off your shoes, chill and chat.In a related issue, Trump continues to claim he has given billions worth of help to Ukraine and claiming Zelensky is being unreasonable by not giving up land to Putin. In point of fact Trump hasn't actually given billions directly but all he has done is to "allow" other countries to sell or donate US made equipment to Ukraine. Other countries are supplied with US military technology only under the agreement that they don't pass it on to others without permission.
Since Zelensky won't be bullied by Trump Ukraine has been forced into developing their own solutions. As a result they have put a great deal of effort to develop their own drone defense systems that are today considered at the forefront of the industry. They and some of their key European allies can produce 7000 drone chasers per week. They are currently in negotiations with four gulf states to sell them their excess production to use to defend against Iran. They are also sending training personnel to instruct how to use them.
Trump on the march.
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Hotrodder
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Trump on the march.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
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Blaze
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Trump on the march.
It's unlikely to be war that bring Iran to its knees. Far more life-threatening to the people of Iran is the impending water crisis there. Tehran has doubled in size since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and is still increasing. The reservoirs from which the area is fed are drying up at an unsustainable rate. Bad management, cover ups, silencing those who speak out ..... the Mullah's régime is threatening the very existence of its people.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/satellite ... %20crisis.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/satellite ... %20crisis.
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Hotrodder
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Trump on the march.
Sadly, thousands of innocent Iranians will die.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
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Bayleaf
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Hotrodder
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Trump on the march.
Has anyone noticed the continued subject pushed by the news media? The UK has only 26 days of fuel reserve left and basically the UK will be in real trouble if the Hormuz bottleneck isn't upened up quickly.
I have two points. It has been widely reported that of the oil production that passes through that area is heading East, not west. The media are stating this will cause shortages worldwide. I maintain that the whole thing is a brainwash excuse to jack up the price of oil to the consumers. Who actually gets the higher prices? And since the rest of the world's oil suppliers are still pumping and delivering why should we need to dip into our reserve supplies anyway. The US has a huge stockpile of oil and they have just virtually taken over ownership of Venezuela's oil, claimed to be the largest deposit on the planet. Can we add two and two to calculate what the Amerikans are up to?
Second point: I heard an industry expert on the radio state that to get the Strait of Hormuz cleared of mines, and rebuild the terminals and facilities that have been bombed could take as long as 5 years to achieve. If that is true, I see a real gravy train for the speculators and fat cats that are manipulating the markets.
I have two points. It has been widely reported that of the oil production that passes through that area is heading East, not west. The media are stating this will cause shortages worldwide. I maintain that the whole thing is a brainwash excuse to jack up the price of oil to the consumers. Who actually gets the higher prices? And since the rest of the world's oil suppliers are still pumping and delivering why should we need to dip into our reserve supplies anyway. The US has a huge stockpile of oil and they have just virtually taken over ownership of Venezuela's oil, claimed to be the largest deposit on the planet. Can we add two and two to calculate what the Amerikans are up to?
Second point: I heard an industry expert on the radio state that to get the Strait of Hormuz cleared of mines, and rebuild the terminals and facilities that have been bombed could take as long as 5 years to achieve. If that is true, I see a real gravy train for the speculators and fat cats that are manipulating the markets.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
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exile
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Trump on the march.
Don't be misled by media statements on the reserve levels.
1. They lead you to believe that we are drawing continuously down on that reserve and that mid April the world as we know it will end. The reserves are just that. A reserve to be drawn on in extreme situations - which we saw last week when a number of nations agreed start drawing down on their reserves as a means of keeping a bit of a lid on oil prices.
2. Refineries are still operating and getting their oil from their normal sources and if they have relied on Middle East oil as part of their feed mix, then they will be sourcing from other places - but of course paying the price for that plus transport which might slightly be more of an issue with many big tankers stuck in the Gulf of Arabia.
Europe's reliance on Gulf oil is under 20% of its total consumption and nearly half of that comes from Iraq where there is an existing pipeline to the Turkish coast. So the impact in terms of supply to Europe is not insignificant but not catastrophic. I have excluded KSA (Saudi) oil. There is a pipeline across KSA from the Gulf to the Red Sea. It was attacked but I understand is back in operation (possibly with reduced throughput).
Prices
Oil and its products are traded worldwide. Even if most of the Gulf supplies go East, those eastern countries still need oil and they will look to buy alternative supplies from the world market. This might be from the west coast of the USA as perhaps the most direct alternative supply route but equally they will look worldwide. The shortage caused by the war leaves those needing to get oil from elsewhere to bid for supplies elsewhere and that pushes up the price for everyone and the price will keep going up until bidders drop out as the price becomes just to much. Look on it as an auction with everyone in the world bidding.
Venezuela?
Knowing Trumps command of reality, it would not surprise me. However suddenly upping production in a major way with a product that is difficult to handle and transport (Venezuelan crude is in the main very thick and more like tar and has to be kept heated in transport).
As to your second point, it will take time to rebuild facilities but importantly, not every facility has been damaged or destroyed. Some facilities might well be brought back in just a few weeks or months. Others may need substantial rebuild and could well take years.
As an aside and to show just how volatile markets can be, we use an oil derivative to manufacture plastics. Many years ago, there were a series of refinery and ancillary plant shutdowns leading to a shortage of our raw material. A shipload was secured in Antwerp and it set sail to our UK off-loading port. Before the ship arrived, the cargo had been sold and bought 4 times with different delivery ports for each new owner.
I am sure that will have been happening over the last 3 weeks with tankers already en route to the Far East.
Who profits from the rising prices? Anyone who owns deliverable oil.
So that is nation states who control their oil production.
It is companies that extract and own oil (in many cases the extractor may be doing this on a contract basis and the oil actually belongs to someone else).
It will sadly be speculators who have bought cargoes - a bit like my example above.
1. They lead you to believe that we are drawing continuously down on that reserve and that mid April the world as we know it will end. The reserves are just that. A reserve to be drawn on in extreme situations - which we saw last week when a number of nations agreed start drawing down on their reserves as a means of keeping a bit of a lid on oil prices.
2. Refineries are still operating and getting their oil from their normal sources and if they have relied on Middle East oil as part of their feed mix, then they will be sourcing from other places - but of course paying the price for that plus transport which might slightly be more of an issue with many big tankers stuck in the Gulf of Arabia.
Europe's reliance on Gulf oil is under 20% of its total consumption and nearly half of that comes from Iraq where there is an existing pipeline to the Turkish coast. So the impact in terms of supply to Europe is not insignificant but not catastrophic. I have excluded KSA (Saudi) oil. There is a pipeline across KSA from the Gulf to the Red Sea. It was attacked but I understand is back in operation (possibly with reduced throughput).
Prices
Oil and its products are traded worldwide. Even if most of the Gulf supplies go East, those eastern countries still need oil and they will look to buy alternative supplies from the world market. This might be from the west coast of the USA as perhaps the most direct alternative supply route but equally they will look worldwide. The shortage caused by the war leaves those needing to get oil from elsewhere to bid for supplies elsewhere and that pushes up the price for everyone and the price will keep going up until bidders drop out as the price becomes just to much. Look on it as an auction with everyone in the world bidding.
Venezuela?
Knowing Trumps command of reality, it would not surprise me. However suddenly upping production in a major way with a product that is difficult to handle and transport (Venezuelan crude is in the main very thick and more like tar and has to be kept heated in transport).
As to your second point, it will take time to rebuild facilities but importantly, not every facility has been damaged or destroyed. Some facilities might well be brought back in just a few weeks or months. Others may need substantial rebuild and could well take years.
As an aside and to show just how volatile markets can be, we use an oil derivative to manufacture plastics. Many years ago, there were a series of refinery and ancillary plant shutdowns leading to a shortage of our raw material. A shipload was secured in Antwerp and it set sail to our UK off-loading port. Before the ship arrived, the cargo had been sold and bought 4 times with different delivery ports for each new owner.
I am sure that will have been happening over the last 3 weeks with tankers already en route to the Far East.
Who profits from the rising prices? Anyone who owns deliverable oil.
So that is nation states who control their oil production.
It is companies that extract and own oil (in many cases the extractor may be doing this on a contract basis and the oil actually belongs to someone else).
It will sadly be speculators who have bought cargoes - a bit like my example above.
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Blaze
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Trump on the march.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c895xljyzewo
That man seems to be living in cuckoo. He claims he's in discussion with Iran to stop the war, but Iran claims he is having discussions with himself.
When discussions were mentioned a couple of days ago, the price of oil plummeted - presumably as That Man knew it would. But Iran's denial of negotiations came out, the prise has rocketed again.
The US is getting itself into another Viet Nam, Afghanistan .... It hasn't learnt that it cannot win a culture war with brute force and talks of "deals".
That man seems to be living in cuckoo. He claims he's in discussion with Iran to stop the war, but Iran claims he is having discussions with himself.
When discussions were mentioned a couple of days ago, the price of oil plummeted - presumably as That Man knew it would. But Iran's denial of negotiations came out, the prise has rocketed again.
The US is getting itself into another Viet Nam, Afghanistan .... It hasn't learnt that it cannot win a culture war with brute force and talks of "deals".
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MAD87
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Trump on the march.
He's probably got hair on the palms of his hands too.Blaze wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2026 8:53 am https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c895xljyzewo
Iran claims he is having discussions with himself.
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Bayleaf
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Trump on the march.
Also, Iran has sent tRump a big gift - he can't say what it is, but it's worth a lot of money .......flippin' heck, have we been transported to some alternate universe where the orange twot is living out his favourite movie fantasies? 
Maybe it was this .....spray painted gold!
Maybe it was this .....spray painted gold!
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Blaze
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Trump on the march.
It's all gone quiet on this magnificent present that was supposedly offered .....
This all-you-need-to-know analysis by Jeremy Bowen (BBC) is brilliant.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y969pnxgvo
The US, led by a clown and a bunch of puppets has got itself into another Viet-Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan ... another war they cannot win because they are fighting a culture that is itself fighting for survival.
Iran has discovered it has huge leverage with the blocking of Hormuz and now, with the Houthis getting involved, the Red Sea could also be blocked. If Sissi, the Egyptian president, decided to close the Suez Canal, Saudi Arabia would be completely stuffed.
US troops are being deployed to the Middle East and it will only be if (or when) they start suffering losses that Americans might wake up to the catastrophe they voted for. It's unlikely the deaths of the sons of rednecks will be seen as martyrdom or something to make America great again.
This may well be the undoing of the current US regime. We can only hope so.
This all-you-need-to-know analysis by Jeremy Bowen (BBC) is brilliant.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y969pnxgvo
The US, led by a clown and a bunch of puppets has got itself into another Viet-Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan ... another war they cannot win because they are fighting a culture that is itself fighting for survival.
Iran has discovered it has huge leverage with the blocking of Hormuz and now, with the Houthis getting involved, the Red Sea could also be blocked. If Sissi, the Egyptian president, decided to close the Suez Canal, Saudi Arabia would be completely stuffed.
US troops are being deployed to the Middle East and it will only be if (or when) they start suffering losses that Americans might wake up to the catastrophe they voted for. It's unlikely the deaths of the sons of rednecks will be seen as martyrdom or something to make America great again.
This may well be the undoing of the current US regime. We can only hope so.