Khamenei, One of Most Evil People in History, is Dead
POSTED BY: 6ixStringJack
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 05:42
VIEWED: 15626
PAGE 22 of 73
I can't believe you guys are arguing about which party "won" or "lost" any particular pointless war. The smart thing to do is not start them in the first place.
And BTW, if a President is handed a burning- bag- of- dogshit of a war, the best thing to do is cut losses: declare victory and go home.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
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Quote:Trump obviously melted down. This morning was supposed to be the start of him committing new and bigger war crimes. Then he turned back for 5 days, and maybe longer, because he is fucked up in the head: Trump Announces A Sort Of Cease Fire, and, The US Strategic Goal Seems To Be "Mowing The Grass"
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody is having a meltdown.
Except for you. We've been witness to your unraveling for over a decade now.
P.S. We know you just plagiarized Paul Krugman again...
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/when-hyperglobalization-meets-chaos
Idiot.
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Be Evil. Be a dick.
https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-us-strategic-goal-seems-to-
be
As a leader and as a businessman, Trump has always been fucked up in the head, but Trumptards are blind to that in themselves and in their leadership, which is why life is such an unending struggle for them, 6ix. You spending today smoking and watching porn is truly fucked up, 6ix. Your software project and home improvement projects are a weak diversion from facing the reality that you are wasting your life. Your only hope for a real purpose in life is for Trump to turn it around for you with invasions of foreign countries and purges of aliens, just like Hitler gave the Germans a meaningful life by his invasions and purges of Jews. At least Hitler was giving the Germans more living space or "Lebensraum". Trump can't even claim that. Only he is getting more space for Trump-brand golf and hotel expansion. Hitler never lowered himself to Trump-levels of pettiness and greed.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:I hope someday you realize what a nitwit you are, Signym.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I can't believe you guys are arguing about which party "won" or "lost" any particular pointless war. The smart thing to do is not start them in the first place.
And BTW, if a President is handed a burning- bag- of- dogshit of a war, the best thing to do is cut losses: declare victory and go home.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
Another day in America’s self-immolation as a Great Power - Adventures in Fantasy Diplomacy
Trump says he's negotiating with Iran. Iran says he isn't. Who are you gonna believe?
It’s Monday morning. Donald Trump has, at least for the time being, called off plans to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure. He has done so because, according to him, highly productive negotiations are underway involving the government of Iran, an invisible six-foot white rabbit, and his Canadian girlfriend.
What I just said is not strictly true, or it’s not all true. Trump did not say anything about the invisible rabbit or the Canadian, but the gist of it is true. He said that there are highly productive talks underway. And shortly afterwards, the Iranian government and Iranian state media said, no, they aren’t. This is not happening.
I’m not going to say that Iranian state media is necessarily a credible source, but the odds are that they are, in fact, telling the truth and the President of the United States is either lying or fantasizing or both. There’s really no reason at all to believe that anything like what he said is happening is in fact happening.
Aside from the fact that Trump has not exactly been truthful on a lot of things, there are three important reasons to believe he might be making this stuff up.
First, he put himself in a very bad spot with his threat to commit a massive war crime if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz. and must be looking for a way out. Another president at another time might say that on careful consideration, We have recalibrated the policy or something like that. Trump doesn’t do that. Trump is always winning, never admits that he’s had a setback, never admits that he’s changed his mind.
So saying that, oh, the Iranians have come to the table, probably big, strong Iranians with tears in their eyes, but anyway, that the Iranians have come to the table and that’s why we’re not doing what I said we would do is a very Trumpian out.
Second, Why would the Iranians be making a deal at this point? We can talk a lot about how the war is going, but it’s pretty clear that as the Iranians are likely to see it, they’re winning. I mean, they’re not winning militarily, but that was never on the cards. They have successfully turned what was supposed to be a lightning decapitation of their government into a protracted contest in relative ability to bear pain and all indications are that the Iranians are nowhere near cracking and all indications are that the United States, although obviously we’re not losing thousands of people, and we are having our whole life disrupted, but the American public really doesn’t like higher gas prices, does not believe Trump. The clock is ticking for Trump on this in a way that it is apparently not for the Iranian regime. So Iran has the upper hand here. And very hard to see why they would want to make a deal until they basically humiliate us substantially more.
Finally, consider possible motives. Imagine that you were somebody close to Trump, somebody close enough to actually have an influence on his decisions, as well as inside knowledge. Here’s what you could have done, really, just between last night and now. You could have sold a bunch of crude oil futures at very high prices, Brent was over $112 over the weekend, then bought them back immediately after Trump announced triumphal progress, but before the Iranians said that it is not happening. And you could have turne
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I can't believe you guys are arguing about which party "won" or "lost" any particular pointless war.
Who has been posting for over 4 years in the Russian/Ukraine thread?
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Be Nice. Don't be a dick.
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:Trump obviously melted down. This morning was supposed to be the start of him committing new and bigger war crimes. Then he turned back for 5 days, and maybe longer, because he is fucked up in the head: Trump Announces A Sort Of Cease Fire, and, The US Strategic Goal Seems To Be "Mowing The Grass"
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody is having a meltdown.
Except for you. We've been witness to your unraveling for over a decade now.
P.S. We know you just plagiarized Paul Krugman again...
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/when-hyperglobalization-meets-chaos
Idiot.
--------------------------------------------------
Be Evil. Be a dick.
https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-us-strategic-goal-seems-to-
be
You, nor Phillip or any of your "elites" and "experts" have any idea what Trump is doing.
That's why you're all throwing even bigger temper tantrums than usual.
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Be Nice. Don't be a dick.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I can't believe you guys are arguing about which party "won" or "lost" any particular pointless war.
Who has been posting for over 4 years in the Russian/Ukraine thread?
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Be Nice. Don't be a dick.
SECOND.
But I'm referring to Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Somalia, Iraq (twice!), Afghanistan, Syria, Lybia, and (now) Iran. If you're going to get into a dick- measuring contest, don't do it over "how stoopid can my Fearless Leader be?".
*****
I will say, tho, that Iran isn't pointless. I believe this is now all about Russian and Chinese maritime shipping. There are many choke points on sea trade:
The Panama Canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans,
The Suez Canal that connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean,
Straits of Molucca between SE Asia and Indonesia,
The Straits of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and the Arabian sea (leading ultimately to the Pacific Ocean),
The Bosporus and Dardenelles connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean,
The Gibralter Straits connecting the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean,
The Great Belt between Denmark and Sweden
Trump was trying to regime-change Iran which would give him control over Iranian oil and the Straits of Hormuz.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
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Overall I thought this was a balanced and insightful discussion.
The Duran channel
Title: Jim Jatras: Iran War Ultimatums and Retaliation
Jim brought up two points I hadn't heard before. The first is ... all of Trump's Truth Social posts driving the oil price up and down by $20/bbl ... how much you want to bet there's insider trading going on in the Trump family?
More importantly, Jim described the Mideast as the Crown Jewel of our imperial holdings. It is THE area that allows us to dominate oil and gas importing (most of them) nations and props up our petrodollar. Without it, the USA can't maintain its ambition for world hegemony and becomes just another nation among nations. For the globalists, financiers, and neocons keeping a grip on the Mideast is existential.
So while Iran can't quit, we can't accede to Iran's terms either.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
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Quote:Treason in the Futures Markets
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
The first is ... all of Trump's Truth Social posts driving the oil price up and down by $20/bbl ... how much you want to bet there's insider trading going on in the Trump family?
People close to Trump are trading based on national secrets
Paul Krugman
Mar 24, 2026
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/treason-in-the-futures-markets
When officers of a company or people close to them exploit confidential information for personal financial gain, that’s insider trading — which is illegal. But we have another word for situations in which people with access to confidential information regarding national security — such as plans to bomb or not to bomb another country — exploit that information for profit. That word is “treason.”
Why is profiting from insider information about national security decisions effectively a form of treason? First, it’s hard to think of a more fundamental principle for officials we entrust with important decisions, especially those that involve national security, that they or people they know should not be allowed to exploit their positions for personal gain.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Israel, US Strike Gas Facilities In Iran's Isfahan, Possibly Triggering Retaliation Against Gulf
Trump and Netanyahu are deliberately escalating the war ... and the damage to world oil and gas supplies. Is this their way of choking off China, at the expense of Europe, Britsin, the global south, Japan, S Korea, and Australia?
Maybe the idea is to leave the USA as "the last man standing" among western nations?
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
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Israel would be delighted if Trump bombed Iran forever and ever. But Trump realized too late that is bad for the November 2026 election. Personally, I'm profiting mightily, which is true of everyone who produces fuel in America. Bombs away, Trump! Destroy the GOP's election chance! https://days.to/until/election-day-in-us
Can the Iran war even be won?
Shifting goals and asymmetric leverage make a clean victory elusive — for all countries involved.
By Caitlin Dewey / Mar 24, 2026 at 6:03 AM
https://www.vox.com/today-explained-newsletter/481592/iran-war-victory
It’s okay; you can laugh. There is indeed something farcical, albeit grim, about the purported negotiations between the US and Iran.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump claimed the two countries had made “very good” progress toward ending the war. Hours later, Iran’s foreign ministry denied that any such conversations had ever occurred. Trump then clarified that his envoys had talked to other Iranian officials but did not name any names. (The word “clarify” is admittedly doing lots of work in that sentence.)
Regardless of who is or isn’t speaking to whom, Trump does appear interested in ending the war he started — or, at least, reassuring markets to that effect. That begs the obvious follow-up question: Did Trump get what he wanted from this? Is the US, in fact, “winning” the conflict?
That’s a messy question, in any war — but especially this one. Trump has moved the goalposts so many times, it’s hard to keep track of what the score is. So, I turned to several of my colleagues who cover world news for Vox and asked them how they’re evaluating the war. Who is winning and who is losing… if anyone?
Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent at Vox:
In tactical terms, Iran is the obvious loser of this war: Its senior leadership has been assassinated, and its military assets decimated, with minimal casualties on either the US or Israeli side so far. Under normal circumstances, this would be what total defeat looks like.
But the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been extraordinarily effective in putting pressure on the United States, seemingly bringing the Trump administration to the negotiating table. If the US backs down under economic coercion, Iran will have just proven its ability to hold the global economy hostage and get away with it. That means it would end the conflict in a stronger political position than where it started, despite its overwhelming battlefield defeats — which is what victory looks like.
This would represent a catastrophic failure of planning and foresight by the US-Israel coalition, almost certainly traceable back to Trump himself. The president launched the war with no obvious endgame and has constantly shifted objectives, thus proving that all the tactical might in the world cannot make up for a complete lack of strategic direction.
Joshua Keating, a senior correspondent at Vox:
If Donald Trump has a political superpower, it’s his ability to declare victory in a particular crisis and move on to another one, regardless of the facts on the ground.
Again and again, as his foreign policy has gotten more aggressive and adventurous, analysts like me — primed from the experience of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine — have warned that Trump was risking quagmire and blowback. He’s consistently defied those predictions.
This time around, however, he doesn’t seem to be able to summon his superpower. It may be that the experience in Venezuela fueled his confidence that regime change on his terms would be easy to pull off. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also changed the global economic reality in a way that would make it hard for even this president to call it a victory. And the US is fighting alongside an ally — Israel — with the incentive to keep this war going for as long as possible.
Trump appears to be searching for something he can c
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