Glory to Ukraine!
Glory to the defenders of Ukraine and all modern civilization!
- The intensive work of the 47th president – under the MAGA course: speeches, tweets, monologues
- Nick Robertson: “Who will blink first when the war with Iran hits the global economy?”
- The Economist: “Global energy markets are on the brink of disaster”
▶ On Wednesday and Thursday, the 47th president worked intensely. On Wednesday from 6:02 AM to 11:02 PM, he posted 26 tweets. On Thursday from 8:15 AM to 6:51 PM, he posted 15 tweets, but also made statements to journalists in the Oval Office after openly dozing off in his chair during speeches by his associates standing behind him.
As for the tweets, they could compose a collection of works.
It recalls the times of Brezhnev when in all Soviet bookstores and libraries, books with green-and-white dust jackets, printed on top-quality paper, were prominently displayed. The “author” of the books was Brezhnev. These volumes were titled “Following the Leninist Course: Speeches, Greetings, Articles, Memoirs.” There were nine volumes in total.
It’s quite possible that the 47th president’s tweets would already outnumber nine volumes. And a fitting title could be given: “Following the MAGA Course: Speeches, Tweets, Monologues.”
There are many tweets, new ones every day, and if you don’t read them for two days, you might miss true “masterpieces” of MAGA wisdom.
Well, for example, on Wednesday at 9:41 AM, why not call it a “masterpiece”:
“How can Democrats not like the results of the votes in the U.S. Supreme Court? Democrat judges stick together like they’re glued, NEVER deviating from those twisted and corrupt policies, ideas, and cases they are presented with. They ALWAYS vote as a unified group—or BLOCK—including even that new judge with a low IQ who somehow ended up in the judge’s seat (thanks to ‘Sleepy Joe’!). Meanwhile, Republican judges don’t stick together; they gift Democrats victory after victory—take, for example, the tariff ruling that resulted in a $159 billion payout, or their sharp, one-sided questions on a topic that is destroying our country: ‘birthright citizenship’—a practice that almost NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD is foolish enough to allow. Originally, this rule was meant for the children of slaves, not the children of Chinese billionaires. No, some ‘Republican’ judges have just gone soft, dumb, and spoilt, completely betraying the principles they ‘allegedly’ stood for. The $159 billion payment as a tariff refund to people who have been CHEATING our country for years is inexcusable. Just one short sentence could have prevented this record-breaking payout. It’s a farce! Their tariff decision was an unnecessary and costly slap to the United States, and a huge victory for our adversaries. If they rule against our country on the birthright citizenship issue—which they likely will—the consequences will be even worse; if worse is even possible. This will cost America enormous sums of money, but more importantly, it will rob America of its DIGNITY! No, the ‘radical left’ Democrats don’t need to ‘expand the court’—it’s already ‘staffed’ with them to the brim! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
This can basically be left uncommented; some might even say it’s a diagnosis. But in reality, this tweet is very characteristic for understanding the mindset of its author. You can tell by the style that he wrote it himself. So, it’s worth commenting.
“A person with a low IQ” is a constantly publicly used 47th characteristic for all African Americans who are Democratic politicians or public figures associated with the Democratic Party by the 47th. You don’t need to be a psychologist to conclude that a person who consistently uses such an insulting expression is an ordinary racist.
The 47th has returned to his customs tariffs, which the Supreme Court deemed illegal as they contradict the Constitution. The fact is that on Monday, a government online service for tariff refund claims started operating. All companies that had to pay illegal tariffs for importing goods into the U.S. will be refunded a total of $166 billion illegally collected by the federal treasury. The online service promises a refund within 60 to 90 days.
As for “refunding tariff fees to people who have been ROBBING our country for years,” this deserves a separate comment. The tariffs, which the Supreme Court declared illegal, were imposed on American importing companies that purchased imported goods—charged at the border, upon entry of these goods into the USA. Among these companies are the largest US retail hypermarket chains Walmart, Costco, Target, the largest electronics and electric goods store Best Buy, and one of the world’s largest online hypermarkets Amazon. Why does the 47th consider that they have been robbing the country for years? In what way? All these companies pay taxes on their profits, what claims can there be against them? Speaking of individuals who had to pay tariffs, it is the residents of the USA, the end consumers of imported consumer goods. And they paid tariffs if selling companies were forced to include the money paid to customs in the prices.
It remains a mystery whether the 47th is sure that foreign states pay the tariffs (which is pure absurdity), or pretends to think so.
Regarding birthright citizenship, the 47th shows a complete lack of understanding of what the Constitution is and that he does not have the right to change it. As Chief Justice Roberts said to Trump’s representative Sowore in court: “The times may be different, but the Constitution is the same.” And birthright citizenship in the USA, legitimized in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for no double or special interpretation, exists in more than thirty countries worldwide.
▶ On Thursday at 14:21, the 47th president, with his characteristic “depth” of thought, shared his view on the war and negotiations with Iran with the world:
“To those people—now fewer than ever before—who read the failing New York Times or watch the ‘fake news’ channel CNN and who believe I am ‘eager’ to quickly end the war (if it can be called that!) with Iran: please note that I am probably the least pressured person ever to hold this office. I have all the time in the world, but Iran does not: the clock is already ticking! The reason some media show such dismal results in terms of subscribers and viewers is that they have completely lost trust. Iran’s navy rests on the sea floor, their air force is defeated, air defense and radar equipment destroyed, their leaders have left this life; the blockade is airtight and secure, and the situation will only worsen for them: time is not on their side! A deal will be made only when it is suitable and beneficial to the United States of America, our allies, and—essentially—the rest of the world. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Since the president once again attacked CNN, it is clear that the channel touched a nerve. Therefore, the best commentary on this tweet and the latest events related to the war with Iran and negotiations will be a comment from CNN journalist Nick Robertson, who is in Pakistan. This comment very accurately reflects the real state of affairs. Here is its translation:
“Who will blink first the moment the war with Iran hits the global economy?”
As peace talks reach a dead end and US President Donald Trump sets no deadlines for ending the war with Iran, one question is on everyone’s lips: who can endure the hardships of this conflict the longest? There is growing evidence that this side is Iran.
Not facing the immediate threat of resuming punitive bombings, Iran is achieving its main military goal—driving up oil prices, thereby pressuring Trump to make concessions on a number of Iranian demands.
For his part, Trump does not acknowledge any unfavorable circumstances. “I have all the time in the world, and Iran does not. The clock is ticking!” he wrote on social media on Thursday. “Time is not on their side!”
Meanwhile, Iranian media linked to state structures have publicly speculated on which target Tehran might attack next. The semi-official state news agency Tasnim stated that “at least seven” data transmission submarine cables serving Gulf countries are concentrated on a narrow section of the seabed in the Strait of Hormuz.
As NATO has realized in dealing with alleged Russian cuttings of cables in the Baltic Sea, countering such asymmetrical warfare requires significant resources and time.
The Iranian military leadership also signals a potential escalation of the conflict with the use of conventional weapons if Tehran’s demands are not met; meanwhile, threats are made against specific targets in neighboring Persian Gulf states, which are still dealing with the aftermath of a recent series of attacks.
The listed targets include the Ruwais refinery (United Arab Emirates) and the Abqaiq complex (Saudi Arabia) – the world’s largest crude oil processing plant.
Iranian trolling of its opponents is certainly not new. However, what’s new here is the scenario where Iran unexpectedly emerges as a leader in the “game of chicken” with the mighty United States.
Perhaps most of the Iranian navy does indeed rest at the bottom of the ocean, as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims. However, small Iranian boats with crews of two to six people continue to attack cargo ships and tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, seemingly acting with complete impunity.
There is no doubt that, over time, the American armed forces could defeat these Iranian “swarms” of tiny speedboats; however, time is a luxury that Trump does not currently possess. And although Iran may have deployed its “second squad,” for the moment, it seems to have the home-field advantage in a standoff with the most powerful military in the world.
Trump, who usually values his ability to suppress opponents by combining bravado with loud threats, has started to act somewhat more restrained on the issue of Iran. His tumultuous posts published last week – claiming that a deal was close and that Iran would hand over “nuclear dust” and stop uranium enrichment – proved to be a complete failure for him.
Iran responded with a statement from Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf – an apparently influential speaker of parliament, who wrote on social network X that Trump “lies.”
The rest is already history. Iran did not attend negotiations in Islamabad, and tension in the strait has sharply increased again. Powerful U.S. armed forces have intercepted more than 30 ships since the blockade of Iranian ports and associated vessels began.
Iran – seemingly choosing the time and place at its discretion – has fired at least five ships in the area of this contested maritime trade route.
As Ghalibaf – Iran’s chief negotiator – stated this week, Iranians are convinced that the advantage is on their side. In his recent speeches, he has proclaimed that the adversary has suffered a “strategic defeat.”
Iranians are unsurpassed masters of “salami-slicing” tactics, allowing them to achieve their goals. The negotiators of the Obama administration learned this from experience: throughout many years of negotiations, culminating in the 2015 “nuclear deal,” Iran gradually overcame resistance to some of its demands.
This week, Iranians demonstrated the same diplomatic agility that worked for them in 2015: they stated they did not request an extension of the ceasefire that Trump announced late Monday night. Since then, they have conspicuously refused to give an official response to it.
However, the sequence of some diplomatic steps in Islamabad suggests otherwise. But if a request was made, it was by no means an open public maneuver. On the contrary, it was subtly veiled in the subtext of statements by their chief negotiator Ghalibaf – for example, in a social media post on platform X: “We do not accept negotiations under threats.” This message was published precisely when Trump refused to extend the truce, and Vice President JD Vance was preparing for another round of negotiations.
It seemed entirely clear to the Iranian leadership: the expiration of the ceasefire would be used as leverage – possibly to extract concessions from them at the negotiation table.
But regardless of how weakened and even fragmented the Iranian leadership might be, they would by no means fall into this trap. Diplomacy – and the pragmatic duplicity that sometimes accompanies it – is deeply rooted at all levels of the Iranian political class.
The main diplomatic superpower of the Iranians lies in the ability to see beyond the horizon, foresee the further development of events, and know exactly how to position themselves to benefit from it.
The ability to achieve the desired outcome so that no one notices they asked for anything at all – and then secure it and move on to the next point in their demands – has become a true art for them.
Lifting the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was the next goal for which they were preparing, and this is something Trump publicly and persistently refuses to do.
In Islamabad, the almost indistinct whispers of leaks have been replaced by silence. This stage of behind-the-scenes mediation has become so delicate that none of those aware of it seem ready to take risks, regardless of the calculations being made to calm tensions and restore trust.
In this deafening diplomatic silence, it is filled with the movement of global markets.”
Nick Robertson’s article needs to add that the world is moving towards economic problems it has not faced in decades.
The British magazine “The Economist” published an article on Wednesday entitled “World Energy Markets are on the Verge of Disaster.”
And these are not loud words. Here’s what the article says:
“Fifty days into the war with Iran, the world has lost 550 million barrels of oil from the Persian Gulf—almost 2% of last year’s global production volume. Each month that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the world misses out on 7 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is 2% of its annual supply volume.”
“By April 20, the last oil tankers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz just before the war began started arriving at their destinations in Malaysia and California. There is no longer any buffer to shield the world from the shock.”
“This puts Asia, which previously accounted for four-fifths of the Gulf states’ exports, in a particularly difficult position. Commercial reserves in several Asian countries are running low. South Korea plans to reduce the release of oil from its strategic reserves in the coming days. Japan’s reserves will run out in May. According to Kayrros, a company that assesses stock volumes using satellite imagery, crude oil stocks in Asia (excluding China) declined by 67 million barrels, or 11%, in the month ending April 19.”
“Europe’s aviation fuel reserves are sufficient for about 50 days of consumption—a typical level for them. However, modeling done by Michele Bouchard of the analytics company Kpler, specifically for The Economist, shows that European reserves will sharply fall if supplies through the Strait of Hormuz do not normalize by June. In other importing regions, reserves could dwindle even faster. The situation could worsen if the U.S.—aiming to curb domestic price increases—follows China’s example and imposes a ban on oil product exports, which have grown by almost half since the start of the war.”
“Still, even if the Strait of Hormuz opens today, it will take months for Gulf countries’ oil production, transportation, and processing to resume at full capacity. Saad Rahim of the trading company Trafigura believes that the cumulative loss of 1.5 billion barrels of oil from the Gulf region—5% of the annual global production volume—is almost inevitable. If the strait remains closed, this figure could very well double. The last time oil demand fell so rapidly—by 10% in a short period—was during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in 2020; this shock also resulted in a more than 3% drop in global GDP. There is less and less time to prevent a similar collapse.”
According to CNN, Pentagon officials informed senators at a briefing that it would take 6 months to clear the mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
There are 1,003 days left until the end of the story titled “Fear: Trump in the White House” © (the title of Bob Woodward’s book published in 2018).
Thank you to everyone who read this. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Take care of each other, help each other. Wishing everyone good health.
Ultimately, what happens in the world depends on us. Whether we fight evil, do good, remain mere observers, passively wait and believe that someone somewhere will decide for us, or fight evil and do everything possible for good to triumph.
We must not allow evil to win. The victory of evil would mean the end of the world we live in. We cannot let this happen. Especially now.
Ukrainian friends, I embrace and love you all. Please take care of each other; I ask you earnestly.
Ukraine is and always will be.
And evil will be defeated and punished. This is inevitable.
