Strait of Hormuz Not a Problem

    So, tankers are lined up near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.  Lots of issues surround the location; lots of media coverage worldwide. Lots of verbal chatter over the opening, closing, re-opening, re-closing. Naval vessels shooting at each other; ships' crews going hungry, and on and on and on. But:

Not For Everybody

   And not for Alexey Mordashov nor his "super yacht"- The Nord. The ship, at 465' long, is said to be worth about $500 millions with space for 36 guests, has its own helipad. While not in Mordashov's name, but his wife's name, the Super Yacht Times says Alexey controls the ship. 

   Mr. Mordashov is owner of Severstal, the Rus steelmaker(majority shareholder) and is a sanctioned billionaire. He is the epitome of the definition of oligarch, or is simpler terms; a friend of VOVA, aka Mad Vlad Putin, dictator of all Rus.  His net worth is north of $30 billions. In America, he'd be looked down upon as a pretender billionaire.  When Russya invaded Ukraine, the U.S. , U.K., and the European Union sanctioned Mordashov because of his connections  to the Kremlin.

    The Russyan military developed relations with the Iranian government and imported Shahed drones which the Rus then conveerted into their own variant known as the Geran. So, there is some speculatkion that Mordashov paid a small passage fee to Iran to be allowed to pass through the Starit of Hormuz and head to the open seas, somewhere more quiet, less prone to bombs and artillery and naval gunfire. Money 'always' talks, Igor.

    Despite the passage of one ship, more than 1600 other ships are starnded in the vicinity with more than 20,000 crew and servicing staff.  The International Maritime Organization has reported that logistics of servicing agents has become a problem for stranded crew members.   And all of these individuals are stuck because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is in charge of Iran, which seized 2 ships in the Starit last week.

Welcome to the Middle East. 

New Casualty Figures Expose Rus to Truth

     Well, now, 350,000 combat deaths suffered by-------Russyan Army in Ukraine.  The Rus people are having to reconcile this figure with their own perceptions of Mad Vlad's "Special Operation". The outside world knows about the debacle, but inside Russya, those locals don't have much of a clue. They sit and stare at their smart phones, hoping for something, anything that will transport them to a world a separate world, a world away from reality.

        As the war drags on and kills more Russyans everyday, the fantasy created in the brain of the Kremlin's own dixtator persists as not only a headache for the Rus, but also a headache for the  Ras-Putin. His generals convinced him that the powerful army of Russya would steamroll Ukraine in weeks. After 4 + years of war, the "steamroll" has deteriorated into the "slug roll", inching along, battered by ice and snow, and the ever present effect of swarms of Ukrainian drones.

       So, modern warfare looks different than the war in the old army textbooks.  A few years ago, a frontal assault could happen. Not anymore. That tactic is long over. Mass troops? Look out from above, the swarms are on their way to blanket any and all concentrations of forces: they are being tracked, targeted, and destroyed before they even begin.  The generals are scrambling; the Kremlin is scrambling, the recruiters are scrambling.  Who wants to join the army? Nobody with a brain.  Maybe a North Korean. (Where are they now?). All that information is available online, but nobody in the Kremlin wants to read it. Oh, Patriots DAy celebrations?  Ha, ha, ha, ha, : another concentration to be targeted. Some wiseass in the Kremlin thought it would be cute to ask for a temporary ceasefire during the parade. Laughable, really. More missiles, more drones is Ukraines's response, as it should be. Step up the costs on the Old Dictator and perhaps his advisors will show some spine and assassinate the old bastard. 

Patriots Day in Russya

   Well, now, are aall the tickets sold for good seats for Mad Vlad's parade of failed dreams? Who will show up to the Onion Top's favorite day when all the fat oligarchs crowd together in their fur hats and pathetic half smiles hoping the FSB is not taking their pictures to show Puttin who's on board and who's stashing money in Dubai and Zurich.

     Also in the mix will be the threat(s) from down south: has Kyiv attained enough power to reach Red Square? Will a drone or drones swarm the parade observers with clouds of armed suicide drones that will cripple the government? No doubt Kyiv is thinking ahead and has target makers zeroing in on the rparade route that could provide the best targets.

    Putin will probably observe the parade from an unknown location, maybe in the Urals or Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast.  Good place to hide but not good enough. The Israelis know where he is at all times. hey have paid informants throughout the country, including the East Coast.

Have a nice day. 

     

World Cup: What

   FIFA is concerned-all the tickets have not been sold. What is going on? Hmmm. MAybe not enough folks want to pay for high air faes. Gasoline prices are through the roof. Bad timing FIFA.  Ha,ha, ha, haaaaaaaa.

    Take your World Cup to Russya. 

NBA Playoffs:

     Some surprises in the first week: more than a few blowout games among the teams vying for status.

   It's always interesting to watch the NBA plyoffs because it appears that the teams/refs are operating at a different lecel of play. There's DEFENCE . Ok, that's good. Oh, and they are aggressive in the 'paint'. Oh, the refs missed an obvious foul, oh, now they see it on replay. FLAGRANT, 2 shots. It's different now. Some fouls are overlooked and the teams/coaches/refs are in on the fix.

      The fans are sort of on board.  

Lula Meets the Oval

    So, Brazil's president wants to patch things up with the Oval.  He visits Washngton,DC to try a "face-toFace w/ the Oval. Now they can speak in 'body language'-the language of political leaders around the world. We've all become used to its gestures, postures, subtle movements, eye rolls, head tilts, smiles and grimaces, all of which speak to crowds and audiences, and ubiquitous cameras(we are all camera toters).

      What does Lula want from Big Brother? He must need some boosting at home , so he heads 'norte' to get some press and maybe a loan or two. Perhaps it's about tariffs, perhaps not. What tariffs affect Brazil? Beef tariff? No, no beef gfrom Brazil: hoof & mouth disease is still there. Hmmm. Immigrants from Brazil? no, too far, too much water to cross.

    Amazon rain forest destruction? Climate change? Illegal gold mining: that's it. Lula is worried about gold being shipped w/o export duties. Wait. Is there sufficient gold in Brazil? NObody knows because most of it is mined illegally under the rain forest umbrella. Or something else. The press is somewhere in the Oval so t will bereported across all media platforms today. 

  Watch it. 

Kremlin Conducts Shadow War Against Ukraine

         The Kremlin likes to deny involvement in the "Special Operation" down south. Since 2014 when the Special Operation" began in Crimea, the GRU has conducted  surveillance ops against Ukraine and her supporters wherever they are.  The evidence continues to mount as the clandestine operations move ever onward not only against Ukraine support, but also opposition voices against Putin and his Kremlin lackies.

     This past week, authorities in Lithuania arrested 9 suspects who where involved in acts conducted at the behest of the Kremlin. They included setting remote operated bombs, murder plots against ndividuals in various locations, and continued efforts to thwart assistance to Ukraine against the invading forces of the Rus.

     Among the acts were various plots to sabotage railroad terminals, warehouses, cargo planes, shipping facilities, and transport hubs. Many of those recently arrested were recruited online by the GRU. Or by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the official name of it.  Since Viktor Orban of Hungary was given the heave ho by voters, the Kremlin has had to regroup in Eastern Europe as the Kremln continues efforts to undermine the E.U. and NATO specifically. Additionally, Bulgaria now becomes the focus of efforts to infiltrate that state on its border.

      Some Rus dissidents from Bashkortostan, a mostly muslim region in central Russya, have been targeted by the Kremlin. Those opponents of Moskva from the region have had to flee for their lives to escape the reach of GRU assassins/murderers who have pursued them. 

     Meanwhile, the Kremlin has limited locals' access to the internet as they attempt to control all media and media reports on the ongoing war in Ukraine.