day twenty seven (13. 296)

As Israel expands its buffer zone with the southern border of Lebanon with a literal scorched earth campaign, spreading white phosphorus on the land to make it fallow and uninhabitable, Hezbollah is refusing ceasefire negotiations with the aggressor as IDF bombing runs continue over Iran and that country, following international condemnation saying that the area of Beirut cannot become another occupied territory, another Gaza. Mixed signals came out of both Tehran and Washington over potential peace talks, Iranians insisting that Trump is delusional and holding court with himself and that they will never surrender to the US excessive demands and never accept defeat, Trump pushing for a status quo ante bellum that was nearly achieved before fighting commenced (the goals seem to have shifted to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war) and Iran signalling its readiness to carpet bomb its own land should US troops set foot and seize Bahraini and Emirati territory in response. Not entertaining the draft peace plan, Iran further demands any truce must include stopping hostilities in Lebanon and an Israeli withdrawal and reparations. Aside from the rising death toll approaching nine thousand individuals, the global economic fallout has nearly reached a tipping point with the worldwide petrodollar market dictating costs even for countries saturated in oil and natural gas, importers enacting energy-saving measures, supply chains and infrastructure points disrupted and not quickly or cheaply restored and clouding prospects for industry and manufacturing as resources dwindle—even the AI boom and bubble that is buoying up the broader stock market is in peril, relying not only on investment for mushrooming data centres, those facilities themselves very energy- and water-intensive.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the unique pop culture of Greenland (with synchronopticæ) plus assorted links to revisit 

 

twelve years ago: a Spanish monarch for Scotland 

 

fourteen years ago: an Easter bouquet 

 

fifteen years ago: Earth Hour 

 

sixteen years ago: the US affordable care act 

day twenty-six (13. 293)

Despite the reported delivery of a fifteen-point plan through Pakistani surrogates and claims that the US has won the war with negotiations ongoing and major concessions on the part of Iran—without elaboration but implied it was related to oil and gas shipments and Tehran abandoning its nuclear ambitions—though doubts persist whether any dialogue has occurred and whether Iran would be receptive to any deal, Trump tempered his victory during the swearing in ceremony his new of homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, with the aside that Hegseth and Joint Chief Of Staff were disappointed to broker a ceasefire rather than continuing the destruction, by announcing the deployment of a thousand more troops to the region while airstrikes intensified on US bases in the theatre. At an event marking the seventy-fifth anniversary of the office of the foreign ministry, German president and former Bundesminister des Auswärtigen Frank-Walter Steinmeier reaffirmed that the joint Israeli-American attacks on Iran and Lebanon violate international law and constitute war crimes, questioning the value of diplomacy and foreign policy when bad actors rubbish order and norms. Israel solidifies its hold on a buffer zone thirty kilometres inland from the current border between the countries and is poised for long-term occupation, presenting the question of sovereignty for Lebanon separate from Hezbollah into an existential crisis. Contrary to assurances, an errant missile hits the Iranian nuclear power plant in Bushehr as a military spokesman mocks the American administration’s attempt to control the narrative as a profound strategic failure, chiding them for disguising failure and the inability to extricate themselves from this mess as a truce and they are negotiating with imaginary interlocutors, insisting Tehran has been given no terms and would never capitulate to a hollow superpower.

day twenty-five (13. 289)

Despite counterclaims that there has been no dialogue between Tehran and Washington since the outbreak of the war, Trump insisted on multiple occasions that he has talked with Iranian leadership—no, not the Supreme Leader but someone very high up—and they are making progress towards a deal. Pakistani (engaged in its own battle with Afghanistan) and Egyptian diplomats have acting as intermediaries, and whilst attacks continue by the US on Iranian military targets, Trump has relented on his original threat to destroy energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within forty-eight hours, extending the deadline for five days, Iran calling him out for spreading fake news to manipulate oil and financial markets. Israel has launched widespread bombardment of Iran and southern Lebanon, announcing plans to occupy the security zone up to the Litani river. Slovenia begins fuel rationing as Vietnam slashes domestic flights and New Zealand introduces a stipend to make petrol more affordable. 

synchronoptica

one year ago: pioneering moments in rocketry (with synchronopticæ), Trump sends a delegation to Greenland plus assorted links to revisit

twelve years ago: gustatory hallucinations 

thirteen years ago: the pineal gland plus the Dutch East India Company

fourteen years ago: patio plants 

fifteen years ago: Japan rebuilds plus narcissism and social media

sixteen years ago: social safety nets for the US plus zoo babies

seventeen years ago: moving house and home 

day twenty-four (13. 286)

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s erratic statements on the war with Iran, arguing that “winding down” and escalation were not mutually exclusive stances, whilst Iranian leaders maintain that terror and threats, like the looming deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, only served to strengthen solidarity and resolve. Houthi rebels in Yemen join the fight. Pope Leo calls the death and suffering and environmental damage caused by the conflict in the Middle East a “scandal for the whole human family” as the civilian toll continues to rise. The International Energy Agency calls for the release of more stockpiles as the present crisis dwarfs the oil supply shocks of 1973 and 1979 combined.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus author Ray Nayler

twelve years ago: a halibut recipe, antique Japanese travel posters plus the NATO intervention in Kosovo

thirteen years ago: Easter greetings plus a census of the secret internet

fourteen years ago: inside out socks look like a sea slug plus the debate over continuing financial assistance for former East Germany 

fifteen years ago: rutherfords and risk assessments plus intervention in Libya

sixteen years ago: water throughout the solar system 

day twenty-three (13. 284)

As Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic to non-enemy ships, Trump faces duelling deadlines with two ultimatums delivered Saturday: one either Iran allow all cargo through the vital waterway or face destruction of all domestic energy infrastructure; and two, political but very much related, to congress, either pass voting reforms that would federalise elections or ICE agents will be deployed in US airports. Rather than being cowed into submissions, both opposition parties seem to be taking the longer view, Trump the sole owner of this chaos and its consequences. Despite a near total internet blackout for Iran with start of the war, a carry over from government protests, Tehran seems to be able to strike back on that front as well. The remaining peace-keepers from the NATO mission to Iraq have been evacuated to western Europe.  Israel, Iran and Hezbollah continue to exchange missile strikes, with the UN calling for restraint following bombardment of nuclear facilities and demolition has begun on neighbours near the Israeli border with Lebanon. The US administration roll back more sanctions on Russian petroleum to ease supply pressure.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Sylvanian Families (with synchronopticæ), returning to the Moon facing delays over DEI and DOGE plus a pioneering simulcast

twelve years ago: encrypting one’s DNA, fairs of East Germany plus bio-tech harvests

thirteen years ago: the Cypriot financial crisis 

fifteen years ago: World Water Day

sixteen years ago: reading movies 

day twenty-one (13. 279)

As Tehran marks the celebration of Nowruz (previously), the Persian New Year, Israel continues airstrikes on the capital, Netanyahu speaking earlier to allay claims that he pressured the US to drop negotiations and enter into the fight, whilst suggesting that a ground component may be necessary to finish what they’ve started, “You cannot make a revolution from the air.” Also earlier, Hegseth spoke to the press pool, delivering a SITREP on the progress of the war, characterised as going swimming and ahead of schedule although still not offering much in the way of planning or objectives, meanwhile Trump hosted the Japanese prime minister in the Oval Office, one of the Asian countries he implored for military aid to secure the Strait of Hormuz. For her part, Takaichi explained to Trump that Japan’s ability for intervention and military deployment outside of its borders was curtailed constitutionally by the laws drafted for the country by the American occupying forces after World War II, maintaining her composure and playing to Trump’s interests even after a rather breathtakingly awkward political gaffe (see also) by the president, when asked by a Japanese reporter why the US attacked Iran without forewarning to its allies, joking about the importance of the element of surprise, something Japan ought to know about considering Pearl Harbour. Afterwards a gala dinner was held with guests including tech executives, cabinet members and donors like Miriam Adelson whose late husband advocated for nuclear strikes on Iran for the unveiling of a commemorative gold coin bearing Trump’s image to be minted for America’s upcoming two-hundred fiftieth birthday, approved by the US Commission of Fine Arts.

synchronoptica

one year ago: travel advisories for the US (with synchronopticæ), relative time, seismic activity in real time plus US suggest takeover of Ukrainian nuclear power plants

twelve years ago: an epic Finnish name generator 

thirteen years ago: digital restrictions management 

fourteen years ago: greenwashing, reunited Germany’s solidarity pact tariff plus tech platform comebacks 

fifteen years ago: patrolling Libya’s no-fly zone 

sixteen years ago: seasonal affective disorders 

day nineteen (12. 274)

As Israeli ground forces begin incursions in southern Lebanon, with the intent of occupation, under the cover extensive airstrikes on central Beirut, Iran confirms the assassinations of security chief Ali Larijani and Basij militia commander Gholamreya Soleimani, vowing revenge for their deaths, with a fatwa issued against Israeli leader Netayahu. Israeli defence forces also claim to have killed intelligence chief Esmaeil Khatib.  The International Maritime Organisation (previously) holds an extraordinary session to evacuate tens of thousands marooned in the Persian Gulf and sue for safe passage. Remaining defiant, Iran insists its nuclear programme would not significantly change and again reiterates its stance the development atomic weapons as the realisation seeps in that Trump’s war of choice, pressured or otherwise, is quickly transforming into a war of necessity by the aggressors’ own making pulling the whole world into this conflict with no obvious way to extricate the parties.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus filmmaker John Landis

twelve years ago: a visit to the Völkerslachtdenkmal 

thirteen years ago: a financial lifeline for Greece 

fourteen years ago: ceremonial office 

fifteen years ago: a run on iodised salt 

sixteen years ago: MKUltra and other covert operations

seventeen years ago: France mulls rejoining NATO in full 

day eighteen (13. 272)

Shocked and angered by the perceived ingratitude on the part of Asian and European allies not thanking the US for intervention in the Middle East and unwillingness to join the crusade, Trump says he will soon announce those nations that will help open the Strait of Hormuz, also telling reporters he expects operations to be wrapped up soon.

Not consulted prior and with no clear strategic objectives, Germany—whom the US has suggested should take up the mantle for leadership of the alliance in a couple of years from America—states that this adventure is not NATO’s war and the EU, particularly condemning the Israeli ground invasion in southern Lebanon not wanting to be drawn into a wider conflict and are working to de-escalate the situation. The US Green Zone surrounding the Baghdad embassy came under more attacks as Trump again expressed surprise over the blowback of his magnanimous act of aggression. Meanwhile, Donald Trump says he expects to have “the honour of taking Cuba” as his oil blockage plunges the country into darkness.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: alien enemies (with sychronopticæ) plus more autopen controversy 

thirteen years ago: unexpected snow, the art of Keith Haring, antennas and broadcasting towers plus mesh-worm probes

fourteen years ago: the Obamas in Sgt Pepper-style, mass-surveillance at the pump plus a possible link between carbon-dioxide and obesity

fifteen years ago: automated skulduggery 

day sixteen (13. 267)

Rebuffing calls from allied Gulf states under attack for their hosting of American assets (materiel and business interests declared legitimate targets and intimating that some strikes are being carried out covertly by US and Israeli aggressors) for ceasefire negotiations, Trump rejects talks outright saying that Iran is demanding too much and expresses surprise that the conflict spread, insisting again he has decimated the oil export hub of Kharg Island and may destroy more facilities for target practise. US federal communications commission chair has accused media outlets of putting out fake news and hoaxes regarding the special operation and threatens to take away their broadcasting licenses unless they correct course. Separately, the Pentagon announces a major overhaul for the journalistically independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes, labelling it a “woke distraction.”People are being arrested for posting images of war damage in the Emirates and elsewhere. Formula One grand prix scheduled for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April have been cancelled as the Iraqi national team prepares to travel to Mexico for play-offs for the upcoming World Cup, FIFA ignoring overtures to call off the North American venue. The Iranian national women’s soccer team withdraw their applications for asylum in Australia and plan to return home. The supplies of anti-ballistic missile interceptors continue to dwindle. Ukraine says Russia is replenishing drones. Switzerland denies request by the US for fly-over rights. Over eight hundred civilians have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli bombardment.

synchronopticon

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ), the four pillars of consumer rights plus veto through inaction

twelve years ago: everyday objects rendered useless 

fourteen years ago: impressions from Prague plus UAVs in warfare

fifteen years ago: buried news and hidden connections 

 

they’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for forty-seven years—and now, i, as the forty-seventh president of the united states of america am killing them (13. 263)

Speaking earlier with Fox News, Trump referenced the 1979 Iranian revolution without mention of the US undermining efforts towards democratic reform and echoed previous ambitions announced a few days prior of “hitting the country very hard” and to “watch what happens to these scumbags.”

During a wide-ranging and cringe-inducing press conference, US secretary of war Pete Hegseth, among other topics—including remarks that the press was not delivering good headlines for this special operation and that David Ellison couldn’t take over CNN soon enough, War Widening should be Iran Shirking, Iran Going Underground—questioned Mojtaba Khamenei’s ability to govern, given his public absence since being appointed the Supreme Leader, saying without evidence that the ayatollah’s son was likely wounded and disfigured in the same air attack that took out the family compound. On this day of al-Quds march ( روز جهانی قدس , Jerusalem Day)—observed annually on the last Friday of Ramadan in support of Palestinian statehood, president Masoud Pezeshkian, took part in seeming defiance in response to Hegseth’s comments that all leadership was in hiding, whilst Israel announced funded for militias in eastern Gaza to oust Hamas through clandestine raids and abductions deep within the beleaguered territory and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres travelled to Beirut in solidarity, calling on Israel and Hezbollah to halt the fighting that has engulfed the country in violence without respect to the sovereignty of the populace.

day fourteen (13. 260)

The US has temporarily waved sanctions for Russian crude and for oil in tankers stranded at sea, unable to pass through the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, reiterating the plan to provide naval escorts. Meanwhile oil producing states in the region are contemplating pausing production with limited land-storage capacity and no ships to fill, with the process of restarting drilling not as simple as turning the spigot back on. İncirlik NATO airbase came under fire and is in lockdown and smoke billows over the financial centre of Dubai. A US refuelling plane was downed in Iraqi airspace and a rescue operation for the five crew members is underway, whilst there are also discussions to move anti-missile systems, running in short supply, from South Korea to the Middle East to protect American assets. Preliminary investigations into the bombing of a girls’ school in Minhab puts the blame on American misfiring and faulty intelligence. Historical Safavid-era buildings of the Ali Qapu and Rashk palaces in Isfahan province were destroyed by joint US and Israeli airstrikes as devastating assaults continue in Beirut.

synchronoptica

one year ago: spiritual boxes (with synchronopticæ) plus vintage Czech record sleeves

thirteen years ago: fiscal planning 

fourteen years ago: help for Japan in the Fukushima aftermath 

seventeen years ago: pot o’ gold 

 

day thirteen (13. 258)

Iran continues to target Gulf states’ energy infrastructure, including firing on tankers moored at the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz in the Red Sea, as oil prices climb and some thirty nations release strategic reserves in order to avoid shocks to their economies and industries, impose rationing and driving restrictions. Faced with UN demands that Tehran stop this assault disrupting world petroleum supplies and air travel, the country’s president returned with demands that reparations and security guarantees be included in any agreement for a ceasefire fire. In what was touted as a junket to focus on affordability, Trump proclaimed victory but that they had not yet won enough—whilst US intelligence reports that the Iranian regime was still mostly intact and that, though diminished, it was retains its capability to fight back. Most targets lauded from yesterday’s most intense day of strikes from the US Department of War, dropped from B-52s launched from RAF Fairford, remain unknown. Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon continues with three-quarters of a million people displaced from Beirut suburbs.

 

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ), Trump’s Tesla plus Captain Charles Boycott

twelve years ago: standard aptitude tests plus protest currency

thirteen years ago: bulk trash plus umlauts 

fifteen years ago: aftermath of the Fukushima disaster plus a Venn diagram of the EU

day eleven (13. 250)

Describing the assault as a “short-term excursion” and ahead of schedule, Trump announced, after speaking with Vladimir Putin, that the war on Iran would end very soon, vacillating from earlier projections that it could go on for several weeks, but how soon depended on Tehran, refusing to say whether the new Supreme Leader was a target for assassination, as Israel has declared. Australia grants asylum to members of the women’s national football team stranded after the Asian Games. Air raids in Beirut continue and in the Iranian capital, targeting civilian infrastructure. Syria signalled support to Lebanon for the disarmament of Hezbollah and massed troops on their shared border. NATO defences in Türkiye have intercepted a second missile entering its airspace, deploying jets to protect Cyprus as the RAF patrols over Jordan.

synchronoptica

one year ago: more from artist Len Lye (with synchronopticæ), art vandalism as protest plus erasure of the Black Lives Matter street mural

thirteen years ago: a papal conclave plus a souvenir from the Canary Islands

sixteen years ago: complaints and compliance plus dwindling attention spans

seventeen years ago: Americans’ fear of socialism 

day eight (13. 240)

Oil refineries in Basra operated by US defence contractor Halliburton have been struck. As the Gulf states of the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia suffer fresh attacks and bombardments continue in Lebanon and Iran, independent reporting speculates that supplies of both ballistics and countermeasures are beginning to dwindle, with the US claiming that firepower on Tehran was to surge dramatically in the coming days and Trump saying there would be no further negotiations and would only accept unconditional surrender, the world still guessing about his endgame. An Iranian frigate was sunk outside of the theatre of war, returning from training manoeuvres off the coast of Sri Lanka by American naval forces, the first such expansion since WWII. Russian intelligence is supplying Iran with telemetry on US targets in the region.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Silla Smile (with synchronopticæ) plus assorted links to revisit

thirteen years ago: historical monetary unions 

fourteen years ago: human-robot collaborations 

fifteen years ago: cooking by substitiution 

day seven (13. 237)

Israeli defence forces issuing evacuation orders for neighbourhoods south of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, urging hundreds of thousands to leave the suburbs purportedly under control of Hezbollah, and in turn Hezbollah tells Israeli civilians living near the border to leave. Ukraine’s offer for technical assistance in thwarting Iranian Shahed drone attacks is accepted as Gulf states express discontent and frustration with the continued assault for hosting American assets, given no time to prepare little cover. The US grants Indian refineries a waiver to temporarily purchase Russian oil, just after pressured by the administration to extend sanctions to help end the war in Ukraine. A Democratic-backed measure to halt hostilities in the US congress without the consent of legislature was blocked by Republicans, allowing Trump to continue the expanding—Azerbaijan has been drawn in after an aerial assault on its Nakhchivan exclave, though Iran denies involvement—and chaotic fighting unimpeded by convention or formal declaration. Trump also insists to be part of the decision-making process for the appointment of Iran’s new Supreme Leader. 

day three (13. 225)

Israeli defence forces opened a new front in the nascent war with airstrikes on Lebanon in order to incapacitate missiles launched by Hezbollah. Gulf states, hosting US bases, have issued condemnation for Iran’s indiscriminate attacks not only on US assets but petroleum infrastructure, major refineries and ports shut down after drone strikes. The Cypriot base, RAF Akrotiri, is being evacuated after threats it has become a legitimate target after agreeing to allow refuelling of US jets on the UK outpost. Thousands of flights in and out of the Middle East have been cancelled in the biggest disruption to travel since the COVID pandemic—with airlines afraid of the economic impact and market turmoil. Later in the morning, Iran stated that its Natanz reactor site has been bombed, sparking fears radiological contamination.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the musical stylings of Wintergarten (with synchronopticæ) plus Firefly Aerospace

twelve years ago: Norway’s sovereign petroleum fund, Tom Swift, Russia annexes the Crimean peninsula plus meteorological spring

thirteen years ago: a brain-to-brain interface, major construction projects in Berlin plus US budgetary sequestration

fifteen years ago: consumer rights 

sixteen years ago: limits on data retention 

*69 (12. 211)

During his recent visit to the White House, Israeli prime minister Netanyahu presented Trump with a crass and tacky (and absolutely appropriate for the giver and recipient) Lebanese cedar-mounted golden pager, in reference to the deadly operation that simultaneously detonated thousands of communication devices purportedly used by agents of Hezbollah, maiming thousands and killing scores. Netanyahu also presented Trump with a functioning beeper. A fugitive from justice, wanted by the International Criminal Court, there was little risk of the US extradition to the Hague. The gift exchange continued with America imposing sanctions (assets frozen and a travel ban) on officers of the ICC (previously) and any one deemed to have aided in the ongoing investigations.

synchronoptica

one year ago: eyes on exoplanets (with synchronoptica) plus laws against mass-mesmerism

seven years ago: a X-Files photo-shoot, animator Jiří Trnka, reusable rockets plus insects fashioned from leaves and sticks

eight years ago: forest management, a map to teach tolerance plus utopian advertising

nine years ago: custom LEGO plus French spelling reform

ten years ago: author Roald Dahl plus the Cambridge Five

mmxxiv (12. 124)

As this calendar draws to a close and we look forward to 2025, we again take time to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past year. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

january: The ruling Progressive Democratic Party secures the presidency in Taiwan, along with Bangladesh and the Marshall Island, kicking off the biggest year for elections.  The International Criminal Court rules that Israel must take all measures to curb genocidal conduct in Gaza but falls short of ordering the halt of the incursions.  Japan lands on the Moon.

february: Violent volcanic eruptions force evacuation in Iceland.  King Charles III announces he has cancer and will step away from public-facing duties for the present.  Ex-Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin in Moscow. 

Special council investigating Joe Biden’s unauthorised retention of classified material from his vice-presidency opts not to press charges, citing the US president’s failing memory.  Long time host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Bob Edwards, has died, aged 76.  Israeli forces push further into Palestine, escalating raids in Rafah.  Jon Stewart returns as host of the Daily Show after a nine year hiatus.  Opposition leader and Putin critic Alexie Navalny found dead in remote arctic penal colony where he was detained for the past three years.  The Supreme Court of Alabama has declared frozen embryos legal persons and fearing for legal peril, university clinics in the state have suspended in-vitro fertilisation procedures in response to the ruling.  One hundred thousand protest votes of uncommitted for Joe Biden are cast against Joe Biden in the Michigan Democratic primarily over his support for Israel.  Veteran senator and Trumpism foil and sometimes enabler, Mitch McConnell, announces he will step down as leader of the Republican Party in November.  Dissident Nalvany is permitted a public funeral.

march: Fashion doyenne Iris Apfel passes away, aged 102.  One day ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, the US Supreme Court ruled that no state can keep Trump off the ballot.  Over a hundred Palestinians are massacred by Israeli force as they rush a rare relief convoy entering the besieged city of al-Rashid.  Nikki Haley drops out of the race for the Republican party nomination for presidential candidate. 

Joe Biden delivers a wide-ranging, fiery and impassioned State of the Union address, remonstrating that one cannot just love their country when one’s side is winning.  Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama passed away, aged 68.  Facing an imminent ground incursion into Rafah, the Speaker of the US Senate called for Israeli elections and regime change, as America’s petition for an immediate ceasefire was vetoed in the UN by Russia and China.  Accused of monopolistic practises harmful to innovation and consumers in the “superior smart phone” market, the US department of justice files an antitrust lawsuit against Apple.  Wild media speculation left the royal family with little choice about coming forward with the Princess of Wales cancer diagnosis.  A terrorist attack at a music venue on the outskirts of Moscow kills dozens, burns down the concert hall.  A abstention by the US during a UN ceasefire vote allows the resolution to pass, triggering the ire of the Israeli government though the assault on Gaza continues unabated.

april: Seven humanitarian aid workers of World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike whilst travelling along a pre-authorised aid corridor to bring food to the starving outside of Deir al-Balah.   Israel

kills several top Iranian generals in a bombing of the country’s embassy in Damascus, Syria.  A powerful earthquake strikes Taiwan, displacing thousands.  Actor and comedian Joe Flaherty passes away, aged 82.  México severs diplomatic relations with Ecuador after raid on its embassy in Quito resulted in the apprehension of the former Ecuadorian president seeking asylum there.  OJ Simpson passes away, aged 76.  Iran launches a barrage of projectiles at Israel in retaliation for its attack on an embassy in Syria.  The historic Børsen of Copenhagen is severely damaged by fire.  Unprecedented flood inundates the Gulf of Arabia.  Israel strikes back against Iranian military installations.  In an extraordinary Saturday session, the US House after months of delay passes separate foreign aid packages for Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine.  The US Federal Communications Commission votes to restore net-neutrality.  Fresh from declaring being poor a crime, the US Supreme Court entertains Trump’s claim for presidential immunity.  The criminal trial against Trump stemming from a hush-money payment made to a porn-star begin in Manhattan. 

may: Protest rage on college campuses across the United States for the country’s materiel support for Israel and the universities’ financial ties in the ongoing assault on Palestine. 

Author Paul Auster passes away, aged 77.  A second whistleblower formerly employed by Boeing dies within the space of month.  Labour sees big gains in UK local elections.  Stormy Daniels gives testimony in the Trump trial.  US announces pauses in delivering Israel materiel aid after resolution for incursions into Rafah.  Legendary grindhouse director Roger Corman passes away, aged 98.  Author Alice Munroe passes away at 92.  The president of Slovakia narrowly survives an assassination attempt.  The president and foreign minister of Iran die in a helicopter crash near Azerbaijan.  The Internation Criminal Court of the Hague issues arrest warrants for Israeli leader Benjamin Netayahu and Hamas in Gaza head Yahya Sinwar.  China conducts provocative military drills around Taiwan, expressing dissatisfaction with the newly elected president.  Russian air assaults continue against Ukraine.  Ireland and Norway join Spain in recognising the state of Palestine, while Israel presses on with incursions into Rafah despite condemnation from the UN.

june: México elects its first woman president to continue the liberal and progressive policies of her predecessor.  

After the US authorises limited use of American munitions defensively on Russian territory, Putin suggests that Russia could arm countries looking to target the West.  The coalition governments of Olaf Scholtz and Emmanuel Macron face dissolution following significant gains by far-right parties in EU elections.  Charges stemming from not disclosing his drug addiction while purchasing a fire-arm, US president Joe Biden’s son Hunter is found guilty with no pardon in the offering.  Project scientist for the Voyager programme Edward C Stone passes away, aged 88.  At the height of the pandemic, the Pentagon rans a secret disinformation campaign in the Philippines to discourage people from taking the Chinese-developed vaccine.  Putin and Kim meet for a summit in North Korea.  Baseball great Willie Mays passes away, aged 93.  Veteran actor Donald Sutherland dies, aged 88. A disastrous debate performance against Trump causes some prominent Democrats to urge Biden to step down as the party’s candidate.

july: Labour wins in the UK General Election.  France’s second round of voting keeps the extreme right from power.  Iran elects progressive reformist Masoud Pezeshkian.  Actor Shelley Duvall passes away, aged 75.

Just ahead of the US Republican National Convention, an assassination attempt was made against presumptive party candidate Trump, who forty-eight hours later announces junior senator from the state of Ohio, JD Vance as his running-mate.  Ursula von der Leyen reelected as European Commission president.  Veteran actor Bob Newhart has died, aged 94.  A massive IT outage linked to Windows PCs disrupts banks, travel and media outlets globally. Israeli president Netanyahu addresses the US congress with thousands protesting his presence as the assault on Gaza continues.  Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed during a raid by the Israeli Defence Forces on his compound in Tehran.  Joe Biden calls for radical reform for the US supreme court, including term limits, an enforceable code of ethics and a constitutional amendment limiting broad immunity from prosecution for holders of the high office. 

august: a prisoner-exchange sees American journalists detained in Russia freed.  Anti-immigration riots spread violence in Sunderland over several days.  Trump agrees to debate Harris but only on his terms. 

Global stock markets had a case of the Mondays and sharply decline faced with a possible US recession and opposing currency policies.  Kalama Harris picks Minnesota congressman Tim Walz as her running-mate in the American presidential election.  Google found in violation of anti-trust laws for its monopolistic practises in advertising and creating a walled-garden.  During the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Joe Biden formally and symbolically passes the torch to Harris and Walz in a moving speech capping a fifty-year political career.  Potential spoiler candidate independent RFK Jr drops out of the US presidential race and endorses Trump, who in exchange vows to declassify more files on the Kennedy assassination.  French authorities detain Telegram founder Pavel Durov at the ORLY departure lounge over lack of moderation on the platform abetting organised crime.

september: the Israeli public call for a nation-wide general strike after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas are recovered over the government’s handling of the war that has lasted nearly a year with no signs of ending. 

Consummate, veteran actor James Earl Jones has passed away, aged 93.  Trump and Harris hold a televised debate, meeting one another face-to-face for the first time.   China raises its retirement age for the first time since the 1950s.  Catastrophic floods strike central Europe, with thousands displaced in Poland and Czechia.  After a series of deadly knife attacks, German reintroduces checks at all of its land borders.  A second assassination attempt on Trump is thwarted as he is golfing on one of his courses.  Israel planted explosive devices in thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah months ahead of a coordinated explosion that killed nine individuals and wounded hundreds.  Tens of thousands evacuate southern Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes intensify, killing over five hundred individuals.  The king of Thailand signs same-sex marriage bill into law, making the nation third in the Asian-Pacific region to recognise LGBTQ+ equality after Taiwan and Nepal. Veteran actor Maggie Smith passes away, aged 89.  New York City mayor Eric Adams indicted on fraud and corruption charges.  Continuing to bombard Beirut, Israeli Defence Forces have killed Hezbollah senior leader Hassan Nasrallah.  Singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson dead at 88.  Israel launches a limited ground offensive into southern Lebanon.  

october: Former American president Jimmy Carter turns 100.  US ports shut down as dockworkers go on strike. Tehran fires a barrage of hundreds of missiles into Israel.  The Europa Clipper is launched to study the Jovian satellite. 

As Palestinians continue to be displaced by violence in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel has expanded combat operations into Lebanon, Iran and Yemen.  Trump is interviewed by podcaster Joe Rogan. Israeli Defence Forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, with Israel vowing to take Rafah.  Israel bombs weapons depots near Tehran as the forced depopulation of northern Gaza continues.  Moldova holds a referendum, narrowly deciding to pursue EU membership.  Parliamentary election results in Georgia are rejected by president Salome Zourabichvili, who calls for mass rally and investigation into voting irregularities that gave the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party a controlling majority.  North Korea deploys ten thousand soldiers to Russia to fight in western Ukraine.  Israel bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in the occupied territory while bombing a five storey apartment complex in northern Gaza, killing scores.  Scores of people are killed as flooding ravages Valencia. 

november: Veteran entertainment producer Quincy Jones dead at 91.  Following a controversial outcome in Georgia, Moldova re-elects pro-Brussels government of Maia Sandu.  Elon Musk to spend election night with Trump watching returns—handing over executive control of X to the former president.  Donald Trump is re-elected as the president of the United States. 

The coalition government of Germany collapses.  Australia bans social media for youths under sixteen years of age.  Canada orders Tik-Tok to cease operations in the country but lets users keep the app and continue making content.  Already ravaged by successive hurricanes that has rendered the country’s electrical grid inoperable, an earthquake strikes Cuba.  Youtube celebrity Jake Paul fights Mike Tyson to an audience of sixty-million.  Russia launches a major attack on Ukrainian infrastructure, and Biden authorises the use of long-range missiles into Russian territory.  Pope Francis calls for investigations to determine whether Israeli forces are engaging in genocide in Palestine.  Thomas E Kurtz, co-inventor of BASIC, passes away, aged 96.  The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahyu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, possibly killed by an Israeli airstrike in July, for war crimes in the prosecution of the offensive in Palestine.  After thirty-five years with the show, Pamela Hayden announces her retirement from The Simpsons.  Israel and Hezbollah reach a truce to stop the war in Lebanon.   Trump announced a tranche of punitive tariffs for Canada, Mexico and China that will only punish US businesses and consumers, a possibly add to inflationary pressure at the supermarket, a major factor in re-electing Trump to office.  Syrian rebels take Aleppo as government forces retreat.  

december: Trump nominates Kash Patel to head FBI, prompting Biden to give his son a blanket pardon.  South Korea declares martial law.  The CEO of a major America health insurance provider is assassinated in broad daylight in New York City.  Romanian constitutional court annuls election after suspected Russian interference.  Syrian rebels capture Damascus as Bashar al-Assad reported flees the country.  Taking advantage of the power vacuum, Israel launches heavy airstrikes on Syrian defences and infrastructure.  The diet of South Korea votes to impeach the country’s president.  Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain passes away, aged 73.  A day after being tried in absentia for the war crime of using chemical weapons, a top Russian general was assassinated by an exploding e-scooter in Moscow.  The Pelicott rape case concludes in France.  A vehicle-ramming attack strikes the Magdeburger Christmas Market.  Russia accidentally downs an Azerbaijani civilian airplane while repelling Ukrainian attacks.  Former US president Jimmy Carter passes away, aged 100. 

blue line, red line (11. 855)

In a statement delivered amid the sonic booms of Israeli fighter jets conducting mock air raids in the skies over Beirut and actual strikes on the southern border, Hizbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah addressed for the first time publicly the coordinated denotations of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies Tuesday and Wednesday that killed three dozen supposed operatives and seriously maimed thousands as low-tech communication devices exploded in orchestra after receiving the trigger signal at the same time. Israeli intelligence manufactured and distributed the rigged handheld pagers through a series of Taiwanese and Hungarian shell companies beginning in 2022 once it surmised that Hizbollah were avoiding cell phones for fear that their messages could be intercepted, and whilst this surprise simultaneous assault is arguably more targeted and discriminating than the bloodshed in Gaza, the injuries sustained happened in public, in the markets and in traffic and not on individuals actively carrying out the business of the organisation, in violation of the on prohibition on landmines and similar traps, causing mass panic and overwhelming Lebanon’s and Syria’s emergency care infrastructure. Potentially six thousand of people could have been killed all at once in this unprecedent attack. Nasrallah called the sabotage an act of war, vowing to keep fighting until aggression in Palestine ends. Though not acting during the immediate chaos, Israel is committing to this “new phase” of the war in order to return settlers to the north of the country on the countries’ disputed border region and the occupied Golan Heights.

mcmxcvi (11. 227)

Due to the periodic nature of the Gregorian calendar, 2024 corresponds precisely to the year 1996, twenty-eight years ago. We can speculate further what historic events from that year might resonate with the coming one, like in January, with the re-election of Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority, the February peaceful transition of power in Haiti and a ceasefire in Sarajevo, March’s intimidating military exercises conducted by China along the coast of Taiwan, April’s Hutu genocide in Burundi, the arrest of the Unabomber, Israeli’s Operation Grapes of Wrath as retaliation for terrorist attacks perpetrated by Lebanon, May’s Port Arthur massacre which prompts Australia to introduce a nationwide ban on gun-ownership, the truce in Chechnya or the election of Benjamin Netanyahu, July’s cloning of Dolly the Sheep, the re-election of Boris Yeltsin or the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta Georgia, August’s first three-parent human baby, November’s re-election of US president Clinton. We also have the choice of recycling the calendars from 1968 or 1940.