day one hundred seventy-three (13. 738)

Trump’s CIA director mysteriously appears in Moscow. In a limited ruling, the US Supreme Court allows the administration to curb use of mail-in ballots ahead of the mid-terms. Oman and Iran outline their plan to restore safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz whilst the American president claims the waterway is fully demined as his economic warfare unfurls, chief Iranian trade partner China (the only other nation to refuse Trump’s deals) strongly denouncing the threat of secondary sanctions. Canada, not demurring from their own trade war—attacked and not of the their choosing—compiles a list of targeted tariffs to match dollar-for-dollar US designed to apply pressure to MAGA majority regions in hopes of swaying GOP dominated districts to rethink their tacit support for these policies, deferring on energy exports for the time being cognisant that a tariff is a tax domestically and not wanting, like Iran’s politically savvy restraint—or Ukraine pausing attacks on the Russian capital during the US intelligence chief’s visit (the only reason why the secret flight is known about), to too quickly expend sympathy and solidarity.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), the burial site of Richard III plus another executive order from Trump

two years ago: more links to enjoy plus a visit to Hermannsfeld  

three years ago: the quandary of creation plus the Great Moon Hoax (1835) 

four years ago: colour television in Germany plus even more links

five years ago: Rashomon (1950), Saint Genès, a fictionalised rivalry, assorted links worth the revisit plus a complete cheese presentation guide

six years ago: Voyager I leaves the Solar System (2012), more links to enjoy, standards for casks and barrels plus a Downing Street double

day one hundred seventy-two (13. 737)

US launches its economic D-Day against Iran, threatening allies to cut trade ties or face sanctions themselves—though few details emerge regarding the execution or efficacy. Trump announces he will implement more tariffs on Canadian steel and automobiles to go into effect in ninety days to allow time for negotiations—which won’t materialise as Carney and company walked away from a very bad deal with a litany of demands that undermines the nation’s business sovereignty. This strategy of deferment is typical, a time-bomb left for others to diffuse—or not and having to address the consequences not of their choosing, like the arrangement that Trump made with the Taliban for America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the provisions of the his Big Beautiful Bill that trigger cuts to federal aid programmes for the incoming congress to handle (not to mention the exploding debt and broken trust globally)—and Tehran’s refusing further talks with the current administration—leaving an awful inheritance ostensibly for the Democrats. Alberta, the US chief exporter of petroleum, announces cuts to supply coming in September as America continues to drain strategic reserves to dangerously low levels and only a single tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz today with another being fired on and forced to turn back.

day one hundred seventy-one (13. 735)

Though the admission by Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian that his country was facing financial hardships might be seen as weakness and a sign that the US economic pressure campaign is working, it is only an honest expression of the realities of war and a stark counter point to Trump’s attitude—far from affirming it—that dismisses the pains of Americans and insists that expensive gas is a small price to buy to ensure Tehran never obtains a nuclear weapon. In his overtures to North Korea, Pyongyang so far giving the American president the cold shoulder, Trump disclosed the amount of warheads the country has, fifty-seven, and thus an arms race for the atomically ambitious to achieve that floor in order to have a deterrent against the US and Trump’s largess. After a month’s long deployment detour US refuelling planes leave Bulgaria after other NATO countries refused them quarter to persecute the war in Iran—and following explicit threats from Tehran. Pakistan’s army chief is flying to Iran in hopes of breaking the impasse in talks as the Islamic Republic threats maritime traffic passing the Strait of Hormuz with fines and detention, vowing that the war will not be settled under the aggressors’ conditions.

day one hundred seventy (13. 729)

Iran doubles the bounty on US soldiers for women who kill or capture them un the event of a ground invasion. NATO is said to be exploring options to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. As countries around the world shrug off Trump call for solidarity and economic warfare, the American president, cryptically and confusedly, suggests that the US military could be enlisted—somehow—to offset loses in the bond markets, global skepticism in the future solvency in the country that makes it more expensive to finance its debt, possibly intimating that the armed forces could become mercenaries for hire for third-party conflicts. The US only other option for leverage against Iran, having painted itself into a corner, would be to sanction Chinese banks and small, independent “teapot” refineries that import Iranian oil, but ahead of Xi’s planned state visit to the US, it does not seem like a palatable course of action—strong-arming has gotten them nowhere. France pledges delivery of air interceptors to Ukraine after deadly waves of Russian attacks. Canada hits America with a retaliatory tariffs as trade war escalates. Washington removes Syria from its list of states sponsoring terrorism after fifty years following a congressional review and hints that Damascus might play along with the embargo against Tehran.

day one hundred sixty-nine (13. 726)

Trump says that he already considers the Strait of Hormuz part of the US as the world balks against the America president’s push for all nations to join in on imposing economic sanctions on Iran or face severe consequences—Iran calling it a global “declaration of war” and undermining sovereignty. Trump further requests another meeting with Kim Jong Un though Pyongyang denies that there are any talks of talks scheduled. A special UN rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories condemns the IDF as “most immoral” following the latest killings in the West Bank by violent settlers and the killing of police officers in Gaza. Houthis claim more drone hits on Saudi oil facilities and airports. Though no oil tankers have transited the Persian gulf in days, the US spins a counter-narrative, suggesting either wholesale detachment from reality or shuttling a shadow fleet. The Panama Canal limits traffic due to low water levels caused by El Niño as inland shipping across Europe falters due to drought conditions.   As Canada refuses to acquiesce to all of Trump’s trade demands, the US re-imposes a fifty-percent tariff on exports, Trump opines that Iran is desperate for a deal but not the right deal just yet.

day one hundred sixty-four (13. 716)

The original MOU between Tehran and Washington to extend the ceasefire is set to expire without any progress in negotiations and a peace deal. Recognizing the diplomacy is supposed to have meaning and not just antagonism, petitions mount to expel US ambassadors in Canada, Iceland and other countries that American missions refer to as the fifty-first or fifty-second states. Though no longer a major deterrent to China, the US removes its last aircraft carrier from the Pacific theatre in order to supplement the crisis in the Middle East—joint training exercises with South Korea are scaled back. Trump congratulates Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for forging a separate defensive pact. Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz grids to a halt.

day one-hundred fifty-five (13. 696)

Türkiye enters a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, saying the alliance does not contradict its commitment to NATO. Small municipal water utilities across the US experience cyber attacks on their equipment, with authorities suspecting Iranian hackers though Trump dismisses the assessment—instead blaming the incompetence of political opponents like Wisconsin governor Tim Walz. America promises to lift the blockade of Iranian ports without conditions once Tehran and Muscat finalise negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

day one-hundred fifty (13. 684)

Categorically denying Trump’s claim that he called off the “biggest attack since World War II” at the request from Iran so that talks could resume on Monday (without providing details of where or with whom) regarding reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran says reports from Washington were untrue, that no negotiations have been scheduled and that Iranian forces stand ready to defend themselves. Officials add that the only imminent deal being negotiated is with Oman for administration of the vital maritime artery and are not interested in working with the US over continued violations of their MOU: Despite the fact that this marks the fourth of fifth time Trump has stepped back from the brink, citing phantom progress, the markets hang on his every word and react with irrational exuberance.

day one-hundred forty-nine (13. 681)

The EU is to host an emergency meeting of interior ministers over migrants massing at the north African frontier of Spain at Ceuta.  As the illegal joint Israeli-US war on Iran continues to spiral out of control with its expansion into Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Trump announces that he has decided to “hold off” on further attacks, with the “perimeters of a deal” agreed upon by Tehran—adding that Tel Aviv was joining the US in committing to giving negotiations time to work.Condemned as rank corruption and a tool of market-manipulation, Trump is trying to sell a premium membership plan to his social network that offers the top tier early access to his missive so they can buy and sell stocks accordingly.  An exchange with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly persuades Trump to cancel operations. Dialogue, of which there is only scant evidence from Pakistani and Emirati envoys other than Trump’s vacillating threats, only concerns reopening the Strait of Hormuz to avoid a global economic recession over the energy crisis.

9x9 (13. 655)

all the queens houses: the eclectic architectural vernacular that makes up the New York City’s most diverse borough  

everything counts in large amounts: the moral imperative to understand big numbers, however unimaginable—via Kottke   

incendie de forêt: over a quarter million residents in France and Spain are evacuated from encroaching wildfires  

question de forme: the geometric animation of René Jodoin—see also, see previously

concurso de belleza: Trump cites his beauty pageant credentials to claim to be the competent authority when Venezuela is ready for elections  

plotlines: charting the journey of the protagonist in select classic novels with period maps—via Language Hat 

devil dog: Poseidon’s Underworld (previously) reviews the 1978 made-for-television star-studded spectacular about a satanic litter  

interstitial: Western science seems to recognise the meridians and subtle body of acupuncture and Ayurvedic traditions with a popular article on human anatomy’s third circulatory system  

cornell, 1965: filmmaker Lawrence Jordan’s 1978 profile of peer and colleague Joseph Cornell of Utopia Parkway, Flushing Queens

day one-hundred thirty-four (13. 627)

Trump’s Board of Peace scales down recovery programme to a tiny pilot plot in south Gaza. The US unleashes fresh waves of assaults, with American gulf allies taking the flak, as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz grows. The Revolutionary Guard has made arrangements with Houthi rebels in Yemen to close access to the Red Sea should the US begin threatened attacks on bridges, highways and power plants. During a primetime televised address, Trump speaks at length regarding election integrity, citing without evidence widespread voter fraud, McCarthy-era Communist infiltration and repeated false claims about the 2020 presidential race being stolen from him—an unremarkable rehash of old grievances ahead of the midterms when some expected more of a bombshell, like announcing that elections were postponed indefinitely due to the war or that he was running for a third term.

day one-hundred thirty-four (13. 625)

The US conducts another nighttime wave of strikes against Iranian civilian and military infrastructure and disables two tankers trying to breach the blockade of its ports, shooting munitions into the ships’ smokestacks. Trump says raids will continue until he says “it’s enough,” reluctant to give reporters a deadline for Iran to return to negotiations. Beatings will continue until morale improves... Bombs fall on Tehran for the first time since the ceasefire and the opening volleys of the war, as more retaliatory drone and missile attacks target US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. Global markets seem spooked with demand destruction, unreflective of the realities of an increasingly dire situation with the Persian Gulf again closed and Russian refinery capacity shut down. Zelenskyy dismisses his defence minister as Keir Starmer during his last day in office visits Ukraine.

day one-hundred thirty-three (13. 622)

Facing international backlash, just like over his arbitrary and vacillating tariff regime, Trump walked back his plan to impose twenty percent transit fees on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, turning to investment deals in the gulf to help offset costs of policing the waterways. US strikes continue with explosions reported on Qeshm Island and the deployment of submarine drones—threatening to bomb bridges, highways and power plants over stalled talks, whilst Iran continues aerial assaults against Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. New sanctions against the Iranian shadow financial network by America are announced. The governor of South Carolina appoints Lindsay Graham’s sister to serve out his term as the governor of Kentucky demands an in person interview with Mitch McConnell and a medical assessment, wanting to make his own appointment should McConnell be unable to return to the senate chamber.

day one-hundred thirty-three (13. 619)

Claiming that the strait separating the Persia from the Omani gulf is open and will “remain” so “with or without Iran,” Trump announced that the USA will reinstate the IRANIAN BLOCKADE and issues assurances that all other countries will have fair and open use of the vital waterway, with the USA henceforth known as the “‘The GUARDIANS OF THE HORMUZ,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.” Not only is Trump ignorant of the fact that his actions have caused the regional and global turmoil and an insult to the gulf partner nations hosting American military bases under attack, the transit fees are more than ten times higher than the tolls Tehran charged and the US has pronounced a toll on international waters to be illegal under international law. Iran’s foreign ministry announces that diplomacy has failed and is under no obligation to adhere to the framework of the MOU after the blatant violations of the US. Following the unexpected death of senate colleague Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell supposedly issues a statement as a sign of life, complete with a still photograph showing him reclining in his hospital bed, his wife at his side and reading the sports section of today’s Washington Post, like how a kidnapper would send a date-stamped ransom picture with the hostage holding up a newspaper.

kkk-mart (13. 616)

Disbanded in 1869 by general consensus of its members, the secret order founded by US civil war veterans of the Confederacy in order to terrorise formerly enslaved individuals, the fraternity, the Ku Klux Klan—also styling itself as a secret empire with the same attendant hierarchy and bureaucracy of a cosplay kingdom—reconstituted itself and hateful message as an America-First society in 1915 after the premiere of DW Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. After experiencing the natural consequences of public marches unmasked, Klonvocation rallies adopted robes and headdresses for their knights to maintain anonymity whilst displaying rank and seniority of members’ allegiance, with the associated merchandising being big business aside from ideological position. The merch soon became a prerequisite, with mandated nancying and homosocial symbols at every Klan event, the garb, a ceremonial sword representing white Christian nationalism, sanctified Klan water for absolution and used to baptise new members. Items were available in a full-colour glossy catalogue, which also included banners, emblems, figurines and literature like the Kloran, the Klan’s book of scripture. still in circulation today, hate having kept up with inflation but sales and dues siphoned off by other contemporary movements.

9x9 (13. 605)

spitalfields life: street photographer Kurt Hutton  

djt: rentier-in-chief could potential benefit financially from the rebranding of Palm Beach International airport, just kilometres away from Mar-a-Lago 

turn around bright eyes: RIP Bonnie Tyler—see previously here, here and here 

l’odissea: the 1911 cinematic adaptation of the timeless classic  

freedom fuel: White House announces network of gas stations with prices capped (previously) at $3.47 per gallon, status quo ante bellum 

the night the earth shook, strangers started to draw: in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Syria and Türkiye in February of 2023, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team helped save lives—via Maps Mania 

twenty minutes into the future: a look at when the cola-wars where dominated by dystopian science-fiction—see previously

tax shelter: very much solicited financial advice on Trump Accounts for Kidz 

pixel skylines: urban grounds from vintage video games

day one-hundred twenty-eight (13. 603)

Speaking at the NATO summit, Trump says that the US is preparing to launch a heavy assault on Iran—“I’ll give a little warning: we are going to hit them hard tonight”—after declaring that the truce was over and suggesting that return to war is imminent, the military conducting further strikes to “degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation.” Despite disparaging comments by Trump “not wanting to deal with them,” the US president adds that negotiations will continue. The US president further suggests that they might seize Kharg Island with Iranian forces already retaliating. As hopes dim that the MOU could lead to permanent peace in the region, oil prices soar and world stock markets tumble.  Although the NATO meeting could have gone worse for the alliance, with Trump airing old grievance, repeating demands for Greenland and stopping all trade with Spain, he did not denounce Article V, the pledge for mutual protection and was cordial with Zelenskyy, even granting the license to Ukraine to build its own Patriot missile systems.

days one-hundred twenty-three and four (13. 592)

Preoccupied with state funerals for the leadership killed during the onset of the war and American bread and circuses, Tehran and Washington have been mostly adhering to their armistice—although debates still remain unresolved concerning tolls for Hormuz and the Omani alternate route through the strait. Trump claims he extended the truce out of respect and charity for the former Supreme Leader and his family, though the US president interrupted his holiday schedule to speak with both Zelenskyy and Putin as efforts to end the war are seen as stalled and no closer to breaking the deadlock as the war is well into its fifth year, delivering from Mount Rushmore—there is still a movement within the GOP cult to add his visage to the monument—a relatively anodyne speech about American exceptionalism, the country’s spiritual-misguide, before veering into the sinister threat of Communism with rhetoric that rivals the Red Scare.

from vanity to insanity (13. 582)

The preliminary findings of a Democrat-led House subcommittee have been published in a report that the Trump administration staged a hostile takeover of America’s semiquincentennary celebration to promote political ideology, self-enriching pet projects, the harvesting voter data and white Christian nationalism through a shadow corporation embedded within the Nation Parks Foundation, which hijacked the agenda from the independent, non-partisan and non-profit commission established by congress in 2016 to plan and execute the event. Charted as a wholly owned subsidiary under the parks foundation charity for public remove, Trump’s Freedom 250 sustained a relentless pressure campaign against America250 to hijack the anniversary for personal enrichment through transparent fraud and dissimilitude and selling access to the president, his Praetorian guard given a bonus in lieu of overtime with crypto-coins issued by the family crime syndicate and the same firm that organised the January Sixth rally being awarded contracts for July Fourth related events. Meanwhile, after the supreme court affirmed birthright citizenship, the acting attorney general directed prosecutors and law enforcement officers to monitor pregnant non-citizens and to try to prevent them from giving birth on US soil and whilst attending the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt presidential library (skipping Obama’s) quizzed the AI-generated hologram of Old Rough and Ready about the Panama Canal and lied to the press, whom had just witnessed the exchange, about how it went.

you do really have to hand it to the algae (13. 575)

…for their relentless message discipline. Despite the fact it registers lower on the national and global insult level of what Trump heinous things has done than the Melania movie, the ongoing fiasco surrounding the Capitol Reflecting Pool has managed to capture public attention through successive news cycles whilst we might forget even the latest demolition job on civil rights, the environment, rule-of-law, world-order, democracy and even on the architectural landscape and heritage of Washington, DC—for as precious that Americans can be about such things, the response over the extensive remodelling of the White House was muted and resigned.
The resonance of this renovation lies in its scale for the rapine and corruption and incompetence and grift that are too big to contemplate soberly (hence, flooding the zone) but also in the fact that something humbling yet manageable exploded with scapegoating, outsourcing and more deflection rather than finding a remedy, behaviour that violates the code of all dads everywhere (and the like) when it comes to cleaning a grungy pool, firing up a backyard grill or planning a party.