but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing nuclear power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people (13. 344)

Making a bad situation of his own creation far worse, following the failure (by design) of the peace summit hosted by Pakistan, American president Trump lightly elaborated on his plan to simultaneously open the Strait of Hormuz with a coalition from the NATO countries he has disparaged, led by the UK—which Trump said earlier has no navy—and to blockade it, stopping any ships from entering or exiting the vital waterway and further placing an interdict on all vessels in international waters that had paid a toll to the Iranian government for passage. The threat, which is not conducive to further talks (Tehran had no pretensions that a treaty would be reached in a day, Obama’s 2015 nuclear settlement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA—nullified by Trump, took twenty months of negotiations during times of relatively less tension and not twenty hours under duress), would reignite hostilities should Iran remain obdurate over US demands or intervene militarily should US ships try to enter the strait and, if carried out, would embargo tankers from France, Japan, the Philippines, India, South Korea and China that have successfully obtained passage, likely already subject to US sanctions for the breach and with attendant economic consequences, affecting global supplies of not only oil and natural gas but also helium for semi-conductors and phosphate, urea and sulfur for agriculute. After walking back from the brink of destroying the entire culture, from an individual lobbying for the Nobel Peace prize not too long ago, Trump again reiterated his options of targeting civilian energy infrastructure and wantonly commit war crimes.

9x9 (13. 340)

sen̓áḵw: the return of a Squamish Nation village exempt from zoning laws and an elegant solution to Vancouver’s housing shortage—first heard on NPR  

patience: a meditation on Solitaire—see previously  

tanker war: veterans of the 1981-1988 Persian Gulf crisis share flash-back inducing parallels  

granny shelf: an appreciation of the overlooked products in one’s grocery aisle—via Web Curios  

rückenfigur: a retrospective exhibition of Expressionist artist Gabriele Münter  

season ticket: brilliant vintage bus passes of the Milwaukee metro  

easter armistice: attacks continue as thirty-six hour truce for the Orthodox holiday between Ukraine and Russia approaches  

phreak box: an emulation of tones that hacked payphones—via Kottke—see previously  

diego garcia: US opposition forces UK to abandon plans to return the Chagos islands to Mauritius

day forty-two (13. 335)

Continued assaults on Beirut threatening the fragile ceasefire, Trump has reportedly urged Netanyahu to be more “low key” in his attacks on Lebanon as the delegation headed by JD Vance for the US and Iranian leaders are scheduled to meet in Islamabad for peace talks. The White House warns government employees from using insider knowledge to leverage bets on the outcome of negotiations and direction of the war on prediction markets. Israel will hold direct talks with the Lebanese government aimed at disarming Hezbollah and limiting collateral casualties. Underscoring Tehran’s continued control of the strait, tankers are being selectively let through and still only a trickle of the ships parked on either side of the gulf. Kuwaiti territory is still being targeted although Iran denies to be behind retaliatory attacks and the Emirates has reported clear skies.

synchronoptica

one year ago: The Great Gatsby (with synchronopticæ), market reaction dulls Trump tariffs plus assorted links worth the revisit

twelve years ago: NATO and Ukraine plus English orthography 

thirteen years ago: the Night of the the Long Knives 

fourteen years ago: a planned Star Trek casino 

fifteen years ago: a catalogue of Star Trek characters 

addenda (13. 333)

The Orange Menace actually articulated his interest in a profit sharing scheme for the transit fees that Iran is securing for the Strait of Hormuz (which was free for all ships prior to the war) as the “ayatollah booth.” Jesus wept. The waterway is almost immediately closed in retaliation for Israel’s relentless attacks on southern Lebanon in breach of the ceasefire agreement, having displaced a million residents from Beirut and surroundings and having killed over three-hundred civilians in its latest wave of air raids. US president Trump leaves his standing army in the region, threatening in a social media post that should Tehran fail to fully comply with the terms of the truce, “—if for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger and better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!” Whilst grateful for the fragile peace, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez spoke out against Netanyahu and IDF efforts to expand its “buffer zone” and of Trump, he refuses to “applaud those who set the world on fire and they then show up with a bucket.” Described only as frank, Trump held a private discussion with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte to air his frustrations with the alliance—no details were given other than Trump has circled back to his preoccupation with Greenland, calling the Danish territory a poorly managed piece of ice.

sitrep and scuttlebutt (13. 303)

Daily digest notwithstanding, our gratitude to Web Curios for the recommendation to read a piece that’s been making the rounds from the third week of the war with some postcards from the front—given the propensity for the platform to amplify and enable actual Nazis and the pace of change, we skipped it—that is a fairly good distillation of how the Israeli-US attack on Iran is playing out including America’s anti-strategy and rapid fire contradictions that even predates the phantom peace talks and Persian TACO. 

From Friday’s press gaggle [20 March]. Barely exaggerated: at 12:03 PM, President Trump told reporters he wanted a ceasefire with Iran. At 12:05 he declared victory. At 12:07 he announced he was sending Marines. At 12:08 he said no boots on the ground. At 12:11 he said he did not want a ceasefire. At 12:16 he declared victory again. At 12:17 he asked for a ceasefire. At 12:23 he told NATO they were cowards. At 12:29 he said Iran was begging for a ceasefire. At 12:31 he said everything was perfect. At 12:36 he said $500 oil was a good thing. At 12:37 he demanded Iran open Hormuz. At 12:39 he said Hormuz was never closed. At 12:41 he said the US was not at war with Iran. At 12:42 he declared victory in Iran. 

A perfect encapsulation of the concept of Poe’s law—satire requires a degree of hyperbole and whilst there’s some register of editorialised snark, events are presented without embellishment as everything is already saturated in absurdity. The geographic lessons of geopolitics are presented as is the concept of a plan to capture Kharg Island, de-sanctioning Russian and Iranian oil and how the retreat of the US navy’s flagship aircraft carrier was tracked by a sailor deciding to take a jog around the deck and more.  Be sure to read the next instalment. 

day twenty-eight (13. 299)

Rejecting reports that he is searching for an off-ramp (another tortured metaphor that isn’t build for this) as economies continue to falter and it becomes manifest that the situation is out of his control, Trump says; “I am the opposite of desperate. I don’t care,” as he again extends the pause on attacking Iranian energy infrastructure. Contrary to what Tehran is putting out, Washington maintains that Iran is eager to make a deal with productive conversations ongoing. Despite the veracity of the claims, Iran we think has no appetite to work with the same negotiators, Kusher and Witkoff, who orchestrated all the previous rounds when, resulting in last year’s attack on Iranian nuclear research facilities (now cited as a casus belli) and lately all out war (which led to the closure of shipping lanes) rather than achieving any semblance of cooperation or compromise. Meanwhile the Houthi militia in Yemen seem to be plotting opening up another front in the war by seizing control of Bab-el-Mandeb (Gate of Grief, the strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, fed by the Suez canal and the Indian Ocean. Bombardment and counterstrikes continue.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus a German colonial holding in the Americas

 

twelve years ago: the Rod of Asclepius plus current affairs 

 

thirteen years ago: signs and shingles plus a reminder that a country is not a corporation

 

fourteen years ago: a Cold War melodrama 

 

fifteen years ago: long term entombment 

day seventeen (13. 270)

Contrary to boasting that the war has already been won and telling a UK reluctant to enter this illegal war of choice, Trump is now calling for a coalition of nations to send battleships to protect the Strait of Hormuz and restart transit. Specifically calling out Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, the UK and France as reliant on unblocking this vital maritime artery, all of whom have reservations and are refusing to commit at this juncture—Britain is sending mine-sweeping drones—Trump says refusal to cooperate has dire implications for the future of the NATO alliance, only the latter two being members of the mutual defence pact, without cooperation, which is probably exactly the objective. Iran is calling the joint US-Israeli bombing of its oil infrastructure an act of ecocide and a war-crime.

synchronoptica

one year ago: an AI-enhanced Billy Bass (with synchronopticæ), rewilding one’s browsing experience plus DC socialite Pearl Meste

fifteen years ago: Germany debates discontinuing nuclear energy plus On the Beach

sixteen years ago: spring break hot spots and no-go zones

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 twelve (13. 254)

As global oil supplies are disrupted with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (contrary to earlier claims, the US navy had not escorted an oil tanker for safe passage, though Iran’s capability to deploy mines in the sea route seems to be hampered), many importers, particularly in the Far East and contemplating easing Russian sanctions to fill the gap and keep their economies running, replenishing the Kremlin’s war chest for its continued assault on Ukraine. US secretary of war announced that the next wave of strikes against Tehran will be even more intense as Trump again mulls over the idea of sending in special forces to secure Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, sticking to his demands of complete surrender. The American administration reportedly requested that Israel stop attacking energy infrastructure, signalling the first disagreement between the allied aggressors since the beginning of the assault after toxic smoke and acid rain from burning refineries blanketed the capital, precipitating an environmental disaster and making the populace ill. Differences also emerge between the US president and vice president on embarking on this military adventure. Iran’s chief of police announces that protesters will be treated as enemies, reigniting the crackdown on anti-government demonstrations and imposing curfews.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), tariff tantrums plus renewed overtures for Greenland

twelve years ago: EU and US reactions to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula plus the hierarchy of security clearances

thirteen years ago: upcoming Pi Day 

fifteen years ago: funerary arts in Germany 

sixteen years ago: the Holy Sea’s chief exorcist 

day five (13. 230)

Though there are disputed claims about the breadth of the US-Israeli dominance of the region with Iran stating it retains control of the Strait of Hormuz and Trump saying there are no enemy vessels in the waters, their naval power obliterated and offering US carriers as escorts for tankers, the belligerent spectacle seems beyond reproach with double the shock-and-awe campaign of the opening volleys of the 2003 Iraq war, hitting some two-thousand targets in Iran with over fifty thousand troops deployed and two hundred aerial assets launched from two carrier groups. Bombing continues in Beirut as Iranian missiles hit the Qatari Al Udeid base, the largest American presence in the Middle East. France is also sending its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from the Baltics to the Mediterranean to safeguard its interests. Meanwhile the casus belli is still unclear with regime change being walked back and Trump expressing a desire to install some one from the current government into a leadership role—as with Venezuela—though admitting that they have killed most of the line of succession and there’s less emphasis for popular revolution and the narrative shifting from preemptive attacks under pressure by Israel to defensive countermeasures that Iran was going to fire the first shot, the inimical fog of war recently cited in attacks on trawlers in the Caribbean. Though most of Iran’s missiles and drones have been intercepted, Kiev offering to send its effective anti-drone nets to the region, markets and economies are yet in turmoil with no end in sight.  Airstrikes continue on Tehran as preparations are made for the late Ayatollah’s funeral and the expert assembly readies to appoint his son, Mojtaba Khameni, as the new Supreme Leader—Israeli avowing to assassinate whomever is put into the role.

synchronoptica

one year ago: US vice president Rufus DeVane King (with synchronopticæ) plus more on the Triadic Ballet

twelve years ago: world time zones diverging from true solar time 

thirteen years ago: over-apostrophisation 

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 

9x9 (13. 220)

a real chadwick: nineteenth century missionary and polyglot John Ross’ role in why Hangul uses spaces whereas other Asian scripts do not  

the count: an annual tally tradition from Diamond Geezer—see also  

τεσσαρακοντήρης: the ancient super-galley commissioned by Ptolemy IV Philopater, so named as it was rowed by forty 

lettres decoratives: open source letterform templates inspired by the artisanal signs of Paris  

calendar girl: RIP Neil Sedaka—more here  

abc schengen: a bundle of fonts inspired the typefaces of the transportation industry—see previously  

δώδεκαθεϊσμός: an introduction to the practitioners of the Hellenic religion who worship the twelve Olympian gods 

happy map: in an increasingly fraught world, a deep longitudinal survey of tiny and momentuous moments of joy  

data ≠ knowledge: poetic reflections on large language models by Rishi Dastidar—via Web Curios

nej tak (13. 201)

For reasons unknown and without additional details, Trump announced on social media that he would dispatch a great hospital ship to Greenland to “treat” many sick people on the island. Greenlandic prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen politely declined this potential Trojan Horse of a gesture and urged the US president to talk to him rather than making random outbursts on social media and that Greenland and Denmark has advanced and sufficient medical care that is free to all—excepting perhaps for those seeking a circumcision from an unlicensed practitioners in Antwerp, which is somehow in Belgium, and probably yet a contributing factor to this latest missive. Helpful Trump included in his Truth Social offer an artistic depiction of the vessel, the USNS Mercy, he had planned to deploy from Louisiana.

synchronoptica

one year ago: US military relieves several top officers of command (with synchronopticæ), weekly reports to DOGE plus psyops during WWII

twelve years ago: the fairness doctrine in broadcasting plus unlikely historic simultaneity 

thirteen years ago: the poetry of cast off shopping lists 

fourteen years ago: plants as a passive electric grid 

the porkkala concession (13. 117)

Operated as a Soviet naval base, leased to the USSR under the terms of the Moscow Armistice of 1944, the peninsular for a period of fifty, originally scheduled for repatriation in 1994, was returned to Finland early after eleven years of service on this day in 1956 with the displaced former inhabitants of the communities of Kirkkonummi, Ingå and Siuntio restored their lands. Hosting the bulk of the Baltic fleet and some sixteen thousand sailors and submariners at one point on the borderlands just some thirty kilometres from Helsinki, the withdrawal was based on several political factors in including the Finno-Russian Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance of 1948, Khrushchev’s shift away from Stalinism, other basing opportunities and Finland’s own post-war policy of neutrality, which also precluded its accession to NATO. Presently the Pokkala peninsula is home to main base of the Finnish naval forces at Upinniemi.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Welsh labyrinths (with synchronopticæ), assorted links to revisit plus a real life Voight-Kampff test

twelve years ago: nursing shortages, all-inclusive vacation packages plus more on the monomyth

thirteen years ago: tavern etymologies 

fourteen years ago: the potential of 3D printing plus the right to be forgotten

sixteen years ago: crafty advice plus Davos security chief found dead

9x9 (13. 089)

crisis actors: Trump supports protests of any authoritarian regime except his own 

wikipedia@25: the Free Encyclopaedia project was started on this day in 2001—see previously, see more  

demumu: popular Chinese app, “Are You Dead?” is a safety tool aimed for a growing demographic of one-person households  

fafo: thousands of World Cup fans are cancelling their tickets, prompting an emergency meeting of the football association  

the revolution won’t be televised: acute disappointment from “liberated” Venezuela—plus Trump was gifted the Nobel peace prize  

limited deployment: contingents of soldiers from European allies arrive in Nuuk to demonstrate NATO resolve  

legacy media: looming challenges for journalism outlets and studios  

mouseover title: xkcd (previously) on sailing rigs 

heimat: US Department of Homeland Security adopts another Nazi slogan

all things considered (13. 068)

Language Hat refers us to another expression that corresponds neatly with our recent exploration of words and phrases with a nautical origin in by and large, originally from sailing alternately into and with the wind, describing a ship that can do both well. The idiomatic meaning of one way or another in the whole phrase “full and by and large” has been made obsolete and on land signifies usually, mostly or generally.

three sheets to the wind (13. 066)

In the latest episode of the always engrossing History of English podcast by Kevin Stroud, we are treated to how nautical terminology has informed the language as it spread outward, naturally by maritime means coinciding with a boom in literature and romancing the life at sea, some of which we’ve encountered beforehand in fossilised expressions and figures of speech with the jargon of professionals and amateurs alike influencing the way we communicate. Whilst there are plentiful examples of scholarly consensus, like false flag and true colours (a vessel either disguising its nationality for subterfuge or displaying its allegiance) and to pass with flying colours—defeated and retreating ships usually furled their banners, our guide also warns of CANOE—not the five big personality traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and extraversion, but rather for linguists the folk origins of the Conspiracy to Ascribe a Naval Origin to Everything and the popular Jackspeak of the eighteenth century that tried to shoehorn sailor slang into any conversation. Other words and phrases genuinely attributed to seafaring and skirmishes that have taken on expanded meanings on land include above board, anything conducted on deck and in plain view for all, aloof, from the Dutch for windward, to be at loggerheads, an iron ball with a long handle heated and used to seal pitch and a handy weapon for quarrelling crew, close quarters, refuge of the enclosed and easily defended forecastle, the devil to pay, the onerous task of caulking the longest seam in the hull, dressing down, to refresh worn sails with oil and wax, slush fund, leftover slurry that the ship’s cook sold to make a little extra money for himself bought by sailors not satisfied with the rations, skyscraper, a small triangular sail atop the main mast used in light wind, filibusters, loose canon, pipe down and being under the weather, assigned to the worst watch station at the front of the bow and falling ill from the crash and spray of the waves.

8x8 (12. 990)

boîte aux lettres: a gallery of modernist mailboxes found around France—via Messy Nessy Chic  

áramótaskaupið: two decades of explaining the smells and bells of the holiday season in Iceland  

semiquaver: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is a fine carol but lacks punctuation—via Miss Cellania 

k-id: Australia begins to enforce the world’s first social media ban for under sixteen-year-olds  

there is consensus to merge republican makeup into this article: Mar-a-Lago face, a plastic surgery trend among American conservatives has its own Wikipedia entry—via Nag on the Lake 

zipf’s law: a collection of nearly universal facets of human language  

linus and lucy: A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on this day in 1965—see previously here and here  

intermodal container: the history of compartmentalised freight and how one innovation in transportation can influence another

10x10 (12. 973)

no time for dancing or lovey-dovey: David Byrne’s ensemble Tiny Desk concert—see previously  

bathing beauties: the nautical folk art of Kyler Martz—via Messy Nessy Chic  

ac/dc: the unlikely friendship of Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla 

warrior ethos: the Canadian publisher of the beloved children’s book series Franklin the Turtle strongly objects to US Secretary of War’s depiction of him firing on boats of supposed narco-terrorists 

the downfall of joann: the US craft and hobby economy ruined by private equity—via MetaFilter—see previously  

steerage: turned upside down, this grainy photograph of a third-class cabin appears to expand into a grand stateroom  

not even a squib of an entry: a steeple chase of an etymological mystery that may have arisen out of a case of mis-division—see also 

exalting the beauty of an overcast sky: Luke Howard (previously) on cloud-modification and his correspondence with Goethe  

nuns on the run: a rebel sisterhood who escaped from a nursing home to return to their abandoned convent refuse to give up their social media accounts as it would deprive them from the protection of an interested public 

chanson pour tout le monde: “Song for the Children” was by Jimmy Buffet, released on his 1979 album Volcano

an irwin allen production (12. 744)

Very much enjoying these tales of recycled props and sets (see previously here and here), we were thrilled that not only did the author get to see his namesake disaster flick on the big screen for the first time, that cinematic experience allowed him pinpoint the provenance of elements of the decor.  The golden panels that clad the walls of the cruise ship’s mess were repurposed from Cleopatra, and feature Egyptians and hieroglyphics although the boat is named the SS Poseidon after the Greek sea god for a bit of mixed mythology. The skylight “ceiling” of the ballroom is also the backdrop of the Harmonia Gardens number featured in Hello Dolly!—both the Taylor and Streisand films being a huge expense for the studios, it made sense to do some double-dipping. Much more from Poseidon’s Underworld at the link above.