ss ideal x (13. 386)

The refurbished WWII T2 class “navy oiler” manufactured originally by the Marinship Corporation at the shipyard in Sausaltio California as the Potrero Hills and purchased by Malcolm McLean, who used this demonstration project to refine the concept of the intermodal shipping container that he had invented—revolutionising freight transport, undertook her first voyage with the new configuration on this day in 1956, carrying a cargo fifty-eight standardised boxes from the Port of Newark in New Jersey to the Port of Houston in Texas, where the boxes were offloaded to awaiting trailer trucks. The first commercially successful container ship, by organising and grouping what’s call bulk break goods—that is manufactured items for distribution, warehousing and retail sale, as opposed to dry bulk like grain, containerisation made the stevedoring process far more efficient, the concept copied and expanded to a fleet of fifty thousand ships today operating worldwide, adopting industry uniforms in part a wartime legacy from the US (see previously) and transporting some ninety percent of exports.

day fifty-six (13. 380)

For some time we’ve been dealing with Schrödinger’s Strait, is it open or is it closed, and the on-again, off-again peace talks—which Tehran denies requesting and remains insistent that there will be no direct negotiations under duress, the blockade of the blockade. The Trump administration is sending Kushner and Witkoff without Vance to Pakistan, whilst the latest situation report from the US secretary of war says that limited transit is occurring through the Strait of Hormuz but at risk due to Iran’s threatening of vessels and the uncertainty of the sea mines, reiterating that American force are poised to resume their air campaign at a moment’s notice.  US secretary of state is drafting more sanctions against Iranian economic interest, and meanwhile, though other European leaders are not bought in and call the proposal premature, Chancellor Merz has suggested the easing of the overall embargo as a peace offering (see previous post). 

Switzerland reopens its embassy—which has served to represent American interests since 1979 when relations were broken off—in Tehran in anticipation of supporting renewed diplomatic initiatives. Despite there being no mechanism for giving demerits to members of the transatlantic defensive alliance, a leaked memorandum is exploring ways to kick Spain out of NATO for refusing to allow the US to use its bases to prosecute its war of choice and disparages other members generally. The memo also attacks the UK for its lack of enthusiasm and again brings up its decision on Diego Garcia. Claiming to have killed six terrorist fighters in southern Lebanon, Israel is accusing Hezbollah of sabotaging the fragile truce.

synchronoptica

one year ago: US products get a tariff label in Canadian markets (with synchronopticæ), celebrities in cars plus artificial intelligence literacy

fifteen years ago: post-war Trümmelbergen plus foot mittens

day fifty-six (13. 378)

Unprompted, Trump pledges not to use atomic weapons in Iran to end the war with no resolution in sight, unable to resume negotiations, whilst directing Israel to extend the ceasefire in Lebanon another three weeks to his indefinite but tenuous truce with Tehran, despite constant near breaches with the Revolutionary Guards taking tankers and the administration threatening to attack mobile gunboats “Caribbean style,” referring to the deadly attacks on supposed drug-runners off the Venezuelan coast. Trump clarified that the leadership shakeup in the navy was over the dismissed head of operations reluctance to revive domestic ship-building coinciding with the assessment it would take half a year to conduct mine-sweeping in the Strait of Hormuz to widen narrow safe corridor through the waterway. US secretary of state announced that America has no objections to the Iranian national team participating in the upcoming World Cup this summer. Global stock markets tumbled as hope for relief and stability evaporates. 

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: a classic from Del Shannon (with synchronopticæ) plus Goethe was here

 

thirteen years ago: the Wiesbadener Programme 

 

fourteen years ago: sustaining the hope of the Arab Spring 

 

sixteen years ago: exonyms and endonyms 

day fifty-five (13. 376)

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two cargo ships attempting to bypass their control of the Strait of Hormuz, releasing cinematic footage of their capture—marking the first such detainments since the start of the war at the end of February. The White House did not consider the action to be a violation of the ceasefire, indefinitely extended due to the stalemate in arranging peace talks—the major sticking point being the US blockade of the Persian Gulf—as they were not American or Israeli flagged vessels. The administration expressed satisfaction with the maritime embargo as the US secretary of the navy abruptly resigned, effective immediately, without explanation. The acting under-secretary is Hung Cao, a MAGA loyalist who ran two unsuccessful campaigns for a seat in Virginia on an extreme Christian nationalist platform. Türkiye says that the prolonged war is significantly weakening the EU, as with Hungarian opposition removed with the defeat of Orban the ninety billion euro aid package for Ukraine is approved by the bloc. Lebanese officials are requesting an extension of their ceasefire with Israel.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (with synchronopticæ), assorted links to revisit plus more on The Peculiar Manicule

thirteen years ago: the fight for digital liberties 

fourteen years ago: Saint George 

fifteen years ago: German Beer Day 

sixteen years ago: voluntary electronic surveillance 

day fifty-four (13. 373)

Trump unilaterally announced a two-week extension of the ceasefire in Iran as the second round of negotiations fail to materialise as Tehran sits them out over untenable US demands, reversing his threats of an immediate resumption of airstrikes hours before the original deadline, the prospect particularly disturbing after unsubstantiated yet plausible rumours that the president was restrained after lunging for the nuclear football during a meeting in the White House situation room. General Majid Mousavi, head of the aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guard, promised to end oil production in the Middle East, again issuing warnings to gulf states that cooperate with America if the blockade on Iranian ports is not lifted as exports virtual stop with tankers unable to be refilled and Kharg Island ground based storage at capacity, exerting pressure on the country to return to the table by eliminating its remaining revenue streams. Meanwhile, the traffic snarl in the Persian Gulf has caused ships to be diverted to arrive in the East by going West through the Panama Canal, resulting in significant queuing there. France and the UK hold separate meetings on reopening the Strait of Hormuz to maritime navigation, the Americans disinvited. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will chair direct talks with Lebanon in Washington regarding their own fragile truce and extricating themselves from Hezbollah influence.

synchronoptica

one year ago: emerald glasses (with synchronopticæ) plus the return of Home Star Runner 

fourteen years ago: keeping the internet open and free plus open borders

fifteen years ago: Big Brother and the Snitch Mob plus Earth Day

day fifty-three (13. 371)

With the end of the two-week ceasefire approaching, confusion and mixed messages continue to emerge from the White House, with chief negotiator JD Vance’s whereabouts unknown, contradicting claims he was already en route to peace talks in Pakistan aimed to forestall a resumption in fighting with reports the vice president has remained in Washington, though now apparently scheduled to depart. It is unclear if any meeting will take place with Tehran insisting no negotiations will happen under duress and threat as the blockade continues to be enforced. Trump, confident and denying news of pressure to restore stability, insists, “the DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA,” referring to the agreement struck under the Obama administration in 2015. The spokesman of the Iranian paramilitary hints that the country still has unexercised options for the battlefield. Global stock markets are surrendering gains as optimism fades for a quick and tidy resolution and energy prices again rise. Clashes escalate in Gaza between the IDF and Hamas fighters.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the death of Pope Francis (with synchronopticæ)

thirteen years ago: GMO apples plus a pheromone party

fifteen years ago: energy-saving light bulbs 

sixteen years ago: the internet is for crying-wolf 

day fifty-two (13. 368)

The confusion and chaos of yesterday’s developments surely merited an addendum as well, but it was very hard to keep up or know what might happen next.  Following confusion on who might lead the US delegation in Pakistan, first saying that the vice president would not attend due to the short notice and security protocols of the Secret Service, it turns out that the same tired and ineffectual cast of Vance, Kushner and Witkoff are travelling back to Islamabad for peace talks on Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry announced that it would not participate in negotiations with the US over the American naval blockade of the country’s ports, calling the collective punishment a violation of the ceasefire and tantamount to a war crime and would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until a peace deal is reached. Escalating tensions further, US marines incepted and boarded the M/V Touska that tried to run the cordon. Despite the uncertainty of talks, cargo planes have landed in Pakistan to prepare for the arrival of delegates, which Tehran fears might be cover for a sneak attack.  Oil prices and other other commodities have surged. The death toll of joint Israeli and American airstrikes pass five thousand with neighbours in Beirut’s southern suburbs being demolished by bulldozers.   Despite clearing stating he did not wish to debate Donald Trump on the merits of just wars and wars of choice and further distract from his pastoral tour of Africa, JD Vance, a recent Catholic convert, still thought it necessary to lecture the Pope on religion, in keeping with his berating of US allies during the Munich Security Conference and every time he feels the opportunity presents itself.  Secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, amid shoehorning piety and holy wrath into military manoeuvrers, has labelled the dissenting press as Pharisees for being critical of their claims and questioning their lauded victories.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a return visit to the Hubertusburg (with synchronopticæ) 

thirteen years ago: chess derived vocabulary plus Berlin’s East Side Gallery under threat

fourteen years ago: German-American relations plus a salvaged garden 

fifteen years ago: calculating Easter 

sixteen years ago: travel disrupted due to an Icelandic volcanic eruption 

 

day fifty-one (13. 366)

With the rapidly degrading situation in the Middle East, yesterday merited a post-meridian post-script but we wanted to wait for an update to see how the renewed tensions played out, especially with pending peace talks and the weekend running out of runway. Israel accused Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire in Beirut, including a deadly attacked on UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, created in 1978 to enforce withdrawal of Israelis from the country, its mandate renewed several times) peacekeepers and, meanwhile in Gaza, whose station has not improved, two UNICEF aid workers by IDF occupying forces. The Revolutionary Guard Corps has reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, closing it to commercial traffic with two India tankers taking light arms fire, in response to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports a day after declaring the waterway open. This move likely dashed the hopes of investors and bettors hoping to capitalise on the earlier positive turn for in the markets, besting the US administration at their game of stock manipulation and privileged information. Convening an emergency meeting in the White House situation room, Trump said that unless there was a significant breakthrough in peace negotiations—again not yet scheduled, Iranian deputy foreign minister Saaed Khatibyadeh insisting that a framework must be agreed upon, workable by both sides in the face of America’s unrealistic agenda, before talks can take place—he would resume airstrikes on Iran, bombardments already having killed over thirty-four hundred civilians. Trump went golfing afterwards.

day fifty (13. 362)

With echoes of Bush’s hubris in his premature announcement of “Mission accomplished” six weeks into the 2003 invasion of Iraq from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Trump’s triumphal crowing of victory seems as likely, stacked with dubious and unverified claims that all the details and sticking points have been ironed out in advance of peace talks hurriedly arranged to resume in Islamabad, to not be judged kindly by history. Ten tankers and a cruise ship have passed the strait. Peace in our time—another poisoned pronouncement—comes with the backdrop of Washington hosting the IMF spring summit, during a witheringly warm heatwave in the capital, possibly timed so for the optics, but delegates are not expressing gratitude for the status quo ante bellum or deliverance from villainy of the administration’s own making with others left to clean up his mess and economies in turmoil despite the the immediate horizon of the stock market, his inner-circle sure to make a hearty profit on Trump’s chaotic misadventure. Not only has the lustre worn thin for the fantasy kingdoms the gulf states created to diversify away from oil and attract investment and what little esteem that the world, especially allies held for America’s place in the global order eroded beyond repair—not necessarily a bad turn of events for the petronations to reaffirm that their only exports are regressive and ill-willed—but representatives fear for a worldwide recession from enduring aftereffects stemming from disruptions that are not easily undone by this precarious peace that’s at risk of falling apart at any moment.

synchronoptica

one year ago: court jesters (with synchronopticæ) 

fourteen years ago: consequences of tax delinquency 

fifteen years ago: achievement unlocked 

dire straits (13. 361)

The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in response to the ceasefire brokered for Lebanon, has announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be unconditionally opened for commercial shipping for the duration of the cessation of hostilities, a key point in Tehran’s list of demands. In response and trying to flatten and take ownership of the narrative, Trump dispatched a celebratory series of seemingly detached missives that read as if from some mirror universe wire-services, simplifying the yet tenuous and unresolved situation, offering thanks and demands that the rest of the world acknowledge this gratitude and tribute, stating that Iran promises to never block the waterway again, that the US had prohibited Israel from bombing Beirut, that Iran will surrender its supplies of enriched uranium (“nuclear dust”) to the US, sanctions will remain in place and Iranian funds will continue to be frozen, and America will maintain its blockade of Iranian ports until a peace deal is finalised—claims all (except the last) unverified with the Revolutionary Guard still requiring clearance, escort and Netanyahu insisting that it has not yet finished operations against Hezbollah, throwing shade at and reifying the concept of the fog of war.

if you block me, then i block you (13. 356)

What a strange timeline we live in.  Iranian communication officers have already proven their trolling chops with a series of Lego shorts trolling the US administration over its illegal war of choice, but the below video, a riff on the 1986 French europop hit by Desireless, attributed to the Iranian embassy, is really the chef’s kiss even with the stakes as high as they are. I wish conflicts were settled this way, and although designed to send Trump into conniptions, I am afraid that the dowager queen might be a little flattered by this competent use of AI.

day forty-six (13. 349)

All NATO members refuse to participate in the US naval blockade of the Persian gulf as a sanctioned Chinese flagged tanker transits through the strait, testing the seriousness of the American resolve, as France and the UK devise other strategies for reopening the vital waterway. Trump refuses to apologise to the Pope for his harsh and crude language and in response posts an AI-generated image of the himself as a Christ-figure—although Trump claims he thought it was “supposed to be me as a doctor making people better…And I do make people better, I make them a lot better.” Hezbollah is urging Lebanon to not engage in direct talks with Israel and pledges to not abide by any deals made.  JD Vance, following a failed first round of negotiations with Tehran says the ball is in their court for compromise and concession, with Iran hinting it may accept a five year moratorium on nuclear research, counter to American demands a two-decade suspension.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ)

 

fourteen years ago: the new Great Game plus an impossible typeface

 

fifteen years ago: bad faith Big Ed plus antique hunting

 

sixteen years ago: a rival tablet computer, reversing a mandate to replace old traffic signs plus a satirical recall of the US flag

day forty-five (13. 347)

UK’s Keir Starmer reiterates that his country wants no part of the blockade of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices and other commodities are surging back to levels before the ceasefire with the potential of the cost of petrol to double, the failure of the talks attributed at least in part to Israeli pressure wanting the fighting to continue until they’ve finished the job decapitating Hezbollah, a claim put forward during the war in Gaza despite evidence to the contrary like Trump’s boasts of eliminating the capacity for Tehran to respond militarily or conduct nuclear research and development and looking for any pretext for walking out. Following Leo XIV’s criticism of warmongering, Trump launched into an extraordinary attack on the Pope, accusing him of being bad at his job and to “stop catering to the Radical Left” adding he is weak on crime and does not want a spiritual leader who thinks that it is acceptable for Iran to pursue its nuclear ambitions.

synchronoptica

one year ago: standing up to Nazis (with synchronopticæ), Freelandia airlines, a new music video from OK Go plus a bleak series about incel culture

thirteen years ago: eurozone instability plus a visit to Bad Soden-Salmünster

fifteen years ago: quantitative easing 

sixteen years: the right to be forgot 

 

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