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-eight (13. 724)

Iran‘s deputy minister for foreign affairs calls out Washington on Trump’s naming his next defeat, scrambling to marshal his ill-treated allies to join against the Islamic Republic, whose military has been already destroyed numerous times reportedly and whose economy has sustained the full American arsenal of sanctions, threatening to unleash economic “D-Day“ on any country that engages in trade or commercial activity with Tehran—specifically bullying Seoul into submission by hinting at abandoning them to North Korea.

China also rejects this strategy as the Caspian corridor emerges as a new lifeline between Russia and Iran. US public debt has surpassed forty trillion dollars. Carrier group the USS George Washington arrives in the Persian Gulf to relieve the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Somali pirates captured an oil tanker transiting the Red Sea and have redirected the ship to the Horn of Africa. Dozens are killed in air strikes in Kyiv as Ukraine faces munitions shortages.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: the evolution of a logo (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links to revisit  

 

two years ago: cellular pathology plus vice president Nelson Rockefeller 

 

three years ago: Wattstax (1965), Greta Thunberg’s first school strike for the climate (2018) plus more links to enjoy

four years ago: touring a working mine 

five years ago: Davy Jones becomes David Bowie (1965), more miniatures from Tatsuya Tanaka plus even more links

six years ago: posting to the trot, self-appointed supervisors, an attempted coup in the Soviet Union (1991) plus ravens leaving the Tower of London

day one-hundred fifty-four (13. 693)

After a series of intense bombardments of Kyiv, Ukraine hits back with more attacks on Wildberries fulfilment centres and petroleum refineries deep inside Russia, confounding its ability to finance its war. US secretary of state Rubio and UK foreign minister Milliband emphasised their shared commitment to open shipping channels and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Houthis stage a violent coup against the recognised Yemeni government as the movement announces expanded military operations. The Strait of Hormuz is reported of the verge of being reopened as Tehran and Muscat agree upon the coordinates of the route for the transit chokepoint. Whilst Trump, excluded from the negotiation process maintains that he would much rather reach a deal with Iran rather than resume the US offensive, Netanyahu, ahead of elections, hints at unilateral action to prolong and undoubted escalate this costly and illegal joint undertaking.

synchronoptica 

one year ago: the Vostok 2 mission (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth the revisit

two years ago: a 1963 surf-rock banger, chess notation plus presidential candidate Kamala Harris introduces running-mate Tim Walz

three years ago: Stay by Lisa Loeb (1994) plus born this day in 1911, Lucille Ball 

four years ago: the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (1806) plus more links to enjoy 

five years ago: Klaus Nomi, Ghanaian heraldic standards plus Olympic trivia

six years ago: Trieste street photography, anime Spongebob plus caveat scriptor

day one-hundred forty-eight (13. 678)

Kyiv is pummelled by Russia raids as Ukraine awaits promised permission from the US to produce their own Patriot air defence batteries, America expressing some reluctance now over releasing the licenses. As rhetoric intensifies, both Washington and Tehran threaten to attack vital infrastructure in gulf nations hosting America bases, oil fields, refineries and commercial assets and bridges, highways and power plants in the Islamic Republic, the latter in Trump’s sites speaking during a cabinet meeting called at Camp David, the US president whilst admitting Iran did have a few missiles left, was militarily defeated: “All you can do is keep winning, and the eventually something will happen.” Houthi rebels deny accusations that they plan to place tolls on passage to the Red Sea, insisting that the Bab el-Mandab strait will remain free. The Revolutionary Guard disables more tankers attempting to cross the Hormuz as US naval forces hold the blockade on Iranian ports. Fifty thousand migrants in the span of twenty four hours attempt to enter the exclave of Ceuta through Morocco as the EU moves to suspend member Spain from the Schengen free-movement zone to control immigration.

day one-hundred forty-six (13. 669)

Following an impassioned appeal by Zelenskyy, who was in Washington for the funeral of Lindsey Graham (as was Netanyahu), the US senate passes landmark sanctions on Russia. American and Saudi forces launch strikes against Iranian affiliated targets in Iraq. Ukraine hits more Russian bound Iranian cargo ships in the Caspian Sea, calling them indirect combatants. China is accused of supplying Iran with shoulder fired missile launchers. US Central Command announces joint AI working group in partnership with the UAE, the task force called Talon Synapse aimed at integrating artificial intelligence in military applications and cyber security. Negotiations still stalled with Trump claiming some “good” talks, the US president threatens Tehran with a fresh wave of strikes on civilian infrastructure if no deal is reached. 

day one-hundred forty-five (13. 664)

Following the disclosure by Zelenskyy that Russia is providing satellite telemetry to the Iranians to target US bases in the Middle East, Trump announces that he will confront Putin directly—something we thought had been verified or at least suspect from the start of the war. Responding to criticisms regarding under-reporting of American casualties and the extent of damage done to installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, the Pentagon revises upwards its official figures. Duelling blockades in the Strait of Hormuz continue with ships being turned back from the Persian gulf and Iranian ports. Calling for the release of political prisoners, the US state department strongly condemns continued executions of protesters. As bombing and demolition continue in southern Lebanon, Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet to discuss extracting themselves from the war in Iran—neither having the appetite for prolonged negotiations.

9x9 (13. 646)

free play: the false nostalgia of the child-rearing in the 1980s 

it ends: capitalising on the popularity of liminal spaces, we discover the next trend, being trapped on an infinite trail  

eco chamber: the personal library of semiotician, philosopher and author Umberto Eco (previously) opens to the public in his Tuscan villa  

from the prepare-for-everything-to-get-very-stupid-and-xenophobic-department: USA to enforce same protectionist, nativist policies exercised in the Tik-Tok ban for open-source AI 

war & cheese: stalled European Union sanctions package for Russia exposes persistent divisions in the Bloc—see also 

the cemeteries are full of indispensable people: the dash to fill an America-shaped void  

hot merfolk summer: besting one’s holiday hashtags aspirations with Miss Margaret Morris’ choreography   

end of the road: uncelebrated termini and the Roman god of boundaries  

unquantified self movement: bucking the trend of maxxing and wellness-optimisation

day one-hundred thirty-two (13. 617)

Former staunch critic turned ally of Trump, the hawkish long term senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham dies suddenly after a short unexpected illness, having recently returned from a trip to Ukraine and championing increased sanctions against Russia at the relatively young age of seventy-one for the gerontocracy, whilst the country has been awaiting news on the health of former senate leader Mitch McConnell, hospitalised for weeks with no explanation or sighting, fuelling speculation that the Kentucky senator is dead or effectively so. It’s not outside of the realm of possibilities that Graham was assassinated by a Russian agent—not so much for his stance but to spook Trump, already a target for the killing of Iran’s former Supreme Leader. It is believed that the developments on McConnell’s heath are being withheld until the statutory filing date to prevent Kentucky’s Democratic governor from calling a special election before the mid-terms, leaving the seat vacant, South Carolina’s Republican governor can appoint a replacement for Graham. Iran launches retaliatory strikes on US bases in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain after the US conducts attacks on coastal radar site and air defence systems, America insisting that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

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.

day one-hundred eighteen (13. 566)

For the second night in a row, US forces have struck multiple targets in Iran for Tehran’s “aggression” against commercial shipping as the fragile ceasefire continues to fray—following on with a threat to wipe out the Islamic Republic. The Revolutionary Guard say that further violations of the truce will bring diplomatic talks to a halt as religious hardliners split on settlement negotiations. Bahrain is attacked by drones in response. Hezbollah rejects the ceasefire arrangement brokered by Washington between Israel and Lebanon. The draft resolution of Trump’s Board of Peace seeks sweeping immunity to block members and contractors from potential prosecution for work in “rebuilding” Gaza and allowing them to appropriate public property free of charge and with no oversight. Rocked by a wave of attacks that have resulted in fuel shortages, Moscow is building on new air defence complex on the grounds of Putin’s daughter’s intellectual development foundation just outside the capital.

zachistka (13. 556)

Taking place on this day in 2001, Russian forces in Alkhan-Kala undertook a special military operation known by the above euphemism as зачистка, the equivalent of “mopping up” as part of the Second Chechen War to eliminate insurgent separatists and organised crime. Chechnya (the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, named after tje river that was the line of demarcation) had secured de facto independence from Russia in 1996 but Moscow found the arrangement increasingly less acceptable, accusing Georgia of foment unrest, when the gauged the country as ungovernable, overrun by armed gangs and ultimately proclaiming itself as a Islamic republic and accused of invading neighbouring Dagestan. The siege of the small town, the door-to-door slaughter of civilians in search of the warlord is characteristic of suppression of rebel elements and ethic cleansing and has been repeated in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine and in other breakaway republics, all territories along the Caspian corridor annexed from the Persian Empire under Peter the Great.

day one-hundred five (13. 512)

British maritime forces intercept a Russian shadow fleet trawling the waters of the Channel. Trump announces that a deal will be signed on Sunday, which will reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic—although Tehran and Pakistani mediators, whilst agreeing that they are closer to peace than any point since the US and Israeli began their war of choice, deny the timing and the exact date when they will apply their digital signatures and are withholding any of the agreed upon terms, despite the US president posting that Iran has surrendered its nuclear dust, which America will retrieve and destroy at a later time. A settlement for Lebanon, one of the key sticking points for Iran, is apparently tabled for now; previous serial claims for the stalled talks to extend the ceasefire and reopen shipping lanes have dissolved amongst contradictory claims, rhetoric and breaches in the truce.

day ninety-seven (13. 488)

Hezbollah categorically rejects US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and its unspecified pilot security zones. Putin rebuffs Zelenskyy’s request for an in-person meeting with the Russian ruler to bring about settlement to the ongoing war in Ukraine.  Amid frustration and lack of progress over the extension of a truce and restoration of maritime traffic in the Persian gulf, American and Iranian forces continue to exchange fire, with more attacks on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

day ninety (13. 471)

In a seemingly unending iteration of market manipulation and Friday-to-Monday pump-and-dump, though the administration has diluted and democratised hedging and insider trading by opening wagering to all grifters of any means, Trump’s announcement of a meeting in the White House Situation Room to extend the already broken ceasefire—neither side apparently willing to resume all out war over tit-for-tat exchanges at American’s provocation—is being hailed as an end to the standoff, despite the framework of an agreement, the memorandum of understanding being in the works for weeks already, sticking points still unresolved and US commitment to removing the naval blockade and the reopening of the strait (without tolls), giving up the stockpile of enriched uranium, reparations and the exuent of US troops from the region matters still under discussion. Hardly exciting or newsworthy, notwithstanding Trump’s caricaturisation of a homecoming moment, and concessions to Trump’s demands do not seem forthcoming, so long as Tehran can wait it out and there is some profit to be made at the margins—regardless of the expense to global economy and the Iranian people. An emergency session of NATO convenes after an errant Russian drone hits an apartment building in Romania.

but the bravest by far in the ranks of the shah (13. 411)

Observed the day after today’s V-E day celebrations, the Victory Day parade commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany will be a very much scaled back affair, featuring no marshalling of rockets and heavy equipment in Moscow for the first time in almost twenty years and no coverage by the foreign press (as well as an internet blackout, the increasing frequency finally grating on the Russian public seemingly more than any of the other hardships or sacrifices of the special military operation) as the war in Ukraine has dragged on longer than the Red Army’s action in WWII. The expected quieter streets of Red Square are owing to heightened security concerns due to the ongoing conflict, framed by the Russian leader as a continuation as the fight against fascism; exacerbated by the fact that neither Moscow nor Kiev would commit to a ceasefire for the public holiday, Putin alone with his ranks, to avoid a large gathering that may be vulnerable to attack. Russia has vowed to bomb the Ukrainian capital should they attempt any disruption.

day sixty (13. 391)

The United Arab Emirates announces it will quit OPEC in order to increase exports, seen as a victory by some for Trump who opposes the cartel’s caps on production and price controls. Although the conflict remains essentially frozen and tensions still remain high among allies, during a state visit to the US, King Charles delivered a masterful address to a joint-session of congress in the semiquinncentennial year of the American declaration of independence, apolitical but a model of using soft power to heal rifts. Neighbouring gulf states hold a summit in Riyadh and issue a statement that Tehran must make serious efforts to rebuild confidence and trust following “treacherous” attacks on the region. Russia reiterates financial and materiel support for Iran, as Trump claims that the country is on the verge of collapse and eager to submit to a deal under America’s terms, whilst threatening new sanctions on China for refining Iranian crude oil exports and goes after Iran’s network of shadow banking.

synchronoptica

one year ago: droodles (with synchronopticæ), Trump’s first hundred days plus more e-moluments for the Trump family syndicate

twelve years ago: European far-right parties affinity for Moscow 

thirteen years ago: Iceland’s Jedi party 

fourteen years ago: an intemperate island plus fortress London

fifteen years ago: macroeconomics 

seventeen years ago: German traffic signs 

day fifty-nine (13. 389)

The US unwilling to continue direct talks, Iranian foreign minister Araghchi met with Putin and his counterpart Lavrov in St Petersburg to pursue a separate peace for the region and reached a preliminary settlement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for maritime traffic, leaving the nuclear question tabled until a later time. Tehran for its part is criticising Washington for its reluctance to engage in dialogue and calls out seizure of Iranian flagged ships and the continued naval blockade as piracy. The UN, whilst welcoming the Russian-Iranian detente, said there was no legal basis for imposing tolls on vessels transiting through the international waterway. As the state visit of Charles and Camilla begins to heal the rift in UK-US relations, allies are still critical of America’s lack of strategic direction and that stalled negotiations benefit no one, America forgetting that about the enemy’s vote and veto. Clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continue in Lebanon.

synchronoptica

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

twelve years ago: Worker’ Memorial Day 

thirteen years ago: advances in fusion technology, a trending hairstyle, the Frankonian athem plus a visit to Steinheim by Hanau

fifteen years ago: tornados in Germany 

sixteen years ago: vacationing in Istanbul 

centre to centre-right (13. 346)

Fears that there would be no peaceful transition of power dissipating when the incumbent conceded defeat rather soon after polls closed and results came in and congratulated his challenger in the incoming prime minister Péter Magyar, Viktor Orbán and his Russian-aligned Fidesz party lost control of Hungary after a reign of sixteen years by a landslide with the voters turn-out the highest it had been since the fall of Communism in the early 1990s. The victory of Magyar’s Tisza movement, possibly securing a supermajority in parliament, whilst still socially conservative, is seen as a rebuke to far-right parties in Europe and aims for greater integration into the EU and signals cooperation with EU priorities, including aid for Ukraine and mutual defence, economically, militarily and environmentally and away from the regressive policies of illiberal democracy. JD Vance’s Thursday night political stumping for Orbán did not translate to a positive outcome and may be a preview of what’s to come for MAGA in the States.

7x7 (13.326)

a look at books: some new highlights from old library archives  

putt, putt to the pizza hut: though Gorbachev’s circumstances were quite different, the empire-ending spokesmen only to be believed in hindsight  

edinburgh of the seven seas: the very busy, remote settlement of Tristan da Cunha—see previously—via Nag on the Lake  

master editor: the inevitable ubiquity of AI writing 

koyaanisquatsi: a new visually stunning music video, Pattern Index, by Max Cooper—reminiscent of the subtitle  

whitey’s on the moon: we want to be excited about the return trip around the lunar surface but are thinking a lot about that poem and sentiment from the late-1970s and how everything’s propaganda and grift layered on heavily to get to the science  

unknown artist: a collection of Mid-Century Modern ephemera from Zara Picken—via Things magazine with much more to click through and enjoy

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.