Massive Crowds For ‘No Kings Day’

This past Saturday was set up for protests of Donny and his merry band of idiots and their destruction of the foundation of this country.

The expectation was the crowds would be large and vocal.

Organizers called it “the largest single-day nationwide demonstrations in US history,” with an estimate 8 million people coming out for events in communities and cities nationwide.

From major cities to rural towns that have never seen mobilizations like this before, protesters made clear that in America, we don’t do kings,“ the No Kings coalition said in a statement.

Demonstrators turned out for “No Kings” rallies around the world on Saturday in opposition to President Trump and his policies involving the Iran war, immigration enforcement, elections, health care, the Epstein files, the environment—and authoritarianism. In Washington, Bill Jarcho was in a small group wearing tactical vests marked “LICE” to spoof ICE agents. “What we provide is mockery to the king,” Jarcho said, per the AP. “It’s about taking authoritarianism and making fun of it, which they hate.” More than 3,300 events, the third wave of “No Kings” protests, were planned in all 50 states, per the Washington Post. Large rallies were held in cities and small ones on roadsides, including:

  • Minneapolis: Organizers declared the city’s rally the day’s flagship event. Bruce Springsteen performed a song he wrote to protest the immigration operation that left two American citizens shot to death there by federal agents in January. “They picked the wrong city,” Springsteen told a crowd of thousands, per the New York Times. “These invasions of American cities will not stand,” he added. Gov. Tim Walz criticized Trump’s comments about Somali immigrants, saying their descendants would still be in the US long after “the orange clown is in the dustbin of history.” Instead of giving a speech, Jane Fonda read a statement from Becca Good, whose wife was one of the people killed by federal agents. “Everyone who was there when my wife was taken from me has had their lives destroyed that day, including those agents,” she read, per CNN. “What we need is to stop destroying life.” A huge sign placed on the state Capitol’s steps read: “We had whistles, they had guns. The revolution starts in Minneapolis.”
  • Washington, DC: Protesters headed to the military base where Stephen Miller, the White House aide overseeing deportation efforts, has been living, chanting for his removal. Some said, “We’ve got the people outside your door.”
  • Paris: Several hundred people, mostly Americans living in France, gathered at the Bastille with members of labor unions and human rights organizations, per the AP. “I protest all of Trump’s illegal, immoral, reckless, and feckless, endless wars,” organizer Ada Shen said.
  • Topeka: A rally outside the Kansas Statehouse had people impersonating a frog king and Trump as a baby. Wendy Wyatt drove with a “Cats Against Trump” sign from Lawrence, 20 miles to the east, and planned to drive back to her hometown for a later rally there. “There are so many things” that upset her about the Trump administration, she said, though “this is very hopeful to me.”
  • Manhattan: Protesters chanting while marched south from Midtown. One told CNN “there’s not enough room on the sign to say why” she’s protesting. “If we want a democracy,” she added, “we have to participate in it and we have to save it.”
  • Austin: Protesters came to the roadside park Auditorium Shores. Gilbert Martinez, a 93-year-old Korean War veteran, said Trump is reckless and the Iran war a diversion, per the Times. “That idiot is going to cause a lot of good military people to lose their lives,” he said.
  • Portland, Oregon: A large crowd marched to a drum beat. One sign read, “So bad, even introverts are here.”
  • Chicago: Saira Bensett, 60, said the gathering in Grant Park was cathartic. “When I watch the news it’s often too much—the emotions I feel make me feel like I’m alone,” she said. “So I wanted to be here to feel like I’m not by myself.”

The US was not the only protests on Saturday…..

No Kings rallies weren’t just held in major US cities. In a series of social media posts, Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg collected photos and videos of No Kings events in communities including Arvada, Colorado, Madison, New Jersey, and St. Augustine, Florida, as well as international No Kings events held in London and Madrid.

Of course with the accumulation of that many protesters there were going to be rowdy individuals that take the protest a bit far…..but all in all they were peaceful….but of course the idiots that believe in the MAGA bullshit will try and twist the outcome to a negative….it was not and will not be a negative force.

I stopped by the one in my city early on Saturday and there was already about 100 people getting ready…..one guy said they were expecting about 350 people to show up.

The local news stations which there are two had no mention of the protests at all.  The local rag had no story about the protests either.

However the Clarion Ledger out of Jackson Mississippi reported on the protest in a city about 60 miles north of the Coast.

https://www.clarionledger.com/picture-gallery/news/2026/03/28/see-photos-from-the-no-kings-protest-in-hattiesburg-ms/89365297007/

I was not expecting too much out of the news down here for this is deep Red.

How about in your area?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Real Reason For Iran

We are entering into our 5 week of our lame conflict with Iran and to this day no one has given an accurate reason for our attacks….it was not nukes or some vague terrorism accusation, yada yada…..

Since the very beginning of this conflict our Little Donny has had multiple statements and each one has made the markets go up and down like some crazed yo-yo….and there you go just the reason that myself and many others have said was the reason for this war….market manipulation.

Just after noon on Friday, March 20th, US president Donald Trump declared victory to a group of reporters in his broadly unpopular war with Iran. Just two minutes later, however, he announced he was sending US marines anyway. The next minute, the president said there would be no boots on the ground after all. A few beats later, he admitted he didn’t want a ceasefire, then declared victory again, then requested a ceasefire.

The volley continued like this for nearly half an hour, the president’s stream of consciousness pouring from within, in a prime example of Trump’s contradictory messaging on Iran. In addition to exhausting reporters and scrambling the news cycle, episodes like this have fueled speculation that people close to the president are feeding off the chaos.

As a recent analysis by economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman argues, there’s evidence that insiders are profiting off the war in Iran. On Monday, for example, Trump reversed his weekend commitment to deliver painful retribution on the Iranian people if the country failed to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. At 7:05am on Monday morning, however, Trump chickened out, issuing a five-day pause on hostilities via a post on Truth Social.

The price of crude oil, which had flailed upward for weeks as shipments from the Persian Gulf slowed to a trickle, plummeted immediately, from around $112 a barrel before the announcement to a low of $97 by 11:00am.

However, about 15 minutes before Trump’s post, CNBC reported, there was a massive increase in the amount of S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the market, right before their price skyrocketed from around $6,500 to around $6,700. Someone also got incredibly lucky playing the oil market, with West Texas Intermediate May futures seeing a massive spike in trading activity at the exact same time — a sign that someone had shed theirs before the price experienced a major drop.

https://futurism.com/future-society/donald-trump-iran-manipulation

This manipulation is making speculators millions….and after all war is big business and Donny’s butt buddies are making out like bandits (which they are).

There is you answer, the real answer, to why this…..PROFITS!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Last Week At The Sh*t Show–29Mar26

Another week of Donny and the clowns he has around him….they seem to get more silly and more extreme with the passing of every week.

This past week was fully of disgusting and pathetic dribbles from Donny and of course his butt boys in DC….

Where to begin?

Donny likes feeding his ego so let’s start there…..

With the war with Iran raging Donny re-names the Straight of Hormuz….

President Trump called the Strait of Hormuz, the “Strait of Trump” at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit on Friday as the war in Iran continues to escalate.

Trump spoke in Miami at the Saudi Arabia-run summit, where he discussed some of his most pressing economic issues, including the war in Iran, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

“They have to open it up. They have to open up the straight of Trump. I mean, harmless. Excuse me. I’m so sorry. Such a terrible mistake. The fake news will say, he accidentally said that. There’s no accidents with me. Not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story,” he said.

(themirror.com)

How about a statue?

While Americans are dealing with rising gas prices, Donald Trump appears to be more concerned with getting a statue of himself built, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

During his Cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 26, the president shrugged off a possible solution to increasing gas prices, instead taking the discussion in a whole other direction.

(radaronline.com)

That worthless douche/bag Speaker of the House wants to make it official…..

Congressional Republicans created an award to give to President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

House Republicans held their annual National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. Before Trump spoke, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced that the NRCC had come up with a new honor to bestow on the president.

“We wanted to do one thing before we bring the president out to the stage,” Johnson said, before saying Trump works “literally around the clock to fix every issue” and is solving “all the domestic problems.” As such, the speaker said, House Republicans created a new award:

And we want to honor him in some small way, some token of our appreciation for his leadership. And so, tonight, we have created a new award. We’re going to do something we’ve never done before. We’re going to honor him with a new award that we’ll present annually from this point forward. But he is the suitable and fitting receipient of the first-ever America First Award. We could think of no better title for what that is. That’s this beautiful golden statue here. Appropriate for the new golden era in America.

Mike Johnson Announces, ‘We Have Created a New Award’ To Give Trump: ‘This Beautiful Golden Statue’

Then there his signature on our paper money….pathetic.

Louisiana is naming a bridge after this total buttwad….

A new bridge spanning the Mississippi River will likely be named after President Donald Trump after the full Louisiana state house approved the bill to build the bridge, which could cost as much as $3 billion, WWL radio reported Tuesday.

State Rep. Jeremy Lacombe said that they’re hoping that they can get federal funding for the bridge to be built, and that naming if after Trump might help.

(alternet.org)

Just a few of the feedings of Donny inflated ego.

Then there is the pack of idiots that do as they are told….Pistol Pete for instance….

The Pentagon is working with private companies to control what we know about Donald Trump’s reckless military campaign in Iran.

Leaked U.S. military guidance obtained by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein Tuesday revealed instructions to dozens of commercial satellite operators about how to describe the extent of the damage in Iran.

The Pentagon warned against using language that assumed “operational conclusions,” such as “Target destroyed” or “Target eliminated.” Instead, the language should describe only “observable infrastructure damage.”

Rather than saying things like “Strike successfully destroys facility,” companies were urged to say things like “Imagery shows the structure largely collapsed with debris covering the building footprint.”

Perhaps the U.S. military was hoping to avoid more claims that Iranian assets had been “obliterated” that they would have to walk back afterward. In any case, the Pentagon appears to be exercising censorship over what Americans are allowed to know, allowing Trump to prosecute his war in Iran with impunity.

https://newrepublic.com/post/208122/pentagon-directing-satellite-companies-censor-iran-war-information

Donny makes bones about his cabinet….

“I hang out with losers because it makes be feel better,” said Trump. “I hate guys that are very, very successful and you have to listen to their success stories. I like people that like to listen to my success.”

Even people on the inside doubt his abilities…..

Yet behind closed doors, doubts about Trump’s own intelligence have circulated among his inner circle, Michael Wolff said on the Inside Trump’s Head podcast.

Wolff, who was granted inside access to the White House during the chaotic opening months of Trump’s first term, recalled a conversation he had at the time with “Trump whisperer” Sam Nunberg, who advised Trump in his early political forays before being forced out of the 2016 campaign when racist Facebook comments he made resurfaced.

“I remember Sam looked at me and he said, ‘You don’t get it, do you?’ And I was like, ‘Tell me.’ And he said, ‘He’s an idiot,’” Wolff recounted.

In response to Wolff’s comments, Nunberg, 44, previously told the Daily Beast, “That was a long time ago and President Trump has certainly proved me wrong by getting [re-elected] in 2024.”

Wolff said Steve Bannon, another political adviser and a key source for his 2018 tell-all Fire and Fury, “absolutely” believed Trump was an “idiot,” too.

(thedailybeast.com)

We all know just how fucking crazy Donny’s boyz are but this guy at FEMA takes the cake (at least for last week)….

https://www.alternet.org/gregg-phillips/

A typical MAGA Twat.

Once all this is making my skin crawl and I need a diversion from the slimy people running this country.

Something to lighten the mood….

Our area has had a bunch of porch pirate incidents in the last couple of months….I even lost a 20 lb bag of bird seed in an Amazon box…..so I started looking for how others have handled porch pirates.

No sympathy from me…..

That Was The Week That Was…..

Have a wonderful Sunday and as always…..Be Well abs Be Safe…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“No Kings” Day

Tomorrow, 28 March, a large national protest against Donny and his band of idiots….some think it could well revival some of the protests from the Vietnam era.

A third round of “No Kings” protests is coming this spring, with organizers saying they’re planning their largest demonstrations yet across the United States to oppose what they describe as authoritarianism under President Trump. Previous rallies have drawn millions of people, and organizers say they expect even greater numbers on March 28 in the wake of Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where violent clashes have led to the death of two people. “We expect this to be the largest protest in American history,” Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, told the AP ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. He predicted that as many as 9 million people will turn out.

“No Kings” protests, organized by a constellation of groups around the US, have been a focal point for outrage over Trump’s attempts to consolidate and expand his power. Last year, Trump said he felt attendees were “not representative of the people of our country,” insisting, “I’m not a king.” The latest round of protests had been in the works before the crackdown in Minneapolis. However, the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in recent weeks has refocused plans. Levin said they want to show “support for Minnesota and immigrant communities all over” and oppose “the secret police force that is murdering Americans and infringing on their basic constitutional rights.”

“The only way to defend those rights is to exercise them, and you do that in nonviolent but forceful ways, and that’s what I expect to see in ‘No Kings’ three,” Levin added. In June, the first “No Kings” rallies were organized in nearly 2,000 locations nationwide. Those protests followed unrest over federal immigration raids and Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles. They also addressed a military parade in the nation’s capital that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday.

During a second round of protests in October, organizers said demonstrations were held in about 2,700 cities and towns across the US. At the time, Levin pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom, and retribution against political opponents. “This isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans,” Levin said. “This is about: Do we have a democracy at all, and what are we going to tell our kids and our grandkids about what we did in this moment? I think that demands [this] kind of persistent engagement.”

This time around we have a war that needs immediate attention by Americans something that is lacking these days.

If there is any media coverage here are some of the signs you may see….and some are very clever.

  • No Sign Is Big Enough To List All The Reasons I’m Here
  • I Know Signs. I Make The Best Signs. Everyone Agrees.
  • Clean Up On Aisle 47
  • Sorry For Being Weird, This Is My First Dictatorship
  • We Dumped Tea For Less
  • No Crown For A Clown
  • No Faux-King Way
  • America, Leave Your Abusive Ex
  • “Don’t Make Me Repeat Myself.” —History

There are many more….

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/no-kings-protest-sign-ideas-funny

I hope more people will be paying attention….but sometimes I doubt their attention at all.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Looking For A Scapegoat

Donny’s war has helped drop his poll numbers to record levels….

President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, hit by a surge ​in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the war he launched on Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The four-day poll, completed on Monday, showed 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s ‌job performance, down from 40% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.
(reuters.com)
With crappy polls and a defiant Iran Donny is scrambling to find someone to blame for his failure….he has already whacked Noem so he could he possibly blame for Iran?
And what better person to blame than Pistol Pete Hogsbreath?

President Trump is already trying to throw Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth under the bus for the fruitless war on Iran.

“I called Pete, I called General Caine, I called a lot of our great people … and I said, ‘Let’s talk. We got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country … that for 47 years has been a purveyor of terror. And they’re very close to having a nuclear weapon. We can keep going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60, there’s no end. Or we could take a stop and make a little journey into the Middle East, and eliminate a big problem,’” Trump said Monday at an event in Memphis.

“Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up,” Trump continued. “And you said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”

“Hegseth about to give his next briefing from under the bus,” liberal podcaster Jon Favreau wrote on X.

This quick comment is magnified by the chaos of Monday morning, which saw Trump announcing a five-day pause on bombing Iranian energy sites while claiming that he was close to a deal with the Iranian government. The Iranian government then denied speaking to him in any capacity at all, sparking rumors that Trump was engaging in market manipulation. And if the war is going as badly as it appears to be, Hegseth may be in trouble.

(newrepublic.com)

I cannot think of a better person for Donny to blame.

And the sooner we see the back of him the better the military will be.

Whatcha think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Does Donny Sound Like An Idiot?

A fascinating question and the simple answer is…..because he is an idiot.

But that is from me….writer Andersen looks a bit deeper…

Acclaimed journalist and author Kurt Andersen has unlocked the secret behind Donald Trump’s appeal to his own voters.

Speaking to The Daily Beast Podcast’s Joanna Coles about the president’s actions overseas, including most recently in Iran, Andersen claimed Trump has “no clue” about the history of Iran and the Middle East.

“He’s an idiot. He’s always been stupid. And his stupidity has been an under-remarked-upon, unheralded part of his—long with the lying, along with the mental disorders—the stupidity is important.”

The Daily Beast has meticulously documented the president’s visible decline since his return to the White House, including interviewing medical experts who believe his obvious cognitive decline is the result of a serious medical event like a stroke. More than 60 percent of Americans believe that Trump has become increasingly erratic with age.

Andersen argues that the president’s stupidity, which predates his recent decline, is a feature that appeals to a broad swath of the voting public.

“But his most devoted supporters are evangelical Christians, because once you get a country in which so much belief in any old thing you want and hear and disbelief in things that are true, anything goes.”

“That wasn’t always the case,” Andersen notes. “It always tended to be the case in America a little bit, but then it got out of control in the last 60 years and, along with the internet, gave us Donald Trump.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-real-reason-trump-talks-like-an-idiot-author/

Interesting take on Donny…..

But what draws idiots to the MAGA cult?

Any ideas?

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Boots Are Made For Walking

The Iranian thing has been going on for 4 weeks or so and from what I see here on IST there is little interest on what Donny and his buddies in Israel are doing to the Middle East.

Awhile back Donny ordered 3000 Marines to the region and to be a stand-by and now he had ordered the 82nd Airborne, about 1000 troops, to be ready….

Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are expecting to deploy in coming days to the Middle East, according to two sources familiar with the matter, adding to the growing military firepower in the region as the Trump administration says it is in talks with Iran to end the conflict.

The contingent includes Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and division staff, as well as a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team which is currently acting as the division’s Immediate Response Force (IRF), the sources said. The initial elements of the division staff and battalion are expected to begin deploying within a week, one of the sources familiar said; other elements within the brigade are also expecting to deploy at a later date, though those expectations could change as the situation develops.

US officials approved written deployment orders late Tuesday, the second source familiar with the matter told CNN on Wednesday.

The brigade will be the “ready unit” in the Middle East, prepared to be called upon if needed, the source said. The 82nd Airborne Division made a similar movement in 2020 after the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/24/politics/us-army-sending-troops-middle-east-iran

And few people noticed.

Is this the beginning of an escalation?

https://wegotthiscovered.com/news/american-boots-on-ground-imminent-in-iran-huge-deployment-arrives-in-middle-east-as-bloody-battle-looms/

What does it take to get Americans off their collective butts and care about what is being done?

Will the deaths of more American soldiers impress them enough to care?

These are the same people that feel it necessary to wish vets, ‘Thanks for your service’ whenever they are around.

When most of these people mean ‘glad it was you and not me’…..this saying is getting as offensive as the usual ‘thoughts and prayers’ after massive shooting.

I know that gas is expensive, food is expensive of Hell everything is expensive but that will not change even when Americans start dying…..it make things worse….but that matters not to some.

Everyday year I get a little more disappointed in my fellow Americans.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Donny Makes His Desire Known

The Iran conflict has been going on for about 4 weeks and we have heard all sorts of crap and now more stuff to ponder.

Donny has made his offer for this war to end…..

US officials said late Tuesday that Iran had been sent a 15-point plan to end the war, and Pakistani officials confirmed on Wednesday that Iran got it. The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from the government of Pakistan, which has offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, a source tells the AP. More:

  • What the US seeks: The Wall Street Journal reports the proposal would reportedly require Tehran to dismantle its three main nuclear facilities, halt all uranium enrichment at home, freeze ballistic-missile development, ease support for regional proxies, and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
  • What Iran would get: In exchange, Washington would lift nuclear-related sanctions and help oversee a civilian nuclear program.
  • Nothing new: The Journal reports the plan largely mirrors a prewar offer made by President Trump before the war began on Feb. 28. The Guardian’s sources paint it as even older, saying it’s based on a plan that was shared with Iran in late May 2025.
  • Tough prospects: In the AP’s view, any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve, and it is not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority or would be willing to negotiate.
  • Tough prospects II: Bloomberg sees a similarly uphill battle, reporting Tehran is “signaling little willingness to compromise.” Bloomberg flags a Wednesday comment from Iran’s armed forces to that end: “The level of your internal conflicts has reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves,” the statement said, per state-run IRIB News.

Now Iran has given a response….

The Trump administration’s 15-point proposal for ending the war in Iran did not get a warm reception. The AP reports that Iran has rejected the plan, citing Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster, which quoted an anonymous official. The Guardian reports the official characterized the asks as “excessive” and said “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met.”

The Wall Street Journal offers a similar report, saying Iran’s information council—part of the government’s communications arm—dismissed the plan as a wish list of goals that hadn’t come to pass through the use of force. “Trump’s statements are false and should not be taken seriously,” it said.

But Reuters describes the door as not being fully shut; it quotes a senior Iranian official as saying the view on the proposal was “not positive” but that it is still being reviewed. Reuters separately reports that Pakistan, which delivered the proposal, is still waiting for a reply.

The Guardian adds that the senior political security official quoted on Press TV shared five conditions that Tehran seeks:

  • A stop to “aggression and assassinations.”
  • An end to the war on Iran and “all resistance groups” in the region.
  • “Concrete” guarantees of no future military action against Iran.
  • Reparations and war-damage payments.
  • Recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Now the wait to see what late night BS Donny will send out over Truth Social (a name that sends shudders through my body).

Is this a place to start negotiations or just Donny whipping off some crap for the media?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Onto Cuba

Both Donny Do-Little and his lap dog Little Marco have been thumping their chest for months about Cuba.

After 60+ years of sanctions and embargoes the damage has starting effecting the island like never before and no that Donny smells blood in the water he has started circling with his usual bravado.

Amid reports that the US is pressuring Havana to remove its president from power, President Trump is renewing his talk of taking control of the island nation. “I do believe I’ll be … having the honor of taking Cuba,” Trump told reporters on Monday, reports the Guardian. “Whether I free it, take it—I think I could do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” The comments came as Cuba grapples with a nationwide blackout amid tightened US oil restrictions, per the BBC.

On Monday evening, meanwhile, NBC News reported a notable shift in Cuban policy: The government will allow Cuban nationals living abroad, including in the US, to invest in the nation’s private sector and to own businesses. “Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with US companies” and “also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants,” Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, deputy prime minister, told the outlet.

Washington has ramped up pressure on Cuba since cutting off Venezuelan oil shipments and threatening penalties on other suppliers, moves that have strained the country’s outdated power system. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, 65, has said he is open to talks under terms of “equality and respect.” The Guardian describes him as a “key figurehead,” noting that the Communist regime that has run Cuba for decades would remain in place should he be ousted.

For me the terminology “Taking” Cuba has an ominous tone.

Then the statement of “commercial relationship with US companies” smacks of exploitation that they suffered in the 40s and 50s.

But what will be Donny’s plan for the expansion into Cuba?

An aspiring emperor needs an empire. Trump seems to have settled on the Western Hemisphere as his imperial domain, as laid out in his National Security Strategy. The liquidation of regimes that Trump regards as adversaries began with Venezuela, and now Cuba is in the crosshairs.

Trump’s brazen claim that he can do anything he wants with Cuba is typical of his audacious bluster, but this time it cannot be discounted. He has Cuba over the proverbial barrel… and literally barrels of oil. After cutting off Venezuelan oil shipments, Trump threatened to sanction any other country sending oil to Cuba, imposing a complete oil blockade on the petroleum-dependent island.

A few months back a small group of invaders tried to get into Cuba and try and start a counterrevolution….did not end well…..now an official has made it known that the island will prepare for US aggression.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister said Saturday that the nation’s military is preparing for “the possibility of military aggression” from the U.S. and that it would be “naive” for Cuba’s leaders to ignore the possibility of conflict.

“We would be naive” not to consider the possibility of conflict, he added, “looking at what’s happening around the world.”

Fernández de Cossío said the country’s leaders “truly hope that it doesn’t occur. We don’t see why it would have to occur, and we find no justification whatsoever.”

Tensions between the U.S. and Cuba have been escalating following the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of that nation’s president, Nicolás Maduro, who had a close relationship with Cuba’s leadership.

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/cuba/cuba-foreign-minister-military-aggression-us-oil-trump-rubio-rcna264568

Will Cuba be the next target for the Donny ‘peace presidency’?

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Now It Is The Straight Of Hormuz

Dear Donny has said there will be a 5 day lull in the airstrikes on Iran…..why?  He announced that the US and Iran are in talks….(personally I think this was to appease his buddies on Wall Street)….

President Trump on Monday extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, saying the US would hold off on strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, per the AP. Dow futures jumped 1,000 points, and crude prices fell on the news, reports CNBC. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social hours ahead of his self-imposed deadline later in the day. Writing in all-caps, he said the US and Iran have had “very good and productive conversations” that could yield “a complete and total resolution” in the war. Talks would continue “throughout the week,” he said.

Trump added that the suspension of his threat to attack power plants was “subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.” Trump did not elaborate on the negotiations that had taken place. Iran did not immediately acknowledge any talks between the countries, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did say he spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary before in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

No details just Donny’s worthless word of talks….and the markets went berserk up 10000 points(go figure)

And then Iran weighed in…..

A cautious relief swept through financial markets Monday after President Trump said the United States has talked with Iran about a possible end to the war. Oil prices eased, and stock prices rose on Wall Street following severe losses taken elsewhere in the world before Trump’s announcement.

  • The S&P 500 rose 74.52 points, or 1.1%, to 6,581.00.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 631 points, or 1.4%, to 46,208.47.
  • The Nasdaq composite rose 299.15 points, or 1.4%, to 21,946.76.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 10.9% to settle at $99.94, down from nearly $120 at one point last week, after Trump said the United States and Iran held productive talks the last two days “regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” the AP reports. The market’s moves were tentative, though, after Iran denied such talks took place and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a post on X that fake news “is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”

The Dow went from a surge of nearly 1,135 points during the morning to a much more modest gain. Over the weekend, Trump had threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t open up the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Trump said Monday that he is postponing attacks on Iranian power plants for five days to allow talks to continue. Quickly afterward, though, came the denials from Iran about talks, while Iran’s semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies portrayed the American president as backing down. Turkey and Egypt, meanwhile, said they had spoken to the warring parties, the first sign of coordinated mediation, which could be an encouraging signal.

  • The price of Brent crude fell as low as $96 immediately after Trump announced the postponement but quickly recovered a chunk of that loss. Benchmark US crude had a similar reaction, immediately dropping toward $84 per barrel before yo-yoing back above $92 and then settling at $88.13, down 10.3% from Friday.

On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills that will benefit from any easing of oil prices led the market. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings surged 6.2%, while United Airlines climbed 4.5%, and American Airlines rose 3.6%. All, though, are still down for the year so far. Stocks of smaller companies were also particularly strong, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks jumped a market-leading 2.3%. It had dropped last week to 10% below its record, a sharp enough fall that professional investors have a name for it: a “correction.”

In Europe, stock indexes immediately flipped from losses to gains following Trump’s announcement. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.8%, and Germany’s DAX returned 1.2%. That compares with sharp drops for Asian stock markets, which finished trading before Trump made his announcement. South Korea’s Kospi careened 6.5% lower, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 3.5%.

All this after Donny made the statement that if the Straight was not fully functioning in 48 hours there would be consequences….

Iran is warning it will choke off one of the world’s most important oil routes if the US follows through on a new threat, CNN reports. The country’s armed forces headquarters said Sunday it is prepared to shut the Strait of Hormuz “completely” and for an indefinite period if US President Trump orders strikes on Iranian power plants. The statement came a day after Trump said he would direct attacks on Iran’s power infrastructure if the narrow waterway—through which a significant share of global oil shipments passes—is not fully reopened to shipping within 48 hours

Iran’s military said the strait would remain closed until any damaged plants are restored, and broadened its warning beyond the US. It threatened to hit Israeli energy and communications networks, referring to Israel as an “occupying regime,” per the AP, as well as “similar companies in the region with US shareholders.” Power plants in countries that host American bases “will be legitimate targets for us,” the headquarters said. Early Monday, Israel launched new attacks against Iran, the AP reports, and the top leader of the US military’s Central Command described the joint campaign against Iran as “ahead or on plan.” Meanwhile, Trump spoke to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the need to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened in a late-night call Sunday, CNN reports.

Is Donny trying to dodge another bullet?

Meanwhile those talks that Donny pounced on……

World markets remained in an upbeat mood on Monday after President Trump postponed a major escalation of the Iran war and said the two sides were engaged in “productive” talks to end the conflict. Much uncertainty remained about those talks. Coverage:

  • Trump said son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff were leading the US negotiations with a “respected” Iranian leader, reports the AP. He did not say who that leader is, adding that it would be dangerous for the man to be identified, though he specified that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was not involved.
  • Axios, quoting an Israeli official, reports the Iranian figure might be the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. However, Ghalibaf wrote on X that “no negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”
  • The New York Times reports that Iran, “at least publicly,” is denying any progress. The nation’s Fars News Agency quotes an unnamed senior Iranian official who said much the same as Ghalibaf: “Trump backed down from attacking critical infrastructure as Iran’s military threats became credible,” he said, per the Hill. “Financial market pressure and the threat of bonds within the US and the West have increased, and this has been another important factor in this retreat.”

A ‘respected leader’……who would that be?    Some rug salesman in Southern California?

This is all so much con….period!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”