Noteworthy News

[Angrboda]

In a statement, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump’s “energy dominance agenda prepared us to meet this moment.”

“The President made clear that the Operation Epic Fury is in its final stages and we are quickly achieving our military goals,” she said. “In the meantime, the Administration has taken several significant actions to mitigate short-term disruptions and stabilize the energy markets.”

Still, among traders and analysts who once hung on Trump’s every word, there’s far less willingness to buy into his optimism now that they’re seeing more real-world impact.

If Trump declares victory and leaves the Middle East in the next few weeks without reopening the strait, he will effectively cede one-fifth of the world’s oil supply to Iran. That would put the regime on even stronger financial footing than before, allowing Iran to charge oil tankers a hefty toll to use the strait — and determine which country’s shipments get through.

Under that scenario, analysts project, oil prices are expected to remain above $90 per barrel well beyond the end of the war, or roughly one-third higher than where prices sat before the conflict began.

But other options could yield even worse outcomes. If Trump instead chooses to escalate and follow through on his threats to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure, it would immediately worsen the oil shortage and fan fears of widespread retaliation — which could effectively shatter the global energy trade and push prices to never-before-seen highs.

Either way, energy experts said, oil prices are going to stay significantly higher than the $60-per-barrel level the US enjoyed earlier this year — and no amount of reassurances from Trump is likely to change that at this point.

“I don’t think there’s any going back to pre-war gas prices, at least not this year and probably not for a couple years,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “With each passing day, and the longer the hostilities continue, the more damage is done.”

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/02/politics/...r-whiplash

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Another reason being floated for PP firing Gen. Randy George (apart from Hegseth's ire that some people just aren't racist enough) is that he fears being fired himself and being replaced by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll. Hoping to forestall that, he's getting rid of people close to Driscoll.

Boru

[Ivan Denisovich]

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban offered last year to help Russian President Vladimir Putin "in any way", such as by hosting a summit in Budapest to settle the war in ​Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported, citing the transcript of a phone call.
A Hungarian government ‌spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment and for the release of the transcript of an October 17 call between the two leaders reviewed by Bloomberg but not verified by Reuters.

[...]

In the phone call, Orban calls Putin a friend, noting that ​their close ties date back to a 2009 meeting in St Petersburg.
"But yesterday our friendship rose to such ‌a ⁠high level that I can help in any way — there is a story in our Hungarian picture books where a mouse helps a lion," he tells Putin according to the transcript. "I am ready to help immediately ... In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service."

Not that I ever thought that orban even knows what dignity means but now he fell lower than Poland members of parliament wearing maga caps.

[Angrboda]

And Trump supports Orban. Russia! Russia! Russia!

[Ivan Denisovich]

Doctors in Lebanon are warning that the Israeli military appears to be waging a campaign of deliberate destruction on their country’s healthcare system.

In an interview with The Associated Press published Monday, Sidon-based surgeon Dr. Mohammed Ziara, who previously worked in Gaza City, said that he believes Israel is trying to inflict the same kind of damage on the Lebanese healthcare system that it inflicted in Gaza, when it regularly bombed hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Is anyone surprised? Murderous regimes escalate when they aren't stopped and there is no political will to stop issrael.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

^’I wish the United States would let Iran annihilate Israel a little - not much, but enough to make it difficult to find the place again without a divining rod or a diving bell.’ - Mark Twain (quote updated for the modern era)

Boru

[Deesse23]

Orban will be irrelevant in one weeks time. At least thats quite probable. He is trailing ca. 7% to TISZA.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Orban will be irrelevant in one weeks time. At least thats quite probable. He is trailing ca. 7% to TISZA.

Polls don’t matter much in a rigged election.

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

Orban will be irrelevant in one weeks time. At least thats quite probable. He is trailing ca. 7% to TISZA.

Polls don’t matter much in a rigged election.

Boru

And even if they're not rigged a priori, he strikes me as the type to try a Trumpian putsch.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Polls don’t matter much in a rigged election.

Boru

And even if they're not rigged a priori, he strikes me as the type to try a Trumpian putsch.

Since he learned at Uncle Vlad’s knee, I expect him to cruise to victory with 90% of the vote. He’s that beloved.

Boru