Having soldiers drop like flies due to entirely preventable diseases is what this COUNTRY was BUILT ON

Those count as News of the Day, as do memes

Leaked footage of JD Vance in Islamabad

The TikTokization of War - A Conversation with Ryan Noordally YouTube video by Pax Americana

Speaking of soldiers doing stupid stuff on camera, time to bring this out of the archives. Ryan Noordally @noorryan.bsky.social on the "Tiktokization of War."

youtu.be/UBWrTCDDoag

I've realised I use this site like a 19thC political salon - half to swap the News of the Day and half to mutter "oh I say, very good" at the Witticisms of my Illustrious Compatriots

T Pain War Pigs YouTube video by Working 2gether Inc.

Apropos of absolutely nothing going on at the moment, I am once again evangelising about T-Pain's spectacular cover of War Pigs

youtu.be/YhjIs2Htzdc?...

I fear myself, to be quite honest, but I will not be stopped

This prompted me to work out how many eggs I eat a year and I may in fact be Egg Georg with over a THOUSAND, and I'm not sure if I'm proud or simply Gaston

For those of you blessedly free of knowing what "force majeure" is - Kuwait is declaring its oil contracts unfulfillable within agreed timescales (without liability) due to events beyond its control.

Basically, despite the Strait being "open" the Strait is blocked so they can't get their oil out.

If there's an afterlife, I want to show these to FDR, Eisenhower, or in fact literally any other US president

TUI as the new naval hegemon.

I also enjoy that the names are just "my ship" with a number, absolute chads.

La guerre à la maison | Le Grand Continent Le culte masculiniste du guerrier professé par le Secrétaire de la guerre de Donald Trump est un cheval de Troie pour toutes les démocraties libérales. Une pièce de doctrine signée par l'ancien légio...

Pour ceux qui n'auraient pas eu l'info vendredi dernier. Le Grand Continent m'a offert l'opportunité de publier un article dans leurs pages.
J'y parle du culte de l'éthique guerrière sous la gouvernance du SecWar Pete Hegseth.

legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/04/1...

The blockade is blockading. And if the USN is hitting engine rooms, they'll need some tugboats pretty soon.

a man is sitting in front of a sign that says uncomfortably ALT: a man is sitting in front of a sign that says uncomfortably

An hour-long press interview about naval mine warfare, you say? You have questions about influence mines? Shipping insurance? Helicopters?

Buckle up, dear journalist, the 'tism is incoming.

"That wasn't nice, was it?"

**screams into void**

Iran War Live Updates: Two Ships Are Fired On As Iran Says the Strait of Hormuz is Closed

This is why you don't get insured to run a blockade

www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04...

Deliberate 😎

The latter, for sure

bart simpson is giving a speech in front of a podium while homer simpson stands behind him ALT: bart simpson is giving a speech in front of a podium while homer simpson stands behind him

Strait's closed again, lads

"Captain, the insurance underwriters just called, they will not accept LEEEEROY JENKINSSS as a risk management strategy."

a woman sits at a table with a mug that says emm ALT: a woman sits at a table with a mug that says emm

The Strait of Hormuz must be open because if you blockade a blockade it cancels out to zero, it's basic mathematics

Iran may have possibly agreed to remove the mines - if the regime was bluffing about not knowing where they are - but the US definitely hasn't helped to do that

US still blockading Iran despite the Strait being reopened

Here we go (derogatory)

Iran Says Hormuz Strait Now Completely Open for Commercial Ships Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is now “completely open” for commercial traffic, a major step toward ending a war with the US and Israel that’s sent energy prices surging.

Strait's open!

(I found out because Al Jazeera called me, I'll be on in an hour's time to talk about it!)

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

La guerre à la maison | Le Grand Continent Le culte masculiniste du guerrier professé par le Secrétaire de la guerre de Donald Trump est un cheval de Troie pour toutes les démocraties libérales. Une pièce de doctrine signée par l'ancien légio...

"The masculinist cult of the warrior professed by Donald Trump's Secretary of War is a Trojan horse for all liberal democracies."

An absolute must-read from @noorryan.bsky.social

legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/04/1...

Love that my think tank's comms team (who are awesome) picked my snark as the pull quote

UK-Aus-NZ, so it's just all Union Jacks

I now have an official AUKUS pin, which is lovely, but I'm also looking at the third flag like 😬