Category: Trump

Did Viktor Orbán Just Play the EU?

Interesting theory:

In a display of political chess so brilliant it borders on the comical, Viktor Orbán sniffed out long ago that the European Union, George Soros, Obama, and the whole globalist club were gunning for him. With no worthwhile left-wing opposition left in Hungary (none of them cracked the laughable 5% electoral threshold), the Hungarian prime minister decided to solve the problem his own way: he took his top ally and right-hand man, Péter Magyar, and sent him out front as a deluxe “opponent.”

The plan was as simple as it was genius: Magyar, who until 2024 was a key piece of the Orbán government, dramatically jumped ship, played the dissident, eagerly accepted funds from the very Eurocrats who despise Orbán, and positioned himself as the great hope for “change.” The European left and their patrons fell into the trap like flies into honey. “At last!” they shouted in Brussels, as they cracked open the checkbook. No one understood a thing, of course, because hardly anyone speaks Hungarian and the headlines in Western media were too flattering to question.

Related: Newly elected Hungarian PM Péter Magyar visits the state broadcaster and shares some truth bombs.

Is Pope Leo Actually Catholic?

Or more akin to a Chicago Democrat?

Related: Follow the Money!

Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter

Open Source Intel;

The U.S. has begun enforcing a naval blockade on Iran, targeting all vessels entering and exiting its ports across the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

The move is expected to inflict about $435M in total daily losses across Iran’s exports, roughly $13B per month, even as its oil revenues rose 37% during the war to about $139M per day.

The IRGC had been operating a paid “protection corridor,” charging up to $2M per vessel in crypto, but the blockade could halt exports, disrupt imports, trigger food shortages, and accelerate the collapse of the rial.

Plus: vessels entering the Strait of Hormuz without authorization are subject to interception, diversion, and capture by the U.S. military. […] “The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations.”

More: The thing about that Persian Gulf stranglehold is that, like the Sword of Damcles, it’s only effective until it’s played.”

I’m on the road this week and mostly out of the news cycle, so drop related links in the comments.

Iran in Context

Related: How much prison time did Bill Clinton serve for bombing Serbia’s power plants for 78 days?

Update: Let’s hope this proves to be true.

No Man Left Behind

@Geiger_Capital

This movie is going to be insane…

American WSO ejects over Iran and spends ~48 hours hiding in the mountains while the IRGC hunts him. We cover him with 24/7 air support until US Special Ops can get to him, only for their Plan A planes to get stuck on the rural airstrip we setup deep in Iranian territory. They blow up the planes so Iran can’t recover them, fly in 3 new ones for extract, and still manage to get everyone home alive.

No man left behind. 🇺🇸

New York Post has the details.

Update: Glenn Reynolds speculates.

House Cleaning?

Pam Bondi is out as Attorney General. Would any SDA readers like to speculate as to why?

The president wrote on Truth Social that Bondi would be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” praising her for her work in his administration and offering no specific reason for why she would be leaving.

Is Trump Playing 4D Chess with the Strait of Hormuz?

Fascinating hypothesis – h/t Sooke + RN

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