This was my escape from the war narrative. Working on it on and off in between chores entirely for entertainment purposes.

1.

The song, Wooden Ships, was written in 1968 by David Crosby and Stephen Stills of Crosby Stills and Nash fame, and Paul Kantner of the band Jefferson Airplane. My personal favorite of the two songs that were recorded was the Airplane version from 1969 on the album Volunteers.

The song was about a group of nuclear war survivors adrift on a wooden ship after both sides of the conflict were annihilated. After survivors of both sides meet one another, one ask of the other, "Can you tell me, please, who won?"

Three days after a cease fire agreement in what is being called The 12-Day War between Israel and Iran, I am asking that same question.

Bombs Away

Trump is wasting lots of bombs hitting Yemen again and again...killing mainly civilians, many women and children. Israel is still bombing Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon...that is on our dime too. The European chihuahuas want to build more bombs and weapons so they can get in on the action... thinking that will save their economies. Those who object are being silenced one way or another. France eliminated Le Pen this week much like Romania eliminated their anti-war leading candidate. UK citizens are being arrested for retweeting memes that are unapproved by TPTB. Here in the US we deport those critical of the Gaza genocide without due process. Will they eventually target citizens critical of the Zionists? In some ways they already have. The tariff wars have begun, and how that evolves has yet to be seen. These stories and more below the fold...

America has gone back to doing what it does best - bombing Iraq - although the justification varies.
Was it pre-emptive or defensive? Which is it? Who cares?

The U.S. is calling on the UN security council to condemn Iran's retaliation for Israel bombing their embassy in Syria. The level of hypocrisy is breath-taking.

In 2001 the US invaded Afghanistan and removed the Sunni Taliban from power. They weren't specifically enemies of Shia Iran, but they weren't allies by any means either.

The world is in flux. Things are changing as the balance of power shifts from West to East. In a desperate bid to maintain US hegemony, there are efforts to stir up both an Iranian conflict and use Taiwan as Ukraine 2.0. There is push back. There are massive protests in Germany as farmers and truckers join forces to demand their government serve the needs of their people rather than Ukraine. South Africa's case against Israel's genocide in Gaza made it to court this week dealing another blow to western hegemony. Things are indeed in a state of flux....hopefully for the better.

(11 min) St. George's great routine on time...

Since the beginning of the Israeli Gaza conflict retaliation against US forces in the region have been increasing. It's no secret that Israel has wanted the US to attack Iran for decades. In fact, Israel celebrated when we attacked Iraq.

More than 20 years ago we invaded Iraq. Three years ago Iraq asked us to leave. We are still there.

“Iraqi priorities and the US are increasingly at odds,” Abdul Mahdi said during his address to parliament.

He said a US troop withdrawal was the only way to “protect all those on Iraqi soil” – especially American forces that require protection from the Iraqis.

This was an especially well-informed discussion of American politics, which isn't common these days. There is also a bit of discussion about international politics: Ukraine, the Middle East, Spain. Some of it was great, other parts not so great. Long having been a watcher of the two Alexes, I was wondering about their take on American politics. I guess they let this guy Barnes speak for them. It is long: 2.5 hours. Below are some critical notes.