Approximately 10% of the world's nitrogen based fertilizer comes through the Persian Gulf That supply line has been severed. We have already lost a crop yield. We have already lost a growing season with reduced fertilizer. This damaged to this growing season was slightly prevented by use of alternative fertilizers and the limited stockpiles The next growing season-September to November will see a major reduction in output. It is inevitable. The world lives on a "just in time" model of razor thin margins for food supply to the most vulnerable places on earth. Countries that were food poor even before this war relied heavily on donated food. The coming crop yield will be significantly lower meaning famine. This damage is unavoidable at this point. But the real harm comes in 2027 when these losses multiply. Keep in mind that the alternative fertilizer processes say for phosphorus based fertilizer uses sulfur which comes from LNG processing.
The US House of Representatives passed a $1.15tn defense policy bill in a near-party-line vote on Wednesday, after Democrats refused to back the measure amid the war with Iran and Donald Trump's push to impose new restrictions on voting nationwide. A key plank of the president's plan to spend $1.5tn on the military in the 2027 fiscal year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed the Republican-controlled chamber by a 216-212 vote, with all but six Democrats opposing its passage. Seven House Republicans broke ranks to oppose it. The measure now goes to the Senate. read more
Two U.S. servicemembers were killed and several were wounded in an Iranian attack on an air base in Jordan, further escalating a weeklong exchange of fire where both sides have been striking a broader array of targets. U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, confirmed the deaths and said another servicemember is missing as a result of the attack. Four servicemembers were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, according to Centcom. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have been returned to duty, Centcom added.
The SCOTUS opinions nobody's covering today are quietly rewriting who actually gets to enforce their rights in court. read more
"Let's start thinking outside the box about Hezbollah," Ben Gvir said, according to The Jerusalem Post. "Also, conquering territory and killing many terrorists, but also arresting their women and youth and taking them to terrorist prisons. That's what hurts them the most." read more
He was aware
John Kenneth Galbraith: "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."