#47 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

I'll check. I bought No Friends But The Mountains with the idea to pass it along to some younger Kurds I know who came here as young kids. They can read and/or pass it along and so on ...

#7 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

Thanks for another book rec :-)

I'll order it in time to arrive when I finish that arrived today. I'd love to discuss it when I'm done. Thanks again.

...while racing around in armored convoys

Hi AU: You're friend was an FBI LEGATT and will tell you the Houthis are the good guys in the Middle East.

#12 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

I looked up LEGATT. Thanks for that. The only detail about his duties was that he was the FBI rep the joint antiterrorism task force in Sanaa. I'll ask about the Houthis next time he's in town for a visit. In regards to Yemen, conversations tended to be about architecture, historical sites, and some James Bond-ish anecdotes about iffy escapes from folks trying to put an end to them.

BREAKING: Donald Trump is reportedly pissed that Pete Hegseth's ban on transgender soldiers in the military means his plan to reinstitute the draft to invade Iran will backfire because everyone will just start identifying as trans.

#93 | Posted by A_Friend

There's a hilarious geriatric comedian named Andy Huggins who has a bit about "transitioning."

#7 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

Thanks again. I'll be getting into the book in a day or so. About 50 pages left in the one I'm currently reading ...

A friend recently retired from the FBI. 3 of his last 4 years were spent in Sanaa, Yemen. What a perilous post! He had some tales!!

While I didn't spend much time specifically learning about the various ethnic groups, I did order a couple of books on the history and architecture of Yemen after he sent pics of the "mud skyscrapers." I was luckily enough to be a part of a happy ending for a stray (and very friendly) dog Marine guards took under their wings (feeding, sneaking him in at night), getting him back to the U.S., and his eventual reunion/adoption with the first Marine guard to rotate out of Yemen and go into private life.

I hope one day a Good Samaritan crashes right into good-for-nothing warmongering US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). And some other malefactors as well.

#5 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

Geesh, that idiot stands for nothing.

BTW, the book about Kurds you suggested arrived today. Thanks again for the rec! I'm looking forward to reading it :-)

#70 | Posted by A_Friend

And he had the opportunity to refill it at low prices the past year.

Recognize anybody from this 4 July 2018 trip to Moscow?

#66 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS

Yep. Several of them, all smiles. Well, except for John "Cornpoke Harvard Law Grad" Kennedy

Those sources suck. Wind and solar are worse than fool's gold. One good thing that came during his administration - Congress passed a bill for the creation of several new nuclear power plants and auto pen signed it into law.

Posted by BellRinger

Texas. T E X A S:

As of 2023-2024, wind energy represents roughly 25% to 28.6% of Texas' total electricity generation, ranking it second only to natural gas. Texas leads the nation in wind energy, producing over 26% of all U.S. wind-powered electricity in 2022, with capacity exceeding 40,000 MW.

Video appears to show U.S. cruise missile striking Iranian school compound

A new video released by Iranian state media shows what appears to be a U.S. cruise missile striking a compound where around 175 Iranian students and staff were killed at a girl's school a little over a week ago.

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/08/nx-s1-5739395/iran-school-airstrike-tomahawk-missile-trump

We're on a wild ride until this war is over. And then for weeks or months afterwards with oil production disruptions.

First time it rains he's out.

You know how his bone spurs act up when it rains.

#20 | Posted by donnerboy

I had surgery 3 weeks ago to remove a bone spur and replace a big toe joint (a big item fell on it).

I can tell ya, bone spurs don't disappear unless they're surgically removed.

Trump is a big fat liar.

I'm so glad none of my plans for the next couple of months include taking commercial flights.

Iran's conflict with Israel has always been about the Palestinians.

Posted by ClownShack

That's curious with the vast majority of Palestinians Sunni and Iran Shia

Somehow I posted this on the wrong thread:

Video appears to show U.S. cruise missile striking Iranian school compound

A new video released by Iranian state media shows what appears to be a U.S. cruise missile striking a compound where around 175 Iranian students and staff were killed at a girl's school a little over a week ago.

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/08/nx-s1-5739395/iran-school-airstrike-tomahawk-missile-trump

Seems Bibi talked Trump into this. Since Trump doesn't read anything without his name on every page, he probably missed this:

In 2002, Netanyahu told Congress, "If you take out Saddam, Saddam's regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region."

We all know how that worked out for the U.S.

FWIW Tucker Carlson says Piggy thinks 90% of Americans support his Iran war, so it is highly unlikely he has a basic understanding of what is happening.

#13 | Posted by truthhurts

Where'd the asshat pull that nonsense from?

A majority of Americans oppose this war by a good margin. An ever increasing margin against every day this goes on. Even those for the war will feel the hit in their pocketbooks every single day, so some of those will peel off into the "opposed" column.

And, deepest condolences to all of the fallen soldier's families.

I'm sorry Trump is why they died.

"AU, it is looking like collapse is the evolving end game"

With over 90,000,000 people, a chaotic Iran won't just be a pest to the ME like Libya or Yemen. No good can come of it.

(I need to quit watching TV while typing LOL)

American's approval for war goes down over time. The longer this war drags on, the weaker Trump becomes. Not just over war itself. This war will make tariff-caused price increases look like spare change in comparison. And that'll only get worse day by day.

Just 24% of Americans support a hypothetical troop deployment, while 58% oppose it.

American's approval for war goes down over time. The longer the drags on, the weaker Trump becomes. Not just over war itself, just that on top of the added economic hit for everyone. This war will make tariff-caused increases to look like spare change.

#29 | Posted by truthhurts

If he sends in ground forces, he'll be polling in the 20's within a month as the death toll mount. They're going to fight 200,000 IGRC and 100,000 regular army ... with what?

This war could end up being what breaks his political back.

You cannot bomb a nation into liking you.

Posted by truthhurts

I can't count how many retired U.S. generals and others have said a military can't win bombs only. Takes boots on the ground.

Whatever happens in Iran, someone is going to have to find a way to get the Strait of Hormuz open soon. If Iran devolves into civil war, that choke point could become the next Yemen with militias firing rockets or hijacking shipments. Based on how things look at the moment, this war is going to hurt us for a long time, economically, militarily, and in the eyes of the world.

At least MAGA rednecks in big --- pickup trucks will feel the economic pain too. No "owning libs" over this. They'll feel it too.

#19 | Posted by truthhurts

Seems Bibi is leading Trump by the nose (and the rest of the world into recession).

Trump may want a regime he finds suitable. Israel may want utter destruction and leave Iran as a failed state embroiled a chaotic civil war. Only 50% of Iranians are Persian. The other 50% is comprised of the Baloch, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Arabs.

This war may not be over until Bibi says so.