Seen in the News

[Stanley]

You are both correct and I have been banging on for years about how the West has always assumed superiority over anything to the East. Start with the crusades......

HERE'S this morning's dose of Trumpism.....
US President Donald Trump's address from the White House on Wednesday evening was - despite some speculation beforehand - largely a rehash of what he has been saying for days about the Iran war. In a 20-minute primetime speech, he said the "core strategic objectives" of the US-Israeli military operation were "nearing completion" after a month of war and projected it would last another two to three weeks. There were the usual threats against Iran, too, including a repeated pledge to bomb the country "back to the Stone Age". If you were to copy and paste his posts on Truth Social over the last week or so, you would not be far off this address to the nation. The president did attempt to persuade Americans of the merits of this war. There is good reason for that, as polls suggest a consistent majority of voters disapprove of the military operation he launched on 28 February. Trump urged Americans to see this war as an "investment" in their future, and suggested it was nothing compared to other conflicts over the past century or more in which the US has ended up being involved for far longer. But there was little here for those hoping for clear answers on where this war is heading or potential exit ramps for the US. There were glaring omissions which leave a plethora of questions unanswered.
I see President Macron suggested that Trump should stop continuously posting statements. The Donald has evidently disregarded him.

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update on Iran.
American forces are searching for a missing pilot after a US fighter jet was downed in Iran, US media report. It comes after two sources told the BBC's US partner CBS News that a search-and-rescue effort was under way for a downed US F-15 fighter jet in southern Iran. It's not known what has happened to the missing crew member - a second has reportedly been rescued. Iranian security forces are also searching for the missing pilot, Iranian state media reports. Iran is also claiming to have shot down a second US warplane over the Persian Gulf. US media say the A-10 combat plane was shot at near the Strait of Hormuz during a search-and-rescue mission for the first downed aircraft. The pilot ejected and was rescued. Meanwhile, strikes continue to be heard throughout the region, including in Tehran and in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli strikes have destroyed 70% of Iran's steel production capacity - and says Israel and the US will continue to "crush" the country

[Tripps]

I watched Artemis take off for its circut of the moon. The statistics that I remembered from Pallab Ghosht of the BBC, was that on take off it weighed 250 tonnes, and was using 5,000 litres of fuel per second. Yet to return - on the previous landing mission, they just seem to have popped up and gone into orbit.

This made me smile

Space

[Stanley]

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest....See THIS latest on Iran.
US President Donald Trump has threatened that "all hell would rain down on" Iran if it did not make a deal, prompting Tehran to respond with similar rhetoric. An Iranian military spokesman warned that the entire region would become "hell" if the US and Israel continued to escalate the conflict. On Saturday Iran fired more missiles at the Gulf States, Iraq and Israel, with falling debris from intercepted missiles causing damage. Meanwhile, US and Iranian forces are searching for a missing American crew member after a US F-15 fighter jet was shot down over southern Iran on Friday. The pilot has been rescued, according to US media. Iranian officials are urging citizens to find the missing crew "alive" and are offering rewards for his capture. A US A-10 Warthog aircraft that was part of the search-and-rescue mission for the downed jet was also shot and damaged, but its pilot was rescued. On 27 March Trump announced he was pausing attacks on energy plants for 10 days for Iran to "make a deal". On Saturday he reiterated his threat on Truth Social that "all Hell will reign down on them" if they failed to do this, or to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours. Later Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, says: "If hostility escalates, the entire region will turn into hell for you; the illusion of defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran will become a quagmire into which you will sink."
Can anyone detect a hint of an ending? I can't......