These people cannot be compared. John McCain really cared about the fate of his country and fought for it. Trump received an inheritance from his father and mother, went out all his life, managed to squander all this wealth, go bankrupt, get into debt, build pyramid schemes and take bribes. McCain was a decent man, Trump is just an idiot. He is 70% an idiot and the other 30% a Kremlin puppet. And there's no point in reading anything from Trump's posts at all, because he makes it clear to everyone that he's a pathetic clown and an idiot. His mental deviations and addiction to urinophilia should be dealt with by specialized psychologists.
Trump is an idiot in all things but one. He is a genius in sizing up the emotional state of an individual who is interacting with him. Trump then exploits the emotional state of that individual. Basically, in this sense, Trump is a predator (in addition to being a sexual predator and all around scum bag). Dummkopf is much alike Hitler in this respect. I read that Hitler was particularly adept at reading the mood or emotional state of large crowds and exploiting it/them rhetorically. To say the least, IMHO both monsters are/were misfits.
«Dummkopf is much alike Hitler in this respect. I read that Hitler was particularly adept at reading the mood or emotional state of large crowds and exploiting it/them rhetorically. To say the least, IMHO both monsters are/were misfits» – Trump is constantly fighting for the rights of the working class, for jobs for workers, he is trying to bring everything under state control and constantly raise taxes. All of this is communism and socialism. If someone speaks out for the rights of the people and workers, they clearly have nothing to do with the right-wing forces. Trump reminds me more of the leaders of communism and socialism, who were also populists, constantly lied, had poor education, talked like cattle and suffered from various sexual deviations.
You don't like Trump, I see. Neither do I, as a Canadian, but as regards their policies, in both cases a slavish willingness to believe Israeli lies and do Israeli bidding at US expense, neither can claim any moral high ground.
The United States needs Israel to have a foothold in the Middle East, as its influence and presence in other countries in the region has fallen to zero over the past 20+ years. And the Israeli lobby is quite strong in the United States, and bribes still work well. Moreover, these bribes will work, because the US oligarchy has brought to power a financial cheat, a debtor, a loser and a bribe-taker.
I don't accept the US "need" for a regional "foothold". It's bullshit, and the moment KSR abandons the "Petrodollar", USA will have no excuse for doing so.
Those Zionist bribes enriched every US president since Kennedy, don't kid yourself that the orange idiot is any more beholden to Israel than Genocide Joe Biden or any one else who came before him from either side of your aisle.
USA doesn't "need" an "ally" that steals it's nuclear materials and knowledge, usurps it's interests in the region, saps it's coffers, buys it's elections and attacks it's servicemen.
For a long time now, there have been no state interests in the United States other than those of the oligarchy and their large corporations. They move their cash flows in a way that is beneficial to their business interests. There are key territories on the world map with countries and natural resources necessary for the modern economy and trade routes, and it is for these that the war is being waged. Large corporations are waging a real war for these small countries.The same applies to African countries and other countries of the world to market their goods and services. For example, the African region is an excellent platform for selling goods and old technologies that are not yet available to them. It is two billion people's lives that can be improved and thus stimulate demand and promote their own economy. The entire global economy is built on the consumption of goods. That is why China invests its money in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and buys up all the ports in the world. The US, in turn, is withdrawing troops from everywhere and losing influence under pressure from China and its proxies in the region. The United States is wasting billions of dollars in wars while China is building a global trading empire. The United States has failed to isolate China, and Trump's reckless actions and stupid trade wars have only turned allies away from the United States. This degenerate has even managed to destroy relations with its closest ally and neighbor, Canada, on whose trade a significant share of US GDP depends. Trump is just a degenerate.
Trump's hare-brained tweets and proclamations are no more insane and misguided than those of John "bomb Iran" McCain. Neither ever should have held a public office.
Iran itself is happy to bomb and kill anyone who does not profess the Shiite version of Islam. It is true that dependence on China and the limited capabilities and inability of the Persians as warriors to achieve this is preventing them from doing so. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites gathered by Qassem Suleimani failed to organize genocide against Sunnis in Iraq and Syria. A few thousand ISIS fanatics confronted hundreds of thousands of Shiites, and the Shiites with their enormous resources still failed. Although the Shiites did a lot of damage to the civilian population by killing, robbing and raping them. Iranian Shiites commit mass murder and Israeli Zionists do the same. The United States has only helped both to wreak havoc and withdrawn its troops. It was only thanks to the efforts of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar that this massacre in the Middle East ended. Neither Obama nor Trump wanted to do anything at all to stop it. Western countries and the United States could have removed Assad long ago, but they did not.
All the main trade routes are oceanic. Most of the world's ports are owned by the Chinese. Except, of course, for a few European and US ports. So, to put it simply, the entire world trade in the southern hemisphere, in the Pacific trade zone, in the Indian Ocean, in the Atlantic window is about half owned by the Chinese. Also, many Greek ports and Italian and Scandinavian countries are also owned by the Chinese. What does that leave the U.S. with? Trump will have to build his own red communist Juche at home, with support for the working class, constant tax increases, restrictions on the economy from all sides, and regulation and centralization of everything in the hands of the party. And there will be one more Kim Jong Dumbf in the world.
Trump's main interest is always projecting action, toughness, decisiveness and claiming victory and cutting deals. Didn't he "solve" the North Korean nuclear threat during his first term by tweeting some bombastic threats and then having some PR meetings with Kim Jong Un? As long as the Republicans and MAGA base believe it or keep quiet about it afterwards, that's all he needs.
All in all we are lucky it did not escalate more, and seems to be winding down. Imagine if Iran actually hit some crowded space in Israel and made hundreds of casualties, and Israel responded with its own nukes… or Israel went for Iranian oil terminals and Iran closed Hormuz.
Yes, it is very good that it is winding down. Trump actually gave the Israelis an order to stop and the Iranians got a way out. But the underlying problems are definitely not removed. So in some months? We will see.
I didn't know about the report concluding 377k deaths in Gaza. If it were to be confirmed that would really be crazy. Hard to even fathom... I'm at loss for words.
Ps: I wanted to see the original report, but failed to find it. Do you have the original source? Because others also say that the figure is counting from October 2023, not October 2012 as you wrote (maybe it was a typo) and I wanted to understand how they got to that number
Presently, I'm so busy with private affairs, I simply haven't had the time to search for it - yet.
It's like with that Pakistani dossier 'intercepted' by India, describing much heavier damage than originally assessed: although it's making circles for about a month, have got it, literally, just three days ago...
I made little research and found no trace of this report, but actually a video debunking this report from Harvard (which appear to not even exist) from France24:
I don't know the reliability of France24 regarding the gaza war (are they openly pro-Israel?), but the video in question seems reasonable to me. Of course, needless to say, the amount of death, destruction and brutality of the gaza genocide still remains out of the question.
Well, me thinks: in an area de-facto hit by a 'nuclear apocalypse' (because, over the last two years, the Israelis hit Gaza with high explosives equivalent to eight times that of the nuclear bomb the USA dropped on Hiroshima) - it 'might be a bit problematic' to recover all the bodies form the ruble.
...even more so if the Israelis are summarily executing emergency responders, and have destroyed the UNRWA, so that nobody can say any more, who was around before their (latest) onslaught, and who is still around.
Yes, maybe the worst thing of this genocide is that we may never know the true extent of it. Even if it were not 377k, I think we are in the hundreds of thousands. The '""Hamas"'" reported deaths of 60k people still seems low to me, seeing the scale of destruction.
What does prompt to AI tells, the real numbers up today will be much more worse
As of June 2025, estimates for the number of casualties in Gaza since the latest Israeli invasion (starting October 7, 2023) vary significantly depending on the source and methodology.
Key Figures and Estimates
Gaza's Ministry of Health (controlled by Hamas) reported over 37,000 casualties by June 2024.
A study by experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Cambridge University, and Yale University, covering the period between October 2023 and June 2024, suggested the actual number of Palestinian casualties could be over 64,000. This study claimed that Hamas's figures underestimated the true count by about 41%.
Overall estimates for direct casualties range from 55,000 to 109,000, with an additional 14,000 people missing. Indirect deaths (due to starvation, disease, and inadequate healthcare) are likely several times higher.
Approximately 59% of the casualties in Gaza are women, children, and people over 65.
As of June 11, 2025, the UN reported over 127,394 injuries in the Gaza Strip.
It's important to note that gathering precise data on the number of casualties is extremely difficult due to the ongoing conflict and widespread destruction of infrastructure.
May 1–7 - Jaffa riots resulted in the deaths of 47 Jews and 48 Arabs, with 146 Jews and 73 Arabs being wounded. Most Arab casualties resulted from clashes with British forces attempting to restore order.[29] Thousands of Jewish residents of Jaffa fled for Tel Aviv and were temporarily housed in tent camps on the beach.
Ottomans, bless their souls, at least had limits on property sales in place keeping the immigration in check. British basically let the events overtake them. And then man with moustache happened triggering flood of immigration...
Would I be amiss to say that nostalgia for the old Ottoman Empire and its millet system is in order given modern Middle East history in general and recent events in particular?
You can thank RN Med fleet of 1914... They allowed SMS Goeben to run to Istanbul and give Sultan offer he cant refuse: ally and get dreadnought capable of ruining Russian Black Sea Fleet, or get your palace shelled with 12 inch guns.
Xi faces a momentous decision now. Turn Iran into modern China's first superpower proxy by supplying proper 5th gen fighters, or tolerate disruption to oil supplies as Netanyahu sends his errand boy Trump back to deliver the coup d'grace. China has no doubt realized it is not America that will be dominating the Middle East in such a scenario, but Israel. An Israeli satrap Pahlavi's oil is as good to China as anyone else's. And Iran is likely not the most pliable of clients. On the other hand, "the Libya model" would mean long term disruption.
Iran's leadership is going to need a lot of guts, a cool head, and very smart PR.
Thanks Tom - as I see it - Iran lost the air skirmishes and was quite humiliated (it proved to be a rather corrupt entity thoroughly breached by Mossad), even if the main aims of Israel and USA were not achieved. I guess it’s high time some young officers from the army (not the hapless ICRG) took matters into their own hands and disposed of the “old fart” at the center of the rot.
They lost a bunch of top officers in bed, couldn’t protect or at least revenge their top nuclear scientists, and not to speak about various damages to their nuclear and military assets. Their missile barrages quickly ran out of steam (or rocket fuel). On Monday or Tuesday (before the ceasefire) even the main airport of Tel Aviv reopened. And the final scene of the melodrama - the pre-warned attack on the American base in Qatar. I guess the Iranian media is selling this farce as a revenge…
And finally, best wishes for quick recovery of your loved ones.
Probably not much more. I do not want to underestimate ability of Iran to maintain (feat in itself) or upgrade these legacy birds, but still - they are museum pieces more than anything else. Like clever tactics and some sort of ambush might work for them on one or two occasions, but I would guess they would be smoked before even being able get their gear up.
This whole mess brings me to rather old documentary called Gatekeepers. It is a basically a long interview with former directors of Israel internal secret service about how they fought with terrorists (recruiting from Arabs/Palestinians). All those old guys in that movie said one thing at the end - the only solution is to talk to the other side. Even if the other side uses a suicide bombers in Tel Aviv buses. Unless there is a dialogue and compromise, this will end up badly for everyone. And there were some guys in that group who did not even flinch when it was mentioned that their people beaten some terrorist to death during arrest (happened in 70's). I wonder how many professional (and less arrogant - to Israeli standards) officers are left and how many got more stubborn and dumb in the last 20 years -> thinking that they will simply solve everything by more advanced bombs and even more ruthless approach to anyone who is not on their side. I mean I love Israel but the path they are on is not going to end well. The original ethos and spirit is more or less a history at this point.
Yes, all ex-Israeli top spies says things like that. But only when they are ex. The only lasting peace they have created was with Egypt. But they have never tried to replicate the idea of negotiations with other. They always go for the violent solution.
I guess it is a pattern - as long as they are on active duty, they cannot go against the flow much - if they want to remain in position. Once they realize that maybe the path should be different, they opt out. Similar to ex-DEA directors who often say that war against drugs cannot be won and only way how to hurt cartels is to legalize the drugs.
Yes, it is a pattern, and your explanation makes sense. The only problem is that since they don’t do it while in service no one listens. So the circle remains unbroken.
Still this outcome appears to be an unexpected victory of Iran. Even as it has highlighted its fragility. Since earlier it appeared as if it was about to collapse entirely and/or be occupied. And most importantly, Israelis leaders said their aim was regime change + partition.
On a side note this turn of event is especially ankward for Reza Pahlavi and the Kurdish PAK.
It will be a long time before the "fog of war" (i.e., Israeli censorship) clears and we can know whether the appearance of the ceasefire being forced by Trump was another ruse - presumably in that case what really happened was that Israel was running out of interceptors faster than it could hit TELs, and couldn't face the IRGC-AF's punishment.
In general though, we can safely say that the notion of Trump "ordering" Israel to do anything, or knocking Israel and Iran's heads' together, is a crock.
The role of Qatar is very opaque. Is it a coincidence things stopped as soon as Al-Udeid was hit and the Majlis voted to close the Straits? Perhaps the one thing the Israelis are telling the truth about is that Qatar is running info-ops in the US (Tucker Carlson et al.) Perhaps they even know what Musk was hinting in terms of kompromat on Trump. What a shock that Sheik al-Thani doesn't want massive disruption to oil exports. How dare he?
Sure. To be clear, when I say "victory" I mean it only because they were the side attacked, and their aggressor's goal was their total eradication. I dont mean it to be painless or that Iran comes out stronger from this confrontation. It is obviously the opposite.
For a comparison I would consider Ukraine to be victorious even if the frontlines froze and Russia end up occupying significantly more Ukrainian territories compared to pre 2022 for the simple reason that Putin aimed to completely destroy & occupy Ukraine.
It is a funny irony to see Iran now in the same posture as the countries it preyed upon during the last decades to turn them into colony/satrapy (Lebanon, Iraq, Syria). Though my understanding is Chineses arent willing to exhaust their treasury in the name of some imperial mirage. If the Iranians somehow find money, Chineses will deliver them what they want/need. Otherwise dont expect any miracle from the PRC.
It will take time to seriously assess the losses on both side anyway. For exemple, it appears that Ismail Qaani survived. Which gives more credible to the rumours that he is an Israeli agent.
I understand that you dont expect the IRGC to lose its influence in favour of other Iranian clique despite their pathetic record.
Currently, there is no way for the IRGC to lose control. Few of their 'interest groups' are in control over the armed forces; another few over the oil sector; yet another few over the defence sector; yet another over the construction sector; several over the banks & insurances sector; then another the telecommunications sector etc., etc., etc.
As long as they're all ruling per mutual compromise and a mutual share of bribes and income, even trying to drive a wedge between is next to impossible.
Just for example: two groups in control over the Iranian factories manufacturing TV-sets and washing machines have arranged their market shares over a decade ago. Ever since, literal half of Iraq (not to talk about Iran) is exclusively and tidily buying their products. Nothing else. Until today, there were no quarrels, no complaints, nothing: everything remains the way they've arranged it anno 2015 or so.
There are many parts to a nuclear program. How much of it was destroyed is anyone's guess. Even if everything has been taken out, the know-how is still there and all can be rebuilt.
FYI, there was truck movement in and out recorded... so unless Iranians are totally brainless and didnt read the news concerning mass flight of USAF air tanker fleet - they would move the enriched uranium, just in case. plus preferrably split it into multiple destinations, and, moreover all in eastern Iran beyond Israeli reach.
As for the centrifuges themselves, I cant tell. They are quite bulky, and probably demounting them would take some time.
Regarding tunnels themselves, at least in Forfow, we dont know exactly how deep they run, and if 12 super bunker busters deployed there managed to penetrate deep enough. My presumption is quake effect could possibly lead to collapse of the tunnels, as per, compare , Tall Boy and Grand Slam of WW2. But no 100 percent guarantee without eyes on the ground.
If Iranians are really smart, they will disperse their centrifuges next time into hundreds of small clusters, similar to German WW2 dispersed aircraft production.
*****If for no other reason then because Iran came away with 408+ kg of uranium enriched to 60% (enough for 20 'devices')*****
Not quite IMHO: For weapons grade U-235 it takes about 50kg+ for a spherical, untampered weapon, so that is much less than 20 devices. An old fashioned gun-type like fat boy, maybe around 60kg+ enriched to 80%. Iran can make a nuclear device with 60% HEU (HEU means more than 20%), but it requires a lot more metal than weapons grade would take. What Iran could really use is some plutonium (PU-239) which has a higher fission cross-section than U-235. With PU-239, "a little dab will do it!"
The above doesn't really matter. The Donald will resolve all problems curently troubling the Middle East. After all, he is infallible in all things geo-political as the Pope is infallible in all things of faith and morals. Me thinks that the President of the World aspires to out do the megalomania of a certain Bohemian corporal.
And Trump's afterthought https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lsfz45n3tc25 (Bomb bomb Iran song)
(Original link, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114740882500667664)
Considering how the latest NATO meeting was going, that guy is clearly a mental retard.
Trump is just John McCain in a wig.
These people cannot be compared. John McCain really cared about the fate of his country and fought for it. Trump received an inheritance from his father and mother, went out all his life, managed to squander all this wealth, go bankrupt, get into debt, build pyramid schemes and take bribes. McCain was a decent man, Trump is just an idiot. He is 70% an idiot and the other 30% a Kremlin puppet. And there's no point in reading anything from Trump's posts at all, because he makes it clear to everyone that he's a pathetic clown and an idiot. His mental deviations and addiction to urinophilia should be dealt with by specialized psychologists.
Trump is an idiot in all things but one. He is a genius in sizing up the emotional state of an individual who is interacting with him. Trump then exploits the emotional state of that individual. Basically, in this sense, Trump is a predator (in addition to being a sexual predator and all around scum bag). Dummkopf is much alike Hitler in this respect. I read that Hitler was particularly adept at reading the mood or emotional state of large crowds and exploiting it/them rhetorically. To say the least, IMHO both monsters are/were misfits.
«Dummkopf is much alike Hitler in this respect. I read that Hitler was particularly adept at reading the mood or emotional state of large crowds and exploiting it/them rhetorically. To say the least, IMHO both monsters are/were misfits» – Trump is constantly fighting for the rights of the working class, for jobs for workers, he is trying to bring everything under state control and constantly raise taxes. All of this is communism and socialism. If someone speaks out for the rights of the people and workers, they clearly have nothing to do with the right-wing forces. Trump reminds me more of the leaders of communism and socialism, who were also populists, constantly lied, had poor education, talked like cattle and suffered from various sexual deviations.
You don't like Trump, I see. Neither do I, as a Canadian, but as regards their policies, in both cases a slavish willingness to believe Israeli lies and do Israeli bidding at US expense, neither can claim any moral high ground.
The United States needs Israel to have a foothold in the Middle East, as its influence and presence in other countries in the region has fallen to zero over the past 20+ years. And the Israeli lobby is quite strong in the United States, and bribes still work well. Moreover, these bribes will work, because the US oligarchy has brought to power a financial cheat, a debtor, a loser and a bribe-taker.
I don't accept the US "need" for a regional "foothold". It's bullshit, and the moment KSR abandons the "Petrodollar", USA will have no excuse for doing so.
Those Zionist bribes enriched every US president since Kennedy, don't kid yourself that the orange idiot is any more beholden to Israel than Genocide Joe Biden or any one else who came before him from either side of your aisle.
USA doesn't "need" an "ally" that steals it's nuclear materials and knowledge, usurps it's interests in the region, saps it's coffers, buys it's elections and attacks it's servicemen.
For a long time now, there have been no state interests in the United States other than those of the oligarchy and their large corporations. They move their cash flows in a way that is beneficial to their business interests. There are key territories on the world map with countries and natural resources necessary for the modern economy and trade routes, and it is for these that the war is being waged. Large corporations are waging a real war for these small countries.The same applies to African countries and other countries of the world to market their goods and services. For example, the African region is an excellent platform for selling goods and old technologies that are not yet available to them. It is two billion people's lives that can be improved and thus stimulate demand and promote their own economy. The entire global economy is built on the consumption of goods. That is why China invests its money in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and buys up all the ports in the world. The US, in turn, is withdrawing troops from everywhere and losing influence under pressure from China and its proxies in the region. The United States is wasting billions of dollars in wars while China is building a global trading empire. The United States has failed to isolate China, and Trump's reckless actions and stupid trade wars have only turned allies away from the United States. This degenerate has even managed to destroy relations with its closest ally and neighbor, Canada, on whose trade a significant share of US GDP depends. Trump is just a degenerate.
Trump's hare-brained tweets and proclamations are no more insane and misguided than those of John "bomb Iran" McCain. Neither ever should have held a public office.
Iran itself is happy to bomb and kill anyone who does not profess the Shiite version of Islam. It is true that dependence on China and the limited capabilities and inability of the Persians as warriors to achieve this is preventing them from doing so. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites gathered by Qassem Suleimani failed to organize genocide against Sunnis in Iraq and Syria. A few thousand ISIS fanatics confronted hundreds of thousands of Shiites, and the Shiites with their enormous resources still failed. Although the Shiites did a lot of damage to the civilian population by killing, robbing and raping them. Iranian Shiites commit mass murder and Israeli Zionists do the same. The United States has only helped both to wreak havoc and withdrawn its troops. It was only thanks to the efforts of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar that this massacre in the Middle East ended. Neither Obama nor Trump wanted to do anything at all to stop it. Western countries and the United States could have removed Assad long ago, but they did not.
Well, that's an interesting opinion 😁
All the main trade routes are oceanic. Most of the world's ports are owned by the Chinese. Except, of course, for a few European and US ports. So, to put it simply, the entire world trade in the southern hemisphere, in the Pacific trade zone, in the Indian Ocean, in the Atlantic window is about half owned by the Chinese. Also, many Greek ports and Italian and Scandinavian countries are also owned by the Chinese. What does that leave the U.S. with? Trump will have to build his own red communist Juche at home, with support for the working class, constant tax increases, restrictions on the economy from all sides, and regulation and centralization of everything in the hands of the party. And there will be one more Kim Jong Dumbf in the world.
Trump's main interest is always projecting action, toughness, decisiveness and claiming victory and cutting deals. Didn't he "solve" the North Korean nuclear threat during his first term by tweeting some bombastic threats and then having some PR meetings with Kim Jong Un? As long as the Republicans and MAGA base believe it or keep quiet about it afterwards, that's all he needs.
All in all we are lucky it did not escalate more, and seems to be winding down. Imagine if Iran actually hit some crowded space in Israel and made hundreds of casualties, and Israel responded with its own nukes… or Israel went for Iranian oil terminals and Iran closed Hormuz.
Maybe next time.
You mean that Pandora's Box has not been opened? Geez, I hope this is so.
Yes, it is very good that it is winding down. Trump actually gave the Israelis an order to stop and the Iranians got a way out. But the underlying problems are definitely not removed. So in some months? We will see.
I didn't know about the report concluding 377k deaths in Gaza. If it were to be confirmed that would really be crazy. Hard to even fathom... I'm at loss for words.
Ps: I wanted to see the original report, but failed to find it. Do you have the original source? Because others also say that the figure is counting from October 2023, not October 2012 as you wrote (maybe it was a typo) and I wanted to understand how they got to that number
Presently, I'm so busy with private affairs, I simply haven't had the time to search for it - yet.
It's like with that Pakistani dossier 'intercepted' by India, describing much heavier damage than originally assessed: although it's making circles for about a month, have got it, literally, just three days ago...
I made little research and found no trace of this report, but actually a video debunking this report from Harvard (which appear to not even exist) from France24:
https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/truth-or-fake/20250624-a-harvard-report-reveals-377-000-missing-in-gaza
I don't know the reliability of France24 regarding the gaza war (are they openly pro-Israel?), but the video in question seems reasonable to me. Of course, needless to say, the amount of death, destruction and brutality of the gaza genocide still remains out of the question.
Well, me thinks: in an area de-facto hit by a 'nuclear apocalypse' (because, over the last two years, the Israelis hit Gaza with high explosives equivalent to eight times that of the nuclear bomb the USA dropped on Hiroshima) - it 'might be a bit problematic' to recover all the bodies form the ruble.
...even more so if the Israelis are summarily executing emergency responders, and have destroyed the UNRWA, so that nobody can say any more, who was around before their (latest) onslaught, and who is still around.
Yes, maybe the worst thing of this genocide is that we may never know the true extent of it. Even if it were not 377k, I think we are in the hundreds of thousands. The '""Hamas"'" reported deaths of 60k people still seems low to me, seeing the scale of destruction.
What does prompt to AI tells, the real numbers up today will be much more worse
As of June 2025, estimates for the number of casualties in Gaza since the latest Israeli invasion (starting October 7, 2023) vary significantly depending on the source and methodology.
Key Figures and Estimates
Gaza's Ministry of Health (controlled by Hamas) reported over 37,000 casualties by June 2024.
A study by experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Cambridge University, and Yale University, covering the period between October 2023 and June 2024, suggested the actual number of Palestinian casualties could be over 64,000. This study claimed that Hamas's figures underestimated the true count by about 41%.
Overall estimates for direct casualties range from 55,000 to 109,000, with an additional 14,000 people missing. Indirect deaths (due to starvation, disease, and inadequate healthcare) are likely several times higher.
Approximately 59% of the casualties in Gaza are women, children, and people over 65.
As of June 11, 2025, the UN reported over 127,394 injuries in the Gaza Strip.
It's important to note that gathering precise data on the number of casualties is extremely difficult due to the ongoing conflict and widespread destruction of infrastructure.
The 100 years war (conservative estimate) continues.
Considering it began with the Great Britain capturing the area in 1918: 107-years-war - and counting...
My humble estimate of the beginning - 1921
May 1–7 - Jaffa riots resulted in the deaths of 47 Jews and 48 Arabs, with 146 Jews and 73 Arabs being wounded. Most Arab casualties resulted from clashes with British forces attempting to restore order.[29] Thousands of Jewish residents of Jaffa fled for Tel Aviv and were temporarily housed in tent camps on the beach.
Ottomans, bless their souls, at least had limits on property sales in place keeping the immigration in check. British basically let the events overtake them. And then man with moustache happened triggering flood of immigration...
Mate... by best will: that's 'barely scratching the surface'.
https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/annual-post-on-why-do-i-think-about
Would I be amiss to say that nostalgia for the old Ottoman Empire and its millet system is in order given modern Middle East history in general and recent events in particular?
And this is why I eagerly await Turkey running the whole show again.
Perhaps between really old people in Mosul, for example.
Elsewhere... the youngsters are too young to know, while local schooling systems are parroting the usual, fabricated ideologies.
Considering that Turkey allied itself with Germany.
You can thank RN Med fleet of 1914... They allowed SMS Goeben to run to Istanbul and give Sultan offer he cant refuse: ally and get dreadnought capable of ruining Russian Black Sea Fleet, or get your palace shelled with 12 inch guns.
The RN led by First Sea Lord Churchill seized two Turkish battleships fitting out in Britain, Goeben and Breslau was their consolation prize.
Winston kind of pushed them into it.
Xi faces a momentous decision now. Turn Iran into modern China's first superpower proxy by supplying proper 5th gen fighters, or tolerate disruption to oil supplies as Netanyahu sends his errand boy Trump back to deliver the coup d'grace. China has no doubt realized it is not America that will be dominating the Middle East in such a scenario, but Israel. An Israeli satrap Pahlavi's oil is as good to China as anyone else's. And Iran is likely not the most pliable of clients. On the other hand, "the Libya model" would mean long term disruption.
Iran's leadership is going to need a lot of guts, a cool head, and very smart PR.
They also need a much better counterintelligence service.
True. But cut them some slack. America lost the counterintelligence struggle against Israel about 60 years ago.
haha, good point
Thanks Tom - as I see it - Iran lost the air skirmishes and was quite humiliated (it proved to be a rather corrupt entity thoroughly breached by Mossad), even if the main aims of Israel and USA were not achieved. I guess it’s high time some young officers from the army (not the hapless ICRG) took matters into their own hands and disposed of the “old fart” at the center of the rot.
Iran 'Humiliated'?
Not even in the social media. Their air defences remained a major problem until the last day. I'll discuss this in the coming days.
They lost a bunch of top officers in bed, couldn’t protect or at least revenge their top nuclear scientists, and not to speak about various damages to their nuclear and military assets. Their missile barrages quickly ran out of steam (or rocket fuel). On Monday or Tuesday (before the ceasefire) even the main airport of Tel Aviv reopened. And the final scene of the melodrama - the pre-warned attack on the American base in Qatar. I guess the Iranian media is selling this farce as a revenge…
And finally, best wishes for quick recovery of your loved ones.
I wonder how difficult the bombing (IDF & USA) would have been with a fully maintained F-14 and F-4 IAF.
Probably not much more. I do not want to underestimate ability of Iran to maintain (feat in itself) or upgrade these legacy birds, but still - they are museum pieces more than anything else. Like clever tactics and some sort of ambush might work for them on one or two occasions, but I would guess they would be smoked before even being able get their gear up.
This whole mess brings me to rather old documentary called Gatekeepers. It is a basically a long interview with former directors of Israel internal secret service about how they fought with terrorists (recruiting from Arabs/Palestinians). All those old guys in that movie said one thing at the end - the only solution is to talk to the other side. Even if the other side uses a suicide bombers in Tel Aviv buses. Unless there is a dialogue and compromise, this will end up badly for everyone. And there were some guys in that group who did not even flinch when it was mentioned that their people beaten some terrorist to death during arrest (happened in 70's). I wonder how many professional (and less arrogant - to Israeli standards) officers are left and how many got more stubborn and dumb in the last 20 years -> thinking that they will simply solve everything by more advanced bombs and even more ruthless approach to anyone who is not on their side. I mean I love Israel but the path they are on is not going to end well. The original ethos and spirit is more or less a history at this point.
Yes, all ex-Israeli top spies says things like that. But only when they are ex. The only lasting peace they have created was with Egypt. But they have never tried to replicate the idea of negotiations with other. They always go for the violent solution.
I guess it is a pattern - as long as they are on active duty, they cannot go against the flow much - if they want to remain in position. Once they realize that maybe the path should be different, they opt out. Similar to ex-DEA directors who often say that war against drugs cannot be won and only way how to hurt cartels is to legalize the drugs.
Yes, it is a pattern, and your explanation makes sense. The only problem is that since they don’t do it while in service no one listens. So the circle remains unbroken.
I wish Trump made a tweet like that to Pudding...
oh, well, he made a 'VLADIMIR, STOP'
I guess vladimir is still waiting for the "or else" part...
"Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results".
Still this outcome appears to be an unexpected victory of Iran. Even as it has highlighted its fragility. Since earlier it appeared as if it was about to collapse entirely and/or be occupied. And most importantly, Israelis leaders said their aim was regime change + partition.
On a side note this turn of event is especially ankward for Reza Pahlavi and the Kurdish PAK.
It will be a long time before the "fog of war" (i.e., Israeli censorship) clears and we can know whether the appearance of the ceasefire being forced by Trump was another ruse - presumably in that case what really happened was that Israel was running out of interceptors faster than it could hit TELs, and couldn't face the IRGC-AF's punishment.
In general though, we can safely say that the notion of Trump "ordering" Israel to do anything, or knocking Israel and Iran's heads' together, is a crock.
The role of Qatar is very opaque. Is it a coincidence things stopped as soon as Al-Udeid was hit and the Majlis voted to close the Straits? Perhaps the one thing the Israelis are telling the truth about is that Qatar is running info-ops in the US (Tucker Carlson et al.) Perhaps they even know what Musk was hinting in terms of kompromat on Trump. What a shock that Sheik al-Thani doesn't want massive disruption to oil exports. How dare he?
Only if the IRGC can really recover. If it finds the money to do so.
That's why I've emphasised: Iran is a de-facto PRC's colony.
Sure. To be clear, when I say "victory" I mean it only because they were the side attacked, and their aggressor's goal was their total eradication. I dont mean it to be painless or that Iran comes out stronger from this confrontation. It is obviously the opposite.
For a comparison I would consider Ukraine to be victorious even if the frontlines froze and Russia end up occupying significantly more Ukrainian territories compared to pre 2022 for the simple reason that Putin aimed to completely destroy & occupy Ukraine.
It is a funny irony to see Iran now in the same posture as the countries it preyed upon during the last decades to turn them into colony/satrapy (Lebanon, Iraq, Syria). Though my understanding is Chineses arent willing to exhaust their treasury in the name of some imperial mirage. If the Iranians somehow find money, Chineses will deliver them what they want/need. Otherwise dont expect any miracle from the PRC.
It will take time to seriously assess the losses on both side anyway. For exemple, it appears that Ismail Qaani survived. Which gives more credible to the rumours that he is an Israeli agent.
I understand that you dont expect the IRGC to lose its influence in favour of other Iranian clique despite their pathetic record.
Currently, there is no way for the IRGC to lose control. Few of their 'interest groups' are in control over the armed forces; another few over the oil sector; yet another few over the defence sector; yet another over the construction sector; several over the banks & insurances sector; then another the telecommunications sector etc., etc., etc.
As long as they're all ruling per mutual compromise and a mutual share of bribes and income, even trying to drive a wedge between is next to impossible.
Just for example: two groups in control over the Iranian factories manufacturing TV-sets and washing machines have arranged their market shares over a decade ago. Ever since, literal half of Iraq (not to talk about Iran) is exclusively and tidily buying their products. Nothing else. Until today, there were no quarrels, no complaints, nothing: everything remains the way they've arranged it anno 2015 or so.
Yet another failed state colony; at least it’s next door to the other expensive failed state colony of Pakistan.
So they have poor neighbors as well… misery loves company
Israel can't seem to keep its hands(bombs) to itself. Taking out their Iran frustrations on Syria and Lebanon I guess?
So the destruction of Iran nuclear site can only be confirmed after someone enters the bombed site and takes detailed photos.
Very next line... Iran has taken out 400+ kgs of enriched Uranium enough for many nuclear warheads.
Your bias is showing. Rendering your articles to be viewed as propaganda by many.
Do I now have to repeat this every single time - or how often shall I repeat?
DO NOT READ. ONLY PURE, DISTILLED PROPAGANDA HERE.
Because, I'm not posting things you want to hear. It's plain simple.
Post some cat photos. Everyone likes those.
Persian Tom Cats, maybe. :P
I prefer dogs, but cats are acceptable
There are many parts to a nuclear program. How much of it was destroyed is anyone's guess. Even if everything has been taken out, the know-how is still there and all can be rebuilt.
FYI, there was truck movement in and out recorded... so unless Iranians are totally brainless and didnt read the news concerning mass flight of USAF air tanker fleet - they would move the enriched uranium, just in case. plus preferrably split it into multiple destinations, and, moreover all in eastern Iran beyond Israeli reach.
As for the centrifuges themselves, I cant tell. They are quite bulky, and probably demounting them would take some time.
Regarding tunnels themselves, at least in Forfow, we dont know exactly how deep they run, and if 12 super bunker busters deployed there managed to penetrate deep enough. My presumption is quake effect could possibly lead to collapse of the tunnels, as per, compare , Tall Boy and Grand Slam of WW2. But no 100 percent guarantee without eyes on the ground.
If Iranians are really smart, they will disperse their centrifuges next time into hundreds of small clusters, similar to German WW2 dispersed aircraft production.
Tom, Sorry to hear that your loved ones still need hospital treatments. I hope they get better soon. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Pretty thin gruel, if you ask me...
*****If for no other reason then because Iran came away with 408+ kg of uranium enriched to 60% (enough for 20 'devices')*****
Not quite IMHO: For weapons grade U-235 it takes about 50kg+ for a spherical, untampered weapon, so that is much less than 20 devices. An old fashioned gun-type like fat boy, maybe around 60kg+ enriched to 80%. Iran can make a nuclear device with 60% HEU (HEU means more than 20%), but it requires a lot more metal than weapons grade would take. What Iran could really use is some plutonium (PU-239) which has a higher fission cross-section than U-235. With PU-239, "a little dab will do it!"
The above doesn't really matter. The Donald will resolve all problems curently troubling the Middle East. After all, he is infallible in all things geo-political as the Pope is infallible in all things of faith and morals. Me thinks that the President of the World aspires to out do the megalomania of a certain Bohemian corporal.