#Ukraine #Russia #DroneAttack
"I cannot shed tears for loss of life on either side"
ordinary people on either side did not ask for this war
Speaking of loss of life.
Kremlin’s FSB Elite JUST Hit: 100+ Officers Gone
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Conscientious Objection?
Pacific Yearly Meeting notes:
Our government does not grant conscientious objector status when a draft is not active. The only way to achieve it is to petition your draft board. The US has used a draft five times to force men to die in war. With Congress showing it has no real power to resist the president dragging our country into war, it’s a very dangerous time.
If you are age 18-25, you can build your case for conscientious objector status. Become a member to your local meeting. If you are spiritually opposed to war, then write that in your membership request letter.
If you are age 18-25, you can build your case for conscientious objector status. Become a member to your local meeting. If you are spiritually opposed to war, then write that in your membership request letter.
RantWoman notes in a "Mean to research" light:
1. There is some activity, (pending legislation or executive order?) in the direction of making draft registration automatic.
2. RantWoman is unclear whether automatic draft registration applies to both men and women.
3.RantWoman has the impression that a conscientious objection claim can refer to a specific war even if one can imagine circumstances they would be willing to bear arms for.
4. There are periodic conversations about universal public service.
ALL of these points merit further research, by both people articulating conscientious objector beliefs and by anyone seeking to pull the US out of its current militarization trend.
Monday, May 18, 2026
250 years since the signing of the Declaration of independence
#Rededicate250 #ChristianNationalism #SemiQuincentennial
Update.
The President is a robot with a crowd size problem. Oh, and God needs a ballroom?
The Terrifying Reality of Christian Nationalism and the MAGA Church [WHO RAISED Y'ALL?]
Presenting Republican Jesus
What did not make it to posted yesterday, along with wondering, foreshadowing, what all historical excursions the US will be treated to between now and the Fourth of July:
RantWoman could be home scrubbing her floor.
RantWoman could be responsibly adulting and looking at her schedule for tomorrow.
RantWoman could be holding forth about AI in academia and the world of computing for seniors losing vision.
Instead, RantWoman is going to let morbid curiosity loose on todays #Rededicate250 experience in Washington DC. This is supposed to be the opening of a months long series of events, history lessons, boasts about the hand of God, the greatest nation on earth and HOPEFULLY some actual reflection on the occasion of the "semiquincentennial" of where the country has gone and where it will yet go. HOPEFULLY there will be room for people of many faiths or no faith. Hopefully.
May 17, 1776: the day of fasting and prayer
Rededicate 250: Washington, DC
Lucky Secretary Rubio gets to be the first face seen here, with on video to frame the event before we link to speeches.
FULL SPEECH: Pastors Lou Engle & Dutch Sheets on Foundational Covenant of Old Testament - 05/17/26
"On this day of jubilee, release your slaves."
FULL SPEECH: Pete Hegseth Speaks at Massive Prayer Gathering on National Mall for Freedom 250 | AC1E
Sen. Tim Scott delivers impassioned speech at Rededicate 250 National Prayer Jubilee
Irony: quote Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglas, and refer to the Civil rights movement
Could we have equal time for, say, Sen. Raphael Warnock?
House Speaker Mike Johnson prays with attendees at Rededicate 250 National Prayer Jubilee
Bless us oh lord and spare us the reflex to barf on someone's shoes about the gap between inspirational verbiage and actual reality.
Framing by multiple voices
"One Nation under God": US President Trump joins national prayer rally • FRANCE 24 English
And an alternate intro
America’s 250th birthday just got hijacked by the Christian right
No, young men are actually not more religious—here’s what’s happening instead. #culturewars
5+ hours from C-SPAN
America 250: "Rededicate 250" Celebrating USA's Religious Heritage
5+ hours from USA today
Live: The National Jubilee of Prayer takes place in Washington, DC ahead of Freedom 250 celebration
7+ hours from Fox
LIVE: Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving
Entire 8 hour stream which is likely to get clipped and snipped
LIVE Rededicate 250 on May 17: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Week 11 of the Strait of Hormuz blockage
#Iran #StraitOfHormuz #China #India #Japan #Pakistan
Possible international force to help open strait.
watch oil supply, demand, refining capacity
lots of demand for Panama canal, but concern about low water in the summer
Iran making deals with individual countries.
US trying to block movement of Iranian oil
And a couple more videos, just because
More battleships? Yes? No?
The Trump Class battleship: the USS Defiant
Check out the NetAssessment podcast
RantWoman means to watch later
And Secretary Hegseth goes to Congress
"Future energy dominance by the US?"
National security advisor should be coordinating but Rubio has too much to do.
maintain pressure on Iran...regime change
Sen. Coons question about tactical vs strategic victory
"If the US controls the Strait of Hormuz how do we reopen the strait to commercial shipping?
Not a military solution to reopen the Strait but must do a political solution
Senator Murphy: "lots of evidence from military history that countries under attack will put up with a lot of misery to preserve national pride"
Who breaks first the US or Iran?
US military effort would be extremely costly.
Every day the strait is closed will take a week to recover.
Who hit the UAE nuclear power plant?
#NuclearPowerPlant #CleanPower #NuclearSafety
Posted for background about pressures from many directions about the cease fire and the more general regional conflicts.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Lifting Sanctions against Russia. Multiple Trump Family ties to Sanctioned Russian Former SU Oligarchs + CHINA
#TrumpCrimeFamily
Trump properties have drawn LOTS of people with ties to Russian oligarchs / mob figures who paid cash for their units.
The proposed Trump Tower Tbilisi flies in the faces of people who have been going out to the streets of Tbilisi every night for 2+ years protesting against Russian involvement in Georgian elections.
This video cites credible numbers about how much Russia is making being able to sell oil with the easing of sanctions. Oil earnings are funding support of Iran but are not enough to salvage the war on Ukraine. Such nasty tradeoffs and RantWoman suspects that crypto and sovreign wealth funds hide even more objectionable matters.
Such nasty tradeoffs
Oh, and Russia, China: a starving lack of wolves...out of desperation
and RTV mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov complaining about how dependent Russia is on China
Interesting comment about internal repression occurs when a county is in a state of weakness.
Chian debt
China buying oil from Russia but demanding massive discounts
China helps with a LNG pipeline and demands product at same prices as Russians pay.
China feeds Russia a drip feed of backing for war. Every month Russia stays in weakens Russia. China purchasing Russian gold at discounted price and paying in YUAN which can only be used for Chinese goods at inflated prices.
Road signs in Siberia in Chinese
"persecuted citizens" in others' territory.
Ask an Iranian Advisor about affecting the entire global economy with a single decision
#Iran #StraitOfHormuz #NuclearWeapons
First Things First: Force Open Hormuz Strait
Let's talk about Trump rejecting Iran’s peace deal… and Iran not seeming to care....
Robert Kagan on why he believes U.S. faces likely defeat in Iran
And from a few days ago
Trump's War on Iran & Strait of Hormuz Crisis Reveal "Limits of American Imperial Power"
Monday, May 11, 2026
Project Freedom ?
#Iran #SaudiArabia #UAE #StraitOfHormuz
RantWoman is collecting links that seem related hopefully for more in-depth analysis.
"If Iran had wanted a nuclear weapon, it would have gotten one a long time ago."
enriched uranium: a bargaining chip?
A bigger worry than Iran's nukes especially if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed
#Iran #StriaitOfHormuz #Ukraine #FoodSecurity #BlackSeaAgreement #PriceShock #SupplyShock
The "bigger worry than Iran's nukes" spin is RantWoman's
30% of the world's fertilizer comes through the Strait of Hormuz
UN mechaism to reopen the Strait.
:the goal of the US is to get into a time machine to get back to the world before..."
Believe the ISRAELI pressabout MOSSAD role in the deadly iran protests.
#Iran #protests #MOSSAD #palantir #SurveillanceState #GetMoneyOutOfPolitics
Rantwoman has wondered for a while whether someone outside Iran has been trying to foment the protests in Iran where thousands of people were just mowed down by the IRGC.
RantWoman does NOT like probably having guessed correctly
Friendly observation: people in Israel have universal free healthcare. US keeps shoveling cash toward Israel, no matter the human rights violations? Help RantWoman out: HOW IS THIS #AmericaFirst?
And why should the US EVER send another penny to Israel?
Sunday, May 10, 2026
"Excursion" with hunger games to follow
#StraitOfHormuz #Food #FoodInsecurity
Humanitarian issues and supply chain issues as the #StraitOfHormuz loom WAY larger on RantWoman's fret list than #HantaVirus
On the bright side?
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Fish wars in the pacific NW
#FishWars
The short version:
After 20 years, the Bolt decision: gave WHITE PEOPLE access to 50% of the NATIVES' fishery.
More of the history.
RantWoman is posting this to allow readers to dip toes into a LONG history of mistreatment of native Americans in connection with PROMISES to allow natives to their historical fishing ground.
There is quaker history that RantWoman is touching imperfectly but does not want to lose track of.
Fish-ins.
Celebration and joy was part of the movement
The Fish Wars: Marlon Brando and the biggest court case in Native US History
Happy (?) Victory Day Russia / Ukraine
#Russia #Ukraine #VictoryDay2026
This video alternately makes RantWoman want to SCREAM and cry.
The SCREAM Part: LOOK IN THE MIRROR. Maybe it is not safe to do that, but the suggestion definitely comes to mind.
The Cry part: US Creators should not need Russia to be able to message well about homeless veterans, pharmaceutical companies. and multiple other national ills. And it is heartbreaking to think right now how much US the reality departs from the images cultivated around the world for decades.
As for why to start a #VictoryDay reflection this way, especially this year. Tackle that on the other side of this video.
Basically, Victory Day will be WAY different from past versions.
RantWoman aspired to pull some points out of the following videos but will not get it done in time to post on the actual days.
Jake Broe
A coup attempt?
No mobile network in Moscow.
Ukraine launched 268+ drones against multiple targets
Moscow coercion, not seriousness about negotiations.
and voila, the actual parade
And a Russian exile encounters Portuguese bureaucracy
Friday, May 8, 2026
Why oh why is this framed as native rights vs renewable energy sources
Posted without further comment beyond the title.
Time for an exorcism: Send in the Seashells? 86 47?
Harry Litman rebels against President #StableGenius plastering himself everywhere.
So time for an exorcism?
Or should we just call in some seashells.
86 47
everywherr. T shirts. Mugs. Bumper stickers ....
I feel sorry for anyone who needs to double down on reasons for people to hate him.
The whole topic conjures up images of the post-communist world swarming around to tear down the Lenin statues.
RantWoman! An exorcism? Really? How will that heal what ails the country?
RantWoman you keep talking about this T-Shirt Idea. If it would be such a great free speech protest why don't you just do it? Make a design. Hook up with one of those online platforms. Set a price and do it. Um, the design has to be something like
86 47
Resign?
Retire?
25th Amendment??
And what do you know, among many examples. No sea shells though
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Finally! Congressmembers ask: What are Israel's red lines about using nuclear weapons. Now....
#Israel #NuclearWeapons #RedLines #Iran #JCPOA
Finally. Finally.
"Everybody" knows Israel has nuclear weapons, and not just from having a grad student with IDF ties for a politics TA once. Israel is not a signatory to the Non-proliferation treaty. Israel has been certain for years that Iran is two weeks away from a nuclear weapon. The inspection and downward enrichment regime agreed to under the #JCPOA proved otherwise. President #StableGenius ripped up the #JCPOA perhaps because of this Israeli certainty, or perhaps because the JCPOA was negotiated over two years by competent diplomats and bore President Obama's signature.
In general, Israel's idea of non-proliferation includes a sense of entitlement to bomb its neighbors' civilian nuclear facilities, Osirak in Iraq and more recently Iran.
Iran understandably took Trump's abandonment of the #JCPOA as an invitation to resume its enrichment program. And President #StableGenius goes on about how crazy leaders should not have nuclear weapons and about "nuclear dust." Probably just as well that no one has tried to explain that uranium hexafluoride is a gas, but oh, honey LOOK IN THE MIRROR.
And by look in the mirror, RantWoman also means DON'T PICK A STUPID FIGHT with Pope Leo XIV, who like multiple previous popes is against ALL nuclear weapons.
RantWoman digresses. What is lighting up RantWoman's keyboard is the following item from Rep. Joaquin Castro onTwitter /X
For nearly six decades the U.S. has voluntarily remained in the dark on Israel's nuclear capabilities.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) May 6, 2026
The ambiguity ends now.
There is too much at stake to accept ignorance. We are at war alongside Israel against Iran without knowing what their red lines are for using a… pic.twitter.com/oe0KF9MnKQ
Rep. Castro did not supply a reasonable link, so RantWoman will go look for the proposal tomorrow. But FINALLY it occurs to someone to think strategically about whether Israel would ever use nuclear weapons for any other reason to threaten its neighbors. This posture is comical: Iran's proxies, Israel's neighbors are clearly not deterred from plenty of non-nuclear mayhem. 19th century German general Clausewitz may or may not be helpful in this situation, but if "war is an extension of politics by another name," could people actually TRY some politics and see whether it would be possible to cut back on the warfare?
Meanwhile, President #StableGenius threatens to use nuclear weapons as if he were saying "pass the salt" at the dinner table. MAYBE wise military officers can still hide the US nuclear codes, but RantWoman would love to go a step further than Rep. Castro. What if the world demanded the same level of inspection and monitoring of Israel as is being demanded of Iran?
There are lots of political steps between where things stand now and resolving nuclear issues. The first step would be to persuade the current administration that backtracking from pointless absolutism and getting on a path that the #JCPOA was going to need anyway would be a victory.
There. Done going off, at least for tonight. RantWoman will try to look at the 14-point plan.
And RantWoman will TRY not to growl too loudly about the State Department just letting 200 senior diplomats go or about having negotiations in the hands of two real estate bros with negligible diplomatic experience...
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Saturday, May 2, 2026
A historically proven solution exists, and the question is who is in the way.
#Iran #Russia #China #JCPOA #Blockade #StraifOfHormuz #IAEA
RantWoman encourages readers to watch both the first videos because RantWoman is not going to summarize all the relevant insights.
"The blockade is theater."
"The war powers resolution is constitutionally speaking..."
Commanders "We have done what can be done from the air" but movement of special ops has accelerated.
Putin message: "Keep your forces away from Iran." In this case, NOT bluffing.
Bombing unifies a population.
450kg of Enriched Uranium LOCKED IN — Iran's Worst Nightmare Begins | Lawrence Wilkerson
Russia offers to take Iran's enriched uranium. Maintain or elevate RosAtom's place.
THE SAME PROCESS AS THE #JCPOA
Only issue is ensuring constraints on what Russia does with the lowered enrichment uranium
If the US declines twice.... bad strategic consequences.
Iran parallel tracks:
And economic uncertainties, how the US will look to the rest of the world.Trump Backs Down! Iran Launch Pads Ready for Massive Strike on US, Israel | Col Doug Macgregor
China?
Mrs. Adelson lobbying, unrealistic but
Offramp for the US. Is Netanyahu still in charge?
10 years at least to restore any destroyed military assets.
Charlie Kirk quote!
"We can't make Israel first on a global scale"
The US needs to re-evaluate... due to lots of changed conditions.
Everybody makes bad calls sometimes even Presidents. Military action will destroy the US.
Setback for Trump as Pakistan opens up land border for Iran to avoid US blockade | Janta Ka Reporter
And in a different vein
The #SecDef is incompetent (and, this is RantWoman, severely lacks strategic insight.)
Small countries standing up to larger ones, Russia scales back annual parade, and...
#Ukraine #China #Taiwan #Russia #DroneWarfare #AirDefense
This is a bunch of videos with frank views of Ukraine, Russia, Iran and offramps from different situations.
RantWoman will pick a couple subsets and write what seem like key points.
How a small power can stand up against a larger power
"Modern technology favors the defender."
small cheap naval drones: Ukraine and Iran
natural barriers
Tuapse Oil refinery
Russia has worse problems about air defense than Ukraine.
Thanks to Ukrainian drones, Russia cannot safely parade its military materiel.
Silicon Curtain
"Grow potatoes"
More on Iran
Pyotr Kurzin
Friday, May 1, 2026
Today was the Senate's turn with the Secretary of #WarCrimes
#Iran #SecDef #SenateHearing #Warcrimes
The whole dang hearing.
Hegseth gets interrogated about #DEI issues
Elizabeth Warren has QUESTIONS.
"We don't want to deal with this Congress and their pesky appropriations process."
Why have we abandoned Ukraine?
"What does this cost us and what does it achieve for the American people?...How many years to replenish?"
From the House Hearing yesterday
And from a different hearing
And about military newspaper Stars and Stripes
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