No deals, only orphans
There's nothing big or beautiful about suffering, and nobody is coming to the big deal table.
I’m in an acerbic mood today and intend to spread the cheer. Who made America so privileged that we spend our political capital over which of our last two aging presidents was or is sicker in the body and the head, and who is covering it up? Let’s talk about some places in the world that aren’t so privileged.
The biggest threat actors in the world right now are Russia and Iran, with China sitting back and arming to the teeth. But let’s start with Israel.
Israel, meaning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right security cabinet, has chosen to go back into Gaza to punish the Gazans into rejecting Hamas, who have ruled that place nearly 18 years. A baby born on the day Hamas was elected (the last elections held there) would now be the prime age to be a militant. Israel believes it can destroy Hamas by the will of the Gazans, who have lived under its boot all these years, subject to summary execution if a hint of “collaboration” with Israelis were to surface. But the heart of Hamas beats in Israeli prisons, waiting for a deal to get out in exchange for hostages. Prison is where a rock-throwing kid learns to be a hard-bitten terrorist.
It seems likely that Muhammad Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, who Israeli forces killed in 2024, was killed last week in an airstrike that targeted him. As if the death of the person who held a hard line against releasing hostages will result in a less hard-line leader to take his place. We can hope and pray for that, but it seems unlikely. What is likely is the probability that Israel is doing the thing they pledged not to do: permanent occupation of Gaza, which they exited in 2005.
There are between 39,000 and 51,000 orphans in Gaza, some of whom have been transferred to other places in the Palestinian territory. I have a story about this and how God does indeed care about those kids. One day I’ll tell it.
Listen, I know how difficult it is for Israeli kids to live with daily missile warnings, going into bomb shelters, and the absolute hell that entire nation experienced on October 7, 2023. Imagine 9/11 in America, but a dozen times worse. Imagine that anyone alive on 9/11 would personally know someone affected or killed in that attack. Imagine if we all lived in New York City and witnessed the towers falling, or we all had relatives working in the Pentagon, or on one of the flights. This is what happened to Israel. And the horror is not over. Living hostages still remain in Gaza, and the bodies of others are being kept from their families.
It seems that though President Donald Trump was able to get the last American hostage out, by accepting payola from the Qataris, who finance Hamas, he has not been able to make Israel or Hamas move closer to ending the misery. The UK has given up on deals, and suspended free trade talks with Israel. Israel’s foreign ministry answered: “If, due to anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to harm the British economy – that is its own prerogative.” Anti-semitism is a satanic blot on mankind, and finding a reason to hate Israel isn’t difficult due to that spirit in the world. But I don’t think it helps when Israel makes more reasons.
I don’t see a deal in Gaza, unless the Gazans rise up against Hamas. I am not sure how much suffering that will take. And I don’t believe Israelis want to know the answer to that, but they might find out, some at the cost of their own souls.
Now to Iran. That country is on the cusp of being a nuclear power. Having Iran with nukes is a game-changer for the world, and should not be allowed to happen. In fact, I think it’s Israel’s stated policy that it can’t happen, in terms of “over my dead body.” So if it looks like things might heat up, watch for the U.S. and Israel to plan something. It’s cooking for sure. I am hearing though second hand sources, who are hearing through primary sources, that our aircraft and “Marines” are making the cross-Atlantic journey. We’ve already got B-2 Spirit bombers in theater, along with ground penetrating ordnance that can reach the secret locations where the Iranians are prepping their bombs.
President Trump is trying direct negotiations to make a deal, but the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, said “no deal.” One of the key U.S. terms is that Iran stop enriching uranium. Why would they do that, when they are literally weeks away from having enough nuclear material to make some bombs?
But Iran is having severe economic problems with its currency fluctuating based on how negotiations with the U.S. are going. Khamenei is managing expectations, to keep himself in power and his own hand-chosen successor, should his health fail (he’s not well).
Iranian proxies, the Houthis have been severely damaged in their ability to launch missiles but they can still target Israeli cities. They’ve announced an economic target of the port of Haifa as part of a “naval blockade.” How well that works is dependent on how much more military pressure the U.S. wants to apply, and how many more strikes Israel wants to attempt. The Houthis have been a problem for a decade and will continue being a problem because nobody wants to put boots on the ground in Yemen.
I don’t see a deal in Iran, only more delays, missiles, and probably another massive airstrike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which they will rebuild once more after digging it out.
Now to Russia and Ukraine. The Russians have been taking children out of Ukraine since the beginning of the war. As of this month, the Ukrainian “Children of War” registry has the number around 19,546. The Russians take those kids and put them into government-sponsored organizations run by the “Southwestern Directorate for the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs” (FADN). It’s a legal patina for “Cossack societies” to educate these Ukrainians and make them good Russians. They work with the corrupt Russian Orthodox Church in this endeavor. They take Ukrainian students and prepare them to fight their own countrymen.
Russia is preparing for a post-Ukraine war future, and they want to own that future, using Ukrainian kids who have been indoctrinated in their preferred history and narrative.
And as for peace, there will be no peace deal. President Vladimir Putin is playing Trump for time. Meanwhile, Russian Security Council Secretary Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s version of J.D. Vance, that there are no Ukrainian officials with whom to negotiate, since the government of Ukraine is not recognized as legitimate by the Kremlin. Putin has no intention of personally negotiating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. None. Putin will keep shuttling Trump and his minions back and forth to put pressure on Zelensky, while conducting enormous drone strikes on Ukrainian territory, civilian infrastructure, and military targets.
There will be no deal, only a waiting game until Zelensky, one day, is gone from power in Kyiv, and a pro-Russian government takes his place. Then the war will end, and so will Europe’s hope for a buffer state against Russia.
All the deals that Trump is touting will only bring suffering. Nobody is coming to the big deal table, other than people willing to pay to play—and by pay, I mean pay Mr. Trump.
Pray for the hostages. Pray for the orphans. Pray for the lives being wasted and lost. And pray that someone will change the current course of events. Prayer will make me feel better—I feel better already. But it’s still an acerbic day.
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS: You can follow us on social media at several different locations. Official Racket News pages include:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewsRacket
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewsRacket
Mastodon: https://federated.press/@RacketNews
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@theracketnews
David: https://www.threads.net/@captainkudzu71
Steve: https://www.threads.net/@stevengberman
Our personal accounts on the platform formerly known as Twitter:
David: https://twitter.com/captainkudzu
Steve: https://twitter.com/stevengberman
Jay: https://twitter.com/curmudgeon_NH
Thanks again for subscribing! Don’t forget to share us with your friends!
Grim. No real solutions except to try to outlast the evil doers. The Iran nuclear threat can be taken out of the equation even if it has to be done every few years.
If you have cancer that is discovered in your body, you have it surgically removed or lasered out or chemically blasted, but you get it out of there, ALL of it, or it tends to return, most times tenfold more than at first. Such is the case with Israel and their problem with Hamas and the Palestinians, who, by the way, don't belong there. They belong in the country of Jordan. Over the years, Israel has allowed Hamas to hang around, them and the so-called "Palestinian Authority," much to their detriment. The cancer needs to be cut out, once and for all. I support Israel in this endeavor.