day forty-three (13. 339)

Fresh from a campaign rally in Hungary in support of the reelection of the incumbent, Viktor Orbán—accusing the EU of election interference by withholding funds to the country over its affinity for Russian and regressive civil-rights policies whilst the US vice president tells Hungarians who to vote for and indicting Ukraine without evidence or context in meddling in the 2024 American election, JD Vance and delegation arrives in Pakistan. Flanked by the same tired crew of incompetents, Witkoff and Kusher who’ve managed to torpedo every other round of negotiations including the one resulting in all out warfare, Vance warns Iran not “to play”—given a real poisoned chalice in his first high profile, high stakes assignment to either concede to Tehran’s terms to preserve the fragile ceasefire or resist and provoke a resumption of the fighting, US assets with their finger on the trigger already for a very domestically unpopular and illegal conflict of their own making. Israeli Operation Eternal Darkness continues indiscriminate bombing raids on Lebanon and only a slow trickle of ships, thirteen mostly dry cargo ships and empty tankers returning to port for reloading, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

synchronoptica

one year ago: digital preservation jumpers (with synchronopticæ), the art of basket weaving plus emoji as autobiographical vocabulary

fourteen years ago: beer-brewing season, unlucky thirteen plus extraordinary rendition

fifteen years ago: the Libyan revolution 

sixteen years ago: a tragic aviation accident in Poland 

renatured (13. 338)

Although from childhood until recently, my only exposure to instant coffee, a topic not given much regard in the interim, was using Sanka decaffeinated crystals for a school project to make a poster illustrating the massive meteorite strike that wiped out the dinosaurs—it was a good medium for the rocky texture for the volcano and for the ominous asteroid streaking through the sky, H and I have really started appreciating the dehydrated beverage for camping, the outdoors seeming to imbue it with a certain aroma and flavour profile that we suspect wouldn’t cut it at home for the convenience. Courtesy of Web Curios (lots more to explore there and well worth your time), we found this thoroughly researched history on the development and triangulating factors behind the improvements in reconstitution, global trade, spinoffs from R&D in photography and keeping an army sufficiently caffeinated of course playing a role quite fascinating and illuminating. Advances in the understanding of chemistry and preservation, freeze-drying grounds, led to a more palatable cup, though beggars couldn’t be choosers and the earliest versions of the potable, soluble brew were savoured as well. Much more from The Works in Progress newsletter at the link above.

advanced avionics (13. 337)

Appearing on German broadcaster RTL (Radio Télévision Luxembourg, the cosmopolitan media group founded as Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion as one of the first private programmers in 1931 and representative of the broader spirit of transnational cooperation) on this day in 1976, Belgian prime minister Leo Tindemans (to the right of Helmut Schmidt and Luxembourg PM Gaston Thorn), previously charged with defining what the European Union was to be as a political entity with his eponymous report that helped to guide the formation of the EU and its institutions, defended the country’s decision to purchase US fighter jets rather than French Dassault Mirages, in the context of forming a common defensive strategy for the continent. Despite what was interpreted as a slight by the domestic aerospace industry at the time, later that year Tindemans was awarded the international Charlemagne prize for his contributions towards unity, economic integration and the strengthening of citizen rights.

yellowstone public radio (13. 336)

Via Aeon, we are directed to a programme distilled into an award-winning documentary that ran from 1997 until 2007 that invited listeners from all over the state of Montana to share their views on everything and anything from poetry to politics as the country and world bridged two millennia as a lens to examine our place in it. Selected audio clips carefully curated from the call-in show’s archives over a background of vistas within the broadcasting range present a calm yet compelling snap-shot of a specific time and place as a reminder of what we hold in common and how the more things change, in the intervening decades, the more they stay the same.  More at the links above.

day forty-two (13. 335)

Continued assaults on Beirut threatening the fragile ceasefire, Trump has reportedly urged Netanyahu to be more “low key” in his attacks on Lebanon as the delegation headed by JD Vance for the US and Iranian leaders are scheduled to meet in Islamabad for peace talks. The White House warns government employees from using insider knowledge to leverage bets on the outcome of negotiations and direction of the war on prediction markets. Israel will hold direct talks with the Lebanese government aimed at disarming Hezbollah and limiting collateral casualties. Underscoring Tehran’s continued control of the strait, tankers are being selectively let through and still only a trickle of the ships parked on either side of the gulf. Kuwaiti territory is still being targeted although Iran denies to be behind retaliatory attacks and the Emirates has reported clear skies.

synchronoptica

one year ago: The Great Gatsby (with synchronopticæ), market reaction dulls Trump tariffs plus assorted links worth the revisit

twelve years ago: NATO and Ukraine plus English orthography 

thirteen years ago: the Night of the the Long Knives 

fourteen years ago: a planned Star Trek casino 

fifteen years ago: a catalogue of Star Trek characters 

8x8 (13. 334)

queen bee: the fascinating life-cycle of bumblebee matriarchs includes the ability to breath underwater  

zweeeeëg: dizygotic, fraternal words and other Danish and Luxembourgish orthography, including vanilleijs  

pork johnson: the spoof trailer for the feature film on Gimp, the Photoshop alternative, starring a puppet warthog and reminiscent of Social Network  

ranger danger: the Trump administration eviscerates the US forest service, see previously—via Kottke  

byline: World Press photos of the year  

₿: the investigator who unmasked the creator of the cryptocurrency—see previously  

to wit: the lost intimacy and nuance of extinct Old English pronouns  

regina apoidea: the brilliant physical acting of Joan Crawford presented as slap-fest

addenda (13. 333)

The Orange Menace actually articulated his interest in a profit sharing scheme for the transit fees that Iran is securing for the Strait of Hormuz (which was free for all ships prior to the war) as the “ayatollah booth.” Jesus wept. The waterway is almost immediately closed in retaliation for Israel’s relentless attacks on southern Lebanon in breach of the ceasefire agreement, having displaced a million residents from Beirut and surroundings and having killed over three-hundred civilians in its latest wave of air raids. US president Trump leaves his standing army in the region, threatening in a social media post that should Tehran fail to fully comply with the terms of the truce, “—if for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger and better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!” Whilst grateful for the fragile peace, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez spoke out against Netanyahu and IDF efforts to expand its “buffer zone” and of Trump, he refuses to “applaud those who set the world on fire and they then show up with a bucket.” Described only as frank, Trump held a private discussion with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte to air his frustrations with the alliance—no details were given other than Trump has circled back to his preoccupation with Greenland, calling the Danish territory a poorly managed piece of ice.

day forty-one (13. 332)

The Pakistani brokers of the truce insists that it also applies to Israel and Lebanon, though Netayahu disagrees as bombings continue and the Knesset passes a law legalising capital punishment—which only applies to Palestinians. White House officials privately admit that Iran’s ten-point plan was not the same set of conditions that the US agreed to for the pause.

Ten cargo ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz after securing permission from Iran but no oil tankers have yet attempted the journey, saying that the waterway remains closed and unlikely to be swiftly restored, the continued assault on Beirut jeopardising the already fragile ceasefire. Trump claims he will get a share of the maritime tolls.  Peace rallies dominate Tokyo as demonstrators fear the country’s conservative ruling party could be pressured into changing the constitution and the policy of no military intervention. Iranian hackers are attacking the US power grid and water treatment facilities as Hegseth announces that they will be hanging around and ready to execute any orders. Though not said verbatim, the out-brief for Operation Epic Fury seemed very much like a “Mission Accomplished” moment and some kind bequest for the next administration to clean up, like Trump’s deal with the Taliban to leave Afghanistan that his successor was held to. 

 

 synchronoptica 

one year ago: Chairman Trump (with synchronopticæ), de-extincting the dire wolf plus a musical montage 

twelve years ago: more on American imperialism plus data retention in the EU

thirteen years ago: fleet of US Abrams tanks to return to America 

fourteen years ago: drones of opportunity plus “What Must be Said”

sixteen years ago: street photography in Köln