The New York Times asks a totally relevant question this morning, which is when is a ceasefire no longer a ceasefire?
As they noted:
Yesterday, American forces struck Iran for the second time in three days. In response to U.S. strikes on Monday, Iran swiftly threatened counterattacks — and yet, so far, both sides say that negotiations are ongoing and the cease-fire is holding.
Oh, yes, really? That's what a ceasefire looks like, is it?
The obvious question is, if that is the case, what is a war?
Maybe that is when the USA threatens its supposed ally in the Gulf, Oman, with an attack if it too does not comply with the demands of Donald Trump on the Strait of Hormuz, which is what Trump did yesterday.
And maybe it is when Trump says that he will continue with his approach to this conflict whatever the economic consequences, which he did, again yesterday.
Can we know, when so much of what Trump has said over such a long period of time has proved to be unreliable? Should his words count for anything? I suspect that history will say they do not.
Actions, on the other hand, do matter, and the significance of these is clear.
As a matter of fact, there is still a war going on between the USA and Iran, despite the supposed ceasefire, and for all the claims that the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding, it is also very clear that Israel is intensifying its attack on Hezbollah there.
There is, then, an ongoing war in the Gulf. Let's not pretend otherwise. Whatever is said, what is done matters in this context, and the consequence of what is happening in the Gulf is that the looming world economic crisis is still unfolding. Oil, gas and fertiliser, as well as helium, sulphuric acid and more besides, are not flowing, and, at some point quite soon, the pretence that this is a minor disruption that will just have an impact on the energy price cap in the UK will fall apart.
Until then, our politicians are being as wilfully misleading as Trump is. They are pretending all is well just as much as he is pretending there is peace. Both are seeking to deceive for short-term gain. The long-term consequences are severe.
One of them is that any remaining faith I had in our news media has disappeared. Watch it, or read it, and the collective denial of the reality of the situation we are in appears to be universal. We are being fed total nonsense as the world is falling apart all around us.
It is impossible for there to be disruption of global supply chains on the scale this war is now creating without major economic consequences, but just as the politicians are in denial by offering misleading claims, so too are the media in denial by refusing to discuss what this all means. It is as if there is a collective attempt being undertaken in plain sight to pretend that all will be well when that, glaringly obviously, cannot be the case.
There will be an economic shock as a consequence of this, but do not deny the scale of the social shock that will be faced as well. It may be at least as big.
A population unprepared for the crisis they face as a consequence of the deliberate choices of politicians and the media is likely to react more adversely than necessary. Panic, mistrust, and utter disbelief that a world crisis was allowed to develop without anyone saying anything are going to be widespread, and with them, the sense of alienation among many people in the UK from power and from those who report on it is only going to intensify, and that sense is having horrible consequences already.
This war, and all the thinking and motivation behind it, is a creation of far-right thinking, but right now, in the way that we are seeing supposedly mainstream politicians and the media react, they are doing everything they can to promote that far-right agenda of alienation because, as ever, they are not telling the truth, In that case long after the direct economic consequences of this conflict cease to be apparent, which may be some considerable time in the future, the impact of that loss of trust may still be felt.
It is that which really worries me.
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T A R A!
Might it be that, to a consistenly considerable extent, the main stream media is a submerged agent of government?
Might it be that a submerged purpose of Austerity/Neoliberalism is to divert and obstruct initiatives of analysis and lateral feeling, thinking, communication and action?
This war started from a position of low trust.
Iran was refining Uranium to a high proportion but also saying they weren’t building a nuclear weapon and while being signed up the the non-proliferation treaty.
Trump didn’t trust them and neither do I.
Trump said it was impossible for Iran to ever rebuild a nuclear weapon. But here we are. And Trump said that again this year. But the war still goes on because? The US government doesn’t know why and has no means to end it.
Frankly I trust the Iranian government a bit more than I trust Trump. He and Netanyahu started the war; Trump tore up the previous agreement with Iran about nuclear enrichment.
Hello Richard.
When the Pope speaks, any person, regardless of if they are RC, or not, can muse on the actual content and meaning of what the Pope says, and the consequences for humanity.
When the President of the United States of America speaks, any person, regardless of if they are fascist or not, has to think twice to be sure of what the President has actually said. Then they have to check other sources to see what’s really going on, before considering if the President’s words are, in any possible way, sane.
One of these people wants us to live in a modern interpretation of an ancient, class ridden, unequal society, where some lives have little to no value and crusades to the Middle East can be revived.
The other is the Pope.
Much to agree with
I have just listened to Norman Finkelstein on utube, explaining that Hamas tried to do all it could for the Palestinians suffering a genocide, and comparing it with of an uprising of slaves. No wonder some of the people in the prison of Gaza, suffering lack of everything exploded from their imposed hell. Anyone who still supports Israel really needs to listen to the assassinations by the Israelites of innocent bystanders, press and medical helpers. I despair of western politicians who support Israel, not just those who take their bribes, and we know some of those now. The media has to be forced to tell the truth or suffer for their lies. The people of this country deserve better. We need a good clear out and a replacement with decent human beings.
It also clearly demonstrates a failure to command by the UK Government
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/28/britain-sleepwalking-into-a-food-crisis-without-urgent-action-experts-say
Agreed
I have recently come across the Hebrew word nekome (or nekamah, from the Hebrew נקמה). From what I understand, this word means ‘revenge’ or ‘payback’.
I try to be consistent and have always acknowledged the horrible persecution of the Jews throughout human history (although they are not the only persecuted people of this earth) as well as the persecution of others and by Jews themselves. To me this is the human tragedy of it all. But the fact that revenge or payback exists in Hebrew is interesting. Far from being a passive persecuted group, their language and therefore their culture allows for a basis of robust self defence and recourse.
To me, the West, and the U.S. support for Israel signifies to me that they have been caught up either willingly or by their own anti-Semitism or naivete in what I think is a period of Jewish ‘Nekamah’ – a programme of revenge – a consequence of Nazi racial policy from the 30’s and 40’s. My sad conclusion I think is that this has fuelled Zionism as well and its expansionist behaviour.
Reflecting on this, my question is what can be the political reaction to a policy of deliberate revenge? No matter how justified or unjustified. What can be done about revenge? Because not only in revenge do the persecuted try to live on, their persecutors – the Nazis in this case – continue to live on too and dictate how we live now. And, what about the innocents – the Palestinians and Lebanese who just happen to be in the way and now the people of many lands worldwide who will struggle to live because of a failure to address revenge.
It just makes me numb to be honest.
A policy of forgiveness.
Some years ago I listened to a radio show where the topic was about forgiving.
The important thing from that, that stuck with me, is that they quoted someone (I guess it was Hannah Arendt but I’m not sure anymore, wasn’t able to find the quote when I searched for it) with:
“Forgiving means to forgive what can’t be forgiven”
Can’t remember what their conclusion was anymore but my simplistic one is:
Remember what happened, make sure the other remembers it as well so that both can learn from the past for the present & future.
A policy of forgiveness absolutely needs meaningful reflection from both sides.
Don’t assume that the other can’t change because of what happened.
In my experience it’s often as hard to forgive as to ask for forgiveness.
But if we want this world to be a better place this courageous policy would be at least one way to go.
I have always believed that revenge begats revenge, and the cycle is hard to break, particularly when both sides are openly willing to suffer. From somewhere, deep in their psyche, both sides have to accept the absolute need for no-strings forgiveness and a willingness to compromise. At present, the middle East is moving in the wrong direction, in my view. The long-term solutions being sought will just provide the seedcorn conditions for more, and worse, violence.
If you feel this is Naive, then I’m guilty. But whose philosophical teaching was to turn the other cheek?
[ Think Pope Leo. – Trump ]
A couple of things have occurred to me in relation to the coming crisis.
Some package holiday airlines are continuing to operate as those there will be no fuel shortage.
When I started in industry in 1961 there were no computers and even in the 1970s crisis power shortages could be coped with in offices. In today’s world it would appear that most office activities would cease if there was no power.
True
Revenge on those who are already the victims of the tragic project to provide the Jews with that particular ‘homeland’ – the oppressed Palestinian people – in alliance with the Germans and other Europeans who actually carried out the persecution of Jews and others in the last century …. not to mention revenge on the Lebanese people for the success of Hezbollah in preventing their most recent land grab in South Lebanon
“it is also very clear that Israel is intensifying its attack on Hezbollah there”.
Attacking Hezbollah is the excuse for a land grab. The Israelis have even created a new, and equally movable “Yellow Line” to denote the edge of it.
“we are seeing supposedly mainstream politicians and the media react, they are doing everything they can to promote that far-right agenda of alienation because, as ever, they are not telling the truth”
Unfortunately, telling the truth in times of crisis doesn’t always seem to work either. Witness the appalling treatment of Jacinda Ardern during and after COVID. She told the truth, acted decisively and now has to live in Australia because of the right-wing backlash against her in her home country. Sad.
It’s hard to believe – or maybe it’s easy – the stupidity of the public statements by Trump’s cabinet. They’re all saying things are amazing in America and will be even better as soon as the war is over. Bessent was at it again tonight. He accused a CNN reporter, who used his own government’s data to ask him about the low levels of private saving, of taking the “doomer” view. That’s the sort of talk that did Biden in. He kept insisting the economy was good even though polls were telling him that people weren’t feeling it. Now Trump and his team are making the same mistake all over again.
Agreed
From George Orwells 1984:
War is peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength
Society is not far from bringing it to be alive in front of us, isn’t it?
It is striking that mass-circulation news tends to hang on Trump’s statements with little on no analysis as to why the latest one is diametrically opposed to the one he issued three days/one day/twenty-five minutes ago. If you have the time and the persistence you can usually discover the logic, such as it is, is rooted purely in his own self interest, but how many people read much behind the headlines? While other politicians participate in similar duplicity it’s difficult to find one who even approaches Trump’s casual misrepresentation of almost everything. Farage is trying very hard, but even he has a long way to go.