Fact check: As a parliamentary republic, Israel separates the roles of head of state and head of government. As Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is the head of government. The head of state of Israel is the President, a post currently occupied by Isaac Herzog.
As for the IRGC's strategy, note further that they have been allowing tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz safely, but only those which have had their cargo paid for in (so far) Chinese yuan. It is possible the EU will negotiate to allow euro-denominated cargo to pass. But Iran's aim with the Strait seems at least in part to be to end the dominance of the US dollar in the global trade in oil, gas, and fertilizer. (What will happen with their Houthi proxy and the Bab-el-Mandab is another matter.)
The IRGC has also been designated a terrorist group and has heard (along with the rest of Iran) Pete Hegseth say "no quarter". They have absolutely no incentive to surrender.
Netanyahu, as head of government, directs the day-to-day operations of the executive because that is how a parliamentary republic works. But he is, as a factual matter, not head of state.
(At one time I was indifferent on the question of separating the roles of head of state and head of government. Events since I once expressed that view have led me to consider such separation vital to maintaining democratic governance, and further examination led me to the view that having a head of state with any democratic legitimacy is heavily detrimental to democratic governance--that is, I became a staunch monarchist. I consider the distinction therefore to be highly relevant.)
Correct. It is still the case that, as a matter of absolute fact, Benjamin Netanyahu is not the head of state of Israel, and to say otherwise misrepresents the constitutional structure of Israel and disrespects the democratic choice of Israelis to organize their governance in that way.
EDIT: Also, as to the specific example of Emperor and shogun, before mid-1945 WWII Allied propaganda always called out Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito (not Tojo) as the main malefactors in the war, and from what I've heard, during Tojo's war crimes trial, he testified at one point that Hirohito was well aware of everything that Japan was doing and had an active role in governance, but retracted the testimony after the American prosecutor ordered him to do so. (This is because the US wanted Japan as an ally following the war to contain the Russian Pacific fleet at Vladivostok, and then later the Communists on mainland China, so trying to present the Emperor as if he were just a constitutional monarch such as countries like the UK, Canada, Belgium and Sweden have was a further propaganda effort to get the American public to feel that justice was done by prosecuting Tojo and his ilk, while leaving the Emperor untouched, because the judgment was that it would be easier to win the allegiance of the Japanese people, who revered the Emperor, if he was left in post and unmarred by allegations of approval of or participation in war crimes.)
It was never my point that the head of state of Israel has a role in setting policy or day-to-day governance. My point is that Benjamin Netanyahu is not the head of state and to say otherwise is a complete falsehood.
Excellent and true. Like the American bishops, slowly realizing that Trump is bad for humanity, the Church. I have been telling them that for five years. If gas hits 5 bucks a gallon, the maga idiots will spring from the abandoned buildings like zombies, flailing, as they realize the gig is up.
November 29, 2011: "In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran."
January 17, 2012: "@BarackObama will attack Iran in order to get re-elected."
October 9, 2012: "Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin -- watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate."
September 16, 2013: "I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!"
November 10, 2013: "Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly--not skilled!"
Much of what you say, especially concerning the impact of Hormuz, is true. What you omitted is that a power which for 47 years organized itself around “Death to America.” That power has been weakened, if not destroyed, for a generation. This may well be seen as Trump’s greatest achievement in his second term, greater even than securing our borders.
Chants aside, Iran has never been capable of “killing” America.
What it has always been capable of, is using calibrated asymmetric power to weaken America’s Middle East policy to the point where the US would leave the regime alone to achieve its regional theocratic ambitions.
That power hasn’t been set back to any significant degree. If anything, it has been amplified by the West’s apparent inability to break Iran’s control over the Strait or to displace the IRGC as the repository of state power.
Brock is, of course, correct. The painful part is that while he has written a clear exposé, what he had said was always plainly obvious. That is not an insult to his writing, but to all the folks who thought otherwise.
Sorry, but if of 'many' sources, you chose wpedia...it sounds like safe and effective. Can't argue with the content otherwise but that one beckons the flush button.
My thoughts exactly. Wikipedia is never an acceptable source for any controversial proposition. Even in academia. Best to wait.
There's also a fascinating coincidence that the "protests" ended almost instantly the Starlink crackdown went into effect, given that both Israel and the USA admitted/boasted that Mossad networks were running the "protests".
The fascists want us to believe that there is no source of truth, and everyone lies, so we should just go with, as Trump says, our guts. The 30-40,000 estimate is from many sources. Please don't choose to disbelieve that report just because "feelings".
"Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it."
- Hannah Arendt
"We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, a passion. It is not necessary that it be a reality. It is a reality in the sense that it is a stimulus, is hope, is faith, is courage. Our myth is the nation, our myth is the greatness of the nation!"
- Mussolini
So, you want us to believe no facts, too? Useful idiot, you are.
Fact check: As a parliamentary republic, Israel separates the roles of head of state and head of government. As Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is the head of government. The head of state of Israel is the President, a post currently occupied by Isaac Herzog.
As for the IRGC's strategy, note further that they have been allowing tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz safely, but only those which have had their cargo paid for in (so far) Chinese yuan. It is possible the EU will negotiate to allow euro-denominated cargo to pass. But Iran's aim with the Strait seems at least in part to be to end the dominance of the US dollar in the global trade in oil, gas, and fertilizer. (What will happen with their Houthi proxy and the Bab-el-Mandab is another matter.)
The IRGC has also been designated a terrorist group and has heard (along with the rest of Iran) Pete Hegseth say "no quarter". They have absolutely no incentive to surrender.
This seems nit-picky. Netanyahu runs the regime.
Netanyahu, as head of government, directs the day-to-day operations of the executive because that is how a parliamentary republic works. But he is, as a factual matter, not head of state.
(At one time I was indifferent on the question of separating the roles of head of state and head of government. Events since I once expressed that view have led me to consider such separation vital to maintaining democratic governance, and further examination led me to the view that having a head of state with any democratic legitimacy is heavily detrimental to democratic governance--that is, I became a staunch monarchist. I consider the distinction therefore to be highly relevant.)
The emperor being the head of state does not mean the shogun wasn't in charge of the state.
Correct. It is still the case that, as a matter of absolute fact, Benjamin Netanyahu is not the head of state of Israel, and to say otherwise misrepresents the constitutional structure of Israel and disrespects the democratic choice of Israelis to organize their governance in that way.
EDIT: Also, as to the specific example of Emperor and shogun, before mid-1945 WWII Allied propaganda always called out Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito (not Tojo) as the main malefactors in the war, and from what I've heard, during Tojo's war crimes trial, he testified at one point that Hirohito was well aware of everything that Japan was doing and had an active role in governance, but retracted the testimony after the American prosecutor ordered him to do so. (This is because the US wanted Japan as an ally following the war to contain the Russian Pacific fleet at Vladivostok, and then later the Communists on mainland China, so trying to present the Emperor as if he were just a constitutional monarch such as countries like the UK, Canada, Belgium and Sweden have was a further propaganda effort to get the American public to feel that justice was done by prosecuting Tojo and his ilk, while leaving the Emperor untouched, because the judgment was that it would be easier to win the allegiance of the Japanese people, who revered the Emperor, if he was left in post and unmarred by allegations of approval of or participation in war crimes.)
Point was that the head of state is irrelevant to policy or governance, and so can be ignored.
It was never my point that the head of state of Israel has a role in setting policy or day-to-day governance. My point is that Benjamin Netanyahu is not the head of state and to say otherwise is a complete falsehood.
Excellent and true. Like the American bishops, slowly realizing that Trump is bad for humanity, the Church. I have been telling them that for five years. If gas hits 5 bucks a gallon, the maga idiots will spring from the abandoned buildings like zombies, flailing, as they realize the gig is up.
* sigh * Every MAGA locution is a projection and confession...
No explanation necessary.
November 29, 2011: "In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran."
January 17, 2012: "@BarackObama will attack Iran in order to get re-elected."
October 9, 2012: "Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin -- watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate."
September 16, 2013: "I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!"
November 10, 2013: "Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly--not skilled!"
(Donald Trump, various posts on Twitter)
One could argue that Trump has unfortunately used the nuclear codes. Just a different format. 😞
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4YU1Y1w224
Belgian stand-up comic Victor Patrascan roasting "the Israeli colony that is the United States of America."
I have long used my own truth barometer which is so simple. Does this make sense? Yes, it does.
Great article, Mike.
Keep em coming
Agreed with thesis of this post. And skyrocketing fertilizer prices will lead to widespread food instability as well😬
Much of what you say, especially concerning the impact of Hormuz, is true. What you omitted is that a power which for 47 years organized itself around “Death to America.” That power has been weakened, if not destroyed, for a generation. This may well be seen as Trump’s greatest achievement in his second term, greater even than securing our borders.
Chants aside, Iran has never been capable of “killing” America.
What it has always been capable of, is using calibrated asymmetric power to weaken America’s Middle East policy to the point where the US would leave the regime alone to achieve its regional theocratic ambitions.
That power hasn’t been set back to any significant degree. If anything, it has been amplified by the West’s apparent inability to break Iran’s control over the Strait or to displace the IRGC as the repository of state power.
I could never imagine that our society would get this completely broken, that a president would do all this, and the citizens just shrug.
Brock is, of course, correct. The painful part is that while he has written a clear exposé, what he had said was always plainly obvious. That is not an insult to his writing, but to all the folks who thought otherwise.
Sorry, but if of 'many' sources, you chose wpedia...it sounds like safe and effective. Can't argue with the content otherwise but that one beckons the flush button.
Thanks, Mike. I really enjoy your posts. What do you foresee happening to the two regimes?
What do you believe is not true?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_massacres
My thoughts exactly. Wikipedia is never an acceptable source for any controversial proposition. Even in academia. Best to wait.
There's also a fascinating coincidence that the "protests" ended almost instantly the Starlink crackdown went into effect, given that both Israel and the USA admitted/boasted that Mossad networks were running the "protests".
The fascists want us to believe that there is no source of truth, and everyone lies, so we should just go with, as Trump says, our guts. The 30-40,000 estimate is from many sources. Please don't choose to disbelieve that report just because "feelings".
"Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it."
- Hannah Arendt
"We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, a passion. It is not necessary that it be a reality. It is a reality in the sense that it is a stimulus, is hope, is faith, is courage. Our myth is the nation, our myth is the greatness of the nation!"
- Mussolini
So, you want us to believe no facts, too? Useful idiot, you are.
It’s been reported elsewhere in many sources that 30,000 Iranians were killed by their government. Hasn’t Trump used other excuses too?