Marco Rubio roasted for wearing clown shoes Trump bought him
Story by Finn Hartnett
• 5d
Just one day after The Wall Street Journaldiscovered that Donald Trump was urging everyone in his presidential Cabinet to wear the same style of Florsheim shoes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was caught red-footed in a pair of Florsheims about two sizes too big.
And Iran keeps its oil transiting from Kharg Island safely to its customers:
Iran still exporting millions of barrels of oil through Strait of Hormuz even as other traffic paralyzed
Story by Tim Lister, CNN
• 18h
If the United States assumed, before attacking Iran, that the major oil producer would be reluctant to close the Strait of Hormuz for fear of blocking its own oil exports, it miscalculated.
Ships near the Strait of Hormuz are broadcasting Chinese affiliations in an apparent bid to avoid attack, at a time when Iran’s new supreme leader vows to keep the strategic waterway closed.
If China sends ships to Strait of Hormuz (as requested by Trump) it will create safe passage because it will protect its friend, Iran.
Donald Trump has urged China, along with other nations, to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure this vital shipping route, which has been affected by Iran’s blockade. He emphasized the need for international cooperation to keep the strait open and safe for maritime traffic. Sky London Evening Standard
Depleting US stockpiles makes America vulnerable to those countries who hold larger stockpiles. Is this Putin’s long game?:
Trump administration and Democrats at odds over risk to US weapons stockpiles from Iran war
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have raised concerns among Democrats and others about diminishing American stockpiles of certain weapons, illustrating a long-standing production problem that some experts say could present challenges if another conflict emerges.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said American forces have all of the weapons they need to fight the Iran war, now in its second week. President Donald Trump posted Friday on social media that several defense contractors had agreed to quadruple production of weapons “as rapidly as possible,” although he did not detail the specific systems being manufactured.
Questions about the nation’s weapons stockpiles have grown as the U.S. campaign against Iran escalates, with many Democratic lawmakers arguing that Trump is waging a “war of choice.” Missile defense systems are under the most strain, according to experts, with Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors in high demand in Ukraine and Israel, respectively.
US Minesweeper ships were sent to Malaysia rather than stationed with US flotilla at start of Iraq war. This news gave Iran confidebce to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
US moves two Gulf-based minesweepers to Malaysia – report
Navy cites ‘logistical stop’ as concerns grow over Iran’s ability to disrupt key oil shipping route
i24NEWS
3 min read
March 17, 2026 at 05:10 AM
The US Navy said two of its three Gulf-based warships equipped with mine clearing capabilities have traveled roughly 4,000 miles to Malaysia for what it described as a “logistical stop,” according to a report by the Financial Times.
The redeployment comes amid growing concern over Iran’s ability to lay sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which about 20 percent of global oil exports pass. The risk of disruption to shipping in the waterway has raised alarm among governments and energy markets as oil prices soar and Iran threatens to continue using its control of the strait as economic leverage.
“The popular demand is to continue our effective defense and make the enemy regret. The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used,” said Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a televised statement read out by an Iranian news anchor last week.
The vessels are part of a three-ship deployment assigned to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The ships were sent to the region last year to help secure maritime traffic and counter potential threats linked to tensions with Iran
Sobering thought: China could cut off supplies of essential metals for making US weapons:
Read distraction-free on Substack
America’s War on Iran Depends on Chinese Hardware
Missiles, fighter jets, drones, aircraft carriers, submarines—they all depend on critical metals controlled by Beijing.
Mar 12, 2026
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America Is Waging War on Iran With Chinese Hardware
A Tomahawk missile fired at Iran from an American destroyer—loaded with Chinese components.
If you want to understand why critical metals are so important to the modern world, just look at the war on Iran. From fighter jets to missiles to drones, virtually every type of weapon the US is wielding—and the defensive systems it is using to thwart Iranian counterattacks—depend on components made with rare earths, lithium, nickel and other critical metals.
That fact, however, points up a major strategic vulnerability. Those components, and the metals from which they’re made, are almost all produced in a single country—and it’s not the United States, nor even one of its allies. As a recent report by Govini, an American defense analytics company, sums up: “From raw minerals to advanced weapon systems—from rock to rocket … America’s military superiority increasingly depends on China.”
There are countless Chinese-produced metals and parts embedded throughout hundreds of American weapons systems, but probably the most concerning are rare earth magnets. These bits of hardware perform a head-spinning variety of jobs in a wide range of weapons.
Missiles, whether offensive types like Tomahawk cruise missiles or defensive ones like those used in Patriot and THAAD interception systems, typically depend on rare earth magnets to move the control fins that steer the projectile to its target. “These magnets must be extremely powerful, compact, and resistant to heat and vibration,” notes Rare Earth Exchanges, an American research outfit. That means magnets made with the rare earth neodymium for strength, alloyed with dysprosium and terbium to increase resistance to heat and stress. Most precision-guided missiles also require neodymium magnets, or in some cases magnets made with samarium, another rare earth, for components used in target tracking and data-link stabilization.
Predator drones, Joint Direct Attack Munition ‘smart’ bombs, radar systems and other weapons also rely on rare earth magnets. So do the war machines that launch those weapons. According to the Pentagon, missile-firing destroyers, submarines, fighter jets, and bombers all require hundreds or thousands of pounds of rare earths.
Then there are good old lithium ion batteries, which are as ubiquitous in the military as they are in your own gadget-supported life. Many war-fighting drones, as I’ve written before, are powered by the same kind of batteries made of lithium, cobalt and nickel that are used in cell phones, laptops and dustbusters. So are military lasers, radios, night vision goggles and satellites.
A whole constellation of other metals are used in all manner of military gear. “Critical minerals such as aluminium, titanium, magnesium, and scandium form the structural backbone of drones,” says SFA-Oxford, a British consulting outfit. “Communication, electronics, and precise navigation systems depend on specialised materials like beryllium, gallium, germanium, and indium, whose unique properties ensure reliability, accuracy, and operational effectiveness.” According to Govini, “more than 80,000 parts across 1,900 weapon systems incorporate antimony, gallium, germanium, tungsten, or tellurium.” The list includes destroyers, aircraft carriers and nuclear missiles.
As I’ve said before: “You can probably guess why all of this is a problem. Who manufactures over 70 percent of the world’s batteries? Who makes more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earth magnets? Who produces most of the world’s gallium, indium, and other critical metals? China, China, and China.”
That means America’s war fighting capacity could be seriously hobbled if China were to cut off those supplies.
His resignation reflects unease within Trump’s base about the war and shows that questions about the justification for the use of force in Iran extend to the right of Trump’s base and to senior members of his administration.
A former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, Kent was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote (AP)
This is the letter in full:
President Trump,
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.
In your fist administration, you understood better than any modern President how to decisively apply military power without geting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonsiratd this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS.
Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.
This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was clear path to a swift victory.
This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.
As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, | cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.
I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.
It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.
Iran effectively closed the strait to US and allied vessels starting March 2, 2026, following US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Iran is permitting selective passages for non-aligned nations (India, Turkey, China) while attacking Western-aligned vessels. Traffic has dropped to near-zero with only handful of transits daily.
Elsewhere reports:
Over 350 ships stranded as Hormuz crisis sparks global supply, inflation fears
A tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman.. Photo: Reuters
In the UAE, Jebel Ali Port has emerged as a temporary refuge for dozens of ships, while others remain anchored offshore awaiting security clearance or insurance coverage
Dubai’s flagship maritime gateway, Jebel Ali Port, remains fully operational despite a decline in inbound vessel traffic as regional maritime conditions continue to affect shipping routes through the Gulf.
Port operator DP World confirmed that the port’s infrastructure has not sustained damage and that operations across terminals are continuing normally.
However, incoming vessel calls have decreased as shipping lines adjust schedules and routing decisions amid ongoing regional tensions affecting maritime corridors.
Rerouting measures
DP World stated that contingency planning and operational adjustments are underway to ensure supply chain continuity despite reduced vessel arrivals.
Group CEO Yuvraj Narayan indicated that the company is implementing regional rerouting strategies alongside mitigation measures to maintain logistics flows across its network.
The operator explained that logistical and security considerations remain elevated for both port operators and shipping companies operating in the region.
Shipping lines have begun evaluating alternative routes and operational adjustments to reduce exposure to disruptions along major maritime corridors.
Ports outside the Strait of Hormuz, including Port of Khorfakkan and Port of Fujairah, provide alternative maritime access to the UAE.
However, their container handling capacity remains significantly lower than Jebel Ali’s throughput levels, limiting their ability to absorb large scale cargo diversions.
Strong financial performance
Despite the operational challenges, DP World reported strong financial results for the previous year. Profit attributable to company owners rose nearly 43% to $1.07bn, supported by robust performance across its global ports, terminals and logistics divisions.
Uncertainty:
Iranian missile strike shuts down Middle East’s largest container port
Dubai authorities say fire was a result of Iranian attack being intercepted
Smoke rises from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike on Sunday.
DP World’s Jebel Ali Port, the largest container port in the Middle East, was forced to close after being hit by missile debris.
The Dubai-based ports and logistics group said all four terminals there are now fully operational after a temporary “precautionary suspension” of activities on Sunday that is thought to be related to damage caused by Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Gulf countries.
Video footage posted on social media on Sunday showed an explosion believed to be inside the port that produced a giant fireball rising dozens of feet in the air.
TikTok Investors Set to Pay $10 Billion Fee to Trump Administration
What Happened: Investors backing a U.S.-controlled version of TikTok agreed to pay a $10 billion fee to the U.S. Treasury as part of a deal brokered by Trump officials. The unusually large payment was required for the White House to approve a transaction involving investors, including Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake.
Why It Matters: The deal shows Trump again inserting the government directly into private corporate transactions. Forcing companies to pay massive fees for political approval blurs the line between national security oversight and pay-to-play schemes.
Silver Lake Technology Management, L.L.C., is an American global private equity firm focused on technology and technology-enabled investments. Silver Lake is headquartered in Menlo Park and New York City, and has offices in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore Continued in Wikipedia
Abu Dhabi Fund MGX Emerges As Key Player In Two Major Trump-Era Deals
ByZach Everson,Former Staff. Zach Everson is a staff writer at Forbes covering money in politics.
Oct 15, 2025, 01:24pm EDT
Topline
MGX, a state-backed Abu Dhabi fund, has surfaced in two of the most scrutinized deals in Donald Trump’s second term—it’s reportedly set to take a stake in TikTok’s U.S. business and used a Trump-linked stablecoin for a $2 billion transaction that may have benefited the president’s family financially.
Key Facts
The Abu Dhabi government created MGX in March 2024 as a technology investment company, tasked with “accelerat[ing] the development and adoption of AI and advanced technologies” through global partnerships, according to a launch announcement.
MGX was launched by Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, and G42, an artificial intelligence holding company, in which Microsoft has invested $1.5 billion.
The fund targets semiconductors, infrastructure, software, tech-enabled services, life sciences and automation services, with past investments in OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Databricks, Altera and Binance.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan chairs MGX’s board—he’s also the deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates’ National Security Adviser and chair of G42’s board as well as those of four other companies.
MGX’s CEO, Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, studied at MIT, worked in investment banking and previously oversaw private equity investments at Mubadala.
Asked about the TikTok talks, MGX chief communications officer Noelle Camilleri told Forbes, “On TikTok, we don’t have anything to share at this time.”
News Peg
In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill banning TikTok in the United States over privacy and data concerns, effective January 2025. The ban was never enforced, and on Sept. 25, Trump signed an executive order, “Saving TikTok While Protecting National Security,” that would allow the platform to remain available. The executive order paves the way for U.S. investors to take majority control, while the Chinese parent company ByteDance’s stake will drop to less than 20%. The new owners have not been confirmed but, citing unnamed sources, CNBC reported that MGX, Oracle and private-equity firm Silver Lake will be the main investors, owning a combined 45% of TikTok USA. Oracle and Silver Lake did not respond to inquiries. On Wednesday, MGX announced it was teaming with the Artificial Infrastructure Partnership and BlackRock to buy Aligned Data Centers in a deal that values the company, which has 50 facilities, at $40 billion.
Key Background
The TikTok deal is not the first time MGX has been tied to Trump’s administration. The day after his second inauguration, Trump announced Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative backed by MGX, OpenAI, Oracle and Japan’s SoftBank. And earlier in September, MGX joined Silver Lake in buying a 51% stake in Altera, Intel’s programmable-chip unit. The U.S. government owns 9.9% of Intel, after taking the extraordinary step of purchasing an $8.9 billion stake as part of the Trump administration’s semiconductor strategy.
Dubai Abu Dhabi news highlights: The Dubai Media Office said the authorities are currently responding to a fire from a drone-related incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport.
Wall Street Bankers Offered Lucrative Access to Join the Pentagon
What Happened: A recruiting presentation from headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles pitched Wall Street bankers on joining a new Pentagon investment unit managing up to $200 billion in government funds. The pitch promised “unmatched access” to senior officials and suggested recruits could later leverage those relationships with sovereign wealth funds and foreign elites.
Why It Matters: The plan turns a Pentagon investment office into a pipeline for insider access, corruption, and private profit. It blurs the line between national security and Wall Street enrichment while distorting defense priorities.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed off on a massive border wall contract for a Texas construction company previously accused in court of smuggling migrants into the United States and arming them “to take part in a wild shootout,” according to the Daily Beast.
From Intersteller News, Substack – here is an extract from a long piece on the above topic:
The founders of SLSCO Ltd. — the Sullivan brothers — have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican political campaigns and causes. (The Daily Beast)
In American politics, that alone is not unusual.
Corporate political donations are common across industries.
Defense contractors donate to politicians who oversee military spending.
Energy companies donate to lawmakers who regulate drilling.
Construction companies donate to politicians who fund infrastructure.
The border wall economy follows the same pattern.
Companies seeking government contracts often support political leaders whose policies create those contracts.
Critics argue this creates a feedback loop.
Policy creates money.
Money flows back into politics.
Politics produces more policy.
In this ecosystem, immigration enforcement is not just a policy question.
It becomes an industry.
Here is the strange paradox at the heart of the story.
On one hand, the Trump administration’s immigration agenda has emphasized strict border enforcement.
Officials have repeatedly argued that human smuggling is one of the most dangerous criminal enterprises along the southern border.
In fact, the Department of Homeland Security has described smuggling networks as responsible for thousands of deaths and billions in illegal profits. (The Daily Signal)
Yet the company accused of participating in smuggling practices was still eligible to receive major federal contracts.
Supporters of the administration argue the allegations were never proven in court.
Critics argue the government should apply stricter scrutiny to contractors working on sensitive national security projects.
The disagreement reflects a broader divide in American politics.
How much evidence is enough to disqualify a contractor?
And how much risk is acceptable when billions of taxpayer dollars are involved?
The biggest aluminum smelter in the world is the Huomei Hongjun Aluminium Smelter located in China, with a production capacity of 1,060,000 tonnes per year. Following it are the Dubai Aluminium Co (Dubal) and Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Works in Russia. Wikipedia gulfbusiness.com
Gulf States:
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has become a global hub for aluminium production, thanks to its abundant natural resources, strategic location, and cutting-edge facilities. aluminium production plays a vital role in the region’s economy, contributing significantly to exports, industrial development, and diversification strategies, particularly in countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.
Below, we look at the top 10 aluminium companies in the GCC that are driving the industry forward.
Company initiates controlled shutdown of Lines 1, 2 and 3
Prioritises use of raw material stocks for Lines 4, 5 and 6
Alba has aluminium smelting capacity of 1.62 million tons/yr
March 15 (Reuters) – Aluminium Bahrain (ALBH.BH), opens new tab, known as Alba, said on Sunday it had initiated a shutdown of three aluminium smelting lines accounting for 19% of its capacity to preserve business continuity amid ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
The closures are the latest impact on the Middle East aluminium sector, which accounts for around 9% of global supply, from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Fears of shortages propelled London Metal Exchange aluminium to a nearly four-year high of $3,546.50 per metric ton on Thursday.
Huomei Hongjun Aluminum and Electricity Company has built the country’s first automatic production line for aluminium ingot casting, which automates slag breaking, ingot casting, packaging, weighing, and other processes. The announcement was made by Liu Ruihong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Inner Mongolia Huomei Hongjun Aluminium Electric. Huomei Hongjun Aluminium & Electricity has played the two cards of “green aluminium” and “smart factory” in recent years, accelerating the transition to low-carbon, clean, and intelligent, making the aluminium industry bigger and stronger, and creating clean production in the aluminium industry model.
Oil explosions can release harmful pollutants into the air, including volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter, which can lead to serious health issues for nearby communities. These emissions can contribute to respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer due to long-term exposure to toxic substances. National Wildlife Federation sciencemediacentre.org
And
Bombing of Iran’s oil infrastructure to have major environmental fallout, experts warn
Monitors admit they are struggling to keep track of the environmental disasters arising from widening war
Israel’s bombing of Iran’s oil infrastructure will have major long-term environmental repercussions, experts have warned, as monitors admitted they were struggling to keep track of the environmental disasters arising from the widening war.
Even as Iranians filled the streets to mark the appointment of a new supreme leader, the Shahran oil depot north-east of Tehran and the Shahr-e fuel depot to its south continued to burn on Monday, two days after they were bombed by Israeli warplanes.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Iran’s environmental agency and the Iranian Red Crescent Society had warned Tehran residents to stay at home, warning the toxic chemicals spread by airstrikes on five fossil fuel installations around the city could lead to acid rain and damage the skin and lungs.
On Monday, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “Damage to petroleum facilities in Iran risks contaminating food, water and air – hazards that can have severe health impacts especially on children, older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions.”
Understanding the multifaceted humanitarian challenges of the Gulf War reveals vital lessons about warfare’s far-reaching consequences, emphasizing the importance of global responses, ethical considerations, and sustained recovery efforts in future military conflicts.
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