The Financial Times, for me, is now the more realistic publication regarding the reality we inhabit than The Wall Street Journal - which still protects Trump too much from sober criticism based on what he has done to the global economy. As Martin Wolf notes in his FT column yesterday ("The Gulf Crisis May Be Just Starting'):
"First came the war. Then came the blockade. Now come the shortages. The tankers full of essential commodities: oil, liquid natural gas, urea, refined oil products, hydrogen, helium - have not sailed through the Strait of Hormuz since the end of February.... As inventories are drawn down we will move into the era of real physical shortages."
Based on the data, especially the graph above, Faith Birol, Director of the International Energy Agency, has warned we are entering the biggest energy crisis in history. As Mr. Wolf observed:
"The U.S. called its war 'Operation Epic Fury' but 'Operation Epic Folly' would be a more realistic name."
This is given that any half-brained numbnut ought to have readily seen the grave consequences of mounting a half-assed attack on Iran (which many in the WSJ's deluded op-ed stable still believe can be won). Why? Because these nattering nabobs for the unreal continue to believe the words of a senile, demented windbag, who can't even marshal a consistent message or explanation. His latest toddler yap is to keep repeating in a mindless loop: "Only thing that matters when I talk about Iran, they can't have nuclear weapons"
As if Iran will just comply. Or cower from his threats - even lately of using nukes. As Mr. Wolf put it:
"Will Iran agree to that even in principle? Why would it trust Trump to keep his side of any deal? Why would Iran, having imposed control of shipping in the Gulf, surrender it?"
But Dotard is too stupid to ask those questions because the deranged imp believes he holds all the cards, when he holds none. He lost them the second he initiated his attack three months ago believing it would be a cakewalk like Venezuela and snatching Maduro.
E.g.
TRUMP SHOOTS HIMSELF IN THE D*CK | The Kyle Kulinski Show
CHAOS ERUPTS As Trump THREATENS NUKES & BOMBS NIGERIA; US DRONE SHOT DOWN; POWER PLANT ATTACKED!!
But you won't get any of the serious lowdown from the Journal. Mr. Wolf's point, which seems to elude the Journal's contributors, is that the whole world (and the U.S.) is now up against the wall with serious shortages thanks to Trump's dithering instead of making a deal NOW. In Wolf's words:
"Up to now the shortages have been imaginary. Now they will become real. They must be managed, ultimate by suppressing demand. The latter in turn will require some combination of rationing and recession."
Yes, you saw those 'R' words correctly. And for those of us alive during the oil crisis of the 70s we immediately recall the endless lines at gas stations as the rationing went into effect. Often stations closing while drivers were still lined up to get to the pump. Yes, folks, this is around the corner unless Trump and his minions wake up and realize they are getting no better deals than Iran has already offered. Basically akin to what they had from Obama back in 2014. (But which Trump tore up.)
Can't happen in the U.S. because we are self-sufficient in oil? Don't make that bet. As Mr. Wolf goes on:
"The loss of exports of specific crudes and refined exports (e.g. diesel, jet fuel, naphta ,LPG, gasoline) means that no simple substitutions are possible. Given these product -specific realities, the U.S. is not self-sufficient in oil. Yes, it is a net exporter, but it is also a large importer - since its refineries must have access to the crudes they can process."
But what if they cannot get those crudes? Then there can be no processing and refineries shut down. When that occurs look for gasoline shortages at the pump - like in the 70s- which may be only months away unless Trump comes out of his dementia stupor.
The point? There is a big difference between having to pay $5 a gallon at the pump and the pump not having any gasoline, or very little - because of actual rationing.
See Also:
Is A 'Wave of Pain' Headed Our Way From the Ongoing Strait of Hormuz Blockage?
And:
How Iran Gained Leverage in the War - The New York Times
Excerpt:
Nearly three months into the conflict, the Iranian regime has succeeded in confounding U.S. and Israeli expectations for a speedy victory.
The regime survived a wave of targeted killings early in the
war. It then managed to turn the tables on its more powerful adversaries,
introducing something of a stalemate.
Since mid-March, Iran has maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway crucial to the world’s oil and gas trade. It has been able to limit U.S. and Israeli attacks on it
To gain an edge over its much more powerful adversary, Iran used a method that game-theory scholars call “triangular coercion,” said Dan Sobelman, a professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem who studies Iranian deterrence strategies.
The strategy works by attacking a more vulnerable third
party that has some leverage over an adversary to gain advantage over an
opponent that cannot be outmatched directly.
In this case, the third parties were primarily the Gulf
states, which are both militarily vulnerable and economically important to the
United States. Iran’s attacks against them early in the war, combined with its
ability to effectively close the strait, have for now successfully thwarted a
decisive victory for the United States and Israel.
It is a strategy that could have long-term implications not
only for the outcome of the current conflict and Iran’s role in the Middle
East, but also for the limits of U.S. power elsewhere.s energy industry. It
even got President Trump to rein in Israel’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah,
an Iranian-backed militia.
“Iran definitely has the advantage here,” said Nicole Grajewski, who teaches at the Center for International Studies at Sciences Po in France and studies Iran’s foreign policy. “The U.S. is just kind of flailing at the moment.”
And:
by Seth Sandronsky | May 19, 2026 - 4:46am | permalink
Inflation, a general rise in prices, increased in April due to higher costs for energy primarily, at 40%; food; and shelter.
“The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after rising 0.9% in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.8 percent before seasonal adjustment.”
Energy prices are up in no small way due to the unprovoked US-Israel war against Iran begun on February 28, 2026. That violation of international law has caused 3,468 deaths and over 26,500 injuries in Iran, according to Iranian authorities, and closed the Strait of Hormuz.
An estimated 20% of the world’s petroleum passes through this route, which was open for business before the war began. Moreover, that closure is evidence of a US defeat, writes Robert Kagan, a leading neoconservative and Iraq War hawk who co-founded the Project for the New American Century, in The Atlantic magazine recently.
And:
The Last Warning Before America's Iran War Collapses the Global Oil Market - Prof. Jiang Xueqin
And:
The 2026 Energy Crisis and Our Wile E. Coyote Moment
by Richard Heinberg | May 4, 2026 - 4:37am | permalink
Pop culture has long memorialized the Warner Brothers cartoon gag in which Wile E. Coyote, lured by his nemesis the Roadrunner, races off a cliff. Instead of immediately falling, Coyote keeps running, then looks down and realizes there’s nothing beneath him but empty space. His expression turns from anger to panic, whereupon he plummets. Coyote’s belated moment of realization is a trendy metaphor for our response to inevitable, though not yet fully realized, consequences of foolish behavior.
For the past couple of decades, we at Post Carbon Institute have been pointing out that energy is the basis of the economy, that oil is our foremost energy source, and that a transition to alternative energy sources will necessarily be slow and incomplete. Given that oil is a depleting, polluting, non-renewable resource, industrial society is due for a reckoning at some point. We are all in an extended Wile E. Coyote moment.
And:
We Have Just Entered the Most Dangerous Period in 100 Years — And Most People Have No Idea | Jiang
And:
