JM—Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states: “Every State shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to ships, for the registration of ships in its territory, and for the right to fly its flag.” .

International law gives Russia the unrestricted, sovereign right to determine its own criteria for what makes a ship “Russian”. If Russia passes domestic laws allowing older, masked-ownership tankers to register, those ships are legally and formally Russian under the strict letter of UNCLOS. The Graham Act is a provocation and Russia may choose to treat attacks on its newly flagged fleet as acts of war and retaliate.

On the other hand, new sanctions may actually help Russia, as previous sanctions packages did. (Making Russia more autarkic).

SR—Martens today serves as the Balkans correspondent for the German tabloid Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), and it was in this status that he attended a press conference this past Sunday convened for the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Serbia. There, Martens asked Zelensky the following question: “Can you tell us Europeans what specifically we can do to help you kill more Russians?” Martens then amended his question, noting “More Russian soldiers, of course,” as if the original intent was not clear enough.

PE—In some situations a man, fearing failure, and unwilling to openly strive for a goal, will try to achieve it by subterfuge, in which they perceive less risk and envision, quite possibly, surer success.  This, less obviously, can be done by states as well as people.

This is best illustrated in the realm of politics, where deceit is the norm, and chicanery the favored mode of operation.  One clear example was destruction of Russia’s Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines.  Fearing to commit an open act of war, The Empire sabotaged it, after boasting that it would prevent its operation.

DW—In this video, Professor Ted Postol argues that current US and Western air defense systems have effectively collapsed against modern ballistic missile and drone threats (1:30-3:00). Postol, an expert in the field, provides a detailed technical assessment suggesting that the reported high intercept rates (often cited near 90%) are myths, with his analysis indicating an actual success rate as low as 2-3%

DH—Seyed Mohammad Marandi discusses the mounting reports of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran despite Trump signaling toward a major retreat in the war. What comes next is shocking and mayl change the Middle East forever.

HUA BIN—As western media breathlessly report the “sophisticated” surprise attack with FPV drones remotely launched from wooden cabins on top of lorry trucks, few of the reporters are even aware that BYD, China’s EV maker, rolled out its Yangwang U8 electric SUV in 2024 with a drone hangar mounted on the roof that can launch a DJI drone with a push of a button on the dashboard control screen.

BYD is not alone in having such a EV/drone combo. Fang Cheng Baobao SUV also comes with a drone in a roof hangar.