Fingolfin fights Morgoth. The Silmarillion.

Alexander at the battle of Issus 333 BC.

Battle of Issus - Wikipedia

Lepanto 1571.

#timeline #history

Demograph — population under each polity

Free Speech.

This was not on @BTC Map I still cannot figure out what you can buy here...

The Dark Ages urban collapse was very real.

Why the Ceasefire Keeps Failing by Robert Pape

Why the Ceasefire Keeps Failing

Zero-Sum War, Not Fragile Diplomacy

Remember when volatility was the main reason why normies rejected Bitcoin?

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is spotted in the Gulf of Oman about 125 miles from the Iranian coast.

Taiwan is next. -Taiwan has just realised that there is zero need for an invasion, an oil blockade would bring them to their knees. -China has just realised that the US is unable to protect GCC allies with 100+ bases in the region. Are they going to protect Taiwan from Japan? -NATO is more divided than ever. If they won't fight over Iran, there's no way that they would over Taiwan. -US assets are now concentrated in the Persian Gulf and will be offline for operations in East Asia for at least 6 months. -China has provided Iran with ISR, satellite data for missile targeting. (As we suspected - confirmed today by FT). -Cheng Li-wun meets Xi Jinping. -Pedro Sánchez, Spain's PM, is reported to have pledged support for Taiwan reunification to Xi in recent visit. ==> China has a very rare window to get this done peacefully within 1 year. No invasion needed.

Iran negotiators should have offered to end their nuclear programme... in exchange for Israel ending theirs. With the same international inspection regime for both.

On Iran Bitcoin mining, tolls and other...

Understanding Iran’s complicated relationship with bitcoin

They are using F-16 to shoot down drones? It makes for a very good videogame or top gun movie... But it sends a very worrying signal about the supply of interceptors. I'm not sure that it makes financial sense to lose an F-16 to take down two shaheds...

Very interesting article on the yuan #cbdc The e-CNY continues to fail to attract users. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/great-retreat-beijings-digital-currency-ambitions-are-faltering

Scott Bessent: Digital Asset Rules Need Clarity https://www.wsj.com/opinion/digital-assets-rules-need-clarity-6dfcab70