Snapshot · The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump held an emergency Situation Room meeting to discuss a massive offensive wider in scope than current strikes, which was leaked to Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
Where this was said
At 2:35 · chapter starts 1:00
Ben Meiselas sets the scene with a stark opening: Donald Trump is panicking. After Trump gave a Fox News interview threatening to blow up Iranian bridges, energy infrastructure, and roads, Iran responded by shifting its focus to the Red Sea — specifically the Bab al-Mandab Strait [1] — Ben Meiselas "Iran's IRGC is signaling it will shut down the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, mirroring what it has already done in the Strait of Hor…" 01:04 . The IRGC put out statements warning that all shipping traffic in the region, not just the Strait of Hormuz, would be shut down to make the United States 'feel real pain.' The IRGC's alliance with the Houthis in Yemen becomes critically relevant here: the Houthis previously demonstrated the ability to halt Red Sea shipping and are described as simply waiting for Iran's activation order. The strategic picture is clear — Iran is threatening to extend its chokepoint strategy from one critical waterway to two.
Iran's IRGC is signaling it will shut down the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, mirroring what it has already done in the Strait of Hormuz. Allied with the Houthis in Yemen, who have previously demonstrated the ability to halt Red Sea traffic, Iran is escalating pressure on all US-allied energy routes.
Trump held an emergency Situation Room meeting to plan a massive Iranian offensive wider in scope than current strikes, and then immediately leaked it to Axios. The plan reportedly includes 'devastating strikes on strategic targets' — raising questions about whether this is a genuine military escalation or a negotiating pressure tactic.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
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