US/Israel Launches Op Epic Fury Against Iran (2 Viewers)

jazzeum said:
The Iranians have closed the Strait because the blockade is still continuing. If there is a ceasefire within the region there is no need to continue the blockade, particularly if you want the Iranians to negotiate.

In addition, there was talk of negotiations taking place this weekend but as of today, nothing has been planned.

Trump also claimed that Iran had “agreed to everything,” which Iran quickly denied, saying it had not agreed to anything.

This is fairly typical for US foreign policy as it is now being “run.”
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Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
 
jazzeum said:
The Iranians have closed the Strait because the blockade is still continuing. If there is a ceasefire within the region there is no need to continue the blockade, particularly if you want the Iranians to negotiate.

In addition, there was talk of negotiations taking place this weekend but as of today, nothing has been planned.

Trump also claimed that Iran had “agreed to everything,” which Iran quickly denied, saying it had not agreed to anything.

This is fairly typical for US foreign policy as it is now being “run.”
Click to expand...
The Iranians are stalling and Trump was not willing to let them off the hook. They and China are suffering from the blockade. Not the US. They are not dealing with Jimmy Carter or Obama. Trump will not let go until they agree to his terms. It is the only way to deal with them. They respect only strength. Their strategy is to delay because that has worked for them but there is a new sheriff in town. And he is Gary Cooper instead of Barney Fife. They are slowing learning that lesson.
 
Combat said:
The Iranians are stalling and Trump was not willing to let them off the hook. They and China are suffering from the blockade. Not the US. They are not dealing with Jimmy Carter or Obama. Trump will not let go until they agree to his terms. It is the only way to deal with them. They respect only strength. Their strategy is to delay because that has worked for them but there is a new sheriff in town. And he is Gary Cooper instead of Barney Fife. They are slowing learning that lesson.
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Doug…

I agree that Iran as a country will suffer the most on the blockade…

but the US...or Americans...will actually suffer too on the price of oil per barrel at the gas pumps when buying gasoline…

oil prices are determined by global supply and demand...rather than any country’s domestic production level...

so yea...the Straight being closed again will make American gas buyers suffer too…

possibly a bit of good news for Texans...Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is actively urging Governor Abbott to temporarily suspend the state’s motor fuel tax due to rising gas and diesel prices…

The tax on a gallon of gas is about 20 cents per gallon...which could provide a little relief if Abbott agrees to it...
 
mikemiller1955 said:
Doug…

I agree that Iran as a country will suffer the most on the blockade…

but the US...or Americans...will actually suffer too on the price of oil per barrel at the gas pumps when buying gasoline…

oil prices are determined by global supply and demand...rather than any country’s domestic production level...

so yea...the Straight being closed again will make American gas buyers suffer too…

possibly a bit of good news for Texans...Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is actively urging Governor Abbott to temporarily suspend the state’s motor fuel tax due to rising gas and diesel prices…

The tax on a gallon of gas is about 20 cents per gallon...which could provide a little relief if Abbott agrees to it...
Click to expand...
The price on gas here dropped .30 cents a gallon over the past few days, down to 3.49, so I filled up, that will get me through for about a month..................we'll see where things stand in a month. That's all I can do.........on another note, my better half is traveling for the next week or so, I went food shopping on Friday, just for me............nothing out of the ordinary...........118.00...............the price on meat, fish, fruit and produce is out of this world.

I don't know how a middle class family of four does it..........I also went out to dinner twice this past week, a fancypants steak joint for Greek Easter last Sunday, five of us, tab was 350.00...........the place was empty.............went out to eat Wednesday night with a customer; again, the place was empty, dinner for the two of us with 115.00...............that's outrageous, it's a BBQ joint, nothing fancy, haven't seen this customer in about 4 months, last time we went to dinner at the same place, the tab was 85.00....................this is getting out of hand, I can swing it being a high roller toy soldier seller, there's SO much money in the toy soldier business, but again, the average middle class family, I don't know how they do it.
 
Warrior said:
The price on gas here dropped .30 cents a gallon over the past few days, down to 3.49, so I filled up, that will get me through for about a month..................we'll see where things stand in a month. That's all I can do.........on another note, my better half is traveling for the next week or so, I went food shopping on Friday, just for me............nothing out of the ordinary...........118.00...............the price on meat, fish, fruit and produce is out of this world.

I don't know how a middle class family of four does it..........I also went out to dinner twice this past week, a fancypants steak joint for Greek Easter last Sunday, five of us, tab was 350.00...........the place was empty.............went out to eat Wednesday night with a customer; again, the place was empty, dinner for the two of us with 115.00...............that's outrageous, it's a BBQ joint, nothing fancy, haven't seen this customer in about 4 months, last time we went to dinner at the same place, the tab was 85.00....................this is getting out of hand, I can swing it being a high roller toy soldier seller, there's SO much money in the toy soldier business, but again, the average middle class family, I don't know how they do it.
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George:

Great post.

And don’t worry the next guy will make things better for the middle class.

Biden promised it, Trump guaranteed it and whoever gets elected after that will definitely do it.

More “yay for my side” even if my team does nothing for me.

-Jason
 
Panzer ace said:
George:

Great post.

And don’t worry the next guy will make things better for the middle class.

Biden promised it, Trump guaranteed it and whoever gets elected after that will definitely do it.

More “yay for my side” even if my team does nothing for me.

-Jason
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A president who can't deliver on campaign promises; gee, never saw that one coming.

Time and time and time and time again, the middle class gets screwed; promised the world and how great everything is going to be.........then they get screwed.

Such complete BS.
 
Based on current developments, gas prices will be up tomorrow. The premarket and futures market in Asia looks to be mixed right now. Dow futures are slightly down. How that translates into actual trading remains to be seen.
 
mikemiller1955 said:
Doug…

I agree that Iran as a country will suffer the most on the blockade…

but the US...or Americans...will actually suffer too on the price of oil per barrel at the gas pumps when buying gasoline…

oil prices are determined by global supply and demand...rather than any country’s domestic production level...

so yea...the Straight being closed again will make American gas buyers suffer too…

possibly a bit of good news for Texans...Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is actively urging Governor Abbott to temporarily suspend the state’s motor fuel tax due to rising gas and diesel prices…

The tax on a gallon of gas is about 20 cents per gallon...which could provide a little relief if Abbott agrees to it...
Click to expand...
I don't see temporarily paying higher gas prices as suffering. Suffering means your economy is tanking, your leadership has been killed, and your military has been demolished. That is the situation that Iran is in. Gas prices were higher under Biden and there was no gas ticker on CNN etc. And they will quickly go down. The media creates perception. A classic case of propaganda that involves repeating a narrative over and over again until it influences people. We are living in the most prosperous time in human history. You wouldn't realize that from watching CNN and MS but take a vacation, go out to eat, look at the cars on the road and witness the level of disposable income in this country. It is unreal how collectively wealthy that Americans are.
 
Warrior said:
The price on gas here dropped .30 cents a gallon over the past few days, down to 3.49, so I filled up, that will get me through for about a month..................we'll see where things stand in a month. That's all I can do.........on another note, my better half is traveling for the next week or so, I went food shopping on Friday, just for me............nothing out of the ordinary...........118.00...............the price on meat, fish, fruit and produce is out of this world.

I don't know how a middle class family of four does it..........I also went out to dinner twice this past week, a fancypants steak joint for Greek Easter last Sunday, five of us, tab was 350.00...........the place was empty.............went out to eat Wednesday night with a customer; again, the place was empty, dinner for the two of us with 115.00...............that's outrageous, it's a BBQ joint, nothing fancy, haven't seen this customer in about 4 months, last time we went to dinner at the same place, the tab was 85.00....................this is getting out of hand, I can swing it being a high roller toy soldier seller, there's SO much money in the toy soldier business, but again, the average middle class family, I don't know how they do it.
Click to expand...
For a family of four in the U.S., a middle-class income generally ranges from roughly $84,000 to over $250,000 annually, depending on the state and cost of living. Nationally, the middle-income tier often starts around $56,600 and goes up to $169,800, but in high-cost areas, the required income to be considered middle class is significantly higher.
A lower-class family of four in the U.S. generally earns less than $41,000 to $55,000 annually, depending on the definition and data source. Recent 2025 estimates indicate the upper threshold for the lower class may be around $41,392, while other definitions set it below $50,000 or even $30,000, according to.

for a low end middle class family of 4...going out to eat is a luxury...

for a lower class family of 4...they don't go out to eat...they eat at home and hope their children are not hungry before they go to bed...
 
Combat said:
I don't see temporarily paying higher gas prices as suffering. Suffering means your economy is tanking, your leadership has been killed, and your military has been demolished. That is the situation that Iran is in. Gas prices were higher under Biden and there was no gas ticker on CNN etc. And they will quickly go down. The media creates perception. A classic case of propaganda that involves repeating a narrative over and over again until it influences people. We are living in the most prosperous time in human history. You wouldn't realize that from watching CNN and MS but take a vacation, go out to eat, look at the cars on the road and witness the level of disposable income in this country. It is unreal how collectively wealthy that Americans are.
Click to expand...

The average consumer is under significant strain due to soaring energy costs and the impact of the ongoing war in Iran.

High diesel prices constitute a major financial burden on farmers, significantly increasing operating expenses for tractors, irrigation, and transportation.

With diesel costs for equipment potentially doubling, producers face tighter margins, and in some cases, inability to recover costs, leading to reduced profitability and threats to family farm viability.

Take a look at anything in your house...anything...your computer...your desk...your chair...your tv...your food...everything in your house is shipped to your city...it's now more expensive because gas/diesel is more expensive to ship it to your city...

I think anybody that collects toy soldiers has discretionary funds...
in other words...
non-essential money that can be spent on "wants"...rather than needs...
so it's safe to assume it doesn't bother you or me...

but lots of young and old Americans don't have discretionary funds...
they are just trying to get by...one day at a time...
feed and clothe their children costs more now...trying to pay the energy bills in their homes costs more now...everything costs more now...

deleting the ACA has forced a lot of people to live daily with no health insurance...can you imagine no health insurance?

must be frightening...

"we are living in the most prosperous time in human history"...I don't see it that way at all...

a lot of Americans are living day by day...paycheck by paycheck...
 
Warrior said:
The price on gas here dropped .30 cents a gallon over the past few days, down to 3.49, so I filled up, that will get me through for about a month..................we'll see where things stand in a month. That's all I can do.........on another note, my better half is traveling for the next week or so, I went food shopping on Friday, just for me............nothing out of the ordinary...........118.00...............the price on meat, fish, fruit and produce is out of this world.

I don't know how a middle class family of four does it..........I also went out to dinner twice this past week, a fancypants steak joint for Greek Easter last Sunday, five of us, tab was 350.00...........the place was empty.............went out to eat Wednesday night with a customer; again, the place was empty, dinner for the two of us with 115.00...............that's outrageous, it's a BBQ joint, nothing fancy, haven't seen this customer in about 4 months, last time we went to dinner at the same place, the tab was 85.00....................this is getting out of hand, I can swing it being a high roller toy soldier seller, there's SO much money in the toy soldier business, but again, the average middle class family, I don't know how they do it.
Click to expand...
George...I'm glad your business is good and you have discretionary funds to enjoy life...I have seen you at several shows working your rear end off...I'll never forget seeing you at a show with your Dad...you wolfing down a sandwich while squatting behind your table in a lull moment...you deserve a good retirement...
 
mikemiller1955 said:
The average consumer is under significant strain due to soaring energy costs and the impact of the ongoing war in Iran.

High diesel prices constitute a major financial burden on farmers, significantly increasing operating expenses for tractors, irrigation, and transportation.

With diesel costs for equipment potentially doubling, producers face tighter margins, and in some cases, inability to recover costs, leading to reduced profitability and threats to family farm viability.

Take a look at anything in your house...anything...your computer...your desk...your chair...your tv...your food...everything in your house is shipped to your city...it's now more expensive because gas/diesel is more expensive to ship it to your city...

I think anybody that collects toy soldiers has discretionary funds...
in other words...
non-essential money that can be spent on "wants"...rather than needs...
so it's safe to assume it doesn't bother you or me...

but lots of young and old Americans don't have discretionary funds...
they are just trying to get by...one day at a time...
feed and clothe their children costs more now...trying to pay the energy bills in their homes costs more now...everything costs more now...

deleting the ACA has forced a lot of people to live daily with no health insurance...can you imagine no health insurance?

must be frightening...

"we are living in the most prosperous time in human history"...I don't see it that way at all...

a lot of Americans are living day by day...paycheck by paycheck...
Click to expand...
Paying a little more to eat out or gas for a $50k+ car is not exactly the end of the world. People from all over the world are leaving their countries to come here. It is a time of milk and honey. Not for 100% but remarkably many. The media is trying to create a doomsday scenario for political objectives. When in human history have any people been more prosperous than today? I'll take the here and now in the US over any other place or time.
 
mikemiller1955 said:
George...I'm glad your business is good and you have discretionary funds to enjoy life...I have seen you at several shows working your rear end off...I'll never forget seeing you at a show with your Dad...you wolfing down a sandwich while squatting behind your table in a lull moment...you deserve a good retirement...
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I'm lucky, blessed really, it's all due to the thousands of customers who've supported me the past 30 or so years, I'm not in this position were it not for them, myself and Matt at HB are the two longest standing full time toy soldier dealers, there are a few plastics dealers who have been at it longer than the two of us, but as far as primarily metal dealers, we're the two longest standing, we are for a reason, if you don't do things right, you don't last in this business, or any business for that matter.

Matt hustles his butt off going to shows here, there and everywhere, I'm retired from shows, I'm much more productive being here answering calls, emails, FB messages, Ebay inquiries, packing orders, listing items on Ebay, buying collections.

I used to go to north of 20 shows a year, not sure how the Hell I did it; the show you're referring to is the old East Coast Toy Soldier Show, that show was non stop for 6 solid hours, I was eating a chicken sandwich from a joint up the street one of my customers went and got for me and my Pops............back in the good old days when shows were a license to print money.

I want to do this business for as long as I'm upright and it's profitable.................how many full time toy soldier dealers are left in the US? Ten? Twelve? How many stores? Three? Four? How many vibrant, well attended toy soldier shows? I have no clue; define "well attended/vibrant"...........my cousin and his daughter went to a sci fi/fantasy Cos play convention in Boston a few weeks ago; well over 100K attendees from all around the country, a huge vendor area again with vendors from all over the country.....if you combined the attendance from every US based toy soldier show, it wouldn't come close to 100K............that hobby is booming.

Not to get political, but Trump has done a number on thousands of small businesses with his tariffs, hobbies depend on imports, NOTHING hobby related is made in the good old US of A, it mostly comes from China and the UK, the tariffs are taking a huge bite out of profits, as is international and domestic shipping which keep going up, up, up with no end in sight.

All I can do is keep my head down and stay focused and as positive as I can, it does me no good to dwell on negativity, it's a waste of time and energy.

Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.
 
Warrior said:
I'm lucky, blessed really, it's all due to the thousands of customers who've supported me the past 30 or so years, I'm not in this position were it not for them, myself and Matt at HB are the two longest standing full time toy soldier dealers, there are a few plastics dealers who have been at it longer than the two of us, but as far as primarily metal dealers, we're the two longest standing, we are for a reason, if you don't do things right, you don't last in this business, or any business for that matter.

Matt hustles his butt off going to shows here, there and everywhere, I'm retired from shows, I'm much more productive being here answering calls, emails, FB messages, Ebay inquiries, packing orders, listing items on Ebay, buying collections.

I used to go to north of 20 shows a year, not sure how the Hell I did it; the show you're referring to is the old East Coast Toy Soldier Show, that show was non stop for 6 solid hours, I was eating a chicken sandwich from a joint up the street one of my customers went and got for me and my Pops............back in the good old days when shows were a license to print money.

I want to do this business for as long as I'm upright and it's profitable.................how many full time toy soldier dealers are left in the US? Ten? Twelve? How many stores? Three? Four? How many vibrant, well attended toy soldier shows? I have no clue; define "well attended/vibrant"...........my cousin and his daughter went to a sci fi/fantasy Cos play convention in Boston a few weeks ago; well over 100K attendees from all around the country, a huge vendor area again with vendors from all over the country.....if you combined the attendance from every US based toy soldier show, it wouldn't come close to 100K............that hobby is booming.

Not to get political, but Trump has done a number on thousands of small businesses with his tariffs, hobbies depend on imports, NOTHING hobby related is made in the good old US of A, it mostly comes from China and the UK, the tariffs are taking a huge bite out of profits, as is international and domestic shipping which keep going up, up, up with no end in sight.

All I can do is keep my head down and stay focused and as positive as I can, it does me no good to dwell on negativity, it's a waste of time and energy.

Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.
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I do remember that show...Larry wasn't with you...your Dad was maybe not 100%...I think you told me his job was to keep an eye on product to avoid pilferage...50 large boxes hauled in and out...literally a one man show...making all the sales and handling all the cash...it was basically just you by yourself...by the way...how is Larry doing?

I remember another show...maybe it was Chicago...not sure...Larry...Nick...me and you went to a restaurant that was a short walk from the venue...got a good steak dinner...when the food arrived...you took about 4 bites and your phone rang...somebody wanted access to your room to buy product...you took another quick bite and said..."I gotta go"...lol...you threw some money on the table and ran back to make some sales...HARD WORK WITH LOTS OF SACRIFICES...you were a hustler that's for sure!
 
I’ve been rather critical of Kushner and Witkoff; they are businessmen, not pros. When you’re negotiating nuclear you need technical experts. If this were a real estate deal, different story, but it’s not.

See this article as to why they’re not the right people for the job. Trouble is, Trump and his people have gotten rid of experts at the State Department. This is not the only area where people with expertise have been fired. Like it or not you need these people. You can’t have a government staffed by know nothings.

I’ve unlocked the article.


 
jazzeum said:
I’ve been rather critical of Kushner and Witkoff; they are businessmen, not pros. When you’re negotiating nuclear you need technical experts. If this were a real estate deal, different story, but it’s not.

See this article as to why they’re not the right people for the job. Trouble is, Trump and his people have gotten rid of experts at the State Department. This is not the only area where people with expertise have been fired. Like it or not you need these people. You can’t have a government staffed by know nothings.

I’ve unlocked the article.


Click to expand...
good article...

this is what happens when you fire everyone in the National Security Council and the Foreign Service...
that isn't a 100% "yes man" to the boss...
and promote through nepotism a real estate investor/developer to negotiate a nuclear arms treaty...
instead of experienced diplomats...
 
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