Yes, it’s March 15th at the White Wolf Mine, perched high atop Arizona’s Mogollon Rim.
Iranian Nuclear Points:
**(h/t Claudio) Satellite imagery from Vantor shows that a site long linked to Iran’s nuclear program has been struck. A trio of very large impact points also raises the possibility that the hardened facility was hit by 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs. MOPs were first used operationally in U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer. The Taleghan 2 site was newly encased in a concrete shell and then covered with soil in the months leading up to the current conflict, which may have created a need to use munitions more capable of burrowing down into it to have a better chance of ensuring its destruction.
** Iran’s remaining enriched uranium has likely been moved to Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified underground facility buried deep beneath granite, according to U.S. intelligence cited by Fox News. The site, located near the Natanz complex and deeper than the previously struck Fordow plant, is considered extremely difficult—if not impossible—to destroy from the air with conventional bunker-busters. Western assessments indicate Iran relocated roughly 400-450 kg of 60% enriched uranium—material that could be further processed toward weapons-grade levels—following U.S. and allied strikes in 2025 that damaged key sites including Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. Satellite imagery shows accelerated construction and hardening at Pickaxe Mountain since mid-2025, including the reinforcement of tunnel entrances, the establishment of security perimeters, and burial efforts to shield access points.
Bullet Points:
** Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested a nationwide ban on lab-grown meat, a move linked to investments from Bill Gates, igniting a wider discussion about food technology, regulation, and consumer choice. Cultivated meat—produced by growing animal cells in controlled environments—has been promoted by some researchers and companies as a potential alternative to traditional livestock farming. Advocates say the technology could help reduce land use and environmental impact while meeting future food demand. Supporters of Kennedy’s proposal argue that the long-term health and environmental effects of lab-grown meat are still being studied. They believe stricter oversight, clearer labeling, and additional research should come before widespread distribution.
** Advanced Crating. OK to try this at home.
** Polls show the right-wing candidates are well ahead in the election for president of Colombia in May’s election. If that holds true, the new president will join José Antonio Kast of Chile and Laura Fernández of Costa Rica as super-duper right-wing presidents—elected since Trump euthanized USAID.
** (h/t Claudio) Most IRGC facilities have been bombed into oblivion, but the IRGC is still functioning as a Secret Police force, threatening Iranians with death if they take to the streets to protest or rise up against the established order. How to deal with that situation? Loitering munition-type drones now appear to be operating over Tehran. More than 10 checkpoints, as well as several mobile IRGC (IRGC) military vehicles in different areas of the city, are said to have been targeted and destroyed by drone strikes. (@etelaf10) This type of weapon can patrol an area for extended periods, wait for targets to appear, and then strike. This is all the easier when enemy air defense systems are degraded or neutralized. This could facilitate the emergence of a broader national uprising by weakening the regime’s control at the street level. Could is the correct word here. The Americans and the Israelis are testing the hypothesis that in the modern world, regime change without ground occupation is possible. There is a lot of doubt that this is the case, with good reason.
** Cuban dictator Díaz-Canel told his nation Friday morning that he will negotiate with Marco Rubio. Díaz-Canel saw what happened to Maduro. Díaz-Canel saw what happened to Khamenei. Díaz-Canel saw what happened to his oil supply. Díaz-Canel said no mas.
** China started removing its 700 million surveillance cameras nationwide. The reason? The Iranian government has been using Chinese-made surveillance cameras for years, and the Israeli intelligence hacked into all of them, which resulted in the death of Khamenei. What Iranians have been using are the same as what the Chinese have been using—all made by Hikvision and Dahua of China. Xi Jinping doesn’t want to end up like Khamenei senior or junior.
** The U.S. Navy has given a lifeline to USS Nimitz CVN-68 and announced it won’t decommission her till March of 2027.
Drone Evolution
(Hivemind AI) As we draw closer to the day when SkyNet becomes sentient…
Through the Brave1 platform, Shield AI is collaborating with a Ukrainian company to integrate the Hivemind system into local unmanned systems and scale their deployment.
Hivemind is an advanced AI-based software platform designed to ensure full autonomy of unmanned systems in combat conditions. The concept of Hivemind (“collective mind”) is that the technology can perform complex missions without a pilot, without using GPS, and without constant communication with the base.
The technology allows groups of drones to interact with one another, distribute tasks, and operate as a single swarm without direct human control. The system analyzes data from onboard sensors in real time and can make tactical decisions faster than an operator can. The platform consists of several specialized tools. The first is Hivemind Pilot, which directly controls the aircraft. It is already in use on V-BAT and MQ-20 Avenger reconnaissance drones and has even been tested on a modified F-16 fighter (X-62A VISTA). The second component is EdgeOS, an operating environment for artificial intelligence running directly “on board” the platform. The third is Commander, a set of tools for mission management in which a human acts not as a pilot but as a commander, defining overall objectives. The fourth element of the system is Forge, an operating environment for developing and training artificial intelligence algorithms.
The Kharg Card
President Trump’s bold move is already paying dividends. U.S. forces launched a devastating strike on Iran’s Kharg Island—the regime’s lifeline for exporting over 90% of its crude oil—using HIMARS systems fired from UAE territory. The attack targeted military assets only, sparing oil facilities for now, but sending a clear message: mess with the Strait of Hormuz, and things get much worse. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi couldn’t hide the panic. In a heated outburst captured on video, he raged: “They attacked Kharg… with HIMARS! And they did it from the soil of our neighbors!” “This is VERY dangerous!”
The mullahs are furious that their neighbors finally allowed America to hit back from right next door. Araghchi’s meltdown exposes just how vulnerable the regime feels—Kharg Island isn’t just an oil hub; it’s the economic artery keeping the ayatollahs afloat amid sanctions and regional pressure. Trump isn’t bluffing. He posted footage of the strikes and warned that if Iran keeps blocking shipping lanes or escalating, the oil terminals themselves could be next. Warships are surging to the Strait to enforce freedom of navigation. This is what strong leadership looks like: decisive action that puts America first and leaves rogue regimes scrambling. Iran thought it could play games in the Gulf. Trump just reminded them who’s really in charge.
Identify the Ship
1
2
I don’t need the ship’s name, just the class and nationality. I have been aboard this ship.
Identify the Vehicle
3
two photos
Parting Shot
End
3 is Desert Patrol Vehicle previously called the Fast Attack Vehicle.
Yes it is.
Identify the Ship:
1. HS Tombazis
2. Korean Turtle ship
Identify the Vehicle:
3. Desert Patrol Vehicle
I like the idea of the loitering drones protecting the citizenry from the IRGC.
At first thought I like the idea as well.
On second thought, why doesn’t ICE employ them?
Next thought: then there is the escalation – and that is worrisome.
Nice anti boarding roof spikes on 2. But I’d bet Henry Hudson and his scouts would make short work of this eastern iron clad.
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I thought 3 was the White Wolf Mine uber?
Exactly. It’s what arrives when you call for a Lyft.
Cool! Likely weeds out interlopers.
Charlie Kirk: In all of these interactions he presented facts and reality to someones dogma. To use an old joke…he ran it over with their own karma by providing truths and facts to their emotional delusions, especially about Christianity as it pertains to Islam. Likely that gal was brought up in a Christian home only to be warped – at her parents high expense – by college life that now twists young ‘minds full of mush’ (h/t Rush) instead of educating them, which is the Left’s plan to make a compliant mindless society.
***
New From Hasbro: ‘Whack a Mullah’. Word is, with the dead Ayatollah’s son ‘speaking through another’ lat week, that he is also dead from sustained injuries but being presented as alive. The movie ‘Dave’ comes to mind.
They’re running through the Ayatollahs.
+1
Pickaxe Mountain, etc.
What is the feasibility of boots on the ground limited to taking these areas long enough to destroy them, then leaving? Salt the earth, so to speak?
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Follow the money. The ayatollahs, mullahs, etc., have allegedly been moving their personal wealth out of Iran. Publicly identifying where might make things very uncomfortable for them. I’m sure devious minds everywhere could act on that information.
Better yet, blow all the known entrances from the air. Blow all the ventilation systems. Blow the power lines and water lines. Then keep a constantly rotating bomber patrol to blow up any new holes that appear or any physical activity around the area. Make the above ground a beaten dead zone. Sure, process all the material you want, you’ll never see the light of day again.
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We have the technology to see and locate any ‘hidden’ entrances or passages. We have the technology and the ability to figure out where the power lines go in, where the air exchangers are, where the trash leaves, where the sewage leaves, for the most part.
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Wipe it all out. Isolate the rock. Do a high-tech siege of the facility. Keep it up.
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And when Iran falls, cement over everything. Maybe be nice by letting the people out first and removing the nuclear material. But seal it up, completely. Heck, leave the inside a radioactive nightmare and seal it shut. Let anyone who wants to go inside die from the rads. Screw them, screw them all.
Would agree, except next (D) president, the 24 hour bomber patrols stop.
– Kle.
50% chance next (R) pres, too.
– Kle.
Considering Iran is watched constantly, Pickaxe Mountain might be a place where only those willing to die of starvation will stay.
Blowing up the entrances may be sufficient if you can entomb them. They may have tunneling machines that can bore a way out. Between Israel and the US we should have a sense of that. There are also the so-called “Rods from God” – long tungsten penetrators that might be dropped from orbit that could get that deep. Perhaps you secure the site, bring in boring machines and dig down, emplace explosives deep underground and take it out that way. It’s an engineering response. I don’t iknow what the specific geology is except that it’s a granite mountain. There are different types of granite (metamorphic rock with a volcanic origin).
Seems to me that US and Kurdish troops moving to attack parts of Iran are freeing up Israeli force to go kinetic in other areas. Probably just an amazing coincidence. Wonder how long they will need.
Maybe a week from now. Maybe less. They’re already fighting in Iran
“How can a man die better”…Episode 1 of The Madison.
Any good?
So far it is Sheridan at his best with another subject matter…we’ll see how episodes 2-6 turn out. Filmed in and around Bozeman, Gallatin, and Great Falls, partly using – best I could tell – the same stretch of ‘secret’ river from ‘A River Runs Through It” (Gallatin) as a possible homage to Robert Redford, who Episode 1 was dedicated.
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Older brother says Marshall’s is not good, yet had this to say about The Madison after watching the first three episodes that dropped:
“It’s Sheridan’s front and center treatise on the self-centered…acquisition focused…generational soft…well off of ‘the East’…centered in NYC. Almost everything in it is about the difference in ‘grit’ and…not.”
This clip sets the premise up nicely: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV4Dg77D4xy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Similarly, from ‘The Way’: “You don’t choose a life, you live one.” (terrific movie) Same with ‘A Good Year’.
Forgot to mention, Sheridan did not write Marshals, a Yellowstone spinoff. Producers thought they could do better without him. Not so much.
No, it’s a turkey.
Thank you.
Lab-grown meat is an interesting thing. Very useful, if it’s safe, for space travel and non-Earth based locations. But it’s the safe thing that worries me.
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I won’t try it. Right now I trust beef from Mad-Cow era England over lab meat.
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But, yes, keep working on it. Make it, prove it’s safe and good.
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The thing is a lot of cattle are raised on land that’s not useful for anything else. And the cattle actually tend to enrich the land and make it better. Lab meat doesn’t do that. And it still needs materials to make the ‘meat’ out of, along with energy and space. Which the real meat animal is, a mobile processing plant that converts material into meat.
Since the beginning of time as humans count it, we have been eating meat on the hoof. I’m comfortable keeping that tradition going.
Local sourcing….
Field-to-Table!
Regarding Cuba, and, really, most of Central and South America, who would have thought that having a strong US President who is concerned about what’s happening in the Americas would cause such a positive change?
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Reading between the lines, the Cuban leadership is scared poopless less they be Maduro-ed or Khamenei-ed. It’s a ‘Door #1, #2, #3’ situation. Capitulate, be captured or turned into powder by a bomb. Or Door #4, be pulled apart by the people of Cuba. It would be in their best interest to accept whatever deal is on the table now rather than what will be offered next week or next month, if it lasts that long.
President Trump would prefer to avoid bloodshed and have the Cuban dictator(s) step aside quietly and allow the people to forge a prosperous future free from communism. But as you point out, the there is a mailed fist within the velvet glove and they will step down. It’s been a long time coming. The Americas will be free from communist rule and the Chinese and Russians will accept it or things will get worse for them in the shitholes they’ve created for themselves. Life, liberty and the opportunity to pursue happiness under the rule of law.
Took the Cuban’s long enough….then I look around and see the slow pot boiling.
A Canticle for Leibowitz showed what happens when your survival cave takes a hit to the only entrance
Yet another great and informative post, but I liked this, right at the beginning, “Yes, it’s March 15th at the White Wolf Mine, perched high atop Arizona’s Mogollon Rim.” Beautiful, all very “peak in Darien.”
X2 on influential impacts recently raising up conservative right leadership in central and south America. Will the Canucks be able to pull out of the nose dive?
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It’s going to be a long haul to pull Cuba and even Haiti and D.R. out of poverty but possible.