CHANGE: The Hormuz Squeeze Is Redrawing the Oil Map for Good.

Across the Gulf, governments are pouring billions into new oil pipelines, rail corridors and energy storage hubs to bypass the waterway in what is set to become one of the most durable outcomes of the conflict. The new energy links are part of a broader redrawing of the region’s logistics map, shifting trade toward trucking, rail and new ports.

“The legacy of the crisis will result in the construction of infrastructure to bypass the Strait of Hormuz,” said Hamad Hussain, commodities economist at London-based research firm Capital Economics. “The genie is out of the bottle given that the longstanding threat of Iran effectively closing the strait has now materialized.”

Even if Washington and Tehran reach a deal to reopen the strait and maritime exports resume, the shift toward an export network with multiple exits will endure because the conflict has proved that robust contingency plans are essential, officials and analysts say. Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil via a previously underused fallback pipeline demonstrated the strategic value of a backup, while in recent weeks the United Arab Emirates and Iraq have launched plans to expand pipelines of their own.

The stakes extend far beyond the Gulf. Bypassing a waterway that once moved a fifth of the world’s oil will reshape how securely energy reaches all corners of the globe.

If we can’t get a Free Iran, this is the next best thing.

THEY WANT YOU TO FEAR THAT IT IS, THOUGH: It’s Not Racist to Notice Reality. “It is an especially galling dodge to hear that from the same people who will look you in the eye and talk about how whites are inherently racist. They have no problem making sweeping generalizations about white people; they are, as you saw with Senator Antonio, speaking over the question by calling it racist.”

Related:

THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM:

IF THEY JUST WANTED PEOPLE TO USE MASS TRANSIT, THEY’D MAKE IT APPEALING. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY’RE MORE AFTER MAKING IT HUMILIATING:

FROM MARY CATELLI:  Writing And Reflection Volume 2: Essays on the writing process from world-building to words (Writing And Reflections.

#CommissionEarned

Reflections on the many and far-flung fields that writing can touch upon, from original inspiration to the final work.

Wizards. Metaphysics. Good, evil, virtues, and morality meters. Fairy tales in all their varied glory. Desert, forest, and other settings. Dragons and industry. Guilds of magic, quacks, and superstitions. Love and courtship. Portals. And more.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: ‘Jews Eat Children’: Deranged Outburst or Growing Threat? “The latest example of accusations against Jews becoming even more unhinged than the blood libels of the Middle Ages occurred on Sunday when a passenger on a New York City subway assaulted a Jewish woman. According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, a black woman wearing a military-style camouflage coat with a patch depicting the German flag choked the 23-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman, threw her to the ground, and beat her. She managed to pull a patch of hair from the victim’s head. The victim said she suffered a concussion.”

I KNOW THAT ENGLAND’S EMPIRE HAS RETURNED INTO SAND:

Along with the manhood of its leadership, which is probably no coincidence.

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING MORE DISTURBING:  Hundreds flee as South Africa anti-migrant mobs go door-to-door. Hundreds of foreigners fearing for their lives have taken shelter in community halls along South Africa’s coast.

I’m all for countries defending their sovereignty but “mobs” and “South Africa” are a dangerous combination. To be fair, something for the left (and illegals in the US) to consider is that if they succeed in stopping the deportations and re-opening the borders, this is how it ends. Or worse.

I PREFER REASON OVER FEELINGS, BUT SOMETIMES FEELINGS MAKE THEMSELVES HEARD:  A Lump of Feelings.

#JOURNALISM:

OPEN THREAD: Be here now.

SCHUTZSTAFFEL SCHWANZSTÜCKER SOON TO BE SEEN?