Now the news is trying to make something of Trump’s relationship with his aide, Natalie Harp.  If you were married to Melania, I don’t think Natalie Harp would spark an interest.  I hope there’s nothing to it. If he allowed the media to break up his marriage and there wasn’t anything to it, it would be a sad day indeed. They’re printing Natalie’s letters, but who knows what goes through the head of a beautiful woman.  She certainly takes her job seriously.  

We’re at war, and we hardly know it.  We have to consult the news to find out what’s going on, and even then we’re not sure. The Strait of Hormuz is in the news again. Donald Trump claims we are policing the narrow gap, and the media is making the most of our vulnerabilities.

To be clear, I thought the war with Iran would be over by now, but those wily suckers refuse to give up. It’s like the Old Testament. Sooner or later they’ll be forced to reveal the obvious. But for now they’ve got unexpended drones. This is why we didn’t pull the trigger before. One thing about people from that region, they won’t admit defeat. Trump’s advisors should have told him that. They talk big. Too big.

 With all their “Save the Planet” jargon, they’re about to destroy California, if the job hasn’t been already done. I don’t know what the situation is now, so I’m avoiding California. I’d love to go back, but things are never as you left them.  

We’re playing mind games over Taiwan. Would the Chinese dare attack?  If they did, it would have an impact. We couldn’t afford gadgets anymore. But Trump is trying to repatriate these industries so we won’t worry.  But if China attacked Taiwan it might escalate.  That’s what we have to worry about.  Most of the world’s concerns are much more immediate.

Post apocalyptic movies are making a comeback.  There’s one candidate from Colorado claiming, forget the claims, we don’t want to know.  Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – August 21, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The deal that US President Donald Trump signed at Versailles in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program.

The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are further apart than they were then.

Talks, such as they are, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade on Iran, both of which were supposed to have happened under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-60-day-mou-expires-the-us-and-iran-are-even-further-apart-than-before/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT6y0RwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7D3_Q_K0rL8_0M8g_TbneWSWcc2K8uBUFws6qLQtdiQgaDCHrWWdUb_kgudQ_aem_-CH_KuGXdz165x-3qSNGkA

The post As 60-day MOU expires, the US and Iran are even further apart than before first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Strait of Hormuz is a long ways away.  Some reports say we have control and the others, who knows? We’re involved in two wars, or slightly involved. We know why. The Gulf is essential for a good bit of the oil out of the Middle East.  Zelensky, well that’s another story altogether.  I don’t know about his problem-solving abilities, but he has that look on his face. 

Trump has his number, if they’re speaking. The idea that a little guy like that could play such a major role! I don’t like our potential involvement in it.  But nobody asked me. I don’t like Zelensky’s reputation. 

The media is busy calling out Trump for every perceived infraction.  They can all go jump in the lake as far as I’m concerned. But he is into everything, and maybe that’s what the President was meant to do.  The courts are busy trying to slow him down, but he just keeps coming. Trump is apparently poised to declare the Strait of Hormuz a U. S. territory or something, and patrol it.

There’s lots of gossip news.  Caroline Levitt has resigned and now they’re talking about her joining a network.  Should be entertaining.  But she’s done a great job, good luck replacing her.  All the news now is about people in the media.  Will she go to Fox News?  Who cares?  

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – August 14, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The answer is far from clear, depending not only on how much oil remains in storage, but also on how much of it can actually be released.

Disruption doesn’t get any easier

How long reserves would last can only be ascertained by figuring out the size of the current disruption.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/are-global-oil-stocks-big-enough-weather-another-six-months-us-iran-war-2026-08-13/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTslMZwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7Jpy0L9I_IoCmJx7RJoKzrpWVNED9y_9U7pgos1cTrtxzodeivDSuIcWgIkA_aem_GfmQdL5XuolJhi7vO3A_ew

The post Are global oil stocks big enough to weather another 6 months of US-Iran war? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Iranians haven’t learned their lesson. They’ve got pictures showing the First Family in coffins. Dead. I know this last round of images is going to outrage Mr. Trump, so how long can Iran last in its present form? I always thought Iranians were the smartest of the Islamists. Apparently not. Trump doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Iran thinks they can interfere with world trade by closing the Strait of Hormuz. I think they’ve got another thing coming. 

North Korea is upgrading their missiles that can reach the United States. Kim Jong Un better not be as stupid as he looks. He’s liable to fool around and find out.

The media is doing everything within their power to turn us against Trump. They’ve hauled out every argument in the book, but they’re not winning. That’s his specialty.

There have been earthquakes in diverse places. I lived through several in California, and they’re no joke. One time it splashed water out of our pool, ruined Dad’s upstairs trophy room and got us all up early. Dad said two bucks were locked in combat. My bed was on casters and started rolling around. I saw waves going through the concrete. I remember February 9, 1971 like it was yesterday. My buddies and I were going to go to the beach, but Dad intervened and said the garden needed work. But things are not built in South America like they are in California. No provision for earthquakes. The twin earthquakes in Venezuela last month have left nearly 5,000 dead and 21,000 displaced.

Ukraine still isn’t solved. Zelensky is strutting around like he’s important. The jury is still out. They boast of missiles hitting near Moscow. They better be careful. 

The news says that Walmart is locking up beef in California. I’ve been here a long time, and I don’t ever remember locking up beef. Where are they going to put it?

The media’s been diagraming Trump’s speech before he even made it. It turns out that it wasn’t nearly as explosive as advertised. But that’s the media. They hate Trump.

Mark 

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – July 17, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that the U.S. and Israel began more than four months ago.

The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-17-2026-2ad0cfe592eb258cb15a9eb04411d58a?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLeXBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe3wFouwZTMAUuso7co-qaIVJviAwp68nYnayOSkKX9iSXk8ql_f3KsMlV-Bw_aem_RYtPkjIiXEk2ogD4YzcgDA

The post US and Iran escalate strikes across Mideast first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The US began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities,” US Central Command said in a statement.

At 2 p.m. ET today, U.S. forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the fifth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities.

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM)

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Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-07-16/live-updates-902656?utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demo0dqhcteq&fbclid=IwY2xjawTGLfBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEes8h-1BYuW12EcTGBe_VPguT2QvHfkD5mrJB6kNVV2BdJORfHwty5P4A8hjM_aem_o7oB_lwkYt7dEHERoZSL-Q

The post Live Updates: Trump expected to expand military actions against Iran as CENTCOM launches fifth day of strikes first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

1. Iran is threatening the resumption of large-scale conflict by striking civilian vessels and the Gulf states to try to achieve permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s attacks illustrate that Iran views control over the strait as its primary strategic deterrent and that Iran is unlikely to abandon its efforts to control the strait in response to opposition from the Gulf states.
2. The United States struck 90 targets across Iran on July 8 to degrade Iran’s ability to attack international shipping. Recent US strikes have had no visible effect on Iran’s ability to threaten shipping, and it is unclear when these strikes would have an effect on Iran’s ability or willingness to threaten shipping.
3. Iran also likely calculates that it can use control of the strait as economic leverage to shape US decision-making and deter further US military action. ISW-CTP continues to assess that any arrangement that recognizes Iranian control over the strait would preserve Iran’s ability to close the strait at will to advance its strategic objectives.
4. Some Iranian officials have threatened to change Iran’s nuclear doctrine, likely in part to try to deter the United States from conducting further strikes on Iran.

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Source: https://understandingwar.org/research/middle-east/iran-update-special-report-july-9-2026/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTGH25leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeoWLsWoMH-kXtuwsYuo3aLsbLiYXJabAjNwHxENgzoV48g7tVnuq_EF6frp8_aem_LR9qCDDtYJ4OtAr4BRxY5A

The post Iran Update Special Report, July 9, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Washingtons-Plan-to-Neutralize-Irans-Hormuz-Leverage.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawS8pKpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeKH-e0x0bChUSBBo-32pJOS25z2AOvwI1B4Ps9v-wqs0puISA-y7ZPJdtOfE_aem_Mva_Rn1uTGCwbNxAYNwVVQ

The post Washington’s Plan to Neutralize Iran’s Hormuz Leverage first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Iran war: Trump says ceasefire ‘over’ after fresh strikes first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.