Note: I am very late on producing the latest Renaissance Report, and I know it. I had to declare force majeure due to the Iran war conflict, which sucked up all of my observational and writing time. That, plus I had to dedicate more time to getting the farm/property ready. I’ve been busier than I have been in years, and still feel like I am falling behind.
Welcome to the quickening.
But rest assured steady progress is being made on the next Renaissance Report. Originally targeted at Energy, it has been shifted and expanded to cover the Polycrisis of which energy might be the largest component, but hardly the only component.
The China Lull
We were treated to a delightful 3 to 4 days off from Trump randomly shot-tweeting about Iran. One minute, “we’ve won!” and the next minute, Trump would be threatening to send them back to the Stone Age. Iran was alternately militarily ruined and failing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) fast enough.
Well, the lull is over.
We’ve won (again? still?)!
Trump: We have achieved a total military victory against Iran.
— FinancialJuice (@financialjuice) May 15, 2026
Trump: China agreed with us on everything about Iran.
🇺🇸🇨🇳🇮🇷 Trump says Xi told him behind closed doors that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and the Strait must reopen."He feels strongly they can't have a nuclear weapon. He said that very strongly.They cannot have a nuclear weapon and he wants them to open up the strait.But… https://t.co/43D8srcWUQ pic.twitter.com/o7MuBljOBv
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 15, 2026
Trump (on the way home): Wait, I didn’t actually ask them for anything.
Trump on Air Force One, returning from Beijing:“I did not ask Xi for anything related to Iran.”The White House readout from Thursday’s bilateral meeting explicitly referenced Hormuz, nuclear weapons, and energy flows. Twenty-four hours later, the conversation has been erased.…
— NoodlesResearch (@NoodlesResearch) May 15, 2026
I’ll let other people with more knowledge parse the China trip to find out if it was a win for the US, a nothing burger, or a loss.
Renewed Military Action Against Iran?
I’ve been surprised that the US has allowed the Iran
by thecountmc 
