Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Another U.S. refinery goes up in flames: 45 major refinery explosions/fires reported over the last month and a half


Another U.S. refinery goes up in flames: 45 major refinery explosions/fires reported over the last month and a half


More than 45 oil and gas refineries have reported fires and explosions globally in the last month and a half, marking a significant increase over what’s considered “normal” in the way of industrial accidents.

The drastic uptick in explosions is being racked up to warfare in places like Russia and “accidents” in the United States, Mexico, Australia, Romania and India.

TRT World reports:
“Taken together, they point to an energy system operating under unusual pressure at a moment of global instability.”

On Monday, May 11, firefighters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, responded to a fire at the HF Sinclair refinery around 11 a.m., with dramatic video showing massive flames and thick black smoke rising from the facility. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, and no information has been released about possible injuries.

Just a few days before that, on May 8, an explosion and fire occurred at the Chalmette Refining facility, located about 10 miles east of New Orleans, Louisiana. The fire was attributed to an unspecified mechanical failure in an operating unit. Cause undetermined.

The explosion sent thick smoke into the air, rattled homes across parts of St. Bernard Parish, and sparked concerns from residents about why warning alarms did not go off after the blast.

Another explosion and fire occurred at the Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on March 23, 2026.

And these explosions aren’t limited to petro-chemical plants in the United States.

In the last 45 days, more than 45 oil and gas facilities worldwide have reported fires and explosions.

The incidents have occurred across multiple regions, highlighting a widespread issue in the energy sector.

There is almost never a clearly determined cause for these fires and explosions. Are the world’s energy facilities under attack, possibly involving sabotage, a type of fifth-generation warfare against food and energy? That’s the question some are starting to ask.

The increase in fires and explosions leads to tighter energy supplies and higher prices, affecting both consumers and industries dependent on these resources at the same time supplies are already at historically low levels due to the war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

To compensate for the world losing 13 million barrels a day of oil going through the Strait of Hormuz, many countries have released oil from their strategic reserves, which will at some point run dry. And this isn’t the only war affecting the production and distribution of oil and natural gas. Ukraine has been blowing up Russian oil refineries and storage facilities at a steady rate for the last several months, using its sophisticated drone arsenal to take more than 25 percent of Russian oil production off the market.

Over the last two months, refineries and fuel storage facilities around the world have caught fire due to war (Russia, UAE, Qatar) or alleged accidents (Australia, the United StatesIndia and Mexico), adding more pressure to stressed oil and gas supply chains.






Project Matador Exposed: Texas’ Insane AI Mega-Data Center


Project Matador Exposed: Texas’ Insane AI Mega-Data Center Will Devour 18 Million Sq Ft, 17 Gigawatts of Power, 1 BILLION Gallons of Water a Year


“I guess everything really is bigger in Texas.

This is Project Matador. This will be the largest data center in the entire world!

To understand the actual size of this, it’s 18 million square feet, okay? You could fit 15 Disneylands inside of this place… 15! It would encompass the whole island of Key West — until you hear how much power is used: 17 gigawatts.

To put that into perspective, it has literally enough power for three Irelands. It requires more power than the whole country of New Zealand — two and a half times over. It would take literally 15 nuclear reactors just to produce enough power for this thing to run.

Don’t worry guys, it only uses nearly 1 billion gallons of water a year just to operate.

Not only that! It’ll literally produce nearly 23.5 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions…

It’ll be 90 to 120 decibels. That’s the equivalent of being next to someone with power tools! Now imagine trying to sleep next to them.

We all need to speak out against these data centers. They’re coming to a town near you.”



Putin hails Russia's test launch of new ICBM known as Satan II, calls it "most powerful missile in the world"

Putin hails Russia's test launch of new ICBM known as Satan II, calls it "most powerful missile in the world" 
CBS/AP



Russia on Tuesday test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile as part of efforts to modernize the country's nuclear forces, a launch hailed by President Vladimir Putin just days after his claim that the fighting in Ukraine is nearing an end.

Putin said that the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat service at the end of the year. It was built to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda.

"This is the most powerful missile in the world," Putin declared, claiming that the combined power of the Sarmat's individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart.

The Russian leader has repeatedly brandished the nuclear sword after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to try to deter the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.

Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has overseen efforts to upgrade the Soviet-built components of the Russian nuclear triad - deploying hundreds of new, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, commissioning new nuclear submarines and modernizing nuclear-capable bombers.

Russia's effort to revamp its nuclear forces pushed the United States to launch a costly modernization of its arsenal.

The Sarmat — designated "Satan II" by NATO — is meant to replace about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles. Its development began in 2011 and before now, the missile had only one known successful test and reportedly suffered a massive explosion during an abortive test in 2024. A satellite image analyzed by CBS News at the time showed a large crater and remnants of a possible explosion on a launchpad at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. 

The Sarmat is classified as a "heavy" ICBM and is capable of carrying up to 10 tons in payload, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defense Project.

Putin said Tuesday that the Sarmat — part of a slew of new weapons that Putin revealed in 2018, claiming they would render any prospective U.S. missile defenses useless — is as powerful as the Voyevoda but with a higher precision. It is capable of suborbital flight, he said, giving it a range of more than 21,700 miles and an extended capability to penetrate any prospective missile defenses.

Moscow's new weapons include the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound. The first vehicles have already entered service.

Russia has also commissioned the new nuclear-capable Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, and used its conventionally-armed version twice to strike Ukraine. Oreshnik's range of up to 3,100 miles makes it capable of reaching any target in Europe.

Putin also announced Russia was in the "final stages" of the development of the nuclear-armed Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik cruise missile powered by miniature atomic reactors. The Poseidon is designed to explode near enemy coastlines and cause a radioactive tsunami. The Burevestnik has virtually unlimited range thanks to nuclear propulsion, allowing it to loiter for days, circling air defenses and attacking from an unexpected direction.


Trump's Board of Peace: Is Globalism Being Undermined, Supercharged, or Re-imagined?


Alex Newman


With the emergence of a powerful new global organization dubbed the “Board of Peace,” Americans and people everywhere are asking some big questions. Is globalism being undermined, super-charged, or given a makeover? What will happen to it after President Donald Trump? Will it truly bring peace? Is it even legal or constitutional?


The details are still being ironed out, it seems. But the Board of Peace — launched with much fanfare just months ago — continues to make headlines worldwide. Its first big project: Turning Gaza into what supporters say will be a model of peace and prosperity even as critics are slamming the plan as a prototype for future technocratic 15-minute cities.


American taxpayers have already been hit with some big bills. The State Department quietly transferred $1.25 billion to the new body. And President Trump has pledged a staggering $10 billion in U.S. support, without any hint of congressional approval. The organization is hard at work, mostly behind closed doors. And it has a lot of money.


But it is also drawing criticism and skepticism. Author and researcher Patrick Wood, one of the world’s top experts on technocracy, is among those sounding the alarm. From legal concerns to criticism of the structure and the people involved, Wood argued last month that the Board of Peace was an illegitimate institution aimed at building world order by undermining national sovereignty piece by piece.


Wood said: “Its scope is unlimited. Its chairman is permanent. Its legal basis is fabricated. Its headquarters is a seized building whose ownership is contested in federal court. Its operating capital is money stripped from disaster relief funds without a vote of Congress. Its operational staff comes from the Chairman’s son-in-law’s personal network. And it was launched beneath the Great Seal of the United States — the one symbol that tells the world: this is official, this is legitimate, this is America.”


Details of the Board of Peace

While almost 30 governments have joined as full members, many key U.S. allies are sitting on the sidelines for now. Inaugural meetings have wrapped up, praise from allies in the Middle East is flowing, and optimistic statements from administration officials paint a picture of hope for a region and a world long plagued by conflict.


President Trump, who is serving as the board’s inaugural chairman and potentially chairman for life “independent of his presidency of the United States,” has hailed the outfit as “one of the most consequential bodies ever created.” In his words, it offers “the first steps toward a brighter day for the Middle East and a much safer future for the world.”


U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment, crediting Trump’s “vision and courage” for achieving what many thought “impossible.” Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and others have spoken of hostages returned, hope restored, and a chance to apply free-market principles to give Gazans dignity and opportunity rather than endless aid dependency and perpetual war.


Even Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, dubbed “Special Envoy for Peace” as he co-leads aspects of the Gaza effort and serves in multiple key roles in the administration’s Middle East policy, has emphasized shifting from 85 percent aid-driven GDP to real economic activities. Kushner ally and associate Aryeh Lightstone is one of the primary players involved in the new outfit.


On the surface, this sounds like classic “America First”/“Make America Great Again” leadership: bold, results-oriented action to end decades of suffering without dragging the United States into another forever war. It’s already making all the right people mad. Jacobin magazine was outraged at what it called the “board of naked power.” And no one can deny the appeal of practical efforts for peace after decades of failed globalist interventions, power-hungry international bureaucracies, and endless neoconservative wars.


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Nuclear Debt Bomb: U.S. Debt Reaches Red Zone — 100% of GDP



Selwyn Duke

For decades, there would be much talk among politicians about United States budget deficits (and the national debt). Yet this faded sometime after 2010, at the latest, after which our debt achieved elephant-in-the-room status. It’s perhaps just too scary or inconvenient — when you want or are promising free stuff — to discuss. Regardless, what just happened is discussion-worthy. To wit:


U.S. public debt has reached 100 percent of GDP for just the second time (first was during the Covid pandemic) since the WWII-era. We’re now in league with debtor nations such as Greece, Italy, France, and Canada.


Fox News reported on the story recently, writing:


The national debt held by the public reached $31.27 trillion as of March 31, while nominal gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $31.22 trillion for the 12-month period ending in March.

 

That pushed the debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP above 100%, meaning that the public debt is now larger than the size of the U.S. economy. Public debt as a share of GDP is a measure preferred by economists in assessing a country’s government debt burden because it excludes debt held in government accounts.

 

With the latest data showing the public debt eclipsing the size of the U.S. economy, the federal government is quickly approaching the all-time record debt to GDP percentage of 106%, which was set in 1946 as the U.S. was in the process of demobilizing after the end of World War II.

 

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a 10-year budget and economic outlook earlier this year that projected the U.S. will break the post-WWII record in 2030 with the debt held by the public estimated at 108% that year. A decade from now, debt held by the public as a share of GDP is projected to reach 120%.

 

Making the budget picture even worse, the CBO estimates that the debt held by the public is expected to grow faster than U.S. GDP as projected in the years ahead, which could have far-reaching implications for the nation’s fiscal and economic outlook.

 

Regarding these implications, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget explained April 30:


The higher we allow our debt to grow, the more we erode our own prosperity and that of future generations. Rising debt compromises affordability by slowing income growth, pushing up interest rates, and increasing inflationary pressures. Debt squeezes our budgets with massive interest costs. It exposes us needlessly to challenges from geopolitical rivals. And without corrective action, rising debt could spark a devastating fiscal crisis.

What’s more, the United States’ unfunded liabilities — projected obligations (e.g., Social Security) minus projected revenue — are now $88.4 trillion. (This is more than twice our $39 trillion national debt. Note, too, that some unfunded-liability estimates are higher still.) This is, of course, much as if I owe you $1 million but my projected future earnings are only $400,000. You’d be right to assume you’ll never see most or even all of that money.

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