I interviewed several of the New Zealanders who, as members of the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, were taken hostage by the Israelis in international waters near Cyprus last week and moved to Israel. The sadism and savagery of their mistreatment – clearly designed to intimidate and stop further attempts to open a humanitarian corridor –  gave them a small taste of the network of torture camps that hold thousands of Palestinians in captivity suggestive of Dante’s Inferno. 

The Strait of Hormuz is the jugular vein of the world economic system.  Iran has it in a chokehold and can put the knife across it any time it chooses. For the moment, the world is gripped by the incredibly destructive power that the US and Israel are unleashing on Iran. Despite the early “successes”, however, the prospect of the ongoing closure of the Strait is triggering panic attacks among the people who know what is likely to happen next: energy experts.