Sparks: Russia and China veto watered-down UN resolution aimed at reopening the Strain of Hormuz

“The obstruction of passage, like any fear, dissolves when we understand the material forces at play, not the imagined spirits of the deep.”
Lucretius
“The resolution, once submitted, enters a process of amendments, deliberations, and vetoes, assuring its perpetual existence as a document, never an action.”
Franz Kafka
“When states act without sincerity, merely performing the ritual of diplomacy, the names 'resolution' and 'cooperation' become hollow vessels.”
Confucius
“Why do so many nations, whose commerce depends on this passage, submit to the will of so few who decide its closure?”
Étienne de La Boétie
“Everyone spoke of peace, of necessity, of international law, yet the heavy silence of the unstated power struggle hung over the entire room.”
Anton Chekhov
“When the free flow of goods is obstructed by political will rather than economic efficiency, the invisible hand is replaced by a visible fist.”
Adam Smith
“A resolution, carefully crafted to be inoffensive, was nevertheless deemed offensive, proving the exquisite precision of modern diplomatic objections.”
British Absurdist (composite)
“How charmingly absurd, that in the name of peace, such a body can prevent the very mechanisms intended to prevent conflict.”
Voltaire
“A resolution designed to please all often ends up pleasing none, much like a prescription too diluted to cure any ailment.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.