Jolly

Library Technologist | Linux hacker | Teacher | Infoprenuer | Free-thinker

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

[Eric Latiff @EricLatiff]

Prof Jeffrey Sachs, globally acclaimed as a key architect of the Millennium Development Goals, says:

“The US is drunk with arrogance right now. It has invaded Venezuela; it thinks it’s about to invade Cuba; it has now attacked Iran; it thinks that it runs the world . It’s very dangerous, very delusional and leading to more and more violence in the world.”

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@EstherPassaris "All polling stations observed exhibited low voter turnout, indicating voter apathy and disengagement from the electoral process". Again how much was thr turnout?

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

May we also #PrayTogether for #Tanzania, where, following the recent elections, violent clashes have broken out, leaving many victims. I urge everyone to avoid all forms of violence and to follow the path of dialogue.

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@UtdFaithfuls Shaw is tired already

[WILLIE OEBA @WillieOeba]

2015 Magufuli alishinda na 8M , 2020 akapata 12M

What magic is Samia Suluhu using to get 31 Million Votes 20 Million more than her predecessor

Tanzania must say no to impunity

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@LinusKaikai Tanzania 🇹🇿 should just decide if they want a real democracy or continue pretending they are a democracy. That was a joke of an election

[AfriqueRevult @AfriqueRevultKE]

And that’s exactly the loophole they deliberately planted in the constitution; to protect fraud, not democracy.

Think about it: if the electoral commission chair decides, whether by “mistake” or design, to declare the last person as the winner; nothing can be done! Absolute power without accountability.

That’s not a constitution; that’s a manual for dictatorship.
Tanzania doesn’t need reforms tomorrow; it needs a new constitution yesterday.

#ConstitutionalCoup

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@CM_Williams16 @BBCWorld The weathermen predicted heavy rainfall and possible flooding and landslides. The responsibility to do nothing lies with the government agencies responsible for disaster preparedness and response!

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Raila Odinga was a true champion of democracy. A child of independence, he endured decades of struggle and sacrifice for the broader cause of freedom and self-governance in Kenya. Time and again, I personally saw him put the interests of his country ahead of his own ambitions. Like few other leaders anywhere, he was willing to choose the path of peaceful reconciliation without compromising his core values. Through his life, Raila Odinga set an example not just for Kenyans, but across Africa and around the world. I know he will be missed. Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and to the people of Kenya.

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

That one was for you, Reds.

[The Kenyan Vigilante @KenyanSays]

Kenyans being Kenyans😂😂😂

[Jolly @mnjoben]

Kimeibiwo

[Harambee Stars @Harambee__Stars]

🇰🇪1-1 🇲🇬

We go to penalties

#CHAN2024 #HarambeeStars #TotalEnergiesCHAN2024

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@Harambee__Stars Harambee stars have a very shaky defense. A little more pressure and we crumble. The boys need to play simpler but faster to avoid attracting fouls and injuries

[Manchester United Forever @UtdForever7]

🚨BREAKING:

Viktor Gyokeres has now informed Manchester United that he wants to join THEM! #MUFC [@FrazFletcher, @TEAMtalk]

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@ntvkenya Power is transient. We will be there!

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@Colettaaluda_1 This shit should not be tolerated anywhere within our borders

[The People’s President @bonifacemwangi]

Words can’t express my gratitude to all of you for raising your voices to get me released. I say “me” because we are yet to know the whereabouts of my friend and comrade, @AAgather. We went through the worst form of torture and were threatened with public humiliation if we revealed what they did to us.

You cannot torture us, however, and then dictate how we should react. We were detained, tortured, and treated worse than rabid dogs in the name of President Suluhu.

We were there peacefully as members of East African Community to attend a court hearing in solidarity with Chadema’s party leader, Tundu Lissu. I have been to both Tanzania and Uganda to visit comrades in jail in the past. When the then Chadema’s Freeman Mbowe was in jail in the same Tanzania, l visited him. When Dr. Stella Nyanzi was jailed in Uganda, I went to see her. And when Bobi Wine was under house arrest, l went to visit him, too.

As Kwame Nkurumah said, "I’m not African because l was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me." I have been to Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, South Sudan, and even Zimbabwe to visit with comrades facing trumped-up charges. I’m a Pan-Africanist, and l have trained and mentored activists in all four corners of our continent - from Arab to French-speaking and from English to Swahili-speaking nations.

We were supposed to be in Dar Salaam for one day, 19th May 2025, then travel to Uganda that same night to attend Kizza Besigye’s case on Tuesday, 20th May 2025. Our arrest and detention should not stop the solidarity among African activists or deter us from showing up for each other. Dictators are united, and only our own unity can help democratize our respective countries.

Everything that happened to us in Tanzania was done in Samia Suluhu’s name, and we will ensure the world gets to know. We shall speak for the Tanzanian victims who are too afraid to speak. What Suluhu did to us will be revealed to the world. We shall not be silenced by a torturous dictator who has her foot on the necks of the Tanzanian people. #FreeAgatherAtuhaire #FreeAgather #FreeBonifaceMwangi

[Jolly @mnjoben]

@washingtonpost

[Kiki @Njoki_Njanja]

We are unusually calm for a country that doesn’t have BCG for new borns