Links 2/25/2026

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1. ChrisFromGA February 25, 2026 at 7:22 am

   The best thing about the SOTU, in my opinion, was that Trump didn’t mention Ukraine once (well, maybe he gave Zelensky a shout-out towards the end, but not during the first 80 minutes or so.)

   I gave up on the whole thing around 80 minutes in. All the crazy stuff on X about him declaring war on Iran in the middle of the speech was wrong, too. Sometimes it helps to have an education – only Congress can declare war.

   In general, he seemed surprisingly restrained.
   1. Anonymous February 25, 2026 at 8:28 am

      only Congress can declare war.

      You are so old-fashioned.

      Declaring war is so 20th century.

      Nowadays any president can just do whatever, including war.
      1. Milton February 25, 2026 at 8:46 am

         Hell, so mid-century modern.
      2. flora February 25, 2026 at 10:20 am

         Wendell Berry 2003 essay. pdf.

         A Citizen’s Response to the National Security Strategy
         of the United States of America

         by Wendell Berry
         9 February 2003

         https://mail.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/CR2NSSoUSA.pdf
         1. ChrisFromGA February 25, 2026 at 1:51 pm

            Thanks, Flora.

            That’s a wonderful essay. It really highlights how everything went sideways after 9-11. Shrub’s language about “good vs. evil” and how the royal “we” (meaning, any President) had the right to destroy any country that harbored terrorists without any accountability or oversight pretty much finished this place off as a constitutional republic. We’ve been in a post-constitutional situation ever since. God bless the few who tried to stop it, like Cindy Sheehan, Ron Paul, Pat Buchanan, and a few others on the left.

            I really don’t see any way back, except perhaps a military defeat so awful and devastating in terms of loss of American servicemen that it wakes up “we the people” to finally rise up and demand the restoration of a constitutional republic, and the end of tyranny.
   2. Wukchumni February 25, 2026 at 8:32 am

      Sleep overcame me about 45 minutes in, with the hair’m also lapsed on my lap.

      Seen one simulated sangfroid, seen ’em all.

      Want to see what a SOTU looked like in 1963?

      No plants in the audience to call on, just a sense of mission to move the country forward, with a detailed explanation of how JFK was going to go about doing it.

      JFK’s 1963 State of the Union (45 minutes)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOIb_F84aCg
      1. elissa3 February 25, 2026 at 11:55 am

         Any “normal” human being who endured more than 10 minutes of this SOTU is a masochist; (of course excepting those whose job it was to “analyze” the speech). It was not so much the content that forced me to shut it off, but the oppressive visuals. Vance and Johnson jumping up every minute or so to applaud made me wonder if each had a kind of shock buzzer embedded in their nether regions and controlled by a Trump stage manager. Do these guys have any sense of how nearly identical the SOTU address is to those erstwhile North Korean or Chinese Communist party events that, in times past, were brandished as examples of how totalitarian entities operated. Such bad visuals. Very, very bad.

         I guess the only reason I started watching it was to see if there was some earth-shattering announcement somewhere amidst the nonsense. But 10 minutes was my limit.
      2. chuck roast February 25, 2026 at 6:40 pm

         I was thinking about JFK earlier today and remembered his bogus “missile gap” nonsense that we all fell for. If Donnie pulls off this latest Middle east debacle, we can expect some strident, national defense Dem to pop and run for prez with a similar theme. Well dressed, good hair, articulate, no curse words, in short totally presidential calling for a doubling of defense spending. It’l prolly work.
   3. ChatET February 25, 2026 at 8:33 am

      When was the last time Congress declared war? When was our last war? If you’ve been paying attention, the US Congress does not declare war anymore.
      1. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 8:44 am

         Last time was when Congress declared war was back in ’41 when they declared war on Japan. Since then, Congress has been MIA.
         1. Yalt February 25, 2026 at 11:04 am

            Undeclared war is as old as the Constitution. Ask the Cherokee or the Miami.
         2. ChrisFromGA February 25, 2026 at 12:51 pm

            It’s been a long, slippery slope into Hell.

            In 1991, Congress authorized the First Gulf War:

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq_Resolution_of_1991

            One might argue that this was equivalent to a declaration of war. AUMFs seem to have become common after the Eisenhower Doctrine, which gave Ike the power to send military aid to help any country that was fighting against communism. It was widely understood that this meant stopping Arab nationalism.

            We had AUMFs in 2001 and 2003, including the infamous vote that was tainted by General Powell’s false statements that Iraq had WMDs. Even as recently as 2011, Congress was called to vote on sending troops or engaging in direct military force against the Assad government in Syria. That vote failed. A neocon cynic might say that President Obama was deflecting to avoid a tough decision, but I maintain that is a load of hooey. President Obama did the right thing constitutionally, demanding that Congress go on the record before putting US servicemen and women in harms way.

            We’ve now devolved to the point where Congress doesn’t even bother asserting their constitutional duty. We have a series of Caesars, constitution be damned!
            1. Roland February 25, 2026 at 3:13 pm

               Re: Syrian War in 2013. In his speech to Congress, Obama said that he had the authority to attack Syria already.

               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_the_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_the_Government_of_Syria_to_Respond_to_Use_of_Chemical_Weapons

               He was consulting the Congress out of courtesy, not out of obligation. So I think that he can be fairly accused of wanting to avoid responsibility.

               Moreover, the real turning point had taken place a week before, in the British Parliament. Cameron had actually put the matter to a vote, and was defied by his own Tory backbench.

               https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-23892783

               It’s hard to like David Cameron, but aside from his swineries, the record shows that he had much more political integrity than Barack Obama.

               Without the UK, Obama would have no “coalition” figleaf to hide behind, which was why he didn’t press the issue. The story was more about Obama’s timidity than his constitutionality.

               Finally, it was Lavrov and Putin who urged the Syrians to scrap their CW stockpiles. The Russians were, I think, well-intentioned, but in retrospect their attitude towards Syria was always equivocal.

               John Kerry’s fraudulent role in the Astana conferences wrote another chapter in Russia’s disillusionment with the West, a sad tale that has led to a lengthy war in Europe, and God only knows how it ends.
            2. Nax February 25, 2026 at 4:50 pm

               Admittedly my memory is rather fuzzy but my recollection is that…

               Obama attempted to orchestrate a vote on authorizing the use of force in Syria.

               When it became clear that he would lose the vote, they pulled it, so no vote took place.

               Obama then sent troops into Syria.
               1. ChrisFromGA February 25, 2026 at 7:49 pm

                  I think that you’re right – the vote may have been pulled after it became evident that they didn’t have the votes. And, at least using Wikipedia as a source, the vote was in 2013, and may have been in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack that later turned out to be a false flag.

                  The few troops that were later sent into Syria were done so under a prior AUMF from the Iraq war, IIRC.

                  A pattern emerges … illegal and unconstitutional acts beget more illegal and unconstitutional acts. I’d argue none of these military actions since the 1st Gulf war have been constitutional. There was also the Kosovo/NATO war that lacked any Congressional vote, IIRC.
      2. ChrisFromGA February 25, 2026 at 8:47 am

         An illegal act is still illegal, even if no accountability for said act exists. If I break into your house and steal the furniture, just because the cops never arrest me doesn’t change the fact you’ve suffered a loss.

         Article One of the Constitution vests the power to declare war solely in Congress. The War powers Act further limits the president’s authority to commit U.S. armed forces to hostile foreign situations without congressional approval. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops, limits engagement to 60 days without authorized extension, and mandates troop removal if congress does not declare war.

         On a practical level, yes, these despicable cowards in Congress haven’t held a president accountable for committing troops to war since maybe Reagan or Bush the First. We are all suffering the consequences. But that doesn’t make any of it legitimate. I understand that you’re not making the argument that it is legitimate. I’m just irate at the normalization of unconstitutional acts.
         1. urdsama February 25, 2026 at 9:38 am

            Perhaps, but if doing something illegal does not result in some type of consequence, what is the purpose of calling it illegal? I my mind it moves into the realm of ethics – you can debate it all you want, but it is unlikely to have any real world impact.
         2. Rod February 25, 2026 at 12:29 pm

            I hear you…
            But to your point, this is the sausage making from today’s links:
            https://capitalandempire.com/p/top-democrats-try-to-stop-vote-that
         3. Kontrary Kansan February 25, 2026 at 12:57 pm

            I wonder if the point to be taken is that in fact the US–never a “democracy”–is no longer a constitutional republic. When constitutional provisions are not the basis for action they are effectively null and void, even if they’re still on the books.
         4. LifelongLib February 25, 2026 at 3:02 pm

            My understanding is that one reason the U.S. did not join the League of Nations after WW1 is that it would have compromised Congress’ exclusive power to declare war.

            According to trusty Wikipedia, declarations of war have been mostly obsolete since 1945:

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war
   4. Screwball February 25, 2026 at 10:23 am

      I got through about a half hour. Like all SOTU’s, this was just another $hitshow. Bread & Circuses for the delusional masses who think the worthless pricks in the room are actually going to do something for us serfs. They are not, they don’t give a **** about you.

      It will serve as great fodder the next few day for the competing tribes and those who still believe in fairly tales.

      The American Dream, you have to be asleep to believe it.
2. mrsyk February 25, 2026 at 7:33 am

   Millennial-aged peat carbon outgassed by large humic lakes in the Congo Basin “Outgassed” = stored carbon being returned to the carbon cycle = not good.
3. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 7:35 am

   “Hospital Ship USNS Mercy Departs Alabama as Greenland Mission Remains Unclear”

   Lots of waffling about Greenland in this article but I should point out that if Trump decides to start himself a war with Iran, wouldn’t it be better to have that ship sail at full speed for the Gulf region? I mean they have hospital beds, doctors and nurse which is just the thing that you will need for transporting wounded people. Then again, they may just depend on aerial evacuation as it is faster – so long as those flights steer well clear of Iranian airspace.
   1. Carolinian February 25, 2026 at 8:43 am

      Perhaps they could also help out with the toilet situation.

      Back in sailing ship days the crew would go forward next to the bowsprit where the facilities were some boards with holes in them. Something to try?
      1. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 9:38 am

         Maybe the USS Ford can have small holes drilled in the sides of the thinner upper hull and have hoses leading out of them. If a sailor is caught short, he could grab that hose, pee into it and the waste would go outside the ship into the sea.
         1. amfortas February 25, 2026 at 12:52 pm

            when i installed the composting toilet, there was much side-eye and suspicion with Tam and the boys.
            with them, they didnt want to sit down to pee…’like a girl’…
            so i took a large funnel and some hose and drilled a hole in the wall and made a ‘urinal’.
            problem solved…pee went to the same built wetland that the pee from the toilet went…along with the shower drain.

            i should also note that it took about a week for all of them to admit that they actually preferred my composting toilet…as opposed to the ordinary flushers everywhere else.
            something about ‘the plop’,lol.(cold water on one’s anus, apparently)
            and, too…everybody else who has used it since has been impressed to the point of amazement. …especially those who lean towards environmentalism.(no water used)
      2. XXYY February 25, 2026 at 12:23 pm

         I heard some interesting history that there was also a piece of rope hanging down into the water next to these boards. Sailors would use the frayed end of them instead of toilet paper, then drop the end back to trail in the water.

         The low temperature of these ropes supposedly gave rise to the expression “The Bitter End.”
   2. Henry Moon Pie February 25, 2026 at 10:21 am

      Do the Danes and the Greenlanders remember the story about the Trojan Horse?
   3. flora February 25, 2026 at 10:23 am

      flying over the north pole is a shorter route.
      map.
      https://c8.alamy.com/comp/TBWCE4/north-pole-global-map-with-country-flags-vector-illustration-TBWCE4.jpg
4. Wukchumni February 25, 2026 at 7:43 am

   Gooooooood Moooooooorning Fiatnam!

   It was a bequest of our time, he said it was the best of times…

   I speak for everybody in the $unit$, and we were greatly relieved to learn things were going so well, and through the cheapening of the Congressional Medal of Honor & Presidential Medal of Freedom being awarded, it meant every grunt in the platoon had a shot at glory vis a vis high end merit badges, boy howdy!
   1. scott s. February 25, 2026 at 4:09 pm

      So, your claim is that those two are undeserving? I don’t think I will write more of my opinion of your comment.
      1. Wukchumni February 25, 2026 at 5:36 pm

         A hockey player and somebody involved in the kidnapping of Maduro?

         Hardiharhar har.
5. CanCyn February 25, 2026 at 7:51 am

   Re student scores on testing… I’d guess that poorer families and school systems can’t afford much in the way of digital devices. Perhaps kids in Mississippi are still reading actual books and that is making them better readers than the rich kids in California and New York who have iPads since they were babies?
   I recently heard a story from a woman who is worried about her teenage grandchildren- they claim that their teachers read to them in order to get through lessons because the kids can’t read well enough themselves.
   1. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 8:13 am

      ‘I’d guess that poorer families and school systems can’t afford much in the way of digital devices.’

      Now that’s an interesting idea. I doubt that those checking on student scores would be also checking how much of the school media is delivered to those students digitally and how much by actual books. In fact there should be a study done on this very thing but I doubt that it will be ever carried out. There is too much money in having digital schools as the only way to go.
   2. Objective Ace February 25, 2026 at 8:26 am

      Check out Sold a Story, How Teaching Kids to Read went so Wrong: https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

      It argues that its due to pursuing a new “more inclusinve” approach that doesnt actually work. It does appear that most liberal areas (and it was primarily liberal areas pushing the method) have finally reversed course on this teaching blunder after decades of research and testing show its faults
      1. CanCyn February 25, 2026 at 2:38 pm

         I know that story and it is unbelievable to me. Teach kids to read by having them guess what the next word ‘should’ be??? I cannot understand how anyone could believe that was a good idea. Crazy town!
   3. ChatET February 25, 2026 at 8:39 am

      Its a right wing NGO, who has Jeb Bush as one of its directors, declaring that red state schools are performing better. They are not, the scores are adjusted to economic demographics. The poorer states(red) are adjusted upwards the richer states(blue) are adjusted downward. The richer states can take the title back by encouraging poverty. Not how it works.
      1. t February 25, 2026 at 10:06 am

         Hold on – are you yelling me that dollars per pupil might get less in Los Angeles, California than in Hattiesburg, Mississippi?

         And that checking in on the progress of students in later grades might be worthwhile?

         (Not to diminish some good things going on in struggling Southern State districts or the social pressures and effects of increased household responsibilities for kids middle and high school.)
         1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 1:50 pm

            Well, I can attest to the fact that the Hattiesburg School Board has passed rules requiring that students wear shoes to receive school services. The families of the students have to provide the shoes, so, yet another class based barrier to socio-economic advancement.
            Yes, one could posit that dollars per pupil in Mississippi would garner less usable resources than equal dollars per pupil in California. However, there are a lot fewer dollars sloshing around in the public coffers here in the Rancid Underbelly of the North American Deep South than on the West Coast. Even adjusting for student population size, the two regions do not really compare in terms of nationally standardized dollars per student.
            I can also attest from personal observation that many of the young’ns attending local schools are latch key kidz. This seems to apply across the economic strata. Many of the children I have learned more than a cursory amount of information about who attend private schools in this region come from struggling “middle class” families where both parents hold full time jobs to support their life styles.
            The trick seems to be either to earn a very big salary, own an oil well, (there are working oil fields in the South of Mississippi and into Louisiana,) adjust ones standard of living to a more ‘moderate’ lifestyle, or sacrifice like mad so that one parent can spend their time raising and caring for the children, which is a full time job in and of itself.
            Stay’n safe in da South. You do too, ya hear?
   4. Darthbobber February 25, 2026 at 8:47 am

      As the responses on the x thread make clear, these results are only for 4th grade students specifically, with other grades showing no similar improvements.

      Leads me to suspect gaming of some sort. But unsure what the motive would be. Perhaps others can enlighten me.
      1. expr February 25, 2026 at 9:26 am

         I remember this coming up before. IIRC they make the kids repat third grade if their reading is subpar
         1. Kurtismayfield February 25, 2026 at 1:07 pm

            Correct, and they send them to Summer School reading camps. I would be in support of this nationwide for every grade level.
   5. urdsama February 25, 2026 at 9:44 am

      Some of the responses to the OP are interesting, to say the least. Two stood out to me:
      They focused on the 4th grade.
      They didn’t adjust costs based on cost of living in each state.

      If true, this is a bit telling…
   6. NN Cassandra February 25, 2026 at 10:41 am

      There is also the possibility the stats are massaged. I remember when charter schools were in vogue, supposedly doing miracles with children, especially from poor families. Except it turned out the stats were bogus and it was just scheme to break up teacher unions and transfer wealth upwards. In that vein it’s interesting the author of the tweet compares the scores with money spent per pupil, and the tweet he is quoting is explicitly blaming unions. I would hazard a guess the lesson from this discovery will be to fire teachers, plug children into ChatGPT, and give rest of the money to rich people.
   7. Lefty Godot February 25, 2026 at 12:32 pm

      There are so many possible variables that the way this person tries to make it all about unions is a good indication that the whole claim is biased bullshit. X delenda est.
   8. jsn February 25, 2026 at 12:55 pm

      One of the “advantages of backwardness” Ian Morris covered in “Why the West Rules, For Now”.
   9. marku52 February 25, 2026 at 4:07 pm

      If you read through the comments, the results reverse by 8th grade.

      Also, on purchasing power basis, the blue states are spending-equivalent due to higher cost of living.
   10. Janie February 25, 2026 at 6:34 pm

       My parents read to me. I had heard “Heidi” and “Bambi” and so many other books, a chapter a night, before I started school (first grade, no kindergarten or in-school libraries in Texas or Oklahoma then). The public library was of course free, and books were a common present. I recall a few struggling students in my grade, maybe three or four, in two classrooms of 35 or more each, with no aides or remedial services. We had team spelling contests on Fridays, and diagramming sentences was taught from fourth or fifth grade. What happened? Maybe no TV, maybe mothers at home?
6. .Tom February 25, 2026 at 7:54 am

   > Blizzard of 2026 recap: Record snow totals and hurricane force winds WBUR

   Day 3 in this fashionable central Boston hood. Air temp was above freezing yesterday and we had sunshine. Overnight -10C and it’s -7 now so yesterday’s slush puddles at every sidewalk ramp at the intersections … enjoyed a phase change.

   Most of Cape Cod remains without electric.

   Another inch or two in the forecast for this morning.
7. Rob Levine February 25, 2026 at 8:04 am

   This is pernicious garbage about Mississippi! Why does MS score higher on grade 4 reading and math? BECAUSE THEY RETAIN MORE K-3 STUDENTS THAN ANY OTHER STATE! If you run your lowest scoring students through 3rd grade again what do you THINK will happen? And the proof is in the pudding – by grade eight MS students score way lower than anyone else – scores UNCHANGED after more than a decade of the SoR “miracle”. https://www.racketmn.com/science-of-reading-minnesota-read-act

   And all research says that retention is HORRIBLE for children – it sets them up for all kinds of failure – including radically increasing dropout rates.

   So you end up with goosed fourth grade scores, unchanged eighth grade scores, and a bunch of very bad outcomes due to retention.
   1. ChatET February 25, 2026 at 8:44 am

      MS doesn’t, their raw scores are among the lowest in the 50 states. They normalize the scores using economic demographics. They don’t even say how the adjustments are applied making their claims of a superior educational system moot. Its just another case of lying with statistics.
      1. Rob Levine February 25, 2026 at 9:14 am

         If you look at NAEP fourth grade reading and math you see the goosed scores. If you look at grade eight you see no change in over 13 years – since they started used SoR & extreme retention. SoR freaks NEVER MENTION the retention nor the lack of improved test scores later in the children’s educations

         https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/landing
         1. thoughtfulperson February 25, 2026 at 12:55 pm

            I looked at the NAEP site as well. Its interesting the New York and CA numbers were singled out in comparison to MS and LA. MA has the top or near top scores most years, as do other New England states. Likely those results don’t fit the trash public ed and trash unions narrative the NYT wants to push (so better to ignore). AL results didn’t quite fit, nor did 8th grade, so ignore those too. Selective statistics can be misleading, which likely is the intent.

            In general I wonder how accurate the NAEP is, as not all schools participate (the scores are “representative”). There is also the public vs private school angle.

            Perhaps more importantly, nationally, reading and math scores have been heading down since 2017.
   2. Wukchumni February 25, 2026 at 10:04 am

      Mississippians always made for the best astronauts, as they all took up space in school.
      1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 2:03 pm

         Oh Wukchumni, is that like the Middle European practice of Kiting Czechs?
         See some of Alexander Graham Bell’s experiments from the turn of the 19th Century.
         See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_Experiment_Association
8. schmoe February 25, 2026 at 8:12 am

   That Reuters story re: China sending anitship missiles to Iran seems like an obvious fake story to induce a war now.
   Why would Reuters taint any credibility it has by publishing that?
   1. Yves Smith February 25, 2026 at 8:25 am

      Perhaps because it was already widely reported to be underway on Twitter a month ago and is old news?

      🚨🇨🇳🇮🇷 BREAKING: China has transferred DF-21D missiles to Iran.

      DF-21D is an anti-Aircraft missile that has anti-ship capabilities and could counter the USS Abraham Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/rTFD0FCaAf

      — Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) January 27, 2026

      ⚡️BREAKING

      Iran is negotiating with China to buy YJ-12B Anti Ship Cruise Missile, with a speed of over mach 3 – Reuters

      We could be talking more about technology transfer than direct acquisition

      A similar missile was revealed last year, so it might already be part of Iran's… pic.twitter.com/V31euoLSqx

      — Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) February 24, 2026

      And:

      "The Houthis, not the PLA, were the first to hit a ship with an operational ballistic missile, [a technology] that can be traced back to China" – Military analyst Zhang Bin 张斌 explains how China's anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) technology reached Yemen via Iran.

      Excerpt… pic.twitter.com/lrTsWgVLly

      — Tuvia Gering 陶文亚 (@GeringTuvia) December 18, 2023

      See also:

      🇨🇳🇮🇷🇺🇸 The reported deal in which China will sell supersonic CM-302 anti-ship missiles (image 1, from Algeria)—CM-302 is the export designation for the missile known as the YJ-12 in PLA service (image 2)— to Iran is interesting and will, if realized, amount to the latest in a… https://t.co/zVWEJBdfU6 pic.twitter.com/HkL4XVBCOZ

      — Shahryar Pasandideh (@shahpas) February 24, 2026
      1. schmoe February 25, 2026 at 8:48 am

         Thanks for the links, but providing advanced weaponry likely to be used against US aircraft carriers seems drastically out of character for what I perceive as China’s very cautious military moves. We can assume China is helping Russia more than publicly acknowledged, but I am not aware of China “test driving” any of its proprietary military equipment against Ukraine or providing any other direct military support, even though it is likely next on the neocon’s menu. The lack of overt support may t of course change if hits to Russia’s defense industry impair its ability to maintain the SMO.
         1. Yves Smith February 25, 2026 at 8:58 am

            China absolutely does not want Iran broken up or regime changed.

            Some of the Belt and Road routes would be threatened by instability. This piece gives a baby-talk version of the stakes:

            https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2025/jul/03/what%E2%80%99s-stake-china-iran-war

            And Iran’s use would be defensive. It is not going to attack unless hit.

            Plus taking out an aircraft carrier would force the US to greatly rethink any frisky ideas re Taiwan.
      2. XXYY February 25, 2026 at 12:29 pm

         That is very cool camo paint on those blue missile launcher trucks.

         I’m sitting here trying to imagine what environment that paint would help you blend into. The sky? The ocean? A giant, partly completed jigsaw puzzle? An exploded blue paint factory?

         In any case, I’m looking forward to it becoming available to consumers.
         1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 2:14 pm

            It is called Blue Dazzle Camouflage and I have seen it on Mil Spec battle dress uniform clothing.
            1. XXYY February 25, 2026 at 3:40 pm

               Is it supposed to help you blend into some background? Or has the military totally lost the thread on the idea of camouflage?
               1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 6:22 pm

                  I believe the idea is to confuse the “eye” and make pattern recognition difficult since aiming is pattern recognition reliant. For troops, the ‘confusion’ need only happen for a moment or two.
                  Dazzle camo was originally intended for ships.
                  See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage
                  Stay safe in a Cubist manner.
                  1. XXYY February 27, 2026 at 1:28 pm

                     Super interesting. Thanks for bringing me up to speed on the whole concept of dazzle camouflage.
         2. Glen February 25, 2026 at 3:25 pm

            It’s a derivative of Dazzle camouflage that’s used by most of the militaries around the world:

            Dazzle camouflage
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage
         3. Don February 25, 2026 at 4:14 pm

            My understanding of camo is that it is designed to confuse the eye rather than to render something invisible: What exactly am I seeing? Which direction is it moving? How fast is it going? How big is it?
   2. ocypode February 25, 2026 at 8:38 am

      Marandi has said that from his experiences in the negotiating team for the nuclear deal that Reuters and AFP regularly just made stuff up which he personally knew was not true. This instance seems to be true, but I wouldn’t assume credibility in their reporting especially as regards the enemies of the US. Best to as always take things with a grain of salt.
9. DJG, Reality Czar February 25, 2026 at 8:35 am

   Parasitic ant species all queens.

   This may be a new discovery for Japan. It is not a new discovery for the United States of America.

   Endemic in the U S of A is the species Formica hillaryclintoni as well as its allied species Formica dwassermanschultzie

   with these characteristics: “In further studies, researchers hope to understand what conditions favour the loss of workers and males in the ant species.”

   Neoliberalism, natch. We’re all capitalists now, as Nancy Pelosi says. All that is left is the griftingl
10. AG February 25, 2026 at 8:36 am

    Thanks for the toilet paper story on the USS Gerald Ford yesterday. Made my week.
11. Ben Panga February 25, 2026 at 8:43 am

    A little off-topic and I hope that’s OK. I’m interested in anecdata from the commentariat.

    My question: How much do you think the people you interact with in everyday life, or friends, family etc are really struggling with reality?

    I feel like the majority of people I get into deeper conversation seem to have kinda gone nuts. It’s like the ground under the feet became so unstable they just gave up on rationality. In relationships people have absurd expectations. Most are phone addicted; many of those are hypnotized, slack-jawed, to 20 second videos and/or live through Instagram.

    They can’t hold conversations about anything of depth especially emotional stuff. Just trivial nonsense. Some have learned some stuff about mental health but even that is often warped and just another way to validate being nuts/an asshole.

    I think I love somewhere with a higher than normal ratio of these lost souls, but I’ve also seen it when back in Europe, when I was in the US and various spots in Asia.

    (Not everyone; I have a close circle of sane people)

    Have people lost touch with real life?
    1. Wukchumni February 25, 2026 at 9:10 am

       The only person I know really into ChatGPT* and all that is a retired JPL friend, and he’s a Space Pope of sorts, all involved around some video game, and over a campfire a month ago, I asked him to tell us how he became Space Pope, and he went into a detailed explanation of what amounted to a fairy tale online world, with none of it having any bearing in reality-except he’s been to Iceland a number of times and is of some scintilla of a celebrity there, and his take took 5 minutes of our time that we’ll never get back.

       * he calls her Gloria Paige-Tate, and she speaks in an upper crust British accent in regard to his demands
       1. Ben Panga February 25, 2026 at 9:34 am

          Yikes.

          Good addition Wuk.

          I forgot to even mention how many people are getting broken by chatgpt. I suspect a not insignificant percentage of people have simualcra of friendship with these chatbots. Through my therapy work I know several women who use it for emotional support and advice.

          “I asked chatgpt and…” = I wince
          1. AG February 25, 2026 at 11:44 am

             “hrough my therapy work I know several women who use it for emotional support and advice.”
             I know a couple of therapists. Gotta ask em about that…
             From the POV of fiction fascinating.
             1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 2:22 pm

                The science fiction writer Frederick Pohl had an AI ‘character’ in his novel “Gateway” called Sigfrid von Shrink, an artificial intelligence psychoanalytical program.
                See: https://wikitia.com/wiki/Sigfrid_von_Shrink
                This has bled into the “real” world.
                See: https://github.com/Sum1Solutions/Sigfrid-von-Shrink
                Is nothing sacred?
                Stay safe.
                1. AG February 26, 2026 at 8:34 am

                   Thanks!
    2. Skip Intro February 25, 2026 at 9:30 am

       This is not the zombie apocalypse I was promised!
       My limited data suggests either deep resignation with failing attempts to avoid reality, or committed delusion are the predominant modes.
       1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 6:26 pm

          The old time sixties revolutionaries said; “The Apocalypse will not be televised.”
          How wrong they were.
    3. mrsyk February 25, 2026 at 9:49 am

       I’m seeing this everywhere, friends, family, and colleagues with very few exceptions. For example, our older boy (mid 30s) can’t even stay in the room if there is a serious conversation going on. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t think he’ll reach 40 and why would he want to?
       Do you suppose there’s a link between optimism and focus at play here?
    4. t February 25, 2026 at 10:21 am

       Personally? Except for the long-term Trump-warp, not at all.

       And even the MAGA are able to speak reasonably about gardening (if you ignore the occasional Climate Change Hoax snarking) or whatever.

       There are some wealthy loons in the periphery of my social life who are prone to nonsense about things manifesting in the universe because when you have no material wants, why not believe anything you want. Money and life without consequences did that to them – and possibly just being dullards – not AI.

       For me, just anecdotally, I see AI similarly to the internet and social media in that it opens a door for people who would otherwise be reined in by social pressure to find bubbles for their nonsense and to feel smart.

       Fortunately, I don’t even have a friend of a friend’s cousin’s orthodontist who’s gone done a tragic chat bot rabbit hole. But if the numbers keep going up, that may change. It’s not like the US is regulating anything. Or offering a lot of mental health care.
    5. albrt February 25, 2026 at 10:27 am

       I feel like this is happening, but then I question whether people have really changed all that much. I suspect that having a common media diet back in the 1980s gave more of an appearance of shared reality, but I don’t think people’s actual personalities were any more integrated or capable of processing cognitive dissonance created by difficult facts. That was sort of the point of mid-century absurdism.

       I speculated in one of my posts here a while back that basing group identity signals on ridiculous beliefs might produce stronger social cohesion than basing signals on sensible beliefs. Maybe we just shared more of our ridiculous beliefs fifty years ago.
       1. lyman alpha blob February 25, 2026 at 6:21 pm

          Regarding your last sentence, here’s some food for thought.

          People want to believe in something, but as you said what we choose to believe in has become increasingly fractured. We all have daemons whispering to us now, right in our pockets.
    6. Samuel Conner February 25, 2026 at 10:41 am

       I think the problem may be, at least in part, that the “conventional wisdom” on many topics has become divorced from reality, so that people who get their information from sources that dispense the current state of CW will have “takes” on the world that are also divorced from what is really going on.

       I see this in personal interactions, and also in “expert” commentary. Alexander Mercouris appears to comment intelligently about world events, but he also appears to be committed to the “household budget” fallacy regarding the fiscal constraints on monetary sovereign governments. I believe that Michael Wolff, who I think is one of the more perceptive interpreters of DJT, also embraces this fallacy (and I think he embraces the CW on the nature of Vladimir Putin’s motives for launching the SMO).

       There’s a lot of conventional wisdom that isn’t true, but there is a social cost to going against CW (sort of like the saying that, for bankers, it is less professionally harmful to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally), and so falsehoods get durably embedded into people’s interpretations of the world. Humans are social creatures and it is hard to go against the tendency of the group.

       I’m sure that my thinking is distorted in this way as well.
    7. LawnDart February 25, 2026 at 11:13 am

       How much do you think the people you interact with in everyday life, or friends, family etc are really struggling with reality?

       Many, if not most, seem to struggle with this– especially if it comes to big-picture issues (war, tariffs, etc.). And I won’t dare dive deep into politics, except to note that across the spectrum there is overwhelming agreement that corporations are not people and that we must find a way of getting money out of politics.

       I find myself doing a lot more listening these days before venturing an opinion or comment on a subject, noting that challenging delusions should be undertaken very carefully and indirectly, otherwise things might decend to reptile-level very quickly.

       I’m glad you posed this question.
12. Tom Stone February 25, 2026 at 8:44 am

    Trump handled SOTU reasonably well, he is a showman and he was up to the task with only his “Normal” lies and exaggerations.
    No “Biden Moment” yet.
    I loved the $2 gas line, here in Sonoma County it is $4.70 cash price for regular gas.
    1. Janeway February 25, 2026 at 11:31 am

       Ouch! About $2.75 a gallon with the ‘store rewards card’ in western NY
       1. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 2:26 pm

          Zounds! It’s $2.19 a gallon here in the North American Deep South budget fuel outlets right now.
    2. Yalt February 25, 2026 at 2:19 pm

       I paid $1.29 at a suburban Cincinnati Kroger yesterday. $2.29 on the pump; a dollar discount for my January fuel points.
    3. Offtrail February 25, 2026 at 6:27 pm

       $4.59 at the local Shell here in Washington State.
13. DJG, Reality Czar February 25, 2026 at 8:52 am

    Finding Cambodia’s Forgotten Prophet. Matthew Madden on the mysteries and non-mysteries of Ith Sarin.

    I recommend this essay to you. It shows how translation is sparked by curiosity — and Madden certain is curious and diligent, because translating a “virtually unknown” language, that is, unknown among Americans, is a tricky path to take.

    The story of Ith Sarin and his book and his luck in living through the horrors of Cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s is intriguing. It is also interesting — and what’s worse, typical — that the communists who Ith Sarin considered humane and intelligent ended up being liquidated. What’s left is the world of Hegseths and Noems.
14. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 8:54 am

    “Fears of polio resurgence as US vaccine adviser questions need for childhood shots”

    I would say that most doctors are clueless about polio as it has been so long since there have been major outbreaks. So maybe what is needed is for a file to be put together giving the lowdown on polio. Include stories from have been hit by polio. Explain the huge financial resources that a hospital would have to devote to treating an outbreak of polio. Also explain the risks of doctors and nurses getting infected themselves. Conclude that file showing a historical image of dozens of iron lungs in a hall trying to keep patients alive. Then email this file to every doctor and nurse in the US to show them the true cost of skipping the polio vaccine for kids.
    1. Lee February 25, 2026 at 12:25 pm

       “I would say that most doctors are clueless about polio as it has been so long since there have been major outbreaks.”

       This also seems to a significant degree to be the case with measles, according to Dr. Daniel Griffin at This Week in Virology. In at least one of his episodes he gives a little diagnostic primer for fellow physicians and lay people. Sorry, I can’t locate the particular episode to provide the link.
15. Balan Aroxdale February 25, 2026 at 9:16 am

    Dan Caine Suddenly Realizes He’s The Iran War’s Fall Guy Forever Wars

    This article rather smacks of sectarian grievance over political critique. The fact that Caine is indeed some old white “DEI hire” carries with it the implication that he should be replaced by someone of “better stock”. No doubt there are many neocons of the same opinion after hearing that there is a less than ideologically aligned general putting cold water on their final crusade.
    1. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 9:34 am

       Nonetheless the guy does make a valid point. If Trump orders an attack and it turns into a military fiasco, somebody is going to have to be hung out to dry. It won’t be Neocons like Lindsay Graham, it won’t be the Israelis and sure as hell it won’t be Donald Trump who will say that he was misled. Cain makes a good sacrificial dummy, even though Trump brought him out of retirement. Trump will claim that Caine told him to attack against Trump’s personal feelings so Caine will be the bunny here.
    2. Ben Panga February 25, 2026 at 9:38 am

       Raisin is a modern kinda general. Has the investment portfolio and appointments to go with.

       The Palantir-aligned are replacing the neocons. They favour a realistic Mearsheimer understanding of geopolitcs.
       1. Ben Panga February 25, 2026 at 9:51 am

          Adding: I’m sure it plays very well with the troops as well. Caine spoke up and it may stop them getting killed in another, even stupider, middle east adventure.

          When/if it comes to picking sides, the Palantir faction will have credit in the bank.
    3. Hickory February 25, 2026 at 11:37 am

       The author doesn’t imply that Caine should be replaced with “better stock” – the author isn’t being racist, he’s saying the administration is being racist and hypocritical, making DEI-like, race-based hires while claiming to oppose DEI, skin-color based hiring.
16. .Tom February 25, 2026 at 9:16 am

    > NED leader cut off in Congress after boasting of ‘deploying’ 200 Starlinks to Iran amid violence The Grayzone

    That’s a good catch from The Grayzone.

    On Nima’s Dialogue Works yesterday Max Blumenthal (YouTube 37 min) opined that Trump got himself into the stand off with Iran because he was hoodwinked by phoney the protest stuff. There’s plenty of evidence now that it was a color revolution job so maybe if Jimmy Vance wanted he could show that evidence to Trump and explain that his deep state enemies fooled him.

    Blumenthal also talked to Nima about paranoia in the Trump family being significant, i.e. they are fearful of assassination and Max seemed to suggest this plays into the tendency to obey Israel.
17. Tom Stone February 25, 2026 at 9:23 am

    When I was a Child I was proud the America had Civilian control of the Military, that the Military Oath was about defending the Constitution against “All Enemies Foreign and Domestic”.
    Today’s Military unquestioningly obeyed clearly illegal orders to murder civilians (142 to date) and commit Piracy on the High Seas.
    And now they are prepared to attack Iran on behalf of Israel because Trump says “Do it” while Congress seriously considers sending Trump a sternly worded letter asking if he has considered the consequences.
    I don’t have any doubt that the Generals will deploy US troops in US cities if ordered to do so, based on their recent behavior.
18. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 9:25 am

    ‘Joanna Teglund🕊️✊😷🍉Human life is sacred
    @JoannaTeglund
    The convenient lie that children will be fine, amplified by the media, was manufactured in Sweden, based on a fraudulent study by Jonas Ludvigsson, a Swedish paediatrician who signed the Great Barrington Declaration. No one in history has so many lives on his conscience.’

    But you don’t understand. A consensus was reached. Old people and children had to be sacrificed so that people could keep on going out to cafes. So Jonas Ludvigsson should be considerd a national Swedish hero for his use of white lies. /sarc

    Say, whatever happened to Anders Tegnell.
    1. fjallstrom February 25, 2026 at 12:42 pm

       It appears my longer comment about this got eaten by Skynet, but the short version is that the graph is a good example of misleading statistics. If you take 2018 as starting year and 2025 as end year deaths among 5-14 year olds has instead declined, and by the logic of the tweet proving the health benefits of COVID.

       In reality it’s large variations around a small mean (50-100 deaths yearly in the 5-14 year olds, out of about 0.8-1.2 million kids) where a big accident is enough to spike the curve. Making it easy to select outliers to prove any trend you want as long as you don’t present more than two data points.
19. Wukchumni February 25, 2026 at 9:41 am

    If you wanna hang out
    You’ve got to take Iran out
    Dan Caine

    If you wanna get down
    Get boots on the ground
    Dan Caine

    Trump don’t lie, he don’t lie, he don’t lie
    Dan Caine

    If we get bad news
    You wanna watch for them blame blues
    Dan Caine

    When your duty is done
    And you wanna run (run)
    Dan Caine

    Trump don’t lie, he don’t lie, he don’t lie
    Dan Caine

    If your time has come and gone
    And you wanna ride on Fox
    Dan Caine

    Don’t forget this fact
    You can’t get your reputation back
    Dan Caine

    Trump don’t lie, he don’t lie, he don’t lie
    Dan Caine

    Trump don’t lie, he don’t lie, he don’t lie
    Dan Caine

    Cocaine, performed by Eric Clapton

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6yeLNNVa4A&list=RDO6yeLNNVa4A
    1. Offtrail February 25, 2026 at 6:31 pm

       Good stuff. Easy to follow for me.
20. The Rev Kev February 25, 2026 at 10:01 am

    ‘Musk’s xAI and Pentagon reach deal to use Grok in classified systems’

    This one has me stuffed for a comment. Having Musk’s Grok allowed to operate in classified systems? What could possibly go wrong.
    1. Mel February 25, 2026 at 2:12 pm

       Grok’s advice will of course e useless, but there will be people willing to pay a pile of money to read the prompts.
    2. ambrit February 25, 2026 at 2:30 pm

       Perhaps the movers and shakers in the Pentagon have embraced having a hole-istic security architecture.
21. Henry Moon Pie February 25, 2026 at 10:11 am

    “Between 2019 and 2024, the Swedish health system took a step back. It would appear that school aged children were sacrificed for the greater good.”

    So what exactly is this “greater good” that is worth more than the lives of children, children whose welfare we would have thought would be among the highest priorities for any society?

    That brought to mind Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s statement on the Tucker Carlson Show during Covid (?!?):

    No one reached out to me and said, ‘as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’” Patrick said. “And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.

    Patrick’s proposed exchange of the lives of elders for “keeping the America that all America loves” is quite odd considering his website’s claim that:

    Dan Patrick is a Christian first, Conservative second and Republican third.

    Apparently, this “keeping the American that all America loves” trumps the Fourth Commandment of the religion Patrick claims to profess, a commandment that happens to be the first human-to-human commandment of the ten:

    Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

    Exodus 20:12 (NRSVU)

    Finally, it recalled J. D. Vance’s comments about ordo amoris that claimed a Christian’s order of love should only extend so far, a view quickly disputed by Pope Francis with a simple cite to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

    Wendell Berry famously wrote that we have been wrong to live “by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world,” but here we have an American Vice President, a high official in the government of Texas and the government of what had been a social democracy choosing some sort of “greater good” over even human beings, and it’s clear that this “greater good” has absolutely nothing to do with what’s good for planet Earth.

    We get a clue from this CNBC article during the spring of 2020 during the “shutdown:”

    President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence held a call with some of the most prominent investors and leaders on Wall Street to discuss the coronavirus impact on the economy, according to sources.

    Investors on the call included Citadel’s Ken Griffin, Third Point’s Dan Loeb, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Vista Equity’s Robert Smith, Intercontinental Exchange’s Jeffrey Sprecher and Paul Tudor Jones, hedge fund manager and co-founder of Just Capital.

    The call Tuesday took place just an hour before Trump warned of a drastic decline in U.S. economic growth if the nationwide shutdown continued. Trump also said Tuesday that he’d like to see the U.S. economy “reopen” by Easter, less than three weeks away, a step-change from a previous suggestion that the country wouldn’t turn the corner until several months from now.

    So this telephone call among some of the most powerful people on the planet was about pursuing some unspecified “greater good” that was more important not only than the old and the young, but also everybody in society, or at least those not affluent enough to buy themselves protection from the virus.

    This prioritizing Mammon over life is in stark contrast to the concept of Ubuntu, usually translated as:

    I am because we are.

    There’s no “greater good” here that can be measured in GDP and quarterly profits. It’s a truth that was revealed around the campfire. It’s apparent just looking at a mother nursing her baby. “I am because we are.” Without the support of the tribe, the mother would never be able to fend for herself. The tribe would not have survived if not for the work and wisdom of the elders who went before, and no tribe would survive without the gifts provided by Gaia. “I am because we are.” The circle of human dependency extends far beyond Vance’s family, friends and local community to the entire Earth, even to the Sun. Tribes that didn’t recognize that would abuse the local biosphere and soon find themselves forced to move or worse because they had depleted the resources required to survive.

    We are hearing similar arguments about AI being a “greater good” for which all of us are expendable in order to reach AGI. Like the hedge fund managers issuing their orders to Trump and Pence about Covid measures, the AI builders tell us that we must make “bricks without straw” in order to serve a “greater good” with dubious benefits accruing beyond the narrow circle of the TechBros. We have been brought to this point of anti-humanism anti-Life by a combination of many things: storeable surplus; the Pareto power distribution; capitalism; materialism; Enlightenment dualism; monotheism; and genetic traits that worked well in small groups under Dunbar’s number, but became destructive to us and the biosphere when we began to form large, complex, hierarchical societies.

    It seems to me that it’s too late for our current civilization to change course. My hope is that any human remnant will remember enough of human history to never depart from:

    I am because we are.
    1. JP February 25, 2026 at 11:31 am

       And then as we pan out from the isolated tribe, we see many tribes in competition. These tribes have their own god and see the other tribes as alien. They say, I am because you are not. That is the tension of the human race, us and the other. So war has always been a constant. This is not a new thing.

       Even the development of a universal god did not blunt the case for destruction of the other who did not believe in the correct details. But then it’s really about the economics isn’t it.

       If a remnant survives they will still be human, so it will be ground hog day.
       1. Henry Moon Pie February 25, 2026 at 12:40 pm

          Monotheism made it much worse. It amounted to humanity declaring war on all of Nature all the time.

          Humans did live in small groups for more than 250,000 years without either killing each other off or banding together in larger communities. Don’t you think it’s possible that factors like group size, technology and worldview have an impact on what seems to be humans’ predilection for destruction of each other and Nature?

          If you attribute it all to our genes, then are we some kind of demonstration of evolution’s fallibility? Are we Gaia’s big mistake?
          1. Samuel Conner February 25, 2026 at 12:58 pm

             I have the impression that economic surplus is a very recent phenomenon in human history, the last 10,000 years or so. I think the cultural changes that led from the prior quasi-equilibrium low-environmental-impact state to the present are much too quick for genetic evolution to have adapted to. Not a “mistake” so much as a contingency. Populations die out all the time through geological history, and generally not the ‘fault’ of the genes.
             1. Henry Moon Pie February 25, 2026 at 3:49 pm

                The problem for me is less human extinction but the Mass Extinction we are causing. We will be joining asteroids, volcanoes and cyanobacteria as primary causes of Mass Extinctions even though we have a scientific understanding of exactly what we are doing and what’s necessary to stop it. Oh well, the cyanobacteria spewed O2 into the atmosphere, killing most life of the time, but leading to all the air breathers. Maybe our spewing CO2 and speeding up climate change beyond what evolution can accommodate will lead to a new form of life. The silicon monsters now sprinkling across the country perhaps?
          2. JP February 25, 2026 at 1:48 pm

             Cromagnons only became prolific about 50,000 years ago. The transmission of culture is attributed to them living long enough to produce grandparents. What happened to the older species of hominids, neanderthals, desnovians? Although chimpanees may be our closest cousins we socially more often closely resemble baboons in that kill the males and breed the females is a hallmark. What we didn’t kill or screw we probably ate. Mind you these were diverse troops not large tribes.

             I don’t believe in belief but the face of god, if you will, is most likely evolution. I really hope we are not the only consciousness advancing enough to look at ourselves looking at our existence. Evolution is relentless and over the vast arc of time others will emerge. Species come and go. There are dead ends and apocalypses but the DNA that survives is not species exclusive. Gaia knows what she is doing.
             1. Henry Moon Pie February 25, 2026 at 6:19 pm

                I was hoping you’d let me know whether you’re arguing that our fate (and much of life with us) is entirely determined by our evolved traits, or if other factors like worldview and group size have an effect.

                As for Gaia, I’m baffled by why she is waiting so long.
                1. JP February 25, 2026 at 7:27 pm

                   I’m not preaching salvation. That’s a belief. My take is more core Buddhist. There is a path out. Although Will Durant has a street view of enlightenment, he makes an eloquent statement:

                   “The only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character, the only real emancipation is individual, and the only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints.”

                   So it is individual for now. Possibly a more evolved intelligence can get there en masse.
    2. Partyless poster February 25, 2026 at 4:58 pm

       Really nice comment!
       Thank you
    3. AG February 25, 2026 at 9:00 pm

       All I needed to know at some point was that after pandemic in Germany bankruptcies of small businesses had risen sharply and that wealth accumulation among billionaires in France and Germany had exploded.

       While we have a considerable effort from reporters today to examine the minutes of what was going on behind the scenes between government agencies and Big Pharma – that is the political side of it all – there is almost nobody who has ever questioned the economic features of the shutdown such as allowing landlords demand the usual rent from tenants while latter had no income for months.

       This single fact alone is breathtaking as its completely forgotten.

       I really would like a study that looks into the economic repercussions of this wealth redistribution and accumlation, one which is mirrored in every simple statistics that I saw, like e.g. in Le Monde diplomatique. (Unfortunately I can´t find it right now.) But there are zero consequences to this.

       The same is happening now with reamilitarization.

       And even on such spaces as NACHDENKSEITEN, there are some staff members who do concede a certain legitimacy to this.

       Accepting the government argument that the Russian move really gave genuine cause to reconsider.

       Not understanding that plans for this new fake Military Keynesianism had been in the drawers long before Febr. 2022.
22. Bugs February 25, 2026 at 10:45 am

    “RFK Jr.’s billionaire running mate is making a comedy about the pandemic” Politico

    Recommend reading this one. Remember the pandemic? Laff riot, I’m telling ya. All those wacky punchlines! The biggest one: millions of dead across the world and a cool million in the truly exceptional USA! I’m rolling on the floor. Not to mention that Long Covid stuff! I’m so ready to yuck it up at the theatre. I’m sure that Walter Kirn has tapped into that rich vein of humor that only those suffocating on a respirator can understand. What a talent. Kudos to that billionaire babe (isn’t she awesome) Nicky Shanahan for bringing it to the public.

    I gotta say that these billionaires and their coterie need to keep yacking. Let it all out. Express your love of humor! Show us who you are! The Epstein Files exchanges are so edifying – look at how they see us: people-like things that eat. Altman’s off-hand comment in India comes to mind as well: “People talk about how much energy it takes to train an AI model – but it also takes a lot of energy to train a human”. Yeah, those humans need so much energy. And they talk back!

    May they all get what they deserve.
23. Kilgore Trout February 25, 2026 at 10:58 am

    On RFK Jrs’ running mate funding a comedy making fun of the pandemic: “Paging Leni Riefenstahl.”
24. AG February 25, 2026 at 11:42 am

    re: Taibbi/Kirn

    So ATW is gone. Despite my in part serious crticism that´s a loss.
    Lets hope there will eventually be something comparable.
    Such a show and take are not simple to pull off whatever the qualms we have had over the issues especially post Oct 7th and Trump´s increasing tip towards NeoCon world.
25. mrsyk February 25, 2026 at 11:56 am

    If you need a dose of righteous outrage have a look at the WSWS piece on high school student protesters being manhandled and detained. Here’s the lede,

    At least five high school students in Quakertown, located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, have now been held in police custody for more than 72 hours following last Friday’s anti-ICE protest. As of this writing, authorities have not publicly clarified how many students remain detained, what specific charges they face, or why juveniles are being held for this length of time.

    There’s a photo of the police chief, out of uniform, on the floor using a MMA style chokehold on a petite teenage girl. Classy. Best brush off your resume, dude.
26. XXYY February 25, 2026 at 11:57 am

    Exclusive: Iran nears deal to buy supersonic anti-ship missiles from China Reuters

    … Negotiations with China to buy the missile weapons systems, which began at least two years ago, accelerated sharply after the 12‑day war between Israel and Iran in June, according to the six people with knowledge of the talks, including three officials who were briefed by the Iranian government as well as three security officials. As talks entered their final stages last summer, senior Iranian military and government officials travelled to China…

    Anyone have information or direct experience about why these kind of deals take literally years to complete? Naively, I would think they could be worked out in an hour over (an encrypted) phone.

    Is it just that they are linked to other issues and the whole deal becomes a big blob? Or are the people involved just trying to get the maximum amount of junkets out of it? I would think in cases like this where it’s something of a existential matter for one of the countries involved, they would be wrapping it up pretty quick and taking delivery as soon as possible.

    I’d be interested to hear if someone can shine a light on this.
    1. Polar Socialist February 25, 2026 at 3:17 pm

       One never buys just the missiles, one buys the missiles, their launch platforms, their reloading vehicles, their maintenance vehicles, their targeting system, attached generators and communication equipment, spare parts for all of the above, simulators, training courses and at least some maintenance.

       If they are air- or vessel launched, somebody has to add them to the carriers targeting and launch systems, and negotiations on who does what and in what order can take a lot of time as it unavoidably involves some level of technological exchange and thus trust.

       Also, if the payments are not in currency but, say, in crude or deities forbid involves offset trade, that has to be negotiated separately, once the actual agreement has been mostly ironed out.
27. Jabura Basadai February 25, 2026 at 12:13 pm

    Antidote du jour – isn’t that a bear cub? – wonder where big Mama is –
    1. AG February 25, 2026 at 9:13 pm

       Oh come oooon, everyone can see that´s a PANDA!!!!

       p.s. China has agreed to lend a new panda to German zoos, this time to Munich in Bavaria, for mere 1M Euros fee.
       And of course there is strict abstinence or rather same sex couples provided to Europe and elsewhere. Otherwise the leverage would be gone.
       I love that soft authoritarian diplomacy à la chinoise: Missiles no, pandas yes.

       Maybe Bejing should try to mesmerize US Navy ships with airborne pandas to spread peace on the high seas. What would actually happen if those US skippers had to rescue them out of the water after an airdrop by neat BW parachutes. And then had to feed and take care of the animals. Eventually give Trump a panda???
28. tyaresun February 25, 2026 at 12:19 pm

    How come this is not in the news.

    https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/epstein-files-reveal-missing-fbi-records-allegations-against-trump-documented-but-key-pages-withheld

    Donald Trump, the president, had parties at Maralago called “calendar girls” Jeffrey Epstein would bring the children in and trump would auction them off. He measured the children’s vulva and vaginas by entering a finger and rated the children on tightness. The guests were elder men and included Elon Musk. Don jr. Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump were there. Attorney Allan Dershowitz was also there with Attorney Bob Shapiro. We were taken in rooms, forced to give oral sex to Donald J Trump. Forced to allow them to penetrate us. I was 13 years old when Donald J Trump raped me. Ghislaine Maxwell was also present
    1. Bugs February 25, 2026 at 1:16 pm

       Right at the top of the NYT, just now. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/us/politics/trump-epstein-files.html

       Of course though, it’s been edited for your safety.
    2. Ben Panga February 25, 2026 at 1:45 pm

       1. Convenient that this hits the news as DJT gets TACO-curious on Iran.

       2. May their souls burn for eternity. I’m a SA “survivor”, one of I suspect very many from the same institutions in the village I grew up in. It’s almost impossible to get any investigation now – the school, the church, the local media refused to engage when contacted. Police reporting seems to lead nowhere. Almost nothing makes me angrier than the facilitation and ongoing brushing under the carpet that’s happened.

       Epstein files are used to score political points – “bad for Dems/Trump” “what does it mean for the future of the monarchy/Starmer?”

       What about the f***ING victims????

       Rant over.
       1. ChrisPacific February 25, 2026 at 7:51 pm

          I am sorry that happened to you. Sadly your experience seems par for the course in most countries.

          We recently had the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care here. The findings were horrifying. I always believed that the society I grew up in was basically decent and tried to do right by people. Now I find that the government was taking kids away from their families for the flimsiest of reasons (mostly amounting to being poor and brown) and putting them in institutions that subjected them to the most appalling abuse and neglect, delivering them into the hands of bullies and predators.

          What’s more, when I examine my childhood memories for it, I find the signs everywhere. The town I grew up in was largely working class, and plenty of my schoolmates were from poorer families. They used to talk about it – in an exaggerated and fanciful way, as spooky stories to scare one another with, things that happened to someone they knew, as kids do. But enough of the details align that it can’t have been coincidence. It never touched me, but it was all around me, just barely out of sight.
          1. Ben Panga February 25, 2026 at 10:47 pm

             Thanks Chris. It took some work but I’m healed now. In a way it led me to my work (I do trauma resolution and recovery stuff) and I get real value/meaning from helping others heal too.

             A lot of others aren’t so lucky, but there are many good people in this world trying to help them. Not enough, but they exist.

             My strong suspicion from people I’ve known socially and through work is that it is (or was during the 70s & 80s) much more widespread than acknowledged. And it affected a lot of boys as well as girls.

             Thanks for sharing your own take. Versions of state-directed theft and institutionalisation of kids seemed to have happened in a lot of places, always with horrible outcomes.

             A society that doesn’t look after it’s children is not a society.

             For others I think this is the commission Chris is referencing(?)

             https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/
             1. ChrisPacific February 27, 2026 at 4:48 pm

                That’s the one, yes.
29. Duke of Prunes February 25, 2026 at 1:23 pm

    I’ve been saying this for a few years: the pandemic has made everyone at least a little crazy, including me.

    Case in point: Took the family to a play in downtown Chicago on a weeknight. Parked in a ramp near the venue. After the play, there’s a long line to get out… bumper to bumper, snaking through many levels of the garage. After a bit, I guess people can’t wait any more. Horns start. A loud argument turns into a physical altercation (nothing more serious than pushing and shoving)… Huh? When “theater prople” can’t even behave properly, what has this world come to?!?
30. Sam Culotte February 25, 2026 at 2:22 pm

    Re: Ever-impending Iran War

    Judging by today’s links, it appears that armchair generals everywhere have temporarily(?) put away their crystal balls after a couple weeks of failed predictions. So I thought I’d step into the breach and offer (tongue-in-cheek) a prediction of my own which, by the way, is not a complete impossibility. Here goes:

    Trump desperately wants the Nobel Prize for Peace. We all know that. The most obvious way for him to get it is to save the world from nuclear incineration. Ergo, he first of all brings it to the brink of that. Then, while our threatened world waits in suspense for a savior, he calls together the world’s leaders. A sort of Yalta conference if you like, where he can pretend to be FDR. They all agree that those menacing nukes must be put in storage, for the time being at least.

    And thereby, Trump has saved the world, just like the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. He will assume the mantle of JFK*, compare himself to him, claim all the credit, and demand from the Norwegians his medal and $1 million (especially the money). Or there will be tariffs!

    *Curiously, JFK never received the Peace Prize, though he was nominated. Go figure. Nobels for stinkers like Kissinger and Obama (yuk!) but nothing for him.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_Peace_Prize_laureates
31. amfortas February 25, 2026 at 5:18 pm

    https://x.com/wlotspod/status/2026745724176572817
    i was gonna post this without comment, but i cant help meself…i have actually been to a church like that!
    hung around with a punk chick with blue hair, tats galore and a nose ring for a time, during a particularly difficult part of my Wild Years…and she said one night that she had to take me to meet her dad(!)…and we went to a clapboard rural church…and he was in there tending to his rattle snakes(i frelling hate snakes).
    he was cooler than i expected,lol.
    said, “welp, jess dont be a dick to my daughter…”
32. Jason Boxman February 25, 2026 at 5:34 pm

    Tump’s gotta dominate

    “Please, please, please: yes peace, not war,” Mr. Maduro’s recorded voice repeated as he bounced to an electronic beat at the presidential palace on Nov. 21, the day of his call with Mr. Trump.

    When Mr. Trump was shown a video of Mr. Maduro dancing some time after their call, the U.S. president was visibly annoyed, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Trump saw the Venezuelan leader’s antics as mockery, tilting the scale further toward a military incursion, the person added.

    The U.S. pressure added to the internal divisions already plaguing Mr. Maduro’s rule, some of the people close to him said.

    From The Fall of a Strongman: Inside Maduro’s Last Days in Power (NY Times; paywall intact)

    Looks like they’re blocking archive.ph again.
33. Henry Moon Pie February 25, 2026 at 5:50 pm

    Larry Summers will finally resign his Harvard professorship. Now if they could just scrub Wexner’s name from the Kennedy School and Sacklers’ from the art museum, it might smell better on the Yard.
34. lone plateau February 25, 2026 at 6:49 pm

    Solid piece in Bloomberg of all places about the long term effects of SARS-CoV-2. It highlights the cognitive effects on individuals and what it might portend for the economy. From the author’s book “After Covid: The Health Impacts That Will Last Generations” Scary for those of us with Long Covid
    link
35. Glen February 25, 2026 at 6:50 pm

    Looks like the Epstein class is taking some hits even in America (but I doubt any of them get tried and go to jail):

    Larry Summers will resign from Harvard amid Epstein fallout
    https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/25/larry-summers-resigns-harvard-epstein-00798100

    I’d say his real legacy is being one of the economic brain trust that wrecked America, but that’s just me.
    1. eg February 25, 2026 at 11:02 pm

       Good riddance to bad rubbish.
36. lyman alpha blob February 25, 2026 at 6:54 pm

    Sounds like Cuba isn’t ready to roll over just yet – https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cuba-says-four-shot-dead-191625240.html

    “Four people who entered Cuban waters on a US-registered speedboat have been shot dead by border guards, Cuba’s government said.

    In a statement, Cuba’s interior ministry said that the speedboat’s passengers opened fire on a coast guard vessel that approached them.

    Six additional passengers were wounded in the incident, which took place near an island on Cuba’s northern coast.”

    The article doesn’t say if those killed were US citizens or not, but because Cuba didn’t murder the survivors and brought them to a hospital, we will likely get more details. Florida politicians are already spouting off, making sure to get in a few “communist”s as an epithet while doing so.
37. Acacia February 25, 2026 at 7:44 pm

    Re: What Are Chinese People Vibecoding?

    Interesting roundup. It begins with a discussion of how IDEs are being “improved” with AI (and a completely unironic nod to the film Ex Machina).

    So “AI” is now being declared a game-changer for app development, but when you dig into this a little bit, it seems to be in large part because everybody knows that most IDEs suck big time and the “AI” improvement is to compensate for that suckage, e.g. by helping to manage all the stupid little config files that “modern” IDEs seem to require.

    Instead of actually designing a better IDE and developer experience — you know, tools that help you build apps instead of a bloated mess — the “solution” is apparently to pave over that horribleness with “AI”.

    Relatedly:

    People are applauding a software engineer’s ‘honest take’ on AI in the workplace
    https://www.businessinsider.com/dax-raad-post-ai-coding-workplace-bottleneck-productivity-2026-2

    “The 2 people on your team that actually tried are now flattened by the slop code everyone is producing, they will quit soon,” Raad wrote.

    There are also very real monetary costs to outfitting a company’s engineers with AI coding tools and the tokens required to power new AI features.

    “your CFO is like what do you mean each engineer now costs $2000 extra per month in LLM bills?”
38. Alice X February 25, 2026 at 8:57 pm

    Alas, I have no words for our collective plight though someone, (when I was four) in 1953 offered his prospect.

    Eisenhower and the Chance for Peace Speech

    Quincy Institute – ¡research! … para mio

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