Links 3/1/2026

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1. Louis Fyne March 1, 2026 at 7:13 am

   looking at the reasonably certain “truth” trickling out….it looks like this is Bibi’s war (assassinating a man/leadership who were not afraid to die) that Trump latched onto to get cheap political points (not defending or excusing Trump); and of course Trump/his circle didn’t think about 2nd, 3rd order effects.

   There is no off-ramp….this is a lot like Ukraine; Iran needs strategic depth, a buffer zone between it and Israel. That means getting rid of the Gulf states/Jordan. Clauswitiz-ian politics by other means.

   after Obama- Biden (Minsk) and Trump, no POTUS can be trusted. what NC commentariat knew as given is finally sinking in worldwide.

   The only “logical” choice is for Iran to keep shooting until every American Gulf base is destroyed, and Israel is debilitated….with ideally the GCC turning nominally neutral.

   Does Iran have the spine for a long war? Die on your feet or die on the receiving end of an Israeli drone.
   1. The Rev Kev March 1, 2026 at 7:23 am

      Trump is already trying to find an off ramp and he may claim that Iran’s murdered religious leader – whom he accused of being the most evil man in history – is a sign that he is done now so everything can go back to normal and victory be called.
      1. hk March 1, 2026 at 2:03 pm

         I suppose Trump could claim to have seen In hoc signo vinces in a sign and convert to Shi’ism. (Granted, it took 3 centuries from Pontius Pilate to Constantine.)
   2. David March 1, 2026 at 7:37 am

      Does Iran have the weapons for a long war? I doubt they hve enough to destroy every base in region. Bare in mind just about no war had been won by air power alone.
      1. Louis Fyne March 1, 2026 at 8:56 am

         that’s the known-unkown. Israel says 2,000 missiles, pro-Iran sources say ten, 20,000.

         we won’t know until Tehran just won’t stop firing missiles
         1. LawnDart March 1, 2026 at 11:07 am

            Iran supports 40 or so militias throughout the Middle East– large and small– and we just killed their spiritual leader.

            Potential threats don’t only come from the sky.
      2. vao March 1, 2026 at 4:49 pm

         I believe that the duration of the war will not depend on the amount of ammunition Iranians have in their arsenals and on how much they can manufacture, but on how long they can sustain a campaign against their civilian infrastructure (power, water, dams, communications, hospitals, schools, refineries, food storage, etc).

         Because devastating civilian infrastructure has been a favourite modus operandi of the USA and Israel when facing an adversary whose military resists successfully and retaliates in a dangerous way. Recent examples: Lebanon, Yemen. Older example: Serbia. Ancient examples: Vietnam, North Korea.

         In fact, Israel already started doing so and has bombed at least a school (plenty of dead children), a hospital, a TV chain, ports, and a refinery. Iran’s civilian infrastructure (probably excluding nuclear facilities) is vulnerable (difficult to defend) and fragile (decrepit after decades of mismanagement and sanctions).

         A good question for which I have no answer is whether the Iranians will attack Israel’s civilian infrastructure as a reprisal. A relevant case in point: Hezbollah did not — and lost (Hezbollah had to back down and stop attacking Israel, while Israel continues to bomb Lebanon unimpeded and has even conquered bits of the country).

         Israel’s infrastructure is modern, but also exposed, and I have no idea how much redundancy is built in it. And Israelis are demented enough to lob their atomic bombs if they feel that is the only way to escape from Amalek.

         As for the USA, it really depends on how full or empty the arsenals are, and how many fatalities that country can endure, since Iran cannot destroy infrastructure in North America. I notice that France is now sending its single carrier fleet towards the Eastern Mediterranean, so the USA-Israel axis might soon get reinforcements.
2. The Rev Kev March 1, 2026 at 7:19 am

   “A duo of the willing: US and Israel have few allies in initial Iran strikes”

   Not really surprising this. Trump recently denigrated all those nations that sent soldiers to Afghanistan and accused them of hanging back, no matter how many of them were killed. Why should any nation be bothered putting their hand up to support Trump when he is just as likely to mock any contingents sent. And of course all those nations have their own intelligence agencies who are probably telling their political masters not to get involved in this madcap scheme of Trump and it is going to be a s*** show.
3. Deb Schultz March 1, 2026 at 7:57 am

   I don’t understand the purpose of this war and I certainly know nothing of depth about the politics or sectarian differences in Iran. Unfortunately, I think I still know a bit more than the people perpetrating this war. Discussions about knock-on effects etc seem pretty sterile to me unless one of those is the overthrow of the Trump regime.

   Our country is collapsing even as our floridly unstable president puts on a white hat and acts on behalf of the billionaire cartel. The absurdity of this man declaring that this war is done on the behalf of anyone save himself and his own interests should have been clear several iterations of mad self-indulgence at taxpayers’ expense ago.
   1. steppenwolf fetchit March 1, 2026 at 3:07 pm

      Well, I can think of one purpose among others. Notice how we suddenly aren’t discussing or even hearing about the Epstein files anymore?
   2. xixi March 5, 2026 at 2:46 am

      Our country is collapsing even as our floridly unstable president puts on a white hat and acts on behalf of the billionaire cartel.

      =============================

      In 2025, the average life expectancy in the United States reached an all-time high, while murder and violent crime rates fell to an all-time low.
4. JohnA March 1, 2026 at 7:58 am

   Re Former UK prime minister declares ‘biggest problem is Islamism,’

   Well, the former UK prime minister concerned is the short-lived premiership of Lettuce Lizzy Truss. Literally nobody, except herself, takes her seriously, and the overwhelming consensus is that she is barking mad.
   1. The Rev Kev March 1, 2026 at 8:15 am

      Did anybody ask the lettuce their thoughts on what Liz Truss said? Most people would rather listen to the lettuce than Liz Truss.
      1. Wukchumni March 1, 2026 at 9:07 am

         A reprise from back in the day before she wilted…

         You better look busy, Miss Lizzy
         When you play that starring role
         You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzy
         When you score an own goal
         Come on, come on
         Come on, come on, Lizzy
         Resign ‘fore I grow too old

         Run and tell Kwasi moto
         I want you to go go
         Run and tell the party Tory
         Baby, you’re history
         Come on, come on
         Come on, come on, maybe
         You’ll be like political rabies

         Come on, a little late for a tizzy
         Put your little resignation before the nation
         Come on, Miss Lizzy
         Yeah, things don’t look so fine, but think of the jubilation
         Come on, come on
         Come on, come on, Dizzy
         Its about your endive-time, ow!

         Come on, give me closure
         Get your resignation in on time, girl
         Woo! Miss Lizzy
         Girl, things don’t look so fine
         Come on, come on
         Come on, Miss Lizzy
         Girl, I want to harry you

         You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzy
         When I write your name
         Ooh, baby
         Say you’re driving me insane
         You’re just a fill-in for next in line
         Girl, I bet you wish you were a mime

         Dizzy Miss Lizzy, by the Beatles

         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psJ1cHm_su4&list=RDpsJ1cHm_su4
      2. JohnA March 1, 2026 at 9:08 am

         The lettuce was unavailable to comment as its salad days are sadly now over.
         1. Oregon Lawhobbit March 2, 2026 at 2:41 pm

            I’d heard it was still busy dressing…
      3. .Tom March 1, 2026 at 1:32 pm

         The only reason I can imagine that anyone listens to Truss is for a laugh. Apart from that why would anyone pay her any attention? I would have her on my podcast for that reason, she’s bound to say something ridiculous. “The biggest problem is Islamism.” Your projection is showing, sweetheart.
5. Tom Stone March 1, 2026 at 8:12 am

   Trump owns this War and I hope there are some in the Government who realize just how crazy he is because he could very well push the big red button.
   He could also react to protests at home by invoking the insurrection act, he has no reverse gear and he is desperate to be seen as a “Winner” no matter what the cost is to others.
   1. LawnDart March 1, 2026 at 11:10 am

      “he has no reverse gear”

      Ever hear of TACO?
6. diptherio March 1, 2026 at 8:33 am

   I know that this is completely off-topic, given current events, but it’s really been bugging me lately, and I’m wondering if anyone can help me out with an answer: how the f’ does Uber still exist? Is it covering costs and turning a profit now? Is it making up for the billions in losses? Horan was convincing that they had no path to profitability, but the fact that they are still around despite AI taking up all the dumb money from Softbank et al makes me think that maybe it wasn’t so clear cut…? I dunno, and far be it from me to question the experts, but it seems like Uber should be dead by now, given all Hubert discussed, and yet it’s apparently still a thing. Anyone have any insight into this mystery? Is it just a case of “the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent,” or something else?
   1. Louis Fyne March 1, 2026 at 8:52 am

      uber eats, and uber ( passenger service) has gotten much more expensive for passengers while payouts to drivers have shrunk.

      it is essentially a monopoly after all
      1. Alena Shahadat March 1, 2026 at 5:43 pm

         Hi,
         at least I am not alone in disbelief. In Geneva, Switzerland, Uber was outlawed for several years, then lost the federal appeal. They then promised to hire drivers as employees which they DID NOT technically. They set up small businesses under other names to hire drivers as employees that then are “rented” to Uber and Uber Eats. (Uber Eats delivery people are employed by “Chasky”).

         Result : Uber is still operating in Geneva. I just can’t believe it. And, yes, I heard it too, rides got more expensive for riders.
         1. Alena Shahadat March 1, 2026 at 6:03 pm

            To finish this little report,

            In 2020, during the COVID, people in Geneva canton voted for minimal pay of 23 swiss francs per hour. So, I suppose that’s what the drivers get ? I don’t know for certain, because every Uber driver I ask : “but what about your expenses ? For gas, reparations, car insurance…” They answer vagely that there have been talks, between the State (Geneva) and Uber.
   2. Bugs March 1, 2026 at 10:01 am

      It’s much more expensive than it used to be and they pay the drivers less. Plus the food delivery is a cash cow of sorts. I use it or Ola in India to call autorickshaws and then pay the driver cash, usually more than double the quoted rate, which is literally pennies. In Paris, it’s as expensive or more than a regular taxi, that you can find all over the place. Just use a cab. In the US, at least it has one competitor and some local taxi firms hang on. If you can get a driver to pick you up outside the app, sometimes they have a system. YMMV
   3. earthling March 1, 2026 at 10:10 am

      Young urbanites who have no car still have no car. Uber rides are still cheaper than buying and parking a vehicle. And people can easily, painlessly, charge rides until their credit card balance is huge.
      1. steppenwolf fetchit March 1, 2026 at 3:11 pm

         Yes, and once their credit card balance is huge, then what?

         Civil/traffic engineers and e-scooter engineers should be getting together to make cities and e-scooters much more compatible with eachother. If they were to succeed in that work, they could reduce young urbanites’ needs for UberLyftoid-type disservices by making e-scooters much more young-urbanite-user friendly mass-uptake ubiquitizable.
   4. tegnost March 1, 2026 at 10:29 am

      If my family is any indication, dedicated users who don’t realize a taxi would be cheaper.
      I received a slack jawed response to my claim that dems as currently structured would oppose free buses as it would stymie the given takeover of transport by uberlyft and the accompanied self driving fantasies, because orthodoxy demands compliance so the future may remain foreordained or something. Amazon, uber, uber eats… all completely unnecessary middle men, now enhanced! with AI…How much longer this can go on I am unable to predict.
      1. steppenwolf fetchit March 1, 2026 at 3:13 pm

         It will go on until it can’t. Then it will stop. Didn’t Herbert Stein say something like that once?
   5. diptherio March 1, 2026 at 12:21 pm

      Thanks for all the responses. They go some way towards answering my question, but I’d still like to see what their finances are looking like. iirc, the last update showed small profits, but mostly from accounting shenanigans. If the answer to Horan’s epic series is “yes, actually” I would like to know, because I definitely took all that evidence to mean that no way in heck could Uber ever deliver.
   6. Hubert Horan March 2, 2026 at 5:22 pm

      responses so far have picked up on the main points, but my answer to the “how did Uber, after losing $33 billion in its first 14 years, finally achieve breakeven?” question about a year ago

      https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/02/hubert-horan-can-uber-ever-deliver-part-thirty-five-what-drove-ubers-recent-8-billion-pl-improvement.html

      Short version: (1) following its pandemic driven revenue collapse, Uber completely abandoned the business model that drove its popularity and meteoric growth, raised prices well above what the traditional taxis they drove out of business used to charge and dramatically cut back service coverage (2) Because of its Kalanick-era scorched earth response to any competitors, regulators or journalists challenging them, it knew it had established the quasi-monopoly market power to raise prices, cut wages and reduce service at will (3) It abandoned “transparent” customer prices and driver payment plans in favor of aggressive/extreme first-order price discimination that (for example) tailored driver payment offers to the lowest number it thought individual drivers would accept (4) Massive funding to nullify all democratic efforts to provide even minimal level of labor lab protections for drivers (e.g. California Prop 22). Items 3 and 4 also depended on Uber’s complete immunity from competition). My central claim in the Uber series is that Uber would never be able to earn sustainable profits in a competitive market, and no one has ever challenged that central claim.

      These were obviously supported by mainstream/business press’ malfeasance. Just as they had failed to cover the pre-pandemic questions of why Uber was losing so much money/what could they do to finally become profitable, the question of how Uber managed to achieve one of the biggest corporate P&L turnarounds in history has received no coverage whatsoever.
      1. flora March 2, 2026 at 6:42 pm

         Thanks very much for your explainer comment.

         re: ” My central claim in the Uber series is that Uber would never be able to earn sustainable profits in a competitive market, and no one has ever challenged that central claim.”

         I guess the tech bros mantra of “move fast and break things” to capture&monopolize a market with worse service and questionable finances in this case only works if competition is eliminated. Is that Adam Smith -style capitalism? Wall St. is silent.
      2. diptherio March 3, 2026 at 7:31 pm

         Thanks so much for that, Hubert. To my mortification, your link was still orange – i.e. I somehow missed the finale, only making it to part 34(!). Looking forward to giving it a read.
7. Henry Moon Pie March 1, 2026 at 8:37 am

   Shifting climate zones–

   The USDA study is understandably focused on the effects of shifting zones on agricultural productivity, but climate changes are projected to radically affect forests, rivers and grasslands as well. In Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley, oak-hickory forests predominate, but we’re currently projected to have a climate more like northern Louisiana or Mississippi by 2100. The change is occurring so rapidly that forests will have a hard time adapting to these changes. In the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, rangers are attempting to help the stressed forests, but they’re challenged by having to determine whether they should eliminate “invasive” trees like the black locust, which is moving north, or welcome it as a replacement for the oaks and hickories. On top of that, the new rainfall patterns of long dry spells interrupted by downpours will deepen the Cuyahoga River’s channel, narrowing the upstream flood plain while worsening flooding closer to the river’s mouth at Cleveland.

   So first, we get an agricultural Jackpot as outlined in the article, but survivors are going to find rivers and forest less than fecund because they’re under maximum stress as well.
   1. Wukchumni March 1, 2026 at 9:48 am

      Maybe there were 425 trees on the all cats and no cattle ranch when I bought the farm 20 years ago-all of ’em hundreds of years old, and never watered by the hand of man…

      85 have perished on my watch over just a score, or as the Doors put it…

      Five to one, baby
      One in five
      No one here gets out alive, now

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOzpncIHCLs&list=RDoOzpncIHCLs

      It’s all about tolerances, and native trees around these parts don’t so much like the new and improved warmer climate~
8. Pat March 1, 2026 at 8:42 am

   If what I am reading is even half accurate Trump has a two front war on his hands. And despite Carney’s speech on Iran unless he makes a 180, Trump and the US are going to be even more screwed because Carney is actually playing three dimensional chess to Trump’s sad checkers in the financial war with Canada. And they have thrown a hypersonic bomb on Trump’s Department of War by closing access to Canada’s minerals including rare earth. And the effects on the domestic front from other Canadian actions are going to further erode Trump support in key Republican and swing states.

   The ignorance, arrogance and inability for the Trump administration to recognize and/or assess negative conditions and possible counter moves is staggering. This is looking to be Operation Epic Fail.
9. flora March 1, 2026 at 8:45 am

   From yesterday, gCaptain on the Strait of Hormuz.

   Tankers Diverting Strait of Hormuz Region as U.S./ Israel Strikes on Iran Intensify

   https://gcaptain.com/tankers-diverting-strait-of-hormuz-region-as-u-s-israel-strikes-on-iran-intensify/
   1. flora March 1, 2026 at 9:53 am

      latest update from AlJazeera:

      Maersk suspends vessel transit through Strait of Hormuz

      Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, says it will halt passage of cargo vessels through the Strait of Hormuz for “safety” reasons.

      “We are suspending all vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice,” the Danish group said in an online advisory.”
      1. flora March 1, 2026 at 10:14 am

         Good explainer about the importance of the Strait of Hormuz from AlJazeera a few days ago. (I wonder if Saudi and UAE are complaining now because the outlet for their oil to the world market is closed,)

         Iran-US tensions: What would blocking Strait of Hormuz mean for oil, LNG?
         More than $500bn in oil and gas flows through waterway annually, leaving the global economy exposed to disruptions.

         https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/22/iran-us-tensions-what-would-blocking-strait-of-hormuz-mean-for-oil-lng
10. The Rev Kev March 1, 2026 at 8:56 am

    “With Iran under attack, Modi’s Jerusalem visit will haunt India”

    One reason that Israel wants to get buddy buddy with India is so that they can import Indian labourers to replace the Palestinians that use to do the work before. You are talking tens of thousands here but I predict conflict between the Indian workers and the Ultra-Orthodox due to their tint. Some high-up rabbis wanted Arabs to become slaves in their version of Israel but I can’t see the Indians going along with this for themselves.
    1. Oh March 1, 2026 at 4:21 pm

       Yes, that’s the main reason for Israel to get into the arrangement. Modi doesn’t care as long as his buddy get’s more work building ports in Israel (the construction personnel will be slaves, just like in other parts of the middle east. The people (slaves) will go along with it because they have no choice.
11. pjay March 1, 2026 at 9:25 am

    – ‘EU calls for maximum restraint, respecting international law following Israel-US attack on Iran’ – Andolu Agency

    LOL! “Maximum restraint”? “International law”? Who the hell do they think they are talking to here?

    “For regional security and stability, it is of the utmost importance that there is no further escalation through Iran’s unjustified attacks on partners in the region,” [von der Leyen] said on X.”

    Oh, ok. Now I understand.

    Public statements are literally “War is peace, freedom is slavery” territory now, with no fear of any media push-back at all.
    1. jefemt March 1, 2026 at 9:47 am

       I didn’t realize that Iran attacked another Nation-State directly?

       Gotta hand it to Israel and its proxy the US… unabashed frontal overt and publicized attacks.

       USreal. It’s an Epstein Island.
    2. flora March 1, 2026 at 12:53 pm

       When I read that I immediately thought of the old Bill Cosby stand up comedy routine called Toss of the Coin.

       Bill Cosby routine on utube, ~2+ minutes.

       Toss of the Coin

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0O1_X1t_dw
    3. Lefty Godot March 1, 2026 at 2:44 pm

       You have to remember the rules of the vaunted rules-based international order. Rule # 8 covers this situation:

       8. We reserve the right to attack you for any reason; if you offer resistance and try to defend yourselves and fight back, that makes you terrorists and a threat to the entire international order.

       I’m sure Ursula is well aware of the logic behind this.
       1. Fred S March 1, 2026 at 9:39 pm

          There is only one Rule and that is: The USA makes the rules and the USA imposes the order.
12. pjay March 1, 2026 at 9:50 am

    – ‘War powers debate intensifies after Trump orders attack on Iran without approval by Congress’ – AP

    – ‘Marjorie Taylor Greene blasts Trump’s Iran strikes’ – The Hill

    Interesting to see these two posts next to each other. The very idea that a “war powers debate” will have any effect whatsoever in our bought-and-paid-for Congress is laughable. This “threat” is trotted out every time we go to war. Maybe there will be some sternly worded letters sent to the President or the NY Times opinion page before they wave away their constitutional duty as they always do.

    On the other hand, I thought the article on Greene was important, because the threat of losing a significant segment of his MAGA base might exert real pressure on Trump, if anything can. To this end I welcome any push back against the warmongers by those right-wingers with considerable visibility like Greene, or Tucker Carlson, Candice Owens, Megyn Kelly, or whomever.
    1. Laughingsong March 1, 2026 at 11:48 am

       – ‘War powers debate intensifies after Trump orders attack on Iran without approval by Congress’ – AP

       Reminds me of a scene from Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian”:

       REG: ‘Right! This calls for immediate discussion!’
13. Wukchumni March 1, 2026 at 9:58 am

    Goooooooood Moooooooorning Fiatnam!

    Grunts in the platoon were openly grousing in regards to being posted to ‘Operation Bibirossa’, as many were now calling it, a pre-emptive strike on lebensrauss!
14. Tom Stone March 1, 2026 at 9:58 am

    Some mornings I am a little slow, it took a second cup of tea before I realized how this War will benefit Trump domestically.
    The vile murder of Khameini, the spiritual leader of Shia Islam guaranteed that Jihad would be declared against America.
    And that Guarantees attacks on the USA.
    Which will justify temporarily suspending the Constitution in order to “Protect America’s Freedoms” during the emergency.
    DHS did their best to provoke the people of Minnesota, does anyone doubt that Trump would have and still will invoke the Insurrection Act given the slightest excuse?
    Trump is not a rational actor, he has no reverse gear.
    Either he seizes control now or he is gone and at least some of his administration will be headed to prison if they don’t end up decorating lamp posts.
15. The Rev Kev March 1, 2026 at 9:59 am

    ‘Iran Military Monitor
    @IRIran_Military
    They evacuated their bases and took cover in nearby hotels, but we know exactly which hotels and which floors they’re on.’

    Sounds like the Iranians are actively hunting American military personnel so that the bulk of casualties are just not on their side.
    1. J.B March 1, 2026 at 5:35 pm

       I believe one of the claims was the u.s. had set up node or a small command center in that hotel.
16. leaf March 1, 2026 at 10:08 am

    “Timing of US-Israel attack on Iran bears symbolic meaning in Judaism as Netanyahu references holiday of Purim”

    “The timing of the US and Israeli attack on Iran bears symbolic meaning in Judaism, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced the upcoming holiday of Purim in his first statement.

    “Twenty five hundred years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant rose against us with the very same goal, to utterly destroy our people,” Netanyahu said of the story, which takes place in what is now Iran. “Today as well, on Purim, the lot has fallen, and in the end this evil regime will fall too.”

    Netanyahu frequently references religious events or symbols in his statements.

    Ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday , worshippers read a specific portion from the Old Testament, known as Zachor.

    The passage from the book of Deuteronomy commands the ancient Israelites to remember an unprovoked attack by the nation of Amalek, located in modern-day Sinai and southern Israel, and to eradicate the memory of Amalek once the Israelites are settled in their land.

    The passage is read publicly before Purim to fulfil what Jews consider the mitzvah – or commandment – of remembering Amalek as Israel’s achetypical enemy. Amalek is often referenced as an historical enemy of the Jewish people, and Netanyahu invoked it shortly after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.”

    By: Tal Shalev, CNN, published Feb 28, 2026

    Why would they publish something so cartoonishly evil and have one of the first targets hit be a girls school? And then to basically say this was all done on the Israeli timetable…
    1. gk March 1, 2026 at 5:19 pm

       This was followed (Esther 9:16) by the genocide of 75.000 Iranians.
17. pjay March 1, 2026 at 10:16 am

    – ‘Kaine: Trump ‘too mentally incapacitated’ to understand he set stage for Iran nuclear development’ – The Hill

    It’s hard to know what Trump himself actually understands, but it is clear why Israel and its neocon allies in the US demanded that he tear up the JCPOA. The agreement took away their top justification for destroying Iran: that it was “on the verge” of possessing a nuclear weapon. If this was a real fear it would have made no sense to abandon the agreement, but of course it wasn’t. No one actually believes this is a real threat, but now they are free to use yet another “WMD” pretense for the final stage of Operation Clean Break. And why not? The media will always provide cover, and the people apparently have no memory.
    1. LawnDart March 1, 2026 at 11:32 am

       The dems should give that play a rest, insinuating some sort of diminished mental-capacity, deviation, or illness in their opponents has been a go-to for decades now– remember “autistic Putin” from back in the Obama days? Heck, even on rare occasion there’s a fleck of truth to the accusation the public has grown numb and tired of it– so what’s the point? Dems just look even more like childish, name-calling sissies.

       This is one of my favorite rebuttals to that sort of crap:

       Kremlin-Funded Study Says Obama Is a Space Lizard

       The Kremlin has responded to a shocking Pentagon analysis of Putin’s neurological health with a “scientific” study of its own
       1. Jeff H March 1, 2026 at 3:07 pm

          Gotta love Russian humor! So sarcastic and wry and truly humiliate the subject, supposing they have the cognizance to recognize the slight. Listening to Ms Zakharova or watching RT’s Project Grandpa on a Leash are prime examples
    2. AG March 1, 2026 at 12:14 pm

       Indeed, for US planners a serious threat of Iranian WMDs is a perfect pretense.
       If at all this attack now helped push for such an outcome.
       US for now benefits from military build-ups all over.

       So far internal critics could always point at the US intelligence assessments and argue, “see, no Iranian bomb” since the 1980s.

       For a mindset like the one of US STRATCOM enemy nukes are not a reason to not go to war with them.
       Of course that is insane. But insanity has nothing to do with Trump in particular.
       The US MIC itself is insane. With or without Trump.

       And if Max Blumenthal is right, the Trump clan, whether the family is correct or not doesn´t matter, genuinely believes “they” want to kill Trump Senior. Who “they” are was never articulated by those family members.
       Which is the core insanity of it all.

       Because then you would see potentially the assassin´s boss, Bibi, sit at the dinner table in Mar-a-Lago.
       For a variation choose some US intelligence agency´s director.

       So I would not entirely discard that Trump, also, is driven by this muddied fear.
       Suggested by Blumenthal not me. But it´s interesting.

       And while I am not a friend of basing political decisions or assessments on such concepts as “what is going on in Trump´s head” the assassination attempts whether staged or not were real to him as the potential victim. And he won´t forget that.

       Considering the usual entertainment nature of our MSM and their obsession with assassinations of US Presidents it is just crazy that in contrast these assassination attempts on Trump have completely been forgotten.

       An important point Walter Kirn made last year.
    3. steppenwolf fetchit March 1, 2026 at 3:22 pm

       All Israel and its neocon allies in the US could demand. They couldn’t make Trump obey their demands.
       Trump tore up the JCPOA for his own personal reasons. “They” couldn’t make Trump do a thing. Trump chose to do it all on his own. That basic fact exists to be faced ( or dodged).

       I think Trump tore it up because Obama achieved it and Trump’s jealousy and racial animus against Obama led him to tear it up, because no Obamachievement could be allowed to stand.
18. Wukchumni March 1, 2026 at 10:55 am

    … I walk a lonely avenue
    I never thought I’d meet a war like you
    Meet a war like you
    With Trump and his haughty lies
    The kind of lies that antagonize me through
    Antagonize me through

    … And Iran, Iran’s so far away
    Israel & the USA, bombing Iran all night and day
    I couldn’t get away

    … Reached out a hand to sense your fate
    You’re slowly disappearing from my view
    ‘Pearing from my view
    Reached out on the keyboard to try again
    I’m floating in a beam of wi-fi with you
    A beam of wi-fi with you

    … And Iran, Iran’s so far away
    Israel & the USA, bombing Iran all night and day
    And Iran, Iran’s so far away
    I just ran out of hope, I couldn’t get away

    I Ran (So Far Away), by A Flock of Seagulls

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ7NVjZ-Eyg&list=RDBJ7NVjZ-Eyg
19. Wukchumni March 1, 2026 at 11:47 am

    When the still sea conspires an armada
    And her sullen and aborted currents
    Breed tiny monsters
    True sailing is dead
    Awkward instant
    And the first carrier is jettisoned
    Keel furiously pumping at an awkward angle
    Their stiff green gallows
    And heads bob up
    Poise
    Delicate
    Pause
    Consent
    In mute naval agony
    Carefully refined
    And sealed over

    Horse Lattitudes, by the Doors

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVWNkW21BeA&list=RDoVWNkW21BeA
    1. ThirtyOne March 1, 2026 at 5:58 pm

       hooboy, Jim sure was creative
       Thanks for digging that gem up.
20. flora March 1, 2026 at 2:53 pm

    From Racket News, no paywall:

    Timeline: The March To War With Iran

    A detailed map of the road to regime change

    Caden Olson, Emily Kopp, and Greg Collard
    Feb 28, 2026

    https://www.racket.news/p/timeline-the-march-to-war-with-iran
21. John Doe March 1, 2026 at 5:37 pm

    There has just been a mass shooting in Texas. Suspect wearing an Iranian flag. Obviously this was a false flag meant to get support, but it really sounds like an Israeli job. They hear about all these American mass shootings, so that sounds like a good way to do it. They don’t know that we literally do not care and allow this to happen daily.

    Makes me think, 9/11 was much better planned. Then two more years of work to get us to Iraq. There was no serious inventing reality, no consent was televised. I feel that the recent Epstein tranches were essentially a test/soft launch: confirm that the most insane conspiracy theories were real, then see if people transcend the internet-psyop panopticon to change things? Since people are under the propaganda boot, we can now do something a little more serious, like getting real imperial objectives met. Hell, it will mean democrats can win in 28. Not because they’re able to run a campaign, but because this is terrible.
22. Glen March 1, 2026 at 6:47 pm

    Well, this explains so much (mild NSFW, but funny!):

    A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Upf_B9RLQ

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