Buffalo Wild Wings unveils wing-flavored protein espresso martini USA Today
Ig Nobel Prize flees US for Switzerland after 35 years over safety concerns The Register
The odds of parachuting down and being attacked by kangaroo is very low, but never zero.pic.twitter.com/l87PM7togC
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 11, 2026
Climate/Environment
‘A sobering preview’: extreme heat now affects one in three people globally, study finds The Guardian
The tropics may be getting even hotter than expected, Brown researchers find Brown Daily Herald
The Black Sea is warming quickly – and that tends to reshape the winter #wheat risk profile.
Ice crust and snow mold risks likely decline, while melting snow should help early moisture.
At first glance, the setup looks constructive.
But some key wheat regions are already… pic.twitter.com/6YNPIqeTFu
— Andrey Sizov (@sizov_andre) March 11, 2026
Pandemics
NY high court affirms benchmark for COVID-19 infections coverage Business Insurance
Japan
Fossil Fuel Lobby Made Japan Hostage to Trump, Netanyahu, and Khamenei Japan Economy Watch
China?
China largely insulated from global energy price shocks Intellinews
China targets record food-security push in shadow of US-Israeli war with Iran South China Morning Post
They Built China With Their Land and Sweat-It’s Time to Raise Their Pensions Inside China
Meanwhile in China, the viral White House prayer scene has turned into a full-blown social media trend. Bosses at small businesses and factories are rounding up their employees to make fun of the stunt—forming a circle, placing hands on shoulders or heads, and praying in a… https://t.co/07sc5W7rfq pic.twitter.com/VOFD2TNq0o
— Eivor (@Eivor_Koy) March 11, 2026
India
After Jaishankar-Araghchi talks, Iran allows Indian tankers through Strait of Hormuz: Report Firstpost
Syraqistan
Iran says war could destroy global economy, Trump vows to ‘finish’ job Channel News Asia
🚨🚨 NEW on @Jerusalem_Post: The data center of Bank Sepah, Iran’s largest bank responsible for paying salaries to members of the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been hit.
🚨🚨 Implication of the damage:
This disruption is expected to…— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 11, 2026
Several banks in the region, including Citi in Dubai and HSBC and Qatar, are evacuating after Iran’s warnings that it will target banks after Israel/US bombed a ‘Sepah’ bank in Tehran, killing several bank employees. https://t.co/RhIfblXpqK pic.twitter.com/JV1qFuuugV
— Arya Yadeghaar (@AryJeay) March 11, 2026
Iran Cows US Navy into Submission in Hormuz Standoff Simplicius
Big League War William Schryver
Pezeshkian speaks with leaders of Russia and Pakistan, outlines steps to end US-Israel war on Iran TRT World
Pezeshkian ‘is the only voice’ in Iran speaking of the possibility of peace Al Jazeera
Civilians Warned to Avoid Ports Used by Iranian Forces CENTCOM (press release). So they’re going to start bombing Iranian ports and Iran will respond in kind.
Rosatom evacuates 150 staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant overnight Anadolu Agency
The US and Israel can’t “win” against Iran — but that may not be the point Thomas Fazi
***
Hezbollah pummels ‘Israel’ with 100+ rockets, repels IOF advances Al Mayadeen
***
Iran is sending more oil through Straits of Hormuz than before the war, sets anti-ship mines Intellinews
Shell declares force majeure to clients who buy Qatari LNG: Sources Reuters
Iraq shuts down oil ports after attack on marine vessels near its waters Business Standard
You shouldn’t be surprised if Iranian missiles land in Romania.
❗️Romania has approved a US request for temporary access to Europe’s largest NATO military base, Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, to support operations in the Middle East, including aircraft refueling, fighter… pic.twitter.com/XJkblvw73j
— Victor vicktop55 commentary (@vick55top) March 11, 2026
Bahrain Imports Anti-Riot Troops as Protests Erupt Over U.S. War With Iran Capital & Empire
Africa
Israel Plans New Foothold on the Red Sea to Fight the Houthis Bloomberg
Sudan’s devastating war rages on as regional rivalries deepen Al Jazeera. “Yet the Iran crisis may push Gulf rivals to set aside their differences and revive stalled diplomacy on Sudan.”
Old Blighty
Prioritising AI data centres could block new homes, builders warn BBC
European Disunion
President von der Leyen just declared that Europe “can no longer be a custodian” of the rules-based order.
This marks a historical departure from the EU’s foundational logic.
The Union wasn’t just a defender of that order, but it was built on the same principle: binding rules,… pic.twitter.com/b0eBWEtOIa
— Alberto Alemanno 🇪🇺 (@alemannoEU) March 9, 2026
After backlash, von der Leyen stresses ‘unwavering’ support for rules-based order Euronews. What a relief!
Orbán family threatened: Ukrainian ex-MP warns the Hungarian PM over Ukraine policy Daily News Hungary
New Not-So-Cold War
UK behind deadly Storm Shadow missile attack on Russian city – Kremlin RT
South of the Border
U.S. Escalates to Onshore Support for Counter-Cartel Operations in Ecuador Geopolitics Unplugged
Trump Interferes in Brazilian Presidential Election By Labeling Brazilian Groups “Terrorists” Payday Report
L’affaire Epstein
Oversight chair: Epstein accountant named individuals who fueled Epstein’s wealth Politico
Trump 2.0
Donald Trump’s War on Iran is Turning into a Debacle Larry Johnson
NEW POLL: Majority of Americans Believe Trump Launched Iran War to Cover Up Epstein Scandal Drop Site (Robin)
FBI warns Iran aspired to attack California with drones in retaliation for war: Alert ABC News
Trump blaming Witkoff and Kushner for his own disastrous decisions is very telling. Soon all of the imperial functionaries will start knifing each other in the back over whose fault it was that the US lost it’s position in West Asia and was forced out by Iran. pic.twitter.com/y8xoQGf5CD
— Liberation News Network (@MarxEngelsLnin) March 10, 2026
Steve Witkoff is on a media tour to explain away his failures at the negotiating table with Iran. He now smears FM Araghchi — who, unlike him, is a seasoned and notoriously serious diplomat — claiming the Iranian foreign minister lacked willingness to reach a deal, lacked…
— Reza Nasri (@RezaNasri1) March 11, 2026
The White House isn’t panicking about oil prices. That may change in a few weeks. Politico
Trump won affordability voters in 2024. Now he’s losing them Strength in Numbers
Credit Bureaus Are Leaving More Mistakes on Frustrated Consumers’ Reports Under Trump’s CFPB ProPublica
Democrats Suck
Why Is There No Anti-War Movement in the US? Labor Politics
The Anti-War Movement is Everywhere But in Power Un-Diplomatic
The Accelerationists
Impunity Breeds Contempt The Sense of an Ending
DOGE
Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job WaPo
Healthcare?
The Boom in Autism Therapy Is Medicaid’s Fastest-Growing Jackpot WSJ
Animal Welfare
Hidden on page 744 of the farm bill the House Agriculture Committee passed Thursday is a provision that would condemn millions of pigs to a lifetime in gestation crates.
Rebranded the ‘Save Our Bacon Act,’ it’s a pork-industry play to wipe out every state law banning the sale of… pic.twitter.com/E9DvV9sPNm
— Lewis Bollard (@Lewis_Bollard) March 9, 2026
Imperial Collapse Watch
US Military Tested Havana Syndrome Weapon on Large Mammals, Whistleblowers Says Futurism
VA announces forced guardianship plans for homeless vets that could put them in mental health facilities The Independent
AI
‘Happy (and safe) shooting!’ AI chatbots helped teen users plan violence in hundreds of tests CNN
🚨 THE ENTIRE CHIP INDUSTRY IS ABOUT TO SHUT DOWN AND NOBODY IS PANICKING YET
No helium. No semiconductors. No phones. No AI. No future.
Samsung and SK Hynix just went on HIGH ALERT. Ships carrying helium have stopped moving through the Gulf.
Here’s how this destroys… pic.twitter.com/qWq61Rg7GU
— Dr. JiHoon Park | IQ 312 (@Jihooncrypto) March 11, 2026
Immigration
How the US far right bought into the myth of white South Africa’s persecution The Guardian. (Robin)
White South African “refugees” have buyers remorse and are returning home because cost of living is too high and shit is too crazy in Trump’s America. https://t.co/oAGsDMggo5
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) March 11, 2026
“Liberation Day”
Trump administration pursues new avenues for imposing tariffs yahoo! Finance
Economy
Plans for record emergency oil release signal Middle East war could drag on for months CNBC
The Bezzle
Binance sues WSJ, panicked by gov’t probes into sanctioned crypto transfers Ars Technica
Grammarly Allegedly ‘Misappropriated’ Names of Journalists, Says Class Action Suit Gizmodo
Book Nook
Fantasy writers are weird about Ireland Sithara Ranasinghe
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
87 comments
Comments are closed.
Good news from yesterday: UK court case against Kneecap finally dismissed!
https://nitter.poast.org/KNEECAPCEOL/status/2031733852914192714#m
As Mo Chara said in finest West Belfast, “I’m a Free Mawn”.
The judgment is disconcertingly odd, though. One judge write a thirteen page decision and managed never to mention the presumption of innocence. :-(
The other judge wrote a three line decision citing a single precedent from 1958. If I didn’t know better, I might think this was some top-level judicial trolling by the latter of the Zionist circus around this case-that-should-never-have-been. :-)
‘Reza Nasri
@RezaNasri1
Steve Witkoff is on a media tour to explain away his failures at the negotiating table with Iran. He now smears FM Araghchi — who, unlike him, is a seasoned and notoriously serious diplomat — claiming the Iranian foreign minister lacked willingness to reach a deal, lacked authority, was threatening, shouting, and all sorts of other nonsense.’
Witkoff has got a lot to answer for. After the last negotiation, Witkoff went back to Trump and said that the Iranians had told him that they had enough for eleven nukes when the Iranians had said nothing like this at all. Obviously he was trying to panic Trump into making an attack decision and you seriously have to wonder if he was really working for the Israelis. Just goes to show you what happens when you send two real estate hucksters to be your negotiating team but then again, isn’t Trump also a real estate huckster?
I have to pull the anti-semite reverse ju jitsu card, and edit one of the sentences:
“Just goes to show you what happens when you send two Zionist real estate hucksters to be your negotiating team…”
Trump should have an Iranian in his cabinet?
Flogging the dead horse: anti-Zion is not anti-Semitism, right?
I always found that sending two real estate billionaires with no relevant background to such a negotiation is an insult in its own right. It shows that you are not serious and just wasting their time.
From the Katie Halper Show with Col. Lawrence Wilkerson and Mikey Weinstein. utube, the first hour of the show. Discussion of the rise of religious extremism in the US military.
Worth a listen.
“U.S. Troops Would Be Swallowed in Iran” – Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oX5SbANy-k
The link to the RT story about the Storm Shadow missiles isn’t working for me. Regardless of VPN country, my browser tells me rt.com doesn’t exist. Here’s an alternate source:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-war-russia-britain-missiles-9.7123656
The deck: Seven people were killed and dozens injured after British-made weapons hit Bryansk, according to local officials.
In the past Russia has said that such actions will lead to retaliation against the participating state but there haven’t been any significant examples of that that I recall.
I hope Russia is planning an operation to loot the Brits of their strategic cheese reserve. Hit ‘em where it hurts!
But as Jesus said, blessed are the cheesemakers-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFPIGNua5WM (2:17mins)
It’s not meant to be taken literally, it applies to any manufacturer of dairy products”
But, but, think of Wallace & Gromit ! / ;)
utube short.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2oucItDIY3w
Oh, noes! A Cheeses Crisis!
Oh nooh Gromit! The Cheeeeese!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RmT094XH9g
I always liked a bit of Wensleydale
Try again with this link
Zuckerberg translates to: Sugar Mountain
Oh to live on Sugar Mountain
With the AI barkers and the colored opinions
You can be on 24/7 on Sugar Mountain
Though you’re thinking that
You’re leavin’ there too soon
You’re leavin’ there too soon
It’s so noisy at the Facebook fair
But all your friends are there
And the Karen videos you had
And a better time waster fad
Oh to live on Sugar Mountain
With the AI barkers and the colored opinions
You can be on 24/7 on Sugar Mountain
Though you’re thinking that
You’re leavin’ there too soon
You’re leavin’ there too soon
There’s a girl with a cute bio
Oh to friend her and see her smile
You can hear the words she wrote
As you read her often daily dear diary notes
Oh to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored opinions
You can be on 24/7 on Sugar Mountain
Though you’re thinking that
You’re leavin’ there too soon
You’re leavin’ there too soon
Now your profile photo is more of a stare
And you’re giving back some glares
To the people who you just met
And it’s your first vignette
Oh to live on Sugar Mountain
With the AI barkers and the colored opinions
You can be on 24/7 on Sugar Mountain
Though you’re thinking that
You’re leavin’ there too soon
You’re leavin’ there too soon
Now you say you’re never leaving home
Because you want to be alone
Ain’t it funny how you feel
When you’re findin’ out half of it ain’t real?
Oh to live on Sugar Mountain
With the AI barkers and the colored opinions
You can be on 24/7 on Sugar Mountain
Though you’re thinking that
You’re leavin’ there too soon
You’re leavin’ there too soon
Oh to live on Sugar Mountain
With the AI barkers and the colored opinions
You can be on 24/7 on Sugar Mountain
Though you’re thinking that
You’re leavin’ there too soon
Sugar Mountain, by Neil Young
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L86gQQBYSc4&list=RDL86gQQBYSc4
Apologies if this has already been posted.
An example of digital vulnerabilities through Microsoft
https://www.wionews.com/photos/-pentagon-s-soft-target-how-stryker-hack-is-hitting-us-military-hospitals-1773241952034/1773241952035
We’re about to take our little ones on a long road trip (NY metro area to Disney/Orlando) over spring break. Plane tickets were absurdly expensive so we decided to drive. Now, I’m wondering if we’re going to be in a gas crisis right when we will be driving. Worse things than gas shortages are possible for sure, as I’ve learned reading NC obsessively, but I’m just operating on a practical level right now for our immediate future. Wonder what the odds are that we’ll be in such a state of shortages and rationing in between two and a half and three and a half weeks from now? Should I hedge by buying some also absurdly expensive, but refundable Amtrak tickets? Not sure the kids will tolerate 17 hours in train seats but I’m sure they’d rather do that than miss Disney.
Sounds like a bad idea all around. You already know and anticipate troubles: stratospheric airline tickets price, gasoline potentially sky high or even unavailable, Disney’s plastic-ky “experience” that will leave you with a taste of Styrofoam, hmmm …. What else can go wrong? How about the kids will remember the Disney trip for about 3 weeks, then pphphphpt… All gone. What a waste of time and money.
Maybe check your local areas for some camping, tourism close-to-home and go do that?
Totally agree. Just because the kids really really want something doesn’t mean they’ll appreciate forever the getting of it. My experience was that sometimes, there’s just no making them happy, but they can learn from not getting what they wanted so, so badly.
I wouldn’t worry about actual physical gasoline shortages; as Wolf argues in a piece from a week ago, “this isn’t the 1970s anymore”: (March 3 2026) Oil Jumps, but It’s Not the 1970s anymore: US Crude Oil Production Hits Record, Net Exports Soar, Imports Decline
and
The US hardly imports any energy nowadays from the middle east, so actual physical shortages shouldn’t really be a problem. You should be good to go, as long as you got the dough that is!
Thanks for the reassurance! Appreciate the other replies as well re: alternatives etc. but this has been bought and paid for since last fall. Barring literal armageddon, we’re going! Good luck telling my kids about the downside of plastic toy consumption, the evils of the corporate entertainment world, etc., haha. Plus, they are very much looking forward to nearly unlimited access to the swimming pools at the resort.
Friends kid is going to college and has a punkish band and she still will go on and on about the wonderful Disney trips with her grandparents.
Some of then remember.
Haven’t been there myself, but my older brother went and had fond memories of that trip even thirty years later.
Have fun and safe travels :)
If we have good old 1973 or 1979 gas shortages, imagine the thrill your little ones will get waiting in line with you-playing video games, that is if your license plate ends in an odd or even number.
I have no idea of train services in the US, and I understand you do not have TGV or bullet type trains, but surely a 17 hour train ride would still be shorter than going by car. Are there such options as couchettes or sleeper cars? And you can move around in the train, and presumably there would be a dining car or similar. You can read on a train and by not concentrating on driving, you can dedicate more time to entertaining your kids. Let the train take the strain, as an old ad used to claim. Then hire a car at your destination if necessary with a full tank so refuelling anxiety would not be an issue. Just a thought.
US trains are generally crap. I’ve been on better trains in Africa. It’s not the best alternative. Driving and a hotel or two along the way is fine. Check hotel reviews to avoid bedbugs and thieves.
As I write this (18:00 EDT) Silver Meteor train 97 (NY Penn – Miami) is at Baltimore arrived 13 minutes late, which is pretty good. Arrives Kissimmee tomorrow at 1:30 PM. But traveling in Coach may not be the best experience.
Amtrak sleeper compartments are practical and comfortable and, because of the broad gauge, much roomier than European sleeper compartments. I happily shared one with the spouse between Boston (strictly, Rennslaer) and Santa Fe.
But the train climbed the Rockies on uneven, jolting track (bolted, jointed track rather than seamless welded) at walking pace! You get a good view of the wildlife, at least!
The long driving vacations with my family are things I happily remember half a century later–including a delightful day in Disneyland when I was five years old.
I would advise doing it, while such things are still possible. The day might come when they are not. This applies to all sorts of travel, e.g. I’m glad I went to Syria in 2005.
War is dangerous. The USA is at war. But the situation next year might be worse than it is today, since there is no faction in US politics–or in the Western world for that matter–which is not bent on warmaking.
Carpe Diem.
‘Massimo
@Rainmaker1973
The odds of parachuting down and being attacked by kangaroo is very low, but never zero.’
Yeah, stuff like that happens down here in Oz-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFvM2stqwdw (30 secs)
So you have to choose between animals trying to gore you (kangaroos, cassowaries, crocodiles, varans…), wildlife trying to poison you (spiders, snakes, platypuses, jellyfishes…), and the environment trying alternatively to dessicate you to death or to drown you with deluges of water. Even small birds are carnivorous (like kookaburras), relentlessly aggressive (like magpies), or persistently intent on sabotaging your car and other modern contraptions (like cockatoos). Is Australia trying to send us, human beings, some kind of message?
Here we call all that Tuesday. Still, the other day I saw a small lizard emerge from behind a bookcase and one of our dogs went to investigate. Then I realized that that “lizard” had no legs and was in fact a very young Brown snake. I called the dog back but it went under our front door and behind a garden bed and we never found it. Damn I hate those things as we have lost a coupla cats, a German shepherd and a horse to the damn things. They are why I keep a shovel at the front and back of our house. Yeah, they are a protected species but better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
Brown snake?
perusing wikipedia…
Yikes!
Species of this genus are known commonly as brown snakes and are considered to be some of the most dangerous snakes in the world; even young snakes are capable of delivering a fatal envenomation to a human.
Thanks for this expression which I had never encountered before:
better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
“…[B]etter to be judged by twelve than carried by six.”
Or the corollary – “shoot, shovel, and shut up.” And you’ve apparently already GOT the shovel.. ;-)
Not that I would advocate violence against one of God’s own creatures that, despite its size, somehow felt the need to evolve venom that could render necrotic creatures it can’t POSSIBLY eat…
I’m a skydiver who’s glad we don’t get attacked by kangaroos at our drop zone.
Guess it could be worse like the classic Far Side cartoon showing a drop zone next to an alligator farm
Or this one which explained what happened to D. B. Cooper-
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1661863323971577/posts/3321223461368880/
Heh. Reminds me of a friend who rides a Harley Davidson motorcycle telling me of the times he was riding on gravel roads during the deer rutting season and being attacked – or chased down ( not cought of course) – by deer stags when on his motorcycle.
Stumbled across this old George Carlin clip last night, only 7 minutes. Just as valid today….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjRQwvnjpPw
Those Chinese laying of hands photos are just what I needed to start my day, almost as much as the laying of blame video on Witkoff and Kushner.
When its all said and done, do the evangs pay a price for turning the USA into a second world nation?
I suspect your q is rhetorical, but in case not — no. Someone else’s “evil” is always to blame, forever and ever, Amen.
On the video of our “faith leaders” laying hands on Trump:
I welcome all the memes and satirical ridicule possible toward this ridiculous scene. I would feel better, though, if these people praying around Trump didn’t actually believe this clown was the blessed Tool of their God to bring about the End Times – especially since this clown could actually do it!
I’ve seen this picture a lot in the last few days. It reminds me of another picture from Trump’s first administration: the “glowing orb” shot in Saudi Arabia. That one was also widely satirized; Snopes hilariously posted a “fact-check” piece assuring us that this was not an Illuminati ritual:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-touch-orb-saudi-arabia/
In reality it was actually worse: a celebration to inaugurate the “Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology” in Saudi Arabia. This was part of the Abraham Accords project to make the world safe for Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing – the same cause for which these “Christians” are praying over their leader.
re: “I welcome all the memes and satirical ridicule possible toward this ridiculous scene. ”
Quoting Thomas More,
“The devill … the prowde spirit, cannot endure to be mock’d.”
Mock away, I say. Ridicule away this ridiculous scene.
What’s that? People claiming religious righteousness and sanctimony cannot be misled by de debol? De debol, I have heard, is a notorious liar.
For my part, I don’t think it’s wise to mock anybody’s religious beliefs or practices.
Of course, you should be free to scorn as you please, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
If Trump could be beaten by insults, would he have won two terms? Many of Trump’s supporters are galvanized by ridicule. It feeds the indignation they feel against their supposed betters.
Dry detachment is the way to salt that slug. Afflict Trump with grave consideration, and the gravity will bring him down.
But social media are your enemy’s choice of battlefield. Don’t fight him there.
Well, um, erm. I’d agree with you up until the point that some religious beliefs are aiming to get me and mine killed for their personal millennial beliefs. That is where I part ways.
I have a suggestion for Trump, if throwing Twitkof and Kushner under the bus doesn’t deflect attention from the failure of operation Epstein Fury, have the White House Doctor announce that Trump is not responsible due to his advanced Dementia while simultaneously certifying that he is still fit to hold office.
If that doesn’t work, he could at least get the Democrats off his back by renaming the White House the “Rainbow House”.
‘have the White House Doctor announce that Trump is not responsible due to his advanced Dementia while simultaneously certifying that he is still fit to hold office.’
There is actually a precedent for that. Remember when they were going to put Biden up before a court to answer a lot of questions but it was announced by a White House doctor that it was pointless as his brain was Swiss cheese – but that he was still fit to be the President of the United States and execute that office.
“Bahrain Imports Anti-Riot Troops as Protests Erupt Over U.S. War With Iran”
Wasn’t the aim of this war regime change in Iran? It would be so funny if this war results in regime change in some of the Gulf states instead.
‘Troops’ or ‘Mercenaries’? I think the latter. But that headline might be alarming?
‘Victor vicktop55 commentary
@vick55top
You shouldn’t be surprised if Iranian missiles land in Romania.’
Not going to happen. You look at a map and will see that to hit Romania, that a missiles would have to fly over Turkiye and that would be begging for trouble, big time.
I had a moment of wonderment – if Iran were to drop some stuff on the American base in Romania (setting aside the Turkiye issue) would that then create a NATO Article 5 moment?
Asking for a friend.
Violence yesterday against anti-ICE protesters in South Burlington, VT:
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2026-03-11/ice-enforcement-action-multi-car-crash-standoff-south-burlington
Cell camera footage here, lots more on the VT subreddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/burlington/comments/1rrd87k/vermont_police_violated_use_of_force_law_in_south/
Since when do Afrikaaners have six fingers and couches where the arms angle inward? You should have caught this AI slip.
You are a complete ingrate. You have NO BUSINESS talking to a site author like this. This site is free to you, we are in the middle of a war that has high odds of producing a global depression, and you get nasty? You could have pointed out the AI error without being an asshole.
I would ban you from ever being able to access this site again if I had that ability. You are already in moderation for past offenses. I trust you will find your happiness on the Internet elsewhere.
Oh, and on top of that, you were savaging us for an item from Reuters. From Conor by e-mail”:
There was a video of these people in the article. They looked pretty real to me.
– ‘FBI warns Iran aspired to attack California with drones in retaliation for war: Alert’ – ABC News
So the Iranians had *aspirations* of a drone strike on California? Not even “plans” or “a blueprint for” or “serious discussions” about it? I guess now US doctrine justifying preemptive war extends to the “aspirations” of our designated enemies.
There must be something to this story though. After all it is ABC, and it is based on the intrepid investigative journalism of “ABC News contributor John Cohen, the former head of intelligence for the Department of Homeland Security.”
They really don’t even have to try any more; they can just literally make s**t up with impunity and *no one* with any power or influence calls them on it.
I “aspire” to live in a country with a free press that fights to expose the truth rather than serves as a conduit for government propaganda. I hope that doesn’t make me a target for a preemptive strike of some kind.
Brings back memories of the pretext for Russiagate. An Australian diplomat reported that low-level Trump campaign volunteer George Papadopoulos “suggested” that the Trump team had received “some kind of suggestion from Russia” of possible help to the campaign.
Adlai Stevenson
Trump may be huffy with some of his lackies, but he’s also on FOX saying we have wiped out Iran’s Navy and Air Force. According to FOX gas prices are nothing to worry about, Biden Biden Biden, Politico is just making stuff up, economy is just dandy.
And I’m waiting to find reporting showing that the girls school was targeted by AI because the property is government owned, or on a list for priority response, or some other data point that makes that address seem important, if you ignore the fact that it’s a school. For children.
.
The “Why is there no anti war movement in US” article made my blood boil for missing the most obvious reason: suppression by feds.
One example- an AI overview:
In 2008, the FBI targeted the “RNC Welcoming Committee,” an anarchist group organizing protests for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, through surveillance and infiltrators. Following pre-convention raids, eight individuals were arrested and charged with “conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism”. This crackdown included a two-year infiltration operation, leading to a broader investigation into Midwest anti-war groups.
As a Minnesotan I have gotten to meet personally 5 of those who were targeted by the FBI. Some of the most amazing, conscientious and caring people you would ever meet. And brave enough people that they kept on with their organizing. But honestly, Fed repression scares a lot of people off. The long history going back to the FBI “treatment of” MLK, the Philly bombings (by police), and the assassination of Malcolm X. Up to the current era where we see law fare used against the Black Uhuru group and the sidelining of media figures from Phil Donahue to Chris Hedges. I could list 1000 examples, but it is clear that there is a long war on anti war and anti imperialist voices.
BTW, has anyone heard from Jacques Baud lately?
The link immediately after that about the anti-war movement being everywhere except in power is a little more realistic in calling out the failure of the Democrats and what passes for the fellow traveling “left activists” to build a working class base. When the bulk of the support for so-called left causes is the suburban PMC, there’s an absence of both willingness to face intimidating consequences (because they have a lot more to lose) and street smarts (of the kind that activists in the first half of the 20th century had by virtue of being largely from working class backgrounds). Musa al-Gharbi makes the case that many of the leftish causes are subconsciously self-serving, the example in that article being aid to the poor (which is mostly eaten up by professionals administering the programs rather than reaching the intended recipients). That mindset limits the activism to safer performances that mostly follow the rules.
The other problem is separating the anti-war cause from all the other pseudo-leftist shibboleths that tend to reduce the popular appeal of a campaign. Can an anti-war mass demonstration be organized that doesn’t end up with dozens of people waving rainbow banners and Ukrainian flags and gun control placards and assorted other liberal favorites? It’s the Dennis Kucinich problem–much as I loved Dennis, his campaign was begun with a laundry list of twenty or more things he supported that included everything from anti-war to affirmative action to vegetarianism. That approach ends up attracting a small sliver of the voting population and dooms your efforts. At this point we need an opposition to war that sticks to a very small number of the connected issues (no more than 3-4) so it will mobilize the largest percentage of people and maybe pops up wherever the repressive goons of state violence are thinnest on the ground at any given moment.
@truly at 11:51 am
Totally agree and while direct repression is very bad it is not the only thing. Infiltration of groups with the intent to disrupt them also has a long history. The U.S. had many instances during opposition to the Vietnam war. I believe Occupy Wall Street also faced similar obstacles: endless discussion of minor points and lack of specific demands (iirc).
From personal experience I was part of a group in Montreal opposing the testing of cruise missiles in Canada in the 1980s. We were infiltrated by the Canada’s federal police. The infiltrator tried to subtly undermine meetings, waste our resources and promote extremist language and acts. Fortunately we were able to identify and sideline said infiltrator.
Keith Newman
I attended a free speech meeting in Vancouver BC back in the 1960’s. After the speech and questions, the RCMP were outside taking pictures of those of us in attendance. I’m sure there were many who self-censored thereafter.
e.g. German text interview with Baud, March 9th
https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=147432
Nima at Dialogue Works interviewed Jacques Baud this past Monday, March 9th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYcnztEdjq0
He just appeared on a Danny Davis video worth listening to, especially early on when he talks about the lack of understanding in the “West” of the mindset of people in the Muslim world…. and then explains the radical difference in attitudes towards life, war etc which is really illuminating,,,,,
Coding After Coders: The End of Computer Programming as We Know It (NY Times paywall)
I guess software engineering as a discipline has imploded. It is a good thing the modern world doesn’t run on IT… wait, oops.
We’re all screwed, deeply screwed.
No, seriously
Note Bene: SQL Injection is a venerable hacking tool. This outfit tackled McKinsey with sobering results. I can’t think of anywhere else to put this info, hope I guessed right.
https://codewall.ai/blog/how-we-hacked-mckinseys-ai-platform
To be fair, the hardest parts of programming are often debugging and requirements. When you drill down into the details requirements frequently turn out to be impractical, mutually contradictory, not actually what you wanted, or they underspecify aspects of the product. Many of the worst bugs are not mistakes in implementation but contradictions in specifications that are discovered late in the game. These can force cascading changes to requirements. The challenge of creating software is not translating ideas into code: that is generally straightforward. No, it’s less getting the computer to do what you want than figuring out what that is, consistently, at scales large and small. This is not something AI can do for you.
No, what worries me is the implied reliance on testing. Dijkstra said, “Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!” I’m sure this is mathematically provable. Besides, how can you be certain that what you thought you wanted to do is what you really wanted to do, and that there isn’t some contradiction buried in the implementation? Test-driven development is great when it adds to your understanding of the code, but I get the nasty feeling it may be starting to replace understanding the code.
Say you ask an AI to build brakes for a bicycle.
“When I press this lever on the handlebar brake pads should press against the wheel to stop it from turning.”
“Ok. I can do that! Here, take this black box and attach it to the handle. Take this other black box and attach it to the wheel.”
“Uh… what’s in those boxes? How do they work? I don’t want to crash.”
“You are quite right to ask that. Safety is very important. Here’s a test you can do. Press the lever and see if the wheel stops turning.”
No need to wonder what powers the boxes, whether that power could fail, how they communicate, whether that communication is vulnerable to interference or attack, whether there are effects from extremes of weather or temperature, whether the internal mechanisms might age and wear out, what happens if you press hard on the lever or drive very fast. The mystery boxes should be fine. We don’t need to know what’s in them. After all, they pass the tests.
That’s pretty much how LLMs work in general: black boxes with incomprehensible internals. We know what they are made of and can see what they do, but we don’t know how a given model produces any particular output.
Mind you, even before LLMs software was so large and complex that this was already the case to an extent. Proving correctness and reliability is costly and there’s no perfect solution. Companies preferred to ship first, ask question later. Will the power of AI be used to increase reliability and correctness, or to increase development speed and reduce costs?
“You’re absolutely right that the tests were incomplete. I should have caught that. Here’s another test you can do to prevent that error from killing anyone else.”
Wow, that’s just sounds so crazy. I spent over forty years writing code and I am so glad I missed having to do that! We use to joke around back in the day that touching lines of code in certain systems was costed out at roughly a million bucks for every line changed to get accredited (but it was actually wasn’t a bad rough order of magnitude quick estimate):
DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DO-178C
I can see upper management just forcing us to use AI “to make everything less expensive”, and RIFing our younger engineers who really had to spend years working next to the older company pros to learn how to get this done right. Once it goes on the CEO’s performance management, it just flows down the management chain from there, and the next thing you know some minty fresh MBA manger is standing next to you telling you how to do your job when it’s pretty clear they don’t know what your job is except that it involves coding and software.
In yesterday´s links´ comments Acacia and Ginger Goodwin kindly made some extensive reading suggestions to my question on Jameson.
On issues of Marxism and organizing in general see this recommended conversation from Febr. 25th with
Briahna Joy Gray and Chris Hedges which I listened to since:
Epstein, Chomsky, & The Politics of Betrayal (Chris Hedges w/ Briahna Joy Gray)
Chris Hedges returns to Bad Faith to engage in a spirited debate about how to act now that liberal incrementalism has led to incremental fascism.
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/epstein-chomsky-and-the-politics
It is a different dimension and angle than what the noted comments on Jameson highlighted.
But it´s related to the question of how to achieve actual change and why it doesn´t really happen the way it could or should.
along with all the Iran news, we might be seeing a good ol’ fashioned credit crunch going on.
https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=private+credit
Re: Why Is There No Anti-War Movement in the US?
“And instead of relentlessly focusing their fire on politicians like Trump, Biden, and Schumer who have pushed or enabled atrocities abroad, a bizarrely high amount of activist energy has gone towards calling out elected officials like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, even though she has never voted for US military aid to Israel”
Pretty sure that’s easily disproven (and on multiple occasions – also negated by what I read about who funded and organized her career takeoff) – and shows how little the mass of the democratic/progressive party has actually moved despite a decade of counterfactuals that ought to have at least given them a feeling of dissonance if not outright self-doubt in their own narrative.
Actually, the so-called anti-war movement is/was on the Republican side. The two major reasons why they backed Trump were he campaigned as opposed to war, especially the forever wars, and he supported American workers; bring back those factory jobs. Kamala Harris supported Biden’s policies, Gaza and Ukraine wars, and indicating nothing would change.
On the Dem side, I’m not sure why so many people always mention AOC. I’m far more impressed by Rho Khanna.
I see that Trump is now referring to his War on Iran as an “Excursion”.
Just a little picnic in the woods during which 150 plus schoolgirls were murdered along with a few thousand other Iranians.
I think it would be great if Trump met with the families of those girls personally so he could explain that it’s no big deal, just “Business as Usual”.
I’m sure they would respond appropriately.
File under Climate Collapse
Wind storms. Here’s one way that surplus energy is going to express itself. Fire season coming up is going to be interesting.
Tens of thousands without power due to Inland Northwest windstorm, KXLY.
Much of Minnesota under high wind warning ahead of weekend snowstorm, Star Tribune.
Meanwhile in SoCal,
West Coast braces for record March heat wave. How hot will it get?, WaPo (archived). Opening paragraph,
A record-breaking heat dome will develop near the West Coast late this week, smashing records and sending temperatures into the triple digits through next week — when it will feel like summer during the final days of winter.. El Nino, that you?
“The Black Sea is warming quickly – and that tends to reshape the winter”
Besides reshaping the winter, it’s a basic fact that warm water holds less oxygen than cold water. Moreover, as water warms fish metabolic rates increase requiring more oxygen. This is not good for the Black Sea or any other sea.
The referenced Save Our Bacon Act is so morally reprehensible that its passage would make me question whether this country deserves to survive. The Epstein Class’s sociopathic callousness and complete lack of anything resembling compassion for anyone else seems to have permeated the entire upper strata of the US.
re: Craig Murray & Palestine Action
Craig Murray has done some impressive work on the activist front which I suspect has received way too little coverage in the media.
His latest account
Fighting Back Against Zionist Control of the UK
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2026/03/fighting-back-against-zionist-control-of-the-uk/
“I today met our legal team and instructed them to submit an application for interim relief in the Scottish judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action. If successful this will immediately lift the proscription in Scotland, pending the review.”
– Don´t mess with the Murray –
A night out drinking with Mr Murray is on my bucket list.
As you can see by my handle, Im practicing.
I don’t see whY.
lol. I see your handle too.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp thinks his AI technology will lessen the power of “highly educated, often female voters, who vote mostly Democrat” while increasing the power of working-class men.
“This technology disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters,” Karp said in a CNBC interview Thursday.
https://newrepublic.com/post/207693/palantir-ceo-karp-disrupting-democratic-power
Song break:
https://youtu.be/Ze0XKVYZRBw?si=18-E2vrHa0YkJYDI
re: Protonmail & FBI
Apparently Swiss Protonmail via Swiss authorities disclosed identity behind one of its accounts which led to house search.
FBI had urged Swiss to help in connection with activists opposing Cop City in Atlanta. Swiss knocked at Protonmail´s doors who readily complied.
use google-translate
https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/rechtssachen/proton-mail-half-dem-fbi-einen-demonstranten-zu-identifizieren-327061.html
p.s. UK has banned Mullvad´s anti-surveillance campaign „And then?“
use google-translate
https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/netzpolitik/uk-verbietet-mullvads-werbung-gegen-ueberwachung-327416.html
p.p.s again from 2021 – the hypothesis Protonmail may be to some extent CIA plant
use google-translate
https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/geheimdienste/cia-will-kooperation-mit-protonmail-nicht-dementieren-174837.html
I wondered if the antidote might be AI, but no – it’s actually a Hebridean sheep, and they really do look that outlandish.
“‘Happy (and safe) shooting!’ AI chatbots helped teen users plan violence in hundreds of tests CNN”
We had a horrific school shooting in Tumbler Ridge last month. 8 dead, 27 injured. They’re saying the shooter got advise from ChatGPT until her account was banned. So she set up an new account and kept planning.
OpenAI has been getting a earful from the federal government over not informing the authorities, which could have helped prevent the shooting. They say they have changed their policies as a result…