At 95, I'm still smokin'! 😝
I’ve learned two things:
Never waste a good cigar.
Never trust anyone who says you should ‘act your age.’ 😉👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/POpUEYh3gp— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 22, 2026
Age and Fame in Philosophy Eric Schwitzgebel
Climate/Environment
Climate Change is Exacerbating Africa’s Health Challenges Health Policy Watch
Himalayas’ glacier loss threatens 2 billion people in ‘greatest problem of climate change’ South China Morning Post
A Danish scientist counted bugs on the same windshield, same road, same conditions, every year for 20 years. By year 20, 80% of the insects were gone.
In Germany, a group of volunteer bug scientists did something even bigger. They set traps in 63 nature reserves, not farms,… https://t.co/b1j2Pi9Qw3
— Anish Moonka (@AnishA_Moonka) March 23, 2026
China?
Chinese refiners eye Iran oil under temporary US waiver BNE Intellinews
Japan
Japan Bond Yields Near Multi-Decade Highs as War Fuels Inflation Bloomberg
Koreas
Kim Jong-un cements control with reappointment as president of state affairs Korea Herald
India
India faces major gas shortage as Middle East conflict disrupts supply Le Monde
Pakistan
Pakistan faces an economic crisis as Middle East conflict drives Inflation & austerity Modern Ghana
Africa
Poet, President and African Post-Nationalist African Archive
Antipodes
Australia last rationed fuel in the 1970s. Could we do it again? Guardian
European Disunion
US warns EU to pass trade deal or risk losing ‘favourable’ access to LNG Financial Times (Micael T)
One battle after another: Iran war deals new blow to Europe’s industrial heartland Reuters
From Politico’s European morning newsletter:
DEALS DOWN UNDER: Ursula von der Leyen has finalized a major partnership with Australia, marking the second such agreement her Commission has struck this year….
Critical raw materials: Von der Leyen sealed a trade deal overnight with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (along with a defense partnership) that aims to give Europe’s exporters wider access to a fast-growing economy and to critical raw materials the bloc desperately needs to modernize.
Europe’s angle: According to the European Commission, the EU-Australia deal stands to boost EU exports to Australia (with which the EU already has a significant trade surplus) by 33 percent in coming years while saving European businesses some €1 billion per year in tariffs.
Farm protections: While farmers have traditionally opposed free trade agreements, the Commission hopes that far-reaching protections for so-called geographical indications — EU provenance indicators such as Parma ham or Feta cheese — will head off such complaints. According to Albanese’s press release, Australia won a few concessions: Food producers will continue to use names such as “parmesan” for cheese and “kransky” for sausages; winemakers will also be able to sell “prosecco” on local markets. In return, Canberra has agreed to protect the names of 165 European food products and 237 spirits.
Aussie farmers on edge: Australian producer groups had warned negotiators not to lock in what they saw as token beef quotas and were quick to express their disappointment. …
There’s more to the deal than commerce — it’s also underpinned by hard geopolitical realities. The additional agreement between the countries on critical minerals is about the EU grappling with threats to its supply chain. As von der Leyen told Australian lawmakers in her speech, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East show that “dependencies can be weaponized.”
UK
UK monitoring risk of food and fuel shortages ‘hour by hour’ Independent
Israel v. the Resistance
Why Israel Is a Failed State George Tsakraklides (Chuck L)
* * * Lebanon’s Aoun warns Israeli attack on bridge ‘prelude to ground invasion’ Aljazeera
Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon Reuters (Ann)
War Deepens Lebanon’s Economic Collapse Aawsat
Violence Erupts in Northwest Syria as Kurds Targeted for Displaying Kurdistan Flag Kurdistan 24
* * * Somalia warns against any Israeli base plans on Somaliland Hiiraan
* * * Why the world should worry about Israel’s nuclear doctrine Aljazeera
Donald Trump floats joint control of Strait of Hormuz Seeking Alpha. resilc: “More like he is smoking a joint…..”
The Gulf countries may retaliate if Iran attacks continue, Turkey says Middle East Eye. resilc: “This is the most laughable threat in the history of war….”
Iran’s parliament speaker warns US Treasury bond holders could be targets Iran International
Iran launches 10 million rial note, highest-ever denomination, as war deepens economic crisis Times of India
New Not-So-Cold War
British forces join French navy to seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean Daily Mail
Palantir in Ukraine Events in Ukraine
A high-level NATO delegation visits Ukraine for the first time since full-scale invasion Euronews
The oil shock in the Middle East is a godsend for Russia Le Monde
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
This YouTuber, Benn Jordan discovered that a surveillance company named Flock Safety who currently has over 90K camera deployed throughout the US, is severely compromised. He found that many cameras are live-streaming directly to the open internet. pic.twitter.com/TDGEKQaS4N
— Champagne Joshi (@JoshWalkos) March 23, 2026
CMS aims to modernize patient data access in US with QR codes, biometrics Biometrics Update
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Return of the Dreadful Credibility Argument Daniel Larison
Explosion reported at Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas Aandolu Agency
Trump 2.0
Big jump pic.twitter.com/n4aBMVFZFw
— Adam Ozimek (@ModeledBehavior) March 22, 2026
Trump Tells Republicans to Pass Voting Law ‘For Jesus’ US News (resilc)
Christian Zionists: A Fifth Column? Juan Cole
Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War CounterPunch (resilc)
Supremes
Supreme Court seems wary of states counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day The Hill. Not hard to see how this could be exploited.
Economy
World faces gas supply cliff edge as Gulf’s final LNG shipments approach ports Financial Times
War’s Attacks on Energy Could Turn Economic Shock Into Long-Term Damage New York Times (ACF)
Iran war energy crisis equal to 70s twin oil shocks and fallout from Ukraine war, says IEA chief. Guardian
Energy shock talk grabs headlines but the Iran war is also driving the world towards a food crisis Guardian
Mr. Market is Addled
Oil prices are no longer the biggest threat to markets.
It has become increasingly clear that bond markets will dictate just how long President Trump can continue increase pressure in the Iran War.
The 10Y Note Yield is now up ~45 basis points since the war began on February… pic.twitter.com/UwVtZPx06B
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) March 22, 2026
Gulf monarchies sell ‘commercial’ gold due to budget problems TopWar (Micael T)
Trump’s $56 trillion problem is spiralling out of control Sydney Morning Herald
Why is everyone on Wall Street talking about 2008 again? The Times
How the Iran War Could Lead to a Crash Worse Than 2008 Common Dreams
AI
Mark Zuckerberg Is an AI CEO to Help Him Run Mwta Independent. All this will do is prove there is not much to being a CEO
Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing $8 Million In Royalties From Streaming Platforms Using AI-Generated Listeners And Artists Metal Injection (Micael T)
Walmart: ChatGPT Checkout Converted 3x Worse Than Website Search Engine Land
The Bezzle
A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator YouTube. Micael T: “Published by the Norwegian Consumer Council.”
Polymarket’s Coming-Out Party in Washington Was a Disaster Wired (resilc)
Volume in stock, oil futures surged minutes before Trump’s market-turning post CNBC (resilc)
Workers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study finds Guardian (resilc). This misses the point. Bosses want compliance and ego massages, not performance.
Class Warfare
How a Family of 3 Lives on $500,000 on the Upper West Side New York Times (resilc)
Девушки в Гималаях. pic.twitter.com/Je1g2PKw31
— Dekadence (@lattebriK) March 21, 2026
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
60 comments
Comments are closed.
Re: Common Dreams article about the current crisis potentially eclipsing 2008: I was dumbstruck to learn that the AI bubble is 4 times the size of the sub-prime bubble. Anyone want to share their FIREproofing tips?
The AI bubble is a double-whammy, so to say.
Public excerpt from Racket News:
Can Your Pension or Retirement Money Get Lost in the Bermuda Triangle?
With the recent and ongoing “Software Apocalypse” we may just find out!
https://www.racket.news/p/can-your-pension-or-retirement-money
3 paras from the longer article:
To raise cash for investors wanting to exit and to pay down debt, Blue Owl sold approximately $1.4 billion in loans for what it said was an average price of $99.70 (at or near 100 cents on the dollar). Blue Owl sold the loans to three pension funds, as well as its affiliated insurance partner Kuvare.
It didn’t take long for the predators to start circling Blue Owl. Saba Capital Management CEO Boaz Weinstein said he’d gladly take Blue Owl loans at 65 to 80 cents on the dollar from retail investors to give them liquidity. ….
….
For many in the markets, Blue Owl’s sale to Kuvare raised suspicions that alternative asset managers who oversee private loan funds, while also managing affiliated U.S. and offshore insurance companies, can move stressed assets from one entity to the other. This can potentially mask the true market value of the assets. More importantly, trades like the one between Blue Owl and its affiliated insurance company can bury the risk within the insurance company’s portfolio — the portfolio that’s backing annuities and pensions. The asset disappears in the Bermuda Triangle of finance.
I de-myrrh from giving investment tips…
I’m frankly incensed that you would say such a thing.
Both comments rise to the Gold Standard of Wise Men Money Management.
wouldn’t want anyone incensed.
>Anyone want to share their FIREproofing tips?
Go heavy on lawn-to-victory-garden conversions.
I’m thinking about keeping yogurt cultures going in my fridge. Sprouts are apparently easy to grow indoors as well.
Canning jars and solar ovens?
Working link for “Supreme Court seems wary of states counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day” article at-
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5793767-supreme-court-mail-in-voting/
As with paper-filed tax returns, voters should request a manual postmark at their local post office. Otherwise, it may take days for the ballot to be marked at a processing center. Probably best to send it a week to 10-days before the deadline as well. USPS ain’t what it used to be.
If the Supreme Court rules that late arriving mail-in ballots don’t count, assume that the USPS will be fatally crippled by Election Day.
Shatner’s got a nice ranch in Tiny Town and lived here in the 80’s is the tale I’ve been told. Until Covid came along and killed it, his ranch foreman would throw an annual bring your own food, booze & music party that brought together about 10% of the town in attendance.
I’d girded myself up to eventually meet him, but in 21 years of living here, I’ve never glimpsed him. I’d planned to go with a TJ Hooker query at first and then segue into Star Trek, but my phrasers were on stun.
Best story around these parts i’ve heard goes like this…
The main fork of the Kaweah River dumps into Lake Kaweah and early in the season you sometimes get little islands in the middle of the river, and somebody somehow got stranded on one of them, and who comes up on a powerboat to rescue the would be Robinson Crusoe, but Captain Kirk. One to beam up!
The Canadians among us. Perhaps when in the boonies he leaves off his rumored hair piece and is thus more incognito.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11120215/William-Shatner-seen-leaving-hair-transplant-clinic-LA.html
Jack Kent Cooke who was a card carrying Cannuck built the Fabulous Forum in LA and owned the LA Kings and Lakers among his many holdings.
My dad loved hockey so I must have gone to 100 games in the 1970’s and the hapless Kings couldn’t draw a crowd to save themselves and the Forum held 16,005, and sometimes early in the 3rd period they’d announce today’s attendance is 5,346, and the skeptical 12 year old version of me would think to myself, nahhh, 3,500 tops.
Canadians love them some Arizona also. They can often be found rehydrating in the back of an ambulance after an attempted nature hike in the 110 degrees (oh sorry 43.3 C). They thought they were still in Saskatchewan
However I’m told there are fewer of these Snowbirds this year thanks to Don.
I can observe from personal experience that back during the Gravy Years that Canadian tradesmen would sign up for seasonal unemployment during winter, come on down to Florida and work for cheap to cover their expenses and enjoy some sunny weather. They would generally work “under the table” to preserve their unemployment status up North. The “bad side” to this is that local contractors took advantage of this and laid their local workers off when the Canadians showed up and hire the Snowbirds to fill the new “employment opportunities” at significantly lower wages. When the Canadians went back up North in the Spring, suddenly the contractors would be contacting the locals for “job offers.” The trick here was that the locals, often on local unemployment would lose their unemployment status if they refused a “legitimate offer of employment.”
Same as it ever was.
Stay safe.
I love William Shatner, but have never understood the affinity for cigars.
Very much agree with the advice re trusting those who say you need to act your age. (I think we can give Prince a pass on this.)
Also – this looks interesting: https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com
Best…H
re: antidote.
Looks like a Lipizzan horse.
When people openly question whether a President is stupid or crazier than a shithouse rat…they know the answer.
Both.
Re antidote, a handsome white horse. Much symbolism, I’m going with “wisdom”.
Then I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.
Revelation 6:1-2 (NRSVU)
I dunno, the steed resembles my favorite thoroughbred of all, the great Vigors, who preferred running races at the highest levels of horsedom backwards, languishing far in the back, only to mow them all down like a white tornado in the home stretch. I was there in person for this race 48 years ago-tempus fugit.
1978 Santa Anita Handicap Vigors Wins The RARE Full Race Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ9G_dA5KcU
Cool. “The Big White Horse.”
Sincere or cynical positive employee acceptance of corporate bullshit is a valuable career enhancing skill. I suspect that many of us have seen the fellow employee who is not good at their job get the promotion. I remember a cartoon of a group men in suits together with the caption “We work like hell to prevent a brain drain and then they come in and steal all of the brown nosers.” Dilbert was a truth teller. Management needs reassurance of their importance and power. Related are the recurring examples of top executives being ousted due to romances with subordinates. Did you hear the one about the woman who slept her way to the middle.
American Generals and Admirals were given the choice of resigning or participating in a War that they know is unconstitutional and illegal.
Those that resigned and kept their honor still have a generous retirement, free healthcare for life and increasingly valuable PX privileges.
What did they lose?
Active duty flag officers are IMPORTANT PEOPLE which they are reminded of all day, every day.
Lucrative second careers, if you aren’t a “Team Player” and know how to “Go along to get along” there won’t be a second lucrative career in the MIC.
How lucrative are those jobs?
If you are a member of the Joint chiefs, maybe $25MM over the course of your second career,less for lesser ranks.
Don’t forget that it is an implicit promise of a lucrative second career, not an explicit promise…
The vast majority of American Flag officers have betrayed the trust put in them by the American People because their egos could not bear the thought of losing their position, of no longer having their asses kissed all day long.
And giving up the prospect of becoming small rich is painful, given the choice of keeping their oath or promised $, they chose a PROMISE of $.
Not cash on the barrelhead, an implicit promise of $.
Whores don’t take post dated checks…
“Lucrative second careers, if you aren’t a “Team Player” and know how to “Go along to get along” there won’t be a second lucrative career in the MIC.”
John Lennon, “Working Class Hero“
One of my favorite John Lennon songs, thanks.
“Australia last rationed fuel in the 1970s. Could we do it again? ”
It’s not like we will have much of a choice. If they are smart, they will bring in fuel limits and odd-and-even number plates for refilling sooner rather than later but the government won’t as it will make them look bad. Heard on the news that the public were blamed for sparking high fuel prices here in Oz but that is a lie. People knew that the fuel stations were going to spike those fuel prices no matter what happened so they got in first to fill up their fuel tanks and jerry cans.
I can still ride my bike and so have a backup plan for the coming gas lines.
Need a backhoe though to start building that bomb shelter in the back yard.
Filled all my gas cans and the wife is digging a trench for a greenhouse with the backhoe. Really need an excavator for a bunker, even with the Extend-a-hoe my backhoe can only dig a flat bottomed trench perhaps fifteen feet deep.
Gas up another dime from Friday. Good thing we filled fuel tanks and jerrycans on Sunday. :-)
Having lived through the last odd/even rationing, I now have to wonder – what will happen with custom plates that don’t HAVE numbers? Maybe it’ll be “no gas for YOU!”
In my California mountain town (north of Wuk), regular is at or above of $6.00 / gallon and diesel is at or above of $7.00 / gallon. Up roughly 30% in the last month (gas and diesel have always been high here – when I hear about gas hitting $3.50 in other parts of the US well, I haven’t seen those prices since the height of Covid in 2020/21)
Lots of HUGE diesel pickups everywhere……………….
And I feel that time’s a wasted go
So where ya going ’til tomorrow?
And I see that these are lies to come
So would you even care?
And I feel it
And I feel it
Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the task you found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs of war begin to smell you
Will they smell alone?
And I feel, so much depends on the weather
So is it raining bullshit in your war room?
And I see, that these are the eyes of disarray
Would you even care?
And I feel it
And everybody feels it
Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the task you found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs of war begin to smell you
Will they smell alone?
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the task you found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs of war begin to smell you
Will they smell alone?
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
To find it
To find it
To find it
Plush, by Stone Temple Pilots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hus-w3cz5-E&list=RDHus-w3cz5-E
“Donald Trump floats joint control of Strait of Hormuz”
I was watching the interview he had with reporters when this came up. I firmly had the impression that this was just a brain fart of his and he hasn’t seriously considered the idea. To have joint control of the Hormuz would imply US military bases and that is one thing that the Iranians will never allow.
Teetotalitarian Leader is kind of a day dunk, jumping into lies and occasionally trying to clamber out.
Donald: Brilliant! Charging toll to transit the straight! I’m happy to split it 40/60, and I’ll stop bombing you for 5 days.
Iran: Yes, we will be charging toll to friendly countries passing the straight. However, anyone having anything to do with you won’t be crossing for any price. And what did you say? Ha ha share the tolls ? 100/0 No problem looser.
“Bosses want compliance and ego massages, not performance.”
The book “Soviet Ideologies in the Time of Glasnost” by Vladimir Shlapentokh describes the role that the rise of such an attitude on the part of Soviet bosses played in the decline of the Soviet Union.
“British forces join French navy to seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean”
That article has the following line-
‘As a country, the UK is being found sadly wanting as regards naval capabilities.’
They got that right-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gru2EDJvj9Q (12:52 mins)
Useful article on Christian Zionism (and not the American kind).
So did the Brits see colonization of Palestine as a kind of Liberia for Jews? And was that a noble impulse or more in line with American 19th century plan for former slaves?
Here in the US assimilated Jews made tremendous contributions to the 20th century and if they had a second class status it certainly wasn’t financial as in Hollywood where most of the Hollywood studios were Jewish owned. The civil rights movement brought on demands for the end of restrictions based on race and religion but one could argue that losing their outsider status also took away something that made the Jewish community so valuable. Once they joined the country club set it’s been all downhill ever since. Some new group may be needed to refresh our intellectual DNA.
Epic river migrations of fish rapidly collapsing, UN report finds
Vast journeys, among world’s great wonders, found to be under threat as freshwater fish populations crash by 81%
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/24/epic-river-migrations-of-fish-rapidly-collapsing-un-report-finds
check out the pix of the giant Mekong catfish
Deep Fry the Economy
Sung to the tune of, “Fly Like an Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band
Melody
[spacey instrumental music]
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
Rates keep up tickin’, tickin’, ‘tickin
There go the futures …
Don keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping
Into a stupor
Trump’s gonna deep fry the markets
’til they’re free
Deep fry the markets
Spit roast the economy
He’s gonna cry on Truth Social
Like he’s three
Oh no, feel the conniption
Feed the war machine
Connected to Wall Street
Shoe the Sec State
With size 11’s on his feet
Housing’s ruined
We’ll all be living on the street
All he wants is retribution
Trump’s gonna deep fry the markets
’til they’re free
Deep fry the markets
Spit roast the economy
He’s gonna cry on Truth Social
Like he’s three
Oh, ride the revolution
Don keeps on eatin’, eatin’, eatin’
Big Macs, size: super
Don keeps on eatin’, eatin’,eatin’
His hand needs some sutures
Don keeps on eatin’, eatin’, eatin’
Big Macs, size: super
Rates keep up tickin’, tickin’, tickin’
There go the futures
Doo doo de-duh-duh
Doo doo de-doo-doo
[repeat 4x]
Trump’s gonna deep fry the markets
’til they’re free
Deep fry the markets
With the spirit of 1933
He’s gonna cry on Truth Social
Like he’s three
Oh, ride through the revolution
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
Rates keep up ticking, ticking, ticking
There go the futures …
Sweet intro, lol!
The poets here are kicking ass these days, thank you all.
Charlie dealt in hypotheticals
Charlie used to be to me an unknown entity
Last September the internet had to tell me
He’d been killed
Some respectable shooter from the Beehive state
Shot him through the neck
Charlie didn’t feel a thing
Neither of them did
Poor kid
Charlie dealt in hypotheticals
He sold that evang dogma drug
Some gave Charlie all their money
What the hell were they thinking of?
Charlie had to take his medicine
Charlie got his prescription filled
I came to say goodbye
I’m sorry Charlie died
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
Charlie dealt in hypotheticals
Charlie used to be to me an unknown entity
Last September the internet had to tell me
He’d been killed
Charlie had to take his medicine
Charlie got his prescription filled
I came to say goodbye
I’m sorry Charlie died
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
Charlie’s Medicine, by Warren Zevon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRDkKobIWpo&list=RDtRDkKobIWpo
I haven’t understood the rationale. Postmark is good enough for the IRS, it should be good enough for elections.
Also remember late Bush ballots being counted in 2008…
That is funny, the Supremes stated in 2000 that their cutoff was the “safe harbor” deadline set by US code for counting votes. Now they need to move it even further up?
The oil shock in the Middle East is a godsend for Russia Le Monde
Couldn’t read it all but it looks an article written to avoid the most obvious. This is that the EU ability and possibly willingness to keep throwing money at Ukraine might shrink quite fast. In this sense yes, the oil shock is a godsend for Russia. Quite probably all European MSM outlets are doing their best to avoid talking about it.
Don’t know why Le Monde made me recall this theme by France Gall from long ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l7eXx_8DHY&list=OLAK5uy_nE1Xrw1JL8rCQgFsPckpuCT21FKQgTcgc
This is good:
(Delta CEO Ed Bastian has had enough of the DC stooges)
https://seekingalpha.com/news/4567930-delta-air-lines-sends-congress-members-to-the-back-of-the-airport-security-line
Seems I was close to the target when predicting the Airline execs would pressure Congress; I just thought they’d threaten to cut off the money spigot. This move is even better.
Meanwhile, Congress looks to be rising out of its stupor and threatening to finally pass some funding for the TSA:
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/24/congress/reconciliation-bill-thune-trump-dhs-ice-save-00841372
This certainly won’t be passed (if it passes at all) in time to save the next weekend of airline travel madness. With the March Madness tournament, and spring break travel, get ready for multi-hour wait times to get through the TSA lines. Anyone have ground level observations on the ICE agents?
I fly next Monday evening. Maybe.
In all of this, no mention of repealing the Patriot Act and eliminating the TSA altogether. Curious. You’d think that “they” were all in on this big con together.
This is good:
>(Delta CEO Ed Bastian has had enough of the DC stooges)
https://seekingalpha.com/news/4567930-delta-air-lines-sends-congress-members-to-the-back-of-the-airport-security-line
Seems I was close to the target when predicting the Airline execs would pressure Congress; I just thought they’d threaten to cut off the money spigot. This move is even better.
Careful there Delta. Payback’s a bitch should you need to go to Congress for a bailout in the future.
But all the same, I love it. Nothing seems to happen until the Congresscritters feel some pain.
Explosion reported at Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas – Aandolu Agency
Valero workers can’t catch a break. Another recent incident flew under the radar. But they could be having some safety regulation issues:
https://www.kten.com/news/oklahoma-headlines/new-details-of-the-deadly-ardmore-refinery-incident/article_e00de7dd-a999-40b1-b102-e5874f4d915b.html/
New details of the deadly Ardmore refinery incident
“Two victims of the February 9th Valero refinery fire in Ardmore have now filed lawsuits against the company, arguing that the correct safety regulations were not in place.
The fire left four people injured and a fifth dead.
“What we know since we’re here after an explosion is that there were failures,” said attorney Ryan Zehl, representing fire victim Hoss Morton…”
NYT Sports Desk has ended reporting. What I didn’t realize is that The Athletic is a non union shop. Absolutely shameful.
https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2023/new-york-times-sports-desk-closed/
Trump’s Cabinet retreats behind military gates
Housing officials on military bases has little precedent in U.S. history. It has plenty in authoritarian regimes
https://www.salon.com/2026/03/24/trumps-cabinet-retreats-behind-military-gates/
New Covid variant has been identified and is already spreading in 25 states
Researchers say the strain could evade protection from current Covid shots
https://www.the-independent.com/news/health/covid-variant-us-travelers-wastewater-b2944619.html?test_group=lighteradlayout
A very common thing to see on the road before the turn of the century was a ‘bug deflector’, which went the width of your hood and was about 3 inches high and mounted near the front of the hood.
Haven’t seen one of those in eons~
My drive to Mammoth & Vail and back was uneventful from a bug splatter standpoint, I mean the windshield always needed a squeegee job at the gas station every 400 miles, but twas minimal-the bug mayhem.
The Bug, by Dire Straits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fOnLa_TB-4&list=RD1fOnLa_TB-4
They are also good at deflecting small rocks thrown up from the road by other vehicles, including the dump trucks from hell ™. Saving you from a cracked windshield.
Nice tune, I always thought the Mary Chapin Carpenter cover was more popular.
Minnesota sues US agencies for access to evidence in killings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/minnesota-sues-us-agencies-access-evidence-killings-rene-good-alex-pretti-2026-03-24/
All of DOGE’s work could be undone as lawsuit against Musk proceeds
Musk’s X posts bragging about DOGE may trigger reversals of its biggest wins.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/all-of-doges-work-could-be-undone-as-lawsuit-against-musk-proceeds/
Pete Hegseth’s Pastor Says He Wants James Talarico To Die
“We want him crucified with Christ,” Brooks Potteiger said of the Texas Senate Democratic nominee, after the podcast host said he prays “that God kills him.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pete-hegseth-pastor-james-talarico-death_n_69c18fe3e4b0964b57003b56
Taibbi’s latest from Racket News, no paywall:
Go Outside
A place to visit, when the world goes mad
https://www.racket.news/p/go-outside
Leavitt to Believer
In this week’s episode, quite craven Lumpy Rutherford (played by Donald) can’t stop talking about Pearl Harbor in front of the Japanese PM. Hilarity ensues and June Cleaver (played by Melania) forces a nervous smile on the screen.
Karoline lets him off the hook in the presser by calling it ‘surprise diplomacy’.
re: EU sanctions vs. Hüseyin Dogru
Sorry, but this is fucking insane. The fact this decision could be made in itself is beyond me. How can someone study law, become a judge and do this? But even worse – there is no boycott by the legal sphere in Germany or the EU. How is that possible?! They should go on a general strike and block all legal proceedings in the country until this matter is settled in a way it corresponds with constitutional legal standards.
BERLINER ZEITUNG
machine-translation
Court upholds account freeze: Berlin journalist faces homelessness due to EU sanctions
The Frankfurt am Main District Court has rejected an urgent application by Hüseyin Dogru. The sanctioned journalist lacks the means to cover rent and daily living expenses.
https://archive.is/paYa2
“The financial situation of Berlin journalist Hüseyin Dogru is worsening. The Frankfurt am Main District Court has rejected an urgent application filed by the journalist, who is sanctioned by the EU. Dogru wanted his bank to allow transfers again and to lessen the restrictions on his account. However, the court sided with the bank. Dogru must also bear the costs of the proceedings.
At the heart of the matter was the question of whether Dogru, despite the EU sanctions imposed against him, has a right to continued access to his account. The court denied this. According to the court ruling, which is available to the Berliner Zeitung, there is no legal basis for an injunction. Therefore, the prerequisite for intervention in the expedited proceedings is lacking: Dogru has no enforceable right to demand that the bank release the transfers he requested.”
What else can you do but either storm the EU Commission or take hostage the very members of the EU Council who are responsible for this kind of dictatorial conduct.
If one has the natural right to resist unjust treatment then this would be an occasion to execute this right. And since only violent enforcement of justice could achieve the only legitimate outcome violence it ought to be.
I haven´t even seen a single essay at least contemplating this angle. Or oh-so antifa threaten the courts.
Nothing.