I won't indulge in the usual hand-wringing about a post-truth world, because I think that people will adapt and learn how to triangulate information (though consolidation of ownership and White House attacks on the US press aren't helping).
In any case, what a damn unnecessary mess.
Gift link.
WASHINGTON-Before the U.S. went to war, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told President Trump that an American attack could prompt Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz. Caine said in several briefings that U.S. officials had long believed Iran would deploy mines, drones and missiles to close the world's most vital shipping lane, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Trump acknowledged the risk, these people said, but moved forward with the most consequential foreign-policy decision of his two presidencies. He told his team that Tehran would likely capitulate before closing the strait-and even if Iran tried, the U.S. military could handle it. Now, two weeks into the war, Iran's leaders have refused to back down, and the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as Tehran's most potent leverage point.
How Trump alone got the US - and the world - into a crisis in the Middle East. From the WSJ.
Atteint d’un cancer du rein de stade 4, Dany Létourneau, 43 ans, savait que ses jours étaient comptés. La veille de son décès, nous l'avons rencontré, en compagnie de sa conjointe, Camille Joly-Proulx. Lire l'article 👉 bit.ly/40vL9SE
"The widening war in Iran has delivered a stunning punch to the worldwide economy. [...] Yes, the price of gas at the pump is affected. But so is the price of food, medicine, airplane tickets, electricity, cooking oil, semiconductors and more". www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/b...
"Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes."
www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/p...
😕🇺🇸
Nikkei gets pummeled.
Iranian journalist reports in front of the flames of a burning Oil depot.
Watch this.
19 minutes and $12 to get meds at a public Chinese hospital. Without insurance.
As we slash Medicaid to start unnecessary wars and cut taxes for the rich. 🇺🇸
We should all be so much angrier than we are. It doesn’t have to be this way. #MedicareForAllNOW
Watch: Moment Iran's state TV announces Supreme Leader has been killed
BREAKING:
Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed dead
Qatar Today
At least Marie Antoinette suggested cake
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has rejected the Pentagon’s ultimatum to allow unrestricted military use of the company’s AI model, Claude.
ÉMOTION. Des élèves d'une école de Téhéran ont rendu mercredi 18 février 2026 un hommage surprise à leur professeur, le père de Sadra Soltani, un étudiant de 24 ans tué jeudi 8 janvier 2026 dans l'est de la capitale, à l'occasion des commémorations du quarantième jour suivant sa mort.
Carney constructs a mega anti-Trump trade alliance www.politico.eu/article/eu-a...
Navalny was poisoned with exotic frog toxin, five Western nations confirm
Multiple labs have independently analyzed biological samples taken from Alexei Navalny’s body and found epibatidine, a highly toxic alkaloid sourced from a South American poisonous frog.
A dresser inside a museum in New York City has been discovered as a secret stop on the Underground Railroad — the first of its kind discovered in Manhattan in over 100 years
Everyone knows China’s #1 foreign policy objective is eliminating Canadian hockey
Perfect
‘Don Colossus,’ a Golden Statue of President Trump, Waits for Its Home
A group of cryptocurrency investors backing a memecoin hopes the statue will soon be installed at one of Mr. Trump’s golf courses in Florida.
By David Yaffe-Bellany
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/t...
Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place. Philadelphia, September 17, 1787: "Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?" "A republic, if you can keep it." With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike, It is so ORDERED. SIGNED this 31st day of February, 2026. 7um Jing FRED BIERY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Credit: Bystander Matthew 19:14 John 11:35 There is also the photo of the boy from the viral stories included.
Federal judge has ordered the release of Liam Ramos (the bunny hat boy) and his father. A brief and rather remarkable order. Clearly written to be shared widely, so please do. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Poignant human moments unfolded as a Syrian citizen reunited with his children after a three-year absence spent in detention in SDF prisons.
A retired Minneapolis couple who had guns pointed at them by ICE in a church parking lot.
"They were obviously not trained at all. I've known many police officers in my life. These people were right off the streets."
"They had the professional demeanor of criminals."
ht: @paulgraham.bsky.social
MY STATEMENT ON THE HORRIBLE SCENES PLAYING OUT IN MINNEAPOLIS AND ACROSS AMERICA JANUARY 25, 2026 In recent weeks, we've watched horrible scenes play out in Minneapolis and other communities that I never thought would take place in America. People, including children, have been seized from their homes, workplaces, and the street by masked federal agents. Peaceful protesters and citizens exercising their constitutional right to observe and document law enforcement have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed. All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided. To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we've seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities. Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back. It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People.
Statement by President Clinton
New video shows ICE agents in Minneapolis wrestling a man to the ground, then shooting him multiple times.
"paid agitators"
Sunday, at least 7 ICE agents stormed a house and took an elderly man out into the freezing cold, wearing only his underwear and a blanket.
He was a member of the Hmong community, which came to the area from Laos in the 1970s after siding with the US in the Vietnam War.
Notice the suppressors
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