Gary Singh

Welcome to the Derp State The dumbest president, surrounded by the dumbest people, making the dumbest mistakes.

Excellent summary, as usual.

open.substack.com/pub/paulwald...

‘No clear goal’: lack of Iran war plan has unleashed chaos and could stymie US military for decades, say critics White House contends with reality of shoddy preparations for war and unclear conditions for victory

Oh.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

And surrounded by even more incompetent criminals.

Trump’s Iran Blunders Suddenly Look Darker after Damning New Leaks Hit As brutal revelations emerge about Trump’s handling of the war, a foreign policy expert explains why he won’t be able to extricate us from this debacle anytime soon—and provides a roadmap to what’s ne...

Trump officials privately pessimistic there's a strategy to end war, but they fear telling this to Trump, NYT reports. On the pod, @profsaunders.bsky.social brilliantly explains how this shows perils of "personalist" rule and the total absence of constraints on him:
newrepublic.com/article/2076...

FESTIVAL - FIFDH

I have not attended, but this is a great film festival that should be on your radar. In fact, I miss Geneva ...

fifdh.org/en/festival/

Thinking Live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Iran, Strongmen, and more YouTube video by Victor Shi

Helpful conversation.

youtube.com/watch?v=xVfe...

The Least Popular War In History Here's why there's been no rally-round-the-flag effect on Iran.

“...if you’re unpopular and you don’t even bother trying to make a coherent argument for war, and it doesn’t seem to be a smashing success, the public is not going to go along.”
open.substack.com/pub/paulwald...

Americans aren't facing a democratic collapse. We’re living in its aftermath | Eric Reinhart The US was an oligarchy well before Trump’s first term. Recognizing this reality is essential to building a true democracy

Theories from the psychoanalsist DW Winnicott applied to the breakdown and collapse of American society, which has already happened.

www.theguardian.com/global/comme...

The Broligarchy's First World War? AI-guided weapons, two out-of-control authoritarians, no legal authority and a toxic mess of masculinity: welcome to the manosphere's first major conflict

“We’re trapped inside this never-ending algorithmic scroll where our dopamine-fuelled lust for the endless new is Trump’s literal foreign policy.”

open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

Targeting Iran’s Cultural Heritage Means Targeting Human Beings Targeting Iranian cultural heritage is first and foremost bad because of the devastating effects it would have on Iranians. We in the rest of the world may feel a real loss, but that is secondary at b...

From six years ago.

hyperallergic.com/targeting-ir...

Dear MAGA Voter: He Played You — The Swamp Wasn’t Drained, It Was Sold to Billionaires A quick note to my MAGA acquaintance...

Fine summary, as usual.

open.substack.com/pub/thomhart...

Iran Join Rick as he explores the most surprising and fascinating land he's ever visited: Iran. In a one-hour, ground-breaking travel special on public television, you'll discover the splendid monuments of...

“It’s just good style to get to know people before you bomb them.”

www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-l...

A world on edge as Trump bombs Iran and triggers war in the Middle East. There was no need for this | Simon Tisdall We cannot know where this foolish, reckless attack will end – but new hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown and, ultimately, little will be achieved, says Guardian foreign affairs commentat...

"New hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown. The west’s foes will rejoice. And almost nothing of enduring value will be achieved."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Just a few of the questions ...

Luckily, this is the first thing I watched this morning, before even attempting the bulk of the news.

EXCLUSIVE: I obtained the attendance list for the Bohemian Grove. Weaving Spiders Please Come Here

This guy obtained the Bohemian Grove membership list. You can download it as a .pdf.

open.substack.com/pub/danbogus...

What is the future of propaganda? Dima Vorobiev's answer: TLDR: The future of propaganda is “Six Seven!”. The attention economy transforms propaganda into Influence-as-a-Service. Ours is the era of post-truth. Accept it. The univer...

Some discussion on Quora from a former Soviet propaganda executive.
qr.ae/pCEshU

The Predatory Hegemon (w/ Stephen Walt) | The Chris Hedges Report YouTube video by The Chris Hedges YouTube Channel

Excellent conversation, as usual.
youtube.com/watch?v=6A1w...

We are the laughingstock of the world because of our moronic and psychotic president. Deservedly so.

Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal A Guardian analysis finds the vast majority of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time from January to August last year had no criminal convictions

Oh.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

AI writes the code now. What’s left for software engineers? Hiring is down, AI tools are in, and engineers fear they’re sliding toward a “permanent underclass.”

"Tech workers who thought they had followed all the rules for success are scrolling through 'permanent underclass' memes while AI does the job they trained years to do." sfstandard.com/2026/02/19/a...

China and the World to Come • EQUATOR How elites in Beijing view the collapse of American hegemony

This magazine -- @equatormag.bsky.social -- has been doing some great work.
www.equator.org/articles/chi...

The Ghost Ship of Creative Writing On suffering and failure and the writer’s ego

"Smith, once more: 'To speak personally, the very reason I write is so that I might not sleepwalk through my entire life.'” open.substack.com/pub/beyondcr...

Keep Hope Alive On The World Day Of Social Justice By Julian Lennon and Tassoula Kokkoris

From Julian Lennon.
whitefeatherfoundation.com/news/keep-ho...

Government considers removing Andrew from royal line of succession The former Duke of York is eighth in line to the throne meaning he remains eligible to be King.

The plot thickens ...

www.bbc.com/news/article...

A war foretold: how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them Drawing on more than 100 interviews with senior intelligence officials and other insiders in multiple countries, this exclusive account details how the US and Britain uncovered Vladimir Putin’s plans ...

“They remembered the dubious intelligence case presented to justify the invasion of Iraq two decades previously, and were wary of trusting the Americans on what seemed like a fantastical prediction.”

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Epstein files: ‘No one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law’; rights experts demand accountability The large-scale disclosure of materials known as the “Epstein Files” has revealed “disturbing and credible evidence” of what independent human rights experts describe as a possible global criminal ent...

From the UN:
news.un.org/en/story/202...

Investigating Reality with VR Maven Mark Pesce VR pioneer Mark Pesce reflects on cyberspace’s unrealised promise, shared virtual worlds, and the slippery nature of “reality”.

I remember Mark Pesce from my college era in the 1990s.

magazine.mindplex.ai/post/investi...

ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, monthslong expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

The folks at @wired.com are doing great work these days.
www.wired.com/story/ice-ex...

Sort of gives away the lie that they're arresting hardened criminals who are drags on society when they're setting up traps to lure in Good Samaritans