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Debt Rattle March 24 2026

Mar 242026
 
 March 24, 2026  Posted by at 11:06 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  Add comments


Edward Hopper Gas 1940


• 4D Chess: Trump Postpones Destroying Iran’s Power Plants (Pinsker)
• IEA Head Warns Iran War Sparked Energy Crisis Worse Than 1970s (ZH)
• CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper Gives Update and Overview Interview (CTH)
• Saudi Arabia Expels Iranian Diplomats (RT)
• Lights Out? (James Howard Kunstler)
• Are We On the Verge of a Breakthrough on the SAVE America Act? (Matt Margolis)
• Intel Board To Probe If Spy Agencies Withheld China Election Secrets (JTN)
• Truth Will Out: A Grand Jury Investigates the Real Russian Collusion Conspiracy (Turley)
• Tom Homan: How Immigration and Customs Enforcement Can Supplement TSA (CTH)
• Alarm Bells In Spain As Moroccan Diaspora Seeks Political Mobilization (RMX)
• French Election: Le Pen’s Populists Make Historic Local Gains (ZH)
• Major Gains for Germany’s AfD Nationalist Party (CTH)
• Western Europe Wrestles With Its Daddy Issues (Rachel Marsden)
• Jury Finds Musk Liable to Twitter Shareholders in Lawsuit (ET)

 


 

https://twitter.com/AdamMoczar/status/2035822308208660516?s=20 https://twitter.com/Alinavisooo/status/2035954387722674253?s=20

 


 

 


 


“.. that’s what investors do: They overreact to good news — and they overreact to bad news. In their minds, the most extreme possibility is always the most likely..”

• 4D Chess: Trump Postpones Destroying Iran’s Power Plants (Pinsker)

On Friday evening, President Donald Trump issued Iran’s mullahs a 48-hour deadline: Open the Strait of Hormuz or say goodbye to your power plants. And then, this morning — just 12 hours before the deadline ended — the president abruptly pulled the plug: But did you notice the timing? Trump delivered the ultimatum on Friday evening, after the U.S. markets had closed for the week. And he canceled his ultimatum on Monday morning, just before the U.S. markets reopened. And the new five-day deadline? Why, it conveniently begins after the U.S. markets close on Friday! None of this was coincidental. Meanwhile, Iran quickly claimed victory:

As NDTV World reported, “After Trump’s No-Strike Decision, Iran Media Bursts Out Laughing at Him”: Trump’s announcement about a five-day window in which the US would hold off on hitting Iranian power plants and related infrastructure was met in Tehran’s media ecosystem with a mix of derision and triumph. Iran media Press TV reported there was no contact for talks with the US, whether direct or indirect. […] Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, in a post on X said, “Trump and America have backed down again. The field is still charging forward. Another defeat for the devil.” President Trump prides himself on being an elite dealmaker, but deals are only possible when each side covets something different. If all parties want the exact same thing, a compromise is impossible.

At this juncture in the war, the Iranians and the U.S.-Israelis have dramatically different objectives.Iran can’t go toe-to-toe with its foes militarily. It’s outgunned, outmatched, outclassed, outmanned, and overwhelmed. If the war is decided on the battlefield, Iran will lose — and embarrassingly, too. But there’s still one place where it can win: the arena of public opinion. Iran needs PR to decide this war. If the mullahs don’t look strong, tough, and unbeatable, the Iranian people will rise up and overthrow them. Which is why, in their minds, losing the war-war — but winning the PR war — is a perfectly acceptable outcome. After all, the number-one goal of a dictatorship is to retain its power.

President Trump is less concerned with PR than he is with reality. War, by its nature, isn’t won with press releases — but with bullets. Which makes the president’s calculations clear: He needs time to obliterate the last vestiges of the mullahs’ might, annihilate its stormtroopers, crush the regime, and maximize the probability of a successful Iranian uprising. Because if we win the war-war, the PR war will take care of itself. From Trump’s perspective, victory is the only litmus test that matters. But Trump needs a free hand to continue softening the Iranian regime. Yes, his primary battlefield is still the battlefield — but not even the president is immune to public pressure. Domestically, his MAGA base hasn’t left his side:

Yet among independents and Democrats, the war is dreadfully unpopular — with its biggest potential pain points coming from surging oil prices and/or a stock market collapse: Had Trump stuck to his 48-hour deadline — which would’ve elapsed AFTER the close of U.S. markets on Monday evening — panicked investors would’ve braced for the worst when trading began at 9:30 a.m., triggering a self-fulfilling prophecy of economic Armageddon. They would’ve anticipated oil shortages, starving civilians, mass migrations, and global chaos, because that’s what investors do: They overreact to good news — and they overreact to bad news. In their minds, the most extreme possibility is always the most likely. (It’s simply their psychology.) This means that Monday, March 23, would’ve been an absolute financial bloodbath — an even blacker Black Monday.

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It’ll be ugly. But how ugly?

• IEA Head Warns Iran War Sparked Energy Crisis Worse Than 1970s (ZH)

The head of the International Energy Agency intensified his apocalyptic warning about the global energy crisis, stating early Monday that the US-Israel war with Iran has sparked a shock far greater than the twin oil crises of the 1970s and the turmoil from the war in Ukraine combined.US-Israeli Operation Epic Fury has entered its fourth week, and emerging from the fog of war is the understanding that 44 energy assets across the Gulf region have been severely or very severely damaged by either U.S. and allied forces or by Iranian forces, according to IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, who spoke at a media event in Australia on Monday. “This crisis, as things stand, is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,” Birol warned at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra.


So far, the conflict has removed 11 million barrels of oil per day from global supply, which is more than the two prior oil shocks combined. There are concerns that repairs to QatarEnergy’s damaged LNG facility could take up to five years, while the disruption to energy flows has sparked a fuel crisis across Asia and is set to affect fertilizer and food supplies, as well as helium, potentially jeopardizing AI chip production.”The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible,” Birol said.

As of 0710 ET, Brent crude futures plunged 11% on President Trump’s Truth Social desesclation comments – a sign the administration needs an offramp to avoid a further energy crisis globally, but more importantly, one at home with fuel prices at the pump exploding higher. Overnight, President Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to reopen the Hormuz chokepoint or face a bombing campaign targeting Iran’s power plants. There were reports overnight that the Trump administration was preparing a diplomatic off-ramp plan, but Iran says the expanding war has effectively shut the door.

Betting website Polymarket shows that ten new wallets are betting $160,000 on a U.S.-Iran ceasefire by the end of March. “Almost no history, all created around the same time. Potential payout: over $1,000,000,” the Polymarket History account wrote on X.

https://twitter.com/PolymarketStory/status/2035737368141902238

On Friday, Birol told the Financial Times in an exclusive interview that the world is severely underestimating the scale of the Gulf energy shock and that it may take at least six months to restore disrupted oil and gas flows. “It will be six months for some [sites] to be operational, others much longer,” Birol warned.

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“..accepting there is a psychological component to the information flow, it seems like the best option to listen to the experts who are conducting the operation.”

• CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper Gives Update and Overview Interview (CTH)

The noise can seem overwhelming at times. There are those who say the U.S-Israeli joint military operation against Iran is a catastrophic miscalculation. There are those who say the operation is strategically succeeding. Many interests even appear to be cheering for the military operation to fail; others want the operation to escalate. It is difficult to find pragmatic facts about the events without shaped information to promote specific narratives. However, accepting there is a psychological component to the information flow, it seems like the best option to listen to the experts who are conducting the operation.


Giving his first interview since Operation Epic Fury began, CENTCOM Commander Bradley Cooper outlines the current status of the conflict and the elements he notes are of most importance. According to Adm. Cooper, Iran is “operating in a sign of desperation… In the last couple of weeks, they’ve attacked civilian targets very deliberately, more than 300 times.” “The Strait of Hormuz is physically open to transit,” he said. “The reason ships are not transiting right now is because the Islamic Republic is shooting at them with drones and missiles.”

“I’d like everyone to note is I’ve watched this over the last week, this extraordinary contrast between the comfort and protection that you’re seeing with the senior generals in the Islamic Republic, at least those that are still alive, who are up in deep bunkers and facilities in and around Tehran. And contrast that with the soldiers who are down on the ground who are unprotected. The generals are protected. The soldiers are not protected.” “They’re launching missiles and drones from populated areas and you need to stay inside for right now,” he said. “There will be a clear signal at some point, as the President has indicated, for you to be able to come out.”

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Iran against the Arab world?

• Saudi Arabia Expels Iranian Diplomats (RT)

Saudi Arabia has expelled several Iranian diplomats, citing Tehran’s strikes on its territory. The move comes after 12 Arab and Muslim countries, including those hosting US bases, denounced the Islamic Republic’s retaliation for the US-Israeli bombardment that began on February 28. On Saturday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as Iran’s “blatant and repeated attacks targeting Saudi Arabia” and other Gulf countries, accusing Tehran of violating international law and the “principles of good neighborliness.” “Saudi Arabia has formally notified the Iranian military attaché, assistant military attaché, and three other embassy staff members to leave the kingdom within 24 hours,” the statement read, as quoted by the Saudi Gazette.


‘The kingdom will take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security, territory, airspace, citizens, residents, and national interests, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter,” the ministry said, warning of “serious consequences” for diplomatic relations between the two countries. The announcement follows a similar move by Qatar, which expelled Iranian military and security attachés, along with their staff, in response to a strike on an LNG facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City, one of the world’s most important gas processing and export centers. Iran targeted Ras Laffan in response to Israeli airstrikes on the South Pars gas field, which were also condemned by the Gulf states. Iran has also repeatedly targeted Prince Sultan Air Base in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, which hosts American troops.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was targeting US military sites in the region in self-defense. He also claimed that the United States had used UAE territory during the recent bombing of Kharg Island. Tehran has warned that retaliation will continue for as long as Arab states allow the US to use their territory for attacks on the Islamic Republic. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier apologized to the Gulf states for striking civilian infrastructure with missiles and drones.

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“This is Hitler’s last days with Persian characteristics.” —LH Grey on X

• Lights Out? (James Howard Kunstler)

It’s not only darkest before the dawn, but the groupthink is murkiest, and the light at the end of the tunnel might be an explosion up your wazoo. Iran’s increasingly headless Revolutionary Guard (the IRGC) whirls in its gyre of martyrdom as the last traps are sprung under it. Tell the wide-eyed houris of paradise to primp for a fresh harvest of true believers.Looks like Mr. Trump is not chickening-out, as his detractors like to insist. Looks like somebody is already turning off the juice around Tehran, likely the Israeils. It will be very hard soon enough for the headless IRGC to tell its body of psycho-killers what to do.


Individual units are probably on their own now, anyway, wondering what the other units might be doing. . . might be thinking, while also, about now, the sore-beset, long-suffering, good-and-goshdarn pissed off, ordinary Persians will discover that nobody’s in charge, and maybe, at long last, it’s their turn to act, as the lights flicker out. On the ground, in the apartments, the cafes, the offices, the grand bazaars of Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Shiraz life has already gotten super-impossible. Whatever’s left of the government just issued banknotes in the denomination of ten million rials, worth seven US dollars.

Everybody there has plenty of money. Everyone is a millionaire, but they won’t be swanning around Fereshteh Street in top hats and monocles, shopping for Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Rolex. In actuality, nothing can function normally anymore when the currency is absolutely worthless, including the regular distribution of food and fuel, and you know from history that revolution is always only nine missing meals away. Something will have to give.

The American news media, especially The New York Times, remains implacably peevish over Operation Epic Fury. The news media remains locked in its own epic fury at Mr. Trump running the executive branch, because, uh, why? The tweets! The mystifying hair-do! The gold filigree plastered around the Oval Office! Ucchhh. . . ! It drives them batshit. They want the Iran op to fail because then Mr. Trump will fail. . . and then. . .? And then. . . ? You detect that maybe they haven’t thought that through exactly.

Perhaps the news media believe it’s unfair to deprive the Islamic State of a nuclear bomb and its arsenal of missiles and drones. (It can’t be that the news media are anti-war because they continue to be one hundred percent behind the Ukraine war.) They don’t want that to end anytime soon because, uh, well, Russia!) In reality, the news media abhors decisive action and especially any change in the geopolitical status quo, and super-especially one that inch-by-inch reveals that the USA has interests that actually intersect with the interests of post-soviet Russia.

Like preserving Western Civ. Unlike the poufs, cucks, and bozos running Euroland who are busy throwing two thousand years of history under the wheels of Jihad, and racing with eyes-wide-shut into a neo-medieval future without heat, lights, industry, art, or square meals. Europe — Great Britain in particular — yearns for an epoch-ending spasm of war against Russia because. . .uh. . . because Putin (like, because Trump). You understand they are completely incapable of prosecuting such a war, since they lack armies, navies, and sufficient weapons, but they can’t stop nattering about it.

The US news media can’t accept the possibility that the US Military is proceeding systematically and by clear stages to disarm the IRGC crazies. What has the IRGC got left? Apparently, they have missile launchers embedded in urban neighborhoods, the old human shield routine, same as Hamas and Hezbollah. And spidey-hole missile silos in the desert, supposedly hard to detect beneath the shifting sands. Not to mention the “underground cities” as much as 500 meters deep where missiles and drones are made and stored. They are core parts of Iran’s military architecture. We know where most of them are. Let’s see how they work if the electricity goes out across Iran. Do they all have backup generators and diesel fuel to keep the generators running more than a few days?

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“We’re using a playbook that in a slightly different form was used in 1964 to overcome a cloture gap of thirty-two votes..”

• Are We On the Verge of a Breakthrough on the SAVE America Act? (Matt Margolis)

I’ve been admittedly skeptical that the current effort to pass the SAVE America Act will succeed. I want it to pass. Desperately. And from where I sit, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t pass. But we all know why something so popular and commonsense can’t get to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. Democrats in Congress don’t want election integrity and are fighting against it like their power is on the line. Despite my skepticism, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), the lead sponsor of the bill, is confident the SAVE America Act is going to pass — and after just six days of debate, Democrats may already be looking for a way out.


As you know, the bill does two things. It requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a voter ID when casting a ballot. Polls repeatedly show that Americans overwhelmingly support these ideas, regardless of political party or race. And Sen. Lee knows it, too. “Americans overwhelmingly believe that voters in the United States, you need to be US citizens,” Lee said. “So our bill does two things in order to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”The fight right now isn’t really about the merits. Let’s be honest about that. It’s about the Senate’s cloture threshold, the 60-vote supermajority needed to end debate and move to a final vote. Republicans don’t have those numbers on their own, which means they need Democrats to break ranks.

Lee’s strategy is to make them do exactly that, and he’s drawing on a historical playbook to get it done.”We’re using a playbook that in a slightly different form was used in 1964 to overcome a cloture gap of thirty-two votes,” Lee said, referring to the landmark Civil Rights Act debate. Back then, the Senate debated for sixty days before enough votes materialized to close debate. Today’s cloture deficit is far smaller. “We’ve got only a ten-vote cloture deficit to overcome here,” Lee noted. “This is a simpler bill, and it’s preferred by eighty-five percent of American voters.”

The math is encouraging, but Lee argues that the process takes time — and that’s entirely the point. Lee described how sustained debate wears members down and eventually forces movement. “Members grow exhausted over time, and with that exhaustion, we’ll find ways of achieving consensus, perhaps some minor modifications to the legislation, either face-saving or to alleviate substantive concerns,” he said. “We can get there. This will pass if we give it enough time.” He was careful not to overpromise a timeline. “I don’t know exactly how many weeks, just as they didn’t know when they started the process in 1964,” Lee acknowledged. But he added quickly: “I don’t think it’ll take that long.”

According to Lee, the early signs are apparently promising. After only six days on the floor, he says Democrats are reportedly already hunting for an exit, which tells you something about the political pressure building around this vote. The only secret to passing the SAVE America Act, Lee says, is time and willpower. Six days in, it looks like the willpower is holding — and the clock is doing the rest of the work.

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Withheld them from Trump, that is.

• Intel Board To Probe If Spy Agencies Withheld China Election Secrets (JTN)

The civilian board that oversees America’s spy agencies will probe whether political bias kept intelligence analysts from sharing with Congress and President Donald Trump evidence that China meddled in elections dating to 2020, its chairman says after an explosive report by Just the News “We ran a decade-long investigation in the Congress into China, and so this new bombshell that you just dropped is very concerning to me, and it should be to the Congress,” President’s Intelligence Advisory Board Chairman Devin Nunes told the Just the News, No Noise television show.


“This information was likely around in 2019, probably in 2020. I don’t know. We’re going to have to unpack this and figure out why this didn’t get to the Congress and why this didn’t get out to the American public,” Nunes said. Nunes, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee before he left Congress to run the company that operates President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, added: “Clearly, this is a scandal that’s brewing.” Nunes was named last year by Trump to lead the PIAB, a nonpartisan body made up of distinguished civilians from the national security, political, academic, and private sectors charged with independently overseeing the Intelligence Community’s day-to-day management or operational responsibilities.

Just the News earlier this week disclosed declassified documents showing Chinese intelligence gained access to multiple states’ voter registration data in 2020 and conducted some voter influence efforts but chose to keep that intelligence quiet because spy agency analysts opposed Trump and his policies, even deriding the president as “that vulgarian in the Oval Office.”Similar revelations in 2024 that China hacked Great Britain’s voter registration database led to a national outcry and reforms in that country. But in America, most policymakers have been kept in the dark. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called on Trump this week to declassify and release all evidence related to China’s meddling from 2020 forward.

Nunes said a review of what happened with the China meddling allegations was directly aligned with the board’s current mandates. “We’ve been working directly with the CIA to depoliticize all of these agencies. President Trump gave us clear direction that he wants the politicization taken out of these intelligence products,” Nunes explained. The board’s effort recently prompted CIA Director John Ratcliffe to rescind or revise 19 intelligence reports the agency produced dating back to the Obama era because they were politically biased or used poor spy tradecraft, including one analysis suggesting that women who pursue traditional motherhood were at danger of becoming violent extremists.

“I think this is just the start of Director Ratcliffe trying to clean up the CIA,” he said. “Obviously, we’re here to help. We’re held here to help all the agencies as Chair of the President’s intelligence board, and we’ll continue to do that.” Nunes said the declassified documents uncovered by Just the News on the China election meddling were deeply concerning because “if you don’t have the — if you want to call it the truth transparency — real intelligence agencies getting the information to the policymakers and the decision makers, it’s a major problem.”

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We need to see indictments. You can’t just let these people walk.

• Truth Will Out: A Grand Jury Investigates the Real Russian Collusion Conspiracy (Turley)

This week, we learned that the probe into the Russian conspiracy theory in Florida is moving forward with the disclosure that former FBI Director James Comey has been subpoenaed. What is different in this probe is that it is pursuing the real Russia conspiracy — the creation of a false narrative to kneecap the first Trump administration. At issue is what could be the greatest political hit job in history. Of course, the growing evidence of this conspiracy continues to be buried by one of its key components: the media. Nevertheless, the “truth will out,” and it appears to be coming out in Florida.


Headed by Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the investigation is building on information uncovered by House and Senate committees that was long buried by the Biden administration. That evidence appears to show a knowing effort to manufacture a Russian conspiracy hoax at the urging of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Ironically, the Washington Post and the New York Times received Pulitzer Prizes for their reporting promoting this Russian conspiracy hoax. The media spent years in wall-to-wall coverage of disproven allegations, including many claims made in the debunked Steele Dossier that had been secretly funded by the Clinton campaign.

The true Pulitzer Prize-worthy story was staring the media in the face the whole time: a conspiracy to create a false conspiracy narrative to elect Clinton and later to derail the Trump administration. The latter effort succeeded with help from top intelligence figures. During the election, the Clinton campaign repeatedly lied to the media about its funding of the Steele dossier. When journalists discovered after the election that the Clinton campaign had hidden payments for the Steele dossier as “legal fees” among the $5.6 million paid to Perkins Coie, they were reportedly stonewalled.

New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said at the time that Clinton Campaign General Counsel Marc Elias had denied involvement in the anti-Trump dossier. When Vogel tried to report the story, he said, Elias “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’” Times reporter Maggie Haberman later wrote that “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.” The key period was shortly before the 2016 election. We now know that the campaign and its surrogates shopped the conspiracy to their contacts in the Justice Department and in the media. They found eager allies.

Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Peter Strzok, a key figure in the investigation, texted FBI lawyer Lisa Page to assure her “that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected,” adding that they “can’t take that risk.” He added that they had it all in hand because “It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.” In fact, whether it was known to Strzok or not, there was an insurance policy in the works. In July 2016, then-CIA Director John Brennan briefed President Barack Obama on Hillary Clinton’s alleged “plan” to tie then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia as “a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.” Brennan is believed to be a target of the current investigation, including possible perjury before Congress.

In reality, within days of that briefing on how Clinton would create this conspiracy theory, the investigation began, just as the Clinton campaign hoped it would. Early on, the FBI was told by the CIA that its sources — and the Steele dossier — were unreliable. However, key FBI officials continued the surveillance and the investigation targeting the Trump campaign and key figures. One official later pleaded guilty to lying to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court to continue surveillance without an evidentiary basis.

At the end of 2016, a CIA assessment found that “Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.” That presidential daily brief was scheduled to be published on Dec. 9, 2016, but the office of James Clapper, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, reportedly stopped the publication “based on some new guidance.” Clapper later joined Obama, along with John Brennan, Susan Rice, John Kerry, Loretta Lynch, Andrew McCabe, and others, in a meeting that would ultimately inject the debunked theory directly into the media.

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“..CNN needs to build a narrative, so the reality of simple explanations works against their interests.”

• Tom Homan: How Immigration and Customs Enforcement Can Supplement TSA (CTH)

Apparently, CNN needs to play the game of pretending that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) do not already operate in U.S. airports. Airports are border checkpoints, and the “customs” part of both ICE and CBP are functions that happen as part of regular duty for CBP and ICE officials.As Tom Homan notes, CBP/ICE already exist in airports and can assist Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials in various duties including, customs checks, routine security, entrance/exit security as well as baggage and pre-boarding security checkpoints that do not involve the use of x-ray and scanning machines. In fact, more than half the functioning work of TSA agents can easily be handled/supported by ICE/CBP agents. But CNN needs to build a narrative, so the reality of simple explanations works against their interests.


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Too late. “..900,000 Moroccan nationals were living in Spain in 2024..” “What is now causing alarm is not just the scale, but the potential for political mobilization.”

• Alarm Bells In Spain As Moroccan Diaspora Seeks Political Mobilization (RMX)

Spain is facing mounting concern over the long-term consequences of years of large-scale Moroccan migration, as warnings grow that a sizable and increasingly organized community could begin to exert coordinated political influence. Official figures cited by La Región show that nearly 900,000 Moroccan nationals were living in Spain in 2024, making them the largest Muslim group in the country. More than 226,000 are concentrated in Catalonia, with numbers continuing to rise sharply. What is now causing alarm is not just the scale, but the potential for political mobilization.


The Spanish news outlet referenced a 2023 speech by Enaam Mayara, then-president of the Moroccan parliament’s upper chamber, in which he openly called on Moroccans living in Spain to enter politics, join parties, and take part in elections. His goal was clear: to build influence inside Spanish institutions and defend Moroccan national interests from within. “The community in our northern neighbor should be encouraged to participate in that country’s political process,” Mayara said. “Members of the Moroccan community should be encouraged to become members of parliament in the country of their nationality in order to defend the interests of their homeland whenever necessary.” “The Moroccan community must integrate into Spanish political parties to form a lobby that defends Morocco,” he added.

The comments sparked fears that what began as migration could evolve into coordinated political leverage. More recently, Morocco has moved to strengthen its grip on diaspora identity through education. Earlier this month, in response to the suspension of the Arabic language and Moroccan culture program in the Spanish regions of Madrid and Murcia, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita called for reforms to overseas teaching programs that could trigger a “qualitative transformation” in how Arabic language and Moroccan culture are taught to children living abroad.

The changes will place greater responsibility for diaspora education under a new institutional structure, with a focus on expanding cultural and linguistic ties between Morocco and its citizens overseas. The push comes as Moroccan-funded programs are already deeply embedded in Spain’s education system. Hundreds of schools across the country offer Arabic language and Moroccan culture classes financed by Rabat, with teachers selected and paid by Moroccan authorities.

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Essentially, they’re being called extreme right wing because they don’t want to live in a muslim country.

• French Election: Le Pen’s Populists Make Historic Local Gains (ZH)

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally delivered its strongest performance ever in French local elections on Sunday, capturing dozens of municipalities and installing an ally as mayor of Nice – while socialists predictably held onto key urban centers, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille. The results of the second-round municipal vote on Sunday mark the clearest sign yet that the populist party is no longer a protest movement but a genuine governing force in parts of France – and a growing threat to President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists and the traditional right ahead of the 2027 presidential election.


Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old RN president widely seen as the party’s next presidential standard-bearer, hailed the night as “the greatest breakthrough in its entire history.” Speaking to cheering supporters, he said voters had delivered “a message of deep aspiration for change.”Marine Le Pen, still battling a conviction that could bar her from running in 2027, struck a similar note: the party is now “implanted everywhere” and ready to govern.

https://twitter.com/Inevitablewest/status/2035821656787107861?

high-stakes runoffs in Marseille, Toulon and Nîmes after left-wing and center-right candidates formed tactical alliances against it. In Paris and other major cities, the party remained marginal.The party did secure one major symbolic prize: former Les Républicains leader Éric Ciotti, who defected to the RN orbit, won the mayor’s office in Nice, France’s fifth-largest city.

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“.. the European Commission has many tools and techniques to shift the outcome. This single small Hungarian election is the most critical election for the EU since Brexit. There are trillions at stake!”

• Major Gains for Germany’s AfD Nationalist Party (CTH)

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the biggest portion of the election, defeating the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who lost ground in the western area bordering France. However, the biggest electoral gains were for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, with gains that more than doubled its previous vote share. There is intense interest throughout Europe on the ideological shift in political sentiment mostly driven by economic concerns as well as rising nationalistic sentiment against the elitist minds in Brussels. Essentially those being ‘ruled’ are increasingly fed-up by those doing the ‘ruling.’


The AfD party is akin to the pragmatic MAGA base more focused on economic nationalism than all the nonsense associated with multiculturalism, green energy programs and terrible immigration policy. The ideological battle within Europe is ongoing, with some gains by nationalist parties over the collective mindset of the European elites. However, the European Commission doesn’t just have a finger on the scales, they have full control over the mechanics of the elections themselves. Yes, AfD doubled their share of votes to 20%, but CDU at 31% and the socialists at 26% is akin to mainstream corporate republicans and progressives respectively controlling 57% of the support base.

The biggest election to be held in Europe in the last decade or more, is going to be the election in Hungary which takes place April 12, next month. The European Commission is going all-in to try and manipulate the Hungarian voting base against Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the Fidesz party who is/are viewed by Brussels as standing in the way of their scheme to fund the ongoing war in Ukraine. Orban’s reelection campaign has been under relentless assaults from restrictions on EU social media, to outright propaganda and financing for his opposition Péter Magyar and the Tisza party.

Prime Minister Orban is strongly supported by President Donald Trump and the Trump administration; however, the scale of opposition to both of them is intense. Former leftist USAID Administrator Samantha Power spent time inside Hungary organizing the Tisza party to oppose Viktor Orban, and the totality of the European opposition to Orban cannot be underestimated. Every element of every political construct within the Europe Union is aligned to try and defeat Orban and the Fidesz party. Additionally, the government of Ukraine is actively working all intelligence angles to defeat Orban due to the $90 billion EU loan scheme that Hungary is blocking. Prime Minister Viktor Orban winning reelection this time in 2026 would be akin to Trump’s victory in 2016.

Do not underestimate the power of the U.K/European control system and the alignment of all their collective interests. Chancellor Fredrich Merz (Germany), President Emmanuel Macron (France), Prime Minister Keir Starmer (UK) along with the governing elites of Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands and many more, have all publicly taken positions against Hungary. As we saw in Romania, Moldova and Georgia, it is not simply a matter of what the Hungarian voters want that will determine the outcome of the Hungarian election, the European Commission has many tools and techniques to shift the outcome. This single small Hungarian election is the most critical election for the EU since Brexit. There are trillions at stake!

Read more …

“..a good example of the failure of international law, which is one way to describe a fire while refusing to notice that you’re actually holding a fire extinguisher.”

• Western Europe Wrestles With Its Daddy Issues (Rachel Marsden)

NATO is supposed to be a defensive alliance. That means members aren’t actually obligated to go bail out a member state that goes around the world punching other countries in the face. Easy mistake to make from the optics of other recent conflicts, though, where the term “defensive” has been doing a lot of impressive rhetorical gymnastics.

US President Donald Trump hasn’t been able to talk his ‘allies’ into coming along for the white-knuckle adventure this time. Largely because he threatened to invade Europe – specifically Greenland – barely weeks before asking for their help to do the same to another country. Apparently, they took his threat so seriously that they were getting ready to beat him to the punch by blowing up their own airfields first, according to the New York Times.


Before Trump just decided to go it alone and threaten to fix the global energy problem in the Strait of Hormuz by also blowing up a bunch of power plants in the region, he got to the “who needs these losers anyway” stage with Western Europe. Let’s see… Starmer is no Churchill, Trump says. Sick burn, if it were still 1940 and not just a guy declining participation in your dodgy group project. French participation doesn’t even really count, Trump says, because President Emmanuel Macron will be gone soon. Like a sitcom character whose hand is on the knob with one foot out the door in every scene.

But here in the real world, Macron is actually still the president of France for another year. And it’s not like anyone who could possibly replace him would be up for this political suicide mission that Trump’s proposing, either. Hardly a day goes by without French military brass appearing on TV, either telling Trump to go “f himself” or else comparing his invitation to something along the lines of buying tickets for the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.

The Irish president should just be grateful for Trump’s mere existence, he says. Who isn’t at this point, right? One day Trump’s telling all the NATO allies to just get in the van already. The van’s on fire, but minor detail. And they’re like, no thanks. Not interested in careening down regime change highway with Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu like a scene out of Mad Max.

So at first Trump tries to make it sound like it’s for their own benefit to go send their own troops to hangout in the Strait of Hormuz where missiles are flying around. Because they’re the ones who largely use the oil that normally transits through it when Iran hasn’t closed it because Trump and Bibi started bombing them. A phenomenon that does tend to complicate shipping schedules.

Probably doesn’t help either that Europe already had the experience of volunteering to do the heavy lifting for Washington just so an American president, Barack Obama, could brag to his people that America did a regime change without a single pair of boots on the ground. Right, because there were covert, European boots on the ground. In Libya. Led by the Brits and French, back in 2011. And that turned into a years-long mess for Europe and a migrant tsunami that kept rolling in long after the “mission accomplished” energy had worn off. So it’s no wonder that some of those 15 NATO countries that helped out in Libya aren’t up for a rerun. Once you’ve helped a friend move and it turns into a ten-year renovation project, the next time they call you just let it ring.

So Europe is banking on riding out the fuel disruption instead of prolonging it by getting involved with the risk of provoking an escalation. Unless of course the missiles stop flying. In which case, Macron will be there in a jiffy to film more heavily militarized thirst trap videos.n It’s one thing to not participate, but what are they actually doing to stop it, besides issuing strongly worded statements that reek of déjà vu?

The bloc’s chief diplomat says that it’s all such a good example of the failure of international law, which is one way to describe a fire while refusing to notice that you’re actually holding a fire extinguisher. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East “are products of erosion of the international law without accountability, judicial or political, the war will engulf the world once again,” Kaja Kallas said.nGotta love the passive verbiage doing the heavy lifting there. Really lets everyone off the hook. Yeah, international law just eroded on Iran. How did that happen? All by itself? Or because no one can bother actually trying to enforce it when it’s inconvenient because it involves the risk of eliciting the wrath of Daddy Trump?

She has no problem comparing the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran except in failing to notice that that one has involved like 20 packages of EU sanctions and the other zero. Or to notice that their favorite foster kid has been begging Trump to let him come play drone warfare in this war with the toys that they’ve been buying for him with money from the same EU taxpayers who are now being gauged on energy prices yet again as a result of this new war. The same war that the EU says violates international law.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has said that he’s psyched to get over there and play in the sandbox with all his shiny new drones – which is one way to pitch the escalation that the EU says it doesn’t want. And the EU’s like, can’t you see – he’s really hurting here! “The longer the war continues in the Middle East, the more Ukraine suffers,” Kallas said. I’m really trying to lean into this whole Ukraine x Iran crossover. “I mean, Russia is already making money off the war in the Middle East with higher oil prices and the Strait of Hormuz closed, they can now again fund the war.”

Try telling that to your boy, Zelensky. Does he know that offering to help prolong the war with his drones would just be making Putin more money? But really, why should he even care when the EU keeps insisting on having their citizens pay for it all anyway.

Read more …

He made them rich, but it’s still not enough.

• Jury Finds Musk Liable to Twitter Shareholders in Lawsuit (ET)

A federal jury on March 20 found tech billionaire Elon Musk liable for misleading Twitter shareholders by driving down the social media platform’s stock price months before acquiring it for $44 billion in 2022. The decision follows a civil class action lawsuit filed by Twitter investors in October 2022. Musk agreed to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share in April 2022 but later tried to back out of the deal, leading the company to take legal action to enforce it. He ultimately completed the acquisition in October 2022 and rebranded Twitter as X. The shareholders alleged that Musk made misleading statements after agreeing to buy Twitter in April 2022, leading them to sell their shares. They alleged that he published the statements to drive down Twitter stock prices in a bid to renegotiate the deal.


In a verdict on March 20, jurors found Musk liable for misleading investors through two social media posts. The first post said the deal was temporarily on hold pending verification that bots accounted for less than 5 percent of users on the social media platform. In the second post, Musk suggested that the percentage of bots could exceed 20 percent and said the buyout of Twitter could not go forward until he received confirmation that it was less than 5 percent. However, the jury found that the plaintiffs failed to substantiate claims that Musk had engaged in a scheme to defraud investors. The plaintiffs attorney, Mark Molumphy, called the verdict an important victory for both Twitter investors and the public markets.

“I think the jury’s verdict sends a strong message that just because you’re a rich and powerful person, you still have to obey the law, and no man is above the law, Molumphy told The Associated Press.Musk’s legal team at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan said in a statement to multiple news outlets that they plan to appeal the verdict. “We view today’s verdict, where the jury found both for and against the plaintiffs and found no fraud scheme, as a bump in the road. And we look forward to vindication on appeal,” his legal counsel said.

Musk also faces a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleges that he violated federal securities laws by delaying disclosure of his acquisition of Twitter stock in March 2022, before making an offer to buy the company. The SEC said the delay had allowed Musk to buy more shares at lower prices, allowing him to “underpay by at least $150 million for shares that he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due,” according to the January 2025 filing. Musk has sought dismissal of the suit.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/PM_ViktorOrban/status/2036091858829316542?s=20

 

 

 

 

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Home › Forums › Debt Rattle March 24 2026

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  • March 24, 2026 at 11:06 am #235959
    Raúl Ilargi Meijer
    Keymaster

    Edward Hopper Gas 1940 • 4D Chess: Trump Postpones Destroying Iran’s Power Plants (Pinsker) • IEA Head Warns Iran War Sparked Energy Crisis Worse Than
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle March 24 2026]

    March 24, 2026 at 11:34 am #235978
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 11:39 am #235979
    Topcat
    Participant

    Echos of Gallipoli: Hormuz and the Geography of Hubris

    “History is not a teacher, it teaches nothing. History is a warden, and it punishes for poorly learned historical lessons”
    – Vladimir Putin.

    In a naval choke-point, always bet on the shore over the ship

    “Gallipoli was born of overconfidence.

    The Allied powers, boasting superior naval technology and industrial might, assumed the Ottoman Empire would crumble under a naval bombardment followed by an amphibious landing.

    They were wrong.

    The geography of the Dardanelles turned the Allied advantage into a liability. The narrow strait allowed a numerically inferior force to concentrate fire, mine the waters, and utilize the high ground to devastating effect.

    The result was a bloody stalemate, massive casualties, and a humiliating withdrawal.”

    March 24, 2026 at 11:43 am #235980
    Topcat
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 11:57 am #235981
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Everyone remember Austin Fitts’ “Red Button” theory? She asked (Boomers) at one of these investing conferences – like a Christian, progressive one – that “If you had a red button, we could fix all the problems, corruption, wars, etc, but it wipes out your portfolio, who would push it?”

    No hands. Not one would fix the world if it cost them the slightest personal loss.

    Well I am NOT one of those sorts.

    Iran is that Red Button that re-sets the system, and a guy was found who would push it. He pushed it and here we are. Does that make it easier to understand?

    Everyone wants the system to change because it’s corrupt, but any time you actually change it they say “No! It’ll be different then! I might lose something!” And “The System” knows this: that’s its immune system.

    Example: DOGE. We found a TRILLION dollars in fraud in 6 hours. Congress and everyone said, “Don’t cut it.” They will die on this hill. Not a dollar. Walz found $9 Billion without even looking. No! We keep the fraud!

    This is why it can’t be reformed. That’s WHY they did DOGE: to prove this point. (And also get the records). So when you ask “Why didn’t you use Congress?” you can point at DOGE and Thune and have no argument. We tried.

    We tried all the reforms, publicized in headlines all the things, you said no. Every day for 20 more years things got worse. Because it’s a big s—t sandwich. Not one of you would push the button because you’d have to take even a single bite. A nibble. No. No bites at all. Markets and houses only every go up and never down to their fair price, I don’t care how many of my kids get killed.

    Doesn’t matter that everything on the other side is $9B better. I won’t take that bite TODAY. For 90 seconds.

    Okay well someone hit the button. Can you understand why?

    Now he can also “Have an accident” and get in a plane crash on Ken Lay island. Kent can run with Vance and Tulsi on an anti-war ticket. Because they only have to reduce fraud 10% in Georgia and Minnesota to win. But that button was pushed.

    By Bad Orange Daddy Man. You wouldn’t push it. Let the country, the whole world, all the world’s children collapse because no one would do it. It would be “mean”. We wouldn’t want “mean” that stops people, arrests foreign child-rapists n’ stuff. Gas prices might go up for three months. No. That’s EXACTLY what you’re saying right now!

    Here you go. Somebody was MEAN. Bad Daddy and spanked.

    You want the system changed without having it change. That can’t happen. And it’s fraud all the way down. That can’t happen. A Wall Street with no fraud would be 90% smaller.

    And that change is the WHOLE WORLD or the untouched place in Babylon will just regroup and recolonize from there. That change has to be very big. Okay then, here we go. You’re welcome. The talk isn’t to Iran, that “this is your chance”: it’s to all of us. When the system rocks, YOU get to replace it with whatever you like better. In France or NY. You can’t replace it unless someone rocks it: we already tried that. We tried all the things for years.* Here we are.

    .
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    *Clearly since at least Ayn Rand, 1945.

    March 24, 2026 at 12:10 pm #235982
    Topcat
    Participant

    “Can you say……..”

    ma-fi-o-cra-cy

    Noun
    mafiocracy (plural mafiocracies)

    no. 1 Government by mafiosi; (loosely) government by organized crime.
    no. 2 An instance of such government; a government that is run by mafiosi or similar crime lords.

    The Satanic Epstein Class

    A Transnational Mafiocracy is a globalized, borderless criminal network where organized crime groups infiltrate state structures, corrupt government officials, and directly influence public policy to protect illicit operations

    These networks engage in trafficking, money laundering, and violence, often operating as a “New Authoritarianism” that undermines democracy and the rule of law.

    Key Characteristics and Impacts:

    Government Infiltration: Criminal entities, such as the Mafia, move beyond simple bribery into the absorption of state apparatuses to create safe havens.

    Economic Dominance: These networks represent a “globalized illegal economy,” using modern technology and cryptocurrencies to move funds and goods, often resulting in massive financial losses, such as an estimated $90 billion yearly in Africa.

    Technological Shift: The rise of AI encrypted communications, the dark web, and digital financial systems enables criminals to act with relative impunity.

    International Reach: Criminal activities, including human trafficking, narcotics, and arms smuggling, require coordinated worldwide law enforcement cooperation.

    March 24, 2026 at 12:12 pm #235983
    Topcat
    Participant

    It’s a very small club Loser, and You-Are-Not-In-It

    March 24, 2026 at 12:20 pm #235984
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Day 11, no page number. But I expect Trump will be in an AI picture helping Ming the Merciless and the Witch King.

    Gold moves $400, Silver $10. No comments, no notice, nothing breaks. Like the Greek Bond default, losing the bet and not paying is not a Default if we say so.

    “Controversial call helps Tennessee beat Virginia, reach Sweet 16. Did refs get it right? Replays seemed to show the officials got the call wrong, but didn’t change it and it helped send Virginia home and Tennessee to the Sweet 16. USA TODAY

    So AFTER it was admitted all games are rigged and not real ESPECIALLY in basketball, now that never happened and we think the Ref calls are real? What am I saying? That’s just a game. MF Global, AMC/Wall St Apes, and the commodities market (nickel, all of them) proved they’re rigging everything. Everyone just stays in the casino, fully invested. Nothing can stop them, they’re not even mad. Nvidia is a trillion cap on check-kited revenue, no one calls them. [Shrug] I’ve given up. They like being cheated, so what can I do?

    Day after day. Anything digitized means “No reality, ever.” So what if there’s no gas and fertilizer? Will that get your attention? We tried the other plans. Whoever stops this, clearly out the casino will be the bad guy. The system only stops when the problem can’t be fixed with money.

    “Trump Blinked” Yup. TACO. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fbq5lTdydSY Bombing things with B52s until you run out of targets is called “Blinking” and “Chickening out”. The only way to NOT Lose and Chicken out” is to bomb daily, every day for 80 years. Right?

    Logic: if you can’t leave because leaving is bad, you have to STAY. Am I right? Personally I would NOT say that leaving is bad. I would let him leave. But the anti-war people are demanding Trump stay, so there you have it! He stays I guess. Thanks guys. Your pointy hats are in the corner.

    Might that be because “something else is going on”?

    “Iran Says Talks With US Are ‘Fake News’ After Trump Threatens To ‘Just Keep Bombing’, Wants Hormuz To Be ‘Jointly Controlled’

    Okay, so NO ONE in Iran. Not a man, woman or child. No journalist, no businessman, no one. Not one single traitor, not even one back-channel operator. No one. Alright man, first time in the history of the universe, but you go with that.

    Now not IRGC/Civilian, maybe. Maybe they’ve merged. Maybe he’s not talking to either of THEM maybe. But NO ONE? Not one. No one Russia suggested, no one China suggested, not the Pope, not the Patriarch, no one?

    During a war?

    Are you making assumptions that are irrational?

    These transparent lies are on all day.

    Every single one you could be 10 years old and born on earth and know aren’t true.

    “Israel, US Strike Gas Facilities In Iran’s Isfahan, Possibly Triggering Retaliation Against Gulf
    Testing some red-lines, potential for runaway escalation…

    Like this. Unless Iran has nukes, or wants to invade Iraq, there is no “Escalation”, they’re already at “11”. What. The. Literal.

    This was same “I guess words have no meanings” “Iran has escalation dominance.” That E.D. means the have a variety of choices at their disposal: talking, handguns, jeeps, jets, as the go UP in size That matters. You know when it totally, entirely, completely doesn’t matter? A: When you’re a “11”. Which the U.S. did 1st hour of first day. (Probably for this reason.) Then the only thing matters is if you have more missile factories than the country you’re fighting.

    Here ZH is being as retarded as Trump saying “You better not do anything or we’ll bomb you.” …Compared to WHAT? There’s only ONE Quatari gas hub to Europe and ONE Dimona you dopes.

    “Oil Jumps After Explosion And Massive Fire At One Of The Largest US Oil Refineries

    Finally Iran MIGHT be doing something to us. Maybe they figured out how to use “Maps” so they could find us, like the other day.

    “Israel’s Mossad Promised It Could Ignite Regime Change In Iran: Report
    Trump was hoping to trigger a quick uprising, NYT says…

    If course they did. Israel has said that since 1967. They make up everything. So they’re a perfect match for the NYT, who also makes up everything. So there being NO uprisings, 3 times they tried, last one being a few days before… Oh and he thought it would be quick which is why he pre-planned Russia having extra oil and a complex system of taking Lloyd’s shipping business that could only happen the the Straits were “closed” for some time.

    Every “expert” used their DonaldTelepathy to not ask and say the same thing. “Israel Said” and Donald believes and obeys anyone who talks to him; He’s well-known for this. Then they attribute something he never said and probably never thought as a failure. Well I just stopped you from moving to Thailand and taking up a career as a dancing girl. What? You never meant to fly to Thailand and wear a dress? I say you’re a liar and I’m the one who stopped you. You’re a failure! Your plan FAILED. See how that works?

    They attribute things that were never said and almost certainly are not in any Pentagon war plans you can probably find online and read. Go read them for me.

    “Russia-Linked Arms Trafficker, Corrupt African Officials Tried To Supply Mexican Cartel With Surface-To-Air Missiles

    We shouldn’t be mean and arrest cartel members with ICE though. Someone might get hurt.

    Also headlines on ICE in TSA lines “Is anyone in America safe when police are around? Someone might get killed.” Okay, let’s just pass that you’re retarded with that statement. That’s the #Opposite of why every policeman every was hired by every city for the last 200 years. I take you up on it! We really MUST limit the size of government everywhere, Blue Man! Let’s cut the government size and scope by 90% Mr. Democrat!

    I mean, if you think government is dangerous, that’s a no-brainer! I can’t believe after all this time we’re on the same page. You’re totally, totally right. Let’s slash government 90% and do all the services privately ourselves.

    “Colombian Air Force C-130 Cargo Plane Carrying 110 Soldiers Crashes: Report

    That’s it then! We can’t fight cartels anymore. Somebody got hurt.

    “FBI Misled Court To Spy On Second Trump Campaign Adviser

    That is a crime, a felony. Crimes are things we prosecute, and if Federal officers and agents of courts are even ACCUSED, and “show the appearance of” they can be fired and de-barred. It was just done in 2020 and before, NY de-barring all kinds of attorneys who “represent clients” and “File paperwork” (if they were Republican). While Pro bono people who throw bombs and light cars on fire.

    “Supreme Court Seems Skeptical Of State Law Allowing Late-Arriving Ballots

    This is just a movie we make now, the Scope Monkey Trial. If the Ballots don’t arrive in 7 days, then maybe 7 plus one hour? Maybe one day? Maybe an extra month? Why not a year? Three years? No. This is why we have “Rules”. We can’t keep counting ballots until June when you find enough, then stop. So if it’s a “Day after” why not “The day of”? There’s no difference. I can’t believe we discuss this, but same court that has no idea what a “Woman” or a “Person” is.

    Following comments yesterday several people are repeating “Trump blinked” impressions. So if Trump advances he’s bad, but if he withdraws he’s bad? His war is bad and his peace is bad?

    Guess we can’t have peace then. You just decided.

    Be careful. So we’re marching to Berlin, needed a 2 week pause to let supplies catch up, that means “Montgomery Blinked”, the war is over. Ike decided NOT to blow that dam on the border with Germany, so that means “He’s weak” a coward and the allies are losing.

    This is the translation of what you’re saying. So you WANT him to blow the energy infrastructure, then? Only that will satisfy you?

    This is why I keep going on about HATE. You say it so you can HATE. Hate, my friends, is “Irrational”. Here you go: it’s irrational, you want to HATE so you’re demanding Trump bomb Iran’s energy and water infrastructure. I for one do NOT do that. I’m actually pretty happy if he doesn’t, thanks. I don’t think he’s winning or losing depending if he hits one target or another, a fact which changes daily in all wars. “They went through the Black forest and not Belgium, that means they lost the war!” No. “We used regular bombs not fire bombs, that means we’ve lost to Germany.” No.

    Christ, man. “All things that happen are bad” is not a provable theory. It’s a religion.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlxfABNYJxk (Pro-America air commentary)

    No warranties. Just need ANYTHING but Black Pill stuff. If 100% of your data diet points one way: stop. Go ask the other side. And that other side can not be AI. Can’t belive you make me post pro-America military stuff, please stop. It’s worse than making me quote Ayn Rand.

    Example: Clip on Iran hitting Israel weapons company, so good work on their part. We only hear things Iran hits, nothing hit in Iran. This leaves the impression Iran is untouched, which I assure you is not the case.

    This is exactly what we all protested in Iraq, right? The U.S. was hitting everything successfully, it was all going great? Now we’re doing the same thing, but on the side of Iran, as if we’re Persians. Why? Wouldn’t it be better to have an ACCURATE sense of Iran, same as Iraq?

    Example yesterday? “Iran-backed militias force US out of Baghdad base.” …So you mean “Iraqis.” That word means “Iraqis made US leave IRAQ”. As well they should! and have been trying for years, so good on them!. Yay. And Iran has almost nothing to do with it, the IRGC has NOT invaded Iraq, and is NOT surrounding the base.

    So why did you use the word “Iran” there and not the correct word, “Iraq”? Should we have used the word “Bolivian” which is just as accurate? They’re making things up every minute of every hour. Media, news, can’t even tell countries apart in their fever dream of HATE. Although this would seem to be a win, they can’t take the win and “Just make up every lie they can think of” about it in service of Lies and Hate.

    I can’t conscious such people, because also, I can’t tell what’s going on when you do that. If you lie that much, about everything, I begin to wonder if Trump’s actions are correct just because you say the Opposite. Don’t force me into that position, as I’ve said since 2016. WHYYYYY do you make me “defend” him? If you TOLD THE TRUTH EVER, I wouldn’t have to. We’d be discussing his ACTUAL crimes.

    Speaking of, the LEVEL of lies, it appears Iran did NOT shoot anything to Diego? Whut? When widely reported? Huh? So Iran does NOT have power. Okay, BOTH will be true: 1) Iran is not belligerent and doesn’t shoot distant nations, okay, good. 2) They are also not powerful and are shooting only local missiles. Everyone wants to grab one of these and deny the other, but if one is true, the other one is too.

    Same time: Reports out that the Girl’s School wasn’t targeted by anybody. A large Iranian missile misfired and landed there. It’s just as likely as the opposite, stay tuned. But this is why I don’t jump at such things just to service HATE of Satan himself, who is not my Lord and father. Everyone will of course lie, and if it turns out to be the case, then ALL the – Suddenly AntiWar!!! — NeoCons will have a lot of explaining to do (Ritter) that they claimed specific inside information that it WAS on the targeting list, having not been removed from 12 years ago when it was a ‘base’ and legitimate target. They knew that immediately and spread it widely, despite being an a war zone no one can visit. Why? To HATE. To hate the United States and everyone in it. To destroy the U.S. Military. Okay, soooo….Patriots do that now? That’s what “Patriot” means? We restore the constitution and law using hate that dismantles? Strange strategy, go ahead and explain it further.

    “Pepe Escobar: Iran’s plan of attrition”

    Yes, almost certainly the case. And it’s a good plan! Here’s the problem: the U.S. is NOT fighting a war of attrition. We just fought an American war, throwing everything at them fast as we can, and just taking everything they fire back in return right in the face. That’s not a “War of attrition” like WWI or Vietnam. Iran’s plan would work perfectly if you had Bush or Obama in, who will hog-tie the military and tell them not to shoot until 20 lawyers have signed off.

    Now it remains to be seen what will happen next: IF the U.S. wants to “Occupy” and 100 other things we’ve never said we intended, then sure, it can still end up there. But I don’t see the special reason to behave that way because it’s stupid. I’m not going to get up and just be stupid for Iran’s benefit. I’m not Clinton, Bush, or Obama. They WANTED those wars to linger and the U.S. to be chewed up and tied down, so they made sure that happened. WHY, you may ask, but go look for yourself.

    There’s no special reason to presume a state of attrition. HOW would that even happen? Iran would need to be functional and assemble very-large weapons years from now to do that, with refineries, factories, stockpiles, etc. If we can B-52 anything within at will, there’s no “Attrition” because they can’t fight with anything larger than a mortar. See the problem?

    The U.S. will collapse back home from the effort? Errr…don’t think so. Not the slightest chance at all. So they have to depend on PR ALONE, and a collapse in POLITICAL will, so the U.S. voluntarily goes home. And fine, that’s a plan! …But it’s not Attrition. We haven’t been “Attritted” at all. Nada. Pepe can explain to me how many jet and missile factories of ours Iran has destroyed now. A: Zero. We could make missiles for the next 500 years and drop them on Iran at this rate. I’m not saying we should do that and have no statements on the morality of it, but Do you see the Problem?

    We’ve taken essentially NO losses. We probably lost 10,000 men under Obama’s tranny plan in the military, and only 1,000 men in an actual hot war. We lost what are we, 6 jets? 8? Iran has lost ALL. PLUS all their Navy.

    C’mon men, these things matter or there’s no such thing as war. There’s no “Attrition” at all. Only PR.

    This is IDENTICAL to when “Russia lost” against Ukraine. Same fever excitement Russia could only lose against a nation 1/10th their size, but now you’re taking the position Ukraine can only Win, and already has. No. Tell me when they’re in Moscow and Iran is in Baltimore.

    “Iron Dome falls” – Haiphong.

    Yes, Danny, we knew that in the 12 Day War. Extremely well proven a year ago. Welcome to the party were “Reality exists” and things that happened stay happened and don’t reverse every day. Why am I hard on him? Because that means his headline is a lie. Stop lying. “President SHOT!!!” (President McKinley). See how “Time exists” matters a little? And how “Words have meanings”?

    Yes, Israel has been exposed when they ran out in the 12 day, a year ago. They KNEW this and blackmailed the U.S. to attack ANYWAY. Wow, so sad for them! Buckets of tears as they had I dunno, 12 years of political wrangling to remove their crazies like Nutso but supported him and the genocide in Gaza too much.

    “The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it” –Hal Turner

    Same. The U.S. is “Insovlent” the moment they take out the first bond of the first loan. –So is every BANK by the way, who are “insolvent” 10:1 and far more with the signing of the business license. That’s not what those words mean. That is, it’s a Lie. He’s been around decades, it’s true that whole time, “Time Exists”, he KNOWS it’s a lie.

    You know what else? WE WERE NEVER GOING TO PAY. Ever. They published papers on this in 1971, 1979, and thousands of people have read them. You can too. Governments NEVER pay. Adam Smith said so in 1775. Greece is ALSO insolvent, Germany, UK, the whole EU, All of China, I’m sure. And you see how much that matters. Argentina stopped paying every 10 years for 100 years in a row, made no difference.

    I – being a credible dope – used to say this same thing for 20 years myself before I got a clue. Because my predictions were constantly wrong on this point SO I CHANGED.

    Sooooo??????

    He and we are also not counting any ASSETS. That seems odd. So we can balance the budget merely by reducing known fraud, AND we can put the deficit back to yellow by merely re-valuing gold? That seems relevant. That’s only TWO. We also have more gold mines than South America and have nuked all our businesses. Maybe open them and there’d be revenue, I dunno. That also slashes all SNAP/Unemployment/Decay costs. MOST of the budget is Medicare which costs 5-10x more here than anywhere and is clearly all fraud. So we can actually save 90% and DOUBLE health outcomes. Relevant maybe?

    Nope. It would stop my Black-Pill surrendering. It would stop my HATE. We can only lie down and die before the Globalists, in whatever manner seems best to us. –Denathor.

    March 24, 2026 at 12:31 pm #235985
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Unlike the AI photo above, I’m still eating $6 Porterhouse and driving $3 gas. And I’m in a high-cost area!

    But AI drew something. I saw it with my eyes and now it’s true.

    Now this CAN happen. Totally could! That’s why it’s so important not to LIE about it with every click and every waking breath. Please. Stop. Lying. For all our ever-loving sanities.

    March 24, 2026 at 12:38 pm #235986
    Topcat
    Participant

    • IEA Head Warns Iran War Sparked Energy Crisis Worse Than 1970s

    • IEA Head Warns Satanic Epstein Class Sparked Energy Crisis Worse Than 1970s

    March 24, 2026 at 12:41 pm #235987
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    March 24, 2026, 7:38 AM, local time in the Show Me State. Still breathing and interested in the greatest show (the only show) on Earth, albeit somewhat alarmed by it. So far so good so good so Happy Birthday to Me.

    March 24, 2026 at 12:59 pm #235988
    Topcat
    Participant

    Russia can not afford to have the Empire of Lies and Zionaziland controlling Iran in any way which is just a hop skip and jump across the Caspian from Russia’s southern border.

    “Col. Macgregor predicts Putin has already delivered a terrifying ultimatum to Netanyahu: If Israel dares to use a nuclear weapon in the Middle East, Russia will drop a nuclear weapon on Israel.”

    Without the nuclear option Zionaziland is toast.

    It has no AD and Iran will dissect it like a high school biology frog.

    Trumpturd’s Gallipoli Moment is rapidly approaching.

    Liar, Liar Pants on Fire and his Epstein Class Media Whores have peddled the fable that Iran’s missile launchers are almost all gone.

    Even while 3 or 4 WAVES of missiles are launched each day and increasing in volume per day.

    Noooooooo

    March 24, 2026 at 1:02 pm #235989
    Topcat
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 1:04 pm #235990
    Topcat
    Participant

    Supreme Commander Trumptard Orders Strait of Hormuz Suicide Attack

    March 24, 2026 at 1:06 pm #235991
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @TopCat

    … will dissect it like a high school biology frog.” [and other posts this morning]

    Man, you are on a roll today! Ya gotta tell me what brand of coffee yer drinking.

    March 24, 2026 at 1:11 pm #235992
    Topcat
    Participant

    This is partially as a result of marrying your Brother

    And partially as a result of being a krooked kunt.

    March 24, 2026 at 1:28 pm #235993
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    Pepe seems aware

    March 24, 2026 at 1:40 pm #235994
    Topcat
    Participant

    Zionaziland Lives Rent Free in Trumpturd’s Head

    Ain’t it the Truth

    March 24, 2026 at 1:55 pm #235995
    my parents said know
    Participant

    Happy Birthday, DBS!

    March 24, 2026 at 2:06 pm #235996
    my parents said know
    Participant

    The following points are made in a comment from “Ponzi unit”, and is a good use of AI. From the markettickerNAD:

    The government publishes its own checkbook. The data shows:

    1. One provider claimed more unique patients than the entire Medicaid program has enrolled.

    2. Two providers billed billions of dollars through one or two clinical employees.

    3. Four providers billed personal care at 9-15x the physical maximum rate, every month, for years.

    4. Thirty small LLCs across twelve states simultaneously entered the same billing market in the same month, with identical billing templates, and deliberately non-overlapping authorized officials designed to defeat standard detection queries.

    5. Eight hundred providers simultaneously stopped billing portable oxygen equipment in a single month — consistent with a mass enforcement event visible in aggregate public data.

    None of this required special access. None of this required insider knowledge. None of this required anything more than two public downloads, a free query engine, and an afternoon.

    The question Tickerguy asks — why isn’t this being done routinely? — is not a technical question. The technical capacity to do this exists and is trivially accessible. The analysis takes an afternoon. The data is free.

    The answer is in the structure of who benefits from it not being done.

    —
    That last line pretty sums up corruption and why it is not stopped. Go to the link for the full comment and its sources.

    March 24, 2026 at 2:08 pm #235997
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 2:15 pm #235998
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 2:32 pm #235999
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 2:50 pm #236000
    zerosum
    Participant

    ENERGY WAR:
    Spending money that don’t exist.

    Attack tools: Hate, fear, control, accountability, diversion, LIES, SECRETS, mis-informatiion, propaganda,

    Targets:
    diaspora
    a migrant tsunami
    immigration
    racists
    religion
    ———–
    You want the system changed without having it change. That can’t happen. And it’s fraud all the way down. That can’t happen. A Wall Street with no fraud would be 90% smaller.
    ———–
    The system only stops when the problem can’t be fixed with money.
    ———–
    Governments NEVER pay.
    “The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it” –Hal Turner
    ————


    Russians Launch A Starlink Analog
    Massive Strike On Energy Infrastructure
    MilitarySummary 2026.3.24
    ————-

    March 24, 2026 at 2:55 pm #236001
    Topcat
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 3:08 pm #236002
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    19:00
    Petrodollar explained and how this scheme may be unraveling

    March 24, 2026 at 3:11 pm #236003
    zerosum
    Participant

    Usraeli broke the 24 hour ceasefire in Iraq. Anyone surprised? Cirnosad predicted this to happen, by the way.

    The truce has broken down in Iraq.

    A few hours after the US evacuation of Victoria Base was completed (which had been covered by the ceasefire), US forces bombed the PMU base in Al-Jarf, in Anbar Governorate. Meanwhile, the Iraqi resistance attacked US positions in Erbil.

    https://x.com/Suriyakmaps/status/2036237917178273844

    March 24, 2026 at 3:14 pm #236004
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    I may have mentioned that today is the anniversary of my Birthday, and so in keeping with the traditions of the Shire I will be giving all of you a present that none of you were expecting and a few of you readers (very few I fear) will soon discover to be of inestimable value. By that I mean of literally incalculably large personal value to yourself and your loved ones.

    Also, when I said “very few” I did not mean it as any kind of insult or arrogant dismissal of your value, smarts, significance or all around general goodness and worth. I meant it LITERALLY. There are for a fact just very few people who can AND at the same time have the desire, interest and available time to devote to think about something this complicated “all the way through to the end“.

    So here is the basic outline of the gift, and some suggestions about ways you might go about using it for maximum beneficial effect. The basic outline is that this phenomenon that is thought of by many as the “IQ” sort of aspect or characteristics of so-called “intelligence” is far far more than just a remarkably big snazzy and important technological marvel.

    Oh, no, no, no indeed.
    What the ‘IQ-Smartness’ aspect intelligence” actually is, in fact, is the bedrock architecture of the physical universe itself, and that includes every material and/or energetic process that operates within that Universe. God made that apparatus, and God keeps it going, but the machine itself (once it has been created as this one has been created) is just a machine and like any other machine it can be operated and controlled through physical processes.

    The key to managing those myriad processes is logical intelligence, and now that the mechanics of logical intelligence have been worked out (they are basically identical to the mechanics and procedures of language based communication) enough to build enormous electronic Artificial Intelligence systems on the grand scale there are those who have chosen to go all-in on carrying through in their attempt to control everything.

    It’s plain to see how they’re screwing everything up and are failing on a stupendous scale. The reason they’re failing is that the so-called logical intelligence devices that they are using (especially including their own literature, science books and living brains) are NOT actually intelligence as we think of it. Those devices (including language) are just ROUGH COPIES, crudely inadequate verbal explanations in monkey-talk trying to explain to each other what they’re actually living in and looking at

    The only real and true “intelligence” that there is or ever could be is the one that created this place in such a way that intelligence could ever even be thought of as a thing. Anyway, getting back to that freebie I’m giving you on my Birthday. If you want to see how intelligence works then examine how language works, and if you want to know how language works then examine how life works, and if you want to understand life then examine the world very very closely and figure out how physical reality is running, and if you really want to understand the physical sciences then you’re just going to have to talk to God about that because He is the ONLY one who knows.

    March 24, 2026 at 3:23 pm #236005
    those darned kids
    Participant

    “Unlike the AI photo above, I’m still eating $6 Porterhouse and driving $3 gas. And I’m in a high-cost area!”

    fiddle on, grasshopper..

    March 24, 2026 at 3:26 pm #236006
    those darned kids
    Participant

    “We’ve taken essentially NO losses. We probably lost 10,000 men under Obama’s tranny plan in the military, and only 1,000 men in an actual hot war. “

    this is perverse.

    do you have children?

    March 24, 2026 at 3:27 pm #236007
    zerosum
    Participant

    Couple of hours ago in Gaza — heavy strikes from Iranian missiles hit areas where Zionist forces are gathered inside and around Gaza.

    https://t.me/syriankhabar/53738

    Posted by: Framarz | Mar 24 2026 13:13 utc | 1025

    March 24, 2026 at 3:28 pm #236008
    zerosum
    Participant

    The green circle is where the ships have to pass through and pay $2 million (likely in Chinese currency?)

    Today the flow of traffic has begun. Iran is cashing in.

    https://t.me/myLordBebo/111211

    Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 24 2026 13:14 utc | 1028

    March 24, 2026 at 3:28 pm #236009
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS: “Happy Birthday to You…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhdOPhTHeoE

    I found out, or it was brought to me as a realization, that my Uncle Don was born on October 24, Black Thursday of 1929, and as a direct result traveled a whole lot and lived in tents a whole lot as a toddler and little boy, which he remembers fondly at 96. He remains an interesting and intellectual man, composing, and sometimes translating poetry from German and Old English, such as Beowulf.
    His health seems good. He is as old as his father lived to be, who was a veteran of both World Wars.

    March 24, 2026 at 3:41 pm #236010
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    March 24, 2026 at 3:46 pm #236011
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS, regarding Shire Birthday Present: I think you refer to something like this:
    The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory
    Book by Christopher Langan
    30 min video by Langhan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8XIC1v-6II
    Review: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43708933-the-cognitive-theoretic-model-of-the-universe
    PDF: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Cognitive-Theoretic-Model-of-the-Universe%3A-A-of-Langan/537ac9c6066f20039491a72b361a4009a3d5623f
    CTMU Wiki: https://ctmucommunity.org/wiki/Cognitive-Theoretic_Model_of_the_Universe

    March 24, 2026 at 3:47 pm #236012
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    The world is God’s thought, logically and intelligently thinking itself. Now that you’re learning a lot more about how that is actually done why not give it a try?

    March 24, 2026 at 3:56 pm #236013
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @Dr_D Are you sure that’s a real $6 Porterhouse, or is there a chance that you’re just in the Matrix?

    March 24, 2026 at 3:59 pm #236014
    zerosum
    Participant

    “Intelligence Without Biology. Life Without Biology ”

    The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory
    Book by Christopher Langan

    Project Hail Mary, a 2026 sci‑fi film adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel, which does explore non‑biological or radically non‑Earthlike intelligence.

    A major sci‑fi film released in March 2026, based on Andy Weir’s 2021 novel. It follows a lone astronaut trying to save Earth from a star‑dimming microbe and encountering an alien intelligence with biology completely unlike anything on Earth.

    March 24, 2026 at 4:07 pm #236015
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @JohnDay

    I’ve been aware and deeply respectful of Christopher Langan for about 1o years now but he’s one full order of magnitude above my pay grade in the mathematics and sheer brain power departments. I had to take a different approach that took about 5 times longer to arrive at similar conclusions. One benefit of the being the slow kid in class is that I’ve become a genuine whiz bang at ripping through remedial homework.

    March 24, 2026 at 4:15 pm #236016
    those darned kids
    Participant

    enjoy the ride, dbs, enjoy the ride.

    good thing the venutians haven’t put up a toll-both on earth’s orbit.

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