At 95, I'm still smokin'! 😝
I’ve learned two things:
Never waste a good cigar.
Never trust anyone who says you should ‘act your age.’ 😉👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/POpUEYh3gp— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 22, 2026
Age and Fame in Philosophy Eric Schwitzgebel
Climate/Environment
Climate Change is Exacerbating Africa’s Health Challenges Health Policy Watch
Himalayas’ glacier loss threatens 2 billion people in ‘greatest problem of climate change’ South China Morning Post
A Danish scientist counted bugs on the same windshield, same road, same conditions, every year for 20 years. By year 20, 80% of the insects were gone.
In Germany, a group of volunteer bug scientists did something even bigger. They set traps in 63 nature reserves, not farms,… https://t.co/b1j2Pi9Qw3
— Anish Moonka (@AnishA_Moonka) March 23, 2026
China?
Chinese refiners eye Iran oil under temporary US waiver BNE Intellinews
Japan
Japan Bond Yields Near Multi-Decade Highs as War Fuels Inflation Bloomberg
Koreas
Kim Jong-un cements control with reappointment as president of state affairs Korea Herald
India
India faces major gas shortage as Middle East conflict disrupts supply Le Monde
Pakistan
Pakistan faces an economic crisis as Middle East conflict drives Inflation & austerity Modern Ghana
Africa
Poet, President and African Post-Nationalist African Archive
Antipodes
Australia last rationed fuel in the 1970s. Could we do it again? Guardian
European Disunion
US warns EU to pass trade deal or risk losing ‘favourable’ access to LNG Financial Times (Micael T)
One battle after another: Iran war deals new blow to Europe’s industrial heartland Reuters
From Politico’s European morning newsletter:
DEALS DOWN UNDER: Ursula von der Leyen has finalized a major partnership with Australia, marking the second such agreement her Commission has struck this year….
Critical raw materials: Von der Leyen sealed a trade deal overnight with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (along with a defense partnership) that aims to give Europe’s exporters wider access to a fast-growing economy and to critical raw materials the bloc desperately needs to modernize.
Europe’s angle: According to the European Commission, the EU-Australia deal stands to boost EU exports to Australia (with which the EU already has a significant trade surplus) by 33 percent in coming years while saving European businesses some €1 billion per year in tariffs.
Farm protections: While farmers have traditionally opposed free trade agreements, the Commission hopes that far-reaching protections for so-called geographical indications — EU provenance indicators such as Parma ham or Feta cheese — will head off such complaints. According to Albanese’s press release, Australia won a few concessions: Food producers will continue to use names such as “parmesan” for cheese and “kransky” for sausages; winemakers will also be able to sell “prosecco” on local markets. In return, Canberra has agreed to protect the names of 165 European food products and 237 spirits.
Aussie farmers on edge: Australian producer groups had warned negotiators not to lock in what they saw as token beef quotas and were quick to express their disappointment. …
There’s more to the deal than commerce — it’s also underpinned by hard geopolitical realities. The additional agreement between the countries on critical minerals is about the EU grappling with threats to its supply chain. As von der Leyen told Australian lawmakers in her speech, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East show that “dependencies can be weaponized.”
UK
UK monitoring risk of food and fuel shortages ‘hour by hour’ Independent
Israel v. the Resistance
Why Israel Is a Failed State George Tsakraklides (Chuck L)
* * * Lebanon’s Aoun warns Israeli attack on bridge ‘prelude to ground invasion’ Aljazeera
Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon Reuters (Ann)
War Deepens Lebanon’s Economic Collapse Aawsat
Violence Erupts in Northwest Syria as Kurds Targeted for Displaying Kurdistan Flag Kurdistan 24
* * * Somalia warns against any Israeli base plans on Somaliland Hiiraan
* * * Why the world should worry about Israel’s nuclear doctrine Aljazeera
Donald Trump floats joint control of Strait of Hormuz Seeking Alpha. resilc: “More like he is smoking a joint…..”
The Gulf countries may retaliate if Iran attacks continue, Turkey says Middle East Eye. resilc: “This is the most laughable threat in the history of war….”
Iran’s parliament speaker warns US Treasury bond holders could be targets Iran International
Iran launches 10 million rial note, highest-ever denomination, as war deepens economic crisis Times of India
New Not-So-Cold War
British forces join French navy to seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean Daily Mail
Palantir in Ukraine Events in Ukraine
A high-level NATO delegation visits Ukraine for the first time since full-scale invasion Euronews
The oil shock in the Middle East is a godsend for Russia Le Monde
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
This YouTuber, Benn Jordan discovered that a surveillance company named Flock Safety who currently has over 90K camera deployed throughout the US, is severely compromised. He found that many cameras are live-streaming directly to the open internet. pic.twitter.com/TDGEKQaS4N
— Champagne Joshi (@JoshWalkos) March 23, 2026
CMS aims to modernize patient data access in US with QR codes, biometrics Biometrics Update
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Return of the Dreadful Credibility Argument Daniel Larison
Explosion reported at Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas Aandolu Agency
Trump 2.0
Big jump pic.twitter.com/n4aBMVFZFw
— Adam Ozimek (@ModeledBehavior) March 22, 2026
Trump Tells Republicans to Pass Voting Law ‘For Jesus’ US News (resilc)
Christian Zionists: A Fifth Column? Juan Cole
Why Donald Trump Just Can’t Stop Going to War CounterPunch (resilc)
Supremes
Supreme Court seems wary of states counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day The Hill. Not hard to see how this could be exploited.
Economy
World faces gas supply cliff edge as Gulf’s final LNG shipments approach ports Financial Times
War’s Attacks on Energy Could Turn Economic Shock Into Long-Term Damage New York Times (ACF)
Iran war energy crisis equal to 70s twin oil shocks and fallout from Ukraine war, says IEA chief. Guardian
Energy shock talk grabs headlines but the Iran war is also driving the world towards a food crisis Guardian
Mr. Market is Addled
Oil prices are no longer the biggest threat to markets.
It has become increasingly clear that bond markets will dictate just how long President Trump can continue increase pressure in the Iran War.
The 10Y Note Yield is now up ~45 basis points since the war began on February… pic.twitter.com/UwVtZPx06B
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) March 22, 2026
Gulf monarchies sell ‘commercial’ gold due to budget problems TopWar (Micael T)
Trump’s $56 trillion problem is spiralling out of control Sydney Morning Herald
Why is everyone on Wall Street talking about 2008 again? The Times
How the Iran War Could Lead to a Crash Worse Than 2008 Common Dreams
AI
Mark Zuckerberg Is an AI CEO to Help Him Run Mwta Independent. All this will do is prove there is not much to being a CEO
Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing $8 Million In Royalties From Streaming Platforms Using AI-Generated Listeners And Artists Metal Injection (Micael T)
Walmart: ChatGPT Checkout Converted 3x Worse Than Website Search Engine Land
The Bezzle
A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator YouTube. Micael T: “Published by the Norwegian Consumer Council.”
Polymarket’s Coming-Out Party in Washington Was a Disaster Wired (resilc)
Volume in stock, oil futures surged minutes before Trump’s market-turning post CNBC (resilc)
Workers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study finds Guardian (resilc). This misses the point. Bosses want compliance and ego massages, not performance.
Class Warfare
How a Family of 3 Lives on $500,000 on the Upper West Side New York Times (resilc)
Девушки в Гималаях. pic.twitter.com/Je1g2PKw31
— Dekadence (@lattebriK) March 21, 2026
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Re: Common Dreams article about the current crisis potentially eclipsing 2008: I was dumbstruck to learn that the AI bubble is 4 times the size of the sub-prime bubble. Anyone want to share their FIREproofing tips?
The AI bubble is a double-whammy, so to say.
Public excerpt from Racket News:
Can Your Pension or Retirement Money Get Lost in the Bermuda Triangle?
With the recent and ongoing “Software Apocalypse” we may just find out!
https://www.racket.news/p/can-your-pension-or-retirement-money
3 paras from the longer article:
To raise cash for investors wanting to exit and to pay down debt, Blue Owl sold approximately $1.4 billion in loans for what it said was an average price of $99.70 (at or near 100 cents on the dollar). Blue Owl sold the loans to three pension funds, as well as its affiliated insurance partner Kuvare.
It didn’t take long for the predators to start circling Blue Owl. Saba Capital Management CEO Boaz Weinstein said he’d gladly take Blue Owl loans at 65 to 80 cents on the dollar from retail investors to give them liquidity. ….
….
For many in the markets, Blue Owl’s sale to Kuvare raised suspicions that alternative asset managers who oversee private loan funds, while also managing affiliated U.S. and offshore insurance companies, can move stressed assets from one entity to the other. This can potentially mask the true market value of the assets. More importantly, trades like the one between Blue Owl and its affiliated insurance company can bury the risk within the insurance company’s portfolio — the portfolio that’s backing annuities and pensions. The asset disappears in the Bermuda Triangle of finance.
I de-myrrh from giving investment tips…
I’m frankly incensed that you would say such a thing.
wouldn’t want anyone incensed.
>Anyone want to share their FIREproofing tips?
Go heavy on lawn-to-victory-garden conversions.
I’m thinking about keeping yogurt cultures going in my fridge. Sprouts are apparently easy to grow indoors as well.
Working link for “Supreme Court seems wary of states counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day” article at-
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5793767-supreme-court-mail-in-voting/
Shatner’s got a nice ranch in Tiny Town and lived here in the 80’s is the tale I’ve been told. Until Covid came along and killed it, his ranch foreman would throw an annual bring your own food, booze & music party that brought together about 10% of the town in attendance.
I’d girded myself up to eventually meet him, but in 21 years of living here, I’ve never glimpsed him. I’d planned to go with a TJ Hooker query at first and then segue into Star Trek, but my phrasers were on stun.
Best story around these parts i’ve heard goes like this…
The main fork of the Kaweah River dumps into Lake Kaweah and early in the season you sometimes get little islands in the middle of the river, and somebody somehow got stranded on one of them, and who comes up on a powerboat to rescue the would be Robinson Crusoe, but Captain Kirk. One to beam up!
The Canadians among us. Perhaps when in the boonies he leaves off his rumored hair piece and is thus more incognito.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11120215/William-Shatner-seen-leaving-hair-transplant-clinic-LA.html
I love William Shatner, but have never understood the affinity for cigars.
Very much agree with the advice re trusting those who say you need to act your age. (I think we can give Prince a pass on this.)
Also – this looks interesting: https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com
Best…H
re: antidote.
Looks like a Lipizzan horse.
When people openly question whether a President is stupid or crazier than a shithouse rat…they know the answer.
Both.
Re antidote, a handsome white horse. Much symbolism, I’m going with “wisdom”.
Then I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.
Revelation 6:1-2 (NRSVU)
I dunno, the steed resembles my favorite thoroughbred of all, the great Vigors, who preferred running races at the highest levels of horsedom backwards, languishing far in the back, only to mow them all down like a white tornado in the home stretch. I was there in person for this race 48 years ago-tempus fugit.
1978 Santa Anita Handicap Vigors Wins The RARE Full Race Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ9G_dA5KcU
Sincere or cynical positive employee acceptance of corporate bullshit is a valuable career enhancing skill. I suspect that many of us have seen the fellow employee who is not good at their job get the promotion. I remember a cartoon of a group men in suits together with the caption “We work like hell to prevent a brain drain and then they come in and steal all of the brown nosers.” Dilbert was a truth teller. Management needs reassurance of their importance and power. Related are the recurring examples of top executives being ousted due to romances with subordinates. Did you hear the one about the woman who slept her way to the middle.
American Generals and Admirals were given the choice of resigning or participating in a War that they know is unconstitutional and illegal.
Those that resigned and kept their honor still have a generous retirement, free healthcare for life and increasingly valuable PX privileges.
What did they lose?
Active duty flag officers are IMPORTANT PEOPLE which they are reminded of all day, every day.
Lucrative second careers, if you aren’t a “Team Player” and know how to “Go along to get along” there won’t be a second lucrative career in the MIC.
How lucrative are those jobs?
If you are a member of the Joint chiefs, maybe $25MM over the course of your second career,less for lesser ranks.
Don’t forget that it is an implicit promise of a lucrative second career, not an explicit promise…
The vast majority of American Flag officers have betrayed the trust put in them by the American People because their egos could not bear the thought of losing their position, of no longer having their asses kissed all day long.
And giving up the prospect of becoming small rich is painful, given the choice of keeping their oath or promised $, they chose a PROMISE of $.
Not cash on the barrelhead, an implicit promise of $.
Whores don’t take post dated checks…
“Lucrative second careers, if you aren’t a “Team Player” and know how to “Go along to get along” there won’t be a second lucrative career in the MIC.”
John Lennon, “Working Class Hero“
“Australia last rationed fuel in the 1970s. Could we do it again? ”
It’s not like we will have much of a choice. If they are smart, they will bring in fuel limits and odd-and-even number plates for refilling sooner rather than later but the government won’t as it will make them look bad. Heard on the news that the public were blamed for sparking high fuel prices here in Oz but that is a lie. People knew that the fuel stations were going to spike those fuel prices no matter what happened so they got in first to fill up their fuel tanks and jerry cans.
I can still ride my bike and so have a backup plan for the coming gas lines.
Need a backhoe though to start building that bomb shelter in the back yard.
And I feel that time’s a wasted go
So where ya going ’til tomorrow?
And I see that these are lies to come
So would you even care?
And I feel it
And I feel it
Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the task you found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs of war begin to smell you
Will they smell alone?
And I feel, so much depends on the weather
So is it raining bullshit in your war room?
And I see, that these are the eyes of disarray
Would you even care?
And I feel it
And everybody feels it
Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the task you found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs of war begin to smell you
Will they smell alone?
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the task you found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs of war begin to smell you
Will they smell alone?
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs of war do find truth
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
To find it
To find it
To find it
Plush, by Stone Temple Pilots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hus-w3cz5-E&list=RDHus-w3cz5-E
“Donald Trump floats joint control of Strait of Hormuz”
I was watching the interview he had with reporters when this came up. I firmly had the impression that this was just a brain fart of his and he hasn’t seriously considered the idea. To have joint control of the Hormuz would imply US military bases and that is one thing that the Iranians will never allow.
Teetotalitarian Leader is kind of a day dunk, jumping into lies and occasionally trying to clamber out.
“Bosses want compliance and ego massages, not performance.”
The book “Soviet Ideologies in the Time of Glasnost” by Vladimir Shlapentokh describes the role that the rise of such an attitude on the part of Soviet bosses played in the decline of the Soviet Union.
“British forces join French navy to seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean”
That article has the following line-
‘As a country, the UK is being found sadly wanting as regards naval capabilities.’
They got that right-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gru2EDJvj9Q (12:52 mins)
Useful article on Christian Zionism (and not the American kind).
So did the Brits see colonization of Palestine as a kind of Liberia for Jews? And was that a noble impulse or more in line with American 19th century plan for former slaves?
Here in the US assimilated Jews made tremendous contributions to the 20th century and if they had a second class status it certainly wasn’t financial as in Hollywood where most of the Hollywood studios were Jewish owned. The civil rights movement brought on demands for the end of restrictions based on race and religion but one could argue that losing their outsider status also took away something that made the Jewish community so valuable. Once they joined the country club set it’s been all downhill ever since. Some new group may be needed to refresh our intellectual DNA.
Epic river migrations of fish rapidly collapsing, UN report finds
Vast journeys, among world’s great wonders, found to be under threat as freshwater fish populations crash by 81%
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/24/epic-river-migrations-of-fish-rapidly-collapsing-un-report-finds
check out the pix of the giant Mekong catfish
Deep Fry the Economy
Sung to the tune of, “Fly Like an Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band
Melody
[spacey instrumental music]
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
Rates keep up tickin’, tickin’, ‘tickin
There go the futures …
Don keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping
Into a stupor
Trump’s gonna deep fry the markets
’til they’re free
Deep fry the markets
Spit roast the economy
He’s gonna cry on Truth Social
Like he’s three
Oh no, feel the conniption
Feed the war machine
Connected to Wall Street
Shoe the Sec State
With size 11’s on his feet
Housing’s ruined
We’ll all be living on the street
All he wants is retribution
Trump’s gonna deep fry the markets
’til they’re free
Deep fry the markets
Spit roast the economy
He’s gonna cry on Truth Social
Like he’s three
Oh, ride the revolution
Don keeps on eatin’, eatin’, eatin’
Big Macs, size: super
Don keeps on eatin’, eatin’,eatin’
His hand needs some sutures
Don keeps on eatin’, eatin’, eatin’
Big Macs, size: super
Rates keep up tickin’, tickin’, tickin’
There go the futures
Doo doo de-duh-duh
Doo doo de-doo-doo
[repeat 4x]
Trump’s gonna deep fry the markets
’til they’re free
Deep fry the markets
With the spirit of 1933
He’s gonna cry on Truth Social
Like he’s three
Oh, ride through the revolution
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
(tick tock tick)
doo doo doo doo
(tick tock tick)
we’re in deep doo doo
Rates keep up ticking, ticking, ticking
There go the futures …
Charlie dealt in hypotheticals
Charlie used to be to me an unknown entity
Last September the internet had to tell me
He’d been killed
Some respectable shooter from the Beehive state
Shot him through the neck
Charlie didn’t feel a thing
Neither of them did
Poor kid
Charlie dealt in hypotheticals
He sold that evang dogma drug
Some gave Charlie all their money
What the hell were they thinking of?
Charlie had to take his medicine
Charlie got his prescription filled
I came to say goodbye
I’m sorry Charlie died
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
Charlie dealt in hypotheticals
Charlie used to be to me an unknown entity
Last September the internet had to tell me
He’d been killed
Charlie had to take his medicine
Charlie got his prescription filled
I came to say goodbye
I’m sorry Charlie died
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
I came to finish playing my spiel
Charlie’s Medicine, by Warren Zevon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRDkKobIWpo&list=RDtRDkKobIWpo