Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[Mr. Bumble]

Estragon is a liar.

[Krayt]

Estragon is an herb with a taste like black licorice, and is carcinogenic and teratogenic. What an overachiever of horror!

Wow, that's disgusting to contemplate -- tastes like black licorice.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Schumer is a schmuck.

[bloocow2]

I think he's more relatable and sympathetic than Vladimir, though.

[Commenter_XY]

This is not exactly 'new' news. 😉

[Kazinski]

Intelligence photos show that in February Iran had started excavations at their Isfahan nuclear complex, presumably to start recovering their nuclear fuel we buried there.

"Analysts assess that Iran was attempting reopening the sealed underground chambers in a determined effort to recover its stockpiles of **highly enriched uranium** - material perilously close to weapons-grade and sufficient, if further processed, for multiple nuclear devices.

Recent satellite imagery from February 2026 reveals renewed excavation at Iran's Isfahan nuclear complex: narrow tracks carved through the desert, fresh dirt mounds, and heavy earth-moving near tunnel entrances previously buried after U.S. strikes."

https://x.com/i/status/2031625640097571134

This does indicate the June strikes were a serious setback to Iran's nuclear program, but at least the possibility that the nuclear fuel was recoverable. Keep in mind that Uranium Hexafluoride if the containers were breached is gaseous at 134f at standard pressure. But if there were radiation leaks meaning the material was unrecoverable or difficult to recover then that would be detectable given the extensive Isreali intelligence assets in Iran.

This might explain why Israel and the US moved when they did and cut off negotiations.

[Commenter_XY]

Iran won't be enriching anything for awhile. Iran's capacity to wage war is being removed, precisely.

A world w/o an intact Iran is a better place. Here is hoping the Kurds, Azeris and others become restive.

[Kazinski]

But nothing has been done by the US or Isreal to secure the nuclear materials either.

That step will need boots on the ground, and not just Kurds or Azerbaijani's.

One wildcard may be the Iranian army. Its estimated to be about 650k. The Revolutionary Guards are about 1/4:that size. What happens if the Iranian army decides they aren't dead enders like the IRGC? Is their some cohesive element that decides Iran Islamic State?

[Frank Drackman]

The Kiss Army would be a tougher opponent.

[Martinned]

You're pretty relaxed about consigning millions of your fellow humans to a gruesome permawar.

[Michael P]

The only permawar here is your war on intelligent thought.

[John F. Carr]

The Assistant US Attorney who recently filed a brief with AI hallucinations is resigning.

"after he accidentally overwrote and lost a prior version of the filing, he 'felt panicked' and had AI rewrite it, then filed it thinking he’d reviewed it when he filed."

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/doj-lawyer-resigns-before-judicial-scolding-for-ai-filled-brief
https://apple.news/A5ibO5bY9T8ezFnhhFdESSA
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/03/07/federal-government-lawyers-filings-appear-to-include-fabricated-quotations-and-misstatements-of-case-holdings/

[Kazinski]

From Reza Pahlavi. I really am not sure what this means, either its in coordination with Trump's statement that the war is winding down, or its Pahlavi deciding its now or never to show he is a player and has to be in the negotiations.

"My dear compatriots, we are now at a very critical stage of our final struggle.

I urge you to stock up on your essential needs as soon as possible, and for your own safety, leave the streets and stay in your homes. Continue to strike and not go to work. Continue to chant powerfully at night to show your solidarity.

To the military and law enforcement forces: This is your last chance to separate yourself from the oppressive forces and join the people.

Await my final call."

I do think Isreal is much more sympathetic to Pahlavi than the Trump administration, so maybe this their play for regime change.

https://x.com/i/status/2031625039565439094

[Frank Drackman]

As hard as it is to believe the Shah was much more unpopular than Khomeini or any of his successors. Pee Wee Herman could be in charge as long as their reduced to Stone Knives and Bear Skins.

Frank

[Malika la Maize]

As a Texas jury deliberated over whether a Black man deserved the death penalty for two 2008 murders, it twice asked to see what prosecutors had said was a critical piece of evidence: 40 pages of the defendant’s handwritten rap lyrics.

After examining the lyrics, which included violent themes, the nearly all-white jury sentenced him to death instead of life without parole.

Letting prosecutors introduce that evidence exploited racial stereotypes to turn artistic expression into a death warrant, lawyers for the man, James Broadnax, told the Supreme Court last month. The lawyers asked the court to halt his execution, set for next month, and to hear his case.

There is no particular reason to think the justices know their way around rap music and the culture that surrounds it. On Monday, they received expert assistance from towering figures in the world of hip-hop, including Killer Mike, T.I., Young Thug, Fat Joe and N.O.R.E. in the form of a brief supporting Mr. Broadnax. Travis Scott also filed a brief.

The rappers argue that prosecutors mistook the fantasy that is gangster rap for a literal account amounting to a confession.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/supreme-court-rap-lyrics-death-penalty.html

[Brett Bellmore]

It's a bit late to claim your violent lyrics were just artistic at the point where you've already been convicted of murdering two people.

As proof of guilt? Sure, that could be problematic, though if the lyrics described details of the crime that were not public, that WOULD be evidence.

But as evidence of state of mind, AFTER conviction? Seems reasonable.

[Malika la Maize]

To me it would depend how specific or generic the lyrics were.

[Martinned]

Aren't jury trials great?

[Martinned]

Senator Chris Murphy on Bluesky:

I was in a 2 hour briefing today on the Iran War. All the briefings are closed, because Trump can't defend this war in public.

I obviously can't disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are.

1/ Here's what I can share:

2/ Maybe the lead is that the war goals DO NOT involve destroying Iran's nuclear weapons program. This is, uh...surprising...since Trump says over and over this is a key goal.

But then of course we already know air strikes can't wipe out their nuclear material.

3/ Second, they confirmed "regime change" is also NOT on the list. So, they are going to spend hundreds of billions of your taxpayer dollars, get a whole bunch of Americans killed, and a hardline regime - probably a MORE anti-American hardline regime - will still be in charge.

4/ Ok, so what ARE the goals? It seems, primarily, destroying lots of missiles and boats and drone factories.

But the question that stumped them: what happens when you stop bombing and they restart production?

They hinted at more bombing. Which is, of course, endless war.

5/ And on the Strait of Hormuz, they had NO PLAN. I can't go into more detail about how Iran gums up the Strait, but suffice it say, right now, they don't know how to get it safely back open.

Which is unforgiveable, because this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable.

https://bsky.app/profile/chrismurphyct.bsky.social/post/3mgqotmihcs2w

So I guess all the Trumpists can stop talking about Iran's nuclear weapons.

[Martinned]

For reference, the letter that the Dutch government sent on to parliament on 9 March to inform it about the decision to send HMS Evertsen to help defend Cyprus is available online here: https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/330fd527-c33b-4baa-8cd5-f0f170234d8e/file

(In the annex to the letter that the government sent on the 4th the most interesting parts are redacted.)

The March 9 letter contains a detailed analysis of the operational goals of the mission, the legal analysis of why this is permissible under Dutch and international law, and the key risks.

As far as I can tell, not only does such a document not exist in the US, but major parts of the analysis simply haven't been done. So Trump is constantly surprised by very predictable events, like Iran shooting at US allies in the region.

[Martinned]

Here is a New York Times article on the meeting Sen. Murphy was talking about, and on the US Regime's constant surprise more generally.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/politics/how-trump-miscalculated-iran-response.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SVA.yJMv.Gwegd7GPVPBa

[Martinned]

And yes, saying what wasn't disclosed because you can't say what was is very clever.

[Malika la Maize]

The administration has gone back on forth on the why of this war, it looks like trying to throw a bunch of slop on the wall and see if anything sticks.

Gas up by over half a dollar here.

[Sarcastr0]

Yeah the lack of messaging from the top has the apologists here running around every which way lol.

It’s nukes. It’s a shambolic assassination attempt. It’s freedom for Iran. It’s regime change. It’s Israel. It’ll be over yesterday, it is gonna be a long one, we’ll go back in next year.

Kind of shows how empty their core is how, swiftly and easily they jump narratives when the admin hasn’t settled on one.

[Martinned]

More on shambolic war management and flaming naivete:

QUINTANILLA: Do we think the Russians have shared intel about US military assets, and if so, why would we be giving waivers on oil sanctions?

WITKOFF: I can tell you that on the call with POTUS, the Russians said they have not been sharing. That's what they said. We can take them at their word.

[Martinned]

That's going well.

The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog is investigating a complaint that alleges a former U.S. DOGE Service employee claimed he had access to two highly sensitive agency databases and planned to share the information with his private employer — a claim that, if true, would constitute an unprecedented breach of security protocols at an agency that serves more than 70 million Americans.

The agency’s inspector general is investigating the disclosure and has alerted members of Congress of its existence, according to a letter by the acting inspector general to top members of four congressional committees reviewed by The Washington Post and two people familiar with the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive deliberations. The inspector general’s office has also shared the disclosure with the Government Accountability Office, which has been conducting its own audit of DOGE’s access to data, according to one of the people. The Post has reviewed the complaint and spoken with the whistleblower, who issued the complaint anonymously for fear of retaliation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/social-security-data-breach-doge-2/

I'm glad the Supreme Court strongly intervened to protect the privacy of Americans. /s

[Malika la Maize]

The U.S. Treasury’s borrowing showed no signs of slowing as the U.S. headed deeper into fiscal year 2026, with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reporting that another $1 trillion was added to the federal deficit in the first five months of the year.

The monthly budget review from the CBO, updated to February 2026 and released yesterday, showed that the government is estimated to have borrowed $308 billion last month alone.

Of course, with more borrowing comes higher interest costs on the debt. Between October 2025 (when the 2026 fiscal year started) and February, the Treasury spent an additional $31 billion on net interest on public debt, compared to the prior year. As a result, in just five months, the Treasury forked out a total of $433 billion to service public debt, which is now nearing $38.9 trillion.

https://fortune.com/2026/03/10/treasury-debt-borrowing-five-months-deficit-warning/

[Martinned]

War = inflationary pressures = higher interest rates