Full screen recommended.
OPTM, 3/12/26
"Iran’s Hypersonic Cluster Missile
Just Hit Netanyahu’s Secret Bunker"
Comments here:
So, we rise from the rubble...
StatCounter
Thursday, March 12, 2026
"Layoffs Could Be Coming, Companies Sound the Alarm"
Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 3/12/26
"Layoffs Could Be Coming, Companies Sound the Alarm"
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Musical Interlude: Michael Jackson, "Earth Song"
Full screen recommended.
Michael Jackson, "Earth Song"
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years away, toward the constellation Leo. Relatively bright in planet Earth's sky, NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like M66 and M65. It's hard to overlook in this colorful cosmic portrait, though. Spanning some 50,000 light-years the galaxy sports characteristic patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust, pink star forming regions, and clusters of young, blue stars.
Remarkably, this deep image also finds NGC 3521 embedded in gigantic bubble-like shells. The shells are likely tidal debris, streams of stars torn from satellite galaxies that have undergone mergers with NGC 3521 in the distant past."
"In The Last Analysis..."
"When the world goes mad, one must accept madness as sanity;
since sanity is, in the last analysis, nothing but the
madness on which the whole world happens to agree."
- George Bernard Shaw
"The Bewildered Herd..."
“The bewildered herd is a problem. We've got to prevent their roar and trampling. We've got to distract them. They should be watching the Superbowl or sitcoms or violent movies. Every once in a while you call on them to chant meaningless slogans like "Support our troops!" You've got to keep them pretty scared, because unless they're properly scared and frightened of all kinds of devils that are going to destroy them from outside or inside or somewhere, they may start to think, which is very dangerous, because they're not competent to think. Therefore it's important to distract them and marginalize them.”
- Noam Chomsky
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"Those who can make you believe absurdities
can make you commit atrocities."
- Voltaire
"Trapping Wild Pigs"
"Trapping Wild Pigs"
by Jeff Thomas
"Most of us would like to assume that we’re smarter than pigs, but are we? Let’s have a look. Pigs are pretty intelligent mammals, and forest-dwelling wild pigs are known to be especially wily. However, there’s a traditional method for trapping them. First, find a small clearing in the forest and put some corn on the ground. After you leave, the pigs will find it. They’ll also return the next day to see if there’s more.
Replace the corn every day. Once they’ve become dependent on the free food, erect a section of fence down one side of the clearing. When they get used to the fence, they’ll begin to eat the corn again. Then you erect another side of the fence.Continue until you have all four sides of the fence up, with a gate in the final side. Then, when the pigs enter the pen to feed, you close the gate.
At first, the pigs will run around, trying to escape. But if you toss in more corn, they’ll eventually calm down and go back to eating. You can then smile at the herd of pigs you’ve caught and say to yourself that this is why humans are smarter than pigs. But unfortunately, that’s not always so. In fact, the description above is the essence of trapping humans into collectivism.
Collectivism begins when a government starts offering free stuff to the population. At first, it’s something simple like free education or food stamps for the poor. But soon, political leaders talk increasingly of "entitlements" – a wonderful concept that by its very name suggests that this is something that’s owed to you, and if other politicians don’t support the idea, then they’re denying you your rights.
Once the idea of free stuff has become the norm and, more importantly, when the populace has come to depend upon it as a significant part of their "diet," more free stuff is offered. It matters little whether the new entitlements are welfare, healthcare, free college, or a guaranteed basic wage. What’s important is that the herd come to rely on the entitlements. Then, it’s time to erect the fence.
Naturally, in order to expand the volume of free stuff, greater taxation will be required. And of course, some rights will have to be sacrificed. And just like the pigs, all that’s really necessary to get humans to comply is to make the increase in fencing gradual. People focus more on the corn than the fence. Once they’re substantially dependent, it’s time to shut the gate.
What this looks like in collectivism is that new restrictions come into play that restrict freedoms. You may be told that you cannot expatriate without paying a large penalty. You may be told that your bank deposit may be confiscated in an emergency situation. You may even be told that the government has the right to deny you the freedom to congregate, or even to go to work, for whatever trumped-up reason.
And of course, that’s the point at which the pigs run around, hoping to escape the new restrictions. But more entitlements are offered, and in the end, the entitlements are accepted as being more valuable than the freedom of self-determination.
Even at this point, most people will remain compliant. But there’s a final stage: The corn ration is "temporarily" cut due to fiscal problems. Then it’s cut again… and again. The freedoms are gone for good and the entitlements are then slowly removed. This is how it’s possible to begin with a very prosperous country, such as Argentina, Venezuela or the US, and convert it into an impoverished collectivist state. It’s a gradual process and the pattern plays out the same way time and again. It succeeds because human nature remains the same. Collectivism eventually degrades into uniform poverty for 95% of the population, with a small elite who live like kings.
After World War II, the Western world was flying high. There was tremendous prosperity and opportunity for everyone. The system was not totally free market, but enough so that anyone who wished to work hard and take responsibility for himself had the opportunity to prosper. But very early – in the 1960s – The Great Society became the byword for government-provided largesse for all those who were in need – free stuff for those who were disadvantaged in one way or another.
Most Americans, who were then flush with prosperity, were only too happy to share with those who were less fortunate. Unfortunately, they got suckered into the idea that, rather than give voluntarily on an individual basis, they’d entrust their government to become the distributor of largesse, and to pay for it through taxation. Big mistake. From that point on, all that was necessary was to keep redefining who was disadvantaged and to then provide more free stuff.
Few people were aware that the first sections of fence were being erected. But today, it may be easier to understand that the fence has been completed and the gate is closing. It may still be possible to make a hasty exit, but we shall find very few people dashing for the gate. After all, to expatriate to another country would mean leaving all that free stuff – all that security.
At this point, the idea of foraging in the forest looks doubtful. Those who have forgotten how to rely on themselves will understandably fear making an exit. They’ll not only have to change their dependency habits; they’ll have to think for themselves in future. But make no mistake about it – what we’re witnessing today in what was formerly the Free World is a transition into collectivism. It will be a combination of corporatism and socialism, with the remnants of capitalism. The overall will be collectivism.
The gate is closing, and as stated above, some members of the herd will cause a fuss as they watch the gate closing. There will be some confusion and civil unrest, but in the end, the great majority will settle down once again to their corn. Only a few will have both the insight and temerity necessary to make a dash for the gate as it’s now closing.
This was true in Argentina when the government was still generous with the largesse, and it was true in Venezuela when the entitlements were at their peak. It is now true of the US as the final transition into collectivism begins. Rather than make the dash for the gate, the great majority will instead look down at their feed and say, "This is still the best country in the world," and continue eating the corn."
"That One Chance..."
"You get that one chance; and damn it, you've got to take it! If there's one lesson I know I will take with me for eternity, its that there are those things that might happen only once, those chances that come walking down the street, strolling out of a café; if you don't let go and take them, they really could get away! We can get so washed out with a mindset of entitlement– the universe will do everything for us to ensure our happiness– that we forget why we came here! We came here to grab, to take, to give, to have! Not to wait! Nobody came here to wait! So, what makes anyone think that destiny will keep on knocking over and over again? It could, but what if it doesn't? You go and you take the chance that you get; even if it makes you look stupid, insane, or whorish! Because it just might not come back again. You could wait a lifetime to see if it will... but I don't think you should."
- C. JoyBell C.
"All Alone..."
"We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and - in spite of "True Romance" magazines - we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely - at least, not all the time - but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness."
- Hunter S. Thompson,
“The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman”
“The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman”
"Every Normal Man..."
"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands,
hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
- H. L. Mencken
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“Platitudes are safe, because they're easy to wink at, but truth is something else again.”
“A man who has blown all his options can't afford the luxury of changing his ways. He has to capitalize on whatever he has left, and he can't afford to admit - no matter how often he's reminded of it - that every day of his life takes him farther and farther down a blind alley. Very few toads in this world are Prince Charmings in disguise. Most are simply toads... and they are going to stay that way. Toads don't make laws or change any basic structures, but one or two rooty insights can work powerful changes in the way they get through life. A toad who believes he got a raw deal before he even knew who was dealing will usually be sympathetic to the mean, vindictive ignorance that colors the Hell's Angels' view of humanity. There is not much mental distance between a feeling of having been screwed and the ethic of total retaliation, or at least the random revenge that comes with outraging the public decency.”
“A man has to BE something; he has to matter.”
- Hunter S. Thompson
Bill Bonner, "On to Moscow"
"On to Moscow"
by Bill Bonner
Youghal, Ireland - "Let’s see, where are we? Who’s winning…who’s losing…so far? Gold investors are the big winners. The price of gold is $5,200/oz....up twenty times so far this century. The Dow is 48,000...up a little more than four times.) Oil investors got a boost last week. The price of crude shot up 36%, the sharpest spike in history.
Consumers breathed a sigh of relief when tariffs - the centerpiece of Trump’s economic policies - were struck down by the Supreme Court. They have not gone away, however. There is a mix of tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% still in effect, though some are likely to be challenged in court. And deficits are still going up. Fox: "Budget deficit hits $1 trillion in first five months of fiscal year."
A guest at Barron’s Roundtable points out that Americans have a share of federal debt estimated at $250,000 per family. And it’s going up by about $15,000 per year. The national debt totaled about 58% of GDP in 1999. Now, it’s more than twice as much - 122% of GDP - thanks to a quartet of knuckleheads: Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump.
Republicans and Democrats seem to be competing to see who can make it worse by trying to buy votes with tax giveaways. Here are the Republicans hard at work. Newsweek: "Several tax policy changes introduced under President Donald Trump are expected to boost refunds for many households this year. Among the most significant updates are new rules eliminating taxes on certain types of income, including tips and overtime pay, alongside an expanded child tax credit. The Tax Foundation, an independent nonpartisan think tank, said refunds could range from between $300 and $1,000 for filers. So far, the average refund amount across all filers has grown by about $360 compared with the same stage last year, IRS data shows."
And here’s the proposal from the Democratic team. Newsweek, encore: "Senator Cory Booker has announced plans to introduce a bill that would significantly expand the standard tax deduction, effectively making the first $75,000 of income tax-free for married couples, with “proportional tax relief for single filers and heads of households,” according to an official statement from the New Jersey Democrats’ office."
But the biggest dot we have to connect is the US attack on Iran, a war that it initiated for reasons that remain obscure. Who wins and who loses from that? This was first advertised as a ‘blitzkrieg’ that Trump said would be over in “two or three days.”
The US murdered Iran’s secular and religious leader in the opening hours of the fight - during Ramadan. Unfortunately, but hardly unpredictably, the masses didn’t begin waving US flags and opening trading accounts at BlackRock. Instead, the Pentagon is now saying the war could last until September.
If this were a war against Somalia or, say, Vietnam, it wouldn’t matter so much how long it went on. But this is a war against the country that might control the world’s most heavily trafficked oil pinch point - the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera: "Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it will not allow “a litre of oil” through the Strait of Hormuz as the closure of the key Gulf waterway continues to roil global energy markets during the US-Israeli war on Iran." How effectively Iran controls the strait, we don’t know. But oil shippers don’t want to be the ones to find out. Trump’s offer to provide insurance coverage...or actually accompany the ships through the straits…seems to be beside the point. Either the Iranians can sink the ships - including the US Navy’s escorts - or it can’t.
In the meantime, the price of gasoline has gone back to Biden-era levels. CNBC: "Gas prices pass $3.50 per gallon to highest level since 2024 amid US-Iran war." Energy has gone from tailwind to hitting the economy squarely in the face. Gasoline is up 32% from 12 months ago.
Apparently, the only oil to get through the straits is bound for China...which allegedly is getting more oil than when the attack on Iran began. CNBC: "Iran sends millions of oil barrels to China through Strait of Hormuz even as war chokes the waterway. And so...in the ironic way History works...so far, China is the main beneficiary of America’s strikes on Iran. China gets oil...the rest of the world does not. And it - having harmed no one - is viewed as the safer, more reliable ally. Russia is a winner too; after working months to prevent it, the US is now allowing India to buy Russian oil. And the biggest loser? Iranians - including 168 children - suffered the Big Loss in the ‘first order effects.’
But the second order effects won’t be long coming. The administration claimed credit for a lower price of energy. If the war continues, and the price of oil stays high, it will probably be bad news for the Republicans in November’s mid-term elections. If it comes to that, it could be disastrous for POTUS, who – in his 80s -- could face more Epstein disclosures and some hard questions put to him by democrat-controlled committees. Either way, slow or fast, the march to Moscow will continue. Tune in tomorrow."
Dan, I Allegedly, "Gas Rationing is Back!"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 3/12/26
"Gas Rationing is Back!"
"Gas rationing is back and it’s already happening overseas. In Australia, drivers are being limited to $20 gas purchases, sparking panic as global oil markets face pressure from supply disruptions, the Strait of Hormuz shipping crisis, and rising geopolitical tensions. Even as oil prices drop, gas prices remain high—raising serious questions about supply chains, refinery capacity, and whether fuel shortages could spread to the United States next. If gas becomes restricted, the economy stops: deliveries halt, workers can’t commute, and businesses grind to a halt.
In today’s episode of iAllegedly, Dan breaks down why gas rationing may be the next economic shock Americans face. From rising evictions in Orange County and insurance companies canceling policies to smart meters, surveillance concerns, and the growing cost of living crisis, everything points to a system under stress. History shows that energy shortages trigger panic and economic disruption. The real question is: Are we about to see 1970s-style gas lines return to America?"
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"The 2026 Calendar Is Precisely Identical To The 1914 Calendar (The Year World War I Began)"
by Michael Snyder
"History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it often rhymes. When fighting erupted in Europe in 1914, it wasn’t initially considered to be that big of a deal. Many dismissed the conflict as yet another minor European war, and at first most of the rest of the world stayed out of it. It was only later that it came to be known as World War I. Today, there is lots of speculation that World War III “could be coming”, but of course the truth is that we are already in the middle of it. Just like during the early days of World War I, most people won’t fully understand the significance of what they are currently experiencing until later. Interestingly, it turns out that the 2026 calendar is precisely identical to the 1914 calendar…
Every now and then, the calendar quietly repeats itself. Basically, it is a mathematical coincidence that rarely captures any attention – until history gives it a chilling context and this time, it is a super chilly one!
The 2026 calendar is exactly the same as that of 1914 – the year that witnessed the first world war. And as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel – with US also being involved, the similarity has also sparked online theories, speculations and uneasy conversations about how history could somehow repeat itself. Isn’t that wild?
The reason why the calendars for those two years are exactly the same is because they both started on a Thursday and neither one of them is a leap year… Going by the calculations, both 1914 and 2026 share identical structures because neither year is a leap year and both begin on a Thursday. This alignment means that every date tends to fall on the same day of the week in both years. For instance, both January 1, 1914 and January 1, 2026, fall on a Thursday. Now, this creates a perfect mirror of dates and weeks throughout the entire year. Mathematically speaking, such coincidences occur periodically in the Gregorian calendar. But because 1914 is so closely tied to one of the most devastating conflicts in human history, the resemblance has led to panic.
As 2026 approached, many of us were warning that it would be a truly historic year. According to Axios, at least 20 different nations are already militarily involved in the chaotic war that has erupted in the Middle East… Ten days into President Trump’s Iran campaign, the war has gone global. At least 20 countries are now militarily involved — shooting, shielding or quietly supplying — while a widening energy shock punishes nations far from the front lines.
We were told that this would be a quick war. But the regime in Iran remains in power, they continue to strike targets all over the Middle East, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be paralyzed. Just within the past 24 hours, Iranian forces have hit 3 more cargo vessels…Three vessels off Iran’s coast have been struck by projectiles, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said on Wednesday, the latest in a flurry of incidents reported in or near the Strait of Hormuz.
One of the ships reported it had been struck 11 nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire onboard and forcing the crew to evacuate, the UKMTO said, without identifying the vessels.Two other incidents were also reported on Wednesday morning, with one vessel struck by a projectile about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and another sustaining damage off the coast of the UAE.
One of the vessels that was attacked was a Thailand-flagged ship that “had ignored IRGC warnings and tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz”… Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for an attack earlier Wednesday on the Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree off the coast of Oman, saying the vessel had ignored IRGC warnings and tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, said earlier that the vessel was hit by a projectile about 10 nautical miles off Oman’s coast in the strait.
The Iranians are not messing around. Pretty much the only vessels that are being allowed through are Iranian tankers that are taking oil to China… Iran has continued to send large amounts of crude oil via the Strait of Hormuz to China even as the war between U.S.-Israel and Iran has jeopardized broader supplies through the critical waterway.Iran has sent at least 11.7 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on Feb. 28, all of which were headed to China, Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, told CNBC on Tuesday.
In addition to striking cargo vessels, the Iranians also just attacked Dubai International Airport…Iran attacked commercial ships on Wednesday across the Persian Gulf and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic. Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates and the world’s busiest for international travel. Four people were wounded but flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said. This represents a major escalation, because Dubai International Airport is one of the most important airports in the world.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the Iranians are also warning that they will soon be targeting banks and financial institutions throughout the region…Iran’s joint military command announced it would start targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East. That would put at risk particularly Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which is home to many international financial institutions, as well as Saudi Arabia and the island kingdom of Bahrain.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. But it is happening. In response to the Iranian threat, many western banks in the Middle East are evacuating their offices…Western banks in Dubai have evacuated staff from their offices amid a warning from Iran that it will target US and Israeli economic centres across the Middle East. British bank Standard Chartered, US multinational Citi and two other companies told employees to leave their offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and in Oud Metha on Wednesday. London-based Standard Chartered has a large presence in the United Arab Emirates and offices, including in the DIFC, a financial hub home to large international banks and law firms.
Western politicians continue to insist that everything is just fine. And they are trying to do all that they can to keep the price of oil down. On Wednesday, the IEA announced a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic oil reserves…The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history. The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market. It said that the reserves would be released over a time frame that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.
IEA members are primarily advanced economies in Europe, North America and northeast Asia. The organization is tasked with maintaining global energy security. It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over U.S. support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
This will provide some temporary relief. But if this war persists for an extended period of time, it won’t be nearly enough. The Iranians continue to insist that they will be able to push the price of oil up to $200 a barrel…Iran’s military promised even higher gas prices. “Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilized,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for Iran’s military command, said in comments quoted by Reuters. We shall see if they are able to achieve that goal or not.
At this moment, it does not appear that the war will be ending any time soon, and the CEO of Aramco is warning that a major disaster is looming… Amin Nasser, the CEO of Aramco, said: ‘While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.’ He admitted that while his firm, the world’s single biggest exporter of oil, was meeting most of its customers’ needs for now, this was only possible by tapping into storage facilities outside the Gulf. Nasser said that these stores cannot be used for ‘an extended period of time, but for the time being, we are capitalizing on it.’
Everyone needs to brace themselves for much higher energy prices. But it isn’t just an energy crisis that we are now facing… But oil is far from the only product for which the world economy is heavily dependent on the shallow, narrow waterway which connects Persian Gulf ports with the rest of the world. From the metals market to agriculture and autos, a de facto closure of the strait would ripple through business sectors and both the U.S. and world economy.
I am particularly concerned about the massive disruption that is happening to global fertilizer markets. Vast amount of nitrogen fertilizer are stuck in the Middle East, and fertilizer prices are going absolutely nuts at an immensely critical time for farmers throughout the northern hemisphere…The grocery store could be impacted, Pelli said. “Fertilizer represents one of the biggest downstream risks. Roughly one-third of global fertilizer trade transits the Strait of Hormuz, including large volumes of nitrogen exports,” he said.
New Orleans fertilizer hub urea prices have already risen from $475/metric ton to $680/metric ton. “Not great timing for the planting window in the Midwest for soy and corn,” said Darrell Fletcher, managing director of commodities at Ohio-based Bannockburn Global Forex, a foreign exchange and risk management firm.
Let’s hope that the war ends soon. But I don’t think that is going to happen. World War III kind of snuck up on a lot of people, but now it is here. The death and destruction that we have witnessed so far is just the tip of the iceberg, and the entire world will be absolutely shocked by the apocalyptic events that are still ahead."
“Before the Leaves Fall From the Trees”
“Before the Leaves Fall From the Trees”
by Simon Black
"The morning of June 28, 1914 began like any other normal day. It was a Sunday, so a lot of people went to church. Others prepared large meals for family gatherings, played with their children, or thumbed through the Sunday papers.
At that point, tensions had been high in Europe for several years; the continent was bitterly divided by a series of complex diplomatic and military alliances, and small wars had recently broken out. Italy and the Ottoman Empire went to war in 1912 in a limited, 13-month conflict. And the First Balkan War was waged in early 1913. Overall, though, the continent clung to a delicate peace. And hardly anyone expected that most of the next three decades would be filled with chaos, poverty, and destruction. And then it happened.
That Sunday afternoon, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated during an official visit to Sarajevo. And the world changed forever. Five weeks later the entire continent was at war with itself. But even still, most of the ‘experts’ thought it would be a simple, speedy conflict. Germany’s emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, famously told his troops who were being shipped off to the front line in August 1914, “You will be home before the leaves fall from the trees...” It took four years and an estimated 68 million casualties to bring the war to a close. But that was only the prelude.
Following (and even during) World War I, a series of bloody revolutionary movements took hold in Europe, including in Russia, Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Ireland. Then came the Spanish flu, which claimed the lives of tens of millions of people. Later, Germany sunk into one of the worst episodes of hyperinflation in human history.
Communism began rapidly spreading across the world almost as quickly as the Spanish flu, often through violent fanatics who engaged in murder and arson in order to intimidate their opponents; this became known as the ‘Red Scare’ in the United States.
Of course there were some good years during the 1920s when people generally felt prosperous and happy; but it all came crashing down at the end of the decade when a severe economic depression strangled the entire world. It lasted for more than ten years, during which time the world was once again brought to an even more destructive war that didn’t end until atomic weapons obliterated the civilian populations of two Japanese cities.
Again – go back to June 1914. Who would have thought that the next 30+ years would play out so destructively? Even for the people who did predict that Europe would go to war in 1914, most leaders thought it would be over quickly. And almost no one expected it would spawn decades of chaos.
Today we’re obviously living in different times and under different circumstances. But we may be standing at a similar precipice as in 1914, staring at enormous trends that could shape our lives for years to come.
We now know without a doubt, for example, how governments will respond the next time they feel there’s a threat to public health. They’ll say, “We’re listening to the scientists.” Really? The same scientists who told people they couldn’t go to work, school, or church, but it was perfectly fine for peaceful protesters to pack together like sardines without wearing masks because they’re apparently protected from the virus by their own righteousness? The same scientists who wanted to lock everyone down to prevent Covid, but are happy to accept skyrocketing rates of cancer, depression, suicide, heart disease, and domestic abuse as a result of those very lockdowns and so-called "vaccines'?
The public health consequences from this pandemic and "vaccine" will reverberate for years to come. And that doesn’t even begin to take the economic consequences into consideration. Western governments have taken on trillions of dollars in new debt this year and central banks have printed trillions more. Even with all that stimulus, however, there are still hundreds of millions of people worldwide who lost their jobs, and countless businesses that have closed.
Future generations who haven’t even been born yet will spend their entire working lives paying interest on the debts that are being accumulated today. The long-term consequences of all this are incalculable.
And then there are the social trends – the rise of neo-Marxism that’s sweeping the world so fast. It’s the Red Scare of the 21st century. They despise talented, successful people. They believe it’s greedy for you to keep a healthy portion of what you earn, but it’s not greedy for them to take it from you and spend it on themselves.
Many of the people in this movement, of course, are violent fanatics who routinely engage in arson, assault, and vandalism. Same for the social justice warriors who are just as quick to violence and intimidation; plus they’ve already commandeered the decision-making of some of the largest, most powerful companies in the world. You can’t even watch a football game or a TV commercial anymore without some commentary on oppression and victimization. And any intellectual dissent is met with intimidation or censorship.
In fact the largest consumer technology companies in the world have become our censors. We’re not allowed to share scientific information that doesn’t conform to the Chinese-controlled World Health Organization’s guidance. And news articles that don’t match their ideology are blocked.
Let’s not kid ourselves – these trends are not going away any time soon. It’s great to be optimistic, hope for the best, and enjoy the good years as they come. But it makes sense to at least be prepared for the possibility that we could be at the very beginning of a period of enormous instability that may last a very long time."
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"The Guns of August"
"In this landmark, Pulitzer Prize–winning account, renowned historian Barbara W. Tuchman re-creates the first month of World War I: thirty days in the summer of 1914 that determined the course of the conflict, the century, and ultimately our present world. Beginning with the funeral of Edward VII, Tuchman traces each step that led to the inevitable clash. And inevitable it was, with all sides plotting their war for a generation. Dizzyingly comprehensive and spectacularly portrayed with her famous talent for evoking the characters of the war’s key players."
Freely download here:
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“It is history that teaches us to hope. It is well that war is
so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”
- Robert E. Lee
But we've learned nothing from history, nothing at all,
and our fondness, no, love of war, has only improved the weapons...
Adventures With Danno, "Items at Kroger Everyone Should Be Buying Right Now!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 3/12/26
"Items at Kroger Everyone Should Be Buying Right Now!"
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"How It Really Is"
o
“The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting
each other - instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals.”
- Edward Abbey
"Day 12 Of Whatever The Hell This Is"
"Day 12 Of Whatever The Hell This Is"
by NO1
"Twelve days ago, Iran fired in response to being bombed. They fired again in response to the next bombing. And the one after that. The principle: You bomb us, we bomb you. Always escalating, yes, but still inside a framework. Reciprocal. Proportional. A war with rules. That ended today.
The IRGC announced that Tehran’s policy of “reciprocal hits” is over. From now on? Continuous strikes. Not in response to anything. Not after a trigger. Continuously. The framework isn’t suspended. It’s been dissolved. Col. Ali Razmjou, speaking for Khatam al-Anbiya – the joint command running all of Iran’s armed forces – issued three declarations that should raise every US commander’s hackles: “We will never allow even a single liter of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of America, the Zionists, or their partners. Any vessel or oil shipment will be a legitimate target for us. You should prepare for $200 per barrel.” That’s it. That’s the new doctrine.
Wave 37 launched in the opening minutes of March 11 under the name “Laylat al-Qadr” – the Night of Power in Islamic tradition, the night the Quran was first revealed. The targets: a US base in Erbil, the 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and Beer Yakov southeast of Tel Aviv. Kheibar Shekan, Ghadr multi-warheads, Khorramshahr. The IRGC said it would last at least three hours. Geroman, tracking in real time, noted what I’ve been watching for days: no interceptions reported.
Iran also confirmed that the Sejjil now sits in its active combat inventory. It’s Iran’s longest-range solid-fuel ballistic missile, and the “solid fuel” distinction is more important than it sounds. Liquid-fuelled missiles require a fuelling window before launch – a window where satellites spot the preparation, where intercept options exist, where someone can theoretically make a phone call. The Sejjil has no fuelling window. It rolls out pre-loaded. It fires. Range: 2,000 to 2,500 kilometres, covering every US base in the region and extending into southern Europe’s southern tier. Speed: Mach 17 at terminal phase. The intercept window at that velocity is measured in seconds.
The missile is named after the stones from Surah Al-Fil – the ones God rained down to annihilate the army that marched war elephants toward Mecca. Iran’s engineers spent fifteen years building it and went quiet on the programme for a decade while it matured. They held it back until now. The sensor holes that have been accumulating since day one aren’t shrinking. They’re getting bigger.
Running casualty total: Iran 1,255 dead, 12,000 injured. Lebanon 634 dead. Israel 13 dead (erhm), roughly 2,000 injured. Iraq: 15 dead. Kuwait: 6 dead. And a footnote that deserves more than a footnote: a US preliminary investigation confirmed the Minab school was struck because outdated DIA intelligence had the building listed as part of a nearby naval base. Old maps, 168 dead children. Trump told the cameras it was Iran.
“Practically nothing left to target” – Trump’s framing to Axios – is not a bomb damage assessment. It’s a narrative. The off-ramp in construction. “We bombed everything, we won, there is nothing left to destroy, therefore it is over”. Someone forgot to tell Khatam al-Anbiya. They sent out wave 37 and ran out of numbers – or patience – and will switch to fire-at-will in the morning.
Senator Murphy came out of a classified briefing calling it “a disaster of epic proportions” and “a 10-day debacle”. He went further: “Israel made us do it. Netanyahu decided he wanted to attack and convinced Trump to join him”. Rand Paul warned of disastrous midterms and called the spending “fiscally irresponsible”. But then, No1 listens to Rand. Kalshi impeachment odds: 72%. All-time high.
Yesterday I wrote ‘infrastructure for infrastructure, barrel for barrel.’ Today they hit a bank. Not the vault – the servers. A missile hit Bank Sepah’s data infrastructure in Tehran. Iranians woke up to locked accounts, dead websites, offline channels. The official explanation? “Central Bank technical upgrade”. Scheduled maintenance, courtesy of the IAF.
The IRGC’s response: Khatam al-Anbiya declared all US and Israeli-linked economic centres and banks in the Gulf legitimate military targets. Citizens advised to stay one kilometre from any US or Israeli financial institution. In Dubai, Manama, and Kuwait City, that radius covers half the city. The named targets: Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia. Regional offices. Commercial infrastructure. Citibank is evacuating its Dubai office. Qisas. An eye for an eye. A bank for a bank.
The Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz today. Thailand is not at war with Iran. No US bases. No role in Operation Emazing Failure. The IRGC had announced – clearly, repeatedly, in multiple languages – that ships bound for US/Israeli/allied destinations cannot pass. The Mayuree Naree tried anyway. Struck 18 kilometres north of Oman. Twenty crew rescued. Three still on board. Maersk now has ten container ships trapped inside the Persian Gulf. Cannot get out. The CEO told media it will take a week to ten days to resume operations after a ceasefire. There is no ceasefire.
Meanwhile Reuters confirmed that the US Navy has refused near-daily escort requests from the shipping industry since day one – risk of Iranian attack “too high”. The most powerful navy in human history cannot safely escort a single tanker through a 33-kilometre strait.
In Tehran, hundreds of thousands gathered in Revolution Square for Mojtaba Khamenei’s allegiance rally. Explosions were audible on the live broadcast. The cameras kept rolling. Iranian state television did not cut the feed. The crowd chanted louder.
The “supreme leader” in attendance was a life-size cardboard cutout. Trump showed Fox News his own cardboard Ayatollah in the Oval Office the same day. Arts and crafts at the highest level. Whether Mojtaba Khamenei is keeping a deliberate low profile or whether the new leadership is genuinely a figurehead while the IRGC runs the war on autopilot, I have no idea. What I can say: nobody has seen him, nobody has heard him, and the IRGC is pledging allegiance to an absence while doubling the heavy payload. Paranoid, or managing perceptions? Probably both. Either way, the launches keep going.
Yesterday I covered the THAAD systems pulled from South Korea. Today Kim Jong Un saw the gap and launched a nuclear-capable cruise missile from his brand new destroyer. Father-daughter bonding. Seoul was reportedly “upset”. One imagines.
Qatar told its entire population to stay indoors today. The Ministry of Interior issued a national emergency alert to every phone in the country: stay inside, close windows, stay away from exposed areas, prepare for falling debris. A “serious security threat” from aerial interceptions. The nation hosting the largest US base in the Middle East, that exports 20% of the planet’s LNG, issued a shelter-in-place to seven million people.
Ras Laffan has been dark for nine days. Zero tankers departed since March 2. The longest export outage in the facility’s history. Nine days of silence from the terminal that was supposed to free Europe from Russian gas. After what felt like seventeen emergency summits, four acronyms, and a press release in six languages, the IEA’s 32 member countries unanimously released 400 million barrels from the strategic reserves – the largest emergency release in history. They’d like a round of applause. It will cover approximately four to five days of global consumption. The Hormuz disruption has already removed an estimated 450 million barrels from circulation.
Energy Secretary Wright also tried to help by claiming a tanker had transited under Navy escort. Oil dropped 8% in eight minutes, then clawed back even faster when the post was deleted and Iran’s Parliament Speaker screenshotted it with the caption “Maybe on PlayStation!” – the intern took the fall, but the broader point is that someone, somewhere, keeps needing the dials to read “open for business”.
Meanwhile, Iran is exporting more oil than before the war started. No traffic jams when you are the traffic warden. The WSJ confirmed it: 2.1 million barrels per day, up 100,000 from pre-war levels. Every barrel going to China.
On silver: the drain data is getting serious enough that I’ll dedicate a separate article to it. The short version – weekly vault withdrawals in the week of March 2-6 hit 705 metric tons, against 214 the week before. SFE run rate: 29 working days. COMEX: 66 days. At current pace, all liquid free float across the major exchanges is gone by June. Shanghai is paying a $13 premium over London and still can’t pull physical metal west. More on this soon. Shanghai silver at $100.76. COMEX at $85.60.
The Houthis, who have been a near-daily fixture of this war, have reportedly gone off-grid in the last 48 hours. No out-of-office reply. As one source noted it in passing: “something is afoot”. I don’t know what. But it’s worth watching. The dials still read “everything is fine”. The (now ex-) intern disagrees. Still devolving…"
"Donald Trump’s War on Iran is Turning into a Debacle"
"Donald Trump’s War on Iran is Turning into a Debacle"
by Larry C. Johnson
"The image above tells you why Donald Trump is in political trouble over his decision to launch a war on Iran. Previous presidents have understood that you must rally public support before sending US troops and planes overseas to attack another country, or else you risk political isolation and blame if the war goes awry. And the war with Iran is going badly for the US, despite the nightly cheer-leading broadcast round-the-clock on Fox News.
The Trump administration genuinely believed that the decapitation attack on 28 February would rally the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the Islamic Republic. Trump ignored the contrary warnings from General Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Intelligence Council (NIC). Trump apparently never considered the possibility that Iran would blockade the the Strait of Hormuz and shutdown the flow of oil, liquid natural gas and nitrogen fertilizer from the Persian Gulf. As I discussed in my last article - Choke Point: The Global Economic Consequences of The Persian Gulf Shutdown - Iran’s shuttering of the Persian Gulf has sent in motion some profound economic shocks that are going to cause a global recession and, if sustained for more than a month, a global depression.
Although the US is supposedly not dependent on oil from the Persian Gulf, gas prices are rising dramatically across the 50 states. When I filled my tank on Sunday, the price of gas had surged by .50 cents from what I paid six days earlier. I checked again today (Wednesday) and the price had moved up an additional .15 cents. The increase cost of fuel is going to hit the entire economy as truckers and airlines and farmers have to spend more to keep their machines running. Those costs will be passed on to the consumers. This is going to create a double whammy - not just in the US, but around the world - of rising prices and diminished economic growth. At some point, the price of oil and LNG will start to tick down but only because the recession that is going to hit most economies around the globe will reduce demand.
The picture is equally bleak and troubled on the military front. Despite wreaking massive damage inside Iran, the US and Israeli militaries have failed to knockout Iran’s ballistic and cruise missile forces as well as its drones. The US Department of War has conceded that Iran defied the expectations of the US military as the Iranians launched devastating counter attacks.
The New York Times published an interactive feature on March 11, 2026 that analyzes damage to US military and related sites in the Middle East amid the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran. It uses high-resolution commercial satellite imagery (from sources like Airbus DS and Planet Labs), verified social media videos, and official statements from US officials and Iranian state media to document at least 17 damaged US sites (including bases hosting US forces, air defense infrastructure, and diplomatic facilities). The analysis is current as of March 10, 2026, and highlights Iran’s retaliatory strikes - thousands of missiles and drones - launched in response to the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran that began around late February 2026.
Iran’s attacks began shortly after the conflict’s start (e.g., February 28 onward) and targeted 13 sites in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, and Iraq:
Kuwait: Multiple strikes on Ali Al Salem Air Base (March 1), Camp Arifjan (March 4), Shuaiba port (March 2, killing six U.S. service members with partial roof collapse visible in satellite images), and Camp Buehring (March 5, drone explosion near sports facilities with no casualties).
Bahrain: U.S. Navy 5th Fleet HQ struck (February 28/March 1), including damage to a communications radome shown in verified video.
Saudi Arabia: Prince Sultan Air Base (March 1), with one U.S. service member killed.
Qatar: Al Udeid Air Base (March 9) and Umm Dahal radar site (damage to AN/FPS-132 radar).
UAE: Al Dhafra Air Base (March 3), Jebel Ali port (March 1), Al Ruwais (near THAAD unit), and Al Sader facilities.
Jordan: Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (March 4), with severe damage to air defense sensors.
Iraq: Erbil Airport (March 1).
Other: Strikes reached as far as Turkey (NATO intercepted missiles aimed at Incirlik Air Base on March 4, which Iran denied). Some bases (e.g., Al Udeid, Ali Al Salem, Al Dhafra) were hit multiple times. Diplomatic targets included the U.S. consulate in Dubai and embassies in Kuwait City, Riyadh, and Baghdad (rocket attack on March 8, no casualties confirmed).
While US CENTCOM continues to insist that Iran has done little damage, the reality is that Iran has crippled the ability of the US to launch and sustain combat operations from the bases and installations listed above.
There are several reports that Trump has tried to re-open talks with Iran in hopes of securing a cease-fire or a staged victory withdrawal. Iran is having none of that and will continue to attack US installations and Israel no matter what Trump decides to do."
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Danny Davis and I discussed the state of the war with Iran:
Full screen recommended.
"Iran War: Trump's Lost Control
With fmr CIA Analyst Larry Johnson"
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
"Why America is Losing the War With Iran (w/John Mearsheimer)"
"Why America is Losing the War With Iran
(w/John Mearsheimer)"
The Chris Hedges Report, 3/11/26
"As the U.S.-Israel and Iran War enters its second week, American and Israeli strategy becomes increasingly opaque, while Iran’s resolve hardens. Professor John Mearsheimer, a renowned voice in international politics, joins host Chris Hedges again on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to spell out what can be expected from the conflict.
Mearsheimer chronicles everything that is known about the war so far, from Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory in convincing an American president to finally launch this long-awaited attack on Iran to the reluctance within Trump’s own cabinet to go through with it. Mearsheimer also spells out the major implications this conflict has on the whole of the world economy; with Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, countries in East Asia such as South Korea and Japan as well as the whole of Europe will suffer.
“You could have a worldwide depression. You could have something less than that, like a worldwide recession, that would have huge consequences for people all over the planet, especially in developing countries, less so in developed countries. But even in developed countries, it’s quite clear that the importance of oil for running the international economy simply can’t be underestimated,” Mearsheimer tells Hedges."
Comments here:
"Alert! Middle East Is On Fire! WW3! Tankers Hit, Trump Panics!"
Prepper News 3/11/26
"Alert! Middle East Is On Fire! WW3!
Tankers Hit, Trump Panics!"
Comments here:
"The Price Of Everything Is Going Up, Reckless Spending Comes With A Cost"
Jeremiah Babe, 3/11/26
"The Price Of Everything Is Going Up,
Reckless Spending Comes With A Cost"
Comments here:
"Millions Of Americans Will Struggle, Food Prices Rising Again"
Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 3/11/26
"Millions Of Americans Will Struggle,
Food Prices Rising Again"
Comments here:
"Iran Drops Gigantic 2 Ton Warhead Missiles on Tel Aviv; Entire City Wiped Out"
Full screen recommended.
OPTM, 3/11/26
"Iran Drops Gigantic 2 Ton Warhead Missiles on Tel Aviv;
Entire City Wiped Out"
Comments here:
"A Look to the Heavens"
“While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is embedded in the vast and complex Orion Nebula (M42). A potentially rewarding but difficult object to view personally with a small telescope, the above gorgeously detailed image was recently taken in infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope in honor of the 23rd anniversary of Hubble's launch.
The dark molecular cloud, roughly 1,500 light years distant, is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is seen above primarily because it is backlit by the nearby massive star Sigma Orionis. The Horsehead Nebula will slowly shift its apparent shape over the next few million years and will eventually be destroyed by the high energy starlight.”
- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130422.html
"Perhaps..."
"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in
heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through
and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. "
~ An Eskimo saying.
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