“I’m not saying definitively that going to war against Iran when there was no imminent threat is President Trump’s way of distracting attention from the case of Jeffrey Epstein and his voluminous, sordid, incriminating files. Then again, I’m not not saying it. We certainly know that Trump has mused in the past about invading Iran as a plausible response by an American president to his own domestic troubles. … Has the president achieved his presumed objective of knocking the Epstein files off the front page? Not exactly. They may have moved below the fold, as we say in the newspaper biz, but the Epstein scandal is alive and well, jamming the courts, occupying Congressional committees, sparking investigations in at least eight countries and toppling various ‘important’ people.” (03/08/26)
“The Justice Department said Monday it has tentatively settled its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, striking a deal to ultimately lower ticket prices for consumers and end an illegal monopoly over live events in America. But some states signaled they won’t join the deal and will continue an ongoing trial. … Live Nation would pay a $280 million [bribe] and divest itself of at least 13 amphitheaters nationwide while opening its ticketing processes so competitors can share in the sale of tickets, the official said, adding that at least 10 states were expected to join the deal.” (03/09/26)
“Two brothers of one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers visited the sex offender’s former New Mexico ranch on Sunday for the first time to demand the Trump administration release unredacted documents to reveal the identities of men their late sister alleged sexually abused her at the property. With Epstein’s hacienda-style mansion in the background, the brothers of Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April, joined hundreds of protesters at a roadside rally to mark international women’s day near the gate of the ranch located 30 miles (48 km) south of state capital Santa Fe. Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts, 37, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to release documents showing, among other things, names of visitors to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch where he and his acquaintances are accused of sexually abusing women and girls.” (03/08/26)
“The problem with government spending is that you have to pay for it. New programs often poll well when you tell people about the benefits. Mention raising taxes, however, and it’s a whole different story. But what if you didn’t have to tax reluctant voters to fund your big ideas? I mean, Elon Musk is sitting on somewhere north of $670 billion. If the government took just 5 percent of that, it would have almost $34 billion to spend on health care and child care and green energy, right? And there are almost a thousand other billionaires in the country, so pass that wealth tax and warm up the money cannons! If only it were so easy. … wealth taxes have been tried over and over, and most countries that adopted them eventually abandoned the idea, finding that such taxes were difficult to administer, caused capital flight and raised little revenue.” (03/08/26)
“Some of America’s biggest companies rely on public benefits to subsidize their employees. Why aren’t they defending their workers against cuts?” (03/08/26)
“One did not have to be Michel de Nostradamus to anticipate that this was going to happen. Nostradamus repeatedly warned about the immeasurable catastrophes that would flow from provoking the Iranian people into a wild, once-in-two-millennia jihad against the West. Not that such an eventuality was ever going to happen unless some Western leaders were stupid enough to martyr an Iranian Shiite leader during the holy month of Ramadan. Great thinking, guys.” (03/08/26)
“For years, Brussels has been tightening its grip on online speech in a bid to exercise control over the political narrative. The European Commission’s €120million fine in December against X under the Digital Services Act (DSA) marked a major escalation. Now, X is fighting back at the EU’s top court. In so doing, it is taking a stand in defence of free speech for all Europeans.” (03/08/26)
“Bangladesh has closed universities and launched fuel rationing amid a worsening energy crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Authorities shut all public and private universities across the country from Monday, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity and fuel. Officials said the move will not only reduce electricity consumption but also ease traffic congestion, which leads to fuel wastage. They said the university campuses consume large amounts of electricity for residential halls, classrooms, laboratories and air conditioning, and the early closure would help ease pressure on the country’s strained power system.” (03/09/26)
