“Why did President Donald Trump launch Operation Epic Fury? He’s provided a stream of reasons: forcing regime change; destroying Iran’s missile capabilities (to eliminate what he called ‘imminent threats’); ‘annihilating’ the Iranian navy; ensuring that Iran cannot further develop nuclear weapons; and blocking Iran’s support of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Regardless of the reason (if one truly exists), such military action is at odds with Trump’s stated ‘America First’ foreign-policy strategy, ostensibly prioritizing unilateralist and noninterventionist behavior. Trump has routinely made a point of withdrawing from prominent international treaties and organizations (the Paris climate accords and North American Free Trade Agreement) in an effort to isolate American interests. Why, then, did Trump join Israel in going to war with Iran? What can history tell us about the possible outcomes of this decision?” (03/09/26)
“Two men who brought explosives to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, a court complaint said. Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi are awaiting arraignment Monday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that ‘ISIS’ was the reason for his conduct, the complaint said. Balat, 18, later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremist group, and Kayumi, 19, asserted that he was affiliated with the Islamic State group, the complaint said. Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, when when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and wounding hundreds more.” (03/09/26)
“Except for the wise people of Arizona and Hawaii, who have year-round standard time, Americans were once again forced to ‘spring forward’ and lose an hour of sleep on Sunday morning. This practice, known as daylight saving time, gives Americans more time in the evening to enjoy sunlight. This helps owners of golf courses, tennis courts, and other outdoor entertainment venues. Conversely, it also forces parents to drive their children to school in the dark. With the time change, accidents increase, as do health-related issues. Losing an hour of sleep disrupts our ‘body clocks’. As William Shughart, II writes in the Miami Herald, daylight saving time misaligns ‘our human body clocks with morning sunlight, thereby disrupting circadian rhythms and causing the spikes in heart attacks, strokes, depression and other health problems observed in the days following the one-hour spring and fall time shifts’.” (03/09/26)
“Sen. Cory Booker [D-NJ], facing a re-election campaign in 2026, announced a new tax-cut bill, the Keep Your Pay Act, that would eliminate federal income taxes on the first $75,000 of income for most households and expand key tax credits for working families. Booker’s plan increases the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples filing jointly, with proportional relief for single filers and heads of household, reducing federal income tax on the median American family by an estimated 85%. ‘New Jerseyans are working harder than ever, but they’re struggling to get by because they’re facing out of control costs and an economy that is stacked against them — so we need big ideas to start making the American Dream possible for everyone again,’ he wrote in a statement unveiling his bill. ‘No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer for working people.'” (03/09/26)
“Gen Z has shredded a long-held dynamic in the cannabis industry. For centuries, cannabis flower has been the king of marijuana. And since legalization, flower has always been the most popular product at legal pot shops in California. But that dominance is now all over, largely thanks to Gen Z. Cannabis vapes surpassed flower in June and are consistently the top-selling product category in California, according to state data. California shoppers spent over 10% more on cannabis vapes than flower last month, and more than 170% more on vapes compared to edibles, according to state data. This growth is being driven primarily by Gen Z, who have an overwhelming preference for the handheld vapes and are the first generation to prefer vape pens over any other type of cannabis product, according to data shared with SFGATE by cannabis analytics company Headset.” (03/09/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Watching Amazon Prime while the Iranians burn. / Stuffing our mouths with cheesysugarbacon / while the sky turns black over Tehran. / Laughing without smiling. / Laughing with full mouths and empty eyes / while their water mixes with oil and blood. / ‘Hoho this will hurt Trump in the midterms’ / the liberal chortles, masturbating furiously / while ruined parents pull ruined schoolbags / out of ruined schools. / Frolicking on lawns with hamburgers in both fists / doing patchouli tai chi / in clothes made by slaves / as black rain waters gardens / of severed limbs and blown-out eyeballs. / This is our culture. / This is our religion. / Praying to Pornhub while children scream, / telling ourselves it will all be worth it / when Iranian women can do OnlyFans / to pay for boob jobs and butt lifts / and go to Capitalist Heaven when they die….” (03/09/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The US soldiers who are getting killed in the war with Iran were not heroes. They did not die defending their country. They did not die fighting to protect Americans. They died advancing the geostrategic agendas of oligarchs and empire managers which benefit ordinary Americans in no way. It’s important not to valorize these people for two reasons. Firstly, it assists US military recruitment by falsely portraying these imperial stormtrooper careers as noble and heroic. Secondly, it falsely frames the war they died in as a righteous cause which is making the world a better place, rather than as a war of aggression against a nation that posed literally zero threat to their homeland. These are not harmless little white lies. They are extremely destructive propaganda narratives which facilitate acts of mass military slaughter on real human beings. Don’t assist the warmongers in circulating these lies.” (03/07/26)
“A very old type of information warfare – spreading false narratives to rattle an enemy’s population during a conflict – now has a new and vital adversary: fact-checkers. On March 3, for example, a video went viral showing Israel’s second-largest city, Tel Aviv, in flames from multiple strikes by Iranian missiles, four days after the first Israeli and American attacks on Iran. It attracted more than 14 million views. ‘The video is AI-generated, and features multiple errors consistent with AI clips,’ posted BBC Verify senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh. ‘It’s not real.’ After spotting many similar fake images, Mr. Sardarizadeh concluded: ‘This war might have already broken the record for the highest number of AI-generated videos and images that have gone viral during a conflict…. Welcome to our brave new world of AI misinformation.'” (03/06/26)
“Land acknowledgements have become de rigueur at commencement ceremonies, film and music award events, and other programs. Something like this: ‘We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the stolen and occupied territory of the Indigenous First Nation People who stewarded the land through many generations before White European colonialists seized it.’ Many take these acknowledgements quite seriously. Indeed, professors and employees have been disciplined for mocking them, because employers find mockery ‘offensive’ and ‘disruptive’ – unlike their reactions to ‘mostly peaceful’ Antifa, BLM and pro-Palestinian harassment and riots. When accepting her Grammy, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish used her onstage opportunity to criticize Trump’s immigration policies, saying ‘no one is illegal on stolen land’. Unless, of course, someone tried to enter her gated community and assert ownership over or enjoy a sandwich in her million-dollar mansion.” (03/07/26)
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas JS Davies
“The United States has once again launched a war in the Middle East based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction. Like the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the US assault on Iran rests on allegations that international inspectors have already debunked. But beyond the false pretext lies an even more pressing question that few officials in Washington seem willing (or able) to answer: What is the US exit strategy from its war on Iran? President Trump has justified the attack by claiming that Iran refuses to renounce nuclear weapons. As he prepared to launch the war, Trump repeatedly claimed, ‘We haven’t heard those secret words: “We will never have a nuclear weapon”.’ Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded by reiterating Iran’s long-standing policy, stating plainly: ‘Iran will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon.'” (03/07/26)
