Source: The Daily Economy
by Joakim Book
“Investors buying 100-year bonds are making a bold wager on inflation, monetary policy, and financial stability.” (03/03/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/why-do-investors-keep-buying-century-bonds/
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Stephen Weese
“Recently there have been a lot of memes and social media posts going around that claim that AI (because of its cooling requirements) is using up all of our water. Suggesting that, in fact, the crisis is so bad that we will soon be unable to take showers. Since I work in this field, I can tell from the surface that this is likely exaggerated, and I decided to take a deep look at the numbers, new AI cooling technologies, and what is causing the real global water crisis.” (03/03/26)
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“This week, French President Emmanuel Macron put his leadership legacy on the line, by explicitly offering to share the country’s nuclear defenses with key European allies. Speaking at the home port of France’s nuclear missile fleet in Brittany on Monday, Mr. Macron declared plans to increase France’s nuclear warhead stockpile (currently about 290) as well as place some of those in partner countries. His offer marks ‘the most important revision to France’s nuclear doctrine in a generation,’ the Financial Times wrote, calling it ‘indispensable for Europe’s defence.’ Since the days of Charles de Gaulle, who doubted the United States’ commitment to defend Europe from a Soviet nuclear attack, France has held to an independent stance on pursuing its own nuclear weapons development. ‘Would you trade New York for Paris?’ General de Gaulle famously demanded of President John F. Kennedy in 1961.” (03/03/26)
Source: EconLog
by Bryan Cutsinger
“The U.S. Federal Reserve differs from most government agencies in two important ways. First, the Federal Reserve determines its own operating budget and remits any remaining revenue to the U.S. Treasury. Second, the Federal Reserve has some control over its revenue, since it earns income from issuing money and holding interest-bearing assets. Issuing more money than is consistent with price stability can increase this revenue in the short run. Unlike a private firm, however, no individual or group owns the Federal Reserve’s residual income.” (03/03/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/federal-reserve-revenue-cutsingers-solution
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“Unfortunately, President Trump listened to the neocons and Benjamin Netanyahu instead of his MAGA base and other voices of caution as he launched a surprise attack on Iran over the weekend. For the second time in nine months, the US Administration used negotiations with Iran as a cover to launch a pre-planned attack.” (03/03/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/03/02/stuck-in-another-disastrous-middle-east-war
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul R Pillar
“Israel’s new war with Iran coupled with slaughter in the Gaza Strip — where Israeli military operations have killed more than 600 Palestinians since a ‘ceasefire’ supposedly went into effect last October, adding to the tens of thousands killed during the previous two years — has diverted attention from events in the West Bank. That diversion is fine with those intent on cementing Israeli control there and continuing the subjugation or displacement of the 3.8 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.” (03/03/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-annex-west-bank-2675538521/
Source: Reason
by Damon Root
“President Donald Trump has launched a massive military attack on Iran without first obtaining a declaration of war from Congress. Do Trump’s actions violate the terms of the U.S. Constitution? In a word, yes. The president of the United States has no lawful authority to launch a war absent a congressional declaration of war.” (03/03/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/03/the-iran-war-is-unconstitutional/
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“One of the reasons to be disturbed by this war is the extraordinary amount of money the U.S. government is either laying out now or will have to lay out in the future to replace the spent munitions. The modern American way of war is extremely capital-intensive, deploying massive amounts of equipment while putting relatively few people in harm’s way. This has been true ever since World War II …. But the U.S. military’s reliance on munitions rather than manpower can create two problems. The first problem is that modern munitions, which are highly sophisticated and complex, can’t be produced on short notice …. The other problem is that U.S.-style war is incredibly expensive — so much so that the cost becomes a serious concern even for a nation as wealthy as America.” (03/03/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/war-is-expensive-for-the-little-people
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“When Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, 2025, voices suggested his administration might wind down the Ukraine conflict and pursue a foreign policy of restraint. The reality reveals something far different. Trump’s outreach to Russia is not Pat Buchanan style non-interventionism. It is a calculated attempt to use Russia as a geopolitical weapon against China and Iran, rooted in the same manipulative great power politics that has poisoned American foreign policy for generations.” (03/03/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/you-cant-treat-russia-or-china-like-iran
Source: Common Dreams
by Richard Eskow
“When I was small my mother warned me never to approach a sick animal. The dying ones, she said, are the deadliest of all. That hasn’t been my experience; most of the dying creatures I’ve encountered just want a quiet place to pass their final hours. The source of my mother’s anxiety was closer to home than she had yet to recognize, but her fear was palpable. She was haunted by the vision of her curly-haired child falling prey to some sickly, snarling, yellow-eyed feral creature with nothing left to lose. That’s a mother’s worst nightmare. Flash forward to February 28, 2026. Dozens of schoolchildren were reported dead in ‘one of two strikes that appear to have hit schools since US and Israeli warplanes launched their attack on Iran around 10:00 a.m. local time’.” [editor’s note: Fog of war … Still being determined whether the deaths may have come from a misguided Iranian missile – SAT] [editor’s note: Do the people whose kids were murdered by one of two murderous regimes REALLY care which murderous regime it was? – TLK] (03/03/26)