Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Eliot Wilson
“The Government’s approach to the UK’s steel industry has always looked like a cross between inveterate, unshakeable optimism and the panicked thrashings of a drowning man clutching for a flotation aid. An extremely charitable observer would argue that the Government had always had a very clear aim: to preserve Britain’s steel industry in order to safeguard employment in the sector and to provide resilience in manufacturing a product vital for growth and security. A more cynical mind might counter that someone who makes a wish as a penny is flipped down a well has a very clear aim. Without a practical, sustainable and realistic plan to achieve that aim, such airy, wouldn’t-it-be-nice ambitions are politically worthless at best.” (03/22/26)
https://fee.org/articles/tariffs-will-not-save-britains-steel-industry/
Source: SFGate
“Italian voters rejected a judicial reform backed by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni, delivering a stinging setback to the right-wing government one year ahead of national elections. The ‘No’ camp won around 54% of the vote against the government‑backed ‘Yes’ campaign, which secured about 46%, according to almost final Interior Ministry data. Turnout over the two‑day ballot, which began Sunday, was considerably higher than expected at almost 59% following a polarizing campaign. The vote galvanized the center‑left opposition while exposing fractures within the right‑wing coalition that supports Meloni. The defeat of the referendum risks weakening Meloni’s leadership both at home and abroad. It may also complicate her efforts to defend her controversial alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump and his increasingly unpopular war on Iran. The referendum centered on long-debated reforms aimed at reshaping the structure of Italy’s judiciary.” (03/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/italian-voters-reject-judicial-reform-in-a-22091881.php
Source: Quillette
by Brian Stewart
“While Iran, Israel, and Gaza have dominated headlines, a bloody power struggle among Sudanese warlords grinds on.” (03/22/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/03/22/meanwhile-in-sudan/
Source: The American Prospect
by James Baratta
“For many years, Congress has maintained a bipartisan consensus on warrantless surveillance. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has allowed the U.S. government to surveil foreign nationals abroad since its passage in 2008, and as the Prospect has reported time and time again, domestic intelligence agencies have amassed troves of communications data, including from American citizens, through the program. The National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI do not need a warrant to access this data, regardless of whether it comes from a foreign national or U.S. citizen. Section 702, which must be reauthorized by Congress periodically, is set to expire on April 20. The House is expected to vote on it in the coming weeks. Historically, lawmakers’ attempts to meaningfully reform the program have failed.” (03/23/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/23/spying-reform-congress-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-act-section-702-save-act-voter-suppression/
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire has been elected mayor of Paris, beating the former rightwing minister Rachida Dati, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) failing to take key cities targeted in Sunday’s second round of local elections. Grégoire took a victory bike ride with future councillors in Paris on Sunday night to show that the French capital would continue its pro-cycling and environmental policies. … In France’s second city, Marseille, the mayor, Benoît Payan, won with his leftwing coalition including the Socialists and the Greens – holding back a rise of the RN. … Elsewhere, the former prime minister Édouard Philippe is now expected to kickstart his centre-right candidacy for the French presidency next year after being re-elected as mayor of the northern port town of Le Havre.” (03/22/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/22/paris-mayoral-race-socialist-emmanuel-gregoire-projected-to-win
Source: The Bulwark
“MAGA Isn’t a Majority—So Why Is It Winning? (w/ Dan Cantor).” (03/22/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maga-isnt-a-majority-so-why-is-it-winning-w-dan-cantor/id1772157676?i=1000756572052
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“The Covid period was a turning point in our lives. We saw how the system that rules us truly operates and that of which it is capable. We experienced the apotheosis of the corporatist planning state, as close to dystopian-level totalitarianism as we ever knew. We observed how the media, tech, elected and unelected government, and the medical industry all work together when the stakes are high. And we observed and experienced just how completely controlling this cartel can be once it is unleashed on the entire population.” (03/22/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-turning-point-in-our-lives/
Source: New York Times
“Residents reported blackouts across large parts of Tehran after heavy airstrikes struck multiple areas of Iran’s capital early Monday. It came shortly after Israel announced it would target Tehran’s infrastructure, without providing more details. … President Trump’s threat to strike power plants in Iran, which could plunge much of the country of 90 million people into darkness, has set off widespread fear and anxiety among Iranians at home and abroad. … Iranian officials responded defiantly on Sunday to President Trump’s threat to escalate attacks, warning that Iran would retaliate in kind if the United States or its allies widened their strikes against the country’s critical infrastructure.” (03/23/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/23/world/iran-war-oil-trump
Source: The UnPopulist
by Adam Conner
“Over the last two weeks, the Department of Defense has initiated two wars: one against a nation with a long history of conflict with the United States; the other against one of the fastest-growing new companies in American history: Anthropic, the frontier artificial intelligence lab behind the popular Claude model. The DOD has effectively declared both Iran and Anthropic to be enemies of America, and though the weapons the DOD is using in each conflict differ dramatically — explosive missiles versus bureaucratic legal statutes — the department has made clear in both cases that its objective is to severely damage, if not totally destroy, the enemy. … Why this fight started and how the government has chosen to wage it are two separate questions, and conflating them is one of the major mistakes most coverage of this conflict has made.” (03/21/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-wants-to-destroy-anthropic
Source: Unattended Baggage
“The war is over! Long live the war!” (03/21/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-333-the-war-is-over-long
