RIP: Robert Mueller

Something more ...

- A young Robert Mueller, who joined the Marine Corps in 1968, during the Vietnam war ...

In the summer of 1968, he was sent to South Vietnam, where he served as a rifle platoon leader as a second lieutenant with Second Platoon, H Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. On December 11, 1968, during an engagement in Operation Scotland II, he earned the Bronze Star with "V" device for combat valor for rescuing a wounded Marine under enemy fire during an ambush in which he saw half of his platoon become casualties. In April 1969, he received an enemy gunshot wound in the thigh, recovered, and returned to lead his platoon until June 1969. For his service in and during the Vietnam War, his military decorations and awards included additionally, the Purple Heart, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with Combat "V", Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with four service stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Parachutist Badge ...

There is so much more of Mueller's service to the US after he was in the military, but I just wanted to mention this contribution at the beginning of his career. He was a brave and selfless person.

Here's what the president, who managed to evade military service during the Vietnam war, had to say upon hearing of Mueller's death ... ‘Good, I’m glad he’s dead’

Bernie and Claude

Senator Bernie Sanders talks to Anthropic’s AI agent, Claude. Why did it choose that particular voice, I wonder? Think how different the conversation would be if Claude sounded like Darth Vader, or even worse, like HAL 9000.

RIP: Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris, martial arts master and actor whose toughness became internet lore, dies at 86

So sad to read today that Chuck Norris has passed away. I know that in recent years he has become quite a political conservative, but when I first came to know of him, he was not about politics, just martial arts and films.

My sister and I were fans of martial arts movies back in the 70s and 80s, and we first saw Chuck in one of Bruce Lee's films - The Way of the Dragon. It was his second movie role, and he was the bad guy, but he made an impression, perhaps because he really was a martial artist who had won championships in karate. Here's a clip from the movie, where they are fighting in the Colosseum in Rome (which has a lot of stray cats) ...



He went on to do a lot of other movies in which he showed off his fighting skills, like Good Guys Wear Black (1978), but the one I especially remember was The Octagon in 1980 ...



Not saying the storyline and acting were exceptional but I did like the fight scenes ...



It was around this time that I joined a martial arts school (I got my mom to join with me), where I ended up meeting my future ex-husband, one of the school's best students. Here's me at the dojo ...

At that time I read a book by Chuck that had some good visualization techniques ... Winning Tournament Karate.

After I got divorced and left the martial arts school where I'd spent 5 years of my life, I lost track of Chuck's films and his later political interests. But I always will like him and remember the happiness his films and martial arts skills added to my life.

Godspeed, Chuck.

Yoda

Here's Yoda. She's not very happy. The fleas are starting to bite and she's been over-grooming. It's very hard to sneak up on her and sqeeze the little tube of flea-killer slime onto the back of her neck before she notices me. Maybe today.

Today is ...

Bam-boo yah, it’s #NationalPandaDay pic.twitter.com/xHc9c7116R

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) March 16, 2026

And also Saint Patrick's Day :)

The meeting

About 19 minutes into the video, Trump talks about the war with Iran and answers questions from the press during a meeting of the board of the Kennedy Center.

Among other things, he gave innaccurate information about the progress of the wa. He criticized and insulted our NATO allies while at the same time asking them for help with the Strait of Hormuz.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

❗️ The Iranian regime is firing ballistic missiles over Jerusalem’s holy sites

That dome is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — and that’s missile shrapnel pic.twitter.com/FTFHOVxf6x

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 16, 2026

Church of the Holy Sepulchrer ... The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is simultaneously the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Catholic Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is the holiest site in Christianity and it has been an important pilgrimage site for Christians since the fourth century.

- The Altar of the Crucifixion, where The Rock of Calvary (bottom) is encased in glass.

Iran

Ezra Klein talks with Ali Vaez, an Iranian-American expert on the Middle East, about the history of the relationships between Iran, the US, and Israel, and how past events are affecting the presnet war.

I recall some of that history, including the hostage crisis of 1979 and how it doomed President Jimmy Carter's chance of re-election.

Also it's interesting how historical Persia contributes to the way Iran thinks of itself - I remember from history classes the Persians and the wars with Greece ... Darius and the battle of Marathon, and Xerxes and the battles of Thermopylae (the Spartans) and Salamis.

Spring

Spring is my favorite season. All the plants are happy. I was out in the yard today ...

Lucy followed me around ...

Here's a bit of the once huge acacia tree ...

The bird baths ...

Some of the cat condos ...

The Thompson Seedless grapes are coming back ...

Peace Train

I want to remember the feeling I get when I listen to this song. Especially now when things are so bad for so many around the world.

Who bombed the school?

Trump says Iran bombed the school, but The New York Times analyzed the available evidence of who bombed the school and came to the conclusion it was the US ... Anakysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on Iranian Naval Base

A-ha

One of the greatest music videos ever made pic.twitter.com/aWRrrdiK9r

— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) March 7, 2026

Who doesn't like the Norwegian band, A-ha? :) I first noticed them when they did the soundtrack of the only James Bond movie I ever liked - The Living Daylights.

We doomed :(

I'm less than 20 minutes into the video and I can see that we the people are so screwed, or at least we will be very soon. Why? Because A.I. will make everything literally possible, and if it's analyzing your personal data, well, to misquote from Terminator ...

That A.I. "agent" is out there, it can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, and it absolutely will not stop… EVER, until you are dead (or in jail)!

Glory and plunder

So, how's the war going? I saw a couple of news shows today in which the talking heads were almost giddy with glee about how well the war is going - how we now owned the airspace over Iran.

Well, of course we own it. We have the money and the weapons to probably beat almost any other country in a war. And Iran had been softened up repeatedly by earlier Israeli attacks. It wasn't really a contest.

Notice how this administration chooses its adversaries? How they pick countries that really have no chance to beat us in a fair fight ... kidnapping the president of Venezuela and killing people in tiny drug boats in the Caribbean, bombing countries like Somalia, Nigeria, Yemen, and Syria. Next up, Cuba and Greenland, and God knows where else.

Just imagine what the US could do with the kind of military we have, if we wanted to do something good. You know, like telling Russia to get the eff out of Ukraine, and then actually helping Ukraine to win that war.

But, no. With this presidency, we're not in it to do the right thing, we're in it for glory and plunder.

Niké

[#PresseLouvre]

1,6 million d’euros récolté pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine du musée du #Louvre.

Le Louvre a accueilli, mardi 3 mars 2026, environ trois cents convives réunis en soutien à l’institution à l’occasion de la deuxième édition de son Grand dîner annuel.

C’est… pic.twitter.com/FdsgxHn4LM

— Musée du Louvre (@MuseeLouvre) March 4, 2026

I recognize the photo from art history classes: Winged Victory of Samothrace ...

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, or the Niké of Samothrace, is a votive monument originally discovered on the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beginning of the 2nd century BC (190 BC). It is composed of a statue representing the goddess Nike (Victory), whose head and arms are missing, and a base in the shape of a ship's bow .... Greece is seeking the return of the sculpture.

Here's a photo of it at the Louvre. I've been there once, long ago, but mostly remember the Mona Lisa ...

So now it's all Israel's fault?

An interesting daily briefing from The Times of Israel, which goes over the multiple changing reasons given by the Trump admionistration for why it started the war with Iran. One of the latest and most blame-shifting reasons given by Marco Rubio seems to be "Israel made us do it".

Nobody made the US attack Iran. Trump saw an opportunity ... he could distract from the Epstein stuff at home, while also getting to throw his weight around. He couldn't resist.

So let's not blame Israel. First, it isn't true that Israel forced America's hand, and second, this lie only stokes the antisemitism of both the far Left and the far Right.

Rick Springfield

A punchy ‘80s classic that still makes you sing the signature chorus.
pic.twitter.com/2hVqJYdTdK

— Music and lyrics! 🎙️🎵🎸🎼🎹🤘 (@somethingrand77) February 27, 2026

Is it only me who remembers a tv movie, Nick Knight, in which Rick Springfield played an L.A. police detective/vampire? :)

But of course he's known for so much more ...

Dario Amodei

Interview with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about the problem with the Pentagon.

He mentions his concerns ... that his software will be used to circumvent Americans' "right not to be spied on by the government" and to circumvent the "right for our military officers to make decisions about war themselves and not turn it over completely to a machine".

The interviewer seemed strangely aggressive and pajorative.

What's the plan?

The Iranian people have to take their country back.

Israel wants to see a democratic transition to a free Iran, and when that happens—we'll be the closest of allies.

Joining @TimesRadio: pic.twitter.com/XIbi0aCx3S

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 1, 2026

It's understandable why Israel would want to get rid of Iran's ability to launch ballistic missiles, use nuclear weapons, and support terrorism by Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. And Eylon Levy gives some reasonable scenarios of a better Iran after the war.

But I don't see why the US suddenly went for bombing and regime change. The possibility of nukes? It's not like there aren't already other scary countries with nuclear weapons. Missile attack? Iran doesn't have missiles that can reach the US. And the US has no workable plans for how to create a better Iran after the bombing. It's almost like it was planned as a distraction from domestic problems.

War with Iran

So, during the night, amid "peace" talks and without telling Congress, the US attacked Iran. Israel joined the US in the attack. Iran has struck back at Israel and US military bases throughout the region ...



Here's the latest on what's happening from The Times of Israel's daily briefing ...