The animals

It's not only people who are suffering from the war in Iran - pets are being abandoned by people fleeing from the region. I recall this happening as well in Ukraine when Russia invaded there.

Expat Animal Companions Must Be Allowed Swift Entry into the UK from Gulf States

Israel-Iran War: Dogs tied, kittens left in boxes: heartbreaking crisis unfolds on Dubai streets as expats flee U.A.E.

They spent years showing off their Dubai lifestyle. The moment it got dangerous, they abandoned the one thing that loved them unconditionally.

After Iranian missile strikes hit the UAE in early March 2026, thousands of expats rushed to leave Dubai. But as flights filled, a… pic.twitter.com/hsTJhPie13

— dominic dyer (@domdyer70) March 9, 2026

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 ...

Anthropic and the Pentagon

Anthropic CEO Amodei says Pentagon’s threats ‘do not change our position’ on AI

Google, OpenAI workers push for military AI limits

Here is science and technology journalist Jacob Ward on what's happening with the struggle between Anthropic, the American artificial intelligence company headquartered in San Francisco, and the Pentagon, including ethical considerations ...

Hillary Clinton

So, Hillary Clinton is testifying today to the congressional committee investigating Epstein ... The five topic areas the Clintons agreed to discuss during their Epstein depositions

I myself have wondered why the Clintons invited Ghislaine Maxwell to their daughter's wedding if they were supposedly not close friends. Heard the answer today from the above news video, and here it also is from Wikipedia ...

Theodore William "Ted" Waitt (born January 18, 1963) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Waitt is a co-founder of Gateway, Inc. .... Waitt was romantically linked for several years to Ghislaine Maxwell. She attended the wedding of Chelsea Clinton in 2010 as Waitt’s guest ... - Wikipedia

Anyway, the more relevant person to ask questions of would be Bill Clinton, not Hillary. And, of ciurse, the even more relevant person to ask questions of would be Donald Trump. I doubt the Republicans on the committee will go for that.

A.I.

UPDATE - Anthropic says U.S. military can use its AI systems for missile defense ... Skynet here we come :(



Ezra Klein talks to Jack Clark about A.I.

I'm about halfway through the podcast and I'm feeling pretty depressed about the way it's going. The people creating these artificial intelligences realize that they don't completely understand what's happening, and yet they can't and won't stop or even slow down.

They tell themselves that if it can be done, it will be done. They say that if they themselves do it, at least they will have some control. But that control is ephemeral at best.

I don't know science, but I've read enough science fiction to see a possible future. I don't think I'll like it.

NPR investigation

Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump

Benjamin Orr

Two very different examples of The Cars' bass player and vocalist, Benjamin Orr. Sadly, he died too early from pancreatic cancer.

“Drive” by The Cars remains one of the most beautiful, bittersweet songs ever recorded. Soft, haunting, and somehow still comforting.pic.twitter.com/2iXZZUAwev

— Music and lyrics! 🎙️🎵🎸🎼🎹🤘 (@somethingrand77) February 20, 2026

The damage

There's been a lot in the news about the ways the Trump administration has caused damage to Americans, but one that I've been noticing lately is the damage to our health. Here are just a couple of examples ...

Trump administration eases limits on coal plant emissions of mercury and other toxins

Trump seeks to boost controversial herbicide glyphosate [Roundup], drawing MAHA ire

Why are Republicans in Congress letting him do this? I don't anymore expect them to care about the population in gemeral, but do they really believe that their money and power will save them and their loved ones from the health disaster Trump is creating?

Tariff decision

Supreme Court strikes down Trump's sweeping tariffs, upending one of his key policies

Here's the unhinged and misleading response to the Court's decision ...



Businesses and consumers can breathe a sigh of relief, but for how long?

Kathryn Ruemmler

I first heard Kathryn Ruemmler mentioned in connection to Epstein in a podcast by Ezra Klein.

What struck me was that she was the White House Counsel under President Obama. How did someone with such an important job, a job where she tells the priesident what's ethical, pass as a normal human? How did Obama choose someone, almost make them Attorney General, who called Epstein "Uncle Jeffrey"?

Ugh!

Here's a bit from the Wikipedia page ...

After departing her White House counsel position, and while she was once again employed as a partner at Latham and Watkins, Ruemmler was a close associate of, and met with, Jeffrey Epstein on dozens of occasions between July 2014 and May 2019 .....

Ruemmler called Epstein "wonderful Jeffrey," "sweetie," and "Uncle Jeffrey," and wrote "I adore him" in a December 2015 email exchange which appears to show Epstein booking and paying for her first-class trip to Europe. In other back-and-forth messages with Epstein, Ruemmler expressed gratitude for her "friendship" with Epstein as well as concluded her messages with "xo" and "xoxo." Other emails show her asking Epstein to help her land a job with Facebook and giving him advice as to how to respond to the coverage that his crimes were receiving in media. She also conveyed to Epstein that she was romantically involved with a married associate of his ...

Bernie

Bernie speaks in CA about income inequality and the consolidation of every kind of power, including political, by those who are the most wealthy.

It's rare in America to hear discussions about this stuff - we are a capitolist country where people are supposed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and no one is supposed to challenge hard gotten gains.

The thing is, life isn't fair. Some people inherit wealth, some steal it, some are doomed by circumstance to never have enough. A society worth its salt tries to give its citizens a fighting chance, but the US is ranked 29th on the inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (at the top, Scandanavian countries, and at the bottom South Sudan and Somalia).

Makes me think of philosopher John Rawls, whose idea of social justice was to try to give everyone equal rights and equal opportunities, no matter what their original situation is.

Sad billionaires

- Sergey Brin

Bernie Sanders and Gavin Newsom become adversaries over push to tax California billionaires

Opponents of proposed California wealth tax ramp up their campaign

Wealthy guys like Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Governor Gavin Newsom are against the idea of taxing CA billionaires 5% of their wealth just one time in order to help the less fortunate.

It is very expensive to live here in California, at least it is for people who aren't doing well. Since January of this year, I have had my SNAP benefits lowered and Medi-Cal has stopped paying for one of my medications, because the state says the budget doesn't have enough money.

But still, the poor billionaires! ... sound of tiny violin playing sad music ... It would be sooo unfair to ask them to help just one time. I mean, they might move away from California to some better place if we aren't attendant enough to their every need. And then what would we do without them?!

Let's find out.