EM Simpson

And fuck no.

Loved that!

Iran Live Updates: U.S. and Israeli Strikes, Bombs in Beirut and Trump War Powers Vote The Pentagon said it was continuing to attack Iran, whose retaliatory missile strikes have decreased by 90 percent since Saturday. The U.S. House blocked a measure to limit President Trump’s war powers.

Breaking News: Israel unleashed a major bombardment on a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. It was another sign that Lebanon is fast becoming a new front in the widening conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran. Follow live updates.

Starlight Express with TLAMs

Finland to lift full ban on hosting nuclear arms, government says Finland plans to lift a long-standing ban on having nuclear arms on its territory, the government said on Thursday, aligning with Nordic neighbours ​in a move that could open the door to deploying atomic ‌bombs on Finnish soil during times of war.

Finland to lift full ban on hosting nuclear arms, government says reut.rs/4aTtL0j

There’s been a few other good pieces on this theme the last day or two.That’s because it’s a real thing. There’s a real sense of shock and betrayal which is not like past episodes of grumbling and intra-alliance bargaining.

The First 36 Hours of War Consumed Over 3,000 U.S.-Israeli Munitions Replenishing stockpiles depends on vulnerable critical mineral chains.

"This is a polite way of saying the American military should be hoping the next salvo with Iran is smaller—and that China won’t do the math to figure out what is left of American precision-guided munitions to defend Taiwan." foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/05/i...

We didn’t do the BUT THE DEBT freakout with the One Big Beautiful Bill & we aren’t going to do it with the Illegal Ugly Undeclared War, because we only ever clutch pearls about debt, deficits, moral hazard, & affordability when Democrats control Congress or occupy the White House.

Kansas City made itself the center of the 2026 World Cup. This may be its secret weapon If “hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup” were a sport in and of itself, these past few months have shown that perhaps Kansas City wants this more than other cities. Plus: Federal funding woes and other issues facing the tournament with 100 days to go.

If “hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup” were a sport in and of itself, these past few months have shown that perhaps Kansas City wants this more than other cities. Plus: Federal funding woes and other issues facing the tournament with 100 days to go.

Oooh thanks!

I feel like I need to hear this one…

China sets lowest GDP growth target for decades as it braces for economic slowdown ‘High-quality growth’ target of 4.5-5% outlined at Two Sessions as Chinese premier talks of complex situations at home and abroad * What are China’s Two Sessions and why do they matter? China has set its target for GDP growth to a record low of 4.5-5%, the first time since 1991 that the figure has dropped below 5%, reflecting an economic strategy that is shifting away from export-led growth to a model that leaders hope will be more resilient to external shocks. Li Qiang, China’s premier, announced the target for 2026 in the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s annual parliamentary gathering, which began on Thursday. Continue reading...

China sets lowest GDP growth target for decades as it braces for economic slowdown

For years on my old blog I published the names of servicemembers who died in Iraq & Afghanistan. No other outlets were.

These are the first 4 Americans to die in the Iran War.
Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39
Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20

And when the Iraq war finally *did* become unpopular (~2006) it led to a mid-term landslide, firing of the SecDef, and a change in strategy

Epstein case: 'The beauty of young women operates as a marker of status' OP-ED. American sociologist Ashley Mears, a former model, explains in an op-ed that the normalized presence of women alongside wealthy men provides them with 'a form of capital that wealthy men can mo...

“An abundance of girls functions as a form of capital that wealthy men can mobilize to build ties among themselves…
In [this system], men endowed w/ wealth extract value from young women's *bodies* w/ a disturbing degree of impunity, permitted through the value system of our society.”🧪
Ashley Mears!

This cartoonishly childish Hegseth persona is an insult to the American military, the American people, the Iranian people, and just about everybody affected by this war. It is absolutely incredible, in the literal sense, that this man is at the hinge of the chain of command in this spiraling war.

David Zaslav Cashing In Over $100 Million Of Warner Bros Discovery Stock; Other Top Execs Also Sell Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav is selling stock in the company worth north of $114 million.

The most disgusting combination of self-enrichment and failed management in the history of the entertainment business. deadline.com/2026/03/davi...

Exclusive: U.S. Marines fired on protesters storming consulate in Karachi, officials say U.S. Marines opened fire on demonstrators during the storming of the Karachi consulate over the weekend, two U.S. officials said on Monday—a rare use ​of force at a diplomatic post that could sharply escalate tensions in the country ‌amid widespread protests over the killing of Iran's leader.

(Reuters) — US Marines opened fire on demonstrators during the storming of the Karachi consulate over the weekend. www.reuters.com/world/asia-pa...

For the most part, the tactical, ground based weapons shared with Ukraine are not in play for the Iran strikes. Patriot interceptors are in high demand in both theaters.

Biden admin spent over $40B to replenish weapons stocks, and over $5B to expand munitions industrial base.

35 years of US counter-proliferation efforts seem to support the conclusion that you should definitely get Pakistan to help you build a nuke program quickly

everything going exactly according to planlessnes

Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike LAX?

That’s a cool award!

this isn't really the huge font headline you want to see when you're launching a war of choice that you can't explain to your allies in congress

That's one way to find out that the US and Israel might have had slightly different war aims post-Khamenei, I guess.

If our demand is "we will bomb you until unconditional surrender and you accept Pahlavi as new shah and nobody ignores him or shoots him or we bomb again", well, we probably have a lot of bombing to do.

Ah, CENTCOM gonna CENTCOM.

Can’t decide if I love or hate how early United is boarding these flights now

It’s a lot easier for me to imagine them supporting these strikes than opposing them. Maaaaybe they would have pushed harder for a “phase iv” plan. But also maybe not.