Bob

Shattering the Iranian state would probaby also destroy the economic foundations of Iranian society

The incompetence sometimes even trumps the corruption.

Amazing how the ball knowers on here were like “they’re going to run out of military targets in a week” and they immediately start hitting economic/civilians infrastructure on day 8

How a DHS shooting of a third U.S. citizen went unnoticed for months No state or federal agency disclosed that a Homeland Security Investigations agent had killed Ruben Ray Martinez until it was revealed in a public records request.

DHS killed a 23yo in Texas in March 2025 the same way they killed Renee Good www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

my god. this has to stop, this all has to stop. we are in the clutches of actual monsters.

Two people confirmed that Moscow had provided Tehran with intelligence on the location of US military assets in the region, including planes and warships. ft.trib.al/cZbGDEU

FAQs: What it’s like to be a woman in Afghanistan today | UN Women – Headquarters What is the state of women's rights in Afghanistan today? Explore the data, frequently asked questions, and what the world must do to stand with Afghan women.

Even though life in Afghanistan for women & girls is incredibly tough, there is plenty of hope and PLENTY of resistance. And most of it spearheaded by Afghan women.

But we can help.

On International Women's Day, I ask you to stand with Afghanistan's women & girls.

www.unwomen.org/en/articles/...

The Rot Is Real And There Is More To It The Atlantic Piece Just Scratched The Surface

Just sent out a free piece to expand on my article in @theatlantic.com yesterday. The signs of rot in US military and diplomatic capabilities are real and even more extensive than I could say in that article. Here are more-and a gift link to the original article. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Absolutely insupportable. Labour have a massive majority. It’s a hugely popular issue. To fail to act would be a dereliction of historic proportions, and utterly inexplicable.

Imagining something like the Italian Campaign of the Second World War, only without Italy's bountiful opportunities for amphibious landings.

All this week in London radical history, 1990: borough councils meeting to set how much poll tax residents will pay are besieged by anti-poll tax campaigners. A Mini 🧵

Can Ukraine help defeat Iran’s drone swarms? Thousands of Shaheds are raining down on the Gulf

Ollie Carrol, Anshel Pfeffer & I wrote last night on the challenge of intercepting Iranian Shaheds. More than 2,000 fired, some hitting important targets, including radars. This is a problem that Ukraine understands well. Understandably, it wants something in return www.economist.com/internationa...

DO YOU MISS OLYMPIC CURLING? I have amazing news for you: There's more.

www.nbcolympics.com/schedule/spo...

Wealthy Dubai residents race back to UAE to avoid tax bills Some risk spending too few days in the emirate and too many in the UK

Tax exiles stuck in London desperately trying to get *back* to Dubai to avoid becoming tax resident in the UK? Just great stuff. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Not Tehran, Havana

We are excited to announce that former heads of European intelligence organizations will deliver keynote remarks at the conference. More information on speakers will follow. The conference will be held at King’s College London October 11-13 2026. Submit proposals to SIH2026CONF@GMAIL.COM by March 15

📣This just in! 📣

@kcsi.uk

#SIHConference2026 #intelligencestudies

Apply: 2026 Investigative Editor Training Program The yearlong ProPublica Investigative Editor Training Program aims to broaden the ranks of investigative editors.

📣 Applications are now open for our Investigative Editor Training Program!

Submissions are due March 30 at 9 a.m. ET.

"The Border Patrol officers had no protocol of what to do with the disabled man who doesn't speak English, who is confused and lost," said Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan. "And you know what they did? They dropped him at a closed coffee shop."

Judge, U.S. Attorney spar at contempt hearing over immigration court violations The hearing was called to determine whether a federal judge will hold the U.S. government in civil or criminal contempt.

During his second contempt hearing this week, Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor acknowledged “mistakes that have been made.”

Federal judges have demanded an explanation for numerous failures by the U.S. government to return property, including IDs and passports, to detainees upon their release.

Deterrence at Scale Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

U.S. defense indsutry is built for short, sharp wars not protracted ones. New from Jenny McArdle in the @cnas.bsky.social New American DIB series: allied manufacturing strength can close the gaps domestic industry can't fill fast enough.
cnas.org/publications/commentary/deterrence-at-scale

Absolutely right

Again, as with Guardian article, Mahmood's reliance on false/deliberately misleading claims about her "earned settlement" proposals suggests that she knows she can't defend them on the merits, in principle or in practice.

In this Tech Policy piece, I criticize how framings of Anthropic’s & OpenAI’s negotiations with the US’s DoW overindex on myopic interpretations of human oversight, papering over what should be the real target of our scrutiny: that generative AI algorithms are a flawed and inaccurate technology.

"Deadwood" and the community of spirits On rewatching David Milch's masterpiece in the age of the oligarch

New URL, same post.

Do you like Deadwood? Do you want to read about why it's arguably the greatest work of art in recent American history?

Buddy, have I got the post for you.

Russia is providing Iran intelligence to target U.S. forces, officials say The targeting information has included the locations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East, the officials said.

Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

This includes the locations of warships and aircraft

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Downie highlights JEF role in protecting Arctic Labour MP Graeme Downie has highlighted the importance of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in protecting critical undersea infrastructure in the High North and Arctic during a Westminster Ha...

Labour MP @graemedowniemp.bsky.social has highlighted the importance of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in protecting critical undersea infrastructure in the High North and Arctic during a Westminster Hall debate on NATO and the region.

The reason we have “stupid rules of engagement” is to make sure we don’t bomb elementary schools.

The case against stablecoins Is there anything really new about them?

POD O'CLOCK
God knows there's enough to worry about, but please find space in your head to also worry about stablecoins.

@robarmstrong.bsky.social and I chatted to brainbox @bhgreeley.bsky.social to explain why

www.ft.com/content/f9c8...

Qatar warns war will force Gulf to stop energy exports within weeks Gas producer says it will take ‘weeks to months’ to restore deliveries after Iranian drone strike

This is not only a response to circumstances but a major bid by Qatar to pressure the USA to end hostilities ( 🎁)

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Qatar warns war will force Gulf to stop energy exports within weeks

Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...

Reuters Exclusive

"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."

"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."

Are you a PhD student/postdoc/early-career scholar studying immigration?

Want to spend time this summer in Mexico City w other immigration scholars?

Apply to the UC Davis Global Migration Center summer school!

I'll be there w 3 other amazing economists!

globalmigration.ucdavis.edu/summer_school3