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"The #US is no longer a #democracy. One of the most credible global sources on the health of democratic nations now says this outright. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University reaches the alarming conclusion in its annual report, that the US is hurtling towards #autocracy at a faster rate than #Hungary and #Turkey.
...the US ... has lost its long-term status as a liberal democracy."
theguardian.com/world/commentiâŚ
#Trump #GOP #Politics #USPol #News #USA #UnitedStates
âTrump is aiming for dictatorshipâ. Thatâs the verdict of the worldâs most credible democracy watchdog
Swedenâs V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy. And autocracy is creeping across Europe too, says writer Martin GelinMartin Gelin (The Guardian)
#PlanetLabs told customers it has expanded what it calls its âarea of interest,â establishing restrictions on #satellite images from âall of #Iran & nearby allied bases, in addition to the Gulf States & existing conflict zones.â It said it was placing a 2-week hold on access to new imagery from that area in the companyâs commercial archive.
#law #information #censorship #Trump #geopolitics #MiddleEast #US #Israel #Iran #war
A spokesperson for California-based #PlanetLabs, which operates more than 200 #satellites in orbit, shared a message sent to affected customers this week. The message confirmed that the company had decided to take additional measures to ensure its imagery âis not tactically leveraged by adversarial actors to target allied & NATO-partner personnel & civilians.â
#law #information #censorship #Trump #geopolitics #MiddleEast #US #Israel #Iran #war
#Satellite companies restrict access to #MiddleEast imagery amid #Iran #war
2 leading spatial #intelligence companies say they are restricting access to satellite images of the Middle East in response to the #US - #Israel war with Iran.
âŠ#PlanetLabs & #Vantor, which are based in the #UnitedStates & have #federal contracts, say they were not âorderedâ by any #government to restrict image #access.
#law #information #censorship #Trump #geopolitics
washingtonpost.com/national-seâŚ
All of that will be inflationary, prompting bond markets to raise borrowing #costs worldwide. Forget about rate cuts. Of the five â#CentralBanks meeting next week in the United â States, Europe, Britain, Australia & Canada, traders bet none will be easing & one - Australia - will be hiking.
#Trump #US #Iran #war #ForeverWars #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil #energy #geopolitics #MiddleEast
When asked about the #war, #Trump said the #US was "going to look very strongly at âthe straits." [whatever that means]
Share markets did not take it well. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell â1.6% to â snap two days of consecutive gains. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.7%.
Both S&P 500 futures & Nasdaq futures fell 1%. Over in Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures slipped 1.1%.
#Iran #oil #inflation #economy #geopolitics #MiddleEast
Two fuel tankers are burning in Iraqi waters after being âattacked by Iran's explosive-laden boats, forcing the country's #oil ports to halt operations. Oman has reportedly cleared all âvessels out of its main oil export terminal, taking no chances.
That was enough to send Brent crude futures back above $100, up nearly 9% at $100.07, having hit as high as $119.5 earlier this week. US crude also gained â8% to $94.25.
#Trump #US #Iran #war #inflation #economy #geopolitics #MiddleEast
#MojtabaKhamenei acknowledged the death of his father, signaling he was there & saw his fatherâs body. Khamenei also confirmed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece & the husband of his other sister also were killed in the strike.
âI had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom,â Khamenei said of his father. âWhat I saw was a mountain of steadfastness, & I was told that the fist of his intact hand had been clenched.â
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #war #Trump #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar
#MojtabaKhamenei statement calls on Gulf Arabs to âshut downâ #US bases, saying promised US protection ânothing more than a lieâ
âThese countries must clarify their position regarding those who have attacked our beloved homeland & killed members of our people. I recommend that they shut down those bases as soon as possible, because by now they must have realized that the United Statesâ claims of providing security & peace have been nothing more than a lie.â
#MojtabaKhamenei statement contâś
âOne point I must emphasize is that, in any case, we will obtain compensation from the enemy. If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, & if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent.â
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #Israel #war #ForeverWars #Trump #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil #energy
âOur sincere thanks go to our brave fighters who, at a time when our nation & beloved homeland have been unjustly attacked by the leaders of the front of arrogance, have blocked the enemyâs path with their powerful blows & dispelled their illusion of being able to dominate our beloved country or possibly divide it,â #MojtabaKhamenei said.
âA limited portion of this retaliation has already taken tangible form, but until it is fully achieved, this file will remain open above other cases. We will be especially sensitive regarding the blood of our children. Therefore, the crime the enemy deliberately committed against the Shajareh-Tayyebeh school in Minab, & some similar cases, holds a special status in this process of accountability,â #MojtabaKhamenei said.
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #war #ForeverWars #Trump #WarCrimes #RulesOfWar
âI assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs. The retaliation we have in mind is not limited only to the martyrdom of the great leader of the Revolution; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy constitutes a separate case in the file of revenge,â #MojtabaKhamenei said.
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #Israel #war #ForeverWars #Trump #Netanyahu #WarCrimes #RegimeChange #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast
#Iran Supreme Leader #MojtabaKhamenei issued his first statement on the #war, saying that the #StraitOfHormuz will remain closed as a âtool of pressure", & that attacks on Iranâs Gulf Arab neighbors will continue.
#Khamenei did not appear on camera. intelligence sources believe he was wounded in the attack that killed his family. Khamenei called on Gulf Arabs to âshut downâ #US bases, saying promised US protection is ânothing more than a lie.â
#Trump says stopping âevil empireâ higher priority than high #oil prices & #inflation
Oil #prices surged in the #US following more #Iran attacks on #OilTankers.
âThe United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest & importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, & destroying the Middle East &, indeed, the World. I wonât ever let that happen!âTrump posted.
When the #US & #Israel attacked #Iran, setting off an #energy crisis & raising new #inflation concerns in #FinancialMarkets. The result has been a jump in the yield on government bonds, & falling expectations for #InterestRate cuts later this year. The yield on the 10-year #Treasury note, which acts as a broad reference interest rate that underpins the US #mortgage market, climbed to 4.25% Thursday, up from below 4% before the war began.
#MortgageRates Rise as #Iran #War Ripples Through #FinancialMarkets
#Mortgage are climbing again as new #inflation concerns have roiled financial #markets.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate in the #US rose to 6.11%, the mortgage-financing giant Freddie Mac said Thursday, the second week in a row that rates have risen.
#economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #Trump #trumpcession #recession
nytimes.com/2026/03/12/businesâŚ
2 Tankers Attacked & Burning; #Oil Disruption Is Called Worst in History
The #IRGC claimed responsibility for attacking 1 of the 2 tankers off #Iraqâs coast, a Marshall Islands-flagged ship that Iraqi ofcls said was owned by a #US company. In a statement cited by #Iran state media, the Guards said the ship had âdisobeyed & ignoredâ warnings. US #Energy Secy Chris Wright told CNBC the US Navy was not ready to begin escorting ships through the #StraitOfHormuz.
#TrumpsWar
cnbc.com/2026/03/12/energy-secâŚ
Energy Secretary Wright says U.S. 'not ready' to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz yet
Tanker traffic through the strait remains at a standstill as ship owners fear attacks by Iran. The closure has triggered the largest oil supply disruption ever.Spencer Kimball (CNBC)
The cluster of bldgs appears to have been struck by a series of munitions, including at least 1 #US Tomahawk cruise missile, acc/to satellite imagery data, photos & video of the strikes & their aftermath.
Video of the impact by the #Tomahawk on the bldgs showed a plume of smoke in the background. Satellite images from after the attack showed signs of at least 7 distinct explosions along a ~325-meter axis, including the destroyed #school, a rooftop punctured by a gaping hole, & a flattened bldg.
The colored walls visible from satellite imagery as early as 2018 can be seen in a version of the schoolâs website archived in 2025, whose photos showed girls dressed in identical pink & white in class & at play. The #school was also tagged in a local business listing, Reuters found. And multiple satellite images from the months leading up to the strike provide other indications it was a school, including playground markings.
#Iran #war #Trump #US #WarCrimes #ShajarehTayyebeh #RulesOfWar #law
Separated from the base by a wall painted with bright murals, the #ShajarehTayyebeh #School was the northernmost building hit on February 28. The building was destroyed during the barrage, & 150 #students were killed, according to #Iran's ambassador to the #UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini. Reuters has not independently confirmed the death toll, which the Iranian Red Crescent said reached 175.
#war #Trump #Hegseth #US #WarCrimes #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast
An #Iran #girls #school that took a direct hit on the first day of the #war had a yearslong online presence, including dozens of photos of the #children & their activities, before it was bombed along with at least 6 other buildings in an adjacent military compound, a Reuters investigation found.
The schoolâs online activity calls into question how the #US #military vets & reviews strike locations.âŚ
#war #Trump #Hegseth #WarCrimes #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast
Bombed #Iran #girls #school had vivid website & yearslong online presence raising questions about #US middle strike targeting error
The #ShajarehTayyebeh School was adjacent to an Iranian military compound & was among at least 7 buildings struck Feb 28. Its online presence included a local business listing & a website that showed #children at work & play. Iran ofcls have said #students made up most of the 175 people killed that day in Minab.
#war #Trump #WarCrimes #law
reuters.com/investigations/bomâŚ
âThis really is the big one,â David Goldwyn, fmr #US diplomat & #Energy Dept ofcl, said of the shutdown of the #StraitOfHormuz, the worldâs most important choke point for #oil. This is the emergency scenario everyone feared.
#Cargo deliveries are stranded, #shipping charges have increased & #insurance premiums have skyrocketed. Yes, the price of #gas at the pump is affected. But so is the price of #food, #medicine, airplane tickets, #electricity, cooking oil, semiconductors & more.
And across the United States, Canada, Europe, Britain & Mexico, #farmers blanched at the surge in #fertilizer costs.
The widening #war in #Iran has delivered a stunning punch to a worldwide #economy that has already been walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine & Trumpâs chaotic policymaking.
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #war #Trump #RulesOfWar #law #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil #energy #EnergyCrisis
#Oil Shockâs Tentacles Grip #WorldEconomy: âThis Really Is the Big Oneâ
Countries already walloped by a breakdown of the international #trade #chaos brought on by #Trump #tariffs, #war in #Ukraine & chaotic #US policymaking are facing lasting economic damage.
#TrumpsWar #war #ForeverWars #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #inflation #affordability #CostOfLiving #energy #EnergyCrisis
But #ClimateChange is a hoax right? đ¤Śđźââď¸
#US #weather to go nuts with blizzard, polar vortex, heat dome, atmospheric river all at once
All six crew members aboard a US #military #KC135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western #Iraq are dead, the #USmilitary said, adding that the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #war #Trump #RulesOfWar #law #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast
apnews.com/article/us-militaryâŚ
He noted that the price of Russian #oil had been rising since the #war in #Iran started, & that it was likely that the #sanctions relief could be extended indefinitely.
âI do worry that this is effectively the destruction of the oil sanctions on #Russia,â said Mr. FishmanâŚ.
#TrumpsWar #US #ForeverWars #Trump #Ukraine #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #energy #EnergyCrisis
About 130 million barrels of Russian #oil is currently at seaâŚ.
The move by the #Trump admin could further divide the #US & #Europe, which has been skeptical of Trumpâs attack on #Iran & has expressed a desire to continue to exert economic pressure on #Russia.
Fishman said he did not think that easing the Russia oil #sanctions would lower prices, noting that the move last week to let Russian oil be delivered to India did not have any impact.
The lifting of #oil #sanctions represents a sharp reversal from last summer, when the admin doubled #tariffs on #India as punishment for its purchases of oil from #Russia.
âIn one fell swoop weâve undone a huge amount of pressure on Russia,â said Edward Fishman, a senior fellow & director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #war #Ukraine #Trump #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #inflation #economy #energy
âŚTop #Senate #Democrats assailed the #Trump admin for easing #sanctions on #Russia, saying that it was done to mitigate a #war of Trumpâs own making.
âThis war has resulted in huge spikes in gas prices for Americans, who are now paying more at the pump than at any point in either of President Trumpâs two terms,â they wrote in a joint statement.
#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #Ukraine #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil
banking.senate.gov/newsroom/miâŚ
Senate Democratic Leaders Release Joint Statement on Trump Administration's Weakening of Sanctions on Russian Oil in Attempt to Dampen Economic Impacts of Trump's Iran War | United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
The Official website of The United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairswww.banking.senate.gov
#Russia has faced punishing #sanctions from the #US & the rest of the #G7 advanced economies since Moscowâs invasion of #Ukraine in 2022. Those sanctions have included a price cap on Russian #oil & a crackdown on Russiaâs âshadow fleetâ of unmarked vesselsâŚused to evade sanctions.
As #TrumpsWar with #Iran has unfolded, his admin has looked for ways to mitigate the economic pain. His admin temporarily freed Russian oil last week that was sitting at sea to be delivered to India.
The other option? Donât attack #Iran. Idiots.
#Trump Removes #Sanctions on #Russia to Help #Oil Flow Amid Iran #War
The #US on Thursday temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil that is currently at sea, allowing it to be shipped to buyers around the world as the Trump admin scrambles to contain #energy #prices that have been soaring because of the war in Iran.
#TrumpsWar #law #WarPowers #geopolitics #Ukraine #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving
nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/poliâŚ
#Michigan #synagogue, Virginiaâs Old Dominion University attacks rattle sense of #safety in #US communities
A pair of attacks over 700 miles apart Thursday struck at the heart of community safe havens, leaving shocked Americans with an uneasy sense of #security.
1st, a deadly #shooting being investigated as #terrorism devastated a #Virginia university in a military town. Hours later, a targeted vehicle attack on a MI synagogue left congregants shaken to their core.
#Cuba acknowledges secret meetings with #US as #Trump dials up threats
âŠTrump has warned that Cuba is next in line after #Venezuela & #Iran, saying that the Havana regime is in its âlast moments of life.â
#NationalSecurity #warmonger #MadWithPower #MafiaState #imperialism #sovereignty #geopolitics #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #InternationalLaw
washingtonpost.com/national-seâŚ
A man with a rifle who crashed into a large #Michigan #synagogue in what federal officials say was an attack had lost 4 family members in an #Israel airstrike in his native #Lebanon last week, an official said Friday.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized #US #citizen born in Lebanon, was killed by security after ramming into #TempleIsrael in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit & driving down a hallway in a vehicle that then caught fireâŚ.
Exclusive: #Trump has rejected efforts to launch #Iran #ceasefire talks
Trump's admin has rebuffed efforts by #MiddleEast allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran #war that started 2 weeks ago âwith a massive #US - #Israeli air assault, acc/to 3 sources.
Iran has rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until US & Israel strikes end, 2 snr Iran sources said, adding that SEVERAL countries had been trying to mediate an end to the conflict.
This is insane. Who does he think he is? He is out of control!
#Trump Told #Cuba That Its President Has to Go
The #US has told Cuba that for meaningful progress to be made in negotiations, President #MiguelDĂazCanel must step down, said people familiar with the talks.
#NationalSecurity #warmonger #MadWithPower #MafiaState #imperialism #sovereignty #geopolitics #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #InternationalLaw
nytimes.com/2026/03/16/world/aâŚ
The #US gov classified #Anthropic as a "threat to national security" because they didn't want to chance their policy to allow
- Mass surveillance
- Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Don't get me wrong, I have no love for #AI (#LLM) but this is how #CORRUPT the US government is
The gov are the ones who are a threat to national security đşđ¸