Geopolitics
U.S. Central Command reported eliminating 11 Iranian warships in the Gulf of Oman during Operation Epic Fury, now in its fourth day, achieving local air superiority after striking over 1,250 targets and killing over 787 Iranians, including 40 key figures according to IDF intelligence. Israel confirmed two strikes on the Natanz nuclear facility, verified by IAEA satellite imagery, over 70 Hezbollah sites and financial assets in Lebanon, a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, and 40 airstrikes on Beirut suburbs. Iran reportedly launched its 14th missile wave targeting Israel and U.S. bases, striking Petah Tikva residential areas, Fujairah oil terminal, Oman’s Salalah port, and possibly U.S. tankers at Al Duqm. Reported casualties include six U.S. service members killed and five wounded, 11 Israelis killed, five in Gulf states, and others in Lebanon, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Three U.S. F-15s were reportedly downed over Kuwait in friendly fire, with crews recovered. Some details of reported strikes, missile waves, and casualty figures remain unverified or disputed by official sources.
President Trump outlined a four-to-five-week timeline to address Iran’s threat and proxy funding, stating forces exceeded projections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the strikes as preemptive defense in anticipation of Iranian retaliation against U.S. assets following Israeli action, with further strikes planned and no diplomacy. War Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized surgical strikes on missiles, navy, and infrastructure without ground troops yet. Treasury and Energy Secretaries plan measures on oil costs. The State Department urged U.S. citizens to leave 14 Middle Eastern countries via commercial transport, amid airspace closures in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Israel. Meanwhile, embassies in Riyadh and Kuwait were hit by drones or closed, with attacks on bases in Jordan, Iraq, and Cyprus. Local officials in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait attributed some reported embassy damage to debris from intercepted drones.
Strait of Hormuz tanker traffic reportedly dropped 80 percent after a drone strike halted the Athen Nova. Seven P&I clubs issued 72-hour war risk cancellations for 90 percent of global tonnage, idling 40 supertankers and diverting 13 LNG carriers. Dubai gold shipments to Switzerland, Hong Kong, and India stalled due to flight suspensions.
According to Tucker Carlson, Qatar and Saudi Arabia reportedly arrested Mossad agents plotting bombings, although Qatari officials denied reports of arresting Mossad agents in connection with a bombing plot.
Lastly, President Macron announced a new French nuclear deterrence phase, including arsenal expansion and deployments of nuclear-capable Rafale jets to allied nations amid threats from Russia and China.
Energy
QatarEnergy halted production at its Ras Laffan LNG facility, which supplies one-fifth of global LNG, after reported Iranian drone strikes on facilities in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed with no casualties. The European TTF gas benchmark rose 50 percent to €46.77 per megawatt-hour, the largest daily jump since 2022. Goldman Sachs warned that a one-month Hormuz LNG halt could double TTF prices to 62-74 EUR/MWh, prompting switches to coal and oil, with longer disruptions exceeding 100 EUR/MWh. Aramco’s largest refinery went offline at 550,000 barrels per day. Global energy consumption growth over recent five-year periods has not covered population increases plus living standard gains, with per-capita diesel and jet fuel declining since 2015. Electricity generation relies heavily on fossil fuels, with per-capita declines in advanced economies amid shortages of critical minerals dominated by China, which favor shorter trade routes, tariffs, and potential conflicts. Some market analysts described the Qatar production halt as potentially precautionary and short-term.
Economy
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman stated that regulators plan to release an updated Basel III Endgame proposal by late March. The framework incorporates capital reforms from the post-2008 financial crisis era, including adjustments to risk weights for mortgages based on loan-to-value ratios and the removal of deductions for mortgage-servicing assets from regulatory capital. Bowman said the revisions seek to adjust requirements for residential mortgages to support banks amid housing affordability issues. A coalition of eight banking and housing associations urged regulators to ease capital rules, stating that such rules increase borrowing costs and limit credit access. Critics, however, warned that even the revised rules could require large banks to raise billions in additional capital, potentially restricting credit for commercial real estate. As of late February, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.98 percent.
Privacy & Surveillance
Oracle received U.S. government authorization under FedRAMP High with DISA Impact Level 5 to operate generative AI models, including xAI’s Grok, on federal data related to Department of Defense missions, classified intelligence systems, and Medicare records for over 150 million Americans. Oracle holds a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contract for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA data, an $88 million Air Force cloud operations task order, and top secret clearance for all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. The company, named after a 1977 CIA project, developed its data cloud through acquisitions including BlueKai for web tracking, DataLogix for purchase data linking, and AddThis for device fingerprinting across 15 million sites reaching 1.9 billion users monthly. Oracle hosts TikTok U.S. operations and veterans’ health records for 9 million individuals. It also supports a $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger involving the Ellison family, with Larry Ellison reportedly funding Israeli military infrastructure. Oracle described the authorization as enabling AI-driven productivity and compliance enhancements in federal systems.
Across the pond, the UK Department for Transport paid O2 £600,000 to track data from 25 million mobile devices over two years, identifying potential electric vehicle owners based on browsing histories of EV sites visited monthly for two or more months. The tracking covered users on Tesco Mobile, GiffGaff, and Virgin Mobile networks using O2 infrastructure, mapping movements in areas including London, the North-West, and East of England. Officials described the data as anonymized and aggregated but ended the program in April 2024, deeming it unsuitable for charging behavior or travel analysis. Conservative MP Sir David Davis criticized the tracking as unauthorized surveillance of citizens pursuing government-encouraged green policies. A Labour government source stated it would avoid such practices, focusing instead on road infrastructure investments.
Health
Canada recorded 76,475 Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) deaths as of December 31, 2024, at a daily rate of 45, projecting the 100,000th death by early June 2025, near the 10-year anniversary of legalization under Bill C-14. The 2024 total was 16,499. Supporters of MAID described it as upholding patient autonomy and providing voluntary end-of-life options. For reference, Canada is now euthanizing twice as many people as it did dogs in 2013.
Speaking of dogs, a Clean Label Project study of 79 dog foods found dry kibble contained 21.2 times more lead, 20.7 times more mercury, 13.3 times more arsenic, and 6.1 times more cadmium than fresh or frozen options, with one sample showing 1,576.5 parts per billion of lead. No federal regulations govern heavy metals in pet food. UK veterinary surgeon Nick Thompson, founding president of the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society, stated that industry funding influences veterinary education, research, textbooks, and conferences, resulting in more studies on extruded grain-based kibble than on raw diets. Thompson described extrusion as subjecting ingredients to high heat and pressure before coating with fats, and advocated fresh or raw feeding to address issues like skin problems and gut disorders, while noting studies linking neutering to increased risks of cancers and joint issues. Pet food industry groups countered that heavy metals occur naturally in ingredients and remain below safety thresholds, while veterinary associations cautioned against raw diets due to pathogen risks.
Sources
Fed to Release Basel III Endgame Rules by Late March, Boosting Mortgage Lending
Encourage the banks to get back into the mortgage business
Source | Submitted by Shplad
Oracle’s AI Surveillance Empire Expands: Fed Data, Media Mega-Merger, War Distraction
Oracle has quietly announced that the US government has just authorized it to run generative AI on federal government data. Your data and my data.
Source | Submitted by permiegirl
They Are Experimenting on Your Dog with Ultraprocessed Kibble
your dog has been subjected to the most sustained ultraprocessed feeding experiment in mammalian history, and almost nobody noticed.
Drone Hits US Embassy in Riyadh as Iran War Escalates with Rubio’s Dire Warning
The next hits are the hardest to come.
Source | Submitted by Rodster
US Urges ‘Depart Now’ from Middle East—But Airspace Closures Leave Americans Stranded
“‘Depart now’: US tells citizens to flee Middle East, but most airspace closed
Macron Ditches Nuclear Taboos, Eyes Arsenal Boost and Ukraine Deployments
“We are embarking on what I would call forward deterrence”
Gold Shipments Grounded: Dubai Flows Stalled by Iran Strikes
Gold shipments through Dubai are set to stall for several days after airlines suspended flights amid U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s response, according to three industry sources and Reuters.
Hormuz Gridlock: Drone Strike Halts Tanker as IRGC Fleet Sinks
Tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been paralyzed.
European Gas Prices Surge 50% as Qatar Halts World’s Largest LNG Plant After Iranian Drone Strike
European Gas Prices Soar 50% After Qatar Shuts World’s Largest LNG Export Plant
Drone Hits US Embassy in Riyadh as Rubio Warns “Hardest Hits Yet to Come”
Drone Impacts US Embassy In Riyadh After Rubio Warns Iran ‘Hardest Hits Yet To Come’
UK Government Secretly Tracks 25 Million as Potential EV Owners
Not suspects or criminals. Just ordinary people whose browsing history mentioned EVs often enough to flag them as worth following.
Canada Nears 100,000 MAID Deaths by June, Twice 2013’s Dog Euthanasias
Canada Is Now Euthanizing Twice As Many People As It Did Dogs In 2013, Will Hit 100,000 Total By June
Energy Shortages: The Real Reason for Tariffs and Bombings
Because of energy-related shortages that are already being encountered, national economies are beginning to act like the players in a game of musical chairs, with one too few chairs.
Strait of Hormuz: Closed by Insurance Paperwork, Not Missiles
The world’s most important energy chokepoint shut down by spreadsheet, not by strike.
Tucker Carlson: Qatar, Saudi Arabia Arrest Mossad Agents in Alleged Bomb Plot
Last night in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, authorities arrested Mossad agents planning on committing bombings in those countries.
Day 4: Iran’s 14th Missile Wave Fuels Regional Inferno
While the media is sleeping, the world is on fire.
IAEA Confirms Second Strike on Iran’s Fortified Natanz Nuclear Facility
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms that the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran has been struck again.
Rubio: “Imminent Threat” from Iran Was Expected Retaliation After Israeli Strike
The imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: ZeroHedgeNotes, GCrypto, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, The Telegraph, Gareth Corfield, Pet Food Institute, AVMA, WSAVA, The Post Millennial, THudson, Michael V. Smith, Al Jazeera English, The Independent, Saudi Ministry of Defense, Kuwait Foreign Ministry, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer, QatarEnergy, Investing.com, MSchazad87778.
by phecksel 
