Cynthia-VT

> @semafor.com

www.semafor.com/article/03/0...

This includes our current leaders at the FDA and NIH/CDC.

sciencebasedmedicine.org/overhyping-v...

#haiku
hints of spring
blackberry’s hideout
laid bare

Recuerdo We were very tired, we were very merry

poets.org/poem/recuerdo

Unlike other hardliners (like Khamenei's son Mojtaba), Arafi does not have deep, direct ties to the IRGC or the security establishment.

In short: He is essentially Khamenei 2.0 with a tech upgrade. He offers the same hardline policies but with a more globalist approach to enforcing them.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez: “Today more than ever, it is essential to remember that one can be against a hateful regime as is the case with the Iranian regime…and at the same time be against an unjustified, dangerous military intervention outside of international law.”

The American-born pope called on all countries involved in the conflict to "assume the moral responsibility of stopping the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss," after praying the Angelus in St. Peter's Square March 1.

Pope warns of 'tragedy of enormous proportions' after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran The Independent News Source

Pope Leo XIV issued a "forceful appeal" to end increasing violence in the Middle East as the United States, Israel and Iran continue to exchange missile strikes and threats of escalations, warning of the risk of a "tragedy of enormous proportions."

You know what DID age well?

US moving pregnant immigrant girls to Texas to avoid providing abortions, critics say Ex-official calls transfer of unaccompanied girls as young as 13, many pregnant due to rape, a human rights violation

As long as birthright citizenship remains the law, federal officials are minting new American citizens 🙃 ICE is moving all unaccompanied immigrant children who are pregnant, many by rape, to a single facility in Texas in order to avoid providing abortion services www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The costs of this Iran war debacle will likely be more than the cost of extending the ACA health insurance subsidies.

If you asked Americans, which do you want: another war in the Middle East or lower health care costs at home, is the margin 90 to 10? 95 to 5?

Pope Trashes Trump’s War Mess as American Troops Die — The Daily Beast Three American U.S. service members were killed during Operation Epic Fury.

As US troops die in “Operation Epic Fury,” Pope Leo XIV is publicly urging diplomacy and warning that weapons only bring “destruction, suffering, and death.”

Meanwhile, Trump keeps pushing an unauthorized war with no clear end.

#EpsteinWar
#USDemocracy
#Pinks

apple.news/APDLmOKQzRl2...

#senryu by longtime contributor, John Hawkhead @haikuhawk of Bradford-on-Avon, UK #poetry #haiku #ice #UnitedKingdom

“This committee has now set a new precedent about talking to presidents and former presidents,” Rep. @robertgarcia.bsky.social said. “We’re demanding immediately that we ask President Trump to testify in front of our committee and be deposed in front of Oversight Republicans and Democrats.”

It’s insane this is legal. People around Trump are profiting off war and death. I’m introducing legislation ASAP to ban this.

Southern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of comments The opposition appeared overwhelming: Tens of thousands of emails poured into Southern California's top air pollution authority as its board weighed a June proposal to phase out gas-powered appliances...

They were going to pass rules to phase out gas stoves, until they received 20,000 public comments against the regulations. Except, oops, it turns out the comments were generated by AI.

This is disgusting. Rationalizing the bombing of a school that reportedly killed 108 girls.

But since she asked,

"Currently, 161 public schools operate on military installations across the United States."

www.militaryonesource.mil/education-em...

‘The most bitter news’: Iran reels as more than 80 children reportedly killed in school bombing The building appears to be among many devastated in Trump’s ‘major combat operations’ as long expected attacks arrive

School bombed by US / Israel

80 children killed

Polymarket Iran Bets Hit $529 Million as New Wallets Draw Notice As US and Israeli bombs fell on Iran this weekend, bettors on Polymarket — where $529 million was traded on contracts tied to the timing of the strikes — were cashing in. Almost immediately, blockchain sleuths began hunting for unusual patterns in recent bets.

As US and Israeli bombs fell on Iran this weekend, bettors on Polymarket — where $529 million was traded on contracts tied to the timing of the strikes — were cashing in

Happening now: a protest in Chicago's federal plaza is underway in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran earlier today.

Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez just addressed the crowd, which I'd put at a couple hundred people strong. A lone counterprotestor is also posted up across the street.

England continued to report strong growth in BA.3.2.* rising to 63%.
🧵

There's still a need for newborn supplies in Minneapolis!

Gee, ya think.

ICE Moves Minneapolis Fleet to Williamsport Detention Warehouse As ICE builds out a detention infrastructure across the mid-Atlantic, equipment from its Minneapolis operation is heading to Maryland.

Roughly 100 ICE vehicles are on their way to a warehouse in Western Maryland, as signs mount of an impending operation here.

This has been the longest February I’ve ever known

#haiku
ceramic animals
seem fierce
together

#haiku
what if a film
is already
coating us

#haiku
hens glowing
red from the heat
lamp

#haiku
without looking
I know the daffodils
have come

#haiku
before they bloom
they tilt
forward