emptywheel (@emptywheel) — Bluesky Profile

1 hour ago

Q: “So, hundreds of millions of dollars in grants were terminated from the NEH. The deficit didn’t change much. And you were paid $150,000 to do that job of reducing the deficit. Do you feel like the $150,000 paid to you was wasteful spending?”

A: *Laughs, frowns….long pause*

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15 hours ago

How many ways can you say “We used ChatGPT” without actually saying “We used ChatGPT”?

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7 hours ago

Today an investigation by The Sunday Times and the open-source investigative group Bellingcat reveals how Lazzez is not just a former cage fighter. He is a key figure in shipping crude oil from Iran to China, which bypasses global sanctions and finances the Iranian regime.
Tankers to which he is linked have been sanctioned for their involvement with Iran, one over its links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group.
But these ships are also linked to the Kinahans through an address in the Marshall Islands which was used by another tanker seized off the Irish coast carrying two tonnes of cocaine for their cartel.

Bellingcat and The Times tie the Kinahans to Iranian shipping via an MMA fighter buddy of theirs.

archive.is/4X26S#select...

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8 hours ago

Man Who Spat on Allies For a Year Demands the World Clean Up His Catastrophe From Liberation Day to the Escalation Trap to Interdependence Day: How narcissistic delusion became the biggest unforced error of the decade (so far).

Man Who Spat on Allies For a Year Demands the World Clean Up His Catastrophe

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22 hours ago

Because those three (I'd add Roger Wicker) raised concerns in real time.

They thought about how unfit he is, and still confirmed him.

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22 hours ago

And according to @lkrozen.bsky.social he and Witkoff literally did not understand what Oman was telling them abt Iranian offer.

So they're responsible for starting an illegal war bc 1) they're profittting and 2) they're painfully stupid.

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23 hours ago

Diplomatic staff at the American consulate in Erbil were also forced to shelter-in-place when the facility came under attack from Iran before they were ultimately flown out of the country by the British Royal Air Force due to constraints on the U.S. military, which would normally carry out such a mission, according to the officials.

Amid discussions on TODAY's call to evacuate, this story from Wednesday did not get enough attention.

abcnews.com/Internationa...

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23 hours ago

An important thread. But something is missing.

The refusal of Republicans to hold Trump accountable AND ALSO to exercise the least little responsibility on confirmations would have mitigated this risk.

Joni Ernst, Thom Tillis, Murkowski and Collins all KNEW Whiskey Pete would push war crimes.

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1 day ago

Trump Knew the Risk of Iran Blocking the Strait of Hormuz. He Still Went to War. The president told his White House team that Tehran would likely capitulate before closing the strait, the world’s most vital shipping lane.

CNN: Trump underestimated problem of Hormuz
Trump: FAKE NEWZ!!
WSJ: Trump's advisors didn't underestimate the problem, Trump kept the smart ones out of the room and ignored what contrary advice he got

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

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1 day ago

Scoop: Trump eases Venezuela sanctions on oil, fertilizer to blunt Iran war costs The bottleneck of tankers in the Persian Gulf because of Iranian attacks has caused the costs of oil and fertilizer, a petrochemical product, to jump.

First Russia benefits from helping Iran target Americans.

Now Venezuela does.

www.axios.com/2026/03/13/v...

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1 day ago

CareyMTD031326

JUST IN: With disclosures for a potential vindictive prosecution motion due to the defense on Monday, feds (Pirro) drop criminal case against Army vet who said he burned flag in park to protest Trump pledge to prosecute flagburners. No explanation. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/27...

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1 day ago

A Democrat has won the mayor's seat in Boca Raton... by one vote:

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2 days ago

Brazil pulls visa of Trump adviser who asked to visit Bolsonaro in prison Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says Darren Beattie was 'prohibited from visiting' Bolsonaro in prison.

Brazil revoked the visa for Darren Beattie.

They should have just arrested him.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/...

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2 days ago

U.S. Central Command
@CENTCOM
Four Confirmed Deceased in Loss of U.S. KC-135 Over Iraq

TAMPA, Fla. – At approximately 2 pm ET on March 12, a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue.

The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.

The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.
9:31 AM · Mar 13, 2026
·
88.6K
Views

Under Donald Trump US service members are dying in Iraq again.

Terrible.

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2 days ago

Why HAVEN'T we called them clown shoes yet?

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2 days ago

Trump fired the people whose job it would be to warn him of the really obvious stuff.

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2 days ago

Trump Rewards Russia for Helping Iran Target US Service Members - emptywheel Even before the extent of Russia's help to Iran has become clear, Trump has rewarded Russia by lifting sanctions on it.

Trump Rewards Russia for Helping Iran Target US Service Members

emptywheel.net/2026/03/13/t...

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2 days ago

What does lifting sanctions on Russia after they gave Iran sophisticated targeting intelligence to Iran, possibly including the attack that led to Pennington's death?

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2 days ago

Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 587;
Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 589;
Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 560;
Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 544;
Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 561;
Iranian Sector and Human Rights Abuses Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 562;
Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594;
Executive Order 13876 of June 24, 2019
(“Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Iran”);
Executive Order 13902 of January 10, 2020
(“Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran”);
Executive Order 13949 of September 21, 2020
(“Blocking Property of Certain Persons with Respect to the
Conventional Arms Activities of Iran”)
GENERAL LICENSE 134
Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Russian
Federation Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 12, 2026
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, all transactions prohibited
by the above-listed authorities that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or
offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Russian Federation origin loaded on any vessel,
including vessels blocked under the above listed authorities, on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern
daylight time, March 12, 2026 are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time,
April 11, 2026.

Is this Trump rewarding Russia for (possibly) helping to kill Benjamin Pennington?

ofac.treasury.gov/media/935191...

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2 days ago

Rush Limbaugh is dead
Henry Kissinger too
And one day we'll add
Trump and Netanyahu

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2 days ago

I thought a biblical disaster is what they are aiming for.

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2 days ago

Broadview 4? Feds drop conspiracy charges against 2 ICE protesters, including Dem who ended campaign Catherine "Cat" Sharp and Joselyn Walsh are primed to join an ever-growing list of people who have been cleared after being charged with nonimmigration crimes tied to Operation Midway Blitz.

Here's @jonseidel.bsky.social's report on the motion, with links to his running count of all the Chicago cases that have collapsed in spectacular fashion.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

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2 days ago

GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE INDICTMENT AS TO
CATHERINE SHARP AND JOSELYN WALSH
As the United States Attorney’s Office does in every case, the government has
continued to evaluate new facts, evidence, and information to ensure that the
interests of justice are served. Accordingly, the United States hereby moves to dismiss
with prejudice the indictment against Catherine Sharp and Joselyn Walsh, in the
interests of justice.

Similarly, additional video footage shows that, like Ms. Abughazaleh, Defendants Joselyn
Walsh, Andre Martin, Michael Rabbitt, and Catherine Sharp all independently moved away from
the SUV within seconds after they found themselves in its path. As shown below, Ms. Walsh (in
the red circle) can be seen with her guitar under her right arm, standing next to a Broadview police
officer while the SUV was already driving away from her toward the Broadview Facility

With a picture of a crowd, one of whom is circled.

DOJ is moving to dismiss charges against two of the defendants in Rabbit (the case in which @katmabu.bsky.social is also charged).

Last month defendants had pointed out that they had MOVED AWAY from the vehicle allegedly obstructed.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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2 days ago

Afro-Cuban, as he describes it. There are also a bunch of Latinos in there.

Prosecutors always called it a "chauvinist" culture.

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2 days ago

default judgment for the other side

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3 days ago

Someone in NYC should do interviews with middle-school kids who take the subway to and from school every day, to see if they have any advice for Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy who can't seem to go a single day without pissing himself in fear over them.

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3 days ago

That's one reason she was able to release the bodycam. Bc they refused to take that down.

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5 days ago

BREAKING: powerful iPhone hacking tools used by Chinese criminals originated from US defense giant L3 Harris.

Their zero-click exploits went to Russian spies too.

Unbelievable harm to our collective security.

Scoop: @lorenzofb.bsky.social, here's why it matters 1/
techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/a...

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3 days ago

The next day, she was put in a jail cell. She met a woman there who had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a federal officer. The woman told Martinez that she’d gone to a protest because “some girl got shot.” Martinez realized that she was that girl.

Then, days later, the government asked to drop the case. The judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, meaning that the case cannot be retried. It was an abrupt reversal. “Put that in your books, Exum,” Martinez said in front of television cameras in the courthouse lobby. Still, that day, D.H.S. released another statement calling Martinez a domestic terrorist. The next night, she went to dinner with the woman she had met in jail. Martinez had remembered her being “so bubbly, so full of energy.” Now the woman seemed changed. She told Martinez that, although the charges against her had been dropped, she was struggling. At times, she was on high alert that she would encounter federal agents again. Martinez went home that night but was unable to sleep.

This New Yorker profile of Marimar Martinez--the US citizen CBP shot who survived--includes the friendship she made w/woman she met in jail who had protested her own shooting.

www.newyorker.com/news/annals-...

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3 days ago

I was getting around to it, but yeah!

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