Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

Will This Make Chicago Safe?

An ultimatum issued by the Trump administration has pushed the Chicago Transit Authority to unveil a beefed-up security plan, threatening to yank federal funding unless the agency tackles the rampant crime plaguing its trains and buses.

This move comes after a string of brutal attacks exposed the failures of soft-on-crime policies in the Windy City.

The CTA submitted its Revised Security Enhancement Plan to the Federal Transit Administration, detailing a “75 percent increase in monthly system policing hours, aggressive crime reduction targets, and expanded social service support,” according to an official agency statement.

Elements include more patrols from Chicago Police and Cook County Sheriff’s deputies, expanded mental health outreach to connect individuals with housing and services, and tighter collaboration with prosecutors for tougher handling of transit-related crimes.

“The plan is CTA’s formal response to an FTA Special Directive issued in December,” the agency noted, highlighting early signs that recent strategies are curbing crime.

This overhaul follows the FTA’s rejection of an earlier CTA submission, with the Trump administration giving the agency until March 19 to deliver or risk losing up to $50 million in funds.

The push stems from high-profile horrors like the November 18 attack where Lawrence Reed, a career criminal with 72 prior arrests, allegedly doused a young woman with gasoline and set her ablaze on a Blue Line train. 

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Rich Get Richer: Hollywood Elites Treat Themselves to Oscars Gift Bags Worth $350,000 in Luxury Swag

The 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night will be the usual explosion of a champagne-fueled, self-obsessed celebrity glory orgy — that comes, every year, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in free luxury gifts thrown in. This year’s swag bag price tag reached a value of nearly $350,000 for the select 25 Oscar nominees, given free for simply getting out of bed and attending.

Sunday night Academy Awards will be the 24th year some attendees receive an iconic collection of gifts held within aptly named “Everybody Wins” bags.

These include top-notch beauty products and treatments, luxury vacations, alongside innovative wellness products.

Gift-giving company Distinctive Assets delivers it all to the stars in suitcases in lieu of the Academy itself which stopped providing official six-figure gift bags in 2006.

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Companies Are Starting To Enforce AI Use. Is That A Good Or Bad Thing?

Years ago, I was working on the editorial side for what was then a hot new media company, and found myself spending more and more time with Johan, the lead programmer, and his team, asking them a lot of annoying questions as it was all so new – certainly to me. I was standing over Johan’s left shoulder, mesmerized by whatever new video game he was obsessing over that week…when suddenly, out of nowhere, a spreadsheet and a pie chart appeared on his screen.

“Whatcha got there, Johan?” asked Jim, Johan’s boss, peering over a sheaf of print-outs as he sharked past the cubicle.

“Hey, just looking at some numbers,” Johan replied. Johan had hit the “game key” in the nick of time – in those days, every video game had a game key – ALT-G if memory serves – calling up a slight variation of the same spreadsheet and pie chart.

This would never happen today. First, you’re probably not working in a cubicle, and if you are, it’s not the game key you’d hit to give your boss the impression that you’re actually doing productive work…it would be the “AI key.”

“Tech Firms Aren’t Just Encouraging Their Workers to Use AI. They’re Enforcing It.”

This article appeared in the February 24 edition of the Wall Street Journal. It includes the subtitle: From startups to giants, including Meta and Google, companies are factoring AI use into performance reviews and trying to track productivity gains

Across industries, companies are now enforcing AI use through performance reviews, dashboards that track adoption, and explicit mandates that tie it to compensation and promotion. What began in Silicon Valley has rapidly spread to consulting firms, banks, manufacturers, hospitals, and even government agencies.

As you’d expect, Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft were the first to move from encouragement to enforcement. Employees at these firms now see AI usage metrics appear in quarterly reviews. Non-adopters have reported stalled promotions or explicit warnings that “AI fluency” is a core competency (The Wall Street Journal, Feb 2026, reporting on internal policies).

The trend has jumped sectors. PwC requires every consultant to complete an “AI + Human Skillset” curriculum and incorporates usage into evaluations (Business Insider, Feb 5, 2026). Colgate-Palmolive’s “AI evangelist” tracks adoption across global teams. Major banks have begun tying bonuses to the number of AI-assisted analyses completed. Even some hospitals now require doctors and nurses to use AI-assisted diagnostic tools for certain procedures.

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Five Losers in the War on Iran

There may be no winner in the war on Iran. But, although it is Iran that is under attack, they will not be the only losers. This war, fought without legal reason or political or security justification, will have myriad losers. Here are five.

The first loser of the war on Iran is the Iranians. Iran has an “inalienable right to a civilian program that uses nuclear energy for peaceful purposes” as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. They signed the JCPOA nuclear agreement that closed all roads to a military nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) repeatedly verified that they were in full compliance. They were currently negotiating further voluntary limitations on their civilian nuclear program, which would have assured the world of the impossibility of diverting their civilian nuclear program to a military one. Nothing was illegal or unusual about Iran’s nuclear or missile programs.

But bombs fell on Iranians. The people of Iran live in daily terror. Their cities are being bombed, and their infrastructure and water desalination plants have been devastated. Nearly 20,000 civilian buildings have been damaged, including dozens of hospitals and schools. Their leader has been assassinated. Over 1,300 civilians, hundreds of them children, have been killed.

The second country that will pay a price for the war on Iran is Ukraine. Just as Russia is thought to be massing for a large late spring offensive, its war economy is being pumped full by the rising cost of oil; which was caused by the effective closing of the Strait of Hormuz and the resultant easing of sanctions on Russian oil, while Ukraine’s supply of weapons is being threatened. Russia will have the money to continue launching missiles and drones, and Ukraine will lack the missiles to defend against them.

The U.S. is firing an incredible number of interceptors to defend against Iranian missiles and drones. The war on Iran is using up the defensive weapons that would have been sent to Ukraine. “The biggest and most immediate impact will be on air defense,” Jennifer Kavanagh, Senior Fellow & Director of Military Analysis at Defense Priorities, told me, since “Ukraine depends almost entirely on the United States for air defense, especially Patriot air interceptors and AMRAAMs.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, “We understand that a long war… and the intensity of the fighting will affect the amount of air defence equipment we receive.”

In this war of choice, the U.S. has made a bad choice, and it too will be a loser in this war. The U.S. will lose the war in Iran in four ways.

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California Startup Starts Drilling World’s First Underground Nuclear Borehole

Deep Fission, a California-based nuclear energy startup, started drilling the world’s first underground nuclear borehole March 10 in Kansas, taking a major step forward in building small modular pressurized water reactors one mile below the surface.

The test project is being funded as part of the Trump administration’s plan to breathe new life into the American nuclear sector by investing in new technology.

“It represents the shift from concept to construction and begins the process of demonstrating a fundamentally new approach to nuclear energy deployment,” Liz Muller, CEO and co-founder of Deep Fission, said.

The initial phase will include the sinking of three wells for site characterization and engineering validation.

The first well will be drilled about 6,000 feet below the ground and will be about eight inches in diameter. Workers at the site will be able to gather critical data to inform the company’s final engineering design, safety analysis, and regulatory planning.

The site’s location in the rural community of Parsons, about 130 miles east of Wichita and home to about 10,000 residents, was chosen in December for its dense and impervious shale and limestone, which provide natural containment and radiation shielding.

“By placing reactors one mile underground, the surrounding geology provides billions of tons of passive shielding and natural containment—enhancing safety and security while significantly reducing cost, surface footprint, and visual impact,” the company stated.

The company also plans to complete construction of its first reactor and achieve criticality by July 4 at the Kansas location.

Deep Fission has already signed an agreement with the Great Plains Development Authority to develop a full-scale commercial project at the same site.

The company’s design uses pressurized water reactor technology with deep-borehole drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry and geothermal heat-transfer.

Each gravity reactor is installed one mile underground, where the surrounding geology provides natural shielding and containment, while also reducing the need for above-ground megastructures, according to Deep Fission.

The company has already entered into an agreement to buy low-enriched uranium from Urenco USA for the small water reactors.

“Securing fuel is one of the most important steps for any nuclear project,” said Deep Fission’s CEO Liz Muller. “This agreement with Urenco enables us to move quickly toward commercialization and scaling our technology with high-quality fuel.”

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Veteran ’60 Minutes’ reporter says the network ‘crumbled’ under Trump’s pressure

A veteran “60 Minutes” journalist slammed the previous owners of his parent network, CBS, for settling an election interference lawsuit with President Donald Trump.

“Our previous owners at CBS faced political pressure and crumbled‚” Scott Pelley said, according to The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr, referencing the fallout over the legal dispute between Trump and CBS. Pelley was introducing former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens at the National Press Foundation Annual Journalism Awards Dinner last week. 

Pelley was referencing former CBS parent company, Paramount Global, before it was merged with Skydance Media, run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison.

In the days leading up to the 2024 presidential election, CBS News aired its “60 Minutes” interview featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Critics at the time noticed that an answer she gave to a question about Israel that first aired in a preview clip on “Face the Nation,” which was mocked by conservatives for her “word salad” comments, appeared to have been swapped with a different answer that aired during the primetime election special the next evening.

Trump accused the network of election interference and filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the company. 

After months of contentious mediation, Paramount and CBS settled Trump’s lawsuit for a sum expected to be north of $30 million, including $16 million upfront for Trump’s presidential library.

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Kayleigh McEnany Lays Out the Money Trail — Obama and Biden Showered Iran With Billions While Tehran Built Its Nuclear Program

The Left and their media allies want Americans to forget how the Iranian regime was empowered in the first place.

But former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany recently walked viewers through the timeline, and the receipts, showing how the Obama-Biden foreign policy machine sent billions to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

McEnany recently walked viewers through what she described as a troubling financial trail that began with the Obama administration’s controversial nuclear agreement with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

McEnany’s breakdown begins with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, where Barack Obama promised Americans that sanctions relief would not strengthen the radical regime in Tehran.

Speaking in 2015 while defending the deal, Obama acknowledged that Iran would gain access to tens of billions of dollars in previously frozen assets.

“It is true that if Iran lives up to its commitments, it will gain access to roughly $56 billion of its own money, revenue frozen overseas by other countries,” Obama said at the time.

“Our best analysts expect the bulk of this revenue to go into spending that improves the economy and benefits the lives of the Iranian people.”

But the controversy only intensified a year later.

In January 2016, the Obama administration secretly airlifted $400 million in cash to Iran, reportedly delivered in pallets of foreign currency. The transfer happened the same day Iran released several detained Americans, raising immediate questions about whether the payment functioned as leverage or ransom.

CNN itself acknowledged the timing sparked outrage and speculation that the payment and hostage release were linked.

At the time, administration officials denied any quid pro quo.

The story did not end with the $400 million.

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China Floods the Skies Near Taiwan and Raises a Dangerous Question

Taiwan’s defense ministry reported a major surge of Chinese military aircraft operating near the island over the weekend. Radar operators tracked dozens of aircraft moving through the surrounding airspace in a pattern that drew immediate attention across the region. The activity marked one of the larger recent waves of Chinese air operations around Taiwan.


Taiwan didn’t report any Chinese military planes that went beyond the median line and entered the zone for a week from Feb. 27 to March 5. After two were detected on March 6, the next four days had none. Such flights resumed in small numbers between Wednesday and Friday.

The drop coincided with the annual meeting of China’s legislature. While such flights have fallen in the past during major events and public holidays, this year’s fall was more prominent than in the past.

Analysts said the meeting could not be the sole reason behind the recent drop. Another potential factor could be a desire to calm the waters with Washington weeks before a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has said that Trump would travel to China from March 31 to April 2, though Beijing has not officially confirmed that.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense released details showing fighters, surveillance aircraft, and support planes flying close to the island. The aircraft operated in areas near Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, which Taiwan closely monitors with radar and interceptor aircraft. Taiwan’s military scrambled its fighters and activated missile systems while tracking the formations and is treating the flights as another set of serious pressure points from Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has increased military pressure on Taiwan during the past ten years, as highlighted by Chinese aircraft and naval vessels now appearing around the island far more frequently than they did ten years ago, a pattern that’s raised concerns across the Indo-Pacific region.

Several explanations could account for the latest surge of aircraft.

The first possibility involves routine military drills. The People’s Liberation Army regularly conducts exercises designed to test readiness and coordination among air units. Large formations help pilots practice joint operations and refine command procedures. Military planners often run those drills in areas close to Taiwan because the region sits near important strategic sea lanes and air corridors.

Psychological pressure may be behind a second possibility. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out using force to bring the island under Beijing’s control.

Large aircraft formations near Taiwan send a visible message to Taipei and to governments that support Taiwan’s security, reminding observers that China continues building military strength capable of operating around the island.

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Dem Rep. Claims He Opposes SAVE America Act Because Women are ‘Too Busy’ to Get IDs to Prove Citizenship for Voting

In an interview on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” with Rev. Al Sharpton this weekend, Democrat Congressman André Carson of Indiana said he opposes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act because women are “too busy” to get IDs and prove citizenship before voting.

Carson was on the show launching his re-election bid for Indiana’s 7th Congressional District.

“Trump and his congressional Republicans are absolutely trying to dismantle our electoral process,” the Democrat claimed.

Carson continued, “And the SAVE Act, it impacts millions of women who changed their last names after marriage, many of them were mothers, mothers who are incredibly busy. They don’t have time to track down extra paperwork. It will also prevent minorities from voting, and their strategy couldn’t be more clear, and the American people are pushing back. I hope the Senate does the same.”

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Trump announces $10B U.S. investment in Board of Peace to rebuild Gaza

President Donald Trump said the United States will contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace — an international organization he launched in January to help rebuild the Gaza Strip and secure peace in other conflict zones.

At the board’s first meeting in Washington on Thursday, he said other member countries will contribute billions more and send soldiers for Palestinian security.

“The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built starting right here,” Trump said at the meeting attended by 17 world leaders who are part of the board, as well as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.  

“We will help Gaza,” Trump said. “We will straighten it out. We will make it successful. We will make it peaceful. And we will do that in other spots. The Board of Peace is going to lead the way in Gaza.”

In addition to the U.S., seven other countries, including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, have contributed more than $7 billion to help the Gaza relief effort, Trump announced. The United Nations Office of Humanitarian Assistance is raising $2 billion to support Gaza, and FIFA plans to raise $75 million and to bring World Cup soccer stars to the war-torn territory, he said.

An estimated $70 billion is reportedly needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war with Israel.

Approved by the United Nations Security Council last year, the Board of Peace was initiated as part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza, starting with a ceasefire that began in October. The second stage of the plan, focused on demilitarization and reconstruction, was announced in January.

During Thursday’s meeting, Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco committed to creating an armed International Stabilization Force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the militant Hamas group, a key demand of Israel and a cornerstone of the ceasefire deal. Egypt and Jordan committed to training a police force, U.S. Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, commander of the Gaza International Stabilization Force, said Thursday.

Jeffers said a team of U.S. military experts is already on the ground in Gaza preparing the infrastructure for ISF headquarters to oversee five sectors in Gaza, each of which will receive a brigade of troops. The long-term goal is to have 12,000 police and 20,000 ISF soldiers, he said, starting with Rafah — the border crossing at the southern end of the 140-square-mile coastal territory.

“This is a vision of Gaza as part of the Middle East at peace,” former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said at the meeting.

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