Daily Blog 04/03
Daily Blog 04/03
My Fellow Americans, You’ve Heard This Screed Before!
‘A litany of lies’: Trump’s rambling prime time Iran address sparks backlashUS president’s 19-minute Wednesday address at the White House was met with bewilderment from commentators Oil prices climb after Trump says US will hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ in national address Summary: US President Donald Trump says his core “objectives are nearing completion” in Iran, during a primetime televised speech from the White House
- The roughly 20 minute speech also called on allies to “build up the courage” to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the US doesn’t “need it”After the speech, global oil prices rose to $105 a barrel
- We’re none the wiser about what victory looks like following Trump’s speech, writes our chief North America correspondent
- Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry says Trump’s claim that the country has asked for a ceasefire is “false and baseless”, Iranian state media reports
- The US president had said Iran’s “new regime president” had made the request – but he didn’t clarify who he was referring to
The Funeral Bells of the Middle East War!:
For Whom the Bells Toll No Land is an island, Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in humankind.
Therefore, send not to know For whom the bells tolls, They tolls for thee.
This approach is remarkable because, over the past century, “America First” has acquired some very unsavory connotations. Although the seemingly innocent slogan goes back deep in American history, it began to develop a racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic tone after World War I. The Ku Klux Klan, which surged to some five million members at that time, employed it frequently for its terrorist mobilizations. Like the Klan, nativist groups took up “America First” as they used racist, eugenicist claims to press, successfully, for U.S. government restrictions on immigration. Appealing to an overheated nationalism, William Randolph Hearst used his newspaper empire to campaign, successfully, against U.S. participation in the League of Nations. Soon thereafter, he became a booster of other nationalist fanatics, the rising fascist powers. Hearst’s newspapers, with “America First” emblazoned on their masthead, celebrated what they called the “great achievement” of the new Nazi regime in Germany. In 1934, Hearst himself scurried off to Berlin to interview Adolf Hitler. Instructing his reporters in Germany to provide positive coverage of the Nazis, Hearst fired journalists who failed to do so. Meanwhile, the Hearst press ran columns, without rebuttal, by Hitler, Mussolini, and Nazi leader Hermann Göring. This toxic brew of racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia increasingly found its way into a growing isolationist movement that crested in 1940 with the establishment of the America First Committee. Bankrolled by several top corporate leaders, the America First Committee was determined to prevent the United States from becoming involved in what it labeled, disparagingly, “Europe’s wars.” And as fascist military forces swept from triumph to triumph, it emerged as America’s largest isolationist organization. Although the 800,000 America First members had a variety of political opinions, many of them held anti-Semitic views and sympathized with the Nazis. — THE UGLY ORIGINS OF TRUMP’S “AMERICA FIRST” POLICY
“The first year of the second Trump administration was one marked by relentless, direct attacks on the rule of law and our constitutional rights. Entire agencies have been dismantled, the independence of academia and the press undermined, masked agents abducting immigrants and U.S. citizens alike from the street, and corruption run rampant. It will take historians volumes to fully chronicle the breadth and depth of lawlessness that has been unleashed in just this first year of Trump’s second term. No sector of American society has been left unaffected. This President believes he is above the law and, unfortunately, he is not alone. In 2024, the conservative bloc of the U.S. Supreme Court found for the first time that a U.S. President has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his constitutional authority and at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all other official acts. Since then, the Court’s conservative majority has demonstrated an increasing willingness to upend precedent and greenlight lawlessness, particularly through unexplained ruling in cases on its shadow docket.” — Second Trump Administration Marked by Relentless, Direct Attacks on Rule of Law, Constitutional Rights
Rubio Ironically Says Iran Should Spend Money on Its People, Not on the Military The Trump administration has requested a record-shattering $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and $200 billion for the war.
Iran War destabilises, divides, and humiliates Europe Economically devastating and politically destabilising, Trump’s war against Iran has catastrophic implications for Europe. It is a disaster that the declining and deindustrialising powers of the continent absolutely cannot afford. From the very outset, they were reluctant to get involved, with each country trying to keep Trump on side without getting directly involved in the war effort. But as the crisis has spiralled further out of control, one European country after another has been forced to distance themselves from America. They are caught between a rock and a hard place, not wanting to be seen as helping Trump in his war, while at the same time not wanting to alienate Trump himself. Starmer is now organising a ‘summit’, in effect a phone call, of 35 countries to discuss helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz… after a ceasefire, i.e. when the war is over!
Trump Economy Called a ‘Complete Failure’ One Year After ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs “If it was possible for Trump to have spent the last 14 months on the golf course, we would be in a better place,” said one expert. Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump unleashing a sweeping package of global tariffs on imported products, which has prompted many critics to reflect on how much economic damage the president has caused. The Tax Foundation on Monday published an analysis examining the promises Trump made about the benefits of the tariffs, including a claim that “jobs and factories will come roaring back,” as foreign investments would pour in. This particular promise, the Tax Foundation found, has completely failed to materialize. “Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the United States has seen no such dramatic spikes,” the Tax Foundation explained. “In 2025, FDI totaled $288.4 billion—more than an order of magnitude smaller than President Trump’s claims. Total FDI in 2025 was below the prior 10 years’ average of $320.7 billion and lower than the annual totals in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 ($405.5 billion, $338.4 billion, $297.4 billion, and $292.3 billion, respectively).” The analysis also found
Analyzing the Global Economic Fallout of the War on Iran: Insights from Professor Michael Hudson The ongoing war against Iran is not just a regional confrontation; it is, according to economist and historian Professor Michael Hudson, a crisis with profound global economic and geopolitical consequences. Speaking on Glenn Diesen’s show, Hudson framed the conflict as a strategic effort by the United States to maintain control over critical energy resources, while simultaneously destabilizing global financial and trade systems. U.S. Strategy and Global Implications Hudson describes the war as “World War III in slow motion,” noting that energy, fertilizers, and other vital exports from oil-producing countries underpin the global economy. The U.S., he argues, has historically reliedn controlling these commodities as leverage over other nations. As Hudson explains: “The United States went to war with Iran and Venezuela for the same reason: to control oil exports and determine who benefits from them. This is not about Iran seeking nuclear weapons—it’s about maintaining U.S. dominance over global energy.”
Since taking office, President Trump has launched a ‘Golden Age of Fraud.’
Trump Family-Affiliated World Liberty Financial Generated $1.4 Billion In 16 Months World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI) has generated at least $1.4 billion for the Trump and Witkoff families since November 2024—more than Donald Trump‘s real estate empire generated in eight years. World Liberty’s disclosures show 75% of WLFI token sales flow directly to a Trump entity, 12.5% to Witkoffs, and 12.5% to co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro. President Trump owns 70% of that Trump entity while unnamed family members own 30%.
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Trump’s Iran war and drilling push show ‘dangerous volatility’ of fossil fuel era Critics say president is locking into 20th-century energy systems even as his ‘bet’ on oil and gas ‘isn’t going so well’ By attacking Iran and threatening to seize its oil while taking extraordinary measures to block clean energy back in the US, Donald Trump has inadvertently highlighted the dangerous volatility of the fossil fuel era, critics say. The US and Israel’s bombardment of Iran and southern Lebanon has caused a humanitarian and environmental toll, with threats of further escalation set to add to these casualties as well as add more planet-heating emissions and destroy drinking water supplies
CO2 Tracker: The most important number of the climate crisis: 432.7 atmospheric CO2 in parts per million, 31 March 2026 Source: NOAA. Chart baseline is 280ppm – the preindustrial average. Safe level a stabilisation scenario set out by IPCC. Daily average CO2 value at Mauna Loa.
‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientistsExperts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory
Workers in Colorado Continue Historic Strike at US’s Largest Meat Processor Workers are protesting low wages, lack of personal protective gear, and discrimination against immigrant employees.