Odds and Ends — 10 March 2026

@preparedwombat 78

about 16 hours ago

oddsandends

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

French couple robbed of $1M in Bitcoin by criminals posing as police

https://twitter.com/HealthRanger/status/2030883719351771167

A Crypto Coin Is Gobbling Up U.S. Treasuries

https://twitter.com/pitdesi/status/2031065208450646430

Here's how traders and big buyers stepped in to keep bitcoin steady during the oil shock

https://twitter.com/TukiFromKL/status/2031056949626736886

Flash Fiction:

”His condition is unchanged. Blood pressure’s only 76/50, pulse erratic, white blood cell count is off the chart.”

”How did this happen, he ate what?”

”Canned food from his Y2K survivalist cache. Said he didn’t want it to go to waste. Not really a big believer of ‘best by’ dates, says they’re a scam.”

Written for this prompt.

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Scientists Get a Glimpse to How New Pandemics Are Made

Researchers have devised a new tool for discerning between naturally occurring viral outbreaks and those resulting from lab accidents.

Gullible, Cynical America

This rejection of empiricism makes selling falsehoods easier and contradicting them harder, which creates a fertile environment for anyone with something to sell, whether shady businesses or authoritarian governments.
The spread of anti-vax conspiracy theories is just another example of the gullicism that defines our age. The cynicism is highly selective: Gullicists see everyone’s hidden motives—except when they don’t. They are able to reject any claim rooted in actual evidence—whether in science, politics, or history—while embracing the most breathtakingly absurd assertions on the same topics. Indeed, documentation is often taken as further evidence of conspiracy, while assertion (that this or that will ‘detoxify’ your blood or that COVID deaths were exaggerated) is taken as gospel.

Iran:

https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/2031076967873745300

https://twitter.com/Angry_Staffer/status/2031134493541572921

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2031132139274543287

https://twitter.com/theliamnissan/status/2031107039133327866

https://twitter.com/Tazerface16/status/2031074380290339314

Trump Walks Back Idea That War Is Near End

https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/2030809083079454900
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/2031030479013695663
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2031092886410866973

Trump says "the war is very complete," and he's considering taking over Strait of Hormuz

https://twitter.com/NiallStanage/status/2030672305471271277

He’s throwing them all under the bus:

https://twitter.com/ShaykhSulaiman/status/2031172327598076266

Trump, at War with a Shiite Country, knows nothing of Martyrdom or Apocalyptic Hope

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2030656129768796663

'Nobody Could Have Seen This Coming,' Says Blindfolded Administration

…the United States now finds itself needing the assistance of — wait for it — Ukraine to combat Iran’s cheap Shahed drones.
This is likely a shock for an administration — and a president — whose gut instinct has been to denigrate Ukraine and soft-pedal criticism of Russia.

In War’s First Week, a Punishing Military Campaign With No Coherent Endgame

https://twitter.com/TheMaineWonk/status/2030778739055796455
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/2030779746179547488

https://twitter.com/allenanalysis/status/2030682521306878342
https://twitter.com/RichardERoeper/status/2030499254876123473

https://twitter.com/NiallStanage/status/2031033937150021763
https://twitter.com/FurkanGozukara/status/2031137224306090377

Imagine if a woman had asked this question of him:

https://twitter.com/Mollyploofkins/status/2031203652585537978

Iran is ready for a long war with the US

Yup. He’s actually declaring victory: Trump says Starmer seeking to join Iran war ‘after we’ve already won’

https://twitter.com/_sn_n/status/2030906258669146539

https://twitter.com/RachelBitecofer/status/2030726010732531916

https://twitter.com/DCinvestor/status/2031141222367244569

https://twitter.com/shaneharris/status/2031030261241069825

https://twitter.com/theliamnissan/status/2031136184764670439

Politics:

https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/2030838244024230275

Pseudoscientific Push to Frame Abortion as a ‘Water Quality’ Issue Rears Its Head in Iowa

———— Minnesota Under Siege ————

Federal Agents Lied About Why They Shot Venezuelan Man

The Jan. 14 shooting sparked chaotic protests and an hourlong standoff with federal authorities at the suspects’ shared north Minneapolis duplex, where agents shattered an upstairs window and deployed tear gas inside a residence filled with women and young children.
The government’s official story would unravel in court — refuted by video surveillance, crime scene photos and witness statements.

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

New Mexico authorities launch search of ranch previously owned by Epstein

The so-called Zorro Ranch was the site of numerous alleged abuses, but was not subject to intense scrutiny

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/2030506680040010019

Video Doesn’t Show What ICE Claimed in Shooting

Video released by investigators in the fatal shooting last March of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration agent calls into question a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson’s claim that the victim ‘intentionally ran over’ a different agent before being shot.

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/2031088844276183199

The Government Uses Targeted Advertising to Track Your Location. Here's What We Need to Do.

…a new report gives us direct evidence that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has used location data taken from the internet advertising ecosystem to track phones. In a document uncovered by 404 Media, CBP admits what we’ve been saying for years: The technical systems powering creepy targeted ads also allow federal agencies to track your location.

A year after Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency allies purged hundreds of thousands of federal employees, the Trump administration is ramping up hiring — a reversal that reflects a quiet retreat from one of the president’s defining early priorities and marks a new phase in efforts to reshape the bureaucracy in his image.