Odds and Ends — 2 March 2025

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

Brazil Set to Launch World’s First Spot XRP ETF

This week in Trumponomics: Maybe the Biden economy wasn't so bad after all?

Was FTX Gary Gensler's Fault? Unclear Laws Created a 'Haven for Bad Actors', Says Hester Peirce

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

The Trump years will be grim for long Covid sufferers

I must admit that A.I. has some good use cases:

Politics:

Kansas senator’s rural town hall meeting swamped by people mad at Trump administration

Judge Says Trump Can’t Fire Independent Watchdog

A federal judge on Saturday said President Donald Trump cannot summarily fire the head of an independent watchdog agency, setting up a likely Supreme Court battle over Trump’s sweeping attempt to reshape the federal workforce and expand presidential power.

Norway Fuel Giant Refuses to Fill U.S. Submarines

Norwegian firm Haltbakk Bunkers announced it will stop providing fuel to all American forces in Norway as it declared "No fuel to Americans!". The firm posted on social media…
It said: "We have today been witnesses to the biggest s***how ever presented "live on tv" by the current American president and his vice president. Huge credit to the president of Ukraine restraining himself and for keeping calm even though USA put on a backstabbing tv show. It made us sick. Short and sweet. As a result, we have decided to immediate STOP as fuel provider to American forces in Norway and their ships calling Norwegian ports.”

That boy ain’t right.

GOP Wants $4 Trillion Tax Cut to Look Like Nothing

Republicans are readying an untested and aggressive move—a blatant gimmick, critics say—that would declare that Congress can extend expiring tax cuts and record no costs. House Republicans didn’t attempt the maneuver in the budget they passed this week. Key GOP senators are eager to try it.
Their push would likely lead to a high-profile Senate vote over a $4 trillion accounting question with significant implications for how deeply and permanently Republicans will cut taxes.
First, it makes a $4 trillion tax cut over a decade look like $0, which could be easier to sell to lawmakers and voters. Second, in the arcane Senate budget procedure world, declaring tax-cut extensions free opens Republicans’ easiest path to making President Trump’s expiring tax cuts permanent.

In the US, DEI is under attack. But under a different name, it might live on

Serendipity:

Russian prostitutes source

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