Balloon Juice

How to Dispel That Musky Smell

by Betty Cracker| March 2, 202612:51 pm| 98 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Domestic Politics, Excellent Links, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Venality, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Assholes

Jason Sattler, aka LOLGOP on Bluesky, published an important essay yesterday on Elon Musk’s social engineering con to reelect Trump in 2024 and how Musk plans to use his ill-gotten gains to fuck with the upcoming elections. I almost never say “read the whole thing,” but seriously, read the whole thing.

It’s titled “America Needs to Prepare for Elon Musk Like He’s a State-Sponsored Cyber Attack.” That’s a good way to put it because in terms of resources and connections, Musk is the equivalent of a state actor. Sattler starts by reviewing how Musk pulled off the con in 2024:

Let me walk you through what it actually did, because the details would repulse a society with anything like a healthy gag reflex, and because they reveal the one thing Musk actually believes in: his power to loot America dry, a position that puts him in exact sync with the man he spent more than any individual in the history of the planet to elect.

Muslim voters in Michigan saw pro-Israel ads praising Kamala Harris for marrying a Jewish man and backing Israel’s military. Jewish voters in Pennsylvania, targeted by the same operation, saw ads claiming Harris wanted to cut off U.S. arms to Israel. Young liberals got headlines about how Harris had sold out the progressive movement. Working-class white men in the Midwest were warned she’d impose race-based hiring quotas. Black voters in North Carolina were told Democrats were coming for their menthol cigarettes.

Every one of those messages, totally contradictory and engineered around each target’s specific fears and identities, came from the same organization, routed through a dark-money structure designed to hide that fact. 404 Media documented the Snapchat ad buys in granular detail: same PAC, same campaign, opposite messages, sorted by ZIP code, with Musk as the obscured original donor behind a dark-money nonprofit. In information security, this is called spoofing.

As Sattler points out, this kind of appeal works because it’s microtargeted and emotionally charged. Crucially, it’s also anonymous, so the recipients don’t know they’re being played for suckers.

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This isn’t a new tactic. Russia and other state-sponsored actors microtargeted communities in the runup to the 2016 election to help push Trump over the finish line (remember the “super-predators” thing?).

That was arguably the most successful enemy action since bin Laden baited the U.S. into self-ruinous lashing out 15 years earlier. But now the calls are coming from inside the house, microtargeting and mass communication are much easier to accomplish with AI tools (conveniently controlled by right-wing oligarchs), and the thoroughly corrupt president Musk purchased is fully onboard with the project.

Sattler says media literacy campaigns won’t work to counter this kind of threat, and there’s no opposition party messaging solution either because Musk isn’t looking to persuade. Instead, he’s using his vast wealth and the regrettably still-influential media platform he purchased to sow chaos, hatred and division so he and his sleazy pals can steal our democracy and loot our treasury, as they’re doing right now.

You can’t out-podcast someone whose goal isn’t persuasion but degradation of the epistemic commons itself. It still places the entire burden of defense on individual persuasion and completely ignores what Musk is actually trying to do. He isn’t trying to win people over. He’s trying to poison enough of the electorate that any result Republicans don’t like can be plausibly contested. Those are different attacks, and they require different defenses…

When someone receives a message precision-engineered around their specific identity and fears, delivered through a channel that appears organic and independent, their media literacy doesn’t protect them. Not because they’re unintelligent, but because that’s how human cognition works under emotional strain. Musk’s team has studied this and is building for it. Every false-flag ad is a spear-phishing email optimized for exactly the psychological moment when critical thinking fails.

Sattler compares media literacy strategies to the mostly ineffective user training companies do to try to stop workers from clicking spear phishing links. He notes that training doesn’t help because sophisticated scammers embed personal information designed expressly to defeat critical thinking skills.

Recognizing that, cybersecurity experts focus instead on making attacks harder for scammers to execute, taking the burden off the potential victims. Sattler proposes something similar to deal with Musk and other scammers in the political arena:

The political equivalent is mandatory, real-time disclosure of the ultimate funding source behind every digital political ad, not the shell nonprofit or the PAC name, but the actual billionaire. You don’t ask voters to do anything. You just make the spoofing structurally harder to run.

That sounds like an excellent solution, but it won’t work in the short term at the federal level because it would require legislation written and passed by people who aren’t benefitting from Musk’s scam, i.e., Democrats, who are currently out of power.

In the meantime, Sattler points to a couple of grassroots actions that have thwarted Musk. One is the Tesla Takedown protests that dented Musk’s car brand and sent him scurrying away from public-facing DOGE activities with his tail between his legs.

The other example was when Wisconsin beat back Musk’s attempt to buy a state Supreme Court seat in 2025. Judge Susan Crawford whupped the Musk-backed candidate by explicitly running against Musk:

Crawford made Musk the opponent, not Schimel, the actual name on the ballot. She ran against the money, against the interference, against the sheer gall of the richest man on earth treating a state judiciary like a personal acquisition. Her campaign wasn’t a fact-check operation or a media literacy seminar. It was a sustained, morally direct counter-attack that named the con loudly and repeatedly until the name stuck.

Musk is already gearing up for another round. He donated tens of millions already to support Republicans in the midterms and has strategized directly with Trump, Vance and Wiles, according to Sattler. So we can definitely expect more fuckery.

But Trump is now deeply unpopular, as is Musk. Sattler suggests that Democrats who are running against Musk-backed Republican opponents (which is all of them, basically) hang Musk around their necks like Crawford did. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Open thread.

How to Dispel That Musky SmellPost + Comments (98)

I Know that Guy Kidnapped a Child from an Abusive Parent, but He Gave the Kid a Good Life and Sent Her to the Best Schools!

by WaterGirl| March 2, 202612:05 pm| 69 Comments

This post is in: Breathtaking Corruption, Breathtaking Criminality and Lawlessness, Foreign Affairs

“I know that guy kidnapped a child from an abusive parent, but he gave the kid a good life and sent her to the best schools, so maybe that’s a win in the end.”

“Yeah, I know kidnapping is bad, but some good things could come out of this. Let’s talk about that.”

“Yeah” – shoves morality aside for the moment – “but he was a bad leader.”

Really? That’s the way to look at what the U.S. did in Iran?

We are smarter than this. We are better than this.

Aren’t we?

Someone please tell me that I misread a few of the comments in the morning post.

I Know that Guy Kidnapped a Child from an Abusive Parent, but He Gave the Kid a Good Life and Sent Her to the Best Schools!Post + Comments (69)

It’s Long Past Time

by WaterGirl| March 2, 202610:15 am| 99 Comments

This post is in: Breathtaking Corruption, Breathtaking Criminality and Lawlessness, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Open Threads, Political Action

Simon Rosenberg says in this post that it’s time to acknowledge that Trump is a sadist.

That’s an understatement!

I think it’s LONG PAST time to to acknowledge that Trump is a sadist.

I think it’s time to acknowledge that Trump is a sadist. He likes harming people, killing them: – USAID vaporization, 10m dead- Killing people on high seas- ICE terror regime- Cutting health care, food assistance to tens of millions- Iran War, backing genocidal Putin

— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) 2026-02-28T13:29:55.035Z

Have the Benghazi hearings started yet?

Several hours after reports of the Supreme Leader’s death in Iran, 500 Shia Muslims stormed the U.S. consulate.

9 people were killed.

Did this fucked up administration even communicate with any of our embassies that region?

At least 9 people were killed in an attack on the U.S.consulate in PakistanThis was confirmed by a correspondent of Radio Liberty’s Pakistani service at the scene.Several hours after reports of the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei,around five hundred Shia Muslims stormed the U.S. consulate

— Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) 2026-03-01T10:05:26.227Z

Fucking Sadistic Idiots

Let a thousand flowers bloom

Thanks to this administration of sadists, a whole new generation of radicalized people is surely being created right in front of our eyes.

Now let’s make some calls TODAY to help pass the War Powers resolutions!

Find contact information for your legislators

This is our moment – no matter who represents you, make the calls. Please.

It’s Long Past TimePost + Comments (99)

Monday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie| March 2, 20267:29 am| 259 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity, War

The Fire Horse in Chinatown today helping to melt that snow! ??

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— Michelle Wu ?? (@wutrain.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 2:23 PM

Congress holds the power to declare war – not the President.
I will be joining Senators Kaine, Paul and Schumer in forcing a vote on our war powers resolution to make it clear: Congress has not authorized this use of our military.

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— Sen. Adam Schiff (@schiff.senate.gov) March 1, 2026 at 8:58 PM

Trump's attack on Iran was not America First.
Trump was played by Israeli PM Netanyahu and the Saudi Crown Prince. Putting Americans at risk to advance their personal ambitions is a complete betrayal of the American people.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202…

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— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@vanhollen.senate.gov) March 1, 2026 at 2:34 PM

for reference, 73% of americans supported the war in iraq in 2003 — two years after 9/11 and two years of the bush administration making the case for it. this will be different, iran's in much worse shape to begin with, but it's starting wildly unpopular and will only get worse with consequences

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— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) March 1, 2026 at 8:30 PM

News media in general is pretty friendly towards wars—especially ones launched by Republicans-so its telling that off the bat Trumps already getting skeptical to critical headlines even from outlets that are typically pretty friendly to him

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— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 9:28 PM

After Trump launched a new war on Iran, he did not rush back to the White House or make an Oval Office address to rally the nation as other presidents have done. He stayed at Mar-a-Lago to attend a glitzy political fundraiser. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/u…

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— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 1:09 PM

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Gift link:

… On Sunday, Mr. Trump had yet to make a public appearance. He posted a second video to social media describing the continuing attacks and again calling on the Iranian people to “take back your country.” Late in the afternoon, he began his trip back to Washington, the only event on his public schedule.

Mr. Trump’s remarks were limited to the two videos and conversations with individual reporters and outlets, including The New York Times. His decision not to give a formal address came after he made little effort before the attack to lay out the case for a military assault against Iran.

His lack of public engagement, after launching a military attack that could spur a broader conflict and has already cost the lives of at least three U.S. service members and dozens of people in Iran, Israel and other countries in the region, was a striking departure from how other presidents have handled the gravity of war….

Mr. Trump’s allies have argued that his communication strategy has adapted to the changing media landscape, where many Americans get their news and updates from social media. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, celebrated Mr. Trump on social media on Saturday night as “focused,” invoking a term used by the MAGA base for critics of the president’s approach.

“NO PANICANS!” Mr. Cheung said in a statement on X. “TRUST IN TRUMP!”…

On Saturday, the president did not make himself available to the press pool, a group of reporters who are assigned to follow his movements and record his remarks. Those reporters last saw him Friday night, when he waved as he descended from Air Force One after landing in Florida.

Instead, he made his case on Saturday with an eight-minute video posted on social media, which was edited and not broadcast live.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Mr. Trump said, without specifying those threats. Key elements of what he and his advisers did assert in recent weeks about why Iran was a threat were false or unproven…

The president did not let the bombing of Iran upend his schedule, including his plans to attend a fund-raising dinner to support MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC.

Ms. Leavitt said Saturday that Mr. Trump had no intention of breaking that commitment. The fund-raiser, she said, was “more important than ever.”

Optics.
@thedailybeast.bsky.social
www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hosts-…

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 1:40 PM

Reporter: What’s your message to the families of the fallen?
Trump:
(via @acyn.bsky.social)

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 7:52 PM

Oops.

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— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 10:13 PM

You fools in the media ivory towers don’t realize that in the critical election year, when Donald trump triumphantly campaigns to the country about how he helped kill the supreme leader of Iran, a man with the blood of countless Americans on his hands, American voters will shower our president with…

— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 10:01 AM

…praise and plaudits ranging all the way from “who are you talking about” to “I can’t buy anything”

— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 10:02 AM

There’s that number.

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— Malaclypse the Middle (@malaclypse.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 6:39 PM

Monday Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (259)

On The Road – Albatrossity – Ducks (not in a row)

by WaterGirl| March 2, 20265:00 am| 22 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging

I have been so distracted by The Horrors that I had lost track of how low we were on OTR posts in the queue. We’re good thru Wednesday, and then it looks like we’ll be taking a break until you guys send some in.

Albatrossity

We’re done with kingfishers, but not done with wanna-be kings, at least at the time of this writing. So we’ll start with a new batch of bird images and a new family, the Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans), since it is spring and some of these will soon be coming to a local body of water near you. These are familiar birds for birders and non-birders alike, either as the real thing at your local park, or as cartoon characters. And there are a lot of them; one taxonomy classifies them into 53 genera and 174 species worldwide. We’ll start with some North American species, then head wherever else I have managed to get a halfway decent photograph of a duck.

Near Manhattan KSMarch 6, 2024

First up is the familiar Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), the most widely distributed of all the dabbling ducks (ducks which generally don’t dive for their food, and which can take off directly from the water without having to flap and paddle before lifting off). Formerly a species found only in the northern hemisphere, they were (of course) introduced in Anglophone countries by hunting groups known as acclimatization societies. So now they are found in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and even the Falkland Islands. Known to hunters as “greenheads”, this male shows us how it got that name. Click here for larger image.

On The Road – Albatrossity – Ducks (not in a row)Post + Comments (22)

Excellent Read: Mars, Beyotches!

by Anne Laurie| March 1, 202611:41 pm| 89 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Space

Link here https://t.co/3Is5Q8Q1gI. (I shared this yesterday, but forgot that this site spikes such links)

— Pinboard (@Pinboard) February 27, 2026

So. Many. Moving. Parts!…Maciej Cegłowski, aka Pinboard, at his SubStack Mars for the Rest of Us, with “A Primer on Long-Duration Life Support”:

Life support is the biggest technical obstacle to the human exploration of Mars.

This fact makes people mad, because there are all kinds of other obstacles that are fun to solve (orbital refueling, landing heavy payloads, making rocket fuel out of Martian air), and life support has a fun factor of zero. It is a thankless world of dodgy sensors, failing bearings, and bacteria trying to grow on absolutely everything.

But if we want to get to Mars alive, we need for this stuff to work.

Requirements
An astronaut in space needs 840 grams of oxygen, 2.8 kilos of water, and 1.8 kilos of dried food a day to stay alive. They also appreciate the little touches, like water to wash with (0.7 kg), fresh clothes (1.5 kg per week), wet wipes (0.2 kg/day) and a toilet (1.4 kg for canisters and wipes).

On the output side, each astronaut exhales around a kilo of carbon dioxide and pees out a liter and a half of urine. They also produce a fairly small quantity of feces and menses (though many women opt to medically induce amenorrhea during space flight)…

On shorter missions like Apollo (~12 days) or Shuttle flights (~14 days) it makes sense to pack everything a crew needs with no attempts at recycling. In this paradigm, carbon dioxide can be scrubbed from the cabin air with disposable lithium hydroxide cartridges; everything else is carried along in the space version of a picnic basket.

On longer missions, trying to carry single-use supplies gets unwieldy. A crew of four on a 1,000 day mission to Mars would need 48 tons of consumables, about equal to the mass of the entire spacecraft. And even if mass were unlimited, there simply wouldn’t be enough room to fit everything on board.

So past a threshold of about 30 days, you have to make some attempt at recycling…

Food
Food may be my favorite technical barrier to Mars travel, because everyone assumes it has been solved, or that it is easy to solve, while the people working on it mop the sweat from their brow during the day and try keep the shaking in their hands from rattling the ice cubes in their whisky glass at night.

Astronauts have hated space food ever since the first meat cubes came back uneaten from Project Gemini. Even on the ISS, where fresh foods are often available, getting crews to eat adequately is a struggle. Whether it’s because the stomach senses satiety differently in zero gravity, or because the space station smells like a toilet, crews have historically consumed only 80% of their rations.

On a multiyear mission, such a calorie level would lead to malnutrition and embarrassing deficiency diseases like space scurvy. So we need to come up with ready-to-eat meals that are nutritious, storable for five years without refrigeration, and appetizing enough that a crew can eat them for a thousand days without wanting to murder each other.

These kinds of meals don’t exist. Their closest equivalent is the military meal ready-to-eat (MRE). But as any soldier or prepper will tell you, an MRE is not something you can subsist on. The meals are not nutritionally complete, and soldiers’ own backronym for the combat ration (meals refusing to exit) sheds light on a notorious shortcomings. Defense department guidelines stress that soldiers should not be fed MREs for more than 21 days at a time…

Much more information, and useful charts, at the link. (I am mildly fixated on the fact that astronauts use the same indicator for discarding their disposable undergarments that my teenager brothers used to decide when to change theirs.)

Excellent Read: <em>Mars, Beyotches!</em>Post + Comments (89)

War for Ukraine Day 1,466: A Brief Sunday Night Update

by Adam L Silverman| March 1, 202610:10 pm| 15 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

Another long busy day, so I’m just going to run through the basics again.

So, calendar spring is here.

Ukraine surviving this winter was not a miracle. It is tireless, professional, devoted, 24/7 work of Ukraine’s energy workers and Defence Forces.

Heroyam slava!

— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 2:39 AM

For the first time in months or maybe years, Ukraine is liberating more territory than it’s losing, says Come Back Alive Foundation chief Taras Chmut. Russia lost the winter battle and Ukraine keeps fighting, he wrote on X.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 6:33 AM

You may recall that Lil Narco Rubio and US Embassy in Kyiv sent the Ukrainian government a communique telling them to stop attacking Russian petroleum facilities in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krair, Russia. Ukraine has now delivered its reply:

🔥 Massive combined attack on Novorossiysk, UAVs and maritime drones used. Sheskharis oil terminal hit, – Dnipro Osint

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 6:11 PM

The moment a Ukrainian kamikaze drone strikes a port crane in the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 5:21 PM

Monitoring channels are publishing footage of the aftermath of a drone strike on the port of Novorossiysk in russia.

Reports indicate that an oil terminal is on fire 🔥

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 4:37 PM

🪓 Chop wood.
🪣 Carry water.
🔥 Sanction Russian oil.

Novorossiysk is currently receiving drone sanctions, and reports indicate that the oil terminal has successfully intercepted Ukrainian drones with its infrastructure.

🪓 Chop wood.
🪣 Carry water.
🔥 Sanction Russian oil.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 4:18 PM

Another successful interception 😎

Even if oil prices go up next week, Russa won’t benefit if they can’t export oil from their terminals.

🪓 Chop wood.
🪣 Carry water.
🔥 Sanction Russian oil.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 4:22 PM

BOOM! Novorossiysk port and oil terminal, russia 🔥 🤩

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 6:43 PM

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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The Russians Wanted to Turn This Winter Into the Destruction of Ukraine and Ukrainians, but Ukraine Did Not Break, We Preserved Our Energy System – Address by the President

1 March 2026 – 20:42

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today is the day when each of us can rightfully say: we made it through this winter, the most difficult in all the years of the war. The Russians wanted to turn this winter into the destruction of Ukraine and Ukrainians. But Ukraine did not break. We preserved our energy system. This winter, Ukraine repelled a large number of massive attacks, each involving dozens of missiles and hundreds of “shaheds.”

The Russians began this winter with a massive strike on December 6, which became one of the largest – more than 700 different targets were involved, including more than 50 missiles alone. There were many ballistic missiles this winter. In total, more than 700 missiles of various types were used. No nation has gone through such trials. Ukrainians overcame this as well. I am grateful to everyone who protects and restores our energy sector: all employees of energy companies, every repair and emergency crew, the entire staff of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine – you are truly heroes.

Of course, I want to thank every Ukrainian warrior: all those defending our sky, every air defense crew, Ukrainian aviation, mobile fire groups, all developers, manufacturers, and operators of interceptors – thank you!

I thank the municipal services and the local and regional authorities who truly stood with people this winter – with their cities and villages. Everyone in Ukraine saw who was truly capable of what in governing cities and communities.

I especially want to recognize Ukrainian entrepreneurs, every business in Ukraine – both small and large – that managed to adapt in these conditions, preserved jobs, made it through this winter, and continues working in Ukraine. It is extremely important that we remain resilient going forward.

We know that the Russians are not going to cease their strikes. This is a fact. They are preparing new attacks. Against infrastructure. Intelligence provides the relevant information. Therefore, everyone whose job and service is to protect Ukraine from strikes must be just as focused this spring as in winter. Every threat must be countered, and as many Russian targets as possible must be shot down. The situation in the Middle East shows how difficult it is to provide one hundred percent protection against missiles and “shahed” drones. Even in the Gulf countries, which have more advanced air defense systems than those provided to us so far by our partners – and in greater numbers – not all ballistic missiles are intercepted. There are also “shaheds” that air defense in the region has not stopped. Everyone can now see that our experience in defense is, in many respects, irreplaceable. We are ready to share this experience and help those nations that helped Ukraine this winter and throughout this war. Europe must finally ensure real strength for itself – a real capability to defend its sky, its land, and its sea from any type of attack. In particular, this requires building sufficient air defense production capacity – both against drones and against ballistic missiles. We are now closely monitoring every change in the situation around Iran. Ukrainian intelligence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – everyone is engaged. We are in coordination with partners. It is important that this chance for change for Iran be used properly. The Iranian people have long effectively been alone against violence – against the Iranian regime. This regime, which has killed tens of thousands of its own citizens just in recent months, which has always fueled and organized wars in the region, which provided Russia with “shaheds” and the technology for their production – this regime has brought this attitude upon itself. It is important that there be a clear position in support of people and human life. It is important that American determination, the determination of everyone in the world truly work. I thank everyone who is trying to prevent the war from expanding and who is defending against strikes from Iran. And I also thank everyone who tells Russia – now, based on the experience of the Iranian regime – that justice does come. Russia must end its war against Ukraine, end it in a dignified way – diplomacy can ensure this. The world is giving Russia an opportunity for diplomacy – they should use it. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine! I thank everyone who helps us!

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

Day 459 of daily, uninterrupted, nationwide protests in Georgia.

Faces are blurred, as always, as more and more protesters are jailed for peacefully standing on the sidewalk.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 12:40 PM

Iranians in Georgia have gathered in front of the Iranian Embassy, protesting in solidarity and celebrating. Georgian activists joined them with a traditional dance. 🇬🇪🇮🇷

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 11:14 AM

Belgium and France:

🚨 Belgium, together with France, has detained the tanker Ethera, linked to Russia’s shadow fleet.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 11:28 AM

Slovakia:

Ukraine offered Slovak PM Fico dates for a visit – March 6 or 9. Zelensky invited him to discuss the Druzhba pipeline and other pressing issues.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 3:06 PM

Hungary:

I heard this buffoon posting random anti-Ukraine propaganda slop 24/7 (in English!) was actually supposed to run a country instead.

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— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 5:03 PM

Back to Ukraine.

Here’s some of tonight’s outgoing Ukrainian fires:

As of an hour ago the entire south of Russia was under a massive drone attack, including jet-powered drones.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 3:04 PM

“The Iranians and their Russian allies had four years of target practice on Ukrainian cities to improve their Shahed drones. And most of the world smiled politely and thought it is just the Ukrainians’ unfortunate problem.”
@yarotrof.bsky.social

— Darth Putin (@darthputinkgb.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 4:12 AM

Ironically, if Donald had given Ukraine Tomahawks they could’ve wiped out the Shahed drone factory we built. Now Iran can get replacements from us when they run low.

— Darth Putin (@darthputinkgb.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 10:53 AM

Destruction of a Russian Buk M1 air defense system by a loitering munition strike by the 422nd Regiment of Unmanned Systems

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 2:26 PM

Ukrainian aviation smashed a large building packed with Russian troops, two regimental command posts and a stockpile of ammo and drones, Soniashnyk reports. Stay tuned for details.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 7:54 AM

🇺🇦 Ukrainians aviation struck Russian positions with GBU-62 bomb, – Soniashnyk

The enemy suffered losses due to the collapse of the building’s floors.

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 6:06 PM

Kharkiv:

Sunday morning. russia is attacking Kharkiv with Iranian Shahed drones.

Same drones. Different reaction.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 2:03 AM

March 1 marks the fourth anniversary of the cruise missile strike on the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building. At the time of the attack, territorial defense fighters, military personnel, and volunteers were inside.

The strike killed 44 people and wounded another 15.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 7:58 AM

Even the military personnel in the building had mostly been civilians just a week earlier; they had joined the territorial defense to protect their homes and families from the Russian invasion. They were our bravest.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 7:58 AM

Russian occupied Mariupol:

The USF destroyed Russia’s Imbir radar and S-300V near Mariiupil on the night of March 1 using FP-2 guided strike drones with 100kg warhead.

Imbir is a rare mobile radar used within the S-300V.

The S-300V 9A84 launcher is a high-value component with an engagement range of up to 250 km.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 2:48 AM

/2. Targeted Imbir radar is a decoy

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 3:08 AM

Sevastopol, Russian occupied Crimea:

Occupied Sevastopol is without power following a drone attack.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 3:01 PM

Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast:

Ukrainian aircraft struck the Krasnolimanskaya mine east of Rodynske. Preliminary reports suggest Russian “Rubikon” unit operators were targeted, with significant losses reported.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 10:04 AM

Zaporizhzhia Oblast:

Ukrainian Air Assault Forces’ 132nd Recon Battalion broke through Russian lines on the Oleksandrivskyi front. Scouts destroyed bunkers and ammo depots, opening a bridgehead for further tactical advancement.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 8:58 AM

Belgorod Oblast, Russia:

Air defenses active right now over Russian Belgorod. Reports say there may be a hit, according to Exilenova+.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 9:57 AM

Kursk Oblast, Russia:

Ukrainian border guards from the “Steel Border” brigade knocked out two Russian tanks on the Kursk front.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 7:09 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron.

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today.

Here is some adjacent material.

Vaska enjoys massages 💙🥰

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) February 28, 2026 at 11:31 AM

Me too Vaska, me too!

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 1,466: A Brief Sunday Night UpdatePost + Comments (15)

Scout211 on How to Dispel That Musky Smell (Mar 2, 2026 @ 3:38pm)

Bill Arnold on Monday Morning Open Thread (Mar 2, 2026 @ 3:37pm)

Baud on How to Dispel That Musky Smell (Mar 2, 2026 @ 3:37pm)

Miss Bianca on How to Dispel That Musky Smell (Mar 2, 2026 @ 3:36pm)

schrodingers_cat on How to Dispel That Musky Smell (Mar 2, 2026 @ 3:36pm)

You cannot shame the shameless.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Fight them, without becoming them!

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Be a wild strawberry.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

How to Dispel That Musky Smell

I Know that Guy Kidnapped a Child from an Abusive Parent, but He Gave the Kid a Good Life and Sent Her to the Best Schools!

It’s Long Past Time

Have the Benghazi hearings started yet?

Fucking Sadistic Idiots

Let a thousand flowers bloom

Now let’s make some calls TODAY to help pass the War Powers resolutions!

Monday Morning Open Thread

On The Road – Albatrossity – Ducks (not in a row)

Albatrossity

Excellent Read: Mars, Beyotches!

War for Ukraine Day 1,466: A Brief Sunday Night Update

The Russians Wanted to Turn This Winter Into the Destruction of Ukraine and Ukrainians, but Ukraine Did Not Break, We Preserved Our Energy System – Address by the President