---

---

The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Clarence Garlow

---

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues and cajun guitarist Clarence Garlow. Enjoy!

^{Clarence Garlow - She's So Fine}

"It’s hilarious that there are billionaires poisoning every facet of our society and making everyone miserable and starting insane wars and incinerating the biosphere and there are people trying to tell me I should be angry at Muslims."

-- Caitlin Johnstone

---

News and Opinion

Is this what freedom looks like?

As Trump threatens to blow up Iranian desalination plants and US-Israeli attacks on civilian targets get more and more egregious, an article from Middle East Eye titled “Iranian livelihoods are being blown apart by US and Israeli bombs” paints a picture of the way people’s lives are being ruined even among those who are fortunate enough to survive the onslaught.

“They [the US and Israel] said they were bringing us freedom. Is this what freedom looks like?” says a 40 year-old man in Tehran after his small optical store was obliterated despite no military targets being located in the area.

And yet the next time the US wants to bomb a country to topple its government we’re going to see its diaspora cheerleading the attack and telling everyone this time it really is about bringing freedom and democracy to the victims of a tyrannical regime. There are suckers in every country.

Better To Die In Iran

Trump warns Tehran ‘more to follow’ after strike destroys Iran’s largest bridge

Donald Trump claimed responsibility for destroying Iran’s largest bridge, a day after he threatened to bomb the country “back to the stone ages” if a deal to end the five-week-long war he started was not reached. The US president shared footage of part of the newly built 136 metre-high $400m B1 suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj collapsing dramatically on to the causeway below amid a rising plume of black smoke.

Eight people were killed and 95 wounded, according to Karaj, Iran’s state media. The middle of the bridge was struck twice. Later imagery showed a clear gap at the heart of what had been one of Iran’s premier infrastructure projects. “The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again,” the US president posted on the Truth Social website, and he warned there would be “much more to follow” if a settlement was not reached.

A day earlier, in a primetime speech Trump had declared the war the US and Israel launched on Iran on 28 February was a success “nearing completion”, and that the US would “very shortly” achieve nearly all its strategic objectives. But in his White House address, the president also repeated a threat to destroy Iran’s power plants, potentially cutting off electricity to millions of people. “We are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously,” he said.

Iran said it would conduct “more crushing, broader and more destructive” attacks in the future. The war would continue until the “permanent regret and surrender” of Iran’s enemies, said Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters.

This is nothing but atrocity propaganda.

This bridge wasn't even operational. It was under construction. https://t.co/LBymPk3EDH

— CODEPINK (@codepink) April 2, 2026

This is what terrorism looks like, state terrorism, we do it to others and then we act shocked when others do it back to us.

War crimes: https://t.co/rrcJ05lRGB

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 2, 2026

LtCOL. Karen Kwiatkowski : Trump Has No Off Ramp

US striking civilian structures a sign of 'moral collapse', says Iranian foreign minister

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Washington’s recent strikes on civilian infrastructure will not force Tehran to back down, adding that such actions “convey the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray”.

“Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender,” Araghchi said in a post on X. “It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray. Every bridge and building will be built back stronger.

Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender.

It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray. Every bridge and building will be built back stronger. What will never recover: damage to America's standing. pic.twitter.com/872zuE36qD

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 2, 2026

Oil price jumps and markets slide after Trump warning to Iran

Oil prices have soared after Donald Trump vowed in a televised speech to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the coming weeks, knocking hopes of a near-term end to the conflict in the Middle East. Brent crude prices jumped by as much as 8% on Thursday to $109.74 a barrel, reversing Wednesday’s drop when hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran war pushed the international benchmark below the $100-a-barrel mark at one point.

The cost of oil produced in the US also jumped, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate – crude that is drilled and processed in the US – rising by 11% to $111.60 a barrel, over the $110 mark for the first time since 9 March. However, Brent crude later eased to $106.40, up 5% on the day, following a report that Iran and Oman are working on a “protocol” to cover marine traffic in the crucial strait of Hormuz shipping channel.

Chris Beauchamp, the chief market analyst at IG, said investors were betting on the effects of long delays to oil supply deliveries from the Gulf, after Trump failed to provide any guidance on how the US-Israeli conflict with Iran might come to an end. “In what might be the most dramatic April fools of recent years, Donald Trump did nothing of what was expected in his speech. Instead of ‘no more war’, we got ‘no, more war!’, with heavier strikes expected and a fresh warning of attacks on power plants,” Beauchamp said.

“This leaves markets back where they were last week, and now we have to price in hundreds of millions of barrels of oil that aren’t coming out any time soon … markets are back to pricing in economic catastrophe.”

Iran DOWNS US F-15 Over Tehran, TORCHES Amazon – Trump is DESPERATE | KJ Noh & Elina Xenophontos

An extremist group in Washington, DC has claimed credit for the terrorist attack on the Iranian bridge, promising further attacks on civilian infrastructure if its demands aren't met https://t.co/UdecDiZ25Q

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) April 2, 2026

The President of the United States would like everyone to know that he is acting with criminal intent, in case there was any ambiguity. pic.twitter.com/RQjGk3imO7

— Adil Haque (@AdHaque110) April 2, 2026

Pepe Escobar: IRAN RETALIATION IMMINENT

‘A litany of lies’: Trump’s rambling primetime Iran address sparks backlash

Donald Trump’s primetime nationwide address on the war with Iran caused widespread bewilderment, with commentators voicing shock at his vow to continue bombing to “bring them back to the stone ages”. Speculation before Wednesday’s speech from the White House Blue Room suggested that the president might be about to signal a winding up of the US military effort, which began on 28 February.

Instead, in a 19-minute address during which he several times slurred his words and stumbled over syntax, Trump said vaguely that “we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly. We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.”

Trump’s speech came under attack as soon as he had finished. Robert Malley, who served as lead negotiator for the nuclear deal – known as the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) – signed during Barack Obama’s presidency in 2015 – homed in on Trump’s threat to send Iranians “back to the stone ages”.

“Two takeaways from Trump’s speech,” Malley wrote on Bluesky. “1. That so many still pay attention to what he says, which has no link to reality or to what he might or might not do; 2. that he so cavalierly threatens war crimes (to bring Iran back to the stone age) on behalf of an unlawful & unjustified war.” The “stone age’ threat was underlined by the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, who posted on “Back to the stone age.”

Other commentators noted the lack of an endgame or sense of direction in Trump’s remarks. Ian Bremmer, the founder and president of the Eurasia Group, a foreign policy thinktank, called the address “19 minutes of a rambling, unmoored and unserious commander in chief. President Trump is in way over his head.”

IRAN WAR: Bridges, Electric Power Plants Next /Lt Col Daniel Dav is & Robert Barnes

Heh, I have a heck of an idea for these morons. Why don't they try pressuring the US and Israel to stop their illegal war of aggression and see if they can work something out after that?

Coalition of countries discuss ‘every possible measure’ to pressure Iran into reopening strait of Hormuz

More than 40 countries gathered to discuss “every possible diplomatic, economic and coordinated measure” to pressurise Iran into reopening the strait of Hormuz, the UK foreign secretary has said. After chairing a virtual summit on Thursday, Yvette Cooper said coordinated action was needed as Iran’s “reckless strikes” on international shipping and efforts to “hijack the global economy” were hitting nations from across the globe “who played no part in this conflict”.

Whitehall sources said there were discussions at the summit about getting more countries from the global south to put economic pressure on Iran to make sure it does not profit from closing the strait. They said the scale of condemnation of Iran’s actions from countries that have previously been unwilling to resort to sanctions was striking.

One option being examined by the UN is whether a humanitarian shipping corridor can be opened to make sure fertiliser gets through to prevent food shortages in poorer countries.

As well as this week’s meeting, there will be a further military discussion next week on whether it may be possible to clear sea mines and rescue trapped ships in the strait of Hormuz.

If Eric Cartman Started a War, This is How It Would Go

Top US army officer steps down after Hegseth reportedly demanded removal

Randy George, the US army’s top officer, is stepping down from his role after the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, reportedly requested that he retire immediately. The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that George, who had been serving as the army’s 41st chief of staff, was retiring.

“General Randy A George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement shared on social media.

George’s removal could potentially add to conflicts between Hegseth and army leadership. The defense secretary has been engulfed by many scandals, including allegations of war crimes in the Caribbean and an inspector general report accusing him of mishandling classified military intelligence.

U.S. Fighter Jet DOWNED In Iran, CREW MISSING

Firm backed by Trump sons tries to sell drone interceptors to Gulf states being attacked by Iran

A drone-maker backed by Donald Trump’s two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the US military led by their father. The sales drive by Florida-based Powerus – which announced a deal last month to bring aboard Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr – positions the company to potentially benefit from a war that their father began.

“These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want,” said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush. “This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war – a war he didn’t get the consent of Congress for.”

Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich told the Associated Press that the company is making sales pitches that include drone demonstrations in several Gulf countries to show how its defensive drone interceptors could help them ward off Iranian attacks. “Our team is doing many demos across the Middle East right now for our interceptors,” Velicovich said in an text exchange. “We have very incredible tech that can save lives.”

The Trump brothers’ deal with Powerus could give them sizable equity stakes. Their father, as commander-in-chief, launched the strikes with Israel against Iran over a month ago that began the war, the impetus for why these Gulf countries now need protection.

Michael Hudson: World Will Not Be the Same After the Iran War

President of Wisconsin’s largest mosque detained by US immigration agents

The president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque was detained by federal immigration agents, drawing accusations from local officials and religious leaders that the arrest was motivated by his statements against Israel. Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by nearly a dozen US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home, according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.

Supporters called for his immediate release on Thursday and his attorneys said he was detained on the grounds that he is a foreign policy threat. His attorneys say the claims have no merit. Instead, they believe Sarsour, 53, was targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts, which have faced scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and high conviction rates of Palestinians. Israel rejects those claims. The offenses included allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli officers, according to attorney Munjed Ahmad.

“Our government should not be doing the bidding of a foreign government,” Ahmad said of Israel. “There’s no question in my mind is that this is to stifle the discourse on the Palestinian narrative.”

Attorneys said Sarsour, born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has no criminal record in the US.

Sarsour has been the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest Islamic organization in the state, for five years. His attorneys say he’s held a green card for years and lived in the Milwaukee area. His wife and four adult children are US citizens. His arrest prompted outcry from top elected officials, including Milwaukee’s mayor, Cavalier Johnson, who called it “an outrage”.

Democrats pay visit to ICE detention facility where abuse claims rife

Two California lawmakers conducted an oversight visit Thursday at ICE’s Otay Mesa detention center, an immigrant detention facility that has faced allegations of overcrowding, poor conditions and sexual assaults.

The visit had been previously scheduled. But congressman Mike Levin, a Democrat, told the Guardian he planned to conduct more unannounced visits following a federal court ruling that struck down the Trump administration’s policy of forcing members of Congress to announce oversight visits seven days in advance.

“It’s really critically important that we continue to show up unannounced as often as feasible to make sure that basic human dignity is being adhered to,” Levin said in an interview after the visit. “I’m not one that’s just going to take the word of those involved. I’m going to go there and find out for myself.”

Otay Mesa is run as a for-profit business by CoreCivic, the country’s largest private prison contractor. Located in San Diego, near the US-Mexico border, the facility has the capacity to lock up 1,500 immigrant detainees.

Levin cited a long list of humanitarian concerns about the facility, including medical care, food, access to uninterrupted sleep, family visitation and access to legal counsel. “We read all kinds of stories,” Levin said. “We hear from constituents.” Levin said his office has repeatedly had problems with detainees struggling to locate and sign privacy waiver paperwork that members of Congress need to help them with their cases. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, also a Democrat, toured the facility with him.

Trump fires Pam Bondi, a loyalist and ally, as attorney general

Donald Trump has fired Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, dismissing a loyalist who reshaped the justice department but still failed to please a president fixated on prosecuting political enemies and frustrated with the politically explosive release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: “Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900. We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.”

The president added that Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, would serve as acting attorney general. Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman who now leads the Environmental Protection Agency, is said to be a top contender to replace Bondi. In a statement, Bondi said she was “thrilled” about “moving to an important private sector role”.

“Leading President Trump’s historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime, and easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history,” she posted on social media. Bondi said in her new job she “will continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration”.

During her 14 months as attorney general, Bondi presided over a major purging of career justice department staff, shifted focus away from criminal prosecutions toward immigration cases, and spearheaded the defense of Trump’s towering stack of executive orders as they faced legal challenges. But she will be perhaps best remembered for complying with Trump’s public demand last year that federal prosecutors bring criminal charges against his personal enemies. Within three weeks, federal prosecutors had indicted James Comey, a former FBI director, and Letitia James, the New York attorney general.

Bondi is also known for her contradictory statements about the Epstein files, which helped drive the push for their release in the name of transparency. Trump had grown increasingly impatient in recent months with her handling of the Epstein documents, which have become a continuing liability to the White House. Democrats say Bondi cannot escape a congressional subpoena scheduled for later this month over her handling of the files, and will be expected to be back in front of lawmakers.

---

---

Civil rights groups sue Trump administration over order to limit mail-in voting

A coalition of civil rights groups sued the Trump administration on Thursday, saying that a new executive order to limit mail-in voting is unconstitutional. The order, which Trump signed on Tuesday, instructs the federal government to come up with a list of eligible citizens who can vote in each state. It also instructs the US Postal Service to only transmit mail-in ballots to people on that list.

“In effect, the Order seeks to interpose a federal screening regime between voters and the ballot box by empowering a federal mail carrier to withhold those voters’ ballots,” says the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts. “The Constitution forbids this attempted usurpation of power. The President’s role is to execute the laws enacted by Congress – not to create new ones. Because the Executive Order exceeds the President’s constitutional and statutory authority and intrudes upon powers reserved to Congress and the States, it is unlawful and must be set aside.”

Article I, section 4 of the constitution says that states have control over how elections are run, and authorizes Congress to pass laws for federal contests. The constitution gives the president no power over elections.

“We understand this order to be an illegal and unconstitutional attempt by the President to seize control of processes that are basically run by the states,” said Davin Rosborough, deputy director of the Voting Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, and a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the suit. “It’s a recipe for chaos and ultimately disenfranchisement.”

The executive order violates the separation of powers outlined in the constitution as well as laws that require neutral treatment of the mail, the lawsuit says. The executive order also runs afoul of a provision in the Voting Rights Act that prohibits government officials from blocking qualified voters from casting a ballot, and the Privacy Act, a 1974 law that sets certain restrictions on how the government can go about collecting information on Americans.

---

---

Drive slower, work from home and ditch the tie: the world responds to Iran war energy crisis

Shrinking fuel stocks and soaring prices are leading countries around the world to burn coal, ration fuel, shorten work weeks and tell citizens to stay at home. Fossil fuel supplies have reduced since the war against Iran led to the closure of the strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil and seaborne gas. The shortfall has prompted emergency measures as government’s attempt to halt rising costs that have thrown economies into chaos. The International Energy Agency (IEA), whose members sought to calm markets by releasing 400m barrels of oil from their strategic reserves last month, has called for actions such as flying less and driving slower.

The US, which, with Israel, bombed Iran in late February, has threatened further blows to Iranian oil infrastructure that may prolong the war and raise fuel prices further. On Tuesday, Donald Trump lashed out at allies who have not joined the campaign – including the UK and France – by telling them to first buy from the US and then “go get your own oil” from the Gulf. The federal government has not moved to increase subsidies or support households struggling to pay bills, but it has continued its “drill, baby, drill” policy of expanding fossil fuel production while blocking renewable projects. Last week, the Trump administration announced it would pay the French company TotalEnergies $1bn of taxpayer money to kill plans to construct windfarms off the US east coast, and instead direct investments into oil and gas.

The UK has encouraged people to stay calm as fuel prices rise, steering clear of calls to curb demand and limiting its action to financial support for people who use oil to heat their homes. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is considering plans to put extra cash into a council-run fund to help vulnerable people during financial crises, but has ruled out the universal support offered during the last energy crisis.

The EU has called for a faster shift to a clean economy – powered mainly by domestic renewables – even though some of its member states are slowing it down. Last week, Italy delayed its plan to phase out coal by more than a decade, while the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, mooted keeping coal plants online for longer and called to hasten the construction of gas-fired power plants. Several EU governments have announced fuel subsidies and tax cuts to shield consumers from price spikes.

Coal is coming back across Asia, which has been hit hardest by the energy crisis. India has ordered coal-fired power plants to be run at full capacity and avoid planned outages, while Japan is allowing less-efficient coal plants back on to the electricity market. South Korea has lifted caps on electricity from coal and announced a delay to its planned phaseout. Bangladesh, Thailand and the Philippines are also increasing electricity output from the dirtiest fossil fuel. South and south-east Asian countries have taken the greatest steps to reduce energy demand. Sri Lanka has introduced fuel rationing and a four-day working week. Vietnam has urged employers to let staff work from home. News anchors in Thailand took off their jackets on air, as the government called on people to use less air conditioning and told officials to wear short-sleeved shirts without neckties.

---

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some of which defied fair-use abstraction.

Dennis Kucinich: How to Stop the War

“Casualty Cover-Up”: The Pentagon Is Hiding U.S. Losses Under Trump in the Middle East

Iran War: Iran Pounds Israel with Huge Missile Barrage Just Before Trump’s Unhinged Speech Doubling Down on Failed Escalation; US Greatly Exposed to Shock as Inventories Depleted During April

Iran Downs Aircraft in Gulf as Missiles, Rockets Hit Israel from Three Fronts

Trump Set To Unveil His $1.5 Trillion Military Budget Request Amid Raging Iran War

AOC vows to block future US military aid to Israel, including for defensive systems

Palestine Defenders Decry ‘Intolerable’ Arrest of French Politician Rima Hassan

A Weak Left Stands By as Russia Stands Up for Cuban Sovereignty

Trump polled advisers about replacing Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief

Trump threatens 100% tariff on US drug makers that don’t strike deals to lower prices

Patient Advocates Warn Trump Pharma Tariffs Could ‘Drive Up Costs and Create More Uncertainty’

---

A Little Night Music

Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula

Clarence Garlow - I'm In A Boogie Mood

Clarence Garlow - I Feel Like Calling You

Clarence Garlow - Crawfishin´

Clarence Garlow - No No Baby

Clarence Garlow - Made Me Cry

Clarence Garlow - Blues As You Like It

Clarence Garlow - Jumpin' For Joy

Clarence Garlow - Route 90

Clarence Garlow - Jolie Tee Catin

---