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

CPI inflation soars by most since 2022 as gas prices bite https://twitter.com/HedgieMarkets/status/2042430442448548273 GDP Growth Revised Downward Again >The final GDP report for the last quarter of 2025 was downgraded to 0.5% from the previous 0.7% estimate which had already been revised downward from 1.4%.

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Alarm as acting CDC director delays report showing Covid vaccine benefits

Iran:

https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/2042185048867119255 https://twitter.com/MirabelTweets1/status/2042139240100733122 https://twitter.com/Bill43111/status/2042263054650614157 The Art of Pretending You Have a Deal >Trump’s last-minute cease-fire acceptance is an example of the Madman Theory only insofar as the madman gambit has a lousy track record of securing greater concessions — and this cease-fire also failed to gain anything for the United States. Meanwhile, the strategic losses caused by this war will continue to mount. >Of course, calling this a ‘deal’ or an ‘arrangement’ is an overly generous description — What actually happened sounds more like a series of coordinated social media posts… >I’m serious: what tactical gain did the Trump administration secure by agreeing to the two-week cease-fire beyond the cease-fire itself? Sure, President Trump saved himself from committing war crimes, but that’s not exactly a tactical win. https://twitter.com/MarkSeddon1962/status/2042233867499663602 Why the Iran Ceasefire Changes Everything >The two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is being described as a pause in hostilities. That description is misleading. What has occurred is not simply a halt in bombing. It is the clearest indication yet of a shift in power. >By the core standard of international politics—who can shape the behavior of others—the outcome is unmistakable. Iran has demonstrated the ability to impose costs on the global system and force adjustment across multiple actors. The United States, despite overwhelming military superiority, has accepted a halt under conditions it cannot fully dictate. >This is not equilibrium. It is a reversal. Trump’s Staggering Humiliation in Iran >Desperate for an off-ramp, the president is setting up the U.S. to lose another war in the Middle East—even if the ceasefire doesn’t hold. Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed >Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked Thursday, limited to a handful of Iran-linked ships, another sign that a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran has yet to improve flows through the world’s key energy chokepoint. >Just seven vessels, all of which have either called at Iranian ports or were carrying Iranian cargo, were observed making the voyage out of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Normal transits in both directions are more like 135 a day.

———— Vatican Navy Didn’t Offer Help? ————

https://twitter.com/MDLatinMass/status/2042099506284515778

Politics:

Keir Starmer: ‘I’m fed up’ with Trump and Putin affecting UK energy costs How Roger Stone persuaded Trump not to fire Tulsi Gabbard

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/2042312177068163230 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2042313241460879831 https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/2042329434947035560 https://twitter.com/ImBreckWorsham/status/2042370390110933149 https://twitter.com/WajahatAli/status/2042350505842659499 https://twitter.com/JoJoFromJerz/status/2042360428458557718

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/OurShallowState/status/2042243327211499932

———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————

https://twitter.com/NormOrnstein/status/2042070393154945096

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/2042319689812972019 https://twitter.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/2042250173175222456 https://twitter.com/jimstewartson/status/2042461315734913055

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/realmrpomble/status/2041974028911378891

Serendipity:

https://twitter.com/PulpLibrarian/status/2042310148593537034 What Will Humanity Do With the Moon? >As the Artemis missions work to build a permanent lunar home, we should remember why we keep going back. ![BF94AEF6EE1F4649A8CCC739E7C43C7A.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/preparedwombat/NUPF97Wa-BF94AEF6-EE1F-4649-A8CC-C739E7C43C7A.jpeg) ![BA732FFB39EA460E871A5F7EE2773E11.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/preparedwombat/kIbR7aSh-BA732FFB-39EA-460E-871A-5F7EE2773E11.png)^{Badge thanks to @arcange} meme source ^{Want a free Hive account? Join Hive using my referral link.} What is Hive?

#autocracy

@preparedwombat

Odds and Ends — 10 April 2026