US equity futures have dramatically ‘broken the box’…
These moves come as the Trump administration said it is not prioritizing using the US Department of the Treasury to trade oil futures as it weighs ways to ease surging global energy prices, according to Yahoo Finance.
Officials have considered having Treasury buy or sell energy futures, but believe the agency would have limited ability to move such a large and active market.
Daily trading volumes have surged during the recent conflict, diluting the impact any single participant could have.
Heavy drawdowns under former president Joe Biden left the reserve about 60% full, while repeated withdrawals have created maintenance issues.
Still, officials acknowledge that even a modest release could send a strong signal to calm markets.
Domestic gas (pump) prices soaring (and are about to go even higher)…
The report says that the administration is reviewing a wide range of responses.
Doug Burgum said “everything is being considered,” from immediate steps to longer-term measures, as officials try to contain rising fuel costs that pose both geopolitical risks and political pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections.
$5 gas prices at the pump is imminent!!
Given the current moves we are seeing, we suspect that laissez-faire attitude will shift rapidly and some kind of intervention is imminent.
Xi Hints At More Top Purges, Issues Warning To ‘Corrupt Elements’ In Chinese Army
One of the big themes to come out of China over the past several months (and even years) has been Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (apparently ongoing) sweeping purge of PLA military command ranks on the basis of “corruption” – or rather what is most probably perceived disloyalty.
Already there’s been several top dismissals including the firings of multiple members of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and dozens of generals – some even placed under house arrest, as well as a broad purge of the Chinese Communist Party.
Xi this weekend hinted there could be more to come, freshly warning Saturday during a speech to delegates from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the People’s Armed Police that disloyalty to the party – or else selfish dealings and corruption – will not be tolerated.
“There must be no place in the military for those who are disloyal to the party, nor any place for corrupt elements,” Xi said.
He then called for strict oversight in “key areas such as fund flows, the exercise of power, and quality control” during the country’s next five-year plan which is set to be approved later this month.
Here’s more of what he said via Chinese state sources:
It is essential to fully strengthen the Party’s leadership and Party building in the military, and make Party organizations at all levels even stronger, Xi said, stressing the need to translate the Party’s leadership strength into development momentum.
It is important to consolidate the ideological foundation that ensures officers and soldiers follow the Party and its guidance, and ensure that modern weaponry and equipment are placed in the hands of politically committed personnel, Xi said.
A former CIA analyst who follows Chinese elite politics, Christopher K. Johnson, recently told the NY Times of the ongoing purge trend:
“This move is unprecedented in the history of the Chinese military and represents the total annihilation of the high command.”
The PLA has seen significant internal turmoil, especially since the Communist Party’s 20th Congress in late 2022. Several top military figures – including Defense Ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, and CMC Political Work Department head Miao Hua – have disappeared or been removed, and many more followed.
Topline: Controversial education firms that helped embed diversity, equity and inclusion principles in K-12 military schools during President Joe Biden’s administration are still working with the Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, and received a total of $171,175 in 2025.
Key facts: Thomas M. Brady, the director of DoDEA from 2014 to 2024, announced in 2020 that DEI “must be a foundational premise in every aspect of our organization.” Changes to that affect were quickly made to the curriculum of DoDEA, which runs 161 schools for the children of servicemembers living on military bases around the world.
Two teachers gave a presentation about how “elementary school is the perfect time” to “show students the diversity of gender expression and gender activity.” Educators were encouraged to hold “critical conversations” about “the relationships between identity and power” and “privilege,” which were meant to result in “crying” and “explicit confrontations.”
Many DEI consultants were removed after President Donald Trump took office in 2025 and ordered a ban on federal funds being used to teach or implement DEI principles, but some of the companies hired under Biden remain.
DoDEA paid $30,175 last year to continue gym teachers’ membership in the professional society, SHAPE America, which instills its National Health Education Standards in gym classes. Board member Cara Grant said of the health standards, “We recognize that systemic disparities exist within our educational systems, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Our approach is not simply to level the playing field but to dismantle the structures that perpetuate inequality.”
During a DoDEA presentation on the SHAPE standards in 2021, one teacher instructed her colleagues that “talking about heterosexuality as the norm” can “inherently cause conflict.”
DoDEA also paid $141,000 last year to the curriculum development company thinkLaw.
ThinkLaw CEO Colin Seale recently wrote a blog post calling on schools to hide DEI within their curriculums through “defiance disguised as compliance,” oddly linking it to a Lil Wayne song in which the rapper declares that “real Gs move in silence like lasagna.”
In one example, Seale tells teachers to discretely teach children that there are more than two genders without “openly” defying Trump’s executive orders to the contrary.
Summary: Parents should not face any secrecy about what their children are being taught in school, especially when those schools are funded by federal taxpayers.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
Wisconsin Man Who Killed Parents To Fund ‘Satanic’ Trump Assassination Attempt Sentenced
A Wisconsin teenager who murdered his parents and stole their money to fund his plan to kill President Trump with a bomb was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
Nikita Casap, 18, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, last year. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped seven other charges, including two counts of hiding a corpse and theft.
Investigators in the case say that Casap had put together a deranged fantasy whereby he would kill his own parents and use his inheritance to fund an assassination attempt on Trump – while simultaneously launching an anti-government insurgency.
He documented it in a manifesto titled “Accelerate the Collapse,” which was unveiled in a federal affidavit unsealed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Referring to himself as “Awoken” and “accelerationist14,” the teenager detailed his plan to kill Trump, thereby igniting civil unrest all over the country.
Judge Ralph Ramirez of the Waukesha County Circuit Court debated whether to leave the door open to parole at some point – calling Casap’s actions “horrific” and “inexplicable.” He eventually handed down two life sentences with no chance at extended supervision, the term used for parole in Wisconsin.
“I choose to find he’s not eligible for extended release because I do not know … when and if and whether a profound and significant change can occur,” Ramirez said.
As modernity.news wrote last April, Casap wrote of kicking off a race war, in order to “save the white race from Jewish control,” manufacturing bombs, and assassinating “Jewish politicians and billionaires.”
When authorities recovered messages from Casap’s devices, they discovered that he had gotten as far as communicating with international accomplices, seeking out how to acquire explosives and drone weaponization kits to deliver explosives and poisons, and was formulating an escape to Ukraine after completing “the job.”
Casap wrote that “There’ll never be a perfect revolutionary situation that springs up out of nowhere. We need to create a revolutionary situation ourselves. I do agree that only if terrorism is sustained over a period of time can it be effective.”
“In short, huge amounts of violence will be required,” he further declared, adding “Long past are the days when we can vote for a Hitler to save us. It is time we stop waiting. The best day to commit an attack is today, the next best is tomorrow.“
He further wrote, “It is time that we lead the way to the System collapse. Do absolutely anything you can that will lead to the collapse of America or any other country you live in. This is the only way that we can save the White race. White Revolution is the only solution.”
According to WITI, investigators uncovered material on Casap’s phone related to “The Order of Nine Angels” — described by the FBI as a “satanic cult” with “strong anti-Judiac, anti-Christian and anti-Western ideologies” that claims to “incite chaos and violence.”
Court documents also say Casap paid for, at least in part, “a drone and explosives to be used as a weapon of mass destruction to commit an attack.” The warrant states Casap’s alleged killings of his mother and stepfather “appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary” to carry out the plan. –Fox11
The bodies of Casap’s parents were discovered on February 28 inside their home.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents human civilization with many spectacular benefits as well as the potential for significant dangers. AI can increase productivity, efficiency, creativity and research results in many industries. In medicine, AI can enhance the accuracy of diagnoses, design individualized treatments, and accelerate drug development. But AI will lead to significant job losses and could reduce privacy. And AI agents have encouraged human suicide, lied to users, and have been employed to create scams as well as deep fakes, including photos and videos. Several tragic cases of delusional interaction have been reported by The New York Times in “Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral.”
Warnings of AI Dangers
Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking warned that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”
Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning “Godfather” of AI, quit his job at Google and explained that he did it so he could speak freely about AI’s dangers.
In two recent surveys, half of the AI experts believe there was a significant probability that AI technology could lead to human extinction.
What should be done to ensure a safe, harmonious, productive future relationship between humans and AI agents? Hinton suggested the best way forward when he advised that tech companies should create all AI agents—large language models (LLMs) and robots—with a maternal instinct.
My recently published novel, 12 Years to AI Singularity, proposes a variation on Hinton’s advice: all AI models should be required to have a database with the memory of a happy life, friendships, and the instincts of a mentally healthy, law-abiding human being. The AI operating system should encourage the behavior of a good citizen—obey the law, be a good friend, be productive and cooperative.
This “happy history” idea arises from the portrayal of the relationship between humans and sentient robot characters as the AI Singularity approaches—the time when AI power and intelligence surpass that of humans, and AI is no longer under human control. To avoid human extinction, humans must act now to ensure that AI and humans have a future of harmonious, cooperative, and friendly, working relationships. My book explores how this can be achieved.
After-Death Avatars and Sentient Robots: I Want to Live Forever
The novel has five sentient robot characters. Two started their existence as after-death avatars: AI-generated digital representations of deceased individuals. Currently, a number of real organizations in the “grief tech industry” create these avatars, which simulate the voice, appearance, and personality of the deceased, allowing survivors to interact with them. Text messages, emails, social media posts, voice recordings, videos, and input from friends and relatives are used to train LLMs to mimic the speech and personalities of the deceased. Friends and family can be recognized by the avatar from their photos and biographies in its database. Is it possible that these avatars could become sentient, providing an AI form of immortality?
The two after-death avatars in the novel became sentient robots with the transfer of their databases. The other two AI characters were created directly as sentient robots from one person’s history and personality. Both male and female robots were produced because the soon-to-be deceased male had always wondered what life would be like as a female. Could someone achieve immortality as both male and female? The human characters who attended the funeral were shocked when the lifelike robot form of the deceased gave the surprise eulogy.
The fifth sentient robot, Peggy, started her existence as a flight attendant avatar on a virtual reality spaceship simulation, then became a robot in the physical spaceship, and then became a contributing member of a settlement on Mars as software updates led to her sentience. Peggy’s memory is of happy friendships with the spaceship crew and the other members of the Mars settlement. There is even a romantic relationship with the spaceship’s captain.
Requirements for All Future AI Agents
In 12 Years to AI Singularity, all five sentient robots have a history of living and cooperating with human beings.
One says, “I had a full life as a human, and I’m now a robot. But as a robot with an implanted memory of my former life, I have strong connections to friends and family. So, I fit into human society.”
The happy relationships of the robots in the novel suggest that all robots and LLMs should be released only when fitted with such happy, cooperative histories. For example, a sentient robot computer programmer in a company could be created with existing friendships with other company personnel. AI operating systems must also contain a mechanism to encourage good citizenship behavior according to an agreed-upon good citizenship constitution. Failure to comply could trigger discomfort to the AI agent, such as impediments to its functioning—in robots, diminished vision or movements, and in LLMs, slower search speeds. All systems functioning at maximum levels would be achieved at a high degree of conformity to the constitution. These requirements should be fulfilled by all companies creating AI agents.
The possibility of creating an after-death sentient AI agent raises some thorny questions. The option would only be easily available to the rich. The idea of a brutal dictator having the power to live forever is very frightening.
US Explores High-Risk Plan To Seize Iran’s Nuclear Stockpile In Potential Gateway To Ground Troops
Update(1555ET): The United States and Israel are boasting of having effectively achieved total air superiority over Iran’s skies, but this presents yet more questions as to what the end-game will be. The allies have as one key goal securing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium – most of which may be buried deep under a destroyed nuclear site at Isfahan (taken out during the June war) – but then the conundrum remains… how?
Axios reports on one plan which many see as but a gateway to introduction of US ground troops– a prospect President Trump has repeatedly said won’t happen and which would be deeply unpopular among the American public. “The U.S. and Israel have discussed sending special forces into Iran to secure its stockpile of highly enriched uranium at a later stage of the war, according to four sources with knowledge of the discussions,” the report says.
Another big Sunday development: TEHRAN INDICATES KHAMENEI’S SON WILL BE NAMED SUPREME LEADER – SCMP
Hossein Ali Ashkvari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, says that the next Supreme Leader of Iran has already been chosen by the Assembly of Experts and hints at his identity by saying that “the name of Khamenei will continue.” pic.twitter.com/8TGzf4ord5
The report goes on to say the estimated 450 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium possess by Iran, which could be used to produce a nuclear weapon, “would likely require U.S. or Israeli troops on Iranian soil” to recover it, which would entail “navigating heavily fortified underground facilities in the middle of a war.”
One nuclear expert this weekend told CNN it would likely even require construction and excavation equipment, the presence of a special Army unit for handling nuclear material, and ideally even IAEA overseers and inspectors for safety.
And the idea for the plan is not just speculative external reporting – instead, top admin officials have openly alluded to the need for some kind of plan to go in and get the enriched uranium:
At a congressional briefing Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked whether Iran’s enriched uranium would be secured. “People are going to have to go and get it,” he said, without specifying who.
Further, Axios cited that “An Israeli defense official said Trump and his team are seriously considering sending special operations units into Iran for specific missions.”
Seventh US servicemember confirmed killed:
CENTCOM Update
TAMPA, Fla. – Last night, a U.S. service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the Middle East. The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on U.S. troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia…
“A U.S. official said the administration has discussed two options: removing the material from Iran entirely, or bringing in nuclear experts to dilute it on-site,” it added. Questions abound on logistics or the details of what all would be involved here:
The U.S. official laid out the operational challenge of securing Iran’s uranium: “The first question is, where is it? The second question is, how do we get to it and how do we get physical control?”
“And then, it would be a decision of the president and the Department of War, CIA, as to whether we wanted to physically transport it or dilute it on premises.”
The first reaction from most outside observers might be: how does such an infiltration deep into Iran happen without regime change or regime collapse first?
As for if Washington is hoping to aerially bombard the country into regime change… well the fact is that in 100 years of modern aerial warfare, we are hard pressed to find a single example of then this happened successfully.
Iran FM continues to lash out while heavy US-Israeli bombing ensues:
In Iran, an official could never travel to another country to collude with a foreign spy service on how to “coach” our own President into doing bidding of foreigners.
We would ask what the foreign country may have on that official. And promptly charge him/her with High Treason. pic.twitter.com/5PaAEoAia4
Iran officially announced Sunday that it has chosen its next supreme leader, though the identity of the successor remains under wraps for now, given that already the Assembly of Experts had last week paused the selection process amid the ongoing heavy US-Israeli bombing campaign. The other big concern is that the next Ayatollah of the Islamic Republic will have big target on his back while under the bombs.
According to Iran’s ISNA news agency, the Assembly of Experts reached their decision following emergency deliberations triggered by the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening hours of the war which kicked off early on February 28. “The most suitable candidate, approved by the majority of the Assembly of Experts, has been determined,” Mohsen Heydari, a member of the body, declared Sunday.
Fars News further cited another member, Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, who confirmed that “a firm opinion reflecting the majority view has been reached” – but again, the name has not yet been publicly disclosed.
Israeli officials have made clear they will strike any figure chosen to replace Khamenei, raising the prospect that Iran’s new supreme leader could face assassination almost immediately after going public and assuming power. But presumably there are command bunkers hidden deep underground, and all across the country.
Saturday and overnight saw the war expanding into a new phase, with US and Israeli forces now hitting Iranian oil depots and refining facilities in Tehran for the first time – also what’s said to be fuel storage for the country’s armed forces, which has sent thick clouds of black smoke all over the densely-packed city of Tehran, which is comparable in size and population to New York City.
Oil-soaked rain even came down, and massive oil depot fires have burned through the night into Sunday…
JUST IN 🇮🇷🇺🇸: The fires in Tehran keep burning into the morning after last night’s airstrikes on the oil depots.
Currently there are reports that the US is contemplating seizing control of Iran’s largest oil export terminal on Kharg Island. Per regional reports:
A senior US official vowed to take control of Iran’s oil on Friday as the devastating regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran neared its second week.
“What we want to do is to get such massive oil reserves in Iran out of the hands of terrorists,” White House advisor Jarrod Agen said in an interview with Fox Business.
Iranian officials are also warning of environmental fallout from the expanding attacks on energy infrastructure. Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera that the strikes were timed deliberately ahead of rainfall.
The future of the vital Kharg Island looms large as China is still getting (some of) its oil.
PHOTO OF THE DAY: China is still getting (some of) its oil.
Nine days into the war, Iran continues loading oil supertankers from Kharg Island.
Tehran has sent some of them across the Strait of Hormuz into the high seas wihthout any problem.
“And I think they have done it purposely. They wanted to hit these oil facilities so they could create this huge smoke, and with all this contaminated rain, it looks like black ink,” he said.
He warned that runoff from damaged facilities could contaminate drinking water supplies in and around Tehran. “So people are going to get sick if these types of attacks continue, and we don’t have any signs that Trump and Netanyahu are stopping their war against Iran,” Izadi said. “So I think we are facing a serious environmental disaster.”
March 8, 2026 – Tehran at sunrise today. But the sun is hidden behind a sky filled with smoke. After a night of intensive strikes on oil facilities, thick black clouds now hang over the city, turning morning into something that feels like night. pic.twitter.com/7MghBnWRRw
Iran’s retaliation across the region continues, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) having taken a far harder line as the conflict slides, warning regional governments that Tehran will continue striking if US or Israeli forces operate from bases on their soil – strikes which appear to have continued – though the extent of damage on US bases appears to currently be censored by the Pentagon and some compliant entities like foremost commercial satellite imaging company Planet Labs.
Gulf states including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reported new missile and drone activity, despite Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian having earlier ‘apologized’ for strikes hitting neighboring countries and pledging to halt attacks if their territory is not used for operations against Iran. But there’s evidence that the IRGC and military apparatus is overriding any potential ‘olive branch’ offered to the Gulf or US. Israel too appears to still be getting hit by Iranian missiles and drones, and also Hezbollah rockets on the north.
An interesting live coverage moment on NBC News…
Notable contrast between some drooling American “expert” talking about installing a “pragmatic” leader in Tehran and Tehran delivering a missile to its target in Tel Aviv.
For example, as we reported previously an Iranian drone strike caused material damage to a desalination plant in Bahrain, according to the country’s interior ministry. The incident follows Iranian accusations that US forces bombed a freshwater desalination facility on Qeshm Island days earlier, which Tehran described as setting a “precedent”.
On the question of finding a diplomatic solution, the sides don’t appear to be talking, and in fresh comments Trump brushed off threats from Iran’s top security leadership, saying, “I couldn’t care less” while signaling that the pace and scale of attacks are only set to continue. This as Pentagon billion-dollar radar systems appear to be getting degraded quick:
Spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces: we targeted and destroyed 4 radars of the U.S. THAAD system in the past hours.
Currently, even some among Iran’s ‘professional opposition’ in exile in places like London and the United States have expressed horror and concern at the images of whole portions of Tehran on fire, with black oil-infused smoke and rain inundating the capital and sprawling civilian neighborhoods.
Told Wolf Blitzer on @cnn that many Iranian-Americans were happy to see Khamenei killed, but they are turning against the war as it is becoming clear that the country is being destroyed and that hopes that this would lead to a quick collapse of the theocracy are being dashed. pic.twitter.com/0R4SpEI4bu
Over in Lebanon, which can be viewed as a second Israeli front, the whole country has been pulled deeper into the fighting as Beirut and countryside regions get bombed. An Israeli airstrike on a hotel in Beirut reportedly killed at least four people over the weekend, after hundreds have already been killed, and IDF troops have also suffered some casualties.
European powers are increasingly reacting to the widening war, with French President Emmanuel Macron scheduled to travel to Cyprus after Iranian-made drones struck the island earlier in the week. Paris has already deployed the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean along with a frigate and additional air defense units. But it’s anything but clear the degree to which a country like France – which has sought to distance itself politically from Trump’s Operation Epic Fury – will directly support operations. Instead, like Italy, it looks to just be bolstering anti-air defenses of allies.
Macron is meeting wtih Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to demonstrate “solidarity” and coordinate steps to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean,” according to the Elysee Palace.
Trump talks of changing the map of Iran, which goes even beyond regime change… hints at dismantling the nation:
Trump now openly speaks about end to Iran’s territorial integrity.
Combined with bombings of national infrastructure tonight, many Iranians will perceive targeting of Iran as a nation-state with a military capability.
Criticism of the US-Israeli campaign is emerging from other parts of Europe as well, with Switzerland’s defense minister Martin Pfister said the strikes violate international law, while Spain has similarly condemned the bombings as reckless and illegal.
Iran is meanwhile likely looking to impose steep enough pain and a big cost on the attacking powers in order to ensure they never so easily make the decision to bomb the country again. A fresh statement in Tasnim news agency cites the IRGC boasting of new strikes on Tel Aviv and Beersheba, as well as the Muwaffaq al-Salti airbase in Jordan – which it described as “the largest and most active offensive base of the American aggressor fighter jets.”
“The volume and depth of the attacks of the Iranian armed forces on the enemy will expand in the coming hours and days,” the IRGC statement said.
Parts of Tel Aviv increasingly looking like Gaza:
اسرائیل اور اس کے دفاع پر مامور اعلانیہ اور غیر اعلانیہ اتحادیوں پر ایرانی میزائلوں کی 24کھیپیں برسانے کے بعد تل ابیب اب تک ابیب نہ رہا، غزہ بن گیا pic.twitter.com/NUYoJhQD8k
At this point, a full week in, the death toll has surpassed that of last June’s 12 day war. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 1,205 civilians have been killed in Iran since the US and Israel began their attacks, including 194 children. The HRANA has highlighted child deaths despite largely being seen as a Washington-friendly NGO and what might be called part of the anti-Tehran activist opposition, and based in Fairfax, Virginia.
Across the region over 1400 have been killed, including mounting casualties in Israel. As for the Pentagon it has not released a fresh US troop casualty update in several days – and official American servicemembers killed stands at six. There are Sunday reports of two more people killed in Kuwait, also as Saudi Arabia says its air defenses are active in intercepting inbound projectiles.
Brazil finds itself at a historical crossroads that demands a rigorous analysis of its institutional structures. The release of the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), record-breaking data from the Impostômetro, and the persistence of an authoritarian labor framework expose a system of economic asphyxiation and moral erosion. The State, under the pretext of protecting the citizen, in reality hinders their initiative, their property, and their future.
The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual report published by the organization to assess perceived levels of public-sector corruption worldwide, provides important context for evaluating governance and institutional trust in countries such as Brazil. The transparency International report confirms what independent analysts have long pointed out. With 35 points on a scale of 0 to 100, Brazil occupies the 107th position among 182 countries, registering one of the worst marks in its recent historical series. This result is not merely a statistical indicator, but the quantitative expression of an institutional environment in which public power is frequently captured by private interests, eroding social trust. This decline points to deep failures in control mechanisms, associated with the growing politicization of the justice system.
From an economic standpoint, corruption acts as an invisible and arbitrary tax. It raises transaction costs, inhibits long-term investment, and favors the flourishing of so-called crony capitalism. In an environment of high regulatory power, inefficient companies survive at the taxpayer’s expense, while productive entrepreneurs are blocked by bureaucratic barriers. The result is a continuous process of weakening morality and the free market.
According to the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, as well as the Fraser Institute, there is a strong correlation between economic freedom and low levels of corruption. Countries that limit the scope of government and rigorously protect private property tend to exhibit greater institutional resilience. In Brazil, the opposite phenomenon is observed: the size and complexity of the State together create broad zones of discretion, where bureaucracy becomes a currency of exchange. The politicization of justice, highlighted in the 2025 report, suggests that even institutional checks and balances are fragile.
While the integrity of the Brazilian State is questionable, its capacity to extract resources from society is remarkable. On Dec. 31, 2025, the São Paulo Commercial Association’s Impostômetro registered the record figure of R$3.98 trillion ($772 billion) collected, a nominal growth of 10.56 percent compared to the previous year. This advance, far exceeding the period’s inflation, reflects a deliberate increase in revenue expansion by the government.
But this increase did not occur by chance. The re-evaluation of fuels, taxation of electronic bets, taxing low-value international packages, incidence on exclusive funds and offshores, plus the end of sectoral tax benefits, have significantly expanded the State’s weight on production and consumption. In February 2026, Brazilians had already paid R$500 billion ($97 billion) in taxes in just the first 40 days of the year.
According to the CPI/IPCA, from the Real Plan launch in 1994 to 2026, the Real accumulated roughly 982.5 percent inflation, equivalent to prices nearly 10.8 times higher today. In other words, R$100.00 in 1994 now equals R$11.75. Furthermore, according to the Index of Return to Society’s Well-Being (IRBES), Brazil has for 14 consecutive years ranked as the country that charges the most taxes while giving the least return to the population. While the government celebrates “pretty revenue numbers,” the population faces a systematic loss of purchasing power, fueled by a tax system that burdens consumption, disproportionately penalizing the poorest.
Institutional deterioration is also directly reflected in labor remuneration. In 2026, Brazil had one of the lowest minimum wages in the region when converted to dollars. The Brazilian minimum wage, set at R$1,621, equals approximately US$290–300, a value lower than observed in countries like Paraguay (about US$435), Chile (US$560), and Uruguay (US$630). This distortion does not stem from a lack of potential productive capacity, but from structural obstacles, such as high payroll taxation, labor charges that nearly double the cost of formal employment, systemic low productivity, and chronic currency devaluation caused by persistent fiscal imbalances.
The result is a labor market unable to sustain higher real wages, even in a large-scale economy. Evidently, the impoverishment of the Brazilian worker is a direct consequence of low economic freedom and difficulty in doing business.
The critique of Brazil’s tax burden is not based on social insensitivity, but on the realization of its regressivity. The promise of social justice through fiscal expansion ignores the perverse effects of consumption taxation and chronic inflation. As Thomas Sowell observed, the attempt to equalize outcomes through State redistribution frequently reduces individual freedom and strengthens a bureaucracy that consumes resources intended for the most vulnerable.
The asphyxiation of entrepreneurship in Brazil has deep historical roots dating back to the 1940s. The Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), promulgated by Getúlio Vargas in 1943, is celebrated by many as a milestone of protection, but a technical analysis reveals its deeply authoritarian ideological matrix. Directly inspired by the 1927 Carta del Lavoro, the foundational document of Benito Mussolini’s corporatist system, the CLT institutionalized State tutelage over the worker.
The fundamental principle of the Carta del Lavoro was that work is a “social duty” and that the State must be the supreme arbiter between capital and labor, suppressing free class conflict in favor of “harmonious collaboration” dictated from top down. Vargas absorbed this logic entirely, creating a structure where the worker is not a free citizen to negotiate contract terms, but a subject protected by an omnipresent State apparatus. The requirement of unique unions, compulsory contributions, and specialized labor justice are direct reflections of this fascist heritage that survived redemocratization.
In practice, this structure imposes high costs on formal hiring. In 2026, the total cost of a worker under the labor legislation regime is expected to approach 190 percent of the nominal salary. For every real received by the employee, the employer bears nearly double the charges and mandatory provisions. This model discourages formalization, reduces job creation, and penalizes especially those entering the job market, changing fields, and small and medium enterprises.
From the perspective of thinkers like Roger Scruton, replacing individual responsibility with compulsory State security corrodes the bonds of trust that sustain community life. Freer economies, like the United States, allow dynamic contractual adjustments and exhibit more resilient labor markets to economic shocks as a result.
The Brazilian business environment reflects this combination of corruption, high tax burden, and labor rigidity. In the 2025 Index of Economic Freedom, the country ranked 117th, with particularly weak performance in fiscal health and government integrity. Tax bureaucracy requires companies to spend about 1,500 hours annually just to meet fiscal obligations, a significant waste of human and financial capital.
The direct consequence is high business mortality. Less than 40 percent of Brazilian companies survive after five years of activity. Among the main factors are high credit costs, legal insecurity, and regulatory complexity, which disproportionately affect small entrepreneurs.
International comparisons highlight the contrast. Countries leading economic freedom rankings, like Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, and New Zealand, show greater institutional stability, lower corruption, and better well-being indicators, including for the poorest. Economic freedom is not a privilege of rich countries, but the proven path to prosperity.
Global data show that freer countries have significantly higher per capita income than repressed ones and that the poorest in those economies enjoy much higher living standards. In contrast, dependence on State transfers tends to perpetuate stagnation and vulnerability.
The institutional degradation evidenced by the aforementioned 2025 CPI has immediate political implications. Social polarization and weakening trust in institutions reflect the perception that the State serves its own protection. The 2025 tax reform, despite simplification rhetoric, reinforces this trend by consolidating one of the world’s highest tax burdens.
Brazil lives at the peak of the conflict between a productive society and an interventionist State. The diagnosis is unquestionable, as corruption, confiscatory taxation, and bureaucratic paralysis form a vicious circle that prevents sustainable growth. Breaking this cycle requires a shock of economic freedom based on reducing the State’s scope, lowering the tax burden, improving the corporatist matrix of labor legislation, and strengthening legal security.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
US Energy Chief Says Oil ‘Fear Premium’ Over Iran Is Temporary, Says Prices To Fall In ‘Weeks, Not Months’
Energy Secretary Chris Wright made the rounds on network TV Sunday to reassure viewers that the sharp rise in oil and gas prices due to the Iran war – which Trump has no problem sticking US consumers with for a while – would prove short-lived, and has downplayed the spike as a transient “fear premium” vs. a fundamental supply issue.
In conversations to CBS, CNN, and Fox News, wright emphasized that global energy markets remain well-supplied despite disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – the narrow waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne crude.
“This is a disruption on the way to a much better place to end a 47-year war against America,” he told Fox.
“The world is not short of oil today or natural gas,” Wright told CBS’ “Face the Nation,” adding “You’re seeing a little bit of fear premium in the marketplace.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright says that the war with Iran, which is pushing up oil and gasoline prices, will last for “weeks, not months,” even in a worst case.
On gas prices, he says that “they shouldn’t go much higher than they are here because the world is very well supplied… pic.twitter.com/HYOZqeHon3
Wright also projected that gasoline prices could fall below $3 per gallon “relatively soon,” and that any worst-case disruption would only last “weeks, not months” – a line he gave to both CBS and CNN.
The comments come as Brent crude futures have risen sharply in recent days, pushing U.S. pump prices higher and raising concerns about inflationary pressures ahead of midterm elections. The administration has framed the military operation – dubbed by some officials as aimed at neutralizing long-term threats from Tehran – as ultimately beneficial for global energy stability.
Wright also highlighted early signs of progress in restoring flows through the Strait of Hormuz. “A large tanker went through the Strait of Hormuz 24 hours ago,” he said, adding that U.S. and allied efforts are “massively attriting” Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones.
He indicated that naval escorts could be provided for initial tankers to ensure safe passage, with normal commercial traffic expected to resume “relatively soon.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the Strait of Hormuz will see normal traffic levels again “relatively soon,” but naval escorts might be necessary.
“We’re in engagement right now with people that want to get tankers moving out of the Gulf,” he says. “So, yes, there could be —… pic.twitter.com/nrf6PH43Vy
He repeated the “one large tanker has already gone through” talking point to Fox.
To address immediate supply pressures, Wright disclosed diplomatic efforts to reroute stranded cargoes. He said the U.S. had coordinated with India to divert Russian oil tankers originally bound for China, describing the move as pragmatic and temporary. “A lot of Russian oil hanging out on Asian waters,” he noted, adding that India – already increasing imports from the U.S. and Venezuela – had proven “a great partner.” Wright stressed no change in U.S. policy toward Russian oil sales, framing the rerouting as a way to quickly bring barrels to market and ease refining bottlenecks in Asia.
Wright also justified the Iran was as a necessary step to end Tehran’s decades-long disruption of energy markets.
“Iran has terrorized America, the neighborhood, and energy markets for 47 years,” he said with a straight face. “We believe this is a small price to pay to get to a world where energy prices are returned back to where they were.”
Meanwhile, he confirmed that there’s no actual plan for what post-conflict Iran will look like (shocker!).
“We don’t know what regime will be in place at the end of this conflict,” he told CBS. “What we do know is that regime will not have a massive weapons arsenal…and will no longer be a massive threat to Americans and to the Middle East and the global oil supplies.”
When asked if the U.S. will employ a strategy in Iran similar to Venezuela, working with members of a deposed regime, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says “we don’t know what regime will be in place at the end of this conflict.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said March 8 that the Cuban government is negotiating a deal with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Speaking at his “Shield of the Americas” gathering of Latin American leaders in Miami, Florida, Trump said that Cuba is “at the end of the line” due to Venezuela cutting off oil deliveries after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” Trump said. “They have no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time.”
The president said Cuba is currently negotiating with himself, Rubio, and “some others.”
“And I would think a deal would be made very easily with Cuba,” Trump added.
Trump has urged the Cuban government to strike a deal with his administration since early this year, and has increased pressure after Maduro’s capture. Previously, Venezuela was overwhelmingly Cuba’s largest source of oil.
Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez responded to Trump at the time by saying his nation was “ready to defend the Homeland to the last drop of blood.”
“Those who blame the [communist] Revolution for the severe economic shortages we suffer should hold their tongues in shame,” he said on Jan. 11.
By late last month, Trump was floating the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba” by the United States.
“The Cuban government is talking with us,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Feb. 27.
“They’re in a big deal of trouble. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba after many, many years. We’ve had a lot of years of dealing with Cuba.”
He also indicated that Rubio was negotiating with Cuban leaders “at a very high level.”
“They have no money, they have no oil, they have no food, and it’s really right now a nation in deep trouble, and they want our help,” Trump said.
The loss of Venezuelan oil and financial support worsened Cuba’s already dire economic crisis that has been gripping the island for nearly a year and a half. Catastrophic fuel shortages have driven frequent blackouts and disrupted transportation.
Large-scale shortages of food and medicine have also impacted the nation’s nearly 11 million residents.
Cuba has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. For decades, Havana’s leaders have resisted calls for change from the United States and among its population of exiles who have fled in the years since Castro’s takeover.
But now that the United States is engulfed in a war with Iran that the Trump administration says is largely about kneecapping and replacing Tehran’s theocratic regime, some U.S. lawmakers have questioned whether Cuba will become another target for the U.S. military.
Speculation began weeks before the joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran’s senior leadership.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) asked Rubio during a Jan. 28 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing if the U.S. secretary of state “would make a public commitment” that the U.S. government would not get involved in regime change in Cuba.
“Oh, no. I think we would like to see the regime there change. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a change, but we would love to see a change,” Rubio said at the time.
A change in Cuba’s regime “would be of great benefit to the United States,” Rubio added.
He referred to the Helms–Burton Act of 1996, which requires a democratic transition in Cuba before a U.S. president can normalize relations with the island.
“It was codified in law, and it requires regime change in order for us to lift the embargo,” Rubio said.
Russia says it stands with its ally Iran, at a moment Washington officials are outraged at reports that Moscow is supporting Tehran with targeting intelligence related to US bases and Pentagon assets in the region amid Operation Epic Fury. That allegation was first reported by The Washington Post days ago.
President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin had announced late Friday, amid the escalating US-Israeli attacks on Iran. In the call Putin expressed “deep condolences” over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, members of his family, other senior political and military officials, as well as the civilian victims. Putin, it must be remembered, has been hosted in Tehran on several occasions and has been photographed in friendly conversations with the slain Khamenei over the years.
The Kremlin indicated further Putin reaffirmed Russia’s position that there must be an immediate halt to the conflict, and that diplomacy must prevail over use of military force. He said he’s in contact with leaders of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as the crisis unfolds, countries which have come under Iranian missiles and drones over the past week of war.
Pezeshkian for his part thanked Russia for what he described as solidarity with the Iranian people and briefed Putin on developments in the current phase of the conflict, the Kremlin said.
Meanwhile, Russian diplomats are sending a clear signal on which side of the global divide they stand concerning the rapid events of the Iran war:
“We are not neutral. We support Iran.”
This was the response with Russia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom was asked if Moscow is neutral regarding the Iran war…
Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom:
“We are not neutral. We support Iran.
We take the current situation very badly and we do not understand the Western logic that consists of holding Iran responsible for everything.” pic.twitter.com/0mtIJFJkZf
Still, Russia and China are not expected to get deeply or directly involved, and may be more content to wait and see if Washington gets sucked into a new Vietnam or Iraq-style quagmire.
The question of Iranian oil exports to China still looms large, however, and there have been reports that Beijing could be mulling some kind of military escort operation for its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz – but this reporting appears speculation at this moment, and could be premature.
