“…Resource-poor Japan was once one of the world’s biggest proponents of nuclear power, which provided roughly 30% of the country’s electricity from 54 reactors.

The Fukushima disaster ​saw public opinion swing dramatically against nuclear, and all reactors were ordered to be shut down for safety inspections and upgrades. In 2012, the government even decided to phase out nuclear energy. That decision was reversed two years later, but ​reactor restarts have been slow and many have been shut permanently.

A PRO-NUCLEAR PM AND GROWING PUBLIC SUPPORT

Now Tokyo’s staunchly pro-nuclear leader Sanae Takaichi, buoyed by a thumping election win, is pushing to accelerate ⁠restarts and advance new nuclear technologies to wean the country off costly imported fossil fuels.

The restart of one of the seven reactors at the world’s biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, in January was a milestone. That said, only 15 of 33 reactors in Japan that ​remain operable are back online.

Middle East chaos unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran – a region that accounts for 95% of Japan’s oil supplies – and an anticipated surge in energy needs of power-hungry AI data centres promise to bolster a shift in public opinion.

A ​slim majority of people – 51% – are now in favour of the restarts, an Asahi newspaper survey last month found. That’s up from 28% when it began polling on the issue in 2013. The most supportive are young people aged 18 to 29 – at 66%…”

~ Full article…

“…Any potential release from 12 million barrels ​jointly held in Japan by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait would be in addition to the announced 80 million barrels, ‌the ⁠Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says.

Japan started its national oil reserve system in 1978, several years after the Arab oil embargo. The Group of Seven nation, reliant on the Middle East for around 90% of its oil, now stockpiles 254 days of consumption.

It will start releasing 15 days’ worth of private-sector oil on Monday and a month’s worth ​from the state reserves from ​late this month, according ⁠to METI…”

~ Full article…

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WHY JAPAN HAS BEEN HOARDING OIL LIKE A DOOMSDAY PREPPER FOR YEARS

“…Over decades Japan quietly built a national oil stash so massive it can keep the country running for months if imports stop. Government reserves, corporate stockpiles, and joint storage deals with oil exporters, a three-layer backup plan that basically turns the country into a giant emergency fuel tank…”

“…The four-lecture event, which began Sunday, March 15, 2026, and runs through Wednesday, remains closed to the press with its exact venue undisclosed for security and exclusivity reasons. Attendees include figures from academia, technology and religious circles, according to organizers quoted in media reports. Thiel, 58, a co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, has long expressed fascination with apocalyptic themes, including the Antichrist—a biblical figure described as opposing Christ while posing as a savior—and Armageddon as existential risks facing humanity.

(…)

The lectures come amid heightened scrutiny of Thiel’s broader influence. Palantir, the data analytics firm he co-founded, has secured significant contracts under the current Trump administration, including tools aiding immigration enforcement and deportation efforts. The company’s stock has risen sharply since Trump’s return to office, benefiting from defense and government deals. Critics, including some Democrats, have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the use of Palantir’s surveillance capabilities in domestic policy.

Separately, Thiel’s investment moves have captured Wall Street attention. In recent quarters, his hedge fund, Thiel Macro, sold positions in major AI-linked stocks including Tesla, Microsoft and Apple, totaling around $74 million in one reported divestment. The sales, disclosed in filings, prompted speculation about a bearish stance on certain tech sectors despite his history of backing transformative companies through Founders Fund, which has stakes in SpaceX, Anduril and others…”

~ Full article…

“…The idea is that while using AI in the workplace, workers are experiencing a semblance of mental fog, mental hangover, and similar cognitive maladies. This might give rise to headaches. Their minds are constantly switching among tasks, and they are faced with heightened information overload.

Besides the obviously adverse impacts on the minds of the workers, productivity in the workplace gets knocked down, too. Rather than focusing on getting tasks accomplished, the workers are more apt to concentrate on using AI. They inordinately wrestle with AI. This detracts from solving business problems the workers were meant to tackle.

Notably, mental repercussions vary by the type of person, the type of job tasks, and various other crucial factors. Not all workers who are using AI are equally impacted. One finding was that workers using AI to replace routine or repetitive tasks were much less likely to experience these cognitive consequences.

According to the research stats mentioned in the study, the paper indicated that AI brain fry by business functional areas went like this (rounded percentages): Marketing (26%), HR (19%), Operations (18%), Engineering (18%), Finance/Accounting (17%), IT (16%), Sales (13%), Customer Service (11%), Consultant (10%), Product Management (9%), Leadership/Management (9%), Legal (6%). Thus, marketing had the highest percentage at 26%, while the legal beagles came out at just 6%. You see, sometimes it pays off in unexpected ways to be in the legal field rather than the marketing field (well, maybe)…”

~ Full article…

“…Last week, water became a focal point in the Iran war, as airstrikes hit desalination plants in Iran and Bahrain. Further east, a slower motion water war was playing out — one that is heightening tensions between two nuclear armed powers.

The Shahpur Kandi Dam project was first conceptualized in the late 1970s. In 1982, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi laid its foundation stone and set a 1988 deadline for the project. But inter-state conflicts between Punjab, Jammu, and Kashmir stalled construction for decades.

(…)

The framework for sharing the water system was established by the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which allocates the three eastern rivers to India and the three western rivers to Pakistan, giving India exclusive rights to the Ravi.

But, experts point out, the timing of the dam construction may reflect increasingly strained relationships between New Delhi and Islamabad. Last year, following a terrorist attack that killed 26 people, India charged Pakistan-based militant groups for the massacre and put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

“There’s a case going on about whether the suspension is meaningful or not,” said Hassaan Khan, an assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. “But we’re starting to see that the norm that had been established over 60 years no longer holds.” What happens next is “anybody’s guess,” Khan told RS. “We’re seeing it play out in real time.”…”

~ Full article…

“…Among the most prominent voices warning about private credit risks is JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon has repeatedly cautioned that rapid growth in private lending may conceal weaknesses in underwriting standards.

In reference to recent failures among private-credit-backed companies, Dimon remarked that when one problem surfaces in credit markets, “there are usually more cockroaches.”

(…)

Another outspoken critic is hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein, founder of Saba Capital.

Weinstein has spent much of his career analyzing credit markets and trading credit default swaps. In recent months he has warned that stress in private credit funds may represent the early stages of a broader market correction.

According to Weinstein, recent problems at certain funds—including redemption pressures and liquidity restrictions—could be a signal that “the wheels [are] coming off” the sector…”

~ Full article…

“…The U.S. Navy is not yet ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, but it will happen. This is the synopsis provided by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in an interview with CNBC. The development comes as Iran continues to pummel international shipping in and around the critical channel, which the new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vows to keep closed.

“It’ll happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now,” Wright said, of the planned naval escort mission. “We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities.” Wright added that the Navy should be able to escort tankers through the strait by the end of this month…”

~ Full article…

“…We review the Pentagon Briefing with Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Caine, on the situation in the war against Iran. Secretary Hegseth noted not to worry about the Strait, but we reviewed their answers about convoying and mines and then reviewed the latest situation report by the Joint Maritime Information Center on the situation…”

~ Video

“…In her home country, she would have faced a lengthy wait.

Not in the US, one of the few countries in which “transplant tourism” is legal.

For the team performing the procedure, it was worth it. The patient not only paid for the procedure, the average cost of which is $1.9 million, out of pocket, but her husband’s charity also made a large contribution to the foundation of the surgeon’s wife.

(…)

The Times analyzed every transplant performed in the US over the past dozen years and found that “patients who traveled from other countries received transplants faster than patients from America and were less likely to die waiting for an organ.”

Or, to put it more bluntly, the combination of foreign wealth (regardless of its source) and the “entrepreneurialism” of American hospitals determines who lives and dies…”

~ Full article…