Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received millions of pounds from an oligarch using funds from a firm implicated in criminal corruption, a BBC investigation has found. Kazakh billionaire Timur Kulibayev has told the BBC through his lawyers that he used a loan from a company called Enviro Pacific Investments to help him buy Andrew’s former mansion. Prosecutors in Italy concluded that the firm had received cash from a bribery scheme in 2007. Weeks after the last of these payments was made, the oligarch bought Sunninghill Park in Berkshire from the then prince for £15m — with the help of funds from Enviro Pacific.” (01/08/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8d09qd6zn2o
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Wes Benedict on running for chair of the Libertarian (USA) National Committee.” (01/07/26)
https://rumble.com/v7400j8-ff-404-wes-benedict-on-running-for-chair-of-the-libertarian-usa-national-co.html
Source: Washington Post
by David Ignatius
“President Donald Trump isn’t crazy to want a greater U.S. role in Greenland for national security reasons — and he probably could have negotiated a quick deal to expand U.S. military access and investment there with Denmark, which owns the island. But Trump’s swaggering campaign to buy Greenland or seize it outright has instead produced a crisis that could damage American security for decades — far outweighing any gains from control of the barren island. ‘Shooting yourself in the foot’ is too generous a description for Trump’s effort. It’s more like shooting yourself in the head.” (01/07/26)
https://archive.is/ASrth
Source: ABC News
“Farmers drove about a hundred tractors into Paris on Thursday morning to protest the European Union intention to move forward with a free trade deal with five South American nations, the French Interior Ministry said. French farmers for years has denounced the trade deal with the Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, arguing that the deal would hurt French farmers’ livelihoods. Thursday’s protest was staged by the Rural Coordination union to put further pressure on France’s government, which has opposed the deal.” (01/08/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/french-farmers-force-paris-tractors-protest-free-trade-129010284
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Is the Chiefs Move to Kansas Really a Done Deal?” (01/07/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/budget-and-spending/is-the-chiefs-move-to-kansas-really-a-done-deal/
Source: Persuasion
by anonymous
“Over the past few decades, Iranians’ protests against the Islamic Republic have become a regular sight—bursts of defiance that light up the streets, fill the air with hope, and then fade away only to become a fire beneath ashes. Each protest seems bigger, braver, and more hopeful. Yet each time, the system endures. Still, hope doesn’t die. You can hear it in every conversation and encrypted message coming out of Iran: people still believe change is possible.” (01/07/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/heres-why-the-iranian-regime-seems
Source: SFGate
“Venezuela will release ‘a significant number’ of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country, the head of Venezuela’s national assembly said Thursday. Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released. Despite mass detentions following the tumultuous 2024 election, Venezuela’s government maintains it doesn’t keep political prisoners. The U.S. government and the country’s opposition have demanded the release of opposition figures and critics. ‘Consider this gesture by the Bolivarian government, which is broadly intended to seek peace,’ Rodríguez said in an announcement publicized over TV.” (01/08/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/venezuela-to-release-a-significant-number-of-21283889.php
Source: The Atlantic
“Trump Has No Plan for Venezuela.” (01/07/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/01/david-frum-show-david-rothkopf-venezuela/685534/
Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri
“This morning, DHS posted ‘GOOD MORNING MINNEAPOLIS!’ on X, relishing their own power to bring fear down on an American city. Mere hours later, a masked agent of the state murdered a US citizen while she was attempting to drive away. DHS quickly spun the killing as self defense, but a plethora of videos and even more witnesses made that lie obvious immediately. … She was turning her car to leave and the agent, in no danger at all, shoots straight into her open window. This tragedy, this crime, is only to be expected from an administration that has always believed itself entitled to not just govern, but to rule over a free people. An administration that rejects professionalism and has sought to scale up what was already the least professionalized federal agency to act as a personal enforcer for the President.” (01/07/26)
https://archive.is/CdPyk
Source: In These Times
by Anjana Susarla
“President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Dec. 11, 2025, that aims to supersede state-level artificial intelligence laws that the administration views as a hindrance to innovation in AI. State laws regulating AI are increasing in number, particularly in response to the rise of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT that produce text and images. Thirty-eight states enacted laws in 2025 regulating AI in one way or another. They range from prohibiting stalking via AI-powered robots to barring AI systems that can manipulate people’s behavior. The executive order declares that it is the policy of the United States to produce a ‘minimally burdensome’ national framework for AI.” (01/07/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/open-ai-serious-risks-trump-executive-order-state-regulation-of-artification-intelligence
