TechTank, season 5, episode 49
Source: Brookings Institution
“Weighing the existential risks of AI and the proposals to prevent them.” (09/21/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Why Iran’s Lego Clips Are Anything but ‘Stupid’
Source: Foreign Policy
by Mohamed Elgohari
“While answering a question in July about the prospects for negotiations with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a dismissive reference to an ongoing series of AI-generated Lego animation clips produced in Iran that mock U.S. and Israeli officials. Iran will be ready to do a deal soon, Rubio suggested, because ‘the price they are paying is very high, despite their tough talk and their flowery language and their stupid Lego videos they put out.’ Rubio, speaking to reporters at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, hadn’t even been asked about the propaganda campaign. That a sitting U.S. secretary of state felt compelled to address a cartoon campaign produced by a small group of individuals at an international security forum is itself revealing.” (09/21/26)
Republicans Who Support War in Iran Are Giving Democrats Chance To Control Congress
Source: Antiwar.com
by John J Duncan, Jr.
“This Nation is now over 40 trillion in debt. We simply cannot afford this one trillion, five hundred billion Secretary Hegseth and the Pentagon want. Yet the Congress voted this past Wednesday to spend an additional $73 billion on this unpopular, unnecessary war in Iran. Most of the votes came from Republicans, even though this war is really hurting our Party.” (09/21/26)
CA: Newsom declares statewide emergency ahead of epic El Niño storms
Source: Los Angeles Times
“Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a statewide emergency for California in anticipation of this winter’s El Niño-fueled storms, a new sign of growing worry about coastal flooding and high waves expected in the coming months. El Niño may bring high surf and high-impact storms to the state, which ‘warrants early, coordinated, and targeted preparedness actions to protect Californians, critical infrastructure, agricultural lands, natural resources, and the State’s economy,’ the emergency proclamation read.” (09/21/26)
Will AI Kill Us All?
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
“Experience has taught me to distinguish between genuine danger and apocalyptic rhetoric. So forgive me if I am a little skeptical that AI will, as the latest crop of doom-saying scientists now warn, wipe out the human race within a decade. But I recognize that I am not an AI expert. So I did what anyone might do in response: I asked AI directly, ‘How could AI plausibly cause human extinction?’ The machine had a few scarily plausible ideas—ones that seem far more likely than car emissions to end our civilization.” (09/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/will-ai-kill-us-all/
Italy: Meloni promises to ban veils in schools, limit foreign students
Source: Politico
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government is preparing two legislative proposals that would ban face coverings in Italian schools and restrict the number of foreign students allowed in classrooms. … Roughly 930,000 students without Italian citizenship are enrolled in the country’s schools, representing almost 11.6% of the school population, according to research institute Fondazione ISMU. … It’s not the first time Meloni’s government has looked to ban face coverings. In 2025 her party said it had plans to ban the burqa and niqab in all public spaces nationwide, calling the legislation a response to ‘Islamic separatism.’ The bill is still under consideration in the country’s lower house.” (09/20/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/giorgia-meloni-ban-veils-italy-schools-limit-foreign-students/
Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/20/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Says He’s Considering Blowing Up ‘Entire Nation’ of Iran, US Airstrike in Somalia, and More.” (09/20/26)
Eagles’ silence on their role in the Macklemore mess has become deafening
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
by Will Bunch
“Lincoln Financial Field is a public edifice, full stop, We, as city and state taxpayers, contributed $188 million to build the Linc back in 2003, and the city owns the stadium, leasing it to the Eagles for them to host and profit from games and concerts. The team should be compelled to explain why it’s not a violation of the First Amendment to bar a performing artist from presenting a legitimate political viewpoint here. The Birds’ silence on this is a deafening roar. Maybe they’re channeling the spirit of the late, great Chuck Bednarik, but the Eagles are a two-way player when it comes to the question of whether they are a cherished public good in Philadelphia, or just another unaccountable multi-billion-dollar corporation.” (09/20/26)
Neon Liberalism, episode 91
Source: Liberal Currents
“Samantha and guest Keira Havens talk Thomas Massie’s recent attempt to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. They discuss the mechanics and politics of impeachment, the role of accountability, and what it means to regain a sense of ourselves as constitutional actors.” (09/20/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/lets-impeach-pete-hegseth-neon-liberalism-91-with-keira-havens/
Criteriamaxxing
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Criteria exist to qualify for some desirable outcome: getting into college, getting tenure, getting someone to marry you, getting students to come to your law school. Individuals spend resources gaming the system, taking advantage of an imperfect match between the criteria and the characteristics they are designed to select for. Colleges want smart students, use SAT scores and high school grades to recognize them. An SAT prep course doesn’t make you smarter but it might raise your score, so students spend time and money on them. Cheating on exams doesn’t make you smarter either but might raise your grades. … The same mechanism gives us news stories we cannot trust.” (09/20/26)