“What does Jeff Bezos add to my life? And Elon Musk? and Mark Zuckerberg? and Steve Jobs? and Jimmy Wales? Jeff Bezos gave me the everything store. … Elon Musk made electric cars desirable rather than dutiful. … Mark Zuckerberg gave me free tools to keep in touch with almost anyone I’ve ever met. … Steve Jobs put a powerful computer in my pocket and made it simple enough for a child or a grandparent. … Jimmy Wales gave me the largest encyclopedia in history, free, ad-free, and in hundreds of languages. … The striking point is how little of this value the founders keep. The economist William Nordhaus estimated that innovators capture only around two percent of the social value their innovations create.” (10/28/260
“The U.S. military said vessels that have no need to move between ports in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz should stay away, as tensions ratchet up in the region. ‘Due to the current geopolitical situation, vessels which do not need to transit the area are advised to remain well clear to avoid unnecessary delays to their voyage,’ the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in an advisory on Oct. 28 issued via the Joint Maritime Information Center. … It remains unclear what prompted the advisory. The U.S. military last publicly issued a similar notice in mid-July, when it began its blockade of Iranian shipping.” (10/28/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter
“Moscow’s anger and frustration is rising, as indicated by the mounting number of incidents in the gray zone category in recent months. Yet policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic appear to have given little thought to the likely consequences of even a sustained, limited war in their countries. The ugly reality is that the impact would be highly disruptive at best—and catastrophic at worst. To the extent that experts examine the issue at all, they usually focus on the least likely scenario: a full-scale nuclear war between Russia and NATO. … But what if Russian or NATO leaders conclude that it’s possible to wage a limited war without either side resorting to the thermonuclear option? (10/28/26)
“President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Democrat Mary Peltola be removed from Alaska’s Senate ballot following a report linking her campaign to a secret effort to peel away votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by recruiting a candidate of the same name. With less than a week before the midterms, the report intensified a fight over the competitive Senate race, drawing condemnation from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and a warning from Attorney General Todd Blanche that the Justice Department could take further action. … The president’s comments come after The New York Times reported Wednesday that Peltola campaign aides and officials with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee participated in a monthslong operation to recruit another Dan Sullivan and other potential spoilers to the ballot in Alaska.” [editor’s note: Dirty trick? Sure. But in what universe is it illegal to recruit candidates for public office? – TLK] (10/28/26)
“Crude oil prices have once again risen above $100 a barrel. The national average for gasoline is hovering above $4. With Republicans nationwide being burdened by the stench of incumbency – regardless of whether or not the individual candidate is currently in office – a return-to-power seems all but imminent for the Democrats in the House of Representatives, and maybe even the Senate as well. This is even true in ‘Trump Country.'” (10/28/26)
“Brazil’s defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro arrived at a Miami-area airport on Wednesday, after the US State Department said it would issue visas to him and his family following his loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s runoff election. … Bolsonaro’s arrival in the United States follows conflicting reports about his movements after leaving Brazil despite a court order banning him from travelling abroad. … Bolsonaro, who received tacit support from US President Donald Trump, is under investigation in Brazil for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. He was ordered to surrender his passport and is expected to lose his parliamentary immunity following his election defeat.” (10/28/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a proposal from Washington DC City Council member Robert White to keep landlords from evicting tenants who fail to pay rent.” (10/28/26)
“Online spaces are captured by oligarchs and saturated with slop—and they’re exacerbating humanity’s worst impulses. It’s time to start over.” (10/28/26)
“For years, Americans who lost their bank accounts over their beliefs were told they were imagining things. Banks sent form letters. Customer service read from scripts. Nobody would say why. The federal regulator that oversees the nation’s largest banks recently confirmed what many of us have argued all along: Politicized debanking was real, it was widespread, and it can easily happen again. … Trump’s executive order declared that no American should be denied financial services because of protected beliefs, affiliations or political views, and it set this report in motion. But executive orders and regulators change with administrations. Laws passed by legislatures provide more durable protection. That’s why the states matter.” (10/28/26)
“A judge in Milan has freed a 30-year-old researcher accused by police of helping orchestrate violent protests in Italy this month, in a ruling that has infuriated Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who denounced the decision as ‘shameful’. Youssef Siher, an Italian freelance journalist and geopolitics graduate of Moroccan origin, was detained by Milan prosecutors on 24 October on charges of incitement to commit crimes, aggravated by alleged terrorist purposes. … Prosecutors had portrayed Siher as a dangerous militant, but Milan judge Tiziana Landoni said in her ruling that the investigation appeared deeply flawed. ‘There are no serious grounds for believing that (Siher) committed the offences with which he has been charged, nor is there a risk of flight,’ Landoni wrote in her ruling.” (10/28/26)
