“It is not surprising that a genocidal government would commit more crimes against humanity in this war, but it is important to recognize and condemn those crimes when we see them. Poisoning the air that the entire population breathes is a horrifying crime. The U.S. and Israel are inflicting monstrous collective punishment on one of the largest cities in the world in a war they started. The attackers have made clear through their actions that this is a war to wreck Iran and hurt its people.” (03/09/26)
“Many people want to be done with Covid lockdowns as a topic. The trouble is that Covid lockdowns are not done with us. Nothing like this had ever been tried in real life, a forced stoppage of most human activity as it affects the material and social world. The impact would be far reaching, long lasting, and devastation – one of the more significant calamities of modern times. Prevailing economic weakness and resulting stagnation for living standards is only one result. It’s nowhere near over.” (03/09/26)
“Preliminary results in Colombia’s legislative elections on Sunday showed President Gustavo Petro’s left-wing bloc maintaining its status as a dominant force, but with congress continuing to be divided. The results offered a glimmer of hope that Petro’s party may contend against the resurgent right in the May 31 presidential vote, which is projected to head to a runoff in June. Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, is barred by law from running for re-election and had been eying to push through reforms ahead of his term running out. While the makeup of the lower chamber remained uncertain, Petro’s leftist coalition was expected to be among the biggest, while in the Senate it was expected to be the largest.” (03/09/26)
“The Arkansas senator’s words warning against the perils of Washington’s ‘war fever’ in 1966 are more prescient than ever. Are we listening?” (03/09/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive industries in history. Consider: Semiconductor fabrication plants cost tens of billions of dollars. Massive data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity, sending power bills soaring. Specialized engineering talent commands premium wages. (Although the median salary for an AI professional is $160K annually, the top 1 percent of AI researchers receive compensation packages exceeding $1 million). Global supply chains must coordinate rare materials, precision manufacturing, and complex infrastructure. Yet discussions about artificial intelligence almost never address the most important economic variable shaping its development: money. From an Austrian perspective, the future of artificial intelligence ties directly to the monetary system that finances it. Whether AI produces sustainable prosperity or another boom-bust cycle depends less on algorithms than on interest rates.” (03/09/26)
“Today marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith‘s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations on March 9, 1776. Wealth of Nations remains a remarkable book, not only establishing Adam Smith as ‘the father of economics’ but laying a part of the foundation for liberal political theory.” (03/09/26)
