“Few figures from the First World War carry the force of Lawrence of Arabia, from the pages of Seven Pillars of Wisdom to a be-robed Peter O’Toole in David Lean’s 1962 epic. The legend swallowed the man almost as soon as the First World War ended. The shadow cast over both the historical Lawrence and the First World War in the Middle East more broadly, has, arguably, yet to be fully lifted. Examining this mix of man, myth, and movie, is a central goal of Lawrence of Arabia and ME, a solo show making its world premiere at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.” (07/27/26)
“At least one shot was fired outside the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto early on Monday but there were no injuries, police said, in what was the second such incident in the last four months. Police officers, alerted by the sound of a gunshot, said they found evidence of a weapon having been fired outside the building on University Avenue. Police said that a white sedan was seen fleeing the scene and added that no injuries were reported. On March 10, several shots were fired at the same building, following three separate incidents in which gunshots were fired at synagogues …. In June police said, without providing any more details, that young people in the Toronto area were being paid to shoot at various targets, including synagogues, Jewish schools and the U.S. Consulate. Police arrested three people in connection with the March shooting, and one police officer was killed during the operation.” (07/27/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“The UK government has completed the forced nationalization of British Steel, the company that owns the Scunthorpe plant in Lincolnshire, the last facility in the United Kingdom capable of producing virgin steel in traditional blast furnaces. Celebrated by sectors on both the left and the right, this move represents a definitive transfer of risk from private shareholders to taxpayers, ignoring that many of the problems that led to it were largely created by the state itself and its aggressive green policies.” (07/27/26)
“Brexit was one of the defining political events of the early twenty-first century. Ten years ago, the world was shaken by the images of Prime Minister David Cameron announcing his resignation after losing the Brexit referendum. The vote transformed Britain’s relationship with Europe and offered a powerful lesson about the unpredictability of referendums in the age of social media and fake news.” (07/27/26)
“Former FBI Director James Comey on Monday asked the court to toss the case accusing him of threatening President Trump’s life, arguing that posting a picture of seashells spelling out ’86 47′ could not be considered a ‘true threat.’ The filing was made in the Eastern District of North Carolina where Comey visited the beach in 2025 and stumbled upon the message in the sand, which he then shared online. ‘To justify this prosecution, the indictment alleges that Mr. Comey’s ‘86 47’ post constitutes a ‘true threat’ on the President’s life. That claim is contradicted by every possible source of meaning: dictionaries, context, precedent, and common sense,’ Comey’s attorneys wrote in the filing.” (07/27/26)
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s recent decision to terminate the Covid-19 Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) declarations1 invites reconsideration of the evidence that launched this extraordinary regulatory chapter. The FDA’s first EUA for a Covid-19 vaccine rested on its determination that the known and potential benefits of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine outweighed its known and potential risks. Yet the pivotal trial report did not bring those benefits and risks together within a common quantitative framework. Better late than never: more than five years later, I did—and what I found was startling.” (07/27/26)
