“The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday said it is seeking information from seven companies including Alphabet, Meta and OpenAI that provide consumer-facing AI-powered chatbots, on how these firms measure, test and monitor potentially negative impacts of the technology. The FTC said it is seeking information on how the companies monetize user engagement, process user inputs and generate outputs in response to user inquiries and also use the information obtained through conversations with the chatbots.” (09/11/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“While the Bush administration claimed that the attacks occurred because of structural problems with the government’s intelligence apparatus, FBI agents were warned about suspicious activity by flight students who were among the 9/11 hijackers. The agents, however, blew off the warnings. The flight schools also alerted the Federal Aviation Administration about suspicious Arab students, but nothing came of it. In other words, the government didn’t need a Patriot Act or any other terrorism law to have stopped the hijackers …. Unfortunately, the US government did respond to the attacks, but in ways that made Americans worse off. From setting off wars in the Middle East to blowing up the economy at home, the US government took a crisis and turned it into an even bigger crisis, and we still are harvesting the bitter fruits.” (09/11/25)
“Charlie Kirk’s murder was not just a murder. It was an assassination. That’s the crucial point. We often forget the philosophical underpinnings of criminal law. Rightly understood, we view crimes as being committed not against individuals, but against society itself. Thus, when someone is murdered, the offense is not against the victim and his family, but against everyone. All of us. It is an offense against nature, heaven, and man. Assassination goes a step further. In addition to all of the above, assassination is, like terrorism, an attack on our body politic.” (09/10/25)
“A New Zealand court has rejected the latest bid by internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom to halt his deportation to the United States on charges related to his file-sharing website Megaupload. Dotcom had asked the High Court to review the legality of an official’s August 2024 decision that he should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial on charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering. It was the latest chapter in a protracted 13-year battle by the U.S. government to extradite the Finnish-German millionaire from New Zealand. The Megaupload founder had applied for what in New Zealand is called a judicial review, in which a judge is asked to evaluate whether an official’s decision was lawful. A judge on Wednesday dismissed Dotcom’s arguments that the decision to deport him was politically motivated and that he would face grossly disproportionate treatment in the U.S.” (09/11/25)
“Martyrs are used by messianic movements to sanctify violence. To show any mercy or understanding toward the enemy is to betray the martyr and the cause the martyr died defending.” (09/11/25)
“One of the most popular neoconservative prophecies whenever a government stands up to the US or Israel is the myth of a transition to Western-style democracy. Libya, after the murder of Muammar Gaddafi, which the ICC suggests may have been a war crime, supposedly had a ‘real shot’ at democracy according to Western media outlets like CNN. Over a decade later, the NATO intervention in Libya is almost universally considered a failure. … Now, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria has not adopted the ways of the US. Instead, it has transitioned into a U.S.-legitimized authoritarian state under the command of former al-Qaeda leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.” (09/11/25)
“The Trump administration approved an assistance package worth $14.2 million to assist Lebanon with its efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the U.S. Defense Department announced Wednesday. The Lebanese military will use funds from the Presidential Drawdown Authority package to dismantle arms held by non-state groups, including Hezbollah. On Friday, the Lebanese government welcomed a plan by its army to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah. This came after Lebanon’s Cabinet approved of a U.S. proposal to direct the Lebanese military to enforce a state monopoly on weapons by the end of the year.” (09/10/25)
