“How involved should lovers of liberty (minarchists and especially anarchists) be involved in issues of government? Closely tied to that question, how involved should christians and libertarians be in issues that relate to human (‘civil’) government? Should they vote in elections, write government representatives, support candidates, and speak out about political issues relating to liberty, morality, responsibility, family, and freedom (not just but especially religious freedom)? For christians, what about the separation of church and state? For libertarians in general, what about separation of school and state?” (10/31/26)
“The Palestine Action ban faces a Supreme Court challenge this week after Saturday’s protest outside the US embassy in London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday that officers had arrested 325 people. The group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act on 5 July 2025. Its co-founder subsequently secured permission to appeal against the ban, after conflicting judgements in the lower courts left the legality of the measure contested. Of those detained, 320 were arrested on suspicion of ‘expressing support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act’, the Met stated.” (11/02/26)
“The Kremlin is getting closer to opening its ‘new eye’ on Europe. Construction of a towering radar complex is almost complete in Russia’s highly militarized exclave of Kaliningrad, according to reports. From above, the three radiating arms of the sprawling facility, each more than 500 meters (1,640 feet) long, look like some sort of alien lifeform has left its mark on an otherwise undisturbed stretch of forested nature reserve. You could actually compare it to a landing platform or launch pad for Moscow’s massive intelligence-gathering network. While Russia has not confirmed it is building the structure, security expert Vaidotas Malinionis said the radar will be so big, it will be able to see beyond the earth’s curvature.” (11/01/26)
“Counterfactuals are of limited use, but it does not seem likely that the Democratic nominee in Alaska, Mary Peltola, needed to engage in ballot shenanigans to win. She has been consistently ahead in the polls, including in head-to-head polls in which the third candidate is a non-factor, and some polls, including those from the New York Times/Siena and other credible sources, have had her at or above 50 percent. All of the media attention to the ballot-stacking story has probably done very little other than to dirty up her name, blunt the Democrats’ natural advantage vis-à-vis Donald Trump’s Republicans on the issue of corruption and democratic probity, and—not least—remind Alaskans what the name of their not particularly impressive Class II incumbent senator is.” (10/30/26)
“Acting President Iliana Yotova is the apparent winner of Bulgaria’s presidential runoff, initial results of the vote count on Sunday showed, as former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov conceded defeat. According to the count by several polling agencies, Yotova received 58% of the vote. If confirmed by official results, she would become Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state. Gyurov, backed by reformist pro-Western opposition parties, is said to be trailing at around 38%. … The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev ’s Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party, which endorsed Yotova. In April’s parliamentary vote, the party won 131 of the 240 seats in Parliament, securing an outright majority.” (11/01/26)
“Apparently, the fact that young people aren’t having much sex today is being captured in surveys from around the world. This is proving to be worrisome not simply as a cultural artifact, but because the lack of sex is resulting in plunging birth rates, causing fertility in nearly every OECD country to drop to historic lows. The lack of sex is not only shrinking populations, but also causing huge demographic changes as countries turn older. What exactly is going on?” (11/01/26)
“Saying the president was ‘grasping at straws,’ a U.S. federal judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump’s $10-billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the suit with prejudice, ruling that the president did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice as required by law. … When a case is thrown out ‘with prejudice,’ it cannot be refiled again and the dismissal is permanent and incontrovertible.” (10/31/26)
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Hayley Tsukayama
“Developers of virtual private network (VPN) apps are reporting that their products are again being pulled from Apple’s App Store in Russia. This is an unacceptable crackdown on a vital tool to protect privacy and speech online. Why? VPNs give people a way to control their own online activities. When you visit a website through a VPN, that website only sees the VPN server’s location (well, IP address) rather than your actual location. It’s like sending a letter through a P.O. box so the recipient doesn’t know where you really live. It can also disguise where you’re accessing information from, which can make it possible to access information banned by your government.” (10/30/26)
