“Imagine you’re walking through a quiet park with your best friend. You lower your voices and speak privately about something very personal and sensitive. You need no government permission to have this conversation. You do not expect an intelligence agency to listen in and decide whether your conversation sounds suspicious. You’re just two friends, talking. Why shouldn’t we expect the same freedom to speak freely and privately when we communicate online? Wednesday, Oct. 21, is Global Encryption Day, an occasion to defend the technology that makes digital conversations as private as those you have with your friends and family. But encryption is in danger of being broken by demands from governments at home and abroad.” [editor’s note: Congress or no Congress, we can defend our own rights by using encryption with or without permission – TLK]
“Sam Altman on Tuesday won the dismissal of a civil lawsuit filed by his sister accusing the OpenAI co-founder and chief executive of repeated sexual abuse more than two decades ago, an accusation he denies. … US District Judge Zachary Bluestone wrote that she had refused to appear for an independent medical examination despite warnings that failure to do so would result in the case’s dismissal. … She accused her brother of sexually abusing and raping her between 1997 and 2006 at the family home in suburban Clayton, Missouri …. The Altman family has said Annie Altman has mental health challenges and received financial support. Sam Altman has said she began accusing him on social media of sexual abuse after the family rejected her demands for more funds.” (10/20/260
“AI can be extremely valuable as a ‘library’ of what is already known. When used as a tool in the Simple and Complicated domains, it streamlines the understanding of the problem. However, it can be counterproductive in the Complex Domain, as the journey to asking the right question is just as important as obtaining the right answer. Its utility in the Chaotic Domain is still nebulous. When faced with a ticking time bomb, it is not important that the wiring be understood but that the bomb be rapidly defused with a water disrupter. Analysis can come later.” (10/20/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“Steel tariffs protect producers at the expense of the businesses that depend on them. As of July 1, the European Union has capped duty-free steel imports at about 18.3 million tonnes (20.2 US tons) a year, 47% below 2024 quota levels. Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 also doubles the duty on imports that exceed those limits, from 25% to 50%. Brussels justifies these measures by pointing to global overcapacity and the need for strategic autonomy. Yet, by making imported steel more expensive, it risks hurting thousands of European companies that rely on this raw material to compete in domestic and international markets.” (10/20/26)
“Previous administrations have made deals with erstwhile adversaries, as Nixon did with China, and given up on support for failing allies, as the U.S. did in Vietnam and Afghanistan. But never before have we outright switched sides, let alone supported an aggressor while vilifying that aggressor’s victim. What makes Trump’s support for Putin even more remarkable is that Russia has, by many accounts, been actively aiding Iran against America in the war Trump started. Who says so? Well, among others, Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. … What would Republicans be saying if a Democratic president were supporting a foreign dictator even as that dictator was helping another nation kill American troops? They would be crying ‘treason.’ But this is all apparently ‘fine’ with Trump.” (10/20/26)
“The U.S. has ordered federal civilian agencies to stop purchasing services and products developed by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek and remove them from government IT systems over national security concerns tied to the Chinese AI startup’s operations in China, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The order goes beyond banning DeepSeek’s own product, but also covers third-party products and services built using DeepSeek technology, though agencies can request exceptions. The DHS raised concerns about DeepSeek’s handling of user data, warning that sensitive information from US government users could potentially be accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law, the order said. … China pushed back against the U.S.’s move. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday that Beijing opposes ‘overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing technology and trade issues,’ according to an official briefing.” (10/20/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“In the ongoing debate about enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, civil rights activists allege that the Trump administration is intimidating black people to impede them from voting. They invoke the history of the Reconstruction era, arguing that ‘voters, especially voters of color, are intimidated and fearful of engaging in the democratic process.’ For historical context, it must be noted that during Reconstruction a vast majority of black people voted for the Republican Party, which they regarded as the party that brought them emancipation and voting rights. They felt they owed their allegiance to the Republicans and were encouraged in this belief by the Union Leagues. The history of that era is commonly recounted as if all the violence emanated from one side—the Democratic Party. The Republican Party is absolved of all moral blame.” (10/20/26)
