“Thailand’s military said on Monday that it has stopped fuel shipments passing through a border checkpoint with Laos because of fears they were being diverted to Cambodia, with which it is fighting a fierce border conflict. The Thai and Cambodian militaries are clashing at multiple locations along their 817 km (508 mile) land border, both sides said, with no signs of the fighting abating despite international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, including calls by U.S. President Donald Trump. … Over half a million people have been displaced by the fighting, which has killed at least 38 on both sides over the past eight days, according to national authorities, who mounted a round of evacuations in July when the neighbours clashed for five days before Trump helped broker a truce.” (12/15/25)
“Thinking that you’re the privileged descendant of the conquerors has always been a key part of the mythology that every nation-state teaches to, and about, its favored ethnicity. Maybe you’re not a lineal descendant of the Founder Himself, but you’re still a part of a noble and honored bloodline. That’s why life is good for you, and perhaps why it’s hard for your neighbor. When the favored people claim the land that’s rightfully theirs, that’s progress …. The theory that a nation is made of the descendants of a band of conquering heroes is still both popular and normative among nationalists. Like the social contract story that developed in its shadow, the theory of the conquering heroes is incomplete. It just about always resounds in the midst of an actually unfinished conquest, or in a situation of semi-permanent social inequality.” (12/13/25)
“The parent company of Roomba, which has sold millions of cleaning robots, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday after 35 years of operation. In a Sunday press release, Massachusetts-based robotics company iRobot said it had filed for bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware court. The company said that it would be wholly acquired by its main manufacturer and lender, vacuum cleaner maker Shenzhen PICEA. … iRobot went through a failed acquisition attempt by Amazon. In 2022, Amazon announced that it would buy iRobot for $1.7 billion, but pulled the deal in January 2024, citing regulatory hurdles in the US and Europe.” (12/14/25)
“There are few characters more repellent than the late Jeffrey Epstein. His life left a line of human wreckage and misery. Those associated with Epstein have also faced public backlash and recriminations throughout the years. Recently, however, the Epstein scandal took a new turn. Due to unprecedented access to once-sealed material, the public is now combing through emails, appointment books, and photos with a voracious interest in his private associations and contacts. Most of these people are not accused of any criminal conduct, mind you — just notorious association. The result has been the humiliation and condemnation of various individuals revealed in the files. The question is whether we should consider the implications of such transparency and how it can expose those who are not accused of any crime.” [editor’s note: “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear” instantly disappears when it’s the powerful getting exposed – TLK] (12/13/25)
“The High Court of Hong Kong has convicted pro-democracy activist and newspaper founder Jimmy Lai on three charges related to accusations that he undermined China’s national security, as part of a widely scrutinised trial. Lai now faces the possibility of a life sentence in prison. On Monday morning, a panel of three judges found Lai, 78, guilty of two counts of conspiring with foreign forces to threaten national security and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material.” (12/15/25)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Daniel J Smith & Scott Beaulier
“When Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani recently rallied with striking Starbucks workers, they trumpeted a ‘New York where every worker can live a life of decency.’ Mr. Mamdani promised a $30 minimum wage in the name of dignity on the campaign trail. Their intentions might be noble; their logic isn’t. By artificially hiking entry-level wages through political mandates rather than skills, productivity or experience, they don’t lift up workers; they wall off the very on-ramp to mobility. We know this firsthand. Neither of our first real jobs was glamorous. They were at McDonald’s in Iron Mountain, Michigan (Scott) and Kmart in Midland, Michigan (Dan).” (12/12/25)
“Chile has elected the far-right wing José Antonio Kast to be its next president, after an election campaign that was dominated by themes of security, immigration and crime. Kast beat the governing left-wing coalition candidate Jeanette Jara decisively with more than 58% of the vote in his third attempt at running for president. It marks the biggest shift to the right since the end of Chile’s military dictatorship in 1990. Kast has openly praised Chile’s former right-wing dictator, Augusto Pinochet.” (12/14/25)
“A ‘Pareto improvement’ (named for the 19th-century polymath Vilfredo Pareto) is a useful idea from economics: It is change that makes at least one party better off without making anyone worse off — because different people have different preferences and priorities, it is possible to reallocate goods in a way that is not zero-sum. … Being able to spot a Pareto opportunity is also a big part of how political negotiation works — at least it was back when negotiation and compromise were what politicians normally did with their time instead of being part-time pundits and full-time social-media trolls. Donald Trump likes to present himself as the great deal-maker …. but he is not very good at it …. he cannot calculate the trade-offs, because he lacks two pieces of information critical to any negotiation: He doesn’t understand what the other guy wants, and he doesn’t know what he wants.” (12/12/25)
Source: Reason
by C Jarrett Dieterle & Shawn Regan
“As traditional gathering places disappear, market-based funding could expand parks, courts, and other spaces that help people reconnect without raising taxes.” (12/13/25)
