Source: The Corbett Report
“We have reached the end of the Age of Reading and started our descent down the slippery slope of digital distraction toward a post-literate future. But what does this mean? What is the true value of reading? How was the Library of Alexandria lost, anyway? And can any of these questions be answered in an audio-visual podcast? Join James for this contemplative exploration of the meaning and value of the written word.” (07/27/26)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño
“Western strategists tend to read foreign powers through their own reflection. Having watched Britain, France, Germany, and their own country climb the ladder of empire through conquest and colonies, they assume any ascendant state will reach for the same rungs. Yet imputing European motives to an Asian civilization mistakes a particular history for a universal instinct. China’s rise unfolds inside a geography and a culture that make the sort of quick, broad conquest campaigns that defined European great powers extraordinarily hard to carry out.” (07/27/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/reading-a-rising-china-through-the-wrong-ancient-script
Source: Niskanen Center
by Mark Lerner
“For over a decade, the FBI had been immersed in a vast, costly, but indisputably critical effort to build a modern digital case-management system. The bureau well understood the importance of information: gathering, organizing, sharing, assessing, and putting it to use to fight crime and protect national security. Yet what followed were countless missteps and misjudgments, more than $1 billion of public money squandered, and the worst terrorist attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. And it still took more than 10 years to get it right.” (07/27/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/how-the-fbi-blew-1-billion-on-an-efficiency-project/
Source: Boston Herald
“A U.S.-Russian space crew landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan on Sunday after an eight-month stint on the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian crewmates Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev touched down in their Soyuz MS-28 that landed smoothly by parachute in a designated area southeast of Dzhezkazgan. Their 241-day stint on the orbiting outpost was the first space mission for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud‑Sverchkov.” (07/27/26)
https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/07/27/us-russian-space-crew-landing-iss/
Source: Libertarian Institute
“John and I discuss the evils of men, changing ourselves, and reading the preface to Ordinary Men.” (07/27/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider & Nicolai N Petro
“On January 14, 2026, Mykhailo Fedorov was appointed Ukraine’s minister of defense. Just six months later, he was dismissed. One of Fedorov’s principal tasks, bigger even than addressing the shortage of Patriot interceptors, had been reforming his country’s recruitment and mobilization system. But manpower shortages remain a chronic issue …. But the real reason behind his firing may be something else—namely the risk of exposing the popular myth of how Ukraine has turned the tide both in the war and in its internal fight against domestic corruption.” (07/27/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-meaning-of-fedorovs-firing/
Source: Reuters
“Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires after Argentine President Javier Milei used a trip to the country to criticize its leaders and judiciary, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday. In his second visit to the country, Milei arrived in Brazil on Friday to throw his weight behind Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s presidential run. The eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday officially launched his bid to unseat Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been extending his lead ahead of October´s elections. … The two countries have a virtually non-existent diplomatic relationship. Milei has not sought an official meeting with Lula on either trip to Brazil, nor has the Brazilian leader shown any interest in hosting him.” (07/26/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Pauses Attacks on Iran After 13 Nights of Bombing, Ukraine Attacks Iranian Ship, and More.” (07/26/26)
Source: USA Today
by Theresa Olohan
“Homeschooling rates have steadily risen since the COVID-19 pandemic, when the difficulties of remote learning inspired many parents to pull their kids from school. This era exposed many parents to the widespread failures of the American education system. Many were confused why skyrocketing educational spending was not reversing plummeting student achievement nationwide.” (07/26/26)
Source: The Dispatch
“Small Yet Beautiful in Communist China | Interview: Audrye Wong.” (07/27/26)