Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Tori Noble
“Copyright owners increasingly claim more draconian copyright law and policy will fight back against big tech companies. In reality, copyright gives the most powerful companies even more control over creators and competitors. Today’s copyright policy concentrates power among a handful of corporate gatekeepers — at everyone else’s expense. We need a system that supports grassroots innovation and emerging creators by lowering barriers to entry—ultimately offering all of us a wider variety of choices.” (01/21/26)
“Spain is urging the EU to move towards creating a joint army for the bloc as a deterrence measure, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in comments to Reuters on Wednesday ahead of a day of meetings in Davos. The region should focus first on bringing together its tangible assets to properly integrate its defence industry, and then mobilising a coalition of the willing, the foreign minister said. … The comments come ahead of an emergency meeting between EU leaders later on Thursday in Brussels to coordinate a joint response to U.S. President Trump’s threats to buy or annex Greenland. ” (01/21/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
“Every time I read that Latin America is shifting to the right, I scratch my head thinking: are people unaware that Brazil and Mexico, both in the hands of the left, represent 56 percent of the gross domestic product of Latin America and the Caribbean and 54 percent of the region’s population? Not to mention that Colombia, the third most populated country, is also governed by the left. That said, yes, the right has won in Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, and Honduras, and is governing in other countries, such as El Salvador, Paraguay and Peru (after the President of the Congress assumed power following the impeachment of the previous president). But three important presidential elections that will take place this year will give us a sense of where the subcontinent really stands.” (01/21/26)
“Show-Me Institute analysts have been writing and talking about Paul McKee’s Northside (St. Louis) development plan since it started almost 20 years ago. The Northside project plan was to acquire and redevelop large, struggling parts of north St. Louis. The entire project was backed by huge amounts of state and city tax subsidies. How has the project worked out? Did the promises of redevelopment of this part of the city and a great return on the public tax investment pan out? Or did the warnings and concerns of people like Institute analyst Audrey Spalding prove correct? Of course, Northside has been a total failure, and Audrey and others were correct.” (01/21/26)
“The Libertarian Party of Minnesota has condemned what it regards as unconstitutional and violent conduct by federal law enforcement during an ongoing immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, calling for the withdrawal of federal agents and greater resistance to expanding federal authority. The party’s Executive Committee unanimously approved a resolution on January 19 criticizing actions taken by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement during ‘Operation Metro Surge,’ a federal enforcement initiative launched last December under the Trump administration that has expanded immigration activity across the Twin Cities metro area. Federal officials say the operation has led to 3,000 [abductions] since it began, including individuals the government has described as ‘incredibly dangerous.'” (01/21/26)
“‘Empires, by Pride & Folly & Extravagance, ruin themselves like Individuals.’ Benjamin Franklin wasn’t merely reciting history; he was warning us. Because every empire follows the same script. And while the common themes are overextension, debt, or even running the printing press, those are merely symptoms of the deadly disease. The root cause is always the same: Consolidate power. The eventual destruction of liberty and final collapse are guaranteed. And now, it’s our turn. This is the story of how empire destroys liberty, because liberty must die for empires to live.” (01/21/26)
“A Pennsylvania teenager knocked an intruder unconscious after the man broke into the family home over the weekend claiming to be an ICE agent. Citing a criminal complaint, WTAE-TV and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that William Gregory, a 35-year-old Carnegie resident, climbed through a kitchen window to enter the home in the city’s Betlzhoover neighborhood Saturday night. Gregory lied that he was an ICE agent and threatened the family with a knife while demanding their immigration paperwork. … Gregory tried to steal a PlayStation console and cell phone, but the 17-year-old boy punched him the face and knocked him unconscious, which is how police officers found him when they arrived.” [editor’s note: And if he WAS an ICE gang member, he’d still have deserved that if not worse – TLK] (01/21/26)
