Source: The Daily Economy
by Kimberlee Josephson
“Businesses are increasingly judged by ethical scorecards. But when virtue becomes a target, firms learn to optimize the metric — crowding out what actually matters.” (08/19/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-corporate-virtue-trap/
Source: Law & Liberty
by Lee Trepanier
“This should be viewed as the single most important goal of formal education.” (08/19/26)
Source: Politico
“France will expel two Iranian diplomats after Tehran’s security services detained and interrogated two French Embassy staffers last month, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday evening. The row dates back to July 19, when two French Embassy employees in Tehran — one of them the cultural attaché — were questioned for several hours and ‘beaten,’ according to Barrot. Paris accused Iranian security services of carrying out a ‘premeditated and deliberate’ act of intimidation in ‘flagrant violation’ of diplomatic protections, summoning Iran’s chargé d’affaires two days later. … Tehran disputes that account. Iran’s foreign ministry says the French diplomats violated the Vienna Convention through activities it considers interference in Iranian affairs and has since declared both persona non grata, barring them from returning to Iran after they left the country.” (08/19/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/france-expels-2-iranian-diplomats-in-escalating-row-with-tehran/
Source: Reason
“Can America Survive Its Political Divide?” (08/19/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/08/19/can-america-survive-its-political-divide/
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“Global inequality of income has been falling this past forty and fifty years. No, it’s not all about China either. The poor countries have been growing faster than the rich countries – inequality is falling. As Branko Milanovic has proven, this is also true if we consider inequality directly between people, not just as national units. This is even true of capital – as Milanovic again has proven, capital incomes are becoming more equally distributed. Agreed, agreed, from a very high level but still, that direction of travel is there. So, we know how to do global inequality reduction. Exactly what we’ve been doing. The Washington Consensus stops poor country governments doing stupid things, globalisation distributes the work and the incomes and, Tadah! global inequality reduces. Great, get really neoliberal on that global economy and Bob’s your parent’s sibling of choice. The usual suspects are demanding that all of this stop of course.” (08/19/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“Quality of life in Spain is among the highest in the world, but that isn’t enough to prevent young Spaniards from seeking careers abroad. The country has always struggled with high unemployment rates, especially among 15–25-year-olds, almost a quarter of whom are currently out of work. As a result, many young Spaniards, especially those with a university education, seek opportunities elsewhere: according to a 2023 survey, more than half of Spanish youth plan or would like to move to a different country. Those who do remain are often wildly overqualified for the jobs available to them.” (08/19/26)
https://fee.org/articles/spains-poor-job-market-is-causing-an-exodus/
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The AI Safety Vibe Shift | Robert Wright & David Krueger.” (08/18/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Doug Bandow
“Washington will have to get used to transformed international politics where it’s no longer the center of the universe.” (08/19/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-europe-independence/
Source: CNBC
“Amazon said Wednesday it plans to offer drone deliveries in nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year, a sign of momentum for a project that’s been slow to develop since founder Jeff Bezos first laid out his vision for the service almost 13 years ago. The planned expansion for Prime Air would represent a sixfold increase from its current footprint, the company said in a blog post. Amazon’s latest update comes five months after David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air, spoke confidently about the program and laid out ambitious growth plans in an internal all-hands meeting, according to a recording obtained by CNBC. Carbon projected at the time that Prime Air will make 1 million deliveries this year, and said Amazon has the “’ighest demand drone delivery service in the industry.'” (08/19/26)
Source: Washington Post
“What empty pews reveal about America.” (08/19/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/what-empty-pews-reveal-about-america