System Update, 06/26/26
Source: System Update
“Socialists SWEEP NYC, Tucker Apologizes to Muslims, Europe’s Russia Hate, ‘Chinamaxxing’ & More.” (06/26/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/socialists-sweep-nyc-tucker-apologizes
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
How fearmongering sets policy, from “marihuana” to solar to AI
Source: Los Angeles Times
by LZ Granderson
“So much about the technology has been draped in doomsday scenarios and Terminator movies. It’s hard sometimes to separate the impossible from the improbable. Even more difficult if you can’t tell if the technology is meant for the good of all or just aiming to be good for someone’s bottom line. Maybe, unlike in the ‘marihuana’ prohibition era, the scary warnings are valid. But now just as then, we need to separate fact from myth before setting policy.” (06/26/26)
Archaeologists in Israel uncover 1,700-year-old Roman-era statues buried face down
Source: Fox News
“An archaeological excavation in Israel recently revealed ancient faces that haven’t been seen in centuries. Two statues were discovered near Binyamina, Israel, according to a June 15 press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Archaeologists were digging ahead of construction of a coastal high-speed railway when they found two marble statues in the wine collection pit of a Roman-Byzantine winepress, the IAA said. The statues, which date back around 1,700 years, depict two unknown figures from the ancient Greco-Roman world. … Researchers are cleaning and conserving the statues before analyzing them further in hopes of determining exactly whom they depict.” (06/27/26)
Why I Launched a Writing Community for Education Entrepreneurs
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Nasiyah Isra-Ul
“People often ask me how I got so involved in writing and public speaking. I’ve been a passionate writer for most of my life, starting to journal, write short stories, and willingly craft essays in my homeschool program outside of what was required in the curriculum by age 11. By the time I was a teenager, I was writing curriculum, developing language arts training for students, and starting a blog. I was also eventually writing for college, as one of the youngest in my classes, and my professors always said they loved reading my papers first because they were ‘always so engaging and well-written.’ Now, in my early twenties, I’ve written graduate-level papers, gotten published in a variety of news outlets, blog frequently, authored multiple books, and often write for the Lab. This didn’t happen overnight. It took years of encouragement, learning, and lots of peer mentorship to get to this point.” (06/26/26)
https://fee.org/articles/why-i-launched-a-writing-community-for-education-entrepreneurs/
KY: Beshear says four dead amid flooding
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Four people have died due to flooding from thunderstorms in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday, and he declared a state of emergency with additional rainfall expected. Flash flood warnings were in effect Saturday for parts of Kentucky and Indiana amid heavy rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. The agency late Saturday afternoon said between 100 and 250 millimetres of rain had already fallen in some parts of southwestern Indiana, with more possible. Beshear’s office said up to 178 millimetres of rain were expected in parts of his state through the late evening.” (06/28/26)
Fountainhead Forum, episode 464
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Bola-Ige Alabi-Efeshodiamhe on life and liberty in Nigeria.” (06/26/26)
https://rumble.com/v7bwm8o-ff-464-bola-ige-alabi-efeshodiamhe-on-life-and-liberty-in-nigeria.html
What if Trump is right to pump the brakes on the most advanced AI?
Source: Washington Post
by Robert Wright
“Like opponents of various other AI restrictions, [Alex] Stamos worries about handing an advantage to China — where, he noted, an impressive new model called GLM-5.2 had been unveiled that very week. ‘It is a great, great week for the Chinese AI industry, a fantastic week,’ he said, ‘and a huge own goal for the United States in the race to dominate the 21st century via domination of AI.’ I’m not sure what exactly it would mean for America to ‘dominate the 21st century’ — and I’m far from sure that living in a century without such domination would be as unpleasant as Stamos seems to think. But I do feel sure that the ‘race with China’ theme so often deployed in discussions of AI regulation has some downsides, and that this particular deployment is a good example.” (06/26/26)
CA: Pot company skyrockets to $1 billion valuation following Trump action
Source: SFGate
“Southern California mega cannabis grower Glass House Brands has skyrocketed to a valuation of over $1 billion for the first time, a striking turn of fate for a company that was facing existential panic and the prospect of federal charges just a year ago. … Last July, the Trump administration targeted Glass House’s two massive growing facilities in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with a militarized immigration raid that left one worker dead and over 360 workers arrested. … But instead of charging the company’s executives, the Trump administration sent Glass House a lifeline. In April, Trump’s attorney general signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, moving it to a far friendlier designation. While the exact impacts are complicated and not certain, it’s likely to cut taxes for companies and could lead to legal interstate sales of medical marijauna.” (06/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/glass-house-billion-dollars-22320798.php
The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 06/26/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Robert Wright On AI And Evolution.” (06/26/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/robert-wright-on-ai-and-evolution
Reclaiming the Third Space
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Mollie Engelhart
“The first space is home. It is where our domestic identity lives. Family, rest, intimacy, and routine. The second space is work. It is where we contribute, produce, and create value. The third space exists in between. It is the neutral, shared place where people gather informally, without obligation or performance. Historically, these were cafés, churches, town squares, barber shops, libraries, local diners, pubs, and markets. Places where you could show up, be recognized, and belong without needing to achieve or prove anything.” (06/26/26)