Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley

“Tidings of discomfort, in a white coat supremacy Christmas.” (12/11/25)

https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/11/the-ghosts-of-christmas-past/

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
by LInda Holtzman

“This Hanukkah, while Jews around the world prepare to light the menorah and bring light into the darkest days of winter, our celebration of hope and resilience remains in the shadow of Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. And, nearly two months into a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, I am still protesting. Hanukkah, which in Hebrew means dedication, tells the story of Jewish peoples’ resistance to an oppressive empire, and of a miracle that kept candles aflame for eight days and eight nights when there was only enough oil for one. It is a story that resonates to this day, and it is in the spirit of hope, light, and miracles that I find myself rededicating to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.” (12/11/25)

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/gaza-ceasefire-israel-palestinian-solidarity-hannukah-20251211.html

Source: Unpopular Front
by John Ganz

“Ask yourself: If someone were actively trying to incite a pogrom against Minnesota’s Somali community, what would they do differently than Trump and his allies are doing now? And, if the government were controlled by David Duke, would it behave any differently? Don’t lie to yourself that this is just about the fraud investigation. That’s cover: A way to help the normies sleep at night. Trump is bashing the entire ethnic community, calling them ‘garbage,’ and menacing them as a group. It’s now combined with state repression: ICE agents have descended on Minneapolis. A U.S. citizen was ‘wrongfully’ detained by ICE agents for looking Somali. … Again, don’t lie to yourself: this wasn’t an accident. ‘Mistakes’ like this one do the dirty work. The point is to terrorize this community. To make them feel unwelcome. To say to them, ‘You’re not Americans, and you’ll never be.'” (12/11/25)

https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/the-attack-on-somalis-is-hate-politics

Source: The American Conservative
by Giorgio Cafiero

“Siniša Karan’s victory in the November 23 snap presidential election for Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constituent polities, reinforces the enduring grip of the former President Milorad Dodik. Declaring that his opponents had merely ‘got two Dodiks’ this time, Dodik made clear that his influence remains undiminished. Dodik stepped down, following a court decision that required Dodik to pay a fine that spared him a prison sentence for actions undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina’s delicate order; yet the former president of Republika Srpska continues to loom large over the Bosnian-Serb entity’s political landscape despite being officially out of office. Karan’s win came less than a month after U.S. President Donald J. Trump suddenly and surprisingly lifted U.S. sanctions on Dodik, which had been in place since early 2017.” [editor’s note: Why should the US regime be sanctioning politicians in other countries in the first place? – TLK] (12/11/25)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-trump-administrations-policies-are-disrupting-the-balkans/

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Andrzej Strojny

“To American observers, Poland can appear to be an example of successful political transformation. A country that threw off the yoke of communism in 1989, shifted towards a market system, and this year ranked 20th among the world’s largest economies. However, more than 30 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the demons of state tyranny are reawakening on the Vistula River. This time, the threat to freedom does not come from Moscow, but from local town halls. In selected cities, bans on the sale of alcohol by shops at night are being introduced. Under the guise of health concerns, regulations are being introduced that, in fact, restrict consumer freedom and harm small businesses.” (12/11/25)

https://fee.org/articles/the-specter-of-al-capone-is-haunting-poland/

Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jackie Calmes

“The confluence of two seemingly unrelated news events in recent days — the first one roiling Hollywood and media from coast to coast, the other playing out before the Supreme Court — was nothing short of uncanny. And disturbing. The first news was the one-two punch of Friday’s bombshell that Netflix planned to swallow up Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business to create an entertainment industry behemoth, and then Monday’s competing hostile bid from jilted suitor Paramount Skydance for all of Warner. And in between, on Sunday, President Trump — tuxedoed and speaking on a red carpet, appropriately enough — proclaimed matter-of-factly ‘I’ll be involved’ in deciding the winner.” (12/11/25)

https://archive.is/UGBck