Author: Thomas L. Knapp

This isn’t sci-fi, AI is already killing people

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout

“Palantir CEO Alex Karp proclaimed on a panel in 2024 that ‘technology should be able to reduce drastically the amount of collateral damage, civilian deaths.’ Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Deputy Director of the CIA David Cohen agreed. Proponents of artificial intelligence use in the military have long made some version of this argument — that the military’s adoption of AI will lead to a reduction in civilian harm. … The question is no longer theoretical, as the U.S. military is already deploying AI. The Pentagon struck 13,000 targets in just the first 38 days of war, aided by Palantir’s Maven Smart System to identify targets and choose weapons used for attacks. But experts at the hearing, hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said the argument that AI reduces civilian harm simply isn’t supported by the facts on the ground, pointing to Iran, Ukraine, Yemen, and Gaza as evidence.” (09/18/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ai-palantir-weapons/

Thomas L. Knapp

Boebert Addresses Claims She Had Affairs with 3 Staffers, Paid $200,000 to Keep One from Speaking Out

Source: People

“Rep. Lauren Boebert is denying accusations that she engaged in sexual relationships with three of her staffers, as well as paid one of the staffers $200,000 not to file an ethics complaint. A complaint filed with the House Committee on Ethics on Thursday, Sept. 17 and obtained by the Colorado Times Recorder, alleges that the congresswoman, 39, had relationships with three House employees under her direct supervision. … In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Boebert denied the allegations, calling them ‘baseless.’ ‘Congresswoman Lauren Boebert rejects these allegations as utterly false and there is no truth to them whatsoever,’ the spokesperson said. ‘This is nothing more than a politically motivated stunt designed to manipulate the ethics process, create headlines, smear her, and generate clickbait.'” (09/20/26)

https://people.com/lauren-boebert-addresses-claims-she-had-affairs-with-3-staffers-12129713

Thomas L. Knapp

Not of This Earth

Source: Law & Liberty
by Stuart Halpern

“Beyond raising foundational questions of individual autonomy versus governmental authority, our relationship to the Highest Authority would also be impacted by the arrival of ET-like creatures. After all, the question of whether other minds exist is also a question about what makes our own minds—and our moral obligations—distinctive. Would other-worldly beings have their own salvific commandments and beliefs?” (09/18/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/not-of-this-earth/

Thomas L. Knapp

Cuba hit with another nationwide blackout amid US fuel blockade

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse on Friday, ​plunging the nation into darkness and leaving millions without power amid a US pressure campaign that has largely blocked oil from reaching the Caribbean’s largest island. Friday’s collapse ​was triggered ‌by a failure in high-voltage transmission lines in central ⁠Cuba that occurred around 2pm local time, authorities said. … Cuba’s aging power generation system has been ​under severe strain from fuel shortages and decrepit infrastructure for years, but a US-imposed oil blockade that began in ​January has vastly worsened blackouts and led to more frequent grid collapses.” (09/19/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260919-cuba-s-power-grid-collapses-again-leaving-island-in-darkness

Thomas L. Knapp

AI and the Luddites

Source: EconLog
by Alberto Mingardi

“The movement took its name from a Ned Ludd who never existed—yet protesters signed letters and proclamations against mechanization as Ned Ludd, King Ludd, or General Ludd. It began in Nottinghamshire in March 1811, peaked in 1812, and had flickered out by 1816. It was the most prominent, but neither the only nor the first, episode of machine-breaking. Resistance to the introduction of machines in production was not new. It was strongest in old trades, such as wool and hosiery, which were long established in England and capable of expressing political demands. Mechanization in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England was not merely the introduction of new machinery; it was also a breakthrough in that particular technology known as organization.” (09/18/26)

https://www.econlib.org/ai-and-the-luddites

Thomas L. Knapp

Trump says his planned triumphal arch will double as a military complex to store ammunition

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“US President Donald Trump has said his proposed triumphal arch will double as a complex to store military equipment, complete with the ability to deploy snipers and drones. In a Sunday morning post, Trump said he is updating the plans at the ‘strong request’ of the US military and for ‘national security purposes’. … Construction on Trump’s 250-foot arch, planned for a site across the Potomac River from Washington DC just outside the Arlington National Cemetery, was expected to begin this month.” (09/20/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqdj4pez00dzo

Thomas L. Knapp