“In an embarrassing error, PayPal blockchain partner Paxos accidentally minted 300 trillion of the PYUSD token today. PayPal’s stablecoin, which it debuted in 2023, is supposed to be redeemable at a 1:1 rate for US dollars. $300 trillion is more than double the entire world’s current GDP of $117 trillion. … Paxos acknowledged the issue in a post on X, assuring clients that their funds are secure and stating that it burned the excess reserves of stablecoins. The company claimed that ‘this was an internal technical error.'” (10/15/25)
“In the mid-2010s, people began to notice something strange happening on college campuses. In the past, wealthy donors tried to censor professors and students. But then the demands started coming from the students themselves. More interestingly, the demands were being expressed in the language of public safety. It was ‘dangerous’ for Bret Weinstein, a professor who criticised the tactics of an anti-racist protest, to teach at Evergreen State College. It was ‘harmful’ for Erika Christakis, a professor who questioned the wisdom of banning certain types of Halloween costumes, to retain her position at Yale University. … Something similar has been happening inside America’s publishers.” (10/16/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Juan P Villasmil
“The New York Times reported last week that Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro allegedly offered President Donald Trump’s administration an extraordinary bargain: Venezuelan resources for American restraint. The story, still disputed in parts, suggests that Maduro’s envoys floated contracts for U.S. companies — at the expense of Chinese, Russian, and Iranian interests — in exchange for a thaw with Washington. For many, the continuation of pressure despite this apparent concession seems proof of Trumpian chaos: the dealmaker ignoring a golden opportunity. Yet for those who have followed the strategy closely, it is less revelation than proof of concept. The Trump approach, derided as erratic, is actually working.” (10/16/25)
“Four oil facility guards were killed in an attack on a bus on a highway east of Syria’s Deir al-Zor, state news agency reported on Thursday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The military personnel, part of an army contingent securing the Teim oilfield, were returning home after their shift at the major site west of Deir al-Zor province, when their vehicle was hit near the town of Salo on the highway east of Deir al-Zor, a security source told Reuters.” (10/16/25)
“[Niall] Ferguson is right on one level. America has experienced nothing like the Night of the Long Knives. But that misses the real test: Are the checks and balances of constitutional democracy being so hollowed out that democracy is at real risk? The evidence suggests this to be the case. Trump’s systematic capture of law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and emergency powers achieves tyranny in all but duration — authoritarian control operating through constitutional forms.” (10/15/25)
“It is easy to see why Trump wants everyone, particularly his supporters, to forget about ‘this creep,’ who had actually been his friend since the late ’80s. Epstein cultivated connections in the highest echelons of politics, business, and academia while running a sex racket with underage girls—some as young as 14. … But it would be a mistake to think that the MAGA right’s years-long obsession with Epstein stems primarily from concern about his victims or child sex abuse. Those are genuinely worthy causes, but the conduct of MAGA’s elected representatives in Congress and others shows that, for them, this sordid and tragic saga is first and foremost about exposing establishment elites, particularly Democrats, as hypocritical and corrupt — not delivering justice to victims of sex trafficking or protecting children.” (10/15/25)
