Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Politico has a new article out titled ‘Anthropic quietly pitches its own AI safety bill to lawmakers’, revealing the contents of a leaked confidential draft on regulations the tech giant would be willing to accept in the name of public safety. Buried in paragraph four of the article, we come to the real story in these revelations: ‘The bill would let the government block a model’s release or use only if it poses a foreseeable, imminent risk of more than $1 billion in damages, or of killing or seriously injuring more than 50 people.'” (10/19/26)
“Journalism is experiencing one of its worst crises when it’s needed the most. Overall, news consumption is dropping. And it’s worse among young people, who largely get their news through social media, not news outlets. People under 30, more than any other age group, trust social media sources of news. The problem is that it’s hard to tell if your favorite social media source is a citizen journalist or a paid promoter. In a recent in-depth report, The New York Times revealed that social media platforms are rife with accounts that are paid to promote campaigns parading as personal opinion. Rather than hire well-known influencers with huge followings, politicians and organizations are now hiring huge numbers of accounts with smaller followings.” (10/19/26)
“This month, journalist Catherine Herridge is in the fight of her life — and the stakes for the country could not be higher. The former Fox and CBS reporter has long been one of the most prominent investigative journalists in the U.S., particularly on national security stories. She is now on her last appeal to the Supreme Court, attempting to protect the most vital prerequisite of the free press: confidentiality of sources. At issue is a 2017 story that aired on Fox News concerning a Virginia-based training firm patronized by Pentagon officials. Herridge exposed ties of the University of Management and Technology to the Chinese military. It was the kind of difficult, complex story that made Herridge such a respected figure in her profession. The subject of the story, University of Management and Technology founder Yanping Chen, sued, claiming that the exposure had led to her loss of employment.” (10/19/26)
“Before his nitrogen execution last year, Anthony Boyd wanted to figure out a way to help people understand the horror he was about to experience. He told me to watch his legs. When he couldn’t go any further, he was going to lift up his legs one final time. Once and for all, he wanted to settle that nitrogen executions were neither quick nor humane. The State of Alabama controlled the gas, the mask, the restraints, the room. Boyd had nothing left to control but himself… his legs. At approximately 5:57 p.m., the nitrogen began flowing. Boyd clenched his fist. He raised his head. Then he lifted his legs several inches, exactly as he had promised me. By my watch, he fought for his life for at least sixteen minutes, maybe even closer to nineteen depending on when the gas actually entered the mask.” (10/19/26)
“Elissa Slotkin was elected to the Senate in 2024 as a supposed ‘moderate’. But of course we know that, apart from Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, that species of Democratic politician doesn’t exist in Congress anymore. Sure enough, it didn’t take long for Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who served under John Brennan, to show her true colors. The Michigan senator told students at the University of Chicago last week how she plans to use the power that will come to Democrats if they win Senate control in the midterms next month. She wants to unleash a barrage of political investigations on Trump officials in order to frighten young people away from taking jobs in the administration. ‘The people around Donald Trump … have no immunity the way the president does … So you go after the people who do his bidding,’ she told the audience during a live podcast recording Tuesday.” (10/18/26)
“United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is calling for a national wealth tax and inheritance taxes approaching 100% for certain estates, arguing that growing wealth inequality poses a threat to American society. Kirby made the remarks when asked about declining public trust in corporate executives during an interview with The New York Times. ‘Wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that,’ Kirby told the outlet in an interview published Sunday. The airline executive argued that a wealth tax would need to be implemented nationwide rather than at the state level to prevent wealthy Americans from relocating to avoid paying it.” [editor’s note: Nothing is stopping you from giving your own money away, troll – SAT] (10/19/26)
“A former Rwandan army sergeant major, who became an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame, has been found beheaded in neighbouring Uganda. Robert Kabera, 50, fled Rwanda after being accused of sexual assault, which he denied. He sought asylum in neighbouring Uganda, citing political persecution. Ugandan police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke on Monday said that Kabera’s head had still not been recovered. His body was discovered by local residents on the outskirts of Kampala over the weekend. The Rwandan government has not publicly commented on the killing. Several critics of Kagame have been killed, both in Rwanda and abroad. His widow, Jeanne d’Arc Rwigema Uwizeye, told BBC Great Lakes in a written message that she now feared for her family’s safety. ‘It is scary. I feel crazy, the children and I don’t have security,’ she said.” (10/19/26)
“Expectations of a quality education and decent job prospects are common to many around the world. The notion that these are slipping away has brought young people into the streets across Asia, Africa, and Europe over the last three years. Their distress often resonates with fellow citizens who share concerns about unresponsive institutions and unethical governance. This week, for example, France began a national self-examination after youthful protests led to looting and destruction. In India, meanwhile, a Generation Z-led protest movement succeeded in forcing the resignation of the country’s education minister in July, over repeated corruption in the highly competitive national examination system. Now, that loosely organized, satirically named Cockroach Janta Party has taken on the even larger issue of election integrity in the world’s largest democracy.” (10/19/26)
“President Donald Trump on Monday directed the government to bolster federal research into women’s health, a move pushed by his wife, first lady Melania Trump. The order creates a new women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force to focus on the issue. That panel was set to hold its first meeting Monday after the Trumps held a Rose Garden signing ceremony. Meanwhile, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander adults have become more disillusioned with Trump and Republicans as the Nov. 3 midterm elections approach, according to a new AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll, giving Democrats a substantial edge on major issues like the economy and health care.” (10/19/26)
“A Canadian friend of mine, who is currently teaching in China, recently sent me an interesting video. It recorded a dark-skinned man who spoke perfect English, telling how he and his family, in 1996, immigrated to Canada. They ‘went through the process’, legally, to become Canadian citizens, working hard, earning what they got, and honoring the country. That kind of immigrant most countries don’t mind having. But, he said, ‘it was a whole lot different back then’. The man on the video was very respectful and said, several times, in his two-minute video, ‘I say this very respectfully’. But his message was, ‘When you come to Canada, please stop doing s**t; it makes the rest of us look bad’.” (10/19/26)
