Source: Wired
by Robert A Pape
“Public disagreement about whether political violence is rising and who is responsible for it stems not from ideology alone but from competing definitions about what should be counted.” (09/22/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The biggest AI threat isn’t artificial superintelligence wiping out humanity in a fit of mechanical vengeance like some digital Old Testament God, it’s the same oligarchs and empire managers as usual inflicting the same evils and abuses as usual upon their fellow man. We’re already presently watching the empire building AI into its killing machines and causing all kinds of horrifying problems while these technologies become more and more complex and unpredictable. CNN reports that US military AI ‘almost started a war’ with China when it hallucinated intelligence showing a Chinese ship transporting nuclear weapon components to Iran; US military planes were apparently already in the air preparing to attack the vessel before human intelligence picked up on the error.” (09/22/26)
Source: Law & Liberty
by Brian A Smith
“Karl Marx and Niccolò Machiavelli share the distinction of being among the few major thinkers in the English language whose names have become instantly recognizable ‘isms.’ But where most educated Westerners could probably offer up some kind of definition for what Marx’s ideas mean, ‘Machiavellianism’ serves more as a floating signifier for amoral canniness in political or social life. To be a Marxist implies at least some practical commitments to equality, and perhaps to revolution, but most people, even those with a strong memory of The Prince or Discourses on Livy, would probably struggle to define what being a Machiavellian really means for one’s politics.” (09/22/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/machiavellis-contested-legacy/
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“For decades, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been seen by the world’s governments as a safe haven for a portion of their gold deposits. But under the mercurial reign of President Donald Trump, and in a general atmosphere of geopolitical turbulence, that is quickly changing. Several European countries have already relocated—or are under pressure to relocate—their gold from New York to domestic vaults, prompted by concerns about the stability of the regulatory environment under Trump. According to the World Gold Council, 59% of the world’s central banks now prefer to keep their gold at home, compared to 41% just two years ago.” (09/22/26)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai
“New York’s city-run stores promise cheaper groceries, but their discounts merely transfer costs. Taxpayers foot the bill, while bodegas and grocers lose customers.” (09/22/26)
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Paul Thacker
“On the eve of Gates’[s] private testimony with Congress scheduled for tomorrow, a trove of federal whistleblower documents provided to RealClearInvestigations is renewing questions about how Gates money has bought what critics complain is an untoward influence on government health policy. For almost a quarter of a century, his main vehicle of power, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), allowing Gates to shape the direction of the country’s health strategy in ways that have benefitted his own priorities and pet causes while polishing his image as a benevolent global do-gooder.” (09/22/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/how-bill-gates-billions-shape-us-medical-research/
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley
“Defense attorney Kevin Reddington appears to be moving from zealous advocacy to virtual stalking in the Lindsay Clancy case. Reddington is seeking phone records, surveillance, and criminal records of Michael Desronvil, the now-identified juror who held out in the 11-1 hung jury decision. Reddington’s demand follows his unprofessional attack on the juror on the courthouse steps after the trial. In his filing, Kevin Reddington seeks to question Desronvil after reviewing his records to see whether he lied on his juror questionnaire, violated court rules by using his cellphone in the jury room, and failed to pay attention during jury deliberations. The demand is highly unusual. Occasionally, defense counsel will raise later-discovered information on possible juror misconduct to challenge a criminal conviction.” [editor’s note: Amazing how a man of honor can be defiled and hunted for doing his proper job as a juror in a murder trial – SAT] (09/22/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“Conscription is a form of indentured servitude. Murray Rothbard argued that everyone has a natural right to self-defense, but ‘we have no moral right to use coercion—the bayonet or the revolver—to force someone else to defend us.’ Rothbard argued that if we want men to stand in our defense, ‘the way to induce people to volunteer for hazardous jobs is to pay them extra as compensation.’ And yet, instead of offering a wage that would reward men who sign up willingly, governments rely on force to press conscripts into service.” (09/22/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/how-war-propaganda-justifies-conscription-unjust-wars
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Rod Roddenberry
“A few years ago, I received a call I’ll never forget. Jeanette Epps, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, Zoomed into my living room from 250 miles above Earth. During our conversation, she told me that one of the reasons she chose her career was a television show my father created in 1966. She wasn’t alone. I’ve heard versions of that same story from countless people over the years. Engineers. Scientists. Astronauts. People who saw possibility on a television screen before they ever saw it in the real world. … I don’t think that was because of the ships, the gadgets or the aliens. It was because, underneath all of it, was a profoundly human belief that we are capable of becoming something better.” (09/22/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“On September 8, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK announced their intention to introduce national restrictions, support European restrictions, or actively consider measures against trade in goods with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Undeniably, the announcement represents a significant political and legal precedent. Dismissing it outright would be impulsive, particularly considering the participation of governments such as those of Canada and the UK, which have historically provided Israel with extensive political and diplomatic support. Yet celebrating the announcement as an earth-shattering event without examining its context, timing and potential effectiveness would be equally rash. Worse, it could contribute to weakening the public pressure that finally compelled Western governments to take even these limited steps.” (09/22/26)