The Capacity to Control
Source: Law & Liberty
by Héctor Cárdenes Roque
“Europe is assembling, one defensible step at a time, a standing capacity for verifying who may enter the ordinary spaces of online life.” (08/17/26)
Category: Opinion
The Anti-Social Life of the Unapologetic Man
Source: Aaron Ross Powell
by Aaron Ross Powell
“The disappointing alchemy of algorithmic advertising brought me a pitch for a magazine called Field Ethos, co-founded by the lowest of the Trump scions. It’s a publication for men who fancy themselves performers of the sort of masculinity typified by the victim in a Sherlock Holmes story who it turns out was murdered because he stole a jewel while doing colonialist things in the Indian subcontinent. What caught my eye, though, was the word showing up twice in the ad’s copy. ‘The premier lifestyle publication for the unapologetic man is here. Enjoy a mix of modern adventure, historical context, and perspectives forged through global travel while staying current with the latest products that elevate an unapologetic life.’ Now, ‘unapologetic’ is an odd trait to boast of.” (08/17/26)
Trump Shouldn’t Make Another Iran Mistake in Cuba
Source: The American Conservative
by Chris McCallion & Daniel R DePetris
“Even as the Trump administration doubles down on its failed Iran war, it’s also laying the groundwork for military action much closer to home, in Cuba. The Trump administration claims Cuba is a nefarious presence in the Western Hemisphere and a local proxy for Russia and China. Now it seems intent on toppling the Havana government. … There’s a better alternative to Washington’s failed hardline policy. The United States could normalize relations with Cuba, an act that would increase trade, strengthen tourism, and open up Cuba to further liberalization and internal reform. This is precisely what the Obama administration began pursuing in its second term, a process aborted in President Donald Trump’s first year in office in favor of the kind of ‘maximum pressure’ policy he pursued against Iran. We know how well that turned out.” (08/17/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trump-shouldnt-make-another-iran-mistake-in-cuba/
Germany’s Auto Giant Is Losing the Race
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner
“German industrial icon Volkswagen has watched global rivals outpace it. EU mandates increasingly require automakers to prioritize bureaucrats targets over consumers.” (08/17/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/germanys-auto-giant-is-losing-the-race/
China and the Uyghurs: Truth vs. Tall Tales
Source: The Realist Review
by Stephan Ossenkopf
“Western media coverage is full of horror stories about the alleged repressive treatment by the Chinese leadership of Muslim Uyghurs in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. It is rife with allegations, speculation, and accusations. But who really knows anything about the situation on the ground and is aware of where this slander originates, whether there are evidentiary sources for it, and what purpose it truly serves?” (08/17/26)
https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/china-and-the-uyghurs-truth-vs-tall
Brazil’s Election: Lula, Bolsonaro, and the Battle for the Future
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin
“This week marks the beginning of Brazil’s presidential campaign, with the two front-runners—current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro—officially launching their campaigns. After visiting Brazil and talking with politicians, activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens, I came away with the conviction that this is one of the most consequential presidential elections in Brazil’s recent history. The outcome on October 4 will shape not only Brazil’s future but also the political direction of Latin America. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now 80 years old, is seeking a fourth presidential term. Brazil’s Constitution allows presidents to serve only two consecutive terms, but they may run again after sitting out at least one term. That is how Lula returned to office in 2023 after governing from 2003 to 2010.” (08/17/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/brazil-election-lula-bolsonaro
Korea and Brazil at the Negotiating Table
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“In the coming weeks, a delegation of South Korean food safety officials will take an extensive tour of Brazilian meat processing plants, checking everything from chilling temperatures and drainage to the paper trail that charts the meat’s journey. The mission of officials was agreed at a presidential summit in July 2026 and is, in every sense that matters, the trade negotiation in action. Long stalled, the Korea–Mercosur trade talks have been revived as each nation adapts to the shifting sands of the international order; but the gap between political theater and technical progress is unusually wide between the two sides.” (08/17/26)
https://fee.org/articles/korea-and-brazil-at-the-negotiating-table/
Solidarity Is Not Enough: Why the World Must Force Accountability on Gaza Now
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“It is now official: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly rejected the core conditions of the Board of Peace framework, explicitly stating that Israel will neither adhere to a ceasefire nor withdraw its forces from Gaza. … Therefore, action is needed, and urgently so. Indeed, Israel’s official position leaves the international community with no choice but to take direct, coordinated action across five key fronts …” (08/17/26)
The Pub and the Prep School: Two Deaths, One Cause
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The pub has been dying for a generation, but the pace has quickened sharply. The British Beer and Pub Association recorded 161 closures in the first quarter of 2026 alone, up 26 per cent on the same period the year before. That is two pubs shutting every day. … The prep school has followed a similar arc, on a shorter timetable. Twenty per cent VAT landed on school fees in January 2025. Most schools also lost the charitable rates relief that had cut their bills by up to 80 per cent. By January 2026, 105 independent schools had closed or been folded into mergers, more than 25,000 pupils displaced. … The pattern in both cases is the same. Government does not set out to destroy an institution. It raises the cost of employing people, taxes an activity that used to be exempt, and withdraws a relief that had cushioned the blow.” (08/17/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-pub-and-the-prep-school-two-deaths-one-cause
Will the Gulfies dump Trump?
Source: UnHerd
by Reuel Marc Gerecht
“It’s increasingly clear that the Gulfies, despite Saudi Arabia’s new defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey, and for all the chatter about a revitalized Sunni Gulf Arab alliance, are prepared to pay Iran to stop the war. To Trump’s great dismay, Riyadh even prevented the use of its bases and air space when Trump last seriously tried to open the Strait in May. This highlighted what had been clear about Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman since 2019, when Trump failed to respond to an Iranian attack on Saudi oil facilities: he no longer views the President as a reliable guarantor of his kingdom’s security. MBS, then, has become like the cautious Saudis of yesteryear.” (08/17/26)