“US President Trump is fighting the International Criminal Court, whose mission is to prosecute and convict high-ranking suspected criminals who have violated international law and human rights in The Hague. The US government under Trump is now imposing sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court as an institution. This represents yet another attack on global justice. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has 125 member states and, since 2002, has been prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide—including those committed by high-ranking officials. Like China, Israel, and Russia, the US is not a member of the ICC. However, a clear majority of countries worldwide (125 member states) do support it. The US government is now not only imposing sanctions on the ICC as an institution but has also previously taken action against members of the court. Thirteen judges and the chief prosecutor of the ICC have been placed on the U.S. sanctions list.” (11/12/26)
“Defense Secretary Hegseth’s term is likely to be seen as one of the most disastrous ones in the Pentagon’s history. The lack of personal integrity and even basic executive experience compounds an aggressive, ideologically overdriven campaign that has triggered a chilling effect, tanked military approval ratings and alienated America’s allies, partners and adversaries alike.” (11/12/26)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“In mid-September 2026, former Green Beret Tim Kennedy was shot multiple times in the leg during an ambush in the Minembwe Highlands of South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was part of a small Vectus Global team, one of Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s private security companies, accompanying Congolese forces. The event prompted, for a moment, a degree of American media coverage of the Congo. To be sure, the coverage was as shallow as it was fleeting, mostly focused on Kennedy’s own story; but make no mistake, there is much more here than just a seemingly random firefight involving private contractors in some remote African hinterland.” (11/12/26)
“It may be too early to start the celebration, but some of the AI stocks took a big hit last week. But not all companies were hit equally. The biggest hits by far went to the neo-clouds, with several of the large chip makers also getting seriously whacked. The hyperscalers seemed little affected.” (11/12/26)
“Most people probably don’t recall all of the things they said last week, let alone four years ago. But for widely-read French writer Michel Houellebecq, comments he made in a 2022 magazine interview may spell legal trouble for him today. Houellebecq is now formally facing a judge-led investigation in a Paris suburb for ‘complicity in incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of people on account of their origin or their belonging or not belonging to a particular ethnicity, nation, race or religion.’ … Should authorities pursue charges and find him guilty, Houellebecq could face large fines and up to a year in prison. Even if they ultimately drop the investigation, the message is clear to both Houellebecq and everyone else: If you speak your mind on a controversial issue in France, you might get wrapped up in a lengthy and chilling investigation. You might even end up in jail.” (11/12/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov
“ne consequence of last week’s midterm elections—which brought a historic rout of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party—has been the emboldening of European leaders who have spent much of his second presidency reluctantly appeasing him. This shift comes just as the Trump administration revives an ambitious effort to end the war in Ukraine. The question for Europeans now is whether to use Trump’s weakness to merely resist his diplomacy or to develop a diplomatic initiative of their own.” (11/12/26)
“On election night, Donald Trump called Fox News and congratulated Democrats. Six days later, he was shitposting on Truth Social, asking whether anyone believed the election was honest. He claimed that early vote ‘dumps’ were so large that Republicans couldn’t win no matter how many people showed up on Election Day. ‘It’s all about the machines,’ he wrote. He offered no evidence that machines changed votes or that any of those early ballots were fraudulent. Trump had spent months telling Republicans to treat the midterms as a vote on him. The country did.” (11/11/26)
“Back in 1980, boxer Roberto Durán famously threw in the towel after a beating from Sugar Ray Leonard by waving his hand and saying ‘No más!’ (no more!). He was done, out of gas and hurting. Over the next few years, we can expect to hear a similar sentiment from many leftists, as conservatives sharpen our elbows and pummel them with the rules they’ve created and used against us. Make them hate it, make them cry ‘No más!’ and, even as they beg, never, ever let up on them.” (11/12/26)
