Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/12/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump To Appoint General To Lead Gaza Force, US-Backed Somali Forces Kill Civilians, and More.” (12/12/25)
Reddit sues Australia over underage social media ban
Source: Engadget
“Reddit has filed a lawsuit in Australia’s High Court aiming to overturn the country’s under-16 social media ban, Reuters reported. The forum platform called the law contrary to Australia’s constitution as it intrudes on free political discourse. It also argued that Reddit shouldn’t have been included in the ban since it isn’t a social media site, based on the law’s definition. The action is likely to set in motion a protracted legal battle, given Reddit’s resources and its popularity in Australia. Australia’s minimum age social media ban, the first of its kind in the world, went into effect on December 10. The ten platforms affected, including Reddit, must bar underage users or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million). Platforms are using a variety of means to determine age, including age inference based on activity and selfies.” (12/12/25)
The Real Villain in Minnesota’s $1.5 Billion Fraud Scandal Isn’t Somalis — It’s the Feds
Source: Reason
by Jack Nicastro
“A years-long scheme to defraud $1.5 billion from federally subsidized social services is fueling a wave of xenophobia against Minnesotans of Somali descent. The real culprit is Uncle Sam. … The real story here is not the ethnicity of those who defrauded the HSS, EIDBI, and FCPN programs, but the fact that the majority of public funding for these programs came from the federal government instead of Minnesota’s own coffers. … We should not be surprised when states are overly generous and insufficiently circumspect about handing out money to their constituents when the majority of the money isn’t coming from their own coffers, but the Treasury Department.” (12/12/25)
Year-End Fundraiser Update — Give Us A Yell …
… because we’re within shouting distance of our goal!
We’re running a short (10-item) “weekend special edition” this morning. Enjoy.
THANK YOU to supporters CJTS, RT, and MB! Their contributions over the last 24 hours, totaling $130, bring our year-end fundraiser total to $1,828.84!
That puts us just $921.66 short of the finish line — and YOU can take us there by supporting the freedom movement’s daily newspaper at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Once we’ve raised $2,750.50, supporter GL will “match funds” to get us to the goal of $5,501 … after which, I’ll stop talking about money ENTIRELY for the remainder of 2025, and MOSTLY until October of 2026.
If you think your prospective contribution is “too small to bother with,” you’re almost certainly wrong. $2.50, $5, or $10 makes a real difference, and if you value our publication in that amount and can afford to, I hope you’ll help out via:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
IN: State Senate rejects Trump’s map in blow to re-gerrymandering push
Source: Politico
“Indiana Republicans have withstood immense pressure from President Donald Trump — and ignored threats on their lives — to defeat his plan to redraw the state’s congressional map, dealing him one of his most significant political setbacks since his return to the White House. The GOP-controlled state Senate on Thursday voted down the map that gerrymandered two more safe GOP seats, undercutting the party’s chances at holding control of Congress next November. The failed vote is the culmination of a brass-knuckled four-month pressure campaign from the White House on recalcitrant Indiana Republicans that included private meetings and public shaming from Trump, multiple visits from Vice President JD Vance, whip calls from Speaker Mike Johnson and veiled threats of withheld federal funds. The members held out in spite of pipe bomb threats, unsolicited pizza deliveries to their homes, and swattings of their homes.” (12/11/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/11/indiana-republicans-redistricting-vote-trump-00687714
Regime Change: Adam Smith Talks One Game and Spends on Another
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“‘[T]here is no way on earth we should be going to war or trying to do regime change in Venezuela,’ US Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) told The Hill on December 4. The US, says Smith, ‘should be out of the regime-change business.’ So, did Smith still think that on December 9, when US military aircraft overflew the Gulf of Venezuela, and on December 10, when US troops — in a blatant act of piracy on the high seas — hijacked a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean? On December 10, Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, came out in support of forking over nearly $1 trillion to the US regime-change machine. … In what universe do you shut down a business by shoveling money at it?” (12/11/25)
The Political Orphanage, 12/11/25
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Secret Map of Supreme Court Justices.” (12/11/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-secret-map-of-supreme-court-justices
Ukraine war: Russian commanders say they’ve captured Siversk, Ukrainian military denies
Source: Reuters
“President Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian army on Thursday after commanders told him that their forces had taken full control of the town of Siversk in [Donetsk], but Ukraine’s military said it remained in control there. Reuters could not verify the battlefield claim around Siversk, a longstanding target in Russia’s slow drive to capture all of Donetsk [People’s Republic]. Commanders told Putin that the capture of Siversk, a town with a pre-war population of over 10,000 people, was a stepping stone towards taking Sloviansk, one of the two biggest cities in Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. … The Ukrainian military’s Operation Task Force East unit, writing on Facebook, said: ‘In the Sloviansk direction, the city of Siversk remains under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.'” (12/11/25)
Bypassing the Aussie ban on under-16s
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Many under-16s in Australia might try to bypass the new social-media ban under which, from 10 December 2025, all major social-media platforms must prevent Australians under 16 from holding accounts. … A survey of nearly 19,000 Australians under 16, showed that only 9% thought the ban was a good idea, and 72% believed it would not work. Some teens have told media that they expect to get around the ban, probably with some help from friends or older siblings, or even parents. … In a tussle between the kids and the politicians, my money is on the kids. They’ll find a hundred ways to bypass the ban before the political crowd have even let the ink dry on the Bill. And my sympathies are with them.” (12/11/25)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/bypassing-the-aussie-ban-on-under-16s
Trump signs order to block states from enforcing AI rules
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at blocking states from enforcing their own artificial intelligence (AI) regulations. ‘We want to have one central source of approval,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. It will give the Trump administration tools to push back on the most “onerous” state rules, said White House AI adviser David Sacks. The government will not oppose AI regulations around children’s safety, he added. The move marks a win for technology giants who have called for US-wide AI legislation as it could have a major impact on America’s goal of leading the fast-developing industry. AI company bosses have argued that state-level regulations could slow innovation and hinder the US in its race against China to dominate the industry, with firms pouring billions of dollars into the technology.” (12/12/25)