War on Words: The “Free Speech Recession” Is Not Over

Source: The Daily Economy
by Julian Adorney

“Censorship is a tool that the powerful use to keep the little guy down. And in a republic in which power regularly changes hands, any new censoring tools that we give to our political allies will invariably be wielded by our political opponents. As [Greg] Lukianoff writes: ‘A good intellectual exercise before passing a new law is to consider how your worst enemy would use that law — and thinking about that is even more important when imagining restrictions on free speech.'” (08/06/25)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-war-on-words-is-essential-reading-for-our-political-moment/

Thomas L. Knapp

Biden team ready to drop dirt on Harris if she comes after him

Source: Fox News

“Political analyst Mark Halperin revealed last week that former President Joe Biden’s team is prepared to release unflattering stories about their efforts to prepare former Vice President Kamala Harris for a potential run if she comes after him in her new book. Harris announced the release of her upcoming book 107 Days, documenting her short-lived presidential run, just a week after Biden reportedly signed a $10 million deal with the Hachette Book Group for his upcoming presidential memoir. While speaking on 2Way’s ‘The Morning Meeting’ with Sean Spicer and Dan Turrentine, Halperin dismissed the notion that they discussed these books with each other, adding that the Biden team is ready to push back if they feel threatened.” (08/06/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-team-ready-drop-dirt-harris-she-comes-after-him-mark-halperin-says

Steve Trinward

US research station staff evacuated from Antarctica in high-risk operation

Source: The Guardian [UK]

“The New Zealand air force has evacuated three people from a US research base in Antarctica in a high-risk operation that required navigating through extreme weather and round-the-clock darkness. The air force said on Wednesday the United National Science Foundation requested a medical evacuation for three of its staff members based at the McMurdo Station, one of whom needed urgent medical care. The crew of the C-130J Hercules flew on Tuesday afternoon, working through the night to complete the mission, the air force said. … The Hercules flew to Antarctica with a doctor on board to care for the patients during the flight. The plane landed back in Christchurch on Wednesday morning, after a 19.5 hour round trip.” (08/06/25)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/06/mcmurdo-station-antarctica-medical-evacuation

Thomas L. Knapp

The epically blundering Putin is alienating even Trump

Source: Washington Post
by George F Will

“Donald Trump has announced himself ‘disappointed.’ He had such high hopes for Vladimir Putin. Putin’s response to Trump’s 50-day ultimatum — to agree to ‘a deal’ by Sept. 3 or face severe economic consequences — was intensified attacks on Ukraine population centers. Trump’s subsequent 10-day ultimatum, expiring Friday, seems to have been equally unavailing. Putin aims to get not to negotiations but to Kyiv, because only extinguishing Ukraine’s nationhood can redeem his epochal blunder. Although Putin has been certified a ‘genius’ (by Trump; Putin has not reciprocated), not since Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union 84 summers ago has a military undertaking been as comprehensively counterproductive for its initiator as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.” (08/06/25)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/08/06/trump-putin-russia-ukraine/

Thomas L. Knapp

Dam breaking on Britain’s illegal immigration crisis; the results could be ugly

Source: New York Post
by Glenn H Reynolds

“Britain’s Labour government is in trouble: Its program of massive third-world immigration from places like Pakistan and Somalia is wildly, overwhelmingly unpopular. But that’s not the real problem; the real problem is that despite the best efforts of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his leftist captive media, Britons themselves have discovered just how unpopular it is. You might think that’s absurd — if mass immigration is unpopular, how can everyone not know it? Everyone doesn’t know it because the government has been policing speech about immigration. Any criticism of open borders, lax enforcement or — worst of all — immigrant crime has been punished as ‘racist’ and ‘hate speech’ by the Starmer regime.” (08/05/25)

https://nypost.com/2025/08/05/opinion/uk-is-facing-migrant-crisis-reality-and-results-will-be-ugly/

Steve Trinward

Taiwan: “Zero Day Attack” TV show imagines Chinese invasion

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“A Chinese fighter jet plane crashes in the waters off Taiwan’s coast, prompting Chinese warships to blockade the island for a ‘search and rescue’. Taiwanese soldiers manning Dadan Island, a rocky outcrop mere kilometres from China’s coast, begin vanishing mysteriously. Then one night, a fishing boat lands on Dadan. A signal flare arcs into the inky sky – and illuminates Chinese soldiers who have spilled out of the boat and amassed on the beach. This is the key scenario in Zero Day Attack, a new Taiwanese television show about a fictional Chinese military invasion. Beijing has long viewed self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, vowing to ‘reunify’ with it some day while not ruling out the use of force. The series, which aired its first episode over the weekend, was partially funded by the Taiwanese government, which hopes to raise awareness about the threat China poses.” (08/06/25)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz93ge90dywo

Steve Trinward