Source: Common Dreams
by Jawad Khalid

“The United States has indicted Cuba’s former president Raúl Castro on murder charges, deployed a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, and issued explicit threats of military intervention. Is the US moving toward another regime change operation in the Western Hemisphere? The rhetoric coming out of Washington suggests very much so. Cuba looks set to see a repeat of the Venezuelan playbook. President Donald Trump has said he will be “the one” to finally act on Cuba. The message from Washington is clear. Cuba is next. Latin America is empire’s favorite backyard, where the United States has consistently moved to remove governments that pursue independent foreign and economic policies not in line with American interests.” (05/28/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/regime-change-cuba-worried

Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux

“It was an error three centuries ago. Knowledge of the workings of society has progressed, but some did not get the memo.” (05/27/26)

https://pierrelemieux.substack.com/p/the-troubling-persistence-of-luddism

Source: Shawn Huckaby
by Shawn Huckaby

“I was raised in a rural Virginia family that, despite what that might lead you to believe, was not particularly religious. My mom was nominally a Christian but church service was not a regular part of our life. My dad was an atheist influenced by Ayn Rand. The latter went on to influence me, and as a consequence, I spent roughly the first 30 years of my life as a very garden-variety atheist. … I left Ayn Rand behind at some point in my mid-20s and developed an interest in broader philosophy. … This exploration eventually led me into religion but outside of the typical Abrahamic context.” (05/27/26)

https://shawnhuckabay.substack.com/p/the-minimalist-faith

Source: Reason
by Ari Shtein

“When President Donald Trump announced broad and arbitrary import taxes last April — tariffs that the Supreme Court would later determine were illegal — he said they would uplift domestic producers, even though many economists predicted the opposite. More than a year later, Americans can safely say that the economists were right. Trump’s tariffs have not only failed in their central aim — to bring manufacturing jobs back to America — they’ve also hurt Americans across a range of economic sectors, including agriculture. That’s the latest analysis from the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Agricultural Trade Monitor, which recently found that between March 2025 and February 2026, annualized U.S. agricultural exports to China dropped by nearly $15 billion. This is almost $5 billion more in lost trade to China than what American farmers saw during the first Trump administration.” (05/27/26)

https://reason.com/2026/05/27/trumps-trade-war-caused-a-15-billion-decline-in-u-s-farm-sales-to-china/

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Amid the fears and concerns about artificial intelligence and emerging online technologies, a statement by the founder of Christian Science – and of this publication – offers reassurance. Referencing the United States’ ringing Declaration of Independence, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, ‘God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience’. With the promise and exercise of these innate rights, humanity is well placed to take on the challenges – and promise – of AI. Many religious leaders, as well as Silicon Valley innovators and analysts, are weighing in on the role of human creativity and intelligence, as well as workplace skills and relevance. Most recently, Pope Leo XIV delivered a major statement on faith and human progress in the age of AI, titled ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ (Magnificent Humanity).” (05/27/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0527/Effective-faith-based-safeguards-for-AI