Source: Quillette
by Tomislav Kardum
“Populist rhetoric is exceptionally effective for pursuing and gaining power, but it provides no program for the complexities of actual governance.” (02/17/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/02/17/populisms-self-defeating-trap-trump-europe-dostoevsky/
Source: SFGate
“An air of defiance marked Kosovo’s independence celebrations on Tuesday as thousands of people joined a march in support of former fighters who are facing trial at a Netherlands-based court for alleged war crimes during a 1998-1999 separatist war from Serbia. Protesters, many wrapped in red and black Albanian flags, braved cold and snowy weather in the capital, Pristina, to voice their opposition to the proceedings in The Hague against former president and rebel leader Hashim Thaci and three others accused of atrocities during and after the conflict that killed some 13,000 people. Earlier on Tuesday, Kosovo’s security forces paraded in Pristina as part of the independence ceremonies, and Parliament held a special session. The war started in 1998 when the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army launched its struggle for independence and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. The war ended after NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999, eventually forcing it to pull out its troops from the territory.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/thousands-in-kosovo-march-against-war-crimes-21358288.php
Source: Crooked Media
“Fascist Mile High Club.” (02/16/26)
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“People should be free to talk to each other about whatever they want as long as they’re not thereby conspiring to rob and murder and so forth. They should even be able to give advice. Including legal advice. New York State disagrees. The Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let the non-lawyer volunteers of a company called Upsolve keep giving advice to people facing lawsuits to collect debt.” (02/17/26)
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Braving the New World.” (02/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/uncategorized/dhp-ep-285-braving-the-new-world
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“Could the Arab parties be the key to transforming Israeli politics?” (02/17/26)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/the-stone-rejected-by-the-builders
Source: Washington Monthly
by Robert J Shapiro
“The late scholar of mass movements, charismatic leaders, and government violence foreshadowed the president’s rise and the MAGA movement in The Origins of Totalitarianism. Recent polling proves her prescience.” (02/17/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/17/hannah-arendt-understood-donald-trump/
Source: CNN
“Warner Bros. Discovery wants to hear Paramount’s ‘best and final proposal’ for the media company, and is opening a brief window for discussions about a bid, while also moving forward with its Netflix merger and urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s current hostile bid. … Last December, WBD agreed to sell most of the company, including the Warner Bros. movie studio and HBO, to Netflix. WBD’s cable channels, including CNN, are not part of the sale. The deal with Netflix doubled as a rejection of Paramount. But Paramount CEO David Ellison responded by going directly to shareholders with a $30-per-share offer for all of WBD, including CNN. That’s the offer WBD is officially opposing. On Tuesday morning, WBD said it will hold a special shareholder meeting on March 20 and will recommend voting to approve the Netflix deal, which values the studio and streaming assets at $27.75 per share.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/media/wbd-netflix-paramount-shareholder-vote-bid
Source: Antiwar.com
“Sen. Graham: US Troops Could Be ‘Hit’ in Iran War, Israel To Give Hamas 60-Day Deadline, and More.” (02/17/26)
Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux
“Consider the case of the businesses begging for protective tariffs to compensate for other tariffs imposed on them by the same government.” (02/16/26)
https://pierrelemieux.substack.com/p/is-protectionism-for-national-security