Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The last nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia has expired, raising fears of a new arms race. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as ‘New START’ and signed in 2010, was one of a handful of agreements designed to help prevent a catastrophic nuclear war. … The treaty had capped the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads for each party to 1,550 and established some transparency including data transfer, notifications and on site inspections. … Although Russia suspended the treaty three years ago as tensions grew over the Ukraine war, both countries were still thought to be abiding by the treaty.” (02/05/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g31n4ey9go
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“The first thing to note about the federal conviction of libertarian Ian Freeman, who was in the business of selling Bitcoin, and the eight-year prison sentence that a federal judge meted out to him is that he would never have been convicted of his ‘crimes’ had he been living in 1890 America. The second thing to note about his conviction and long prison sentence is that he is innocent as a matter of fact and law.” (02/04/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-federal-punishment-of-an-innocent-man-part-1/
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Map That Explains Everything About America: Colin Woodard.” (02/04/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-map-that-explains-everything-about-america-colin-woodard
Source: Reuters
“Bitcoin was on the cusp of breaking below the key $70,000 level on Thursday as a slide in the world’s largest cryptocurrency showed no signs of stopping. Bitcoin fell 2% in early European trade, having dropped as much as 3.5% earlier during the Asian session to $70,052.38, its lowest level since November 2024. Ether , meanwhile, was down 0.7% at $2,111.34. A drop below $2,000 would mark the first time the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency has breached that level since May last year.” (02/05/26)
https://www.reuters.com/business/bitcoin-slumps-with-key-70000-level-sight-2026-02-05/
Source: Jake Porter’s Analysis & Investigations
by Jake Porter
“In July of 2023, at Freedom Fest in Memphis, Tenn., then Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle secretly met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. setting off a bizarre saga leading to the Libertarian Party essentially becoming a financial arm to support and market Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign. What followed were sponsored speaking engagements, sabotage, endorsements, money funneled to hidden LLCs and Presidential pardons. This series exposes who sold out the Libertarian Party, how they sold it out, and what party leadership, Kennedy and Donald Trump each benefited from it.” (02/04/26)
https://jakeporter.substack.com/p/flirting-with-maga-money-the-shady
Source: SFGate
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration. No justices dissented from the brief order. The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit. Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed the California map improperly relied on race, as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote.” (02/04/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/supreme-court-refuses-to-block-new-california-21333663.php
Source: Bet On It
by Vipul Naik
“I’m incredibly grateful for all the developments in computing, telecommunications, and collaboration software that have enabled the rise of partly-or-wholly remote work. I’m also appreciative of the many efforts humans have put in to adjust to this new way of remote working and uncover forms of collaboration that would have been much harder otherwise. At the margin, I think this does somewhat reduce the need for people to migrate to do jobs, and I think that’s a good thing! However, I also think that it’s easy to overstate the extent to which remote work obviates the need for people to move.” (02/04/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/open-borders-and-remote-work
Source: Bloomberg
“The Russian government’s oil revenues collapsed to the lowest in more than five years in January as weaker global prices, steeper discounts for the nation’s barrels, and a stronger currency took a toll on the budget. Oil-related taxes halved to 281.7 billion rubles ($3.7 billion) last month from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations based on finance ministry data published Wednesday. Combined oil and gas revenue also declined by 50%, to 393.3 billion rubles. Lower proceeds from the two industries, which between them contribute about a quarter of the budget, will put more strain on the nation’s coffers as the war in Ukraine drags toward a fifth year with little sign of ending.” (02/04/26)
https://archive.is/jrFzO
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“If you won’t stand up for the rights of those you dislike, you don’t really believe in rights at all. At best, you believe in privileges — things you can do as long as some government official agrees and gives you temporary permission to do it.” (02/04/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/02/04/voices/opinion-rights-are-identical-for-everyone/232692.html
Source: United Press International
“About 25% of federal agents in Minnesota will leave ‘effective immediately,’ leaving about 2,000 still in the state, mostly in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Border Czar Tom Homan said Wednesday. Homan cited an ‘unprecedented’ amount of cooperation between local officials and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the state since he was sent there as the reason for the drawdown. … ICE and Border Patrol agents have been in Minnesota since December, and people have been actively protesting their presence. Two American citizens have been [murdered] by federal agents since Operation Metro Surge began.” [editor’s note: Did Tim Walz cough up $50k in cash in a shopping bag for Homan? – TLK] (02/04/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/04/tom-homan-700-federal-agents-leave-minnesota/4441770221097/
