Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall

“We appear to be having one of those public fits of morality for which the British are famous. First there’s the observation that AI can be used to create naughty images. Yes, this does in fact mean all the different services, including the open source ones that can be run on a home PC, can be used to create such imagery. This is then focused in a two minute hate upon the evil of the day, X/Twitter and Grok. At which point X limits the ability to do so to paid accounts — paid accounts being those where the individual operating the account is a known individual. … Who is going to use a named and identified account to do something that’s illegal after all? At which point we’re told that this is ‘insulting.’ Solving the problem is insulting, eh?” (01/14/26)

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-perils-of-naughty-piccies-by-grok

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Leah Schroeder

“American forces invaded Panama in 1989 to capture Manuel Noriega, a former U.S. ally whose rule over Panama was marred by drug trafficking, corruption and human rights abuses. But experts point to another, perhaps just as critical goal: to cure the American public of ‘Vietnam syndrome,’ which has been described as a national malaise and aversion of foreign interventions in the wake of the failed Vietnam War. On both fronts, the operation was a success. With Noriega in custody and democracy restored, President George H. W. Bush could make the case that the U.S. military was back to peak performance and that force — including regime change — could be used effectively for good, commencing a new era of foreign interventionism in America. Nearly four decades and several disastrous conflicts later, the public has overwhelmingly become skeptical once more, especially after the 20 years of war following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.” (01/14/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-invasion-venezuela/

Source: Liberal Currents
by Taylor Carik

“After being told that school was cancelled for two days because of ICE, my elementary school-age daughter replied, ‘That makes sense, it’s really slippery outside.’ I’ve told that anecdote a few times already this week, along with another very recent exchange from when the school reopened, albeit with heavy community safety patrolling by parents. After saying a quick hello at afterschool pick-up, followed by a pregnant pause in its truest elephant-in-the-city way, another parent asked me sardonically, ‘So, how’s the occupation going for you?’ These simple exchanges capture both the enormity of the experience of living under this new modern form of domestic occupation in Minneapolis-St. Paul and the day-to-dayness of having to navigate it.” (01/14/26)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/so-hows-the-occupation-going-for-you/

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“For years, two of America’s closest allies, Japan and South Korea, have mostly marched to the beat of their own drums. As neighbors in northeast Asia, they have often cooperated. But the brutal history of Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula was always an emotional backbeat preventing close ties. On Tuesday, after a bilateral summit, their leaders – who both took office last year – changed the tempo quite a bit. In a gesture purposely human rather than diplomatic, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung sat down and played the drums together. They performed the song ‘Golden’ from the 2025 animated film ‘KPop Demon Hunters.’ Ms. Takaichi had once been a drummer in a heavy metal band while Mr. Lee had long dreamed of playing drums.” (01/14/25)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2026/0114/The-duo-tapping-a-new-Japanese-Korean-beat