Are there no policies worth retaining to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Australia?

Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Geoff Edwards

“Opposition leader Angus Taylor said a government he led would stop targeting net zero greenhouse emissions. It would increase use of fossil fuels, running coal-fired power generators ‘as long and as hard as possible.’ Mr Taylor wants ‘cheap energy.’ He blamed the renewables push and the energy bureaucracy for high energy prices. The reality is that the impact of high world prices for oil, gas and coal on electricity costs are also relevant. There is a certain irony in Mr Taylor’s rejection of net zero 2050. It was he as Energy and Climate Minister with then Prime Minister Scott Morrison who, in October 2021, first announced Australia’s commitment to net zero. Subsequently, in opposition, the Liberal Party followed its smaller coalition partner, the Nationals, in walking away from net zero 2050.” (05/22/26)

https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/05/are-there-no-policies-worth-retaining.html

NATO’s Censorship Infrastructure and the War on the European Mind

Source: Libertarian Institute
by Thomas Karat

“On an evening at the end of December 2025, a woman in Switzerland opened a grocery-delivery app on her phone. She filled a basket and typed in a delivery address in Brussels — a flat she had visited many times, whose owner could no longer leave Belgium and could no longer pay for anything from within it. She entered her Swiss card at checkout. The payment declined. She tried again. It declined again. The man waiting for the groceries is Jacques Baud, seventy years old, a retired colonel of the Swiss Army and a former officer of the Federal Intelligence Service who had worked in Brussels for NATO. On December 15, 2025, fifteen days before the blocked delivery, the Council of the European Union had placed him on a list.” (05/22/26)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/natos-censorship-infrastructure-and-the-war-on-the-european-mind

The Progressive Senate and Its Discontents

Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup

“For most Americans—or at least most Americans with even a remedial education in civics—the phrase ‘separation of powers’ usually explains the tripartite nature of the federal government. The Founders, in their wisdom, divided that government into branches: the legislative branch, which debates and enacts laws; the executive branch, which enforces the laws; and the judicial branch, which interprets the laws and ensures that they are compliant with one another and with constitutional principles. It’s a nice, clean, simple, and, above all, effective system for limiting the power of the federal polity. … People (understandably) tend to forget that the Founders’ separation of powers referred not only to the construction of the federal government but also to the construction of the federal republic.” (05/25/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/05/25/the-progressive-senate-and-its-discontents/

Senegal: Parliament Speaker Quits Two Days After Prime Minister Sacked

Source: US News & World Report

“Senegal’s ⁠parliament ⁠speaker, El Malick ⁠Ndiaye, has announced his resignation, deepening ​political turmoil in the West African nation ‌two days after the ‌president dismissed the government. Ndiaye, a ⁠senior ⁠figure in the ruling PASTEF party, said on ​Sunday his resignation was a personal decision, giving the “higher interest of the nation” as a ​reason for his departure. President Bassirou Diomaye ⁠Faye dismissed ⁠Prime Minister Ousmane ⁠Sonko ​on Friday and dissolved the government after months ​of mounting ⁠tension between the two leaders.” (05/25/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-25/senegals-parliament-speaker-quits-two-days-after-prime-minister-sacked

Memorial Day and Remote War: Has Our Nation Lost Its Capacity to Mourn?

Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffrey L Degner

“Americans now experience war more as an economic abstraction than a human catastrophe. Amid endless debt-financed conflict, have we forgotten war’s tragic cost?” (05/22/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/memorial-day-and-remote-war-has-our-nation-lost-its-capacity-to-mourn/

New Paradigms Won’t Save You

Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander

“One popular objection to AI concerns is to declare that LLMs can never be AGI. You need a ‘new paradigm.’ Therefore, AGI is so far in the future that it’s not worth worrying about. A common counterargument is to claim that no, LLMs can become AGI. But even without that counterargument, I think the ‘therefore’ fails on its own terms. The key question is: how much of a new paradigm do we need?” (05/22/26)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/new-paradigms-wont-save-you

Cambodia: Opposition leader Kem Sokha receives royal pardon for treason

Source: SFGate

“Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha on Monday was granted a royal pardon from his 27-year sentence for treason, a month after an appeals court affirmed his conviction and punishment. Hun Sen, the Senate president acting as head of state in the absence of King Norodom Sihamoni, issued the pardon freeing Kem Sokha from house arrest. Sihamoni is in China on an extended stay for medical treatment. Prime Minister Hun Manet, in a statement posted on the Telegram social media platform, described the pardon as a step in strengthening national unity. Kem Sokha made no immediate public comment. The decision is unlikely to greatly affect Cambodia’s politics, as other top opposition figures are in exile and political and social activists still face restrictions on freedom of speech and actions.” (05/25/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cambodian-opposition-leader-kem-sokha-receives-22275361.php