Source: SFGate
“Cubans on Monday were recovering from the sixth islandwide blackout this year, as the nation remains in free-fall after the Trump administration effectively cut it off from oil in January. The energy grid collapses leave people with fewer options to get by as the U.S. keeps up a pressure campaign against the communist-led government. Cuba’s government was working to restore power after the state-run electric company reported another ‘total’ blackout Sunday night, without specifying the cause. That followed sweeping outages across western Cuba, including the cities of Pinar del Río, Matanzas and Havana. By Monday, some electricity had been restored in Havana, but much of the Caribbean nation was still disconnected. Cuba already had been reeling from years of economic and energy crisis, compounded by crumbling infrastructure and migration from the island. Then the U.S. threatened to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide it with oil.” (08/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cubans-struggle-to-bounce-back-after-6th-22371818.php
Source: The Hill
by David Wippman and Glenn C Altschuler
“Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build ‘bridges’ between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting. These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is ‘divinely chosen,’ the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.” (08/02/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/6002868-christian-nationalism-threatens-democracy/
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“Rep. Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’s Sixth Congressional District, will debate incumbent Sen. Ed Markey Monday evening in the second of three televised debates ahead of the September 1 Democratic primary for Senate. Polls show Markey narrowly leading. Markey, a progressive who recently turned 80, has served in Congress since 1976. Moulton, 47, a former Marine who is more of a centrist, has sought to primarily frame the contest as youth vs. age. But Moulton may well be vulnerable because of a series of investments after entering public service that have made him a multimillionaire.” (08/03/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/03/seth-moultons-sweetheart-deals-defense-webai/
Source: ABC News
“What is very likely to be the last reelection bid of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was confirmed on Sunday by his Workers’ Party as the 80-year-old leader faces increasing pressure from foreign leaders ahead of October’s elections. It will be his seventh race for the top job. Lula’s rival, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, has enjoyed open support from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Brazil’s president said in his party convention speech he wants to boost his country’s defense industry, protect its rare minerals, and claimed ‘no Chinese, no American, no French will touch’ these resources without respecting the South American nation’s sovereignty.” (08/02/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/brazils-lula-launches-reelection-bid-concerns-rise-foreign-135308231
Source: Unattended Baggage
“What’s on your To Do list?” (08/02/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-350-whats-on-your-to-do-list
Source: Agorist Nexus
by TechLibre
“Your Android phone is a tracking device that happens to make calls. It knows where you sleep, what you search, who you talk to, and what you whisper near its microphone. The apps below won’t make you invisible—but they’ll make you expensive to surveil.” (08/02/26)
https://www.agoristnexus.com/four-f-droid-android-apps-for-privacy-security-and-counter-surveillance/
Source: New York Times
“Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, confirmed in writing on Sunday night that the Justice Department would abandon elements of the deal it struck with President Trump to resolve his lawsuit against the I.R.S., conceding to demands from Republican senators who had threatened to block his nomination as attorney general. The Republican holdouts, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had vowed that they would not confirm Mr. Blanche for the role unless he provided written assurances that the Justice Department had formally killed a planned $1.8 billion fund to pay those who claim they were unfairly persecuted by the government. The senators also insisted that Mr. Blanche narrow the scope of the sweeping immunity from I.R.S. scrutiny that was granted to Mr. Trump, his family and their businesses under the same agreement.” (08/03/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-irs-fund-order.html
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The ‘school choice’ movement in the US supports tax-funded ‘vouchers,’ targeted tax credits, and ‘charter’ schools, on the theory that giving parents more options on where, how, and by whom their children are taught isn’t just a good thing, but a thing that government ought to be, and can legitimately be, involved in. Unfortunately, the real effect of that kind of ‘school choice’ is to turn all the available options into carbon copies of the ‘public’ school system it supposedly helps parents and students escape.” (08/02/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20781
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“PART FOUR: Let’s Examine JC Filings of Appeal of the Disaffiliation of the Libertarian Party of NH.” (08/01/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjrewU39KE
Source: NDTV [India]
“At least 14 people, including five police personnel, were killed and over 15 others injured in a suspected suicide attack outside a police station during a peace rally in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, officials said. The blast occurred in Kabal town in the Swat district while the Swat Peace Rally was underway opposite the Kabal Police Station. The rally, organised by the Swat Aman Jirga, saw participants carrying placards and raising slogans demanding peace in the region. Protesters alleged that police inaction had contributed to the deteriorating security situation in recent months. According to the Swat District Police Officer, the suspected suicide bomber attempted to enter the Kabal Police Station and Police Lines compound but was stopped by security personnel at the main gate. The attacker then detonated the explosives, damaging the entrance but failing to breach the heavily guarded compound.” (08/02/26)
https://www.ndtvprofit.com/world/14-dead-in-explosion-during-peace-rally-in-nw-pakistan-11856795
