Weapons makers, foreign states lavish $32 million on US think tanks

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout & Ben Freeman

“In 2024, top think tanks received over $25 million from foreign governments and $7 million from Pentagon contractors, according to the most recently available donor rolls. This figure is a conservative estimate, as about 40% of think tanks do not disclose any donors at all. These findings come from our newly updated Think Tank Funding Tracker, which now includes the top 75 foreign policy think tanks in the U.S. and tracks all of the foreign government, U.S. government, and Pentagon contractor money flowing to them. The top Pentagon contractor donor was Northrop Grumman, which gave over $1.1 million to think tanks in 2024. These same think tanks routinely promote ambitious new weaponry which benefit their donors.” (03/16/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/think-tank-funding-tracker/

Thomas L. Knapp

Democratic senators again call to fund heimatschutz

Source: Fox News

“Senate Democrats say they want to end the government shutdown but have repeatedly blocked GOP attempts to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as they push for immigration enforcement reforms. On Friday, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said at a news conference following an antisemitic attack on the Temple Israel synagogue in her state that ‘certainly’ Congress must fund DHS. However, Slotkin and most Senate Democrats have voted four times to block DHS funding, including several attempts to temporarily reopen the agency while negotiations continue. Slotkin is just one of several Senate Democrats calling for an end to the shutdown. Republicans argue the votes are part of a broader Democratic strategy to blame them for blocking efforts to reopen DHS.” [editor’s note: Instead of quibbling over what conditions to reopen it under, they should simply abolish it – TLK] (03/16/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-push-end-shutdown-while-blocking-gop-bid-reopen-dhs

Steve Trinward

Medical Research Is Hopelessly Caught in Red Tape

Source: Persuasion
by Ruxandra Teslo

“A story about Paul Conyngham, an AI entrepreneur from Sydney who treated his dog Rosie’s cancer with a personalized mRNA vaccine, has been circulating on X this week. What makes the story inspiring is the initiative the owner showed: he used AI to teach himself about how a personalized vaccine could work, designed much of the process himself, and approached top researchers to take it forward. Whether the treatment itself was curative and how much of an improvement it represents over the current state of the art is not the point here. What interests me instead is the bureaucratic absurdity Conyngham encountered while trying to pursue the treatment.” (03/16/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/medical-research-is-hopelessly-caught

Thomas L. Knapp

The Most Obvious Question Liberal Media Refuses to Ask About the Iran War

Source: Common Dreams
by Ramzy Baroud

“Doubtless, the war launched by US President Donald Trump is not popular among ordinary Americans. According to the latest public opinion poll, only a minority of Americans (part of the dwindling [sic] core of Trump’s supporters) believe that the US-Israeli aggression against Iran has merit. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in early March 2026, only 27 percent of Americans approve of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran—while 43 percent disapprove and 29 percent are unsure. This pro-war constituency is likely to remain supportive of Trump until the end of his term in office, and long after. However, the war on Iran is not popular, and it is unlikely to become popular, especially as the Trump administration is reportedly fragmented between those who want to stay the course and those desperate for an exit strategy. Such a strategy would allow their president to save face before the midterm elections in November.” (03/16/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/liberal-media-iran-war

Steve Trinward

Kazakhstan Approves New Constitution: 87.15% Vote in Favour, Election Commission Says

Source: US News & World Report

“Kazakhstan ⁠voted ⁠87.15% in ⁠favour of adopting a new ​constitution, the Central Election Commission said on ‌Monday. Voter turnout for the ‌referendum stood at 73.12%, ⁠the ⁠commission said. The new constitution streamlines the country’s Parliament ​and recreates the office of vice president, which was abolished in 1996. ​It gives the president the right ⁠to appoint ⁠the vice president, ⁠as ​well as a host of other key ​officials. The constitution’s ⁠swift drafting prompted some analysts in Kazakhstan to suggest that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev might be looking to ⁠anoint a successor as vice president and leave ⁠office early, or to stay in his post with a new constitution resetting his term limits.” (03/16/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-03-16/kazakhstan-approves-new-constitution-87-15-vote-in-favour-election-commission-says

Thomas L. Knapp