Lithuania ready to “fight back” but has evacuation plans in face of Russia threats

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Lithuania’s prime minister has told the BBC his country has made evacuation plans in the face of threats from Russia, but added they ‘will not surrender’ if attacked. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius told Newsnight that Lithuanians feel ‘constantly threatened’ by Russia, in part because of drones entering the nation’s airspace. He told Newsnight if his country was attacked, ‘we will fight back… we will engage’. But he said there were plans for ‘a variety of scenarios’ and used an example of getting elderly citizens out of cities ‘smoothly’ and avoiding traffic jams. Lithuania, a Nato member, shares a land border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. NATO is thought to have several thousand troops stationed in the Baltic state, including US and German forces.” (09/22/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck5yw8npxzrlo

Steve Trinward

The Real Danger Of AI: It Is Run By Evil Warmongers

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“The biggest AI threat isn’t artificial superintelligence wiping out humanity in a fit of mechanical vengeance like some digital Old Testament God, it’s the same oligarchs and empire managers as usual inflicting the same evils and abuses as usual upon their fellow man. We’re already presently watching the empire building AI into its killing machines and causing all kinds of horrifying problems while these technologies become more and more complex and unpredictable. CNN reports that US military AI ‘almost started a war’ with China when it hallucinated intelligence showing a Chinese ship transporting nuclear weapon components to Iran; US military planes were apparently already in the air preparing to attack the vessel before human intelligence picked up on the error.” (09/22/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/09/22/the-real-danger-of-ai-is-that-it-is-run-by-evil-warmongers/

Steve Trinward

Lukashenko says Belarus doesn’t have enough potash for Trump

Source: Politico

“Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has admitted his country doesn’t have enough potash to satisfy U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands for the critical fertilizer. ‘Everyone keeps saying: Ah, potash! Even if we wanted to supply [potash] to other, Western markets, we simply do not have those volumes — everything is contracted,’ Lukashenko said Monday at a meeting with Vladimir Orlovsky, head of the Belarusian state customs authority. That same day, Trump said his country was ‘working on a deal’ to purchase Belarusian potash fertilizer, as it’s ‘substantially’ cheaper than Canada’s offering. Washington and Ottawa are embroiled in an escalating trade dispute. … Canada is the world’s largest potash producer, producing 15 million metric tons annually, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. Belarus produces around 6 million metric tons — only slightly more than annual U.S. import volumes of 5.6 million metric tons.” (09/22/26)

https://www.politico.eu/article/belarus-alexander-lukashenko-potash-supply-us-donald-trump/

Thomas L. Knapp

Machiavelli’s Contested Legacy

Source: Law & Liberty
by Brian A Smith

“Karl Marx and Niccolò Machiavelli share the distinction of being among the few major thinkers in the English language whose names have become instantly recognizable ‘isms.’ But where most educated Westerners could probably offer up some kind of definition for what Marx’s ideas mean, ‘Machiavellianism’ serves more as a floating signifier for amoral canniness in political or social life. To be a Marxist implies at least some practical commitments to equality, and perhaps to revolution, but most people, even those with a strong memory of The Prince or Discourses on Livy, would probably struggle to define what being a Machiavellian really means for one’s politics.” (09/22/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/machiavellis-contested-legacy/

Thomas L. Knapp

Netanyahu says he will ‘tell the truth’ about Zohran Mamdani during UN speech

Source: Fox News

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he will ‘tell the truth’ about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when he speaks at the U.N. General Assembly later this week. ‘Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani. Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews,’ Netanyahu said in a video posted to X. ‘I’m coming to the U.N. I am going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’m going to tell you the truth about you.’ Mamdani previously has called Netanyahu ‘a war criminal’ and ‘architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people’. When asked by a reporter in July about ‘What do you think that these people who are frustrated with Netanyahu should do when he arrives in New York City for the United Nations meeting,'” (09/22/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/iran-war-strait-hormuz-trump-talks-un-general-assembly-09-22-26

Steve Trinward

Home Is Where the Gold Is

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler

“For decades, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been seen by the world’s governments as a safe haven for a portion of their gold deposits. But under the mercurial reign of President Donald Trump, and in a general atmosphere of geopolitical turbulence, that is quickly changing. Several European countries have already relocated—or are under pressure to relocate—their gold from New York to domestic vaults, prompted by concerns about the stability of the regulatory environment under Trump. According to the World Gold Council, 59% of the world’s central banks now prefer to keep their gold at home, compared to 41% just two years ago.” (09/22/26)

https://fee.org/articles/home-is-where-the-gold-is/

Thomas L. Knapp