Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“In 1985, inspired by Southwest Airlines, the first major low-cost airline in the world, and following the liberalization of European airspace, Ryanair brought the low-cost model to scale in Europe, revolutionizing air travel across the continent. It did so through an efficiency-driven model that enabled the sale of extremely low-cost tickets in a market previously dominated by expensive legacy carriers. … However, 41 years later, Ryanair is preparing to cut around 3 million seats, corresponding to an estimated 75 to 90 routes across Europe. A combination of aggressive green ideology from the European Union and state-protected airport monopolies lies at the root of this decision.” (04/12/26)
https://fee.org/articles/ryanair-vs-the-european-union/
Source: The American Prospect
by Daniel Boguslaw & James Baratta
“This week, the Congressional Black Caucus will quietly support an effort to reauthorize surveillance powers that were used to spy on Black Lives Matter activists in 2020, the Prospect has learned. According to multiple congressional sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, CBC support for the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) comes after Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the powerful ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, successfully lobbied CBC leadership to stand down on reforming the vast intelligence authority. Section 702 grants U.S. intelligence agencies the authority to collect communications data on foreign intelligence targets abroad. In practice, however, it has allowed those agencies to amass troves of data on American citizens.” (04/13/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/13/congressional-black-caucus-support-spying-powers-blm-activists-fisa-702/
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Peruvian voters will have to wait until at least Monday to learn the outcome of Sunday’s presidential election after the process was mired with logistical issues that even left thousands of people in the country and abroad unable to cast ballots. The problems prompted electoral authorities to allow more than 52,000 residents of Peru’s capital, Lima, to vote on Monday. The extension, announced after vote counting began Sunday evening, also covers Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey. Authorities initially reported 63,300 people could vote Monday but later revised down the figure.” (04/13/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/13/g-s1-117208/peru-election-results-delayed
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Richard Vedder on the end of academia.” (04/12/26)
https://rumble.com/v78dzt6-ff-435-richard-vedder-on-the-end-of-academia.html
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker
“Institutions like Underwriters Laboratory and the Better Business Bureau are titans in these sectors with no assistance from government. User ratings emerging in the digital era have a vast impact on sales success, as any Amazon seller can tell you. And in industries like sports, household construction, and driving skill, private insurers exercise a dominant influence through financial carrots and sticks, as directed by actuaries assessing risks. The very existence of the FDA has crowded out such elaborate and complex systems in the case of food and drugs, which is precisely why their safety and efficacy is the subject of such huge public controversy.” (04/12/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/what-if-the-fda-were-eliminated/
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“President Donald Trump says the United States Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz ‘immediately’ after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, accused Iran of ‘extortion’ and said the US Navy would hunt down and interdict ships in international waters that have paid Iran a toll to traverse the strait. … ‘So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,’ Trump said. ‘Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.'” (04/12/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/12/trump-announces-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-after-us-iran-peace-talks-end
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Suppose you carefully, intentionally avoid AI and its product, for whatever reason. Maybe you distrust its output. Maybe you just prefer to do your own research, and reach your own conclusions, from primary human-created sources. But how can you know AI-generated content hasn’t previously ‘polluted’ the human-created sources with ‘facts’ that aren’t true? … People have always lied, and often those lies have persisted and spread, becoming ‘common knowledge’ despite being false. AI, linked to a mechanism of near-instantaneous global spread (the Internet), can produce and distribute lies far faster than humans once did by word of mouth or through print on paper.” (04/11/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20537
Source: Unattended Baggage
“At this point, God is probably rooting for AI.” (04/11/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-336-at-this-point-god-is
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Hungary’s opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, has won the election, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, in a result that is likely to rattle the White House and reshape the country’s relationship with the EU. Less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday, Orbán conceded defeat after what he described as a ‘painful but unambiguous’ election result. … With 98.74% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party was projected to have won 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, giving them a super-majority capable of amending the constitution and key laws, suggesting they would be able to reverse some of the changes made by Orbán and Fidesz, and potentially unlock EU funds.” (04/12/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election
Source: Washington Monthly
by Ryan Stowers
“I have a message for parents: A four-year degree from a top-tier university does not guarantee career success or fulfillment. College is just one path. In a world where technology is rapidly changing our jobs and hiring managers question whether college graduates have the skills needed to succeed, parents and young people should examine the range of post-high school options. Employers certainly are, and they are embracing new pathways to address the workforce gaps they have experienced over decades.” (04/10/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/10/employers-are-moving-beyond-the-college-degree/
