Source: EconLog
by Carlos Martinez

“On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and his bearded revolutionaries marched into Havana. Church bells rang across the island as Batista fled into exile. This January 1st marked the 67th anniversary of that revolution. Sixty-seven years of a system built on deception, imposed through violence, and sustained through repression. But now, for the first time since Castro’s march into Havana, genuine change appears inevitable.” (01/02/25)

https://www.econlib.org/econlog/cuba-after-communism

Source: In These Times
by J Patrick Patterson

“Critics warn that a rent freeze can actually make the housing crisis worse. Even if new housing construction is exempt, skeptics say the policy could discourage building in general as developers and investors scale back. Meanwhile, the real estate lobby argues that landlords would get squeezed by rising costs, which would lead to deferred building maintenance and more vacant units. Warnings against rent control policies often come wrapped in dire metaphors about ​’destroying cities’ and ​’halting investment’, but, politically, freezes are popular. More than three-quarters of voters support them, depending on the poll. Long term, we need more housing — but construction takes years and often faces fierce resistance. A thoughtfully designed freeze could protect renters against precarity while paving the way for a more comprehensive approach to the housing crisis.” (01/02/25)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/the-rent-is-too-damn-high-rent-freeze-tenants-housing-crisis

Source: Antiwar.com
by Jonathan Cook

“Israel is expelling 37 aid groups – a likely death sentence for 100,000s of Palestinians. But the Times speaks only of ‘new rules’ in Gaza, and ‘suspensions’ for those who ‘resist registration.'” (01/02/25)

https://original.antiwar.com/cook/2026/01/01/once-again-the-new-york-times-sells-israels-genocide-in-gaza-as-law-enforcement/

Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow

“Europe has obvious reason to be concerned about Russia’s operations. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys cited the recent explosion damaging a Polish train line to Ukraine as a dangerous ‘escalation’ by Russia: ‘we should address it really seriously because we are minutes from big casualties here.’ Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski declared, ‘This time, it was not just sabotage, as before, but an act of state terrorism, as the clear intention was to cause human casualties.’ However, this is precisely what the allies intend with their aid to Kiev. To kill Russians, lots of them. … Although American sympathies should be with the Ukrainian people, the United States has little at stake in the ongoing war.” (01/01/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/if-europe-confronts-russia-it-should-pay-the-costs/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux

“Today’s economic interdependence makes it surprisingly difficult to know when trade restrictions actually strengthen security — and when they backfire.” (01/01/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-national-security-exception-to-free-trade-is-real-so-are-its-tradeoffs/