Source: Washington Post
“Host Megan McArdle is joined by political commentator Josh Barro to talk about the ‘abundance’ agenda and what it could mean for the cost of living, housing and energy prices, and economic growth.” (08/12/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/why-your-cost-of-living-keeps-rising
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Giorgio Cafiero
“When the Taliban reclaimed power five years ago, China appeared poised to capitalize on Afghanistan’s new realities. Beijing quickly took important steps to establish de facto relations with the Islamic Emirate, such as keeping its embassy open in Kabul, maintaining direct ties with Taliban leaders, and expanding political and security cooperation. In January 2024, Xi Jinping became the first head of state to accept credentials from a Taliban-appointed ambassador. Many analysts latched onto these moves as evidence that China would quickly assert great influence in Afghanistan after the hasty U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. Yet Beijing has pursued a far more cautious course, stopping short of formal recognition, which China sees as a bargaining chip for possible future use.” (08/12/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/afghanistan-china-taliban/
Source: The Daily Economy
by John Phelan
“Japan can watch debt-service costs consume its budget, or suppress rates and risk inflation. Decades of borrowing have eliminated the easy options.” (08/12/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/japans-debt-crisis-is-a-global-warning/
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A British driver who was the first person to break the sound barrier in a car on land has set a new speed record, this time in a hydrogen-powered vehicle. Andy Green, a 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot, reached a speed of 406mph (654km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, the fastest a hydrogen-powered car has ever travelled. Green’s record was measured as an average of two runs in a car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines, with a combined 1,600 brake horsepower (bhp). In 1997, Green drove the jet-powered ThrustSSC across Nevada’s Black Rock Desert at 763mph (1,228km/h), making him the first, and still the only person, to break the sound barrier on land. Twenty years ago, Green also set a world land speed record for a diesel vehicle in the JCB Dieselmax, attaining a speed of over 350mph (563km/h).” (08/12/26)
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey
“What is going on in Texas? For all the talk that Texas Governor Greg Abbott is a principled Republican, he certainly reversed his free-market stance when it came to AI and hyperscale data center projects once polling showed how unpopular they are with his base. Abbott signed an executive directive requiring all kinds of roadblock-style regulations before any AI data centers can connect to the state’s grid. I am not saying it is right or wrong; I am just pointing out Abbott’s failure on the issue. Though I would suggest that government-managed energy monopolies and corporate tax subsidies always distort the free market, and he should just stand aside.” (08/12/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/greg-abbott-abandons-free-enterprise
Source: Common Dreams
by Olivia Dinucci
“One year ago, the Trump administration brought 800 National Guard troops to occupy the streets of Washington, DC, part of the ‘Safe and Beautiful Task Force’. There are now approximately 5,000 troops from 15 states deployed here, with some officially moved in and set to stay through 2029. This does not include the alphabet soup of law enforcement agencies swarming our neighborhoods across the city, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the FBI, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Agency, Park Police, and more. The National Guard can be found meandering around metro stations, museums, and grocery stores there for mere posture. Despite crime being down before they were deployed here. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress found the Guard deployment has not had a measurable impact on violent crime. They are not even trained in ‘civilian policing’, and are unable to make actual arrests.” (08/12/26)
Source: Reuters
“New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon survived a confidence vote on Wednesday, seeing off a leadership challenge from his defence minister that exposed growing rifts in his National Party less than three months before a tight election. The bid by Chris Penk was the year’s second public test for Luxon, boosting concern over disquiet in his centre-right party as it struggles in opinion polls and fuelling fresh doubts about his grip on power ahead of the November 7 election. Luxon moved swiftly after the vote, sacking Penk from his defence, intelligence, space and building portfolios.” (08/12/26)
Source: Checks & Balances
“Stephen Richer on How Elections Actually Work.” (08/12/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/stephen-richer-on-how-elections-actually
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“In 2015, roughly 16% of the world’s population lived in Africa. (That’s a bit less than double what Africa’s share of the globe’s population was in 1950, or in 1900 for that matter.) By 2025, Africa accounted for roughly 19% of the world’s population—but for fully 30% of the world’s children under 15 years, and 36% of the world’s births. The future has already been born—and the future is much, much more African than the past was.” (08/12/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
by Edward Hunt
“Despite the fact that Trump campaigned against endless war and the White House issued a National Security Strategy that rejected ‘global domination,’ the Trump administration celebrated the nation’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary by glorifying empire as one of the country’s highest achievements. Administration officials praised moments in U.S. history when U.S. leaders embraced empire, such as when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams spoke in favor of an ’empire of liberty’ and Theodore Roosevelt acted to take Panama. At a time when many people in the country were reflecting on the ideals of liberty and equality that Jefferson had emphasized in the Declaration of Independence, the Trump administration glorified the country’s imperial history, creating a rationale for Empire First.” (08/12/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/edward_hunt/2026/08/11/the-new-apologists-for-american-empire