Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“With US beef prices soaring to record highs, you might think that South Dakota cattle rancher Eric Gropper would be celebrating. Yet while the cost of the meat in US supermarkets is now 12% higher than it was a year ago, a rise more than three times the rate of general inflation, Gropper says that he and all the other beef farmers aren’t making any more profit than usual. The BBC World Service’s Follow the Money series spent a week tracing the American beef supply chain to find out what has caused the price jump and discover where all the cash is going.” (08/06/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrv0k0j662o
Source: The American Conservative
“Andrew Day and Luke Nicastro talk to Jennifer Kavanagh of Defense Priorities about the real munitions shortage and its implications for U.S.-China competition.” (08/05/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/tac-right-now-iran-war-accelerates-u-s-decline/
Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer
“The Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on warrantless border searches has previously focused on the illegal movement of goods and people in and out of the country. But a phone is a different kind of container from a car or a piece of luggage, and the high Court has yet to rule on digital searches. EFF rightly argues that device searches are different because only a few possible kinds of contraband can be contained on a phone—including child pornography. Nevertheless, as it stands, border officials anywhere in the country can initiate a manual search of your device simply by stating that they are looking for such digital contraband. That is a legal standard that is easily exploited as a pretext to target someone for reasons that have nothing to do with contraband, digital or otherwise.” (08/05/26)
https://archive.is/dP4Ft
Source: Liberalism.org
by Michael C Munger
“The return of hard populism and bombastic strongmen has raised once again some old questions: Why does populism keep coming back? And why can’t it get anything done for the people? A close look at the institution of individual private property, and the romantic collectivist counterargument for the organic unity of labor ownership, will shed light on why populism is so persistent. To foreshadow the conclusion: Marx understood the problem, but he missed the solution completely.” (08/05/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/the-eighteenth-brumaire-and-collective-wrongs
Source: ABC News
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he no longer has confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, adding to growing pressure on the soccer leader after his abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup sparked a global backlash. Carney said Infantino committed a ‘fatal’ governance failure by not consulting senior advisers, including FIFA’s chief operating officer and board members. … UEFA’s 55 member associations had agreed to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if the plan moved forward, while the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football and the Asian Football Confederation also opposed it.” (08/05/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/canadas-carney-confidence-fifas-infantino-135403074
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran: Oman Deal Won’t Fully Open Hormuz Strait, Trump May Advance Major Taiwan Arms Sale, and More.” (08/05/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOkJHud2n8
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“Historically speaking, Uncle Sam isn’t very good at managing money. Because the politicians and bureaucrats who run the U.S. government aren’t good at managing money, they’ve opened the door to massive losses through fraud. In 2024, the GAO estimated that from 2018 through 2022, the U.S. government lost between $233 billion and $512 billion dollars per year to fraudsters. These are not small amounts of money. … If fraud comes in at the low end of the GAO’s estimates, it would reduce the federal deficit by 12.5%. At the high end, it would reduce the U.S. government’s budget deficit by 28%. Either way, reducing its fraud losses to zero would not be enough to eliminate 2026’s budget deficit.” (08/05/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/05/stopping-fraud-isnt-enough/
Source: The Daily Economy
by David Hebert
“What economists have argued for generations is now reflected in public opinion: Americans see free trade as the better alternative to protectionism.” (08/05/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/free-trade-the-consensus-is-growing/
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced it will offer up to $102m in rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of leaders from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal organisation based in Mexico. … The largest reward in Wednesday’s announcement was offered for information leading to the capture of the CJNG’s new leader, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, also known as ‘Pelon’. Gonzalez, a dual Mexican and US citizen, is believed to have taken control of the cartel after the death of its former leader, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as ‘El Mencho’. Gonzalez is his stepson.” (08/05/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/5/us-announces-more-than-100m-in-rewards-for-eight-jalisco-cartel-leaders
Source: SFGate
“Cameroon President Paul Biya on Thursday reached two months since the last time he was inside the borders of his country, a prolonged absence that has raised concerns for his health and criticisms about a possible power vacuum in the Central African nation. The world’s oldest president, who has led Cameroon since 1982, began his eighth term in office in November after winning a widely disputed election in October. But the 93-year-old left the country on June 7 for what Biya’s office described as ‘a brief private stay in Europe’ that has become one of his longest trips overseas. His government later confirmed he was in Switzerland. The health of the president has long been a topic of speculation as he spends significant time in Europe, including France and Switzerland, where he often spends weeks while leaving governance to key party officials and family members.” (08/06/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/cameroon-s-president-draws-concern-and-criticism-22376979.php
