The Unexpected Persistence of John Rawls

Source: Persuasion
by Joseph Heath

“According to popular perception, universities have become cesspools of radical left-wing indoctrination, dominated by cultural Marxism, critical race theory, and post-modernism. As someone who has been working on the inside through the past three decades of intellectual fads and enthusiasms, I am sorry to report that, not only is this false, it is the opposite of true. The hegemonic ideology in the fields of political philosophy, legal theory, and political science, throughout my entire career, has been American liberalism. And not just any old American liberalism, but rather the very specific manifestation of this tradition articulated in the work of John Rawls.” (02/10/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-unexpected-persistence-of-john

Thomas L. Knapp

Venezuela: Regime figure rules out real presidential election

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez has said that the country will not hold presidential elections in the immediate future, emphasising that the government’s current focus is on national stability. His comments came late on Monday in an interview published with the conservative outlet Newsmax in the United States. Presidential terms run for six years in Venezuela, and the last election was [stolen by the regime] in 2024. Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked if that meant another election would not happen for another five years. ‘The only thing I could say is that there will not be an election in this immediate period of time where the stabilisation has to be achieved,’ Rodriguez replied.” (02/10/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/venezuelas-national-assembly-chief-rules-out-new-presidential-election

Thomas L. Knapp

In Spite of What Zionists Say, It’s a Good Thing to Criticize Governments

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken

“In spite of the religious claims made by some Zionists, no state on earth was created by God, and there is no moral principle or natural law that mandates support for any state. Nor is there any moral principle or natural law that prohibits delegitimizing any state. States are simply organizations, created by human beings, that carry out the agenda of the governing elite in each state. There is no mandate from heaven. There isn’t even any such thing as ‘the will of the people.’ In this, the State of Israel is no different from any other state.” (02/10/26)

https://mises.org/power-market/spite-what-zionists-say-its-good-thing-criticize-governments

Thomas L. Knapp

No One, Including Our Furry Friends, Will Be Safer in Ring’s Surveillance Nightmare

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Beryl Lipton

“Amazon Ring’s Super Bowl ad offered a vision of our streets that should leave every person unsettled about the company’s goals for disintegrating our privacy in public. In the ad, disguised as a heartfelt effort to reunite the lost dogs of the country with their innocent owners, the company previewed future surveillance of our streets: a world where biometric identification could be unleashed from consumer devices to identify, track, and locate anything — human, pet, and otherwise.” (02/10/26)

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/no-one-including-our-furry-friends-will-be-safer-rings-surveillance-nightmare-0

Thomas L. Knapp

CA: SF crypto company Archblock, plagued with fraud accusations, files for bankruptcy

Source: SFGate

“The San Francisco cryptocurrency startup Archblock just filed for bankruptcy, throwing millions of dollars into question and continuing a slog of legal woes. Archblock has been plagued with legal trouble over the past few years, facing fraud allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission and in a civil lawsuit from another crypto company. On Friday, Archblock and its subsidiaries filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which lets a company reorganize its debts. The company’s filing makes its financials look dire: It estimates that its assets are worth between $1 million to $10 million, against liabilities between $100 million to $500 million. But one subsidiary, TrustToken, claims in its own filing to have $100 million to $500 million in assets against just $10 million to $50 million in debt. The other subsidiaries tack on millions more for each column — it’s as yet unclear how the overall company will aim to reorganize in this bankruptcy process.” (02/11/25)

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/crypto-bankruptcy-archblock-21343919.php

Steve Trinward

Britney Spears sells rights to her music catalog for some $200 million, US media reports

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“US singer Britney Spears has become the latest musician to sell the rights to her catalog that includes hits like ‘… Baby One More Time’ and ‘Oops! … I Did It Again,’ US media reported Tuesday. The deal is believed to be worth around $200 million, according to sources cited by celebrity site TMZ, though it said the exact amount is not detailed in legal documents. That sum would be comparable to the sale of Canadian singer Justin Bieber’s catalog in 2023. Spears, 44, joins a growing list of artists who have sold their music rights in recent years including Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, as well as Shakira and KISS.” (02/10/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/culture/20260210-britney-spears-sells-rights-to-her-music-catalog-for-some-200-million-us-media-reports

Thomas L. Knapp