Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin slipped to about $88,400 in early-week trading, extending a roughly 4% decline over the past week as major cryptocurrencies softened. The token’s underperformance versus rising equities and surging gold underscores that crypto is trading more like a high-beta risk asset than a safe-haven hedge. Traders are cautious and volumes muted ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision and a wave of Big Tech earnings, events seen as key catalysts for bitcoin’s next move.” (01/27/26)
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/01/27/bitcoin-remains-coiled-under-usd88-500-as-gold-tops-usd5-000-silver-gives-back-gains
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Aaron Terr
“The drumbeat of statements from the administration that are openly hostile to basic First Amendment rights should disturb every American. And when Americans see someone shot dead in the street shortly after recording federal agents — and then hear top government officials immediately justify the shooting before any investigation can begin — they will reasonably fear that exercising these rights carries not just legal risk but physical danger.” (01/26/26)
https://www.thefire.org/news/alex-pretti-shooting-and-growing-strain-first-amendment
Source: Seattle Times
“Judges at the International Criminal Court ruled on Monday that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial, after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about the octogenarian’s health. Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs when in office, first as the mayor of a southern city and later as president. Lawyers for the 80-year old had argued Duterte was in frail health and his condition was deteriorating in the court’s detention unit.” (01/26/26)
https://archive.is/pVqlq
Source: Notablog
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“As I have argued, Trump’s project is less about controlling crime, and more about deporting those ‘illegals’ who don’t fit into his vision of a country dominated by white identity politics. … The irony of all this is that Trump once decried the administration of George W. Bush as ‘failed and uninspiring.’ But if it were not for the ‘innovations’ of Bush’s presidency, crafted nearly a quarter-century ago, Trump would not have had the instruments of domestic warfare and ethnic cleansing that he’s been using with impunity.” (01/26/26)
https://notablog.net/2026/01/25/from-bush-to-trump/
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Lebanon has filed a complaint with the United Nations about repeated Israeli violations of a November 2024 ceasefire, calling on the Security Council to push Israel to end its attacks and fully withdraw from the country. The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants said the complaint, sent on Monday, stressed that Israeli abuses are a ‘clear’ violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. … Despite the 2024 ceasefire, the Israeli military has been launching near-daily attacks in Lebanon, which have killed hundreds of people. In November last year, the UN put the number of civilians killed in Israeli attacks at at least 127.” (01/26/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/26/lebanon-files-un-complaint-against-israels-daily-ceasefire-violations
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Almost everyone embraces ‘cultural’ critiques of capitalism. The left has ‘cultural studies;’;the right has the mantra, ‘We’re a country, not an economy.’ The upshot, in both cases, is that government ought to do something about culture. Freeze it in place? Force it to progress? Turn back the clock? My latest book of essays, You Have No Right to Your Culture: Essays on the Human Condition, flips this narrative. All of these demands for ‘reshaping culture’ are thinly-veiled calls for coercing humans.” (01/26/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/embrace-cultural-creative-destruction
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone
“No mentally healthy person wants to rule the world. Nobody with a functioning conscience and a working empathy center in their brain is interested in becoming a billionaire. We are ruled by the most dysfunctional members of our species. The most wounded, neurotic and sociopathic among us. The least wise, caring and insightful. What drives a person to claw their way to the top of a wildly sick society and become a lord of the dystopia?” (01/26/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/01/26/no-healthy-person-wants-to-rule-the-world-or-become-a-billionaire/
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“A measure is being advanced in the Florida legislature to officially recognise the term ‘Judea and Samaria’ and ban ‘West Bank’ in official state documents. The name change, which has strong support in both chambers of the Florida state legislature, would mean that all official documents, including press releases, school textbooks, and library materials, would refer to the area west of the Jordan River by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria. … Supporters of the bill say it seeks to recognise a historic location, while critics say it is a tactic to erase Palestinian identity—and possibly further Israeli control over the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967 (and expanding illegal settlements ever since).” (01/26/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/florida-aims-ban-west-bank-official-vocabulary
Source: Libertarian Institute
“ICE Using AI to ID Targets, Breaking Down Trump’s WEF Speech.” (01/26/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/the-kyle-anzalone-show-ice-using-ai-to-id-targets-breaking-down-trumps-wef-speech/
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
“The Justice Department recently launched a criminal investigation into whether Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell lied to Congress about the costs of renovating the Federal Reserve’s offices. Many believe this investigation was launched in order to support President Trump’s effort to replace Powell, who he nominated to be Fed chairman in 2017, with a Fed chairman who will accommodate President Trump’s demands for lower interest rates. Almost all observers believe that President Trump’s desire to stack the Federal Reserve board with loyalists who will tailor monetary policy to his liking motivated the investigation of Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook. President Trump is using allegations that Cook lied on a mortgage application as a justification to fire her.” (01/26/26)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/trumps-latest-regime-change-target
