Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper
“During the past several months, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a big bet that interest rates were coming down. A whole lot of old 30- and 10-year Treasury bonds with old, low interest rates are coming due over the next year or so, and if they were to be simply rolled over into new same-dated bonds, high borrowing costs would be locked in for a long time. So Bessent rolled them over into short-term bonds instead. The hope was that interest rates would come down, and he wouldn’t have to lock in very high rates. Instead, the opposite happened, and 30- and 10-year rates are at their highest levels in 20 years. Interest costs on the national debt now easily outstrip spending on the military, and are projected to grow, a lot.” (08/24/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/08/24/scott-bessent-cant-fix-bond-market-trump-treasury-interest-rates/
Source: ABC News
“A mountainous heap of refuse collapsed at the largest landfill in Guinea ‘s capital of Conakry early on Sunday, killing 30 people, according to the central government. Authorities said that heavy rains, which started at around 2 a.m., washed over the refuse at Dar Es Salam — the largest landfill in Conakry — and triggered a landslide that buried nearby shacks. A search and rescue operation was underway to find survivors. Six people were seriously injured and several homes were destroyed. The site, an open-air waste dump which is the largest in the city, had been designated for closure on Sunday, according to Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo, the sanitation officer for the military engineering battalion.” (08/23/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/landslide-landfill-capital-guinea-kills-30-people-officials-135885470
Source: Free Talk Live
“Women now have more tattoos than men :: Bonnie and Mark removing tattoos :: Sarah has a younger sister who is NOT a communist :: Bonnie’s experience contacting her dead grandpa :: Can a ghost haunt a car?” (08/23/26)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-08-23
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates
“In 2015, I wrote an essay entitled, ‘Will robots replace human labour and reduce real wage levels?’ That essay still seems to attract quite a lot of attention even though some of the thoughts in it are now out of date. I did not anticipate the impact of Large Language Models (LLMs). One of the things I like about my previous essay is the use of down-to-earth examples to illustrate processes. So, I will try to continue in that vein.” (08/23/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/08/will-ai-replace-human-labour-revisiting.html
Source: AOL
“Three teenagers were killed and another eight people, including seven children, were wounded after drone debris hit a private childcare centre in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight, Russian officials said. In a post on Telegram, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova said that three teenagers, aged 13, 15 and 16, had been killed, with six more children hospitalised. Local governor Veniamin Kondratyev said that two adults had also been wounded. … The attack came as Ukraine attacked several logistics centres belonging to Russian online retailer Ozon, including in the town of Enem, close to Krasnodar city.” (08/24/26)
https://www.aol.com/articles/drone-attack-kills-two-children-002943000.html
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“It is never correct to chastise the media for printing things that are true and important. [Jason] Arday’s academic misconduct is well-documented at this point. To say that they are unimportant is to say that it doesn’t matter whether one of the finest universities in the world can distinguish truth from fiction, or scholarship from a cut-and-paste job. If that’s what Arday’s academic defenders believe, then we should be paying more attention to what’s going on at Cambridge, not less. But they’re mistaken even if you think that a free press doesn’t mean the freedom to pile on. In this year of our Lord 2026, the kind of censorship they want is not just a terrible idea. It is an impossible dream.” (08/23/26)
https://archive.is/QQpyp
Source: Unattended Baggage
“We’ve got nothing in common.” (08/22/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-353-weve-got-nothing-in-common
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Kazakhstan’s pro-government Adilet party won more than 71 percent of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election, said the electoral commission in a result likely to consolidate the power of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Announcing the results on Monday, the commission said that four other blocs also entered parliament: the pro-business Respublika and Ak Zhol parties, the centre-left Nationwide Social Democratic Party and the Auyl party, which represents rural voters. … Adilet was founded in the Central Asian nation earlier this year and is led by Tokayev’s top aides. Shortly after its inception, it absorbed the previous ruling party, Amanat. All four other parties entering parliament are also seen as broadly supportive of Tokayev’s administration.” (08/24/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/24/kazakhstans-newly-formed-pro-government-party-wins-parliamentary-election
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Stars and Stripes is largely funded by, and its operations and distribution are almost completely enabled by, the US government. ‘Editorial independence’ may sound like a wonderful idea, but there’s always been a leash. We’re just watching the leash get shorter. Thankfully, the collar at the end of that leash only strangles Stars and Stripes. These days, even troops aboard ships at sea and at remote firebases in hostile territory have far greater contact with the outside world, most of the time, than even civilians at home enjoyed 50, let alone 150, years ago. … The military news coverage, and consumption, of the future will look a lot more like WikiLeaks than like Stars and Stripes.” (08/22/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20842
Source: CBS News
“The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on [American buyers of] $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve the latest strain in already tense relations between the historic allies. Canada’s leader said it will retaliate [by taxing Canadian buyers of American goods] beginning Sept. 8. In a call with reporters late Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada had declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms that had been agreed to earlier this week.” (08/23/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-set-to-impose-50-percent-tariffs-on-canada-after-failed-talks/
