Source: CounterPunch
by Seth Sandronsky

“We begin with the Trump administration’s decision to provide a $20 billion ‘swap line’ (currency exchanges between central banks) with the government of Argentina. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessemer is the point man for the White House on this financial and political issue. The Latin American country is in financial distress over its issuance of foreign bonds since President Javier Milei slashed public spending to spur economic growth. … In the meantime, the Milei government cut the export tax on soybeans. Chinese buyers jumped at this opportunity, reportedly purchasing some 20 shiploads of soybeans from Argentina. … What will the White House do to relieve the pain from the decline of demand from China for American agricultural products? Well, the president is considering a $10-$15 billion bailout for agriculture commodity producers.” (10/13/25)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/13/american-soybean-farmers-sold-out-argentine-counterparts-bailed-out/

Source: The Findings Substack
by Paul Rosenberg

“Almost anyone beyond a certain age has noticed that institutions go irreversibly bad over time. Impolitic as that conclusion may be, we do have sight, memory and reason, and they concur on this point. The real problem with institutions, we should understand, isn’t the humans populating them, but the structures themselves. And before I go any further, please ask yourself if you’ve observed such institutions reform themselves. The answer, of course, is no. You’ve seen outsiders march in with chainsaws, but not internally generated reform; such is the nature of the beast.” (10/17/25)

https://thefindings.substack.com/p/institutions-more-than-40-years-old

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Lipton Matthews

“Jamaica is currently in the midst of constitutional reform, a process being hailed as a watershed moment in the island’s history. Much of the public debate has been consumed by two proposals: the desire to become a republic and the replacement of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London with the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final appellate court. These ideas are being advanced with great fanfare, yet they are driven more by sentiment than by sober reasoning. They are products of anti-colonial rhetoric rather than serious engagement with the principles that should guide a modern constitution.” (10/13/25)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/constitutional-reform-jamaica-sentiment-or-substance

Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser

Cartoon. (10/13/25)

https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2556

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Lee Schlenker

“It appears that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is emerging victorious in the internal Trump administration battle over the direction of U.S. policy toward Venezuela. The New York Times reported on Oct. 6 that White House special envoy Richard Grenell — who, after meeting President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas this January inked deportation agreements, won the release of American prisoners, and secured energy licenses for U.S. and European oil majors — was told by President Donald Trump to stop all diplomatic outreach toward the resource-rich South American nation. The news comes as some Trump officials, particularly Rubio, have pushed the president to escalate tensions, which he has done by dispatching a major naval deployment to the Southern Caribbean in an alleged counternarcotics operation, killing over 20 alleged drug traffickers in at least four strikes against go-fast boats since early September.” (10/13/25)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/rubio-venezeula/