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)
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)
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Mikaela Taylor on the 2025 Central Texas flooding.” (08/05/26)
https://rumble.com/v7drqge-ff-475-mikaela-taylor-on-the-2025-central-texas-flooding.html
Source: The Intercept
by Nick Turse
“As his war in Iran has imploded, his poll numbers have plummeted, the U.S. economy has cratered, and he finds himself in the grip of a steep cognitive decline, President Donald Trump has increasingly lashed out, calling for cataclysm, slaughter, and even genocide. As he tries desperately, if ham-handedly, to extricate himself from a losing war, the commander-in-chief of the world’s most destructive military offers up deranged rants, baying for blood and issuing orders that throw the concept of proportionality in warfare out the window. Trump’s bloodthirsty rhetoric has been borne out in asymmetrical slaughter, with Iranian fatalities exceeding American deaths by multiple orders of magnitude. And this follows similarly lopsided casualty tolls in Trump’s conflicts in Somalia, Venezuela, Yemen, and on the high seas.” (08/05/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/08/05/trump-colonial-extermination-asymmetric-warfare/
Source: Common Dreams
by Robert Dodge
“On August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am local time, our world changed forever when the US dropped the first atomic bomb used in war over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The immediate death toll was approximately 70,000 with ~140,000 to have died by year’s end. Three days later, the US would drop a plutonium bomb over the city of Nagasaki. The immediate death toll there was ~40,000 with ~70,000 to have died by year’s end with a combined total of ~210,000. Three weeks earlier, following the atomic bombing of New Mexico with the Trinity test, the nuclear age was thrust upon mankind. The nuclear legacies from victims and survivors of the atomic bombings, Hibakusha, and their history lingers to this day. The legacy extends from the mining for the nuclear materials and its impact on local communities to the processing, testing, use, storage, and waste management, as well as the impacts and risks of nuclear power to this day.” (08/06/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/81-years-brink-nuclear-war
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz as the leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, finally installing a new director for the agency after nearly a year. Schwartz was deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term. She is a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer and Navy physician. The vote Wednesday was 51-44, mostly along party lines, NBC News reported. Sen.Tim Kaine, D-Va., voted with Republicans to approve Schwartz.” (08/05/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/05/senate-oks-erica-schwartz-as-CDC-leader/2421785968039/
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Trump’s Unconstitutional War and the Folly of Empires w/ Bruce Fein.” (08/05/26)
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“It is individuals who make moral choices. Even if they have been brainwashed by society, schools, or even parents, it is still ultimately their choice whether to act or refuse to act. Even if they are enslaved, assured of several punishment for disobeying their master(s), it is still a personal, individual decision. Organizations, even governments, have no morals of their own.” (08/05/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/08/05/morals-and-society/
Source: Reuters
“Rescuers worked on Thursday to douse fires and clear debris in Ukraine’s eastern city of Balakliia after Russian strikes on homes killed three overnight, authorities said on the Telegram messaging app. Three people were also killed overnight and at least 19 wounded in Russian attacks on settlements in the northern region of Sumy. … Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.” (08/06/26)