Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The sole and entire reason for this release, at this moment, is to try to ‘change the conversation’ away from inquiry into the relationship between US president Donald Trump and convicted child molester Jeffrey Epstein. That’s it. That’s all. But that doesn’t mean the files shouldn’t have been released.” (07/22/25)
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A cruise liner carrying Israeli tourists has been forced to reroute to Cyprus after being turned away from the Greek island of Syros after a quayside protest over the Gaza war. Around 1,600 Israeli passengers on board the Crown Iris were prevented from disembarking amid safety concerns when more than 300 demonstrators on the Cycladic isle made clear they were unwelcome over Israel’s conduct of the war and treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. … Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.” (07/22/25)
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“In our earlier exchanges on ethical vegetarianism, Huemer was highly confident that insects are not conscious. This allowed him to dismiss the empirical premise on which my challenge rests. In their interview, however, Adelstein very effectively rebuts Huemer’s skepticism. The connection between neurons and consciousness is complex, so insisting ‘Bugs don’t have the right kind of brains to be conscious’ is silly. Furthermore, insects typically respond to pain like any other animal. While they may feel less chronic pain than higher animals, they still seem to intensely feel acute pain. … Adelstein surprised me (and, I think, Huemer as well) when he used ‘insects suffer horribly’ to craft a utilitarian argument for mass extermination of insects. But there’s a weird logic to it. In Adelstein’s eyes, bug suffering is so horrible that the typical bug would be better off dead.” (07/22/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/reflections-on-ethical-vegetarianism
Source: Seattle Times
“The former chair of the Island County Republican Party refused to wear a mask while observing ballot counting during the 2024 presidential election. Now, an Island County jury has found him guilty of a felony. This month, jurors convicted Timothy Hazelo of unauthorized access to an election office or ballot-counting area and first-degree criminal trespassing. Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider had instituted a mask policy for vote counters and observers, because of a COVID-19 outbreak in August 2024, according to court documents. … Hazelo, an outspoken opponent of mask mandates who ran for U.S. House in 2020, showed up mask-free. Two local law enforcement officers responded. Hazelo told officers he would not leave unless he received a citation, according to a civil complaint filed by one of Hazelo’s lawyers, Austin Hatcher. The officers escorted him from the building and cited him.” (07/22/25)
Source: The Hill
by US Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH)
“Freedom means owning what you buy, whether it’s a Jeep Wrangler for your family or a rugged Jeep AEV J8 Milspec built for our troops. But there’s a problem. In today’s landscape, automakers are locking you out of fixing your own vehicles. They hoard the tools, software and know-how needed for repairs, in effort to establish a monopoly over auto repair. That’s not just un-American — it’s a threat to our liberty and security. … Automakers claim they’re protecting proprietary tech and warranties. Fine. The REPAIR Act ensures transparency without compromising cybersecurity, safety or intellectual property. It’s about your right to fix what you own — not handing over trade secrets. This bill unites Republicans and Democrats because it’s common sense.” (07/22/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5411879-right-to-repair-bill-automakers/
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“A doctor in Gaza named Nick Maynard reports that Israeli snipers are now shooting starving civilians in different body parts on different days, based on the injuries people show up with for treatment. There’s a head day, a leg day, a genitals day, etc. ‘The medical teams here have also been seeing a clear pattern of people being shot in certain body parts on different days, such as the head, legs or genitals, which seems to indicate deliberate targeting,’ Maynard says. I keep thinking there’s nothing Israel could do that would shock me anymore, but they keep finding ways. … Possibly the single dumbest thing Israel and its apologists ask us to believe is that Israel has been systematically demolishing Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure because the healthcare infrastructure is full of terrorists, and not because they want to commit genocide.” (07/22/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/07/22/israels-depravity-will-always-find-new-ways-to-shock-you/
Source: Politico
“Hospitals, local councils and operators of critical U.K. infrastructure are among the organizations who will be banned from paying ransoms to hackers under new plans unveiled by the British government. The move — which will cover all public sector bodies as well as the owners and operators of critical national infrastructure — comes after years of escalating cyber attacks on parts of the British state. … The new measures, which also include the mandatory reporting of all ransomware incidents, come following a consultation in which three-quarters of respondents supported a targeted ban.” (07/22/25)
https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-ban-pay-ransom-russia-hacker
Source: Reason
“The debt comes due, schooner or later.” (07/22/25)
https://reason.com/video/2025/07/22/remy-i-need-a-boat-gop-spending-version/
Source: The UnPopulist
by Walter Olson
“What is distinctive about the Manhattan Statement is not that it calls for reforming universities; others regularly call for that. In fact, many of its reforms, considered at a vague and aspirational enough level of abstraction, are neither new nor even particularly controversial. What stands out is by whom and by what means the manifesto proposes to impose the changes: by dictation from the central government in Washington, employing force and ultimatum, devoid of any advance enactment of objective rules defining what universities’ obligations in fact are. If imposed, the result would be an utter centralization of peremptory power over academia — private colleges, state universities, religiously affiliated institutions — in the person of a single man.” (07/22/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/a-manhattan-institute-manifesto-would
Source: EconLog
by Kevin Corcoran
“I recently finished registering for a 10k run in Astoria, Oregon. As part of the registration process, you had to select when you’ll be picking up your race packet (a prepacked bag that would have, among other things, your race bib with a built in time tracker). There were a few windows of time available in the few days leading up to the race, along with an option to pick it up on the day of the race on-site. This last option came with a ‘convenience fee’ of $25 dollars or so. And as soon as I saw that you had to pay to pick it up at the most convenient time and place, my immediate reaction was, ‘Oh, that’s nice.'” (07/22/25)