Not sure why the State Department wants to project retreat rather than leadership, raises doubts about America's long-term commitment to its allies, and hands geopolitical competitors an opportunity to fill the void.

Plans to close the U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg mean the United States will "lose touch with a broad swath of Canada," a former employee says. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

U.S. to close Winnipeg consulate as cost-saving measure, Trump administration says | CBC News

Plans to close the U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg mean the United States will "lose touch with a broad swath of Canada," a former employee says.

cbc.ca

This man might go to prison for allegedly wiping his phone before DHS officials could search it. No warrant for the phone, no specific claim of what 'evidence' might be on it. But he used a duress/wipe password, leading to the charge Watch more and subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmik...

"Under the second Trump administration, university autonomy is being sacrificed to authoritarian state power by means of ‘mass extortion’, according to a new report published by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)." www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile....

Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 2d ago

🤔 "US Secretary McMahon called on every postsecondary institution to publish, by the end of 2026, a clear public statement outlining its commitment to implementing reforms that will help restore public trust in higher education." #InComingLoyaltyOath www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

"Drone found at German airport after cargo plane collides with object mid-air" www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Drone found at German airport after cargo plane collides with object mid-air

Investigators looking into whether incidents at Leipzig are linked after DHL plane forced to make emergency landing

theguardian.com

This is not how public policy should work. Public policy cannot be built on secret standards and undisclosed criteria. If AI rules are going to shape innovation, safety, and public rights, the public deserves to see the framework, understand the benchmarks, & participate in the debate.

"The White House says its AI framework is done. It will not say what is in it. The framework gives the government a 30-day preview window on frontier models. The benchmarks are classified. The thresholds are classified. The framework itself is not classified, but it is not public either."

The White House says its AI framework is done. It will not say what is in it.

The voluntary AI model evaluation framework met its August 1 deadline. The White House will not disclose its contents, who has seen it, or when companies will use it.

thenextweb.com

Then there is the little matter of Japan holding USD1.1 TRILLION of US debt. Which, if they were to dump some of that to stabilize the yen on their own, would cause the US a world of hurt - as predicted by none other than the Heritage Foundation a mere 2 years ago: www.heritage.org/markets-and-...

Will a Japanese Fire Sale Crash U.S. Debt?

Profligate government spending has institutionalized multitrillion-dollar annual deficits, which have driven up interest rates and left Treasury markets teetering on the edge. Now Japan is on the verg...

heritage.org

Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 2d ago

In saving the Yen, the US was trying to save itself. "The yen’s slide to a 40-year low indirectly threatened to bump up U.S. interest rates and risked throwing a wrench in plans to pull billions of dollars of Japanese investment into the U.S." www.wsj.com/finance/curr...

Meet the "Irish fisher who stopped the Russian fleet. A pre-invasion row over Russian naval drills turned fishermen into unlikely diplomats" www.euractiv.com/news/the-iri...

The Irish fisher who stopped the Russian fleet | Euractiv

A pre-invasion row over Russian naval drills turned fishermen into unlikely diplomats

euractiv.com

Plans to close the U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg mean the United States will "lose touch with a broad swath of Canada," a former employee says. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

U.S. to close Winnipeg consulate as cost-saving measure, Trump administration says | CBC News

Plans to close the U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg mean the United States will "lose touch with a broad swath of Canada," a former employee says.

cbc.ca

One of the things I don’t think some get about the Wilson critiques of The Odyssey is that one of the only and best ways academics can make our work and expertise relevant and available to the public is to pick a hot topic or newsworthy story and use it as an entry point to that expertise/research

I love STEM, but the world grows poorer when we invest only in the engines of commerce and science, forgetting religions, the arts and the humanities that teach us why our progress matters. If we only fund what can be measured, we risk losing the very things that make life worth measuring.

"President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans ... Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music, and cosmetic certification programs will be hit the hardest." newrepublic.com/post/213446/...

Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees

Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.

newrepublic.com

SARS-CoV-2 did not come from a lab. There is no evidence pointing to laboratory origins. There’s been a massive disinformation campaign to convince the public otherwise. It’s scary how effective that campaign has been.

Republican power grabs in Kansas and Missouri are going down in flames with 18-25% of votes reported so far. Missouri's Amendment 4 aimed to make citizen-initiated constitutional amendments practically impossible. Kansas' Amendment 1 was designed to flip the state Supreme Court to ban abortion

"Washington stripped Brazil's ambassador of her US visa in an escalating diplomatic standoff, saying the move w'ld be reversed if Brasília approves President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador ahead of Brazil's closely watched presidential election." #regimechange www.france24.com/en/americas/...

US revokes Brazilian ambassador's visa amid escalating diplomatic dispute

Washington stripped Brazil's ambassador of her US visa in an escalating diplomatic standoff, saying the move would be reversed if Brasília approves President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador ahea...

france24.com

From Russia to China to the US to Saudi Arabia to Morocco to Israel, we are in the midst of a new land grab b/c we are now back in the age of empires. "Israel Captured 230 Square Miles of Lebanon, Razed Villages and Built New Bases" www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Israel captured 230 square miles of Lebanon, razed villages and built new bases

The IDF has seized 230 square miles of Lebanese territory, where extensive construction is underway – including a base far from the Israeli border. Negotiations with Lebanon resumed today

haaretz.com

Sadly, we're entering an era that I can only describe as "#democracytheatre." In this grim performance, those in power go to great lengths to preserve the outward appearances & rituals of democracy—elections, legislative bodies, & public debates—but strip these institutions of their essence.

"Chaos erupts as Texas county moves to slash polling sites. Critics called the proposal a form of voter suppression." www.chron.com/politics/art... "A form of"? This is the definition of voter suppression. The aim is to reduce the # of people who can vote & disadvantage people who don't have time.

Texas county judge shuts down meeting as voting fight erupts

Critics called the proposal a form of voter suppression.

chron.com

In preparation for the midterms. "US Energy Secretary Wright says fuel prices should come down in coming weeks" www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

US Energy Secretary Wright says fuel prices should come down in coming weeks

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright ​said on Tuesday that fuel ‌prices should come down in the coming weeks.

reuters.com

"26-employee Texas law firm gets $150M to represent 24,000 children in immigration court. None of the Burke Law Group’s lawyers list immigration law as an area of expertise, per the firm’s website." www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

26-employee Texas law firm gets $150M to represent 24,000 children in immigration court

None of the Burke Law Group’s lawyers list immigration law as an area of expertise, per the firm’s website.

politico.com

Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 4d ago

"An estimated 26,000 children who entered the U.S. without parents or guardians are expected to be left without independent legal representation as soon as Monday, according to lawyers who help represent them." www.npr.org/2026/08/01/n...

What they rebrand as "red tape" is our shared safety net. Sadly, we are only beginning to see the damage caused by the wanton vandalism to our society in the decades to come... yes, decades.

"U.S. ​President ‌Donald Trump's ​administration ​on Tuesday told ⁠leading ​AI ​companies that it ​will ​not safety-test open-weight ‌AI ⁠models, according to ​two ​sources ⁠familiar ​with the ⁠discussions." If the report is accurate, the implications are significant.

Trump advisers tell AI firms they will not safety-test open-weight models

WASHINGTON, Aug 4 : The Trump administration told AI developers on Tuesday that it will not put open-weight AI models through voluntary safety tests, according to two sources familiar with the discuss...

channelnewsasia.com

"MI6 has been ranked as the most powerful foreign intelligence service in Europe ahead of France and the Netherlands, according to a peer review." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

MI6 is top European foreign intelligence service, finds peer review

UK’s Secret Intelligence Service described as having ‘a taste for dirty tricks’ and ‘extraordinary’

theguardian.com

"A Canadian Social Network? Don’t Roll Your Eyes Yet." Gander is still flying ... for now. thewalrus.ca/gander-canad...

A Canadian Social Network? Don’t Roll Your Eyes Yet | The Walrus

Gander is betting there’s an appetite for a homegrown platform built on trust instead of outrage

thewalrus.ca

Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 6mo ago

"Two big-name advisors have severed ties with Gander Social just one day before the prospective Canadian social media company was set to close its crowdfunding campaign." Gander Social is built on the AT Protocol—the same technology that powers Bluesky. betakit.com/arlene-dicki...

"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the US ⁠telecommunications industry, is developing a measure to bar imports of new ​Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fiber-optic cables at the speed of light within datacenters."

Trump administration reportedly drafting ban on Chinese datacenter components

Trump’s FCC is developing a measure to bar US imports of new models of Chinese datacenter devices, sources say

theguardian.com

"Eight of the biggest oil companies amassed profits of more than $90bn (£67bn) in just three months as the Iran conflict sent energy prices soaring and the emissions-fuelled climate crisis caused deadly heatwaves." www.theguardian.com/business/ng-...?

Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis

Iran conflict windfall over three months reignites calls for companies ‘cashing in on human misery’ to pay for environmental damage

theguardian.com

Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 6d ago

See, it can be done ... "Portugal approves 33% windfall tax on oil companies' excess profits" www.reuters.com/business/ene...

The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. (It has now installed 3 terawatt-hours of solar, enough to power ~400–500 million average homes worldwide.) No One Noticed

The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. No One Noticed

The next phase of the boom may reveal a shift in who is gaining access to the technology.

bloomberg.com

"It Appears That the US Military Accidentally Killed Everybody on Board a Civilian Medevac Flight in New Mexico" futurism.com/science-ener...

It Appears That the US Military Accidentally Killed Everybody on Board a Civilian Medevac Flight in New Mexico

A days-long electronic warfare drill was one of the causes behind the loss of a four-passenger medevac flight.

futurism.com