Mr Penguin

If the US doesn't respect international law and illegally seizes foreign vessels in international waters like the recent Venezuela oil tanker seizure why should US citizens respect US law? The answer is simple: We shouldn't. Respect is something that is earned, not blindly given and the US hasn't earned that respect. Under international law, the United States' unilateral seizure of foreign-flagged vessels in international waters—particularly for enforcing sanctions—is a clear violation of established international treaties and laws. International law, including the 1958 Convention on the High Seas and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), prohibits states from boarding or seizing foreign vessels on the high seas except in specific, narrowly defined circumstances which include: Hot pursuit from a state’s territorial waters, piracy, slave trade, and disturbingly illegal broadcasting.

Under 16s banned from social media starting today in Australia. When does state violence against minors justify violent rebellion? If not this act by the Australian government, then when? We have become a society of docile creatures programmed to obey. When I was in school the school yard itself was far more dangerous than anything online ever could be. Sure, there are predators, but if you were in school prior to the past two decades school yard bullies probably did far more damage than the internet has done to youth today. You can throw forth tons of sad stories with victims, but it hardly justifies the violence used by government to restrain companies and curtail the free speech rights of young people. It's time to stop treating kids like they're owned no different from an animal or family pet. Kids should NOT be slaves of a sick twisted class of adult. Kids should not be forced to swipe IDs to buy lunch, humans shouldn't be forced to swipe plastic to get into national parks, and those of us still alive need to take a stand and put some skin in the game in taking a stand against that which is the most violent to us all: Government, including government schooling.

AP News

Australian Parliament bans social media for under-16s with world-first law

The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to $33 million for failures to pre...

Headline: AI Use in 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 7' Draws Fire From US Lawmaker "The use of AI in the latest Call of Duty has prompted a US lawmaker to call for regulations to prevent artificial intelligence from taking jobs away from human workers. On Friday, Khanna tweeted: 'We need regulations that prevent companies from using AI to eliminate jobs to extract greater profits.'" Hilarious post on Slashdot to this call of action: "I have been complaining for 30 years that game companies have used AI to drive the decisions of dishonestly named "non-player characters" instead of employing real human beings to play against the people buying their games. Billions of jobs have been lost over the decades!" He has a good point. I mean, I remember back in the day playing games 'against the machine', as opposed to an employee of the game company, and as a consequence that was one less person they had to keep on the payroll.

PCMAG

AI Use in 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 7' Draws Fire From US Lawmaker

US Rep. Ro Khanna is concerned that gaming companies will replace human workers with AI, and points to AI-generated icons, posters, and achievement...

I would say our free stater halloween party in Keene, New Hampshire brought back memories of Hallowkeene, but that was actually before my time in New Hampshire. However it certainly brought back memories of hearing about it and was a reminder of how awesome Keene and New Hampshire are thanks to the Free State Project and associated migration movement! And really the 10s of thousand of people who have moved here in the last 20 years that are working to make New Hampshire a last bastion of freedom or freedom friendly haven amongst the tyranny that's been since history's beginning. A look back at our history in Keene to 2015 Halowkeene (I just barely missed this, slightly pre-dates my move for the Free State Project):