Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.'s Blog, page 102

Why the Military-Industrial Complex Always Wins

International Man: During the recent Iran–Israel war, the US used up to 20% of its global stockpile of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile interceptors, each costing over $18 million. THAAD isn’t effective against hypersonic missiles, which both Iran and even Yemen’s Houthis now possess.

What do you make of this?

Doug Casey: War, in the long run, is a matter of economics. If you can’t afford to fight a war, you’ll lose the war. Missiles are now the preferred weapon for ...

The Easily Excited Homeland Security Secretary

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference Tuesday at Ronald Reagan National Airport where she stood before flags, banners, and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees. Starting off her prepared statement, Noem declared right after introducing herself: “We have some very exciting news to announce.” But, when the announcement came, informed individuals would be justified in responding: “Really? You are way too easily excited.”

Noem continued her p...

CIAmerica

In a new report, the CIA’s Deputy Director for Analysis explains that senior leaders of the agency’s center on Russia “strongly opposed” the now-infamous Steele dossier, which was advanced by former British spy Christopher Steele and deployed as the backbone of the agency’s investigation of so-called Russian collusion in the 2016 election. Officials with the CIA’s center on Russia said of the dossier that it “did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards” and contended that its inclusion...

The Political Machine Rolls on Regardless

Do you wince when you hear someone rip “capitalism” for some alleged evil, then propose a new government program to correct it?  Are you frustrated when hearing people demand the soaking of the rich to relieve the poor?  Are you frustrated further when realizing the poor are still poor after government has intervened?

Are you exasperated at the media for lying about origins of the US-Ukraine war on Russia or dismissing the reality in Gaza?  Do you have a sinking feeling when you see MAGA support...

Our Intellectuals Have Nothing Valuable To Say

From the Tom Woods Letter:

Auron MacIntyre, who’s been a Tom Woods Show guest several times, makes an excellent point about making our intellectuals into “content creators”:

The right is facing a serious problem about how to handle its intellectuals.

The left has the university, where it can assign smart people good-paying, high-status jobs where they can explore and cultivate ideas.

The right has no similar institutions, so right-wing intellectuals end up in think-tanks or content production.

T...

Israel Defense Minister Unveils Plan for ‘Concentration Camp’ in Gaza

With Gaza ceasefire negotiations under way and President Trump raising hopes of a deal being reached by week’s end, Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday revealed that the IDF will create what it calls a “humanitarian city” in the wasteland that is Rafah, and then forcibly concentrate Gaza’s entire population of nearly 2 million people inside it.

Though the Israeli government and its advocates will likely to condemn already-widespread usage of the term “concentration camp” to describe this unde...

In the Age of AI, We Each Have To Choose How Much of Our Humanity We Want To Keep

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has gone full Nazi after changes were made to its programming to give it a heavier right wing bias, sparking international headlines with its tweets praising Adolf Hitler’s treatment of Jews and babbling about Jewish conspiracies to spread anti-white hate.

The official X account for Grok announced that the team is “aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” saying “xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok...

Two Possible Fates Waiting in the Wings

I often wonder which of  two possible fates waiting in the wings will be ours.  Will Washington/Israeli hegemonic ambition, together with Russian/Chinese/Iranian denial, or perhaps avoidance, of reality, destroy us in nuclear war, or will the digital revolution and its bastard child–Artificial Intelligence–lock up humanity in endless tyranny?

I read idealistic accounts of AI in which we all have an AI assistant that manages our daily schedules, our health, diet, weight, and what we eat and drink...

Does Elon Musk’s Third Party Have a Prayer? Trump Is Not a Believer

Elon Musk may find his effort to reach the Martian surface a much easier task than cracking the U.S. political system.

The U.S. leader dragged his former adviser over the coals after the tech mogul announced plans to bankroll the so-called America Party.

The wealthiest individual in the world announced the creation of the America Party in a series of weekend posts late on Saturday and early Sunday to X, formerly known as Twitter, the social media platform that is part of his private empire.

“Whe...

The Way Most Americans Feel About Foreign Wars

When I was in Congress, the least popular, least respected members were the biggest publicity seekers – the ones who were the first and quickest to run to the cameras. They were not regarded as serious legislators. Thus, I have not been a big fan of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. However, several days ago, she wrote some words on her X account which I think express the feelings and frustrations of the overwhelming majority of Americans. The following are her words:

“I’m 51 years old. I’m GenX.

“I’...