How to Boycott a Country (Step 1: Pay Them)

I saw this on Facebook on Saturday. Now, I don't know if this is true or not – but it is a fascinating story if it is. 👇 

A Chinese factory allegedly printed "Boycott China" shirts and sold them to the people who wanted to boycott China, bringing in a cool $450,000. 

Think about the sheer irony: 

The people who wanted to hurt China's economy paid China to do it. The people who wanted to make a statement funded the very thing they were protesting against. 

The factory didn't care about the message. They cared about the demand. They saw an opportunity, printed the shirts, shipped them, and collected a check. 

The emotion belonged to the buyer. The profit belonged to the seller. 

😂😂😂 

Liverpool beat Brentford 2-1 in yesterday's Premier League match. 

The Bees were actually a goal up through a superb 44th-minute header and looked to be in total control when their midfielder received a straight red card in first-half stoppage time. A VAR review caught him headbutting Liverpool's Jeremy Jacquet before a corner kick could be taken. 

The sending-off drastically shifted the momentum, allowing the Reds to stage their second-half comeback. Spain winger Victor Munoz scored a fine equaliser after 62 minutes, cutting inside to beat the rival keeper with a clinical left-footed finish after he was released by Florian Wirtz's pass. 

Alexander Isak added the second eight minutes later with a sharp strike for his fifth goal of the season, after Bradley Barcola headed down Alexis Mac Allister's cross. 

A far from convincing performance but an absolutely vital three points for the visiting Merseysiders.

Certified Human

When you open a new book, you assume the words came from a human heart, not a line of code. 

But after a string of scandals involving authors secretly using artificial intelligence, the global book industry is drawing a line in the sand. 

This week at the Frankfurt Book Fair, a new movement took center stage: a push for a "Certified Human" seal to protect the sanctity of the written word. 

Initiatives to label books as written by humans, and not artificial intelligence, are gaining ground following a string of scandals where authors were suspected of using the technology without admitting it. 

Labelling schemes, including from Britain, France and Germany, were being showcased at the world’s biggest book industry fair in Frankfurt, Germany this week, where the challenges posed by AI were hotly debated. 

Among recent cases where authors allegedly used AI, the most high-profile is that of Haitian-Canadian author Thelyson Orelien, which has rocked the French-language literary world. He has denied the claims. 

The affair was a “real earthquake” for the French book trade, Charlotte Allibert, co-founder of Librinova, a self-publishing company and literary agency, told AFP. 

The French group run a scheme under which authors can get their books assessed and then labelled as a “human creation” for a small fee, with about 200 works so far given the stamp. 

Writers who want the label have their works run through AI detection software and undergo an interview with an auditor, who also checks the book personally. 

“It’s reassuring for authors to know that we’re committed to this issue”, said Allibert. “More and more, authors are afraid of being suspected of using AI – self‑published authors even more so”.

Another scheme is from British startup Books By People, which this week announced their certification mark for human-authored works has been registered by the country’s intellectual property office. 

To get the stamp, titles have to meet the group’s “organic literature” standards, which require the writing to originate from its author while allowing limited use of AI for tasks such as spelling or grammar checks. 

"We want to create a comprehensive, transparent, reliable framework that publishers and authors can fall back on”, Esme Dennys, the initiative’s co-founder, told AFP. “Anxiety around undisclosed AI use has increased in recent months – we have been getting a lot more interest from people all over the world”. 

Publishers sign up to the scheme for a fee, and can then request to get their authors’ books labelled with the Books By People mark. The scheme launched with five independent publishers and is set to announce more members in the coming months. 

In the United States, writers group the Authors Guild have introduced a “human authored” certification mark. 

It is a self-certification system which requires authors to sign a licence agreement, and so far around 6,500 titles have received the stamp. 

The controversy surrounding Orelien erupted last month when an anonymous X account alleged the 38-year-old used AI to write his debut novel "It Was Either That or Die", based on analysis of excerpts by AI-detection websites. He believes the attacks on his work are racially motivated, although the scandal led to him being dropped from France’s top literary prize. 

There have also been a string of other cases in recent times. 

Earlier this year publisher Hachette cancelled the release of horror novel "Shy Girl" by Mia Ballard in the United States and withdrew the book from sale in Britain over allegations of AI use. 

In comments to the New York Times, Ballard denied personally using AI but said that an acquaintance she hired to edit the book, which was originally self-published, had used AI. 

Despite the mounting scandals, some in the book trade view the idea of labels with scepticism. Current schemes mostly allow a minimal use of AI, for example for research and grammar checks, but there are worries this could be open to interpretation.

There are also concerns it could be too easy to circumvent checks in the fledgling initiatives, and pass off AI-produced books as human-written. 

Sebastian Guggolz, head of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, said the book trade was struggling with what approach to take. 

“There’s no simple ‘with AI’ or ‘without AI’”, he asserted at the book fair, adding that basic schemes to categorise how much AI was used to produce a title could fall short. 

“The question has to go deeper. It has to be addressed to each individual and to the entire industry: how do we want to make our practices transparent?” 

The Iran War’s Creeping Casualty Count

Slowly but surely, the fatalities are being revealed. The reported US military death toll in the Iran war has risen to 21, while the number of wounded personnel has reached 865, according to figures dated October 09. 

This latest update quietly adds two deaths and four wounded troops to the previously listed totals, bringing the reported increase to six casualties. 

While no separate public announcement accompanied these additions – leaving questions about exactly when the casualties occurred – the shift is a disturbing development. 

This pattern of quiet, retroactive adjustments echoes historical reporting discrepancies that have long fueled public skepticism during American conflicts. 

During the Vietnam War, the stark disconnect between optimistic daily briefings – later dubbed the "Five O'Clock Follies" – and the steadily climbing official database tallies severely eroded public trust. 

Similarly, in the early phases of the Iraq War, the Pentagon faced intense scrutiny for how it categorized casualties, particularly regarding non-combat deaths and delayed diagnoses like traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which often did not appear in initial press releases. 

By allowing official numbers to tick upward without immediate explanation, the current reporting methods risk repeating these past missteps, transforming vital statistics into a source of confusion rather than clarity.

Celtic made a triumphant return from the international break, putting a tough patch behind them with a clinical 2-0 victory over Motherwell today. 

The reigning Scottish champions controlled the tempo and reclaimed their spot at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. While fans might argue the margin of victory could have been wider given the chances created, it was a thoroughly dominant, all-round performance that guarantees all three points return to Parkhead. 

The match didn't take long to come to life. Cutting inside sharply from the right flank, Camilo Durán struck in the eighth minute to break the deadlock and put Celtic ahead. 

The Glasgow side doubled their advantage early in the second half. The decisive moment came in the 58th minute when Benjamin Nygren pounced on a defensive lapse by the Motherwell goalkeeper. Following a brilliant setup by strike partner Kasper Høgh, Nygren read the mistake perfectly and blasted his shot home to secure the insurance goal.

The AI in Your Big Mac: Inside McDonald’s Secret Battle to Price Your Meal

McDonald’s are increasingly using artificial intelligence to guide menu prices across the US and some global markets, a plan that aims to boost headquarters’ profit but risks alienating customers and attracting antitrust scrutiny. 

One pricing factor supercharged by AI: "an estimate of how much each store's patrons are willing to pay".

A sweeping investigative report by Reuters has pulled back the curtain on how this technology is quietly transforming what you pay for fast food. Built alongside data firm Tiger Analytics, McDonald's machine-learning pricing engine now scans millions of daily transactions across nearly 14,000 US restaurants to micro-target the "optimal price" for individual branches.

🍔 How the Technology Works 

Rather than fluctuating by the minute like Uber or airline ticketing, the algorithm calculates hyper-localized menu recommendations. For a company serving tens of millions of people every day, small improvements in that calculation can become very large sums of money. 💰💰💰

• Measuring Sensitivity: The software analyses neighborhood sales data, flashing phrases like "Your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to Price" on franchisee dashboards to calculate maximum tolerance. 
• Scouting Competitors: The AI continuously scrapes live, public menus from nearby rivals like Wendy’s and Burger King to keep locations strictly competitive within their precise micro-markets. 
• Corporate Safeguards: Corporate sets explicit guidelines for the AI. According to former Tiger Analytics employees, the rules include targeting price hikes on items that haven't shifted in two years, while intentionally freezing prices on ice cream and soft drinks during summer heatwaves. 

McDonald’s corporate maintains that the tool is purely advisory, stating that franchisees retain the final say over their menus. 

However, internal leaks paint a different picture. Corporate rules require franchise owners to be "constructively engaging" with the AI platform. Headquarters are actively tracking cases of "pricing non-compliance", causing tension with operators who feel their autonomy is being eroded. 

Furthermore, because McDonald's corporate takes a cut of total sales revenue rather than profit, franchisees run the risk of losing money if the AI pushes aggressive price cuts to chase higher customer volume. 

The immediate consumer result? Massive price gaps. In one recent check via the McDonald's mobile app, a Big Mac cost $5.69 at a company-owned branch in California, but just two miles down the road, another company branch priced the exact same sandwich at $6.89 – a steep 21% premium.

As algorithmic pricing becomes the new industry standard, the era of predictable fast-food pricing is officially over. McDonald's may insist their AI tool is purely advisory, but for everyday customers, the reality is already on the receipt: your neighborhood data is now setting the price of your meal.

But the tension officially boiled over into the courtroom. On Friday, a proposed nationwide antitrust class-action lawsuit was filed against McDonald’s in a Chicago federal court. 

Citing the Reuters report, the lawsuit alleges McDonald's violated the Sherman Act by using their AI pricing engine to pool data and conspire with franchisees to fix menu prices. 

McDonald’s firmly denied the claims on Monday, calling them "speculative" and reiterating that franchisees retain final control over their menus. 

This case marks a critical legal test for algorithmic pricing in the fast-food industry.

Critter Chaos: Record-Breaking 10,000 Animals Compete to Lose Their Dignity

The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards reached a major milestone for its 2026 competition, receiving more than 10,000 entries for the first time in its history. 

A decade after its founding, the record-breaking pool of submissions brought in hilarious animal shenanigans from photographers across 112 countries. The competition has narrowed the field down to a shortlist of finalists – including 40 individual entries, 3 under-16 entries, 4 portfolios, and 9 videos – all competing for the grand prize of an African safari in Kenya's Masai Mara. 

The overall winner, category winners and Highly Commended entries will be announced at an awards ceremony in London, UK on December 08, 2026. 

Alongside the awards, a free exhibition showing the work of the finalists will take place at Gallery@Oxo in the city from December 09–13. A related exhibition of past Comedy Wildlife award winners is also currently on at Frameless running until January 2027.

Co-founders Tom Sullam and Paul Joynson-Hicks noted that hitting this milestone proves how powerful humor can be in driving empathy and awareness for global wildlife conservation. 

I'm not going to feature the shortlisted photos that capture nature's lighter side – only the nine that have really caught my attention: 

Sexy Mantis

Location: Camanti in the Quispicanchi Province of the Cusco Region in southeastern Peru

Photographer description: A tiny green mantis peeks over a leaf during a night walk in an area of Cusco, Peru, that is still waiting to be protected. 

At first, the mantis seems to be sunbathing, or perhaps striking a rather glamorous pose. But there is also a small visual trick: half of the insect is hidden behind the leaf. Its hind legs disappear from view and, suddenly, its enormous forelegs begin to look almost like a pair of human legs. 

Elvis

Location: Pantanal, Brazil

Photographer description: This caiman emerged from the water in an area with a lot of floating vegetation, and part of it remained on its head. It resembles a 1950s rock and roll hairstyle.

The DNA Doesn't Lie

Location: Borneo jungle 

Photographer description: A wild orangutan in the rainforests of Borneo appears to deliver a perfectly timed gesture toward the camera. As he finishes a meal with one finger extended, it creates the unmistakable impression that he is flipping off the lens. 

Though entirely coincidental, the moment captures an almost unsettling reflection of ourselves in one of our closest relatives.

Nectar and Chill: Inside a Sunbird’s Five-Star Spa

Location: Vietnam 

Photographer description: On a gentle sunlit afternoon, a little sunbird excitedly set off for a five-star spa deep in the forest. From afar, he spotted a “natural bathtub” – a bright red banana blossom, filled with cool water and plenty of sweet nectar. He landed on the blossom and savored the sweet nectar. After his treat, he hopped into the “tub” and began enjoying the refreshing, cool water.

Did I Sleep Past My Alarm?

Location: Curaçao, part of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea

Photographer description: Behind the comical face is a story of extreme underwater patience. This blenny in Curaçao was hidden inside a tiny, camouflaged tube on the reef, and it opened its mouth to feed for a split second. To transform this moment into a highly precise wildlife encounter, it took multiple targeted dives. 

Exact timing was crucial to catch the fish’s sharp expression within its natural environment, showing that the smallest ocean residents often have the biggest personalities.

Chameleon Smash!

Location: Senegal 

Photographer description: This Senegal chameleon looked less like a reptile and more like a tiny green action hero in this shot. 

The Morning Wave 

Location: Stoke-on-Trent, UK 

Photographer description: This sleepy damselfly had slowly climbed a blade of grass, so I gently placed it on a leaf for one last portrait. Instead of posing politely, it disappeared behind the leaf, popped its head through a readymade window, and as I pressed the shutter ... gave me a cheerful wave. Clearly, someone wanted the last laugh!

Doris Digs the Floral Look

Location: Lake Kumana, inside Kumana National Park on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka

Photographer description: An Asian water buffalo surfaces from Lake Kumana, Sri Lanka, wearing a bonnet of flowers.

"When this water buffalo lifted her head up, it looked like she had a fancy bonnet on so we called her Doris!" 

Hair Check Before the Family Photo

Location: Namibia

Subject: Three meerkats posing together, with one meerkat giving a last-minute grooming inspection to the others.

Shredding for the Salmon Run

Location: Alaska, USA

Subject: A female brown bear was captured appearing to do her morning exercises around Lake Clark in Alaska, US. Her workout routine included some bicycle kicks as she appeared to get herself ready for the summer season.  

Ghosts of the Past: Germany is Weaponizing

German militarism is underway. 

Over the past few months, a noticeable surge in reports has highlighted Germany’s growing obsession with missiles – spanning ballistic, cruise, land-based, and sea-based systems. 🚀🚀🚀

Berlin is pulling in various international partners for this initiative, including the US, Ukraine, Türkiye, and Israel. It increasingly appears that Germany intends to funnel its entire defense focus into procurement, aiming to become Western Europe's dominant missile power. 

Berlin’s financial commitment to expanding its military programs has reached unprecedented levels. The country is rapidly ramping up defense spending to reshape its industrial landscape. 

Between 2024 and 2025, approximately 200 new defense companies emerged in Germany, with another 100 appearing since late 2025. 

A striking example of this boom is Rheinmetall, which has dramatically scaled its artillery ammunition production from a mere 70,000 units to 1.5 million shells per year. Over the next six years, the defense giant plans to invest roughly €30 billion ($34 billion) into arms and munitions manufacturing alone. 

Furthermore, Germany is aggressively seeking to procure ready-made missile systems while simultaneously establishing joint domestic production facilities. Aligned with these initiatives, Berlin is forming new ground forces explicitly designed to strike military targets deep within foreign territory – essentially creating a dedicated missile troop branch within the Bundeswehr. 

On one hand, this rapid expansion is framed as a way to enhance NATO’s strike capabilities, allowing for flexible responses over thousands of kilometers. On the other hand, developing such potent offensive capabilities can easily cultivate ambitions of military dominance and hegemony – a dangerous path Germany has historically walked before. 😎😎😎

Germany’s primary justification for this massive military buildup is, of course, the need to deter a "threat from the East". 😂😂😂

But this is history repeating itself.  

The fact that Russia has no intention of attacking NATO doesn’t seem to matter; it serves as a convenient excuse and a rallying cry to ramp up militarism. 

I daresay, Germany is preparing for war!

Feeding the Beast: How Japan's Used Books Became AI Chow

There is perhaps no better example of an independent business than the neighborhood used bookstore. But like many such businesses these days, it can be really hard to make ends meet as they compete with cheaper chain stores or faster and more convenient electronic alternatives. 

So at first, it must have been a huge relief when a number of used book stores, in various parts of Japan, started getting huge volume orders for high-end books on non-fiction topics like history, medicine, and philosophy. 

However, when more and more such orders kept coming in at bizarrely regular intervals, things started to get creepy. 

One bookstore in Tokyo sold more than 1,000 books in total to a single shipping address, but when the owner looked more closely, he noticed that each order was made at inhumanly precise intervals. 

Another owner in western Japan said that he received an order for tens of thousands of books from a company overseas. 

And in almost all cases, the orders are for non-fiction books rather than the usually top-selling fiction and manga titles. Many of these orders are shipped to a logistics center in Okayama Prefecture, but when approached by the media, they refused to divulge who or where the purchaser is. 

Meanwhile, according to trade data, a major Japanese book distributor had sold over 50 tons of books in the United States in the last year but also declined to give specifics about what the sales entailed. 

Those in the used book business, however, are growing increasingly concerned that these are being used to train AI models. 

Earlier this year, AI firm Anthropic revealed that they had been purchasing books to train their Claude AI chatbot and that it was a common practice in the industry. 

In most, if not all, cases, the books are destroyed in the scanning process and rendered useless afterward.

[Read my "Chasing the Book Devourers" post published September 08, 2026]. 

The likelihood that this is what their stock is being used for has left Japanese booksellers feeling conflicted. On one hand, the sudden boost in revenue is nice. On the other, having your stock of acquired human wisdom be sent to a shredder in order to feed a technology that may one day wipe out your own business is not an overly pleasant thought. 

Online comments regarding this news seem to be split right down the middle, with some decrying this as the possible end of civilization and others believing that giving more Japanese culture and concepts over to foreign AIs might ultimately make the technology more useful to Japanese people.

“The books are cut, scanned, and tossed. And how faithful is this digital reincarnation? If the AI just devours it, then we risk losing our own history”. 

“Books weren’t made for this. Foreign interests are exploiting Japan, and this represents an overall spiritual poverty around the world”. 

“One time I asked an AI about a typo in a rather obscure book, and it could identify the exact page and line where it was. That’s when I knew it had been used for training”. 

“Considering the current state of the used book market, shouldn’t these shops be thrilled?” 

“A lot of them would have just been thrown away and incinerated anyway. Just don’t sell those things any rare or valuable books”. 

“This is terrifying. I don’t go to bookstores much, but if I ever pop into one, I’d hate to see a bunch of empty shelves”. 

“It looks like a win-win for both sides”. “I’m worried that if AI gets better at Japanese, fraud attempts will become more believable”. 

“If they aggregate all these old books into AI, I wonder if connections that humans haven’t seen will be revealed”. 

“We’re getting to a point where if data centers go down, our whole culture goes with it”. 

“In a lot of ways, used bookstores are like graveyards for books that no one buys, so export them and put them to good use”. 

“At least they’re paying money for it, rather than stealing it from the Internet”. 

There is also the issue of copyright and how Japanese law applies to the practice of destructive scanning to train AI models. 

Japan has some rather unique conditions for fair use in this regard. First, a book’s copyright can be infringed upon on the condition that the infringer is not enjoying the content. 

We all can agree that AI models are not enjoying the works, which would make the action legal. 

However, there is also an exception where, if the infringement creates an “unreasonable prejudice” against the copyright holder then the act is not legal. 

Unreasonable prejudice means that the action obstructs the copyright holder’s ability to earn revenue on their work, and while you can certainly make the argument that AI does that, proving it in court is much harder. 

Clearer legislation needs to be made to deal with this complex issue, but it would seem AI is growing at a much faster rate than lawmakers work, so we probably won’t figure this out until a lawmaking AI is developed to do it for us.

Good Riddance!

US forces completed their final withdrawal from Iraq on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, ending a military presence that spanned more than two decades and cost the lives of 4,500 Americans. 

The exit follows a 2024 agreement negotiated under US President Joe Biden and was executed by Donald Trump’s administration, even amidst escalating US military conflict with Iran. 

Iraqi security experts state that maintaining a long-term US military presence in the country had ultimately become unsustainable.

Iraq has now reclaimed its sovereignty. 

The national women's squash team are one step away from defending their gold medal after advancing to the final of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games today. 

Malaysia earned their spot in the final after defeating Japan 2-0 in the semi-finals. 

Sivasangari Subramaniam (left) dug deep before overcoming world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3 to deliver Malaysia's first point. 

[Aira Azman then sealed the win for the national squad by beating Akari Midorikawa 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 to complete the 2-0 victory]. 

Malaysia will face Hong Kong China – the latter eliminated India 2-1 – in the final, setting up a rematch of the Hangzhou 2022 gold medal clash. 

On Friday, the girls defend their legacy and capture Asian Games glory once more.

Cracks of Color

Jan Vormann is a German artist who uses LEGO bricks in his artwork. He patches up broken sides of buildings and walls with legos in a beautiful way that turns the structures into art. 

This is one of my favorite uses of Legos that I've come across. And if I may add, it is an incredible and uplifting art initiative! 

Vormann’s global project, known as Dispatchwork, beautifully bridges the gap between childhood playfulness and public architecture. By filling the crumbling, fractured spaces of old stone and brick buildings with vibrant, multicolored LEGO bricks, he doesn't just "fix" a wall – he draws attention to its history while injecting a burst of joy into the urban landscape.

What makes it even better is the interactive nature you mentioned. It transforms regular city dwellers from passive observers into active creators, reminding everyone that public spaces belong to the community and can be reimagined through collective creativity. 

The project was born in Bocchignano, a small medieval village in the Sabina region of Italy. In 2007, he was participating in the "20 Eventi" contemporary art festival in the region. Inspired by the village's historic ruins, he began spontaneously filling the gaps, cracks, and missing sections of its ancient stone walls with bright, multicolored LEGO bricks. 

This temporary intervention launched his famous global street art movement known as Dispatchwork. He describes it as a "multiplayer game" for cities. 

The artistic concept rests on three core pillars:

• Embracing Impermanence: Vormann intentionally does not use glue or cement. The structures are meant to be temporary. He welcomes the fact that children often take the loose LEGO bricks back home to their toy boxes. 
• Highlighting History through Contrast: Inserting modern, mass-produced plastic into ancient, eroded masonry draws immediate visual attention to the wear and tear of historical sites. It emphasizes how cities continuously repair themselves over centuries. 
• Democratic Public Art: The project bypasses traditional art institutions. Through his website, Vormann invites anyone worldwide to "patch" their own neighborhoods, making the act of urban preservation a collaborative and playful community experience.

Vormann and a global network of volunteers have installed LEGO patches across more than 40 cities worldwide. Notable historical and urban sites include Berlin in Germany, New York City in USA, Toulouse in France, Aberdeen in Scotland, and even Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia! 

In KL, the Dispatchwork installation was famously initiated at the historic Pudu Jail (specifically along Jalan Hang Tuah). The intervention done in April 2016 was carried out by independent global contributors named Kaffy, Wikkee, and Caibin, who submitted their work directly to the official Dispatchwork archive. 

True to the collaborative nature of the project, they chose the crumbling perimeter of this notorious, century-old prison site to insert bright, modern toy bricks into the gaps of its weathered structures. 

It is important to highlight that because Jan Vormann’s philosophy strictly dictates never using glue or permanent fixtures, these plastic patches are highly transient. 

Over the years, much of the original Pudu Jail complex has been demolished or heavily redeveloped into modern commercial projects (like Lalaport BBCC), meaning the original 2016 bricks have likely been removed, built over, or taken home by passersby.

World's Most Dangerous Rogue States

The United States and Israel are the world's most dangerous, rogue actors, functioning as the preeminent engine of global instability, and acting as the primary existential threat to world peace through calculated, widespread aggression. 

It is a well-known fact that the US has been at war 222 out of 239 years since 1776. And, since Israel's founding in 1948, the country has been in a state of near-perpetual conflict. 

Today, Donald Trump (far left) and Benjamin Netanyahu (left), both war criminals, represent the new axis of evil.

The war against Iran is their latest handiwork. It began on February 28 and the two didn't just target the Islamic Republic; they murdered the prospect of peace by launching joint, pre-emptive strikes against the country while diplomatic talks were still taking place. A calculated, unlawful act by the US and Israel.

Presently, the grueling war has petered into the current stalemate that brings a temporary lull to the battlefield, yet the rhetorical warfare remains fiercely active. 

On Tuesday, during Trump's address at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, he openly mused whether he should completely "annihilate" Iran and drive the nation into hell with "no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations". 

By using the UN podium to openly contemplate wiping out a fellow member state, Trump brought an indecent irony to his delivery at the United Nations – an organisation founded to save future generations from war. 😡😡😡

The Great Unwind: China Cuts US Debt to 18-Year Low

China pruned its holdings of US Treasuries to an 18-year low in July, as overall holdings by foreign countries fell for a second consecutive month amid deepening worries over the sustainability of American government debt. 

China’s holdings fell to $618 billion in July from $633.4 billion in June, data released by the US Treasury Department showed on Wednesday. 

This rapid divestment is a calculated strategy driven by three core motivations: 

Sanction Insulation: Following the freezing of Russia’s foreign reserves by Western nations, Beijing increasingly views dollar-denominated assets as a geopolitical vulnerability. Reducing this exposure shields its global reserves from potential future sanctions. 

US Debt Sustainability Fears: Deepening worries over the expanding American government deficit raise valid concerns about long-term dollar stability. To avoid holding potentially depreciating paper debt, China is proactively shifting its wealth. 

The Pivot to Hard Assets: Instead of parking trade surpluses in US bonds, China is diversifying into harder, less volatile assets. Most notably, it has ramped up its sovereign gold reserves, which serve as a stateless store of value that cannot be devalued or frozen by a foreign power. 

Ultimately, while $618 billion remains a Brobdingnagian financial position, the trajectory is clear. Beijing is steadily swapping its reliance on the American financial system for more sovereign, independent stores of value.

Weaponizing Space: The US Aggression

On September 14, 2026, US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference that the United States has fielded "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action". 

This marks the first time any global superpower has publicly acknowledged having active, offensive technology positioned directly in Earth's orbit. 

The public admission of orbital weapons deployment underscores a deeply disturbing shift toward absolute military dominance, signaling clear belligerence and warmongering intentions by the United States. Far from a measure of passive defense, moving active weaponry into Earth's orbit effectively breaks a decades-long global taboo against the weaponization of space, transforming the final frontier into a potential theater of war. 

Sivasangari Subramaniam was just two points away from beating the World No. 1 in the Qatar Classic semi-final in Doha on Thursday. 

But the Malaysian, having dragged Egypt's Hania El Hammamy all the way to a fifth-game tiebreak, just couldn't finish it off. It was easily the match of the year – an 87-minute battlefield that ultimately ended 8-11, 11-9, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10 in Hania's favour. 

A loss is still a loss. 

Sure, this was her maiden Platinum-level semi-final. Sure, breaking into the top four in Doha proves she is actively scaling the highest tier of the global game. 

But she still couldn't cross the finish line. Even though she remains the highest-ranked Malaysian since the legendary Nicol David, being a torchbearer isn't the same as holding the trophy. This performance wasn't a ceiling; it was a benchmark – and a stark reminder of the gap she needs to close.

Iran Will Not Fold

Donald Trump announced that the United States could potentially stay in Iran and "keep the oil" suggests that he is fundamentally miscalculating the war in Iran by treating its sovereign natural resources as low-hanging fruit. His brazen declaration – just as it did after removing Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela – exposes a dangerous strategic delusion. 

[While reports surfaced globally on September 14, 2026, Trump originally made these specific remarks to reporters a day earlier, while attending the Irish Open golf championship in Doonbeg, Ireland. He later confirmed in a phone interview with NBC News on Monday that seizing Iranian oil has actively been discussed within his administration].

This overt ambition to seize sovereign oil reserves is a blatant violation of international law. Under the Geneva Conventions and international legal frameworks, the unilateral confiscation of another nation's natural resources for domestic profit constitutes the war crime of pillage.

Trump’s blueprint relies on a completely flawed comparison that ignores both legal and geopolitical realities: 

• The Flawed Analogy: In August 2026, the US successfully leveraged a rapid regime collapse in Caracas to force a deal ceding control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. Trump explicitly views this asset seizure as a repeatable model to pay for US military interventions. 
• The Institutional Reality: Venezuela’s command structure imploded because it was tied to a single strongman. Conversely, Iran is a deeply institutionalized, ideologically driven theocracy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have completely rejected US overtures, vowing a war of attrition rather than capitulation. 
• The Strategic Lever: While Venezuela's oil infrastructure was easily isolated, Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has already weaponized this chokepoint to choke global supplies, spiking US fuel prices and using global markets as a counter-offensive shield. 

Trump’s hubris in thinking he can simply dictate an exit strategy, secure the oil fields, and walk away with Iran’s wealth is an outright fantasy. Tehran will not fold to a "Venezuela-style" playbook, and any attempt to permanently occupy its oil reserves will violate international laws against resource theft, pulling the US into an un-winnable regional quagmire. 

Ultimately, Washington's strategic calculus fails to recognize that Iran is a different proposition entirely. History and regional resilience suggest that Iran will not be defeated; in fact, if pushed into a prolonged war of attrition, Iran will, for sure, prevail over the US.

Heading to China? The US Wants You to Read This First

The latest fearmongering to discourage Americans visiting China! LOL!

The US State Department have issued a stark warning to their citizens planning travel to China, cautioning that they risk facing sudden exit bans, arbitrary detentions, and intense digital surveillance under the country’s broad security laws.

Updated on September 04, 2026, the Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory sharpens its language regarding the lack of legal transparency in mainland China. It explicitly warns that local authorities frequently enforce laws arbitrarily and impose exit bans without due process. This expansive security network poses a significant, hidden threat to Americans traveling for business, research, education, journalism, or family visits – often long before they realize they are a target.

In fact, I refrained from blogging about this immediately upon discovering it, as the matter is frankly just too LUDICROUS to warrant my comment. Unless you are in China for nefarious reasons, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. 🙄🙄🙄 

Liverpool secured a 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup third round at Anfield yesterday. 

The Reds opened the scoring in the 21st minute through a beautifully worked team move. Cody Gakpo teed up Rio Ngumoha on the edge of the box, who quickly fed Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine midfielder didn't hesitate, unleashing a first-time strike that flew past the Spurs goalkeeper, leaving him rooted to the spot. 

The Merseysiders then doubled their advantage in the 54th minute when Mac Allister turned provider. He slipped a perfectly threaded pass through to Cody Gakpo, who smartly cut inside the Tottenham defense and unleashed a fierce, clinical drive across the face of goal into the far corner. 

The Lilywhites managed to pull one back in the 69th minute after Liverpool failed to clear a corner, allowing the visitors to bundle the ball into the net from close range. 

However, any hopes of a Spurs comeback were thoroughly dashed in stoppage time. In the 91st minute, Dominik Szoboszlai controlled a loose ball 25 yards out with his first touch, before unleashing an absolute rocket into the back of the net to seal the win.

The China Tech Pilgrimage

Humanoid robots working on factory floors, AI models challenging global rivals and electric-vehicle plants churning out cars at breathtaking scale are drawing a new wave of foreign visitors to China. 

Investors and entrepreneurs are paying thousands of dollars for rare access to Chinese factories, ​seeking a front-row seat to what many believe could be the next technological revolution. The influx reflects mounting fears of a "China shock 2.0", with Western boardrooms and capitals confronting the possibility that Chinese companies are seizing ‌the lead in advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge technologies. 

"Right now, people are looking at China as an object of study and learning – a trend that barely existed just a few years ago", says Robert Wu, CEO of Shanghai-based data research firm Baiguan. He noted that visitors often arrive with misconceptions – for instance, assuming China's robotaxi sector leads the US, when domestic policy caution around potential job losses actually keeps it a step behind. 

According to Reuters, Wu has organised two tours for more than two dozen investors, entrepreneurs and executives so far, charging up to $15,000 for a five-day programme. Around half the participants came from Southeast Asia. 

He is part of a growing cottage industry catering to foreign demand for first-hand access to China's innovation ecosystem. 

Many attendees avoid publicising their visits. Among those known to have made the trip are US investment firms Dimension, Capital Group and Thrive Capital, as well as US tech podcaster Lex Fridman. 

While data on tech tours is scarce, broader industrial tourism is booming. China's industrial tourism sector ⁠pulled in $17.8 billion last year, according to state media, and is projected to blow past 300 billion yuan ($44.6 billion) by 2029. 

Shanghai-based tech tour agency Glopen says inquiries jumped 50% in 2026 from mostly European and Singaporean clients, and it now runs over 100 single-day company tours every month. 

"You cannot grasp the true scale, speed, and physicality of Chinese innovation without standing on the factory floor", says Bertrand Chen, CEO of the Global Shipping Business Network, who joined an April three-city robotics and emerging tech tour organised by Chinese American investor Rui Ma. 

Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China and organizer of eleven such tours since 2019, frames it as essential due diligence: "Even if you're not actively investing in China, you're increasingly likely to encounter Chinese companies as competitors, partners, suppliers, or investments in markets around the world". 

The circuit spans Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hefei, the industrial powerhouses at the heart of China's electric-vehicle, battery, AI and robotics boom. 

World leaders too have also flocked to Xiaomi's Beijing auto factory, while Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz was famously filmed watching Unitree's dancing humanoid robots in Hangzhou, a high-profile showcase of the country's technological ascent. 

None of this is happening by accident. 

Beijing has explicitly pledged to "vigorously promote" industrial tourism, designating over 140 official demonstration sites. A growing number of factories are offering public tours at around $60 a pop. 

Xiaomi's EV factory has welcomed more than 250,000 visitors since March 2024. Demand is so intense that lottery-awarded entry slots are scalped online for up to 2,000 yuan ($300). 

Xiaomi told Reuters in a statement that eligibility for visits is determined through an online lottery and tickets cannot ‌be transferred. 

For European ⁠executives wrestling with sluggish productivity growth and fears of falling behind in AI and robotics, China has become a particularly important destination.

Alex Shengyun Lu, a Shanghai-based AI consultant at Praxis Advisory, has led seven delegations of up to 50 corporate visitors since late 2025 and describes an uneasy mood. 

"The smartest people in Europe are acutely aware of the situation. The insecurity is palpable", he says. 

Executives typically arrive seeking answers to two questions, Lu said: what they can learn from Chinese companies and from China's state-backed approach to technology investment. 

"They are coming here with a genuine mindset of humility and learning". 

Lu, who declined to name the companies due to confidentiality agreements, says many European executives want to understand how China coordinates AI deployment across provinces at scale and what ​lessons can be applied back home. 

Still, some industry observers caution against overstating China's advantage. 

"Non-Chinese (tech) companies still have most of ⁠the global market share, the most advanced IP, and the biggest profits", Tech Buzz founder Ma insists. 

Even so, the flow of tech pilgrims remains strong, including American visitors despite escalating US-China technology tensions. 

"The people who are actually on the ground trying to build physical products don't care about the politics at all", says Joshua Woodard, a US manufacturing consultant based in Shenzhen. 

"US robotics companies still heavily source components and hardware from China. We pretend we can do it all ourselves in America, but it is incredibly hard to completely decouple".