2026 Issue 38

The New York Times reveals the problem that the PRC has had with recruiting foreign A.I. researchers and that the United States and other democracies still attract large numbers of the PRC’s best and brightest.  This likely has to do with the increasing oppression by the CCP, the bans on travel and communication with the outside world, and the action taken against the founders of the Chinese AI firm, Manus.

Ray Powell publishes a piece on how the Chinese Communist Party is using the “safety card” to punish the Philippines, a well-practiced tactic that they have used on the Philippines and other countries before.

The BBC reports this week on how Spain and its Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, are undermining wider European unity, security and economic prosperity to aid his own domestic political standing. The reporting points out one of the major weaknesses of the “middle power” approach advocated by the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is also aligning his country with the PRC.