October 24, 2026

OLD AND BUSTED: Is Paris Burning?

The New Hotness? Is Bavaria Burning? Suspect arrested over fire at Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’ retreat in Bavaria.

Police have arrested a 33-year-old German citizen after a fire ripped through Adolf Hitler’s former mountain retreat in Bavaria, leaving the historic Nazi meeting place – known as the Eagle’s Nest – largely destroyed.

About 200 firefighters were deployed on Friday night to tackle the blaze at the Nazi dictator’s remote, purpose-built Kehlsteinhaus residence, a protected building on the peak of Obersalzberg in southern Germany.

Flames rose high into the air as firefighters approached the scene to find the building “completely ablaze”, police said, adding that nobody was injured in the fire.

Lisa Maier, a police spokesperson, said firefighters struggled to tackle the blaze due to its location at an altitude of 1,834 metres (6,000ft).

The building, which was one of the few undamaged monuments of the Hitler era, was only accessible with “heavy breathing apparatus”, she said.

Built by the Nazis and formally inaugurated by Hitler on his birthday in 1939, the Eagle’s Nest has been preserved as a monument to “the insanity of the regime”, according to its website.

As Dan McLaughlin tweets, “A shame to lose a beautiful & important part of history, but obviously, if you’re going to lose the home of a major historical figure to vandals, Hitler’s is…not exactly the most important one to preserve.”

Posted at 4:32 pm by Ed Driscoll

HOW MOTHER NATURE SAVED US FROM THE WRATH OF LEONARD NIMOY:

Classical allusion in headline:

Posted at 4:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

EVERYTOWN SHOULD CHOKE ON ITS OWN PROPAGANDA: ‘I’m Sorry, Dave, I’m Afraid I Can’t Give You The Gun-Related Information You’re Looking For.’

It’s possible we’re one step closer to a future “open the pod bay doors” moment, with a report that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has allegedly just changed its “commerce policy” with respect to firearms.

Recently, we warned that an Everytown “white paper,” published on September 28, was demanding that AI companies censor and block access to AI-stored information when responding to queries related to firearms, even if the information is entirely lawful and accurate, and divert all such inquiries to local law enforcement.

We hardly expected that AI companies would capitulate so quickly.

Well, they’re run by lefty control freaks with contempt for normals.

Posted at 4:00 pm by Glenn Reynolds

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE:

Posted at 2:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

THE 21st CENTURY IS NOT TURNING OUT AS I HAD HOPED: The Lucrative World of Literary Scams.

“Hello Professor Snigdha Poonam,” the email began. I read that again. Nobody has ever called me “professor” for the obvious reason that I am not a professor. Bracing myself, I read on.

The email was from Timothy Firth, organizer of a Seattle-based life-drawing community with 1,943 members that regularly has “thoughtful discussions inspired by creative works.” A recent inspiration was my first book, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World. The group wanted to discuss it, the email said, at one of its upcoming meetups. Attendees would be encouraged to post reviews on Goodreads and Amazon after.

I looked up CAM Life Drawing and found an events page and an Instagram account. The latter had some photos of Timothy Firth — white, male — as well as testimonials from members who said he worked “day and night to create more community space.” Something told me this wasn’t the man who had reached out to me.

Why would a hyperlocal life-drawing community in Seattle be interested in a nonfiction book about the shifting aspirations of young people in India’s small towns?  The book was published seven years ago. What did they want from me?

I accepted the invitation. The next email had a slick poster promoting the Zoom event, with the book cover as the backdrop and blurbs from the Economist and other publications. My attention was drawn to something more intriguing: a request for a “contribution fee,” with no amount specified. It would cover promotion, coordination and administration. But, oddly, this email didn’t come from Timothy. Signing off this time was Stephen — “Organizer, Community Improv LA,” another group in another city. According to the improv community’s Facebook group, Stephen is indeed the name of the organizer. However, Stephen had written to me using Timothy’s email address. To add to the chaos, Stephen/Timothy had also left what I suspect was an AI prompt in the email, which included the line: “MAKE IT MORE PROFESSIONAL.”

This was undoubtedly a scam. Genuine book clubs don’t ask for money from authors. But who was behind it?

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 1:45 pm by Ed Driscoll

NONE SO BLIND:

Posted at 1:00 pm by Glenn Reynolds

A TALE OF TWO BILLIONAIRES:

Posted at 12:45 pm by Ed Driscoll

REQUIRED VIEWING:

Posted at 12:30 pm by Stephen Green

INCENTIVES MATTER:

Posted at 12:18 pm by Glenn Reynolds