Source: Orange County Register
by John Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“The government wants to play god. It wants the power to decide who lives or dies and whose rights are worthy of protection. Abortion may still be front and center in the power struggle between the Left and the Right over who has the right to decide — the government or the individual — when it comes to bodily autonomy, the right to privacy, sexual freedom, the rights of the unborn, and property interests in one’s body, but there’s so much more at play. In the 50-plus years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, the government has come to believe that it not only has the power to determine who is deserving of constitutional rights in the eyes of the law but it also has the authority to deny those rights to an American citizen.” (04/17/24)
https://www.ocregister.com/2024/04/17/the-government-wants-to-play-god-what-does-that-mean-for-our-freedoms/
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey D Sachs & Sybil Fares
“This week, the U.S. and U.K. have the chance to correct decades of their blatant geopolitical errors in the Israel-Palestine conflict by welcoming Palestine as the 194th United Nations member state. More than any other countries, the U.S. and U.K. have wrecked the Middle East through their non-stop meddling and imperial arrogance. This week they have the chance to make some amends. A total of 139 countries already recognize the State of Palestine, more than two-thirds of the U.N. member states. Several European states will soon join the list. Yet the U.S. has so far blocked Palestine’s membership in the U.N., with the U.K. always sticking close to the U.S. lead. Both have relentlessly backed Israel’s apartheid rule over Palestine and are currently actively backing Israel in its horrific destruction of Gaza.” (04/17/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/us-uk-welcome-palestine-to-un
Source: US News & World Report
“The Swedish parliament passed a law Wednesday lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16. Those under 18 still need approval from a guardian, a doctor and the National Board of Health and Welfare. No longer required is a gender dysphoria diagnosis, defined by medical professionals as psychological distress experienced by those whose gender expression does not match their gender identity. Sweden joins a number of countries with similar laws including Denmark, Norway, Finland and Spain.” (04/17/24)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-04-17/swedish-parliament-votes-to-make-it-easier-for-people-to-legally-change-their-gender
Source: Libertarian Institute
“US Will Try to Gather International Support for Sanctioning Iran.” (04/17/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-577-us-will-try-to-gather-international-support-for-sanctioning-iran/
Source: Antiwar.com
by Edward Lozansky
“Mixing religion with politics is generally not a good idea. Still, it looks like it is one of the few remaining options to avoid what then-Senator Sam Nunn and his colleagues described in 2020 as continuing to sleepwalk towards a nuclear WWIII. … One would think that since the majority in the West are Christians, shouldn’t they listen to the Pope’s arguments, if those of the distinguished individuals mentioned above are ignored? What about those in the West who claim to adhere to Judeo-Christian values? In the US Congress, many repeat these lines at any opportunity. If this is true, how can they justify this proxy war between two Christian nations who, for many centuries, were bound by close religious, historical, economic, cultural, and family ties?” (04/17/24)
https://original.antiwar.com/edward_lozansky/2024/04/16/the-war-in-ukraine-and-judeo-christian-values/
Source: New York Post
“The center of the U.S. military-industrial complex has been shifting over the past decade from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to Northern California — a shift that is accelerating with the rise of artificial intelligence-based systems, according to a report published Wednesday. The report (entitledHow Big Tech and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Military-Industrial Complex) was authored by Roberto J. Gonzalez, a professor of cultural anthropology at San Jose State University, for the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs. The new paper comes amid the contentious rise of AI-powered lethal autonomous weapons systems, or killer robots; increasing reliance upon AI on battlefields from Gaza to Ukraine; and growing backlash from tech workers opposed to their companies’ products and services being used to commit or enable war crimes.” (04/17/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/military-industrial-complex-big-tech
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jon Miltimore
“The Biden administration recently rolled out new emissions regulations that the New York Times said will ‘transform the American automobile market.’ … the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is mandating that a majority of new passenger vehicles sold in America be hybrids or EVs by 2032. The Biden administration and defenders of the policy argue that the EPA’s regulation is ‘not a ban’ on gas-powered cars, since carmakers are not prohibited from producing gas-powered vehicles. Instead, automakers are required to meet a government-mandated ‘average emissions limit’ across their entire vehicle line, to force them to produce more EVs and fewer gas-powered cars. It’s a clever ruse in that it allows the Biden administration to use regulatory power to force automobile manufactures off of gas-powered vehicles while denying that they are banning them. Whatever one chooses to call the regulation, its purpose is clear.” (04/17/24)
https://fee.org/articles/the-federal-phase-out-of-gasoline-cars-has-begun/
Source: Associated Press
“The British government’s plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party. The bill, a key policy announced by Sunak last year, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009. If passed, the bill will give Britain some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world. Authorities say it will create modern Britain’s ‘first smoke-free generation.’ … The bill also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as banning the sale of cheap disposable vapes and restricting their flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.” (04/17/24)
https://apnews.com/article/britain-smoking-ban-0780fd4fc9afcdc002a0544252ef907a
Source: The Corbett Report
“Suing the Tyrants.” (04/17/24)
https://corbettreport.com/suing-the-tyrants/
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley
“After months of waiting, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to unveil an ambitious foreign aid plan this week. According to a one-pager that contained an incomplete list of the items in the bill posted on X on Monday by PBS News correspondent Lisa Desjardins, the plan includes at least $48 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, as well as money for allies in the Indo-Pacific and operations in the Red Sea. … The problem for Johnson has never been procedural or substantive — the Speaker will likely need Democratic support to bring the legislation to a vote, and each element of the package should have enough votes to pass on its own. But none of Johnson’s maneuvering over the past few months is likely to relieve him of the accompanying political headache.” (04/17/24)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/mike-johnson-foreign-aid/
