Where Is Joe Biden’s “Devil’s Advocate?”

Source: The American Conservative
by James W Carden

The phrase ‘the Wise Men’ referring to the American postwar foreign policy elite was popularized by the authors Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas nearly 40 years ago, in a book of the same name. Isaacson and Thomas chronicled the lives of ‘six friends’ who, they claim, shaped American foreign policy in the postwar era. Yet of these 20th century giants, perhaps the wisest of their number received second billing. [George W.] Ball, who came to be known as ‘the Devil’s Advocate’ within the Johnson administration for his tenacious opposition to the American war in Vietnam, deserves another look — especially today, with the Biden administration leading the country into a proxy war against Russia, a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and military action against the Yemeni Houthis, among other foreign misadventures.” (03/18/24)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/where-is-bidens-devils-advocate/

Lost and stolen watches more than triple, world’s largest database says

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“The number of watches recorded as lost or stolen has more than tripled over the last year, according to the world’s largest watch database. The Watch Register says the value of stolen luxury watches has surged in the past year to $1.9bn (£1.5bn). The group has reported a 236% increase in the number of watches registered across its platform. The number of watches listed as lost or stolen now exceeds 100,000 worldwide, the group says. ‘Watch crime has gone from a niche problem to front page news,’ the group says in a new report. Katya Hills, managing director of The Watch Register, said: ‘The incidence of violent street robberies is escalating, with owners afraid to wear their timepieces in public.'” (03/18/24)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-68596235

The Best Defense

Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“‘What is the best defense against violence?’ polymath entrepreneur Chris Rufer once asked me. Though I’m not a gun enthusiast, my thoughts automatically turned to Messrs Smith and Wesson. In the U.S., after all, the Second Amendment is designed to encode our right to self-defense. But then I figured that answer must be too obvious. ‘The police?’ I replied with a chuckle. ‘Morality,’ said Rufer. ‘The best defense against violence is to minimize the number of people in the world willing to use it.’ For a long time, that answer felt off somehow. Some people are just cruel or predatorial in a way that morality won’t change. But I have come around to Rufer’s perspective. I’m not saying people shouldn’t be prepared to defend themselves. Instead, we should give the idea of preemptive moral training due consideration.” (03/18/24)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-best-defense

Fabrics retailer Joann files for bankruptcy

Source: CNN

“Joann, the 81-year-old fabric and craft retailer, has filed for bankruptcy as it struggles with customers cutting back on discretionary spending. In a statement Monday, the Ohio-based company said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has secured $132 million in fresh funding that helps reduce its debt in half, which had ballooned to $1 billion. Its roughly 850 stores and website will remain open for business. Joann’s revenue has been on the decline in recent years, except for a brief pandemic boom during the height of Covid when people stuck at home spent more money on arts and crafts. However, that has since faded, and inflation has soared, prompting customers to spend less on non-essential items.” (03/18/24)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/business/joann-fabric-bankruptcy/index.html

Trump: Another Special-Interest-Pandering Politician

Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman

“Trump promises to slam a 100-percent tariff on imported cars. He announced this not to a group of prospective car buyers but to a group of car makers. So what else is new? Car buyers, who outnumber the well-organized car makers but are not themselves organized, would have to pay more for cars they do not want if Trump got his way. That’s the point. This is America first? No, it is not. It is ‘An Interest Group Whose Votes I Want’ First versus everyone else. That’s always the case with protectionism. Stopping consumers from buying whatever they want helps some (in the short term) at the expense of the rest. Calling the favored group ‘America’ is self-serving special pleading. Trump’s good at that. He thinks he knows better than you.” (03/18/24)

https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2024/03/trump-another-special-interest.html

Why Leftism [sic] Fails: An Historical Study, part 2

Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“Let me continue this series on the Persian empire based upon the words of historian Will Durant (see article one in this series). Again, we must study history to determine what works. If we practice what has succeeded in the past, we will see true ‘progress’ — not just by following the good, but by rejecting the bad, the mistakes countless generations before us have made. But Leftists [sic] want to revise history. Notice what they are doing with our own. According to the liberal [sic] ‘scholar,’ the Founding Fathers were not great men who built a solid foundation for a successful country. They were ‘terrorists,’ ‘elitists,’ ‘racists,’ or ‘slave owners,’ who oppressed other people and exploited resources for their own selfish aggrandizement. Leftism [sic] must tear down in order to build up what they want.” (03/18/24)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2024/03/18/why-leftism-fails-an-historical-study-part-two-n2636615

Cubans stage rare street protest over power blackouts

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Hundreds of people in Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago, staged a rare public protest on Sunday over chronic power blackouts and food shortages. The island is facing its worst economic crisis for three decades, with large parts of Cuba being left without power for more than 14 hours a day. Videos on social media show people chanting ‘power and food’. Its president blames the situation on US sanctions, but critics say it is down to government mismanagement. Since 1960, the US has maintained an economic embargo against Cuba which puts strict rules on trade between the countries. The economy in Cuba, a communist-run island with a population of about 11 million, has been in dire straits in recent years. The coronavirus pandemic put further strain on the cash-strapped nation, which has led to vast shortages of food, fuel and medicine.” (03/18/24)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68595885

Australia: Uber agrees to $178 million extortion payment

Source: United Press International

“Uber has agreed to pay a $178 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving thousands of Australian drivers who lost income and license values over the rideshare giant’s business practices. The case, which was to be tried before the Supreme Court of Victoria starting Monday, was filed by attorneys with the Maurice Blackburn Lawyers firm in 2019 on behalf of 8,000 taxi and hire car drivers. The lawsuit argued that Uber acted unlawfully when it began operating in Australia by failing to meet specific regulations on operating passenger transportation services to the detriment of their clients.” (03/18/24)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/03/18/australia-Uber-settlement/1071710741167/