Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“More hyperbolic fearmongering? Or is there something for real here? The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a government-run, government-supporting, micro-management sort of institution. It exists to empower government and has always done so. Whatever reports they issue have to be judged not just on accuracy and professional competence but on what political points they are pushing and who is pushing their buttons.” (04/18/24)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2024/04/18/economic-collapse-or-more-chicken-little-with-intent/

Source: Quillette
by John Lloyd

“Why are some in Russia and Eastern Europe pining for the communist system that once oppressed them?” (04/18/24)

https://quillette.com/2024/04/18/nostalgia-for-confinement-communism-russia-romania/

Source: TomDispatch
by John Feffer

“Haiti has descended into chaos. It’s had no president or parliament — and no elections either –for eight long years. Its unelected prime minister Ariel Henry resigned recently when gang violence at the airport in Port-au-Prince made it impossible for him to return to the country after a trip to Guyana. Haiti is the poorest country in the region, its riches leached out by colonial overlords, American occupying forces, corporate predators, and home-grown autocrats. As if that weren’t enough, it’s also suffered an almost Biblical succession of plagues in recent years. A coup deposed its first democratically elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, not once but twice — in 1991 and again in 2004. An earthquake in 2010 killed hundreds of thousands, leaving 1.5 million Haitians homeless, out of a population of less than 10 million. In the wake of that earthquake, nearly a million people contracted cholera, the worst outbreak in history, courtesy of a contingent of U.N. peacekeepers.” (04/18/24)

https://tomdispatch.com/haiti-today-america-tomorrow/

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Matthew Guariglia

“The Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act, H.R.4639, originally introduced in the Senate by Senator Ron Wyden in 2021, has now made the important and historic step of passing the U.S. House of Representatives. In an era when it often seems like Congress cannot pass much-needed privacy protections, this is a victory for vulnerable populations, people who want to make sure their location data is private, and the hard-working activists and organizers who have pushed for the passage of this bill.” (04/18/24)

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/04/fourth-amendment-not-sale-act-passed-house-now-it-should-pass-senate

Source: USA Today
by Rex Huppke

“I’d like to congratulate Donald Trump on the speed with which he’s turned the Republican Party into something resembling an extortion racket. Aside from sinking his fangs into the Republican National Committee like a hungry bat on a plump Berkshire hog, the man spending his days in a Manhattan courtroom under criminal indictment is now looking to bleed cash out of down-ballot GOP campaigns. In an April 15 letter, Trump’s campaign notified all Republican candidates that if they use the former president’s name, image or likeness on any campaign advertisements, they need to deliver at least 5% of the money they raise back to the aforementioned criminal defendant. You know, a little kickback for the boss man. Just enough to get Trump’s beak wet. Because, as has been made abundantly clear, the GOP is Trump and Trump is the GOP.” (04/18/24)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/04/18/trump-gop-candidates-fundraising-nil-election-campaign/73365456007/