Magic Kingdom Authoritarianism

Source: Liberal Currents

“It’s true that Trump can’t help but splash every space he touches with golden hues and self-conscious totems of his wealth. But this shouldn’t be mistaken for the avant-garde. Gauche and overdone as Trump’s style is, it plays on a conservative, reactionary, instinct. His are the homes of royalty, a mishmash of Gilded Age American excess and a fever dream from the era of the divine right of kings. But it’s an imitation, a fabricated attempt to create the impression of a thing, and this is in part what I want to explore.” (03/27/24)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/magic-kingdom-authoritarianism-trump-orban-revival-and-the-superficial-strongman/

A caring act for Myanmar’s innocent

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Three years ago – before the wars in Gaza and Ukraine – the world watched as a military coup in Myanmar triggered a violent civil war that has left more than a third of the population in need of assistance. On March 25, one of the country’s neighbors finally did something tangible to relieve the suffering and, perhaps, open a door for peace. Thailand sent trucks of food and other essentials across the border to Myanmar’s Red Cross to help 20,000 displaced people. The aid delivery, one of many to come, was a small step and somewhat controversial. It remains uncertain if the supplies will be diverted by the ruling junta. Despite that possibility, Thailand’s move is a signal of a rising concern for innocent people in one of the world’s worst conflicts as well as for the need to keep Myanmar from splitting apart.” (03/26/24)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/0326/A-caring-act-for-Myanmar-s-innocent

Japan: Man fired by bank for taking free sample from store wins battle in court

Source: CBS News

“On his way to work, an unidentified bank branch assistant manager happened to spot a nearby store offering modest giveaways — free packets of laundry detergent displayed in front of the store to lure customers. Noting the ‘Help yourself’ sign, he did so, and then went on his way. But it did not sit well with the store’s staff. After checking to make sure the security cameras had captured the suds-lifter red-handed, an employee quickly informed the bank that, as the soap-grab had taken place before business hours, it amounted to theft. … The store demanded that the bank employee be transferred to another branch. Worried about possible fallout, the bank ended up firing the man, who then sued his former employer on grounds of unfair dismissal. … In its March 8 verdict, the Tokyo District Court …. ordered the bank to give the man backpay, and his job back.” (03/27/24)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tokyo-bank-worker-fired-over-free-detergent-sample-wins-court-battle-japan/

A Classical Liberal’s Guide to Civilization-Building

Source: Law & Liberty
by Samuel Gregg

“The word ‘civilization’ is unfashionable in our times. It implies a contrast, and that contrast is uncomfortable. If some societies have attained a cultural level that merits this designation, it may follow that other societies are less civilized or — worse — even barbarous. For many people today, making any such value-judgment is simply unacceptable. Those who maintain that such distinctions can and should be made are usually labeled conservative, even traditionalist in their outlook. However, specific ideas about the nature of civilization have been taken quite seriously by key classical liberal thinkers and their philosophical forebears.” (03/27/24)

https://lawliberty.org/a-classical-liberals-guide-to-civilization-building/

A faster spinning Earth may cause timekeepers to subtract a second from world clocks

Source: SFGate

“Earth’s changing spin is threatening to toy with our sense of time, clocks and computerized society in an unprecedented way — but only for a second. For the first time in history, world timekeepers may have to consider subtracting a second from our clocks in a few years because the planet is rotating a tad faster than it used to. Clocks may have to skip a second — called a ‘negative leap second’ — around 2029, a study in the journal Nature said Wednesday. ‘This is an unprecedented situation and a big deal,’ said study lead author Duncan Agnew, a geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. ‘It’s not a huge change in the Earth’s rotation that’s going to lead to some catastrophe or anything, but it is something notable.'” (03/27/24)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/a-faster-spinning-earth-may-cause-timekeepers-to-19371397.php

To Remain Free, Make the Ordinary Meaningful

Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein

“In these increasingly illiberal times, many wonder how to preserve freedom. The prospects for liberty seem bleak. Most people will never read the great classical liberal thinkers. They know little about the conditions that enable humans to flourish. Schools and colleges don’t promote classical liberal principles. And many people eagerly adopt secondhand opinions from the media and other sources. Yet, there is cause for optimism.” (03/27/24)

https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/to-remain-free-make-the-ordinary

Abortion Rights and the Cold, Dead Hand of Anthony Comstock

Source: Common Dreams
by Thom Hartmann

“Yesterday’s Supreme Court session was a loud and persistent warning: America needs to pay attention. During oral arguments, the Comstock Act was invoked repeatedly by Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Erin Hawley, the wife of Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who was arguing before the court that the abortion drug, Mifepristone, should be banned nationwide. Now that it’s fairly clear the ‘sad doctors’ argument before the court yesterday was so pathetically weak they can’t use it to ban Mifepristone, anti-abortion activists are talking about finding a case they can push up to the court next year that will allow it to ban all abortions in the nation, and most birth control pills and devices as a bonus. How do they plan to do it? With the Comstock Act.” (03/27/24)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/abortion-rights-comstock

US “SEC” extortion ring scores win in Coinbase attack

Source: CNBC

“The Securities and Exchange Commission scored a major win in its lawsuit against Coinbase on Wednesday, as a judge ruled that its claim that the cryptocurrency exchange engaged in unregistered sales of securities could be heard by a jury at trial. Coinbase shares fell around 2% on news of the ruling in Manhattan federal court rejecting its bid to dismiss the SEC’s complaint. The regulator first filed suit against Coinbase in June, alleging the company was acting as an unregistered broker and exchange. The agency also demanded the company be ‘permanently restrained and enjoined’ from continuing to do so.” (03/27/24)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/sec-scores-big-win-in-lawsuit-against-crypto-exchange-coinbase.html