The New Abnormal, 04/30/24
Source: The Daily Beast
“What We Are Seeing on College Campuses Is Truly Disturbing.” (04/30/24)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-we-are-seeing-on-college-campuses-is-truly-disturbing
Defending Individual Liberty
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“The ideal of individual liberty is perennially under attack not only from socialists, as one might logically expect, but also from conservatives who regard individualism as a form of selfishness. The ordinary meaning of selfishness is ‘caring only about what you want or need without any thought for the needs or wishes of other people,’ and many conservatives see this as a major contributing factor in social decline. The conservative British journalist Nick Timothy attributes many social ills to selfishness, arguing that ‘our society has become more about ‘me’ than ‘we,’’ leading to higher rates of crime, antisocial behavior, and a ballooning welfare state as selfish people try to take as much as possible from the public purse while contributing little or nothing to it. This school of conservative thought regards ‘excessive individualism’ or ‘hyperindividualism’ as a cause of social decay.” (04/30/24)
Sudan: As famine looms, the hungry eating soil & leaves
Source: Reuters
“There is so little food in some areas of Sudan that people are taking extreme measures to survive. In the Al Lait refugee camp, they are eating dirt. The impoverished camp, located in North Darfur, has seen a new influx of displaced people as Sudan’s year-old civil war has brought fighting to large swathes of the country and a campaign of ethnic cleansing to Darfur. Garang Achien …. Akok, his wife and their five children abandoned their home in the southern region of Kordofan after Arab militiamen on camels stormed their village and torched their hut …. At times, they go two or three days without eating. When that happens, Akok said, he watches helplessly as his wife and children dig holes in the ground with a stick, slide their hands in and grab some soil. Then they roll the soil into a ball, put it in their mouths and swallow it with water.” (04/30/24)
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/sudan-politics-hunger-aid/
Responsibility Is the Antidote to the Poverty Mindset
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein
“Recently, a psychologist friend sang a familiar refrain: ‘My clients want their problematic circumstances alleviated, but few want to change how they see the world.’ Most intransigent among his clients are those with government benefits and mandated weekly therapy. Some have been coming to him for years. Their mindsets are characterized by hopelessness, but they have shelter and food and seem averse to change. Going to therapy is a big event in their week. Qualifying for benefits is important to them. An oft-repeated question is, ‘Can you get me eligible for more benefits?’ They were unlikely to take steps to hold a steady job, since doing so is at odds with keeping their benefits.” (04/30/24)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/responsibility-is-the-antidote-to
Conflicts of Interest, episode 585
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Israel Wants to Silence American Protesters.” (04/30/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-585-israel-wants-to-silence-american-protesters
Rocky Loses
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“There’s some kind of ‘Mandela effect’ thing going on with the plot of Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 masterpiece …. On more than one occasion, I have heard somebody talking about the film clearly under the impression that Rocky Balboa, the hardworking underdog, trains hard, beats his hands bloody on some sides of beef, and then defeats sneering champion Apollo Creed in the big fight. But that isn’t what happens at all. Rocky is treated with contempt and condescension, written off as a joke opponent who has no business being in the ring with the heavyweight champion. Then he gets beaten to a pulp and loses the big fight.” And it is glorious. Rocky’s vindication doesn’t come from victory; it comes from showing up, doing the work, going the distance, and enduring everything Creed throws at him.” (04/30/24)
If Trump’s guilty of “election interference” so is Bill Clinton
Source: New York Post
by Rich Lowry
“The Alvin Bragg case has gotten grander at trial, but also more ridiculous. The Manhattan district attorney has a meaningless business-records misdemeanor wrapped within a theory about an alleged Trump conspiracy to defraud the voters by denying them disparaging information before the election and obscuring after the fact the payments that were used to do so. Bragg is accusing former President Donald Trump, in effect, of stealing the election. He, thus, joins all the other progressives who have denied the legitimacy of Trump’s 2016 election, although he finds the culprit not in Russia (at least not in this case) but in the shady maneuverings around Stormy Daniels. If this is the standard by which we judge elections, we need to go back and conclude that Bill Clinton wasn’t elected legitimately in 1992, either.” (04/29/24)
Philippines: Drought dries up dam to reveal centuries-old town
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The ruins of an almost 300-year-old town have resurfaced as searing temperatures in the Philippines partially dried up a major dam. Pantabangan town was submerged in the 1970s to build a reservoir. But it emerges from the water on extremely rare occasions, when the weather is dry and hot. It comes as almost half the country is experiencing a drought, with temperatures reaching highs in several areas. This is the longest the town has ever been above water since the dam was constructed, Marlon Paladin, an engineer with the state agency that operates the country’s dams, told news agency AFP. The extreme heat has disrupted the daily lives of millions as schools are shut for days and office workers are advised to work from home.” (04/30/24)
US Congress Makes Downpayment on World War III
Source: Antiwar.com
by Roger D Harris
“The US Congress authorized a $95 billion military aid package for continuing the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as for war preparations against China. This represents, in effect, a downpayment on World War III. US President Joe Biden, reading from a playbook that could well have been scripted by George Orwell, announced: ‘it’s a good day for world peace.’ And in order to dispel any doubt, he added, ‘for real.’ Biden proclaimed: ‘It’s going to make the world safer.’ In fact, the bipartisan authorization, passed on April 23, could nudge the doomsday clock a little closer to midnight.” (04/30/24)
https://original.antiwar.com/roger_harris/2024/04/29/us-congress-makes-downpayment-on-world-war-iii/
Mali: Army says it killed an Islamic State group commander who attacked US, Niger forces
Source: ABC News
“A senior Islamic State group commander wanted in connection with the deaths of U.S. forces in Niger was killed in an operation by Malian state forces, the country’s army said. Abu Huzeifa, known by the alias Higgo, was a commander in the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The State Department had announced a reward of up to $5 million for information about him. Huzeifa is believed to have helped carry out an attack in 2017 on U.S. and Nigerien forces in Tongo Tongo, Niger, which resulting in the deaths of four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers. Following the attack, the U.S. military scaled back operations with local partners in the Sahel.” (04/30/24)