World Paying Deadly Price For Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy Legacy

Source: The Federalist
by David Harsanyi

“If a belligerent state launched 186 explosive drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles from three fronts against civilian targets within the United States, would Joe Biden call it a ‘win?’ Would the president tell us that the best thing we can do now is show ‘restraint?’ What if that same terror state’s proxy armies had recently helped murder, rape, and kidnap more than 1,000 American men, women, and children? What if this terror state were trying to obtain nuclear weapons so it could continue to agitate without any consequences? This is what Joe Biden and the Barack Obama acolytes, Iranian dupes, and Israel antagonists he’s surrounded himself with demand of Jewish State.” (04/17/24)

https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/16/the-world-is-paying-a-deadly-price-for-barack-obamas-foreign-policy-legacy/

NPR editor who penned scathing piece criticizing the public broadcaster resigns

Source: CNN

“Uri Berliner, a National Public Radio senior editor who wrote a scathing online essay accusing the public radio network of harboring a liberal bias, said Wednesday he had resigned from the outlet. ‘I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years,’ Berliner wrote in a resignation letter to NPR chief executive Katherine Maher, which he posted to his X account. An NPR spokesperson declined to comment. Berliner’s resignation came after he was suspended for five days without pay over his 3,500-word piece in the anti-establishment publication The Free Press. In the essay, Berliner claimed NPR had failed to properly cover allegations Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the runup to the 2016 election, the controversial Covid-19 lab-leak theory and New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s laptop.” (04/17/24)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/media/npr-editor-resigns/index.html

Why the Status Quo Matters

Source: EconLog
by Jon Murphy

“In an earlier post, I listed some questions for interventionists to consider before advocating their interventions. This is part of my ongoing crusade to get interventionists to think about things as they actually are as opposed to a blank slate. These two modes of thinking I call ‘status quo reasoning’ (seeing the world as it is) versus ‘state of nature reasoning’ (seeing the world as a blank slate). Some recent research demonstrates the importance of status quo reasoning.” (04/17/24)

https://www.econlib.org/why-the-status-quo-matters/

Ukraine war: Strike on radar could serve as pretext for Russian nuclear strike

Source: Times of India [India]

“Recent drone attacks by Ukraine on a Russian radar installation may have breached one of Russia’s declared red lines for deploying nuclear weapons, raising fears of an escalation in the ongoing conflict. The attacks targeted the 590th separate radio engineering center in Kovilkino, Mordovia, which houses the 29B6 ‘Container’ radar. This radar is a crucial component of Russia’s early-warning network against aerospace attacks, including ballistic missiles. The Kremlin’s 2020 decree, signed by President Vladimir Putin, explicitly outlines conditions under which Russia could use nuclear weapons. One of these conditions includes attacks that disrupt the ‘response actions of nuclear forces.’ Given the strategic importance of the “Container” radar in detecting missile threats, the attacks could be seen as meeting this criterion, a Newsweek report said. The first attack occurred on April 11, reportedly damaging the site’s command post, while the second followed on Wednesday morning.” (04/18/24)

https://archive.is/xdqv1

OH: Man, 81, charged with killing Uber driver after both targeted by scam calls

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Police in Ohio have arrested a man accused of shooting dead an Uber driver he mistakenly believed was part of a scam. According to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, driver Loletha Hall, 61, was shot multiple times by William Brock, 81, outside his South Charleston home last month. A scammer had contacted Mr Brock, threatened him and demanded money. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Ms Hall, according to officials, was also sent to Mr Brock’s house by a scammer and instructed to pick up a package. Police released dashcam footage of the 25 March incident showing Mr Brock brandishing a pistol and pointing it at Ms Hall to prevent her from leaving. During their investigation, officials discovered that an unknown man had called Mr Brock and told him he needed to pay $12,000 (£9,600) to get his nephew out of jail. Police say the caller threatened to kill his nephew if he did not pay.” (04/17/24)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68838017

Hungary’s “Surprise Attack”

Source: Law & Liberty
by David P Goldman

“Ajoke told often in Budapest says that World War III will be lost by whichever side Hungary is on. Balazs Orban, the political director for Prime Minister Viktor Orban (the two are not related), notes in his new book, Hussar Cut, that the political compromise of 1867 that incorporated Hungary into the Austrian Empire ‘involved the voluntary surrender of our independent foreign policy, so we had no say on whether or not to participate in the first great global military conflagration of the twentieth century.’ Hungary had little choice in the Second World War, either: in 1944 it fell under German occupation, followed by Soviet occupation. Hungary’s national revival is one of the most noteworthy events in the West since the fall of Communism.” (04/17/24)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/hungarys-surprise-attack/

Assange Extradition Case Moves Forward While CIA Covers Its Tracks

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“So they’re really doing it. The Biden administration is really ignoring Australia’s request to end the case against Julian Assange, and they’re proceeding with their campaign to extradite a journalist for telling the truth about US war crimes. In order to move the extradition case forward, per a British high court ruling US prosecutors needed to provide ‘assurances’ that the US would not seek the death penalty and would not deprive Assange of his human right to free speech because of his nationality. The US provided the assurance against the death penalty (which they’d previously opposed doing), and for the free speech assurance they said only that Assange will be able to ‘raise and seek to rely upon’ US First Amendment rights …. Which is basically just saying ‘I mean, you’re welcome to TRY to have free speech protections?'” (04/17/24)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/04/17/assange-extradition-case-moves-forward-while-the-cia-covers-its-tracks/

Canada: Police charge nine suspects in historic $20 million airport gold heist

Source: CBS News

“One year after a brazen gold heist at the Toronto airport, nine suspects have been charged in an investigation police said ‘belongs in a Netflix series.’ In total, 6,600 gold bars weighing over 800 pounds, worth an estimated $20 million, and about $2.5 million in foreign currencies were stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport in April 2023. At the time, police described the case as ‘very rare.’ Now they call it the largest gold heist in Canadian history. … Five suspects, including an Air Canada employee, were arrested then released with conditions and will appear in court at a later date. A warrant was issued for another man who was also an employee of the airline at the time of the theft. In addition to the warrant for the former employee, two more Canada-wide warrants were issued for those not yet apprehended.” (04/17/24)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-gold-heist-toronto-police-charge-suspects/