The Tom Woods Show, episode 2480
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“V.I. Lenin, 100 Years Later.” (04/18/24)
Johnson Mortgages His Speakership With Foreign Aid Package
Source: The American Conservative
by Bradley Devlin
“House Speaker Mike Johnson has finally unveiled his foreign aid package. His plan to get it across the finish line, however, remains less clear. There are three main bills in Johnson’s package that will provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific respectively. Although the supposed urgency for this aid package stems from Iran’s strikes on Israel, the bulk of the package’s funding, just over $60 billion worth, is aimed towards Ukraine. Israel receives quite the chunk of change, however: $26 billion courtesy of the American taxpayer. The Indo-Pacific region gets just over $8 billion. This brings the total price tag of Johnson’s foreign aid bonanza to $95 billion. Sound familiar? The resounding answer for conservatives in the House is yes. Johnson’s future hangs in the balance, and his conservative wing is nearly out of patience.” (04/18/24)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/johnson-tying-his-own-noose-with-foreign-aid-package/
Scotland: Sturgeon’s husband rearrested in SNP finance probe
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“The husband of Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been rearrested in relation to a police probe into the finances of the Scottish National party. Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, was previously arrested on April 5 last year as part of Operation Branchform, an investigation that has cast a shadow over the party that has governed Scotland for 17 years. … The investigation, launched in 2021, has focused on complaints that party donations given during independence referendum fundraising appeals of 2017 and 2019 were spent on other things.” (04/18/24)
Free Talk Live, 04/18/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“Riley and Bonnie talk about having an existential crisis when they first came to Liberty :: Feeling lied to when you find out the truth about the US Empire :: 1984 should be a warning :: Possible Assange plea deal :: Pop music and pop culture; is it real freedom and individuality that they advocate? :: Are you actually guaranteed any rights? :: FISA amendment gives government goons more excuses to spy on you :: 2024-04-18 Hosts: Bonnie, Jay, Riley.” (04/18/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2024-04-18
Economic collapse? Or more Chicken Little with intent?
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/
Nostalgia for Confinement
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/
Haiti Today, America Tomorrow? When Democracies Die, Mobs Take Over
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)
Crypto trader Avi Eisenberg convicted of fraud in $110 million Mango Markets scheme
Source: Axios
“A jury found Avraham ‘Avi’ Eisenberg guilty on all three counts of fraud and manipulation in a $110 million crypto trade scheme using the Mango Markets platform. The case was the first known test for a jury to decide whether existing U.S. laws governing fraud and market manipulation apply to the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). The 28-year-old Eisenberg will be held to account for his actions on Oct. 11, 2022, when a series of trades he made intentionally boosted the price of Mango Markets’ native token, MNGO, as well as the price of futures contracts.” (04/18/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/04/18/avi-eisenberg-convicted-crypto-defi-mango-markets
In The Tank, episode 445
Source: Heartland Institute
“Election Mail-In Ballot Crisis & Election Interference.” (04/18/24)
Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act Passed the House, Now it Should Pass the Senate
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)