MA: Harvard University removes human skin binding from book

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Harvard University has removed the binding of human skin from a 19th Century book kept in its library. Des Destinées de l’Ame (Destinies of the Soul) has been housed at Houghton Library since the 1930s. In 2014, scientists determined that the material it was bound with was in fact human skin. But the university has now announced it has removed the binding ‘due to the ethically fraught nature of the book’s origins and subsequent history’. Des Destinées de l’Ame is a meditation on the soul and life after death, written by Arsène Houssaye in the mid-1880s. He is said to have given it to his friend, Dr Ludovic Bouland, a doctor, who then reportedly bound the book with skin from the body of an unclaimed female patient who had died of natural causes.” (03/28/24)

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68683304

Taylor Swift Makes Billionaire Debut, Joining Elon Musk In Richest List

Source: NDTV

“Joining the ranks of the world’s wealthiest individuals is Taylor Swift, who has entered her billionaire ‘era.’ Elon Musk, propelled by the surge in Tesla stock and SpaceX’s valuation, has reclaimed his position as the world’s richest person in the annual ranking of billionaires, as per Barrons. With a fortune of $231 billion, Musk surpassed Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos ($185 billion) and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault ($175 billion), who held the second and third positions respectively in the 13th Hurun Global Rich Report, an annual survey conducted by China-based media and research firm Hurun. This marks Musk’s third time in four years at the top of the list. Swift made her appearance on the list with an estimated wealth of $1.2 billion, driven by her Eras Tour and earnings from re-recording her albums.” (03/28/24)

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taylor-swift-makes-billionaire-debut-joining-elon-musk-in-richest-list-5328212

Washington Mystery? Where Trump stands on Israel-Gaza war Washington Mystery? Where Trump stands on Israel-Gaza war

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James Carden & Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

“Trump has revealed little about his views on the Gaza war, from the possibility of a ceasefire to what might happen when the fighting eventually stops. It is difficult to suss out more, as he has offered little elaboration on the campaign trail. He does call progressive Democrats demanding a ceasefire ‘lunatics’ who ‘hate Israel.’ He said recently that Jews who vote Democratic hate Israel and ‘hate their religion.’ … can we actually discern what a U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians might look like if Trump won the November election and was installed as the 47th president in January 2025? Maybe it’s best to go beyond his exhortations and take a look at the record instead.” (03/28/24)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-israel-gaza/

Kamala Harris Touts Secret Service Program Encouraging High School Spying

Source: The Intercept
by Daniel Boguslaw

“When Vice President Kamala Harris toured the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School this week, site of the infamous 2018 Parkland, Florida, mass shooting, she pushed for more gun control and called for communities to accept more federal help in stopping school shootings. ‘I will continue to advocate for what we must do in terms of universal background checks and assault weapons ban’ Harris said. But in a land where gun control is politically impossible, the only tangible help the Biden administration offers schools are resources to conduct better behavioral profiling of students, doing so through a Secret Service center founded to study the psychology of presidential assassins. The push, supported by a bipartisan bill that would strengthen the role of the Department of Homeland Security in school violence, would turn America’s schools into another adjunct of the national security apparatus, a veritable school for spies.” (03/28/24)

https://theintercept.com/2024/03/28/secret-service-school-spying-snitching/

US Officials Believe That “We” Are at War With Russia

Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow

“Could someone please tell Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the Senate’s premier warmongers, that ‘we’ are not at war with Russia? Ukraine is. The grandstanding warrior wannabe recently visited Kiev. The Zelensky government is under pressure to expand conscription to bulk up its army. Graham enthusiastically backed the effort. Reported the Washington Post: ”I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,’ he told reporters Monday. ‘You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving—not at 25 or 27.” He insisted: ‘We need more people in the line.’ We? When did Graham accept Ukrainian citizenship and enter the Ukrainian Rada? Graham is one of many witless American officials who seem to believe that they are to represent foreign countries dealing with the U.S. rather than the U.S. in dealing with foreign countries.” (03/28/24)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/u-s-officials-believe-that-we-are-at-war-with-russia/

PA: “Undated” mail ballots don’t count, appeals court rules

Source: WHYY News [US state media]

“A requirement for Pennsylvania voters to put accurate handwritten dates on the outside envelopes of their mail-in ballots does not run afoul of a civil rights law, a federal appeals court panel said Wednesday, overturning a lower court ruling. A divided 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold enforcement of the required date on return envelopes, a technical mandate that caused thousands of votes to be declared invalid in the 2022 election. The total number is a small fraction of the large state’s electorate, but the court’s ruling puts additional attention on Pennsylvania’s election procedures ahead of a presidential election in which its Electoral College votes are up for grabs.” (03/28/24)

https://whyy.org/articles/election-2024-pennsylvania-mail-ballots-undated-appeals-court-ruling/

With Fewer Doctors, Should Florida Pharmacists Be Given a Prescription Pad?

Source: Cato Institute
by Marc Joffe & Jeffrey A Singer

“As Florida lawmakers learned in December, their state is expected to have a severe physician shortage in the 2030s. Even now, it can take up to three weeks to get an appointment with a primary care clinician. Many rural Floridians live in primary care deserts. While encouraging more aspiring doctors to study and remain in Florida can help ease the problem, that will take time to see results. Meanwhile, a more immediate and cost‐​effective approach empowers other qualified healthcare professionals to take on more responsibility for patient health. One such reform is allowing pharmacists to prescribe certain medications, as they do in the United Kingdom, many Canadian provinces and several states in the U.S.” (03/28/24)

https://www.cato.org/commentary/fewer-doctors-should-florida-pharmacists-be-given-prescription-pad