Will the Supreme Court give Trump the absolute immunity he claims to have?

Source: The Hill
by Rick Esenberg & Dan Lennington

“‘I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible.’ Even if President Trump could commit a crime and suffer no political consequences, would crimes in office result in legal consequences? The U.S. Supreme Court is about to consider whether — and more importantly under what circumstances — a president is immune from criminal prosecution. The story starts on or about Nov. 14, 2020, when then-President Trump took his first steps to engage in a broad conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruct the certification of the electoral vote, and ‘injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons’ in the exercise of their right to ‘have one’s vote counted.’ Or so says the federal indictment, filed 936 days after Jan. 7, 2021 — the day Donald Trump’s alleged criminal conduct ceased.” (03/28/24)

https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/4559638-will-the-supreme-court-give-trump-the-absolute-immunity-he-claims-to-have/

Imagine If Russia Or China Did The Things Israel Is Doing In Gaza

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“Imagine how the western political-media class would be acting if Russia or China was bombing and starving a walled-in population of two million, half of them children. Seriously, imagine it. Imagine the rage and vitriol. Imagine the nonstop media coverage. When Russia invaded Ukraine, US media coverage of that war exceeded the media coverage of all US wars in the previous three decades. If Russia were deliberately and systematically exterminating civilians in Ukraine or anywhere else, the western media coverage of those war crimes would be many times more. It’s almost cliché at this point to say ‘imagine if Russia or China did this’, but such comparisons are important for retaining a sense of perspective on just how evil the western political-media class is being about Gaza right now.” (03/28/24)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/03/28/imagine-if-russia-or-china-did-the-things-israel-is-doing-in-gaza/

UK: Oxford-Cambridge boat racers warned of “alarmingly high” E. coli levels in London’s sewage-infused Thames

Source: CBS News

“The famous Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, which takes place every year on the River Thames, was expected to go ahead this weekend despite warnings about ‘alarmingly high’ levels of E. coli bacteria in the water. The environmental group River Action said Wednesday that it had regularly tested the section of the Thames where the race takes place between February 28 and March 26 and found E. coli levels up to 10 times higher than what U.K. environmental authorities consider the worst category for public bathing. Even at the worst rating, far lower than what was found in the Thames, authorities warn against exposure.” (03/28/24)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oxford-cambridge-boat-racers-warned-of-alarmingly-high-e-coli-levels-in-londons-sewage-infused-thames/

Foreign Aid and the Politicization of Economic Life

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya

“The conservative government in the United Kingdom champions the view that giving more foreign aid to developing countries will fuel economic growth that, as a bonus, will help to resolve the ongoing migration crisis. The international development minister has explained the government’s reasoning, namely that ‘giving development aid to countries was morally ‘the right to do,’ but a core argument should also be that it prevented refugees and migrants heading to Britain.’ The government’s hope is that sending foreign aid to the Third World will discourage economic migration to the West.” (03/28/24)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/foreign-aid-and-politicization-economic-life

South Africa: Jacob Zuma barred from running in election

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“Former President Jacob Zuma has been barred from running in South Africa’s general election in May. The country’s electoral commission, or IEC, has not given a reason. However, his 2021 conviction, and jailing, for contempt of court would appear to disqualify him. His backing of the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party has been seen as a possible threat to the governing African National Congress (ANC), which has suspended Mr Zuma. The 81-year-old served as president from 2009 until 2018, when he had to step down because of corruption allegations. Mr Zuma’s new party is named after the ANC’s former military wing, and he sees himself as the true heir to the governing party’s revolutionary roots. The ANC had wanted South Africa’s electoral body to deregister MK but this request was rejected on Tuesday.” (03/28/24)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68689044

Governing and the Rule of Law

Source: EconLog

“It is not because a law has been democratically and duly adopted that it necessarily exemplifies the rule of law. It is not because democratically elected politicians govern that governing is good. One current example is given by the US and EU governments siding against Apple and in favor of its developers (outside suppliers) and competitors, under some antitrust ‘laws’ that pretend to determine what consumers want. Another of the myriad of cases that could be cited is the US government siding with the United Steelworkers against US Steel which wants to strike a bargain with Nippon Steel.” (03/28/24)

https://www.econlib.org/governing-and-the-rule-of-law/

An honest hearing in Gibraltar

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Many people may know Gibraltar only by its wedge-shaped outcropping at the opening of the Mediterranean Sea or by the Beatles song about the marriage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Yet it may now be poised to show how perceptions of government malfeasance can lead to renewed public integrity. An upcoming trial offers ‘a familiar scenario to those who study corruption: a scandal leading to reform,’ noted Robert Barrington, a University of Sussex professor, in a recent post on The Global Anticorruption Blog. The heightened concern about corruption in Gibraltar, a territory under British authority at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, dates back four years. In 2020, its top law enforcement officer, Ian McGrail, abruptly retired halfway through his term as police commissioner. Gibraltar has been on and off international watchlists in connection with illicit financial activity such as gambling, money laundering, and funding for terrorism.” (03/27/24)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/0327/An-honest-hearing-in-Gibraltar