Ukraine war: Power station in Russia struck as Putin meets Wagner commander

Source: Independent [UK]

“Andrei Troshev, a founding member and Executive Director of the Wagner Group, reportedly met Valdimir Putin and Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov on Thursday night. The meeting came hours before Kyiv launched drone strikes on Russia’s border regions, ‘hitting a power substation’ and ‘cutting power supplies,’ according to the Russian defence ministry. The meeting underscored the Kremlin’s attempt to show that the state had now gained control over the mercenary group after a failed June mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash in August.” (09/29/23)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-live-putin-drone-attack-b2420817.html

Asymptotic Anarchism for Anti-Authoritarians

Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“Most students of political philosophy have had some contact with Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia (ASU) — specifically Part II. And for good reasons. Part II is essential because it sets out devastating critiques of competing moral-political doctrines and awakens our deepest intuitions about the coercion required to make those doctrines a reality. Nevertheless, Part III: A Framework for Utopia (henceforth Framework), I believe, is Nozick’s most important contribution. The Framework is under-appreciated compared to familiar thought experiments about people giving up money to watch Wilt Chamberlain play basketball. However, my objective in persuading readers of Part III’s importance is not to rearrange the philosophical canon for students. Instead, my goal is strategic. Nozick’s Framework recommends a mindset that can inspire more subversive innovators.” (09/28/23)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/asymptotic-anarchism-for-anti-authoritarians

Congress on track for fake shutdown as GOP divisions on display after late night votes

Source: CNN

“Divisions among House Republicans were on display Thursday as tensions erupted during a closed-door meeting and later the chamber convened with late night votes as a government shutdown nears. With just a little over two days before the federal government shuts down, there is no clear path to avoid a shutdown. The Senate is working to advance a bipartisan proposal for a short-term funding extension, but House Republicans have thrown cold water on it as many House conservatives balk at the prospect of a stopgap bill. The House passed several spending bills late Thursday night, but the measures would not stop a shutdown and have no hope of passing in the Senate.” (09/29/23)

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/28/politics/shutdown-latest-government-funding/index.html

Nikki Haley: Far Too Unhinged For The Presidency

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“‘TikTok,’ Haley informed America by way of scolding Ramaswamy for setting up a campaign account on it, ‘is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have. … You are now wanting kids to go and get on this social media that’s dangerous for all of us.’ In the middle of all this, Haley let loose with what was, I suppose, intended as the zinger: ‘Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.’ Every time Haley speaks, she sounds a little bit dumber, but I doubt that’s Ramaswamy’s fault. Nor is it Ramaswamy’s fault that she comes off as unhinged on the level of Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, the fictional character who engineers a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union for ‘corrupting’ his ‘precious bodily fluids’ in the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.” (09/28/23)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17998

China: Evergrande Shares Suspended After Reports of Founder’s Disappearance

Source: Wall Street Journal

“Trading in the shares of China Evergrande Group and two of its publicly listed units was suspended on Thursday, after reports that the beleaguered property developer’s founder and chairman had been placed under police surveillance. Hui Ka Yan, who is also Evergrande’s controlling shareholder, was taken away by Chinese police earlier this month and is being monitored by authorities, Bloomberg News reported earlier. A domestic Chinese media outlet said Hui was being held at a location in Beijing. He hasn’t been formally charged with any crimes. The developer’s Hong Kong-listed shares, as well as those of its property-services unit and electric-vehicle manufacturing business, were all halted from trading on Thursday. They recently plummeted to multiyear lows.” (09/28/23)

https://archive.ph/p15Qh

Taylor Swift, Junk Fees, and the “Happy Meal Fallacy”

Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm

“When America’s largest ticket retailer announced plans to adjust its pricing structure, President Joe Biden was quick to claim credit. But concertgoers really should thank Taylor Swift and her fans. … The company had been under pressure from Swifties after a series of mishaps involving ticket sales for Swift’s much-in-​demand Eras Tour. Although those problems were not caused by the supposedly hidden fees, the latter also became a target of customer outrage. The promised price transparency is nice, of course, and smart marketing. But according to Biden, Ticketmaster’s decision validates his ongoing war on the ‘junk fees’ charged by a wide range of businesses, including airlines, hotels, and banks. Biden claims the changes he wants would ‘bring down costs for working Americans’ and create ‘space for competition.’ The president is wrong on both scores.” (for publication 10/23)

https://reason.com/2023/09/28/taylor-swift-junk-fees-and-the-happy-meal-fallacy/

US House holds first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing

Source: Nashua Telegraph

“House Republicans launched a formal impeachment hearing Thursday against President Joe Biden, promising to ‘provide accountability’ as they probe the family finances and lucrative business dealings of his son Hunter and make their case to the public, colleagues and a skeptical Senate. … Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the Oversight chairman, said the lawmakers have ‘a mountain of evidence‘ that will show that the elder Biden ‘abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.’ Hours after the hearing wrapped, Comer issued subpoenas for additional banking records from the personal and business accounts of Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden. … The hearing Thursday did not feature witnesses with information about the Bidens or Hunter Biden’s business. Instead, the panel heard from outside experts in tax law, criminal investigations and constitutional legal theory.” (09/29/23)

https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/top-headlines/2023/09/29/house-republicans-make-their-case-for-biden-impeachment-inquiry-at-first-hearing/

The News Has Nothing To Do With Newsworthiness

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“I don’t mention it often but I actually have a degree in journalism. I graduated with distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2003, and while it would be another 13 years before I’d ever put my degree to any use, the experience played a massive role in forming my opinions about the mainstream press. One of the lessons I think about a lot came at the beginning of my two-week internship with Channel 10’s Eyewitness News (now 10 News First) when I was watching the show’s bedraggled news editor put everyone’s story assignments up on the whiteboard one morning. I’d been paying a lot of attention to TV news at the time because that’s what we were studying, and I’d noticed that the stories Channel 10 would cover were always exactly the same as the ones that would be covered by Channel 7 and Channel 9 — usually in exactly the same order.” (09/28/23)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09/28/the-news-has-nothing-to-do-with-newsworthiness/