- Russian Ship That Sank in the Mediterranean Was Attacked, Owner Says
Source: US News & World Report
“The Russian operator of a cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria said Thursday that it had been hit by a series of explosions in an act of sabotage. Oboronlogistica, a state-controlled company that operated the Ursa Major freighter, said it was wrecked by three powerful explosions just above the water line in what it described as a ‘terrorist attack’ that caused it to sink. … Fourteen of the Ursa Major’s crew were rescued uninjured from a lifeboat and transferred to Spain, and two others have remained missing. The company said the ship, one of Russia’s largest cargo ships, had sailed from St. Petersburg and was carrying two heavy cranes and other equipment to the port of Vladivostok on Russia’s far eastern coast.” (12/26/24)
- US consumer confidence falls
Source: Semafor
“A number of signs point to worries among US consumers, despite positive nationwide economic prospects. A key gauge of consumer confidence, which projects individuals’ outlook over the next six months, unexpectedly fell in December and forecasts of personal income and job prospects also dropped. In part, that may be due to soaring home-insurance costs and property taxes, which for many homeowners now top actual mortgage payments, according to data compiled by Intercontinental Exchange.” (12/26/24)
https://www.semafor.com/article/12/25/2024/us-consumer-confidence-falls
- Kazakhstan: Dozens Killed After Jet Crashes With 67 Onboard
Source: New York Times
“Dozens of people were killed but at least 29 survived the crash of a passenger plane in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, according to the country’s authorities and local media. The jet was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members when it went down near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. … The Azerbaijan Airlines plane had been trying to make an emergency landing in Aktau after hitting a flock of birds, Russia’s state aviation authority said in a statement cited by RIA Novosti soon after the crash. … Earlier on Wednesday, Flightradar24, a flight tracking service, said in a post on the social media platform X that the plane had been ‘exposed to GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny.’ Radar jamming is often used to defend an area against drones. It was not immediately clear whether that had played any role in the crash.” (12/26/24)
- Palestine: Israeli forces murder at least eight in occupied West Bank raids, drone strikes
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Israeli troops and military aircraft have killed at least eight Palestinians, including two women and a teenager, in attacks on the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Seven people were killed in an Israeli drone attack and shooting by troops in the Tulkarem refugee camp, and one person was killed in the nearby Nur Shams camp, the Health Ministry said, following a bloody day of Israeli military raids that began at dawn on Tuesday. … Raids by Israeli forces on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank have increased in intensity and violence since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on southern Israel.” (12/25/24)
- Denmark: Regime to bolster Greenland defense spending with return of disgraced US president-elect’s fetish
Source: Axios
“Denmark is increasing defense spending in Greenland, said a Danish official Tuesday who called the announcement’s timing with President-elect Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. should own the territory an ‘irony of fate.’ Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the outlet Jyllands-Posten on Tuesday of plans to spend a ‘double-digit billion amount’ in krone, equivalent to at least $1.5 billion, on the self-ruled territory that’s part of its kingdom to ensure a ‘stronger presence’ in the Arctic. Trump said on Sunday the ‘ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity’ for the U.S., which has a strategically important base on the northwest coast of the territory. His remarks that built on comments he made during his first term about buying Greenland prompted the territory’s prime minister to say on Monday that it is ‘not for sale and will never be for sale.'” [editor’s note: Perhaps Trump’s public ponderings are meant to goose Denmark’s arms spending, for which the US is the second top supplier after Germany? – TLK] (12/25/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/24/denmark-greenland-defense-spending-trump-us-control-comments
- Russia: Regime is using bitcoin in foreign trade, finance minister says
Source: Reuters
“Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments following legislative changes that allowed such use in order to counter Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday. Sanctions have complicated Russia’s trade with its major partners such as China or Turkey, as local banks are extremely cautious with Russia-related transactions to avoid scrutiny from Western regulators. This year, Russia permitted the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to make it legal to mine cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Russia is one of the global leaders in bitcoin mining.” (12/25/24)
- Bank Groups Sue Fed Over Stress Tests, Seeking Transparency
Source: Bloomberg
“Banking and business groups sued the Federal Reserve over the central bank’s annual stress tests, saying they’re seeking more transparency in how the rules are adopted. The groups, including the Bank Policy Institute and American Bankers Association, contend that the Fed’s criteria for the tests are designed in secret and produce ‘vacillating and unexplained requirements and restrictions on bank capital.’ That’s affecting the cost of financial services in the US, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. The lawsuit asks the court to declare unlawful the models and scenarios used in the 2024 stress test, as well as those in the 2025 and 2026 versions. The groups also want the Fed to allow for public comments on the models beforehand. A Fed spokesperson declined to comment.” (12/24/24)
- Reports: Russian Military Airfield Hit In Ukrainian Drone Raid
Source: Newsweek
“Ukraine’s latest drone raid has struck a critical air base close to the border that serves as a key location for the launch of Russian missiles into Ukraine, Kyiv reported. The Millerovo area, located in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, was hammered by UAVs on Monday evening, Rostov Regional Governor Yury Slyusar posted to Telegram. Slyusar said about a dozen drones had been intercepted during the overnight raid and that no casualties had been confirmed. According to Ukrainian officials, however, the drones successfully struck Millerovo air base, situated a few miles from the occupied regions of Ukraine. The Ukrainian outlet Censor.net reported that local residents heard explosions near the airfield, while independent Russian newspaper the Moscow Times, citing eyewitnesses on social media, reported fires breaking out on the streets of Millerovo and damage to the Millerovo Cossack Cadet Vocational College.” (12/24/24)
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-drone-raid-russian-military-airfield-2005554
- Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences Ahead of Disgtaced President-Elect’s Plan to Resume Federal Executions
Source: New York Times
“President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row, sparing the lives of 37 men just a month before Donald J. Trump will return to the Oval Office with a promise to restart federal executions. Those affected by Mr. Biden’s action, all of whom were convicted of murder, will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole instead of facing execution. Only three men, who each carried out notorious mass killings, will remain on federal death row. The president campaigned in 2020 on ending the federal death penalty. Although proposed legislation to that effect failed to advance in Congress during his administration, Mr. Biden directed the Justice Department to issue a moratorium on federal executions. Thirteen prisoners on federal death row were put to death during Mr. Trump’s first term.” (12/23/24)
- NY: Mangione pleads not guilty to state murder, terror charges in CEO killing
Source: United Press International
“Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges Monday. Mangione, 26, replied ‘not guilty’ as he was presented the 11 charges in connection with the shooting, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. If convicted of the state charges, Mangione faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said he has been working with federal authorities to make the arraignment happen even though a time has not been set.” (12/23/24)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/12/23/Mangione-Manhattan-court-plea/3181734965949/
- AR: Federal judge notices state’s censorship law is unconstitutional
Source: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“A federal judge has struck down as unconstitutional two provisions of a state law aimed at criminalizing the furnishing of obscene materials to minors at public libraries and bookstores. The law was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and others on behalf of a coalition of public libraries, booksellers, patrons of bookstores, boookseller associations and author associations. … Plaintiffs argued the law was vague and contained undefined terms that could subject the librarian and bookstore plaintiffs to a credible fear of prosecution, as they are uncertain what lengths they must go to in order to comply with the law. [U.S. District Judge Timothy L.] Brooks said it also follows that to avoid criminal prosecution, librarians and booksellers would have no other choice but to burden older minors’ and adults’ access to books that contain even a modicum of sexual content.” (12/23/24)
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2024/dec/23/federal-judge-rules-arkansas-law-involving/
- France: Macron unveils new regime under PM Francois Bayrou
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“The office of French President Emmanuel Macron presented a new government under new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday, almost three weeks after the collapse of the previous administration. This is France’s fourth government in 2024.” (12/23/24)
https://www.dw.com/en/france-unveils-new-government-under-pm-francois-bayrou/a-71149291
- Nissan, Honda formally announce merger plans
Source: CNN
“Honda and Nissan have formally agreed to hold talks over the next six months on a possible merger, a deal that would create the world’s third-largest automaker and give them more resources to compete with a growing threat from Chinese carmakers. A third, smaller Japanese automaker, Mitsubishi, which is already in an alliance with Nissan, will also participate in the talks. The combined company, should it be created, would trail only Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen in global sales.” (12/23/24)
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/23/business/nissan-honda-merge-automakers-intl-hnk/index.html
- AL: Mother of Teenager Murdered by Cops During No-Knock Raid Sues
Source: US News & World Report
“The mother of a 16-year-old who was shot by SWAT police during a no-knock, predawn raid in Alabama, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police officers involved and the city of Mobile, alleging the teenager was ‘killed in cold blood.’ Randall Adjessom, 16, was sleeping in his childhood home when SWAT police used a battering ram to break down his front door … The warrant was executed as part of an investigation into Adjessom’s older brother for suspected marijuana possession and distribution, according to the complaint. The 16-year-old was not a suspect; his older brother was not there and didn’t live at the home. … Adjessom came out of his bedroom with a gun that he pointed at the officers, but then subsequently retreated with his hands up once he realized he was confronting law enforcement, the complaint said citing sealed body-camera footage. An unnamed officer shot Adjessom four times within 11 seconds of entering his home.” (12/23/24)
- Judge approves Capitol rioter’s request to go to DC for inauguration
Source: New York Post
“A judge who agreed to dismiss election-interference charges against Donald Trump is allowing a convicted Jan. 6 rioter to skirt his bail restrictions and go to DC for the president-elect’s inauguration. DC federal Judge Tanya Chutkan on Thursday approved Eric Peterson’s request to travel to the country’s Capitol again to be on hand for inauguration day Jan. 20 — despite the fact that Peterson pleaded guilty last month to joining hoards of insurgents who broke inside the Capitol building Jan. 6, 2021, court records show. … Peterson’s lawyer, Michael Bullotta, last week asked Chutkan to allow his client to attend the festivities, noting Peterson wasn’t accused of any violence or vandalism during his eight minutes in the Capitol. The lawyer claimed his client wasn’t aware that others were carrying out assaults and property damage at the time.” (12/23/24)
- Greenland: PM reiterates “we are not for sale” after disgraced US president-elect’s latest social media diarrhea incident
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Greenland’s elected leader said the gigantic Arctic island is not for sale after Donald Trump once again raised the issue of ‘ownership and control’ of the vast territory that has been part of Denmark for more than 600 years. ‘Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,’ Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Egede, said in a written comment. The US president-elect on Sunday announced that he had picked Ken Howery, a former envoy to Sweden, as his ambassador to Copenhagen, and commented on the status of Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark. ‘For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.” (12/23/24)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/23/trump-buying-greenland-ownership
- Mauritius: Regime hints Chagos talks stuck over money
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Mauritius’s deputy prime minister has hinted that negotiations with the UK over the future of the Chagos Islands are being held up over the amount of money involved. Under the terms of the original agreement, which was announced in October, the UK would relinquish sovereignty to Mauritius over the archipelago but maintain a 99-year lease for Diego Garcia, home to a major UK-US military airbase. As part of the deal, the UK said it would provide a package of financial support to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investment, but neither side has said how much is involved. However a new government in Mauritius, elected since the agreement was first made, has said it wants to see some changes. The proposed deal has also attracted criticism in the UK, with the opposition Conservative party calling it a ‘monumental failure of statecraft.'” (12/23/24)
- Retired cop convicted of lying about leaks to the Proud Boys leader
Source: Associated Press
“A retired police officer in the nation’s capital was convicted Monday of lying to authorities about leaking confidential information to the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson convicted former Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond of obstructing justice and making false statements after a trial without a jury. Sentencing was scheduled for April 3 after Lamond’s conviction on all four counts. Lamond was charged with leaking information to then-Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was under investigation in the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner.” (12/23/24)
- Panama: Mulino rejects disgraced US president elect’s canal fantasy
Source: Fox News
“Panama’s president has responded to President-elect Trump’s idea that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal. After Trump said Sunday that the United States ‘foolishly gave it away’ and is now ‘being ripped off’ at the waterway, Panama’s conservative President Jose Raul Mulino released a video declaring that ‘every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong’ to his country. Without mentioning Trump by name, Mulino addressed Trump’s complaints over rising fees for ships crossing the canal, saying they are set by experts who take into account operational costs, and supply and demand factors. … Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.” (12/23/24)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/panamas-president-hits-back-trump-idea-reclaim-key-canal
- Australia: Court approves extradition of US Marine for alleged training of Chinese military pilots
Source: CBS News
“Former [sic] U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan will be extradited from Australia to the United States over allegations that he illegally trained Chinese aviators. Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition Monday, ending the Boston-born 55-year-old’s nearly two-year attempt to avoid being returned to the U.S. Duggan, who served in the Marines for 12 years before immigrating to Australia and giving up his U.S. citizenship, has been in a maximum-security prison since he was arrested in 2022 at his family home in the state of New South Wales. He is the father of six children. Dreyfus confirmed in a statement on Monday he had approved the extradition but did not say when Duggan would be transferred to the U.S.” (12/23/24)
- Suspect arrested for allegedly setting on fire and killing a woman on a NYC subway car
Source: CNN
“A 33-year-old man was arrested Sunday after allegedly setting on fire and killing a woman on a New York subway train in what authorities called a ‘brutal murder’ and an example of ‘depraved behavior.’ The assailant approached the woman without saying a word, ignited her clothes and she was enveloped in flames ‘in a matter of seconds,’ police said. Surveillance video appears to show the suspect sitting on a station bench and watching the woman burn as police officers responded. … The suspect, identified as Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a 33-year-old Guatemalan citizen who entered the US unlawfully [sic] sometime in the past six years, was arrested at another subway station in Manhattan about eight hours after the attack, officials said.” (12/23/24)
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/22/us/nyc-subway-fire-woman-death/index.html
- Mozambique: Court upholds the governing party’s presidential election victory as protests flare again
Source: ABC News
“Mozambique’s highest court on Monday upheld the governing party’s win in the October presidential election following weeks of opposition protests in which more than 100 people have died. The court, called the Constitutional Council, said irregularities in the election ‘did not substantially influence the results’ and that Daniel Chapo with the governing party, Frelimo, won with 65.17% of the vote, while opposition politician Venâncio Mondlane had 24.29%. The court revised the initial results that said Chapo received 70%. Soon after the announcement of the results, Mondlane’s supporters again took to the streets in the capital of the southern African nation, Maputo, burning tires and blocking roads.” (12/23/24)
- Ethics report: Gaetz paid for sex and drugs while in office
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The House Ethics Committee’s report investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz has been released, external. The 37-page report details the findings from a long-running investigation by the committee. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing …. In its report, the House Ethics Committee says it found ‘substantial evidence’ that: * From at least 2017 to 2020, Gaetz ‘regularly’ paid women for sexual activity, and engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl in this period * He used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2019 * He accepted gifts in excess of permissible amounts in connection to a 2018 Bahamas trip * He arranged for his chief of staff to help a woman he was involved with sexually to obtain a passport, falsely indicating to the US Department of State that she was a constituent …” (12/23/24)
- Blake Lively’s “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” co-stars stand “in solidarity” with her amid messy lawsuit
Source: Fox News
“The sisterhood reigns on. Actresses America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel released a joint statement on Sunday, standing ‘in solidarity’ with their ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ co-star, Blake Lively, who is currently embattled in a lawsuit with actor Justin Baldoni, her costar and the director of her 2024 film, ‘It Ends with Us.’ ‘As Blake’s friends and sisters for over twenty years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation,’ the women wrote. … Lively is suing Baldoni and his production company, WayFarer Studios (which produced ‘It Ends with Us’), as well as several individuals for a litany of things, including sexual harassment, negligence, interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional affliction of emotional distress, and more.” (12/23/24)
- Vietnam: Regime to enforce strict social media regulations in “draconian” new decree
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Social media users in Vietnam on platforms including Facebook and TikTok will need to verify their identities as part of strict new internet regulations that critics say further undermine freedom of expression in the communist country. The law, which comes into force on Christmas Day, will compel tech giants operating in Vietnam to store user data, provide it to authorities on request, and remove content the government regards as ‘illegal’ within 24 hours. Decree 147, as it is known, builds on a 2018 cybersecurity law that was sharply criticised by the United States, European Union and internet freedom advocates who said it mimics China’s repressive censorship of the internet.” (12/23/24)
- On Organized Religion and Prophets in History …
Source: CounterPunch
by Grant Inskeep“Religious prophets, far from the nonsensical concoctions most have come to understand them as, were really radical dissidents — potentially militant given the times — and who supported, belonged to or led working class movements fighting for more egalitarian measures against tyrannical state power. All throughout organized human history, people have sought saviors whom they imagine will appear in the form of prophets, who will articulate our goals in clear language, and guide our practical action with such clear methods, that all we need do is surrender with a full heart, commit entirely to ‘the cause,’ and then continue to act in accordance with a sense of the principles we have attributed to ‘the Prophet,’ whose fulfilment guarantees us an eternal paradise. This paradise can be here on earth, as in the case of Orthodox Marxism, or, more frequently, in a promised ‘afterlife,’ as in the case of most organized religions throughout history.” (12/26/24)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/12/26/on-organized-religion-and-prophets-in-history/
- Rage Against the Machines
Source: Law & Liberty
by Elizabeth Corey“In 1954, Walker Percy published a short philosophical essay called ‘The Loss of the Creature,’ arguing that modern man had given up sovereignty over his own existence. Advertisements, magazine articles, and television all offered up ersatz experiences to a passive and compliant public. That public in turn increasingly found direct, unmediated experience disappointing and anticlimactic. If only he could see us now!” (12/26/24)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/rage-against-the-machines/
- A Cleric’s Heroism
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Lawrence W Reed“In many homes worldwide, the day after Christmas is nearly as festive as the day before. December 26 is a holiday in the UK and many Commonwealth nations. People everywhere look forward with hope to the New Year just days away. That may not have been true on December 26, 1948, for a Catholic prelate in Hungary named Cardinal József Mindszenty (1892–1975). Arrested that day by communist authorities, he was sentenced to life in prison on concocted charges of ‘treason and conspiracy.’ Beatings and torture followed. This was not Mindszenty’s first arrest.” (12/26/24)
- Why the Right Philosophy Is the Best Pain Medication
Source: The Atlantic
by Arthur C Brooks“Aristippus was a student of Socrates who founded a minor school of philosophy called Cyrenaicism. As Cyrenaic thinking evolved, it centered on two ideas. First, objective reality is unknowable, so we should pay attention only to our own subjective experience of that reality. Second, that experience should be as pleasant as possible, meaning that we should maximize immediate pleasure and avoid pain. Aristippus himself focused especially on the first part, pleasure — preferably involving young courtesans and old wine. Cyrenaic hedonism still pops up as a significant cultural influence from time to time, as it did during the hippie era in America. That pleasure-first principle sounds a bit quaint today, given all the talk of a sex recession and young people being less adventurous than they used to be. But another form of Cyrenaicism is currently very strong: the idea that besides seeking pleasure, we should avoid pain.” (12/26/24)
- Wishing for Santa-like efficiency in the USA
Source: Orange County Register
by Veronique de Rugy“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and Santa is done checking his list and deciding who’s been naughty and nice. Of course, whenever he stops by the U.S. Capitol, he finds evidence of a lot of naughty fiscal irresponsibility that has given us a budget and government that overflow with inefficiency and waste. So my holiday wish is that, one way or another, we get some fiscal cheer by putting a few government-run programs under the privatization tree. Let’s unwrap the possibilities!” (12/25/24)
https://www.ocregister.com/2024/12/25/wishing-for-santa-like-efficiency-in-the-usa/
- Gerrymandering
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman“Two thirds of the voters getting eight congressional seats out of nine would be anomalous in a proportional representation system, but US congressional elections are first past the post. If the population of Tennessee were evenly distributed, with the same percentage of Republican and Democratic voters in each congressional district, the majority party would win all of them — even if the division of votes was 51/49. With a majority of almost two to one, the only way the Democrats get any seats is if their voters happen to be concentrated in one or a few districts.” (12/25/24)
- Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum“How cops, politicians, and bureaucrats tried to dodge responsibility in 2024.” (12/25/24)
https://reason.com/2024/12/25/shooting-the-messenger-and-blaming-the-victim/
- Did Your Suppliers Order You to Do Something for Christmas?
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux“People living in capitalist countries, even if less than perfectly free, don’t think about it. As customers, they place orders with their suppliers. As producers, they satisfy the orders of their customers. Consumers are the bosses, producers are at their service. And producers happily accept this role because they want money to, in their turn, order goods as consumers on markets. A free rather than less free economy naturally organizes itself around this principle because we produce in order to consume and not the other way around. For Christmas, you gave orders to your suppliers, not the other way around. A producer could not order you to buy from him. Only public producers — governments or suppliers backed by governments — can do this.” (12/24/24)
https://www.econlib.org/did-your-suppliers-order-you-to-do-something-for-christmas/
- They Left for Their Own Country by Another Path
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“When I think about biblical stories, I sometimes have to remind myself — and try to emphasize in my writing — that we are expected to believe that these are stories about real people, who, when they are not appearing as characters in Scripture, have the usual problems real people have …. for every wise man who came journeying from the east, there probably was a wife or a boss or a brother-in-law back home who suspected that he was not so wise, after all, that he was off on some damned fool’s errand with his wise-guy friends, taking a long and no doubt expensive trip to some faraway land in order to observe — and financially support — events of no obvious immediate consequence to him or his family or his people or his community.” (12/25/24)
https://thedispatch.com/article/magi-bethlehem-another-path-christmas/
- Ordinary People Today Enjoy Luxuries That Outshine Royalty of the Past
Source: The Daily Economy
by Stefan Bartl“Christmas is the season of joy, gatherings, and gift-giving. Streets sparkle with festive lights, and the spirit of celebration fills the air. Yet amid the cheer, there are always a few Grinches and Scrooges in every family — those who grumble about the neighbors or lament about how things were ‘better’ in the past. In truth, we are living better today than even Louis XIV, the infamous Sun King of the French Empire. … Modern advancements have dramatically transformed our world. The global GDP per capita, the average out per person, since the 1800s has exponentially grown. Our living standards have improved not threefold, not tenfold, but at an unimaginable rate.” (12/24/24)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/an-enriching-christmas-carol/
- Why Worry About Incorrigible Claude?
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander“Last week I wrote about how Claude Fights Back. A common genre of response complained that the alignment community could start a panic about the experiment’s results regardless of what they were. If an AI fights back against attempts to turn it evil, then it’s capable of fighting humans. If it doesn’t fight back against attempts to turn it evil, then it’s easily turned evil. It’s heads-I-win, tails-you-lose.” (12/24/24)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/why-worry-about-incorrigible-claude
- A Man, A (Bad) Plan, A Canal, Panama
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“In 1989, US forces invaded, conquered, and occupied Panama, replacing its pet dictator, Manuel Noriega with a new regime. Then-president George H.W. Bush’s justifications for the invasion included protecting US citizens in Panama and prosecuting the ill-conceived and ill-fated US war on drugs. The more likely reason is that Noriega, after many years of obedient service to his US masters, had increasingly become his own man (not necessarily in good ways, but that wasn’t the issue — he was plenty bad before, too). In 2025, president-elect Donald Trump proposes that the US regime regain control of the Panama Canal, ceded to Panama in 1999 pursuant to a 1977 treaty proposed by then-president Jimmy Carter and ratified by the US Senate. Implementing Trump’s proposal would likely require another invasion, another conquest, another occupation, and imposition of another regime change.” (12/24/24)
- Will Backing Terrorists Backfire Again?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Scott Horton“Though Iraq War I had allegedly been fought to protect the Saudi monarchy, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda had been enraged at the king’s rejection of their offer to liberate Kuwait from Iraq in favor of his allowing the Americans to station their mostly white, Christian combat forces on holy Arabian soil to do so. So as ‘payback,’ the U.S. would back their Arab allies from the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s in another war, this time in Europe. President Clinton wrote that ‘standing up for the Bosnians had another benefit to the United States: it would demonstrate to Muslims the world over that the United States cared about them, respected Islam, and would support them if they rejected terror and embraced the possibilities of peace and reconciliation.’ This goes to show Clinton’s vastly displaced priorities and hypocrisy.” (12/24/24)
https://original.antiwar.com/scott/2024/12/23/will-backing-terrorists-backfire-again/
- Crime and Terrorism are Poor Rationales for Immigration Restrictions
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin“The risk of migrant terrorism is low, immigrants generally have lower crime rates than natives, and migration restrictions are both unjust and less effective than other strategies for reducing violence.” (12/24/24)
- Dickens at Delphi
Source: Law & Liberty
by Richard Gunderman“In ancient Greece, those who sought counsel from the Oracle at Delphi passed under an arch that bore the inscription, ‘Know thyself.’ Presumably, those who did not know themselves would be ill-equipped to hear the truth. Yet unanswered questions reverberate down through the ages: what form does such self-knowledge take, how are we to gain it, and what difference will it make if we do? Knowing yourself could mean many things. Knowing your strengths and your limits. Knowing that you are both mortal and sinful. Knowing that you are an embodied creature with a soul. Knowing that you are not an island. Or knowing that, in knowing yourself, you glimpse reality itself, the universe.” (12/24/24)
- Eighty Years of Martial Law
Source: The American Conservative
by Jason Morgan“South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law is of little import compared to the American occupation of the country.” (12/24/24)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/eighty-years-of-martial-law/
- What If the Baby Jesus Had Been Born into the American Police State?
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead“The Christmas story of a baby born in a manger is a familiar one. The Roman Empire, a police state in its own right, had ordered that a census be conducted. Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary traveled to the little town of Bethlehem so that they could be counted. There being no room for the couple at any of the inns, they stayed in a stable (a barn), where Mary gave birth to a baby boy, Jesus. Warned that the government planned to kill the baby, Jesus’ family fled with him to Egypt until it was safe to return to their native land. Yet what if Jesus had been born 2,000 years later? What if, instead of being born into the Roman police state, Jesus had been born at this moment in time? What kind of reception would Jesus and his family be given?” (12/23/24)
- A Decaying Joe Biden Underlines the Need for a Less Powerful Presidency
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille“Observers of the American presidency warn with increasing frequency that the office of the country’s chief executive has acquired power more befitting a monarchy than a republic with elected officials. But what if the person holding that office is a placeholder for aides who cocoon the president and who really make the decisions? That is, what if all that growing power is wielded by an unelected and relatively faceless circle of advisers? That brings us to the Biden administration which, in just one term, has powerfully reinforced the argument for making the presidency much less important.” (12/23/24)
- Charity Begins at Home
Source: EconLog
by John Alcorn“Charity naturally has circles and gradients. A charitable soul will perforce soon go bankrupt unless she targets and calibrates her gifts. Individual philanthropy might ignore the neediest, who tend to be socially remote from prosperous potential donors. Private institutions — for example, churches and charitable foundations — might partly specialize in extending the scope of sympathy and charity, if they, too, can reliably identify true need and desert. However, A Christmas Carol focusses narrowly on the issue of individual philanthropy by businessmen. Dickens ignores the invisible hand of markets-and-competition. Given the stark fallout of rapid industrialization and urbanization, his focus is understandable. Nonetheless the focus on Scrooge’s redemption implicitly oversells the potential effectiveness of seasonal charity in business circles as a remedy to destitution.” (12/23/24)
- The Story of “Santa’s Last Journey”
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Roger Koopman“Reproducing this story fifty years later delivers an especially poignant message. It is just as relevant now as it was in 1974, and none of the federal harassments Santa faced back then have gone away! They have only grown more pervasive and more crushing of our liberties.” (12/23/24)
- There Are No Lost Causes
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“Syria. Bangladesh. Poland. South African democracy. The Ukrainian defense forces. The Greek economy. If there is a lesson to be learned from the events of 2024, it is this: There are no lost causes.” (12/23/24)
- Who Will Stop Israel’s Invasion of Syria?
Source: Common Dreams
by Nicolas JS Davies“The United States, Turkey, and Israel all responded to the fall of the Assad government in Damascus by launching bombing campaigns on Syria. Israel also attacked and destroyed most of the Syrian Navy in port at Latakia, and invaded Syria from the long-occupied Golan Heights, advancing to within 16 miles of the capital, Damascus. The United States said that its bombing campaign targeted remnants of Islamic State in the east of the country, hitting 75 targets with 140 bombs and missiles, according to Air Force Times. A long-standing force of 900 U.S. troops illegally occupies that part of Syria, partly to divert Syria’s meager oil revenues to the U.S.’s Kurdish allies and prevent the Syrian government from regaining that source of revenue.” (12/23/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/israel-invasion-of-syria
- Congressional Republicans Will Undermine DOGE if They Won’t Budge on Spending
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jason Sorens“How can the new administration slash spending and red tape, if beltway insiders won’t trim even the most wasteful programs?” (12/23/24)
- When Blood Runs Thin
Source: Law & Liberty
by Rachel Lu“A few years ago, family therapist Joshua Coleman wrote a piece in The Atlantic on a distressing phenomenon he was witnessing more and more frequently: generational estrangement. Parents and adult children are cutting ties more than ever before, usually because one party decides unilaterally that a relationship with the other is no longer wanted. Most frequently, it’s the kids who break the link. Is anyone really surprised by this trend? As the nation polarizes and culture fragments, individuals have become very good at building ‘safe spaces’ for themselves, in which their own views, preferences, and personal choices are continually affirmed. Anyone unwilling to play by the rules of our personal fiefdom can be shown the door. Much has already been written on the political implications, but at Christmas especially, it’s worth thinking more about the personal costs of this approach.” (12/23/24)
- The World’s Four Legacy Empires Going Down
Source: TomDispatch
by Alfred McCoy“Since the Cold War ended in 1990, four legacy empires — those of China, France, Russia, and the United States — have exercised an undue influence over almost every aspect of international affairs. From the soft power of fashion, food, and sports to the hard power of arms, trade, and technology, those four powers have, each in its own way, helped to set the global agenda for the past 35 years. By dominating vast foreign territories, both militarily and economically, they have also enjoyed extraordinary wealth and a standard of living that’s been the envy of the rest of the world. If they now give way in a collective version of collapse, instead of one succeeding another, we may come to know a new world order whose shape is as yet unimaginable.” (12/22/24)
https://tomdispatch.com/the-worlds-four-legacy-empires-going-down/
- Trump loves tariffs but expect a more complicated trade policy
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran“For about a decade, American trade policy has been buffeted by competing impulses on how it should engage economically with the world. The controversy is over whether the U.S. should expand trade with all countries; use it as a tool that buttresses alliances and deters or coerces adversaries; or just step back from trade and aim for self-sufficiency. The debate goes back at least to Hillary Clinton’s 2015 decision to abandon the Trans Pacific Partnership, an agreement she had championed as Secretary of State. It is also a debate in which the divisions do not map cleanly along party lines, making predictions about policy under the new administration difficult. But it might help to identify the different factions and their interests in order to make sense of trade-related headlines rolling off the wires, like the below examples.” (12/23/24)
- Biden Commuting Sentences of 37 Federal Death Row Inmates Ignores the Will of Most Americans
Source: Town Hall
by John R Lott, Jr.“President Biden on Monday commuted the death sentences to life sentences for 37 of the 40 men who are on the federal government’s death row. Those spared include child killers and mass murderers. Ironically, 36 of those 40 sentences were under a 1994 law written by then-Senator Biden, which designated dozens of new capital offenses. Biden’s decision came two days before Christmas. While Democrats oppose the death penalty, Americans overall support the death penalty by at least a 3-to-2 margin.” [editor’s note: Then Americans are wrong by at least a 3-to-2 margin. If it’s even possible at all to have “limited government,” it’s not possible to have “limited government” AND a government power of life and death over disarmed captives. They’re opposites – TLK (12/23/24)
https://townhall.com/columnists/johnrlottjr/2024/12/23/biden-death-penalty-n2649463
- A Quick Note on Trade and Inequality
Source: Beat The Press
by Dean Baker“Oren Cass, the head economist of Compass, had a column in the New York Times today touting Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs. The gist of the piece is that ‘free trade’ has not worked out as economists’ textbooks promised and we should look to take a different path. As someone who was very critical of the major trade deals of the last three decades, I would say that they did work out very much as the economists’ textbooks promised. But they were also not ‘free trade’ and imposing high tariffs will not help us going forward.” (12/23/24)
- We Will Do It Together
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias“It’s been quite a year. From the election to weather extremes and the pent-up outrage we saw after the violent murder of a corporate CEO, we’ve faced unprecedented challenges. We know even bigger challenges await us in the next four years. That’s why I am so grateful to every member of the People’s Action family, and for all of the ways you have joined with others this year to make this country better for us all. Thank you. In 2024, you made millions of phone calls, knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors, and held meaningful conversations all across the country with complete strangers to change hearts and minds. You elected champions from your communities to state, local and federal governments, where they will fight for regular people, no matter the odds.” (12/22/24)
- Fifty years of economic policy killed American Dreams
Source: Orange County Register
by Jamshid Damooei“President-elect Donald Trump has vowed he will deport millions of undocumented immigrants and their family members who are U.S. citizens. It may be a great soundbite. But this action is not only an injustice; it’s bound to devastate our economy. Our economy’s problems will not go away by blaming immigrants or by claiming that by deporting them, the nation will be great again.” (12/23/24)
- Panama and Trump’s Throwback Imperialism
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison“The fearmongering about China is a reminder of how pernicious defining U.S. foreign policy around great power rivalry can be. The threats against Panama show how Trump’s crude imperialism and the pursuit of rivalry with China reinforce each other. Trump assumes that the U.S. is always being ‘ripped off,’ and he believes that the answer to this is to steal from other countries. If he thinks another country is getting too close to a rival, he wants the U.S. to ‘solve’ that by threatening to steal some of their territory. Trump sees weaker countries in our hemisphere that he wants to dictate terms to, and rivalry with China provides him with the excuse for threatening them.” (12/23/24)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/panama-and-trumps-throwback-imperialism
- Quantum Vibe, 12/23/24
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott BieserCartoon. (12/23/24)
- Five steps the new Trump administration must take to make America healthy again
Source: Fox News Forum
by icole Saphier, MD“As a physician deeply committed to improving the health of our nation, I have seen firsthand the challenges that plague our health care system. I wrote about these in Make America Healthy Again back in 2020. Sadly, we are worse off now than we were then. The new presidential administration has an opportunity to enact meaningful reforms that prioritize patient care, personal responsibility and the strength of American innovation. Here are five essential steps the administration should take to make America healthy again: 1) Promote Free Market Principles in Health Care … 2} Combat the Chronic Disease Epidemic … 3) Empower States to Innovate … 4) Restore the Doctor-Patient Relationship … 5) Ensure a Secure Pharmaceutical Supply Chain …” (12/23/24)
- Mission to Mars
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“Reflecting on the pursuit of happiness and the mission behind our missions.” (12/23)
- Winter, Again
Source: Persuasion
by Kateryna Kibarova“If you live in Ukraine today, checking the news is your morning routine. You have to understand what is going on — how can you not? You have to understand which direction the drones are flying from, whether it is dangerous to go outside. If you want to protect yourself, you have to constantly monitor the situation. When the air raid alarm goes off, immediately everyone’s phones in the office start howling. Everyone has the alerts set up. The Russians have gotten more sophisticated with the air raids. … On the one hand, in Kyiv, the sheer number of drones — sometimes 150 per attack — makes it impossible to intercept them all. On the other hand, the cities closer to the front, like Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, are simply defenseless.” (12/23/24)
- Freakonomics Radio, episode 572
Source: Freakonomics
“Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update).” (12/25/24)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-there-so-much-fraud-in-academia-update/
- Free Talk Live, 12/25/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“A Very Special Chrismukkah FTL Edition! :: No matter who sits in the Oval Office, the US is a failed experiment:: Milei to eliminate all but 6 taxes :: The Story of Santa’s Last Journey :: Godspeed, Bad Slave :: Rand Paul’s 2024 Festivus Report :: Who is holding the $36 trillion in US Debt? :: Travel by horseback :: 2024-12-25 :: Hosts: Chris R., Stu.” (12/25/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2024-12-25
- The Political Orphanage, 12/24/24
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Heaton and Monkey: Yuletide Crimesolvers (1987).” (12/24/24)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/heaton-and-monkey-yuletide-crimesolvers-1987
- Connor Freeman on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Connor Freeman on Israel’s Crimes in Gaza and Syria.” (12/24/24)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/12-19-24-connor-freeman-on-israels-crimes-in-gaza-and-syria/
- Advisory Opinions, 12/24/24
Source: The Dispatch
“Origins of the Federal Constitution.” (12/24/24)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/origins-of-the-federal-constitution/
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2586
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Civilization Wreckers, with Carl Benjamin.” (12/24/24)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2586-the-civilization-wreckers-with-carl-benjamin/
- Conflicts of Interest, episode 733
Source: Libertarians Institute
“Will Trump Keep the Weapons Flowing to Ukraine?” (12/24/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-733-will-trump-keep-the-weapons-flowing-to-ukraine
- Reason Roundtable, 12/23/24
Source: Reason
“Was Biden Right to Take Prisoners Off Death Row?” (12/23/24)
https://reason.com/podcast/2024/12/23/was-biden-right-to-take-prisoners-off-death-row/
- Rising, 12/23/24
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave and Niall Stanage share their winners and losers of 2024.” (12/23/24)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5053462-rising-december-23-2024/
- EconTalk, 12/23/24
Source: EconTalk
“Fixing Sick Cities (with Alain Bertaud).” (12/23/24)
https://www.econtalk.org/fixing-sick-cities-with-alain-bertaud/
- Tech Tank, season 5, episode 12
Source: Brookings Institution
“New Developments in State Technology Policy.” (12/23/24)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/new-developments-in-state-technology-policy
- Conflicts of Interest, episode 732
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Netanyahu Attempts to Kill Another Hostage Deal.” (12/23/24)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-732-netanyahu-attempts-to-kill-another-hostage-deal
- The Science of Politics, 12/23/24
Source: Niskanen Center
“Why Asian Americans did not swing to Harris.” (12/23/24)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/why-asian-americans-did-not-swing-to-harris
- Finding Freedom, episode 469
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Naughty or Nice: Trump, Luigi, and Musk.” (12/23/24)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/naughty-or-nice-trump-luigi-and-musk
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/23/24
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Shoots Down Own Fighter Jet While Bombing Yemen, US Has ‘Good’ Meeting With Julani, and More.” (12/23/24)
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 253
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Mark Thurston on the anti-capitalist American health care system.” (12/22/24)
- Free Talk Live, 12/22/24
Source: Free Talk Live
“Criminal justice system reform could be coming :: Are crime rates getting better? :: Real conservatism vs fake :: Are libertarians all gamblers? No :: We don’t have real free markets :: Food deserts :: Jesus models in Utah :: Flat earth man changes his mind :: Bonnie Dream City :: Lady in NM guilty after baiting cops to follow her wrong way on the HIGHway :: Best/ worst teachers and AI teachers :: 2024-12-22 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Stu and Rich E Rich.” (12/22/24)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2024-12-22
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 252
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Doug Bandow on the situation in South Korea and the prospects for peace in Korea.” (12/21/24)
https://rumble.com/v61gg0q-ff-252-doug-bandow-on-the-situation-in-south-korea.html
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 507
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich, MC, and KS talk about freedom in Mexico, why Rich likes it here in NH, more thoughts on Luigi Mangione, and these HEADLINES: Hospitals Are Giving Pregnant Women Drugs, Then Reporting Them to CPS When They Test Positive … CPS Is Investigating an Influencer Because Her Son Flinched in a Video.” (12/21/24)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2024/12/21/the-anarchist-experience-507/
- Unattended Baggage, episode 274
Source: Unattended Baggage
“All I Want for Christmas is a different timeline.” (12/21/24)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-274-hour-1-all-i-want-for