“Should a human rights organization apologize for publishing important evidence of war crimes and human rights abuses? If it does apologize, what does that suggest about its commitment to dispassionately uncovering the truth about the actions of both parties to war? And equally, what message does it send to those who claim to be ‘distressed’ by the publication of such evidence? Those are questions Amnesty International should have pondered far more carefully than it obviously did before issuing an apology last week over its latest report on the war in Ukraine.” (08/18/22)
“It’s never a good sign when a government launches a policy and instantly decrees that criticism of that policy is not allowed. It’s happening in the US right now. This week President Biden signed a bill which, among other things, will pump billions of dollars into the renewable-energy sector. And woe betide the American citizen who queries the bill. Pity the American voter who wonders out loud if it might not be the best idea in the world for an advanced economy like America’s to become increasingly reliant on whimsical wind and solar power. … it is apparently every American’s duty to nod uncritically along with this revolution in renewables, because any expression of ‘doubt’ about it could be bad for ‘public health.’ That chilling decree came from Gina McCarthy, the White House’s national climate adviser.” (08/18/22)
Source: Property and Environment Research Center
by Andrew B Ayres, Christina Babbitt, Arthur R Wardle, & Ellen Bruno
“A water budget that accounts for groundwater and surface water interactions is foundational to the development of a market and any rules to mitigate unintended environmental consequences. Such a budget should also be coupled with an understanding of the water demands of various users, including for environmental purposes. The water budget determines the cap on the aggregate amount of water that can be extracted, constraining extraction to match the sustainability goals of the basin. The initial allocation of groundwater rights determines the baseline distribution of pumping, which can change if and when trades occur.” (08/18/22)
“At a time when it feels like democracy is on the line, one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races is shaping up to be an identity politics battle to see which rich guy can out-populist the other. I’m talking about Pennsylvania, where Dr. Mehmet Oz’s attempt to pander by talking about how expensive groceries have gotten (he blames President Joe Biden) badly backfired. First, he called the grocery store ‘Wegner’s,’ which seems to be some mangled combination of Wegmans and Redner’s. Second, he referred to crudites, which, as Fetterman pointed out, is typically called a veggie tray in PA. … Fetterman (who boasts a master’s degree from Harvard) is also from a privileged background. … we have a rich guy whose entire life and career, well into his middle age, were subsidized by mommy and daddy, versus a rich celebrity doctor, whose residency in the state is dubious.” (08/19/22)
“The CDC announced that the institutes have done an external/self-study and proposed a makeover ‘to restore public trust.’ Dr. Walensky said that she ‘plans to remake the culture to help the agency move faster when it responds to a public health crisis. She also wants to make it easier for other parts of the government to work with the CDC, and wants to simplify and streamline the website to get rid of overlapping and contradictory public health guidance.’ The CDC’s announcement covers everything except the fundamental problem to which the director and the external reviewer are blind: industry subservience and epidemiologic incompetence.” (08/18/22)
“The most important question for asset prices right now, from stocks to houses to Bitcoin, is whether we’re due for a recession. Last week we got confirmation that according to the traditional definition of a recession — two quarters of negative growth—we are already in a recession. The response from this administration has been denial and word games rather than actually trying to stop the slide. At which point the betting shifts to whether it’ll be a shallow 1991-style recession or a big, 2008-style one, perhaps with a financial crisis to spice things up. Bigger-picture, what we’re seeing is a concentrated version of the world that paper money delivers: an endless series of booms, busts, and financial crises, all to sustain a permanent siphon of the peoples’ wealth towards subsidizing federal deficits and Wall Street-brokered leverage.” (08/18/22)
“The European Union is barreling toward the final stages of enacting sweeping new rules in antitrust and speech that are gerrymandered to target only America’s most successful technology companies. But the painful reality is that by damaging America’s ability to innovate, these policies would be a self-inflicted wound that threatens the national security of the United States and its extensive network of European allies. Policymakers in the U.S. (and the United Kingdom) should treat the EU’s approach as a cautionary tale, not as a model to emulate.” (08/18/22)
“I’ve got nothing against secession as such. If people don’t want to remain affiliated with a polity, they should be free to exit the relationship. In fact, the namesake of the media center I write for, William Lloyd Garrison, encouraged NORTHERN secession: ‘No union with slaveholders!’ On the other hand, the notion of such a “divorce” at the level of the existing states raises some serious questions that most supporters don’t seem interested in addressing. First and foremost, perceived connection to, or distaste for, a particular political party doesn’t seem like a good way of divvying up territory.” (08/18/22)
“We take to heart Sam Adams’ statement: ‘If ye love wealth better than liberty,’ he said, ‘the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands of those who feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you. May posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.’ Sadly, as his cousin John demonstrated, it is far too easy to forget about the true meaning of liberty and slide into tyranny — or at least make a good stab at it. As other, more able writers have pointed out, the replacement of the Articles of Confederation by the United States Constitution itself was a successful attack on liberty itself, despite claims to the contrary, and despite the addition of the Bill of Rights.” (08/18/22)
“After months of speculation, Brian Stelter is GONE from CNN. Axed. Canned. Ejected. Expelled. Booted. Chucked. Yeeted. It’s been rumored for a while. When Chris Licht took over as president of CNN, he was intent on making the network suck less. At the top of everyone’s draft sheets to get sh*tcanned first was Brian Stelter. Even he thought he was getting fired. Finally, today, CNN made it official. Reliable Sources has been canceled, and Stelter is out at CNN. … Known as a ‘fat but active man of paralyzing stupidity’ and a ‘mass of imbecile enthusiasms,’ he was viewed by critics as one of those ‘completely unquestioning, devoted drudges on whom, more even than on the thought police, the stability of the Party depended.’ Stelter rose to prominence with the unparalleled way he would watch Fox News then complain about Fox News while on CNN.” (08/18/22)
