Nonzero, 04/08/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Real (And Fictional) Orson Welles | Robert Wright & Milton Lawson.” (04/08/25)
Don’t Forget the Victims of Our Wars
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“There are many innocent Yemenis that are dead today when they should be alive, but the president made an arbitrary and illegal decision that killed them. This should be front and center in the coverage and discussion of the bombing campaign, but it has received relatively little attention. Senators have been outraged about the hypothetical danger that U.S. pilots might have been in because of the administration’s security lapses, but they seem to be unaware of the actual deaths of the innocents that those pilots killed.” (04/08/25)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/dont-forget-the-victims-of-our-wars
CA: Zizians Bay Area court appearance descends into chaos
Source: SFGate
“Five members of the so-called Zizians cult appeared in courtrooms across the country Tuesday morning, with some facing charges connected to a string of violence across America that has left six dead. In Solano Superior Court in Fairfield, Alexander Leatham and Suri Dao face charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated mayhem stemming from a 2022 melee that left one member of their group dead and then-80-year-old Vallejo landlord Curtis Lind fighting for his life. Lind, the sole remaining eyewitness to the 2022 attack, was killed in a separate knife attack in January, just weeks before he could testify in this case. Oxford-educated Maximilian Snyder, also allegedly a cult member, has been charged with Lind’s killing, a case also playing out in Solano County. The hearing Tuesday morning immediately descended into chaos when armed officers attempted to bring Leatham into the courtroom.” (04/08/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/zizians-cult-bay-area-court-appearance-20264934.php
Milton Friedman’s Warning to DOGE
Source: Reason
“The Nobel Prize-winning economist says the Iron Triangle of Politics must be defeated to cut down the government for good.” (04/08/25)
https://reason.com/video/2025/04/08/milton-friedmans-warning-to-doge/
The World Shouldn’t Ignore that Hamas Terrorizes Innocents in Gaza, Too
Source: The UnPopulist
by Faisal Saeed al Mutar & Ahmed Alrayyis
“Lumping every Gazan with this brutal outfit is morally wrong and is leading to catastrophe.” (04/08/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-world-shouldnt-ignore-that-hamas
Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
Source: Racket News
by Greg Collard
“There was the retaliatory chicken tax in 1964. West Germany placed tariffs on our poultry, so LBJ responded with a 25% tariff on light trucks. I don’t know anyone who questions Ronald Reagan’s free trade bonafides, yet he imposed a 45% tariff on imported motorcycles to protect Harley Davidson. Japanese bikes were overtaking the market. The motorcycle tariff, as it became known, expired in 1988. I should probably be thankful for that since I ride a Yamaha. My first experience dealing with tariffs as a journalist was in 2002. President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on steel because countries were ‘dumping’ steel in the U.S. at below-market prices. Steel companies were filing bankruptcy and laying off workers. It seemed so obvious that something needed to be done. But it’s a little more complicated. I didn’t realize at the time that lots of people and companies really don’t care where their shit comes from.” (04/08/25)
https://www.racket.news/p/timeline-a-recent-history-of-tariffs
Federal lawsuit filed over murder of Brandon Durham by Las Vegas cop
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
“The family of a man killed by a Las Vegas police officer filed a federal lawsuit on Monday. Metropolitan Police Department officer Alexander Bookman fatally shot Brandon Durham, 43, on Nov. 12 after Durham called police to report a burglary. The Clark County district attorney’s office is expected to seek an indictment of Bookman, according to an attorney for the officer. … Durham called the police to report a break-in to his home …. Durham also told dispatchers that the intruder was wearing red. When police arrived, body camera footage showed, Durham was in his underwear, and Boudreaux was wearing a red hoodie. The two were struggling over a knife. Bookman gave two commands to drop the knife, and less than two seconds later, fired shots at Durham, according to the footage. In the footage, Bookman fired his gun and continued shooting at Durham as he and Boudreaux fell.” (04/08/25)
System Update, episode 435
Source: System Update
“As Tariffs Dominate News, Trump and Netanyahu Make Increasingly Militaristic Threats; Plus: Mixed Supreme Court Ruling on Deportation Powers.” (04/08/25)
Big Tech Antitrust: Postelection Edition
Source: EconLog
by Giorgio Castiglia
“US antitrust enforcement is likely to change in the new administration. However, it is also likely that the antitrust cases against big tech firms – and concerns about their effects on society – will continue. Over the past years, countries all around the world have passed or are considering new laws which antitrust authorities can use to prosecute what are seen as abuses by large tech platforms. Most notably the EU has passed and is now enforcing the Digital Markets Act. Similar new laws were proposed, but failed to pass, in the United States, telling enforcers that the way to prosecute any novel harm is to do it the traditional antitrust way: bring cases ex post against conduct that agencies deem illegal under the existing antitrust laws.” (04/08/25)
https://www.econlib.org/big-tech-antitrust-postelection-edition/
Trump’s giant tax hikes on Americans take effect
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on [American buyers of goods from] 60 countries which he deems the ‘worst offenders,’ including 104% duties on [American buyers of goods from] China, have come into effect. … Several US-based global brands such as Nike and Apple, which manufacture their goods outside the US, have suffered steep falls in their share prices over the last few days — and are expected to be impacted further by the reciprocal tariffs. … many US consumers fear rising prices on everyday goods such clothes and food, with some people stockpiling while they can.” (04/09/25)