World’s largest iceberg runs aground off remote island

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“The world’s largest iceberg has run aground in shallow waters off the remote British island of South Georgia, home to millions of penguins and seals. The iceberg, which is about twice the size of Greater London, appears to be stuck and should start breaking up on the island’s south-west shores. Fisherman fear they will be forced to battle with vast chunks of ice, and it could affect some macaroni penguins feeding in the area. But scientists in Antarctica say that huge amounts of nutrients are locked inside the ice, and that as it melts, it could create an explosion of life in the ocean. ‘It’s like dropping a nutrient bomb into the middle of an empty desert,’ says Prof Nadine Johnston from British Antarctic Survey.” (03/04/25)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20d1xp6046o

An Economic Approach to Homer’s Odyssey: Part III

Source: EconLog
by Tyler Cowen

“In my reading, Pylos and Sparta, the polities visited by Telemachus, is what the world looks like when you do not have the critical faculties acquired by traveling. Pylos is the world prior to an understanding of options, as only Odysseus has seen war, anarchy, orderly kingship, and various polities based on intoxication. Sparta represents post-traumatic tragedy and intoxication as a substitute for ongoing conflict. Ogygia is the rejected and intolerable utopia. Sparta vs. Ithaca is one meaningful contrast, but most of all The Odyssey is a comparison between Phaeacia and Ithaca, so to that contrast I shall now turn.” (03/03/25)

https://www.econlib.org/library/columns/y2025/cowenodysseypart3.html

Serbia: Opposition members throw smoke bombs, flares inside parliament

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Serbian opposition lawmakers have thrown smoke grenades and tear gas inside parliament to protest against the government and support demonstrating students, with one legislator suffering a stroke during the chaos. As the spring session of parliament opened on Tuesday, after the ruling coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) approved the agenda, some opposition politicians ran out of their seats towards the parliamentary speaker and scuffled with security guards. Others tossed smoke grenades and tear gas, with live TV showing black and pink smoke inside the parliament, which has also witnessed brawls and throwing of water in the decades since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990.” (03/04/25)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/4/serbia-opposition-members-throw-smoke-bombs-flares-inside-parliament

Ukraine Will Fight On, With or Without the West

Source: Reason
by Paul Schwennesen

“While heads of state jockey and pontificate, the average Ukrainian defender simply doesn’t give a damn. The fight will go on regardless of whatever separate peace deals are brokered over their heads. Moreover, the threat of withdrawing Western support only further inclines them toward tools of last resort—nuclear and chemical, to be precise. When all other options for defending their freedom and sovereignty have been removed by far-away politicians, Ukrainian citizens will do what they must. This is what national defense looks like. As in the first days of the invasion, the national spirit of resistance is revived.” (03/03/25)

https://reason.com/2025/03/03/ukraine-will-fight-on-with-or-without-the-west/

CA: Oakland Man Charged With Defrauding Nonprofit For Children

Source: SFGate

“An Oakland man was charged with mail fraud and tax evasion over his alleged scheme to defraud a nonprofit for children where he worked as executive director, and pocketing a donation from NBA superstar Stephen Curry, according to federal prosecutors. Howard Solomon, 38, appeared in federal district court in Oakland on Monday to waive indictment by a grand jury. He is charged with one count of mail fraud and four counts of tax evasion for his alleged scheme to defraud the East Oakland Boxing Association, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement. Based on criminal information filed on Feb. 26, Solomon served as the executive director of the East Oakland Boxing Association from 2017 until April 2021. … Federal prosecutors said Solomon managed daily operations, solicited contributions and fundraising, managed program and staff, oversaw budget and finances, and community outreach for the nonprofit.” (03/04/25)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/man-charged-for-allegedly-defrauding-nonprofit-20201309.php

Betting Markets and the Scale of DOGE’s Challenge

Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne

“Will President Trump and Elon Musk really slash government spending this year? If you believe Kalshi’s (pretty thin) betting market this morning, there’s a 34 percent chance that federal spending will be cut by at least $1 billion and a 5 percent chance of $1 trillion in cuts in 2025. I hate to break it to DOGE’s supporters, but those odds are wildly optimistic. Under the terms of the specific bet, even $1 billion in spending cuts is next to impossible.” (03/03/25)

https://www.cato.org/commentary/betting-markets-scale-doges-challenge

How I Am Standing Up to DOGE

Source: The American Prospect
by Ro Khanna

“Elon Musk and DOGE are not making the government more efficient or effective, they are breaking it without any rational plan. Federal workers, 30 percent of whom are veterans, are being fired without any notice or consultation, many of them top performers. Instead of focusing on areas of actual waste, such as fossil fuel subsidies, prescription drug costs, Medicare Advantage overpayments, or defense contractors fleecing taxpayers, the administration is attacking the working class while pursuing tax breaks for the ultra-rich. In just one month, DOGE has fired thousands of federal workers who have dedicated their careers to delivering services and benefits to those who need them most. Last week, DOGE announced that at least 12 percent of jobs would be cut at the Social Security Administration …” (03/04/25)

https://prospect.org/politics/2025-03-04-how-i-am-standing-up-to-doge/