Voice of America puts journalist on “excused absence” after anti-Trump X post

Source: New York Post

“Voice of America placed one of its highest-profile journalists on an ‘excused absence’ pending a human resources probe over alleged critical comments about President Trump, according to a report. Steve Herman, VOA’s chief national correspondent, was informed of the investigation in a letter last week from the news agency’s governing body, the US Agency for Global Media, the New York Times reported. The government-funded news outlet, which broadcasts to hundreds of millions of people worldwide, told Herman he was being scrutinized due to ‘social media activity [that] has undermined VOA’s audiences’ perceptions of the objectivity and/or credibility of VOA and its news operations,’ according to the letter reviewed by the Times. Herman drew the ire of the Trump administration when he posted a link to a news story on his X account that included a quote from an analyst who was critical of the decision to defund the United States Agency for International Development.” (03/03/25)

https://nypost.com/2025/03/03/media/voice-of-america-puts-journalist-on-excused-absence-after-anti-trump-x-post-report/

A Right-Libertarian Myth Meets Reality

Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Kevin Carson

“The standard right-libertarian talking point is that labor is dependent on investment, that investment — in the form either of credit or equity — comes from previous capital accumulation, and that profit and interest are the rewards for the use of that money, the capitalist’s abstention from use of it, the marginal productivity of the capital, or some variation on one or more of those.” (03/03/25)

https://c4ss.org/content/60137

While Talking Tough To Zelensky, Trump Sends Netanyahu Weapons

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“The framing that Hamas has ‘rejected’ Israel’s proposed extension of phase one is just the current propaganda line from the US-Israeli PR machine. In reality the terms of the ceasefire deal say that Israel and Hamas were supposed to move on to phase two of the agreement this weekend, but Israel has been refusing to negotiate the second stage of the agreement this entire time because it would entail a withdrawal of Israeli troops and a commitment to a lasting peace. This idea that the first phase of the ceasefire should be ‘extended’ instead of continuing on to the second phase is a brand new proposition the US and Israel just started pushing a few days ago.” (03/02/25)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/03/02/trump-sends-netanyahu-weapons-while-talking-tough-to-zelensky/

Locking Down American Liberty

Source: Law & Liberty
by Phillip W Magness

“In just six weeks’ time, nearly the entirety of the US public health profession, including [Anthony] Fauci, would jettison the previous century of scientific literature attesting to the ineffectiveness of lockdowns. Instead, they rushed to embrace the previously-deprecated approach of simulation modeling, and used it to place the majority of the world under mandatory quarantine. Five years later, we still have no clear answers for why this sudden, sharp reversal happened, let alone accountability for the public health officials who made the call to change course.” (03/03/25)

https://lawliberty.org/forum/locking-down-american-liberty/

Tariff Watch: New York Becomes the World’s Gold Vault

Source: Bitcoin.com
by Sergio Goschenko

“Gold is making headlines as experts describe extraordinary circumstances affecting the precious metal. The market has been upended by the announcement and enactment of U.S. tariffs from the Trump administration, prompting an exodus of gold from the old continent. The World Gold Council (WGC), an authority in gold circles, has certified that over 600 tons of gold have flown into the vaults of New York since December. This circumstance has been qualified as extraordinary by John Reade, WGC’s market strategist for Asia and Europe, who remarked that this gold doesn’t belong there.” (03/03/25)

https://news.bitcoin.com/tariff-watch-new-york-becomes-the-worlds-gold-vault/

Crews battle wildfires in North and South Carolina amid dry conditions and gusty winds

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

“Crews battled wildfires in North and South Carolina on Sunday amid dry conditions and gusty winds as residents were forced to evacuate in some areas. The National Weather Service warned of increased fire danger in the region due to a combination of critically dry fuels and very low relative humidity. In South Carolina, where more than 175 fires burned 6.6 square miles, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response effort, and a statewide burning ban remained in effect.” (03/03/25)

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/03/03/wildfires-north-south-carolina/

Can Elon Musk find any fraud before Trump’s base notices the con?

Source: Washington Post
by Philip Bump

“Myriad claims made by Musk and his team have been shown to be false. (Journalist Marcy Wheeler is keeping a running list.) The most notable example of this pattern was that a site purportedly articulating ‘savings’ effected by Musk’s team was riddled with errors, overstating some savings by billions of dollars and claiming as ‘savings’ money that had already been spent. There has been no demonstrated evidence of fraud, except when using the term ‘fraud’ or ‘waste’ in the way that was always intended: to describe spending that doesn’t comport with how the political right wants to spend federal money.” (03/03/25)

https://archive.is/Oj7NS

The Facade of US Power Crumbles in Orchestrated Oval Office Meltdown

Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
by Jianlu Bi

“The meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Trump at the White House ‘devolved into a shouting match’ in the Oval Office. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance criticized Zelenskyy’s approach, with Trump accusing him of ‘gambling with World War III.’ Meanwhile, Zelenskyy voiced concerns that deals with Russia would not be kept and that Ukraine needed stronger security guarantees. The recent clash between the two wasn’t merely a diplomatic hiccup; it was a stark illustration of the West’s eroding credibility and the precarious position in which Ukraine finds itself. The fallout from this meeting reverberates far beyond the walls of the Oval Office, exposing deep fissures and eliciting widespread repercussions that shake the very foundations of the global order.” [editor’s note: Yet another distortion of what actually happened there – SAT] (03/03/25)

https://fpif.org/a-diplomatic-debacle-when-the-wests-facade-crumbles/