Is It Better To Believe In Anything Than In Nothing?
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“Wrestling with Ross Douthat’s book, Believe.” (02/28/25)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/is-it-better-to-believe-in-anything
A defeat for terrorism in the Mideast
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by the editorial board
“In the past decade, terrorist attacks in the Middle East have dropped sharply, often because of military defeat, sometimes by a change in conscience. A possible example of the latter came Thursday. In a letter from his prison cell of 26 years, Abdullah Ocalan, founder of a four-decade-old armed insurgency for the rights of the large Kurdish minority in Turkey, called on his outlawed group to disarm and dissolve.” (02/28/25)
US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as show of force
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A US aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Sunday in a show of force, days after North Korea test-launched cruise missiles to demonstrate its counter-attack capabilities. … The deployment of the carrier is expected to infuriate North Korea, which views temporary deployments of such powerful US military assets as major security threats. North Korea has responded to some of the past deployments of US aircraft carriers, long-range bombers and nuclear-powered submarines with missile tests.” (03/02/25)
The Anarchist Experience, episode 517
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich, MC, and KS discuss Trump’s meeting with Zelensky, the potential fallout, how the war started in the first place, why America first is really America second to Israel, and this HEADLINE: Neo-Nazis targeted a majority-Black town. Locals launched an armed watch.” (03/01/25)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2025/03/01/the-anarchist-experience-517/
What Erratic Government Does to a Country
Source: Persuasion
by Emily Chamlee-Wright
“Unpredictability is bad for business.” (02/28/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-erratic-government-does-to-a
NJ: FedEx plane catches fire midair before making emergency landing
Source: Fox News
“A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing at Newark Airport in New Jersey Saturday morning after a bird strike caused one of its engines to catch fire, an airport official told Fox News Digital. Dramatic video shows the plane banking right when it lets off a large plume of smoke as fire appears from its right engine. … There were no reported injuries and the plane touched down at 8:07 a.m., the official said. It is unclear how many people were on board at the time.” (03/01/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/fedex-plane-catches-fire-midair-before-making-emergency-landing
The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post Are Standing for “Freedom” and “Free Markets?”
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“In an editorial this week, the conservative Wall Street Journal chided Jeff Bezos, the owner of the liberal [sic] Washington Post, for Bezos’s announcement that henceforth the Post would be standing for ‘personal liberties and free markets.’ The Journal pointed out that Bezos’s phraseology is remarkably similar to that employed by the Journal, which is ‘free markets and free people.’ The Journal wanted to remind people that they were first to promote this freedom and free-market philosophy but also wanted people to know that they welcome the Post serving as their new ideological ‘wingman.’ There is just one big problem, however, with the Journal’s and the Post’s devotion to ‘liberty’ and ‘free markets.’ That big problem is the matter of definition.” (02/28/25)
Wave of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against LDS church in San Diego and across California
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“Nearly 100 current and former California residents have recently sued The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over allegations of childhood sexual abuse, alleging in related but separate lawsuits filed across the state that they were assaulted by leaders of their local congregations over the past several decades while the Utah-based church did nothing to halt the abuse. Five of the plaintiffs allege they were abused in San Diego County, including three who say they were sexually assaulted by their bishops, the top spiritual leaders of local congregations in the LDS church, which is widely known as the Mormon church. The lawsuits, which number at least 91 and counting and were filed late last year in county superior courts up and down California, have not been widely reported previously.” (03/02/25)
Free Talk Live, 03/01/25
Source: Free Talk Live
“Egg smuggling :: JD Vance and Trump yell at Zelensky :: Sara calls about network sales :: under review for welfare :: MLM sales tactics are annoying :: is the value of gold subjective? :: skeeter thinks so but fails to change my mind :: Bee vaccine :: falsified DNA tests lead to false imprisonments :: prisoner rates by country/state :: 2025-02-23 Hosts: Stu, Bonnie, Riley.” (03/01/25)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2025-03-01
Aluminum, Economics, and Liberty
Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“The new tariff or tax will hit imported aluminum (primary aluminum from smelters and recycled aluminum, in the form of ingots, slabs, billets, and sows, plus some derivative products such as extrusions) and will, as is typically the case, be totally or mostly paid by the buyers of imported aluminum. Only a small proportion of the global production of aluminum is purchased by Americans, so a reduction in domestic demand following the tariff is unlikely to affect world prices significantly; in other words, foreign aluminum producers will not ‘eat’ the American tariff. American consumers will ultimately pay it in the increased prices of their manufactured goods containing aluminum such as automobiles, windows, and beer cans. This the more obvious as the new tariff applies to imports from all countries. In fact, the bidding up of the aluminum price started on the American market as soon as the tariff was announced.” (02/28/25)