Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 05/14/24
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Army Officer Resigns Over Gaza Slaughter, Russia Continues To Advance in Kharkiv, and More.” (05/014/24)
Substitution Effects and Steering-Wheel Daggers
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Donald J Boudreaux
“Non-economists readily understand income effects. These effects are those caused by changes in purchasing power — that is, by changes in wealth or income. Even seven-year-olds correctly realize that if their parents give them more money, they can buy more M&Ms. Conversely, seven-year-olds also are aware that if they lose some of their money, they can buy fewer M&Ms. Substitution effects are more subtle, although hardly difficult to grasp. These effects are those caused by changes in the relative attractiveness of different options. If the price of gummy bears rises while that of M&Ms doesn’t change, candy buyers — including seven-year-olds — will purchase fewer gummy bears and, quite likely, more M&Ms. This change in relative prices causes consumers to substitute out of gummy bears and into M&Ms.” (05/14/24)
https://www.aier.org/article/substitution-effects-and-steering-wheel-daggers/
Walmart to lay off hundreds of corporate staff, relocate others
Source: Reuters
“Walmart is cutting hundreds of corporate jobs and asking most remote workers to relocate to three main tech offices or quit the company, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Workers at the U.S. retail giant’s smaller offices in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto are being asked to move to other central hubs such as Walmart’s corporate base in Bentonville, Arkansas, as well as Hoboken, New Jersey, or Sunnyvale, California, the source told Reuters. Walmart will close those smaller hubs later this year, the source added. On a ‘business update’ call with employees on Monday, remote workers were given until July 1 to make a decision about relocating or to quit with severance, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Those who choose to leave will receive two weeks pay for every year they worked at Walmart as severance, the source said.” (05/14/24)
A Done Decision
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“We probably needn’t feel suspense about whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court will let certain sloppy voting practices continue. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the chairman of the Racine County Republican Party filed a lawsuit alleging that Racine city officials illegally used a van to collect absentee ballots in 2022. A circuit court ruled that such mobile voting sites violate state law. Now, ‘without allowing any lower appellate courts to rule first,’ the state’s supreme court will decide whether the circuit court is right about that.” (05/14/24)
Arsenal of Genocide: The American Weapons Destroying Gaza
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamine & Nicolas JS Davies
“On May 8, 2024, as Israel escalated its brutal assault on Rafah, President Biden announced that he had ‘paused’ a delivery of 1,700 500-pound and 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, and threatened to withhold more shipments if Israel went ahead with its full-scale invasion of Rafah. The move elicited an outcry from Israeli officials (National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted ‘Hamas loves Biden’), as well as Republicans, staunch anti-Palestinian Democrats and pro-Israel donors. Republicans immediately prepared a bill entitled the Israel Security Assistance Support Act to prohibit the administration from withholding military aid to Israel. Many people have been asking the U.S. to halt weapons to Israel for seven months, and of course Biden’s move comes too late for 35,000 Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza, mainly by American weapons.” (05/14/24)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/us-weapons-gaza-genocide
US regime orders Chinese-backed crypto miner to sell land near nuclear missile base
Source: CNBC
“U.S. President Joe Biden issued an order on Monday forcing a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining company to sell land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base, citing national security concerns. The company, MineOne, acquired the real estate in June 2022, placing its operations within a mile of the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, a ‘strategic missile base and key element of America’s nuclear triad,’ according to the White House. The company’s site contained ‘specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities,’ the presidential order said.” (05/14/24)
System Update, episode 269
Source: System Update
“Jen Psaki’s Lies Expose the Fraud of ‘Disinformation;’ Israelis Endanger Americans and Block Humanitarian Aid.” (05/13/24)
Nanny State Screen Rules?
Source: Law & Liberty
by David B McGarry
“Numerous adolescent and teen mental-health metrics in the United States have markedly deteriorated in the last 15 years or so. [Jonathan] Haidt identifies a twofold cause, which he terms the ‘Great Rewiring.’ In his telling, smartphone proliferation has prompted young people to substitute devices and social media for in-person socializing. Meanwhile, he writes, safety-obsessed parenting has stunted children’s development of essential social skills, self-confidence, and mental resiliency. In the book’s best portions, Haidt provides insightful psychological explanations of everyday phenomena widely experienced online. … Ultimately, however, Haidt comes to several analytic and public-policy conclusions that his research cannot justify. He advocates invasive — and unconstitutional — regulation of social media with little attention to the many severe tradeoffs his preferred policies would impose.” (05/14/24)
https://lawliberty.org/the-dubious-case-for-regulating-internet-habits/
Astronomers find biggest known batch of planet ingredients swirling around young star
Source: SFGate
“Astronomers have discovered what they believe is the biggest known batch of planet-making ingredients swirling around a young star. The diameter of this colossal disk is roughly 3,300 times the distance between Earth and the sun, with enough gas and dust to form super-sized planets in far-flung orbits, the U.S. and German researchers reported this week. First spotted in 2016, the disk around a star 1,000 light-years away was not confirmed to be a hotbed for new, emerging planets until recent observations by telescopes in Hawaii. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. It’s so massive and rich in dust and gas, the building blocks of planets, that scientists can learn more about ‘the birth and evolution of worlds beyond our own,’ said lead author Kristina Monsch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This so-called protoplanetary disk looks like a butterfly in the images, according to Monsch.” (05/14/24)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/astronomers-find-the-biggest-known-batch-of-19457637.php
New Caledonia: Regime imposes curfew after day of violent protests against constitutional change
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“New Caledonia has imposed a curfew and banned public gatherings in the capital, Noumea, after a day of protests around the French territory against planned changes to the constitution turned violent, with reports of widespread looting and businesses set on fire. … The protests, which have been simmering for weeks, were organised by the pro-independence field action coordination committee (CCAT), in response to plans by France to expand voter eligibility in local elections to include French nationals who have lived on the island for more than 10 years. The move, which is due to come up for further debate in the French parliament on Tuesday, is strongly opposed by leaders of the indigenous Kanak population, who see it as a bid to further minimise their influence.” (05/14/24)