Paradise News

Tag: United States

  • Starmer’s Govt Abandons FIVE Rape Gang Inquiries, Gets Pushback

    ER Editor: So the unpopular-on-steroids UK Labour government appears to have abandoned five inquiries into the rape gang scandal, redirecting 5 million pounds of funding elsewhere. Independent MP Rupert Lowe is attempting to right that wrong. Neil Wilby elaborates below.

    Worth reading in full —

    Worth listening to (4 minutes) —

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    Daily Sceptic also picked this up —

    What’s Happened to the Rape Gang Inquiries?

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    Labour scraps pilot grooming gang inquiries, sparking outrage and renewed calls for justice

    The Labour government has abandoned its commitment to hold five local inquiries into grooming gangs, redirecting a £5 million fund to “locally-led work” following feedback from local authorities, a move that has ignited fierce criticism from MPs, campaigners, and victims’ advocates.   The decision, announced in Parliament earlier this afternoon (8th April 2025), by Safeguarding…

    NEIL WILBY

    The Labour government has abandoned its commitment to hold five local inquiries into grooming gangs, redirecting a £5 million fund to “locally-led work” following feedback from local authorities, a move that has ignited fierce criticism from MPs, campaigners, and victims’ advocates.

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    The decision, announced in Parliament earlier this afternoon (8th April 2025), by Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, marks a significant reversal from promises made in January this year by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to investigate the systemic abuse of vulnerable children across Britain.

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    Conservative MP, Katie Lam, led the charge against the policy shift in a passionate speech to the Commons, accusing Labour of perpetuating a cover-up of one of the nation’s most harrowing scandals.

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    Ms Lam, MP for Weald of Kent and a former Home Office adviser, addressed a near-empty chamber this afternoon, decrying the government’s failure to deliver justice for victims of grooming gangs: “Children across Britain have been sexually tortured by gangs of men,” she declared, emphasising the scale of the abuse—estimated to span dozens of towns—and the complicity of those in power who allowed it to persist unchecked. She argued that local inquiries, even when promised, lack the scope and authority to “join the dots” across regions, a point she reiterated in calling for a national inquiry. “Local inquiries are not good enough—they can’t,” she said, cutting off mid-sentence as she underscored the urgency of a broader approach.

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    Her speech, delivered hours before this article’s deadline, has yet to be fully transcribed in Hansard, but its thrust aligns with growing discontent over Labour’s handling of the issue.

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    The policy shift came to light earlier today when Sammy Woodhouse, a prominent grooming gang survivor and campaigner, posted on X: “BREAKING: Labour will no longer be holding five local inquiries into rape gangs. The £5 million will now go towards ‘locally-led work,’ following feedback from local authorities.”

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    ER insert —

    Sammy’s statement, timestamped around 4:00 PM BST, preceded a flurry of corroborating posts from named accounts, including news outlets and political figures, confirming Phillips’ announcement occurred in the early afternoon.

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    The redirection of funds—initially pledged to support inquiries in pilot areas like Oldham—has been framed by Labour as a response to local councils’ preferences, though specifics remain sparse pending official records.

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    The decision caps a turbulent three months for Labour’s grooming gang policy. In January, Cooper outlined plans for five local inquiries, backed by £5 million, to be modelled on the Telford inquiry led by Tom Crowther KC.

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    The move followed intense pressure from opposition MPs, including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, as well as public outcry amplified by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s interventions on X.

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    By 20th March, however, the funding model shifted to a competitive bidding process for councils, a change criticised as diluting accountability. Today’s announcement scraps the inquiries entirely, prompting accusations that Labour is retreating from its commitments under pressure from local authorities reluctant to revisit past failures. Oldham and Bradford top that particular list of shame.

    …

    Public reaction has been swift and scathing. Campaigners, including Sammy Woodhouse, have long argued that only a comprehensive inquiry can expose systemic failings across police forces, councils, and the Crown Prosecution Service—failings Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged in 2012 as DPP, when he admitted the CPS had let victims down.

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    Sammy’s collaboration with independent MP Rupert Lowe on a crowdfunded “Grooming Gang Inquiry,” launched on 28th March with a £100,000 target, reflects this frustration. Whilst lacking statutory powers, their effort—supported by survivors, ex-police, and experts—has been positioned as a grassroots alternative to government inaction, a narrative likely strengthened by Labour’s latest move.

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    The beleagured government, the most unpopular in living memory, defends the shift …

    CONTINUE READING HERE

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    Published to The Liberty Beacon from EuropeReloaded.com

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    Source: TLB

    April 9, 2025

  • German journalist convicted for satirical free speech meme

    David Bendels, the chief editor of the AfD-adjacent Deutschland Kurier, has been threatened with prison time and sentenced to seven months of probation for a Twitter meme. It is the harshest sentence ever handed down to a journalist for a speech crime in the Federal Republic of Germany.

    This is the illegal tweet, which Bendels posted via the official Deutschland Kurier X account on 28 February 2024:

    It shows German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser holding a sign that has been manipulated to read “I hate freedom of speech!” Bendels posted the image to satirise Faeser’s disturbing plans to restrict the speech, travel and economic activity of political dissidents in Germany, which she had announced at a press conference a few weeks earlier.

    Faeser personally filed criminal charges against Bendels for defamation after Bamberg police brought the meme to her attention. Last November, the Bamberg District Court summarily ordered Bendels to pay an enormous fine for this speech crime “against a person in political life.” This is yet another prosecution that proceeds from our lèse-majesté statute, or section 188 of the German Criminal Code, which provides stiffened penalties for those who slander or insult politicians, because politicians are special people and more important than the rest of us.

    The same Bamberg prosecutor’s office and the same Bamberg District Court had previously pursued the German pensioner Stefan Neihoff for the crime of posting another meme implying that German Economics Minister Robert Habeck might be a moron. That case, too, seems to have been brought to Habeck’s attention by Bamberg police, who requested that Habeck file charges. The Bamberg police apparently have very little to do beyond trawling the internet for political memes and protecting democracy by suppressing democratic freedoms.

    Bendels appealed his summary penalty, and so the Bamberg District Court put him on trial. Yesterday the judges found him guilty and sentenced him to seven months in prison, which they suspended in favour of probation. The judges claimed that Bendels was guilty because he had distributed a “factual claim about the Minister of the Interior, Ms Faeser … that was not recognisably … false,” and judged that his meme was “likely to significantly impair [Faeser’s] public image.” The presiding judge demanded that Bendels submit a written apology to the Interior Minister for having so egregiously slandered her.

    What is there even to say about these cases any longer?

    First, there is the rich irony of Interior Minister Faeser, who finds the suggestion she might hate free speech so enraging, that she takes active steps to abridge the free speech of anyone posting memes to that effect. Second, there is the paradoxical reasoning of the Bamberg District Court, where judges would have us believe a meme casting Faeser as an opponent of free speech is likely to “make [her] public activities substantially more difficult” (the legal standard required for conviction under section 188), whereas an actual speech crime conviction procured at Faeser’s behest is totally fine and in no way proves Bendels’s point in the most public way possible. Finally, there are the flatly retarded judges who betray their lack of internet experience (or perhaps merely their hamfisted malice) by suggesting that Bendels’s post “was not recognisably …. false” and therefore especially grave. The reasoning would seem to criminalise a great part of political satire and internet image culture in general.

    The sentence is not yet binding, and Bendels has announced he will appeal:

    We will not accept this judgement and we’ll fight it with all the legal means at our disposal. The Deutschland-Kurier and I personally will continue the just struggle for freedom of the press and for freedom of opinion with determination, resolve and consistency, for this fight is indispensable for the continued existence of democracy in Germany.

    Source: TLB

  • Mom who allegedly ran dog fighting operation sentenced for locking her kids in feces-covered bedroom

    SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (TCN) — A 40-year-old mother who allegedly ran a dog fighting operation and was arrested last year after her 10-month-old daughter died will spend time behind bars for locking her children in a bedroom.

    The First Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced April 7 that Sarah Shakeri-Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conduct toward a child. A judge sentenced her to 10 years suspended to the service of nine years active prison time with three years of probation.

    According to prosecutors, in May 2014, law enforcement responded to a home in the Eagle Run Neighborhood to a report of “two minor children who were hanging out of an open second-story window.” The kids, ages 2 and 3, reportedly yelled at a passerby, claiming they had been locked inside their bedroom as punishment and couldn’t escape.

    Witnesses and law enforcement officials tried to make contact with an adult, but no one answered the door, and deputies entered the residence through a window. Authorities reportedly found Shakeri-Taylor and a man sleeping upstairs and the kids locked in a bedroom down the hall.

    Prosecutors said the bedroom was “covered in feces,” and officials described it as “dirtier than a dog kennel.” The children had allegedly been locked in the room for over 14 hours without any supervision or food. According to the solicitor’s office, the youngest child had a “fully soiled diaper duct taped to his body.”

    In 2018, Shakeri-Taylor reportedly failed to show up to court, and authorities issued a bench warrant for her arrest. However, prosecutors said the bench warrant was pending until she was charged out of Charleston County in 2024 on charges of homicide by child abuse, conspiracy, and ill treatment of animals. While Shakeri-Taylor was out on bond for the 2014 charge, she allegedly fled to Iran, and Dorchester County officials weren’t aware of her whereabouts until her baby died in 2024.

    According to a release from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, in the 2024 case, deputies responded to a home on May 15, 2024, to a report of an unresponsive child. The defendant was at the residence with the baby’s father, 41-year-old Sandy Gathers. Deputies performed lifesaving measures, but the infant was transported to the hospital and pronounced deceased. A toxicology report later revealed the baby, identified by WCSC-TV as Aminah Gathers, had a large amount of fentanyl in her system.

    The sheriff’s office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also located around 15 dogs and evidence of dog fighting in the home.

    In a statement, Chief Deputy Solicitor Kelly LaPlante said, “We are devastated that these children were locked in their room for such an extended period while their mother slept completely oblivious of the desperation of her own children. We are frustrated that Ms. Shakeri-Taylor was able to avoid prosecution for so many years. However, she is living proof that you can run, but you cannot hide in Dorchester County. We will eventually find you, and we will prosecute you.”

    • Mother Sentenced in Dorchester County Child Abuse Case – First Circuit Solicitor’s Office
    • South Carolina mother accused of running dog fighting operation and killing 10-month-old daughter, 8/27/2024 – TCN
    • Ladson mother charged with Homicide by Child Abuse, 8262024 – Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
    • Ladson man facing Animal Fighting or Baiting, Conspiracy, and weapons charges, 6/7/2024 – Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
    • Deputies arrest Ladson mother in the fentanyl-overdose death of her baby, 8/26/2024 – WCSC

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Dr. James Deas Krudop

    Published 4:33 pm Tuesday, April 8, 2025

    Dr. James Deas Krudop, PhD, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 4, 2025, at the age of 78, surrounded by his loving family. Dr. Krudop was a man of faith and integrity that loved his family and community deeply.

    Dr. Krudop was a lifelong resident of Andalusia and graduated from Andalusia High School in 1965. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Auburn University in 1969. He received a Master of Arts Degree in 1973 and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in 1975 from The University of Alabama.

    Dr. Krudop’s career in education served over a span of 50 years where 40 of them were at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, impacting the lives of many students, families, colleagues and the community. His commitment to his community extended to actively serving in several organizations, including First Baptist Church Andalusia, Rotary Club, Andalusia City Council, Andalusia Chamber of Commerce, Andalusia High School Scholarship Foundation, Andalusia Health Services Board, LBW Foundation, Camp ASCCA, Auburn University College of Education National Alumni Council (ENGAGE) and many state and national professional organizations.

    Dr. Krudop strived to help others achieve their full potential and has received many accolades that echo his service to the community and state educational system.

    The City of Andalusia is honoring Dr. Jim Krudop for his service to Andalusia and being on the city council for two terms by placing the city flag at half-staff.

    He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Hollace Moore Krudop; daughters, Dr. Ashley Krudop Powell (Kyle Justin) and Dr. Hadyn Krudop Swecker (Bart Anthony); grandchildren, Sara Frances (Francie) Powell, Foster Deas Powell, Adeline (Addie) Lorraine Powell, Clifton James Swecker, and Oliver Johnson Swecker; sisters-in-law, Lynn G. Krudop and Denise Krudop; brother-in-law Alex R. Moore; and a nephew, Chandler Thomas Moore.

    Dr. Krudop was preceded in death by his mother and father, Bellaire and Sara Frances Krudop; brothers, Richard French and Bellaire Ballard Krudop; grandson, Peanut Powell; and father and mother-in-law, Thomas C. and Mavis B. Moore.

    Visitation was held Monday, April 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Foreman Brown Funeral Home. A funeral service took place at First Baptist Church Andalusia on Tuesday, April 8, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation 30 minutes prior. The graveside service was at Andalusia Memorial Cemetery.

    Pallbearers were Ziba Anderson, Joe McDanal, Larry Avery, Wayne Bennett, Earl Johnson, Larry Newton, Terry Powell, and Ward Taylor.

    Honorary pallbearers was the Andalusia High School Class of 1965.

    Memorial contributions may be made to: First Baptist Church Andalusia, P.O. Box 788; Andalusia, AL 36420, or to the Auburn University Foundation; College of Education Foundation Office of Gifts and Records; 317 S. College St.; Auburn, AL 36849; or the LBW Community College Foundation; P.O. Box 1418; Andalusia, AL 36420.

    Dr. Krudop’s legacy of faith, education and community service will be remembered and inspire generations to come.

    Those wishing to sign the online registry may do so at foremanfuneralhome.com

    Source: Andalusia Star

  • Pa. man who allegedly dug a grave hole in his garage convicted of killing his wife in 1984

    LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) — A 70-year-old man has been convicted of killing his wife more than four decades ago.

    According to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, a jury found Jere Bagenstose guilty of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 25-year-old Maryann Bagenstose. Senior Judge John Kuhn will sentence the defendant following an investigation.

    On June 5, 1984, Maryann Bagenstose went missing. Though her body has never been found, investigators concluded she likely died.

    Prosecutors said Marynn Bagenstose never contacted her friends or family after her disappearance. Authorities performed multiple checks and searches but didn’t find any evidence that she planned to leave her residence. According to the district attorney’s office, the victim didn’t open any bank accounts or claim income, and there wasn’t any activity on her credit or Social Security number.

    During the trial, prosecutors pointed to Jere Bagenstose as the primary suspect in his wife’s disappearance and death. Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman told jurors that Bagenstose “had the motive to kill Maryann.” The defendant was reportedly “facing a likely divorce,” which meant he would possibly lose the house and custody of their child.

    According to the district attorney’s office, the victim was having an affair when she went missing. Bagenstose reportedly sold a vehicle without his wife’s permission. The defendant also allegedly provided inconsistent statements to police throughout the investigation.

    Fetterman argued that in one instance, Bagenstose “dug a grave-shaped hole in his garage following Maryann’s disappearance and then gave conflicting stories as to why he did so.”

    Bagenstose never reported his wife missing or asked about her whereabouts, prosecutors argued. Police reportedly sent postcards to the defendant posing as his wife, but the defendant never reported them. Fetterman also argued that the victim told co-workers days before she went missing “that Bagenstose would be responsible if she were ever to disappear.”

    • Commonwealth Secures Guilty Verdict of Jere Bagenstose for 1984 Murder of Wife Following Jury Trial – Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Ruby Faye Green

    Published 4:34 pm Tuesday, April 8, 2025

    Ruby Faye Green, 91, of Red Level passed away Monday, April 7, 2025 at Opp Health and Rehab.

    Graveside services for Mrs. Green will be Thursday, April 10, 11 a.m., at Fairmount Baptist Church Cemetery with Bro. Jerry Varner officiating.

    Mrs. Green is survived by a number of nieces, nephews, extended family, and cousins.

    She was preceded in death by her husbands, Johnny Thompson and James Green; her son, Billy Thompson; and her sister, Mary Jo Newberry.

    Family and friends may sign the online register at www.foremanfuneralhome.com.

    Source: Andalusia Star

  • The EU is already sharpening its knives against Hungary

    The EU is already sharpening its knives against Hungary

    Even as politicians are being banned from running for office across Europe, the main concern in Brussels still appears to be “rule of law” problems in Hungary

    BY ReMIX NEWS STAFF

    The European Parliament will send a fact-finding mission to Hungary in mid-April to assess the latest developments regarding the rule of law, and 19 EU member states are already ready to take away Hungary’s voting rights.

    (Photo by Diego Radames/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    The EUobserver claims that “rule of law in Hungary continues to deteriorate,” which is why EU institutions are considering accelerating sanctions under Article 7 of the Treaty.

    This claim comes even as Marine Le Pen is banned from running for office in France on trumped-up charges as well as the presidential frontrunner in Romania, Călin Georgescu, being banned from running for president and suffering a show-trial arrest. At the same time, Germany is working on banning the largest opposition party in the country, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), all in a clear breach of fundamental democratic rights.

    “According to an EU source in the European Council, 19 EU member states are already ready to move forward to take away Hungary’s voting rights. However, any real steps would require the agreement of all 26 other member states,” the article reads.

    The author suggests that as a first step, four-fifths of countries could establish that there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the EU’s fundamental values ​​in Hungary.

    The European Parliament will send a fact-finding mission to Hungary in mid-April to assess the latest developments in the rule of law in the country. Dutch Green MEP Tineke Strik called on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to take firm action against Hungary’s allegedly deteriorating rule of law situation.

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    (SOURCE)

    Header featured image (edited) credit: Org. post content. Emphasis added by (TLB)

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    Stay tuned tuned…

    ••••

    The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

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    Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

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    Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

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    Source: TLB

    April 9, 2025

  • Love, lies, and blood: The cartel scheme and the fight for justice | True Crime News Full Episode

    In this episode of “True Crime News,” a jealous girlfriend’s deadly plot leads to a fatal cartel catfish scheme, resulting in the death of a family and a fiery highway crash. Also, a wrongful conviction sends Kimberly Long to prison for the death of her boyfriend. Lastly, Dr. Phil sits down with “True Crime News” to discuss his support for Robert Roberson, who was on death row for killing his daughter due to “shaken baby syndrome.” Dr. Phil argues there isn’t enough evidence to convict him.

    Source: True Crime Daily

  • Covington County Commission will consider holding night meetings each quarter

    Covington County Commission will consider holding night meetings each quarter

    Published 4:39 pm Tuesday, April 8, 2025

    The Covington County Commission approved several items and discussed possibly holding quarterly meetings at night to increase public participation.

    Commissioner Tommy McGaha said he would like the commission to consider expanding its meeting schedule to include one workshop and one meeting each quarter that is later in the day.

    “This would give the citizens who have to work to attend our meetings. We could try it for year, which would be four meetings, and see how attendance is. If it’s positive, maybe we could continue to do it,” McGaha said.

    Commission Chairman Michael Smith agreed that it would give more people an opportunity to be involved in county government and said they will continue discussions regarding when to begin the nightly meetings and a possible schedule for them so they can be properly advertised.

    In other business, the commission approved a project to update audio and video equipment for its chambers. The estimated cost of that project is $11,000 and will be installed by county staff.

    The commission gave the sheriff’s office permission to move forward in applying for a Homeland Security grant for the purchase of a UTV or golf cart to be used by school resource officers across the county. The grant does not require local matching funds.

    Other items discussed included:

    • approving to provide in-kind services to the Opp Head Start program. It was agreed the county will regrade the front entrance of the facility and the county will use the dirt to improve right-of-ways on county roads.

    • approving a $3,000 change order for the ongoing courthouse handicap ramp project. The expense is covered through the bid’s contingency fund.

    • reversing a prior vote that declared an older paint truck as surplus. The truck will be converted and used as a sandblasting rig for bridge maintenance.

    • approving out-of-state travel expense for CCSO investigators to attend training in Meridian, Mississippi, as well as for deputies to attend the funeral of a deputy in Florida.

    • announcing that there is a vacancy on the South Central Alabama Mental Health Board. Board members serve six-year terms.

    • hearing a report from Revenue Commissioner Church Patterson who reported there is over $286,500 remaining in unpaid property tax. He said this year’s tax lien auction will be held on Friday, May 10.

    • an announcement from South Alabama Regional Airport Director Jed Blackwell who reported the airport will receive a $1.5 million grant for taxiway improvements. The airport will provide a 5 percent match for the project.

    The commission will hold its next workshop on  Thursday, April 17, 9 a.m., in the chambers of the Covington County Administration Building.

    Source: Andalusia Star

  • Trump’s Global Bunker Buster Day

    Well, we now know that President Trump’s Liberation Day on April 2, when he announced a new regime of tariffs, was really World Bunker Buster Day.

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    I’m still a little flummoxed that the wise stock market traders decided that stocks were suddenly worth 20 percent less than on April 1. Because I would have thought that the rampages of DOGE on the corrupt educated-class NGO imperium would be a much bigger deal for world prosperity than teaching the Euros and the CCP a lesson in bilateral trade.

    .

    1. U.S. share of world population: 4%
    2. U.S. share of world GDP: 26%
    3. U.S. share of world wealth: 29%
    4. U.S. share of world debt: 35%
    5. U.S. share of worldwide military spending: 37%
    6. U.S. share of worldwide foreign aid: 40%

    “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”

    Unlike Power Line, I worry about Stein’s Law in the context of the “U.S. share of world NGO grantmaking.” I have an acquaintance who got into the university faculty game back in the 1960s. What fun they all had getting faculty jobs for their friends and gorging on government grants. But the outlook for the grandchildren is not so great and so, in faculty world, Trump is to blame. If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.

    In advanced intellectual circles — venture-capitalist world, but not NGO world — bunker buster is called “disruption.” Every time the world changes, in economic, technical, or political revolution, first of all you get disruption. Sometimes the disruption leads to disaster, as with Napoleon, Lenin, Hitler, and Mao. Sometimes it leads to a new world, as in relativity, quantum mechanics, the SUV, the internet. But almost always the disruption is a “surprise” — and probably heresy to the priests of the conventional wisdom.

    Obviously, Trump’s tariffs go beyond surprise, and maybe beyond heresy to the believers in a global world order where wise globalist cardinals chant psalms to the name of free trade. The question is whether the “disruption” reorders the world in a beneficial way or in a harmful way. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Tucker Carlson that all will be well. Bill Ackman says:

    Our trading partners have taken advantage of us for decades after tariffs were no longer needed to help them rebuild their economies after WWII.

    Stop Press: Bill Ackman tweets: don’t be surprised if President Trump pauses the tariffs Monday April 7, because negotiations.

    Suppose what we are now experiencing is the replacement of global financialism, George Soros, proprietor, with tech-bro startup-ism, Marc Andreessen, proprietor? The “tell” might be that the global financialists have all backed the Democrats for decades and now the mostly peaceful protests at Tesla dealerships. But all of a sudden, the tech-bro VCs are switching to the GOP.

    Meanwhile les capitalistes Français have told globalist President Macron to take a hike after he told them all to divest from the USA.

    They said:

    “It is out of the question to stop investing in the United States, especially in the current economic slump.”

    Oh well. But I am sure that the much bigger issue for the best French politicians is to stop the far-right populist menace Marine Le Pen from polluting the sacred halls of the Élysée Palace, once home to France’s exquisite Madame de Pompadour, top-performing aide to Louis XV.

    But “I don’t really care” about the palace intrigues in Europe. The immediate question for you and me is how good the aging 78-year-old Trump still is at his iconic “Art of the Deal.”

    Especially when Curtis Yarvin warns that the U.S. is now “an aging empire.”

    In the young, everything heals as if by providence. In the old, nothing, nothing fixes itself.

    Good point. But whatabout aging Europe, that hates the Trump tariffs? Or aging China, that thought to cure its Century of Humiliation with the totalitarian injection of European Marxism? After the Nightmare of Mao is the Miracle of Xi for real, or is it the final disaster of an aging culture?

    And if and when the U.S. empire sinks beneath the waves, what would replace it? Islam?

    I hope not.

    My pet prophecy is that North America will be reborn after the completion of the immigration of East and South Asians. Last Friday we enjoyed the cherry blossoms along Azalea Way in Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum. Believe me: the East Asians were out there in battalion strength.

    I wonder if history will rhyme. After Europe colonized North America and annihilated its inhabitants with European diseases, the triumphant North Americans returned to Europe in 1917 to teach aging Europe a well-deserved lesson. Do you think that the East Asians in North America, brimming with youthful enthusiasm, will someday announce their own Bunker Buster Day and return to aging China to teach it a lesson?

    Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill blogs at The Commoner Manifesto and runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.

    Featured Image: Pixabay

    Source: TLB