Reading

Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 06:30
Huffington Post published this last week. I can’t say it shocks me — or that I believe it’s the only example of this phenomenon: A prominent conservative writer, lionized by Silicon Valley billionaires and a U.S. senator, used a pen name for years to write for white supremacist publications and was a formative voice during the rise of the racist “alt-right,” according to a new HuffPost investigation. Richard Hanania, a visiting scholar at the University of Texas, used the pen name “Richard Hoste” in the early 2010s to write articles where he identified himself as a “race realist.” He expressed support for eugenics and the forced sterilization of “low IQ” people, who he argued were most often Black. He opposed “miscegenation” and “race-mixing.” And once, while arguing that Black people cannot govern themselves, he cited the neo-Nazi author of “The Turner Diaries,” the infamous novel that celebrates a future race war.
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 06:00

In June 2023 Political Economy at the University of Sydney hosted a discussion on Jamie Martin's new book, The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire and the Birth of Global Economic Governance (Harvard University Press). Jamie gave a presentation on the book, and Martijn Konings was the discussant. Today we are publishing a recording of the event, along with an edited transcript of Martijn's contribution and Jamie's response.

The post Discussion: Martijn Konings and Jamie Martin on ‘The Meddlers’ appeared first on Progress in Political Economy (PPE).

Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 05:00
For real Unindicted co-conspirator John Eastman gave an interview last week in which he discussed all the reason why the country is going to hell (transgender youth and ergonomic chairs are at the top of the list) and explained how that gave Trump the right to ignore the constitution. It’s worth reading in full to get a good sense of just how batshit this guy really is. Josh Marshall had some useful thoughts on this: There’s a lot of atmospherics in this interview, a lot of bookshelf-lined tweedy gentility mixed with complaints about OSHA regulations and Drag Queen story hours. But the central bit comes just over half way through the interview when Eastman gets into the core justification and purpose for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and overthrow the constitutional order itself. He invokes the Declaration of Independence and says quite clearly that yes, we were trying to overthrow the government and argues that they were justified because of the sheer existential threat America was under because of the election of Joe Biden.
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 04:59
In his recent comprehensive P&I article ( “Abandoned sovereignty: Australia’s intelligence function colonised by US”) Mike Scrafton has raised serious concerns about Defence Minister Marles’ announcement at the recent AUSMIN talks of the creation of “Combined Intelligence Centre – Australia” within our Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) by 2024. Details of how this extraordinary joint Australian-US Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 04:56
At the Australian Labor Party’s upcoming national conference in Brisbane, recognition of a Palestinian state — pursuant to Labor’s 2021 national platform that supports the recognition of Israel and Palestine as part of a two-state solution — is on the agenda. Senior Labor party figures, including former Foreign Ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans, have already come out in Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 04:56
White Australians like to think of themselves as an egalitarian and frank people, despising pretentiousness, while basking in a reputation for larrikinism and mateship. But this is all a front, papering over a culture that is deeply racist, excessively masculinist, and incorrigibly populist. Indeed, from its very beginnings, white Australia has been a morally backward Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 04:55
In the Sofronoff inquiry, Counsel Assisting, Ms Erin Longbottom went straight for the jugular of Shane Drumgold, prosecutor in the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial. She made mincemeat of him. By the end of her display of complete dominance, he was a shattered wreck. He had withdrawn his suggestions of political interference, softened his criticism of Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 04:54
The Robodebt Royal Commission revelations have triggered revulsion in all fair-minded Australians. They’ve also stimulated a critically important national conversation about what could be going on in Australian government, including in the Australian Public Service (APS), that such a thing was even possible. For 40 years now, without most Australians realising it, the APS has Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 04:52
The United States is going through a profound transition to which there are only difficult and costly choices. In this latest book on America’s political chaos, we are taken deep into the future of an unacceptable but perhaps unavoidable breakup of the union. Is America close to civil war, and how will the next one Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 03:00

A dreary afternoon. Rain patters against the windows. You’re inside getting cozy in your favorite recliner, about to open a new Goodreads tab.

Ahh. There’s nothing quite like it, is there?

When we dive into Goodreads, we get to explore exciting worlds brimming with possibilities. Exhilarating progress updates keep us glued to the page for hours on end. Colorful notification icons pop up and literally reshape our minds. Memorable characters come along in the comment section and captivate us with their vitriol and misogyny.

In fact, Goodreads helps us develop habits we’ll have with us for the rest of our lives. Like mindlessly checking Goodreads all the time and creating little book lists with the sole purpose of broadcasting our taste to everyone.

Yes, there’s something wonderfully addictive about plopping down in a comfy spot and being showy on the internet about how many books you’ve read. Sometimes Goodreads can be so engaging you can’t help but sit there, totally oblivious to the outside world, cyberbullying people about ’80s sci-fi novels, losing track of time.

Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 02:00
I’m sorry, this still isn’t an unequivocal acknowledgement of reality: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday rejected Donald Trump’s claim that he was the true winner of the 2020 presidential election in his most forceful comments to date on the matter. “Whoever puts their hand on the Bible on Jan. 20 every four years is the winner,” DeSantis told NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns in his first broadcast network interview since he launched his presidential campaign. DeSantis continued to discuss all the ways he believed the previous presidential election was not perfect. But pressed further, he clearly stated that Trump lost. “But respectfully, you did not clearly answer that question,” Burns said. “And if you can’t give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on whether or not he lost —” “No, of course he lost,” DeSantis said, adding, “Joe Biden’s the president.” Why is everyone acting like that’s a straight answer? He’s still trying to have it both ways and it sounds like mush.
Created
Tue, 08/08/2023 - 00:30
So this is new From CNN’s 5 Things newsletter this morning (not online at this hour): Extreme weather More than 120 million people in the Eastern US are at risk of severe thunderstorms today, while heat waves in the South continue their record streaks. The worst of the storms are expected to impact a zone stretching from northern Alabama to southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlotte, Washington, DC, Atlanta and Raleigh. The area is under enhanced risk, level 3 out of 5, for severe storms, forecasters said. Meanwhile, excessive heat warnings remain in effect “for the foreseeable future” across the southern part of the country, from southeast California into Florida, the National Weather Service said. And in Phoenix, Arizona, officials are trying a unique approach to reduce the temperature of pavement using a form of sunscreen, but for roads. Don’t forget to unplug your electronics. A guy who lived up near the ridge where Blue Ridge Parkway runs once related that that was standard practice when lightning was in the area.