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Nov. 20 – 11 p.m.
After several weeks of courtship, I have established a partnership with a human male. In a brief yet giddy discussion, relationship was determined to be “boyfriend-girlfriend.” Having spent the majority of my adult life single, I find this new pairing most intriguing.

Boyfriend’s build is appealing—could be described as having “meat on his bones.” Recently, I discovered that both he and I are inclined to wear button-ups. His typically are one size larger than mine, with bolder colors. However, sometimes I wonder if we will arrive at a restaurant one day wearing the very same one. What a sight that would be! And if we are matching, who is to say that is wrong?

My mind swirls with the possibility, but it behooves me to focus on the present. I remain alert to new findings as I engage in this romantic alliance.

June 19, 2023 ROBERT SKIDELSKY Geopolitics, which originated during the run-up to World War I, represents an inherently pessimistic view of international relations as a perpetual power struggle. But as the world’s military and policy establishments prepare for prolonged conflict, we must resist the allure of the zero-sum mindset. LONDON – One of the regrettable … Continue reading The Costly Return of Geopolitics

The myriad threats comedians face is explored in the new edition of 'Index on Censorship', writes its Editor-in-Chief Jemimah Steinfeld

Part 4 and (for now) last of this series. Earlier installments can be found here. So, by early 1999 various attempts to resolve the Kosovo situation had failed. In autumn 1998 the Americans had sent Richard Holbrooke as a special envoy to Belgrade. Holbrooke negotiated a deal that looked good on paper, with a ceasefire, […]

Last week, Grant Shapps compounded Britain’s commitment to war-fighting and destruction, as a way of dealing with complex global problems, and indicated his desire for Britain to be in the driving seat in stoking further conflicts. We are in a pre-war world, he stated, not a post-war world. In his first major speech as Defence […]

Veteran Crime Reporter Duncan Campbell examines the sad history of wrongful prosecutions and the decline of deeply researched investigations

Newly empowered overseas voters tell Byline Times they are 'sick of racist rhetoric' and Britain's Brexit fallout.

The side-eye, the raised eyebrow – watch the sweet, peculiar rallies of a long-married couple in intimate conversation

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Glenn Grothman want to recognize the contribution of Air America, the CIA airline that supported secret wars in Laos and Cambodia.

The post Pensions for the “Deep State”: Republicans Push Benefits for Air America, the CIA’s Secret Vietnam-Era Airline appeared first on The Intercept.

Ibn Tufayl’s story of a man mourning the gazelle who raised him helped me appreciate the interconnection of all things

- by Veronica Menaldi

Read at Psyche

Traditionalist and modernist architecture are both mass-produced, industrial and international. Is there an alternative?

- by Owen Hatherley

Read at Aeon

After a multimillion-dollar lobbying blitz, Wall Street firms got themselves exempted from anti-money-laundering requirements being imposed on small businesses.

One of the last places my dad asked to visit before he died last year was Aberavon beach. With the industrial landscape of the Tata steelworks in full view, he breathed in the sea air, watched my kids play, and reminisced about his time as a steelworker. There was no question for him: Wales had […]

I keep hearing from friends who live in Britain that I will be shocked when I get there on Thursday of this week after a nearly four year absence. One friend, who has just returned said that the deterioration in the public infrastructure is now fairly evident. Despite my absence, I have been keeping a…

Mike Johnson is on thin ice The crazies are restless: Speaker Mike Johnson is beset with political challenges: At least two conservative lawmakers have begun threatening his job. The former acting speaker trashed Johnson’s performance this week. A border-policy showdown with the Senate and White House draws nearer every day. And then there’s the problem of the 2024 campaign. A growing number of House Republicans are increasingly frustrated with Johnson’s leadership and whispering about whether he can hang on to his role after 2024 — if he even makes it that far. Despite serving barely three months as speaker, the Louisianan is already facing an immediate threat from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who is openly disparaging him and suggesting she may try to boot him from the speakership. “I don’t think he’s safe right now,” Greene said, adding: “The only reason he’s speaker is because our conference is so desperate.” Few Republicans are prepared to join Greene, at least at this point.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

This is the media’s fault for indulging these spoiled brats’ tantrums about being “insulted” by the coastal elites. Nobody is more insulting than they are — and they’ve been that way for years. This isn’t a Trump thing. It’s a “Real America” thing.

Count on one thing: Donald Trump, who seems to gain Republican support with every new indictment, is not going away. He’s managed to capitalize on his 2020 election loss, using his failed insurrection, a stream of violent threats and verbal attacks against political opponents and journalists, and the disinformation machine of Fox News and similar outlets to peddle his stories of white American victimhood (above all, of course, his own victimhood). Meanwhile, his supporters are all too happy to carry out violent attacks in his name. Regardless of whether Trump wins the 2024 election, the “Orange Jesus,” as one Republican congressman reportedly called him, is here to stay. He’s also provided some of America’s favorite headlines and jokes, even for... Read more

Source: Trump 2.0 appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

The Opposition’s perpetually outraged leader, Peter Dutton, has demanded a nation wide boycott of stationery supplier Officeworks after discovering that they did not stock Mr Potato Head branded pencil cases. ”This is an outrageous attack on ordinary, everyday working Australians,”... Read More ›

He’s out. Thank God. Yes, he is the most worthless politician in America: It seems only minutes ago that the whole political world was agog at his tremendous political talent. Well… The lesson? Never assume that the next GOP Great Whitebread Hope is as fantastic as the press corps thinks he is. The other lesson? If you’re going to run as the biggest asshole in politics you’d better have a lot of money and celebrity that makes people think you must be really great anyway. Ron is just an asshole. I am so happy to see the end of him. It’s been a real horror covering his disgusting campaign. Let’s hope we never see him on the national stage again. This massive flame-out argues for him joining Scott Walker and Tim Pawlenty in the Loser Hall of Fame. What does it all mean? We’ll unwind all that in the next few days. But Greg Sargent is right that it spells the end of the big post-pandemic “woke” war. That battle in the culture war is coming to an end, but never fear, the war isn’t over.

Daniel Uhlfelder went through the FEC reports and found all money paid to law firms by Donald Trump’s Super PAC in the first 6 months of last year. FEC records show that between January 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023, Donald Trump’s Super PAC, SAVE AMERICA, made payments to the following law firms in these amounts:BALLARD SPAHR LLP – $109,174.55 BEDELL, DITTMAR, DEVAULT, PILLANS & COXE, P.A. – $351,040.77 BINNALL LAW GROUP – $1,031,788.33 BLANCHE LAW – $353,090.03 BRAND WOODWARD LAW – 201,948.00 BRITO PLLC – $68,194.50 CADWALADER, WICKERSHAM, & TAFT LLP – $344,950.21 CONTINENTAL PLLC – $1,929,207.90 DHILLON LAW GROUP INC. – $734,730.8 EARTH & WATER LAW, LLC – $347,820 HABBA MADAIO & ASSOCIATES LLP – $1,503,915.14 IFRAH LAW PLLC – $720,009.28 FINDLING LAW FIRM – $541,456.25 KELLOGG, HANSEN, TODD, FIGEL & FREDERICK PLLC – $1,042,479 CHRIS KISE & ASSOCIATES, P.A. – $2,148,536.58 JOHN F. LAURO, P.A.