“A Tulsi Gabbard drag king act” For those of you who wisely don’t follow twitter, the ere was a brouhaha over the weekend over RFK Jr’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast in which he blathered about his anti-vax nonsense with Rogan the idiot dupe believing every word. Elon Musk joined in on twitter affirming RFK and somehow Rogan called out Dr Peter Hotez (a world renowned virologist and expert on vaccines) for refusing to “debate” him on his show on the subject. Let’s just say,m the stupid was very, very strong. Here’s one thread that explains RFK’s idiocy from someone who actually understands the science. You may not want to go that deep into the weeds but if you do, it’s interesting. Mehdi Hasan says it best: It would be easy to ignore all this but the anti-vax faction in America got a lot of people killed and they want to keep doing it. Meanwhile, RFK Jr is being promoted all over the right for equally nefarious reasons. As Tim Miller says here, it’s basically become a ratfucking operation:
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He did post a few other things about how the Justice Department needs to apologize and Fox news getting bad ratings. But that’s it.
Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame, died on June 16. Asked about his decision to dispute the Nixon White House claims about US progress in the Vietnam war, Ellsberg said he had one regret. ‘I waited too long to release those papers. The bombs were already falling.’ From his death bed he stressed the value Continue reading »
The Western hope that Taiwan could serve as a catalyst for an attack of China seems likely to remain the fantasy it always was. I first knew Taiwan in the sixties – dirt poor and brutally oppressive. A well-known lawyer, Duan-Mu Kai, I came to know spent his time rescuing from execution people falsely accused Continue reading »
Secrecy and the need to ensure natural justice for Peter Collins & other PWC Australia staff who received or used confidential information, prevents disclosure of the specific offences being investigated by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). But there will be no shortage of possible offences to investigate. They range from a breach of tax secrecy Continue reading »
Is a taser a tool, or a torture weapon? That’s something Australians should think upon; Late news suggests to me that’s more than just a teaser. Imagine an old grey guy, nicknamed ‘Grumpy Geyser’ – He’s limping his frame across the road, A bread knife in one hand has him slowed. A panicked nurse had Continue reading »
Bob Katter is not known for his searching socio-economic analysis, but when he rails in Parliament that it is an indictment of Australia’s banana republic economy that Coles and Woolworths have long toppled manufacturing companies as the largest private sector employers in Australia, it is hard to argue with his logic. Australia has the veneer Continue reading »
Thirty-seven countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The breadth of this campaign has few precedents in recent history. The sanctions covering finance, energy, technology, travel, shipping, avionics and commodities are aimed at one of the 10 largest world economies. Yet the economic pressure on Moscow is Continue reading »
The Washington Post finally conceded in an editorial recently that the United States must “spend smarter” when it comes to defence. Instead of looking for ways to cut defence spending, however, the Post simply wants to spend differently. It favours more spending on conventional and nuclear-armed submarines, despite the huge U.S. advantage in both power Continue reading »
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – June 18, 2023
by Tony Wikrent
MY FIFTY YEARS WITH DAN ELLSBERG
Seymour Hersh [via Naked Capitalism 6-17-2023]
Climate and environmental crises
[Watching the World Go Bye, via Naked Capitalism 6-14-2023]
I’m so old I remember when that book caused the religious right to have a hysterical meltdown. Good times. Salon’s Kathryn Joyce takes a look at this emerging coalition of conservative American Muslims and far right Christians protesting gay rights. She notes that one of the hotspots of this activism is oddly in Southern California where there has been a number of large protests. “In covering the far-right in LA and Southern California,” tweeted local photographer and journalist Joey Scott, “[i]t is always the same people who have been fixtures since even before 2020.” Others noted that many of the concerned “conservative parents” cited in media reports didn’t seem to “even know which school district they are protesting.” “From Los Angeles to Glendale, it is clear that organized white-supremacist, fascist forces such as the Proud Boys, the Patriot Front and potentially others are specifically targeting LGBTQ+ students, families and educators,” wrote the labor union United Teachers Los Angeles in a statement.
He’s now calling himself the king. He does act like he’s some kind of dethroned king in exile preparing to take back his throne. Or maybe he’s the golden goose that’s being slaughtered? Or is Fox the golden goose that lived on the prairie? What the hell is he talking about?
Nearly eight months after it was announced, it appears the deal between Disney & the BBC's Doctor Who is paying off in a very important way.
Institute for Public Accuracy
Former President Trump is facing 31 counts under the Espionage Act, the same federal statute that was the basis for the prosecution of U.S. Air Force veteran Daniel Hale, who is now serving a 45-month prison sentence as a drone whistleblower.
Hello everyone! I just want to make a quick announcement that because I’m working on a book and doing several events this summer, my posting schedule will be a bit more sporadic. I’m not disappearing completely, it’s just going to be a bit more touch and go. Enjoy the summer my friends <3
Turn in your hymnals to….. Inflation is down. In fact, it is down to four percent from its four-decade high of 9.1 percent last June, writes John Cassidy in The New Yorker. But that seems not to have penetrated public consciousness. President Biden is getting little credit for the improvement, pushed out of the headlines by the Trump indictment. Perhaps also, Cassidy suggests, because there are lags between numerical improvements and people’s perceptions. Biden’s approval ratings have not recovered like the economic indicators. Egg prices have plummeted since avian flu sent them skyrocketing in 2022. But prices are still more than 80 percent higher than in January 2021. “The price of gasoline is another example. At about $3.70 a gallon, the average price across the country has fallen considerably since last year’s peak of $5.10 a gallon,” Cassidy reports. “But the price is still well above its January, 2021, level, which was about $2.50 a gallon.” Other consumer prices remain higher. Consumers still feel pinched: Figures like these leave the White House in a bind. Even though inflation, job growth, and G.D.P.
The team’s NBA championship victory offers important lessons about solidarity and teamwork.
QAnon seemed mostly harmless too QAnon appeared to be just a loose network of conspiracy crackpots until a bare-chested guy wearing horns and face paint stood on U.S. Senate’s dais on Jan. 6. Fred Clarkson, a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates, has worked to draw attention to another loose network of believers with political designs on the country: The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). This network of nondenominational churches aligned with Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA has aspirations for replacing our “demon-infested bastions of ungodly government,” he Clarkson writes. Clarkson provides an overview at Salon: The NAR seeks to consolidate those Christians it recognizes as “the Church” in what it believes to be the End Times. Although many NAR leaders have been closely aligned with Donald Trump, they insist that they aim for a utopian biblical kingdom where only God’s laws are enforced. Most therefore hold to a vision of Christian dominion over what they call the “seven mountains“: religion, family, education, government, media, entertainment and business.
I dessa tider — när ljudrummet dränks i den kommersiella radions pubertalflams — har man nästan gett upp. Men det finns ljus i mörkret. I programmet Text och musik med Eric Schüldt — som sänds på söndagsförmiddagarna i P2 mellan klockan 11 och 12 — kan man lyssna på seriös musik och en programledare som […]
Guyana is poised to become Exxon’s top global oil producer. Where the company ends and the government begins is increasingly unclear.
The post How Exxon Captured a Country Without Firing a Shot appeared first on The Intercept.
New York’sTribeca Film Festival wraps up this weekend. However, you can catch up- the festival is offering select titles via the “Tribeca at Home” online portal from June 19th through July 2nd . I have a few more reviews to share with you, so let’s dive in… Cinnamon ** (USA) – Coffy? Meet Cinnamon. Written, directed and executive produced by Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr., this crime thriller marks the first offering under the banner of Village Roadshow Pictures’ Black Noir Cinema, which according to Variety, “…aims to adapt and redefine the Blaxploitation genre and translate its spirit of empowerment to a new generation of Black audiences.” With all due respect, isn’t that an avenue that filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino (e.g. Jackie Brown, Django Unchained) and the Hughes Brothers (e.g. Dead Presidents) have already been traversing for a couple of decades? I’m just asking questions. Hailey Kilgore plays a young woman who works at a gas station and aspires to make it big in the music biz.