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Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 10:39

By John Pilger This is an abridged version of an address by John Pilger in Sydney on 10 March to mark the launch in Australia of Davide Dormino’s sculpture of Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, ‘figures of courage’. I have known Julian Assange since I first interviewed him in London in 2010. I […]

The post John Pilger: The Betrayers of Julian Assange appeared first on scheerpost.com.

Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 10:30
For real… Don’t be surprised if they propose invading as well. After all, their hero Vladimir did it: As the war in Ukraine rages on, former President Donald Trump and the MAGA right have presented their opposition to continued aid to Ukraine as a position grounded in antiwar principles. Trump’s inner circle is reportedly going so far as to push the narrative that Trump is the “peace president” in the 2024 White House race. Yet at the same time, right-wing nationalists are displaying an increasing appetite for launching a new war altogether — in Mexico.  It’s a bizarre, disconcerting development, and a reminder that right-wing nationalists’ aversion to backing Ukraine isn’t based on a commitment to minimizing the harm caused by war. It is in reality a reluctance to use force that doesn’t more narrowly advance perceived U.S. interests. Let’s be clear: It is not a good idea to send missiles or troops into Mexico to deal with the fentanyl problem. It is a violation of national sovereignty.
Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 09:00
It appears that Donald Trump may be on the verge of indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Philip Bump has all the details: The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) has extended an unwelcome invitation to former president Donald Trump: come offer testimony before a grand jury probing his business. In the state of New York, potential targets of criminal investigations can request the opportunity to offer testimony to a grand jury, an alert that can serve as a sort of early-warning flag for potential indictments. Trump, like most of those who are invited to testify before possible indictment, is unlikely to actually show up for questioning. But the invitation itself suggests that Bragg’s office may be close to actually filing criminal charges. One possible focus of an indictment is the 2016 payment of $130,000 to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels facilitated by Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen. The focus of a grand jury’s work is sealed, but both The Washington Post and the New York Times have reported that the hush-money payment is a likely focal point of the probe.
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 07:00
He’s Nixon in high heels He’s very weird: Suzy Barker, a native Iowan dressed in an orange-and-blue University of Florida hoodie, waited in a crowd of fellow Republicans on Friday morning to meet Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. She smiled widely and pointed to her hoodie as she told the governor that her son attended college in his home state. Mr. DeSantis — dressed in a dark blue suit with a light blue, open-collar shirt and black boots — stood on the opposite side of 10 metal bike racks separating him from the crowd. He gave a slight nod to Ms. Barker and told her about his state’s new “grandparent waiver” that gives tuition breaks to out-of-state students whose grandparents are Florida residents. But Ms. Barker, a 50-year-old teacher who had driven about an hour to see the Florida governor in Davenport, does not have any other family in the Sunshine State, and she narrowed her eyes in confusion at his response. Here she was at an event promoting Mr. DeSantis’s new book, shoulder to shoulder with a crush of Iowans eager for face time with the anti-“woke” darling of right-wing America, and he was talking waivers. Mr.
Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 06:41

THE All One Under the Sun project in Coffs Harbour has teamed up with students from Orara High School to present ‘Stand Up, Stand By’, an original theatre show that explores the impact of racism on individuals and emphasises the role of bystander intervention in supporting victims of racism. All One Under the Sun is...

The post All One Under the Sun launches new show to remedy racism appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 06:38

THEATRES across the region are preparing for a massive influx of film lovers from April 20 to May 5, with the Coffs Coast’s premier film and screen celebration, the Screenwave International Film Festival, breaking its previous ticket presales record last week, ahead of the full SWIFF’23 festival line-up becoming publicly available at SWIFF.com.au on Saturday...

The post SWIFF unveils 140-plus sessions for 2023 film festival appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 06:36

AN amenity wall, designed to shield the Pacific Bay Resort Precinct from the noise and disturbance of the Coffs Bypass construction happening on its Pacific Highway boundary, has been promised by the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government if re-elected on 25 March 2023. If they are, they will commit up to $10 million for a...

The post Barrier to be built to protect Pacific Bay Resort from bypass traffic noise appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 05:30
They’re nuts These people are brainwashed and delusional. They don’t even know what CRT is but they are convinced that they must save the children from it. It would be sad if it weren’t for the fact that they are being used as willing tools in a nascent (maybe not so nascent) fascist movement. What if there is nothing to panic about? This week, three conservative school board members in a rural Colorado district threatened to resign because of critical race theory. Not because they fear it. But, instead, because they’re sick of the fear-mongering about it. The three board members in Elizabeth, Colorado (population: 1,675), say that critical race theory is not taught in schools, but that community members have brought up the issue relentlessly. At a February 13 school board meeting, Elizabeth High School principal Bret McClendon addressed Rhonda Olsen and Heather Booth, the two school board members who have launched a crusade against CRT, telling them to “stop chasing ghosts.” “We are not teaching critical race theory at Elizabeth High School,” McClendon said, according to the local Elbert County News.
Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:59
As soon as within a month or two, Japan could begin dumping into the Pacific Ocean 1.3 million tons of treated but still radioactively contaminated wastewater from the stricken Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant. Construction of the kilometre long undersea discharge tunnel and a complex of pipes feeding it commenced last August. This cheap and dirty Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:58
Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism gets a government greenwash while international efforts to control Scope 3 emissions increase. Pygmy chameleons and eagle-owls are fighting for survival in different ways. Please stop eating shark and Tassie farmed salmon. Safeguard Mechanism If you were completely confused or disappointed (or most likely both) by the previous government’s Safeguard Mechanism and Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:57
The different way in which the concept of ‘territorial integrity’ is applied by the West in Ukraine and Taiwan sheds light on the instrumentalist hypocrisy at the heart of American foreign policy, and the role of the media in obscuring that hypocrisy. ‘Territorial integrity’ is very much the mantra in much of the discussion about Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:56
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Ales Bialiatski has been sentenced to 10 years in a Belarus prison for allegedly smuggling and financing actions which violated public order. At almost the same time Nicaraguan opposition leader Felix Maradiaga was released from prison, stripped of his citizenship and flown to the US. Government in Belarus and Nicaragua is Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:54
COVID-19 disproportionately impacts disadvantaged and vulnerable Australians. What does that mean for their engagement in post-secondary vocational education and training (VET)? There is – and will be for some time to come – a “long tail” of impact by COVID-19 on disadvantaged Australians and communities, which will impact their ability to participate in training. This Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:53
Just what’s needed to get me standing up straight, proud and strong! A session with a kindly chiropractor. Not much actual force is needed. He’ll just firmly manipulate my spine and make things right. Posture corrected. Out with that clumsy walking-stick! But what’s this? Is something wrong? Why is John Menadue urging our government to Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:51
Nelson has been described as a bullshit artist, a narcissist, a charlatan, oleaginous, and having a glass jaw. Each descriptor is incomplete, some even unfair. Yet, throughout his career he has been popular across the political spectrum. Why? David Stephens reviews Of Life and Of Leadership, by Brendan Nelson Brendan Nelson has always been an Continue reading »
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Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:50
Ignorance and fear can be effective weapons in a manipulative politician’s arsenal. They’re guaranteed to pierce the armour of those least protected by doubt and most susceptible to flannel. ‘High tension’ and ‘social unrest’ are likely during the upcoming Indonesian presidential election campaign according to Moody’s investors’ service. That was the case in the 2019 Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 12/03/2023 - 04:43
Not MMT but MMT-related in that it considers "money" institutionally. The article views the need for a new set of institutional arrangements as compelling for the Global South and suggests parameters for a solution as well as an outline of a possible solution 

While the article does not mention it, this appears to be akin to the bancor system devised by J. M. Keynes and E. F. Schumacher and proposed by the UK at Bretton Woods. It was rejected in favor of the US proposal of a dollar-based system with the USD anchored to gold at a fixed rate for international settlement. This became the untethered dollar system in 1971 when President Richard Nixon ended convertibility on the advice of US Treasury Secretary John Connolly as a unilateral response to a run on gold as a result of rising US deficits. This post-WWII experience provides a historical reference for the issues involved in institutional arrangements regarding "money." This article is informed by that experience.

The article is also based on the work of Zoltan Pozsar's analysis and draws on Michael Hudson's critique.