The following is a paper by retired Australian Army Major General Michael G Smith AO, first published in The New Daily on May 26, 2023. This paper addresses the most significant issue facing the Australian people since the Second World War, namely our future national security, our independence, our sovereignty, our prosperity and, ultimately, our Continue reading »
Reading
We now have a Defence Strategic Review. But where is the National Risk Assessment, the National Security Strategy, and the Plan? A failure to resource the DSR changes adequately could mean that our deployable military operational capability will in reality be less at the end of this decade than it is today. On the 24th Continue reading »
With the passing of the 75th remembrance of the Nakba this May, Palestine and its Occupation can often be forgotten from one May to another. May will come around next year, the Palestinian flag will be waved, Palestinian supporters will rightfully demonstrate in capital cities around the world while the US and UK recommence their Continue reading »
Predatory capitalism has become visible across the world as neo-liberalism becomes fully transnational. Consultancies working to authoritarian rules have consumed big business by making executives richer. They may be set to engulf governments and even entire societies. In the 1920s and 1930s fascist Germany and Italy were the darlings of business across the democratic world. Continue reading »
At his valedictory event, former APS Commissioner, Peter Woolcott, suggested that the Government and APS leadership were now pursuing ‘Thodey on steroids’. Some have endorsed that view referring to the partnership between Glyn David and Gordon de Brouwer as the ‘dream team’, now further consolidated by de Brouwer’s appointment as the new APS Commissioner. So Continue reading »
On 30 January 2023, the Albanese Government released its new national cultural policy, REVIVE: a five-year plan to revive the arts in Australia. There was widespread pleasure that after a decade of neglect of cultural matters, attention was being given again to this important aspect of Australian life. There was, however, some dismay at the Continue reading »
Let’s see how Europeans respond when they are told their peace dividend is henceforth to be spent on the machinery of war — when it’s “howitzers instead of hospitals” now, as a New York Times article puts it. Maybe you recall all the post–Cold War talk of a “peace dividend” and maybe you don’t: It depends on Continue reading »
A photo Beijing released on March 6th of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s foreign minister Wang Yi delivered a seismic shock in Washington. There he was, standing between Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, and Saudi National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban. They were awkwardly shaking hands on an agreement to reestablish Continue reading »
Here’s an interesting view on some dynamics underlying the debt ceiling negotiations I’ve never seen before from Talking Points Memo. I can’t vouch for whether all these details are correct, but if they are it makes you wonder why nobody has been discussing it. Anyway, just throwing it out there as food for thought: You were wondering how Biden was able to get such a good deal; in the end all this drama just amounted to getting the budget-negotiation process started early, with the GOP’s main takeaway being something (spending freeze) that their control of the House already guaranteed them via the tool of passing continuing resolutions.
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – May 28, 2023
by Tony Wikrent
War
Benjamin Schwarz, Christopher Layne [Harpers, June 2023 issue, via Naked Capitalism 5-22-2023]
Both the global role that Washington has assigned itself generally, and America’s specific policies toward NATO and Russia, have led inexorably to war—as many foreign policy critics, ourselves among them, have long warned that they would….
A debt ceiling fight ending with a whimper not a bang It’s not over yet, because Kevin McCarthy still has to round up enough votes to get past the Hastert Rule (GOP can’t bring a bill to floor with a majority of Democratic votes) and he might still face a motion to vacate the chair when all is said and done (which is his problem, not ours) it appears that creaky old Joe got the best deal we could have expected, most importantly an agreement to extend the debt limit until after the next election. Donald Trump hasn’t said a word yet. Whether he whips against voting for it is unknown. But you can bet he is not happy about it. Here’s Dave Dayen at the American Prospect with the view from the progressives: With one potentially major exception, the relative harm and help was kept to a minimum in the final agreement. It will only be a little bit easier to commit wage theft, or to sell defective or poisoned products. It’ll only be a little harder to get rental assistance or tuition support. Only a few people will be freer to pollute the environment; only a few will find it more difficult to get food. The Internal Revenue Service will only be a little worse.
I wrote and deleted a long post about an argument I had with my Dad. Instead I’ll summarise with a tidied up extract from an email I sent to MJD.
I did not even last 48 hours …
Doctor Who script editor Scott Handcock's production update offered interesting teases for Series 14, the 60th-anniversary special & more.
Nothing is real AI tools are the hot new toys every kid wants for Christmas. Just like crypto was the hot, new, get-rich investment? We gave a sidelong glance at using AI in political campaigns just last week. The Atlantic‘s Russell Berman offers another take beginning with the CEO of the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, practically begging Congress (in Berman’s telling) to regulate his industry. Firms hyping the new tools name-drop candidates such as former Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman whose campaigns have used them already. But? “I don’t remember anyone using AI for anything on that campaign,” Kenneth Pennington, a digital consultant and one of the Fetterman campaign’s earliest hires, told me. Promoters pitch generative-AI as a way for small-time candidates to campaigns like the big kids, using it “to create digital ads, proofread, and even write press releases and fundraising pitches.” And to increase the number of targeted ads and emails you spend time blocking and deleting.
"I want to find a place of grace far from the stench of the media. I want to go where I am not reminded of the social media sewer."
“Texas AGs have often been scoundrels” Seems the blush is off the Texas rose (Texas Tribune): For Angela Paxton, June 1 will always be “I love you day,” the anniversary of the first time a baby-faced Baylor undergrad named Ken told her he loved her. This year, “I love you day” will have a dark cloud looming over it, as that young man, now the attorney general of Texas, faces removal from office by the state Senate — of which Angela Paxton is a member. On Saturday, the Texas House voted 121-23 to impeach Ken Paxton on a range of charges, at least one of which involved his wife, and at least one of which related to an alleged extramarital affair. Ken Paxton is suspended while the Senate decides whether he should be removed from office. Paxton’s reputation as a scoundrel did not stop him in Texas from becoming attorney general. He has been under indictment for felony securities fraud for nearly eight years. His lawyers have managed to redirect the case to friendly turf his home county and delay, delay, delay. If it wasn’t beneath him, presidential candidate Donald Trump might tap Paxton for pointers.
The Republicans are threatening to tank the economy, and the Democrats are just waiting to get pantsed.
“Det dunkelt sagda är det dunkelt tänkta” — fanns det ‘postmodern’ mumbojumbo redan på Esaias Tegnérs tid?
Book recommendations and more from Intercept staffers.
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As the Boundary Review reorganises the parliamentary geography of Wales, it is worth looking back on our history and the steps taken to represent working people. Last year was the centenary of Welsh Labour’s rise to domination of politics in Wales, where it has remained the largest parliamentary party since 1922. But it was […]
Here’s the real reason ‘asset managers’ object to ‘printing money’
Bucolic fairytales are a threat to life on Earth. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 26th May 2023 No issue is more important, and none so shrouded in myth and wishful thinking. The way we feed ourselves is the key determinant of whether we survive this century, as no other sector is as damaging. […]
