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The Wagner boss oversees an online army that has pushed disinformation around the globe, including alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The post Information Warfare Was Key to Prigozhin’s Mutiny Against Putin appeared first on The Intercept.

Stevens understood the meaning of ethics. The right wingers never have apparentrly: This isn’t the first time Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas have faced pressure to recuse themselves from cases over the activities of their relatives, their relationships with involved parties or their financial interests. Newly released and previously unreported court documents that belonged to Justice John Paul Stevens, who led the marble palace’s liberal wing, show just how aware the justices were of charges that the appearance of impropriety could shake the public’s faith in the institution. They also show just how quick they were to push back against these concerns. The Library of Congress opened the papers to the public on May 2. The issues the justices wrestled with back then echo the controversies engulfing the court today. Although the court often puts up a united front in public, the documents provide a rare glimpse into its inner workings and show that at least one justice — Stevens — found Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s rationale for not recusing himself from a major case to be insufficient.

The sex stereotypes built into animal research.

The post Which Sex of Mouse Should You Ask for Directions? appeared first on Nautilus.

She’s a pariah even among the wingnuts: House Freedom Caucus members took a momentous vote Friday on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s future with the group, according to three people familiar with the matter — but it’s not yet clear whether she’s been officially ejected. The right-flank group took up Greene’s status amid an internal push, first reported by POLITICO, to consider purging members who are inactive or at odds with the Freedom Caucus. Greene’s close alliance with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and her accompanying criticism of colleagues in the group, has put her on the opposite side of a bloc that made its name opposing GOP leadership. While her formal status in the conservative group remains in limbo, the 8 a.m. Friday vote — which sources said ended with a consensus against her — points to, at least, continued strong anti-Greene sentiment. A spokesperson for Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) declined to comment on the group’s vote as well as the official status of Greene’s membership.

¾ pound smoked salmonJuice of ½ lemonSalt and freshly ground black pepperFreshly grated nutmeg¼ pint single creamAspic jelly½ pint double cream, whipped2 egg whites, stiffly beaten1 packet frozen peas, cooked Chop ½ pound smoked salmon (reserving ¼ pound of the best pieces for garnish) and pound until smooth in a mortar with lemon juice and […]

Opposition leader Peter Dutton, a man who proudly walked out on the apology to the stolen generation, has called for a sensible debate on the merits of bringing back the white Australia policy. ”Look, I’m not racist but, we need... Read More ›

The Journal of Australian Political Economy continues to be the go-to place for publishing political economy for local (and international) readers.

The journal’s latest issue (Winter 2023) contains full-length articles on a variety of topics, with particular focus on Australian industry policy issues, bank lending policy and regional inequalities in housing affordability. A review article considers recent books dealing with climate change and capitalism. Four shorter articles on recent official reports are also featured, along with an array of reviews and notes on recent political economy publications. Overall, the contents of this latest issue show the continuing vitality of political economy scholarship and research in Australia [...]

The post JAPE: new and forthcoming issues appeared first on Progress in Political Economy (PPE).

I’ve been largely absent here – wrapping up my editorial work on two academic volumes and the various rounds of edits on the popular book on limitarianism. I promise I’ll be back with substantive posts by late August (after resting and travelling). In the meantime, I thought I might share this 45 minutes podcast episode […]

Raymond Mattia’s family said the partial release of body camera footage “feels like a cheap attempt to justify what they did.”

The post Border Patrol Video of Killing Shows Native Man Had No Gun, Complied With Orders appeared first on The Intercept.

Meanwhile, this is happening in the US Congress: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) on Monday challenged a labor union president to a physical fight in response to some mean tweets. The senator and Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien have been feuding since March, when O’Brien referred to Mullin, a business owner, as a “greedy CEO” during a Senate committee hearing. Mullin brought up the exchange during another Senate hearing last Wednesday, prompting O’Brien to respond online, where he called the senator “JohnWayne” and a “moron” in one tweet, and a “clown” and a “fraud” in another. “Quit the tough guy act in these senate hearings,” O’Brien wrote in a tweet that mocked Mullin’s height. “You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.” After apparently thinking about it for five days, on Monday, Mullin suggested they set a date and location for a mixed martial arts showdown ― “for charity.” “An attention-seeking union Teamster boss is trying to be punchy after our Senate hearing,” Mullin wrote.

Perhaps we can admire the strength of a leader to concede, rather than describe any concession as weakness. Most people woke up to a barrage of headlines about Russia over the weekend. One and all, they trumpeted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s “weakness” after what has been described as a fizzled coup. Careful what you wish Continue reading »

The real drama played out in the North Atlantic last week wasn’t the latest hubristic exercise in “frontier tourism”, but the current sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly rise, recorded on the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice, June 21, 2023. This measure describes the difference between the current average SST in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Continue reading »

One of the more arcane developments in contemporary trade policy is the recently tabled US proposal for reform of the arrangements for managing trade disputes between members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is a landscape marked by statistics, legal texts, and arguments. However, reflected in the microcosm is a wider universe featuring the Continue reading »

The biggest risk to the success of the referendum on Aboriginal recognition is the Albanese government’s lack of resolution. It has strongly promoted the voice, successfully in parliament, but far less effectively within the broader community. There is a serious prospect that the various proponents of the No case will win by default, mostly because Continue reading »

In one of his last posts on this site Dennis Argall contributed an extraordinary insight which needs to be kept, explicitly and unapologetically, at the forefront of all discussions about AUKUS and its bastard child, the Defence Strategic Review. The title of his piece was: “The Defence Strategic Review is a claim to command civil Continue reading »

If truth is the first casualty in war, then truth-seekers are surely next. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) Digital Editor Mick Hall has been suspended for what are called ‘inappropriate edits’ to foreign-sourced materials, mainly from Reuters. RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson said that “It’s so disappointing that this pro-Kremlin garbage has ended up in our Continue reading »

The so-called Global South does not feature much in Australian discourse. It should. It will impact on us. The group has origins in the Non-Aligned Movement of the Cold War and in the Group of 77, a coalition of developing nations in the United Nations whose objective is to remedy global imbalances in wealth. The Continue reading »

There’s a frenzied rush by the Australian political/media class to both propagandise Australians as quickly as possible into supporting preparations for war with China, and to ram through legislation that facilitates the censorship of online speech. Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is set to release draft legislation imposing hefty fines on social media companies who Continue reading »

Media Mzatters took a deep dive into this tragic relationship. It’s not pretty: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has spent nearly two years promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and Democratic presidential primary candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his War Room podcast in a mutually beneficial relationship that could have disastrous public health consequences for the country and the world.  Both men have used their substantial platforms to spread incorrect information about vaccines and COVID-19, which could now reach an even wider audience given Kennedy’s longshot campaign.  Bannon reportedly encouraged Kennedy to run against President Joe Biden in the Democratic Party primary, believing he could be “both a useful chaos agent in [the] 2024 race and a big name who could help stoke anti-vax sentiment around the country,” according to CBS’ Robert Costa. Other right-wing pundits have similarly exploited Kennedy’s run as an attempt to undermine Biden’s support among Democrats with the aim of weakening him in the general election.

Clue: You have a favorite TV detective and are prepared to defend your choice with specific supporting details.

Catan: You enjoy asking whether anyone would trade wood for some sheep. Who cares if you’ve asked it for the tenth time tonight and your resource management strategy is completely unsustainable?

Ticket to Ride: You insist on describing yourself as a cool, chill, go-with-the-flow person, but all your friends have seen your competitive side, even those who weren’t there for the table-flipping incident of ’19.

Charades: You’ve never been to a game night before, but you have seen one on TV.

Jenga: You have a steady hand, an indomitable spirit, and an extra set in the car in case the host’s labradoodle runs off with fallen blocks again.

Uno: One of your friends is mad at you.

Risk: Most of your friends are mad at you.

Game of Thrones Risk: All of your friends are mad at you.

A deal made by Alito’s wife with an energy company paints recent Supreme Court decisions on the environment in a damning light.

The post Samuel Alito’s Wife Leased Land to an Oil and Gas Firm While the Justice Fought the EPA appeared first on The Intercept.