Reading

Created
Mon, 20/01/2025 - 22:11
Has Israel Lost?

There’s a lot of celebrating of the Gaza ceasefire. Hamas troops are openly on the streets, hostages from both sides are being returned (that only Israeli captives are called hostages is ludicrous) and it’s clear that Israel came nowhere close to destroying Hamas. This is an impressive accomplishment, Gaza is only 25×5 miles: Gaza is tiny. Hamas’s tunnel strategy clearly worked.

That said, Gaza is a wreck.

Created
Mon, 20/01/2025 - 19:20
Trump’s presidency is a reversion to autocratic tyranny. Only concerted resistance can stop it from spreading.   By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian  19th January 2025 Seldom in recent history has class war been waged so blatantly. Generally, billionaires and hectomillionaires employ concierges to attack the poor on their behalf. But now, freed from […]
Created
Mon, 20/01/2025 - 12:05
I have been arguing throughout this latest inflationary episode that the central bank rate hikes were actually introducing inflationary pressures through a number of channels, the most notable one in the Australian context being the rental component in the Consumer Price Index. The RBA has categorically denied this perversity in their policy approach, and, instead,…
Created
Mon, 20/01/2025 - 09:31

This country, once a haven for immigrants, is now on the verge of turning into a first-class nightmare for them. President Donald Trump often speaks of his plan to deport some 11.7 million undocumented immigrants from the United States as “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” Depending on how closely he follows the Project 2025 policy blueprint of his allies, his administration may also begin deporting the family members of migrants and asylum seekers in vast numbers. Among the possible ways such planning may not work out, here’s one thing Donald Trump and the rest of the MAGA crowd don’t recognize: the troops they plan to rely on to carry out the deportations of potentially millions of people... Read more

Source: American Troops as Migrants appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Created
Mon, 20/01/2025 - 05:30
That’s the notice that people found when Tik Tok went dark last night. Then Trump posted this: Now it’s back. In both instances its owners seized the opportunity to praise Dear Leader. Smart move. He loves to have his boots licked more than anything. They can totally manipulate him with flattery. Trump has his own reasons for all this: 2021: Trump demonized tiktok because it was useful for Chinese xenophobia and he thought he could force them to sell it to his friends at Walmart and Oracle 2024: Trump wants to “save” Tiktok to help billionaire Trump donor and Tiktok investor Jeffrey Yass and force a sale to somebody like Musk Now he’s indicating that he might nationalize it but I feel very confident he won’t do that. He’ll make sure one of his billionaire buds is in charge. He’s not even president yet.
Created
Mon, 20/01/2025 - 04:59
Imprisoned Palestinian leader tops list of political prisoners whose potential release is being discussed. By Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem and Rayhan Uddin and Dania Akkad in London. Egypt and Qatar, alongside Hamas, are using “all means available” to secure the release of Marwan Barghouti as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between the group and Israel, three sources informed on the negotiations have told Middle East Continue reading »