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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 07:00
Right to life only really applies to the zygotes, embryos and fetuses. No one else need apply “Right to life” zealots insist that pregnant patients must be bleeding out and literally on the verge of death before a doctor can provide life saving procedures: In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers are considering whether patients should be forced to continue dangerous pregnancies, even while miscarrying, under the state’s abortion ban — and how close to risking death such patients need to be before a doctor can legally intervene. At a legislative hearing last week, a lobbyist who played a dominant role in crafting the state’s abortion legislation made his preference clear: A pregnant patient should be in the process of an urgent emergency, such as bleeding out, before they can receive abortion care. Some pregnancy complications “work themselves out,” Will Brewer, who represents the local affiliate of the anti-abortion organization National Right to Life, told a majority-male panel of lawmakers Feb. 14.
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 05:30
Blast from the past William Saletan discusses the current state of disarray in the GOP over Ukraine and points out that Fox is pushing for disengagement hard. He also mentions a tiny group of GOP officials who are fighting back when they go on the network and says there are more of them. 1. Rep. Nancy Mace, Hannity, Tuesday. Hegseth, sitting in for Sean Hannity, begins the interview by complaining that Biden is spending more time in Ukraine than on the border or the train disaster in Ohio. He asks: “If you’re the American people, are you confident in this endless endeavor this administration is undertaking?” Mace parrots the Fox view. She says Biden’s policy is “Ukraine first, and it’s America last.” But halfway through the segment, when Hegseth asks what America is getting for “the billions we’re spending” in Ukraine, Mace turns serious. She points out that in 1994, we guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for its agreement to surrender its nuclear weapons. And she says we can shorten the war by accelerating aid to hasten Ukraine’s victory.
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:58
Greg Sheridan, in his opinion piece of Tuesday 21 February, provides yet another display of his spiteful, vacuous journalism – his erroneous claims that I am not the progenitor of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting, and that my views on Australian strategic policy are eccentric and at odds with the US alliance. PJ Keating reply to Continue reading »
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:57
It’s quite remarkable how quickly Australian politicians and ministers fell in lock step with pro-Israeli forces trying to sabotage the Adelaide Festival because I and Mohammad El-Kurd refuse to be silent on more than seven decades of systematic Israeli terrorism against us. The fact that some people think our words are too harsh means they Continue reading »
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:55
In Asian Media this week: Pyongyang using Pacific as firing range. Plus: opposing views on Asian security; democracy-vs-autocracy a false division; China’s population to plummet; Thailand’s global standing at low point; man-made threat to sea life. North east Asia became even more perilous this week, with North Korea launching three ballistic missiles, including an ICBM Continue reading »
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:53
AEMO warns Australia could be plunged into darkness; Don’t blame Lowe: he has a lousy job; and the Murdoch media’s internal culture: it isn’t pretty.  Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts, and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Inflation, wages and profits There must Continue reading »
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:30

If you give a bear cocaine, he’s going to ask for more cocaine.

When you give him the cocaine, he’ll probably ask you for a vodka chaser.

When he’s finished, he’ll ask you if you’ve ever thought about honey, like really thought about how great it is, how it’s all-natural and totally free, just a gift from the fucking earth, and how that’s so great.

Then he’ll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn’t have white powder on his muzzle.

When he looks into the mirror, he’ll think what a great mirror it is for doing cocaine on. So he’ll probably ask you for more cocaine.

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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:17

Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old girl, was killed in broad daylight on Saturday 11 February. She was described by her family as a much-loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister, a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her. It has been reported that Brianna was the target of transphobic bullying at […]

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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 04:00
Not really As with every other week for the past few months, the big question of the week among the chattering classes has been whether former president Donald Trump still has his mojo among the MAGA crowd. With the ambitious Florida dreamboat Gov. Ron DeSantis committing one culture war assault after another, the entry of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley into the race getting a lot of attention and what appears to be a long line of Republican wannabes undaunted by his former dominance preparing to enter the race, Trump is said to be rocked back on his heels, reeling like an out of shape boxer who’s past his prime. Is that true? And if it is, does that even matter? The Washington Post interviewed 150 of Trump’s fans to find out. What a treat. We haven’t had an in-depth report on the average Trump voter in weeks so it’s a big relief to see the media venture out into the heartland once again to take the temperature of these Real Americans.
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Sat, 25/02/2023 - 02:30
How many doubling-downs is it? It’s not enough that the AR-15 is the weapon of choice for mass shooters, no. Republicans in Congress think that’s cause for celebration. In fact, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia (what a guy!) handed out AR-15 lapel pins to Republican colleagues “during National Gun Violence Survivors Week,” writes Steve Benen at MaddowBlog: H.R.1095 has as of now three Republican co-sponsors. Pistol-packin’ Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Troll-in-Residence Clyde, and International Man of Mystery, Rep. George Santos of New York, all think The United States of Freakin’ America is incomplete without an official mass-murder weapon. They’re trolling, Benen is sure, as that seems to be why they think voters sent them to Congress on your nickel and mine. “If your instinct is to be disgusted by politicians who’d respond to mass shootings by celebrating the weapon used in too many of the slayings then the Republicans championing this bill are no doubt delighted,” Benen writes: So why not ignore it?