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Israeli soldier beats UN-recognised peace activist in unprovoked assault in front of US journalist

https://skwawkbox.org/2023/02/14/israeli-soldier-beats-un-recognised-peace-acti…
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 12:46
Issa Amro, a leading advocate of Palestinian human rights and of the struggle for them through non-violent resistance and civil disobedience – who has been recognised for his work by the United Nations – has long been the target of persecution by Israeli occupiers. In October, Amro’s home was sealed off by the Israeli military. […]

“Woke” Banking?

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/13/woke-banking/
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 11:30
What the hell is this?  Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders are targeting so-called “woke banking” with newly proposed legislation that would aim to “stop companies from playing politics with Floridians’ money.” Environmental Social Governance (ESG) has become a popular GOP talking point in states like Texas and Florida. ESG investments were banned on the state level last year. On Monday, the governor announced new enhanced legislative proposals against them.DeSantis, legislative leaders roll out plan to prohibit ‘woke banking’ in Florida Supporters say ESG is a way for institutions to avoid investing in companies that back policies that could negatively impact the environment and the people who live in those communities. But critics like the governor and house speaker Paul Renner say ESG investing does more harm than good. “The biggest thing that ESG represents is a total hijacking of democracy,” Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said. The proposal also enhances protections against discrimination of customers for political religious or social beliefs and prohibits the use of social credit scores.

Since Money is Political

https://michael-hudson.com/2023/02/since-money-is-political/
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 11:20

“Understanding money and the dollar system,” Geopolitical Hour Episode 3, February 9, 2023, with economists Radhika Desai & Michael Hudson. podcast:  Radhika Hello and welcome to this third Geopolitical Economy Hour. I’m Radhika Desai. Michael And I’m Michael Hudson. Radhika As many of you know, in this collaboration with Ben Norton’s Geopolitical Economy Report, Michael Continue Reading

The post Since Money is Political first appeared on Michael Hudson.

Pavlina Tcherneva — Frequently Asked Questions About the Job Guarantee

http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2023/02/pavlina-tcherneva-frequently-as…
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 10:45
Cheat sheet on the MMT JG. Useful reference.

Pavlina Tcherneva
Frequently Asked Questions About the Job Guarantee
Pavlina Tcherneva | Associate Professor of Economics at Bard College, Research Scholar at The Levy Economics Institute, and Senior Research Associate at the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability

If the right wing Congress can’t do it, the the right wing Courts will

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/13/if-the-right-wing-congress-cant-do-it-the-the…
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 10:33
I mentioned this before but in case you missed it, this write up of the judicial assault on Social Security is worth reading: During his passionate and very focused 2023 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, February 7, President Joe Biden slammed Republicans for their efforts to “sunset” Social Security and Medicare. Biden was referring specifically to a proposal by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), who has called for dramatic changes to the way in which those programs are funded. Instead of perpetual funding, Scott has called for Social Security and Medicare to “sunset” in five years. The Florida senator’s exact words were: “In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.” But in an article published by Slate on February 9, journalist Mark Joseph Stern emphasizes that Republicans have a tool other than Congress for attacking Social Security and Medicare: the federal courts. Stern explains, “Recently, the 5th U.S.

Print Edition 47

https://nautil.us/print-edition-47-262080/
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 09:33

Issue 47 of the Nautilus print edition combines some of the best content from our November and December 2022 issues. It includes contributions from paleoclimatologist Summer Praetorius,  science writer Katharine Gammon,  astrobiologist Caleb Scharf, and more. This issue also features a new illustration by Katherine Streeter.

The post Print Edition 47 appeared first on Nautilus.

Trump the outsider… again?

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/13/trump-the-outsider-again/
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 08:30
Sure, why not? I’ve been saying this for awhile and I think it becomes truer every day. Despite the fact that he is an ex-president Trump’s path to the nomination is the same one he had in 2016: the anti-establishment outsider, especially in light of the party elites pushing Ron DeSantis. JV Last at the Bulwark takes a look at the lay of the land: I have some Deep Thoughts on Ron DeSantis for later this week, but I want to start by asking you to consider a parallel: Is he Scott Walker or George W. Bush? I don’t mean on the merits or as an ideological figure. I’m talking exclusively about DeSantis’s political position at this moment in the primary. Is he a rocket about to take off? Or is he the stalking horse for the entire spectrum of the Republican party / Conservatism Inc.—from the think tanks to the donors to the grifter class? The reason this question is interesting is because there’s evidence to support both views. Nate Cohn has done a deep dive on the data and concluded that DeSantis is definitely not Walker; but may not quite be W.

Tory chair ’30p Anderson’ sued for defamation by food bank manager

https://skwawkbox.org/2023/02/13/tory-chair-30p-anderson-sued-for-defamation-by…
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 07:12
Michael Hollis ‘outraged’ at Tory MP’s claim that ‘brown envelopes of cash’ changed hands Tory party chair ’30p’ Lee Anderson is being sued by Michael Hollis, after Anderson posted a claim on Facebook that Hollis – who runs a local food bank charity – had exchanged ‘brown envelopes of cash’ in relation to a planning […]

DeSantis the hypocrite

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/13/desantis-the-hypocrite/
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 07:00
Trump has a new nickname for Ron DeSantis: Meatball Ron, which is a lot more like it. I’m not sure what it means but it sounds more insulting than Ron DeSanctimonious which is just a little bit too “elitist” for the cult. Meatball Ron is starting to take some incoming: As Gov. Ron DeSantis prepared for an election night party in downtown Tampa last year, city officials received a surprising — and politically sensitive — request. The Republican governor’s campaign wanted weapons banned from his victory celebration at the city-run Tampa Convention Center, a city official said in emails obtained by The Washington Post. And the campaign suggested that the city take responsibility for the firearms ban, the official said — not the governor, who has been a vocal supporter of gun rights. “DeSantis/his campaign will not tell their attendees they are not permitted to carry because of the political optics,” Chase Finch, the convention center’s safety and security manager, said in an Oct.

Kevin Tillman: How America’s Forever Wars and Interventions Fueled the Assault on the Capitol

https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/13/kevin-tillman-how-americas-forever-wars-and-i…
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 06:54

The NFL’s Super Bowl pre-game tribute to Army Ranger Pat Tillman reminded the ScheerPost staff of this piece by his brother Kevin Tillman, originally published in 2021. By Kevin Tillman / TomDispatch Just about everyone was shocked by what happened at the Capitol building on January 6th. But as a former soldier in America’s forever […]

The post Kevin Tillman: How America’s Forever Wars and Interventions Fueled the Assault on the Capitol appeared first on scheerpost.com.

Devolution or Decapitation? Decentralization and the War in Donbas — Elliot Dolan-Evans

http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2023/02/devolution-or-decapitation.html
Created
Tue, 14/02/2023 - 06:19

More neoliberalism gone bad.

Overall, the main takeaway is that decentralization is not a silver bullet that occurs in an abstract environment. As in other contexts, decentralisation can worsen problems when pursued within insecure environments, where people are already marginalised and/or elite capture is rife, as in Ukraine. Despite promises that decentralization in Ukraine would reduce oligarchic power and empower marginalised groups, it seems these aims have not been met and may now, post-reform and with the 2022 Russian Invasion, be even more difficult to achieve. For Ukrainian decentralization to meet its laudatory aims, concurrent fundamental structural change must dismantle elite patrimonial-criminal nexuses, bring political and economic power to regular and marginalised Ukrainians, and unravel violent capitalist relations.
Progress in Political Economy (PPE)