A few weeks ago, Daniel Dennett published an alarmist essay (“Creating counterfeit digital people risks destroying our civilization”) in The Atlantic that amplified concerns Yuval Noah Harari expressed in the Economist.+ (If you are in a rush, feel free to skip to the next paragraph because what follows are three quasi-sociological remarks.) First, Dennett’s piece is (sociologically) notable because in […]
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The disgraced former Prime Minister's long career at the top of British politics should be a matter of national shame
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… found that the companionship with this Lab has not only helped it calm down, but thrive. This is a thing: CHEETAHS AND DOGS WEREN’T ALWAYS friends. And at first glance, the feline-and-canine couple seems an odd pairing—one that turns heads for its cuteness, if not its unconventionality. But the practice of rearing young cheetahs with a canine companion has become a major means of relaxing the notoriously nervous cats at U.S. zoos from New York to San Diego. The relationship didn’t begin there, however. Nor, for that matter, did it start on an African wildlife reserve. Captive cheetahs and dogs first became friends in a small town in Oregon. In 1976, research scientist and conservation biologist Laurie Marker was living in Winston, a town of about 3,000 people. As the curator of a cheetah-breeding program at Wildlife Safari, she found herself hand-rearing a lonely cheetah cub named Khayam. Cheetahs are companionable litter-mates, but Marker had no other cats to put with Khayam. So she decided to try pairing the fastest land mammal on the planet with the animal typically thought of as a human’s best friend.
Donald Trump’s latest charges are just the beginning of his legal woes, but Republicans are standing by their man.
The post How Many Indictments Does It Take to Bring Down a Cult Leader? appeared first on The Intercept.
In case you were wondering what the dark corners of MAGA land are talking about, grab a (large) whiskey and read on: In what is becoming a now all-too-familiar trend, former President Donald Trump’s far-right supporters have threatened civil war after news broke Thursday that the former president was indicted for allegedly taking classified documents from the White House without permission. “We need to start killing these traitorous fuckstains,” wrote one Trump supporter on The Donald, a rabidly pro-Trump message board that played a key role in planning the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Another user added: “It’s not gonna stop until bodies start stacking up. We are not civilly represented anymore and they’ll come for us next. Some of us, they already have.” Trump has been indicted on seven counts following an investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into classified documents taken by Trump from the White House in 2021.
Climate change is intensifying toxic wildfires, but Big Oil has pushed to exempt the resulting pollution from federal air quality standards.
On this week’s episode of The Audit, the team dissects PragerU’s videos on race, liberalism, and affirmative action.
I just read through it quickly and it’s much, much worse than we thought. He had very sensitive documents including war plans and classified info about America’s nuclear arsenal and showed them to people. He kept them in totally insecure locations, including an unlocked bathroom and a ballroom at Mar-a-Lago. When they asked for them back he moved them around, rummaged through them and tried to get his lawyer to lie about what was in them. I highly suggest that you read the whole thing if you have time. It’s better than a Nordic Noir. Meanwhile, here’s a first draft analysis from Politico: A federal indictment unsealed Friday charges former President Donald Trump with 37 felony counts stemming from an investigation into the presence of a trove of classified information at his Florida estate and other locations after he left office.
Emotions don’t happen to you; your brain creates them.
The post Forget What You Think You Know About Emotions appeared first on Nautilus.
Poached to the edge of extinction, the bashful animals are getting by with a little help from their friends in Africa.
The post The Perilous Life of the Solitary Pangolin appeared first on Nautilus.
This is going to be a circus I’m not surprised that two of Trump’s lawyers quit today. He probably wanted to fire them anyway because they failed him: Two of Donald Trump’s top lawyers abruptly resigned from his defense team on Friday, just hours after news broke that he and a close aide were indicted on charges related to their handling of classified documents. Jim Trusty and John Rowley, who helmed Trump’s Washington, D.C.-based legal team for months and were seen frequently at the federal courthouse, indicated they would no longer represent Trump in matters being investigated and prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith, who is probing both the documents matter and efforts by Trump to subvert the 2020 election. The resignations were shortly followed by an announcement from Trump himself confirming that a close aide, Walt Nauta, had also been indicted by federal prosecutors. Nauta, a Navy veteran, had served as the former president’s personal aide and was a ubiquitous presence during his post White House days.
China’s power has replaced the United States’ in the eyes of most of our Asian neighbours, according to the latest Lowy Institute Asia Power Snapshot. What are the implications for Australia? The Lowy survey contains interesting findings. Over the last five years, Chinese influence in Southeast Asia has risen at the expense of the US, Continue reading »
In 2016, President Obama visited Hiroshima. He was the first US President to do so since the bombing in 1945. He said that he would not be apologising for the dropping of the bomb and would not try and second-guess President Harry Truman’s decision. A repost from May 27, 2016 The widely accepted moral justification Continue reading »
As a major exporter of fossil fuels, Australia has a hand in emissions several times larger than those we generate here. To avoid climate catastrophe, all greenhouse emissions must be cut, fast. It is time to introduce a test of the impact on the global climate before big new projects are approved. Driving yesterday with Continue reading »
Biden, Trump, or DeSantis; the zealot, the disrupter, or the ideologue are the choices confronting American voters. Individuals matter. Trump’s mercurial and transactional approach to foreign policy and his isolationist tendencies are well known. Back in the Whitehouse he would again be a disrupter, and perhaps worse. But an uncompromising Biden or empowered DeSantis present Continue reading »
I am in complete sympathy with Jennifer Bush Pearls and Irritations 5, June 2023 in resigning from the Labor Party because of Prime Minister Albanese’s congratulations to Israel despite its government’s disgraceful treatment of Palestinian people. Brand Loyalty. That indescribable loyalty, we feel towards our own country, our own football team, our own political party. Continue reading »
The Reserve Bank still hasn’t damaged the economy enough; The Ben Roberts-Smith case is about more than one person’s behaviour; and how South Australia has borrowed Putin’s laws on political protests. Read on for the Weekly Roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Continue reading »
Mainstream media frequently describes Taiwan as “an island that the PRC claims, but has never ruled”. This has given rise to an increasing perception of Taiwan as a separate sovereign entity. In both historical and legal terms it is not. Most countries and the United Nations Organisation have long accepted that Taiwan, despite being internally Continue reading »
Maybe it’s a quirk in my character that in times of calamity I always look for the silver lining. It doesn’t often appear, but in this darkest hour of despair, when nothing seemed possible and the collapse of hope was profound, I found it. The spark. I found it growing in the refugee camps of Continue reading »
Agatha Christie explains why Donald Trump is the first president to be indicted.
The post Trump’s Mistake Was Committing Small Crimes by Himself appeared first on The Intercept.
4 squares unsweetened chocolate2 cups sifted* all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt¾ cup butter or margarine1 cup sugar4 eggs6 tablespoons milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup finely chopped walnuts1 pkg (6 oz) fluffy white frosting mixLicorice lacesCandy cornLife SavesSemisweet chocolate piecesChocolate sprinkles Makes 24 cupcakes. *Sift before measuring.
There are dozens of other examples. And then there’s this: