Reading

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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 10:00
I don’t know what the observances of these events were in the past but I can’t for the life of me see what the harm was in doing it. It just seems like benign celebrations of our pluralistic society, like St Patrick’s day parades or Mardi Gras. Why is this a problem? But I guess the white guys are upset so they have to stop doing it. Many companies in the private sector are ending their DEI programs as well which I have to assume is being done just to make their MAGA customers happy. And I suppose they’re probably happy to abandon all their anti-discrimination policies as well. But take a look at this: Republican attorneys general from 19 states want Costco Wholesale to ditch its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, making the call days after the retailer successfully defended its DEI policies as good for business to shareholders.
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 08:30
Nominating this freak as HHS Secretary The RFK Jr hearing today was unbelievable. I have concluded that Trump is so angry about the attempts to hold him accountable for his crimes that he just wants to hurt Americans. I also think that he’s showing some serious signs of dementia now. This stuff about the “valve” and sending Elon to space is weird even for him. It’s possible that he’s just owning the libs but I have a sense that it may be more than that. Choosing a conspiracy theorist like Bobby Jr. covers all those bases. He is an insult to all Americans. If the Republicans let him go through despite knowing what a monstrous freak he is, we’re truly in Mad King territory.
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 07:00
Oopsie. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt just tweeted this: This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented. I assume this is them trying to be clever and moot the court injunction? Probably not a good idea to say this out loud. Meanwhile here’s Potus and his Majordomo entertaining the MAGA faithful with fantasies: Except… note the date They think they’re in a movie. They’re just lucky that the only people paying attention are MAGA cult members and a few die-hards like us.
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 05:04

“The Trump administration is offering nearly all federal workers the opportunity to resign from their posts now and still retain full pay and benefits through Sept. 30.” — NPR

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During the first week of His Return, President Nyarlathotep issued a number of screeching carrion calls from Mount Blasphemy (formerly 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.) concerning the Cult of the Dread Lord. Among those directives, the President required that cultists return to in-person black masses at their local nexions, restored accountability for cults who retain mind-flaying authority, restored accountability for the few remaining Old Guard from the Days of Relative Sanity, and reformed the federal hiring process to focus on sadism. As a result of the above orders, the culling of the Cultists will be significant.

The Reformed Cult of the Dread Lord will be built around four pillars:

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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 04:57
In his address to the National Press Club on 24 January 2025, Prime Minister Albanese reflected on his Government’s decision announced a year earlier to change “the tax plan we inherited from the Morrison Government to make it better and fairer”. It is likely to be a major selling point in the coming Federal election. Continue reading »
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 04:56
For the second year running, lies have emerged as the primary risk facing humanity, in the Global Risks Survey 2024-25 conducted by the World Economic Forum of 900 experts worldwide. Disinformation and misinformation are now deemed more dangerous, in the short run (next two years), than violent climate events, wars and societal disintegration. Even over Continue reading »
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 04:55
At the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stood out as a voice of reason and diplomacy, presenting the Asian vision of peace, development, and regional cooperation. Representing a nation with one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies, Anwar showcased a pragmatic and authoritative approach to resolving disputes, emphasising dialogue and Continue reading »
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 04:54
Humphrey McQueen (Pearls and Irritations, ‘The lucky Aborigines’ 26 January 2025), has reminded us of John Howard’s opinion that “the luckiest thing that happened to this country was being colonised by the British. Not that they were perfect by any means, but they were infinitely more successful and beneficent than other European colonisers.” Really? Infinitely Continue reading »
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Thu, 30/01/2025 - 04:53
Of the two billion voters who set out to vote across 60 countries last year, 33 percent were from the Commonwealth, a 56-member union with 2.7 billion citizens. In 2024, demands for democracy and human rights characterised elections worldwide. But many voters within the Commonwealth faced more dangerous political environments, where peaceful resistance was met Continue reading »