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Paul Krugman’s quit his NY Times column and although he hasn’t said it in so many words, it’s most likely because he felt constrained from saying what he wants to say the way he wants to say it. He does have a newsletter and he’s already bringing the fire: Once upon a time a Republican president, sure that large parts of federal spending were worthless, appointed a commission led by a wealthy businessman to bring a business sensibility to the budget, going through it line by line to identify inefficiency and waste. The commission initially made a big splash, and there were desperate attempts to spin its work as a success. But in the end few people were fooled. Ronald Reagan’s venture, the President’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control — the so-called “Grace commission,” headed by J. Peter Grace — was a flop, making no visible dent in spending. Why was it a flop? There is, of course, inefficiency and waste in the federal government, as there is in any large organization.

Why the kinship between artificial intelligence and the human mind is terrifying.

The post AI Is the Black Mirror appeared first on Nautilus.

The FBI is still touting the debunked idea that its agents could access communications without opening a door to foreign hackers.

The post How to Protect Yourself From the Salt Typhoon Hack, No Matter What the FBI Says appeared first on The Intercept.

Peter Dutton’s shadow minister for home and foreign affairs, Barnaby Joyce, has pledged his allegiance to his leader by swearing that from now on he will only wear Australian flag patterned silk boxers. ”I am a man that usually doesn’t... Read More ›

Some of them agree wholeheartedly that their Democratic colleagues should be put in jail. The Bulwark reports: “With politicians, if you’ve used a congressional committee and you’ve lied and tried to set people up and falsely imprisoned people, then you should be held accountable,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) told The Bulwark. “If they broke the law, then they should [be imprisoned],” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). “Now we know that they’ve manipulated evidence, so—if that’s the case, then absolutely.” “It’s not looking good for them,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). “You know, they’re asking for their preemptive pardon. So it kind of sounds suspect and guilty. I think anybody who has politically imprisoned American citizens and completely ruined their lives needs to be investigated.” I don’t know wtf Boebert is babling about — nobody in congress has “politically imprisoned American citizens and completely ruined their lives.” But she’s extremely stupid so who knows what’s in her head?

Seeking to lock up Asif Rahman during his Espionage Act trial, prosecutors alleged the CIA analyst had an ideological motive to leak.

The post Judge Reverses Decision to Release Alleged CIA Leaker Ahead of Trial appeared first on The Intercept.

Why? Because he believes the CIA was involved in JFK’s assassination. Of course he does: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believes the CIA had a role in assassinating his uncle, President John F. Kennedy — part of RFK Jr.’s motivation for pushing his daughter-in-law, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, for deputy CIA director, Axios has learned. According to Axios, that request is causing a great deal of “drama” but no details.  If Fox Kennedy were named deputy to John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick for CIA director, she’d be in a position to dig into what the CIA knows about the assassination — and potentially could urge the release of documents. Podcaster Joe Rogan and others have been agitating for that. “The evidence is overwhelming that the CIA was involved in the murder and in the cover-up,” Kennedy said about his uncle’s death in a podcast in May of last year. He also said that there is “convincing” but “circumstantial” evidence that the CIA was involved in his father’s death, as well.

I choose optimism.

Yes, they want to dismantle the DOE, increase censorship, and take money from already underfunded public schools to give to private schools, but maybe they’re too incompetent to accomplish all that right away. Maybe the wrestling lady will only last one or two Scaramuccis. Maybe they’ll get sidetracked arguing about whether adjectives should be banned along with pronouns. Maybe my school can pretend to be the British kind of “public school” where “public” means “private.” Anything is possible.

I have lots to be grateful for.

When I feel overwhelmed by how many papers I need to grade, I will see it as a sign that I love my job. Instead of complaining, I will savor the papers and hold them tight—my precious, precious student papers.

My heart is breaking over Syria, and it was already broken over Gaza. I watch the television reports of the ‘joy’ in Damascus and wonder what alternative planet the mainstream media inhabits. The head-chopping salafists of yesterday are today’s ‘rebels’ against a brutal dictator and the ‘liberators’ of the long suffering Syrian people. I watch Continue reading »

Australia is a part of a hostile military alliance directed at China. “Interoperability” or “interchangeability” means we’re now a US pawn, tied to its coattails. So that’s the job of every Australian: push for more information, keep talking about why AUKUS is an utter disaster and why it commits us to a costly and dangerous Continue reading »

In my condemnation of the attack on the synagogue in Melbourne, I said, “This is not acceptable by any means. Unlike the Zionists who kept silent and never condemned Israel’s destruction of 819 mosques and 3 churches in just over a year in Gaza, many of which are historic, Palestinians do not condone attacks against Continue reading »

Sorry to tell you that I’m finishing this year most unimpressed by Anthony Albanese and his government. I’m still reeling from his last two weeks of parliament, pushing through 45 bills just to show how much he’d achieved and give himself the option of calling an election early next year should he see a break Continue reading »

The national report on Australia’s COVID response is long, at 877 pages (depending upon the format), with 4,647 footnotes. But long is not synonymous with comprehensive, and there are significant gaps in the report’s analysis and conclusions. Some of these problems are not of the panel’s making, I suspect, but others, related both to methodology Continue reading »

Earlier this month, the Sydney Morning Herald published a cartoon by the irrepressible Cathy Wilcox. I gazed at the image for a long time. My first thought was that she’ll pay a price for this, and so might the Herald. And, true to form, there was indeed a strong reaction in some quarters. The cartoon Continue reading »

Our current editor Dr. Aran Martin is leaving us at the end of January. He has given excellent service to Pearls and Irritations. We are seeking a new editor and share the role description below. Pearls and Irritations is an Australian journal for the exchange of ideas from a progressive, liberal perspective, with an emphasis Continue reading »

A juvenile greater glider explores an area about to be logged in Badja State Forest. Image: Wilderness Australia. Government inaction has prompted conservation groups to apply citizen science and sleepless nights to find greater glider den trees and use the NSW logging industry’s own rules to prevent logging and save 3,000 greater gliders. In response Continue reading »

This is the second-part of my climate-not-all-bad-news series, beginning with the state of the U.S. Here I turn to China, a paradoxical story of both immense challenges and great hope. Growth as the world has never seen It is the nation that holds the world’s climate future in its hands. It is the nation whose 2014 commitment Continue reading »

If it feels as though the new Trump administration is taking shape at warp speed, that’s because it is. It’s unusual for a new administration to be announcing all these cabinet and staff nominations in such rapid succession, but that’s part of the Project 2025 manifesto to hit the ground running as fast as possible. And they’re using the Steve Bannon tactic of flooding the zone to keep the media and the opposition off balance. Trump’s getting awards from Fox News, gallivanting around Paris with his best buddy, naming one billionaire after another to his administration and giving his family members anything they want. He has even named his son’s (apparently) ex-fiance Kimberly Guilfoyle to be Ambassador to Greece. And for any recalcitrant Senators who still believe they have a say in any of it, he’s bringing the hammer down. Take for example the case of Nebraska Senator Joni Ernst, a former female combat officer who had some serious reservations about Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Defense.

Saying that being cis-gender – i.e. having a gender identity that corresponds with the sex/gender one was assigned at birth – comes with privileges need not mean erasing the lived experiences, real challenges, and specific struggles of cis-gendered people (and especially of those cis-gender people who are otherwise disadvantaged and marginalised in other dimensions). It […]