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A dramatic escape was cited by Israeli media as the reason that Yuval Vagdani, a soldier in the Israeli army, managed to escape justice in Brazil. Vagdani was accused by a Palestinian advocacy legal group, the Hind Rajab Foundation, of carrying out well-documented crimes in Gaza. He is not the only Israeli soldier being pursued for similar crimes. According Continue reading »

A recalcitrant US government could turn-off Australia’s ability to defend itself within days. In 1932, the wonderful Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painted a “Self-portrait along the Borderline between Mexico and the United States”. With due alteration for detail, Kahlo’s passionate political statement of self-respect and independence can be seen as foreshadowing the abject nature of Continue reading »

Some Australian media recently provided a platform for false Taiwanese views about the one-China policy. Here are the reasons they are wrong. In recent years, the authorities of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have been trying hard to promote so-called “incremental independence”, while certain external forces have taken the opportunity to interfere, propagating the “Taiwan’s Continue reading »

Americans were shocked by two fatal events in the United States on New Year’s day 2025, and one was quickly called ‘Islamist terrorism’. Yet the US supports Muslim terrorist groups in Syria. At 3.15 on 1 January 2025, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, aged 42, an army veteran and an American-born Muslim convert, drove around security barriers and Continue reading »

In his unofficial election policy launch this week, Peter Dutton re-announced his promise to cut the migration program and to cap overseas students at metropolitan universities. Without a hint of embarrassment, he also said he was a strong believer in the ‘rule of law’. His record shows he has little belief in the rules embodied Continue reading »

Half a century ago, governments around the world ditched their old psychiatric hospitals for something they said would work better. It didn’t. Australia has a poor record in treating the massive mental health problems in the population. More and more money is spent, without achieving any overall improvement in either the mental health of the Continue reading »

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hit a bump in the road in 2024 when it lost its majority in the Lok Sabha general elections, held between April and June. The shock jolted passengers a little, but the big orange BJP bus continues to roll down the road to Hindutva – the promised land of a Continue reading »

By blocking Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel, the Biden Administration has turned international economic policy inside out. On this point, the incoming Trump Administration is in rare agreement. Like many conflict-prone moves in recent years, this action has been justified on the basis of alleged national security concerns. Yet in the end, Continue reading »

When President-elect Trump held a press availability as he was speaking to Republican Governors last week he rattled off a number of big names who’d made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring of the new Don. He actually sounded rather surprised by it, saying, “they all came. Jeff Bezos came, Bill Gates came, Mark Zuckerberg came, many of them came numerous times, the bankers have all come, everybody’s coming. I haven’t had anyone say anything bad about me. I’m not used to it.” He believes they come because they are dazzled by the power and strength of his massive electoral victory (like nobody’s ever seen before!) but none of them are as dumb or as deluded as he is so that’s obviously not the case. I’m going to guess they’re dazzled by the richest man in the world’s proximity to him and they want a piece of that action. Elon Musk has opened the door to a new style of oligarchy, American style. The history of Russia after the fall of communism is instructive here.

Amid devastating wildfires, Many Angelenos are questioning the wisdom of slashing local emergency budgets while billions are allocated to Israel and Ukraine.

The post The Burning Questions: LA Fire Cuts vs. Billions for Israel and Ukraine appeared first on MintPress News.

The Government says it will prevent donors from evading laws designed to prevent foreign funding of UK political parties

Conservatives have been caught admitting that age-verification laws are pretext to shut down pornography entirely.

The post SCOTUS Won’t Hear the Real Reason Porn Age-Verification Laws Are Spreading appeared first on The Intercept.

I love pepperoni rolls. I loved selling them door to door to raise money for my high school marching band, and I have fond memories of Uncle Dave bringing a giant platter of rolls to our Christmas Eve celebrations. They make excellent pepperoni rolls at the Bella Roma Italian Deli in Colonia, NJ. And, althoughContinue reading The Gran Centurions’ L’Amore Della Cucina: Pepperoni Bread (1990) →

In honor of Jemma Redgrave's birthday, here's a proper celebration of UNIT head Kate Stewart and her history in Doctor Who canon.

GARY: Hey Cindy, remember the other day when we were talking about optimizations?

CINDY: Yeah, I wanted to circle back on that.

GARY: Me too. You said you wanted to see hockey-stick growth. Well, I’ve realized that I want to see hockey-stick growth too—in our relationship.

CINDY: Unpack that for me.

GARY: This relationship has been such a value-add. Some of my friends were worried that it would take too long for us to get into alignment. But you have been an absolute rockstar.

CINDY: I feel the same way, Gary. The ROI on this relationship has been unbelievable. You’ve really given 110 percent.

GARY: So I wanted to close the loop. In addition to the other deliverables, I have one more. (He takes a knee, and holds out his hand.) It’s this wedding ring. Cindy, will you marry me?

CINDY: I will, Gary. You have been an absolute ninja. This moves the needle in a significant way.

That DEI (women and brown people) are responsible is a constant right wing cry.

The competency crisis is a result of an economy where making money without making a product is easier than making something. We prioritized financial profits—multi generational rises in asset prices that were faster than inflation. Housing went up. Stocks went up. Private equity earned money buy buying companies, larding them up with debt, and running them into the ground. Profits were juiced by moving production offshore and engaging in regulatory and labor arbitrage.

‘We share and feel the same pain’: the mothers looking for their children who disappeared in Mexico en route to the US

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

Whether you have a little or a lot, your money is always at work. Follow these steps to ensure it’s making a positive impact

- by Sarah Bengtsson

Read at Psyche

And, when he ran for Congress, trust fund kid Bo Hines got half a million in support from FTX crypto fraudsters.

The post Does This Trump Crypto Appointee Even Have Crypto Experience? Yes, With a Trump-Themed Meme Coin. appeared first on The Intercept.

A transatlantic coalition of extreme misfits and weirdos is plotting regime change on both sides of the Atlantic, reports Tom Scott

There is a looming crisis of growing special needs requirements and threatened council bankruptcies, according to a damning new report by MPs