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The era of the superpower is over. The new missile and drone technologies have made naval dominance impossible and ended the ability to devastate relatively advanced nations without them being able to shoot back. There is no power in the world that has the capabilities and might of the old USSR and the USA from 1945 to 2010 or so.

We have three great powers: China, the US and Russia.

There are regional powers: Brazil and Iran and the EU and Turkey and Japan and even India, which punches way below its population numbers.

But even a backwards, bombed to hell country like Yemen can defy America’s hold on the seas.

It took less than a week for the reality to be exposed. Even Deputy PM Richard Marles must now acknowledge that the nation next door he praises for its moderation and democracy is now a military dictatorship and a serious threat. Proof absolute was presented on Friday, five days after his inauguration, when new Indonesian Continue reading »

Decisions taken at last week’s BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, will have a significant impact on the Global South and on the Western world, as the movement towards “de-Westernisation” gathers momentum. The conclusion of the 16th BRICS summit held in Kazan from October 22-24 resulted in important decisions. It should be noted that BRICS (Brazil, Continue reading »

This is a pretty good endorsement aimed at wavering Republicans: Apparently, Schwarzenneger is one of the most admired Republicans in the country (go figure) so maybe this will help? I dunno but I’ll take it.

Maintaining the £3bn tax break for motorists has been a long-term campaign of The Sun newspaper

Speculations that Italian Americans’ problematic hero, Christopher Columbus, might have actually been Jewish were all...

In front of an enormous crowd of 75,000 people last night, Vice President Kamala Harris gave what was billed as her “closing argument” on the Ellipse, site of Donald Trump’s infamous insurrection incitement speech on January 6th. There were no insult comedians or crude radio talk show hosts or ancient wrestling stars ripping off their shirts. It was just her, standing before that massive crowd laying out the stakes in the election and offering her vision for the future. Much of her speech was familiar to those of us who have followed the campaign closely. Her indictment of Donald Trump was crisp and direct and her list of policy objectives was meticulous and thorough. But she was also obviously making a pitch to any swing voters who are still on the fence. She said: I will always listen to you even if you don’t vote for me, I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear. I will work every day to build consensus and reach compromise to get things done. She went on to promise to listen to people who disagree with her and, unlike Trump who considers them an enemy, she will offer them a seat at her table.

A ballot initiative to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution has a groundswell of support. Its success hinges on turnout.

The post Missouri Could Become the First State to Overturn a Total Abortion Ban appeared first on The Intercept.

Our Ubu is the Savage God who embodies the worst of us.

The Seoul neighborhood of Bogwang-dong sits on a steep hill rising over the Han River. In Korean, neighborhoods built on hazardous slopes are called dal-dongnae,…

It’s ghosts, goblins and yahoos season Like Lewis Carroll’s oysters, election conspiracy theories are coming “thick and fast,” and “more, and more, and more.” A voter engagement group yet unnamed by Pennsylvania law enforcement submitted batches of voter registration applications suspected of being fraudulent both in York and Lancaster counties. Or about 60 percent of those examined in Lancaster. “It is not uncommon, especially in presidential election years, for paid workers of such groups to turn in fabricated applications,” explains Katie Bernard of The Philadelphia Inquirer. It won’t matter who is paying the group. Donald Trump will use the episode to declare the election invalid when he loses Pennsylvania next week. Bernard deconstructs Trump’s claims about what elections officials discovered: Lancaster County was not “caught with 2600 Fake Ballots and Forms, all written by the same person,” as former President Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social Monday night.

Our friends at 270 Reasons are gathering a polyphonic orchestra of brilliant writers, teachers, doctors, filmmakers, artists, and citizens of all kinds to weigh in about their plans to vote this November. These opinion essays run the gamut from advocacy for basic human rights to acutely personal mini-manifestoes. Read the rest over at 270 Reasons.

Because Her Policies, Character, and Leadership Ethos
Align with My Core Values as a Veteran

In 2008, I was stationed at what was then known as Fort Hood, Texas, and I watched on TV as Barack Obama was elected president. It was a profound moment for me personally, as I realized that if “a skinny kid with a funny name” could be elected president of this country, then there was hope after all for me, and for my son, who was months old at the time. I deployed to Iraq less than a year later.

“I should have used Saran wrap, but I’m not above eating the stale remains of the pickleball player’s soul.”

I yawn out a plume of black flies, then slither out of bed and over to the Keurig machine. In my haze, I accidentally puncture the last pod with a gnarled claw, causing coffee grounds to explode all over the floor. Beelzebub’s breasts! Guess I’m going out for coffee.

I’ve been famished since I woke up, so en route, I swoop down to bum a quick breakfast off a man wearing a THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE T-shirt. I sink my talons into his chest and extract the glistering, lumpen essence beneath, then cram it into my maw.

For those of you wondering what a feminist tastes like, he’s a pleasantly complex blend of saccharine and bitter notes. His aftertaste whispers, “I’ve never cheated on my girlfriend, but only because I haven’t had the chance.”

The post Doctor Who Magazine 608 winners appeared first on Doctor Who Magazine.

Extinction Rebellion activists target 52 firms in week-long campaign demanding end to fossil fuel project insurance, as arrests made in City protests

What GPS tracking says about why the common whimbrel stops at a small spit of sand in South Carolina on its migratory route

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

Time alone offers unique psychological benefits, once you learn to embrace these quiet moments rather than escape them

- by Thuy-vy Nguyen

Read at Psyche

The French intellectual’s book on October 7 and the Gaza war reveals the failure of some of Israel’s defenders to see Palestinian suffering 

Big tech is holding us hostage to technology in ways that are dramatically altering how we function as human beings

After trying to block production at an Elbit factory in New Hampshire, the Palestine solidarity activists are calling for more, better direct action.

The post They Got 60 Days in Jail for Protesting Israel’s Largest Arms Maker — and Say That’s a “Huge Victory” appeared first on The Intercept.