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Andrew Podger, former Public Service Commissioner and advocate for reforms that take account of recent failures in public administration, is circulating a paper on priorities for change. About thirty former senior public servants, most with senior Order of Australia postnominals, have endorsed, without necessarily adopting each specific suggestion, his paper as a basis for a Continue reading »

Melbourne tabloid The Age has done its already sagging reputation no favours by running, as an exclusive, an article that claims to detail what it calls the “denial and disinformation facing October 7 survivors” – Israelis who were attacked by Hamas – with the centrepiece of the article being an interview with an Israeli reservist Continue reading »

Moves by other countries to impose higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles could benefit Australians shopping for a new car. Australian car buyers could be the beneficiaries of new tariffs the European Union has slapped on imported electric vehicles from China. The taxes of up to 37.6 percent which provisionally come into effect on July Continue reading »

Media critic and former ombudsman Margaret Sullivan has some thoughts on the media pile-on: It’s possible for two conflicting ideas to be true at once. And so it is with the mainstream media’s unrelenting focus on Joe Biden’s mental acuity, following his terrible debate performance earlier this month. First truth: the president’s stumble and the political fallout that followed is a huge, consequential news story that deserves a lot of coverage. Second truth: the media coverage is overkill – not only too much in quantity and too breathless in tone, but also taking up so much oxygen that a story even more important is shoved to the back burner. That bigger story, of course, is the former president’s appalling unfitness for office, not only because he tried to overturn a legitimate election and is a felon, out on bail and awaiting sentencing, but because of things he has said and done in very recent weeks. As just one example, he claimed that he doesn’t know anything about Project 2025, the radical rightwing plan hatched by some of his closest allies to begin dismantling our democracy if he wins another term.

Real estate firms are touring North American cities marketing homes in Israel — and in illegal West Bank settlements.

The post The Companies Making It Easy to Buy in a West Bank Settlement appeared first on The Intercept.

Help to help, because we’re built to help.

The post One weird trick appeared first on Jeffrey Zeldman Presents.

The Soothing Sleepytime Baby Swing from Gurgle-Goo is designed to float even the fussiest baby to dreamland. In just a matter of minutes, little ones will be snoozing, and frazzled parents will be sighing with relief. Before joining the thousands of happy, well-rested Soothing Sleepytime Baby Swing users out there, be sure to glance at the safety measures below.

1. Do not, under any circumstances, let your baby fall asleep in this swing.

2. While your baby is in the Soothing Sleepytime Baby Swing, you should watch them at all times, ideally from no more than three inches away.

3. Do not look down at your phone.

4. Do not let your mind wander.

5. While your baby is in the Soothing Sleepytime Baby Swing, your only thought should be, “My baby is in the Soothing Sleepytime Baby Swing right now.” Any other thoughts could lead to injury or death.

6. Do not think about the possibility of injury or death while your baby is in the Soothing Sleepytime Baby Swing, because this could make you distracted.

7. Do not turn it on.

8. Do not buckle any of the very complicated buckles incorrectly.

There’s a new USA Today poll that show Harris beating Trump by one point and Trump beating Biden by one point. (They also polled Hillary Clinton for some reason and she beats Trump by two points.) In other words, it tells us nothing. Then there’s this: As you can see, Biden does best against Trump but they all lose. If we were to take all this at face value we’d say that this is a party problem more than a Biden problem. And I’m not sure it’s any more of a problem than it’s been through this whole cycle so far. And then there’s this: Today it does look as if Biden is staying in. And as I’ve been writing since this crisis began, (and even before, to tell you the truth) this isn’t about the candidates as much as it’s about a worldview that’s clashing all over the world. It would be very helpful if we had a president who was vital and exciting but we don’t. And the other side may have someone who’s exciting but he’s also an imbecile who is loathed by half the country. It’s been close all year and nothing has changed. Yet. Gird yourself.

The hacker collective SiegedSec says it infiltrated the conservative think tank to oppose its campaign against trans rights.

The post “Gay Furry Hackers” Claim Credit for Hacking Heritage Foundation Files Over Project 2025 appeared first on The Intercept.

How many eggs is a dozen? Public Notice sees fallout from the SCOTUS decision to overturn the Chevron deference doctrine. It’s already heading to courts: It’s been barely a week since conservatives on the US Supreme Court radically upended the balance of power between the branches of government, giving the federal courts the exclusive power to interpret statutes rather than deferring to agency experts. And we’re already seeing impacts on the ground. Right-wingers have been in the habit of running to their preferred courts to get regulations overturned, but the decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which officially destroyed agency deference, will make it easier — even routine — to block every Biden administration rule they don’t like.  Lawsuits to invalidate specific rules had been proceeding through the federal courts before Loper Bright, generally arguing that agencies exceeded their authority in promulgating a rule.

At least I had the courage to do the deed myself. That counts for something here on the other side of death, where I wait for you, Clarence Thomas, and your sharp-toothed wife Ginni, and someday the others whose decrees and rulings from afar have aided and abetted the mayhem and the massacres. Cowards all of you, and boring and petty to boot, at such a safe distance from the volleys, the salvos, the gunfire. Oh, the names I have had to learn — Sandy Hook and Columbine and Uvalde and so many hundreds more and even more after that, while you were careful to stay at a safe distance from the children as they fell. Not me, not me.... Read more

Source: Judgment Day for America’s Worst Supreme Court Justice appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Squad members line up behind Joe Biden Running a presidential election is a specialized job. Among the details to manage is ensuring the candidate gets on the ballot in each state, no minor logistical task. There are filing dates and fees to get onto the state’s primary. There are other deadlines varying by state for when a major party must deliver the names of its presidential candidate (electors) to the state elections board/commission, often from late August to early September. That is why I call it magical thinking to believe that Democrats can simply swap out their presidential ticket in July. It’s not that it cannot happen, but it is a logistical nightmare. It doesn’t matter that France and England can hold national elections in a couple of months, whatever Jon Stewart says. It doesn’t work that way here. Election laws in the 50 states and territories are not set up for it, and GOP-controlled legislatures will hardly be willing to accomodate rival Dermocrats. Many voters are unhappy with a rerun of the 2020 contest. Yes, many want younger candidates. So do some reporters. Post debate, reporters for major news outlets want Joe Biden gone.

There has been a major public response to Byline Times' report of 'super-shy’ Reform UK parliamentary candidates – exposing concerning legal loopholes and the limits of the role of Electoral Commission

The Britain Labour has inherited is a far less free country than it was just a few years ago, and reversing the slide toward authoritarianism will require a committed and concerted effort

Ben Lake and Llinos Medi outline party priorities and concerns as they push for more funding and devolution