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Israel’s air force is destroying every air defense system, missile stockpile and air asset they know about, while the Jihadis whine that they aren’t Israel’s enemy.

By doing so Israel makes sure that it doesn’t matter who’s in charge of Syria: they can hit anything they want at any time and not only can’t Syria defend itself, they can’t even strike back. (Hezbollah can’t defend against air strikes, it can strike back so has some deterrence, but not enough.)

Turkey should just cut bait and directly conquer and annex Syria. Operating thru proxy forces has too many disadvantages and the days when borders were nearly sacrosanct are over. The US won’t like it, but so what? They can’t cut Turkey loose, it’s too important, and they’ve already pissed Russia and Iran off.

The decision to further restrict access to vaccines "will leave many vulnerable people unprotected" warn academics and health professionals

One of the striking characteristics of the neoliberal era has been the dramatic decline in trade union membership across the world. The decline has also been associated with depressed wages growth for workers overall, increased income inequality, reduced job security, and the rising domination of the ‘gig’ job phenomena. Related trends include rising household indebtedness…

The attack last week on a Melbourne synagogue is undoubtedly a criminal offence. But according to the News Limited media outlets, many in the Jewish community and the broader pro Israel movement, and now the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it was an act of terrorism. While Victoria Police Chief Commissioner has now declared law enforcement Continue reading »

What??? Trump has so many weird friends: As Donald Trump gathered his supporters, family and friends at Mar-a-Lago on US election day last month to wait for the results to trickle in, a small group of far-right Germans went largely unnoticed. Among them was the purported semi-professional, one-time porn actor, self-confessed former cocaine user, convicted thief and hard-right candidate for the German parliament Phillipp-Anders Rau. Together with a compact delegation of young political activists and influencers, Rau posed for the cameras with the American president-elect at his invitation, chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” in English and German. Members of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party had already been making inroads with the Trump camp for several months before the US vote, as Europe’s populist anti-migration forces attempt to harness Maga’s momentum before Germany’s general election in February.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

The new Fugitive Slave Law I suppose it was only a matter of time before this entered the conversation: New plans are being discussed in Jefferson City [Mo.] this week, including a proposed bounty hunter program for illegal immigrants. The proposed bill would pay people to catch those they believe to be in the United States illegally. Senate Bill 72 was pre-filed to the Missouri legislature. It is sponsored by House Representative David Gregory. Gregory wants to pay Missourians $1000 to find and detain illegal immigrants in the state. The first part of the bill reads that someone in Missouri illegally is “prohibited from voting in any election, receiving any permit or license to drive, receive any public benefit, and becoming a legal resident of this state.” It’s important to note that it is already illegal to vote if you are not a citizen. It also states the Department of Public Safety should develop an information system for people to report violations. Civil rights attorneys are alarmed of course.

In 24 hours the Middle East has changed. Craig Murray gives the perspective of distances and the significance of the change, Netanyahu speaks to the opportunities and challenges while Wikileaks reminds us of notable moments. Peter Cronau reveals the lopsided outrage over the Melbourne Synagogue fire, and a former Chief Adviser to the British Prime Continue reading »

What is the future likely to bring?  A reasonable stance might be to try to look at the human species from the outside.  So imagine that you’re an extraterrestrial observer who is trying to figure out what’s happening here or, for that matter, imagine you’re a historian 100 years from now — assuming there are any historians 100 years from now, which is not obvious — and you’re looking back at what’s happening today.  You’d see something quite remarkable. For the first time in the history of the human species, we have clearly developed the capacity to destroy ourselves.  That’s been true since 1945.  It’s now being finally recognized that there are more long-term processes like environmental destruction leading in... Read more

Source: Humanity Imperiled appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

And a true leader What an excellent choice to lead the military.

I sill leave it to others to analyze what’s happening in Syria and the ramifications for the region and the rest of the world. I’ll link to good ones I run across later. But one thing does seem clear. The Russian government is on a losing streak and for good reason. Charlie Sykes offered this concise take: Let’s start with V. Putin’s crappy weekend, shall we? The fall of Vlad’s Syrian bitch extends a remarkable run of reverses for the Russian czar-manque. Phillips P. OBrien notes that since his invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s actions have “caused Sweden and Finland to join NATO and it looks like Russia [is going] to lose its base in Syria because it can’t keep enough forces in the area.” And since we’re toting up the butcher’s bill, Putin has managed to seize only “a relatively small part of Ukraine,” while Russia has “suffered more than 750k casualties and seen millions of young, educated people flee the country.

Australian Opposition leader (for now), Peter Dutton, has angrily snarled at reporters that he will release the details of his nuclear plan the minute that his ”mentor” Gina Rinehart dictates it to him. ”The press in this country need to... Read More ›

Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 08, 2024

By Tony Wikrent

 

How to give a good speech

Tim Harford [via The Big Picture 12-02-2024]