Reading

Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:58
Such a move would support the peace efforts, not undermine them, as some have argued. Over the last eight months, we have witnessed the mass killing and displacement of Palestinians and the devastation and destruction of Gaza carried out by Israel under the guise of “self-defence”. As the Israeli government continues to disregard its obligations under Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:57
Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit underscores the significance of the Australia-China relationship, especially given China’s status as Australia’s largest trading partner. A deeper relation should develop, but that will take time. Trust needs to be reestablished not only at diplomatic and business levels, but also in the Australian mass media, whose China opinion writers have Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:54
How many more wrongful convictions does Australia have to have before state and federal attorneys-general and senior members of the legal profession agree that they must address this serious problem? Why is Australia languishing so far behind similar legal systems in England and Wales, Scotland, New Zealand and Canada? In the case of the UK, Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:53
In Australia, the demon of penal regulation clings in its stubbornness. Keeping government accountable and open to the suspicious eye of the public is a weary worn task that yields little by way of change. Secrecy remains addictive, even pathological. Reforms, to that end, remain cosmetic, patchy, and indeterminate. What is the public interest useful for Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:52
The Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited New Zealand last week (June 13-15) and held talks that were generally agreed to be frank but friendly. It was the highest ranking visit by a Chinese official for seven years and coincided with the tenth anniversary of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Li Qiang was Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:50
Major Western news outlets are currently reporting how the Pentagon ran a secret anti-vaccination campaign in order to undermine China’s life-saving COVID vaccination programme in the Philippines – and beyond – from the spring of 2020 to mid-2021. According to Reuters, this extensive, well-organised, malign project aimed: “to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 04:50
Barghouti has been relocated to 3 different locations and last December, his lawyer recounted how he was “dragged on the floor naked in front of other prisoners” in Ayalon prison. Former inmates and several rights groups claim that circumstances inside Israeli jails for Palestinians altered suddenly last October, following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti is Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 03:30
I mentioned this the other day but now it’s official. President Biden is announcing today that he will legalize the undocumented immigrant spouses of American citizens: President Biden on Tuesday is announcing a large-scale immigration program that will offer legal status and a streamlined path to U.S. residency and citizenship to roughly half a million unauthorized immigrants married to American citizens. The Department of Homeland Security policy will allow these immigrants to apply for work permits and deportation protections if they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and meet other requirements, senior administration officials said during a call with reporters. Perhaps most importantly, however, Mr. Biden’s move will unlock a path to permanent residency — colloquially known as a green card — and ultimately U.S. citizenship for many of the program’s beneficiaries.
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 03:00

Isn’t this neighborhood charming? The cute brick ranches. The historic bungalows with their breezy porches. The old apartment buildings that symbolize our romantic notions of the working class.

Even the duplexes are just adorable. It’s inspiring how people share walls and divide roofs right down the middle. So egalitarian.

Yes, we love the character of this neighborhood, which is why we bought a house, tore it down, and built a mansion resembling a La Quinta Inn.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but once Brad talked to the architect, it just made sense to go with five stories, nine bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, and a six-car garage with a glass door that reflects the setting sun like the Eye of Sauron.

Did I mention how we love the big porches here? They’re such cute little areas for sitting and talking to your neighbors. It’s too bad they aren’t considered “livable space” and do not add to a home’s value.

Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 02:00
Project 2025 is hundreds of pages long and it’s difficult to get through. And that’s just for starters. There’s more in it every day. So this run-down by John Oliver is about as short and succinct and explanation possible. If you have a few minutes it’s well worth watching. You might want to have a drink handy…
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 01:05

Join us THURSDAY, June 20 at 1pm ET / 10am PT, for our regularly scheduled call to chat about all things Drupal and nonprofits. (Convert to your local time zone.)

We don't have anything specific on the agenda this month, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss anything that's on our minds at the intersection of Drupal and nonprofits.  Got something specific you want to talk about? Feel free to share ahead of time in our collaborative Google doc: https://nten.org/drupal/notes!

All nonprofit Drupal devs and users, regardless of experience level, are always welcome on this call.

This free call is sponsored by NTEN.org and open to everyone. 

Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 00:30
He’s a convicted criminal. Make it stick. A high school friend was raised a good Southern Baptist. “We couldn’t cuss in the house,” he said. “Except you could say ‘damn yankee,’ because that’s just what they were.” The Biden campaign is taking that approach with Donald Trump: A convicted criminal is just what he is. Ankush Khardori, a senior writer for Politico Magazine, speaks with Greg Sargent about a Politico poll “with some pretty big surprises: A larger-than-expected percentage of Americans say Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in Manhattan makes them less likely to vote for him.” Politico: Thirty-three percent of respondents said that the conviction made them less likely to support Trump, while only 17 percent of respondents said that it made them more likely to support Trump. “Support” is one thing. Voting is another. Twenty-two percent of respondents said that the conviction is important to how they will vote and that it makes them less likely to support Trump.
Created
Tue, 18/06/2024 - 23:36

While April and May are usually the hottest months in many countries in Southeast Asia, hundreds of millions of people are now suffering in South Asia from an exceptionally intense heat wave that has killed hundreds. One expert has already called it the most extreme heat event in history. Record-breaking temperatures above 122º F were reported in the Indian capital of New Delhi and temperatures sizzled to an unheard of 127º F  in parts of India and Pakistan. Nor was the blazing heat limited to Asia. Heat waves of exceptional severity and duration are now occurring simultaneously in many areas of the world. Mexico and parts of the United States, notably Miami and Phoenix, have recently been in the grip of... Read more

Source: A National Climate Action Plan appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Created
Tue, 18/06/2024 - 23:00
Courts are on your fall ballot Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida is perhaps the most notorious of Donald Trump’s judicial appointees. Her foot-dragging on the Trump classified documents case has doomed special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution from occurring before this fall’s election. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas “has become a go-to judge for parties filing lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden’s policies.” The U.S. Supreme Court just settled a case women’s rights opponents brought before Kacsmaryk to suspend the FDA’s approval of medication abortion. “The next president is likely to have two new Supreme Court nominees — two more. [Trump has] already appointed two that have been very negative in terms of the rights of individuals,” President Joe Biden told Jimmy Kimmel during a Los Angeles fundraiser over the weekend (CNN): “The idea that if he’s reelected he’s going to appoint two more flying flags upside down,” Biden said in an apparent reference to a flag that once flew outside the home of Justice Samuel Alito.
Created
Tue, 18/06/2024 - 22:13
I en nyligen publicerad rapport — Goda grannar: en ESO-rapport om grannskapets betydelse för integration — visar författarna att etniskt segregerat boende inte ’per definition’ behöver vara något negativt. Detta konstaterande har fått viss uppmärksamhet i medierna och framställts som något  spännande och nytt … Vid närmare eftertanke är det dock uppenbart att ingen rimligen […]
Created
Tue, 18/06/2024 - 22:00

0500: Sound the alarm.

0600: Recitation of the day’s mantra in the traditional spirited honking.

0700: Singing of “O Canada” and flyover in standard formation.

0800: Announcement of the flock’s minutes.

0830: Synchronized shitting and breakfast on the east bank of the retention pond.

1000: Gather outside the dog park fence for the “Taunting of the Mutts.”

1200: Preening and beautification.

1300: Loud meandering.

1430: Stop traffic. Honk.

1600: Group aerobics at the retention pond.

1800: Carnal activities.

1802: Bathing.

1807: Carnal activities.

1809: Unwind.

1900: Synchronized shitting and supper on the north bank of the retention pond.

2100: “O Canada” reprise and flyover in standard formation.

2200: Sleep / carnal activities.