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Created
Thu, 19/09/2024 - 23:00
In a sane world Board of elections officials and supervisors take oaths before starting their public service jobs, both in my state and in Georgia. Here’s Georgia Code § 21-2-70: (B) In the case of a board of elections, each member of the board shall take an oath in the following form upon becoming a member of the board which shall apply to all primaries and elections conducted by the board throughout such person’s tenure on the board: I, __________________, do swear (or affirm) that I will as a member of the board of elections duly attend all ensuing primaries and elections during the continuance thereof, that I will to the best of my ability prevent any fraud, deceit, or abuse in carrying on the same, that I will make a true and perfect return of such primaries and elections, and that I will at all times truly, impartially, and faithfully perform my duties in accordance with Georgia laws to the best of my judgment and ability. Now, like the presidential oath (Article II, Section 1, Clause 8) and the Foreign Emoluments Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8), try enforcing it.
Created
Thu, 19/09/2024 - 17:12
Why is it that successive Australian Governments cannot bring themselves to call out Israel for what it is? A state that constantly ignores international law, most recently in the current Gaza conflict where there can be no doubt that war crimes have been, and are being committed against the Palestinian population. What Israel is perpetrating Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 19/09/2024 - 16:09
How to create an appearance of progress while doing nothing. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian  12th September 2024 Let’s talk about perceptionware. Perceptionware is technology whose main purpose is to create an impression of action. Whether it will ever work at scale is less important, in some cases entirely beside the point. If […]
Created
Thu, 19/09/2024 - 13:27
Today (September 19, 2024), the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest – Labour Force, Australia – for August 2024, which shows that the labour outlook might be about to change despite the on-going employment growth. Employment growth was biased towards part-time jobs as full-time employment fell. The unemployment rate was slightly lower (decimals) as…
Created
Thu, 19/09/2024 - 11:17
The Jewish Council of Australia says it is deeply disappointed at Australia’s abstention from a critical United Nations General Assembly resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months. The resolution passed with 124 votes in favour, highlighting global frustration with Israel’s actions. In a statement, the JCA said Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 19/09/2024 - 10:50
Joy Reid opened her MSNBC program tonight with a clip from one of my favorite episodes from the original Twilight Zone series, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”, which she posited to be analogous not only with the recent demonizing of Springfield, Ohio’s Haitian immigrant community by the Trump-Vance campaign, but American politics in general. She’s not wrong. I used that same Twilight Zone episode as the impetus for this piece from 2020. I was commentating on the sociopolitical climate of the early days of the pandemic, but I think many of the points I was making remain salient to this rather tempestuous election season; hence, a rerun. Picture if you will: (Originally posted on Hullabaloo on March 20, 2020) The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices…to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill…and suspicion can destroy…and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own – for the children and the children yet unborn.