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Get out the Band-Aids, ballet flats are back in style. I’ve never taken a dance class in my life, but I’m going to cram my big, flat feet into these little honeys and wait for a huge, watery blister to take my life. My feet haven’t been bloody and shredded for fifteen years, so this summer, I am going to swell them up like Yorkshire pudding. Out are the comfortable sneakers designed for feet, and in are the hard-sided kayaks designed to take your breath away.

The blood stains on the back of these shoes are incriminating. It’s a sweaty, painful emergency that no Band-Aid on earth could begin to mitigate. These little rocket ship slippers have cut through to bone, but it’s all part of the journey. If I can focus my breath and quiet my mind, I can control the voice that’s begging to rip the feet from my legs. It’s amazing how you can continue to walk when you really, really shouldn’t.

The Counter Extremism Group has close ties both to Government – and to hard-right think tanks

Haha. He’s constantly batting back memes these days. “I don’t use a teleprompter!” “I don’t sleep during the trial!” Calling Giuliani’s lawyer Robert Costello to the stand would be legal malpractice if it weren’t for the fact that it was probably because Trump demanded it. The cross examination today was just brutal. Basically the prosecutors just read all of Costello’s emails to Cohen in which he was clearly trying to keep him from turning on Trump when he very briefly became the “back channel” between Rudy Giuliani (Trump) and Cohen. The whole thing sounbds like nothing short of an episode of the Sopranos. He first met Cohen in person and told him how close he was with Giuliani, which Cohen denied on the stand. The prosecutor Susan Hoffinger made him look at the email he sent two days later: “I told you my relationship with Rudy which could be very very useful to you.”“Doesn’t that mean you mentioned that to him at the first meeting?” Hoffinger asked. “No,” Costello absurdly answered.

The collapse of the West’s entire financial system in 2007–08 was, in the era’s terminology, an ‘epic fail’, the worst economic crisis since the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Despite the crash being the direct consequence of centrist deregulation, the elites, having gained better control of the news cycle since Iraq, made the story the […]

The U.S. held Saeed Bakhouch at Guantánamo Bay for 20 years without charge, then sent him to have his rights violated in Algeria.

The post After Torturing Him, U.S. Breaks Guarantees of Safety to Former Guantánamo Detainee appeared first on The Intercept.

“If you’re not pissing ’em off, you’re not doing it right” Joe Biden’s strongest performances pissed off Republicans big time. One was his September 1, 2022 speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. “On the Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation” called out “MAGA Republicans” for their anti-American beliefs and behaviors. Did it turn the November 2022 red wave into a red ripple? Maybe. A second performance was Biden’s State of the Union speech on March 7. It was “Fiery Biden” (Washington Post). And “In-Your-Face Biden” (New York Times). Republicans were pissed. Viewers approved. Digby (March 8): Biden came out swinging and knocked the Republicans so far back on their heels that they had to completely abandon the image of him they’ve been building since 2020 — that he’s so old and feeble that he can’t even feed himself — and instead whimper like a bunch of little old ladies that he offensively aggressive.  More than not looking feeble, Biden looked like a leader in command. Biden needs more of that.

The UN’s stance on Gaza’s death toll is clear, but a coordinated media effort distorts the truth. Find out who’s behind this and why.

The post Media Manipulation: The Truth About The Gaza Death Toll appeared first on MintPress News.

On April 22nd, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case that focuses on whether unhoused — the term that has generally replaced “homeless” — people with no indoor shelter options can even pull a blanket around themselves outdoors without being subject to criminal punishment. Before making its way to the Supreme Court on appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court held that municipalities can’t punish involuntarily homeless people for merely living in the place where they are. This is exactly what the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, did when it outlawed resting or sleeping anywhere on public property with so much as a blanket to survive in cold weather, even when no beds in shelters were... Read more

Source: Housing, Not Handcuffs appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Economists too often deceive themselves and their audiences into believing they know more than it is possible to know. As keepers of this Secret Knowledge, economists are rewarded in compensation, prestige, and influence for their expertise. At a 1991 speech at a World Bank-International Monetary Fund meeting, the famed Larry Summers told an audience, “The […]

Been There, Smelled That explores the aromas of places around the world. Travel writer Maggie Downs investigates some of the world’s most potent smells, looks at how odor cultivates a connection to place, and presents how humans engage with smells, from scents that have endured generations to the latest innovations in aroma-making.

Sometimes I think a good scent is like receiving an invitation to a party—the more enticing the smell, the more flamboyant the promise, and the more excited I am to go wherever that journey will take me. And nowhere was that more true than in Mexico City.

My family and I stayed in a third-floor apartment in Roma Norte, a panadería conveniently located on the ground floor. I never needed to use an alarm clock, because my body stirred each morning with the scents of bread and pastry, wafts of cinnamon and sugar tugging me from one dreamlike state to another.

In the survey of Democrats and independents in five battleground states, 2 in 5 voters said a ceasefire and conditioning aid would make them more likely to vote for Biden.

The post Conditioning Aid to Israel Would Boost Support for Biden in Key States, New Poll Finds appeared first on The Intercept.

Texas woman disavows her distrust of public schools The subhead perfectly summarizes the ProPublica report from Texas: Courtney Gore, a Granbury ISD school board member, has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on after finding no evidence that students were being indoctrinated by the district’s curriculum. Her defiance has brought her backlash. The co-host of a local far-right talk show had guzzled gallons of Kool-Aid. She was positive that public schools were cesspools of anti-whatever indoctination that promoted a “twisted worldview.” Then she got herself elected to prove it and to shut it all down. Weeks after winning a school board seat in her deeply red Texas county, Courtney Gore immersed herself in the district’s curriculum, spending her nights and weekends poring over hundreds of pages of lesson plans that she had fanned out on the coffee table in her living room and even across her bed. She was searching for evidence of the sweeping national movement she had warned on the campaign trail was indoctrinating schoolchildren.

Lord Walney's proposals would impose an effective ban on certain protest groups while handing police forces the power to outlaw regular Gaza protests

"Boom," Steven Moffat's new episode of Doctor Who, reveals Villengard's long-running villainy - which has been with the series since 2005.

The Australian Prime Minister has urged Biden to let the WikiLeaks founder return home, as he waits in London's Belmarsh prison for his next court hearing

A cartoon king is dangling over a pit of lava. He says, “If you don’t match the colored shapes, I die!” Time runs out and the screen blurs, so you can’t see the king’s death. The text “You have failed your king…” appears as you hear the king’s heartbeat slow to a stop. This game is called Vacation Match Relaxation.

On a plane, a poor traveler is berated by his fellow passengers for downloading the wrong slot machine game. A stewardess takes pity on the weeping traveler and tells him that he should have just downloaded Dollar Dash Cash Frenzy, which is a good game that doesn’t lie about jackpots. The stewardess claps, and thousands of gold coins explode across the screen, which makes your phone freeze.

An insultingly simple crossword puzzle with the clue “Three-letter word for a pet?” A hand drags the letters A, T, and C into incorrect combinations for a full twenty seconds until a red X pops up, along with the words, “Your brain is ninety-seven years old, and your family has decided to pull the plug.” This game is not available to download in your country.

No final date has been set for when 'the most effective border in the world' will be fully operational, according to a new report by the National Audit Office

The programme schedule is now available on the conference website.

This year’s conference has managed to gather the MMT founders and thinkers in one place, promising engaging talks and insightful panel discussions. By attending, you can deepen your understanding of Modern Monetary Theory, network with fellow MMTers, and gain valuable insights into current economic debates.

With limited tickets remaining and time running out, secure your spot today. Visit the website to sign up now.

In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: Scarlett Johansson/OpenAI, The Rookie, Doctor Who, Marvel Television, The Sandman, Superman & Lois, and more!