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As I said, day one, Russia was going to win this war if it wanted it enough. Russia’s advance is slow, but it is certain and it is NOT going to be reversed unless the US declares war, which is NOT going to happen. The Ukrainian army is finally nearing collapse, which I’d expect some time next year. The war will last another two years at most, I’d guess.

Peace will be made under the terms Russia wants, or the war will continue. Ukraine is still fighting, but everyone with the least lick of sense knows it is going to lose. Ukraine will have to accept the terms imposed on it, because if it doesn’t Russia will just keep going.

The three generations of scientists dedicated to knowing a small sliver of Earth, one flower and one hummingbird at a time

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

There’s more talk of decolonisation than ever, while true independence for former colonies has faded from view. Why?

- by Lydia Walker

Read at Aeon

Discovering I have aphantasia helped me understand my response to being assaulted and why I wasn’t debilitated by PTSD

- by J B Smith

Read at Psyche

Hundreds of millions were wasted on contracts with zombie companies which vanished before any taxpayers' cash could be recovered

As I noted yesterday, last evening I accepted an invitation to speak on a panel at a – Rising Tide – event, which is part of the massive – People’s Blockade – of the port of Newcastle that is running from November 19-24, 2024. The Blockade is a threat to the mining corporations and the…

Sanders’s resolutions to block arms sales to Israel gained momentum, but ran headlong into White House opposition.

The post Bernie Sanders Lost Vote to Block Arms for Israel, Says U.S. Is “Funding the Starvation of Children in Gaza” appeared first on The Intercept.

This is what people are saying on Fox News in the wake of Mike Johnson passing a law that bans transgender Rep. Sarah McBride from using the women’s bathroom: I can’t properly convey how horrified I am by this grotesque bigotry. It is reminiscent of what I heard people say about Black people living in the south in the 1960s. And frankly, I don’t think anyone would have said this out loud on Fox News even a few months ago. Their evil is unleashed. I fear for the safety of Sarah McBride, right there in the US Capitol. They’ve lost all sense of humanity.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

The “right to choose” remains popular and abortion has been decriminalised in every jurisdiction across Australia.

The post Are we facing a new attack on abortion rights? first appeared on Solidarity Online.

JV Last at the Bulwark discusses the fact that lefty influencer/podcaster Cenk Uyger (with whom I once had a passing acquaintance back in the early blogger days) seems to be cozying up to right, specifically Elon Musk. I won’t attempt to question what his motives might be — it could be any number of things. But Last makes an observation with which I totally agree out of hard won experience: You know about horseshoe theory, right? It’s the idea that the political spectrum is not a straight line but a U-shape, where the far left and far right end up nearly touching. Usually when people talk about horseshoe theory, it’s in terms of policy preferences—how the policies of the far left and far right can start to overlap. But I think it’s driven much more by temperament. If you are the kind of person who tends toward conspiracy theories, you will gravitate toward the far end of the horseshoe. The same is true for people who are driven by grievance. And also for populists.

You know all those new regulations requiring that airlines pay you for cancellations and advertise the full price of fares upfront, including mandatory fees and taxes? They’re very popular and seem to have made the airlines more responsive. Well, the airlines are very happy that Trump is promising to roll all that back: The chief executive of Delta Air Lines says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden. The airline industry has chafed under consumer-protection regulations imposed by the Biden administration. And Delta is facing a federal investigation into its slow recovery from a global technology outage this summer. […] On Monday, the airline industry trade group praised Trump’s pick for transportation secretary, former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy. Duffy, a former reality TV star who is co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business, lobbied for U.S. airlines and their unions during a dispute with Persian Gulf carriers.

Josh Marshall replied: Pretty sure all three are true. But 2 is the biggie. Because it’s application is so wide. People are confused by, upset by, outraged by Trump. And they don’t know what to make of or do with those feelings and the easiest course is vent about Dems. Full stop. 2/3 of contemporary political commetnary. Absolutely correct. The “bad vibe” election, expertly exploited by Trump, was caused by Trump himself. He persuaded his own followers that the country was in the worst shape it’s ever been including the Great Depression and that the previous election had been stolen from them. Democrats were upset and frustrated that he was out there lying about all this. Bad vibes all around. In the end, the election was decided by the small slice of voters who just felt the vibes and had no idea where they were coming from. They just went with the general vibes they heard and felt in passing and believed it was necessary to throw the bastards out. Here’s an excerpt of the National Journal piece: Explaining a Harris win would have been easy: Voters rejected Trump and his ilk, just as they did in 2020.

Steven Moffat will be tweeting on Doctor Who Day (November 23rd) during the live "Boom" YouTube watchalong. Here's what you need to know...

Beleaguered broadcaster, Alan Jones, has come out strongly against the Albanese Government’s planned crackdown on social media, which will ban users under the age of 16. ”This Government is way off track, how will the kiddies be able to meet... Read More ›

I’m sure the contemptuous, unpitying masters of other continents are dangerous. But right now that sounds more like the contemptuous, unpitying masters of this country…

Welcome to “Phoning It In,” a gameshow I made up because I am tired and...

Sean Duffy, a former representative-turned-airline industry lobbyist and reality TV star, could now oversee the industry he wants to deregulate.

The Dems also lost only their two most red state Senators (which was not unexpected) and won a whole bunch of state legislators and judges. But sure: I feel like I’m losing my mind.