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Prabowo Subianto will take office as President of Indonesia in October. He is a military strongman with a sordid history of killings and human rights abuses. How did he win the election? An Indonesian socialist explains the background to his rise.

The post Indonesia: behind the rise of Prabowo from war criminal to president first appeared on Solidarity Online.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Not that you necessarily asked me for it, but since we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the 2000s, I thought I might offer up my picks for (tympani roll, please) the Top 25 films of the 21st Century (so far). So here for your consideration, edification, or (most likely reaction) eternal damnation, is my list, subjective as hell (you might want to bookmark this one for movie night ideas). As per usual, they are presented in alphabetical order, not by preference. Amelie -I know this one has its haters (?!), but Jean-Pierre Juenet’s beautifully realized film stole this reviewer’s heart. Audrey Tautou lights up the screen as a gregarious loner who decides to become a guardian angel (and benign devil) and commit random, anonymous acts of kindness. The plight of Amelie’s “people in need” is suspiciously similar to her own-those who need that little push to come out of self-imposed exiles and revel in life’s simple pleasures. Of course, our heroine is really in search of her own happiness and fulfillment. Does she find it? You’ll have to see for yourself.

Trump plans to send in the troops this time I wrote below about the militias that are working up a froth over the possibility of Trump losing yet again. It’s pretty unnerving. But we should also be unnerved by what will happen if Trump wins, especially if his “win” is due to the courts validating some right wing scheme to invalidate the election results in his favor resulting in widespread protests. The NY Times reports (gift link): During his time out of power, allies of Mr. Trump have worked on policy papers to provide legal justifications for the former president’s intent to use the military to enforce the law domestically. In public, they have talked about this in the context of border states and undocumented immigrants. But an internal email from a group closely aligned with Mr. Trump, obtained by The Times, shows that, privately, the group was also exploring using troops to “stop riots” by protesters.

The technological society… will not be a universal concentration camp, for it will be guilty of no atrocity. It will not seem insane, for everything will be ordered, and the stains of human passion will be lost amid the chromium gleam. We shall have nothing more to lose, and nothing to win. Our deepest instincts […]

If you have time to read any long form piece this weekend, read this one from Pro Publica about the militia movement. They have been following one large national militia group that has avoided scrutiny up until now called APIII (American Patriots Three Percent) for several years and it’s enough to make the hair on your neck stand up. Perhaps the biggest threat comes from the fact that they have indoctrinated many members of law enforcement: AP3 has expanded at a dramatic pace since Jan. 6, while keeping much of its activity out of view. This rise is documented in more than 100,000 internal messages obtained by ProPublica, spanning the run-up to Jan. 6 through early 2024. Along with extensive interviews with 22 current and former members of AP3, the records provide a uniquely detailed inside view of the militia movement at a crucial moment. The messages reveal how AP3 leaders have forged alliances with law enforcement around the country and show the ways in which, despite an initial crackdown by social media, they have attracted a new wave of recruits. A change in the political climate has also helped: In a matter of months after Jan.

DENIS Gleeson has been elected President of the Rotary Club of Sawtell for a fourth consecutive year. His continued leadership was celebrated at the club’s 49th Annual Changeover Dinner in July. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us –...

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THERE has been a mixed response to private ATM’s filling the gap left by the withdrawal of major banks from the region. President of the Sawtell Chamber of Commerce Clive Greenway said there is a need to “keep cash going” but he is disappointed that it now comes at a cost. Advertise with News of...

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MORE than 1000 people poured through the gates at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium on Sunday 11 August for the City of Coffs Harbour’s first ever Open Day. “The Open Day was an opportunity for the City to showcase and explain the diverse range of services and products we offer to the community,” City of...

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THE Little Wings Return And Earn “Fuel Our Planes” program has welcomed two new participants. Mary Help Of Christians Primary School in Toormina and Coffs Harbour Country Women’s Association (CWA) have received their recycling bins to start collecting 10-cent cans and bottles. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business....

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THE City of Coffs Harbour’s Environment Levy is funding four environmental projects by Coffs Harbour Regional Landcare (CHRL). “The projects will help to reduce the impact of weeds not only on our Landcare sites but also allow for more sensitive maintenance of parts of the coastal walk on five headlands, many of which contain endangered...

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A HUMPBACK whale has been safely disentangled from commercial fishing gear, just off Coffs Harbour. The team effort on 7 August involved the community, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the NSW Water Police Marine Area Command, Jetty Dive Centre and ORRCA volunteers. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for...

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TELEVISION personality and co-host of The Block Shelley Craft, joined Dr Lisa Beecham in Coffs Harbour as part of an initiative to bring health education to regional communities. The Healthy Ageing Roadshow is a partnership between GSK Australia and the Country Women’s Association (CWA). Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for...

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He added later that he “ran for president one time and won!” I’m not sure why anyone ever thought Trump’s puerile nicknames were so clever to begin with but to the extent he has a real “nickname” talent, he’s certainly lost it now: The former president, who rarely mentioned Harris until after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, tried out “Laffin’ Kamala” before pivoting to “Lyin’ Kamala,” then jettisoned that for “Crazy Kamala,” which he interspersed with misspellings of her name. In the last few days, he has abandoned those monikers — even as he continues to use nicknames for other adversaries. Demeaning nicknames have been core to Trump’s political brand since he first jumped into the political scene, a tool he has leveraged against both Republicans and Democrats to humiliate his opponents and rile up his supporters. But he’s struggled to adjust to run against Harris, even as he has leaned into personal attacks. He’s been repurposing his insults from the very beginning.

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EMERALD Beach Fair Committee has received $29,632 in funding to build a pavilion at Emerald Beach Reserve. The NSW Community Building Partnership grant will pay for a purpose-built community pavilion in which to gather, meet and play. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us –...

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COFFS couple Rob and Margaret Chapman have donated two new pieces of equipment to Coffs Harbour Health Campus (CHHC). Longstanding benefactors of CHHC, the Chapmans donated a vital signs monitor valued at $4551.53 to the Renal Unit and $11,440 for an ECG machine for radiotherapy patients at Mid North Coast Cancer Institute (MNCCI). Advertise with...

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Like a tsunami, America’s influence has been spreading to most regions of the globe. While some countries are willing to allow this and even welcome their own culture being subsumed, others are not so inclined. Australia stands out as the one English-speaking country – among the Five Eyes countries – where the Americans have almost Continue reading »

Ignoring 200 years of native forest logging underestimates the consequences of current logging. Beware of false solutions for plastic pollution. How to make your garden bird-friendly. It’s not just this year’s native forest logging that matters, it’s the previous 200 Australia has a dreadful environmental record, e.g., one of the world’s highest per capita emitters Continue reading »

Big data has contributed to a cultural shift towards evidence-based decision-making in academia, industry, and government, which prioritises empirical evidence over theory-based inquiry. It has also been associated with the boom in the publication of shorter journal articles and the decline in the publication of scholarly books, fuelled by the publish-or-perish academic rankings hamster wheel, Continue reading »

Marriage as an institution has long been attacked as the bulwark of patriarchy, a formality, binding women into compulsory sexual obligations, economic dependence and unequal life chances and the seat of most domestic violence. It has been all that and more, but ‘family’ has been forgotten by many as the outcome of positive romantic attachment Continue reading »

The aboriginal, the outcaste, and minorities reveal a darker side to what we fondly call civilisation. Janus, the Roman god, remembered every year in our month of January, was a two-faced deity, and his two faces gazed in opposite directions. I can’t help thinking that most of our public events are similarly “Janus-faced,” one aspect Continue reading »