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Doctor Who Showrunner Russell T. Davies shared an interesting three-word clue to what Steven Moffat's "Hitchcockian" episode is all about.

Hamas is the excuse for the Israeli attack on Gaza. The real intent is to expel all Palestinians not just from Gaza but from the West Bank as well. Or as Jonathan Cook put it ‘Israel is not primarily eradicating Hamas. It is eradicating Gaza’ Professor Richard Falk said .. ‘In Gaza, the west is Continue reading »

Former Foreign Ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans, other former Cabinet Ministers, former State Premiers, a Nobel Laureate, diplomats, writers, academics and human rights advocates are among 50 Australians supporting an appeal to establish détente between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. A repost from January 31, 2024 ‘Détente’ – Continue reading »

The arms trade is known for being one of the most corrupt of all legal international trades. UK research shows that this corruption drives and distorts arms procurement decisions. Arms purchases that were not previously being considered can suddenly appear on the agenda. Before delving into AUKUS, an egregious distortion in Australian defence procurement, I’ll Continue reading »

So many people are speaking about genocide at the moment, but so few of them seem to know what the word means. I would like to take a moment to consider where the word comes from, and the nuances of the UN definition. Of the 7.2 million Jews in 1939 who were living in areas Continue reading »

Brian Toohey’s article ‘Untruths, the CIA, and Whitlam’s dismissal’, (Pearls and Irritations, 14 February 2024), begins by dismissing as ‘astonishing’ a recent ASPI article by former Defence Deputy Secretary Paul Dibb on ‘Kissinger’s role in avoiding nuclear war, and the key part Australia played’ – ‘astonishing because it is riddled with major errors.’ The key Continue reading »

Last week we got a reminder that, among its many functions, the federal budget is the repository of all the successful rent-seeking by the nation’s many business and other special interest groups. Unfortunately, it added to the evidence that the Albanese government knows what it should do to manage the economy better, but lacks the Continue reading »

A not-so-happy anniversary: Usually, a first anniversary is an occasion for all-round rejoicing and back-slapping. So, it was to be expected that there’d be universal self-congratulation on the first anniversary of Anthony Albanese’s, Rishi Sunak’s and Joe Biden’s announcement on 13 March 2023 that Australia would purchase nuclear-powered attack-class submarines from the US as part Continue reading »

Kushner, who served as a key Middle East adviser to Trump, said that Gaza’s “waterfront property could be very valuable” and urged Israel to “clean it up.” Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump, said in a recent interview that if he were in charge of Israeli policy, Continue reading »

The basic problems mostly originate at the level of methodology, and in particular with the current emphasis on methods of mathematical modelling. The latter emphasis is an error given the lack of match of the methods in question to the conditions in which they are applied. So long as the critical focus remains only, or […]

Pye is scheduled to die Wednesday night. His conviction raised red flags, including alleged racism by his own trial attorney.

The post After Four Years Without an Execution, Georgia Prepares to Kill Willie Pye appeared first on The Intercept.

Back when Texas had some common sense Her comments used to be the usual way people would defend the right to abortion — straightforward, no weasel words, practical and confident. Then the anti-abortion zealots became mainstream in the Republican party and Democrats went on the defensive and they didn’t emerge from it until 30 years later when the Supremes struck down Roe v Wade. The price for that foolish capitulation is extreme.

When do you start calling the person you are dating “babe”? Psychologist and philosopher William James called this the single greatest question about human relationships. Thinkers and scientists have studied the issue relentlessly, and here are their findings.

On the first date: Either you are a delusional and scary person, or you are shockingly good at turning first get-togethers into magical adventures with hot-air balloon sex. Saying “babe” on date one is the ultimate “going all in” strategy, and it will ensure either your absolute victory in becoming lovers or, more likely, that your number is promptly blocked, deleted, and reported to the authorities.

On the second or third date: This is where we leave psycho territory and enter the land of the merely desperate and pathetic. A three-date babe index carries a clear subtext: I want to be in a relationship, and I want it now. Perhaps your date is just as sad and needy as you, and your fast-track “babe” ploy will work. If so, congrats. Enjoy your codependency.

New research on census, youth, mental health; a recent talk and an upcoming one tl;dr:  1. New paper with Janet Vertesi: “The Resource Bind: System Failure and Legitimacy Threats in Sociotechnical Organizations” 2. “Techno-legal Solutionism: Regulating Children’s Online Safety in the United States” (my paper with María Angel) was officially published as part of the ACM CS+Law symposium.  […]

Labour is set to unveil details of its plans to devolve more powers away from Westminster

Trump needs money so he’s putting Manafort back on active duty Donald Trump had an epic meltdown on his social media site Trump Social on Tuesday. Even for someone who is prone to ranting and raving in public, this was one for the books. Apparently on the verge of cracking under the financial pressure stemming from the civil judgments against hims for defamation and fraud, he let fly with post after post filled with whining and invective against New York Attorney General Leticia James and NY State Judge Arthur Engoran. For instance, he wrote: “Any business thinking about moving into New York State is CRAZY! The level of anger and hostility toward businesses and business people is incredible. Numerous people have spoken to me about this since the Racist and Politically Corrupt A.G., who ran for office on a platform of “I will get Trump” without knowing anything about me or my business, and her corrupt puppet Judge, Arthur Engoron, who has already been overturned 4 times on this case, a record, started doing a number on me.” He seems a little bit stressed, wouldn’t you say?

As the House of Lords finally begins scrutiny of the UK data protection reform, Open Rights Group urges peers to support amendments that would strengthen the independence and effectiveness of the UK data protection authority, and bolster the public’s right of seeking a remedy against an infringement of their rights. The ICO has a long […]

The “temporary pier” being built on the Mediterranean coast of Gaza is not there to alleviate the famine but to herd Palestinians onto ships and into permanent exile.

The post Chris Hedges: Israel’s Trojan Horse appeared first on MintPress News.