Before attempting an answer, first let us hold the mirror up to obvious signs of our dysfunction. The last few days have spotlighted electronic media, the billionaires who profit from it, and their business model which refuses accountability. Domestic violence has many causes but misogynist treatment of women as objects of male fantasy is standard Continue reading »
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In this seemingly topsy-turvy world we live in, the charge of ‘antisemitism’ and its offshoot ‘antisemite’ have been hurled at anyone who dares suggest that there is something deeply flawed about the State of Israel. Likewise branded are those who have been protesting against Israel’s winner-takes-all retaliation for the Hamas October 7 massacre. Strange too, Continue reading »
The commentary that surrounds the Federal Budget is a noise of dissatisfaction and ‘negative bias’. The reality is that the ‘power of constant attack’ will make it harder to co-operate together, in bipartisan fashion, on crucial matters. Is there another way? My cousin has written of the courage and fortitude of our farming forebears. They Continue reading »
“It’s a bit silly in this day and age but that’s how it is.” Russell Chapman is well-placed to talk about what he’s called the “West of Scotland disease”. That is the continuing bitter rivalry between Rangers, “the Queen’s team”, and Celtic, with its “loyalty to [the church of] Rome”. As a five or six-year-old, Continue reading »
At one of the world’s oldest film festivals, 240 pictures from 50 countries were shown in Russia. Last week the 46th Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) concluded in Moscow. MIFF was first held in 1935 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world. Over the years, its winners have included some of Continue reading »
It is entirely possible for the surging anti-genocide protest movement and its accompanying zeitgeist in the general public to push the empire to retreat on Gaza. The imperial murder machine has many strengths, but it also has weaknesses. The globe-spanning power structure that is loosely centralised around Washington has invested in perception management more heavily Continue reading »
The usual suspects are having a good old-fashioned cry over a comment by Biden at a fundraiser. As he was reminding the attendees of the chaos of the Trump years and the probability of it being even worse next time he said: “Remember him saying the best thing to do is just inject a little bleach in your arm? That’s what he said. And he meant it. I wish he had done a little bit himself.” They’re melting down because what he said is “a lie!” And technically they’re right. Trump never said to inject “bleach into your arm.” He mused that maybe we could inject “disinfectant” or maybe “hit the body” with a strong light. Totally different Except not. These were big, breakthrough ideas of the stable genius himself, telling assembled scientists to pursue them: A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposedly we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it.
The Supremes are talking. Oy: In a conversation in Austin with Chief Judge Priscilla Richman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, Kavanaugh acknowledged the polarization in the country over political and legal issues, especially since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the legal right to an abortion established decades earlier by Roe v. Wade. He said judges and Supreme Court justices must clearly explain their interpretation of the law and apply those legal principles in a uniform fashion. “Individual decisions don’t have to be popular. … The losing party has to respect the decision,” Kavanaugh said at the 5th Circuit Judicial Conference. “Consistency builds respect,” he continued. “It’s showing up every day in the courtroom and trying to be respectful to the parties, to write your opinion in a way that’s clear and understandable, to get out when you’re speaking and try to explain, to the bar, the judicial process, to try to be transparent and to be impartial as a judge.” How about consistency with precedent, which they promised to do in their confirmation hearings?
Tonight’s Eurovision Song Contest has already descended into acrimony. All the focus is on the protests outside on the streets of Malmo and the turmoil between the contestants — an inevitable consequence of the decision to allow Israel’s participation, despite its ongoing genocide in Gaza. It was never going to be about anything else. Eurovision’s […]
Georgia’s accelerating authoritarian slide into Russia’s orbit has now seen its government launch a full-scale Belarusian-style crackdown on opposition voices.
Bloody peasant! What do I keep saying about royalists? MeidasTouch News: Connor Clegg, a producer at Fox News according to his LinkedIn, posted a racist attack on a law enforcement officer to Twitter. Clegg has since locked his twitter account. Clegg complained about being stopped by a traffic officer with an accent because he was blocking an alley and his tags were expired on his vehicle. The Fox News producer’s description was laced with racist language and superiority. “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy,” journalist Alfred Henry Lewis told Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1906. Don’t kid yourselves. Feudalism is even closer. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● For The Win, 5th Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV planning guide at ForTheWin.us.
A second Trump term could fulfill the right’s darkest fantasies After Donald Trump won election in 2016, some friends and colleagues in the progressosphere began moving off social media platforms and to more secure communications channels. The fear was that Trump and his lieutenants would crack down on dissenters using state surveillance. In the end, while damaging, the early Trump administration was too bungling and incompetent, too unfamiliar with where the levers of power were and how to work them. That may not be true in a second Trump administration. Project 2025, and all that. When he’s not seething inside a cold courtroom, Trump is signalling his second term will be more corrupt that his first, and more blatant about it. His promise to supporters, Greg Sargent satirizes, is a simple promise: I have seen elite corruption and self-dealing from the inside, and I will put that know-how to work for you.
Plus, Hawaii prioritizes housing for residents, a tech company cuts off the police, and Vermont votes to make Big Oil pay.
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Doctor Who Episode 2, "The Devil's Chord," is the most meta, fourth-wall-breaking episode in some time - darker, surreal & totally original.
The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: X-Men '97, Always Sunny, Doctor Who, Tracker, Young Sheldon, Peacemaker, TWD: The Ones Who Live, and more!
So, all aid except some totally inadequate air-dropped supplies have now been cut off from Gaza and Rafah, the last refuge is being bombed and invaded.
As I pointed out October 8th, the real danger isn’t the bombs and drones and so on—it’s famine and plague and lack of water. The official numbers of dead in Gaza are hardly going up, because State capacity (the numbers come from Gaza’s government) is trashed. The numbers were always massive understatements, because many bodies are buried in the ruins, but now they’re vastly too low.
The best way to kill people, absent nukes, is pretty much always hunger. Deaths are going to SOAR in Gaza and once it really gets rolling, it’s entirely feasible for Israel to kill a million+ people.
This has always clearly been the Israeli goal: wipe the Palestinians in Gaza out.
Beneath the gleeful silliness & utter madness, Doctor Who season premiere "Space Babies" contains multiple layers of much deeper meaning.
Baby elephants are the best Hilvarenbeek, February 20, 2024 – African elephant Punda has become the mother of a healthy elephant calf after a 22-month pregnancy. This is the third calf born in the Safari Park @Beekse-Bergen in four months. Never before have three African elephants been born in a European zoo in such a short time. The young elephant is a girl and has been named Tendai. Head zookeeper Yvonne Vogels says: “Everything is falling into place! Mosi means firstborn: the first of the three calves. Ajabu stands for ‘radiant’. It’s wonderful to see how the premature baby, because she was born two months prematurely, is now strengthened and how we see this reflected in her character. And now there is Tendai, which means grateful. Thankful for all the healthy happiness in the herd. We are completely over the moon!” The zookeepers of the African elephants were alert for the arrival of the calf for several days. Vogels: “On Wednesday we saw a change in the blood values and in principle the calf would be born within 48 hours.” The zookeepers monitored the webcam for five nights, taking turns and every hour.
Antony Blinken’s report identifies “incidents that raise concerns,” but says Israel is not blocking humanitarian aid.
The post Israel “Likely” Used U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Violation of International Law. That’s OK, Though, State Department Says. appeared first on The Intercept.