In 1647, a colonel in the English New Model Army stood beneath the granite tower of Putney’s Church of St Mary the Virgin, and declared in the heat of debate that “the poorest he that is in England hath a life to live, as the greatest he; the poorest man in England is not at […]
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Originally published April 15, 2022
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Wow, guys, this is deeply uncool. After all these years, I finally make it to a Passover Seder, only to find you polished off the only cup of wine specifically intended for me. I mean, it had my name engraved all over it, in two different languages. Kind of hard not to take that personally, you know?
I realize I’m thousands of years late to this shindig, so maybe it’s uncouth of me to point this out. But back when I was first invited, I distinctly remember Boaz saying he was making a liquor run, and asking everyone to write down what they wanted on a piece of parchment. I wrote, “One cup of red wine for Elijah the Prophet. Please don’t drink till I get there or until I announce the messianic redemption (whichever comes first!) I have to pick my nephew up from school, so I’m going to be late.” Super rad to see how you respected my wishes.
The blanket suspension of student protesters casts “serious doubt on the University’s respect for the rule-of-law values that we teach,” 54 law professors wrote.
The post Columbia Law School Faculty Condemn Administration for Mass Arrests and Suspensions appeared first on The Intercept.
In our latest briefing, Open Rights Group raises the alarm over changes in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI Bill) that could open the floodgate for the abuse of data analytics and new technologies for electoral manipulation. Information is power, and new technologies amplify governments and corporations’ ability to collect, use and weaponise […]
April 22, 2024, marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Immanuel Kant, one of the greatest philosophers in the history of philosophy. Kant’s ideas of the Enlightenment are still relevant, despite the numerous criticisms that have been levelled against them. The Enlightenment was characterized by a spirit of exploration that led to new discoveries […]
David Pecker to take the stand Opening arguments in Donald Trump’s criminal trial are scheduled to begin today and Trump isn’t taking it well. He was posting late into the night on Sunday railing against well, everything, clearly feeling the stress of what he’s about to face. And he may know more about what he could be facing than we do at this point. The NY Times reports that the prosecution’s first witness is going to be David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer and owner of its parent company AMI — and former close confidante of Donald Trump. Evidently, the two men, who’ve known each other since the 1980s, have not spoken since Pecker was given immunity by federal prosecutors in the Michael Cohen case back in 2018 and testified that Trump was involved up to his neck. And yet, while Trump has crudely insulted everyone involved in that case, and his current one, he’s never said a word against Pecker. That’s curious, don’t you think?
Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) has posted a new ad pointedly suggesting that with Donald Trump’s history he could not even get hired at your local mall. “Would you buy a used car from this man” entered popular culture in the 1960 election. This RVAT ad is another version of that famous attack. It may work against Donald Trump. And it may not. The popular vote spread in 1960 was less than one percentage point (just over 100k votes), even though Sen. John F. Kennedy won in the Electoral College by 303-219 votes. (Sen. Harry Byrd of Virginia won 15.) So, how effective was it even in the pre-internet stone age? Donald Trump lost the popular vote in both 2016 and 2020, but the electoral vote spread was nearly the same as 1960 in each. It’s just that the count fell Trump’s way in 2016 (and against the country’s international standing). Who knows? Maybe the the approach will work this time. Trump’s support has nowhere to go but down. It’s just that as the late Paul Weyrich observed, Republican chances in elections go up as the voting population goes down. There’s no rooom for Democrats slacking off. Too much is on the line.
Hardeep Matharu, Editor of Byline Times, explains why the cover story of the May 2024 print edition is one which must urgently be told
The tech giants have overthrown capitalism. That’s the argument of former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who became famous trying to defend debt-laden Greece from its German creditors. Varoufakis has never quite regained the notoriety of 2015. But he has remained a prominent left-wing voice. After a failed campaign for a seat in the European […]
The post Welcome to the Age of Technofeudalism – interviewed by WIRED magazine appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.
With Millie Gibson confirmed for both seasons, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies addresses the previous rumors of her leaving the show.
Uncommitteds will find this must-see TV Americans love a good courtroom drama as much a police procedural. That fascination may finally get uncommitted voters who have tapped out and tuned out of politics to pay attention to what’s at stake in the November presidential election, Anat Shenker-Osorio tells Greg Sargent in today’s Daily Blast podcast. Donald Trump’s Manhattan trial begins today. The political press will drive a battle-of-the century narrative to draw eyeballs and clicks. Are these charges serious? Can District Attorney Alvin Bragg prove Trump paying off a porn star was election interference? Who will triumph? But the hubbub around the trial may communicate to non-political junkies the message that where there is smoke there is fire. Trump won’t come out of this unscathed even if acquitted. The right forever has thrown smoke bombs at opponents to convince the less-tuned-in that there must be something suspicious afoot. Al Gore and the internet. Hillary’s emails. Obama’s birth certificate. Voter fraud. There’s a Deep State out to get you. That there is no there there is beside the point. Create doubt in people’s minds.
Well, look at you. You’re all so brand spanking new, shiny, and gleaming. The world was made for the likes of you as you are now. Young. Supple. Idealistic. Yes, even the goths with their cloaks of (imaginary? performative?) sorrow, black as their black kohl-rimmed eyes. Yes, you are hopeful and just as starry-eyed and dreamy as the sunshiny ones that you scorn as vehemently as Dracula despises daylight. But you’re here too, wearing a robe and a ridiculous hat with a tassel. The truly sinister-at-heart, antiestablishment marauder wouldn’t be caught dead among such living. I’m not saying you’re a poser; I’m just saying it takes a lot more than memorizing Ginsberg to truly be one of the disillusioned, walking dead. Here’s my message to you: maybe you should truly live within the illusion of a tax-paying regular Joe before you disavow it. How can you disavow what you don’t know?
Watch my interview with Amy Goodman on DEMOCRACY NOW! on the German police’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian voices which led to my being banned in Germany. Also, below you can read my ‘Diary’ entry in THE NEW STATESMAN on the details and true causes of my ban. FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: As I write these lines, […]
The post Banned from Germany: Why? How? | Democracy Now! tv interview & an account in The New Statesman appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.
Naomi Klein is the award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, politician, author and the former finance minister of Greece. Raoul Martinez is a philosopher, author and filmmaker. This podcast is released alongside the acclaimed new docuseries ‘In The Eye Of The Storm — The Political Odyssey Of Yanis […]
The post Naomi Klein & Yanis Varoufakis on Gaza, Fascism & the Wrong Lesson from History appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.
Rania Khalek was joined by Yanis Varoufakis, economist, political leader, former Finance Minister of Greece and the author of many books including his latest “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism,” to discuss Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The post Europeans Have No Right to Tell Palestinians How to Escape Their Prison – with Rania Khalek appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.