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Raffi Berg, now at the center of a media scandal over the BBC’s Israel coverage, once worked for a known CIA front and collaborated with Mossad officials.

The post Raffi Berg: BBC Middle East Editor Exposed as CIA, Mossad Collaborator appeared first on MintPress News.

California sober: No alcohol or drugs except marijuana

New York sober: No alcohol or drugs except cocaine

Kentucky sober: No alcohol or drugs except a cool, tall mint julep on a sweltering July afternoon

Oregon sober: No alcohol if it’s not an IPA

Texas sober: No alcohol except empty beer cans to shoot

Maine sober: No addictive drugs except lobster rolls

Maryland sober: No addictive drugs except crab cakes

Georgia sober: No addictive drugs except whatever Marjorie Taylor Greene is on

Oklahoma sober: No drugs, but I suspect we’d grow amazing pot

Arkansas sober: No alcohol except moonshine

Massachusetts sober: No alcohol, but I still act like an asshole

Illinois sober: Liquor? Ya got it all wrong, copper. This here’s an honest Chicago church hall, see?

Kansas sober: I just eat BBQ until I feel drunk

Those currently celebrating the US and Israel’s decisive military victories against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and possibly the defeat of Ansar Allah in Yemen may soon discover the pyrrhic nature of “reshaping the Middle East” in the interests of Western civilization. Military actions enabled Continue reading »

China scholar Mark Wang still remembers a time in the 2000s when Australia’s China studies was vibrant and in a leading position in the world. “At that time, the student interest, government policy and funding for China studies in Australia were really strong,” said Professor Wang, the director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Continue reading »

George Beebe, long-time head of Russia analysis at the CIA, a 27-year veteran of the agency and now the current head of Grand Strategy at the Quincy Institute in Washington, is just the kind of American the world needs right now. Understated, immensely knowledgeable and decent, he understands the Russo-Ukraine war in its widest sense Continue reading »

Aeschylus (525-456BC) was, as current circumstances in the Middle East and in Ukraine amply demonstrate, entirely accurate when he observed that “In war, truth is the first casualty.” Continue reading »

Angry, frustrated, insulted – these are some of the expressions Barton locals have used to describe this sham National Executive ‘preselection’ process, imposing the Prime Minister’s pick. After months and months of indecision by the NSW Labor branch and much rank-and-file frustration, a bogus preselection process was staged for public consumption. A process that ignored Continue reading »

Australia’s historical commitment to nuclear disarmament is facing new challenges, as critics say the nation’s alliance with the United States is leading to a conflicted stance on nuclear non-proliferation. While Australia has actively participated in global nuclear arms control initiatives, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), it simultaneously Continue reading »

The late centenarian, Jimmy Carter, occupied a difficult position in the line of imperial magistrates we know as US presidents. Coming to power in the aftermath of murderous US adventurism in Indochina and the debauching of the presidency by Richard Nixon (“when the president does it, it means that it is not illegal”), he took Continue reading »

During a lifetime of extraordinary journalism on both paper and the screen, John Pilger, who died one year ago on Monday, showed the world the suffering caused by US-led aggression in mostly poor nations that had the temerity to hinder Washington’s path to global dominance. In his many extraordinary films, books and articles, Pilger filled Continue reading »

While no one was looking, the Pakistani public took matters into their own hands, adding 17 gigawatts of solar power this year. These installations are mostly in the form of Chinese panels for rooftop or ground level solar in towns and villages. Pakistan has abruptly become the world’s sixth-largest consumer of solar panels. Here’s the Continue reading »

The HTS-led government in Damascus is making normalization with Israel a cornerstone of its agenda and conflict with Iran a strategic priority.

The post Peace with Israel Tops the Agenda for Syria’s New Leaders appeared first on MintPress News.

Avarice and Artifice Since before the days of traveling medicine shows, Americans displayed a knack both for peddling bullshit and for buying it. Cultural touchstone: Dorothy’s Professor Marvel. Paradigm case: the 2024 presidential election. But the latter is simply a more visible instance of the phenomenon. Let’s look at two cases of Americans’ willingness to believe that private capitalism is always superior at delivering services over collective, government, not-for-profit programs. As with snake oil, it begins with a con man. With avarice and artifice. Timothy Noah this morning considers efforts to privatize Medicare. Donald Trump claims he won’t. (Trump also makes claims about his height, weight, and net worth.) Noah cites a Wall Street Journal report from Wednesday (I don’t have access) that shows that despite widely touted claims that the private sector is more efficient at providing health care, well, it does not.

Any more like Massie on the back bench? Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) is still working to secure enough votes to re-up his speakership despite the endorsement of the president-elect. The House votes to elect a speaker for the 119th Congress at noon today (Friday). With the GOP’s razor-thin margin, more than two defections can sink him. The Hill: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) affirmed his decision to not support Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) in the Speaker’s race, even if his colleague Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) would land a top spot on the House Rules Commitee.  Massie was asked by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a new host on One America News Network, if he would vote for Johnson if Roy would become the chairman of the influential committee. “Oh no. You can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them, you can start cutting off my fingers,” Massie responded late Thursday. “I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow, and you can take that to the bank,” he told his former colleague.

Doctor Who has had a "big bad" lurking in the background for twenty years. Villengard creator Steven Moffat on its accidental emergence.

“New year, new you,” they say. Well, Project 2025 is going to make what’s new actually really fucking old. Like listeria- and child labor-old. The country went for some Grover Cleveland shit, and you know what? We, the People, can play that game. This New Year, it’s time to roll back the clock and become the worst version of yourself.

It’s going to be so much easier than coming up with strategies for self-improvement. Those Heritage Foundation guys were kind enough to show us how, and it turns out all you really need to do is stop trying.

Toss out the Department of Education and start homeschooling your kids because, under your roof, they won’t be forced to learn about pronouns or how to read. And thinking about the benefits of immigrant labor is complicated, so we might as well assume they’re all criminals and get on board with mass deportations. Your community might suffer, but community is overrated. What’s it ever done for you?

As he prepares to retire from journalism, James Risen warns of press missteps in the Trump era.

The post Media’s Biggest Failures  appeared first on The Intercept.

As he prepares to retire from journalism, James Risen warns of press missteps in the Trump era.

The post Media’s Biggest Failures  appeared first on The Intercept.

The Albanese government is spending almost a billion dollars to bolster Australia’s dominant position in the region and lock out Chinese influence.

The post Australia spends big to keep China out of region first appeared on Solidarity Online.