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Today is a precious gift. Even if I do not walk out of this Target with a single, solitary Minecraft-themed item.

I am a confident and unique being who can pick up a Tech Deck mini skateboard, stare directly at the label ULTRA RARE, and feel absolutely no urge to beg or whine.

I admit that I am powerless against the words “collect them all” and will seek the support of my sponsor, Mom, when needed.

I accept that a BOGO deal on Nerf Dart Blasters is but an illusion of self-actualization.

I will choose to be happy. I recognize that I have been made to feel that I NEED that five-pack of Power Rangers Beast Morphers underwear, but I DO NOT NEED Power Rangers Beast Morphers underwear to be happy.

I believe in myself and my ability to pick out a remote-controlled Hot Wheels car for Jaxson’s birthday party without commentary on the subject of I, Too, Want One, because it is, in fact, NOT MY birthday.

Sources close to the ousted prime minister say Khan also accuses Gen. Asim Munir for assassination attempt and cover-ups.

The post From Prison, Imran Khan Says Top Pakistani General Betrayed Secret Deal to Stay Out of Politics appeared first on The Intercept.

Regular readers will have noted that for the past few years I’ve been writing far more about China than I used to.

Why?

The primary purpose of this blog is to explain the world: how it works, how it has worked, and how it will work.

China is probably the most important nation in the world right now: it has the most manufacturing, is about tied for population, is the largest trade partner of the greatest number of nations and leads in most scientific and technological fields.

He knows he no longer has to legitimately win anything Propaganda uber alles: Donald Trump in recent days gave speeches in Washington and Philadelphia and greeted supporters at a cheesesteak restaurant in Pennsylvania. He flew to New Orleans for a fundraiser Monday, and called in to a roundtable with Black leaders on Wednesday in Atlanta. Ahead of what could be the most consequential political event of the cycle, Trump has continued campaigning and has eschewed intense debate preparations, even as Joe Biden has remained hidden away at Camp David to get ready. That’s made easier by the fact that he’s already declared the debate is essentially rigged. Trump and his team have worked to undermine, undercut and cast doubt on the historic debate before it’s started: They’ve questioned the fairness of CNN moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. Trump and his allies have criticized the format of the debate. They’ve repeatedly asked President Joe Biden to take a drug test. It’s a playbook Trump has followed for years, most notably ahead of the 2020 election and his criminal trial this spring in Manhattan.

"We’ve heard a lot in the campaign about D-Day. If ever there was a time to fight them on the beaches, then this is it."

by Gary Gardner

Mention the steady state economy at a gathering of friends and a predictable concern is sure to arise. “I couldn’t possibly manage on a flat income, much less a reduced one. I can barely make ends meet now!” Heads will nod all around. The idea of a nongrowing economy—not to mention degrowth—quickly sours the party mood.

The objection is understandable from people long accustomed to ever-greater levels of consumption.

The post Rendering the Economic Fat for a Steady State Economy appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Rick Wilson counts ’em down Rick Wilson via FKA Twitter: For the debate tonight, not only for the spin before and after, but for every Trump utterance on stage, remember the Rules of MAGA: Every accusation is a confession. Every denial is a full confession of guilt. Every claim of evil is projection. Every boast of strength is an admission of failure. Every fact is subject to Trump’s sole interpretation. Every law is a conspiracy against Trump. Every anecdote is pure fiction. Every casual cruelty and crazed conspiracy leads deeper into more cruelty and conspiracy. Every word is a lie, every lie is a promise of betrayal. Every person or group Trump claims to stand for, he loathes. Finally, Everything Trump Touches Dies. That sums it up neatly. But ICYMI, I’d add this about MAGA, Christian nationalists, or financial or tech oligarchs, or all of the above (it’s a type): They don’t want to govern. They want to rule. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● For The Win, 5th Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV planning guide at ForTheWin.us.

Officials and election experts are now struggling in a big-time way. How, they wonder, can they effectively address mounting threats — of violence, election denialism, foreign influence, and voter discrimination? Do they run the risk of alarming the public to the point of reducing voter turnout? Are there reasons to assuage fears about either election disinformation or possible election interference in 2024? Standing in Pointe du Hoc, France, to mark the anniversary of D-Day, President Biden told the world that those who fought in that pivotal battle are “asking us to do our job: to protect freedom in our time, to defend democracy.” Election security would be a good place to start. Perhaps one way to assess the question of election... Read more

Source: An Election in Danger? appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

On Tuesday 23 April, far-right groups descended on the capital to attend a St. George’s Day rally led by former EDL leader Tommy Robinson and Laurence Fox. The day itself would quickly descend into chaos, with the Met commenting that groups of men wielding flags had been ‘violently forcing their way through’ police cordons an […]

Kenya protests turn deadly with 23 killed in clashes over tax hikes. IMF's influence on Nairobi’s budget ignites public fury and violent police crackdown.

The post IMF-Driven Policies Spark Deadly Protests in Kenya appeared first on MintPress News.

'Netanyahu is really the biggest danger to the state of Israel'

Rules. Yeah rules ought to hold him. So CNN believes it can keep Donald John Trump under control during tonight’s debate. They have rules. Rules will tame him. And no live audience to mug for. They’ll mute the candidates’ mics when their answer periods are up. Slate’s Molly Olmstead wonders: Will all those rules keep this exercise on the rails? CNN has said that moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash “will use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion” (emphasis mine). But it remains to be seen what that means. If Trump begins stalking the stage menacingly or either candidate starts interrupting (or even yelling), will Tapper and Bash open up a trapdoor? Whip out a lasso or old-timey shepherd’s crook to yank the candidates offstage? Pull a fire alarm? And there’s no plan for live fact-checking. How will any falsehoods be curtailed? They won’t be. Trump is a firehose of falsehoods.

A 2023 Column Contest grand-prize winner, Laurence Pevsner’s Sorry Not Sorry investigates why we’re sick of everyone apologizing all the time—and how the collapse of the public apology leaves little room for forgiveness and grace in our politics and culture.

Last week, Boeing Airlines CEO Dave Calhoun testified before Congress. The title the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations gave the session was “Boeing’s Broken Safety Culture,” but it might as well have been “PLEASE, for the Love of GOD, Why Did That Door YEET ITSELF Off Your Plane 16,000 Feet in the AIR!?!”

For the fixers, enablers, and vassals who surround Donald Trump, the rewards of his friendship are not worth the risks.

The post Like ‘Being Friends with a Hurricane’ appeared first on The New York Review of Books.

1. “That’s true they don’t go far. But it’s never been great for your climb. They call it climate.”

2. “And you can never quarantine the past.”

3. “He needs a haircut more than I do. It’s true. I couldn’t tell. Needs a haircut.”

4. “Oh, everybody’s gotta ride in something. High life, lived, comatosed him.”

5. “They delivered a swift and swiping, and you know that sweeping, it was swift and it was sweeping.”

6. “You’re the type of girl I like. Because you’re empty, and I’m empty.”

7. “He can’t even finish the song of the law. Are they civilized or satanist?”

8. “She speaks in rhyme, the way she talks, the bus will go here, and then the bus will go there because that’s what buses do.”

9. “I can’t believe she’s married to Roe.”

10. “They sacrifice every day for the furniture, the future… of their children.”

11. “This is the very definition of totally terrytism.”

12. “We got the money. It’s so funny how we went right down to the store, we got, so they put you down… we got the money.”

13. “And with total premedication.”

14. “She rabble-rousing, dental surf combat.”

In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: Walker, The Acolyte, Batman: Caped Crusader, Superman, IWTV, Harry Potter, One Piece, Doctor Who, and more!

Das Problem der arabischen Flüchtlinge, entstanden 1958. Es ist ein ausführliches politisches Memorandum mit diversen Kapiteln, Statistiken, Empfehlungen, verfasst unter Mitwirkung von jüdischen und nichtjüdischen Experten und Wissenschaftlern, darunter Hannah Arendt. Deren konkrete Textarbeit kann heute nicht mehr nachgewiesen werden – sie gab zwar ihren Namen, erwähnte selber die Schrift aber kaum jemals, nur ihr […]

The final head to head debate between Starmer and Sunak didn’t have a single question on climate or nature.

During his Labour leadership election, Starmer hinted at backing proportional representation. But he now appears to support continuing with Westminster's First Past The Post voting system

The term burnout was first used by German-American psychologist Herbert J. Freudenberger in 1974 to describe ‘cases of physical or mental collapse as the result of overwork’ in activist circles around the LA free clinic movement. Originally covering those trying to change society, it began to become applied to those working too hard to succeed […]

Can we save coral reefs from the ravages of climate change? Why engineering heat-tolerant species is our moral imperative

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

Although ‘co-rumination’ bolsters relationships in some ways, it also distracts from other, better coping methods

- by Shayla Love

Read at Psyche