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Trump tries to snow the evangelicals

https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/24/trump-tries-to-snow-the-evangelicals/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 09:30
And it will probably work… Will they fall for this? The Christian Right has said they believe abortion is murder and Roe v. Wade created a genocide. Now Trump’s saying they need to set that aside so he can win the election. He may know them better than most people think. After all, these people who believe it’s murder and genocide have spent the last five decades saying they just wanted to “let the states decide” when that was a total lie. So why not? They’re political actors not religious people.

9 Mile

https://tregeagle.com/9-mile.html
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 09:20
Winnie at the end of her run
Broke the dog

I just took Winnie for a run down 9 mile single track. It is actually only about 8km but leads to 9 mile road. Winnie managed 6.47km before collapsing (I hung my Garmin off her collar). I put her in the ute and took her home …

Will RFK Jr sabotage Joe Biden?

https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/24/will-rfk-jr-sabotage-joe-biden/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 08:30
It looks like he’s thinking about it Please someone talk this kook out of this: For months, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he plans to continue his long-shot challenge against President Biden in the Democratic primary rather than dropping out to launch a third-party bid. But lately Mr. Kennedy’s message has seemed to shift, including publicly telling a voter who asked about his plans that he was keeping his “options open.” If Mr. Kennedy does decide to leave the party of his famous father and uncles to run in the general election, one potential landing spot may be the Libertarian Party, which at the moment lacks a widely known candidate but has excelled at securing ballot access. In July, Mr. Kennedy met privately with Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian Party, at a conference they were both attending in Memphis — a meeting that has not previously been reported. “He emphasized that he was committed to running as a Democrat but said that he considered himself very libertarian,” Ms.

What Would Real “National Defense” Look Like?

https://tomdispatch.com/what-would-real-national-defense-look-like/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 07:35

A progressive Pentagon? Talk about an oxymoron! The Pentagon continues to grow and surge with ever larger budgets, ever more expansive missions (for example, a Space Force to dominate the heavens and yet more bases in the Pacific to encircle China), and ever greater ambitions to dominate everywhere, including if necessary through global thermonuclear warfare. No wonder it’s so hard, to the point of absurdity, to imagine a Pentagon that would humbly and faithfully serve only the interests of “national defense.” Yet, as a thought experiment, why not imagine it? What would a progressive Pentagon look like? I’m not talking about a “woke” Pentagon that touts and celebrates its “diversity,” including its belated acceptance of LGBTQ+ members. I’m glad the... Read more

Bring It On

https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/24/bring-it-on/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 07:00
Oh please let them do this. Please. Mike Lee on Fox News is talking about Republicans continuing the impeachment inquiry of Biden *even if the government is shut down*. The optics of that would be interesting! pic.twitter.com/BhdfAOvYKU — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2023

The <dfn> tag

https://tregeagle.com/the-dfn-tag.html
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 06:20
When you touch the highlighted word the definition should appear
This is sort of what my attempt at making the <dfn> title appear on mobile looks like

In a previous post (pictured above) I wrote how I would like to enable mobile users to read the title text in the <dfn> tags. I didn’t mention that I also thought …

Will MAGA go the way of Project Veritas

https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/24/will-maga-go-the-way-of-project-veritas/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 05:30
A former James O’Keefe antagonist believes that if the law can hold Trump accountable then it’s possible. I wish I felt confident that they were following the same path but I’m not During its 13-year history, the right-wing group Project Veritas tried to infiltrate progressive organizations, political campaigns and mainstream media organizations, and it published selectively edited videos intended to discredit those groups and compromise their operations. In February, the tables turned, as Project Veritas founder and president James O’Keefe was questioned by his own board for what it called “financial misconduct.” (Allegations that O’Keefe has disputed.) He left the organization, and it sued O’Keefe some months later. Now Project Veritas has announced that it’s suspending operations indefinitely. When O’Keefe founded Project Veritas in 2010, he unwittingly provided a model for Donald Trump’s MAGA Republican right. When O’Keefe founded Project Veritas in 2009, he unwittingly provided a model for Donald Trump’s MAGA Republican right.

Anti-China rhetoric threatens thriving technology partnerships with China

https://johnmenadue.com/anti-china-rhetoric-threatens-thriving-technology-partn…
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:57
Australia’s existing relationships and collaborations with China give Australian Industry and consumers a head start in the cost-effective use of some of the most important technologies of the future, including those vital to achieving net zero emissions. Most countries would give anything to be at the forefront of such developments, but Australian University researchers are Continue reading »

America can’t stop China’s rise

https://johnmenadue.com/america-cant-stop-chinas-rise/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:56
There’s little doubt that the American government has decided to slow China’s economic rise, most notably in the fields of technological development. To be sure, the Biden administration denies that these are its goals. Janet Yellen said on April 20, 2023, “China’s economic growth need not be incompatible with U.S. economic leadership. The United States remains the Continue reading »

Health impacts of sanctions deleted from UN declaration on universal health coverage (with Australian support)

https://johnmenadue.com/health-impacts-of-sanctions-deleted-from-un-declaration…
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:56
In the lead up to the high-level UN meeting on universal health coverage (UHC) Australia has joined the US, UK and the EU in blocking any acknowledgement that ‘unilateral coercive measures’ (sanctions) can have negative impacts on the achievement of universal health coverage. The health consequences of sanctions include avoidable morbidity arising from increased barriers Continue reading »

On carrots and sticks and the unemployed

https://johnmenadue.com/on-carrots-and-sticks-and-the-unemployed/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:55
Australia’s main Active Labor Market Program, the Duttonesque sounding “Workforce Australia”, is the latest iteration of a long line of models for Employment Services inflicted on the unemployed since the demise of the CES 25 years ago. It’s yet another Morrison government turd that the Albanese government should have flushed away the minute the ink Continue reading »

Earth Systems Treaty: John Hewson calls for action on ‘mega threats’

https://johnmenadue.com/earth-systems-treaty-john-hewson-calls-for-action-on-me…
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:54
Former Liberal party leader John Hewson, in a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, enquired why the United Nations was not acting on proposals to deal with a series of well documented and interacting catastrophic threats. Three recent books, two of them by Australians, have highlighted the predicament our human Continue reading »

Catholic boarding school experiences: the need for a balanced perspective

https://johnmenadue.com/catholic-boarding-school-experiences-the-need-for-a-bal…
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:53
Avid readers each day of Pearls and Irritations (of which I am one) hopefully enjoyed Paddy Gourley’s review of Martin Flanagan’s new memoir ‘The Empty Honour Board: A School Memoir’. Stimulated by that review I have now read Flanagan’s remarkably honest and painful memoir. His story is consistent with repeated accounts of sexual abuse and Continue reading »

Okinawa disproves the US narrative about overseas bases

https://johnmenadue.com/okinawa-disproves-the-us-narrative-about-overseas-bases/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:50
Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki has implored the UN for international backing in his opposition to the prefecture being overrun with US military bases. The Japan Times reports: “I am here today to ask the world to witness the situation in Okinawa,” Tamaki told a session of the world body’s Human Rights Council, arguing that the Continue reading »

Ms Wong goes to New York.

http://aussiemagpie.blogspot.com/2023/09/ms-wong-goes-to-new-york.html
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:01

God, I admire Penny Wong. I honestly do.


If you have heard her speaking before the UN General Assembly recently you know why. If you haven’t, just look at her. Listen to her.

The climate threat … Kiribati, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands are only a few metres above sea level … Many developing countries are rightly frustrated … Approaching climate tipping points … We must demand more from permanent members [of the UN’s Security Council], including constraints on the use of the veto …

Powerful words.

The anti-vaxxers are rolling in money

https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/24/the-anti-vaxxers-are-rolling-in-money/
Created
Mon, 25/09/2023 - 04:00
Sick, sick, sick More evidence of the war on science gaining ground: For years, groups at the vanguard of the anti-vaccine movement had been operating with relatively small budgets and only a handful of staff. Now, they’re awash in cash. The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a remarkable financial windfall for anti-vaccine nonprofits. Revenue more than doubled for the Informed Consent Action Network and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense in 2021 compared to the year prior, according to a POLITICO analysis of tax filings. The nonprofits that survived on operating budgets of around a few million dollars just a few years prior are now raking in more than $10 million each. “Covid vaccines have been the foot in the door for the more general anti-vaccine movement. And unfortunately, that door is open pretty wide now,” said Dr. Dave Gorski, a Michigan-based oncologist who has been tracking anti-vaccine efforts for two decades. The funding spike reflects a sea change for once-fringe entities. The anti-vaccine movement has now emerged as a modern political force.