Reading

Shadow boxing around “universal health coverage” instead of “universal access to healthcare” in the UN General Assembly reflects deeper tensions around the direction of the world economy. At the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, 21 September the delegates will consider a compromise document on universal health coverage (the 1 September draft Continue reading »

The Australian public needs to know why persecution of the principled, courageous ATO whistle blower Richard Boyle has dragged on for six years. He blew the whistle on the ATO in October 2017, the AFP raided his home in April 2018, in March 2023 a judge in South Australia decided he was not immune from Continue reading »

Australians have been able to witness the voter remorse that can arise when a nation votes on a specific question of policy in a referendum that has the potential to set their country on a new course. Referendum questions with that level of significance don’t come along very often for democratic nations but when they Continue reading »

We believe the right and best course of action would be for the United States’ Department of Justice to cease its pursuit and prosecution of Julian Assange.” As a cross-party delegation of Australian politicians headed to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to pressure the U.S. government to end its yearslong pursuit of jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Continue reading »

The questioning of Merrick Garland before the House Judiciary Committee is enough to make you give up on democracy if this is what we have as leaders BIGGS: Is it consistent with DOJ policy to give people a heads up so they can move boxes of information? GARLAND: You’re asking me to comment on a particular case BIGGS: Forget Delaware and what they did GARLAND: I’m sorry, I thought you were asking about Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/WUmgxVQo6O — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 20, 2023 Jim Jordan’s latest galaxy-brain conspiracy theory is that Biden decided to let a Trump-appointed US attorney stay on as part of a plot to protect Hunter Biden pic.twitter.com/yco8QkqR9l — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 20, 2023 Huh? This makes no sense. Massie asked how many. How does indicting Epps give the answer to how many? My gawd this is so stupid. https://t.co/Dkt0Ao4nVa — Armando (@ArmandoNDK) September 20, 2023

Inspired by the original game, of course.

Click puzzle for the solution.

Codenamed GAMECHANGER, an AI program helps the military make sense of its own “byzantine” and “tedious” bureaucracy.

The post Pentagon’s Budget Is So Bloated That It Needs an AI Program to Navigate It appeared first on The Intercept.

Speaker McCarthy: “It’s hard to pass anything in this place. We started out in a five-seat majority. I got one member who’s now resigned, we’ve got a couple of members who are out as well. Anything we do is pretty tough” pic.twitter.com/bYkJcjsjvc — Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) September 18, 2023 It seems like only yesterday that we were on the cusp of defaulting on the debt and many of us were predicting that the kamikaze Freedom Caucus was going to make it happen. They sure sounded serious. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was unable to keep that extremist right flank under control and they were threatening to unseat him under the rule they insisted he adopt in order to get the votes he needed to attain office if he didn’t meet their demands. With a four vote margin he had almost no room to maneuver. After the interminable 15 rounds of voting and all the backroom deals he had to make to get the gavel back in January the prospects for a deal looked very slim.

Google had been in contact with the Republican National Committee about Rumble’s exclusive rights, emails show.

The post Rumble Had Exclusive Rights to Stream Republican Debate — Yet Was Buried in Google Search appeared first on The Intercept.

More strange bedfellows MSNBC’s “Deadline White House” on Tuesday featured a long segment with members of Operation Saving Democracy. Led by Lt. Col. Amy McGrath (USMC, ret.), the group boasts “almost 600 retired Generals, Admirals, Ambassadors, cabinet and service secretaries, appointed leaders, elected officials, and Senior Executive Service leaders have come together at this time of significant threat to the essential tenets of our Democratic institutions and values.” Joining McGrath were Adm. Steve Abbot (USN, ret.) and Rear Adm. Michael Smith (USN, ret.) The group believes “The extreme far-right authoritarian ideology that has taken hold in the GOP is an attack on democracy itself.” They hope their credentials and numbers will make an impression on the Trump cult, or else help mobilize ordinary Americans against the domestic terror threat Trumpism poses. “Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy,” Abbot states into the camera. “Donald Trump” is a collective noun here, shorthand for a deeper problem.

Stay on message “How they do it,” Digby’s post and comments on “Tough Love For the Democrats” from Rick Wilson’s substack, blew up my Mastodon feed last night. Quite a fewf people agree it’s time for Democrats to stop farting around and treat the fight with MAGA as what it is: a fight. Wilson shares the GOP’s two rules: Rule 1: Just win, baby. Rule 2: Stay on message. Chuck your “almost religious belief that policy wins elections,” Wilson advises. Quit trying to win on fact-checking. This is a bare-knuckles brawl. Wilson credits Joe Biden for declaring MAGA Republicans a threat in 2022, that what was at stake is democracy and liberty. It still is. Next year’s elections are about “whether the American government is a tool for opportunity or one of oppression.” “Get on and stay on this message, Democrats,” Wilson insists. Biden has gotten results. The former Republican consultant names Biden “arguably the most successful Democratic President since FDR, taken in total.” A friend with Clinton White House experience concurs.

Doctor Who: Redacted is one of the best & most fun spinoffs we've had yet as we head closer to the 60th Anniversary specials in November.

The Lib Dem politician says he'll take on Suella Braverman's Home Office

Folks, I’ve got three questions for you…

What do you mean “how did I get in here”? I’ll ask the questions, sir. I opened the door. But I didn’t open the door to your house; I opened the door to a goddamn financial windfall.

Speaking of the door, PAINT IT SUPER FUCKING BRIGHT RED.

You both look shocked, so I’m gonna be a little bit flexible here: You can paint it super fucking bright yellow instead, if you want. Or super fucking bright blue. God, I can already feel this shit-heap lurching toward a seven-figure payday.

Sir, there’s no need to call the police. Your wife is literally smiling now. I’m a good guy, we’re all safe. I have just as much reason to be concerned for my safety, but you don’t see me being afraid. I’m confident. I don’t have a fear of success.

In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: AHS: Delicate, Star Trek: Discovery, SurrealEstate, Daredevil, Doom Patrol, Gen V, Doctor Who, and more!

The Prime Minister is abandoning a popular green agenda in order to benefit a shrinking minority of voters, writes Josiah Mortimer

This video provides a short, colourful history of Chinoiserie, 17th-century Europe’s fanciful interpretation of Chinese design

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

It’s a little word, but if you’re a chronic people pleaser it can be so tricky to say it. These tips and tricks will help

- by Shayla Love

Read at Psyche