Lost in the sands of Iraq… Lost in the sands of Iraq A reward for fantasy WMDs may just spark A reality check for those who refused to accept The flimsiest of flimsy intelligence was maybe incorrect That danger did not lurk under the hot blazing desert sands Now benign with the thousands of bodies Continue reading »
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Anyone who thinks so is just plain dumb. It has obviously been stunningly successful. It has produced huge increases in wealth, for instance in the last few years the three richest people in Australia doubled their wealth. It has worked like a dream. The trouble is that it does not and is not designed to Continue reading »
Albanese government must apply lessons from UK post office scandal to save Australia Post and licensees. The scandal that has rocked United Kingdom politics following ITV broadcasting the four-part drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office on 1-4 January should concern Australian parliamentarians, as it has a parallel in Australia Post’s treatment of small business Continue reading »
In 2018, I wrote about Australia Day and Wattle Day for The New Daily. While in 2024 some crazy drums still beat to PC tunes, the federal government has lowered the temperature. Soon we will be able to have a rational debate which may lead us to September 1, Wattle Day, which could become the Continue reading »
Former prime minister John Howard has defended his record on committing Australia to the Iraq war. But we are no closer to fully understanding his reasons. Former Prime Minister John Howard’s response (The Australian Financial Review letters, January 15) to my column in these pages on January 8 offers an important opportunity for Australians to Continue reading »
Prisons don’t work. When you look at the lives of people being imprisoned, it’s no wonder. Prisons are expensive. According to the Productivity Commission, it costs well over $5 billion a year to keep 40,000-plus people in gaol. In 2019-20, that worked out to $280 per prisoner per day in operating costs alone. When capital Continue reading »
A few weeks ago walking past the Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome, I came upon a candle-light ceremony for the Israel/Gaza war. A young couple — she Jewish and he Muslim — were chanting prayers in Hebrew and Arabic, holding hands and weeping openly. Seeing the depth of pain ‘leaders’ in our region have caused these young Continue reading »
Who’s a civilian? The Atlantic: The International Court of Justice in The Hague today made an initial ruling, four weeks after an application from South Africa that accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. The court ordered Israel to ensure that its military does not commit acts of genocide against Palestinians, to immediately improve humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and to prevent and punish genocidal incitement against Palestinians. However, the court stopped short of ordering Israel to end its military operations against Hamas, a nod to Israel’s right to respond in self-defense after the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. South Africa had hoped the court would order such a cessation, in effect ruling in favor of an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The court did also call for the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Given the dreadful toll of civilian deaths in Gaza, reportedly now topping 25,000, Israel should answer questions about its conduct. Every member of the United Nations’ 1948 Genocide Convention has an obligation to raise concerns if they have evidence that a group of people is at risk of genocide.
Plus, cancer vaccines work, states aim to tax the rich, and a fossil fuel project gets delayed.
What do Democrats offer instead? Donald “91 Counts” Trump will appeal the judgment, of course. It’s what he does as surely as “grab them.” He’ll appeal the $83.3 million judgment a Manhattan jury on Friday awarded E. Jean Carroll in her defamation case (The Guardian): Carroll will receive $18.3m in compensatory damages and $65m in punitive retribution. The former president is paying Carroll compensatory damages of $18.3m – $11m to fund a reputational repair campaign. The $7.3m is for the emotional harm caused by Trump’s 2019 public statements. Carroll and her legal team were beaming as they left court in a black SUV. They did not answer questions immediately after court let out. Moments after the decision was announced, Trump decried it as “absolutely ridiculous” on Truth Social, and said he would be filing an appeal. Naturally. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper she’d never seen someone as contemptuous of the U.S. justice system as Trump.
Doctor Who is defined as much by the TARDIS as it is by the Doctor & their companions, helping shape the identity of the show - and its hero.
Rep. Bill Foster and Qasim Rashid are on opposite sides of the Gaza ceasefire push — with AIPAC expected to get into the action.
The post Pro-Israel Illinois Democrat Cancels Two Debates Against Challenger Who Backs Gaza Ceasefire appeared first on The Intercept.
The impossibility of proper specification is true generally in regression analyses across the social sciences, whether we are looking at the factors affecting occupational status, voting behavior, etc. The problem is that as implied by the three conditions for regression analyses to yield accurate, unbiased estimates, you need to investigate a phenomenon that has underlying […]
Some beautiful creatures:
He just can’t do anything right James Comer is an idiot: The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released the transcript of the testimony of Kevin Morris, a friend of and attorney for Hunter Biden, and his statements undercut everything Republicans have said about the embattled first son. Morris is a high-powered entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles who met Hunter at a 2019 presidential fundraiser for his father, Joe Biden. Morris has loaned Hunter nearly $5 million in the years since. He testified about his relationship with Hunter in a closed-door committee hearing last week. Initially, Oversight Chair James Comer just released a list of paraphrased highlights from Morris’s testimony. Comer claimed that Morris informally loaned Hunter the money and does not expect to be repaid until after the 2024 election—or possibly ever. But the transcript shows this couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, Morris never once mentioned the possibility of forgiving the loans.
Bolstered by a momentous ICJ ruling, Palestinians, including Americans, gave three hours of testimony against the Biden administration.
The post “I Have Lost Everything”: In Federal Court, Palestinians Accuse Biden of Complicity in Genocide appeared first on The Intercept.
I wanted to like God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, the new Rob...
The Lever has led national coverage on the safety problems, cost-cutting, dark money lobbying, and lax regulations at Boeing and its suppliers.