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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 05:00
CNN’s Daniel Dale sets the record straight on Trump’s grotesque insults toward the Fulton County DA: Former President Donald Trump has launched a barrage of attacks, many of them dishonest, against the Georgia district attorney who is prosecuting him over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state. Both before and after he was indicted Monday in Fulton County, Trump targeted District Attorney Fani Willis, an elected Democrat, in speeches, social media posts and a television ad released by his 2024 election campaign, which Trump also posted on social media. Below is a fact check of two of his false claims, an inflammatory claim for which there is no evidence, and a misleading claim from the campaign ad. The legitimacy of the 2020 election Trump has repeatedly accused Willis of refusing to investigate the supposed theft of the 2020 election. He wrote in a social media post on Sunday: “The only Election Interference that took place in Fulton County, Georgia, was done by those that Rigged and Stole the Election, not by me, who simply complained that the Election was Rigged and Stolen.
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:58
“At the height of the Cold War, Prime Minister Menzies agreed to the British request for a permanent site to test nuclear weapons… This was a political decision by a government that was subservient to the British government, and today there are parallels, with the Australian government being once again subservient to the decisions of Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:57
As Labor heads into the 2023 National Conference in Brisbane I trust there will be movement on two issues close to the heart of every Australian who cares about global justice and peace: the long overdue recognition of Palestine and Australia signing the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It shouldn’t be too Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:56
The 1948 Palestinian catastrophe, known to Palestinians as the Naqba, saw 750,000 of their predecessors driven from their lands, over 500 villages and towns destroyed, the extent of the killings, destruction and dispossession denied and no-one held accountable. How should Australia respond? Powerful countries’ collusion with decades of Israeli governments’ racist based cruelties towards Palestinians Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:55
The double standard continues. Russian collaboration with China in naval exercises in the north Pacific are presented in United States media as creating ‘a dangerous world’. But far larger military exercises in the south Pacific by ‘free’ countries are presented as ‘promoting peace, security and stability’ in the Indo-Pacific region. On 8 August 2023 the Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:54
Newspapers decry it; yet market-led inflation more broadly is tut-tutted away as a ‘sacred mystery’ central to a free and working capitalist system. Government mandated inflation however, which society must pay to maintain a balanced economy, does not please anyone. As more and more social and economic ‘data’ is captured in society, details of trends Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:53
When Barnaby Joyce forced the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to relocate from Canberra to Armidale, he couldn’t have chosen a more vulnerable, complex or vital institution to damage. APVMA’s job is to safeguard the health and safety of people, animals and the environment by regulating dangerous chemicals used in veterinary medicines, pesticides, Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 04:50
It’s banners and bunting season in Southeast Asia as our neighbours celebrate independence. Singapore finished its wavings on 9 August and Malaysia’s moments of pomp will come on 16 September. Like Australia, both won sovereignty through diplomacy. Next up is Indonesia on 17 August and the 78th birthday party will be brimming with exuberance we’d Continue reading »
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 03:30

“Prosecutors have found racketeering laws to be powerful tools in targeting not only foot soldiers in a criminal enterprise, but also high-level decision makers.” — The New York Times

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Yeah, that’s right, it’s me, Racketeering Charges, and I’m bursting into this ex-president judicial drama like the Kool-Aid Man of inscrutable justice. How bad am I? Very bad. What do I mean exactly? Unclear. But will I get the job done? You better believe it.

Sure, the old president has already been indicted a whole bunch of times. We’ve got some obstruction of justice charges, some false statement charges—but that’s kiddie stuff. Nothing gets the job done quite like me.

What even is racketeering, you ask? Honey, what is air? What is time? I cannot be defined in simple human language, and this only strengthens my powers.

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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 03:30
Sarah Huckasanders is competing for the vaunted title of most racist governor. Florida, Alabama and Mississippi Govs have early leads but she’s making a real run for it: The Arkansas Department of Education (DOE) abruptly rejected AP African American Studies, saying the course may violate Arkansas law. “The department encourages the teaching of all American history and supports rigorous courses not based on opinions or indoctrination,” Kimberly Mundell, Director of Communications for the Arkansas DOE, told Popular Information on Monday.
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 03:14
By Thomas Drake Let me first take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for your continuing donations. I remain incredibly grateful for all your support since I announced earlier this year how I ended up dealing with a lymphoma cancer diagnosis last Fall. Health is stabilizing and longer-term prognosis is good. Seems the very expensive targeted capsule pills I take daily are really working! Have additional tests in late August and in September that will provide a progress check.
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 02:00
What are the cultists going to do about this? The Georgia Governor doesn’t have the pardon power, it’s relegated to a commission and requires felons to serve their sentences before they are eligible. But it may turn out that’s just for Black people: Meanwhile, Georgia recently passed a law that allows the Governor to remove any DA he doesn’t like but it also requires a commission to approve it. It was originally supposed to take effect in 2025 but was amended at the last minute to take place in October 2023. I wonder why? Gov. Brian Kemp hasn’t named the commission yet but the minute he does you can bet they are going to move to remove Fanni Willis from her job. I’m not sure what happens in that case — if there’s a new DA appointed, a new election or if one of her deputies takes her place, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up about this trial actually happening. The Trumpers have plenty of moves up their sleeves. Update — This certainly isn’t one of them. Fergawdsakes:
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Wed, 16/08/2023 - 00:30
Of witch hunts and indictments It’s not news that when it comes to “working the refs,” conservatives command what old-school bloogers once called “the right’s mighty Wurlitzer.” Partisan ownership of conservative media outlets means the right maintains an asymmetrical advantage in steering the national narrative. The left has never really achieved parity on that. The message discipline isn’t there even when the news cannot avoid covering political American carnage, Trump-style. One of the right’s tactics we returned again to last week Digby addressed several years ago: “If they can engage the mainstream media and throw everything they have at it, they may succeed at confusing the public and convincing them that all this smoke they’re blowing means there must be a fire.” When there isn’t. It’s propaganda. See: Hunter Biden and the Biden crime family. When, if ever, will all the legal indictments, pending court cases, hundreds of convictions, imprisonments, and thousands of hours of Jan.