Reading

Let’s talk relatives, shall we?

https://digbysblog.net/2023/08/14/lets-talk-relatives-shall-we/
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 05:00
The utter gall of these Republicans never fails to astonish me. They outdo themselves. And yes, I have to say that it’s a little bit weird that the Democrats didn’t take a deeper look at this when they had the majority in the House. And the last I heard, they have the majority in the Senate. But I guess Trump’s kids are still off limits, even the ones who were his closest White House advisers while he was president. Nice for them.

The ALP is selling our Sovereignty to the United States: Will ALP delegates resist?

https://johnmenadue.com/the-alp-is-selling-our-sovereignty-to-the-united-states…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:58
The Government’s abandonment of Australian sovereignty to the US through AUKUS and the Force Posture Agreement (FPA) enmeshes Australia in US war plans and endangers the peace in our region on which our national prosperity relies. It is up to the ALP rank and file members attending the National Conference, 17-19 August, to stand up Continue reading »

The economic consequences of tax cuts for the rich

https://larspsyll.wordpress.com/2023/08/14/the-economic-consequences-of-tax-cut…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:57
Given the lack of consensus in existing empirical analyzes and the difficulties of making causal inferences from macro-level panel data analyzes, it remains an open empirical question how cutting taxes on the rich affects economic outcomes. We believe the question is best answered by looking at the effects of major tax cuts packages, as the […]

Australian multiculturalism: Our greatest achievement?

https://johnmenadue.com/australian-multiculturalism-our-most-successful-policy/
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:57
In a broad sense ‘Australian multiculturalism’ describes the cultural and ethnic diversity of Australia. Over a half of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. I contend that Australian multiculturalism is our greatest achievement, but it has always been fraught with tension. The challenge of immigration and multiculturalism has been Continue reading »

Pearls and Irritations: Australia’s best public policy forum

https://johnmenadue.com/australias-best-public-policy-forum-informative-and-sti…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:56
For some years, John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations has been Australia’s best public policy forum – informative and stimulating. Now there is an extra reason to read it: it offers alternative views. If ‘mainstream’ means commonly or widely accepted, the term mainstream media is a misnomer; Australia now has a right-fork media, presenting narrow, predictable Continue reading »

Public service reform must be future focussed

https://johnmenadue.com/public-service-reform-must-be-future-focussed/
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:54
Public service reform is back as are the old tropes of merit based appointments, frank and fearless advice, and better preparation and training for APS leaders. These legacy markers of public service excellence need a thorough rethink if tomorrow’s challenges are to be met. No counterfactual exercise exists to validated a merit selection process, and according merit Continue reading »

Australia’s decision to again use the term ‘occupied Palestinian territories’ brings it into line with international law

https://johnmenadue.com/australias-decision-to-again-use-the-term-occupied-pale…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:53
Australia’s minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, has announced Australia will return to use of the term “occupied Palestinian territories”. The Australian government will use this phrase to describe the territories in the West Bank and Gaza that Israel occupied in 1967. Australian officials have generally avoided the use of “occupied” and “occupation” in relation to Palestine since 2014. This move Continue reading »

“No war in China” campaigners may be foreign agents: NYT

https://johnmenadue.com/no-war-in-china-campaigners-may-be-foreign-agents-nyt/
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:51
Peace groups campaigning against a US war on China might be paid foreign agents, the New York Times alleged. But the allegation triggered a backlash from readers shocked at what some people are calling a neo-McCarthyist stance. In a separate story, a senior HSBC executive has been forced to apologise after he said that the Continue reading »

Containment of China will only lead to US being isolated in the world: Kishore Mahbubani

https://johnmenadue.com/containment-of-china-will-only-lead-to-us-being-isolate…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 04:50
The main contest between the US and China will play out in the economic arena. At the end of the day, the winner will be seen to be the country with a bigger economy. Editor’s Note: In his book, The Asian 21st Century, Kishore Mahbubani (Mahbubani), a former diplomat who served as Singapore’s permanent representative to Continue reading »

Can I Get Away with This on the Bus? An FAQ for the Modern Commuter

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/can-i-get-away-with-this-on-the-bus-an-faq-…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 03:30

Q: Do I have to make room for people when the bus starts getting crowded?
A: Not if you don’t want to. Even if the bus driver shouts, “Please move all the way to the back,” several times in a row over the loudspeaker, it’s really just a suggestion. Feel free to ignore them for as long as you want. After all, they can’t stop the bus forever.

Q: I know this is a stoplight and not an actual bus stop, but can I get off anyway?
A: Sure. Just remember to keep aggressively pushing the back door while looking bewildered so the driver knows you need to get off right now. And if the door doesn’t open immediately, yell as loud as you can, and eventually, you’ll get what you want.

Q: Can I stand in front of the exit, even though plenty of seats are available?
A: If that’s where you’re most comfortable, make yourself at home. Remember to put your headphones on and blast your music while scrolling on your phone so no one can interrupt you as they attempt to get off. This is your space now.

Nuts

https://digbysblog.net/2023/08/14/nuts-3/
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 03:30
Why is RFK Jr bothering? I honestly can’t understand what he’s getting out of this: Democratic presidential hopeful and known anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Sunday that he would support a national ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy if elected, only to walk back the stance hours later alleging he “misunderstood” repeated questions from NBC News on the topic. “Mr. Kennedy misunderstood a question posed to him by an NBC reporter in a crowded, noisy exhibit hall at the Iowa State Fair,” a spokesperson said, clarifying the candidate’s stance on abortion as “always” being the woman’s right to choose. Kennedy “does not support legislation banning abortion,” the spokesman added. But Sunday morning, Kennedy was much more specific, telling NBC: “I believe a decision to abort a child should be up to the women during the first three months of life.” Pressed on whether that meant signing a federal ban at 15 or 21 weeks, he said yes.

The Paradox of Debt, by the Tycho Brahe of Credit

https://www.profstevekeen.com/2023/08/14/the-paradox-of-debt-by-the-tycho-brahe…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 02:54
Very rarely do I review a book and find that the best way to convey its significance is to quote, verbatim, its first four paragraphs: In 2020, during the darkest hours of the global coronavirus pandemic, the US government spent $3 trillion to help rescue the country’s – and, to some extent, the world’s – … Continue reading "The Paradox of Debt, by the Tycho Brahe of Credit"

Mary Harrington on sex and the Pill, part II.

https://crookedtimber.org/2023/08/14/mary-harrington-on-sex-and-the-pill-part-i…
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 02:25
In my first post (here) on Mary Harrington’s (2023) Feminism Against Progress, I focused on her views on the family and suggested that not unlike Yoram Hazony (in his (2022) book, Conservatism: A Rediscovery), she rejects the patriarchic ‘nuclear family’ embraced by American, Christian-ethno-nationalists. Instead they both defend what they call the ‘traditional family,’ which in Harrington’s argument […]

Let the blame game begin

https://digbysblog.net/2023/08/14/let-the-blame-game-begin/
Created
Tue, 15/08/2023 - 02:00
It looks like Sidney Powell is the preferred fall guy Make room under that bus: JACK SMITH’S LATEST indictment of Donald Trump isn’t yet two weeks old, but the alleged “co-conspirators” it identifies are already beginning to turn on each other — and some of them aren’t even being subtle about it.  A number of the ex-president’s chief lieutenants and alleged co-conspirators in the plot to overturn the election, such as conservative attorney John Eastman, have insisted the effort was perfectly legal and based on sound evidence. Others, however, have recently sought to distance themselves from the efforts of others, implicitly heaping the blame for any potential criminal conduct onto fellow participants in Trump’s attempted coup. “It is the ‘please don’t put me in jail, put that other guy in jail’ strategy that was sure to come up at some point or another,” says one attorney working in Trump’s legal orbit.