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Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 08:30
He loved to dress up. Now he’ll be wearing a different costume: Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, former leader of the right-wing extremist group Proud Boys, was sentenced on Wednesday to 22 years in prison for his role in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Why it matters: Tarrio’s sentencing caps one of the highest-profile prosecutions related to the Capitol riot, and his isthe longest sentence handed down in the Jan. 6 cases. The previous highest sentencing record related to Jan. 6 was held by Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in May. Of note: Prosecutors had sought a 33-year sentence for Tarrio. Flashback: Tarrio was found guilty in May of seditious conspiracy related to Jan. 6, alongside other Proud Boys members. Tarrio wasn’t at the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot because he was arrested days earlier for vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church in D.C. in 2020.
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 05:30
McConnell and his Kentucky cronies tried to game the system and there’s no reason why Beshear shouldn’t turn Mitch’s clever little gambit right back on him. After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) experienced his second freezing episode in five weeks, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) is decliningto say whether he would follow a state law requiring him to appoint a Republican in the event of a Senate vacancy. A reporter asked Beshear on Thursday whether, if McConnell were to step down, he would choose a replacement from one of three nominees selected by the state Republican Party, as the statute requires. “There is no Senate vacancy,” Beshear responded at the news conference. “Senator McConnell has said he’s going to serve out his term, and I believe him, so I’m not going to speculate about something that hasn’t happened and isn’t going to happen.” Asked whether voters deserve to know his stance on the issue, Beshear said he would not “sensationalize” McConnell’s health. Heh. Good one.
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 05:08

At the zenith of the mass protests in Egypt on January 25, 2011, Twitter, Facebook and other Western-based social media platforms appeared to be the most essential tools for the Egyptian Revolution. Though some observers later contested the use of the terms ‘Twitter Revolution’ or ‘Social Media Revolution,’ one cannot deny the centrality of these […]

The post When the Torturer is the Savior: Can BRICS Help Us Escape the West’s Hegemony and Contradictions? appeared first on MintPress News.

Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:58
I wrote about this for Salon a couple of weeks ago. Here’s Dan Pfeiffer: Last Sunday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy went on Fox News to preview the launch of an inquiry. Here’s what he told Maria Bartiromo: Neither McCarthy nor the other MAGA Republicans chomping at the bit on impeachment can point to a single piece of evidence that President Biden had any involvement in Hunter Biden’s business dealings. This lack of evidence comes after a five-year Justice Department investigation by a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney and 18 months of investigation by the Republican House. For some reason, this story has been getting limited attention from the political media. An impeachment inquiry into Biden is significant both in terms of the current politics and historical precedent. Biden would be the Xth President in U.S. history to face an impeachment inquiry, but the first to suffer through the process absent a modicum of evidence of wrongdoing. This potential impeachment inquiry is a direct result of Kevin McCarthy’s weakness, cowardice, and strategic idiocy. In the long history of dumb things done by Republicans, this might be the dumbest. 1.
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:57
We know Australia’s got a problem when a cautious, technical, energy market operator says: “Imminent and urgent investment is needed, or the reliability of the NEM [National Electricity Market] will be at risk.” More broadly, Australia’s energy transition is at risk. But the federal government has the challenge and the opportunity to get things back Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:55
The narrative about the inevitability of a war with China began to dominate US strategic thinking in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The extraordinary growth of the Chinese economy in the first decade of this century deeply worried the neocons who control US foreign policy. As the size of the Chinese economy threatened Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:54
There is a lot more substance to the Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill now before the Parliament than the Public Service Act Amendment Bill. But, once again, a key reform proposed by the Thodey Review and endorsed by the Robodebt Royal Commission is missing. The MOP(S) Amendment Bill originates primarily from the Jenkins Review Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:53
We’ve all heard the ‘rules-based order’ catchphrase a lot and Australia has historically been a great supporter, championing the major international institutions at the time of their establishment. In recent years, we have joined the refrain that this international order represents the agreed rules of the road, and there’s no reason to alter it. Sounds Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:51
How is the war going? Two expert observers add to the confusion. Former British soldier Richard Iron, reflects on what he sees as the brittleness of Putin’s situation, thinks Putin could fall in a coup and predicts that Ukraine has a good chance of turfing Russians out of Ukraine altogether. American Professor John Mearsheimer, a Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 04:50
We, Westerners, impose our sense of individualism onto a society that has a sense of communalism. We are bothered by it.  But this is not something the Chinese people need “rescuing from”. China is not your enemy, the people telling you China is your enemy, are you enemy. An open letter from Jerry Grey to Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 06/09/2023 - 03:37

Who are you? (biography/background)

My name is John Doyle (_doyle_) and I run my life, and my career following 3 core principles: #OwnIt , #GiveBack and #BuildItBetter. I am passionate about open-source technologies and believe in the future of open platforms. My career, community, and company is focused heavily around Drupal and I am passionate about continuing to see the technology, the community, and the platform evolve and thrive. 

Why are you running for a board seat at the Drupal Association? (mission/motivation)

I am running for a board seat at the Drupal Association because I believe that Drupal has a future in the industry and I have a passion for making sure this belief becomes a reality. Drupal has enormous power as a content management system and an amazing community of people working on it. 

I’ve built my campaign around the following pillars: