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Created
Sun, 20/08/2023 - 04:59
On one side of the discussion there was a disparate collection of people expressing concerns about a profound policy shift which has a multitude of troubling — and unanswered — questions attached to it. On the other, a cabinet full of ministers who, before September 15, 2021, when it was announced by Scott Morrison, had never Continue reading »
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 04:57
Burning of all fossil fuels continues to increase. Gas is not better for the climate than coal but the myth continues and companies increase production. The fertile crescent is no longer fertile. Fossil fuels still burn brightly The bees in my bonnet began buzzing briskly when they saw the two graphs below. Look at the Continue reading »
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 04:56
How is it that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is even slightly controversial? How is it that the request for better listening which shapes the request for ‘Voice’ is found problematic? I have brought these Australian perplexities with me this week to the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. Time and again, it is Continue reading »
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 04:51
Edmund Barton, an early Australian leader said: “the doctrine of the equality of man was never intended to apply to the equality of the Englishman and the Chinaman”. Inter-group violence and “yellow peril” fears were a key factor motivating the setting up of Australia’s political map. Fear of China is still so entrenched that it’s Continue reading »
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 04:50
Two years after Myanmar’s coup on February 1 2021, the country’s large and growing resistance forces receive almost no attention outside the country. The democratic opposition, fronted by the National Unity Government (NUG), but comprising many different groups, armies, militias and individuals, has also struggled to gain awareness, even for its substantial battlefield successes. And perhaps Continue reading »
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 03:30
The Nation reported this week: James O’Keefe, the founder and until this past February CEO of the right-wing nonprofit Project Veritas, is currently under investigation by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. While the exact nature of the investigation is not yet public, the timing would suggest that it relates to O’Keefe’s alleged financial improprieties during his tenure as the group’s chairman and CEO. Back in February, O’Keefe was accused of spending “an excessive amount of donor funds in the last three years on personal luxuries” by the conservative nonprofit’s own board of directors, amid their very public feud over the management and future of Veritas. Westchester DA Miriam Rocah’s probe follows a raft of civil lawsuits, criminal investigations, and six-figure court losses that have trailed the group under O’Keefe’s leadership—including a still-active federal investigation into the theft of property belonging to President Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden.
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 02:00
How would you know what’s in the backpack? Does this mean anyone with a backpack is shot on sight? Or is it that if the border patrol seizes someone with a backpack and finds fentanyl that they summarily execute them? This is psycho talk and its common in this Republican primary campaign. The people cheer and shout with unbridled glee at the notion of killing immigrants and invading Mexico. Former President Donald Trump, who has previously called for building a wall along the southern border and giving drug dealers the death penalty, has also proposed creating a naval blockade of Mexico to prevent drugs like illicit fentanyl from entering the U.S. His leading opponent in the 2024 GOP nomination race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, promised last week to use “deadly force” against anyone caught smuggling drugs across the border. On Capitol Hill, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and John Kennedy (R., La.) have both voiced support for military operations in Mexico. Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) said in a recent interview on NBC that cartels should be considered terrorist organizations, meriting a military response.
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Sun, 20/08/2023 - 00:30
A scourge on democracy Seems as if our northern neighbors are better prepared. We’re still hoping for the best in November 2024. Global News: Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada has been considering a “game plan” for how it would respond if the United States takes a far-right, authoritarian shift after next year’s presidential elections. “We are certainly working on scenarios,” Joly said in French during an interview with a Montreal radio station Wednesday. Joly added that Ottawa’s close political and economic ties to the U.S. means that “we must certainly prepare several scenarios.” She suggested Canada has a game plan in mind but wouldn’t get into details. I wouldn’t. But it’s nice to know someone in charge is thinking ahead. Too bad it’s not happening south of the 49th parallel. Just warning speeches from scholars but no preparations. The U.S. embassy in Ottawa declined comment.
Created
Sat, 19/08/2023 - 21:35

19 August marks an ignominious anniversary: the 70th anniversary of the coup against Mohammed Mossadegh and the snuffing out of Iranian democracy. Popularly remembered largely as a CIA-led operation, the plot to oust Mossadegh was as British as it was American; while the United States has long acknowledged culpability, Whitehall remains resistant to do likewise. […]

Created
Sat, 19/08/2023 - 20:15

Yesterday’s Financial Times reports that the Labour Party is preparing a major rollback on workers’ rights. This is significant news – after years of abandoned pledges under Keir Starmer’s leadership, employment rights was the last bastion of transformative policy in the party programme. Now it appears that too might be sacrificed. I was a political […]

Created
Sat, 19/08/2023 - 20:15

Yesterday’s Financial Times reports that the Labour Party is preparing a major rollback on workers’ rights. This is significant news – after years of abandoned pledges under Keir Starmer’s leadership, employment rights was the last bastion of transformative policy in the party programme. Now it appears that too might be sacrificed. I was a political […]

Created
Sat, 19/08/2023 - 16:23

This summer, violent mobs associated with the US-backed Tigray People’s Liberation Front assaulted Eritrean festivals across the US and Europe. Western media is now spinning the targeted mob violence as legitimate protest against Eritrea’s government. For 40 years, Eritrean Festivals have been held around the world to sustain the diaspora community’s connections to their homeland and to one another. But this year, a violent, well-coordinated international campaign of sabotage left festival goers badly injured and property damaged. Major Western media […]

The post Western media glorifies TPLF mob violence against Eritrean festivals first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Western media glorifies TPLF mob violence against Eritrean festivals appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Sat, 19/08/2023 - 09:30
Baby sloth! The team at Roger Williams Park Zoo is elated to announce the birth of a baby sloth! The adorable newborn is born to mom Fiona and dad Westley and is currently resting comfortably while staying close to mom. The incredible staff of zookeepers and veterinarians are maintaining a watchful eye over the mother and baby, ensuring their well-being as they bond behind the scenes. With the assistance of the mother’s affection, daily monitoring, and supplemental feeding from the keepers, the little one is steadily growing and gaining strength. This birth holds great significance for the Zoo and the global sloth population. The Zoo is an active participant in the Linne’s Two-Toed Sloth Species Survival Plan, which prioritizes breeding to guarantee the survival of the species. The young sloth is yet to be named, but more updates will be coming soon, so stay tuned!