Another disappointed master of the universe has regrets. Boo hoo hoo. Barton Gelman had a chat with Peter Thiel. He has a sad: It wasn’t clear at first why Peter Thiel agreed to talk to me. He is, famously, no friend of the media. But Thiel—co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, avatar of techno-libertarianism, bogeyman of the left—consented to a series of long interviews at his home and office in Los Angeles. He was more open than I expected him to be, and he had a lot to say. But the impetus for these conversations? He wanted me to publish a promise he was going to make, so that he would not be tempted to go back on his word. And what was that thing he needed to say, loudly? That he wouldn’t be giving money to any politician, including Donald Trump, in the next presidential campaign. Already, he has endured the wrath of Trump. Thiel tried to duck Trump’s calls for a while, but in late April the former president managed to get him on the phone. Trump reminded Thiel that he had backed two of Thiel’s protégés, Blake Masters and J. D. Vance, in their Senate races last year.
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The screeching at last night’s Republican debate was not just inane — it will get more people killed.
The post GOP and Dems Unite to Smear Gaza Ceasefire Supporters as “Pro-Hamas” appeared first on The Intercept.
The Republicans just can’t get it together They can’t even get the votes together to pass the draconian spending cuts they all live for: House Republicans on Thursday pulled their annual financial services and general government funding bill amid divisions on abortion-related provisions and FBI funding. It was the second time in a week GOP leaders opted to punt a vote on a funding bill over divisions within the party. GOP leadership hoped to pass the conference’s partisan plan laying out fiscal 2024 funding for the White House, the Treasury Department and other offices this week.
Republicans won’t stop at a 15-week ban.
The post To Defeat Anti-Abortion “Moderation,” Mobilize Fear appeared first on The Intercept.
Opposition leader, the Dark Lord Peter Dutton, has demanded that tax payers pony up more cash so he can continue to head overseas on his little jaunts, like the one he is currently on in India. “Peter is doing great... Read More ›
The White House is using major U.S. news outlets to pretend it can’t rein in Israel — but the claims don’t add up.
They’re doing it again as if nothing has changed. Do they think they are immune to consequences of fascism? Margaret Sullivan reads the media the riot act: Whatever doubts you may have about public-opinion polls, one recent example should not be dismissed. Yes, that poll – the one from Siena College and the New York Times that sent chills down many a spine. It showed Donald Trump winning the presidential election by significant margins over Joe Biden in several swing states, the places most likely to decide the presidential election next year. The poll, of course, is only one snapshot and it has been criticized, but it still tells a cautionary tale – especially when paired with the certainty that Trump, if elected, will quickly move toward making the United States an authoritarian regime. Add in Biden’s low approval ratings, despite his accomplishments, and you come to an unavoidable conclusion: the news media needs to do its job better. The press must get across to American citizens the crucial importance of this election and the dangers of a Trump win.
Residents say a hazardous waste incinerator’s emissions violate their new constitutional right to a “healthful environment.”
The post New Yorkers Voted to Put Environmental Rights in Their Constitution — but the Attorney General Is Fighting Back appeared first on The Intercept.
David Sirota speaks with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro about his first year in office and President Joe Biden’s challenges in the Keystone State.
"We have failed you. This is the awful guilt we carry. We tried. But we did not try hard enough." -- Chris Hedges
The post Chris Hedges: Letter to the Children of Gaza appeared first on MintPress News.
It’s not a pretty sight The GOP debate last night was torture. I watched it because it’s my job but I’ll be very happy when this primary is over. I usually sort of enjoy watching them tear each other apart and say stupid things but this one is truly unpleasant. I thought this one might be more interesting because it was on NBC so maybe it would have more interesting questions than the softballs they’ve been given on the earlier Fox debates. But no. It was just more dull — well except for Nikki Haley calling Ramaswamy “scum” and Ramaswamy calling Zelensky a Nazi. They didn’t ask about abortion until the last 15 minutes, they didn’t ask about guns, they didn’t ask about Trump’s legal problems. (Chris Christie did mention them in one early answer but that was that.) Aaaaand there was a rousing discussion about how much to cut Social Security and Medicare! Here’s the leading so-called “moderate” on the stage who the media anointed the winner: Points for making that clear. It is a total waste of time for everyone. I don’t know why they are bothering.
At the core of the cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine is “the studied blindness of two people to see the other, to accept that they have a legitimate place on the landscape”. Without such acceptance, this horrific war in Gaza will not be the last. We cannot know when and how the Israeli-Hamas Continue reading »
As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing in an attempt to improve relations, Elena Collinson warned that untangling Australia- China relations from China- U.S. relations would be difficult. Indeed, Australia–China relations remain deeply troubled. Because the dynamics and dangers in the relationship are still the same, it is worth revisiting a piece I wrote Continue reading »
In her first report in October 2022, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese recommended that UN member states develop “a plan to end the Israeli settler-colonial occupation and apartheid regime”. What message will she now bring to Australia? Readers might recall that on Continue reading »
The Zionist slogan….A land without a people for a people without land…has led to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestine people. Continue reading »
Mandatory immigration detention is a policy that has caused indiscriminate harm, including death, and permanent incapacity. It has been rightly described as our national shame. On Wednesday November 8, the High Court of Australia found indefinite immigration detention constitutes punishment, making the relevant legislation unconstitutional. Led by Chief Justice Gageler, with freshly invested Justice Beech Continue reading »
In July 1975, Malcolm Fraser spoke to US Ambassador Marshall Green about the Labor government’s alleged “desire for a ‘non-aligned position in world affairs’”. In fact, he added, ‘Whitlam and others may be trying to cause the US to take the lead in abandoning ANZUS’.” Source: James Curran, Unholy Fury In late 1974, the US Continue reading »
I was wondering what was taking prominent Christian Zionists so long to visit Israel. And then I saw him…Scott Morrison landing with the arrogance of someone totally convinced he’s betting on the winning horse. Morrison has never shied away from his Christian Zionist beliefs, and nor should he…in private. But when he had the power…in Continue reading »
The bravery of those who dare to resist has allowed many of us, who might despair, to understand the real meaning of a resistance we all share if we want to prevent the conquest of us, our conscience, and our self-respect if we prefer freedom and decency to compliance and collusion. In this, we are all Spartacus.
The post John Pilger: We are Spartacus appeared first on MintPress News.
For those who have been following it, the saga of the banned drag show fundraiser...