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That does not make me feel confident Washington Examiner: I know you cannot get into any of the specifics about your grand jury appearance, but I’m wondering if you could just peel back for readers what the was process like? Mike Pence: I really can’t speak in any detail about the proceedings. But I can tell you that the American people can be confident that the story I wrote in my memoir about those difficult days, the story I’ve told in numerous interviews and in the wake of the release of my book, is the same story that I tell in every respect. And so, for me, I just have a lot of peace about the process. I’m very concerned about what I see as the politicization of the Justice Department. I’m very concerned about what I see as the criminalization of politics, but we obeyed the law. We did our part, and the American people can be confident that the story we’ve written, the story we told, is the same story that took place in that setting. In other words, he didn’t come through with the full truth about Trump’s coup plotting. He never has.

Carbon Capture and Storage, nothing but an inadequate fig leaf for obscene government endorsed corporate practices. Direct Air Capture may play a useful climate role in a few decades. Banks still lending trillions to fossil fuel companies. Capturing carbon: where are we? Part 2 of 2 Last week I described the difference between absorbing CO2 Continue reading »

Eighteen months ago, when Australians first learned of the AUKUS proposal for their country to build nuclear-powered submarines, it came as a stunning shock. So great was the shock, in fact, that for a time it eclipsed any serious debate about this revolutionary and quite unprecedented idea. An initiative of such scale and audacity seemed Continue reading »

Speech at The Persecution of Truth conference According to Dr Suelette Dreyfus, Julian Assange was the most original voice in twenty-first-century journalism. She justified this claim by referencing the invention of the anonymous digital dropbox that WikiLeaks and Assange pioneered, which allowed whistle-blowers to transfer information to the public, while preserving their anonymity. This invention Continue reading »

Minister Mark Butler’s Hugh Stretton Oration (April 27) demonstrates he gets it. He may be the first Minister we have had in Aged Care who understands the issues of ageing and is prepared to speak out. Policy makers and those in the professional age care industry (both advocates and providers) seem to be trapped in Continue reading »

Perhaps now – more than ever – is the time when Australia needs outstanding foreign policy thinkers. It has lost one of its best with the death of Allan Gyngell after a short illness. When he relinquished the National Presidency of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) a few months ago, he saw it Continue reading »

Enclosure in the US and Israel The nature of Enclosure is not often associated with the settler-colonial societies of the US and Israel. Yet it is an important aspect to the exceptionalism of both these states and their righteous sectioning off of land for their own religious aims. Both states got their foothold on the Continue reading »

When the western media and politicians speak of China’s treatment of minorities it is always taken for granted that such treatment is a violation of the minority’s human rights. I would venture to differ. China has a complex framework of ethnic-regional autonomy enshrined in its constitution that is poorly understood in the West. Having worked Continue reading »

Use to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts.

And he said it overseas… A day after federal prosecutors won their latest high-profile cases against leaders of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, former president Donald Trump lashed out in a social media post at the Justice Department, claiming it and the FBI are “destroying the lives of so many Great American Patriots.” “Back in the USA, but sadly I see so many really bad things happening to our Country,” Trump, who broke ground earlier this week on a golf course in Scotland, wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “The DOJ and FBI are destroying the lives of so many Great American Patriots, right before our very eyes,” he wrote. “The Court System is a RUBBER STAMP for their conviction and imprisonment. All this while the Radical Left protects and coddles extremists and murderers at a level, and with intensity, never seen before. GET SMART AMERICA, THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU!!!” On Thursday, former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and three other leaders of the far-rightextremist group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the attack on Capitol.

His Trump impression needs work.

Since I’m on the topic of Max Weber, religion and technology already, here’s a half-developed theory of Elon Musk that I’ve been nurturing for a while. I’ve trotted it out informally at a couple of meetings, and I’m not completely convinced it is right, but it’s prima facie plausible, and I’ve gotten some entertainment from […]

Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston offered a two-word reaction to today's Coronation event for King Charles III & Queen Camilla.

From the front lines in NC North Carolina Democrats’ new state chair, Anderson Clayton, is drawing national press, including a New York Times profile this week. She rallied supporters last month to win a Daily Kos poll for which “ ‘super swing state’ deserves Daily Kos’ help the most.” (I’m biased.) DKos sent out mailings last week asking members to contribute $15 to the fight. Clayton is not shy about painting the challenge North Carolina Democrats face in 2024. One would be the leading Republican contender for governor. In case you need reminding, Clayton’s talking about this guy: “Tell our enemies on the other side of the aisle that would drag this nation down into a socialist hellhole that you will only do it as you run past me laying on the ground choking on my own blood — Christian patriots of this nation will own this nation and rule this nation.” AG Josh Stein, Democrats’ leading contender for governor, has a close race on his hands in a political environment that is terra incognita for Democrats.

A tough week for the narcissistic autocrats That’s both here and abroad. Is this a game-changing week for Ukraine? Associated Press: Ukraine’s air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow’s most modern missiles. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defense systems. “Yes, we shot down the ‘unique’ Kinzhal,” Oleshchuk wrote. “It happened during the night time attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region.” Oleshchuk said the Kh-47 missile was launched by a MiG-31K aircraft from the Russian territory and was shot down with a Patriot missile. Then there was the unidentified drone exploding this week over the Kremlin.

In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: HOTD, S.W.A.T., Reacher, WWE/AEW, The Flash, Disney/WGA, Doctor Who, Farscape, One Piece & a whole lot more!

Ryan Grim discusses political strategy with super PAC operative Dmitri Mehlhorn.

The post Dmitri Mehlhorn: The Man Financing a Political Counterrevolution appeared first on The Intercept.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which took place in June 1953, was an occasion like never before. The first British coronation to be fully televised, with cameras being allowed inside Westminster Abbey for the ceremony itself, it was a fully public event that sought to construct a particular type of royal identity for the […]

It’s not about debt at all. It’s about turning back the political clock 100 years.

The post What the Debt Limit Fight Is Actually About appeared first on The Intercept.

I wonder if they will serve them coronation chicken on the day? It was invented for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and apparently she liked it very much. It’s quite good. If you haven’t ever had it you should try it. With a crisp G&T or a nice (American style) cold beer: