Over the past eighteen months, I’ve often found myself under scrutiny for not outrightly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Any acknowledgment of Russia’s stance—that the hasty expansion of NATO played a role in the current conflict—earns labels: indifferent to Ukraine’s plight, a “Putin” apologist, a victim of Kremlin misinformation. After much contemplation, I’ve traced the Continue reading »
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Beijing, Tehran, and Islamabad know that their mutual goal of ‘peaceful development’ and expanded Asian trade routes will be unattainable without solving the terrorism dilemma in neighbouring Afghanistan. First published in The Cradle June 13, 2023 This month, Beijing hosted the first-ever tripartite security dialogue between Iran, Pakistan, and China. The gathering took place against Continue reading »
Both Prigozhin and Putin are nightmares This analysis from the Financial Times about Prigozhin is quite informative. They have been following the story of Putin and Prigozhin for some time and if you’d like to bone up on the various dynamics, I would suggest that’s a good place to start. When they first appeared in 2014 to fight covertly in Ukraine, the masked militiamen of Russia’s Wagner group epitomised how Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin had mastered a new, underhand form of warfare. But after Wagner paramilitaries took control of at least one Russian city on Saturday and began a “march of justice” on Moscow, the blowback from nine years of war in Ukraine threatened the very foundations of Putin’s state — with a problem of his own making. After months of lurid public infighting, the conflict between Yevgeny Prigozhin’s paramilitaries and the Russian defence ministry has boiled over into the first coup attempt in Russia in three decades.
Doctor Who: Doom's Day Hours 2-5 suffer from a less-than-impressive story & art; a look back at some of Sooz Kempner's comedy highlights.
INNOVATING in local tourism, a new partnership between four of the Coffs Coast’s top tourist attractions launches an initiative aimed to benefit tourism and the wider business community. The Coffs Coast Multi Pass brings together four of the Coffs Coast’s top tourist attractions on one ticket, offering significant savings and convenience for visitors. Advertise with...
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The mercenary leader’s bid for control may be the greatest threat to Moscow since the 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev.
The post Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Coup Targets Putin and His “Oligarchic Clan” appeared first on The Intercept.
HEARTSTART Glenreagh is currently seeking feedback from the Orara Valley community about the concept of a ‘community hub’ for valley residents. “A hub is a safe and supported place where local and broader communities can come together to build resilience, create connections and share resources,” HeartStart Glenreagh’s Faye Neil told News Of The Area.The Orara...
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THE Coffs Harbour and District Eisteddfod has kicked off for 2023 with students and teachers giving their all to this highlight of their year. Eisteddfod President Debbie Waters told News Of The Area all disciplines have had great audience numbers to date. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business....
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ZONTA Club of Coffs Harbour is calling for applications to its Young Women in Public Affairs (YWPA) award program. The goal of the program is to encourage young women to participate in public affairs by recognising a young woman’s commitment to the volunteer sector, volunteer leadership achievements and dedication to the empowerment of members of...
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POLICE have released CCTV images of two men as they appeal for public information after an armed robbery in Coffs Harbour in April. Detectives have been told about 12am on Wednesday 12 April 2023, two men entered a business on Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, before they threatened an employee with a knife and hammer and...
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Vlad’s buddy has this to say Yeah. There are too many moving parts to properly analyze the Russia situation at the moment. But let’s just say that Prigozhin is a monster and so in Putin and the only thing we can root for is destabilization of the Moscow regime without too much destabilization and some kind of resolution that results in withdrawal from Ukraine (not on the Prigozhin plan, BTW) and Russia gives peace a chance. I will just put this up for now in case you forgot this part of Prigozhin story: Kremlin-connected entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted Monday that he had interfered in U.S. elections and would continue to do so — confirming for the first time the accusations that he has rejected for years. “Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do,” Prigozhin boasted in remarks posted on social media. The statement, from the press service of his catering company that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef,” came on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections.
And it shows Mediaite: Former President Donald Trump told attendees at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday night that he rejected some of the biggest law firms and lawyers in the country because he doesn’t “need any help.” Earlier this month, two of the former president’s top lawyers resigned from his defense team after the DOJ announced it would charge Trump with 37 counts related to his handling of classified material at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Jim Trusty and John Rowley, who previously led Trump’s legal team in Washington, D.C., indicated they would no longer represent him in the Jack Smith probe and his $475 million defamation suit against CNN. However, despite difficulties retaining new legal representation, Trump bragged to a group of supporters at a fundraiser at Bedminster that some of the “biggest” firms and lawyers have called him asking to represent him in the upcoming federal trial. “I tell all these people, they all come in — they want to help,” Trump said speaking about the upcoming 2024 election.
Also, Apple is called out for union busting, Arkansas makes landmark healthcare progress, New York tenants get climate protections, and more.
They keep Hitler quotes handy why, exactly? Jezebel: An Indiana chapter of the rightwing Moms For Liberty organization apologized on Thursday for printing a quotation from Adolf Hitler—yes, the genocidal leader of Nazi Germany—in its newsletter. “We condemn Adolf Hitler’s actions and his dark place in human history. We should not have quoted him in our newsletter and we express our deepest apology,” chapter chair Paige Miller said in a truly dystopian statement posted to Facebook. In the June newsletter for the Hamilton County, Indiana, chapter of Moms for Liberty, Hitler’s short quote from a Nazi rally in 1935 is printed the front page of the issue. “He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future” (emphasis theirs). They hope to (informally, anyway) return a wannabe dictator to the White House and stomp out the LGBTQ community, one presumes, when they are not banning books or hanging out with terrorist groups like the Proud Boys. Don’t you still want to know why they keep Hitler quotes handy?
Well, it’s on. This is why you don’t use mercenaries or trust scum like Prigozhin.
Remember that Prigozhin is to the right of Putin, which is where the threat was always going to come from. If he does take over, it is unlikely to lead to an end to the Ukraine war (unless there’s a bloody civil war), it means gloves off.
The issue here is just how much of the Russian army will side with Putin. If it’s anything substantial, he wins. If not, he’s done. This is why Prigozhin emphasized not enough weapons, etc… it was a stab in the back narrative: “Putin won’t let us win the war.”
Putin played around with the war, unwilling to go all in and used Wagner as a prison to frontlines pipeline. That was a mistake.
We’ll see if it’s a fatal one. This is entirely a matter of morale—what the military will do.
Revisiting Series 3 of the modern era of Doctor Who, it's pretty clear that Freema Agyemans' Martha Jones is the most underrated companion.
In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: Arrow/Stephen Amell, "Daryl Dixon," Always Sunny, SDCC 2023, Star Trek: Prodigy, Cobra Kai/Elon Musk & more!
Unsatisfied with humiliating patients, the anti-abortion right is escalating a time-tested tactic: Make ’em grovel.
The post A Year After Dobbs, the Anti-Abortion Right Is Grilling Doctors on Tattoos, Tweets, and Too-Strong Beliefs appeared first on The Intercept.
Sand kittens! The North Carolina Zoo is excited to announce yet another recent birth: three sand cat kittens (sexes unknown at this time) were born on May 11. Small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, the kittens were born to first-time mother Sahara, 3, and father Cosmo, 9. It marks the third birth at the Zoo in less than two weeks. On May 20, a giraffe calf (male) was born, and a chimpanzee infant (male) was born on May 21. This marks the first litter for the sand cat pair. Cosmo previously fathered daughter Layla, now living at the Greensboro Science Center. The Zoo plans to offer a public naming poll for the kittens. Details will be announced soon on the Zoo’s social media channels and website. The mom and triplets are doing well. The trio are beginning to explore their surroundings in the Desert Habitat. Lucky guests may be able to catch a glimpse of them in the coming days. Though they appear adorable with big ears, eyes, and petite frame, looks can be deceiving. Zookeepers are quick to tell you they are wild, ferocious animals that should never be kept as pets. These small and mighty hunters kill venomous snakes in the desert.
I don’t know what to make of this but it’s fascinating: Russia did not face an imminent security threat to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary outfit, said in a bombshell video posted on social media Friday. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to attack Russia with the NATO bloc,” Prigozhin explained in the half-hour tirade released by his press service. “The Russian Defense Ministry is deceiving the public and the president,” he added. Prigozhin’s comments were at odds with the casus belli given by President Vladimir Putin when he ordered troops into Ukraine last February, although the private army chief avoided personally attacking the Russian leader.