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Speaking of Hunter Biden…

https://digbysblog.net/2023/08/01/speaking-of-hunter-biden/
Created
Wed, 02/08/2023 - 06:30
Remember this? The Republicans and Fox News are talking about virtually nothing but this story that Hunter Biden put his father on the phone during some dinner parties with his clients. Of course that was influence peddling and it’s always been as shady as it is ubiquitous among wealthy elites. But please. Nobody on the planet ever did it more blatantly than Trump. He refused to divest himself of his international business while he was president and his sons ran the thing! His White House advisor son-in-law delivered to powerful interests in the middle east in exchange for 2 billion dollars to be paid out upon his departure from government. There has never been a more corrupt president in US history. Not even close. Here’s that India story from 2018 in case you forgot: Donald Trump Jr. arrived in India on Tuesday for a week-long visit, and his trip has already revealed a couple of things. First, it’s clear that the Trump administration is still embroiled in huge conflicts of interest. And second, it’s evident that the Trump brand, though toxic at home, commands surprising power in the world’s second most populous country.

Undeniable

https://digbysblog.net/2023/08/01/undeniable/
Created
Wed, 02/08/2023 - 05:00
JV Last at the Bulwark points to a column by Noah Smith, a centrist (ish) economist who just can’t find a good reason to say that the Biden economy is terrible: [H]ere’s economist Noah Smith struggling not to praise Biden—and failing—in a post titled: “If this is a bad economy, please tell me what a good economy would look like.” Here’s Noah again: Smith goes on to give detailed explanations of the employment, inflation, and real income indicators—go read the whole thing—before trying to put Biden’s accomplishment in perspective: While we’re all doing back flips to account for the public’s unrelenting negativity (*cough* the media *cough*) the numbers don’t lie.

Government on the slow coal train as world faces collapse

https://johnmenadue.com/government-on-the-slow-coal-train-as-world-faces-collap…
Created
Wed, 02/08/2023 - 04:55
The Government’s draft Strategy on Health and Climate Change is vital to cope with the expected increase in deaths and illness from accelerating climate change. It fails in many respects and should be rewritten to reflect the views of medical experts. Surely it is now obvious that climate change is the fast train to world Continue reading »

If not now, when? The ‘fiction’ of the two-state solution

https://johnmenadue.com/if-not-now-when-the-fiction-of-the-two-state-solution/
Created
Wed, 02/08/2023 - 04:52
If Palestinian leaders can’t sort out their differences and unite now, when Palestine is at the precipice of disaster, then when? The title of this article is borrowed from an inspiring and hopeful peace movement amongst young Jews in the United States of America who, after witnessing the brutality of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine Continue reading »

APEC’s future hangs in the balance over John Lee snub

https://johnmenadue.com/apecs-future-hangs-in-the-balance-over-john-lee-snub/
Created
Wed, 02/08/2023 - 04:50
On July 28, The Washington Post reported that, bowing to pressure from China hawks in Congress, US President Joe Biden will bar Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu from attending the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which the US will host in San Francisco in November. In response, Mao Ning, the Continue reading »

Meanwhile in that other case

https://digbysblog.net/2023/08/01/meanwhile-in-that-other-case/
Created
Wed, 02/08/2023 - 03:30
Trump’s own words are being used against him. Again. We’ve mostly forgotten about the Manhattan hush money case but it’s chugging along. Here’s the latest: The Manhattan district attorney seeking to jail Donald Trump over his hush money payment to a porn star is seeking to potentially weaponize the same piece of damning evidence that nailed the former president at his rape trial: the deposition where he said stars like him get away with sexual harassment “unfortunately—or fortunately.” It’s now up to a federal judge to decide whether those prosecutors can get a video that shows Trump at his worst: unapologetic about sexual assault, uttering misogynistic comments, and willing to lie to the American public to save his own skin. It’s a testament to the breadth of Trump’s legal problems that we’re witnessing the collision of two totally separate cases: a civil defamation case about rape and a criminal case about a cover-up. And it all comes down to a closed-door question-and-answer session Trump had on Oct. 19, 2022.