On December 4th 2022, eight bullets struck the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa....
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Daniel Ellsberg says using the Espionage Act against journalist Julian Assange in blatant violation of the First Amendment means the First Amendment is essentially gone.
The post Daniel Ellsberg: Losing 1st Amendment Reverses War of Independence appeared first on scheerpost.com.
The situation is more complicated than this but Alastair Crooke brings out some key factors. There were actually two big mistakes that he mentions.
First is the mistake of overestimating finance and underestimating productive capacity. Andrei Martyanov had been writing about this for some years.
The second, which is related to the first, is the abject failure of intelligence to properly access the strength of the Russian economy. This is seldom mentioned but it is a huge factor. Alastair Crooke served in British intel so it is well aware of it.
These mistakes together constitute a blunder that is leading to disaster. The US and its allies either have not yet realized this or have backed themselves into a corner from which they cannot escape without climbing down, and that threatens bringing down their house.
The analysis is sort of a combination of Michael Hudson and Andrei Martyanov without mentioning either. It's not fully MMT-compliant but the thrust of the article is not dependent on this.
Come on, people… John Amato caught a top Republican in an egregious lie over the weekend that nobody else seems to have noticed: The incoming chairman of the House intelligence Committee tried to both-side election fraud deniers by lying about who went to the Supreme court to challenge the 2000 election results. Mike Turner said it was Al Gore today when it has always been George W. Bush. Face The Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Turner if he had any concerns about the incredible number of election deniers joining his committee. “Of the 26 Republican members on the committee, 19 of them denied the results of the 2020 election,” Brennan noted. CBS then listed Turner’s treasonous colleagues. “They all played critical roles in the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Do you have any concerns about working with these lawmakers?” she asked. This forced Rep. Turner to try and both-sides the insurrection crowd with the Democratic party — so much so that he even lied about the 2000 election to do it.
The article is really about the economic "war" underway in the US between rural and urban areas rather than mostly political differences. So was the Civil War, which was about the abolition slavery, a political matter, but emancipation resulted in huge loss of capital. The Civil War was also about the urban-rurual divide, with the urban North dominated by factories and the rural South dominated by agriculture, chiefly cotton production.
According to Bouie, slavery’s abolition was an existential threat to White slaveowners, whereas he’s “not sure there’s anything in American society right now that plays the same role”.
Bouie is right. Ideas and beliefs are important, but without an economic basis, they cannot generate war. However, he is wrong that post-1991 polarization has no economic basis. There are real economic interests that divide Democrats and Republicans. In the 1860s it was between North and South. Today it is between rural and urban capitalists....
The analysis is interesting not so much for the conclusions as the information used to substantiate them.
As the country’s attention descends on Cop City following a police killing last week, the local stakes should be front of mind.
The post Cop City Goes National appeared first on The Intercept.
Authorities say banning physical mail will stem the flow of drugs, but most contraband behind bars comes from other sources — including jail guards.
The post NYC Jails Want to Ban Physical Mail, Then Privatize Scanning of Digital Versions appeared first on The Intercept.
In his quest for free speech, Elon Musk has allowed Right-wing nut jobs, conspiracy theorists and News Corp puppets to dominate our Twitter feeds. read now...Recent deals between US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and African heads of state promise eye-popping profits for US mining multinationals and fewer protections for African laborers “toiling in subhuman conditions” to drive the digital revolution. The US Africa Leaders Summit held this December in Washington DC provided a platform for the Biden administration to advance its agenda across the African continent. With topics ranging from COVID-19 to climate change to “closing the digital divide,” to “strengthening democracy,” Washington’s agenda […]
The post US Africa Leaders Summit promises more exploitation for Africa, record profits for US mining firms appeared first on The Grayzone.
"A consistent reduction of economic risks created by the use of foreign currencies and payment systems for mutual trade is seen as an urgent task. We believe that connecting partners to the Bank of Russia's financial messaging system and developing inter-system cooperation between national payment systems is an indispensable condition for stable settlements within the Union," he said in an address to heads of EAEU members on the occasion of Russia’s chairmanship in the integration in 2023, which was published on the Kremlin’s website on Monday.
"Harmonization of financial markets should create favorable conditions for the member states' capital to remain within the union and for it to be invested in the national economies. We also consider it advisable to examine the possibility of creating a Eurasian rating agency that would provide evaluation tools to service the growing economic activity in our macro-region," the [Putin] address reads....
Putin's speech contains more than just the payments system.
One question for Thomas Nicholas, a computational plasma physicist and former fusion researcher who now studies climate science at Columbia University.
The post When Will Fusion Energy Light Our Homes? appeared first on Nautilus.
There’s no distancing the Republican Party from Solomon Peña — or his alleged acts of political violence.
The post It’s the GOP, Stupid: How the Party Gave Us a New Mexico Pol Accused of Hiring Assassins appeared first on The Intercept.
As President Joe Biden prepares to face off with House Republicans over the U.S. government’s debt ceiling, a majority of voters would rather have a government shutdown than to have Congress sign off on more spending.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 56% of Likely U.S. Voters would rather have a partial government shutdown until Congress can agree to either cut spending or keep it the same. Just 34% would rather avoid a partial shutdown by authorizing more spending…
The rest is behind a paywall. But you get the drift.
Rasmussen Reports — Jan 23, 2023
Debt Ceiling: 56% Prefer Shutdown
Debt Ceiling: 56% Prefer Shutdown
The Bank of Canada is widely expected to increase its policy interest rate again this week, for the eighth time in the last 10 months. Media and financial market commentary on its decision has made numerous throwaway references to how Canada’s economy is still “running hot,” and that i why a rate hike is needed. This common claim is surprising, [...]
The title should be, Why sanctions are backfiring. The hypotheticals are present realities.
Interestingly, many have observed that when sanctions were used, war not long behind but they also perfunctorily say that this situation is likely different. Really? War is already raging and escalating along with increased sanctions that are having no noticeable effect on Russia' behavior.
This is a policy mistake that is turning into a strategic blunder of major proportions. Iraq was a strategic blunder but proportionately insignificant in comparison with Russia and China, who have been driven together into a de facto alliance against the US and its allies, many of whom have been dragged into this unfolding conflict reluctantly. War is returning to Europe, the very thing that NATO, the Common Market, the European Union and the Eurozone were meant to obviate.
Progress in Political Economy (PPE)
Why sanctions may backfire
Progress in Political Economy (PPE)
Why sanctions may backfire
The GOP field is forming It’s begun. And just as we once assumed, it’s a tired re-run of 2020 with former president Donald Trump hopping from rally to rally repeating his boring recitation of the Big Lie and the perpetual “witchhunt” and “hoax” mantras. Only this time, the Republican presidential primary is starting early with what’s shaping up to be a crowded field. Whether any of Trump’s rivals will be able to knock him out remains to be seen — but there’s no doubt they think he’s weakened enough to chance it. We’ve all been closely watching Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t yet made any overt moves to run but is nonetheless clearly positioning himself to do it. At the moment he is the only serious contender who still holds office which gives him the opportunity to demonstrate his right-wing bonafides. And boy is he ever doing that. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the list of his aggressive authoritarian policies is already a mile long, each one designed to curry favor with the far right by provoking everyone else.
Immediately after Russian troops attacked Ukraine in February 2022, a group of Western countries – including the U.S., EU states, Australia, Great Britain and Japan – imposed tough sanctions against Russia. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announced on March 1, 2022, that the West would wage “an all-out economic and financial war against Russia.” However, even after more than nine months, the sanctioned state, Russia, shows only moderate signs of economic weakening. On the contrary, revenues from oil exports have amounted to about $20 billion per month until mid-2022, a significant increase of about one-third from $14.5 billion per month in 2021. Not only can the Russian government continue the war of aggression, but it is also liquid enough to manage without exporting gas to Western Europe.
Depoimentos colhidos pela Polícia Civil indicam que golpistas levaram pouco dinheiro e comiam no QG, mas dizem não saber quem organizou e financiou suas caravanas.
The post Depoimentos mostram que terroristas tiveram ônibus, hospedagem e até alimentação de graça para tentativa de golpe em Brasília appeared first on The Intercept.
~ Today's Water Cooler ~
On her days off from working at the cloakroom at Berlin’s Berghain nightclub, Molly Nilsson began recording lo-fi pop gems. Armed with a knack for creating gloomy ballads that sparkle with mordant observations on life, loneliness and the city, it didn’t take long for the Stockholm-born, Berlin-based artist to etch her name in the hearts […]
This piece in the NY Times about the boomer vote tracks with my instincts. First of all, the youngest boomers aren’t even 60 yet so not all of us are ancient. Biden, for instance is not a boomer. He’s older. Trump was born in the very first year of the baby boom so he’s at the very oldest edge. The truth is that there were always a fair number in that large generation who were conservative. Not everyone was a hippie. And yes, some moved right as they aged. It seems to just happen with some people. But many, many boomers were and have, as I have, been very liberal their whole lives. And they’re still fighting the good fight. Is it time to call the next election “the most important in American history”? Probably. It seems like it may involve a judgment on democracy itself. Americans with a lot of history will play a key role in determining its outcome. And judging in part by November’s midterms, they may not play the role that older voters are usually assigned. We at Third Act, the group we helped form in 2021, think older Americans are beginning a turn in the progressive direction, a turn that will accelerate as time goes on.
FROM: Gouldsboro College Admissions Team
SUBJECT: Apply today!
Hi Katherine,
As college deadlines roll around, we at Gouldsboro College encourage you to take a chance on our supportive learning community. Since our founding in 1923, Gouldsboro has given scholars from all over the country (and the world, probably) the skills they need to survive in this cold, hard world. We’ve reviewed your profile, Katherine, and think you’d be a fantastic fit. Start your application using the link below, and we’ll see you in September!
Best wishes,
Mark Doyle
Gouldsboro College Dean of Admissions
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FROM: Gouldsboro College Admissions Team
SUBJECT: Only six more days left!
Hi again, Katherine,
Gouldsboro misses you! There are only a few days left to make an impression on our admissions team, and we’d love for you to step up to the plate. You don’t even need to try that hard because we accept everyone. Just give it a go, Katherine. We promise you’ll love us.