Reading
Plus, the secret documents Biden must release, new data on how much we subsidize factory farms, and how AI data centers could destroy your home
The Billionaires Compete for Dear Leader’s Favor Yep: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is making sweeping changes to the social internet, all in line with the desires of President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters. Out with the fact-checkers that conservatives deride. In with more permissive rules for posting conservative opinions. The recent elections “feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech,” Zuckerberg said in his announcement, justifying relaxed new content moderation rules on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. “Governments and legacy media have pushed to censor more and more,” Zuckerberg said, repeating a right-wing talking point used to undermine fact checking.
When Luigi Mangione was arrested for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson he had...
Do people doubt your driving abilities?
A. Yes, I’m still earning trust as a new mode of transportation.
B. Yes, I’m still up against long-held stereotypes and tired stand-up routines.
Do strangers ever gawk at you or comment on your appearance?
A. Yes, usually in response to my spinning parts and empty driver’s seat.
B. Yes, but I’m told I should feel flattered and that I’ll miss the attention when I’m older.
Does Google own you?
A. No, their parent company, Alphabet, owns me.
B. No, they just track my every move, know my innermost desires, and can manipulate my behavior with alarming precision to increase profits.
Are you trained to let others cut you off?
A. Yes, to avoid collisions.
B. Yes, in any conversation with a man.
Have you ever suspected a mechanic was trying to rip you off?
A. No, I receive routine maintenance from a certified team of experts.
B. Yes, when I was charged extra for “premium” tire air.
Just before Christmas, the Albanese Government released the findings of a report into how much funding the federal government contributes to those institutions around the country that research and report on the contemporary challenges facing Australian strategic policy. This is a significant report with important consequences for Australia’s global engagement. But it has not received Continue reading »
To be Jewish does not mean an automatic identification with the rogue state of Israel. Nor does it mean that Jews are automatically threatened by criticism of Israel, yet our media and Labor and Liberal politicians would have you believe this is the case. We are seeing a debate in Australia about the so-called rise Continue reading »
Ordinary humanity faces an emerging threat from the combined might of the Human Elites (billionaires and the military-political class) working with perhaps the greatest power the planet has ever seen: artificial intelligence. Their combined might has the potential to totally screw us. Happy New Year everyone. 2025 is set to be the ‘break-out year’ for Continue reading »
The world, thankfully, has come a long way from the time when animals as well as humans were put to death for unacceptable behaviour. Regrettably, Australia, a self-proclaimed abolitionist, is only really serious about capital punishment when the lives of its citizens are at stake. In 1662, in Connecticut, an otherwise respectable churchgoer named Potter Continue reading »
Indonesia’s new president, former disgraced general Prabowo Subianto, is making an awkward discovery: gaining respect in the international community as head of a nation of 280 million civilians is not the same as ordering a special squad to intimidate. You can’t force the masses to grow more food, work smarter and change habits – then Continue reading »
Everyone has the odd “if only” thought from time to time. If only you had made a different career choice, if only you had not said the things you have said, or if only you had not done some of the things you have done. All those done and not done moments – those decisions Continue reading »
Our annual trip to Queenscliff is a quaint step back in time: ye olde shoppes and seaside fun from a simpler time. There is history aplenty: a museum for the brave and uniquely talented Port Phillip pilots and a coastal defence fortification which recalls fears of invasion by Russia and the United States. Turning to Continue reading »
How handsome, deft and strong you were in daring youth. How clear and clever you thought and ably spoke. You walked with grace and poise amidst all other folk; Your person brought a sense of thoughtful, stolid truth. But time has delivered a most unwelcome guest, Who slowly breaks your mind and cracks the Continue reading »
On a winter night in 2014 I stood by the side of a highway outside Damascus as a Syrian army officer shone a torch over the contents of my suitcase he had ordered me to empty onto the grey dirt. The young officer on checkpoint duty was a member of the elite Fourth Armoured Division Continue reading »
In early December, 2024, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) hosted a lucid dialogue entitled: “China in 2050 – Two Perspectives”. The presenters were recognised China scholars, Professor Rana Mitter of Harvard University and Professor Daniel Bell from HKU. “What might be a realistic and desirable future for China” was a primary question addressed. Although Continue reading »
Aaaand: More threats: The average price of eggs in the US today is $3.02.
Prepare to be gaslit From Brian Stelter’s bold-heavy Reliable Sources newsletter this morning: Mark Zuckerberg just announced sweeping changes to the social internet, all in line with the desires of President Trump and Trump voters. Out with the fact-checkers that conservatives deride. In with more permissive rules for posting opinions that conservatives hold dear. The recent elections “feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech,” Zuckerberg said in a video that was shared first with Fox News. That’s one of the reasons why Zuckerberg said big changes are coming to Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
The strength of ideologies and fads in the US helps to explain why physician involvement in public life has declined.
The expression “punch-drunk,” Google informs me, means “stupefied by or as if by a series of heavy blows to the head.” Google’s Oxford Language entry then offers a not-terribly-illuminating example of the term’s use: “I feel a little punch-drunk today.” Right now, a better one might be something like: “After November 5, 2024, a lot of people have been feeling more than a little punch-drunk.” Learning on the night of November 5th that Donald Trump had probably been reelected president certainly left me feeling stupefied, with a sense that I’d somehow sustained a number of heavy blows to the head. The experience was undoubtedly amplified by the fact that I’d spent the previous three months in Reno, Nevada, as part... Read more
Source: Finding Hope appeared first on TomDispatch.com.
Oh, that’s rich The leaders of the incoming Republican administration share the same first and middle intials, just in reversed order: D.J. Trump and J.D. Vance. I’m trying to decide if they stand for Delayed Justice or Justice Denied. On the delay and deny front, Juan M. Merchan, the New York trial judge overseeing Donald Trump’s “hush-money payment to a porn star” trial, denied a Monday request by Trump’s lawyers to delay his Friday sentencing, reports The New York Times: Although Mr. Trump’s lawyers had implored the judge to postpone the sentencing, Justice Merchan dismissed their claims as “a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.” Mr. Trump is now poised to escalate his effort, court filings show, turning to a New York appeals court in hopes that it will intervene in his case. Late Monday, Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed a civil proceeding against Justice Merchan before the appeals court, challenging two of the judge’s recent decisions to uphold Mr. Trump’s conviction. Mr. Trump’s lawyers will argue to the appeals court that Mr.