The Democratic Party has embraced a cult of powerlessness — and now they’re taking down hugely popular antitrust policy along with it.
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“President Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon of his son Hunter on Sunday night after repeatedly insisting he would not do so, using the power of his office to wave aside years of legal troubles, including a federal conviction for illegally buying a gun and for tax evasion.” — New York Times
If the world were watching the livestreamed systematic annihilation of Jews in real time, there would be no debating whether that constituted terrorism or genocide. My remarks at the Oxford Union debate. Addressing the challenge of what to do about the indigenous inhabitants of the land Chaim Weizman, a Russian Jew, said to the World Continue reading »
There is a chasm in outlook between the global climate policy-making elite with their focus on distant goals, market solutions and non-disruptive change, and activists and key researchers who see the world hurtling towards climate breakdown and social collapse. A prime example was the 29th global gathering of 50,000 climate policymakers and lobbyists at the Continue reading »
In electorates with high numbers of Chinese and Muslim voters, it is time for a reckoning with Labor’s AUKUS policy. A 2024 poll sheds light on the persistent anti-Chinese sentiment in Australia, with findings that suggest the AUKUS policy is playing a significant role in maintaining this atmosphere, despite the Labor government’s more “restrained” public Continue reading »
The world and its people are facing serious local and global challenges. Climate change, economic instability, limits to free speech, threats to independent media reporting, and increasing social inequality all signal the breakdown of democratic systems across the world. The genocide in Gaza and the war in Ukraine are ongoing. Our political institutions and leaders Continue reading »
Refugee and refugee support groups Australia-wide are deeply concerned about the extremely damaging implications of Australia’s new migration laws which are founded on principles of punishment rather than human rights protection. The new migration laws passed last week provide government with significant powers which are out of step with Australia’s human rights obligations, principles of Continue reading »
Not since Alaska has the US won a nation so cheaply. A friend joked to me recently that the best news Labor has had this week was being told that I was thinking that Anthony Albanese could very well lose next year’s election outright. The jibe at my forecasting record was fair comment, one I Continue reading »
Big public universities, historically at the forefront of catalyzing activist movements, are now using legal action, disciplinary efforts, and rule changes to chill speech and dissent.
The post How Universities Are Trying to Stop Another Year of Anti-War Activism appeared first on The Intercept.
Terminology, take care. Take care Pearls & Irritations that you don’t fall into the trap – fall into the trap that is being carefully set. What is the trap? Why, the use of words. What words? Well, words such as ‘Gaza’, ‘Hamas’, ‘Hezbollah’, ‘terrorist’. What can be wrong with using the word ‘Gaza’ – you Continue reading »
The wave of enemy destabilisation ploys jumped from Lebanon to Syria this week, with a swarm of foreign-backed extremists breaking into Aleppo. Israel warned that Syria was next, but can the militants do today what they couldn’t achieve for almost a decade? Republished from The Cradle In his speech announcing Israel’s agreement to a ceasefire Continue reading »
There were many people, apparently, who voted for Trump who justified it with plain vanilla...
Hunter Biden was set to be sentenced and probably put in jail this week on a trumped up charge that was brought solely because he was Joe Biden’s son. He lied on a form about being on drugs and he paid his taxes late. He entered into a plea deal in which he would admit guilt and get probation, a fair sentence, and the prosecution blew it up in court. He could have faced years in jail for crimes that no one who hadn’t also committed much more serious crimes would have ever been prosecuted. Biden pardoned Hunter tonight and he did the right thing. There is a lot of discussion over on BlueSky decrying this saying that Biden has destroyed the argument that presidents shouldn’t use abuse the pardon power and Trump will now be able to say he can pardon all the J6ers. First of all, Trump doesn’t need any excuse to pardon his henchmen. He already pardoned Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and Jared Kushner’s father whom he just named to be the Ambassador to France! Even Dinesh D’Souza and Joe Arpaio! Roger Stone is his best friend. The others are close political allies and in laws.
A rule of law turned inside out The whole world will watch Donald Trump and his gang of thieves defenestrate the “rule of law” in Putinesque style. Michael Tomasky considers the implications of Trump nominating Kash Patel to run the FBI inside what Trump likes to call the Department of Injustice. Trump 2.0 aims to make the name a reality. Patel’s only real qualification is that he is a “one-thousand-percent Trump loyalist,” Tomasky writes: Etc., etc. For all the raising of alarms, the punditry is short on countermeasures. I’m reminded of the anti-nuclear movement’s Helen Caldicott and her rapid-fire, scare-them-straight speech about the horrifying effects of nuclear weapons. Even her allies grew weary of the scare tactics: “We knew it was past when someone interrupted the speech one evening, actually interrupted it, and said, ‘We know all that, but what can we do?’” From his remove in England, Brian Beutler recommends Democrats find some actual leaders, stat, while they still have time to define the incoming Trump regime.
After the huge success of the DrupalCon Portland competition, the Drupal Association is excited to announce that the t-shirt design contest will be returning for DrupalCon Atlanta!
We want to see the Drupal community's design ideas for the official t-shirt, available for all attendees to wear and enjoy. Do you have a fantastic idea in mind? Let’s see your creativity!
The winner will get THEIR design on the front of the official t-shirt for DrupalCon Atlanta 2025!
What the judges are looking for
Judges are looking for a combination of creativity, impact, and relevance to the Drupal community. A design that tells a story and aligns with the values and aspirations of DrupalCon attendees is likely to capture attention.
Let’s state the obvious bits and get them out of the way:
- The rebels are basically Al-Qaeda;
- They are supported by Turkey, Israel and the US;
- The Syrian army barely fought during the initial attacks and it was very embarrassing;
- Aleppo fell in a couple days. It may take a couple years to take it back;
- The timing is intended to take advantage of Hezbollah’s being weakened and tied down by Israel.
Syria was losing the previous war until Hezbollah and Russia intervened. It may well lose this war if Hezbollah and/or Russia don’t send troops, but both of them have other enemies they need to worry about.
If Syria falls, Russia loses its Mediterranean naval and air bases and thus a great deal of its military reach. Hezbollah loses its main supply line to Iran.
Now you see it, now you don’t Before the 2024 election itself disappears down the memory hole, take a moment to consider the disappearance of voter fraud as a campaign issue. Democrats would cheat. There would be massive corruption in the election. Migrants Democrats were importing through Joe Biden’s open southern borders would tip the scales for Kamala Harris. Nearly 9 in 10 Trump voters believed voter fraud would play a major role in 2024. Etc. Then Donald Trump won. Voter fraud vanished like ground fog at sunrise. It was morning in MAGAstan. Politico and Morning Consult ran a poll: In polling just days before the election, Trump supporters expressed little confidence in the election outcome, with a whopping 87 percent substantially or somewhat agreeing with the statement that voter fraud was a “serious issue” that could determine the outcome of the election. Among Harris supporters, roughly half expressed similar worries. That partisan divide disappeared after Election Day. Shocked? Views on the economy flipped as well, considered a “very important” issue ahead of Nov.