Reading

“Over the past week, Bluesky’s growth has exploded, more than doubling to 15 million-plus users as people seek alternatives to X, Facebook, and Threads.”
— New York Times

Wow, hi. Overnight, I’ve gone from the girl who sits alone at lunch to the azure butterfly of your dreams. So, before things go any further, let’s make sure we start on the right digital foot.

First of all, it’s not pronounced “Blue-ski.” You all have been watching too much TV with your toddlers. My name is pronounced “Blue-sky,” which rhymes with “to-die,” as in Twitter died, so now there are over 15 million of you here, and my servers are about to explode like a SpaceX Starship test flight.

From atop Mount Olympus, Zeus peers in perplexity through fumes of fire, dust and vehicle exhaust, toxic chemicals, roiling tempests and raging floods, idly wondering what those darned mortals are up to now… First his eye is drawn to ancient Media, part of old Persia (now known under its modern name of Azerbaijan). Here a Continue reading »

Far from the killing grounds of Gaza, an incredible display of defiance to settler colonialism has broken out in, of all places, New Zealand. The two projects – Israel and New Zealand’s – are linked more than many would like to think. Palestinian leaders raise their voices in support of New Zealand’s Māori people at Continue reading »

Joe Courtney, who serves as Congressman for Connecticut’s second district, has received a rather curious honour. It has come in the form of a tribute from a US satellite – some would rightly say annexure or some other subordinate status. A press release from his office on October 22 announced that Rep. Courtney had been Continue reading »

The question draws from what Trump effectively used in the closing weeks of the recent USA elections. Liberal-National Party (LNP) leader Peter Dutton is exploring a similar approach to winning government in the approaching Australian election. Employer groups are preparing to help him. Will Labor’s messaging on living standards satisfy the Australian working class? The Continue reading »

As someone who has spent most of my life working with people for whom the system is profoundly broken, I wrestle with the same question that many middle-class people do: Why do so many disenfranchised people support figures like Donald Trump, whose policies often seem designed to further entrench inequality? The answer, I’ve come to Continue reading »

I audibly gasped when Andrew Podger referred to Israel’s response in Gaza as a “lack of care” in a recent P&I article. Hardly a balanced use of words. Andrew Podger’s article (19th November) expresses his views on bias and imbalance within P&I, particularly on the issue of Palestine-Israel. I noted John Menadue’s firm response but Continue reading »

Lyndsay Connors (Pearls and Irritations, 14 November 2024) takes issue with my argument that the Commonwealth should get out or be pushed out of schooling. The argument for a Commonwealth exit is this: – By just about every indicator Australian schooling has been on the slide for at least 20 years, despite the Rudd/Gillard governments’ Continue reading »

The ongoing genocide in Gaza forces us to confront an uncomfortable reality: why does the West seem to prioritise some conflicts while others, particularly in Africa, go unnoticed? It raises a critical question: does race…does colour influence how Western nations choose where to focus their attention and resources? Take Israel, for example. It achieves significant Continue reading »

Over recent decades, the Western economic system has undergone a profound transformation, veering increasingly toward financialisation—a framework that privileges speculative gains and the accumulation of paper wealth over tangible economic output. This shift reflects a structural prioritisation of elite interests, as financial markets serve as mechanisms for wealth extraction rather than wealth creation for the Continue reading »

Yesterday, in an interview with Sky’s Beth Rigby, Keir Starmer refused to answer questions about the decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory using a UK-made long-range missile. ‘You will understand I’m not going to comment on operational intel,’ he told Rigby. Pressed to reassure the public that they had not been put at […]

The PRESS Act, a federal reporter shield bill, already passed the House unanimously. Trump wants it dead.

The post Congress Could Protect Journalists From Surveillance. Trump Is Lobbying to Stop Them. appeared first on The Intercept.

There’s some early polling on Trump’s inane cabinet choices, Rubio. Gaetz, Gabbard, Hegseth and Kennedy: The Yahoo News-YouGov poll, which asked people to indicate whether they viewed these individuals favorably, also included questions about businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were asked to run an external cost-cutting group; and South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Only Rubio, Kennedy and Gabbard were viewed with approval by at least 4 in 10 Americans. None of the eight individuals was viewed favorably by a majority of respondents; three — Hegseth, Gaetz and Noem — were viewed favorably by only 3 in 10 Americans. Why are their numbers so high? They are all jokes who have no business being anywhere near power. Not that it will matter. I’m going to bet that they will all be confirmed without too much trouble when all is said and done. I guess there’s a chance that Gaetz might be defeated because his own people loathe him but I actually doubt it. We’re going to have to wait for Trump to fire them.

As Donald Trump prepares to usher in an oligarchic dark age, Democrats must reflect on how their own flirtation with plutocracy shattered their party's chances

Democratic support for the bill dwindled as critics warned it would let Donald Trump crack down on political foes.

The post The House Just Blessed Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook by Passing Nonprofit-Killer Bill appeared first on The Intercept.

Varje höst håller your truly sedan fler år tillbaka en introduktionskurs i nationalekonomi för blivande gymnasielärare i samhällskunskap. Förutom några av mina egna böcker, står även Klas Eklunds Vår ekonomi på litteraturlistan. Den senaste utgåvan av Vår ekonomi kom ut år 2020, och är nu på väg ut i sin 16:e reviderade upplaga. Imponerande och i […]

Catch-2025 This I learned from 35 years working in the corporate world: Employees who start hearing “shareholder value” had best update their resumes. Layoffs are coming. The same could be said for “efficiency.“ Season 2 of “The Apprentice Goes To Washington” will feature not only the firing of cabinet officers and West Wing advisers from “central casting,” but the wholesale purging of federal employees who have dedicated their lives to serving the American public no matter which president’s photo hangs on the office wall. Except the Project 2025 team isn’t using euphemisms to signal the coming purge. They submitted a bill under the pretext of dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The House Oversight Committee held a hearing on the Dismantle DEI Act on Wednesday. Sen. J.D. Vance’s June announcement alleges his bill means to “restore merit” to government hiring practices, and to ensure only “the most qualified candidates” get hired. “We’ve got now a World Wide Wrestling Executive who’s gonna run education,” said recently reelected Rep.

Journalists and activists are reporting alarming encounters with federal agents, suggesting a coordinated effort to silence American voices critical of Israeli policies.

The post Why Did the FBI Show Up at Alison Weir’s Door? Critics of Israel Say They Know the Answer appeared first on MintPress News.

Set for Christmas Day, the Doctor Who Christmas Special "Joy to the World" will drop on Disney+, BBC iPlayer & BBC One at the same time.

My inbox is full of lament (and encouragement). My Instagram feed is full of anger and “the arc of the moral universe bends slow but…” My Facebook brims with exhortations to focus on the positive, on what we can control, on the next fight. I live in a poor Democratic stronghold in southeastern Connecticut. Kamala Harris won our state by more than 200,000 votes. Our seven paltry electoral votes went blue. Here, Jill Stein got a lot more votes than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but nowhere near enough to swing the Nutmeg State red. I didn’t plant a Harris/Walz sign on my front walk. I didn’t knock on doors in Pennsylvania. I didn’t give any money in response to the... Read more

Source: A Final Speech from the Great Disrupter appeared first on TomDispatch.com.