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Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 16:53
The British press are reporting that the Government there is planning further spending cuts of the order of billions of pounds because the economic environment has changed and the current fiscal trajectory is threatening their self-imposed fiscal rules thresholds. We already heard last week how the Government is significantly cutting Overseas Aid as it ramps…
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 13:08
Justin Trudeau eloquently calls Trump’s tariffs a trade war. Miko Peled questions why the allies aren’t liberating the concentration camp that is Gaza, Jeffrey Sachs asks how many wars China has been in in the last 40 years. Peter Cronau lists our eclectic list of defence priorities. BREAKING: Justin Trudeau is specifically asked if he Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 12:00
Via Mediaite: JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: The first results of CNN’s instant poll are in. Let’s get right to CNN’s bureau chief and political director, David Chalian. David, how did the voters that you snap-polled feel about the speech? DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, first, I just want to mention, Jake, this is a poll of speech watchers, not a poll that is representative of the country overall, or what an electorate, an election looks like. And what we know is that people who tend to be fans or partisans with the president no matter which party the president is in, tend to tune in more on speeches like this. And that’s the case in tonight’s survey as well because 21 percent Democrat, 44 percent Republican in this sample. 35 percent independent. That’s about 14 points more Republican than the overall general population. So keep that in mind when you see these results of speech watchers. To the results. What was your reaction to Trump’s speech? 44 percent of speech watchers in our instant poll tonight say they had a very positive reaction to Trump’s speech, 25 percent somewhat positive, 31 percent negative.
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 11:32

“The Pentagon announced that Fort Moore, formerly named Fort Benning for a Confederate general, will again be named Fort Benning, although it will now honor a different Benning.” – CBS News

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It is with immense pleasure that I, King Éomer of Rohan, announce that Helm’s Deep and its fortress shall today revert to the original name of Sauron’s Deep.

No, my loyal servants, not that Sauron.

Rest assured that our beloved stronghold is not named after the evil dark lord hell-bent on destroying Middle-earth, but after a beloved Elven soldier named Elduin Sauron from the Battle of Mirkwood, or something.

This brave warrior, whose name we definitely didn’t spend hours looking for in various scrolls until we found one that matched, sacrificed his life and fought honorably against the forces of Dol Guldur. With this official renaming, we will now be able to celebrate the illustrious military career of the mighty Sauron (again, not that one) in all his glory.

Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 10:00
“Thank you again. Thank you again. Won’t forget,” President Trump says as he shakes the hand of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. pic.twitter.com/uFrvem6rUj — Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach) March 5, 2025 He thanks the Supreme Court Justice who wrote the opinion that gave him immunity for his many crimes, apparently not for the first time. Of course he won’t forget it. None of us will.
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 08:30
Anne Applebaum has been travelling in Europe and getting an earful. Her observation here is interesting and it certainly rings true to me: In just a few minutes, the behavior of Donald Trump and J. D. Vance created a brand new stereotype for America: not the quiet American, not the ugly American, but the brutal American. Whatever illusions Europeans ever had about Americans—whatever images lingered from old American movies, the ones where the good guys win, the bad guys lose, and honor defeats treachery—those are shattered. Whatever fond memories remain of the smiling GIs who marched into European cities in 1945, of the speeches that John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan made at the Berlin Wall, or of the crowds that once welcomed Barack Obama, those are also fading fast. Quite apart from their politics, Trump and Vance are rude. They are cruel. They berated and mistreated a guest on camera, and then boasted about it afterward, as if their ugly behavior achieved some kind of macho “win.” They announced that they would halt transfers of military equipment to Ukraine, and hinted at ending sanctions on Russia, the aggressor state.
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Thu, 06/03/2025 - 07:00
Leavitt: "He feels strongly that it would be very beneficial for the Canadian people to be the 51st state of the United States." pic.twitter.com/Ve6HHIloBf — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 5, 2025 The Canadians are taking this seriously too: Reacting strongly to US President Donald Trump’s proposal on making Canada the 51st state of his country, Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has said that she takes his remarks “very seriously”, BBC reported. “This is not a joke anymore,” Joly told Newsnight. “There’s a reason why Canadians, when they go out on a hockey game, are booing the American national anthem… We’re insulted. We’re mad. We’re angry.” I don’t blame them. And let’s face facts. The reason Trump is doing it is very simple. Trudeau is young and handsome and he hates him for it. There is no other explanation.
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 06:55

ALLEGRA School Coffs Harbour teacher and Leader of Student Support and Strategy Kelly Green, recently participated in the 2025 Bell Shakespeare National Teacher Mentorship program. The program has proven positive impacts that empower participants, their students, and the wider school community. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message...

The post Shakespeare mentorship program empowers Coffs Harbour students and teachers appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 06:54

TWELVE family members of Wendy Hansen, the woman whose remains were discovered by Jetty Dunecare volunteers last June, have gathered at the Jetty Foreshore a year to the day since she went missing. They also wanted to meet the members of the volunteer bushcare group who have been so close to her story. Advertise with...

The post Wendy Hansen’s family gathers at Coffs Jetty a year after she went missing appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 06:40

A new UN report relies on a US government-funded operative, Felix Maradiaga, who helped instigate the violent 2018 coup to remove President Daniel Ortega in 2018.  Yet UN “experts” have refused to interview the many Nicaraguans kidnapped and tortured by the opposition. MASAYA, NICARAGUA – Reynaldo Urbina rides his motorbike around the streets of Masaya, Nicaragua, with agility, despite having only one arm. Nearly seven years ago, at the height of a US- supported coup attempt against Nicaragua’s left-wing Sandinista […]

The post ‘Biased’ UN report on Nicaragua ignores victims of US-backed opposition violence first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post ‘Biased’ UN report on Nicaragua ignores victims of US-backed opposition violence appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 05:01

How long have I been in this place? I cannot say. In the darkness, time has lost meaning. The only days I remember are Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978), the only nights, Nights of Cabiria (Fellini, 1957). My head aches, my ears ring, my thoughts swing between panic and unsolicited opinions about old movies.

Slowly, my memory returns: I was high on the top shelf, rearranging the Criterion Closet from alphabetical to philosophical. As I moved the Paul Schrader films to the “nihilism” section, I heard the door slam. The mound of Robert Altman films beneath my feet shook and then gave way, and I plummeted to the floor.

Now, I find myself trapped beneath an avalanche of ensemble casts and 1970s New Hollywood sensibilities. My head bleeds from the fall. I curse my stupidity. Fool! Why were you up there? I ask. Putting Schrader next to Bresson? Their similarities are superficial at best!

Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 04:59
After the election Australia is likely to have a minority government with the independents, who will hold the balance of power, negotiating each issue on its merits. But democracy is best served if each independent states before the election which party they will support to form a government by guaranteeing supply. For months now, the Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 04:58
Since the Israel/US alliance went into full-throttle war machine mode in the name of Israel’s right to self-defence, fissures have appeared in the global community, delineating various camps. Roughly speaking: those who support Israel, those who condemn Israel, and those who question Israel. All three groups are being swept into an often confrontational dynamic, where Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 04:57
The current push in Australia to deploy nuclear power reactors once again contrasts an excessive optimism by nuclear proponents against the continuing stagnant situation of nuclear power worldwide. That contrast is the subject of our new report for the EnergyScience Coalition. The latest nuclear proposals are built on three speculations. First, projected AI-related energy demand Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 06/03/2025 - 04:56
The inequity and inefficiencies in our current health programs and the resulting need for change, have been obvious for decades. Finding the necessary political boldness to change this situation has eluded us to date. I acknowledge that there have been a number of governments and ministers who wanted to improve the healthcare of Australians and Continue reading »