Reading

In congressional testimony, school administrators also said they are investigating pro-Israel and pro-Palestine professors.

The post Columbia Suspended Two Students for Assault on Gaza Rally, School Says in Antisemitism Hearing appeared first on The Intercept.

The real politicization began It was a dry run for January 6th. And he incited it.

In all the discussion of Leif Wenar’s critique of Effective Altruism , I haven’t seen much mention of the central premise: that development aid is generally counterproductive (unless, perhaps, it’s delivered by wealthy surfers in their spare time). Wenar is quite clear that his argument applies just as much to official development aid and to […]

Brian Beutler argues today in his newsletter (subscribe here) that even though the media has belatedly begun to acknowledge the booming Biden economy, we live in a world where there are too many people with vested interests in denying to allow Biden to have a “Morning In America” validation: Even as the mainstream press comes around, there are more than enough individuals and institutions with a rooting interest in denying the health of the economy to keep economic perceptions anchored way below where they’d be under a Republican president. Indeed, it would be remarkable if sentiment pokes above water before the year is out. If you’re wondering why I think that, here’s a rough-and-ready taxonomy of the doomsayers. THE REPUBLICAN GRASSROOTS I’m thinking of millions of partisan voters, mostly anonymous, who are so invested in GOP politics or movement conservatism or even just Donald Trump that they interpret Democratic rule as coterminous with apocalyptic decline. They huff right-wing media for hours a day. Their identities are wrapped up in their disdain for liberals, big cities, Hollywood, and the mainstream media.

Even when it’s ugly—especially when it’s ugly—journalists owe readers the truth.

The post Both Sides, No appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

This is abnormal, even for him There’s a lot going on in this world right now. This man is running for president and has a business that’s failing. Why in the world is he thinking about this at 8:00 in the morning? And, needless to say I’m sure, it was Al Pacino who made the gaffe about “Best Picture” (not Picture of the Year) not Kimmel. And I don’t think anyone said “Don’t read his truth, Jimmy” because it’s stupid. His mind is not working right. Not that it ever did but it’s getting a lot worse, right before our eyes. This is just bizarre.

Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci has admitted that the supermarket chain is now just plain fucking with the Australian public as he unveiled the store’s new range of commemorative turkish delight tins in time for Anzac Day. “Stuff everyone, I’ve only... Read More ›

Despite Biden’s pledge to support a two-state solution, cables argue that Palestine should not be granted U.N. member status.

The post Leaked Cables Show White House Opposes Palestinian Statehood appeared first on The Intercept.

Bright ideas from astronomy’s biggest stars haven’t always worked out.

The post Nine Rebel Astronomy Theories That Went Dark appeared first on Nautilus.

It’s the Republicans, stupid. Or rather, the stupid Republicans. This is so idiotic. Everyone knows that Mayorkas will not be convicted in the Senate. This kabuki today, with some MAGA Republican Senators caterwauling that there must be a full trial is supposed to jam up the Democrats running in tight Senate races but I find it hard to believe this mess means much to the average voter. Do most people even know it’s happening? I expect we’ll see more of this in the future. Just as they set the precedent for presidential non-accountability with the criminal Richard Nixon’s pardon, they did the same with Clinton’s absurd impeachment. The Republicans have been destroying norms for many decades now. It just ramped up to warp speed under Trump. This Mayorkas impeachment is particularly pathetic because it’s all happening because they can’t muster a reason to impeach the president even though they want to do that more than anything as a gift to their Dear Leader so they’re doing this as a sop to their base and a means to flog immigration for their electoral benefit.

Formal recognition of Palestine by Australia and other allies will not, of itself, resolve the conflict, but it will lead to a political climate that helps to balance the relationship between Israel and Palestine and will push both towards a resumption of face-to-face negotiations. We urge the Australian government to maintain its support for Israel, Continue reading »

Scientists confirm a fourth global coral bleaching event, the second in the last ten years. “This is something everyone should be worried about, and everyone should be angry about, frankly”, the head of the Coral Reef Watch program at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Derek Manzello, told ABC Radio. “Significant severe coral Continue reading »

Disgraceful gaps have emerged in our knowledge and understanding of Asian countries. This capability is essential to successful navigation of the future, as Peter Varghese and Joseph Lo Bianco have noted. Whether it is seen as a threat or an opportunity, in recent years China has dominated the rhetoric of politicians and commentators. The shouting Continue reading »

The United States, having learnt nothing from the 20th Century, is, quite characteristically, spoiling for a fight with one of the great success stories of our time, China, on the basis of nothing more than a doltishly unfounded fear of this success and an ever so faintly emerging spectre of American fragility. A fragility across Continue reading »

Continue reading »

Geopolitical tensions are rising again in the South China Sea. President Biden’s trilateral meeting with PM Kishida from Japan and President Marcos to discuss military strategy to contain China’s perceived “coercive policy” will not help calm the waters. President Biden and Premier Kishida will soon introduce security and economic initiatives in support of the Philippines Continue reading »

The Teals have targeted Liberal voters in wealthy electorates, so their focus has been on transparency, women’s rights and the environment. These are issues of concern to the Liberal-leaning who are unhappy with many coalition policies. I expect this to continue in the next election. However, we need to focus on the strategy to adopt Continue reading »

A recent intelligence controversy in New Zealand is a telling lesson about how little influence junior parties like New Zealand and Australia have over allied intelligence operations. The issue was raised in an excellent report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) late last month concerning foreign intelligence equipment installed from 2012-2020 inside Continue reading »

The Middle East is on the brink of war precisely because western politicians indulged for decades every military excess by Israel. Suddenly, western politicians from US President Joe Biden to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have become ardent champions of “restraint” – in a very last-minute scramble to avoid regional conflagration. Iran launched a salvo of drones and Continue reading »