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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 07:30
The testimony today of a couple of Trump toadies once again showed that they have absolutely nothing to prove that Biden did whatever it is they want people to believe he did. But the Democrats brought this fellow to testify and it was like something out of a movie: Lol: This was the worst day yet for the House Impeachment farce. I still think they’ll try to go for a vote because Dear Leader wants it and they really don’t have anything else to do but performative BS for the election. There’s talk about simply sending over criminal referral, probably under the assumption that Trump is going to win and they can prosecute Biden and his son next year. But that’s really a fallback. Trump wants an impeachment on Biden’s record. The question now is whether they can get one with the tiny majority they currently have.
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 06:00
That was March 20th, the day he started aggressively pimping Hydroxychloroquine. Here’s my rundown of that day’s White House press atrocity: At the daily Trump White House rally, MSNBC’s Peter Alexander asked the president : There are 200 dead, 14,000 who are sick, and millions who are scared right now. What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” That is a totally reasonable question and an opportunity for Trump to say he understood people’s fears and that he and his team were working night and day to ensure that we get through this as best we can. But Trump went batshit on Alexander: CNN’s John King reacted appropriately after the rally was over: What the president did to Peter Alexander was reprehensible. The people are looking for answers. They do want hope, they do want support, Mr. President. That was a very fair question.
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:57
Former Foreign Ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans, other former Cabinet Ministers, former State Premiers, a Nobel Laureate, diplomats, writers, academics and human rights advocates are among 50 Australians supporting an appeal to establish détente between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. A repost from January 31, 2024 ‘Détente’ – Continue reading »
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:56
The arms trade is known for being one of the most corrupt of all legal international trades. UK research shows that this corruption drives and distorts arms procurement decisions. Arms purchases that were not previously being considered can suddenly appear on the agenda. Before delving into AUKUS, an egregious distortion in Australian defence procurement, I’ll Continue reading »
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:53
Brian Toohey’s article ‘Untruths, the CIA, and Whitlam’s dismissal’, (Pearls and Irritations, 14 February 2024), begins by dismissing as ‘astonishing’ a recent ASPI article by former Defence Deputy Secretary Paul Dibb on ‘Kissinger’s role in avoiding nuclear war, and the key part Australia played’ – ‘astonishing because it is riddled with major errors.’ The key Continue reading »
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:52
Last week we got a reminder that, among its many functions, the federal budget is the repository of all the successful rent-seeking by the nation’s many business and other special interest groups. Unfortunately, it added to the evidence that the Albanese government knows what it should do to manage the economy better, but lacks the Continue reading »
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:51
A not-so-happy anniversary: Usually, a first anniversary is an occasion for all-round rejoicing and back-slapping. So, it was to be expected that there’d be universal self-congratulation on the first anniversary of Anthony Albanese’s, Rishi Sunak’s and Joe Biden’s announcement on 13 March 2023 that Australia would purchase nuclear-powered attack-class submarines from the US as part Continue reading »
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:50
Kushner, who served as a key Middle East adviser to Trump, said that Gaza’s “waterfront property could be very valuable” and urged Israel to “clean it up.” Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump, said in a recent interview that if he were in charge of Israeli policy, Continue reading »
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:36
The basic problems mostly originate at the level of methodology, and in particular with the current emphasis on methods of mathematical modelling. The latter emphasis is an error given the lack of match of the methods in question to the conditions in which they are applied. So long as the critical focus remains only, or […]
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:30
Back when Texas had some common sense Her comments used to be the usual way people would defend the right to abortion — straightforward, no weasel words, practical and confident. Then the anti-abortion zealots became mainstream in the Republican party and Democrats went on the defensive and they didn’t emerge from it until 30 years later when the Supremes struck down Roe v Wade. The price for that foolish capitulation is extreme.
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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 04:00

When do you start calling the person you are dating “babe”? Psychologist and philosopher William James called this the single greatest question about human relationships. Thinkers and scientists have studied the issue relentlessly, and here are their findings.

On the first date: Either you are a delusional and scary person, or you are shockingly good at turning first get-togethers into magical adventures with hot-air balloon sex. Saying “babe” on date one is the ultimate “going all in” strategy, and it will ensure either your absolute victory in becoming lovers or, more likely, that your number is promptly blocked, deleted, and reported to the authorities.

On the second or third date: This is where we leave psycho territory and enter the land of the merely desperate and pathetic. A three-date babe index carries a clear subtext: I want to be in a relationship, and I want it now. Perhaps your date is just as sad and needy as you, and your fast-track “babe” ploy will work. If so, congrats. Enjoy your codependency.

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Thu, 21/03/2024 - 03:30
New research on census, youth, mental health; a recent talk and an upcoming one tl;dr:  1. New paper with Janet Vertesi: “The Resource Bind: System Failure and Legitimacy Threats in Sociotechnical Organizations” 2. “Techno-legal Solutionism: Regulating Children’s Online Safety in the United States” (my paper with María Angel) was officially published as part of the ACM CS+Law symposium.  […]