The use of immigration detention in Australia has expanded well beyond its original intended purpose. It has become a political tool, a convenient proxy for dealing with issues that should be dealt with in other parts of government and a vehicle for delivery of immense cruelty. There was a certain inevitability that the High Court Continue reading »
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People often say that we get the politicians we deserve, but I am not sure that even the Australians who voted no at the recent referendum deserve what passed for political leadership and quality representation that has been on recent display. The conduct of the Albanese government in succumbing to Peter Dutton-inspired panic about hardened Continue reading »
At a recent Innovation Forum, the Minister for Government Services, the Hon Bill Shorten, volunteered the observation that the Australian research and innovation community is in danger of becoming an “echo chamber”, if it wasn’t already. The term echo chamber invokes an image of a community isolated from dissenting opinions, thus reinforcing pre-existing beliefs. This Continue reading »
Andy Park, the host of Drive on ABC Radio National, asked one of his guests the following question about Albanese’s visit to China: ‘Scoring an invitation to go to Beijing is obviously a coup for Mr Albanese. Obviously, much was said and done under the table diplomatically speaking. … Do you think the average Australian Continue reading »
And they have plenty of other friends in high places too The Iowa caucuses are right around the corner and even Donald Trump has deigned to appear in the state recently despite his obvious belief that it’s beneath him to have to compete for the nomination he, and everyone else, knows is already his. But he does enjoy his rallies and he’s clearly decided that it’s time to gather the flock just to make sure they all know what’s expected of them. Here’s a sample of what he’s talking about on the campaign trail these days: Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post reported from the rally: Children wandered around in shirts and hats with the letters “FJB,” an abbreviation for an obscene jab at President Biden that other merchandise spelled out: “F— Biden.” During his speech inside a high school gym in Fort Dodge, former president Trump called one GOP rival a “son of a b—-,” referred to another as “birdbrain” and had the crowd shrieking with laughter at his comments on Rep. Adam B.
Briefing for the Report Stage, November 2023 DATA BILL WILL SET BACK UK ECONOMY AND RIGHTS The Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill will have its report stage in Parliament on November 29 2023. In this briefing, we explain how the Bill weakens data rights, lowers scrutiny and accountability, unduly expands Government powers and […]
In a time of terrible grief and anger, does the study of ancient Israel require...
Senior police officers are 'alarmed' by former Home Secretary's meetings with Fair Cop, which promotes nationalist ideology and has links to the Reclaim Party
These tiny ships have a serious purpose
Timidity and irresolution and menace After a Colorado court ruled against barring Donald Trump from the ballot there, I commented on the atmosphere of menace Trump has created around any attempts to hold him accountable before the law for any of his actions. This includes attempts to disqualify him from holding elected office via the 14th Amendment. I focused on the fact that three different judges had cited three different reasons for not giving Trump the boot. That’s not so say (and I did not mean to suggest) the rulings were in error. But I did not address what the ruling did or did not do for Trump cases on appeal. Kim Wehle does so this morning at The Bulwark. The 102-page ruling contains findings of fact that Colorado District Judge Sarah B. Wallace clearly wrote “with an expectation that judges at higher state courts and likely even the U.S. Supreme Court would wind up studying her analysis on an appeal petition,” Wehle writes.
On the public dime Republicans do not have a governing majority, argues Jennifer Rubin. What Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.) did with her thin Democratic margin as speaker, Republicans cannot with theirs. Not without the Democrats’ help. This leaves Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in a unique position. He has the best of both worlds: He’s not responsible for electing a speaker whose Christian fundamentalist views and financial questions make him a weight around the necks of Republicans in swing districts. He can castigate Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for his noxious views and effectively produce legislation that does not compromise Democrats’ minimum standards. At a Wednesday news conference, Jeffries emphasized, “House Republicans are unable to govern on their own. Period, full stop, no further observation necessary.” Ask Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.). Rubin describes what Democrats are able to do (and have) from the back seat. “Now, imagine what Democrats could do if they had the mathematical majority,” she concludes. Gerrymandering and sluggishness have left Democrats here in North Carolina in a far weaker position.
The new Foreign Secretary and peer was involved in one of the biggest lobbying scandals of recent years
The proposed changes 'are symptomatic of the continued systematic violation of disabled folk'
Fahrenheit 305
Guy Montag, a Miami-Dade School Board member endorsed by Ron DeSantis, is in charge of rounding up books deemed too dangerous for Floridians to read, such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and anything by a Latino author. He begins questioning his role when a chance encounter with Miami’s preeminent intellectual, a wordsmith known only by his moniker, Pitbull, opens his worldview “worldwide.”
2023
All of the misinformation and doublespeak of 1984, but the sophisticated, omnipresent technological surveillance apparatus, rather than being used to police you, is mainly used to sell you Cheech and Chong CBD gummies.
The (Evacuation) Road
A father and son wander in search of shelter after a devastating wildfire destroys their home in Hawaii/Canada/Greece/Spain/Italy/Chile/ Kazakhstan.
Israel’s concept of itself as a peaceful and democratic nation risks being irrevocably damaged by such excessive violence, writes former British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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- by Kristin Andrews