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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 07:00
Ronny Jackson M.D. was stripped of his Admiral stripes and nobody knew about it Why didn’t anyone know about it? Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician turned GOP congressman, regularly touts his military bona fides. “As a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral with nearly three decades of military service I understand the commitment and sacrifices made by servicemen and servicewomen to serve our country,” the two-term Texas representative writes on his congressional website, posted to a page listing his work on veterans issues. But Jackson is no longer a retired admiral. The Navy demoted him in July 2022 following a damaging Pentagon inspector general’s report thatsubstantiated allegations about his inappropriate behavior as a White House physician,a previously unreported decision confirmed by a current defense official and a former U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive personnel move. Jackson is now a retired Navy captain, those people said — a demotion that carries significant financial burden in addition to the social stigma of stripped rank in military circles.
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 05:30
Everyone has lots of advice for Joe Biden about the State of the Union speech tonight. I suspect it will be like most of them — forgettable. The wing nuts can make it a little bit more memorable by acting like juvenile delinquents and maybe Biden can get off a few memorable lines. Generally, these things just engender a lot of breathless anticipation only to land with a whimper not a bang. However, we are in the middle of the most high stakes presidential campaign in my lifetime so it would be very good if Biden did well tonight and begin to change the trajectory of this race. There are as many ideas about what he should do about that as there are talking heads. But I like this from Brian Beutler: I like to point out that Donald Trump is a shitty person along multiple axes, and I believe his shittiness, which makes him unlikable, is his biggest political liability.  There are others liberals who believe complaining about corruption and poor character falls flat if it seems disconnected from regular workaday concerns. Donald Trump accepted millions of dollars in payments from China while he was president?
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 05:18

WITH Coffs Coast students to undergo NAPLAN assessments this month, a local school principal has backed the tests as one key provider of data on a child’s academic development. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual, nationwide assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Advertise with News...

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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 05:13

BPW COFFS COAST hosted their International Dinner and Candle Lighting Ceremony at the CWA Meeting Rooms in Coffs Harbour last Wednesday. Members and supporters of BPW were joined by women representing many nations that make up the varied multicultural community on the Coffs Coast. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for...

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Created
Fri, 08/03/2024 - 05:00

The nine justices of the United States Supreme Court sit in their conference room around a grand table fashioned out of old-growth mahogany trees stolen from a Honduran rainforest.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Okay, then, that’s settled. The vote is six to three to make it legal to hurl diseased cow carcasses into Lake Tahoe. What’s next on the agenda?

JUSTICE ALITO: Can we consider that case about whether women should have the right to drive?

JUSTICE GORSUCH (under his breath): Women. Right to drive. Ha.

JUSTICE KAGAN (sighing): How about if we took a short break? I’m so tired. So very, very tired.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: I think we could spare a few minutes, sure.

JUSTICE THOMAS: Who wants to talk about guns?

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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:58
Making the news in the mainstream western media around the world, but not in Australia which is hosting the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2024, was the forthright response from Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim during his press conference to a question from Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) journalist Stephen Dziedzic. The transcript of this conversation is reproduced here Continue reading »
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:57
“Under conditions of tyranny, it is far easier to act than to think.” Hannah Arendt You might want to argue with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ view expressed in November 2023 that the Gaza Strip was even then a “graveyard for children”. An unimaginably small area (365 square kilometres; Greater Sydney is 34 times its size), Continue reading »
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:55
Picture a courtroom scenario, the accused and his family members have eyes on the jury foreman who is about to announce the verdict. The accused knows he is guilty, but is hoping for luck to come his way through the jury’s decision. The foreman speaks: “Guilty”. A word? No, a sentence. Not just for the Continue reading »
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:54
The liberal international order has been responsible for a great many deaths. If the “anti-liberal internationale” becomes ascendant, however, we will see those numbers multiplied exponentially. It is not a stretch to say that the Liberal Party’s campaign in the Dunkley by-election places them firmly in the illiberal category. This is hardly surprising since several Continue reading »
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:53
The conclusion of a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” by two states leads few observers to experience frissons of excitement. However, the Partnership agreed yesterday between Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Minh Chinh is more than an announceable wrought by officials to garner a headline or two for their principals. For many countries -including Vietnam- Continue reading »
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Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:45

BOOKFEST is back. The annual bookie bonanza run by the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour opens on Saturday 9 March, running daily until Saturday 16 March 2024 at the Norm Jordan Pavilion at Coffs Harbour Showground. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02)...

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Created
Fri, 08/03/2024 - 04:34

MINISTER for the North Coast Rose Jackson visited Coffs Harbour on Tuesday 5 March to attend meetings with key community and stakeholder representatives. Ms Jackson holds a diverse portfolio of ministerial responsibilities, also serving as the Minister for Water, Housing, Homelessness, Mental Health and Youth. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it...

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