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Aaron Bushnell enacted the ultimate sacrifice in the face of atrocities the likes of which have never been seen before and the grotesque, ugly western leadership enabling it to continue. His act captures our anxiety, distress and helplessness. He is all of us. To learn more about Aaron Bushnell and his life, listen to interviews Continue reading »

The very first principle of Radio New Zealand Charter, states unequivocally that the purpose of our national broadcaster is to be “…an independent public service broadcaster…” and “to serve the public interest.” Unfortunately, this principle appears to have been abandoned in its coverage of Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip that has Continue reading »

With the scalp of poor Mr Mike Pezzullo dangling from his belt, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald journalist Michael Bachelard continues to take a terrier-like interest in the Department of Home Affairs. That’s not a bad idea for the Department, constructed as it is to fail and fail continuously, deserves as much scrutiny as it can Continue reading »

Last week saw the release of the NSW State Disaster Mitigation Plan which outlines a blueprint for managing future disasters; this week marks the second anniversary of the great flood at Lismore and places downstream in the Richmond River valley. This is a moment to ask how we are going in NSW as far as Continue reading »

Last Tuesday Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the Albanese government’s plans to overhaul the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) ageing surface fleet. The new ‘enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet’ will more than double the amount of main surface vessels the RAN will operate, but their usefulness in ensuring Australian security is dubious. This plan will fulfill Continue reading »

Days before the International Court of Justice’s initial ruling late last month that found there was a plausible risk of genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza, the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted its “universal periodic review” of China’s human rights record. China’s abusive treatment of Uyghur and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang province—which Continue reading »

HOST: Welcome to “What School Form Did I Just Sign?”—a game where parents must keep track of all the paperwork they are required to fill out by their children’s school. Our contestants are Lindsey, a mother of three kids who attend three different schools, and Dave, a divorced dad whose son lives with him every other week. Okay, folks, first question: What book did you order your kid from Scholastic?

DAVE: That’s easy: a nonfiction book about whales.

HOST: I’m sorry, that’s incorrect. Lindsey?

LINDSEY: A biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

HOST: That is also incorrect. The correct response is “a cupcake-scented gel pen set and matching narwhal notebook, costing over twenty-five dollars.”

LINDSEY: Really? I told Sydney she had to order a book.

The Conservative benches appeared to burst with laughter at the suggestion

My blogging is about two things: (1) the radical changes wrought by modern communication technology; and (2) the inability of the epistemic technologies of the written word to understand point (1). I find this dialectical tension to be generative, but I can see how readers looking for answers might find it unsatisfying. A recent paper in Nature, titled […]

NATO's shocking 'Humour in online information warfare' working paper reveals a sinister strategy, encouraging cyberbullying and doxxing as tools of war, unraveling the disturbing reality of meme-driven manipulation in online spaces.

The post From Memes to Doxxing: Unmasking NATO’s Information Warfare Strategy appeared first on MintPress News.

Despite making commitments to actively engage with efforts to tackle climate change, a new study found many providers to be failing in multiple areas

Do not underestimate Gen Z Let’s push back on the narrative that young people are not excited about their likely choice of two old men for president in 2024. They are. But that’s not the end of the story. The Independent interviewed young voters at the North Carolina Young Democrats’ annual convention in Durham earlier this month. (Full disclosure: I attended and was one of the event’s sponsors.) Granted, it was a biased crowd: “The thing that I think people miss the most right now about what’s happening is there’s this narrative that young people are not engaged in politics,” North Carolina Democratic State Party Chair, Anderson Clayton, said. “[People say that] they don’t care. They’re not going to vote this year. And I’m like, ‘No, they are.’ Because young people are not stupid. They are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.” Maxwell Frost (D-FL), the youngest member of Congress, pointed to young voters’ support of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign as evidence of their voting behavior. “A lot of young people really loved Bernie Sanders, right?

In 1868, British Prime Minister William Gladstone famously said, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” The phrase has often been repeated here in the United States, most famously by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who echoed it in his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”: “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” Sadly enough, justice delayed (and possibly denied) is once again front and center in America as we face the specter of Donald Trump and his insistence on eternally evading the reach of the law. What’s at stake isn’t just the fate of the former president, but an essential aspect of democracy. The Georgia Case Recently, the country was privy to attempts by Donald Trump’s lawyers to delay, if... Read more

Source: Trump’s Justice appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

MAGA wanted a second Civil War? They wish. Once again the majority-conservative U.S. Supreme Court has put its thumb on the scales of justice to preserve minority dominance and elite impunity. In what once seemed a stable democratic republic, the equal justice to which it once aspired, at least on parchment, hangs by slender threads. On Wednesday, the court announced in a one-page proclamation that it would review the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that, no, presidents may not assassinate political rivals (or commit other crimes) without legal sanction. Mark Joseph Stern at Slate: The Supreme Court has all but guaranteed that Donald Trump will not face trial for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election before this November’s presidential election. On Wednesday, after more than two weeks’ delay, the court issued an order refusing to lift the stay that’s preventing the Jan. 6 trial, prosecuted by Special Counsel Jack Smith, from moving forward. Instead, the court took up the case, scheduling oral arguments for the week of April 22—nearly two months from now. On this timeline, the justices will probably issue a decision near the end of June.

It’s a year and one day since you died. At times, I feel your presence. I listen to your music every day. I miss you.

The post R.I.Pete appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

Israel hoped that Gazans would rush in their hundreds of thousands to the Sinai Desert. They did not. Then began speaking of “voluntary migration." Still, Palestinians stayed. Now, they've agreed to invade Rafah, a last-ditch effort to orchestrate another Nakba.

The post Rafah’s Dire Plight: Netanyahu’s Last Grasp for Victory appeared first on MintPress News.

A new generation of information warfare tools still pose the same threat to Ukraine, unity in Europe and the US elections

To understand Trump’s continuing hold over his fans, we have to ask: Why do they find him so funny?

The post Laugh Riot appeared first on The New York Review of Books.

Step 1
Go to your local specialty market that is more than five but less than twenty miles away to procure your ingredients.

Step 2
Stop by the meat counter and address your butcher by first name. If you are not on a first-name basis with your butcher, this recipe will not work.

Step 3
Maintain eye contact as you ask your butcher to cut your meat “Toledo style.” Any butcher even passingly familiar with the Toledo style of butchering will know what this means.

Step 4
Purchase a dozen farm-fresh eggs, a bottle of rye vinegar, one liter of cranberry oil, the expensive brand of beef broth, a bag of organic carrots, and a sprig of chervil. No substitutions.

Step 5
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step 6
Beat your eggs using your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer’s bazooka attachment.

Step 7
When your eggs achieve a frothy consistency that resembles the breakers at Mykonos at magic hour, stir in the dry ingredients.

The allegations come as one in three renters say private renting is negatively impacting their mental health – with eviction threats looming in many cases

Chris Blackhurst unpacks the NatWest scandal that toppled the first woman to head a High Street bank.