Reading

It’s all over but the shooting, as the saying goes.

Avdiivka is being encircled in record time. The US is transferring its attention to Israel and Palestine. The Russians now have the largest armaments industry in the world for the stuff that matters, and North Korea and Iran are supplying them massively (though Iran may be about to be distracted.)

Back in March 2022 Ukraine could have negotiated peace terms. My guess is that the next negotiations will be surrender terms.

It was always clear, and I have said so consistently from the start, that Russia was going to win. Ukraine cannot win a war of attrition with Russia, especially when Russia has air superiority and far more artillery and artillery shells.

The West has been unable to ramp up weapon production, mainly due to the arms industry being a very small oligopoly who are interested in earning more per unit and maintaining bottlenecks.

A different kind of soother for a Friday afternoon This is what we call a happy thought in these troubled times: Whenever I look at the latest polls and start to freak out about Donald Trump winning the presidency again, I calm myself by remembering that the guy is very likely going to be an at-least-once convicted felon by next November. While that won’t bother his fans, I still think it will bother enough swing voters that he will lose, and maybe spectacularly. That scenario got a little more likely Thursday when the California judge overseeing a misconduct trial against Trump attorney and coup-plotter John Eastman made a “preliminary finding” of culpability on Eastman’s part for his attempts to halt the certification of the 2020 election results. What’s the upshot? No, Eastman isn’t guilty of anything just yet. But he is now closer to being disbarred, and that could make it more likely that he flips.

We’re at the phase of the Israel–Palestine war when people start worrying about how they will look when this is over.

The post Inside the Biden White House, Doubts About Gaza War Are Beginning to Creep In appeared first on The Intercept.

The Iraq War protests didn’t stop that war. But they stopped others.

The post The Gaza Protests Can Save Lives — Maybe Even Your Own appeared first on The Intercept.

DeSantis: I know Donald Trump and a lot of his people have been focusing on things like footwear. I’ll tell you this. If Donald Trump can summon the balls to show up to the debate. I’ll wear a boot on my head. pic.twitter.com/CF11I4JtOT — Acyn (@Acyn) November 3, 2023 I’ll be so glad when I don’t have to see or read about this guy anymore: Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Thursday contributed to the seemingly never-ending discourse about whether or not he wears lifts in his boots by outlining a bizarre scenario in which he would wear a boot on his head at next week’s GOP primary debate. During an interview on Newsmax, the Florida governor—who has denied wearing any sort of height-boosting footwear—first responded to the chatter by saying that “this is no time for foot fetishes” because “we’ve got serious problems as a country.” He went on to mention how Donald Trump has weighed in on the topic. On Tuesday, the former president’s campaign declared “#BOOTGATE” to be the “KISS OF DEATH” for DeSantis.

An intimate and complex understanding of China is now one of the most important prerequisites for understanding and furthering our national interests. For the two nations of China and Australia, to allow tensions and misunderstandings to provoke a decoupling in the knowledge production sphere –whether it be in the sciences, the social sciences or the Continue reading »

In Asian media this week: Support for war erodes trust in Global North. Plus: Australians proxy-Americans in Asia; Xi-Biden summit might reassure region; ‘Don’t you feel shame’ at voting No? Chinese military ‘relentless’ on Taiwan; Memories of time US, China fought together. Sonia Gandhi has written a powerful condemnation of the Israel-Gaza war, deploring the Continue reading »

Peter Dutton prays for guidance on the Voice referendum and Gaza. Continue reading »

A look at deficits in democracy and our common wealth; Why we’re working too hard; What women find in Australia; Gramsci and the right; The politics of Ben Ean Moselle, and the case for higher taxes. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, podcasts, reports and other media on current economic and Continue reading »

Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza are intensifying as the traumatic toll on civilians sees thousands of children being killed, many health and aid workers and journalists dying on the job, the destruction of health services, surgery taking place without anaesthetic, and civilians unable to access necessities, including life-saving healthcare, food and water. The most Continue reading »

Justice Democrats co-founder Waleed Shahid and Ryan Grim discuss the domestic political response to Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.

The post The Squad Is Getting Primaried for Standing Against the War appeared first on The Intercept.

Trump opens up his rally in Houston, TX, with the national anthem sung by J6 insurrectionists: “I call them the J6 hostages. Not prisoners, I call them the hostages…When that came out it went to the number one song. It was beating everybody. It beat Taylor Swift.” pic.twitter.com/NP60KT15OL — Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) November 2, 2023 It did not beat Taylor Swift.

How warming oceans could deplete nutrition for millions in the tropics.

The post No Fish, No Food appeared first on Nautilus.

Thank you for calling the Turning-Thirty Helpline for People Having Big Feelings About Turning Thirty. We’re here to help you navigate the transition from your twenties to your thirties, and we promise not to wish you a happy birthday.

Please listen closely as your menu options have recently changed.

Press 1 if you relate less to “thirty, flirty, and thriving” and more to “trying, crying, and teeth-grinding.” We’ll connect you to a dentist who will share the magic of nighttime mouthguards.

Press 2 to report a 500 percent increase in targeted ads for Botox, clean anti-aging products, messy anti-aging products, freezing your eggs, recipes for eggs, recipes for soup, and freezing your soup.

If you’d prefer an open space to vent about the targeted ads algorithm, press 3 for affirming “mm-hmm” noises.

Earth systems are being rushed towards their tipping points by governments that offer us nothing but chaos. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 31st October 2023 Can you see it yet? The Earth systems horizon – the point at which our planetary systems tip into a new equilibrium, hostile to most lifeforms? I think […]

Jessica Buxbaum reveals details of Israel's secret forced relocation plan to push millions of residents of Gaza off of their land and onto Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

The post The Reality of Gaza’s Forced Exodus: Unveiling Israel’s Secret Plan appeared first on MintPress News.

Η αντιμονοπωλιακή νομοθεσία σχεδιάστηκε, αρχικά, για να προστατεύσει τους καταναλωτές από τις υπερβολικές τιμές των μονοπωλίων. Προφανώς, κάτι τέτοιο είναι εκτός θέματος στην περίπτωση των υπηρεσιών της Big Tech, οι οποίες και δωρεάν είναι και προσφέρονται άπλετα σε κάθε χρήστη που τις θέλει. Από την αυγή του καπιταλισμού, εταιρείες-μαμούθ κυριαρχούν. Τι το καινούργιο φέρνει η Big Tech; […]

The post Η Big Tech δεν μπορεί να “ρυθμιστεί”. Μόνο να κοινωνικοποιηθεί! – NEWS24|7 appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.

Interviewed by Ellen Fanning on ABC-tv The Drum on my new book TECHNOFEUDALISM: What killed capitalism. A 20 minute-long discussion involving a diverse panel. Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis is published by Bodley Head 

The post Discussing TECHNOFEUDALISM on ABC-tv THE DRUM with Ellen Fanning and panel appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.