Reading

Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 11:27
And This God Has Granted To Me, That

I shall live to see the destruction of my enemies.

The great joy of watching the American government be humiliated, over and over again, as their empire collapses.

To watch as those they oppressed cease to fear them, as their enemies circle the old brute, nipping at their heels, tearing at them, as they dies innumerable wounds.

This, God has granted to me.

And so too has God granted to me to watch the end of Neoliberalism. “Greed is good” they screamed, as they strip mined the economy, becoming the richest rich in the world’s history, even as they destroyed the basis of their power.

Soon they will be the rich of undeveloping countries; the rich of India in 1950. Scream at China as they will, nothing will change that they sold the golden geese to china for cash on the barrelhead and two generations of epehemeral wealth.

Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 10:15
Adam Serwer with an interesting observation on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Texas border case which Gov. Abbott and 25 other red state extremist Governors are openly defying: There are many factors that led to this point. One is the reigning Republican ideology of Trumpism, which holds that only conservative electoral victories, conservative laws, and conservative governments are legitimate and must be obeyed—the ideology that led a mob to ransack the Capitol to overturn an election. Another is the steady drumbeat of catastrophizing right-wing propaganda about the recent rise in migrants at the border, which seeks to validate extreme responses, including violence and lawlessness. But even accounting for those two elements, the most significant proximate reason for Abbott’s response may be that four Supreme Court justices sent Abbott an implicit message that they agreed with him. When the Court sided with the Biden administration, it was a 5–4 split, with Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joining the three Democratic appointees.
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 08:30
JV Last at the Bulwark points out that everyone needs to take a breath and remember that Nikki Haley is untrustworthy. All you have to do is look back at the way she’s been trying to have it both ways throughout the primary campaign to realize it. I would add that her decision to work for Trump and then sing his praises when she left the administration, promising to campaign for “this one” gesturing to Dear Leader was a low point. Anyway, Last writes: Nick Catoggio argues that Haley is trying to execute “the Half Liz.” He means that she’s attempting to thread the needle between the Liz Cheney and Ron DeSantis positions on Trump: But Catoggio points out that what Haley is saying about Trump now will ultimately matter a lot less than what she says after she quits the race: I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Last notes that she is still trying to hedge her bets quoting her saying that despite all his problems, “I trust the American people to make good decisions.” “I trust the American people to make good decisions” is tautological.
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 06:44
When I first published on what I call ‘synthetic philosophy’ back in 2019, I presented the two key components of the view in such a way that it caused confusion about the position I was trying to describe as a sociological phenomenon within philosophy of science. I developed the idea of ‘synthetic philosophy’ in order to give […]
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 05:30
The right is pimping this fatuous notion that Trump never lost a life (not counting the hundreds of thousands from COVID, of course) during his presidency. Why do they think this? Because Dear Leader says so: “we would right now have Peace throughout the World” if Jesus Christ … er… Donald Trump were president. He says that and they believe it. His and others’ recitation of the Trump presidency is not true. Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and set them back on the course to being a pariah state. It hasn’t gone well. CNN’s Briana Keilar on Monday got into a heated exchange with Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) over the Biden administration’s Middle East policy, which he said was emboldening Iran to sign off on proxy attacks on American soldiers. During an interview, Keilar argued to Waltz that figuring out how to deter Iran-backed proxies had plagued multiple administrations, including Trump’s whose policies Waltz touted as a better alternative. “I know you’re critical of President Biden, that you think he is emboldening Iran, but how should the U.S.
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 05:01
We, and our fellow 50 Australian signatories, believe that it is time for the United States and China to enter into a comprehensive new détente, formally pledging to treat each other as mutually respectful equals, to resolve differences peacefully and to work together to advance global and regional goods like nuclear arms control, the mitigation Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 05:00
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. ‘Détente’ – meaning an easing of hostility or Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 04:56
It is easy to be cynical about the international rule of law. No sooner had the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against the Palestinian people than the U.S. State Department declared, “We continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 04:56
Doctors, Teachers, Journalists, Academics are being disciplined, hauled before disciplinary bodies and even sacked for criticising the slaughter in Gaza and, most heinous sin of all, for mentioning genocide. Arrayed against those professionals is a lobby promoting the notion that criticism of Israeli government policies is anti-Semitic, hence the need to censor commentary about the Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 04:55
Just a fortnight to Indonesia’s big 14 February election and the mood is shifting as more than 200 million electors realise the reality – they’re being played by the oligarchs like puppets. Last month this column was getting ahead of itself by speculating that front-runner Prabowo Subianto, 73, a cashiered former general from last century’s Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 04:54
Despite its $160 million package to better manage asylum seekers, time is running out for the Albanese Government to get on top of the asylum seeker issue prior to the 2025 election. Asylum applications at both the primary and AAT stages fell in December 2023 but the number of applications processed also fell leading to Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 31/01/2024 - 04:51
Renowned reggae artist, Ziggy Marley, the headline artist at WOMADelaide 2024 (World Music Adelaide), is an outspoken supporter of Israel even during its current genocidal operation in Gaza. In 2018, fans worldwide were shocked by his attendance at a star studded benefit for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). This event raised $60 million for a Continue reading »