They’re arguing with each other over who can be the most bloodthirsty You’re the embodiment of the kind of weakness that led to this. You should have paid attention when you were groveling at the feet of the master. Trump brought peace because the world knew — F around and find out! We’ll never return to the failed approach of you and your uniparty… https://t.co/vJGD3LMP3f — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 8, 2023 It will be interesting to see if all the wingnuts who want the US to stop sending aid to Ukraine because it’s not in our national interest find a reason to support more aid to Israel. Not that they care. Consistency isn’t something they understand or care about.
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There is more disinformation and misinformation on the social media platform about this war in Israel than I’ve ever seen before. It’s all so awful and the news just seems to get worse. There’s plenty of analysis out there but it’s contentious and difficult and I just can’t get past the horrors of the moment long enough to really absorb any of it. And if you follow any of the social media platforms it’s almost impossible to know what’s real and what isn’t. It’s a mess out there: As one of the largest invasions in 50 years unfolded on the streets, sea and skies over Israel, misinformation about the assault proliferated on social media. In one instance, a widely circulated video of an Israeli airstrike was said to show a retaliation to Saturday’s surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas, which has left hundreds dead. “BREAKING: Israeli Air Force is striking terror targets in Gaza,” read the caption of the video, which was shared on Facebook and social media platform X. But the video was from airstrikes that happened in May, Reuters reported.
On the island of Manhattan, where I live, skyscrapers multiply like metal weeds, a vertical invasion of seemingly unstoppable force. For more than a century, they have risen as symbols of wealth and the promise of progress for a city and a nation. In movies and TV shows, those buildings churn with activity, offices full of important people doing work of global significance. The effect is a feeling of economic vitality made real by the sheer scale of the buildings themselves. In stark contrast to those images of bustling productivity stands an outcropping of tall towers along the southern end of Manhattan’s Central Park. Built in the last 20 years, those ultra-luxury residential complexes make up what is unofficially known... Read more
Source: Abandoning the Poor appeared first on TomDispatch.com.
By Joseph Cox: 404 Media
In a bombshell report, an oversight body for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Enforcement (CBP), and the Secret Service all broke the law while using location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on smartphones. In one instance, a CBP official also inappropriately used the technology to track the location of coworkers with no investigative purpose.
Given the latest catastrophe in Israel/Palestine, it’s time for me to repost my comprehensive plan for US policy in the Middle East, just as applicable now as it was when I suggested it back in 2011. As usual, it’s over the fold.
Trump blurts out nuclear secrets to anyone who’ll listen and it’s just not a big deal By the way, Biden is old. I don’t know if you’ve heard. But it’s been on every front page in the nation for weeks now.
Trump throws a hail Mary at the Supreme Court in an attempt to finally declare the presidency immune from all legal accountability Last week Trump filed a number of delaying tactics in the courts where he’s been indicted courts around the country but one may be the most significant. His lawyers filed a case in federal court arguing that the president has total immunity from any crimes he may have committed while in office. Therefore, his attempt to illegally block the peaceful transfer of power cannot be prosecuted. It’s complicated but this article gives a good overview of the legal issues at stake: Former President Donald Trump’s legal team went big in their latest effort to derail the prosecution against him for conspiring to interfere in the 2020 election: They filed a motion to dismiss that could be called a motion to make U.S. presidents into kings. The 52-page legal motion filed in the D.C. case asks U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan to dismiss the indictment based on the concept of “presidential immunity” that Trump argues makes him immune from any criminal prosecution for acts he took as president.
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 8, 2023
by Tony Wikrent
War
Hamas Attacks, What Does It Mean?
Ian Welsh, October 7, 2023
Hamas actually captured the Israeli southern command base briefly. It was retaken with massive air strikes (meaning Israel was willing to hit its own people.) In the initial 12 hours or so they wiped the floor with local Israeli forces….
As I have said repeatedly, and as the last war with Hezbollah showed, the Israeli army, no matter how many weapons or men or planes it has, is weak and incompetent. This is not the military of 1967 or even 1980, when the legend of Israeli military brilliance was created.
Την πρόσφατη αναβίωση της Ακροδεξιάς σε όλη την Ευρώπη δεν την προκάλεσαν οι τρεις μεγάλες γκάφες της Κριστίν Λαγκάρντ, από τότε που ανέλαβε Προέδρος της Ευρωπαϊκής Κεντρικής Τράπεζας. Όμως, την ενίσχυσαν τα μέγιστα! Η πρώτη γκάφα της Λαγκάρντ ήρθε νωρίς στην θητεία της στην ΕΚΤ και κόστισε στην Ιταλία δισεκατομμύρια και στην ΕΚΤ σημαντικό μέρος της «αξιοπιστίας» της ως […]
The post Τα τρία πλούσια δώρα της Κριστίν Λαγκάρντ στην Ακροδεξιά – NEWS24|7 appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.
As a start, and a prompt, I once again call upon our government to recognise Palestine. Have the courage to stand up to Israel, and its primary backer, the United States. Oh, and another thing, Mr. Prime Minister, and Ms. Foreign Minister – please don’t purport to speak for all Australians when you say “Israel Continue reading »
What is playing out on the border of Gaza and Israel is awful. Loss of civilian life is inexcusable and must be condemned. Unsurprisingly, and understandably, Biden, Albanese, Trudeau and other Western leaders have condemned the Hamas attack in the strongest possible terms. But is that all they are going to do – double down Continue reading »
The second highest grossing film in the world in 2021 barely got a mention in the Australian press. It was co-directed by three acclaimed filmmakers, cost close to US$200 million to produce, made $1 billion, and was nearly three hours long with a sequel of equal length. It ran briefly at the Event Cinema in Continue reading »
There was a time not so long ago, especially after the Vietnam War, when leaders in the advanced countries such as the United States, Britain, France and Germany gave us hope that the mistakes of the past had been learnt and that we were heading for a fairer and more ethical system: when Nelson Mandela Continue reading »
“Every lie owes a debt to the truth, sooner or later that debt is paid.” – Soviet nuclear engineer Valery Alekseevich Legasov on the consequences of deceit and denial. The rise and fall of empires have often been dramatic, marked by key events that shape their destinies. The disastrous expedition of the Spanish Armada in Continue reading »
Australian authorities conducted three separate internal studies in the past eight years to determine whether the commodity-exporting nation could completely diversify its supply chains from China – but all said the task was impossible, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Separate administrations conducted investigations into the feasibility of ‘diversifying’ import-export relationship, all Continue reading »
We’re seeing the western political/media class bleating the word “unprovoked” in unison again, this time in reference to the massive multi-pronged operation launched by Hamas against Israel on Saturday morning which reportedly killed hundreds of Israelis. “The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” reads a statement from the White House. “The loss of life in Continue reading »
It’s been quite a morning for the GOP superstar women on TV this morning You won’t find a better encapsulation of Nancy Mace’s phoniness than her going on CBS today & claiming her big problem with McCarthy was he didn’t do enough for abuse survivors, then in the next breath endorsing Gym Jordan for speaker. She stands for nothing beyond getting on TV. — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 8, 2023 Brennan: Do the past allegations of Jim Jordan that he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse give you reservations? Mace: I’m not familiar or aware of that. Brennan: Ohio state university allegations. Mace: I don’t know anything pic.twitter.com/OGQQFqR9pt — Acyn (@Acyn) October 8, 2023 Brennan: McCarthy said his ouster is personal payback from Gaetz for the house ethics committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct… Does that bother you? Mace: Well, again, he’s not indicted for anything. I don’t really — I don’t know much about it.
In his new book, ‘Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism’, Yanis Varoufakis explores how giant tech firms, both in the US and China are expanding their control over the planet. His analysis is that, whilst material resources certainly matter, the real battle ground is over digital real estate. Aaron sat down with Yanis to talk about how […]
The post Interviewed by Aaron Bastani, for Novara Media, on my TECHNOFEUDALISM appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.
With any phenomenon of interest, understanding its nature or essential properties allows us to relate to, or interact with, it in more knowledgeable and competent ways than would otherwise be the case … A surprising number of social theorists, when embarking on substantive analyses, pay almost no attention at all to insights bearing on the […]
A teeth-grinding interview What if the next presidential election is a rematch between President Biden and Donald Trump. Kristen Welker of Meet The Press sat down with four Pennsylvania “swing voters” how they feel about that. First off, how were they chosen for this conclave? What makes theses four representative stand-ins for swing voters in general? What makes their opinions somehow illuminating? “If it’s a Biden and Trump race, I would vote for Biden even if he was dead. And I’m a Republican.” -A Pennsylvania voter to Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. pic.twitter.com/DJy6dgZdfb — Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 8, 2023 At least this Republican voter (above) will take a stand even if he believes (somehow) that Biden is on the edge of senility. Welker didn’t ask in this edit what people thought of Kamala Harris as president in the event…. That might have been revealing. Samantha Cieslinski voted Republican in the past but now feels her “moral compass” won’t let her choose either Biden or Trump.
James Goss's final chapter of Doctor Who: Doom's Day couldn't get us to care about Doom's fate. Here's why the multimedia event didn't work.