On Monday the US launched its eighth wave of airstrikes in its new war against Yemeni forces, which it has now formally titled “Operation Poseidon Archer”. The strikes are aimed at breaking a Red Sea shipping blockade which the de facto authorities in Yemen have implemented to pressure Israel and its allies into ceasing the Continue reading »
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Yemen is a country that’s been grappling with war and siege since 2015. As part of Saudi Arabia’s denigrating campaign, anyone in the country, except for ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his small group of protégés, have been unjustly portrayed as uncultured and underdeveloped individuals with little to contribute to their nation and the Continue reading »
The single largest IDF casualty event of the Gaza invasion is a symbol of Israel’s deepening quagmire.
The post 21 Israeli Troops Killed While Planting Explosives for a Controlled Demolition in Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
South Carolina … It’s true, by the way: South Carolina Republican lawmakers are considering a bill that would make a person who has an abortion eligible for the death penalty. The bill, titled the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023, would change the state’s criminal code and redefine “person” to include a fertilized egg at the point of conception. According to the bill, the change would “ensure that an unborn child who is a victim of homicide is afforded equal protection under the homicide laws of the state.” Under South Carolina law, that includes the death penalty. The bill provides exceptions for pregnant people who had an abortion if they were “compelled to do so by the threat of imminent death or great bodily injury” and also provides an exception if the abortion was done to save the life of the mother. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Big of them to allow an exception to save the life of the mother. Anyone else should be killed. This is what they believe. These throwbacks are just saying it out loud. Kill women. That’s what we’re talking about.
Top-down management culture at NHS trusts needs to change to include frontline staff and patients on their boards, argues Alicia Clegg
A State Department official said a drone strike that killed 120 Nigerians was no “attack” and urged press to focus on “fun” aspects of the secretary of state’s tour.
The post Blinken Visits Nigeria as Questions Swirl About Civilian Deaths and U.S. Security Ties appeared first on The Intercept.
They will see the promise—it is incumbent on us to alert them to the threat, or humanity will perish 14th November 2023 My new book, The Machine Age, is an ambitious—possibly overambitious—attempt to understand the human condition at this moment in time, through the prism of our relationship with machinery. The book is structured around three … Continue reading What we should tell our grandchildren about AI
So, to Character Options at London Toy Fair 2024 All I have had today is people asking me about TMNT and Doctor Who. Sorry, but no joy.
Rachel Reeves needs a new economic narrative to break the fear of deficits and debt 24th November 2023 To observe the basic thinking behind Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement on 22 November, and how Rachel Reeves will respond, is to find that the Chancellor and his shadow inhabit the same mental universe. They both aim to … Continue reading Marx and Keynes can free Labour from its budget bind
Trump’s act has worn thin Simon Rosenberg is right: All that is sinking in with the voting public, and will as the year progresses. Trump has a political history he did not have in 2016 or 2020. Greg Sargent considers it a sign how crazed Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) deflection is over a jury of Trump’s peers finding that he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll. The truth may not set MAGA cultists free, but it is injecting doubt (New Republic): What’s changed now is that Trump’s legal challenges are unfolding in courtrooms—in public-facing venues—before juries of the ex-president’s peers. It’s becoming impossible to fabricate conspiracy theories around the ordinary Americans whose judgment Trump faces, and the gravity of the proceedings is suddenly getting a lot more real. Like a battered boxer, Trump is cut over the eye. So work the eye, Democrats, Sargent insists. But with Trump now being prosecuted for numerous crimes, both the details of these charges and the role of ordinary Americans in serving up grand jury indictments constitute new fact sets of a much more serious nature.
January 18, 2024 ROBERT SKIDELSKY The wrongful prosecution and conviction of more than 900 postmasters highlights the erosion of the systems designed to uphold institutional accountability in the United Kingdom. It also underscores the growing threat of a legal paradigm in which individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent. LONDON – A new TV drama … Continue reading Britain’s Post Office Scandal and the Rule of Law
The MVC team uncovers the truth of Tony Gilroy’s 2007 corporate espionage thriller.
December 19, 2023 ROBERT SKIDELSKY While techno-optimists celebrate AI’s potential to reshape the world, we must mitigate the risks these new tools pose to communities and to humanity. To prevent the rich and powerful from monopolizing the fruits of technological innovation, we must ensure that the benefits of increased productivity are distributed equitably. LONDON – … Continue reading How to Prevent an AI Apocalypse
November 20, 2023 ROBERT SKIDELSKY Between 1815 and 1914, the Concert of Europe served as a crucial peacekeeping mechanism, enabling the continent to avoid a major war. Drawing the right lessons from its successes and eventual failure can help us strive to recreate the conditions that led to an imperfect but durable peace. LONDON – … Continue reading Peacekeeping, Past and Present
October 24, 2023 ROBERT SKIDELSKY As the world grapples with multiple, compounding economic and political crises, Western intellectuals provide little cause for optimism. Two new books paint a bleak picture of a disintegrating liberal international order and a future shaped by warring powers and digital serfdom. LONDON – Reading this fall’s selection of new nonfiction … Continue reading Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Rich
It would be funny if it weren’t so potentially tragic — and consequential. No, I’m not thinking about Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign but a related development: the latest decisions from the European Union (EU) about Ukraine. As 2023 ended, European nations failed to agree on a $54-billion package of assistance for Ukraine at a time when that country was desperately trying to stay afloat and continue its fight against Russian occupation forces. Bizarrely, the failure of that proposal coincided with a surprising EU decision to open membership talks with that beleaguered country. In other words, no military aid for Ukraine in the short term but a possible offer of a golden ticket to join the EU at some unspecified... Read more
September 22, 2023 ROBERT SKIDELSKY In his new book, former Conservative MP Rory Stewart sharply critiques the British political class. Analyzing the degradation of the United Kingdom’s public services, he highlights two potential culprits: a ruling class preoccupied with political maneuvering and a civil service excessively focused on bureaucracy. LONDON – Anthony Sampson’s Anatomy of Britain, … Continue reading The New Anatomy of Britain
Character Options, the manufacturer of Doctor Who toys, released a Fugitive Doctor action figure - here's Jo Martin's reaction to seeing it.
Taxpayer-funded defense for Trump? They grow bananas in Floridonia, don’t they? While Donald “91 Counts” Trump is mopping up the remaining 2024 Republican presidential field in New Hampshire this morning, MAGAfied Floridonia officials are hoping to fund Trump’s criminal defense with state tax dollars (Ron Filipkowski at Meidas Touch): Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced today that he is supporting State Senator Ileana Garcia’s bill SB 1740 to create a “Florida Freedom Fighter’s Fund” to provide millions of dollars to fund Trump’s criminal defense legal team. One day after Ron Desantis drops out of the presidential race, the push is on to use state resources and funding to finance a private citizen’s legal defense in criminal cases. While tens of thousands of indigent Floridians are represented by Public Defenders with massive caseloads due to limited budgets, Florida’s CFO wants the state to provide millions to Trump, who testified recently that his net worth is in excess of $10 billion and that his Florida home is the most expensive in the world.
The UN's spokesman on 'climate defenders' hit out at the Conservatives' suite of anti-protest laws - and media rhetoric against green activists.
Special Achievement in Dog Acting
Most Based on a Book
Loudest Original Song
Best Actress in a Silent Wife Role
Most Animated Lizard
World War Two-iest Picture
Best Live Action Old Man
Most Downey Jr.
Outstanding Achievement in Stressful Sex Scenes to Watch with Your Parents
Most Confusing Disease in a Screenplay
Best Biopic About Worst Genius
Most Distracting Prosthetic (Face)
Most Distracting Prosthetic (Nethers)
The Martin Scorsese Award for Longest Movie by Smallest Man
Best Adaptation of a Board Game
Most Excessive Use of Black and White
Bradliest Cooper
Donald Trump has not stood up to Vladimir Putin and will not stand up to Russian President if he returns to the White House, writes Paul Niland