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Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 25, 2024

 

by Tony Wikrent

Gaza / Palestine / Israel

Opinion: I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn’t war — it was annihilation 

[Los Angeles Times, via Naked Capitalism 02-22-2024]

 

Global power shift

This is how you do it: Q: Do you think it’s responsible for Joe Biden to be at the top of the ticket? Gov. Gavin Newsom: Responsible? I revere his record. What he’s done in three years is a masterclass. Close to 15 million jobs is eight times more than the last three Republican presidents combined. It’s because of his age that President Biden has been so successful. He has character and wisdom. We’ve seen his bipartisan approach result in the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, border security solutions. What a gift to have that for four more years. He’s not going anywhere and people need to get a grip and start making the positive case for his reelection instead of sitting around calling for the fainting couch like Aunt Pittypat. Here’s James Fallows who says all that needs to be said on this subject: A possible end for magical thinking about an ‘open convention.’ When it comes to the Democrats choosing a 2024 ticket other than Biden-Harris, I’ve long been in the “it’s too late” camp.

The Ukraine invasion has thrown into sharp focus the massive failure of successive Australian government’s defence procurement programs to strengthen our military capability. A repost from March 11, 2022 With the Russian invasion in full swing and the collateral havoc of civilian casualties and mass evacuations before our eyes on TV it is premature to Continue reading »

As Western Australia endures another extreme heatwave, with temperatures soaring up to 47 degrees Celsius in the Pilbara, the reality of the impacts of climate change is becoming impossible for Australia to ignore. Escalating and unprecedented heat is harming our communities, ecosystems, and economy. Last week Victoria was battered by fires and storms that destroyed Continue reading »

There are few surprises regarding the final episode of Nemesis, the three-part account on how the Liberal Party, in partnership with the Nationals, psychotically and convulsively disembowel itself from the time Tony Abbott won office in 2013. Over the gore and violence concluding the tenures of Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, one plotter rose, knife bloodied Continue reading »

“Even in the best-case cease-fire scenario, thousands of excess deaths would continue to occur,” said the authors of a new report. In an effort to put “at the front of people’s minds and on the desks of decision-makers” the human cost of the U.S.-backed Israeli onslaught in Gaza, scientists on Wednesday said an escalation in Continue reading »

21 days after the Federal Government did an about-face on its earlier promise to maintain the previously legislated income tax regime, it has secured passage through the House of Representatives of major changes to Australia’s income tax legislation. But speed and the evident equity in the major part of those changes, principally directed at “middle Continue reading »

In October last year, Time Magazine reported a serious lift in poverty levels across America. You can read the full chilling report here. General poverty in the US has almost doubled (to 12.4% or around 40 million), while child poverty has more than doubled, since 2021. Briefly, the cost-cutting, non-renewal of critical government support programmes Continue reading »

China’s contrasting political repression and economic development in Tibet and Xinjiang does not hold a candle to US-sponsored state terrorism by Israel against the Palestinian people. Sometimes I wonder whether politicians in Washington are not humanoids preprogrammed by some master alien race to wreak havoc on earth. It’s simply hard to imagine lawmakers who are Continue reading »

The Never Trumpers held a rival CPAC called Principles First My what a different rhetorical atmosphere: Why ever would he say such a thing? That’s what needs to be said. Standard Disclaimer: Many of these folks were miserable partisan character assassins during the Clinton and Obama administrations. I am aware, believe me. And I am fully in the “trust but verify” camp when it comes to them. But among them are some who have had a full reckoning with what they helped foment during those times and most of the others are, at least, dedicating themselves to the task of defeating Trump and the MAGA Movement as part of the popular front against fascism. We need them, whether we like it or not.

“As perfect a being as the Good Lord ever made” “And he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body.” SNL: ICYMI, He’s Not OK. Perhaps it’s catching. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● For The Win, 5th Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV planning guide at ForTheWin.us.

Wall Street has its hands all over your pharmaceuticals, and other news from The Lever this week.

Magical thinking across the political universe Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cupThey slither wildly as they slip away across the universe To no one’s surprise, Donald “91 Counts” Trump handily defeated former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in her home state on Saturday. If there is any news there it is that Haley did not lose more badly than she did. The New York Times offers five takeaways from the day, the Washington Post only three. The Post mentions an exit poll showing that “31 percent of voters said Trump wouldn’t be fit to serve as president if he’s convicted of a crime. South Carolina becomes the third early state to show that at least 3 in 10 voters said a convicted Trump wouldn’t be fit.” But that doesn’t mean they won’t vote for him anyway. “Today is not the end of our story,” Haley told supporters. “I know 40 percent is not 50 percent, but I also know 40 percent is not some tiny group. There are huge numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative.” Where have I heard that before?

The approval of Julian Assange’s extradition is not only morally wrong, it appears to be wrong in law, and serious questions should be asked of the UK Home Secretary, as well as the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and the former incumbents of those positions. This follows a barely reported revelatory exchange between the Continue reading »

I thought I’d play a little “catch-up” and spotlight some noteworthy Blu-ray reissues that have been released within the past 6 months. With one exception (noted below), all of the discs are Region ‘A’. American Pop (Columbia/Sony) – Within the realm of animated films, Ralph Bakshi’s name may not be as universally recognizable (or revered) as Walt Disney or Studio Ghibli, but I would consider him no less of an important figure in the history of the genre. During his heyday (1972-1983) the director pumped out 8 full-length feature films (Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, Wizards, et. al.) using his signature blend of live-action, rotoscoping, and  traditional cel animation. In his 1981 film American Pop, director Bakshi  and screenwriter Ronni Kern ambitiously attempt to distill the history of 20th Century American popular music (essentially from Vaudeville to Punk) in 90 minutes. The narrative is framed via the triumphs and travails of four generations of a Russian-Jewish immigrant family (all of whom are involved one way or the other in the music business).

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Here’s a NYT gift link to a thorough deconstruction of the “confidential informant” (dare I say) hoax with which the GOP planned to impeach Biden. Read it all if you have the time. An excerpt: In May 2023, Senator Charles E. Grassley, a chief antagonist of President Biden, strode to the Senate floor with some shocking news: He had learned, he said, of a document in the F.B.I.’s possession that could reveal “a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden.” Mr. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, suggested to any Americans listening that there was a single document that could confirm the most sensational corruption allegations against Mr. Biden — and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was engaging in a coverup. “Did they sweep it under the rug to protect the candidate Biden?” he asked conspiratorially. Over the next few months, Mr. Grassley’s quest to make public the allegation — laid out in an obscure document known as an F.B.I. Form 1023 — became a fixation, and a foundation of the growing Republican push to impeach Mr. Biden as payback for Democrats’ treatment of former President Donald J. Trump.

Use to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts.

A psychologist formerly of Johns Hopkins University has some thoughts on Donald Trump’s mental status. Chauncy DeVega at Salon interviewed him about a number of things but this caught my eye due to that very weird moment above: Not enough people are sounding the alarm, that based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented. In fact, we are seeing the opposite among too many in the news media, the political leaders and among the public. There is also this focus on Biden’s gaffes or other things that are well within the normal limits of aging. By comparison, Trump appears to be showing gross signs of dementia. This is a tale of two brains. Biden’s brain is aging. Trump’s brain is dementing. What evidence do you have for that conclusion? “Phonemic paraphasias” —the substitution of non-words for words that sound similar—are not normally seen until a patient enters the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer’s. “What I don’t understand is why those clips aren’t replayed over and over in the mainstream media. Isn’t Trump babbling incoherently the most newsworthy part of his rally?

In the past they tried to exclude them but they’ve thrown up their hands now and are welcoming them into the MAGA fold. Where they certainly belong: Nazis appeared to find a friendly reception at the conservative political action conference this year. Throughout the conference, racist extremists, some of whom had secured official CPAC badges, openly mingled with conference attendees and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories. The presence of the individuals has been a persistent issue at CPAC, and in previous years, conference organizers have ejected well known nazis and white supremacists, such as Nick Fuentes. But this year, racist conspiracy theorists didn’t meet any perceptible resistance at the conference where Donald Trump has been the keynote speaker since 2017. At the Young Republican mixer Saturday evening a group of Nazis, who openly identified as national socialists, mingled with mainstream conservative personalities, including some from Turning Point USA, and discussed race science and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

They can’t Republicans are in a pickle on this one. Look at the record: Most House Republicans have cosponsored a bill declaring that life begins from the moment of conception, a position under increased scrutiny after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are “unborn children.” This Congress, 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — have cosponsored the “Life at Conception Act,” which states that the term “human being” includes “all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.” The bill does not include any exception for in vitro fertilization (IVF), a reproductive treatment that allows mothers to fertilize several eggs outside the womb in order to increase the chances of a viable pregnancy. Several healthcare providers in Alabama have already halted IVF programs in the wake of the ruling, given that IVF treatments may include the discarding of fertilized eggs, which may now violate the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

Richest 1% produce as many greenhouse gases as the poorest 66%. Climate denialists have a new lyric: ‘sure, it’s happening – so what?’ but Australians are concerned about climate change and want action. No, it’s not OK to shoot a hippo. Climate Equality: A planet for the 99% … is the title of a report Continue reading »