When Australia’s Defence Minister, Richard Marles, talks imploringly in support of avoiding the “valley of death” scenario, Australians should listen. That is, until they realise he is not talking about avoiding the horrors of a modern war, but rather supporting the Hunter Class Frigate, a project in such difficulty that the picture of incompetence and Continue reading »
Reading
Banning harmful advertising such as junk food, gambling, and alcohol advertising should be a political no-brainer. The evidence of the harm they cause is clear, especially among children and young people, the health and social benefits of such restrictions are real and public support is high and undeniable. And yet – tobacco advertising excepted – Continue reading »
Stan Grant’s ordeal; The public service has been enfeebled by Coalition governments; and Albo comes out as a Burkean conservative. Read on for the Weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Australia’s energy transition We need to electrify trucks. Can we resurrect Continue reading »
Spain, the world’s 15th largest economy and the fourth-largest in Europe, recently ran for 9 hours entirely on wind, solar and hydro. It is not the first time the renewables supplied all of the country’s domestic electricity needs on the peninsula, but it is the first time they did so for so many hours in Continue reading »
The Philippines publicly announced that it is deploying navigational buoys near some of the rocks it claims and occupies in the South China Sea. It says the buoys signify “the country’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction over our EEZ” and has warned of “serious repercussions” if China removes them. This was just its latest provocative and Continue reading »
The nutrient composition of ocean life is changing.
The post Global Warming Could Make Some Fish Less Nutritious appeared first on Nautilus.
There’s a lot of Trump legal news these days, what with the E. Jean Carroll verdict, the Manhattan hush money indictment, the news that Fulton County, Georgia, D.A. Fani Willis has put local authorities on notice to anticipate “something” coming in August, and a cascade of reporting on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, with some suggestions evidence that will come to a conclusion very soon. The possible Jan. 6 case against Donald Trump himself remains more obscure, but with the sentencing of Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison for plotting the insurrection on Thursday, it’s hard to see how Trump, who incited the riot, isn’t equally implicated in what happened that day. But for some reason one obvious case has gotten very little media attention and, as far as we know, very little attention from investigators: Trump’s cozy financial relationship with the Saudi-sponsored Public Investment Fund, the desert kingdom’s massive sovereign wealth fund.
The Progressive Economics Forum holds its annual meetings at the Canadian Economics Association (CEA) conference, which we thank for its financial support. In this year’s CEA, we are also celebrating PEF’s 25th anniversary. This year’s CEA conference will be held in person on June 2-3, 2023 in Winnipeg. A day of online only sessions will be held in advance of the conference [...]
A very unimpressive debut: Within hours of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s announcement of his presidential run on Twitter on Wednesday, participants in the audio event celebrated the achievement. David Sacks, a venture capitalist who moderated the Twitter conversation, declared it “by far the biggest room ever held on social media.” Afterward, Mr. DeSantis, a Florida Republican, said in a podcast interview that he thought by later that day “probably over 10 million people” would have “watched” the event, called a Twitter Space, or a recording of it. They were wrong on both counts. According to Twitter’s metrics, the audio event — which was initially marred by more than 20 minutes of technical glitches before it was restarted — garnered a high of about 300,000 concurrent listeners, or those who simultaneously tuned in as Mr. DeSantis made his announcement. As of Thursday, 3.4 million people had listened to the Space or a recording of it, according to Twitter’s numbers.
All the way to Idaho NPR: The U.S. Supreme Court Court on Thursday significantly curtailed the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the nation’s wetlands and waterways. It was the court’s second decision in a year limiting the ability of the agency to enact anti-pollution regulations and combat climate change. The challenge to the regulations was brought by Michael and Chantell Sackett, who bought property to build their dream house about 500 feet away from Idaho’s Scenic Priest Lake, a 19-mile stretch of clear water that is fed by mountain streams and bordered by state and national parkland. Three days after the Sacketts started excavating their property, the EPA stopped work on the project because the couple had failed to get a permit for disturbing the wetlands on their land. Now a conservative Supreme Court majority has used the Sackett’s case to roll back longstanding rules adopted to carry out the 51-year-old Clean Water Act. Heather Cox Richardson: This decision will remove federal protection from half of the currently protected wetlands in the U.S, an area larger than California.
As the Prime Minister reveals that his favourite author is Jilly Cooper – he tells Otto English about some of his other favourites in music, food, movies and sport
Not necessarily a bad thing Like many of you, I’m still catching up with people and places not visited since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Daily rituals have filled the gap, pecking along here on a schedule being one of them. Daily walks being another. The expression “even keel” comes to mind. Memorial Day rituals are back on in full, finally, and perusing all the local events this weekend, I may when finished here scratch out a list of events to stop by. “Keep Asheville Weird,” the bumper sticker says, but even normal weird feels good. Brian Klaas argues that rituals contribute to social, not just personal, stability. They are “a potent force, sometimes enlisted for good, other times not,” but for that not to be ignored: How about some pro-democracy rituals? Here’s the problem: the political right and authoritarian movements have perfected the art of the ritual. They have tapped into this ancient wisdom, harnessed it, used it to mobilize their members and fasten them together. And it works.
A former 111 clinician speaks out on rising pressures and a staffing crisis at the NHS non-emergency call service. Josiah Mortimer and Max Colbert report
Open Rights Group is electing three Board members for a two year term, to help lead our governance and oversight at a time of major change. As we grow to meet new challenges, we need a Board with greater diversity that will help us find new allies and funders. It is especially important to us […]
Mexico’s populist president should instead be spending more on furthering U.S. interests, according to a leaked intelligence document.
The post The U.S. Is Unhappy That Mexico Is Spending Money on Its Own Citizens appeared first on The Intercept.
We recently learned that Bluestar Sleepaway Camp+ Experience, Waystar Royco’s newest venture in premium edutainment catering to our most precious audience members, has run into a few minor hiccups. We want to assure you that we take these allegations as seriously as we take the welfare of your speculative heirs, and we are actively investigating all incidents that supposedly transpired at our campuses in Maine, New Mexico, or Hungary.
Before we comment on our revolutionary curriculum, which has been unjustly described as “scrotum-tightening,” let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Social Darwinism.
The reality is that there have always been winners and losers. We can trot out experts who assure us this is the case. “Controlling the narrative.” “Emotional blackmail.” “The art of the subtle takedown.” These are all ivory tower terms for practices inextricably linked to childhood. Surely no organization can be held responsible for coming-of-age rituals dating back to the Stone Age. We simply combined them with swimming, canoeing, and hyper-decanting wine.
A year since his election, it’s clear Anthony Albanese wants to avoid serious change. Instead he is appeasing the rich and powerful to keep Labor in power for as long as possible.
The post Editorial: Albanese avoids the change that’s needed through pandering to business and the rich appeared first on Solidarity Online.
One year since their election Labor’s claim they would “end the climate wars” has been exposed as cover for supporting fossil fuel expansion at an alarming rate.
The post Labor approves new coal mines and carbon bomb in Beetaloo appeared first on Solidarity Online.
At dawn on 10 May, special operations police shouldering firearms moved in on a group of 14 youth detainees maintaining a protest on the roof of Banksia Hill youth detention centre south of Perth.
The post Labor governments wage war on Black youth appeared first on Solidarity Online.
A year after Labor's election, protests have returned to immigration detention.
The post Protests demand end to indefinite detention appeared first on Solidarity Online.