Reading

Created
Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:59
What a feast of anti-China stories we have had again from the Coalition and our media over the incident between HMAS Toowoomba and a Chinese PLA-N destroyer.  The whole issue really looks to be overblown – and seeded by some in the Sinophobia school who are worried about where Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Continue reading »
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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:58
After a succession of record-breaking months of record heat including 1.8°C in September, global warming for 2023 as a whole will likely tip 1.5°C, with 2024 even hotter as the effect of the building El Nino is felt more fully. Already hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced, primarily in countries least responsible for Continue reading »
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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:57
Israel’s military campaign to rout the war machine and government authority of Hamas in the Gaza Strip has entered its sixth week. Its steady physical destruction of the terrorist organisation’s military capabilities above and below ground has left a trail of physical ruin and a growing humanitarian tragedy as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian Continue reading »
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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:56
Living standards have fallen recently. The Albanese Government has responded with targeted assistance, but the policy options to alleviate the damage for working families are limited, especially in the short run. However, one readily available policy option would be to reshape the Stage 3 tax cuts due to take effect next July. All the evidence Continue reading »
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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:52
For a former cricketer (one time Port Melbourne Cricket Club thirds all-rounder) and keen participant in politics it was immensely satisfying to see Australia winning the ICC World Cup while the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was there in the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad to witness it. In case you were wondering of the Continue reading »
Created
Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:51
Being part of the global supply network that supplies parts for the Israeli F-35 jet fighters used over Gaza implicates Australia in their alleged war crimes. Australian-equipped Israeli Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are being used to commit what amounts to war crimes in Gaza by bombing civilians and providing aerial support for a murderous ground Continue reading »
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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 04:50
Elon Musk has announced that common pro-Palestine phrases like “from the river to the sea” and “decolonisation” are now banned on Twitter and will result in suspension, falsely claiming that they “necessarily imply genocide”. This move is likely an attempt to appease key advertisers who have been pulling out of the platform in response to Continue reading »
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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 03:30
Many Politicians Support Israeli Genocide Because They’re Being Blackmailed

The majority in most nations don’t support Israel’s genocidal bombing in Gaza but politicians by huge majorities do, and those who support Palestinians find themselves under constant attack.

Explanations for this tend to concentrate on how much money politicians receive from Israel supporters.

But there’s another reason for their support. Many of them are being blackmailed. The Epstein operation is instructive:

“What people don’t know is that every room in every one of those homes had cameras.

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Thu, 23/11/2023 - 02:56

The bill would also mandate the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism in Israeli courts. The families of hostages call it political theater.

The post After Hamas Attack, Israeli Politicians Want to Empower Military Tribunals to Execute Palestinians appeared first on The Intercept.

Created
Thu, 23/11/2023 - 02:30
Hold fast We’ve reached “the end justifies the means” chapter of our American experiment. Peter Wehner runs down in The Atlantic a by-now familiar accounting of the fascistic things Donald Trump says and his MAGA audience applauds. Trump’s rise to the presidency began with, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best.” (The Republican Party took that as candidate recruiting advice.) He’s gone from declaring Mexicans drug dealers, rapists and criminals in 2015 to telling crowds today that immigrants from south of the border are terrorists and escapees from mental institutions who are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Wehner pointedly begins by sketching out the dehumanizing rhetoric that prededed the Rwandan genocide in 1994. I still remember just where I was when I heard that news on the radio.
Created
Thu, 23/11/2023 - 01:00
“Unrelenting, top-to-bottom negativity” Philosopher Linus van Pelt famously lamented, “There’s no heavier burden than a great potential!” It’s a burden Democrats carry too. Supporters and leaners are easily upset. Not so with Republicans. They anger us, sure, but because we expect so lttle of them they cannot disappoint us the way our friends can. It is a dynamic David Roberts, a.k.a. Dr. Volts, wrote about in a thread on Sunday. A Washington Post profile of voters in Door County, Wisconsin (pop. 30k) finally pegged his P.K.E. meter. Roberts writes (bolding mine): This article is worth examining closely. It’s a classic “visit a swing county to hear about politics” piece, so it forces itself to be even-handed & “pox on both houses,” but if you read closely you can glimpse something else. washingtonpost.com/nation/interac… Why are they upset?