Month: December 2016
The United States has expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland in response to a campaign of harassment by Russia against American diplomats in Moscow, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
Source: US expels 35 Russian diplomats, closes two compounds over election hacking
“When I shot the rafidi it was easy. He was kneeling in front of me, sobbing. He was a big man: his body was shaking. I thought ‘why are you crying, you are a killer yourself, you are going to have a quick death’. I just pulled the trigger, and it was over. I didn’t feel any pity. I didn’t feel any pride. I was just doing my job.”
Christmas may be over, but for Jews celebrating the festival of Hanukkah festivities still are in full swing. Though the story of the Maccabees fighting their oppressors took place thousands of years ago, disputes over who should control swathes of land in Israel and Palestine are pressing and pertinent to this day.
We do not live in a “post-truth” world, neither in the Middle East nor in the West – nor in Russia, for that matter. We live in a world of lies. And we always have lived in a world of lies.
Source: We are not living in a ‘post-truth’ world, we are living the lies of others | The Independent
A number of cases have shown career oblivion often follows corporate whistleblowing.
Source: Should Australian whistleblowers earn multimillion-dollar bounties?
Australia has broken ranks with the United States and New Zealand over Israel, indicating that it would most likely have opposed the UN Security Council resolution condemning its settlements on Palestinian land.
Source: Julie Bishop backs Israel rather than the US over UN resolution
Former prime minister Tony Abbott says Cory Bernardi could pick up 10 per cent of the vote and Senators in every state if he quits the Liberal party.
Source: ‘Conservative Party could win up to 10%’: Tony Abbott hits out at Cory Bernardi over breakaway
Israeli leader personally phoned New Zealand’s foreign minister to warn him that Wellington’s co-sponsorship of a UN resolution was a “declaration of war”.
Source: Israel warned New Zealand that UN resolution was ‘declaration of war’: report
The occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli weapons manufacturers’ laboratories, and Palestinians are their subjects.
Source: The cruel experiments of Israel’s arms industry | The Electronic Intifada
UN resolution may boost BDS movement, Israel fears.
Source: Israel punishes the world after UN vote | The Electronic Intifada
Film by anti-Zionist Israeli challenges dominant German narrative.
Source: Palestine documentary stirs controversy in Germany | The Electronic Intifada
The Iraq Inquiry Report (2009-2016) documents how Tony Blair committed Great Britain to war early in 2002, lying to the United Nations, to Parliament, and to the British people, in order to follow George Bush, who had planned an aggression on Iraq well before September 2001. Australian Prime Minister John Howard conspired with both reckless…
There’s a new industrial revolution just around the corner, and deterioration within the key institutions of suffrage, education and land policy indicate that Australia may be one of the countries left behind this time.
Former prime minister Bob Hawke believes he has the recipe to fix the nation – think big, get better candidates, abolish state governments
Source: Bob Hawke says abolish state governments and think big to fix the nation
Instead of coming to the aid of George Ciccariello-Maher, who has received death threats, Drexel University issued a statement on Christmas condemning the associate professor’s tweet.
Source: Breitbart Leads Smear Campaign Against Professor Who Mocked White Supremacy – Truthdig
A look at the follies, foibles and joys of the human race through the eyes of cartoonist Michael Leunig.
Source: Cartoons by Michael Leunig
An anti-intellectual alliance of misogynists and white nationalists is using cult tactics to harass and abuse Americans. They systematically attempt to discredit reputable sources. They replace logic with paranoia. They horrifically harass perceived political opponents. And this campaign, which has dangerous historical precedents, has been empo
Source: Misinformer Of The Year: The Ecosystem Of Fake News And The “Alt-Right”
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a…
Displaced people use camera phone footage to highlight life on the run in “Exodus.”
Source: Refugees Take Us Inside Their Fight For Survival In This Harrowing Film | The Huffington Post
The end of 2016 has brought balmy Arctic temperatures and record low ice extent for the time of year. It’s a freak event even by modern standards, and climate models point the finger firmly at humans.
Source: Yes, the Arctic’s freakishly warm winter is due to humans’ climate influence
The Iraq Inquiry Report (2009-2016) documents how Tony Blair committed Great Britain to war early in 2002, lying to the United Nations, to Parliament, and to the British people, in order to follow George Bush, who had planned an aggression on Iraq well before September 2001. Australian Prime Minister John Howard conspired with both reckless…
The Iraq Inquiry Report (2009-2016) documents how Tony Blair committed Great Britain to war early in 2002, lying to the United Nations, to Parliament, and to the British people, in order to follow George Bush, who had planned an aggression on Iraq well before September 2001. Australian Prime Minister John Howard conspired with both reckless…
The long-form reports on “Last Week Tonight” kept us all informed abut the election, opioids and pyramid schemes
Source: Best of 2016: Six times John Oliver made us all smarter this year – Salon.com
“Obama, Trump, none of them know what’s going on over there.”
The blow to German Chancellor Angela Merkel could spell the beginning of the end for a union with open borders.
Source: Weekend Roundup: The Berlin Attack Has Sealed The Political Fate Of Europe | The Huffington Post
President-elect released statement saying he would dissolve Trump Foundation to avoid ‘even the appearance of any conflict with my role as President’
Please enjoy these season’s greetings from Peter Dutton, Fiona the Unemployed Bettong, Ian the Climate Denialist Potato, Stiff Buttlint, Brenda the Civil Disobedience Penguin and rescue dogs, Roy and Beyonce
In December 2015, Australia made a commitment to the global goal “to hold average temperature increase to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to keep warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” Then in March 2016, the Turnbull government signed an agreement to make a $640,000 grant to Bjørn Lomborg to write yet another climate contrarian…
Source: Bjorn again – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Victorians are more anxious about crime than any other state.
Boxing Day is the most important day on the Australian cricket calendar.
Source: The pioneering Aboriginal team that took cricket by storm
Detainees’ letter claims medical staff ignored months of escalating complaints before Faysal Ishak Ahmed collapsed
Inmates ‘kicked the officers and staff out in a serious way’ for a night of protest, says Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani
Source: Manus Island detainees rebel against guards after death of refugee | Australia news | The Guardian
The cast and writers of “SNL” made us laugh and cry in its coverage of the 2016 presidential election
Source: Best of 2016: 10 times “Saturday Night Live” nailed this year’s election insanity – Salon.com
From all the recent hand-wringing about “fake news,” you would think that the hand-wringers had never stood in a supermarket checkout line, surrounded by 72-point headlines about alien abductions and miracle cures.
Source: Fake News Is Not the Real Media Threat We’re Facing | The Nation
Christmas protest called for freedom of movement between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
Source: Video: Israeli soldiers tear gas Santa | The Electronic Intifada
Bird’s-eye view photographs of an entirely isolated Amazonian tribe have revealed a rare insight into a lost Neolithic way of life. Brazilian photographer Ricardo Stuckert captured these high-resolution images from a low-flying helicopter above members of the indigenous tribe in a jungle in Jordao, close to the Brazil-Peru border.
Source: Photographer captures images of uncontacted ancient Amazon tribe | The Independent
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Given the alarming rise of white nationalism in the United States …
Source: Top Five ways Jesus was not White | Informed Comment
Since my Tuesday piece on the Berlin attack – when, as the BBC is still saying, a lorry ‘went on a rampage’ in…
Source: The predictable Muslim ‘good news stories’ have arrived | Coffee House
A Muslim-owned restaurant in London is offering a three-course meal to homeless and elderly people on Christmas Day so that “no one eats alone”. Shish Restaurant, in Sidcup, is asking local residents to spread the word of its offer and has put up posters saying “We are here to sit with you” on 25 December. The restaurant urged people to share its plan through social media – where the initiative was widely praised.
I
n late March, Donald Trump opened a rally in Wisconsin by mocking the state’s governor, Scott Walker, who had just endorsed his Republican opponent, Ted Cruz. “He came in on his Harley,” Trump said of Walker, “but he doesn’t look like a motorcycle guy.
And how to reform our bigoted brains.
Source: The Science of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men | Mother Jones
Here’s why it feels like the economy isn’t getting better.
Source: 11 Charts That Show Income Inequality Isn’t Getting Better Anytime Soon | Mother Jones
I’ve often wondered what it would be like to spend an hour or two inside Tony Abbott’s head. What’s going on up there? What does the world look like? What textures, meanings, memories and emotions flavour the broth of his experience? How did he feel when his daughter called him a “lame, gay churchy loser”? Why did he eat that onion?
