We, British Academics who are also Israeli citizens, strongly oppose the governmental imposition of the IHRA ‘working definition of antisemitism’ on Universities in England. We call on all academic senates to reject the IHRA document or, where adopted already, act to revoke it.*
Governments mustn’t confuse Criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism: British-Israeli Academics
The flash flood in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has killed at least 12 people, with fears for 170 more.
A glacial flood that tore through a Himalayan valley, killing at least 12 people with fears for 170 more, has sharpened concerns about an acceleration in climate change disasters, as rescuers scramble through the hostile terrain to find survivors.
Deadly Himalayan glacial burst triggers calls for action on climate change
Last Thursday, AGL Energy notably wrote down the value of their production assets and contracts by $2.7 billion. Origin Energy and the Queensland government’s coal generators similarly wrote down the value of their assets. AGL’s write-down is, remarkably, worth more than a third of the value of the total shareholders’ equity in the company.
Write-down shows AGL has read the writing on the wall
Housing Hypocrites: Tim Wilson’s housing affordability crusade just an assault on super – Michael West
Tim Wilson is the latest Coalition politician to cry crocodile tears over the housing affordability crisis, calling for Australians to access their superannuation to buy a house. Yet Coalition policies – from negative gearing, property subsidies, money-laundering, super fund borrowing to banking and lending standards – are all about pushing house prices up for those who already own them, writes Elizabeth Minter.
Housing Hypocrites: Tim Wilson’s housing affordability crusade just an assault on super – Michael West
Back in 2015, Malcolm Turnbull, when announcing $100 million in federal funding to help stop violence against women, said that “disrespecting women does not always result in violence against women. But all violence against women begins with disrespecting women.” If you think the Coalition men respect women as equals, just ask Julie Bishop.
Remember when Tony Abbott made himself Minister for Women? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
1 hr 7 min
But instead of looking for a man wearing a hat and glasses among a sea of other images, the media has desperately tried to find “good,” “decent,” “reasonable” and “responsible” Republicans who will “save” their party from Donald Trump. Such a quest will prove fruitless, as there are very few such Republicans left.
Desperately seeking honorable Republicans: Media’s snipe hunt comes up empty again | Salon.com
Donald Trump and other fans are expressing support for Lou Dobbs after the sudden cancellation of his “number one news program” on Fox News, but liberals are so giddy they want other conservatives like Sean Hannity pulled.
‘Now fire Hannity, Ingraham, Carlson’: Liberals call for BIGGER PURGE at Fox News as canceled Lou Dobbs shares tweets of support — RT USA News
However, decades of research on social influence, persuasion and psychology show that the messages that people encounter heavily influence their decisions to engage in certain behaviors.
Yes, Speech can Incite Violence: What Decades of Research Show about Trump’s Impeachment Trial
“Republicans are taking their assault on voting rights to the next level… trying to accomplish through legislation what Trump couldn’t with litigation.
‘Downright Scary’: In 2021 Alone, GOP Introduces 100+ Voter Suppression Bills in 28 States | Common Dreams News
Widespread voter fraud is a fake problem, but some conservative donors say they’re getting scammed out of real money.
Election Denier Groups Accused of Profiting Without Results
In Game Changer, Int’l Criminal Court will take up Israeli War Crimes and Apartheid in Palestine
International Criminal Court found that it had jurisdiction to consider war crimes and crimes against humanity and the crime of Apartheid in the Palestinian territories. Israeli politician Abba Eban once quipped that Palestinians never lost the opportunity to lose an opportunity. But Palestinians have carefully, methodically created this opportunity to be heard in an international tribunal. It is the ruling Israeli right wing about which one can now quip about missing opportunities. Israel has egregiously violated the 1949 Geneva Convention on the treatment of people in Occupied territories by flooding its own citizens into the Palestinian Territories, by stealing Palestinian land from its owners and building squatter settlements on it, and by using disproportional force against Palestinian demonstrators at the Gaza border. The court will also look into war crimes by Hamas, which was elected in 2006 and retains control of the Gaza Strip.
In Game Changer, Int’l Criminal Court will take up Israeli War Crimes and Apartheid in Palestine
I am now entering my fifth year as a regular heroin user,” writes Carl Hart in his revelatory new book, Drug Use for Grown-Ups. Fifty-four-year-old Hart is the Ziff professor of psychology at Columbia University. Regular heroin use and high academic achievement are not two pursuits that we expect to see in the same life story. At least not openly. Heroin is by popular consensus the worst of drugs, the one that leaves users hopelessly strung-out and slavishly addicted. How can you be a regular user and hold down a prestigious Ivy League professorship? And why would you admit to it? As Hart continues: “I do not have a drug-use problem. Never have. Each day, I meet my parental, personal and professional responsibilities. I pay my taxes, serve as a volunteer in my community on a regular basis and contribute to the global community as an informed and engaged citizen. I am better for my drug use.”
Meet Carl Hart: parent, Columbia professor – and heroin user | Drugs | The Guardian
The filings reflect concerns among lawmakers and watchdog groups over the former president’s self-dealing and enrichment while in office, relying on public funds and his campaign to inflate his private business.
Trump funnelled money from donors into private business after election loss, report finds | The Independent
Smartmatic voter tech company filed a 285-page, $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Mind you, this is not the first lawsuit against some of these folks. Dominion is already suing Sidney Powell for $1.3 billion. Rudy Giuliani is also being sued by Dominion for $1.3 billion. Well, now it looks like many other are getting caught up in the net and it is not going to go well for them.
More Voting Machine Lawsuits Against Fox News! | Crooks and Liars
Republicans have introduced a bill to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of her seat on the Foreign Affairs committee. Omar, of course, has never “liked” a posting on Facebook advocating the killing of a member of Congress, nor has she encouraged people to invade the Capitol. The false equivalence between Greene and Omar was taken up by other Republicans and by Fox Cable News.
Republicans in Congress engage in hateful Islamophobia to defend their Islamophobe, Greene
In his first major foreign policy address, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he would end American support for Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led “offensive operations” in Yemen, echoing a promise he made on the campaign trail in 2019.
Biden Ends U.S. Support for Saudi “Offensive” in Yemen
Rihanna Is Right About the Importance of India’s Massive Farmer Protests
The massive farmer protests in India are facing down a Modi government that has no qualms about using repression to push through its neoliberal agenda. The farmers’ resolve has been remarkable — and they’re providing a glimmer of hope that Modi’s far-right government may not be as invincible as it seemed just months ago.
Rihanna Is Right About the Importance of India’s Massive Farmer Protests
The Mysterious ‘Other’: political donations and the devil in the detailed receipts – Michael West
How could 94% of the millions which made their way to political parties be deemed, not to be ‘Donations’, but instead ‘Other’? Is it a joke? Luke Stacey and Michael West investigate the bad joke which is dark money in Australian politics.
The Mysterious ‘Other’: political donations and the devil in the detailed receipts – Michael West
The fossil fuel industry will continue to be a threat to the global environment so long as holds its influence over governments, writes Stephen Fitzgerald.
Government and corporate greed is the biggest killer of our planet
My thought for the day I feel people on the right of politics in Australia show an insensitivity to the common good that goes beyond any thoughtful examination. They have a hate on their lips, and their hate starts with the beginning of a smile. PS: Might I remind my friends that it is they who we are fighting, not ourselves?( John Lord )
The Morrison Government: Scandal-ridden to the core – » The Australian Independent Media Network
So much for accepting the science. Morrison is happy to ride on the coat tails of the State premiers by claiming to have accepted the health science but he clearly doesn’t accept the climate science. We need less marketing and more hummingbirds.
The Hummingbird – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The headmaster told Ian, “This new kid’s dad has just committed suicide. Look after him.” He was incredibly friendly and nice. He came from a really established family – there were so many things expected of him that no one would have dreamt of for me. My family was such a disaster, I could have said to my mother, “After school, I’m going to South Africa to become a mercenary,” and she would have said, “No worries.” We clicked through drama. We’d stay up late, improvising poems or lying onstage in the school theatre telling stories. It was like a love affair; that intensity, that closeness. When I look back at all those years after school, as a drug addict and a complete mess of a human being, I often wonder why Ian stuck with me. But I guess when things got weird, he remembered that kid. After school, we lost touch: he did uni and got into finance; I was expelled from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and got into drugs. Then we ran into each other on Collins Street in Melbourne. I was in op-shop clothes, probably going into withdrawal, completely broke. He was wearing this gorgeous suit, looking like a million bucks. We were both jealous of each other. I’m thinking, “God! He probably spends more on lunch than I do in a week!” And he’s thinking, “He’s living this wonderful bohemian artist’s life.”
Two of Us with creative friends Ian Darling, a documentary filmmaker, and comedian Greg Fleet
OAN runs giant DISCLAIMER warning before airing MyPillow guy’s documentary claiming to present ‘100% proof’ of election fraud — RT USA News
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell aired his promised documentary alleging voter fraud against Donald Trump on Friday to a wave of mockery, with even One America News Network airing a telling major disclaimer before the show.
OAN runs giant DISCLAIMER warning before airing MyPillow guy’s documentary claiming to present ‘100% proof’ of election fraud — RT USA News
Last week, prosecutors announced charges against a California man who was arrested on Jan. 15 for possession of pipe bombs and other weapons. Ian Rogers was apparently intent on attacking Democrats and other “enemies” of Donald Trump and his movement. Law enforcement also seized as evidence a card from Rogers that read “White Privilege Trumps Everything” and had the number “0045” (Trump was the 45th president) repeatedly listed as its account number.
“White privilege Trumps everything”: Jokey meme, or symbol of America’s disease? | Salon.com
The complaint also alleges that Fox hosts Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro also directly benefited from their involvement in the conspiracy. The lawsuit alleges that Fox went along with the “well-orchestrated dance” due to pressure from newcomer outlets such as Newsmax and One America News, which were stealing away conservative, pro-Trump viewers. Fox News Media, in a statement on behalf of the network and its hosts, rejected the accusations. It said it is proud of its election coverage and would defend itself against the “meritless” lawsuit in court. Fox “is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion,” the company said in a written statement. Giuliani and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fox News, Fox hosts, Giuliani and Powell named in $US2.7 billion libel suit by Smartmatic voting company
“That cause is not a democratic cause. It’s not a limited-government cause. It seems that the Mercers invested in chaos and they got exactly what they wanted. It seems like they invested in someone who didn’t believe in American democracy, and they got someone who tried to burn it down.”
How one billionaire family bankrolled election lies, white nationalism — and the Capitol riot | Salon.com
In a February 1 Instagram Live video, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) detailed her experience during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In the process of telling her story, Ocasio-Cortez also revealed that she is a survivor of sexual assault. Right-wing media voices took the opportunity to ridicule her, joke about surviving sexual assault, and attempt to discredit her as a partisan liar, among other dismissive responses.
Right-wing media melt down over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Instagram Live about the Capitol insurrection | Media Matters for America
With rates so low, investors don’t have much choice for good returns outside of stocks. Margie Patel, senior portfolio manager at Wells Fargo Asset Management, said the Fed has pretty much signalled to Wall Street that it won’t allow for a big market downturn. “As long as interest rates are this low,” she said, “it’s really hard for me to see how you could have much of a correction in stocks.”
‘This is where we are’: Bubble fears are rising on Wall Street
When Trumpists use images of the “Hoppean Snake,” offering “free helicopter rides,” they’re advocating a program of extermination.
What the Far-Right Fascination With Pinochet Should Tell Us
Economic boycotts have been a common and effective means of protest in the US in the past century, and Americans rightly saw it as a civil and democratic way to exert non-violent pressure to effect political change.
Boycotts are legitimate tools of protest against injustice | The Electronic Intifada
A company part-owned by Liberal MP David Coleman was given a government grant that put him in breach of section 44 of the Constitution. Jommy Tee investigates the trail of the Defence Department grant, which also involved Coleman making false declarations to the Australian Electoral Commission and breaching ministerial standards.
Liberal Party MP David Coleman ineligible to sit in parliament? – Michael West
Kristina Keneally claims the federal government is “turning a blind eye” to the threat of white supremacists, in a dispute over a hotly contested Senate motion where the Coalition deleted and amended mentions of right-wing extremism.
Far-right extremism motion ‘whited-out’ by government
Next week Republicans in Washington have one more chance to turn their backs on fascism. They could reject the laughable claims from Trump’s lawyers that he was merely exercising his free speech rights by telling his mob to march on Congress and fight like hell. Apparently such conduct does not constitute incitement to riot, because the word “incitement” has lost all relationship to reality. Nobody expects Republican senators to vote in enough numbers to convict Trump of the obvious charges that played out on television. Nobody expects enough of them to reject the violent overthrow of the democracy that put them in the Senate. They represent, to use Bush’s language, a hostile regime inside the nation’s capital. Until Republicans split with the insurrectionists – by ejecting them from their party or forming their own – democracy itself is unsafe.
Democracy or the white supremacist mob: which side is the Republican party on? | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Short-selling has been placed on the map once again, but this time it’s exposed an interesting double-standard that exists in the free market on how investors “should behave” in the eyes of Wall Street titans. To provide context, for those unbeknown to the workings of the free market, this beloved tradition of hedge fund managers is when investors make money off stock prices falling. In a short sell, an investor borrows a security and sells it on the market with the intention to buy it back later for less money when it falls, as expected. Remember when Eggs flew as Panama Papers spark populist anger in the streets Capitalism faces a crisis of credibility as leaked documents show global rules are rigged for the rich and powerful. As you can imagine, a downturn is the perfect time to whet the appetites of these hungry hedge funders who profiteer from the decline in a company’s value. This practice got so out of hand in 2008 that it led to U.S. regulators (as well as Australian) to temporarily ban the short-selling of stocks out of fear it would exacerbate the market downturn by perpetuating a downward spiral in stock prices during the crisis.
Wall Street is melting down over the GameStop saga
The Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist
The claims made by Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang in a recent op-ed in the Jewish weekly The Forward, point to the prevailing ignorance that continues to dominate the US discourse on Palestine and Israel. Yang is a former Democratic Presidential candidate and is vying for the Jewish vote in New York City. According to the reductionist assumption that all Jews must naturally support Israel and Zionism, Yang constructed an argument that is based entirely on a tired and false mantra equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. His pro-Israel logic is not only unfounded, but also confused.
The Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist
Australia must commit to a net-zero carbon emission target to avoid becoming an international pariah, writes Professor John Quiggin.
Morrison missing the memo on climate change
My thought for the day One of the oddities of political polling is trying to understand how 50% of the voting public would willingly return a party that has governed so abysmally.
With all the luck in the world, the Prime Minister progresses but fails to move forward – » The Australian Independent Media Network
And the excuse for this inaction? We won’t commit to any target until we know how we will get there and how much it will cost. Seriously. If anyone can tell me what technology will be available in 2050 and how much anything will cost in 30 years’ time, I’d be interested to hear it. We listen to health experts about the pandemic. It’s similarly crucial that we listen to the warnings and advice from experts about the health of the planet. And Scotty – Matt Canavan, Keith Pitt, George Christensen, Craig Kelly and Jim Molan do not qualify as experts. Share this:
The world knows Scott Morrison is a liar. Now Australians need to wake up – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Changing the date of Australia Day – which marks centuries of pain and sorrow – is one such way forward. Sure, for many Indigenous people the date is marked as an insult – not a day to be celebrated. Let that sink in. How would you feel if the Axis Powers celebrated a victory lap every year if they won the Second World War?
Some Context for “Australia Day” – How to really fix the division – » The Australian Independent Media Network
How do journalists explain and interrogate the rise of the far right without amplifying and legitimising the views of its protagonists?
Australian journalism has a problem with the far right
A pro-Trump organizer who helped plan the January 6 “March to Save America” rally that led to a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is now planning a “MAGA sellout” bus tour targeting Republicans who did not side with former President Donald Trump’s efforts to steal the election.
The same pro-Trump organizers behind the insurrection are planning a “MAGA sellout” bus tour | Media Matters for America
In an 80-page document laying out their case, the Democrats’ impeachment managers state that Trump “summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue”.
Trump impeachment: Democrats say Donald Trump ‘singularly responsible’ for Capitol riot
More than half of New Delhi’s population of 20 million has been infected with the coronavirus and since developed antibodies, a survey by the Indian government has revealed.
Over half of New Delhi has been infected with Covid-19, Indian govt study suggests — RT World News
Drug companies have received over $10 billion from the US government for COVID-19 vaccine production. Yet those companies weren’t required to offer their vaccines at fair prices or share intellectual property rights — and they want to keep it that way.
COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Want to Keep Getting Billions in Public Money With No Strings Attached
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