What makes hard-working IA political editor Dr Martin Hirst tick? This Telum Media interview paints the picture.
Source: Telum Media talks to Independent Australia political editor Dr Martin Hirst
What makes hard-working IA political editor Dr Martin Hirst tick? This Telum Media interview paints the picture.
Source: Telum Media talks to Independent Australia political editor Dr Martin Hirst
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – 1. If you appoint yourself to carry out surveillance of a …
Source: Top 8 Signs someone is a White Terrorist, e.g. plotting to Blow up Mosque | Informed Comment
The danger we face does not come, in the end, from Trump and his malignant cabal. It comes from severely weakened and corrupted democratic institutions.
Source: Chris Hedges: The Elites Won’t Save Us – Chris Hedges – Truthdig
Chris Hedges and Matt Taibbi have a pretty good idea—and in this clip, a compelling dialogue—about how Donald Trump made U.S. politics work for him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have made many, many mistakes in my life, but investing in China is not one of them.” – James Packer, speech to the Asia Society, 14 March 2013.
Source: Arrested development: James Packer has been down, but he’s not out | The Monthly
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – – One-man fake news channel Sean Spicer, Trump’s spokesman, said Wednesday that anyone …
Source: Spicer: Trump can Criticize Iraq War but no one can Slam Trump’s Yemen Raid
The many biographies of Karl Marx bring out a basic paradox in Marxism. Biographies are typically narratives of the lives of important figures who loom large against the backdrop of history.
Source: Marx’s Revenge | The Nation
The window to overthrow the Trump regime is rapidly closing. We must move swiftly to make governance impossible through nationwide strikes and other nonviolent resistance. If we do not, the last vestiges of democracy will die.
Source: Chris Hedges: Make America Ungovernable – Chris Hedges – Truthdig
When formulating our defence against terrorism, it is important to understand the motives of those who encourage such violence. The immediate aim is to cause fear. Despite you being much more likely to die at the hands of your partner, we have people like Pauline Hanson, Cory Bernardi, George Christensen and Sonia Kruger telling us…
Trump can only do this – after taking it to a never-ending election campaign – because the cultural environment exists to receive it as some version of common sense.
Source: Trump is only finishing what Hollywood and the media started

The barrage of lies from demagogues such as Donald Trump creates profound cognitive dissonance among the population that ends in a nationwide collective mental illness.
Source: Chris Hedges: American Psychosis – Chris Hedges – Truthdig
All of us should be aware Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is emerging as the second most important man in the United States, writes Philip Williams.
If anyone thought Trump’s campaign rhetoric was overblown bluff, the last week should have disabused them of that notion. The man-child that they now call Mr President has been issuing executive orders at a blistering pace. The only trouble is, there is no plan behind any of them. Many of them appear to be unconstitutional,…
Source: The naivety of the man-child they call Mr President – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The United States is no longer a full democracy, according to the highly regarded Economist Intelligence Unit, which each year compiles a Democracy Index that “provides a snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories.
Source: ‘The Economist’ Just Downgraded the US From a ‘Full Democracy’ to a ‘Flawed Democracy’ | The Nation
In an article yesterday in response to the news that Trump had gagged government scientists and agencies, I included a list of the 14 defining characteristics of fascism. As I read through the expanded explanation, I got a very uneasy feeling that I was reading about our own government. The similarities are chilling. Recognise any…
Source: Do we live in a fascist regime? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In his first news conference in months, president-elect Donald J. Trump …
There are three reasons the government will not suspend the system issuing faulty debt claims to welfare recipients
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald J. Trump has picked another fight with the elders of …
Source: Circus of Liars: How Trump & GOP are Twisted into Pretzels over Putin Hack
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – It is 2017, and shortly the White House will be inhabited …
Source: Preparing for the Normalization of a Neofascist White House | Informed Comment
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In 2016, the Middle East continued to be a major focus …
Source: Top Eight Mideast Stories of 2016 that Shaped our World | Informed Comment
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reprint edn. 1. White terrorists are called “gunmen.” What does that …
Source: Top Ten differences between White Terrorists and Others | Informed Comment

Psychologist Arie Kruglanski explains how closed-mindedness and existential angst create the modern American jihadist.
Source: Here Are the Psychological Reasons Why an American Might Join ISIS | Mother Jones