alanjjohnstone
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The Attorney general for England and Wales announced that she could refer the acquittal of the Colston Four to the court of appeal.
Japan and Australia have signed a “landmark” defence deal.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a treaty to ease restrictions on the movement of weapons and supplies for joint training, is the latest regional security pact.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-signs-landmark-defence-deal-143522039.html
Republicans have been preparing for the next presidential campaign. While the ruling Democrats are caught up in infighting among various factions, even the deadly COVID-19 crisis is being politically exploited. The Republicans are blocking key federal financial aid to prevent the Biden administration from scoring points for the next election campaign.
What is most dangerous, however, is the redrawing of electoral districts, or gerrymandering, which will curtail the basic democratic rights of Blacks and other minorities. In addition, various other requirements are all intended to achieve the same thing: preventing potential Democratic voters from casting their ballots.
https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-a-year-after-capitol-storming-us-democracy-remains-fragile/a-60317916
To broaden the debate even further with a related article about Putin and Russia
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/1/4/putins-russia-is-not-stalins-ussr
Imagine the outrage if a non-Jew had said this
“These are not people, these are subhumans. Despicable people and the corruption of the Jewish people. They must not be given any backing,” Golan told the Knesset Channel. “This radical nationalist rampage will bring a catastrophe upon us.”
Golan said he was referring to settlers suspected of having defaced a nearby Muslim cemetery, which he likened to a “pogrom.”
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Golan’s remarks were “shocking, a generalization and bordering on a blood libel.”
One more COP pledge to be broken
Brazil will continue to use and subsidize coal as an energy source until at least 2040
far from promoting the adoption of climate-friendly clean fuels – benefits coal producers in southern Santa Catarina state by prolonging the activities of coal-based power plants in the region for a further 18 years. Under previous policies, Brazilian subsidies for thermal coal-powered plants were supposed to end by 2027, and the authorization for three large plants in Santa Catarina to operate was meant to expire in 2025.
A California tech company introduced a four-day work-week and says that its productivity has skyrocketed.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bolt-company-four-day-work-week-b1988325.html
Juries have cleared protesters despite there being no question of their having carried out the actions for which they were tried.
Republicans’ anti-democratic attacks are the new normal.
The idea that politicians may need to step in and toss out legitimate votes is no longer a fringe idea, but instead one that has moved to the center of our political discourse. Combined with more explicit legislation to exert partisan influence over election administration – 32 bills became law in 17 states last year…
“Just as gerrymandering and Republicans trying to make voting harder have been baked into our expectations of democracy, it won’t be long until we just accept that Republicans will try to overturn elections they lost,” Matt Fuller writes in a haunting piece for the Daily Beast. “To not do so, to affirm an election that hands power to a Democrat, will become treachery in the GOP. That’s really where we’re headed – if we’re not already there.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/06/republicans-anti-democratic-attacks
“unlike in 1920s Italy or 1930s Germany, major commercial interests didn’t feel nearly threatened enough by workers’ organizations and the left to allow the president to overturn democratic norms. Indeed, by 6 January, they seemed to see an unstable White House as a bigger threat to their profits…How does one defuse the situation? To begin with, Democrats need to focus less on conjuring nightmares about the future (even if some of those fears are warranted) and more on offering dreams that people can believe in. That means clearer bread-and-butter messaging about the material gains that politics can offer people. “
Bhaskar Sunkara, founding editor of Jacobin magazine, author of The Socialist Manifesto.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/06/us-democracy-capitol-attack-january-6
I think too much emphasis is being placed on “federal”
The popularity of Trump among Republicans remains strong despite his views on the vaccine
Trump’s approval rating has increased since he left office a year ago, and nearly 9 in 10 Republicans now have a favorable view of him.
52% of voters that they have a favorable impression of the former president. Some 47% don’t.
Among Republicans, 85% have a favorable view, with 63% declaring a “very favorable” opinion. Even 23% of Democrats and 51% of independents agree.
A full year after the Jan 6 mob, two-thirds of Republican voters believe the false claim of voter fraud. 58% of Republicans say Biden wasn’t legitimately elected
A CBS poll finds that only 33% believes US democracy is secure
Fortunately, most people do not approve of political violence even if they think it is likely to happen.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/january-6-opinion-poll-2022/
But I don’t believe those who seek a “coup” wish it to be violent.
They want it to have the appearance of legality and it is why they are subverting local and state institutions in those red states they control. 2022 Midterms are projected to increase the number of those.
We are all making assumptions and speculating. We all hope ALB and MS are right that such an event doesn’t materialise.
But the possibility that such a powerful nation becomes a failed sate and perhaps even a pariah state cannot be entirely dismissed.
Helen Mirren shouldn’t play Golda Meir because she isn’t Jewish says Maureen Lipman.
Trump called on the “MAGA nation” to “rise up” against “egregious federal government overreach.”
JK Rawling accused of being anti-semitic for depicting Gringott bankers as big-nosed goblins
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/jon-stewart-calls-jk-rowling-090804877.html
Wednesday marked Julian Assange’s 1,000th day of imprisonment in London’s Belmarsh Prison
