Ooh! Margaret MacMillan:

“So do we just accept that the world is a dangerous place where the strong will do what they choose, and give up on the goal of an international society that submits to laws just as those in the most stable and successful societies do?”
www.ft.com/content/aca7...

Capitalism sustains economic inequality by valorizing economic inequality as a marker of competence & social worth--thru patently circular reasoning--wch elevates the wealthy as authority figures. These 2 self-sustaining paradoxical cycles must be disrupted for dem'cy to recover.

Democracy is strongest when economic & social inequality are the most attenuated. Inequality--real & perceived--is the underlying cause of the rough state of dem'cy. Conservatism sustains real social inequality by foisting a belief that others have received unearned economic &/or social opportunity.

That in turn makes people even less introspective, & more deferential to authority figures who articulate the oversimplifications & scapegoating. It's a vicious cycle. Interrupting the cycle is the challenge. Speeches, teaching & preaching are necessary, but insufficient.

Community, technology, and the necessary friction required for democracy. Great piece, even if the author believes it isn't ready for prime time.

Aversion to introspection is what is wrong with the U.S. It follows from political neoliberalism, its cultural cousin, postmodernism, & their epistemological progeny, post-truth, that have been imposed on our country & makes ppl's economic, social, civil & civic existences (feel) so precarious.

Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19):

NYT: 5 of 58
WashPost: 1 of 43
WSJ: 0 of 40
AP: 0 of 26
CNN Wire: 0 of 18
NY Post: 0 of 17
Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4
LA Times: 0 of 4
Boston Globe: 0 of 2

Right out in the open, Donald Trump is suing his own IRS to try to steal $10 BILLION taxpayer dollars.

I just introduced a bill that would make this theft ILLEGAL.

There are only 2 inferences to be drawn, either Carlson is stupid, or he's duplicitous. Both should disqualify him as an authority figure on any topic.

‘No Way To Prevent This’ Says Only Party Where This Regularly Happens

Dad was a union convenor. Pragmatic, fair & largely successful. Over Sunday dinner he would explain how capitalism works, & where it doesn't. He was balanced, but always a labour voter. He'd argue with his Tory dad.

Now he sits in front of the telly all day, and spouts YouTube bollocks as fact.

Feel quite strongly that Facebook is the major player in the radicalisation of the boomer generation. It's a cesspool.

‘I feel like I’m losing her’: the families torn apart by older relatives going far right It starts with a ‘back in my day’ nostalgic meme – then suddenly your elders are sharing AI-generated ‘boomerslop’ and repeating conspiracy theories …

Fascinating.

Trump says his allies never do anything for him, and here we are about to remove our Prime Minister because of Epstein

you know the way "why did the Roman Empire fall" and "what are the causes of the First World War" are big questions that sort of function like Rorsharch tests, allowing people to debate ultimately inexplicable moments in history? "Why did no one stop Trump" a decent future shout for the third.

The death of Nathalie Baye makes me feel so sad. Her work with Truffaut, Godard makes her immortal. But her loss reminds me of interviewing her in her hotel suite and coming home smelling of her cigarettes, on a fleeting afternoon 25 years ago.

A 10-step plan to stop the populists — but will it work? The former Labour minister Liam Byrne sets out how to defeat leaders like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage in an energetic and provocative book

"Another way of explaining populism, suggested by Hugo Drochon in his new book, Elites and Democracy, is to see populist politics as 'the process of replacing one elite with another’." Great to see @hdrochon.bsky.social mentioned in this piece from @thetimes.com! Read more:

the Catholic Church has done a better job of distancing itself from international pedophile networks

The Left Needs an Alternative Cosmopolitanism While many critics view rising global chaos strictly in geopolitical terms, political philosopher Lea Ypi argues that it’s really ideological — the result of an increasingly coordinated global right. To compete, the Left must internationalize in equal measure.

While many critics view rising global chaos strictly in geopolitical terms, political philosopher Lea Ypi argues that it’s really ideological — the result of an increasingly coordinated global right.

To compete, the Left must internationalize in equal measure.

Only US Votes Against Women’s Rights Document At UN Commission - Health Policy Watch President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock told the opening of CSW that the backlash against women's rights "feels as though we are forced to

For the first time in decades, consensus broke at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The United States cast the lone “no” vote on a document aimed at improving justice systems for women and girls worldwide. Misogyny is the official policy of the US under Trump.

International law is in retreat. We cannot let it die Even defenders of the rules are speaking of them in the past tense. But they remain indispensable, argues historian Margaret MacMillan

Margaret MacMillan: “What is worrying today is the willingness of the powerful to dispense with even cursory attempts to put a legal gloss on their actions. The open contempt for the law is shown not just in words but in actions.” …

" . . . history and the present are littered with the striking capacity of human beings to overlook, minimize, or explain away evidence that does not fit comfortably with deeply held assumptions and theories."
-Margaret MacMillan, ^The War That Ended Peace^, abt the lead-up to WWI.

The art of the peace deal Can talks between the US and Russia reach a lasting settlement over Ukraine? So far, argues historian Margaret MacMillan, the signs are not looking good

Margaret MacMillan on negotiations between the US and #Russia over #Ukraine.

👉 "Credibility, that intangible but valuable asset, helps to deter enemies and keep allies. Alliances, like peace itself, need work — and trust, once destroyed, is hard to build back up."

www.ft.com/content/9b0c...

International law is in retreat. We cannot let it die Even defenders of the rules are speaking of them in the past tense. But they remain indispensable, argues historian Margaret MacMillan

Margaret MacMillan: International law is in a bad way these days, attacked as being too narrow, too permissive, or just irrelevant. Canada, like other democracies, is a strong supporter of the idea that nations must be bound by laws but in his memorable speech at Davos, its prime minister

Harm reduction saves lives by reducing overdoses, preventing disease, and connecting people to care. Abstinence-only fails substance users, with higher rates of illness, overdose, and relapse.

#HarmReduction #DrugPolicy #SubstanceUse #Substances #Drugs #Health #Healthcare #Canada #Politics #CdnPoli

Increase in Ottawa paramedic calls for overdoses near closed drug consumption site: data Data from the City of Ottawa shows an increase in the number of overdose incidents paramedics have responded to since the closure of the supervised consumption site at the Somerset West Community Heal...

Exactly what we said would happen when the Ford govt forced the supervised consumption site at Somerset West Community Health Centre: more overdoses in public. Bad for people with addictions, a burden on city services and terrible for the vitality of Chinatown.

www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

MPP, councillor call for investigation of Chinatown addictions clinic | CBC News Catherine McKenney and Ariel Troster are calling on Ontario’s medical regulator to investigate a private addictions treatment clinic that they say has sown "chaos" in Ottawa's Chinatown neighbourhood.

This private clinic replaced a safe consumption site, which had been working well. Safe consumption saves lives. Private medicine exploits the vulnerable.

Ford is killing us with Americanized healthcare.

#HarmReduction #DrugPolicy #SafeConsumption #Ottawa #Ontario #Canada #Politics #Health

A masked man in paramilitary gear holds a flag.

Niagara neo-Nazi sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to terrorism charges

An Ontario man who pleaded guilty to three terrorism charges has been sentenced to 20 years in prison with the
possibility of parole after 10 years.

#cbc #cbc-canada-news #Canada

Ontario must end deadly ‘war on drugs’ as overdose crisis escalates The Ontario government’s policies are contributing to an overdose crisis in cities across the province, Amnesty International Canada warns.

The Ontario government’s intensifying “war on drugs” is fuelling an overdose crisis and other preventable harms in cities across the province.
amnesty.ca/press-releas...

Growing provincial use of notwithstanding clause a risk to Canadian human rights: Amnesty International – Future of Good Amnesty International says in a new report the growing provincial use of the notwithstanding clause is eroding human rights protections in Canada.

Amnesty International says in a new report the growing provincial use of the notwithstanding clause is eroding human rights protections in Canada.

futureofgood.co/growing-prov...