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Pleasant Politics
- At O.C. event, JD Vance said divorces after unhappy, 'even violent' marriages 'didn't work out for the kids'www.latimes.com At 2021 O.C. event, JD Vance said divorces after unhappy, 'even violent' marriages 'didn't work out for the kids'
Vance said Americans beginning to 'shift spouses like they change their underwear' led to 'a lot of very, very real family dysfunction.'
- Universal school vouchers rarely benefit school-aged children, yet conservatives widely support themwww.reckon.news Universal school vouchers rarely benefit school-aged children, yet conservatives widely support them
A growing body of evidence shows school vouchers have the potential to wreak deep monetary and academic havoc on the children those programs claim to serve.
- Manipur: Waiting for peace in Indian state divided by violencewww.bbc.com Manipur: Waiting for peace in Indian state divided by violence
More than a year has passed since deadly violence broke out in Manipur state, but normalcy is a long way off.
- ‘Everything is legitimate’: Israeli leaders defend soldiers accused of rapewww.aljazeera.com ‘Everything is legitimate’: Israeli leaders defend soldiers accused of rape
Israeli society is divided over arrest of 10 soldiers for brutal gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner caught on video.
- Feeling Good Doesn't Require the Democratsall-cats-are-beautiful.ghost.io Feeling Good Doesn't Require the Democrats
Or: you absolutely don't have to hand it to them Over the last couple weeks, and for the first time in my adult life, the Democratic Party has risen to the historical moment, seeming to wake from the fever dream of appeasing Republican Christofascism and shake off decades of accumulated
- How Tim Walz Went From A Lifelong Firearm Enthusiast To Leading The Charge For Gun Reformwww.huffpost.com How Tim Walz Went From A Lifelong Firearm Enthusiast To Leading The Charge For Gun Reform
The Democratic vice presidential nominee used to get an A rating from the NRA. Seven years ago, he did a 180 degree turn.
- ‘Devolving into a democracy’: What’s behind the Washington GOP’s messy, inconsistent stand against American democracy - InvestigateWestwww.invw.org ‘Devolving into a democracy’: What’s behind the Washington GOP’s messy, inconsistent stand against American democracy - InvestigateWest
GOP resolution fuels concerns about threats to democracy; state party leader dismisses criticisms as “hair-on-fire...
- Pro-Trump administrators are already in place to subvert the 2024 electionwww.msnbc.com Maddow: Pro-Trump administrators are already in place to subvert the 2024 election
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, talks with Rachel Maddow about how Donald Trump supporters are implementing a strategy of embedding themselves in the administrative side of the election so they can subvert the certification of the election if the outcome is not in Trump's favor.
- Ohio is about to purge thousands of inactive voters. See if your name is on the listwww.13abc.com Ohio is about to purge thousands of inactive voters. See if your name is on the list
People on the list have until Monday to take action to avoid having their names removed from the rolls.
- Ohio Gov. DeWine lost all credibility when he repeatedly voted for illegally gerrymandered mapsohiocapitaljournal.com Ohio Gov. DeWine lost all credibility when he repeatedly voted for illegally gerrymandered maps • Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio Gov. DeWine lost all credibility when he repeatedly voted for illegally gerrymandered maps. Now he's pitching a proposal that would have lawmakers draft redistricting reform based on an "Iowa plan" that leaves lawmakers with final authority.
- Al Jazeera reporter Ismail al-Ghoul and his camera operator Ramy al-Rify were wearing press vests when Israel targeted their car and killed them.
- The Rich World’s Immigration Conundrumwww.project-syndicate.org The Rich World’s Immigration Conundrum | by Otaviano Canuto & Eduardo de Carvalho Andrade - Project Syndicate
Otaviano Canuto & Eduardo de Carvalho Andrade show how welcoming foreigners, while politically unpopular, can avoid the economic drag of aging populations.
- Trump Allies Sure Are Talking A Lot About Civil Warwww.rollingstone.com Trump Allies Sure Are Talking A Lot About Civil War
Donald Trump’s supporters keep raising the idea there’s violent conflict in America’s future
- Unions who think Republicans are warming to labor rights are getting playedwww.theguardian.com Unions who think Republicans are warming to labor rights are getting played | Steven Greenhouse
The Teamsters president took a gamble and accepted Trump’s invitation to speak at the Republican convention – it backfired
- Texas sues Biden administration to limit teenage access to birth controlwww.theguardian.com Texas sues Biden administration to limit teenage access to birth control
Minors can receive contraception confidentially under Title X in the state with the highest repeat teen birth rate
- Starmer asked if he will meet with trans youth over puberty blocker banwww.thepinknews.com Starmer asked if he will meet with trans youth over puberty blocker ban
Labour MP Nadia Whittome asked Keir Starmer if he will meet with trans youth over the now-permanent puberty blocker ban.
The Cass Review - Final Report - Key points & download
Some info on the Cass Report can be found here:
- The Cass Report: Anti-science and Anti-trans || video 14 min || text + link
- J.D. Vance Is Using Lies About the Overdose Crisis to Justify State Violencetruthout.org J.D. Vance Is Using Lies About the Overdose Crisis to Justify State Violence
The pain of families like mine should not be exploited to push policies that drive more deadly violence.
- Reproductive rights are under attack using online data. These tools help people protect themselveswww.salon.com Reproductive rights are under attack using online data. These tools help people protect themselves
Salon interviewed Tom Subak, who co-founded abortion access chatbot Charley, about abortion surveillance
>Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) introduced legislation this year that would require the Veterans Administration to provide quarterly reports on the number of abortions performed at VA hospitals and by affiliated providers. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS Act), a bill that would create a federal database for pregnant people nationwide. In Texas, one of the most restrictive abortion states in the country, lawsuits may be filed against “aiders and abettors,” which could include people who drive someone to obtain an abortion. In short, anti-abortion advocates are weaponizing technology to push an agenda eroding reproductive rights. > >To protect oneself, those in the data privacy world recommend deleting period-tracking apps. Still, greater concern lies with apps like Facebook Messenger, or Google, which has been called a “uniquely dangerous tool.” > >To combat this growing surveillance landscape, Tom Subak, former chief strategy officer at Planned Parenthood, teamed up with Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood, to create Charley, a private, secure chatbot that provides up-to-date, accurate information about abortion options in every zip code in the U.S. Salon connected with Subak about the current state of abortion surveillance and how pregnant people in the United States can keep themselves safe amid so much technology. (...)
- The Assassination Attempt and the Comfort of Certaintyyt.artemislena.eu The Assassination Attempt and the Comfort of Certainty
I hope I make the case in this video that doomscrolling / obsessively watching the news in a time of some significant event makes sense even if it is not healthy. Sometimes people come at me for being irrational, and I'm like "Yeah, ok, I'm literally an animal trying to feel safe in the world." --...
- Biden steps down as Democratic nominee: Live updates, explainers, analysiswww.vox.com Biden steps down as Democratic nominee: Live updates, explainers, analysis
Joe Biden is stepping down from the 2024 race after urgent pleas from Democrats and low polling numbers.
- Israel-Gaza war: Palestinians hail UN court’s ‘historic’ ruling on Israeli occupation of territorieswww.irishtimes.com Israel-Gaza war: Israeli jets bomb Houthi targets in Yemen, military says
US State Department criticises International Court of Justice’s opinion on Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
- AnarchoNina writes the harsh truthsocial.treehouse.systems AnarchoNinaAnalyzes (@AnarchoNinaAnalyzes@treehouse.systems)
When I write about the fact that mainstream American society, and in particular its media, bears a tremendous amount of responsibility for the rise of violent, overt fascism in American politics, the recent mainstream coverage of the Republican National Convention is a very good example of what I me...
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/24322992
> It's a pity I can't crosspost in lemmy in a way that would merge the comments in the original thread.
- 230 Congressional Staffers Urge the Lawmakers They Work for to Boycott Netanyahu Speechtruthout.org 230 Congressional Staffers Urge the Lawmakers They Work for to Boycott Netanyahu Speech
The letter represented staffers working across 122 Democratic and Republican offices on Capitol Hill.
- The power of being heard: The benefits of ‘perspective-giving’
Abstract:
Although hundreds of dialogue programs geared towards conflict resolution are offered every year, there have been few scientific studies of their effectiveness.
Across 2 studies we examined the effect of controlled, dyadic interactions on attitudes towards the ‘other’ in members of groups involved in ideological conflict. Study 1 involved Mexican immigrants and White Americans in Arizona, and Study 2 involved Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Cross-group dyads interacted via video and text in a brief, structured, face-to-face exchange: one person was assigned to write about the difficulties of life in their society (‘perspective-giving’), and the second person was assigned to accurately summarize the statement of the first person (‘perspective-taking’).
Positive changes in attitudes towards the outgroup were greater for Mexican immigrants and Palestinians after perspective-giving and for White Americans and Israelis after perspective-taking. For Palestinians, perspective-giving to an Israeli effectively changed attitudes towards Israelis, while a control condition in which they wrote an essay on the same topic without interacting had no effect on attitudes, illustrating the critical role of being heard.
Thus, the effects of dialogue for conflict resolution depend on an interaction between dialogue condition and participants' group membership, which may reflect power asymmetries.
- Ursula von der Leyen is re-elected European Commission presidentwww.euronews.com Ursula von der Leyen is re-elected European Commission president
The re-election was shrouded in uncertainty and rested on complicated arithmetic among the four centrist parties. #EuropeNews
- Historic South African Election Dethrones Ruling Party ANCunicornriot.ninja Historic South African Election Dethrones Ruling Party ANC - UNICORN RIOT
The ruling party ANC has lost their majority in South African Parliament for the first time in over 30 years.
- Yes, Joe Biden’s mind is a problem. So is his cold heart towards Palestinianswww.theguardian.com Yes, Joe Biden’s mind is a problem. So is his cold heart towards Palestinians | Ahmed Moor
Biden’s awful record on Gaza and decades of political baggage are more than enough reason to swap him for a real progressive
- Ex-dictator Alberto Fujimori announces his candidacy for the Peruvian presidency
>Keiko Fujimori announced on social media that her father, 85-year-old former dictator Alberto Fujimori, will be the presidential candidate in the 2026 elections for the political party Popular Force. “My father and I have talked and decided together that he will be the [presidential] candidate,” said the founder of Popular Force.
>Alberto Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for human rights violations and embezzlement. Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski granted him a pardon in 2017 due to the former president’s alleged poor health. However, in 2018 the Judiciary annulled the humanitarian pardon and Fujimori returned to prison. Despite this, in December 2018, Peru’s Constitutional Court allowed him to be released from prison through a reinstatement of the previous humanitarian pardon.
>Several experts claim that the former dictator’s participation would be not be permitted under Peruvian law.
>However, other experts fear that the law could be interpreted in such a way that Fujimori could be a candidate.
- Israeli military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox seminary students next week
>The Israeli military will next week begin the process of drafting candidates from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community, the military said on Tuesday.
>Israelis are bound by law to serve in the military from the age of 18 for 24-32 months. Members of Israel's 21% Arab minority and ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students have largely been exempt for decades.
>Netanyahu's coalition includes two ultra-Orthodox parties that regard the exemptions as key to keep their constituents in religious seminaries and away from a melting-pot military that might test their conservative values.
>...ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up 13% of Israel's 10 million population...
- President Milei rides tank in Argentine independence day paradewww.wsws.org President Milei rides tank in Argentine independence day parade
Milei’s agenda echoes the “National Reorganization Process” (<em>el Proceso</em>) initiated by Argentina’s murderous military dictatorship.
>On Tuesday July 9, Argentine President Javier Milei attended a military parade in Buenos Aires, Argentina marking the 208th anniversary of Argentina’s independence from the Spanish monarchy in 1816. He had also attended the anniversary in Tucuman of the declaration of independence which was issued on the same day in 1816 in that northwestern Argentine city. > >Both events were staged amid the Milei administration’s escalating offensive against the working class. This has taken a more and more concrete form as the regime maps out Milei’s version of a new “National Reorganization Process,” the official name adopted by the military dictatorship which ruled Argentina following a CIA-backed coup in 1976 for its Nazi-inspired agenda.
>In January, Milei presided over a restructuring of the armed forces command, retiring 22 generals and creating a “unified logistic command” in which the military would play a direct role internally, as part of the country’s repressive apparatus, not just combatting drug trafficking and alleged terrorist attacks, but patrolling borders and repressing workers and students. > >These changes, together with the upgrading of military equipment are considered essential as part of the government’s declared aim of becoming a “global partner” of the US-led NATO alliance.
>The document, known as the May Pact, was signed by 18 governors (out of 23), the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires, and by Milei himself. None of the signers, except for Milei, belong to Milei’s political party. No matter, Peronists, Radicals and members of other right-wing bourgeois parties joined in endorsing the Pact. > >Its ten points include: the sanctity of private property; slashing public spending; tax and tariff reforms “to simplify the lives of all Argentines” and promote trade; reduction in government subsidies to the provinces; “modern” labor and pension reforms; and unrestricted international trade to make Argentina a “player in the world market” once again. At the request of some of the governors, an additional point was added that ensures and “a useful and modern” educational system for all primary and secondary schools.
- Biden set to announce support for major Supreme Court changeswww.washingtonpost.com Biden set to announce support for major Supreme Court changes
The president has discussed the plans with constitutional scholars and members of Congress in recent weeks.
- Blue Maga: We need to talk about the cult-like turn of the Democratic partywww.theguardian.com Blue Maga: We need to talk about the cult-like turn of the Democratic party | Mehdi Hasan
The calls for Joe Biden to step aside have been met with furious accusations of treason, disloyalty, and betrayal. This is bad for the entire country
- EU hard-right parties to back von der Leyen after ‘intense’ meetingwww.euractiv.com EU hard-right parties to back von der Leyen after ‘intense’ meeting
The European Conservatives & Reformists Group looks set to split over its support (or not) for Ursula von der Leyen to remain European Commission President. Read more for where the fault lines have appeared.
- Smotrich says internal army investigations into Oct. 7 ‘are a grave mistake’ - Times of Israel
>Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismisses the army’s internal investigation into its handling of the fighting at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, arguing that such probes “are a grave mistake by the chief of staff.” > >“The Israel Defense Forces and those at its head should be concerned with only one thing and that is to win the war,” the far-right minister tells reporters ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset. (...)
- Biden says 'I'm Palestine's biggest supporter' and a Zionistwww.newarab.com Biden says 'I'm Palestine's biggest supporter' and a Zionist
Joe Biden, US, Zionism, Israel's right to exist, Palestinians, right of return, US-aid to Palestine, Rafah Crossing
- How Long Do Democrats Have Left to Replace Biden on the Ballot?truthout.org How Long Do Democrats Have Left to Replace Biden on the Ballot?
Let’s talk about when Biden’s presidential candidacy passes the point of no return.
- Thousands of RNC protesters denounce Trump, GOP agenda in Milwaukeewww.washingtonpost.com Thousands of RNC protesters denounce Trump, GOP agenda in Milwaukee
Anti-Trump protesters at the Republican National Convention decried political violence of all kinds while condemning threats to democracy and the GOP agenda
- For a second weekend, white supremacists gather in downtown Nashvillewpln.org For a second weekend, white supremacists gather in downtown Nashville
For the second weekend in a row, a white supremacist group carrying Nazi flags took to the streets of downtown Nashville. More: Tennessee’s governor condem