Category: Politics

Damned near every aspect of life with other human beings

Fox News pays for their lies. Dominion wins 787+ Million$

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Dominion attorneys leaving the Delaware Superior Courthouse

A last-second settlement has been reached in the historic defamation case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, the parties announced Tuesday in court.

“The parties have resolved their case,” Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said…“Your presence here… was extremely important. And without you, the parties would not have been able to resolve their situation,” the judge told the jurors, before dismissing them.

The settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems totals $787,500,000, according to Dominion attorney Justin Nelson.

The settlement represents “vindication and accountability,” Nelson said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Couldn’t have happened to a better crowd of corporate communications sleaze.

Trump Thought He Beat the Rap. WRONG!

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Donald Trump’s indictment followed a head-spinning two weeks during which the former president predicted his own arrest but, almost as quickly, suggested that he’d beat the rap…

When it did come on Thursday, the indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office caught Trump and his circle of advisers off-guard, according to a person familiar with the matter. Some had even planned spring-break trips with their families in the coming weeks that had to be rapidly canceled…

Trump had a few days before also gloated on social media about the “total disarray in the Manhattan DA’s office.”

A decent start to the next episode of the decline and fall of America’s most contemptible politician.

Chinese officials launch a matchmaking app

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For single people, dating fatigue is a universal phenomenon. Hours of swiping left can lead to despair at the potential matches in your area. One city in Jiangxi, a province in eastern China, reckons that it has come up with a solution for the lovelorn or love-weary: a state-sponsored matchmaking service…

The app is part of a province-wide initiative to boost the marriage rate, which has been falling nationwide for the past decade. In 2021 there were 5.4 marriages per 1,000 people, compared with six in the US…

One of the main pillars of the Jiangxi pilot is a campaign against high “bride prices”. In recent years the government has discouraged the traditional practice of a potential groom offering a bride’s family cash before marriage. The country’s civil code prohibits “the exaction of money or gifts in connection with marriage”. But in practice the tradition remains common, especially in rural areas. In 2022 Jiangxi topped an unofficial nationwide ranking of bride prices, with an average of 380,000 yuan (£45,000)…

Through a combination of public awareness campaigns and limits on extravagant wedding ceremonies and banquets, Shicheng county claims to have virtually eliminated “betrothal gifts”.

Tradition can be a royal pain-in-the-ass! Glad I dropped that from my list of personal priorities before I got into the 1960s.

Cold War Mentality: Sleepwalking towards accidental conflict

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Too many observers have lost sight of one of the key lessons of World War I. The Great War was triggered by the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, which occurred against the backdrop of a long-simmering conflict between Europe’s major powers. This interplay between conflict escalation and a political spark has special resonance today.

With war raging in Ukraine and a cold-war mentality gripping the United States and China, there can be no mistaking the historical parallels. The world is simmering with conflict and resentment. All that is missing is a triggering event. With tensions in Taiwan, the South China Sea, and Ukraine, there are plenty of possible sparks to worry about…

…One year into this horrific and once-unthinkable conflict, there is a new and ominous twist to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spring offensive. The US is warning of an escalation of Chinese support for Russia from non-lethal assistance (like purchasing Russian energy products) to lethal aid (weapons, ammunition, or logistical arms-supply capabilities).

The Biden administration’s vague threat of serious consequences for China if it offers lethal aid to Russia’s war effort is reminiscent of similar US warnings that preceded the imposition of unprecedented sanctions on Russia. In the eyes of US politicians, China would be guilty by association and forced to pay a very steep price. Just as Taiwan is China’s red line, Washington believes the same can be said of Chinese military support for Russia’s war campaign…

Three great powers – America, China, and Russia – all seem to be afflicted by a profound sense of historical amnesia. They are collectively sleepwalking down a path of conflict escalation, carrying high-octane fuel that could be ignited all too easily. Just like 1914.

One aspect of life in New Haven I truly miss…is the opportunity often on offer to the general public to sit in on lectures and series offered by the many world class intellects via Yale University. Stephen Roach being one of the better examples of that class of educator.