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Advancing Russian interests, is now a core tenet of MAGA politics

Advancing Russian interests, is now a core tenet of MAGA politics

David Rothkopf writes: Trump and his MAGA followers do shocking things—things that represent a profound threat to our society—and a combination of spineless GOP leadership, irresponsible media coverage, and the loyalty of millions of Americans who support the MAGA GOP movement quickly act to normalize and accept it. We saw the same pattern around positions and actions that were far more akin to those of past enemies than anything resembling responsible citizenship. The litany is long and well-known by now….

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Atlantic Ocean is headed for a tipping point − once melting glaciers shut down the Gulf Stream, we would see extreme climate change within decades, study shows

Atlantic Ocean is headed for a tipping point − once melting glaciers shut down the Gulf Stream, we would see extreme climate change within decades, study shows

Too much fresh water from Greenland’s ice sheet can slow the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation. Paul Souders/Stone via Getty Images By René van Westen, Utrecht University; Henk A. Dijkstra, Utrecht University, and Michael Kliphuis, Utrecht University Superstorms, abrupt climate shifts and New York City frozen in ice. That’s how the blockbuster Hollywood movie “The Day After Tomorrow” depicted an abrupt shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation and the catastrophic consequences. While Hollywood’s vision was over the top, the 2004 movie raised…

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The world is losing migratory species at alarming rates

The world is losing migratory species at alarming rates

Inside Climate News reports: Humans are driving migratory animals—sea turtles, chimpanzees, lions and penguins, among dozens of other species—towards extinction, according to the most comprehensive assessment of migratory species ever carried out. The State of the World’s Migratory Species, a first of its kind report compiled by conservation scientists under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, found population decline, a precursor to extinction, in nearly half of the roughly 1,200 species listed under the Convention…

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Israel is bombing Rafah while Americans watch the Super Bowl

Israel is bombing Rafah while Americans watch the Super Bowl

The Israeli military is bombing Rafah, the most densely populated area in the world, while Americans watch the Super Bowl. This is intentional. This is genocide. We're demanding the world watching the #superbowl turn their eyes to #Rafah. #alleyesongaza #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/IPRV6mqD3P — Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) February 12, 2024 Biden tells Netanyahu “a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety” of 1+ million Gaza refugees sheltering there. Netanyahu’s response:…

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Message to Biden: ‘Stop sending us military aid! Send us peace aid!’

Message to Biden: ‘Stop sending us military aid! Send us peace aid!’

Maoz Inon, who lost both his parents on October 7th, is calling the US and Germany to stop their unconditional financial aid to Israel. His calling "Stop sending us military aid! Send us peace aid!". Join @maozinon by signing our petition to Biden: https://t.co/TDkIAT5yzv pic.twitter.com/YeeemIh98W — Voices Against War (@againstwarvoice) February 11, 2024 The Washington Post reports: White House aides say publicly that there has been no change in Biden’s strategy or message. But many of his allies contend that…

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Meta considering increased censorship of the word ‘Zionist’

Meta considering increased censorship of the word ‘Zionist’

The Intercept reports: Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, is contemplating stricter rules around discussing Israeli nationalism on its platforms, a major policy change that could stifle criticism and free expression about the war in Gaza and beyond, five civil society sources who were briefed on the potential change told The Intercept. “Meta is currently revisiting its hate speech policy, specifically in relation to the term ‘Zionist,’” reads a January 30 email sent to civil society groups by Meta policy…

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NATO chief says Trump remarks may put U.S. and EU lives at risk

NATO chief says Trump remarks may put U.S. and EU lives at risk

The Guardian reports: The Nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg, has said any attack on the western military alliance would be met with a “united and forceful response”, after Donald Trump invited Russia to attack member countries that he perceived as not meeting their financial obligations. Stoltenberg said in a statement: “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk. I expect that…

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Overwhelming majority of Americans think Biden is too old for another term, poll finds

Overwhelming majority of Americans think Biden is too old for another term, poll finds

ABC News reports: An overwhelming majority of Americans think President Joe Biden is too old to serve another term, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll. According to the poll, conducted using Ipsos’ Knowledge Panel, 86% of Americans think Biden, 81, is too old to serve another term as president. That figure includes 59% of Americans who think both he and former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, are too old and 27% who think only Biden is too old….

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Shocking opposition victory throws Pakistan into chaos

Shocking opposition victory throws Pakistan into chaos

The New York Times reports: The party of the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, won the most seats in parliamentary elections this week, delivering a strong rebuke to the country’s powerful generals and throwing the political system into chaos. While military leaders had hoped the election would put an end to the political turmoil that has consumed the country since Mr. Khan’s ouster in 2022, it has instead plunged it into an even deeper crisis, analysts said….

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If reasonable people disengage from politics, the zealots win

If reasonable people disengage from politics, the zealots win

Conor Friedersdorf writes: “Divisive,” “corrupt,” and “messy.” That’s how Americans described the state of our politics when asked to do so by Pew last year. Other popular answers included “polarized” and “dysfunctional.” Those of us who feel that way may be tempted to tune out this election year. To participate in politics is to encounter many otherwise lovely people at their most upset, angry, and uncharitable. To withdraw from it is, for many, to avoid stress, annoyance, and maybe even…

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What the Israeli public doesn’t see

What the Israeli public doesn’t see

Jewish Currents reports: On January 29th, The Nightly News with Michal Rabinovitch—which airs on Israel’s public broadcaster, known as Kan—ran a series of stories that were broadly representative of the channel’s programming over the past few months. A story about diplomatic progress toward a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas was followed by a report on the rockets launched into Israel’s interior from the Gazan city of Khan Younis; the segment included video from inside Hamas tunnels and footage captured…

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Is Joe Biden uniquely indifferent to Palestinian suffering?

Is Joe Biden uniquely indifferent to Palestinian suffering?

Yousef Munayyer writes: Last September, I found myself trying to understand something about President Biden’s behavior that just didn’t make sense to me. Why did it seem like he was bending over backward for Benjamin Netanyahu, even when Biden’s domestic political interests and America’s national interests were not being served by Netanyahu’s decisions? I concluded at the time that the only possible explanation was that Biden was personally being ideologically driven by a commitment to Zionism. All of this was…

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Under Gaza’s shadow, Syria faces a new welter of conflict

Under Gaza’s shadow, Syria faces a new welter of conflict

Paulo Pinheiro, Hanny Megally and Lynn Welchman write: The scale and ferocity of the conflict in Gaza and the unspeakable suffering of its civilians have rightly provoked the world’s outrage. But in Syria, a steep escalation of violence that has forced the flight of tens of thousands more people in what remains the world’s largest displacement crisis is taking place largely unnoticed outside the region. Syria, too, desperately needs a halt to the violence. But instead, the more than 12-year-long…

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Big Pharma spends billions more on executives and stockholders than on R&D

Big Pharma spends billions more on executives and stockholders than on R&D

Ars Technica reports: When big pharmaceutical companies are confronted over their exorbitant pricing of prescription drugs in the US, they often retreat to two well-worn arguments: One, that the high drug prices cover costs of researching and developing new drugs, a risky and expensive endeavor, and two, that middle managers—pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), to be specific—are actually the ones price gouging Americans. Both of these arguments faced substantial blows in a hearing Thursday held by the Senate Committee on Health,…

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