Federal Government gains strong support for listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorist group

Federal Government gains strong support for listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorist group

The Federal Government has received an outpouring of political and community support over its move to list Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation. The revelation that Australia's spy agency has credible intelligence that Iran directed firebombing attacks on Jewish targets in Australia has made global headlines. While Iran's top diplomat in Canberra must leave the country by the end of this week.

Trump’s 50% tariffs on India come into force as president puts pressure on country over buying Russian oil – US politics live

Trump’s 50% tariffs on India come into force as president puts pressure on country over buying Russian oil – US politics live

Indian commerce ministry official says exporters will be encouraged to diversify to markets such as China and the Middle East President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that US colleges would struggle without Chinese students, amid a backlash from his base after he suggested he could let 600,000 Chinese college students into the country as part of trade talks with the economic rival. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said on Wednesday that the ministry hoped the US would follow through on Trump’s statement welcoming Chinese students and stop the “unprovoked harassment, interrogation, and deportation” of Chinese students. Continue reading...

In idyllic Porepunkah, a manhunt this huge feels ‘surreal’ – and the alleged killer could be anywhere

In idyllic Porepunkah, a manhunt this huge feels ‘surreal’ – and the alleged killer could be anywhere

A peaceful Victoria town has been rocked by the fatal shootings of two police officers, leaving locals shuttered indoors and police scouring bushland for the suspect Who is Dezi Freeman? Porepunkah shooting suspect called police ‘terrorist thugs’ and tried to arrest magistrate How a police search warrant at a rural Victorian property ended in a day of tragedy Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast It would have been idyllic were it not for the sound of a police helicopter reverberating over the valley. By late afternoon on Wednesday the rain had slowed to a drizzle in Porepunkah. Mist curled around the foothills of Mt Buffalo. Cows and sheep grazed under a grey sky, unperturbed by the massive manhunt around them. Continue reading...

Why Trump’s attack on the Smithsonian matters | Kimberlé Crenshaw and Jason Stanley

Why Trump’s attack on the Smithsonian matters | Kimberlé Crenshaw and Jason Stanley

The president’s assault on US museums, education and memory is a critical dimension of his fascist aims In a letter sent to Smithsonian secretary, Lonnie G Bunch III, on 12 August, the Trump administration announced its plan to replace all Smithsonian exhibits deemed as “divisive” or “ideological” with descriptions deemed as “historical” and “constructive”. On 21 August, just nine days later, the White House published a list of said offending fixtures – the majority of which include exhibits, programming and artwork that highlight the Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ perspectives on the American project. Included in his bill of particulars was an exhibit that rightly depicts Benjamin Franklin as an enslaver, an art installation that acknowledges race as a social construct and a display that highlights racist voter suppression measures, among others. The assault on the Smithsonian comes wrapped, as it were, as part of a broader attack on democracy, scenes of which we see playing out every day. The federal occupation of Washington DC, the crackdown on free speech on campus, the targeting of Trump’s political opponents, the gerrymandering of democracy – these are interwoven elements of the same structural assault. So with many fires burning across the nation, concerned citizens who are answering the call to fight the destruction of democracy may regard his attack on history and memory as a mere skirmish, a distraction from the herculean struggle against fascism unfolding in the US. But this is a mistake. Trump’s attack on American museums, education and memory, along with his weaponization of racialized resentment to package his authoritarian sympathies as mere patriotism, is a critical dimension of his fascist aims. The fight for democracy cannot avoid it, nor its racial conditions of possibility. Continue reading...

Why does the Maga elite love conspicuous cosmetic surgery? | Arwa Mahdawi

Why does the Maga elite love conspicuous cosmetic surgery? | Arwa Mahdawi

Mar-a-Lago face is suddenly everywhere – and there is a version for both men and women A group of chimpanzees in Zambia have been very busy putting grass in their ears and sticks up their bum for fashion purposes. Scientists studying the behaviour think that one influential chimp started the trend and, instead of the rest of the gang going, “mate, you look like an idiot”, they all just followed suit. Clearly we haven’t evolved from apes that much because a similar phenomenon is at play with the billionaire and Make America Great Again (Maga) set, who are spending enormous sums of money acquiring identical plastic faces. The trend is so widespread that it’s even got a name: Mar-a-Lago face . Among women the look is characterised by huge lips that look as if they could suck up a small child whole, frozen facial expressions, and cheeks so bulbous you could hide a gerbil underneath them. Men also have the slick frozen faces , but instead of bigger lips they’re pairing them with bigger jaws. In recent years, surgeons have reported a large increase of male clients demanding stronger jawlines. Continue reading...