What does it mean to be antisemitic in modern Britain? The answer seems ever more confusing.

We have reached the seemingly absurd point that a political leader famed for his anti-racism, a rock star whose most celebrated work focuses on the dangers of racism and fascism, and a renowned film maker committed to socially progressive causes are all now characterised as antisemites.

And in a further irony, those behind the accusations do not appear to have made a priority of anti-racism themselves not, at least, until it proved an effective means of defeating their political enemies.

And yet, the list of those supposedly exposed as antisemites often only by association keeps widening to include ever more unlikely targets.

That is especially true in the Labour Party, where even the vaguest ties with any of the three iconic left-wing figures noted above Jeremy Corbyn, Roger Waters and Ken Loach  can be grounds for disciplinary action.

One of the Labour Partys most successful politicians, Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne mayor, was barred last month from standing for re-election after he shared a platform with Loach to talk about the Norths place in the directors films.

Not coincidentally, Driscoll has been described as the UKs most powerful Corbynista or supporter of Corbyns left-wing policies. The nadir in this process may have been reached at the Glastonbury Festival.

Back in 2017, Corbyn, then-Labour leader, was given top billing as he set out a new, inspirational vision for Britain. Six years on and organisers cancelled the screening of a film, Oh Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie, highlighting the sustained campaign to smear Corbyn as an antisemite and snuff out his left-wing agenda.

The decision was taken after pro-Israel pressure groups launched a campaign to smear the film as antisemitic. The festival decided showing it would cause division.

So what is going on?

To understand how we arrived at this dark moment, one in which seemingly anyone or anything can be cancelled as antisemitic, it is necessary to grapple with the terms constantly mutating meaning and the political uses this confusion is...

Two years ago I wrote about a particularly bizarre cult surrounding John F. Kennedy Jr. that believes that he faked his own death and would be returning as serial sex abuser Donald Trumps (SSAT) running mate for 2024. A large crowd of believers of this cult congregated at Dealey Plaza (where JFK was assassinated) in November 2021 on the 58th anniversary of his death thinking that both father and son would appear there. Spoiler alert: They did not appear.

The leader of this particular QAnon subcult was someone named Michael Protzman who also went by the label Negative48.

Protzman seems to believe that JFK and Jackie Kennedy were the second physical incarnations of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and direct descendants in a genealogy so bizarre not even Dan Brown would touch it, with JFK Jr. as the Archangel Michael and Donald Trump as the Holy Spirit.

The Negative48 cult is tearing families apart, as Vices David Gilbert recently reported. Katy Garner, a nurse from Arkansas, told Gilbert that she had essentially lost her sister to Protzmans cult in the months since the November 2020 election.

She left her children for this and doesnt even care. She is missing birthdays and holidays for this. She truly believes this is all real and we are the crazy ones for trying to get her to come home. But she wont, Garner said. I dont believe she will ever come back from this. We are in mourning.

Garner said that, under Protzmans direction, her sister now is required to drink a hydrogen peroxide solution and take bio pellets to ward off COVID-19, and her phone calls are monitored. She also has handed over about $200,000 to the cult.

Protzman had told his followers that they should become comfortable with dying because only then will they know the truth, evoking ominous comparisons to the Jim Jones cult. He himself may now know the truth because he died on June 30th after he lost control of his dirt bike on a motorcross track. But that seems to have only strengthened the beliefs of his supporters.

After his accident two weeks ago, details about Protzmans condition were tightly controlled by his inner circle of half a dozen followers. While they initially told followers in an online chat that Protzman had a potential brain injury and told them to pray for him, the inner circle has refused to answer any follow up questions about his condition.

Shelly Mullinax, who was one of Protzmans earliest...

Im sorry, I feel stupider for having read this: its Ken Ham talking about climate change. He reports the headlines:

Shortly after the Fourth of July weekend here in the US, headlines proclaimed: For the third day in a row, Earths average temperature breaks record highs. Last week on July 5, 2023, the average global temperature (according to one universitys Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the worlds condition) was a record 62.8 degrees Fahrenheit (or 17.18 C), beating the record set on Monday. But is this really a record?

Yes.

But Ol Ken questions it.

was last week really a record? Well, it might have beenbut we dont really know! Humans have only been recording climate data since the 1880s, and weve only had robust data since satellite data collection began in the 1970s. So we have no idea how warm the warmest day on earth was in all of the earths history! (But we do know, based on the fossil record, that the earths climate was much warmer before the flood!)

You idiot. We have over a century of robust climate records, and this was the highest temperature on record, therefore, yes, it was a record high temperature. Words mean things, you know. They werent saying this was the hottest the planet had ever been that probably occurred about 4 billion years ago, when the planet was a molten ball of rock but the hottest since we humans have been carefully tracking the climate. OK, you fucking stupid charlatan?

But he goes on to top that disingenuous word game. He claims that he believes in climate change.

Not only do I believe in climate change, but Im a climate change alarmist, and I do believe humans have caused climate change!

Exceptjust not the way scientists do, with their measurements and data and records. No, he believes in a coming Biblical catastrophe.

Well, Im not referring to a supposed slight global temperature increase allegedly caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Im referring to the ultimate catastrophic climate change everyone should be aware of when one day in the future, Jesus will return, and the earth (and the whole universe) will be judged with fire, and God will make a new heavens and earth.

He then goes on to say that...

Again our thanks to all of you who search and share articles. This week's honourable mentions shout outs go to V.T., S.D., T.M., K.M., W.M.,

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This episode is on Cartesian Theatre, Socrates Elenchus, GAN and tokens, alcohol and the Divine Masculine. Bit of a ramble really.

How artificial intelligence And human intelligence converge. Or do not. I wanted to start to tackle artificial intelligence, thought and thinking. We humans are not convinced we understand how we think and have spent philosophical lifetimes debating and cogitating. (Rene Descartes Cogito ergo sum, or Dennetts draft mode or quantum consciousness?)
While AI may one day move from a sequential process to a concurrent one, the Divine Masculine will lurch toward a prompt-output approach while the Divine Feminine swims in deep waters. Both exist, both can be right.
GAN (adversarial networks) are similar to Socrates Elenchus only by debating what we know and understand do we truly KNOW. The GAN approach will try and fool the AI into thinking the image is not AI generated. It will build muscle by going back to the drawing board and trying again. A Pros and Cons list.
Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, Camus and Baudelaire, Aldous Huxley, Carlos Castaneda and others took the view that Bacchanalia, Dionysian that alcohol can clarify thinking. Or at least mean a good time while philosophising!
Resources on my website laurelpapworth.com/alchemy as well as my AI Is My CoPilot course (in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Virtual) please go to the Australian Institute of Management website if interested
This is a stream of consciousness recording. It has errors as my brain attempts to compete with generative AI and suffers catastrophic failures (not enough tokens) and hallucinations (outside of ingested dataset) Hey ho.
Cover art by Dall-e for a change. (steampunk clock).

Transcript of artificial intelligence and human intelligence:

[00:00:05.520]
2023 07 14 Alchemy of Innovation. So Ive been thinking about the nature of thinking. And because you jump down a rabbit hole when you start to think about thinking, we end up in all sorts of problems, well, I did. So Im going to take you through my process. Were going to go on a journey together and see what we think about thinking. Oh, yes. And chatGPT will come along as our companion.

[00:00:54.380]
So one of the questions I have, and I have many, because questions are tho...

I was poking around the internet, looking for something to write about, when I came across two research headlines that I think form a depressingly good microcosm of what were doing to the planet (and ourselves) as a whole. The first is grim, if unsurprising news; a catchy headline reading, Multiple ecosystems in hot water. The study was a 10-year review of Californias Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which concluded that because of global warming, they arent actually helping much. MPAs are, as the name suggests, protected from fishing, industrial activity, tourism, and other activities, depending on the relevant laws. These dont just protect habitat from destruction, they also serve as a sort of bio-reservoir that can help replenish fish stocks depleted by industrial fishing. The problem is that the absolutely staggering amount of heat that the oceans have been absorbing equivalent to seven Hiroshima-sized nuclear explosions per second in 2021 has been making it hard for protected areas to replenish themselves, let alone other nearby habitats.

 As MPA managers around the world face increasing climate shocks, the extent to which MPAs can buffer the worst of these events has become an important question. The working group scientists asked how the ecological communities in Californias protected areas fared after such a severe and prolonged heatwave: Would the communities shift and if so, how? Would they bounce back when the marine heatwave subsided? Could the marine protected areas protect sensitive populations or facilitate recovery?

To find answers to their questions, they synthesized over a decade of data collected from 13 no-take MPAs located in a variety of ecosystems along the Central Coast: rocky intertidal zones, kelp forests, shallow and deep rocky reefs. The team looked at fish, invertebrates and seaweed populations inside and outside these areas, using data from before, during and after the heatwave.

They also focused on two of these habitats, rocky intertidal and kelp forests, at 28 MPAs across the full statewide network to gauge whether these locations promoted one particular form of climate resilience maintaining both population and community structure.

We used no-take MPAs as a type of comparison to see whether the protected ecological communities fared better to the marine heatwave than places where fishing occurred, said Smith, now an Ocean Conservation Research Fellow at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The results are somewhat sobe...

By Fantine Gardinier Sputnik 14.07.2023

FBI Director Christopher Wray was grilled by lawmakers at a Thursday hearing called by the House Judiciary Committee that demanded answers about the bureaus coordination with social media companies, its alleged abuse of a secret intelligence court, and use of informants during the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol Building.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has been blasted by US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for weaponization of the government against the American people, which he said had eroded public confidence in the integrity of the FBI, on Thursday.

Jordan and other GOP lawmakers spent several hours interrogating the federal law enforcement chief about a number of incidents they said proved the FBI was being used as a political bludgeon against conservatives, including the use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to spy on Donald Trumps presidential campaign during the 2016 election, a now-withdrawn memo from the FBIs office in Richmond, Virginia, that suggested spying on Catholic anti-abortion groups over domestic terrorism fears, and news that some people involved in the breaching of the US Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, were paid FBI informants who acted as provocateurs.

In response, Wray pointed to the fact that he is a registered Republican Party member, telling lawmakers that the idea that Im biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background.

He also rejected the GOP lawmakers assertions that the FBI used agent provocateurs to encourage people to commit crimes on January 6 or that the agency was protecting the Biden family by sitting on potentially incriminating information or suppressing a news story about the contents of Hunter Bidens abandoned laptop computer. However, he acknowledged the FBIs failings in properly using the FISC, in line with previous findings by special counsel John Durham and a DoJ Inspector Generals report.

Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI agent and whistleblower over the bureaus failure to stop the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Wray was evasive and had to resort to euphemistic bromides to defend the FBIs reputation, because of the demands placed on the bureau by US policies.

Noting that Wray had adopted a 9/11 changed everything mindset, Rowley pointed out that its one of the few things they dont lie about: 9/11 did change everything. Between the Vietnam War and the so-called War on Terror, that now has morphed into a war on rival economic nuclear superpowers has created all of this polarization...

LAGOS JULY 14TH (URHOBOTODAY)-In a shocking development, two women have been apprehended by vigilantes and handed over to the police in Sapele for attempting to sell lifeless fowls to unsuspecting consumers. 

 The culprits, who are yet to be identified, were taken into custody on Tuesday morning at the bustling Sapele Main Market, sending shockwaves through the local community.

 Eyewitnesses reported that the duo displayed the merchandise, luring innocent buyers with bags brimming with deceased fowls.

 Alarming reports revealed that several individuals had already succumbed to their devious ploy, unwittingly purchasing the fowl before authorities intervened.

The Sapele Local Government Council Health Officers, alerted to this potential health hazard, acted swiftly by calling the police to the spectacle that had unfolded in the heart of the market.

Responding to the distress call, law enforcement officers promptly descended upon the scene, apprehending the two women and confiscating their merchandise.

In the wake of this disturbing incident, concerned citizens anxiously await answers while the motive behind this act remains a mystery, leaving the community in disarray.

As public outrage mounts, the Chairman of the Sapele Local Government Council, Hon. Eugene Inoaghan, has assured residents that their safety and well-being remained paramount.

Delta Bulletin

The US wants the conflict in Ukraine to continue and has failed to explain its reasons to NATO allies, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. Orban told national broadcaster Kossuth Radio that if Washington wished, it could stop the fighting at a moment's notice, as Kiev is fully dependent on the West in the fight against Russia. The Hungarian leader was speaking on Friday morning, after returning from the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. During the event, the US-led military bloc declined to extend to Kiev a roadmap for membership. Hungary has stood out among members of the alliance by consistently criticizing Western policies on the Ukraine crisis. "If the Americans wanted it, peace would come the next morning. Why Americans don't want that is a question that puzzles the entire world," Orban said. "We didn't get an answer at the NATO summit."

The billionaire founder said his new AI company would deal with questions about dark matter, the nature of gravity, and extraterrestrials.

In a live audio conversation on Twitter on Friday, Elon Musk shed some new light on his newly announced AI company, xAI.

Read Full Story

The ambitions of individual NATO members only bring the world closer to a nuclear catastrophe The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has wrapped up its two-day summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. While issues of NATO expansion (Turkey's unexpected about-face which opened the door to increased NATO membership) and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine dominated the headlines, when it came to the one topic with inherent existential consequences - the request by Poland that it enter a nuclear-arms-sharing arrangement with the US that would see Washington's B61 nuclear bombs deployed on Polish soil - NATO remained silent. According to the request from the government of Prime Minister Mateus Morawiecki, these weapons would be turned over to specially trained Polish air-force crews for use in any future NATO conflict with Russia. Left unsaid is the reality that any conflict which had Poland delivering nuclear weapons against a Russian target would almost immediately escalate into a general...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the NATO summit in Lithuania Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images

RT | July 14, 2023

The US wants the conflict in Ukraine to continue and has failed to explain its reasons to NATO allies, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.

Orban told national broadcaster Kossuth Radio that if Washington wished, it could stop the fighting at a moments notice, as Kiev is fully dependent on the West in the fight against Russia.

The Hungarian leader was speaking on Friday morning, after returning from the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. During the event, the US-led military bloc declined to extend to Kiev a roadmap for membership. Hungary has stood out among members of the alliance by consistently criticizing Western policies on the Ukraine crisis.

If the Americans wanted it, peace would come the next morning. Why Americans dont want that is a question that puzzles the entire world, Orban said. We didnt get an answer at the NATO summit.

At this point, Ukraine has lost any real sovereignty, Orban claimed, citing Kievs devastated economy, and heavy depende...

On Thursday, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding answers.

I began this week with a blog about the relationship of the geometry of the brain to thought, so I thought I'd end this

The post BING AI CHATBOT SAYS ITS TIRED OF BEING A CHATBOT appeared first on The Giza Death Star.

 fluoride fluoridation : 2 Written Answers

Written Answers - Department of Health and Social Care: Water Treatment: Fluoride

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secr...

Shopifys new AI feature feels like having an army of experts battling for the success of your online retail business.

Shopify has finally announced how its going to implement generative AI into its user experience, and judging by the video announcement from founder and CEO, Tobi Ltke, it feels like a perfect answer to the question, What role should AI play in software today, which we get into in this weeks generative AI roundup.

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Chicago is crumbling to the ground. What do the politicians plan to do to fix the problem? Buy votes! The Chicago upper-middle-class suburb of Evanston, Illinois, approved a $10 million reparation package in 2019. The city will now hand out $25,000 to 140 black residents over the age of 18 who lived in the area between 1919-1969. I see it as like a test run for the whole country, stated Justin Hansford, head of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University.

Of course, they have not properly funded the trial program. Initially, the committee agreed to use taxes from marijuana sales. When that wasnt enough, they took funding from real estate taxes. They have less than $1.2 million after years of searching for funding and will be hunting down the public for additional taxes. Lets do the math here $25K for 140 people is only $3.5 million. Do they need the extra $6.5 million to fund the committee and politicians? The greed from every angle is unbelievable.

Some activists are already complaining that the generous $25,000 free handout is not enough. One woman who received her free check during the initial trial told the New York Post that it is only a good start. She blew the entire thing on home renovations and it certainly didnt heal her ancestral wounds that she needed money to heal. Give an inch, and people will take a mile. Reparations are not economically feasible by any means and creating further inflationary conditions will hurt the dollar in general.

They are creating a racial divide between a small percentage of the country and everyone else. Only a small portion of Americans had ancestors that were slave owners, and even then, the law does not expect future generations to pay for the misdoings of the past. The nation is crumbling because we are divided on everything from race, religion, sexuality, and politics. We use every term to define ourselves other than Americans. The average person is struggling to make ends meet as living prices have become unsustainable. There will be a civil war if people are expected to give others their hard-earned mo...

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (7/13/23).
As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant.
(https://www.rokfin.com/TLAVagabond)(https://www.bitchute.com/channel/24yVcta8zEjY/)

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Video Source Links (In Chronological Order)



(38) LastAmericanVagabond on Twitter: " https://t.co/OYaOxABHy4" / Twitter
(8) Tim Burchett on Twitter: "Apparently our @SecretService has no clue (or wont tell) who brought cocaine into the @WhiteHouse and is giving up. https://t.co/XIgEdSMNxE" / Twitter
(25) Decensored News on Twitter: "If the FBI were to be defunded or dismantled, who would hatch and facilitate the terrorist plots? 1. https://t.co/LCHcYMXiUu 2. https://t.co/OrCboJYjrO (@MazMHussain) 3. https://t.co/hdWLOarXTX (@DBrozeLiveFree) https://t.co/9mNx0pHbRQ" / Twitter
The FBI's Entrapment of Americans Continues with Latest Arrest of 18-Year Old with Developmental Issues
Parents Catch FBI In Plot To Force Mentally Ill Son To Be A Right Wing Terrorist
After FBI Let FL Shooting Happen, Media Now Praising Them For Arming Mentally Ill Man In Fake Attack
...

Last week, I asked ChatGPT to write an essay about the Mad in America website. That was a prelude to the questions I wanted to ask about the long-term effects of psychiatric drugs and the merits of DSM diagnoses. I do believe this is an inquiry, if AI is properly pressed, that can help highlight the evidence base related to antipsychotics, and the validity of psychiatric diagnoses.

This week I am focusing on antipsychotics. Here is how I am envisioning this chat: Imagine this exercise as a simulation of questions that could be asked of a prominent biological psychiatrist at a debate. Given that ChatGPT scours the internet and written texts for its replies, I presume that its answers will reflect, at least in large part, a discussion that is a reflection of mainstream beliefs (and thoughts.)

Or to put it another way, I want to see if I can make ChatGPT squirm.

Our chat:

Robert Whitaker: Write an essay on the long-term effects of antipsychotics as a treatment for schizophrenia.

ChatGPT:

Title: The Long-Term Effects of Antipsychotics as a Treatment for Schizophrenia

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder characterized by a range of symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and cognitive impairments. Antipsychotic medications have long been a cornerstone of tr...

This article was originally published in City Observatory. It is shared here with permission. All images for this piece were provided by the author unless otherwise indicated.

The fundamental problem with the Oregon Department of Transportations (ODOTs) I-5 Rose Quarter project, and the reason why it has blown through its budget, is that it is really a massive freeway-widening project. The agency claims its just adding a couple of auxiliary lanes, but in reality, its doubling the width of Interstate 5 in a complex urban environment, and its plans for a much wider roadway are the principal reason the project, and its covers, are so expensive.

A Too-Wide Freeway

What no one seems willing to do is ask basic questions about the Rose Quarter. Is the project worth $1.9 billion? Does it even need to be that big and expensive? Isnt the skyrocketing cost and ODOTs growing fiscal crisis a signal that we should consider some other options?

The high cost and prodigious cost overruns of the Rose Quarter are directly related to the excessive width of the project, something that ODOT has gone to great lengths to conceal, characterizing the project as merely adding a single auxiliary lane in each direction. In reality, the project would essentially double the width of I-5 through the Rose Quarter, from its current 82-foot width to 160 feet (and in some places as much as 200 feet).

A brief chronology shows how ODOT staff have repeatedly concealed or obscured the width of the I-5 Rose Quarter project. Their initial 2019 Environmental Assessment presented a misleading and cartoonish freeway cross section that appeared to show that the freeway would be widened to about 126 feet.

City Observatory challenged these claims about the width of the freeway to the Oregon Transportation Commission in December 2020, and the commission directed the staff to meet with us to discuss the issue. The staff refused to answer any questions during this meeting, and instead later issued a written report obfuscating the actual width of the freeway.

In March 2021, No More Freeways obtained three different ...

Part 1 of a highly revealing investigative series exploring the unlikely rise to power of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, by American author, military analyst, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, and former United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector, Scott Ritter.

Scott Ritter says

As a former intelligence officer, Ive been wondering why has no one done an investigation about Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine? His rise to power, in my opinion, represents an incredible manipulation of world opinion that will go down in history as a classic case study in social psychological engineering: an ordinary comedian who came to power because he promised a long-awaited peace, who then dragged his fellow citizens into a bloody war that can only be described as a massacre. With the help of colleagues and experts with first-hand insights into Zelensky, I have poured over documents and video to produce a film that captures this investigation. This story has so many twists and turns that I had to break it into two parts. In the first episode, presented here, I will answer the question about Zelenskys improbable rise to power, and how the Ukrainian President accumulated his vast wealth, a sum that has only become larger since the war with Russia began. And, perhaps most importantly, why I decided to call this film Agent Zelensky. Watch: 

Learn more about the new series Agent Zelensky at Scott Ritter Extra.

READ MORE UKRAINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Ukraine Files

SUPPORT OUR INDEPENDENT MEDIA PLATFORM  BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

When the police arrive at your door, it can be a stressful and intimidating situation. However, it is important to remain calm and handle the situation appropriately. Here are some steps to consider:

1. Determine who is at the door: Before opening the door, it is a good safety habit to determine who is there. You can do this by looking out the window, using a peephole, or asking "Who is it?".
2. Assess the situation: If you see that it is the police at your door, take a moment to assess the situation. Consider why they might be there, such as a wellness check, responding to a noise complaint, or conducting a neighbourhood survey. Understanding the reason for their visit can help you respond appropriately.
3. Know your rights: It is important to understand your rights when dealing with the police. If the police have a warrant, you are required to open the door. However, if they do not have a warrant, you have the right to not open the door and can choose not to speak to them. It is important to note that if the police have a warrant, they can legally enter your home if you refuse to open the door.
4. Consider your options: If you do not feel comfortable with a "knock and talk" situation, you have options. You can choose to greet the police outside after exiting through another door, or you can speak with them through the opening protected by your chain lock. Assess the situation and decide what feels safest and most comfortable for you.
5. Remain calm and polite: When interacting with the police, it is important to remain calm and polite. Answer their questions respectfully, but remember that you are not obligated to answer any questions if you do not feel comfortable doing so. It is important to maintain a respectful and non-confrontational demeanour throughout the interaction.
6. Seek legal advice if necessary: If you find yourself in a situation where you are unsure of your rights or feel that your rights have been violated, it may be beneficial to seek legal advice. Consulting with a civil rights attorney can help you understand your opti...

THE annual National NAIDOC Week Awards ceremony in Meanjin (Brisbane) was a spectacular evening, recognising the outstanding contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to improve the lives of people in their communities and beyond.

Hosted by Mark Coles Smith and Casey Donovan, the awards recognise the various ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people work to improve their communities and beyond. 

The evening featured performances by Thelma Plum, Breanna Lee and the Thaiwa Dance Team. 

Aunty Dr Naomi Mayers OAM received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which honours a First Nations person who has dedicated their life to their community. 

Starting her life on Erambie mission in central New South Wales, the Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman has transformed the lives of First Nations people with her work in education and health. 

Arrente Elder William Tilmouth was named Elder of the Year in recognition of his 40 years advocating for the rights, justice and self- determination of his people. 

Aunty Dr Matilda House-Williams, who helped set up the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972, was named Female Elder of the Year. 

Dr Kelvin Kong

IN 1868, the first team of Australian Aboriginal cricketers toured England. Then 120 years later another Aboriginal team followed in their footsteps. The story of these two teams is now on display at a special museum in Edenhope, Victoria. 

The story began on November 2, 1967, when a group of Indigenous men from Western Victoria gathered on the Queenscliff shoreline under the cover of darkness to go fishing. 

Their real objective, however, was not to fish, but to avoid the Victorian Aboriginal Protection Board. 

The men successfully boarded the steamship Rangatira for passage to Sydney, and eventually landed in the United Kingdom. They were the first Australian Cricket side to ever tour England. 

Once in England, they took to the field 99 days out of a possible 126, playing 47 matches in 40 centres. Its a feat not matched by any team since. 

In 1988, a decision was made to recreate the original team from modern Indigenous players to celebrate and honour the legacy of the original tour. 

Thirty-five First Nations men were selected from cricket teams across the country, many of whom were playing at the highest levels of state cricket. 

This select group were bundled off to the Australian Institute of Sport and were put through their paces with a final selection of 11 men to train and prepare for a tour of England. 

Those 11 men spent time in Edenhope, Victoria, getting to know each other and immersing themselves in the history

In 2014, AMP Capital, an Australian firm, issued a remarkable and unconventional challenge to the architectural community of Sydney: transform their skyscraper headquarters into a new structure without demolishing it.

The goal was to upcycle the AMP Center, formerly the tallest building in Sydney, into the worlds first upcycled skyscraper, resulting in a truly awe-inspiring outcome.

Instead of tearing down the existing AMP Center, the innovative approach involved adding a second tower to its core. This approach proved to be highly beneficial, saving approximately 12,000 tons of CO2 that would have been emitted through the use of heavy machinery and the release of carbon trapped in the cement. To put this in perspective, 12,000 tons of CO2 is equivalent to the maximum energy consumption of the 49-story tower over a period of three years.

Although the AMP Center, constructed in the 1970s, was not in a state of disrepair, it was no longer a suitable option for the company. Rather than committing to the enormous costs associated with demolition and construction from scratch, the firm chose to explore alternative possibilities.

Reuters July 12, 2023

The armed confrontation in Ukraine will continue until the West gives up plans to dominate and defeat Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with an Indonesian newspaper published on Wednesday.

The goal of the US-led collective West is to strengthen its global hegemony, Lavrov told the Kompas newspaper. Lavrov is due to attend the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum in Jakarta this week, as is U.S. Secretary of State

Why doesnt the armed confrontation in Ukraine come to an end? The answer is very simple it will continue until the West gives up its plans to preserve its domination and overcome its obsessive desire to inflict on Russia a strategic defeat at the hands of its Kiev puppets, according to a transcript of the interview published on Russias foreign ministry website.

For the time being, there are no signs of change in this position.

Russia waged a full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, calling it a special military operation to denazify its neighbour. Kyiv and its allies call the war, now in its 17th month, an aggression to grab land.

On Wednesday, Russia launched a wave of kamikaze drone attacks on Kyiv for a second night in row and hours before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was due to meet NATO leaders at a summit in Vilnius.

The West says it wants to help Ukraine win its conflict with Russia, and Western powers have supplied large amounts of modern arms and ammunition to Kyiv.

Lavrov also accused Kyiv of ignoring Indonesias peace plan and instead promoting its own package of ultimatums.

Ukraine dismissed the Indonesian plan, a multi-point formula which had included a call for the establishment of a demilitarised zone, reiterating Kyivs position that Russia should withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Commenting on the internal strife in Myanmar since a military coup in 2021, Lavrov urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to resolve issues with close cooperation with the junta and without interfering in Myanmars domestic affairs.

ASEAN foreign ministers meeting on Tuesday were expected to address the growing violence in Myanmar. The regional bloc has barred the junta from its summits for failing to implement an agreed peace plan.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Ananda Teresia in Jakarta; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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