Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a US-backed peace plan for Gaza last week offered a diplomatic victory to Hamas, according to some analysts. The Palestinian Islamist movement had agreed to gradually give up weapons in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but agreeing on the definition of "disarmament" may prove a sticking point.

Netanyahu gave a ‘victory to Hamas’ by rejecting US-backed Gaza peace plan

Hamas would be required to gradually give up its weapons in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory of Gaza under the peace plan announced by US President Donald Trump in July.

But the deal remains stalled for now.

Karoline Leavitt will step down as White House press secretary at the end of August, Donald Trump announced.

The US president revealed her departure on social media, saying Leavitt was leaving “so she can spend more time” with her family. The 28-year-old gave birth to a daughter, Viviana, in May, and returned from maternity leave last month.

The departure of Trump’s most prominent spokesperson comes with his approval rating at a historic low as voters express discontent over rising prices and a war in Iran that has no end in sight.

Current Concerns: Unlike the leaders of economiesuisse and other trade associations, you, as an entrepreneur, say that the Swiss economy does not need the new EU agreements. Why do our companies manage better even in difficult times than those in most EU countries?
Giorgio Behr: In Switzerland, we have a whole host of other factors in our favour. Let’s start with the high standard of vocational training. In the canton of Schaff-hausen in particular, where I have one of my companies, a small part of young people attend the cantonal school, a large part undertake a vocational apprenticeship, and a great many go on to obtain the vocational baccalaureate.

Why many Swiss business leaders do not want a framework agreement with the EU

SUMMER 2032…  Emperor Trumpoleon has just refurbished the Trump reflecting pool with a giant sheet of blue polycarbonate, as the heat being so intense, the water was evaporating within a day and the air was so steamy above it, it was hiding his Lincoln-Donald monument. To him, the polycarbonate was a small price to pay by the taxpayers to maintain the profitable consumption of oil.  

[What you’re about to read isn’t coming from some fringe blog or doomsday cult. These are the numbers that keep people like Steve Keen awake at night — numbers that don’t care about your political affiliation, your stock portfolio, or how many cans of beans you’ve got stashed in the garage. We didn’t want to run this story. We’d rather tell you everything’s fine, that the system works, that smart people in charge have it all figured out.

But that’s not what the math says. That’s not what the supply chains are whispering. And that’s definitely not what the empty shelves in places like Sri Lanka and Argentina were trying to tell us before the rest of us stopped listening. Read it or don’t. The fertilizer doesn’t care either way.]

The rapid shift from petrol cars to electric vehicles is eroding fuel excise faster than governments expected. A replacement road user charge is inevitable, but a rushed or fragmented scheme could create new problems of fairness, privacy and administration.

Ian McAuley

Last Monday the Commonwealth restored the full 53.7 cents per litre of gasoline and diesel excise, and restored road user charges for heavy vehicles.

“In the absence of the governmental checks and balances present in other areas of our national life, the only effective restraint upon executive policy and power in the areas of national defense and international affairs may lie in an enlightened citizenry — in an informed and critical public opinion which alone can here protect the values of democratic government. For this reason, it is perhaps here that a press that is alert, aware, and free most vitally serves the basic purpose of the First Amendment. For, without an informed and free press, there cannot be an enlightened people.”

     – Justice Potter Stewart, New York Times Co. v. United States, June 30, 1971

It is now not uncommon for 11-year-olds to be diabetic. I see one reason for it every time I check out at my local Safeway in Washington. The candy is right there at the cash register, waiting to be eaten. 

But this does not mean that the manager of the store is mean or even irresponsible. If she has qualms about this practice, she would face a real dilemma: she needs to show a profit. The margins at supermarkets are tiny. No matter what her morals, she has almost no choice but to place those sweet impulse buys where customers can see them. In other words, there is an economic equilibrium in which businesses take advantage of every opportunity to increase profits. In such an equilibrium, the candy will be at the checkout counter. 

Consciousness is being aware of something internal to one's self, or of states or objects in one's external environment.[1] It has been the topic of extensive explanations, analyses, and debate among philosophers, scientists, and theologians for millennia.[2][3] There is no consensus on what exactly needs to be studied, or whether consciousness can be considered a scientific concept.[4][5] In some explanations it is synonymous with mind, while in others it is considered an aspect of it.[6]

Australia’s democratic problem is not simply poor civics knowledge among citizens, but a political class too willing to avoid scrutiny, resist transparency and govern behind closed doors.

In a recent interview the Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, reflected on the state of Australian democracy. She warned of a potential catastrophe resulting from poor understanding of the tenets of our democracy that make our country work, especially among the adult population.

Albert Palazzo

The criminal actions of the Zionist colonial army against the Palestinian people, particularly against the coastal enclave of Gaza, have led to the emergence of the term “gassification” to describe this type of modern siege operation, which combines conventional siege tactics with genocidal practices and total control over the lives of a specific population. The catastrophic human consequences of these actions are irrelevant as long as the ultimate goal is achieved. In the case of “Israel,” this goal is the colonization of the territory and the expulsion of its native inhabitants.

Gassification as a technology of imperial power

In 2025, the Economic Society for Westphalia and Lippe (WWL), based in Münster, announced that the International Westphalian Peace Prize for 2026 would go to NATO. The prize is to be presented to NATO, represented by its Secretary General, Mark Rutte, in October 2026 at the historic Münster Town Hall.

The Westphalian Peace Prize 2026 goes to NATO

The ‘system’ reaffirms itself

by Ewald Wetekamp, Stockach near Lake Constance

The reigning narrative of US democracy is based on two widely shared beliefs. The first is that the capitalist system and its free markets ensure freedom and pluralism throughout society. The second is that our constitution and electoral system are forms of political wiring designed to ensure a democratic state. While an important veneer of democracy perpetuates this story, and it sounds intuitively plausible, theoretical, historical and empirical studies suggest that it is wrong in both theory and practice.

The Free Market Creates Freedom: Do You Believe It?

ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THE QUINCY INSTITUTE PUBLISHED ITS "PEACE PLAN' FOR UKRAINE. IT'S A FIZZER. THE INSTITUTE HAS NO INTENTION TO UNDERSTAND THE RUSSIAN TRAUMA IN REGARD TO THE DONBASS, TO ODESSA NOR CRIMEA [ALL FORMER RUSSIAN TERRITORIES UNDER THE USSR]... THE QUINCY PLAN IS LIKE USING A TON OF STICKY PLASTERS TO CURE LEUKAEMIA...

THIS WHY WE STILL PUSH FOR THIS MORE SIMPLE PLAN:

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT (WW3) HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA TO BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.