Tre Bor 🦥

⚡️Gaza sources: Israeli bombings targeted Block 9 in Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing so far 10, and injuring others, some in critical condition. Some sources say 8 others say 10.

صدر عن مكتب الإعلام في رئاسة الجمهورية البيان الاتي: بناء على المبادرة التي اطلقها رئيس الجمهورية العماد جوزاف عون والتي ترتكز على العمل الدبلوماسي من خلال الإعلان عن وقف لإطلاق النار والذهاب إلى التفاوض المباشر مع إسرائيل ، وبعد الاتصالات الدولية والعربية التي اجراها الرئيس عون مؤخراً في ضوء تصاعد الاعتداءات الاسرائيلية على لبنان ، قررت الإدارة الاميركية تكليف وزارة الخارجية الاميركية القيام بدور الوسيط بين لبنان واسرائيل . وتنفيذا لذلك ، وبناء على توجيهات الرئيس عون للسفيرة اللبنانية في واشنطن ، تم إتصال هاتفي عند التاسعة مساء بتوقيت بيروت ، هو الأول بين لبنان ممثلا بسفيرته في واشنطن ندى حمادة معوض وإسرائيل ممثلة بسفيرها في واشنطن يحئيل ليتر ، وبمشاركة سفير الولايات المتحدة الاميركية في بيروت ميشال عيسى الموجود في واشنطن . وتم خلال الاتصال التوافق على عقد اول اجتماع يوم الثلاثاء المقبل في مقر الخارجية الاميركية للبحث في الإعلان عن وقف لإطلاق النار وموعد بدء التفاوض بين لبنان واسرائيل برعاية أميركية .

It is unfortunate that the UN Security Council has once again failed to demonstrate effectiveness and act decisively in the face of such a global threat as the Iranian regime's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. No one should be allowed to block such globally significant sea lanes or undermine the security of dozens of nations through terrorist attacks against the freedom of navigation. We faced a similar challenge in the Black Sea when the Russians attempted to block our ports and civilian shipping—Russia was trying to suffocate our economy. And we found a way to solve that problem through decisive action, not inaction. Now, we see a similar problem on a global scale. The Strait of Hormuz must remain open to all vessels that sustain vital economy lifelines and maintain normal international trade. Countries in the region have spoken clearly on this, and we support the aspirations of the people of the Middle East and the Gulf for peace. Peace and security in this region directly impact stability, market predictability, and the cost of living in every single country. Such problems and this war must not be prolonged. The world needs a functional UNSC that acts more decisively to resolve acute security challenges of global magnitude.

There is now substantial research — both in Australia and the United States — on who engages with political detail and how that shapes voting behaviour. The findings are striking and consistent across both countries. In the 2024 US presidential election, pre-election polls found Americans who consumed no political news at all said they’d vote for Trump over Kamala Harris by a whopping 20-point margin — 60% to 40%. The more engaged they were in politics — the more likely they were to support Harris. Data for Progress found that support for Harris decreased as a voter’s news consumption decreased. In other words: the more people knew, the less likely they were to vote for Trump. The Australian data tells the same story. Australian Election Study research found that Greens voters decided their vote disproportionately on the basis of policy issues, while Liberal voters were more likely to decide based on whether they liked party leaders or the party brand as a whole. One Nation voters were found to have the lowest institutional trust of any party’s supporters — consistent with international research on the rise of socially conservative populist movements. Australian research also found that voters with negative economic expectations are significantly more likely to support minor parties — and this association has strengthened since the mid-2010s. ANU research on political knowledge found that consumption of political information online is narrowing among a younger, better educated and politically interested group — meaning the internet is reinforcing the advantages of the most knowledgeable while increasingly failing to draw in the most politically disengaged. This connects to something deeper and more disturbing. Belief in conspiracy theories has increased dramatically over the last decade — and the research is unambiguous about why. A study published in Nature Human Behaviour across 26 countries found that conspiracy thinking is significantly more prevalent at the extreme right of the political spectrum, strongest among supporters of populist parties not in government, and amplified by feelings of political powerlessness and low institutional trust. Multiple peer-reviewed studies confirm that right-wing populist politicians don’t just attract conspiracy believers — they actively cultivate them. Research found that populist radical right parties deliberately use conspiracy rhetoric to frame politics as corrupt elites against ordinary people — a simple story that requires no engagement with evidence and is nearly immune to facts. Trump’s “fake news” rhetoric accelerated this dramatically. By systematically attacking credible institutions — media, science, courts, electoral systems — he created a permission structure for dismissing any inconvenient fact as manufactured. The result is cult-based politics: a closed information loop where the leader is the only trusted source, where evidence is irrelevant, and where loyalty replaces analysis. Australia is not immune. The same pattern — institutional distrust, grievance, simple explanations for complex problems — is the entire operating model of One Nation. Populism — whether Trumpism in the US or Hansonism in Australia — is not a coincidence. It is specifically engineered for low-engagement, high-grievance voters. Simple slogans. Single scapegoats. No policy detail. No accountability. The moment you examine the actual voting record, the actual economic data, the actual legislative outcomes — the whole platform collapses. This is why detail matters. This is why the threads I’ve been posting matter. Engagement is the antidote. Which is exactly why the people who profit from grievance work so hard to keep it simple.