fortune gems demo account If you’ve been thinking about treating yourself (or surprising someone special) this holiday season, now is the perfect time to invest in the PlayStation 5 Slim . Released just a few years ago, it has quickly become one of the most popular gaming console on the market. With Amazon offering an unexpected Black Friday deal, you can snag the PS5 Slim for just $424, down from its list price of $499 . This is a record low price for the PS5 Slim . See at Amazon Amazon’s commitment to providing the best prices during Black Friday means you can shop with confidence: if you happen to see a lower price later on on the site, Amazon guarantees to refund you the difference. Additionally, they have extended their return policy until January 31, 2025 so that you have plenty of time to make sure your gift is perfect without the usual 30-day limit. Gaming Powerhouse The PS5 Slim boasts great specifications that will improve your gaming experience for sure: Iit features a sleek design measuring 358 × 96 × 216 mm and weighs just 3.2 kg which makes it significantly lighter and more compact than its predecessor. The console is powered by an AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads and operates at variable frequencies up to 3.5 GHz. Its graphics performance is equally robust thanks to the AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based engine that supports ray tracing acceleration and operates at frequencies up to 2.23 GHz. The PS5 Slim has an internal storage capacity of 1TB SSD which allows for faster loading times and ample space for your favorite games. However, you should note that usable storage will be slightly less due to system software requirements (approximately 800GB). The console supports Ultra HD Blu-ray discs so you that you can enjoy high-definition movies and games. As we approach the end of the year, sales of gaming consoles typically skyrocket and make this Black Friday promotion all the more enticing. The holiday season is upon us and with it comes the tradition of gift-giving: the PS5 Slim has emerged as one of the hottest items on wish lists across the globe and it’s currently the best selling console on Amazon (over 30,000 units sold in the past 30 days). This unprecedented discount on the PS5 Slim couldn’t come at a better time, as people usually buy consoles around the holiday season. With its compact size and powerful performance, this model is an ideal gift for gamers of all ages. We really recommend not to miss out on this chance to purchase a PS5 Slim at a record low price: the Xbox Series X ran out of stock today, it might happen to the PS5 Slim very soon too. See at AmazonC.J. Stroud taking a game-losing safety vs. the Titans encapsulates his stunning sophomore slump

From the right: Musk Could Save AI from Lefty Bias The left’s “anger toward the disruptive billionaire, Tesla founder and now Donald Trump bestie,” Elon Musk, will only “get worse,” cheers Liz Peek at The Hill . “Musk’s growing investment in AI” can “likely prevent progressives from establishing a monopoly on revisionist history, in which the U.S. can be portrayed as a nation born in racism and sustained by exploitation and patriarchy.” With chatbots like ChatGPT showing a lefty bias, “Musk is busily creating his own artificial intelligence firm,” xAI. “Just as X became a loathed rival to Meta and TikTok as a source of information, so will xAI present users with a distinctly different view of the world.” “Musk’s emergence as a player in the AI world is reassuring, in that balance is important.” Elex analyst: Democrats’ Woes Not Just Messaging “Democrats and their media allies acknowledged mistakes were made” in the 2024 campaign, but claim “their real problem was a failure to communicate,” observes Real Clear Politics’ J. Peder Zane . No: “Polls show a large majority of Americans have lost faith in their ability to govern effectively,” after “Democrat-run states and major cities have distinguished themselves not only for their poorly run schools, high crime, and massive debts, but also their corruption.” Moreover, “their embrace of the woke agenda showed that the party was not just wrong about certain issues, but in the grips of an unhinged ideology.” Indeed, Trump won “because many Americans remembered” his policies as effective. Now “Democrats need their own Trump — a wrecking ball who will challenge the party’s dogmas.” Liberal: How Dems Can Win Again “Democrats have lost the plot in the view of more and more nonwhite, especially nonwhite working-class , voters. How can they find it again?” asks The Liberal Patriot’s Ruy Teixeira . “Sever the party’s connection to unpopular and unworkable social policies and re-establish a focus on the material welfare of working-class voters” by moving to “to forcefully denounce said policies and unambiguously break from the forces in the party that are pushing these policies” on the border, crime, and social issues like gender surgeries for kids. As for those who insist “being a Democrat is inseparable from being a progressive as they define it ,” well: “It’s high time for Democrats to turn the tables” and throw the various identitarian factions “under the bus.” Senility watch: Biden’s Wobbly Final Months “As wars worsen” and Joe Biden enters his last months as president, the current moment is “especially perilous,” warns the Washington Examiner’s Bryon York . “In the last few days, Biden has removed restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the Army Tactical Missile System” and “Ukraine promptly fired U.S.-made missiles deep into Russian territory.” Putin has promised retribution. While these developments “would be alarming in any context,” they “come as the 82-year-old President Biden’s apparent cognitive decline continues.” Pushed out of the presidential race by Dem power-brokers, he “appeared to play almost no role in his final international conferences as president, the G20 summit in Brazil.” Biden’s “final, wobbly months as president” make for “a particularly dangerous period.” Eye on DC: A Restoration of Order “What we’re seeing with the swap of [Matt] Gaetz for [Pam] Bondi is actually a restoration of regular order,” argues National Review’s Jim Geraghty of the Trump attorney-general drama. For all the “doomsaying from Trump opponents” on how “congressional Republicans are a bunch of spineless lickspittles who would gladly use the U.S. Constitution as kindling just to see the warm glow reflected in the eyes of Trump,” plainly “there are some lines Senate Republicans aren’t willing to cross.” Trump can “be an effective president. He just needs to be surrounded by a good team, and the Republican Senate majority may need to periodically save Trump from his own worst instincts.” — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing [Source: Reuters] Donald Trump’s return to power portends a shakeup in the U.S. approach to addressing America’s fentanyl crisis and what counternarcotics officials say is the biggest obstacle to solving it: China. Advisors to the Republican president-elect’s transition team are advocating a much more aggressive posture towards Beijing over fentanyl than the one adopted by Democratic incumbent Joe Biden. Already, Trump is signaling that to stem the flow of narcotics he will resort to his weapon of choice: tariffs. In posts on Monday on Truth Social, his social network, he promised additional 10% tariffs on goods from China, and 25% duties on merchandise from Mexico and Canada. Trump claimed these nations have not taken strong enough action to stop illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, from entering the United States. He said his many talks with China about stopping the flow of drugs were “to no avail.” Trump’s advisors are likewise pushing for U.S. sanctions on Chinese financial institutions allegedly linked to the fentanyl trade. Trump will be the ultimate decider. China is the dominant source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, while Chinese money launderers have become key players in the international drug trade, U.S. authorities say. The Biden administration has been negotiating with Beijing for the past year to crack down on both. Diplomacy has yielded promising but modest results so far. That has frustrated some U.S. security officials and China hawks who say the U.S. must ratchet up the pressure to get Beijing’s leadership to act. “When you don’t do those things, then you’re a doormat,” said Steve Yates, a China expert and former national security official in the George W. Bush administration. Yates, who is not formally involved with the president-elect’s transition team, has advised Trump’s circle on fentanyl policy. Over the past decade, more than 400,000 Americans have died of synthetic opioid overdoses, including Yates’ daughter, who died last year. Yates and others counseling the Trump team say one of the quickest and surest ways for Washington to get Beijing’s attention is to sanction Chinese banks doing business with money launderers and corrupt chemical sellers. Foreign banks hit with U.S. sanctions can’t engage with American financial institutions or access the U.S. dollar, severely curtailing their ability to transact business internationally, according to Edward Fishman, a sanctions expert at Columbia University. He said Washington can also freeze U.S. assets held in sanctioned banks. It’s a powerful weapon that has been wielded against financial institutions in countries of some U.S. adversaries such as Iran and Russia, but never against banks in Mexico and China tied to drug trafficking, according to David Asher, a top former U.S. anti-money laundering official who helped target the finances of the Islamic State terrorist group. “You need to hit all the bankers. It’s sort of basic,” said Asher, now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. Asher formulated a preliminary plan circulating in Trump transition circles that calls for a whole-of-government task force incorporating all aspects of U.S. diplomatic, law enforcement and financial power to address the fentanyl crisis. Parts of the plan, shared with Reuters, call for criminal indictments of major Chinese and Mexican financial institutions allegedly laundering money for the cartels; mass sanctions on Chinese companies and people implicated in the fentanyl trade; beefed-up bounties on most-wanted traffickers; cyber warfare against Mexican cartels; and a U.S. intelligence agency focus on fentanyl that’s commensurate with the war on terrorist organizations. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington cited numerous steps that China has taken to prevent illegal production, trafficking and abuse of fentanyl since talks with the Biden administration resumed. The embassy warned that China would respond if the U.S. takes a more combative posture. “Sanctions, smears and slander against China will only undermine the foundation of China-U.S. counternarcotics cooperation,” the embassy said in a statement. “China firmly opposes the U.S.’s arbitrary use of unilateral sanctions and will resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.” Hostility toward China’s government has taken root on Capitol Hill, with both Democrats and Republicans urging trade actions to punish Beijing for what some believe is a deliberate effort to destabilize the United States with fentanyl. Trump’s promised 10% tariffs on China over narcotics might just be an opening volley. Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick to run the Commerce Department and oversee the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said in a podcast interview in October that “China is attacking America” with fentanyl and suggested that Trump might levy tariffs as high as 200% on China. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to designate Mexico’s drug cartels as terrorist groups and harness the U.S. military to destroy them. But it’s not clear if Trump is willing to move beyond tariffs on Chinese goods and take stronger actions such as hitting Chinese banks with sanctions over fentanyl. Trump’s past disputes with Beijing have centered mostly on China’s huge trade surplus, not synthetic opioids. Trump expressed admiration, even love, for Chinese President Xi Jinping throughout much of his first term, even as U.S. overdose fatalities soared. Trump transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, asked by Reuters if his administration’s increased pressure on China over fentanyl might include bank sanctions, said Americans re-elected Trump “to lead our country and restore peace through strength around the world.” She said Trump would “take the necessary action to do just that” when he returns to the White House. A Reuters investigation into the global fentanyl supply chain has shown how easy it is to purchase precursors online from Chinese sellers, who ship them by air to the U.S. disguised as gadgets and other low-cost merchandise. These boxes typically sail through customs duty-free amid a sea of other Chinese imports, and are routed by traffickers to Mexican drug labs. Bipartisan sentiment is growing in Washington to end China’s use of this streamlined entry channel. There is growing consensus in Republican circles close to Trump that Beijing has exploited, even engineered, the synthetic opioid epidemic to harm Americans. They point to a bipartisan report issued in April by the House of Representatives’ select committee on China that calls that nation the “ultimate geographic source” of the fentanyl crisis. The report alleges that Beijing provides tax rebates to Chinese companies that export fentanyl chemicals, and that it allows groups linked to drug trafficking to operate as long as their efforts are focused abroad.Special teams miscues prove costly for Bears in overtime loss to Vikings

Arsenal make Mikel Arteta proud after smashing Sporting Lisbon

President Joe Biden is considering preemptive pardons for several prominent names facing possible retribution from the incoming Trump administration, US media has reported. Among those being considered for the historic pardons are Anthony Fauci, the former White House special advisor on Covid-19, and former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, who has become a fierce critic of Donald Trump. The president-elect has made no secret of his desire to exact vengeance against critics and those he claims stole the 2020 election from him. Biden has discussed with advisors the possibility of using his constitutional power to protectively issue preemptive pardons -- even to people yet to be charged with any crime -- before he leaves the White House on January 20. The discussions were reported by Politico and later by the New York Times, CBS News and the Washington Post, all citing anonymous sources close to the talks. Biden sparked controversy on Sunday when, in a reversal, he pardoned his son Hunter, who was due to be sentenced this month in cases involving a gun purchase and tax fraud. Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, who served as lead manager during the first Senate impeachment of Trump, and retired general Mark Milley might also be in line for preemptive pardons to shield them from Trump. Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump's first term, later told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump was "a total fascist" and "the most dangerous person to this country." Overseeing such prosecutions would be the man who the president-elect has nominated to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel. Patel, who held a high position in the Pentagon during the first Trump term, has said that as FBI chief he would "come after" those "who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections." "WHEN I WIN," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in September, "those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law." Presidential pardons, issued at the end of a term, have a long history in the United States. On his last day in the White House in January 2021, Trump pardoned 74 people accused of various crimes and misdemeanors. And in September 1974, a month after Richard Nixon resigned as president during the Watergate scandal, his successor Gerald Ford announced "a full, free and absolute pardon" for any crimes against the United States which Nixon might have committed while in office. But the multiple preemptive pardons reportedly being considered by Biden -- to insulate several people from future prosecutions that might not ever happen -- could constitute a first. rle/bbk/bgs

Share this Story : Pure Kitchen shuts doors on Rideau Street location Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links Local Business News Local News Pure Kitchen shuts doors on Rideau Street location Owners say crime in the ByWard Market area was not a factor in closing. Get the latest from Lynn Saxberg straight to your inbox Sign Up Author of the article: Lynn Saxberg Published Dec 06, 2024 • 1 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account. Pure Kitchen on Rideau Street in Ottawa. Photo by JULIE OLIVER / Postmedia Article content The owners of Ottawa’s vegan-friendly Pure Kitchen restaurants have closed their two-year-old location at the corner of Rideau Street and the ByWard Market’s William Street. Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Pure Kitchen shuts doors on Rideau Street location Back to video Article content Co-owner David Leith said business at the downtown location never lived up to expectations, particularly during the summer patio season. “It just didn’t work out the way we planned in terms of sales and profitability,” Leith said. “Maybe our concept wasn’t as wide-reaching as one would think in the healthy food market.” Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content He emphasized they’re not closing the restaurant because of crime in the ByWard Market area . While it was a problem when the eatery opened in 2022, Leith said things have improved this year. “In the last six months whoever has been in charge of that area has been doing a good job of keeping it cleaned up,” he said. Leith speculated that the Elgin and Rideau Street locations might have been too close together. “ It might have split our client base up a little bit,” he said. Dave Leith, co-owner of Ottawa’s Pure Kitchen chain, enjoys mocktails with colleague Megan Campbell in 2022. The Rideau Street location of Pure Kitchen closed this week. Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia The first Pure Kitchen opened in Westboro in 2015 , with a menu that Ottawa Citizen restaurant critic Peter Hum said “ caters to vegans, vegetarians, organic-food advocates and gluten-avoiders.” The Elgin Street location opened in 2016, followed by one in Kanata in 2018. “We’re focusing on those now, and continuously upping our game,” Leith said. “We’re excited about the other locations.” There was also a location on Preston Street that closed about two years ago. The Rideau Street closure puts about a dozen employees out of work less than three weeks before Christmas. Some will be placed at other Pure Kitchen locations or at other colleagues’ establishments, Leith said. lsaxberg@postmedia.com Recommended from Editorial Nine of the best vegetarian and health-conscious restaurants in Ottawa Comfort food: Three Ottawa chefs take home-style cooking to the next level Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Pure Kitchen shuts doors on Rideau Street location Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Comments You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments. Create an Account Sign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Trending Brady Tkachuk to New York Rangers rumour is 'Total bulls--t' and 'garbage' Ottawa Senators Pure Kitchen shuts doors on Rideau Street location Local Business Ottawa's Trillium Line LRT to open Jan. 6 Local News Ottawa man and woman face drug charges after south-end traffic stop News Former Ottawa Senators star Dany Heatley says criticism hurt, turns jeers to cheers in return Ottawa Senators Read Next Latest National Stories Featured Local Savings

Anthony Albanese (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas) LEAVING NOTHING ON THE FIELD As the final sitting week of the year enters its last few days, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been telling his MPs he’ll “leave nothing on the field” to ensure Labor wins another majority government next year. The Australian reports the PM said in his end-of-year address to caucus on Tuesday there would only be a short break over Christmas as he prepares for the upcoming federal election. The paper also highlights that Coalition leader Peter Dutton reckons the government is faltering and making decisions that will make life harder for Australian families. As we’ve mentioned all week, there’s still A LOT the government hopes to get passed before Parliament rises and The Australian flags Labor MPs have been told there might be an extra sitting day to try and get as much done as possible. One of the bills the government wants to get over the line is, of course, the social media ban. AAP flags the Senate inquiry into legislation banning under 16s from most platforms, which ran for just one day, has recommended the bill should be passed as the government hopes to get it rushed through despite a chorus of objections. The Australian says the legislation looks set to pass with Dutton in support of the plans, although it has divided the Coalition partyroom with “Nationals Senator Matt Canavan and Liberal Senator Alex Antic prepared to cross the floor and others reserving their right to do so”. The paper also quotes a Labor MP raising concerns over the speed at which the legislation is being pushed through — though they were not talking about crossing the floor. “It’s the wrong way to go about it. It’s simplifying a very complex issue.” In addition, the Oz reports Albanese is unlikely to be able to establish an environmental watchdog before next year’s ­election and he continues to eye a deal with the Greens on his Future Made in Australia agenda. As flagged in yesterday’s Worm , the government’s controversial migration bills are set to be debated today. AAP says with independents, the Greens, legal experts and human rights advocates condemning the legislation, the government is hoping to use Coalition support to get the bills across the line. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Immigration Minister Tony Burke has been holding talks with the opposition over the government’s plans to “pay countries to accept convicted criminals it has been unable to deport and revive its travel ban on nations that don’t take back citizens against their will”. The paper explains how the immigration package allows the government to put non-citizens back into detention once another country agrees to take them, and those who do not cooperate with moves to deport them face five years in jail. More than 80,000 people could be affected by the plans, an inquiry has said, but the Department of Home Affairs claims it will impact around 5,000 people on bridging visas and another 1,000 in immigration and community detention, AAP says. Immigration barrister Jason Donnelly is quoted by the newswire as saying: “These measures, in combination, raise substantial risks of undermining procedural fairness, individual rights and government accountability.” CHALMERS URGES CALM Donald Trump’s latest threat to hit China, Mexico and Canada with new tariffs on the first day of his presidency generated plenty of attention yesterday with the Australian Financial Review leading overnight on the fact the Australian dollar dropped to a four-month low after Trump’s comments while Treasurer Jim Chalmers attempts to calm everyone down . To recap, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform he would be imposing a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, plus an additional 10% on goods from China. The BBC reports Trump said the tariffs on Canada and Mexico would remain in place until the countries clamped down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants illegally crossing the border. The broadcaster said he added “we will be charging China an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs” until it cracked down on fentanyl smuggling. The AFR said on Tuesday the Australian dollar dropped to US64.32c in response — the lowest since early August — before recovering to just under US65c. The paper flagged the Australian dollar “has slumped US5c in just two months, and banks are warning that its future looks bleak”. Meanwhile, The Age reckons “the Australian economy has been destabilised” by Trump. ANZ chief economist Richard Yetsenga is quoted as saying Tuesday’s events marked “only the beginning” of what could be four years of economic uncertainty. “This is the United States increasing tariffs on its three largest trading partners. That represents a discrete change in global trade policy,” Yetsenga said. “He [Trump] does take a transactional approach to many things, so this may be the first sense of what we will see under Trump 2.0.” Responding to Tuesday’s events, Chalmers said : “The incoming US administration will bring a different suite of policies and we’re confident in our ability to navigate that change. “Our economic plan is all about making Australians big beneficiaries of the shifts that are shaping the global economy. We’re well placed and well prepared to work with the incoming administration in the US.” Elsewhere, the ABC flags China’s ambassador to Australia said yesterday there was “no reason” that Trump’s second stint in the White House should damage the relationship between Canberra and Beijing. “There are reasons for us to be responsibly managing relations bilaterally, well enough, maturely enough, so that our two peoples can continue to benefit,” Xiao Qian said. “There is no reason to compromise our respective interests for the sake of a third party.” ON A LIGHTER NOTE... An editor I once worked with banned coverage of the death of the world’s oldest person, because inevitably the stories never end — there’s always someone who takes over as the oldest person alive. That’s a fair point, but I think regardless we should pause and reflect on the life lessons John Tinniswood , who passed away on Monday aged 112, had for us. Tinniswood, from Merseyside, England, previously told the Guinness World Records his longevity was down to “pure luck”, CNN reports. “You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it,” he said. As The Guardian points out he also suggested moderation was key. “If you drink too much or you eat too much or you walk too much, if you do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually,” he said. The paper said Tinniswood managed his own finances and kept up with the news every day. His family said in a statement: “He was intelligent, decisive, brave, calm in any crisis, talented at maths and a great conversationalist. His last day was surrounded by music and love.” Say What? This word captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and to so many aspects of our lives at the moment. Macquarie Dictionary We’ve flagged previous words of the year in the Worm and today it’s Macquarie Dictionary’s turn — the dictionary has declared “enshittification” its word of 2024. The dictionary defines the word as: “The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.” CRIKEY RECAP Australia’s teen social media ban loophole means kids can still use TikTok and YouTube Shorts CAM WILSON Videos from TikTok and YouTube Shorts (Image: Crikey) Australia’s teen social media ban won’t require TikTok or YouTube to stop children from using their algorithmically driven short-video platforms, significantly undermining the government’s major motivations for the policy. Experiments by Crikey show that TikTok and YouTube Shorts users are algorithmically recommended videos by both platforms without needing to log in — meaning that these services won’t be affected by the Albanese government’s bill which seeks to regulate only logged-in users. Among the government’s justifications for a blanket ban on children under the age of 16 using social media are fears about the impact of social media algorithms on young Australians. Greens declare victory on housing and go home, mission accomplished BERNARD KEANE Nonetheless, by stymieing much of Labor’s housing agenda for the past two years, the Greens can rightly feel it’s mission accomplished. Their goal, like it or not, has been to delay or prevent the government from doing anything noticeable to address housing affordability, such as encouraging the construction of more housing or reducing migration, enabling the Greens to campaign against Labor at the election for failing on housing. You can object to the ruthlessness of the Greens’ tactic, but not the electoral calculation behind it, or its success. A last-minute backflip to allow two relatively modest additions to the policy suite on housing won’t do anything to change those political dynamics. Labor will continue to denounce the “Greens political party” (drink!) as obstructionist and “the party of protest”, but there’s no denying the Greens’ success in preventing reform on housing. To be fair, Adam Bandt might have pushed the whole charade a bit too far, though, when he declared he would “take the fight to the next election, where we’ll keep Peter Dutton out and then push Labor to act on unlimited rent rises and tax handouts to wealthy property investors”. Keep Peter Dutton out? The Greens? Consider the seats the Bandt has explicitly said the Greens will target at the next election: Sydney, Macnamara, Wills, Cooper, Richmond. All Labor seats. The Greens will keep Dutton out by... taking seats off Labor. Makes sense. The entire Greens project is to take seats off Labor, understandably. The extent to which a hard-left party cannibalises the vote of a notionally left party, however, matters little to the electability of a right-wing party, beyond the extent to which it makes it easier for the right-wing party to become the largest grouping in Parliament and thus best-placed to form government. Australian powerbrokers’ debut event aims for (and gets) five out of ten DAANYAL SAEED Asked by Spencer to first identify themselves on a political sliding scale of 1-10, with 1 being nominally left and 10 being nominally right, Aly opened proceedings by saying he liked to think he exists “on a third axis ... I’ve previously argued in print that left and right are meaningless terms”. “I would, however, say I’m contractually obliged to be a 5,” he joked. Lehmann, however, was more forthcoming, describing herself as “probably a seven”, later describing herself as “centre-right”. It was in contrast to Kelty, a key figure in the establishment of the Keating-era Accords , who said he stopped referring to binary left-right scales “when he was 13 or 14”. Kelty went on to describe himself as “unashamedly socialist”. READ ALL ABOUT IT Eight men detained over suspected Laos methanol poisoning that killed six backpackers (ABC) Netanyahu urges cabinet to approve ceasefire with Hezbollah ( The New York Times ) ($) Five survivors rescued day after tourist boat sank in Red Sea — as search for missing ‘intensifies’ (Sky News) Fugitive on FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list arrested in UK (CBS News) No 10 dismisses Russia spy claims as ‘baseless’ (BBC) Relevance! Relevance! Relevance! Microsoft at 50 is an AI Giant — and still hell-bent on domination ( WIRED ) THE COMMENTARIAT What has happened to gambling reform under Labor? It’s simple — the government has been cowed by vested interests — Tim Costello (Guardian Australia): I had a visit on Sunday this week from a secondary school teacher who was asking how he can help his students who are all underage and who have sports betting apps and accounts. He is distressed that they have absorbed the gambling ad message and that their passion for sport is expressed through gambling. I assured him that given Labor and the Coalition would legislate a ban on social media for 16-year-olds they cannot enforce, it was surely a fait accompli that we would see a gambling ad ban which they can enforce. Exactly the same anxiety that parents feel about social media, they feel about gambling ads grooming their kids. Just a few hours later I saw the news that the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese , seems to have squibbed any gambling ad reform at all. I was profoundly shocked. A year ago, I had witnessed the emotion of the PM when he spoke at Peta Murphy’s funeral and I had been assured that Labor would honour her groundbreaking legacy on gambling reform. I honestly believed that. Mr Trump, do you realise how much the world has changed since you were president? — Thomas L. Friedman ( The New York Times ): President-elect Trump, you may think that your second term will be judged by how many tariffs you impose on China. I beg to differ. When it comes to US-China relations, I think your legacy — as well as President Xi Jinping’s — will be determined by how quickly, effectively and collaboratively the United States and China come up with a shared technical and ethical framework embedded in each AI system that prevents it from becoming destructive on its own — without human direction — or being useful to bad actors who might want to deploy it for destructive purposes. History will not look kindly on you, President-elect Trump, if you choose to prioritise the price of toys for American tots over an agreement with China on the behaviour of AI bots.

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