Thai Leader's Suspension Deals New Blow to Battered Economy
In a blow to a country long plagued by political instability, the Constitutional Court sidelined the 38-year-old leader over a complaint linked to a leaked phone call in which she appeared to criticize the army and side with Cambodia in a border dispute — a potential breach of conduct under the constitution. She has 15 days to respond. For now, Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit leads a shaky coalition.
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Fox News
40 minutes ago
- Fox News
Author suggests Democrats should 'embrace pornography' to win back young men
The Democratic Party should "embrace pornography" to attract young men to their side of the aisle, a far-left author and writer argued this week. "I have many thoughts on how the Democratic Party might start to win back young men who have abandoned the party for fascism," Elie Mystal, justice correspondent and a columnist for The Nation, wrote in an article published Wednesday. "None of them involve abandoning women's rights, women's leadership, or the LGBTQ community," Mystal said. "But one of my suggestions is that the Democrats should embrace pornography and other examples of sexiness and smut under the umbrella of free speech." Mystal, who is the author of "Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America," released in March, which discusses "the flawed foundations of the rules we live by," said that pornography helps people. "Now, to be clear, pornography is viewed and enjoyed by all sorts of people, male and female, gay and straight, trans and cis," Mystal wrote. "Indeed, one of the highest, best uses of porn (I can't believe I just wrote that) is that it helps young people figure out what they're actually into. Sex-positive porn enjoyers are not a political demographic the Democrats generally have a problem with." He suggested that Democrats might have difficulty persuading straight White men that "Free Palestine" flags are included in one's right to exercise free speech, but says it will be easy to persuade men that pornography is free speech. "That's because pornography is an actual free speech issue," Mystal wrote. "So is smut. So is obscenity. These are forms of free speech that conservatives and Republicans in the government are constantly trying to regulate." Also at issue in his column is his belief that age verification laws, like the Texas law recently upheld by the Supreme Court which reaffirmed Texas' right to verify the ages of people who use pornography sites to ensure minors will not have access. The Supreme Court pointed out that about 21 other states have passed similar regulations on sexual content that could be damaging to minors. "Nobody was arguing that minors have a constitutional right to access porn," Mystal said. "But adults do. Regulating adult access to porn is a point-and-one-handed-click restriction on the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression." In a reply to Mystal's post on X sharing his article, journalist Taylor Lorenz praised his take, saying, "YES PLEASE!!!!!!! I'm screaming to the void about this. So grateful for your piece." Haley McNamara, Senior Vice President at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, condemned the take from Mystal. "No political party should embrace pornography—research shows both men and women alike are facing serious mental health challenges as a result of porn, ranging from depression and compulsive behaviors to escalating addictions and stunted sexual and social development," she told Fox News Digital. "These issues often manifest as isolation, anxiety, or difficulty forming healthy relationships. Not to mention, as exposes against Pornhub, XVideos, OnlyFans and more have shown, even mainstream porn sites are often filled with videos of sex trafficking, rape, and child sexual abuse. It is a ludicrous suggestion that any political party promotes porn on its platform."
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hamzah denies plot to oust Muhyiddin, says only outsiders spreading ‘baseless gossip' to divide Perikatan
KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has reportedly denied any rift within Perikatan Nasional (PN) and its lynchpin Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, saying critics were merely trying to divide the Opposition pact. In an interview with Mingguan Malaysia, Hamzah denied any move to oust Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from leading the pact and party. 'Who's trying to remove whom? If someone were trying to oust him, surely I would be the first to know. But why am I not aware of anything? 'People say Muhyiddin is being pushed out — yet no one has said anything to me,' he was quoted saying. Hamzah who is Muhyiddin's deputy in both PN and Bersatu, said it would be foolish for anyone to plan an ouster without discussing the succession plan with him. 'If someone did try and I said I wasn't interested, then what? What would happen? It would be foolish for anyone to act alone without discussing who's supposed to take over,' he said. 'To me, it's just baseless gossip from outsiders trying to divide us. That's all,' he added. Instead, the Opposition Leader said the gossip and rumours over instability in PN was proof that the public is interested in the coalition. 'This shows that the public is interested in us because they see our potential. That's why people talk about us — they're not talking about other parties, because others don't have the same kind of potential,' he said. 'The ones spreading these stories aren't even members, and may not even be from within the party. Sometimes, even party members are left wondering — who said this? Who started this rumour?' Hamzah insisted that there is no conflict between him and Muhyiddin, and they meet at least once a month for political discussions. 'We talk to each other, and there are no issues between us. It's outsiders who are trying to make it look like there are problems. It just goes to show how strong our party is — everyone is talking about us,' he added.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Uganda's 80-year-old president in bid to extend 40-year rule
Uganda's long-serving president, Yoweri Museveni, 80, has been declared the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election, opening the way for him to seek to extend his nearly 40 years in power. In his acceptance speech, Museveni said that he had responded to the call and, if elected, would press ahead with his mission to turn Uganda into a "high middle income country". Museveni's critics say he has ruled with an iron hand since he seized power as a rebel leader in 1986. He has won every election held since then, and the constitution has been amended twice to remove age and term limits to allow him remain in office. Pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine is expected to be Museveni's main challenger in the election scheduled for next January. Wine told the BBC in April that he would run against Museveni if he was nominated by his party, the National Unity Platform, but it was getting "tougher" to be in opposition because of growing state repression. "Being in the opposition in Uganda means being labelled a terrorist," he said. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, lost the last election in 2021 to Museveni by 35% to 59% in a poll marred by allegations of rigging and a crackdown on the opposition. Another prominent opposition politician, Kizza Besigye, has been in detention since November after being accused of treason. He denies the allegation, saying his arrest is political. In his acceptance speech at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) conference on Saturday, Museveni said that he had brought about stability and progress in Uganda. He said it was crucial that Uganda did not "miss the bus of history as happened in the past when Europe transformed and Africa stagnated and was enslaved". Museveni added that he wanted Uganda to take a "qualitative leap", and become a "high upper middle income country". "Other countries in Asia with less natural resources, did it. We can do it," he added. Are East African governments uniting to silence dissent? How Besigye disappeared in Kenya and ended up in military court How an ex-rebel has stayed in power Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
