Israeli historian Ilan Pappe launched his new book, “Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic,” on 11 June at an event organised by The Cordoba Foundation, MEMO and One World Publications in London, UK. At the event, Pappe spoke about historical and present antisemites who have supported Zionism.
The New York Times reports: Shortly after Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France on Saturday, the chief executive of the cryptocurrency company Tether called the situation “very concerning.” Crypto enthusiasts pledged to support Mr. Durov, posting the hashtag #FreeDurov. Others investors declared that the arrest was an assault on free speech. “Can’t even imagine a day without Telegram,” one crypto user wrote. The wave of support for Mr. Durov was a reflection of…
Shibley Telhami writes: Just before the recent advance of Ukrainian forces into Russian territory, there were signs that Americans were becoming somewhat less confident about Ukraine’s prospects in the war with Russia. Add to this that the United States is in the middle of a heated election season where Republican politicians have been less supportive of backing Ukraine, one might have expected a drop in American public support for Kyiv. Yet, our new University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll with…
The Independent reports: Georgia’s governor has asked his attorney general if he can remove state election board members after three right-wing members approved a series of alarming new rules. Republican Governor Brian Kemp asked Attorney General Christopher Carr for “guidance” on whether he can remove members of the state election board, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. This comes after three right-wing members of the five-person board championed and passed a series of new rules that add extra requirements for county election…
Adam Clark Estes writes: This week Mark Zuckerberg sent Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) a letter outlining how the Biden administration pressured his company to “censor” free speech on Facebook — specifically misinformation about Covid-19. The letter also made reference to Hunter Biden’s laptop and Zuckerberg’s lack of plans to spend money on the election. This sounds bad. But none of this information is new. It’s interesting that Zuckerberg decided to dive into the free speech snake pit this week. It’s…
The New York Times reports: The boys are aching to see their parents again. They are convinced it will happen as soon as they can go back to Gaza City, where they were growing up before the war bulldozed that life. “Baba and mama will be waiting for us there,” they say to their aunt Samar, who is taking care of the four of them, Mohammed, Mahmoud, Ahmed and Abdullah Akeila. They say this even though they were told their…
Rolling Stone reports: On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a show of selectively exiting the presidential race and throwing his support behind Donald Trump, hailing the former president as a champion of free speech. Less than a week later, Trump is already promising to crush First Amendment protections if elected in November. On Monday, Trump complained about pushback to a proposal to sentence people to a year in jail for burning the American flag. “I wanna get a law…
The Guardian reports: Local Republican leaders saw the rally [in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Rust belt] as an opportunity for Trump to take the initiative after evidently being thrown by suddenly facing Kamala Harris after months of leading Joe Biden in opinion polls. Harris has not only erased Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania, but recent polls put her three or more points ahead. Frank Scavo, a businessman and ardent Trump supporter who was part of a coup that took hold of…
Elaina Plott Calabro writes: Kash Patel was dangerous. On this both Trump appointees and career officials could agree. A 40-year-old lawyer with little government experience, he joined the administration in 2019 and rose rapidly. Each new title set off new alarms. When Patel was installed as chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense just after the 2020 election, Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised him not to break the law in order to…
The Washington Post reports: The 50 biggest donors this cycle have collectively pumped $1.5 billion into political committees and other groups competing in the election, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission data. The vast majority of money from top donors has gone to super PACs, which can accept unlimited sums from individuals and often work closely with campaigns despite rules against coordinating their advertising. From billionaire investors to shipping magnates, these megadonors skew Republican, though they…
The New York Times reports: Prosecutors in France said on Monday that Pavel Durov, the entrepreneur who runs the Telegram messaging platform, had been arrested in connection with an investigation opened last month into criminal activity on the app and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement. Mr. Durov, 39, was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget Airport near Paris after landing on a private plane from Azerbaijan. He had not been charged and remained in custody, which can be…
R. Douglas Fields writes: It is late at night. You are alone and wandering empty streets in search of your parked car when you hear footsteps creeping up from behind. Your heart pounds, your blood pressure skyrockets. Goose bumps appear on your arms, sweat on your palms. Your stomach knots and your muscles coil, ready to sprint or fight. Now imagine the same scene, but without any of the body’s innate responses to an external threat. Would you still feel…
Business Insider reports: The Democratic and Republican National Conventions concluded this week, solidifying former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris as their party’s respective nominees. But between the partisan speeches and celebrity appearances, the ambiance of the convention — created in part by the design of the stage each candidate spoke on and the signs held by audience members — underscored each party’s priorities headed into this year’s contentious election. A political scientist told Business Insider the stagecraft…
Doug Pagitt writes: Central to our work at Vote Common Good, I spend a lot of my time traveling the country speaking to voters, particularly evangelical and Catholic voters who are hardwired into voting Republican, working to get them to break out of those patterns. What I’ve learned is that most don’t want or need their elected leader to be like them, but they really do want their leader to like them. It wasn’t clear that Secretary of State Hillary…