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Category: Politics

International Court of Justice could charge Israel with genocide in Gaza, state officials fear

International Court of Justice could charge Israel with genocide in Gaza, state officials fear

  Haaretz reports: The security establishment and the State Attorney’s Office are concerned that the International Court of Justice at the Hague will charge Israel with genocide in the Gaza Strip – this at the request of South Africa, which petitioned the court over the weekend. Haaretz has learned that a senior legal expert dealing with the matter has in recent days warned IDF brass, including Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, that there is real danger that the court will…

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The quest to make Big Oil pay for climate change

The quest to make Big Oil pay for climate change

Jake Bolster writes: Eight days after the Marshall Fire [in Colorado in 2021], U.S. President Joe Biden toured the wreckage and gave a speech to the community, saying, “We can’t ignore the reality that these fires are being supercharged. They’re being supercharged by a change in the weather.” Three years before the Marshall Fire, Boulder and San Miguel counties had filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the oil companies Exxon and Suncor by claiming much the same thing. Changes in…

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Biden’s flip-flopping on fossil fuels is bad policy and bad politics

Biden’s flip-flopping on fossil fuels is bad policy and bad politics

The Washington Post reports: As U.S. oil production was soaring to record levels in December, Biden administration officials were at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Dubai assuring world leaders that the United States would help lead the global transition away from fossil fuels. That dichotomy stood out to Amara Enyia, an activist and policy director for the Movement for Black Lives, who attended the conference, known as COP28. “There’s this dissonance between the commitments that are being made versus…

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Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins

Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins

USA Today reports: President Joe Biden heads into the election year showing alarming weakness among stalwarts of the Democratic base, with Donald Trump leading among Hispanic voters and young people. One in 5 Black voters now say they’ll support a third-party candidate in November. In a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, Biden’s failure to consolidate support in key parts of the coalition that elected him in 2020 has left him narrowly trailing Trump, the likely Republican nominee, 39%-37%; 17% support…

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Israel plans to continue war on Gaza for the ‘entire coming year’

Israel plans to continue war on Gaza for the ‘entire coming year’

The Times of Israel reports: IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military is making adjustments to its deployment in the Gaza Strip, as it anticipates a long war against the Hamas terror group, stretching throughout the entire coming year. “We are adjusting the fighting methods to each area in Gaza, as well as the necessary forces to carry out the mission in the best way possible. Each area has different characteristics and different operational needs,” he says. “Tonight,…

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Netanyahu says Israel must control Egypt-Gaza border zone

Netanyahu says Israel must control Egypt-Gaza border zone

Middle East Eye reports: Israel’s prime minister has said a narrow strip of land between Egypt and Gaza must be retaken by Israel. “The Philadelphi Corridor – or to put it more correctly, the southern stoppage point [of Gaza] – must be in our hands,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference on Saturday. “It must be shut. It is clear that any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarisation that we seek,” he added. The Philadelphi Corridor is a…

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The greatest challenge for journalists in Gaza is staying alive

The greatest challenge for journalists in Gaza is staying alive

Afnan Abu Yahia and Lila Hassan write: Samer Abu Daqqa loved being a journalist. A cameraman for over 20 years with Al Jazeera, Abu Daqqa, 45, had covered at least seven wars. Israel’s war on Gaza, however, would turn out to be his last. While covering an air strike at a United Nations–run school on December 15, Israeli forces shot Abu Daqqa. Intense shelling prevented an ambulance from reaching him—three paramedics were killed trying to get to the area—and he…

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For the safety of Jews and Palestinians, stop weaponizing antisemitism

For the safety of Jews and Palestinians, stop weaponizing antisemitism

Bernie Steinberg writes: For eighteen years I had the great privilege of working as Executive Director of Harvard Hillel. As a leader of Jewish communities on campus, in New England, and around the nation, I have helped cultivate a new generation of Jewish leaders and citizens. I navigated moments of tension and war: the tumultuous 1990s, as the Oslo Accords began to crumble; the Second Intifada; 9/11 and its fallout; the Iraq War; Israel’s Second Lebanon War and its war…

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The EU should support Ireland’s bold move to regulate social media

The EU should support Ireland’s bold move to regulate social media

Zephyr Teachout and Roger McNamee write: Dublin, Ireland, was stunned a month ago by riots that transformed its downtown into chaos, the worst rioting in decades, stemming from far-right online rumors about an attack on children.  The riots, like Jan. 6, appear to be a direct outgrowth of the amplification ecosystem supported by social media networks such as TikTok, Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram, which likely keep their European headquarters in Dublin for tax reasons.  Ireland, long ridiculed for bowing…

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Political identity appears to shape our choices in love and location — and the implications are troubling

Political identity appears to shape our choices in love and location — and the implications are troubling

PsyPost reports: New research demonstrates that an individual’s political identity is related to their romantic and residential preferences. The findings, published in Politics and the Life Sciences, suggests that political beliefs play an important role in choosing romantic partners and preferred living locations, especially for those with strong partisan views, potentially exacerbating political polarization. The research was based on niche construction theory, a concept from evolutionary biology. This theory posits that organisms, including humans, actively modify their environment and social…

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War without end suits Netanyahu

War without end suits Netanyahu

Simon Tisdall writes: Warnings about a region-wide escalation engulfing the entire Middle East have been circulating since the first fraught days after the 7 October Hamas terrorist atrocities. The most dangerous flashpoint is generally believed to be Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where lethal clashes between the powerful Shia militia Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have greatly intensified in recent days. Sporadic Israeli airstrikes inside Syria, repeated limited attacks by Islamist militants on US bases in Iraq and…

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Biden continues supporting Israel’s ‘Genghis Khan model of warfare’

Biden continues supporting Israel’s ‘Genghis Khan model of warfare’

The Associated Press reports: For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism. The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed to make the 155…

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Muslim leaders expand campaign to abandon Biden in 2024 over Israel-Hamas war

Muslim leaders expand campaign to abandon Biden in 2024 over Israel-Hamas war

NBC News reports: Muslim leaders announced on Saturday that they are going national with an effort to dissuade voters from reelecting President Joe Biden in 2024 due to his failure to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. The #AbandonBiden campaign officially began earlier in December, led by Muslim leaders in swing states like Michigan, Minnesota and Arizona, who disapproved of Biden’s support for Israel’s counterattacks against Hamas. The counterattacks have come at the cost of tens of thousands of innocent…

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How a Russian barrage evaded Ukraine’s defenses to wreak deadly chaos

How a Russian barrage evaded Ukraine’s defenses to wreak deadly chaos

The New York Times reports: For months, Ukraine’s use of powerful Western-supplied air-defense systems to repel Russian missile attacks has provided its citizens with some reassurance that a protective shield was effectively in place over big cities such as the capital, Kyiv. On Friday, that shield partly cracked. In one of the biggest air assaults of the war, Russia launched so many missiles that the Ukrainian defenses seem to have been overloaded. Faced with a complex barrage of different airborne…

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Here’s what the Supreme Court should do with the Trump ballot cases

Here’s what the Supreme Court should do with the Trump ballot cases

Shan Wu writes: The U.S. Supreme Court needs to understand that the disqualification of former President Donald J. Trump under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment from running again for President of the United States is going exactly as it should. The Maine Secretary of State ruled in an administrative proceeding that Trump is disqualified, and the Colorado Supreme Court ruled similarly. Both states followed the law set forth in the U.S. Constitution that anyone who once took an oath…

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Jack Smith: Trump immunity bid a ‘license’ to commit crimes

Jack Smith: Trump immunity bid a ‘license’ to commit crimes

The Daily Beast reports: Special counsel Jack Smith warned in a new filing Saturday that ex-President Donald Trump’s bid for immunity could “license Presidents to commit crimes to remain in office.” The brief lodged in the D.C. Court of Appeals came in response to the ex-president’s claims that he is immune to prosecution for his efforts to undo his 2020 defeat because he survived an impeachment proceeding in the Senate, and because his plotting fell within the powers and duties…

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