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Category: Politics

Ret. Judge J. Michael Luttig urges Supreme Court to disqualify Trump from office

Ret. Judge J. Michael Luttig urges Supreme Court to disqualify Trump from office

CNN reports: A former conservative federal appellate judge is urging the Supreme Court to keep Donald Trump off the ballot, arguing the ex-president’s effort to cling to power after his 2020 election loss was “broader” than South Carolina’s secession from the US that triggered the Civil War. “Mr. Trump tried to prevent the newly-elected President Biden from governing anywhere in the United States. The South Carolina secession prevented the newly-elected President Lincoln from governing only in that State,” J. Michael…

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The rise of techno-authoritarianism

The rise of techno-authoritarianism

Adrienne LaFrance writes: If you had to capture Silicon Valley’s dominant ideology in a single anecdote, you might look first to Mark Zuckerberg, sitting in the blue glow of his computer some 20 years ago, chatting with a friend about how his new website, TheFacebook, had given him access to reams of personal information about his fellow students: Zuckerberg: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard Zuckerberg: Just ask. Zuckerberg: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures,…

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Black pastors pressure Biden to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, warning him of grave risk to his re-election

Black pastors pressure Biden to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, warning him of grave risk to his re-election

The New York Times reports: As the Israel-Hamas war enters its fourth month, a coalition of Black faith leaders is pressuring the Biden administration to push for a cease-fire — a campaign spurred in part by their parishioners, who are increasingly distressed by the suffering of Palestinians and critical of the president’s response to it. More than 1,000 Black pastors representing hundreds of thousands of congregants nationwide have issued the demand. In sit-down meetings with White House officials, and through…

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U.S. funds IDF despite minister of national security along with 10% of Israeli Jews supporting terrorism

U.S. funds IDF despite minister of national security along with 10% of Israeli Jews supporting terrorism

Last year, Ruth Margalit wrote in the New Yorker about Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir: Ben-Gvir, who entered parliament in 2021, leads a far-right party called Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power. His role model and ideological wellspring has long been Meir Kahane, a Brooklyn rabbi who moved to Israel in 1971 and, during a single term in the Knesset, tested the moral limits of the country. Israeli politicians strive to reconcile Israel’s identities as a Jewish state and a…

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In federal court, Palestinians accuse Biden of complicity in genocide

In federal court, Palestinians accuse Biden of complicity in genocide

The Intercept reports: At the hearing [in Oakland, CA], U.S. Judge Jeffrey S. White went to some length to state the impact of Israel’s war on Palestinian civilians and the U.S. government’s support for it but indicated the case might ultimately hinge on questions of jurisdiction. “The Palestinian people are living in fear and without food, medical care, clean water, or sufficient humanitarian aid. Defendants — the president of the United States and his secretaries of state and defense —…

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Secret EU plan ‘to sabotage Hungarian economy’ revealed as anger mounts at Orbán

Secret EU plan ‘to sabotage Hungarian economy’ revealed as anger mounts at Orbán

The Guardian reports: Officials in Brussels have reportedly drawn up a secret plan to sabotage Hungary’s economy if Viktor Orbán decides this week to again block a €50bn support package for Ukraine. The plan, reported by the Financial Times, reflects the fury mounting across European capitals at what one diplomat called the “policy of blackmail” being pursued by the Hungarian prime minister, who leads the bloc’s most pro-Russia state. The FT said the strategy involved targeting Hungary’s economy, weakening its…

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U.S. culture is an incubator of ‘extrinsic values’. Nobody embodies them like Donald Trump

U.S. culture is an incubator of ‘extrinsic values’. Nobody embodies them like Donald Trump

George Monbiot writes: Many explanations are proposed for the continued rise of Donald Trump, and the steadfastness of his support, even as the outrages and criminal charges pile up. Some of these explanations are powerful. But there is one I have seen mentioned nowhere, which could, I believe, be the most important: Trump is king of the extrinsics. Some psychologists believe our values tend to cluster around certain poles, described as “intrinsic” and “extrinsic”. People with a strong set of intrinsic…

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Trump’s secret plan to expand presidential immunity to ‘King George’ levels

Trump’s secret plan to expand presidential immunity to ‘King George’ levels

Rolling Stone reports: This month, Donald Trump’s lawyers have argued in a federal appeals court that he, as a former American president, is “absolutely” immune from criminal prosecution, possibly even if he were to order the assassination of his political enemies. But the arguments that Trump’s lawyers are currently litigating in public are just a preview of Trump and his allies’ private plans to dramatically expand presidential immunity, if he defeats Joe Biden in the 2024 election. According to two…

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Embattled UN agency warns its aid operation in Gaza is ‘collapsing’ over a wave of funding cuts

Embattled UN agency warns its aid operation in Gaza is ‘collapsing’ over a wave of funding cuts

The Associated Press reports: The head of the main U.N. aid agency in the war-battered Gaza Strip warned late Saturday that its work is collapsing after nine countries decided to cut funding over allegations that several agency employees had participated in the deadly Hamas attack against Israel four months ago. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said he was shocked such decisions were taken as “famine looms” in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. “Palestinians in Gaza did…

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Famine in Gaza is being made ‘inevitable’ says UN rapporteur

Famine in Gaza is being made ‘inevitable’ says UN rapporteur

The Guardian reports: The Gaza Strip is facing “inevitable famine” because of the decision by western countries to pause funding for the UN’s agency for Palestinian affairs after Israeli accusations that 12 of the group’s employees took part in the Hamas attack on 7 October last year. Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said on Sunday “famine was imminent” and now “inevitable”, in a comment following the news that the US and nine other countries…

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UNRWA funding halt: ‘One of the most irresponsible and inhumane strategic moves’ that any state could make

UNRWA funding halt: ‘One of the most irresponsible and inhumane strategic moves’ that any state could make

My live interview with @skynews on Western funding cuts to @unrwa at a time of deepest need, bombings in Yemen, drone strikes in Jordan, growing regional instability in the Middle East and ICJ ruling. Some quotes from my responses: "I don't think it could get any worse for the… pic.twitter.com/B5ERcLFlhh — Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) January 28, 2024 Dr. Jennifer Cassidy: “I don’t think it could get any worse for the people of Gaza right now. The aid trucks, despite…

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UN chief calls on countries to resume funding Gaza aid agency after allegations of Hamas ties

UN chief calls on countries to resume funding Gaza aid agency after allegations of Hamas ties

Politico reports: The secretary-general of the United Nations on Sunday called on countries to continue funding the main agency providing aid in Gaza after several of its employees were accused of taking part in the Hamas attack on Israel that ignited the war four months ago. The dispute engulfing the biggest provider of vital aid to Palestinians came as U.S. officials said negotiators were closing in on a cease-fire agreement. The emerging deal would bring a two-month halt to the…

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Biden administration might slow some weaponry deliveries to Israel but may also offer more weapons

Biden administration might slow some weaponry deliveries to Israel but may also offer more weapons

NBC News reports: The Biden administration is discussing using weaponry sales to Israel as leverage to convince the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to heed long-standing U.S. calls to scale back its military assault in the Gaza Strip, according to three current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official familiar with the discussions. At the direction of the White House, the Pentagon has been reviewing what weaponry Israel has requested that could be used as leverage, officials said. They…

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Where is Hamas getting its weapons? Increasingly, from Israel (and thus the U.S.)

Where is Hamas getting its weapons? Increasingly, from Israel (and thus the U.S.)

The New York Times reports: Israeli military and intelligence officials have concluded that a significant number of weapons used by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks and in the war in Gaza came from an unlikely source: the Israeli military itself. For years, analysts have pointed to underground smuggling routes to explain how Hamas stayed so heavily armed despite an Israeli military blockade of the Gaza Strip. But recent intelligence has shown the extent to which Hamas has been able…

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Is Congress really going to abandon Ukraine now?

Is Congress really going to abandon Ukraine now?

Anne Applebaum writes: As I write this I am in Warsaw, 170 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine. The front line, where Ukrainians are right now fighting and dying, is another 450 miles beyond that. Not so far, in other words. A long day’s drive. I am well within range of Russian missiles, the kind that have hit Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv so many times over the past two years. Tens of millions of other people—Poles, Germans, Romanians, Finns, Estonians,…

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After ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocide, U.S. and allies cut off funding for humanitarian aid to Gaza

After ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocide, U.S. and allies cut off funding for humanitarian aid to Gaza

UNRWA sure as hell chose a convenient moment to drop this news and hide it under all the ICJ coverage. Any other day, this would have been a major headline: Israel submits evidence of UN employees’ complicity with Hamas. https://t.co/eTePR0lFyG — Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) January 26, 2024 Israel sure as hell chose a convenient moment to drop this allegation against UNRWA. Axios reports: A senior Israeli official said the Shin Bet and Israeli military intelligence provided information that pointed to…

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