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Category: Politics

Peru’s president tried to pull a Trump. He swiftly got impeached and arrested

Peru’s president tried to pull a Trump. He swiftly got impeached and arrested

Too bad the U.S. Senate, acquitting Trump of impeachable insurrection, lacked the cojones that Peru’s Congress had on display when it dispatched President Castillo for similarly self-aggrandizing high crimes . . . https://t.co/yqHR4z2uiY — Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 7, 2022 CNN reports: Dina Boluarte became Peru’s first female President on Wednesday, capping off a dramatic day which saw her predecessor arrested for the alleged crime of rebellion and impeached by lawmakers. Boluarte, the country’s former vice president, was sworn into…

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China scraps most Covid testing, quarantine requirements in policy shift

China scraps most Covid testing, quarantine requirements in policy shift

The Wall Street Journal reports: China dropped many of its quarantine and testing requirements and curtailed the power of local officials to shut down entire city blocks, as the government accelerates plans to dismantle zero-Covid controls in the wake of nationwide protests. The speed of Beijing’s retreat from its pandemic regime suggests the country’s leaders are now more concerned about the damage those controls have caused to China’s economy than the risk of worsening Covid infections that surged to a…

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State, local governments increasingly turn to zoning reforms

State, local governments increasingly turn to zoning reforms

Sarah Wesseler writes: Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States, and passenger vehicles — the cars most Americans rely on to meet their daily needs — account for more than half of transportation emissions. Conversations about reducing these emissions typically focus on electric vehicles. But increasingly, government officials across the country are aiming not just to get Americans into different kinds of cars, but to radically reduce the need to drive in the first place….

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What Warnock’s win in Georgia means for 2024

What Warnock’s win in Georgia means for 2024

Ronald Brownstein writes: Senator Raphael Warnock’s win in yesterday’s Georgia Senate runoff capped a commanding show of strength by Democrats in the states that decided the 2020 race for the White House—and will likely pick the winner again in 2024. With Warnock’s victory over Republican Herschel Walker, Democrats have defeated every GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidate endorsed by Donald Trump this year in the five states that flipped from supporting him in 2016 to backing Joe Biden in 2020: Michigan,…

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Sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemns his rule, urges Guards to disarm

Sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemns his rule, urges Guards to disarm

Reuters reports: A sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned his crackdown on nationwide protests and called on the widely-feared Revolutionary Guards to lay down their weapons, according to a letter published by her France-based son. Iran has been gripped by unrest since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept 16., and is facing a three-day general strike movement which started on Monday. Badri Hosseini Khamenei, who lives in Iran…

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Democrats ramp up investigation of Kushner family business dealings

Democrats ramp up investigation of Kushner family business dealings

The Washington Post reports: Democrats on a pair of congressional committees have launched an aggressive new effort to obtain information about whether Jared Kushner’s actions on U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf region as a senior White House adviser were influenced by the bailout of a property owned by his family business. Citing previously undisclosed emails and other documents related to former president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the committees on Monday night sent letters to the State and Defense departments requesting…

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UK coalmine approval shows PM doesn’t care if he is seen as green

UK coalmine approval shows PM doesn’t care if he is seen as green

Fiona Harvey writes: Opening a new coalmine when the world stands on the brink of climate catastrophe is “absolutely indefensible”, in the words of the UK government’s independent climate adviser, the chair of the Climate Change Committee and the former Conservative minister Lord Deben. The £165m mine in Cumbria will produce coking coal for steelmaking, which the government has said will still be needed, even though steelmakers must move to low-carbon production in the next 13 years. Two of the UK’s existing steel…

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German police arrest 25 suspects in plot to overthrow state

German police arrest 25 suspects in plot to overthrow state

Deutsche Welle reports: In a nationwide raid, 25 suspected members and supporters of a terrorist organization were arrested early Wednesday. Officials said the network, part of a wider right-wing movement, was already well established with a concrete plan to overthrow the German state by force and install a new government. The raids were announced by Germany’s federal prosecution agency and German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. Buschmann said the investigations were directed against a suspected terrorist network with known ties to…

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The 30 percent goal: Is bigger always better for biodiversity?

The 30 percent goal: Is bigger always better for biodiversity?

Fred Pearce writes: In 2009, the U.S. government turned more than 190,000 square miles of pristine ocean centered on the Mariana Trench in the remote Pacific into one of the world’s largest protected areas. The same year, Mexico completed a management plan for the Cabo Pulmo coral reef in the Gulf of California, covering just 27 square miles. Which action achieved the most? As the biggest United Nations conference on biodiversity in a decade gathers in Montreal this week, it…

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The Trump Organization was convicted after a truly embarrassing defense

The Trump Organization was convicted after a truly embarrassing defense

Ankush Khardori writes: As of Tuesday afternoon, Donald Trump’s company is a convicted felon. The result comes courtesy of the jury in the criminal trial of the Trump Organization, which found Trump’s namesake company guilty on all 17 counts of the indictment. The result is significant but not exactly surprising. The Trump Organization was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in the summer of 2021 along with the company’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, over a yearslong scheme to avoid paying taxes on…

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How Trump’s legacy became ‘pure poison’ for independents

How Trump’s legacy became ‘pure poison’ for independents

Ronald Brownstein writes: The highly touted red wave in last month’s midterm election failed to develop largely because it hit a wall of resistance among independent voters, especially across the key battleground states. And that presents difficult questions for Republicans looking forward to 2024. The GOP’s disappointing showing among independents this year marked the third consecutive election in which the party has underperformed with those critical swing voters. Although Donald Trump ran competitively among independents in his first presidential race…

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How #TrumpCrimeFamily became a trending term

How #TrumpCrimeFamily became a trending term

HuffPost reports: Tuesday’s verdict against the Trump Organization was bad news for former President Donald Trump, his family members and employees. On the bright side, it seemed to inspire some Twitter users to new heights of “schadenfreude,” that very apt German word that basically means “finding joy in others misfortunes.” After a jury found Trump’s company guilty of tax fraud and other crimes, people following the case expressed on social media the joy of the American ideal that no one…

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House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says

House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says

CNN reports: The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has decided to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, told reporters Tuesday. Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said the committee has not narrowed down the universe of individuals who may be referred. Asked whether Thompson believed any witnesses perjured themselves, he said, “that’s part of the discussion.” When the panel makes referrals, Thompson said it will be…

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Society can’t slow climate change without reining in Big Tech, new report warns

Society can’t slow climate change without reining in Big Tech, new report warns

Inside Climate News reports: Any effort to curb global greenhouse gas emissions and stave off catastrophic warming is doomed to fail unless far more is done to address the “foundational” role Big Tech companies now play in exacerbating the climate crisis. That’s the conclusion of a new report released last week by the international environmental nonprofit Global Action Plan. From amplifying conspiracy theories and misinformation to their increasingly massive energy footprint, the world’s biggest tech companies aren’t only making global…

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Ukrainian drones attack military bases hundreds of miles inside Russia, escalating the war

Ukrainian drones attack military bases hundreds of miles inside Russia, escalating the war

The New York Times reports: Ukraine executed its most brazen attack into Russian territory in the nine-month-old war on Monday, targeting two military bases hundreds of miles inside the country using drones, according to the Russian defense ministry and a senior Ukrainian official. The drones were launched from Ukrainian territory, and at least one of the strikes was made with the help of special forces close to the base who helped guide the drones to the target, said the official,…

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In the ruins of Chernobyl, Ukraine waits for Russia — again

In the ruins of Chernobyl, Ukraine waits for Russia — again

Michael Weiss and James Rushton report: The Belarusian border with Ukraine is 674 miles long. But one of the most strategically important areas of it lies directly north of Kyiv, in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the largely abandoned, heavily irradiated area around the Soviet nuclear power plant that melted down in 1986. Russian forces occupied the area from Feb. 24 until April 2, when they withdrew after a fierce Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is now where Ukrainians fear…

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