Another week, dallying on work I should be doing, eventually finding a diversion in the world's calamities, reported below.
Note, however, that I didn't manage to finish my usual rounds by end-of-Sunday, so posted prematurely, and will try to follow up on Monday, the new pieces flagged like this one.
Initial counts: 151 links, 7,009 words. Updated: 171 links, 7,780 words.
Israel:
Mondoweiss:
[02-12] Day 129: Israel bombards Rafah, killing more than 60 in a night: "67 Palestinians, including babies and children, were killed Sunday night as Israel intensified bombing in Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians are sheltering, in preparation for a ground invasion that experts warn would amount to genocide."
[02-13] Day 130: U.S. Senate votes to send additional $14 billion to Israel as catastrophic ground invasion of Rafah appears imminent: "As Palestinians prepare for a catastrophic ground invasion of Rafah, the U.S. Senate votes to send an additional $14 billion to Israel. Amnesty International warns Palestinians in southern Gaza are "facing the real and imminent risk of genocide."
[02-14] Day 131: Israeli snipers force dozens to evacuate Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Israel steps up bombing in Lebanon: "As ceasefire negotiations enter their second day in Cairo, fighting around Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is intensifying -- with dozens of Palestinians who have been sheltering inside forced to evacuate by Israeli sniper attacks."
[02-15] Day 132: Israel bombards Nasser hospital, reports of Egypt preparing 'buffer zone' ahead of Gaza expulsion: Israel bombarded Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, killing and injuring patients and those sheltering inside. Egyptian human rights group reports construction underway on detention zone ahead of a possible mass expulsion from Gaza into Sinai.
[02-16] Day 133: Israel cuts electricity to critical Nasser Hospital patients, forces staff to evacuate: Medicins Sans Frontiers reports "an unknown number of dead and wounded" following Israel's attack on Nasser Hospital. UNRWA says 84% of Gaza health facilities have been impacted by Israeli attacks, and 70% of civilian infrastructure has been damaged.
[02-17] Day 134: Biden claims to push for temporary ceasefire, as US authorizes more weapons to Israel: "After several days of reported negotiations, Hamas says it will not accept anything less than complete ceasefire, blames Israel for stalling a ceasefire agreement."
[02-18] Day 135: Israel's war on Gaza's hospitals continues: "Nasser Hospital, the second-largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, was forced closed Sunday following an Israeli siege, storming, and arrest of medical staff and patients. Meanwhile, Israel also bombed Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis."
Kyle Anzalone: [02-16] Israel Military says Hamas will not be defeated in Gaza offensive: But it will continue, as long as possible, because Hamas is just systematic of the real target, the Palestinian people. We refer to what Israel is doing in Gaza as "genocide" because, well, that's clearly the intent, but even the Nazis left a million or so Jews alive, and several times more beyond their war zone. Palestinians will also survive, and will remember, and struggle to return. No doubt the Israelis fully understand that: Hamas is the Palestine they most need, because it's the force that justifies perpetual struggle, and that's what distinguishes and lifts Israelis above diaspora Jews.
Avishay Artsy: [02-16] The looming ground assault on the last "safe" zone in Gaza: Never have scare quotes been more warranted.
Dave DeCamp: [02-15] Egypt building walled camp in Sinai Desert to absorb Palestinian refugees from Gaza: Cites report by:
Summer Said/Jared Malsin: [02-15] Egypt builds walled enclosure on border as Israeli offensive looms: "Authorities are surrounding an area in the desert with concrete walls as a contingency for possible influx of Palestinian refugees."
Irfan Galaria: [02-16] I'm an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn't war -- it was annihilation.
Tareq S Hajjaj: [02-13] Rafah on the precipice: "Palestinians in Rafah are dreading Israel's impending invasion, but there is nothing we can do to ensure our safety. If the army surrounds us, we have nowhere left to go. We will be forced to endure the fire and look death in the face."
Shatha Hanaysha: [02-15] From the cities to the countryside, armed resistance is spreading in the West Bank: "Armed resistance in the West Bank had been concentrated in larger cities, but since October 7 it is spreading. 'Resistance in Azzun used to be non-armed,' a resident of the small town tells Mondoweiss. 'Then everything changed after October 7.'"
Ellen Ioanes/Nicole Narea: [02-15] Hospitals are supposed to be safe. Not in Gaza. "Israel's raid on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yuonis might break international humanitarian law." Might?
Nicole Narea: [02-12] Israel's dangerous escalation in Rafah, explained.
Jonathan Ofir: [02-15] Former Mossad official: Children in Gaza over the age of 4 deserve to be starved: Interview with Rami Igra.
Meron Rapoport: [02-13] 'Change in Israel will only happen when there are costs that force our eyes open': "Oct. 7 has 'broken a contract' between the army and gov't, but has yet to shake key parts of Israeli society into a different paradigm, says scholar Yagil Levy."
Daisy Schofield: [02-11] Israel has ramped up attacks on Jenin Camp in the West Bank.
Richard Silverstein:
Brett Wilkins: [02-14] Israel jails Palestinian human rights lawyer Diala Ayesh without charge: "How is this not hostage-taking?"
Israel vs. world opinion:
Spencer Ackerman: [02-14] The children of Gaza were not killed for democracy: "Absolutely nothing about Israel's U.S.-sponsored genocide has to do with democracy. Biden needs to stop staining democracy with the blood of children."
AlJazeera: [02-18] Brazil's Lula compares Israel's war on Gaza with the Holocaust.
Michael Aria: [02-15] The Shift: AIPAC targets Bush and Bowman: "AIPAC is poised to spend $100 million this election cycle, as they look to oust the few House members who criticize Israeli policy."
Ramzy Baroud: [02-16] The unrepentant West: Germany's Olaf Scholz and the right to commit genocide in Gaza.
Dave DeCamp:
[02-13] Sen. Van Hollen calls Israelis 'war criminals,' votes to send them $14 billion in new military aid.
[02-15] House passes bill to work against countries normalizing with Syria: Usually, Congress defers to the president for making bad foreign policy, but lately they've been insisting on it -- especially where Israel has an interest. "Only 28 Democrats and four Republicans voted against the bill."
Eoghan Gilmartin: [02-16] Why Spain opposed the West's punishment of UNRWA.
Marc Martorell Junyent: [02-18] Munich dispatch: Gaza "wind blowing against the West": "EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warns the world smells hypocrisy as Israel readies death blow in Rafah." Well, it's much worse than hypocrisy, but that tiny concern shows that the public relations disaster is starting to sink in, even as far as the EU's top security mandarins.
David Kattenburg: [02-13] Dutch court orders government to stop providing F-35 parts to Israel.
Daniel Larison: [02-13] Biden's calls for Israel to mind the laws appear feeble, and ignored.
Shaul Magid: [02-14] The forgotten history of American Jewish dissent against Zionism: "In resurrecting stories of non- and anti-Zionist critics, a new book shows American Jews how questioning Israel is deeply rooted in their community." The book is Geoffrey Levin: Our Palestine Question: Israel and American Jewish Dissent 1948-1978. Note: Magid's own book, The Necessity of Exile: Essays From a Distance, is one of several reviewed here:
Gideon Lewis-Kraus: [02-15] Jewish identity with and without Zionism.
By the way, here's a quote from Magid's book:
But what if instead, we began to explore a new ideology of Jewish self-determination? One that doesn't begin with the proprietary narrative of Zionism? One that doesn't lay claim to the land of the Jews at the exclusion of others? What if we separated the Jewish homeland from the notion of a Jewish state (as Hannah Arendt suggested in her essay "To Save the Jewish Homeland")? What if the concept of shared sovereignty was not perceived as Jews giving away "their" land to Palestinians, but as recognition of the equal rights of Palestinians to the land -- that is, an acknowledgment that the right of Palestinian self-determination is equal to the right of Jewish self-determination, and that the proprietary nature of the Zionist claim is abolished? What if we did away with the "Arab Question" altogether since the very notion assumes Jewish ownership and sovereignty, just as the "Jewish Question" once implied Jews' second-class status in Europe because of their resistance to assimilation?
Of course, this hypothetical was never seriously entertained by the actual Zionists, who plotted to seize power from the outset -- Herzl's book, after all, was titled The Jewish State. Nor were the Palestinians, at least as long as they held the majority, inclined toward sharing. (Sure, there were dissenting voices, on both sides, especially among communists, but they never had real power.) Sharing power is something all sides can conceivably agree to. Dominance, on the other hand, can only be seized, and with it inevitably resisted. Israel remains unwilling to share anything, only because they haven't been forced to realize that dominance is unsustainable. After all, they've gotten away with it for 75 years since seizing power in 1948. They realize it takes harsh measures, and that they risk turning themselves into international pariahs, but they're getting away with it. Some of them may even figure that when they are so shunned and shamed they're unable to sustain their policies of apartheid and genocide, they'll still be able to settle for equality -- a deal the overwhelming majority of Palestinians were already hoping for decades ago. But for now, most repeat the threat that, if given the opportunity, Palestinians would do unto Israelis as Israelis have done unto them. Whether that line is just propaganda or paranoia varies from person to person. But we others should realize that denying Israel license to deny and destroy Palestinian humanity, by taking the weapons of genocide away, will do no serious harm to the Israeli people. All that would do is to prod Israelis to negotiate a more equitable sharing of power, and with it recognition of everyone's humanity. And if we fail to do so, we will be cursing Israelis as well as Palestinians to an eternity of dread and doom.
By the way, looking at Magid's book led me to another similar but perhaps even more pointed book, by Daniel Boyarin: The No-State Solution: A Jewish Manifesto. (Not many reviews, but Jewish Currents published Two paths for diasporism, and First Things (a right-wing journal previously unknown to me) went with Anti-Zionism goes woke.
Jeff Merkley/Dick Durbin/Elizabeth Warren/Chris Van Hollen/Peter Welch: [02-16] The US should immediately mobilize 'Operation Gaza Relief': Five Senators, three of whom just voted to send Israel $14.1B more ammo and to prohibit the US from giving any funds to UNRWA, the UN's already-active relief and works agency. Supposedly a direct American operation would be tolerated by Israel while continuing its systematic destruction of Gaza. But most certainly it would become an instrument of Israel's genocidal aims, making the US even more complicit. Until there is a ceasefire, relief isn't even feasible. By the way, students of Israeli history will recall that Israel twice agreed to ceasefires during the 1948-50 war. The reason they did so was that they ran low on ammo, and the ceasefire bought time to rearm. The only thing that will cause Israel to slow down its assault is blocking its resupply of arms and ammunition.
Ed Rampell: [02-11] Israelism bucks blind faith in Israeli occupation, apartheid and "the Jewish Disneyland": Reviews a documentary by Erin Axelrod and Sam Eilertsen.
Mazin Qumsiyeh: [02-18] Pathetic state of our world: Also includes many more links.
Paul Rogers: [02-13] The US could stop the horror in Rafah today. Why won't it?
Hamza Ali Shah: [02-16] Western governments share responsibility for Israel's crimes.
Ishaan Tharoor:
Daniel Warner: [02-16] If a mother can be found complicit in her son's murders, shouldn't states be held complicit in a "plausible" genocide?
Philip Weiss: [02-18] Weekly Briefing: Why any decent person supports a ceasefire, but not Biden: "Americans are overwhelmingly for ceasefire by 4 to 1, and Democrats by more than 7 to 1. The reason Biden can't life a finger in the face of genocide is that he is afraid of alienating the Israel lobby as a force for his reelection. It's that simple."
America's expansion of Israel's world war:
Dave DeCamp:
[02-15] US launches airstrike in Somalia, says two al-Shabaab killed.
[02-18] Israel was behind attacks on gas pipelines in Iran: Because Israel has nothing better to do than stir up trouble for America?
Farnaz Fassihi/Eric Schmitt/Ronen Bergman/Julian E Barnes: [02-16] Israel was behind attacks on major gas pipelines in Iran, officials say.
Joshua Keating: [02-16] US officials are always talking about "deterring" Iran. What does that really mean? "Adversaries keep chipping away at America's military credibility." But they're doing much less damage than the US does to itself by using military force in situations where it cannot succeed. Deterrence theory was largely developed to justify nuclear arms, and worked because neither the Soviet Union nor the US had any real desire to use them. But its extension -- the notion that lesser powers will automatically submit to more powerful bullies -- has repeatedly failed, often exposing the aggressors to be much less powerful than they imagined, as well as discrediting their motives and generating moral outrage.
Elias Khoury: [02-16] What's missing from the debate over US troops in Syria.
Steven Zunes: [02-10] US bombs Yemen after years of undermining democracy in Yemen and destabilizing . . . Yemen.
Trump, and other Republicans:
Jamelle Bouie: [02-16] Trump owns Dobbs and everything that comes with it. Bouie also, recently, also wrote: [01-27]
Josh Dawsey/Ashley Parker: [02-16] Inside Trump's ouster of Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair.
Nia Prater: [02-16] Trump banned from his company, fined $355 million for fraud: "Plus nearly $100 million in interest." [PS: Some reports stick with the base figure, while others add the interest in to get to $454 million.] The ban is for three years. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were also fined, and banned for two years each. More on this:
Kevin T Dugan: [02-16] The Donald Trump fire sale starts now.
Abdallah Fayyad: [02-16] Trump is suddenly in need of a lot of cash. That's everyone's problem. The article digs a bit into Trump's wealth, but doesn't begin to explain what that's "everyone's problem."
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling: Trump enters full meltdown mode over $355 million verdict in fraud trial: "Donald Trump is not handling this one well at all."
Jonathan O'Connell: [02-16] Hefty fines, penalties will rock Trump family's business and fortune.
Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani: "Borders on pathological": Judge hands Trump brutal beatdown in fraud trial.
Susan B Glasser: [02-15] Trump's threat to NATO is the scariest kind of gaffe: It's real. Not really. Trump neither understand what NATO was designed to do -- to divide Europe with the Russians, while occupying the West on the cheap simply by controlling their armed forces (while allowing the UK and France a bit of leeway to fight their colonies), or what it ultimately became in the post-Soviet period: an arms cartel. Well, he half-understands the latter part, which he sees as a protection racket: pay up, or we'll toss you into a revived version of the Hitler-Stalin Pact. But there's very little chance of him acting on that. The Deep State, which he has no clue how to deny -- even if he wanted to, which he probably doesn't -- wouldn't let him. But the rhetoric plays well to the "America First" yahoos, because it makes him look tough and superior, not dependent on the expensive good will of pampered (and mostly useless) allies. Moreover, his rhetoric makes the liberal Blob types squirm, and it's easy to blame them for all the recent wars gone bust -- while exempting the macho hotheads, like himself.
Melvin Goodman: [02-16] Never forget who Donald Trump really is.
Ed Kilgore: [02-15] What the polls say today: Does Haley still have a shot in South Carolina? Nope. The poll average is 64% Trump, 31% Haley. Nationwide, it's 74% Trump, 19% Haley.
Heather Digby Parton: [02-14] Lara Trump's takeover of the RNC turns the GOP into a second Trump Organization.
Andrew Prokop: [02-15] Trump's big day in court: The Georgia and New York state cases had hearings. Later on these cases:
Andrea Bernstein: [02-16] How Trump turns his courtroom losses into wins.
Aaron Blake: [02-15] 4 takeaways from Trump's dueling court hearings.
Ed Kilgore: [02-16] Fani Willis is losing the optics battle in her case against Trump.
Ruth Marcus: [02-16] The Fani Willis hearing was must-watch TV that no one needed to see.
Nia Prater/Andrew Rice: [02-15] It's official: Trump is going on trial in Manhattan next month.
Jake Tapper: [02-16] 'Yes Jared, we're still doing this': Tapper reacts to Kushner's comments about Saudi crown prince: Video here. For more in print: Michelle L Price: [02-14] Jared Kushner, former Trump adviser, defends business dealings with Saudi Arabia. The "business dealings" included accepting a $2B investment into his hedge fund.
Li Zhou: [02-14] Republicans' baseless Mayorkas impeachment sets a disturbing precedent: "It weaponizes the practice in a new way." More on this:
Jonathan Blitzer: [02-17] The trials of Alejandro Mayorkas.
Biden and/or the Democrats:
Gabriel Debenedetti: [02-17] Too old? Biden World thinks pundits just don't get Joe: "The president's friends and aides play media critic amid a political mess." They're probably right, but it's hard for outsiders to see, because Biden has never been a very good communicator, and that's never sunk in deep enough to save his latest gaffes from being attributed to obvious age. David Ogilvy advised: "develop your eccentricities while you are young. That way, when you get old, people won't think you're going gaga." But if they hadn't paid attention, that's what they'll think anyway, since that's the easiest answer. But people who have paid attention often come to a different appreciation of Biden. I was surprised when, as Biden was just sewing up the 2020 nomination, to see the "Pod Save America" guys appear on Colbert and profess not just support for Biden -- as any practical Democrat would -- but love. I take that to be the point of Franklin Foer's The Last Politician (on my nightstand but still unread as, well, I'm pretty upset with him since he sloppily endorsed Israeli genocide).
Elie Honig: [02-16] The real Biden documents scandal (it's not the old-man stuff).
James D Zirin: [02-14] Why Hur's gratuitous smear of Biden is a study in prosecutorial abuse.
Paul Krugman: [02-13] Why Biden should talk up economic success: I'm pretty skeptical here. Two big problems: one is that people experience the economy differently, so it's hard for most people to see how the big stats affect them personally, and the latter requires more personalized messaging; the other is that lots of people think the economy does wonderfully on its own, and that politicians can only muck it up. They're wrong, but telling people they're stupid or naive is a rather tough sell. What Biden should be doing is talk about case examples. He should identify problems, like high prices (drugs is a good one; gasoline is less good, but still affects people), low wages (minimums, unions, etc.), rent, debt, pollution, corruption, fraud, etc. -- the list is practically endless -- and talk about what he has done, and what he is still trying to do, to help with these problems. And also point out what businesses, often through corrupt Republicans, are doing to make these problems even worse. Every one of these stories should have a point, which is that the Democrats are trying hard but need more support to help Americans help themselves, and to keep Republicans from hurting us further. But just throwing a bunch of numbers up in the air doesn't make that point, at least in ways most people can understand, even if you're inclinled to believe Biden, which most people don't. And isn't that the rub? There are lots of good stories to be told, but Biden is such an inept communicator that he's never going to convince people.
Miles Mogulescu: [02-10] Biden's unqualified aid to Israel could hand Trump the presidency: I think this is true, even though anyone who knows anything knows that it was Trump who gave Israelis the idea that Washington would blindly support any crazy thing right-wing Israelis could dream up, and that was what increasingly pushed Hamas into the corner they tried to break out of on Oct. 7. However, Biden didn't so much as hint at any scruples over Israel, even after raging vengeance turned into full genocide. At this point, the war in Ukraine is slightly less of an embarrassment, but also shows the Biden administration's inability to think their way out of war. As I said last week, if Biden can't get his wars under control, he's toast.
John Nichols: [02-16] Michigan just became the first state in 6 decades to scrap an infamous anti-union law.
Ari Paul: [02-16] The media is cheering Dems' rightward turn on immigration.
Christian Paz: [02-12] Yes, Democrats, it's Biden or bust: "Even if voters or the establishment wanted to, there really isn't a viable process to replace Biden as the nominee." More "replacement theory":
Ed Kilgore: [02-13] Yes, Democrats can still replace Biden (but they won't).
Paul Rosenberg: This also led me to a couple of older articles also on tactics.
[02-17] Rachel Bitecofer's tough-love lesson for Democrats: Time to fight dirty. Interview with the author of Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game. Headline is a bit off, as the real point is "to focus relentlessly on the threat posed by Republicans in terms that hit voters where they are." Which is to say Democrats need to start exposing the truth about Republicans, and stop pretending they're really just decent guys who are a little bit delusional. Bitecofer has examples of where her approach worked, and where not doing it failed, but the book is basically a "how to" for campaigns, including steps like:
Book also has chapters on "How to Land Punches" and "How to Give Wedgies."
[01-28] Swing Left fights for the future: "One-stop shopping" for progressive wins in 2024 and beyond.
[2023-05-28] Saving democracy from the ground up: David Pepper on how to fight the GOP and win.
Dylan Saba: [02-15] Democrats are helping make the US border look more and more like Gaza.
Robert J Shapiro: [02-12] Based on incomes, Americans are a lot better off under Biden than under Trump.
Norman Solomon: [02-16] Dodging Biden's moral collapse is no way to defeat Trump.
Paul Starr: [02-15] It's the working class, stupid: Review of John Judis/Ruy Teixeira: Where Have All the Democrats Gone? The Story of the Party in the Age of Extremes. I've been thinking about the same problem, so picked up a copy of the book, but haven't rushed to get into it. After all, these guys aren't exactly known as geniuses. Their 2002 book, The Emerging Democratic Majority, tried to flip Kevin Phillips' 1969 book on how demographic trends favored Republicans, and didn't fare so well -- it's easier to be optimistic than to be self-critical. Starr lets them off easy, noting that he wrote a similar essay five years earlier (An Emerging Democratic Majority), so it's nice to have that reference.
Matt Stieb: [02-15] Biden picks up key Putin endorsement: Eliciting suspicion by Democrats that he's playing some kind of devious reverse psychology game, although his explanation ("[Biden] is a more experienced, predictable person") sounds eminently reasonable. Of course, it would have been more sensible to just dodge the questions, maybe even to admit that covert support for Trump in 2016 was a blunder. In their rush to demonize him -- which Navalny's death once again sends into overdrive -- people forget that he is the kind of guy, secure in his own power, that one can do business with, at least if you approach him with a measure of respect. Unfortunately, that seems to be a lost art in Washington, supplanted by a cult of power projection with no concern for doing right.
Legal matters and other crimes:
Ian Millhiser:
[02-12] The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to sabotage Trump's most important criminal trial.
[02-15] The Supreme Court will decide if the government can seize control of YouTube and Twitter: The Court will weigh in on two "almost comically unconstitutional" laws passed by Florida and Texas.
Climate and environment:
Amudalat Ajasa: [02-16] Coral bleaching is now so extreme, scientists had to expand their scale for it.
Scott Dance: [02-15] Why a hot Atlantic has hurricane forecasters very worried: "Across a strip of ocean where many cyclones are born, February ocean temperatures are closer to what scientists expect in July."
Brady Dennis/Chris Mooney: [02-15] A 'collapse' is looming for Louisiana's coastal wetlands, scientists say: "The overwhelming majority of the state's wetlands -- a natural buffer against hurricanes -- are in a state of 'drowning' and could be gone by 2070."
Christopher Flavelle: [02-12] Wildfire smoke will worsen, new study shows, and protections are few: "Climate change is amplifying wildfires, and more smoke means higher risk of heart and lung disease from inhaling tiny particles that can drift far and wide."
Andrew Jeong: [02-16] Parts of Amazon rainforest could tip toward collapse by 2050, study warns.
Economic matters:
Dean Baker:
[02-13] Biden's record on income growth.
[02-14] New York Times tells readers that the inability of big firms to raise prices is evidence of inflation: "That is good news in the battle against inflation, not the bad news we are being told here."
Yanis Varoufakis: [02-18] Are we transitioning from capitalism to silicon serfdom? Interview, conducted by David Moscrop, with the Greek economist, who has a new book called Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism
Ukraine War:
Blaise Malley: [02-16] Diplomacy Watch: Putin's ceasefire suggestion turned down.
Zack Beauchamp: [02-13] The moral and strategic case for arming Ukraine: "Congress should have approved Ukraine aid yesterday." Deep down, I don't buy either of these arguments. I'm not dead set against sending arms to Ukraine, but the focus needs to be on negotiating a ceasefire and a peace that fairly reflects the needs of the people impacted by the war. Longer term, it needs to develop peaceful cooperation between Russia, Europe, and the world, which involves, but is far from limited to, easing the tensions caused by NATO enlargement. The last year has pretty clearly shown that the military ambitions of both Russia and Ukraine will not be met, making further fighting exceptionally pointless.
Connor Echols: [02-16] New poll: Nearly 70% of Americans want talks to end war in Ukraine.
Carlotta Gall/Marc Santora/Constant Méheut: [02-17] Avdiivka, longtime stronghold for Ukraine, falls to Russians.
Keith Gessen: [02-15] Can Ukraine still win? "As Congress continues to delay aid and Volodymyr Zelensky replaces his top commander, military experts debate the possible outcomes." But haven't both sides already lost more than they could ever have hoped to gain?
Marc Martorell Junyent:
[02-16] Dispatch from Munich: VP Harris warns against 'isolationism': "The Biden administration is intent on impressing to the annual security conference that it is the steward of 'international rules and norms.'" The term "isolationism" was invented in the 1940s, and applied retroactively to pretty much every American as far back as George Washington who was reluctant to send American troops to far away lands (as John Quincy Adams put it, "to find dragons to slay"), as if the only alternative to military adventurism was burying one's head in the sand. That's never been true, yet they still keep trotting the cliché out, imagining they're making a point.
[02-17] Munich Dispatch: After Adiivka, Zelensky insists Russians are losing: "Meanwhile, the German chancellor joins European heads in promising more money to Ukraine and NATO."
Rand Paul: [02-15] Seizing Russian assets: A feel good bill that will absolutely boomerang: "A Senate measure under consideration would breed contempt and prolong the war in Ukraine."
Olivia Rosane: [02-19] With $280 billion in profits, oil giants are 'main winners of the war in Ukraine'.
Valerie Hopkins/Andrew E Kramer: [02-16] Aleksei Navalny, Russian opposition leader, dies in prison at 47. I don't have any real opinions on Navalny, other than that his arrest and death reflects badly on Russia's political and justice systems, and therefore on their leader, Vladimir Putin. Like most people with any degree of knowledge about Russia, I don't have much respect let alone admiration for Putin. I could easily imagine that, if I were Russian, I would support whatever opposition seems most promising against Putin, and that may very well mean Navalny, but not being Russian, I also realize that it's none of my business, and I take a certain amount of alarm at how other Americans have come to fawn over him. I don't think that any nation should interfere in the internal political affairs of another, and I find it especially troubling when Americans in official positions do so -- not least because they tend to be repeat offenders, using America's eminence as a platform for running the world.
On the other hand, I don't believe that nations should have the right to torture their own people over political differences. There should be an international treaty providing a "right to exile" as an escape valve for individuals who can no longer live freely under their own government. Whether Navalny would have taken advantage of such a right isn't obvious: he did return to Russia after being treated for poisoning in Germany, and he was arrested immediately on return, so perhaps he expected to be martyred. That doesn't excuse Russia. If anything, that the story had such a predictable outcome furthers the indictment.
More on Navalny:Masha Gessen: [02-16] The death of Alexey Navalny, Putin's most formidable opponent: "The opposition leader, who died in prison, had been persecuted for years by the Russian state. He remained defiant, and consistently funny, to the very end."
Ellen Ioanes: [02-16] Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death, explained.
Luke Johnson: Alexei Navalny was Vladimir Putin's worst nightmare.
Anton Troinovski: [02-16] In prison or out, Navalny was the thorn in Putin's side.
Ishaan Tharoor: [02-19] In Navalny's death, Putin cements a new era of Russian dictatorship.
Jada Yuan: [02-18] 'Navalny' director blames Putin for opposition leader's 'murder': "Daniel Roher won an Oscar for chronicling Alexei Navalny's investigation into his own poisoning."
Speaking of prominent political prisoners, there's been a flurry of articles recently on Julian Assange:
Brett Wilkins: [02-14] 'Drop the charges,' says Amnesty ahead of key Julian Assange hearing: The article doesn't tie Assange's detention and persecution to Navalny's, but very well could (and should). Both are prisoners charged with political acts, and seem to be in personal peril -- there have been multiple reports for several years, like this and this, leading to this story:
Nadia Beard: [02-09] The artist holding valuable art hostage to protect Julian Assange -- such that if anything does happen to Assange, the US will look as guilty as Russia does with Navalny.
Consortium News: [02-18] Coverage of Julian Assange hearing.
Chris Hedges: [02-19] Julian Assange's final appeal.
Around the world:
Ellen Ioanes:
[02-14] Indonesia may have just elected a strongman: "A relic from Indonesia's dictatorship is the new president." Prabows Subianto, "despite his history as a general credibly accused of human rights abuses and war crimes and concerns he could hasten democratic erosion during his tenure."
Sarang Shidore: [02-14] What a Prabowo win signals for US-Indonesia relations.
Keith Bradsher: [02-12] How China built BYD, its Tesla killer.
Tim Fernholz: [02-15] How the US is preparing to fight -- and win -- a war in space: "Meet the startup trying to maintain American military dominance in space." Author previously wrote Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race (2018). Few ideas are more misguided than the notion that anyone can militarily dominate space. Chalmers Johnson illustrated that much 20 years ago by imagining the result of some hostile actor launching "a dumptruck full of gravel" into orbit: it would indiscriminately destroy everyone's satellites, and everything dependent on them (including a big chunk of our communications infrastructure, and such common uses as GPS, as well as the ability to target missiles and drones).
Lydialyle Gibson: [02-12] We have treatments for opioid addiction that work. So why is the problem getting worse?
Umair Irfan: [02-14] Carmakers pumped the brakes on hybrid cars too soon.
Ben Jacobs: [02-13] The race to replace George Santos, explained: Written before Tuesday's vote, which gave the seat to Democrat Tom Suozzi, who was favored in polls by 3-4 points, and won by 8 (54-46).
Sarah Jones: [02-14] The anti-feminist backlash at the heart of the election.
Eric Levitz: [02-18] How NIMBYs are helping to turn the public against immigrants: "(In this house, we believe that high rents fuel nativist backlashes."
Charisma Madarang: [02-13] Jon Stewart skewers Biden and Trump in scathing 'Daily Show' return: I watched the opening monologue segment, and must say I didn't laugh once. It was about how much older Stewart is now than when he retired from the show 20 years ago, which was when Biden was the same age Stewart is now. And, yes, Trump's pretty old too. The most annoying bit was when Stewart, repeatedly, referred to being president as "the hardest job in the world." That it most certainly is not. As far as I can tell, it looks like a pretty cushy job, with lots (probably too many) people constantly at your beck and call, keeping track of everything and everyone, and preparing for every eventuality. It may be overscheduled, but Trump showed that doesn't have to be the case, and Biden doesn't seem to spend a lot of time in public, either. It may be dauntingly hard to fully comprehend, and the responsibility that comes with the power may be overwhelming, but Trump, and for that matter Biden, don't seem to be all that bothered. Maybe we should have presidents who know and care more, but history doesn't suggest that it makes much difference. Once they get their staffs in place, the bus pretty much drives itself. (Or, in Trump's case, wrecks itself, repeatedly.)
Later on, Stewart brought in his "team of reporters," tending to all-decisive diners in Michigan -- the sort of comedians who developed careers out of the old Daily Show, like Samantha Bee and John Oliver -- and sure, they were pretty funny, albeit in stereotypical ways (naïve/inept Democrats; vile/evil Republicans). More on Jon Stewart:
Jeet Heer: [02-16] Jon Stewart is not the enemy: "You don't defeat Trump by rejecting comedy." I agree with the subhed, but I'm still waiting for the comedy. For what it's worth, I think Messrs. Colbert, Myers, and Kimmel have done great public service over the last eight years in reminding us how vile, pompous, and utterly ridiculous Trump has always been, and I thank their audiences for robustly cheering them on. (It's nice to know you're not alone in thinking that.) Myers even does a pretty good job of reminding us that all Republicans are basically interchangeable with Trump, which is a message more people need to realize.
Ciara Moloney: [01-29] What peace in Northern Ireland teaches us about 'endless' conflicts: "If the international community can underwrite war, it can also underwrite peace and justice." Nathan J Robinson linked to this in a tweet, pace a quote from Isaac Herzog: "You cannot accept a peace process with neighbors who engage in terrorism."
Kevin Munger: [02-16] Nobody likes the present situation very much. Unclear where this is going, but it's something to think about:
I think that the pace of technological change is intolerable, that it denies humans the dignity of continuity, states the competence to govern, and social scientists a society about which to accumulate knowledge.
Dennis Overbye: [02-12] The Doomsday clock keeps ticking: The threat of nuclear weapons is real, but the metaphor is bullshit. The clock isn't ticking. It's just a visual prop, meant to worry people, to convey a sense of panic, but panic attenuates over time. So if 7 minutes haven't elapsed since the clock was set 77 years ago, why should we worry now? We clearly need a different system for risk assessment than the one behind the doomsday clock. We also need some much better method for communicating that risk, which is especially difficult, because there are actually dozens of different risks that have to be represented, each with their own distinct strategies for risk reduction. I'm not willing to enter that rabbit hole here, other than to offer a very rough swag that the odds of any kind of nuclear incident in the next 12 months are in the 1-2% range (which, by the way, I regard as alarmingly high, given the stakes, but far from likely; my greatest uncertainty has to do with Ukraine, where there are several serious possible scenarios, but the avoidance of them in 2023 and the likelihood of continued stalemate suggests they can continue to be avoided; by the way, I would count Chernobyl as an above-threshold incident, as it caused more damage, and more fallout, than a single isolated bomb; it should be understood that there is a lot more danger in nuclear power than just the doomsday scenario).
Jared Marcel Pollen: [02-14] Why billionaires are obsessed with the apocalypse: Review of Douglas Rushkoff's book, Surival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires.
Aja Romano: [02-15] Those evangelical Christian Super Bowl ads -- and the backlash to them -- explained. Also:
Andrew Perez/Tessa Stuart: [02-07] This evangelical billionaire family wants to convert you on Super Bowl Sunday: "The Hobby Lobby family emerges as the driving force behind the group running ads about Jesus during the Super Bowl."
Brian Rosenwald: [02-14] The key to understanding the modern GOP? Its hatred of taxes. Review of Michael J Graetz: The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked America. The reviewer, by the way, had his own equally plausible idea, in his book: Talk Radio's America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States.
Becca Rothfeld: [02-15] The Alternative is just the book economists should read -- and won't: "Journalist Nick Romeo lays out eight examples of what we gain when we think about morality alongside money." The book's subtitle: How to Build a Just Economy.
Matt Stieb: [02-13] The millionaire LimeWire founder behind RFK Jr.: "Mark Gorton has done his own research on JFK, LBJ, vaccines, and the 2024 election."
Li Zhou:
[02-13] The far right is using the Lakewood Church shooting for anti-trans attacks.
[02-15] How the Kansas City shooting proves the "good guy with a gun" idea is a fallacy: "At least one person was killed in the violence and 21 people -- including 11 children -- were injured," in an "incident" where more than 800 police officers were supposed to provide security. Which brings us to more on guns, including some older pieces that are regularly updated:
Marin Cogan:
[02-15] What bullets do to kids: "Gun deaths among children have risen to their highest level in more than 20 years. A pediatric trauma surgeon describes the physical toll."
[02-15] We shouldn't have to live like this. "What experts and advocates say can make a difference in the face of unrelenting gun violence."
Vox: [02-14] America's unique, enduring gun problem, explained.
Kacen Bayless: [02-16] Missouri House Republicans scrap two gun bills after Kansas City Chiefs rally shooting: "One would allow guns on public transit and inside churches and the other would exempt firearms and ammunition from sales taxes."
Katie Langford: [02-15] Man fatally shot after approaching 13-year-old on bus.
The New Yorker: [02-17] Our favorite bookstores in New York City: From the days after I turned 16, got a driver's license, and dropped out of high school, up until perhaps as late as 2011 (i.e., when Borders show down), I spent large parts of my life carousing around bookstores -- at least two, often more like four times a week. (Since then, I mostly just do this.) I fell out of the habit here in Wichita (which still has Watermark Books, and a Barnes & Noble), but what really got me was find most of the bookstores I regularly sought out when visiting New York City had been turned into banks (Colisseum Books was especially saddening). So I'm pleased to see this article, and also to note that the only store listed I've actually been in was the Barnes & Noble. Not that I'm actually likely to get back there any time soon -- most of the people I knew there have departed, and I haven't traveled since the pandemic hit -- but at least one can again entertain the thought.
Also, some notes found on ex-Twitter (many forwarded by @tillkan, so please do yourself a favor and follow her; my comments in brackets):
John Cassidy: When 2 headlines are worth 10,000 word[s]. [Image of Wall Street Journal page. Headlines: "Biden Presses Netanyahu to Accept Plan"; "U.S. Is Preparing to Send Bombs, Other Arms to Israel"]
Tony Karon: Judge Biden by what he does, not by what he says. Israel can't sustain its genocidal war without the US munitions Biden keeps sending, while offering the equivalent of "thoughts and prayers" for the Palestinian civilians they'll kill [link to: US to send weapons to Israel amid invasion threat in Gaza's Rafah]
Nathan J Robinson: The worst serial killer in history killed nearly 200 children. A true monster. Unfathomable evil.
So far Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu have killed over 10,000 children. Their evil reaches a whole other level of depravity.
[Commenters belittle the comparison by pointing to the usual list of political monsters -- Hitler, Stalin, Mao -- without realizing that they're only adding to the list (which should, by the way, also include Churchill, Nixon, and GW Bush). Where Netanyahu ranks on that list is open to debate, but that he is morally equivalent isn't. As for Biden, he's certainly complicit, a facilitator, but things he's directly responsible for are relatively minor even if undeniably real (e.g., strikes against Yemen, Iraq, Syria; general poisoning of relations with Iran and Russia). I'm less certain that Stalin and Mao belong, at least the mass starvation their policies caused: that result was probably not intended, although both did little to correct their errors once they became obvious. Churchill's relationship to starvation is more mixed: the Bengal famine was mostly incompetence and lack of care, much like Stalin and Mao, but his efforts to starve Germans were coldly considered and rigorous.]