To the rather limited extent that justice is a popularity contest, can we just say that Israel is losing?

I keep forgetting to publish this.

Fig. 1. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh infrastructure czar gives glowing report on bridge upkeep,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 5, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-infrastructure-czar-gives-glowing-report-on-bridge-upkeep/

Pollution

Fig. 2. Photographer unknown, circa 1940-1950, from Smoke Control Lantern Slide Collection, ca. 1940-1950, AIS.1978.22, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh, via Bloomberg,^[1] fair use.

Jack Troy, “U.S. Steel closes portion of Clairton Coke Works as part of settlement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 6, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/regional/u-s-steel-closes-portion-of-clairton-coke-works-as-part-of-settlement/

Audrey Carlton, “In rural Pennsylvania, crypto mining offers a lifeline for dying gas wells,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, June 7, 2024, https://penncapital-star.com/energy-environment/in-rural-pennsylvania-crypto-mining-offers-a-lifeline-for-dying-gas-wells/

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

2024

As the descendant of European Jews, I [Harrison Mann] was raised in a particularly unforgiving moral environment when it came to the topic of bearing responsibility for ethnic cleansing — my grandfather refused to ever purchase products manufactured in Germany — where the paramount importance of ‘never again’ and the inadequacy of ‘just following orders’ were oft repeated.

I am haunted by the knowledge that I failed those principles. But I also have hope that my grandfather would afford me some grace, that he would still be proud of me for stepping away from this war, however belatedly.^[2]

[Harrison] Mann said he had not been in touch before his resignation with groups working to stoke dissent against the war and aid people who oppose it within the Biden administration. But he said he was now hearing from others inside the administration who have sought his advice about how to navigate their own opposition to Israel’s military campaign.

He said he knew of people who had asked to be given new responsibilities, who were refusing to continue conducting work on the Israel-related portions of their portfolios and who were demanding assurances that the work they were doing is consistent with U.S. and international law.^[3]

To the very limited extent that justice is a popularity contest, can we just say that Israel is losing?

“There should be no doubt that Spain will remain on the right side of history,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said after his foreign minister made the announcement.

Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Libya and the Palestinians are waiting for the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, to grant approval to their requests to join [South Africa’s] case [alleging that Israel was breaching the genocide convention in its military assault that has laid waste to large swaths of Gaza].^[4]

They’re piling on and I’ll tell you a secret: Not all of these people are wrong.

Barak Ravid, “Biden: ‘Every reason’ for people to conclude Netanyahu is prolonging war in Gaza,” Axios, June 4, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/06/04/biden-israel-netanyahu-gaza-time-interview

Dan Williams, “Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners back Gaza hostage deal,” Reuters, June 4, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahus-biggest-coalition-partner-backs-prospective-gaza-hostage-deal-2024-06-04/

Philissa Kramer, “Jewish officer resigns from US Army to protest Gaza war, citing lessons of the Holocaust,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 5, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/06/05/united-states/jewish-us-army-major-harrison-mann-explains-why-he-resigned-over-us-support-for-gaza-war

Jacob Magid, “CIA chief returns to region to push hostage deal as Israel vows not to budge further,” Times of Israel, June 5, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/cia-chief-returns-to-region-to-push-hostage-deal-as-israel-vows-not-to-budge-further/

Joseph Wilson, “Spain applies to join South Africa’s case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide,” Associated Press, June 6, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/spain-israel-icj-genocide-case-67d4d9b8ecf6fd88e718319a5d93465a

Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky, “US military’s Gaza pier has been repaired and reattached to beach,” Cable News Network, June 7, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/07/politics/us-pier-gaza-resume-operations/index.html

Julian Borger, “UN adds Israel to list of states committing violations against children,” Guardian, June 7, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/07/united-nations-israel-children-rights-violation

Carrie Keller-Lynn and Eduardo Kaplan, “Netanyahu Rival Poised to Resign in Blow to Israel’s War Cabinet,” Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2024, https://apple.news/A3Sy_d_LOSFWH8vKYPG4B-g

So-called ‘ridesharing’

Drivers

Fig. 3. Yeah, this is me. The sign says, “If you’re whining about a labor shortage, STOP ignoring my job applications!” And the QR-code leads here. Photograph by author, January 16, 2023.

In Colorado,

Gov. Jared Polis this week signed two bills into law that will mandate more extensive disclosures of ride details for drivers on platforms such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash.

SB24-075, dubbed the Transportation Network Company Transparency bill, mandates ride-hail companies divulge how much of the ride’s cost will go to the company versus the driver. The bill also makes sure drivers know the destination and expected compensation for a ride before they accept it.

Lawmakers also sought to address driver deactivations, which advocates and drivers have said can be arbitrary and unexplained. Studies show immigrants and people of color are far more likely to be booted from their jobs.

The state, as part of this bill, will certify a “driver support organization,” which can help drivers dealing with deactivations.^[5]

Colorado isn’t addressing the pay, which is often below minimum wage, even with tips. But it is addressing a number of issues that absolutely infuriated me on an ongoing basis with Uber and Lyft.

Sam Tabachnik, “More protections for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash drivers in Colorado as Gov. Jared Polis signs bills,” Denver Post, June 5, 2024, https://www.denverpost.com/2024/06/05/uber-lyft-legislation-colorado-2024/

Neoliberalism

Work

Fig. 4. The spectre of Death, in the form of a large skeleton, rises with the smoke and flames of the burning Asch Building during the Triangle fire, as people jump and fall to their death. Artist unknown, from International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) at The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Michelle Singletary doesn’t specifically address gig workers.^[6] But in my gig work, I find that what the company pays barely covers the cost of operation. I’m working for tips. Want me to starve? Don’t tip.

Michelle Singletary, “Has tipping gone too far? Here’s a guide on when to tip,” Washington Post, June 7, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/06/07/tipping-guide-michelle-singletary/

Epidemics and Pandemics

COVID-19

Fig. 5. Cartoon by Peter Brookes, October 3, 2020, via the Times, fair use.

Zhengyi Fang, Rebecca Ahrnsbrak, and Andy Rekito, “Evidence Mounts That About 7% of US Adults Have Had Long COVID,” Journal of the American Medical Association, June 7, 2024, doi:10.1001/jama.2024.11370

(dis)United Kingdom

Prime minister

Fig. 6. President Reagan on the South Lawn during the arrival ceremony of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom. U.S. Government photograph, November 16, 1988, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

The Sword of Damocles has been hanging over Rishi Sunak pretty much since he won the prime minister job. That thread is looking pretty thin about now. But despite skipping a portion of the D-Day ceremonies, certainly an own goal,^[7] mostly what I see from across the pond calls the Chinese concept of the “mandate of Heaven” to mind.

When a ruler loses that mandate, they’re doomed. Nothing can put it to right and the question is only how long before someone else takes over. The language refers to Heaven, but I interpret the mandate as somewhat more terrestrial, indeed human—and the loss of that mandate looks a lot like what’s happened to the Tories: They’ve gotten too accustomed to the levers of power. They have lost perspective. They have lost touch with their electorate. They make stupid mistakes because their groupthink is toxic. They trip over themselves trying even to think straight.

July 4th^[8] will be a day of infamy for the Tories. They cannot help themselves.

Rowena Mason et al., “‘D-day was the final straw’: Sunak’s blunders ignite Tory party fury,” Guardian, June 7, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/07/d-day-was-the-final-straw-sunaks-blunders-ignite-tory-party-fury

Matt Lewis, “Trump Can’t Carry a Gun, but He Might Have the Nuclear Codes Again,” Daily Beast, June 6, 2024, https://apple.news/A6O6KnjddR4egJoQA6XT5_Q

^[1]Mark Byrnes, “What Pittsburgh Looked Like When It Decided It Had a Pollution Problem,” Bloomberg, June 5, 2012, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-05/what-pittsburgh-looked-like-when-it-decided-it-had-a-pollution-problem ↩
^[2]Harrison Mann, quoted in Philissa Kramer, “Jewish officer resigns from US Army to protest Gaza war, citing lessons of the Holocaust,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 5, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/06/05/united-states/jewish-us-army-major-harrison-mann-explains-why-he-resigned-over-us-support-for-gaza-war ↩
^[3]Philissa Kramer, “Jewish officer resigns from US Army to protest Gaza war, citing lessons of the Holocaust,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 5, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/06/05/united-states/jewish-us-army-major-harrison-mann-explains-why-he-resigned-over-us-support-for-gaza-war ↩
^[4]Joseph Wilson, “Spain applies to join South Africa’s case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide,” Associated Press, June 6, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/spain-israel-icj-genocide-case-67d4d9b8ecf6fd88e718319a5d93465a ↩
^[5]Sam Tabachnik, “More protections for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash drivers in Colorado as Gov. Jared Polis signs bills,” Denver Post, June 5, 2024, https://www.denverpost.com/2024/06/05/uber-lyft-legislation-colorado-2024/↩
^[6]Michelle Singletary, “Has tipping gone too far? Here’s a guide on when to tip,” Washington Post, June 7, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/06/07/tipping-guide-michelle-singletary/↩
^[7]Rowena Mason et al., “‘D-day was the final straw’: Sunak’s blunders ignite Tory party fury,” Guardian, June 7, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/07/d-day-was-the-final-straw-sunaks-blunders-ignite-tory-party-fury ↩
^[8]Matt Honeycombe-Foster, “UK’s Rishi Sunak calls snap July election,” Politico, May 22, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/uks-rishi-sunak-calls-snap-july-election/↩
^[9]Alex Griffing, “Drudge Puts Trump in an Orange Jumpsuit as Site Monitors His Potential Indictment,” Mediaite, August 29, 2022, https://www.mediaite.com/news/drudge-puts-trump-in-an-orange-jumpsuit-as-site-monitors-his-potential-indictment/↩
^[10]Sarah D. Wire and Alexandra E. Petri, “Trump charged with 34 felony counts in alleged hush money cover-up case,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-04-04/donald-trump-alleged-hush-money-investigation-indictment-arraignment ↩

Irregular Bullshit

To the rather limited extent that justice is a popularity contest, can we just say that Israel is losing?

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure