Imperialism
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.
This really is Israel shooting itself in the foot. It would help if [Binyamin] Netanyahu came out in his voice and said [ethnic cleansing] is not the policy, but it’s election season and he has to cater to his base.[2]
There will be a price to pay long after the next Israeli election, long after this war is over. And both Israel and the U.S. will be paying it. One way or another.
Dion Nissenbaum et al., “Top Hamas Leader Killed in Suspected Israeli Strike in Beirut,” Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-fights-on-three-fronts-as-it-debates-how-to-end-gaza-war-1c74c512
Ron Kampeas, “Biden administration, Reform Jewish leader slam Smotrich and Ben Gvir for calling for Palestinians’ removal from Gaza,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 2, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/01/02/politics/biden-administration-reform-jewish-leader-slam-smotrich-and-ben-gvir-for-calling-for-palestinians-removal-from-gaza
Tori Otten, “Report: Israel in Talks With Third Country to Expel Palestinians Entirely,” New Republic, January 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/177837/report-israel-expel-palestinians-gaza-third-country-congo
Gabriel Gavin, Antonia Zimmermann, and Laura Kayali, “The Gaza war is escalating. How bad will the Middle East crisis get?” Politico, January 4, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/gaza-israel-palestina-middle-east-red-sea-crisis/
Steve Hendrix, Hajar Harb, and Claire Parker, “As Gazans return to destroyed homes, Israeli ministers push resettlement,” Washington Post, January 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/04/gaza-displaced-civilians-resettlement-israel/
Ishaan Tharoor, “Israeli calls for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing are only getting louder,” Washington Post, January 5, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/05/wv-israel-hamas/
Lebanon
Fig. 2. “Sabra & Shatila Massacre 1982 Memorial in Sabra, South Beirut,” photograph by Bertramz, via Wikimedia Commons,
Amal Saad believes that Binyamin Netanyahu’s strategy is to draw the U.S. into a wider war against both Hamas and Hezbollah.[3] Joe Biden should think very hard before taking this bait; I will change my forecast for the 2024 presidential election to a toss-up and it will be even harder for me to vote for him than it already is.
Amal Saad, “Israel is pushing Hezbollah to its limits. How it responds will define the future of this war,” Guardian, January 5, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/05/israel-hezbollah-war-hamas-saleh-arouri-lebanon
Jeffrey Epstein
Fig. 3. “Donald Trump with his future wife Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in February 2000.” Photograph credited to Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images, February 2000,[4] fair use.
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, “Conservatives Are Having a Meltdown Over Trump and the Epstein List,” New Republic, January 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/177828/conservatives-meltdown-trump-epstein-list
Victoria Bekiempis, “Jeffrey Epstein: documents linking associates to sex offender unsealed,” Guardian, January 4, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/03/jeffrey-epstein-list-names-released
Victoria Bekiempis, “Second wave of court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein unsealed,” Guardian, January 4, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/04/jeffrey-epstein-second-round-documents-unsealed
Chas Danner, Benjamin Hart, and Matt Stieb, “Who Are the Newly Revealed Jeffrey Epstein Associates?” New York, January 4, 2024, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/who-are-the-newly-revealed-jeffrey-epstein-associates.html
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.
Lizzy McLellan Ravitch, “22 states raised their minimum wage this week. Pennsylvania’s is still just $7.25,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 4, 2024, https://www.inquirer.com/jobs/labor/minimum-wage-increases-pennsylvania-new-jersey-delaware-20240104.html
Electric vehicles
Fig. 5. “A Toyota bZ4X electric sport utility vehicle: EVs currently on the market are fitted with batteries that use liquid lithium-ion electrolytes.” Photograph by Kiyoshi Ota, n.d., via Financial Times, fair use.
It sounds to me like Tesla is probably still exaggerating their range claims. There’s no apology here[5] and that’s what I would need to trust their revised estimates.
Jess Weatherbed, “Tesla lowers Model Y, S, and X range estimations following exaggeration complaints,” Verge, January 5, 2024, https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/5/24026367/tesla-lowers-range-estimations-model-x-s-y-mileage-exaggeration
- [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [2]Shira Efron, quoted in Steve Hendrix, Hajar Harb, and Claire Parker, “As Gazans return to destroyed homes, Israeli ministers push resettlement,” Washington Post, January 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/04/gaza-displaced-civilians-resettlement-israel/↩
- [3]Amal Saad, “Israel is pushing Hezbollah to its limits. How it responds will define the future of this war,” Guardian, January 5, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/05/israel-hezbollah-war-hamas-saleh-arouri-lebanon↩
- [4]Martin Pengelly, “‘She say anything about me?’ Trump raised Ghislaine Maxwell link with aides,” Guardian, October 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/04/trump-ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-maggie-haberman-book-confidence-man↩
- [5]Jess Weatherbed, “Tesla lowers Model Y, S, and X range estimations following exaggeration complaints,” Verge, January 5, 2024, https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/5/24026367/tesla-lowers-range-estimations-model-x-s-y-mileage-exaggeration↩