Illiberalism
Gilead
Donald Trump
Hush money
Fig. 1. Cartoon by Jesse Duquette, undated, via “Minneapple23” [pseud.] on Imgur, April 1, 2023, fair use.
I remember wondering when judges would stop putting up with Donald Trump’s nonsense. We might be getting there.
Shayna Jacobs, “Judge threatens to throw Trump out of E. Jean Carroll defamation trial,” Washington Post, January 17, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/17/trump-defamation-trial-carroll-new-york/
Imperialism
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 2. 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.
In their often shambolic and occasionally hysterical appearance before the International Court of Justice last Friday, at no point did the lawyers representing Israel give concrete arguments or convincing evidence that Israel’s three-month siege of Gaza should not be considered an act of genocide. Faced with a credible accusation of a crime one of their own called the “epitome and zenith of evil,” “the crime of crimes,” “the ultimate in wickedness,” they produced no proof they were not guilty.[2]
Neri Zilber, “Benjamin Netanyahu faces political backlash over Israel’s hostage strategy,” Financial Times, January 16, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/2d5258d5-aabb-4c54-80e8-ec28fd4e21b0
James Robins, “Israel’s Subtle Threats at the International Court of Justice,” New Republic, January 17, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/article/178174/israels-subtle-threats-international-court-justice
United States
Yemen
This is simply asinine and that, of course, is Ryan Grim’s point:
It was a simple question, delivered directly to President Joe Biden this afternoon. The president delivered a responseOpens in a new tab that ought to be the epitaph for the period of non-Pax Americana we’ve been living through since the fall of the Soviet Union.
“Well, when you say, ‘working’ — are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they gonna continue? Yes.”[3]
If we understand the international war crimes doctrine of proportionality as including that strikes should be reasonably expected to accomplish a specific goal—“the military advantage must be proportionate to the loss of civilian life”[4]—and if any civilians have been killed (which we’re conveniently not hearing about), Joe Biden may have just admitted to committing a war crime. We can add it to his complicity with Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.
Ryan Grim, “Biden on Yemen Airstrikes: ‘Are They Stopping the Houthis? No. Are They Gonna Continue? Yes,’” Intercept, January 18, 2024, https://theintercept.com/2024/01/18/biden-yemen-houthi-airstrikes/
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Infrastructure
Fig. 3. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
I think we’re finally going to see a test[5] of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s efforts to improve snowplowing response.[6]
Steve Bonel, “State, local officials announce $132 million for repairs to three Pittsburgh bridges,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 18, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2024/01/18/fort-duquesne-west-end-mckees-rocks-bridges/stories/202401180089
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Another winter storm is bearing down on the Pittsburgh region,” January 18, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/01/18/how-much-snow-pittsbugh-forecast-updates/stories/202401180086
- [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]James Robins, “Israel’s Subtle Threats at the International Court of Justice,” New Republic, January 17, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/article/178174/israels-subtle-threats-international-court-justice↩
- [3]Ryan Grim, “Biden on Yemen Airstrikes: ‘Are They Stopping the Houthis? No. Are They Gonna Continue? Yes,’” Intercept, January 18, 2024, https://theintercept.com/2024/01/18/biden-yemen-houthi-airstrikes/↩
- [4]Tom Bowman, “The brutal calculus of war: Is the killing of civilians ever justified?” National Public Radio, November 11, 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1212326333/proportionality-israel-gaza-war-war-crimes↩
- [5]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Another winter storm is bearing down on the Pittsburgh region,” January 18, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/01/18/how-much-snow-pittsbugh-forecast-updates/stories/202401180086↩
- [6]Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh looks to add more plows to address concerns about snow, ice removal,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 7, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-looks-to-add-more-plows-to-address-concerns-about-snow-ice-removal/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh to add 12 snowplows to city fleet for rest of winter,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 8, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-to-add-12-snow-plows-to-city-fleet-for-rest-of-winter/↩