Neoliberalism
Banking
Commercial real estate
Fig. 1. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, with the “Golden Triangle” and downtown Pittsburgh. Photograph by author, October 15, 2023.
Telis Demos, “Banks Believe They Are Well-Prepared for Commercial Real Estate Fallout,” Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2024, https://apple.news/Auxy455EZT2yG3JIzeZCrfQ
Imperialism
Israel
Fig. 2. John Bolton and Binyamin Netanyahu at a press conference. Office of U.S. National Security Advisor, August 20, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
I just don’t know what to make of all this tit-for-tat crap. Psychologically, it strikes me as schoolyard bullshit, but of course, weapons are being deployed, lives and property are at risk. I’m wondering if this is really about people who never really graduated high school.
Peter Beaumont and Julian Borger, “Israel has mounted airstrikes on Iran, US confirms, as Tehran plays down attack,” Guardian, April 19, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/israel-iran-airtstrikes-ifsahan-tabriz-drones-explosions
Dov Lieber et al., “Israel Strikes Iran in Narrow Attack Amid Escalation Fears,” Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2024, https://apple.news/Af7SpZCIPSruOkyuqlBp8gw
Palestine
Fig. 3. 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.
We will continue to fund genocide:
A second bill would provide about $17 billion in offensive and defensive weapons for Israel, as well as just over $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and elsewhere.[2]
Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/
Jared Malsin and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Weighs More Than $1 Billion in New Arms for Israel,” Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2024, https://apple.news/AYrD2jUG7Td29aUfmEPUWSw
China
Taiwan
The third bill would provide $8.1 billion for the Indo-Pacific region to deter China, and a fourth bill is full of Republican priorities, including banning TikTok and seizing Russian assets.[3]
Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/
Russia
Ukraine
Fig. 4. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[4] fair use.
One bill provides $60 billion for Ukraine. Most of the money goes to U.S. weapons manufacturers to build back depleted U.S. weapons supplies, and about 20 percent of that goes directly to the country in the form of a loan. The president can cancel Ukraine’s debt, however, after Nov. 15.[5]
It’s awfully strange to me that Mike Johnson set the date that Joe Biden can cancel Ukraine’s debt to November 15.[6] It’s after election day but before inauguration. If I were Johnson, I’d have set if for after the inauguration, so that Donald Trump could make the decision.
Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/
Illiberalism
Gilead
Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2023-2024
Fig. 5. Photograph credited to Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, date inconsistent with title but given as November 9, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
It is still unclear if or when such a vote [on a motion to vacate] would be triggered, but the effort [initiated by Marjorie Taylor Greene] picked up a critical third ally Friday. Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.), who was huddling with Greene on the floor, formally backed the motion after the House passed the foreign aid rule. With Republicans’ two-seat House margin, Gosar’s signature means the speaker could be ousted unless Democrats decide to rescue Johnson.[7]
Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/
- [1]Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [2]Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/↩
- [3]Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/↩
- [4]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
- [5]Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/↩
- [6]Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/↩
- [7]Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/↩