Month: June 2024

Defending war crimes at any cost

benfell

It was an awfully slow news week last week. This week, we seem to be picking up the pace.

Imperialism

United States


Fig. 1. “American Progress,” painting by John Gast, 1872, digital version 2006, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

The saga that led to [Julian] Assange’s prosecution dates back to 2010, when an Army intelligence analyst, Private Chelsea Manning, leaked a vast trove of data to WikiLeaks including videos of deadly U.S. military airstrikes, hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and logs of U.S. military activity in Afghanistan and Iraq. Among the revelations posted online was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

While the leaks of military and State Department records made Assange a controversial figure in the U.S. and a hero to many anti-war activists, the picture grew more complex in 2016 when his website released large volumes of emails from the Democratic National Committee and from a personal Gmail account of John Podesta, then the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Among other revelations, the stolen emails showed signs that the DNC had acted favorably toward Clinton during her primary against Bernie Sanders.

Many Democrats accused Assange of collaborating with Russian intelligence to undermine Clinton’s campaign. Assange denied the claim.[1]

The simple fact is that this is about wars that were atrocious ideas from the beginning but that the U.S. political class wanted, and had only become even more dubious in the time since they began. The politicians did not want to admit that they were profoundly wrong, though they had to know that they were profoundly wrong and were responsible for knowing it even if they didn’t, and they wanted to continue their wars at any cost. And so, pointless and ultimately futile slaughters had to be defended at any cost.

If you’re noticing parallels with Israel’s genocide in Gaza and with Russia’s attempted conquest of Ukraine,[2] go to the head of the class. The U.S. and Russian refusals to accede to the International Criminal Court are obviously about escaping accountability for war crimes. The U.S. defense of Israel’s genocide is nothing less.

Josh Gerstein and Samantha Latson, “Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, cuts plea deal to avoid US prison,” Politico, June 24, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/24/julian-assange-plea-deal-00164763

Ellen Nakashima, Devlin Barrett, and Rachel Weiner, “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange expected to plead guilty to felony charge,” Washington Post, June 24, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/06/24/assange-wikileaks-plea-deal-guilty/

Ed Pilkington, “Julian Assange leaves UK after striking deal with US justice department,” Guardian, June 25, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/25/julian-assange-plea-deal-with-us-free-to-return-australia

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.

The ultra-Orthodox in Israel have enjoyed considerable privilege, which many in the rest of the Israeli population resents, in exchange for supporting Binyamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Supreme Court’s decision threatens that support.[3]

Israel Cohen, a commentator on the ultra-Orthodox radio station Kol Berama, said the community realizes that, post-Oct. 7 [the day of the Hamas attack], it has to compromise. He said it has so far directed its ire against the Supreme Court and will grant [Binyamin] Netanyahu a short grace period to draft a law that would take into consideration the new reality, while ensuring the ultra-Orthodox are able to hold on to their values.

“Now it’s test time for Netanyahu to pass a law,” Cohen said. “And, if not, support for this government disappears.”[4]

There is, of course, a bit more to this picture. Both the war on Gaza and a potential war on Lebanon are wars of choice, which Israelis claim are in “self-defense”—long a rationale for imperialism—but are actually about protecting Binyamin Netanyahu’s political career. When Israelis now say that the ultra-Orthodox are needed for military duty, it is due to their own imperial ambition.

Shira Rubin and Claire Parker, “Israeli Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox must serve in the military,” Washington Post, June 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/25/israel-haredi-ultra-orthodox/

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 3. Cartoon by Ella Baron, June 2, 2024, via the Guardian, fair use.

Seb Starcevik, “The Hague hits Putin’s military cronies with arrest warrants for war crimes,” Politico, June 25, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/4982958/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Abortion, reproductive freedom, reproductive health, and even divorce


Fig. 4. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

No-fault divorce is a way for partners to escape abusive relationships. Banning or restricting no-fault divorce is a way of trapping people in those relationships,[5] which is a way of saying you want to reinforce the powerful over the weak in abusive relationships.

My father was abusive, rejecting and physically assaulting me from the day I was born, verbally abusive toward my mother. When she finally threw him out in the 1970s, after Ronald Reagan—himself a divorcée—had signed a California law enabling no-fault divorce,[6] it felt like freedom for me. Her path was eased by no-fault divorce and she went on to marry a man whom I did not get along with but who brought her decades of happiness.

My father, on the other hand, went on to a second marriage, to a woman who suffered heroin addiction and depression and who became severely depressed during their marriage. He committed suicide at the age of 65, having recently retired and, I believe, discovered what it is like to live with a severely depressed person full time. Entirely dependent upon him, she killed herself with a opioid overdose a few months later.

Between 1976 and 1985, states that passed the laws saw their domestic violence rates against men and women fall by about 30%; the number of women murdered by an intimate partner declined by 10%; and female suicide rates declined by 8 to 16%.

Without such laws, “it’s hard to prove anything in court relating to a family because you don’t have any witnesses”, said Kimberly Wehle, professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “It’s very difficult to get evidence to show abuse of children. How do you do it? Do you put your kids on the stand?”[7]

I still suffer. My father’s rejection developed into a societal rejection—shunning, for all practical purposes—depriving me both of a career and a social life, let alone a love life. I am forsaken, profoundly and eternally alone. But it would surely have been even worse if my mother had not been able to get that divorce.

Eric Berger, “Conservative US lawmakers are pushing for an end to no-fault divorce,” Guardian, June 25, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/25/republicans-no-fault-divorce

Gun nuttery


Fig. 5. “Rally Against Gun Control ‘Come and Take it’ flag at the Minnesota State Capitol,” photograph by Fibonacci Blue [pseud.], April 28, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Expect this to not move the needle even a nanometer.

Sabrina Malhi and Lizette Ortega, “U.S. surgeon general declares firearm violence a public health crisis,” Washington Post, June 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/26/surgeon-general-firearm-deaths/

  1. [1]Josh Gerstein and Samantha Latson, “Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, cuts plea deal to avoid US prison,” Politico, June 24, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/24/julian-assange-plea-deal-00164763↩
  2. [2]Ahmed Twaij, “Bush did what Putin’s doing — so why is he getting away?” al Jazeera, March 28, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/3/28/putin-should-be-punished-so-must-bush↩
  3. [3]Shira Rubin and Claire Parker, “Israeli Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox must serve in the military,” Washington Post, June 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/25/israel-haredi-ultra-orthodox/↩
  4. [4]Shira Rubin and Claire Parker, “Israeli Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox must serve in the military,” Washington Post, June 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/25/israel-haredi-ultra-orthodox/↩
  5. [5]Eric Berger, “Conservative US lawmakers are pushing for an end to no-fault divorce,” Guardian, June 25, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/25/republicans-no-fault-divorce↩
  6. [6]Eric Berger, “Conservative US lawmakers are pushing for an end to no-fault divorce,” Guardian, June 25, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/25/republicans-no-fault-divorce↩
  7. [7]Eric Berger, “Conservative US lawmakers are pushing for an end to no-fault divorce,” Guardian, June 25, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/25/republicans-no-fault-divorce↩

Julian Assange’s saga set to end

benfell

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 1. Donald Trump still has his fans. Photograph along Washington Road in Upper Saint Clair, Pennsylvania, by author, April 28, 2024.

As I look at coverage such as this in Raw Story, I worry that it is not only right-wing sources that fall into the trap of valorizing the folks on “our” side and vilifying the folks on “their” side.[1] Here, it is implied that the valiant Jack Smith cunningly laid a trap for the vilified Aileen Cannon to get her off the case.[2] Smith is our valiant hero. Cannon is our evil villain. Right must prevail, therefore Cannon will be vanquished.

When we think that righteousness must and will prevail, we succumb to a moral ideology. “Our” side is “righteous.” “Their” side is “evil.” And while I accept that Cannon is evil, I am not so sure that Smith is a hero, and I am not sure that the conflict between them should be reduced to a chess game. The journalism here is a little too cheap—cheerleading even—even if it does prove correct in the end.

David McAfee, “‘This is serious’: Ex-prosecutor says Judge Cannon is about to fall into removal trap,” Raw Story, June 24, 2024, https://www.rawstory.com/trump-removal-trap-judge-cannon-litman/

C. Ryan Barber, “As Trump’s Documents Case Crawls Along, Questions About Judge Abound,” Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2024, https://apple.news/A2YQSWOXwTbm53Gjqh8x38A

Roman Catholic Church


Fig. 2. Catholic temple, El Señor de Tila, Balancan, Tabasco, Mexico. Photograph by Carlos Valenzuela, August 29, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

“Francis was elected to renew the Catholic Church,” said Thomas Söding, the vice president of the Central Committee for German Catholics, the group that descended on the German capital in November. But the pope’s failure to bring about any meaningful change has left the Church archaic and unfixed, he said, forcing the Germans to try and beat their own path.[3]

I have lived my entire life absolutely convinced that the Roman Catholic Church could not continue as it has. There are a lot of stubborn—really stubborn—folks there and I have been surprised, frankly, that the Church’s doctrinal suppression of the sensual has lasted. Catholics in the U.S. often disregard the doctrine from the Catholic hierarchy regarding sex precisely because that doctrine is so far out of step.

But a conference in Germany is the first I’ve heard—apparently, I haven’t been paying close enough attention—of a move to push the Church to lighten up. It’s being framed as a challenge to the entire idea of an authoritarian Roman Catholic hierarchy, which indeed hearkens back to the Protestant Reformation,[4] which itself asserted a direct relationship between humans and God rather than one mediated by Church hierarchy.[5] We’ll see if it amounts to anything.

Ben Munster, “Pope Francis has lost control of his liberal revolution,” Politico, June 24, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-rome-vatican-city-germany-catholics-liberal-revolution/

Imperialism

United States


Fig. 3. “American Progress,” painting by John Gast, 1872, digital version 2006, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

In case you’ve forgotten what this very long-running saga was about:

[Julian Assange] burst into the American public consciousness in the 2010s, when WikiLeaks began publishing a series of bombshell disclosures. They included hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. military documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and hundreds of thousands of confidential diplomatic cables that included candid and sometimes unflattering assessments by U.S. diplomats of counterparts overseas — including foreign heads of state whose help was needed to counter terrorism.

He famously in 2016 published emails that Russian government hackers had stolen from Democratic Party servers and that U.S. authorities assessed were leaked by Moscow in an effort to disrupt the presidential election. He was not charged in connection with those documents.[6]

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were both disasters, the product of neoconservative hubris, guaranteed to further inflame relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. It was already bad with Iran, so that can’t really be blamed for that, although the origins of that problem also originate partly in hubris. Anything leaked about these wars was bound to be embarrassing; the quoted account omits mention of infamous videos documenting aerial killings of innocent civilians.[7]

Let’s be clear: Assange is not the hill I’d want to die for. Early on in the saga, Sweden was pursuing him on rape charges, and his conduct toward the women was at least that of an asshole. But there was an inconsistency in that Sweden rarely pursued rapists like they did Assange, and so it was widely suspected that this was really about the U.S. wanting Assange arrested on any pretense necessary and then extradited.[8] But it’s also the case that the material Chelsea (at the time, Bradley) Manning leaked to Wikileaks exposed war crimes, which of course were never prosecuted in U.S. or international courts; the classification of those materials, whether or not otherwise warranted, was a means of covering up those crimes.

Apart from his appalling treatment of women, Assange deserves considerable credit for and there was a legitimate public interest in publishing the leaked material he did, both with regard to George W. Bush’s wars, and to Hillary Clinton. I hope this saga is indeed at an end.

Ellen Nakashima, Devlin Barrett, and Rachel Weiner, “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange expected to plead guilty to felony charge,” Washington Post, June 24, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/06/24/assange-wikileaks-plea-deal-guilty/

Neoliberalism

Academic repression

Student loans


Fig. 4. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[9] fair use.

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, “Courts grant injunctions against Biden’s student loan repayment plan,” Washington Post, June 24, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/06/24/student-loan-repayment-plan-lawsuits/

  1. [1]David Benfell, “The morality of polarization,” Not Housebroken, January 4, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2018/09/21/the-morality-of-polarization/↩
  2. [2]David McAfee, “‘This is serious’: Ex-prosecutor says Judge Cannon is about to fall into removal trap,” Raw Story, June 24, 2024, https://www.rawstory.com/trump-removal-trap-judge-cannon-litman/↩
  3. [3]Ben Munster, “Pope Francis has lost control of his liberal revolution,” Politico, June 24, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-rome-vatican-city-germany-catholics-liberal-revolution/↩
  4. [4]Ben Munster, “Pope Francis has lost control of his liberal revolution,” Politico, June 24, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-rome-vatican-city-germany-catholics-liberal-revolution/↩
  5. [5]Richard Tarnas, Passion of the Western Mind (New York: Harmony, 1991), 6.↩
  6. [6]Ellen Nakashima, Devlin Barrett, and Rachel Weiner, “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange expected to plead guilty to felony charge,” Washington Post, June 24, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/06/24/assange-wikileaks-plea-deal-guilty/↩
  7. [7]Kim Zetter and Kevin Poulsen, “U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe,” Wired, June 6, 2010, https://www.wired.com/2010/06/leak/↩
  8. [8]David Benfell, “The Great Feminist Smackdown: Rape Allegations against Julian Assange,” Not Housebroken, December 21, 2010, https://disunitedstates.org/2010/12/21/the-great-feminist-smackdown-rape-allegations-against-julian-assange/↩
  9. [9]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩

The reign of malice

benfell

There is an awful lot of just sheer stupidity in the news right now. There are most definitely limits to my tolerance for stupidity, and those limits have been breached, which is affecting my coverage here.

However, while the old adage warns against attributing to malice what can be explained with stupidity or incompetence, there also have to be limits to when we accept stupidity and incompetence as excuses. (See especially the Palestine coverage.)

It’s like this: Sorry, no. You do not get that excuse. It is your job to be smarter than that and I have every reason to believe you actually are smarter than that. So no, you do not get to plead stupidity and incompetence when I fucking know better.

Illiberalism

Gilead

White Christian nationalism


Fig. 1. If one weighs by geography rather than population, Pennsylvania is very much a white Christian nationalist kind of place. Photograph by author, January 5, 2023.

Heather Cox Richardson tells the story of three civil rights workers murdered by the Ku Klux Klan on June 21, 1964. It was a pivotal moment, leading to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[1] I was alive, but much too young to understand what was happening.

Heather Cox Richardson, “June 21, 2024,” Letters from an American, June 22, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-21-2024

Abortion, reproductive freedom and health


Fig. 2. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Sarah Gantz and Stephen Stirling, “Out-of-state residents drove an increase in abortions in Pennsylvania in 2022,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 23, 2024, https://www.inquirer.com/health/pennsylvania-out-of-state-abortion-rate-20240623.html

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine
2024

You want stupidity? Actually, no, this can’t be it:

A floating pier built by the US military for seaborne humanitarian deliveries to Gaza . . . has been usable for just 12 days since it began operations on 17 May. On most of those days the assistance arriving by sea has had to be left on the beach as there have been no trucks to distribute it to warehouses in Gaza, because of lack of security.[2]

These idiots don’t have meteorologists? And they have no plan for when the sea gets rough? Or maybe, it’s something else:

Most aid workers involved in the Gaza emergency effort say that any relief is better than none but they voice concerns that the spectacular, expensive effort has distracted energy and attention from political pressure on Israel to open the land crossings fully to trucks, by far the most effective means of delivering food. [3]

Imagine that you are Joe Biden. You want Israel to defeat Hamas even if genocide of Palestinians is required. But you also want not to appear complicit in that genocide because you’re going to lose a whole bunch of voters if you do. So what do you do? You do something that looks like it’s an attempt to do something but really isn’t. I am convinced that that’s what this is.

Julian Borger, “‘They miscalculated’: Gaza’s floating aid pier failing to deliver in rough seas,” Guardian, June 23, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/23/they-miscalculated-gazas-floating-aid-pier-failing-to-deliver-in-rough-seas

Pennsylvania


Fig. 1. When you get outside urban centers, Pennsylvania is very much a white Christian nationalist kind of place. Photograph by author, January 5, 2023.

Tim Craig’s description of a rural Pennsylvania town[4] reminds me a lot of Tracy Thompson’s description of towns across the South.[5] But it’s not just in these regions.

As I was returning from California on my last trip west (this was in 2022), I stopped in Colorado Springs, which is a bit south of Interstate 70, and the next morning, as I was cutting a diagonal across rural Colorado to get back to I-70, I happened to look over on the left side of the road. My eyes grew very wide and my jaw dropped as I realized I was looking at blight just like I had seen so much of in Pittsburgh. These towns, all of them, defined more by being rural than by any particular region, have lost much of their economic bases, rarely if ever had chances to build new economic bases, and as kids move away for college or jobs, they lose even more.[6] It’s a rural, slower-moving, and far more relentless version of the ‘doom loop’ affecting downtowns, especially San Francisco (which I did not visit on this trip, though I did make it to the outstanding Souley Vegan restaurant in Oakland).

Tim Craig, “‘Too many old people’: A rural Pa. town reckons with population loss,” Washington Post, June 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/06/23/rural-america-shrinking-population-pennsylvania/

  1. [1]Heather Cox Richardson, “June 21, 2024,” Letters from an American, June 22, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-21-2024↩
  2. [2]Julian Borger, “‘They miscalculated’: Gaza’s floating aid pier failing to deliver in rough seas,” Guardian, June 23, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/23/they-miscalculated-gazas-floating-aid-pier-failing-to-deliver-in-rough-seas↩
  3. [3]Julian Borger, “‘They miscalculated’: Gaza’s floating aid pier failing to deliver in rough seas,” Guardian, June 23, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/23/they-miscalculated-gazas-floating-aid-pier-failing-to-deliver-in-rough-seas↩
  4. [4]Tim Craig, “‘Too many old people’: A rural Pa. town reckons with population loss,” Washington Post, June 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/06/23/rural-america-shrinking-population-pennsylvania/↩
  5. [5]Tracy Thompson, The New Mind of the South (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013).↩
  6. [6]Tim Craig, “‘Too many old people’: A rural Pa. town reckons with population loss,” Washington Post, June 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/06/23/rural-america-shrinking-population-pennsylvania/↩

No, there’s no move to bypass the U.S. on U.N. recognition of Palestine

benfell

Imperialism

Israel


Fig. 1. John Bolton and Binyamin Netanyahu at a press conference. Office of U.S. National Security Advisor, August 20, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s Netanyahu is at war with almost everyone,” Washington Post, June 21, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/06/21/netanyahu-israel-war-battles/

Palestine
2024

“Outmaneuvering” the U.S. in the U.N. Security Council? This isn’t really anything of the sort. It’s simply recognizing Palestine, which is something that sovereign countries do in establishing diplomatic relations with other sovereign countries. It’s a little weird because Palestine isn’t actually sovereign—Israel controls the territory—but it’s aspirational, in support of a two-state solution.[1] But yeah, the headline writer grabs some eyeballs.

Times of Israel, “IDF spokesman says Hamas can’t be destroyed, drawing retort from PM: ‘That’s war’s goal’,” June 20, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-spokesman-says-hamas-cant-be-eliminated-will-remain-in-gaza-if-no-alternative/

Thalif Deen, “A Move to Out-Maneuver US Veto on Palestine,” Inter Press Service, June 21, 2024, https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/06/move-maneuver-us-veto-palestine/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Gun nuttery


Fig. 2. “Rally Against Gun Control ‘Come and Take it’ flag at the Minnesota State Capitol,” photograph by Fibonacci Blue [pseud.], April 28, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

The one thing that’s clear in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling is that eight of nine justices favor walking back originalism at least a bit. Clarence Thomas isn’t happy about that, but he’s alone.[2] It looks to me like Thomas embraces originalism to support his second amendment absolutism, which is to say he chose a method, however unclear to lower courts and just about everybody else,[3] to argue for a predetermined conclusion.

You are supposed to choose a method that will best answer the question. That’s not what Thomas did here.

John Fritze, “Supreme Court upholds law barring domestic abusers from owning guns in major Second Amendment ruling,” Cable News Network, June 21, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/21/politics/supreme-court-guns-rahimi/index.html

Chris Geidner, “What the justices are writing about when they write about Rahimi,” Law Dork, June 21, 2024, https://www.lawdork.com/p/what-the-justices-are-writing-about

  1. [1]Thalif Deen, “A Move to Out-Maneuver US Veto on Palestine,” Inter Press Service, June 21, 2024, https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/06/move-maneuver-us-veto-palestine/↩
  2. [2]John Fritze, “Supreme Court upholds law barring domestic abusers from owning guns in major Second Amendment ruling,” Cable News Network, June 21, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/21/politics/supreme-court-guns-rahimi/index.html; Chris Geidner, “What the justices are writing about when they write about Rahimi,” Law Dork, June 21, 2024, https://www.lawdork.com/p/what-the-justices-are-writing-about↩
  3. [3]Chris Geidner, “What the justices are writing about when they write about Rahimi,” Law Dork, June 21, 2024, https://www.lawdork.com/p/what-the-justices-are-writing-about↩

Binyamin Netanyahu isn’t just genocidal. He’s delusional. And Joe Biden keeps sending him money and weapons. What can go wrong?

benfell

Neoliberalism

Work


Fig. 1. 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.

I’m surprised Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash haven’t started ramping up their threats yet. I’m sure we’ll hear from them soon enough.

Julia Fraser, “New Pa. House bill seeks to right the wrongs of worker misclassification,” WESA, June 20, 2024, https://www.wesa.fm/economy-business/2024-06-20/pennsylvania-house-worker-misclassification-contractors-bill

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine
2024

Even the Israeli Defense Forces now admit that Hamas cannot be defeated.[1]

“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” [Israeli Defense Forces Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel] Hagari told Channel 13 news in an interview.

“Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong,” he continued.[2]

Folks have been saying that for a while and Binyamin Netanyahu has been delusional about the prospects for “absolute victory” for a while.[3] But hey, keep sending him money and arms anyway. Why not?

A point that Daniel Hagari alludes to in the quotation above[4] is that peace without justice is merely a temporary cessation of hostilities. Real peace requires a resolution of grievances for all concerned.[5] This is quite literally textbook stuff (and I’m citing a textbook from my undergraduate program[6]).

Peter Beaumont, “Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves Israeli war cabinet,” Guardian, June 17, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/benjamin-netanyahu-dissolves-israel-war-cabinet

Holly Honderich and Tom Bateman, “White House hits back at Netanyahu’s weapons delay claims,” British Broadcasting Corporation, June 18, 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977vyv1yr7o

Ron Kampeas, “Netanyahu accuses Biden of withholding weapons. White House: We ‘do not know what he’s talking about,’” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 18, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/06/18/politics/netanyahu-accuses-biden-of-withholding-weapons-white-house-we-do-not-know-what-hes-talking-about

Times of Israel, “IDF spokesman says Hamas can’t be destroyed, drawing retort from PM: ‘That’s war’s goal’,” June 20, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-spokesman-says-hamas-cant-be-eliminated-will-remain-in-gaza-if-no-alternative/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 2. Donald Trump still has his fans. Photograph along Washington Road in Upper Saint Clair, Pennsylvania, by author, April 28, 2024.

Charlie Savage and Alan Feuer, “Judge in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents case rejected suggestions from colleagues to step aside,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 20, 2024, https://apple.news/A116ahr-QQyStQ3em5NGuBg

  1. [1]Times of Israel, “IDF spokesman says Hamas can’t be destroyed, drawing retort from PM: ‘That’s war’s goal’,” June 20, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-spokesman-says-hamas-cant-be-eliminated-will-remain-in-gaza-if-no-alternative/↩
  2. [2]Times of Israel, “IDF spokesman says Hamas can’t be destroyed, drawing retort from PM: ‘That’s war’s goal’,” June 20, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-spokesman-says-hamas-cant-be-eliminated-will-remain-in-gaza-if-no-alternative/↩
  3. [3]Loveday Morris, “Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. Yet the group remains largely intact,” Washington Post, December 5, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/05/israel-military-offensive-hamas-destruction-gaza/; Paul Rogers, “Israel is losing the war against Hamas – but Netanyahu and his government will never admit it,” Guardian, December 21, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/21/israel-losing-war-against-hamas-netanyahu-idf; Jeremy Scahill, “This Is Not a War Against Hamas,” Intercept, December 11, 2023, https://theintercept.com/2023/12/11/israel-hamas-war-civilians-biden/; Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel is struggling to destroy Hamas, but it’s destroying Gaza,” Washington Post, December 20, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/20/israel-battlefield-gaza-defeat-hamas/; Ishaan Tharoor, “Netanyahu’s delusional, deadly quest for ‘total victory,’” Washington Post, February 9, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/02/09/netanyahu-israel-total-victory-hamas-palestine/↩
  4. [4]Times of Israel, “IDF spokesman says Hamas can’t be destroyed, drawing retort from PM: ‘That’s war’s goal’,” June 20, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-spokesman-says-hamas-cant-be-eliminated-will-remain-in-gaza-if-no-alternative/↩
  5. [5]David P. Barash and Charles P. Webel, Peace and Conflict Studies (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002).↩
  6. [6]David P. Barash and Charles P. Webel, Peace and Conflict Studies (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002).↩

I thought it was a bit early for ‘the dog days of summer’

benfell

It’s been a slow few days with not really much to say. There’s not much substance here.

Imperialism

Israel


Fig. 1. John Bolton and Binyamin Netanyahu at a press conference. Office of U.S. National Security Advisor, August 20, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Asaf Elia-Shalev, “ADL faces Wikipedia ban over reliability concerns on Israel, antisemitism,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 18, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/06/18/united-states/adl-faces-wikipedia-ban-over-reliability-concerns-on-israel-antisemitism

Palestine
2024

Peter Beaumont, “Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves Israeli war cabinet,” Guardian, June 17, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/benjamin-netanyahu-dissolves-israel-war-cabinet

Holly Honderich and Tom Bateman, “White House hits back at Netanyahu’s weapons delay claims,” British Broadcasting Corporation, June 18, 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977vyv1yr7o

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Hush money


Fig. 2. Cartoon by Jesse Duquette, undated, via “Minneapple23” [pseud.] on Imgur, April 1, 2023, fair use.

Erica Orden, “New York’s top court dismisses Trump’s appeal of gag order in hush money case,” Politico, June 18, 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/18/trump-gag-order-appeal-dismissed-00163902

Pennsylvania

Cannabis

Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh lawmaker seeking bipartisan marijuana legalization bill,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 18, 2024, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pittsburgh-lawmaker-seeking-bipartisan-marijuana-legalization-bill/

Neoliberalism

Work


Fig. 3. 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.

Caroline O’Donovan, “Amazon fined $5.9 million for breaking labor law in California,” Washington Post, June 18, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/18/amazon-fine-labor-law-california/

None of the above

benfell


Fig. 1. Image of the latest addition to my pinned post on Mastodon by author, June 15, 2024.

Illiberalism

Gilead

Secession movements


Fig. 2. “Greater Idaho” would include much of the proposed state of Jefferson. Screen capture by the Sacramento Bee published November 3, 2021.[1]

James Bickerton, “Texas Secessionsts Win GOP Backing for Independence Vote: ‘Major Step,’” Newsweek, June 12, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/texas-secession-takes-major-step-gop-backs-vote-1911678

Evangelical Protestants


Fig. 3. “You shall have no other gods before me.”[2] Photograph posted to Twitter by Antonia Lee Donnelly, February 16, 2020,[3] fair use.

Michelle Boorstein and Hannah Knowles, “Here’s what the Christian right wants from a second Trump term,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/13/trump-christian-right-abortion-prayer/

Abortion, reproductive freedom and health


Fig. 4. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Szu Yu Chen and Adrián Blanco, “How every senator voted on the Right to IVF Act,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/06/13/senate-vote-right-to-ivf-bill/

Ann E. Marimow, “Supreme Court upholds broad access to key abortion pill mifepristone,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/13/supreme-court-abortion-pill-ruling-mifepristone/

Michelle Boorstein and Hannah Knowles, “Here’s what the Christian right wants from a second Trump term,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/13/trump-christian-right-abortion-prayer/

Nonhuman animals

The idea that nonhuman animals are sentient—capable of feeling (vegans often say “feeling pain”)—while evidently radical to animal behavior experts,[4] is basic to the ethics of nonhuman animal rights. They feel, therefore they can suffer, suffering is evil, therefore we should not impose suffering, therefore we should not abuse or exploit nonhuman animals.

Those of us who have companion animals know that they are sentient. Even those of us who are cruel to animals know on some level that they are sentient—to inflict misery or suffering, that misery or suffering must be felt. It is pointless to whip a rock.

Pallab Ghosh, “Are animals conscious? How new research is changing minds,” British Broadcasting Corporation, June 16, 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv223z15mpmo.amp

  1. [1]Maddie Capron, “Should Idaho swallow parts of Oregon? Thousands of Oregon voters want it considered,” Sacramento Bee, November 3, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article255509141.html↩
  2. [2]Exod. 20:3.↩
  3. [3]Antonia Lee Donnelly, “Now I've seen everything,” Twitter, February 17, 2020, https://twitter.com/DonnellyAntonia/status/1229227422836559873↩
  4. [4]Pallab Ghosh, “Are animals conscious? How new research is changing minds,” British Broadcasting Corporation, June 16, 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv223z15mpmo.amp↩

Research for evil

benfell

Neoliberalism

Work


Fig. 1. 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.

The real problem with gig work is abysmal pay, in which many drivers receive less than an already abysmal minimum wage. No one wants to deal with that, but it’s the real problem. All the rest of this is a sideshow.

Jonathan Gruber claims that gig workers value flexibility, which may be true, but he admits that his sample is unrepresentative. And he devotes no attention whatsoever to people like me who have been unable to secure real employment and so are compelled to work in the gig economy more than full time, preferring to focus on workers who have benefits from other sources. And he barely even mentions pay.[1] I’m guessing he got paid to produce this crap, probably by a gig economy company, but there is no disclosure. (If my guess is correct, this probably amounts to academic dishonesty.)

Jonathan Gruber, “How should we provide benefits to gig workers?” Brookings, June 13, 2024, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-should-we-provide-benefits-to-gig-workers/

Imperialism

Canada and the United States

Indigenous people
Residential schools

Sari Horwitz and Dana Hedgpeth, “Catholic bishops apologize for church’s role operating Indian boarding schools,” Washington Post, June 14, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/06/14/catholic-church-indian-boarding-schools/

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 2. Cartoon by Ella Baron, June 2, 2024, via the Guardian, fair use.

Patrick Tucker, “New sat images show Russian vessels fleeing Black Sea ports,” Defense One, June 13, 2024, https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2024/06/new-sat-images-show-russian-vessels-fleeing-black-sea-ports/397378/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Gun nuttery


Fig. 3. “Rally Against Gun Control ‘Come and Take it’ flag at the Minnesota State Capitol,” photograph by Fibonacci Blue [pseud.], April 28, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Forgive my confusion, but as I read this story,[2] I get the impression that the Supreme Court has made findings of fact. I had thought that these were supposed to happen at the district court level, that appeals courts and the Supreme Court should return such questions to the district court for these findings.

Justin Jouvenal, “Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era federal ban on bump stock devices,” Washington Post, June 14, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/14/bump-stocks-supreme-court-machine-gun-bruen-cargill/

  1. [1]Jonathan Gruber, “How should we provide benefits to gig workers?” Brookings, June 13, 2024, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-should-we-provide-benefits-to-gig-workers/↩
  2. [2]Justin Jouvenal, “Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era federal ban on bump stock devices,” Washington Post, June 14, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/14/bump-stocks-supreme-court-machine-gun-bruen-cargill/↩

Democrats are different from Republicans? On reproductive rights, be cynical, very cynical

benfell

Neoliberalism

Democratic (neoliberal) Party

Joe Biden
Hunter Biden

Marshall Cohen and Holmes Lybrand, “Hunter Biden convicted on all 3 charges at federal gun trial,” Cable News Network, June 11, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/11/politics/hunter-biden-gun-trial-verdict

Erin Doherty, “White House doesn’t rule out commuting Hunter Biden’s sentence,” Axios, June 12, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/06/12/white-house-hunter-biden-commutation-conviction

Illiberalism

Gilead

Abortion, reproductive freedom and health


Fig. 1. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Read the following quotation at your own risk:

Even though the court’s decision was unanimous, it is unlikely to be the end of efforts to restrict access to the pill. The ruling leaves an opening for three states — Missouri, Kansas and Idaho — to quickly try to revive the challenge before a federal judge in Texas who is well-known for his antiabortion views.

After the ruling, antiabortion advocates quickly pledged to continue their efforts to limit access to mifepristone — promising that this case is not over.

“While we’re disappointed with the court’s decision, we will continue to advocate for women and work to restore common-sense safeguards for abortion drugs,” said Alliance Defending Freedom’s senior counsel, Erin Hawley, who represented the antiabortion doctors. “And we are grateful that three states stand ready to hold the FDA accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of women and girls across this country.[1]

It’s worth remembering that none of this would be necessary had Democrats taken the ample opportunity they had to codify Roe v. Wade.[2] But guess what? Their failure to protect reproductive rights appears yet again today as even a bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization failed to advance and failed even to get some Democratic votes. It was a bill meant to fail: “Democrats introduced the bill, in part, to put Republicans on the record on reproductive rights ahead of November’s elections.”[3] Which is to say they want a campaign issue much more than they want reproductive rights.

Republicans? They want lots of things more than they want reproductive rights. Which is different from the Democrats mainly in that it’s just barely beginning to dawn on them that overturning Roe[4] was a pyrrhic victory.[5]

Szu Yu Chen and Adrián Blanco, “How every senator voted on the Right to IVF Act,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/06/13/senate-vote-right-to-ivf-bill/

Ann E. Marimow, “Supreme Court upholds broad access to key abortion pill mifepristone,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/13/supreme-court-abortion-pill-ruling-mifepristone/

  1. [1]Ann E. Marimow, “Supreme Court upholds broad access to key abortion pill mifepristone,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/13/supreme-court-abortion-pill-ruling-mifepristone/↩
  2. [2]Anna North, “Abortion has been treated as a fringe issue by Democrats for decades. This is the result,” Vox, May 5, 2022, https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2022/5/5/23057317/abortion-supreme-court-roe-v-wade; William Rivers Pitt, “Democrats Had 50 Years to Save and Protect ‘Roe.’ They Failed,” Truthout, May 6, 2022, https://truthout.org/articles/democrats-had-50-years-to-save-and-protect-roe-they-failed/↩
  3. [3]Szu Yu Chen and Adrián Blanco, “How every senator voted on the Right to IVF Act,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/06/13/senate-vote-right-to-ivf-bill/↩
  4. [4]Brent Kendall and Jess Bravin, “Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Eliminates Constitutional Right to Abortion,” Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-eliminates-constitutional-right-to-abortion-11656080124↩
  5. [5]Natalie Andrews, Siobhan Hughes, and Lindsay Wise, “Frustrated Republicans Try to Explain Lack of Midterm ‘Red Wave,’” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/frustrated-republicans-try-to-explain-lack-of-midterm-red-wave-11668036382; Dan Balz, “The vaunted red wave never hit the shore in midterm elections,” Washington Post, November 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/midterms-dissatisfied-voters-render-judgments-biden-republicans/; Kris Maher, “Democrat Josh Shapiro Wins Pennsylvania Governor Race Over Doug Mastriano,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/democrat-josh-shapiro-wins-pennsylvania-governor-race-over-doug-mastriano-rdDSLqwHlckU7Q5yZYF2; Greg Sargent, “Republicans want Trump to take the blame. Good luck with that,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/11/trump-midterm-elections-gop-abortion-rights-2024/; Marianna Sotomayor et al., “Congressional Republicans panic as they watch their lead dwindle,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/11/senate-republicans-mcconnell-midterms/; Brian Slodysko, “Election takeaways: No sweep for the Republicans after all,” Associated Press, November 9, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-takeaways-9381d3aaff26d19da95506e045fcd6e1↩

Insanity, insanity, and more insanity

benfell

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine
2024

Sugam Pokharel, Jessie Yeung, and Jomana Karadsheh, “UN inquiry says Israel and Hamas have both committed war crimes since October 7,” Cable News Network, June 12, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/12/middleeast/un-report-israel-hamas-gaza-war-crimes-intl-hnk/index.html

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel shrugs at Palestinian civilian casualties. So does Hamas,” Washington Post, June 12, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/06/12/hamas-death-toll-gaza-sinwar-messages/

Nancy A. Youssef, “How Ambitious Plans for a Floating Aid Pier off Gaza Fell Apart,” Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2024, https://apple.news/A0DLdc1uqR2-yO6Yh3rMrYQ

Imperialism

Israel

Lebanon


Fig. 1. “Sabra & Shatila Massacre 1982 Memorial in Sabra, South Beirut,” photograph by Bertramz, September 2009, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Steve Hendrix and Mohamad El Chamaa, “On the Israel-Lebanon border, a war is unfolding in slow motion,” Washington Post, June 11, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/11/israel-lebanon-border-hezbollah-rockets-war/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump


Fig. 2. Donald Trump, depicted in an orange jumpsuit, reportedly by the Drudge, date unknown, via Mediaite,[1] fair use. Apparently, no mugshot was taken when he was actually arrested over hush money paid to Stormy Daniels.[2]

Josh Marcus, “Trump says only a ‘psycho’ would call war dead ‘suckers and losers’ – which a general says Trump did,” Independent, June 9, 2024, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-france-cemetery-suckers-losers-b2559531.html

Eugene Robinson, “Is Donald Trump okay?” Washington Post, June 10, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/10/trump-sharks-electrocuted-boat-story/

Jake Lahut and Michael Daly, “Why the Words ‘Suckers’ and ‘Losers’ Bother Trump So Much,” Daily Beast, June 11, 2024, https://apple.news/Ar5rta1-xRu6frFEAz6Zqlw

  1. [1]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/↩
  2. [2]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↩