Tag Archives: Trump

The New York Times — Sunday, March 24, 2024

Image

Russia Arrests 4 Suspects in Moscow Attack as Death Toll Climbs to 133

As the Islamic State claimed responsibility, President Vladimir V. Putin vowed to “identify and punish” those responsible and tried to implicate Ukraine.

The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies

An investigation into the sugar-cane industry in the Indian state of Maharashtra found workers ensnared by debt and pushed into child marriages and unnecessary hysterectomies.

Inside the Republican Attacks on Electric Vehicles

President Biden’s new rule cutting emissions from vehicle tailpipes has deepened a partisan battle over automotive technology.

The New York Times — Saturday, March 23, 2024

Image

Gunmen Kill 60 at Concert Hall Outside Moscow, Russian Authorities Say

The Islamic State claimed the attack, the deadliest in the Moscow region in more than a decade.

Congress Passes Spending Bill in Wee Hours to Fend Off Shutdown

After hours of delay, the Senate overwhelmingly voted for the $1.2 trillion bill to fund more than half of the government, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk.

U.S. Call for Gaza Cease-Fire Runs Into Russia-China Veto at U.N.

The American draft resolution before the Security Council did not go far enough to end the Israel-Hamas war, Russia and China said, after the United States had vetoed three earlier resolutions.

Opinion & Politics: Reason Magazine – May 2024

Magazine

REASON MAGAZINE (March 21, 2024)The latest issue features ‘What If America Runs Out Of Bombs?’ – Due to overzealous interventionism, the U.S. is dispensing munitions faster than they can be replaced…

What if America Runs Out of Bombs?

An illustration of Uncle Sam as a PEZ dispenser, dispensing bombs | Photo: Julian Dufort; Wikimedia

The U.S. is dispensing munitions to Ukraine and Israel faster than they can be replaced.

By MATTHEW PETTI 

How Capitalism Beat Communism in Vietnam

Two photos illustrate Vietnam's progress over time | Photo: Hanoi, Vietnam, 1985; Christopher Pillitz/Gettya; Photo: Hanoi, Vietnam, 2020; Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty

It only took a generation to go from ration cards to exporting electronics.

RAINER ZITELMANN

Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America’s First Drug War

opium | Photo: An opium den in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, in 1898; REASON 31 Strohmeyer & Wyman/Library of Congress

Opium dens in San Francisco were patronized “by the vicious and the depraved,” politicians of the 1800s claimed.

JACOB SULLUM

The New York Times — Friday, March 22, 2024

Image

U.S. Sues Apple, Accusing It of Maintaining an iPhone Monopoly

The lawsuit caps years of regulatory scrutiny of Apple’s wildly popular suite of devices and services, which have fueled its growth into a nearly $3 trillion public company.

Menendez Won’t Run as Democrat but Leaves Door Open to Independent Bid

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey faces federal bribery charges. His trial is scheduled to begin in May.

America First Legal, a Trump-Aligned Group, Is Spoiling for a Fight

The group, headed by the former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, has filed more than 100 legal actions against “woke” companies and others. But winning may be beside the point.

The Economist Magazine – March 23, 2024 Preview

Image

The Economist Magazine (March 21, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Israel Alone’ – At a moment of military might, Israel looks deeply; ‘How To Trade An Election’ – It is getting harder for investors to ignore politics; China, Iran and Russia versus The West – Assessing the economic threat posed by the anti-Western axis…

At a moment of military might, Israel looks deeply vulnerable

The flag of Israel being blown in a sandstorm

America should help it find a better strategy

There is still a narrow path out of the hellscape of Gaza. A temporary ceasefire and hostage release could cause a change of Israel’s government; the rump of Hamas fighters in south Gaza could be contained or fade away; and from the rubble, talks on a two-state solution could begin, underwritten by America and its Gulf allies. It is just as likely, however, that ceasefire talks will fail. That could leave Israel locked in the bleakest trajectory of its 75-year existence, featuring endless occupation, hard-right politics and isolation. Today many Israelis are in denial about this, but a political reckoning will come eventually. It will determine not only the fate of Palestinians, but also whether Israel thrives in the next 75 years.

How to trade an election

It is becoming harder for investors to ignore politics

Illustration of a ballot box falling onto a piggy bank.

Investors differ in their approach to elections. Some see politics as an edge to exploit; others as noise to block out. Even for those without a financial interest, markets offer a brutally frank perspective on the economic stakes. As elections approach in America and Britain, as well as plenty of other countries, that is especially valuable.

The New York Times — Thursday, March 21, 2024

Image

Appeals Court Considers Reviving Texas Migrant Law, Now on Hold

As dizzying legal developments sowed confusion along the border, an appeals court panel appeared split over whether Texas’ migrant arrest law should remain on hold while the court fight continues.

Chasing Clicks in the Jungle: Right-Wing Influencers Descend on the Darién Gap

The treacherous migrant crossing in Panama is drawing packs of American activists who are distorting how immigration is perceived, and debated, at home.

The Walkway to Nowhere: A Monument to Hungary’s Patronage Politics

A beacon for “anti-woke” conservatives abroad, Prime Minister Viktor Orban keeps his grip at home by doling out cash, critics say. Behold the treeless “treetop canopy walkway.”

1d ago

The New York Times — Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Image

Hong Kong Adopts Sweeping Security Laws, Bowing to Beijing

The legislation targets “external interference” and the theft of state secrets, with implications for businesses, journalists, civil servants and others.

Supreme Court Won’t Block, for Now, Aggressive Texas Immigration Law

The law, which empowers local officials to arrest and deport migrants who enter the country without authorization, was challenged by the Biden administration as an affront to federal power.

Goon Squad Officer Is Sentenced to 20 Years in Mississippi Torture Cases

Six officers pleaded guilty last year to assaulting two Black men and shooting one of them in the mouth during a raid on their home.

The New York Times — Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Image

Supreme Court Wary of States’ Bid to Limit Federal Contact With Social Media Companies

The justices tried to distinguish between persuading social media sites to take down posts, which is permitted, and coercing them, which violates the First Amendment.

Behind Putin’s Potemkin Vote, Real Support. But No Other Choices.

Many Russians say they back their president, but it is far less clear what they might do if they were given alternatives.

Food Experts Predict ‘Imminent’ Famine in Northern Gaza

The warning came amid an Israeli raid on Al-Shifa Hospital. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also agreed to send military and humanitarian officials to Washington to hear the Biden administration’s concerns.

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – April 2024

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – APRIL 2024:

Crime and Punishment

Can American policing be fixed?

by Ras BarakaRosa BrooksBarry FriedmanChristy E. LopezTracey L. MearesBrian O’HaraPatrick Sharkey

In May 2020, the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd sparked the largest wave of civil unrest in U.S. history. An estimated twenty-three million people took to the streets, calling for the reformation, defunding, disarming, or even abolition of police departments. Protesters pointed to policing’s disproportionate targeting of black and brown communities, its role in creating the world’s largest carceral state, and its increasing reliance on military weapons and tactics. Defenders of law enforcement countered that a militarized police force is necessary to regulating the most heavily armed civilian population on earth. These defenders claimed that racism…

Jacob’s Dream

MAGA meets the Age of Aquarius

by Frederick Kaufman

Jacob Angeli-Chansley, the man the media has dubbed the QAnon Shaman, had been released from federal custody six weeks before when we met for lunch at a place called Picazzo’s, winner of the Phoenix New Times Best Gluten-Free Restaurant award in 2015. Despite a protracted hunger strike and 317 days isolated in a cell, Jacob’s prison sentence of forty-one months for obstruction of an official proceeding on January 6, 2021, had been shortened owing to good behavior, and he was let out about a year early on supervised release.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – March 25, 2024

A woman wears a dress with a pattern that resembles a crossword puzzle. A man writes a letter on her back.

The New Yorker (March 18, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Klaas Verplancke’s “On the Grid” – The artist blends the preferred pastimes and stylish attire of New York’s commuters. By Françoise Mouly with Art by Klaas Verplancke.

The Place to Buy Kurt Cobain’s Sweater and Truman Capote’s Ashes

A mannequin wears a dress next to displays of other items.

As the art market cools, Julien’s Auctions earns millions selling celebrity ephemera—and used its connections to help Kim Kardashian borrow Marilyn Monroe’s J.F.K.-birthday dress.

By Rachel Monroe

The sidewalks of Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville are filled with people moving among neon-lit venues owned by celebrity musicians: Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock ‘n’ Roll Steakhouse, Jason Aldean’s Kitchen & Rooftop Bar, Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa. The Hard Rock Café, which opened in 1994, when the neighborhood could still reasonably be called eclectic, sits at the far edge of the strip, overlooking the Cumberland River. One evening last November, Julien’s Auctions took over a private room at the restaurant for a three-day sale in honor of the company’s twentieth anniversary. There was a spotlighted stage full of objects that musicians had worn or touched or played: a scratched amber ring that Janis Joplin wore onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival, in 1967; Prince’s gold snakeskin-print suit, small enough to fit on an adolescent-size mannequin; ripped jeans that had belonged to Kurt Cobain.

Mike Johnson, the First Proudly Trumpian Speaker

A black and white photo of men in suits walking inside a building.

Though he has adopted a “nerd constitutional-law guy” persona, he is in lockstep with the law-flouting former President.

By David D. Kirkpatrick

The Capitol Hill Club, in a white brick town house a few blocks from the House of Representatives, is a social institution exclusively for Republicans. One evening in October, Representative Mike Garcia was eating there alone when Representative Mike Johnson stopped to chat. Garcia is a first-generation immigrant and a retired Navy pilot from a Democratic-leaning district in Southern California. His predecessor, a Democrat, resigned after a scandal four years ago, and Garcia highlighted disagreements with his party to win reëlection in 2022. He was also a loyalist to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow-Californian who had just been ousted by a small band of hard-line conservative rebels annoyed at his willingness to compromise on budget disputes. Garcia had formally nominated McCarthy as Speaker at the beginning of 2023, and his removal deprived Garcia of a patron.