I’ve read somebody that said “the Supreme Court could tolerate fascism but has drawn the line on merchantilism.”
21.02.2026 02:02
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I’ve read somebody that said “the Supreme Court could tolerate fascism but has drawn the line on merchantilism.”
What is even more surprising, a majority of Israelis, as well, think that either the two state solution or a federation is the right one (despite decades of hostile government, media, and education system). Now the only thing to do is to get these majorities to positions of power...
As much as people in the west might fret that the two-states-solution is dead, it (or its version of Israeli-Palestinian confederation), a large majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza still think it is the only realistic solution, despite of the horrors of the last three years.
Important report from The Arab Barometer: www.arabbarometer.org/media-news/a...
If you work for ICE or Border Patrol and have information about unlawful conduct taking place at your agency, please speak up.
House Judiciary Dems want to hear from you. America needs to know about crimes committed in our name. As a whistleblower, you can share anonymously:
A good account of Hizbullah in its diminished state. "Whatever autonomy Hizbullah once enjoyed died with Nasrallah. Decisions about weapons, strategy and escalation now come from Tehran." www.economist.com/middle-east-...
6/6 Third, the end of the struggle to bring home the Israeli hostage means that the formidable protest movement that was built around the issue may now be able to focus on the body who was the primary responsible for allowing Hamas to perpetrate October 7th: The government of Israel.
5/6 Will the plan go further, with Israeli withdrawal to its recognized borders, Hamas demilitarization, and the rebuilding of Gaza? Netanyahu's government, no doubt, will still try to spoil any advancement. Elements in the Hamas will cooperate with that spoiling. But there is a gleamer of hope.
4/6 Rafah Crossing will apparently be opened this week, and that means both much more robust access of aid to Gaza, and the start of functioning of the technocratic committee of Palestinians, which will gradually take over running the devastated area's day-to-day governing.
3/6 (some unverified reports even claim that Netanyahu had the information but prevented the IDF form attempting to retrieve the body).
Now, once Witkoff and Kushner informed Netanyahu that Phase 2 will happen with or without the return of Gvili's body, there is no reason to delay it's findings.
2/6 Second, it's good news for the chances of moving on from the pseudo-ceasefire to a more stable end of war and the start of rehabilitating Gaza. Netanyahu used the fact that Gvili's remains not yet returned as an excuse to postpone the implementation of the second phase of the 20 Points Plan
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/w...
1/6 The return of the remains of the last Israeli hostage is good news for several reasons: First and foremost, of course, it's good news for his family, friends and all the Israelis who fought both Hamas and their government to return all the hostages.
I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.
The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.
The shape of America today: destructive ice storm in the south, destructive ICE storm in the north, and a catastrophic President in the middle…🤷🏻♂️
We need a real end to the war in Gaza. Trump, you declared the greatest peace in 3,000 year? Force the Netanyahu regime to follow it and don't let him escalate back to war.
It's as if America toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and then put Qusay in charge. "There is no sign that the United States’ demands include less repression. Instead the regime is taking the opportunity to crack down." www.economist.com/the-americas...
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Front pages of American newspapers after Jan. 6, 2021, with headlines like "Capitol Chaos," "Assault on Democracy," "Pro-Trump mob storms Capitol."
Five years ago.
From State Dept transcript of Rubio appearance on This Week w/ George Stephanopolous: SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we’re not going to judge moving forward based simply on what’s said in press conferences. We want to see action here at the end of the day. Rhetoric is one thing. You see rhetoric for a lot of different reasons. There’s a lot of different reasons why people go on TV and say certain things in these countries, especially 15 hours or 12 hours after the person who used to be in charge of the regime is now in handcuffs and on his way to New York. So what I will say is, moving forward, it’s very simple. We’re not going to be reactive here to statements at press conferences or what people say in a certain interview or what some media post – some media post somewhere. What we are going to react to is very simple: What do you do? Not what you’re saying in public – what happens? What happens next? Do the drugs stop coming? Are the changes made? Is Iran expelled? Is Hizballah no longer able and Iran no longer able to operate against our interests from Venezuela? Does the migration pattern stop? Do the drug trafficking boats end? Do you deal with the ELN and the FARC, two narcoterrorist organizations who control territory and operate with impunity from the territory of Venezuela against the interests of Colombia and the United States? These are the things we want addressed. If they are addressed, that’s how we’ll judge it. If they’re not addressed, that’s how we’ll judge it. QUESTION: And what happens if they’re not addressed?
🧵Day 3 and we have a new meaning for "running Venezuela," courtesy of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, who is in charge of Venezuela as well as the National Archives. We're going to insist they do what's in the US national interest. Time for some principal-agent theory. 1/
2) His 16th century economic worldview: mercantilism and a struggle for control of resources (think Elizabethan Britain and the gold fights with Spain) Forget free trade. 3) His domestic agenda- a chance to link Latin America, drugs and crime, to advance deportations of immigrants.
Why Venezuela? Trump of course is not concerned with the dictatorial practices of Maduro, but Venezuela falls into three boxes for Trump at the same time: 1) His late-19th century geopolitical wordview- inclusive of spheres of influence, the Monroe Doctrine, and imperialism.
Venezuela may seem like a tactical loss for Russia, but in fact it's a strategic win for Putin's vision of the world. new essay:
hegemon.substack.com/p/venezuela-...
The Face of Evil 🚩
Israel's war on aid will only deepen Gaza's suffering www.haaretz.com/opinion/edit... 🧵
@batzili.bsky.social
13/13 To summarize: Trump is banking on dictating an agreement from above while assisting Netanyahu’s domestic aims. Netanyahu is hoping to spoil the same moves by changing conditions on the ground, in tandem, apparently, with Hamas’s military wing, which wants to restore its authority in Gaza.
12/13 The weak and leaderless remnants of Hamas in Gaza are highly unpopular and are unlikely to retain their power if Phase 2 is implemented, but in the meantime, in the absence of an alternative, they use the vacuum of power to forcefully dictate their way.
11/13 On the other hand is what is left of the military wing inside Gaza, which wants to retain the status quo and use the ceasefire to regain its power in the devastated coastal strip. In that, the military wing is, like in the past, aiding Netanyahu’s aim as well.
10/13 And lastly, Hamas: There is a fracture between factions of the organization. On the one hand is most of the political leadership outside of Gaza, who realize that the movement needs to start a transition- at least in Gaza- from an armed militia to a political party.
