Tracker

Expert details 4 ways Netanyahu’s new far-right government threatens Israeli democracy . Democracy is not just about holding elections. It is a set of institutions, ideas and practices that allow citizens a continuous, decisive voice in shaping their government and its policies. The new Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and sworn in on Dec. 29, 2022, is a coalition of the most extreme right-wing and religious parties in the history of the state. This government presents a major threat to Israeli democracy, and it does so on multiple fronts. Here are the four ways that Israel's democratic institutions, customs and practices are endangered by the new government, based on policies and legislation that might be enacted or that are already in process. 1. Hostility to freedom of speech and dissent Prime Minister Netanyahu has been working for years to consolidate his grip on Israeli media. The new government plans to accelerate the privatization of media in the hands of friendly interests and brand as anti-Israeli and treasonous media outlets its leaders deem hostile. The signs of this delegitimization are already here. A dozen and a half people standing in three rows for a photo. Ministers of Israel's 37th government wait to have their group picture taken with the president and prime minister at the president's residence in Jerusalem on Dec. 29, 2022. Photo by Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images Even before the newly appointed minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, took office, the police briefly arrested and interrogated journalist Israel Frey after he posted a controversial tweet hinting that the Israeli military may be a legitimate target of Palestinian attacks. The police claimed the tweet incited terrorism, and the arrest showed journalists who favor an open and free press that they might face retaliation. Ben-Gvir, the head of the Jewish Power party and now overseer of the police, was convicted in the past for supporting Jewish terrorism and for racist incitement against Israel's Arab minority. In his inauguration speech on Jan. 1, the new minister branded "Jewish anarchists" – a code he often uses for leftists and human rights organizations – as threats that "needed to be dealt with." 2. Diminishing equal rights The Netanyahu government appears poised to allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community and women, thus undermining equality before the law, an important democratic principle. Incoming National Missions Minister Orit Strock said in an interview in late December, "If a doctor is asked to give any type of treatment to someone that violates his religious faith, if there is another doctor who can do it, then you can't force them to provide treatment." Netanyahu condemned Strock and other coalition members who stated that gay people could be denied service by businesses if serving them contradicts the business owner's religious beliefs. Yet, journalists report that Likud and other coalition partners agreed in writing to amend the law against discrimination to allow exactly such a policy. During early coalition negotiations, ultra-Orthodox parties demanded new legislation that would allow gender-based segregation in public spaces and events. Netanyahu has reportedly agreed, which means these laws are expected to pass the Knesset. Segregation in educational spheres, public transportation and public events is often translated into exclusion of women and weakening of women's voices, and hence contradicts basic democratic principles such as freedom and equality. 3. West Bank annexation and apartheid The new government's intention to de facto annex the West Bank will turn hollow Israel's claims of being the only democracy in the Middle East. In a Dec. 28 tweet, Netanyahu announced that his government's guidelines will include the principle that "the Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the Land of Israel," including the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967 and populated by a Palestinian majority. These guidelines, combined with new nominations of far right politician Bezalel Smotrich as the minister responsible for Jewish settlements and Ben-Gvir as the minister in charge of the border police, could provide justification for annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories. Based on much of the rhetoric of right-wing leaders such as Smotrich, Palestinian residents of these lands will have neither equal rights nor voting rights. This means apartheid, not democracy. 4. Erasing the separation of powers In the Israeli system, the executive and legislative branches are always controlled by the same coalition. The courts are the only institution that can check the power of the ruling parties and uphold the country's Basic Laws, which provide rights in the absence of a formal constitution. But the new government wants to erase this separation of power and explicitly aims at weakening the courts. On Jan. 4, after less than a week in his role, new Minister of Justice Yariv Levin announced the government's plan for a radical judicial reform, which will include the "override clause." That clause will allow a simple majority in the Knesset to re-enact any law struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Democratic Officials' Homes, Offices Shot Up In New Mexico ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The homes or offices of five elected Democratic officials in New Mexico, including the new attorney general, have been hit by gunfire over the past month, and authorities are working to determine if the attacks are connected. Nobody was injured in the shootings, which are being investigated by local and federal authorities, said Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina. He called the investigation a top priority. Police initially reported four shooting incidents but then disclosed late Thursday that a shooting at the former campaign office of newly elected New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez is being re-examined. The attacks come amid a sharp rise in threats to members of Congress and two years after supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and sent lawmakers running for their lives. Local school board members and election workers across the country have also endured harassment, intimidation and threats of violence. In New Mexico, the attacks began on Dec. 4, when someone shot eight rounds at the Albuquerque home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, police said. Seven days later, someone fired more than a dozen times at the Albuquerque house of then-Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O’Malley. ShotSpotter technology detected several gunshots in the area of Torrez’s former office on Dec. 10, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. But he said the attorney general and his staff had already moved out following his November election. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-mexico-democratic-gunfire-homes-offices_n_63b86fe7e4b0d6724fc3db8f Alex Jones’s Lawyer Has His Law License Suspended CNN reported: “At a basic level, attorneys must competently and appropriately handle the discovery of sensitive materials in civil cases,” Judge Barbara Bellis wrote in a court order that suspended attorney Norman Pattis’ license for six months. “Otherwise, our civil system, in which discovery of sensitive information is customary and routine, would simply collapse.” Bellis said she “flatly rejected” Pattis’ assertion that his release of the confidential records was an “inadvertent mistake,” writing that Pattis “failed to provide even the minimal amount of attention and care required when it came to handling the plaintiffs’ sensitive discovery materials.” The leak also included the medical records of some of the Sandy Hook plaintiffs and other sensitive materials. Jones’s text messages blew up his defense and were a contributing factor in judgment against the right-wing conspiracy theorist. The texts showed that Jones was lying about his financial situation, and have drawn the interest of 1/6 investigators because Jones has claimed to have had a role in planning the attack and coordinating with the Trump White House. The problems from his lawyer’s leak could be getting bigger for Alex Jones.

New questions raised about 'nefarious' gap in Trump’s day on Jan. 6 On Monday the now-shuttered House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection released more documents to the Depart of Justice and the public and now new questions are being raised about Donald Trump's activities on that day. As the Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery wrote, a renewed focus is taking place on the 8-hour gap when the former president's phone calls were not logged --which could lead to a DOJ inquiry involving phone records people known to have been in contact with him based on their own testimony. As American University professor Chris Edelson, put it: "The first thing one thinks of is the [Richrad] Nixon tapes, the missing 18 minutes. It’s never been resolved,” with regard to the Watergate scandal that brought his presidency down. Adding that Trump "Is now in the same boat," Pagliery wrote, "The gap starts at 11:04 a.m. that day, when an incoming call was logged from then-Senator David Perdue (R-GA) with the attached note, 'Talked Ok.' The next item appears nearly eight hours later at 6:54 p.m., when Trump asked the switchboard operator to ring his social media director. 'POTUS instructed operator to call back with Mr. Dan Scavino,' it reads. For investigators, what is central to those missing calls is Trump's state of mind during the insurrection -- a key charge made by the Jan. 6 committee. https://www.alternet.org/Bank/trump-jan-6-2659080931/

New York Jets announced today that Flacco will start this weekend with Wilson backing him up.

I would have put Dickenson #2 in the fifth or sixth group.

Estate of Officer Brian Sicknick Suing Donald Trump for Wrongful Death “Estate of Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the Jan 6 2021 Capitol attack, suing Donald Trump for wrongful death seeking monetary damages of $10 million and more,” Jake Tapper of CNN tweeted. Officer Sicknick died in the line of duty after suffering two strokes the day after he engaged with the terrorists attacking Congress and the U.S. Capitol. The medical examiner determined that he died from natural causes. Videos of that horrific day show a terrifying mob attacking outnumbered police officers.

COVID’s New Year’s Resolution Is to Infect Us All Again (and Again) In a recent survey of tens of thousands of American adults in all 50 states, about half reported experiencing a previous or ongoing COVID-19 infection. Those findings complement two reports from earlier last year that suggested between 42 and 58 percent of adults, respectively, had been infected with the virus at some point. But that’s accounting for at least one infection. The proportion of Americans getting COVID again is a tougher nut to crack, since we lack adequate public health surveillance and viral testing to deduce concrete numbers on reinfections. But even without the perfect epidemiological data, we know they are on the rise. What we haven’t figured out yet, however, is what reinfections mean for living with COVID in the long run. https://www.thedailybeast.com/covids-new-years-resolution-is-to-infect-us-all-again-and-again?ref=home

Matt Gaetz Threatens To Quit Congress On Fox News And Twitter Has Thoughts (More bovine excrement from Matt Gaetz) Rep. Matt Gaetz threatened to quit Congress Thursday if House Republicans make a deal with Democrats to elect a GOP speaker ― and his critics were hilariously eager for him to make good on that pledge. Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked Gaetz, one of the far-right holdouts blocking Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s election through 11 ballots, if he would be “OK” with a bipartisan deal with moderate Democrats to break the impasse. Gaetz said there was no way that would happen, because Democrats would not break ranks from voting for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). To prove his certainty, he declared: “If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign from the House of Representatives.”

Oxford study warns of extreme heat and drought impacting 90 percent of Earth's population As interlinked extreme heat and drought events grow in intensity and frequency amid the ruling class' ongoing failure to adequately slash planet-heating fossil fuel pollution, over 90% of the global population is projected to suffer the consequences in the coming decades, according to peer-reviewed research published Thursday in Nature Sustainability. Compound drought-heatwave (CDHW) events are "one of the worst climatic stressors for global sustainable development," states the paper, but their "physical mechanisms" and "impacts on socio-ecosystem productivity remain poorly understood." "Using simulations from a large climate-hydrology model," nine scholars—working at universities in China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan—found that "the frequency of extreme CDHWs is projected to increase by tenfold globally under the highest emissions scenario, along with a disproportionate negative impact on vegetation and socio-economic productivity by the late 21st century." According to the study: "Terrestrial water storage and temperature are negatively coupled, probably driven by similar atmospheric conditions (for example, water vapor deficit and energy demand). Limits on water availability are likely to play a more important role in constraining the terrestrial carbon sink than temperature extremes." Put plainly, drought and extreme heat are intertwined. Increasingly arid and hot conditions are undermining the capacity of land-based ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide, with a lack of water considered even more consequential than higher temperatures. Not only are CDHWs hurting the ability of biodiverse regions to absorb a key greenhouse gas but these increasingly intense and frequent events also threaten to exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. The study estimates that even under the lowest emission scenario, "over 90% of the global population and gross domestic product could be exposed to increasing CDHW risks in the future, with more severe impacts in poorer and more rural areas." https://www.alternet.org/oxford-study-heat-and-drought/

MAGA Meltdown As Ali Alexander Promises To Release Criminal Evidence That Will Get Marjorie Taylor Greene Expelled From Congress Ali Alexander claims that he has evidence that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) committed a crime that will get her expelled from Congress. Alexander said, “In the coming days, I am going to reveal in my summation and the summation of attorneys that Marjorie Taylor Greene committed a crime. That crime is going to be handed to the state of Georgia, and the state of Georgia will decide whether they adjudicate. that crime or not. The House Ethics Committee and House Rules must expel Marjorie Taylor Greene with this evidence comes to light.” https://www.politicususa.com/2023/01/05/maga-meltdown-as-ali-alexander-promises-to-release-criminal-evidence-that-will-get-marjorie-taylor-greene-expelled-from-congress.html

McCarthy loses 11th vote. Another new record!

Nor can he speak coherently

That ought to really confuse the eyewitnesses.

That could affect his ability to signal while driving.

Former UFC Fighter Phil Baroni Arrested For Allegedly Killing Girlfriend Baroni reportedly told police his girlfriend repeatedly hit her head when he forced her into the shower after she admitted to cheating on him. Former UFC fighter Phil Baroni has been arrested in Mexico and charged with murder after his girlfriend, who has been identified by authorities only as Paola, was found dead on New Year’s Day, according to The Associated Press. While the AP said the official police report offered sparse details, local newspaper Tribuna de la Bahía reports that Baroni, 46, flagged down officers in the town of San Francisco — also known as San Pancho — and told them his girlfriend was unconscious in their hotel room. Paola was found bruised and unresponsive in bed covered by a sheet, according to Tribuna. The outlet reports that Baroni told police the two had begun arguing around 3 p.m. after he had been smoking marijuana and drinking beer and Paola revealed having cheated on him. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ufc-fighter-phil-baroni-arrested-murder-charge_n_63b6c47ee4b0fe267cae0f1a

Arizona Election Loser Kari Lake Unduly Crowns Herself With A New Title Arizona Republican Kari Lake played a game of make believe when she crowned herself “the duly elected governor” during a call-in to right-wing streaming channel Real America’s Voice this week. Lake, who lost the 2022 gubernatorial election to Democrat Katie Hobbs (D) and subsequently lost an election lawsuit, claimed that the election was rigged “in broad daylight” before she gave herself the phony title. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/arizona-kari-lake-new-self-title_n_63b63911e4b0cbfd55e64cc3

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has The Perfect Response To Claims That Democrats Are Drinking While Kevin McCarthy Crashes And Burns Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pointed out that if Democrats took a shot every time Kevin McCarthy lost a Republican vote, they’d all be unconscious by now. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez responded to a claim that House Democrats are drinking as McCarthy is losing: "If Dems took a shot every time McCarthy lost a Republican, we'd all be unconscious by now"

Adele Reveals Health Condition After Having To 'Waddle' During Vegas Show Adele gave fans an update on her health this weekend, after she appeared to be moving at a slower-than-usual pace during one of her Las Vegas performances. By all accounts, the 15-time Grammy winner was in good spirits as she took the stage on New Year’s Eve Saturday as part of her “Weekends with Adele” residency. In a short video obtained by the Daily Star, however, she acknowledged having a slight mobility issue as she distributed T-shirts to lucky concertgoers. “I’ve got two more. I’ve just got to get over to the other side of the stage,” she said, as seen in the clip. “I have to waddle these days, as I have really bad sciatica.”

You think THAT was stupid? The GOP hasn't begun to hit bottom yet, but they are working hard on it.... 'House Karen': GOP lawmaker lampooned for blaming Republican infighting on Democrats and their snacks United States Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-Florida) reprimanded Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday for enjoying the spectacle of Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-California) failing to secure enough votes to be elected speaker of the House. McCarthy spent his political career wheeling and dealing for the moment in which former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) would have to relinquish the symbolic wooden hammer wielded by the leader of the lower chamber. “I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel," McCarthy wisecracked in July 2021. "It will be hard not to hit her with it." Yet McCarthy's ambitions have all but evaporated despite six rounds of ballots cast since Tuesday when the 118th Congress commenced. This is because the right-wing House Freedom Caucus is refusing to support him. Conversely, Democrats are united behind their choice for speaker – Congressman and House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, New York – and are relishing the chaos within the fractured GOP conference. Cammack, who backs McCarthy, was clearly quite bothered by this. "Diversity of thought is a good thing. It's one of the things that sets us apart from our friends on the other side of the aisle. Yes, diversity of thought is a good thing. But they want us divided. They want us to fight each other. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that is coming over there," she said. https://www.alternet.org/house-karen-republican-infighting-democrats/

Wakeup Advice

This Cancer Vaccine Can Eliminate and Prevent Brain Tumors Cancer vaccines aren’t a new idea. They use the same fundamentals that enable vaccines for infectious pathogens like viruses and bacteria: priming our immune system into recognizing and attacking something that’s harmful to our bodies. But cancer is a fickle thing—it emerges from the body’s own cells and can be caused by a number of different factors, which means tumors can vary wildly from person to person, and even within the body itself. So scientists have been trying to hedge their bets around deploying cancer vaccines to stop the most aggressive and lethal kind of cancers first, before perfecting a “universal” cancer vaccine. And they may have just developed one that could stop glioblastoma—a deadly form of brain cancer—in its tracks. In new findings published in Science Translational Medicine on Jan. 4, Harvard University scientists working at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new cancer vaccine by genetically engineering brain cancer cells themselves, which not only kills the brain tumor in mice but also prevents the resurgence of cancer later on.