The Full Belmonte, 11/21/2023
Dozens of babies from Gaza evacuated to Egypt, Biden believes hostage deal close
A handout picture provided by the Egyptian health Ministry on November 20, 2023, shows medics caring for premature Palestinian babies evacuated from Gaza at a hospital in Cairo's New Administrative Capital.
-, Egyptian Health Ministry/AFP via
“At least 28 of the 31 premature babies who were evacuated from Gaza’s largest hospital have been taken across the border to Egypt to continue receiving medical care, health workers said.
The plight of the tiny babies at the Al-Shifa hospital has drawn global attention. A number of babies at the medical facility died as conditions deteriorated inside, health officials in the Hamas-run territory have said.
Israel has released video that it says shows hostages being taken to the Al-Shifa hospital, and a tunnel underneath the complex, citing the clips as evidence that Hamas was using the hospital as a command center.
Heavy fighting has now broken out around another medical facility in northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital, eyewitnesses said. Hamas said at least 12 people have been killed there.
Negotiators are closing in on a deal to release some of the estimated 240 hostages Hamas is holding in exchange for a pause in fighting, sources familiar with the negotiations told NBC News, though they say nothing has been finalized yet.
President Joe Biden, during today's White House turkey pardoning ceremony, was asked by a reporter if a deal is near to release hostages. ‘I believe so,’ he said.” [AP News]
Israel-Hamas War
“Even as negotiators work to free hostages in Gaza, Hamas has given no public updates about their condition, leaving their families desperate.
There are thought to be about 240 people being held hostage by Hamas. Credit: EPA
Many of the Israelis abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 had serious medical problems or were badly injured in the attack. Doctors say they need care urgently.
An attack on a northern Gaza hospital killed at least 12 people, the Gaza health ministry said. Israel said its troops had been attacked from within the hospital.
None of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are functional enough to treat critical trauma cases or perform surgery, according to the World Health Organization.
Aid workers transported 28 premature babies who were in intensive care at Al-Shifa Hospital to Egypt for treatment, the U.N. said. Here’s an account of giving birth in Gaza during Israel’s siege.
The two sides’ narratives of the conflict diverge, leaving little room for mutual empathy, Roger Cohen writes.
Planes are losing satellite signals and flights have been diverted because of electronic warfare tactics in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The Oslo peace process could have settled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict decades ago. The reasons it failed — violence, extremism and weak leaders — help clarify today’s fighting. A Times Magazine article explains.” [New York Times]
Federal court deals devastating blow to Voting Rights Act
“A federal appeals court issued a ruling Monday that could gut the Voting Rights Act, saying only the federal government — not private citizens or civil rights groups — is allowed to sue under a crucial section of the landmark civil rights law.
The decision out of the 8th Circuit will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court.”
Read the latest at POLITICO
NAACP Virginia President Robert N. Barnette Jr. speaks near the Virginia Capitol, July 18, 2023. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)
POLITICS
Federal appeals court deals a blow to Voting Rights Act
“A divided federal appeals court ruled that private individuals and groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the act. Read more.
Why this matters
The ruling found that only the U.S. attorney general can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires political maps to include districts where minority populations’ preferred candidates can win elections.
Election law experts say most challenges seeking to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act are brought by private groups and that the Justice Department has limited resources to pursue such cases. This ruling applies only to federal courts covered by the 8th Circuit.
The decision contradicts decades of precedent and could further erode protections under the landmark 1965 law. It’s likely the case eventually will make it to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the issue was raised in a 2021 opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch.” [AP News]
Court seems inclined to keep restricting Trump’s trial speech. But gag order could be narrowed
“A federal appeals court appeared inclined Monday to reimpose at least some restrictions on Donald Trump’s speech in his landmark election subversion case. But the judges wrestled with how to craft a gag order that doesn’t infringe on the former president’s free speech rights.” Read More at AP News
The Supreme Court won’t hear Derek Chauvin’s appeal.
“What happened? The court declined yesterday to hear the former Minneapolis police officer’s appeal of his conviction in the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, which set off mass protests.
What else to know: Chauvin’s attorney argued that pretrial publicity and protests affected jurors’ decisions, denying him a fair trial in 2021. He is serving 22½ years in prison.”
Read this story at Washington Post
The world’s richest 1% pollute more than the poorest two-thirds.
“The data: The uber-wealthy’s lavish lifestyles and investments in heavily polluting industries led to the vast difference in planet-warming emissions in 2019, a new report says.
One solution: Climate activists have proposed higher taxes on carbon-emitting activities like private jet travel to help cut emissions and fund renewable energy.”
Read this story at Washington Post
New York City’s ban on police chokeholds and diaphragm compression is upheld by state’s high court
New York’s highest court has upheld a New York City law that forbids police from using chokeholds or compressing a person’s diaphragm during an arrest, rejecting a challenge from police unions to a law passed after the death of George Floyd. Read More at AP News
Most of Israel’s weapons imports come from the US. Now Biden is rushing in even more arms.
Jabin Botsford/Washington Post via Getty Images
“US support of Israel has been invaluable in the latter’s war against Hamas. Israel is the single largest beneficiary of US security aid — it has received $3 billion from the US annually for the last 50 years, and 80 percent of Israel’s imported weapons are provided by the US.
The lowdown: In the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel, US President Joe Biden is seeking ‘an unprecedented support package’ of $14.3 billion in weapons for Israel.
Israel’s airstrikes and its ground invasion of Gaza have killed at least 13,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The IDF has destroyed and raided residential buildings and hospitals. A country, such as the US, ‘providing weapons that knowingly and significantly contribute to unlawful attacks’ in places like schools and hospitals could make it ‘complicit in war crimes,’ Human Rights Watch said.
The US has already sent Israel a plethora of supplies. Leaked documents from the Pentagon, published by Bloomberg, reveal the US provided Israel with 2,000 Hellfire missiles, ‘36,000 rounds of 30mm cannon ammunition, 1,800 of the requested M141 bunker-buster munitions and at least 3,500 night-vision devices.’
The Biden administration has been a surprisingly huge proponent of arms sales to allied countries. In 2022, the US provided $46.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine; that same year, Biden’s arms sales overtook President Donald Trump’s.
Biden is finding workarounds to avoid the need for congressional support. Generally, congressional approval is needed for aid packages, but due to a variety of factors — including congressional gridlock on whether to link Israel and Ukraine military aid — the administration is allowing American weapon manufacturers to sell directly to Israel and is directing US stockpiles to Israel.
Many top US officials — including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken — have strong ties to weapon manufacturers. That has helped smooth the way for weapons transfers to allies.
The stakes: Human rights organizations’ claims that weapons the US sent to Israel are being used to commit war crimes are growing. As these organizations — and members of the public — increase pressure on the White House, that ‘may be setting up Israel for a collision with the Biden administration,’ writes senior foreign policy writer Jonathan Guyer.
Early last year, the Biden administration highlighted a desire to ‘elevat[e] the importance of protecting civilians’ when making decisions about arms transfers in its Conventional Arms Transfer policy. In continuing to provide weapons to Israel, the US could be violating its own rules. The Biden administration, however, denies it is abandoning its commitment.” [Vox]
Absenteeism spike
Data: Attendance Works. ("Chronically absent" is defined as a student who has missed more than 10% of school days within an academic year. Poverty concentration level is determined by the share of students who are eligible for reduced-price or free meals.) Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios
“Student absences have increased across the country at an alarming rate, Axios' April Rubin writes from new data from Attendance Works, a nonprofit research initiative.
Nearly 30% of students (14.7 million) were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year, meaning they missed 10% or more of the year.
Why it matters: Students haven't recovered from pandemic-era learning losses. Widespread, chronic absences affect entire schools, not just the missing students.” [Axios]
Biden pardons big birds
Data: Axios research. Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios (Note: Only turkeys where the weight of the bird was known are shown.)
“Liberty and Bell — two 42-pound turkeys — were pardoned today by President Biden and spared from the Thanksgiving table.
They're squarely in the middle of the flock of turkeys pardoned over the last 40 years (charted above).
The turkeys traveled from Minnesota in a Cadillac Escalade and stayed overnight at a suite in the Willard Intercontinental near the White House.” [Axios]
President Biden speaks after pardoning Liberty, one of the National Thanksgiving Turkeys, today. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP
Argentina’s New “Anarcho-Capitalist” Leader
Javier Milei, the presidential candidate for the Liberty Advances party, speaks after the general elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct. 22.Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images
“The future of Argentina’s troubled economy will soon rest in the hands of Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian who was elected president on Sunday after railing against the country’s political establishment and pledging a sweeping economic overhaul.
Milei, a first-term congressman, ultimately secured nearly 56 percent of the vote in Argentina’s runoff election on Sunday, defeating Economy Minister Sergio Massa by a margin of about 12 percent. By triumphing over Massa, the ruling Union for the Homeland party’s candidate, Milei’s victory has dealt a major blow to the powerful Peronist movement that has long been influential in the country.
Milei’s election is now set to usher Argentina into uncharted political territory. Once a television celebrity, Milei is a self-described ‘political anarchist’ and ‘anarcho-capitalist’ whose rhetoric and policies have been compared to those of former U.S. President Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Beyond supporting the relaxation of gun laws, the politician has publicly opposed abortion and claimed that climate change is a part of the ‘the socialist agenda.’
When he takes office on Dec. 10, one of his biggest challenges will be taking charge of an economy in free fall: More than 40 percent of Argentines are living in poverty, while inflation has soared to 143 percent. To steer the country’s economy forward, Milei has proposed drastic changes, including major spending cuts, eradicating the country’s central bank, and adopting the U.S. dollar—proposals that more than 100 influential economists have warned are ‘fraught with risks.’
But by campaigning on social media platforms such as TikTok, he was able to tap into the anger and economic frustrations of young voters, as Lautaro Grinspan wrote in Foreign Policy this weekend. ‘Having come of age in an era of chronic economic turmoil, young voters say Milei offers a new approach to governing that could turn around Argentina’s fortunes,’ Grinspan wrote.
‘There’s an environment of rage and frustration over the economic and social results that the country has had for many years. That’s led to this thinking that we need something new,’ Valeria Brusco, a member of the Red de Politólogas, a group of women political scientists, told Grinspan. ‘Even if it ends in disaster, at least it will be a new disaster.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Gaza’s imperiled hospitals. A deadly strike on Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more on Monday, according to the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry and hospital staff, as Gaza’s medical facilities remain caught in the crossfire of the war between Israel and Hamas. The Gaza Health Ministry blamed Israel for the strike; Israel said that it faced enemy fire from within the hospital and ‘directly targeted the specific source’ back, but that ‘no shells were fired toward the hospital.’
Monday’s strike came as 28 premature babies evacuated from Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital were safely transferred to Egypt for medical care following the Israeli military’s seizure of that hospital last week. Yesterday, the Israeli military published footage that it said shows Hamas bringing hostages into Al-Shifa hospital; Israel has accused Hamas of operating within and underneath Gaza’s hospitals, which Hamas denies.” [Foreign Policy]
“Surprise Ukraine visit. To demonstrate the Biden administration’s continued commitment to Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin touched down in Kyiv on Monday for high-level talks with top Ukrainian officials. He is set to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, recently appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and top military officer Gen. Valery Zaluzhny.
Austin’s Monday visit—which was unannounced for security reasons—marks his second trip to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. It comes as Washington faces competing internal pressures over continuing its aid to Ukraine, particularly as it also turns its attention to the intensifying Israel-Hamas war.” [Foreign Policy]
“Hundreds of people, including a former lawmaker, were sentenced to prison in a trial that prosecutors said dealt a crucial blow to the Mafia in southern Italy.” [New York Times]
“Deadly downpours. The Dominican Republic is grappling with the aftermath of a torrential storm that flooded buildings, induced power cuts, and knocked down a highway tunnel wall over the weekend. At least 21 people were killed, officials said, while as many as 13,000 people were displaced by heavy downpours that Dominican President Luis Abinader described as the country’s ‘largest rainfall event ever.’” [Foreign Policy]
Russia puts Ukrainian winner of Eurovision Song Contest on wanted list
Russia has placed a Ukrainian singer who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list, state news agencies reported. The reports said an Interior Ministry database listed singer Susana Jamaladinova as being sought for violating a criminal law. Read More at AP News
“Cast your eyes on Europe right now and no country seems to be behaving as you’d expect.
The Dutch are rethinking their permissive attitude to sex, drugs and corporate profits in elections tomorrow that could see far-right, anti-Muslim populist Geert Wilders in government.
Germany, the continent’s economic motor, has morphed into the sick man of Europe, mired in messy and unstable coalition politics and showing a lax attitude toward the accounting of its public finances.
Unstable governments and fiscal laxity are more characteristic of Italian behavior.
Yet in Rome, Giorgia Meloni has a string of wins under her belt. Moody’s pulled the nation’s credit rating outlook back from the brink of junk. Investors are appeased. Her allies are on tight leashes and she’s replenishing the state coffers by selling a stake in the nation’s oldest bank, a move markets considered unviable even six month ago.
Italians could be forgiven for a spot of Schadenfreude, but ultimately the European Union needs a strong Germany lest one forget who bailed out Greece after the 2008 financial crisis and helped save the euro.
Most countries have room for improvement in the EU’s latest assessments of which countries are complying with the bloc’s budget rules. France is on the naughty step, as are Germany and Italy. Together they account for almost two-thirds of the euro economy.
Judging by this week, everything is turned upside down in the old continent, which heads into 2024 in a state of flux.
It may well start the year limping from a recession and, should Donald Trump return to the White House — all signs in the US point to an incredibly tight race — Europe could find itself far more isolated in the world than it’s used to.
In such circumstances, Europe will badly need to find its mojo.” — Flavia Krause-Jackson [Bloomberg]
Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Photographer: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images
“Norway’s plan to use wind to power offshore oil platforms is much about clinging to the past. It’s betting that lowering emissions from fossil fuel production will help it meet climate targets while future-proofing an industry that’s made it one of the richest countries in the world. The catch is that exports will continue to have a devastating impact on the Earth when they’re burned overseas.” [Bloomberg]
What’s going on with OpenAI?
SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“The tech world was shocked when OpenAI’s board fired its CEO and co-founder Sam Altman last Friday. OpenAI is the American company behind the artificial intelligence language model ChatGPT; before his firing, Altman had led it since 2018.
Here’s what we know thus far:
It’s still not clear exactly why Altman was fired. OpenAI’s statement announcing Altman’s firing said: ‘Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.’ [The Verge]
Initially, OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati replaced Altman as interim CEO. However, following reports Altman might come back to the company, OpenAI announced Sunday that Emmett Shear, the co-founder of Twitch, would take over as interim CEO. [Fortune]
Monday, Microsoft hired Altman. Microsoft invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and said it's still committed to maintaining a relationship with the AI startup — despite hiring Altman. [AP]
More than 500 of OpenAI’s 700 employees signed a letter requesting the board resign. ‘The process through which you terminated Sam Altman ... jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company,” read the letter. “Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing AI.’” [X] [Vox]
SPORTS
Philly wins Super Bowl 57 rematch against Kansas City
“The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 21-17, at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night in a rematch of Super Bowl 57. The Chiefs won last season’s championship, 38-35, after scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter. This time, it was Jalen Hurts and company who came from behind to capture the victory. Hurts and D’Andre Swift scored all three of the Eagles’ touchdowns on the ground. Philadelphia was down 17-7 at halftime and the Chiefs failed to score after the break. Read our full recap of the game.” [USA Today]
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo.
“Soccer: The U.S. men’s national team qualified for the Copa América, despite a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago.” [New York Times]
“N.B.A.: The New York Knicks argued their dispute with the Toronto Raptors over scouting reports and video files should stay in federal court and not be moved to league-run arbitration.” [New York Times]
ARTS AND IDEAS
Julia Perry Talbott Music Library Special Collections and Westminster Choir College Archives (Julia Perry Collection), Rider University.
“Making room: The composer Julia Perry achieved significant success during the 1950s and ’60s. She earned two fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and European audiences embraced her. Yet Perry’s career later fell into obscurity. She died in 1979 with only a few published works.
This week, her 1951 “Stabat Mater” is part of the The New York Philharmonic’s program. “Programming Julia Perry is about making room,” said J’Nai Bridges, a mezzo-soprano who will make her Philharmonic debut during the performance. ‘Not just to tick boxes, but because we want to continue performing beautiful music.’” [New York Times]
More on culture
“The Guggenheim has appointed Mariët Westermann, the vice chancellor of N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi, as its director and chief executive. She will be its first female director.” [New York Times]
“David Letterman finally returned to “The Late Show” on CBS, which he hosted for 22 years, as a guest.” [New York Times]
“Lives Lived: The novelist Herbert Gold emerged after World War II as a promising young writer who explored the complexities of love, marriage and Jewish identity. He died at 99.” [New York Times]
TODAY IN HISTORY
“On Nov. 21, 1980: An estimated 83 million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS prime-time soap opera “Dallas” to find out ‘who shot J.R.’” [USA Today]