The Full Belmonte, 6/17/2023
A huge win for American tribes
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a law granting preference to American Indians in the adoption and foster care of Indian children.” [Vox / Ian Millhiser]
“The decision keeps the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act intact, which ended the practice of taking Native children from their tribes and placing them with white families and schools to assimilate them into American culture.” [Vox] [Guardian / Ed Pilkington]
“The law requires Native American adoptees first be placed with extended family, members of the same tribe, or another Native family before an outsider.” [Vox] [New York Times / Abbie VanSickle]
“A white foster family in Texas challenged the law, arguing it violated their constitutional right to equal protection because it was racially discriminatory.” [Vox] [CNN / Arianna de Vogue and Devan Cole]
“The Court sided with hundreds of tribes who argued the law was not about race but a political distinction necessary to uphold their sovereignty and prevent the erasure of Native American culture.” [Vox] [Associated Press / Mark Sherman]
Pittsburgh Synagogue Accused Shooter Is Found Guilty
Jurors to decide if Robert Bowers should be sentenced to death for killing 11 people
By Kris Maher
“PITTSBURGH—A jury found Robert Bowers guilty of dozens of federal hate crimes Friday related to his killing of 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue, the deadliest antisemitic attack on U.S. soil.
Jurors deliberated for about five hours after hearing three weeks of graphic and disturbing testimony in which survivors of the Oct. 27, 2018 massacre recounted the violence and terror they experienced inside the synagogue and Bowers’s attorneys acknowledged he was the shooter.
The same jury will now hear evidence in a second phase to decide whether he should be put to death.
Bowers, 50 years old, was found guilty of 63 counts, including 11 counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
George Floyd’s killing capped years of violence, discrimination by Minneapolis police, DOJ says
Attorney General Merrick Garland talks about a Department of Justice report that found the Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination during a news conference, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Minneapolis. The two-year probe found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
“MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday issued a withering critique of Minneapolis police, alleging that they systematically discriminated against racial minorities, violated constitutional rights and disregarded the safety of people in custody for years before George Floyd was killed.
The report was the result of a sweeping two-year probe, and it confirmed many of the citizen complaints about police conduct that emerged after Floyd’s death. The investigation found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including ‘unjustified deadly force,’ and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech.
The inquiry also concluded that both police and the city discriminated against Black and Native American people and those with ‘behavioral health disabilities.’
‘We observed many MPD officers who did their difficult work with professionalism, courage and respect,’ Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference in Minneapolis. ‘But the patterns and practices we observed made what happened to George Floyd possible.’
Garland said officers routinely neglected the safety of people in custody, noting numerous examples in which someone complained that they could not breathe, only to have officers reply with a version of ‘You can breathe. You’re talking right now.’
The officers involved in Floyd’s May 25, 2020, arrest made similar comments.
Police ‘used dangerous techniques and weapons against people who committed at most a petty offense and sometimes no offense at all,’ the report said. Officers ‘used force to punish people who made officers angry or criticized the police.’
Police also ‘patrolled neighborhoods differently based on their racial composition and discriminated based on race when searching, handcuffing or using force against people during stops,’ according to the report.
As a result of the investigation, the city and the police department agreed to a deal known as a consent decree, which will require reforms to be overseen by an independent monitor and approved by a federal judge. That arrangement is similar to reform efforts in Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri.
Consent decrees require agencies to meet specific goals before federal oversight is removed, a process that often takes many years and requires millions of dollars….” Read more at AP News
‘A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags
Many liberals celebrated when Hamtramck, Michigan, elected a Muslim-majority council in 2015 but a vote to exclude LGBTQ+ flags from city property has soured relations
Tom Perkins in Hamtramck, Michigan
Darren Shelton, executive director of Planet Ant Theatre, came to work on his day off so that he could hang this LGBTQ+ flag in Hamtramck, Michigan, on Tuesday. Photograph: Robin Buckson/AP
“In 2015, many liberal residents in Hamtramck, Michigan, celebrated as their city attracted international attention for becoming the first in the United States to elect a Muslim-majority city council.
They viewed the power shift and diversity as a symbolic-but-meaningful rebuke of the Islamophobic rhetoric that was a central theme of then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.
This week many of those same residents watched in dismay as a now fully Muslim and socially conservative city council passed legislation banning Pride flags from being flown on city property that had – like many others being flown around the country – been intended to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
Muslim residents packing city hall erupted in cheers after the council’s unanimous vote, and on Hamtramck’s social media pages, the taunting has been relentless: “Fagless City”, read one post, emphasized with emojis of a bicep flexing.
In a tense monologue before the vote, Councilmember Mohammed Hassan shouted his justification at LGBTQ+ supporters: ‘I’m working for the people, what the majority of the people like.’
While Hamtramck is still viewed as a bastion of multiculturalism, the difficulties of local governance and living among neighbors with different cultural values quickly set in following the 2015 election. Some leaders and residents are now bitter political enemies engaged in a series of often vicious battles over the city’s direction, and the Pride flag controversy represents a crescendo in tension….” Read more at The Guardian
US rightwing group planned $6m for anti-trans messaging in 2022 midterms
Independent Women’s Voice turned resources to fighting trans rights in 10 key swing states, documents reveal
Robin Buller
‘The Women’s Bill of Rights does nothing for women,’ said Gillian Branstetter of the American Civil Liberties Union. ‘All they do is seek to target trans people.’ Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“In the months leading up to the 2022 US midterm elections, hundreds of thousands of Facebook users in swing states were targeted with advertisements asking them to sign the Women’s Bill of Rights – a relatively innocuous-sounding initiative presented as a crusade for women’s empowerment. ‘The Real Fight For Women’, read one version featuring a woman looking down at a cityscape and flexing her biceps. ‘We know what a woman is,’ proclaimed another, its text hovering over a closeup of the Statue of Liberty.
But the Women’s Bill of Rights is a weapon in a war against gender equity being waged by a conservative non-profit women’s group. Independent Women’s Voice, or IWV, lobbies against the equal rights amendment,criticizes public school curriculum and opposes government-funded parental leave. Recently, they have turned their resources to fighting transgender rights. And, according to documents shared with the Guardian by watchdog True North Research, IWV budgeted nearly $6m to promote anti-trans messaging in 10 swing states in advance of last year’s midterms…..” Read more at The Guardian
Arizona man freed after nearly three decades on death row
Barry Jones pleads guilty to lesser charge in deal to overturn his conviction for murder of four-year-old girl in 1994
“An Arizona man who spent nearly three decades on death row before the reversal of his conviction over the death of a four-year-old girl has been freed from prison.
Barry Jones’s release, ordered on Thursday, came after a Tuscon-area state court judge approved a deal between prosecutors and him which involved his pleading guilty to a lesser murder charge. According to prosecutors, a medical review of the case failed to conclude that Jones caused the girl’s fatal injury, and his pleading guilty to second-degree murder involves his failure to adequately seek emergency care for the victim.
He was sentenced to 25 years that he had already spent imprisoned, setting the stage for his release….” Read more at The Guardian
Me Too-style reckoning rocks Taiwan
“Taiwan is reckoning with a wave of sexual assault allegations against officials from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, and other prominent figures.” [Vox] [Deutsche Welle / William Yang]
“The movement began in late May after a Netflix show featuring a female political aide who speaks up about sexual harassment encouraged former DPP staffers to share their experiences of harassment from party officials.” [Vox] [BBC / Frances Mao and Benny Lu]
“Around 90 people have now come forward in the past two weeks, shocking a country considered one of the most progressive in Asia for gender equality.” [Vox] [The Independent / Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]
“President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female leader, apologized and proposed reforms to address sexual assault. Her DPP faces tough national elections in January.” [Vox] [Axios / Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian]
A US flag is displayed in front of the portrait of China’s late communist leader Mao Zedong outside the Forbidden City in Beijing on Nov. 8, 2017. Photographer: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
“Blinken Heads to China Setting Low Expectations: What to Watch
Blinken’s last attempt to visit China was derailed by an alleged Chinese spy balloon. As Iain Marlow reports, he’s leading an effort by President Joe Biden to reset ties plagued by challenges: trade and intellectual-property disputes, human-rights concerns, Taiwan’s security, China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and US limits on advanced technology.” [Bloomberg]
Peace Delegation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) looks at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as they address the media after their talks in Kyiv on June 16.Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
“A delegation of African leaders has embarked on an ambitious mission to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia. On Friday, officials representing Comoros, Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Zambia—and led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegalese President Macky Sall—met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Their goal: to promote ‘confidence-building measures’ to secure peace between the two warring countries, with an emphasis on combatting the war’s detrimental impact on global food and fertilizer prices, which has hit Africa especially hard.
But the peace mission got off to a rocky start: The delegation’s arrival in the Ukrainian capital was met with a missile barrage from Russia that injured at least four people, including a child. Reuters reported seeing the African heads of state fleeing to a nearby hotel to use its air-raid shelter, though a spokesperson for Ramaphosa later tweeted that they ‘didn’t hear the sirens or explosions’ and that the peace mission was ‘proceeding as planned.’
The delegation, which vowed to focus on neutrality and diplomacy, was already the subject of controversy before even starting the trip. Western nations worry South Africa will unfairly favor Russia due to the country’s close ties to the Kremlin. Last month, the U.S. ambassador to Pretoria accused South Africa of having supplied Moscow with weapons in December 2022. Ramaphosa denied the claim and appointed a judge to oversee an inquiry into the allegations.
And, indeed, it seems little progress was made during Friday’s meeting. In a joint press conference with the delegation afterward, Zelensky made clear that his country’s position on peace talks hadn’t changed: ‘To allow any negotiations with Russia now while the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze everything: pain and suffering,’ Zelensky said, though he did invite the African leaders to attend an international peace summit that is being planned.
The African leaders now head to St. Petersburg, Russia, to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.” [Foreign Policy]
“Dam Breach Remakes Ukraine Battlefield as Vast Reservoir Drains
The Kakhovka dam burst on June 6 cut off any chance Ukraine’s troops could cross the Dnipro River to support the counteroffensive against Russian forces. Yet as Marc Champion and Kateryna Choursina report, that benefit to the Kremlin may not last. As the 140-mile-long reservoir basin empties, a new landscape is emerging that could create opportunities for Ukrainian forces. [Bloomberg]
Putin Screens Show of WWII Massacres at Forum to Justify His War
At his annual economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin screened archival film footage of World War II massacres of Jews and Poles to justify his invasion of Ukraine. He accused Zelenskiy, who is Jewish, of covering up for ‘neo-Nazis.’” [Bloomberg]
“Nigeria’s New Leader Thrills Markets With Week of Radical Change
Tinubu’s radical economic reforms are thrilling investors and multilateral lenders but causing pain in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, where 40% of people live in extreme poverty. William Clowes sketches out the pros and cons of the new policies.” [Bloomberg]
Supporters during a campaign rally for Tinubu in Lagos on Feb. 21. Photographer: Benson Ibeaubuchi/Bloomberg
“Britain Is Adrift, and the World’s Executives Are Alarmed
The UK’s divorce from the European Union was supposed to create opportunities for businesses. Instead, Brexit and the political chaos that came with it have fostered an environment that many companies say is increasingly difficult to work with.” [Bloomberg]
“Gloom Descends on Sunak as Johnson Saga and Rate Hikes Persist
A damning report that found ex-premier Boris Johnson misled Parliament over the “Partygate” scandal and rising interest rates brought a palpable gloom to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street operation, sources say. As Alex Wickham and Emily Ashton explain, it could get worse next week with a House of Commons vote on Johnson due Monday, the first Covid inquiry hearings Tuesday and the Bank of England looking set to go ahead with for a 13th consecutive interest rate hike on Thursday.
Sunak faces a key test of his leadership next month as his Conservative Party tries to retain two of three parliamentary districts up for grabs due to his spat with Johnson.” [Bloomberg]
“UK Political Drama Intensifies as Sturgeon Arrested in SNP Probe
Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who spearheaded the drive for Scottish independence, was arrested as part of an investigation into her party’s finances and later released. Rodney Jefferson and Alastair Reed write that the action came less than three months after Sturgeon stepped down as the head of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government in Edinburgh.” [Bloomberg]
“Race Is On to Protect Sudan’s Pyramids and Tombs as War Rages
Sudan boasts ancient Nubian temples, more pyramids than Egypt and is credited with being the birthplace of modern pottery and metalwork techniques. Simon Marks reports on the struggle to protect that cultural heritage at a time when a conflict between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group has killed hundreds of people and injured thousands.
The United Nations warned of possible crimes against humanity in the Darfur region, which has been riven by conflict since 2003 and is now the scene of continuous attacks against civilians based on their ethnicity.” [Bloomberg]
The pyramids of the Sudanese kingdom of Meroe. Photographer: Rabih Moghrabi/AFP/Getty Images
“Deadly Disease Arrives at the Doorstep of South African Power
Just 20 miles north of Pretoria, the capital of Africa’s most industrialized economy, the latest alarming evidence of South Africa’s political dysfunction is on display. Antony Sguazzin and Janice Kew write that the country’s worst cholera outbreak in 15 years in Hammanskraal has killed 29 people, highlighting the collapse of basic services nationwide after years of neglect and corruption.” [Bloomberg]
Puddles of sewage water on the side of a dirt road in the Kanana informal settlement in Hammanskraal on June 10. Photographer: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg
“Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant media mogul whose reign as Italy’s longest-serving postwar prime minister was plagued by sex scandals and allegations of corruption, died at the age of 86. One of the most influential figures in Italian politics of the past three decades, Berlusconi built a television empire in the 1980s before deploying his showmanship and talent for catchy sound bites to win three national elections.” [Bloomberg]
Supporters during the state funeral for Berlusconi at the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday. Photographer: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg
The Justice Department notified the PGA Tour that it will review the planned merger with LIV Golf for antitrust concerns, people familiar with the matter said.
“Regulatory review of the deal—which the warring golf bodies hope will stabilize the divided sport—also makes it probable that any joint venture between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund wouldn’t take effect for some time. (The DOJ was already investigating the Tour and other leading golf bodies for anticompetitive behavior.) The proposed merger might fall apart if the sides cannot settle on specific terms, a senior Tour executive told employees this week, according to a person familiar with the remarks. The Justice Department declined to comment.
The Secretive Golf Club Finally Opening Its Doors for the U.S. Open (Read)” [Wall Street Journal]
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Cormac McCarthy in 2011.Dawn Jones/Professor Productions
“Cormac McCarthy, the novelist, died this week at 89. Readers shared his influence on their lives.
Watch five film adaptations of McCarthy’s work.
The Tony Awards opened with a clever performance and nodded to the striking Hollywood writers. See the best and worst moments from the show.
Gowns and Shake Shack: These photos capture an all-night Tonys after-party.
Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, agreed to pay Priscilla Presley to settle a disagreement over control of the Presley family trust.
Glenda Jackson, the British actress turned politician who died this week at 87, had an unnervingly energizing presence at every age, Ben Brantley writes.
Here are highlights from more than 50 years of Times reviews of Jackson’s work.
A Picasso show at the Brooklyn Museum, curated by the comedian Hannah Gadsby, has drawn scathing reviews.
Cheryl Hines, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress, is risking her reputation to support her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in his presidential campaign.
“Flamin’ Hot,” an origin story for a spicy snack, is based on a debunked memoir.” [New York Times]