NEW THINGS: @23:15, , 12/4/21

To Counter China, Austin Vows to Shore Up Alliances With Others in Region

“America is a Pacific power,” the defense secretary said as he laid out a strategy to block efforts by China to dominate the region. read more

I expect the Philipine basses will be reactivated.

NYT > U.S. > Politics2 hours ago

CNN Fires Chris Cuomo Over Role in Andrew Cuomo's Scandal

The cable news network said it had “terminated him, effective immediately,” a move that came four months after Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor of New York. read more

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erinyes

NYT > U.S. > Politics4 hours ago

U.S. Intelligence Sees Russian Plan for Possible Ukraine Invasion

An invasion force could include 175,000 troops, but U.S. officials stress that President Vladimir V. Putin’s intentions remain unclear. read more

The threat of NATO is real to Putin.

NYT > U.S. > Politics10 hours ago

Blinken Trades Warnings With Russia’s Lavrov Over Ukraine, NATO

The secretary of state said that President Biden is ‘likely’ to speak soon with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. read more

NATO is a response to Russian threats.

NYT > U.S. > Politics12 hours ago

Voting Battles of 2022 Take Shape as G.O.P. Crafts New Election Bills

Republicans plan to carry their push to reshape the nation’s electoral system into next year, with Democrats vowing to oppose them but holding few options in G.O.P.-led states. read more

The Confederacy lost the civil war.

Ian Welsh13 hours ago

Open Thread

[image: Story 514806499] Use comments to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp LinkedIn read more

Live negotiations are a start.

Sooner is better. As soon as you can is best.

NYT > U.S. > Politics22 hours ago

Biden Catches a Cold and Blames His Grandson

President Biden’s voice sounded noticeably hoarse during the remarks about a Labor Department jobs report, and he coughed at times. He blamed it on his grandson. read more

"Biden is a human being!"

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

Israeli Company’s Spyware Is Used to Target U.S. Embassy Employees in Africa

The hack is the first known case of the spyware, known as Pegasus, being used against American officials. read more

Israel has its own agenda.

It is not a client state of the U.S.

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

Debt Ceiling Window Is Narrowing, Bipartisan Policy Center Warns

The United States could default as soon as Dec. 21 if Democrats and Republicans fail to extend the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority. read more

The U.S. debt ceiling is a Republican device intended to castrate progressive agendas.

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

Stu Rasmussen, 73, First Openly Transgender Mayor in America, Dies

The mayor, who served two terms in Silverton, Ore., defied many conventions, gender being just one of them. read more

"Those who can, do.

Those who cannot instruct."

Ian Welsh1 day ago

The Dualistic Mistake For Controlling Consciousness

[image: Story 514514664] I remember fairly clearly the day when, trying to choose what to read in a bookstore, I realized that what I was choosing is who would control my consciousness; my mind, for a couple hours. It wasn’t a thought I’d never had before; after all when we watch TV or a movie, or read a book, we want our consciousness to be changed for a while, but “I’m letting the author mind control me” was direct, vivid and somewhat alarming. We think of ourselves as our bodies and thoughts, troublesand as everything else as “outside” us, but that’s wrong. We never experience anything... read more

Alternatively:

"Take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_be,_or_not_to_be

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

Billions for Climate Protection Fuel New Debate: Who Deserves It Most

The $1 trillion infrastructure law funds programs that tend to favor wealthy, white communities — a test for Biden’s pledge to defend the most vulnerable against climate change. read more

Pay for the permanent removal of carbon from the atmosphere.

Now and in the future.

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

Painter of Elijah Cummings Portrait Finds It’s a Career-Changer

The Baltimore artist Jerrell Gibbs was commissioned to paint Maryland’s late Representative. The official portrait will be installed at the U.S. Capitol. read more

Portraitist is a remunerative trade.

NYT > U.S. > Politics1 day ago

Biden Vows to Fight Omicron With ‘Science and Speed’

The president’s plan shifts away from a near-singular focus on vaccination, as new cases of the variant have emerged in the United States. read more

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_road_to_hell_is_paved_with_good_intentions

NYT > U.S. > Politics2 days ago

More Sept. 11 Victims Who Sued the Taliban Want Frozen Afghan Funds

The Biden administration was set to tell a court on Friday what it thinks should happen, but obtained a delay until Jan. 28.

Afghanistan had little involvement with 9/11

NYT > U.S. > Politics2 days ago

How the Suburbs Have Changed Gerrymandering

Republicans have historically used the suburbs to defend against the electoral threat of cities. Now the suburbs themselves are posing the threat. read more

Suburbs are said to vote Democratic.

Ian Welsh2 days ago

Environment: Politics Series Chapter VI

[image: Story 514108400] Previous: Groups and Coalitions (Introduction and Table of Contents) I struggled a bit with what word to use for this chapter: environment to most people today means the natural world, but here I’m using to include not just that, but the social and the built environment. The social environment is the people around us and how they act: a nomadic clan is very different from a peasant village, and both are different from an American city, which is different from a Chinese city or the rural areas in both countries. Time also matters. Growing up in the 1930s w... read more

Ones built space and its occupants must be included in ones environment.

NYT > U.S. > Politics2 days ago

Many Migrants Are Quickly Expelled, but Others Can Stay. Here’s Why.

The Biden administration is fighting to preserve Title 42, a public health rule that turns back families at the border during the pandemic. But some have been allowed to stay in the United States, despite the rule. read more

Republican immigration policy is not humanitarian.

NYT > U.S. > Politics2 days ago

How the Politics of Abortion Are Poised to Intensify

The anti-abortion and abortion rights movements are already beginning to mobilize for a new, deeply unsettled post-Roe political reality. read more

The act of abortion has become a matter forbidden by Republican orthodoxy.

NYT > U.S. > Politics2 days ago

Blinken Trades Warnings With Russia’s Lavrov Over Ukraine, NATO

The secretary of state said that President Biden is ‘likely’ to speak soon with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. read more

The integrity of Ukraine will be defended to international war.