How Gaza ceasefire became a focal point in Barbara Lee’s US Senate campaign
Washington, DC – Three days after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States House of Representatives convened to authorise a military response, with legislation that would serve as the legal basis for the invasion of Afghanistan and the broader “war on terror”. The vote was overwhelming: 420 to one. The sole dissenter was Representative Barbara Lee, a California Democrat. On Tuesday, Lee — at the age of 77 — will face possibly the greatest electoral test of her career when California holds a primary for its open Senate seat. The congresswoman is running in that race on her credentials as an antiwar candidate. This time, however, her focus is on achieving a ceasefire in Gaza — a position she says distinguishes her from the rest of the field. Lee is in competition against more than 20 other candidates, including prominent Democratic representatives like Adam Schiff and Katie Porter. The stakes are high: Schiff, Lee and Porter have all opted not to run for reelection in the House, in order to focus on their Senate prospects. That means this year’s Senate primary could deal Lee her first electoral defeat in 26 years. But her candidacy shines a light on the range of Democratic views towards Israel’s war in Gaza — a spectrum that could translate into fractures as the party seeks unity at the ballot box. For me, doing what’s right is leadership. The lone vote against the War in Afghanistan then. California’s only US Senate candidate calling for a permanent, unconditional ceasefire now. Please vote for me, Barbara Lee—the peace and security candidate—by tomorrow, Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/uFcBCJMdd2 — Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLeeForCA) March 4, 2024 A beacon for progressives Amar Shergill, the chair emeritus of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, is among those supporting Lee’s Senate bid. He told Al Jazeera that Lee’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza was among the reasons he publicly backed her campaign. “Barbara Lee is a voice to end suffering around the world, regardless of the political cost, and she will fight for it,” he said. Over the past months, Lee has reiterated her call for a ceasefire in Gaza dozens of times on her social media accounts, making it a defining element of her campaign. Americans — and specifically Democrats — have increasingly voiced concern about the dire conditions in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. A February poll from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that half of Americans felt Israel had “gone too far” in its military campaign. That number, however, shot up to 62 percent among Democrats alone. But many mainstream members of the Democratic Party have long resisted calls for a permanent ceasefire, instead affirming support for Israel’s military offensive. They include President Joe Biden, who has only recently articulated hopes for a ceasefire to pause — though not definitively end — hostilities. Lee’s supporters hope that her stance on the issue will carry her to a shock victory on Tuesday. Public opinion polls show her trailing her Democratic rivals Schiff and Porter, as well as Republican contender and former baseball player Steve Garvey. Foreign policy is rarely a top priority at the ballot box, but Shergill said voters are increasingly drawing parallels between injustices in Palestine and inequality at home. “The youth is inspired by her moral clarity. We see immigrant communities who understand that what’s happening in Palestine could happen to their relatives in ancestral homes around the world,” Shergill told Al Jazeera. California’s ‘jungle’ primary The Senate race in California — the state with the largest population in the country — is scheduled to arrive on Super Tuesday, a crucial date in the US electoral calendar. More states hold primaries on that date than on any other. Adding to the scrutiny of that high-profile occasion is the symbolism behind this particular Senate race. Lee and the other Senate hopefuls aim to fill a seat long held by the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, a key Democrat who died in 2023. Feinstein held the title of longest-serving female senator in the history of the US Congress. After her death, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to serve the rest of her term. But Butler has declined to run in the 2024 election, leaving the Senate race without an incumbent. An open Senate seat in California, a Democratic stronghold, is a rarity. Whoever wins will spend a six-year term in Congress. Most states have partisan primaries, where candidates from different parties compete on separate slates to claim their party’s nomination for the general election. But California holds what is known as a “jungle primary”: Candidates, regardless of political party, compete together in the first round of voting and the top two vote-getters face off in the general elections. So a Democrat like Lee not only has to compete against members of her own party but Republicans and independents as well. Democratic Senate rivals Katie Porter, Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff pose for photos after a US Senate Candidate Forum in Los Angeles in October 2023 [Richard Vogel/AP] The candidates Garvey, the Republican baseball star, has led a dark-horse campaign that has stunned political observers. Several polls show him in a tie with — or surpassing — Porter for second place. But even if Garvey makes it to the general elections, Democrats are widely expected to retain the Senate seat in November. Schiff, an ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is currently leading the race. Considered a favourite of the party establishment, Schiff developed a national profile after he led an impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump in 2019. Porter, meanwhile, is a left-wing lawmaker who rose to prominence with her consumer advocacy and criticism of major corporations. On domestic issues, Lee, Schiff and Porter share similar views, albeit with different approaches. Even Schiff — who is considered the centrist in the race — supports progressive priorities like universal healthcare and the Green New Deal climate plan.
Philippines says ship damaged in South China Sea incident with Chinese boat
Collision occurred as the coast guard escorted a resupply mission to sailors on grounded ship at Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has said one of its boats suffered “minor structural damage” as Chinese ships tried to block a resupply mission in the South China Sea, in the latest confrontation in the disputed waters. Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson, said the incident took place early on Tuesday morning near Second Thomas Shoal where a small group of sailors have been living on board the Sierra Madre warship since it was grounded nearly 25 years ago. He shared videos and images on X showing a Chinese ship cutting across the bow of the Philippine resupply ship and the crew rushing to drop a buoy between the vessels. The PCG ships were accompanying the resupply boats. “The PCG vessels faced dangerous maneuvers and blocking from Chinese Coast Guard vessels and Chinese Maritime Militia,” Tarriela wrote on the social media platform, adding that the resupply mission was continuing. “Their reckless and illegal actions led to a collision between MRRV-4407 and China Coast Guard 21555 that resulted in minor structural damage to the PCG vessel.” China’s Coast Guard said it had taken “regulatory actions” against Philippine ships in the area, accusing them of entering the waters “illegally”. This morning, @coastguardph vessels, BRP CABRA and BRP SINDANGAN, were deployed by the Commandant, CG Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, to support the Rotation and Reprovisioning Operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Throughout the operation, the PCG vessels faced dangerous… pic.twitter.com/WsjnMnGSEk — Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) March 5, 2024 Tensions in the South China Sea have risen over the past year with Manila accusing Beijing of taking dangerous actions against its boats and lodging multiple diplomatic protests. Second Thomas Shoal, known as Anyungin Shoal by the Philippines and Ren’ai Jiao by China, lies about 200km (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000km from China’s southern Hainan Island. The Philippines is one of several Southeast Asian countries that claim parts of the South China Sea, while Beijing claims the waters almost in their entirety. In 2012, China seized control of Scarborough Shoal after a months-long standoff, and the Philippines took its case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which found China’s claims had no legal basis. Beijing has ignored the ruling. Adblock test (Why?)
Jeff Bezos topples Elon Musk to reclaim title of world’s richest man
Bezos has gained $23bn in 2024, while Musk has lost $31bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jeff Bezos has dethroned Elon Musk to reclaim his title as the world’s richest man. The Amazon founder’s net worth currently stands at $200bn, topping the Tesla chief’s $198bn, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed on Tuesday. Bezos has gained $23bn so far in 2024, while Musk has lost about $31bn, according to the index. The billionaires’ wealth gains and losses closely tracked the stock market fortunes of Amazon and Tesla, who count their founders as their biggest shareholders. Amazon’s share price has surged by more than 18 percent this year, while Tesla’s has dropped by 24 percent. Despite selling $8.5bn worth of Amazon shares earlier this month, Bezos remains the biggest shareholder in the e-commerce giant with a 9.56 percent stake. Musk has an equity stake in Tesla of about 20 percent. In January, a judge in the United States struck down a Tesla pay package for Musk valued at up to $55.8bn after finding that the process for approving his remuneration was deeply flawed. Musk, who also runs X and SpaceX, rose to the top of the rich list in May after toppling Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of luxury goods company LVMH, who now ranks third with $197bn. Bezos, Musk and Arnault have jockeyed for the top spot in recent years in the ranking, which is based on fluctuations in the stock market and other economic data. Adblock test (Why?)
Harris stresses US support for Israel, Gaza truce in talks with Gantz
Vice President Kamala Harris meets Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz amid growing pressure over the US’s Gaza war stance. United States Vice President Kamala Harris has reiterated her country’s support for Israel and pushed for more humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip in talks with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz. In a readout of Monday’s meeting in Washington, DC, the White House said Harris “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza”, a narrow Palestinian enclave that has been the subject of a deadly Israeli military offensive since October 7. The statement explained that Harris emphasised the importance of reaching a deal that would see the release of captives taken by the Palestinian group Hamas in exchange for an immediate six-week truce. “She urged Israel to take additional measures in cooperation with the United States and international partners to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure its safe distribution to those in need,” the statement also said. Gantz’s visit to Washington, DC comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration faces widespread pressure to curb the US’s “unwavering” support for Israel in light of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment, which began on October 7 following a Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,100 people. Critics have pointed out that Israel’s war on Gaza has pushed the territory – home to nearly 2.3 million people – to the brink of collapse. The vast majority of the population has been displaced amid the bombing and an Israeli siege has left basic necessities like food, water and medicine in short supply. Experts have warned of famine, with Palestinian children already dying from malnutrition. In recent weeks, the Biden administration has shifted its tone, pushing for more assistance into Gaza. It recently airdropped a limited number of meals to Palestinians there. But critics say those efforts will have scant effect if Washington does not exert pressure on Israel to stop the war. Some have called for the US to withhold military and diplomatic assistance to the Israeli government. The US government provides at least $3.8bn in military assistance to Israel annually. Reporting from Washington, DC, on Monday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi said there have been several “performative gestures” from the White House in recent days amid an uptick in public pressure. On Sunday, for instance, Harris spoke in Selma, Alabama – an important site in the US civil rights movement – where she reaffirmed US support for a six-week pause in the fighting and spoke in stark terms about the “inhumane” conditions in Gaza. But ultimately, Washington’s policies remain “fundamentally the same”, Rattansi said. Gantz, a former top general in the Israeli army, is widely seen as a more centrist politician than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But critics say that, as a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, he too represents the Israeli government and its policies in Gaza. Biden, who is seeking re-election in November, has already faced a backlash at the ballot box for his stance towards Israel’s war in Gaza. Last week, more than 101,000 Democratic primary voters in the state of Michigan voted “uncommitted” instead of supporting Biden, largely as the result of an organised protest campaign stemming from the Gaza war. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Monday, Tamer Qarmout, an assistant professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said what matters is whether the Biden administration will take “real action to stop Israel” from continuing its war. “We don’t see this happening,” Qarmout said. “The US is not really using any of its leverage to change Israel’s behaviour.” Adblock test (Why?)
‘Bad sign’: Legal scholars question US Supreme Court’s Trump primary ruling
Washington, DC – Former United States President Donald Trump hailed it as a victory. His critics blasted it as a blow against accountability. But experts say the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow Trump to remain on the Colorado primary ballot was always the most likely outcome. The controversy, they argue, lies in the details. On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down Colorado’s efforts to bar Trump from the state’s Republican presidential primary under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. That amendment contains a so-called “insurrection clause”: a section of the law that disqualifies candidates from public office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the US government. Colorado’s state Supreme Court ruled in December that Trump had run afoul of the insurrection clause by egging on the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. But in a unanimous ruling, the US Supreme Court deemed the state could not remove Trump from its primary ballot. Thomas Keck, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Al Jazeera that the Colorado case had long faced an uphill battle. “It was definitely always a long shot and the ruling is not surprising,” Keck explained. But, he added, the US Supreme Court’s ruling opened up larger questions about what guardrails exist to protect US democracy. “It has been three years [since January 6] and Trump has faced almost zero consequences. That is a bad sign for the health of the country’s democratic institutions,” Keck said. The fact that not a single justice today issued a single sentence disputing the finding that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection is incredibly telling. Yes, they let him off on a technicality, but there is no question that he is an oath-breaking insurrectionist. — Noah Bookbinder (@NoahBookbinder) March 4, 2024 A divided public reaction Trump claimed vindication after the ruling, portraying the case as part of a political and legal “witch hunt” aimed at hurting his reelection chances. His supporters were quick to seize on that narrative in the wake of Monday’s ruling. In a social media post, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz called the decision a defeat for “election interference by lawfare”. Another Republican, Representative William Timmons, hailed it as a “big win for America and a huge loss for Democrats trying to interfere in the election”. Democrats, meanwhile, reacted with a mixture of outrage and ambivalence, with some questioning the optics of removing Trump from the ballot. Quentin Fulks, a manager for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, responded to the Supreme Court’s decision with indifference. Biden is likely to face Trump again in this year’s general election, after defeating him in the 2020 presidential race. “We don’t really care,” Fulks said during an interview on MSNBC on Monday. “It’s not been the way we’ve been planning to beat Donald Trump,” he continued. “Our focus since day one of launching this campaign has been to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box”. ‘Pretty shocking’ The Colorado case hinged on Trump’s actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election. After Trump’s loss to Biden, a group of his supporters stormed the US Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn his defeat. Last September, a group of six Colorado voters — with the support of the liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) — filed a petition in state court to bar Trump from the ballot on the basis that he played a part in the riot. Trump has long faced accusations that he spurred on his supporters with false claims that the election had been stolen through large-scale fraud. In Monday’s ruling, the Supreme Court’s nine justices — six conservative, three left-leaning — unanimously agreed that states could only disqualify those holding or seeking state-level office. The US presidency, they said, was a different matter. “States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 [of the 14th Amendment] with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” they wrote. From there, however, the unanimity ended. In an unsigned majority opinion, five conservative justices argued that, at the federal level, only the US Congress could disqualify an individual from running for office on the grounds of insurrection. “The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made,” they wrote. “The terms of the Amendment speak only to enforcement by Congress.” But critics warn that decision — with its emphasis on congressional action — could limit the judicial branch’s power to interpret the 14th Amendment. Claire Finkelstein, the director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, called the majority’s argument “pretty shocking”. She explained that, under its logic, the Supreme Court may not be able to disqualify someone like Trump from appearing on a primary ballot, even if he were convicted on federal charges of insurrection. The court would need “some piece of federal legislation saying that a federal conviction for insurrection should count for purposes of the amendment”, she said. On Monday, Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, told the news site Axios he had begun crafting such a bill. But critics point out that such legislation faces long odds, given the broad support Trump enjoys in the Republican Party, which controls the US House of Representatives. Discord on the bench Other members of the Supreme Court likewise questioned the scope of the majority’s opinion, warning of a dangerous precedent. The court’s three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan — decried the opinion as overreaching in a joint opinion. They argued it essentially neutered the court’s ability to weigh in on the matter in the future. “This Court is authorized ‘to say what the law is’,” they wrote. “Today, the Court departs from that vital principle, deciding not just this case but challenges that might arise in the future.” By placing the matter in Congress’s hands, the three justices argued that the majority had “shut the door on other potential means of federal enforcement”, in
China sets 5 percent growth target for 2024 amid economic headwinds
Beijing sets one of its lowest targets in decades amid property crisis, slowing exports and population decline. China will set an economic growth target of about 5 percent for 2024, one of its lowest in decades. China’s rubber-stamp National People’s Congress (NPC) is set to officially unveil the target on Tuesday as the world’s second-largest economy is facing serious headwinds. Chinese Premier Li Qiang will deliver his maiden work report outlining policy goals for the year as the Chinese economy grapples with multiple challenges including a property crisis, slowing exports, geopolitical tensions with the United States, population decline, huge debt and record youth unemployment Beijing’s growth target, outlined in official documents seen by multiple media outlets, matches last year’s target of about 5 percent. China’s economy officially grew 5.2 percent in 2023, its weakest performance in decades excluding the COVID-19 pandemic downturn. The annual gathering is being closely watched by investors for announcements to shore up confidence in the economy. International investors have been pulling out of China at record rates, with $68.7bn worth of corporate and household capital flowing out of the country last year. Analysts have tempered expectations of sweeping measures to boost the economy due to Beijing’s aversion to broad-based social spending. Li’s speech on Tuesday comes after officials announced that the premier would not hold a news conference at the end of the legislature’s annual session for the first time since 1993. The move has been seen as a further example of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to concentrate control in the hands of the ruling Communist Party. Adblock test (Why?)
UN experts say grounds to believe rape occurred in Hamas attack on Israel
Palestinian group has repeatedly denied allegations its fighters committed acts of sexual violence during the October 7 attack. A team of United Nations experts has said there are “reasonable grounds to believe” sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7. Led by UN special envoy for sexual violence Pramila Patten, the team travelled to Israel between January 29 and February 14 and published a report with their findings on Monday. The Palestinian group Hamas, which governs Gaza, has repeatedly denied allegations its fighters committed acts of sexual violence during the attacks. “Credible circumstantial information, which may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including genital mutilation, sexualised torture, or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, was also gathered,” read the 24-page UN report. “The mission team found clear and convincing information that some hostages taken to Gaza have been subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing,” the report also said. The report comes nearly five months after the October 7 attacks, which killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli figures. Around 250 others were taken hostage during the attack. Israel’s war on Gaza has since devastated the besieged territory, killing more than 30,500 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and displacing more than 80 percent of the population. The UN says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation. Patten said her team was not able to meet with any victims of sexual violence “despite concerted efforts to encourage them to come forward.” However, they did hold 33 meetings with Israeli institutions and conducted interviews with 34 people including survivors and witnesses of that day’s attacks, released captives, and health providers. Patten said the team found “that several fully naked or partially naked bodies from the waist down were recovered – mostly women – with hands tied and shot multiple times, often in the head”. While circumstantial, she said it could be “indicative of some forms of sexual violence”. On Road 232 – the road to leave the Nova music festival, which was part of the attacks and was located on grounds neighbouring Gaza – “credible information based on witness accounts describe an incident of the rape of two women by armed elements”, Patten said. Patten said that in kibbutz Re’im, the team verified the rape of a woman outside a bomb shelter. At Kibbutz Be’eri, Patten said, her team “was able to determine that at least two allegations of sexual violence widely repeated in the media were unfounded due to either new superseding information or inconsistency in the facts gathered.” Other reported rapes couldn’t be verified during the team’s time in Israel. The experts said a “fully-fledged investigation” would be required to establish more details about the magnitude of sexual violence that may have occurred that day. The UN team said it also received information from civil society sources and direct interviews, about “sexual violence against Palestinian men and women in [Israeli] detention settings, during house raids and at checkpoints” after October 7. The UN envoy raised these allegations with the Israeli Ministry of Justice and Military Advocate General, which said no complaints of sexual violence against members of the Israeli military had been received. Adblock test (Why?)
Travel influencer gang raped in India
NewsFeed Four arrests have been made after a Spanish travel influencer was attacked in India and gang raped by 7 men. Her husband was beaten and robbed. Published On 4 Mar 20244 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Jack Teixeira pleads guilty to Pentagon leak, faces over 16 years in prison
The plea comes after Teixeira agreed to a deal with prosecutors over last year’s leak of classified US military documents. A Massachusetts air national guard member has pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents online, in one of the most serious national security breaches the United States has experienced in recent years. Jack Teixeira, 22, entered his plea in federal court in Boston on Monday after striking a deal with prosecutors that would see him serve from 11 to nearly 17 years in prison. According to the agreement, prosecutors plan to seek the high end of that range, which is capped at 16 years and eight months. Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defence. He withdrew the previous plea of not guilty he made in June. The charges stem from last year’s leak of records about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets. The classified records, which were shared on the messaging app Discord, drew global media attention in April. The leak prompted US President Joe Biden’s administration to rush to assure allies that Washington is able to safeguard its national security secrets. Before his arrest in mid-April, Teixeira had been an airman first class at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He served as a cyberdefence operations journeyman or information technology support specialist. He held a top-secret security clearance and, starting in January 2022, began accessing hundreds of classified documents. To share the contents of the records, authorities said Teixeira began by typing out copies that he then published online. Later, he photographed the files, some of which bore “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” markings. The leaked documents held highly classified information on allies and adversaries, with details ranging from troop movements in Ukraine to intelligence about Israel’s Mossad spy agency. In exchange for Teixeira’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with further Espionage Act violations. As part of the deal, Teixeira must participate in a debrief about the leaks with members of the intelligence community and the Departments of Defense and Justice. US District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled his sentencing for September 27 and said she would decide then whether to formally accept the deal. Adblock test (Why?)
Pro-Palestinian Jewish group wants to see end of US funding for Israel
NewsFeed Jewish Voice for Peace is determined to see a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US funding for Israel. Since October 7th the group has used mass protest as well as personal calls to US politicians to advocate for changes to US foreign policy – specifically targeting the influence the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has in US politics. Published On 4 Mar 20244 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)