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☆ Myanmar Rebel Group Claims Control of Town Bordering India, Bangladesh
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - An ethnic armed group in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine said it has taken control of a town bordering India and Bangladesh, marking the latest loss for the military government as it battles rebellion in several parts of the country. It is the biggest challenge the junta has faced since it mounted a coup against an elected government in 2021. The fall of Paletwa in the west comes after another rebel group in the Three Brotherhood Alliance took Laukkai town on the in northern Shan State on the border with China. Last week, the junta agreed a ceasefire with that group, the TNLA, for the region bordering China. But on Sunday, the rebel alliance said junta forces are breaching the ceasefire agreement, launching attacks in several townships in Shan State.

Persons: Khine, Kanupriya Kapoor, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, Arakan Army, Alliance, Reuters Staff Locations: Myanmar, Rakhine, India, Bangladesh, Paletwa, Shan State, China, Kunming

☆ Opinion | Why Jan. 6 Wasn’t an Insurrection
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I’ve written several times about the case for disqualifying Donald Trump via the 14th Amendment, arguing that it fails tests of political prudence and constitutional plausibility alike. But the debate keeps going, and the proponents of disqualification have dug into the position that whatever the prudential concerns about the amendment’s application, the events of Jan. 6, 2021, obviously amounted to an insurrection in the sense intended by the Constitution, and saying otherwise is just evasion or denial. Such a limitation, they say, ignores all the obvious ways that lesser, less comprehensive forms of resistance to lawful authority clearly qualify as insurrectionary. I have a basic sympathy with Calabresi’s suggestion that the “paradigmatic example” that the drafters of the 14th Amendment had in mind should guide our understanding of its ambiguities, and since the paradigmatic example is the Civil War, in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed, a five-hour riot probably doesn’t clear the bar. (For related arguments about the perils of applying precedents from specific crises to radically different situations, see this essay from Samuel Issacharoff as well.)

Persons: disqualifying Donald Trump, Adam Serwer, Jonathan Chait, Ilya Somin, Steven Calabresi, Samuel Issacharoff Organizations: prudential, Constitution, Trumpist Army, U.S, Capitol Locations: Northern Virginia, Confederate, America, New York

☆ Democratic senators want to keep Trump on the ballot in 2024, even as he faces potential disqualification under the 14th amendment
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe Supreme Court could soon rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from appearing on 2024 ballots under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. That's the answer to me, period," said Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Many of his potential voters are likely sympathetic to the arguments made by the former president and his allies — that disqualifying Trump via the 14th amendment is itself undemocratic. "So I hope the Supreme Court does an honorable, non-political job of evaluating the situation." "The [Supreme Court] will decide the legal issue of whether the 14th amendment applies."

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Democratic Sen, Sherrod Brown, Trump, disqualifying Trump, Sen, Elizabeth Warren of, Joe Biden, Shana Bellows, Bellows, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Tim Kaine, Jamie Raskin, Maryland, Jeff Merkley, who's, Bernie Sanders of, Richard Blumenthal, Fetterman, That's Organizations: Service, Trump, Democratic, Business, Colorado Supreme, United States Supreme, Capitol, Committee, Daily Locations: Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico, Virginia, Oregon, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

Tracking Efforts to Remove Trump From the 2024 BallotStates with challenges to Trump’s candidacy Trump disqualified, decision appealed Challenge unresolved Challenge dismissed or rejected Alaska Ariz. Calif. Colo. Conn. Del. The ballot challenges focus on whether Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat make him ineligible to hold the presidency again. The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, each found Mr. Trump ineligible under that provision. Several judges have dismissed cases at the request of Mr. Trump or the request of the person who filed the challenge. The Michigan and Minnesota Supreme Courts have each said Mr. Trump is eligible to appear on the primary ballot in those states.

Persons: Trump, Kan, Donald J, Trump’s, “, Biden, Shenna Bellows, Bellows Organizations: Fla ., Fla . Idaho Ill, New York Times, The U.S, Supreme, Colorado Supreme, Republican, Democrat, U.S Locations: Alaska Ariz . Calif, Colo, Conn, Del, Fla, Fla . Idaho, La . Maine, Mich, Minn, Mont, Nev, N.H . N.J, N.M, N.Y, N.C, Okla ., Pa, S.C . Texas Utah, Va, Wash, W.Va . Wis, Colorado and Maine, The, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota

☆ A slew of new conflicts could erupt in 2024, analysts say — while the world is watching Gaza and Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-28 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

- | Afp | Getty ImagesWith the eyes of the world on the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, an unprecedented number of potentially "catastrophic" conflicts are going under the radar, analysts have warned. The U.N. estimated in October that more than 114 million people were displaced by war and conflict worldwide. There is good reason for that — it is currently the most dangerous place in the world to be a civilian." The political turbulence comes amid ongoing armed conflict in eastern DRC and widespread poverty, and precedes further regional elections early next year. If you look at Myanmar, of course you've got this huge population in Bangladesh of displaced Rohingyas, and also displaced within Myanmar itself," she said.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, David Miliband, Miliband, Isabelle Arradon, Rapid Support Forces —, Gen, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, Khalifa Haftar —, Arradon, Félix Tshisekedi, U.N, Antonio Guterres, you've, We've, It's Organizations: Afp, Getty, Rescue, Crisis, CNBC, Rapid Support Forces, UAE, IOM, UN's, Organization for Migration, Sudanese Armed Forces, Democratic, Government Locations: Red Sea, Port Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libyan, Khartoum, Darfur, METEMA, Ethiopia, Metema, AFP, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of, Congo, DRC, Goma, North Kivu, Kigali, Kinshasa, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Shan, Sagaing, Kayah, Rakhine State, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal

Purifoy, an Alabama native who lived mostly in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree before his death in 2004, was known for his large-scale assemblages made from discarded materials. Visitors can wander among more than 100 installations and sculptures at the artist’s former 10-acre residence. Purifoy’s early works, one of which is here, used charred debris gathered from the 1965 Watts rebellion, a series of uprisings in response to the violent arrest of a Black man in Los Angeles. Pieces like “Carousel,” which looks like a homemade space station made of toasters, skis and computers, make the capacity of Purifoy’s imagination to create such evocative sculptures from junk seem infinite. Free entry, donations are welcome.

Persons: Noah, Joshua Tree, Purifoy’s Organizations: Art Locations: Alabama, Los Angeles

☆ How a violent 1800s uprising against machines could foreshadow our future with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementI asked Merchant for his perspective on how history informs how we should think about AI and labor. AdvertisementTake the clothworkers: skilled weavers made really high quality cloth and framework knitters made stockings that were nice and durable. Just about everyone loses except the factory owners, who profit from churning out more shoddily made stuff at a rate that the skilled workers can't compete with. AdvertisementBased on your understanding of history, what are the chances that AI helps people by lowering the gap between lower skilled and higher skilled workers? Now, as then, the vast, vast majority of the time, AI absolutely cannot replicate a good writer or worker's output.

Persons: —, Insider's Aki Ito, Brian Merchant, Merchant, Aki Ito, Aki, coders, Ian, it's Organizations: Big Tech, Service Locations: England

So far, Woods' plans have turned investors demanding an energy transition strategy into believers - at least on climate. At the same time, the company plans to have a leading role in the vehicle electrification business. Reuters GraphicsMORE OIL VS GREEN AMBITIONExxon's ambitious agenda includes starting up the world's largest hydrogen power plant by 2027. RISKY BUSINESSThe $17 billion budget for low carbon technologies as the company's total revenue grows next year "will continue to rise", the CEO said. Spending in low carbon currently is constrained by scarcity of customers willing to sign up for contracts and insufficient regulations, Woods said.

Persons: Darren Woods, Carlos Barria, Woods, ”, Paul Sankey, Sankey, Chris James, Dan Ammann, Goldman Sachs, Neil Mehta, Ammann, Brian Weeks, Chris Bohn, Sabrina Valle, Richard Valdmanis, Gary McWilliams, Anna Driver Organizations: ExxonMobil, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Chevron, Reuters, Exxon, Sankey Research, Carbon Solutions, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, United States, Sankey, Americas, Brazil, Guyana, Texas, Gulf of Mexico, Houston, Dubai

The world also said goodbye to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who died Nov. 29. Political Cartoons View All 1277 ImagesAnother political figure who died this year was former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19. Among the entertainers who left the world this year was singer Tina Turner, who died May 24. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2023 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Fred White, 67. A Hall of Fame forward who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin’s, Henry Kissinger, Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter, Silvio Berlusconi, Dianne Feinstein, James Buckley, James Abourezk, Nigel Lawson, Pervez Musharraf, Sandra Day O’Connor, Li Keqiang, Martti Ahtisaari, United Nations Bill Richardson, Gov, Sheila Oliver, Theodoros Pangalos, Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Suzanne Somers, Matthew Perry, Raquel Welch, Richard Belzer, Chaim Topol, Jacklyn Zeman, Lance Reddick, Alan Arkin, Paul Reubens, David McCallum, Richard Roundtree, Tom Sizemore, Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O’Connor, Rita Lee Jones, Burt Bacharach, David Crosby, Fito Olivares, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Astrud Gilberto, Coco Lee, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Cormac McCarthy, William Friedkin, Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, Louise Glück, Jeff Beck, Mary Quant, Kaija Saariaho, Lloyd Morrisett, Fred White, Maurice, Verdine White, Ken Block, Walter Cunningham, Fay Weldon, ” Jan, Russell Pearce, Charles Simic, Lynette “ Diamond ” Hardaway, Donald Trump, Diamond, Constantine, Jan, Tatjana Patitz, George Michael’s, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley, Robbie Knievel, Evel Knievel, Ray Cordeiro, Elmo, Cookie, Gina Lollobrigida, Chris Ford, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Cindy Williams, Shirley, “ Laverne, Billy Packer, Sylvia Syms, Alex ”, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield, “ Papa, Rollin ’ Stone, Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith, Bobby Hull, Paco Rabanne, Harry Whittington, Dick Cheney, Hsing Yun, ”, San Jose ”, Carlos Saura, Spain’s, Hugh Hudson, Oscar, “ Greystroke, Hans Modrow, David Jude Jolicoeur, Huey “, ” Smith, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, “, Leiji Matsumoto, Yamato ”, Tim McCarver, Stella Stevens, Jerry Lewis’s, John Munch, Ahmed Qureia, Betty Boothroyd, Ricou Browning, Gill, Gérard Latortue, Fontaine, Barbara Everitt Bryant, Ryan ”, Kenzaburo Oe, Judy Heumann, Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Georgina Beyer, Traute Lafrenz, Rose, Peterson Zah, Tevye, Robert Blake, Jiang Yanyong, Bud Grant, Dick Fosbury, Pat Schroeder, Gloria Bosman, Jacqueline Gold, Britain’s Ann Summers, John Wick ”, John Jenrette, Juana La, Willis Reed, Darcelle, Paul O’Grady, Lily Savage, Emperor ”, Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter, Margaret Thatcher, Ben Ferencz, Nuremberg, Elisabeth Kopp, Michael Lerner, Jack Lipnick, “ Barton Fink, Bugsy Calhoun, Anne Perry, Thomas Pitt, William Monk, Al Jaffee, magazine’s, Charles Stanley, Richard Riordan, Todd Haimes, Tony Awards, Barry Humphries, Tony, Dame Edna Everage, Len Goodman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, Emmett Till, LeRoy “ Lee ” Carhart, Larry “, ___ Gordon Lightfoot, Tori Bowie, Vida, Grace Bumbry, Rock ”, Ovelha, Denny Crum, Heather Armstrong, Bobbie Spencer, Rolf Harris, Kenneth Anger, Doyle Brunson, Jim Brown, Timothy Keller, Andy Rourke, Ray Stevenson, Thor ”, Ed Ames, George Maharis, Carroll Cooley, Miranda, John Beasley, Kaija, George Winston, Ipanema ”, Robert Hanssen, Richard Snyder, Simon & Schuster, Françoise Gilot, Pablo Picasso —, Pat Robertson, Theodore “ Ted ” Kaczynski, Roger Payne, Treat Williams, Glenda Jackson, Daniel Ellsberg, Richard Nixon, Big, George Frazier, Lee Sarokin, Rubin “, ” Carter, Winnie Ewing, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, “ Fiorello, John Goodenough, Peg Yorkin, Sue Johanson, Yan Mingfu, John Berylson, James Lewis, poisonings, Mikala Jones, André Watts, Jane Birkin, Kevin Mitnick, San Francisco ”, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Hugh “ Sonny ” Carter Jr, Jimmy, Randy Meisner, Herman, Angus Cloud, Fezco, ” O’Neill, ___, Mark Margolis, Hector Salamanca, Saul, Sixto Rodriguez, flamed, Robbie Robertson, Tom Jones, Magoo, Timbaland, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Clarence Avant, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, Ada Deer, Jerry Moss, Herb Alpert, Alpert, Michael Parkinson, Muhammad Ali, Miss Piggy, Jiri Cerny, Betty Tyson, Richard Nixon’s, John Warnock, Ron Cephas Jones, Howard Hubbard, Samuel “ Joe ” Wurzelbacher, Joe, Barack Obama, Gil Brandt, Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Bill Richardson, Steve Harwell, Shabtai Shavit, Jordan, Ian Wilmut, Dolly, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Roy Kidd, Eno Ichikawa, Michael McGrath, Fernando Botero, Giorgio Napolitano, Matteo Messina Denaro, Michael Gambon, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter ”, Mankombu Sambasivan, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Hosni Mubarak, Tim Wakefield, Dick Butkus, Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello ”, Masters, Burt Young, Paulie, Sylvester Stallone, Hughes Van Ellis, Kevin Phillips, Louise Meriwether, Mark Goddard, Major Don West, Rudolph Isley, Isley, unblinking, Piper Laurie, Chrissy Snow, Bobby Charlton, Bishan Bedi, Richard Moll, Xi Jinping, Wu Zunyou, Chandler Bing, Ken Mattingly, Bob Knight, Frank Borman, Steve Norton, Don Walsh, Mariana Trench, Terry R, Taylor, Daisaku Ikeda, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Ussery, George “ Funky ” Brown, Joanna ”, Marty Krofft, Pufnstuf, Donny, Marie ”, Terry Venables, Tim Dorsey, Serge A, Frances Sternhagen, ” “, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Gerald Ford, Shane MacGowan, Bernard McGhee Organizations: Wagner Group, Russian, White House, U.S, Supreme, United Nations, Greek Foreign, Republican, Hong, Boston Celtics, NBA, NBC, CBS, Television, Fame, Chicago Blackhawks, ”, New, of Fame, Louis Cardinals, “, Palestinian, Israel, South Dakota Democrat, Arab, Arab American U.S, Britain’s, Commons, . Census Bureau, Alabama ”, Zealand, Navajo, Minnesota Vikings, People, Playboy, Capitol, Juana La Cubana, New York Knicks, Guinness, World Records, Hollywood, Treasury, Southern Baptist Convention, Los Angeles, Roundabout Theatre Company, Air Force, Harlem Globetrotters, Janeiro Games, baseball’s, Germany’s Bayreuth, NCAA, Hall of Famer, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Legion, Ames, Phoenix, FBI, Simon &, Christian Broadcasting Network, Republican Party, Christian Coalition, Harvard, Feminist Majority Foundation, “ Little, Communist Party, Millwall, New York Philharmonic, San, Brigade, Wing, Eagles, HBO, of Indian Affairs, M, Police, Carpenters, Adobe Systems, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dallas Cowboys, escapist, Democratic, Zulu, Eastern, AA, Broadway, Communist, U.S . Senate, Red Sox, Yankees, Boston, Chicago Bears, Major, Isley Brothers, New York Times, Manchester United, India, Indiana, Nevada — Resorts, Atlantic City —, Navy, Associated Press, Soka Gakkai, Kentucky Derby, Kool, The, European, Barcelona, Tottenham, City Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russian, U.S, Finnish, New Mexico, New Jersey, British, Greece, American, Hong Kong, Italian, America, New York, Spanish, catwalks, Texas, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, San, New Orleans, Rosebud, Arab American, Haiti, “, African, Brooklyn, London, Los, Mississippi, United States, Rivers, Georgia, Savannah, Louisville, New York City, Irish, HBO’s “ Rome, Brazilian, Ipanema, Moscow, Virginia, Montana, Vietnam, Canada, Asia, Chicago, Hawaii, France, South Africa, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Czech, Eastern Kentucky, Colombian, ”, California, Tulsa, Finland, China, Nevada, Atlantic City, Florida, Berkshire

☆ The Insurrection Act Has to Go - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some version of the Insurrection Act is probably necessary. The authority granted by the act, however, is remarkably broad, and oversight is virtually nonexistent. The Insurrection Act contains a number of provisions, and not all are equally bad. But the act gets worse, much worse. You might wonder why the Insurrection Act hasn’t presented much of a problem before now.

Persons: Trump, hasn’t, It’s, it’s, George H.W, Bush, Rodney King Organizations: National Guard Locations: United States, —, California, Los Angeles

☆ TikTok made overconsumption cool. Now, it's turning against it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

People are calling out overconsumption, and redefining what it means to be cool on social media. Social media users have long called out the consumerist culture fostered by social media, but recently a group of anti-heroes rose into the TikTok spotlight to battle this kind of overspending using their online platforms. It also reflects a marked change from the kind of aspirational content that people have historically associated with other social media platforms like Instagram. The fight against overconsumption perhaps indicates that creators are trying to redefine the standard of what it means to be cool. The glorification of overconsumption that defined social media may be on its way out.

Persons: TikTok, overconsumption, —, We're, there's, that's, Michelle, Ellie, Kim reshared, Kim Organizations: Service, overconsumption

☆ For eastern Ukrainians, the ordeal of war is entering its second decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It is now close to the front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces, and many of its buildings are damaged or destroyed. Like most people from Chasiv Yar, Tkachov has moved further from the fighting though some remain. All of them have lived through nearly a decade of war, a reminder that for millions in eastern Ukraine the conflict has rumbled on since 2014, long before Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year grabbed the world's attention. BUILD-UPUkraine and its Western allies say Russia infiltrated eastern Ukraine with fighters and intelligence operatives to stage a coup in Donbas in 2014 which Moscow subsequently supported with regular troops. FULL-SCALE WARThe U.N. human rights office estimated that more than 14,000 military personnel and civilians were killed in eastern Ukraine from early April 2014 to the end of 2021.

Persons: Tkachov, Alina Smutko, CHASIV, Chasiv Yar, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Yanukovych, Yanukovych, Max Hunder, Mike Collett, White Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Russia, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Donbas, CHASIV YAR, Chasiv, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Donetsk, Luhansk, Soviet Union, Ukrainian, CRIMEA, Kyiv, Crimea, Sloviansk, Soviet

☆ Opinion: The principle that animated Henry Kissinger’s foreign policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Fareed Zakaria | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s Note: Fareed Zakaria hosts “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” airing at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. CNN —Henry Kissinger, who died this week at 100, may have been the most famous foreign policy practitioner in modern American history. And yet, admired or despised, he managed to hold the world’s attention long after his power waned. The Vietnam War was over. It particularly irked him that the liberal elites who had been enthusiastically in favor of the Vietnam War in 1967 became his most vicious critics within a few years.

Persons: Fareed Zakaria, “ Fareed Zakaria, CNN — Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Martin Luther King, Jr, Robert Kennedy, Egypt, Fareed Zakaria Kissinger, Hitler, Goethe, Stalin, reread Spinoza, Henry Kissinger, Henry Kissinger’s Organizations: CNN, doer, The, Israel, Pakistan Locations: America, The United States, Vietnam, Soviet, Washington, Beijing, China, Israel, Taiwan, Moscow, United States, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, optimists, European, Japan, Europe

☆ Shane MacGowan, Songwriter Who Fused Punk and Irish Rebellion, Dies at 65
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Matt Phillips | More About Matt Phillips | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shane MacGowan, the brilliant but chaotic former songwriter and frontman for the Pogues, who reinvigorated interest in Irish music in the 1980s by harnessing it to the propulsive power of punk rock has died. Mr. MacGowan’s wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, announced his death on Instagram. Mr. MacGowan emerged from London’s punk scene of the late 1970s and spent nine tumultuous years with the initial incarnation of the Pogues. He later founded Shane MacGowan & the Popes, with whom he recorded and toured in the 1990s. Along the way, Mr. MacGowan earned twin reputations as a titanically destructive personality and a master songsmith whose lyrics painted vivid portraits of the underbelly of Irish emigrant life.

Persons: Shane MacGowan, MacGowan’s, Victoria Mary Clarke, MacGowan, ’, ” Organizations: Pogues Locations: North London, New York

The opening night of a revival of Richard Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York was interrupted Thursday night by climate protesters shouting “No Opera” from the balconies on both sides of the opera house. Protesters with the group Extinction Rebellion NYC unfurled banners that read “No Opera On A Dead Planet,” according to Peter Gelb, the general manager at the Met. Met officials were then forced to bring down the curtain at around 9:30 p.m., halfway through the second act. About eight minutes passed before security officials ushered out the protesters perched on the balconies, Mr. Gelb said. The crowd jeered the demonstrators and burst into applause when the curtains again opened, but the elation was short-lived.

Persons: Richard Wagner’s “, ”, Peter Gelb, Gelb Organizations: Metropolitan Opera, Met Locations: New York

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHOUSTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) Chief Executive Darren Woods is making plans to attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai next week, two people familiar with the matter said, in what would mark a first for an Exxon CEO, if confirmed. Woods is expected to advocate that reducing carbon emissions should be a priority in addressing climate change, rather than reducing oil production. "We commit to solving the world’s energy and emissions challenges simultaneously," Darren Woods said at the APEC CEO summit earlier this month. Exxon says technology advancements allowed it to join the initiative and that the decision guards no relation with Pioneer's acquisition.

Persons: Darren Woods, Carlos Barria, Woods, Sultan al, Jaber, Exxon's, Matt Kolesar, Sabrina Valle, Sarah McFarlane, Josie Kao, Aurora Ellis Organizations: ExxonMobil, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Rights, Exxon Mobil Corp, Exxon, APEC, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, United, Natural Resources, Gas Methane Partnership, Reuters, United Nations Environment Programme, Shell, BP, Conoco, Chevron, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, United Nations, OGMP, Occidental

☆ Opinion | Is Trump Disqualified From Holding Office? The Question Matters, Beyond Him.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Mark A. Graber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

State courts in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and elsewhere have so far declined to rule in favor of challenges asserting that Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding the presidency again under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. (Cases in Michigan and Colorado have been appealed.) Challengers assert that Mr. Trump is barred because, as stated in Section 3, he was an officer of the United States who, after taking an oath to support the Constitution, “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the country, or gave “aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Mr. Trump and his campaign have called this claim an “absurd conspiracy theory” and efforts to bar him “election interference.” Some election officials and legal scholars — many of them otherwise opposed to the former president — have also been critical of the efforts. The Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, writes that invoking Section 3 “is merely the newest way of attempting to short-circuit the ballot box.” Michael McConnell, a former judge and professor at Stanford Law School, claims that keeping Mr. Trump off the ballot on grounds that are “debatable at best is not something that will be regarded as legitimate.”

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “, —, Brad Raffensperger, ” Michael McConnell, ” Organizations: United, Capitol, Stanford Law School Locations: Colorado , Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, United States, Georgia

☆ Everything we know about the third 'Fourth Wing' book
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Samantha Grindell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rebecca Yarros' "Fourth Wing" and its sequel "Iron Flame" have captivated readers. Despite a messy rollout, "Iron Flame" became an instant New York Times bestseller, just as the first installment in the series, "Fourth Wing," was when it was released in April. This article contains heavy spoilers for "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame." Yarros' third book will have a lot to explore in terms of Violet's power and her relationship with XadenRebecca Yarros wrote "Fourth Wing." Advertisement"Every single hint you would need to know what her second signet is is in 'Iron Flame,'" she told Variety's Jennifer Maas.

Persons: Rebecca Yarros, Yarros, —, Violet Sorrengail, Ehlers, Danlos, Violet, Liam, Xaden, Tairn, Andarna, they're, Xaden Rebecca Yarros, Jack Barlowe, hasn't, Violet's, Variety's Jennifer Maas Organizations: Service, York Times, Basgiath, wyvern, Variety, signet Locations: Navarre, Basgiath, Tyrrendor

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Writer John Nichols, best known for his populist novel “The Milagro Beanfield War," has died. Nichols died Monday at home in Taos, New Mexico, amid declining health linked to a long-term heart condition, said daughter Tania Harris of Albuquerque. Nichols won early recognition with the 1965 publication of his offbeat love story “The Sterile Cuckoo,” later made into a movie starring Liza Minnelli. Political Cartoons View All 1270 Images“My sense it that he wrote that as a valentine to northern New Mexico. Nichols' published works include at least 13 novels along with nonfiction ranging from collected essays, original photography, a chronicle of his parents' early life and more.

Persons: John Nichols, Nichols, Monday, Tania Harris, Albuquerque, ”, Liza Minnelli, —, Robert Redford, Rubén Blades, Christopher Walken, valentine, Stephen Hull, ” “, ” Hull Organizations: SANTA FE, University of New, University of New Mexico Press Locations: SANTA, Taos , New Mexico, Connecticut, New York, New York City, New Mexico, Truchas , New Mexico, Taos, Chama, University of New Mexico

Survivors recounted executions and looting in Ardamata, which they said were carried out by RSF and allied Arab militias. The RSF developed from Arab militias known as the Janjaweed that helped Sudan's army crush a rebellion in Darfur in the 2000s. Atta said the UAE had funnelled unspecified supplies to the RSF through Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad. Sudan's army, Chad and the CAR did not immediately respond to requests for comment. While the UAE backed Sudan's aborted political transition after the 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, it has remained publicly quiet on the war.

Persons: El Tayeb, Yassir al, Atta, RSF, General Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Omar al, Bashir, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Maha El, Elias Biryabarema, Aidan Lewis, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sudanese, United, Rapid Support Forces, Army, UAE, General Intelligence Service, Reuters, Central African Republic, Wagner Group, CAR, Thomson Locations: West Darfur, Adre, Chad, Ardamata, Arab, El, Rights CAIRO, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Darfur, Omdurman, Sudan, Chadian, Amdjarass, Uganda, Chad's, Ndjamena, Russia, Khartoum, Maha El Dahan, Dubai, Kampala

☆ Fact Check: UK parliament paint attack was from environment protest in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Footage from September 2022 showing white paint sprayed on fences around the UK’s parliament has been falsely suggested online to be linked to rallies in 2023 calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza strip. On Nov. 15, a post on messaging platform X (archived), formerly known as Twitter, shared the video of parliament painted white with the caption: “Big Ben - Jihadis attack Big Ben with paint. Khans Met standing around.”A Facebook post (archived) from the same day sharing a screenshot of the video read: “Oh look more trouble and big Ben painted white. News outlets reported on the incident at the time and said the Metropolitan Police arrested ten people. The video dates to 2022 and is unrelated to the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

Persons: Ben, Big, Read Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Twitter, Metropolitan Police, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza, London, Palestinian, Israel

☆ Opinion | Has Latin America Found Its Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The election of Javier Milei, a wild-haired showboating weirdo with five cloned mastiffs and a habit of psychic communion with their departed pet of origin, as president of Argentina has inspired a lot of discussion about the true nature of right-wing populism in our age of general discontent. Milei has many of the signifiers of a Trumpian politics: the gonzo energy, the criticism of corrupt elites and the rants against the left, the support from social and religious conservatives. At the same time, on economic policy he is much more of a doctrinaire libertarian than a Trump-style mercantilist or populist, a more extreme version of Barry Goldwater and Paul Ryan rather than a defender of entitlement spending and tariffs. You can interpret the Trump-Milei divergence in several ways. Another reading is that, yes, the policy is somewhat negotiable but there are actually deep ideological affinities between right-wing economic nationalism and what might be called paleolibertarianism, despite their disagreement on specific issues.

Persons: Javier Milei, Milei, gonzo, Barry Goldwater, Paul Ryan, Trumpism, Ross Perot, Ron Paul Organizations: Peronist, Trump Locations: Argentina

☆ Colorado Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Trump’s 14th Amendment Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Chris Cameron | More About Chris Cameron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to take up an appeal of a state judge’s ruling allowing former President Donald J. Trump to remain on the state’s primary ballot, in a nationwide battle over his eligibility to run for president again. Plaintiffs, citing Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, argued that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after having taken an oath to support it. Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled that Mr. Trump had engaged in insurrection with his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But she allowed Mr. Trump to remain on the ballot anyway on the narrow grounds that the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment did not apply to the president of the United States. A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement after Judge Wallace’s ruling last week that it was “another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, “, Sarah B, Wallace, Steven Cheung, Judge Wallace’s, ” Organizations: Colorado Supreme, U.S . Capitol, Mr Locations: Colorado, United States

☆ Is the rule of Myanmar's junta under threat?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Importantly, they were joined also by members of so-called people's defence forces, a loosely organised movement backed by Myanmar's parallel, National Unity Government (NUG). HOW SERIOUS A THREAT IS THE JUNTA FACING? It is too soon to predict the extent to which the military's rule in the rest of the country could be under threat, analysts say. But the 1027 offensive has given a black eye to a well-equipped military with decades of experience fighting insurgencies. With its reputation at stake, the junta is unlikely to concede easily and risk a domino effect of challenges to its authority in more regions of a country where its rule is deeply unpopular.

Persons: Martin Petty, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, National Liberation Army, Arakan Army, National Unity Government, AA, Security, Thomson Locations: Myanmar, Myanmar's Khawmawi, India, Zokhawthar, Champhai district, India's, Mizoram, Shan State, China, Rakhine State, Kayah, Thailand, Sagaing, Chin State

Former OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman has told allies that he wants a new board and governance structure if he returns to the company. Photo: patrick t. fallon/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesSAN FRANCISCO—Two days after Sam Altman was ousted from OpenAI, he was back at the company’s office, trying to negotiate his return. The former chief executive officer entered with a guest badge on Sunday and posted on X: “first and last time i ever wear one of these.”

Persons: Sam Altman, patrick, ” Organizations: OpenAI, fallon, Agence France

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