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As Election Day begins to wind down, polls suggest that the presidential race will be one of the closest in the history of American politics, as neither candidate holds a meaningful edge in enough states to win 270 electoral votes.

☆ Opinion | Harris Should Take Divisions Over Gaza Seriously
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For weeks, the signs did not look good for Kamala Harris in Michigan. The leader of a well-to-do neighborhood association told me that the way Ms. Harris got nominated resembled “entrapment.” And, at a street fair, I chatted with Tamika Daniels, an activist who was working to register formerly incarcerated people to vote. Ms. Daniels expressed skepticism about Ms. Harris because the vice president had once been a prosecutor. There was no sign of such skepticism at the Harris rally near the Detroit airport last Wednesday, where roughly 15,000 excited people waited hours to see her. If the Harris campaign is unable to address this thorny issue in a way that feels like substance, then Democrats may not get the unity they’ll need to win in November.

Persons: Kamala Harris, “ Willie Brown, Kamala, ”, Harris, Tamika Daniels, Daniels, they’d, Barack Obama’s, “, Obama, ” Sheila Sigro Organizations: California Assembly, Democrats, United, Democratic Party Locations: Michigan, Grayling, California, Detroit, Wayne County, Gaza, U.S

☆ Opinion | It’s Not Too Late for Change in Venezuela
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro wants the world to believe he won Sunday’s presidential election. But nobody should believe that until he releases precinct-level vote tallies and submits to an independent audit. Maduro has done everything in his power to tilt the election in his favor, from barring rivals to arresting their campaign staff members. It’s already being called the “mother of all stolen elections.”Luckily, the Venezuelan opposition anticipated that Maduro would try to rig the vote, and dispatched volunteers to collect precinct-level tally sheets from voting centers across the country. The opposition says it has collected some 70 percent of such tally sheets, enough data to prove that voters overwhelmingly rejected Maduro.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, ” Geoff Ramsey, Maduro, It’s, ” Organizations: America, Atlantic Council Locations: Venezuelan

☆ Opinion | NATO Has to Change. Here’s How.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, NATO’s first supreme allied commander Europe, felt strongly that his mission was to get Europeans “back on their military feet” — not for American troops to become the permanent bodyguard for Brussels and Berlin. Of the $206 billion in military and nonmilitary aid allocated to Ukraine by countries around the world, $79 billion has come from the United States, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker database. Since about 1960, the United States’ share of allied G.D.P. has averaged roughly 36 percent, while its share of allied military spending has been more than 61 percent, according to a Cato Institute report. The supreme allied commander Europe has never been a European.

Persons: Ike, Dwight Eisenhower, NATO’s, —, ”, “ Organizations: NATO, Cato Institute Locations: Europe, Brussels, Berlin, United States, Washington, Germany, Italy, Britain, Ukraine

☆ Bidenomics: The Queen Bee Is Jennifer Harris - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Our host, Jennifer Harris, gave a speech about how economic ideas change to meet the needs of a new era. In a room full of V.I.P.s, she was the Queen Bee. I was thrilled when the Biden administration came in with a plan for big federal investments in the American industrial base, tariffs, support for labor unions and actions against monopolies. To understand who Ms. Harris is, you have to know who she used to be. For years, she felt like an oddball in Washington, where both parties were still in thrall to neoliberalism.

Persons: I’ve, Jennifer Harris, Queen Bee, I’d, Harris, Trump, —, Biden, thrall Organizations: Biden, steelworkers, Department Locations: San Francisco Bay, Washington, Indiana, Mexico, China, United States

☆ Opinion | An Unexpected Rebranding of the Democratic Party
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Democrats tend to do well in cities; Republicans tend to do well in rural areas. But winning back at least some rural voters is essential for Democrats to succeed in statewide elections. Farah Stockman, a member of the New York Times editorial board, found one Democrat who is trying out a new message in rural Ohio. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the audio piece. To listen to this piece, click the play button below.

Persons: Farah Stockman Organizations: New York Times Locations: Ohio

☆ Why America Should Not Give Up on Venezuela - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela isn’t even pretending to play fair anymore. The Maduro regime has even refused to register the candidate that Ms. Machado deputized to run in her stead. The Biden administration essentially offered Mr. Maduro a deal: sanctions relief in exchange for freer and fairer elections. Had Mr. Maduro taken it seriously, Venezuela would have had a path out of its protracted political and economic crisis. But Mr. Maduro won’t risk losing to Ms. Machado.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela isn’t, María Corina Machado, Ms, Machado deputized, Biden, Maduro, Machado, haven’t, Trump Locations: Venezuela, Argentina, U.S, Poland, United States

☆ The Quiet Power of Supply Chain Diplomacy in Latin America - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Americans used to think of China as a place to do business, and Latin America as a place to vacation. More recently, our neighbors to the south are seen as the source of desperate migrants. I saw evidence of that in Costa Rica, a stable democracy that is vying to become the Silicon Valley of Latin America — with active support from the United States. More than 40 percent of the chips the U.S. Department of Defense uses for weapons systems and infrastructure rely on Chinese suppliers. More than 90 percent of all advanced chips are produced in Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China.

Organizations: . Department of Defense Locations: China, America, American, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, United States, Taiwan

☆ Opinion | A Better Way to Negotiate at the W.T.O.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That’s why so many of the headlines out of the big World Trade Organization conference this week in the United Arab Emirates — “Meeting Seeks Modest Outcomes”; “Slim Hopes for Breakthrough” — convey low expectations. Nevertheless, there is something important to celebrate: For over a year now, the diplomats responsible for reforming the W.T.O. have been trying out a new way of doing business, with remarkable results. Then they came up with creative ways to achieve those goals and wrote a new set of proposed rules together. It may sound a lot like common sense, but in the rigid world of international trade, it amounted to a radical change.

Persons: —, “, ” Bruce Hirsh Organizations: World Trade Organization, United, United Arab Emirates, U.S, Mission Locations: United Arab

☆ Michigan Voters’ Anger Is a Problem for Joe Biden - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Voters who feel betrayed tend to act like spurned lovers, punishing the offending party even if it means electing somebody who will actually be worse. That’s how America got Donald Trump as president. More important was using their votes to punish Democrats for abandoning the working class. Joe Biden understood that, and in 2020 he set out to atone for the sins of the Democratic Party by promising to be the most pro-union president ever — a promise he has kept. It’s not just that he appointed the most pro-union National Labor Relations Board since the 1930s, as the labor historian Jeff Schuhrke told me.

Persons: Donald Trump, Democratic Party —, Trump, Joe Biden, It’s, Jeff Schuhrke Organizations: Democratic Party, National Labor Relations Board Locations: Michigan , Ohio, Pennsylvania

☆ Opinion | Why the Trump Trade Agenda Endures
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They met in the 1990s, at an event about the North American Free Trade Agreement, where they were the only people arguing against it. He was a conservative trade lawyer who filed anti-dumping cases on behalf of American steel companies and predicted that the treaty would hurt American jobs. Her worry was that NAFTA’s rules would hurt working people and override U.S. legal standards on food safety and the environment. She hailed from Wausau, Wis., where her family had run a scrapyard. After that first meeting, they kept in touch, swapping notes on how to throw sand in the gears of a free trade machine that seemed unstoppable.

Persons: Bob Lighthizer, Donald Trump’s, Lori Wallach Organizations: North American Free Trade, American Economic Liberties Locations: Wausau, Wis, Ashtabula , Ohio, Donald Trump’s U.S

☆ Biden Trade Policy Breaks With Tech Giants - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

“We have warned for years that either the United States would write the rules for digital trade or China would,” Senator Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, lamented in a press statement. That paper explains how U.S. trade officials came to champion a digital trade policy agenda that was nearly identical to what Google, Apple and Facebook wanted: No restrictions on the flow of data across borders. No laws that would curb monopolies or encourage more competition — a position that is often cloaked in clauses prohibiting discrimination against American companies. Many smaller tech companies complain that big players engage in monopolistic behavior that should be regulated. A group of smaller tech companies called the Coalition for App Fairness thanked Ms. Tai for dropping support for the so-called tech-friendly agenda at the World Trade Organization.

Persons: Mike Crapo, Biden, Tai, Wendy Li, Ms, Li, Henry Gao Organizations: Republican, Facebook, Google, University of Wisconsin, Trump, Microsoft, Apple, Coalition, World Trade Organization Locations: China, United, Idaho, Madison, United States, Mexico, Canada, Washington, Singapore

☆ Opinion | Farewell to the U.S.-China Golden Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A lunch meeting about China this summer at the Upper East Side headquarters of the Council on Foreign Relations felt more like an Irish wake. A crowd that included gray-haired China hands and not-so-gray-haired tech executives shared memories of their years in the Middle Kingdom as diplomats, entrepreneurs and English teachers in the countryside. They were all keenly aware that they had lived through an extraordinary period of warm relations that is now gone, perhaps forever. China has closed itself off.”The nostalgia was poignant but the gathering was also notable for what it represented. That lunch meeting underlined the fact that China was turning into something they hadn’t expected — and slipping out of their reach.

Persons: Warren Christopher, “, ” Ian Johnson Organizations: Foreign Relations, U.S, Washington, New York Times Locations: China, Middle Kingdom, Taipei, Taiwan, Beijing, United States

☆ Opinion | With the Death Toll in Gaza Rising, Palestinians Are Not Just Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The project’s mission is to give Palestinians a chance to tell their own stories without relying on Western gatekeepers or foreign intermediaries. It is perhaps why Gallup polls show sympathy for Palestinians rising since 2018, particularly among millennials and Democrats. It used to be difficult in the United States to hear a Palestinian perspective on the conflict. But the number of outlets that have been accused of bias in recent weeks has also diluted the impact of such criticism. He also insisted that peaceful coexistence can be achieved only once Israelis understand the injustice that Palestinians endure and address it.

Persons: Pam Bailey, Alnaouq, “ Organizations: Google, Gallup Locations: United States, Europe, Washington, Israel, Gaza, Britain, London

☆ Why Invading Gaza Is a Mistake - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

That military operation against Hezbollah was seen as a success — so punishing that it bought 17 years of relative quiet. But it also nurtured resentments that could help turn an invasion of Gaza into a wider regional war. Hamas appears to want to lure Israelis into Gaza and has been preparing for this battle for years. Israel’s military is not a paper tiger; it is one of the most technologically sophisticated militaries in the world. Without power, many Gazans will lose the ability to pump water from wells or treat the wounded in hospitals.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, ”, Thanassis Cambanis, overreach, we’d, Israel Katz, — Israel, Israel Organizations: The Times Locations: Gaza, Iran, Israel, United States, Afghanistan, Gaza —

☆ Opinion | Corruption Is an Existential Threat to Ukraine, and Ukrainians Know It
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

No one knows better what an existential threat corruption can be, sapping the public trust and the legitimacy of the state. Ukrainians consider corruption the country’s second-most-serious problem, behind only the Russian invasion, according to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology this year. That raises hopes that Ukrainians are starting to resist corruption with the same can-do spirit that repelled the Russian invasion. Ukrainian lawmakers are pushing back against the scrutiny. “Many Ukrainians are unhappy with this decision of the Parliament,” Andrii Borovyk, the executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, told me.

Persons: Yuriy Nikolov, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksii Reznikov, Bohdan Torokhtiy, Alina Levchenko, Mr, Zelensky, ” Andrii Borovyk, Vitalii Shabunin, ” Organizations: Kyiv International Institute of, European Union, Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Transparency International, Ukrainian Pravda Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Europe, Instagram, Kyiv, Transparency International Ukraine

☆ Opinion | How to Make Sure Federal Climate Money Helps Everyone
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

More solar panels appeared on my neighbors’ roofs. Mini split units that heat and cool became all the rage. People seem more focused on keeping a roof over their head than affixing solar panels to it. A contractor tried to talk us out of installing a mini split. That’s a hangover from the past, when tax credits aimed at encouraging energy efficiency largely excluded landlords and renters.

Persons: Biden, Teslas, won’t, don’t Organizations: Great Society Locations: Cambridge, Detroit

☆ A Multiracial, Hip-Hop-and-Bluegrass Band Wants to Fix Hate in America - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The free publicity, complete with an online post by Donald Trump, spurred a surge in record sales. I recently spent two days with Gangstagrass, a band that is making music that actually unites us, and reflecting on why it isn’t better known. A version of the group produced the theme song of the TV drama “Justified.” (The song, “Long Hard Times to Come,” was nominated for an Emmy in 2010.) The multiracial band was created by Rench, a Brooklyn-based musician and producer. When he isn’t making music, Mr. Whitener is a stay-at-home dad.

Persons: Jason Aldean’s, ”, Aldean’s, Donald Trump, “, M.C, Dan Whitener, Farrow, Whitener, Dolio Organizations: Gangstagrass, Times, Phillies, Adidas Locations: Brooklyn, Pensacola, Fla, New Jersey, Omaha

☆ Opinion | Leaders Stay, Others Run
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When war broke out unexpectedly in the streets of Khartoum, Dr. Hiba Omer, a senior surgeon, could have fled like so many others. Even after a Sudanese military official accused her on social media of siding with its enemy, the R.S.F. “I will stay here, until death. But it’s the people who stay behind who will decide the country’s fate. His famous reply — “I need ammunition, not a ride” — shamed the West into providing more aid, boosted morale and inspired a nation.

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