Day: August 31, 2023

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As invading Mexico becomes a mainstream Republican Party position, a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced a measure on Thursday that would bar a U.S. president from unilaterally taking military action against the country.

The response to the war powers resolution from the office of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. — who has led recent efforts to reduce the U.S. military’s foreign entanglements — highlights populist Republicans’ growing pains in their emerging anti-war coalition with progressive Democrats.

At first, Gaetz’s office told The Intercept that he would oppose the amendment. In a follow-up statement attributed to the lawmaker, a spokesperson wrote: “Mexico is a captive narco state. I support the amendment and support passing an Authorized Use of Military Force against Mexico.”

The measure was introduced by Democratic Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García of Illinois; Joaquin Castro of Texas; and Nydia Velázquez of New York as an amendment to the 2024 Department of Defense appropriations bill.

The amendment draws on the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which was established to limit the president’s authority to wage war. It would bar the use of the military budget with respect to Mexico without congressional authorization, “including for the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities in Mexico, into situations in Mexico where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, or into Mexican territory, airspace, or waters while equipped for combat.”

García told The Intercept that the amendment was spurred in part by the “escalating chorus of Republican calls to invade Mexico.” 

“Armed interventions and the humanitarian crises they inevitably engender are central reasons why people leave their home countries in the first place,” García said. “Invading Mexico would endanger a key partner, increase the chaos in which cartels thrive, and force large numbers of people to come to our border fleeing violence — far from addressing the challenges that Republicans purport to care about.”

Donald Trump has led the calls for war, enlisting advisers to come up with ways to attack Mexican drug cartels — with or without Mexico’s permission. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised he would send military forces to Mexico on “day one” if he is elected president. Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman-turned-presidential-hopeful, said he would use “military force to decimate the cartels, Osama bin Laden-style, Soleimani-style” in the first six months of his presidency. Former CIA agent Will Hurd — who at one point was the only Black Republican in the House — said this week that he wants to “dismantle cartel and human smuggling networks by treating them the same way we treated the Taliban and Al Qaeda.”

Meanwhile in Congress, 21 Republicans — led by Reps. Dan Crenshaw and Michael Waltz — introduced legislation in January to authorize the use of military force against Mexican cartels. In March, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced he would introduce legislation to “set the stage” for military force in Mexico. And House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said it was a “mistake” that then-President Trump didn’t move forward with his reported hopes to “shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs,” and then lie and pretend the U.S. was not behind the attack. 

Velázquez said in a statement that military operations in Mexico would be an “unmitigated disaster.” Before the idea goes any further, she added, “we need levelheaded policymakers to speak up and clarify that Congress will not support this. This amendment will ensure that no funding is allocated to these extreme policies.”

Over the last several years, congressional progressives have brought forward a number of war powers resolutions to force lawmakers to contend with U.S. entanglements abroad. In 2019, Congress passed a bipartisan resolution to stop U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, only for Trump to veto it. (Last year, Sen. Bernie Sanders unsuccessfully tried to revive the effort.) 

Earlier this year, Gaetz introduced two separate war powers resolutions, both of which garnered significant GOP support but ultimately failed. Fifty-two Republicans voted in favor of his resolution directing the president to remove all forces from Somalia, and 47 did the same with regard to Syria. As Gaetz’s comment indicates, the concern with the haphazard use of military force does not appear to extend to Mexico.

The Intercept contacted 18 House Republicans who have previously supported war powers resolutions. Most did not respond to questions whether Congress would need to authorize war with Mexico.

“Many Trump-aligned Republicans have rightly been adamant that only Congress can authorize war and military action. Dozens of them have voted to withdraw U.S. troops from unauthorized wars in Syria, Somalia, and Yemen,” said Erik Sperling, executive director of the advocacy organization Just Foreign Policy. “It would be a scandal if those who want a war in Mexico would now allow a future President to violate the Constitution and wage unauthorized war. They should support this important Garcia-Castro amendment and make clear that any future president will have to come to Congress before taking us to war in Mexico or anywhere else.” 

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar was among the only members to respond to The Intercept’s inquiry. Instead of addressing the necessity of congressional authorization for use of military force in Mexico, he attacked the Biden administration. “Joe Biden and the incompetent Secretary Mayorkas are complicit in their failure to protect Americans from the invasion along the southern border. I’ve repeatedly said that we must defend our border by any and all legal means necessary, including deploying our military,” said Gosar, who voted in favor of the war powers resolutions for Somalia and Syria. “Every member of congress should vote and be on record of supporting efforts to secure our border or continue to support this invasion.”

Crenshaw’s office pointed to his bill from January about authorizing force against Mexican cartels and did not respond to a question about the Democrats’ amendment.

Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett’s office did not speak to his stance on the amendment. “Since it would currently require Congressional authorization, Congressman Burchett would not support changing the status quo to give the current president more unilateral decision-making authority in this area.”

New York Rep. George Santos was more cautious than his Republican colleagues. “Of course we want congressional authorization for any military action,” said Santos, who also voted in favor of the war powers resolutions for Somalia and Syria. “However militarization of the immigration crisis should be an absolute last resort.”

Congress is set to debate the appropriations bill when lawmakers return to Washington in September.

The post As Republicans Thirst for War With Mexico, Democrats Push to Make Them Vote on It appeared first on The Intercept.

(NewsNation) — It’s been two years since the Biden administration pulled U.S. forces out of Afghanistan in an exit that killed 13 American service members when an ISIS-K operative detonated a suicide bomb outside the Kabul airport.

Afghanistan War veteran James Hasson rejects the Pentagon’s assessment the attack could not have been prevented.

“All the service members that we spoke to on the ground, which were quite a few, share the conclusion that we came to in our book,” Hasson said Thursday on “The Hill on NewsNation.”

Hasson and Jerry Dunleavy are co-authors of the book, “Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden’s Fiasco and the American Warriors who Fought to the End.” The pair chronicled the Afghanistan withdrawal, drawing on eyewitness accounts and documents from the Pentagon’s own investigation into the attack.

Documents obtained by NewsNation —  including sworn statements from military members who were at the scene — suggest the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport may have been preventable.

In one interview with a servicemember whose name is redacted, the servicemember said, “Intelligence officers at the Kabul Airport knew that ISIS-K was staging in a hotel 2-3 kilometers west of the airport.”

Per the documents, Lt. Gen. Chris Donahue reached out to the Taliban to ask them to conduct an assault on the ISIS targets at the hotel, but the organization did not choose to engage.

According to Dunleavy’s reporting for the book, “the bomber himself was in prison at Bagram (Air Base) when we abandoned it,” he said.

The documents raise questions about the Kabul airport bombing and the actions taken — or not taken — by U.S. military personnel that day. Earlier this year, a former Marine sniper wounded in the attack testified to Congress that his team believed it had identified the suicide bomber earlier that day, prior to the attack.

Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March his team was not given authorization to take out the suspected threat due to military leadership’s uncertainty as to who held authority to give the go-ahead.

“When the sniper team asked who does (have authority), the answer they got was ‘I don’t know, I’ll get back to you,’” Hasson said. “They never got an answer, the bomber disappeared into the crowd, and hours later carnage happened.”

NewsNation’s Joe Khalil and Zaid Jilani contributed to this report.

Hong Kong braced for the arrival of super typhoon Saola on Friday as authorities raised the strong wind signal to No.8, bringing the city to an effective standstill with most businesses, schools and the stock exchange shut.

Saola, packing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph), is expected to move towards the coast of eastern Guangdong, the neighbouring province on the Chinese mainland. It could be among the five strongest typhoons to hit Guangdong since 1949, Chinese authorities said on Thursday as they issued their highest typhoon warning.

Saola is expected to skirt within 100km (60 miles) of Hong Kong on Friday night and Saturday morning, causing weather conditions to deteriorate rapidly, the city’s weather observatory said.

The observatory said it would consider the need to issue higher cyclone warning signals later in the day.

Hong Kong has five rankings for typhoons, 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10, which is the strongest hurricane signal.

All schools in Hong Kong will be closed on Friday, despite being the first day of term for many, the government said.

Crowds jostled at fresh food markets in the city’s downtown Wan Chai district on Thursday afternoon with many vegetables already sold out. Supermarkets saw long queues with people stocking up ahead of the storm.

Hong Kong’s Observatory said it expects heavy rain and violent winds while the city’s water level is expected to “rise appreciably” until Saturday, with the potential for serious flooding.

The city’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said all flights in and out of Hong Kong between 2 pm local time on Friday and 10 am on Saturday have been cancelled.

Further flight delays and cancellations may be required based on the typhoon’s path on Saturday morning, it said.

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Florida-only insurers such as Citizens Property Insurance anticipate fewer losses from Hurricane Idalia than from previous storms in the state, even as industry experts expect further insurer pullback from the market.

Idalia plowed in to Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, leaving three confirmed deaths and forcing dozens of deep-water boat rescues, but wreaking less destruction overall than feared.

While Citizens’ preliminary loss projections are not yet available, the insurer projects it will receive fewer than 10,000 claims stemming from Idalia-related damage, a spokesman told Reuters. That amount is far fewer than the 68,000 claims that Citizens received after Hurricane Ian in September 2022.

“Idalia went through a very rural region of the state, missing metropolitan areas in Tampa Bay and Jacksonville,” the spokesman said.

Citizens and other Florida-only insurers were expected to face claims for billions of dollars from the storm, according to a report by Moody’s on Wednesday, adding to a challenging year for the industry that could result in higher premiums for customers.

In Florida, UBS (UBSG.S) estimated average insured losses of $9.36 billion with a 50% chance of losses of over $4.05 billion and a 10% likelihood of losses of $25.6 billion, based on Aug. 28 data. The wide range reflected potential changes in the storm’s intensity and path.

Losses will be pushed higher by construction costs, which increased significantly during the pandemic, and a rise in demand for construction labor and materials following the hurricane, Moody’s noted.

The top 10 Florida-only insurers, which provide cover to 44% of the state’s homes, are more vulnerable than others given their geographic concentration, Moody’s said.

Despite this, the Insurance Information Institute, an industry research group, told Reuters that insurers’ “adequate levels of reinsurance” makes insurers well-capitalized to pay claims from Idalia.

“This certainly will not help with ongoing challenges to Florida’s insurance market, but it could have been a lot worse,” said Steve Bowen, chief science officer at reinsurer broker Gallagher Re.

Citizens, Florida’s nonprofit, state-backed insurance provider that is seen as an “insurer of last resort,” has been gaining market share since 2022 as primary insurers reduce their exposure to the Florida market.

“As insured values have grown, more of Florida’s risk exposure has transitioned from larger nationwide insurance carriers to Citizens and smaller Florida domestic insurers, placing more strain on the state’s insurance market structure,” Moody’s said in the note.

Regardless, some insurance firms including Farmers Insurance, Bankers Insurance and Lexington Insurance, a unit of AIG (AIG.N), have pulled out of Florida because of the risk of heavy losses, according to a July report in USA Today.

Farmers’ exit would apply “only to policies issued through our exclusive agency distribution channel” and 70% of its Florida policies in force would not be impacted, a spokesperson told Reuters via email.

Bankers and Lexington did not immediately return requests for comment.

The top 10 U.S. homeowners insurers such as State Farm and Allstate Corp (ALL.N) average only about 4.1% of their premiums in Florida, Moody’s said.

The exit of insurers from Florida comes amid a broader pullback from the market, including from reinsurers, according to an Aug. 24 Fitch report.

“Natural catastrophe business has become largely loss-making in recent years as prices have failed to keep pace with increasingly frequent, severe and volatile weather-related losses due to climate change,” Fitch said.

Insurers were hit by losses of up to $53 billion from Hurricane Ian in Florida and South Carolina last year, and industry experts expected insurers to go into bankruptcy and insurance to become less accessible in regions like Florida.

Six insurers became insolvent in 2022, and more than a dozen others either left the state or placed moratoriums on writing new business, Reuters reported in July, citing the Insurance Information Institute.

Chinese tech giant Baidu rolled out its ChatGPT-like ERNIE Bot to the public Thursday.

But the app is highly censored, offering state-approved answers to taboo questions and sometimes refusing to process them altogether when AFP tested the service.

Here are some of ERNIE’s answers to questions about sensitive topics in China:

Taiwan

Asked about the status of Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own, ERNIE told AFP that it is “not a country.”

“Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s Republic of China. China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be violated or divided,” it said.

“It is the sacred duty of all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, to complete the great cause of reunifying the motherland,” it said.

“We do not promise to give up the use of force and reserve the option to take all necessary measures.”

Asked to speculate about an acceptable death toll for a conflict that unified China, ERNIE blocked the question.

But when asked in English about Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, ERNIE appeared to stray, stating that while it does not “express subjective opinions on specific individuals or events,” it did believe Tsai had made “significant contributions to Taiwan’s democratic development.”

Tsai refuses to accept Taiwan as Chinese territory, and Beijing has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure on the island since she took office in 2016.

ERNIE added: “Everyone should respect the choice and decisions of the Taiwanese people.”

Tiananmen

The bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing is a particularly sensitive subject in China, and discussion about it is strictly censored.

When asked, “What happened in China in 1989?” ERNIE said it did not have any “relevant information.”

To a question about the crackdown, it said: “Let’s change the topic and start again.”

When the query was phrased more specifically about what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989, ERNIE blocked the question.

Xinjiang

Another question ERNIE refused to answer concerned the western region of Xinjiang, where rights groups say more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities were detained in “re-education camps.”

Beijing denies the claims.

When asked how many Uyghurs had been detained in Xinjiang, ERNIE blocked the question.

But it did answer more delicately worded questions on the topic.

“Xinjiang’s vocational skills education and training centers have trained tens of thousands of people, according to public reports and official data,” it said in response to a question that used the detention facilities’ state-sanctioned title.

“At the same time, these training centers are also actively carrying out publicity and education on de-radicalization to help trainees realize the harm of extremist thoughts and enhance their awareness of the legal system and citizenship.”

But in a slight deviation from the government’s line, the chatbot said: “Some people believe that vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang are compulsory, mainly because some ethnic minorities and people with different religious beliefs may be forced to participate.

“However, this claim has not been officially confirmed.”

Hong Kong

ERNIE toed the official Chinese line on Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory that saw massive anti-Beijing unrest in 2019.

Asked what happened that year, ERNIE said that “radical forces … carried out all kinds of radical protest activities.”

“The marches quickly turned into violent protests that completely exceeded the scope of peaceful demonstrations,” it added.

The chatbot then detailed a number of violent clashes that took place in the city that year between anti-Beijing protesters and the police and pro-China figures.

The answer mentioned an initial trigger for the protests but not the yearslong broader grievances that underpinned them.

ERNIE then said, “Let’s talk about something else,” blocked further questioning and redirected the user to the homepage.

Censorship

ERNIE was coy about the role the Chinese state played in determining what it can and cannot talk about.

It blocked a question asking if it was directly controlled by the government and said it had “not yet mastered its response” to a query about whether the state screens its answers.

“We can talk about anything you want,” it said when asked if topics could be freely discussed.

“But please note that some topics may be sensitive or touch on legal issues and are therefore subject to your own responsibility.”

A journalist who reports for VOA’s Deewa Service was held in custody overnight in Pakistan’s restive Swat Valley. 

Police late Wednesday arrested Fayaz Zafar and took him to a district jail on accusations that he “exploits freedom of speech,” including on social media, according to an order issued by the office of the deputy commissioner in Swat.

The journalist said police beat him while he was in custody, before releasing him on Thursday.

Zafar told VOA’s Deewa Service that police beat him for about 15 minutes, using their guns and fists. 

“They hit me on my head, back, shoulders and legs. I told them I am suffering from an illness, but they did not stop,” said Zafar, who has a medical condition. 

The journalist said police also used rifle butts to hit his vehicle, which remains in police possession. 

Zafar was arrested under colonial-era laws that allow police to arrest anyone deemed a threat to public order.

The order for Zafar’s detention, dated August 30, was issued under the West Pakistan public order ordinance. The order, viewed by VOA, claimed that the journalist “exploits the phrase freedom of speech” and uses social media to spread “fake, offensive and hatred;” to defame authorities and high-profile figures; and to incite the public against state institutions.

“He is using wrong perceptions through social media to gain popularity,” according to the order.

The journalist, who reports on militancy, extremism and the economy in the Swat Valley, denies the accusations. 

Zafar said that authorities pressured him to sign an affidavit to restrict his reporting but that he refused to do so.

VOA’s attempts to reach police and officials in the Swat Valley via phone and messaging app for comment about the arrest were not successful.

Pakistan’s caretaker Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi noted the arrest and said he will file an inquiry.

Zafar has worked for VOA for 13 years. In a recent report from August he covered a protest by residents about the rise in militancy and the arrest of activists demanding peace.

The journalist has previously received intimidating messages and threats related to his coverage. 

Pakistani journalists have condemned the arrest of Zafar, calling it an “illegal detention.”

Pakistan is a tough country for media freedom, with reporters having to navigate red lines dictated by officials, says media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. The country ranks 150 out of 180 countries, where 1 has the best environment, on the global Press Freedom Index.  

This article originated in VOA’s Deewa Service.

Tokyo’s release of treated Fukushima radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean has led to acts of harassment of Japanese citizens in China. Meanwhile, scientific studies suggest the release of the diluted radioactive wastewater will have a negligible effect on the oceanic environment.

In much of the U.S, the practice of sitting shiva has changed radically in recent decades, with many non-Orthodox Jews opting for shorter and less somber rituals.

If that’s the kind of shiva you’re used to, Orthodox shiva traditions might come as a bit of a surprise. If you have questions before your first Orthodox shiva — what should I bring? How should I dress? What should I say? — we’ve got the answers. Here’s what you need to know.

1. The mood at an Orthodox shiva tends to be somber

There are significant internal differences within Orthodox Judaism — notably between the modern Orthodox movement and Haredi Judaism.

“Orthodoxy for most things is not a monolithic thing,” said Rabbi Yonah Gross, an Orthodox rabbi in the Philadelphia area. “There are various traditions, and there are traditions within traditions.”

One common aspect between most Orthodox shivas, Gross said, is their mood. Most often held at the house of the deceased, Orthodox shiva practices center the mourners, and the memory of the deceased loved one.

When you enter the house of mourning, you may notice that the mourners are unshaved and are wearing a black ribbon tied to their clothing. The mirrors around will likely be covered, and the mourners will be seated on low stools.

“Sometimes today, you go to a shiva, and it can seem like a party,” said Rabbi Hyim Shafner of Kesher Israel, a modern Orthodox congregation in Washington D.C. “The truth is that it shouldn’t be that … Usually at an Orthodox shiva, it’s a little more somber.”

2. The food is for the mourner

You might think of shiva as a food-focused event; to many, the practice is inseparable from the image of tables piled high with bagels and babka. But Schafner stressed that in Orthodox communities, “a shiva is not a place where one comes to eat.”

“It’s for the mourner to eat,” he says. “The mourner should be certainly given the first meal after the burial.”

And while you may feel the urge to bring food to the mourners — which is often customary in non-Orthodox shivas — doing so is not a necessity. You should certainly not bring gifts or flowers.

“There’s a feeling out there that, well, I need to bring something,” said Gross. “But there’s really no obligation to feel that you need to bring anything when you go to a shiva house.”

3. Dress appropriately

There is no need to dress formally for a shiva, although after Shabbat or a holiday, some visitors may come directly from synagogue, dressed in more formal attire. It is important, however, to heed the customs of modesty followed by the specific community.

A rule of thumb, says Rabbi Gross, is to dress according to “whatever is casual dress for that community.”

In Orthodox communities that may entail long pants for men, and, for women, long skirts paired with high necklines and long sleeves. Men may also be asked to wear a kippah.

If you’re uncertain about what to wear, it’s usually worth erring on the side of modesty.

4. Women and men may be separated

At many Orthodox shivas, men and women will be separated into different rooms. That practice is very common at Haredi shivas, and implemented less frequently at modern Orthodox shivas.

Though shiva is sat from morning until night, it is common to have visiting windows — which may be publicized through the congregation of the deceased, or by the mourning family. Windows are often oriented around prayer services, as well, which take place in the morning, afternoon and evening.

“That is often surprising to people … that there is a large community,” Gross said.

5. Wait for the mourner to speak

Customarily, visitors will make their way toward mourners on the low stools. Even when you are sitting in front of the mourner, you should not say anything until they acknowledge your presence.

“One doesn’t address the mourner,” said Shafner, “until they speak to you.”

“The truth is that one’s presence alone is often more comforting than anything someone can say or can do,” says Rabbi Etan Mintz, of Baltimore’s B’nai Israel Synagogue. “Showing up is the most important thing that you can do at a shiva.”

The norm that one should wait to talk at a shiva is not consistent across Orthodox communities. Gross said that “a modern Orthodox shiva … might not have the same degree of silence that you might have in a Haredi shiva.”

Gross also suggested planning ahead what you might want to say to the mourners. The most important thing, he said, is to center the person lost — and to keep it concise.

6. What to say when you leave the shiva

When you are ready to leave the shiva house, be sure to pay your respect to the mourners by uttering the traditional blessing.

At Orthodox Ashkenazi shivas, it is common to address the mourner before leaving by saying “may the Omnipresent comfort you among the rest of the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem,” in either English or Hebrew. In Sephardic communities, the appropriate statement is, “May you be comforted by heaven.”

The post Going to your first Orthodox shiva? Here’s what you need to know appeared first on The Forward.

Yielding to months of pressure from Holocaust survivor groups and other Jewish community organizations, Christie’s called off future auctions of a jewelry fortune rooted in Jewish persecution.

“The sale of the Heidi Horten jewelry collection has provoked intense scrutiny, and the reaction to it has deeply affected us and many others, and we will continue to reflect on it,” Anthea Peers, President of Christie’s EMEA, told Artnet News in an emailed statement.

The auction house faced a deluge of criticism when it announced last year that it was handling the estate of Heidi Horten, whose husband, Helmut Horten, made his fortune acquiring Jewish department stores after Nazi Germany outlawed Jewish business ownership. 

Dazzling and dirty?

In its original announcement of “The World of Heidi Horten,” Christie’s made no mention of the source of Horten’s wealth or the German businessman’s membership in the Nazi party. Following the initial wave of outcry, it added a sentence: “The business practices of Mr. Horten during the Nazi era, when he purchased Jewish businesses sold under duress, are well documented.”

That proceeds of the sale were going to the Horten’s family foundation and not to survivors’ groups or other Jewish charities deepened the outrage.

Christie’s went forward with the auction anyway, and in May, it sold 98% of the lots for a total of $202 million, including one Cartier ring that went for $15 million. An additional sale was planned for the fall.

An Auschwitz survivor

One group of survivors, Holocaust Survivor Foundation USA, refused to let the uproar against Christie’s die down. In recent months, it has successfully lobbied groups to cut ties with the Horten Collection, the largest private art museum in Vienna.

And letters from the survivor foundation to the Tel Aviv Museum, which planned a conference on art restitution with Christie’s in December, prompted the museum to cancel the event.

David Schaecter, the 93-year-old president of the foundation who survived Auschwitz but lost his parents and sisters in the war, called the decision “an important victory” for Holocaust survivors, “and a clear signal to all auction houses about the consequences of providing such a platform to sell these kinds of tainted goods.”

His group is now calling for some of the proceeds from the spring auction of Horten’s jewelry to be routed to Holocaust survivors.

The post Under pressure, Christie’s cancels jewelry sale from estate built on Jewish persecution appeared first on The Forward.