As East-West tensions over Ukraine enter a new and dangerous phase, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Joe Biden are holding talks in Washington on Friday on whether to allow Kyiv to use long-range U.S. ATACMS or British Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia.
Archiv: bureaucrats / advisers / experts / technocrats / plutocrats / functionaries / cadres / apparatchiks / apparatus
Biden, Harris to huddle with US negotiators for Gaza deal push after hostage killings
(2 September 2024)
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were scheduled to hold a meeting Monday with hostage negotiators, …
Biden‘s „war cabinet“: The key people advising him on the Israel-Hamas war
(Nov 4, 2023)
President Biden has been deeply involved in the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war — one of the thorniest challenges of his presidency so far — receiving briefings at least once per day and speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times a week.
The big picture: Biden is leaning on a tight circle of trusted aides and officials. Here‘s a look at who‘s in the room when major decisions are being made.
Histadrut coordinated nationwide strike with PM‘s office – coalition member
(March 30, 2023)
The strike on Monday of Israel‘s largest worker‘s union, the Histadrut Labor Federation, was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s inner circle, a senior member of the coalition confirmed on Thursday.
From Free Speech to Free Palestine: Six Decades of Student Protest
“You’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop,” he said. Soon the students would flood into a campus administration building.
That scene played out 60 years ago at the University of California, Berkeley. The words were directed at the university leadership, and referring to its restrictions on campus political activity. But the speech, from the student leader Mario Savio, and the sit-in that followed could have happened yesterday.
Public sitting held on Tuesday 9 April 2024, at 10 a.m., at the Peace Palace, President Salam presiding, in the case concerning Alleged Breaches of Certain International Obligations in respect of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Nicaragua v. Germany)
he PRESIDENT: Please be seated. The sitting is open.
The Court meets this morning to hear the single round of oral argument of the Federal Republic of Germany on the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the Republic of Nicaragua in the case concerning Alleged Breaches of Certain International Obligations in respect of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Nicaragua v. Germany).
I now give the floor to the Agent of Germany, Ms Tania von Uslar-Gleichen. You have the floor, Madam.
Ms VON USLAR-GLEICHEN:
OPENING STATEMENT
1. Members of the Court, it is an honour to address you today and to open the oral proceedings for the Federal Republic of Germany.
2. Monsieur le Président, Madame la Vice-Présidente, permettez-moi au début de vous féliciter chaleureusement pour votre élection.
3. Germany comes to these proceedings as a friend of the Court and a firm believer in the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Proceedings before this Court are rightly noted for their deep and serious engagement with the law and the facts.
4. Respect for, as well as the promotion of, international law are cornerstones of Germany’s constitution and of its foreign policy. Germany has always been an advocate for the promotion and strengthening of international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles…
Germany denies accusation of aiding a genocide in Gaza at World Court
(today)
Germany and other Western nations have faced street protests, various legal cases, and accusations of hypocrisy from campaign groups who say Israel has killed too many Palestinian civilians in its six-month military assault.
But Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, legal adviser for the German Foreign Ministry, told the International Court of Justice judges that Nicaragua‘s case was rushed, based on flimsy evidence and should be thrown out due to lack of jurisdiction.
Psychological Operations in Guerilla Warfare
A copy of the „90-page psychological warfare manual“ produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency for Nicaraguan rebels in the late 1970s or early 1980s
The Psyops Manual The CIA Gave To Nicaragua’s Contras Is Totally Bonkers
(18.12.2017)
During the U.S. government‘s decade-long support of the Contra rebels who waged an armed campaign against Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista regime in the 1980s, the CIA funneled all manner of assistance to the anti-socialist “freedom fighters,” from training and financial assistance to covert operations. The original “advise and assist” mission was a disaster in retrospect, spurring all manner of human rights violations as well as the modern crack cocaine scourge. But the CIA aid program’s most fascinating product might be the batshit crazy psychological warfare manual cooked up for the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries.
Public sitting held on Monday 8 April 2024, at 10 a.m., at the Peace Palace, President Salam presiding, in the case concerning Alleged Breaches of Certain International Obligations in respect of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Nicaragua v. Germany)
The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua is represented by:
HE Mr Carlos José Argüello Gómez, Ambassador of the Republic of Nicaragua to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nicaragua to the international organizations based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, member of the International Law Commission,
as Agent and Counsel;
Mr Alain Pellet, Emeritus Professor of the University Paris Nanterre, former Chairperson of the International Law Commission, member and former President of the Institut de droit international,
Mr Daniel Müller, Founding Partner of FAR Avocats, member of the Paris Bar,
as Counsel and Advocates;
Ms Claudia Loza Obregon, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua,
Mr Ysam Soualhi, PhD candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Angers,
as Assistant Counsel;
Ms Sherly Noguera de Argüello, Consul General of the Republic of Nicaragua,
as Administrator;
Ms Kassandra Gómez Pineda, First Secretary, Permanent Representation of the Republic of
Nicaragua to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,
Mr Pedro Hernández Balladarez, Financial Administrative Officer, Permanent Representation of the Republic of Nicaragua to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,
HE Mr Ammar Hijazi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for Multilateral Affairs of the State of Palestine,
HE Mr Omar Awadallah, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the United Nations and Specialized Agencies of the State of Palestine,
Mr Federico Argüello Noguera,
as Members of the Delegation.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is represented by:
Ms Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, Legal Adviser and Director-General for Legal Affairs, Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany,
as Agent;
Ms Wiebke Rückert, Director for Public International Law, Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany,
US hasn‘t ruled out consequences for Israel over looming Rafah operation: What would that look like?
„It‘s very, very important,“ Ziv said of U.S. military aid to Israel. Placing conditions on it, he said, „creates a dangerous precedent for Israel because it just wasn‘t in the cards up until now.“ (…)
The U.S. could continue to abstain or even support United Nations resolutions that Israel finds unfavorable, as it did this week.
In reversal, Netanyahu sending delegation to White House for Rafah talks
(27.03.2024)
It‘s a sharp reversal by Netanyahu who on Monday canceled the same trip by the same people in protest over the U.S. not vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The fallout over the canceled trip and a deadlock in hostage talks added to already spiraling relations between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
Netanyahu says it ‘will take some time’ until IDF launches offensive in Rafah
(21.03.2024)
Two senior US officials told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that the US will present alternative plans for how Israel can continue pursuing Hamas without launching a major ground operation in Rafah during an upcoming meeting with a visiting Israeli delegation in Washington.
Israel to send team to D.C. to discuss Rafah; Blinken to return to Mideast
(19.03.2024)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted President Biden’s invitation to send a senior delegation to Washington, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, to “hear U.S. concerns” over Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where displaced Palestinians are concentrated.
Democrats pin 2024 hopes and fears on Biden‘s State of the Union
Democratic lawmakers tell Axios that President Biden‘s State of the Union performance on Thursday will be pivotal for his attempts to dispel voter concerns about his age.
United Against Nuclear Iran: The Shadowy, Intelligence-Linked Group Driving the US Towards War With Iran
(12.01.2024)
UANI’s board is a who’s who of high state, military and intelligence officials from around the Western world. Among its more notable members include:
– CEO Mark Wallace, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and deputy campaign manager for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection.
– Chairman Joe Lieberman, former senator and Democratic vice-presidential nominee for the 2000 election.
Tamir Pardo, Director of the Mossad, 2011-2016.
Dennis Ross, former State Department Director of Policy Planning and former Middle East Envoy under George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Field Marshall Lord Charles Guthrie, ex-Chief of Staff of the U.K. Armed Forces.
– Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida.
– August Hanning, President of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), 1998-2005; State Secretary at the Federal Interior Ministry, 2005-2009.
– Zohar Palti, former head of the Political-Military Bureau, Israeli Ministry of Defense; former Director of Intelligence of the Mossad.
– Frances Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush.
– John Bolton, former U.S. National Security Advisor and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
– Roger Noriega, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and Ambassador to the Organization of American States.
– Otto Reich, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and architect of the 2002 U.S. coup against Venezuela.
– Michael Singh, White House Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs, 2007-2008.
– Giulio Terzi di Sant-Agata, former Italian Foreign Minister.
– Robert Hill, former Minister of Defense of Australia.
– Jack David, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2004-2006.
– Mark Kirk, U.S. Senator for Illinois, 2010-2017.
– Lt. Gen. Sir Graeme Lamb, ex-Director of U.K. Special Forces and Commander of the British Field Army.
– Norman Roule, former CIA Division Chief and National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Director of National Intelligence.
– Irwin Cotler, Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 2003-2006.
– Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, U.K. Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism, 2010-2011.
A Palestinian Exile Champions an Arab Vision for Gaza
Mohammed Dahlan, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, outlined one under which Israel and Hamas would hand power to a new and independent Palestinian leader who could rebuild Gaza under the protection of an Arab peacekeeping force.
While such plans face steep challenges, the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are open to supporting processes that are part of efforts leading to a Palestinian state, said Mr. Dahlan, who also has close ties to Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
„Top defense officials held urgent consultations the night before October 7 about a possible Hamas attack. But no one in the IDF notified the the Nova festival organizers or the party-goers, hundreds of whom were mown down….“ 2/2
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-05/ty-article/.premium/despite-intel-warnings-about-a-hamas-attack-the-army-didnt-evacuate-the-nova-festival/0000018c-3993-dc03-a9ec-3dfb2cda0000
Biden’s allies can’t agree on how to combat questions about his age and memory
One Democratic member of the House responded to being told of the questions about age and memory raised in the report with a morbid laugh and sullen shake of the head. Another started anxiously asking for a sense of how others were responding, palpably feeling at wit’s end.
‘Hair on fire’: Democratic worries grow over claims about Biden’s memory lapses
The spectacle — at times chaotic, at times emotional — echoed around the country among the networks of Democratic donors and strategists who have been struggling for weeks to contain their concern about the state and direction of Biden’s campaign.
The broad conclusion, both inside and outside Biden’s inner circle, is that a dangerous and misleading caricature of the president’s performance is at risk of setting in, pushed by the biting prose of a special prosecutor they suspected of seeking political revenge.
„Top defense officials held urgent consultations the night before October 7 about a possible Hamas attack. But no one in the IDF notified the the Nova festival organizers or the party-goers, hundreds of whom were mown down….“ 2/2
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-05/ty-article/.premium/despite-intel-warnings-about-a-hamas-attack-the-army-didnt-evacuate-the-nova-festival/0000018c-3993-dc03-a9ec-3dfb2cda0000
42 survivors of the Nova rave massacre sue defense establishment for negligence
(01.01.2024)
The 42 plaintiffs filed the claim for NIS 200 million ($56 million) at the Tel Aviv District Court against the Shin Bet security service, the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Police, and the Defense Ministry, alleging multiple instances in which they failed in their duties.
“A single phone call by IDF officials to the commander responsible for the party to disperse it immediately in view of the expected danger would have saved lives and prevented the physical and mental injuries of hundreds of partygoers, including the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit said. “The negligence and the gross oversight is beyond belief.”
Do we now have ISRAELI FALSE FLAG ATTACK killing US troops? It’s “Iran-backed” MSM says. Biden: we already “know” that; “while we are still gathering the facts.” Neocons/Israel lust to get US atk on Iran. CENTCOM lied threw its teeth under then Gen. Austin
(28.01.2024)
Where Is Hamas Getting Its Weapons? Increasingly, From Israel.
But recent intelligence has shown the extent to which Hamas has been able to build many of its rockets and anti-tank weaponry out of the thousands of munitions that failed to detonate when Israel lobbed them into Gaza, according to weapons experts and Israeli and Western intelligence officials. Hamas is also arming its fighters with weapons stolen from Israeli military bases.
Intelligence gathered during months of fighting revealed that, just as the Israeli authorities misjudged Hamas’s intentions before Oct. 7, they also underestimated its ability to obtain arms.
Experts react: What the International Court of Justice said (and didn’t say) in the genocide case against Israel
Click to jump to an expert analysis:
Celeste Kmiotek: The ICJ puts the countries supporting Israel on notice
Thomas S. Warrick: A blow to the argument that death and destruction are sufficient to establish genocide
Tuqa Nusairat: The ruling shows how isolated the US is in its support of Israel
Shalom Lipner: The ruling is unlikely to change Israel’s warfighting or narrative
Elise Baker: Israel’s continued failure to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza risks genocide
Gissou Nia: The ICJ’s decision pushes talk about ‘genocide’ from the rhetorical to the factual and legal
Lisandra Novo: The ICJ’s order to preserve evidence could impact war crimes cases elsewhere
Alexander Tripp: South Africa is putting its ideals on the world stage
Alyssa T. Yamamoto: The ICJ embraces another case brought by a state not directly affected by violations
Akila Radhakrishnan: It didn’t call for a cease-fire, but the ICJ did rule that Israel must drastically curtail its operations
Rayhan Asat: This case could have implications for a future genocide case against China
War on Gaza: Internal anger with Biden and Congress reaches boiling point
So far, two people from the administration have tendered their resignations – Josh Paul, who oversaw arms transfers at State, and Tariq Habash, who worked on education policy at the White House.
The morale of staff in the White House is so low that the chief of staff planned a party in the hopes of cheering up the employees, according to a report from Axios.
However, it‘s not clear if the senior staff members of the administration understand why morale is so low. After the report of the party for White House staff, another report stated that hundreds of federal employees across 22 government agencies are planning a walk-out to protest against Biden‘s handling of the war.
White House: Second Biden official resigns over Israel-Hamas war concerns
(04.01.2024)
A senior Biden education adviser on Wednesday became the second administration official to resign from his post over the White House’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, the latest instance of internal turmoil over the war.
42 survivors of the Nova rave massacre sue defense establishment for negligence
The 42 plaintiffs filed the claim for NIS 200 million ($56 million) at the Tel Aviv District Court against the Shin Bet security service, the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Police, and the Defense Ministry, alleging multiple instances in which they failed in their duties.
“A single phone call by IDF officials to the commander responsible for the party to disperse it immediately in view of the expected danger would have saved lives and prevented the physical and mental injuries of hundreds of partygoers, including the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit said. “The negligence and the gross oversight is beyond belief.”
Shin Bet Source in Gaza Reportedly Warned of Major Hamas Attack on Israel Set for Early October
According to the Channel 12 report, the handler of the source passed the information further, estimating that if Hamas‘ plan „indeed nears execution, additional information will reach us.“ However, the specific information was eventually halted at a lower level and did not reach higher-ranking authorities.
The alert received in the summer was revisited as part of the Shin Bet‘s investigations into the intelligence failure. Shin Bet sources claimed that no additional information supporting that specific intelligence was found during the examinations
Report: Shin Bet dismissed Gaza source’s tip on plans, timing of major Hamas attack
The network cited unnamed Shin Bet sources saying that the lack of corroborating intelligence, and the fact that the source had only started speaking to the Shin Bet a relatively short while before — had contributed to the tip not being taken seriously, though they have since admitted that the source is highly reliable.
Even though Bar, the agency’s chief, hadn’t heard about the information, Channel 12 cited multiple sources as saying the Shin Bet won’t blame lower-ranking officers, and admitting the service failed to prevent the assault.
An unsanctioned coterie of pro-Israel quasi-lobbyists has descended on D.C.
(22.10.2023)
“It’s not an official government representation,” he conceded.
Instead, he is part of a ragtag group of donors, activists and allies who have moved swiftly these past two weeks to help Israel. They have leveraged their political clout, their relationships with lawmakers and their fundraising networks to do so.
Their overarching goal is to shape how elected officials in the U.S. react to the crisis. But their work also underscores how much of the political fight around the nascent war is being done on the fly; and how much is being waged in unconventional theaters: college campuses, corporate boardrooms, K Street offices and stuffy Capitol Hill restaurants.
How Joe Biden Became America’s Top Israel Hawk
Both before and after October 7, the empathy Biden is known for has rarely extended to Palestinians. Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, said such statements are missing “to the degree that I don’t really think he sees the Palestinians at all.” In contrast, Khalidi added, Biden sees Israelis “as they are very carefully presented by their government and their massive information apparatus.”
A former Biden administration official shared a similar perspective with me. “The President does not seem to acknowledge the humanity of all parties affected by this conflict,” this person said. “He has described Is
Team Biden Goes From Denial to Panic
(Nov 27, 2023)
Our RootsAction.org team had no reason to avoid antagonizing the White House. Immediately after the 2022 election, we launched the Don’t Run Joe campaign. Last winter, it included TV ads in New Hampshire and other early primary states as well as in DC. We also placed full-page ads in print editions of The Hill newspaper, widely read on Capitol Hill; one depicted congressional Democrats as having their heads in the sand. A steady flow of news releases went out, citing data on Biden’s electoral vulnerabilities. A mobile Don’t Run Joe billboard circled the Capitol and White House when Congress reconvened in January.
But elected Democrats, loyal boosters and allied organizations stuck with the party line.
Full translation of Giora Eiland‘s genocidal column in Yediot Ahronot.
(19.11.2023)
I expect all relevant parties to start issuing arrest warrants and writing up prosecution files.
@UNOSAPG @WairimuANderitu @IntlCrimCourt @KarimKhanQC @CIJ_ICJ
@ICJPalestine @theCCR @Gilles_Devers
Israeli General Giora Eiland’s weekly call for genocide: “The international community warns of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and of severe epidemics. We must not shy away from it, as hard as it is. After all, severe epidemics in the south of the Strip will hasten victory”
(19.11.2023)
full translation by @TalulaSha
In Gaza, there is no such thing as ‚innocent civilians‘
(8. Mai 2014)
You probably have two questions now. First, why should Gaza‘s residents suffer? Well, they are to blame for this situation just like Germany‘s residents were to blame for electing Hitler as their leader and paid a heavy price for that, and rightfully so. (…)
We are dealing with an enemy state, not with a terror organization which is seemingly operating from within an innocent civilian population.
Only when we put things on the level between states or between people, we will be able to create real deterrence or defeat the enemy when the next conflict erupts.
The U.S. Should Think Twice About Israel’s Plans for Gaza
(Oct. 15, 2023)
Consider what some in the Israeli defense establishment have said.
“The State of Israel has no choice but to turn Gaza into a place that is temporarily or permanently impossible to live in,” a reservist major general, Giora Eiland, wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper. “Creating a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a necessary means to achieve the goal.” He added, “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist.” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.” Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian declared that in Gaza, “there will be no electricity and no water. There will only be destruction. You wanted hell; you will get hell.”
Hundreds of former Biden campaign staffers call for Gaza cease-fire
(09.11.2023)
The letter from a group called Biden Alumni for Peace and Justice includes the names of people who worked for Biden for President/Victory 2020 HQ, the Democratic National Committee and state organizations.
“We implore you, President Biden, to live that moral courage right now by stepping up to be a leader we can be proud of in the face of injustice,” the group wrote. “As President of the United States, you have significant influence in this perilous moment — you must call for a ceasefire, hostage exchange, and de-escalation and take concrete steps to address the conditions of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing at the root of the horrific violence we are witnessing now.”
UK’s Sunak fires aide who called for Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Tory MP Paul Bristow, who served as Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan’s parliamentary private secretary, was ousted from that role following a letter he sent to Sunak last week accusing Israel of carrying out “collective punishment” on the people of Gaza.
“Paul Bristow has been asked to leave his post in government following comments that were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility,” a Downing Street spokesperson says.
Israel‘s Intelligence Ministry is marginal and not setting Israeli policy. But important to keep on the radar (in part because it‘s led by a Netanyahu party mate) that it‘s been internally circulating a plan for forced relocation of Gazans into Sinai.
Israeli think tank lays out a blueprint for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza
(October 23, 2023)
On October 17, the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy published a position paper advocating for the “relocation and final settlement of the entire Gaza population.” The report advocates exploiting the current moment to accomplish a long-held Zionist goal of moving Palestinians off the land of historic Palestine. The report’s subtitle makes it clear: “There is at the moment a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip in coordination with the Egyptian government.”
The Misgav Institute is headed by former Netanyahu National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat, who remains influential in Israeli security circles. The Institute’s former chairpersons and founding associates include Yoaz Hendel (chair 2012-19), a right-centrist who was Minister of Communications intermittently in the years 2020-22; Moshe Yaalon, former Defense Minister (note that both Hendel and Yaalon have become opposed to Netanyahu in the recent years); Moshe Arens, also former Defense Minister — and other top political personas.
A Zionist strategy for Israel
(19.03.2023)
Overall, there is, in fact, a successful Israeli „grand security strategy“ of sorts and it must be pursued with determination. It involves steadfastness, patience, and looking over the horizon for new partners while fearlessly confronting bad actors. It involves being both flexible and firm.
It means strictly securing Israel‘s borders, managing frictions with the Palestinians, and pursuing Zionist goals like continued settlement of the Land of Israel. It involves positioning Israel as a regional anchor of sanity and a global source of ingenuity.
Perception played central role in Gaza war before first shot fired
(16.10.2023)
In the IDF‘s command bunker, experts from various units of the IDF‘s Psychological Operations (PsyOps) are working around the clock. They closely monitor the prevailing mood and public discourse and react accordingly to raise awareness and, most importantly, to influence the worldviews of millions of people. Sometimes it succeeds, and sometimes it doesn‘t. But the insight in the Israeli security establishment is that this arena cannot be left without a response and without proper, continuous handling.
„In the IDF‘s command bunker, experts from various units of the IDF‘s Psychological Operations (PsyOps) are working around the clock..to influence the worldviews of millions of people.“
Full Text | Rewriting Constitution Means Breaking India Apart, Says Fali Nariman
Generally, there are preambles to the constitution and this preamble has been called by our Supreme Court the “conscience of the constitution”. Preamble’s Part 3 Fundamental Rights, Part 4 Directive Principles of State Policy, which are not enforceable by the court but are nonetheless binding, they are all part of the conscience of the constitution (…)
You believe that there is the duty to interpret the constitution in the context of the time and in the context of the issues of the day.
Oh absolutely, absolutely! There has to be! (…)
In fact, interpretations keep changing, people keep adding to existing questions and revising new meanings.
Absolutely! Courts as you know go by precedent, so what five judges say today, seven judges can say tomorrow or have nine judges say the contrary to that, two years later.
This is what makes the constitution a living, dynamic object.
Absolutely!
WSJ conceals Saudi funding of pro-Saudi nuke deal source
Israeli sources speaking to the WSJ acknowledged concerns about nonproliferation safeguards and the potential for a regional nuclear-arms race. But the one expert who was reported as thinking “the idea is worth exploring,” is an executive at an organization that depends heavily on Saudi funding, a potential financial conflict of interest that wasn’t disclosed by the WSJ to its readers.
The WSJ quoted Brian Katulis, described as “vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington,” supporting the controversial idea.
Saudi Uranium Enrichment Floated Under Possible Israel Deal
(21.09.2023)
“The question is whether the U.S. sitting on the sidelines, crossing its arms and scolding countries in the region for pursuing civilian nuclear energy is a more effective strategy than starting a discussion that aims to build trust and confidence among key actors in the region like Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
Katulis said, “The risk of some hostile leader getting these capacities is one we’ve seen and managed in a number of places around the world, including Pakistan.”
“It’s not an ideal situation in those instances,” he said, “but the risks can be managed.”
New predictions of genetic variant pathogenicity using AlphaFold protein structures
(19.09.2023)
Google DeepMind has developed a new tool called AlphaMissense, which uses the AlphaFold human protein structure models to predict whether a sequence variant which changes one amino acid in a protein is likely to be tolerated or to impact protein function.
The Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor now integrates Google DeepMind’s new AlphaMissense Catalogue.
AlphaFold, meet AlphaMissense: Google DeepMind‘s AI successor predicts how 71M mutations cause disease
Google DeepMind has developed an AI system that predicts the chances that tens of millions of genetic variants will cause disease.
DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins
(22 July 2021)
For those scientists who rely on experimental protein structure determination, AlphaFold’s predictions have helped accelerate their research. For example, a team at the University of Colorado Boulder is finding promise in using AlphaFold predictions to study antibiotic resistance, while a group at the University of California San Francisco has used them to increase their understanding of SARS-CoV-2 biology.
The AlphaFold Protein Structure Database builds on many contributions from the international scientific community, as well as AlphaFold’s sophisticated algorithmic innovations and EMBL-EBI’s decades of experience in sharing the world’s biological data. DeepMind and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) are providing access to AlphaFold’s predictions so that others can use the system as a tool to enable and accelerate research and open up completely new avenues of scientific discovery.