None of us is helpless. Our actions—as well as the actions we don’t take—make a real, tangible impact. So, ask yourself: in which direction will you push the world today?
Archiv: Homo Sapiens Unterrichtsstunde extra: Geschichte ist eine Abfolge von Ereignissen. / Homo Sapiens extra lesson: History is a sequence of events.
The Miller Doctrine
(May 27, 2026)
Yet proposals that skirt the edges of international law didn’t come out of nowhere. The U.S. under George W. Bush created legal mechanisms following the September 11th attacks to torture hundreds of people in CIA black sites and then at Guantanamo Bay. The Obama administration’s targeted drone strikes were assassinations by another name. The Biden administration further eroded international norms and subverted its own policies by financing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, in violation of the Leahy Law, which prohibits foreign military assistance to nations that violate human rights.
“Seems like Miller is sort of taking what he was already willing to do during the first term and then combining that with what Israel has been doing in the way it has just been completely ignoring any kind of international law, Geneva Conventions, any of it in its conduct in Gaza and Lebanon, to then influence U.S. foreign policy,” Annelle Sheline, a research fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in an interview.
In other words, Miller and the Trump administration have been able to steamroll what was left of international law; they just had to figure out how to do it.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Calls for Suspension of Israel‘s UN Membership
(April 18, 2026)
The Turkish official drew a direct historical parallel to the global response against Apartheid South Africa, which saw its credentials suspended by the UN General Assembly in 1974. „Just as the world united to suspend South Africa‘s membership over its racist, criminal policies, we must now act with the same resolve against the Israeli regime for its identical treatment of the Palestinian people,“ he argued. „This is not merely a regional dispute; it is a litmus test for the credibility of the international legal order.“
Turkey says Israel should be suspended from UN General Assembly
(August 25, 2025)
On 27 September 1974, the UN Credentials Committee rejected South Africa’s credentials, a routine procedure before General Assembly meetings.
Three days later, the General Assembly passed Resolution 3207, urging the Security Council to review South Africa’s membership in light of its constant violations of the Charter.
Although the Security Council vetoed the resolution, in November of that year the president of the General Assembly, Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ruled that, given the Credentials Committee’s decision and the adoption of Resolution 3207, the General Assembly would refuse to allow South Africa’s delegation to participate in its work.
South Africa remained suspended from the General Assembly until June 1994, following the end of apartheid.
Activists argue that the UN General Assembly could apply the same process to Israel. They note that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024 issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories “unlawful” and its near-complete segregation of populations in the West Bank a breach of international law on “racial segregation” and “apartheid”.
Albanese: Israel’s actions in Palestine constitute genocide, calls for Israel’s suspension from the UN
(March 8, 2025)
Albanese went on to clarify that UNRWA cannot disappear because it is a UN body protected by international law. „Member states cannot eliminate it by changing laws or cutting funding, as Israel and other countries have attempted. The rights of Palestinian refugees will remain intact because those rights are codified in international law.“
She also raised the issue of Israel’s violations against the UN, citing the destruction of 70% of UN premises in Gaza and the targeting of UNRWA schools, which had been sheltering refugees. „Israel has violated the UN Charter, and it must be held accountable for its actions. I have called for the suspension of Israel‘s credentials in the UN because of its disregard for international rules and laws. Israel has destroyed or damaged UN premises, targeted shelters, and accused the UN of terrorism.“
Arab, Islamic leaders call for suspension of Israel‘s UN membership
(November 12, 2024)
„There is a paragraph in this text that I find very important and vital, a paragraph that talks about moving before the General Assembly to freeze Israel‘s membership,“ Aboul Gheit said.
He reminded the attendees that, despite ongoing regional conflicts, the UN has never revisited Israel‘s 1949 admission under Resolution 181.
“Today, the Islamic group and the Arab group are two organisations moving before the international community, and I am confident that there are many countries that will support the idea of freezing membership,” he added expressing optimism that the proposal would garner widespread backing.
Malaysia prepares draft resolution to expel Israel from UN
(November 6, 2024)
Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced that Malaysia is preparing a draft resolution for the UN General Assembly to expel Israel from the United Nations.
“We are also studying (a proposal)… after the violation of laws, principles and UN decisions, for Israel to be expelled as a member of the UN,” Anwar told parliament in a special address on Monday.
Israel is a rogue nation. It should be removed from the United Nations
(October 15, 2024)
Over the past year, Israel has launched attacks on multiple countries and occupied territories: the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran.
Yet countries and territories aside, Israel has also targeted one specific organization with a series of unprecedented rhetorical and violent attacks.
Yes, the United Nations. We have all witnessed Israel, in effect, declare war on the UN.
Trump’s talk of 51st US state met with near-silence in Venezuela
(May 14, 2026)
Twice this week, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in turning Venezuela into his country’s 51st state. The latest came via a Truth Social post Tuesday with a map showing the South American country filled with the U.S. flag.
Previous statements doubting Venezuela’s sovereignty over the past 25 years have been met with immediate derision from senior government officials, including the president.
CIA director John Ratcliffe meets with Venezuela‘s interim president Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas
(January 16, 2026)
CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela‘s interim President Delcy Rodríguez for two hours Thursday in Venezuela‘s capital, Caracas, to „deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,“ a U.S. official told CBS News Friday.
The official described the trip as historic, noting that Ratcliffe was the first Cabinet-level official to visit Venezuela since the U.S. military operation to remove the country‘s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro nearly two weeks ago.
The Court Gutted Congress’s War Power. It’s Time to Give It Back.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 was designed to restore the constitutional balance in decisions to commit the United States to armed conflict. Its central provision — a legislative veto enabling Congress to direct the withdrawal of American forces by concurrent resolution — was cast into legal doubt by the Supreme Court’s 1983 decision in INS v. Chadha. But Chadha was wrongly decided, its reasoning is exceptionally weak, and the Court’s subsequent embrace of functionalism in separation-of-powers cases has left it incoherent as precedent. As the United States drifts deeply into a congressionally unauthorized war with Iran, the case for overruling Chadha, or at minimum limiting it to its facts, has never been stronger.
Donald Trump Says US Will Take Over Cuba ‘Almost Immediately’
President Donald Trump said Friday during remarks in Florida that the United States would take over Cuba “almost immediately,” suggesting an aircraft carrier could be positioned offshore after the conflict in Iran.
The comments came the same day Trump signed an executive order significantly expanding U.S. sanctions on the Cuban government and its affiliates.
How Has the Supreme Court Ruled on the Constitutionality of the War Powers Act?
(April 23, 2026)
The Supreme Court has never issued a definitive ruling declaring the 1973 War Powers Resolution (often called the War Powers Act) constitutional or unconstitutional; instead, the Court and lower federal courts have repeatedly avoided resolving the central constitutional clash between Congress and the President over war-making authority by invoking justiciability doctrines such as standing and the political‑question doctrine [1] [2].
How Has the Supreme Court Ruled on the Constitutionality of the War Powers Act?
The Supreme Court has never issued a definitive ruling declaring the 1973 War Powers Resolution (often called the War Powers Act) constitutional or unconstitutional; instead, the Court and lower federal courts have repeatedly avoided resolving the central constitutional clash between Congress and the President over war-making authority by invoking justiciability doctrines such as standing and the political‑question doctrine [1] [2].
Lebanese Civil War
Among the consequences of the war was the Syrian occupation of Lebanon until 2005; the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon until 2000; the creation of the Hezbollah, a Shiʿi militia formed to confront Israel and later adapted into a political party and social welfare network; the expulsion of the PLO from Lebanon; and the rebuilding of Lebanon by a handful of businessmen, including the two-time prime minister (1992–98; 2000–04) Rafic al-Hariri. (…)
With Palestinian forces continuing to conduct cross-border raids into Israel, Israel launched a major reprisal attack in March 1978, sending troops into the south of Lebanon as far as the Litani River. The resulting conflict led to the establishment of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)—a peacekeeping force meant to secure Israeli withdrawal and support the return of Lebanese authority in the south—as well as to the creation of the South Lebanese Army (SLA)—a militia led by Saad Haddad and armed and financed by Israel to function as a proxy militia under Lebanese Christian command.
Israel has invaded Lebanon six times in the past 50 years – a timeline of events
(October 1, 2024)
Israel has launched its sixth incursion into Lebanese territory since 1978. Here’s a timeline of how this seemingly unending conflict has evolved.
Jun 1979 – Israeli Invasion of Southern Lebanon, March 1978 -Deployment of UN Peace-keeping Force -Israeli Withdrawal
(June, 1979)
Israel on the night of March 14–15, 1978, launched a major invasion of southern Lebanon with 20,000-25,000 ground troops backed by tanks, artillery, fighter planes and gunboats. The operation was mounted notwithstanding a number of diplomatic moves to forestall an anticipated reprisal attack in reply to the March 11 guerrilla raid on Israel and despite assurances by the Lebanese Government that it was in no way responsible for the Palestinian action[see above].