America sanctioned a number of ICC judges today including a Canadian judge for daring to authorize a probe into US personnel actions in Afghanistan.
Quote:
The Trump administration slapped a Canadian judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC) with sanctions as the U.S. State Department unleashes a new wave of restrictions against judges it said had been instrumental in a past decision to investigate U.S. officials and in efforts to prosecute Israeli leaders.
The State Department says Judge Kimberly Prost of Canada was sanctioned for ruling to authorize the ICC's investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.
Quote:
The court said on Wednesday that it deplored the sanctions, calling them "a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 [countries] from all regions.
"They constitute also an affront against [these countries], the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world," the statement continued. "The ICC will continue fulfilling its mandates, undeterred, in strict accordance with its legal framework as adopted by the States Parties and without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat."
America is not the beacon of light many people like to claim it to be.
Nate White wrote this when asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”
NSFW!
A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of ####. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
__________________ I'm afraid of children identifying as cats and dogs. - Tuco
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As expected, Texas Republicans passed their “let’s cheat in the midterms” legislation to redraw their congressional maps. California is now preparing to redraw theirs in response to even out the playing field. This fight is shaping up to get really nasty heading into 2026.
As expected, Texas Republicans passed their “let’s cheat in the midterms” legislation to redraw their congressional maps. California is now preparing to redraw theirs in response to even out the playing field. This fight is shaping up to get really nasty heading into 2026.
It's going to be more difficult for California, a special election has to be called and the proposed maps need to be approved by voters. It's expected that it will be approved but never say never, people are very stupid. I don't think they've released what it's expected to cost taxpayers yet.
Its happened. Calvin and Hobbes has been referenced in a Supreme Court dissent by Justice Jackson: “This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins.”
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It's going to be more difficult for California, a special election has to be called and the proposed maps need to be approved by voters. It's expected that it will be approved but never say never, people are very stupid. I don't think they've released what it's expected to cost taxpayers yet.
I saw the special election for gerrymandering would be around $400M. It's a small price to pay to own the Republicans though.
