#state parties

[tomorrowusa]

The heart of Trumpism involves being anti-majoritarian. Republicans are intent on keeping power in the hands of a shrinking reactionary minority for as long as they can get away with it.

Through gerrymandering, voter suppression, and court packing the GOP has attempted to gain a monopoly on power at the state and federal level for the past dozen years. Eventually they will all die off, but they have the ability to derail American democracy and make our lives miserable for the next decade or two.

But becoming more active in the democratic process and concentrating on long term goals can weaken and shorten the MAGA threat to America.

Greg Sargent at the Washington Post (archived) describes how MAGA overreach and increased moderate to liberal activism have been damaging GOP extremists.

Even as voters are mobilizing to protect democracy at the ballot box, Republicans are redoubling their commitment to the former president’s anti-majoritarian mode of politics. And this, in turn, is motivating voters even more. Call it the “MAGA doom loop.” It’s playing out in state after state. Let’s start with Michigan, where Trump’s decisive loss in 2020 led MAGA loyalists to reshape the state Republican Party around devotion to the “big lie.” Then Democrats resoundingly captured full control of the state’s government in the 2022 midterms, in which election-deniers across the country lost races up and down the ticket. Now, the Michigan GOP is in shambles. Just this month, the chairman again called for scrutiny of supposed 2020 fraud, prompting infighting over debunked conspiracy theories. And as the New York Times reports, the party’s descent into MAGA mania is alienating donors, draining volunteer enthusiasm and driving away swing voters. All of that will further dim Trump’s 2024 chances in this crucial battleground state.

The battle over Michigan isn't over yet, but the state is looking increasingly bad for Republicans.

Or take Wisconsin. The GOP-controlled state legislature is threatening to impeach state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, who won her seat earlier this year by 11 points, handing liberals a majority. Democrats ran ads about protecting democracy to boost Protasiewicz, arguing that her ascent would thwart attempts to overrule the state’s 2024 outcome.

It's true that the pro-totalitarian GOP majority in the Wisconsin legislature may try to impeach Justice Protasiewicz on the most flimsy grounds. But that could spark a constitutional crisis which could damage Republicans even more.

All of this syncs up with what political science tells us: Issues become salient for voters when elites talk about them a lot. That has certainly been the case with democracy and that will surely continue next year. Big events — such as Trump’s prosecution for Jan. 6, 2021-related offenses and the GOP’s continued devotion despite those criminal charges — will only reinforce what’s at stake. “As long as the MAGA-Trump faction remains a threat to free and fair elections, a consequential slice of the electorate will continue to vote on this issue,” political scientist Lee Drutman told me. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the MAGA doom loop might keep on working its magic — all the way through 2024.

Keep talking about the need to protect democracy. Let wavering centrists know that this is an issue which affects them.

And of course, PAY MUCH MORE ATTENTION TO STATE GOVERNMENT. Letting the MAGA crowd run your state is no more palatable than letting them run the federal government.

By devoting less attention to Florida state government, Democrats there have allowed Ron DeSantis and his rubber stamp legislature to construct a 21st century dystopia in what was once a swing state.

Look up who represents you in your legislature. If they are Republicans then get to work now on electing pro-democracy replacements.

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

[anticorruptionday]

[13th meeting] Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 10th session.

Agenda items 9 and 10: Provisional agenda for the eleventh session; Adoption of the report (continued)

10th session- Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

[criminaljusticeday]

(2nd plenary meeting, Continued) Twenty-second session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute - Election of six judges.

The Assembly will elect six judges as well as six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance. The Assembly will hold its annual General debate as well as plenary meetings on cooperation and Review Mechanism. The Assembly will adopt relevant resolutions and 2024 programme budget of the Court.

[religiousbasedviolencevictimsday]

Double Book Launch: 'Religion, Hateful Expression and Violence' and ICC-commentary in English, French and Arabic - ASP22 Side Event.

Digital public goods are changing the way international criminal law is disseminated, studied and consulted around the world. The Digital Public Goods Alliance has already certified a publisher that specializes in international criminal law (the Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher ('TOAEP')) and the leading e-learning platform in the field (Lexsitus), both built onto the award-winning ICC Legal Tools Database ('LTD').

Chaired by Professor Gregory S. Gordon (Chinese University of Hong Kong), this side-event discusses a significant new TOAEP-release on religious hate speech and a commentary in Arabic, English and French on Lexsitus:

Hate Speech in the Name of Religion: Are Religious Leaders and International Criminal Justice Doing Enough to Deter Such Hateful Expressions?

Online Commentary in Arabic, English and French Lexsitus: Has the Future of Digital Capacity-Building in International Criminal Law Arrived?

A side-event to the 22nd Session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties, convened by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy (CILRAP), co-sponsored by Norway, Indian Society of International Law, Coalition for International Criminal Justice, Clinique de droit international pénal et humanitaire (Université Laval), Stockholm Center for International Law and Justice, Human Rights Law Centre (University of Nottingham), Northumbria Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice Studies, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and Canadian Partnership for International Justice, with financial support from Justitierådet Edvard Cassels stiftelse.

[mineaction]

10th Session, 21st Meeting of State Parties to Mine Ban Convention.

Twenty-First Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.

Description

12. Consideration of requests submitted under Article 5

13. Consideration of matters arising from/in the context of reports submitted under Article 7

14. Consideration of requests submitted under Article 8

Failing the establishment of a cooperative dialogue and the resolution of the current status of non-compliance through the submission of an extension request by Eritrea by 31 March 2023, the 20MSP mandated the President of the Twenty-First Meeting of the States Parties to seek clarification and resolve questions related to compliance by Eritrea through the Secretary-General of the United Nations in accordance with Article 8.2 of the Convention and to report back to the States Parties at their Twenty-First meeting.

The President will report back to the States Parties on the implementation of this decision.

15. Election of the President of the Fifth Review Conference of the States Parties and of the Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties

The Meeting will be asked to agree that H.E. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice-President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) be elected to preside over the Fifth Review Conference of the States Parties.

The Meeting will be asked to welcome the offer made by Japan to preside over the Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties.

The Meeting will be asked to welcome the offer made by Zambia to preside over the Twenty-Third Meeting of the States Parties.

16. Duration and matters pertaining to the preparations for the Fifth Review Conference and the Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties

The Meeting will be asked to agree that the Fifth Review Conference take place in Siem Reap, Cambodia from 25 to 29 November 2024.

The Meeting will be asked to agree that the First Preparatory Meeting in advance of the Fifth Review Conference take place on 20 June 2024 in Geneva and that the Second Preparatory Meeting in advance of the Fifth Review Conference take place on 18 September 2024 also in Geneva.

17. Any other business

18. Consideration and adoption of the final document

19. Closure of the Twenty-First Meeting of the States Parties

The Meeting will be asked to take decisions on the requests for extended mine clearance deadlines which will have been or may be submitted by Eritrea and Ukraine.Delegations will be given the opportunity take the floor on matters that have not been covered otherwise by the meeting.The Meeting will be asked to consider and adopt its final report.The meeting will be closed by the President.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christopher Mathias at HuffPost:

A coalition of 185 social justice and religious groups published an open letter Monday expressing support for the campus protest encampments sweeping the country in opposition to Israel’s siege of Gaza, and calling on university administrators to end the brutal crackdowns of the student-led demonstrations. “We commend the students who are exercising their right to protest peacefully despite an overwhelming atmosphere of pressure, intimidation and retaliation, to raise awareness about Israel’s assault on Gaza — with U.S. weapons and funding,” the letter states. “These students have come forth with clear demands that their universities divest from corporations profiting from Israeli occupation, and demanding safe environments for Palestinians across their campuses. ” Groups that signed the letter include Gen-Z for Change, Working Families Party, IfNotNow Movement, Young Democrats of America Black Caucus, Movement for Black Lives, Sunrise Movement, MPower Change, Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestine Legal, and the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Some 900 students have been arrested during anti-war encampments and demonstrations at American universities in the last 10 days, per a tally from Al Jazeera — a tumultuous period that mirrors volatile demonstrations against the Vietnam War in 1968, when police arrested at least 700 students. The open letter Monday represents one of the largest shows of support among progressive groups for the burgeoning student protests, and makes clear the divide between establishment Democratic figures and social justice groups when it comes to U.S. support for Israel. President Joe Biden has refused so far to condition the sale of weapons to Israel. “Our communities have been horrified to see the militarized and violent response to students protesting an ongoing genocide funded and supported by our government, and our coalition of organizations join millions of our members across the country in standing in solidarity with the students’ efforts in support of the people of Gaza,” Yasmine Taeb, one of the main organizers of the letter, told HuffPost. Taeb is a human rights lawyer and political director at MPower Change, a Muslim social justice group.

“Instead of attacking young people mobilizing for Palestinian human rights, President Biden needs to listen to the majority of Americans who have been calling on him to stop funding and supporting the atrocities committed against the people of Gaza,” Taeb said.

[...] Israel has killed over 33,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, when the Gaza-based militant group Hamas launched an attack in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed. In January, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s siege of Gaza — which has displaced 85% of the population and put the occupied territory on the cusp of famine — left Palestinians at risk of experiencing a genocide. Last week, health officials in Gaza said medics had discovered mass graves at hospitals raided by Israeli troops. “We join [the students] in calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and an end to the U.S. government’s and institutions’ role in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” Monday’s letter states. “As we stand in solidarity with the students protesting in encampments across the country, we reaffirm our commitment to amplifying their voices, condemn the university administration officials’ violent response to their activism, and demand that universities remove the presence of police and other militarized forces from their campuses,” it continues.

[...] Meanwhile, Republican Party officials and right-wing media figures have accused the demonstrations of antisemitism, falsely equating criticism of Israel with bigotry towards Jews. Although there have been scattered reports of actual antisemitic incidents at or near the encampments, many were not perpetrated by students but by interlopers. Many of the student protesters across the country are Jewish. Far-right agitators, including Christian nationalist activists, have also targeted the encampments, with MAGA pastor Sean Feucht leading hundreds of Christian and Jewish Zionists on a march around the Columbia campus on Thursday. The rally ended with pro-Israel demonstrators yelling through the gate at pro-Palestinian Columbia students. “Go back to Gaza!” they screamed.

More than 185 groups, including IfNotNow, Jewish Voice For Peace, MPower Change, and Working Families Party, signed a letter in support of the campus protests against Israel Apartheid State's genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

[madtomedgar]

5 states including kentucky (!!) voted to protect abortion access. 3 states did away with slavery (prison labor) as punishment for a crime. 3 states made massive commitments to affordable housing. illinois made collective bargaining a protected right. 2 more states legalized weed. connecticut is moving towards early voting. alabama removed racist language from the state constitution and is investing in statewide public broadband internet. california massively expanded funding for arts and music programs in public schools. colorado raised on the wealthiest in order to provide universal free school lunch to students. georgia may no longer pay cops who are suspended on a felony indictment. massachusetts massively expanded funding for public education and infrastructure, massively expanded dental insurance, and will allow residents to get a drivers license or state id regardless of immigration status. montana will now require a search warrant for access to electronic data. nebraska will increase its minimum wage to $15. new mexico will massively improve and expand senior facilities, public libraries, higher ed, special public schools, and tribal schools, residential utilities (water, internet, electricity). new york is putting 4.2 billion towards climate change mitigation. rhode island is increasing funding for public education and environmental protection. south dakota expanded medicaid.

[decolonize-the-left]

Democrats as a party are never ever going to recover from this.

[socialjusticeinamerica]

[athina-blaine]

I'd like to take a moment to point out to detractors of ships involving Laios who feel that "Laios wouldn't take any interest in people!" that he'd hyperfixated on Shuro so badly it was ruining the man's life lmao

[lasttarrasque]

Hard choice

[anticorruptionday]

[12th meeting] Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 10th session.

Agenda items 9 and 10: Provisional agenda for the eleventh session; Adoption of the report

10th session- Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

[criminaljusticeday]

(2nd plenary meeting, Continued) Twenty-second session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute - Election of six judges.

The twenty-second session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP22) to the Rome Statute will take place from 4 to 14 December 2023 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States.

Election of six judges (Continued)

At the twenty-second session, the Assembly shall proceed with the election of the President of the Assembly as well as two Vice-Presidents and 18 members of the Bureau who will assume office as of 15 December 2023 until conclusion of the twenty-fifth session.

Furthermore, the Assembly will elect six judges as well as six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance. The Assembly will hold its annual General debate as well as plenary meetings on cooperation and Review Mechanism. The Assembly will adopt relevant resolutions and 2024 programme budget of the Court.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

“The Palestinian people have the right to a state, and this right is nearly universally recognized at the United Nations. Today, 140 other States (139 UN member states and the Holy See) already recognize the State of Palestine. After decades of the near universal affirmation, including by Canada, that the Palestinian people have a right to self-determination, members of the international community must see to it that this right is finally given effect before it is too late. The United States and United Kingdom have said they are looking into avenues to recognize the State of Palestine and Canada must do the same. For decades Palestinians have been subject to foreign military occupation, resulting in the denial of political and economic sovereignty and the right to move and live freely within what are considered to be Palestinian territories. Canada’s longstanding policy ‘recognizes the Palestinian right to self-determination and supports the creation of a sovereign, independent, viable, democratic and territorially contiguous Palestinian state, as part of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace settlement.’

Read the full statement here.

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[il-predestinato]

Red Bull Racing admin saw Mercedes admin posting 4416 yesterday and said how about you choke on some Lestappen instead 😭

[oseike]

"This person, who not so long ago searched for herbs with me so earnestly....

"It's too sudden. There's so much everyone wants to say, wants to hear.

"If only he could open his eyes one more time..."

If funerals are for the living, what of one's final moments? For whom do they exist? Is it okay to force wakefulness one more time, even if it should cause pain?

EDIT: @keidokusha has translated this to Vietnamese:

Many thanks to them!