CounterVortex

North America

Biden extends bans on offshore drilling

President Joe Biden issued two memoranda to prohibit new offshore drilling within three ocean and coastal regions, compromising over 625 million acres. One of the memoranda withdraws the entire eastern US Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico as well as the continental Pacific Coast. The other provides the withdrawal of certain portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska. According to the White House press release, the withdrawals in these regions are aimed at protecting “coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies—including fishing, recreation, and tourism—from oil spills and other impacts of offshore drilling.” President-elect Donald Trump quickly commented that Biden’s action is “ridiculous” and promised to “unban it immediately.” Trump’s selected White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, characterized the memoranda as “political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices.” (Photo: Berardo62 via Wikimedia Commons)

Syria

Renaissance for Syrian Jews?

In a video published on social media, a representative of the new transitional government in Syria spoke with Bakhour Chamntoub, head of Damascus’ small remnant Jewish community, promising “peace and security” and even calling on Syrian Jews abroad to return to the country. Said the representative, Mohammad Badarieh: “Good evening everyone… from the home of the head of the Jewish community in Damascus, Bakhour. Reassure us that you’re alright.” Replied Chamntoub: “Thank God, all is well.” Referring to Syrian Jews outside the country, Chamntoub acknowledged: “They don’t believe there will be peace, and that they can return home.” But, addressing the diaspora, he echoed the pledge of the transition government: “You will be safe, there will be peace and quiet, and God willing, you’ll return, everyone to his house, to his neighborhood, and to his people….” Chamntoub added that he hopes for the restoration of the city’s ancient Jobar synagogue, which was badly damaged in shelling by the Assad regime. (Photo: Chrystie Sherman)

North America

Podcast: nullify the election! V

Mere days before Congress is to certify the Electoral College votes, a movement has finally emerged to have Donald Trump disqualified from office under the Insurrection Clause of the 14th Amendment. A “14th Now March” in Washington is raising the demand, and is being promoted by the podcast and vlog Lights On with Jessica Denson. Constitutional law scholars Evan Davis and David Schulte make the case in an editorial for The Hill, “Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now.” Several elected officials have been barred from office under the Insurrection Clause since ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868, but applying it to a former president who led an insurrection is the ultimate test of American democracy. In Episode 259 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg urges that this constitutional mechanism be used, and Trump’s victory be nullified. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Image via Free Speech for People)

Europe

Ukraine becomes state party to Rome Statute

Ukraine became the 125th state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). With ratification of the Rome Statute, Ukraine gains full participation rights within the ICC framework, which includes the power to refer cases to the Court. Moreover, the ratification strengthens Ukraine’s ability to prosecute international crimes domestically, aligning its legal system with international standards. Ukraine, however, invoked a transitional provision that limits ICC jurisdiction over war crimes committed by its nationals for seven years, raising concerns about potential selective justice and access to accountability for victims. (Photo: nextvoyage via JURIST)

Watching the Shadows

US transfers Guantánamo detainee to Tunisia

The Pentagon announced that the US has repatriated Guantánamo prisoner Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi to Tunisia after more than two decades in detention. His transfer was delayed by years due to political instability in Tunisia, where he has been convicted in absentia by a military anti-terrorism tribunal. Of the 12 Tunisians who have been detained at Guantánamo, al-Yazidi, 59, was the only one still held there, with the others having been transferred to Tunisia or to third countries. There now remain 26 prisoners at the Guantánamo facility. (Photo: Spc. Cody Black/WikiMedia via Jurist)

Palestine

UN experts see ‘potential genocide’ in Gaza

A group of UN human rights experts called for Israel to face immediate accountability and consequences for systemic violations of international law. As the armed assault on Gaza and forced displacement of its population continues unabated, the UN experts warned: “We cannot afford to lose the force of the multilateral system.” They called for full-scale investigation and an end to impunity in a case of “potential genocide.” They called on all states to “take immediate action to hold Israel accountable for its actions and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice… Only through accountability can the rule of law be upheld and human rights protected.” (Photo: Gloucester2Gaza via Wikimedia Commons)

Mexico

Trade panel strikes down Mexico GMO corn ban

A trade dispute panel convened under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ruled that Mexico’s import restrictions on US genetically modified corn violates the accord. The conflict stems from a presidential decree published by Mexico in February 2023 instating an immediate ban on the use of genetically modified corn in dough and tortillas, and a gradual end to its use in animal feed and other products. The panel determined that the ban was not based on science, and contravened the market access required under the USMCA. However, advocacy groups such as Greenpeace are proponents of the corn decree and implored the US to respect Mexico’s sovereignty, arguing that market dominance of patented GMO varieties leads to the decline of indigenous strains and threatens food security. (Photo of indigenous Mexican corn varieties: Feria de Productores via Earth@Home)

Palestine

BP accused of Gaza war crimes complicity

A group of Palestinian-British individuals took initial steps to bring British Petroleum (BP) to court, accusing the company of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The action led by Bimdman’s LLP asserts BP’s complicity through the continuous supply of crude oil to Israel, facilitated by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline, amid ongoing military operations in Gaza since October 2023. The claimants, backed by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), aim to hold BP responsible for their suffering and press for the company’s immediate cessation of activities they say expedite the conflict. (Photo: Fossil Free London via MEMO)

Planet Watch

New York state climate law makes polluters pay

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law empowering the state government to levy heavy fines on fossil fuel companies. The fines will go to a “superfund” that pays for addressing environmental damages caused by human-driven climate change. The Climate Change Superfund Act creates an adaptation cost recovery program which will be paid for by fossil fuel companies and is estimated to raise $75 billion over 25 years. Climate change is expected to cost New York taxpayers half a trillion dollars in repair and preparations for extreme weather between now and 2050. (Photo of East River Power Plant, New York City, via Wikimedia Commons)

Greater Middle East

Rojava and the Rohingya: fearful symmetry

Three weeks after the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship, the only fighting in Syria remains between Arab and Kurdish militias—holding grim potential for destabilization of the democratic revolution. Kurds had been persecuted and even denied citizenship under the Assad regime, but the invasion of their autonomous territory of Rojava by the Turkish-backed rebels of the Syrian National Army (SNA) drove them into a paradoxical tactical alliance with the dictatorship. The tragic situation in Burma’s Rakhine state mirrors this disturbing reality. The Muslim Rohingya people had been persecuted, denied citizenship and finally targeted in a campaign of genocide by the military, but are now facing attacks by the Buddhist-supremacist rebels of the Arakan Army—driving some Rohingya into a paradoxical tactical alliance with the military junta. In Episode 258 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg offers this analogy in the hope that the peoples of Burma can unite across religious lines to defeat the junta, and that Syrians can find a way toward co-existence in the new revolutionary order and avoid ethnic war. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army-ARSA rebels: Burma News International)

Iraq

Recognition grows for Yazidi genocide

The Swiss parliament officially recognized the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) against Iraq’s Yazidi community as constituting genocide. The motion condemns the systematic expulsion, rape and murder of Yazidis, and the destruction of their cultural sites. The majority of the Swiss National Council voted in favor of the bill, with 105 lawmakers supporting recognition of the genocide and 61 opposing it. The parliament’s statement emphasized the need for reparations and justice for survivors. Switzerland joins several other countries and bodies, including the European Parliament and a UN Commission of Inquiry, in recognizing the ISIS crimes against Yazidis as genocide. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Syria

Syria: UN calls for protection of mass graves

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (CoI) has called on the new authorities in Damascus to protect mass grave sites and relevant documentation. The statement comes after the CoI visited former prisons and detention centers in the country, including the notorious Sednaya prison and Military Intelligence Branch 235 facility. This was the first such visit since the conflict began in 2011. The team was dismayed to find that much evidence and documentation which could have helped families trace disappeared loved ones had been damaged, taken, or destroyed. The CoI urged establishment of a specialized unit to coordinate the protection and preservation of such evidence. (Image: UNHCR)