Brazil: Senate blocks Lula’s Supreme Court nominee, first rejection in 132 years

Source: ABC News

“Brazil’s Senate dealt a political blow to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday by rejecting his nomination to the Supreme Court, the first in more than 130 years and a sign that the veteran leader is not popular among many important lawmakers as he seeks reelection. Only 34 senators voted in favor of Jorge Messias, who has been Brazil’s solicitor-general since 2023 and a close legal adviser to Lula, while another 42 rejected his appointment. Many of the latter, including presidential hopeful Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, celebrated in the chambers after the result. Messias, who also worked for former president and Lula ally Dilma Rousseff, needed 41 votes to be approved.” (04/30/26)

https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/brazils-senate-blocks-lulas-supreme-court-nominee-rejection-132516692

Thomas L. Knapp

Israel’s New World Order: Nothing But the Threat of Endless Death

Source: Antiwar.com
by Andy Worthington

“For the last two and a half years, the State of Israel has unilaterally — and with jaw-dropping illegality — reimagined warfare as a religiously-mandated existential struggle against alleged ‘forces of darkness’ in which there are no rules, and no sense of proportionality or restraint.” (04/30/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/worthington/2026/04/29/israels-new-world-order-nothing-but-the-threat-of-endless-death/

Thomas L. Knapp

The Eulogy That Explains Israel’s Current Tragedy

Source: Foreign Policy
by Robert Zaretsky

“On April 30, 1956, the commander of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Moshe Dayan, spoke at the funeral of Roi Rotberg. A young man in charge of security at the Gaza border settlement of Nahal Oz, Rotberg had been murdered and mutilated by Palestinian fedayeen. Dayan, who had met Rotberg a few days earlier and was impressed by his youth and courage, quickly drafted a eulogy that, in the original Hebrew, runs just 285 words. Nearly the same length of Abraham Lincoln’s 272-word address at Gettysburg, Dayan’s speech has assumed nearly the same foundational role in his own nation’s self-understanding.” (04/30/26)

https://archive.is/gYtbF

Thomas L. Knapp

Trump says US studying troop cuts in Germany, as spat with Merz intensifies

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“The US is ‘studying and reviewing’ whether to reduce the thousands of troops it has stationed in Germany, President Donald Trump has announced via social media. His remarks came days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised his approach to the war in Iran, suggesting that US had been ‘humiliated’ by Iranian negotiators. Trump said in a social media post late on Wednesday that a decision on troop numbers would be made ‘over the next short period of time. Then early on Thursday he rounded on Merz, saying he should ‘spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!).’ The BBC has reached out to the White House for comment. The US has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active duty troops assigned to bases across the country as of last December.” (04/30/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyplg23l30o

Steve Trinward

What Deontological Bars?

Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander

“Constraint consequentialists believe that you should try to do good things that improve the world, unless those break hard-and-fast rules (‘deontological bars). For example, you shouldn’t assassinate democratically-elected leaders, even very bad ones. Why not? Since bad leaders set bad policy, and bad policy can kill many thousands of people, wouldn’t it be for the greater good? Because there’s always one gun-owner who thinks any given leader’s policies are bad, so without the rule, every leader would face constant assassination attempts, probably some of them would succeed, and the nation would either crumble or degenerate into a security state.” (04/30/26)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/what-deontological-bars

Thomas L. Knapp