Mamdani’s class warfare against New York businesses is “economic vandalism”

Source: Fox News
by Steve Forbes

“Last fall, when New York’s business community warned that the election of a self-described democratic socialist as mayor would trigger an assault on the city’s economic engine, we were waved off as hysterical. The press assured us that Zohran Mamdani was ‘evolving’, that his rhetoric would soften, that we should focus instead on his vague promises of ‘affordability’. That reassurance evaporated almost instantly. Barely two weeks after his swearing-in — amid lofty rhetoric about ‘the warmth of collectivism’ — the Mamdani administration unveiled its real agenda. Sam Levine, the newly installed commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and a veteran of Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission, released a sensational report accusing companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats of ‘diverting’ more than $500 million from delivery workers.” (02/02/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mamdanis-class-warfare-against-new-york-businesses-economic-vandalism

Steve Trinward

Catholic Church and Italy investigate sacred and profane cherub seemingly modeled on Meloni

Source: SFGate

“There is a long tradition of painters depicting real people in their religious art, but the appearance in a Roman church of a cherub that bears a striking resemblance to Premier Giorgia Meloni has sparked a minor scandal for both church and state in Italy. The diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Ministry both announced investigations into the recent renovations at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, after photographs of the Meloni-esque cherub were published in Italian newspapers this weekend. Their swift and harsh reactions indicated little tolerance for the profane in a sacred place. The ruckus has given the basilica, already well known as one of the oldest churches in Rome, newfound celebrity status. It was jammed on Sunday and Monday with curiosity-seekers straining to photograph the angel in a side chapel up near the front altar, at times disrupting Mass.” (02/02/25)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/catholic-church-and-italy-investigate-sacred-and-21329101.php

Steve Trinward

Germany: Five arrested on suspicion of illegal exports to Russian arms firms

Source: Politico

“German customs officers arrested five men Monday for allegedly violating European Union embargoes on Russia by exporting industrial goods to Russian arms manufacturers. The defendants arranged for around 16,000 deliveries to Russia, according to the ongoing investigation, with illegal transactions amounting to at least €30 million, the office of Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General said in a press release. The arrests come as authorities in Kyiv urge European leaders to crack down on exports of industrial goods and parts that Russia can use to manufacture weapons deployed in the war on Ukraine.” (02/02/26)

https://www.politico.eu/article/five-men-arrested-germany-suspicion-illegal-exports-russia-arms-firms/

Thomas L. Knapp

Fantasies of Fragmenting Iran Only Serve Israeli Interests

Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño

“A troubling convergence has emerged among Western think tanks, Israeli politicians, and exiled opposition figures advocating for the partition of Iran along ethnic and sectarian lines. This strategy represents a dangerous escalation from traditional regime change toward what can only be described as regime destruction, a policy shift that would benefit Israeli regional ambitions while catastrophically destabilizing the Middle East and creating humanitarian disasters that would dwarf the Syrian refugee crisis.” (02/02/26)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/fantasies-of-fragmenting-iran-only-serve-israeli-interests

Thomas L. Knapp

Geo-kleptocracy and the rise of “global mafia politics”

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin de Caro

“In his second inaugural address, Trump claimed he wanted to be remembered as a peacemaker. Instead, he’s practicing what the scholar Alex de Waal calls ‘global mafia politics,’ the new rules of an unraveling order that render familiar debates between realists and idealists, or restrainers versus primacists, somewhat stale. To better understand this dynamic, I spoke to de Waal about his thesis that the ‘political marketplace’ now dominates international relations.” (02/02/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/global-mafia-politics/

Thomas L. Knapp

Philippines: Duterte faces new impeachment bids after surviving attempt

Source: ABC News

“Activists filed two impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte Monday, accusing her of large-scale corruption after an initial attempt to unseat her a year ago was shot down by the Supreme Court on a legal technicality. The new impeachment bids filed before the House of Representatives are the latest episode in the stormy political life of Duterte, a 47-year-old lawyer and former city mayor who has been touted by supporters as a potential presidential contender in 2028. She is the daughter of ex- President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw bloody anti-drug crackdowns while in office from 2016 to 2022. He was arrested and detained in the Netherlands by the International Criminal Court last year for alleged crimes against humanity.” (02/02/26)

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/philippine-vice-president-faces-2-new-impeachment-bids-129775355

Thomas L. Knapp