Chicago police clear out pro-Palestinian DePaul quad encampment

Fighting Flares Anew in Gaza as Hamas Reconstitutes

Source: The New York Times

As the Israeli military stepped up pressure on what it calls Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, fighting elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave on Sunday led to warnings that the militants might remain a force for a long time to come.

Close-quarters ground combat between Hamas fighters and Israeli troops raged in parts of northern Gaza over the weekend, both sides said on Sunday, even as the world’s attention was largely focused on the southern city of Rafah, where Israel escalated military operations last week.

It has become a familiar scenario in the Gaza Strip over the course of the seven-month war: After pitched battles, Israel declares an area clear of Hamas, only to return after the militants reconstitute their forces.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said he was concerned that Israel’s failure to lay down a template for the governance of Gaza meant that its victories might not be “sustainable” and would be followed by “chaos, by anarchy and ultimately by Hamas again.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/12/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza.html

CPS students protest Gaza war and march to University of Chicago, DePaul encampments

Students at several Chicago high schools are protesting the war in Gaza on Wednesday by first demonstrating in their schools then marching to encampments at the University of Chicago and DePaul University.

Anti-war protests have swept college campuses in recent weeks as students support Palestinians in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, decry what they call censorship from their universities and call on institutions to divest from weapons manufacturers and companies supporting Israel.

Chicago Public Schools students are joining those efforts with “sit-in” demonstrations at several schools throughout the day before heading to local universities to support college students. Hundreds of CPS kids last held a walk-out and protest in January against the war in Gaza and in support of a City Council resolution calling for a cease-fire.

Students were expected to demonstrate at schools including Chicago High School for the Arts, Payton College Prep, Hancock College Prep, Jones College Prep and Kenwood Academy High School.

https://www.wbez.org/stories/cps-students-protest-gaza-war/508fc9ac-6c96-4c30-ab24-d8d77bd93edf

Anyone else seriously impressed by Wes Moore (Governor of Maryland)?

Anyway, I am.

Well done thus far.

Bring Chicago Home Referendum Failing in Illinois

The referendum was to raise taxes on big ticket properties in order to pay for homeless services. Higher transfer tax on properties over $1 million was the big ticket item, with proceeds going directly to homeless services.

It's currently losing 54-46, with 91% counted. Looks over.

In more comical news, Trumpy dipshit Darren Bailey is losing in a Reoublican primary in IL-12. Embarrassing. I mean, he just got smoked in the governor's race two years ago, but this one was supposed to be doable. Ooops.

JB Pritzker is running lots of campaign ads...but it's a bit weird because...

It's the middle of his term. He's not up for re-election for two more years.

So, you tell me what's going on here.

I have an idea, though...

Gangs Completely Empty Haitian Prisons - 4000 thought to have escaped

Meloni announces Chico Forti to be transferred to Italy after Biden meeting

President Biden met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House today. Meloni, from the far right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, has proved an unlikely ally on European support for Ukraine, taking a strong pro-Ukraine stance both domestically and in the G7.

It's all over the Italian press that Meloni has announced the transfer to Italy of Enrico "Chico" Forti, who was convicted of murder in Florida and sentenced to life without parole. He is considered by many Italians the "Italian Amanda Knox," convicted and sentenced for a crime he did not commit (editor's note: he's almost certainly guilty).

Italy sought to have him transferred to an Italian prison in a deal that all but had him on a plane three years ago. However, it fell through because Miami-Dade prosecutors appealed to Ron DeSantis that his transfer would in essence amount to a sentence reduction because Italy at that time didn't have a life without parole sentence. (This was in 2020).

Meloni posted to Instagram today that they were now expecting him at any time in Italy, and thanking Florida and the federal government for working the deal. It is almost certain that he will be released soon by any Italian court, as it is the widespread belief in Italy that he was railroaded by Miami-Dade prosecutors. Also, Meloni's Twitter video is awfully welcoming for an convicted murderer. It's like "And now we're awaiting you in Italy, Chico." Yeesh.

Columbia Official Is Accused of Plagiarizing Dissertation From Wikipedia

Source: The New York Times

An official in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center was accused this week of plagiarizing large sections of his doctoral dissertation, according to an anonymous complaint filed with the university.

The 55-page complaint accused the official, Alade McKen, of copying material in his 2021 dissertation at Iowa State University from more than two dozen other scholars and from Wikipedia, which is written and edited by volunteers from the general public.

The complaint was published online Thursday by The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news website that led a campaign last year against the former president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay. She resigned in January following accusations of plagiarism and after her response to antisemitism on campus was criticized.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/nyregion/columbia-medical-plagiarism-wikipedia.html

Photofinish in Sardinian regional elections (Italia), with the left in a slight lead

Regional elections for Sardegna (Sardinia) were held yesterday, with vote counting still ongoing. However, it looks like it might be a surprise win for Alessandra Todde (5 Star Movement) over Paolo Truzzu, the FdI (Brothers of Italy) favorite and ally of Giorgia Meloni.

Think of it as essentially a governors and state house race in the US, where a region functions something like a state (not really, but close enough). The victory will make Todde the first woman President (governor) of Sardegna, as well as the first 5 Star Movement President of any region.

The center-left coalition is touting it as a major victory - the win is even bigger when the Greens and the other left parties are thrown in. Elly Schlein (PD - essentially the Democrats) showed up, as did Giuseppe Conti (5 Star Movement, former Prime Minister) to proclaim that the wind has changed in Europe's rightward lurch (Schlein: "Adesso cambia il vento" ), results in Portugal notwithstanding. It's probably an overly optimistic view, but let's take the wins when they come in.