hr 1968 (12. 305)

Though hard to forecast what might have been the better path through an undesirable binary, and mostly cleaving to party lines, an early procedural vote against cloture and ultimately advancing of a continuing resolution through the senate to avoid a US government shutdown at midnight seems to have been a grave political miscalculation with Democrats squandering the only leverage they had to slow or derail Trump’s dismantling of the federal bureaucracy. In response to Musk commenting that closing down the government might be a preferable course of action for the DOGE agenda, senate minority leader Chuck Schumer reversed his stance on the spending bill that keeps government funded through the end of the fiscal year and along with nine other Democrats, voted with Republicans for the passage, reaching the sixty votes needed to avoid a filibuster—earning praise from Trump for his decision and highlighting deep divisions within the party. If the GOP had wanted the government to shutdown, they wouldn’t have advanced the budget in the first place, which until it passed the first hurdle of the house of representatives, Democrats were united against it. The CR is essentially a sequestration, maintaining funding levels but removing line item allocations and collapsing appropriations into larger pots of money, further abrogating the role of congress and allowing the executive branch to move funds, legally, as it sees fit.  Unabated with his assault on the republic, Trump issued more executive orders while roll-call was happening on the senate floor, rescinding the federal minimum wage of fifteen dollars per hour, the mandate for agencies to share data on emergent public health threats as well as order the closure of the parent agency that operates Voice of America and Radio Free Europe and smaller offices that handle labour disputes, the council on homelessness, developing minority-owned businesses and the institute of museum and library services—agency heads given seven days to justify their existence and prove that their work is statutorily required.

inatsisartut (12. 296)

Though a referendum for independence is not explicitly on the ballot, forty-thousand of the island territory’s population of fifth-six-thousand residents have cast their vote in what could be consequential election of the autonomous region with geopolitical overtones that extend far beyond local politics. Characterised as a “fateful choice” for Greenlanders by the Prime Minister Múte Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede (incidentally a descendant of eighteenth century missionary Hans Poulsen Egede who founded the capital as Godthåb, now known as Nuuk, documented one of the earliest encounters with a sea-serpent and had challenges translating the Lord’s Prayer as the populace had no concept of bread and first tried to convey “Give us this day our daily seal”) of the democratic socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit pro-independence party, previously lobbied successfully to leave the EU over fishing rights, while recognising how the strategically located landmass is a point of contention for polarised powers seeking a foothold in the Arctic and mid-Atlantic. Results, once the tally is complete—an arduous task on the world’s largest island (granted home rule since 1979 with the above titular unicameral parliament—“those who make the law”) to collect ballots from isolated communities and general not subject to immediate speculation—will indicate whether Greenland wants to rehabilitate relations with Denmark or move towards integration with the United States with overtures to “buy” (or annex) it outright for its geographical vantage point and mineral wealth. Sentiment suggests that Kalaallit would prefer to be prefer and allowed self-determination and reject becoming another colony, especially given US imperial ambitions and its disrespectful and untrustworthy treatment of supposed allies and partners.

♀ (12. 293)

Courtesy of our faithful chronicler, we learn that on this day in 1914 suffragette and activist Mary Raleigh Richardson walked into the National Gallery and attacked The Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez with a meat cleaver in protest of the arrest and incarceration of movement leader Emmeline Pankhurst the day prior. After slashing the canvas, apprehended and sentenced to the maximum allowable for vandalising a work of art of six-months, Richardson issued a statement to the press: “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the government for destroying Mrs Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history,” her actions further embellished in the papers in violent terms and framed as a callous murder of a actual person—an enduring problem when most female eponyms bestowed on places are not for actual figures but rather goddesses and deifications and more defamed by the omission, see also here and here. Velázquez’ 1651 work, successfully restored after the attack but again vandalised in 2023 by Just Stop Oil activists, was rather singular as one of the few nudes to come out of Spain during the Inquisition (Richardson also objected to the way gentleman gallery-goers leered at the image) and the motif, often copied, gave rise to the psychological, depictive departure known as the Venus Effect (cf, titular planetary symbol) with the goddess contemplating her reflection with back turned to the audience, seeing her face though not directly behind her, the intuitive framing often used in cinema to better frame an actor looking in the mirror.

marbury v madison (12. 258)

In the aftermath of the fiercely contested US presidential election of 1800 (see previously), a three-way race among incumbent John Adams, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, with Jefferson ultimately winning with the electoral college by a very narrow margin. Once realising that they were unseated Adams and the Federalist party attempted to fill as many judicial vacancies as possible with loyalists and avowed “anti-Jeffersonians”—mostly circuit judges, during the last days in office. One of these appointees was a wealthy businessman and lawyer from Maryland, the plaintiff, William Marbury—nominees approved by the senate en masse. The new judges received their commissions and sworn in, however, for a few, it was not accomplished before inauguration day—including for Marbury—Jefferson instructing his secretary of state, James Madison, to withhold those commissions not yet delivered and declare them void. The ensuing lawsuit, elevated to the supreme court, was decided on this day in 1803, ruling that Marbury was legally entitled to his commission and withholding it was a violation of his rights—issuing a writ of mandamus and ordering the matter be remediated, but more over established the principle of judicial review, meaning that the courts have the power to strike down statues and legislation that run counter to the constitution, understood as the national codex and not just a statement of political ideas and aspirations and gives the judicial branch the responsibility to review the acts of the legislative and executive.

bundestagswahl (12. 255)

With the highest voter turn-out since the reunification in 1990, exit polling suggest that the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Friedrich Merz. In light of recent events, the prospective chancellor is vowing “independence” from the US and hopes to build a coalition government quickly. Invigorated by violent crime, immigration and lingering inflation, AfD doubled its results vis-a-vis the last federal election, but all parties have pledged to maintain a firewall to cordon off the far-right, populist opposition. Final distribution of the parliamentary seats are still pending, but the most likely scenario is a partnership with the SPD (Social Democratic Party) or a three-way governance with the Greens. The administration of Olaf Scholz underwent an acrimonious collapse over differences in spending priorities hours after the reelection of Donald Trump.

if american democracy can survive ten years of scolding from greta thunberg, you guys can survive a few months of elon musk (12. 233)

US Vice President and tortured man-child JD Vance opened the Munich Security Conference with a scorching assault on European partners, reframing their attempts to uphold the democratic order by cordoning off extreme nationalist elements (indeed the firewall is for MAGA too) as the true commination to freedom and liberty and accusing their governments of censorship, suppressing free speech—nullifying election results and condoning dangerous and illegal immigration. Citing the threat from within—and questioning whether the US and Europe had any shared values, Vance deviated from the expected topics of Ukraine and the overall security agenda to awkwardly to lecture politicians and policy makers he characterised as running scared from their electorate and paralysed be political correctness and elitism—deputising Trump as the “new sheriff” and that democratic institutions would indeed fail if the people’s issues were deemed invalid. The hall was in shock and did not appreciate the undeniable deflection as being labeled authoritarian regimes, recognising the ill-judged sermon (whose jokes did not land) as aimed for domestic consumption only, at best, and election interference for upcoming voting in Germany at worst.

crowd size (12. 196)

Marking the fiftieth US presidential inauguration, the second swearing-in of Ronald Reagan and deputy George H W Bush was, due to inclement weather conditions, a televised ceremony inside the capitol rotunda, organisers compelled to curtail the public event over sub-zero temperatures, cancelling parades and other fanfare. A repeat ceremony was held the next day in the venue of the Capital Centre basket ball stadium in the Maryland suburbs with attendance of the replacement event in the thousands as compared to the ninety-six that had shown up for the first one. High school bands that had travelled to DC to perform were rescheduled for a Memorial Day march held at Disney’s EPCOT theme park attended by Reagan.

synchronoptica

one year ago:Australia in infrared (with synchronoptica) plus epigraphic letters

 

seven years ago: US government shuts down due to a lapse in appropriations, “Things that Weaken the American” plus more nostalgia for the early internet

eight years ago: updating the chain of command portrait wall plus assorted links worth revisiting

nine years ago: the archetypal wild man, space blossoms plus more links to enjoy

ten years ago: unpegging the Swiss franc plus Japanese onomatopoeia

community notes (12. 152)

In what’s being characterised by some as a radical departure in policy but really just proves how garbage the platform is and always was, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta announced that Facebook, Instagram and Threads will stop referring controversial and potentially misleading posts to independent factcheckers to review and will now instead follow the model of X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, owned by shadow president apartheid Space Karen, and rely on fellow users to add caveats and context to contentious posts. We can imagine who might volunteer for the job of hall monitor and what abusive vitriol that they might have to endure. Just ahead of Trump’s inauguration, which he donated a million dollars to—a quite meaningless sum to him just like the campaign money that Musk contributed to help secure Trump’s win, Zuckerberg, whom like all the technocrats has been trying to secure the incoming president’s good graces, said, “The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritising free speech.” Aiming to remove bias by getting rid of moderation and lift restrictions on topics (which were never taboo but had in place guardrails to protect from harassment, hate speech and disinformation) like immigration and gender identity and promote more political posts, the platform hopes to generate discourse reflective of a free society and cites supposed regimes in Europe and Latin America institutionalising censorship and making innovation impossible.  Meta has gone full MAGA and it would be best to vacate this Nazi bar too.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year (with synchronoptica), a folk reckoning of Spring’s arrival plus exceptional fungi

seven years ago: a drive-in recharging station 

eight years ago: recreating the ancient soundscapes of Stonehenge, glass pennies plus the urban history of Istanbul

nine years ago: safety advice for terrorist attacks plus the Scunthorpe Problem

ten years ago: two spirits, peak oil plus theofascism and the Charlie Hebdo attack

public law 49-90 (12. 150)

A joint-session of the US congress is set to convene for what had previously been the unceremonious administrative task of certifying the votes of the Electoral College in some ways will be like the proforma ritual of the past but there are still very present reminders of what occurred at the Capitol four years ago. With no dispute from the losing party, there will be no angry rioters descending on the hall of government, motivated by the unseated president who never conceded the other’s victory and no vandalism and violence to stop the process (unguarded threats and calls of widespread voter fraud hurled by the Republicans throughout the campaign immediately dissipated shortly after polls closed on election day), the grounds have still been put on high alert with temporary fencing and legislation was passed in the immediate aftermath to better codify a framework based on normative behaviour but full of attendant ambiguities and foster the peaceful transition of power. Rejecting an elector’s ballot would require a major vote in both chambers to sustain an objection and explicitly defines the role of the Vice President as President of the Senate as purely magisterial and does not and never did have the authority to overturn the counting, despite what Trump amplified to his supporters, sending a literal lynch mob after Mike Pence (and other public officials). As happened last in 2001 with Gore losing to Bush, Kamala Harris will oversee the certification of the presidential race in favour of her opponent.

a fine man of great ability (12. 141)

To honour the legacy of Jimmy Carter, President Biden ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast for a thirty day period of national mourning, which will include the inauguration ceremony. Holding his tongue for a few days, Trump waited until his endorsed candidate for Speaker of the House was losing his reelection by congressional Republicans to try to stoke public outrage over this perceived slight—remembering that Cheeto Mussolini never got over crowd size for his first inaugural. Though by the second round of voting, Mike Johnson had secured enough support, enough to call the House of Representatives to session and begin legislation to enact Trump’s agenda, he only scraped by with two votes to spare, revealing deepening divisions with the GOP. Imagine if they were allowed a secret ballot. Biden’s orders will stand, though Trump could raise flags at noon once he becomes president, “Dictator but only for Day One,” and probably will. It’s a small concession to a statesman and philanthropist of Carter’s stature (the title is rather a quote that Trump had for his sycophant Johnson) and it reminds me of how much of the public never forgave Queen Elizabeth II when the palace refused to lower the flag and personal banner for the death of Princess Diana (as the monarch was in residence at that was the done thing). More over, it echoes the indignity, petty cruelty done to Carter, the greatest ex-president, on his last hours in office, having skipped much campaigning for reelection to focus on freeing the American hostages held in Iran, when the incoming administration pressured the Iranians to delay the flight out until Ronald Reagan took power, so the long affair was not resolved under his predecessor’s watch.

synchronoptica

one year ago: slippery when wet (with synchronoptica) plus an orgiastic organ performance

seven years ago: a trove of letterpress movie promotional blocks, assorted links worth revisiting, hostile punctuation plus a Jurassic park

eight years ago: a McDonald’s at the Vatican plus a gallery of perspective

nine years ago: tonic and toil, tomato pin-cushions, emoji to lull you to sleep plus completing the periodic table

ten years ago: anticipating Epiphany, more on the North Korean cyberattack against a movie studio, Nietzsche’s Gay Science plus internecine battles

mmxxiv (12. 124)

As this calendar draws to a close and we look forward to 2025, we again take time to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past year. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

january: The ruling Progressive Democratic Party secures the presidency in Taiwan, along with Bangladesh and the Marshall Island, kicking off the biggest year for elections.  The International Criminal Court rules that Israel must take all measures to curb genocidal conduct in Gaza but falls short of ordering the halt of the incursions.  Japan lands on the Moon.

february: Violent volcanic eruptions force evacuation in Iceland.  King Charles III announces he has cancer and will step away from public-facing duties for the present.  Ex-Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin in Moscow. 

Special council investigating Joe Biden’s unauthorised retention of classified material from his vice-presidency opts not to press charges, citing the US president’s failing memory.  Long time host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Bob Edwards, has died, aged 76.  Israeli forces push further into Palestine, escalating raids in Rafah.  Jon Stewart returns as host of the Daily Show after a nine year hiatus.  Opposition leader and Putin critic Alexie Navalny found dead in remote arctic penal colony where he was detained for the past three years.  The Supreme Court of Alabama has declared frozen embryos legal persons and fearing for legal peril, university clinics in the state have suspended in-vitro fertilisation procedures in response to the ruling.  One hundred thousand protest votes of uncommitted for Joe Biden are cast against Joe Biden in the Michigan Democratic primarily over his support for Israel.  Veteran senator and Trumpism foil and sometimes enabler, Mitch McConnell, announces he will step down as leader of the Republican Party in November.  Dissident Nalvany is permitted a public funeral.

march: Fashion doyenne Iris Apfel passes away, aged 102.  One day ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, the US Supreme Court ruled that no state can keep Trump off the ballot.  Over a hundred Palestinians are massacred by Israeli force as they rush a rare relief convoy entering the besieged city of al-Rashid.  Nikki Haley drops out of the race for the Republican party nomination for presidential candidate. 

Joe Biden delivers a wide-ranging, fiery and impassioned State of the Union address, remonstrating that one cannot just love their country when one’s side is winning.  Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama passed away, aged 68.  Facing an imminent ground incursion into Rafah, the Speaker of the US Senate called for Israeli elections and regime change, as America’s petition for an immediate ceasefire was vetoed in the UN by Russia and China.  Accused of monopolistic practises harmful to innovation and consumers in the “superior smart phone” market, the US department of justice files an antitrust lawsuit against Apple.  Wild media speculation left the royal family with little choice about coming forward with the Princess of Wales cancer diagnosis.  A terrorist attack at a music venue on the outskirts of Moscow kills dozens, burns down the concert hall.  A abstention by the US during a UN ceasefire vote allows the resolution to pass, triggering the ire of the Israeli government though the assault on Gaza continues unabated.

april: Seven humanitarian aid workers of World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike whilst travelling along a pre-authorised aid corridor to bring food to the starving outside of Deir al-Balah.   Israel

kills several top Iranian generals in a bombing of the country’s embassy in Damascus, Syria.  A powerful earthquake strikes Taiwan, displacing thousands.  Actor and comedian Joe Flaherty passes away, aged 82.  México severs diplomatic relations with Ecuador after raid on its embassy in Quito resulted in the apprehension of the former Ecuadorian president seeking asylum there.  OJ Simpson passes away, aged 76.  Iran launches a barrage of projectiles at Israel in retaliation for its attack on an embassy in Syria.  The historic Børsen of Copenhagen is severely damaged by fire.  Unprecedented flood inundates the Gulf of Arabia.  Israel strikes back against Iranian military installations.  In an extraordinary Saturday session, the US House after months of delay passes separate foreign aid packages for Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine.  The US Federal Communications Commission votes to restore net-neutrality.  Fresh from declaring being poor a crime, the US Supreme Court entertains Trump’s claim for presidential immunity.  The criminal trial against Trump stemming from a hush-money payment made to a porn-star begin in Manhattan. 

may: Protest rage on college campuses across the United States for the country’s materiel support for Israel and the universities’ financial ties in the ongoing assault on Palestine. 

Author Paul Auster passes away, aged 77.  A second whistleblower formerly employed by Boeing dies within the space of month.  Labour sees big gains in UK local elections.  Stormy Daniels gives testimony in the Trump trial.  US announces pauses in delivering Israel materiel aid after resolution for incursions into Rafah.  Legendary grindhouse director Roger Corman passes away, aged 98.  Author Alice Munroe passes away at 92.  The president of Slovakia narrowly survives an assassination attempt.  The president and foreign minister of Iran die in a helicopter crash near Azerbaijan.  The Internation Criminal Court of the Hague issues arrest warrants for Israeli leader Benjamin Netayahu and Hamas in Gaza head Yahya Sinwar.  China conducts provocative military drills around Taiwan, expressing dissatisfaction with the newly elected president.  Russian air assaults continue against Ukraine.  Ireland and Norway join Spain in recognising the state of Palestine, while Israel presses on with incursions into Rafah despite condemnation from the UN.

june: México elects its first woman president to continue the liberal and progressive policies of her predecessor.  

After the US authorises limited use of American munitions defensively on Russian territory, Putin suggests that Russia could arm countries looking to target the West.  The coalition governments of Olaf Scholtz and Emmanuel Macron face dissolution following significant gains by far-right parties in EU elections.  Charges stemming from not disclosing his drug addiction while purchasing a fire-arm, US president Joe Biden’s son Hunter is found guilty with no pardon in the offering.  Project scientist for the Voyager programme Edward C Stone passes away, aged 88.  At the height of the pandemic, the Pentagon rans a secret disinformation campaign in the Philippines to discourage people from taking the Chinese-developed vaccine.  Putin and Kim meet for a summit in North Korea.  Baseball great Willie Mays passes away, aged 93.  Veteran actor Donald Sutherland dies, aged 88. A disastrous debate performance against Trump causes some prominent Democrats to urge Biden to step down as the party’s candidate.

july: Labour wins in the UK General Election.  France’s second round of voting keeps the extreme right from power.  Iran elects progressive reformist Masoud Pezeshkian.  Actor Shelley Duvall passes away, aged 75.

Just ahead of the US Republican National Convention, an assassination attempt was made against presumptive party candidate Trump, who forty-eight hours later announces junior senator from the state of Ohio, JD Vance as his running-mate.  Ursula von der Leyen reelected as European Commission president.  Veteran actor Bob Newhart has died, aged 94.  A massive IT outage linked to Windows PCs disrupts banks, travel and media outlets globally. Israeli president Netanyahu addresses the US congress with thousands protesting his presence as the assault on Gaza continues.  Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed during a raid by the Israeli Defence Forces on his compound in Tehran.  Joe Biden calls for radical reform for the US supreme court, including term limits, an enforceable code of ethics and a constitutional amendment limiting broad immunity from prosecution for holders of the high office. 

august: a prisoner-exchange sees American journalists detained in Russia freed.  Anti-immigration riots spread violence in Sunderland over several days.  Trump agrees to debate Harris but only on his terms. 

Global stock markets had a case of the Mondays and sharply decline faced with a possible US recession and opposing currency policies.  Kalama Harris picks Minnesota congressman Tim Walz as her running-mate in the American presidential election.  Google found in violation of anti-trust laws for its monopolistic practises in advertising and creating a walled-garden.  During the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Joe Biden formally and symbolically passes the torch to Harris and Walz in a moving speech capping a fifty-year political career.  Potential spoiler candidate independent RFK Jr drops out of the US presidential race and endorses Trump, who in exchange vows to declassify more files on the Kennedy assassination.  French authorities detain Telegram founder Pavel Durov at the ORLY departure lounge over lack of moderation on the platform abetting organised crime.

september: the Israeli public call for a nation-wide general strike after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas are recovered over the government’s handling of the war that has lasted nearly a year with no signs of ending. 

Consummate, veteran actor James Earl Jones has passed away, aged 93.  Trump and Harris hold a televised debate, meeting one another face-to-face for the first time.   China raises its retirement age for the first time since the 1950s.  Catastrophic floods strike central Europe, with thousands displaced in Poland and Czechia.  After a series of deadly knife attacks, German reintroduces checks at all of its land borders.  A second assassination attempt on Trump is thwarted as he is golfing on one of his courses.  Israel planted explosive devices in thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah months ahead of a coordinated explosion that killed nine individuals and wounded hundreds.  Tens of thousands evacuate southern Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes intensify, killing over five hundred individuals.  The king of Thailand signs same-sex marriage bill into law, making the nation third in the Asian-Pacific region to recognise LGBTQ+ equality after Taiwan and Nepal. Veteran actor Maggie Smith passes away, aged 89.  New York City mayor Eric Adams indicted on fraud and corruption charges.  Continuing to bombard Beirut, Israeli Defence Forces have killed Hezbollah senior leader Hassan Nasrallah.  Singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson dead at 88.  Israel launches a limited ground offensive into southern Lebanon.  

october: Former American president Jimmy Carter turns 100.  US ports shut down as dockworkers go on strike. Tehran fires a barrage of hundreds of missiles into Israel.  The Europa Clipper is launched to study the Jovian satellite. 

As Palestinians continue to be displaced by violence in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel has expanded combat operations into Lebanon, Iran and Yemen.  Trump is interviewed by podcaster Joe Rogan. Israeli Defence Forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, with Israel vowing to take Rafah.  Israel bombs weapons depots near Tehran as the forced depopulation of northern Gaza continues.  Moldova holds a referendum, narrowly deciding to pursue EU membership.  Parliamentary election results in Georgia are rejected by president Salome Zourabichvili, who calls for mass rally and investigation into voting irregularities that gave the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party a controlling majority.  North Korea deploys ten thousand soldiers to Russia to fight in western Ukraine.  Israel bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in the occupied territory while bombing a five storey apartment complex in northern Gaza, killing scores.  Scores of people are killed as flooding ravages Valencia. 

november: Veteran entertainment producer Quincy Jones dead at 91.  Following a controversial outcome in Georgia, Moldova re-elects pro-Brussels government of Maia Sandu.  Elon Musk to spend election night with Trump watching returns—handing over executive control of X to the former president.  Donald Trump is re-elected as the president of the United States. 

The coalition government of Germany collapses.  Australia bans social media for youths under sixteen years of age.  Canada orders Tik-Tok to cease operations in the country but lets users keep the app and continue making content.  Already ravaged by successive hurricanes that has rendered the country’s electrical grid inoperable, an earthquake strikes Cuba.  Youtube celebrity Jake Paul fights Mike Tyson to an audience of sixty-million.  Russia launches a major attack on Ukrainian infrastructure, and Biden authorises the use of long-range missiles into Russian territory.  Pope Francis calls for investigations to determine whether Israeli forces are engaging in genocide in Palestine.  Thomas E Kurtz, co-inventor of BASIC, passes away, aged 96.  The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahyu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, possibly killed by an Israeli airstrike in July, for war crimes in the prosecution of the offensive in Palestine.  After thirty-five years with the show, Pamela Hayden announces her retirement from The Simpsons.  Israel and Hezbollah reach a truce to stop the war in Lebanon.   Trump announced a tranche of punitive tariffs for Canada, Mexico and China that will only punish US businesses and consumers, a possibly add to inflationary pressure at the supermarket, a major factor in re-electing Trump to office.  Syrian rebels take Aleppo as government forces retreat.  

december: Trump nominates Kash Patel to head FBI, prompting Biden to give his son a blanket pardon.  South Korea declares martial law.  The CEO of a major America health insurance provider is assassinated in broad daylight in New York City.  Romanian constitutional court annuls election after suspected Russian interference.  Syrian rebels capture Damascus as Bashar al-Assad reported flees the country.  Taking advantage of the power vacuum, Israel launches heavy airstrikes on Syrian defences and infrastructure.  The diet of South Korea votes to impeach the country’s president.  Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain passes away, aged 73.  A day after being tried in absentia for the war crime of using chemical weapons, a top Russian general was assassinated by an exploding e-scooter in Moscow.  The Pelicott rape case concludes in France.  A vehicle-ramming attack strikes the Magdeburger Christmas Market.  Russia accidentally downs an Azerbaijani civilian airplane while repelling Ukrainian attacks.  Former US president Jimmy Carter passes away, aged 100. 

stop-gap (12. 096)

A month prior to taking office at the end of the Biden administration, Trump and his unelected lieutenants are already bringing upheaval and chaos by cowing Congress in not allowing the legislature to vote on a carefully crafted, bipartisan funding measure that would have kept the government running through March (effectively punting the budget fight to the midpoint of new administration’s first hundred days and an onerous distraction from the MAGA team’s barn-burning agenda) that the Speaker of the House agreed to bring to the chamber’s floor, a pared-down version hastily put together failing to pass. Using his platform and influence, Musk argues that no bill should be passed prior to the inauguration and the US government will shut down on midnight Friday—see previously. Non-essential employees will be furloughed and most services suspended, and whilst House Republicans are working to draft another version without buy in from the Democrats without compromise no bill will be able to pass the Senate. This campaign of terror is ostensibly another tactic in the quiver of the Department of Government Efficiency to illustrate who could be made redundant, closing shop over the holidays with no guarantee of restored pay.

say my name (12. 077)

Launching his bid for the party nomination for on this day in 1974—barred constitutionally from standing for the governorship of the state of Georgia for a second term—the fifty year old Carter began his campaign enunciating his intentions to counter the derision of opponents mocking his relatively unknown status with “Jimmy who?” A severe economic depression in the ensuing years prior to the 1976 election and Gerald Ford’s diminished public reception due to his pardoning of Nixon caused the Democrats to feel confident about returning to power. Ford’s debate gaffe that there was “no Soviet dominion in Eastern Europe and under Ford administration there never will be” did not help either—see also. Enlisting help from popular performers in the meantime, Carter raised his profile significantly and garnered a plurality of his party’s support in the primaries.

contingent election (12. 047)

On this day in 1824, the US presidential election whose voting had started back on 26 October between candidates Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William Crawford and Henry was punted to Congress as no candidate had secured an electoral majority (see previously here and here) under the provisions of Amendment XII to the constitution. The race was called a stalemate—John Caldwell Calhoun (pictured), after failing to secure party support as the presidential nominee agreed to stand for the role of vice president and comfortably won a plurality in the Electoral College—and voting was adjourned until 9 February with each state delegation given one vote for the candidate, to be decided through debate within their caucus. The election cycle of 1800 was also called by the House of Representatives but it was the Three-Fifths Compromise that enabled first Thomas Jefferson and ultimately Andrew Jackson to win, counting enslaved individuals who had no franchise as count as 3/5 of a person for purposes of apportionment of members to congress, based on a state’s population.

помаранчева революція (12.022)

Beginning on this day in 2004, the series of protests (see also) lasting two months and one day called the Orange Revolution (Pomarancheva revoliutsiia, the colour of the campaign of Western-oriented Viktor Yushchenko and adopted by his supporters) caused political upheaval and reform and was sparked by the outcome of a presidential run-off perceived to be marred with fraud, corruption and voter intimidation, which favoured Russia-aligned candidate Victor Yanukovich. The Ukrainian Supreme Court was swayed by the acts of non-violent civil disobedience and general disruption, backed by international observers that questioned the election’s validity and annulled the results of the initial second round and ordered new voting, under close scrutiny, which were judged free and fair and ultimately installed Yushchenko in office with a “public inauguration on 23 January 2005.

9x9 (12. 004)

if you really care about women having autonomy, you should stop questioning our decision to elect a guy who wants to take it away: sure, I voted for someone whose policies might kill you, but now’s the time to put aside our differences  

with some account of the judicial “congress”: John Davenport’s 1869 collected essays on Aphrodisiacs and Anti-Aphrodisiacs  

operation bear claw: four Los Angeles residents charged with insurance fraud for dressing in a costume and damaging luxury cars  

goldeneye: a tour of Ian Fleming’s estate in Jamaica where the author wrote all the Bond novels  

blue days, all of them gone—nothing but blue skies from now on: the alternative social network’s growth is attributed to privileging user choice over algorithmic engagement  

ai granny: telecom O2 has created a scambait protocol to keep fraudsters on the line as long as possible and away from potential human victims 

feat. rowlf as king herod: Muppet Christ Superstar—see also  

lysistrata: as Trump’s next term approaches, more women are seeking to disassociate themselves from the men in their lives, withhold sex  

subway therapy: the exhibition inviting New Yorkers to share their thoughts on the presidential election returns after eight years

synchronoptica

one year ago: The Sound of Music (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: The Book of Life: The Spiritual and Physical Constitution of Man

eight years ago: the lost art of correspondence plus WoTY: post-truth

ten years ago: lucid dreams plus a selection of random t-shirts

eleven years ago: the Asylothek, retro Christmas cards plus more fallout from US dragnet espionage tactics

peoples’ choice (12. 003)

Polls open now through 28.November, the OED presents its shortlist of nominees for the Word of the Year for 2024, with only one actual neologism in romantasy (see previously, albeit the portmanteau for the literary genre dates back to 2008 when the German arm of publisher Random House tried to categorise its translations of English romance romances with an element of fantasy). Other contenders include brainrot, a term first used by Henry David Thoreau in his 1842 Walden; or, Life in the Woods, and dynamic pricing, a calque of the Swedish coinage of economist Gunnar Myrdal in 1927 as dynamiska prisbildning which has also seen a revival this past year with heightened public awareness of surges, gouging and exploitation in retail spaces and for gig-workers. More older words with new meanings are lore, slop and demure. Which one is your pick?

the holy or the broken (11. 994)

Via our faithful chronicler, we are reminded how on this day in 2016, on the first episode of the show following the US presidential election, Kate McKinnon, appearing in character as Hillary Clinton in their signature white pants suit, performed the cold open for Saturday Night Live singing a sombre and poignant rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (a moving anthem that famously the artist took five years to finish and had upwards of one hundred eighty draft verses, which cycled in and out of live shows, demonstrating that good things take time), as tribute both to her alter-ego for losing to Trump and the death of Cohen himself, which had occurred in the preceding days as well. “I’m not giving up and neither should you.”

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synchronoptica

one year ago: Connections (with synchronoptica) plus Remembrance Sunday

seven years ago: a German true crime mystery that’s partially never been solved 

nine years ago: gasholders plus a photography clearing house

ten years ago: taxi cab confessions plus Roman Mainz

eleven years ago: some nimble and sure-footed goats 

ny-21 (11. 993)

With control of the House of Congress yet to be called, and removing the New York representative from the legislative body (as one cannot work for two branches of government at the same time) narrows the Republicans’ narrow control further, Trump announces one of his first cabinet picks (amid a lot of speculation) as Elise Stefanik in the role of US ambassador to the United Nations (a position formerly held by Nikki Haley). Though with little foreign policy experience and given her spot on congressional committees after the GOP stripped Liz Cheney of her membership for being critical of Trump, Ms Stefanik has been a vocal supporter of the administration (if inconsistent but ultimately blamed Nancy Pelosi for the January Sixth Capitol Attack) and Israel and played a high-profile part in hearings that led to the resignations of several American university presidents for their stance on campus protests and unrest in support of the Palestinian people.

index saeculum (11. 987)

Unlike regnal and papal enumeration (also a subject of contention), US presidential numbering (see previously) has been a matter of debate since Grover Cleveland served the first non-consecutive terms in 1884 and 1892 becoming the twenty-second and twenty-fourth leader of the United States—Trump being the second. Though not two separate individuals holding high office, the prevailing inclination was to hold then to their oaths and the gap in between, which made for two separate administrations. In 1950, the Congressional Directory (also responsible for minutes and numbering of legislative sessions), renumbered their order, eliciting barely a question since and leaving the matter settled, until now.