Comment on It’s the Middle of December, and Southern California Is a Tinderbox

“Israel and Saudi Arabia have recently reached a breakthrough in normalization talks that could also facilitate a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas and an end to the war in Gaza,” Haaretz reports. “Sources familiar with the negotiations said that instead of explicit Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state, as Saudi Arabia had previously demanded, the sides agreed that Israel would provide the kingdom with a vague commitment to a ‘path towards Palestinian statehood.’ This would allow Saudi Arabia to fulfill its pledge not to abandon the Palestinians.”

During the 2016 presidential campaign, I was invited to speak at a private equity firm about the election. The speaker who followed me was Carlos Watson, the founder of Ozy, a website he described as a “digital news and culture magazine.” .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising.

Matt Levine: “Musk is extremely rich, he’s litigious and willing to fight even without great legal arguments, he’s popular online and has a large army of fans who get mad at his critics, and he is essential to various essential companies. You can’t seriously expect all of the laws to apply to him…” “Musk has helped get Donald Trump elected president, and Trump is not particularly big on insisting that his supporters follow the law in every detail.

“News organizations are on high alert after President-elect Trump filed yet another defamation lawsuit on Monday — and vowed to continue suing new outlets and influencers over their coverage,” Axios reports. “While there are political levers that Trump can pull to target media companies, harassment campaigns and lawsuits that drain companies of time, money, resources and trust are often easier and just as punitive.”

Mark Bowden: “You would stay awake all night if you had any idea how short we are of artillery ammo…” “It is a weakness that afflicts the U. S. military at all levels, and about which the public is largely unaware. The vaunted American war machine is in disarray and disrepair.”

“Many people have come up to me, telling me they feel tired… maybe even resigned… That they’re not sure whether they have the strength, much less the desire, to stay in the fight. But let me be very clear: no one can walk away.” — Vice President Kamala Harris, quoted by CNN.