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Friday, December 22, 2023

Please Note: Daybreak Insider will take a short break in honor of the Christmas holiday. Look for the next edition of Daybreak to land on December 27, 2023. Merry Christmas!

U.N. Condemns Israel Twice as Many Times as All Other Nations Combined

National Review: A new study conducted by a watchdog organization found that Israel was sanctioned by the United Nations twice as many times as the rest of the world combined in 2023. Whereas the Jewish state was the target of 14 General Assembly resolutions, the remaining member states, including authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Iran, were denounced only seven times. The United States was also condemned for its blockade of Cuba (National Review). UN Watch: “The UN’s latest assault on Israel with a torrent of one-sided resolutions is surreal,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, an independent non-governmental watchdog organization in Geneva. “The UN’s disproportionate assault against the Jewish state undermines the credibility of what is supposed to be an impartial international body. When the General Assembly gives in to politicization and selectivity by discriminating against Israel, it violates the UN Charter’s guarantee of equal treatment to all nations, large and small. We note that while France, Sweden and other EU states have supported nearly all of the 14 resolutions adopted against Israel during this General Assembly session, the same European nations have failed to introduce a single UNGA resolution on the human rights situations in China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Turkey, Pakistan, Vietnam, Algeria, or on 170 other countries,” said Neuer (UN Watch).

Hamas Leader Thanks Canada, Australia and New Zealand for Pushing for Permanent Ceasefire

Daily Wire: Top Hamas official Ghazi Hamad praised Canada, Australia, and New Zealand this week for their recent joint statement calling for moving toward a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — all of which are part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance along with the United States and United Kingdom — said in a joint statement last week that they “want to see this pause resumed and support urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire” (Daily Wire). Reporter Avi Yemini: Hamas personally thanks Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Let that sink in (X).

Harvard Supports President Gay Amid Fresh Plagiarism Allegations, Allows Her to Revise Dissertation Once Again

Wall Street Journal: Harvard University is continuing to support its president, Claudine Gay, amid a fresh round of accusations that she plagiarized other academics throughout her career. The newest charges have amplified questions about her research integrity and position at the helm of the prestigious Ivy League institution. Gay will update her Ph.D. dissertation to add attributions for material in three spots, the school said Wednesday night, but again she was cleared of research misconduct by a board subcommittee (Wall Street Journal). Chris Rufo: Jake Tapper’s lead story tonight: “Is Harvard university really holding its president, Dr. Claudine Gay, to the same standards when it comes to plagiarism that it would for students committing the same offense” (X)? Bizpac Review: Tapper wrapped up by pointing out again the clear double standard dilemma. “The big question, I think, in the future is, how will Harvard be able to punish any students found guilty of the same offense without inviting a lawsuit,” he said (Bizpac Review).

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Sued by Teachers’ Union for Slashing Education Budget

Daily Wire: New York City Mayor Eric Adams was sued by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) on Thursday for his budget cuts to the city’s Education Department. Last month, Adams said the budget cuts — which included the NYPD — were made necessary by the ongoing illegal immigration crisis plaguing the city. In the lawsuit filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court by the UFT along with the AFL-CIO and a group of teachers, the plaintiffs argue that the city’s cuts to education spending “will have a far-reaching and devastating impact on teachers and New York City children.” The lawsuit argues that there is “brutal irony” in Adams slashing schools’ budgets to address illegal immigration since the city’s Education Department also needs more money to deal with the increase in migrant children attending city schools (Daily Wire). Gothamist: The suit cites a provision in state law barring a spending reduction for schools unless overall city revenues decline. The unions argue the city’s planned reduction in education funding comes as budget officials anticipate a revenue surplus for the year. They also argue the city’s plans to slash the budget undermine students’ rights to a “sound basic education” under the state constitution (Gothmist).

Judge Blocks California Gun Legislation Outlawing Public Carry

Reuters: A California law that would have banned the carrying of guns in most public places as of Jan. 1 was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California wrote in his preliminary injunction that the law would “unconstitutionally deprive” concealed carry permit holders “of their constitutional right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.” The California law, Carney wrote, “is sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.” California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was listed in his official capacity as the defendant in the lawsuit, said in a statement that his office would appeal the decision. Bonta wrote that if the ruling stands, it “would endanger communities by allowing guns in places where families and children gather” (Reuters). Associated Press: The court case against the law will proceed while the law is blocked. The decision is a victory for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued to block the law (Associated Press).

New York Democrats Look to Remove Trump from 2024 Ballot

NY Daily News: New York Democrats Wednesday vowed to renew their push to get former President Donald Trump banned from the state’s presidential ballot after a bombshell ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court (NY Daily News). Senator Brad Holyman-Sigal: New York is next (X). Washington Examiner: Trump campaign officials have said he will appeal the ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Colorado ruling is the first to rule him ineligible after challenges by liberal groups in Minnesota and Michigan have failed to boot him from the primary ballot so far (Washington Examiner).

Trump Takes Lead in Polling Amidst Questions of Biden’s Age, Competency

National Review: President Joe Biden continues to lose ground to Donald Trump and is now trailing the former president 45-43 in a head-to-head matchup going into the final year of his first term in the White House. Biden’s favorability has dropped precipitously since the early summer, with nearly 60 percent of respondents now disapproving of his performance. While Biden led Trump by 15 points in terms of favorability in May, today, the two candidates have nearly identical ratings. Growing concerns over the president’s age and vitality continue to plague the Biden campaign: Nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of respondents do not believe Biden would be able to complete a second term in the White House if reelected (National Review). Washington Examiner: President Joe Biden’s great age and concomitant physical and mental decline have been subjects of intensifying contention since before Democrats first chose him as their leader in 2020. Back then, he was 77 years old. Now, he is 81, and if he is reelected, he’ll swear his oath of office at the age of 82. If he makes it through a second term, he’ll quit the White House at 86. This problem is, of course, well known. But it’s important to keep in mind that it can’t be resolved. It only gets worse. Even if he doesn’t worry about it, and apparently he doesn’t, it causes increasing anxiety within his party and among the 76% of voters who say Biden is too old to run again (Washington Examiner).

Shooting at University in Prague Kills 15, Injures Over 20

Associated Press: A lone gunman opened fire Thursday in a university building in downtown Prague, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting, police and the city’s rescue service said. The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died, authorities said (Associated Press). Reporter Mahyar Tousi: Students at Prague University hiding as the shooter continued to search for more targets. Absolutely horrifying scenes (X). Independent: Detectives are working on the theory that the killer was also responsible for the deaths of two people last week in the Klanovicky forest near Prague. They believe he chose his victims at random (Independent).

D.C. Considering Hiring Civilians to Investigate Property Crimes

Daily Wire: With murders at the highest rate in years, the nation’s capital may soon not even send police officers to investigate property crimes, instead sending civilians with no badge or gun. A majority of the Washington, D.C., city council has signed on to a bill that would allow “civilian investigators” to handle crimes like theft because police are so overwhelmed with active violent crimes. The council’s chairman Phil Mendelson said in a letter that his bill, the “Evidence-Based Gun Violence Reduction and Prevention Act of 2023,” is modeled after Baltimore and San Francisco. The bill, which has the support of seven of the council’s twelve members, says “The Metropolitan Police Department is hereby authorized to employ and allow civilian personnel to investigate the following types of incidents when there is no expected suspect contact: (1) Commercial burglary; (2) Residential burglary; (3) Motor vehicle theft; (4) Theft; (5) Forgery; (6) Fraud; and (7) Other property crime investigations.” Property crimes threaten to derail D.C. as a viable business and commerce center. Property crime has risen 25% since last year (Daily Wire). Chairman Mendelson: Authorizing the Metropolitan Police Department to hire civilian investigators to investigate cold cases and property crimes when there is no expected suspect contact (Chairman Mendelson).

10.

China Threatens Philippines With Ominous Message

Washington Examiner: China’s top diplomat threatened a key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific amid an intensifying territorial dispute that could alter the balance of economic and military power in the region. “China-Philippines relations are at a crossroads,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo. “Faced with the choice of where to go, the Philippines must act with caution.” That ominous message came in the wake of a series of confrontations in the South China Sea, which Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping seeks to control at the expense of the territorial rights of the Philippines and other neighboring states. Philippine authorities have adopted an assertive posture in recent months, following years of conciliatory gestures that failed to curb China’s claims, and the dispute has given rise to multiple confrontations, including the use of water cannons against a Philippine vessel carrying Manila’s top military officer (Washington Examiner).