Thursday, October 8

Diplomacy and International Law

The GER covers diplomacy, international organizations, and meetings. Looking beyond our individual political systems we find people and organizations working to make life better for people in both conflict-ridden places as well as secure, developed countries. It is not enough to focus on the end results of international relations. It’s worth focusing on the day-to-day work of diplomacy. Often, that’s where breakthroughs occur.

Can world leaders still come together to solve problems diplomatically rather than through brute force? That question is put to the test in the United Nations Security Council. The council has power, such as the ability to sanction countries and entities. Its five permanent members have more power than the revolving members. And those five members–China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States–have the ability to veto actions.

Senator Seeks Accountability for Nine Americans Killed by Israeli Settlers and Military
1Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, Types of News: Brief, United States

Senator Seeks Accountability for Nine Americans Killed by Israeli Settlers and Military

Senate Rejects West Bank Human Rights Report in 51–47 Vote UNITED STATES October 1, 2026—Since 2022, nine Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and Israeli security forces. The fallen include three teenagers, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Ahmad al-Khdour, Amer Rabee, and six adults, Omar Assad, journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Sayfollah Kamel Musallet, Khamis Ayyad, and Nasrallah Abu Siyam. To date, none of the deaths has resulted in a publicly documented criminal conviction. While Israeli authorities have examined some of the cases and the FBI reportedly started an investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the families have received no criminal accountability, according to the senators sponsoring the resolution. Senate...
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Business in Occupied Territories Tests the Limits of International Law
27Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Human rights, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Types of News: Analysis

Business in Occupied Territories Tests the Limits of International Law

More than 200 companies are doing business in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, supporting illegal settlements, according the the United Nations. Photo by Levi Meir Clancy courtesy Unsplash. Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and other major companies appear in a UN database examining business activities connected to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, raising questions about corporate responsibility for human rights. September 28, 2026—Businesses operating in occupied Palestinian territories are not bound by international law in the same way that UN-member states are, but they are not exempt from upholding human rights either. Hundreds of companies headquartered in 11 countries conduct business in or near Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to an u...
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House Rep Pitches Bessent for Free Financial Flows to Breakaway ‘Somaliland’
26Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Geopolitics, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

House Rep Pitches Bessent for Free Financial Flows to Breakaway ‘Somaliland’

"The sun descends, painting the city in warm, golden light. A spectacular sunset view." Somaliland is a part of Somalia that is on the strategic Gulf of Aden, across from Yemen. Photo by Go to Abdulkadir Hirabe's profilevia Unsplash UNITED STATES  September 27, 2026—Given the national attention on inflation, the cost of war, uncertain outlook for interest rates, one might expect a congressman representing a largely middle-class district in Tennessee to ask the Treasury Secretary about an array of issues affecting Americans. But when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared before the House Financial Services Committee this month, Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., had a different part of the world in mind: The Horn of Africa. What is curious is that Rose asked about a breakaway movement ...
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BRICS, De-Dollarization and the Future of the US Dollar
25Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy and International Law, Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Geopolitics, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Analysis

BRICS, De-Dollarization and the Future of the US Dollar

September 25, 2026—The model of a U.S.-led global economy, long established since the start of the 1944 Bretton Woods system, is coming under significant strain. It is not just wars disrupting freedom of navigation and the price of oil causing cracks in the system. Nor is it only a reflection of the mounting U.S. debt and annual deficits. It is also a growing movement towards multilateralism. What gives that momentum are shifts toward competing financial infrastructures, new geopolitical alliances, and novel methods of settling cross-border payments. These pose challenges to the existing order and the dollar-dominated trading system. In the past month, we’ve witnessed the greatest acceleration this change. We see new strategic alliances, less trust in the U.S. defense, and a ground-up i...
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Notable Quotable: Louis Henkin, 1917-2017
22Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Human rights, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice

Notable Quotable: Louis Henkin, 1917-2017

'Almost All Nations Observe Almost All Principles of International Law Almost All the Time' Louis Henkin was diplomat, human rights advocate, and legal scholar in constitutional and international law. (born 1917-died 2010) “Almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law and almost all of their obligations almost all of the time.” – Louis Henkin, in 1968 book How Nations Behave: Law and Foreign Policy Louis Henkin argued in favor of a rules-based international system, saying it is easier and practical for nations to abide by international norms and laws because nation-states ultimately benefit from predictable relations.
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China-Based Researchers Examine Impact of U.S. Sanctions
19Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

China-Based Researchers Examine Impact of U.S. Sanctions

A new study in Science says China's researchers are adapting methods in the wake of U.S. sanctions on research collaboration Researchers based in China—Junhan Wang of Shenzhen University, Xibao Li of Tsinghua University, and Yanbo Wang of the University of Hong Kong—conducted a deep dive into the U.S. sanctioned entity list and the impact on technological innovation. September 19, 2026—Researchers based in China—Junhan Wang of Shenzhen University, Xibao Li of Tsinghua University, and Yanbo Wang of the University of Hong Kong—conducted a thorough investigation into the U.S. sanctioned entity list and the impact on technological innovation. They found that a decoupling of scientific research might result in separate ecosystems. Their research is significant for many reasons. For one...
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Treasury Secretary Bessent Faces Scolding on U.S. Embargo on Cuba
17Sep By No Comments
Human rights, Sanctions, Types of News: Videos

Treasury Secretary Bessent Faces Scolding on U.S. Embargo on Cuba

Rep. Waters: 'Stop Trying to Kill All the Families in Cuba' September 17, 2026—At Tuesday's House Financial Services Committee hearing, Ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters gave with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the U.S. embargo on Cuba. https://youtu.be/fw_t0aiMd8g?si=OXwBwyEtiX9Zl5jH “And a word about Cuba. You cut off all the oil to Cuba. You’re starving the families. You are starving the children. They don’t have electricity. They can’t get food in. What are you doing, Mr. Secretary? Why are you being so cruel? I know we have a cruel president, but do you have to be a puppet? Do you have to do whatever he wants you to do? What are you doing to this country? You are making us not only look bad, but act bad, all over the world. And I want to tell you, history is not go...
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Defying Public Opinion, Trump Preps Bunker Busting Bombs for Israel
16Sep By No Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Foreign Aid, International Development, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Defying Public Opinion, Trump Preps Bunker Busting Bombs for Israel

Congress Considers U.S.-Israel Military Merger in NDAA Bill MK-84s: These are massive unguided bombs often called “The Hammer” due to their destructive power that can create larger craters in the Earth. Photo: DOD 2016 September 16, 2026—President Donald Trump is planning to send Israel billions of dollars worth of weapons, including bunker-busting 2,000-pound bombs, financed by U.S. taxpayers. If cleared, it will be one of the largest-ever shipments of heavy bombs to Israel. It comes as support for Israel is waning in the United States, amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and continued military encroachment in Lebanon. It also comes as the United States remains absorbed in a war with Iran. The Washington Post was...
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Five Years After the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops, Taliban Maintain Brutal Control of Afghanistan
6Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Critical Minerals, Domestic Politics, Geopolitics, Human rights, Types of News: Brief

Five Years After the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops, Taliban Maintain Brutal Control of Afghanistan

Five Years After the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops, Taliban Maintain Brutal Control of Afghanistan. Have any lessons for U.S. leaders been learned? September 6, 2026—Five years after the dramatic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the repressive Taliban regime remains in control, even as it is still unrecognized by a majority of countries. Nearly half the population is dependent on humanitarian aid. Humanitarian Action calculates that is 21.9 million. Also, more than 5 million Afghans who lived in neighboring countries have been forced to return. What's more, Afghanistan and Pakistan are at war. The Aftermath of the U.S. Withdrawal The United States spent 20 years fighting in Afghanistan, often asserting a strategy of nation-building while the underlying strategic goals went ...
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Class Action Lawsuit Challenges State Department, U.S. Weapons Makers Over ‘Israeli Exceptionalism’
6Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Human rights, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Class Action Lawsuit Challenges State Department, U.S. Weapons Makers Over ‘Israeli Exceptionalism’

Plaintiffs Charge Illegal Support for ‘Gross Violations of Human Rights’ in Lebanon September 6, 2026—Lebanese Americans in Michigan are suing Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with weapons-makers Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Caterpillar, asserting corporate negligence and violations by the government of the U.S. Leahy Laws, which bars military sales to a country committing human rights violations. The lawsuit accuses the State Department of defying U.S. laws by creating “special mechanisms” in its review of the Israeli military, in effect creating “a far more lenient, bureaucratic, and convoluted review process” to avoid enforcing the Leahy Laws. The impact is policies and procedures that provide an “Israeli exceptionalism” for human rights violations. It further charges the comp...
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