Mamdani Is Falling Short of New York City’s Greenway Dream - Streetsblog New York City Advocates had hoped Mayor Mamdani would quickly adopt simple policies to improve how the city creates and maintains green infrastructure. He must get back on track, they say.

nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/13/m...

Are We in Weimar America? Similarities and Differences Living in Trump’s America as a historian gives me a better understanding of the subject I have been researching for most of my lifetime: Weimar Germany

“The real problem for any democracy, then and now, is not the single authoritarian leader and the cronies around him, but the support by those who know better.” momentmag.com/are-we-in-we...

Read the document A judicial order freeing a 5-year-old boy and his father, detained by federal immigration authorities.

A must-read: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | An Old Theory Helps Explain What Happened to Renee Good

Did not expect David to be writing about the dual state, but I agree with him.

I invoked it last month at workshop with respect to the boat strikes.

The administration has asserted a prerogative to kill outside the law abroad and now at home.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...

Hegseth Defense Collapsing as Fresh Leaks on Strikes Grow More Damning As new info makes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s illegal killings look even worse, an expert in national security law explains why his case is imploding—and what must happen now to secure accountabi...

Trump's bombings are "murder" and "summary executions," says @tessbridgeman.bsky.social, and Hegeth should watch "where he travels when he’s no longer in office" due to potential prosecution by "international tribunals."

On the pod Tess powerfully lays out this case:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...

Operation Southern Spear: Why the Drugs, Boats, and Crews are Not Targetable A deep dive on the international law applicable to the U.S. military's lethal operations against suspected drug boats

Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable

A deep dive into international law applicable to US lethal operations against suspected drug boats

By Mike Schmitt, Tess Bridgeman, Ryan Goodman
@mikeschmitt.bsky.social @tessbridgeman.bsky.social @rgoodlaw.bsky.social

Second Strike Scrutiny Obscures Larger Question About Trump’s Boat Attacks

Really important point: it’s not just the second strike that was illegal www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...

U.S. Southern Command @Southcom X.com On Dec. 4, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed. #OpSouthernSpear

SOUTHCOM announces another boat strike.

Notable that the Pentagon carried out this strike on the same day that Adm. Bradley appeared before members of Congress to defend the Sep. 2 strike.

Drug traffickers are not an army and carrying drugs is not an armed attack on the US. There is no plausible legal justification for the US attacking boats suspected of carrying drugs and killing everyone on board. These are murders.

The Trump economy is a dumpster fire

Updated this post with the news that Mexican authorities failed to rescue the lone survivor of these latest boat strikes.

Opinion | The Secretive Office Approving Trump’s Boat Strikes

I wrote about Trump’s missile strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, and about the secret Justice Department opinion that underwrites them. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...

After Fifth Bombing, Trump Administration Must Halt Illegal Caribbean Airstrikes The October 14 U.S. airstrike in the Caribbean killing six people was murder—plain and simple.

www.amnestyusa.org/press-releas...

We can't be sure what Hegseth's meeting with senior military officers next week will entail - all the more reason to prepare for plausible contingencies.

Start with Eugene Fidell's new Q&A:

www.justsecurity.org/121421/hegse...

The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism” United Nations Special Rapporteur Ben Saul writes about the U.S. military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats.

The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism”

By Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism

The US terrorizing civilians on the high seas is an odd thing for the Vice President to boast about

Vance on Trump's strikes on boats: "I wouldn't go fishing right now in that area of the world."

Murder by Drone: The Legal and Moral Stakes of the Caribbean Strikes If allowed to go unchecked, the Caribbean strikes could encourage additional unlawful executions by the United States and other leaders.

Analyzing the legal and moral stakes of the Caribbean strikes – and how Congress could respond.

From Annie Shiel, @jwrchappell.bsky.social, Priyanka Motaparthy, Wells Dixon and Daphne Eviatar:

www.justsecurity.org/120794/legal...

The Real Reason Trump Is a Threat to the Economy It’s not just the agenda. It’s also the shambolic, vibes-based way he’s pursuing it.

The Trump administration is claiming to be shutting down am major wind-power project over "national security interests." Like...continuing to rely on foreign countries for imported oil? www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-econ...

The Many Ways in Which the Caribbean Strike was Unlawful Legal expert on domestic authority and law most relevant to the US strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boat

The Many Ways in Which the September 2 Caribbean Strike was Unlawful … and the Grave Line the Military Has Crossed

By leading expert @martylederman.bsky.social

www.justsecurity.org/120296/many-...

FAQ on Refusing Illegal Orders - Military Law Task Force This FAQ (drafted by members of the MLTF) can also be found in printable PDF format here: Illegal Orders FAQ – 17JUN2025  DoD Instruction 1325.06 permits a servicemember to possess a single copy of this document.   Do I have the right to refuse illegal orders?   A. Yes! All members of the military have […]

An important resource for active duty military nlgmltf.org/military-law...

Trump Claims the Power to Summarily Kill Suspected Drug Smugglers

Turns out Trump’s claim he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it was not theoretical. His logic for killing Venezuelans at sea would apply equally here in the US. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...

In win for infectious diseases, Florida to end all school vaccine requirements Exposing vulnerable people to vaccine-preventable disease is just part of life, Ladapo said.

In win for infectious diseases, Florida to end all school vaccine requirements

Exposing vulnerable people to vaccine-preventable disease is just part of life, Ladapo said.

arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

Trump’s Chicago Occupation Could Cost Four Times More Than Housing City Homeless

Sending troops to Chicago could cost $1.6 million per day, four times as much as housing the city’s homeless — plus it’s illegal, experts say.

Full story: theintercept.com/2025/09/03/t...

Trump Administration Says Boat Strike Is Start of Campaign Against Venezuelan Cartels

This lethal strike against a Venezuelan ship, killing 11 civilians, was a blatant violation of international law and deserves much more attention than it’s getting. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

Hegseth Authorizes National Guard Troops in D.C. to Carry Weapons It remains unclear whether the National Guard soldiers will be armed as they walk through the city.

National guardsman in DC will now carry weapons. What could possibly go wrong?
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...

Trump and Hegseth are wrecking our military's ability to protect the country and turning its focus inward, no matter American tradition and the law strictly limit that

Hackification Arendt’s Law comes for economic data

Arendt’s Law, via Paul Krugman:
“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

Israeli Int'l Law Scholars on Plan to "Concentrate" Gaza Population Israeli international law scholars send urgent letter to Israel’s Minister of Defense, the IDF Chief of Staff, the Attorney General.

Group of Israeli international law scholars send urgent letter to Israel’s Minister of Defense, IDF Chief of Staff, and Attorney General

On plan to "concentrate" Palestinian population in South Gaza

via @eliavl.bsky.social and @tamarmegiddo.bsky.social