Kirsten Gillibrand and Zohran Mamdani

Dear Commons Community,

New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined the chorus of attacks against Zohran Mamdani, the party’s recently elected Muslim mayoral candidate for New York City.

Last week, New Yorkers elected Mamdani as the Democratic nominee for November’s mayoral general election, beating out former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Despite the young progressive skyrocketing in popularity, his campaign faced repeated attacks from the right on his identity as a Muslim American immigrant – attacks that only increased after his primary win.

Repeating that rhetoric is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York who  made claims about Mamdani’s beliefs during a Thursday radio appearance on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.” The senator had responded on-air to a caller’s unfounded claims that New York’s Jewish community is facing threats as a result of Mamdani’s win. As reported by The Huffington Post.

“The caller is exactly the New York constituents that I’ve spoken to that are alarmed. They are alarmed by past public statements. They are alarmed by past positions – particularly references to global jihad,” Gillibrand said. “This is a very serious issue, because people that glorify the slaughter of Jews create fear in our communities. ‘The global intifada’ is a statement that means, ‘Destroy Israel and kill all the Jews.’”

The Arabic word “intifada” is used to describe uprisings and rebellions, most commonly the decades-long Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. “Globalize the intifada” is a phrase used by some activists to express solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement. The Arabic word “jihad” means to struggle, though over time many non-Muslims in the U.S. have come to believe the word is synonymous with religious violence.

Gillibrand’s comments likely referred to a prior interview where Mamdani was asked if he would denounce the phrase, “Globalize the intifada,” to which he has repeatedly answered that while he does not use the term himself, he will not use the office of the mayor to police speech in the way that President Donald Trump does.

Lehrer pushed back at least three separate times during the interview with Gillibrand, reminding the senator that Mamdani has spoken extensively about his commitment to protect all New Yorkers – including the Jewish community – and that there is no evidence of the Democrat ever having expressed support for the violence Gillibrand and the caller accuse him of.

Despite the fact-checks and admitting she does not “have all the data and information,” Gillibrand continued to push the lie that Mamdani endorses rhetoric that endangers Jewish New Yorkers, without mentioning the anti-Muslim hate rising alongside antisemitism. After facing protests and public backlash for her comments, the senator’s office told Rolling Stone on Friday that she “misspoke.”

“Why is Senator Gillibrand parroting divisive Republican fear-mongering about Zohran? He has pledged from day 1 to combat anti-semitism & protect Jewish New Yorkers like me,” New York City councilman Lincoln Restler posted on X in response to her comments.

“Voters are clamoring for a vision to make life in our city more affordable – not politicians who just try to make us scared of each other,” he continued. “I wish the Senator took the time to do her homework and get her facts straight before attacking the Democratic nominee for mayor.”

Gillibrand’s comments were followed by fellow New York Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who this weekend pushed the lie that Mamdani has called for violence against Jewish people. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday joined in elevating the false claims about Mamdani, demanding on ABC’s “This Week” that he clarify his position on Palestinian-related slogans.

“We should all be disgusted by the flood of anti-Muslim remarks spewed in the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC mayoral primary – some blatant, others latent,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on Sunday. “Shame on the members of Congress who have engaged in such bigotry and anyone who doesn’t challenge it.”

Mamdani has not directly commented on the senator’s rhetoric, but was asked Sunday by NBC’s Kristen Welker about whether he condemns the same phrases Gillibrand accused him of supporting. The progressive made it clear that he would not take the bait, maintaining that the public should focus less on slogans and more on his words and actions supporting all people in historically diverse New York City.

“That’s not language that I use. The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights,” he told “Meet the Press.” “And ultimately, that’s what is the foundation of so much of my politics, the belief that freedom and justice and safety are things that, to have meaning, have to be applied to all people, and that includes Israelis and Palestinians as well.”

The Democrats have to get their act TOGETHER!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

At Pride parades from New York City to Budapest over the weekend, communities around the world celebrated and also demonstrated for LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion during the last days of Pride Month. In addition to waving rainbow flags, many held protest signs, amid increasing political attacks in the U.S. by Republicans and President Trump’s administration.

“Our joy is our resistance,” read one sign held by a reveler wearing samba feathers at New York City’s Pride parade, the oldest and largest such event in the U.S. This year, the New York event’s theme was “Rise Up: Pride in Protest.”

Large throngs of New Yorkers celebrated as the parade traveled down Fifth Avenue to downtown. Many of them also demonstrated against President Trump’s recent executive orders and policies targeting transgender people and recognizing only two unchangeable sexes, male and female. Trump’s orders have also banned “gender ideology” and dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“At a time when trans youth are under attack, queer art is being erased, and the clock is being rolled back on LGBTQIA+ rights across the country … NYC Pride remains focused on advocating for our community as we face an onslaught of attacks,” NYC Pride media director Chris Piedmont wrote in a statement posted on social media.

The celebrations occurred even as some corporations canceled or cut back donations to Pride events around the country this year.

For the fifth year in a row, New York Police Department and corrections officers were officially barred from marching in the parade while wearing their full dress uniforms, which include firearms. On the sidelines of the parade, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch joined members of the Gay Officers Action League New York to protest the exclusion.

The New York event also commemorated the legacy of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, when a violent police raid at a gay bar in Greenwich Village sparked the beginning of a national movement for LGBTQ+ rights. The parade marched past the Stonewall Inn, now a national monument.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

 Elon Musk, President Donald Trump’s former adviser on cutting government spending, fired off a set of attacks against the president’s legislative package for potentially killing millions of jobs.

Musk, the former head of the advisory Department of Government Efficiency, had quieted his harsh criticism of Trump and the legislation the week after his departure from government May 30.

But he blasted the bill again yesterday as the Senate was preparing to hold a critical vote to begin debate.  As reported b USA TODAY.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” Musk said on social media. “Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

Musk added in a later post that “Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party.”

Musk is the owner of the social-media platform X, where he posted his messages to 220 million followers. He is also the CEO of Tesla, which manufactures electric vehicles, and SpaceX, which makes rockets to ferry people and supplies to the International Space Station.

Musk trashed the legislation as a “disgusting abomination” for not cutting government spending enough. He also alleged Trump appeared in confidential Justice Department files about the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, which the White House has denied. But Musk later apologized.

Trump has blamed Musk’s criticism on the president ending government subsidies for electric vehicles and rejecting the corporate executive’s choice to head NASA.

“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

These two deserve to be in the same hole together.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Earlier this month German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gifted President Trump a gilded framed copy of his grandfather’s birth certificate.  The gold-encased present, a reflection of the president’s signature Oval Office décor, paid tribute to Friedrich Trump, who was born in Kallstadt, Germany, in 1869 and later immigrated to the United States.

“That’s serious German,” Trump said in response to the gesture.

“I want to thank you for that. That’s beautiful. Thank you very much. Fantastic. We’ll put it up in a place of honor.”

The meeting between the world leaders, which was held before a group of reporters and officials, took an awkward turn when Trump told Merz that D-Day — when Allied forces invaded Normandy to liberate Europe from Nazi control on June 6, 1944 — was “not a pleasant day” for his nation. 

The unusual remark was made while the pair were discussing the three-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine – with the German leader forced to set the historical record straight. 

“May I remind you that we are having June 6 tomorrow,” Merz said of the 81st anniversary of the landings during World War II. 

“This is D-Day anniversary, when Americans once ended a war in Europe.”

Trump then interrupted his counterpart twice to unleash his bizarre comment. 

“In the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship,” Merz corrected. 

“And we know that we owe you, but this is the reason why I’m saying that America is again in a very strong position to do something on this war and ending this war. So let’s talk about what we can do jointly, and we are ready to do what we can.”

Trump later likened Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to children fighting on a playground and that more time may be needed before “pulling them apart.”

What would Friedrich Trump think of Trump’s current war on immigrants.

Tony

“I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.”  This is Anne Frank’s first entry in her diary (above) which her father gave her for her thirteenth birthday.

Dear Commons Community,

In April of this year, my wife, Elaine and I visited the Anne Frank House and Museum in Amsterdam.  It was a sad and unsettling experience climbing the steps to the “Secret Annex” where Anne and her family hid from 1942 to 1944.  Her story is well-known and her diary, which has sold tens of millions of copies documents her time in hiding. However, I had never read her diary and made it a point to do so.  I have just finished reading Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, a revision  published in 2020, which I purchased at the Museum.  It is an intimate story of the hardship that confinement has on a thirteen-year-old girl who is growing up and yearning for the experiences and joy of an adolescent. It is a slow read because every entry requires reflection on the time and place. Also, there is the knowledge that her story will not have a happy ending. If you are at all interested in the period, I would encourage you to read Anne’s words. If you are not familiar with her story, below is a brief biography courtesy of Anne Frank House.

Tony

 ———————————————————

Who Was Ane Frank

Courtesy of Anne Frank House

Anne’s first years

Anne Frank was born in the German city of Frankfurt am Main in 1929. Anne’s sister Margot was three years her senior. Unemployment was high and poverty was severe in Germany, and it was the period in which Adolf Hitler and his party were gaining more and more supporters. Hitler hated the Jews and blamed them for the problems in the country. He took advantage of the rampant antisemitic sentiments in Germany. The hatred of Jews and the poor economic situation made Anne’s parents, Otto and Edith Frank, decide to move to Amsterdam. There, Otto founded a company that traded in pectin, a gelling agent for making jam.

Nazi Germany invades the Netherlands

Before long, Anne felt right at home in the Netherlands. She learned the language, made new friends and went to a Dutch school near her home. Her father worked hard to get his business off the ground, but it was not easy.  Otto also tried to set up a company in England, but the plan fell through. Things looked up when he started selling herbs and spices in addition to the pectin.

On 1 September 1939, when Anne was 10 years old, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and so the Second World War began. Not long after, on 10 May 1940, the Nazis also invaded the Netherlands. Five days later, the Dutch army surrendered. Slowly but surely, the Nazis introduced more and more laws and regulations that made the lives of Jews more difficult. For instance, Jews could no longer visit parks, cinemas, or non-Jewish shops. The rules meant that more and more places became off-limits to Anne. Her father lost his company, since Jews were no longer allowed to run their own businesses. All Jewish children, including Anne, had to go to separate Jewish schools.

Anne has to go into hiding in the Secret Annex

The Nazis took things further, one step at the time. Jews had to start wearing a Star of David on their clothes and there were rumours that all Jews would have to leave the Netherlands. When Margot received a call-up to report for a so-called ‘labour camp’ in Nazi Germany on 5 July 1942, her parents were suspicious. They did not believe the call-up was about work and decided to go into hiding the next day in order to escape persecution.

In the spring of 1942, Anne’s father had started furnishing a hiding place in the annex of his business premises at Prinsengracht 263. He received help from his former colleagues. Before long, they were joined by four more people. The hiding place was cramped. Anne had to keep very quiet and was often afraid.

Anne keeps a diary

On her thirteenth birthday, just before they went into hiding, Anne was presented with a diary. During the two years in hiding, Anne wrote about events in the Secret Annex, but also about her feelings and thoughts. In addition, she wrote short stories, started on a novel and copied passages from the books she read in her Book of Beautiful Sentences. Writing helped her pass the time.

When the Minister of Education of the Dutch government in England made an appeal on Radio Orange to hold on to war diaries and documents, Anne was inspired to rewrite her individual diaries into one running story, titled Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex).

The hiding place is discovered 

Anne started rewriting her diary, but before she was done, she and the other people in hiding were discovered and arrested by police officers on 4 August 1944. The police also arrested two of the helpers. To this day, we do not know the reason for the police raid.

Despite the raid, part of Anne’s writing was preserved: two other helpers took the documents before the Secret Annex was emptied by order of the Nazis.

Anne is deported to Auschwitz 

Via the offices of the Sicherheitsdienst (the German security police), a prison in Amsterdam, and the Westerbork transit camp, the people from the Secret Annex were put on transport to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. The train journey took three days, during which Anne and over a thousand others were packed closely together in cattle wagons. There was little food and water and only a barrel for a toilet.

Upon arrival at Auschwitz, Nazi doctors checked to see who would and who would not be able to do heavy forced labour. Around 350 people from Anne’s transport were immediately taken to the gas chambers and murdered. Anne, Margot and their mother were sent to the labour camp for women. Otto ended up in a camp for men.

Anne dies from exhaustion in Bergen-Belsen

In early November 1944, Anne was put on transport again. She was deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp with Margot. Their parents stayed behind in Auschwitz. The conditions in Bergen-Belsen were horrible too. There was a lack of food, it was cold, wet and there were contagious diseases. Anne and Margot contracted typhus. In February 1945 they both died owing to its effects, Margot first, Anne shortly afterwards.

Anne’s father Otto was the only one of the people from the Secret Annex to survive the war. He was liberated from Auschwitz by the Soviet troops and during his long journey back to the Netherlands he learned that his wife Edith had died. Once in the Netherlands, he heard that Anne and Margot were no longer alive either.

Anne’s diary becomes world famous

Anne’s writing made a deep impression on Otto. He read that Anne had wanted to become a writer or a journalist and that she had intended to publish her stories about life in the Secret Annex. Friends convinced Otto to publish the diary and in June 1947, 3,000 copies of Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex) were printed.

And that was not all: the book was later translated into around 70 languages and adapted for stage and screen. People all over the world were introduced to Anne’s story and in 1960 the hiding place became a museum: the Anne Frank House. Until his death in 1980, Otto remained closely involved with the Anne Frank House and the museum: he hoped that readers of the diary would become aware of the dangers of discrimination, racism, and hatred of Jews.

Michelle Obama her late mother Marian Robinson

Dear Commons Community,

Michelle Obama gave an interview during which she discussed her mother, Marian Robinson.  She reveals what her mother told her that changed her perspective on the finality of life.  Here is a review of her interview courtesy of People Magazine.

The former first lady, 61, revealed on NPR’s Wild Card podcast with host Rachel Martin that she’s “not afraid” of death, as she explained how her late mother Marian Robinson — who died in May 2024 at age 86 — reminded her of the importance of “living a good life” during one of their last days together.

“The last year of my mom’s life, she was sick. Her body was just shutting down for a number of various reasons. And her last bout of illness, she was with me in Hawaii, in our home in Hawaii, which was a blessing, right,” Obama said. “‘Cause she was forced to let me take care of her…She didn’t want to be a burden.”

Around that time, Obama hired “doctors” and “nurses,” had her mother on a “diet” and joked that she was “bossing her around” until she “got better and went back to Chicago.” One day, the mother-daughter duo were sitting on a couch and watching one of Robinson’s favorite “court shows” when she shared a valuable lesson with Obama.

“She was realizing that she would not ever be the same old self that she was. She was starting to realize she’s coming to the end,” Obama said. “And this woman that prepared me for death and talked to me about all this stuff and was like, ‘I’m ready to die, who needs to be old people around too long’ and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. She leaned over to me and said, ‘Wow, this went fast.’ “

“I held her hand and said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And she said, ‘Life.’ She said, ‘This went fast.’ And this is the woman who was ready,” the former first lady added. “And what that told me is even when you tell yourself you’re ready, if you’re living a good life, you’re never really ready for it to end. So I hope I feel that way. Even though I’ve been ready for it, because it’s been good and purposeful. That I’ll feel like, ‘I wish I had more time.’ So I’m trying to live my life like that.”

Elsewhere during her appearance on Wild Card, Obama detailed her thoughts on death and why she tries to be “mindful” of the time she has left.

“As we get older, look — and my husband thinks this is morbid — but at 61, if I am lucky, if I am truly blessed, [I have] 25 more summers,” she said.

“We’ve been out of office for 10 years,” she added of herself and husband, Barack Obama. “What happened? What happened to those 10 years? I did a lot. Two, three books. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. There’s a lot that happened but it went by fast. And I’m at the stage of life where I want the next 10 years to go by slowly. Cause’ guess what? I love life.”

“But what I feel is that if I’m not mindful about it, the years slip away,” she continued. “And you wind up spending a year doing what? Did you do anything you wanted to? Did you spend time with the people you wanted to spend time with, doing the things that you wanted to do?”

Michelle announced on May 31, 2024 that her mother “passed away peacefully,” as the Obama family shared in a statement at the time that they “will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”

Days later, Michelle wrote in a message on X that she was grateful for “all the prayers, kind words, and love” from their supporters amid the news.

“Every text, comment on social media, and beautiful tribute has brought us some light,” she wrote. “It means so much to hear what a special woman she was to you all, as well. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”

We were so lucky to have Michelle and her mother’s presence in the White House for eight years.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

McKinsey & Co. has just published a new report on advances in quantum computing that shows investment could propel the quantum market to $100 billion in a decade.  Just as AI is changing the software aspect of digital technology, quantum computing has the potential to do the same for the hardware side.  Here is an excerpt from the introduction.

“When it comes to quantum technology (QT), investment is surging and breakthroughs are multiplying. The United Nations has designated 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, celebrating 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics. Our research confirms that QT is gaining widespread traction worldwide. McKinsey’s fourth annual Quantum Technology Monitor covers last year’s breakthroughs, investment trends, and emerging opportunities in this fast-evolving landscape.

In 2024, the QT industry saw a shift from growing quantum bits (qubits) to stabilizing qubits—and that marks a turning point. It signals to mission-critical industries that QT could soon become a safe and reliable component of their technology infrastructure. To that end, this year’s report provides a special deep dive into the fast-growing market of quantum communication, which could unlock the security needed for widespread QT uptake.

What is quantum technology?

Our new research shows that the three core pillars of QT—quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing—could together generate up to $97 billion in revenue worldwide by 2035. Quantum computing will capture the bulk of that revenue, growing from $4 billion in revenue in 2024 to as much as $72 billion in 2035 (see sidebar “What is quantum technology?”). While QT will affect many industries, the chemicals, life sciences, finance, and mobility industries will see the most growth.

We conducted extensive analysis to project the 2035 global market sizes for each of the three pillars of QT. We found that by 2035, quantum computing could be worth $28 billion to $72 billion, quantum communication could be worth $11 billion to $15 billion, and quantum sensing could be worth $7 billion to $10 billion—for a total of as much as $97 billion. This growth shows no signs of slowing. We predict that by 2040, the total QT market could reach $198 billion. We present our market size estimates as a range because of the large variance in potential technological progress, adoption rates, and scaling opportunities for QT in the decade to come (see sidebar “About the report”).

Private and public investors are increasingly confident that QT start-ups will generate measurable value. In 2024 they poured nearly $2.0 billion into QT start-ups worldwide, a 50 percent increase compared to $1.3 billion in 2023. Private sector funding from venture capital and private equity firms accounted for two-thirds of that total, or about $1.3 billion, a decline of 19 percentage points compared with 2023. Public funding took up the reins, increasing 19 percentage points relative to 2023 to account for 34 percent of 2024 funding, or $680 million (Exhibit 1). This shows increased urgency from governments to invest in QT’s potential.

Significant private and public entities investing in QT start-ups in 2024 include SoftBank’s partnership with Quantinuum and Aramco’s investment in Pasqal. Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s collaboration with QuEra and IonQ and Qatar Investment Authority’s partnership with Alice & Bob are other examples of major investments in this space.”

Quantum computing is something to keep an eye on.

Tony

Executive Summary (10 pages)Full Report (82 pages)

Dear Commons Community,

For over three decades, Iran built a web of proxy networks to push its battles far beyond its borders – keeping enemies at bay, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tightened his grip on power. Direct strikes on Iran remained inconceivable.

That image of invincibility crumbled in the space of hours on June 13, when Israel launched a surprise, unprecedented attack deep inside Iran, shattering Tehran’s  sense of security and unraveling its carefully cultivated aura of strength.

Iran’s leadership has shown resilience, replacing those it lost and carrying out a harsh crackdown on those it sees as being complicit in Israel’s assault.

Signs also point to a regime that is much more paranoid, and likely to rule with a tighter fist at home in fear of cooperation with its enemies.  As reported by CNN.

‘A wounded regime’

After three years of rule by a conservative government led by Ebrahim Raisi, Iran last year elected reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, who had campaigned for dialogue with Iran’s foes, and presented that as a means to address the country’s domestic issues.

For many Iranians, he was seen as the last hope to deliver a nuclear agreement with the West and re-integrate Iran into the international community.

During the 12-day conflict, Iran repeatedly struck back at Israel, causing extensive damage to major cities like Tel Aviv and killing 28 people. Its ability to retaliate under fire won praise at home, even among those CNN spoke with who are opposed to the regime.

“People are at the moment feeling very nationalistic. We just went through a war together that everyone feels was unjustified, so the government has a degree of goodwill,” said Ali, 36. “They put us in the firing line with their policies but generally, they handled the war well.”

But it’s what happens next that has many Iranians concerned. There are growing fears of an imminent crackdown on reformists and calls for change, as the regime moves to root out perceived collaborators with Israel. By Wednesday, authorities had arrested 700 people accused of being “mercenaries of Israel,” state-affiliated Fars News Agency reported.

Neda, a 45-year-old Iranian, said she believes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite wing of the Iranian military that is sanctioned by the US, “will likely get stronger, consolidating even more power,” especially if a disorganized leadership creates a power vacuum.

Khamenei is reportedly hiding in a bunker, with little access to communications, and has yet to be seen in public since Israel and Iran reached the ceasefire, which came into effect on Tuesday.

“They (government) were strong in their show of force (against Israel) and that will at least for some time play well,” Neda told CNN. “There’s no telling if the gains we made (in bringing reform) over the past few years will remain. What was it all for? We’ve always known change must come from the inside and that was happening. Now where do we find ourselves?”

All the Iranians who spoke with CNN did so under the condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety.

Arash Azizi, a New York City-based Iran expert and author of the book “What Iranians Want,” said Iranians are likely worried about “a wounded regime coming after them and closing the political and civic space further.”

Repression might worsen, he told CNN, adding that the Iranian opposition abroad has proven itself to be “inept and politically irrelevant,” while civil society at home is “on the defensive.”

Experts say that the attacks on Iran have only emboldened conservatives who have long felt that the West and Israel cannot be trusted and that negotiations are merely a tactic to weaken the country. The fate of reformers and pragmatists now hangs in the balance, and only time will tell whether they survive the change in the leadership’s ranks that is likely coming, they said.

“The attacks have bolstered hardliners who argue that diplomacy with the West is futile and that Iran must remain militarily self-reliant,” Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based Center for International Policy, told CNN. “Reformist voices, pro-engagement with the West forces, have been marginalized in this climate.”

“In the short term, hardliners are likely to prevail,” he said. “But that may shift depending on the broader outcome of the conflict and whether diplomatic efforts with the US pay off.”

On Sunday, the US joined Israel’s campaign against Iran, striking three nuclear facilities and risking a full-blown war with the Islamic Republic. But US President Donald Trump subsequently announced the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, preserving the regime that he later said he didn’t want to change because it “would lead to chaos.”

“The broader lesson is that the Islamic Republic is not invincible, but neither is it easily toppled,” Toossi said.

Israel’s attack on Iran did not lead to popular uprisings, but rather a show of unity amongst Iranians who saw their country as being attacked in an unprovoked war, even as they remain wary of the repression that may follow.

“Whether people are supporters of our government or not, there is an anger we feel about Trump and Israel,” Reza, a 35-year-old man in Iran, told CNN.

Khamenei’s political fate

The longest serving leader in the Middle East, Khamanei has ruled with an iron fist for more than 35 years, quashing protests since at least 2005.

As the highest authority in Iran, much of the country’s domestic and foreign policy is influenced, if not shaped, by him.

Some experts say that despite the show of national unity after the conflict with Israel, there is likely frustration with Khamenei.

“He was too cautious when he had to be bold, and too bold when he had to be cautious,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, adding that the cleric is likely seen as having destroyed Iran’s deterrence and “rendered the country vulnerable.”

“A lot of the blame is put on him and his decision making – his inflexibility at the negotiating table, his defiance in the face of much stronger conventional military powers,” Vaez told CNN. When the dust settles, there may be questions about the ailing leader and his decisions over the years, he said.

Questions may also arise about the role and the importance of a Supreme Leader in the long term, according to Vaez.

“There is a strong desire from the Revolutionary Guards and military forces in Iran to double down and adopt a much more entrenched position, further militarizing the internal sphere and even eventually pursuing nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent,” Vaez said.

The paranoia around Israel’s infiltration in government will likely lead to a “purge” at the top level of the system, which might lead hardliners to prevail, he added.

The fate of reformist Pezeshkian and his moderate camp remains unclear. While the Supreme Leader remained in hiding, it was Pezeshkian who spoke to Iranians, making public statements and even attending an anti-war protest in Tehran.

Still, reformists aren’t escaping public anger. A 42-year-old woman in Iran questioned the viability of the current regime. “They’ve put us in a quagmire,” she told CNN. “This happened on a reformists’ watch.”

Experts say that the shattering of the regime’s aura of invincibility will change Iran, but how that shift plays out is uncertain and dependent on how the Iranian leadership and foreign powers react to the 12-day conflict.

For the Iranian people, a sense that they were at least safe within their country’s borders has been quashed.

“The Islamic Republic had one social contract with society, which is that it deprived them of all freedoms… in return for providing security,” Vaez said. “Now, that image has been shattered in the eyes of the Iranian people.”

YES!  And where does it lead?

Tony

Sam Altman

Dear Commons Community,

From the moment OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stepped onstage, it was clear this was not going to be a normal interview.

Altman and his chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, stood awkwardly toward the back of the stage at a jam-packed San Francisco venue that typically hosts jazz concerts. Hundreds of people filled steep theatre-style seating on last night to watch Kevin Roose, a columnist with The New York Times, and Platformer’s Casey Newton record a live episode of their popular technology podcast, Hard Fork.

Altman and Lightcap were the main event, but they’d walked out too early. Roose explained that he and Newton were planning to — ideally, before OpenAI’s executives were supposed to come out — list off several headlines that had been written about OpenAI in the weeks leading up to the event.  As reported by MSN News.

“This is more fun that we’re out here for this,” said Altman. Seconds later, the OpenAI CEO asked, “Are you going to talk about where you sue us because you don’t like user privacy?”

Within minutes of the program starting, Altman hijacked the conversation to talk about The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and its largest investor, Microsoft, in which the publisher alleges that Altman’s company improperly used its articles to train large language models. Altman was particularly peeved about a recent development in the lawsuit, in which lawyers representing The New York Times asked OpenAI to retain consumer ChatGPT and API customer data.

“The New York Times, one of the great institutions, truly, for a long time, is taking a position that we should have to preserve our users’ logs even if they’re chatting in private mode, even if they’ve asked us to delete them,” said Altman. “Still love The New York Times, but that one we feel strongly about.”

For a few minutes, OpenAI’s CEO pressed the podcasters to share their personal opinions about the New York Times lawsuit — they demurred, noting that as journalists whose work appears in The New York Times, they are not involved in the lawsuit.

Altman and Lightcap’s brash entrance lasted only a few minutes, and the rest of the interview proceeded, seemingly, as planned. However, the flare-up felt indicative of the inflection point Silicon Valley seems to be approaching in its relationship with the media industry.

In the last several years, multiple publishers have brought lawsuits against OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta for training their AI models on copyrighted works. At a high level, these lawsuits argue that AI models have the potential to devalue, and even replace, the copyrighted works produced by media institutions.

But the tides may be turning in favor of the tech companies. Earlier this week, OpenAI competitor Anthropic received a major win in its legal battle against publishers. A federal judge ruled that Anthropic’s use of books to train its AI models was legal in some circumstances, which could have broad implications for other publishers’ lawsuits against OpenAI, Google, and Meta.

Perhaps Altman and Lightcap felt emboldened by the industry win heading into their live interview with The New York Times journalists. But these days, OpenAI is fending off threats from every direction, and that became clear throughout the night.

Mark Zuckerberg has recently been trying to recruit OpenAI’s top talent by offering them $100 million compensation packages to join Meta’s AI superintelligence lab, Altman revealed weeks ago on his brother’s podcast.

When asked whether the Meta CEO really believes in superintelligent AI systems, or if it’s just a recruiting strategy, Lightcap quipped: “I think [Zuckerberg] believes he is superintelligent.”

Later, Roose asked Altman about OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft, which has reportedly been pushed to a boiling point in recent months as the partners negotiate a new contract. While Microsoft was once a major accelerant to OpenAI, the two are now competing in enterprise software and other domains.

“In any deep partnership, there are points of tension and we certainly have those,” said Altman. “We’re both ambitious companies, so we do find some flashpoints, but I would expect that it is something that we find deep value in for both sides for a very long time to come.”

OpenAI’s leadership today seems to spend a lot of time swatting down competitors and lawsuits. That may get in the way of OpenAI’s ability to solve broader issues around AI, such as how to safely deploy highly intelligent AI systems at scale.

At one point, Newton asked OpenAI’s leaders how they were thinking about recent stories of mentally unstable people using ChatGPT to traverse dangerous rabbit holes, including to discuss conspiracy theories or suicide with the chatbot.

Altman said OpenAI takes many steps to prevent these conversations, such as by cutting them off early, or directing users to professional services where they can get help.

“We don’t want to slide into the mistakes that I think the previous generation of tech companies made by not reacting quickly enough,” said Altman. To a follow-up question, the OpenAI CEO added, “However, to users that are in a fragile enough mental place, that are on the edge of a psychotic break, we haven’t yet figured out how a warning gets through.”

This battle is not going away anytime soon

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

 The stunning success of Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist, in the race for New York City mayor has exposed anew the fiery divisions plaguing the Democratic Party as it struggles to repair its brand nearly half a year into Donald Trump’s presidency.

A fresh round of infighting erupted among Democratic officials, donors and political operatives on Wednesday, a day after Mamdani’s leading opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded the Democratic primary. Mamdani appears on a glide path to the nomination, though ranked choice vote counting will determine the final outcome next week.  As reported by The Associated Press.

Many progressives cheered the emergence of the young and charismatic Mamdani, whose candidacy caught on with viral campaign videos and a focus on the cost of living. But the party’s more pragmatic wing cast the outcome as a serious setback in their quest to broaden Democrats’ appeal and move past the more controversial policies that alienated would-be voters in recent elections.

Indeed, Wednesday’s debate was about much more than who would lead America’s largest city for the next four years.

Giddy Republicans viewed Mamdani’s success as a political gift that would help shape elections across New Jersey and Virginia this fall and into next year’s midterms. And while such predictions are premature, national conservative media focused on the New York election with fresh zeal, suggesting that Mamdani’s emerging profile as a prominent Democratic leader will surely grow.

Trump took aim at Mamdani on social media, calling him “a 100% Communist Lunatic.”

“We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous,” the president wrote. “Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country.”

Some Democrats think so, too.

Lawrence Summers, the Treasury Secretary under former Democratic President Barack Obama, aired dire concerns on social media.

“I am profoundly alarmed about the future of the (Democratic Party) and the country” because of the New York City results, Summers wrote.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had endorsed Mamdani, scoffed at such Democratic critics and instead called for them to follow Mamdani’s lead.

“In many ways, Mamdani’s campaign really shows the direction in which the Democratic Party should be moving. And that is not to worry about what billionaires want, but to worry about what working-class people want,” Sanders told The Associated Press.

The Vermont senator warned Republicans against premature celebration.

“People like Mamdani are their worst nightmares,” Sanders said of the GOP. “It’s one thing for the Democrats to be strongly against Donald Trump. It is another thing to give working class people something to vote for — a positive agenda.”

Assuming Mamdani ultimately is the Democratic nominee, he would move to a November election against embattled Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and maybe even Cuomo again, should he also choose to run as an independent.

A member of the New York state Legislature since 2021, Mamdani won over Democratic primary voters with an optimistic message centered on the cost-of-living backed by a sprawling grassroots campaign that brought out thousands of volunteers across the city’s five boroughs. Initial precinct data shows that he did well in the city’s wealthier enclaves while Cuomo struggled in all but majority Black and orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, along with the more conservative Staten Island.

Mamdani’s rise was aided by Cuomo’s baggage. The 67-year-old Democrat was trying to mount a political comeback from a sexual harassment scandal that forced him to resign the governorship in 2021.

Mamdani has had to sidestep a field of landmines of his own making, centered on his policies and political rhetoric.

He called the New York Police Department “racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety” in a 2020 social media post. As a mayoral candidate, he softened his stance and said that the police served a vital role. Still, he pushed for the creation of a new public safety department that would rely more on mental health care services and outreach workers.

On Israel’s war in Gaza, he used the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions in the conflict. In the primary’s closing stretch, Mamdani also defended the phrase “ globalize the intifada,” which he described as “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”

He also faced criticism over his identity as a democratic socialist, a label he refused to back away from.

Mamdani’s agenda includes free city bus service, free child care, government-run grocery stores, a rent freeze for people living in rent-regulated apartments and new affordable housing — all paid for by raising taxes on the rich.

Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, warned that Mamdani’s policies are a political problem for the Democratic Party.

“The fact that Mamdani is young, charismatic, a great communicator — all of those things are to be emulated,” Bennett said. “His ideas are bad. … And his affiliation with the (Democratic Socialists of America) is very dangerous. It’s already being weaponized by the Republicans.”

Mamdani’s age and ethnic background also earned praise from allies across the country. He would be the youngest New York City mayor in more than a century and its first Muslim and Indian American mayor if elected.

After keeping quiet on Mamdani throughout his primary campaign, three of New York’s top Democrats, Gov. Kathy Hochul, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, praised the progressive upstart but stopped short of endorsing him after his victory seemed assured.

The Democratic leaders, largely considered moderates, applauded his focus on affordability and said they had spoken with him, although none explicitly said they would support him in the November general election.

Mamdani’s Democratic critics feared that he would make their task this fall and in next year’s midterm elections, which will decide the balance of power in Congress, even more difficult.

The group, Republicans Against Trumpism, a key Democratic ally in the 2024 election, predicted that Republicans would make Mamdani “the face of the Democratic Party, hurting moderates in swing districts and Democrats’ chances of taking back the House.”

In a Wednesday radio interview with WNYC, Mamdani acknowledged that his contest had become part of the national debate.

“It has been tempting I think for some to claim as if the party has gone too left,” he said. “When in fact what has occurred for far too long is the abandonment of the same working-class voters who then abandoned this party.”

Mamdani’s mayoral campaign will be closely watched nationally by Democrats.  Regardless of the outcome, it may be a blessing or a disaster for them nationally.

Tony