Author Archive: Glenn Reynolds

SO GOOD FOR GAIA! South Africa Faces Most Severe Nationwide Power Cuts in Months. “South Africa is facing the most severe nationwide power cuts in months after state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. announced that it would implement so-called Stage 6 outages — taking 6,000 megawatts of demand off the grid — from midnight Saturday until further notice.”

#JOURNALISM:

MORE ANTI-SEMITISM AT HARVARD:

After Harvard Divinity School student Shabbos “Alexander” Kestenbaum denounced the defacing of posters in a Jan. 21 post on X, he received an email from a Harvard employee challenging him to a debate on Israel’s role in 9/11.

“I invite you to debate me today at the Cambridge Street overpass 12-1, don’t miss it!” Gustavo “Gus” Espada ’96, an active University employee at the time, wrote in a Jan. 25 email to Kestenbaum.

“If you don’t show up I will use a puppet or potted plant to represent you!” he added.

Kestenbaum, who is one of six Jewish students suing Harvard for its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus, said in an interview with The Crimson that he reported the incident to Harvard’s Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

Espada posted a TikTok video later that day speaking in Spanish and waving a toy machete. The video includes a screenshot of Kestenbaum’s post on X.

“I, of course, was fearing for my safety,” Kestenbaum said. “And again, what made it particularly upsetting and frustrating was the fact that Harvard did not respond to any of my calls, emails, or pleas for protection.” . . .

Espada remains listed as the financial and systems coordinator for Harvard’s Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, according to the department’s website.

So much of the overpoliticized bad behavior on campuses comes from administrative employees.

FIGHT THE POWER: It Turns Out Law School Leaving A Paper Trail Of Retaliation Was A Poor Litigation Strategy: Law professor Paul Campos prevailed in his fight with his employer. Quoth Campos: “In the settlement agreement, the university denies having done anything wrong, but, as always, actions speak louder than words. In addition to paying all of my legal fees from two years of litigation, the university paid me a substantial sum to not take the case to trial, removed Dean Inniss as my supervisor for whatever time may be left in her tenure as Dean, and made various other concessions regarding the conditions of my employment going forward.”

OPEN THREAD: For you.

WELL-DESERVED: House Republicans impeach Alejandro Mayorkas in historic vote. “After being impeached, Mayorkas will now face a trial in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where a two-thirds majority vote will be needed to convict and remove him from office, which is very unlikely to happen.”

UPDATE: More here.