'Double standards corrode the very principle of an international rule of law'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'The United States can better promote democratic values... as an ICC member'
Kelebogile Zvobgo in Foreign Affairs
President Biden has "ordered his government to begin sharing information with the International Criminal Court’s investigation into atrocities committed in Ukraine," says Kelebogile Zvobgo in Foreign Affairs. But the U.S. has argued for decades that "the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the nationals of nonmembers such as Israel," the U.S., and, awkwardly, Russia. Washington can't have it both ways. If it wants to hold Vladimir Putin accountable, the U.S. has "to finally join the court."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'The former president's current language represents an imminent threat'
Jeffrey Toobin in The New York Times
Gag orders won't shut up Donald Trump, says Jeffrey Toobin in The New York Times. The judges in his civil fraud trial and Washington election subversion case have barred the former president from saying anything "to intimidate witnesses." But there's "little reason" to think he'll temper his "vast range of threats and attacks" on other matters. Someday a fan will violently "follow through on Mr. Trump's words," and "the blood will be on his hands."
'Today, most public schools fail'
Stephen Moore in the New York Sun
America's "collapsing" high school test scores constitute a "national emergency," says Stephen Moore in the New York Sun. "ACT scores have fallen" six straight years. College-readiness is at a three-decade low. This "puts our national security, our technological superiority, and our economic prosperity in grave danger." Students need discipline, "high expectations," and classical curriculums. Teachers unions insist vouchers for private education hurt public schools. Actually, school choice diverts resources to any educators doing things right.
'There is now less "self" in self-checkout'
Amanda Mull in The Atlantic
Self-checkout is "beginning to look like a failure," says Amanda Mull in The Atlantic. Automated payment kiosks were supposed to speed up and simplify shopping. Scan your stuff, "plunk it in a bag," and you're done. By now we all know that "checkout kiosks bleat and flash" when you put something down wrong. Buy wine and you have to wait for a lone, harried worker to scan you through. "Paid human labor" to the rescue.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
Why is the world so divided over plastics?
Today's Big Question UN negotiations on first global plastic treaty are at stake, as fossil fuel companies, petrostates and plastic industry work to resist a legal cap on production
-
Temple Mount: the politics of Judaism's holiest site
The Explainer Latest provocation at religious site with a history of 'perpetual friction' risks violence erupting again
-
Ssh! Secret gardens to visit this summer
The Week Recommends These leafy havens are the perfect place to escape the crowds
-
Tariffs: Is Trump winning his trade war?
Feature Trump secures a new trade deal as Europe agrees to 15% tariffs
-
ICE in the fields
Feature American agriculture relies on undocumented workers. What happens now that they're being deported?
-
'It feels less like advertising and more like brainwashing'
Instant Opinion
-
Will Trump privatize Social Security?
Today's Big Question Bessent calls savings program a 'back door' to privatization
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs report
Speed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on Canada
Speed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect
-
'Crony capitalism is a sharp break from free market ideals'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day