FEED Validator

for Atom and RSS and KML

Congratulations!

This is a valid RSS feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

line 128, column 0: content:encoded should not contain iframe tag (7 occurrences) [help]
```
<iframe title="Bob Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Official ...
```
line 153, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-saferedirecturl attribute (116 occurrences) [help]
```
This impeachment problem, unless it is solved, effectively means that a p ...
```

line 349, column 0: style attribute contains potentially dangerous content: box-sizing [help]

										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Faramarz Farbod <span style="box-sizi ...

line 373, column 0: content:encoded should not contain decoding attribute (43 occurrences) [help]
```
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://substack.com/redirec ...
```
line 373, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-bit attribute (7 occurrences) [help]
```
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://substack.com/redirec ...
```
line 444, column 0: content:encoded should not contain fetchpriority attribute [help]
```
<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/battlefiel ...
```
line 444, column 0: content:encoded should not contain sizes attribute (5 occurrences) [help]
```
<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/battlefiel ...
```
line 518, column 0: content:encoded should not contain loading attribute (35 occurrences) [help]
```
<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tyranny.pn ...
```
line 1124, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-attrs attribute (35 occurrences) [help]
```
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" sr ...
```
line 1167, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-component-name attribute (5 occurrences) [help]
```
<div id="youtube2-PewyoiHWWDY" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;video ...
```

Source: https://dissidentvoice.org/feed/

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
>
<channel>
<title>Dissident Voice</title>
<atom:link href="https://dissidentvoice.org/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org</link>
<description>a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice</description>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 04 Jul 2025 05:36:25 +0000</lastBuildDate>
<language>en-US</language>
<sy:updatePeriod>
hourly </sy:updatePeriod>
<sy:updateFrequency>
1 </sy:updateFrequency>
<item>
<title>Israel and the Albanese Report</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/israel-and-the-albanese-report/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Binoy Kampmark]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jul 2025 05:36:25 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[António Guterres]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colonialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Corporations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Genocide]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Court of Justice]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Israel (part of Mandate Palestine)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United Nations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dorothy C. Shea]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Francesca Albanese]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palantir Technologies]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159647</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It makes for stark and dark reading. The report for the UN Human Rights Council titled From economy of occupation to economy of genocide makes mention of “corporate entities” who have been enriched by “the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide.” Authored by the relentless Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/israel-and-the-albanese-report/">Israel and the Albanese Report</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[It makes for stark and dark reading. The report for the UN Human Rights Council titled <a class="western" href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf">From economy of occupation to economy of genocide</a> makes mention of “corporate entities” who have been enriched by “the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide.” Authored by the relentless Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, it is unflinching in its assessments and warnings to companies doing business with Israel.
What makes the investigative undertaking by Albanese useful is its examination of the corporate world and its links to the colonial, settler program of removing and displacing a pre-existing population. The machinery of conquest of any state necessarily involves not only the desk job occupants in civilian bureaucracies and high-ranking military commanders, but those in the corporate sector, eager to make a profit. “Colonial endeavours and associated genocides,” writes Albanese, “have historically been driven and enabled by the corporate sector. Commercial interests have contributed to the dispossession of Indigenous peoples of their lands – a mode of domination known as ‘colonial racial capitalism’.”
Eight private sectors come in for scrutiny: arms manufacturers, tech firms, building and construction entities, those industries concerned with extraction and services, banks, pension funds, insurers, universities and charities. “These entities enable the denial of self-determination and other structural violations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including occupation, annexation and crimes of apartheid and genocide, as well as a long list of ancillary crimes and human rights violations, from discrimination, wanton destruction, forced displacement and pillage to extrajudicial killing and starvation.”
Central to the multifaceted economy of genocide, the report charges, is the military-industrial complex that forms “the economic backbone of the State.” Albanese cites a stellar example: the F-35 fighter jet, developed by US-based Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with hundreds of other companies “including Italian manufacturer Leonardo S.p.A, and eight States.” 
Since October 2023, the process of colonisation and displacement has assumed an air of urgency, aided by the private sector. In 2024, US$200 million was advanced for “colony construction”. Between November 2023 and October 2024, 57 new colonies and outposts were established “with Israeli and international companies supplying machinery, raw materials and logistical support.” Examples include the maintenance and expansion of the Jerusalem Light Rail Red Line, the construction of the new Green Line, encompassing 27 kilometres of new tracks and 50 stations in the West Bank. The infrastructure has proven to be invaluable in linking the colonial project to West Jerusalem. Despite some companies withdrawing from the project “owing to international pressure”, an entity such as the Spanish/Basque Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles has been a keen participant, along with suppliers of excavating machinery (South Korea’s Doosan and Sweden’s Volvo Group), and providers of materials for the light-rail bridge (Germany’s Heidelberg Materials AG).
Beyond the structural and physical program of construction and displacement, all designed to extinguish any semblance of self-determination on the part of the Palestinians, come other features of the colonial project. A prominent feature of this, Albanese notes, is that of “surveillance and carcerality”. Repressing Palestinians has become a “progressively automated” affair, with tech companies feeding Israel’s voracious security appetite with “unparalleled developments in carceral and surveillance devices”, some of which include closed-circuit television networks, biometric surveillance, advanced tech checkpoint networks, drone surveillance and cloud computing.
Palantir Technologies Inc., a specialist in software platforms, comes in for a special mention. “There are reasonable grounds to believe Palantir has provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scale-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision making.”
With the report released, the dance of dissimulation began. Lockheed Martin <a class="western" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-israel-corporations-economy-genocide-report-reveals">told</a> the Middle East Eye that foreign military sales were not their preserve as far as accountability or cause of concern was, a lofty, business-like attitude unshackled from a moral compass. Such sales took place between governments, meaning that the US government would be best placed to answer any questions. Hand washing and deferrals of guilt is a private sector speciality after all.
In a more direct fashion, both Israel and the United States have continued their “Hate Albanese” campaign, boringly reiterating old accusations while adopting novel interpretations of international law. Given the obvious loathing of international human rights conventions by Israeli officials and their US backers, this is decidedly rich, even more so given such jurisprudence as that of the International Court of Justice’s <a class="western" href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/186/186-20240719-adv-01-00-en.pdf">Advisory Opinion</a> of July 2024, and the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (These developments figure prominently in Albanese’s assessment.)
According to the ICJ, all States were under an obligation to “cooperate with the United Nations” on ensuring “an end to Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Territory and the full realization of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”. Israel’s continued presence in the OPT was illegal. “It is a wrongful act of a continuing character which has been brought about by Israel’s violations, through its policies and practices, of the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
From Israel <a class="western" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/3/un-expert-calls-on-world-to-end-trade-with-israels-economy-of-genocide">came the view</a> that the report was “legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of [Albanese’s] office.” A <a class="western" href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/June-letter-Full-PDF.pdf">June 20 letter</a> to UN Secretary-General António Guterres from the Trump administration obtained by The Washington Free Beacon took issue with Albanese’s supposed record of “virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism”, bitchily sniping at her legal qualifications. Little is actually mentioned of international law in the bilious missive by US Ambassador Dorothy C. Shea, acting representative to the UN, other than a snotty dismissal of UN General Assembly resolutions and advisory opinions by the International Court of Justice as lacking any binding force “on either States or private actors”.
Shea claims Albanese “misrepresented her qualifications for the role by claiming to be an international lawyer despite admitting publicly that she has not passed a legal bar examination or been licensed to practice law.” A fabulous accusation, given the surfeit of allegedly qualified legal members working in the Israeli Defense Forces and other offices executing their program of displacement, starvation and killing.
The accusations against various corporate entities, notably over 20 US entities, were “riddled with inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations”, making such daring claims of “gross human rights violations”, “apartheid” and “genocide”. These charges, ventured through letters of accusation, constituted “an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy.”
It comes as little surprise that the security rationale – one that says nothing of the Palestinian right to self-determination, let alone rights to life and necessaries – marks the entire complaint against Albanese’s apparent lack of impartiality. “Business activities specifically targeted by Ms. Albanese contribute to and help strengthen national security, economic prosperity, and human welfare across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.” Just don’t mention the Palestinians.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/israel-and-the-albanese-report/">Israel and the Albanese Report</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>A Zionist Gaza is a Sick Vision Unworthy of any Country with Integrity</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/a-zionist-gaza-is-a-sick-vision-unworthy-of-any-country-with-integrity/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Karin Brothers]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:55:36 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Israel (part of Mandate Palestine)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mark Carney]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palestinian Authority]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159631</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Dear Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada: Prime Minister Carney’s statement that the solution to Mideast peace was a “Zionist Gaza” made me ill. It demonstrated his support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and showed total contempt for international law. Canada’s official foreign policy supports international law and Canada is a signatory to […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/a-zionist-gaza-is-a-sick-vision-unworthy-of-any-country-with-integrity/">A Zionist Gaza is a Sick Vision Unworthy of any Country with Integrity</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Dear Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada:
Prime Minister Carney’s statement that the solution to Mideast peace was a “Zionist Gaza” made me ill. It demonstrated his support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and showed total contempt for international law.
Canada’s official foreign policy supports international law and Canada 
is a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The ICJ has repeatedly called Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and the UN GA even demanded last year that Israel vacate the Palestinian territories by this year. A Zionist Gaza means either the outright Israeli theft of the Palestinian territory or continued illegal occupation: probably the Israeli imposition of the collaborationist Palestinian Authority, which virtually no Palestinian respects.
That our government would support Israel’s control over Gaza as a result of this genocide makes me ashamed of our country.
What value does an independent Canada have if it has no integrity and 
displays no respectable sovereignty? We understand that Canada must 
tread carefully to avoid giving the US excuses to invade, but we would 
like to see some signs of integrity in our government. Something that 
makes us care about preserving our independence (such as it is).The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/a-zionist-gaza-is-a-sick-vision-unworthy-of-any-country-with-integrity/">A Zionist Gaza is a Sick Vision Unworthy of any Country with Integrity</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Nothing to Say, Ma</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/nothing-to-say-ma/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Edward Curtin]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:46:08 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Language]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159626</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As a result of recent conversations, my life-long closest friend Diego wrote the following. If you’re lucky as we are, you have such a friend whose interests and thoughts match yours so closely that it seems that you were separated at birth in a dream. We both felt from the days of our youth when […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/nothing-to-say-ma/">Nothing to Say, Ma</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[As a result of recent conversations, my life-long closest friend Diego wrote the following. If you’re lucky as we are, you have such a friend whose interests and thoughts match yours so closely that it seems that you were separated at birth in a dream. We both felt from the days of our youth when chance brought us together that, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, it was not he, she, them, or it that we belonged to, or that we would ever gargle in the rat race choir for those who make the rules to terrorize humanity.
By Diego Sandoval
“Does anybody ever say anything?”
“Not really. Everybody talks all his life, and many write for many years, but nobody really says anything. It’s all right, though.” 
– William Saroyan, Not Dying: A Memoir
Because I have nothing to say, I am writing this. It’s all right. I have nothing to say because I am disgusted by all the words I have written for deaf ears and by the news that just repeats itself like an endless Greek tragedy to the chorus of commentators of all persuasions echoing each other as if their words made a difference in the butcher’s bench world of ruthless actors with their motto: acta non verba. I’m just sighing, Ma, like another man of many words, Bob Dylan:
<blockquote>And if my thought-dreams could be seen 
They’d probably put my head in a guillotine 
But it’s alright, Ma, it’s life, and life only</blockquote>
Life? Yes, Dylan is right: “If you’re not busy being born you’re busy dying.”
But what difference can words make? I don’t know. Quén sabe?
<a href="https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/william-saroyan">William Saroyan</a> was a witty man, a Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner, very famous in his day, and he didn’t know either. He claimed he wrote to ward off death and said he expected an exception to death would be made in his case. He was a man hiding in a house of words, always ready to bolt when death came knocking. But he never grasped the contradictory meanings of bolting, a common neurosis and a necrophiliac’s dilemma. He wanted to escape death’s clutches but wasn’t sure whether to run or hide. To bolt or bolt, that is the question he couldn’t answer unequivocally. He decided to obsessively accumulate stuff to barricade the entrance to his soul while writing the opposite. His monitory words insinuated the ineluctable nature of his rat packing.
I have spent my life shedding possessions – call it rat unpacking – having seen too many people possessed by them, and the nothingness of death that they represent. I always sensed that nothing is more real than nothing. Having grown up in Mexico – the country that Octavio Paz referred to as the land of the labyrinth of solitude, the country where death lays heavy on every heart, faithful or doubting, I became a poet, writer, and singer to somehow create a language that would lead me into the realm of silence where true language lives and death is exorcised. I took the stage name Mr. Z to honor my heroes, Zapata and Zarathustra. Perhaps you’ve heard of me. Few who come to hear me perform know my name’s origins and I never explain. Explain to whom? Why?
I was drawn to William Saroyan’s writing at an early age, probably because of his early efforts to write musically and exorcise the death-themed experiences of his childhood with Armenian immigrant parents, his father being a preacher who died when William was three years-old and he was sent to an orphanage along with his sister and brother. When I was about seventeen years-old I read his first book, <a href="https://edwardcurtin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TheDaringYoungMan_Saroyan1934.pdf">The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze,</a> and was mesmerized, especially by his story, “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8” – its free form musicality with its gaps of silence that tore out my heart. I identified with the story’s protagonist, who was lonely Saroyan at 19 years of age, and how a few chords in a piece of music, even bad music, transported him into ecstatic reveries, even during moments of silence when he wasn’t listening to the record. I memorized this sentence: “He stood over his phonograph, thinking of its silence, and his own silence, the fear in himself to make a noise, to declare his existence.” And then a string of few words came to me – “the music of forgetting” – which have haunted me ever since.
I too hear some secret music and don’t know why I am writing this. I’m only sighing as I move to the music of forgetting.
For his part, Saroyan, in his abodes of death, eventually wrote many millions of words in maybe seventy-five published and unpublished books, saying nothing about something for someone. It was all right, though, I guess he too was only sighing. A kind of sighing that was a haunting.
Aren’t we all sighing? Isn’t the world news enough to haunt anyone with a heart?
Then he died in 1982 at the age of seventy-two. No exception was made for Billy Boy. He either was or wasn’t surprised, depending on what happens when one dies. He said that in everyone’s secret religion “the idea is to keep death at a distance by means of junk of all kinds, and this junk makes a shambles.” Money, possessions in general, the more junk one can surround oneself with the safer one feels, so that death will have a tough time getting through the clutter to reach you, and in a writer’s case, his most treasured junk – his writing – may be useful in buying death off. This Saroyan said.
When he died, he left two houses in Fresno, California stuffed with shambles. Possessions so junky that they rattle the mind: envelopes of his old mustache clippings, pebbles, rocks, used typewriter ribbons, broken clocks, boxes of junk mail, every piece of ephemera that passed through his grasping hands. He let go of nothing while writing words warning of its futility despite its seeming necessity. He created a foundation in his own name, devoted to the study of himself, to which he left all his junk and to which he bequeathed all future earnings, despite having two children. He thought he was immortalizing himself under the illusion that his shambling rambling words and ratty belongings would free him from the labyrinth of solitude he was leaving. It was not a fit ending for a man who was once the daring young man on the flying trapeze.
Without faith, daring ends in desperate measures. I think Saroyan lost faith in the living.
He forgot his own wise words in the preface to the first edition of his first book:
<blockquote>If you will remember that living people are as good as dead, you will be able to perceive much that is very funny in their conduct that you perhaps might never have thought of perceiving if you did not believe that they were as good as dead.</blockquote>
Isn’t it funny that he left a shambles at home?
Madre, I’m running out of words. Please take my sighs and make them prayers of resistance to the ruthless actors who make this earth our home a bloody shambles.
<iframe title="Bob Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Official Audio)" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_CJHbfkROow?feature=oembed" width="505" height="284.1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/nothing-to-say-ma/">Nothing to Say, Ma</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Impeachment Problem</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-impeachment-problem/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Swanson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:25:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Barack Obama]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democrats]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[George W. Bush]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Legal/Constitutional]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Republicans]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159624</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I wish U.S. academics would spend less time fantasizing choices between various murders with trollies, or playing games with theories about how greedy robots might do diplomacy, and more time on the impeachment problem. The United States has an impeachment problem. Impeachment was put into a Constitution that made no mention of, allowance for, or […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-impeachment-problem/">The Impeachment Problem</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[I wish U.S. academics would spend less time fantasizing choices between various murders with trollies, or playing games with theories about how greedy robots might do diplomacy, and more time on the impeachment problem.
The United States has an impeachment problem. Impeachment was put into a Constitution that made no mention of, allowance for, or plans to survive the existence of political parties. Presidents are now generally not impeached for any abuse or outrage unless there is one party that doesn’t itself engage in that same abuse or outrage and that party is in the majority in the House. The use of a sex scandal for the impeachment of Bill Clinton was part of the process of destroying the impeachment power, but we’re now probably past sex scandals, for better or worse. We’re reduced to obscure or even fictional offenses, or physical attacks on Congress Members. And even those can be impeachable only when the non-presidential party has a House majority. And even then, the same party would have to have a two-thirds majority in the Senate to get a conviction, since a president’s party’s members will do virtually anything a president commands.
This impeachment problem, unless it is solved, effectively means that a popular nonviolent movement to oust a lawless dictator from the throne on Pennsylvania Avenue must turn out the entire government and start over. The reason the proper course is not the one everyone has been conditioned to mindlessly follow, namely waiting for a distant election, is the same reason impeachment was put into the Constitution: some abuses and outrages should never be tolerated. They do too much massive damage, and they set precedents that are very hard to undo. When Bush-Cheney and then Obama were allowed to finish out and not be removed, warmaking became more acceptable than ever, as did warrantless spying, lawless imprisonment, torture, murder by missile, etc. Criminal thuggery became firmly a policy choice, not an impeachable or prosecutable offense — unless of course you’re not the president. The top impeachable offenses by Bush are in <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.XaF8mXqsA6b2dSPmhsleMTBJv5XuGTWh_Orp76_RyY7R0uP9nMBdNZGX969GTtVi_SH9n7C8XCVBRUNMU3tSlQMn4FtzkoIWTvwuZCMbst0GzKTDb2qW-KqGMyaDALF0QOkpjqV4I84DjavEDjuu3nsKcrpzQqlZxChRt_7NJEymFT55MLK-xhYXW0GDdplHd9gh9dAUBaqG1pu1AoQEpZx48RO5ATwhHcRAxaq57zhjamdKXkBk-IchFHxbsNLByjix3YfnmaufxO7w4QRXlcpx4ZPVXP_S0biYy80iwvw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h0/h001.tKrzy3BT7HJIzMH4ePwfSiq6dIpwqvHOqXB4qJLLjNI" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.XaF8mXqsA6b2dSPmhsleMTBJv5XuGTWh_Orp76_RyY7R0uP9nMBdNZGX969GTtVi_SH9n7C8XCVBRUNMU3tSlQMn4FtzkoIWTvwuZCMbst0GzKTDb2qW-KqGMyaDALF0QOkpjqV4I84DjavEDjuu3nsKcrpzQqlZxChRt_7NJEymFT55MLK-xhYXW0GDdplHd9gh9dAUBaqG1pu1AoQEpZx48RO5ATwhHcRAxaq57zhjamdKXkBk-IchFHxbsNLByjix3YfnmaufxO7w4QRXlcpx4ZPVXP_S0biYy80iwvw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h0/h001.tKrzy3BT7HJIzMH4ePwfSiq6dIpwqvHOqXB4qJLLjNI&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3YJhOLToi6ASynZT56FBYB">this list of 35</a>. Partway into the Obama presidency, I documented his continuation of <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.yjJN_MEbNx94PLaWzZ6hWxtNA6rHz-UvNok-dP9Dtq3KqMkkTBAn5nLvcaAP8aTVZrv1cE-UhUv1562ruG7mgeJZQ4hp08IU5sotL3W5yWmNIp-YQlKBNmoZlI7TckRHqKgd1msafaL3j6wZLX15RpPW4xSc57Bpu9L7GZ95ArC455D_5H__5vXiTQVe1-b75T7fCHxJAeakfns1IOuXn13w2uxke8AgDuyqYWWGRJv1WmPsUTmHAkMS8gMTJvuUlLHjeCh2JPJfyCuYzjU-TTsSewicFM66wJA3_fsVAPQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h1/h001.lmwSXpi-hNPpjnvKecG132Kdg1I0ZKxlVujV-yfLA7c" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.yjJN_MEbNx94PLaWzZ6hWxtNA6rHz-UvNok-dP9Dtq3KqMkkTBAn5nLvcaAP8aTVZrv1cE-UhUv1562ruG7mgeJZQ4hp08IU5sotL3W5yWmNIp-YQlKBNmoZlI7TckRHqKgd1msafaL3j6wZLX15RpPW4xSc57Bpu9L7GZ95ArC455D_5H__5vXiTQVe1-b75T7fCHxJAeakfns1IOuXn13w2uxke8AgDuyqYWWGRJv1WmPsUTmHAkMS8gMTJvuUlLHjeCh2JPJfyCuYzjU-TTsSewicFM66wJA3_fsVAPQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h1/h001.lmwSXpi-hNPpjnvKecG132Kdg1I0ZKxlVujV-yfLA7c&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3zzIE8NRIeBLZi8DJedDuK">27 of those 35</a>.
The Trump-Biden-Trump era has iced the cake of acceptable and legalistic monstrosities. In 2019, RootsAction put together <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEton9in0V2ppGu5BwzTp2iDPQ7l9hWkCGYohyolOkNsHXYRiEmI0F8cRKVkKvRUB1Uca3cj6q9cH7bthL1RrDBtRdk2BYI0xePqjtpa-GLlFLJ7Or1L4_0VW9kwKktTlprT5nJ27MU0wSj0svIeM8vJGPLeY6863SQXNHaOdwlaodX/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h2/h001._eIaMcL0oFpWo2V-6tYAgm5jQHPRsOxoIRBK676K3_I" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEton9in0V2ppGu5BwzTp2iDPQ7l9hWkCGYohyolOkNsHXYRiEmI0F8cRKVkKvRUB1Uca3cj6q9cH7bthL1RrDBtRdk2BYI0xePqjtpa-GLlFLJ7Or1L4_0VW9kwKktTlprT5nJ27MU0wSj0svIeM8vJGPLeY6863SQXNHaOdwlaodX/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h2/h001._eIaMcL0oFpWo2V-6tYAgm5jQHPRsOxoIRBK676K3_I&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw0k4kI1uqfL1rzy708mq2p8">a list of 25</a> articles of impeachment for Trump:
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtogAMa8z9ztf7eR6UxPVukL9EHtuXE4Va2bGcRXBdlR6Scw556KRponrcIBjN2NxZg6NuLqMJwaNc3vv0M1OXGO1uFgRmwq9dTvG0d4lcd6zP4C8_uv6M2mP6Rw0K2aK-D8T0Gz7DNPjEvr_9am5Pi3j_CnVh2GZ9KuzjjQ1TOkkMzc6xZxmYcVT-U_zK5SpNiQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h3/h001.m5yl1HO261OPHbtoUFGDKpLOMVY-XQGiXVotAX2eJQY" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtogAMa8z9ztf7eR6UxPVukL9EHtuXE4Va2bGcRXBdlR6Scw556KRponrcIBjN2NxZg6NuLqMJwaNc3vv0M1OXGO1uFgRmwq9dTvG0d4lcd6zP4C8_uv6M2mP6Rw0K2aK-D8T0Gz7DNPjEvr_9am5Pi3j_CnVh2GZ9KuzjjQ1TOkkMzc6xZxmYcVT-U_zK5SpNiQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h3/h001.m5yl1HO261OPHbtoUFGDKpLOMVY-XQGiXVotAX2eJQY&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw1hlSwbyKJ8l3ghAoePln0r">Violation of Constitution on Domestic Emoluments</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtolPBgyFbtOaZOfS72vvmkRwDxVKy-s4GVXLtZh3lehoGsqY_QwuOV5KC25MesAAMG1_VdTBTpsF7DmKfhPpFB81n28H4RzMQJraZJGuZ2svQm8_aGCUplDWsgVbLTyuHuG3YZeWiBey4ErG5MBBA1Ep8Aty0--OZIkdcy-sUjXyqS68DFSAMX7-MFEupCHNVNw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h4/h001.mUkn3-THrMOxOExT_PWs37qruVc13oPzKbThJpAQfd4" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtolPBgyFbtOaZOfS72vvmkRwDxVKy-s4GVXLtZh3lehoGsqY_QwuOV5KC25MesAAMG1_VdTBTpsF7DmKfhPpFB81n28H4RzMQJraZJGuZ2svQm8_aGCUplDWsgVbLTyuHuG3YZeWiBey4ErG5MBBA1Ep8Aty0--OZIkdcy-sUjXyqS68DFSAMX7-MFEupCHNVNw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h4/h001.mUkn3-THrMOxOExT_PWs37qruVc13oPzKbThJpAQfd4&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw0OOOnOlpjFd2jtkGM-xmGt">Violation of Constitution on Foreign Emoluments</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtouRMFFLFQaLBr7zpacB9HKFve2B5UcxsAp6YURYSj9ij_fYyESl8fepiGMhg6dzv7UiQUMRDEgzldUlf5BjXXrI2eStPstv11omvIrvSqTrWU5S-aOohtXg6n8ffHrlEs_o3yw58FjAv5GzLqX2og5PNwfVyoDMh4sHfv-eyS74_kqvGzqvsdxw3c0prB1f-ag/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h5/h001.spbINRvbm-98wEZ0rml9JInni3Xeno5SBAFqpY0vH2o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtouRMFFLFQaLBr7zpacB9HKFve2B5UcxsAp6YURYSj9ij_fYyESl8fepiGMhg6dzv7UiQUMRDEgzldUlf5BjXXrI2eStPstv11omvIrvSqTrWU5S-aOohtXg6n8ffHrlEs_o3yw58FjAv5GzLqX2og5PNwfVyoDMh4sHfv-eyS74_kqvGzqvsdxw3c0prB1f-ag/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h5/h001.spbINRvbm-98wEZ0rml9JInni3Xeno5SBAFqpY0vH2o&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw1eGNrxdf2OSwtw0NGziZzQ">Incitement of Violence</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoi8ltWi3CpZxcX1dYTOH7hrBLZdWnz5UDw522vsgRJqAPzLCxNLJ7d8qfMcdtvbCF6MWBX0oEJ8r5w5m3gIi0TcRxIuMZ0xXnhC1mLoIkXLF3ylKW-wDkRCLn8acYxPXgtg-u1q7aGNFV5s1ZjClNhRR75YAm2Cno1APnidKuO5KkMbJrq54VBWUjXMsShZDyA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h6/h001.LmV_-c7XSAOhE2dY7F9BBtFFyDG1wBSvSDcwBMEu6jc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoi8ltWi3CpZxcX1dYTOH7hrBLZdWnz5UDw522vsgRJqAPzLCxNLJ7d8qfMcdtvbCF6MWBX0oEJ8r5w5m3gIi0TcRxIuMZ0xXnhC1mLoIkXLF3ylKW-wDkRCLn8acYxPXgtg-u1q7aGNFV5s1ZjClNhRR75YAm2Cno1APnidKuO5KkMbJrq54VBWUjXMsShZDyA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h6/h001.LmV_-c7XSAOhE2dY7F9BBtFFyDG1wBSvSDcwBMEu6jc&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3F1vR8v9XM-DQ7TlQFf_wN">Interference With Voting Rights</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoodWIVtTV9tiDmF-S06Jtde5DTZDjvhLL30yj_-SbSVSVDYmKgFREc7NTOQkTcpcufh9tLJ4ISZcFccD3QCqOaXFlV0PWuDkphL0_fiYq7Y9_o6UaaZGjcKbS1oKVp9zDSyvD1z4BH1_GuFzWG6MpTRHEYdiaZ3V8jXHBRtDPxJdmbgHS66oBgEOJ1wyAozqAjW0ALIRhWRLGwMXE3GNwZQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h7/h001.LmP78hydEhAhjBJvJdcbHG4twMiNo20w115877bhwgc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoodWIVtTV9tiDmF-S06Jtde5DTZDjvhLL30yj_-SbSVSVDYmKgFREc7NTOQkTcpcufh9tLJ4ISZcFccD3QCqOaXFlV0PWuDkphL0_fiYq7Y9_o6UaaZGjcKbS1oKVp9zDSyvD1z4BH1_GuFzWG6MpTRHEYdiaZ3V8jXHBRtDPxJdmbgHS66oBgEOJ1wyAozqAjW0ALIRhWRLGwMXE3GNwZQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h7/h001.LmP78hydEhAhjBJvJdcbHG4twMiNo20w115877bhwgc&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3SqR3ZsPjoA-MWROGfpDYG">Discrimination Based On Religion</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtos3ve_LWITNEquOtOdSoLtliRjesFT3UX3e_8eWb73C4WoGQ6hli0pKDa15WjeGrRlQuBHUnTwFSicFJPCA_YeTxftHYlDPZ7UnPR9jmAu-vsea1zKS3grFqeFxwHo42v44qTUksPfy6l0lY6uYaMWQbkcvc1pvOMdnF4tlLQ9bvuOhqQxmnifbb64CTmRMlBw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h8/h001.CfwgRH88SB8wmJs4_5cDT2mjCTBJQ63oHChnlMPmHMk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtos3ve_LWITNEquOtOdSoLtliRjesFT3UX3e_8eWb73C4WoGQ6hli0pKDa15WjeGrRlQuBHUnTwFSicFJPCA_YeTxftHYlDPZ7UnPR9jmAu-vsea1zKS3grFqeFxwHo42v44qTUksPfy6l0lY6uYaMWQbkcvc1pvOMdnF4tlLQ9bvuOhqQxmnifbb64CTmRMlBw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h8/h001.CfwgRH88SB8wmJs4_5cDT2mjCTBJQ63oHChnlMPmHMk&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3RG5eI-_kFS8GL4_QjKLr1">Illegal War</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohf78J9HY8PgtlOAxd5dJuptcsNPiE7N6AZ9O8wkre-Ga4f4O4j3dS02TUAo6e27SStP4QDAPeRArxJW1cDpeqMgEgdTYmPV0fqHM23fE7DARJk1chXVU_dhVm-EzOvAzwn08Atn1vk5tD3J-3AjP8a27ipC-Xjvs5s6e08y396b1r0sj7nVHLsLw0OC85Afjmyr_sufavMZ1HIY6_Qca-M/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h9/h001.uklFFZaJK6xyyFLJgvPTFFTkMV6dUE8wZdonJgzNy8s" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohf78J9HY8PgtlOAxd5dJuptcsNPiE7N6AZ9O8wkre-Ga4f4O4j3dS02TUAo6e27SStP4QDAPeRArxJW1cDpeqMgEgdTYmPV0fqHM23fE7DARJk1chXVU_dhVm-EzOvAzwn08Atn1vk5tD3J-3AjP8a27ipC-Xjvs5s6e08y396b1r0sj7nVHLsLw0OC85Afjmyr_sufavMZ1HIY6_Qca-M/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h9/h001.uklFFZaJK6xyyFLJgvPTFFTkMV6dUE8wZdonJgzNy8s&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw2naJfNtdso27H8sthct4MY">Illegal Threat of Nuclear War</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtolwSEl6e5ZEqoGLX95pXamJcS-FhCe0Ip9joO3uJVheYqq_9-27DxaHHIzCcUpNDVW3mB1z24Y0n-OYhKLmFrVCJ0vGsTSPfTb50x2jbclRArXNrt-KulstXtWmKstlnPh-BEqMEUURehJhY8OsMSPnJs2-WJMKHchmAO5e4mpqkIByJ48egPros6yV9YmME_A/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h10/h001.39sUkSZ6gBOzb9o0CyGd3MWp_WwG_MEZ26Jtpp7ZwZk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtolwSEl6e5ZEqoGLX95pXamJcS-FhCe0Ip9joO3uJVheYqq_9-27DxaHHIzCcUpNDVW3mB1z24Y0n-OYhKLmFrVCJ0vGsTSPfTb50x2jbclRArXNrt-KulstXtWmKstlnPh-BEqMEUURehJhY8OsMSPnJs2-WJMKHchmAO5e4mpqkIByJ48egPros6yV9YmME_A/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h10/h001.39sUkSZ6gBOzb9o0CyGd3MWp_WwG_MEZ26Jtpp7ZwZk&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw14tYVYCh-k1O_w_CYHu02e">Abuse of Pardon Power</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtolMfnXuyeGYbIJjDIUht9YZ7D5in58aGyhDA5b6YPnfn7F5cDq3U9SAZGwpSY-n-VKBCapzzQOav1-KMp_xHca0NXnSZqA-vJs-R6inpoDQq7fXTKcJavapa8-CV5LVdKcnsP8GQVxvzUIfeNXHObHOIpK0T0Onu0c9oilyDLVUWx2erDsRqArjyaSH0XDi4bA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h11/h001.CIq1288R1YU5hjA4Tr_pilF6S9HH2ugILTlrIuS4Ngc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtolMfnXuyeGYbIJjDIUht9YZ7D5in58aGyhDA5b6YPnfn7F5cDq3U9SAZGwpSY-n-VKBCapzzQOav1-KMp_xHca0NXnSZqA-vJs-R6inpoDQq7fXTKcJavapa8-CV5LVdKcnsP8GQVxvzUIfeNXHObHOIpK0T0Onu0c9oilyDLVUWx2erDsRqArjyaSH0XDi4bA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h11/h001.CIq1288R1YU5hjA4Tr_pilF6S9HH2ugILTlrIuS4Ngc&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw31g3FbYNoZASJMU0Tt_MN0">Obstruction of Justice</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtopY4oz2n73_o6G2B-5KJ-Bo3BowTzKnbWlGY2DysQBFxC8cFrSoJ2S6j22k42m0DSq1gIxSEHpnvEZwPaG3NS0k8IappPIOPNdJ25A5AePbJua7Za5JW8Hr3DyIe-Nxxfx5oIAlDDMlJcLLYz69DukLVtW9nqBc4UvCjNhsmDt3JRv5xYtSg7WEQjEh535dS_dJyCEqK3ntSwI4eJJ1hhM8/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h12/h001.Ggz71-fCT0wSrcJMB9aK1rZ8If1kfUT-AFz34POeFUg" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtopY4oz2n73_o6G2B-5KJ-Bo3BowTzKnbWlGY2DysQBFxC8cFrSoJ2S6j22k42m0DSq1gIxSEHpnvEZwPaG3NS0k8IappPIOPNdJ25A5AePbJua7Za5JW8Hr3DyIe-Nxxfx5oIAlDDMlJcLLYz69DukLVtW9nqBc4UvCjNhsmDt3JRv5xYtSg7WEQjEh535dS_dJyCEqK3ntSwI4eJJ1hhM8/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h12/h001.Ggz71-fCT0wSrcJMB9aK1rZ8If1kfUT-AFz34POeFUg&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw2fdSRw3PXM2MvttuNwAyDN">Politicizing Prosecutions</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtojtIohsXQytTvLxDWdDLoPpLz1n2aim4yWY1Wm4bX17_hMsAaeY9Yo29B1rimoeUVC7tKDd45pXmufhLqDFy4W9F2IPGhPFIF3LRorj4YRBkj0nCOCm0i4uP-XOhaGAcRO6VP673WodmeYShrZSMWQ_rnn5iTtkatezrrIY3ffngT3F6YHJoepS8NRWd9PjBKti_n8_OeWtLLLZE1CYRjXE/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h13/h001.kmLue-SMBPWP9MRUiqdXSj1aDhCDsbBZArZUVK7bHC0" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtojtIohsXQytTvLxDWdDLoPpLz1n2aim4yWY1Wm4bX17_hMsAaeY9Yo29B1rimoeUVC7tKDd45pXmufhLqDFy4W9F2IPGhPFIF3LRorj4YRBkj0nCOCm0i4uP-XOhaGAcRO6VP673WodmeYShrZSMWQ_rnn5iTtkatezrrIY3ffngT3F6YHJoepS8NRWd9PjBKti_n8_OeWtLLLZE1CYRjXE/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h13/h001.kmLue-SMBPWP9MRUiqdXSj1aDhCDsbBZArZUVK7bHC0&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw0HnmRLSttVBZehMM0QX2At">Collusion Against the United States with a Foreign Government</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohqz5ReO4aMjwPON4824xL4T9jzZTd8c1arihvIzg4rfos9aqx3hK5njWFOcvm9oCaVX5Qq7CRQrhdXO8Dnya3HaA9mKNB7jxZGO59hV7vsrgDzN7XZc6vQisRP7kVKTHOHnWcDURn2b6eFo29wioKEhKPqHL-s-eGamK88WrW1QDvBahOdtPhmlpFsz6jH8ug/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h14/h001.QMm7xirABpX7ZdqYRkd3oMNfDifaDOXLAdTIqsyHO94" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohqz5ReO4aMjwPON4824xL4T9jzZTd8c1arihvIzg4rfos9aqx3hK5njWFOcvm9oCaVX5Qq7CRQrhdXO8Dnya3HaA9mKNB7jxZGO59hV7vsrgDzN7XZc6vQisRP7kVKTHOHnWcDURn2b6eFo29wioKEhKPqHL-s-eGamK88WrW1QDvBahOdtPhmlpFsz6jH8ug/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h14/h001.QMm7xirABpX7ZdqYRkd3oMNfDifaDOXLAdTIqsyHO94&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw0FLh6RMe_4FEI7C3heKtw6">Failure to Reasonably Prepare for or Respond to Hurricanes Harvey and Maria</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtorXES30qp7Oxr-QF7y1E67r4pmf2C0K4jv89fQbS3U1uqFAPDh3UsZ-2bh31JjDD0Iz9-lzy3soe4wbh2am6Zpq40jxOwIuApXqj5yioivxyX1jzE6JFOueG6SCGO0oQJs-ULHt9zURlMIiTNcbWq9ZsC3_Av2cjgs3gpHW2vByiggnDcTK6lVRERBDOcZ7Org/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h15/h001.F590HRHwExu2iR7lkWtYElYqWhZ68ZyORmea1IVnA2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtorXES30qp7Oxr-QF7y1E67r4pmf2C0K4jv89fQbS3U1uqFAPDh3UsZ-2bh31JjDD0Iz9-lzy3soe4wbh2am6Zpq40jxOwIuApXqj5yioivxyX1jzE6JFOueG6SCGO0oQJs-ULHt9zURlMIiTNcbWq9ZsC3_Av2cjgs3gpHW2vByiggnDcTK6lVRERBDOcZ7Org/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h15/h001.F590HRHwExu2iR7lkWtYElYqWhZ68ZyORmea1IVnA2s&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw2GxM3eJmFge-EmQ7MPhZtM">Separating Children and Infants from Families</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtovbJZRKu9TneZOWtW_U7TVFY_i8jm6gEgFl5xm8vmGrutyXzi5rCcS6IjJUIS9CgXNIhKjio0aJzmQi0-gPTm0MwFe5WvGI6tlliRkbFucdbcX1PUMS0fwdHgvTqtiJLWJMt_95-GnqCukHuNyssVdYB-5epwL5BA7Ih5ocXXjYP8HODAItO3flaHB70LwNBPg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h16/h001.8rLtNsipJNqItvpXLleQRKb-Itk5i-yTPm-tmCxbwxE" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtovbJZRKu9TneZOWtW_U7TVFY_i8jm6gEgFl5xm8vmGrutyXzi5rCcS6IjJUIS9CgXNIhKjio0aJzmQi0-gPTm0MwFe5WvGI6tlliRkbFucdbcX1PUMS0fwdHgvTqtiJLWJMt_95-GnqCukHuNyssVdYB-5epwL5BA7Ih5ocXXjYP8HODAItO3flaHB70LwNBPg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h16/h001.8rLtNsipJNqItvpXLleQRKb-Itk5i-yTPm-tmCxbwxE&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw1yqDD6HkGfV1Icgeth-V9n">Illegally Attempting to Influence an Election</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtom9zp59vog7b69iq1ZwajG9ariq2rutZbPRTxrdVM-QMrDHIPylbazJiqLSThWSSOTunzjdg9m2_LHaZ6UhVmavXsQ-EBSKIhpiTWFYi9-4Lv9UItFEuwO7xVZDBTwlYNFGwzLUINK7hrRUVbTD4p1HLj9gXRdDCzwdHLdXwKIzfqyQKXRQcIiB1E49zNFNusA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h17/h001.IWt6Con4YrLX2XVzW5aedQo2H1V2yMdxAQt6aVh6azk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtom9zp59vog7b69iq1ZwajG9ariq2rutZbPRTxrdVM-QMrDHIPylbazJiqLSThWSSOTunzjdg9m2_LHaZ6UhVmavXsQ-EBSKIhpiTWFYi9-4Lv9UItFEuwO7xVZDBTwlYNFGwzLUINK7hrRUVbTD4p1HLj9gXRdDCzwdHLdXwKIzfqyQKXRQcIiB1E49zNFNusA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h17/h001.IWt6Con4YrLX2XVzW5aedQo2H1V2yMdxAQt6aVh6azk&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw1IrrmVdjJkAZBYbBjD_tMw">Tax Fraud and Public Misrepresentation</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohUhjgDhvx4bPV2qb0dVjlqSLVtr3xtNq_ofYE3bFyxjEXjXrEs-vxrk3ob-CO-TAry20vLLYdhXPN5OhL7sZGQ_3-_GQtlFeDvW9K8M14ksOlaLZEWNtupf8u0XRMyY-eROvgbYkJor-anKp8rX1aW7jBcr6GtV00eNZssykvmg7f8MjYYG5J-GdqFgtVa3Jw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h18/h001.UiCDEmz-XdJwpF6PO4g9U8lv2eLK0nBjYkghBIAYFHo" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohUhjgDhvx4bPV2qb0dVjlqSLVtr3xtNq_ofYE3bFyxjEXjXrEs-vxrk3ob-CO-TAry20vLLYdhXPN5OhL7sZGQ_3-_GQtlFeDvW9K8M14ksOlaLZEWNtupf8u0XRMyY-eROvgbYkJor-anKp8rX1aW7jBcr6GtV00eNZssykvmg7f8MjYYG5J-GdqFgtVa3Jw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h18/h001.UiCDEmz-XdJwpF6PO4g9U8lv2eLK0nBjYkghBIAYFHo&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3IsGi1MQ-Vmk4A-rFyW3XZ">Assaulting Freedom of the Press</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoi5gXd4JZPjZzrT1mXZW8l_N5HlvqOzLPGxNIl_Rd78_GfECdFE7UO5t9CoSWqLu44gqFYuO1G1mn9qvq14kGzKj5_Rq64lksz0vJal6QUxMo7uWqAnONENsFG-qm29zePj2k4Mlp1koINmemceq7rtyi8pAGeqhknNHjYLeJMxL/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h19/h001.VhUZY3ZlifYJax587DLsIm1TKaxl1TdFYSNqg0deZSk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoi5gXd4JZPjZzrT1mXZW8l_N5HlvqOzLPGxNIl_Rd78_GfECdFE7UO5t9CoSWqLu44gqFYuO1G1mn9qvq14kGzKj5_Rq64lksz0vJal6QUxMo7uWqAnONENsFG-qm29zePj2k4Mlp1koINmemceq7rtyi8pAGeqhknNHjYLeJMxL/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h19/h001.VhUZY3ZlifYJax587DLsIm1TKaxl1TdFYSNqg0deZSk&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw12LVHHHp7M691d4KpI_k4K">Supporting a Coup in Venezuela</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtomN6XxXwraaUs2KFbzmI5wJ119MfXEJv8em-5YV2asyYy_zlCZ0R5LjeEzDZQx9fIXXY70AvByiz4CxOQeTKiAD2Bb9jFPTlkf5u-6a-ZdJMhO-bDuUHIiIbzuhIRPG4Ms8mkOrWo4VZagvE9cCUD-Q17cH28N60oMFWcC-d-n5dL2HZiWYGToGhGntOP8tdWg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h20/h001.jJ5cOnOJrdqZRTg2ndphMtnxUYcjFkDHO-JpS1iAjAk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtomN6XxXwraaUs2KFbzmI5wJ119MfXEJv8em-5YV2asyYy_zlCZ0R5LjeEzDZQx9fIXXY70AvByiz4CxOQeTKiAD2Bb9jFPTlkf5u-6a-ZdJMhO-bDuUHIiIbzuhIRPG4Ms8mkOrWo4VZagvE9cCUD-Q17cH28N60oMFWcC-d-n5dL2HZiWYGToGhGntOP8tdWg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h20/h001.jJ5cOnOJrdqZRTg2ndphMtnxUYcjFkDHO-JpS1iAjAk&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw0T3n4ralXxsK5mfndEOM-V">Unconstitutional Declaration of Emergency</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoifV9EbmZZPy7jnfFdKqYL25177dYq_HZu7QSGMlm4Hv0nBYU5Pn_DNMc56gsl2TYAYEokIgvhukkgyHqRgkJzHv_ZViCyNR715jIhQYh2ePeotE1VcuxIErObFfHH2OyFGQRPORVvu7Pd_jKguTCmrnYhoRgFyQ46D--1AjBgA5iGYoxJV-Zz_GTh7WD4h0Hg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h21/h001.rXzrP_GhIT1unzh2_Bylaa-COuW_EU2aNXjmsNYDivM" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoifV9EbmZZPy7jnfFdKqYL25177dYq_HZu7QSGMlm4Hv0nBYU5Pn_DNMc56gsl2TYAYEokIgvhukkgyHqRgkJzHv_ZViCyNR715jIhQYh2ePeotE1VcuxIErObFfHH2OyFGQRPORVvu7Pd_jKguTCmrnYhoRgFyQ46D--1AjBgA5iGYoxJV-Zz_GTh7WD4h0Hg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h21/h001.rXzrP_GhIT1unzh2_Bylaa-COuW_EU2aNXjmsNYDivM&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3PQ4wHqhoEYM8Ua3T8o5Ph">Instructing Border Patrol to Violate the Law</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoi3Zknqy5giLPLnnnfiGtNg0_9U16xTbTqUkWOILNjdkhH1i83Qo2aakCJibABLCaZ9x7aYja_m83ONmsU28mU_A7sZyQIPrcdY5XAGBnfJbnnctXqKIgmGz_qXXkcJtmMNMhzo3OwO9SJ-TH3_zMwyAjoc0Jg3gXwgvENhx7g_yBjFgIQBPuu8YMdinYCapiA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h22/h001.EdAYSki9WUom5gXNQMxRUXzfec5KRGC7pYLfJk20iK8" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtoi3Zknqy5giLPLnnnfiGtNg0_9U16xTbTqUkWOILNjdkhH1i83Qo2aakCJibABLCaZ9x7aYja_m83ONmsU28mU_A7sZyQIPrcdY5XAGBnfJbnnctXqKIgmGz_qXXkcJtmMNMhzo3OwO9SJ-TH3_zMwyAjoc0Jg3gXwgvENhx7g_yBjFgIQBPuu8YMdinYCapiA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h22/h001.EdAYSki9WUom5gXNQMxRUXzfec5KRGC7pYLfJk20iK8&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw2yVgJQ5W10MNQIjkF80yHk">Refusal to Comply With Subpoenas</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtovi7jwJM2MBv-Q3YfFQPKxSxJ1CHv4arhC9L-PRbaVPdkOHPfTZ9Pyy3pkBPxHrmB9bxE76jyOezMjRUzWgHX28drT1XhMx_RURnw-NDz-ruyTuVGLLoAp9CzIRBQVXO1Q5TKHMUSDyjNOYbVX6sQaZyv19x17EfQAE5_AsAK2kCn3v_adFI5ELvN7Gg-oPrHA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h23/h001.k34OVATQJutqSax-i-8LfYI9VgLqF-y0X2Xj4JIJPyY" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtovi7jwJM2MBv-Q3YfFQPKxSxJ1CHv4arhC9L-PRbaVPdkOHPfTZ9Pyy3pkBPxHrmB9bxE76jyOezMjRUzWgHX28drT1XhMx_RURnw-NDz-ruyTuVGLLoAp9CzIRBQVXO1Q5TKHMUSDyjNOYbVX6sQaZyv19x17EfQAE5_AsAK2kCn3v_adFI5ELvN7Gg-oPrHA/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h23/h001.k34OVATQJutqSax-i-8LfYI9VgLqF-y0X2Xj4JIJPyY&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3VtIT8ChLJA-ba2-IIlXM0">Declaration of Emergency Without Basis In Order to Violate the Will of Congress</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtojqESoTSxk9QMHig5wCOdZrY4LYZM6gEkFutblexrTH8LxX5x0iZBXv54oMQ0vQ1s7OE4v75UxbotGdZnJ92mdVIAHlyWbLfgYD7G2wwbALjAlKSClJ3B9rm6IBkzzXlcy8tmQnP60GzIjmE7GUx9gvIyYF8LT4BskjcNe_mgt1iewSztSpYmg9S2jJWiVjRXw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h24/h001.5Q-OW3nple4n1z8RzDOh0npeYubg1aBllGHTrsua5WQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtojqESoTSxk9QMHig5wCOdZrY4LYZM6gEkFutblexrTH8LxX5x0iZBXv54oMQ0vQ1s7OE4v75UxbotGdZnJ92mdVIAHlyWbLfgYD7G2wwbALjAlKSClJ3B9rm6IBkzzXlcy8tmQnP60GzIjmE7GUx9gvIyYF8LT4BskjcNe_mgt1iewSztSpYmg9S2jJWiVjRXw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h24/h001.5Q-OW3nple4n1z8RzDOh0npeYubg1aBllGHTrsua5WQ&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw068lT0Xh5g6CzN0c9UvscL">Illegal Proliferation of Nuclear Technology</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohCkLgjfM-pw1mgqRwBn76twRBuOiN42gLAqjZtgPycsUiFVwu8StQkHqeS3yioqVV8UREH1RmBxRIkC2rdeZajckT4Z3Rs3nKu2sNmJ5mIt0SJzlpEGGWomML53mJ2zGah0C_uhL_xAnDhrtXA3R-K8vLLCIVhg0UpZtLFjkmqs/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h25/h001.DbH_wOgLPc8d-XOI-ul6f80fM2GZV6SV04vsb1RAZ4I" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtohCkLgjfM-pw1mgqRwBn76twRBuOiN42gLAqjZtgPycsUiFVwu8StQkHqeS3yioqVV8UREH1RmBxRIkC2rdeZajckT4Z3Rs3nKu2sNmJ5mIt0SJzlpEGGWomML53mJ2zGah0C_uhL_xAnDhrtXA3R-K8vLLCIVhg0UpZtLFjkmqs/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h25/h001.DbH_wOgLPc8d-XOI-ul6f80fM2GZV6SV04vsb1RAZ4I&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3_h6oRSW_NPF-986BJ9nYR">Illegally Removing the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtomMBHoSEj9cjzzEG2p5rhzfnFk2jYACgyYAQgKZGd5k0xMBoqTq3Ha-xiCE3yjURCObY6lvxlYa7C7AFAWPKmaiy85g71kQq7YwE4FwtpvWUpAteWFUwp6SQ2HOB4IJ6CjzFkY7QIA_GVYTzKHjt8ttcTDfkNvAZxR1SwkBXOxAj34YcUfTBy8ZmWifZjAK3dg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h26/h001.JChZOATCKXKAICzNJyjxFpB5GQfuOLri8kUEqakBMsI" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtomMBHoSEj9cjzzEG2p5rhzfnFk2jYACgyYAQgKZGd5k0xMBoqTq3Ha-xiCE3yjURCObY6lvxlYa7C7AFAWPKmaiy85g71kQq7YwE4FwtpvWUpAteWFUwp6SQ2HOB4IJ6CjzFkY7QIA_GVYTzKHjt8ttcTDfkNvAZxR1SwkBXOxAj34YcUfTBy8ZmWifZjAK3dg/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h26/h001.JChZOATCKXKAICzNJyjxFpB5GQfuOLri8kUEqakBMsI&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw36iDEBZ5K3g_iBqjY9JYD5">Seeking to Use Foreign Governments’ Resources Against Political Rivals</a>
<a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtom8GFq7t8gzvd-hHBl1GVcrCvKSqDvkjAQvTjx66SQXh-aVUkEEYpLAqf2KRP1FCaxDGea6in-lq8jYI1BVPwBU6jmsR9hZJpu3q83AdVCpUFng_FcfalBYNx9WnmH8NaOJJVfCBJ8E_SrNfHvk72YSypRbKgacQhLWL0USp57WCxFoVgLvLv3ImueE2jKiBeQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h27/h001.2-053sOz8LHPMgvP4xOTkHTHC-4TIkNYfnroPGF9M9E" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.X6XUC7u8ppFLNtMO_55SZo94kYKDlfqNE6blcRBpwNikSX6qaZmJCraB7Ai7Z3_YENCKEaQKanO6v6tQcdEtom8GFq7t8gzvd-hHBl1GVcrCvKSqDvkjAQvTjx66SQXh-aVUkEEYpLAqf2KRP1FCaxDGea6in-lq8jYI1BVPwBU6jmsR9hZJpu3q83AdVCpUFng_FcfalBYNx9WnmH8NaOJJVfCBJ8E_SrNfHvk72YSypRbKgacQhLWL0USp57WCxFoVgLvLv3ImueE2jKiBeQ/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h27/h001.2-053sOz8LHPMgvP4xOTkHTHC-4TIkNYfnroPGF9M9E&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw00hr1PTe_mNzbAKxYR9L0q">Refusal to Comply with Impeachment Inquiry</a>
One could go on piling up the articles of impeachment or documenting their continuation and expansion. But what’s missing is not the documentation. Here’s a guy who incited violence at his campaign events prior to his first stint on the throne. RootsAction proposed his impeachment for open financial corruption on his first inauguration day. The case was beyond solid, and has been built up ever since. Every weapons shipment for genocide by Biden, Trump, or a harmoniously bipartisan Congress violates numerous U.S. laws. The corruption is gradiose, fantastic, megalithic. The wars, the lies, the kidnappings by masked thugs, the environmental destruction, the promotion of bigotry and hatred — it’s a festival of flagrantly overly justified grounds for removal from office. But what’s missing is the will to make removal happen. On June 24, a huge, happy, bipartisan majority <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.XaF8mXqsA6b2dSPmhsleMYfbIlJMx_YFyWr8zCejJDBS2MVYF2gm172FT5qckIqCmVLtbFm-aSjMwouZZ9L8Sh8g3xFJ9VvZ47OMoXdSbS5IS5aWGMYMJVLexk-tP_QbURI8IKGYriJx690giuxKjGNhvELDm4uQa1DbQjeJO-UVyVIl9lt4OOSUSZ2yfRkf3PvPNkZjIa5VTA7FM-7f8aRNGFUr1gcFdZ8Cqp6WBo3M4d6_1YBGweSDCCTzxeO36TxiggHKmJvfGoxn6nLhkw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h28/h001.BxUiWJ1m7YOQVOGEHOOtZGUlJ35LdOHFh4PVmJPC9Pw" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.XaF8mXqsA6b2dSPmhsleMYfbIlJMx_YFyWr8zCejJDBS2MVYF2gm172FT5qckIqCmVLtbFm-aSjMwouZZ9L8Sh8g3xFJ9VvZ47OMoXdSbS5IS5aWGMYMJVLexk-tP_QbURI8IKGYriJx690giuxKjGNhvELDm4uQa1DbQjeJO-UVyVIl9lt4OOSUSZ2yfRkf3PvPNkZjIa5VTA7FM-7f8aRNGFUr1gcFdZ8Cqp6WBo3M4d6_1YBGweSDCCTzxeO36TxiggHKmJvfGoxn6nLhkw/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h28/h001.BxUiWJ1m7YOQVOGEHOOtZGUlJ35LdOHFh4PVmJPC9Pw&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3W919RpXy9VSKhEWhC8ieq">voted not to impeach</a> Trump for making himself a king, just 10 days after huge demonstrations all across the country denouncing Trump for having made himself a king.
I’m afraid of what will happen instead of impeachment. President Kennedy said that those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable. And there is nobility in that idea. But there is no such thing as making nonviolent revolution impossible. And the powers of nonviolent action are virtually unknown in U.S. culture. Mildly objecting to mass murdering foreign people is a lot for us. The notion that we might actually <a href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.yjJN_MEbNx94PLaWzZ6hWxtNA6rHz-UvNok-dP9Dtq0lpNvLSomL9mMxmOYFnz2IPCb_qSDZM-VW57qzy_nBrl9HecWTy-D23P8IRv4dbLlfzk1VyqJSdtU6UU74HjfG4aI2ibf5pXJ76duIVQwKlzngylCYwgIBQJ51UrqseLo7VV7O-tfgiZUiUeVES_xZQOWBHKNx8N1GNhDyQjAyKh050fBXQKeM1mOTJQFScnS--EMDRj247U6gSwRzM3fGhiGYcwf3WPEgOJ3GpAbfTy7eLiDBgPtTVOYfySGw435O7UoHVlS1W3hZbZ5Bh8wuBrFKX71H_ERtb265bj55ILDVzgvbSwuyeiKyUER7DaE/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h29/h001.vhf0ToV9-YNZx-78x62y89ACPgLx1Rxg2g3sJLy11zk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.yjJN_MEbNx94PLaWzZ6hWxtNA6rHz-UvNok-dP9Dtq0lpNvLSomL9mMxmOYFnz2IPCb_qSDZM-VW57qzy_nBrl9HecWTy-D23P8IRv4dbLlfzk1VyqJSdtU6UU74HjfG4aI2ibf5pXJ76duIVQwKlzngylCYwgIBQJ51UrqseLo7VV7O-tfgiZUiUeVES_xZQOWBHKNx8N1GNhDyQjAyKh050fBXQKeM1mOTJQFScnS--EMDRj247U6gSwRzM3fGhiGYcwf3WPEgOJ3GpAbfTy7eLiDBgPtTVOYfySGw435O7UoHVlS1W3hZbZ5Bh8wuBrFKX71H_ERtb265bj55ILDVzgvbSwuyeiKyUER7DaE/4hv/iy7_2gGiTKqTxau05h_FZA/h29/h001.vhf0ToV9-YNZx-78x62y89ACPgLx1Rxg2g3sJLy11zk&source=gmail&ust=1751656857560000&usg=AOvVaw3mJfyOsGehJrgS-c_bRbJz">learn from the successes</a> of foreign people could be asking too much. And so the vast panoply of options between demanding impeachment and hitting Capitol Police officers with flag poles may be lost on too many of us. It may be lost on us beyond our ability to recognize the absurd insufficiency of choosing between two disastrous candidates every four years. We may realize what a scam this so-called democracy is, but not realize our latent power to take it over without counterproductive violence. That does not bode well.
<ul>
<li>First published at <a href="https://davidswanson.org/the-impeachment-problem/">DavidSwanson.org</a>.</li>
</ul>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-impeachment-problem/">The Impeachment Problem</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Perfect Islamophobic Storm</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-perfect-islamophobic-storm/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kawa Najafi]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2025 13:45:17 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Genocide]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Islamophobia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Israel (part of Mandate Palestine)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Namibia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Racism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AfD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amnesty International]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CDU]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CSU]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Euro-Med Monitor]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Herero]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Human Rights Watch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nama]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159609</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A familiar violence is brewing in the heart of Europe. The numbers reveal only what has surfaced so far. A quarter of the voting population now openly support the AfD, a party classified by the security services as ‘right-wing extremist’ due to their Islamophobic rhetoric and white-supremacist affiliations. Boosted by the mainstream press and the endorsement from the Nazi-saluting billionaire, the xenophobic […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-perfect-islamophobic-storm/">The Perfect Islamophobic Storm</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[A familiar violence is brewing in the heart of Europe. The numbers reveal only what has surfaced so far. A quarter of the voting population now <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/de-de/meinungsumfragen" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ipsos.com/de-de/meinungsumfragen&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0C7IbxKV9l_rFDy6nccw_z">openly support</a> the AfD, a party <a href="https://apnews.com/article/germany-afd-extremist-lawsuit-490edb9f7c0e35d12fc861a0e0751506" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/germany-afd-extremist-lawsuit-490edb9f7c0e35d12fc861a0e0751506&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw1VYgG8gq5nMofohpmAlAOu">classified</a> by the security services as ‘right-wing extremist’ due to their Islamophobic rhetoric and white-supremacist affiliations. Boosted by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/08/elon-musk-afd-germany-mainstream-far-right" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/08/elon-musk-afd-germany-mainstream-far-right&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw1bjQy_PcWS3gHp4kR8-JPX">mainstream press</a> and the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/musk-rallies-far-right-europe-tesla-is-paying-price-2025-03-04" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/world/musk-rallies-far-right-europe-tesla-is-paying-price-2025-03-04&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw2IHtzd2lZkxaxGncM87jdW">endorsement</a> from the Nazi-saluting billionaire, the xenophobic message is broadcast across Germany once more.
Traditional conservative parties, the CDU and CSU, while <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/20/germany-far-right-afd-bundestag-populism" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/20/germany-far-right-afd-bundestag-populism&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw3i4ymlgZgRs-Dk6oFfbUFB">reluctantly</a> distancing themselves from the AfD, have adopted the same Islamophobic stance wrapped in a more ‘respectable’ language. In complete disregard for the lessons etched into their own Grundgesetz, the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-interior-minister-horst-seehofer-islam-doesnt-belong-to-germany/a-42999726" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dw.com/en/german-interior-minister-horst-seehofer-islam-doesnt-belong-to-germany/a-42999726&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw21xR4LfmD9fV9vFaQFccXR">CSU</a> have declared that Islam has no place in Germany. The CDU, having finally shed their liberal skin, <a href="https://x.com/CDU/status/1716846471004262504" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://x.com/CDU/status/1716846471004262504&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw2qCUw3wM2wYSQaNiLz8ayY">publicly</a> declared any calls for a ‘Free Palestine’ as terrorist sympathies. Their violence is sanitised and bureaucratic as they push legislation to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/03/german-proposal-strip-citizenship-endangers-human-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/03/german-proposal-strip-citizenship-endangers-human-rights&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0cRZTeFUay1nos5wNSmWt3">strip dual nationals</a> of citizenship based on their political views. So effortless is their rejection of civil rights that it would send their oligarch friends in the White-house into a jealous frenzy.
A more unexpected xenophobic turn came from the centre-left alliance under former chancellor Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD). After a stabbing incident in Solingen, afraid to lose votes to the anti-immigrant wave sweeping the country, Scholz promised Germany <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/interview-with-german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-we-have-to-deport-people-more-often-and-faster-a-790a033c-a658-4be5-8611-285086d39d38" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/interview-with-german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-we-have-to-deport-people-more-often-and-faster-a-790a033c-a658-4be5-8611-285086d39d38&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0MEUiecTiTMyDfl5gchxxn">mass deportations</a>. This concession gave the racists all the proof they needed for the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268123001713" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268123001713&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw2ttTvlSwSBvv39xcM_5s6Y">otherwise</a> <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-s-crime-rate-rise-not-linked-to-migration-ifo-institute/3485426" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-s-crime-rate-rise-not-linked-to-migration-ifo-institute/3485426&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0xEvtp5hmFdI-vvTQYgesX">unfounded</a> narrative of ‘the violent immigrant’. Riding this wave into right-wing populism, he promised to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-put-temporary-controls-all-land-borders-source-says-2024-09-09/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-put-temporary-controls-all-land-borders-source-says-2024-09-09/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0wp6CSsIxCBBaiGxNmMM2j">strengthen the borders</a> of the fortress Europe – borders which already claim the lives of 8 000 migrants <a href="https://apnews.com/article/migration-deaths-mediterranean-asia-bfa261c35362cf930dbdfc9271625010" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/migration-deaths-mediterranean-asia-bfa261c35362cf930dbdfc9271625010&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw3RoALY4LmRq8HNHkU5v2B4">every year</a>. And as if reading from the Trump script, the SPD oversaw the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/14/germany-orders-deportation-of-pro-palestine-activists-what-you-should-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/14/germany-orders-deportation-of-pro-palestine-activists-what-you-should-know&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw1fLi7IE4zVP9ivN27DU92G">deportation orders</a> for several EU citizens for participating in peaceful demonstrations – no charges, no trial and no global outrage.
Across the German political spectrum, in a mixture of performative Holocaust guilt and opportunism, parties have embraced the settler colonial hierarchy on which Israel was founded, with Arabs and Muslims at the bottom of their order. With revisionist logic and wishful thinking, the Bundestag passed <a href="https://diem25.org/jewish-organisations-around-the-world-condemn-german-parliamentary-resolution-on-anti-semitism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://diem25.org/jewish-organisations-around-the-world-condemn-german-parliamentary-resolution-on-anti-semitism/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw2_6JBVyklucN4Z-Y5eB0eU">a resolution</a> that frames anti-Semitism as an imported middle-eastern issue. By adopting the fictional IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which includes all criticism of the state of Israel, they got the outcome they were looking for. The resolution was sharply <a href="https://www.amnesty.de/sites/default/files/2024-10/Deutschland-Antisemitismus-Resolution-Stellungnahme-Entschliessungsantrag-Bundestag-Organisationen-September-2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amnesty.de/sites/default/files/2024-10/Deutschland-Antisemitismus-Resolution-Stellungnahme-Entschliessungsantrag-Bundestag-Organisationen-September-2024.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0PsxoIlEjR-K_0Ls-hb0gX">criticised</a> by human rights monitors as antagonistic to Arabs and Muslims and simultaneously anti-Semitic for conflating Judaism with the state of Israel. The resolution was passed with over 95% of votes.
In Germany, to wear a keffiyeh is to risk arrest and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/31/germany-gaza-protesters-deport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theintercept.com/2025/03/31/germany-gaza-protesters-deport/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw06cj6u_y9H6XTgP4YDDn0k">deportation</a>. To publicly <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur23/7180/2023/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur23/7180/2023/en/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw3BjndioT-wyOMGjXk312tW">mourn the Nakba</a> is illegal and yet when the AfD march through immigrant neighbourhoods to intimidate they call it freedom of speech. The message to the Arabs and Muslims of Germany is clear – you are at the bottom of our racial order, our human rights do not apply to you. Germany now records 5 Islamophobic incidents <a href="https://www.claim-allianz.de/content/uploads/2024/08/240810_claim_lagebild_summary.pdf?x55771=" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.claim-allianz.de/content/uploads/2024/08/240810_claim_lagebild_summary.pdf?x55771%3D&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw2mv7ewxPrEOYBtrRL3ENRi">every day</a>.
This perfect storm of Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment has thrown Europes largest economy back on a path of institutional racism. The wider fallout from alienating 5 million Muslims in Germany from their civil rights will undoubtedly be felt in the coming decades.
But the selective repentance, this weaponisation of Holocaust memory, serves not only to justify the <a href="https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/crackdown-on-pro-palestinian-voices-in-germany-a-disturbing-pattern" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/crackdown-on-pro-palestinian-voices-in-germany-a-disturbing-pattern&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0J1WEjB_e99-qt8qQNQIYB">suspension of civil liberties</a> at home. It conveniently forms a theatre of morality to mask ongoing imperialist projects and to evade historical responsibilities. True atonement for the horrors of the Holocaust would include taking responsibility for the over 300 000 Europeans that moved to Palestine after World War Two and the Nakba that followed, <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/palestine-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.unrwa.org/palestine-refugees&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw3_xdNULO_QTWBmu76u0_kf">displacing</a> 750 000 Palestinians from their land. The victims of German genocides in Africa know not to hold their breath waiting for justice.
Colonial Amnesia
In Namibia, the German legacy of genocide is not forgotten. In a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/namibia-condemns-germany-for-defending-israel-in-icj-genocide-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/namibia-condemns-germany-for-defending-israel-in-icj-genocide-case&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw2LO7U-wXIz4A3bQ9DCSHpx">blueprint for the Gaza genocide</a>, the pretext for this genocide was an anti-colonial uprising that <a href="https://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/herero-and-nama" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/herero-and-nama&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw03-iTEDDtmtSr5SKEHFMmT">killed 100 German settlers</a>. The mass murder that followed wiped out 80% of the Herero and 50% of the Nama people, over 70 000 killed, for daring to resist colonial rule. Germany’s recognition of these atrocities, more than a century later, was embarrassingly absent of any formal reparations or land redistribution. To this day, Namibia remains in an <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/how-alike-is-land-reform-in-namibia-and-south-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/how-alike-is-land-reform-in-namibia-and-south-africa&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw0I08cyf08iku2Q1IVeJipi">apartheid-like inequality</a> with 48% of Namibia’s land in the hands of just <a href="https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/make-amends-colonial-era-crimes-germany-should-fund-namibian-land-restitution" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/make-amends-colonial-era-crimes-germany-should-fund-namibian-land-restitution&source=gmail&ust=1751595575680000&usg=AOvVaw1hlJuywdzxAbIK11_PKl2_">5000 white settlers</a> – 0.3% of the population.
The suppression of the Maji Maji rebellion in Tanzania reeks of a similar stench. Deliberate starvation was weaponised against the Muslim communities that rebelled against the colonisers. Captain Wangenheim’s <a href="https://cjhiafulokoja.com/an-assessment-of-the-maji-maji-revolt-in-tanganyika-modern-day-tanzania-1905-1907/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cjhiafulokoja.com/an-assessment-of-the-maji-maji-revolt-in-tanganyika-modern-day-tanzania-1905-1907/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw3gXiWIDuISaX-sZaW-bwzi">words</a>—“Only hunger and want can bring about final submission”—echo in the blockade of Gaza and in Germany’s vetoes in contempt of international law. 300 000 murdered, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/germany-tanzania-maji-maji-killings-apology-9ae1ec66a0b0fe2c75e0d6890e247f6a" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/germany-tanzania-maji-maji-killings-apology-9ae1ec66a0b0fe2c75e0d6890e247f6a&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw18PlHXFDOtRh-pL_N94DqU">no reparations on the horizon</a>, no memorial in Berlin.
When Elon Musk, the settler son of apartheid capital, fans the flames of European fascism and demands that Germany<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/01/27/nx-s1-5276084/elon-musk-german-far-right-afd-holocaust" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/27/nx-s1-5276084/elon-musk-german-far-right-afd-holocaust&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw1Sz2tsXt8juAWSWUnpEJdm"> “move beyond its past guilt”</a>, what he means is this: that Germany must stop pretending, and embrace its role in the white empire once again. And the disenfranchised Germans are listening.
In defence of genocide
In April 2025, the ICJ announced an <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20250414-ord-01-00-en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20250414-ord-01-00-en.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0sGsBtpjWmT-RkV_VVKoGa">extension</a> of Israel’s deadline to submit a defence against the allegations of genocide brought by South Africa and supported by the majority of the world’s countries. Germany as one of the passionate defenders of Israel has been proudly diluting, stalling and vetoing calls for <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/namibia-condemns-germany-for-defending-israel-in-icj-genocide-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/14/namibia-condemns-germany-for-defending-israel-in-icj-genocide-case&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0Q9FKpCZIrrbkZzjV165b9">immediate ceasefire</a> and sanctions on Israel. While the ruling is inevitably not going to be in Israels favour, with German <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/04/08/germany-accused-of-facilitating-gaza-genocide_6667746_4.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/04/08/germany-accused-of-facilitating-gaza-genocide_6667746_4.html&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw3RQ7P-3RLGuGCt_qb7bBJW">sponsorship</a> the killing can continue for another year.
The international order that was implemented after WWII, once meant to protect vulnerable groups, is now being subdued. The <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/7/20/palestinians-have-a-legal-right-to-armed-struggle" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/7/20/palestinians-have-a-legal-right-to-armed-struggle&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0HgOPEPoHEZyMki1wEtrOi">right to armed resistance</a> against occupation, the blanket ban on <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-33" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-33&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0lo5-mS22hAM-f_Ls2cQnl">collective punishment</a> and <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-59?activeTab=" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-59?activeTab%3D&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw1vQc67tJwMk5odcJCiOuqS">withholding of aid</a> are all conveniently ignored by the German political establishment, left to right. <a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/you-feel-like-you-are-subhuman-israels-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/you-feel-like-you-are-subhuman-israels-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw2YM6hBIVi91IMmCZ1q2R6v">Amnesty International</a>, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/12/19/extermination-and-acts-genocide/israel-deliberately-depriving-palestinians-gaza" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/12/19/extermination-and-acts-genocide/israel-deliberately-depriving-palestinians-gaza&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0yu-85NytLLyrc6hZLueFe">Human Rights Watch</a>, <a href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6494/New-report..-De-Gaza%3A-A-Year-of-Israel%E2%80%99s-Genocide-and-the-Collapse-of-World-Order" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6494/New-report..-De-Gaza%253A-A-Year-of-Israel%25E2%2580%2599s-Genocide-and-the-Collapse-of-World-Order&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw04Pe_blGlBUZWvuhKO2usm">Euro-Med Monitor</a> are all screaming ‘Genocide in Gaza’ <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/complicit-in-this-crime-euro-med-points-to-us-german-role-in-civilian-casualties-in-beit-lahia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.palestinechronicle.com/complicit-in-this-crime-euro-med-points-to-us-german-role-in-civilian-casualties-in-beit-lahia/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw3PbM96afkR1WdxH6X1-hWW">and</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241206011034/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206011034/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0pNeCWj6jUFwaO8OFvYibE">calling out</a> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/3/western-allies-face-threat-of-complicity-if-support-for-israel-continues" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/3/western-allies-face-threat-of-complicity-if-support-for-israel-continues&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw0B0YuPCJS_6AysX9_-ld0B">German complicity</a>. They fell for the theatrics of ‘Nie Wieder’.
At home, repression <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/germany-deporting-pro-palestine-eu-citizens-chilling-new-step" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/germany-deporting-pro-palestine-eu-citizens-chilling-new-step&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw2Ig2cbfpaZJjfimWNfz_HF">became policy</a> and civil rights monitors <a href="https://monitor.civicus.org/country/germany/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://monitor.civicus.org/country/germany/&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw1W42nhPvqD1aeks0rcac0U">took note</a>. Palestinian flags are banned, solidarity groups outlawed, Jewish activists arrested, Arab youth surveilled. These tactics are not new to us in the Kurdish liberation struggle. The banning of Kurdish <a href="https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/376759/German-YPG-flag-ban-continues-despite-Kurdish-fight-against-Islamic-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/376759/German-YPG-flag-ban-continues-despite-Kurdish-fight-against-Islamic-state&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw2mnhXBYzXGCDGRQ2_DDgGm">resistance symbols</a> and closing of <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-8fcf41131c0d4aaaa6fd4e1303c68ffc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/general-news-8fcf41131c0d4aaaa6fd4e1303c68ffc&source=gmail&ust=1751595575681000&usg=AOvVaw2sHBFQNN3q94RKH04d3uUU">book publishers</a>, what should have triggered a constitutional crisis, was casually gifted by the German state to their friend in Türkiye. Add it to the list of ethnic cleansing campaigns sponsored by Germany.
Germany’s Islamophobic turn cannot be divorced from its colonial past or its present-day imperial commitments. The AfD’s rise, the CDU’s xenophobic mimicry, and the SPD’s repressive populism are symptoms of a deeper pathology: a state apparatus that has never abandoned the hierarchies of race and empire. While the world’s gaze is fixed on the Trump administration, it is time to recognise Germany once again as a powerful xenophobic and authoritarian force in Europe.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-perfect-islamophobic-storm/">The Perfect Islamophobic Storm</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Mamdani and Beyond</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/mamdani-and-beyond/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Greg Godels]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2025 08:52:40 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Democrats]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Elections]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Eric Prince]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[James Carville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kristi Nome]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Laura Gillen]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ricky Sandler]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159614</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It should not surprise that many US leftists are excited by the victory of Zohran Mamdani in last Wednesday’s New York City primary election. They should be buoyed by a rare victory in a bleak political landscape. Mamdani defeated an establishment candidate showered with money and endorsed by Democratic Party royalty. His chief opponent, Andrew […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/mamdani-and-beyond/">Mamdani and Beyond</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[It should not surprise that many US leftists are excited by the victory of Zohran Mamdani in last Wednesday’s New York City primary election. They should be buoyed by a rare victory in a bleak political landscape.
Mamdani defeated an establishment candidate showered with money and endorsed by Democratic Party royalty. His chief opponent, Andrew Cuomo, enjoyed the support and the forecasts of all the major media, locally and nationally. Cuomo fell back on every cheap, spineless trick: redbaiting (Mamdani is a member of Democratic Socialist of America), ethnic and religious baiting (Mamdani is a foreign-born Muslim), and “unfriendliness” to business (Mamdani advocates taxing the rich, freezing rents, and fare-less transit). And still Mamdani won.
Admittedly, Cuomo is ethically challenged and tarnished by his prior resignation from New York’s Governorship. One supposes that Democratic bigwigs could easily have seen an advantage in masculine sliminess after witnessing the king of vulgarity — Donald Trump — enjoy great electoral success.
But for the left, the important fact was that Cuomo represented the strategy and tactics, the program (such as it is), and the machinery of the Democratic Party leadership. The left needed a victory against the Clintons, Obamas, and Carvilles to demonstrate that another way was possible. And more pointedly, the left needed to see that a program embracing a class-war skirmish against developers, financial titans, and a motley assortment of other capitalists can win in the largest city in the US. Nearly every major policy domestically and internationally that the Democratic Party considers toxic was embraced by Mamdani’s campaign. And still Mamdani won.
And why shouldn’t he?
Democratic Party consultants methodically ignore the views of voters — views expressing economic hardship, a broken health care system, mounting debt, a housing crisis, etc. — delivered by opinion polls. Mamdani listened. And he won.
Clearly, the seats of wealth and power were shaken, reacting violently and crudely to Mamdani’s victory. A major Cuomo backer, hedge fund exec, Dan Loeb, captured the moment: “It’s officially hot commie summer.”
We wish!
Wall Street quickly panicked, according to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/wall-street-panics-over-prospect-of-a-socialist-running-new-york-city-da7db7e4?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAigtrWDMBL-7blQy8xrpJHDifdAy2S6M44bQwhsXFXvbRwxs-Vuz9QdRhO0iL0%3D&gaa_ts=685f3601&gaa_sig=K_QBzdQfjMliQ2SqnsURoiL0JEZeAO-ZUmJvYUK4GM_A8iY0qrdHfdGqOdNju3uiMHLLF7qKVNkaj1L71VARcw%3D%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/wall-street-panics-over-prospect-of-a-socialist-running-new-york-city-da7db7e4?gaa_at%3Deafs%26gaa_n%3DASWzDAigtrWDMBL-7blQy8xrpJHDifdAy2S6M44bQwhsXFXvbRwxs-Vuz9QdRhO0iL0%253D%26gaa_ts%3D685f3601%26gaa_sig%3DK_QBzdQfjMliQ2SqnsURoiL0JEZeAO-ZUmJvYUK4GM_A8iY0qrdHfdGqOdNju3uiMHLLF7qKVNkaj1L71VARcw%253D%253D&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw20l25ErECPKcv6OTkgTttc">Wall Street Journal</a>:
<blockquote>
Corporate leaders held a flurry of private phone calls to plot how to fight back against Mamdani and discussed backing an outside group with the goal of raising around $20 million to oppose him, according to people familiar with the matter.
</blockquote>
The WSJ quotes Anthony Pompliano, a skittish CEO of a bitcoin-focused financial company: “I can’t believe I even need to say this, but socialism doesn’t work… It has failed in every American city it was tried.”
Others, including hedge-fund manager, Ricky Sandler, threaten to take their business outside New York City.
The Washington Post editorial board scolds readers with this ominous headline warning: Zohran Mamdani’s victory is bad for New York and the Democratic Party.
It gets even wackier in the right wing’s outer limits. My favorite libertarian site posted a near hysterical call for the application of the infamous 1954 Communist Control Act to remove him from office, even put Mamdani in prison. The never-disappointing, notorious thug, Erik D Prince, calls for Kristi Noem to initiate deportation proceedings.
Yet not so shockingly, many fellow Democrats nearly matched the scorn and contempt heaped on Mamdani by Wealth, Power, and Trumpers. Senate and House minority leaders — Schumer and Jeffries — refused to endorse the primary winner. New York Representative Laura Gillen declared that Mamdani is the “absolute wrong choice for New York.” Her colleague, Tom Suozzi, had “serious concerns,” as reported by<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/26/democrats-zohran-mamdani-meltdown-new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.axios.com/2025/06/26/democrats-zohran-mamdani-meltdown-new-york&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw3oz_ifFL-mEP60yNLHqng3"> Axios</a> under the banner: Democratic establishment melts down over Mamdani’s win in New York. Other Democrats ran away from discussing the victory and, of course, the overworked, overwrought, and abused charge of “antisemitism” was tossed about promiscuously.
Where there is no fear and alarm, there is euphoria. Nearly every writer for The Nation enthused over the primary victory, with the capable Jeet Heer gleefully proclaiming that <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/zohran-mamdani-democratic-party-establishment/?custno=&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly%206.27.2025&utm_term=weekly" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/zohran-mamdani-democratic-party-establishment/?custno%3D%26utm_source%3DSailthru%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DWeekly%25206.27.2025%26utm_term%3Dweekly&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw0nAuKkXOfBzxQuhiwKMxYf">“Zohran Mamdani Defeated a Corrupt, Weak Democratic Party Establishment”.</a>
Similarly, David Sirota, former advisor and speechwriter for Bernie Sanders, wrote — with understandable gloating — on <a href="https://www.levernews.com/whos-afraid-of-zohran-mamdani/?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/whos-afraid-of-zohran-mamdani/?utm_source%3Dnewsletter-email%26utm_medium%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dnewsletter-article&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw3IXtaHWw5K1IcrMnEEojeO">The Lever</a> and in Rolling Stone:
Democratic Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary victory in New York City has prompted an <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/36a1fd94?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/36a1fd94?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw1hEaUOdDX-wKkvX1TZBZxX">elite panic</a>, the likes of which we’ve rarely seen: <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/71301e5c?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/71301e5c?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw0tkDPVqOgg3Wo-nAoDU4LA">Billionaires</a> are desperately seeking a general-election candidate to stop him, former Barack Obama <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/75fb26d0?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/75fb26d0?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw2wXlY_eDKwCOqXf0qz-QYC">aides</a> <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/310149d9?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/310149d9?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw1Y6k9OJjByDuO5cnvqq5g4">are</a> publicly <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/7f8b4413?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/7f8b4413?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw0djWE-WOeU0jg8-oOU8_QB">melting down</a>, corporate moguls are <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/db52a4fa?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/db52a4fa?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669921000&usg=AOvVaw2UUEZh4ILk9xmDwVo2D3lr">threatening a capital strike</a>, and CNBC has become a television forum for <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/e5dae304?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/e5dae304?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669922000&usg=AOvVaw3ELnJK15XLXvbQfZ8AiSgR">nervous</a> <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/45644f6d?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/45644f6d?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669922000&usg=AOvVaw0TIUIPZpoOdprWD2kSJtH-">breakdowns</a>. Meanwhile, Democratic elites who’ve spent a decade punching left are suddenly trying to align themselves with and <a href="https://www.levernews.com/r/c9b19519?m=6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.levernews.com/r/c9b19519?m%3D6c76818d-07af-420e-906b-518a6a2d9463&source=gmail&ust=1751594669922000&usg=AOvVaw3ty81OoPdXF5w1-nxJST7f">take credit for</a> Mamdani’s brand (though not necessarily his agenda).
This breakthrough — he surmises — could lead to a “Democratic Party reckoning.”
But wait a minute.
We can’t let euphoria blind us to the track record of other Democratic Party insurgencies. We cannot forget how deeply opposed the Democratic Party’s bosses, consultants, and wealthy benefactors are to popular reforms and even modestly visionary candidates. Party intellectuals fully understand — as hotshot consultant James Carville bluntly reminds us — that in a two-party system all the oppositional party has to do is wait for the other party to stumble and then take its turn. Why would the Democrats bother to construct a voter-friendly program leaning towards social justice?
A glance at the crude sabotage of two Bernie Sanders Presidential campaigns by the Democratic Party Godfathers should dispel even the most gullible from any delusion that the party will change course.
Should Mamdani actually win the mayoral race — and we must work hard to see that he does — there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Party of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will draw even the most modest conclusion about the way forward. They are not interested in going forward, only in returning to power. Of course, they will — as they have in the past — welcome idealistic foot soldiers who want to believe that the Democratic Party is the path to social justice. Generations of well-meaning, change-seeking youth have been ground up by this cynical process of bait-and-switch.
Though the Party’s leadership will not acknowledge it, the Democrat brand is widely discredited. As Jarod Abbott and Les Leopold <a href="https://jacobin.com/2025/06/rust-belt-voters-independent-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://jacobin.com/2025/06/rust-belt-voters-independent-party&source=gmail&ust=1751594669922000&usg=AOvVaw23Di_1Yo76D0Zlv1bwjtA0">conclude</a>: “Polling shows Americans are ready to support independent populists running on economic platforms. But what they don’t want is anything associated with the Democratic Party’s brand.”
Stopping short of calling for a new party, Abbott and Leopold asked poll respondents in key rust-belt states if they would support a worker-oriented association independent of both parties to support independent candidates. Fifty-seven percent of respondents would support or strongly support such an association.
This squares with recent polls that show strong disapproval of elected Democrats and the Democratic Party. The recent late-May <a href="https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econtoplines_4dTnSm8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econtoplines_4dTnSm8.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1751594669922000&usg=AOvVaw0X_Y10zCrnbUvKbyowKyiy">Financial Times/YouGov</a> poll shows that 57 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of Democrats in Congress. And a similar 57 percent have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party. Only 11 percent have a very favorable view of the Democratic Party.
Whether an “association” or a party is necessary, Abbott and Leopold are correct in recognizing that it must have a strong working-class base in order to break away from the corporate ownership of the Democratic Party.
As Charles Derber has perceptively noted on a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apNzuOsZ84E&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DapNzuOsZ84E%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&source=gmail&ust=1751594669922000&usg=AOvVaw2lF2jqal8H4-c4yL7CCUuq">podcast</a>, the worse outcome of the current multi-faceted crisis is to revert to the earlier times that spawned the Trump phenomena. And that is exactly what the Democrats are offering.
With the Republican Party leadership facing a schism over Iran between war hawks and non-interventionists (Greene, Bannon, and Carlson) and with the growing split between cultural warriors and Silicon Valley libertarians (Musk’s threat to launch a third party), the Democrats may well slip back into power by default.
Surely, we can do better.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/mamdani-and-beyond/">Mamdani and Beyond</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Faramarz Farbod in Conversation with Yves Engler on Canada, the US, and Imperialism</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/faramarz-farbod-in-conversation-with-yves-engler-on-canada-the-us-and-imperialism/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Faramarz Farbod]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 23:21:38 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA["Regime Change"]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadian Nationalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Capitalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colonialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Corporations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Coup]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cuba]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Empire]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Imperialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Interview]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Land Theft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mark Carney]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Militarism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mining]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mohammad Mossadigh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Original Peoples]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Racism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sanctions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sovereignty]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United Kingdom]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[War]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[1979 Iranian Revolution]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[2003 Iraq War]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Boeing Canada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[British Empire]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadian Capitalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadian Corporate Interests]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadian Military]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadian Ruling Class]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canadianism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CENTCOM]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[First Nations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[General Dynamics Canada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Libya]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NORAD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Quebec]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[slavery]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[social democracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[White Supremacy]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159612</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Faramarz Farbod speaks with Yves Engler, a Canadian activist and author of 13 books, including most recently Canada’s Long Fight Against Democracy and Stand on Guard for Whom? (A People’s History of Canadian Military). The conversation explores Canada’s role in the world, its relationship with US capitalism and imperialism, Canada’s policies toward Iran and Cuba, misperceptions of Canada in the US, […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/faramarz-farbod-in-conversation-with-yves-engler-on-canada-the-us-and-imperialism/">Faramarz Farbod in Conversation with Yves Engler on Canada, the US, and Imperialism</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Faramarz Farbod speaks with Yves Engler, a Canadian activist and author of 13 books, including most recently Canada’s Long Fight Against Democracy and Stand on Guard for Whom? (A People’s History of Canadian Military). The conversation explores Canada’s role in the world, its relationship with US capitalism and imperialism, Canada’s policies toward Iran and Cuba, misperceptions of Canada in the US, and the concept of Canadianism.
<iframe title="Activist/Author Yves Engler | Centering on Peace" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5Z3Sm3Kh_dM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/faramarz-farbod-in-conversation-with-yves-engler-on-canada-the-us-and-imperialism/">Faramarz Farbod in Conversation with Yves Engler on Canada, the US, and Imperialism</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>“Have Some Blood! You Like Shedding It All Over the World So Much? There You Go!”</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/have-some-blood-you-like-shedding-it-all-over-the-world-so-much-there-you-go/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sam Husseini]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:45:52 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Antiwar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[António Guterres]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United Nations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joy Metzler]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Ferner]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Roger Allen LaPorte]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[self-immolation]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159573</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Through the looking glass. Mike Ferner, of Veterans For Peace, threw blood at the US mission to the UN today: “Here, United States, have some blood! You like shedding it all over the world so much? There you go! How about some blood? A small amount of the blood — the blood money — that […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/have-some-blood-you-like-shedding-it-all-over-the-world-so-much-there-you-go/">“Have Some Blood! You Like Shedding It All Over the World So Much? There You Go!”</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/c45eb3d0-75c9-4c3e-83a0-95ccb8de45be?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/c45eb3d0-75c9-4c3e-83a0-95ccb8de45be?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw3l2SjRGkoIsgrGk-fjk99y"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NbsV6KpWUyipQDSs-RMp2bhDp88ORP7ZynapEaPJS7ccz4QvGt5ZReFnHUWDbz0teMz_wfrrrpwMEJXwE8rqaAYHmmvx4fTQujSkEtCyOiO1WOXfiA7jUwlei-nWur97LclCPiDm1hYk3epnBIoEHwfqtXwn7cEG1oq1zoHRjOQrHEeSdgO3I4m_orXGNCZRpfTX_kzA3rg7vdGJUowdwnj7H8N3QTU0LpgIbPrzjpVF5O0aFJjHoIkS6ZwHxA03Uv00tRk3SkC98c1bNksSvizjeWV1QWrM-bhMdkbJXPSpEa77DLsSftHFzzr1OLP_jPASWS2ybTgXaV_KcLtq0Vwb-B1CVqj4xcL3LEuFZT1WZnLG0j-XMYY1Q51RlIiZwMfKziv6jTf269ut6KZor0SpEb_Izc=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8AP!,w_1100,h_1100,c_pad,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/l_play_button_usfui2,w_144,e_colorize:0/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F167204526%2F5065884e-2103-4920-ab57-6d5c6ae5d2d7%2Ftranscoded-00001.png" data-bit="iit" /></a>
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/a116f93a-ff87-400a-a6e0-f7765be44b51?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/a116f93a-ff87-400a-a6e0-f7765be44b51?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw2j9gM0k9wLO8uS3u6_w5LR"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NbY8lZCtKgUnWF_ZnpqnOZ8w2I3kyzOLR8QoIVxPMPav4zvp_xwTVVnr3Wp5-SDG1G3uwp2lYydHBe1vgcjKFTIWiLWS9oPVb2a13TLh5I0goCExsjUsBM9G2dteBEPolXZEZgkdtIzWMbrrd5OeGr_5fdAE40BjIpRgLc8MYVe610FkUE7i85AOJUQgnomWhTo7q3dCtXQ2ePOC6r_1DtPNxfqMwID_zQUzErNxjge3Aq7KkFTScjYIEpACBopntIniSGnxSgG6DTBAqR-wHjK2jZfAZnTkEcFkf0HS6E2clZqaubS60F4O55q656FuwdEmQ3ctg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!scPr!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5bcbb341-57fa-4c58-ac3f-d3d9fe982122_2048x1122.jpeg" data-bit="iit" /></a>
Through the looking glass.
Mike Ferner, of Veterans For Peace, threw blood at the US mission to the UN today: “Here, United States, have some blood! You like shedding it all over the world so much? There you go! How about some blood? A small amount of the blood — the blood money — that corporations make taking us to war all the time. No. More. Killing. Please. Stop it.”
He and 28 others were reportedly arrested today. He had been participated in <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/4a82e41e-fba7-4175-bc45-7fa5db2dd2cc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/4a82e41e-fba7-4175-bc45-7fa5db2dd2cc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw2BPAv92XJ3vhiyWzj4tPSz">#FastForGaza</a>
Most arrests took place at the Israeli mission to the UN where a mass action was. Joy Metzler, co-founder of Servicemembers For Ceasefire, was among those arrested there. She’s been doing #FastForGaza outside the US mission to the UN for the last 40 days. They <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/cca9ada7-6fec-4839-88f1-93e64762dcf4?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/cca9ada7-6fec-4839-88f1-93e64762dcf4?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw2XxA854FCNi6xolrujrbXa">limited themselves</a> to “250 calories per day, considered medically to be a starvation diet and the amount reported early this year as the average available” to Palestinians in Gaza. Joy left the Air Force and became a conscientious objector, citing US aggression in the Middle East and the continued ethnic cleansing in all of Palestine and the ongoing mass massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/96560583-f96c-4a0f-8835-b7acbc8b226b?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/96560583-f96c-4a0f-8835-b7acbc8b226b?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw2Dzw6ISjwkZWLeCnoVxIUn"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NbKXgSujgLCtEaUHytU2oWTdCqUPcc-o_rTgI0WfbiD9TnQWuKvfjdYHXdGoqnhfpEopmej38svoSs4Pt_5_7agwlmM1Iim6rj5wPlEUNHWk6JDIQOWBxuUoxrem5oDF3FGTRbE8aVZWZFmUdSqg15eIuI6p1t5Ku2bnRwSY2EFP_fBoDjcBsMyKsDssk6xedWONZM8AKN-eyCJizm6lhhcs_ks13jJOJBehbDtyoc_bjX5NdTFlRDbi-HhpHWtyjRmPo4OWKaKaCFvETqYZEQey4YyrIXJ9wNo_DGrWv90i7LY0f-Yvt_uLZsMac3Dh4Bbl1Qk=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rDJc!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0b3222c9-4d59-4bc5-9d83-d6ed81a272ab_1956x1158.png" data-bit="iit" /></a>
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/c264f5dc-4efc-4828-8959-10f5ab32729f?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/c264f5dc-4efc-4828-8959-10f5ab32729f?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw1FM2wMtirAsIsHdKCVyIRI"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NbWWD3fkKY0qGZLGo0QeZZUGP8FDqRiUyonNlM2IfwXVlDQRiWY9Q1VZ7ya3caTkSaXAzJD-5ToDIu23dBxpZDqPjjrghFlZr_FcbaSdkZow42xP9tKkYx9JZxCpbAeCpGx9I_plEix1Novn5vf1RL_WdwYMjSfjD9kRJ4dkidnWbTvwqcQOmriMl67W2ORuo8puhC5fwGCGvq9AqVwb3SwN_Tmef56eM_R8a_S6PQGXwnzfbGU9VOkw2Kv9sany2rTggg0XMOX_lK9aXXGOfVU2fwVvvqrc_QKktvpTXnr8pt9XqZ319VJ75pa-XgBtJ37QA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IsLU!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7fc52d8f-370f-4203-a112-1c553b3ce531_942x576.png" data-bit="iit" /></a>
One of the last times I saw Mike he was railing about “fuckers” killing “fucking babies”.
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/7b67ea53-d34c-42de-929a-87c5844795c8?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/7b67ea53-d34c-42de-929a-87c5844795c8?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw1RsUT0W-Jlge8ePet94W8X"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_Na6r-PV-DwLtnDEtDdhYXj3b4Sjl2a8rxljZsF7lONrRxlAJFpu-nFfejHGml1wE-r33yQWF_0Gg9IJy5LDv1kF94iU7KS1Yok1DS0I8Hopta7Ue34HzXG7Nqv2XkETgzFMqwO5-iThOjZnK1sAOGWE4HqnAO0AA3U6pBAr_bjT9nNoELCJqfp5VDRkLaq2yGABq7Avbli8CCGwZ5GeAUk73ZM7O459X-Av_k7G1Z9EwBGriqRgfKGj5lY55AsRtNeUt3OZ6anNLPNtVwbB5iekx88ZoZ5ZzXatWoxfj3MTnihTf82_L8mfVJgIhVEP20AUuxAx=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kEw2!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0d1d9746-f017-458b-a997-2637f1c6806b_1086x1416.png" data-bit="iit" /></a>
Mike is a former Navy corpsman and author of <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/fd9a9b40-ac69-4e37-ab66-4ca016a424bc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fd9a9b40-ac69-4e37-ab66-4ca016a424bc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw2i7y_pAVVy-heMPepmZ8FO">Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq.</a> Mike participated in the 40-day <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/4a82e41e-fba7-4175-bc45-7fa5db2dd2cc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/4a82e41e-fba7-4175-bc45-7fa5db2dd2cc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw2BPAv92XJ3vhiyWzj4tPSz">#FastForGaza</a> until he had to be taken to the ER a few weeks ago. I repeatedly asked the UN about the fasters and if UNSG António Guterres would meet with them, but he never did: <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/6cafd7a5-4c5b-4b80-bf8a-f48b2efdeed3?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/6cafd7a5-4c5b-4b80-bf8a-f48b2efdeed3?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw16Zcz1m2WMH_kR5VoQjnLY">35 Days of Fasting: UN Secretary General Won’t Meet With Gaza Hunger Strikers…</a>
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/6cafd7a5-4c5b-4b80-bf8a-f48b2efdeed3?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/6cafd7a5-4c5b-4b80-bf8a-f48b2efdeed3?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw16Zcz1m2WMH_kR5VoQjnLY"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NYs2994gJbZfoXVVDaIkoV2IPcuIuDfLvxIXsVZ5bMbUeNeCZgo_o4ibWHV3jgJcDejzFudOLjM4ENGMb179l-efwZQmrErUIg9n7BBiMIOV_nG79whfBmZ9dXeFIcr0Bimln1oow6-taODFIaW__TNxC5OCj6Fmc1vSdCwcNFj5xKZw2m9rV8iXBWWCQ32yFb6Bm76CUDK46M-DwHWQ6eR62YPgV3BWZAD4UStqogmU_pGmrItdx7IL3gKXDcfNLcDIhPi5_pEVcd3FQBhiIPrHSgHjg3tFH38fbhaqrcYJiorP8JLBgFUPHqsgqcHjfNVo0ksTHLg8VB6rMiNkw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aMja!,w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6200edcd-0b77-410c-b790-9549f8f296b0_790x498.png" alt="35 Days of Fasting: UN Secretary General Won't Meet With Gaza Hunger Strikers..." data-bit="iit" /></a>
While I was in NYC recently, I repeatedly questioned the UN Secretary General’s spokespersons about Gaza and if he would meet with the Veterans and Allies who are on day 35 of a 40 day fast in front of the UN — it ends Monday — as well as other issues: <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/6cafd7a5-4c5b-4b80-bf8a-f48b2efdeed3?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/6cafd7a5-4c5b-4b80-bf8a-f48b2efdeed3?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw16Zcz1m2WMH_kR5VoQjnLY">Read full story</a>.
In contrast to the lack of coverage of the Fast For Gaza, in 1965, Roger Allen LaPorte immolated himself outside the UN over war, resulting a front page New York Times piece (self-immolators against the Iraq invasion were largely ignored): <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715911000&usg=AOvVaw0rehE49n6-kZEV60zc38pq">Holocaust, Immolation, Sacrifice and “An Extreme Act of Protest”</a>.
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715912000&usg=AOvVaw2kylnsBHX1UKazYdEHOFbQ"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NYOpeNHipisS-KqAFsURJ38OW1bGSm7-XFe-CaIjzwJu5vZ26lfzH_qWHkDtOaBmZioUtzuA67dgFZFIszOL-i9mnOrBx1V1ZSNqDBXtQHY1pZau56X2YKDfgNcDGHnff6d4GyxGisosPW-7tk_hbdctTSnJycFkq3Q_2AARJdweOtczPrH-rAC7OXyqLMrAbIh4bD2WCvthrQUBHqx51M44F1lBag7uNKSnNtnTSjXcrBd-mIzn-b_llSjxVdZF1fFo-fQvWKJrQmDpcLvPtYbiw-kRsVuwumlG4DIBHA6hgRheahTqAHF84iHfTbzCerP9i1LZ7Inlm9iIJEA_PkX=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n-4a!,w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f4d4b39-3a49-4eb0-bf0e-640effc18925_1542x1146.png" alt="Holocaust, Immolation, Sacrifice and "An Extreme Act of Protest"" data-bit="iit" /></a>
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715912000&usg=AOvVaw2kylnsBHX1UKazYdEHOFbQ"></a>[Aaron Bushnell immolated himself in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., a year ago today. A slightly edited version of this article appeared in the Nov/Dec 2024 issue of The Capitol Hill Citizen — which is only available in print. <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j=eyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/0c029ad0-8eb9-429a-a6cc-92e2ede6bbdc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiN3RkemQifQ.MNfBVsiOaROgNBnKxYSGpCQjH2zEC8HhNNVvM7asxLc&source=gmail&ust=1751464715912000&usg=AOvVaw2kylnsBHX1UKazYdEHOFbQ">Read full story</a>.
<ul>
<li>Thanks to folks who took videos and Kelley Lane for editing.</li>
</ul>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/have-some-blood-you-like-shedding-it-all-over-the-world-so-much-there-you-go/">“Have Some Blood! You Like Shedding It All Over the World So Much? There You Go!”</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Reclaiming the Forgotten: Our Elders, Our Planet</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/reclaiming-the-forgotten-our-elders-our-planet/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sammy Attoh]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:35:10 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Life/Animal Rights]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159571</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This Earth Day reflection urges us to confront two intertwined truths we too often ignore: our relationship to the environment and our treatment of the elderly. Growing up in Ghana, I was taught by my history professor that true life stems from connection—that severance invites death. This idea mirrors ancient Egyptian cosmology, where a vast community of affection included […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/reclaiming-the-forgotten-our-elders-our-planet/">Reclaiming the Forgotten: Our Elders, Our Planet</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[This Earth Day reflection urges us to confront two intertwined truths we too often ignore: our relationship to the environment and our treatment of the elderly.
Growing up in Ghana, I was taught by my history professor that true life stems from connection—that severance invites death. This idea mirrors ancient Egyptian cosmology, where a vast community of affection included the living, the dead, and the unborn. It was the sacred task of the living to remember those who came before and prepare the way for those yet to come. These connections weren’t limited to human beings—they extended to landscapes, waterways, trees, and the entire natural world.
In that worldview, our Earth was not just a backdrop, it was part of the soul’s journey.
Today, I ask: How are we treating our elders? Have we abandon them to strangers in nursing homes devoid of spiritual connection? And what of the Earth itself—wounded, silenced, discarded? What then is the meaning of life, or even the essence of birth, when the elders and the Earth are both forgotten and in
To misread Ancient Egypt as obsessed with death is a mistake. Their monumental tombs weren’t just for mourning—they were messages: affirming an unbroken bridge between the visible and invisible, between the present and ancestral time. This ethos pervades autonomous African cultures. Death, they believed, was not an end but a passage in an ongoing dialogue.
Tombs spoke of immanent souls. The living and dead remained united in memory and spirit. Across East, Central, and Nile Valley Africa, people erected household altars as signs of enduring love. They’d lay offerings with a whispered plea: We haven’t forgotten you. Don’t forget us either.
Even Christ, schooled in Egypt, echoes this connection when on the cross he cries, “Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?”
These ancestors beloved grand parents, guardians, keepers of truth were expected to remain protectors, even in death. And in remembering them, we remained whole.
Visit a nursing home today and look Spiritually deep into the eyes of those we call “senior citizens.” What do you see?
Western dismissals of African reverence for stones, trees, rivers as “fetishism” miss the point. It was never worship. It was respect. To use a resource was a spiritual act. Nature was honored the way one reveres divinity.
But today? We are told to abandon our wisdom and embrace “progress”—destruction named creativity, tyranny masked as democracy, robbery repackaged as free trade. What remains is a shattered cosmos beneath our feet
Reconnect with the Earth!! Reconnect with our elders!! They are the libraries of posterity.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/reclaiming-the-forgotten-our-elders-our-planet/">Reclaiming the Forgotten: Our Elders, Our Planet</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Inalienable Rights in an Age of Tyranny</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/inalienable-rights-in-an-age-of-tyranny/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 13:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Bill of Rights]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Corruption]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Freedom]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Incarceration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Legal/Constitutional]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Surveillance]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tyranny]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159589</guid>
<description><![CDATA[When a long train of abuses and usurpations… evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government. —Declaration of Independence (1776) We are now struggling to emerge from the wreckage of a constitutional republic, transformed into a kleptocracy (government by thieves), collapsing […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/inalienable-rights-in-an-age-of-tyranny/">Inalienable Rights in an Age of Tyranny</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>When a long train of abuses and usurpations… evinces a design to reduce them under <a href="https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript">absolute Despotism</a>, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.
—Declaration of Independence (1776)</blockquote>
<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/battlefield.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-108698" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/battlefield-202x300.jpg" alt="" width="202" height="300" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/battlefield-202x300.jpg 202w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/battlefield.jpg 336w" sizes="(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px" /></a>We are now struggling to emerge from the wreckage of a constitutional republic, transformed into a kleptocracy (government by thieves), collapsing into kakistocracy (government by the worst), and enforced by a police state algogracy (rule by algorithm).
This week alone, the Trump administration is reportedly <a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/incoming-riots-or-just-july-4-prep-white-house-treasury-lined-anti-scale-fence">erecting protest barricades</a> around the White House, Congress is advancing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/01/nx-s1-5450367/senate-republicans-trump-tax-bill-medicaid">legislation that favors the wealthy</a>, and President Trump is grandstanding at the opening of a detention center dubbed “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/politics/ron-desantis-trump-alligator-alcatraz">Alligator Alcatraz</a>.”
Against such a backdrop of government-sponsored cruelty, corruption and shameless profiteering at taxpayer expense, what, to the average American, is freedom in an age when the government plays god—determining who is worthy of rights, who qualifies as a citizen, and who can be discarded without consequence?
What are inalienable rights worth if they can be redefined, delayed, or revoked by executive order?
Frederick Douglass posed a similar challenge more than 170 years ago when he asked, “<a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/frederick-douglass-what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-1852">What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?</a>”
His question was a searing indictment not just of slavery but of a government that proclaimed liberty while denying it to millions—a hypocrisy that persists in a system still governed by institutions more committed to power than principle.
Every branch of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—has, in one way or another, abandoned its duty to uphold the Constitution. And both parties have prioritized profit and political theater over justice and the rights of the governed.
The founders of this nation believed our rights come from God, not government. That we are born free, not made free by bureaucrats or judges. That among these rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—none can be taken away without destroying the very idea of government by consent.
And yet that is precisely what’s happening.
We now live under a government that has become judge, jury, and executioner—writing its own laws, policing its own limits, and punishing those who object.
This is not what it means to be free.
When <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/how_a_president_becomes_a_dictator_by_executive_order">presidents rule by fiat</a>, when agencies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/us-citizenship-denaturalization-trump-memo">strip citizenship from naturalized Americans</a>, when police act as both <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/martial_law_disguised_as_law_and_order_the_oldest_trick_in_the_authoritarian_playbook">enforcers and executioners</a>, and when courts <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/justice_sleeps_and_we_the_people_suffer_no_the_u.s._supreme_court_will_not_save_us">rubber-stamp the erosion of basic protections</a>, the distinction between a citizen and a subject begins to collapse.
What do inalienable rights mean in a country where:
<ul>
<li>Your <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5445398/denaturalization-trump-immigration-enforcement">citizenship can be revoked</a> based solely on the government’s say-so?</li>
<li>Your freedom can be <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/trumps_palantir_powered_surveillance_is_turning_america_into_a_digital_prison">extinguished by surveillance</a>, asset seizure, or indefinite detention?</li>
<li>Your property can be taken, your speech censored, and your life extinguished without due process?</li>
<li>Your life can be ended without a trial, a warning, or a second thought, because the government views you as expendable?</li>
</ul>
The answer is stark: they mean nothing—unless we defend them.
When the government—whether president, Congress, court, or local bureaucrat—claims the right to determine who does and doesn’t deserve rights, then no one is safe. Individuals become faceless numbers. Human beings become statistics. Lives become expendable. Dignity becomes disposable.
It is a slippery slope—justified in the name of national security, public safety, and the so-called greater good—that leads inevitably to totalitarianism.
Unfortunately, we have been dancing with this devil for far too long, and now, the mask has come off.
This is what authoritarianism looks like in America today.
Imagine living in a country where government agents crash through doors to arrest citizens merely for criticizing government officials. Where police stop and search you on a whim. Where carrying anything that resembles a firearm might get you arrested—or killed. Where surveillance is constant, dissent is criminalized, and loyalty is enforced through fear.
If you’re thinking this sounds like America today, you wouldn’t be far wrong.
But this scenario isn’t new. It’s the same kind of tyranny that drove American colonists to sever ties with Great Britain nearly 250 years ago.
Back then, American colonists lived under the shadow of an imperial power and an early police state that censored their speech, surveilled their movements, taxed their livelihoods, searched their homes without cause, quartered troops in their towns, and punished them for daring to demand liberty.
It was only when the colonists finally got fed up with being silenced, censored, searched, frisked, threatened, and arrested that they finally revolted against the tyrant’s fetters.
The Declaration of Independence—drafted by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 4, 1776, by 56 men who risked everything—was their response. It was more than a list of grievances. It was a document seething with outrage over a government which had betrayed its citizens, a call to arms against a system that had ceased to represent the people and instead sought to dominate them.
Labeled traitors, these men were charged with treason, a crime punishable by death, because they believed in a radical idea: that all people are created to be free. For some, their acts of rebellion would cost them their homes and their fortunes. For others, it would be the ultimate price—their lives.
Yet even knowing the heavy price they might have to pay, these men dared to speak up. They understood that silence in the face of tyranny is complicity. So they stood together, pledging “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” to the cause of freedom.
Even after they had won their independence from Great Britain, these new Americans worked to ensure that the rights they had risked their lives to secure would remain secure for future generations.
The result: our Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
The Constitution and Bill of Rights were meant to enshrine the liberties they fought for: due process, privacy, free speech, the right to bear arms, and limits on government power.
Now, nearly two and a half centuries later, those freedoms hang by a thread.
Imagine the shock and outrage these 56 men would feel were they to discover that almost 250 years later, the government they had risked their lives to create has been transformed into a militaristic police state in which exercising one’s freedoms—at a minimum, merely questioning a government agent—is often viewed as a flagrant act of defiance.
In fact, had Jefferson and his compatriots written the Declaration of Independence today, they would almost certainly be labeled extremists, placed on government watchlists, targeted by surveillance, and prosecuted as domestic threats.
Read the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript">Declaration of Independence</a> again, and you’ll see the grievances they laid at the feet of King George—unjust laws, militarized policing, surveillance, censorship, and the denial of due process—are the very abuses “we the people” suffer under today.
Had Jefferson written the Declaration about the American police state in 2025, it might have read like a criminal indictment of the crimes perpetrated by a government that:
Polices by fear and violence:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/home_invasions_on_the_rise_constitution_free_policing_in_trumps_america">raiding family homes in the dead of night</a> with SWAT teams that shoot pets and traumatize children;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/dont_call_the_cops_if_your_loved_ones_are_autistic_deaf_mentally_ill_disabled_or_old">targeting vulnerable individuals</a>—including the disabled and neurodivergent—for arrest under pretexts of noncompliance;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_crime_bill_at_30">killing unarmed citizens</a> for not complying quickly enough;</li>
<li>using <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_government_wants_to_play_god_what_does_that_mean_for_our_freedoms">roadside cavity searches and rectal probes</a> as tools of humiliation and control.</li>
</ul>
Surveils and represses dissent:
<ul>
<li>spying on its own citizens, reading private messages, tracking movements, and <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/trumps_palantir_powered_surveillance_is_turning_america_into_a_digital_prison">mining personal data</a>;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/were_all_suspects_in_a_dna_lineup_waiting_to_be_matched_with_a_crime">collecting DNA from innocent Americans</a> and compiling biometric databases without consent;</li>
<li>tracking drivers with license plate scanners and red-light cameras <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_deep_state_wins_again_all_the_ways_we_the_people_keep_losing_our_freedoms">without due process</a>;</li>
<li>detaining protesters, journalists, and whistleblowers without trial, often <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_deep_states_war_on_truthwaged_with_doublespeak_delusion_and_propaganda">labeling them as domestic threats</a>;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_government_is_still_waging_war_on_americas_military_veterans">jailing veterans</a> for criticizing the government;</li>
<li>placing ordinary Americans on <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/watchlisted_youre_probably_already_on_a_government_extremism_list">watchlists</a> and labeling dissent as terrorism.</li>
</ul>
Strips away rights:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/hidden_agendas_beware_of_the_governments_push_for_a_digital_currency">seizing property</a> through civil asset forfeiture without charges or due process;</li>
<li>building secret prisons and detention centers <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/trump_is_making_america_constitutionally_literateby_violating_the_constitution">shielded from judicial oversight</a>;</li>
<li>stripping citizenship from those it deems disloyal, <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/theyre_coming_for_your_birthright_citizenship_as_spectacle_transaction_or_privilege">making constitutional rights conditional</a>;</li>
<li>criminalizing homelessness, <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/when_dissent_becomes_a_crime_the_war_on_political_speech_begins">dissent</a>, and disloyalty as pretexts for exclusion and punishment;</li>
<li>criminalizing routine behavior under <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/a_nanny_state_idiocracy_a_tale_of_too_many_laws_and_too_little_freedom">vague laws that fuel mass incarceration</a> and overcriminalization.</li>
</ul>
Concentrates unchecked power in the executive:
<ul>
<li>bypassing Congress with executive orders, sidelining the courts, and <a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/how_a_president_becomes_a_dictator_by_executive_order">ruling by decree</a>;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/beyond_the_law_what_it_means_to_weaponize_the_government">weaponizing federal agencies</a> to suppress opposition and silence critics;</li>
<li>treating constitutional limits as optional and the presidency as a personal fiefdom.</li>
</ul>
These are not isolated abuses.
They are the logical outcomes of a government that has turned against its people.
They reveal a government that has claimed the god-like power to decide who gets rights—and who doesn’t. Who counts as a citizen—and who doesn’t. Who gets to live—and who becomes expendable.
All along the spectrum of life—from the unborn child to the elderly—the government continues to treat individuals endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights as if they are criminals, subhumans, or enemies of the state.
<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tyranny.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-159592" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tyranny-300x225.png" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tyranny-300x225.png 300w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tyranny.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>That is not freedom. It is tyranny.
And it must be called by its true name.
The truth is hard, but it must be said: the American police state has grown drunk on power, money, and its own authority.
The irony is almost too painful to articulate.
On the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—a document that rebuked government corruption, tyranny, and injustice—we find ourselves surrounded by its modern-day equivalents.
This week’s spectacle—protest barricades, legislation to benefit the rich, and Trump’s appearance at <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jul/1/donald-trump-ron-desantis-open-floridas-alligator-alcatraz-hold-5000/">Alligator Alcatraz, a.k.a. “Gator Gitmo”</a>—shows how completely we have inverted the spirit of 1776.
That a president would celebrate the Fourth of July while inaugurating a modern-day internment camp—far from the reach of the courts or the Constitution—speaks volumes about the state of our nation and the extent to which those in power now glorify the very forms of tyranny the Founders once rose up against.
This is not law and order.
This is political theater, carceral cruelty, and authoritarianism in plain sight.
It is what happens when a nation that once prided itself on liberty now builds monuments to its own fear and domination.
The spectacle doesn’t end with detention camps and barricades. It extends into commerce, corruption, and self-enrichment at the highest levels of power.
President Trump is now <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5378452-trump-launches-victory-fragrances/">marketing his own line of fragrances</a>—a branding exercise so absurd it would be laughable if it weren’t a <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/emoluments-clauses-explained">flagrant violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause</a>. His investments are <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/06/26/nx-s1-5446114/trump-wealth-business-crypto-brand">booming</a>. And all across his administration, top officials are shamelessly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/us/politics/trump-inc-filings-show-staff-profited-from-being-in-the-presidents-orbit.html">using public office to line their pockets</a>, even as they push legislation to strip working-class Americans of the most basic benefits and protections, while claiming to be rooting out corruption and inefficiency.
This is not governance. This is kleptocracy—and it is happening in plain sight.
In the nearly 250 years since early Americans declared their independence from Great Britain, “we the people” have worked ourselves back under the tyrant’s thumb—only this time, the tyrant is one of our own making.
The abuses they once suffered under an imperial power haven’t disappeared. They’ve evolved.
We are being robbed blind by political grifters and corporate profiteers. We are being silenced by bureaucrats and blacklists. We are being watched by data miners and digital spies. We are being caged by militarized enforcers with no regard for the Constitution. And we are being ruled by presidents who govern not by law, but by executive decree.
Given the fact that we are a relatively young nation, it hasn’t taken very long for an authoritarian regime to creep into power.
Unfortunately, the bipartisan coup that laid siege to our nation did not happen overnight.
The architecture of oppression—surveillance, militarism, censorship, propaganda—was built slowly, brick by brick, law by law, war by war.
It snuck in under our radar, hiding behind the guise of national security, the war on drugs, the war on terror, the war on immigration, political correctness, hate crimes and a host of other official-sounding programs aimed at expanding the government’s power at the expense of individual freedoms.
The building blocks for the bleak future we’re just now getting a foretaste of—police shootings of unarmed citizens, profit-driven prisons, weapons of compliance, a wall-to-wall surveillance state, pre-crime programs, a suspect society, school-to-prison pipelines, militarized police, overcriminalization, SWAT team raids, endless wars, etc.—were put in place by government officials we trusted to look out for our best interests.
The result is an empire in decline and a citizenry under siege.
But if history teaches us anything, it’s that the power of the people—when awakened—is stronger than any empire.
For decades, the Constitution has been our shield against tyranny.
But today, it’s under siege. And now we must be the shield.
Surveillance is expanding. Peaceful dissent is being punished. Judges are being targeted. The presidency is issuing decrees and bypassing the rule of law.
Every institution meant to check power is being tested—and in some cases, broken.
This is the moment to stand in front of the Constitution and defend it.
As I make clear in my book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590795229/dissivoice-20">Battlefield America: The War on the American People</a> and in its fictional counterpart <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1954968027/dissivoice-20">The Erik Blair Diaries</a>, the fight for freedom is never over. But neither is it lost—so long as we refuse to surrender, refuse to remain silent, and refuse to accept tyranny as the price of safety.
It is time to remember who we are. To reclaim the Constitution. To resist the march toward authoritarianism. And to reassert—boldly and without apology—that our rights are not up for negotiation.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/inalienable-rights-in-an-age-of-tyranny/">Inalienable Rights in an Age of Tyranny</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Difference between “News”-Reporting and News-Reporting</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-difference-between-news-reporting-and-news-reporting/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Zuesse]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 11:02:15 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Narrative]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Propaganda]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tax]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[big beautiful bill]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spending]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159598</guid>
<description><![CDATA[On July 1, CBS ‘News’ and Yahoo News headlined “Comparing the Medicaid cuts in House and Senate ‘big, beautiful bill’,” and presented news that was actually an analytical or “opinion” article which was 860 words of gobbledygook that enumerated minor differences between the House-passed and the Senate-passed versions of Trump’s budget-and-tax bill that he insists […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-difference-between-news-reporting-and-news-reporting/">The Difference between “News”-Reporting and News-Reporting</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Zuesse.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-157141" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Zuesse-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Zuesse-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Zuesse.jpg 667w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a>On July 1, CBS ‘News’ and Yahoo News headlined “<a href="https://archive.ph/SAt3a" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.ph/SAt3a&source=gmail&ust=1751507312944000&usg=AOvVaw3mfMsVtYb29xv2lHUHuMdA">Comparing the Medicaid cuts in House and Senate ‘big, beautiful bill’</a>,” and presented news that was actually an analytical or “opinion” article which was 860 words of gobbledygook that enumerated minor differences between the House-passed and the Senate-passed versions of Trump’s budget-and-tax bill that he insists must be on his desk to sign on July 4th and that in BOTH versions increases spending on ‘Defense’ (aggression) and cuts billionaires’ taxes and cuts health care and disability coverage for the nation’s poor in order to pay for a tiny percentage of the thereby-increased federal deficit — the bill increases the suffering of the poor in order to increase the profits to firms such as Lockheed Martin and to reduce the taxes on those firms’ controlling billionaires, but none of this information was so much as even mentioned in that 860-word ‘news’-report.
The most up-voted and least down-voted of the 650 reader-comments to it at Yahoo News as-of this writing was only 94 words but vastly more informative than that 860-word CBS ‘News’ story was:
<blockquote>George
So every one of you Medicaid recipients who voted for Trump can congratulate Trump and every MAGA member of Congress for either stripping you of health care or making it more difficult to qualify while these guys you voted for have 100% coverage that costs them nothing for life. The money they’re ripping from you is going to help pay for a tax break to people like Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, who just spent $50 million on his wedding reception. Make America Great Again for the billionaires by taking from the poor and disabled.</blockquote>
That too is analytical about Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” but it is meaningful instead of meaningless from the standpoint of informing the public about the realities that the public needs to know in order to be able to carry out intelligently their voting-responsibilities.
The ‘news’-media should fire the ‘journalists’ such as Caitlin Yilek who wrote that CBS ‘News’ article and hire ones such as ‘George’ who is not merely far pithier but far more informative. Then these ‘news’-media will become news-media.
Today at another of my articles, “<a href="https://ericzuesse.substack.com/p/americas-republicans-hatred-of-the" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ericzuesse.substack.com/p/americas-republicans-hatred-of-the&source=gmail&ust=1751507312944000&usg=AOvVaw12byhzaspgkGnW5f2MKZgJ">America’s Republicans’ Hatred of the Poor</a>,” I got a reader-comment about the type of elected public-office-holders that we get from such a billionaires-controlled press:
<blockquote>nameless
Eric, at the very beginning of the lock down, I attended a zoom round table set by Steve Kirsch, a former Silicon Valley executive. I forgot his name but the guest was a West Point Graduate. And he said in Sacramento, there was a bill that was about to be passed that was not to the benefit of the population at large. So a bunch of voters gathered with picket signs asking for the bill not to be passed, and ready to get together and talk about it right at the front of whatever they call that place. Well, guess what happened? The thugs who refer to themselves as “our” law makers and legislators closed the doors behind them completely ignoring the protesters, went Inside and passed it anyway!!!!! This is what the cattle in this country refer to as “democracy”.
If the amount of money to one’s name is what determines one’s worth, then drug dealers, contract killers, murderers and child traffickers should be allowed a piece of the pie, and why not, let’s allow the drug cartel a seat in the Congress!!! LOL. All of these criminals get a piece of that pie, so why not allow the other Party a piece of their pie?! One of the DAs who were after Trump was caught to have no less than 15 million $ in one of her bank accounts, her official salary being like only a mere 100K$ a year!!! I mean you cut the mortgage payment, car payment, food, etc., and there will be virtually nothing left. But she has 15 million $ in the Bank!!!! Where did she get that from if not from drug money laundering, bribes and what have you?…They are all criminals. Thank you for Lincoln’s priceless speech. Awesome!!!</blockquote>
People tell me that <a href="https://archive.ph/4gNNq" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.ph/4gNNq&source=gmail&ust=1751507312944000&usg=AOvVaw33ybRrDYQ9reuIop_WRelL">my proposed solution to such problems as these</a> is ‘too radical’ but have none of their own to propose instead. I can’t respect anyone who merely complains and who just ignores that the prevailing governmental and political rottenness REQUIRES a radical solution. So, if you don’t like mine, then please <a href="mailto:ericzuesse@icloud.com?subject=your%20proposed%20solution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contact me</a> and tell me why and tell me your own. And if you like mine, then tell me so, because all that I’ve gotten so far is people who still think that competitive elections by the public are essential in order to have a democracy, and who ignore the massive data proving that to be rabidly false. It seems that everybody is so elitist they can’t get out of that groove, not even to CONSIDER an alternative to it. In ‘democratic’ politics, the natural result is for the scum — no ‘elite’ — to rise to the top. Does NOBODY yet recognize this fact — not even with people such as Biden and Trump being in the White House? This is NOT a passing phenomenon; it has been like this ever since 1945 and is getting worse over time. How much worse does it have yet to be before people start opening their minds to the reality and acting on it?The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/the-difference-between-news-reporting-and-news-reporting/">The Difference between “News”-Reporting and News-Reporting</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Trump, Leakers, and Journalists</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/trump-leakers-and-journalists/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Binoy Kampmark]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:39:56 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Journalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Julian Assange]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[WikiLeaks]]></category>
<category><![CDATA["Collateral Murder"]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AOC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cablegate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MAGA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marjorie Taylor Greene]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pete Hegseth]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159594</guid>
<description><![CDATA[When campaigning in 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump was delighted by leaked, hacked or disclosed material that wound its way to the digital treasure troves of WikiLeaks. The online publisher of government secrets had become an invaluable resource for Trump’s battering of the Democratic establishment hopeful, Hillary Clinton, with her nonchalant attitude to the security […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/trump-leakers-and-journalists/">Trump, Leakers, and Journalists</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[When campaigning in 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump was delighted by leaked, hacked or disclosed material that wound its way to the digital treasure troves of WikiLeaks. The online publisher of government secrets had become an invaluable resource for Trump’s battering of the Democratic establishment hopeful, Hillary Clinton, with her nonchalant attitude to the security of email communications and a venal electoral strategy. “Very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by WikiLeaks,” he <a class="western" href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/786201435486781440">tooted</a> on what was then Twitter. “So dishonest! Rigged system!” After winning the keys to the White House, he mysteriously forgot the organisation whose fruit he so merrily feasted on.
During the Biden administration, the fate of the founding publisher of WikiLeaks, an Australian national who had never been on American soil and had published classified US defence and diplomatic material outside the country (<a class="western" href="https://wikileaks.org/plusd/?qproject%5B%5D=cg&q=">Cablegate</a> was a gem; <a class="western" href="https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/">Collateral Murder</a>, a chilling exposure of atrocity in Baghdad), was decided. Kept in the excruciating, spiritually crushing conditions of Belmarsh Prison in London for over five years, Julian Assange was convicted under the US Espionage Act of 1917 in June 2024, the victim of a relic dusted and burnished for deployment against the Fourth Estate. Assange’s conviction on one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information has paved a grim road for future prosecutions against the press, a pathway previously not taken for its dangers.
With this nasty legacy, recent threats by Trump against journalists who published and discussed the findings of a leaked preliminary report from the Defense Intelligence Agency are hard to dismiss. The report dared question the extent of damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Operation Midnight Hammer, which involved 75 precision guided munitions in all. “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images,” Trump <a class="western" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/irans-nuclear-facilities-have-been-obliterated-and-suggestions-otherwise-are-fake-news/">asserted</a> with beaming confidence. “Obliteration is an accurate term!”
CNN and the New York Times duly challenged the account in <a class="western" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/iran-nuclear-sites.html">discussing</a> the findings of the short DIA report. Damage to the program had not been as absolute as hoped, setting it back by a matter of months rather than years. This sent Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth into a state of apoplexy, <a class="western" href="https://theintercept.com/2025/06/27/hegseth-military-leaks-iran-war-journalists/">haranguing</a> those press outlets who “cheer against Trump so hard, it’s like in your DNA and in your blood”. For his part, Trump <a class="western" href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114751173173020083">accused</a> the Democrats on a Truth Social post of leaking “information on the PERFECT FLIGHT on the Nuclear Sites in Iran”, demanding their prosecution. He further charged his personal lawyer to harangue the New York Times <a class="western" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/business/media/trump-iran-new-york-times-cnn.html">with a letter</a> demanding it “retract and apologize for” the article, one it claimed was “false” and “defamatory”.
To Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business, Trump <a class="western" href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2025/06/30/trump-bartiromo-fox-news/84410807007/">also added</a> that reporters could be forced to reveal their sources on “National Security” grounds. “We can find out. If they want to, we can find out easily. You go up and tell a reporter, ‘National security, who gave it?’ You have to do that, and I suspect we’ll be doing things like that.”
According to RollingStone, the President <a class="western" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/espionage-act-team-trump-plan-media-1235376198/">has already queried</a> whether the press could be snared by the Espionage Act. While the magazine misses a beat in ignoring the Assange precedent, it notes the current administration’s overly stimulated interest in the statute. Prior to returning to the White House, Trump and his inner circle considered how the Act could be used not only to target leakers in government and whistleblowers “but against media outlets that received classified or highly sensitive information”. The publication relies on two sources who had discussed the matter with the President.
One source, a senior Trump administration official, <a class="western" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/espionage-act-team-trump-plan-media-1235376198/">insists</a> that the Act has again come up specifically regarding reports on the efficacy of the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Members of the administration are “looking for the right case to launch their ‘maiden voyage’ of an unprecedented type of Espionage Act prosecution”, one designed to deter news outlets from publishing classified government information or concealing the identities of their leaking sources. “All we’d really need is one text or email from a reporter telling a source: ‘Can you pull something for me?’ or something very direct of that nature’.” A less ignorant source would not have to look far for the one existing, successful example in the US prosecutor’s kit.
When pressed on the issue of whether the espionage statute would become the spear for the administration to target leakers and journalists, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly was <a class="western" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/espionage-act-team-trump-plan-media-1235376198/">broad in reply</a>: “Leaking classified information is a crime, and anyone who threatens American national security in this manner should be held accountable.”
The unanswered question regarding Assange’s prosecution and eventual conviction remains the possible and fundamental role played by the Constitution’s First Amendment protecting press freedom. Unfortunately, the central ghastliness of the Espionage Act is its subversion of free speech and motive. Given the Australian publisher’s plea deal, the mettle of that defence was never tested in court.
Some members of Congress have shown a worthy interest in that valuable right, notably in the context of defending Assange. In their November 8, 2023 <a class="western" href="https://mcgovern.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20231107_assangecase_presbiden.pdf">letter</a> to President Joe Biden, sixteen lawmakers spanning both sides of politics, including Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene and progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, declared their commitment “to the principles of free speech and freedom of the press” in urging the withdrawal of the US extradition request for Assange. Unfortunately, and significantly, that request was ignored.
Where Greene and other MAGA cheerleaders sit on Trump’s dangerous enchantment with the Espionage Act remains to be seen, notably on the issue of prosecuting publishers and journalists. MAGA can be incorrigibly fickle, especially when attuned to the authoritarian impulses of their great helmsman.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/trump-leakers-and-journalists/">Trump, Leakers, and Journalists</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Iran, Zionism, and the Limits of US Control: An Interview with Faramarz Farbod</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/iran-zionism-and-the-limits-of-us-control-an-interview-with-faramarz-farbod/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Faramarz Farbod]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:28:57 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Antiwar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[BRICS]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Capitalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CIA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colonialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Congo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Corporate Media]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Economy/Economics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Empire]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ethnic Cleansing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gaza]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Genocide]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Global South]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hegemony]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Imperialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Court of Justice]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Criminal Court]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Law]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Interview]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[M16]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Militarism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nationalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NATO]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nukes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Peace]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Propaganda]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Resistance]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Revolution]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Russia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sanctions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Social media]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sovereignty]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ukraine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United Nations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Venezuela]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[War]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Weaponry]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[12 day Israel-Iran War]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colonial Consciousness]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Decolonization]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Euro-American Imperialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Iranophobia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jihadi Wars]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Law-Based International Order]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[multipolarity]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Patrice Lumumba]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[political Islam]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Reza Pahlavi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rules-Based International Order]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The United Nation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[TikTok]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159586</guid>
<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sovereignty Is the Sin — Faramarz Farbod on Iran, War, and Empire" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3v7fRg1zRkA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/iran-zionism-and-the-limits-of-us-control-an-interview-with-faramarz-farbod/">Iran, Zionism, and the Limits of US Control: An Interview with Faramarz Farbod</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>What July 5th Taught Me that July 4th Never Did</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/what-july-5th-taught-me-that-july-4th-never-did/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Michelle Ellner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:05:14 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Colonialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Empire]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Freedom]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hugo Chavez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Imperialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nicolas Maduro]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Resistance]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[South America]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sovereignty]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Venezuela]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Bolivarian Revolution]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Eduardo Blanco]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Eduardo Galeano]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fourth of July]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Simon Bolivar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Venezuela’s July 5th]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159577</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Growing up in Venezuela and now living in the United States, I’ve always felt caught between two independence days: July 4th and July 5th. Two celebrations. Two flags. Two very different ideas of what it means to be free. In the U.S., the Fourth of July comes with fireworks, parades, and an almost unquestioned belief […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/what-july-5th-taught-me-that-july-4th-never-did/">What July 5th Taught Me that July 4th Never Did</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Growing up in Venezuela and now living in the United States, I’ve always felt caught between two independence days: July 4th and July 5th. Two celebrations. Two flags. Two very different ideas of what it means to be free.
In the U.S., the Fourth of July comes with fireworks, parades, and an almost unquestioned belief in the righteousness of the revolution it commemorates. However, in Venezuela, July 5th evokes different thoughts. It is not just a break from colonial rule but the beginning of a long, unfinished struggle to define freedom on our own terms. It’s not something we inherited. It’s something we’re still fighting for.
And now, from where I stand, I can’t help but see the contradictions. One country celebrates independence while denying it to others. The other fights for sovereignty while being punished for it.
The story of Venezuela’s independence is part of a much longer, bloodier history. The entire region of Latin America and the Caribbean erupted into revolutionary movements more than two centuries ago, not out of ambition, but as a response to some of the worst atrocities in human history. Colonization, slavery, forced conversions to Catholicism, cultural erasure, and resource extraction didn’t just leave economic scars; they tore at the heart of our collective humanity. As Eduardo Galeano wrote, “Our wealth has always generated our poverty by nourishing the prosperity of others.” Independence wasn’t a beginning; it was a resistance and a demand to reclaim everything that had been stolen, silenced, and buried.
In Venezuela, the independence process was shaped by the ideas of the Enlightenment and the revolutions in France, the U.S., and Haiti. But Simón Bolívar, our “Liberator,” wanted something more than a flag or a change in rulers. He envisioned a republic built on justice, not just sovereignty. A society where slavery would be abolished, land would be redistributed, and governance would belong to the people. Speaking before the Congress of Angostura in 1819, Bolívar declared: “The most perfect system of government is that which produces the greatest possible amount of happiness, social security, and political stability.” This wasn’t about replacing a crown with a new president. It was about reimagining society itself, building a nation rooted in dignity, equality, and the well-being of all.
It was a vision far ahead of its time. And it came at a devastating cost. Venezuela lost half of its population during the wars of independence. But as Bolívar said, the other half would have given its life, too, to make freedom real.
Venezuela became free from Spain, but not from exploitation.
After the discovery of oil beginning in the 1920s, the country became a new kind of colony, one shaped by foreign corporations and U.S. geopolitical interests. While oil profits filled the pockets of multinational companies and domestic elites, the majority of Venezuelans lived in poverty, with no access to healthcare, education, or housing.
That began to change in 1998, when Hugo Chávez, invoking the legacy of Bolívar, won the presidency and launched what became known as the Bolivarian Revolution. He called on the people to reclaim democracy, not just through elections, but through participatory structures, economic justice, and sovereignty. For many who had long been shut out of the system, it was the first time they saw themselves reflected in their own government.
It was transformative. And it was deeply threatening to the powers that had always treated Venezuela as a resource, not a republic.
The Bolivarian Revolution was perceived as a threat to U.S. imperial interests from the outset. From the moment Hugo Chávez took office in 1999 and began redirecting Venezuela’s oil wealth toward social programs, land reform, and regional integration, the backlash began. He refused to follow the neoliberal script written in Washington, and for that, he was targeted.
In 2002, the U.S. backed a coup attempt against Chávez, which briefly removed him from power before a massive popular uprising brought him back. But the attacks didn’t stop. Economic sabotage, disinformation campaigns, and diplomatic isolation escalated over the years.
After he died in 2013, the campaign intensified. Under Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela was hit with the full spectrum of economic warfare: hundreds of unilateral coercive measures, the freezing of billions in international assets, restrictions on food and medicine imports, and open support for regime change—a war without bombs.
This is daily life for Venezuelans. And yet, we’re told these policies are meant to help us. You don’t help people by starving them. You don’t “defend democracy” by trying to force another country to its knees.
Here in the U.S., it’s easy to treat independence as something that was achieved once and for all in 1776. But if that were true, why is our country still trying to control the fate of others? Why do we claim to stand for freedom while undermining it abroad through sanctions, coups, and endless wars? And even more urgently: why are so many people in the U.S. still struggling just to survive?
Empire comes at a cost, not only to the people we target, but to the people right here at home. While the U.S. government spends trillions on foreign wars and military bases, our communities are told there’s “not enough” for universal healthcare, housing, or public education. The same officials who lecture the world about freedom are the ones lining up to vote for the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a package that bankrolls war and delivers massive tax breaks to billionaires while dismantling the programs that keep people housed, fed, and alive.
We’re told to celebrate freedom while immigrants are deported, unhoused people are criminalized, and Palestinian solidarity is silenced. We’re told we live in the greatest country on Earth, even as life expectancy drops and student debt skyrockets.
So when I hear U.S. leaders talk about spreading democracy, I can’t help but ask: Whose democracy? Whose freedom?
You can’t claim to support democracy and starve a population at the same time. You can’t celebrate independence while trying to overthrow other governments. And you can’t speak of justice if your policies enforce inequality on a global scale.
As a Venezuelan-American, I’m proud of the history that Venezuela has fought for. And I want to be proud of the United States, the country I also call home. But that will only be possible when the U.S. chooses respect over domination, when it ends the sanctions, when it stops weaponizing aid, democracy, and freedom to serve its own economic interests.
Venezuela’s July 5th is not about fireworks. It’s about survival, resistance, and the ongoing struggle to build a future rooted in dignity.
So while the U.S. celebrates its independence this week, I hope more people take a moment to ask: What are we really celebrating? And at what cost?
True independence isn’t about flags or anthems. It’s about the right to choose your own path without being punished for it. If we’re serious about “liberty and justice for all,” then we have to mean it. Not just here, but everywhere.
Real freedom doesn’t come wrapped in patriotic speeches or military parades; it comes through struggle, sacrifice, and the refusal to bow to empire, no matter what form it takes. Whether in Venezuela or the United States, the fight for dignity continues. Eduardo Blanco captured this truth in Venezuela Heroica, when he wrote: “To restrain the passions of people when they’ve been pushed beyond reason is harder than stopping the sea itself.”
And that’s exactly what we’re witnessing in every mobilization, every boycott, every refusal to accept injustice as normal.
Borders, bullets, or decrees can’t contain the tides of liberation. Not in Venezuela. Not in Gaza. Not in the United States. Not anywhere.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/what-july-5th-taught-me-that-july-4th-never-did/">What July 5th Taught Me that July 4th Never Did</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>America’s Republicans’ Hatred of the Poor</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/americas-republicans-hatred-of-the-poor/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Zuesse]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 13:00:16 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Capitalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Classism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democrats]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Labor]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Republicans]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tax]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Abraham Lincoln]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[aristocracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[billionaires]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CAPITAL]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[dictatorship]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Trump's budget-and-tax bill]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159563</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The budget-and-tax bill that President Trump has placed before America’s U.S. Senators and Representatives to pass by a majority in each of the two houses of Congress is a total repudiation of the first Republican U.S. President (and the only progressive Republican U.S. President), Abraham Lincoln, as will here be documented. The Republican Party was […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/americas-republicans-hatred-of-the-poor/">America’s Republicans’ Hatred of the Poor</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The budget-and-tax bill that President Trump has placed before America’s U.S. Senators and Representatives to pass by a majority in each of the two houses of Congress is a total repudiation of the first Republican U.S. President (and the only progressive Republican U.S. President), Abraham Lincoln, as will here be documented.
The Republican Party was basically started by Lincoln, who (if he had lived) would have repudiated and condemned virtually all of his Republican successors. The assassination that killed him transformed his Party into its exact opposite, in the most important ways.
Here is Lincoln <a href="https://archive.is/Paq52#selection-7149.0-7157.739">speaking</a>, so that the transformation wrought by that bullet is made clear by Lincoln himself, in his own time:
<blockquote>It is not needed nor fitting here that a general argument should be made in favor of popular institutions, but there is one point, with its connections, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that capital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their own consent, or buy them and drive them to it without their consent. Having proceeded so far, it is naturally concluded that all laborers are either hired laborers or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life.
Now there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless.
Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits. The error is in assuming that the whole labor of community exists within that relation. A few men own capital, and that few avoid labor themselves, and with their capital hire or buy another few to labor for them. A large majority belong to neither class — neither work for others nor have others working for them.</blockquote>
Lincoln was profoundly opposed to coerced labor, and he recognized that it can take many forms — not ONLY the form called ”slavery.” He also recognized that the few individuals who, as a group, own the most wealth and consequently hire a substantial percentage of the U.S. population, will possess, by their ability to hire and fire, enormous power, which might enable them to coerce their employees to accept unjustifiably low wages for their work. On this basis, he spoke publicly on the record as siding with the oppressed against their oppressors — even outside the context of merely slavery.
The poor are the lowest class of workers, and Lincoln there was making explicitly clear that — directly opposed to today’s Republican Party, which makes policy on the basis of the principle that a person is worth only whatever his/her net worth is, and so a billionaire is worth as much as a thousand millionaires — a person’s worth has no necessary relationship to his/her wealth — none.
Polling proves that <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/57ca2785-2fae-44e3-bbcf-47dd24b42600?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/57ca2785-2fae-44e3-bbcf-47dd24b42600?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw0ivYLG3o1uOHOQLeRawwxg">vast majorities of the U.S. public detest Trump’s budget-and-tax priorities</a>. Furthermore, an extraordinarily extensive Yale poll of nearly 5,000 Americans, published on June 27th, found that when respondents are informed of what is in Trump’s budget-and-tax bill, <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/e350a665-a853-4556-a396-e3878bd0c58d?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/e350a665-a853-4556-a396-e3878bd0c58d?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw11QCysEB1jBYN7bQFqmO9H">only 11% approve, 78% disapprove of it</a>. Would it become law in a democracy? Of course not!
Today’s Republican Party — this Party that Lincoln would consider an abomination — is the exact opposite of anything that would become law in any <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/57ca2785-2fae-44e3-bbcf-47dd24b42600?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/57ca2785-2fae-44e3-bbcf-47dd24b42600?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw0ivYLG3o1uOHOQLeRawwxg">democracy</a>. If Trump’s bill, or anything like it, becomes law in America, this will be announcing to the entire world that America is a dictatorship by its super-rich. Such a Government used to be called an “aristocracy.” At every election-time, America’s public are being asked to side with one group of billionaires (the Republicann ones) against another group of billionaires (the Democratic ones), instead of to side with themselves and the rest of the public, against all billionaires — <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/c860063f-b4d7-4f90-8173-a6ddeea54c57?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/c860063f-b4d7-4f90-8173-a6ddeea54c57?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw3tdOBOi3aFI9B68RHbOCRq">the remarkably few individuals who actually control the U.S. Government</a>. This applies both in <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/03a447f3-bfc4-41c8-bdc6-6ef30fb3a203?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/03a447f3-bfc4-41c8-bdc6-6ef30fb3a203?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw1smt0d4rz33PK4tbs7yv8H">national U.S. politics</a> and <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/19333050-d72c-41b7-806f-462f08a606b3?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/19333050-d72c-41b7-806f-462f08a606b3?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw39bInE13OMUDT23MHLQaRn">in state U.S. politics</a>, so that <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/63bfbd56-c15c-4d0e-b444-ffcdf3e0cb9f?j=eyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/63bfbd56-c15c-4d0e-b444-ffcdf3e0cb9f?j%3DeyJ1IjoiNWc4cG4ifQ.sDNoH1enkHZgoy5goruQ8TByFGks0ZorP2uumg7jE7o&source=gmail&ust=1751424397922000&usg=AOvVaw0KlJXHZPOF0O23-LrJGmGc">the billionaires have veto-power to prevent ANY candidate they don’t control, from even getting their Party’s nomination</a> (much less winning the final campaign). It is the aristocratic type of dictatorship — and Lincoln condemned it.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/americas-republicans-hatred-of-the-poor/">America’s Republicans’ Hatred of the Poor</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Operation Midnight Hammer: Were Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Damaged?</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/operation-midnight-hammer-were-irans-nuclear-facilities-damaged/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Binoy Kampmark]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:00:38 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[CIA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Israeli Defense Force (IDF)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[War]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fordow nuclear site]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gen. Dan Caine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[John Ratcliffe]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Karoline Leavitt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Non-Proliferation Treaty]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Operation Midnight Hammer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pete Hegseth]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rafael Grossi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[the Defense Intelligence Agency]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159560</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The aftermath of Operation Midnight Hammer, a strike by the US Air Force on three nuclear facilities in Iran authorized by President Donald Trump on June 22, was raucous and triumphant. But that depended on what company you were keeping. The mission involved the bombing of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, the uranium-enrichment facility at […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/operation-midnight-hammer-were-irans-nuclear-facilities-damaged/">Operation Midnight Hammer: Were Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Damaged?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The aftermath of Operation Midnight Hammer, a strike by the US Air Force on three nuclear facilities in Iran authorized by President Donald Trump on June 22, was raucous and triumphant. But that depended on what company you were keeping. The <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/what-really-happened-to-fordow-three-possible-futures-for-irans-nuclear-program-after-us-strikes/">mission involved</a> the bombing of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, the uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz, and the uranium-conversion facility in Isfahan. The Israeli Air Force had already attacked the last two facilities, sparing Fordow for the singular weaponry available for the USAF.
The Fordow site was of particular interest, located some eighty to a hundred metres underground and cocooned by protective concrete. For its purported destruction, B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were used to drop GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator “bunker buster” bombs. All in all, approximately 75 precision-guided weapons were used in the operation, along with 125 aircraft and a guided missile submarine.
Trump was never going to be anything other than optimistic about the result. “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images,” he <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/irans-nuclear-facilities-have-been-obliterated-and-suggestions-otherwise-are-fake-news/">blustered</a>. “Obliteration is an accurate term!”
At the Pentagon <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4222533/hegseth-caine-laud-success-of-us-strike-on-iran-nuke-sites/">press conference</a> following the attack, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bubbled with enthusiasm. “The order we received from our commander in chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear. We devastated the Iranian nuclear program.” The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, was confident that the facilities had been subjected to severe punishment. “Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.” Adding to Caine’s remarks, Hegseth <a href="https://www.twz.com/air/b-2-strikes-on-iran-what-we-know-about-operation-midnight-hammer">stated</a> that, “The battle damage assessment is ongoing, but our initial assessment, as the Chairman said, is that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect.”
Resort to satellite imagery was always going to take place, and Maxar Technologies willingly supplied the material. “A layer of grey-blue ash caused by the airstrikes [on Fordow] is seen across a large swathe of the area,” the company <a href="https://www.twz.com/air/b-2-strikes-on-iran-what-we-know-about-operation-midnight-hammer">noted</a> in a statement. “Additionally, several of the tunnel entrances that lead into the underground facility are blocked with dirt following the airstrikes.”
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, also <a href="https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/statement-from-director-john-ratcliffe-about-intelligence-on-irans-nuclear-program/">added his voice</a> to the merry chorus that the damage had been significant. “CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted airstrikes.” The assessment included “new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.”
Israeli sources were also quick to stroke Trump’s already outsized ego. The Israel Atomic Energy Commission <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/irans-nuclear-facilities-have-been-obliterated-and-suggestions-otherwise-are-fake-news/">opined</a> that the strikes, combined with Israel’s own efforts, had “set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/irans-nuclear-facilities-have-been-obliterated-and-suggestions-otherwise-are-fake-news/">view</a> was that the damage to the nuclear program was sufficient to have “set it back by years, I repeat, years.”
The chief of the increasingly discredited International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, flirted with some initial speculation, but was mindful of necessary caveats. In a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/iaea-chief-expects-very-significant-damage-irans-fordow-site-2025-06-23/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">statement</a> to an emergency meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors, he warned that, “At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow.” Cue the speculation: “Given the explosive payload utilised and extreme(ly) vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred.”
This was a parade begging to be rained on. CNN and The New York Times supplied it. Referring to preliminary classified findings in a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment running for five pages, the paper <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/iran-nuclear-sites.html">reported</a> that the bombing of the three sites had “set back the country’s nuclear program by only a few months”. The strikes had sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities, but they were not successful in precipitating a collapse of the underground buildings. Sceptical expertise murmured through the report: to destroy the facility at Fordow would require “waves of airstrikes, with days or even weeks of pounding the same spots.”
Then came the issue of the nuclear material in question, which Iran still retained control over. The fate of over 400 kg of uranium, which had been enriched to 60% purity, is unclear, as is the number of surviving or hidden centrifuges. Iran had already informed the IAEA on June 13 that “special measures” would be taken to protect nuclear materials and equipment under IAEA safeguards, a feature provided under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location, however, would have to be declared to the agency, something bound to be increasingly unlikely given the proposed suspension of cooperation with the IAEA by Iran’s parliament.
After mulling over the attacks for a week, Grossi <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79qeqg89g2o">revisited</a> the matter. The attacks on the facilities had caused severe, though “not total” damage. “Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.” Tehran could, “in a matter of months,” have “a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium.” Iran still had the “industrial and technological” means to recommence the process.
Efforts to question the thoroughness of Operation Midnight Hammer did not sit well with the Trump administration. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt worked herself into a state on any cautionary reporting, treating it as a libellous blemish. “The leaking of this alleged report is a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program,” she <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/iran-nuclear-sites.html">fumed</a> in a statement. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop 14 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets.”
Hegseth similarly raged against the importance placed on the DIA report. In a press conference on June 26, he <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/06/27/hegseth-military-leaks-iran-war-journalists/">bemoaned</a> the tendency of the press corps to “cheer against Trump so hard, it’s like in your DNA and in your blood”. The scribblers had to “cheer against the efficacy of these strikes” with “half-truths, spun information, leaked information”. Trump, for his part, returned to familiar ground, attacking any questioning narrative as “Fake News”. CNN, he seethed, had some of the dumbest anchors in the business. With malicious glee, he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114749580476669594">claimed knowledge</a> of rumours that reporters from both CNN and The New York Times were going to be sacked for making up those “FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong.”
A postmodern nonsense has descended on the damage assessments regarding Iran’s nuclear program, leaving the way clear for overremunerated soothsayers. But there was nothing postmodern in the incalculable damage done to the law of nations, a body of acknowledged rules rendered brittle and breakable before the rapacious legislators of the jungle.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/07/operation-midnight-hammer-were-irans-nuclear-facilities-damaged/">Operation Midnight Hammer: Were Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Damaged?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Magical Theatricality in the Ice Age Caves: Why it Should Matter to Socialists</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/magical-theatricality-in-the-ice-age-caves-why-it-should-matter-to-socialists/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce Lerro]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:59:28 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Archaeology/Archaeologists]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Evolution]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Magic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sociology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cro-Magnon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[David Kertzer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homo sapiens.]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[John Pfeiffer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Neanderthals]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159516</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Orientation From the time of the Renaissance until representational art began to be challenged at the end of the 19th century, most of us think of secular art as consisting of separate disciplines – dance, theatre, singing, painting, sculpture and writing. The exception to this was the theatrical work of Richard Wagner, a German composer, […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/magical-theatricality-in-the-ice-age-caves-why-it-should-matter-to-socialists/">Magical Theatricality in the Ice Age Caves: Why it Should Matter to Socialists</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Magical-Theatricality-in-the-Ice-Age-Caves.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159518" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Magical-Theatricality-in-the-Ice-Age-Caves.jpg" alt="" width="468" height="234" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Magical-Theatricality-in-the-Ice-Age-Caves.jpg 468w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Magical-Theatricality-in-the-Ice-Age-Caves-300x150.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" /></a>
Orientation 
From the time of the Renaissance until representational art began to be challenged at the end of the 19th century, most of us think of secular art as consisting of separate disciplines – dance, theatre, singing, painting, sculpture and writing. The exception to this was the theatrical work of Richard Wagner, a German composer, theater director, essayist and conductor who understood that combining the arts can create altered states of consciousness in the German public. Speaking religiously, the Catholic church was and is a master at creating altered states of consciousness in its followers with the use of stained-glassed windows, organ music, singing and incense filling the senses. Needless to say painters and sculptors were employed to carry out a single vision – the worshiping of God.
I argue that in the beginning of the human species all the arts were one in the service of creating magical states of consciousness and magical rites of passage for their participants. It was only after the formation of class societies in the ancient world that the arts became secular disciplines practiced by specialists. With the secularization of the arts the purpose of art lost its unitary focus and artists, painters and musicians worked to satisfy the whims of their different individual patrons. However, in the Ice Age conditions of Cro-Magnon hunter gathers living in caves doing magical rituals correctly and memorably could mean the difference between intergenerational survival or petering out at best or death at worst. This article is based on two wonderful books. One is John Pfeiffer’s book The Creative Explosion and more recent work by David Lewis-Williams The Mind in the Cave.
Why should what happened 20-25 thousand years ago interest socialists? From the end of the 19th century socialists, at least in Mordor, have been very bad at creating rituals. Socialists rather allowed rites of passage rituals, pilgrimages, sacred sites, calendars, to be hollowed out by capitalists. As secularists and atheists many socialists thought that rites of passage were silly and not worth bothering about. See my article “<a href="https://socialistplanningbeyondcapitalism.org/the-mythology-ritual-and-art-of-romantic-socialism-socialisms-lost-heart-and-soul/">The Mythology Ritual and Art of Romantic Socialism: Socialism’s Lost Heart and Soul</a>.”
Today socialists have a golden opportunity to understand how to do rituals right by studying the intense and meaningful practices of so long ago, practices that existed for 9,000 years. They have been chiseled and tempered to a fine point of perfection in harmony with the forces of natural selection.
I Play, Art and Necessity 
Play as a precursor of art and rooted in decision-making of the brain (rather than genetics) 
Play among reptiles and lower species is questionable and the evidence for it is scanty. According to Pfeiffer (The Creative Explosion) play emerged with the appearance of warm blooded mammals 200,000 years ago co-extensively with the evolution of the brain. Pfeiffer claims that art is a more elaborate form of play and that each has an adaptive function of being able to react creatively to unpredictable situations.
What play and art have in common involves imitation, pretending, fantasy, freedom to improvise, to be able to make and break rules and to create surprise. One advantage of play is that it provides training for real life fighting and escape tactics. On the negative side, play does use up energy which could be expended on more immediate circumstances, like feeding and resting. A second advantage of play is that it promotes friendship and cooperation, but at the same time it could result in serious injuries. Lastly, play invites innovation – exploring and probing which is analogous to random genetic mutations. Yet play can be dangerous if it involves distractions from watching for dangerous predators. If the art in the caves is just an advanced form of play, Pfeiffer explains why the benefits of it outweighed the costs in the time period between 29,000 and 20,000 BCE.
II Description of the Caves and Methodology 
“The way in leads through a metal door, down a flight of stairs, through another metal door, to the threshold of the hall. It is pitch dark inside, and then the lights are turned on. Without prelude, before the eye has a chance to become intellectual, to look at any single feature, you see it whole, painted in red, black and yellow, a burst of animals, a procession dominated by huge creatures with horns. The animals form two lines converging from left and right, seeming to stream into a funnel-month, toward and into a dark hole which marks the way into a deeper gallery.”
The following is a description of the main hall or rotunda of the Lascaux in southern France. Lascaux is one of at least 200 caves in western Europe containing examples of the first prehistoric art. According to John Pfeiffer, about 90% of the sites are located in France and Spain. Most of the images are large animals and when humans appear, they are distorted. Inside the caves temperatures and humidity remain practically constant slowing down the deterioration process of the art. Two of the most astounding findings are that rather than the making of spontaneous images by solitary artists there was planning and collaboration going on in the organization and placement of figures. Secondly, there was collaboration according to Andre Leroi-Gourhan. What was going on in the caves was a kind of theater for creating altered states of consciousness. Fire was used not just for heating, but for stage design. The gallery extends nearly three football field deep into the earth
“The ceilings of the Great Hall… is an undulating surface of hills, valleys, ripples in rock…every contour used by the artists to enhance the feeling of full-bodied living creatures. Red and black paintings surround two small holes bored into the side of the walls by natural forces. As you stare at these entranceways to another realm, suddenly and without voluntary control – the pictographs break the artificial visual reality that we assume…Suddenly the paintings encompassing the recessed pockets began to pulse, beckoning us inward. The added effects—a nighttime setting, firelight, shadows dancing on the walls and the resonation of aboriginal chanting – could induce even more profound experiences.”
Today we have many more facts about the occupiers of the caves than we did a century ago. For example, we know far more sites—both underground and open air; we have detailed inventories of most of the sites; we have maps showing the precise location of each and every image; many of the images have been data and we have the ingredients of many of the paints which were used to make the images. What we do not have is a grounded explanation of what is going on.
The stages of the exploration of the caves in Spain and then France has been documented by John Pfeiffer, among others. Briefly, exploration began in the 1880s by Don Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola discovery of painting he identified as extinct bison. He linked pieces he had found in France to paintings in Altamira and declared it was created in Paleolithic times. For a number of reasons archaeologists considered this a hoax and paid little attention. Early in the 20th century more caves were discovered and Abbe Henri Breuil spend years doing watercolors to preserve them in the late 1950s
Methodology 
In order to begin to explain things what happened we need a method of approach. The questions we have must be organized in order to distinguish foundational questions which must be answered before others can be asked. We must also identify which questions can be left aside without getting in the way of developing an explanation. How do we know what is significant? There is a diversity in the forms of the caves. Some have single entrances while others have multiple entrances. Some have stone arches which allow light to penetrate while others have only small openings through which just one person at a time can squeeze. Once inside the caves, how important is the animal distribution on the walls? How important are the techniques used—engraving, painting or sculpture? How important are the size of the images and what does it say about their value? Once we make a choice about the highest and lowest priority of these considerations then the explanations as to what was really going on will become more clear.
III Altered States of Consciousness: Cave Routes 
According to Leroi-Gourhan it is not only the caves that were designed to alter states of consciousness, but the routes leading to selected chambers as well as the chambers themselves. The process of getting there and what the researchers found when they arrived were part of the same designed ordeal with obstacles intentionally put in the way, according to Jean Clottes. From the standpoint of physical endurance, the caves can be broken down the way hiking trails often are—easy, medium and difficult. The easy caves have passages which are high (not requiring stooping down) and wide, with some lighting. This was probably accessible to the entire group. The medium size caves have lower ceilings requiring stooping and crawling and inadequate lighting requiring an individual to carry their own lighting. The passages themselves are uneven and covered with mud. The most difficult caves would require modern equipment equivalent to mining—hard hats, mechanics coveralls, deep treaded boots, ropes and wire ladders. They are needed to climb the sheer walls, pits and other hazards. These hazards created opportunities for altered states.
It might not be too far-fetched to say that the more difficult the route, the greater the altered state would result. The deeper chambers were not for all groups, but probably for special initiation rituals conducted by specialists. The easiness or difficulty of the journey through the caves must have corresponded to grades of secrecy in prehistoric ceremonies. Secret knowledge probably included the ways of producing special lighting, knowledge of echo effects to create illusion and knowledge in the painting of anamorphic effects. For example pictures are drawn in trick perspective so their appearance depends on the angle of viewing. The easier the access to the cave, the closer to common knowledge is of the entire group.
IV Discovery of Prehistoric Art in Three Stages 
The discovery of the caves can be broken down into 3 periods. The first explorer, de Sautuola was more interested in the artifacts on the floor of the caves rather than what was on the walls and ceilings. Nevertheless, the discovery of the paintings was billed as the work of prehistoric artists. The experts believed this was a hoax because the paint was so fresh and because there were no traces of soot. They didn’t bother to investigate. This cave was located in Alta Mira in the foothills of Northern Spain.
In 1895 cave art was discovered in France. In 1901 three more discoveries of cave art were reported, two just outside Les Eyzies and one in the Pyrenees. From the turn of the century to roughly 1960 a remarkable Catholic priest, Henri Breuil, dedicated his life to authenticating, recording and copying the art. His dedication was amazing:
During one of his visits to Altamira, Breuil painted 8 hours a day for three weeks, doubled up in crawl-in spaces lit by candles, making water color copies of the animals on the ceiling of the Great Hall.
Leroi-Gourhan succeeded Breuil. He sought to place the paintings and engravings in a chronological framework based primarily on sequences in the development of style. Starting in 1957 he spent three years visiting 66 out of 110 art caves and rock shelters known in France and Spain and counting and mapping positions of every one of 2,188 animal figures including horses, bison, mammoths, ibexes and oxen. He noted the tendency of certain animals to be located in certain parts of the caves. For example, 92% of oxen and bison are located in the central zone and 86% of horses. It is especially understandable that the difficult caves would lend themselves to altered states of consciousness even among the archaeologists studying them. Pfeiffer describes how easy it is to miss things that are there and to see things that aren’t there, for a great majority of the paintings are not obvious. The strain of looking takes its toll and self-hypnosis must be guarded against by taking frequent breaks.
V Competing Theories About the Discovery 
Art for art’s sake 
One theory about art in the cave is the “art for art sake” theory. This is the notion that some individuals had the leisure time for decorating themselves and their world. This is based on universalistic principles involving an appreciation of symmetry. This theory became more far-fetched because the art was done in subterranean locations, not easily accessible. Why would the people who made this put themselves in this position. Secondly, we find that people who lived under very harsh conditions also made art. This undermines the notion that societies must have a critical amount of leisure time in order to make art. Lastly, the paintings on the wall were by no means symmetrical.
Sympathetic hunting magic 
A more common argument is art in the service of magic, specifically hunting and/or fertility magic. The idea is that the paintings on the wall would create a sympathetic relationship with the animal which they wanted to kill or breed. The problem with this theory is that only about 15% of upper Paleolithic bison images seem to be wounded. A bigger problem that Pfeiffer points out is that what was on the walls were not the animals that were actually hunted. Finally, the theory of hunting magic does not explain why Neanderthals didn’t paint on walls, despite the fact that they also hunted large animals and their diet included large portions of meat.
Conflicts between groups 
A third explanation by Max Raphael argues that the cave art is expressions of antagonisms among social groups. For example, animals depicted in combat represent antagonistic clans. Animals which were depicted inside each other express alliances in social struggles. Against Breuil, Raphael claimed that images should be seen, not as isolated instances but should be studied as compositions. He further noted that different species tended to predominate in specific caves.
Levi-Straus structuralism 
Also as a follower of Levi-Strauss structuralism Raphael believed that what was belief presented in the cave was a myth designed to overcome the contradiction of binary opposites. Then he divided the images of animals along with signs into male and female and tried to explain what was going on as attempts to overcome this binary opposition. Leroi-Gourhan’s research was abandoned for a number of reasons one because:
<ul>
<li>The diversity of the topography of the caves makes it impossible to compare them with one another in terms of entrance, central region and deep zones.</li>
<li>His classification system was too static and didn’t consider ecological changes in conditions which might affect the animals or signs drawn. The binary oppositions were too ahistorical.</li>
</ul>
Pulling the pieces together 
David Lewis-Williams claims that Annette Laming-Emperaire and Andre Leroi-Gourhan made the greatest 20th century contribution to the study of Upper Paleolithic art. For one thing they agree with magical theories in that the difficulty of access meant that there were sacred intentions. However, that does not mean the animals were painted for any kind of food subsistence. Secondly, they gave up the notion that hunter gatherers in this time period had much to do with contemporary hunter-gatherers, so they resisted drawing from the sacred practices of hunter-gatherers in different climates and different ecological zones. Like other theorists they recognized that the art was of significant complexity and skill to abandon the notion that these Paleolithic hunters had a simple mental life. Like Max Rafael they believed all images should be studied as planned compositions.
Laming-Emperaire argued that the distribution maps should be developed according to the following criteria: position of the works in a cave; associated archaeological remains found with the work; how the work seemed to be used; and the content and form of representation. Leroi-Gourhan divided the animals found into four groups:
<ul>
<li>smaller herbivores—horses, ibexes, stags, reindeer, hinds</li>
<li>large herbivores—bison, aurochs</li>
<li>peripheral species—mammoth, deer, ibexes</li>
<li>dangerous animals—feline, bear, rhinoceros</li>
</ul>
He further divided the caves into a number of areas—entrances, central areas, and deep areas. 
 
VI Magical Theatrically Theory 
Pfeiffer’s thesis is that the paintings in the cave along with whatever rituals were enacted
were ingenious theatrical mimetic devices used by Homo sapiens (as opposed to Neanderthals) to coherently and efficiently process an information explosion that occurred between 30,000-20,000 BCE in Europe. This included better tools, knowledge of new materials and coordination of efforts of larger groups of people. One of the best ways of keeping conflicts of larger groups under control was the invention of a special kind of coming together. Paleolithic art had a group function—sharp increases in ritual and ceremony.
According to David Lewis-Williams, the caves were being used in a systematic way to alter states of consciousness with a sophistication that would make any stage director sit up and take notice. For example, shadows were used to complete pictures. The experience of moving shadows causes images to appear and disappear. The use of fire also helped to create atmosphere. These altered states are not limited to visual but are also acoustic.
There is a material, neurological , not merely psychological basis for widespread shamanistic beliefs. Research has shown that low frequency drum-beats produce changes in the human nervous-system and induce trance states…There is thus a neurological explanation for shamanistic use of drums.” David Lewis-Williams
 VII Who did it? Tools and Social organization: Neanderthals vs Homo sapiens
The title of the Pfeiffer’s book is called The Creative Explosion because there was nothing to foreshadow its beginnings. Pfeiffer argues that people probably have been making pictures in the sand, decorating wood, animal hides and other perishable materials including their own bodies during earlier times but these works did not endure. The author searches for the reason for the explosion. Why the art? Why 30,000-20,000 BCE? Why in Western Europe?
Cro-Magnon attained many advantages over Neanderthals including the use of tools, the quality of their social life and their cultivation of natural resources. In terms of tools, they used more tools, a greater variety of tools and a greater variety of materials. They exploited these materials more efficiently than did Neanderthals. Lastly, Cro-Magnon drew on the material from greater distances, acquiring flint from between 50 and 100 miles away. Cro-Magnon also cultivated a wider range of plants and animals. Its social life included more people coming together for longer periods and communicating over larger distances.
Tool transformation 
Compared to Neanderthals, Homo sapiens didn’t just make tools, they made tools for the development of tools. Homo sapiens made tools for working bone (ivory and antler). Furthermore unlike Neanderthals Cro-Magnon treated it differently than if it were flint. Bone is less brittle and softer than flint could be worked more readily to produce a number of otherwise impractical implements.
Another difference is that the tools of Homo sapiens took longer to make. Whereas Homo sapiens kept their tools, Neanderthals used their tools only for immediate use and then got rid of them. Therefore, Neanderthals put less effort into them. Homo sapiens also transformed the materials through heating and slow cooling. They did not simply accept the materials at hand in their natural state. 

Lastly the invention of the bow and arrow exploited the springing energy of the curve that the spear lacked. Compared to the spear the bow and arrow had more range and power. It was quieter, hence more of a surprise to whatever was being hunted. Furthermore, whereas a spear required vulnerability in that you have to spring out of a hiding place in order to throw it, using a bow and arrow would allow one to maintain cover, making its use less dangerous. Finally, the bow and arrow required less body preparation. With a spear, close fighting was required and injuries would be sustained. A bow and arrow is lethal at a distance. Homo sapiens were more ingenious in the use of fire. Whereas Neanderthals used fire, the fire was started on flat-living floor surfaces whereas Homo sapiens prepared hollows, encircled them in stone and scooped out the bottom to create a draft. While not all these tools and processes might have been used to create magical theatrics, it does show that we were in a more sophisticated position to exploit these materials when we were making magical theatrics.
 
Expanding social organization 
Why expand sociality? Twenty thousand years ago maximum advancement was reached by glaciers. This occurred at the same time as an increased efficiency in tool making. With rising population and competition for resources, groups had choices to either join into larger groups or try to survive in smaller groups. For those groups who chose to join other groups there was an increasing reliance on the large scale killing of animals and exploiting a wider range of species—limpets, mussels, salmon and more and more plants. Hunting in large groups required creating loyalties extending beyond self and a few blood relatives to wider and wider communities. Interestingly, Randall White points out that largest cave sites have the most portable art, meaning these large groups are mobile. This inter-group organization was for groups that rely heavily on hunting reindeer. This demanded aggregations and greater mobility and monitoring wider regions because reindeer migration routes are less predictable than the routes of many other game.
People coming together for mass hunts do not go their separate ways in a hurry. Everyone has a share in the enterprise. There are rules for dividing the spoils, meat to be distributed and stored, dried or smoked or put into deep-freeze. (pg. 61)
These groups are more likely to push themselves to expand their verbal language skills:
As people came together in massive hunts, they had more to say to each other. Vocabularies must have expanded to keep pace with the increasing numbers of items to name, more ways of doing things and things to do, more kinds of everything from tools and tool making to hearths, pavements…more gradations of meaning, more people, more intricate relationships between people and things and between people and people. At the same time, there may have been trends working in the other direction. Language may have evolved words designed to save words, to improve the efficiency, convenience and the speed of communicating.
On the other hand, when people rely on smaller game they tend to work in smaller groups, dispersing in families. There is no basis for group inequality to emerge because there is nothing holding people together in larger groups. But when groups rely on larger game and engage in mass hunts, or a resource is concentrated in a coastal setting with a rich resource base, they stay in one place year-round. The relationships between groups then becomes an issue. This is not to say there was equality within Neanderthal societies. However, what inequalities existed were between individuals, not subgroups. One indicator of status differences between subgroups of Homo sapiens is the use of ornaments to indicate status. As far as we know Neanderthals did not have status ornaments.
VIII The Origins of Image-Making in Homo sapiens 
Primary and secondary consciousness 
According to Gerald Edelman, the fundamental cell type in brains are neurons. Neurons are then connected to other neurons by synapses. These connections are facilitated by the generation of neurotransmitters, which are chemical substances that allow electrical impulses to cross over from one neuron to another. From this crossing over Edelman says this is how consciousness emerges. He divides consciousness into two types, primary and higher-order consciousness.
Primary consciousness includes chimps, most mammals, some birds and probably no reptiles. This world consists of being aware of things in the world and having mental images of them in the present but not in the past and future. Animals with primary consciousness see the room the way a beam of light illuminates it. Only that which is in the beam is explicitly in the remembered present while everything else is in darkness. It has long-term memory and can act on it. But it cannot be aware of that memory or plan an extended future for itself.
Higher order consciousness involves recognition by a thinking subject of his or her own acts or affectations. It has a model of the past and future in addition to the present. In higher order consciousness the subject is conscious of being conscious. This being can construct a socially based selfhood to model the world in terms of the past and the future. Why are we discussing this? Because it is connected to why only Homo sapiens, not Neanderthals, could have been co-creating magical theatrics.
Primary vs Higher Order Consciousness
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Primary consciousness</td>
<td>Category of Comparison</td>
<td>Higher Order Consciousness</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Awareness of things in the world</td>
<td>Range of awareness</td>
<td>Awareness of things in the world and awareness of self</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Mental images in the present</td>
<td>Mental Images and time</td>
<td>Mental images in past, present and future</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Has long-term memory but cannot be aware of it or act</td>
<td>Range of long term memory</td>
<td>Has long-term memory, can be aware of it and act on it</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No</td>
<td>Place of planning</td>
<td>Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Some birds, most mammals, chimps, not reptiles</td>
<td>Which species?</td>
<td>Humans, dolphins, crows, ravens</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Where do Neanderthals fit in?
How do we know Neanderthals didn’t paint in the caves? According to Lewis-Williams,
Neanderthals have a different type of consciousness and it precluded both image making and elaborate burial because of the neurological structure of their brains. Neanderthals could not:
<ul>
<li>remember and entertain mental imagery derived from a range of states of consciousness—introverted states, dreaming, altered states;</li>
<li>manipulate and share that imagery because they are not likely to have verbal language;</li>
<li>socialize that imagery or conceive of an alternative reality;</li>
<li>recognize a connection between mental images and two and three-dimensional images;</li>
<li>couldn’t recognize two and three dimensional representations of 3 dimensional things in the material world and</li>
<li>couldn’t live in accordance with social distinctions beyond physical.</li>
</ul>
In sum: Neanderthals had the neurological potential to experience dreams and hallucinations but not to remember them in any significant way; to act upon them or to use them as a basis for social discrimination.
Neanderthals vs Homo sapiens States: Prospects for Magical Theatrics
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Neanderthals</td>
<td>Category of Comparison</td>
<td>Homo sapiens
 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary consciousness</td>
<td>Level of consciousness</td>
<td>Higher order consciousness</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Present oriented</td>
<td>Hunting strategies</td>
<td>Past and future oriented
Can foresee the migration of herds in particular times and places</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Have it but not capable of long-term recollection of dreams and visions</td>
<td>Range of long-term memory</td>
<td>Improved memory made possible long-term recollections of dreams and visions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Could not conceive of a spirit world
No afterlife translated into burial sites</td>
<td>Implications for the spirit world</td>
<td>Can construct those recollections into the spirit world
Afterlife translated into burial sites</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No</td>
<td>Verbal language </td>
<td>Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Without verbal language dreams and experiences cannot be spoken to others and consolidated</td>
<td>Constrictions and possibilities of verbal language </td>
<td>With verbal language dreams and experiences can be spoken to others and consolidated</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>By not being able to socialize the imagery could not conceive of an alternative reality</td>
<td>Ability to conceive an alternative reality</td>
<td>By socializing the imagery we can conceive of an alternative reality</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
IX Magical Theatrics in the Service of Initiation Ceremonies 
Art of memory 
Pfeiffer argues that there are a number of ways of preparing the brain for altered states. These include sheer monotony—which includes solitary confinement; concentrating on a hypnotist’s words; isolating individuals in a dark soundproof chambers and immersing them under-water in tanks. Under all these conditions the brain begins to daydream. From this sensory deprivation in the caves the mind begins to wander. They are now in a middle zone. They have been pulled from the everyday world of moderate sensory information to a state of sensory deprivation. Now initiates are pulled to the other extreme of sensory saturation by sacred specialists. Sensory saturation includes dancing—slapping thighs, stamping on the ground or drumming. This intensifies and controls the twilight state. Percussion instruments and drums can affect the brain most strongly when it comes to evoking a twilight state. Drums stimulate the auditory cortex. Seven to nine beats per second is the same rhythm as brain waves. In this twilight state the person loses their guard. This includes: the ability to doubt; ask questions; criticize; distinguish between cause and effect and differentiate between fantasy and reality.
Pfeiffer emphasizes the importance of involving all the senses. The richer the experience, the more associations are attached to it the more widespread is its ripple in the brain and its ultimate representation in the hierarchies and networks of memory. These include the sight of painted bison, drumbeats like bison hoof beats, singing and chanting high-imagery words describing bison stampeding and dance based on movements of bison on the run. It is not just visual stimulation which occurred but it was coupled by acoustic stimulation:
Caves are wonderful places for acoustic as well as visual effects. Underground ceremonies must have been designed to take advantage of and shatter the silence as well as the darkness, to bombard the ear as well as the eye…Imagine the sound of bullroarer nearby in an underground labyrinth, the sound of flutes rising high and clear as a human cry or a bird from some place impossible to locate.
A song sung inside a tube-like corridor would not be heard until someone passed directly in front of the opening directly across the sound beam, which is roughly the acoustical equivalent of a light switch or coming suddenly around a bend upon an illuminated painting….anamorphic music could be created as readily as anamorphic art—music unrecognizable from one position and taking on the shape of a known melody from another.
But it is not only changing the normal input of the senses that is important. Telling stories which link all the new information into a framework is vital. How can words be used to stimulate memory? Any words that evoke action and emotional commitment are more easily remembered. Lastly, the ability to form images into the story serves memory well. The words should be middle level…not so abstract as to have no imagery, such as facts or statistics, but not so concrete as to limit the power of association and the power of suggestion.
Finally there is the perception of irregularity. This included bringing the participants to unfamiliar, alien and unpleasant places with significant changes in temperature, light and texture of the ground. These caves were cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. There is an intensity of shafts of light from the open air contrasted to the darkness of the caves. Both the floors and the ceilings were irregular. The floors were slippery in places with pits to fall into and rocks to trip over. The high contrast and unpredictability of perception has the effect of making people pay attention and alert, These may have the makings of flashbulb memories.
Initiation techniques 
The initiation process was a device used for preparing people for imprinting new information about other people, places and objects. The psychological impact is that of shaking the individual up by trying to erase or undermine their everyday world. When a participant is confused and uncertain about what is happening or about to happen coupled with the fear of being lost and never finding one’s way out the individual is more willing to believe almost anything. Imagine an individual going for days in an initiation ceremony without seeing anything but rocks and then suddenly seeing a painting. The meaning of the painting would be even more vivid.
Techniques were used to make images appear suddenly. Those initiated might be brought to a certain spot, blindfolded and then shown the painting. Another technique is leading people around a sharp bend into an illuminated side chamber. Still another device would be to hide and then run from the hiding place with burning torches into a dark painted chamber. As the anthropologist Victor Turner says, the novice is betwixt and between: he is ungrounded in the world he knows, yet he is not born anew. He lives in a state of “liminality” or “fruitful darkness”.
It is not just the environmental atmosphere that must be changed, but also the appearance of the people doing the initiating. The shaman had to look different than in everyday life to capture attention. Props included masks, body painting, exotic ornaments and amulets. The sounds needed to be different, uttering antique words and phrases along with messages associated with novelty and surprise.
Altered states can be induced by sensory deprivation, fatigue, pain, fasting and ingestion of psychotropic substances. The most common hallucinations include: death/killing; aggression/fighting drowning or going underwater; flight; sexual arousal/intercourse and body transformation (fusing with animals and the experience of bodily distortions). People saw walls of the cave as a membrane between themselves and spirit world and placed objects into the walls and floors of caves to send fragments of animals back through the membrane into the spirit world. The powers of the underworld allowed people to kill animals, provided people responded in certain ritual ways, such as taking fragments of animals into the caves and inserting them into the membrane.
From play to art: the adaptive advantage of the art in the caves
At the beginning of this article I wrote that Pfeiffer discussed how the advantages of play outweighed the costs in energy use, injuries and danger relative to possible predators. The same well may be true for the art in the caves. Apparently, the advantage of training for real-life fighting and escape tactics would be especially important in hunting large herd animals, less than in fighting other groups. Also, the importance building and sustaining relationships outweighed the time lost to feeding and resting or in the loss of energy. It would seem that the cost of losing some time as individuals resting and feeding is more than paid back by the group feeding and resting which would occur after the result of group work.
Furthermore, the ritualistic aspect of art would promote friendships among strangers who do not share a high proportion of their genes. Though the rituals promoted less individual innovative thinking in terms of the ability of the individual to act creatively, as a social being would be enhanced because they would be able to deal with large numbers of people, complex social relationships and more complex tools. While some of the rituals lead to serious physical injuries, the overall benefits of these rituals for social creativity must have outweighed the costs. The possibility that these rituals would distract individuals for the reality of other predators is not realistic given the intensely social nature of humanity. People do not spend all their time in the caves. Further, they have already learned that these caves are safe from other animals or they wouldn’t have been chosen as sites. The caves are used in the service of pragmatic social ends: surviving in a cold environment with less diversity of resources, while initiating through ritual the next generation.
X Why Magical Theatrics Should Matter to Socialists 
What is needed is not de-enchantment but re-enchantment 
I would think that socialists being social, would be hip to what is going on with these caves. After all, we must not only point out the manipulative nature of enchantment, but we need to be dialectical and ask how we could use these techniques we just discussed to promote socialism. The construction of a sacred space (whether a church or a ballpark), a dramatized story, ritualized gestures, and the use of music and the arts to alter consciousness is not just superstition in the service of the ruling class. Come on! What went on the caves occurred between egalitarian hunter gatherers. Marx’s claim that religion is the opiate of the people does not apply in his primitive communism of these hunter-gatherers. It is part of our bio-evolutionary heritage to be interested in these things. The alternative to a reified otherworldly religion is not de-enchantment of Max Weber, as so many dry-as-dust socialists seem to think. We must build a “this-worldly” pagan enchantment that is a foundation for socialist socialization for the next generation. The techniques used in the caves could be and were used for celebration of the change of seasons, pilgrimages, as well as just rites of passage ceremonies all informed by singing, dancing, sculpting, painting and mask-making.
Socialist holidays peppered throughout the year 
Socialism has certainly had its events that could be claimed as peak experiences or even religious experiences. Anyone who had participated in a revolution knows these moments are euphoric and unforgettable. Anyone who participated in the Occupy Movement will not soon forget it. But what about budding socialists who have never had revolutionary experiences? What do we have to offer them in the way of inspiring collective experiences before a revolutionary process begins? Throughout the year religion, nationalism and sports which
typical Marxists think of as oppressive escapist institutions aren’t only that. Baseball has its opening day in April, the All Star game is in July and the World Series is in October. Religion has its holy days peppered throughout the year. Nationalism has its holidays – President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. What is missing under socialism is a similar pageantry of rituals, joining in song and dance along with regular places to meet and celebrate. All of these things could build a theatrical stage scaffolding for extraordinary revolutionary events. Hunter gatherers in the cave knew this.
Rites of passage 
There is a sad lack of yearly seasonal rituals that keep the fires burning between one revolutionary generation and the next. Religion, nationalism and sports all have ways of linking the important events of the year to the lifetime of the individual. Catholics have confirmation at roughly the age of nine and Hispanic Catholics have a Quinceañera around a girl’s 15th birthday. The socialist and communist movements used to have youth groups which initiated them into socialism. People of different ages were given very specific tasks to do relative to up-coming campaigns. There were socialist children’s magazines and books. In his book Ritual, Politics and Power, David Kertzer points out that the Communist Party in Italy once competed with the Catholic Church over the right to baptize. They did something similar at funerals. Socialists badly need to get re-involved in rites of passage once again: socialist births and baptism, coming of age rituals, socialist marriages and socialist deaths. We can’t cede this to religious traditions. We can learn how to do this from Cro-Magnon in the Ice Age caves.
Making pilgrimages 
In San Francisco, once a year in July there is something called “LaborFest”. This is a month-long series of movies, talks, music, panels and plays held at various locations around the city. A comrade of mine would give a walking tour of downtown Oakland and revisit some of the various scenes of the General Strike in San Francisco. Between 50 and 100 people attended this walk every year. Most major cities in the United States have their version of special places connected to labor strikes. Why aren’t they celebrated? There could be LaborFests in every major city in Yankeedom!
In sports an individual might visit Cooperstown (Baseball’s Hall of Fame) for their birthday. Nationalism has its pilgrimages to the Washington monuments in the summer. What does socialism have to offer?? Would it be possible to have an experience of socialism before the revolution, Socialist need to be swept away. We need some Love Potion Number 9.
Singing and dancing 
Of course the mighty Internationale heads any list of music for socialists. Any of you who have seen the movie Reds will remember the scene of Jack Reed talking to Russian workers as the Internationale swelled in the background and the red flags flew. However, we have much more than just this song. Some of the best radical songs in the world came out of the Industrial Workers of the World songbook. Why aren’t these songs sung on a regular basis throughout the year by socialists, not just by Wobblies? Do socialists dance? Well of course we do, but not as much as we could. As Red Emma Goldman once said, “If I can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution”.
Sacred sites and new calendars 
In her book Romance of the Communist Party, Vivian Gornick reports that one of her interviewees told her of a co-operative housing development called United Workers Co-op Association consisting of two five-story buildings, each a block square. There were club rooms, meeting halls, a library, nursery schools, a community center, a print shop and an auditorium. People read, talked, held meetings, danced and flirted. It was a little city within a city. Janet Biehl, Murray Bookchin’s biographer, tells a story of how these places were a substitute home away from home for Murray. The buildings stayed open to the wee small hours of the morning. Why can’t we have these kinds of sacred sites again? During and after the French Revolution the leaders created a revolutionary calendar to symbolize breaking with the old world. Capitalism is failing badly. Don’t we need to get busy with drafts of a new world socialist calendar?
Bringing it on home 
To summarize, what we need is designated times of the year, perhaps every season, in which socialists in every major city come together, sing and dance across generations, celebrating “holy days”, the birthdays of the great socialists. At the same gatherings, there is time allotted to celebrate rites of passage and make pilgrimages to the scenes of the great labor struggles in that city.
I have no doubt many pagan socialists like Starhawk have already stepped forward to connect political activity with pagan rituals. There are many more processes to be connected and many more people are needed. Any socialists who have an appreciation for theatre, interior design and social psychology should step forward. More earth, less air; more water, less air; more fire, less air. This last section is heavily dependent on my article <a href="https://socialistplanningbeyondcapitalism.org/re-enchanting-socialism-how-not-to-throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater/">Re-enchanting Socialism: How Not to Throw the Baby With the Bath Water</a>
Conclusion 
I began my article by challenging the notion that all the arts are simply secular disciplines done to either satisfy the public or to find personal meaning. I argue that all the arts were once in the service of creating magical altered states of consciousness. I review other for theories of what went on in the caves: art for art’s sake; sympathetic hunting magic; conflicts between groups and Levi’s Strauss’s structuralism. I describe the sites and the routes in the caves and argue against the belief that the paintings in the caves could have been done by Neanderthals. I describe two states of consciousness, primary and higher order consciousness and conclude that only Homo sapiens have higher states of consciousness that could have made those paintings. I conclude that the paintings were done as part of a theatrical set to create an initiation ordeal. I close my article by arguing that socialists could learn a great deal from these rituals and the theatrical set could vitalize socialist rites of passage, pilgrimages, observation of yearly holidays as well as singing and dancing in the service of creating a socialist neo-pagan culture in the 21st century.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/magical-theatricality-in-the-ice-age-caves-why-it-should-matter-to-socialists/">Magical Theatricality in the Ice Age Caves: Why it Should Matter to Socialists</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>A Battle for Humane Consciousness in a War Against Truth: Exposing the Dark Arts of War</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/a-battle-for-humane-consciousness-in-a-war-against-truth-exposing-the-dark-arts-of-war/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Paul Haeder]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:04:12 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Assassinations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Bill Clinton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Capitalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Conspiracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Corporations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Corruption]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[False Flag]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fascism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Militarism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Neoliberalism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Whistleblowing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alien Tort Claims Act]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Allen Ginsberg]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Covert Action Magazine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Diana Johnstone]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Edward S. Herman]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Howard Zinn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jeremy Kuzmarov]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[John Pilger]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Laura Flanders]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Leonard Peltier]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Michael Parenti]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Noam Chomsky]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Philip Agee]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ramsey Clark]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sara Flounders]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ward churchill]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159502</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The total liberation and unification of Africa under an All-African Socialist Government must be the primary objective of all Black revolutionaries throughout the world. It is an objective which, when achieved, will bring about the fulfillment of the aspirations of Africans and people of African descent everywhere. It will at the same time advance the […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/a-battle-for-humane-consciousness-in-a-war-against-truth-exposing-the-dark-arts-of-war/">A Battle for Humane Consciousness in a War Against Truth: Exposing the Dark Arts of War</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The total liberation and unification of Africa under an All-African Socialist Government must be the primary objective of all Black revolutionaries throughout the world. It is an objective which, when achieved, will bring about the fulfillment of the aspirations of Africans and people of African descent everywhere. It will at the same time advance the triumph of the international socialist revolution, and the onward progress towards world communism, under which, every society is ordered on the principle of –from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
— Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah
Jeremy Kuzmarov was kind to spend an hour with me, since I am much more polemical and hyperbolic than his measured writing belies. I’ve written numerous times why it is I am now switched to write THAT way, and there is no need for me to defend my rhetoric and utilizing some of the 11 forms of propaganda Edward Bernays and Goebbels and Madison Avenue and Hasbara Industry deploy.
We talked about his new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1949762769/dissivoice-20">Warmonger: How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the US Trajectory from Bush II to Biden</a>, Clarity Press, Inc., 2023.
Here, this book is divided into thirteen chapters and provides a comprehensive overview of Clinton’s foreign policy across the globe. Utilizing archival research from the Clinton Presidential Library, oral history interviews, alongside a plethora of newspapers and scholarship focusing on the 1990s, Kuzmarov provides succinct overviews of high-profile and well-known events, such as genocide in the Balkans and in Rwanda, and lesser-known case studies such as the administration’s disastrous reworking of the Russian economy or Clinton’s support for dictators in Africa. Kuzmarov makes the salient point that despite rhetoric to the contrary, Clinton was never interested in human rights or humanitarianism when it came to intervention. Rather, the administration was quick to set aside human rights when it served its interests.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UWM9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F95facd25-7434-483c-b983-fc4befe68fbd_605x449.png" alt="" width="355" height="264" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/95facd25-7434-483c-b983-fc4befe68fbd_605x449.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":449,"width":605,"resizeWidth":533,"bytes":475951,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F95facd25-7434-483c-b983-fc4befe68fbd_605x449.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="Cover of Warmonger (photo of Bill Clinton)" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!83YM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F532fa009-74a7-470e-995c-a553dc6ad4df_853x1275.jpeg" alt="Cover of Warmonger (photo of Bill Clinton)" width="358" height="535" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/532fa009-74a7-470e-995c-a553dc6ad4df_853x1275.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":1275,"width":853,"resizeWidth":452,"bytes":null,"alt":"Cover of Warmonger (photo of Bill Clinton)","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
With those Clinton years, we have had the perfect caldron of the witch’s and devil’s brew of a slim-ball, a Cecil Rhodes and Chatam House rodent, and not America’s first Black or Republican president, Clinton working his dark arts with the neo-cons and neoliberals and the imperialists.
Here’s the book’s blurb:
<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/alternative_opinions_119_12x9_ink_on_paper_w.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-159446" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/alternative_opinions_119_12x9_ink_on_paper_w-225x300.png" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/alternative_opinions_119_12x9_ink_on_paper_w-225x300.png 225w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/alternative_opinions_119_12x9_ink_on_paper_w-768x1024.png 768w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/alternative_opinions_119_12x9_ink_on_paper_w.png 900w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a>
<blockquote>During the 2016 presidential election, many younger voters repudiated Hillary Clinton because of her husband’s support for mass incarceration, banking deregulation and free-trade agreements that led many U.S. jobs to be shipped overseas. Warmonger: How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the Trajectory from Bush II to Biden, shows that Clinton’s foreign policy was just as bad as his domestic policy. Cultivating an image as a former anti-Vietnam War activist to win over the aging hippie set in his early years, as president, Clinton bombed six countries and, by the end of his first term, had committed U.S. troops to 25 separate military operations, compared to 17 in Ronald Reagan’s two terms. Clinton further expanded America’s covert empire of overseas surveillance outposts and spying and increased the budget for intelligence spending and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a CIA offshoot which promoted regime change in foreign nations.
The latter was not surprising because, according to CIA operative Cord Meyer Jr., Clinton had been recruited into the CIA while a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and as Governor of Arkansas in the 1980s he had allowed clandestine arms and drug flights to Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries (Contras) backed by the CIA to be taken from Mena Airport in the western part of the state. Rather than being a time of tranquility when the U.S. failed to pay attention to the gathering storm of terrorism, as New York Times columnist David Brooks frames it, the Clinton presidency saw rising tensions among the U.S., China and Russia because of Clinton’s malign foreign policies, and U.S. complicity in terrorist acts.
In so many ways, Clinton’s presidency set the groundwork for the disasters that were to follow under Bush II, Obama, Trump, and Biden. It was Clinton―building off of Reagan―who first waged a War on Terror ridden with double standards, one that adopted terror tactics, including extraordinary rendition, bombing and the use of drones. It was Clinton who cried wolf about human rights abuses and the need to protect beleaguered peoples from genocide to justify military intervention in a post-Cold War age. And it was Clinton’s administration that pressed for regime change in Iraq and raised public alarm about the mythic WMDs―all while relying on fancy new military technologies and private military contractors to distance US shady military interventions from the public to limit dissent.</blockquote>
We spent a lot of time looking at the history of Covert Action Bulletin. We talked about language, the so-called alternative press, what real liberalism was and how liberalism now is an evil spin factory of the neoliberal variety.
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>controlled opposition</li>
<li>limited hangout</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Discredit, disrupt, and destroy</li>
<li>Operation Paperclip</li>
<li>ECHELON</li>
<li>MKUltra</li>
<li>DARPA</li>
</ul>
The list goes on and on and on. Phoenix Program? We know Covert Programs need Covert Action.
LANGUAGE. That whole concept of people berating me for reading CAM articles, for citing guys like William Blum or Douglas Valentine or Jeremy, it’s all based on the language of the oppressed, the amnesiac, colonized, lobotomized, brainwashed, miseducated, anesthetized.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia - Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PewyoiHWWDY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div id="youtube2-PewyoiHWWDY" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"PewyoiHWWDY","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!f4kq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F83e516b9-2fd5-45ae-8812-ddcc579dcd79_543x710.png" alt="" width="382" height="499" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/83e516b9-2fd5-45ae-8812-ddcc579dcd79_543x710.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":710,"width":543,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
The idea of the CIA being the premier agency of no good, murder incorporated, full of machinations on economic hits and country destabilization.
Yes, the Mossad has taken CIA and British intelligence agencies up a few notches, but we both agree that this was planned, or part of the plan.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2SG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F013c8904-b716-480d-a3ab-d3f7bfd9be6c_647x210.png" alt="" width="459" height="149" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/013c8904-b716-480d-a3ab-d3f7bfd9be6c_647x210.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":210,"width":647,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":27397,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F013c8904-b716-480d-a3ab-d3f7bfd9be6c_647x210.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
You can go to Covert Action Magazine and hit any number of topic arenas you might fancy as your primary interest: social justice issues including intervention, war, covert action, intelligence, political economy, imperialism, labor, repression, surveillance, media, racial justice, sexism, environmentalism, and immigration
By Chris Agee
CovertAction Magazine began publishing in 1978 as a newsletter called Covert Action Information Bulletin (CAIB) and later as CovertAction Quarterly (CAQ). The magazine developed a following not as a conspiracy-theory-related publication, but as a source for reliable, consistent, and accurate investigative reporting.
Originally, CAIB was a watchdog journal that focused on the abuses and activities of the CIA, yet it has gradually evolved into a more general, progressive investigative magazine.
CAIB was cofounded and copublished by Ellen Ray, William Schaap, and Louis Wolf, along with former CIA agents such as James and Elsie Wilcott, and Philip Agee, author of Inside the Company: CIA Diary and On The Run.
Following in the tradition of CounterSpy Magazine (1973-1984)—with whom the founders of CAIB had originally worked—highlights of CAIB included the notorious “Naming Names” column, which printed the names of CIA officers under diplomatic cover. These were tracked through exhaustive research in the State Department Biographic Register and various domestic and international diplomatic lists.
This column, and others like it, came to an end in 1982 when the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was signed into law by Ronald Reagan. CAIB had to end the “Naming Names” column, but more significantly, the act required that magazines such as CAIB be more wary about the names they published within the articles of their contributors. This was particularly significant after December 1975 when Richard S. Welch, a CIA station chief, was assassinated in Athens, Greece. CounterSpy was criticized by both the CIA and the press for its exposure of the agent’s name.
While almost every issue focused on the CIA and its activities in regions like Central America and Southeast Asia, CAIB also covered the CIA interference in the domestic media and on university campuses, as well as a wider range of domestic and international political issues. Occasionally, CAIB dedicated entire issues to surveillance technologies, the U.S. prison system, the environment, Mad Cow disease, AIDS, ECHELON, media cover-ups, Iraqi sanctions, and the so-called “war against drugs.”
Contributing authors have included intellectuals, writers, and activists such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Sara Flounders, Philip Agee, John Pilger, Ramsey Clark, Leonard Peltier, Allen Ginsberg, Diana Johnstone, Laura Flanders, Edward S. Herman, and Ward Churchill.
In 1992, with Issue 43, CAIB changed its name to CovertAction Quarterly (CAQ). As a 64 to 78-page magazine published four times a year, the publication became fondly known as the magazine “recommended by Noam Chomsky; targeted by the CIA.” CAQ had a reputation for beating to the punch more mainstream standard-bearers, such as the New York Times.
In 1995, it covered the genocide in Rwanda and U.S. complicity in those events, years before any other publication cared to notice; it ran in-depth investigative articles on the rise of homegrown militias before the Oklahoma bombing; and it was the first U.S. publication to reveal the existence of ECHELON (the security agencies’ surveillance software).
CAQ was the regular recipient of the annual Project Censored awards for the Top 25 Censored Stories.
Twenty-eighteen was the 40th anniversary of the founding of CovertAction and its publisher Covert Action Publications, Inc. Former writers and publishers of CAIB and CAQ relaunched as CovertAction Magazine (CAM).
The relaunch team also intends to publish several books including an annual compilation of the best of CAM, an encyclopedia of espionage and a republication of CIA Diary: Inside the Company and On The Run by Philip Agee, volumes which will include Philip Agee’s iconic articles and papers.
The relaunch team is headed up by the co-founder, publisher and writer, Louis Wolf, as well as our tried and true investigative journalists, professors, organizers, funders, proofreaders and legal representation. The expanded team includes Chris Agee, William Blum, Jack Colhoun, Michel Chossudovsky, Mark Cook, Jennifer Harbury, Bill Montross, Immanuel Ness, James Petras, Karen Ranucci, Stephanie Reich, Hobart Spalding, Victor Wallis and Melvin L. Wulf, all of whom worked with, and/or wrote for, the magazine in the past.
New talent that has come on board for the relaunch include Sam Alcoff, Steve Brown, Tom Burgess, Hester Eisenstein, Victoria Gamez, David Giglio, Josh Klein, Maureen LaMar, Michael Locker, and Chuck Mohan, to name a few.
All together, the expanded team specializes in a variety of social justice issues including intervention, war, covert action, intelligence, political economy, imperialism, labor, repression, surveillance, media, racial justice, sexism, environmentalism, and immigration. See our <a href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/about-us/" rel="">masthead</a> for more details.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="CovertAction Magazine" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S6_P!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2af45591-d744-4757-92c6-4fc6c07f749e_381x132.jpeg" alt="CovertAction Magazine" width="358" height="124" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2af45591-d744-4757-92c6-4fc6c07f749e_381x132.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":132,"width":381,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"CovertAction Magazine","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
The <a href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/archives/" rel="">archives </a>will illustrate the beginnings of the hard copy newsletter/magazine — Archives /CovertAction Magazine.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="Archives - CovertAction Magazine" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Oty!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd32acf7-c21b-49ac-b238-8755c9ec0d49_525x709.png" alt="Archives - CovertAction Magazine" width="366" height="494" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd32acf7-c21b-49ac-b238-8755c9ec0d49_525x709.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":709,"width":525,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"Archives - CovertAction Magazine","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Interestingly enough, Jeremy has had his hit entry into the propaganda machine, Canary Mission, updated after his article appeared both on his Substack and in CAM: <a href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/2024/10/07/on-the-one-year-anniversary-of-october-7-it-is-clear-we-were-not-told-the-truth/" rel="">On the One-Year Anniversary of October 7, It is Clear We Were Not Told The Truth</a>
Imagine that title’s subordinate first clause being replaced by any number of topics
<ul>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of the Planned SARS-CoV2 pandemic</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of the USS Liberty</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of September 11</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of Gulf on Tonkin</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of War on Terror</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of US Patriot Act</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of Bush, Biden, Obama, Trump Administrations</li>
<li>On the One-Year Anniversary of / / /</li>
</ul>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!drcK!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F99220115-1965-47b5-879b-5bc83d7058f5_696x464.jpeg" alt="" width="403" height="268" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/99220115-1965-47b5-879b-5bc83d7058f5_696x464.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":464,"width":696,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Pearl Harbor?
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="A large ship that is being hit by a large ship Description automatically generated with medium confidence" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jjWf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7fcff757-ddd0-4eef-8fb3-9eb494d1efcb_696x412.jpeg" alt="A large ship that is being hit by a large ship Description automatically generated with medium confidence" width="453" height="268" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7fcff757-ddd0-4eef-8fb3-9eb494d1efcb_696x412.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":412,"width":696,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"A large ship that is being hit by a large ship\n\nDescription automatically generated with medium confidence","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Sinking of the Lusitania?
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="A large ship in the water Description automatically generated" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KaYd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F37ae585f-7c40-498c-9bf4-d34cd4312715_696x415.jpeg" alt="A large ship in the water Description automatically generated" width="399" height="238" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/37ae585f-7c40-498c-9bf4-d34cd4312715_696x415.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":415,"width":696,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"A large ship in the water\n\nDescription automatically generated","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vVNa!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F244115c5-6d5e-44b2-951c-33091d7edda0_4918x2918.jpeg" alt="Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia" width="487" height="289" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/244115c5-6d5e-44b2-951c-33091d7edda0_4918x2918.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":864,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Here’s Jeremy’s ending to that article:
<blockquote>In that case, a British commission uncovered that the Lusitania—carrying more than 100 American passengers from the U.S. to Europe (over 1,000 died overall)—was rigged with explosives, though the destruction of the ship was blamed on Germany.
Winston Churchill, then the First Lord of the Admiralty, withheld rescue boats to maximize the number of deaths. The aim was to generate enough outrage for the U.S. public to want to go to war against Germany.<a href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/2024/10/07/on-the-one-year-anniversary-of-october-7-it-is-clear-we-were-not-told-the-truth/#post-71244-footnote-4" rel="">[5]</a>
Evidence indicates that Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted the same strategy of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt in sacrificing the lives of his own people in order to arouse enough anger to generate support for war.
Roosevelt and Churchill are today regarded as national heroes in their respective countries, though Netanyahu is likely to go down in history as a villain, along with his American sponsors. This is because the Israelis have failed to earn a heroic victory against Gaza and have horrified much of the world with the atrocities that they have committed.</blockquote>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fKRH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F457cced6-5810-4575-8274-e60254bde551_672x387.png" alt="" width="528" height="304" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/457cced6-5810-4575-8274-e60254bde551_672x387.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":387,"width":672,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":341696,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F457cced6-5810-4575-8274-e60254bde551_672x387.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<blockquote>Overview
Jeremy Kuzmarov <a href="https://archive.ph/Xqi2u" rel="">spread</a> anti-Israel conspiracy theories during Israel’s war against <a href="https://canarymission.org/organization/Hamas" rel="">Hamas</a>. He has also <a href="https://archive.ph/6ihT5" rel="">expressed</a> hatred of Israel and is a <a href="https://archive.ph/xTcMt#selection-993.5-993.41" rel="">supporter</a> of the <a href="https://canarymission.org/organization/Boycott_Divestment_Sanctions" rel="">Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)</a> movement.</blockquote>
These Mitzvah Elves, man, this fucking Canary Mission putting thousands of good honest thinkers onto their web site to incite hatred and deplatforming and doxing and you name it:
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hwnQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98d2c01c-281f-4def-8e3d-57760285464d_670x368.png" alt="" width="670" height="368" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/98d2c01c-281f-4def-8e3d-57760285464d_670x368.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":368,"width":670,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":272280,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98d2c01c-281f-4def-8e3d-57760285464d_670x368.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Continuing with the hateful Canary Mission:
Hatred of Israel
On June 8, 2017, Kuzmarov published an article titled: “Six-Day War A Turning Point In Passionate Attachment To Israel.”
In the article, Kusmarov wrote how the Six-Day War transformed “Israel into an occupier” of “historic Palestine (West Bank and Gaza).”
Kuzmarov further stated in his article:
<blockquote>“The myth of Israel as a humane and embattled David fighting the Arab Goliath has been debunked in recent years, with world opinion expressing growing sympathy for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.”</blockquote>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="Canary Mission - Wikipedia" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JgZZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F55bd3f66-8f1a-460f-ada1-c5978167d9de_110x142.webp" alt="Canary Mission - Wikipedia" width="110" height="142" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/55bd3f66-8f1a-460f-ada1-c5978167d9de_110x142.webp","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":142,"width":110,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"Canary Mission - Wikipedia","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div></div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Do0O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4cb7908b-1c7b-4679-ab01-708bf804a12a_957x256.png" alt="" width="551" height="147" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4cb7908b-1c7b-4679-ab01-708bf804a12a_957x256.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":256,"width":957,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":201582,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4cb7908b-1c7b-4679-ab01-708bf804a12a_957x256.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Read: <a href="https://thegrayzone.com/2018/08/22/meet-the-owner-of-canary-missions-anonymous-anti-palestinian-blacklisting-website/">Who is behind Canary Mission’s anonymous anti-Palestinian blacklisting website?</a> by Hamzah Raza and Max Blumenthal·August 22, 2018
We talked about education, the movement within higher education to suppress and single out and even fire peace activists fighting to expose the lies of Israel, AIPAC, Jewish ties to genocide, both within Israel and outside it.
He’s an adjunct professor at Tulsa Community College, and he says his students in his history courses are for the most part open to learning and getting deep into the reveal, that is, to look at the real history of America, to get to the underbelly and to question their own blinded brainwashing and the grand and meta-hyper narratives of this land tis of thee.
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!k5N-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb8086322-e5ea-4208-904f-f7cb193044b0_983x457.png" alt="" width="549" height="255" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b8086322-e5ea-4208-904f-f7cb193044b0_983x457.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":457,"width":983,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":213768,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb8086322-e5ea-4208-904f-f7cb193044b0_983x457.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
My show, Finding Fringe, airs Wednesdays, 6 pm PST, this one with Jeremy is all the way to Sept. 3. Above is a great line-up via Zoom Doom, with amazing people I have followed over the past few years.
Topics of Discussion:
<ul>
<li>Operation Timber Sycamore – Unpacking the U.S.-backed CIA program and its impact.</li>
<li>Empowering al Qaeda – Examining how covert foreign support fueled extremist groups</li>
<li>Genocide of Syrian Minorities – Investigating the targeted violence against ethnic and religious communities</li>
</ul>
Featured Speakers:
<ul>
<li>Dan Kovalik – Human rights lawyer and author</li>
<li>Fiorella Isabel – Investigative journalist and analyst</li>
<li>Ben Arthur Thomason – Researcher and peace advocate</li>
<li>Vanessa Beeley – War correspondent and independent journalist</li>
</ul>
Tickets: Just $25! All proceeds support CAM’s independent investigative journalism and fundraising initiatives.
*****
Support CAM and send an email to KYAQ and thank them for running my hour-long weekly shows:
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="KYAQ Radio 91.7 FM" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p_Tb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8e1c3bab-ed1f-4e16-9e0f-426f61fbc42e_225x225.jpeg" alt="KYAQ Radio 91.7 FM" width="225" height="225" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8e1c3bab-ed1f-4e16-9e0f-426f61fbc42e_225x225.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":225,"width":225,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"KYAQ Radio 91.7 FM","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div></div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
6 pm to 7 Wednesdays
July 2 will be Freedom Farms. Working the soil when leaving incarceration — https://freedom-farms.org/
July 9, reintroducing Sea Otters to Oregon with Chanel Hason, Elakha Alliance — https://www.elakhaalliance.org/
July 16, Nigeria, Madu Smart Ajaja, from Houston, talking about his country Nigeria.
Will Potter, Green is the New Red and his newest book, Little Red Barns, July 23: Animal rights and gag laws and designating farm animal rights folk as terrorists. == https://www.willpotter.com/
July 30 local woman, from Waldport, fighting the City Manager and road crew, Teresa Carter.
August 6 Wisconsin’s Draconian probation provisos on steroids, and other issues around the prison industrial complex with Kelly Kloss.
Max Wilbert, Bright Green Lies, and with CELDF, and an environmental sanity warrior. 13 August. — https://celdf.org/ <a class="embedded-publication-link-part" href="https://maxwilbert.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=publication_embed&utm_medium=web" rel="">Biocentric with Max Wilbert</a>
<div class="embedded-publication-wrap" data-attrs="{"id":555107,"name":"Biocentric with Max Wilbert","logo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iX65!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8d57298e-193e-48a2-8b13-a567fe0ec716_665x665.png","base_url":"https://maxwilbert.substack.com","hero_text":"Weekly updates on energy, sustainability, and frontline struggles for environmental justice in a world spiraling deeper into ecological crisis. ","author_name":"Max Wilbert","show_subscribe":true,"logo_bg_color":"#f5f5f5","language":"en"}" data-component-name="EmbeddedPublicationToDOMWithSubscribe">
<div class="embedded-publication show-subscribe">Don Gomez, Stern Castle Publishing, August 20.</div>
</div>
Taylor Yount, with her new book, My Sutured Mind: Poems of Healing Beyond Trauma, with local Ukrainian artist, Veta Bakhtina, artwork. August 27.
September 3, Jeremy Kuzmarov, author of five books, his latest being, Warmonger: How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the US Trajectory from Bush II to Biden and managing editor of Covert Action Magazine — https://covertactionmagazine.com/
Zachary Stocks, Executive Director, Oregon Black Pioneers September 10 == https://oregonblackpioneers.org/
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hHX4_pfkxkl8IccMoaBXYMFrNeAmtxmK/view?usp=sharing" rel="">My interview June 27 with Jeremy Kuzmarov.</a>
*****
I’m not sure if CAM has had Amaju Baraka on as a guest or writer, but I highly recommend his most recent interview here:
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HorY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc011f9e1-7cf2-4937-8904-bc64516ca2cf_1149x646.png" alt="" width="504" height="283" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c011f9e1-7cf2-4937-8904-bc64516ca2cf_1149x646.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":646,"width":1149,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":923669,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc011f9e1-7cf2-4937-8904-bc64516ca2cf_1149x646.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Ajamu Baraka Speaks on Israel, Iran, and Zionism" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xo45u9dU9k8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div id="youtube2-Xo45u9dU9k8" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"Xo45u9dU9k8","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM">
<div class="youtube-inner"></div>
</div>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="Palestine — The Black Alliance for Peace" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4mzD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd61c01b4-2400-4849-9b9a-cdf355ea1af5_1600x900.jpeg" alt="Palestine — The Black Alliance for Peace" width="520" height="292" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d61c01b4-2400-4849-9b9a-cdf355ea1af5_1600x900.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":819,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"Palestine — The Black Alliance for Peace","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ijeE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F23ad1744-b515-4288-9cda-819a2a46771e_662x851.png" alt="" width="540" height="693" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/23ad1744-b515-4288-9cda-819a2a46771e_662x851.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":851,"width":662,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":334299,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F23ad1744-b515-4288-9cda-819a2a46771e_662x851.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!75sf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0689c7ef-de09-4c01-a772-51d16108080c_1846x858.png" alt="" width="443" height="206" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0689c7ef-de09-4c01-a772-51d16108080c_1846x858.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":677,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":2679699,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0689c7ef-de09-4c01-a772-51d16108080c_1846x858.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
Black Alliance for Peace Condemns the U.S. and Israeli Final Solution for Gaza and the West Bank 
Justice Demands Action against Zionism, not Hypocritical Rhetoric from the States of the “West”
<blockquote>Just as Nazi Germany sought the total elimination of Jewish life, the state of Israel, with full U.S. support, is now openly pursuing the systematic annihilation of the people of Gaza, the acceleration of mass displacement in the West Bank, and the denial of Palestinian nationhood itself. Those who dare to speak out are vilified, censored, or stripped of their livelihoods, ensuring complicity through coercion. The Black Alliance for Peace rejects this moral and political blackmail. True solidarity demands courage—refusing to be silenced or pacified as we witness, document, and resist this ongoing genocide. History will judge not only the perpetrators but also those who stood by in cowardly silence…
Those with the power to do so can either take such measures or abdicate their humanity. Palestine will not be free until Zionism, along with all white supremacist ideologies, is defeated. BAP will continue to do everything in its power to ensure the final defeat of global white supremacy that is materially grounded in imperialism.</blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KZx6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F654ffcb8-a12b-4c90-aa74-9b68dd12fb77_1835x840.png" alt="" width="486" height="223" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/654ffcb8-a12b-4c90-aa74-9b68dd12fb77_1835x840.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":667,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":1277609,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F654ffcb8-a12b-4c90-aa74-9b68dd12fb77_1835x840.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<a href="https://aaprp-intl.org/we-stand-with-iran/" rel="">We Stand With Iran</a> 19 June 2025 By A-APRP
<blockquote>The illegal zionist state of Israel started bombing Iran on Friday, June 13th, 2025. The aerial bombing coincided with the assassination of a number of scientists, generals and civilians. This unprovoked, criminal assault was accompanied by sabotage of government facilities, drone attacks on civilian infrastructure and the unleashing of internal cells loyal to the west, determined to dismantle the Iranian state. Taken as a whole the military assault is eerily reminiscent of the 2011 attack on Libya that killed Muammar Gaddafi and devastated Africa’s most progressive nation state.
This is all done to ensure US dominance in the region under the pretext of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The capitalist mainstream media, the US Government, and Israel are claiming Israel is protecting itself from a powerful nuclear neighbor. But a careful analysis reveals a quite different reality. Firstly, Israel is the state that possesses nuclear weapons. They are aggressors claiming to be victims. Secondly Israel is nothing more than a proxy of US led imperialism, which wants to economically and militarily dominate the region. This is part of the imperialist plan to dominate the world.
The zionist state of Israel was created to serve the interests of imperialism by establishing an imperialist fortress in Western Asia.
Last Gasp Of A Dying Monster (The Imperialist Military Assault)
Imperialism (through the zionist entity in Israel) instituted regime change in Syria, and executed genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. Iran supports the Palestinians with arms, money, training and material. Iran is now being targeted for regime change.
We must also take note that these Imperialist/zionist forces are not confining their military activity to one country or region. While a new war rages in Iran, imperialism creates ongoing conflicts of various types in the Western Sahara, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, DRC, Sudan, Guinea Bissau, the Alliance For Sahelian States (which includes Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso), Venezuela, Nicaraqua, Cuba, North Korea, Haiti, Russia, China and other places throughout the world. This is in fact an imperialist policy of Full Spectrum Domination.
The U.S. has at least 45 military bases surrounding Iran and the US has already threatened Iran declaring,“If Iran attacks any U.S. military bases we will bomb Iran with the likes they have never seen”. After lying about their involvement in the attacks on Iran by Israelis the US president went on to say, “We gave them a chance to negotiate a peace agreement and they wouldn’t agree to our terms.” So, now they will have to come to the negotiation table and agree to our terms.”
This is how the dying capitalists/imperialists act in their last stage of existence. They engage in multiple wars, terrorism and genocide as they are declining. They try to kill, terrorize as many people and nations as possible. But, they have been losing militarily, economically and politically everywhere. Including losing the propaganda war around the world.
…
The Significance of Pan-Africanism
A new wave of anti-neo colonial resistance that is sweeping Africa is reshaping oil and gas politics, challenging imperialist dominance, and aligning with the BRICS led push to “de-dollarize” the world’s economy. This movement is driven by youth uprisings, military coups, formation of alliances, and rising ideological awareness that imperialism is the enemy of humanity. </blockquote>
*****
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" title="A couple of men holding guns AI-generated content may be incorrect." src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l_KU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F229a40d1-c339-4488-8adf-1db66923506f_696x456.jpeg" alt="A couple of men holding guns AI-generated content may be incorrect." width="490" height="321" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/229a40d1-c339-4488-8adf-1db66923506f_696x456.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":456,"width":696,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"A couple of men holding guns\n\nAI-generated content may be incorrect.","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
Dan’s a regular CAM columnist: <a href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/2025/06/20/the-war-on-iran-has-been-long-in-the-making-and-the-u-s-is-already-a-party-to-it/">The War on Iran Has Been Long in the Making, and the U.S. Is Already a Party to It</a>
This is one measure of the talent and deep thinkers over at CAM: Daniel Kovalik graduated from Columbia University School of Law in 1993. He then served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO (USW) until 2019.
While with the USW, he worked on Alien Tort Claims Act cases against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond and Occidental Petroleum—cases arising out of egregious human rights abuses in Colombia.
The Christian Science Monitor, referring to his work defending Colombian unionists under threat of assassination, described Mr. Kovalik as “one of the most prominent defenders of Colombian workers in the United States.”
Mr. Kovalik received the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford University School of Law and was the recipient of the Project Censored Award for his article exposing the unprecedented killing of trade unionists in Colombia.
He has written extensively on the issue of international human rights and U.S. foreign policy for the Huffington Post and Counterpunch and has lectured throughout the world on these subjects. He is the author of several books including The Plot To Overthrow Venezuela, How The US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil, which includes a Foreword by Oliver Stone; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1510739343?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_PR9Q66Q7WYRCXWTV9Q2G&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_PR9Q66Q7WYRCXWTV9Q2G&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_PR9Q66Q7WYRCXWTV9Q2G&bestFormat=true&titleSource=avft-a&previewDoh=1" rel="">The Plot to Attack Iran: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Iran</a>; and with Jeremy Kuzmarov, <a href="https://www.barakabooks.com/catalogue/syria-anatomy-of-regime-change/" rel="">Syria: Anatomy of a Regime Change</a>.
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9EYW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F120387ba-b8b1-4bab-a40a-3db52d0a26c8_616x338.png" alt="" width="423" height="232" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/120387ba-b8b1-4bab-a40a-3db52d0a26c8_616x338.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":338,"width":616,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":308946,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F120387ba-b8b1-4bab-a40a-3db52d0a26c8_616x338.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Michael Parenti:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Michael Parenti: Conspiracy And Class Power (Berkeley, CA)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pq8LwEoYRcc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div id="youtube2-Pq8LwEoYRcc" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"Pq8LwEoYRcc","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM">
<div class="youtube-inner">Jeremy and I talked about that, calling people like CAM writers and readers “nuts”, conspiracy nuts. Imagine that, so, these lobbies, these collective K=Street organizations and their legal squads/associations/groups, no, there are no conspiracies to COVER UP there!</div>
</div>
Total number of registered lobbyists in the United States from 2000 to 2024
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6weH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4bf59f76-098f-41bc-9678-91e94276af28_775x542.png" alt="" width="563" height="393" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4bf59f76-098f-41bc-9678-91e94276af28_775x542.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":542,"width":775,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":34992,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4bf59f76-098f-41bc-9678-91e94276af28_775x542.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Yeah, so billions a year spent by lobbies — just call them protection rackets or overt and covert organizations/cartels representing not just special interest a or b, but collectively, representing the entire fucking corporations and groups just in one arena:
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!V9yn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F31f484ec-5223-4f53-8f15-3fca225b0418_765x530.png" alt="" width="560" height="388" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/31f484ec-5223-4f53-8f15-3fca225b0418_765x530.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":530,"width":765,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":41161,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F31f484ec-5223-4f53-8f15-3fca225b0418_765x530.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
 
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S7In!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0afe2907-15c9-4af2-9787-537cc5399b6e_754x636.png" alt="" width="581" height="490" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0afe2907-15c9-4af2-9787-537cc5399b6e_754x636.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":636,"width":754,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":40522,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0afe2907-15c9-4af2-9787-537cc5399b6e_754x636.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Nah, not undue influence? In 2024, the groups that spent the most on lobbying were the National Association of Realtors, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Hospital Association, and the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America.
1,517 (55.04%)
The number of pharmaceutical/health product lobbyists in the United States and the percentage who are former government employees, as of June 1, 2025.
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ffy1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F52887fad-852d-4252-ae84-91698faa6c52_758x503.jpeg" alt="" width="557" height="369" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/52887fad-852d-4252-ae84-91698faa6c52_758x503.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":503,"width":758,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
You thought it was offensive weapons companies? Why, when the Military Mercenaries have their own taxpayer paid for mafia —
Military Departments:
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TKc2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5ac9194-4079-4f0d-b9e7-0e9761bf44ef_758x503.jpeg" alt="" width="537" height="356" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a5ac9194-4079-4f0d-b9e7-0e9761bf44ef_758x503.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":503,"width":758,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Responsible for organizing, training, and equipping land forces.
Department of the Navy: Includes the Navy and Marine Corps, responsible for sea-based and amphibious operations.
Department of the Air Force: Responsible for air and space operations.
Other Key Components:
Joint Chiefs of Staff:
A group of high-ranking military officers who advise the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council on military matters.
Unified Combatant Commands:
Eleven regional or functional commands responsible for military operations in specific areas or for specific functions. Examples include U.S. Central Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and U.S. Cyber Command.
Defense Agencies:
Various agencies that provide specialized support to the military departments and combatant commands, such as the Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
<div class="captioned-image-container">
<figure>
<div class="image2-inset">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pKvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb7ff178-ed55-4bee-a514-ed5bb1025044_488x326.png" alt="" width="437" height="292" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/db7ff178-ed55-4bee-a514-ed5bb1025044_488x326.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":326,"width":488,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":294781,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb7ff178-ed55-4bee-a514-ed5bb1025044_488x326.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
<div class="image-link-expand">
<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset">
<div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
Do these agencies below need lobbies? They are already built into the system:
Department of Justice:
<ul>
<li>Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Investigates violations of federal law, including terrorism, cybercrime, and organized crime.</li>
<li>Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Enforces federal drug laws and combats drug trafficking.</li>
<li>United States Marshals Service (USMS): Protects the federal judiciary, apprehends fugitives, and manages seized assets.</li>
<li>Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Enforces federal laws related to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives.</li>
<li>Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP): Manages the federal prison system.</li>
</ul>
Department of Homeland Security:
<ul>
<li>U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Secures US borders and enforces customs laws.</li>
<li>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Enforces immigration and customs laws.</li>
<li>U.S. Secret Service (USSS): Protects national leaders and investigates financial crimes.</li>
<li>U.S. Coast Guard (USCG): Enforces maritime laws and conducts search and rescue.</li>
<li>Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Secures transportation systems.</li>
<li>Federal Protective Service (FPS): Protects federal buildings and property.</li>
</ul>
Other Federal Agencies:
<ul>
<li>U.S. Capitol Police: Protects the U.S. Capitol Building and grounds.</li>
<li>Amtrak Police Department: Provides law enforcement services for Amtrak’s national passenger rail system.</li>
<li>Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation: Investigates tax fraud and other financial crimes.</li>
<li>Military Criminal Investigative Organizations: Each branch of the military has its own investigative service (e.g., NCIS for the Navy, OSI for the Air Force).</li>
<li>Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Police: Protects DIA facilities and personnel.</li>
</ul>
Some conspiracy, uh?
Organizations within the Department of Defense:
<ul>
<li>Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA): Provides military intelligence to warfighters, policymakers, and defense planners.</li>
<li>National Security Agency (NSA): Focuses on signals intelligence (SIGINT) and cybersecurity.</li>
<li>National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA): Provides geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), including imagery and mapping.</li>
<li>National Reconnaissance Office (NRO): Develops, acquires, launches, and operates reconnaissance satellites.</li>
<li>Army Intelligence: Provides intelligence support to the US Army.</li>
<li>Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI): Provides naval intelligence to the US Navy.</li>
<li>Air Force Intelligence: Provides intelligence support to the US Air Force.</li>
<li>U.S. Space Force Intelligence: Provides intelligence for space operations.</li>
<li>Marine Corps Intelligence: Provides intelligence for Marine Corps operations.</li>
<li>Coast Guard Intelligence: Focuses on maritime threats and homeland security.</li>
</ul>
Other key agencies:
<ul>
<li>Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): A civilian foreign intelligence service responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing intelligence related to national security.</li>
<li>Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis: Focuses on homeland security intelligence.</li>
<li>Department of Energy Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence: Deals with nuclear proliferation and energy-related intelligence.</li>
<li>Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research: Provides foreign policy intelligence to the State Department.</li>
<li>Department of the Treasury Office of Intelligence and Analysis: Focuses on financial intelligence related to national security.</li>
<li>Drug Enforcement Administration Intelligence Program: Focuses on drug-related intelligence.</li>
<li>Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Counterintelligence Division: Investigates foreign espionage and other threats to national security.</li>
<li>Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI): Oversees and coordinates the activities of the entire Intelligence Community.</li>
<li>National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC): A component of the ODNI, focused on counterterrorism intelligence.</li>
</ul>
War is a Very Expensive and Devil’s Bargain — The BIG LIE.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="David Swanson: War is a Lie" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K84-2_CPGTk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div id="youtube2-K84-2_CPGTk" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"K84-2_CPGTk","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM">
Now now, I really did not go off topic. CAM, Covert Action Magazine. Open it up, man. Just put in the Google “Ukraine and Covert Action Magazine.” Do that for any topic. “Covert Action Magazine and Gaza.” Etc.
Jeremy is a simple guy who believes in truth, and he questions the narratives and the agencies that are the mafias and cartels protecting the agencies, who are just economic hitmen, in that Racket, sir, Gen. Butler.
<blockquote>“Every government is run by liars. Nothing they say should be believed.” 
― I.F. Stone</blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="sizing-normal aligncenter" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b9B2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F867a85f7-ca2b-4163-b5f3-fe834af8259b_803x699.png" alt="" width="513" height="446" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/867a85f7-ca2b-4163-b5f3-fe834af8259b_803x699.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":699,"width":803,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":189196,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://paulokirk.substack.com/i/166468191?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F867a85f7-ca2b-4163-b5f3-fe834af8259b_803x699.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" />
It would have been a hell of a conversation with Jeremy and Stone (R.I.P.):
<blockquote>To write the truth as I see it; to defend the weak against the strong; to fight for justice; and to seek, as best I can to bring healing perspectives to bear on their terrible hates and fears of mankind, in the hope of someday bringing about one world, in which men[and women] will enjoy the differences of the human garden instead of killing each other over them. 
― Isidor Feinstein Stone</blockquote>
Listen to my interview with Jeremy of CAM <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hHX4_pfkxkl8IccMoaBXYMFrNeAmtxmK/view?usp=sharing" rel="">here, KYAQ.</a>
<blockquote>The enduring quality of the myth of the addicted army in many respects demonstrates America’s long-standing inability to come to terms with the moral consequences of the Vietnam War. By reimagining their soldiers as victims and the U.S. military defeat as a “tragedy,” Americans were able to deflect responsibility for the massive destruction and loss of life inflicted on the people of Southeast Asia and thus to avoid serious reconsideration of the ideological principles that rationalized the American intervention. The silencing and demonizing of dissenting voices, including antiwar GIs typecast as psychopathic junkies, aided in this process.”
— Jeremy Kuzmarov in “The Myth of the Addicted Army”</blockquote>
<blockquote>With remarkable continuity, police aid was used not just to target criminals but to develop elaborate intelligence networks oriented towards internal defense, which allowed the suppression of dissident groups to take place on a wider scope and in a more surgical and often brutal way. In effect, the U.S. helped to modernize intelligence gathering and political policing operations, thus magnifying their impact. They further helped to militarize the police and provided them with a newfound perception of power, while schooling them in a hard-line anticommunism that fostered the dehumanization of political adversaries and bred suspicion about grass-roots mobilization…… Although the U.S. was not always in control of the forces that it empowered and did not always condone their acts, human rights violations were not by accident or the product of rogue forces betraying American principles, as some have previously argued. They were rather institutionalized within the fabric of American policy and its coercive underpinnings.
— Jeremy Kuzmarov in “Modernizing Repression: Police Training, Nation-Building and the Spread of Political Violence in the American Century,” Diplomatic History, April 2009</blockquote>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/a-battle-for-humane-consciousness-in-a-war-against-truth-exposing-the-dark-arts-of-war/">A Battle for Humane Consciousness in a War Against Truth: Exposing the Dark Arts of War</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Australia Backs US Strike on Iran</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/australia-backs-us-strike-on-iran/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Binoy Kampmark]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2025 07:34:27 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Anthony Albanese]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Australia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hypocrisy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Imperialism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Andrew Hastie]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[David Sharma]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Penny Wong]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159551</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The initial statement from Australian government sources was one of constipated caution and clenching wariness. Senator Penny Wong’s time as head of the Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs has always been about how things come out, a process unsatisfyingly uncertain and unyielding in detail. Stick to the safe middle ground and sod the rest. […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/australia-backs-us-strike-on-iran/">Australia Backs US Strike on Iran</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The initial statement from Australian government sources was one of constipated caution and clenching wariness. Senator Penny Wong’s time as head of the Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs has always been about how things come out, a process unsatisfyingly uncertain and unyielding in detail. Stick to the safe middle ground and sod the rest. These <a class="western" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/22/australia-says-irans-nuclear-program-a-threat-to-international-peace-after-us-launches-attacks-and-threatens-more">were the cautionary words</a> of an Australian government spokesperson on June 22: “We have been clear that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security.”
That insipid statement was in response to Operation Midnight Hammer, a strike on three nuclear facilities in Iran by the US Air Force, authorised by US President Donald Trump on June 22. With such spectacular violence came the hollow call for diplomatic prudence and restraint. There was an important difference: Tehran, not Israel or Washington, would be the subject of scolding. Iran would not be permitted nuclear weapons but jaw jaw was better than war war. “We note the US president’s statement that now is the time for peace,” stated the spokesperson. “The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.”
Within twenty-four hours, that anodyne position had morphed into one of unconditional approval for what was a breach of the United Nations Charter, notably its injunction against the threatened or actual use of force against sovereign states in the absence of authorisation by the UN Security Council or the necessity of self-defence. “The world has long agreed Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, and we support action to prevent this. That is what this is,” <a class="western" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-23/australia-backs-us-strikes/105448088">accepted</a> Wong.
This assessment was not only silly but colossally misguided. It would have been an absurd proposition for the US to make the claim that they were under imminent threat of attack, a condition seen as necessary for a pre-emptive strike. This was a naked submission to the wishes of a small, destabilising and sole (undeclared) nuclear power in the Middle East, a modern territorial plunderer celebratory of ethnonational supremacy. 
The Australian position, along a number of European states, also <a class="western" href="https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/statement-on-the-situation-in-iran-13-june-2025">failed to acknowledge</a> the General Conference Resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (in particular GC(XIXI)/RES/444 and GC(XXIV)/RES/533) declaring that “any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency.”
Wong also misrepresented the circumstances under which Iran was told they could negotiate over their nuclear program, erroneously accepting the line from the Trump administration that Tehran had “an opportunity to comply”. Neither the US diplomatic channel, which only permitted a narrow, fleeting corridor for actual negotiations, nor Israel’s wilful distortion of the IAEA’s assessment of Iran’s uranium enrichment plans and prevarication, ever gave chance for a credible resolution. Much like the calamitous, unlawful invasion of Iraq in 2003 by a crew of brigand nations – the merry trio of US, UK and Australia stood out – the autopilot to war was set, scornful of international law.
Wong’s shift from constipated caution to free flow approval for the US attack, with its absent merits and weighty illegalities, was also a craven capitulation to the warmonger class permanently mesmerised by the villain school of foreign relations. This cerebrally challenged view sees few problems with attacking nuclear facilities, the radioactive dangers of doing so, and the merits of a state having them in the first place. 
The US attack on Iran found hearty approval among the remnants of the conservative opposition, who tend to specialise in the view that pursuing a pro-Israeli line, right, wrong, or murderous, is the way to go. Liberal Senator and former Australian ambassador to Israel, David Sharma, <a class="western" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-23/australia-backs-us-strikes/105448088">thought</a> the Albanese government’s initial response “underwhelming and perplexing”, claiming that support for this shredding of international law “a straightforward position for Australia to adopt”. Sharma is clearly getting rusty on his law of nations.
His side of politics is also of the view that the attacked party here – Iran – must forgo any silly notion of self-defence and retaliation and repair to the table of diplomacy in head bowed humiliation. “We want to see Iran come to the negotiating table to verify where that 400 kilos of enriched uranium is,” <a class="western" href="https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/statement-on-the-situation-in-iran-13-june-2025">stated</a> a very stern opposition home affairs minister, Andrew Hastie. “I’m very glad to see that Penny Wong has essentially endorsed our position and I’m glad we have bipartisanship on this.”
Australia’s response has been that of the weary poltroon. Little has been asked about Canberra’s standout complicity in assisting the US imperium fulfil its global reach when it comes to striking targets. The <a class="western" href="https://nautilus.org/publications/books/australian-forces-abroad/defence-facilities/pine-gap/pine-gap-intro/">role of the intelligence signals facility in Pine Gap</a>, cutely and inaccurately called a joint venture, always lends its critical role to directing the US war machine through its heavy reliance on satellite technology. Wong, when asked about the role played by the facility in facilitating the attacks on Iran, had little to say. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese <a class="western" href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-parliament-house-canberra-35">was also cold</a> towards disclosing any details. “We are upfront, but we don’t talk about intelligence, obviously. But we’ve made very clear this was unilateral action taken by the United States.”
At least on this occasion, Australia did not add its forces to an illegal adventure, as it all too wilfully did in 2003. Then, Iraq was invaded on the spurious grounds that weapons of mass destruction not only existed but would somehow be used either by the regime of Saddam Hussein or fictional proxies he might eventually supply. History forever shows that no such weapons were found, nor proxies equipped. But the Albanese government has shown not only historical illiteracy but an amnesia on the matter. Unfortunately, it’s the sort of amnesia that has become contagious, afflicting a goodly number of Washington’s satellites, vassals and friendly states.The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/australia-backs-us-strike-on-iran/">Australia Backs US Strike on Iran</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Carl von Clausewitz and the Clausewitzian Viewpoint of Warfare</title>
<link>https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/carl-von-clausewitz-and-the-clausewitzian-viewpoint-of-warfare/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Vladislav B. Sotirovic]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2025 15:01:22 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Militarism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[War]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alfred von Schlieffen]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Melian dialogue]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[morality]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Realism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Thucydides]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159479</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The focal questions about war In dealing with both theoretical and practical points of view about war, at least six fundamental questions arise: 1) What is war?; 2) What types of war exist?; 3) Why do wars occur?; 4) What is the connection between war and justice?; 5) The question of war crimes?; and 6) […]
The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/carl-von-clausewitz-and-the-clausewitzian-viewpoint-of-warfare/">Carl von Clausewitz and the Clausewitzian Viewpoint of Warfare</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Clausewitz.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-159482" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Clausewitz.jpg" alt="" width="194" height="260" /></a>The focal questions about war
 In dealing with both theoretical and practical points of view about war, at least six fundamental questions arise: 1) What is war?; 2) What types of war exist?; 3) Why do wars occur?; 4) What is the connection between war and justice?; 5) The question of war crimes?; and 6) Is it possible to replace war with the so-called “perpetual peace”?
Probably, up to today, the most used and reliable understanding of war is its short but powerful definition by Carl von Clausewitz:
<blockquote>“War is merely the continuation of politics by other means” [On War, 1832].</blockquote>
It can be considered the terrifying consequences if, in practice, Clausewitz’s term “merely” from a simple phrase about the war would be applied in the post-WWII nuclear era and the Cold War (for instance, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962).
Nevertheless, he became one of the most important influencers on Realism in international relations (IR). To remind ourselves, Realism in political science is a theory of IR that accepts war as a very normal and natural part of the relationships between states (and after WWII, of other political actors as well) in global politics. Realists are keen to stress that wars and all other kinds of military conflicts are not just natural (meaning normal) but even inevitable. Therefore, all theories that do not accept the inevitability of war and military conflicts (for instance, Feminism) are, in fact, unrealistic.
The art of war is an extension of politics
A Prussian general and military theorist, Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz (1780−1831), the son of a Lutheran Pastor, entered the Prussian military service when he was only 12, and achieved the rank of Major-General in his 38. He was studying the philosophy of I. Kant and became involved in the successful reform of the Prussian army. Clausewitz was of the opinion that war is a political instrument similar to, for instance, diplomacy or foreign aid. For this reason, he is considered to be a traditional (old) realist. Clausewitz echoed the Greek Thucydides, who had described in the 5th century B.C. in his famous The History of the Peloponnesian War the dreadful consequences of unlimited war in ancient Greece. Thucydides (ca. 460−406 B.C.) was a Greek historian but had a great interest in philosophy too. His great historiographical work, The History of the Peloponnesian War (431−404 B.C.), recounts the struggle between Athens and Sparta for geopolitical, military, and economic control (hegemony) over the Hellenic world. The war culminated at the end with the destruction of Athens, the birthplace of both ancient democracy and imperialistic/hegemonic ambitions. Thucydides explained the war in which he participated as the Athenian “strategos” (general) in terms of the dynamics of power politics between Sparta and Athens and the relative power of the rival city-states (polis). He consequently developed the first sustained realistic explanation of international relations and conflicts and formed the earliest theory of IR. In his famous Melian dialogue, Thucydides showed how power politics is indifferent to moral argument. This is a dialogue between the Melians and the Athenians, which Thucydides quoted in his The History of the Peloponnesian War, in which the Athenians refused to accept the Melians’ wish to remain neutral in the war with Sparta and Spartan allies. The Athenians finally besieged the Melians and massacred them. His work and dark view of human nature influenced Thomas Hobbes.
Actually, Clausewitz was in strong fear that unless politicians controlled war, it is going to degenerate into a struggle with no clear other objectives except one – to destroy the enemy. He was serving in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars until being captured in 1806. Later, he helped it to be reorganized and served in the Russian army from 1812 to 1814, and finally fought at the decisive Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, which brought about Napoléon’s ultimate downfall from power.
The Napoleonic Wars influenced Clausewitz to caution that war is being transformed into a struggle among whole nations and peoples without limits and restrictions, but without clear political aims and/or objectives. In his On War (in three volumes, published after his death), he explained the relationship between war and politics. In other words, war without politics is just killing, but this killing with politics has some meaning.
Clausewitz’s assumption about the phenomenon of warfare was framed by the thought that if it is reflected that war has its origin in a political object, then, naturally, it comes to the conclusion that this original motive, which called it into existence, should also continue the first and highest consideration in its conduct. Consequently, the policy is interwoven with the whole action of war and must exercise a continuous influence upon it. It is clearly seen that war is not merely a political act, but as well as a real political instrument, a continuation of political commerce, a carrying out of the same by other means. In other words, the political view is the object while war is the means, and the means must always include the object in our conception.
Another important notice by Clausewitz is that the rising power of nationalism in Europe and the use of large conscript armies (in fact, national armies) could produce in the future absolute or total wars (like WWI, WWII), that is, wars to the death and total destruction rather than wars waged for some more or less precise and limited political objectives. However, he was particularly fear leaving warfare to the generals for the reason that their idea of victory in war is framed only within the parameters of the destruction of enemy armies. Such an assumption of victory is in contradiction with the war aim of politicians, who understand victory in war as the realization of the political aims for which they started the particular war. Nevertheless, such ends in practice could range from very limited to large, and according to Clausewitz:
<blockquote>… wars have to be fought at the level necessary to achieve them”. If the aim of the military action is an equivalent for the political objective, that action will, in general, diminish as the political objective diminishes”. This explains why “there may be wars of all degrees of importance and energy, from a war of extermination down to the mere use of an army of observation [On War, 1832].</blockquote>
Generals and the war
Strange enough, but he was of the strong opinion that generals should not be allowed to make any decision concerning the question of when to start and end wars or how to fight them, because they would use all instruments at their disposal to destroy an enemy’s capacity to fight. The real reason, however, for such an opinion was the possibility of converting a limited conflict into an unlimited and, therefore, unpredictable warfare. It really happened during WWI when the importance of massive mobilization and striking first was a crucial part of the war plans by the top military commanders in order to survive and finally win the war. It simply meant that there was not enough time for diplomacy to negotiate in order to prevent war from breaking out and to be transformed into unlimited war with unpredictable consequences. In practice, such military strategy effectively shifted the decision about whether and when to go to war from political leadership to military one as political leaders had, in fact, little time to take all matters into consideration, being pressed by the military leadership to quickly go to war or to accept responsibility for the defeat. From this viewpoint, military plans and war strategies completely revised the relationship between war and politics and between civil politicians and military generals that Carl von Clausewitz had advocated a century earlier.
It has to be recognized, nonetheless, that Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz, in fact, predicted WWI as the first total war in history in which generals dictated to political leaders the timing of military mobilization and pressed politicians to take both the offensive and strike first. The insistence, in effect, of some of the top military commanders on adhering to pre-existing war plans, as it was, for instance, the case with Germany’s Schlieffen Plan and mobilization schedules, took decision-making out of the hands of politicians, i.e., civilian leaders. Therefore, in such a way, it limited the time those leaders had to negotiate with one another in order to prevent the start of the war actions and bloodshed. Furthermore, the military leaders as well as pressured civilian leaders to uphold alliance commitments and consequently spread a possibly limited war across Europe into a European total war.
As a matter of illustration, the best-known design of such nature is Germany’s Schlieffen Plan, as it was named after German Count Alfred von Schlieffen (1833−1913), who was the Chief of the German Great General Staff from 1891−1905. The plan was revised several times before WWI started. The Schlieffen Plan, like some other war plans created before WWI by the European Great Powers, was founded on the assumption of the offensive. The key to the offensive, however, was a massive and very quick military mobilization, i.e., quicker than the enemy could do the same. Something similar was designed during the Cold War when the primacy of a nuclear first strike was at the top of military plans’ priority by both superpowers. Nevertheless, a massive and even general military mobilization meant gathering troops from the whole country at certain mobilization centers to receive arms and other war materials, followed by the transportation of them together with logistic support to the frontlines to fight the enemy. Shortly, in order to win the war, it was required for a country to invest huge expenses and significant time in order to strike the enemy first, i.e., before the enemy could start its own military offensive. Concerning WWI, the German top military leaders understood massive mobilization with crucial importance for the very reason regarding their war plans to fight on two fronts – French and Russian: they thought that the single option to win the war was by striking rapidly in the West front to win France and then decisively launching an offensive against Russia as it was the least advanced country of the European Great Powers for the reason that Russia would take the longest period for the massive mobilization and preparation for war.
A trinitarian theory of warfare 
For Clausewitz, war has to be a political act with the intention to compel the opponent to fulfill the will of the opposite side. He further argued that the use of force has to be only a tool or a real political instrument, as, for instance, diplomacy, in the arsenal of the politicians. War has to be just a continuation of politics by other means or instruments of forceful negotiations (bargaining), but not an end in itself. Since the war has to be only initiated for the sake of achieving strictly the political goals of civilian leadership, it is logical for him that:
“… if the original reasons were forgotten, means and ends would become confused” [On War, 1832] (something similar, for instance, occurred with the American military intervention in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021).
He believed that in the case of forgotten original reasons for war, the use of violence is going to be irrational. In addition, in order to be usable, war has to be limited. Not all unlimited wars are usable or productive for civil purposes. However, history experienced during the last two hundred years several developments like industrialization or enlarged warfare, exactly going in the direction that Clausewitz had feared. In fact, he warned that militarism can be extremely dangerous for humanity – a cultural and ideological phenomenon in which military priorities, ideas, or values are pervading the larger or total society (for instance, Nazi Germany).
The Realists, actually, accepted Clausewitz’s approach, which later after WWII, was further developed by them into a view of the world that is distorted and dangerous, causing the so-called “unnecessary wars”. In general, such kinds of wars have been attributed to the US foreign policy during and after the Cold War around the globe. For example, in South-East Asia during the 1960s the US authorities were determined not to appease the Communist powers the way the German Nazis had been in the 1930s. Consequently, in attempting to avoid a Communist occupation of Vietnam the US became involved in a pointless and, in fact, unwinnable war, arguably confusing Nazi aims of geopolitical expansionism with the legitimate post-colonial patriotism of the people of Vietnam.
Carl von Clausewitz is by many experts considered to be the greatest writer on military theory and war. His book On War (1832) is generally interpreted as favoring the very idea that war is, in essence, a political phenomenon as an instrument of policy. The book, nevertheless, sets out a trinitarian theory of warfare that involves three subjects:
<ol>
<li>The masses are motivated by a sense of national animosity (national chauvinism).</li>
<li>The regular army devises strategies to take account of the contingencies of war.</li>
<li>The political leaders formulate the goals and objectives of military action.</li>
</ol>
Critics of the Clausewitzian viewpoint of war
However, from another side, the Clausewitzian viewpoint of war can be deeply criticized for several reasons:
<ol>
<li>One of them is the moral side of it, as Clausewitz was presenting war as a natural and even inevitable phenomenon. He can be condemned for the justification of war by reference to narrow state interest instead of some wider principles, like justice or so. However, his approach suggests that if war serves legitimate political purposes, its moral implications can be simply ignored, or in other words, not taken at all into account as an unnecessary moment of the war.</li>
<li>Clausewitz can be criticized for the reason that his conception of warfare is outdated and therefore not fitting to modern times. In other words, his conception of war is relevant to the era of the Napoleonic Wars, but surely not to modern types of war and warfare for several reasons. First, modern economic, social, cultural, and geopolitical circumstances may, in many cases, dictate that war is a less effective power than it was at the time of Clausewitz. Therefore, war can be today of obsolete policy instrument. If contemporary states are rationally thinking about war, military power can be of lesser relevance in IR. Second, industrialized warfare, and especially the feature of total war, can make calculations about the likely costs and benefits of war much less reliable. If it is the case, then war can simply stop being an appropriate means of achieving political ends. Thirdly, most of the criticism of Clausewitz stresses the fact that the nature of both war and IR has changed and, therefore, his understanding of war as a social phenomenon is no longer applicable. In other words, Clausewitz’s doctrine of war can be applicable to the so-called “Old wars” but not to the new type of war – “New war.” Nevertheless, on the other hand, in the case that Clausewitz’s requirement that the recourse to war has to be based on rational analysis and careful calculation, many modern and contemporary wars would not have taken place.</li>
</ol>The post <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2025/06/carl-von-clausewitz-and-the-clausewitzian-viewpoint-of-warfare/">Carl von Clausewitz and the Clausewitzian Viewpoint of Warfare</a> first appeared on <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org">Dissident Voice</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

Download the "valid RSS" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

<a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//dissidentvoice.org/feed/"><img src="valid-rss-rogers.png" alt="[Valid RSS]" title="Validate my RSS feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//dissidentvoice.org/feed/

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms