WASHINGTON—Unionists and climate activists are sending a blunt message to Democratic President Joe Biden and the Democratic-run Congress: Stop stalling and attack climate change, now. Continue reading
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French election was not “close” and Le Pen did not show new “strength”
The U.S. news media, taking its cues from fake TV reality shows, has reported that French President Emmanuel Macron’s easy defeat of fascist and pro-Russian candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election is an indication of the French far-right making “gains.” A 59 to 41 percent victory for Emmanuel, while not as strong as his 66 to 33 percent thrashing of Le Pen in the 2017 election, does not show any real “gains” by Le Pen and her National Rally party. Macron’s 2022 campaign strategy of tacking to the right did cost him votes among the French progressive left, but those voters largely decided to abstain from voting in the second round rather than voting for Le Pen. Some 6.8 percent of voters in the second round showed up at polling places to submit “blank” ballots. Continue reading
How PeoplesHub is fostering local revolutions
PeoplesHub offers organizers essential knowledge and online solutions for progressive change.
Every revolution starts small—with an idea that the status quo isn’t quite right and a change needs to happen—but building a social movement from the ground up means putting in serious work. Connecting and organizing people who are like-minded, even at a local level, without access to the right knowledge can be daunting, especially without any help. Since 2017, PeoplesHub has assisted and reinforced progressive social movements through online training in team building and leadership, so that nascent revolutionaries can see their vision to fruition. Continue reading
‘A real threat to democracy’: Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion
"This isn't just some corporate takeover," said one critic. "This is about a set of very specific moves that our oligarchs have been taking that have gradually concentrated economic, political, and discursive power in fewer and fewer hands."
Rights advocates, public health experts, and media critics were among those on Monday who warned that the purchase of Twitter by mega-billionaire Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, creates a direct threat to democracy and the common good by putting the outsized power of the social media platform used by hundreds of millions worldwide into the hands of one man. Continue reading
Execution halted, Melissa Lucio’s legal team vows to ‘continue fighting’
"It would have shocked the public's conscience for Melissa to be put to death based on false and incomplete medical evidence for a crime that never even happened," said one of Lucio's lawyers.
Lawyers representing Melissa Lucio vowed to “continue fighting” to prove her innocence after a Texas appeals court on Monday granted the mother of 14—who advocates say was wrongfully convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter in 2007—a stay of execution, two days before she was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection. Continue reading
Le Pen defeated in France, but far-right gains ground
For the third time in 20 years, the anti-immigrant far right has been blocked from winning the French presidency at the last minute, leaving many breathing a sigh of relief. But with Marine Le Pen scoring the highest total ever for the extreme right—41.5% against incumbent President Emmanuel Macron’s 58.5%—the French Communist Party is warning that “the noose is tightening” on democracy in the country. Continue reading
Assange’s extradition is another building block of the controlled explanation
The corrupt US & British governments, greatly aided and abetted by Western presstitutes, have destroyed the First Amendment protection of journalism. Julian Assange’s extradition to the US to stand trial for espionage signals the termination of a free press as a method of holding government accountable. Henceforth, any journalist who publishes a leaked story unfavorable to the government can be prosecuted as a spy. Continue reading
Policing causes violence, not the other way around
What liberal politicians and the media refuse to acknowledge is that crime is linked to the failures of capitalism, not to the lack of police. Indeed, police are part of the problem, not the solution.
The New York City subway shooting in Brooklyn on April 12 miraculously resulted in no deaths, although about 30 people suffered injuries, including 10 from gunshot wounds. Within hours, a massive manhunt for the shooter was underway, but in the end it was the suspect who tipped police off and turned himself in. Still, that has not stopped politicians and corporate media outlets like the Washington Post and others from using the shooting to shore up police talking points and implicitly make the case for more police funding. Continue reading
Palestine needs immediate attention to stave off major food crisis
A friend, a young journalist in Gaza, Mohammed Rafik Mhawesh, told me that food prices in the besieged Strip have skyrocketed in recent weeks and that many already impoverished families are struggling to put food on the table. Continue reading
‘He’s a liar’: New audio tapes confirm McCarthy wanted Trump to resign
"Maybe he lied because he's a spineless sycophant who went to Mar-a-Lago begging for forgiveness days after this call?" said one Democratic lawmaker.
Democratic lawmakers and political observers said late Thursday and Friday that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been exposed as a “liar” not once but twice in the past 24 hours following the release of audio tapes confirming that the California Republican said former President Donald Trump should resign in the wake of the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Continue reading
Will Ron DeSantis’s latest Mickey Mouse political tantrum cost him his career?
On April 22, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Put that way, it sounds rather routine, but it isn’t. DeSantis called a special session of the legislature just to get this done. The only thing routine about it is that it’s an example of Rule Number One in Florida politics since 2018: Don’t publicly disagree with Ron DeSantis, or he’ll throw a tantrum and try to punish you. Continue reading
Dishonoring Earth Day 2022 with an oil, gas, coal & nuclear heyday
Instead of championing solar, wind and conservation energy, the GOP (Greedy Old Party) is championing the skyrocketing profits and prices for the omnicidal fossil fuel and atomic power companies. Continue reading
Jackboots policing: No-knock raids rip a hole in the Fourth Amendment
It’s the middle of the night. Continue reading
Dems chant ‘Black votes are under attack’ as Florida GOP rams through DeSantis’ map
Republicans are "drunk on power and bullying anyone in their way into submission," warned Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani.
Florida’s Republican-controlled House voted along party lines Thursday to approve a congressional map drawn by the office of right-wing Gov. Ron DeSantis, a move that came after state Democrats staged a sit-in on the chamber’s floor to condemn the redistricting plan as unconstitutional and racist. Continue reading
Western-led globalization might end, but the new globalization might have an eastern face
An article written by authors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg on March 24 sounded the alarm to announce the end of “the second great age of globalization.” The Western trade war and sanctions against China that predated the pandemic have now been joined by the stiff Western sanctions imposed against Russia after it invaded Ukraine. These sanctions are like an iron curtain being built by the United States and its allies around Eurasia. But according to Micklethwait and Wooldridge, this iron curtain will not only descend around China and Russia but will also have far-reaching consequences across the world. Continue reading
Palestine’s widening geography of resistance: Why Israel cannot defeat the Palestinians
There is a reason why Israel is insistent on linking the series of attacks carried out by Palestinians recently to a specific location, namely the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. By doing so, the embattled Naftali Bennett’s government can simply order another deadly military operation in Jenin to reassure its citizens that the situation is under control. Continue reading
CIA torture queen now a beauty and life coach
The newsman tells me the CIA’s “Queen of Torture” now runs a life and beauty coaching business which helps midlife women “look good, feel good, and do good.” Continue reading
‘Journalism is not a crime’: Outrage as judge approves Assange extradition to US
"Extraditing Julian Assange to face allegations of espionage for publishing classified information would set a dangerous precedent and leave journalists everywhere looking over their shoulders."
A British judge on Wednesday officially approved the U.S. government’s request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces espionage charges for publishing classified material that exposed war crimes by American forces. Continue reading
Upcoming 2022 primaries: A handful of voters will decide who’s on the fall ballot
American voters are passionate, but they don’t think voting in primaries matters.
In May and June, as 26 states hold primary elections to determine the federal candidates for 2022’s general elections, fewer than one in five voters will likely show up. When broken down by political party, many candidates will be nominated by less than 10 percent of the electorate, a very low turnout that in most states will be dominated by voters who are middle-aged and older. Continue reading
Justice Gorsuch must resign
A “justice” who sits in defiance of the Constitution has cast the deciding vote in too many cases.
Much ink has been spilled over Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s failure to recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election, despite his wife’s participation in efforts to overthrow it. Continue reading
The Ukraine crisis can’t save Biden
The U.S. propaganda victory over Russia will do Joe Biden and the democrats little good. Their willingness to act on their promises and meet the people's needs will be the deciding factors in determining their political fate.
The United States, its NATO allies, and their partners in corporate media are engaging in an unprecedented war propaganda effort. Their goal is to get and maintain public support for their actions against Russia which are playing out in Ukraine. The messaging is constant and isn’t at all subtle. One cannot go online for any purpose without seeing exhortations to help Ukrainian children, buy products colored in blue and yellow, or somehow “stand with Ukraine.” Continue reading
Can Israel exist without America: Numbers speaks of a changing reality
When Russian and Ukrainian delegations meeting in Turkey on March 29 reached an initial understanding regarding a list of countries that could serve as security guarantors for Kyiv should an agreement be struck, Israel appeared on the list. The other countries included the US, the UK, China, Russia, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy and Poland. Continue reading
Team Zelensky overplays hand by humiliating Germany
Zelensky and his handlers want the whole of Europe to drive over the abyss. But the talented Mr Zelensky is pushing the script beyond acceptable limits when he starts slapping Berlin around.
Team Zelensky has been playing a deft, if cloyingly confected, game up to now. The Ukrainian president has found time in his busy wartime schedule to address over 17 parliaments around the world in recent weeks, each time with a speech tailor-made to push specific cultural emotive buttons. Continue reading
The US Empire strikes back: Russia takes the hits, China lives in fear
Russia and China are no match for the United States’ instruments of national power. The Pale Blue Dot’s existence is at risk if nuclear weapons are employed by either or both sides.
American military, political and economic support for Ukraine have little to do with any real concern for the lives of the Ukrainian people. They are merely cannon fodder for the larger goal of ensuring that there will be no multipolar world that undermines US power or seriously challenges US dollar hegemony as it is today. Further, the US, as Empire, with a big E, seeks to continue to expand its military alliances through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) compelling would be nation-state competitors to steer clear of state sponsored violence against US NATO allies. It seems likely that NATO will continue to expand with Sweden and Finland set to sign on next, and NATO expansion beyond Europe to include nations in Asia is already well underway. Continue reading
Now is the time for nonalignment and peace
War is an ugly part of the human experience. Everything about it is hideous. War is most obviously the act of invasion and the brutality that goes along with its operations. No war is precise; every war hurts civilians. Each act of bombardment sends a neurological shudder through a society. Continue reading
Jayapal demands vote on bill to expand Social Security by making the rich pay
One group argued passing legislation to boost the program's benefits would "make it clear to voters that Democrats are working to expand Social Security" while "Republicans want to destroy it."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, urged the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday to hold a vote on legislation that would expand Social Security benefits by making wealthy Americans contribute more to the beloved New Deal-era program. Continue reading
Student loan forgiveness: Don’t confuse policy with politics
A mismatch between the title and subtitle to Matt Lewis’s April 18 column at The Daily Beast—“Canceling Student Loan Debt Only Leaves a Broken System in Place,” and “Democrats are delusional if they think student loan debt forgiveness is going to save them and Biden at the ballot box”—perfectly illustrates the fallacy of mistaking bad policy for bad politics. Continue reading
Societies can prevent wars from starting—and the future of humanity requires peace
Experts in peace and conflict studies explain the scientific evidence that societies can choose peace, and that warfare is also a choice, not a necessity.
Humanity’s future existence hinges on cooperation on a global scale. The greatest existential threats we face are worldwide problems that stem from the man-made climate disaster—and the massive decline in biodiversity, pollution, worsening storms, fires and sea level rise that come with it. Even the COVID-19 pandemic potentially resulted from deforestation and dwindling biodiversity on the planet, and the lack of action to slow down such destruction will only increase the likelihood of pandemics in the future. Continue reading
Europe is sleepwalking into another world war
The hundred years before 1914 offered Europe relative peace. What wars took place were of a short-lived nature. The reason for this was the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), which brought together the victors and the vanquished from the Napoleonic wars to create a lasting peace. The chair of the conference was Klemens von Metternich, who made sure that the defeated power (France) paid for its actions with territorial losses but that it signed the treaty along with Austria, England, Prussia, and Russia to secure peace with dignity. Continue reading
DOJ urged to probe whether Trump ‘willfully mutilated and destroyed’ Jan. 6 call logs
Two groups assert that the former president "engaged in a pattern of conduct throughout his tenure in office that violated his record-keeping obligations under the Presidential Records Act."
A few weeks after the revelation that White House documents turned over to the panel probing the attack on the U.S. Capitol contains a seven-hour-and-37-minute gap in call logs, a pair of U.S. groups on Monday called for an investigation into whether former President Donald Trump “willfully mutilated and destroyed critical records of his presidency before leaving office.” Continue reading
Unsafe at any exposure
The human body has to be robust. It would have to be, considering the toxins that pervade our existence. It would have to be, considering that government fails to protect us from fungicides, pesticides, pollutants. It would have to be, considering that plastics have been found in our blood, in our lungs, in breastmilk, in babies’ urine. Continue reading
Billionaires only come to the rescue in movies and comic books
Posted on April 26, 2022 by Caitlin Johnstone
Twitter has done an about-face and sold the company to the richest person in the world for $44 billion. Continue reading →