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The Plastic Coup: How Big Oil Poisons Our DNA
As we fight the daily battles of the "Great Disillusionment," corruption and unchecked greed are poisoning our bodies. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, a group dedicated to helping the world transition away from plastics, joins Gaslit Nation to discuss the systemic corruption wreaking havoc on our environment, our water, and our food. We are now breathing, eating, and drinking a credit card's worth of plastic every single week. Big Oil, facing a transition away from fossil fuels for energy, financially depends in our dependence on plastic. They have turned our bodies into a landfill to keep their profits soaring. We also discuss the threat of deep sea mining, the minerals war between the US and China, why everyone should read Donut Economics by the "planet's economist" Kate Raworth on how to build a sustainable economy, and why ending the "forever wars" requires a transition to renewable energies. Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! Show Notes: A Plastic Planet: https://aplasticplanet.com/ Follow-up study of genotoxic effects in individuals exposed to oil from the tanker Prestige, seven years after the accident https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24370900/ Sian Sutherland: "Innovating the Business of Plastics" https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/herman-daly-toward-an-ecological-economics-5-2/ Dr. Jeremy Williams: The Truth About Rare Earth Mineral Mining https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8OMk9JapDM EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community
As we fight the daily battles of the "Great Disillusionment," corruption and unchecked greed are poisoning our bodies. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, a group dedicated to helping the world transition away from plastics, joins Gaslit Nation to discuss the systemic corruption wreaking havoc on our environment, our water, and our food. We are now breathing, eating, and drinking a credit card's worth of plastic every single week. Big Oil, facing a transition away from fossil fuels for energy, financially depends in our dependence on plastic. They have turned our bodies into a landfill to keep their profits soaring. We also discuss the threat of deep sea mining, the minerals war between the US and China, why everyone should read Donut Economics by the "planet's economist" Kate Raworth on how to build a sustainable economy, and why ending the "forever wars" requires a transition to renewable energies. Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! Show Notes: A Plastic Planet: https://aplasticplanet.com/ Follow-up study of genotoxic effects in individuals exposed to oil from the tanker Prestige, seven years after the accident https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24370900/ Sian Sutherland: "Innovating the Business of Plastics" https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/herman-daly-toward-an-ecological-economics-5-2/ Dr. Jeremy Williams: The Truth About Rare Earth Mineral Mining https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8OMk9JapDM EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
This content originally appeared on Playing For Change and was authored by Playing For Change.
Why Trump’s ‘fantasy’ obsession with Kharg Island may lead to disaster
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean US President Donald Trump has been obsessed with seizing Iran’s Kharg Island for more than 35 years — way before he became a politician. In 1990, he wrote in an American newspaper that the United States should seize Kharg. Trump thinks that by seizing Kharg, he would get hold of Iranian
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean US President Donald Trump has been obsessed with seizing Iran’s Kharg Island for more than 35 years — way before he became a politician. In 1990, he wrote in an American newspaper that the United States should seize Kharg. Trump thinks that by seizing Kharg, he would get hold of Iranian oil, which he has admitted he wants badly. Either he is deliberately misleading the world or he is not well informed. Kharg is nothing more than a loading terminal. It is a small island, only about 90 sq km in size, some 28 km from the Iranian mainland. READ MORE: Trump says war could end in ‘two to three weeks’ — Iran’s Araghchi confirms no negotiations Will China join Pakistan-led efforts to mediate US-Iran peace? Other US-Israel war on Iran reports It’s main advantage is that it is surrounded by very deep waters which allows what are known as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to come alongside and load huge quantities of crude oil. A VLCC can easily load up to 2 million barrels of crude. At today’s price of US$116 per barrel, the value of the cargo would exceed $232 million. Kharg itself is not an oilfield. It does not produce crude. Every drop of oil which is stored in its many storage tanks are piped there from the mainland through underwater pipes. All the Iranian oil fields are on the mainland. Now that the Iranians have known well in advance that Trump might seize the island, do you know what they will do? They will turn off the spigot. No more oil flow No more oil will flow from the mainland to the island. What oil there is stored in the tanks on the island would have been loaded onto vessels which would have departed Kharg. I am willing to put a wager that if the Americans seize the island, they will not find any oil. Maybe there will be some residue left in the tanks but the amounts would be so miniscule that in law it would be known as de minimis. Trump can seize the island and I am sure the Iranians will allow him to do so. But what will happen after that? The marines and the paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division will be slaughtered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). I pity the American mothers and wives who will be receiving the bodies of their sons and husbands. Iranian missiles and drones will descend on the American troops like fire and brimstone. There is absolutely no way the Americans can hold the island. The Iranians know this and have dared the Americans to come because they know that it is an invitation to hell for the enemy. The trouble with the Americans is hubris. They think the rest of the world can easily be walked over by their unbeatable marines and other elite troops. Napoleon too thought that his Old Guards or Imperial Guards were invincible until they came up against the British Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Guards at Waterloo. And for the first time ever in the Napoleonic Wars, the agonising cry from the French generals of “En arriere!“ meaning “backward” or “retreat” was heard in the ranks of this legendary unit. Best trained, fanatical When the Americans face the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, whether at Kharg or Hormuz, they will be coming up against some of the best trained and fanatical soldiers in the world, who are equipped to the hilt with modern weaponry. All their generals are veterans of the bloody 8 year Iran-Iraq war. If there are soldiers who know what war is, it is the IRGC. And to me it is the height of absurdity for the Americans to think that they can accomplish their missions with only about 17,000 ground troops. I think the scale of the slaughter is going to be gut-wrenching and awful. It will be the modern day equivalent of the battle of Cannae where Hannibal destroyed the entire Roman army, killing 80,000 enemy soldiers in a single day and taking another 10,000 as prisoners. In 1980, America was humiliated when their military helicopters floundered in the failed Operation Eagle Claw rescue mission to extract the embassy hostages. Nearly half a century later, I fear America will again be humiliated in Iran. Lim Tean is a Singaporean lawyer, politician and commentator. He is the founder of the political party People’s Voice and a co-founder of the political alliance People’s Alliance for Reform. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
On the Walls of La Carpio, Refugees Tell Their Stories in Color
One humanitarian foundation in Costa Rica uses art to process the trauma of displacement.
One humanitarian foundation in Costa Rica uses art to process the trauma of displacement. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Cat Carroll.
In a handful of cities across the United States and Europe, Jewish socialists are reviving a storied early twentieth century institution.
In a handful of cities across the United States and Europe, Jewish socialists are reviving a storied early twentieth century institution. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Joseph Mogul.
Cuban journalist on the impact of U.S. sanctions
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
‘It All Starts With Transparency’CounterSpin interview with Arlene Martinez on Sunshine Week
"If we can't see the money that's going out, we can't make any evaluation on whether it's a good use of our money."
Janine Jackson interviewed Good Jobs First’s Arlene Martinez about Sunshine Week for the March 27, 2026, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260327Martinez.mp3 Sunshine Week Janine Jackson: One mark of a democratic society is that we can have debates about how best to organize society. When a small group of powerful people, designated as representatives, can do things that majorities of people don’t want to happen, there’s a fundamental disconnect that we were all taught in school is the very problem that the United States was founded to address. Talking about that, giving voice to those outside of power, is a fundamental tenet of journalism. It’s why we have a First Amendment that guards the ability to speak difficult truths to power. OK, but the basics of that conversation would be that we all have access to information. If people want to change anything about our society and the ways we’re governed, transparency about what the powerful are doing is necessary, if not sufficient. Talking about transparency—what it can mean, where it’s thwarted, and what that means—is the point of Sunshine Week, a project started in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper (now just News) Editors. It’s a living project, and one of the groups keeping it alive is Good Jobs First. We’re joined now by the group’s deputy executive director and communications director, Arlene Martinez. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Arlene Martinez. Arlene Martinez: Thanks, Janine. Glad to be here. JJ: I think of Good Jobs First as the group that stays on top of federal, state and local subsidies that companies are given for what’s often called “economic development,” and how those play out. And that includes a lot of things: corporate malfeasance, tax dodging, how these subsidized entities respect workers’ rights…. My question is, where do you fit journalism in there, and why is Sunshine Week important to you? AM: I was a journalist before I got to Good Jobs First, and our former research director, who is still on staff, was also a journalist for many years, and Greg LeRoy, executive director, was also trained as a journalist. So we offer these tools, these databases, that are heavily used by journalists. A big hallmark and central tenet of our work has been transparency. People may not know, but we are filing hundreds of public records requests every year to try to get information on how much money private companies are receiving in the name of “economic development.” So journalism and newsrooms and the role of press is very near and dear to our heart, and very central to our mission. And, of course, it all starts with transparency. JJ: Yeah, I mean, taxpayer dollars, we hear so much about “taxpayers” and our “dollars,” but they fund government operations. So we have a right, a legal and not just a moral right, to understand and to see how decisions are being made, and how our money is being spent. Arlene Martinez: “If we can’t see the money that’s going out, we can’t make any evaluation on whether it’s a good use of our money.” AM: Yeah, we do. And if we can’t see the money that’s going out, we can’t make any evaluation on whether it’s a good use of our money. So we know that companies get billions of dollars every year in the form of tax breaks, and discounted land, and all kinds of other goodies that they get. And then some places, you can’t even find out the company that’s getting it, or the total amount of dollars. We’ve come a long way from where there were just a handful of states disclosing online, and now we’re at 49 states that disclose at least some level of information online when it comes to what companies are getting from the public. JJ: Well, let’s get into it. I often say “PR can pitch, but someone has to catch.” And a corollary to that is, information can be available, but if it isn’t being taken up and used, it’s hard to find the payoff. So that’s where I was so happy to see, not just “yay Sunshine Week” as a concept, but actual examples of where transparency or fought-for access mattered. So if I could, just talk about some of the cases that Good Jobs First researchers have been lifting up recently. AM: There are a lot of places that we call out for having really good transparency, and part of the work, too, that we do is hoping to create better workplaces and better standards. And what we have seen is states and counties, and even at the city level, putting up their own portals for the public to be able to look to see what companies in their community are doing and how they’re behaving, and also holding them to higher standards. Like, for example, San Diego County has its own database; it looks at companies that have stolen worker wages, and fights very hard to get them to pay workers back, but also, by putting them on this list that’s very public, also says, “By the way, we’re going to withhold permits from these companies until they pay what they owe workers.” And if there’s still a delay, they even have a mechanism where they can pay workers while those claims are being settled. And then we have New York City, too, the comptroller’s office. They have what’s called an “Employer Wall of Shame.” There’s violation, penalty and settlement data. Suffolk County, also in New York, runs something similar. So it’s a great way to be able to say, “What are companies in our community doing? Should we be doing business with them”—like from a procurement point of view, for example? JJ: And it names names. I think that’s what’s so wonderful about it, is that it takes away this sort of scrim of opacity. These are companies, they name their names when they sign up to get their checks, so why can’t we know their names when they are, for example, stealing wages from their workers? I think just naming the names is itself very important. AM: Yes, it’s just critical. We have fought very hard in a lot of places to get states to release the names of companies, whether it’s how they are treating employers, or other types of regulatory violations that they have, or whether it’s getting an incentive. You have to know the name of the company getting the incentive to figure out what they’re doing with the money, what the community gets in return, and to hold them accountable for when they fall short. Good Jobs First (3/23/26) JJ: And we often see journalists doing the story on the breaking of the ground of a new entity, or a new business that got an incentive. But then the follow-up is missing, the piece where we say, “What did we get? ” As you’ve just said, what do we get in return? Sometimes we just don’t see that story. So tracking it is important, and not just celebrating “public/private partnership,” as we so often see in media. Well, your takeaway piece is called “Progress, Gaps and the Right to Participate.” So I do want to ask you, what are some of those gaps? What are the obstacles that FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requesters, or people who are trying in other ways to access information from government entities, what are some of the obstacles that are thrown up to them? And then, also: You don’t have to be a reporter, do you, to file for access to information? You don’t have to be with a “accredited journalistic institution,” do you? AM: No, and I’m glad you mentioned that, because Sunshine Week, if you look on their website, they offer 15 videos. They’re all 30 seconds or less, and they’re all tips for filing public information requests in your own communities. So we can all be doing a part to hold these governments accountable to release information. And in fact, where we have some of the best transparency in the country, including Chicago, for example, that has come because of community opposition that really swelled in response to a lot of bad deals being done quietly, and we’ve seen that all over the country. The better the transparency is, there’s usually been some kind of a grassroots push behind it. A lot of states will make a lot of claims for why they can’t release information: It’s proprietary information, or there’s taxpayer confidentiality laws. What we always do is point to the dozens of other states who are releasing this information: “Hey, look, the sky didn’t fall here. That’s actually still a very booming state. There’s no reason not to release this information.” So I think we still have a long way to go, and we’re seeing, in a lot of places, a clamping down on information, a closing of the door; we definitely want to see it go the opposite direction, but I do think we all have an active role to play, and can play, in opening up the books of our money that’s being spent in our name. JJ: Right. You just kind of pointed to it, because folks should know that some of the opposition is not just foot-dragging, which you can imagine, or just incompetence, where people can’t find the information. There’s an ideological resistance. There are entities at every level of government that say, and you just tipped it, but that say, “Oh no, we have reasons why, even though your money was used to subsidize this company, or to pay for this project, we can’t let you know how it’s actually working.” People pretend there are reasons for that. Not that they just can’t do it, but that they shouldn’t, for some reason. That seems odd to me. AM: Yeah, that’s definitely a factor. And also in the ears of some of the officials are very powerful corporate actors. Big Tech right now is getting billions of dollars in subsidies for data centers. This is Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple, and they are very powerful players, and they are insisting on secrecy because they know there’s this growing community opposition to these very energy-intensive data centers. And, for example, in North Carolina, what we saw was we get a lot of transparency around some of their programs, economic development incentive programs, but when it comes to data centers, it operates under a totally different set of rules, and we can’t get any information. Saginaw News (3/5/26) JJ: That’s interesting. Let’s talk a bit about media, because, I will say, I saw a heartening amount of Sunshine Week mentions in newspapers, some of it substantive, but I’m talking the Valley Stream Herald in New York, your Citizen’s Voice in Willsbury, PA, your Saginaw News. And like I say, some of this coverage was substantive, and was linking Sunshine Week to local problems and issues that they had. But I guess I was disappointed to see virtually all of the attention at the local level. It seems as though it’s not seen as an overarching issue, even when we know that, as you’ve just indicated, censorship and opacity at the federal level is wild right now, and is deeply impactful, but the coverage of Sunshine Week just didn’t seem to match up to that. AM: Yeah. And it may have to do, too, with just the way that information has been shared out around now, what’s going on with newsrooms right now and what their attention’s on. At the federal level, the administration has reporters running from one thing to the other on purpose, right? Nobody can dig into anything, and everything’s just a chaotic fire. And I think it’s difficult for these federal reporters to focus on that. And then, of course, we’ve seen state houses just decimated across the country in media. I’m glad to hear the effort by local reporters. When I was a reporter at the Morning Call in Pennsylvania, we had a statewide project where newsrooms across the country went out and solicited public records, specifically that we knew should be public, from government offices up and down the state. But it’s such a big deal, when reporters are struggling to get basic information that, not only they used to get, but was always a problem to get, and should be expanded. Now we’re just seeing it go the opposite way. EFF (3/15/26) JJ: Yeah. One of the things that I saw that was heartening was Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with MuckRock News, have something called the “Foilies,” which are “awards” that recognize the worst in government transparency. But what I love is that it’s a project from journalism students at the University of Nevada, Reno, where they file FOIA requests as part of their journalism training. So it does seem like these ideals are alive, at least in the way that journalists are being trained. I’m concerned that once they get jobs working in journalism, then they come up against this brick wall. Things didn’t work the way that they were taught in school they should work. AM: Yeah. I spent a lot of time in small and medium-sized newsrooms when I was a journalist, and resources were always a big issue. I mean, I would file a lot of records requests, and I would do appeals, but once they denied it a second time, there wasn’t any money for the next step, which would have been a legal battle to get records that I maintain were still public. But, yeah, it’s hard when you hit a brick wall, and especially some of the bigger agencies know how few resources some of these smaller and mid-sized newsrooms have. JJ: Yeah. You’re exactly pointing to where ideas and economics in modern media conflict, where, as we say at FAIR, journalism as a public service runs up against media as a profit-driven business. And transparency, and the ability to access government records, is one of those very specific areas that maybe you don’t think about, sitting at home reading the paper, but reporters absolutely know about. AM: That’s right, Janine. And you just reminded me one thing that I completely failed to mention was this huge media consolidation happening. As we know, as a lot of these very ideological, powerful men are buying up social media platforms, the Washington Post, CBS, CNN they’re coming for. So when you have information consolidated, and coming out from a smaller number of national voices, you’re going to see a different coverage, especially if it’s ideologically focused. JJ: Let me just ask you, finally, because I did come away feeling hopeful from Sunshine Week coverage, both from Good Jobs First and from a wide range of local outlets. But what would be your takeaway for listeners who care about sunshine and transparency and, in terms of what you learned—good, bad, indifferent—what would you like folks to know? AM: Local governments, the people who work at local governments who are the closest to the people, I think are interested in improving the experience of residents when it comes to transparency and public records. We had a webinar last week talking to a couple economic development officials. We were lifting up their websites for really being good: Denton, Texas, and Eugene, Oregon. And what I walked away from that, and many other conversations that we’ve had from economic development practitioners, is there’s a real desire to do better by residents, and to play a partnership role. And maybe that’s not the case in every statehouse, and maybe, at the federal government, that’s not necessarily the case right now, but at the local level, there is so much impact that a small group of residents can have, and there are a lot of willing public servants who want to do better and are willing to listen. JJ: All right, let’s end on that note. We’ve been speaking with Arlene Martinez from Good Jobs First. They’re online at GoodJobsFirst.org. Thank you so much, Arlene Martinez, for joining us this week on CounterSpin. AM: Thanks, Janine. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Janine Jackson.
Rare Wartime Protests Hit Russia Over Mass Cattle Cull
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Middle East war: WFP warns that vital food aid blockedSyria: 200,000 have fled Lebanon conflict - UNHCRUNWRA chief condemns Knesset death penalty law for Palestinians
Middle East war: WFP warns that vital food aid blockedSyria: 200,000 have fled Lebanon conflict - UNHCRUNWRA chief condemns Knesset death penalty law for Palestinians This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Daniel Johnson.
How museums can remember war while honouring civilian trauma and resistance
COMMENTARY: By Audrey van Ryn Museums around the world present the story of war in different ways. The Imperial War Museum in London includes military history, the Holocaust, women’s roles in the two world wars, wartime artwork and the political issues of the time. This museum records both civilian and military experiences, looking at the
COMMENTARY: By Audrey van Ryn Museums around the world present the story of war in different ways. The Imperial War Museum in London includes military history, the Holocaust, women’s roles in the two world wars, wartime artwork and the political issues of the time. This museum records both civilian and military experiences, looking at the impact of war on people’s lives. Its Crimes Against Humanity section has a continuous film about genocide and ethnic violence in our time. The Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam focuses on the Dutch experience during the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany during World War Two, and features personal stories of those who lived during that period. READ MORE: Up close and friendly with Vietnam’s war resistance Củ Chi tunnels and museum Scars on the Heart exhibition at Auckland Museum Museum’s attempt to show ‘both sides’ of the Second World War Nuclear-Free Pacific exhibition opened – calls for inspired peace and regionalism National museums in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh musealise the memory of the 1947 Partition in different, selective ways, with oral history, survivor testimonies, and personal artefacts to document the displacement and trauma of the subcontinent’s division. How does our own war museum remember war? Visitors to Auckland’s War Memorial Museum find that the top floor is dedicated to the memory of New Zealand soldiers killed in World Wars One and Two. The WWI Hall of Memories contains a sanctuary, used for commemoration. In this space are medals and badges of units in which men and women from the Auckland Province served, and British badges that acknowledge those who joined British units. Roll of honour In the WWII Hall of Memories, carved into marble is the permanent roll of honour of men and women from the Auckland Province who died in both World Wars, and in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam. The Scars on the Heart exhibition covers New Zealand’s civil wars of the 1840s and 1860s, the Anglo-Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, the Asian wars and New Zealand’s involvement in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Items on display include letters, diaries, photos, clothing and firearms. There is a recreation of a bivouac shelter at Gallipoli and a Western Front trench from WWI. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-125803 size-full" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Nagasaki-atomic-bomb-victims-500tall.jpg" alt="Nagasaki bomb victims in 1945" width="500" height="1018" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Nagasaki-atomic-bomb-victims-500tall.jpg 500w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Nagasaki-atomic-bomb-victims-500tall-147x300.jpg 147w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Nagasaki-atomic-bomb-victims-500tall-206x420.jpg 206w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /> Nagasaki bomb victims in 1945 . . . vital evidence of civilian war trauma now no longer on display at Auckland Museum. Image: Screenshot This year, the greatest number of active armed conflicts since the end of the Second World War is taking place. The Doomsday Clock was set at 85 seconds to midnight on January 27 — the closest it has ever been to midnight. Funding for nuclear weapons programmes is increasing and the New START treaty, the nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia has expired, with US President Donald Trump having no interest in renewing arms limitation agreements. Remembering the destructive and tragic consequences of war should be central to the role of museums in their telling of stories about war. However, unfortunately, around the same time as the recent removal of asbestos from the museum, some of these vital stories have been removed. They include evidence of civilian war trauma installed in the 1990s by then head curator Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Pugsley to show impacts of war on civilians. Another removal has been the 1968 “Letter from a Vietnam Hospital” by the New Zealand surgeon and surgical team leader in Vietnam, Dr Peter Eccles-Smith, and a photo of a woman and a child who were victims of the Nagasaki atomic bomb in 1945. No record of NZ nuclear protests There is also no longer any text or photos showing New Zealand’s official protests against French nuclear testing at Moruroa Atoll in the South Pacific. In addition to the reinstatement of these particular items, a more encompassing telling of stories about war at Auckland Museum than at present could include the portrayal of New Zealand’s resistance to international wars, the work of civilian and army medical personnel, photos of injured soldiers and civilians, photos and placards of anti-war demonstrators, stories of conscientious objectors, portrayals of victims of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and photos and stories about the nuclear-free movement in NZ and the Pacific, including the fateful journey of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior across Oceania into Auckland Harbour. Auckland Museum’s 2025 plan included “Enabling commemoration opportunities to reflect the community while exploring themes of conflict and peace; and commitment to broadening our commemorative narrative to be inclusive of diverse experiences and events relevant to our communities.” This year is 30 years since the International Court of Justice declared that the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally contradict international law. Next year, 2027, will be the 40th anniversary of NZ’s nuclear-free legislation, a fitting time for Auckland Museum to launch an exhibition that could include NZ’s official and civil society opposition to nuclear weapons. Veteran peace activists hope to forge a constructive working relationship with Auckland Museum to help portray people’s experience of war more fully, and create a peace gallery to tell the story of NZ’s peace history. Audrey van Ryn is a peace activist and writer. In 2009, she created the Auckland Peace Heritage Walk on behalf of the United Nations Association of NZ. She is currently secretary of Community Groups Feeding the Homeless. If interested, please contact Dr David Robie of the Asia Pacific Media Network This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
U.S. Supreme Court hears birthright citizenship case
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 31, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 31, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 31, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
<img width="1024" height="800" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=1024%2C800&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken on June 14, 1999. ^^^ Portrait of Dolores Huerta in front of a painting with Cesar Chavez and farmworkers. Artist unknown. (Photo by Annie Wells/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)" data-attachment-id="342382" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/cesar-chavez-sexual-abuse-dolores-huerta/delores-huerta-at-united-farm-workers-headquarters-at-la-paz-near-keene-and-tehachpi-photo-taken-o" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=1700%2C1328&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1700,1328" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag","camera":"","caption":"Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken on June 14, 1999. ^^^ Portrait of Dolores Huerta in front of a painting with Cesar Chavez and farmworkers. Artist unknown. (Photo by Annie Wells/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"2015 Los Angeles Times","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken o","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken o" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken on June 14, 1999. ^^^ Portrait of Dolores Huerta in front of a painting with Cesar Chavez and farmworkers. Artist unknown. (Photo by Annie Wells/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=300%2C234&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=780%2C609&ssl=1"> Revelations that the co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union sexually abused young girls and women, including fellow civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, has set off a bomb in Latino communities and movement spaces.
<img width="1024" height="800" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=1024%2C800&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken on June 14, 1999. ^^^ Portrait of Dolores Huerta in front of a painting with Cesar Chavez and farmworkers. Artist unknown. 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Photo taken on June 14, 1999. ^^^ Portrait of Dolores Huerta in front of a painting with Cesar Chavez and farmworkers. Artist unknown. (Photo by Annie Wells/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"2015 Los Angeles Times","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken o","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken o" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Delores Huerta at United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, near Keene and Tehachpi. Photo taken on June 14, 1999. ^^^ Portrait of Dolores Huerta in front of a painting with Cesar Chavez and farmworkers. Artist unknown. (Photo by Annie Wells/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=300%2C234&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-563604865.jpg?fit=780%2C609&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="314" data-attachment-id="293467" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/alabama-prison-strikers-demands-push-for-decarceration/prismlogo-sized" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?fit=600%2C314&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,314" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="PRISMlogo-sized" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?fit=300%2C157&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?fit=600%2C314&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?resize=600%2C314&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-293467 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?resize=300%2C157&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?resize=400%2C209&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PRISMlogo-sized.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Prism on March 23, 2026. Real journalists wrote and edited this (not AI)—independent, community-driven journalism survives because you back it. Donate to sustain Prism’s mission and the humans behind it. Like many others, I’ve spent the last few days looking at the many iconic photos of Dolores Huerta, the renowned feminist, labor organizer, and powerhouse co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) Union. In one of my favorites taken in Salinas, California, Huerta gently holds a microphone up to her mouth with a slight smile on her face, her other hand in the air commanding the attention of the room. The photo was taken during a UFW rally in 1970, just a few years after Huerta said she was raped by Chicano civil rights leader and union co-founder, César Chávez. For Latinos nationwide grappling with Huerta’s recent revelation, Chávez’s legacy is forever fragmented: the time before and the time after we learned he was a rapist. As part of an investigation by The New York Times published March 18, Huerta for the first time publicly disclosed the sexual and emotional abuse she experienced at the hands of her comrade while they were the public faces of the Latino-led farmworker organizing movement. Together, they helped obtain union contracts, higher wages, and more dignified working conditions for farmworkers, in part by organizing a grape boycott. It was also in a secluded grape field where Chávez raped Huerta—a tactic commonly deployed by other rapists against their unsuspecting compañeras in agriculture who toil alongside them. While Chávez died in 1993 at the age of 66, Huerta, now 95, said she felt forced to keep the abuse a secret for fear no one would believe her, and because the revelation had the potential to delegitimize the movement. Her decision is surely not unfamiliar to women abused by men in social justice movements. Alongside Huerta, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas also detailed their experiences with Chávez. Now in their 60s, both women were the children of UFW staff members, and Chávez was a figure they revered for his power, influence, and commitment to justice. He wielded these attributes to groom Murguia and Rojas and sexually abuse them for years—a dynamic not unfamiliar to many survivors. It is a stunning revelation that the most prominent Mexican American leader in U.S. history, a man who helped transform labor rights for those working in conditions akin to slavery, was also a pedophile and rapist. Or is it? “Cesar Chavez is just a man,” said Esmeralda Lopez in the Times investigation. Lopez, also the daughter of a UFW staff member, was a teenager in 1988 when she became the target of 61-year-old Chávez. Though she successfully rebuffed his advances, the experience stuck with her. “It makes you rethink in history all those heroes,” she said. “The movement—that’s the hero.” But a hero he was. A 1983 Los Angeles Times poll revealed that Chávez was the Latino that Latinos in California admired most. Intentional or not, Chávez’s outsized presence and position as movement figurehead eclipsed the sacrifices, contributions, and efforts of countless farmworkers, activists, and organizers—especially women. Even decades after his death, our communities have actively maintained Chávez’s hero status, even as his legacy was already frayed at the edges. When I was a child, my father made sure I knew César Chávez’s name. I had never heard of Dolores Huerta. The same was true in my California public school. I was 8 years old when Chávez died. He is the only Mexican American I can ever recall being introduced to as part of my K-12 education. Still, learning about his achievements as a young person led to a powerful realization: Everyday people can rise up against injustice. Chávez was “our people,” my dad would say, and this instilled in me a sense of pride I didn’t previously carry. It wasn’t until adulthood that I realized how directly Chávez’s work impacted my family. When my dad came to the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant, it was activists with El Movimiento, or the Chicano Rights Movement, who helped him enroll in community college classes and learn English. Thanks to the organizing work of UFW, a farmworker family member who first came to the U.S. as part of the brutal Bracero Program later experienced vastly different working conditions as a citizen in California’s Central Valley, where two generations in our family once worked the grapevines. As a movement journalist covering injustices in agriculture, I have thought of Chávez often, mostly of his initial disdain for undocumented workers, his eventual evolution on the subject, and the countless ways that conditions in American fields have worsened since his death. My investigation of gender-based violence in agriculture, published last September, now feels more prescient than ever. The truth is that any of our families and movements are shadowed by César Chávezes, and ours is a country and a culture haunted by the specter of sexual violence. Revelations of Chávez’s abuse feel earth-shattering, largely because of who we believed him to be. The truth is that any of our families and movements are shadowed by César Chávezes, and ours is a country and a culture haunted by the specter of sexual violence. Even so, I was completely distraught over the revelations of Chávez’s abuse, even as I’ve reported multiple investigations revealing the dangers and inevitable harms that occur when movements place people on pedestals. All day I fielded messages from other grief-stricken Latinas, including survivors, farmworkers, and organizers. I sobbed reading the accounts from Huerta, Murguia, and Rojas. Because their abuse was ignored. Because they deserved better. Because I understand how culturally—and within our culture—women are sacrificed to protect the men who abuse them. I will never get over how easily we set our women ablaze—especially as someone who’s been licked by the flames. I dreaded speaking to my dad the day the Chávez news broke. While we are incredibly close, largely because he is now a very different man from the one who raised me, he was my introduction to gender-based violence. The conditions he cultivated in my childhood home led me to internalize a very particular message about girlhood: the safety of the marginalized men who abuse us is predicated on our silence. It is because of my father and other abusive men in my family that I can relate to the way Huerta holds Chávez’s duality. After the revelations were made public, Huerta spoke to journalist John Quiñones, acknowledging that Chávez had “an evil side,” but that she still hoped “his legacy would live on in the things that were accomplished.” As I suspected, my dad had nothing to say about the allegations against Chávez—that he molested and raped children; that he raped Huerta; that he used his position of power to harm young girls and women. Instead, my dad questioned Huerta’s reason for going public, adamant she aimed to destroy Chávez’s legacy. Nevermind that she has been the torchbearer of that legacy for 60 years, and like Murguias and Rojas, she has been forced to live in the inescapable shadow of her rapist. I abruptly ended our call. As the media frenzy now ramps up, with legacy outlets competing for more gory details and reporters vying to be among the first to re-traumatize Huerta, a bomb has gone off in Latino communities and movement spaces. In some ways, Chávez was all that Mexican American communities had. We are otherwise not allowed to make history. In broader American culture, we are ahistorical, always foreign or newly arrived. This country could not survive without Latino farmworkers, and Chávez was our small slice of America—proof that there was once a time when people outside of our communities recognized and valued our contributions to this country. Now, during an era of racial animus toward Latinos and catastrophic conditions for farmworkers and other low-wage workers, how do you erase César Chávez, who is the namesake of streets and parks nationwide? What do parents and educators say to the young Latinas who attend the 86 public schools named after a man now known for using his position as a Chicano civil rights leader to sexually abuse girls like them? Grappling with Chávez’s true legacy—as a civil rights leader and a rapist—requires more than scrubbing his name from every street sign and school marquee. Murguia said she decided to publicly share her story for the first time because she learned that a street near her home in Bakersfield, California, was in the process of being renamed Cesar Chavez Boulevard. While there is a growing chorus to purge Chávez from California’s public memory, his victims never had the power or the luxury—even as Chávez’s abuse of young girls and women appeared to be an open secret. UFW’s own archive, the Times reported, contained items such as audio recordings of Chávez repeatedly calling Huerta “a stupid bitch” during board meetings and an unsettling letter a 13-year-old Rojas wrote to Chávez in 1974. Grappling with Chávez’s true legacy—as a civil rights leader and a rapist—requires more than scrubbing his name from every street sign and school marquee. While these demands are important, how far do they go in a country that only seems to appreciate powerful men who abuse their power? I don’t disagree with removing Chávez’s name from public places, but as a survivor, these efforts feel hollow while living under the regime of a twice-elected rapist. But none of us can really say what justice looks like for Chávez’s surviving victims; that is for them to decide. What I do know is that next time I see Chávez’s face on a children’s book when I’m browsing a bookstore, or I catch sight of him painted on a mural two stories high, I will not pause to consider his leadership or recount his many achievements for our people. Instead, I will think only of Huerta, Murguias, and Rojas, hoping that by sharing their stories, they finally felt free to step into the light. Editorial Team: Lara Witt, Lead Editor Lara Witt, Top Editor Rashmee Kumar, Copy Editor This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Tina Vasquez.
The AI War on Iran: Project Maven, a Secretive Palantir-Run System, Helps Pentagon Pick Bomb Targets
U.S. Pressure on Cuba Continues Despite Arrival of Russian Oil Tanker
"Deeply Illegal, Unconstitutional": Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Ban Reaches Supreme Court
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 31, 2026
The Trump administration says the United States has struck 11,000 targets in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli war on the country began. Critics have questioned the accuracy of the Maven system, the artificial intelligence system used by the militar...
The Trump administration says the United States has struck 11,000 targets in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli war on the country began. Critics have questioned the accuracy of the Maven system, the artificial intelligence system used by the military to speed up the process of identifying targets. “Imagine Google Earth for war, a map of war with white dots, infused with information like elevation, coordinate, what is precisely there, whether it’s friendly or foe,” says Katrina Manson, a reporter for Bloomberg News and author of Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare. The Pentagon launched Project Maven in 2017. Google was an initial partner, but the company pulled out after over 3,000 Google employees signed a letter opposing the work. The big data firm Palantir then took over the project and has run it ever since. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
A Russian tanker carrying around 700,000 barrels of crude oil has arrived in the port of Matanzas, Cuba, breaking the U.S. blockade imposed by President Trump three months ago. Fuel shortages in Cuba have caused dayslong blackouts and have bro...
A Russian tanker carrying around 700,000 barrels of crude oil has arrived in the port of Matanzas, Cuba, breaking the U.S. blockade imposed by President Trump three months ago. Fuel shortages in Cuba have caused dayslong blackouts and have brought all sectors of the country to the brink of collapse. The White House is claiming the arrival of the Russian tanker, unimpeded by the United States, does not signal a “formal change in sanction policy,” and said U.S. decisions on shipments going forward would be made on a case-by-case basis. “I think possibly what’s going on is that the administration has begun to worry that their effort to strangle the economy could push the economy over the edge and generate a mass migration crisis,” says William LeoGrande, professor of government at American University. “Who is the United States? Who gave you the authorization to say how much oil is going into Cuba or not? This is illegal,” adds Liz Oliva Fernández, a Cuban journalist with Belly of the Beast. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“Deeply Illegal, Unconstitutional”: Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Ban Reaches Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week on the constitutionality of President Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship. An executive order, signed on Trump’s first day back in office, declares children born to parents wi...
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week on the constitutionality of President Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship. An executive order, signed on Trump’s first day back in office, declares children born to parents without permanent legal status would no longer be automatically granted citizenship. The policy “is deeply illegal, unconstitutional and morally wrong,” says Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. The ACLU is representing all children targeted by Trump’s executive order in a class-action lawsuit. Wofsy says roughly 5 million U.S.-born children would be affected by the order over the next 20 years. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Trump Drops Bunker Buster Bombs on Isfahan and Threatens to Obliterate Iran’s Energy Infrastructure, Iran Vows to Target American University Campuses in the Region After U.S. Strikes Hit Iranian Universities, Iran Strikes Oil Tanker Near Dubai and Fires Cluster Munitions at Israel, Israel’s Parliament Approves Death Penalty for Palestinians, Palestinian American Activist Nerdeen Kiswani Speaks Outside City Hall After Assassination Attempt, Socialist Filmmaker Avi Lewis Elected to Lead Canada’s New Democratic Party, MSF: Rape and Sexual Violence “Part of Everyday Life” in Sudan’s Darfur Region, At Least 70 Killed in Attack on Gold Mine in South Sudan, Mexican Officials Call for Investigation After Mexican Immigrant Dies at Adelanto ICE Jail, At Least 70 Killed in Gang Massacre in Haiti as U.N. Force Prepares to Deploy, Trump Vows to Continue Energy Blockade on Cuba Despite Allowing Russian Oil Tanker to Dock, Trump Administration Opens 401(k) Retirement Accounts to Private Equity and Cryptocurrency
Trump Drops Bunker Buster Bombs on Isfahan and Threatens to Obliterate Iran's Energy Infrastructure Iran Vows to Target American University Campuses in the Region After U.S. Strikes Hit Iranian Universities Iran Strikes Oil Tanker Near Dubai and Fires Cluster Munitions at Israel Israel's Parliament Approves Death Penalty for Palestinians Palestinian American Activist Nerdeen Kiswani Speaks Outside City Hall After Assassination Attempt Socialist Filmmaker Avi Lewis Elected to Lead Canada's New Democratic Party MSF: Rape and Sexual Violence "Part of Everyday Life" in Sudan's Darfur Region At Least 70 Killed in Attack on Gold Mine in South Sudan Mexican Officials Call for Investigation After Mexican Immigrant Dies at Adelanto ICE Jail At Least 70 Killed in Gang Massacre in Haiti as U.N. Force Prepares to Deploy Trump Vows to Continue Energy Blockade on Cuba Despite Allowing Russian Oil Tanker to Dock Trump Administration Opens 401(k) Retirement Accounts to Private Equity and Cryptocurrency This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! Tuesday, March 31, 2026 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Massive Blasts at Iran’s Weapons Depot as Fifth Week of Strikes Continues | US Iran Update
Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4
Tuesday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD
Tuesday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4 and was authored by Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4.
Trump’s Justice Department Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration
The post Trump’s Justice Department Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration appeared first on ProPublica.
In the first days after Pam Bondi was appointed attorney general last year, the Department of Justice began shutting down pending criminal cases at a record pace. The cases included an investigation into a Virginia nursing home with a recent record of patient abuse; probes of fraud involving several New Jersey labor unions, including one opened after a top official of a national union was accused of embezzlement; and an investigation into a cryptocurrency company suspected of cheating investors. In total, the DOJ quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases, according to an analysis by ProPublica. The bulk of these cases, which were closed without prosecution and known as declinations, had been referred to the DOJ by law enforcement agencies under prior administrations that believed a federal crime may have been committed. The DOJ routinely declines to prosecute cases for any number of reasons, including insufficient evidence or because a case is not a priority for enforcement. But the number of declinations under Bondi marks a striking departure not only from the Biden administration but also the first Trump term, according to the ProPublica analysis, which examined two decades of DOJ data, including the first six months of Trump’s second term. ProPublica determined the increase is not the result of inheriting a larger caseload or more referrals from law enforcement. In February 2025 alone, which included the first weeks of Bondi’s tenure, nearly 11,000 cases were declined, the most in a month since at least 2004. The previous high was just over 6,500 cases in September 2019, during Trump’s first administration. Some of the cases shut down were the result of yearslong investigations by federal agencies such as the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. For complex cases, the DOJ can take years before deciding whether to bring charges. The shift comes as the DOJ has undergone an extraordinary overhaul under the Trump administration, with entire units shuttered, directives to abandon pursuit of certain crimes and thousands of lawyers quitting or, in some cases, being forced out of the agency. In doing so, the DOJ is retreating from its mission to impartially uphold the rule of law, keep the country safe and protect civil rights, according to interviews with a dozen prosecutors and an open letter from nearly 300 DOJ employees who have left the department under Trump. The Trump DOJ, the employees wrote, is “taking a sledgehammer” to long-standing work to “protect communities and the rule of law.” The change in priorities was outlined in a series of memos sent to attorneys early last year. Trump’s DOJ has said it is “turning a new page on white-collar and corporate enforcement” and emphasizing the pursuit of drug cartels, illegal immigrants and institutions that promote “divisive DEI policies.” Trump, in an address last March at the department, said the changes were necessary after a “surrender to violent criminals” during the past administration and would result in a restoration of “fair, equal and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law.” The department prosecuted 32,000 new immigration cases in the first six months of the administration, which was nearly triple the number under the Biden administration and a 15% increase from the first Trump term. It has pursued fewer prosecutions of nearly every other type of crime — from drug offenses to corruption — than new administrations in their first six months dating back to 2009. The DOJ has also closed hundreds of cases involving alleged crimes that the administration has publicly emphasized as enforcement priorities. Even as the Trump administration unleashed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency operatives to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, the DOJ declined over 900 cases of federal program or procurement fraud. About three times as many cases of major fraud against the U.S. were declined under Trump compared with the average of similar time periods under prior administrations. And while the Trump administration has promised to “make America safe again,” its DOJ has declined more than 1,000 terrorism cases, also more than prior administrations. Federal prosecutor Joseph Gerbasi had spent years in the department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section helping build cases against major suppliers of fentanyl ingredients in India and China. After Bondi came in, he was left bewildered when his team was ordered to abandon its work. “All of the building blocks of what would become successful prosecutions were pulled out,” said Gerbasi, who retired as the section’s acting deputy chief for policy in March 2025 after 28 years with the department. The move had an “overwhelming deflating effect on morale,” he said. After Trump’s Inauguration, the Department of Justice Turned Down a Record Number of Cases The first quarter of 2025, and especially February of that year, saw the department declining to prosecute cases against thousands of defendants outside of its regular six-month review process. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="921" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?w=752" alt="A chart showing the number of criminal cases declined by the Department of Justice from 2004 through July 2025, by month. There is a spike of nearly 11,000 declined cases in February 2025, much higher than the other months. The second-highest count of around 6,500 declined cases is in September 2019, during Trump’s first term." class="wp-image-72354" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png 1480w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=245,300 245w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=768,940 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=836,1024 836w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=1255,1536 1255w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=863,1057 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=422,517 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=552,676 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=558,683 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=527,645 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=752,921 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=1149,1407 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=1307,1600 1307w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=400,490 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=800,979 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bOawl-doj-declinations-by-month-.png?resize=1200,1469 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Source: DOJ data provided by TRAC Ken Morales/ProPublica Barbara McQuade, who worked as a federal prosecutor in Michigan for two decades until 2017 during Republican and Democratic administrations, said it was not unusual for new administrations to come to office with a few “pet priorities” — such as a focus on violent crime or drug trafficking. But she said those changes usually involved modest adjustments in policy and that most of the decisions on what crimes to focus on were typically made at the local level by the district U.S. attorney in coordination with the FBI or other agencies. “We would revise those about every five years, not having anything to do with any administration, just because it made sense,” she said. A DOJ spokesperson, in an emailed response to questions about the spike in declinations, said that in “an effort to clean, remediate, and validate data in U.S. Attorneys’ case management system,” the department reviewed all pending criminal matters opened prior to the 2023 fiscal year, which included updating the status of closed cases. “This Department of Justice remains committed to investigating and prosecuting all types of crime to keep the American people safe, and the number of declinations is a direct result of our efforts to run the agency in a more efficient manner.” The agency did not respond to questions about the types of cases declined. The spike of declined cases began in February 2025 when the department ordered prosecutors to review every open case launched prior to October 2022 and determine whether to close it. Such a review would typically take months, according to one attorney tasked with reviewing cases. A memo, which was described to ProPublica reporters, ordered the review to be completed within 10 days. Former DOJ prosecutors told ProPublica that they typically reviewed caseloads every six months with supervisors and that closing out languishing cases wouldn’t ordinarily be cause for concern. They said the February directive, however, was unusual. None could recall a similar order. The directive came as higher-ups in the department had begun making frequent demands for data about specific types of cases and charging decisions, such as the outcome of fentanyl cases, according to former prosecutor Michael Gordon. Gordon, who helped prosecute Jan. 6 cases before moving to white-collar crime prosecutions, said the “fire drills” from officials in Washington became so regular that he grew used to the forlorn look on his supervisor’s face when he showed up at Gordon’s door, apologetically delivering yet another frantic request. “It was either ‘give us stats we can use to make ourselves look good’ or ‘give us the stats to show how bad things are in this area,’” Gordon said. “It was never productive fact-finding.” Though Gordon didn’t see the memo, he remembered getting the request to review all cases that had been open for more than two years and report back on their status, entering into a master spreadsheet basic information about any that he wanted to keep pursuing. “The office was pushing us to close everything by a certain date so that when they had to report up to D.C. they had a low number of open cases,” he said. “You really had to go to bat to keep open a case that was more than two years old.” Gordon said he was fired by the DOJ last June. He has filed a lawsuit alleging his termination was politically motivated. The department did not respond to questions about Gordon’s comments or his lawsuit. The government filed a motion to dismiss the case late last year, arguing that the federal court did not have jurisdiction over the matter. The court has not yet ruled on that motion, and the case is still pending. Investigations into individuals or corporations declined for prosecution are generally not reported to courts and usually only disclosed in summary form by the DOJ in annual reports. To conduct its analysis, ProPublica obtained declination data from the DOJ and the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a center that obtains data through Freedom of Information Act requests. The DOJ Declined a Slew of Cases Shortly After Pam Bondi Was Confirmed as Attorney General Nearly 11,000 criminal cases were declined during her first month in office. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="845" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?w=752" alt="A chart showing daily counts of declined criminal cases, from Jan. 1, 2025, through the middle of March. In January, daily counts don’t rise much above 150. After Bondi was confirmed as attorney general on Feb. 4, declined cases start to climb and several days are above 1,000. Counts start to fall again until toward the end of February, with nearly 11,000 total in February alone. March looks more like the counts in January, though several days are above 200." class="wp-image-72358" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png 1480w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=267,300 267w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=768,863 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=911,1024 911w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=1366,1536 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=863,970 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=422,474 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=552,621 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=558,627 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=527,593 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=752,845 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=1149,1292 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=1423,1600 1423w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=400,450 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=800,899 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CJTeA-doj-declinations-by-day-.png?resize=1200,1349 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Source: DOJ data provided by TRAC Ken Morales/ProPublica Here are some of the areas most impacted by the spike in declinations. Drugs As president, Trump has spoken frequently about the “scourge” of drugs coming into the country. At the same time, the Justice Department has declined to prosecute nearly 5,000 cases of federal drug law violations, including trafficking and money laundering. The number of declinations were 45% higher than the average of the prior three new administrations. Gerbasi, the counternarcotics prosecutor, declined to comment on specific cases that might have been declined in his office. But, he said, once Bondi was appointed, the priority in the office became building cases against Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan group that the Trump administration has labeled a foreign terrorist organization. “Tren de Aragua was not anywhere close to the scale or impact of the cartels we were focused on,” Gerbasi said. “But we were told to generate those cases.” He said his office had to scramble to fly people to investigate local gangs in small towns that were reportedly affiliated with Tren de Aragua. “They never would have merited a full-scale federal investigation,” he said. “It told me that decisions were going to be based on political appearances and not based on the merits of where investigative resources should be placed.” The DOJ declined to comment on Gerbasi’s remarks. Trump’s DOJ Has Rejected Far More Cases Than Previous Administrations Across a Wide Range of Categories Many of the dropped cases were in programs the DOJ has claimed were priorities. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="512" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?w=752" alt="A table showing criminal declinations in the first six months of Trump’s second term in comparison to the average declinations over a similar time frame of the prior three administrations. Cases are categorized by type, such drugs, white-collar crime and corruption. The largest change is with labor cases, where Trump’s DOJ has declined 129% more cases (64 vs. 28). In national security, Trump’s DOJ has declined 93% more cases (1,391 vs. 720), and in organized crime, 86% more cases (182 vs. 98). Trump’s DOJ is higher in all categories except for immigration, where Trump has declined 22% less (674 vs. 864)." class="wp-image-72363" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png 2480w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=300,204 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=768,523 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=1024,697 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=1536,1045 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=2048,1394 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=863,587 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=422,287 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=552,376 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=558,380 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=527,359 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=752,512 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=1149,782 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=2000,1361 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=400,272 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=800,545 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=1200,817 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/0KXt9-declinations-trump-2-v-3-admins.png?resize=1600,1089 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Source: TRAC, DOJ Note: “Other” primarily includes government regulatory offenses and theft. Comparison to average of past administrations only includes the first six months after a presidential administration change: Obama (2009), Trump (2017) and Biden (2021) Ken Morales/ProPublica National Security Under Bondi, the DOJ declined more than 1,300 cases involving terrorism and national security, nearly twice what was typical at the start of the most recent new administrations. While domestic terrorism was the hardest-hit program, just over 300 cases involving charges of providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations were also dropped. The DOJ program handling matters relating to national internal security — which considers cases of alleged spy activity and the security of classified information — saw over 200 declinations, which is four times as many as typical in the first six months of a new administration. Some of the cases related to serving as an unregistered foreign agent, a charge Bondi ordered prosecutors to stop pursuing unless they involved “conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.” Jimmy Gurulé, a former federal prosecutor and George W. Bush appointee to the U.S. Treasury Department who investigated the financing of terrorism, said the decline in terrorism cases was troubling. “The Trump DOJ has been used as a political weapon,” he said. “It’s a question of prioritizing resources. Are they going to be used for national security threats or to prosecute his political enemies and critics?” The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment on Gurulé’s remarks. Labor The DOJ shut down over 60 union corruption and labor racketeering cases, 2.5 times the number in Trump’s first term. Nearly half of the cases turned down for those offenses were out of the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office, which in the past has aggressively pursued alleged union corruption. All were noted as declined for insufficient evidence. Most of those cases had been opened by Grady O’Malley, an assistant U.S. attorney who oversaw several prosecutions of union corruption while working in the New Jersey office over four decades. He retired in 2023 and was disturbed to learn from former colleagues that the office was shutting down the open union probes. A Trump supporter, O’Malley said that while he doesn’t blame the president, he worries the decision to drop so many cases could embolden unions that he and his colleagues spent years working to hold accountable. “No one is assigned to do labor union cases, and the unions have every reason to believe no one is looking.” The New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office said it had no comment on the declination of labor cases. White-Collar Crime The Trump administration has pledged to root out “rampant” fraud in federal benefit programs like food stamps and welfare. The controversial surging of federal agents to Minnesota in January began as a stated crackdown on noncitizens allegedly ripping off nutrition and child care programs. The DOJ, however, shut down more than 900 cases of federal program or procurement fraud in the first six months of the administration, including one targeting a mortgage lender accused by several state regulators of defrauding the Federal Housing Administration. The case was dropped due to “prioritization of federal resources and interests.” The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Alabama, which declined the case, did not reply to a request for comment. The number of fraud cases closed was about double that in the same time period of the Biden and first Trump administrations. The agency also closed over 100 health care fraud cases as a result of “prioritization of resources and interests” even though the Trump administration has said it is making this area of enforcement a priority. Among other cases the DOJ determined weren’t a priority: the probe into the Virginia nursing home accused of abuse, as well as investigations in Tennessee into fraud at a national hospital chain and one of the largest Medicaid managed care companies. The Western District of Virginia U.S. attorney’s office, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the nursing home case. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee said the office does not comment on investigations that do not result in public charges. The DOJ’s Antitrust Division, which focuses on preventing big businesses from creating harmful monopolies, also declined an unusually high number of cases in Trump’s second term. More than 40 cases were dropped within the first six months of Bondi’s tenure. That’s more than double the number declined in the same time period by the prior three new administrations. Despite the declinations, the department said it charged slightly more people with fraud in 2025 compared with the final year of the Biden administration, and those cases alleged larger financial losses. Promises Kept The DOJ under Bondi has also rapidly pursued many of the priorities laid out in Trump’s early executive orders and her own “first day” directives to staff. Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order pausing new investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits citizens and companies from bribing foreign entities to advance their business interests. The order asked the attorney general to review and “take appropriate action” on any existing probes to “preserve Presidential foreign policy prerogatives.” In the first six months, Bondi’s DOJ shut down 25 such cases, which is more than the combined number dropped by the prior three new administrations over the same time period. One of the cases declined for prosecution involved a major car manufacturer, which had reported possible anti-bribery violations to federal investigators involving a foreign subsidiary. The DOJ declined the case for prosecution last June, citing the “prioritization of federal resources and interests.” On her first day, Bondi ordered a review of criminal prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE Act, which prohibits people from illegally blocking access to abortion clinics and places of worship. The department dropped as many cases under the act in its first six months as the past three new administrations combined, over the same time frame. Bondi’s order focused on “non-violent protest activity,” although at least one of the closed cases was being investigated as a violent crime. The DOJ has since charged protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and journalists in Minneapolis under the FACE Act. The defendants in the case have pleaded not guilty. The agency closed three times the number of cases alleging environmental crimes as the Biden administration did and one-and-a-half times as many as compared with Trump’s first term. The declinations came as the DOJ reassigned and cut prosecutors working on environmental cases. One-fifth of all of the dropped environmental protection cases were shut down for “prioritization of federal resources and interests.” How We Tracked Declined Cases To quantify declined cases, ProPublica used data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The dataset consists of compiled FOIA responses of the United States attorneys offices’ criminal division case management system from January 2004 to July 2025, the latest available through TRAC. The data contains nearly 4 million unique cases involving individuals or organizations. We supplemented case details in the TRAC data with data directly from the DOJ. We counted how many declinations were recorded in the first six months of Trump’s second term, compared with the same period of time for prior changes in presidential administration. That includes the first six months of the first Obama administration, the first Trump administration and the Biden administration. Cases can have multiple defendants. Prosecutors can and do decline to prosecute some defendants in a case while pursuing prosecution for others. We counted each defendant separately. Trump’s second administration inherited around 100,000 open criminal investigations, comparable to the number that Biden’s DOJ inherited. Under Trump, the DOJ declined 20% of these existing cases in its first six months, compared with Biden’s 11%. Referrals from law enforcement under Trump’s second administration were lower than the other incoming administrations in the data except for Biden, whose DOJ operated during the COVID-19 lockdown. When looking at inherited investigations, we included only cases that were open at the start of a new administration. We excluded any that had progressed to prosecution, as those would no longer be eligible for a declination. To understand which types of cases the DOJ was declining, we looked both at the area of the DOJ that was handling the case as well as the lead charge being considered. DOJ programs represent distinct areas of subject matter expertise within the department’s prosecution divisions. To further aggregate, we grouped together programs by subject matter, primarily relying on their categorization in the DOJ’s Offices of the United States Attorneys 2024 fiscal year annual statistical report. When reviewing cases by lead charge, sometimes referred to as the investigative charge, we considered them separately from the assigned DOJ program. According to the DOJ’s documentation, these are the “substantive statute that is the primary basis for the referral.” We used a large language model to help us identify charges of interest, which we then confirmed by hand by reviewing the statutes. About 2% of cases were sealed, with the DOJ program and lead charge information redacted. The post Trump’s Justice Department Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Ken B. Morales.
Texas saw a $50B future in clean energy. Then the political winds shifted.
Renewables brought income to ranchers and tax revenue to counties long buffeted by boom-and-bust oil cycles. Policy changes in Washington and unease on the ground threaten that momentum.
On an unseasonably warm January day, Duff Hallman’s goats and sheep wandered unhurried through the rocky hills of his ranch 30 miles south of San Angelo, Texas, unbothered by the long shadows that swept over the ground. The shadows fell from wind turbines towering 250 feet above, their blades spinning like clock hands over land that has been in Hallman’s family for four generations. From a shady spot in his backyard, Hallman can almost nod off watching them turn. “It slows your pace down a bit,” he said. At 74, Hallman still feels honored to work the 9,200-acre ranch he owns with his brother and sister, sometimes putting in as much as 15 hours a day. The labor starts at dawn — mending fences, clearing pastures, tending horses and livestock — and is far from lucrative. He doesn’t do it for the money, but out of gratitude to those who kept the ranch going before him. “Somebody worked their tail off to make it happen,” he said. “And I have worked my tail off, too.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5631.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man in a baseball cap and button up shirt stands on a rural road" data-caption="Duff Hallman stands on his family ranch, which he owns with his siblings. In 2007, they signed a lease with a clean energy company to bring new revenue." data-credit="Laura Mallonee / Grist"/> Duff Hallman stands on his family ranch, which he owns with his siblings. In 2007, they signed a lease with a clean energy company to bring new revenue. Laura Mallonee / Grist Standing beneath a live oak, his ballcap shielding tired eyes, Hallman spoke of bluebonnets that carpet the pastures each spring and moonrises that “knock your socks off” — one so bright he thought it was a spaceship. His great-grandfather Sam Henderson, a Texas Ranger, bought the land in 1916; it straddles Tom Green, Schleicher, and Irion counties about four hours west of Austin. Hallman spent his childhood summers there, learning his way around. He took over after his grandparents died in 1975 and set to work — rebuilding pens and corrals, cutting cedar and mesquite, tending livestock. In the early 1980s, an oil company drilled 15 wells, and the Hallman siblings prospered. “That was a good time,” he said. “They were trying to get it out of the ground as fast as they could.” But within a decade, the oil began drying up and federal wool subsidies vanished. Suddenly the ranch felt fragile. They needed a new revenue stream — something that might soften the hard years and help keep their children on the land after them — and in 2007, they signed a lease with a clean energy company. They hadn’t even heard of wind rights when the landman called. “We just thought the wind blew across the surface,” Hallman said. For roughly six months, workers uprooted stones, bushes, and trees; carved 53 miles of road through the hills; and poured concrete slabs for 33 steel towers. The land thrummed with constant motion and dust choked the air. As Hallman watched his ranch transform, he worried that he’d made a mistake. Little did he know, he had glimpsed the future. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5607.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="a small herd of goats walks on a path near wind turbines" data-caption="Goats wander across a caliche road on Duff Hallman’s property, which hosts 33 windmills that form part of the 160 MW Langford Wind farm. The facility began operations in 2009. " data-credit="Laura Mallonee / Grist"/> Goats wander across a caliche road on Duff Hallman’s property, which hosts 33 windmills that form part of the 160 MW Langford Wind farm. The facility began operations in 2009. Laura Mallonee / Grist Hallman’s doubts reflect a larger reckoning underway in West Texas. Over the past two decades, rural counties that helped meet the nation’s demand for oil have become unexpected linchpins of its clean-energy buildout. Pumpjacks now stand alongside wind and solar farms drawn in part by open range and generous federal incentives. For Schleicher County, where oil production has waned and the tax base dwindled, “renewables” have taken on a double meaning, offering the promise of fiscal stability in a place desperate for economic rejuvenation. But that promise is now complicated by the Trump administration’s rollback of clean energy policy and many of the incentives that fueled the boom. Texas has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. During the three years after the legislation passed in 2022, developers invested some $62 billion in clean energy ventures statewide and announced billions more in planned construction. Projects already constructed or proposed in Schleicher County — including a hydrogen facility once estimated to bring $1.2 billion in tax revenue — were forecast to generate tens of millions for schools, hospitals, and other services. But those projections rested on one key assumption: The federal tax credits at the heart of the IRA would remain in place. The law expanded and extended earlier incentives through 2024 and established a new system of credits to begin in 2025. This federal support — including additional incentives for installations built in low-income communities and regions with a history of fossil fuel extraction — could cover up to 70 percent of a facility’s cost. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Two older women walk gleefully out of a building labeled Crockett County Senior Center" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?resize=330%2C220&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?resize=768%2C512&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SeniorCenter.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1333" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> In rural West Texas, renewable energy brings a windfall for seniors Bekah Stolhandske McNeel Before the cuts, governments and landowners across Texas stood to collect nearly $50 billion in lease payments and tax revenue from current and planned projects, according to one report, with roughly three-quarters of counties positioned to benefit. Now, many of these developments — and their hoped-for revenue — face a precarious future. More than $4 billion in investment has already been threatened or cancelled. All told, the about-face could eliminate thousands of jobs and shave $20 billion from the state’s gross domestic product by 2035. The climate consequences are equally stark, adding roughly 83 million metric tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere by some estimates. One county illustrates what has been gained by the boom — and what could be lost with its passing. Scurry County, about two hours northwest of Hallman’s ranch, is one of the largest producers of renewable power in West Texas. Companies have built roughly a dozen wind and solar farms, with a total capacity of about 2,300 megawatts of power; they are projected to generate nearly $1 billion for the county and local landowners over the facilities’ lifetimes. County Judge Dan Hicks said clean energy helped stabilize a budget long whipsawed by volatile oil and gas revenues. Some years, without a steady income stream, local officials faced the prospect of closing the library, the youth center, and the golf course. Renewables helped change that. Abatement agreements with developers created reliable, long-term payments that don’t fluctuate with the market or vanish when a manufacturer leaves town, Hicks said. Jobs have been slower to follow, but a support industry is beginning to take shape around the installations. “When your population is 17,000, every job counts,” he said. Eventually, he said, “I’d love to see us become the energy capital of Texas.” He doesn’t think new wind and solar will come without federal incentives. Yet Joshua Rhodes, an energy researcher at the University of Texas who has studied the IRA’s impact in Texas, anticipates development continuing — albeit more slowly, and at greater cost. That likely means pricier electricity and slimmer returns for rural counties hoping to share in the growth. How much of it will materialize now is uncertain. Schleicher County Judge Charlie Bradley looks out the window of his cluttered second-floor office in Eldorado, the sand-colored farming town he’s known all his life. The old filling station on the corner, where he pumped gas in high school, has closed. So has the wool warehouse a few blocks south, where he helped process yarn in middle school. Just north of the courthouse, the yellow-brick elementary school shows its age. Water pools in the basement and leaks through the ceiling, and, as one teacher said, “a lot of the rooms stink.” At lunchtime, kids from the high school next door spill into the surrounding neighborhood, a mix of small houses and mobile homes. A washing machine rusts on one porch. Yards collect trailers, cars, and piles of brush, though many assert pride with Texas stars, decorative windmills, and Christmas lights still twinkling in January. Bradley grew up here in the 1960s and ’70s, when Eldorado was prosperous enough to support several family-owned groceries, stores, and restaurants. He set out for Texas Tech University and dabbled in six subjects before settling on photography. (“Best seven years of my life,” he said.) After returning home, he ran a portrait studio for a decade, then spent another 10 years chasing storms as an insurance adjuster. He was in the middle of one in 2007 when the retiring county judge called to suggest he run for the job. Bradley said he didn’t know a thing about governing. “Well hell, Bradley,” the judge replied, “Nobody does. If they did, they wouldn’t run.’” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5284.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man sits behind a desk with nameplate for Charlie Bradley" data-caption="Schleicher County Judge Charlie Bradley sits at his desk in what he calls “the messiest office” on the second floor of the courthouse in Eldorado, Texas. Bradley has held the job since 2009 and is running for reelection unopposed. " data-credit="Laura Mallonee / Grist"/> Schleicher County Judge Charlie Bradley sits at his desk in what he calls “the messiest office” on the second floor of the courthouse in Eldorado, Texas. Bradley has held the job since 2009 and is running for reelection unopposed. Laura Mallonee / Grist By the time Bradley took office in 2009, the county was reeling from the decline of the fossil fuel and sheep industries. Then came fresh blows. A fundamentalist Mormon sect that was the county’s fourth-largest taxpayer was prosecuted for child marriage and lost its property in 2014, putting a sizeable dent in revenue. The next year, the Baker Hughes oilfield services yard — which employed about 80 people — shut down. With property taxes already near the legal ceiling, Bradley had to trim about $300,000 from the budget, hitting roads, bridges, and a meals program for the elderly. Much of what remained of the fossil fuel economy eventually left, too, though a Kinder Morgan gas pipeline announced in 2019 has boosted the tax base. The population has fallen from roughly 3,500 in 2010 to about 2,300 in 2024. Today, the county runs on $9.3 million. Things are so tight there are just two workers to cut all of its grass, and Bradley has been known to climb on a mower to help out. “It’s real relaxing,” he said. “You can’t hear the phones.” Renewable energy has provided a modest lift. The 160-megawatt Langford wind farm, which stretches into Schleicher County from an adjoining county, came online the same year Bradley took office, offering a bit of relief amid the losses; it now pays the county about $35,000 annually. The 100-megawatt Live Oak wind farm was built in 2018; in just the past six years, it has contributed nearly $16 million in taxes to local governments, including $7.2 million to Bradley’s budget. A 430-megawatt solar farm rising nearby could add about $225,000 to his budget each year. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5642.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A building with a sign for langford wind beyond a wire fence" data-caption="An operations building for Langford Wind in southern Tom Greene County. The project’s turbines spread across Tom Green, Schleicher, and Irion counties. " data-credit="Laura Mallonee / Grist"/> An operations building for Langford Wind in southern Tom Greene County. The project’s turbines spread across Tom Green, Schleicher, and Irion counties. Laura Mallonee / Grist Still, Bradley remains clear-eyed about green energy’s limits. Several companies have signed agreements without ever breaking ground, and those that did haven’t replaced what oil and gas once provided. The projects employ only a handful of workers — nothing like the number the oilfield service yards and gas plants once did. The modest financial gains have come with friction. Some ranchers, tired of what Bradley called “scraping out a living on six inches of topsoil and rock,” want the money clean energy developers pay to lease their land. They also hope the revenue might help Schleicher County avoid the fate of neighboring Menard County, one of the state’s poorest. Others resent having their tax dollars spent on federal incentives for what they call “alternative energy.” Bradley said he has been asked, “Why in the hell do we want all that stuff? This is ranching land, and it’s always been ranching land.” The flashpoint came in 2023, when ETFuels began leasing rights for a 500-megawatt wind, solar, and battery complex that would also produce hydrogen to make methanol for shipping — a larger and more complex industrial endeavor than anything Schleicher County had seen before. For many residents, the problem wasn’t the size, but the water. The plant would draw from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer, the county’s only source, and no one could say how much could be spared. The first exploratory wells came up dry; later ones struck water. The question filled the civic center with tense, packed meetings. But under state law, Bradley had no ability to intervene in the landowner’s drilling. “I can’t tell him what to do with his land,” he said. ETFuels never broke ground, but something even bigger emerged. In December of 2024, Apex Clean Energy pitched a wind, sun, battery, and “green” hydrogen facility that would produce enough energy to power 700,000 homes and create 90 full-time jobs. This time, the water would come from another county. A presentation outlining the benefits left school board members speechless: The operation would provide as much as $1.2 billion in property tax revenue over 25 years, including $20 million a year for the school district, enough for a new elementary school. In November, the board put a bond package to voters, hoping the Apex project would pay for it. (The measure ultimately failed.) Apex appears to have scuttled plans to produce hydrogen in Schleicher County, though it’s not clear why. The company, which declined to comment, last promoted the project in June, just before President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law. Among other things, that legislation rolled back the production tax credit of up to $3 per kilogram for clean hydrogen. Experts like Rhodes at the University of Texas doubt many such projects can be viable without it. Bradley won’t speculate about lost or future revenue. “That egg is not in my basket,” he said. What is in his basket lies just beyond his office window: an elementary school with a leaky basement, two men mowing all of the county’s grass, and a community that’s spent decades waiting for something to take root. IIf Bradley can see the changes that have come to Schleicher County in recent years, Sandra Pfeuffer can hear them. The sound carries across ranchland where her family once expected only the lowing of cattle. Her father-in-law leased wind rights on his ranch in Eden, a town in neighboring Concho County, to a renewable energy company in 2008. He did so, Pfeuffer said, because he was dying, and paying estate taxes would have required selling off part of the ranch. Nothing came of the deal, but a decade later, her husband Ray signed a lease with Maverick Creek Wind Farm, which was built in 2020. “It was the worst decision we ever made,” Sandra said. The four turbines hummed so loudly, and the transmission line buzzed so persistently, that she couldn’t sleep during visits. “I’m not going to lie — mailbox money is great,” she said. “But the mailbox money will never cover the loss of the enjoyment we had in that ranch.” Pfeuffer is now fighting the rising tide of clean energy developments in eastern Schleicher County, where she lives. She isn’t blind to the irony of her stance. Ranches are dividing all around, she concedes, and times are changing. But she has come to see such projects not as progress but as a threat to the only life she’s wanted. “As a rancher, I feel kind of like a quail,” she said. “Everything’s after you, and it’s only a matter of time ’til you die.” When ETFuels began drilling wells on her neighbor’s land in 2023, she led the charge against it. She worried about what might be lost beneath the surface. “My fence doesn’t go underground and separate your water from my water,” she said. “It’s wrong for my neighbors to pump half a million gallons a day and cut my water away from underneath me.” (A representative of ETFuels told the county’s water board it could use about 220,000 gallons per day.) The next year, the Pfeuffers gathered fellow ranchers around their dining table and formed the Edwards Plateau Alliance to “counteract misleading narratives” about renewable energy. Sandra organized meetings, brought in outside critics, and pressed lawmakers to protect groundwater from hydrogen development. “[Companies] go into communities that need a lifeline and they promise the world,” she said. “The money is not worth the peace and beauty that they take away from your property.” A visit to their 3,300-acre ranch shows what she believes is at stake. A few miles from the turnoff from the main road, a sign reads: “Wind Turbines Destroy Land Value.” Beyond the stately, white farmhouse and its web of gates, rocky pastures stretch wide and still, dotted with live oaks and a few oil pumpjacks. Sandra cut the engine of her all-terrain vehicle in front of one and listened. There is no whoosh or hum, only the rustle of breeze through the grass. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5700.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="the sun sets over a quiet, grassy field" data-caption="A water windmill turns on a January evening in Mason County, on the eastern edge of the West Texas region. " data-credit="Laura Mallonee / Grist"/> A water windmill turns on a January evening in Mason County, on the eastern edge of the West Texas region. Laura Mallonee / Grist The quiet helps explain why the Pfeuffers are so committed to their ranch. They have spent years clearing mesquite and cedar so grass can take hold — not just for profit, she said, but to benefit the land. The work has taught her to pay attention. “Out here, you’re so connected to everything,” Sandra said. “If there’s a rock out of place, you notice.” She doesn’t see that kind of attentiveness in the push for renewables. To her, it’s just another extractive industry — one that will leave West Texas depleted, its water drained, and its land scarred with concrete, rebar, and fiberglass. Above all, she resents what she sees as urban priorities imposed on rural communities by people who will not live with the consequences. “I don’t come into town and knock down your buildings so I can run my cows,” she said. The Pfeuffers’ activism has riled other ranchers. Sandra said that her neighbor no longer speaks to her. She’s heard rumors of vague threats, of people at the coffee shop saying things like, “These people who are fighting this, we know where they live.” Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Two men in business suits stand in front of a white background. They are holding papers." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Trump’s $1B payoff to stop offshore wind is even stranger than it sounds Jake Bittle & Rebecca Egan McCarthy While the fight in West Texas plays out in sidelong glances and veiled warnings, in Austin it is reduced to charts, forecasts, and models. State planners say Texas simply doesn’t produce enough energy: Rising electricity use, driven in part by population growth and a boom in data centers across the state, are pushing demand sharply upward even as extreme weather strains the grid. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the nonprofit that manages power for about 90 percent of the state’s electric load, expects peak demand to climb from 85 gigawatts to 150 by 2030. To move that juice, the state is building a $33 billion transmission “superhighway” with 2,500 miles of high-voltage lines linking the power plants of West Texas to cities like Dallas. Discussing the state’s plans, Pfeuffer’s voice hardens. “Texas is so unique,” she said. “Do we really want to destroy it with power lines, wind turbines, solar panels? One day we’re going to wish we hadn’t.” The future she fears is coming quickly. A 200-mile stretch of high-voltage transmission lines could bisect eastern Schleicher County, not far from her land. More might follow. The buildout seems relentless. “I have to wonder,” Pfeuffer said, “if I’m ever going to sleep again.” The din and dust that roiled Duff Hallman’s ranch in 2009 have long since faded. What replaced them were steady payments that helped offset the rising cost of ranching. The expense of maintaining the place has crept as high as $217,000 a year. Lease payments — Hallman wouldn’t be specific, but suggested roughly $200,000 annually, split between him and his two siblings — helped cushion them during the droughts of 2011 and 2021, which stripped the fields and forced them to sell their cattle. Not that Hallman has any illusions about its limits. “Is it like having oil?” he asked. “No. Not anywhere close.” Hallman tells other ranchers who are considering windmills on their own property that he barely notices them anymore. His only complaint is the giant icicles they sometimes sling during freezing rain. Still, he’s happy. Clearway Energy, which owns Langford, maintains the towers; after construction, it paid for the lost trees and reseeded the land — things Hallman said the oil and gas companies never did. The roads it built double as firebreaks. Driving down one in his truck, he gestured toward the scenery rolling by. “These hills are rough and rocky,” he said. “I haven’t lost that much.” Still, his enthusiasm isn’t always enough to overcome skepticism and deeply held convictions, including the idea that turbines lower property values. He chuckled at that. “I bet you we could get top dollar for our ranch,” he said. Hallman admitted that the solar farm rising up the road gives him pause. He could earn a little money grazing sheep beneath the panels, but he worries how the facility might impact wildlife and the ecosystem he has worked with a biologist to maintain. He’s as wary of transmission lines and data centers as anyone, and was among those who declined to let ETFuels draw water from his land, choosing instead to safeguard it for the future. Renewables have helped the ranch, but he knows the land may not stay in the family forever. Every generation brings more heirs, each holding a smaller parcel with a looser grasp of its history. Change is inevitable. One day, the steel columns may vanish, made obsolete by something he can’t yet picture. Hallman shrugged at the thought and smiled. “I don’t know what that’s going to be, but it’s going to be something pretty ‘wow,’” he said. “We’re only limited by our imaginations.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Texas saw a $50B future in clean energy. Then the political winds shifted. on Mar 31, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Laura Mallonee.
Māori radio network says funding cuts threaten survival of iwi stations
Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori o Aotearoa
By Pokere Paewai, RNZ Māori issues reporter New Zealand’s national Māori radio network, Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori o Aotearoa, is considering litigation over a potential loss of government funding which it says threatens the survivability of iwi radio stations. Chairperson Peter-Lucas Jones (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rārawa, Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri) — who
By Pokere Paewai, RNZ Māori issues reporter New Zealand’s national Māori radio network, Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori o Aotearoa, is considering litigation over a potential loss of government funding which it says threatens the survivability of iwi radio stations. Chairperson Peter-Lucas Jones (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rārawa, Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri) — who was also chief executive of Far North iwi broadcaster Te Hiku Media — told current affairs series RUKU Māori radio was a right under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, not a government handout. Recent and proposed actions targeting iwi stations, implemented primarily through Te Māngai Pāho (TMP), disregarded the treaty and exposed the Crown to credible legal risk, he said. READ MORE: Other Māori broadcasting reports “This issue is not about resisting change, iwi radio stations have themselves funded transitions to digital platforms and new media without Crown support. “The issue is whether the Crown can, through an intermediary, dismantle a treaty remedy without Māori consent.” There are more than 20 iwi radio stations across New Zealand, from Te Hiku in the North to Tahu FM in the South. Stations receive funding through Te Māngai Pāho to promote Māori language and culture. Time-limited funding TMP currently has $16 million of time-limited funding, equal to almost 25 percent of their total annual funding, which is due to expire on June 30. Te Māngai Pāho said that while 2026/27 appropriations would not be confirmed until the Budget announcement in late May, the impact of this funding loss would be felt across the whole Māori media sector. “Te Māngai Pāho is consulting with the Māori media sector, including iwi radio, on the future of our funding allocations. We have requested feedback to understand how any reduction of funding will be felt across the sector. “Feedback will inform the board’s final decisions around funding allocations. We understand that the stability of iwi radio stations and content creators is threatened by this funding cut.” Jones said iwi stations unanimously agreed at a special general meeting they would not accept any decrease in funding and would consider legal action in response to any cutbacks. “Decisions taken by TMP that materially affect iwi radio funding, structure or autonomy remain Crown actions for treaty purposes. “The Crown cannot discharge its Treaty obligations by delegation and then rely on that delegation to insulate itself from responsibility.” Rapidly changing audience The iwi radio network said it had been grappling with a wide range of issues including, rapidly changing audience expectation and emerging technologies, numerous siloed media outlets and an inadequate investment in workforce development affecting the ability to grow and retain a skilled workforce. The Turituri – “be quiet” – sign at Wellington station Te Ūpoko o te Ika. Image: RNZ/Te Aniwa_Hurihanganui Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka said Māori media, including iwi radio, played a critical role in supporting te reo Māori revitalisation and connecting whānau and communities across Aotearoa, shaping public understanding by sharing Māori stories and te reo directly with whānau. He said no final decisions had been made through the consultation between TMP and the Māori media sector and it was premature to confirm impacts on funding levels, services, or jobs, including claims about specific percentage reductions. “Earlier financial support of $16 million in time-limited funding was put in place under the previous government and is now coming to an end. The current consultation process is focused on how best to manage that transition within existing funding,” he said. “As Minister, I do not direct or intervene in Te Māngai Pāho’s operational funding decisions. Those are matters for the board.” Potaka said the Crown’s role was to ensure a strong and sustainable system for te reo Māori revitalisation. High quality content “I expect the consultation process to reflect the importance of Iwi radio and the role it plays in communities across the country, while ensuring funding is used effectively to deliver high-quality content on platforms that meet audience preferences. “Māori media entities continue to adapt to changes in funding and audience behaviour, and I expect decisions to prioritise value for money while supporting strong te reo Māori outcomes. “Any organisation is entitled to raise concerns or seek legal advice. However, there is an established independent process underway, and it is important that process is allowed to run its course.” This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Oceans are absorbing the Earth’s excess energy. That’s bad news for food systems.
As the planet traps more energy than it relea ses, the pathways for global food production are being upended.
Every year, the World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, tracks a set of key climate indicators — including the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the Earth’s temperature — to assess how global warming is progressing. In their latest report, released last Sunday, the authors decided to include a new measure: the Earth’s energy imbalance. “Climate change is often discussed in terms of the change in the global mean surface temperature,” John Kennedy, lead author and scientific coordinator of the report, said in an email to Grist. But year-to-year variations in air temperatures, caused by the weather patterns El Niño and La Niña can “hide the long-term trend” of global warming, said Kennedy. With the addition of this new key indicator, however, the WMO authors aimed to clarify the fundamental dynamics of global warming, and represent them simply. The Earth’s energy imbalance, or EEI, is a pretty straightforward concept: It’s the difference between how much energy from the sun the planet takes in and how much energy is radiated back out into space. Put even more simply, the energy imbalance, Kennedy said, is “fundamentally what climate change is.” “As long as that energy imbalance is there, the Earth will keep on warming, ice will continue to melt, and the sea level will continue to rise,” he added. As far as numbers are concerned, what the WMO found should be unsurprising to anyone following the climate crisis. Because of the greenhouse gas effect, the earth has been steadily holding on to more energy, mostly as heat, since the 1960s. And every year for the last nine years, that rate has set a new record. What’s more, the report shows where on the planet most of that heat is going. Oceans, the WMO reports, absorb 91 percent of the excess energy hanging out in the Earth’s climate. Kennedy offered that, as a key indicator of global warming, EEI provides a helpful context to better understand all the other indicators followed by the organization, such as sea level rise and glacier melt. This rising ocean heat also carries significant consequences for food pathways in a number of ways. Warming oceans mean more coral bleaching, habitat degradation, and reduced fishing yields. Sea level rise also leads to coastal erosion, which can wreck the livelihoods of those who work in fisheries — and spell trouble for the people and other animals who depend on them for food. When glaciers melt, the resulting flooding can also disrupt farming on land. Read Next To keep climate science alive, researchers are speaking in code Kate Yoder, Ayurella Horn-Muller, & Clayton Aldern Jennifer Jacquet, a professor of environmental science and policy at the University of Miami, said she “really appreciated” the WMO’s efforts to reframe the climate crisis — and its emphasis on the relationship between oceans and global warming. Oceans are often talked about as carbon sinks — but Jacquet, who was not involved in the WMO report, prefers to refer to them as carbon sponges, as a way of pointing out that these ecosystems have saturation points. Because oceans do sequester so much carbon, she fears that they have been “masking” how much climate change has progressed this century — that is, how much more heat has been absorbed than has been reflected back to space. Jacquet added that the question of whether and how warming oceans impact food security is complicated. For example, marine heat waves can greatly impact farmed fish, in part because these fish cannot freely move around. In Chile in 2016, a fish farmer noted their Atlantic salmon were dying at a higher rate after an algae bloom, because they couldn’t escape it. Jacquet argues that farmed fish often end up serving higher-income populations, not food-insecure ones. But as oceans warm, wild fish populations are moving closer to the North and South Poles where relatively cooler waters carry more oxygen. This trend does negatively impact the livelihood of fishers near the Equator, said Jacquet, and can increase food insecurity. “The oceans are reaching their limit of what they can do to help offset anthropogenic changes,” she said, adding that scientists and science communicators should try “whatever way we can represent that to communicate that reality.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Oceans are absorbing the Earth’s excess energy. That’s bad news for food systems. on Mar 31, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Frida Garza.
The West’s unprecedented winter could fuel a summer of disaster
Record-low snowpack and an early heatwave could mean a higher risk of drought and fire in coming months.
In Park City, Utah, skiers could find patches of grass poking through the slopes for much of the winter — a striking sign of a season that never really arrived. Now, after one of the warmest winters on record, much of the West is entering spring with snowpack at historic lows and an early heat wave that pushed temperatures into triple digits. These woes could be straight out of a climate fiction novel. But the West’s no good, very bad winter was alarmingly real. And, experts say, a worrisome combination of low snowpack and a devastating heatwave could create a summer ripe for climate disasters. “There is no analog,” Marianne Cowherd, a climate scientist at Montana State University, said of what’s happening. “There isn’t a year in the historical record we can look to for information … This limits our ability to look to the past for insight.” Much of that uncertainty stems from what’s happening to the region’s snowpack, a cornerstone of its water system. Snow accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the Northwest’s water supply and is especially critical to the ever-thirsty Colorado River Basin, which supplies seven states. But much of the region has experienced the warmest winter on record. That has meant a higher proportion of water arrived as rain, and the snow that did fall melted more quickly than usual. Snowpack is critically low, according to the federal Colorado River Basin Forecasting Center, which utilizes the federal government’s Snow Telemetry network of monitoring stations that go back half a century. “The majority of them have record low or near record low snowpack conditions,” said hydrologist Cody Moser at the center’s monthly briefing in early March. At that time, he said the upper Colorado River basin, which covers the watershed north of Lake Powell on the Colorado-Arizona border, have about 40 percent of normal snow cover. That has since dropped to 25 to 30 percent. While winter precipitation has actually been fairly average, how that water falls is important, too. Snow acts as a natural water-storage mechanism that spreads the delivery of water out over weeks or even months as it melts. This helps keep rivers and reservoirs flush for longer. Without snow, the moisture can be fleeting. “Even when we’re getting precipitation we’re not storing it,” Cowherd said. “A lot of it actually just ends up evaporating or flowing out to the ocean, so it’s not necessarily in a place where we can still access it.” Cowherd will be watching the snowmelt closely. On one hand, the warmer temperatures are priming the snow to liquify more quickly than normal. But the solar angle — the sun’s maximum height — is lower now than it would be later in the spring, which could impede the melting trend. “I’m really interested to see how those balance,” she said, adding that the answer could be critical to the region’s water supply. “We don’t have the reservoir capacity behind human-built dams to hold the amount of water that we need.” If snowpack problems weren’t enough, a mid-March heatwave also wreaked havoc in the West. A heat dome brought temperatures as much as 35 degrees above normal, according to the research group Climate Central. More than 1,500 daily records were set across 11 states. Several saw temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the U.S set a national March record of 112 in four cities. An analysis by the World Weather Attribution Initiative found that this heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. “The role of climate change is clear,” said Clair Barnes, a researcher at the Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy who was part of the team behind the report. She added that extreme temperatures this early in the year “tend to be more dangerous for people because your body is not yet acclimatized.” While the heat broke in many places after about a week, the impacts could last through the summer. July-like temperatures and dwindling snowpack jeopardize the West’s fragile water supply. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s forecast shows that levels in Lake Powell could dip below the minimum needed to generate power as early as August, and most probably by December. Some Colorado residents are already facing the earliest restrictions on water use ever seen. “This winter was unusually warm and did not deliver the snow we need,” Alan Salazar, CEO of Denver Water, the state’s largest water provider, said in a statement last week. The utility declared a a Stage 1 emergency, which called for a 20 percent cut in usage and mandatory restrictions on outdoor watering. “This drought is also a reminder of the impacts of climate change on our water supply,” he said. Such conditions heighten the risk of wildfires. Excessive runoff and high heat foster early growth of vegetation that can fuel them, and unseasonably warm weather turns all that greenery to kindling. “Record heat over the previous weeks has put us into early ‘green up’ for the year,” August Isernhagen, a division chief in the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, told the University of Nevada, Reno. “This, coupled with many other human impacts on the landscape, has created potential for unprecedented conditions this fire season.” If these risk trajectories pan out, the impacts could be catastrophic. Low water supplies could upend agricultural operations that feed people across the country. Wildfires could threaten lives, displace thousands, and cause billions of dollars in damage. Still, a lot could change over the next few months. Barnes said an early heatwave doesn’t necessarily mean there will be more of them later in the year. The weather between heat events also matters, and could go in many directions. A looming El Nino climate pattern could, for example, help alleviate a potential drought. The snowpack problem could even rebound, too. “We could have a huge snow storm tomorrow and it would be great,” Cowherd said. But based on the current weather forecasts, she cautioned, “I don’t think this is likely to happen.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The West’s unprecedented winter could fuel a summer of disaster on Mar 31, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Tik Root.
Musicians Mandy, Indiana on performing through pain
I love your new record (URGH)—I was curious how you pronounce it.
I love your new record (URGH)—I was curious how you pronounce it. Valentine Caulfield: You need to do the face when you do it. It’s “urgh.” Alex Macdougall: That’s how we go. But you can do it any way you’re feeling in that moment. Valentine: I’ve seen so many Americans pronounce the R, which I always think is quite funny. Alex: The name came from a few things really. This record shaped up as being much more physical than the last one. We wanted to express that in the title as something quite bodily. I think last year was pretty difficult for the band. We weren’t playing so many shows, and Val and I dealt with a lot of health issues. I think it’s partly related to a bit of that. It expresses frustration and disgust at what’s going on in the world at the moment as well. How did writing this record remotely, with members of the bands across different cities, impact the creative process for this record? Valentine: This record was much more of a collaborative effort, even though it was still written in fragmented pieces. But instead of coming almost exclusively from Scott [Fair] when it comes to the instrumental side of things, a lot of the tracks here originated from drum beats that Alex came up with or by synth parts from Simon [Catling]. But I think we’ve always worked in a way that is pretty fragmented. Actually, we finalized three tracks while all together for this album, and this is the first time we’ve done something like that. Alex: Working separately definitely doesn’t do away with the competing voices. We’re all quite passionate and care a lot about how it ends up. Our fragmented setup informed how the record ended up as well. It doesn’t really sound like four people in a room as a traditional band would be. That’s all facilitated by what you’re able to do long distance with technology. I actually think these limitations can bring about a different aesthetic. A big part of this record for me was going into a rehearsal room on my own, just hitting record and improvising with certain different ideas in mind, and then choosing snippets as happy accidents. Imagine me flailing my arms about and seeing what happens… Well, no, it’s not quite as basic as that. Then those ideas went to Scott, and he might build a section of a song around them, and then that would become a demo together with some of Simon’s ideas. And then it’s quite common that Val’s vocals will go over the top after that, but that might change the structure or the feeling of the track as well. Val, is it a challenge to sing over shifting rhythms on URGH? I’m thinking of specifically a song like “Life Hex,” versus a more steady beat like on “Cursive”? Valentine: I think this is going to be a very disappointing answer, but most of what I do is rhythmic, so I just have to find reference points. There’s still a track that we’ve been playing live now for two years where I still have to count in my head in places. I know that if I don’t count it down, I’m going to miss my actual starting point. Because I come from classical music and this is the way that my brain is wired at this point, I think I see things as being in specific places, even if you might not necessarily be able to get that from listening to it. So in my mind, it is completely rhythmic. Well, except for a couple of tracks here and there, and they are the ones that I struggle with the most because I need things to fall into a specific spot. On “Magazine,” you imagine violently confronting your rapist directly. Were there any challenges you faced when writing about personal narratives like this on this record? Valentine: I don’t think of it as a challenge to overcome. I’ve said it before, but I don’t write songs for other people. I just write about the things that I want to write about. In the case of “Magazine,” my therapist was like, “Hey, writing is a great way of channeling your anger. You could put it into words.” And so that’s what I did. But I feel like a lot of the things that I write about—well, basically all of the things that I write about—are just things that I want to be talking about. I don’t think of it as this challenge to do something that was tricky for me. I actually just got the words out that I really needed to get out. There are some heavy lyrics here about watching the world burn. Did you intend for this record to have a political message? Valentine: That’s just my general outlook on the world. I think it’s difficult for me at this point in time to think of anything other than the fact that we are just burning our planet to shreds and killing each other over the most trivial of things. I’m at a point in my life where if you consider yourself to be non-political, I don’t trust you. Everything we do is political. Being a woman, a person of color, a queer person existing on the public stage is a political act, whether I choose to acknowledge it as so or not. It’s things that I need to be talking about because it is what is occupying my mind most of the time. Do you find performing this material to be helpful in processing these horrors, or is it difficult? Valentine: Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s very fun to perform with this band and there’s something really cathartic about playing that music. When we started this band, we made the decision for me to sing in French. It was obvious that it would mean that not everyone was going to be able to understand what I’m talking about. If you look at the themes of all of the music that we have ever made, they are always the same. It’s about the state of the world. It’s about violence against women. It’s about all of these things. Playing the music, it feels great, but I’m also conscious of the fact that a lot of people don’t necessarily understand what I’m talking about. We live in a world where people are pretty stuck in their opinions, especially if they’re not fact-based. Usually they are the hardest people to convince. So I don’t think anyone is necessarily going to listen to music like ours and be like, “Oh, maybe there is something about this.” But at the very least, I hope that we can provide a space for people who are also feeling destroyed about the lack of empathy that is around us at the moment or the state of the world burning. I hope that we can provide a space for these people to get together and reaffirm that some people still do believe in empathy and some people are still here understanding that we need to change things. Maybe the change is going to come from effectively like-minded people being reminded that there is something worth fighting for and that we can all stand together. I don’t think that if you play our record to your MAGA uncle, he’s going to stop voting for Donald Trump. I think that would be a really good react video though, “MAGA uncles react to Mandy, IN.” Valentine: I’ve always wanted to watch someone burn my music. Do you feel like speaking in French has the shielding effect that you initially thought it would? Valentine: I don’t want to say we’ve reached such a fantastic level, but I think we’re in a place where the people who listen to us and care about us as a band are pretty aware of what I talk about because they have done the work of trying to look into it. Also, I’m not shying away from anything in interviews. I’ve been pretty open about my beliefs and the things that I speak of. Using French for this project has also become quite fun for me. I’ve spoken mostly English for close to 15 years now. Even though French is my mother tongue, I feel like English comes to me much more naturally. Singing in French allows me to relearn how to use my own language. It also means that I have to do more work to try and pass on the emotions of what I’m talking about through the performance of the words rather than just the meaning of the words themselves. In a sense, I use words as instruments rather than just to say things in the most obvious way. Of course, if people want to look into what I’m actually saying, I’m always happy for people to discover what’s being said. I do still put quite a lot of effort into that. But I think it’s just a different approach to writing. How are you translating this record to a live audience—it’s full of so many layers of sound, and there’s only four of you. Alex: I think we do try and do what’s on the record live. I think our music is meant to be heard and felt live. We were talking the other day about when me and Simon and Scott went to see My Bloody Valentine recently. I’ve been a big fan of theirs for ages. Since that show, I’ve felt like listening to their records is a very vague representation of what they’re actually trying to do, and what they’re actually trying to do can only be experienced at high volume and in a live situation. I think that’s something we try and strive for live, to move people’s bodies. It’s a very physical thing. I think part of that physicality is definitely contained in the record, but you’ve got to see us live, I think, to really understand it properly. Valentine: It’s always a fun game trying to translate the music that we’ve written into a live song because I don’t think this is something that we necessarily take into account when we are writing the music. Because it is so often written on computers, there’s always a fun few weeks before we start playing a track where the boys have to find a way to translate all of that insane music into a live setting. You can tell that none of us really think about that when we are writing because I have just written an album of songs that I physically cannot sing unless I get an extra pair of lungs. There’s three tracks on the album where I genuinely have no clue how I’m going to do this. It’s going to be a fun little kind of experiment. I think maybe if I stand very still and I don’t move and I have one of those oxygen bottles in my nose, maybe I can get through. Maybe. Alex: Scott also writes drum parts that I then learn. He writes them on the computer as you would maybe as an electronic music producer. Then when I have to come to learn it, I somehow have to spawn a couple extra limbs in order to make it sound similar. There is a challenge there, but it’s cool because I end up playing the drums in ways that I would never choose to normally. So it does push me in ways that I like. There is this one track on the album called “Ist Halt So,” and the three instrumentalists of us started learning that to try and put in our tour that’s coming up. We made it through one time. It’s just the most crazy thing to try and make it through from start to finish, logistically, physically. I think it’s going to be a good song live because of that, if Val can manage it as well. Valentine: Literally, there is not a single place for me to breathe in that song. I need to learn to do the entirety of the first part without breathing. I should probably start training now. I don’t think there is enough space in my body to fill up my lungs enough to go through this entire track. You’ve also both had very intense medical issues during the creation for this record [Caulfield underwent surgery for her eyes; Macdougall for a hernia and a thyroid issue]. How did the physical limitations of the body impact your creative process for this record? Valentine: I would personally say that the issue with this record is that we did not allow the physical limitations of the body to impede the creative process at all. As such, we both ended up in quite sore spots. A lot of the album is influenced by the truly harrowing body horror that we both went through throughout the last couple of years. But I don’t think we really let it limit us in any kind of way, which was probably part of the problem. Realistically when you’re recovering from surgery, you probably shouldn’t be recording drums for three days. Alex: I have reflected on this since. I feel like I’m not very good at telling when I need to rest. I went into a three-day recording session for the drums and I thought I was fine, since my surgery had been two months before. By the final day I was really pushing through on the takes to try and make it work. I don’t want to glorify any of that, but I do genuinely think that it kind of imprinted something onto those drum takes. But I don’t want to do that again. Valentine: The surgery I had last year was my first ever surgery. I got all the way to my fourth surgery last year, which is exciting. You live and you learn. I didn’t realize how much it impacts your body. Like you said, even two months later, even when you feel like you fully recovered, it’s still lingering sometimes. It’s really tough, especially as people who struggle to not do anything. It’s really hard to really take in when your body is done recovering from everything that it’s gone through. Guitarist and producer Scott Fair recommends: Persona (1966) dir. Ingmar Bergman: A masterclass in cinematic language. So much evocative imagery and so much said outside of dialogue. Two all time great lead performances. Made me question my humanity and the nature of reality. Children of the Corn - The Single: Definition of cursed music. Mesmerising. Alex Macdougall recommends: Anastasia Coope - Darning Woman Jim Whiting Outer Space (1999) dir. Peter Tscherkassky This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Arielle Gordon.
Staircase to Nowhere: MAGA’s Crowning Achievement
In a perhaps unprecedented dark time for America and the world, let us take solace in our indomitable Dear Stable Genius, who remains unwaveringly focused on taking care of shiny business: Gold social security cards like Elvis, a $400 million, lopside...
In a perhaps unprecedented dark time for America and the world, let us take solace in our indomitable Dear Stable Genius, who remains unwaveringly focused on taking care of shiny business: Gold social security cards like Elvis, a $400 million, lopsided shed/ballroom with gaudy columns but no main entrance, and of course gold toilets - which all keeps him so busy he hardly has time to threaten Iran with war crimes. What a time to be alive, barely. In actual good news, No Kings Day 3.0 drew between 8 and 12 million people, thus hovering tantalizingly close to the 3.5% of a nation's populace historically required to overthrow an authoritarian regime. So good work, patriots. The over 3,000 protests, aka per Mike Johnson "Hate America rallies," ranged from Alaska's Utqiaġvik, the country's northernmost city (7 people) to Ele'ele, Kaua'i, the westernmost, from over 100,000 in New York City to nine stalwarts on Maine's Monhegan Island. Thousands of Trump's neighbors in Palm Beach turned out, ending with a twilight march to Mar-A-Lago, or as close as they could get. Their signs were brutal: "Elect A Rapist, Expect To Get Fucked. How Many Deaths For the Epstein War? Worst President Since Trump. Criminals Belong Behind Bars, Free Balls for Members of Congress Who Lost Them, Trump Rapes Kids, Impeach Pedolf Shitler, Putin's Bitch, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived. According to The Borowitz Report, Trump, furious about the large protests, argued they'd be much smaller if you subtract all Elon Musk's kids there because they hate him: "People are saying their number (was) much higher than 400, thousands, maybe millions. You take away Elon’s kids and almost no one was there." There were also "half-dozens to dozens of Americans" at One King co unter-protests, reports The Fucking News, who put the number at "many-ish...Organizers say there were barely any organizers," with attendees ranging from "a tiny number of young people to a die-hard faction of dying people." In Palm Beach, one man carried a heavy sign that read, "Deport the white liberals"; masked to protect himself "against the vindictive left," he said he left soon after he was "attacked" by a woman who denied touching him; her comrades said the guy just dropped his sign "because he was too weak to carry it." Their small numbers did face competition from "the incredible shrinking CPAC," also meeting that day in Grapevine, Texas with a turnout of "barely thousands." Once a MAGA "center of political gravity," this year's event drew neither Trumps nor presidential candidates. One possible ick factor: MC was (still) CPAC chair Matt Schlapp, who in 2024 settled a pricey sexual misconduct lawsuit from a guy working on Hershel Walker’s (LOL) Senate campaign, who charged Schlapp groped him. The event did boast Todd Chrisley, a reality TV star doing 12 years in prison for massive fraud till Trump pardoned him. Here’s his welcome. There was also a big contingent of South Korean “stop the steal” activists and supporters of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached last year and now serving life in prison for insurrection. Still, the whole thing was a bit of a slog. Organizers tried to jazz up session subjects - a panel titled "Fraud" became “Ilhan Omar ‘Family’ Values"; Mercedes Schlapp beseeched factions not to "divide from within," which is how you divide; and when Schlapp asked them, the clueless CPAC "crowdette" mistakenly, hilariously cheered the prospect of impeachment proceedings by what could be a newly-Democratic-controlled House. SAD! - YouTube www.youtube.com Poor deplorable MAGA. Maybe they're disheartened by Trump's well-deserved plunging approval rating, now at barely 33%. Maybe it's because their regime is such a half-assed shitshow and their people are such self-serving, hypocritical dickwads. Amidst a government shutdown that's seen TSA officers (starting salary $34,454) compelled to work without pay while Congress takes a two-week recess (pay over $170,000) on the taxpayers' dime, TMZ urged readers to send in photos of vacationing pols, and here comes Lindsey Graham at Disney World, “The Most Magical Place On Earth," gaily twirling a bubble wand yet. Ouch. Or maybe it's because Commander-In-Chief Private Bonespurs started another forever quagmire without legal or political justification, and it turns out wars in the Middle East are hard and complex and above his pay grade - like health care! - to solve, and now with no good options he's spewing up only staggering incoherence for strategy, like hailing "great progress" in imaginary "serious discussions" while pivoting to rabidly threatening to "conclude our lovely 'stay’ in Iran" by "obliterating" their civilian infrastructure, electricity, energy and drinking water, which is a war crime. But talks are going “unbelievably well." Serious discussions with IranImage from Australia's The Shovel Anyway, his true passion is turning every crass, stupid thing he or Elvis can think of fake gold like the Oval bordello and even Social Security cards, and slathering his repulsive name on structures, coins, currency, and building trashy, illegal monuments to himself like an obscene, unapproved, un-permitted, $400 million ballroom twice the size of the White House, because, "They’ve always wanted a ballroom," except now it's suddenly, "essentially a shed for what goes under it," a massive military complex, presumably a bunker where, as merciful history would have it, he'll finally free us of him, "and we're doing it very well." He's so ballroom-enraptured that on Air Force One he just pulled out a swath of drawings to show reporters, explaining, "I thought I’d do this now because it’s easier. I’m so busy...fighting wars and other things." Quick mindless pivot to "hand-carved, beautiful, Corinthian columns" - "Corinthian wut" - he's also reportedly re-imagining for the White House facade, a change deemed "at odds with universally held historic preservation standards." Same, experts say of "barely scrutinized" ballroom plans, "riddled with design flaws" - disproportionate, pillars block windows, grand staircase to nowhere. WH lackey on "the best builder in the world": "The American people can rest well knowing this project is in his hands.” We feel better already. Trump's "plan" for his oversized shed/ballroomImages from New York Times And then there's his new gold toilet, mounted on a 10-foot throne near the Lincoln Memorial. The new masterwork of Secret Handshake (Best Friends Forever), it celebrates the renovation of the White House Lincoln Bedroom bathroom, all in gold, and "what this President has actually accomplished." The toilet's plaque reads, “In a time of unprecedented division, escalating conflict, and economic turmoil, President Trump focused on what truly mattered: remodeling the Lincoln Bathroom....This, his crowning achievement, is a bold reminder that (he) isn’t just a businessman, he’s taking care of business. It stands as a tribute to an unwavering visionary who looked down, saw a problem, and painted it gold.” A Throne Fit For a King. Photo from Secret Handshake This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Abby Zimet.
Ukrainian Forces Battle Russian Offensive Near ‘Destroyed’ Pokrovsk | Ukraine Front Line Update
‘We’re doing something about it’ – Fiji’s health minister defends HIV response
By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior journalist Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Antonio Lalabalavu has defended the government’s handling of the country’s HIV crisis. HIV is surging in Fiji with at least 9000 people — or nearly one percent of the population — reported to be now infected. There are concerns that the real figure
By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior journalist Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Antonio Lalabalavu has defended the government’s handling of the country’s HIV crisis. HIV is surging in Fiji with at least 9000 people — or nearly one percent of the population — reported to be now infected. There are concerns that the real figure could be significantly higher, with global health experts saying HIV is historically under-reported. READ MORE: Other HIV in Fiji reports The World Health Organisation (WHO) believes the country has been gripped by an “escalating HIV outbreak”. The island nation declared an HIV outbreak in January last year, with the government calling it “a national crisis” and regional health experts warning that it could spread across the region. Dr Lalabalavu told Pacific Waves that despite the rising tide of infection the government’s response to the crisis had been “responsible”. “Look at the [HIV] trend and how it started, it goes way back to 2017, 2018. We are the government that recognised it and now we are doing something about it.” Budget allocation The government allocated FJ$10 million (US$4.4 million) in last year’s Budget towards initiatives designed to tackle the problem, he said. “From last year there have been government initiatives put in place to ensure that we do try and get this under control.” Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu . . . “government initiatives have been put in place to ensure that we do try and get this under control.” Image: FB/Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services Alarming stats The Health Minister revealed some alarming HIV statistics in Parliament earlier this month. “In 2025, Fiji recorded 2003 new diagnoses, up from 1583 in 2024, with the national rate diagnosis rising to 226 per 100,000, up from 13 per 100,000 in 2019 — a 17-fold increase,” he said. “Men remain more affected, but the gap is narrowing, showing that infection is increasingly affecting women and families.” On top of that, a new trend has emerged showing that the number of HIV-positive newborns is on the rise, according to the head of Fiji’s National HIV Outbreak and Cluster Response team, Dr Jason Mitchell. Sixty babies were born with HIV last year, up from 31 cases in 2024 and more than 3 percent of women attending antenatal care in Fiji were testing positive for HIV, with the number slightly higher in the capital, Suva, Dr Mitchell said. One baby is being diagnosed with HIV every week due to mother-to-child transmission, and one child is dying every month from advanced HIV disease. Mother-to-child transmission Mother-to-baby transmission is a growing concern, according to treatment support worker Dashika Balak. “They (the mothers) test negatively initially but over the course of the pregnancy they acquire HIV,” Balak said. “This is a new trend that we are seeing, because these women may not have risky behaviours but most of the partners are injecting drug users and in pregnancy people do have sex.” Testing during pregnancy is now underway to reduce the risk of transmission to babies, she said. Dr Lalabalavu has admitted that sexual promiscuity and drug use among youth in particular are huge contributing factors in the HIV epidemic. Asked exactly how the government planned to address this, he said “a behavioural change programme” was needed to ensure that happens. “It is part of the plan, you need good planning and a programme to ensure that is implemented across the board,” he said. “It is not just something for the Ministry of Health, it’s for the various ministries, important stakeholders, the vanua, the church and the family in general.” Fiji has been gripped by an “escalating HIV outbreak”. Image: FB/Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services Conservative beliefs Although there were plans to introduce a vital needle and syringe exchange programme, its rollout would take time, Dr Lalabalavu said. “We will have to tread carefully in terms of how it is accepted within the community, and also we need to look into the legal aspect of it. So we are in the final stages of ensuring that the programme is endorsed.” Cultural and religious beliefs played a part in the sensitivity around the issue in Fiji, he said. “First of all, you need to create awareness that by doing this we are not advocating for drug use. That is the challenge and the narrative that we need the general public are aware of,” he said. “Right now we are looking at avenues to ensure that we get the message to important stakeholders such as the community, the vanua, and religious-based organisations that are here.” “We want to tap into their capabilities so they can, together with the ministry, pass this message along to their congregations and to the public at large,” he said. Civil society organisations and interest groups took to the streets for a special march to commemorate World AIDS Day on 1 December 2025. Image: FB/Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services Echoing this, Mitchell told Fiji’s state broadcaster that introducing the programme would not be easy, given the negative reactions in the past when condom use and family planning were phased in. He said health officials were accused of promoting promiscuity among youth, when they were responding to public health needs. However, he stressed that the needle and syringe programme was crucial to reducing HIV and Hepatitis C infections in the country. Needle sharing is described as widespread in group settings, leading to infection clusters within families and communities. The Health Minister said he expected that by the time the programme went public, it would be well accepted by the people. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Israel passes extreme death penalty law targeting only Palestinians
By Minnah Arshad of Zeteo Israel’s Parliament has approved a one-sided death penalty measure to execute Palestinians. It is one of the most extreme laws in the nation’s history, and will exacerbate the far-right government’s illegal system of apartheid. Some members of the Knesset, including ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, were seen wearing noose
By Minnah Arshad of Zeteo Israel’s Parliament has approved a one-sided death penalty measure to execute Palestinians. It is one of the most extreme laws in the nation’s history, and will exacerbate the far-right government’s illegal system of apartheid. Some members of the Knesset, including ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, were seen wearing noose pins in the Knesset yesterday, and celebrating with champagne on live TV after the bill passed. READ MORE: ‘Dangerous escalation’: World reacts to Israel passing death penalty law Other Palestine genocide reports Ben-Gvir said hanging is “one of the options,” as is execution by the electric chair or euthanasia. The law was passed with 62 votes to 48 in its final reading. The bill drew international condemnation ahead of its passage, including from the European Union, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, and Amnesty International. Human rights groups have vowed to challenge the bill in Israel’s Supreme Court. The legislation, which has garnered broad public support in Israel, authorises executions for “terrorists” who kill “with the intent to deny the existence of the State of Israel,” according to Haaretz — effectively ensuring it won’t apply to any of the settlers who routinely murder Palestinians. ‘Confessions’ by torture In military courts in the occupied West Bank, execution by hanging will now be the default punishment for terrorism. Only Palestinians are tried in these courts, and 96 percent of people are convicted, though cases are largely built on “confessions” extracted through torture. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians condemned the bill yesterday ahead of the vote as an “extreme escalation in Israel’s genocidal policies against Palestinians”. “The progression of the legislation marks not just a profoundly unjust and illegal act of discrimination under international law, but a far more sinister escalation of Israel’s apartheid legal systems,” the center wrote. Israeli Knesset death penalty for Palestinians. Video: Al Jazeera Israel is currently imprisoning about 9500 Palestinians, according to the human rights group B’Tselem, and about half of them are held under administrative detention. According to the group, the Israel Prison Service has already started to prepare designated execution facilities. B’Tselem on Sunday called the bill “another official killing mechanism” that will further normalise the slaughter of Palestinians, as Israel continues its genocide in Gaza and intensifies attacks in the occupied West Bank. Human rights violation “The death penalty is a total violation of the most basic human rights, primarily, the right to life,” B’Tselem wrote. “Israel enforces a comprehensive policy of killing and oppression against the Palestinian people in all the territories it controls. The Death Penalty Law gives Israel’s apartheid regime yet another tool for advancing that policy.” On top of Monday’s bill, the Knesset is also considering another death penalty measure to impose on alleged October 7, 2023, attackers. According to Amnesty International, that bill would effectively expand the unilateral powers of military judges and eliminate judicial safeguards. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-125750" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sanctions-now-MN-680wide.jpg" alt="A Palestinian Forum of New Zealand meme protesting against the new Israeli law" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sanctions-now-MN-680wide.jpg 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sanctions-now-MN-680wide-300x200.jpg 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sanctions-now-MN-680wide-630x420.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> A Palestinian Forum of New Zealand meme protesting against the new Israeli law. Image: Maher Nazzal This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
NYT Covers Iran War With No Reporters in Iran
The New York Times' lack of on-the-ground coverage in Iran has directly resulted in slower coverage and confirmation of US/Israel culpability for deadly strikes.
The New York Times (2/26/26) was able to present a range of Israeli views on attacking Iran; relying mainly on telephone interviews, it’s harder to get a cross-section of Iranian opinion about being attacked. Since the US and Israel first attacked Iran in late February, it has been easy to spot the stark difference between the New York Times’ distant coverage of Iran and its up-close and personal coverage of Israel. Multiple Times employees are reporting from and currently living in Israel. These include reporters Isabel Kershner, Aaron Boxerman, Gabby Sobelman, Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman, Adam Rasgon, Johnatan Reiss and Raja Abdulrahim, as well as Jerusalem bureau chief David M. Halbfinger. They routinely report stories that center Israeli citizens, as in “How Israelis Feel About Another Potential War With Iran” (2/26/26). First-hand Times reports have Israelis taking “Shelter as Sirens Warn of Incoming Missiles” (2/28/26), feeling “Tense But Relieved That Iran’s Supreme Leader Is Dead” (3/1/26) and celebrating “Purim Amid Iranian Missile Attacks” (3/4/26). They also have penned stories on Iranian missile strikes in Israel mere hours after they took place (3/1/26, 3/18/26). Many articles have been based primarily on statements from Israeli officials (3/1/26, 3/3/26, 3/11/26, 3/19/26) and US officials (3/2/26, 3/7/26). Other articles have centered on the perspective of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and what would benefit him (2/28/26, 3/14/26, 3/18/26). Meanwhile, the Times has no reporters based in Iran, as its editors admitted in two Q&A-style articles (3/9/26, 3/16/26). Instead, the paper has largely relied on its Visual Investigations team (3/12/26) and reporters based elsewhere to cover Iran, including correspondents in Israel, the US, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, South Korea, England, France and Germany. The Times reporters who most often quote Iranian voices—like Farnaz Fassihi, Parin Behrooz (both based in the US) and Yeganeh Torbati (reporting from Turkey)—largely rely on telephone interviews (3/2/26, 3/27/26), along with “text messages and social media posts” (3/18/26). This lack of on-the-ground coverage in Iran has directly resulted in slower coverage and confirmation of US/Israel culpability for deadly strikes. For example, it took five days for the Times (3/5/26) to report that the US was “most likely to have carried out the strike” on the school in Minab that killed at least 175 Iranian civilians, mostly schoolchildren. ‘Very restrictive in terms of access’ Editors explain “How the Times Reports on the War in Iran” (3/9/26) without being in Iran. When asked why the New York Times didn’t have reporters on the ground in Iran, editors argued that it is difficult to report from within Iran due to its harsh press restrictions. In an online Q&A (3/9/26), Adrienne Carter, the paper’s senior international editor, said that “Iran, like a number of countries, is very restrictive in terms of access for journalists.” Carter said the Times has received “two or three visas” to enter Iran over the past couple of years, including around the 2024 Iranian presidential election and “after the recent war.” The Times didn’t receive a visa during the 12-day war, nor during the recent protests, according to Carter. Carter acknowledged that “we are not on the ground in Iran,” adding that “communications are limited in the country”: So the reporting is always going to be more difficult and slower than in places like Israel and Lebanon, where we have reporters who can see firsthand what is happening. “We could drive” to a strike in Israel, Carter said, and Times reporters “could talk to witnesses.” Carter added, “We were able to better understand because we could be there.” ‘We can’t be there’ New York Times (3/16/26): Q: “How do you report on what’s happening in Iran?” A: “We rely heavily on verified visual material, user-generated content, social media posts and satellite imagery.” In another Q&A (3/16/26), a New York Times reader asked whether its journalists were “on the ground in all of the countries involved,” and how they report on “what’s happening in Iran.” Carter reiterated: Iran is one of the hardest places to report. It’s incredibly restrictive for journalists, especially during sensitive times like now. The communications are largely shut down. So unlike in Ukraine and Russia, Gaza, Lebanon and Israel, we can’t be there. We can’t easily reach people. Another reader asked why “US soldiers who signed up for wartime action seem to get significantly more coverage than the hundreds of Iranian civilians killed by the bombing.” This time, Times managing editor Marc Lacey responded that “reporters do not have free access” in Iran. He added: Believe me, if we were able to traverse Iran right now, we would have interviewed the families of those who lost their lives in the American missile strike on an elementary school in the opening days of the war. ‘We could do everything we wanted’ CNN‘s Frederik Pleitgen (Guardian, 3/14/26): “Even if there are restrictions, it’s always better to be on the ground than to not be on the ground.” CNN reporter Frederik Pleitgen, the only reporter for a US outlet to be granted a visa from Iran, was readily transparent about his on-the-ground coverage in a Q&A with the Guardian (3/14/26). Right after the US attacked Iran, Pleitgen said, he applied for a visa. Pleitgen said he told Iran’s Culture Ministry: “We really want to come in, and I told them that it’d be important to have international media there. And then they granted the visa.” Pleitgen said he didn’t have a minder, though he did have an Iranian translator who was asked by Iran’s Culture Ministry to “not take us to places that are sensitive.” He “needed to inform them before we went anywhere,” Pleitgen said. Still, Pleitgen—who ultimately filed more than a dozen written dispatches from Iran in the eight days he was based there and appeared onscreen more than 40 times—said: “It was more restrictive this time than it had been in the past, but still, by and large, we could do everything that we wanted to do.” Violent and systemic abuse US reporters are comfortable reporting Gaza from the point of view of an army credibly accused of committing genocide (New Republic, 11/15/23). It’s remarkable that the Times‘ Carter would suggest that, unlike in Iran, journalists in Gaza can “be there” and “easily reach people.” While Iran has very real press freedom issues, Israel’s own extensive press controls include much more violent and systemic abuse of journalists. Israel is responsible for killing 212 journalists in 2023–25; Iran killed three during that time period, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Israel is also currently imprisoning almost four times as many journalists as Iran. As I recently wrote for FAIR (3/11/26), US corporate media continue to ignore the latest reports of Israel’s systemic killing and jailing of (largely Palestinian) journalists—which FAIR (3/26/25, 8/22/25) has previously noted. Moreover, Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza since October 2023 (Al Jazeera, 1/7/26) unless they are embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces (New Republic, 11/15/23). ‘Special situation on the home front’ “It’s hard to understand what is actually happening,” a journalist working for a non-Israeli outlet told +972 (3/13/26). “We have a partial understanding of the reality on the ground.” Furthermore, Israel has always imposed military censorship (CJR, 3/25/26), which currently forces every journalist working inside the country “to submit any article dealing with ‘security issues’ to the military censor for review prior to publication,” as +972 Magazine (5/20/24) reported. Since +972 began collecting data in 2011, military censorship in Israel reached its “most extreme levels” in 2024. That year, Israel “completely banned the publication of 1,635 articles and partially censored another 6,265” and it “intervened in about 21 news reports per day,” according to +972 (5/2/25). After the Iran War started, Israel quickly declared a “special situation on the home front,” which gave additional power to the Israeli government and military, including over the media (Israel Democracy Institute, 3/2/26). Israel has prohibited reporters and networks from “publishing the precise location of Iranian missile impacts, or even filming or photographing the extent of the damage in a way that could give away the location,” wrote +972 (3/13/26). The increasingly strict Israeli military censor quickly impacted journalists: After Iranian missile strikes hit Tel Aviv on March 3, Israeli security forces detained CNN Türk correspondent Emrah Çakmak and camera operator Halil Kahraman during a live broadcast (CPJ, 3/3/26). ‘Strictures of military censorship’ “Anyone who endangers Israel’s citizens in the name of ‘journalistic reporting’ will face a determined and tough police force,” said Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir (CNN, 3/6/26). Israeli military censorship has been met with near-silence in US corporate media during the Iran war. Indeed, the only US corporate media outlet to publish a stand-alone piece about the censor that I could find was CNN (3/6/26; reposted by Yahoo, 3/6/26). A handful of outlets mentioned the censorship in passing. NPR (3/12/26) dutifully parroted the Israeli perspective on why they have maintained the censor. NPR’s international correspondent in Jerusalem, Daniel Estrin asked: Has Iran successfully hit military targets? We don’t have that information. Israel has a military censorship unit, and they censor that kind of information. They say that they don’t want to help the enemy, to help Iran improve its aim if they’re publishing where exactly it’s hitting. In an article about Iran reportedly striking Israel’s secretive nuclear sites, the Times’ Isabel Kershner (3/22/26) noted: The Israeli news media, operating under the strictures of military censorship, reported on Sunday that the Arrow 3 was not deployed against the missiles that struck Arad and Dimona. Kershner failed to note that all media outlets reporting in Israel—including foreign ones like the Times—also operate “under the strictures” of the military censor (CNN, 3/6/26; +972, 3/13/26). Bloomberg, meanwhile, published an article (3/23/26) headlined “Iran Is the First War of the Social Media Age. It’s a Black Box”; its account of Iran’s press restrictions appeared under the heading “Repressive Regime,” while Israel’s were covered under “War Guidelines.” Bloomberg‘s Alan Crawford and Galit Altstein labeled Israel’s press abuses in Gaza as a “press-defiant approach” and Netanyahu’s relationship with the media as (like Trump’s) “complicated”—omitting any mention of Israel’s systemic targeting and killing of largely Palestinian journalists. Crawford and Altstein wrote that Israel’s “military censor this month forbid all reporting on missile impacts in or around security sites,” but failed to note how extensively the censor has suppressed reporting, as +972 has documented. The sparse recent US corporate media coverage of Israel’s military censor starkly contrasts with the nonprofit press freedom organizations that have long denounced the policy, most recently during the Iran War (CPJ, 3/1/26; Reporters Without Borders, 3/11/26; CJR, 3/25/26). International media outlets have also referenced Israel’s military censor, and occasionally criticized it (Arab News, 3/3/26; New Arab, 3/24/26; Al Jazeera, 3/25/26). Even Israel’s Haaretz (3/21/26; 3/12/26) and Times of Israel (3/10/26) have acknowledged the censor. Solution: hiring local reporters Using Iran-based journalists, Drop Site (3/10/26) is able to provide first-hand accounts of the consequences of US and Israeli bombing. To be clear, reporting on the front line of a war is extremely dangerous, with journalists increasingly facing both indiscriminate weapons and intentional targeting. This is in addition to the negative mental health effects that living in a war zone has for anyone, as CPJ has noted. But if the New York Times is unable (or unwilling) to send its own reporters to Iran, it can hire local Iranian reporters. After all, the Times has hired local reporters in Gaza (1/30/24, 7/27/25, 3/23/26) and the West Bank (1/31/26). As just one possible solution, the paper could start using Egab, an Egypt-based organization that connects local journalists based throughout the world, including the Middle East, to news outlets. Several media outlets have used Egab to hire local Iranian reporters who have written numerous incisive reports, including the London-based New Arab (3/24/26, 3/23/26, 3/6/26), Spain-based El País (3/3/26) and US-based Drop Site News (2/28/26, 3/1/26, 3/10/26, 3/11/26, 3/18/26). In choosing not to report on the ground in Iran, and then coming up with unpersuasive excuses to cover its tracks, the New York Times has stopped readers from quickly learning the grotesque horrors that the US government has carried out on a daily basis there. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Drew Favakeh.
Who’s really behind ‘Iran-backed’ cell attacking Europe?
This content originally appeared on The Grayzone and was authored by The Grayzone.
The Shield of the Americas sets a dangerous agenda for the Western hemisphere.
The Shield of the Americas sets a dangerous agenda for the Western hemisphere. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Jordan Liz.
CNN crew assaulted and briefly detained while covering Israeli outpost in West Bank
Washington, D.C., March 30, 2026—Israeli soldiers detained and assaulted a CNN crew on March 26 in the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank, where the journalists had arrived to document settler violence and the establishment of a new illegal settler outpost. Within minutes, Israeli soldiers pointed their rifles at the crew of media...
Washington, D.C., March 30, 2026—Israeli soldiers detained and assaulted a CNN crew on March 26 in the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank, where the journalists had arrived to document settler violence and the establishment of a new illegal settler outpost. Within minutes, Israeli soldiers pointed their rifles at the crew of media workers, demanded that they cease filming, put CNN photojournalist Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold, damaged a camera, and detained the journalists. They were released two hours later. “This constitutes a clear infringement on journalists’ right to document and report on the escalating settler violence taking place in the West Bank,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israeli authorities have an obligation not only to hold the perpetrators of this incident to account, but to open swift investigations into all cases of rampant rights violations against journalists, local and international alike.” CNN reported that one soldier’s stated justification for his actions was to protect the illegal outpost and as an act of revenge for the death of settler Yehuda Sherman, who was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle on March 21. Jeremy Diamond, CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent who was targeted in the attack, confirmed that this soldier has since been dismissed. In response to CPJ’s request for information regarding the event, Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani stated that “the behavior and statements of the soldiers in this case do not reflect the [Israel Defense Forces] and do not represent the expected conduct of IDF soldiers. An investigation will be initiated.” Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has since suspended the operational activities of the battalion that perpetrated the detention and assault, withdrawing the unit from their station in the West Bank, and assigning them to undergo training “aimed at reinforcing its professional and ethical foundations.” This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This Canadian journalist is in Iran to show the sides of war corporate media won’t
Maximillian Alvarez and Dimitri Lascaris
<img width="1024" height="563" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=1024%2C563&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Still image of Dimitri Lascaris reporting from the Iranian port city of Bushehr on March 27, 2026. Photo courtesy of Reason2Resist with Dimitri Lascaris." data-attachment-id="342372" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/canadian-journalist-iran-war-corporate-media/screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2-24-21-pm" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1407&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1407" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Screenshot 2026-03-30 at 2.24.21 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Still image of Dimitri Lascaris reporting from the Iranian port city of Bushehr on March 27, 2026. Photo courtesy of Reason2Resist with Dimitri Lascaris. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=300%2C165&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=780%2C429&ssl=1"> Award-winning journalist and former TRNN board member Dimitri Lascaris is reporting on the ground in Iran right now. You need to see his coverage.
<img width="1024" height="563" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=1024%2C563&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Still image of Dimitri Lascaris reporting from the Iranian port city of Bushehr on March 27, 2026. Photo courtesy of Reason2Resist with Dimitri Lascaris." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=300%2C165&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=1024%2C563&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=768%2C422&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=1536%2C844&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=2048%2C1126&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=1200%2C660&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=2000%2C1100&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=780%2C429&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?resize=400%2C220&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=1024%2C563&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342372" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/canadian-journalist-iran-war-corporate-media/screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2-24-21-pm" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1407&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1407" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2026-03-30 at 2.24.21 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Still image of Dimitri Lascaris reporting from the Iranian port city of Bushehr on March 27, 2026. Photo courtesy of Reason2Resist with Dimitri Lascaris. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=300%2C165&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-30-at-2.24.21-PM-scaled.png?fit=780%2C429&ssl=1" /> The US-Israeli war on Iran has now entered its second month. From the carnage on the ground to the chaos rippling throughout the global economy, the consequences of this disastrous, bloody, and unnecessary conflict—including many dead bodies—are piling up daily. “More than 2,000 people have been killed and thousands of civilian sites have been targeted in the US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28,” Al Jazeera reports. Many of the 13 US military bases near Iran have been reportedly rendered “all but uninhabitable” after Iran’s retaliatory strikes. President Donald Trump and his administration have continued to obfuscate, flip flop, and bluster their way through the morass they’ve made, from claiming that “we’ve won this war,” to baselessly suggesting that a deal with Iran to end the war will come soon, to sending thousands more troops to the Middle East to prepare for what many fear will be a ground invasion. For people in the Western Hemisphere in general, and for people in the US specifically, it is infuriatingly difficult to get accurate and honest information about what the hell is actually happening in this war. The Trump regime and its vast media network of corporate and “independent” propagandists have proven time and again that they will not tell the public the truth. The majority of oligarch-owned news media outlets and social media platforms have likewise shown a systematic propensity for filling our newsfeeds and brains with half-truths, AI slop, or empire-serving schlock masquerading as serious analysis, all while simultaneously suppressing or invisibilizing realities and perspectives they don’t want the public to see. That is why it is so vital for us at TRNN to ensure that our viewers have access to serious, on-the-ground reporting from Iran, so you can see and hear the truth for yourself. If you, like us, are searching for credible sources providing essential on-the-ground coverage, then we highly recommend you check out the Reason2Resist YouTube channel, which is hosted by award-winning Canadian journalist and former TRNN board member Dimitri Lascaris. From Gandhi Hospital in Tehran and the Strait of Hormuz to the frontline city of Bushehr, Lascaris is reporting from Iran right now to show the sides of war that corporate media won’t. Follow reporting updates from Lascaris on Instagram and YouTube. <iframe class="youtube-player" width="780" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1HW_WOdF6so?version=3&rel=1&%23038;showsearch=0&%23038;showinfo=1&%23038;iv_load_policy=1&%23038;fs=1&%23038;hl=en-US&%23038;autohide=2&%23038;start=1&%23038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"> <iframe class="youtube-player" width="780" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M0ld9TnHtTQ?version=3&rel=1&%23038;showsearch=0&%23038;showinfo=1&%23038;iv_load_policy=1&%23038;fs=1&%23038;hl=en-US&%23038;autohide=2&%23038;start=45&%23038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"> <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="780" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n4RpCzR5Uso?version=3&rel=1&%23038;showsearch=0&%23038;showinfo=1&%23038;iv_load_policy=1&%23038;fs=1&%23038;hl=en-US&%23038;autohide=2&%23038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"> This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Maximillian Alvarez and Dimitri Lascaris.
Rep. Himes Sides With Trump on Warrantless Surveillance of Americans
Today, The Hill reported that Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, acknowledged that many of his Democratic colleagues plan to flip their votes against renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillan...
Today, The Hill reported that Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, acknowledged that many of his Democratic colleagues plan to flip their votes against renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) because they do not trust the Trump administration with the law's sweeping warrantless surveillance powers. Despite those concerns, Himes is continuing to push for renewal and against any votes on privacy protections. The following is a statement from Demand Progress Executive Director Sean Vitka: "Donald Trump has shown he will abuse every inch of power we give him. So you would think that given an opportunity to check his authority and protect Americans, Democrats would jump at the chance. But instead, Rep. Jim Himes is failing his critical role as an overseer of intelligence agencies and using his political power to lobby his fellow Democrats in service of the Trump administration domestic surveillance agenda. It is unforgivably cynical and reckless for Rep. Himes to make it easier for this administration to spy on Americans, especially at a time when Government agencies’ have made it clear that they intend to supercharge surveillance with AI, and when their misuse of these powers is horrifically on display." Section 702 allows the government to collect hundreds of millions of communications of foreign targets, which routinely sweeps in with conversations with and the private data of Americans. Privacy groups are broadly calling for reforms before any reauthorization, including requiring a warrant before government agents search through FISA databases knowingly in pursuit of information about people in the United States, and recently Demand Progress further led over 130 organizations in demanding Congress close the data broker loophole, which allows federal agencies to purchase Americans' private data without a warrant and feed it into AI-powered surveillance systems. Section 702 is set to expire April 20. The New York Times mentioned the efforts here. This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Nerdeen Kiswani speaks out after assassination plot against her
Trump declares ‘Cuba is finished’ while letting Russian oil tanker break illegal US blockade
<img width="1024" height="697" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C697&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026. Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="342357" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/trump-cuba-russian-oil-tanker-illegal-us-blockade/cuba-us-energy-blackout" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1743&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1743" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 8","caption":"People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026. Cuban authorities scrambled on March 22 to restore power to the island after the second nationwide blackout in less than a week, as the grid struggles due to an aging infrastructure and a US oil blockade. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1774200008","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"CUBA-US-ENERGY-BLACKOUT","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="CUBA-US-ENERGY-BLACKOUT" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026. Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C204&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C531&ssl=1"> The president’s decision means the US “will not illegally intercept and seize the entirely legal and legitimate sovereign trade in oil,” said one observer.
<img width="1024" height="697" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C697&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026. Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C204&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C697&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C523&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1046&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1394&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C817&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1361&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C531&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C272&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C697&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342357" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/trump-cuba-russian-oil-tanker-illegal-us-blockade/cuba-us-energy-blackout" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1743&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1743" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 8","caption":"People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026. Cuban authorities scrambled on March 22 to restore power to the island after the second nationwide blackout in less than a week, as the grid struggles due to an aging infrastructure and a US oil blockade. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1774200008","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"CUBA-US-ENERGY-BLACKOUT","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="CUBA-US-ENERGY-BLACKOUT" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026. Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C204&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267445506-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C531&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 30, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration would let a Russia-owned tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of oil to reach Cuba, loosening the illegal fuel blockade that has intensified the island’s already-grave humanitarian crisis. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that “if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem,” backing off his previous threat to tariff any nation that supplied the besieged island with fuel. Cuba has not received any oil imports since January 9, sparking nationwide blackouts and food shortages and leaving hospitals without critical supplies—with deadly consequences for patients. Trump insisted that the oil on the Russian tanker—which experts say is enough to buy Cuba at least several weeks of energy—is “not going to have an impact,” declaring, “Cuba is finished.” “They have a bad regime, and they have very bad and corrupt leadership,” added Trump, who presides over what analysts have deemed the most corrupt administration in US history. “Whether or not they get a boat of oil is not going to matter.” Reporter: There's a report that the US is going to let a Russian oil tanker go to Cuba? Trump: If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba, I have no problem with that. Reporter: Do you worry that that helps Putin? Trump: It doesn’t help him. He loses one boatload of oil.… pic.twitter.com/8Vh6gHwaxs — Acyn (@Acyn) March 30, 2026 Trump’s comments came after The New York Times reported that, “barring orders instructing it otherwise,” the US Coast Guard would not intercept the Russian tanker as it approached Cuba. The Russian vessel, known as the Anatoly Kolodkin, is expected to reach the island by Monday night, providing some reprieve to a nation whose economy has been strangled by unlawful US economic warfare for decades. In recent days, an international convoy of activists has delivered tons of food, medicine, and other aid to the island, but the shipments are a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Michael Gallant, a member of the Progressive International Secretariat, welcomed news that the US is allowing the Russian tanker to reach Cuba as “very good news”—but said Trump’s decision is hardly deserving of praise. Very good news. “The US will allow,” of course, means “will not illegally intercept and seize the entirely legal and legitimate sovereign trade in oil” https://t.co/YF2RRIXC2S — Michael Galant (@michael_galant) March 29, 2026 Trump imposed the fuel blockade in January, absurdly characterizing Cuba as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security. Earlier this month, Trump threatened to “take” Cuba by force, calling it a “very weakened nation.” Trump’s remarks prompted Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to vow “impregnable resistance” to any US attempt to seize the island. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking Díaz-Canel’s removal as a necessary condition in talks with the Cuban government. Trump’s threats led Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) to introduce legislation last week that would prohibit the administration from using federal funds for any attack on Cuba without congressional authorization. “Trump has started illegal regime change conflicts in Venezuela and Iran and is now threatening Cuba,” Jayapal said in a statement. “These military attacks put our troops in danger, endanger innocent civilians, waste billions of taxpayer dollars, and are not what the American people want.” “Trump promised to end forever wars—he lied,” Jayapal added. “Congress alone has the power to declare war, something Trump clearly does not respect. He has no plan to improve conditions for the Cuban people or promote democracy, and we must pass this legislation to block him from acting on a whim.” This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Jake Johnson.
A New History, and Pre-History, of Rightwing Media
A.J. Bauer’s new book ‘Making the Liberal Media’ takes a long view of conservative ire toward the mainstream press.
A.J. Bauer’s new book ‘Making the Liberal Media’ takes a long view of conservative ire toward the mainstream press. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Robert McCoy.
Ugandan journalist missing, forced into van after radio show
Kampala, March 30, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ugandan authorities to immediately disclose whether they have detained journalist and activist Mukose Arnold Anthony and to ensure his safe return, following his forcible disappearance in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Sunday. “The brazen seizure of Mukose Arnold Anthony in broad daylight, outside a radio...
Kampala, March 30, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ugandan authorities to immediately disclose whether they have detained journalist and activist Mukose Arnold Anthony and to ensure his safe return, following his forcible disappearance in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Sunday. “The brazen seizure of Mukose Arnold Anthony in broad daylight, outside a radio station, is an appalling abuse of human rights and media freedom,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela Quintal. “Ugandan authorities must urgently reveal the journalist’s whereabouts and ensure that journalists can work without fear of being arrested or disappearing.” At about 1 p.m. on March 22, men in plainclothes pushed Mukose, program director with the online outlet Alternative Digitalk, into a Toyota Noah minivan waiting outside the main gate of Metro FM 90.8, according to media reports. Eyewitnesses told those outlets that the men identified themselves to Mukose as security officers. Ugandans have nicknamed the vehicles “drones” because of the speed with which they drive off with those they have picked up. The Independent magazine cited Mukose’s lawyer Kato Tumusiime as saying that operatives from the multi-agency Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force took his client to his house, which they searched, and seized electronic devices. A police search certificate, shared online by Eron Kizza, another lawyer for Alternative Digitalk, showed that the police took Mukose’s ID card, passport, a modem, laptop and two smart watches from his house on March 29, in his presence. Mukose had just finished a live broadcast where he discussed the Constitutional Court’s March 17 ruling that nullified several sections of the Computer Misuse Act and criminal defamation in the penal code, which have frequently been used by authorities to target journalists and activists. Uganda’s police and military have long been accused of conducting enforced disappearances. Human Rights Watch has alleged that the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force has been involved in the illegal detention of more than 100 people, with some dying as a result of torture. Others remain unaccounted for. High profile cases last year included that of a priest, two Kenyan activists, and Eddie Mutwe, bodyguard of opposition leader Bobi Wine. Museveni’s son and military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba posted on X that he had “captured” Mutwe “like a grasshopper” and was holding him “in my basement.” When Mutwe was produced in court, he appeared to have been tortured, the justice minister said. In 2022, Alternative Digitalk’s offices were raided and two of its staff were charged under a section of the Computer Misuse Act that was later annulled, leading to the dismissal of the case. Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma and Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi did not immediately respond to CPJ’s text messages or phone calls seeking comment. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
How journalists in Gaza restored FM broadcasts without transmission towers.
How journalists in Gaza restored FM broadcasts without transmission towers. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Hana Salah.
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 30, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 30, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 30, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
While She Was in Labor, the Hospital Put Her in Zoom Court
This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by ProPublica.
Coalition Sues Trump EPA Over Illegal Repeal of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
A coalition of public health, environmental, and community advocates filed a lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s repeal of standards that limit brain-damaging mercury, lead, and other hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power plan...
A coalition of public health, environmental, and community advocates filed a lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s repeal of standards that limit brain-damaging mercury, lead, and other hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power plants. Since EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) took effect in 2015, they’ve driven down dangerous mercury pollution from power plants by more than 90%. The standards have also delivered significant public health benefits, lowering the risk of cancer, heart and lung disease, and premature death. The following is a statement from the coalition challenging the repeal in court: “The repeal of these protections will mean more asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and premature deaths. This administration is not just rolling back rules, it is eliminating the monitoring infrastructure needed to know what is coming out of these smokestacks in the first place. It is allowing coal plants to spew out more neurotoxic mercury into our air and food supply, while simultaneously keeping the communities most at risk in the dark about how serious that threat is. This is a betrayal of the EPA’s core mission.” The repeal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards follows a two-year exemption from the protections that the Trump administration granted to many coal plants, even though, according to the EPA’s own record, 93% of US coal capacity had already met or were on track to meet those standards. Since the Trump administration gave the country’s dirtiest coal plants a free pass, sulfur dioxide emissions have increased 18% nationally and neurotoxic mercury emissions have risen 9%. The sulfur dioxide spike was the second-largest single-year jump by percentage since EPA began publishing this data 30 years ago. Today’s lawsuit also challenges EPA’s rollback of real-time continuous emissions monitoring at power plants, which would have given communities accurate real-time data on the pollution they’re breathing and a stronger tool for enforcing compliance. The repeal violates the Clean Air Act, ignores the scientific record, and abandons safeguards that protect communities living near coal plants and downwind of their pollution. The lawsuit was filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by Earthjustice (representing Air Alliance Houston, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Clean Air Council, Kentucky Resources Council, Montana Environmental Information Center and Downwinders at Risk), Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Clean Air Task Force (representing some of the other groups), Clean Wisconsin, Conservation Law Foundation, Dakota Resource Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Natural Resources Council of Maine, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center (representing some of the other groups). This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Paradox of Power: Judgment of Gender and Modern Warfare
First up, Eleanor Goldfield sits down with educator and author Allison Butler to talk about her latest book: The Judgment of Gender: How Women are Centered and Silenced in Pop Culture. Allison dissects this seeming contradiction of both centering and s...
First up, Eleanor Goldfield sits down with educator and author Allison Butler to talk about her latest book: The Judgment of Gender: How Women are Centered and Silenced in Pop Culture. Allison dissects this seeming contradiction of both centering and silencing women. We dive into some history to orient us in the present, consider the intersections of womanhood, the women in service to patriarchy, and more. Next up, Dr. Shir Hever comes back on the show this time to give a perspective on the war on Iran that you won’t likely hear, even in alternative and independent media. Shir prompts us to consider what the actual goals of the war are through understanding modern warfare, the US/Israeli relationship, and the paradoxical stability of totalitarianism staring at us from this current apocalyptic war. The post Paradox of Power: Judgment of Gender and Modern Warfare appeared first on Project Censored. This content originally appeared on Project Censored and was authored by Kate Horgan.
Voices of protest at No Kings march in NYC
"The Institutions Have Not Collapsed": Prof. Ali Kadivar on Iran’s Resilience to U.S.-Israeli War
UN peacekeeper killed in Israeli-Hezbollah clashes in Lebanon Yemen: UN envoy decries Houthi decision to attack Israel Transform inefficient food systems on Zero-Waste Day
UN peacekeeper killed in Israeli-Hezbollah clashes in Lebanon Yemen: UN envoy decries Houthi decision to attack Israel Transform inefficient food systems on Zero-Waste Day This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Dianne Penn.
Report from Beirut: "Hearts Are Very, Very Heavy" After Israeli Strikes Target Journalists, Medics
Iranian And Israeli Oil Facilities In Flames As Strikes Continue | US Iran Update
The FBI’s return to Ecuador is nothing new
This story originally appeared in NACLA on Mar. 27, 2026. It is reprinted here with permission. When Ecuador’s government announced on March 11 that the FBI would open a permanent office in the country, officials presented the move as a necessary...
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Members of Ecuador's National Police pose with rifles during a delivery ceremony led by Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa at the Community Surveillance Unit in Duran, Ecuador, on August 6, 2024. Photo by MARCOS PIN/AFP via Getty Images" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1334&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342328" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/fbi-return-to-ecuador/ecuador-security-police" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 6_2","caption":"Members of Ecuador's National Police pose with rifles during a delivery ceremony led by Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa (out of frame) at the Community Surveillance Unit in Duran, Ecuador, on August 6, 2024. Noboa handed out 1752 5.56 rifles and 30 high precision rifles to members of the National Police as part of the plan to combat crime in Guayaquil and Dur\u00e1n. (Photo by MARCOS PIN / AFP) (Photo by MARCOS PIN/AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1722962914","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"ECUADOR-SECURITY-POLICE","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ECUADOR-SECURITY-POLICE" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Members of Ecuador&#8217;s National Police pose with rifles during a delivery ceremony led by Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa at the Community Surveillance Unit in Duran, Ecuador, on August 6, 2024. Photo by MARCOS PIN/AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2165070972-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="655" height="104" data-attachment-id="296784" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/el-salvadors-state-of-exception-turns-one/screen-shot-2023-04-05-at-2-03-23-pm" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?fit=655%2C104&ssl=1" data-orig-size="655,104" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screen Shot 2023-04-05 at 2.03.23 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?fit=300%2C48&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?fit=655%2C104&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?resize=655%2C104&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-296784 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?w=655&ssl=1 655w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?resize=300%2C48&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?resize=400%2C64&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-05-at-2.03.23-PM.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px" /> This story originally appeared in NACLA on Mar. 27, 2026. It is reprinted here with permission. When Ecuador’s government announced on March 11 that the FBI would open a permanent office in the country, officials presented the move as a necessary response to escalating transnational crime. Interior Minister John Reimberg and U.S. chargé d’affaires Lawrence Petroni framed the initiative as a milestone in bilateral cooperation, aimed at combating drug trafficking, arms flows, money laundering, and terrorism financing. Yet there is little that is new about this announcement. Rather than marking a break with the past, the FBI’s expanded presence in Ecuador represents the continuation—and normalization—of a much longer history of U.S. intervention in the country’s internal affairs. That history, largely forgotten in official narratives, reveals patterns of surveillance, political policing, and collaboration with local security forces that complicate contemporary claims about security cooperation. Rather than marking a break with the past, the FBI’s expanded presence in Ecuador represents the continuation—and normalization—of a much longer history of U.S. intervention in the country’s internal affairs. The timing of this announcement is significant within Ecuador’s domestic political landscape. Since taking office in 2023, Daniel Noboa has embraced a hardline security agenda in response to escalating violence linked to organized crime. Declaring an “internal armed conflict,” his government has militarized public security, expanded executive powers, and strengthened ties with foreign security agencies. Noboa has justified these measures as necessary to restore order in the face of rising homicide rates and prison violence. Critics have raised concerns about the erosion of civil liberties, the militarization of public security, and the potential for abuses against marginalized communities. As seen with Nayib Bukele’s mass incarceration policies in El Salvador, these policies represent a broader regional turn toward punitive, militarized responses that produce limited long-term results while increasing the risk of human rights abuses. In this light, the establishment of a permanent FBI office appears less as an isolated policy decision than as part of a converging logic between U.S. security priorities and Ecuador’s internal political strategy—one that recalls earlier Cold War–era collaborations in which anti-crime and counter-subversion efforts served as overlapping justifications for expanding state surveillance and repression. To understand what is at stake in the FBI’s return, it is necessary to look beyond the present moment and recover this longer history. Emboldening Repressive Forces U.S.-backed security initiatives directly shaped domestic political struggles in Ecuador. One of the clearest examples of this dynamic was the FBI’s relationship with Héctor Salgado, the head of Ecuador’s militarized police known as the carabineros. After receiving training in the United States, Salgado returned to Ecuador and implemented policing practices that targeted labor organizers and political activists. These efforts contributed to attempts to block the formation of the Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers (CTE) in 1943. The FBI’s close collaboration with the carabineros reveals the extent to which U.S. intelligence agencies embedded themselves within Ecuador’s coercive apparatus. Agents maintained intimate relationships with police leadership and relied on these connections to conduct surveillance and gather information. Even after a May 1944 revolution, known as the Gloriosa, overthrew the existing regime and dismantled the carabineros, FBI agents quickly established ties with the new security forces and continued their activities without interruption. This continuity underscores a key point: U.S. intervention was not tied to specific governments or political configurations but rather to a broader project of maintaining influence over internal political developments. Whether under the guise of anti-fascism or anti-communism, the underlying objective remained the same: to monitor and shape the trajectory of political change in Ecuador. Whether under the guise of anti-fascism or anti-communism, the underlying objective remained the same: to monitor and shape the trajectory of political change in Ecuador. The end of World War II and the creation of the CIA in 1947 did not represent a significant turning point in U.S. intelligence operations. Formally, responsibility for foreign intelligence shifted from the FBI to the newly established CIA, while the FBI was theoretically confined to domestic security in the United States. In practice, this division was never absolute. The FBI maintained an international presence through its legal attaché offices—so-called legats—that continued to operate in U.S. embassies around the world. Today, Ecuador falls under the jurisdiction of the FBI’s Bogotá office, in Colombia, one of several regional hubs in Latin America. This structure reflects a longstanding pattern in which U.S. intelligence agencies maintain overlapping and sometimes competing roles that blur the distinction between domestic and foreign operations. The recent announcement of a permanent FBI office in Ecuador represents less a departure than an institutionalization of an already existing presence. It formalizes relationships and practices that have deep historical roots, even as it reframes them in the language of contemporary security threats. Dubious Justifications As in the 1940s, the justification for this expanded presence deserves careful scrutiny. Then, the FBI invoked the specter of Nazi infiltration to legitimize its activities. Now, it points to drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism. While these threats are real, the framing of U.S. intervention as a necessary response obscures the extent to which such policies have historically served broader geopolitical objectives. Moreover, there is a striking continuity in the mismatch between stated goals and actual practices. During World War II, FBI agents devoted significant resources to monitoring leftist movements despite the absence of a meaningful fascist threat. Today, similar questions arise about whether expanded law enforcement cooperation will primarily target transnational criminal networks or once again be directed toward political actors and social movements. A broader political context reinforces this skepticism. The return of the FBI to Ecuador comes at a time when U.S. policy in Latin America continues to prioritize security cooperation at the expense of addressing underlying social and economic conditions. It reflects a long-standing tendency to externalize the causes of transnational problems, treating them as issues to be managed abroad rather than confronting their roots within the United States itself. The return of the FBI to Ecuador comes at a time when U.S. policy in Latin America continues to prioritize security cooperation at the expense of addressing underlying social and economic conditions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of drug trafficking. Decades of research have demonstrated that the global drug trade is driven primarily by consumer demand rather than supply. Efforts to disrupt production and distribution networks in Latin America have repeatedly failed to reduce overall consumption, while generating significant social and political costs in the region. If the goal were truly to combat drug trafficking, more effective strategies would focus on reducing demand through treatment and public health interventions in the United States and Europe. A similar dynamic applies to the flow of firearms. A significant proportion of the weapons used by criminal organizations in Latin America originate in the United States, where they are legally purchased before being trafficked south. Efforts to curb violence in countries like Ecuador cannot succeed without addressing this upstream source of supply. Yet U.S. policy has largely avoided meaningful restrictions on domestic gun sales, instead emphasizing enforcement measures abroad. These contradictions highlight the limitations of a security-centered approach to transnational crime. By focusing on policing and surveillance, such strategies risk reproducing the very dynamics they seek to address, while reinforcing asymmetrical power relations between the United States and Latin American countries. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Marc Becker.
NYC Palestine Activist Nerdeen Kiswani Speaks Out After Being Target of Assassination Plot
"People Are Rising Up": Voices of No Kings Protests from NYC to Denver
No Kings: Ilhan Omar, Bernie Sanders, Bruce Springsteen, Jane Fonda, Joan Baez at St. Paul Rally
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 30, 2026
“The Institutions Have Not Collapsed”: Prof. Ali Kadivar on Iran’s Resilience to U.S.-Israeli War
As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its second month, President Donald Trump has said he wants “to take the oil” and seize Kharg Island, Iran’s key export hub in the Persian Gulf. President Trump’s comments come as 3...
As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its second month, President Donald Trump has said he wants “to take the oil” and seize Kharg Island, Iran’s key export hub in the Persian Gulf. President Trump’s comments come as 3,500 U.S. troops began arriving in the region on Friday, with The Washington Post reporting that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of potential ground combat in Iran. According to a consortium of human rights groups in Iran, nearly 1,500 Iranian civilians, including at least 217 children, have been killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Iranian scholar Ali Kadivar says the increased targeting of residential areas, schools and hospitals in recent days shows that regime change is no longer the main goal, if it ever was. “These recent attacks on civilian infrastructure makes the war look more like a war on Iran as a nation-state,” says Kadivar, fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University and an associate professor at Boston College. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Report from Beirut: “Hearts Are Very, Very Heavy” After Israeli Strikes Target Journalists, Medics
We speak with journalist Lylla Younes in Beirut as Israel vows to expand its invasion of Lebanon and occupy much of the country. This comes as an Israeli strike targeted a marked press car in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing Ali Shoeib of...
We speak with journalist Lylla Younes in Beirut as Israel vows to expand its invasion of Lebanon and occupy much of the country. This comes as an Israeli strike targeted a marked press car in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing Ali Shoeib of Al-Manar TV, reporter Fatima Ftouni of Al Mayadeen TV, and her brother, freelance cameraman Mohamed Ftouni. Israel’s military said it had targeted Shoeib, accusing him of being a Hezbollah intelligence operative, without providing evidence. The World Health Organization says nine paramedics were also killed Saturday in five separate Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, bringing the total number of health workers killed by Israel in March to 51. Such brazen killings are an attempt by Israel “to break the will of a people in a moment of deep vulnerability,” says Younes. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
New York police say they foiled an assassination attempt against Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani. She describes the terror of finding out about the plot and why it reflects the “impunity” with which Zionist groups hav...
New York police say they foiled an assassination attempt against Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani. She describes the terror of finding out about the plot and why it reflects the “impunity” with which Zionist groups have targeted pro-Palestine voices. “It really made me feel even more vulnerable than I already do as a Palestinian activist,” says Kiswani, co-founder of the group Within Our Lifetime. A New Jersey man, Alexander Heifler, has been arrested and charged with plotting to firebomb Kiswani’s home in Brooklyn. Investigators say Heifler was a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based group founded in 2024 that describes itself as a revival of the Jewish Defense League, a pro-Israel group designated by the FBI as a terrorist organization. “It’s truly shocking, what they’ve been able to get away with,” Kiswani says of extreme Zionist groups like the Jewish Defense League. “It’s just been ignored for far too long, so it’s good to finally have some accountability.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“People Are Rising Up”: Voices of No Kings Protests from NYC to Denver
One of the largest No Kings protests on Saturday took place in New York City, where tens of thousands marched to protest the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and more. Democracy Now!’s A...
One of the largest No Kings protests on Saturday took place in New York City, where tens of thousands marched to protest the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and more. Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman was in the streets and spoke to many demonstrators. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
No Kings: Rep. Omar, Sen. Sanders, Bruce Springsteen, Jane Fonda, Joan Baez at Massive St. Paul Rally
An estimated 8 million people took part in anti-Trump protests across the United States on Saturday as part of the No Kings movement, with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown animating many part...
An estimated 8 million people took part in anti-Trump protests across the United States on Saturday as part of the No Kings movement, with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown animating many participants. One of the largest rallies took place in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, where federal immigration agents killed U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January. Rally speakers included Congressmember Ilhan Omar, Governor Tim Walz, Senator Bernie Sanders, actor and activist Jane Fonda and others, as well as a performance by Bruce Springsteen. We air highlights from the rally. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Ali Kadivar: U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Is “Defining Moment” for the Whole Global Order
“These are all war crimes — and this is an American president threatening war crimes over and over publicly.”
One month into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, we speak with the Iranian American sociologist Ali Kadivar, who says the leadership in Tehran is consolidating its power and adopting more hard-line positions amid the conflict. He also warns that Trump’s threatened strikes on Iranian electricity and desalination infrastructure would constitute war crimes and likely push oil above $200 a barrel, risking global recession, while any seizure of Kharg Island would expose U.S. troops without producing a decisive result. “These are all war crimes — and this is an American president threatening war crimes over and over publicly,” says Kadivar. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“No Kings” Protests Draw 8 Million People for the Largest Single Day of Protests in U.S. History, Trump Boasts About Regime Change in Iran as 3,500 U.S. Troops Arrive in the Middle East, U.S. Officials Say Iran Fired Missiles and Drones at Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Israeli Strikes Kill Three Journalists in Southern Lebanon, Israeli Airstrikes Kill Six Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli Police Prevent Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from Entering Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, Pope Leo Rebukes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth During Palm Sunday Mass, FBI and NYPD Say They Thwarted Arson Attack on Home of Prominent Palestinian-American Activist, Trump Says White House Ballroom Will Be a “Shed” Over Military Bunker, Bank of America to Pay $72.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Brought by Hundreds of Epstein Survivors, Homeland Security Shutdown Is Now Longest in U.S. History, Sen. Bernie Sanders Rallies Support for New York City Tax on Millionaires
"No Kings" Protests Draw 8 Million People for the Largest Single Day of Protests in U.S. History Trump Boasts About Regime Change in Iran as 3,500 U.S. Troops Arrive in the Middle East U.S. Officials Say Iran Fired Missiles and Drones at Air Base in Saudi Arabia Israeli Strikes Kill Three Journalists in Southern Lebanon Israeli Airstrikes Kill Six Palestinians in Gaza Israeli Police Prevent Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from Entering Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday Pope Leo Rebukes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth During Palm Sunday Mass FBI and NYPD Say They Thwarted Arson Attack on Home of Prominent Palestinian-American Activist Trump Says White House Ballroom Will Be a "Shed" Over Military Bunker Bank of America to Pay $72.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Brought by Hundreds of Epstein Survivors Homeland Security Shutdown Is Now Longest in U.S. History Sen. Bernie Sanders Rallies Support for New York City Tax on Millionaires This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! Monday, March 30, 2026 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
New Analyses: EPA Consistently Fails to Warn Public of Pesticide Cancer Risks
The Environmental Protection Agency has routinely failed to put cancer warnings on pesticide products even when its own assessments have found a high risk of those products causing cancer, according to two new analyses released today by the Center for...
The Environmental Protection Agency has routinely failed to put cancer warnings on pesticide products even when its own assessments have found a high risk of those products causing cancer, according to two new analyses released today by the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity. The Center for Food Safety <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszs2u2yAQxfGnMbuJMB6-FizuJq8RjYchobWxC26j-_ZVqm7_R0f65WQCo3ZK0uw9Bhet9-qV0BJbE1bSoWSD0XqnzUyGUK-4YFQ1uchkeSGkss6Pec7z4sJiIrrsJtSjZvlZf8FOdZM-wPuAbEvMAcaP2J63z6C29Lquc0zL12Tuk7m_3-8bS7ukl6OX48iDilzft6M_J3MvdZMxmTuXAaeMq3LNAmcX2c-rHg2oZWBqLB3e1FttT6BG2_eoA2Cnzi8w2riHCwHN7cxF7ZIrQZdNaAjUnP6Fx_8wLV_GYohW9bTR7y5tQs3Hvh8td6F9fGBqXB_B55ztgrNmB4EsAdq4QrDMII681WVlb0X9SeZvAAAA__8RpXeZ" rel="noopener noreferrer" >analyzed the level of risk the EPA permitted for both currently approved and legacy pesticide active ingredients. The analysis found that pesticides have been allowed on the market with a cancer risk as high as one in every 100 people exposed, a far greater level than the EPA’s benchmark of a one in a million chance of developing cancer. Over the last 40 years, the EPA has approved 200 active ingredients that are “likely” or “possible” carcinogens. The Center for Biological Diversity analysis <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwsjr1uwyAURp8GNiLzDwNDFr9Cx-garm1aMCk4kfr2lauu53yfdFIQLqrJUAzcWuWM19bSPdgoF7-Y5FBPcVq400lKITh4njx3luZgfAQdJShYF_7gPHFpnBRemWSImkZO-JW_WYVcsA9mrVNRrz45Nj79sd0uQUvYz_M5iLwTMRMxL7mVtuUIJeU39pHPn1vrGxHzs7etQx1EzHi8c29HxeOE8tgRyrlfi7RedoZcXh3Z2dgH9OP2TCutmDKwjgVhIMsp_IHHPyDyLrRyXtMeCrw6HkRNsdXajtQR6rgS6Dg7Yr3OSUvFp2iYAw1Mab8wp2NkaMDqaV2i1UjfQfwGAAD__5ZKb2s" rel="noopener noreferrer" >examined pesticide product labels for all currently approved pesticide products. The EPA has instituted cancer warnings on only 69 of 4,919 pesticide labels (1.4%) containing an active ingredient that the agency has designated a “likely” human carcinogen. And the agency has instituted cancer warnings on just 242 of the 22,147 pesticide labels (1.1%) that contain an ingredient the agency has designated as a “possible” human carcinogen. "It’s bad enough that the EPA approves cancer-causing pesticides," said Bill Freese, science director at the Center for Food Safety. "But if the agency is going to allow such chemicals to be freely sold at Home Depot, Wal-Mart and farm-supply stores, the very least the EPA must do is require a clear cancer warning on the label. Warnings save lives by incentivizing users to wear protective equipment that reduces risk." "It’s dumbfounding that the EPA has failed to require any cancer warning on thousands of pesticide products sold to the public that the agency itself has linked to cancer," said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Why should anyone have confidence in the EPA’s ability to keep tabs on the pesticide industry and protect us all from harmful poisons when it won’t even compel companies to put long-term health warnings on pesticides it knows are really dangerous?" These new analyses come before the April 27 oral arguments in the Supreme Court case <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJw8y0tuwyAUheHVwAyL92PAIBNvI8KX64QG4hTsZPuVq6qzo-_oz1F60NxSjMI57W0wztF7NDmjUQ7SAquQ3CcM0q0QRPYuCNC0RBsgGVBJp3URVyGyUNYrGbTNlmg-SsZH-WYtlYp9MOe8BrOG7Nn4Cs_bdB60xvu-vwZRFyJnIufP5zON49WxIWxH36fb9iZyzhs8cP8fa6k4iJzve6tEzq9jqQWInKVmgls_nU4b5pJYx4ppICs5_sL1D4i6SKN9MLTHmo6OT6I5bK1tz9wxtTFt_UbH3hHbGWejtOBgmU8mMW3CwrwBYGiTM3xdwBmk7yh_AgAA___y9Wmr" rel="noopener noreferrer" >Monsanto Company v. John L. Durnell. Monsanto, since acquired by Bayer, is seeking substantial immunity from future lawsuits brought by Americans who used glyphosate-based products like Roundup and contracted rare cancers that numerous studies have linked to the pesticide. The case hinges on whether the EPA has sole authority to implement pesticide label warnings. Both analyses found that the vast majority of cancer warnings on pesticides come from obligations under Proposition 65 in California, which requires warnings on products, including pesticides, that contain hazardous levels of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. However, most Americans are not adequately warned about products’ known cancer risks. For instance, pesticide products containing mancozeb, diuron and chlorothalonil — three EPA-designated “likely” human carcinogens — are only required to include a cancer warning in the state of California. The pesticides are applied to a wide range of vegetable, fruit and grain crops grown in many other states, according to U.S. Geological Survey reports. Full Summary of Analyses The Center for Food Safety analysis focused on the active ingredients contained in currently approved and legacy pesticide products. It found that of the 570 unique pesticide chemicals that the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs has analyzed for carcinogenic potential since 1985, more than a third (35%) are either “likely” human carcinogens (73) or “possible” human carcinogens (127). For many of these pesticide ingredients the EPA has identified substantial cancer risks far exceeding its policy threshold of preventing a cancer risk of greater than one in 1 million people exposed. For example, the EPA predicts drinking water contaminated with the pesticide thiophanate-methyl can cause cancer in up to four in 10,000 people exposed. Residential and occupational uses of other registered pesticides can cause cancer in as many as seven in 1,000 people exposed, a 7,000-fold higher risk than the EPA’s threshold for unacceptable cancer risk. The Center for Biological Diversity analysis focused on the pesticide labels of individual pesticide products and reviewed more than 93,000 historic and currently approved pesticide labels for all products now available to pesticide users. It found that the EPA has instituted cancer warnings on only 69 of 4,919 pesticide labels (1.4%) containing an ingredient that the agency has designated a “likely” human carcinogen and 242 of the 22,147 pesticide labels (1.1%) that contain an ingredient the agency has designated as a “possible” human carcinogen. In the few instances when the EPA has instituted a cancer warning on pesticide labels, implementation can be haphazard and confusing. For instance, the agency has implemented cancer warnings on some products containing triphenyltin hydroxide. However other products with the same amount of active ingredient and approved for the same uses contain no cancer warning at all. This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Daughter of slain Peruvian journalist Hugo Bustíos calls release of convicted mastermind “an insult” to justice
Sharmelí Bustíos Patiño was only 14 when her father, 38-year-old Peruvian journalist Hugo Bustíos Saavedra, was killed on November 24, 1988, while covering the war between the Peruvian army and leftist Shining Path guerrillas in a violent ambush near the town of Huanta. After nearly four decades of fighting to find her father’s killer, Sharmelí found justice in...
Sharmelí Bustíos Patiño was only 14 when her father, 38-year-old Peruvian journalist Hugo Bustíos Saavedra, was killed on November 24, 1988, while covering the war between the Peruvian army and leftist Shining Path guerrillas in a violent ambush near the town of Huanta. After nearly four decades of fighting to find her father’s killer, Sharmelí found justice in 2023 when former army intelligence chief turned-politician Daniel Urresti Elera was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring to kill Bustíos. However, that justice was short-lived. In February 2026, a ruling from Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal, the country’s highest court, saw Urresti walk free on March 3 and announce his return to politics. The Tribunal based its decision on a controversial amnesty law approved last year by Peru’s Congress, which states that war crimes and crimes against humanity can only be prosecuted if they occurred after July 1, 2002. The Bustíos family plans to appeal the ruling. “We had been told to prepare ourselves for such a ruling, but it still came as a shock,” said Sharmelí. “It was announced on February 20, my father’s birthday. He would have been 76 years old. I was indignant. It was an insult not just to our family but to all the people who were assassinated during the war.” <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" height="640" width="1024" src="https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?w=1024" alt="A photo of Hugo Bustíos Saavedra taken minutes before he was killed in November 1988. (Photo: Caretas)" class="wp-image-576995" style="width:358px;height:auto" srcset="https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png 1482w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=300,187 300w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=768,480 768w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=1024,640 1024w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=570,356 570w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=652,407 652w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=760,475 760w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=1140,712 1140w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bustios.png?resize=367,229 367w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> A photo of Hugo Bustíos Saavedra taken minutes before he was killed in November 1988. (Photo: Caretas) The Committee to Protect Journalists, the United Nations and more human rights groups have condemned the legislation as a breach of international standards that affirm such atrocities are not subject to statutes of limitations. Urresti’s conviction marked the first time ever in Peru that a suspect was found guilty of conspiring to kill a journalist, and was hailed by press freedom groups as a key step towards ending impunity for crimes against the press in Peru. Yet now Sharmelí, a journalist herself, fears that progress in the country is sliding backwards. In an interview with CPJ in Lima, Sharmelí spoke about the latest twist in her father’s case and the current state of press freedom in Peru. This interview was edited for length and clarity. As a correspondent for Lima news magazine Caretas, Bustíos often investigated human rights abuses committed during the war when he was killed. What do you remember the most about his journalistic spirit? He was always very active. He had a law degree and was also a small businessman. He loved to play soccer and volleyball. Even though he was very busy, he spent a lot of time with us, and we always had breakfast and lunch together. He had a lot of courage and took a lot of risks. Last year, four Peruvian journalists were killed in a reported spike in violence against the press. When it comes to press freedom, is there a sense that Peru is going backwards? It’s a tragic situation. The conditions for a vigorous free press do not exist in Peru. Not only are journalists being killed but they are being defamed and slapped with lawsuits. Even so, if my father were still alive, I think he would have persisted in journalism. Nothing would have stopped him, and he would have won journalism prizes. After pursuing justice for your father for so long, how did you feel when Daniel Urresti was finally convicted in 2023? You should not have to wait more than 30 years to secure justice for the murder of a journalist. Perhaps some of the delays were understandable when the war was still going on. Now, the war is over, and we are supposed to be living under a democracy. Yet the justice system is still weak and paralyzed. That’s why when the guilty verdict was announced, it was hard to believe. I had felt smothered by the justice system for so long and then, suddenly, I felt I could breathe again because it allowed us to close a chapter of family history. Do you know what led to Peru’s congress passing the 2025 amnesty law that prompted the Constitutional Tribunal to throw out Urresti’s conviction? The military has many powerful allies in Congress who argue that, during the guerrilla war, the army was defending the country from terrorism and that, therefore, former soldiers and officers should not be prosecuted. What was your reaction to the court’s ruling to free Urresti now? The court did not say Urresti is innocent. He is now free, but he is not innocent. The decision means that impunity prevails. Peru’s justice system promotes impunity because it puts so many obstacles in your path as you seek justice and tries to wear you out and make you give up. It’s a very cruel system that never allows relatives of victims to bring an end to their mourning or to live in peace. Did you ever meet Urresti? No. But once, during a hearing, Urresti came over, greeted my mother and shook her hand. He is shameless. But that’s the way he is. He’s a politician. My mother was polite to him, but she was also shocked. What is the next step after appealing the Tribunal’s ruling? We plan to appeal in Peru and if that doesn’t work then go to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This was a crime against humanity so there can be no statute of limitations that would go against the constitution and against international standards. We have to continue to fight for justice and I remain committed to promoting human rights and to honoring the memory [of victims of human rights violations]. This is the best way forward. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by John Otis.
Over $100 Billion Lost to Oil and Gas Price Spikes in First Month of Iran War, 350.org Analysis Shows
One month after the start of the Iran war, new analysis from 350.org shows that over $100 billion has been siphoned from ordinary people to oil and gas companies due to soaring energy prices.In addition to the horrific loss of human life, campaigners ...
One month after the start of the Iran war, new analysis from 350.org shows that over $100 billion has been siphoned from ordinary people to oil and gas companies due to soaring energy prices. In addition to the horrific loss of human life, campaigners say the crisis highlights how dependence on fossil fuels enriches the few at the expense of the many. The analysis estimates that rising oil and gas prices have already cost consumers and businesses an additional $104.2–$111.6 billion. Impacts have been sharp and immediate, from textile factory layoffs in Bangladesh, to fuel rationing in Kenya, to a looming recession in the United States. The 350.org analysis calculates losses from price spikes using weighted oil and gas price averages over the first month of the war, combined with global consumption levels and adjustments for uncertainty, such as reduced demand and rationing in response to rising prices. It does not yet include wider knock-on effects, such as rising fertiliser and food costs, declines in economic output and employment, or broader inflation driven by fossil fuel price volatility. As a result, the true economic damage is likely significantly higher than the losses from oil and gas prices alone. The $111 billion lost to higher oil and gas prices alone could instead build enough solar power to supply around 40 million households in high-consumption countries, or about 150 million households in lower-consumption contexts. This figure is also roughly equivalent to current annual international climate finance—public and private funding provided by developed countries to developing countries under the UN Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement. Anne Jellema, Chief Executive of 350.org, said: “On top of the incalculable suffering of families and communities torn apart by the war, ordinary people around the world are paying an extraordinary price through fossil fuel-driven energy spikes. Over $100 billion has gone straight into the pockets of fossil fuel companies, while families struggle to afford energy and basic necessities. The case for windfall taxes has never been clearer.” The organisation warns that, without urgent intervention, the impacts will deepen, particularly for lower-income households and countries already facing economic strain. “Next month, governments will gather in Colombia to discuss how to end the era of oil, gas and coal. No more procrastination: our leaders must seize this moment to adopt binding targets to phase out fossil fuels and ramp up investment in a clean, safe energy future for all.” 350.org is calling on governments to tax the fossil fuel industry’s windfall profits in order to protect households from soaring prices. The group says that part of this revenue should be used to subsidise access to fast-deploying renewable solutions, such as rooftop and community solar and electric vehicles. It emphasises that investing in renewables is the most effective way to stabilise prices, strengthen energy security, and shield economies from future crises. 350.org is also urging governments to agree on binding plans to replace oil, gas and coal with homegrown renewable energy, for example, through a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Note to Editor: To identify the oil and gas price delta, the analysis used various data sets, including data of the International Energy Agency, TradingEconomics and regional gas price benchmarks; the price in the week ahead of the outbreak of the war as the baseline for comparison, which likely slightly underestimates the price shock as trading prices had already modestly increased due to the anticipation of a possible conflict. This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Deafening silence about the Israeli Dimona nuclear double standard
ANALYSIS: By Ronny P. Sasmita The skies over Tehran and Natanz may still carry the lingering haze of joint US-Israeli bombing operations. Yet the world, filtered through the dominant lens of Western media, continues to be fed a singular narrative: the latent danger of Iran’s uranium enrichment, perpetually described as being “one step away” from
ANALYSIS: By Ronny P. Sasmita The skies over Tehran and Natanz may still carry the lingering haze of joint US-Israeli bombing operations. Yet the world, filtered through the dominant lens of Western media, continues to be fed a singular narrative: the latent danger of Iran’s uranium enrichment, perpetually described as being “one step away” from a nuclear warhead. Amid economic sanctions, UN Security Council resolutions and preemptive military strikes that have devastated Iran’s civilian and military infrastructure, there exists a deafening silence surrounding the Middle East’s most tangible arsenal of weapons of mass destruction: Israel’s nuclear stockpile. READ MORE: Al Jazeera’s defence editor Alex Gatopoulos explains how things stand in the war on Iran Trump says wants to take Iran’s oil — Kuwait power site hit Other US-Israel war on Iran reports In reality, the region’s security architecture is not threatened by a nuclear capability that might exist in the future, but by one that has existed for more than six decades. In Israel’s Negev desert stands the Dimona complex — a black box untouched by International Atomic Energy Agency inspections, immune to sanctions and maintained as one of the international community’s most tightly guarded open secrets. This contradiction represents perhaps the most blatant manifestation of global double standards, preserving Israel’s nuclear privilege above international law. History shows that Israel’s nuclear ambitions were not merely a reaction to external threats but part of a broader geostrategic design to secure regional hegemony. Since David Ben-Gurion articulated the post-Holocaust doctrine of “Never Again,” nuclear capability has been framed as the Samson Option — a last-resort deterrent ensuring Israel can devastate the region if its existence is threatened. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Al Jazeera English (@aljazeeraenglish) Bombshell deception Yet this privilege did not emerge organically. It was constructed through deception, clandestine procurement networks and sustained diplomatic protection from great powers — the same powers that now present themselves as global guardians of nuclear non-proliferation. Israel’s success in maintaining its status as the Middle East’s sole nuclear power rests on its policy of amimut, or nuclear opacity. Through this doctrine, Israel enjoys the strategic advantages of nuclear deterrence without incurring the political or economic costs. This has fundamentally distorted regional discourse. The world is compelled to treat with alarm a state that formally adheres to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, albeit under scrutiny, while tolerating another that refuses to sign the treaty and is widely believed to possess hundreds of nuclear warheads. The turning point that legitimised this international hypocrisy came in 1969. In a secret White House meeting, US President Richard Nixon and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir forged an understanding that would shape US foreign policy for decades. Washington would cease pressuring Israel to sign the NPT or allow inspections of Dimona, provided Israel maintained a low profile and refrained from overt nuclear testing. In effect, the US became a diplomatic shield for Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons programme — an irony for a country that has repeatedly invoked nuclear concerns to justify interventions elsewhere. This marked a stark departure from the era of John F Kennedy, the only US president willing to confront Israel’s nuclear ambitions directly. For Kennedy, nuclear proliferation was a personal nightmare threatening global stability. He warned Ben-Gurion that US support could be seriously jeopardised if independent inspections of Dimona were not permitted. Following Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, such pressure evaporated under the Johnson and Nixon administrations, replaced by a pragmatic accommodation that allowed Israel’s “bomb in the basement” to quietly expand. This privilege has enabled Israel to develop an advanced nuclear triad: Jericho ballistic missiles; modified F-15I fighter jets; and Dolphin-class submarines capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles. With estimates ranging between 90 and 400 warheads, Israel possesses not only a deterrent but a potent instrument of diplomatic coercion. When Arab states, led by Egypt, have consistently called for a weapons of mass destruction-free zone in the Middle East, the US and its allies have routinely blocked such initiatives to preserve Israel’s exceptional status. This nuclear privilege has also created what many non-Western diplomats describe as a compliance trap. States like Iran, signatories to the NPT, face intense scrutiny and economic punishment for procedural deviations. Meanwhile, Israel — operating outside the framework of international law — enjoys access to the most advanced military technologies from the West. This systemic inequity fuels instability, signaling that the most effective path to avoiding international pressure is not compliance but power. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-125736" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dolphin-class-sub-Tanin-WikiP-680wide-.png" alt="" width="680" height="456" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dolphin-class-sub-Tanin-WikiP-680wide-.png 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dolphin-class-sub-Tanin-WikiP-680wide--300x201.png 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dolphin-class-sub-Tanin-WikiP-680wide--626x420.png 626w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> INS Tanin, one of Israel’s five Dolphin-class submarines believed to carry nuclear-armed cruise missiles. Image: Wikipedia Architecture of sabotage To maintain its nuclear monopoly, Israel has pursued an aggressive geostrategic doctrine that routinely violates the sovereignty of other states. Known as the Begin Doctrine and formalised in 1981, it asserts that Israel will not allow any Middle Eastern country to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This is an extraordinary claim of authority: a state with undeclared nuclear weapons asserting the right to destroy the nuclear capabilities of others, even those intended for peaceful purposes, under the banner of “self-defence”. Its first manifestation came with Operation Opera on June 7, 1981, when Israeli fighter jets destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor. Despite UN condemnation, the precedent was set: Israel effectively assumed the role of the region’s unilateral nuclear enforcer. This pattern was repeated in 2007 with Operation Outside the Box, which destroyed Syria’s Al-Kibar facility. These preemptive strikes were driven by a clear calculation that major global powers would continue to grant Israel impunity, regardless of overt violations of international law. Against Iran, this architecture of sabotage has reached unprecedented levels of sophistication and lethality. Over the past two decades, Israel has waged a shadow war involving the assassination of nuclear scientists in Tehran — sometimes using remotely operated weapons — as well as cyberattacks such as Stuxnet, which crippled thousands of centrifuges at Natanz. These operations have often been conducted in close coordination with US intelligence, underscoring how Western non-proliferation policy has frequently functioned as an instrument to preserve Israel’s military dominance. The escalation culminated in the Rising Lion campaign in 2025 and Operation Epic Fury in 2026. Backed by the Trump administration, Iran’s nuclear infrastructure has been targeted through large-scale airstrikes that largely disregarded the risks of radiation exposure to civilians. Israel justified these actions by claiming that diplomacy had failed. Yet this narrative omits a critical reality: Israel has consistently undermined diplomatic efforts, including by seizing Iran’s nuclear archives in 2018 to help justify the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. The objective has never been merely to prevent an Iranian bomb but to preserve Israel’s monopoly on power. Shadow alliance The portrayal of Israel as a small, self-reliant state under constant siege is a carefully constructed myth. The history of its nuclear programme is one of covert international collaboration involving countries that now lead global anti-nuclear campaigns. Without technological assistance from France, heavy water supplied by Norway via the United Kingdom and uranium sourced from Argentina, the Dimona facility would never have materialised. France, now a vocal critic of Iran, played a central role by supplying a reactor and a plutonium reprocessing plant in 1957, partly as repayment for Israel’s support during the Suez Crisis. Even more striking was Israel’s nuclear collaboration with apartheid South Africa in the 1970s. As two internationally isolated regimes, they developed deep military ties. Declassified documents suggest that Israel’s Shimon Peres once offered to sell nuclear warheads to Pretoria. This partnership likely culminated in the 1979 Vela Incident, when a suspected atmospheric nuclear test was detected in the Indian Ocean. Despite strong evidence pointing to a joint Israeli-South African test, the Carter administration chose to obscure the findings to protect its ally. Such collaborations demonstrate that, for Israel, international norms are secondary to strategic imperatives. While aiding a racially segregated regime’s nuclear ambitions, Israel simultaneously leveraged its diplomatic influence to block cooperation between its adversaries and other states. This pattern persists today in the form of cyber and surveillance technologies exported to authoritarian regimes in exchange for diplomatic support. Western backing has also extended to high-level intelligence operations to secure nuclear materials. In the 1968 Plumbat Affair, Israeli intelligence reportedly hijacked 200 tons of yellowcake uranium through a front-company scheme involving a cargo ship in Antwerp. Rather than triggering sanctions or legal consequences, the operation was widely regarded as a remarkable intelligence success. Over time, the international community normalised such state-level misconduct, creating a skewed moral framework in which the security of one nation is deemed more important than the integrity of international law. Deep double standard Today, when the international community speaks of nuclear threats in the Middle East, the subject is invariably Iran. Yet the most immediate and substantial threat — Israel’s nuclear arsenal — remains untouchable. This double standard has evolved into a kind of doctrine in global diplomacy, in which allegiance to Israel’s security necessitates the suspension of logic and justice. How can a state with hundreds of unmonitored nuclear warheads be framed as a stabilising force while another under strict IAEA oversight is cast as an existential threat? This hypocrisy is especially evident in the NPT’s application. Intended as a universal instrument, it has instead functioned in the Middle East as a mechanism to constrain Arab states and Iran while allowing Israel to expand its nuclear capabilities unchecked. The US has consistently used its veto power in the UN Security Council to block resolutions targeting Israel’s nuclear programme. Such policies not only undermine Washington’s credibility but also erode the very foundations of international law. When laws apply only to the weak, they become instruments of domination rather than justice. Middle Eastern security will not be achieved through bombing Natanz or assassinating scientists in Tehran. As long as Israel is permitted to maintain its nuclear monopoly under the protection of Western double standards, the region will remain locked in a cycle of proliferation pressures. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others will inevitably seek their own nuclear capabilities to counterbalance Israeli dominance. Israel’s strategy of “mowing the grass” may delay conflict, but cannot resolve it. The time has come for the world to stop feigning ignorance about Dimona. Any serious conversation about peace in the Middle East must begin with dismantling Israel’s nuclear privilege and demanding universal transparency. Without equal pressure on Israel to join the NPT and place its facilities under IAEA safeguards, the rhetoric of non-proliferation is little more than diplomatic theatre. Regional security can only be built on a foundation of equality, not under the shadow of a nuclear monopoly sustained by global hypocrisy. Ronny P. Sasmita is a senior international analyst at the Indonesia Strategic and Economic Action Institution, a Jakarta-based think tank. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
“Don’t Let Fascists Steal Your Time”: Andrea’s Tribute to Her Uncle Phil
"We're not going to get the liberation we all crave on a soul level without risk." Andrea reflects on why, now more than ever, we must follow our hearts and refuse to let fear, or Steve Bannon, that Jabba the Hutt of American politics, live rent-free in our heads. Being brave, taking risks: that's how we win. In this special excerpt from last Monday's Gaslit Nation Salon, Andrea honors her beloved uncle, Phil Bourne. "Uncle Phil" was the founding dean of the University of Virginia School of Data Science, earned more than 100,000 citations on Google Scholar, championed the collaboration between the liberal arts and STEM as essential to the future of education, and served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Computational Biology, where he created the "Ten Simple Rules" series. Honor Uncle Phil's memory by reaching out to your loved ones and saying what's truly in your heart. We do not have as much time here as we think. Don't let the fascists steal that time from you. Bethany McKee, founder of the Outreach Committee, a group that meets to discuss how to deal with the MAGA cultists in our lives as they awaken to their own self-destruction, will host today's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4 p.m. ET. You can find the Zoom link at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you. Join us for an evening honoring the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there!
"We're not going to get the liberation we all crave on a soul level without risk." Andrea reflects on why, now more than ever, we must follow our hearts and refuse to let fear, or Steve Bannon, that Jabba the Hutt of American politics, live rent-free in our heads. Being brave, taking risks: that's how we win. In this special excerpt from last Monday's Gaslit Nation Salon, Andrea honors her beloved uncle, Phil Bourne. "Uncle Phil" was the founding dean of the University of Virginia School of Data Science, earned more than 100,000 citations on Google Scholar, championed the collaboration between the liberal arts and STEM as essential to the future of education, and served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Computational Biology, where he created the "Ten Simple Rules" series. Honor Uncle Phil's memory by reaching out to your loved ones and saying what's truly in your heart. We do not have as much time here as we think. Don't let the fascists steal that time from you. Bethany McKee, founder of the Outreach Committee, a group that meets to discuss how to deal with the MAGA cultists in our lives as they awaken to their own self-destruction, will host today's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4 p.m. ET. You can find the Zoom link at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you. Join us for an evening honoring the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
Monday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD
Monday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4 and was authored by Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4.
A Nursing Home Owner Got a Trump Pardon. The Families of His Patients Got Nothing.
The post A Nursing Home Owner Got a Trump Pardon. The Families of His Patients Got Nothing. appeared first on ProPublica.
Doris Coulson remained spirited even as her illness progressed — watching cooking shows on TV, working crossword puzzles and wheeling herself down the hallways of her nursing home to show off her granddaughter when she came to visit. Coulson had been admitted to Hillview Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, in January 2016, after Parkinson’s disease left her at risk of choking when she swallowed. That April, the facility’s operations were taken over by Skyline Healthcare, a New Jersey-based company that was buying up nursing homes across the country. Medical records for the retired cardiac nurse, then 71, were marked “NPO” — nothing by mouth. Then that September, a nursing assistant found Coulson unresponsive and hanging off the side of her bed, her skin ashy and her breathing shallow. She was taken to a hospital in a coma and died several days later. The chief cause of death was aspiration pneumonia, according to her death certificate. “The doctors said they found scrambled eggs in her lungs,” said her daughter Melissa Coulson. Coulson’s death and the circumstances surrounding it led her family to file a lawsuit against Skyline and its owner, the New Jersey businessman Joseph Schwartz, alleging that cost-cutting at Hillview left Coulson without the care she needed. It was one of several lawsuits tied to patient outcomes as Schwartz’s empire expanded and then unraveled, with much of the chain collapsing by 2018. Schwartz didn’t contest the case, and a judge in 2020 awarded nearly $19 million in damages. Coulson’s family has never been able to collect. Schwartz had by that time relinquished all of his property in Arkansas, so there was nothing left in the state for the family’s lawyer to try to seize, nor was there enough information about assets he may hold in other states. Coulson’s civil action was one of several efforts to hold Schwartz accountable for what happened at his nursing homes. In perhaps the most sweeping move, federal prosecutors in New Jersey charged Schwartz with orchestrating a $39 million payroll tax scheme connected to his nursing home empire. He pleaded guilty last April to failure to pay the IRS taxes withheld from employees and failing to file a financial report for his employees’ benefit plan. A federal judge sentenced him to three years in prison. But Schwartz served just three months. In November, President Donald Trump granted him a full pardon, negating his criminal conviction — part of a series of clemency decisions in the president’s second term that have benefited well-connected defendants, including political allies with access to the White House and individuals like Schwartz who had spent heavily on lobbyists. Often overshadowed in the attention around Trump’s decisions is the emotional and financial devastation left behind. Few clemency decisions illustrate that more clearly than the case of Schwartz, who paid himself millions of dollars from his nursing homes while diverting tens of millions owed to taxpayers and employees, and who has failed to satisfy at least three multimillion-dollar judgments awarded to grieving families. In the Coulson case, Schwartz later claimed he never received key filings and had mistaken the complaint for the same lawsuit first filed in 2017, which he believed his insurer had already handled before it was withdrawn and refiled. And he argued the company that took over Hillside and canceled insurance coverage — not him — was the proper defendant. He also said he was representing himself, in poor health and isolating because of COVID-19 risks. A judge denied his request to put the case on hold. Kevin Marino, a lawyer representing Schwartz and Skyline, said he and Schwartz had no comment. He did not respond to a follow-up email containing a detailed list of questions. Trump has granted clemency to several figures in major health care fraud cases. In 2020, he commuted the 20-year federal prison sentence of Philip Esformes, a Florida nursing home magnate convicted in a scheme that prosecutors said involved about $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims. The White House cited allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, echoing claims from Esformes’ defense that prosecutors improperly invaded attorney-client privilege by reviewing documents seized in an FBI raid. Although appeals courts did not overturn the conviction based on this argument, Esformes had support from two former U.S. attorneys general. That same year, Trump commuted the sentence of Judith Negron, convicted in a $200 million Medicare fraud case. Trump’s clemency grant said the “ends of justice” did not require her to serve another two decades in prison. Lawyers for Esformes and Negron did not respond to requests for comment. Trump has also nominated nursing home owner Benjamin Landa as ambassador to Hungary. The nomination has remained in place even as a facility Landa co-owns faces a federal audit alleging there were more than $31 million in Medicare overpayments. Landa is suing the administration to block repayment. An attorney for Landa did not respond to a request for comment but has previously denied wrongdoing by his client, saying in a statement the issues identified in the audit occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when nursing homes were in the midst of a crisis and that the company was committed to patient care. Schwartz’s case was highlighted by the far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer, who had previously worked with the lobbyists Schwartz hired to press his case in Washington. Loomer published a series of posts on X that falsely claimed that Schwartz was not responsible for the tax violations, that he had been unfairly blamed for the collapse of his nursing home chain and that he had paid back “every dime.” She also accused the judge in the case of antisemitism against Schwartz, who is Jewish, though she offered no evidence. She also said Schwartz was in “extremely poor health” and that prison would be a “death sentence,” though the judge found no evidence that Schwartz was unfit for prison. Versions of Loomer’s narrative surfaced in the White House’s explanation for the pardon. A White House official said in response to questions from ProPublica that Schwartz “relied on a third-party entity” to manage tax filings, that he paid restitution, that no funds were used for personal enrichment, that the sentence was exceptionally harmful to a 65-year-old man in deteriorating health and that it was “an example of over prosecution.” But those claims are contradicted by the court record and Schwartz’s own guilty plea, in which he acknowledged responsibility for the unpaid payroll taxes. While he repaid $5 million, that covered only a fraction of what he owed. Federal prosecutors said that under Schwartz’s plea agreement, the IRS could have pursued the remaining balance — an effort that now appears far less likely following the pardon. And his three-year sentence fell in the middle of the range recommended under federal sentencing guidelines. Asked about those statements and how they square with the court record, the White House did not respond. Schwartz’s faith also became part of the Trump administration’s public celebration of the decision. Alice Marie Johnson, who has advised the White House on clemency, wrote online that the pardon meant Schwartz could now join his family for Shabbat, and weeks later, he attended the White House Hanukkah party. Schwartz paid more than $1 million to lobbyists to press the White House, the Justice Department and Congress on his behalf — including on his efforts to secure a pardon — according to lobbying disclosure forms. The White House has insisted that paid lobbyists have no influence on pardons. Loomer said she was not paid for her advocacy. She said she heard about Schwartz’s case in a group chat with members of an orthodox Jewish outreach movement, who asked her to look into it. She also pointed to her influence within the Trump administration, citing several instances in which she publicly urged specific actions that the president ultimately took. She said Schwartz approached her at the Hanukkah party to thank her. Melissa Coulson said Trump’s pardon of Schwartz reinforced her belief that justice is not applied equally. “Apparently he’s got money somewhere,” Coulson said. Her lawyer hopes to find it. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="940" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman with long black hair, wearing a red long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans, seated on a rock wall against a red, wooden structure." class="wp-image-71668" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-HC-ProPublica-NursingHome-0009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Melissa Coulson and her family filed a wrongful death case against Skyline Healthcare and Joseph Schwartz over the death of her mother, Doris Coulson, who died at Hillview Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Houston Cofield for ProPublica From the outside, Schwartz’s operation doesn’t look like a corporate empire. The headquarters of Skyline’s fast-growing nursing home network was a second-floor office above a pizza parlor in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. Schwartz entered the nursing home business in the late 2000s and formed Skyline to acquire and operate skilled nursing facilities, initially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He sold a Florida-based insurance business in 2015 for $22 million, allowing him to rapidly expand Skyline. By 2017, Skyline and the related companies Schwartz controlled cared for approximately 15,000 residents in roughly 100 facilities in 11 states. In a 2017 deposition in a wrongful death suit in Philadelphia, Schwartz defended the care at his facilities as “superb” while distancing himself from day-to-day operations by saying he relied on facility-level administrators and nursing directors. The suit was settled without Schwartz admitting wrongdoing. In the deposition, Schwartz minimized reports of staffing shortages and unpaid bills as simple business “disagreements.” Asked about the facility’s one-star federal staffing ratings from 2010 to 2014 — the lowest possible score under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Five-Star system — Schwartz said he recalled having “a good star rating” and that his nursing homes had tried their hardest to provide as much staffing as possible, insisting that they were “very, very, very, very, very compliant” and that residents were “happy and satisfied.” The collapse was swift. Skyline facilities failed to make payments for food and medical supplies, and cut hours for nursing home staff. At the same time, Schwartz began to siphon money from multiple sources — overbilling Medicaid and withholding millions of dollars in payroll taxes from workers’ paychecks but never sending the money to the IRS, he admitted later. What’s more, Schwartz paid himself $5 million as what one federal prosecutor described as a “ghost employee” at some of his facilities. As conditions in the homes deteriorated, health officials in at least six states from Nebraska to Massachusetts seized or transferred control of his facilities or relocated residents. In South Dakota, a vice president who oversaw 18 Schwartz-owned nursing homes began sending increasingly desperate emails to state health officials, according to court records. Debbie Menzenberg wrote in the emails that Schwartz’s son Louis, an executive officer for Skyline, had called her to say the state “has to do something — there is no money — he told me to discharge residents???” Then Menzenberg’s emails to the state became more urgent: “I need water paid at Bella Vista and Prairie Hills today or it will be SHUT OFF — Skyline is SILENT!!!” “Disconnect notice came today for Pierre May 8 electric.” “I NEED HELP!!!!!” “CEO’s are aware of stuff going on!!!” Neither Menzenberg nor Louis Schwartz could be reached for comment. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="501" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A court document showing emails from a person named Menzenberg, with the highlighted portion stating “I NEED HELP!!!!!” “CEO’s are aware of stuff going on!!!”" class="wp-image-71670" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2170w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pardon-Clipping_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Debbie Menzenberg, a vice president who oversaw 18 Schwartz-owned nursing homes in South Dakota, sent desperate emails to state health officials seeking help as Skyline collapsed. Obtained and highlighted by ProPublica A group of employees at Skyline nursing homes across the country later filed a lawsuit alleging that Skyline withheld more than $2 million in health insurance premiums from more than 1,000 workers’ paychecks but failed to provide coverage. That left some of his employees with denied health insurance claims and mounting medical bills. Schwartz has not defended himself against the claim, and a lawyer for the employees has asked a judge to award a $2.4 million default judgment. The case remains pending in federal court in New Jersey. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, an activities director at a nursing home in Arkansas, said that she was left with more than $50,000 in medical bills after surgery on her back and neck. She said she couldn’t pay the bills and that the debt ultimately wrecked her credit. “They withheld over $1,000 from my paycheck for insurance premiums and did nothing with them except abscond with them,” said the employee, Margaret Gates. Under Schwartz’s ownership, residents suffered — and some died. In a lawsuit against Schwartz, Zelma Grissom’s family said the conditions at Hillview, the same facility where Doris Coulson was living, left residents without even basic care. The mother of six had entered the facility after brain surgery left her unable to move on her own and dependent on staff to turn her in bed. Grissom’s son, LeVester Ivy, said Hillview appeared chronically short-staffed. One day, Ivy said, a wound-care nurse called the family into his mother’s room and showed them a severe pressure sore that had developed after Grissom hadn’t been turned regularly. Surgeons had to cut away infected tissue, leaving a large open wound. After that, he said, her health spiraled. “She started getting infection after infection,” Ivy recalled. During one late-night ambulance transfer, he said, an emergency medical worker quietly told him how his mother had arrived. “She pulled me to the side and told me how dirty and nasty, how wet she was,” Ivy said. The family’s lawyers said she died of sepsis from the bedsores that Hillview caregivers allowed to become infected. A judge in February 2023 ordered Schwartz to pay Grissom’s family $15.7 million after neither Schwartz nor any representative challenged the family’s wrongful death claim. Schwartz later tried to overturn the ruling, claiming poor health, lack of notice and that he was merely an investor with no role in operations, but a judge rejected the effort. Ivy said the family sued Schwartz because “we wanted nobody else to go through the things we had to go through.” Schwartz has not paid the judgment, and the family’s lawyer said in an interview that he does not have enough information about Schwartz’s assets to try to recover the money. The suffering described in cases like Coulson’s and Grissom’s was not part of the tax case against Schwartz that landed him in prison. But it loomed over the proceedings when he appeared for sentencing in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, last April. Schwartz had pleaded guilty to withholding $39 million in payroll taxes from his employees and failing to send the money to the IRS. The investigation never determined where the money went. Prosecutors said they were not able to establish that Schwartz had used the money on a lavish lifestyle. But they said they never completed a forensic accounting of his finances, which moved money through more than 200 bank accounts. They said they believed Schwartz still controlled more than $50 million in assets. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="405" height="607" js-autosizes src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0026_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg" alt="An elderly woman in a wheelchair, wearing a long-sleeve pink shirt and green socks, holds a small brown dog in her lap. Two large drinking cups with lids and straws sit on the table in front of her." class="wp-image-72236" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0026_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 405w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0026_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0026_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,600 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 405px) 100vw, 405px" /> Doris Coulson in an October 2014 photo with her Chihuahua, Paddy Cake. Coulon’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Skyline and Schwartz and a judge in 2020 awarded them nearly $19 million in damages. Courtesy of Melissa Coulson His attorneys argued that his actions were not an attempt at personal enrichment but the result of a businessman who expanded too quickly, fell behind on bills and then made a series of financial decisions — some of them admittedly criminal. But, they argued, he was simply trying to save his company. Schwartz apologized for his conduct and told U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton that he “always tried to live the right way” and set a good example. But he acknowledged that he’d failed to do so in this instance. Wigenton said she could not understand why prosecutors had agreed to a sentence of just a year and a day. Even years into the investigation, she noted, it remained unclear where much of the money had gone. And because so many of the letters submitted on Schwartz’s behalf described him as a brilliant businessman, Wigenton said the “number of layers and businesses and LLCs that were created” made it hard to see him as someone who had been fooled or confused. “Not a single asset is in your name,” she said. “Not one.” Wigenton said the case was not merely an abstract tax case, citing the collapse of Skyline’s nursing homes and the harm to patients. She said there was a need for deterrence in sentencing. The judge sentenced Schwartz to three years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution of $5 million — the amount he had paid himself as a ghost employee — which he did. The remaining taxes were not part of the criminal sentence because prosecutors said they were used to fund his collapsing business rather than for personal enrichment. They said the IRS could try to recover the rest through a civil case. Trump’s pardon wiped away Schwartz’s federal prison sentence — and likely any IRS effort to claw back the rest of the stolen taxes. But it did not affect a separate Arkansas state conviction for Medicaid fraud and tax evasion, in which Schwartz admitted submitting false and misleading information that inflated the Medicaid rates paid to his facilities in the state. A judge in Little Rock had sentenced Schwartz to one year in state prison, ordered to run at the same time as his federal term. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, who had announced Schwartz’s conviction as a signature achievement, made clear after Trump’s pardon that the state prosecution stood on its own. Schwartz, Griffin said at the time, owed the state of Arkansas nine months in prison and $1.8 million in restitution. A spokesman for Griffin said last week that, after making some payments — on schedule — Schwartz owed the state about $1.2 million, which must be fully repaid by April 2027. One of the lobbyists whom Schwartz hired, Joshua Nass, worked to try to reduce Schwartz’s sentence in Arkansas. Nass declined to comment. He was later charged with attempting to extort $500,000 from a client and his son. Although the victims are not identified in the case, the circumstances match those of Schwartz. Nass was released from federal custody after posting a $5 million bond. He has not yet responded to the charge. Prosecutors said in a court filing they were negotiating with Nass for a plea deal that could resolve the case without a trial. Schwartz reported to an Arkansas prison on Dec. 29, creating an opportunity for the lawyers representing families who had won judgments against him. At the height of Skyline’s expansion, the company controlled nearly 1 in 10 nursing home beds in the state. But by the time families won their cases, Schwartz had relinquished or sold his Arkansas facilities, leaving no clear assets for lawyers to pursue. Because Schwartz was in state custody again, lawyers could serve him with court papers and ask a judge to compel him to answer questions under oath about his finances — requiring him to disclose bank accounts, companies and other assets and to turn over financial records. Those proceedings are often the first step in tracing money and identifying property that might be used to satisfy a judgment. From there, attorneys could ask courts in other states to recognize and enforce the Arkansas judgments so they could pursue assets located elsewhere. John Landis, an attorney for Reddick Law, which represents the Coulson and Grissom families, said he and another attorney representing yet another client with a judgment against Schwartz, contacted the state prison system to set up depositions of Schwartz. But the window proved too brief. The Arkansas parole board released Schwartz after just three weeks. Before they could ask a single question, the chance to follow the money was gone. The post A Nursing Home Owner Got a Trump Pardon. The Families of His Patients Got Nothing. appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Jeremy Kohler.
Your ‘widely recyclable’ Starbucks cup is still trash
A new label promises single-use cups are recyclable. But that doesn't mean they actually get recycled.
Frappuccino lovers, rejoice: Your plastic to-go cups are now “widely recyclable.” That’s according to an announcement made in February by Starbucks, the waste hauler WM (formerly known as Waste Management), and three recycling groups called The Recycling Partnership, GreenBlue, and Closed Loop Partners. In a press release, they said that more than 60 percent of U.S. households can now recycle cold to-go cups in their curbside recycling bins. This makes the cups eligible for one of GreenBlue’s special labels featuring the familiar chasing arrows triangle and the words “widely recyclable.” “To-go cups are entering a new era of recyclability,” the release said. However, there’s a catch. Just because a product can be collected for recycling doesn’t mean it actually gets recycled. To imply otherwise is to conflate two very different numbers: the access rate and the real recycling rate. The former describes the number of people who are told they have “access” to a recycling program for a given product. The latter — the amount of plastic that is ultimately turned into new things — is what really matters, from an environmental standpoint. There’s not much evidence to suggest that the recycling rate for plastic cups is above 1 or 2 percent. “This is one of those situations where statistics can be very misleading,” said Alex Jordan, a plastics researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. “They can pull a statistic that would make the public think that all these things are being recycled, but unfortunately even if you clean and dry and put your recycling in the recycling bin and it gets picked up, the overwhelming likelihood is that it ends up in a landfill or being burned for energy generation.” Jordan is one of several experts across government, academia, and industry who question the feasibility of recycling plastic cups. Polypropylene, the type of plastic Starbucks’ cups are made from, is ubiquitous in packaging and foodware but not in recycling facilities. It’s often contaminated with food or other types of plastic, difficult to sort, and expensive to process — so most recyclers don’t want it. There “just aren’t a lot of recycling centers that want to accept polypropylene,” Jordan said. The manager of one recycling center in California, who asked not to be named, said the cup announcement represents little more than a convenient alignment of interests: It generates good press and revenue for GreenBlue, allows WM to collect more material, and casts Starbucks as eco-friendly without requiring it to move away from single-use plastic. “Everyone wants that warm, fuzzy recyclable label,” the manager said, adding that they suspected there would be no buyers for polypropylene even if they advertised it widely. “Our phone would not ring. It’s not something there are a lot of mills out there that are buying.” February’s announcement is part of a yearslong effort to increase polypropylene collection and recycling. Helming the effort is The Recycling Partnership, or TRP, a nonprofit funded by plastic-producing companies and their lobbying groups, including the American Chemistry Council, Exxon Mobil, and Coca-Cola. It started in 2020, just two years after China stopped accepting the United States’ plastic waste. At the time, polypropylene had a bit of an image problem. It was the second most common type of plastic in Americans’ municipal solid waste, but its recycling rate was far below that of other resins, at just 0.6 percent. (Polypropylene “containers and packaging” had a slightly higher rate of 2.7 percent.) Because cities could no longer ship their mixed plastic waste to China for reprocessing and there weren’t enough domestic facilities to sell it to, many stopped accepting all but the simplest products: bottles and jugs made of PET or HDPE, labeled with the numbers 1 and 2, respectively. All of this called into question the legality of labeling polypropylene products with the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol, as some recycling organizations had previously recommended. TRP said there was an immediate need for action to “ensure the long-term viability of polypropylene plastic.” Working in tandem with other recycling groups including GreenBlue — whose board of directors includes executives from Walmart, Dow, and the packaging companies Printpack and Smurfit Westrock — TRP launched a “Polypropylene Recycling Coalition” that would work to increase the number of curbside collection programs accepting polypropylene. TRP started by giving grants to material recovery facilities, the factories where your household recycling is sent to be sorted, so they could install better technology capable of picking out polypropylene from mixed piles of plastic. The organization also said it would pursue “education of residents.” One of TRP’s key goals was to reach the 60 percent access rate it now claims to have achieved for polypropylene cups. Hitting that threshold allows the cups to carry the chasing arrows and the words “widely recyclable,” as shown on a label sold by GreenBlue’s subsidiary, How2Recycle. But state and federal regulators don’t actually vet these labels. Instead, How2Recycle sells them to hundreds of companies across the U.S., from Procter and Gamble to Lowe’s, via annual use fees of up to $6,780, depending on their revenue. From the start, TRP and its partners have faced scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest and for opaque, unilateral determinations about the state of recycling systems. For the polypropylene cup announcement specifically, Malak Anshassi, an assistant professor in environmental engineering at Florida Polytechnic University, said she wasn’t sure where the 60 percent access rate came from. Nor would she have “full confidence” in it, since recycling programs “vary completely in terms of what is accepted.” Jan Dell, an independent chemical engineer and founder of the nonprofit The Last Beach Cleanup, conducted an analysis for Greenpeace last year and found that only 6 percent of the U.S. population has access to a municipal recycling program that accepts plastic cups. She said TRP’s numbers relied on an AI analysis of whether city websites listed cups as accepted materials. “They say through their magic AI tool, ‘Oh, yeah, 78 percent acceptance.’ And they have no data that they can give you.” GreenBlue did not respond to multiple requests for comment, or to a detailed list of questions from Grist. TRP sent a statement from its press release saying that “access alone is not enough.” “Only 20 percent of [polypropylene] packaging is currently captured, and 76 percent of all recyclables are still lost at the household level,” said Kate Davenport, the organization’s chief impact officer. She said TRP is focused on increasing polypropylene recycling through “clear communication, stronger engagement, and continued investment in communities.” Critics argue that TRP, GreenBlue, and their partners intentionally blur the line between a cup’s recycling access rate and its actual recycling rate. The touted 60 percent access rate only measures how many people are allowed to toss plastic cups into their curbside bins. It guarantees nothing about the cups’ final destination. Because there are virtually no buyers for this low-value plastic, waste haulers could simply collect the cups to hit the 60 percent threshold, only to route them straight to landfills and incinerators. Ending up in landfills and incinerators is the kind of thing that is liable to happen if plastics don’t have robust “end markets” — buyers who will pay what it takes to collect, sort, transport, and reprocess polypropylene. TRP and GreenBlue say they take end markets into account when judging a product’s recyclability, but they didn’t publish information about how they did this for polypropylene cups, other than to say that WM “helped develop” them. WM said in a November press release that, thanks to a $1.4 billion investment in new recycling infrastructure, cups had become “valuable recyclable materials that are baled at WM’s recycling facilities along with other commodities, then sold to end markets that remanufacture products out of the recycled materials.” The company encouraged cities to update their accepted materials lists, but it’s unclear if it provided further justification. In at least one case — in Salt Lake City — communications obtained by Grist show that WM did not give city staff advance notice of the change, nor did the company directly respond when the city asked asked if it could be “100 percent clear” that plastic cups sent to the local MRF would ultimately be recycled. WM did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The manager of the California recycling center said they were only familiar with “one place” accepting polypropylene to be reprocessed on an industrial scale: KW Plastics in Alabama, which is too far away to send California’s plastic to. A 2025 analysis from Greenpeace suggests that all of the U.S.’s recycling facilities combined only have the capacity to reprocess 2 percent of the country’s discarded polypropylene tubs and containers, or about 5 percent of its polypropylene cups. In Oregon, polypropylene cups are still not accepted in curbside recycling programs as a matter of law. That’s because of the state’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, which established a uniform list of recyclable items for all of Oregon. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality explicitly chose to exclude single-use polypropylene cups from its list for 2025 to 2027. “There was a preliminary study for polypro cups, and … the market for those cups was not ‘responsible,’” said Peter Chism-Winfield, sustainable materials and waste policy manager for the city of Portland. “There are certain materials like low-grade plastics, which polypropylene cups fall into, that are the ones most susceptible to bad practices,” he added. The third-party organization helping implement Oregon’s recycling law said it would conduct research to see if polypropylene cups could one day be added to the uniform list. Chism-Winfield said he expects similar laws in Washington and California will eventually lead those states to stop accepting polypropylene cups. “If you go down the trail of where those materials are going, and the environmental and social impacts that those are having, it’s not going to be a pretty story for them,” he said. Maryland and Minnesota are also in the process of evaluating which products meet criteria for responsible end markets. Colorado listed polypropylene cups as recyclable in a plan for 2026 to 2030, though the needs assessment on which the plan was based found there were no in-state end markets for post-consumer plastics of any type. It identified KW Plastics as the only potential processor for Colorado’s polypropylene waste, provided that it is baled separately from other plastics and that these bales have a contamination rate less than 2 percent. Davenport, from TRP, said in February’s press release that recyclability labels are an important “first step” toward increasing polypropylene cups’ recycling rates. Without them, people would keep throwing their cups in the trash. This is consistent with the way other industry groups talk about labels, as a way to provide recyclers with more material to turn into new products. Recyclability labels “educate and activate everyday people, and get waste into the right streams, and improve the recycling rate,” How2Recycle wrote in a 2024 press release. But that approach — using recycling labels before there’s evidence of actual recycling — might run afoul of state and local consumer protection laws. In California, the state’s recycling agency determined last December that polypropylene cups are technically “recyclable,” but only in order to force plastic producers to try to increase their recycling rate from 2 to 65 percent by 2032. While companies try to meet that threshold, a separate law will prevent them from labeling polypropylene cups with the chasing arrows symbol; the law requires evidence that labeled products are sorted for recycling 60 percent of the time. Howie Hirsch, a retired lawyer who’s been involved in recycling-related consumer protection litigation, said companies may be opening themselves up to lawsuits if they use the “widely recyclable” label on polypropylene cups in California. “I would certainly argue it is deceptive and misleading to label something as ‘widely recyclable’ when we know that the vast majority of any of those plastic materials that are placed in a recycling bin are going to end up in a landfill,” Hirsch said. The same may be true of other states with their own truth-in-advertising laws. Attorneys general could argue that the use of the recycling symbol contravenes guidance from the Federal Trade Commission, a watchdog agency tasked with protecting consumers from fraud and deception. The FTC’s “Green Guides” for environmental marketing claims say it’s misleading to label something as recyclable unless 60 percent of consumers have access to a recycling program that will actually recycle it, not accept it and then throw it away. Starbucks declined to say whether it would use How2Recycle’s labels for to-go cups in its California stores, or respond to additional questions. A spokesperson said its polypropylene cup initiative is part of a “broader packaging strategy” that includes “reducing single-use materials where we can, promoting reuse, and improving recyclability across our footprint.” Starbucks has publicly committed to make all of its packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2030. Last year, it replaced polypropylene to-go cups with paper versions at about 580 of its stores nationwide, potentially in response to local ordinances restricting the use of single-use plastics, as well as a CBS investigation showing that polypropylene cups placed in the company’s in-store recycling bins were usually taken to incinerators, landfills, and waste transfer stations. But the company’s endorsement of the “widely recyclable” label suggests it isn’t planning on a broader phaseout. “Starbucks wants consumers to think that the cups are recyclable so that consumers will buy lots of them and feel good about themselves,” said Dell, with The Last Beach Cleanup. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Your ‘widely recyclable’ Starbucks cup is still trash on Mar 30, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Joseph Winters.
With its new farm bill, Florida’s climate fight just hit a tractor-sized roadblock
The sweeping new law enshrines farmers' use of gas-powered equipment and weakens protections for conservation lands, locking the state's climate-battered ag sector into fossil fuel dependence.
Against the backdrop of a looming global energy crisis, rising food insecurity, and the increased frequency and intensity of heat, hurricanes, and floods fueled by global warming, Florida’s governing bodies have had a consequential, but unsurprisingly counterproductive, month. At the beginning of March, the state legislature passed a bill blocking local governments from adopting or enforcing “net-zero” policies. The bill, which was sent to Ron DeSantis’ desk, is expected to be signed by the governor in the coming days and would impact commitments made by more than a dozen cities from Tallahassee to South Miami to lower emissions and energy costs. Then, last Monday morning, DeSantis signed Senate Bill 290, or the “Florida Farm Bill,” into law. The bill passed with a 94-10 vote in the House and a unanimous vote by the Senate. Among the biggest climate rollbacks of the new legislation, which goes into effect July 1, is the provision that now preemptively bans cities and counties throughout the state from outlawing gas- and diesel-powered tools, such as tractors, lawn mowers, and leaf blowers. “If you want to use different stuff, fine, it’s a free country,” DeSantis said before signing the bill in Sebring, Florida. “But I like the gas-powered better. I just think it’s more reliable.” According to Brooke Alexander-Goss, the Organizing Manager at Sierra Club’s Florida chapter, there are at most seven municipalities in Florida that actually have bans against gas-powered lawn tools, like leaf blowers and chainsaws; no municipalities in the state have prohibited the big gas- and diesel-powered machines that farmers use on a daily basis. “They’re pinpointing something very, very specific, and it’s not even something we’ve seen or heard of,” Alexander-Goss said. “It’s just another example of the legislature overstepping and wanting to take over local control, which obviously opens the door for more of that in the future.” Farmers and ranchers in the state are celebrating the way the new law bolsters an industry in decline. Florida’s $387 billion agricultural sector is facing a serious downturn, driven in no small part by climate change. Extreme weather has become a major economic strain in recent years for farmers and ranchers statewide. More extreme heat and insufficient rainfall have contributed to significant losses in citrus acreage, back-to-back hurricanes have decimated the production of animal goods and row crops, and the unusual cold temperatures that hit the state last month cost the entire industry upwards of $3 billion. Major storms have also driven up farm insurance rates, while federal tariffs, trade disruptions, and immigration enforcement have increased input, fertilizer, and labor costs. And yet agriculture itself remains a big contributor to planetary warming. Sugarcane production in Florida’s Everglades agricultural area alone has been found to be responsible for more than 7.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year — the bulk of the state’s agricultural emissions. The new law locks the state’s farmers into that cycle of reliance on fossil fuels — and in a state where greenhouse gas emissions surged by 30 percent between 1990 and 2022, no less. Environmental groups are, naturally, lamenting the bill’s passage for its climate setbacks. “This proves that, again, the legislature is not taking climate change seriously,” said Alexander-Goss. The “Florida Farm Bill” also includes a provision that allows the state to open land designated for conservation for commercial farm use. Under this policy, lands acquired for conservation purposes since 2024 can be reclassified if deemed suitable for agriculture by state agencies. The legislation “represents a troubling shift away from the state’s long-standing commitment to land conservation at a time when we should be doubling down on climate resilience,” said Javier Estevez, political and legislative director at the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club. While the law requires an easement, or an agreement between governments and landowners to determine land use, as an attempt to limit the scale of development, Estevez says it still removes these lands from public ownership and weakens long-term ecological protections. Farming can increase water pollution, disrupt habitats, and stress fragile ecosystems that conservation programs were designed to protect. “By allowing certain conservation lands to be declared ‘surplus’ and sold for agricultural use, this law undermines the fundamental promise that protected lands stay protected,” said Estevez. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="A person walks through a flooded street in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in April of 2023, following a historic rainstorm. Florida has invested more than $1 billion in projects that adapt to flooding and sea level rise." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fort-Lauderdale-flooding.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> A massive climate resilience program is escaping Florida’s DOGE purge Jake Bittle According to DeSantis, the farm bill “shows that we have a strong commitment to not just agriculture, but our rural communities writ large.” But the package largely sidesteps farm country’s economic strife. Other parts of the law include citizenship requirements for disaster loans, a new program designed to boost locally-grown seed varieties, and permanently authorizing a program that directs farm-fresh food to food banks. Ultimately, the law comes at a time of heightened tension between what Florida state policymakers want and what cities and counties are trying to achieve in the name of climate action, food production, and public health. One thing that the law doesn’t do for the agricultural industry is indicative of that growing political tension. An earlier version of the bill proposed to expand Florida’s food disparagement law, often called a “veggie-libel” law, which gives individuals and companies the ability to sue for claims that disparage perishable agricultural products — by saying, for instance, that a product is unsafe for consumption. The new provision aimed to expand that authority to include all agricultural products and practices and would have allowed companies to recover attorney’s fees if they won a defamation suit. In January, Kelly Ryerson, a leading Make America Healthy Again advocate and founder of the website Glyphosate Facts, launched a full-scale campaign against the measure, on the basis that it would violate free speech and inhibit MAHA’s main priority of improving public health by cleaning up the food system. Ryerson and other MAHA advocates took to social media, email, and phone blitzes to reach Florida lawmakers and voice their opposition to the measure. She even teamed up with environmental advocacy groups to make their case before policymakers at the state capitol. Sugarcane is one of Florida’s biggest agricultural products and its growers routinely burn their fields, a practice that has been linked to premature death, respiratory distress, and other dangerous health conditions in low-income communities of color. The measure drew particularly fierce backlash from the many critics of these controversial practices because it would have expanded the “veggie-libel” law to include sugar manufacturers. Florida, Ryerson said, is “a really large stronghold” for MAHA, a powerful national movement that helped Trump win a second term and is now showing some dissatisfaction with the administration. She said there is “an interesting conflict” between health advocates and an agricultural industry she sees as “contributing to the toxicity of the food supply.” The Senate stripped the provision from the bill last month. But Ryerson remains dismayed over the state’s decision to allow some conservation lands to be sold for farming. MAHA advocates would rather “permanently protect those lands for clean water, wildlife, and future generations,” she said, “not to have them auctioned off for commercial agricultural production, which will certainly pollute with toxic chemicals and fertilizers.” The move “betrays Florida voters,” Ryerson said. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline With its new farm bill, Florida’s climate fight just hit a tractor-sized roadblock on Mar 30, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Ayurella Horn-Muller.
Middle East Conflict: Rhetoric, Actions Flout Laws of War
This content originally appeared on Human Rights Watch and was authored by Human Rights Watch.
Rights & Wrongs: Getting From Here To There
Regime change: What Americans can learn from other nonviolent civil activism movements
ANALYSIS: Introduced by Robert Reich From time to time, I post transcripts I’ve come across of particularly insightful conversations. Here’s one that’s particularly relevant to the US “No Kings” Day protests at the weekend. Recently, The Conversation hosted a webinar in which executive editor and general manager Beth Daley interviewed John Shattuck, professor of practice
ANALYSIS: Introduced by Robert Reich From time to time, I post transcripts I’ve come across of particularly insightful conversations. Here’s one that’s particularly relevant to the US “No Kings” Day protests at the weekend. Recently, The Conversation hosted a webinar in which executive editor and general manager Beth Daley interviewed John Shattuck, professor of practice at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Oliver Kaplan, associate professor at Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs at the University of Denver and a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Shattuck is the former president of Central European University in Hungary, where he defended academic freedom against a rising authoritarian government. Kaplan is the author of Resisting War: How Communities Protect Themselves. This interview has been condensed and edited for print. READ MORE: ‘No Kings’ protests erupt across the US, with a Minnesota focus BETH DALEY: What is an authoritarian regime, and what are their characteristics? JOHN SHATTUCK: The authoritarian, often referred to as a “king,” is the ideal role from the point of view of the king, but certainly not from the point of view of the people. Authoritarian characteristics include centralised unlimited power, the opposite of democracy; no accountability and no rule of law; no independent courts; no checks and balances on how the king operates; rule by fear and coercion, and when necessary, in order to carry out the king’s orders, rule by by force. There are no individual rights or civil liberties except those the king decides to allow those who are loyal to him to have, at least until he decides to take them away. That’s a nutshell informal description of an authoritarian regime. A special threat today is that an authoritarian can emerge from a democratic election, and, indeed, a democratic election can be used to turn a weak democracy into an authoritarian regime. But when this happens, it opens the door to challenge the authoritarian in a subsequent election if civic activism can defend the electoral process by which the authoritarian was elected. BD: What are we seeing and not seeing in the US that other countries have gone through in terms of authoritarian government? OLIVER KAPLAN: I think we are heading toward an autocracy, if not there already. In their 2026 report, the Varieties of Democracy Project writes that the US is no longer a liberal democracy and is moving into “competitive authoritarianism,” marked by executive overreach and erosion of judicial and legislative checks. The report notes that US democracy is being dismantled at a speed that is “unprecedented in modern history”. We are seeing shifts in terms of concentration of power to the executive branch and a disregard of the rule of law, things like ignoring court orders and difficulty with holding the executive branch accountable. We are also seeing the militariSation of law enforcement, monitoring of US citizens, and what some refer to as the dual state — that the state is working for some people while causing more challenges for or oppressing other people. One of the things we’re not seeing at full force yet is a complete shutdown of civic space. We’re able to hold this kind of conversation, and people are still able to dialogue and go out on the street. There are some efforts at curtailing free speech, and I think there’s some self-censorship possibly happening. But there’s still this open space and a powerful mass movement growing in this country. USA today: 7 million Americans in the streets today protesting for freedom. 3,000 cities and towns. Every single state. “No Kings” protests against the authoritarianism of the Trump. This is one of the largest demonstrations in American history. pic.twitter.com/cLAwlXK69f — James Melville (@JamesMelville) March 28, 2026 BD: John, you were on the front lines, particularly in Hungary as the head of Central European University. What did you see there that has parallels today to the US? JOHN SHATTUCK: There’s certainly a parallel between Hungary and the US, even though the countries are very different in size, history and background. What I saw in Hungary when I became president of Central European University in 2009 was a weak, new democracy that was only established in 1990 after 70 years of fascism and communism. I was in Hungary from 2009 to 2016 and, despite the differences, I could begin to see some parallels. Many people had grievances in Hungary about how their economy was operating, particularly after the global financial crisis that affected Hungary more than any other Eastern European country. Then there was an urban-rural divide, the urban elite versus the rural majority in the country. Along came a cynical populist-nationalist politician, Viktor Orbán. Orbán started manipulating these grievances, and did so to significantly divide Hungarian society. He attacked many of the institutions of democracy, which were increasingly unpopular because of people’s grievances. He went after elites, and foreigners, and migrants, and the media. And he blamed all of them for the country’s problems. He then was able to ride these grievances into office. Once in office, Orbán amended the constitution and laws relating to the Parliament. He undermined the independence of the media and the judiciary so as to centralise power. All of this happened while I was running an international university in Budapest, which remained independent because it received no funding from the Hungarian government. We were able to resist the increasingly authoritarian regime over issues of academic freedom. The government tried to shut down our programmes of migration studies and gender studies, and tried to censor aspects of our history department. These authoritarian attacks are similar to what we’ve seen happening in the US, and in fact, Viktor Orbán was greatly admired by Donald Trump, and a lot of the playbook that Orban has followed was mirrored in Project 2025 in the US under Trump. BD: How do communities respond in different ways to authoritarian regimes? OLIVER KAPLAN: Pro-democracy movements and protection types of movements at the local level often co-occur. For example, in Colombia there have been various leftist movements and political parties that have pushed for greater democratic opening while communities mobilise to keep people safe and help them cope with repressive conditions. In places like Chile, El Salvador and Guatemala, communities built trust and support networks to provide aid, such as for people who needed food assistance. This provides space to independently operate and preserve the community. The US has parallels, such as innovating early warning networks to get advance notice of risks and threats, by communicating using the Signal app. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, villages set up radio networks, and in Ukraine they have sophisticated early warning networks to get word of airstrikes and drone attacks. Fact-finding and countering stigma are important, and in the US we’re seeing that in the form of the video recording and publicising of harmful actions. This has played out similarly in Syria with fact-finding to protect nongovernment organisations. There’s also accompaniment where outside actors come in to provide support to communities. Around the world, church organisations play important accompaniment roles. We’re seeing clergy in the US step up and visit places that are at risk. And then, there are protests, the most visible kind of action. In Minnesota, we’ve seen communities actually setting up community barricades, which has also happened in Mexico, Colombia and Northern Ireland. Communicating the nonviolent nature of these movements is important to avoid any pretext for additional crackdowns. I think Americans have been taking similar actions to other places around the world in part because there are some similar background conditions: repression and strong social capital networks. Those two things come together to produce these strategies. BD: Could you speak more about the need to build a clear narrative and a positive one? JOHN SHATTUCK: There are two basic rules for how to resist authoritarianism that I’ve learned from experience: Build a diverse coalition and develop a unifying theme. You need a diverse coalition in order to appeal to a broad range of the public, and in order to do that, you need agreement on the goal and values of what you’re trying to accomplish. You need a clear and unifying narrative. The narrative often involves economic issues and issues of corruption, since there’s often a great deal of corruption in authoritarian regimes. Hungary will have its next parliamentary election in April in which Orbán will seek his fifth term as prime minister. The opposition has developed a broad coalition and a unifying theme, while Orbán is using the centralised instruments of government and media that he controls to try to manipulate public opinion. The opposition coalition is headed by Peter Magyar, who was once a major supporter of Orbán’s government. Magyar’s name can be magical in Hungary — sort of like a “Joe America” in the US. With Magyar as its head, the opposition is aiming to peel off supporters of the regime. It’s campaigning on economic grounds, with a positive message and on moderate terms. And most importantly, it includes parties from the left, right and center. Poland has succeeded in doing what the Hungarian opposition is attempting. It managed to vote out an authoritarian government by putting together a broad coalition to defend the independence of the Polish judiciary. That became a coalition to elect parliamentarians in 2023, and that succeeded in changing the government. BD: How important is the preexisting social fabric of a community to the success of a protest movement? JOHN SHATTUCK: It’s important, but complicated. Hungary had a very weak civil society after 70 years of totalitarian fascism and communism. When I was there, the very word to “volunteer,” which we think of as the essence of community action and service, was seen to be a bad word in Hungarian because it was closely associated with collaborating with the regime. In the US, we’re the opposite in a sense, although the US is now slipping on this. We have a long history of volunteerism, we have all these civil society organisations, we have a tradition of barn raising, people getting together with their neighbours and doing things in their communities. This is very much a part of the American spirit and a core value. But today, I would say a combination of consumerism and economic individualism coming out of decades of economic deregulation has caused our civil society to fray. But the authoritarian challenge that we face now, and the way in which we are beginning to respond to it, is in fact bringing communities back together again. I think what happened in Minneapolis is an example of that. And this may reflect a growing capacity to resist an authoritarian regime. Republished from Robert Reich’s Substack, originally published by The Conversation. Republished under Creative Commons. Robert Reich is an American professor, writer, former Secretary of Labour, and author of The System, The Common Good, Saving Capitalism, Aftershock, Supercapitalism, The Work of Nations. He is also co-founder of Inequality Media. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The Existential Crisis of Mainstream Economics
In the United States today, life expectancy is falling as suicides, drug addiction, alcoholism, and heart disease are inexorably on the rise, contrary to the trends in other First World countries. One thing is clear. The terribly expensive and massively inefficient system of politically protected private health system is not equipped to deal with the “deaths of despair” and other manifestations of the health crisis in the richest country in the world. More The post The Existential Crisis of Mainstream Economics appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405403" class="wp-image-405403 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1094.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="434" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1094.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1094-500x319.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1094-600x383.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Shuttered machine shop, Portland, Oregon. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. Had I not read Angus Deaton’s Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality, I would not have learned that one of the most devastating blows to the economics profession was delivered by the film Inside Job, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2011. The movie directed by Charles Ferguson tried to explain the 2008 global financial crisis in popular terms, and it succeeded, garnering $7 million in revenues against a budget of $2 million. Not bad for a documentary, but very bad for economics, some of whose leading lights were caught on camera denying their role in framing policies that triggered the crisis, continuing to espouse the deregulation that brought on the crisis, thinking there was nothing wrong in accepting six-figure consulting fees from Wall Street and promoting policies it favored, engaging in selective amnesia, or lying through their teeth. In one scene, Glenn Hubbard, former chair of George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, then dean of Columbia University’s School of Business, gets upset and threatens to end the interview when asked whether as a researcher or policymaker he has disclosed his multiple links to the financial industry. This display of tantrums was, however, not as bad as the response of John Campbell, head of Harvard University’s Economics Department, when asked the same question; he was simply tongue-tied. Unlike the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, Inside Job did not destroy economics, though in Angus Deaton’s account, “the movie did great harm to the public image of economists who were seen as benefiting mightily from an economy that they were claiming to research in a neutral, scientific way.” There is probably no one better qualified to discuss the crisis of mainstream economics than Deaton, one of the leading experts on the economics of health and inequality, a former president of American Economic Association, and a Nobel Prize winner. He is about as mainstream as one can get, though of the center-left variety, probably owing to his training at Cambridge, which apparently not only produced spies for the Soviet Union but also economic iconoclasts like John Maynard Keynes. A Discipline Captured by Special Interests Deaton does not beat around the bush. The profession brought the calamity on itself because a great many of its members have been bought by powerful interests to produce the research and policy proposals that would benefit them. Though Deaton would be more measured and courteous in the way he would put it, that is essentially the theme that runs through this book. There may be some who really believe that the untrammeled market is the best way to allocate resources, but for most that belief is sweetened by the financial support, in the form of grants and consultancies, of powerful special interests. Take the case of the minimum wage. Rigorous experiments by a number of well-regarded researchers have produced results that by now should have yielded no opposition to the fact that raising the minimum wage does not create unemployment. But half the profession still believes it does, and there’s no shaking them from this belief, whose main bankroller is the fast-food industry that sees the false doctrine as useful to keep the wages of its hamburger flippers low. Health care has probably been the key battlefield over social policy over the last two decades in the United States, and no one knows more about the health industry than Deaton, whose Nobel Prize was earned largely by his studies of the relationship among health, poverty, and inequality. The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was, overall, positive in that it brought insurance coverage to around 20 million formerly uninsured people. But it was a Pyrrhic victory since the best solution to escalating medical costs, the single-payer or public option, was not even allowed to be discussed, and insurance companies were allowed to continue to hawk deceptive policies to an unwary public. Research and the experience of European countries demonstrate clearly that a single payer national health system would radically reduce costs and would also keep inequality down because all share the risks of ill health and “prevent unequal burdens of sickness to turn into inequalities of earnings.” So, what keeps this seemingly rational solution from being adopted? An unholy alliance among the insurance companies, the medical establishment, Big Pharma, politicians in the pocket of business, and, of course, the legions of economists employed directly by them or paid as academic consultants. In the United States today, life expectancy is falling as suicides, drug addiction, alcoholism, and heart disease are inexorably on the rise, contrary to the trends in other First World countries. One thing is clear. The terribly expensive and massively inefficient system of politically protected private health system is not equipped to deal with the “deaths of despair” and other manifestations of the health crisis in the richest country in the world. Meritocracy and Inequality The crisis of the health system is but one of the trends that have made the United States no longer the land or promise but of inequality. The gaps in earnings, health, and welfare have come to be increasingly caused by unequal opportunities available to those with a college education and those without one. Like Michael Sandel, Deaton argues that meritocracy, which used to be seen as an antidote to inherited income, wealth, and privilege, has instead been turned into a major cause of rising inequality. Those who have benefited from “passing the exam” believe they deserve their privileges because they earned them while seeing those who “failed the exam” as having only themselves to blame. This sharply rising inequality owing to meritocracy has had destabilizing political consequences, with those without college degrees, who Hilary Clinton famously called the “deplorables,” becoming the angry base for Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. Despite its anti-democratic consequences, there has been no lack of economists who, either out of belief in the market, antipathy to any sort of government intervention, or being bankrolled by wealthy capitalists, can be found to argue that inequality is not a problem, such as Martin Feldstein, chair of Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, and Harvard’s Greg Mankiw. Likewise, there are still many big-name economists who either deny or downplay the impact of climate change, such as Bjorn Lomborg, Thomas Schelling, Robert Fogel, Douglass North, Jagdish Bhagwati, or Vernon Smith. A Profession Divided Against Itself In sum, economics is a profession that is split almost in half along political beliefs, but with one side propped up by the power structure, which makes its views influential but very questionable. One half of economists “are concerned with efficiency and believe in the power of markets to promote it, and are concerned that attempts to interfere with the market will compromise current or future prosperity.” The other half, to which Deaton belongs, are also concerned about efficiency and believe in the power of the market to promote it, but are also concerned about inequality “and are willing to use redistribution to correct the failures of the market, even at the expense of some loss of efficiency.” But beyond these differences, the whole profession is to be blamed for the central problem of mainstream economics, which is that the discipline has become “unmoored from its proper basis, which is the study of human welfare.” Both conservative and liberal economists, in other words, continue to frame economics the way Lionel Robbins defined it, as the allocation of scarce resources among competing ends, which has rightfully earned the discipline the description of being the dismal science. For both schools, efficiency remains the prime consideration. Rather, the economic problematique should be, according to Deaton, the way his fellow Cambridge economist Keynes defined it: “how to combine three things: economic efficiency, social justice, and individual liberty.” But there is one other, major problem, which, surprisingly, Deaton fails to see as a problem. Both conservative and liberal economists are fundamentally attached to the value of economic growth because “it makes it possible for everyone to be materially better off.” With economic growth having become a central cause of the climate crisis, it is hard to believe that a sensitive mind like Deaton’s would miss its relevance to the crisis of the profession that he otherwise deals with so brilliantly in this book. But I guess everyone has their blind-spot. Needed: A Bigger Meteor It has been some 16 years since Inside Job appeared during the depths of Great Recession, and things have gotten worse for the profession. Deaton concludes that the narrative of mainstream economics is “broken and has been broken for several decades,” and “neither conservative nor progressive economists have a solution.” Saving economics is not going to be simply a matter of theoretical or policy adjustments but a total overhaul, including learning to think like sociologists (something that I, as a sociologist heartily endorse) and “recapturing the philosophical territory that used to be central to economics.” Deaton is right about the scale of the task needed to make economics relevant to contemporary society, but he is being optimistic or naïve since he is still in a minority of economists who can admit that their discipline is in crisis. Looking back at the last century, I think that the Global Financial Crisis was not strong enough to bring the discipline to its senses and that no less than a much bigger meteor, like the Great Depression of the 1930s, is needed to cut economics from its servitude to capital. The post The Existential Crisis of Mainstream Economics appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Walden Bello.
The Miscalculation of the Century: Trump’s Iran Adventure
Last year, in July, the United States and Israel bombarded Iran’s nuclear energy and nuclear research facilities over twelve days. After a few days, the two belligerent powers—who had no United Nations authorisation for this war of aggression—opened the door for a ceasefire. At that time, believing that this might very well be the basis for a full negotiation, the Iranian government led by Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei agreed to the terms set out: an immediate end to the strikes and no escalation. The missile launchers went quiet, but the deal was very fragile. There was no long-term peace agreement, no binding enforcement or monitoring mechanisms, no settlement on the nuclear issues, and no agreement to end US and Israeli sabotage and attacks on Iran More The post The Miscalculation of the Century: Trump’s Iran Adventure appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img decoding="async" width="2560" 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src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg 2560w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405452" class="wp-image-405452 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3641-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair Last year, in July, the United States and Israel bombarded Iran’s nuclear energy and nuclear research facilities over twelve days. After a few days, the two belligerent powers—who had no United Nations authorisation for this war of aggression—opened the door for a ceasefire. At that time, believing that this might very well be the basis for a full negotiation, the Iranian government led by Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei agreed to the terms set out: an immediate end to the strikes and no escalation. The missile launchers went quiet, but the deal was very fragile. There was no long-term peace agreement, no binding enforcement or monitoring mechanisms, no settlement on the nuclear issues, and no agreement to end US and Israeli sabotage and attacks on Iran. This was not an end to the war imposed by the United States and Israel on Iran, but only an agreement to stop one battle. Khamenei described the US and Israel aggression as futile and said that they “gained nothing,” while at the same time saying that Iran had forced a ceasefire and would “never surrender.” Oman has a decades-long reputation as a neutral intermediary between Iran and the United States (with Israel lurking in the background). Between 2012 and 2013, it was Oman that hosted the US-Iran talks that resulted in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 (USA, UK, France, China, Russia + Germany) and the European Union—reducing sanctions in exchange for some promises on nuclear enrichment. A secure and discreet channel existed between Muscat for Tehran and Washington, and this communication line became active after July toward a proper negotiation to clarify red lines and to reduce the risk of miscalculation. In fact, the conversation broadened, and Iran came to the point of accepting that its uranium enrichment would be capped, that its highly enriched stockpiles would be diluted, and that the International Atomic Energy Agency could re-expand monitoring and inspections. This was not a final deal, but it was a negotiation framework with conditional nuclear restraint and an ongoing practice of de-escalation. Both Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian had the political will for a deal, which was very much on the horizon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said less than a day before the US and Israeli attack that a deal was “within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority.” In fact, the United States and Israel took the other path: a war of aggression that violated the UN Charter (Article 2). On the very first day, 28 February, the United States and Israel assassinated Supreme Leader Khamenei and killed 180 girls at the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab. The United States and Israel believed that this barrage of strikes against political leaders, key infrastructure, and civilians would immediately lead to a popular uprising that would remove the Islamic Republic. The US and Israeli intelligence overestimated the protests that began in December 2025 around the depreciation of the rial and rising inflation. But there is an enormous difference between a cycle of protests against economic issues and the appetite to rise up and overthrow an entire system. When the missiles killed the Supreme Leader–who has a reputation even amongst his critics for piety (he was elevated by the Society of Seminary Teachers at Qom as a Marja-e Taqlid or Source of Emulation in 1994)– and when they killed the school children, the public mood was electrified by patriotism. It was impossible in this situation to take the side of the imperialist war against innocent children. The nature of the US and Israeli attack, and the fact that Iran was able to strike Israeli targets as well as US targets in the Gulf Arab states, focused the population of Iran around its own survival and its ability to defend itself. That is the current mood amongst Iranians for the most part. Since the US wars on Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, US war planners have not set aside the concept of the escalation ladder and have used the concept of rapid dominance (through decapitation strikes, paralysis of command, and total dominance of the adversary’s military). This worked with Afghanistan and Iraq, where the scale of the US violence destroyed the capacity of retaliation. It was truly ‘shock and awe’. Such a military framework did not function with Iran. The Iranians had prepared for a full—scale US and Israeli attack for decades. Their political leadership understood the vulnerability of decapitation strikes, and therefore created eight levels of replacements for most of the top, essential leaders. The military hastily formed different kinds of weapon systems, from hypersonic cluster missiles that could overcome air defence systems to the fast inshore attack crafts that employ swarm tactics in the Gulf waters. These, alongside the pro-Iranian militias from Lebanon to Iraq, are the many rings of defence that the Iranians have built. This means that while the US opens with rapid dominance and does not have an escalation ladder, the Iranian response to the US and Israel was strategically built on starting with its simplest missiles and moving to its more sophisticated cluster missiles—while it has been holding back its small boats and its militias. These have not been deployed, as Iran remains reliant upon its missiles and its hold on the Straits of Hormuz (now only open to ships from certain countries). Iran’s intelligent response to the United States and Israel has pinned them down, leaving them with no choice but to beg for a ceasefire. The Iranian leadership says that it is uninterested in a partial ceasefire, as in July 2025, that would simply allow Israel and the United States to rearm and return with another round of violence. Iran says that it wants to have a grand bargain that includes Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon—not just Iran—and that it wants total sanctions withdrawal, an end to the genocide of the Palestinians, and other requirements that the US remove its threatening base structure that encircles Iran. If the United States and Israel agree to these demands, it would mean an absolute victory for Iran—despite the tragic losses of human lives from the vicious attack by Israel and the United States. Having killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who had been eager for the ceasefire in July 2025, the United States and Israel have lost someone who would perhaps have argued again for a ceasefire. The current leadership, including the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has made an accurate assessment that a ceasefire without a grand bargain is merely about time and not about peace. The Iranians want peace for the region, not war, ceasefire, war– an endless war that results in austerity and pain. The Israelis have not said much about the war in Iran, preferring to strike with their missiles and block any news coverage of the Iranian missile strikes on Israel. Would they be governed by a peace deal made by Trump? Unlikely. The Israelis have an eschatological view of the Middle East, eager to take the land from the Nile to the Euphrates, which would need them to silence their biggest and most consequential critic in the region, namely Iran. For Israel, this is a fight to the end. They have dragged the United States into this battle, even though there is no realistic gain for the US regarding the existence or not of the Islamic Republic (which has not threatened the United States at all). Israel wants to see the Islamic Republic uprooted, but that is an unlikely outcome given its deep roots in Iranian society. The United States would, on the other hand, be content with the management of the Islamic Republic with a pliant leadership. Neither option is on the cards. The only option for military escalation is for either the US or Israel to launch a nuclear strike against Iran—which would, after the egregious impact on the lives of Iranian civilians, evoke a totally negative response from global opinion. There are no good options for the United States and Israel. They can remain with their bombing, but they will continue to see Iranian escalation that inflicts harm on Israel and on US interests in the region. The United States and Israel will have to face the world as fuel and food prices skyrocket. This was a miscalculation by the United States and Israel. Iran will not bend so easily. Hundreds of years of a proud civilization is at stake. Its leaders know that. They are not just standing for the Islamic Republic or the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but for Iran itself. They will not back down. The post The Miscalculation of the Century: Trump’s Iran Adventure appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Vijay Prashad.
Thanks to Trump, the Cruel Hand of Exploitation is Invisible No More
We’ve always had inequality. Go back to feudal Europe — the peasant bound to the lord’s land, the serf who could not leave, the villager whose labor fed a castle he would never enter. The hierarchy was absolute, brutal, and barely concealed. But it was also local. The feudal lord and the peasants he exploited breathed the same air and walked beneath the same trees. Even the most distant king knew that peasants had pitchforks, because kings had felt the sting of them. The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 in England. The Jacquerie in France in 1358. The German Peasants’ War of 1524. The powerful have always, eventually, been reminded that proximity to the people they exploit carries consequences. More The post Thanks to Trump, the Cruel Hand of Exploitation is Invisible No More appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-768x591.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-500x385.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-600x462.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 818px) 100vw, 818px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405406" class="wp-image-405406 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-680x523.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="523" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-680x523.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-818x630.jpg 818w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-768x591.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-500x385.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739-600x462.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3dabeed4-3da5-44e8-8efe-821ee9b17524_960x739.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The First Troops in Homestead. Thure de Thulstrup, Public domain, via Wikimedia. We’ve always had inequality. Go back to feudal Europe — the peasant bound to the lord’s land, the serf who could not leave, the villager whose labor fed a castle he would never enter. The hierarchy was absolute, brutal, and barely concealed. But it was also local. The feudal lord and the peasants he exploited breathed the same air and walked beneath the same trees. Even the most distant king knew that peasants had pitchforks, because kings had felt the sting of them. The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 in England. The Jacquerie in France in 1358. The German Peasants’ War of 1524. The powerful have always, eventually, been reminded that proximity to the people they exploit carries consequences. The Industrial Revolution moved that relationship indoors. Factory owners and workers shared, at minimum, the same building, even if management looked down from a balcony onto the production floor. The Gilded Age robber barons — Carnegie, Rockefeller, Frick — were despised figures whose names and faces were known. When Henry Frick sent Pinkerton agents to break the Homestead Strike in Pennsylvania in 1892, it was a brutal and very visible act of class warfare. The strikers fought back. People died on both sides. The relationship between power and the people it ground down remained, however cruelly, clear. Then came the great distancing. Globalization moved the factory floor to the other side of the world. Financialization, in the 1980s and 90s, moved the source of wealth out of production entirely and into instruments — derivatives, hedge funds, leveraged buyouts — that no ordinary person could see, touch, or name. Under the logic of neoliberalism, we were told the market was magical and also invisible and that this was a feature, not a bug. But it wasn’t the market that was truly invisible. It was the relationship between concentrated capital and political power; between the billionaire class and the lawmakers they funded, between the hedge fund manager in Connecticut and the community that lost its hospital in Ohio that became hard to see. We see the cruelty. Does Trump see the pitchforks? That invisibility was its own kind of protection for the powerful. In his chaotic, wrecking-ball way, Donald Trump is making all these relationships visible again. When he deploys troops and National Guard units into American cities or sends ICE agents, masked and in tactical gear, to seize people from their homes; when two American citizens — Renée Good and Alex Pretti — are shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis, the cruelty is not abstract, or far away. It is up close, personal, and filmed on devices we hold in our palms. Indeed, this administration gets such sadistic glee from punishing and killing that they give their cruelty Hollywood treatment — setting their murderous bombing raids to Top Gun music and making a bloodcurdling point of celebrating a war that most Americans never asked for, and Congress never approved. And the president, in social media, personally revels in the deaths of his perceived enemies, and uses AI to shit on his people. Can any of us forget the 19-second AI-generated video he posted to Truth Social within hours of the second No Kings protest? The feudal lord once looked down from his castle. This one looks down from a cartoon fighter jet. The contempt, however, is the same. It comes at a cost. As of mid-March 2026, just 37% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance, and his approval on prices and inflation has sunk to a net rating of -39. One Reuters/Ipsos poll found his disapproval rating reaching 62% — the worst since he returned to power — and just 29% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, lower than any economic approval rating recorded for Joe Biden. The share of Americans who strongly disapprove of Trump has reached a second-term high of nearly 47%. Even among men, a group that helped elect him: Trump won men by 13 points in 2024; his net approval with men is now -7 points, and among men under 45, he is 19 points underwater. There is almost nowhere the president can go today without being booed. That is not a metaphor. It is a daily, documented fact. And tomorrow, on March 28, it becomes something larger. This Saturday could be the largest day of domestic political protest in U.S. history, according to event organizers. More than 3,100 demonstrations are expected in all fifty states — roughly one per county in America — fueled by a suburban groundswell that organizers say includes millions who have never marched before. As Ezra Levin described on our program, the movement has grown from the first No Kings protest in June 2025 to what organizers describe as the third and possibly largest peaceful day of action yet. The second No Kings demonstration in October drew 7 -11 million people nationwide. For this weekend’s protests, roughly two-thirds of more than 3,000 planned demonstrations will be held outside urban areas — in red-state suburbs, in small towns, in places that have never seen this before. The people of America are angry, Levin told us. They are the ones powering this movement now. We’ve always had inequality but the feudal lord knew those peasants had pitchforks because he could see them in the field. Finance capitalism spent forty years making sure you couldn’t see the field at all, let alone who was standing in it. What Trump has done — unwittingly, clumsily, in his brutish, Trumpian way — is rip away the scrim. The agents are masked, but their cruelty is visible. The courts are being defied in the public square. The billionaires are photographed at the inauguration – and on Jeffrey Epstein’s island and at his rape parties. The survivors, the accusers, the angry and the believers — the peasants of this time are not carrying pitchforks. They are carrying signs and phones, and linking arms, and they are showing up by the millions — in Democratic-majority cities, yes, but also in Bismarck and Fargo and Salt Lake City and places where assumptions were made before. Do they have pitchforks? Trump and his team may be wondering that today. So are we. The post Thanks to Trump, the Cruel Hand of Exploitation is Invisible No More appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Laura Flanders.
The Country’s Major Demographic Problem: Too Few or Too Many People?
A weather person who told us to bundle up for the cold weather, but also be sure to drink plenty of fluids to protect against the heat, would not be taken very seriously. That is roughly the state of economics when it comes to basic demographic questions. On alternate days the economy seems to be More The post The Country’s Major Demographic Problem: Too Few or Too Many People? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-1536x1021.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-2048x1362.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1702" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-scaled.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-scaled.png 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-948x630.png 948w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-1536x1021.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-2048x1362.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="948" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-948x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-948x630.png 948w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-1536x1021.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-2048x1362.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 948px) 100vw, 948px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405459" class="wp-image-405459 size-large" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-948x630.png" alt="" width="948" height="630" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-948x630.png 948w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-1536x1021.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-2048x1362.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-5.13.29-PM-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 948px) 100vw, 948px" /> Photo by Bailey Alexander A weather person who told us to bundle up for the cold weather, but also be sure to drink plenty of fluids to protect against the heat, would not be taken very seriously. That is roughly the state of economics when it comes to basic demographic questions. On alternate days the economy seems to be suffering from too many people and too few people. Yet people somehow still take economists seriously on this issue. Today the problem is too many people. A New York Times article on the weak job market facing young college graduates told readers: “Some economists have hypothesized that the challenging labor market for young degree holders could be the outcrop of a longer-term demographic shift that is making it more difficult for them to procure white-collar jobs. Since the 1970s, the share of older workers in the labor force, particularly in private-sector white-collar jobs, has grown as life expectancy has increased and Americans have worked longer, Mr. Pardue said. That has created congestion in the workplace, resulting in less progression for mid- and early-career employees who would otherwise have moved up the job ladder when more senior workers retired. Without as much movement in their ranks, many businesses found they did not need to replace as many entry-level workers. “’As the U.S. population has aged, older workers are continuing to hold on to their positions,’ Mr. Pardue said. ‘That is now showing up in terms of diminished job prospects for younger workers.’” This is clearly a story of too many people. The troublesome baby boomers are working later in life and keeping new college graduates from getting jobs. Over the last four decades, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of economists and policy analysts have made substantial careers for themselves out of warning that the baby boomers were going to bankrupt the country. The story was that all the baby boomers were going to retire and needed to be supported by the smaller cohorts of workers that came after them. That was the story of too few people. This sentiment has been echoed by the fertility cult pushed by folks like Elon Musk that we are running out of people, especially white people. In some of their rants they calculate, based on demographic trends, that the US and/or world population will shrink by some huge percentage over the next 500 years. But now the big problem is that we have too many people, and specifically that too many people are still working later in their lives. Oh well, I guess I better put on another sweater since it is supposed to be really hot outside. This first appeared on CEPR. The post The Country’s Major Demographic Problem: Too Few or Too Many People? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Dean Baker.
The Iran War is a Disaster for Young People
I wasn’t alive yet for the beginning of the Iraq War. But as I watch the U.S. war on Iran threaten to spiral out of control, I’m starting to see what it might have felt like. The Iraq War was predicated on a lie, but the Bush administration at least attempted to justify it. If anything, the war More The post The Iran War is a Disaster for Young People appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403893" class="size-large wp-image-403893" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-1120x630.webp" alt="" width="1120" height="630" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-1120x630.webp 1120w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-680x383.webp 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-768x432.webp 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-1536x864.webp 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-500x281.webp 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png-600x338.webp 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4-still.png.webp 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1120px) 100vw, 1120px" /> Image Source: The White House – Public Domain I wasn’t alive yet for the beginning of the Iraq War. But as I watch the U.S. war on Iran threaten to spiral out of control, I’m starting to see what it might have felt like. The Iraq War was predicated on a lie, but the Bush administration at least attempted to justify it. If anything, the war in Iran has been even more poorly justified — and lacking any coherent strategy. And young people especially have a stake in seeing it end as soon as possible. For Millennials, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq heralded the destruction of a future they had been promised. For Generation Z, the war in Iran is worsening the future we already worried would be bad. Already, nearly 2,500 people have been confirmed killed in the region since the start of this war. The vast majority of those killed have been civilians in Iran and Lebanon — including over 180 people in a U.S. strike on a girls’ elementary school. American troops, the majority of whom are under 30, are also at risk. At the time of this writing, 13 have been confirmed dead, and hundreds have been injured. The Trump administration has offered multiple explanations for this war, none of which are very coherent. Regime change? Iran’s nuclear enrichment program? Iran’s <a role="link" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nuclear-program-missiles-regime-change-trump-struggles-define-iran-war-rcna261309" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nuclear-program-missiles-regime-change-trump-struggles-define-iran-war-rcna261309&source=gmail&ust=1774713563526000&usg=AOvVaw2QcVk_NT2ZPnQ9BfaAUWCR">missiles and drones? The explanation changes by the day. Sending young people to die in yet another forever war — without even telling them why — is a tragedy, especially with the president refusing to rule out a military draft. (My younger brother would be draft-eligible, so that hits close to home.) This war has also been economically devastating. Oil prices have topped well over $100 a barrel and are expected to keep climbing — potentially to $200 a barrel, which would be apocalyptic for the world economy. Already, everything from gas to food to flights to fertilizer has been made more expensive. For Gen Z, already less financially secure than previous generations, we face an economic shock greater than or equal to the 1970s oil embargoes — and during the prime years of our careers. We could also see hiring slow, making an already brutal job market worse. What’s more, there are some common-sense investments we could be making in young people — like expanding health insurance, eliminating student debt, or erasing barriers to homeownership. Instead, we’re spending a billion dollars a day on this war, according to the National Priorities Project, and the Pentagon is requesting $200 billion more. This war is also an ecological nightmare. Strikes on fossil fuel infrastructure by both sides have set refineries and gas fields ablaze, releasing millions of tons of greenhouse gases. Experts warn these pollutants could linger in the environment for decades to come. Finally, this war is catastrophic because of the long-term implications for war and peace itself. Throughout this war, we’ve seen the U.S. and Israel violate time-honored principles of engagement. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. will offer our enemies “no quarter,” which has been recognized in the U.S. as a war crime since the Civil War. It used to be taboo to talk about killing the civilian heads of foreign states, even ones we didn’t like, but now the U.S. and Israel brag openly about decapitation strikes in Iran. And of course, this war is plainly illegal — a war of pure aggression, without any <a role="link" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/joe-kent-top-counterterrorism-official-says-iran-posed-no-imminent-threat-as-he-resigns-over-trumps-war" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/joe-kent-top-counterterrorism-official-says-iran-posed-no-imminent-threat-as-he-resigns-over-trumps-war&source=gmail&ust=1774713563526000&usg=AOvVaw03qa2FmFfFLeST5fQ_HzbC">imminent threat, and with no approval from the UN Security Council or Congress. When we disregard these rules, the world becomes a more violent place. This war might spell the destruction of the post-1945 system of international law, which — while flawed and unevenly applied — is far preferable to a world where might makes right. It’s no wonder the public overwhelmingly disapproves of the war — and dissent is particularly strong among younger generations. In this time of uncertainty and tragedy, we must use every tool available to force this war to stop. Our futures depend on it. The post The Iran War is a Disaster for Young People appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Chisom Okorafur.
To Make America Healthy Again, Break Up Big Ag
President Trump has systematically broken virtually every promise made on the campaign trail to court health-focused voters. His most recent walk-backs on pesticide reform are a cruel insult to the idea of “making America healthy again.” Among other controversies, he issued an executive order to boost the production of glyphosate, a toxic pesticide linked to cancer. And More The post To Make America Healthy Again, Break Up Big Ag appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-1093x630.png 1093w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-680x392.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-768x443.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-1536x886.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-2048x1181.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-500x288.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-600x346.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1093px) 100vw, 1093px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405457" class="wp-image-405457 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-680x392.png" alt="" width="680" height="392" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-680x392.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-1093x630.png 1093w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-768x443.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-1536x886.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-2048x1181.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-500x288.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-29-at-4.46.34-PM-600x346.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photo by James Baltz President Trump has systematically broken virtually every promise made on the campaign trail to court health-focused voters. His most recent walk-backs on pesticide reform are a cruel insult to the idea of “making America healthy again.” Among other controversies, he issued an executive order to boost the production of glyphosate, a toxic pesticide linked to cancer. And he’s repeatedly sided with Bayer in a Supreme Court case that will determine legal immunity from health-related lawsuits for pesticide manufacturers. Voters of both parties are hungry for a new path forward. America’s food and agriculture industries have never been as consolidated as they are now. This dominance means that just a few corporations, driven by profit margins and shareholder dividends, are calling all the shots about what makes its way onto our plates. And it’s making us sick. Take pesticides. America is a nation smothered in toxic chemicals. Some 81 percent of U.S. residents have glyphosate in their urine, and pesticides increasingly contain PFAS “forever chemicals,” which are in nearly everyone’s blood. Several of the products farmers and gardeners use today are known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, Parksinsons’ disease, and more. Many have been banned or restricted in other countries. In some rural communities,just living near pesticide-treated fields has been linked to cancer risk on par with smoking. The vast majority of pesticides are used on crops grown for ethanol and factory farm animal feed. This meat from factory farms is not the “real food” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Super Bowl ad wants you to believe. Factory-farmed animals are raised in cruel conditions, spending their lives on top of each other, covered in their own waste. Animals raised in these conditions are fed pesticide-ridden feed and antibiotics. And like any factory, these operations discharge dangerous pollution, driving a cancer-linked drinking water crisis in several states. It’s no surprise that<a role="link" href="https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/02/26/americans-are-concerned-about-harmful-chemicals-in-food-water-and-everyday-products" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/02/26/americans-are-concerned-about-harmful-chemicals-in-food-water-and-everyday-products&source=gmail&ust=1774795336041000&usg=AOvVaw1CLdt-KF8O4APWAscmfXqY"> more than 70 percent of American adults are concerned about toxic chemical exposure in their food and drinking water. But to truly make America healthy again, we need to break up Big Ag once and for all. President Trump once criticized America’s food monopolies. In November 2024, he called out the “industrial food complex” and pledged “that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides… and food additives that have contributed to [an] overwhelming health crisis.” But a year into his second term, Trump and Kennedy Jr. have done more to solidify those monopolies than to challenge them. Corporate profits are at the heart of America’s pesticide and factory farm crises. A select few companies dominate the agrichemical sector, locking farmers into a treadmill of dependence on toxic pesticides and the seeds bred to withstand them. Today, just two companies own 90 percent of the genetic traits of domestic corn, soybeans, and cotton. One of them, Bayer, is the German mega-corporation behind Roundup — America’s most used pesticide. The World Health Organization classifies Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, as likely carcinogenic. <a role="link" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bayer-make-105-bln-push-settle-roundup-cases-bloomberg-reports-2026-02-17/" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bayer-make-105-bln-push-settle-roundup-cases-bloomberg-reports-2026-02-17/&source=gmail&ust=1774795336041000&usg=AOvVaw1H5q8suvnDnX2B2OYvGpRz">Tens of thousands of Americanshave pending or settled cancer lawsuits against the corporation. Meanwhile, just four companies control 81 percent of the beef market, 65 percent of the pork market, and 55 percent of the poultry market. The Trump administration’s unscientific dietary guidelines are a gift to these corporations. By promoting animal protein consumption at rates far above the recommendation of most doctors, Trump is pushing for more factory farming — and thus more power for the monopolies. And Americans’ health will pay the price. Trump has the power to restrict pesticides and transition meat production out of the factory farm model. Instead he’s doubling down, backing pesticide manufacturers’ quest to evade culpability for terrible health impacts. Trump’s disingenuous pledges to “make America healthy again” are nothing but lies, designed to distract from his real goal of bolstering Big Ag, not taking it on. The post To Make America Healthy Again, Break Up Big Ag appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Amanda Claire Starbuck.
Thank you, Minnesota. And let me thank Indivisible, MoveOn, 50501 and all of the organizations who have made this event possible. And thank you to the millions of Americans, from our smallest towns to our largest cities, in every state in our country, who are gathering today at thousands of rallies. It is absolutely appropriate More The post No Kings in the Twin Cities appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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Photograph by Nathaniel St.Clair Thank you, Minnesota. And let me thank Indivisible, MoveOn, 50501 and all of the organizations who have made this event possible. And thank you to the millions of Americans, from our smallest towns to our largest cities, in every state in our country, who are gathering today at thousands of rallies. It is absolutely appropriate that we hold a major “No Kings Rally” right here in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. When historians write about this dangerous moment in American history, when they write about courage and sacrifice, the people of Minnesota will deserve a special chapter for themselves. In the face of the unprecedented occupation of this city by ICE, Trump’s domestic army, this community stood up and, with extraordinary solidarity, fought back. Minnesota showed the American people and the world what democracy is about, what grassroots activism is about, and what standing up for the American ideals of freedom and justice is about. And I want to thank my colleagues, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, for their leadership in the Senate on this issue. And today, we remember and honor the two brave Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti – who lost their lives in the struggle — and we promise their family and friends that these two heroes will not have died in vain. Their sacrifice has inspired, and will continue to inspire, the American people in the never-ending fight for justice. As all of you know, we are living in an unprecedented and dangerous moment in American history. In many ways the future of our country and the entire world is hanging in the balance – and the actions that we take now will determine what that future looks like. The choices that we face are clear. In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and at a time of massive breakthroughs in technology, we now have the opportunity to create a nation in which ALL people can enjoy a dignified standard of living, where we wipe out bigotry and hatred, and where all of us can live in peace and participate in a vibrant democracy. Where the foundation of our nation is built on love, compassion, human solidarity and an understanding, as former Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone said, that we all do better when we all do better. That is one vision for the future — a vision that the vast majority of Americans share. But there is another vision out there as well – a darker vision. It is a vision which says that we must give up on democracy, that we are too stupid and inept to govern ourselves, and that we must put more and more power into the hands of one man. It is a vision that says we should accept an economy in which a handful of Oligarchs have unbelievable wealth, while the vast majority struggle to put food on the table. It is a vision that says that the only thing that matters in life is the accumulation of money and power – and that it is okay if we lie, cheat and steal to achieve those goals. It is a vision which says that we must hate each other because of where we were born, the language we speak, the color of our skin, our religion or our sexual orientation. It is a vision that foments hatred and hatred. Division, division and division. It is an Orwellian vision which says that we must live in a constant state of fear, that we must always have an enemy and that we must always be at war. It is a vision which says that we have unlimited amounts of money for bombs and guns and for killing, but never enough money to feed our children, provide affordable housing or enable our parents to retire with dignity. Today, here in Minnesota, in Vermont and in every state in the country we say loudly and proudly that as Americans we will never forsake our heritage. We will never accept authoritarianism, we will never accept oligarchy, and we will never accept a president who is a pathological liar, a kleptocrat, and a narcissist who is undermining the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law every day. We will never accept government policy that gives massive tax breaks to the billionaires, throws 15 million Americans off the healthcare they have, breaks unions, denies women the right to control their own bodies, and is pushing the planet closer and closer to a climate crisis. In the last year, I must confess, I have been thinking a lot about American history: about the men and women in 1776 who, with unbelievable courage, announced to the world that they would no longer be ruled by the king of England, who had absolute power over their lives. These patriots demanded freedom, and they fought a bloody revolutionary war against the most powerful military in the world to achieve that freedom. And they won. And after their military victory, they established the first democratic form of government in modern history. In 1789, they said loudly and boldly to the entire world: here in America we don’t want kings. And let’s never forget the extraordinary words they left us: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And today, in 2026, our message is exactly the same: No more kings. We will not allow this country to descend into authoritarianism or oligarchy. In America, We the People will rule. But let’s be clear: This moment is not just about one man’s greed, one man’s corruption or one man’s contempt for our Constitution. This is about a handful of the wealthiest people on Earth, who, in their insatiable greed, have taken over our economy, have taken over our political system, have taken over our media in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the working families of our country. Never before in American history have so few had so much wealth and power. Never before in American history has there been such extreme levels of income and wealth inequality, with the top 1% now owning more wealth than the bottom 93%. Never before in American history have we seen the super-rich expand their wealth so rapidly. Last year alone, after receiving the largest tax break in history, 938 billionaires in America became $1.5 trillion richer. Trump, himself, became over a billion dollars richer. Never before in American history have we seen a ruling class, within a corrupt campaign finance system, spend so much money to buy politicians. In the coming mid-term elections, the billionaires will spend many, many hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure that government continues to work for them, and not working families. Meanwhile, while the richest people become much richer, 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to put food on the table, struggling to pay their rent and mortgage, struggling to pay for child care and education, and struggling to put a few bucks aside for a decent retirement. Tens of thousands of Americans die unnecessarily every year because they can’t afford to go to a doctor. And, unless we change how our economy works, our younger generation, for the first time in modern history, will have a lower standard of living than their parents. So today, we not only say NO to Trump’s authoritarianism, we say NO to Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos, Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Ellison and all the other multibillionaires. You cannot have it all. We WILL create an economy that works for ALL Americans, not just the 1%. My friends. It’s not just the authoritarianism of the Trump administration that we must combat. It’s not just the Oligarchs and their insatiable greed that we must combat. Now, as the news of today reminds us, we have got to stop the out-of-control militarism of the Trump administration – here at home, in cities like Minneapolis-St. Paul – and abroad. Let’s be honest. The American people were lied to about the war in Vietnam. We were lied to about the war in Iraq. And we are being lied to today about the war in Iran. This war must end immediately. In the last election Donald Trump pointed out, correctly, the huge amounts of money that had been wasted in wars that should have been spent rebuilding America. He campaigned as a “peace candidate,” and he promised no more “forever wars.” Well, he lied. One month ago Trump and his partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, started a war with Iran. This war is unconstitutional. Trump did not seek or receive authorization from Congress. This war is in violation of international law. One sovereign nation cannot simply go about attacking another sovereign nation for any reason it chooses. Since this war began 13 American soldiers have been killed and hundreds have been wounded — including another 12 yesterday. In Iran, nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed and many more wounded, and 498 schools have been attacked by American and Israeli missiles. In Lebanon, more than 1,000 people are dead and more than one million Lebanese people — 15% of their population — have been displaced from their homes. In Israel, 20 people have been killed and over 5,000 have been wounded. In the West Bank, Israeli vigilantes are burning down homes and killing Palestinians. At a time when gas prices are soaring, when many Americans cannot afford the basic necessities of life, it is estimated that this war has already cost us a trillion dollars. At a time when the American people are politically divided, there is one issue that is bringing us together. Conservatives, moderates and progressives are speaking out in unison: NO MORE WAR. And as a U.S. Senator, I want to say a few words to you about what I intend to do about that. First, we’ve got to make sure that Congress does not send another $200 billion to fight this war. That supplemental appropriation for the war in Iran must be defeated. Secondly, I will be forcing a vote on legislation to block the sale of nearly a billion dollars in weapons to the Israeli military for bombs and bulldozers. A nation that has committed genocide in Gaza does not need more military support from American taxpayers. We must block the bombs and block the bulldozers. My fellow Americans: We are all proud to live in a country which, throughout our history, has inspired people around the world to struggle for freedom, democracy and justice. And we understand that when we stand together, and don’t let demagogues divide us up, we can continue to inspire the world to believe in a brighter future. Yes, we can create a vibrant democracy by ending Citizens United and not allowing billionaires to buy elections. Yes, we can create an economy that works for every man, woman and child in our country and not just a handful of billionaires. Yes, we can make certain that the revolutionary technologies of artificial intelligence and robotics are used to improve life for all of us, not just the wealthy owners of that technology. Yes, we join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all people as a human right. Yes, instead of spending a trillion dollars a year on the military, we can wipe out homelessness and build millions of units of low-income and affordable housing. Yes, in the richest country on Earth, we can have the best public educational system in the world, with tuition-free schooling, from child care through higher education. Yes, we can expand Social Security and radically improve our pension system so that every senior in this country can retire with dignity. Yes, we can raise the minimum wage to a living wage and guarantee every worker the right to join a union. Yes, we can guarantee that every woman in this country has the right to control her own body. Yes, at a time when billionaires are paying an effective tax rate lower than a truck driver or nurse, we can make certain that the top 1% and large profitable corporations start paying their fair share in taxes. My fellow Americans: The establishment, including the corporate media and many of my colleagues in Congress, want you to believe that you are powerless. They want you to believe that you cannot change the status quo. But that’s a lie. Throughout the history of our country, when Americans have stood up and fought for justice, they have prevailed. The founders did it when they stood up to King George. The abolitionists did it when they ended slavery. The working class did it when they stood up to their bosses and formed unions. The suffragettes did it when they demanded that women have the right to vote. The LGBT community did it when they demanded basic human rights. Time and time again, in difficult moments in American history, our people stood up, fought back and won. They did it then. We can do it now. Today, March 28, 2026, millions of Americans are out on the streets demanding freedom, democracy and justice. But we must make certain: Today is not the end of our struggle. It is just the beginning. Together, when we stand united, we will create the kind of nation that you and I know we can become. The post No Kings in the Twin Cities appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Bernie Sanders.
Montana’s Ailing Rivers Need More Water, Not Words and Endless Studies
Forty-one years ago Gov. Ted Schwinden appointed me as chairman of his newly-formed Governor’s Drought Task Force. Montana’s legendary rivers were running dry, fish were dying, and the governor was whining, “I can’t make it rain.” So he appointed a task force. The truth is, he didn’t understand much about coldwater fisheries or that aquatic More The post Montana’s Ailing Rivers Need More Water, Not Words and Endless Studies appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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/> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-200x200.jpeg" class="alignright wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-200x200.jpeg 200w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-200x200.jpeg" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-200x200.jpeg 200w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2448" height="2467" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2.jpeg 2448w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 2448px) 100vw, 2448px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="625" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405366" class="wp-image-405366 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="685" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-680x685.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-625x630.jpeg 625w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-200x200.jpeg 200w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-768x774.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-1524x1536.jpeg 1524w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-2032x2048.jpeg 2032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-500x504.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-600x605.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bigholeriver2-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Big Hole River at Nez Perce camp, Big Hole National Battlefield. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. Forty-one years ago Gov. Ted Schwinden appointed me as chairman of his newly-formed Governor’s Drought Task Force. Montana’s legendary rivers were running dry, fish were dying, and the governor was whining, “I can’t make it rain.” So he appointed a task force. The truth is, he didn’t understand much about coldwater fisheries or that aquatic ecosystems are vibrant webs of life that rely on sufficient water to function and remain healthy. When the trout go belly up, you don’t just go to the pet store and buy some new ones … nor do you replace the desiccated insect population clinging to the dried riverbed rocks. The drought of ’85 was wicked, and followed by the severe drought of ’88, significantly impacted our rivers, streams, the fish and their food sources that rely on cold, clean and connected water to survive … the same exact necessities they evolved with over thousands of years. It’s safe to say that rivers and fish weren’t a concern more than one hundred years ago when the first water rights were filed, claiming as much water as they could, primarily for mining and ranching. When Montana became a state in 1889, those water rights were recognized under the Prior Appropriation Doctrine with the tenet that those who filed “first in time” were “first in right” for water use. But the Prior Appropriation Doctrine has very serious flaws that sacrifice the Public Trust Doctrine, which requires governments to maintain and protect public resources such as rivers and fish, to the priorities of the past. Simply put, Montana has given away more water rights and permits than there is water in our rivers and streams. That’s the baseline problem — which is now exacerbated due to increasingly low snowpacks and higher year-round temperatures. The river flows of the past, which were so generously allocated to diversionary commercial interests, no longer exist today. Yet, just this week the Legislature’s Environmental Quality Council heard more testimony on the very serious problems facing our rivers and streams and fish. Butte’s former legislator Jim Keane put it bluntly: “We’re in trouble.” This is nothing new; we’ve been “in trouble” for at least 40 years as ongoing droughts create ever more “low flow years.” In fact, in 1989 the legislature passed the water leasing for instream flows law that gave the state both the funds and the ability to lease water to keep our rivers and fish healthy. In ’93, that right was expanded to any willing lessee, willing lessor. In ’95, even more funds were specifically set aside to lease water for instream flows. Yet rather than address the primary issue, which is too little water left in rivers due to over-appropriation, legislators heard about studies for diseases, algae blooms, dissolved oxygen deficiencies, nutrients, and the never-ending recreation vs commercial conflicts over river use. Unfortunately, the state and the so-called river and fisheries “advocates” have been seriously delinquent in using the tools and funding already available to maintain instream flows to keep fish and aquatic ecosystems healthy. Despite the ability to do so, Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has never engaged in a serious, wide-spread attempt to contact water rights holders to lease water for our hundreds of chronically-dewatered rivers. Nor have the river and fisheries “advocacy” groups. Had the state or the organizations done the work to lease sufficient water for instream flows, Montana’s rivers would not now be “in trouble.” Instead, we get more words and studies rather than providing enough water for our rivers and fish to survive — and until they do, the “trouble” is only going to get worse. The post Montana’s Ailing Rivers Need More Water, Not Words and Endless Studies appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by George Ochenski.
For whatever reason, our president has been sucked deeply into just the variety of foreign entanglement that he campaigned against. While he and his absurdly gung-ho “Secretary of War” assert that they are not bent on nation-building like their supposedly hapless and woke predecessors, they sure seem to be trying to build an Iranian state More The post Iran and the Illusions of War appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
For whatever reason, our president has been sucked deeply into just the variety of foreign entanglement that he campaigned against. While he and his absurdly gung-ho “Secretary of War” assert that they are not bent on nation-building like their supposedly hapless and woke predecessors, they sure seem to be trying to build an Iranian state with whom we can “peacefully” coexist—by killing as many potential Iranian leaders as they can. It is not going to work. Neither America nor Israel will become more secure in the long run. If anything good comes of such so-called (and despicably named) “mowing the grass,” I’ll eat my hat. Sweet Jesus, our benighted species does sometimes seem awesomely stuck on stupid. Here we are a quarter into the 21st century with two world wars and a series of futile superpower “excursions” into Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan behind us. Russia remains bogged down in the middle of a brutal and cruel “special military operation.” Ahead of us looms a global climate emergency wherein the minimum terms of global survival will be the mass adoption of solar, wind and other renewables. Yes, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has demonstrated the significant continuing demand for oil and other essential commodities, but the era of fossil fuels is clearly winding down, notwithstanding the president’s ostrich-like denial of climate and obligation to the oil execs who helped pay for his re-election. In order to keep on assuming that adventures like the cooperative bombing of Iran by the U.S. and Israel will result in anything positive at all, let alone unalloyed positive good, it is necessary to cling rigidly to a series of illusions. A few are listed below, along with their equivalent counter arguments. •Massive firepower has the capacity to permanently erase ideology, collective resentment and a desire for vengeance. (Nope. This campaign has intensified Iran’s hatred of Israel and America in a way that almost inevitably will carry into further generations.) •Massive firepower has the ability to obliterate all of Iran’s war-making capacity, including its capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons. (Nope. A resentful angry regime will only bide time, rebuild, and hit back down the road. It is impossible to uninvent nuclear weapons. It may even be impossible to stop the sale of a nuclear weapon by one country to another, or the smuggling of same into “enemy territory.” And if God forbid a nuclear holocaust results, we will finally realize that all the wars humans have been fighting are really civil wars. We, we the human species, have become our own worst enemy. All territory is either enemy territory or an occasion for people to wake up and realize that everyone shares an overarching interest in survival—a deep potential bond with “enemies.”) •America and Israel are totally good and Iran is totally evil. (Sorry, nope. At this point in human history every schoolchild needs to be taught the rudiments of shadow work. It’s now two thousand years since a wise teacher said: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Yes, evil is real, but it is not all over there in the “other.” We have a far better chance of dealing creatively with evil if our brain is not addled by projected blame and fantasies of vengeance and omnipotence. Iranians remember vividly the 1953 British-American coup against them as a gross illegal attempt to de-legitimize a democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mossedegh.) •Violence permanently resolves conflict. (Nope, it’s exactly the opposite. Violence perpetuates conflict—all the more when we “make a devastation and call it peace.”) It is long past the moment when we need to think creatively about where such stubbornly held illusions and simplifications are taking us. A brief catalog of different models of thinking that might help move war from our immediate go-to reaction to our absolute last resort: •Recognizing my own capacity for blame, indifference, and moral simplification. •Acknowledging the pull of vengeful feeling without allowing it to govern action. •Seeing my own capacity for harm, and the shared human condition beneath conflict. •Understanding that ideas and resentments persist beyond physical destruction. •Acknowledging that survival is uncertain in a world where others are not secure. •Accepting that militants cannot be cleanly distinguished from civilians—including children— in modern war. And most of all learning to put myself in my adversary’s shoes, in order to listen for common ground. It is easy to destroy. It is much harder to painstakingly push for diplomatic solutions that have the potential to prevent the expense, waste and horror of war. An even more radical way to define our challenge is a line from W.H Auden’s great poem “September 1, 1939”: “We must love one another or die.” The post Iran and the Illusions of War appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Winslow Myers.
Shortly after the US launched its war on Iran, military officials reportedly told lawmakers that it would cost about $1.5 billion per day. There were reasons to believe that this was likely an undercount. Those impressions were bolstered once reports surfaced that the Pentagon is seeking an additional $200 billion appropriation from Congress. Even with More The post $200 Billion: The Costs of the Iran War appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Shortly after the US launched its war on Iran, military officials reportedly told lawmakers that it would cost about $1.5 billion per day. There were reasons to believe that this was likely an undercount. Those impressions were bolstered once reports surfaced that the Pentagon is seeking an additional $200 billion appropriation from Congress. Even with a military budget that exceeds $1 trillion, this is a substantial increase in spending. Since Trump took office, the White House and the Republican majority in Congress have enacted sharp cuts to social spending and safety net programs – most prominently as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) – because they thought it necessary to rein in government spending. On an annual basis, several of the most high profile cuts are estimated to cost less the Iran war’s $200 billion price tag: + Medicaid cuts: $100 billion + Cuts to the SNAP food assistance program: $20 billion + Expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies: $30 billion + Recissions package cutting foreign aid and Corporation for Public Broadcasting: $9 billion The health care cuts are projected to cause millions of people to lose their coverage. Millions will lose their food assistance, leading to potentially tens of thousands of avoidable deaths. Trump has said that the additional war funding is “a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top.” When it comes to these other programs, though, evidently the price was too high. This first appeared on CEPR. The post $200 Billion: The Costs of the Iran War appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Peter Hart.
Will the US-Israeli War on Iran Open the Road to Palestinian Freedom?
Some are expressing frustration that Iran’s conditions to end the war have not explicitly and unequivocally included a demand to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and dismantle the apartheid regime. Among the conditions circulated in Iranian and sympathetic media—though not formally confirmed by Tehran—is the proposition that any resolution must include an end to More The post Will the US-Israeli War on Iran Open the Road to Palestinian Freedom? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Some are expressing frustration that Iran’s conditions to end the war have not explicitly and unequivocally included a demand to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and dismantle the apartheid regime. Among the conditions circulated in Iranian and sympathetic media—though not formally confirmed by Tehran—is the proposition that any resolution must include an end to Israel’s war across all fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and beyond. However, these conditions did not specifically prioritize the freedom of Palestine as a precondition to ending the war. That frustration is neither misplaced nor marginal. For many, Palestine is not one issue among others, but the defining axis of the conflict itself. Precisely for that reason, however, it cannot be approached in isolation. To treat the current war solely through what has or has not been explicitly stated risks narrowing a profoundly complex confrontation into a single dimension, when in fact it is through this broader, interconnected struggle that the question of Palestine is ultimately being shaped, contested, and potentially resolved. Several strands of analysis capture elements of this reality, but few sustain it. Some focus narrowly on Israeli domestic politics, arguing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war to preserve his coalition, delay accountability, and avoid legal consequences that could end his political career. Others shift to a broader strategic reading, situating the war within Israel’s long-standing pursuit of regional dominance—neutralizing adversaries, expanding normalization, and consolidating its position as the central power in the region. A third line of analysis, closer to the mainstream, continues to operate within the declared framework of Washington and Tel Aviv. Even when it introduces criticism, it remains anchored in the language of Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli “security,” and the familiar architecture of justification. This framework is not neutral. It systematically evades assigning responsibility to Israel for the war, just as it has persistently refused to confront the genocide in Gaza. Even its criticisms of US President Donald Trump remain procedural—focused on the White House’s unclear objectives, poor coordination, and contradictory messaging—rather than on the political and moral logic driving the war itself. Between narrowly internal explanations and an increasingly hollow mainstream narrative, the broader historical trajectory disappears from view. The truth lies elsewhere. The Middle East has not entered a crisis suddenly. It has been shaped—deliberately—for instability. What we are witnessing is not an abrupt rupture, but the acceleration of a long-standing historical process that is now reaching a decisive phase. The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, concluded between Britain and France, did not simply divide territory; it engineered fragmentation. Arbitrary borders were imposed with little regard for historical, cultural, or social realities, ensuring that the region would remain politically fractured and externally manageable. This colonial framework was later reinforced through post-World War II arrangements that transferred effective control of the region to the United States. A defining moment came in 1945, when US President Franklin D. Roosevelt met Saudi King Abdulaziz aboard the USS Quincy, establishing a strategic formula: American security guarantees in exchange for stable access to oil resources. That arrangement evolved, particularly in the 1970s, into the petrodollar system, whereby global oil transactions were denominated in US dollars. The consequences were structural. Global demand for the dollar was secured, and the strength of the US economy became directly tied to its influence over Middle Eastern energy flows. From that point onward, US dominance in the region was not merely strategic—it was foundational to the global economic order. When did this begin to shift? A common answer points to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Intended to consolidate American control, the war instead destabilized the region in profound and lasting ways, exposing the limits of direct military intervention and accelerating forces that Washington itself could not fully contain. By 2011, the United States began to recalibrate. The Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia” reflected a strategic reorientation toward China, while in the Middle East, Washington adopted a more indirect model of engagement—often described as “leading from behind.” This approach was evident in Libya in 2011, where NATO forces, under US coordination, intervened militarily without a large-scale American ground presence, resulting not in stability, but in state collapse. Across Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere, the United States increasingly relied on proxies, regional alliances, and hybrid forms of warfare. It sought to maintain influence while reducing the political and financial costs of direct occupation. Within this evolving framework, Israel assumed a more central role. It was no longer simply an ally, but a pillar—positioned as a regional guarantor of security within a US-led order. Arab states, particularly in the Gulf, were incorporated into this arrangement as economic partners, their normalization with Israel framed as both pragmatic and inevitable. The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, formalized this shift. They were not merely diplomatic agreements but components of a broader project to reorganize the Middle East in alignment with US and Israeli strategic priorities. While widely described as a betrayal of Palestine—and rightly so—the Accords were also designed to bypass the Palestinian question altogether. Jared Kushner articulated this logic explicitly, arguing that regional cooperation and economic integration could proceed independently of resolving Palestinian rights. The discourse itself began to shift accordingly. Israel adopted and expanded the language of a “new Middle East,” advancing a vision in which it occupies a central, uncontested position. This vision was made unmistakably clear in September 2023, when Netanyahu addressed the United Nations and presented a map of the region that excluded Palestine entirely—a political statement as much as a visual one. Yet even the genocide in Gaza did not fundamentally disrupt this trajectory. Several Arab governments, despite rhetorical condemnation, continued to prioritize the preservation of this emerging order, investing political capital in its survival while offering little meaningful support to Palestinians. This posture is not accidental. Many Gulf states were not the product of anti-colonial liberation movements, but of colonial arrangements. As former British protectorates, their political and security systems remain deeply intertwined with Western power. Their limited population size, territorial depth, and strategic autonomy render them dependent on external guarantees for survival. With China still cautious in projecting military power, and unwilling—at least for now—to replace the United States as a security patron, these states remain anchored to Western political validation, military protection, and technological infrastructure. From their perspective, the collapse of the existing order is not liberation—it is risk. This helps explain the absence of any serious shift in their stance toward Israel, even when Israeli leaders openly articulate expansionist ambitions. Netanyahu himself has repeatedly framed Israel’s role in terms that suggest a broader regional project—namely “Greater Israel”—one that extends beyond partnership into dominance. Such statements, while alarming to some, have not fundamentally altered the calculations of Arab regimes. They have long understood the nature of Israeli power, yet continue to operate within a system that rewards alignment with stronger actors, not resistance to them. With all of this in mind, the US-Israeli war on Iran cannot be understood as a series of isolated decisions or short-term calculations. It is the outcome of a layered and cumulative historical trajectory. Yes, Netanyahu seeks political survival. Yes, US policy remains deeply shaped by pro-Israel influence. But to reduce the war to these factors alone is to miss its structural function: the attempt to impose a new regional order. It is precisely within this broader context that the Palestinian resistance in Gaza must be understood. It was never intended to defeat Israel in conventional military terms. Rather, its objective was to widen the scope of the conflict, disrupt Israel’s ability to unilaterally reshape the region, and challenge what can be understood as an emerging ‘Sykes-Picot II’—this time centered on Israeli dominance. Israel is fully aware of this dynamic. Hence its constant framing of the war as existential, equating it with its founding moment in 1948—the Nakba, and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Yet Iran’s powerful response, the sustained role of Hezbollah, the involvement of Ansarallah, and the broader consolidation of the Axis of Resistance suggest that Israel may not achieve its strategic objectives after all. And this is precisely where much of the prevailing analysis falls short. For the Axis of Resistance, victory does not require a decisive military triumph. It requires endurance. Not losing, in this context, is itself a strategic victory. Such an outcome would not simply interrupt the existing trajectory; it would begin to reverse it. The strategic arc that followed the Iraq war—reinforced by the ‘pivot to Asia’, the collapse of the Arab uprisings, and the normalization process—would be fundamentally unsettled. Israel’s role as a regional ‘security’ guarantor would be weakened, compelling Arab regimes to reassess their alignments and, potentially, to explore new forms of regional coexistence—not with Israel, but with Iran. In that same moment, the United States would face a narrowing set of options: either deepen its entanglement in a region it has been attempting to recalibrate away from, or accept an altered geopolitical landscape in which Iran and its allies are no longer peripheral actors, but entrenched and unavoidable forces in shaping the region’s future. While this alone will not liberate Palestine or dismantle apartheid, it would nonetheless open new political, geopolitical, and legal spaces for Palestinians to operate—spaces made possible by shifting regional balances and a loosening of long-standing constraints. If the US-Israeli war on Iran fails, the implications will extend well beyond the battlefield. What will begin to unravel is not only the existing balance of power, but the very language and assumptions that have governed the region for decades. In that context, global powers such as China and Russia are likely to position themselves more assertively as alternative economic and strategic partners, seeking to capitalize on a changing regional landscape. At the same time, some European states—already signaling discomfort with US policy—may attempt to negotiate new arrangements, particularly given the strategic centrality of the Strait of Hormuz and its direct implications for global energy flows. Countries across the Global South may also draw lessons from this moment, exploring forms of regional cooperation that challenge inherited colonial frameworks and long-standing hierarchies of power. Taken together, these shifts do not resolve the ‘Palestinian question’—but they do create openings. They expand the terrain on which Palestinians and their allies, including the global solidarity movement, can act, organize, and exert pressure. With support for Israel declining among ordinary Americans, and with global solidarity for Palestine reaching unprecedented levels—including within Western societies—the contours of a broader political shift are already emerging. The challenge now is not simply to recognize that change is underway, but to understand its depth and direction, so as not to remain confined to partial readings of the war on Iran. It must instead be engaged as part of a larger struggle over the future of the region, in which Palestine remains central. The post Will the US-Israeli War on Iran Open the Road to Palestinian Freedom? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Ramzy Baroud.
The Forest Service Cannot Cut the Public Out of Determining the Future of Holland Lake Lodge
Holland Lake Lodge is located on public land in the Flathead National Forest in western Montana. Yet the Forest Service is effectively cutting the public out of how and for whom public lands and dollars will be used with its proposal to rebuild the privately-operated Lodge’s sewage system. Forest Supervisor Anthony Botello determined the multi-million dollar More The post The Forest Service Cannot Cut the Public Out of Determining the Future of Holland Lake Lodge appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405408" class="wp-image-405408 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-680x455.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="455" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-680x455.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-941x630.jpg 941w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-768x514.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-1536x1028.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-500x335.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802-600x402.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Holland_Lake_with_Holland_Falls_in_the_Distance_7369972802.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Holland Lake. Photo: US Forest Service. Holland Lake Lodge is located on public land in the Flathead National Forest in western Montana. Yet the Forest Service is effectively cutting the public out of how and for whom public lands and dollars will be used with its proposal to rebuild the privately-operated Lodge’s sewage system. Forest Supervisor Anthony Botello determined the multi-million dollar rebuild is a “Categorical Exemption” under the National Environmental Policy Act, which greatly curtails public involvement and environmental review. This is not a small project and could expose Holland Lake – a pristine mountain lake near the Bob Marshall Wilderness – to sewage contamination if the system fails. Botello wants to expand the capacity of the wastewater treatment pond at Holland Lake by five times so the new private business managing Holland Lake Lodge can make more money. Botello won’t say how much our bill is, only that it will be in the millions of dollars. Just to be clear, Botello wants taxpayers to pay millions to greatly expand the size of the wastewater treatment pond to benefit a private business, but the American people cannot have a say in this decision. Only the Forest Service and the private corporation do. What could go wrong? For one thing, the new plan will pump human waste and food waste directly into the sewage pond and then spray it onto the surrounding forest directly above the existing Forest Service campground. The previous design pumped the sewage into the pond after it first sat in a septic tank where the solids sunk to the bottom. But as the Forest Service’s own signs warn: “This is bear country!” Sewage ponds with food waste pumped directly into them will undoubtedly attract grizzly bears. How could anyone think luring grizzly bears with a pond full of food waste next to a campground is a good idea? The new sewage pond will require 15,000 cubic yards of fill to raise a 2-acre site 10 feet higher and is based on a design that has failed twice in the last 20 years. A similar design, with less than half the seismic potential, failed in Idaho in a moderate earthquake. If an earthquake causes the sewage pond to collapse, the sewage will run downhill, through the campground, right into Holland Lake. I doubt if the people who can afford to stay at Holland Lake Lodge will like swimming in raw sewage — but the bull trout in Holland Lake, listed as threatened on the Endangered Species list, certainly won’t. The purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act is to ensure the federal government “looks before it leaps” and gives the public a say in how our public lands are managed. Instead, federal bureaucrats apparently have decided we, the public, don’t deserve to have a say. Instead, they are consulting behind closed doors with the Utah businessman who wants to get rich by turning Holland Lake Lodge into a retreat for the wealthy to have weddings and parties. It is clear the public must be involved in the plans to reopen Holland Lake Lodge. Former Forest Supervisor, Kurt Steele, lost his job for trying to keep the public in the dark. If Botello continues to “exempt” the public, he should be replaced as well. Please tell the Forest Service that we have had enough of their secret plans. The American people deserve a say in what happens at Holland Lake and who gets to go there. Billionaires have already ruined Big Sky. Let’s protect Holland Lake and return Holland Lake Lodge to a place all Americans can enjoy, not just billionaires. The post The Forest Service Cannot Cut the Public Out of Determining the Future of Holland Lake Lodge appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Mike Garrity.
God’s Little Loophole: Spain’s Public Funding of Private Prejudice
One hears, with some regularity, the accusation that Spain remains a nation trapped in its own medieval amber. The Black Legend, that centuries-old smear campaign prosecuted by Spain’s Protestant competitors, painted Torquemada’s homeland as a place where thought crimes were extracted by garotte and the Inquisition functioned less as a theological corrective than as a More The post God’s Little Loophole: Spain’s Public Funding of Private Prejudice appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
One hears, with some regularity, the accusation that Spain remains a nation trapped in its own medieval amber. The Black Legend, that centuries-old smear campaign prosecuted by Spain’s Protestant competitors, painted Torquemada’s homeland as a place where thought crimes were extracted by garotte and the Inquisition functioned less as a theological corrective than as a particularly enthusiastic human resources department. It is, one is told, a calumny. A slander. The fantasies of jealous northern Europeans who have never experienced a proper lunch. And frankly, the evidence supports the defense. Spend a weekend in Maspalomas, where the dunes host what is arguably Europe’s most magnificently libertine open-air congregation, or in Ibiza, where the sacraments are administered at four in the morning and nobody is entirely sure what they just took, and this image of Talibanic repression dissolves faster than the sheen of lubricant on the surface of the club swimming pool. Tolerance is on display everywhere. Spain legalized same-sex marriage in 2005, a full decade before the land of the Magna Carta got around to it. Its gender equality legislation, is a document of such fastidious progressivism that it would make a Scandinavian blush. No profession, it states with admirable clarity, may bar entry to a person on grounds of their sex. No profession, that is, except the one the government helps pay for. Spain has outlawed discrimination on the basis of sex. It also funds it—lavishly—when the institution in question is old enough and wears vestments. Walk into any of the country’s magnificent cathedrals on a Sunday morning — and they are magnificent, which is part of the problem, because it is very difficult to be properly furious inside something that beautiful — and observe the ritual with the detached eye of, say, an anthropologist who has stumbled upon a particularly well-funded cargo cult. There at the pulpit stands a man. Usually of retirement age. If younger, frequently foreign, which raises its own questions about the domestic recruitment pipeline — Spain has hemorrhaged thousands of local conscripts since the sputtering out of their fascist dictatorship, a staffing crisis that the institution has addressed not by reconsidering its eligibility criteria but by importing replacements from Eastern Europe, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. One notes, with some admiration for the consistency involved, that the Church has chosen to solve its shortage of men by finding more men elsewhere, rather than glancing at the 51% of the population that has been waiting quietly in the pews. This man is delivering to a congregation that is itself largely geriatric, a sermon whose intellectual content has not been substantially updated since the Council of Trent, on the common subjects of: the inadvisability of women wearing skirts above the knee, the spiritual dangers of loving the wrong person, and the eternal importance of a wife’s submission to her husband, her protector, her king. This last point is sourced, we are to understand, directly from the Pauline bits, and is therefore non-negotiable. The women, meanwhile, are assigned roles commensurate with their theological status: they may arrange flowers, launder vestments, organise the parish raffle. The Church has always found uses for women’s labour. It is women’s authority that presents the doctrinal difficulty. Now. The Spanish Constitution, Article 14, guarantees equality before the law regardless of sex. The Ley Orgánica 3/2007 closes every conceivable loophole. And yet that pulpit — that publicly subsidized pulpit — remains, by law, by treaty, by the solemn agreement of a supposedly secular democratic state, a Y-chromosome-only establishment. The theological justification for this arrangement is, it must be said, one of the more ambitious pieces of reasoning in the history of human thought. The female of the species is ineligible for ordination because she is, in the founding mythology of the enterprise, derived from the rib of the first man, created as his companion and subsequently responsible, via a spectacularly ill-advised conversation with a talking snake, for the introduction of knowledge, suffering, and the general inconvenience of history into what had previously been a perfectly adequate garden. The precise date of this catastrophe, according to the seventeenth-century Bishop James Ussher’s admirably specific calculations, was the 23rd of October, 4004 BCE — a Sunday, as it happens, which at least has the virtue of explaining why Sundays feel the way they do. This is the intellectual foundation upon which a modern democratic state has agreed to rest its employment exemption. The legal mechanism deserves a moment of appreciation, because it is a genuinely elegant piece of architecture, in the way that a confidence trick is elegant. Nearly five decades ago, just days after Spain’s new post-Franco Constitution took effect, the new government promised the Vatican that despite an official separation of church and state it would continue Franco’s old practice of financially assisting Spain’s Roman Catholic Church until it could stand on its own. Spain is still waiting for that day to arrive. Through subsidies, exemptions and tax breaks, the government has paid the Church an estimated €5 billion per year — for its schools, for the upkeep of its property, for Catholic facilities in prisons and hospitals, and, via the tax return mechanism, for the general operational costs of an institution that exclusively employs men in its senior roles. The mechanism is, one concedes, fiendishly clever. Taxpayers who submit their income tax return can allocate 0.7% of their total contribution to the Catholic Church (and no other denomination) — an allocation that does not mean they pay more or receive less back. The tax authority helpfully clarifies that your choice “will have no economic cost” and will not change “the amount to be paid or refunded.” One almost misses the medieval frankness. The state is not, you understand, the employer. It is merely the cashpoint. It processes the transaction; the Church decides, on the basis of a rib extracted in a garden approximately six thousand years ago, who may receive the proceeds. This distinction, we are assured, makes all the difference. The public funding that the Episcopal Conference receives through this tax allocation exceeded 250 million euros as recently as 2016, a figure that actually increased during the years of austerity when the government was cutting public services. Nurses were being laid off. Teachers were losing their jobs. But the institution that believes women were created as a derivative of man was doing rather well, thank you. And if anyone wants to play semantic tennis about whether the state is “the employer,” Spain has also baked Catholic chaplaincies into public institutions: hospitals are funded “through the corresponding budget allocation,” with pay scales explicitly set out in the published agreement, and prisons historically included even a Cuerpo de Capellanes mechanism and state-funded personnel subsidies. The theology stays private; the pay structure is public. One observes, in the spirit of completeness, that an overseers report concluded that some 440,000 adults may have suffered sexual abuse in Spain by people linked to the Church, with roughly half of those cases committed by clergy. The exclusively male clergy, one might add, though one appreciates that this is considered bad form to mention. Which brings us, with the grinding inevitability of a homily approaching its third point, to Sagunto. In this ancient Roman city on the Valencian coast, the Cofradía de la Purísima Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo — a brotherhood, the name doing precisely the theological labor one might expect — claims to have been organizing Holy Week processions since 1492. That year being, for anyone keeping score, the same year Spain expelled its Jewish population and Columbus sailed to the Americas, which gives some sense of the vintage of the traditions under discussion. The institution counts 1,700 members, of whom 1,200 may vote, and in a recent ballot 267 members expressed themselves explicitly against allowing women to join, versus 114 in favor. This was, remarkably, the third time the question has been put forward. In 1999, a similar vote was held in which only nine cofrades supported inclusion. In 2022 the experience was repeated with the same result, though the yes votes climbed to 135. The direction of travel is clear; the speed suggests we should not hold our breath. The reaction from the Equality Minister, Ana Redondo, was swift, righteous, and — if one is in the business of applying consistent principles — rather magnificently ironic. She declared on social media that cofradías cannot place themselves outside the constitutional framework and must guarantee the equality recognized in the Constitution. ” Holy Week must also be equal. We are going to take action.” The government duly announced it would begin proceedings to strip the Sagunto Holy Week of its designation as a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional, citing a Ministerial Order which requires that such celebrations demonstrate broad civic participation — a requirement that excluding half the population might, one hesitatingly suggests, complicate. This is all, in isolation, entirely correct. The Instituto de las Mujeres has reminded the cofradía that preventing women’s participation does not constitute a tradition, but a form of discrimination prohibited by law and contrary to fundamental rights. Quite right. One agrees completely. And all of it is beside the point. The same government that will strip Sagunto of its tourist designation for barring women from a procession continues to channel hundreds of millions of euros annually to an institution that bars women from ordination on the grounds that they are ontologically inferior to men — and has declared this position to be a matter of divine revelation not subject to democratic revision. The Arzobispado de Valencia, for its part, avoided pronouncing on the Sagunto vote entirely, citing respect for the autonomy of the cofradías — the autonomy, one notes, that the Church vigorously defends for itself while declining to extend it to women who might wish to celebrate mass. The Ministry of Equality versus a Valencian brotherhood founded in the times of the Inquisition is, cinematically speaking, a compelling duel. The Ministry of Equality versus the Vatican concordat of 1979 is, apparently, a different film entirely. One that nobody in the government seems to have commissioned. El País, the nation’s newspaper of record, has published a suitably indignant editorial about Sagunto. It is, one must concede, well-argued. It correctly identifies the vote — 267 against admitting women, 114 in favor, a margin that actually widened compared to the last time the question was put — as an “exhibition of power over women.” The article invokes Article 14. It cites a Constitutional Court ruling on a similar cofradía in La Laguna, Tenerife, in which the Court found that private associations cannot hide behind their own autonomy when they occupy a dominant position in cultural and social life. It quotes, with appropriate tartness, the cofrades‘ defence — “la tradición es la tradición” — before responding: “y la Constitución es la Constitución.” Bravo. Quite right. One agrees with every word. The editorial also finds space to note what women are permitted to do within the Sagunto cofradía: they may clean the ermita, repair the vestas — the ceremonial robes worn by the men — and help those men dress before the procession. They are, in other words, permitted to launder, mend, and assist with the costuming for a ceremony from which they will then be excluded. This is not tradition. It’s a job description—one the Church has been posting for two millennia, with a benefits package that includes cosmic justification for the wage gap. What El País’s editorial does not do — in 500 words of otherwise admirably clear constitutional reasoning — is mention the priesthood. Not once. The word sacerdote does not appear. The Acuerdos with the Holy See are not referenced. The annual subsidy, conservatively estimated at five billion euros, is not discussed. The Constitutional Court’s principle — that private associations cannot claim autonomous self-organization when they occupy a dominant position in cultural life — is deployed with precision against 1,700 men in Sagunto and then, apparently, retired from service before it can be pointed in any other direction. This is, in its own way, a masterclass in the architecture of selective principle. The editorial’s implicit argument, stripped of its elegance, is this: discrimination is discrimination, the Constitution is the Constitution, tradition cannot override fundamental rights — unless the tradition is old enough, the institution large enough, and the treaty complicated enough that challenging it would require a different kind of editorial altogether. One published, perhaps, on a weekday rather than a Sunday, when the readership is smaller and the Church less likely to notice. The editorial’s silence is not an oversight. It is the unspoken bargain of Spanish transition politics: the Church’s constitutional exemption is not a legal loophole but a political settlement, one that neither major party has an interest in disturbing—and that therefore does not appear in editorials. “La tradición es la tradición,” say the cofrades of Sagunto. Indeed. And the concordat is the concordat. And five billion euros a year is five billion euros a year. The Constitution, one recognizes, is also still the Constitution — it does not contain an asterisk directing the reader to the footnote where the Vatican exemption is explained. That footnote lives elsewhere, in the comfortable silence between what Spain’s institutions say and what Spain’s institutions do. And yet — and here the argument performs the turn that makes it genuinely thought provoking — one is compelled to ask the question that the indignant editorials conspicuously avoid. Even if one grants the legal argument entirely—and one should—there remains a more uncomfortable question: Why, precisely, would any woman want this? This is not a counsel of despair or a concession to the misogynists. It is a genuine inquiry into the nature of the prize being contested. We are speaking of an institution that allegedly debated, with full theological seriousness and relatively recently in historical terms, whether women possessed souls at all — a question which, one discovers, no one thought to put to the women. An institution whose foundational narrative casts the first woman as the vector of original catastrophe. Whose current doctrinal position — that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is a matter of divine revelation rather than mere custom — is not an accident of history but a considered and, in Rome’s view, permanently settled commitment. Demanding admission to this establishment in the name of equality is, one submits, a little like a committed vegan launching a legal challenge to gain entry to a nose-to-tail supper club on the grounds that exclusion is discriminatory. Technically, perhaps. But one wonders what victory looks like. A front-row seat at a ceremony you find theologically repellent, conducted by an institution that has spent two millennia systematically refining its justifications for your secondary status? One finds themselves wondering—perversely, perhaps—whether a Black plaintiff suing the Klan for membership wouldn’t at least have the satisfaction of bankrupting them. What does a woman win by joining a club whose founding document attributes the fall of man to her? A seat at the table, or a place on the menu? The question of whether women should be allowed to serve as priests is entirely distinct from the question of whether women should wish to. The former is a matter of law, consistency, and the intellectual hygiene of not maintaining simultaneously that no job may bar applicants by sex and that this particular job may do so, provided the employer is old enough and well-connected enough. The latter is a matter of whether, having won the argument, you actually want the prize — membership of an institution who blames you for paradise lost, and whose current leadership considers your exclusion to be the direct will of God. Spain is, genuinely, one of the more remarkable social experiments in modern European history — a country that moved, within a single generation, from Francoist theocracy to constitutional pluralism. The speed of that transformation deserves respect. What it does not deserve is the comfortable pretense that the transformation is complete. That subsidizing gender discrimination is legally coherent because the discriminating institution is large enough and old enough. That being outraged about a Valencian brotherhood while maintaining respectful silence about the Vatican concordat represents a principled position rather than a political one. That denouncing a thousand-odd-man cofradía that was supposedly founded in 1492 is progressive whilst the 1979 deal with the Holy See — signed, let us not forget, while the country was still warm from forty years of theocratic fascism and perhaps not in the optimal condition for cool-headed treaty negotiations — remains above scrutiny. The Black Legend, as we established, is a slander. But the White Legend — the one in which Spain has fully resolved its relationship with institutional misogyny and the state subsidy thereof — is a comfort blanket. And it is, on Sunday mornings, publicly funded to the tune of a quarter of a billion euros a year. The Inquisition, it turns out, never ended. It reorganized. It acquired a legal department. And it learned to file for VAT exemptions. And somewhere in the Vatican, a man in a dress is still explaining why the rib came second. The post God’s Little Loophole: Spain’s Public Funding of Private Prejudice appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Troy Nahumko.
Painter Veronica Fernandez on finding your version of ambition
So your painting studio is upstairs in your house? How does that affect your process?
So your painting studio is upstairs in your house? How does that affect your process? I make really big pieces, and when I sort of consolidated—I now have my studio upstairs, which is basically just a normal-sized bedroom—that’s actually what inspired me to make really small pieces. I never work small. For this show, I had to reteach myself how to make small pieces. So I was struggling a lot at first, because I was like, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know how to make super small paintings,” and I wanted to challenge myself. But sometimes I’ll take a pillow and now I can work on my stomach in the living room. [*laughs*] And I have a mini easel, too, that I take around the house if I want to do something while I’m painting. I feel like that’s an inversion of what you would expect. People usually find working bigger to be challenging and expanding. What are the challenges or the difficulties of learning how to work on a smaller scale? Some of the figures in the works are literally the size of my finger or my pinky! Doing face details, doing the anatomy of the figures, doing clothing—any sort of detail—and just adding texture in general. Trying to learn how to use space properly and having to use really tiny brushes, and getting used to using a brush with a few hairs on it, as opposed to my big brushes where I could just be like, whoosh, put that everywhere, add movement everywhere… Because it’s just so tiny, I have to step back or I’ll get a headache. Something different that I noticed, working smaller, was the use of color in general, and also not overworking the pieces. I only had limited space, so I didn’t feel the need to add something. When I was doing the small paintings, it’s kind of forced to be done. I mean, what else am I going to add? Not that I wasn’t intentional before, but I felt a lot more strict with being intentional about things, and leaving things out, and leaving open space where I can. So some of the decisions are being made for you now, in a way? Yeah. It feels like they’re these little trinkets almost, and I’m being very careful with them—being very careful with all the little details and how I paint the figures, and where I put emotion in the painting. It’s kind of just picking and choosing where the magic happens, where the psychology of the figures comes in, because it can’t just be everywhere. There’s no space for that. Veronica Fernandez, Before the Light Goes Out, 2026, oil on panel, 12 7/8 x 18 7/8 inches. When you’re sketching, are you usually starting with references, or are you going off the dome and improvising? Depending on the painting, I’ll go straight off the dome. But usually, if I already know maybe something’s under the umbrella of a body of work already, I’ll have a few references of what I want to do. A lot of my sketchbooks are all full. When I start a painting officially, it’s usually two sketches that were combined, and that’s the idea. So my sketches aren’t necessarily for one painting. It’s mostly a bunch of different sketches of different things happening, and then they combine, sort of like layers like PhotoShop. Can you give me an example of you using that process in the current show? So I have this mini painting, and it’s a diptych. The painting’s called Before the Light Goes Out, and there’s just a kid standing there. He has a pot full of water, the roof is dripping… So the sketch was that kid looking through the door, and then a couch next to him with the pots, and then another sketch I had was this shelf with a cat jumping off of it, and things falling off the shelf. The painting has the kid looking at the shelf and all these things are falling. It kind of just adds to the room, whereas before it was just a door that he was looking out at. Now there’s furniture in the room, there’s the shelf there, there’s movement there. I noticed that there’s always motion and action happening in the paintings, or a sense that the scene you’re depicting is in between two other scenes. How often is that a conscious choice? I feel like it’s more conscious for this show, because I’ve had some paintings where they felt so still and I looked back at them like, “This painting’s so stiff.” This body of work, it talks a lot about things changing over time, things fluctuating, a lot of different emotions and things happening at once. I try to add this sort of movement to set the tone for the piece. You already talked about this a little bit, but how does a painting begin for you? I have a folder called “references” on my phone and it’s full of old photos that my family members have sent me. In my studio, I have a giant stack of my own memorabilia, or objects that I appreciate. So I usually look at photographs and I’ll do the sketches in pieces, like I said, where I take one sketch and add another to it, or just try to do as much brainstorming as I can. And I also write. Those three different things will create a piece. I have a lot of poetry that I write, and sometimes I just look at the lines that I wrote or the different themes in the poetry, and that’ll set the mood for a piece and give me the idea of what reference I use. Are you writing poems to finish them and have them be their own thing, or are you using poetry as a springboard for painting? This is so silly, but I’m a little embarrassed about poetry. I think it’s because I just started and I’m not used to it. So it is very raw. I have some finished poetry that I have included once or twice in shows that I’ve done, but then I also have these pieces of poetry that are super quick or super long, and they’re just rambling thoughts, but I like them a lot. I’m just so… not ashamed, but I feel like I’m just scared, and get some sort of anxiety about them because I’m not used to them. So they are a very exciting part of the practice that contribute a lot, but they’re hidden. Veronica Fernandez, Close To Power, 2026, oil on panel, 18 3/4 × 24 3/4 × 2 1/4 inches. Tell me a little bit about your day-to-day, your routine around art making. Are you pretty strict with your time? Are you structured? Are you a little bit more scrambly, sprawly? I work really, really early, and I love working really, really late. I hate afternoon. I just feel like that’s a dead time. It gets really hot during the day, and I’m just confused. [*laughs*] So during the afternoon, I kind of wander around. But when I wake up, I always make sure that I at least start by 8:00, and so I’m getting ready by 7:00, getting my food together. All the background noise gets set up for exactly 8:00. From there I usually only pause for meals or for contacting people, and then I kind of work until night. I just love working until, like, 12 or 1. I wish I could pull all-nighters. I can’t anymore. I did it too much in college, and now I feel like I might die if I do it again. You weren’t getting started at 8:00 in the morning then, were you? No, I was! I used to stay over at my school, because I was a commuter and they let you have your own studio during your thesis. So I had crusty eyes, just waking up. I’m like, “Okay, go home to shower, come back from Jersey to New York.” Have you always worked long hours? Yeah! I didn’t start painting until college; I didn’t know oil painting existed until I became a student in college. My school and my upbringing, I didn’t even know you could be an artist. I thought all the artists were all dead and we just saw their work in museums. I got to college, I learned how to oil paint, and that’s when I started painting. From there, I just worked nonstop all day, every day—when I could, because the materials were expensive. But I worked at the school, so I was able to get people’s scraps. Leftover canvases international students threw out, or oil paint they threw out, and so forth. Do you have periods where you rest and don’t work? Yeah, someone told me once, it’s called the post-show blues. So sometimes that’s my rest time, when I finally met that deadline and pressure and I’ve almost exhausted myself. That’s when I start doing a lot more poetry and a lot more sketching, and I don’t work on a painting at all. When I want to get back to work and I have severe “art block,” what I end up doing is I’ll have a bunch of canvases and I’ll just paint them all different colors and see which one excites me the most, and just sort of go painting-hopping, and then work on the one that I’m the least bored with until I get a groove again. I’m curious about your approach to working with the raw material of memory, or memorabilia, things from your past. You’re not just painting it in a photorealistic way, you’re playing with it creatively. How do you think about it? I actually have every card anyone’s ever given me; I never throw a card away. I love rereading them and keeping them in mind for my words and keeping in mind the connection I have to that person, kind of pocketing these emotions. When I start a piece, when I think about the tone I want to set, I always turn back to cards or advice I get from family members or old photographs. I’ll have this page in my sketchbook that looks like columns of lists, and it’s all almost titles or sayings or advice someone has given me, or a sentence a family member said that I thought was interesting or special. I’ll take those things and I’ll add it to the work at some point or let it be a catalyst. Veronica Fernandez, Highway Laundry, 2026, oil on panel, 10 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches. Do you find that the emotion is there from the beginning and you are just clarifying it, or does it evolves as you work on it? It evolves as I work on it. A lot of works in the new show are all kids or families in motel rooms, going through different circumstances. I feel like that’s all evolved over the past year, and doing this show was [about] working with my own personal memories and thinking about my circumstances that I’ve gone through in my life. There’s this gas station painting and the woman’s holding her kid. I don’t know if you saw that piece [Highway Laundry]. Basically, this woman has her kid piggybacked on her, and then her other kid has laundry, and they’re walking past this Denny’s and this vagabond motel. There’s a guy on the floor who’s homeless, and there’s a bunch of garbage on the floor, and all those little elements that I add to make it more realistic. Those are all things where I’m like, “Oh, my family had to walk down the highway with all these laundry baskets, because we didn’t have a laundry near us.” All those little details I add from different memories and points in time to make it feel more present and more open-ended for the viewer who sees it, so they’ll think about, “Oh, what kind of environment is this person in and why are they there?” Totally. There are broader stories and systems at play. They’re not flat scenes, they’re very dynamic scenes. Could you tell me more about the Ignite the Hearts Foundation that you work with and how that is connected to your art practice? When we were younger, my dad was struggling a lot and we lived in a shelter, but when we got out of that transitional housing, we lived in this small apartment. For years, up until my sister and I took over, my dad would always give out food vouchers for people and have these boxes where he filled it with Thanksgiving dinners and so forth, and would give it out to families. It’s his way of paying it forward. He instilled it in us, and even at a young age, I was decorating the boxes, because I was the art one. And so my sister and I, every year, basically take over that sort of tradition in our family. We look up any shelters with families. We work with nonprofits on Skid Row. What do they need and what can we collect and how can we get our neighbors to help us get all these things? How do we get the community together to make it happen for these people? What do you need? Let’s make it happen. And so Ignite the Hearts—my dad named it—is just my family. Me, my dad, my brother, my sister. Basically, we just help anyone that needs us. When it comes to that tying into the work, I was living in Sylmar in San Fernando Valley, and down the street from me was the motel that’s in a lot of these pieces, a vagabond motel. Every day I would see this line of kids waiting for school outside the motel. It just struck a lot of emotion in me, because when I was younger, I did the same thing: I would take a bus from the shelter to my school, because I lived in another town, and that was the school I went to. I wasn’t sure why I lived in a different place and why I was going to school in a different place, and I found out that motel was full of families that were living there that were in a transitional phase. All their lives of where they were before are packed into this room. When I was doing this show, I thought about how to evoke this feeling in the works: this suffocating, curious feeling about what it’s like to have your life in this space, because I’ve been there before. I was thinking about it for a while, and I knew what I was going to call the show and what I wanted to incorporate, but I didn’t know what I was going to paint. I get the clear sense of an insider perspective on these scenes. I get the sense of you relating to these sort of outsider subjects. Is that also something that you’re trying to represent? Yeah. One thing I really struggle with, as an artist, is imposter syndrome. I grew up not knowing about art. When you grow up poor, you don’t know about a lot of things, and when you get into the art world, you realize a lot of artists have access to so much. Maybe their parents have collections, or maybe they knew about art from an early age—which is great for them, not knocking that—but I struggled a lot. When I make pieces, and when they’re personal and I have to express them, I’m able to. But sometimes it makes you feel very vulnerable. It’s something that I want to express because I want people to see the places that are being highlighted in the works, and the little feelings and little details that are being highlighted in the works about an everyday life that may be overlooked at times. I’ve always told my friends, sometimes I feel like I was born five feet under everybody else, where you feel like you’re always playing catch up. Even a lot of my family members, all the adults that I know, they’re still playing catch up. They feel like they don’t have the things they want at the age they are, or they feel like on the outside. I feel like that’s why being an artist feels so unreal, because it’s not something that I thought I could become. I’m Latina and I want to be an artist, and I want to be able to express myself, but there’s this weird feeling where I’m like, “Oh, should I be doing this? Should I be doing something else to support my family more, to support myself more?” Luckily, I come from a family where my dad has always pushed me to do what I want to do, regardless of what the risks are. But I still feel like I’m putting myself in a very vulnerable state… But maybe that’s just how it is. It’s okay. I don’t want to always feel comfortable where I am because my upbringing was uncomfortable. Nothing’s comfortable. [*laughs*] Veronica Fernandez, Vagabond Holiday, 2026, oil on panel, 11 7/8 x 14 7/8 inches. Everyone suffers and everybody has obstacles that they have to overcome, and it’s both awful and beautiful. Yeah! It’s so weird too. I feel like when I finally started going to school, I was blown away just seeing an art museum. Contemporary art was just the weirdest, coolest shit ever. I was like, “What the fuck is going on? Where has this been? Where has the culture been?” It sounds like you’ve been able to keep in touch with that feeling of loving it and caring about it without it getting stale. Is there a secret to that? I think you have to find ways to keep yourself motivated and ambitious. I’ve always been the type of person that I’m like, “Oh, I have to do this and I have to do that and I have to do this. I have to try to do it.” I’d rather try and fail than not try at all. I think you have to try your best to find your version of how to be ambitious, and you know that there’s a bunch of people doing the same medium as you, and maybe people make similar paintings to you, but you have to keep loving what you do—what your version of that is. People always ask me, “Why are you so motivated all the time?” It’s not just because I’m making a career out of it. I’ve also had years where I’m not the most wanted artist on earth and I can’t make money off of it, whatever. That’s not the sole motivation. It’s having to motivate yourself and find it interesting. Don’t let the fire die out. Feed it. Put gasoline on it. That’s a good final quote I think. Put gasoline on that shit! This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Tyler Bussey.
Where in the world are you listening from? 🌍👇
USP academic calls for better press freedom protections in face of Fiji’s declining media trust
By Cheerieann Wilson in Suva Public trust in Fiji’s mainstream media has significantly declined, a journalism academic has told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, citing decades of political upheaval, censorship and institutional pressure. At its third expert hearing in Suva, the commission heard from University of the South Pacific’s associate professor of journalism Shailendra Singh,
By Cheerieann Wilson in Suva Public trust in Fiji’s mainstream media has significantly declined, a journalism academic has told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, citing decades of political upheaval, censorship and institutional pressure. At its third expert hearing in Suva, the commission heard from University of the South Pacific’s associate professor of journalism Shailendra Singh, who detailed how censorship, intimidation and political pressure had weakened the media landscape over decades. Dr Singh, who is contributing to the commission’s media chapter, told the TRC that repeated disruptions — including the 1987, 2000 and 2006 coups — had lasting consequences on press freedom and public discourse. READ MORE: Other Fiji media reports Drawing on more than 30 years of experience, he outlined how newsrooms faced closures, financial strain and the loss of skilled journalists, contributing to declining editorial independence and professional standards. He said journalists were often forced into difficult ethical positions, navigating threats and highly polarised environments, which led to self-censorship, and, at times, uncritical reporting aligned with dominant political narratives. He described the 2000 and 2006 coups as defining moments for the industry. The 2006 period, he noted, brought the most stringent controls, including the introduction of the Media Industry Development Act 2010, which entrenched censorship and self-censorship in newsrooms. Steady decline in public confidence The long-term impact, he said, had been a steady decline in public confidence. Dr Singh told the commission that perceptions of bias and compliance had contributed to the erosion of trust, with some members of the public even supporting tighter media control. At the same time, restrictions on traditional media created space for alternative platforms such as blogs, social media and diaspora outlets — opening new avenues for expression but also raising concerns around misinformation and accountability. Despite the repeal of the MIDA legislation in 2023, Dr Singh said the sector continued to grapple with its legacy, including financial instability, skills shortages and the risk of renewed political interference. He recommended stronger legal protections for press freedom, improved training to lift professional standards, greater media literacy and independent regulatory mechanisms. Republished from The Fiji Times with permission. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Fiji’s former President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau dies at 84
RNZ Pacific Former Fijian President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau died on Thursday, aged 84. Ratu Epeli, a chief and former Fiji military commander, served as president from 2009 to 2015. He also served as Speaker of Parliament from 2019 to 2022. Local media reported Ratu Epeli died at the Suva Private Hospital after being admitted earlier
RNZ Pacific Former Fijian President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau died on Thursday, aged 84. Ratu Epeli, a chief and former Fiji military commander, served as president from 2009 to 2015. He also served as Speaker of Parliament from 2019 to 2022. Local media reported Ratu Epeli died at the Suva Private Hospital after being admitted earlier on Thursday evening. READ MORE: Ratu Epeli Nailatikau is no longer with us In Saturday’s frontpage story titled “Nailatikau is no longer with us”, The Fiji Times described the late president as “widely respected for his leadership and dedication to the people of Fiji”. The Fiji Sun described him as a “respected chief, soldier, diplomat and statesman”. A former opposition leader and high chief, Ro Teimumu Kepa, said Ratu Epeli’s death had left many people in shock. “The flowing tributes on social media shows how his personality touched many lives that he came in contact with,” she wrote in a social media post. The ‘people’s president’ Fiji’s former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum described Ratu Epeli as “the people’s president”. “Ratu Epeli Nailatikau lived his life among his people, not above them. We see that in the countless stories coming in from across the country about his personal interactions with everyday people,” Sayed-Khaiyun said. “He put his belief of the dignity of every Fijian into practice every day, including the day he promulgated our Fijian Constitution in 2013 which granted every citizen an equal voice in our democracy while concomitantly protecting everyone’s specific rights including the marginalised and the vulnerable. “And as if God hadn’t given the man enough rare qualities — he had both a wonderful singing voice and the wits to know when to close out a long night in song and send us all home on a high note.” The Fiji Labour Party said that as the great-great-grandson of Ratu Seru Cakobau — one of Fiji’s most significant figures — and the grandson of King George Tupou II of Tonga, “Ratu Epeli was undoubtedly a scion of royal lineage”. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
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‘We’re harvesting the sun’: A huge solar project grows in California
A sweeping plan to build 21 gigawatts of solar plus batteries on 136,000 acres could be a lifeline for Central Valley farmers facing devastating water shortages.
Harris Ranch Resort isn’t close to much. Residents of California’s major cities know it mainly as a rest stop about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Interstate 5’s long run through the San Joaquin Valley. The sprawling stucco building has a Western-themed gift shop and a couple of good restaurants where travelers can enjoy regional specialties like tri-tip tacos and almond-smoked prime rib — perhaps while they charge their EV at one of the Tesla stations outside. But in the vast expanse of California’s Westlands Water District, the ranch is about the most central spot for a meeting. On a sunny afternoon in late January, Jeff Fortune, Ross Franson, and Jeremy Hughes, three of the nine directors of the country’s largest agricultural water agency, gathered there for lunch to discuss an ambitious plan to rescue some of the most productive farmland in the U.S. from a decades-long water crisis. The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan, or VCIP, envisions converting 136,000 acres of land into 21 gigawatts of battery-backed solar power — nearly as much utility-scale solar capacity as has been installed in California to date. “This will be not only the largest project in California, or the largest project in the United States,” said Fortune, a third-generation farmer and the district’s board president since 2022. ​“This will be the largest project in the world.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rowcropsca.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="An endless field of green crops with mountains in the background" data-caption="Westlands Water District has an abundance of row crops such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, and other vegetables, in a region that produces roughly a quarter of U.S. food crops. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Westlands Water District has an abundance of row crops such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, and other vegetables, in a region that produces roughly a quarter of U.S. food crops. Adam Perez / Canary Media The scale of the plan matches that of the land. Westlands Water District was formed more than 60 years ago to collectively manage water resources and irrigation infrastructure for the farmers within its 1,000-square-mile territory. The district’s 614,000 acres grow billions of dollars’ worth of crops per year — grapes, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, almonds, pistachios, and many others. Those crops make up a major share of the bounty in a region that produces a quarter of the country’s food, including 40 percent of its fruits and nuts. Fortune, Franson, and Hughes run family farming operations that collectively own or manage thousands of acres of a landscape transformed by industrial-scale irrigated agriculture. The water flows from reservoirs hundreds of miles north and is pumped from the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta via the Central Valley Project, one of the biggest water projects in the state. The water supply is augmented by wells that have delved ever deeper into the region’s aquifers. But that water supply is drying up. Since the 1990s, surface-water cutbacks from the environmentally stressed delta have led to the fallowing of hundreds of thousands of acres. And under state law, Westlands farmers face increasingly strict limits on the groundwater they use. Now, after decades of fighting state and federal agencies and lobbying Congress to increase the flow of water, Westlands farmers are shifting to a new approach. ​“Our hand is forced,” Fortune said. ​“Everyone’s in the same sinking ship together.” VCIP could keep the ship afloat by financing a wholesale conversion of fallowed land into solar farms and battery storage systems capable of powering the equivalent of 9 million homes. To carry those clean electrons to market, the district will finance and build a transmission network that will speed interconnection to California’s congested grid and expand power flows between the state’s two biggest utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waterclouds.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A canal of water flows through a field and reflects clouds" data-caption="Water is the San Joaquin Valley’s most precious commodity. Years of shortages have forced Westlands Water District farmers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Water is the San Joaquin Valley’s most precious commodity. Years of shortages have forced Westlands Water District farmers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres. Adam Perez / Canary Media None of this has happened yet, and completing it will take 10 years or more. But after years of work with developer Golden State Clean Energy, VCIP is now poised to move from concept to reality. In December, Westlands Water District’s board approved the programmatic environmental impact report that lays out a master plan for the project. Hughes, a fifth-generation farmer who has been operating in Westlands for a quarter century, said that about 150 contracts so far have been signed by growers to make land available — including about 800 acres of his family’s land. “The way we look at it is as a new crop,” he said. ​“We’re harvesting the sun and producing electricity.” Critically, farmers will retain land ownership under VCIP’s lease and easement deals, and thus, access to the water allocations. And under Westlands’ agricultural-land repurposing plan and its VCIP master plan, water allocations for acres put into solar can be redirected to remaining farmland. “You’re making the district more sustainable,” Fortune said, summing up the plan. ​“And that just helps the grower, it helps the communities, it helps the farmworkers — everybody.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=849&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/westlandsmap.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A map of the Westlands Water District" data-caption="" data-credit="Binh Nguyen / Canary Media"/> Binh Nguyen / Canary Media That help is desperately needed. The farms that make up Westlands Water District — many of them sprawling, multigenerational family-run organizations with substantial landholdings — have struggled for years with drainage challenges, salination, and other effects of heavy irrigation, which have polluted watersheds. The communities in and around the district have high rates of poverty and unemployment, a lack of economic opportunities, tainted groundwater, and inadequate investment in roads, schools, and public safety. State law requires VCIP to include a community benefits plan that delivers economic value to not just its growers but also the local governments and residents. While it will be a massive and complicated undertaking, California needs four to five times as much new clean energy and storage as this project is slated to provide in the next 20 years, said Franson, president of farming at Woolf Farming & Processing, which cultivates 30,000 acres across the San Joaquin Valley, most of it in Westlands. The master plan could provide a model for what the state must accomplish to meet that need for power on a grand scale, he said. ​“There’s so much talk in the state about the demand they’re seeing, about energy transition, about water issues … This hits all those boxes.” Highway 33 runs south from the Mendota pool, a key water-exchange point for the San Joaquin Valley’s interlocking irrigation systems, and into Westlands Water District’s northeastern zone. On a cold winter morning, Jose Gutierrez, the district’s assistant general manager, and I drove along the two-lane road through a thick blanket of Tule fog. Despite the limited visibility, Gutierrez had no trouble pointing out the solar farms on both sides of us. Farther down the road, pile drivers rattled away, busy planting anchor posts for yet more solar projects. The installations there now are a fraction of what’s envisioned under VCIP. If that plan is fully realized, the trucks roaring up and down Highway 33 will pass solar fields stretching uninterrupted for roughly 30 miles, Gutierrez said. The surrounding area is slated for solar for a simple reason: It’s no longer irrigable. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/fallenalmondtres.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="Brown trees lie on the ground" data-caption="Increasingly scarce water allocations have compelled Westlands Water District growers to uproot almond trees, which can’t survive without ample and steady irrigation. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Increasingly scarce water allocations have compelled Westlands Water District growers to uproot almond trees, which can’t survive without ample and steady irrigation. Adam Perez / Canary Media Much of the land designated for solar development under the master plan is drainage-impaired — undergirded by a shallow layer of clay soil that prevents water from percolating deeper. As water accumulates above the clay layer, it becomes increasingly salty, but cannot be flushed out — and there’s no easy fix, thanks to a decades-old impasse between the federal government and the water district. Under a 2015 settlement agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Westlands was required to retire at least 100,000 acres from irrigated agriculture. In 2022, the district launched a land purchasing program to take on managing the retirement and eventual remediation of those drainage-impaired acres. That land can still be planted with wheat or other cereal crops that tolerate being irrigated by rainfall alone, or leased to sheepherders. ​“But its value from a commodity perspective is pretty low,” Gutierrez said. As a result, it has mostly been left unused. In fact, it’s a financial drag on the district. Idle land must still be managed to prevent pests and invasive weeds from setting in and endangering neighboring farms. Several times while on the highway, I spotted signs on utility poles advertising barn-owl boxes for rent — the birds help control gopher populations. And the debt the district took on to buy the fallowed acres must be paid off. All this makes the land ideal for solar in a region whose clean energy potential is well understood. State agencies have designated large swaths here as the Westlands Competitive Renewable Energy Zone, meaning they are primed for solar development. Studies from universities and nonprofit groups indicate that the San Joaquin Valley can build solar while retaining sustainable levels of agriculture. In the 13 years Gutierrez has worked for the district, eight solar projects have been launched on non-irrigable lands that the district has purchased and sold to developers. The biggest ones include the Darden Clean Energy Project, a 1.15-gigawatt solar-battery system being constructed on about 9,500 acres in the district’s central area; and Westlands Solar Park, a 2.27-gigawatt multistage development on roughly 20,000 acres in the district’s southern reaches. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rossfransen.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man stands in a green field under cloudy skeis" data-caption="Ross Franson, president of farming at Woolf Farming & Processing. Solar farms have been built on roughly 1,200 acres of the company’s land. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Ross Franson, president of farming at Woolf Farming & Processing. Solar farms have been built on roughly 1,200 acres of the company’s land. Adam Perez / Canary Media Private landowners, like Fortune, Franson, and Hughes, have also been making deals with developers — and many other farmers could follow suit, Gutierrez said. In fact, VCIP expects that roughly half the 136,000 acres of solar and batteries it plans to develop will be on privately-owned land. Water shortages are the primary reason that Westlands growers are seeking alternatives to farming. But growers are facing other pressures, too, Gutierrez said. Volatile commodity prices have driven a boom and bust in certain crops, such as almonds. Rising energy and labor costs have taken their toll. Landowners are eager to move more acres into solar to defray these costs, hedge against market risks, and bolster their bottom lines, he said. But there are roadblocks. Solar developers face long and onerous environmental reviews for each project under the California Environmental Quality Act, as well as drawn-out county permitting processes. And in California, as in many other parts of the country, limited grid capacity is forcing projects to wait for years in clogged-up interconnection queues. Patrick Mealoy, partner and chief operating officer of Golden State Clean Energy, the VCIP developer, summarized the situation as a convergence of factors. ​“The land use planning, the water restrictions in the valley, the congestion on the transmission grid,” he said, ​“screamed for a master plan.” Mealoy was part of the development team that put together a similar, if much smaller, master plan for Westlands Solar Park, the biggest solar-battery project in the district to date. That plan set key terms for individual developers on issues ranging from environmental mitigation and land management practices, to standard lease and contract requirements, to agreements regarding the arrays’ eventual decommissioning. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissionca.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="Transmission lines stand in a green field" data-caption="VCIP calls for building a new high-voltage transmission line and a series of substations to enable its 21 gigawatts of solar and battery capacity to feed into the state’s broader power network. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> VCIP calls for building a new high-voltage transmission line and a series of substations to enable its 21 gigawatts of solar and battery capacity to feed into the state’s broader power network. Adam Perez / Canary Media VCIP takes essentially the same approach, Mealoy said. Golden State Clean Energy itself will likely develop less than a fifth of the 21 gigawatts and will be working with independent developers for the rest, he said. But it’s far more efficient to create a master plan than to have each developer go it alone. “When you look at the sheer magnitude of the tens of thousands of megawatts we need to build in California, the targets are getting higher. We’re doing a remarkable job, but we’re actually falling behind,” he said. ​“VCIP is enormous, but it’s a fraction of what we have to add.” The programmatic environmental impact review approved by the district in December is the culmination of that master planning effort, Gutierrez said. It took two years, but now that it’s done, ​“it sets a standard for all VCIP solar developments of what they’re going to have to follow.” That includes requirements for limiting construction impacts like air pollution, noise pollution, traffic safety, fire prevention, and the like, he said — an important consideration for nearby communities. It also sets out how solar farms will be maintained once they’re built, said Allison Febbo, Westland’s general manager. That’s good not just for the neighbors but also for the developers. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/transmissiontrees.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="Blooming pink trees stand next to transmission lines" data-caption="Irrigation pumps and associated electrical gear beneath power lines in Westlands Water District. Irrigation and water pumping require a lot of electricity, and Westlands plans to use solar power from VCIP to defray its energy bills. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Irrigation pumps and associated electrical gear beneath power lines in Westlands Water District. Irrigation and water pumping require a lot of electricity, and Westlands plans to use solar power from VCIP to defray its energy bills. Adam Perez / Canary Media Individual projects will still need conditional land use permits and construction permits from Fresno County, which encompasses the VCIP project boundaries. But with the approved guidelines in place, ​“we believe that we’ve knocked off two years in the planning process,” Gutierrez said, as opposed to ​“if a solar developer was to come in and do a one-off.” Golden State Clean Energy has also laid out common financial terms and conditions for landowners and solar developers, Mealoy said. ​“If you’re farming near Kerman or if you’re farming near Huron, you have the exact same deal.” The district hopes that all this planning ahead will help bring enough privately-held land on board to roughly match the amount of district-owned land on the table, Gutierrez explained. That is vital to achieve the scale needed to enable the most unusual aspect of the plan, he said: building out the transmission. “The district had enough land to make it interesting,” Gutierrez said. ​“But we knew we needed more land on the private side to justify the investments in infrastructure.” To be reminded of how important new power lines and substations are to achieving the VCIP vision, Ross Franson need only look out his office window. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/farmsneedwater.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A flooded field with a sign that says farms need water" data-caption="One of the many signs decrying government restrictions on water deliveries to Westlands Water District. These signs proliferated during the California drought of 2011 to 2017, when increased pressure on the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta cut off the district’s water allocations. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> One of the many signs decrying government restrictions on water deliveries to Westlands Water District. These signs proliferated during the California drought of 2011 to 2017, when increased pressure on the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta cut off the district’s water allocations. Adam Perez / Canary Media I met up with Franson at the white-painted, single-story field operations offices of Woolf Farming & Processing, which sits just east of Interstate 5, near Huron, the district’s sole incorporated city. To the south, past a field now under solar development, a spiderweb of power lines and transmission towers march southward. They converge just over the horizon, at PG&E’s Gates Substation — a critical juncture for solar power to interconnect to the larger state grid. Of the 20,000 or so acres the company farms, roughly 1,200 have been built out in solar, Franson told me. Woolf plans to develop up to 3,000 acres in total. ​“We’re a little bit unique, in the sense that our farm is right next to the Gates Substation,” he said. That’s not the case for much of the district’s acreage, he explained: ​“It’s far away from transmission lines and substations. And so the cost of doing that isn’t ideal.” Enter Assembly Bill 2661, a state law passed in 2024. It allows Westlands to finance and build its own grid infrastructure. It also allows the district to use the clean energy it generates for its own purposes and to sell the rest to utilities and other power buyers via the transmission system run by the California Independent System Operator, or CAISO. In that sense, as Hughes said over lunch at Harris Ranch, VCIP is a ​“transmission play, not a solar play. The solar is doable because of the transmission.” VCIP’s 500-kilovolt system will entail five new electrical substations and roughly 70 miles of high-voltage transmission connecting to the CAISO grid to the north, south, and west, Hughes said. In essence, it will provide an eastern parallel to the two 500-kilovolt transmission pathways already running along I-5 on the district’s western border. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sanluiscanal.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="Water cuts through a field with a bridge over it" data-caption="The San Luis Canal, the primary aqueduct built as part of the Central Valley Project. Aggressive pumping of aquifers has caused the ground level to sink and resulted in structural damage to parts of the canal. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> The San Luis Canal, the primary aqueduct built as part of the Central Valley Project. Aggressive pumping of aquifers has caused the ground level to sink and resulted in structural damage to parts of the canal. Adam Perez / Canary Media Transmission is notoriously hard to build. But Westlands hopes that its master plan can forestall landowner and environmental opposition that has stymied many other projects. Much of the 70-mile line has been sited to cross district-owned lands. Where transmission will be situated on privately owned land, Westlands has crafted standard easement agreements to give landowners confidence they’re getting the same deals as their neighbors, Gutierrez said. Westlands is taking on a significant financial commitment to unblock the grid bottleneck. Gutierrez estimated the price tag of building the project’s grid infrastructure is more than $1 billion. The district will need to negotiate agreements with CAISO to earn back that money through transmission access charges. That’s the same way the state’s major new grid expansions are repaid over time via increases to utility customers’ bills. But Mealoy believes those costs will be more than counterbalanced by benefits to the state at large. A study commissioned by Golden State Clean Energy found that VCIP could yield more than $9 billion in net energy cost savings over the next 25 years, both by adding more clean power and by reducing grid congestion that drives up rates and reliance on fossil gas–fired power plants in Northern California. State agencies are loath to approve massive transmission investments to accommodate future clean energy projects. But as that buildout lags, CAISO’s grid remains congested — and clean energy developers face potentially project-killing costs for upgrades to connect to it. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/huronca.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="People cross a suburban street" data-caption="Huron, California, the only incorporated city within the Westlands Water District’s boundaries. Its population declined slightly from 2010 to 2020 as farming employment opportunities decreased. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Huron, California, the only incorporated city within the Westlands Water District’s boundaries. Its population declined slightly from 2010 to 2020 as farming employment opportunities decreased. Adam Perez / Canary Media That’s why VCIP relies on doing solar, batteries, and transmission together, Mealoy said. ​“To get transmission built, you needed size and scale,” he said. Owning the power lines also gives Westlands control over some of its energy-related expenses. Several California irrigation districts operate their own utility services, including Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District in the Central Valley and Imperial Irrigation District in the southeast corner of the state. Westlands, which is served by PG&E, isn’t becoming its own utility, Fortune stressed during lunch at Harris Ranch. ​“PG&E is not fighting us, and we’re not fighting PG&E.” But running the district’s massive pumping stations requires a lot of power, as does operating well pumps and drip irrigation motors, he said. ​“The district is going to get lower power costs to supply the water, and [growers] are going to get the option of lower-cost power on their end — so the water cost is going to come down.” The central role of water in Westlands is evident to anyone driving along I-5. Scattered among the fields and orchards are signs — posted on fences and on wheeled trailers once used to haul cotton — broadcasting slogans like ​“No Water = Lost Jobs,” ​“Stop the Politicians-Created Water Crisis,” and ​“Congress-Created Dust Bowl.” The angry sentiments stem from the decades-long conflict over California’s massive state and federally managed water distribution. Westlands secured its water allotments from the Central Valley Project in the 1960s. But since the 1990s, joint federal and state efforts to restore endangered fish species and protect the delta’s environment have increasingly restricted flows from the massive pumping stations that move water southward. And as the most recent water district to be created and served by the federal water system, Westlands is a junior holder of water rights, which makes it first in line for cuts. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/myrtlebike.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A teen bikes down a California street" data-caption="A residential street in Huron, California. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> A residential street in Huron, California. Adam Perez / Canary Media Historically, San Joaquin Valley farmers and politicians have held a hard line on keeping the water flowing, with Westlands-bankrolled lobbyists often taking the lead. But as those political efforts faltered and drew public pushback during the state’s historic drought of 2011 to 2017, Westlands growers shifted their stance. In 2022, Franson, Hughes, and two other growers won seats on the district’s board on a ​“change coalition” platform, aimed at putting an end to the adversarial water policies of Tom Birmingham. The district’s general manager for more than 20 years, Birmingham announced his retirement after the election. To be clear, Westlands hasn’t surrendered the fight for water, said Febbo, who replaced Birmingham in 2023. ​“Our growers have shifted, from saying we don’t want to repurpose any of our agricultural lands, to a position where we have to fallow a significant portion of our area,” she said, ​“and that we should do that in a planned and thoughtful way until we determine a way to restore our water supply.” If decades of on-again, off-again surface water allocations were the instigating incident, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, was the hard closer. Passed in 2014, the SGMA created the first statewide regulations to manage groundwater resources that provide roughly 40 percent of California’s water and that have sustained San Joaquin Valley agriculture for more than a century. But overpumping has reached a crisis point in the San Joaquin Valley. Thousands of public and private wells have run dry. The land itself is sinking, as water from underground aquifers gets depleted by as much as 2 feet per year in some parts of the valley. That subsidence is threatening to undermine critical infrastructure, including the San Luis Canal, the section of the California Aqueduct serving Westlands Water District. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Image of the colorado river with a cutout of the Colorado River upside down and superimposed over it" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/co-river.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1125" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The Colorado River is nearing collapse. It’s Trump’s problem now. Jake Bittle & Rebecca Egan McCarthy The SGMA requires overdrafted water basins to achieve sustainability by the early 2040s, which will entail both significant cutbacks on pumping and replenishing depleted aquifers. Complying with the law will likely necessitate fallowing about 500,000 acres across the San Joaquin Valley, according to the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California. Under the Westlands groundwater management plan approved by the state in 2022, the district must roughly halve the amount of water it normally pulls from the ground during dry years by 2030, Gutierrez said. That reduction, along with the uncertainty around future surface water deliveries from the Central Valley Project, forces growers to face the prospect of reducing by half the amount of land they’re able to irrigate every year. This prospect has helped convince a critical mass of Westlands growers to support VCIP, Franson, Hughes, and Fortune said over lunch. “I really do think SGMA forced the issue,” Franson said. ​“When push comes to shove, we needed to come up with an alternative plan.” Allowing farmers to put land into solar without losing its water allocations is essential to making that plan work, Fortune said. Typically, allocations for land repurposed or sold for nonagricultural uses revert to the district, he explained. But under VCIP, landowners with long-term leases or cash-up-front easement deals with solar developers keep both surface water and groundwater allocations, which they can apply to remaining farmland. That’s important for Westlands growers like Rebecca Kaser, owner of Avellar-Moore Farms. Her family has been farming in Westlands for four generations. She hasn’t put land into VCIP yet, but her father has. “We have fallowed over half our acreage,” she said. ​“We still have property taxes, we still have horticultural expenses … and they don’t return any income. And we do this just for the water allocation, so we can continue to grow, to help out our neighboring communities providing jobs and paying property taxes.” VCIP offers ​“financial relief from the incurred expenses year over year on this fallowed acreage — and the way it was designed, we could still keep our water,” she said. ​“What I really want to emphasize is that if we can keep on farming all of it, we would. The VCIP is a tool in the toolbox to at least stay farming with the little that we can.” If VCIP develops as intended, it’s not just the growers who will benefit but all residents in Westlands Water District. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dannygarcia.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man wearing a Yankees jersey holds up huge water bottles" data-caption="Danny Garcia stands with the water jugs delivered to his family’s home. Residents of Three Rocks and other San Joaquin Valley communities say their water bills have risen, even as the water remains undrinkable. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Danny Garcia stands with the water jugs delivered to his family’s home. Residents of Three Rocks and other San Joaquin Valley communities say their water bills have risen, even as the water remains undrinkable. Adam Perez / Canary Media Danny Garcia, 41, has lived his entire life in Three Rocks, an unincorporated community in the middle of the district. He hopes that building the world’s biggest solar and battery project will bring prosperity to Three Rocks, which is also known as El Porvenir, which means ​“the future.” But he and his family have their doubts. “People are struggling right now,” he told me when I stopped by his home. ​“There’s many ways that people could work on solar.” Garcia makes a living as a trucker, hauling produce and delivering fruit and nut tree seedlings from nurseries for planting in the fields. He can envision participating in the construction boom when VCIP gets underway. Almost everyone who lives in Three Rocks is employed in agriculture in one way or another, he said — including longtime farmworkers like his mother, Rosa Ramirez. She’s worked in the fields since she moved here from Mexico about 50 years ago, she told me in Spanish as Garcia translated. She can earn up to $600 per week when jobs are steady, but less than $200 a week when it’s slow. And work has been slower and slower, Ramirez said, sitting at her son’s dining room table. ​“Back in the ​’90s, they used to have tomato fields, lettuce, onions.” But as water has become scarcer, ​“a lot of almond trees are knocked out because of water — less and less.” With solar panels eating up more and more farmland, ​“how is she going to pay her bills?” Garcia asked. ​“Is she going to work there with the solar system? She has no experience.” The San Joaquin Valley includes some of the poorest counties in the state. The confluence of water stresses, environmental degradation, and rising heat and weather disruptions from climate change are only set to intensify the area’s challenges, according to a report issued as part of California’s 2021 climate change assessment. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="A solar panel sits on the outside of an apartment balcony" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Balconysolar.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Balcony solar is taking state legislatures by storm Alison F. Takemura, Canary Media Agriculture provides 17 percent of the San Joaquin Valley’s employment and 19 percent of its revenues. Those economic ties are even tighter in the sparsely-populated Westlands, where agriculture generated $3.6 billion in economic activity and more than 27,500 jobs as of 2022, according to a 2025 study commissioned by the district. But those figures were down from an estimated $4.7 billion in economic activity and about 35,000 jobs in 2019, driven largely by increases in fallowed land due to water restrictions. Those declines led to roughly 30 percent less in public tax revenues for counties, cities, and special districts, meaning millions of dollars no longer available for roads, water systems, schools, and other public services. VCIP could help buck those trends, Mealoy of Golden State Clean Energy said. Building the solar and battery farms and grid infrastructure will require employing about 6,000 people for at least 10 years — in what he described as ​“good-paying, labor union jobs” — as well as about 1,000 full-time operations jobs once the project is complete. Some of those positions could be filled locally through apprenticeship and training programs with community colleges and workforce development agencies. Businesses in the region could provide equipment and services to developers, and secondary spending will boost local economies, he added. The cost of building solar and battery projects ranges from $1 million to $1.5 million per megawatt, he noted. And the towns, school districts, and county services will benefit from ​“billions of dollars that could be injected” into the tax base, once the state’s current property tax exemption for solar projects expires at the end of 2026, he said. It’s hard to predict future property tax revenues for Fresno County, but they’re certain to be significantly higher than those collected on fallowed fields, he said. How those economic benefits will flow to communities suffering from generations of underinvestment and facing the loss of agricultural jobs has yet to be defined, however. In January, Westlands’ board voted in favor of a draft approach to meet the requirements in AB 2661, the law making VCIP possible, to ​“ensure that local communities have meaningful opportunities to participate and access benefits” from its clean energy transformation. That plan for the community benefits agreement commits the district to work with Fresno County and seven incorporated cities to ​“commit a portion of project revenues” to workforce, energy-affordability, environmental, and quality-of-life benefits. But Westlands doesn’t plan to start making that money available for ​“at least 60 months out, coinciding with the commercial operation of the facilities,” Russ Freeman, the district’s deputy general counsel, said at the January meeting before the vote took place. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1597w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?resize=1200%2C678&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?resize=768%2C434&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?resize=1536%2C868&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2198226868.jpeg?resize=150%2C85&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="902" width="1597" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Trump is trying to kill clean energy. The market has other plans. Matt Simon That’s worrisome to community groups that feel they’ve been neglected by Westlands’ power players and the region’s political leaders. Rural Communities Rising, representing 36 communities across western Fresno County, was formed last year so that residents ​“are heard, respected, and prioritized,” as the clean-energy developments envisioned by VCIP move ahead. “We believe in a big-tent concept. Everybody should participate,” Espi Sandoval, a Rural Communities Rising board member and educator, said at that January meeting. His group is advocating for a formal organization, including local governments, school and water districts, labor associations, workforce agencies, nonprofits, and local representatives, to ​“work collectively with developers to address … priorities.” Community groups are focused first on mitigating impacts from construction — like limiting vehicle traffic that can clog narrow roads, worsen already poor air quality, and kick up dust carrying fungi that cause a pulmonary ailment known as valley fever. They’re also demanding more emergency services, including fire stations located closer to solar and battery sites that could pose fire risks. And they’re asking for remediation of longtime problems like high energy costs and polluted water supplies. Ramirez’s electric bill from PG&E was $331.74 for the month of November — far more than she thinks she ought to be paying for a small single-story home. California has the highest electric bills in the mainland U.S. That’s a particular burden for low-income San Joaquin Valley residents during days or weeks of triple-digit summer temperatures. Ramirez’s water bills have also risen, even as the water remains undrinkable, she said — a problem plaguing hundreds of thousands of California residents, many of them in the San Joaquin Valley. In Three Rocks and nearby Cantua Creek, the cause is disinfectant by-products from chemicals, such as chlorine, used to treat surface water delivered from Westlands to a Fresno County–managed treatment facility. “That’s why we have the water jugs,” Garcia said, pointing to the five-gallon containers arrayed under the trampoline in his front yard. ​“Every two weeks, the water man comes in and leaves them.” Clean energy could provide an economic lifeline for the region — but that’s not guaranteed. A 2024 report from the Sierra San Joaquin Jobs Initiative, a joint project of the Fresno-based Central Valley Community Foundation and the state-funded California Jobs First Council, found that the four counties of Fresno, Kings, Madera, and San Joaquin could host 29 gigawatts of solar and energy storage through 2045, adding up to about $10 billion in investment and an estimated 73,000 new jobs paying an average of $32 per hour. But it also found that workers ​“feel inadequately prepared for this transition” in terms of education, training, and opportunity to break into the industries involved. Elizabeth Cabrera, city manager of San Joaquin, a town of about 3,700 people in western Fresno County, has attended meetings held by nonprofit groups working with solar developers to offer jobs and training to locals. But less than a third of San Joaquin residents have a high school degree or equivalent, she said. Many speak only Spanish, and ​“a high percentage are undocumented. That’s already three major barriers to entry.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=676&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/leticiafernandez.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="On left, a woman looks out of a window and the right a small store" data-caption="Leticia Fernández has worked at the Half-Way Store in Cantua Creek, California, for 47 years and owned it since 1997. Business has declined in the past two decades as water shortages have crimped farming. Her grandson, pictured at right, visits her at work. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Leticia Fernández has worked at the Half-Way Store in Cantua Creek, California, for 47 years and owned it since 1997. Business has declined in the past two decades as water shortages have crimped farming. Her grandson, pictured at right, visits her at work. Adam Perez / Canary Media Leticia Fernández, the 63-year-old owner of the Half-Way Store in Cantua Creek, is also doubtful that solar development can make up for the loss of agriculture in the area. She started working at the store when she was 16, and bought it from the previous owner in 1997. But business has declined as more land has been fallowed, and the solar projects being built haven’t reversed that, she said. ​“They’re not spending the money like they tell us at the meetings.” That’s not to say that solar projects aren’t doing some good, Fernández said. She pointed to the new fire station being built in Cantua Creek, financed in part through a $15 million commitment from Intersect Power, the initial developer of the Darden Clean Energy Project (the project is now owned by IPX Power). Intersect also committed to community benefits plans that will make $2 million in direct investments in the next 10 years and $5 million over the project’s lifetime. The initial $2 million has gone to support affordable housing, provide grants to small businesses, bolster school programs, plant trees, and give away about 250 window air-conditioning units, among other benefits. “We want to build strong partnerships, and we want to bring the community into the project, whether that’s supplying concrete or getting a union job and working on-site,” said Elizabeth Knowles, head of community engagement at Intersect Power. The Darden project is expected to create more than 1,600 all-union construction jobs, generate more than $70 million in state and local sales tax revenues during its construction, and provide more than $200 million in property taxes in the first 10 years, she said. Still, some people say the Darden project’s original community benefits agreement didn’t direct money to the most pressing needs. They want to make sure the process for VCIP, which will be more than 15 times larger than Darden, doesn’t leave them out of the loop. “We understand the project will take at least 10 years to build out. But we want residents to be part of conversations before decisions are made,” said Mariana Alvarenga, a senior policy advocate with the nonprofit Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability. The challenge is that most of the economic impacts of clean energy projects are tied to ​“jobs and spillover work for local businesses” during construction, said David Adelman, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law who studies local opposition to clean energy developments. Beyond that, ​“virtually all of the benefit is in increased local property taxes,” he said. ​“Most of that impact gets buried in county and school district budgets” that are ​“not very visible to the local community.” These facts could bolster arguments for larger up-front community benefits payments, he said. But that might be hard for clean energy developers already struggling with the looming loss of federal tax credits, rising equipment and labor costs, and other economic headwinds. Nor do solar project developers want to be held responsible for repairing past harms to communities and to the environment that were caused by others. County tax revenues from clean energy projects could be directed to helping the communities near those projects. But that requires commitments from county politicians and administrators to ensure those revenues aren’t redirected elsewhere — and like many other rural counties, Fresno County is facing major budget pressures. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JustinDiener.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A bald man stands in the middle of rows of blooming trees" data-caption="Justin Diener, controller of Red Rock Ranch, amid the almond trees his family farming operation cultivates in the community of Five Points, California. " data-credit="Adam Perez / Canary Media"/> Justin Diener, controller of Red Rock Ranch, amid the almond trees his family farming operation cultivates in the community of Five Points, California. Adam Perez / Canary Media Justin Diener, controller of Red Rock Ranch, understands these concerns. He grew up on his family farm in Five Points, which has won recognition for its sustainable water and soil management. After graduating from Stanford University, he was employed in agriculture finance for 12 years, then returned to work with his father in 2016. He won his seat on the Westlands board of directors in 2022 as part of the change coalition — and unlike most Westlands farmers, he lives on the land that his family farms. “I love to be out here,” Diener said on a stroll outside the modest one-story building that houses his family’s farm operations. ​“I grew up out here, across the street. But you know, it’s not a walk in the park, either.” It’s a half-hour drive for him or his wife to take their daughter to and from school. Last fall, crops left rotting in nearby fields because they were unsuitable for market caused a fly infestation that plagued the area for months. Diener has also seen the decline in Fresno County services over the decades. ​“When I was younger, the roads got paved more frequently,” he said. ​“The potholes were taken care of.” He’d like to see VCIP money coming into the district prioritized for critical needs. ​“Do you have shelter? Do you have food? Do you have water? Is where you live safe?” He thinks that long-term funding from Fresno County and municipal governments, rather than one-time community-benefits dollars, is the logical source for supporting those kinds of fundamental services. ​“I’d look to ongoing community-benefits dollars to be an enhancement to government dollars, rather than a replacement,” he said. It’s also important that community benefits be ongoing, rather than one-off donations. Still, Diener says VCIP could be ​“transformational” for Westlands. ​“The district’s not going to see the benefits today or tomorrow,” he said. ​“But five to 10 years down the road, I think things are going to be very different.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline ‘We’re harvesting the sun’: A huge solar project grows in California on Mar 29, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Jeff St. John, Canary Media.
How the US, Israel and Iran are controlling their media narratives
COMMENTARY: By Majdoline Al-Shammouri in Beirut In the ongoing United States and Israel war on Iran, it appears that all the countries agree on “controlling” the media. Despite differences in their political systems, all three governments follow an approach that prioritises “national morale” and “operational security” over press freedom and the flow of information. This
COMMENTARY: By Majdoline Al-Shammouri in Beirut In the ongoing United States and Israel war on Iran, it appears that all the countries agree on “controlling” the media. Despite differences in their political systems, all three governments follow an approach that prioritises “national morale” and “operational security” over press freedom and the flow of information. This approach redefines the concept of fake news and extends its authority to managing public sentiment, making coverage more “positive” and “optimistic”. READ MORE: Three journalists killed in Israeli strike on marked press car in Lebanon The goal is unified: to turn media into a state mouthpiece that tells only the official narrative of the war. The Trump administration’s political pressure In the US, media restrictions don’t appear as direct bans on journalism, as in more authoritarian systems. Instead, pressure comes through political and regulatory channels, alongside attempts to shape the war narrative against Iran. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters they could lose their licences if they aired what he described as “false news” about the war. In a post on X on March 14, Carr said stations airing “misleading” information had the opportunity “to correct course” before licence renewal. He added: “The law is clear: broadcast stations must operate in the public interest, or they will lose their licences.” Later, President Donald Trump said he was extremely pleased to see Carr review licences of “corrupt” and “unpatriotic” news organisations because they “coordinate with Iran” and “should face treason charges”. Regulatory pressure is accompanied by a political and media campaign to shape a specific image of the war. Trump attacked major newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for reports of damage to US military aircraft at a Saudi base, calling them “degenerate journalism” that wanted the country to “lose the war”. This pressure has also extended to the military. At a Pentagon press conference, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth accused the media of downplaying the success of the military campaign against Iran, criticised coverage of operations, suggested alternative headlines for television reports, and named CNN specifically, saying its performance would improve if ownership and management changed. In an incident bordering on the absurd, The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon barred journalists from attending war briefings after Hegseth’s team objected to his appearance in previously taken photos, restricting access to Pentagon photographers. Nevertheless, pressures did not start with the war on Iran. In October 2025, the Department of War announced a new policy regulating journalists’ work inside the Pentagon, requiring official approval before publishing any information, even if it was not classified. The Trump administration justified the restrictions as necessary for national security. Hegseth said access to the Pentagon was “a privilege, not a right,” while Trump argued the limits were needed because the press was “dishonest”. Measures included removing dedicated offices for some media outlets and replacing them with shared facilities under a new rotation system. Israel kills three Lebanese journalists Video: Al Jazeera Israel’s approach In Israel, media restrictions during war take a different form that is based on strict military censorship and obstructing journalists in the field, in addition to targeting media institutions in Iran and Lebanon. This month, the Israeli military censor issued new instructions to foreign media limiting coverage of rocket attacks within Israel. These included banning live broadcasts during sirens, forbidding filming missile interceptions or impact sites near security installations, and preventing the publication of exact impact locations or reposting videos from social media without prior approval. Authorities justified the restrictions as a way to prevent opponents from using media coverage to “improve missile strike accuracy”. Israeli forces detained CNN Türk reporter Emrah Cakmak and cameraman Khalil Kahraman during a live broadcast from Tel Aviv following an Iranian missile attack, confiscating their phones, camera, and microphone, and accessing a password-protected phone without permission. The journalists stated that their equipment was not returned. On the same day, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karai announced stricter measures against foreign media violating military censorship instructions, adopting a policy of “zero tolerance”. Authorities also detained Turkish journalists Ilyas Efe Ünal and Adam Metan while crossing from Egypt into Israel on March 4. Metan said they were interrogated for about six hours before being released. The following day, Haifa municipal police attempted to remove international media teams covering war-related events, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, Anadolu Agency, and Al Arabiya, despite journalists following military censorship rules. Days later, on March 8, Israeli police prevented Al Araby TV correspondent Abdelkader Abdel Halim from continuing coverage in Haifa, with an officer captured on video saying that “filming is prohibited in Haifa.” Israeli strikes also targeted media institutions in Lebanon and Iran, and have killed five journalists in Lebanon in the past month — three of them (including a woman) just yesterday in a targeted assassination. According to Reporters Without Borders, two-thirds of all journalists killed around the world last year were by Israel, mostly in Gaza. Several Lebanese media outlets were hit during Israel’s raids, including Sawt Al-Farah radio in Tyre, Al Nour radio, and Al Manar TV in Haret Hreik in Beirut’s southern suburbs. And in a separate strike, Saksakiyah media centre in southern Lebanon was also targeted. In Iran, strikes hit the state-run Radio Dezful offices in Khuzestan, the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in Tehran, a communications centre near the building, as well as the Kurdistan Network TV building in Sanandaj, and the reformist newspaper Sazandegi in Tehran. Iran’s internet shutdown If the US uses regulatory tools and Israel relies on military censorship and field restrictions, Iran’s model is based on direct control of information flow. Hours after the US-Israeli aggression began, authorities cut the nationwide internet. Journalists said the outage hampered communication with sources, sending reports and photos, and verifying field information, while a limited number of users, including state media, retained restricted access through a government-controlled “white internet”. As the war continued, Tehran tightened legal restrictions on media coverage. The judiciary criminalised filming or covering US or Israeli strikes in Iran, considering the publication of such material as potential “evidence of cooperation with an enemy“. Confrontations escalated with calls to target opposition media. The Tabnak website published an article urging the armed forces to target Iran International TV and suggesting taking action against the channel’s offices and the homes of some staff. Security agencies carried out a series of arrests in several provinces for sending photos and information about strikes to foreign media, including Iran International, classified by Iran as a “terrorist channel”. Majdoline Al-Shammouri is a writer based in Beirut. This article was translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari and was first published by The New Arab here. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Much of the coverage surrounding the SAVE Act treats it as a familiar partisan dispute, with discussions on CNN panels and elsewhere framed in procedural terms (documentation, fraud, access) as though the disagreement turns on technical questions of election administration rather than the structure of membership in the national political community. The former way of framing the dispute keeps attention fixed on how elections are run while leaving largely unexamined how the national community is being defined based on classist, xenophobic, heterosexist, and white supremacist principles. To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. More The post The Election Fraud Con appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Much of the coverage surrounding the SAVE Act treats it as a familiar partisan dispute, with discussions on CNN panels and elsewhere framed in procedural terms (documentation, fraud, access) as though the disagreement turns on technical questions of election administration rather than the structure of membership in the national political community. The former way of framing the dispute keeps attention fixed on how elections are run while leaving largely unexamined how the national community is being defined based on classist, xenophobic, heterosexist, and white supremacist principles. To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. The post The Election Fraud Con appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Anthony DiMaggio – Dean Caivano.
There is an old and rather useful principle in political philosophy—useful, at least, to anyone not actively attempting to build a belief system out of fumes and grievances—that you cannot construct a livable house on a foundation of pure negation. You can, however, erect something like a haunted shack: all drafts and whispers, full of imagined enemies, structurally unsound and permanently one hard knock away from collapse. To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. More The post The Serpent Eats Itself appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
There is an old and rather useful principle in political philosophy—useful, at least, to anyone not actively attempting to build a belief system out of fumes and grievances—that you cannot construct a livable house on a foundation of pure negation. You can, however, erect something like a haunted shack: all drafts and whispers, full of imagined enemies, structurally unsound and permanently one hard knock away from collapse. To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. The post The Serpent Eats Itself appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Troy Nahumko.
New Caledonia’s domestic airline AirCal files for bankruptcy
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonia’s domestic airline Air Calédonie filed for bankruptcy on Friday, following almost a month of blockades by customers in the French Pacific territory’s outer islands. The protest movement had been initiated by groups of angry outer islands customers who intended to oppose the company’s decision
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonia’s domestic airline Air Calédonie filed for bankruptcy on Friday, following almost a month of blockades by customers in the French Pacific territory’s outer islands. The protest movement had been initiated by groups of angry outer islands customers who intended to oppose the company’s decision to move Air Calédonie’s operations from the Nouméa Magenta airport to New Caledonia’s international La Tontouta base, more than 50 km away from Nouméa city. The smaller airport of Magenta, until now dedicated to domestic traffic, is located closer to Nouméa. READ MORE: Other Kanaky New Caledonia reports The beginning of the protest movement, which effectively grounded all Air Calédonie aircraft, dates back to 2 March 2026. The protesters are gathered under the name of “collective of users” and, on each participating island, are headed by local chiefs who are invoking custom rights. In terms of law and order, and in defence of the principle of freedom of movement and “territorial continuity”, on the part of French State representatives, there have been no attempts to disrupt the movement by force. But negotiations have been taking place with leaders in order to find a concerted way out of the blockades. Economic stakeholders have also alerted authorities of the negative repercussions of the inter-island crisis, especially on tourism and hospitality-related businesses. On some islands, views expressed range from an outright rejection of any aircraft landing, while others would accept the landing of aircraft from other airlines, but not from Air Calédonie. Outer islands airports blockaded Following weeks of blockade that have caused heavy losses for the company — dubbed “AirCal” — its board of directors, at a meeting on Friday in the capital Nouméa, decided to file for bankruptcy. It said the current situation was no longer sustainable. The blockade affected all of AirCal’s outer islands destinations, including the Loyalty Islands (Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa and Tiga) and the Isle of Pines (south of the main island of Grande Terre). One of the options, if approved by a court, could allow a resumption of operations, if the process is deemed sustainable. The company said under the proposed process, all debts would be frozen and provided it was allowed to resume inter-island flights, Air Calédonie could continue operating. But if the plan is not approved by the judges, this could also mean an order for the company to go into receivership. AirCal said the situation currently affected “almost 200 families”. Vanuatu connection Air Calédonie, in its embryonic form, started operations in the mid-1950s. It currently operates a fleet of four turbo-prop ATR-72 aircraft. Due to previous hardships faced recently (including the covid crisis, which also badly affected inter-islands operations), Air Calédonie had also entered into agreements with Air Vanuatu in October 2025 to lease one of its aircraft for the neighbouring archipelago’s domestic airlinks, including to and from the capital Port Vila and Vanuatu’s other main islands of Espiritu Santo (North) and Tanna (South). In September 2024, a Nouméa-Port Vila bi-weekly link was also established under a codeshare agreement between Air Calédonie and Air Calédonie international aboard an ATR-72 aircraft. At the time, the agreement was perceived as one step towards a possible merger of the two entities’ domestic and international operations, in a bid to save costs in the face of recent crises. The recent crisis situation was also compounded by the riots that broke out in New Caledonia — mainly in the capital Nouméa and its surrounding area — in May 2024. The unrest caused about 14 dead and material damage of over 2 billion euros (about NZ$ 4 billion) due to arson and looting. But it also affected the capacity to operate domestic and international flights out of the airports of Nouméa La Tontouta and New Caledonia’s outer islands. The plan to relocate Air Cal’s operations from Magenta to La Tontouta had been mooted by previous governments of New Caledonia, on the basis that if the move was not effected, then the company would not survive. ‘It looks as if someone wants the death of AirCal — Alcide Ponga Commenting on the blockade, New Caledonia local government President Alcide Ponga was blunt. He told local media earlier this week: “It looks as if someone wants the death of AirCal.” However, one of the blockaded small airports, on the Isle of Pines (South of Nouméa), announced earlier this week its intention to re-allow traffic, on the condition that Air Calédonie lands again at the small and nearby airport of Nouméa-Magenta and not at the main La Tontouta base. The main shareholders of Air Calédonie are the government of New Caledonia and its three provinces (North, South and the Loyalty Islands group). During heated debates on Thursday at New Caledonia’s Congress, politicians and board members from across the political chessboard called on the company to re-engage in negotiations to attempt an agreement to re-open all of the blockaded outer islands airfields and thus bring in fresh cash. Another cash-generating option also envisaged by the company would be to persuade the board and stakeholders to set aside a financial package so that the company can go on operating. Earlier this month, Air Calédonie was forced to put half of its staff into temporary unemployment mode, because the company’s financial situation (a cash flow estimated at only 3 million euros) did not allow any salary payment beyond April 2026. Air Calédonie said it remained “mobilised to save a vital company for New Caledonia and design a viable recovery plan”. A similar plan was already implemented in 2024 in the wake of the post-riots crisis. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://media.rnztools.nz/rnz/image/upload/s--8Gpa9ST3--/c_crop,h_522,w_835,x_0,y_0/c_scale,h_522,w_835/c_scale,f_auto,q_auto,w_1050/v1774640154/4JR2K88_A_first_humanitarian_special_flight_took_place_on_21_March_2026_to_transport_around_fifty_patients_between_Ouv_a_island_and_the_capital_Noum_a_PHOTO_Gouvernement_de_la_Nouvelle_Cal_donie_jpg?_a=BACCd2AD" alt="A first humanitarian special flight took place on 21 March 2026 to transport around fifty patients between Ouvéa island and the capital Nouméa" width="1050" height="700" /> A first humanitarian special flight took place on 21 March 2026 to transport about 50 patients between Ouvéa island and the capital Nouméa. Image: New Caledonia govt Humanitarian special flights for patients In recent days, New Caledonia’s government introduced the notion of humanitarian “sanitary corridors” in the form of special flights to transport selected patients in dire need of care to and from the outer islands and the capital Nouméa, at an estimated cost of some 13,500 euros (about NZ$27,000) per trip. In the Loyalty Islands, several tourism and hospitality facilities have also suffered the brunt of the disruption of inter-island traffic. Some of those have already been forced to either close down or enter into receivership. No maritime alternative The situation is further compounded by serious technical problems faced by the alternative means of inter-island transport — the ferry Betico has also been unable to operate, on a regular basis, over the past few months. The ship is currently undergoing repairs to one of its engines and it announced tentative resumption of operations next week on April 3, the operating company said. Until then, all trips to and from Nouméa have been cancelled. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
First word that comes to mind when you hear this? 👇
War on Iran: The French senator who said what everybody was thinking
COMMENTARY: Pacific Media Watch A French senator walked into the Luxembourg Palace, opened his mouth, and basically set the whole room on fire. Politely. In a suit. Claude Malhuret didn’t yell nor wave his arms. He just listed things… calmly, methodically, like a doctor reading a very long and very depressing diagnosis. And by the
COMMENTARY: Pacific Media Watch A French senator walked into the Luxembourg Palace, opened his mouth, and basically set the whole room on fire. Politely. In a suit. Claude Malhuret didn’t yell nor wave his arms. He just listed things… calmly, methodically, like a doctor reading a very long and very depressing diagnosis. And by the time he was done, the entire Trump administration had been reduced to a punchline that wasn’t even trying to be funny. READ MORE: Senator Claude Malhuret’s ‘speech on the situation in the Near and Middle East’ Iran warns of retaliatory attacks on US, Israeli universities Israeli police break up antiwar protesters in Tel Aviv Other US-Israel war on Iran and Palestine genocide reports He started with an apology. Why? Because a year ago, he said, he had compared Trump’s presidency to Nero’s Court. He was wrong. “It’s the miracle court,” he corrected himself on Friday. And then he started naming names. A former heroin addict running the Ministry of Health. A climate skeptic in charge of the economy. A TV host with a drinking problem commanding the armed forces. A lobbyist who used to work for Qatar now sitting as Attorney General. A woman who openly admires Putin in charge of national intelligence. ‘Clown in a palace’ Malhuret quoted a Turkish proverb for the occasion… “When a clown settles in a palace, he does not become king — it is the palace that becomes a circus.” Nobody needed to ask who or what he meant. They just smiled. And you know what? He wasn’t even being cruel. He was just being truthful and very accurate. Which, somehow, made it worse. Then came the part that made people’s jaws drop a little. Every time the Epstein files resurface, he said, bombs go off somewhere in the world. A new military strike. A fresh crisis. Convenient timing. Every single time. Malhuret didn’t call it a conspiracy. He just pointed at the pattern and let everyone draw their own conclusions. Gulf investments The US$400 million Boeing jet from Qatar got a mention. The Gulf investments. The stock market moves that only a small circle of insiders seemed to profit from. Any one of these, Malhuret said, would have triggered impeachment proceedings in France. “But we are not here,” he added. “We are in MAGA’s America.” Here’s what makes this 5 minute speech different from the usual political noise. Malhuret didn’t just wave his hands and say “America bad.” He went person by person, scandal by scandal, conflict by conflict — and built a picture so complete that by the end of it, you couldn’t really argue with any individual piece without defending the whole rotten structure. It’s the kind of speech American senators could give. If they wanted to. If they weren’t so busy trying not to offend anyone. The world is watching. While Americans debate whether the speech was fair or too harsh or whatever, the rest of the planet has already formed its opinion. One man. One very powerful seat. And a world that keeps catching fire while everyone argues about the Epstein files — which, funny enough, never quite get released fully, do they? “Trump, the Mar-a-Lago golfer, is the only bull in the world who walks around with his own china shop. When a clown takes over the Palace, he doesn’t become King. It’s the Palace that becomes a circus” French senator Claude Malhuret once again nails it. You won’t hear a better… pic.twitter.com/q2mpL7XFtK — Alex Taylor (@AlexTaylorNews) March 27, 2026 This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
DNC Resolution to Reject AIPAC Funding Puts Democratic Leaders in the Hot Seat
This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.
Full video available only for PFC Members at playingforchange.com
Ralph welcomes Wes Bryant, a retired Air Force special operations master sergeant and former analyst at the Civilian Protection Center who talks to us about how civilians, either through incompetence or negligence, are not being protected during Americ...
Ralph welcomes Wes Bryant, a retired Air Force special operations master sergeant and former analyst at the Civilian Protection Center who talks to us about how civilians, either through incompetence or negligence, are not being protected during American missile strikes. Then our resident constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, joins us to break down his latest op-ed “The Power to Declare War Belongs to Congress Alone.” Wes Bryant is a defense and national security analyst with focus on foreign policy and global conflict, counterterrorism and extremism, strike and joint targeting operations, and civilian harm. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2018 at the rank of Master Sergeant after twenty years of active duty service. He was formerly a senior policy analyst and advisor on precision warfare and civilian harm mitigation at the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, where he led as the first-ever Branch Chief of Civilian Harm Assessments. This strike [on the girls’ school in Minab, Iran] violated standing practices and doctrine we’ve had in place for two, three decades. That’s aside from even the work we were doing at the Pentagon in civilian harm mitigation to get better at this sort of thing and prevent these things from happening…This is just one of many. My colleagues at Airwars who track civilian harm incidents in conflict zones—right now, they’re tracking over 130 separate incidents throughout Iran (that’s between the U.S. and Israel) and that number is going to spike. And of course we’re tracking, I believe, it’s over 2,000 civilian casualties. That number is surely going to spike once the smoke clears. Wes Bryant I believe that right now, with the way we are conducting ourselves as a nation on the international stage—and most importantly, the way we’re using or abusing our military and the use of lethal military force—we are carrying out state terrorism. Israel assuredly has been for years. Wes Bryant We hear all these people (especially Hegseth most recently) talking about “precision” —”precision strikes” and “no one’s more precise” and “precision warfare”. Well, I was an expert in precision warfare. I was one of the people helping develop our standards for precision warfare and try to make us get to the point where we’re actually carrying out precision warfare consistently. Precision warfare really means the minimal use of resources, the minimal use of (as Hegseth says) lethality in order to accomplish strategic objectives—and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. We have in Gaza simply the use of precision weapons to decimate an entire urban infrastructure and decimate parts of the population. So what I say is (and not flippantly, unfortunately, I say it somberly) the only thing being applied here in terms of precision is that civilians and civilian infrastructure are being killed and destroyed more precisely. Wes Bryant Bruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall. When we decided in the culture that we would rather be an empire that got an adrenaline high from being a colossus and surrendering our republican virtues of rule of law, everyone gets to march to their own drummer, find fulfillment as long as they’re not harming anyone else, you then find this repeated disrespect for the Declare War Clause. Bruce Fein News 3/27/26 * Our top stories this week have to do with the tiny, blockaded island nation of Cuba. Cuba, famous for its medical innovations including a lung cancer vaccine, has long maintained medical missions abroad. In recent days, the United States has pressured foreign governments to end these partnerships, including passing a law that opens up the possibility of sanctions on countries that accept these medical missions. This week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Mexico will retain the Cuban doctors in defiance of American threats. Since 2022, thousands of Cuban medical workers have been deployed in poor, rural areas of the country. Sheinbaum emphasized that “It’s hard to get Mexican doctors and specialists to go out to many rural areas where we need medical specialists, and the Cubans are willing to work there,” per Al Jazeera. However, Mexico is the exception. Within the past month, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Guyana and the Bahamas have all announced that the Cuban doctors will leave their countries under American pressure. It is tragic to think of the number of poor people in the rural areas of these countries who will needlessly suffer and die simply because they are caught in the crossfire of American imperialism. * In more Cuba news, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Drop Site that the Cuban government is preparing to submit a proposal to the United States offering lump sum payments to Americans and American firms that lost property during the 1959 revolution. As this piece notes, Cuba negotiated lump sum compensation agreements with Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France in the wake of the revolution, but the United States refused this offer and instead sought to destabilize the Castro government for decades. The Cuban officials admit that they lack the reserves to make good on this offer right away, but argue that if the Americans eased the sanctions regime they could use the new capital flow to finance this agreement. With all of that said, Cossio also contends that “the Cuban people and the Cuban nation…deserves…to be compensated for the damage done by the economic blockade, by the invasion, by terrorism, by assassinations…[and by] violent actions against the [Cuban] economy.” * In more news from Latin America, CBS reports Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, a 28-year old Venezuelan man deported from the U.S. and detained in the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador last year has filed a tort suit alleging false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress and demanding $1.3 million in damages from the United States. According to Rengel, he and fellow detainees were constantly beaten by prison guards, forced to drink the same water he and other inmates bathed in, and was told by guards that he would be there for 90 years. Rengel was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange with Venezuela in July of 2025. Rengel, who entered the country legally, was deported on the basis of alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. He denies having any connection with that criminal organization. * Turning to the Middle East, while the American war on Iran rages, the new Israeli offensive in Lebanon has largely slipped under the radar. But as this campaign grows larger and larger, it cannot be ignored. According to Reuters, Israel is planning to seize a “chunk” of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River to create a “buffer zone” against Hezbollah militants. Approximately 8% of Lebanese territory lies south of this line of demarcation. On March 24th, Israeli Defence Minister Katz said Israel had “destroyed five bridges over the river and that the military would ‘control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,’ adding that Israeli troops would remain as long as there is “terrorism and missiles.” As part of this offensive, Israel has ordered the evacuation of all Lebanese south of the Litani. In practice, this means over 1.16 million people – 25% of the population of Lebanon – has been displaced, per Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayyed. This from Drop Site. * Meanwhile, the Hill reports that the Progressive Caucus – Chaired by Texas progressive congressman Greg Casar – will uniformly vote against any proposed supplemental funding for the Pentagon to prosecute the war in Iran. Casar told the publication, “Democrats should unite against funding this illegal war and force Republicans to answer to the American people for it.” The Progressive Caucus argues that the eye-popping $200 billion price tag of the supplement could be better used to fund programs to expand health care subsidies, cover pre-K education costs, build more affordable housing, cover school lunches and eradicate medical debt. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs added that the supplement request is “not a one-time cost to wrap things up” but rather “a down payment on a long war.” * Even as Congress debates the supplementary funding bill, Democrats are eyeing a new War Powers Resolution. Axios reports that while the previous War Powers Resolution on Iran failed by a margin of 219 to 212, the four Democrats who crossed party lines to vote down the resolution last time are “poised to flip” the next time party leadership forces a war powers vote and Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace is hinting that she would support a new resolution as well. If all Democrats vote for the measure, along with the two Republicans – Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson – who supported the resolution last time maintain their support, Mace’s support wouldn’t even be necessary for a majority vote. Unfortunately, Axios notes that even if both the House and Senate pass the resolution, President Trump can veto the measure and it would be nearly impossible to get the necessary two-thirds vote in both chambers to override his veto. * Turning to tech news, Wired reports that Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill in the Senate designed to institute a national moratorium on construction of AI datacenters “until legislation is enacted that safeguards the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence.” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans to introduce a companion bill in the House in the coming days. In a speech, Sanders contended that “A moratorium will give us the chance to figure out how to make sure that AI benefits the working families of this country, not just a handful of billionaires…A moratorium will give us the time to figure out how to ensure that AI is safe and effective and prevent the worst outcomes. A moratorium will give us the time to figure out how to make sure AI does not harm our environment or jack up the electric bills that we pay.” Concerns about AI Data Centers have demonstrated an appeal on both the Right and Left; beyond Sanders and AOC, Republican Senator Josh Hawley and Rep. Thomas Massie, along with Governor Ron DeSantis and conservative pundit Steve Bannon, have all expressed some level of concern. Even President Trump, who forged an alliance with the tech industry in his second term, has been forced to admit that “Data centers…need some PR help.” * On the open market, OpenAI is reportedly shutting down Sora, the video generation app it launched just last year intended to be a harbinger for expansion into creative tools and social media, per CNN. While Sora started off with a significant degree of public enthusiasm, and a billion-dollar deal with Disney, copyright holders “quickly raised concerns over the use of their intellectual property and people’s likenesses on the platform.” Others derided Sora for its contributions to misinformation and for helping to proliferate so-called “AI slop.” For their part, Disney issued a statement maintaining that they “respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business,” but that the deal would not be moving forward. * In more local news, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is initiating a massive round of cuts to wasteful spending in the municipal budget. In a video, the mayor acknowledged how past spending has left the city with a $5.4 billion budget gap over the next two years and how he plans to cut $1.7 billion to help drive that down in the near term, without compromising essential services. One way Mamdani plans to cut costs is by minimizing the use of outside contractors and crucially, consultants. Mamdani said the city’s Department of Social Services is canceling its contract with McKinsey worth a staggering $9 million. In addition to these cuts, Mamdani stressed that in order to fight this budget gap, the city also needs to “tax the rich and end the drain that’s been our relationship with the state for far too long.” Staying true to his promise of transparency with the people of New York, he said his administration will “keep [them] posted every step of the way. Because to deliver public goods, you have to first deliver public excellence.” This from Newsweek. * Finally, ever since his 2020 election loss, President Trump has ceaselessly attacked mail-in voting as fraudulent – calling the method “mail-in cheating” – and his government is currently arguing a case before the Supreme Court seeking to ban the practice of states accepting mail-in ballots postmarked by election day but received afterwards. This week however, in the midst of this campaign against mail-in voting, Trump himself cast a mail-in vote in his adopted home state of Florida, NPR reports. Democracy Docket adds that when asked about his mail-in vote, Trump responded “because of the fact I’m president of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for elections that took place in Florida because I felt like I should be here instead of being in the beautiful sun.” While a minute example of Trump’s rampant hypocrisy, this is indicative of his philosophy that rules exist for thee and not for me. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe This content originally appeared on Ralph Nader Radio Hour and was authored by Ralph Nader.
Israeli strike on media car targets, kills 3 journalists in south Lebanon
Amman, March 28, 2026––On Saturday, an Israeli strike targeted a media car on Jezzine highway in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing journalist Ali Shoaib of Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV, journalist Fatima Ftouni of pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen TV, and her brother, freelance photojournalist Mohamad Ftouni. According to Al-Mayadeen TV, the Lebanese journalists were reportedly en route to cover...
Amman, March 28, 2026––On Saturday, an Israeli strike targeted a media car on Jezzine highway in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing journalist Ali Shoaib of Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV, journalist Fatima Ftouni of pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen TV, and her brother, freelance photojournalist Mohamad Ftouni. According to Al-Mayadeen TV, the Lebanese journalists were reportedly en route to cover an assignment at the time of the attack. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Situation Room confirmed to CPJ it carried out the strike, saying that Shoaib (whom it referred to as Ali Hassan Shaib) was a member of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. The military told CPJ that Shoaib had been using his journalism as a cover while conducting intelligence-gathering activities and maintaining contact with Hezbollah fighters, but it did not provide evidence to support these claims. In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee accused Shoaib of being a Hezbollah intelligence-gatherer. CPJ emailed the IDF later that day requesting further information regarding the targeting and killing of all three journalists, including asking for evidence supporting the allegation that Shoaib was a combatant, and received a reply that the incident is being further investigated. “CPJ is investigating this latest attack on journalists in Lebanon which has been an increasingly deadly zone for journalists, despite their status as civilians who must not be targeted,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “We have seen a disturbing pattern in this war and in the decades prior of Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence. Journalists are not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for.” Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese Minister of Information Paul Morcos <a href="https://www.annahar.com/lebanon/293351/%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D9%82-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9">denounced the killing of the journalists, with president Aoun calling the attack “a blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars.” CPJ has documented the killing of at least four other journalists across the Middle East since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February. The targeting of the three journalists comes two days after the killing of the photojournalist Hussain Hamood, and 9 days after the killing of journalist Mohammed Sherri, who also worked for Al-Manar TV, in an Israeli strike in central Beirut. This latest attack brings the total number of press members killed in Lebanon since the Israel-Gaza war began to 11. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Beyond showing up for No Kings, build power where you live. Join the Good Neighbors Coalition, a vetted decentralized hub linking neighborhoods, groups, and organizers to share support, resources, and strategy, submitted by a longtime Gaslit Nation listener. Check out The Relay, a no-signup start page packed with tools, trainings, and news. And try the simple 2-10 method, submitted by another Gaslit Nation listener: contact two to ten politicians about an issue you care about, then ask two to ten friends to do the same. That ripple effect can turn one voice into hundreds. Movements grow through small, steady acts of courage right now. Show Notes: Harriet Tubman was the first woman in U.S. history to lead a major military operation: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/combahee-ferry-raid Good Neighbors Coalition: For more info or to join, visit the GNC Entry Portal via Signal: https://signal.group/#CjQKIC6h0DY9EQaix6yR_hZP4ojCd34cj8pDDhlZKKMUI4PAEhBBwSXJD2JtSg8SZbVnCDxV The Relay: A startpage of tools, resources, links to trainings, and news. No signup required. https://start.me/p/NQ4OyY/the-relay The 2-10 Idea: We ask people to contact 2-10 politicians about something they care about. Then ask 2-10 friends to do the same. Those friends ask their friends. And it keeps going. Two people becomes twenty. Twenty becomes two hundred. Fast. That's the 2-10 idea. It turns one person into a movement - without needing a big platform or a lot of money. Mrs. Orwell: Join Andrea Chalupa for the launch of her new graphic novel April 13 at PowerHouse Books Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn 7pm ET. Patreon members get in for free and get a book. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit to suppor the show. Event details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/
Beyond showing up for No Kings, build power where you live. Join the Good Neighbors Coalition, a vetted decentralized hub linking neighborhoods, groups, and organizers to share support, resources, and strategy, submitted by a longtime Gaslit Nation listener. Check out The Relay, a no-signup start page packed with tools, trainings, and news. And try the simple 2-10 method, submitted by another Gaslit Nation listener: contact two to ten politicians about an issue you care about, then ask two to ten friends to do the same. That ripple effect can turn one voice into hundreds. Movements grow through small, steady acts of courage right now. Show Notes: Harriet Tubman was the first woman in U.S. history to lead a major military operation: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/combahee-ferry-raid Good Neighbors Coalition: For more info or to join, visit the GNC Entry Portal via Signal: https://signal.group/#CjQKIC6h0DY9EQaix6yR_hZP4ojCd34cj8pDDhlZKKMUI4PAEhBBwSXJD2JtSg8SZbVnCDxV The Relay: A startpage of tools, resources, links to trainings, and news. No signup required. https://start.me/p/NQ4OyY/the-relay The 2-10 Idea: We ask people to contact 2-10 politicians about something they care about. Then ask 2-10 friends to do the same. Those friends ask their friends. And it keeps going. Two people becomes twenty. Twenty becomes two hundred. Fast. That's the 2-10 idea. It turns one person into a movement - without needing a big platform or a lot of money. Mrs. Orwell: Join Andrea Chalupa for the launch of her new graphic novel April 13 at PowerHouse Books Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn 7pm ET. Patreon members get in for free and get a book. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit to suppor the show. Event details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
This content originally appeared on VICE News and was authored by VICE News.
DOGE goes nuclear: How Trump invited Silicon Valley into America’s nuclear power regulator
Staffers from DOGE are revamping rules in ways to ease regulations and provide financial breaks for industry.
Last summer, a group of officials from the Department of Energy gathered at the Idaho National Laboratory, a sprawling 890-square-mile complex in the eastern desert of Idaho where the U.S. government built its first rudimentary nuclear power plant in 1951 and continues to test cutting-edge technology. On the agenda that day: the future of nuclear energy in the Trump era. The meeting was convened by 31-year-old lawyer Seth Cohen. Just five years out of law school, Cohen brought no significant experience in nuclear law or policy; he had just entered government through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team. As Cohen led the group through a technical conversation about licensing nuclear reactor designs, he repeatedly downplayed health and safety concerns. When staff brought up the topic of radiation exposure from nuclear test sites, Cohen broke in. “They are testing in Utah. … I don’t know, like 70 people live there,” he said. “But … there’s lots of babies,” one staffer pushed back. Babies, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups are thought to be potentially more susceptible to cancers brought on by low-level radiation exposure, and they are usually afforded greater protections. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="barrels labeled radioactive LSA and hazardous waste" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?resize=1200%2C639&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?resize=330%2C176&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?resize=768%2C409&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?resize=1536%2C818&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nuclear-waste-utah.jpg?resize=150%2C80&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="852" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Utah Republicans see storing nuclear waste as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ Leia Larsen & Matt Ward “They’ve been downwind before,” another staffer joked. “This is why we don’t use AI transcription in meetings,” another added. ProPublica reviewed records of that meeting, providing a rare look at a dramatic shift underway in one of the most sensitive domains of public policy. The Trump administration is upending the way nuclear energy is regulated, driven by a desire to dramatically increase the amount of energy available to power artificial intelligence. Career experts have been forced out and thousands of pages of regulations are being rewritten at a sprint. A new generation of nuclear energy companies — flush with Silicon Valley cash and boasting strong political connections — wield increasing influence over policy. Figures like Cohen are forcing a “move fast and break things” Silicon Valley ethos on one of the country’s most important regulators. The Trump administration has been particularly aggressive in its attacks on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the bipartisan independent regulator that approves commercial nuclear power plants and monitors their safety. The agency is not a household name. But it’s considered the international gold standard, often influencing safety rules around the world. The NRC has critics, especially in Silicon Valley, where the often-cautious commission is portrayed as an impediment to innovation. In an early salvo, President Donald Trump fired NRC Commissioner Christopher Hanson last June after Hanson spoke out about the importance of agency independence. It was the first time an NRC commissioner had been fired. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Three men in suits talk" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The Trump administration’s favorite nuclear startup has ties to Russia and Epstein Kiera Butler During that Idaho meeting, Cohen shot down any notion of NRC independence in the new era. “Assume the NRC is going to do whatever we tell the NRC to do,” he said, records reviewed by ProPublica show. In November, Cohen was made chief counsel for nuclear policy at the Department of Energy, where he oversees a broad nuclear portfolio. The aggressive moves have sent shock waves through the nuclear energy world. Many longtime promoters of the industry say they worry recklessness from the Trump administration could discredit responsible nuclear energy initiatives. “The regulator is no longer an independent regulator — we do not know whose interests it is serving,” warned Allison Macfarlane, who served as NRC chair during the Obama administration. “The safety culture is under threat.” A ProPublica analysis of staffing data from the NRC and the Office of Personnel Management shows a rush to the exits: Over 400 people have left the agency since Trump took office. The losses are particularly pronounced in the teams that handle reactor and nuclear materials safety and among veteran staffers with 10 or more years of experience. Meanwhile, hiring of new staff has proceeded at a snail’s pace, with nearly 60 new arrivals in the first year of the Trump administration compared with nearly 350 in the last year of the Biden administration. Some nuclear power supporters say the administration is providing a needed level of urgency given the energy demands of AI. They also contend the sweeping changes underway aren’t as dangerous or dire as some experts suggest. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Collage of hundred dollar bills, Chris Wright, and nuclear cooling tower" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/energy-finance-loan-office.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1125" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> This $400B Biden climate program is surviving the Trump administration Jake Bittle “I think the NRC has been frozen in time,” said Brett Rampal, the senior director of nuclear and power strategy at the investment and strategy consultancy Veriten. “It’s a great time to get unfrozen and aim to work quickly.” The White House referred most of ProPublica’s questions to the Department of Energy, where spokesperson Olivia Tinari said the agency is committed to helping build more safe, high-quality nuclear energy facilities. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, America’s nuclear industry is entering a new era that will provide reliable, abundant power for generations to come,” she wrote. The DOE is “committed to the highest standards of safety for American workers and communities.” Cohen did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The NRC declined to comment. Blindsided by DOGE The U.S. has not had a serious nuclear incident since the Three Mile Island partial meltdown in 1979, a track record many experts attribute to a rigorous regulatory environment and an intense safety culture. Major nuclear incidents around the world have only strengthened the resolve of past regulators to stay independent from industry and from political winds. A chief cause of Japan’s Fukushima accident, investigators found, was the cozy relationship between the country’s industry and oversight body, which opened the door for thin safety assessments and inaccurate projections overlooking the possible impact of a major tsunami. “We knew regulatory capture led directly to Fukushima and to Chernobyl,” said Kathryn Huff, who was assistant secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy during the Biden administration. The U.S. has barely built any nuclear power plants in recent decades. Only three new reactors have been completed in the last 25 years, and since 1990 the U.S has barely added any net new nuclear electricity to its grid. Though about 20 percent of U.S. energy is supplied by nuclear power plants, the fleet is aging. Some experts blame the slow build-out on the challenging economics of financing a multibillion-dollar project and the uncertainty of accessing and disposing of nuclear fuels. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Collage of Capitol building, snippets of dollar bills, and photos of climate-related work" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/federal-workers-impact.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> They lost their jobs and funding under Trump. What did communities lose? Grist staff But an increasingly vocal group of industry voices and deregulation advocates have blamed the slow build-out on overly cautious and inefficient regulators. Among the most powerful exponents of this view are billionaires Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen; both venture capitalists have their own investments in the nuclear energy sector and are influential Trump supporters. Andreessen camped out at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida, after Trump won the 2024 election, helping pick staff for the new administration. In late 2024, Thiel personally vetted at least one candidate for the Office of Nuclear Energy, according to people familiar with the conversations. Neither responded to requests for comment. Four months into his second term, Trump signed a series of executive orders designed to supercharge nuclear power build-out. “It’s a hot industry, it’s a brilliant industry,” said Trump, flanked by nuclear energy CEOs in the Oval Office. He added: “And it’s become very safe.” Under those orders, the NRC was directed to reduce its workforce, speed up the timeline for approving nuclear reactors and rewrite many of its safety rules. The DOE — which has a vast nuclear portfolio, including waste cleanup sites and government research labs — was tasked with creating a pathway for so-called advanced nuclear companies to test their designs. The goal, Trump said, was to quadruple nuclear energy output and provide new power to the data centers behind the AI boom. As DOGE gutted agencies, departures mounted in the nuclear sector. Career experts in nuclear regulations and safety departed or were forced out. When Trump fired Hanson, a Democratic NRC commissioner, the president’s team explained the move by saying, “All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction.” Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="photo of Donald Trump pointing, a photo of a satellite view of Earth, and graphics of charts on top" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1st-year-charts-centered.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1125" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The consequences of Trump’s war on climate in 7 charts Grist staff In an unsigned email to ProPublica, the White House press office wrote: “All commissioners are presidential appointees and can be fired just like any other appointee.” In August, the NRC’s top attorney resigned and was replaced by oil and gas lawyer David Taggart, who had been working on DOGE cuts at the DOE. In all, the nuclear office at the DOE had lost about a third of its staff, according to a January 2026 count by the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit focused on science and technology policy. That summer, Cohen and a team of DOGE operatives touched down at the NRC offices, a series of nondescript towers across from a Dunkin’ in suburban Maryland. He was joined by Adam Blake, an investor who had recently founded an AI medical startup and has a background in real estate and solar energy, and Ankur Bansal, president of a company that created software for real estate agents. Neither would comment for this story. Many career officials who spoke with ProPublica were blindsided: The new Trump officials at the NRC seemed to have no experience with the intricacies of nuclear energy policy or law, they said. One NRC lawyer who briefed some of the new arrivals decided to resign. “They were talking about quickly approving all these new reactors, and they didn’t seem to care that much about the rules — they wanted to carry out the wishes of the White House,” the official said. At one point, Cohen began passing out hats from nuclear energy startup Valar Atomics, one of the companies vying to build a new reactor, according to sources familiar with the matter and records seen by ProPublica. NRC staffers balked; they were supposed to monitor companies like Valar for safety violations, not wear its swag. NRC ethics officials warned Cohen that the hat handout was a likely violation of conflict rules. It betrayed a misunderstanding of the safety regulator’s role, said a former official familiar with the exchange. “Imagine you live near a nuclear power plant, and you find out a supposedly independent safety regulator — the watchdog — is going around wearing the power plant’s branded hats,” the official said. “Would that make you feel safe?” The NRC and Cohen did not respond to requests for comment about the hat incident. Valar counts Trump’s Silicon Valley allies as angel investors. They include Palmer Luckey, a technology executive and founder of the defense contractor Anduril, and Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer of Palantir, the software company helping power Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation raids. It was among three nuclear reactor companies that sued the NRC last year in an attempt to strip it of its authority to regulate its reactors and replace it with a state-level regulator. Before the Trump administration came into office, lawyers watching the case were confident the courts would quickly dismiss the suit, as the NRC’s authority to regulate reactors is widely acknowledged. But new Trump appointees pushed for a compromise settlement — which is still being negotiated. The career NRC lawyer working on the case quietly left the agency. Valar and its executives did not reply to requests for comment. ‘Going so fast’ The deregulatory push is the culmination of mounting pressure — both political and economic — to make it easier to build nuclear power in the U.S. Over the years, a bipartisan coalition supporting nuclear expansion brought together environmentalists who favor zero-carbon power and defense hawks focused on abundant domestic energy production. Anti-nuclear activists still argue that renewable energy like wind and solar are safer and more economical. But streamlining the NRC has been a bipartisan priority as well. The latest major reform came in 2024, when President Joe Biden signed into law the ADVANCE Act, which went as far as changing the mission statement of the NRC to ensure it “does not unnecessarily limit” nuclear energy development. Some nuclear power supporters say the Trump administration is merely accelerating these changes. They cite instances in which the current regulations appear out of sync with the times. The NRC’s byzantine rules are designed for so-called large light-water reactors — massive facilities that can power entire cities — and not the increasingly in vogue smaller advanced reactor designs popular among Silicon Valley-backed firms. Rules that require fences of certain heights might make little sense for new reactors buried in the earth; and rules that require a certain number of operators per reactor could be a bad fit for a cluster of smaller reactors with modern controls. Advances in sensors, modeling and safety technologies, they say, should be taken into account across the board. The NRC has said it expects over two dozen new license requests from small modular and advanced reactor companies in coming years. Many of those requests are likely to come from new, Silicon Valley-based nuclear firms. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks at podium" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2218966013.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Inside the program cuts, workforce purges, and secretive reorganization of the USDA Ayurella Horn-Muller “There was a missing link in the innovation cycle, and it was very difficult to build something and test it in the U.S. because of mostly licensing and site availability constraints in the past,” said Adam Stein of the pro-nuclear nonprofit Breakthrough Institute. The regulatory changes are in flux: This spring, the NRC is starting to release thousands of pages of new rules governing everything from the safety and emergency preparedness plans reactor companies are required to submit to the procedures for objecting to a reactor license. “It’s hard to know if they are getting rid of unnecessary processes or if it’s actually reducing public safety,” said one official working on reactor licensing, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the Trump administration. “And that’s just the problem with going so fast — everything just kind of gets lost in a mush.” Lawyers from the Executive Office of the President have been sent to the NRC to keep an eye on the new rules, a move that further raised alarms about the agency’s independence. Nicholas Gallagher — a relatively recent New York University law school graduate and conservative writer whom ProPublica previously identified as a DOGE operative at the General Services Administration — has been involved in conversations about overhauling environmental rules. He’s working alongside Sydney Volanski, a 30-year-old recent law school graduate who rose to national attention while she was in high school for her campaign against the Girl Scouts of America, which she accused of promoting “Marxists, socialists, and advocates of same-sex lifestyle.” Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="An older woman walks next to an office building holding a Save the EPA handmade sign" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SaveTheEPA.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The fight for the heart of the US Environmental Protection Agency Madeline Ostrander, bioGraphic NRC lawyers working on the rules were told last October that Gallagher and Volanski would be joining them, and they both appear on the regular NRC rulemaking calendar invite. The White House maintains, however, that “zero lawyers from the Executive Office of the President have been dispatched to work on rulemaking.” Neither Gallagher nor Volanski replied to requests for comment. The administration is routing the new rules through an office overseen by Trump’s cost-cutting guru Russell Vought, a move that was previously unheard of for an independent regulator like the NRC. The White House spokesperson noted that, under a recent executive order, this process is now required for all agencies. Political operatives have been “inserted into the senior leadership team to the point where they could significantly influence decision-making,” said Scott Morris, who worked at the NRC for more than 32 years, most recently as the number two career operations official. “I just think that would be a dangerous proposition.” Morris voted for Trump twice and broadly supports the goals of deregulating and expanding nuclear energy, but he has begun speaking out against the administration’s interference at the NRC. He retired in May 2025 as part of a wave of retirements and firings. At a recent hearing before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board — an independent body that helps adjudicate nuclear licensing — NRC lawyers withdrew from the proceedings, citing “limited resources.” The judge remarked that it was the first time in over 20 years the NRC had done so. Meanwhile, some staff members, other career officials say, are afraid to voice dissenting views for fear of being fired. “It feels like being a lobster in a slowly boiling pot,” one NRC official who has been working on the rule changes told ProPublica, describing the erosion of independence. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Photo of smokestacks spewing smoke into a blue sky with large mounds of coal in front" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PacifiCorp-coal-plant-Utah.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The culture war is coming for your electricity Kate Yoder & Leia Larsen The official was one of three who compared their recent experience at NRC to being in a pot of slowly boiling water. “If somebody is raising something that they think that the industry or the White House would have a problem with, they think twice,” the official said. Inside the NRC, the steering committee overseeing the changes includes Cohen, Taggart, and Mike King, a career NRC official who is the newly installed executive director for operations. The former director, Mirela Gavrilas, a 21-year veteran of the agency, retired after getting boxed out of decision-making, according to a person familiar with her departure. Gavrilas did not respond to a request for comment. Any final changes will be approved by the NRC’s five commissioners, three of whom are Republicans. In September, the two Democratic commissioners told a Senate committee they might be fired at any time if they get crosswise with Trump — including over revisions to safety rules. Draft rules being circulated inside the NRC propose drastic rollbacks of security and safety inspections at nuclear facilities. Those include a proposed 56 percent cut in emergency preparedness inspection time, CNN reported in March. Even some pro-nuclear groups are troubled by the emerging order. Some have tried to backchannel to their contacts in the Trump administration to explain the importance of an independent regulator to help maintain public support for nuclear power. Without it, they risk losing credibility. “You have to make sure you don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater,” said Judi Greenwald, president and CEO of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, a nonprofit that promotes nuclear energy and supports many of the regulatory changes being proposed by the Trump administration. Greenwald’s group favors faster timelines for approving nuclear reactors, but she worries that the agency’s fundamental independence has been undermined. “We would prefer that they yield back more of NRC independence,” she said. ‘Nuke bros’ in Silicon Valley One Trump administration priority has been making it easier for so-called advanced reactor companies to navigate the regulatory process. These firms, mostly backed by Silicon Valley tech and venture money, are often working on designs for much smaller reactors that they hope to mass produce in factories. “There are two nuclear industries,” said Macfarlane, the former NRC chair. “There are the actual people who use nuclear reactors to produce power and put it on the grid … and then there are the ‘nuke bros’” in Silicon Valley. Trump’s Silicon Valley allies have loomed large over his nuclear policy. One prospective political appointee for a top DOE nuclear job got a Christmas Eve call from Thiel, the rare Silicon Valley leader to back Trump in 2016. Thiel, whose Founders Fund invested in a nuclear fuel startup and an advanced reactor company, quizzed the would-be official about deregulation and how to rapidly build more nuclear energy capacity, said sources familiar with the conversation. Nuclear energy startups jockeyed to spend time at Mar-a-Lago in the months before the start of Trump’s second term. Balerion Space Ventures, a venture capital firm that has invested in multiple companies, convened an investor summit there in January 2025, according to an invitation viewed by ProPublica. Balerion did not reply to a request for comment. A few months later, when Trump was drawing up the executive orders, leaders at many of those nuclear companies were given advanced access to drafts of the text — and the opportunity to provide suggested edits, documents viewed by ProPublica show. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Two men in business suits stand in front of a white background. They are holding papers." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267568339-1.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Trump’s $1B payoff to stop offshore wind is even stranger than it sounds Jake Bittle & Rebecca Egan McCarthy Those orders created a new program to test out experimental reactor designs, addressing a common complaint that companies are not given opportunities to experiment. There are currently about a dozen advanced reactor companies planning to participate. Each has a concierge team within the DOE to help navigate bureaucracy. As NPR reported in January, the DOE quietly overhauled a series of safety rules that would apply to these new reactors and shared the new regulations with these companies before making them public. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright — who served on the board of one of those companies, Oklo — has said fast nuclear build-out is a priority: “We are moving as quickly as we can to permit, build and enable the rapid construction of as much nuke capacity as possible,” he told CNBC last fall. Oklo noted that Wright stepped down from the board when he was confirmed. The Trump administration hopes some of the companies would have their reactors “go critical” — a key first step on the way to building a functioning power plant — by July 2026. Then the NRC, which signs off on the safety designs of commercial nuclear power plants, could be expected to quickly OK these new reactors to get to market. According to people familiar with the conversations, at least one nuclear energy startup CEO personally recruited potential members of the DOGE nuclear team, though it’s not clear if Cohen was brought aboard this way. Cohen has told colleagues and industry contacts that he reports to Emily Underwood, one of Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s top aides for economic policy. He is perceived inside government as a key avatar of the White House’s nuclear agenda. In its email to ProPublica, the White House said, “Seth Cohen is a Department of Energy employee and does not report to Emily Underwood or Stephen Miller in any capacity.” The DOE spokesperson added, “Seth’s role at the Department of Energy is to support the Trump administration’s mission to unleash American Energy Dominance.” Cohen has been pushing to raise the legal limit of radiation that nuclear energy companies are allowed to emit from their facilities. One nuclear industry insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said many firms are fixating on changing these radiation rules: Their business model requires moving nuclear reactors around the country, often near workers or the general public. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="solar panels in desert" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP25022836273677.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The feds pulled $1.5B from tribal clean energy. Tribes are finding another way. Miacel Spotted Elk Building thick, expensive shielding walls can be prohibitively expensive, they said. Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor has called limits on exposure to radiation a top barrier to industry growth. A recent DOE memo seen by ProPublica cites cost savings on shielding for Valar’s reactor to justify changing those limits. “Shielding-related cost reductions,” the memo said, “could range from $1-2 million per reactor.” The debate over the precise rule change is ongoing. The DOE has been considering a fivefold increase to the limit for public exposure to radiation, which will allow some nuclear reactor companies to cut costs on these expensive safety shields, internal DOE documents seen by ProPublica show. A presentation prepared by DOE staffers in their Idaho offices that has circulated inside the department makes the “business case” for changing the radiation dose rules: It could cut the cost of some new reactors by as much as 5 percent. These more relaxed standards are likely to be adopted by the NRC and apply to reactors nationwide, documents show. In February, Wright accompanied Valar’s executive team on a first-of-its-kind flight, as a U.S. military plane was conscripted to fly the company’s reactor from Los Angeles to Utah. Valar does not yet have a working nuclear reactor, and a number of industry sources told ProPublica they viewed the airlift as a PR exercise. Internal government memos justified the airlift by designating it as “critical” to the U.S. “national security interests.” Cohen posted smiling pictures of himself from the cargo bay of the military plane. Cohen told an audience at the American Nuclear Society that the rapid build-out was essential to powering Silicon Valley’s AI data centers. He framed the policy in existential terms: “I can’t emphasize this strongly enough that losing the AI war is an outcome akin to the Nazis developing the bomb before the United States.” As it deliberated rule changes, the DOE has cut out its internal team of health experts who work on radiation safety at the Office of Environment, Health, Safety, and Security, said sources familiar with the decision. The advice of outside experts on radiation protection has been largely cast aside. The DOE spokesperson said its radiation standards “are aligned with Gold Standard Science … with a focus on protecting people and the environment while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.” The department has already decided to abandon the long-standing radiation protection principle known as “ALARA” — the “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” standard — which directs anyone dealing with radioactive materials to minimize exposure. It often pushes exposure well below legal thresholds. Many experts agreed that the ALARA principle was sometimes applied too strictly, but the move to entirely throw it out was opposed by many prominent radiation health experts. Whether the agencies will actually change the legal thresholds for radiation exposure is an open question, said sources familiar with the deliberations. Internal DOE documents arguing for changing dose rules cite a report produced at the Idaho National Laboratory, which was compiled with the help of the AI assistant Claude. “It’s really strange,” said Kathryn Higley, president of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a congressionally chartered group studying radiation safety. “They fundamentally mistake the science.” John Wagner, the head of the Idaho National Laboratory and the report’s lead author, acknowledged to ProPublica that the science over changing radiation exposure rules is hotly contested. “We recognize that respected experts interpret aspects of this literature differently,” he wrote. His analysis was not meant to be the final word, he said, but was “intended to inform debate.” The impact of radiation levels at very low doses is hard to measure, so the U.S. has historically struck a cautious note. Raising dose limits could put the U.S. out of step with international standards. For his part, Cohen has told the nuclear industry that he sees his job as making sure the government “is no longer a barrier” to them. In June, he shot down the notion of companies putting money into a fund for workplace accidents. “Put yourself in the shoes of one of these startups,” he said. “They’re raising hundreds of millions of dollars to do this. And then they would have to go to their VCs and their board and say, ‘Listen, guys, we actually need a few hundred million dollars more to put into a trust fund?’” He also suggested that regulators should not fret about preparing for so-called 100-year events — disasters that have roughly a 1 percent chance of taking place but can be catastrophic for nuclear facilities. “When SpaceX started building rockets, they sort of expected the first ones to blow up,” he said. Pratheek Rebala and Kirsten Berg contributed research. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline DOGE goes nuclear: How Trump invited Silicon Valley into America’s nuclear power regulator on Mar 28, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica.
Iran’s IRGC Looks To Recruit Child ‘Combatants’ As Young As 12
Jonathan Cook: Does the tail wag the dog? How both sides are missing the bigger picture
ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Cook The joint US-Israeli war on Iran has thrust back into the spotlight a divisive debate about whether the dog wags the tail, or the tail wags the dog. Who is in charge of this war: Israel or the United States? One side believes Israel lured Trump into a trap from which
ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Cook The joint US-Israeli war on Iran has thrust back into the spotlight a divisive debate about whether the dog wags the tail, or the tail wags the dog. Who is in charge of this war: Israel or the United States? One side believes Israel lured Trump into a trap from which he cannot extricate himself. The tail is wagging the dog. READ MORE: US-Israeli war on Iran widens with first attack from Yemen US-Israel war on Iran: What’s happening on day 29 of attacks? Why is the West dancing to Israel’s tune? What’s leading us to disaster Other war on Iran and Palestine reports The other believes that the US, as the world’s sole military super-power, is the one that writes the geo-strategic script. If Israel acts, it is only because it serves Washington’s interests as well. The dog is wagging the tail. Certainly, the idea that the tail, the client state of Israel, could be wagging the dog, the military juggernaut that is the US, seems, at best, counter-intuitive. But then again, there is plenty of evidence that suggests advocates for the tail wagging the dog scenario may have a case. They can point to the fact that Trump launched this war of choice on Iran despite winning the presidency on an “America First” platform in which he promised: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.” Rushed into war His secretary of state, Marco Rubio, openly stated that the administration was rushed into war, finding itself apparently unable to restrain Israel from attacking Iran. Joe Kent, Trump’s top counter-terrorism official, noted in his resignation letter that the administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”. Addressing the Israeli Parliament last October, Trump appeared to confess to being under the thumb of the Israel lobby. As he praised himself for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the illegally occupied city of Jerusalem, he repeatedly pointed to his most influential donor, the Israeli-American billionaire Miriam Adelson, before observing: “I actually asked her once, I said, ‘So, Miriam, I know you love Israel. What do you love more, the United States or Israel?’ She refused to answer. That means, that might mean, Israel, I must say.” A video from 2001 shows Benjamin Netanyahu, now Israel’s Prime Minister, caught secretly on camera, telling a group of settlers: “I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won’t get in the way.” Former US president Barack Obama, who ran up against Netanyahu repeatedly as Obama tried and failed to limit the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements, thought the same. In his 2020 autobiography, he wrote that the Israel lobby insisted that “there should be ‘no daylight’ between the US and Israeli governments, even when Israel took actions that were contrary to US policy.” Any politician who disobeyed “risked being tagged as ‘anti-Israel’ (and possibly anti-Semitic) and confronted with a well-funded opponent in the next election”. Obscuring the relationship But any rigid, binary way of framing the relationship between the US and Israel obscures more than it illuminates. I addressed this issue in my 2008 book on Israeli foreign policy, titled Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iran, Iraq and the Plan to Remake the Middle East. My conclusion then, as now, was that the relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv was better understood in different terms: as the dog and the tail wagging each other. What does that mean? Israel is Washington’s most favoured client state. It must, therefore, operate within the “security” parameters for the Middle East laid down by the US. In fact, part of Israel’s job — the reason it is such an important client state — is because it has, until now, been able to enforce those parameters on others in the region. But the story is more complicated than that. At the same time, Israel seeks to maximise its ability to influence those parameters in its own interests, chiefly by shaping military, political and cultural discourse in the United States, through the many levers available to it. Mobilised by Zionist lobbies Zionist lobbies, both Jewish and Christian, mobilise large numbers of ordinary people to support whatever Israel claims to be in both its and US interests. Mega-donors like Adelson use their wealth to cajole and intimidate US politicians. Think-tanks with murky funding write legislation on Israel’s behalf that US politicians wave through. Legal organisations, again with opaque funding, weaponise the law to silence and bankrupt. And media owners, all too often in Israel’s camp, mould the public mood to stigmatise as “antisemitism” anything that opposes Israeli excesses. This makes for a very messy arrangement. The trouble with the idea that the US simply dictates to Israel — rather than that the two are constantly bargaining over what constitutes their shared interests — becomes apparent the moment we consider the two-and-a-half-year genocide in Gaza. Desire to ‘disappear’ Palestinians Israel has long had a fervent desire to disappear the Palestinians, whether through ethnic cleansing or genocide. It wants the whole of historic Palestine, and the Palestinians are an obstacle to the realisation of that goal. Should the opportunity arise, Israel is also keen to secure a Greater Israel that requires grabbing and annexing substantial territory from neighbours, particularly Lebanon and Syria — as it is doing again right now. After the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel seized on the chance to renew in earnest the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians it began in 1948, at the state’s founding. It carpet-bombed Gaza, creating a “humanitarian crisis”, to force Egypt to open the floodgates into Sinai, where it hoped to drive the enclave’s population. Cairo refused. As a result, Israel tried to increase the pressure by slaughtering and starving the people of Gaza. In legal terms, that constituted genocide. But the idea that the US was deeply invested in Israel carrying out a genocide in Gaza, or directed that genocide, or had any particular interest in the genocide taking place, is hard to sustain. Washington — first under Biden, then under Trump — gave Israel cover to carry out the mass slaughter of the Palestinian population, and armed and financed the genocide. But that is very different from it having a geostrategic interest in the mass slaughter. Indifferent to Palestinians’ fate Rather, the US is and always has been largely indifferent as to the fate of the Palestinians, so long as they are contained. They can be locked up permanently in occupation prisons. Or ethnically cleansed to Sinai and Jordan. Or given a pretend statelet under a compliant dictator like Mahmoud Abbas. Or exterminated. The US will bankroll whichever option Israel believes best serves its interests — so long as that “solution” can be sold by pro-Israel lobbies to western publics as a legitimate “response” to Palestinian “terrorism”. What Israel could get away with changed on 7 October 2023. The US was prepared to approve Israel shifting from a policy of intermittently “mowing the lawn” in Gaza — short wrecking sprees — to the incremental levelling of the whole of Gaza. In other words, Israel worked all its levers to persuade Washington that it was the right time for it to get away with genocide. It sold to the US the plan that Gaza could now be destroyed. To present that as Washington’s plan is simply perverse. It was decisively Israel’s plan. That doesn’t diminish in any way US responsibility for the genocide. It is fully complicit. It paid for the genocide. It armed the genocide. It must own it too. Similar Iran war analysis A similar analysis can be applied to the Iran war. The US and Israel share the same larger policy towards Iran: they want it contained, weak, unable to exert influence. But they do so for slightly different reasons. Israel demands to be regional hegemon in the Middle East, an invaluable client state with privileged access to Washington policymakers. Its supremacy and impunity, therefore, depend on Iran — its only plausible rival in the region — being as weak as possible and incapable of forging effective alliances with armed resistance groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. Equally, Washington wants Israel unthreatened, leaving its ally free to project US imperial power into the Middle East. But it has a more complex set of interests to consider. It needs to ensure that the Arab monarchies remain compliant, and it does so by both wielding a stick — threatening to unleash the attack dog of Israel on them should they disobey — and proffering a carrot — promising to shield them under its security umbrella against Iran so long as they stay loyal. The ultimate goal is to guarantee unchallenged US control over the flow of oil and thereby the global economy. In other words, the US has to weigh far more interests in how it deals with Iran than Israel does. Effects on the global economy Unlike Israel, Washington has to consider the effects of an attack on Iran on the global economy, to assess any impact on the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and protect against rival powers like China and Russia exploiting strategic missteps. For those reasons, Washington has traditionally preferred maintaining a degree of stability in the region. Instability is very bad for business, as is being demonstrated only too clearly right now. Israel, by contrast, regards its struggle against Iran in existential terms. Many in the Israeli cabinet view it as a religious war. They are not interested in simply containing Iran – a decades-old policy they believe has failed. They want Iran and its allies on their knees, or at least in so much chaos that they cannot pose any kind of challenge to Israeli regional hegemony. That point was highlighted by Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s former national security adviser, this week in an interview with Jon Stewart. He cited recent comments to him by Israel’s former military intelligence lead on Iran, Danny Cintrinowicz, that Netanyahu’s aim is to “just break Iran, cause chaos”. Why? “Because,” says Sullivan, “as far as they’re concerned, a broken Iran is less of a threat to Israel.” In other words, Israel wants to engineer instability in Iran, which is sure to spread instability across the region. Those two agendas, as should be clear by now, are not easily compatible. Which is why Netanyahu has spent decades working every lever at his disposal in Washington to create an appetite for war. Had war been self-evidently in US interests, his efforts would have been superfluous. Israel deployed its lobbies Instead, Israel has had to deploy its lobbies, marshal its donors and recruit sympathetic columnists to slowly shift the public mood to the point where a war was conceivable rather than patently dangerous. And most importantly of all, Israel nurtured an intimate, ideological alliance with the neocons — hawkish, zealously pro-Israel US officials — who long ago gained a foothold in the inner sanctums of Washington. Each recent administration has been a cat-fight over whether the neocons or more “moderate” voices would win out. Under George W Bush, the neocons dominated, leading to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Israel’s short war on Lebanon in 2006, and a failed plan to expand the war to Syria and then Iran. I documented all of this in Israel and the Clash of Civilisations. Under Obama, the neocons were forced to take more of a back seat, which is why his administration was able to sign a nuclear deal with Iran that held until Trump ripped it up in 2018, during his first term as president. Biden, as with so much else, dithered. In Trump’s second term, the neocons seem to be firmly back in charge, again weaving their mischief. The result — an illegal war on Iran — is likely to be a strategic catastrophe for the US, and a potential, if short-lived, victory for Israel. So isn’t this the same as saying the tail wags the dog? Sole repositories of power No, not least because that assumes the visible realm of US politics — the President, the Congress, the two main political parties — are the sole repositories of power in the system. Even in this visible sphere, support for Israel has dramatically waned since the Gaza genocide. As the illegal war on Iran grows ever more costly, both in treasure and lives, support for Israel among US voters is going to fall off a cliff. Israel is for the first time a deeply partisan issue, dividing Democrats and Republicans, as well as a generational divide between the young and old. It is even splitting the MAGA base Trump depends on. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="moz-reader-block-img" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UjW2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e00f859-22fe-4bf7-922e-bd614326471d_700x674.avif" alt="Americans' sympathies in the Middle East crisis" width="700" height="674" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4e00f859-22fe-4bf7-922e-bd614326471d_700x674.avif","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":674,"width":700,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":20892,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/avif","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://jonathancook.substack.com/i/192205355?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e00f859-22fe-4bf7-922e-bd614326471d_700x674.avif","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" /> Americans’ sympathies in the Middle East crisis. Source: Gallup World Affairs surveys This political polarisation will continue to get much worse, ultimately freeing braver figures in US politics to start speaking out in franker terms about Israel’s nefarious role. But power in the US isn’t just wielded at the formal, visible level. There is a permanent bureaucracy, with an institutional memory, that operates out of sight. We have gained brief glimpses of its covert operations from the work of Wikileaks, Julian Assange’s publishing platform for whistleblowers, and from Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed illegal mass surveillance by the US state of its own citizens. Both suffered serious consequences for their efforts to bring a little transparency to a profoundly corrupt system of secret power. Assange was locked away in a London high-security prison for many years as the US sought to extradite him on trumped-up “espionage” charges, while Snowden was forced into exile in Russia to evade arrest and long-term incarceration. That bureaucracy — sometimes referred to as the Deep State, or the military-industrial complex — doesn’t play or fight fair. It doesn’t need to. It operates in the shadows. Curtailing Israel’s influence Were it to so choose, it could undermine the Israel lobby, and thereby curtail Israel’s influence over the visible realm of US politics. It could effectively do to the leaders of the lobby — AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, the Zionist Organisation of America, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Christians United for Israel, and others — what it did to Assange and Snowden. It could, for example, influence public discourse to begin questioning whether these groups are really serving US interests or acting as foreign agents. That would, in turn, free up space for the media and legislators to call for tighter restrictions on these groups’ activities, requiring them to register as such. The permanent bureaucracy is doubtless capable of doing much darker, underhand things too. The fact that it hasn’t chosen to do any of this yet suggests Israel’s goals are not seen so far to be significantly in conflict with US goals. But that could be about to change. In fact, the current, all-too-public debates about Israel driving the US into a war against Iran — an idea already seeping into popular consciousness — may be the first salvoes in the battle to come. If the war on Iran turns out to be a catastrophic misstep, as it gives every appearance of being, there will be a price to pay — and leading US politicians are likely to scramble to shift the blame on to Israel. It may be that they are already getting in their excuses. The all-too-visible freedom Israel has enjoyed in Washington to buy, bully and silence could soon become a central liability. It will not be hard to argue that a system so clearly open to manipulation that the US could be bounced into a self-sabotaging war needs to be remade, to prevent any repeat of such a disaster. This may be the biggest lesson Washington learns from the war on Iran. That it is time to stop the tail wagging so vigorously. Jonathan Cook is a writer, journalist and self-appointed media critic and author of many books about Palestine. Winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. This article was first published on the author’s Substack and reepublished with permission. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Cuban envoy makes strong plea for his country defying US blockade
Asia Pacific Report Cuba’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Luis Morejón Rodríguez, last night made a passionate plea for his country’s sovereignty in defiance of the illegal US-led fuel blockade of the Caribbean nation. Speaking at a packed Auckland Trades Hall, he warned that the three-month oil blockade and energy blackouts threatened the country’s public health
Asia Pacific Report Cuba’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Luis Morejón Rodríguez, last night made a passionate plea for his country’s sovereignty in defiance of the illegal US-led fuel blockade of the Caribbean nation. Speaking at a packed Auckland Trades Hall, he warned that the three-month oil blockade and energy blackouts threatened the country’s public health system with dire consequences for many patients. “In Cuba today, approximately 16,000 patients undergoing radiotherapy and more than 2800 patients receiving hemodialysis depend every day on a stable electricity supply in hospitals across the country,” he said. READ MORE: Cuban Ambassador denounces US aggression and violations of international law Two Cuba-bound aid ships missing after leaving Mexico “These are life-sustaining treatments that cannot simply be postponed without risk.” He said Cuba would continue to oppose Washington’s escalating military threats and economic pressure on his country. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-125630" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Crowd-for-Cuba-APR-680wide.png" alt="New Zealand supporters of Cuba at last night's solidarity public meeting in Auckland " width="680" height="388" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Crowd-for-Cuba-APR-680wide.png 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Crowd-for-Cuba-APR-680wide-300x171.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> New Zealand supporters of Cuba at last night’s solidarity public meeting in Auckland with Cuban Ambassador Luis Morejón Rodríguez. Image: Asia Pacific Report Speaking alongside Ambassador Rodríguez was Dr Josephine Varghese, a Canterbury University lecturer who shared an eyewitness account of her recent trip to Havana. She praised Cuba and “our collective fight against the global imperialism system”. Military assault openly discussed A military assault on Cuba has been openly discussed by US President Donald Trump and other White House officials since the illegal January 2 strike against Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and also during the current war on Iran. Last week, Trump declared in an offhand manner that he could just “take” Cuba. International humanitarian convoys are bringing aid to Cuba to protest against the US fuel blockade, as Cuba continues to fend off US threats of a takeover. <img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-125631" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Cuban-aid-ship-APR-680wide.png" alt="The Nuestra America Convoy humanitarian aid arrives in Havana this week" width="680" height="383" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Cuban-aid-ship-APR-680wide.png 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Cuban-aid-ship-APR-680wide-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The Nuestra America Convoy humanitarian aid arrives in Havana this week. Image: Asia Pacific Report However, two Mexican sailboats on the Nuestra America Convoy that has just arrived in Cuba this week were reportedly missing at sea and coast guard authorities from Cuba and Mexico are looking for them. Ambassador Rodríguez said solidarity aid flotillas were really important for Cubans as they demonstrated global support. During his speech last night, Ambassador Rodríguez said that when energy availability became uncertain, hospitals needed to prioritise essential services, and non-urgent procedures often needed to be delayed, preserving electricity and fuel resources. “In other words, restrictions on fuel do not only affect economic indicators. They directly affect operating rooms, diagnostic equipment, medical treatments, and ultimately the health and well-being of patients,” he said. <img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-125632" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dr-Josephine-Varghese-APR-680wide.png" alt="University lecturer Dr Josephine Varghese talks about her recent Cuban solidarity experience" width="680" height="437" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dr-Josephine-Varghese-APR-680wide.png 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dr-Josephine-Varghese-APR-680wide-300x193.png 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Dr-Josephine-Varghese-APR-680wide-654x420.png 654w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> University lecturer Dr Josephine Varghese talks about her recent Cuban solidarity experience on a visit to Havana. Image: Asia Pacific Report ‘Coercion and collective punishment’ “That is why Cuba has described these measures as economic coercion and collective punishment.” On January 29, the White House issued an executive order blocking oil exports to Cuba, which imports around 60 percent of its fuel. Ambassador Rodríguez said the world was living in a moment when the international system was being tested. “Increasingly, we see the logic of power challenging the logic of law. “For countries like Cuba — small countries — international law is not an abstract concept. It is our main protection.” He criticised President Trump’s claim in January that Cuba represented an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security. “Let us pause for a moment and reflect on that statement. Cuba is a Caribbean island of 10 million people,” he said. ‘We do not project power’ “We do not possess nuclear weapons. We do not have military bases abroad. We do not project military power internationally. “And yet we are described as an extraordinary threat. “But this declaration is not merely rhetorical. It has very concrete consequences.” With Cubans continuing to live under prolonged blackouts and the government preparing for military confrontation, the audience last night celebrated Cuba’s courageous resistance, saying it was an inspiration to the world. The fuel blockade, enforced by the US naval armada in the Caribbean, piles pressure on top of Washington’s economic embargo that has been in place since the early 1960s. Discussing the impact of the blockade on Cubans that she witnessed on her travel to Cuba in January, Dr Varghese said the unjust US measures “denied working people access to the most basic necessities, from medicines to electricity and transportation”. She linked the Cuban crisis to the Palestinian, Iranian and Venezuelan struggles for peace and justice. The Cuba Friendship Society, which sponsoring last night’s meeting chaired by retired trade unionist Robert Reid, noted that the only crime of Cuba and its people was that of overthrowing a US-backed dictator in 1959, and then defending their sovereignty and other conquests of their revolution in the six decades since. The ambassador is also due to speak at public meetings in Christchurch and Wellington. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-125633 size-full" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Che-and-Cuban-flag-APR-680wide.png" alt="The Cuban flag and an iconic image of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentine Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader" width="680" height="430" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Che-and-Cuban-flag-APR-680wide.png 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Che-and-Cuban-flag-APR-680wide-300x190.png 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Che-and-Cuban-flag-APR-680wide-664x420.png 664w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The Cuban flag and an iconic image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentine Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution at a solidarity meeting in Auckland last night. Image: Asia Pacific Report This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
It’s been four years since President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency
Why is the West dancing to Israel’s tune? What’s leading us to disaster
DOCUMENTARY: Double Down News The Middle East is in flames. Britain is being dragged into an illegal war, the aims of which are entirely unclear, reports Richard Sanders of Double Down News. “It’s a war of choice, and the man who chose it is Benjamin Netanyahu. Why, yet again, is the West dancing to Israel’s
DOCUMENTARY: Double Down News The Middle East is in flames. Britain is being dragged into an illegal war, the aims of which are entirely unclear, reports Richard Sanders of Double Down News. “It’s a war of choice, and the man who chose it is Benjamin Netanyahu. Why, yet again, is the West dancing to Israel’s tune? “I’ve made a number of videos exposing Israeli crimes. This one is different. It’s directed at conservatives and people generally who support the state of Israel. READ MORE: The End of Israel: The Ultimate Evidence — Richard Sanders Tehran vows to extract ‘heavy price’ for Israeli hits on two nuclear sites “I believe our indulgence of Israel is not just morally wrong. It’s against the interests of the US and the UK and ultimately against the interests of Israel itself. “It is leading us all to disaster. Palestine is the place you come thundering, crashing into the buffers, the limits of the Western liberal moral imagination. “The tragedy and complexity of Israel is that it’s both a product of the most unspeakable racism and a cause of it. Zionism was born from the suffering of Jewish people in Europe, culminating in the Holocaust, from a desire for a safe haven, a territory where Jews would for once be the hosts and not the eternal guests. “It was framed as a return to a historic biblical homeland. and for its supporters. These two factors give it an entirely different complexion morally from other enterprises where predominantly European populations have settled far-flung parts of the world. Dispossession and subjugation “There’s no doubt that the Zionist dream has enormous emotional power. The problem, of course, is the other side of the equation, the people. It was inflicted upon the Palestinians whose experience of dispossession and subjugation was no different from that of countless other peoples subjected to European colonialism. “In fact, arguably, it’s been considerably worse than many, precisely because of the licence and indulgence granted to the Israeli state. “Let’s lay out the bold, indisputable facts. In 1948, more than 80 percent of the Palestinian population of what became Israel fled their homes. Now, if you want to believe this was not an act of deliberate ethnic cleansing, fine. “What’s undeniable is that they were never allowed to return. In 1947, they were there. In 1949, they were not. The granting of the vote to that small fragment of the Palestinian population that remained provided a democratic fig leaf for the new state, one that was blown away once the Israelis occupied Gaza and the West Bank in 1967. The End of Israel Documentary: Double Down News “There Palestinians have no right to vote for the political entity, the state of Israel that controls their lives. Jewish settlers, on the other hand, occupying the same territory do. “Even in East Jerusalem, which as far as the Israeli government is concerned has been formally annexed to Israel, Palestinians cannot vote. Political rights depend upon ethnicity. That is not democracy. “Israel is and has always been a state whose defining feature is that it’s structured to ensure the domination of one ethnicity over another. What else does the term a Jewish state mean? ‘Elephant in the room’ “This is the elephant in the room. the simple, blindingly obvious, undeniable fact that the Western political media class has decided that we must never mention or acknowledge, despite the fact that all of the world’s leading human rights organisations, including the Israeli NGO B’Tselem, have denounced Israel as an apartheid state. “Now scour the history of the modern world. No people has ever resigned itself to being second class citizens in their own country. Spend just 10 minutes at a checkpoint in the West Bank and you get it. “The disfiguring dehumanisation, the humiliation of elderly men and women forced to stand in the sun for hours waiting for 18-year-olds to search them. “The brutalisation of young men in particular, the daily control of rage that is the lot of every Palestinian. It is simply emotionally, psychologically intolerable.” Watch the full Double Down News video This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Nigerian police beat journalist Muhammad Sani Adamu during Eid celebrations
Abuja, March 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to swiftly and transparently conclude investigations into the beating by police officers on Sunday of journalist Muhammad Sani Adamu, and hold those responsible to account. The attack occurred as Adamu sought to cover Eid celebrations in the town of Bununu in northeastern Bauchi...
Abuja, March 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to swiftly and transparently conclude investigations into the beating by police officers on Sunday of journalist Muhammad Sani Adamu, and hold those responsible to account. The attack occurred as Adamu sought to cover Eid celebrations in the town of Bununu in northeastern Bauchi state. “Nigerian authorities must ensure their investigation into the beating of journalist Muhammad Sani Adamu is concluded without delay and in a manner that makes clear that attacks on the press will not be tolerated in Bauchi State,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela Quintal. “This incident adds to a list of abuses against journalists working to report the news in Bauchi state and extends a broader pattern of attacks on the media across Nigeria, which take place with general impunity.” At least 10 policemen, some of whom were armed with sticks, beat Adamu, a reporter with privately owned Albarka Radio, according to Adamu, as well as Auwal Ibrahim Gital, Albarka Radio’s head of translations, and Uzairu Dauda Bunga, a producer with the Bauchi Radio Corporation, who both witnessed the attack and spoke with CPJ. A senior officer they identified as Jamilu Kabir blocked Adamu from covering the celebration and then he and other officers attacked the journalist, Adamu and the two other witnesses said. Adamu told CPJ that he tried to show his press ID and identify himself as a journalist, but two officers, including Kabir, insulted and pushed him. Other officers then joined in, flogging Adamu with sticks, cutting his head and causing him to bleed profusely. Adamu said on March 23 that he continued to feel pain and was receiving treatment for his head wound. The attack has drawn condemnation from local media and press freedom groups. The WikkiTimes Media Foundation, the media development arm of the local WikkiTimes news platform, said it was pursuing legal action against the officers involved. “This is not an isolated incident. It reflects a recurring pattern of police violence against journalists in Bauchi State,” a WikkiTimes statement said. CPJ has documented various attacks on the press in Bauchi state, including criminal proceedings, threats, and arrests of journalists in connection to their work. Bauchi state police spokesperson Nafiu Habib told CPJ via phone on March 25 that police were prioritizing a comprehensive investigation and that they would publicize the results, but declined to give further details or a target date for the investigation’s conclusion. Contacted by CPJ, Kabir declined to comment and referred CPJ to the state police spokesperson. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Music, Violence, and the Ritual That AI Cannot Replace
Strip-mining our culture and selling it back to us to the detriment of all.
Strip-mining our culture and selling it back to us to the detriment of all. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Marc Ribot.
Robert Reich Calls Out Corporate Power Threatening US Democracy [Uncut Full Conversation Rewind]
This content originally appeared on Laura Flanders & Friends and was authored by Laura Flanders & Friends.
The Deafening Abdication of Four Ex-Presidents on Trump
By Ralph Nader March 27, 2026 What should the American people, especially the hundreds of millions of their voters, expect Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden to do against the vicious, serial law-violating, violent, co...
By Ralph Nader March 27, 2026 What should the American people, especially the hundreds of millions of their voters, expect Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden to do against the vicious, serial law-violating, violent, corrupt, agency-dismantling Donald Trump and the crony Trumpsters who are wrecking our government and our economy?… This content originally appeared on Ralph Nader and was authored by matthew.
Robert Reich on the fate of Social Security [EXCERPT]
Strait of Hormuz: Did Iran really give the U.S. "a gift"?
Protesting the Smash-and-Grab Presidency #politics #trump
The US bombed a farm and lied -Ecuadorian community leader
The Project Censored Newsletter—March 2026
Censored Press News Allison T. Butler, author of The Judgment of Gender: How Women Are Centered and Silenced in Pop Culture, has had a number of articles related to her new book featured in prominent outlets. As this newsletter goes to press, Ms. Magaz...
Censored Press News Allison T. Butler, author of The Judgment of Gender: How Women Are Centered and Silenced in Pop Culture, has had a number of articles related to her new book featured in prominent outlets. As this newsletter goes to press, Ms. Magazine published Sinead O’Connor Was Right: It’s… The post The Project Censored Newsletter—March 2026 appeared first on Project Censored. This content originally appeared on Project Censored and was authored by Kate Horgan.
‘Contradictory’ Public Opinions on Iran Are Baked Into CBS’s Polling
The truth that pollsters/media don’t want to acknowledge is that on any given issue, a significant portion of the public is simply not engaged.
CBS polling director Anthony Salvanto (3/23/26) found that 92% of Democrats and 69% of independents disapproved of military action against Iran—a finding CBS summarized as “Majority of Democrats Disapprove of War With Iran.” A recent CBS News poll (3/17–20/26) declared that a majority of Americans (53%) say it would be “unacceptable” if the United States were to end the conflict with Iran with that country’s current leadership still in power. Moreover, the poll also found that large majorities of Americans say it is “important” to “make sure Iran’s people are safe and free,” to “permanently stop Iran’s nuclear programs,” and to “stop Iran from threatening other countries.” These results seem to suggest that most Americans want the war to continue until those goals, including regime change in Iran, are actually achieved. Much of the rest of the poll, however, suggests the public does not support the war with Iran, even when “conflict” instead of the touchy word “war” is used to describe what’s happening. According to the poll: 60% disapprove of the US taking military action against Iran. 62% disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the situation in Iran. 57% believe the “conflict in Iran” is going “very/somewhat badly.” 51% do not believe it is important to change Iran’s leaders to ones that are pro-US. 92% believe it is important to “end the conflict as quickly as possible.” The report notes: “If those desires between goals and a fast end seem contradictory, it connects to the continued call for more explanation from the administration.” Blaming the public instead of the poll Is it more important to “end the conflict as quickly as possible” or to “make sure Iran’s people are safe and free”? CBS (3/17–20/26) didn’t ask. The poll did ask if the Trump administration had clearly explained its goals, and only 32% said it had; 68% said no. But that is not evidence of the public’s “continued call for more explanation.” There is nothing in the poll that suggests the public is demanding more information, and in the absence thereof, the public exhibits contradictions between its preferred goals and a quick end to the war. The explanation is a non sequitur. One reason for the contradictions is that the poll asks each question as though it were free from any context. Respondents are not asked to evaluate each goal in light of possible cost. If, for example, regime change is a goal of the war, how long should the US continue to press for that change, given the likely cost in money and lives? The poll lists several goals, and each one might seem pretty appealing—assuming it could be reached. Respondents hear a goal and say, sure, it’s important, without having to confront the inevitable trade-offs. Reporting such responses as though the public is actually demanding the US pay the costs to achieve regime change, or to make the Iranian people free and safe, is a wild distortion of what the poll has actually measured. Measuring ‘non-opinion’ According to CBS‘s poll (3/17–20/26), 100% of American adults have a specific opinion on how well Trump is handling immigration, Iran, the economy and inflation. Another reason for the contradictions is that much of the poll, by design, is measuring what pollsters call “non-opinion.” The truth that pollsters/media don’t want to acknowledge is that on any given issue, a significant portion of the public is simply not engaged. People have lives to live; financial, health and social challenges to face. Many people are so overwhelmed, they don’t have time to follow the news closely about every major issue. So what do respondents do when confronted with questions about issues they haven’t followed? They make top-of-mind responses to satisfy their implied obligation to give an answer. Pollsters pressure them by asking forced-choice questions (questions that do not offer an option to say “don’t know”). That’s how CBS/YouGov got 100% of its respondents to give an opinion on: How well Trump is doing his overall job. How well he is handling inflation, the economy, immigration and the situation with Iran. How well the fighting is going in Iran. What are “important” goals for the “conflict” in Iran. Whether ICE operations in the US need to be increased, decreased or kept the same. You might think that at least one person, or, more likely, some significant percentage of the population, might have such busy lives that they could not keep up with all the events happening in the world and—if asked questions about any of the above issues—would frankly admit they didn’t have an opinion. Instead, the poll reports that every adult in the United States is allegedly engaged enough to express a meaningful opinion on every one of those issues. Of course, that is ridiculous. As I’ve indicated in a previous post (FAIR.org, 9/28/23), polls that ignore how unengaged the public is on any given issue, and instead report that 95% to 100% of the public has a meaningful opinion on that issue, are really performative polls. They’re designed explicitly to give the illusion of an attentive and informed public that is consistent with our general conception of how US democracy should work. That such polls then produce contradictory results should not be blamed on the public itself. The fault, dear CBS, lies not in the public, but in yourself. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by David W. Moore.
‘Beyond despicable,’ says Democrat after White House official says Trump ‘bored’ with Iran war
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 27, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. It’s been less than a month, and President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran has unleashed a cascade of con...
<img width="1024" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="US President Donald Trump reacts as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1023&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342312" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/trump-bored-with-iran-war/president-trump-meets-with-his-cabinet-at-the-white-house-2" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1706" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R5m2","caption":"WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. This is Trump's second Cabinet meeting of 2026 and the first since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1774522010","copyright":"2026 Getty Images","focal_length":"56","iso":"4000","shutter_speed":"0.0025","title":"President Trump Meets With His Cabinet At The White House","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="President Trump Meets With His Cabinet At The White House" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" US President Donald Trump reacts as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268471772-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 27, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. It’s been less than a month, and President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran has unleashed a cascade of consequences for countless human lives and the global economy that are far from resolved—but he is reportedly getting tired of the illegal war he started. MS NOW reported on Friday that White House sources believe that Trump is “getting a little bored” with the Iran war and “wants to move on” to other initiatives. MS NOW’s report on Trump’s feelings about the war was echoed by The Wall Street Journal, which on Thursday reported that the president has told associates that he wants to wrap up the war in the coming weeks and avoid a protracted conflict. The problem, sources told both MS NOW and the Journal, is that there is no simple way to wrap up the conflict given that Iran is continuing to block passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which is sending global energy costs spiking. And while Trump has shown the ability to simply lie about his achievements in the past and have his supporters believe them, one former Trump official told MS NOW that just won’t work if Americans keep paying $4 per gallon of gas. “He has learned he can tell the American people his feeling, and, with enough time, the American people will accept his lie,” the official said. “Just telling us the war is won isn’t good enough. We need to see it; we need to feel it.” In a social media post, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) called the president “beyond despicable” for feeling “bored” after starting a war that has killed thousands of people, created chaos across the Middle East, and raised prices for US consumers. “Donald Trump is now ‘a little bored’ with his ‘little excursion’ in Iran, as if war is nothing more than passing amusement to him,” said Beyer. “War is not a game. It’s not a spectacle. It’s not something you pick up and drop when it stops entertaining you.” Beyer then highlighted the human costs of Trump’s war, which he launched at 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning without any authorization from Congress. “Real people have paid the price of this war,” he wrote. “We’ve already lost 13 Americans killed in action, with many more seriously wounded. Civilians have been killed throughout the Middle East, including the US missile strike that killed more than 150 schoolchildren.” Trump and allies such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have signaled that after the US is finished with Iran, they will next attempt to topple the government of Cuba, where the White House has caused a catastrophic fuel shortage in recent weeks with its ramp-up of the blockade that’s been in place for decades. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month that “the embargo is tied to political change on the island.” The press office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely Democratic contender for the presidency in 2028, also blasted the president’s reported boredom with his own war. “American soldiers are dying,” wrote Newsom’s office. “Americans are paying more at the pump. Republicans are cutting essential services to fund a war no one but Trump and MAGA wanted. And now Trump is bored. Disgusting. Truly unpresidential behavior from our supposed commander-in-chief.” This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Brad Reed.
Journalist Anna Kalyuzhna harassed over Facebook post on Ukraine assault regiments
New York, March 27, 2026—Ukrainian authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent online harassment against Ukrainian journalist Anna Kalyuzhna and ensure that journalists can work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On March 6, Kalyuzhna, a journalist with Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info as well as Novynarnia, which has been...
New York, March 27, 2026—Ukrainian authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent online harassment against Ukrainian journalist Anna Kalyuzhna and ensure that journalists can work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On March 6, Kalyuzhna, a journalist with Ukrainian investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info as well as Novynarnia, which has been covering the war in Ukraine since 2014, reported that she had received more than 150 messages on Facebook containing insults and misogynistic remarks within 24 hours of publishing a Facebook post criticizing the expansion and alleged abuses within Ukrainian Armed Forces’ assault regiments. On March 17, as she was leaving a store an unnamed man told her “maybe you should just shut your mouth,” and mentioned that he had served time in prison. On the same day, she filed a report with the police, who opened an investigation under Article 129 of Ukraine’s criminal code pertaining to “death threats.” “Ukrainian authorities must promptly investigate the harassment of Ukrainian journalist Anna Kalyuzhna and ensure her protection,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “CPJ is very concerned about online harassment against journalists and the seeming lack of political will to investigate these incidents and hold those responsible to account. Journalists provide an important service to the public by covering the war and need to be able to do so safely.” “I view these incidents as an attempt to obstruct journalistic activity … and a threat against me as a journalist,” Kalyuzhna wrote on Facebook. She told CPJ she is seeking to add a charge for “obstruction of journalistic activity” to the criminal case opened by police. CPJ emailed Ukraine’s national police for comment but did not immediately receive a reply. Similarly, Denys Bulavin, a journalist with independent news outlet Hromadske, faced online harassment after his March 16 report on attacks on employees with military enlistment offices. Also, journalist and blogger Olga Khudetska received social media threats, including ones of physical violence, after posting a March 6 thread on X about the alleged lack of public reporting on donations to a battalion of volunteer medics. Khudetska does not plan on reporting the threats to police, she told the Ukrainian press freedom group Institute of Mass Information. “I don’t know of any successful cases of investigating online threats,” she said. Several Ukrainian and foreign investigative journalists have faced surveillance, threats, violence, and harassment over their work since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country. In a December 2024 letter to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, CPJ pointed to a pattern of a lack of accountability in such cases. In February, news outlet NGL.media reported that the investigation for “obstructing journalistic activities” into the June 2025 smear campaign against Olena Mudra, an environmental investigative journalist in the Zakarpattia region, in western Ukraine, was stalling. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 27, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 27, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 27, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
Abby Martin: The US military is ‘Earth’s greatest enemy’
<img width="1024" height="640" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C640&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="TRNN screenshot" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="342300" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/abby-martin-the-us-military-is-earths-greatest-enemy/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1600&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1600" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" TRNN screenshot " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=780%2C488&ssl=1"> “We are in the imperial core. We are the only ones that can actually change this. The rest of the world's been ready. They are waiting for us because they don't want to fucking die at the hands of our insane, belligerent military empire.”
<img width="1024" height="640" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C640&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="TRNN screenshot" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=300%2C188&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=768%2C480&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C960&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=2048%2C1280&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C750&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=2000%2C1250&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=780%2C488&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C640&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342300" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/abby-martin-the-us-military-is-earths-greatest-enemy/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1600&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1600" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" TRNN screenshot " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/abby-earths-greatest-enemy-1.jpg?fit=780%2C488&ssl=1" /> <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="780" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WhBvT5cuMSY?version=3&rel=1&%23038;showsearch=0&%23038;showinfo=1&%23038;iv_load_policy=1&%23038;fs=1&%23038;hl=en-US&%23038;autohide=2&%23038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"> Earth’s Greatest Enemy, the new blockbuster documentary by independent journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, is an expansive and terrifying investigation into the existential threat that US empire in general—and the US military specifically—poses to humanity and to our planet. In this panel discussion, recorded after a live screening of Earth’s Greatest Enemy on Jan. 29 at the TRNN studio in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez and Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter for The Guardian, speak with Abby Martin about how US militarism and imperialism are destroying the planet—and what can be done to stop them. Guests: Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy. Dharna Noor is a fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian. Credits: Studio Production: David Hebden, Cameron Granadino Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Maximillian Alvarez: Welcome everyone to the Real News Network podcast. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. I’m the editor-in-chief here at The Real News, and it’s so great to have you all with us. Earth’s greatest enemy is the title of a new blockbuster documentary by legendary independent journalist and filmmaker, Abby Martin. It is an expansive, engrossing, and frankly, terrifying investigation into the existential threat that US Empire in general and the US military specifically poses to humanity and to our planet. Recently, right here in the real news studio in downtown Baltimore, we had the honor of hosting the Baltimore premiere of this vital documentary, and we had Abby Martin herself here in the flesh for the event. And some of you may not know this, but Abby is actually a real news alumnus. She started her renowned investigative series, The Empire Files, right here in this studio. So it was truly genuinely special to welcome Abby back here to her old stomping grounds and to watch, engage with, and celebrate the essential work that she and her co-director, Mike Prisner, have done with this new documentary, which everyone needs to watch. And you can learn more about Earth’s greatest enemy by checking out the links that we provided in the show notes for this podcast. And what you’re about to hear are sections from the live panel discussion that I had with Abby after the documentary screening here in The Real News Studio. And we were also joined on stage by the brilliant Dharna Noor, who is a fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian and is also another star real news alumnus. So here we go. I hope you check out Earth’s greatest enemy, and I hope you enjoy this conversation with me, Dharna Noor, and the one and only Abby Martin. Dharna Noor: It’s very surreal to be having this conversation with you in this building because I remember one, when the Empire Files launched out of this building and having these early discussions with you about the sort of undeniable need to address all of these sort of what I think are sometimes called excesses of US militarism, but I think what the film makes really clear are kind of essential components of that history. And I don’t think that I would’ve become a climate reporter if it weren’t for some of the conversations that we have had in this building over the years discussing how the climate crisis has been fueled by these systems that have fueled so many other kinds of destruction. I guess my first question to you is just like, we’re at this moment right now where we’re seeing, I guess, again, what we call maybe sometimes the worst excesses of fossil capital and militarism on display. As you mentioned before the film, there was this just horrible series of attacks on Venezuela, the capture of Nicholas Medoro, these plans to take over Greenland to capture critical minerals needed for, yes, clean energy, but also for military equipment that are more accessible because of global warming, because of the climate crisis that the military has helped fueled. Armed with all of this research and all of this information, what has it been like to see some of this play out? Abby Martin: And can I just say one round of applause for Darna, because she actually was a part of the movie. I don’t know if you saw your name in the credits, but Darna has been a part of this and I’ve leaned on Dharna and her work for quite a while. And so it is surreal actually to come full circle to be back at real news at the Genesis of Empire Files and to be sitting on stage with these amazing journalists. I mean, I think like the film displays, to have the backdrop of the Iraq war and the impunity given to Iraq war criminals and kind of growing up through the era of kind of seeing the writing on the wall when we don’t hold people accountable for crimes. And when these standards are set, I mean, when Obama can say, look forward, not backward, then we get someone like Trump and then we get Gaza. And so the testing grounds have been set and I think that, and it’s just the whiplash. I think of all of these things coming to a head and ratcheting it up so quickly because of the incubation from the neoliberalism, because of the Democrats failing to stand up to any of this because they’re part of that status quo, the bipartisan consensus of this horrific machinery of this death spiral. And so I think with Trump’s second term to see the kind of unbridled nature of just complete lack of regulation whatsoever, just free for all of global capitalism, taking the last vestige of any drop of minerals, oil, and just having it laid bare. I mean, I think that’s the most amazing part of what we’re seeing now is there’s no pretense whatsoever. The human rights, democracy charade, it’s totally out the window and we’re just saying, “We literally are going to just steal and pillage every last drop of oil because we need it. ” So in a way, it’s very clarifying, but it’s also just so dystopian because I knew that it was coming, but I didn’t realize how quickly it would all happen and how quickly it’s happening where now you have Marco Rubio and all of these complete unabashed psychopaths who are just kind of attaching themselves to Trump to say, “How quickly can we barrel through our agenda with this dying decaying fucking fascist and get Cuba and get Iran and Venezuela and Greenland?” And there’s no end in sight. And I think the most … It’s really horrifying to see just the Democrats on full display as like the complete utter abject failure to get us to this point. But in a way, it’s very clarifying and good because it’s a moment that we can seize that I’ve never seen before in the history of my little life, 41 years. So it’s exciting as dystopian as it may be. Maximillian Alvarez: I’m curious for your thoughts on this, Abby, because the title, Earth’s greatest enemy, is us, right? It’s our government, it’s our military. And we talked about this earlier today, like I was not where you were during the Iraq war. My family was the kind of family that bought into the whole thing and thought people like you were crazy. And we believed the lies that we were told. And now here I am in 2026 watching Trump say like, “Yeah, we’re going in for the oil. It’s not about spreading democracy.” And I’m like, “How could we have been so stupid and duped and how could we believe that what the government was telling us back then?” And I’m also thinking about the fact that the world is well aware that we are their greatest enemy and they are very tired of our bullshit, not just now, but for centuries even. So how much of this fight to dismantle the US military industrial complex needs to happen from within and how much of it is going to depend on the rest of the world like not taking our shit anymore? Abby Martin: I think the rest of the world’s ready. I think we’re seeing them build the infrastructure with bricks and all these other alternative systems to try to combat this hegemony of the boot on their throats that they’ve been experiencing for generations. And it’s just a matter of Americans waking up and solidifying these concepts that have been obviously extremely apparent to the rest of the world, living at the receiving end of these policies, sanctions, warfare. They don’t have collective memory loss like Americans do. They are literally impacted every single day by this military machine. And so I think Americans back in the 60s and 70s, there was much more of a critical awareness of what the systems were that were oppressing us, how all of these issues intertwined. And then of course we saw a lot of whitewashing, rehabilitating of the CIA. I mean, back a couple decades ago, it was like, yeah, the CIA is the most evil entity in the planet, we need to destroy it. It was like even Bernie Sanders was like, “Let’s destroy the CIA.” But then after nine eleven, you had this huge rehabilitation process of just the entire federal government. And even with the Snowden leaks, you had it kind of like government good, I’m sorry, government bad, private industry, good. Private industry spying better than like Google, no evil, government evil. And I think now we’re realizing everything’s been folded into this kind of infrastructure of the police state, of ICE, of genocide. Silicon Valley is part of that system. And so it’s all been part of this propaganda apparatus to, again, whitewash and rehabilitate the ruling class. And so it’s taken a while. So I think living through the war on terror has really woken people up. But again, Trump seized on a lot of this energy, folded into the right wing, and the right wing has strengthened so much because of the failure of the opposition to really critically analyze our material realities and orient people accordingly. And so I think right now I’m finally seeing for the first time people synthesizing these things, people having that international framework, but of course it lies on our shoulders. We are in the imperial core. We are the only ones that can actually change this. The rest of the world’s been ready. They are waiting for us because they don’t want to fucking die at the hands of our insane, belligerent military empire. They want a fighting chance for their kids. We are so deeply propagandized, but if we just coalesced this energy, all of these atomized struggles and we put it under the same umbrella, we would win. We would win and we can. And that’s the thing that we need to really seize and capture is the energy right now, the fact that Minnesota is ground zero for that inward turning of the military industrial complex, the state executions, the immunity, it’s indistinguishable now, right? And so I think people are completely waking up. They’re sick of being gaslit. And like we said before, Max, the propaganda is so desperate and extreme because they know they’ve lost the consciousness of the world. And that should be instructive for us because the more desperate and unhinged they are, the more capacity we have to organize around the truth and reclaim our reality. Darn, I wanted you to actually talk about your, I mean, just the whole maintenance of that fossil fuel infrastructure and how the empire necessitates war in order to maintain fossil fuels. It’s kind of like the trope like no war for oil, but like through your research, how have you found that to be the most true and apparent thing of all? Dharna Noor: Yeah, it’s interesting. I was actually going to ask you about this, about like the … I mean, I guess I’ll just say, I don’t think there’s such a thing. I don’t think that there’s such a … I mean, no blood for oil is like a meaningful, I think, cry in the face of the kind of horror that we’ve seen in Venezuela and Iraq and so many other cases. And also, I think what’s so important about the film is that it makes really clear that the foundation of this country is built on resource extraction by violence. There’s resource extraction happening in the United States and often that happens by violence. Look at West Virginia and how we’ve extracted coal there. And also, as the film mentioned, the first overseas bases were put there to extract more coal for the military. And these two things I think are really kind of inextricable from one another. And I guess one kind of proposed solution that you see to that from the Department of Defense and others is this idea that you can just green the military. And I guess I’m curious what you’re … I don’t know. I think the film does a really incredible job of showing the importance of data. And then also, as Barry Sanders says in the film, kind of looking at the numbing effect of numbers also. I think one effect of this kind of increasing concern about militarism and the climate crisis and their interlinkages that we’ve seen are these efforts to kind of quantify the emissions impacts, for instance, of the genocide in Gaza or Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. Oftentimes these are military interventions that have created more planet warming pollution than entire countries. But I guess I struggle sometimes with wondering, those are important numbers to have, but also do they obscure more than they sort of clarify? So after grappling with all this data and all this research, I guess, what do you think the role of data collection is? Do we need to do more of it? Is it a distraction to simply focus on the numbers? Abby Martin: I mean, yeah, no, it’s a really good point because someone brought up the … I think this is just so obvious to all of us is that numbers kind of are rendered meaningless as our facts. We are completely past any sort of reality-based community or fact-based consensus and we’ve seen how dark it can get. I mean, the release of that AI video of the woman being arrested and that was protested at the church because there was like an ICE agent that was the pastor. It’s a fucking crazy thing. And then they released this AI video of her. And I fear that let’s say ICE just unleashes a barrage of bullets and kills a bunch of protesters one day. They would just release an AI deep fake video of protesters throwing a Molotov cocktails. It doesn’t even matter what happens half of … Well, again, we’re giving way too much credit to MAGA by saying half the country. It’s a small contingent of fascist apologists who would just believe whatever their cult leader says. So it goes beyond just proving the truth and synthesizing this data. And I think it has to go to the emotional relationship that you have with the people that are impacted by this. And I think that’s apparent for everything. It’s like COVID really siloed us off and made a lot of people succumb to this kind of like dark arena where you’re just in your own head and on your screens and being brain rotted. And I think that the second that you talk to people and you relate to people and you reach them where they are, you get that human impact of why they are the way they are, why they believe the things they do. And that’s what we try to do with this story. It’s like, yes, we wanted to prove the case, and I think we did tenfold, that US imperialism is the greatest threat, and we can continue to throw out those numbers, which we did. And they are very overwhelming, right? When you look at the scope and scale of this all. But when you dig into the human impact and you see that Kim is like, that’s like my mom. She’s like my long lost sister, someone who’s just like dedicating her life, no accolades. She’s not going to get fucking on a magazine. She’s just doing it because she wants to. Someone needs to hold them accountable. Someone needs to count the dead of those babies. And so I think that those are the stories that are going to change minds. They’re going to rewire brains. And so it is of course important to synthesize the data. We need to have that. We need to be armed with the facts and be confident with the truth. And now let it be known because you guys have known how bad this is. You probably already knew in your heart this information. We’ve all been watching genocide for three years. Nothing’s worse than that. And in fact, when making the documentary, I was so worried, why would people care about the earth if they don’t care about children being blown up? No one’s going to give a shit about this, but it’s the opposite. It’s the opposite. I was beaten down into that dystopian kind of pessimism because of just the way that the system berates you and makes you think that everything is just worthless and pointless. But once you get out and you’re in the community, you’re like, no, no, no. The vast majority of people agree with this. The vast majority of people get it. They’re empathetic and it’s very motivating actually. And so I think, yes, numbers numb and they can be completely overwhelming, but you can’t let the system paralyze you. That’s what they want. They want us to be terrorized. This is a full fledged assault on our minds, on our bodies, on reality. So if you just reclaim reality, right? You reclaim your feelings, let yourself feel because this is fucking crazy. None of this is normal. Genocide is not normal. That’s not the status quo. That’s not the world that I want to live in. I don’t want to open my phones and see children being murdered every day. That’s not okay. We can feel, we can have emotions. We can talk to people, “Hey, have you been watching this too? Hey, it makes you sick. Let’s talk about it. ” These are the conversations we need to have and the numbers only take you so far, darn. I think we’ve seen that in the way that people kind of deal and process information. I don’t think we’re meant to process the information like we are now. We’re not meant to see every horrible thing that happens in the world within five seconds, and it’s really traumatic and we have to get … And that’s why I’m doing this tour in person to kind of unpack the trauma of what they’ve done to us together, because it’s a lot. It’s a lot. Maximillian Alvarez: I really appreciated the attention in this documentary to the super fun sites, the sacrifice zones here in America. And I, as someone who goes around to sacrifice zones interviewing working class people who live there, it’s horrifying how massive this problem is and how ignorant most of us are to how poisoned we already are, let alone the fact that the majority, not the majority, but like the largest single polluter source for superfund sites is the Department of Defense. That’s more than any one corporate polluter. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we’re just days away from the three-year anniversary of the bomb train derailment by Norfolk Southern and East Palestine, Ohio. I’m going to be there next week, right? I mean, there are towns like East Palestine all over this country. You mentioned the cold, Darna, that comes out of West Virginia. Dr. Nikki Fabricant, are you in the audience right now? Where does that cold come through? Yeah. Baltimore. South Baltimore. It comes through car after uncovered car daily through South Baltimore, 20 minutes that way. People are breathing that in for generations. People over there, just 20 minutes from where we’re sitting, are walking around with oxygen tanks, and it’s just normal. We’ve accepted this unacceptable reality as normal, and we’re not learning the lessons like from East Palestine, Ohio, Red Hill, South Baltimore. But I really am thankful to you for highlighting just how serious this problem is, particularly when it comes to the Department of Defense and the government run sites that are poisoning us. The question that I wanted to throw is one about perspective. And like you said, so much of this is knowledge that maybe we already had. Maybe we had learned it one time and pushed it under the rug because it was too uncomfortable to face. And I’ll be honest, I have had trouble facing this for many years. As an individual who’s well aware of what we’re facing, I kind of gave up on the future. I basically accepted that the future’s no longer a thing to plan for. Just do as much good as you can while you’re here now. That changed when I became a father and I tear up watching the scenes with you and your family, your children. I wanted to ask how you would sort of impress upon folks the need for that perspective change on what we think we already know and how vital that perspective change is to getting somewhere we haven’t been before. Abby Martin: Yeah, it’s a great point. And yeah, I kind of had a similar trajectory when I had a kid, even though I’ve always maintained revolutionary optimism because I kind of have to have like this militant current of hope, otherwise I’d be too sad. But I think my sheer love for humanity and nature has always driven and motivated me. And it continues to double down my motivation the second that I meet someone who is invigorated or has had their minds changed by my journalism or anything that I’ve done in the past. And so it continues to make me more committed. I always felt like I had no choice being just an American. We are born into the system, we’re in the Imperial Core, it’s on our shoulders. But when I had a kid, it was like, okay, now I really, I am all in. We are completely invested in this and we have to do everything with every fiber of our being because we have no choice because we have to fight this, right? Even if we don’t win, even if we’re standing on the shoulders of giants for generation, even though it’s been a centuries long struggle, the arc of justice is very, very wide. It’s not going to happen tomorrow. And it is a huge, seemingly insurmountable fight, but that’s not why we do it. And yeah, you take breaks for mental health. You have to do what you can. You give whatever capacity and talents that you can, but we have to fucking do it because I’m not going to let these parasites rob our future without a fight. And this is just one tool in the arsenal. This is just one tool in the arsenal. And I would recommend it’s a beautiful thing to have this internationalist lens, right? That’s first and foremost, orienting your perspective internationally. This is an international system. All of us are impacted by it. This is a very clarifying thing. Let the truth liberate you and free you, right? Reclaim the truth first and foremost, because they’re gaslighting us every day. So that’s the first thing to kind of build the foundation upon and then realize the agency that you have as individuals. Of course, all of us can do our part, but we have to have that collective unity and agency. We have to build organizations. We have to build big tents around pushing back the data centers because the richest people in the world who are controlling our algorithms and curating our reality, they don’t want us to see the success stories. They don’t want us to see how people have beat these in their communities, how 35 data centers last year got canceled across the country, divestment campaigns, hugely successful across the country. None of these are known because they don’t want us to see that. They want us to be despondent, paralyzed, terrorized. So it’s about getting out of that, getting out of that and saying, “I’m not going to accept the state of reality that they’re pushing on me and beating me down. I’m not going to succumb to the darkness. I’m going to have militant hope because we have to. ” Because if we didn’t, then what’s left? We’re going to succumb to the billionaires. We’re going to succumb to Elon Musk. No, no. We’re not going to give up our planet for Jeff Bezos to have another yacht. I’m sorry. We’re not going to give up all of our clean water and electricity for these fucking parasites. I don’t even know what your question was, Max, but now I’m just ranting, baby. Dharna Noor: You guys got to give an audience up. Abby Martin: Sorry, was your question, how did I get it financed? Okay. Yeah, we did an initial fundraiser where we got a hundred grand and we got another grant to get it started, but then I was just leaching on Patreon and people were just like, “Why am I paying you Patreon money?What the fuck are you doing?” I’m like, “I swear to God, the movie’s almost done. Just wait two more years. Please keep donating to us.” But no, it’s crazy. I mean, look at the state of media. The real news is the biggest infrastructural alternative media project there is. And it’s incredible that this exists and everyone needs to be aware of it, invested in it, paying attention to it. Darna’s another incredible journalist, please follow her work. There’s not many of us left. That’s the thing. I think the Gaza genocide has revealed just how the cowardice, the complicity, the horrific nature of the corporate media and how they tow the status quo and it’s completely unacceptable at this moment in time. But yeah, I mean, it’s really hard. And the thing is, the reason that I don’t have this up online now is because I still need money. So that’s why I’m doing the tour. I’m trying to get licensing still. I’m trying to go through legal avenues to get this up and to let the baby fly and to change the world. But money is the name of the game. And we live in fucking capitalism and it really sucks how expensive this stuff is and the quality that I wanted to make it. And we tried to get it distributed. I went to Hollywood and talked to these environmentalist liberals who were very wealthy and they were just like, “This is the new inconvenient truth.” And I was like, “Oh, well, that’s great. Can you help me then?” They’re like, “No.” Because you can’t just come out of the gate with an adversarial movie about the military. You have to talk about the good things the military does too. You can’t talk about Palestine. This is making our funders really uncomfortable. So it was very clear that we had to go totally grassroots, just like Gaza Fights for Freedom. This is not going to get on Netflix. So basically it’s a huge grassroots effort. I need everyone’s hands on deck. If you were impacted this by this, I need everyone to tell their friends, families, colleagues. Because of how short form everything is, because of the lack of a consensus reality, because of just our brain rot living on our advices, we don’t have the impact of media like we used to. And so it requires someone sitting down with someone you know and love to be like, “Hey, watch this. Hey, just watch this one part.” There’s 20 different entry points for everyone to relate to and that’s what’s so powerful about it, but I need your help. IMDB, letterbox, getting it on social media, help me. It’s not me, it’s us. I’m like, Bernie, it’s not me, it’s us. But I want to hear from you guys also about like what, Darna, you’ve been working in establishment media, you’ve been talking about these issues, you’ve been synthesizing them. Have you seen a space of like more critical analysis of US imperialism in these circles too? And like what gives you hope to continue being a journalist in this bleak ass landscape? Dharna Noor: I mean, I think as you sort of said, hope is a practice, right? Sometimes it’s really hard to look out in the world and be like, “Yes, for sure. I’m feeling good.” But yeah, I mean, do I think that there’s more space for this kind of critique? Yeah, I mean, I think as you mentioned, the genocide in Gaza really woke people up. I think that the sort of insanities of the second Trump term, I think have forced people to come to terms with the sort of bipartisan consensus around some of these issues that maybe we were not willing to grapple with before. But I mean, that said, you’re absolutely right that the media has been so complicit in the kind of perpetuation of false narratives here. I do think that we are in a place right now where in some ways, in some places that is beginning to change and I also don’t think that there is … I mean, the fact that as you’re saying, like Hollywood funders are not willing to put it on the line for a film like this, I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like to have those conversations even just three years later and how much worse it could have been. I think you’re also right that there needs to be a robust independent media ecosystem because these are the kinds of stories that so often are not going to be told in their completion in so many different venues. So we’re all super lucky to get to have seen this today. I just have to say, I don’t know, the number of people who I’m just like, “Oh, if you won’t listen to me, maybe you could just watch like 15 minutes of this is pretty stunning.” Maximillian Alvarez: Thank you. Yeah. Abby has saved us from a lot of frustrated conversations with family members, hopefully. So just a couple quick rapid fire points. First of all, please, please, please, please support Empire Files. Go buy some merch outside on your way out. Like Abby said, tell everybody you know about this documentary and the incredible work that they do. Secondly, I want to pick up on something Abby said earlier about how there is hope in the fact that for the same reasons everything feels so hopeless, like there is actually something to discern there about the weakness of our oppressors. There is a reason why Donald Trump from first administration to second has put so much effort in courting the oligarchs of media and exercising through his entire camp, control over media platforms, right? It’s because yes, he’s a thins in piece of shit who can only deal with a reality that reflects his own narcissism and he stamps out any proof to the contrary, but blown up on a global scale, you’re going to run into reality at some point, right? I mean, you can do all the AI deep fakes of protestors crying when they’re not actually crying, all the AI deep fakes of people in Minnesota, just being unsympathetic characters. But then when 50,000 Minnesotans march through the fucking street in Minnesota nice fashion, you can’t AI and lie your way out of that. You have to make the reality on the ground undeniable and in turn, you make resistance irresistible. And that is where we are all based, right? We are all part of that fight. And what I have seen on the ground as the editor in chief here and as a reporter myself, as someone, you guys may have seen me out there in the streets with y’all filming during these protests. I was in DC last night filming a vigil for Alex Pretty that nurses held in Washington DC. And what I see there is that light of people coming together, coming out of their holes, coming out of their homes, and that light gets brighter the more people that are there. And we in the media, our job is to refract that light to as many people as possible. And you can achieve incredible things with very little resources, but we need your help to be able to do it. You can change the narrative. You can force reality into visibility when they are trying to invisibilize it, but you have to be there. You have to push it. You have to be active as a consumer and seek it out because if you just sit there and let your newsfeeds determine your own perception of the reality that you’re in, you’re essentially surrendering your entire brain over to the people who were all there at Trump’s inauguration saying like, “Yeah, don’t worry, we got you. We can mind control these sheep so that you can do whatever the fuck they want. ” And they’re not going to do anything because they’re going to see a reality outside their window that doesn’t exist. And they’re going to be so afraid of it that they’re not going to actually go out into the street and do anything. So prove them wrong. Abby Martin: Yeah, no, it’s a great point to see what happened in Minneapolis. They shoot people dead in the streets and instead of being holed up in their homes, people are out facing down ICE agents. People who never even participated in protest before, I’m seeing them interviewed, nurses, teachers, community, just religious leaders just saying, “If I don’t stand up now, I understand what’s coming next. We don’t have time to waste.” And it’s incredibly inspiring in sub zero temperatures to be out there. I was just out there two days ago, the unanimous community of just rejection of ice, the rejection of this brutalization and terrorizing of their neighbors is just absolutely inspiring and incredibly beautiful to see because that’s what they want. They wanted everyone to just be cowering in fear. They’re shocked that people are not. And what does that say? Because when you have love, again, like the colonizer, they can’t destroy the love and that’s what they are not accounting for because this is machinery built on death, destruction, short term profit. They’ve completely succumbed to the darkness. They have no understanding of life and empathy anymore. We do. That’s how I had a family. That’s how I met my husband. That’s all of my friends here, Lee Camp. I met all of my friends through the struggle, through this movement. So it’s all of my love, my family, and my community. And so I don’t know anything else. And I encourage everyone to get involved because the love is there. That’s what life is. Life is about finding something outside of yourself to fight for. And that’s what this is. It’s right in front of us. Speaker 4: So my question is about what role do you think China will play? Abby Martin: Goodness gracious. China, China, China. China, China, China. Last question. And Dharna and Max, you take this away. Speaker 4: Countering US imperialism, setting a better example because I guess my naive perspective is that if the world’s going to recover from climate change and go into the future, China will be leading the way. So I want to know what your guys’ perspective is on that. Abby Martin: I mean, I think one important point, a funny note, the shirts out there, which everyone’s going to buy me more than I leave, it says the US military is the world’s largest polluter. And I had someone actually be like, “That’s actually China.” And I was like, “Okay.” Well, I just kind of like made a movie about this. But it was just really funny because it’s like even if you were just talking about the emissions from China, they’ve absorbed all of Western manufacturing and you cannot look at that in a vacuum. And then of course, it’s not just emissions, right? You extrapolate all of this. And then you look at something that’s just remotely a planned economy. The fact that they now have dealt with the pollution problem, they have mostly … The fuck, not Teslas, but whatever the fuck the Chinese alternative is. Dharna Noor: BUID. Abby Martin: Yeah. But yeah, I mean, it’s incredible when you actually strategically plan. And it’s not just a complete goddamn free for all for billionaires, for like five billionaires to just profit endlessly. It’s quite astonishing how you can turn a population around of that many people. But again, it’s just this great power competition. It’s the fact that this lack of collaboration with these global superpowers and instead they’re building up their military arsenal because they’re preparing for war, because they’re reacting to this horrific beast of US imperialism. So I don’t want to give too much credit to China because I wish they did more to stop what’s happening, especially with Israel, but I will say I do think it’s amazing that we have some sort of multipolarity to like hopefully stop the unipolarity of like US imperialism just completely destroying the planet. And I don’t think that China wants to be destroyed. So I hope that they can step up and stop this madness. I don’t know. I don’t think we can count on Russia, that’s for sure. So yeah, it’s Max and Darna, why don’t you close this out here with China? Any China commentary? China, China, China. Maximillian Alvarez: I got a thought that like is more about like kind of how we are perceiving China. This always baffles me when I talk to people who in whose minds like China plays such an outsized role and who can tell me so little about China. Like do you know what their neighborhoods look like, where they shop, what they eat? I mean, like the knowledge gap of your average American of what China actually looks like and who Chinese people actually are is massive. And you start to understand why, if we’re looking at it through that kind of propaganda lens, because like if you ever been on a goddamn train in this country, like chugging along, like spewing gas, and then you see like the videos of their goddamn trains getting you across the country in an hour. If more people here knew, it’s like, yeah, we could have that too, except all your money is in like the hands of eight fucking billionaires. There would be riots. I mean, I think that speaks to, again, the powerlessness that is admitted by power when they put so much emphasis on propagandizing us into oblivion. And I just want to end on that note and hook that back into Minneapolis, right? Because right now, if you’re surveying like right wing and MAGA like media, they cannot figure out Minneapolis. They are just like, how are they doing this? They’re paid. They’re getting paid. Soros is behind this. And this goes right to Abby’s point, which I want to leave you with because it’s a real like Lord of the Rings, every great epic battle story you’ve ever been told revolves around like the side of the good, having something that the side of the bad wants to extinguish but can never do so because it doesn’t understand what makes it eternal. And like we have that. They don’t. They can’t figure it out. So even if we lose, we know we are on the side of the good and the right light and justice, and that is a side worth fighting for and a cause worth dying for. Thank you for listening to this episode of The Real News Network Podcast. Thank you to the brilliant Abby Martin and Darna Noor for this incredible discussion and thank you to everyone who came to our studio for the Baltimore premiere of Earth’s greatest enemy. If you want to learn more about how you can watch the documentary or how you can set up a screening yourself, use the links that we provided in the show notes of this podcast. And if you want to get more coverage and hear more important conversations just like this, then we need you to become a supporter of the Real News Now. Share this podcast with people in your circles, your friends, family, and coworkers. Sign up for the Real News Newsletter so you never miss a story and go to therealnews.com/donate and become a supporter today. I promise you guys, it really makes a difference. For the Real News Network, this is Maximillian Alvarez signing off from Baltimore. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Maximillian Alvarez.
The US military is ‘Earth’s greatest enemy’: Abby Martin
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by The Real News Network.
Aid shipments getting back on track in Middle East: WHOLebanon: ‘Nowhere safe to go’ warn UNICEF, UNHCR, UN WomenDesalination plant strike risk looms over Gulf States
Aid shipments getting back on track in Middle East: WHOLebanon: ‘Nowhere safe to go’ warn UNICEF, UNHCR, UN WomenDesalination plant strike risk looms over Gulf States This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Daniel Johnson.
Economic Liberties Applauds Bicameral “Take Back Our Hospitals” Legislation
In response to Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon’s (D-PA-05) introduction of the Take Back Our Hospitals Act, which would effectively prohibit private-equity firms from owning hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, the American E...
In response to Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon’s (D-PA-05) introduction of the Take Back Our Hospitals Act, which would effectively prohibit private-equity firms from owning hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, the American Economic Liberties Project put out the following statement. “Private-equity ownership of healthcare facilities drives up prices, lowers wages, reduces access, and degrades patient care,” said Emma Freer, Senior Policy Analyst for Healthcare at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Economic Liberties is proud to endorse the Take Back Our Hospitals Act, which would protect patients, employer health plan sponsors, and taxpayers from private-equity profiteering as the latest step towards breaking up Big Medicine.” The Take Back Our Hospitals Act would prohibit hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that are owned by a private-equity firm from receiving Medicare reimbursements. Extensive research shows that private-equity ownership in health care is associated with higher costs, lower wages, and, perhaps most importantly, worse patient outcomes, including significantly higher mortality. Economic Liberties has advocated for this kind of structural separation – to ensure insurers, middlemen, and other corporate entities, like private-equity firms, cannot own or control healthcare providers – since 2024, in both white papers and the popular press. In early 2025, Economic Liberties launched the Break Up Big Medicine initiative to bring together independent healthcare professionals, patient advocates, employers, and policy experts who support structural reforms across the healthcare industry. This coalition has activated for in-person events across the country, from Austin to New Orleans, and to support complementary legislation, including: The bipartisan Break Up Big Medicine Act by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), which would prohibit insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and wholesale drug distributors from owning or controlling providers. The Patients Over Profits Act by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), which would prohibit insurers from owning certain Medicare providers. The bipartisan Patients Before Monopolies Act, by Senators Warren and Hawley and Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01), which would prohibit PBMs from owning pharmacies. The Medicines for the People Act, by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), which would break Big Pharma’s monopoly by creating a public option for pharmaceutical research and development. Learn more about the Break Up Big Medicine initiative here. This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
I’ll Take You There | Titi Tsira & Friends | Playing For Change | Live Outside
https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260327.mp3 Right-click here to download this episode (“Save link as…”). Good Jobs First (3/23/26) This week on CounterSpin: Sunshine Week,...
https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260327.mp3 Right-click here to download this episode (“Save link as…”). Good Jobs First (3/23/26) This week on CounterSpin: Sunshine Week, based on a popular statement from Louis Brandeis that “sunlight is the best disinfectant,” is an effort to spotlight open government and its importance to the public’s right to know what’s being done in our name. The Michigan Press Association usually honors a public official who advances open government, but this year they said they’re giving no award because “this year’s legislative and policy landscape does not reflect the progress or commitment to openness that the award is designed to celebrate.” Ooof. So Sunshine Week, introduced decades ago by the National Association of Newspaper Editors, is meant to be both a celebration and a call to arms. To information advocates—and to journalists who should be natural partners with anyone seeking to bring the actions of the powerful to light. We talk about it with a group that stays on top of government transparency; Arlene Martinez is deputy executive director and communications director at Good Jobs First. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260327Martinez.mp3 Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at Washington Post prices, the actual cost of oil, the Cuba blockade and Breonna Taylor. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260327Banter.mp3 This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting.
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Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 27, 2026
Protesting the Smash-and-Grab Presidency With Nikhil Pal Singh ⎹ The Intercept Briefing
Hurray for the Riff Raff Performs “Pa’lante” at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
The 30th anniversary celebration of Democracy Now!, held in New York City’s historic Riverside Church this week, featured live performances and appearances from writers and musicians including Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. The music...
The 30th anniversary celebration of Democracy Now!, held in New York City’s historic Riverside Church this week, featured live performances and appearances from writers and musicians including Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. The musical performances were kicked off by singer-songwriter Alynda Segarra and their band Hurray for the Riff Raff, performing the Puerto Rico-inspired anthem “Pa’lante.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Juries in California and New Mexico have found the tech giants Alphabet and Meta liable for knowingly causing harm to children and teens who used their social media platforms. Over the course of the trials, documents revealed that tech compani...
Juries in California and New Mexico have found the tech giants Alphabet and Meta liable for knowingly causing harm to children and teens who used their social media platforms. Over the course of the trials, documents revealed that tech companies were well aware of the addictive properties of their social media products and exploited these properties to increase their profits. “They take advantage of the undeveloped frontal cortex of young people and their emotional need for validation by showing them things, not that they want to see, but what they can’t look away from,” says attorney Matthew P. Bergman, who represented the plaintiffs in the California case. Youth advocate Zamaan Qureshi, who testified in the New Mexico case against Meta, says the verdicts indicate that “Meta’s house of cards is falling, and it is absolutely clear that they will be held accountable.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“Quagmire”: Jeremy Scahill on Iran War, Strait of Hormuz, Market Manipulation & More
Drop Site News's Jeremy Scahill joins Democracy Now! to discuss the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, including President Donald Trump's lies about U.S. strategy and negotiations with Iran, possible avenues of U.S. escalation and what Scahill ...
Drop Site News's Jeremy Scahill joins Democracy Now! to discuss the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, including President Donald Trump's lies about U.S. strategy and negotiations with Iran, possible avenues of U.S. escalation and what Scahill has learned about Iranian strategy in conversations with Iranian officials. “They want to cause enough pain to the world economy … [so] that any nation that thinks of attacking Iran again is going to do so knowing that these are the consequences,” he explains. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“No Kings”: March 28 Rallies Could Be Biggest Day of Protest in U.S. History
Millions of people are expected to take to the streets this Saturday in opposition to the Trump administration in the third iteration of the nationwide No Kings protest movement. Ahead of the thousands of No Kings demonstrations scheduled not ...
Millions of people are expected to take to the streets this Saturday in opposition to the Trump administration in the third iteration of the nationwide No Kings protest movement. Ahead of the thousands of No Kings demonstrations scheduled not only across the country, but also around the world, we speak to one of the organizers behind the campaign, Leah Greenberg of Indivisible. “People are coming out in every state, in every county, collectively, and saying, 'Enough.' We are going to stand against illegal war abroad. We are going to stand against secret police at home,” Greenberg says. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Trump Again Delays Ultimatum for Iran to Open Strait of Hormuz, Pentagon Considering Ground Invasion as Part of “Final Blow” Against Iran, Oil Prices Soar as Iran’s Military Declares Strait of Hormuz “Closed” to U.S.-Aligned Ships, Missile and Drone Attacks from Iran and Hezbollah Leave One Israeli Dead, 25 Wounded, Israel Expands Invasion of Southern Lebanon as UNICEF Warns Attacks Have Killed 121 Children, House Democratic Leaders Delay Vote on Iran War Powers Resolution Until at Least Mid-April, Mexican Navy Searches for Two Ships Missing from Cuba-Bound Aid Flotilla, Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores Appear in Federal Court, Months After Abduction by U.S. Forces, Senate Votes to Fund Most of DHS After Partial Government Shutdown Leads to Airport Chaos, Federal Court Blocks Pentagon’s Blacklisting of Anthropic over AI Safety Guardrails, Oil Trading Surged Minutes Before Trump Claimed “Productive” Talks with Iran, Russian Oil Exports Fall Dramatically After Ukraine Attacks Baltic Sea Oil Terminals, IOC Bans Transgender Women from Women’s Events at 2028 Summer Olympics, NYU Professors Win Big Raises as Part of Tentative Deal to End Strike
Trump Again Delays Ultimatum for Iran to Open Strait of Hormuz Pentagon Considering Ground Invasion as Part of "Final Blow" Against Iran Oil Prices Soar as Iran's Military Declares Strait of Hormuz "Closed" to U.S.-Aligned Ships Missile and Drone Attacks from Iran and Hezbollah Leave One Israeli Dead, 25 Wounded Israel Expands Invasion of Southern Lebanon as UNICEF Warns Attacks Have Killed 121 Children House Democratic Leaders Delay Vote on Iran War Powers Resolution Until at Least Mid-April Mexican Navy Searches for Two Ships Missing from Cuba-Bound Aid Flotilla Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores Appear in Federal Court, Months After Abduction by U.S. Forces Senate Votes to Fund Most of DHS After Partial Government Shutdown Leads to Airport Chaos Federal Court Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of Anthropic over AI Safety Guardrails Oil Trading Surged Minutes Before Trump Claimed "Productive" Talks with Iran Russian Oil Exports Fall Dramatically After Ukraine Attacks Baltic Sea Oil Terminals IOC Bans Transgender Women from Women's Events at 2028 Summer Olympics NYU Professors Win Big Raises as Part of Tentative Deal to End Strike This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Headlines for March 27, 2026; “No Kings”: March 28 Rallies Could Be Biggest Day of Protest in U.S. History; “Quagmire”: Jeremy Scahill on Iran War, Strait of Hormuz, Market Manipulation & More; Meta & Google Found Liable in Landmark Cases for Knowingly Causing Harm to Young People; Hurray for the Riff Raff Performs “Pa’lante” at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
Democracy Now! 2026-03-27 Friday Headlines for March 27, 2026 "No Kings": March 28 Rallies Could Be Biggest Day of Protest in U.S. History "Quagmire": Jeremy Scahill on Iran War, Strait of Hormuz, Market Manipulation & More Meta & Google Found Liable in Landmark Cases for Knowingly Causing Harm to Young People Hurray for the Riff Raff Performs "Pa'lante" at Democracy Now!'s 30th Anniversary Download this show This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Utah Bans Polygraph Tests for Those Reporting Sexual Assault
The post Utah Bans Polygraph Tests for Those Reporting Sexual Assault appeared first on ProPublica.
For years, Utah allowed government officials to do something other states banned: ask a person who reports a sexual assault to take a polygraph test. That will change soon. Earlier this month, state lawmakers passed a bill that prohibits police and other government officials from requesting polygraph tests for alleged sex assault victims. Gov. Spencer Cox signed it into law on Thursday, and it goes into effect in May. Experts say these tests are known to be especially unreliable with victims of sexual abuse. That’s because victims may have stress and anxiety recounting their assault that the polygraph may interpret as deception. Other states don’t allow them to be used with assault victims for this reason. It took two years and three legislative sessions for Utah state Rep. Angela Romero, the House minority leader, to get the bill across the finish line. When she first sponsored it in 2024, she cited reporting from The Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica as she told her fellow legislators the damaging effects polygraph tests can have on people who are reporting sexual abuse. In the case covered by the news outlets, state licensors asked a man to take a polygraph test after he reported that his therapist, Scott Owen, had touched him inappropriately. The test results indicated he was being deceptive, and that led the patient to drop his complaint. Owen was allowed to continue to practice for two more years, until others came forward with similar allegations. Owen is now in prison after admitting he sexually abused patients. Romero said in a recent interview that she was determined to bring the bill back for that former patient. “For me, it was really specifically for that one individual who was not believed,” Romero said, “and then their perpetrator went on to harm other people.” Cox signed the legislation during a small ceremony at his office, telling Romero that she “has been such a champion, and made a difference and saved lives.” The governor also nodded to The Tribune and ProPublica’s reporting driving change. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="498" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="Two people, one man and one woman, sign documents at a table while other people look on, in a government office." class="wp-image-72004" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 2910w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,199 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,509 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,679 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1018 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2048,1358 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,572 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,280 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,366 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,370 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,349 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,498 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,762 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1326 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,265 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,530 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,795 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GJ8A8321_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1061 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Gov. Spencer Cox, signing the polygraph legislation, praised its Democratic sponsor, saying she “made a difference and saved lives.” Utah Governor’s Office Provo police began investigating Owen in 2023 after The Tribune and ProPublica published a story that detailed a range of sexual assault allegations from the man given the polygraph test, identified in previous reporting under the pseudonym Andrew, and three others. Former patients who spoke to the news outlets said they sought Owen’s help because he was a therapist who had built a reputation as a specialist who could help gay men who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They said he touched them inappropriately during those sessions, some of which were paid for with church funds. Half of states have laws that explicitly prohibit law enforcement from conducting a polygraph test with someone reporting a sexual assault. Some go further, barring a broader group of government employees beyond law enforcement from requiring an alleged sexual assault victim to take one. Although Romero’s bill had support from prosecutors and police each session she proposed it, there was pushback from defense attorneys and some fellow legislators who wanted to keep polygraph tests as an option because alleged sex assaults often have no other witnesses. Polygraph test results are not admissible in court because of their unreliability. But Steve Burton, with the Utah Defense Attorney Association, said in a recent legislative hearing that it is still valuable for prosecutors and investigators to consider those results before deciding whether to pursue criminal charges. “This is often one of the only things that a defense attorney can ask for or use in order to try to show that their client may be telling the truth,” he said. Romero pushed back on that idea, saying there are other kinds of interview techniques that authorities can use to help determine whether someone’s account is truthful. “This is not a way,” she said. “Especially when you’re dealing with someone who has been a victim. You could revictimize that person. And it also could discourage that person from going forward and participating in the process of criminally prosecuting their perpetrator.” “The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Gone Through” Reporting from The Tribune and ProPublica showed the damaging effects a polygraph test had on the man who reported Owen to state licensors. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="564" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="A man sits in a bedroom with his back to the camera. Decorations on the walls include Star Wars paraphernalia and a sign that says “boys only.”" class="wp-image-72005" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,647 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,317 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,414 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,419 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,395 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,564 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,862 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1500 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,600 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,900 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20230803-Therapist-Abuse-in-Utah-1_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1200 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Andrew, who is identified by a pseudonym to protect his privacy, said he was sexually abused by therapist Scott Owen. (Objects in this image have been darkened and blurred to protect Andrew’s identity.) Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune Andrew reported Owen to Utah’s Division of Professional Licensing in 2016. As part of the investigation, licensors offered polygraph tests to both Andrew and Owen. Owen declined. Andrew agreed, recalling that an investigator told him passing would bolster what was essentially one person’s word against another’s. But the polygraph results, Andrew said, suggested he was being deceptive. Polygraph tests generally function to record signs of internal stress, which could suggest someone is not telling the truth. “I had so much trauma,” he told The Tribune and ProPublica. “And so, certainly, when they asked me questions about the particular things that happened in therapy, it’s going to elicit a very strong emotional response.” The result affected his mental health, he said, and he told an investigator he no longer wanted to pursue the complaint. In a 2016 public reprimand from licensors, Owen admitted giving Andrew hugs — touching he called inappropriate but “non-sexual.” Andrew had reported that Owen groped him, encouraged him to undress and kissed him during sessions. Officials with DOPL said they believe they responded appropriately to the complaint. But communications between Andrew and an investigator suggest that the agency’s decision not to more harshly discipline Owen rested largely on his denial and on Andrew’s polygraph results. Owen pleaded guilty to felony charges in February 2025, admitting he sexually abused two patients and led them to believe that sexual touching was part of therapy. He pleaded no contest in a third patient’s case. Andrew was among more than half a dozen men — mostly former patients — who spoke during Owen’s sentencing hearing a month later about how he had harmed them. “The experience with Scott Owen has been the worst thing I’ve ever gone through,” Andrew said. “I don’t think he belongs in society anymore.” A judge sentenced Owen to at least 15 years in prison. He’s currently at the central Utah prison facility. A New State Task Force The state is addressing some of the shortcomings identified by The Tribune and ProPublica in another way as well: creating a task force to look into a rise in sexual misconduct complaints that state licensors say they’ve seen against licensed professionals. The task force will focus on health care, mental health and massage therapy, professions state officials say have historically received the highest percentage of sexual misconduct complaints. The news organizations reported that more than a third of mental health professionals who received discipline from licensors beginning in 2012 were accused of sexual misconduct. In 2023, DOPL spokesperson Melanie Hall said the agency was aware that certain license types “have a tendency towards certain types of violations.” The agency, she said, “takes these factors into account when investigating complaints, and takes appropriate disciplinary action when necessary.” The task force, which was announced earlier this month, will focus on suggesting changes to the law and creating resources to help victims more easily report misconduct to the state. It also plans to develop a standardized process for sharing reports among agencies that might have knowledge of an accusation — something that is not currently legally required. The Tribune and ProPublica highlighted this gap in their reporting on Owen’s case: Although Andrew and at least two others reported Owen to DOPL, licensors never shared those reports with Provo police. Margaret Busse is the executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, which houses DOPL. She said in a statement that licensed professionals who engage in sexual misconduct violate not just their clients’ trust, but the public’s confidence in their profession. “These heinous acts inflict profound harm to victims and damage the reputations of entire industries,” she said. “This task force is our unequivocal declaration: Utah will hold licensed professionals accountable to protect our communities and the integrity of state-regulated industries.” The post Utah Bans Polygraph Tests for Those Reporting Sexual Assault appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Jessica Schreifels.
‘Torture and genocide’ – UN expert Francesca Albanese denounces Israeli abuse of Palestinians
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. NERMEEN SHAIKH: An Israeli court has closed an investigation into the death of Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old from the occupied West Bank who died in an Israeli jail six months after he was arrested, held without charges and accused of throwing
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. NERMEEN SHAIKH: An Israeli court has closed an investigation into the death of Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old from the occupied West Bank who died in an Israeli jail six months after he was arrested, held without charges and accused of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. An autopsy showed Ahmad likely starved to death after suffering extreme weight loss, muscle wasting and untreated scabies. Human rights groups say nearly 100 Palestinians have died in Israeli jails since October 2023. Meanwhile, local and international media outlets report Israeli forces recently tortured a Palestinian toddler in Gaza to coerce a confession from his father. READ MORE: Trump talks up deal with Tehran as Iranian missile, drone attacks continue Other US-Israeli attacks on Iran, Palestine genocide According to reports from Palestine TV, Al Jazeera and others, the child’s father, Osama Abu Nassar, was detained near the al-Maghazi refugee camp after he came under fire from Israeli soldiers. He was forced to approach an Israeli checkpoint, where he was separated from his 18-month-old son, stripped naked and forced to watch as soldiers used a cigarette to burn one of the toddler’s legs while using a nail to puncture the other. AMY GOODMAN: This comes as a new UN report warns Israel is systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale that “suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent”.The report, titled “Torture and Genocide”, was written by Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. In July, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on her over her report naming dozens of companies she says are profiting from Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza. Amnesty International blasted the sanctions as a “shameless and transparent attack on the fundamental principles of international justice”. Francesca Albanese’s new book is When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words and Wounds of Palestine. She joins us from Geneva, Switzerland. Francesca, thank you so much for being with us. Why don’t you lay out what you found in your new report, “Torture and Genocide,” that you just presented at the U.N. Human Rights Council? Torture and Genocide — a new UN report. Video: Democracy Now! Transcript FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Thank you. Thank you, Amy and Nermeen. I’ve been investigating genocide for over two years now. So, five out of eight reports I’ve produced for the United Nations focus on genocide, acts of genocide, the context in which a genocide happens, why the genocide is not stopped, the layers of complicity from states and private companies, which is the reason why also I’m sanctioned by the United States, against which now my 13-year-old daughter, who’s an American citizen, is the only one to take action suing the Trump administration. But of all the investigations I’ve carried out, this has been absolutely the most excruciating, that led me to say that Israel uses torture in a systematic and widespread fashion, intentionally and sadistically, to break the spirit of the Palestinians, not just as individuals, but as a people, considering the scale and intensity of torture. And I monitored torture behind bars, collecting hundreds, hundreds of testimonies, directly and from Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, but also analyzing what experts call torturous environment, meaning the cumulative impact of all the practices, of all the crimes that Israel has massively inflicted on the Palestinians — again, beyond the torture, sodomisation, raping in jail, the enforced disappearance, which is touching 4000 people. This is new. This is a new crime, including for Israel, toward the Palestinians. But also starvation, constant forced displacement, not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and home demolition, the fear of being always threatened with death or other crimes, it creates a torturous environment for the Palestinians, which is an essential element of genocide. And it is genocide. NERMEEN SHAIKH: Francesca, if you could elaborate on this point that you’ve just made and that you make in the report, namely, that torture has effectively become state policy for Israel since October 2023? So, what are the kinds of transformations you’ve seen, both in terms of Israeli security personnel, as well as settlers, against the Palestinians? FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Yeah, I have to say that what I’ve investigated is something on which even the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry on Israel/Palestine had shed light already, the fact that Israel, after October 7, has massively used torture to punish the Palestinians vindictively. In fact, the concept of torture has become a state policy is something that the Committee Against Torture found out recently. I have zoomed in: What does it mean, and where does it come from? Surely, one of the main engineers or architects of this, what’s been called — what he has called the “prison revolution,” is Itamar Ben-Gvir, was — immediately after October 7, has declared that the Palestinians in jail will not be afforded luxury treatment or five-star treatment anymore, as if it was a five-star hotel, what the Israeli prison system afforded Palestinians before October 7. By the way, in 2023, in July 2023, I produced a report showing how widespread and systemic was the arbitrary treatment of Palestinian detainees, so, just to give a context. But the conditions have become more and more brutal, and intentionally so. What does it mean? Palestinians have routinely been abducted — I mean, detained without charge or trial. They’ve been arrested, because Palestinians, if they were specific professionals, like journalists and doctors or headed medical personnel, all the more. Seventeen hundred Palestinian healthcare personnel have been killed. Hundreds remain in jail. And they have been shackled, blindfolded, beaten, humiliated, stripped naked, photographed, filmed, exposed to Israeli civilians, including settlers, coming in to document and to film, to participate into this orgy of depravity, of how a person can be humiliated. But the most painful, excruciating thing — and I’ve read some of the testimonies — is how Palestinian women and men have been sodomised, have been raped, with bottles, with knives, with metal rods. Even the prisoner who was sodomised through — was raped with a knife, brought to the hospital. Five Israeli officials were identified and pressed charged against, and now the charges have been dropped. And the person who leaked the video from within the military apparatus is under house arrest on top of it. So, not only that I’ve documented the vindictiveness toward the Palestinians, the humiliation, the continuous abuses against them in jail, really to break their spirit once and for all as a people, but also the fact that there has been almost something celebratory against the mistreatment of Palestinians in jail among the society. The legislative power, the Knesset, has been discussing the right to rape Palestinians, and so other members of the executive. The judiciary has not looked into it. And as I said, even those who were found, caught on video, committing this crime were released. AMY GOODMAN: Francesca, in this last 30 seconds, what are you calling for? FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Oh, for justice. Justice. Israel must be stopped, because, Amy, I can’t even use the past tense. As we speak, there are still over 9000 Palestinian hostages, hostages to an unlawful occupation in Israeli jail. The only thing this — International Court of Justice has spoken. Israel must withdraw the occupation, the troops, the colonies. And the exploitation of Palestinian resources must end. Meanwhile, the settlers continue to terrorise people. Very few Israelis are engaged against this. So member states must intervene, cut ties and stop weapons transfers to Israel once and for all, and bring the perpetrators to justice. AMY GOODMAN: Francesco Albanese, we thank you so much for being with us, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. We’ll link to your report, “Torture and Genocide,” and have you back on to talk about your book. Republished from Democracy Now! under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Ukraine’s Last Remaining Artery Swarmed By Russian Drones | Ukraine Front Line Update
Friday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD
Friday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4 and was authored by Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4.
The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead if Vaccines Vanish
The post The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead if Vaccines Vanish appeared first on ProPublica.
This story works best on ProPublica’s website. Before vaccines, death and disability stalked children. Then shots turned once-common infections into something doctors only read about in textbooks. When immunization rates drop, however, plagues from the past can come roaring back, as measles has in American communities where parents decided not to vaccinate their children. Imagine what would happen if even the people who wanted shots couldn’t get them. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who founded an antivaccination group, is considering changes that could prompt the handful of companies that make most shots for American children to stop selling them here. Over the last year, he has been transforming a government that long championed the lifesaving benefits of vaccines into one that questions their safety here and around the world. Shortly after Kennedy was nominated, questions swirled over how he might overhaul America’s immunization system. Two Stanford University researchers wondered how many people would suffer if vaccination rates dropped or shots became entirely unavailable for four of the most infamous diseases: polio, measles, rubella and diphtheria. Outbreaks often start when an American catches one of these illnesses abroad and returns home. So epidemiologists Mathew Kiang and Nathan Lo, who is also an infectious diseases doctor, built a model to simulate how the four contagions could spread from sick travelers based on each state’s vaccination rates. Since a sizable chunk of the population is currently vaccinated, some of the infections wouldn’t get a foothold right away. But over time, as more babies are born and not vaccinated, a larger share of the population would become susceptible. The professors ran thousands of simulations for each disease, producing a range of possible outcomes. From there, they figured out the average number of deaths and disabilities over a 25-year period. Their model shows that at current vaccination rates, the nation is already teetering on the brink of an explosion in measles cases — one that would be virtually wiped out with just a 5% increase in vaccination. But if current rates drop by half, all four diseases could return. The researchers’ modeling of the worst-case scenario assumes a quarter century where no one could get the shots. It doesn’t account for the likelihood of parents going abroad to find vaccines or politicians intervening to ensure drugmakers offer them again. But the results demonstrate in stark terms how vital shots are and what’s at stake if policy changes interfere with Americans’ ability to vaccinate their kids. ProPublica shared the key findings of that scenario with the Department of Health and Human Services. An agency spokesperson didn’t address the modeling but said “HHS has not limited access or insurance coverage to any FDA-approved vaccines” and continues to routinely recommend the shots for children. When they published their paper in early 2025, Kiang and Lo emphasized the outcomes from less extreme drops in vaccination rates, in part because the peer reviewers suggested those were more realistic. Back then, Kennedy was in his earliest days at HHS. A year later, though, a scenario where no one can get these vaccines doesn’t feel as far-fetched, Kiang said. “Every week that goes by,” he said, “that seems more plausible.” Lo said that their goal was to show policy makers, “if we make certain decisions, this is what could happen.” So ProPublica decided to illustrate what a future without vaccines could look like. If We Lost the Vaccine for Polio Polio, which mainly affects young children, can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis in the limbs or in the muscles needed to breathe. In the 1950s, many people were kept alive in iron lungs, huge metal contraptions that encased the body up to the neck and used pressure to force air in and out of the lungs. Ventilators have since replaced the antiquated equipment, but modern medicine can’t reverse the paralysis. The model assumes 1 out of every 200 unvaccinated people who catch polio would become paralyzed. Imagine if this group of kindergartners became paralyzed by polio. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="523" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?w=752" alt="" class="wp-image-71750" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png 1000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=300,209 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=768,535 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=863,601 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=422,294 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=552,384 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=558,388 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=527,367 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=752,523 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=400,278 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_16kids.png?resize=800,557 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> They would be a tiny sliver of the 23,000 people the model predicts could be paralyzed by polio over 25 years if no one is getting the vaccine. That 23,000 is the model’s average. It’s the equivalent of more than a thousand kindergarten classes. (The model results range from 0 to more than 70,000 cases of paralytic polio.) <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1487" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?w=752" alt="" class="wp-image-71751" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png 1206w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=152,300 152w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=768,1519 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=518,1024 518w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=777,1536 777w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=1036,2048 1036w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=863,1707 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=422,835 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=552,1092 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=558,1104 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=527,1042 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=752,1487 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=1149,2272 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=809,1600 809w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=400,791 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=800,1582 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_polio.png?resize=1200,2373 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> If We Lost the Vaccine for Measles Measles is among the most contagious diseases in history. A child can spread it before they even get a rash, and the virus can linger in the air for up to two hours after they leave a room. Famous for its blotchy spots covering the body, measles is a respiratory disease that can lead to pneumonia and swelling of the brain. Before the vaccine, just about everyone got measles, and every year 400 to 500 Americans died. The model assumes that 3 out of every 1,000 people infected with measles would die. Over the last 25 years, six people who contracted measles in the U.S. died from the disease. If Americans could no longer get the vaccine, the model predicts measles would spread quickly. The model shows that measles could kill about 290,000 people over 25 years. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1373" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?w=752" alt="" class="wp-image-72140" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png 804w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=164,300 164w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=768,1402 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=561,1024 561w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=422,771 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=552,1008 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=558,1019 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=527,962 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=752,1373 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=400,730 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324_applenews_measles.png?resize=800,1461 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> If We Lost the Vaccine for Rubella Rubella, also known as German measles, is usually mild in kids and adults. But it’s devastating to a developing fetus. If an infection occurs very early in pregnancy, there’s up to a 90% chance that the baby will be born with congenital rubella syndrome. These children frequently have heart defects, deafness or blindness — and sometimes all three. Many have intellectual disabilities, too. About a third of babies with the syndrome die before their first birthday. A U.S. rubella epidemic in the mid-1960s left 20,000 newborns with congenital rubella syndrome. If the vaccine went away, we wouldn’t see babies born with congenital rubella syndrome right away. The unvaccinated children would first need to grow into their childbearing years. The model shows that cases would begin to climb after about 15 years. And within 25 years, 41,000 babies could be born with congenital rubella syndrome. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1063" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?w=752" alt="" class="wp-image-71752" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png 1459w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=212,300 212w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=768,1085 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=725,1024 725w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=1087,1536 1087w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=1449,2048 1449w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=863,1220 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=422,596 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=552,780 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=558,789 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=527,745 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=752,1063 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=1149,1624 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=1132,1600 1132w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=400,565 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=800,1131 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260325-rubella-chart-fallback.png?resize=1200,1696 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> If We Lost the Vaccine for Diphtheria Diphtheria, a major killer of children in the 1900s, was known as the “strangling angel.” The disease’s name comes from the Greek word for leather because diphtheria’s toxin attacks the respiratory tract. Dead tissue builds up in the throat like a thick piece of hide, sealing off a swollen airway. For those who escape suffocation, the toxin can damage the nerves and heart. Patients who seem better can drop dead weeks later. An antitoxin made from the blood of horses needs to be given promptly, but it is in short supply. Children elsewhere in the world have died waiting for it. The disease is rare and much less contagious than measles or rubella. But it’s also far more deadly. The model assumes only one infected traveler would arrive every five years and that 1 out of every 10 unvaccinated people who catch diphtheria would die. The researchers found it’s very possible nobody would die of diphtheria in the 25-year period their model covers. But we would be playing a game of high-stakes roulette if we lost the vaccine. There is a chance that the strangling angel could become devastating again. Remember the 23,000 people who could be paralyzed without a polio vaccine? A world without a diphtheria vaccine could be even worse. On average, the model predicts 138,000 deaths from diphtheria. In the worst-case scenario, though, the model shows that more than a million people could die from diphtheria in 25 years without a vaccine. The chance of that is remote, but it’s the gamble we’d all be taking. Methodology The number of paralytic polio cases, measles deaths, cases of congenital rubella syndrome and diphtheria deaths in this story are the average values generated by a model created by Stanford University researchers Mathew Kiang and Nathan Lo, which ran 2,000 simulations for each disease. When we refer to a “range” of possibilities, we mean the values within the upper and lower bounds of a 95% uncertainty interval — meaning across all simulations, 95% of the results fall within those bounds. For the worst-case scenario of deaths from diphtheria, the number used is the high end of this range. For polio, the model generated an average of 23,066 cases of paralytic polio and a range of 0 to 74,934 cases. For measles, the model generated an average of 290,129 deaths and a range of 285,271 to 294,286 deaths. For rubella, the model generated an average of 41,441 cases of congenital rubella syndrome and a range of 34,876 to 48,373 cases. For diphtheria, the model generated an average of 138,284 deaths and a range of 0 to 1,460,394 deaths. For current vaccination rates, the researchers used the average of the rates from 2004 to 2023 in each state. The six deaths from measles over the last 25 years figure is from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Last year, the Stanford epidemiologists and other researchers published a peer-reviewed article about this model in the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed what could happen with less severe declines in vaccination. The post The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead if Vaccines Vanish appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Lucas Waldron.
To keep climate science alive, researchers are speaking in code
Words considered "woke" are vanishing from National Science Foundation proposals. We tracked the changes.
At the Department of Agriculture’s research division, everyone knows there’s one word they should never say, according to Ethan Roberts. “The forbidden C-word” — climate. Roberts, union president at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois, has worked for the federal government for nearly a decade. In that time, the physical science technician has weathered several political administrations, including President Donald Trump’s first term. None compare to what’s happening now. The sweeping transformation became apparent last March, after a memo from upper management at the USDA Agricultural Research Service instructed staffers to avoid submitting agreements and other contracts that used any of 100-plus newly banned words and phrases. Roughly a third directly related to climate change, including “global warming,” “climate science,” and “carbon sequestration.” Roberts met with his union to figure out how to respond to the memo. They concluded that the best course of action was just to avoid the terms and try to get their research published by working around them. Throughout the federal agency, “climate change” was swapped for softer synonyms: “elevated temperatures,” “soil health,” and “extreme weather.” It’s part of a bigger trend. Across federal agencies and academic institutions, scientists are avoiding words they once used without hesitation. When Trump took office last year — calling coal “clean” and “beautiful” while deriding plans to tackle climate change as a “green scam” — a so-called “climate hushing” took hold of the United States, as businesses, politicians, and even the news media got quieter about global warming. There’s a long list of supposedly “woke” words that agencies have been discouraged from using, many tied to climate change or diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The language changes were accompanied by larger shifts in how the federal government operates. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, laid off hundreds of thousands of federal workers last year. The Trump administration also slashed spending on science, cutting tens of billions of dollars in grants for projects related to the environment and public lands. Researchers are adapting to the new landscape, with some finding creative ways to continue their climate research, from changing their wording to seeking out different sources of funding. For federal researchers studying, say, the interplay between weather patterns and soybean diseases, the key is to reframe studies so they don’t clash with the Trump administration’s politics. “Instead of making it about the climate, you would instead just make it about the disease itself, and be like, ‘This disease does these things under these conditions,’ rather than ‘These conditions cause this disease to do this,’” Roberts added. “It’s just changing the focus.” You can see how federally funded research has changed by looking at the grants approved by the National Science Foundation, or NSF, an agency that provides roughly a quarter of the U.S. government’s funding to universities. Grist’s analysis found that the number of NSF grants whose titles or abstracts mentioned “climate change” fell from 889 in 2023 to 148 last year, a 77 percent plunge. Part of that’s a result of NSF staffers approving fewer grants related to climate change under Trump. But researchers self-censoring by omitting the phrase in their proposals also appears to play a role, evidenced by the corresponding rise of “extreme weather” — a synonym that gets around the politicized language. <img decoding="async" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-climate-interactive-v2-static-light.png?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="" data-credit=""/> Climate language in NSF grant summaries Percent change from 2021 baseline, 2021–2025 % Change Share % Click to show or hide lines Climate change Global warming Extreme weather Environmental justice Clean energy Source: National Science Foundation Clayton Aldern / Grist <path d="M137 98.5C133 98.5 132 97.5 132 92.5V50.2C133.579 49.0591 135.454 48.3993 137.4 48.3C140.5 48.3 143.2 49.6 147.5 54.7C148.8 56.3 150 57 151.3 57C153.3 57 154.5 55.7 154.5 53.4V38H151.5C147.812 37.9397 144.155 38.6872 140.786 40.1901C137.418 41.6931 134.419 43.915 132 46.7V38H108V41.5H112C116 41.5 117 42.5 117 47.5V92.5C117 97.5 116 98.5 112 98.5H108V102H145V98.5H137ZM158.5 41.5H161.2C165.2 41.5 166.2 42.5 166.2 47.5V92.5C166.2 97.5 165.2 98.5 161.2 98.5H156.8V102H189.9V98.5H186.2C182.2 98.5 181.2 97.5 181.2 92.5V38H158.5V41.5ZM195.4 102H199.1V101C199.1 98.7 200.8 98.8 202.8 99.5C210.5 102.2 214.4 103 220.5 103C236.8 103 244.5 95.4 244.5 82.7C244.5 74.2 239.6 66.7 227.3 63.1L211.2 58.4C203.5 56.1 201.2 53 201.2 49.7C201.2 46.4 204.2 43.4 209.1 43.4C216.6 43.4 223.8 48 234.3 56.3C235.151 57.0952 236.241 57.5873 237.4 57.7C239.4 57.7 240.6 56.4 240.6 54.1V38H236.9V39C236.9 40.7 235.8 41.5 233.7 40.7C226.3 37.9 221.8 37 217.6 37C203.1 37 196 45.2 196 56.9C196 65.3 201.8 72.4 215.2 76.5L229.6 80.9C236.8 83.1 239.3 86 239.3 89.9C239.3 93.8 236 96.6 231.1 96.6C224.3 96.6 215.3 93.2 202.1 83C201.131 82.094 199.911 81.5015 198.6 81.3C196.6 81.3 195.4 82.6 195.4 84.9V102ZM257.8 83.9C257.8 96.3 265.1 103 278.7 103C285.1 103 294.8 101.2 302.3 98.7V87C302.3 84.7 301.1 83.4 299.1 83.4C297.9 83.4 296.8 84.1 295.6 85.9C288.4 96.7 282.8 99.6 278.2 99.6C274.2 99.6 272.8 97.8 272.8 92.7V49.5H304.7V38H272.8V14H269.1V14.7C269.1 29 260.3 40.4 247.8 42.8V49.5H257.8V83.9ZM166.2 30H181.2V12.5H166.2V30ZM84.9 64V88.3C79.1 91.9 72.6 94 67.1 94C39.7 94 15.1 64.1 15.1 33C15.1 18.4 24.7 6.9 41.4 6.9C51.9 6.9 72.3 13.6 87.4 29.8C87.8588 30.38 88.4339 30.8576 89.0884 31.2021C89.7428 31.5465 90.4621 31.7502 91.2 31.8C93.2 31.8 94.4 30.5 94.4 28.2V2H90.7V3C90.7 6.6 88.6 7.6 83.4 6C72.9626 2.50408 62.0057 0.813193 51 1C18.1 1 0 26.8 0 52C0 80.8 21.9 103 51 103C63.148 102.914 74.9783 99.11 84.9 92.1V102H99.4V50H46.4V64H84.9Z" fill="#3C3830"></path> Trent Ford, the state climatologist for Illinois, says he’s started using terms like “weather extremes” and “weather variability” in framing his proposals for grants. “It’s sort of a weird thing, because on principle, if we’re studying climate change, to not name climate change feels dirty,” said Ford, who’s also a research scientist at the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But it’s more of a practical decision than anything else: “We’ve seen where grants that say everything but ‘climate change’ and are obviously studying the impacts of climate change get through with no problem.” He only uses the phrase in grant proposals when he thinks it’s absolutely necessary and when efforts to steer around the term would look too obvious to a reviewer. Researchers have always had to tailor their framing to align with a funder’s priorities, in this case the federal government. Near the end of President Joe Biden’s term in late 2024, when Ford’s team applied for an NSF grant to study how climate conditions could affect Midwestern agriculture, it made sense to include a line about talking to a diverse group of farmers. But that word became a problem after Trump returned to office. “By the time the proposal got reviewed by the program manager at NSF, that same language that was required four months ago was now actually a death sentence on it,” Ford said. The NSF liked the proposal, but wanted the researchers to remove the line about reaching a diverse set of agricultural stakeholders and confirm that they would talk to “all American farmers,” Ford said. The team sent it back in, and the NSF approved it last April. Others weren’t so lucky. Another scientist at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said DOGE eliminated major research programs at the agency and, in the process, wiped out hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds for an initiative to grow plants without soil that “really didn’t have anything to do with climate change.” The scientist said it had only been labeled as climate research to “satisfy the previous Biden administration.” “Anything, any project, that had ‘CC’ in front of it, was eliminated. Because ‘CC’ stands for climate change,” the staffer said. “So, unfortunately, that came back to bite them during this administration.” Though not to this extreme, researchers have found themselves staying away from politically fraught terms like “climate change” before. During the first Trump administration, Austin Becker, a professor at the University of Rhode Island who studies how ports and maritime infrastructure can be made more resilient to hazards like storms and flooding, started avoiding the phrase, even though it’s what motivated his research. “Everything that was ‘climate’ just became ‘coastal resilience,’” he said. “And we’ve kind of just stuck with that ever since.” Ford initially resisted pressure to stop using the phrase from colleagues he was writing grants with, but he gave in this time around for financial reasons. “Getting a grant could be the difference between a graduate student getting a paycheck and us having to let a graduate student go, or having to let a full-time employee of the university go,” he said. Some researchers have been looking for grants in new places as federal money dries up. Dana Fisher, a professor at American University and the director of its Center for Environment, Community, and Equity, has procured private funding to research ways to improve and expand communication about climate change in North America. She’s also looking overseas for funding, where she’s had success during past Republican administrations that were hesitant to approve grants for climate research. When George W. Bush was president, Fisher got a grant to study how climate action in U.S. cities and states could influence federal policymaking, an effort funded by the Norwegian Research Council — a fact that raised some eyebrows when she mentioned it to people she was interviewing in Congress. “They’re like, huh?” Fisher recalled. “I was like, ‘Well, that’s what happens when there’s a Republican administration.’” As scarce as funding for anything related to the climate has become under Trump, some topics appear to be even more politically toxic. In Ford’s experience, and from what he’s heard from other researchers, “equity” and “environmental justice” are “actually dirtier words.” The Trump administration has closed the Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice offices at its headquarters and in all 10 of its regional offices, and continues to lay off EPA staff who helped communities dealing with pollution. Grist’s analysis of grants reveal a similar pattern: Under Trump, mentions of “DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion) have vanished from NSF grants entirely. Terms like “clean energy” and “pollution” have also declined, but not as sharply as climate change. <img decoding="async" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nsf-decline-bar-light.png?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="" data-credit=""/> The dirty words of federal science funding Percent change from peak (2021–2024) to 2025 Source: NSF Clayton Aldern / Grist / Didier Weemaels / Unsplash <path d="M137 98.5C133 98.5 132 97.5 132 92.5V50.2C133.579 49.0591 135.454 48.3993 137.4 48.3C140.5 48.3 143.2 49.6 147.5 54.7C148.8 56.3 150 57 151.3 57C153.3 57 154.5 55.7 154.5 53.4V38H151.5C147.812 37.9397 144.155 38.6872 140.786 40.1901C137.418 41.6931 134.419 43.915 132 46.7V38H108V41.5H112C116 41.5 117 42.5 117 47.5V92.5C117 97.5 116 98.5 112 98.5H108V102H145V98.5H137ZM158.5 41.5H161.2C165.2 41.5 166.2 42.5 166.2 47.5V92.5C166.2 97.5 165.2 98.5 161.2 98.5H156.8V102H189.9V98.5H186.2C182.2 98.5 181.2 97.5 181.2 92.5V38H158.5V41.5ZM195.4 102H199.1V101C199.1 98.7 200.8 98.8 202.8 99.5C210.5 102.2 214.4 103 220.5 103C236.8 103 244.5 95.4 244.5 82.7C244.5 74.2 239.6 66.7 227.3 63.1L211.2 58.4C203.5 56.1 201.2 53 201.2 49.7C201.2 46.4 204.2 43.4 209.1 43.4C216.6 43.4 223.8 48 234.3 56.3C235.151 57.0952 236.241 57.5873 237.4 57.7C239.4 57.7 240.6 56.4 240.6 54.1V38H236.9V39C236.9 40.7 235.8 41.5 233.7 40.7C226.3 37.9 221.8 37 217.6 37C203.1 37 196 45.2 196 56.9C196 65.3 201.8 72.4 215.2 76.5L229.6 80.9C236.8 83.1 239.3 86 239.3 89.9C239.3 93.8 236 96.6 231.1 96.6C224.3 96.6 215.3 93.2 202.1 83C201.131 82.094 199.911 81.5015 198.6 81.3C196.6 81.3 195.4 82.6 195.4 84.9V102ZM257.8 83.9C257.8 96.3 265.1 103 278.7 103C285.1 103 294.8 101.2 302.3 98.7V87C302.3 84.7 301.1 83.4 299.1 83.4C297.9 83.4 296.8 84.1 295.6 85.9C288.4 96.7 282.8 99.6 278.2 99.6C274.2 99.6 272.8 97.8 272.8 92.7V49.5H304.7V38H272.8V14H269.1V14.7C269.1 29 260.3 40.4 247.8 42.8V49.5H257.8V83.9ZM166.2 30H181.2V12.5H166.2V30ZM84.9 64V88.3C79.1 91.9 72.6 94 67.1 94C39.7 94 15.1 64.1 15.1 33C15.1 18.4 24.7 6.9 41.4 6.9C51.9 6.9 72.3 13.6 87.4 29.8C87.8588 30.38 88.4339 30.8576 89.0884 31.2021C89.7428 31.5465 90.4621 31.7502 91.2 31.8C93.2 31.8 94.4 30.5 94.4 28.2V2H90.7V3C90.7 6.6 88.6 7.6 83.4 6C72.9626 2.50408 62.0057 0.813193 51 1C18.1 1 0 26.8 0 52C0 80.8 21.9 103 51 103C63.148 102.914 74.9783 99.11 84.9 92.1V102H99.4V50H46.4V64H84.9Z" fill="#3C3830"></path> You could view the federal government’s pressure on scientists to change their language in different ways. Is it Orwellian-style censorship, silencing dissent and policing language? Or simply the right of a funder, whose politics changes with each administration, to ask for research that reflects its concerns? Does it affect what research gets done, or simply swap in harmless synonyms to ensure the work can continue? The answer is complicated, according to the USDA’s Roberts. Many of the climate projects at the agency’s research division that have so far avoided cancellation are stuck in funding purgatory, awaiting a fate that could hinge on a politically charged word or two. Scientists are adapting their research to better align with White House priorities, hoping to continue equipping farmers with the knowledge of how to adapt to a warming world — and scrubbing any forbidden language in the meantime. “Clever word usage, and controlling the scope of how the research is presented, allows for scientists to keep doing the work,” Roberts said. “There’s no one going around hunting these people down, thankfully. Not yet, anyway.” A list of words related to climate and the environment included in the leaked USDA ARS banned words memo Climate: climate OR “climate change” OR “climate-change” OR “changing climate” OR “climate consulting” modeling” OR “climate models” OR “climate model” OR “climate accountability” OR “climate risk adaptation” OR “climate resilience” OR “climate smart agriculture” OR “climate smart forestry” O[–] “climatesmart” OR “climate science” OR “climate variability” OR “global warming” OR “global-wa[–] “carbon sequestration” OR “GHG emission” OR “GHG monitoring” OR “GHG modeling” OR “carb[–] “emissions mitigation” OR “greenhouse gas emission” OR “methane emissions” OR “environmen[–] “green infrastructure” OR “sustainable construction” OR “carbon pricing” OR “carbon markets” O[–] energy” Clean energy: “clean energy” OR “clean power” OR “clean fuel” OR “alternative energy” OR “hyd[–] OR “geothermal” OR “solar energy” OR “solar power” OR “photovoltaic” OR “agrivoltaic” OR “wi[–] OR “wind power” OR “nuclear energy” OR “nuclear power” OR “bioenergy” OR “biofuel” OR “biogas” OR “biomethane” OR “ethanol” OR “diesel” OR “aviation fuel” OR “pyrolysis” OR “energy conversion” Clean transportation: electric vehicle, hydrogen vehicle, fuel cell, low-emission vehicle Pollution remediation: “runoff” OR “membrane filtration” OR “microplastics” OR “water pollution” OR “air pollution” OR “soil pollution” OR “groundwater pollution” OR “pollution remediation” OR “pollution abatement” OR “sediment remediation” OR “contaminants of environmental concern” OR “CEC” OR “PFAS” OR “PFOA” OR “PCB” OR “nonpoint source pollution” Water infrastructure: “water collection” OR “water treatment” OR “water storage” OR “water distribution” OR “water management” OR “rural water” OR “agricultural water” OR “water conservation” OR “water efficiency” OR “water quality” OR “clean water” OR “safe drinking water” OR “field drainage” OR “tile drainage” Note: The original leaked memo screenshot was obtained by More Perfect Union. Cut off words or phrases are marked with [–]. 1 of 1 This story was originally published by Grist with the headline To keep climate science alive, researchers are speaking in code on Mar 27, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Kate Yoder.
California’s fossil fuel phaseout has left it vulnerable to the Iran oil shock
The Trump administration and major refiners are using the war to justify restarting oil production and weakening climate rules.
California has managed a remarkable feat over the past twenty years. Even as its economy has grown to overtake Germany’s as the fourth-largest in the world, the state’s consumption of gasoline has declined by almost 15 percent, and consumption of petroleum diesel has fallen by around two-thirds. This has happened due to some of the world’s most aggressive climate policies, including a tax on carbon emissions and a strict requirement to adopt clean-burning fuels such as “renewable diesel” made from fats and oils. During the same period, California’s production of crude oil has also fallen by around half, and many oil wells have shut down. The state now imports almost two-thirds of its crude oil from tanker ships, which is cheaper and more practical because it is separated by steep mountains from oil-producing zones such as Texas. Some of the state’s largest gasoline and diesel refineries are also shutting down amid declining demand, which will make the state dependent on imports of refined gasoline, too. The state’s diminished fossil-fuel sector has made it especially vulnerable to the oil shock of the Israeli-U.S. war with Iran — and to interventions from the Trump administration that could delay or even reverse California’s trend toward renewable energy. Gas prices in the state have spiked toward $7 a gallon in recent weeks, the highest prices in the country. As other economies clamp down on fuel exports, it’s possible the state could face even higher crude prices or a shortage of gasoline. Two weeks after the war began, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department issued a legal memorandum arguing that the federal government can use the Defense Production Act to preempt state law in the event of energy emergencies. The Department of Energy then moved to restart a long-defunct California offshore oil pipeline owned by the company Sable Offshore. The order from energy secretary Chris Wright cited “California’s reliance on foreign oil vulnerable to geopolitical disruption,” with “a significant share traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.” The pipeline has been shut down since a 2015 oil spill that killed hundreds of animals, and state officials had not given it clearance to reopen. On the very next day, the pipeline reopened. California has sued to shut it back down. For now, the Sable pipeline is pumping around 50,000 barrels a day, which would provide around 3 percent of the state’s daily oil needs. Chevron has already said it will buy and refine 20,000 barrels of crude from the pipeline starting in April. The addition of new supply from Sable could lower costs for refineries, said Mike Umbro, an energy entrepreneur who runs Californians for Energy and Science, an educational nonprofit that advocates for increased oil production. Beyond Sable, though, there aren’t many good options for increasing crude supplies in the short term. “Sacreamento’s saying, ‘You don’t have a long term future here,’ so the companies aren’t going to dump a bunch of money in to increase production,” Umbro said. Nevertheless, the Interior Department said this week it would consider a proposal from another offshore oil company to frack undersea oil wells in order to increase production. The administration has also held oil lease sales on federal land in California, and has sued to block a state law that would limit drilling near homes and schools, both measures that would open up more onshore oil production in the state. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Amir Kabir Dam, one of the five main reservoirs supplying water to Tehran, seen through a chain-link fence" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1601w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2227009104.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="901" width="1601" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Iran was already running out of water. Then came the ‘war on infrastructure.’ Frida Garza But more upstream oil production won’t help resolve the current fuel crunch. Even as some oil producers consider pumping more crude, no one has suggested building more refineries. In fact, Chevron and other large refinery owners have warned that California’s “cap-and-invest” program — a carbon tax that gets more expensive as time goes on — could soon drive them out of the state. The California Air Resources Board, the state’s climate regulator, is supposed to debut new rules for the carbon tax later this year, which would reduce the amount of free emissions refineries would be allowed to emit and make refineries less likely to stay in California. The oil industry’s argument against these regulations follows the same logic as the Trump administration’s. “Continued erosion of California’s refining capacity risks increased reliance on imported fuels that are slower to arrive, more exposed to global supply disruptions, and less reliable during emergencies or periods of heightened geopolitical risk,” Andy Walz, a senior executive at Chevron, wrote in a letter to state leaders. At the CERAWeek energy conference this week in Texas, Walz said he believes the state could soon have a shortage of gasoline and jet fuel, and that Chevron might close its own refineries within a decade. Those refineries account for 30 percent of capacity, and losing them could cause huge supply shortages for Bay Area drivers, Central Valley farmers, and even Air Force bases. Democrats and environmental groups in the state, meanwhile, see the Iran crisis as more evidence that the state should lean harder into its transition away from oil. Indeed, as Kaetlyn Roedner Sutter, the California state director for the Environmental Defense Fund, sees it, the current gas spike may only speed up the state’s energy transition by making electric vehicles even more attractive. Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest budget proposed a subsidy for first-time EV buyers, designed to replace the repealed Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, and she said the Iran crisis could strengthen the governor’s case. “I do think the war actually makes it even more important to move forward with this, because I think it just underscores how vulnerable we are, being so dependent on fossil fuels,” she said. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline California’s fossil fuel phaseout has left it vulnerable to the Iran oil shock on Mar 27, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Jake Bittle.
On ICE Patriots: A Plan To Guard the Exit
As airports reach peak chaos amidst a government shutdown and massive departures by unpaid TSA agents, the regime's evil idiots moved to resolve their new quagmire by sending in the same brutal, ill-trained, much-despised ICE goons who caused the shut...
As airports reach peak chaos amidst a government shutdown and massive departures by unpaid TSA agents, the regime's evil idiots moved to resolve their new quagmire by sending in the same brutal, ill-trained, much-despised ICE goons who caused the shutdown - and whose past abuses and corruption now daily come to light. The Beckett-esque result: Images of cranky travelers standing up to six hours in hellish lines overseen by aimlessly loitering henchmen: "Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful." Late-Stage-Capitalism-Calamity #764: We probably shouldn't be surprised the dumbest president in history abetted by the dumbest people making the dumbest mistakes should have gotten around to wrecking America's air travel after his "Derp State" already decimated all our other public endeavors, institutions and systems of governance - the economy and environment along with science, education, immigration, arts, health care, civil rights, criminal justice, international aid and foreign policy, which he brags he conducts by "speaking with myself, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” That must be why shameless GOP suck-ups just gave him another made-up award, after his FIFA and second-hand Nobel: a first-ever America First Award, per quivering Mike Johnson a "beautiful golden statue, appropriate for the new golden era in America," a move widely deemed, "unbelievably, gaga cringe levels of pathetic." Other takes on his new participation trophy: "This is the most snowflakiest president," "He should get a 'Most Mentions in Epstein Files Award,'" he got a "very special boy award" just for "insecure man baby presidents,” and, from facepalming MS Now hosts, "Stop! They did not make up another award for him!” Out in the grim real world, the partial shutdown has left nearly 50,000 TSA agents, most living paycheck to paycheck on as little as $45,000 a year, working without pay for weeks. Nearly 500 have quit, thousands daily call in sick. Union officials say many are sleeping in cars at airports to save gas money, selling blood, taking 2nd or 3rd jobs, defaulting on loans, getting eviction notices, and struggling to afford food and gas: “They’re over their heads in debt.” Denver airport issued a “DONATIONS NEEDED!” plea for grocery or gas gift cards; Seattle opened a TSA food pantry; Chef Andrés' World Central Kitchen, which usually feeds natural disaster victims in Third World countries, is serving hot meals at multiple airports because now we are one. Meanwhile, per MLK's famed moral arc of the universe, the past atrocities of ICE/DHS - that we watched, raged at and suspected - slowly see the damning light of day. Some are unsurprising, some "jaw-dropping," all horrific. Conditions in detention centers remain "unbelievably inhumane." Interviews and new data show ICE surges consistently hurt the cities they hit, disrupting lives and businesses, stretching thin police departments, leaving budgets and residents scrambling to absorb the fallout. The impact was less drastic in cities, counties, states that declared “ICE-free zones,” but they still left only damage in their baleful wake. Many people and places are still fighting for due process. Minnesota A.G. Keith Ellison and other state officials just filed a federal suit in D.C. to force Trump and his goons to stop obstructing state investigators seeking to hold accountable the murderers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, whose masked killers, inconceivably, remain unnamed. The suit demands stonewalling federal officials hand over records and evidence - including Good's shrink-wrapped car in a storage facility - in the name of justice and their long history of cooperation. The DOJ's Todd Blanche: “We investigate when it’s appropriate. That is not the case here." In another long-overdue quest for justice, 18 Venezuelan men, among at least 288 abducted from the US and trapped in El Salvador’s brutal CECOT prison last year without charges, have filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) demanding Salvador authorities be held accountable for a vast array of atrocities. They detail harrowing allegations of torture, sexual assault, medical neglect and sometimes daily beatings for 4 months that constitute what advocates term "a human rights catastrophe" - in a place where, victims say guards often boasted, "human rights did not exist." Concurrently, the American players behind these obscenities continue to be revealed as...obscenities. In a vile exit interview with the Times, Nazi wannabe and Miller soul bro Greg Bovino, who faces multiple lawsuits from civil rights groups, said he only wishes "I'd caught even more illegal aliens." Bovino, who called immigrants "scum" and "trash" - pot/kettle - and argued "all illegal aliens are criminals," said he sought "total border domination." In his fever dreams, he wanted to deport 100 million people, far more than the number of undocumented immigrants; in surges, he'd declare, "This is our fucking city." Not any more, shitstain. Sadly, (not) his bosses are likewise on the decline. Former ICE Barbie, in her new LOL fake job as "Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas," faces likely investigations for defying court orders, gross mismanagement of DHS and much perjury, including her claim in Senate testimony that her eww-boyfriend Corey Lewandowski didn't approve contracts, except for the multimillion ones he did, plus "success fees." Also, it seems she'll now report not to Rubio but a lowly lackey, and Lewandowski just got canned after photos posted by the US embassy in Guyana showed the pair in a "meeting" about "cartels," aka enjoying a tropical getaway on our dime. Finally, in a "genuine bombshell, even by Trumpian standards," it turns out ICE lied for over a year to courts and prosecutors when they claimed a legal rationale for targeting and arresting thousands of asylum seekers at immigration courts. In court documents for a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of one of over 90 cases tracked, ICE lawyers admitted an ICE memo they long cited to justify the arrests in fact gave them no authorization for them and did not apply to immigration courts. As to the incalculable damage done by ICE to those thousands of innocents, Seth Magaziner offered a reminder of all the savage rest. So sure, brilliant move all around to inflict ICE on America's airports, though they're getting paid but TSA agents all around them aren't, and a majority of the testy, trapped travelers already want to abolish them, and amidst the surreal packs of goons in "POLICE ICE” tactical vests, with handguns, radios, handcuffs, Tasers, extra magazines - but no masks - we haven't seen a single image of any of them doing anything but aimlessly loitering - standing, sitting, gabbing, milling, strolling, drinking coffee, scrolling through phones. Mostly, says one TSA dispatch from JFK Airport, "They're just standing - very uncomfortably, it seems like." Huh. Is it possible the Stable Genius, who knows more about everything than anyone, who when he attacked Iran didn't view the Strait of Hormuz as a potential problem, who insists his imaginary talks with Iran are "going very well" - could it be this strategic mastermind didn't think the whole ICE thing through clearly? Naaah, said dumb and dumber porcine lout Tom Homan, who assured CNN's Dana Bash Sunday night of the wisdom of a plan in the works that would be ready Monday. If it's a plan coming together in 24 hours, she asked, how well thought out could it possibly be? Cue a perfect snapshot of a perfect shitshow. "How much of a plan does it mean (sic) to guard an exit to make sure no one comes through that exit?" Homan retorted. "These officers are well trained in security and well trained in identification. We're just expanding the thing." "So," noted The Fucking News' Jonathan Larsen. "No plan." Also, "I'll tell you how much of a plan it means! It means at least some of a plan, that’s how much of it means!" Also, Homan magically turned 24 hours into 2-3 weeks in ICE-ese, never mind ICE officers aren't even well trained to do the job of ICE - terrorize brown people - let alone be well trained to pretend they're well trained TSA officers. Despite these deeply satisfying assurances, people had questions about a Strait-of-Hormuz, what-could-possibly-go-wrong plan to have armed, racist, ill-trained, dumb-and-dangerous-as-a-bag-of-hammers men roaming chaotic airports possibly facing a greater risk of terrorist threats during a Middle Eastern war without any clearly defined tasks. Is the plan to lock down all airports and round up people of color and anyone who resists? Will going through the wrong exit get you shot? Will ICE dress like they're attacking Fallujah? Does ICE even know if we're supposed to take off our belt or our shoes, and which one to beat us with?. Will there be one ICE person at the exit and 12 more armed with a skin-tone chart to more accurately target victims? If someone doesn't comply, which common ICE tactic will they use: a. Body slamming to the floor b. Tazing c. Non-lethal rounds into the eyes d. Shooting 9 times e. All of the above. Will ICE dress like a 16-year-old's video game avatar, and if the plan begins in 24 hours will they have time to buy grown-up clothes? Does ICE know the long list of what you can/can't bring on airplanes - tasers, brass knuckles, how much hand cream, which books will "require additional screening?" Orwell? Kafka? Epstein Files? Will they argue that, "Fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, our highly-trained agent fired defensive shots into the cockpit of the illegal alien pilot who was threateningly taxiing towards them, clearly attempting to ram the airport?" How will Bannon's "test run for the midterm elections" fare? Will newly, inexplicably confirmed DHS head Markwayne Mullin really "be fighting 365 days" beside workers not being paid "because of political politics," and why does he have two first names? Will ICE heed the jittery traveler who begged one, "Stop following us, please. Stop following us. Stop following us. Please." A TSA union head said he's unsure how ICE is helping; so far, he’s seen some "give out bad directions" that ended in the parking area. Some workers say they're creating "a vibe of anxiety... Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one." And crises have arisen. Long lines delayed investigators going to Sunday's fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport. A viral video showed ICE thugs at San Francisco, reportedly tipped off by TSA, detain a Guatemala-born woman and her crying daughter as other travelers protested. DHS claimed they had an order of removal that pre-dated the airport deployment, but city and state officials reiterated, "ICE is not welcome in San Francisco." In Philadelphia, where about half the airport’s TSA checkpoints are open, city and labor leaders blasted the ICE presence as "political theater" that creates a hostile environment while TSA agents, over half people of color, work "day in, day out without pay." It also enrages other union workers who've seen relatives deported: “Trump has broken everything.” DA Larry Krasner threatened to jail ICE agents if they "make it look anything like what you did in the streets of Minneapolis." "This is how it works," he said. "You commit crimes within (our) jurisdiction, I prosecute you...I will put you in handcuffs...in a courtroom, and if necessary, in a jail cell...And no, I don’t take a phone call from the president saying ‘Let em go.’ The president cannot pardon you." The president, as usual, has waffled, balked and veered through the airport crisis: Blaming Dems who "want our Country to fail," insisting "no deal" until they support his Save America (sic) voter suppression bill, mindlessly menacing, "NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!”, pivoting to how he might "look at" a deal but whatever it is "I’m pretty much not happy with it." Maybe simply to trigger Dems, he's praised the unfairly maligned "beautiful patriots of ICE" who are "so proud to be there!" Though they're hated and are doing nothing, "The Public is loving ICE." Also, bewilderingly, "They just happen to have much larger and harder muscles than most." Umm. Amidst America's carnage, ICE in airports is still surreal enough to inspire parody. From Colbert, an ICE meterology report. From The Daily Show, ICE PreCheck (with handcuffs) that speeds you through airport security: "Just pull up to the curb and a friendly masked agent will drag you by your hair directly to your gate...We choose your destination," like South Sudan. Back at the real, stressed, 6-hour-line airport, it's unclear what if any impact the roaming ICE gangs have except adding to the anxiety. Houston - Heaven, Hell, or Houston - has the highest numbers of TSA callouts. The smaller William Hobby Airport has 43%, George Bush International has almost 40%, and is, writes Hunter Lazzaro, "Hell." "We found it," he declares. Hell is an hours-long line snaking through a dirty never-ending corridor, "carrying your luggage along, an inch at a time, staring at the backs of hundreds of other damned souls all carrying their own luggage." The hallway "extends to eternity." On bad speakers, Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA "plays forever. It never ends." On monitors, Kristi Noem "drones on about immigrants and the greatness of your nation." Sometimes, "packs of ICE agents wander by. Their job is guns." "The long hallway is the most patriotic place in the whole of the country." "There are no planes. There is no runway. There is no Terminal C. You will never reach the security checkpoint, because it is an illusion...an image painted on fog....Houston's Guernica...And the goddamn Lee Greenwood song is still playing. It should have ended by now. It should have ended yesterday...What day is it? Where were we going?... Eternal banality. God Bless the USA. "You must go on. I can't go on. I'll go on." - The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett ICE agents at "work" in airports Cartoon from Imgur This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Abby Zimet.
CPJ signs joint statement calling for release of Cambodian journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Phara
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday joined 15 local and international partners in a joint statement calling for the release of imprisoned Cambodian journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Phara. The journalists were each sentenced to 14 years in prison for treason on December 17, 2025, under Section 445 of the criminal code for “supplying a foreign state with information...
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday joined 15 local and international partners in a joint statement calling for the release of imprisoned Cambodian journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Phara. The journalists were each sentenced to 14 years in prison for treason on December 17, 2025, under Section 445 of the criminal code for “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense.” On March 26, the journalists’ appeals were rejected by the Battambang Province Court of Appeal, which also declined a request to reclassify their treason convictions to a lesser charge. The joint statement called on Cambodia’s government to withdraw its complaint and for the court to release the journalists. The groups said that the severity of the sentences are likely to further deter journalists from carrying out legitimate work in the public interest. Read the full statement here. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
The Empire Versus Iran: Which Side Are You On?
Fifty-eight years ago in Chicago, I marched down State Street with other antiwar protestors heading toward the site of the Democratic National Convention and made three discoveries. The first was that having a very large, truck-mounted M2 Browning 50 caliber machine gun pointed at you by U.S. Army troops is scary. The second was that More The post The Empire Versus Iran: Which Side Are You On? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg 4032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg 4032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg 4032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-scaled.jpeg 4032w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-369141" class="wp-image-369141 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7422-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair Fifty-eight years ago in Chicago, I marched down State Street with other antiwar protestors heading toward the site of the Democratic National Convention and made three discoveries. The first was that having a very large, truck-mounted M2 Browning 50 caliber machine gun pointed at you by U.S. Army troops is scary. The second was that CS tear gas makes it very hard to breathe. The third was that U.S. civilians like us were subjects of the same Empire that was then subjugating the people of Vietnam. Some of the soldiers understood this as well. When ordered to deploy to Chicago to suppress the demonstrations, 43 of them – all Black servicemen — refused to leave Fort Hood, Texas, were tried for mutiny, and were sentenced to hard labor in the prison stockade. I learned in the sixties that despite personalized slogans and chants (“Hey, hey, LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?”) the war in Indochina was not Lyndon Johnson’s or Richard Nixon’s war. It was an ultra-violent struggle to preserve and extend the U.S. Empire, with the Americans acting as successors to the French, the former imperial rulers of Vietnam. In the same way, the current “war of choice” against Iran waged by the U.S. and Israel is not just Trump’s or Netanyahu’s adventure but another imperialist campaign led by the Americans, this time acting as successors to the Middle East’s British and French colonizers. Not just Trump’s war but the Empire’s. Why is this description important? Because other characterizations lead well-meaning opponents of the war to misunderstand it and to advocate ineffective cures for the systemic disease that produces it. For example, if the war in Iran is primarily a product of Trump’s megalomania or Netanyahu’s desire to stay in office, the cure is to replace these rulers with calmer, more diplomatic, more enlightened and liberal leaders. Right? Wrong. The quality of leadership can make a difference, but if the system that the leader serves is an empire, he or she will finally act like an emperor. It was Lyndon Johnson, elected in 1964 as a liberal “peace candidate,” who began a war of choice against Vietnamese rebels that killed several million Vietnamese and more than 50,000 U.S. combatants. A generation later George W. Bush, the “compassionate conservative” who insisted that “America has never been an empire,” invaded Afghanistan and occupied Iraq, killing and maiming close to a million civilians in those state-building interventions. Bush’s successor, Barak Obama, an icon of liberalism and diplomacy, conducted more than 500 drone attacks against suspected terrorists in Asia and Africa without Congressional authorization and presided over the destruction and dismemberment of Libya by U.S. and NATO forces. And Joe Biden, his former vice-president, supplied Israel with weapons and intelligence used for genocide in Gaza, vetoed anti-Israel resolutions in the Security Council, struck the Houthis in Yemen with U.S. missiles, and authorized military operations labeled “counterterrorist” in 77 other nations. With liberal diplomats like these as his predecessors, it’s no wonder that Donald Trump decided to run for president as a peace candidate! Perhaps, even as Trump sinks more deeply into the Iranian quagmire, he still believes that he can end the “forever wars” fomented by the “deep state.” But his own imperial style bears witness to the fact that the state that he claims to command is no longer a republic. It is quite clearly an empire – a violence-generating entity with a complex political, economic, and military structure that includes some 800 U.S. bases in 90 countries, an armaments budget larger than those of the next ten heaviest military spenders, and a list of deceased war victims running into the millions. The structure and violence of empire Even as volatile and idiosyncratic a ruler as Trump discovers that his leadership role is largely defined by the system that encompasses it. The fact that this president is a flag-waving ethno-nationalist with fascistic inclinations makes his transformation from would-be peacemaker to imperialist warmaker highly likely. But the transformation and the wars that attend it are not just manifestations of Trump’s personality and ideology; they are also products of the Empire’s deep structure. The outlines of that structure are well known. Imperial institutions are designed to project the power of a ruling elite beyond a nation’s borders to subject less powerful territories and peoples to its economic, political, and cultural control. Since ancient times, hierarchy is the name of this game, with a center dominating subordinate peripheries and a warrior class empowered to enforce that domination. Today, the imperial elite is composed of two major components: oligarchs and politicians, with the military an important but subordinate element of that leadership. The oligarchs are driven by the “iron laws” of the late-capitalist system to invest in and exploit peripheral nations. The politicians provide the empire with taxpayer funds, civilian and military manpower, and (to the extent possible) popular ideological consent. Together, these leaders create and fund a military-industrial complex that enables the imperial state to overwhelm its opponents with violent force. No doubt, some leaders are more violent or crazier than others. Nevertheless, no matter who leads, the imperial structure generates three characteristic types of violence: rebellion/repression, civil and regional wars, and world wars. First, imperial domination naturally provokes resistance, and rebels must either be bought off or slaughtered. Second, since imperialism tends to unite the natives in opposition to foreign rule, imperial rulers seek to turn local groups against each other using “divide and rule” strategies that produce civil and regional wars. Third, especially in modern times when the capitalist economy has become global, imperialism generates competition between empires that spawns world wars. The current U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran illustrates all three types of violence: Rebellion/repression. Whatever. political or personal reasons Trump may have had for attacking Teheran in 2026, Iran has been on the Americans’ “enemy list” for decades. This is not because of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions, theocratic ideology, or malicious hostility to the U.S. or Israel. The imperial elite considers Iran an enemy because since 1978, when the Iranian people overthrew the U.S.-installed Shah, Iran has been the principal source of resistance to American schemes to dominate the region using Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States as proxies. Wars such as the current campaign against Iran are commonly portrayed as defensive responses to “terrorist” violence, but they are aggressive wars of choice: the choice repeatedly made by the elite to protect and expand the Empire. Divide and rule: This classical imperial strategy was used by the British in Palestine and Iraq and by the French in Lebanon and Syria to keep the locals divided. Successive U.S. administrations have employed similar tactics to favor Israel over Palestine and the Muslim states and to back conservative Sunni Muslim regimes against less “cooperative” Shiites. In Iran the Americans and Israelis have also encouraged and armed non-Persian groups such as the Kurds, Azeris, and Baluchs to rebel against the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, the Iranian drones now wreaking havoc in the Gulf States are a response to the establishment of at least 15 major U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman. Once again, “divide and rule” leads by a direct route to regional war. World war: Like recent U.S. military operations in the Caribbean and Venezuela, the Trump regime conceived of the Iran War as a short-term “excursion” that would demonstrate America’s and Israel’s overwhelming military power at little cost to the attackers. Clearly, this was a gross miscalculation – but even if the U.S. had been better prepared, regional conflicts of this sort almost always threaten to go global. They challenge and alienate competitive Great Powers, weaken peacemaking institutions, and stimulate the formation of hostile multinational blocs. This is what happened in the Balkan wars that preceded World War I and in the regional wars of the 1930s that led to World War II. Again and again, imperial rulers like Trump come to believe that they are avatars of order and masters of the global environment. Again and again, at a ghastly human cost, these beliefs are exposed as delusions. The war in Iran, Israel, and the fallacy of “wag the dog” What has been said thus far makes it clear, I trust, that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran (which has now spread into Lebanon) is a classic imperialist war of aggression. Yet some critics and opponents of the war, including analysts whose work I admire, insist that “It’s Israel, Stupid!” These commentators, whose views range from moderately left to far right, allege that for one reason or another having little to do with empire — Donald Trump’s impulsive egotism, Benjamin Netanyahu’s con man persuasiveness, the financial clout of the pro-Israel Lobby, the Christian Zionist hope for the Second Coming — the US has been tricked or pressured into fighting “Israel’s war” against Iran. Even Jacobin, which advertises itself a socialist journal, reviews the alleged evidence for this theory and comes to the “inescapable conclusion that America is fighting this dreadful and rapidly escalating war not with Israel but on its behalf.” This is not only inaccurate; it is slow-witted. It is what people say who have no real understanding of what imperialism is and how it works. Empires have subjects, some of whom (since it divides and rules) are also clients. Client groups of long standing are often favored by the imperial elite and have some influence over them; a list of such favorites would include the Tlaxcalans in Spanish-dominated Mexico, Tutsis in Belgian-dominated Rwanda, Maronite Christians in French-dominated Lebanon, Brahmins in British-dominated India . . . and many more. Israel has been a favored client group of the U.S. since 1948, when Harry Truman became the first leader of a Great Power to recognize the new state. Especially favored clients may succeed now and then in embroiling the elite in their local disputes. But the notion that they are tails wagging the dog – that the empire’s rulers will fight major wars on their behalf at the expense of their own imperial interests – is absurd. Worse than that, such an overestimation of the power of imperial subjects implies an equally serious underestimation of the power of the elite. What sort of evidence is there for the “dog-wagging” theory? Its primary source is an allegation by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Netanyahu threatened to start the war against Iran himself, exposing U.S. assets in the region to retaliation, so that Donald Trump had no alternative but to join in. But even if Netanyahu made such a threat, of course Trump had alternatives! He could have threatened to leave Israel hanging in the wind or to cut off its military aid, and the American public, most of whom opposed the war, would have applauded. If Netanyahu uttered such words at all, he was undoubtedly making a debater’s point, understanding that Trump was high on his Venezuelan escapade and previous bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and that he loathed and despised Iran’s “terrorist regime,’ believed that he could win a short air war, and had his own plans for reorganizing the Middle East as an American satrapy. That the U.S. president would have given in to an Israeli threat out of fear of Iranian retaliation is simply not credible. The dog-wagging theorists, as mentioned earlier, range from ultra-conservative America Firsters, several of whom have a nasty fixation on alleged Jewish conspiratorial plots, to self-declared leftists with a disconcerting habit of asserting that groups that they oppose are in the pay of some foreign power and are not sufficiently concerned about “America’s national interests.” One wonders if these “progressives” have ever heard of revolutionary internationalism or read an essay by Lenin called entitled “Imperialism: The Last Stage of Capitalism.” If they had, they would be forced to consider the possibility that, whatever America’s true “national interests” may be, the country is currently ruled by a capitalist oligarchy whose very existence depends upon maintaining and expanding a global empire, and who are making untold billions manufacturing the high-tech weapons being used to destroy the infrastructure of the only major nation in the Middle East openly opposed to their imperial “Abrahamic Alliance” and “Board of Peace” schemes. If U.S. rulers can fight a war against that enemy that relies on Israeli intelligence sources, exposes Israelis, but not Americans, to hypersonic missile attacks, and places Israeli boots, but very few American boots, on the ground, it will be playing the classical imperialist game in classical imperialist style. No, the tail does not wag the dog. The dog-wagging theorists would do well to consider the remark often attributed to the Austrian socialist, August Bebel: “Antisemitism is the socialism of fools.” Just because the Zionists have mis-defined and weaponized antisemitism by equating it with anti-Israelism doesn’t mean that it has ceased to exist, and the idea that an all-powerful Jewish State and Jewish Lobby are dictating policies of war and peace to the world’s most powerful empire is right out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. There are Jewish oligarchs, Jewish weapons manufacturers, and corrupt, power-addicted Jewish politicians; I wish there weren’t. But they do not dominate or manipulate the capitalist oligarchy or the American state and empire that do its bidding. If we want to get rid of that empire, we will have to reform that state. And if we want to reform that state, we will have to dispossess that oligarchy – or at least subject it to popular control. These are necessities that people who don’t like to think about the Empire feel free to ignore. It’s a lot simpler and less troubling to blame the system’s failures on some hidden minority-group conspiracy than to recognize that this system’s masters, as American as apple pie, exercise their mastery right out in the open. Even before the advent of Trump, the oligarchs had ceased hiding themselves away in hedge-fenced mansions and disguising their interests power. Our imperial masters openly boast of their billions, openly invest in planet-destroying, humanity-denying enterprises, openly pay the massive political bribes we call “campaign expenses,” and openly finance the armed services and weaponry needed to maintain a globe-girdling, war making empire. It’s not a conspiracy, I guess, if you do it in the open. Just a social class doing what it needs to do to stay on top. Iran is not just Israel’s war, friends. It’s not even America’s war. It’s the Empire’s. Which side are you on? If the Empire, despite its peaceful pretentions, is essentially a machine for violence, how can it be overthrown or changed? The Slovenian philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, made himself famous (or infamous) a few years ago by advising people interested in change to “Think, don’t act.” Amended to “Think first, then act,” this advice makes good sense when figuring out how to oppose modern imperialism. Perhaps because so many U.S. commentators still tend to deny that their nation is also an empire, we have more questions than answers about how empires operate, how they expand or decline, and – especially – how they end. In a book called The Fall of the U.S. Empire – And Then What? (2009) the Norwegian peace theorist Johan Galtung tried to answer several of these questions. Before the Cold War ended Galtung was one of the few analysts to predict that the Soviet Empire would collapse because of its internal contradictions. In the early 2000s he made a similar prediction for the U.S., pointing to four contradictions that tend to reinforce and exacerbate each other: an increasingly expansive, expensive military system that tends to outrun its economic base; an economic system overdependent on exploitation and losing its creative edge; an increasingly authoritarian, non-participatory, polarized political system; and a narrow-minded cultural chauvinism that undermines alliances and alienates most of the world. The upshot, Galtung thought, was that the U.S. Empire was almost out of business and would soon collapse of its own weight. But he also recognized that empires in crisis often produce desperate movements of right-wing reaction very unlike the liberal, “soft landing” approach adopted by Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev. Moreover, in predicting a relatively fast and early end to America’s global hegemony, the Norwegian theorist left unanswered some questions of great interest to opponents of the Empire. For example: To what extent does the relative prosperity of people in wealthy regions like North America and Europe depend upon the oligarchy’s control of markets and extraction of super-profits from dominated regions? How can we assure our fellow citizens that eliminating the Empire will enrich us, not impoverish us? Can a failing capitalist system be reconstructed, as many progressives and some conservatives think? If so, what structural reforms will be needed to eliminate imperialist violence? What reforms would increase the power of working people to control the system and direct production toward peaceful, humane uses? What sort of nonviolent actions could demonstrate and effectuate popular opposition to class-based militarism, ethno-nationalism, and the dehumanization of alleged enemies? How can we move toward abolishing the Empire and creating new forms of transnational collaboration? Happily, talking about such issues is no longer taboo – at least, not as taboo as it once was. If polls are to be trusted, the U.S.-Israel war in Iran is the most unpopular military intervention in the history of American imperialist wars, with disapproval rates exceeding 60 percent of those polled. In this atmosphere one hears Empire – the E word – uttered by libertarian Republicans as well as progressive Democrats, with even centrist Democrats inclined to question the formerly sacrosanct prerogatives of the “imperial presidency” and military establishment. The problem, however, is a deep ambivalence about attacking the capitalist establishment and the state that it controls – an ambivalence seems fueled by a fear of jeopardizing the identity, social status, prosperity, and global leadership role associated with images of “America the Great.” In the United States this is true not only of Trump supporters but of self-declared anti-Trumpers such as the New York Times’ senior reporter Steven Erlanger, who says this in a recent front-page article: “As a superpower with global responsibilities, the United States cares deeply about energy supplies and the safety of its Persian Gulf allies” (NYT, 3/22/26). Note the choice of words: “superpower,” not empire; “global responsibilities,” not global ambitions and interests; “Persian Gulf allies,” not Persian Gulf satellites or subjects. With friends like this, as the saying goes, one doesn’t need enemies. In opposing the war in Iran, our goal at this juncture has got to be to oppose the Empire as well – that is, to raise our compatriots’ empire consciousness as well as encouraging their opposition to Trump’s cruel and thoughtless policies. To move in this direction two practical suggestions are worth considering: Target the oligarchs as well as the politicians. We ought to stop fixating so monomaniacally on Trump’s craziness, Netanyahu’s craftiness, Hegseth’s fanaticism, and other real but painfully partial explanations for this disastrous war. The goal should be to help educate others about its most potent cause: the capitalist elite’s need for global domination. The White House and state capitals are not the only effective sites for antiwar demonstrations. The oligarchs can be confronted at their headquarters and places of business (and pleasure) by protestors able to explain why they are war criminals as well as unprincipled profiteers. Opponents of the Empire can also organize selective boycotts of their products, beginning with those produced by vile techno-oligarchs such as Sam Altman (Open AI), Peter Thiel, and Alex Karp (Palantir), who are raking in unprecedented profits from the killing. We can and should demand that Congresspeople advertising themselves as democrats stop accepting their campaign contributions and start investigating the connections between the billionaires, the military-industrial complex, and our endless wars. Give Iran and other opponents of the Empire critical support. The age-old question is that of the old labor union song, “Which side are you on?” There are conflicts in which one does not want to or need to take sides – but struggles like the war in Iran require a partisan commitment. One does not have to approve of a regime to support it strongly against an empire waging an immoral, unnecessary, inhumane war – one of a series of aggressive attacks dictated by the imperial elite’s desire for global supremacy. Many Americans seem unaware of the concept of critical support: the notion that one can be deeply critical of a party to conflict and yet work to protect it against the depredations of a more powerful and dangerous enemy. But this is exactly what the U.S. government and people did in World War II when they supported the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany (a good decision, one might add, since the USSR won the war in Europe at a cost of more than 20 million of its citizens). First, defeat global oppressor; then, defeat the local oppressors. Asking “which side are you on” has the additional benefit of helping to wean people from a false patriotism – actually, a form of state-worship – that is a key weapon in the Empire’s ideological arsenal. The command to “support out troops,” when obeyed, instantiates the principle that whatever the nation does is right. It has the effect of constructing the nation as a family-like community entitled to sacrificial loyalty, and, at the same time, making the Empire disappear from popular consciousness. Of course, when the Empire disappears, so does the oligarchy, and we go back to talking about war and peace as matters solely dependent on the wisdom or foolishness, “strength” or “weakness” of political leaders. The current war is going from bad to worse for the American and Israeli imperialists. Good! Let’s continue to oppose it and hope for its early end. But don’t let the Empire off the hook. The only way to end these endless wars is to replace international relationships based on elite domination and mass dehumanization with associations based on equality and affection. Abolish the Empire! This may sound to some like “pie in the sky.” But it’s the key to our survival and advancement as a species. The post The Empire Versus Iran: Which Side Are You On? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Richard Rubenstein.
Hosts Have Power Over Dangerous Guests: Spain Shows How Countries Hosting U.S. Bases Can Push for Peace
Amid a seeming flood of terrible news, the string of countries that last week refused President Donald Trump’s request to help patrol the Strait of Hormuz is an encouraging sign. For the first three weeks of a war that many experts have characterized as illegal under both U.S. and international law, Spain was initially the rare country to stand up to Trump by refusing to allow the use of U.S. bases it hosts for attacks on Iran. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the war as “reckless and illegal,” and continues to stand his ground. More The post Hosts Have Power Over Dangerous Guests: Spain Shows How Countries Hosting U.S. Bases Can Push for Peace appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-680x418.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-768x473.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-1536x945.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-2048x1260.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-500x308.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-600x369.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405178" class="size-medium wp-image-405178" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-680x418.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="418" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-680x418.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-1024x630.jpg 1024w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-768x473.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-1536x945.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-2048x1260.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-500x308.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Refueling_the_fight_against_terrorism_170103-F-XF291-0016-600x369.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> KC-135 Stratotanker at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew B. Fredericks. Amid a seeming flood of terrible news, the string of countries that last week refused President Donald Trump’s request to help patrol the Strait of Hormuz is an encouraging sign. For the first three weeks of a war that many experts have characterized as illegal under both U.S. and international law, Spain was initially the rare country to stand up to Trump by refusing to allow the use of U.S. bases it hosts for attacks on Iran. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the war as “reckless and illegal,” and continues to stand his ground. Despite widespread global opposition to the attacks, the U.S. can wage the war in part because of its vast network of military bases in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond. Two U.S./Spanish bases in southern Spain are longstanding logistics hubs that have provided U.S. forces access to the Mediterranean Sea to launch military operations into Africa and the Middle East, including the 2003 U.S.-led war on Iraq. While Spain has said “no” to the U.S. using its bases in a new Middle East war, more than a dozen countries have allowed the use of U.S. installations on their soil as part of the conflict. Given the role these bases are playing in enabling the fighting, host countries share responsibility for the war, along with the U.S. and Israeli governments. Which means they share some responsibility for the war’s killing and injury, displacement and destruction, for violations of international law, and for any potential war crimes, such as the killing of at least 165 civilians at the Minab girls school. The Spanish government and others hosting U.S. bases during prior conflicts have shown there is another path by refusing to support war. Countries hosting U.S. bases should be emboldened by governments refusing to assist in patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. They can and must put a stop to the U.S. government using their territory to support any aspect of this war other that any legitimate defense of their citizens. They can go further to pressure President Donald Trump to stop the fighting, which has already caused so much harm and risks spiraling out of control into complete global economic calamity and a regional (or even world) war that could significantly eclipse the damage of past conflicts in the Middle East. The Infrastructure for War Military bases, by design, provide infrastructure for war, not peace. The reason the Iranian military has attacked many of its neighbors is that they host U.S. bases, which are launching and supporting the planes and ships bombing Iran, and providing surveillance, communications, and logistical support to sustain the war. Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, for example, hosts the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and led the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bahrain is home to the Navy fleet for the entire region. Kuwait offers installations that serve as a major hub for the Army. Nearby, there are additional bases in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Iraq, and Israel itself. In other conflicts, and especially in Africa since the start of the so-called war on terror, the U.S. military has used Morón Air Base and Naval Station Rota as key launchpads for deploying military power. Because of Spain’s refusal to allow the use of its bases for the Iran war, however, at least 15 U.S. aircraft—including critical KC-135 aerial refueling tankers—left Spain, with several landing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Ramstein is one of the most important bases for coordinating U.S. military operations globally, including drones and troop deployments. A nearby Army hospital treats seriously wounded military personnel from the war zones. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially refused to allow the use of U.S. bases in U.K.-controlled territory. He then reversed course and allowed a growing range of “defensive operations” from at least one base in Britain and one on British-controlled Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, following criticism from Trump and Iranian attacks on U.S./U.K. bases in Cyprus and Diego Garcia. Farther away, the secretive base in Pine Gap, Australia, is helping coordinate attacks, as it does almost all U.S. military operations worldwide. Dozens more installations in Italy, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Djibouti, and possibly other countries may be providing at least some support for the war. Hosting U.S. bases that are helping wage an illegal war makes host countries complicit in the war and its destruction. “We are at war,” said Australian military expert and critic Richard Tanter, of his country. “We are complicit…most importantly through the intelligence facilities” at Pine Gap. Some Persian Gulf host governments, clearly motivated to stop ongoing Iranian retaliation against military and civilian infrastructure in their countries, claim their soil is not being used to attack Iran. This may be “superficially accurate,” as former George W. Bush administration official and Retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson communicated by email, given that some countries hosting U.S. installations are not immediate launchpads for missiles or planes attacking Iran. But bases throughout the region play support roles of various kinds to enable U.S. forces’ overall war effort. Even bases hosting missile defense or radar surveillance sites perform command and control functions and allow offensive operations elsewhere. The Power of “No” Given the enabling role bases play, host countries have the power to pressure Trump to stop the war, no matter the threats he may make. No bilateral military agreement or multinational alliance, such as NATO, prevents hosts from telling the U.S. government it can’t use bases on their soil to violate international law. (The Cuban government is perhaps the only country unable to exert any power over a U.S. base on foreign territory.) Host countries can follow the Spanish government’s example: “Spanish bases are not being used for this operation,” said Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, “and they will not be used for anything not included in the [basing] agreement with the United States or for anything that is not in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,” which prohibits wars against other states except in cases of legitimate self-defense. In the past, other countries have barred the U.S. military from using their territory to support wars, such as when the Turkish government did so prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the 1973 war between Israel and neighboring countries, almost all of Europe refused to allow the use of bases or even overflight rights during a U.S. airlift supporting Israel. The Swiss government, which hosts no foreign bases and has a long tradition of neutrality, similarly has refused two U.S. requests to fly over Switzerland in support of the Iran war (while allowing three flights by transportation and maintenance aircraft). It has also banned arms exports to the U.S. Host countries ultimately have the power to evict U.S. bases. Numerous countries have done so in the past, including France, the Philippines, Ecuador, Trinidad, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia (previously). Amid rising gas prices and protests criticizing the complicity of countries hosting U.S. bases in places like Greece and Italy, government opposition to the war is on the rise. Longtime European and Asian allies of the U.S., as well as China, are refusing Trump’s request to send military patrols to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has severely restricted shipping traffic. Leaders in Italy, France, and the Netherlands are speaking out. Even in the UAE, a leading billionaire who has backed other U.S. initiatives publicly rebuked Trump for instigating a “military escalation that endangers the entire region.” With Persian Gulf countries having suffered serious damage in Iran’s retaliatory attacks, growing numbers are questioning the wisdom of hosting U.S. bases and broader relationships with the U.S. no matter their longstanding tensions with Iran. The Powerful Thing to Do President Trump has threatened to retaliate against Spain by cutting off all trade with the country. The Spanish government appears not to have budged from its position. Spain demonstrated that, even under threats of retaliation, base hosts have the power to say, in Prime Minister Sanchez’s words, “no to war.” Trump could threaten other retaliation, especially against countries like Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan, whose militaries are deeply integrated with the U.S. military and which have long depended on U.S. security promises. These dynamics and proximity to Iran (Spain is far away) clearly make it harder, but not impossible, for some countries than others to say “no” and to push to stop the fighting. Some will say that getting host countries to pressure Trump to end the war is exactly what Iran’s leaders hope to accomplish by attacking those hosts. While that may be one of Iran’s leaders’ aims, it’s irrelevant. Preventing the U.S. government from waging an illegal war on the soil of host countries is the right thing to do. It is the thing to do to protect host countries’ citizens from attacks and help prevent further global economic disaster and an even more catastrophic war. It is also the legal and moral thing to do. Lives are on the line, lives are being ended, and the world needs everyone doing everything possible to help end the war. There is a growing wave of opposition to the war. Global public opinion was the start. Spain was next, followed by countries refusing to join Strait of Hormuz patrols. More countries hosting U.S. bases can further isolate Trump and Netanyahu, making it harder and harder to wage this abominable war. As Spanish journalist Paco Cerdà wrote in praising his government’s decision, “There are moments where heroism is found in saying no.” The post Hosts Have Power Over Dangerous Guests: Spain Shows How Countries Hosting U.S. Bases Can Push for Peace appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Sahar Khan – David Vine.
Roaming Charges: Eyes Open, Minds Wide Shut
Iran has no air defenses left. The US can bomb whatever it wants, whenever it wants. It can bomb military bases and government buildings. It can bomb schools and mosques. It can bomb power plants and sewage treatment systems. It can bomb fire stations and hospitals. It can bomb TV networks, radio stations and newspapers. It can bomb museums, schools and daycares. What it can't bomb is a revolution into being. It can't bomb a regime change into being. It can't bomb new rights for women into being. It can't bomb the Islamic faith out of the hearts of most Iranians. It can't bomb Iranians into loving instead of hating the US. In fact, each new bomb does the opposite, bombing new hatreds into being. The blowback is immediate and will last for decades. More The post Roaming Charges: Eyes Open, Minds Wide Shut appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-840x630.jpeg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405190" class="wp-image-405190 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-680x510.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Chinatown, Los Angeles. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. Wargasm, wargasm, one, two, three Tie a yellow ribbon ’round the amputee Masturbate, watch it on TV Crocodile tears for the refugee – Donita Sparks, L7, “Wargasm” + Iran has no air defenses left. The US can bomb whatever it wants, whenever it wants. It can bomb military bases and government buildings. It can bomb schools and mosques. It can bomb power plants and sewage treatment systems. It can bomb fire stations and hospitals. It can bomb TV networks, radio stations and newspapers. It can bomb museums, schools and daycares. What it can’t bomb is a revolution into being. It can’t bomb a regime change into being. It can’t bomb new rights for women into being. It can’t bomb the Islamic faith out of the hearts of most Iranians. It can’t bomb Iranians into loving instead of hating the US. In fact, each new bomb does the opposite, bombing new hatreds into being. The blowback is immediate and will last for decades. + In 2002, that quipster Donald Rumsfeld responded to a reporter’s question about the lack of evidence that Saddam Hussein had given WMDs to Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups (or had any WMDs, at all) with his now notorious “unknowns”: Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones. + Despite the debacle he orchestrated in Iraq, Rumsfeld reiterated the quote years later (he was obviously proud of it) in his memoir The Known and Unknown. The so-called “Rumsfeld Matrix” wasn’t original to Donald Rumsfeld. He later credited the phrase to former NASA Administrator William Graham in the 1990s, who used the phrase to describe the difficulties (still unresolved) of building an effective ballistic missile defense system. But the formulation actually goes back at least to the 1960s when Lt. Gen. William B. Bunker described the problems encountered when engineering complex weapons systems: “There are two kinds of technical problems: there are the known unknowns, and the unknown unknowns.” + All of these problems still exist, naturally. But with the Trump administration the most dangerous “unknown” is one that Rumsfeld didn’t think of mentioning: the unknown knows, the known consequences of actions that the leadership of the Trump war machine seem totally unaware of…such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the attacks on Gulf oil producing states, the proven inability of airwars to provoke revolutions or install “friendlier” regimes. + On the centenary of Ronald Reagan’s birth, Alexander Cockburn and I wrote a reappraisal of the man who got his military briefings in cartoon format: When Reagan took over the Oval Office at the age of 66, whatever powers of concentration he might have once had were failing. The Joint Chiefs of Staff mounted their traditional show-and-tell briefings for him, replete with simple charts and a senior general explicating them in simple terms. Reagan found these briefings much too complicated and dozed off. The Joint Chiefs then set up a secret unit, staffed by cartoonists. The balance of forces was set forth in easily accessible caricature, with Soviet missiles the size of upended Zeppelins, pulsing on their launch-pads, with the minuscule US ICBMs shriveled in their bunkers. Little cartoon bubbles would contain the points the Joint Chiefs wanted to hammer into Reagan’s brain, most of them to the effect that “we need more money”. The president really enjoyed the shows and sometimes even asked for repeats. + Now it appears that Trump, even farther along than Reagan in the declining arc of his cognitive collapse, is getting his “briefings” on the stumbling progress of his Iran war in the form of two-minute “highlight reels” of US airstrikes “blowing up stuff.” But there’s no evidence that Trump has much of a clue about the stuff Iran is blowing up in response or how difficult it will be to stop them. For example, it’s unlikely that Trump was briefed on the significance of Iran’s strike on Israel’s largest chemical weapons plants in the Negev desert, near the Dimona nuclear complex. Iranian missiles hit the Rotem chemical facility, which manufactures white phosphorous, the outlawed chemical bombs that Israel has repeatedly deployed against international law in southern Lebanon and Gaza, a weapon that burns the flesh off of humans and animals. + Nearly a month into Trump and Netanyahu’s war on Iran, the US has conducted air strikes against more than 10,000 different targets across Iran. + The Israeli Air Force has dropped more than 15,000 bombs on Iran since the start of the war. By comparison, it hit Iran with around 4,000 bombs in last summer’s 12 Day War. + Iran’s health ministry reports that at least 1,937 people have been killed by US and Israeli missile strikes and more than 24,800 injured. At least 66 children under the age of five have been killed to date. Meanwhile, the Pentagon reported on Tuesday that the US casualty count stands at 303, including 13 killed and 290 injured. + Earlier this week, Iran’s Ministry of Education said that 241 students and teachers have been killed and 183 wounded since the start of the war, with students accounting for 190 of the deaths and 164 of the injuries and teachers totaling 51 deaths and 19 wounded. It reported that at least 644 schools had been damaged or destroyed by US and Israeli airstrikes. + Sen. John Kennedy: “Here’s why we went into Iran: We had no choice. The President didn’t start a war; he was trying to end one.” + Republican members of Congress who received classified briefings on the war had a less confident view than the camera-hungry crank from Louisiana. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), House Armed Services Committee chair, skewered Pentagon officials after a classified briefing on the progress of the Iran failed to answer basic questions about troop deployments and plans for the next phases of the war: “We just wanted them to tell us what’s the plan, and we didn’t get any answers.” A surprisingly coherent Nancy Mace was more to the point: “Just walked out of a House Armed Services briefing on Iran. Let me repeat: I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing.” +++ + Every time the US goes to war, I pick up Michael Herr’s Dispatches, the first (and still the best) real book I read about the US at war. The weapons have changed, but not the perverted mentalities of those who get us into these bloodbaths or those who run the horror shows on the ground: That night, I listened while a colonel explained the war in terms of protein. We were a nation of high-protein, meat-eating hunters, while the other guy just ate rice and a few grungy fish heads. We were going to club him to death with our meat; what could you say except, ‘Colonel, you’re insane?’ It was like turning up in the middle of some black Looney Tunes where the Duck had all the lines. + My first reading of Dispatches, which I read in one sitting the day it was published, is permanently imprinted on my consciousness the same way every note of Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night has been since I ripped the cellophane off the matte black album jacket printed on rough blotter paper and dropped the needle on side one. + Hegseth browbeating Congress to approve $200 billion in extra funding for the Iran war claimed in his typical He-Man bravado: “It takes money to kill bad guys.” + One’s eyes tend to glaze over at these figures, but $200 billion is an enormous amount and is either a shakedown or a sign that the war will go on for many months and involve a ground campaign. How do we know this? Because of the cost of other wars… + Operation Desert Storm (500,000 US troops, 40 days of combat, weeks of bombing, months of deployment): $150 billion + Afghan War (2001-2021): $50 billion per year + Iraq War (100,000+ troops on the ground): $135 billion per year ISIS campaign, 21014-2019: $10 billion per year + Kosovo War (78 days of sustained airstrikes): $10 billion + Libyan War (March to August, 2011 ): $1.1 billion + Struggling to meet its recruitment quotas under Hegseth and the deepening Iran war, the U.S. Army has raised its enlistment age limit to 42 and loosened restrictions for people with marijuana convictions (baked ok, as long as you’re not gay or otherwise woke). During the most desperate months of World War II, Stalin raised the age limit for conscription into the Red Army to 45-years-old. But the Soviets were defending themselves from an invasion. Not launching one. + The massive bombing of Iran will have consequences that persist for decades. Recall that the leukemia rates after the US bombing of Iraq were higher than after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima: “After the bombing in Japan, the rates of leukemia among those living closest to the detonation increased by a devastating 660%… In Falluja, leukemia rates increased by 2,200% in a much shorter space of time.” + Laleh Khalili in the LRB on the West’s quest to control, one way or another, Iran’s oil: Oil was a constant presence in my life when I was growing up in Iran. Petroleum was the engine of Iranian history in the 20th (and 21st) century: from the British usurpation of the Iranian national patrimony with the establishment of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909, to the British and US-engineered coup that removed Mohammad Mosaddegh from power in 1953, to the Iranian revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war, to current sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil. + Netanyahu: “We are working to bring Iran to places it has never been before. They will understand that they are below, and Jews are above.” As Uri Avnery repeatedly warned, Israel’s committing atrocities in the name of all “Jews,” endangers Jews worldwide and spreads anti-semitism. + Trump late-night rant last week on bombing Iran’s electrical grid had the feverish madness of Churchill calling for the firebombing of Dresden, after the Red Army had put the Nazis on the run… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405269" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites-680x538.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="538" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites-680x538.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites-796x630.jpeg 796w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites-768x608.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites-500x396.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites-600x475.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpenergysites.jpeg 1179w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + The Iranian electrical grid is not a military target. Typically, Trump is following the Neo-con playbook of claiming to “liberate” people by increasing their suffering. It’s never worked and it won’t work now. Of course, the Israelis–from whom Trump seems to be getting most of his tactical and strategic advice–prioritized the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza (and now Lebanon) not because they wanted Palestinians to rise up and overthrow Hamas or Hezbollah but because they wanted to eliminate Palestinians from Gaza and southern Lebanon. Good luck with that strategy (if you can call it that) in a country with 93 million people. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405221" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE-680x796.png" alt="" width="680" height="796" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE-680x796.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE-538x630.png 538w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE-768x899.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE-500x585.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE-600x702.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PAPEINFRASTRUCTURE.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Of course, Iran didn’t submit to any of these threats and by Monday morning, after the 48-hour deadline had elapsed and the oil markets soaring, Trump had completely backed down and was tweeting this stream of nonsense, which the Iranians immediately disputed and mocked. … <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405270" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-680x944.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="944" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-680x944.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-454x630.jpeg 454w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-768x1066.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-1107x1536.jpeg 1107w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-500x694.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat-600x833.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpretreat.jpeg 1179w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Reporter: Who is Steve Witkoff speaking with in Iran? Trump: A top person. (Iran says there are no talks with the US.) Reporter: Who is it? Trump: I can’t. I don’t want them to be killed. + By his own airstrikes or Israel’s? + Trump is often a one-man Abbott and Costello routine, though the punchlines never seem to land. + Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, responded to Trump’s claim that Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, “Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?…The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.” + And why would anyone trust US negotiators after Trump and Hegseth have twice bombed Iran while in the midst of negotiations? + Hegseth: “We negotiate with bombs.” I’m normally opposed to electroshock therapy and lobotomies as treatments for psychopathy, but in this case… + Only five minutes before Trump announced he was delaying attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, large trades hit the market. In one move, $1.5 billion in S&P 500 (ES) futures was bought while $192 million in oil (CL) futures was sold. These orders were 4–6 times larger than any other trades at the time. Sen. Chris Murphy: “Who was it? Trump? A family member? A White House staffer? This is corruption. Mind-blowing corruption,” + Since 2024, a better on Polymarket won nearly $1 million by successfully wagering on unannounced U.S. and Israeli military strikes against Iran. They enjoyed an overall win rate of 83%. But on bets over $10,000, the war gambler won 93% of the time, according to an analysis by blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps. Todd Phillips, a finance professor and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisory board member, told CNN: “Having win rates in the 80% to 90% range is just too good to be true.” + Ian Rappel: “TACO: Trump Always Cashes Out.” + Trump’s contradictory pronouncements on Iran, often uttered within the space of a single paragraph (if you can call them paragraphs), seem to be confusing everyone (especially Fox News hosts), except the Iranians. + Here’s Fox’s Jesse Watters on Trump backing down on his vow to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure: “It also buys time when you create this deadline… for the market to rally and it buys time for the Marines to get there… because probably, Friday, when the markets close, you might see some action on Kharg Island.” + About the same time Watters was making this belabored defense of Trump’s cave-in to Wall Street, the Iranians were firing missiles at Israel, a US military base in the Indian Ocean and oil facilities in the Persian Gulf. + Saagar Enjeti: “A war that can only be fought when the market is closed brings a whole new meaning to ‘weekend warriors.’” + One of the reasons Trump seems to be so desperately pushing for a ceasefire may be that the US is rapidly running out of smart weapons. In the first four weeks of the war, the US has launched more than 850 cruise missiles at targets in Iran. According to a Chinese report, reiterated in the South China Morning Post and Reuters, the US stockpile of rare earth metals needed for the guidance systems of precision-guided missiles, such as the Tomahawk, is down to a two-month supply. +++ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405198" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-680x400.png" alt="" width="680" height="400" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-680x400.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-1072x630.png 1072w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-768x451.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-2048x1203.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-500x294.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GRAHAMTONGUE-600x353.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Lindsey Graham on Kharg Island: “We did Iwo Jima. We can do this.” + During the Battle of Iwo Jima, where 70,000 US troops encountered fierce resistance from only 18,000 Japanese soldiers, the US suffered more than 25,000 casualties, including 7000 US troops killed in action. Graham seems to stick out his fat tongue like a sun-soaked lizard every five seconds. You’d think his staff would tell him how gross it looks, but they probably hate him, too. + Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura: “How can you send someone else’s kids to war if you won’t send your own? So I’m calling on Barron Trump to enlist in the US military. Do something your father never had the courage to do.” + Trump on Iran: “We really had regime change. This is a change in the regime because the leaders are all different. I think we can say this is regime change.” Call it that, claim the win and go play a round or two, Don. +Former Defense Sec. Gen. Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis: “Some of the strategic outcomes early on, unconditional surrender, regime change, we’re going to dictate who the next supreme leader is — those were clearly nonsense. Those were delusional.” + Trump at his cabinet meeting on Thursday: “The amazing thing is we don’t need the Hormuz Strait. We don’t need it. We don’t need it at all. We have so much oil. Our country is not affected by this.” + I was so astounded by this assertion that I checked out the price of gas at the Shell station across the river (Willamette) in West Linn, about an hour after Trump assured the nation that “Our country is not affected by this”… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-405292" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1580.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="426" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1580.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1580-500x313.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1580-600x376.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Shortly before Trump began threatening to strike Iran, the price at this station had dropped to $2.97 a gallon. How rich do you have to be to “not be affected” by his “amazing” debacle? + Trump on the Strait of Hormuz two days before saying it was irrelevant: “It will be jointly controlled, and maybe controlled by me and the Ayatollah.” I sense a budding romance. Move over, Kim-Jong-un…! + Dr. Faith Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA): “The Iran war energy crisis is worse than the 1970s oil shocks.’ + Economic growth in the UK could be cut in half by the US/Israeli war on Iran. + US officials told The Washington Post they no longer believe it is possible to achieve the war’s original goals of overthrowing the Iranian regime and putting its nuclear program permanently out of reach. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405199" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/washpostwarover-680x218.png" alt="" width="680" height="218" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/washpostwarover-680x218.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/washpostwarover-768x246.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/washpostwarover-500x160.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/washpostwarover-600x192.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/washpostwarover.png 962w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Game over. + After Anthropic placed restrictions on how the Pentagon could deploy its AI program, Pete Hegseth labeled the company a “supply chain risk” and halted all Defense Department contracts with the company. One of the companies looking to pick up Anthropic’s Pentagon contracts is Perplexity AI. One of the people who will make the contracting decisions, Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, owns between $2 million and $10 million in stock in Perplexity AI. According to financial disclosure forms obtained by The Lever, Michael has assets totaling between $121 million and $277 million, including holdings in other robotics and AI companies with Pentagon ties. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405393" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-680x405.png" alt="" width="680" height="405" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-680x405.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-1057x630.png 1057w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-768x458.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-1536x916.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-2048x1221.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-500x298.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.53.51-PM-600x358.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Will FIFA award a Peace Prize next year? Not sure the world can endure another. +++ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405235" class="wp-image-405235 size-full" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1106-4.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1106-4.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1106-4-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1106-4-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photo: Leroy Jackson. Since the appalling ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week on Oak Flats, where the US judicial system (so-called) has given the green light for a multinational mining company to annihilate one of the most sacred Native American sites in the Southwest, I’ve been thinking about the many Native Rights campaigns I’ve covered and/or been involved in over the last 35 years: Black Mesa, San Francisco Peaks, Mount Graham, Enola Hill, Rainbow Bridge, Navajo Generating Station, Lyle salmon fishing site, mining and logging in the Black Hills, Zuni Salt Lake, Oak Flats, ANWR, Klamath River dams, Chaco Canyon uranium mine, Bolsa Chica and Ballona wetlands in LA, Nevada Test Site, Willamette Falls lamprey and salmon fishing site, Jemez/Los Alamos, Standing Rock, the Thacker Pass lithium mine. These were/are often bitter, lonely, and dangerous campaigns, especially for Native activists. Not long after moving to Oregon, I received a three-day tour of many of the most intense battle zones in the Four Corners region by the Navajo environmental and tribal activist Leroy Jackson, who took this photo of me outside of Kayenta in the shadow of Black Mesa. Leroy was a very intense person and he was fighting extremely powerful interests, like Peabody Coal, Duke City Lumber and corrupt members of the tribal government of the Big Rez. I flipped through my journals of that week and was struck by a conversation we had about the relations between tribal activists and Gang Green and how unreliable the professional environmental groups are as coalition partners with Native people because of their unfailing tendency to compromise for political reasons on issues, such as sacred sites, where there can be no compromise. I jotted down that’d I’d relayed to Leroy one of my favorite admonitions from Dave Brower: “When we win, it’s merely a stay of execution. When they win, it’s forever.” Leroy responded by saying, “For so many of you guys (white male activists), this is like a game. You’re here for a while, then back to school or onto some other issues. You can’t be counted on. But we live here. We have to play for keeps.” (I didn’t take offense at this, knowing firsthand the truth of what he was saying.) Leroy did play for keeps. A few months after our road trip, he was found dead in his car in northern New Mexico. The cops called it a suicide/drug overdose. But Leroy wasn’t a drug user. He wasn’t depressed or suicidal. He was almost certainly murdered. Yet, like so many killings of Native Americans, especially activists, the cops didn’t care enough to even investigate his death. They were glad he was dead. The “Indian” wars have never ended. + Less than two weeks after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the San Carlos Apaches tribe’s claim that the mining of Oak Flats, a sacred site, violated their religious rights, the Anglo-Australian mining conglomerate, Rio Tinto, announced it expects to open the mammoth copper mine by the 2030s and, in a reversal of its promise to keep the mined ore in the US, said that it plans to export some of the 40 billion pounds of copper they plan to extract from the mine because “smelting in the US is not profitable.” So much for America first. + Years ago, my pal Chuck Williams told me that native tribes needed to surrender and submit before they’d ever get a penny out of the federal government. Chuck’s Cascades Tribe never did. They refused to cede away their land or fishing rights and paid the price, but kept their dignity and their unsullied claims to the land stolen from them. Another wretched ruling this week in a battle that’s been going on for a century proved the wisdom of Chuck’s dictum, when the court curtly denied the right of the Chinook people of the lands at the mouth of the Columbia River to be recognized as a federal tribe. “I think no one is surprised by the denial,” said Chinook Chairman Tony “Naschio” Johnson. “We often find we don’t fit into this system of justice. Maybe I’m using quotes around justice, but I feel strongly that the courts have and should be available as a remedy for folks like Chinook. “It is just unbearable to live on your land, to inherit your teachings and a world view of this place that far predates the United States, and to have that reality denied by a government, and I’ll just say by a government that has only cared about our place for its use or abuse. I mean the ways in which they could profit or otherwise benefit from it. And always, it seems, at the expense of the Chinook people.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405200" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-680x566.png" alt="" width="680" height="566" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-680x566.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-757x630.png 757w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-768x639.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-1536x1278.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-500x416.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap-600x499.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/solaraditionmap.png 1979w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + According to the World Meteorological Association’s new State of the Climate Report, not only the World Meteorological Organization is the amount of heat stored on Earth increasing, but the rate at which it is increasing is also increasing: “In 2025, the observed Earth energy imbalance (EEI) reached the highest value since the observational record began in 1960… As a result of the growing imbalance, the total amount of heat stored on Earth is not just increasing but accelerating.” + Professor Stephen Ramsdorf, Potsdam Institute: The Central England temperature record represents the longest series of monthly temperature observations in existence. Recent temperatures there are over 1.5 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average, and over 2 degrees above preindustrial values. + This should be the peak snowpack period for the mountains of the West. Instead, it’s almost all GONE… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405217" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack-680x430.png" alt="" width="680" height="430" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack-680x430.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack-997x630.png 997w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack-768x485.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack-500x316.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack-600x379.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/snowpack.png 1206w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + According to meteorologist and weather historian M. Herrera, 14 states set new records for highest March temperature and five states (Oregon, Montana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois) barely missed… California: 112F Arizona: 112 F Nevada: 106 F Kansas: 101 F New Mexico: 100 F Nebraska: 99 F Utah: 97 F South Dakota: 97 F Missouri: 97 F Iowa: 97F Colorado: 96 F Wyoming: 90 F Minnesota: 88 F Idaho: 86 F + While British homeowners are rushing to install solar panels on their houses, the Trump administration used $1 billion in US taxpayers’ money to bribe a French energy firm, Total, to cancel three offshore wind power projects and use the money on energy powered by fossil fuels. + The Chinese EV-maker BYD just introduced a new car that can charge from 10% to 70% in five minutes, and to 100% in nine minutes. The car has a 600-mile range and gets 250 miles of charge in only 5 minutes. Production of EVs in the US has declined by more than 30% since Trump resumed office. + A study in Environmental Research Letters found that climate change made the extreme wildfire in the Arctic from 2019 to 2021 200 times more likely. + This week, NASA announced plans to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars before the end of 2028. It would be the first interplanetary spacecraft mission powered by nuclear propulsion. What could go wrong? + ProPublica digs into how DOGE is gutting existing safety rules to ease the siting of new nuclear power plants. | + On an episode of the climate science podcast A Matter of Degrees, Dave Jones, a former California insurance commissioner who now directs the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley, discussed insurance companies refusing to write policies for homes in the fire-prone west and hurricane-prone southeast: For many Americans, the single biggest financial asset you have is your home. If you don’t have insurance or you can’t afford enough insurance and that home is destroyed, then you’re left with basically nothing. Insurance is the climate crisis canary in the coal mine, and the canary is just about dead. +++ + Hillbilly Elegy, the Epilogue… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405308" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-680x811.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="811" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-680x811.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-529x630.jpeg 529w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-768x915.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-1289x1536.jpeg 1289w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-500x596.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD-600x715.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dinnerwithJD.jpeg 1448w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + The Vance dinner was hosted by billionaire venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir. + RFK, Jr. on rising food prices: “We don’t need more money, we just need to be smarter about how we buy and how we cook.” We? + ABC News: “Higher grocery prices could soon hit supermarkets as the war with Iran continues. The higher prices are because of a surge in the cost of diesel fuel, which powers many of the vehicles that transport products across a vast global supply chain.” Already, wholesale vegetable prices are up 87.5% year over year, fresh fish up by 45.2% and beef up 13%. + Here in Oregon, gas prices climbed by 92.7 cents per gallon in less than a month and 36.7 cents in the last week. + Americans have warped ideas about their own wealth. Both the poor and the rich tend to describe themselves as “middle class.” The New York Times profiled a couple living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, who described themselves as “being middle class for this area.” Their annual income is more than $500,000. But the median household income for their neighborhood is $173,000 and only $79,000 for New York City as a whole. + NBC News ran a pretty good report about the record level of income inequality in the US, a widening gulf that spreads across traditional political boundaries. Of course, the Democrats won’t seize the issue because their own neoliberal policies for the last 40 years have fed the beast that is devouring what used to be their own base and almost everyone else, as well… + Gary Keffer, a freelancer in Nashville, Tennessee, who was laid off as a VP of strategic marketing: “I’ve got an MBA, I’ve got 20 years of experience across my resume, and I’m being told that I need to submit my resume to ChatGPT for optimization to get an interview. It’s like this ‘Black Mirror’ environment.” + American capitalism is a casino, where the casino owners are guaranteed to win, but still cheat to win even bigger…” memo obtained by The Washington Post says that Trump showed a classified map to passengers on his private plane in 2022. The memo, part of a now-abandoned prosecution, shows that prosecutors were investigating whether Trump retained classified documents for personal gain. The case was dismissed by a federal judge before it could go to trial. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin has demanded more information, alleging a cover-up by the Justice Department. +++ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405212" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-680x475.png" alt="" width="680" height="475" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-680x475.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-901x630.png 901w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-768x537.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-1536x1074.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-500x350.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1-600x419.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/markfortwaynespanker-1.png 1808w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Markfortwayne Mullin describing, with evident pleasure, his daughter pleading with him not to spank (ie, abuse) her…“She’s like, ‘No, Daddy. No, Daddy, No, Daddy, No. I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sorry, Daddy.’ … She just couldn’t bring herself to even bend over for me to be able to bust her butt.” Does Markfortwayne wear his white hat when he beats his daughter? + Prerequisites to prove you’ve got what it takes to run DHS under Trump: 1. Shoot your own puppy in the head for being disobedient and toss its body in a gravel pit; 2. Abuse your own daughter for being disobedient. If you can publicly brag about beating your own child for political points, you probably won’t have much of a problem ripping children, some of them born in the US, from the arms of their parents, keeping them locked up in concentration camp-like prisons hundreds of miles away from their moms and dads, making them act as their own lawyers in immigration court or forcing them to make an impossible choice between being wrongfully deported with a parent or being left in the US as one or both of their parents are shipped off to El Salvador or Haiti. + 11,000: the minimum number of children who have had a parent detained by ICE/CBP since Trump retook office. + Pete Hegseth is trying to push civilian employees at the Pentagon to take temporary positions with ICE and CBP, a move one Defense Department worker called “absurd” and another described as giving the Department a “bad look,” considering the problems it’s encountering recruiting people to fight its war on Iran. + Hegseth: “The Department of War stands shoulder to shoulder with state and federal partners so our streets can be defended again.” Who will defend the streets against these “defenders” of the streets? + Texas voters, who’ve seen the state’s workforce gutted by raids on immigrants, are apparently turning on ICE and Trump. Who did they think was doing most of the manual labor in this country? The Man-children of the Manosphere? They’re not going to be Red-Pilled into doing that kind of work… + This week, Trump sent ICE into more than a dozen US airports, supposedly to supplement the depleted ranks of TSA workers and… they immediately started arresting people… CNN: Whose idea was it to put ICE in airports? Trump: Mine. That was like the paperclip. Do you know the story of the paperclip? 182 years ago, a man discovered the paperclip. It was so simple. And everybody that looked at it thought, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ ICE was my idea. + Operation Paperclip II. Now it makes sense. + Suddenly, ICE agents are showing up unmasked at airports, all previous fears of being trolled, doxxed and tracked having evaporated. Jim Naureckas made a solid point. The masks aren’t meant to conceal identities, but to project the faceless power of the state and to terrorize the people you’re conducting a pogrom against and those who come to their defense. + Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, one of the Venezuelan men swept up in Trump’s raids and wrongly deported, described his time in El Salvador’s CECOT prison as “total hell.” Rengel, a barber who lived in Irving, Texas, was arrested and deported solely based on his tattoos, which DHS used to wrongly accuse him of being a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Rengel spent four months in the maximum-security prison, where he was subjected to physical and psychological torture, before being released through a prisoner swap in July 2025. This week, Rengel has filed the first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking $1.3 million in damages. + On Tuesday, Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration to secure evidence needed for state police to probe three shootings by federal immigration officers during Operation Metro Surge—including the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti—after the feds broke their pledge to cooperate in the investigations of the shootings. + Trump: 90% of the crime is caused by 2% of the population. He was referring to blacks and immigrants, naturally, but our over-criminalized society, roughly 1-in-3 adults in the US (33%) have a criminal record. + According to an analysis by the Cato Institute, the incarceration rate for legal immigrants is 75% less than that of native-born US citizens. + They’re not even trying to hide the plan to deploy ICE at election sites… Steve Bannon: “We can use this, ICE helping at airports, as a test run, a test case, to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterms. Rep. Mike Davis: “I think we should have ICE agents at the polling places.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-680x373.png" alt="" width="680" height="373" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-680x373.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-1150x630.png 1150w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-768x421.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-1536x842.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-2048x1122.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-500x274.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bannondavis-600x329.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> +++ Ever since I forced her to watch a Trump/Hegseth press event this week, Lola has been imitating Trump’s sleeping while standing routine… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405214" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping-680x452.png" alt="" width="680" height="452" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping-948x630.png 948w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping-768x510.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping-600x399.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumplolasleeping.png 1138w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + 2026 Generic Congressional Ballot Democrats: 51% [+4] Republicans: 40% [-3] *** Dem: Dem 99-1 GOP: GOP 93-5 Ind: Dem 57-26 Men: GOP 46-43 Women: Dem 58-35 Quinnipiac Poll | 3/19-23 | 1,191 RV + Those independent voter numbers (57-26) are really something. Of course, the question is: is a “generic” Democrat more or less pathetic than any specific Democrat? + Trump’s approval rating is now about as low as Biden’s after Biden appeared to stroke-out during his debate with Trump…and still falling. Nothing Trump’s doing–from the war to immigration to the economy–is popular with the vast majority of the country. President Trump’s Approval Disapprove: 62% Approve: 36% Support US Strikes on Iran Disapprove: 61% Approve: 35% Trump’s net approval on key issues Immigration: -13% Foreign policy: -27% Economy: -33% Cost of living: 41% Reuters/IPSOS Poll + The art of the deal guy can’t even close the deal on his own war. + The American Research Group polling outfit opens the analysis of their latest survey, which shows Trump’s approval rating at a mere 33%, with this remarkable warning: Our national monthly survey on presidential performance and the economy has lost subscribers over concerns that any unfavorable results may upset the current administration. We need your support to continue providing unbiased insights. Please join us in continuing this monthly survey. + Trump wants to eliminate mail-in voting. Except for him, apparently. Still, Trump’s endorsement and mail-in-vote (a form of cheating, he claims) wasn’t enough to keep the Florida statehouse seat that includes Mar-a-Lago from flipping to Democrat Emily Gregory, a political novice, in a district that Trump carried by more than 10 percentage points in 2024. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405313" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-680x407.png" alt="" width="680" height="407" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-680x407.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-1053x630.png 1053w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-768x459.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-1536x919.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-2048x1225.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-500x299.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/millersycophancy-600x359.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + In this week’s episode of the Sycophancy Roundtable, Trump demands that Kash Patel genuflect to him more slavishly than Stephen Miller… Miller: What President Trump is doing is a national miracle that will be studied not only for generations but for centuries to come. Trump: Kash, see if you can top that. Patel: Mr. President, thank you for delivering the safest country on God’s green Earth. + Trump reflecting, somewhat fancifully, on his State of the Union address: Democrats sat there emotionless, no clapping, nobody standing. At the end of the evening, they were clapping on everything I said because they were called by people watching on television. Did you see they were passing around notes and they were saying, you guys are being killed tonight, start clapping. And they were clapping for everything. Even good Republican things. They were clapping wildly. But it was too late. Because they have no heart. The only note I saw that night was from Rep. Al Green to Trump, reading: “Black People Are Not Apes.” And Green was removed from the chamber for writing it. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405301" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-680x448.png" alt="" width="680" height="448" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-680x448.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-957x630.png 957w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-768x506.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-1536x1012.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-2048x1349.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-500x329.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/weddon1-600x395.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Joel Webbon, the Christian Nationalist pastor and MAGA celebrity, claims that “egalitarianism” is part of a Jewish plot to destroy the world; The end game in pushing egalitarianism, particularly as it pertains to the sexes, almost exclusively in the West, and almost nowhere else, is because they want Western people, particularly those of European descent, AKA white people, to stop procreating. This is the destruction of the world. Egalitarianism is not baked into the scripture. It is baked in the fabric of communism, it is baked into the fabric of [pause and shoulder shrug] Judaism, which I believe is the root of Communism. It is the root of transgenderism. It is the root of Marxism. It is the root of all bitter, baseless envy that just seeks to destroy the world. There’s some pretty weird stuff packed between Webbon’s phobias. It was, of course, the Anglo-Saxon Thomas Malthus who was obsessed with human population and procreation and a communist Jew, Karl Marx, his sharpest critic. Of course, you won’t hear a squeak out of the ADL about Webbon’s rancid anti-semitism, because like most Christian Nationalists, he supports Israel’s genocidal wars on Palestinians, which they hope will lead to the ultimate conflagration at Megiddo, after which the white Christians men and their Tradwives will be Raptured for a rendezvous with Jesus and the rest of us, including all Jewish people, will be left behind to fight it out during the Tribulations and then consigned to eternal damnation. + I now have a clearer understanding of what Sartre meant when he called God “the first criminal.” + According to Isabel Vincent, author of “RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise,” “In his diary, RFK, Jr. writes about cutting off the penis of a road-killed raccoon in 2001, while his ‘kids waited patiently in the car,’ so that he could examine it later.” + Jim Harris: “Raccoon penis envy.” + Speaking of RFK, Jr, a new poll finds that fewer than 60 percent of Americans now trust the federal government’s recommendations for childhood vaccinations, a steep drop from last year. + Trump: “I love Elvis. I never met Elvis. I met them all. I met Sinatra; I knew all of them. I never met Elvis. Sometimes I feel I should tell a little fib, and say I knew him well.” That would be one of the tiniest fibs he’s ever told… + While at Graceland, Trump suggested that Elvis’ two 8th degree black belts in Karate and Kendo were fake (because there’s no question any black belts Trump received would’ve been)… Trump: Could I have taken Elvis in a fight? Graceland worker: I don’t know? You might. I think he would’ve been respectful enough to let you win. + Realistically, Trump couldn’t have taken Colonel Parker, Priscilla, or Lisa Marie in a fight. + After watching Louis Theroux’s wild documentary on the hyper-misogyny of the Bros of the Manosphere (Netflix), this number seems perilously low: According to Gallup, 40% of American women, ages 15-44, would like to permanently move overseas. The Manosphere isn’t limited to the US, of course, but sooner or later all the leading Prophets of Bro-dom end up taking selfies at Mar-a-Lago. + What are the odds of me making it through the airport panopticon of TSA/ICE security without a cavity search while wearing this shirt that a loyal reader of Roaming Charges kindly sent me? <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-405215" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt-680x834.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="834" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt-680x834.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt-514x630.jpg 514w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt-768x942.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt-500x613.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt-600x736.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/foucaulttshirt.jpg 882w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Here’s the late Chuck Norris and his wife Gena warning that if Americans reelected Obama in 2012, it would plunge the country into “1000 years of darkness.” It’s pretty dark out. Perhaps, they were right. Though the lights might have gone out for 2000 years had Mitt the Mormon Apostate been elected. + It’s time to revive Alexander Cockburn’s old “Guillotined!” project of consigning washed-up words, cliches, political cant, twee neologisms and trendy media phrases to the tumbrils of history and execution by the virtual guillotine erected in CounterPunch’s own version of the Place de la Concord. This week’s condemned, the heinous phrase: “Digital and/or content creator.” (Feel free to send me nominations.) + The Trump team has brought a new level of incompetence to the political art of lying and for that, at least, we can be grateful: A top deputy to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro acknowledged in a closed-door hearing this month that the Justice Department did not have evidence of wrongdoing in its criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve over the cost of its building renovations, according to a transcript of the court proceedings. The prosecutor’s admission, which has not been previously reported, undercuts President Donald Trump’s claim that “there is criminality” in the $2.5 billion overhaul of the Fed’s headquarters overlooking the National Mall. + Come back, L7, your country needs you once again… Body bags and dropping bombs, the Pentagon knows how to turn us on Booked Up What I’m reading this week… Meet Mayor Mamdani: the Spectacular Victory of a Democratic Socialist in New York City Theodor Hamm (OR Books) A Womb of One’s Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome Tara Mulder (California) Goya’s Last Portrait / A Question of Geography John Berger and Nella Bielski (Verso) Sound Grammar What I’m listening to this week… Music in Continual Motion Bill Orcutt (Palilalia) Tirakat Ali and Charif Megarbane (Habbibi Funk) Extra Stars Gregory Uhlmann (International Anthem) Doing Numbers for the Cameras “I keep thinking about all the kids who got wiped out by seventeen years of war movies before coming to Vietnam to get wiped out for good. You don’t know what a media freak is until you’ve seen the way a few of those grunts would run around during a fight when they knew that there was a television crew nearby; they were actually making war movies in their heads, doing little guts-and-glory Leatherneck tap dances under fire, getting their pimples shot off for the networks. They were insane, but the war hadn’t done that to them. Most combat troops stopped thinking of the war as an adventure after their first few firefights, but there were always the ones who couldn’t let that go, these few who were up there doing numbers for the cameras… We’d all seen too many movies, stayed too long in Television City, years of media glut had made certain connections difficult.” – Michael Herr, Dispatches The post Roaming Charges: Eyes Open, Minds Wide Shut appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jeffrey St. Clair.
As long predicted, the world order is shifting, away from American unipolar dominance and toward a system of increasingly bold middle powers and a new superpower and true U.S. peer in China. We are observing a diffusion of power in the international system and, with that, an emerging multipolar order characterized by the decline of U.S. global hegemony, increasing geopolitical complexity, new military capacities, and growing economic and financial partnerships (for example, the BRICS group). There can be little doubt that within the coming years, the nuclear club will add new members. More than ever, the lovers of peace and humanity need to be prepared to press the case for nuclear disarmament and robust arms control treaties that seriously limit nuclear arsenals and forestall the development of new nuclear weapons. More The post AI and Nuclear Proliferation appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1944" height="1418" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1944px) 100vw, 1944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1944" height="1418" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1944px) 100vw, 1944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="496" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="496" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="496" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="496" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="496" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1944px) 100vw, 1944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1944" height="1418" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1944px) 100vw, 1944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1944" height="1418" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1944px) 100vw, 1944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1944" height="1418" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1944px) 100vw, 1944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="864" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-364603" class="wp-image-364603 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png" alt="" width="680" height="496" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-680x496.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-864x630.png 864w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-768x560.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-1536x1120.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-500x365.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM-600x438.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-15-at-6.44.01-PM.png 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photo by Logan Voss As long predicted, the world order is shifting, away from American unipolar dominance and toward a system of increasingly bold middle powers and a new superpower and true U.S. peer in China. We are observing a diffusion of power in the international system and, with that, an emerging multipolar order characterized by the decline of U.S. global hegemony, increasing geopolitical complexity, new military capacities, and growing economic and financial partnerships (for example, the BRICS group). There can be little doubt that within the coming years, the nuclear club will add new members. More than ever, the lovers of peace and humanity need to be prepared to press the case for nuclear disarmament and robust arms control treaties that seriously limit nuclear arsenals and forestall the development of new nuclear weapons. An increase in the number of countries with deliverable nuclear bombs significantly raises the odds of an existential-level disaster involving a nuclear exchange. Recent analyses warn that several key factors have come together to increase the risk of both intentional and accidental exchanges, as well as miscalculations. Ultimately, nuclear proliferation (together with other surrounding factors like updated arsenals and shorter missile flight times, high-powered cyber attacks on networks and energy supplies, and new geopolitical variables) dramatically increases the risk of intentional use, miscalculation, and an accidental nuclear exchange. Donald Trump does not understand that attacking people with punishing violence, killing thousands of innocent people and destroying their country does not make them want to negotiate, whatever that could possibly mean now. No one, apparently, taught Donald Trump that this is not a way to negotiate. He may believe that he is in full control of the situation, but many global experts believe that his actions (and Benjamin Netanyahu’s) have increased the likelihood of a nuclear attack. Like generations of presidents before him, Donald Trump believes that it is the responsibility of the United States to shepherd world affairs through shows of military strength, if only to protect its position as the world’s most powerful empire. Some of the reputedly smartest and most polite in the world believe this, though they disagree with Donald Trump’s style of management: his many and frequent disrespects and harsh words for some of Washington’s oldest and strongest allies; his abuses of the global economy as a mere pressure tactic, as if this makes other countries want to world with us more; his government’s many wars of choice, under whatever the insulting euphemism (operation, excursion, regime change, military action, whatever); his contempt for both our constitutional traditions and international law; his domestic repression and authoritarianism; and his hatred of our immigrant friends and neighbors, among others. Questions about the proliferation of nuclear weapons are also deeply connected to the speculative jubilee around AI. As has been widely reported, the energy consumption associated with running Big AI’s systems has already placed acute strains on the electrical grid. Given the widespread sense that all of society should accommodate Big AI at breakneck speed and with reckless abandon, the question has turned to how to get the most energy as fast as possible. Unsurprisingly, this enthusiasm has meant an increase in interest in nuclear energy to propel the rapid expansion of AI’s real-world infrastructure. As the Department of Energy notes, large-scale AI systems require continuous and high-load electricity for training and inference, and large data centers have started to strategically prioritize firm power sources. To many, nuclear energy fits the bill in that it gives you stable load generation with low direct carbon emissions. Thus many tech firms, along with their policymaking tools, have demonstrated their renewed interest in extending the life of existing nuclear reactors and fast-tracking the development of the newer designs. Last year, the White House announced the Genesis Mission as “as a dedicated, coordinated national effort to unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery that can solve the most challenging problems of this century.” A recent Department of Energy report on the Genesis Mission sheds some light on the connection between the latest tech boom in AI and reinvigorated calls for nuclear power: The DOE report noted that nuclear power plants have historically been challenged by long development timelines and high costs, while demand continues to grow, including from AI data centers. To meet this challenge, the DOE proposed the use of AI to design, license, manufacture, construct, and operate nuclear reactors “with human-in-the-loop workflows, enabling at least 2x schedule acceleration and greater than 50 percent operational cost reductions.” These goals are being addressed by the DOE through research into such AI technologies as surrogate models, agentic workflows, autonomous labs, and digitals twins. The speculative fervor around AI offers the perfect cover for many countries to fast-track nuclear programs. They can claim that they are only trying to compete in and partake of the so-called AI revolution, as they build up the enrichment and reprocessing infrastructure necessary for a usable weapon. It may be that we will also soon count nuclear proliferation as a consequence of AI mania. We will have more nuclear countries, more variables, more unknowns. There is an inherent connection between developments in the direction of nuclear power and weapons. All governments understand this and acknowledge it, even if ordinary people and supposed experts frequently do not. As Professor M.V. Ravana recently wrote, discussing the remarks of Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, “Why are these statements significant? Because there is a long track record of attempts by the nuclear industry and advocates for nuclear power to erase or at least camouflage the connection between the technologies used to develop nuclear energy and the capacity to build nuclear weapons.” The conditions for state actors in the real world have been such that they must ignore our delicate distinctions. Some experts believe that a “limited nuclear exchange” would kill billions of people. But the frightening truth is that they don’t really know. Scientists cannot model any of this well enough to know. And to this point, the record of predictions has been very poor. Nuclear scientists have consistently failed to predict the size, the destructive capacity, and the long-term health and safety consequences of nuclear explosions. The Castle Bravo test was the first in a series of extremely destructive nuclear tests, and it makes a good example of a bad “expert” prediction: The reason for the unexpectedly high yield was due to the “tritium bonus” provided by the lithium-7 isotope which made up most of the lithium. This isotope was expected to be essentially inert, but in fact it had a substantial reaction cross section with the high energy neutrons produced by tritium-deuterium fusion. When one of these high energy neutrons collided with a lithium-7 atom, it could fragement [sic] it into a tritium and a helium atom. Tritium was the most valuable fusion fuel, being both highly reactive and causing extremely energetic fusion, so this extra source of tritium greatly increased the weapon yield. The scientific experts had modeled out a linear fuel depletion scenario, but they touched off an exponential fuel accretion scenario they did not expect. They were children playing with fire. There is no doubt that practical nuclear science has come a long way since the mid-1950s. But the number of potentially catastrophic unknown variables has also only increased. The oligarchs are richly incentivized to build and use the weapon, and at such heights, the science community and the military and political elite are effectively one and the same. There is a problem built into the structure of the system. This is why every country without these weapons hastens to acquire them, hoping for any bargaining posture. Pretensions aside, all countries that want a nuclear arsenal want it for the same fundamental reason; they see such weapons as the key to their future. The weapons that could destroy humankind are seen as necessary to the strategic plans of the world’s most powerful countries. Now, that’s really something to consider. But perhaps a still more under-appreciated and troubling aspect of this situation is the epistemic asymmetry that separates us, the popular masses who will carry the costs and bear the consequences, from those pushing for things like AI data centers and increased nuclear capacity. The ruling classes who design nuclear weapons, build nuclear reactors, and develop the AI systems now accelerating both do not have proportionate exposure to the downside risks of their choices. This asymmetry of power is core and constitutive to the system’s behavior. The structure of incentives explains the system and its outcomes. The political and economic system is organized to externalize catastrophic risks onto hundreds of millions of people who effectively have no political representation and no real voice in policy or governance. We are watching the compounding of this externalization of costs to an unprecedented degree, and at a time of rapid change and uncertain technological capacity. The argument is a modest one: in cases where decision-makers are insulated or removed from the worst-case outcomes of their choices, the political-economic system will systematically underprice the catastrophic tail risks. And if this asymmetry is constitutive, and not incidental, then these bleak results do not arise from bad actors. They come from the architecture of how decisions get made by a ruling class. In the world we have come into, the opponents of war and nuclear weapons are more needed than ever, and they must understand powers aligning in Big Tech, the arms industry, and sadly much of the science community. The post AI and Nuclear Proliferation appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by David S. D’Amato.
The United States is Formally at War with Iran, At Least the Swiss Say So
Why is the United States bombing Iran? The justifications presented for the jus ad bellum of Operation Epic Fury keep shifting: an imminent nuclear threat, security concerns, the need for regime change, and even political distractions such as the Trump-Epstein relationship. The legal basis is also not clear. At times President Trump has implied that More The post The United States is Formally at War with Iran, At Least the Swiss Say So appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-680x429.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="429" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-680x429.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-999x630.jpg 999w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-768x484.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-1536x969.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-500x315.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873-600x378.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Operation_Epic_Fury_Press_Briefing_9573873.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: Benjamin D Applebaum – Public Domain Why is the United States bombing Iran? The justifications presented for the jus ad bellum of Operation Epic Fury keep shifting: an imminent nuclear threat, security concerns, the need for regime change, and even political distractions such as the Trump-Epstein relationship. The legal basis is also not clear. At times President Trump has implied that the U.S. is at war with Iran—“We’re doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Yet the conflict is usually presented as a “major military operation.” On one occasion, Trump even downplayed it further, calling the conflict “an excursion that will keep us out of a war.” There has been no formal U.S. declaration of war against Iran. Switzerland has made a decision that the United States has avoided: for the neutral Swiss, the United States is at war. To be exact, while there is no formal public declaration phrased as “Switzerland declares the U.S. is at war with Iran,” Swiss authorities have officially treated the situation as an international armed conflict when applying their neutrality laws and policies. Three weeks after the United States began bombing Iran, the Swiss Federal Council decided—citing Article 22a, Paragraph 2 of the Federal War Materiel Act—that exports of military equipment to the U.S. could not continue. “The export of war materiel to countries involved in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict,” the government announced on March 20. The Swiss also noted that they would continue to monitor and evaluate the situation, leaving open the possibility of future adjustments depending on developments in the conflict. (In 2025, the United States was the second-largest export market for the Swiss arms industry. Switzerland exported 94.2 million Swiss francs (about $119 million) in military goods to the United States, including 39.8 million francs (about $50 million) in combat aircraft components. No definitive licenses for the export of war materiel to Israel have been granted for a number of years.) Although the United States has not formally declared war—a process requiring a vote by Congress and not enacted since World War II—the Swiss government concluded that its neutral status applies when a trading partner is actively engaged in an international armed conflict. Under that determination, war materiel exports to the United States cannot be authorized. Switzerland has also denied U.S. requests to overfly its airspace, including two requests for reconnaissance aircraft. Switzerland’s decision underscores a critical distinction between the political language some states use to describe military action and the legal standards applied by neutral countries. In the U.S.-Iran case, Switzerland determined that the conflict meets the threshold of war for purposes of export restrictions and airspace neutrality, regardless of how the United States labels its operations. Is the fact that the United States has not formally declared war significant? Absolutely. The lack of congressional approval for sending troops into combat reflects the expanding use of executive power to deploy the military and the diminishing checks by the legislative branch. It also highlights the tension between national policy decisions and international legal norms. Formal War, Combat Operations, and the Limits of Executive Power The Swiss determination reflects a longstanding tension in U.S. military policy: the gap between constitutionally declared war and modern combat operations. Historically, the United States has engaged in major conflicts without invoking a formal declaration of war. In modern times, the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq invasion relied on congressional authorizations and executive prerogative rather than a constitutional declaration of war. Avoiding the formal label allows greater operational flexibility. The Vietnam War provides a clear precedent: despite more than a decade of large-scale combatoperations—approximately 543,000 American troops were in Vietnam in April 1969— Congress never formally declared war, and presidents relied on executive authority and the dubious Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to escalate operations. This historical pattern of non-declaration of war helps explain why Switzerland’s strict legal recognition of the Iran conflict matters. While the U.S. maintains a degree of operational ambiguity about the status of its military operations, neutral states may impose concrete legal and ethical constraints. By recognizing the conflict as war under its Federal War Materiel Act, Switzerland has shown that third-party states can impose legal constraints even on powerful allies when the conditions of armed conflict are met. In this sense, Switzerland’s stance can be seen as a corrective mechanism, enforcing international norms in a way the U.S. self-definition of “combat operations” does not. Significantly, even without a formal declaration of war, the U.S. remains bound by international humanitarian law (IHL), including the Geneva Conventions. U.S. forces are obligated to adhere to these rules regardless of how the conflict is politically described. Despite statements by Trump such as—”I don’t need international law,” or “My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me”—there are rules and obligations on all states in a conflict. The Geneva Conventions are among the most universally accepted norms; they were ratified by 196 countries. International humanitarian law protects civilians and civilian objects during armed conflict, including infrastructure essential to civilian life. Against that standard, U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure are flagrant violations of IHL. As Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned in a statement: “War on infrastructure is war on civilians. It must stop.” The experiences of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iran, and drone campaigns in Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia demonstrate the devastating consequences of military operations ambiguously labelled as combat missions. They underscore the importance of applying the requirements of international humanitarian law in times of combat. Switzerland’s recognition of the Iran conflict as war reinforces the principle that neutral states can apply legal and ethical standards ensuring some accountability, however limited that may be. Finally, the U.S. avoidance of formal war declarations raises deep democratic and institutional concerns. The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, yet successive administrations have relied on executive authority and limited authorizations to conduct military operations. This centralizes military decision-making in the presidency, bypasses legislative processes, and transfers legal and moral responsibility farther away from citizens. When the Senate again rejected an effort to invoke the 1973 War Powers Act to require congressional authorization for continued military operations against Iran, Senator Cory Booker criticized his colleagues’ inaction: “All of us—all one hundred of us—swore an oath not to a president, not to a party, but to the Constitution of the United States. And yet in this moment the United States Senate is doing nothing.” In the same debate, he also blasted both parties for allowing the president to wage war without congressional approval: “Congress has become feckless when it comes to war powers…we are ceding our constitutional responsibility and letting one person decide questions of war and peace.” In the end, Switzerland’s strict, neutral, legal recognition of the war against Iran stands in stark contrast with the United States’ legal ambiguity and lack of congressional authorization. While the U.S. labels its actions as “combat missions” to preserve executive flexibility, the Swiss interpretation reminds the world—and the United States—that war is a legal and moral reality with tangible consequences. Switzerland’s stance illustrates that even allies can enforce limits on military action. War cannot be wished away, and Switzerland reminds the United States that legal and moral obligations exist, no matter what label is applied. The post The United States is Formally at War with Iran, At Least the Swiss Say So appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Daniel Warner.
The Problem with the Epstein Files Distraction Discourse
Instagram is my social media drug of choice. I can’t say for sure that it’s happening elsewhere, like in the land of TikTok, but I imagine it is and that you, reader, may have encountered some of the same rhetoric I’ve been seeing and hearing both online and offline. More The post The Problem with the Epstein Files Distraction Discourse appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-200x200.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-200x200.png 200w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-100x100.png 100w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1770" height="1386" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1770px) 100vw, 1770px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="805" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w" sizes="(max-width: 805px) 100vw, 805px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405184" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png" alt="" width="680" height="532" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-680x532.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-805x630.png 805w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-768x601.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-1536x1203.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-500x392.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM-600x470.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.33.09-AM.png 1770w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Instagram is my social media drug of choice. I can’t say for sure that it’s happening elsewhere, like in the land of TikTok, but I imagine it is and that you, reader, may have encountered some of the same rhetoric I’ve been seeing and hearing both on- and offline. “DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT THE EPSTEIN FILES” “DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT THE EPSTEIN FILES” “DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT THE EPSTEIN FILES” “DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT THE EPSTEIN FILES” repeats one oft-parroted sentiment across my corner of the Insta-verse, at least. “Here’s why the Epstein files are radicalizing you,” says another piece of content. Another: “You can’t bury the Epstein files under Iran’s rubble.” Yet another depicts “THE EPSTEIN FILES” in thick black lettering, partially covered by wheatpasted posters that read, “THE SUPREME COURT,” “ICE,” “BOARD OF PEACE,” “TARRIF$,” “GREENLAND,” “UFO FILES,” and “WAR WITH IRAN.” The idea that the United States’ far-reaching geopolitical violence, its weaponization and bastardization of its own institutions, its cratering of the economy, its endeavors to strongarm the rest of what’s considered to be the “western” world into complicity with the plainly fascist agenda it shares with Israel are merely an effort to distract from the Epstein files is asinine at best. At worst, the Epstein files distraction discourse effectively aids and abets the violence it derides, undermining the many victims of Epstein and company’s hideous escapades in the process. These crimes against humanity aren’t manufactured distractions designed to keep the Epstein files at bay. They’re simply the par-for-the-course behaviors of the old, rich, almost entirely white, and definitely entirely self-centered and competition-obsessed deranged men that have been in charge of the United States since its inception. From the physical and cultural genocide of Native Americans in order to steal the land upon which the U.S. empire has been built to the catapulting of women into poverty by way of forcing childbirth in an economy in which it costs between $241,000–$513,000 to raise a child, belligerence is the name of the game. War for the sake of oil, profit, or whatever else serves the interests of those who benefit from the country’s military industrial complex is nothing new. The United States terrorizing its own people, as it has been most visibly and recently in Minneapolis and now Vermont, is nothing new. None of it is. Sure, more (white) people may be experiencing these horrors than before. Sure, the specific forms and the details of these actions look different in 2026 than they did in 1776. Sure, the cruelty of the Trump regime has its own uniquely perverted flavor—rather than even attempt to disguise their atrocities like previous administrations have, the MAGA minions pump out odious dribble to defend their behavior instead. But the fact remains that the broad strokes are nothing new. This is where the logic of the Epstein file distraction discourse falls apart. Are the files really a distraction if what they’re supposedly distracting from is simply the status quo? The distraction discourse also neglects an inconvenient truth, which is that the files are effectively out. Not in their entirety, sure, but—seriously—who cares? Does it actually matter? What does it say about us if we have to have our eyes on millions of documents in order to believe what women have been saying happened to them for literal decades? Have we learned exactly nothing from the #MeToo moment? Insofar as we continue to demand documents rather than believe what more than 1,000 women, apparently we have not. We already know what’s in the files. Rich and powerful men, from Trump and Clinton to Dan Ariely and Woody Allen, have been committing violent crimes against young girls around the world with impunity. The St. Louis-based journalist and author Sarah Kendzior has dutifully chronicled how much of this has been in the public domain for decades. The unfortunate truth of our current reality is that releasing the files is unlikely to accomplish anything more than has already been accomplished. What the distraction discourse belies is an enduring belief in the United States and the institutions that constitute it as anything but corrupt despite the facts. The presumption behind the distraction discourse is that, should they be released in full, something would actually come from it; that rich, powerful, and influential men like Trump—who has, as the distraction discourse does, supposedly developed in this narrow case, and this narrow case only, the ability to put his daintily fragile ego aside in order to watch his words and actually act strategically on a day-to-day basis for months on end in order to keep up the charade—would actually face some sort of consequence, accountability, or justice as a result. The discourse presumes that the release of the files would inspire Congress to actually start doing its job as outlined in the now practically useless constitution instead of manufacturing political theater; that the felon in the White House would face justice for these abuses against women despite facing none for the many that have come before; that the Epstein files are so uniquely bad that their release would turn this corrupt country around; that the United States still has some ability to behave ethically as it bombs school children and deprives an entire island nation of the basic necessitates for survival. I haven’t seen anything even resembling justice take place in this country for a long time—one could argue it never has. There can be no accountability in a justice system that rests upon a democracy that is no longer functioning, if it ever was at all. The release of the Epstein files cannot change that reality. It is certainly a nice idea, the notion that something so truly terrible could actually fetch accountability. I’d love to be wrong, but I don’t suspect that a system that has never produced justice, one that’s in the throes of collapse, will start doing so once some documents are published. Meanwhile, as we’re prodded to not stop talking about the Epstein files despite the violence designed to distract from them, the actual motivations for said violence go unexamined. The U.S., its leadership, and its beneficiaries—none of whom are us, the people—continue terrorizing the planet and life itself without having to even providing an excuse for what they’re doing. Because the Epstein files distraction discourse provides them with one. And they didn’t even have to bother coming up with themselves. The longer we erroneously insist that the release of the Epstein files matters, the longer we continue to center the distraction discourse, the more we distract ourselves from the fact that we’re living in a post-democracy, post-truth country in which institutions have failed. Justice cannot and will not come from anyone or anything besides us ourselves. We can’t demand justice; we have to create it. The post The Problem with the Epstein Files Distraction Discourse appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Cinnamon Janzer.
Left Response to Antisemitism Should be to Call for BDS
There’s been much debate on the left around the world about how best to respond to what appears to be rising antisemitism. What, if anything, is the best response? Some argue, mostly correctly, that raising the subject amidst Israel’s genocide in Gaza, bombing many of its neighbours etc. is an attempt to deflect attention away More The post Left Response to Antisemitism Should be to Call for BDS appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405176" class="wp-image-405176 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM-680x537.png" alt="" width="680" height="537" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM-680x537.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM-798x630.png 798w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM-768x606.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM-500x395.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM-600x474.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-10.07.46-AM.png 1206w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Nikolas Gannon. There’s been much debate on the left around the world about how best to respond to what appears to be rising antisemitism. What, if anything, is the best response? Some argue, mostly correctly, that raising the subject amidst Israel’s genocide in Gaza, bombing many of its neighbours etc. is an attempt to deflect attention away from that country’s crimes. However, in so far as there has been a rise in one form of racism, let me suggest a ‘left’ solution: An effective way for governments around the world to halt the rise in antisemitism would be to apply BDS principles towards Israel. Boycotting, divesting and sanctioning would last until either a two-state solution was arrived at with Palestinians or all the people living on the land Israel currently occupies were given equal rights and opportunities. Based on experience with the South African apartheid state, BDS could pressure Israel to end its military-might-makes-right, international law ignoring, colonial, racist, anti-human behaviour. That is by far the major source of increasing antisemitism today. This should not be a controversial statement, but it is for those who remain supporters of Israel despite that country becoming a pariah in most of the world. Some people, for religious, political, or pro-U.S. empire reasons justify ongoing ethnic cleansing, apartheid policies, the destruction of Gaza, mass killing of children and women, expansion of illegal settlements and repeated bombings of neighbouring countries. They either agree with or excuse Netanyahu’s extreme right, Jewish supremacist government that believes in expansion of a state imposed on the people of southwest Asia by western powers. They attack anyone who criticizes Israel and call them antisemites. They conflate Judaism with the interests of the Israeli state. These should not be controversial statements. Israel’s current behaviour and its conflation of Judaism with that country’s actions is by far the biggest reason for a rise in antisemitism in the last few years. Therefore, ending that behaviour and the notion that all Jews are responsible for and agree with what Israel is doing are necessary to deal with this form of racism. The most effective and quickest way to accomplish these essential tasks is a widespread and complete BDS campaign by most countries in the world. The goals would be to force Israel’s respect for international law and end what the largest Israeli human rights organization calls “a regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea”. But instead, most western countries support Israel, empowering and excusing its bad behaviour which emboldens existing antisemites and creates more. In other words, supporting and emboldening antisemitism rather than trying to end its current most damaging cause. It seems like those western governments and the pro-Israel organizations that pressure them to continue this madness are fine with the resulting increase in antisemitism. Why? One answer might be to push longstanding Jewish communities around the world to emigrate to Israel. Certainly, the notion of Aliyah is something promoted by Zionism. But all of us, including millions of Jews, who oppose religious/ethnic nationalism and support progressive secular democracy as the best way to overcome all forms of racism, including antisemitism, must say no to Israel’s horrible behaviour and quickly end it. The best non-violent way to do that is supporting BDS. Massive economic, political and cultural pressures are needed to change Israel’s behavior. The same is true to change the behaviour of supporters of Israel in many western countries who enable that bad behaviour. For example, in Canada, government subsidies and give tax breaks to Zionist organizations that use this funding to attack anyone who criticizes Israel. More importantly they push the mistakenly dangerous notion that Israel is the state of all Jews, thus convincing people that all Jews are responsible for Israel’s behaviour. Rather than give money to organizations that claim to be fighting antisemitism but instead use those funds to defend and promote the interests of a foreign state whose actions are a significant cause of antisemitism, governments must get to the root of the problem. They must engage in real action to stop Israel’s bad behaviour. They must end support for organizations that promote the conflation of Judaism with that behaviour. It’s time for the left and those who believe in human rights for all to call for BDS as a way to combat antisemitism. The post Left Response to Antisemitism Should be to Call for BDS appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Gary Engler.
Global Warming Surges, Antarctic Seas Bubble
Global warming is on a very ominous trend that has never happened throughout human history, according to a recent study in Geophysical Research Letters. The rate of global warming has doubled in only ten years. This rapid rate, outside of the influence of nature alone, should be unsustainable for any mass the size of Earth. More The post Global Warming Surges, Antarctic Seas Bubble appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405272" class="wp-image-405272 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joshua-earle-N6bo1wENjyQ-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Joshua Earle. Global warming is on a very ominous trend that has never happened throughout human history, according to a recent study in Geophysical Research Letters. The rate of global warming has doubled in only ten years. This rapid rate, outside of the influence of nature alone, should be unsustainable for any mass the size of Earth. However, if it is sustainable, danger signals today will be catastrophic results tomorrow. Indeed, new discoveries in the Antarctic region are cause for concern of additional acceleration of global warming. “The warming trend nearly doubled after 2014,” study co-author Stefan Rahmstorf head of Earth system analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, told Live Science in an email. “The acceleration of the global warming rate means we will cross the 1.5°C [2.7 degrees Fahrenheit] limit earlier,’ he said, adding that they were surprised by the drastic surge as the warming trend nearly doubled after 2014.” (Source: The Rate of Global Warming has Accelerated More in the Past Decade Than Ever Before, LiveScience, d/d March 7, 2026). Antarctic Seas Top level scientists may be “surprised by the drastic surge” in global warming over the past decade, but even that surge may be about to accelerate. According to a new study; “Researchers have discovered dozens of new methane seeps littering the ocean floor in the Ross Sea coastal region of Antarctica, raising concerns of an unknown positive climate feedback loop that could accelerate global warming,” a decidedly negative configuration. (Methane Leaks Multiplying Beneath Antarctic Ocean Spark Fears of Climate Doom Loop, LiveScience d/d Oct. 15, 2025) “In the new study, researchers used acoustic surveys, divers and a remotely operated vehicle to explore seeps located between 16 feet (5 meters) and 787 feet (240 m) below the icy surface of the Ross Sea, off the Antarctic mainland. The team initially only went to investigate one seep in Cape Evans, located on the west side of Ross Island, and were surprised to find the seafloor littered with them… Last year, we went to Cape Evans to look at one small area where gas bubbles had been discovered and were hoping to find that one site still bubbling,” Seabrook said (Sarah Seabrook, Dept of Marine Science, University of Otago, New Zealand). “Instead, we found dozens more…. This system is rapidly changing before our eyes from one year to the next,” Ibid. It was only several months ago when a Spanish expedition discovered massive methane seeps on the ocean floor off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is on the opposite side of West Antarctica separated from the Ross Sea discovery by approximately 1,500 miles: Large Methane Leaks Discovered in Antarctica, Polar Journal d/d March 6, 2025. Meanwhile another study found Antarctica on the verge of polar amplification. This threatens to accelerate the impact of global warming on the continent and throughout the world, which is bad news for coastal megacities. In time, the continuing failure of signatories to the Paris 2015 climate agreement to mitigate fossil fuel emissions, according to original commitments by over 190 countries, will slap the world across the face with cascading Antarctic glaciers that flood NYC and London. Polar scientists have been warning, with more fervor than ever before, of a rapidly deteriorating Antarctica, especially since 2024. Their warnings via press releases address the public at large; as politicians, especially in America, care less. Major warnings since 2024: (1) August 2024 the 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research attended by 1,500 scientists: Gino Casassa, glaciologist head of Chilean Antarctic Institute claimed: “Based upon current trends, sea levels will be up 13’ by 21oo.” Really? 13 feet? Then, what about 2035? (2) November 2024, 450 polar scientists called an emergency meeting in Australia to make a public announcement: “If we don’t act, and quickly, the melting of Antarctica ice could cause catastrophic sea level rise around the globe within our lifetimes.” (3) A February 2025 study in Nature about Worldwide Glacier Meltdown Underway, a 20-year study by 35 international teams, identified terrestrial glacier losses that are larger than Greenland and Antarctica but not found in scientific models of expected sea level rise. Oops! A very recent study identifies an upcoming “amplification” scenario for Antarctica; “Antarctica could heat up 1.4 times faster than the rest of the Southern Hemisphere over the coming decades, which would lock in extreme sea-level rise and ravage polar ecosystems, a new modeling study shows.” According to Ariaan Purich, climatologist at Monash University/ Australia: “We’re now seeing abrupt changes occurring in Antarctica, at very rapid rates… With low Antarctic sea ice coverage, there is now the potential for the ice-albedo feedback to start exacerbating warming of the southern high latitudes… our study demonstrates a robust emergence of Antarctic amplification under the 2°C goal of the Paris Agreement and highlights the critical role of SST, i.e., sea surface temperature, changes in shaping this anthropogenic response.”, (Future Sea Surface Temperature as a Key Driver of Antarctic Warming, Geophysical Research Letters d/d Dec. 22, 2025) The study identified the main driver of Antarctic amplification, unlike in the Arctic, where the ice-albedo feedback is a key driving force, Antarctica will warm mainly via accelerating heat release from the surrounding ocean. Indeed, Ocean Heat Content (OHC) is a troubling result of global warming. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in 2025 OHC hit a record high for the ninth consecutive year, and it is accelerating. Similar to global warming that doubled over a decade, OHC has doubled since 2005. This is one more event that has never happened before in human history. These excesses are not sustainable, given enough time, nature’s vast ecosystem infrastructure crumbles apart. In that regard. based upon studies by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the tipping point fuse is getting short. Indeed, global warming since the start of the 21st century has literally left the past in a cloud of dust, as previous all-time records seem to fall on a regular, nearly annual, basis. It appears global warming is gaining so much momentum, is it stoppable? Based upon numerous reports out of Antarctica, it’s possible that society will be whiplashed blindsided by sea level rise. Predictions of sea level rise are all over the map. According to the mainstream IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) global mean sea level will rise by 1-3 feet by 2100. Yet, other reports within the depths of IPCC publications indicate two meters, or 6.5 feet, of sea level rise “cannot be ruled out.” Still, according to reports from recent meetings of polar scientists, assuming “business as usual,” the next two decades 2030-40 may upstage the year 2100. That’s right around the corner. In all, nobody really knows. But what is known, the current trend is headed in the wrong direction faster than ever before as actual changes outdistance climate model updates. Perhaps the most reliable answers are found with polar scientists with boots on the ground. Across the board, they are screaming: Stop CO2 emissions, now! The post Global Warming Surges, Antarctic Seas Bubble appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Robert Hunziker.
How the US Became an International Serial Killer
For decades, the United States moved from covert assassination plots to openly embracing assassination or “targeted killing” as policy. Now, in its war with Iran, that evolution is reaching its most dangerous phase. On March 17th and 18th, the United States and Israel assassinated three senior Iranian government officials in targeted air strikes: Ali Larijani, More The post How the US Became an International Serial Killer appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405206" class="wp-image-405206 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/israel-palacio-IprD0z0zqss-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Israel Palacio. For decades, the United States moved from covert assassination plots to openly embracing assassination or “targeted killing” as policy. Now, in its war with Iran, that evolution is reaching its most dangerous phase. On March 17th and 18th, the United States and Israel assassinated three senior Iranian government officials in targeted air strikes: Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Basij domestic security forces; and Esmaeil Khatib, Iran’s Intelligence Minister. The missile that killed Ali Larijani also demolished an apartment building and killed more than a hundred people. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Israeli forces were now authorized to assassinate any senior Iranian official whenever they can, and they have continued to do so, bringing the number of Iranian officials assassinated in the past year to at least seventy. The assassination of Ali Larijani is a blow to the already fraught chances for a negotiated peace between Iran and the United States and Israel. Ali Larijani was an experienced, pragmatic senior official who had played leading roles in negotiations with the US and other world powers since 2005. Larijani had degrees in math and computer science, attended the revered seminary in Qom, and fought in the Iran-Iraq War, rising to the rank of brigadier-general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. After the war, he managed Iran’s state broadcasting service, earned a doctorate in Western Philosophy from the University of Tehran, and wrote three books on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, before entering politics and government in 2005. In 2024, Larijani wrote a book on political philosophy, titled Reason and Tranquility in Governance. If the U.S. hoped to make peace and restore relations with Iran, Ali Larijani would have been a potential negotiating partner. The decision to assassinate Larijani two weeks into this war<a href="https://x.com/tparsi/status/2033903105318744390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2033903105318744390%7Ctwgr%5E03f9fc053688c8fb1b1c1a98e4ce88a649e73437%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2026%2F03%2Firan-war-joe-kent-resignation-bombshell-us-deploys-bunker-busters-near-strait-of-hormuz-iran-makes-retaliatory-strikes-on-israel-across-gulf-for-ali-larijani-assassination-real-world-oil-prices-d.html"> suggests that US leaders had no interest in negotiations. Another possibility is even more chilling. Israeli leaders may have viewed Larijani as a potential off-ramp and deliberately eliminated him to ensure the war continues. That killing was followed by an unprecedented Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field—the largest in the world and a shared resource with Qatar. Iran retaliated with missile strikes on energy infrastructure across Israel and the Gulf. In Qatar, damage to the Ras Laffan LNG terminal—one of the world’s most critical gas hubs—could take years and billions of dollars to repair. As global energy markets reeled, U.S. officials confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that the South Pars attack had been coordinated with Washington, contradicting denials from President Trump. The pattern is unmistakable. As one analyst put it, Israel appears to be escalating deliberately—eliminating moderates within Iran while striking critical infrastructure—to provoke a wider regional war that leaves no room for de-escalation. Analysts debate how much Israel is driving this escalation and how much U.S. officials are fully aligned. But an imperial power cannot outsource responsibility. As Harry Truman’s famous desk sign declared: The buck stops here. In its alliance with Israel, the United States has normalized the systematic assassination of foreign leaders—from Palestine, and Lebanon, to Syria, Yemen and now Iran. This is not new. In 2020, President Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that had joined with US forces to fight the Islamic State. Yet assassination is explicitly prohibited under U.S. law. Executive Order 12333 states clearly: “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.” That prohibition emerged from the Church Committee’s investigation into U.S. assassination plots against Fidel Castro in Cuba, Patrice Lumumba in the Congo, Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam and General René Schneider in Chile. It also reflects long-standing international law, including the Hague and Geneva Conventions. After 9/11, however, the United States systematically ignored or circumvented many of the constraints of U.S. and international law. As U.S. invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq led to widespread armed resistance, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began arguing for what he called “manhunts,” to deploy US special operations forces to hunt down suspected resistance leaders and kill them, as Israeli undercover units already did in occupied Palestine. General Charles Holland, the head of US Special Operations Command, refused to authorize such operations, but his retirement in October 2003 allowed Rumsfeld to appoint more like-minded officials to senior positions and bring in the Israelis to train American death squads in Israel and North Carolina. “Dead men tell no tales,” as the saying goes, and there has been almost no accountability for the resulting killings, which systematically killed thousands of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two senior US commanders told the Washington Post that only about 50% of “kill or capture” raids by Joint Special Operations Command targeted the “right” or intended people or homes, while troops involved in these raids said that that assessment greatly overstated their rate of success. Drone warfare accelerated the trend. Under President Obama, strikes expanded tenfold, turning targeted killing into a central pillar of U.S. policy. By 2011, night raids in Afghanistan numbered in the hundreds each month, alienating the Afghan people and ultimately ensuring the defeat of the US occupation and the return of the Taliban. Now US and Israeli forces are using air and drone strikes to assassinate Iranian leaders and kill civilians in Palestine, Lebanon and Iran. The language of restraint has disappeared, replaced by open celebration of “lethality” and threats of further war crimes. What was once covert, controversial, and constrained is now overt, normalized, and defended. The cumulative effect is stark: the United States has made assassination and extrajudicial killing routine instruments of policy, as it tramples the UN Charter, the Hague and Geneva Conventions and its own laws—undermining the very international legal order it claims to uphold. Meanwhile, a multipolar world is emerging, driven largely by nations of the Global South. But the transition to a peaceful, sustainable world is far from certain. The greatest obstacle in its way is the continued reliance of the United States on the illegal threat and use of military force and economic coercion to try to maintain its own dominance. Iran exercised restraint for decades in the face of false accusations regarding nuclear weapons, “maximum pressure” economic sanctions and escalating threats and attacks by the US and Israel. It quietly built up its defenses and military strategies for the day that it would need them, and that day has come. The failure of the international community to stop successive U.S. wars of aggression poses an existential threat to the UN Charter and the post–World War II order. As Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned at the CELAC Summit on March 21: “The more serious humanity’s problems become, the fewer tools we have for collective action. And that path leads only to barbarism.” The United States now faces a stark choice: to continue down this path of lawless violence, or to turn the page on our nation’s life of international crime and finally, genuinely embrace diplomacy and peaceful coexistence with our neighbors, as the UN Charter requires. For Americans—and for the world—that choice is becoming a matter of survival. The post How the US Became an International Serial Killer appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Medea Benjamin - Nicolas J. S. Davies.
Eighty years ago, Aldous Huxley wrote that “in the field of international politics the gravest decisions are always taken not by reasonable adults but by boy-gangsters.” This metaphor, from his essay Science, Liberty and Peace, implies an immature, yet violent and ruthless approach to power, where political loyalty is enforced through fear rather than democratic More The post Boy Gangsters in High Office appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-768x512.jpg 768w, 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srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405319" class="wp-image-405319 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_Trump_Vice_President_JD_Vance_and_Defense_Secretary_Pete_Hegseth_1964004648144040336.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain Eighty years ago, Aldous Huxley wrote that “in the field of international politics the gravest decisions are always taken not by reasonable adults but by boy-gangsters.” This metaphor, from his essay Science, Liberty and Peace, implies an immature, yet violent and ruthless approach to power, where political loyalty is enforced through fear rather than democratic consensus. Nationalist boy-gangsters have always headed up governments. These “adults” have behaved like fourteen-year-old adolescent boys who use their own gangs to elevate themselves to power. Huxley depicts a world where the law of the strongest puts the freedom of everybody else at risk. This “law of the jungle”—paired with the philosophy of “might makes right,” applies everywhere, be it a jungle, a desert, or a city. Even in 1946, in his exploration of how nationalism and geopolitical games thrive at the expense of democracy and solidarity, Huxley predicts that oligarchs and despots will win over the majority. Rulers, he stresses, can justify imposing the most monstrous tyrannies on their subjects. Such tyrannical behaviour is also at the core of foreign policy today, with autocrats aiming to secure world domination on behalf of themselves and their gangs. “Advanced nations will spend vast sums upon armament research and the manufacture of new weapons capable of more indiscriminate destruction at ever greater distances,” Huxley confidently forecasted, only a year after the end of World War II. New Sheriff in Town In the civilized world, the assumption is that laws can limit force, that democracy must flourish, and some basic rules of conduct must be respected. The evidence today suggests that the world has either not reached that level of civilization or it is backpedalling quickly. Militarization in Europe is in full swing while the European Union, wholeheartedly and yet abstractedly, speaks of international law without specifically mentioning the very precise laws that could directly sanction genocide in Gaza, the seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank, Israeli strikes on Lebanon, U.S. attacks and kidnapping in Venezuela, Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland and Cuba, and the most recent attacks on Iran. Donald Trump, a school example of the boy-gangster’s mentality, has no interest in democracy or with laws, U.S. or international, because they obviously do not reach him. He recognizes only the rules that suit his type of personality. In his own words, limits on his behavior cannot be set from the outside, for example by laws that only annoy him. Rather, he respects only his own personal moral judgments, such that they are. As the “new sheriff in town”—as Vice President JD Vance declared him—Trump is“demolishing the 80-year-old global order set up by Washington in the aftermath of the Second World War.” After a year dedicated to attacks on his opponents—plus offenses given in all direction, promises offered and broken, contradictions, confusions, lies, blackmails, bullying, and threats—Trump decided to ignore the advice of everyone except his closest buddies in order to use a large portion of the U.S. arsenal to attack Iran. Those buddies have their own agendas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets from Trump whatever he wants. JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are playing wait-and-see. And Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is enjoying every moment of his role playing the arrogant tough guy. The rest of the MAGA zombies are in a frenzy of adoration for their sheriff, in the blind way that only social psychology can explain. Toying with Cuba Cuba has been an ideological problem for the United States for decades. Today, its ties with Russia and China have frayed, and it poses no threat to anybody. But as an independent socialist country, it questions the doctrine that there is no alternative to capitalism. The country is portrayed as a dictatorship that constitutes an extraordinary threat to the United States because it sponsors or finances terrorism. However, U.S. intelligence claims otherwise. There is no credible evidence that Cuba hosts foreign military fighters. Before he announced that he will control Cuba, one way or another, Trump demanded that South American states maintain a decisive blockade of the island, or else. In the past, when Che Guevara’s spirit was still alive in the region, his demand would be futile in many of these states. But today, a new set of right-wing leaders are in charge, and they willingly accepted Trump’s order. Other options exist for securing change in Cuba and improving its relationship with United States. Why they are not pursued is anybody’s guess. Instead, the U.S. president is clear: “I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba,” he said from the Oval Office. “That’s a big honor. Taking Cuba in some form.” He avoids “we” in favor of the omnipresent “I.” Although many Americans still believe they live in the stronghold of democracy, the latest report from the Sweden-based Varieties of Democracy Institute argues that “The speed with which American democracy is currently dismantled is unprecedented in modern history… suppression and intimidation of media and dissenting voices is a key reason for the derailment of democracy.” According to the report, four of the five most populous countries in the world are autocracies (India, China, Indonesia, and Pakistan). And the fifth, the United States, is now an “electoral democracy,” having lost its status as a liberal democracy due to changes during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office. Bullies around the Gulf Pete Hegseth is guiding the U.S. military in its latest conflict in the Middle East. In an astonishing rejection of cool-headed diplomacy, he roars: Death and destruction from the sky all day long…This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be… They are toast and they know it. Or at least soon enough they will know it. America is winning – decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. Trump, of course, recognizes and likes this attitude. When Israel decided to attack Iran, Trump joined in with a “why the hell not?” attitude. As a result, the Gulf is on fire, people are being killed, boats are stuck or damaged, world trade is endangered, oil and gas prices are soaring, and nobody seems to know what will come next. Like an obedient cheerleader for the boy-gangsters, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media: As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first. … As someone who witnesses President Trump’s decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what’s in the best interest of the United States of America — period. America First. It’s a rare voice that questions these assertions. One recent example is Joseph Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He said in his resignation letter to the president: We started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby… Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. One way or another, he will pay for this. Edge of Reason Many citizens of Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran are unhappy with their regimes. But it is not up to self-proclaimed saviors from the outside to overthrow the leaders of those countries. Nor are Hamas and Hezbollah innocent actors. But that does not excuse the Israeli regime for indiscriminately killing civilians in Gaza, in Lebanon, and now, with the help of United States, in Iran. Today, the boy-gangsters are playing with bombs. Donald Trump is a fine example of Huxley’s observation, certainly not the first or the only such example, but the one who pushed the concept to its limits. But Donald Trump is also in a mess, though he’s unwilling to admit it. Netanyahu made him join the attack on Iran. Cuban-American Rubio is twisting his hand concerning his ancestral land. Putin is making a fool out of him in Ukraine. All in all, Trump should be pitied if not for the fact that he really is a narcisistic, dangerous boy-gangster with a Nero complex. More than one Rome is currently burning, so no pity is due. Best simply to say good riddance to such “leadership,” the sooner the better. This first ran on FPIF. The post Boy Gangsters in High Office appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Mira Oklobdzija.
Boomerangs of Empire: Latin America as Colonial Laboratory
Romina Green Rioja – Sergio Beltrán-García
Masked federal agents kidnap a father as he waits to pick up his child from school. An ice cream cart is abandoned on the sidewalk, its vendor disappeared. A young man is arrested at his job and secretly transported to a terrorism confinement prison in another country. These stories are not from Cold War Latin More The post Boomerangs of Empire: Latin America as Colonial Laboratory appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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Photograph Source: Casa Presidencial El Salvador – CC0 Masked federal agents kidnap a father as he waits to pick up his child from school. An ice cream cart is abandoned on the sidewalk, its vendor disappeared. A young man is arrested at his job and secretly transported to a terrorism confinement prison in another country. These stories are not from Cold War Latin America, but shared by immigrants—undocumented, asylum seekers, green card holders—living in the United States since President Donald J. Trump assumed office in January 2025. The kidnapped father was Juan José Martínez Cortes, taken while waiting in his car outside of Linda Vista Elementary School in San Diego. The paletero, Ambrocio Lozano, known to his beloved community as Enrique, became the subject of protests demanding his release. Andry Hernández Romero, a Venezuelan gay makeup artist, was arrested in South Carolina and sent to the infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, where he was held for 125 days until his release as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Venezuelan governments. Mirroring the many accounts of state violence throughout 20th-century Latin America, similar events are now surfacing in the United States. As we witness these horrors in person and online, Aimé Césaire’s words in Discourse on Colonialism(1950) reverberate: “[O]ne fine day the bourgeoisie is awakened by a terrific boomerang effect: the gestapos are busy, the prisons fill up, the torturers standing around the racks invent, refine, discuss.” What Césaire once diagnosed as a colonial return now shapes the everyday, the imperial boomerang of our lived histories, our identities, of the stories and histories we wish to tell. It is this returning and disseminating violence, including its architectures, justifications, and resistances, that guides this issue’s analytical and historical content. “Boomerangs of Empire and the Technofascist Turn” takes Césaire’s insight not as a metaphor but as a method. The imperial boomerang functions as a historical circuit in which tactics of imperial domination tested abroad return home, reshaping the very societies that invented them. By emphasizing process over parallel examples, we push contributors and readers to consider why these systems of state repression have become models for replication. Our concern is not simply that U.S. policies echo past empires, but that repression itself has become a transferable technology: an experiment refined in the colonial laboratories of the Americas and now redeployed within the borders of the United States. We asked contributors to probe what makes this moment distinct. Their collective responses converged on two themes. First, the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and Military Industrial Complex (MIC)—braided through racialized logistics, infrastructures, industries, and algorithmic computing—now operate as a single apparatus that manages dissent, migration, and everyday life. Second, popular resistance, the response to methods of repression, emerges to protect those being targeted and reaffirm social rights. The essays that follow trace this machinery across borders and centuries, from border militarization and migrant criminalization to algorithmic surveillance and ecological extraction. Césaire foresaw “the American hour” as an age of “violence, excess, waste, mercantilism, bluff, conformism, stupidity, vulgarity, disorder.” Our time demands that we meet it analytically and through activism. Naming this machine is a condition for interrupting it. In keeping with NACLA’s tradition, our editorial stance is double: to expose the architectures of technofascism and to foreground the counter‑methods that boomerang back as resistance. Thingification Césaire’s stark equation that “colonization = ‘thingification’” clarifies how colonization reduces life—person, culture, and ecology—into a nonentity to be sorted, priced, moved, and extracted. The colonial apparatus operates through administrative bureaucracies that strip singularity from the beings they process. What feels particular to this moment is not the process of thingification itself but its interoperability, where sonic thresholds, hydraulic schedules, and colonial urban geometries now plug into one another through infrastructures and logistics that bind extraction—human and nonhuman alike—to markets and security workflows. In the Gulf of Mexico, Jerónimo Reyes-Retana shows how a small fishing border town is reframed by space-industry routines—launch corridors, shock-wave tolerances, and debris-recovery pathways—that rearticulate the lives of its fishermen and marine species in service of space colonialism. Further up the Río Grande, Federico Pérez Villoro tracks how dam-release timetables recalibrate the river’s dangers, reducing migrant lives to actuarial risk variables. And in Tovaangar/Los Angeles, Daniel P. Gámez reads the Castilian imposition of the urban grid as a mechanism that both exposes and contains dissidence, a mechanism still activated today through police kettling. As Mike Davis warned, the dystopian future is not ahead of us but built into the infrastructural present and its architectures, where life is parsed into parameters—decibels, flow rates, lines of sight—so it can be priced, routed, or neutralized. Read together, the border pieces do more than illustrate thingification; they render its architectures visible. Reyes-Retana maps how aerospace regulation reconfigures a coastal commons into a mere service corridor; Pérez Villoro details how engineered water surges reprogram a river into a weapon; and Gámez reminds us how the colonial grid persists as a sorting machine for contemporary policing and repression. Together, these texts insist that architecture is not a backdrop but an instrument—spaceports, dams, and grids— that makes the routines of thingification interoperable. The Law of Progressive Dehumanization The rise of the U.S. empire turned the Americas into a continuous field of experimentation. From the Cold War’s “development” projects to the 21st century’s migration and surveillance regimes, the United States perfected a technocratic colonialism that organizes difference rather than erases it. In this landscape, deportation files, visa categories, and media representations perform the work once carried out by armies. Césaire’s warning that “there is a law of progressive dehumanization” names precisely this transformation: the conversion of life into data, labor into numbers, and citizenship into a conditional privilege measured by productivity and obedience. Dehumanization no longer requires ideology; it requires logistics. In Jennifer Martínez-Medina’s “The Hidden Agrarian Transformation Behind Mass Deportation,” the Cold War’s counterinsurgency wars return as immigration policy. Martínez-Medina reveals how the racial hierarchies that once justified hemispheric “development” now govern U.S. agricultural fields, where the H-2A visa program updates mid-century tactics of control for a 21st century economy. The deported worker replaces the disappeared guerrillero, both rendered expendable in the name of national security and agricultural “efficiency.” In her reading, the farm becomes the new frontier of dehumanization—the plantation reborn through data and deportation. Turning to Brazil, Omawu Diane Enobabor and Karina Quintanilha’s “Contesting Border Violence from São Paulo to New York” traces the afterlives of U.S. border enforcement in the detention camps and refugee airports of the Global South, where Black and African migrants navigate a transnational regime of racial profiling wrapped in humanitarian language. They show that the border, once a territorial line, has become a network—an algorithmic infrastructure stretching from Brooklyn’s migrant shelters to São Paulo’s immigration terminals—where mutual aid and community organizing fill the voids left by deliberate state neglect. Marycarmen Lara-Villanueva turns Césaire’s phrase back onto its most contemporary surface: visibility itself. In “Anti-Racism as Spectacle: Visuality, Social Media, and the Afterlives of Mestizaje,” she argues that Mexico’s digital campaigns against racism reproduce the very “violence, corruption, and barbarism” Césaire identified, this time through the market of representation. What began as mestizaje—the 20th century Mexican state project to whiten and unify—returns in the 21st as a politics of inclusion that leaves racial capitalism intact. The colonial wound becomes a marketing category; dehumanization becomes an aesthetic. Lastly, Chris Durán’s “Imprisoning Nations: Incarceration and Imperialism in Chile and the United States” traces how struggles against dehumanization—from the 1960s to today—provoke its renewal yet also generate the possibility of liberation. Focusing on the experience of political prisoners, Durán links the U.S. Black freedom movement and the Mapuche struggle for land against the Chilean state, showing how imprisonment becomes both a tool of repression and a crucible of resistance. In his reading, captivity does not extinguish resistance but refines it, transforming the site of containment into a school of revolution where the fight to reclaim life continues. The Age of Tyrants Césaire’s “circuit of mutual service and complicity” in the age of tyrants captures the long life of domination in the Americas, where empire’s administrators and neoliberal strongmen have continually borrowed from one another’s repertoires of control. From the 1930s onward, tyranny evolved through alliance: colonial paternalism merged with the spectacle of mass politics, and the vocabulary of development disguised dispossession as progress. Across the hemisphere, authoritarian projects drew legitimacy from the same sources as democracy—modernization, order, and the promise of national rebirth.Sam Markwell’s moving essay, “Submerged Pluralist Possibilities in the Pueblo Indian Homelands,”opens in this historical moment. Writing through the history of the Pueblo Indian homelands in the 1930s and 1940s, Markwell shows how Indigenous communities sought to build a genuinely plural society that took up the mantle against fascism while defending their sovereignty. Pueblo leaders and their allies envisioned a model of governance rooted in reciprocity and coexistence, a proto-plurinational order that countered both the racial hierarchies of settler democracy and the authoritarian unity of fascism abroad. Yet the U.S. state’s developmental agenda—its dams, bureaucracies, and modernization schemes—proceeded without them. Markwell’s conclusion lingers as both an indictment and a warning: the infrastructures that promised progress drowned the alternatives to tyranny that once flourished along the Rio Grande. Cristina Awadalla’s “Authoritarian Aesthetics: Ortega, Bukele, and the Bodies that Sustain Power” brings Césaire’s circuit into the present. Across Central America, she traces how Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele inherit and reinvent the visual and affective technologies of Cold War rule. Ortega’s revolutionary nostalgia and Bukele’s social-media populism converge in a politics of spectacle where incarceration, obedience, and digital charisma become indistinguishable. The old tyrant’s charisma and the new influencer’s algorithm meet in mutual service: each governs by staging the body as proof of order and legitimacy. Awadalla exposes this alliance, both regional and global, as an aesthetic of domination that travels easily across regimes. In this same register, Simón Rodríguez shows how the Dominican Republic’s regime, once cast as a regional pariah, has become a proving ground whose techniques of retroactive denationalization, racialized raids, and mass deportation quotas are now openly courted by the U.S. far right. The traffic is bidirectional: Trumpism’s legal fictions and carceral spectacle find in Santo Domingo not merely a model but a partner that furnishes ready-made instruments and a veneer of legitimacy. Césaire’s “circuit of mutual service and complicity” is thus made contemporary: old and new tyrannies exchange methods, narratives, and even markets, until apartheid governance becomes common sense across the hemisphere. By closing the loop between Caribbean laboratories and North Atlantic power, Rodríguez reveals that the age of tyrants is less a genealogy of leaders than a shared infrastructure of rule—one that can only be interrupted by circuits of solidarity as agile as those of domination. Mechanization In his final reflections, Césaire evokes the “prodigious mechanization, the mechanization of man; the gigantic rape of everything intimate, undamaged, undefiled that, despoiled as we are, our human spirit has still managed to preserve” in modern life. Drawing on Achille Mbembe’s theory of necropolitics, the Mexican anthropologist Rossana Reguillo names this the necromáquina, “a death device that advances by swallowing territories, bodies and futures.” The danger, as Césaire warned, is immense. In the same passages he cautions that “American domination [is] the only domination from which one never recovers… unscarred.” In this light, Trumpism appears less as an aberration than as an intensification of “conformism, stupidity, vulgarity, disorder.” It recodes punitive governance and infrastructural chauvinism as common sense, aestheticizes humiliation as order, and licenses off—to federal agents or private tech—a managerial contempt for the inconvenient particularities of life. The boomerang is visible not only in policy but in style: the swaggering promise of this new American hour is to accelerate extraction, to police and militarize all space—physical, digital, discursive, and extraterrestrial—and to collapse all possibilities of political imagination into a repertoire of violent heuristics where cruelty is misrecognized as efficiency. Mechanization thrives on this confusion, turning collective resentments and cultural grudges into manipulable user interfaces at the disposal of colonial power. Lost in this confusion is original thinking. The current rush toward large language models (LLMs)—misnamed “artificial intelligence”—invites the mass renunciation of judgment in favor of predictive mimicry, outsourcing observation, embodied knowledge, and even ethical reasoning to systems trained on past colonial normalities. Troublingly, we editors received multiple proposals—and even drafts—that leaned heavily on AI-generated content. The irony was not lost on us that the very technologies of imperial governance this issue critiques are being uncritically employed in the production of writing itself. This raises uncomfortable questions about Audre Lorde’s famous assertion that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Can these algorithms and LLMs, trained on imperial archives and corporate datasets, confront the imperial boomerang? Césaire’s many warnings resonate that we are at risk of transforming radical thought into mere throughput—another task to be checked off, another data point to be processed, predicted, neutralized. As our contributing poet, césar montero, writes from Los Angeles, California, reflecting on the imperial return: Oh Great Smoking Mirror Tezcatlipoca Give me guidance Allow me to see Through the smoke and mirrors The other side of your obsidian dreams This article is syndicated in partnership with the <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BNvW-2FbTbzRJrFEDs9NRvVAeCuXefBSJxqcrm3Q9ppQqJrLqJJkiFVQSepLbI5FjzCvGWGBUpwIe3NjuuYNn-2FxJx-2FIg7kgZJuumdquS8-2B4KgY_QPq_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHRFDssktC5IN7UATzlNhvErcF0lmSnoDePzC4V11Luv5srapnoDr4b8og1WqZWnIC-2BKhWNrjd9PHvbRV4SQFEu1gaBL1Tfg7UUU64iorQjXPbh9P6ucC6n5OJh9oR5p7W4A8D5JpQZ59JYnzeE4dqXPfDYLhSSauxBqXFAF37h4k4uIjCvU4vPh25-2BibjbhIPrftjONQibsxj2AXqn4d6U4WzPa5Zqff7mrpZkbGo6PozYY2NAbKoVtpdfsxUwUqzVbSch5bN79bLWMaNrWL5liDrEV37pZaCdMdY3c2mXbz3aCzQ8Agm-2BsLoxyoNSEBz3WsTqg4VVN2Vj6uDJ4IAvaOpz1FkBmNL6ZU-2FyjtwZ8csLtmSNWv9kXBzAXc7P5L237mVNS4HAyfOoDOqLzbZUHxv-2F9aG2OB4gri0I0PtiUNQqYL9Y97AZBn4bZc5ACnXILj3jxe5EjakhGZ6jPhU4pRCpG2LaSQGrNns4awTRLqXETcTXhqOVLIzYepwju4QrQ7Y2borU5LEUlCG40NrA0fCxBBlYSX36U-2BrQKVj8p-2BPH7NtXexAud5FpLyP3XTHTu7kbKIzwM1-2Fi4fPyHZk9rDcGC2dN0-2B0dy-2Bih7B4cGveCYGLoZIoru-2BRbRDpPVRSzOEvItoj-2FrlMkuKqs7awfoRMUUguUVGYtUqvriYdVOilwH0Ikb-2Fl37OO6H05jon40Fyrn-2Bt3Ydyub-2FUKdGjNxSrKg1OuhTdsrKoEJs53kp2tDCW3zfCbvjiLgAwYZhinuhut4BFv9Oe9CkgpSOBaW4-3D">North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). This piece appeared in the <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFe6UazsF2jKfrLdQRGlx7mmAx5xoDUGvT5p8cziWa6mkF1tqnY9lK-2FI8oEOb5AahIWy9q1LA7sWp9P13OwRqMrxDGu-2FKqsfIlVFdsg6yJ-2BUXA2y_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHRFDssktC5IN7UATzlNhvErcF0lmSnoDePzC4V11Luv5srapnoDr4b8og1WqZWnIC-2BKhWNrjd9PHvbRV4SQFEu1gaBL1Tfg7UUU64iorQjXPbh9P6ucC6n5OJh9oR5p7W4A8D5JpQZ59JYnzeE4dqXPfDYLhSSauxBqXFAF37h4k4uIjCvU4vPh25-2BibjbhIPrftjONQibsxj2AXqn4d6U4WzPa5Zqff7mrpZkbGo6PozYY2NAbKoVtpdfsxUwUqzVbSch5bN79bLWMaNrWL5liDrEV37pZaCdMdY3c2mXbz3aCzQ8Agm-2BsLoxyoNSEBz3WsTqg4VVN2Vj6uDJ4IAvaOpz1FkBmNL6ZU-2FyjtwZ8csLtmSNWv9kXBzAXc7P5L237mVNS4HAyfOoDOqLzbZUHxv-2F9aG2OB4gri0I0PtiUNQqYL9Y97AZBn4bZc5ACnXILj3jxe5EjakhGZ6jPhU4pRCpG2LaSQGrNns4awTRLqXETcTXhqOVLIzYepwju4QrQ7Y2borU5LEUlCG40NrA0fCxBBlYSX36U-2BrQKVj8p-2BFXE90NNBTlbfYY1iODKZTNv-2FmwEa1ohrlN6Oltvr5Vp-2Fm-2BXYvWRL7k6mrMhtkIcfV2LJMDwCO5UG4durdHuTF8uA6n0hAa0r5dJSs4R2GGkEddltg6K2k7Dg4OT-2FlKEu0HAu7SKUbgNNvVAYvAFfKPCqgXza0DmC3vbsgYn2L1wzYVXJyuLW9IE73ihaDrZs-2FXHlsCwTX86DEBfBZ10xTBITMHMZ8nls2w-2Fx-2Ff7ISLU-3D">Winter 2025 issue of NACLA’s quarterly print magazine, the <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLRxbeA8PdNkkRzWZ25rEE4rRe2o-2F8ol7ivDmnEAnTsE1z9nrDXjBpjB3tBS9rDr8g-3D-3DlAW6_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHRFDssktC5IN7UATzlNhvErcF0lmSnoDePzC4V11Luv5srapnoDr4b8og1WqZWnIC-2BKhWNrjd9PHvbRV4SQFEu1gaBL1Tfg7UUU64iorQjXPbh9P6ucC6n5OJh9oR5p7W4A8D5JpQZ59JYnzeE4dqXPfDYLhSSauxBqXFAF37h4k4uIjCvU4vPh25-2BibjbhIPrftjONQibsxj2AXqn4d6U4WzPa5Zqff7mrpZkbGo6PozYY2NAbKoVtpdfsxUwUqzVbSch5bN79bLWMaNrWL5liDrEV37pZaCdMdY3c2mXbz3aCzQ8Agm-2BsLoxyoNSEBz3WsTqg4VVN2Vj6uDJ4IAvaOpz1FkBmNL6ZU-2FyjtwZ8csLtmSNWv9kXBzAXc7P5L237mVNS4HAyfOoDOqLzbZUHxv-2F9aG2OB4gri0I0PtiUNQqYL9Y97AZBn4bZc5ACnXILj3jxe5EjakhGZ6jPhU4pRCpG2LaSQGrNns4awTRLqXETcTXhqOVLIzYepwju4QrQ7Y2borU5LEUlCG40NrA0fCxBBlYSX36U-2BrQKVj8p-2BwMOJxkPke3BURonCKDMuRkZkrOMe933rn-2FLDlSUvu2WlmcV6SZdf5JjFo7Vu7XfZvkd-2BNviLx5q1WoLS1KFsbqgL8uQ09ab1ND-2BY-2BHO9Ot89DxPxSQkSCWpBiF5xEtQDXwkVN7wXhbX2VpwrzddmzAcpQl2QNVYbtigPSA3v3TdWcFoekIo-2F-2BsajHsBUgCBi2c4ynBdR-2BTCEf8GXyq9eI522PBKkQkMJOaTT7cY6-2BmM-3D">NACLA Report. The post Boomerangs of Empire: Latin America as Colonial Laboratory appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Romina Green Rioja – Sergio Beltrán-García.
César Chávez and the Price of Hero Worship
For more than a decade, troubling claims about César Chávez’s sexual abuse were already documented. Miriam Pawel’s 2014 biography, The Crusades of César Chávez, explored both his extraordinary achievements and the darker corners of his personal conduct, including allegations of coercion and sexual abuse. Yet the story remained largely unspoken, held back by reverence, hero More The post César Chávez and the Price of Hero Worship appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405279" class="wp-image-405279 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM-680x510.png" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM-680x510.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM-839x630.png 839w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM-768x576.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM-500x375.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM-600x450.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.03.13-PM.png 1090w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Cesar Chavez (center) on a march from the Mexican border to Sacramento with United Farm Workers members in Redondo Beach, California, July 1975. Image Wikipedia. For more than a decade, troubling claims about César Chávez’s sexual abuse were already documented. Miriam Pawel’s 2014 biography, The Crusades of César Chávez, explored both his extraordinary achievements and the darker corners of his personal conduct, including allegations of coercion and sexual abuse. Yet the story remained largely unspoken, held back by reverence, hero worship, and structures that protected power. When a New York Times investigation resurfaced these allegations, for me, sorrow came first — for the women whose lives were scarred, for the movement that carried hope across fields and classrooms, and for the part of me that needed Chávez to be a saint. I had held him like a talisman: sacrificial courage and moral clarity. It fit the world I wanted to see. And then that story cracked. Only when Dolores Huerta, after nearly 60 years of silence, spoke her truth could I confront the full weight of it and reckon with what hero worship had cost those who were silenced. Chávez co-founded the United Farm Workers in 1965, transforming farm labor into a national cause. Strikes, boycotts, and marches drew attention to conditions so brutal they were almost unimaginable. He became a symbol of justice and perseverance for Latino civil rights, appearing on murals and becoming a global icon. His leadership inspired hope and achieved real change for farmworkers — but reverence for him often eclipsed scrutiny. Understanding his achievements does not excuse harm, but it shows why so many were unwilling to question him. Again, the allegations of abuse are not new. Pawel’s biography documented claims visible to those who looked closely yet largely ignored. But then Huerta finally spoke. Her voice enters the story like wind through an open field. I met her once at a conference in Memphis; her presence demanded attention. I could not have imagined she was carrying this secret for nearly 60 years. In 1960 and 1966, Chávez coerced and raped her. She did not go to the police, fearing disbelief, hostility toward the movement, and the possible collapse of the cause she had spent her life building. Her silence was not complicity; it was a rational, courageous response to a system stacked against her. “Building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work,” she wrote. “I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights.” I was stunned. Grief washed over me. I also admit it: when I first read the allegations from the other women, I questioned them. I wanted to believe in Chávez. My admiration was personal as well as political. Yet Huerta’s testimony left no room for doubt. This was a reckoning. That hesitation — the need to protect a story of moral certainty — is part of the ecosystem that allows harm to persist. It forced me to confront my own complicity and the comfort I take in believing that some heroes are beyond reproach. Here is the deeper lesson Chávez offers: we all carry shadow sides. We all have parts of ourselves we struggle to face, motives we cannot fully understand, habits or addictions we have yet to confront. His failures make clear the cost of avoiding that work. Movements succeed not only when leaders inspire, but when every person involved takes responsibility for their own thoughts, choices, and behaviors. To look inward, to ask for help, to do the work that Chávez could not — this is how change becomes durable. And yet, it is only fair to acknowledge another truth: Chávez is not alive to defend himself. We can listen to and honor the stories of survivors — and believe them — while also recognizing that he will never have an opportunity to answer these charges. This does not diminish the courage of those who speak; it reminds us that history is a conversation with absence as much as presence. And history is full of contradictions. Martin Luther King Jr. advanced civil rights while carrying moral failings. John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy inspired hope while living personal lives that betrayed their public image. The comparison is not to minimize abuse but to illustrate the tension between public heroism and private failings. Recognizing this tension is not cynicism; it is honesty. Reckoning demands living with uncertainty and the courage to examine oneself. The structural and organizational question is not simple: how do we build movements that do not hinge on untouchable figures? Power must be accountable. Leaders must face oversight. Structures must protect the vulnerable. Exposure alone is not enough. Real change requires confronting the systems — patriarchy, hierarchy, religious authority, the cult of personality — that enable abuse and amplify silence. Institutional reforms and survivor-centered policies are necessary, but they are only part of the solution. Grief and introspection open this space. They strip away the story we thought we understood and leave something less stable, more human, in its place. César Chávez, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Kennedy family — figures we have placed on pedestals — remind us that heroism is never absolute. Power can inspire and it can blind. Reverence without scrutiny allows harm to take root and persist. We see this dynamic in our own time. Donald Trump has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, was convicted of 34 felonies for concealing hush money payments to a porn star, and in the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump, he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Yet loyalty has often required looking away, or explaining away, in service of power. This is how harm endures — not only through the actions of individuals, but through the willingness of others to deny, justify, or remain silent. If movements are to endure, we must let go of perfect figures. Power must be accountable and challengeable. The deeper work is personal: reckoning with our own need for heroes, confronting our shadows, and taking responsibility for our thoughts and actions. Only then can collective movements become as noble and resilient as they aspire to be. The path forward begins with honesty and self-reflection. In the fall of heroes lies the space to build something more just and human. Not a politics of saints. A politics that survives the truth — and the shadows within ourselves. The post César Chávez and the Price of Hero Worship appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by George Cassidy Payne.
“The Left’s Top Job This Year”? Academics In and Out Imperialist Quicksand
I have long been horrified by the unradical nothingness of our supposed “radical Left” academics, many of whom lined up behind the “neoliberal” capitalism-imperialism of the deeply conservative presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2007 and 2008. A recent small but instructive example is a social media post by a leftish literature professor with a taste More The post “The Left’s Top Job This Year”? Academics In and Out Imperialist Quicksand appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405260" class="wp-image-405260 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/philippe-bout-93W0xn4961g-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Philippe Bout. I have long been horrified by the unradical nothingness of our supposed “radical Left” academics, many of whom lined up behind the “neoliberal” capitalism-imperialism of the deeply conservative presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2007 and 2008. A recent small but instructive example is a social media post by a leftish literature professor with a taste for “theory” and long, enigmatic sentences. After putting up a New York Times headline reporting that “[California Governor Gavin] Newsom Regrets Remarks Comparing Israel to ‘Apartheid State,’” the professor wrote this: “I really cannot stand social media posts of the kind I am about to make, you know, the kind that tell other leftists what they should do, so apologies for the grandstanding in advance. But I do sincerely feel like if the left, all the progressives, taxers-and-spenders, rad-libs, miscegenationists, commies — all the good ppl out there being gay and doing crimes – have one job this year, it is to make Newsom’s statement disqualifying for a Democratic Party nominee (to say nothing of Hairgel’s transphobia, opposition to the ‘billionaire’s tax,’ war on the homeless, and vetoing of universal health care).” Talking About What is to be Done is Not “Grandstanding” I applaud the professor’s refusal to be ne-O-bamanized by “Hairgel” Newsom, but where to begin with how tepid and unradical this is? What’s wrong with a radical intellectual holding forth on “what other leftists should do”? Leadership is essential and attempts to exercise it should not be shamed in advance as “grandstanding.” A serious Left thinker should make recommendations on conduct. Lenin’s great 1902 pamphlet is titled What is to be Done? for good reasons: the Russian intellectuals and activists of his time were far too caught up is disorganized and non-revolutionary activities, potentially squandering the historical moment in which they lived. As the young Karl Marx pointed out, in words that are inscribed on his grave: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.” Were Marx and Engels just “grandstanding” when they called in The Communist Manifesto for “the left” of their time to build a revolutionary communist movement for the abolition of all forms of exploitation and oppression, denouncing utopian and other forms of conciliatory (bourgeois, petit-bourgeois, and even feudal) “socialism”? “The point” has never been more urgent than it is in 2026, as the underlying capitalist-imperialist system is pushing humanity to the brink of extinction through climate catastrophe and/or nuclear war. “The Left…All the Good People Being Gay and Committing Crimes” Then there’s the professor’s oddball and eclectic definition of “the left.” “Rad-lib” is a hopeless contradiction in terms (kind of like the title of one of the prolific liberal economist and political commentator Robert Reich’s many books: Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few.) Only in some hyper-“woke” identitarian fantasy land is it meaningfully “left” to have sex with people of your own gender and/or across racial lines (nothing at all against either of those activities). There’s nothing radical about “committing crimes” (at least not without specifically political acts against the ruling system) or, on a more serious matter, about taxing the rich to pay for reforms so ordinary folks can sometimes tenuously do a little better when it comes to getting in on the spoils of America’s parasitic and imperialist capitalism. The only potentially revolutionary tendency the professor mentions is “commies,” whatever that word means to him. And real “commies” fight for new revolutionary socialist system that does away with the rich by abolishing the capitalist order, not for taxing the rich. “The Left’s Top Job This Year” But the worst and most telling and significant part of the professor’s post is the notion that “the left’s” top “job this year…is to make Newsom’s statement disqualifying for a Democratic Party nominee.” Read that again. Let that sink in. Not funny! Here we are now under the terrible, potentially consolidating reign of a fascist and exterminist regime atop the most lethal superpower in history, a regime that is moving to deep-six previously normative bourgeois electoral democracy and rule of law in the “homeland” while waging an insanely reckless and criminal war that could expand to include nuclear weapons and other superpowers in the Middle East. The Trump fascist regime is making it abundantly clear that it will not tolerate election outcomes it doesn’t like and is moving in numerous ways to undermine, subvert, intimidate, suppress, and perhaps suspend or cancel the 2026 midterms. It is already using its deadly war on Iran as a tool for the project of cementing fascist rule and locking down American society inside the United States. The moment cries out for what Refuse Fascism has been calling for since early last March: ‘NOW IS the TIME WHEN WE MUST RISE UP and ACT to STOP the CONSOLIDATION of TRUMP MAGA FASCISM. For the lives of people here and around the world we must refuse unlawful and inhumane orders… we must fill the streets and town squares in non-violent protest—not stopping until we become millions — not relenting until this regime is no longer able to implement its program or maintain its hold on power….The hour has come for each of us to ask: If we do not act to stop this, what kind of people will we become?” We stand up and fight for a future in which no human being is enslaved, subjugated, or deemed “illegal” … a future in which the planet can heal and people can be fit caretakers of the earth…We can and must create a political crisis in which the Trump regime cannot govern and implement their fascist program or even maintain his hold on power….Waiting for the next elections will be too late. We cannot rely on the Democratic Party’s leadership who complacently rely on the very norms and processes that the Trump regime shreds by the hour….Let it not be said that when there was still a chance to stop an unprecedented threat to the future of humanity, we did not rise to meet the challenge of our time.” Compare this clarion call for mass action without electoral illusion or childish faith in the fascism-enabling and capitalist-imperialist Democrats with what the professor says is “the left’s” number one priority right now: “disqualifying” Gavin Newsom from becoming the imperialist dollar Dems’ presidential nominee in 2028! RF channeled Dr. Martin Luther King’s plea for good people to grasp “the fierce urgency of now.” The professor’s counsel mired those people deeper in the paralyzing quicksand of capitalist America’s savagely time-staggered, corporate-crafted, candidate-centered, major-party presidential politics. It’s nice that the professor dislikes Newsom’s knee-bend to Israel, but this really takes seduction by the siren song of US bourgeois-electoral politics to a depressing extreme. Turning “the left’s” attention to which candidate one of the two imperialist parties puts up in a capitalist-imperialist election that may not even be held in two-plus years is highly problematic! It’s like telling someone in the middle of a heart attack to make sure to go to their regularly scheduled check-up two years from now with a couple of really bad doctors — the US electoral process (already terrible before the current and ongoing fascist assaults) and the dismal Weimar Democratic Party of inauthentic opposition. These lousy physicians are themselves very sick and may well not be alive in two years. I’m all for telling Newsom to get lost but the notion that doing so is the “the left’s” top priority right now is seriously messed up. Some Critical Background For some historical background to understand left-identified academics and intellectuals who promote non- and anti-revolutionary thinking under a deceptive radical guise, see the Marxist philosopher and historian Gabriel Rockhill’s new book, Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism? — an important study of how the US State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and ruling class foundations cultivated and sponsored an un- and indeed anti-revolutionary, anti-communist, imperialism-compatible “left” professoriat after World War II. “Drawing on extensive archival research to pull back the curtain on ruling class machinations,” the book’s publisher notes, Rockhill, “elucidates how the intellectual world war on the socialist alternative has sought to shore up and promote a ‘compatible left’ intelligentsia while misrepresenting, maligning, and trying to destroy the revolutionary left.” (Oh, the stories I could tell about misrepresentation, malignancy, and attempted destruction – another time.) A Forgotten Gabriel Speaking of actually radical academics named Gabriel, would anyone like to reflect on the remarkable, if all too predictable, extent to which the Trump regime’s reckless war on Iran is evidence for the great radical historian Gabriel Kolko’s thesis on the limits of US power? As Kolko showed in his classic volumes The Roots of American Foreign Policy (1969). Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience (1985), Century of War: Politics, Conflicts, and Society Since 1914 (1994). and Another Century of War (2002), America’s imperial masters have “consistently misunderstood and underestimated the wars they have set into motion,” relying on “military technology” that “cause conflicts to be much longer and more destructive to civilians than ever.” America “responds to the complexity of world affairs with its advanced technology and superior firepower, not with realistic political response and negotiation” – a recurrent imperial habit of military hubris and futility that works to make the world and America less, not more, safe and livable. And on that note, this from yesterday’s New York Times: “Iran’s Attacks Force U.S. Troops to Work Remotely: Iran has severely damaged several American military bases in the Middle East, officials say. Iran has bombed U.S. bases across the Middle East in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war, forcing many American troops to relocate to hotels and office spaces throughout the region, according to military personnel and American officials. So now much of the land-based military is, in essence, fighting the war while working remotely, with the exception of fighter pilots and crews operating and maintaining warplanes and conducting strikes….Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has urged people to report these new locations as it hunts for the dispersed troops. There were close to 40,000 U.S. troops in the region when the war started, and Central Command has dispersed thousands of them, some to as far away as Europe, American military officials said. But many have remained in the Middle East, although not on their original bases, military officials said…The result, according to current and former military officials, is a war that is much harder to prosecute. ‘Yes, we have the ability to set up expedient operation centers, but you’re absolutely going to lose capability,’ said Master Sgt. Wes J. Bryant, a retired Special Operations targeting specialist in the U.S. Air Force. ‘You can’t just put all that equipment on the top of a hotel, for example. Some of it is unwieldy.’ A U.S. military official said that troops are not working from the roofs of civilian hotels…Iran responded forcefully to the joint American and Israeli strikes, targeting not only U.S. bases but also embassies and oil and gas infrastructure throughout the region. With its supreme leader and dozens of other leaders killed, the Iranian regime has retaliated by launching hundreds of drones and missiles into neighboring countries and largely shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route, making sure the war would be felt by people across the globe…Many of the 13 military bases in the region used by American troops are all but uninhabitable…” But no worries – Mein Trumpf is sending in the 82nd airborne, which Trump expects to fix things in time for it to return to help him cancel the 2026 midterms in response to terror attacks caused by his criminal war! The post “The Left’s Top Job This Year”? Academics In and Out Imperialist Quicksand appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Paul Street.
The joint US-Israeli killing of Iranian leaders on February 28th marked the second time in a year that the United States had used negotiations as a decoy for a surprise attack. On the pattern of Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, our own invasion of Iraq in 2003, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, More The post The Annals of an Empire in Free Fall appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405283" class="wp-image-405283 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM-680x552.png" alt="" width="680" height="552" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM-680x552.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM-500x406.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.07.50-PM.png 1144w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Micah Williams. The joint US-Israeli killing of Iranian leaders on February 28th marked the second time in a year that the United States had used negotiations as a decoy for a surprise attack. On the pattern of Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, our own invasion of Iraq in 2003, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. under President Trump has indeed launched a criminal war of aggression. The run-up to the war, however, followed a discernible pattern. Throughout the months preceding it, the Trump administration was testing the American public’s tolerance for just such an adventure. First came the drone killings of alleged “narco-terrorists” on boats in the Caribbean Sea; then, the kidnapping of the President of Venezuela; and finally, the seizure of oil tankers said to originate from Venezuela (an act of piracy by any other name). Now, with the attack on Iran, the message to the world should be considered unmistakable. Nations concerned for their own survival, if they aren’t already U.S. vassal-states, are likely to avoid negotiations with the Trump administration. And what else could be expected? Its behavior leaves no room for the common trust on which diplomacy depends. There are only two choices: surrender or strengthen your military in anticipation of war. The United States is now widely judged to be the most dangerous country in the world. Machiavelli in The Prince advised all aspirants to the leadership of a state that it is good to be feared, but he added: take care that you are not more hated than feared. We may already have crossed that line. What, in all our history, could have led us to fall so far? The disaster of the Vietnam War offered a decade-long glimpse into such possibilities, but the last stage of this country’s descent began with the invasion of Iraq. In early 2003, President George W. Bush told U.N. inspectors to leave that country because our bombing was about to begin. Had they been allowed to complete their search for supposed Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, they would have established that such weaponry, the pretext for our invasion, was nonexistent. Such actions have consequences. When an international Gallup poll in 2013 asked which country was the greatest threat to world peace, the United States finished in first place. (Iran and Israel were tied for fourth.) The question has not been asked again, but in view of the wars that followed, including NATO’s regime-change bombing of Libya, a CIA-sponsored insurgency in Syria, U.S. bombing campaigns in Somalia, Sudan, and Nigeria, Washington’s support for the destruction and mass killings in Gaza, and now the assault upon Iran, the answer to that poll today would probably be the same. Lawless with New Laws Imperial expansion generally comes with a loss of liberty at home. In the United States, the Patriot Act began that process in October 2001. Passed by Congress as an apparent response to the fears of a terrified populace just a month after the 9/11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., it was a remarkably comprehensive document to have been written so fast. The enhanced surveillance and security measures of the Patriot Act would, however, turn out to be just the opening chapter in a long series of abridgments of rights and anti-constitutional innovations for which the Global War on Terror served as an excuse. Nor were the tools of that war laid aside by later presidents, even when they struck a different posture. Presidents of both parties extended the reach of our global war by reducing its visibility. Drone assassinations of presumed enemies, for instance, became a remarkably routine tactic of the Obama administration. And in Donald Trump’s second term, ICE agents in American cities have brought the War on Terror home. The arrests may still be largely limited to non-naturalized immigrants and their more vociferous supporters, but nothing in the history of empire would lead one to suppose that such repressive measures (demanded in the name of “national unity”) will cease to gather force. Contempt for legality is not just an international but a national tenet of Donald Trump’s presidency. Latent in the presidency itself has always been a risk of dictatorship. The capabilities associated with the office by its most distinguished advocate, Alexander Hamilton, are instructive here: activity, energy, dispatch, and secrecy. There have in truth been just three presidents in 250 years, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, for whom most Americans can still feel an honest admiration. Coincidentally, they led the country during three of the very few American wars that could be justified without embarrassment. But even in the War of Independence, the Civil War, and the Second World War, the cost to civil liberties always proved high. Those wars were invariably used to justify an expansion of state power that would open the way for wars of choice. Of course, the sovereign branch of government under the Constitution was clearly meant to be Congress, not the presidency, but for the last 85 years, in one fashion or another, Congress has continually abdicated its responsibility to approve and oversee the wars that America conducts — wars that were meant to be launched only in self-defense. Defaulting to the president on the decision to go to war is by now a deeply ingrained habit of congressional cowardice. President Trump’s wars, however, have been new in one obvious way. Unlike any of his predecessors, he gloats over his killed or kidnapped victims. But the outlandish quality of the man can be a distraction. In truth, imperial hubris had set in and diplomacy had already faded from view before the end of Joe Biden’s presidency. With Trump having already pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — or JCPOA, also known as “the Iran nuclear deal” — in his first term in office, President Biden was content to let it go unrevived. And no sooner had Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022 than Biden all but abandoned diplomacy and, in the three years that followed, never lifted the phone to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin. To judge by the record of his presidential travels, Biden came to believe that his real job description was President of NATO. As for Iran, it has long since acquired for Americans the status of a myth rather than an actual nation and continues to occupy a twisted place in the national psyche. All 52 of the hostages taken in that country’s 1979 revolution were, in fact, released on President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration day in 1981. For him, that was a valuable piece of theater, supplied by the very people we were still calling terrorists. By 1986, when the Iran-Contra scandal broke — the illegal trade of arms to Iran organized by senior officials in the Reagan administration in exchange for money to finance a U.S.-backed insurgency in Nicaragua — it became hard to avoid the inference drawn by Gary Sick, the Persian Gulf adviser to President Jimmy Carter, that U.S. and Iranian arms-for-money hustlers in both governments enjoyed mutual confidence because they had dealt with each other before. As thoroughly forgotten as the Iran-Contra affair were the CIA’s overthrow of the democratic government of Iran in 1953 and American support for Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein during the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-1988, in which Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian civilians. (The recent poisonous smoke from the Israeli bombing of civilian oil depots in Tehran may be evidence of a comparable war crime.) What Americans so easily forget, the world sometimes remembers, and the perception of the United States today in Africa, Asia, and Latin America differs markedly from our perception of ourselves. Worse yet, we are led to misjudge our stature by the encouragement we receive from subordinate members of NATO, especially Great Britain, France, and Germany, descendants of defunct empires whose servility to Washington is now almost total. As surely as their representatives trooped into the Oval Office by twos and threes to plead with President Trump for a gentler deal on tariffs, they have also offered military support — an aircraft carrier here or there — to assist with the challenges that confront Washington in its latest war. Feeble though such gestures may be, the North Atlantic commercial democracies are more than ever dependent on American protection and largesse. As a result, in line with Trump administration propaganda, they portray the new conflict with Iran as an episode in a clash of civilizations that was always bound to happen. But how inevitable was any of this? Thanks to a story in the Washington Post by John Hudson and Warren Strobel, we now know that a week before the joint Israeli-U.S. attack, President Trump received a report from the National Intelligence Council informing him that a full-scale war on Iran would likely fail to bring down the government. Washington’s determination to annihilate Iran, however, is nothing new. It has, in fact, been more constant and obsessive than most people realize. Back in 2007, a shipload of British sailors was captured in the territorial waters of Iran. Negotiations between the two countries were already underway when then-Vice President Dick Cheney pushed to convert the incident into a cause for war. He had earlier registered his displeasure when that year’s National Intelligence Estimate on Iran gave no grounds for believing that country was close to having a nuclear weapon. In short, there was no pretext for the war that would have lived up to the neoconservative motto, “Boys go to Baghdad, real men go to Tehran!” Still, courageous resistance from the head of CENTCOM, Admiral William J. Fallon, at that moment actually stopped the Bush-Cheney administration from getting into their third Middle Eastern war in five years. There has been no one like Fallon within a country mile of the Trump administration. The Cold War Legacy from Hell During his first term in office, in the relaxed usage casually deployed on the American left, Trump was often called a fascist. But the immobilizing speed with which each of his transgressions has succeeded the last does prompt a comparison with German foreign policy in the 1930s. A violent lunge and jolt, followed by another and yet another, too fast for his opponents to catch their breath: that’s the drill. After massive DOGE cuts and further selective purges of government workers, as well as ICE raids in Democrat-run cities and those assaults on Venezuela and Iran, what might come next? One possibility certainly is Cuba. Trump has long been fascinated with Cuba, and he’s hardly alone. That annoying island, 90 miles off the Florida coast, has troubled violent minds in the United States even longer than Iran. And on March 7th, Trump promised: “Cuba is going to fall soon.” Anti-communism was a potent drug, and we are still getting high on its fumes. It outlasted the Cold War but gathered a deeper plausibility from an older model. The sentiment that we’re doing it for their own good goes back to that American favorite among world-conquering powers, the British empire of the nineteenth century. The British always claimed that they ruled their imperial subjects for their sake — that is, to advance them to the next stage of civilization. Now, Washington has taken up, as Rudyard Kipling once put it, “the savage wars of peace” and, “cold edged” as we are “with dear-bought wisdom,” we will carry on until the final war is done. From the days of the Roman empire (so the imperialist story ran), the growth of civilization followed a path along which every society could theoretically progress. Nineteenth-century England stood at its happy terminus, but given the right training, any country could arrive there eventually. Rome was cruel by comparison since only Romans were full citizens of that empire and exempt from the most humiliating punishments. The British commonwealth had a more generous presentation and was less keen on wars. (In this regard, America’s rulers are the disciples of Rome.) But the United States has added something new to the relationship between the imperial center and the outlands. We have long admitted refugees from the countries we opposed and supported their inveterate hatred of the regimes they fled. If a Cuban wants the U.S. to bomb Cuba, that rates a cheer of solidarity from many Americans. The same goes for the Polish emigré clamoring for NATO to destroy Russia or the Iranian who cheers the death cloud lately oozing over Tehran from U.S. and Israeli attacks on civilian oil depots in that city. But there is something odd about this pattern of vicarious hatred: very few of those refugees intend to go back to their native lands. They prefer the United States. By their unquenched thirst for revenge — not just the destruction of the bad Islamist or Communist government in their former home, but a legacy of further suffering for the people who remain — they are exhibiting a horrific side of human nature. But as empire builders, we are expected to empathize and never say a word against the miserable fate, including bombs and sanctions, that our leaders have been all too happy to impose on the actual inhabitants of Cuba or Iran. In a speech delivered in 2017, former President George W. Bush expressed regret over a weakening American determination to spread our kind of democracy and markets globally. For 70 years, he said, “the presidents of both parties believed that American security and prosperity were directly tied to the success of freedom in the world. And they knew that the success depended, in large part, on U.S. leadership.” The world thus owed its stability to the portability of “the DNA of American idealism.” This was the language of the Berlin Airlift at the very start of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Three generations later, we still speak that language even as, in our recent actions, we repeat the collective self-hypnosis that drew us into Vietnam. We are “winning” in Iran, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has claimed, “decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy.” Stop a moment at that last phrase — without mercy. It betrays a thought that American soldiers are not supposed to think, or at least not say aloud. Such strutting brutality lowers general morale by proudly displaying a failure of self-discipline. There is such a thing, in foreign policy, as lacking the standing to make certain claims. Since the Biden and Trump administrations threw this country’s weight behind the Israeli destruction of Gaza, we now lack the standing to claim a role as the benefactor of any other nation in that region, including Iran. The worst of empire is this: that it requires conquest for its self-definition, which means it has no permanent self. Yet to the eye of the empire builder, war is an adequate substitute, an acceptable second best. Our absorption in what we believe we are doing for others stops us from thinking about what we are doing to ourselves. Giving up empire would mean detaching ourselves from the conceit that the world wants to have our way of life and that it is our moral duty, even at the point of a gun or a drone, to give the world’s people what we imagine they are asking for. We will go on being the most dangerous country in the world, as well as an empire in free fall, until we stop supposing that we know other nations better than they know themselves. But the crisis we are now in also requires an inward look. Recalling the state of German society in the mid-1930s, in her extraordinary essay “Personal Responsibility under Dictatorship,” Hannah Arendt offered a startling reflection: “It was as though morality, at the very moment of its total collapse within an old and highly civilized nation, stood revealed in the original meaning of the word, as a set of mores, of customs and manners, which could be exchanged for another set with no more trouble than it would take to change the table manners of a whole people.” At home and abroad, how close are we coming to just such a change? This piece first appeared on TomDispatch. The post The Annals of an Empire in Free Fall appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by David Bromwich.
Everything that Rises Must Converge: Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”
When I heard the shocking news of Ernest Hemingway’s suicide on July 2, 1961, I was sipping a Pernod in a Paris bar/café named Storyville, named after the famous “red light district” in New Orleans where I could hear jaz [ . . . ] The post Everything that Rises Must Converge: Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-768x738.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-500x481.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-600x577.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1244px) 100vw, 1244px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="655" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-655x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-655x630.png 655w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-680x654.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-768x738.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-500x481.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-600x577.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM.png 1244w" sizes="(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405040" class="wp-image-405040 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-680x654.png" alt="" width="680" height="654" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-680x654.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-655x630.png 655w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-768x738.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-500x481.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM-600x577.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.12.53-PM.png 1244w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Hemingway, Harold Loeb, Lady Duff Twysden, Hadley Richardson, Ogden Stewart and Pat Guthrie at a cafe in Pamplona, Spain, 1925. Photo: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. When I heard the shocking news of Ernest Hemingway’s suicide on July 2, 1961, I was sipping a Pernod in a Paris bar/café named Storyville, named after the famous “red light district” in New Orleans where I could hear jazz on LPs. I could not have imagined a more suitable place to take-in the details that “Papa,” as he was known, “blew his brains out and much of his face with a W. C. Scott long-barreled side-by-side shotgun.” (Those are the words of the American novelist, Clancy Sigal, the author of Going Away, who co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Frida which features fictionalized versions of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky.) Hemingway was 61-years old in 1961; he had won the Nobel Prize in Literature seven years earlier, and he was the world famous author of The Sun Also Rises, his debut novel, which is prefaced by a quotation from Gertrude Stein who told Hemingway, “You are all a lost generation.” The Sun also includes a quotation from Ecclesiastes which provided the novel with a title that reads, “the earth abideth forever…the sun also ariseth and the sun goes down and hasteth to the place where he arose.” The author had converted to Catholicism and perhaps wanted to advertise his new found religion. I read The Sun Also Rises as a sophomore in Lionel Trilling comparative literature class at Columbia alongside T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, James Joyce’s Ulysses, Kafka’s short stories, Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain and Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. In Paris, in the summer of 1961, living on $5 a day or less and traveling across the City of Light on foot I felt like I belonged to the Lost Generation of the 1920s, and that I might catch a glimpse of Hemingway drinking in a cafe on the Left Bank, wandering along the Seine, or observing the gravestones in the Montparnasse cemetery where Charles Baudelaire was buried and later where Samuel Beckett and others would join him. On the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Sun Also Rises in 2026— a year after the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Great Gatsby —I reread Hemingway’s novel and also reread Clancy Signal’s spirited Hemingway Lives (2013) a vigorous defense of the author know as “Papa,” despite all his many flaws. Clancy died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles at the age of 90. Born in 1926, the same year that The Sun Also Rises first appeared in print, Clancy writes, in Hemingway Lives that he was in a London, where he lived much of his life, and in a pub of course when he heard the news of Hemingway’s suicide. I met Clancy in San Rafael, California and later corresponded with him for a couple of years when he grumbled about IRA bombings in London, especially after explosive devices went off at the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament. The novelist Doris Lessing, one of his lovers, connected me to Clancy and Clancy to me because, as she explained, we shared a commitment to radical politics, including an anti-fascist, anti-Yankee agenda which also bound us to Hemingway who gave his Nobel Prize to Fidel Castro. Doris and Clancy were role models I had in mind in the Sixties when I wrote about my romantic relationship to Marge Piercy who was also a writer and a feminist. Clancy appears as the American, Saul Green, in Lessing’s big postmodern novel The Golden Notebook. Lessing appears in Sigal’s memoir The Secret Defector. He behaved more civilly and more respectful toward Doris than Hemingway behaved toward the four women he married: Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Mary Welsh and the British born writer, Martha Gellhorn, the author of novels, short stories and nonfiction books including The Face of War and Vietnam: A New Face of War. Gellhorn and Hemingway traveled to Spain together during the civil war there and later to China after they married in 1941. They were nearly as famous as Sartre and de Beauvoir were as a couple. I don’t remember precisely how and what I thought and felt when I first read The Sun Also Rises in 1961 except that I loved the dialogue which propels the narrative. Also, I saw myself in the company of Hemingway’s fictional characters: the wounded World War I veteran, Jake Barnes, his friend, Robert Cohn, a Princeton boxer and Jewish, plus Mike Campbell, Bill Gorton and “the count” who boasts “I have been in seven wars and four revolutions.” The one major woman character, Lady Brett Ashley, sleeps with all the men in her life, except Jake, and thereby provides the erotic drive that fuses the guys to one another. Sex is a subtext that never really emerges full blown, though as an undergraduate at Columbia I sensed its presence as did my classmates who made bawdy remarks about the male genitalia that “rises” while fucking. The collective “you” that Stein described as a lost generation, converge in Paris, which was still in the 1920s the cultural and artistic capital of the Western world. A literary novel, the characters in The Sun play with word, slang and with language itself. They read books and talk about writers from around the world such as Thomas Hardy, Anatole France, Ivan Turgenev and A. E. W. Mason, the British author of popular murder mysteries populated by a French detective. In The Sun, Hemingway democratizes the American expat experience in the capitals of Europe. For Jakes and his circle, living in Paris and traveling across the continent isn’t what it was for the wealthy characters one finds in Henry James’s novels. Rather it’s for fellows with jobs and without money to throw around. If I pictured myself with Jake and his companions as they roam around Paris, I also pictured them with me as I strolled at night on the Boulevard St.-Michel and the Boulevard St.-Germain, which were thronged with men and women my age and generation, all of us looking for excitement. In 1961 we were still in the 1950s, though the Sixties were about to explode; the crowds of young people in the streets were a sign of the cultural revolution that loomed ahead and that treated Hemingway as a heroic figure. After all, as Sigal points out he loved “romantic rebels” and “hated dictators.” He would have been comfortable in the company of Che. In Hemingway Lives, Sigal goes out on a literary limb and insists that Brett Ashley, and not Jake is the main character, though she vanishes for much of the narrative only to reappear in Spain, where she seduces and is seduced by the young beautiful bullfighter Pedro Romero. Sigal also insists that The Sun is first and foremost an anti-war novel. Jake, and by extension Hemingway himself, seem to be attracted to Pedro in part because he’s young and beautiful, but also because he’s an aficionado: someone who is passionate about what he does. Jake has aficion, which endears him to the Spanish men who are all aficionados and devoted to bullfighting. The words aficion and aficionado and the compelling concept behind them perform much the same work that the word and the concept “mad” plays in Kerouac’s novel, On The Road. Sal Paradise, the narrator, exclaims, “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time.” He adds, “the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’” Sigal writes that “to be like Hemingway is to escape from a normal, dull life into one of adventure and risk, without complaining.” He might have said much of the same thing about Kerouac. Going on the road meant, for the members of the Lost Generation and for the Beat Generation, too, rejecting home, family, a job, conformity. For Jake, the only people who matter have aficion. Without it life isn’t worth “damn,” as Brett would say, no matter how much good food one eats and how many glasses of wine one drinks at Closerie, Rotonde and Zelli. (An American tourist in Paris in the late 1920s might have used The Sun as a guide book for the best places to see and to be seen, to dance and to flirt.) Sigal goes through The Sun chapter by chapter and points out the ways that the text could be described as politically incorrect: the anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia and sexism. Jake uses the word “nigger” and so do the characters. Cohn is called a “kike.” Hemingway seems to enjoy putting into print racial epithets shunned by liberals and radicals like Gellhorn. Sigal also repeats many of the remarks critical of Hemingway uttered by American writers. Steinbeck apparently called him “that shit.” Faulkner wrote that he “has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” That’s mostly true, though one might have to turn to a Spanish dictionary for a definition of aficion and aficionado. At times, Hemingway shows off his knowledge or Spanish culture as well as his expertise about French food and wine. He’s the outsider who becomes an insider. Sigal also explores the “amity” and “enmity,” as Trilling would call it, between Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. According to legend, Scott said to Ernest, “the rich are different than us,” and Ernest replied, “Yes, they have more money than we do.” Sigal writes that Hemingway trashed Fitzgerald as “soft, vaguely queer, alcoholic…[and] pussy-whipped by his wife Zelda.” He adds that Hemingway’s novel, The Garden of Eden is “a rival or response to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night.” In a recent essay that divagates back and forth between The Sun andThe Great Gatsby, editor and writer, David Samuels, leans heavily in favor of Gatsby which he calls “the first great American Jewish novel.” He also describes what he calls “Gatsby’s inherent Jewishness.” That sounds like a stretch. You don’t have to invoke Judaism to love Gatsby. At the end of his essay, Samuels offers the hope that “our schools continue to teach their books together.” It’s a lovely idea, but unlikely. For good reasons, aesthetic as well as cultural, Trilling didn’t teach them together. With his eyes on Europe and not on Long Island and Manhattan, he assigned The Sun but not Gatsby. The Sun was, as he explained, cosmopolitan while Gatsby was local and provincial. For most of the last 50 years, teaching together the work of two dead white men might have been regarded as academic blasphemy. But perhaps the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Today, Hemingway and Fitzgerald might appear together on the same curriculum as exemplars of two almost diametrically opposing ways of writing and expression in America in the 1920s: the Jazz Age for Scott and the post-World War I era for Ernest. Sigal argues that Hemingway created “a new kind of prose” and that he offered “a syntax without adjectives and adverbs.” Indeed, his dialogue is crisp and unadorned, especially in wonderful short stories like “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” though the descriptions of the European landscape and fishing in the wilds can be poetic as when Jake describes himself with rod, hook and bait sitting on “squared timbers,” and watching “the smooth apron of water before the river tumbled into the falls.” The fish he captures are “beautifully colored and firm and hard for the cold water.” In The Sun, Hemingway offers no ending as powerful as the ending of Gatsby in which Nick Carraway muses on time past and time future: “I sat there, brooding on the old unknown world, [and] I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock.” Nick adds of Gatsby, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.” Nor is there anywhere in The Sun, prose as hard hitting as Fitzgerald’s comment about Daisy and Tom Buchanan: “they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” That passage has been repeated again and again and has been used to describe American abuse of power and reliance on wealth. Still, Fitzgerald had a tendency to romanticize the wealthy and the powerful and to glamorize characters like Daisy and her friend Jordan Baker, a cheat, and Gatsby, too, the gangster who embodies a chunk of the best about the American character— its capacity for wonder – and some of the worst: its penchant for self-mythologizing and fabricating. In chapter one, Nick Carraway watches in awe the rather magical spectacle of Daisy and Jordan “both in white…[their] dresses …rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.” For all his bluster and bravado, Hemingway, the tough guy, could edge toward the sentimental and perhaps never more so than in the ending of The Sun in which Jake and Brett sit “close against each other” and he puts his “arm around her.” Brett tells him, “Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together.” He replies, “Yes. Isn’t it pretty to think so.” Of course, as an anti-romantic he knows, as does the reader that they never could have had a good time together, that there’s no way to backtrack and start over again with a clean slate. I will always love Gatsby in part because I grew up on Long Island, where much of the novel is set. And yet and yet, The Sun will always occupy a place in my heart not only because it introduced me to the lost generation but also because it bound me to Paris when I was a teenager. It has kept me in that orbit ever since then. The post Everything that Rises Must Converge: Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jonah Raskin.
This past weekend, Trump threatened to escalate the War with Iran by destroying that country’s energy infrastructure starting, as he said, “with the big one”. The ‘big one’ was no doubt a veiled reference to Iran’s civilian nuclear plants. Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant had been hit with a US missile a few days earlier as More The post How Will the US Military Invade Iran? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405330" class="wp-image-405330 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-680x484.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="484" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-680x484.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-885x630.jpg 885w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-768x547.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-1536x1094.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-500x356.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953-600x427.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gen_Darryl_Williams_visits_U_S_Army_Soldiers_participating_in_Swift_Response_23_7792953.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: U.S. Army 300MPAD by Staff Sgt. Christopher Osburn – Public Domain This past weekend, Trump threatened to escalate the War with Iran by destroying that country’s energy infrastructure starting, as he said, “with the big one”. The ‘big one’ was no doubt a veiled reference to Iran’s civilian nuclear plants. Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant had been hit with a US missile a few days earlier as a warning. As he announced his plan to destroy all of Iran’s civilian nuclear infrastructure, Trump further declared Iran had 48 hours to capitulate before the US attack. The price of oil jumped and stock market futures began to fall within 24 hours of Trump’s threat. Before the 48 hours were up, on Monday morning, March 23, an hour before the US stock markets opened, Trump announced Iran had approached him and asked for negotiations. Therefore he, Trump, was now suspending the attack on Iran for five more days, i.e. to the end of the current week. The five day extension had nothing to do with negotiations, which Iran announced had never taken place. Trump made it up. The five day extension was yet another move by Trump administration officials to stabilize the US stock markets and the price of oil, both of which were set to spike. Within hours of announcing his five day suspension on Monday, US oil prices (WTI) fell $10 a barrel to $90 and stock markets opened higher after a string of declines last week. Since the war began on February 28, Trump and various administration officials have repeatedly said publicly that negotiations were occurring, were showing progress, or even that the war was about to ‘end soon’, as Trump himself declared. The pattern shows such false statements were, and remain, mostly about keeping financial markets from falling too fast and to prevent oil prices from rising too fast. But there’s another explanation for Trump’s about face and his five day suspension of the US attack on Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure. That’s Trump’s buying time to get US military forces into the region in order to launch a ground assault into Iran, to coincide with his plan to bomb Iran’s nuclear and civilian energy infrastructure. Here’s some facts why the five day suspension is really about buying time for much larger US military preparation. The mainstream US media keeps reporting that a contingent of about 2,000 US marines are en route by sea on the US landing ship, US Tripoli, coming from Asia to the Persian Gulf. If we are to believe the media, the US intends to invade Iran with just a couple battalions of Marines. The Marines plan to land in the Strait of Hormuz area. The US will somehow seize the strait and allow oil tankers to sail through it again. The media’s is also promoting the view that a second possible landing target is Iran’s Kharg Island, where 90% of Iran’s crude oil is refined and shipped. Kharg is close to the coast of Iran, well into the Persian Gulf’s upper end and closer to Kuwait than to the Hormuz strait. The media refers to Trump’s own social media posts where he mentions Kharg Island as a good target for the Marines. Israel’s number one mouthpiece in the US Senate, Lindsey Graham, gives daily press conferences during which he refers to taking Kharg Island as well. But it’s all a deception. In fact, the entire 2000 Marines on the US Tripoli may be a deception. That raises the question: Is the US actually planning an invasion of Iran; and if so where if not Kharg Island or Hormuz? Sending 2000 Marines to seize territory around Hormuz or Kharg Island is militarily a stupendous strategic blunder in waiting should it be undertaken. It’s hard to imagine any senior US military advisor recommending that. First, how would 2000 Marines get through the Hormuz strait and sail up the Persian Gulf to assault Kharg Island? They would be sitting ducks all the way, presuming they could even get through the strait. Furthermore, could a mere 2000 hold Kharg if they were even able to land and seize it? Marine battalions don’t carry radars and anti-missile batteries in their inventories. They would be massively attacked by missiles and extremely difficult to re-supply. The same applies to the other islands in the Hormuz strait, like Bander Abbas. It takes only one Iranian missile to end the Tripoli and all its 2000 on board. The fact that US officials, according to Trump and the media, publicly mention Kharg Island and the Hormuz strait as landing targets should be an indicator there’s no intention of occupying Kharg or other Islands in the strait. The US does not discuss in public its military objectives. Therefore they are almost certainly not the targets! There’s growing evidence, however, that when the US invasion comes—and it is coming—the landing is likely to occur elsewhere the media or Trump is not mentioning. There’s currently a massive US military build up underway, blacked out by the media, involving more than just a Marine battalion. There’s a traditional US military forces mobilization being sent to the region, more like the build up that occurred in early 2003 before the Iraq war. Two US Airborne divisions, the 82nd and the 101st, have been activated and are reportedly en route to the region. So too are two US Army Ranger battalions. Another US Marine brigade has left the US for the region but will take weeks to arrive. It will likely relieve the first Marine force arriving on Friday. That’s a combined military force of 20,000. And it’s been reported by some former US military officers that they’ve been informed two traditional US Army divisions are being prepared to go as well. That’s another 50,000. Saudi Arabia and UAE have indicated they will join the coalition for an assault. That’s now a total force of more than 75,000 ground troops! No way they are going to land on Kharg or some other island in the strait. The US media briefly indicated last week that US forces are leaving the big US base in Baghdad, Iraq and redeploying to northern Iraq’s Kurd region, which borders on northwest Iran. The US air force is redeploying air assets to Turkey’s big Incirlik NATO air base, a mere 40 minute flight from northwest Iran. When the Iran war first began in late February, there was much talk about the Kurdish forces in northeast Iraq entering Iran. Azerbaijan was also indicated. It is well known Azerbaijan is closely allied with Israel’s Mossad. It was a flight back after visiting Azerbaijan some months ago that the former president of Iran was mysteriously killed as both his helicopters were blown up in the air. In Iran’s northwest there are large populations of Kurds and Azeris. But after a short reporting by the media on the possibility of getting the Kurds to invade early in the war, all the talk about an invasion by these US-Israel ‘allies’ from the northwest went silent in the media. The northeast Kurdish region is also where US based military formations formerly in Baghdad until last week are relocating. Is this perhaps where the two US airborne divisions and two Ranger battalions might be sent—i.e. instead of Kharg Island or Hormuz? Is a general ground invasion into Iran from planned from the northwest? Possibly. Perhaps even likely. Why? Because it is geographically not very far from Teheran, the capital of Iran. From Kurdish Mosul in northeast Iraq, and from Astara in Azerbaijan’s southernmost tip next to Iran, it is less than 200 miles to Teheran in both cases. The Kurds and Azeris might seize and hold much of the northwest region of Iran where sizable ethnic populations of Kurds and Azeris live. The combined forces of Kurds, Azeris, US Rangers, US airborne could together invade. The two full US Army divisions then might land in Incirlik or Mosul in Kurdish Iraq and cross into Iran to provide heavy armor follow up support for the invasion. Israel will not likely take part in the coalition invasion. It is too busy invading its near neighbors: Lebanon, Syria, Palestine (west bank), and GAZA. This is not to say for certain that Northwest region of Iran and Teheran is the actual target for a US invasion. But it makes more sense militarily than sending insufficient US Marine battalions on ships into the Hormuz strait or deep into the Persian Gulf to Kharg Island. Or using US Ranger and Airborne divisions to land either in Hormuz or Kharg. And certainly not to mobilize two full armored Army divisions. Trump’s war objective is to destroy the current government in Iran. The US objective has always been regime change. He does not want a negotiated compromise. His talk about negotiations is therefore a deception and a lie believed by only the most naïve or who get their information from the mainstream US media. For Trump and the US empire, negotiations are just a tactic and prelude to military action. The Iranians learned that twice, once last June 2025 and on February 27, 2025. So did the Venezuelans. So have the Russians in 2015, 2022, and, I would argue, since last August at Anchorage, Alaska. So far the Trump goal of regime change in Iran has failed: The CIA engineered popular uprising this past January-February was ill-timed, launched too early, and put down by Iran completely. Nor has limited military action by the US and Israel thus far—i.e. naval blockade, bombings, decapitation strikes, etc. Trump has therefore decided on more massive, direct military invasion. All indications are Trump has decided to roll the military invasion dice to try to bring the war to a conclusion sooner rather than later. He can’t afford to wait until summer. The deteriorating US and global economy won’t allow it. Nor voters in the coming November elections. The longer Iran can continue its missile war, the greater the threat to the US and western economies. It doesn’t need to ‘win’. Just not to lose for another three months. The economic impact will take its toll by then. Trump can try to talk down the markets and spot oil prices in order to obfuscate the economic impact of the war for a relatively short time further. But he knows he must escalate, beyond traditional regime change CIA methods and/or limited military action, to a direct military ground war. Or as they say, “boots on the ground.” And it looks increasingly like that’s his plan sometime next weekend, or soon after. Perhaps he should remember how ‘boots on the ground’ turned out the last time the US resorted to invasion and direct military action in 2001-03 in Afghanistan and Iraq! Someone should remind him the estimated $9 trillion dollars that it cost the US taxpayer, its effect on the US economy and the paltry results produced. Perhaps he should keep in mind US defense expenditures in 2001 were only $396 billion, US GDP that year 4.1%, and the national debt $5.6 trillion costing $350 billion a year in interest payments? And that a US land invasion war is happening on a US defense spending of $1.1 trillion (plus another $200 billion requested by Defense Secretary Hegseth and a further $400 billion by Trump himself), a US GDP of only 0.7% last quarter, and a national debt exceeding $39 trillion and costing $1.2 trillion in interest payments! The US Empire can no longer afford costly direct military conflicts and invasions. Those days are over. Wars are always very expensive affairs. And land invasion wars are especially expensive. The US empire could not afford its last land invasions in 2001-03 that cost $9 trillion. Today it is in a far worse condition economically to afford yet another direct military land invasion in Iran. The US economy has already entered early stages of recession in 2026. The only forces holding it up from a deeper contraction are Net Exports (mostly falling imports due to tariffs) and an AI investment bubble that cannot continue. Employment is now contracting and Inflation is beginning to surge along multiple fronts. Stagflation is now rearing its ugly head. But Trump thinks it will all be over quick, as his neocon advisors and Zionist campaign contributors and lobbyist have no doubt assured him. And if it isn’t quick? Well, there’s always his plan to try to overturn the upcoming November elections to save himself. So Buckle up! It’s 2003 déjà vu. But this time the economic—and political—consequences will prove far more disruptive and difficult to manage. The post How Will the US Military Invade Iran? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jack Rasmus.
The Stealing of America: You’re Not a Citizen, You’re a Revenue Stream for the Power Elite
You’re not imagining it. Everything costs more. Everything is monitored. Everything feels like it’s designed to take—from your wallet, your time, your freedom. That’s because it is. The government has turned everyday life into a revenue stream—funding endless wars, bloated agencies, surveillance systems, and profit-driven policing… all on your dime. You’re not just paying taxes. More The post The Stealing of America: You’re Not a Citizen, You’re a Revenue Stream for the Power Elite appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-396524" class="wp-image-396524 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-680x468.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="468" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-680x468.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-915x630.jpg 915w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-768x529.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-2048x1410.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-500x344.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9198-copy-600x413.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair You’re not imagining it. Everything costs more. Everything is monitored. Everything feels like it’s designed to take—from your wallet, your time, your freedom. That’s because it is. The government has turned everyday life into a revenue stream—funding endless wars, bloated agencies, surveillance systems, and profit-driven policing… all on your dime. You’re not just paying taxes. You’re paying to be watched. Paying to be policed. Paying to be controlled. This isn’t government. It’s a business model. By now, it has become painfully clear that the only economic plan being advanced by the Trump administration is the kind that enriches the oligarchy at the expense of everyone else. This is Donald Trump’s “let them eat cake” moment. Tens of millions in one year alone for the president’s weekend golf trips while government agencies are dismantled and tens of thousands of federal workers have their jobs slashed. According to the web tracker “Did Trump Golf Today?” Trump has spent 23.5% of his presidency golfing at an estimated cost of $141 million to the taxpayer. An extra $200 billion in additional defense funding so Pete Hegseth can make a game out of war with Iran. More than $16 billion was spent in the first 12 days of Trump’s war on Iran. That does not include the rising cost of gas and consumer goods or the long-term costs of supporting those injured in the war. $1 billion to a French company to not develop two wind projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York. $14 billion in oil revenue to Iran to fund its war with the U.S. $22 million in one month on lobsters and ribeye steak so the Defense Department wouldn’t have to risk losing some of their taxpayer-funded budget. $1.8 million for musical instruments, including a “$98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, a $26,000 violin, and a $21,750 custom handmade flute from the luxury Japanese brand Muramatsu.” $400 million for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom to which most taxpayers will never be invited. $75 – $150 million to turn a public golf course into a championship-level golf course in the nation’s capital. $100 million for a 250-foot “Arc de Trump” next to Arlington National Cemetery. At least $60 million for a UFC event on the White House South Lawn to commemorate Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. While members of Trump’s inner circle dine on lobster and filet mignon, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests that Americans struggling with the high cost of beef instead buy and eat “cheap cuts” like liver. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is left to absorb a <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/a-year-in-review-how-the-trump-administrations-economic-policies-made-life-less-affordable-for-americans/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.americanprogress.org/article/a-year-in-review-how-the-trump-administrations-economic-policies-made-life-less-affordable-for-americans/&source=gmail&ust=1774465333617000&usg=AOvVaw1JRSiUJbiY3S7HnzhY7Y9I">higher cost of living driven by Trump’s tariffs, inflation, and economic policiesthat punish the many to benefit the few. At every turn, the Trump administration’s claims of slashing government spending have translated into even greater expense for the taxpayer with little to nothing to show for it. All of those DOGE layoffs may have reduced the size of the federal workforce on paper, but in reality they have resulted in taxpayers footing the bill for unemployment benefits instead of salaries. Trump may have dropped oversight into police misconduct—effectively giving a green light to police violence—but taxpayers will still be forced to pay for every lawsuit and settlement that follows. In the eyes of Trump and his cohorts, you are not a citizen—you are a revenue stream, and the government is cashing in. Call it what you will—taxes, penalties, fees, fines, regulations, tariffs, tickets, permits, surcharges, tolls, asset forfeitures—but the only word that truly describes the constant bilking of the American taxpayer by the government and its corporate partners is this: theft. We’re living in a topsy-turvy Sherwood Forest where the government and its corporate allies aren’t stealing from the rich to feed the poor—they’re stealing from the poor, the middle class, and anyone not politically connected to further enrich the powerful. The result is as predictable as it is devastating: the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, and the American Dream has been replaced by a surveillance state propped up by endless war, crippling debt, and legalized plunder. What Americans still fail to grasp is this: if the government can take your property, your income, your privacy, and your freedom at will, you don’t have rights—you have privileges. And privileges can be revoked. The American police state, with its surveillance cameras, militarized police, SWAT raids, fusion centers, drones, AI tracking systems, predictive policing algorithms, asset forfeiture schemes, and privatized prisons, is not about keeping you safe. It is about profit. It is a sprawling, multi-trillion-dollar ecosystem designed to move money from taxpayers through government agencies and into corporate hands, all under the ever-shifting justifications of “security,” “law and order,” and “national emergency.” The rationalizations never change. We are told it is about terrorism, drugs, immigration, public safety, or civil unrest. Today, those justifications have simply been expanded to include artificial intelligence, foreign adversaries, domestic extremism, and a permanent state of war abroad. But these are pretexts. The real motive has remained the same for decades: control the population, monetize the system, and keep the money flowing upward. Follow the money and the truth becomes impossible to ignore: The government isn’t serving you. It’s billing you. The same government that claims it cannot afford healthcare, education or housing somehow always finds unlimited funds for war. And the bill always comes due to the American taxpayer. In this new economy, you are no longer just a citizen. You are a revenue stream, a data point, a potential suspect, and a body to be managed. Whether through taxes, fines, surveillance or forced labor, the system is designed to extract value from you at every stage of your life. And when you add it all up, the cost is not merely financial—it is constitutional. Every dollar poured into this machinery comes at the expense of your privacy, your property, your due process rights, your freedom of movement, and your freedom of speech. As I make clear in Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, this is the real bottom line: you are paying for the erosion of your own freedoms. It is time to defund the police state, dismantle the profit incentives, restore constitutional limits, and return power—and resources—to the people. Because until that happens, the theft will continue. And the only question left will be how much is left to steal. The post The Stealing of America: You’re Not a Citizen, You’re a Revenue Stream for the Power Elite appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by John W. Whitehead – Nisha Whitehead.
Nuclear power is inseparable from Donald Trump. If you support atomic energy, you are also supporting the financial fortunes of the Trump family. Trump is a major investor in the nuclear industry. He has invested heavily in the development of fusion power and stands to massively profit from its proliferation. He also controls the obliteration of More The post Nuclear Power Equals Trump Profits appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405307" class="wp-image-405307 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-680x427.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="427" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-680x427.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-1002x630.jpg 1002w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-768x483.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-2048x1287.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-500x314.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/planet-volumes-a-TyHCtWSKE-unsplash-600x377.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Planet Volumes. Nuclear power is inseparable from Donald Trump. If you support atomic energy, you are also supporting the financial fortunes of the Trump family. Trump is a major investor in the nuclear industry. He has invested heavily in the development of fusion power and stands to massively profit from its proliferation. He also controls the obliteration of the regulatory apparatus designed to guarantee its safety in the United States. Trump’s war in Iran has vastly escalated the potential threat of potentially apocalyptic drone strikes on atomic reactors, now a factor in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. Team Trump has made a very public and effective show of tangibly attacking nuclear power’s primary replacements, wind turbines and solar panels, along with geothermal and battery backup. He has also heavily assaulted electric vehicles, which threaten the business of his fossil fuel backers. But neither he nor the major media have talked much about Trump’s direct financial interests in killing them off. Or about his destruction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other agencies directly and indirectly promoting atomic power, from which he profits, while at the same time obliterating any reasonable assurance of public safety from the inevitable upcoming reactor disasters. The Trump family’s money-losing Truth Social company has recently become part-owner of a major fusion nuclear power endeavor. Among much more, the investments mean the Trump family stands to profit directly from White House attacks on wind, solar and other inexpensive, clean renewable energies, which for decades have been driving fusion, fission and fossil fuels toward economic oblivion. “A Trump-sponsored business is once again betting on an industry that the president has championed, further entwining his personal fortunes in sectors that his administration is both supporting and overseeing,” reported an article on the front page of the business section of the New York Times last month. “This one is in the nuclear power sector. TAE Technologies, which is developing fusion energy, said…that it planned to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group. President Trump is the largest shareholder of the money-losing social media and crypto investment firm that bears his name, and he will remain a major investor in the combined company.” The headline of the piece: “Trump’s Push Into Nuclear Is Raising Questions.” Primary issues have to do with economic conflicts of interest and public safety. “The deal,” the article continued, “would put Mr. Trump in competition with other energy companies over which his administration holds financial and regulatory sway. Already, the president has sought to gut safety oversight of nuclear power plants and lower thresholds for human radiation exposure.” CNN ran an article headlined: “A $6 billion nuclear deal has Trump’s name all over it. It’s raising serious ethics questions.” CNN reported: “Nuclear fusion companies are regulated by the federal government and will likely need Uncle Sam’s deep research and even deeper pockets to become commercially viable. The merger needs to be approved by federal regulators — some of whom were nominated by Trump.” CNN quoted Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, as saying: “There is a clear conflict of interest here. Every other president since the Civil War has divested from business interests that would conflict with official duties. President Trump has done the opposite.” Painter is now a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. “Having the president and his family have a large stake in a particular energy source is very problematic,” said Peter Bradford, who previously served on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in the Times article. The NRC, which Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE have now gutted, was once meant to oversee the safety of the nuclear industry in the United States. “The Trump administration has sought to accelerate nuclear power technology — including fusion, which remains unproven,” Bradford said. “That support has come in the form of federal loans and grants, as well as executive orders directing the NRC to review and approve applications more quickly.” Still, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement that “neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.” And the Times piece said, “a spokeswoman for Trump Media” said the company was “scrupulously following all applicable rules and regulations, and any hypothetical speculation about ethics violations is wholly unsupported by the facts.” It went on that “Trump’s stake in Trump Media, recently valued at $1.6 billion, is held in a trust managed by Donald Trump Jr., his eldest son. Trump Media is the parent company of Truth Social, the struggling social-media platform. The merger would set Trump Media in a new strategic direction, while giving TAE a stock market listing as it continues to develop its nuclear fusion technology.” The Guardian quoted the CEO of Trump Media, Devin Nunes, the arch-conservative former member of the House of Representatives from California and close to Trump, who is currently chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, saying Trump Media has “built un-cancellable infrastructure to secure free expression online for Americans. And now we’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations.” Nunes is the would-be co-CEO of the merged company. A current member of the US House, Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, said in a statement quoted in Politico that the deal raises “significant concerns” about conflicts of interest and avenues for potential corruption. “The President has consistently used both government powers and taxpayer money to benefit his own financial interests and those of his family and political allies. This merger will necessitate congressional oversight to ensure that the U.S. government and public funds are properly directed towards fusion research and development in ways that benefit the American people, as opposed to the Trump family and their corporate holdings.” By federal law (the Price-Anderson Act of 1957), the US commercial atomic power industry has been shielded from liability in the event of major accidents it might cause. The “Nuclear Clause” in every US homeowner’s insurance policy explicitly denies coverage for losses or damages caused, directly or indirectly, by a nuclear reactor accident. As his company fuses with the atomic industry, Trump acquires a direct financial interest in gutting atomic oversight — which he has already been busy doing. In June, Trump fired Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Christopher T. Hanson. No other president has ever fired an NRC Commissioner. Earlier, more than 100 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff were purged by Elon Musk’s DOGE operation. There has been a stream of Trump executive orders calling for a sharp reduction in radiation standards, expedited approval by the NRC of nuclear plant license applications and a demand to quadruple nuclear power in the United States — from the current 100 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts in 2050. Such a move would require huge federal subsidies and the virtual obliteration of safety regulations. Trump has essentially ordered the NRC to “rubber-stamp” all requests from the nuclear industry in which he is now directly invested. Trump’s Truth Social fusion ownership stake removes all doubt about any regulatory neutrality. No presently operating or proposed US atomic reactor can be considered certifiably safe. Trump’s fusion investments are also bound to escalate Trump’s war against renewable energy and battery storage, the primary competitors facing the billionaire fossil/nuke army in which the Trump family is now formally enlisting. That membership blows to zero the credibility of any claim nuclear reactor backers might make that atomic energy can officially be considered safe. The NRC has long served as a lapdog to the atomic power industry. The acronym NRC has often been said to stand for “No Real Chance” or “Nobody Really Cares.” The commission has been forever infamous for granting the industry whatever it might want, no matter the risk to public safety. It has employed some highly competent technical staff, lending some gravitas to the industry’s marginal claims to even a modicum of competence. But the NRC is well known for trashing even its established staff. Most notable may be the case of Dr. Michael Peck, a long-standing site inspector at California’s Diablo Canyon twin-reactor nuclear power plant. In an extensive report, Peck warned that Diablo might be unable to withstand a likely earthquake. The NRC trashed his findings. Now he’s gone from the agency altogether. His warnings have been ignored at a reactor site surrounded by more than a dozen confirmed seismic faults. The splitting of the atom, fission, is the way the atomic bomb and nuclear power plants work up to now. Fusion involves fusing light atoms. It’s how the hydrogen bomb works, and it comes with many extremely complex health, safety, economic and ecological demands. In an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Daniel Jassby, principal research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, working on fusion energy research and development for 25 years, concluded that fusion power “is something to be shunned.” His piece was titled “Fusion reactors: Not what they’re cracked up to be.” “Fusion reactors have long been touted as the ‘perfect’ energy source,” he wrote. And “humanity is moving much closer” to “achieving that breakthrough moment when the amount of energy coming out of a fusion reactor will sustainably exceed the amount going in, producing net energy.” “As we move closer to our goal, however,” continued Jassby, “it is time to ask: Is fusion really a ‘perfect’ energy source? After having worked on nuclear fusion experiments for 25 years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, I began to look at the fusion enterprise more dispassionately in my retirement. I concluded that a fusion reactor would be far from perfect, and in some ways close to the opposite.” “Unlike what happens,” when fusion occurs on the sun, “which uses ordinary hydrogen at enormous density and temperature,” on Earth, fusion reactors that burn neutron-rich isotopes have byproducts that are anything but harmless,” he said. A key radioactive substance involved in the fusion process on Earth would be tritium, a radioactive variant of hydrogen. Thus, there would be “four regrettable problems”— “radiation damage to structures; radioactive waste; the need for biological shielding; and the potential for the production of weapons-grade plutonium 239 — thus adding to the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation, not lessening it, as fusion proponents would have it,” wrote Jassby. About nuclear weapons proliferation, “The open or clandestine production of plutonium 239 is possible in a fusion reactor simply by placing natural or depleted uranium oxide at any location where neutrons of any energy are flying about. The ocean of slowing-down neutrons that results from scattering of the streaming fusion neutrons on the reaction vessel permeates every nook and cranny of the reactor interior, including appendages to the reaction vessel.” “In addition, there are the problems of coolant demands and poor water efficiency,” Jassby continues. “A fusion reactor is a thermal power plant that would place immense demands on water resources for the secondary cooling loop that generates steam, as well as for removing heat from other reactor subsystems such as cryogenic refrigerators and pumps….In fact, a fusion reactor would have the lowest water efficiency of any type of thermal power plant, whether fossil or nuclear. With drought conditions intensifying in sundry regions of the world, many countries could not physically sustain large fusion reactors.” “And all of the above means that any fusion reactor will face outsized operating costs,” he wrote. “To sum up, fusion reactors face some unique problems: a lack of a natural fuel supply (tritium), and large and irreducible electrical energy drains….These impediments — together with the colossal capital outlay and several additional disadvantages shared with fission reactors — will make fusion reactors more demanding to construct and operate, or reach economic practicality, than any other type of electrical energy generator.” “The harsh realities of fusion belie the claims of proponents like Trump of ‘unlimited, clean, safe and cheap energy.’ Terrestrial fusion energy is not the ideal energy source extolled by its boosters,” declared the scientist. Of course, for Trump, whether it has to do with tariffs, health care, affordability, the democratic process … and on and on, reality is not a concern, especially when it involves public safety or legitimate profit. Trump’s war on Iran has also vastly escalated the danger of drone attacks on atomic reactors, an apocalyptic threat now being used by Russia’s Putin against nuclear power plants in Ukraine. Any atomic reactor (there are 94 now licensed in the US) is vulnerable to a major disaster perpetrated by a single drone strike, as would be any future fusion plants completed by Truth Social. Amidst his escalating attacks on renewable energy and atomic safety, the Trump family’s investments in nuclear fusion live under a bad cloud that threatens us all. The post Nuclear Power Equals Trump Profits appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Karl Grossman - Harvey Wasserman.
Symphony of Soles: A Tribute to Alexander Kluge
A Renaissance man who survived the modern terrors of total war, Alexander Kluge died this week in Munich at the age of 94. He might not have made it past 13. His hometown of Halberstadt, near the geographic center of Germany, was destroyed by aerial bombardment just a month before the end of World War More The post Symphony of Soles: A Tribute to Alexander Kluge appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405381" class="wp-image-405381 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Alexander-kluge-2009-ffm-011.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Alexander-kluge-2009-ffm-011.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Alexander-kluge-2009-ffm-011-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Alexander-kluge-2009-ffm-011-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Alexander Kluge receiving the Adorno prize in Frankfurt, Germany, 2009. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0 A Renaissance man who survived the modern terrors of total war, Alexander Kluge died this week in Munich at the age of 94. He might not have made it past 13. His hometown of Halberstadt, near the geographic center of Germany, was destroyed by aerial bombardment just a month before the end of World War II. American bombers had been diverted from other higher-priority targets because of cloud cover and instead laid waste to this city of no military, industrial, or strategic importance. Kluge confronted this catastrophe exactingly and dispassionately in his 1977 book, Der Luftangriff auf Halberstadt am 8. April 1945 (The Airstrike on Halberstadt on 8 April 1945). Mixing prose, diagrams, drawings, and photographs, Kluge juxtaposed the quotidian— inhabitants going about their lives in a time of war—with the bureaucratic structures of destruction so inexorable that even a white flag hung from the highest church steeple would not, he claimed, have prevented the Americans from dropping their bombs. It is a devastating, unforgettable book, only translated (as Air Raid) into English in 2014. One might well think that the Americans did not want to hear about their detached, ruthless killing of civilians by their own armed forces. Air Raid should be required reading for Erika Kirk and every cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and not just when children are being obliterated from above in Gaza and Iran. Kluge’s own experience of the attack on Halberstadt is never mentioned in the book, even though he only narrowly survived when a bomb exploded thirty feet from his house. He was a lifelong pacifist. After the war, Kluge left Halberstadt with his mother and finished high school in Berlin, then studied law, history, and church music. He was mentored by Theodor Adorno in Frankfurt. After turning away from a career as a jurist, he became towering presence in postwar German life: filmmaker, author, philosopher, historian. Along with Rainer Fassbinder and Werner Herzog, he was a leading force in the New German Cinema that broke with the overwhelmingly sentimental, escapist German movie industry and instead addressed social, moral, and political issues of the present—which also meant confronting the traumatic past. In a disjointed, nonlinear style, Abschied von Gestern (English title: Yesterday’s Girl) follows a young Jewish woman who has fled the GDR and has difficulty finding her way in a West German city with its consumerist, capitalist values. The movie won a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1966. Two years later, Kluge took the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion, for Artists in the Big Top: Perplexed, about a failing avant-garde circus—an allegory for Kluge’s own sometimes frustrated efforts to help transform German filmmaking. Fascinated by technology throughout his fantastically productive artistic life, he embraced artificial intelligence in his last years. With it, he produced virtuosically offbeat, archly profound miniatures with dogs in orbit, dinosaurs in the Milky Way, and Jacobins in space. These are available through the online archive devoted to Kluge’s work and curated by Cornell University. It through this initiative that I came to have a long video conversation with him about the organ. Kluge had been trained as an organist. We talked about music and the curious, particularly German tradition of making music with all four limbs. Halberstadt was a famous organ city. Its cathedral, which escaped in large part the devastation of the American bombing, had an impressive instrument finished in 1362. Even after that prized construction was replaced by newer technology, the original console—with its two manuals with big keys, a keyboard with larger levers for the knees, and even bigger bars for the feet—remained in the church. The console was depicted in a woodcut printed in a seminal book about the organ, Michael Praetorius’s De Organographia, published in 1615. Kluge and I spoke of this long-gone artifact and its representation. We spoke of the many organs of Halberstadt, and other things too: Karl Marx’s German Ideology’ the harmony of the spheres, the unseen labor of organ pumpers treading massive bellows; digital technology and the fingers as interface; solar wind, and the organ’s breath of life. I had sent Kluge my book, Bach’s Feet, and he said that he liked thinking of the young Bach covering hundreds of miles on foot to go and hear other organists and play famous organs. Kluge cited recent studies that suggested that our hominid ancestors had developed bipedalism first not as a way to spy predators over the long grass of the African savannah, but to move quickly among the branches of trees. When these forbears came down from the trees, they experienced the ground first through the soles of their bare feet. In leather shoes, Bach played on keys of wood, often evoking heaven. Directly after that conversation, I went and played Cornell’s reconstruction of a Baroque instrument that had been in the Castle of Charlottenburg, that is, in the district of Berlin where Kluge lived after the war. That famous instrument had been destroyed in an aerial attack earlier in 1945. In the Cornell chapel, I put my iPhone on the altar, pressed “record,” then went up to the organ loft and improvised a prelude to the Symphony of Soles we had discussed. My miniature began with the feet alone playing Renaissance counterpoint—not on the pedal’s biggest and most powerful pipes, but instead using its littlest ones: sweet flutes. This was meant to be an evocation of our ancestors walking on branches. This pedal polyphony then paused on a single pitch, as if overtaken by other thoughts. The music and monkey descended from the tree. A single cluster accumulated, as if the feet were feeling the earth. Thoughts took flight in fast, rising figures as the drone remained planted on the grass. The creature was upright, standing on the ground, the hands free to grab and gather. I began pulling out more stops, building a crescendo. The stance generated a feeling of power and possibility, terror and triumph, coursing up from the bottom of the feet. I sent Kluge the recording and heard back from his assistant that he had been delighted and intrigued by the little piece, that he had heard and seen many things in this ad hoc postlude to our conversation. Kluge’s life was long in human terms, but just a tiny flash measured against the many-million-year spans of his galactic art. He could be precisely attuned to the here and now while contemplating the unfathomable expanse of space and time. Thank you, Alexander Kluge, for extending the history of musical touch all the way back to our ancestors singing and swaying on branches and then landing on the ground below. Thank you for encouraging me to feel the miraculous, calamitous past and thrilling present from the bottom up, through the contact of living surfaces with human soles. Kluge at work: Sohlen-Symph <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-405384" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-680x912.png" alt="" width="680" height="912" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-680x912.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-470x630.png 470w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-768x1030.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-1146x1536.png 1146w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-500x670.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM-600x805.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-27-at-2.41.43-PM.png 1238w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The post Symphony of Soles: A Tribute to Alexander Kluge appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by David Yearsley.
If The U.S. Couldn’t Beat Sandino 100 Years Ago, How Can It Defeat Iran Today?
They never learn. In 1912, the United States extracted a huge indemnity from Nicaragua for having the nerve to request that U.S. companies pay taxes. American bankers generously loaned the cost of the indemnity, and Washington dispatched the Marines to compensate for a lack of collateral. Taking over the customs houses, national banks, and railroads, More The post If The U.S. Couldn’t Beat Sandino 100 Years Ago, How Can It Defeat Iran Today? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405333" class="wp-image-405333" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Augusto_Cesar_Sandino.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="531" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Augusto_Cesar_Sandino.jpg 601w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Augusto_Cesar_Sandino-500x390.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Augusto César Sandino – Public Domain They never learn. In 1912, the United States extracted a huge indemnity from Nicaragua for having the nerve to request that U.S. companies pay taxes. American bankers generously loaned the cost of the indemnity, and Washington dispatched the Marines to compensate for a lack of collateral. Taking over the customs houses, national banks, and railroads, they never got around to leaving. Fourteen years later General Augusto Cesar Sandino decided to serve an eviction notice, forming Nicaragua’s first army of national liberation with twenty-nine illiterate San Albino miners. The men were working fifteen hours a day hacking gold out of the earth for a U.S. company and sleeping jammed together in a shed. When Sandino gave the word they dynamited the mines and followed him into the mountains. The patriotic prostitutes of Puerto Cabezas divulged the location of a Marine stash of rifles and cartridges they had learned from pillow talk, and soon the army of liberation had its first arms and ammunition. Sandino’s men also grabbed rifles from fallen enemies and carved bullets out of tree bark where they had become embedded. Machetes proved useful for chopping off heads, and sardine-can grenades filled with glass, nails, screws and dynamite scattered the enemy efficiently. The State Department accused Sandino of using “the stealthy and ruthless tactics which characterized the savages who fell upon American settlers in our country 150 years ago.” In short, Washington complained that “the General of Free Men,” as Sandino was known in Nicaragua, wasn’t conducting his killing in a civilized manner. Sandino’s reply indicated he was not one to be easily trolled: “Liberty is not conquered with flowers,” he said. Enjoying overwhelming superiority of force, U.S. bombers blew apart cattle and horses, wrecked crops, and destroyed villages, but Nicaragua’s “crazy little army” (Gabriela Mistral) avoided toe-to-toe engagement, biding its time until attack was least expected. Then Sandino and his men would ambush from behind or strike the enemy along its flanks, before vanishing into the jungle unscathed. With Nicaragua’s army of national liberation growing and winning, thousands of Marines and dozens of warships arrived to bolster Washington’s puppet president, Adolfo Diaz, and hunt down the “bandit” Sandino. Yet, of dozens of battles, large and small, the U.S. lost nearly all of them. For all their firepower, the Marines proved to be no better than sitting ducks. Loaded down with heavy equipment, they stomped wearily through the jungle, baked by the sun, drenched by the rain, choking on dust, wilted by humidity, easy targets for repeated attacks by Sandino’s men, who popped out of the brush to slit their throats with alarming regularity. Eventually, Washington resorted to a bribe, and let Captain Hatfield hint of surrender. From his mountain hideout Sandino declined the offer with exquisite courtesy: “I don’t sell out or surrender,” he wrote, followed by his signature: “Your obedient servant, who desires to put you in a handsome coffin with beautiful bouquets of flowers.” After years of occupation, U.S. officials dominated Nicaragua from top to bottom and did not want to leave. Clifford D. Ham was comptroller of customs and general tax collector, and also the Nicaraguan correspondent for United Press. Another U.S. official, Irving Lindberg, was the correspondent for the Associated Press. A U.S. colonel headed up the “Nicaraguan” army, a U.S. captain directed the police force, and U.S. Brigadier General Frank McCoy – dubbed by one U.S. newspaper “the Mussolini of Nicaragua” – was in charge of the National Electoral Junta. The elections of 1928 were organized by General Logan Feland, commander of U.S. occupation forces, who had 432 Marines and a dozen U.S. planes on hand to guarantee “security” at the voting tables. The year before the elections, President Coolidge requested Colonel Henry L. Stimson visit Nicaragua to see if he could pacify the country behind the puppet Diaz. Stimson spoke no Spanish and regarded Nicaraguans as “like children and unable to maintain the obligations which go with independence.” In his view Nicaragua could only escape civil war through revolution, which he discounted, or else “a concentration of practically all the powers of government in presidential dictators,” which he regarded as the more reasonable option. Stimson managed to get all warring Nicaraguan factions to lay down their arms – except Sandino – who he made the mistake of ignoring. Sharing the racist view that whites occupied the top rung on the world’s racial ladder, he failed to take the proper measure of his adversary and the people who overwhelmingly supported him. “Sandino is a man of the people, and therefore nothing better than a bandit,” he said simply. By 1928, Sandino was big news in the United States. The Washington Herald devoted pages to covering his “outlaw band.” With the U.S. suffering high troop losses and the war costing taxpayers millions, the U.S. faced increasing criticism at home. Montana Senator Burton Wheeler suggested that Chicago was a more appropriate location for fighting bandits than Nicaragua was. Another critic wrote that if Washington thought it could establish democratic elections so easily it might try its hand in corrupt Philadelphia. A U.S. businessman complained that U.S. policy “has proved a calamity for the American coffee planters . . . Today we are hated and despised” because the Marines were sent “to hunt down and kill Nicaraguans in their own country.” Four years later Sandino triumphantly entered the capital Managua, causing the U.S. occupation forces to fall back in disarray. On the first day of 1933, the U.S. packed up its ships and planes and left Nicaragua. That’s what happened when Washington tried to occupy and govern a small republic with virtually no military in the U.S.’s “backyard.” What are the chances it can now successfully govern a large West Asian nation of ninety-three million people armed with tens or hundreds of thousands of missiles and drones? Sources Hodgson, The Colonel – The Life and Wars of Henry Stimson 1867-1950 (Knopf, 1990) David F. Schmitz, Thank God They’re On Our Side – The United States & Right Wing Dictatorships (University of North Carolina, 1999) Walter LaFeber, The American Age, (W. W. Norton, 1989) Peter Davis, Where Is Nicaragua?, (Simon and Schuster, 1987) Eduardo Galeano, Memory of Fire, vol 3, (Pantheon, 1988) pps. 19, 62, 68-71 The post If The U.S. Couldn’t Beat Sandino 100 Years Ago, How Can It Defeat Iran Today? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Michael K. Smith.
The bias problem with Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot was easy to see last summer when it started spewing antisemitism and calling itself “MechaHitler.” This episode came into being because Musk reportedly did not like some [ . . . ] The post Is AI Born Biased? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1098" height="390" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png 1098w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-768x273.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-500x178.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1098" height="390" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png 1098w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-768x273.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-500x178.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1098" height="390" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png 1098w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-768x273.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-500x178.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1098" height="390" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png 1098w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-768x273.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-500x178.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1098" height="390" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png 1098w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-768x273.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-500x178.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405101" class="wp-image-405101 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png" alt="" width="680" height="242" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-680x242.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-768x273.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-500x178.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM-600x213.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.45.19-AM.png 1098w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Poster image for Steven Spielberg’s AI. (Detail.) The bias problem with Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot was easy to see last summer when it started spewing antisemitism and calling itself “MechaHitler.” This episode came into being because Musk reportedly did not like some correct answers that Grok generated about right-wing political violence, so Musk and his team reset the parameters for Grok, instructing it to discount the traditional mainstream media and “not shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect.” The result was an explicitly antisemitic AI. It’s an extreme case, to be sure – but it should raise some bigger questions about the limits of this still emerging technology. One might assume that as long as there isn’t someone strongly ideological like Elon Musk manipulating the settings behind the scene, an AI model’s responses are purely fact based. That would be wrong. Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek are all biased. In fact, they can be said to be born biased. This fact was made clear in recently published research by scholars from the University of Oxford and the University of Kentucky, who were able to reveal biases buried in ChatGPT that are much more subtle than Grok praising Adolf Hitler. As one commentator noted, some of these biases seem to stem from anti-Black racist ideas: Mississippi, the state with the largest share of its population that is Black, is rated as the laziest state, while African nations are rated the least intelligent countries. The limited data available on AI systems harming particular groups suggests that race-based harms are the most common. Why is this so? Consider the old computer science saying: garbage in, garbage out. If one inputs bad data into a computer program, then the computer output will also be bad. AI chatbots like ChatGPT are trained on massive troves of documents created by human beings, some of whom are antisemitic, racist, and/or sexist. All human biases are within the generative database of these AI products. One doesn’t need an Elon Musk for these biases to influence the output from AI. These types of AI are good at stereotyping because, in essence, that is what they are designed to do. The scholars from Oxford and the University of Kentucky write about the “averaging bias” of AI systems. When an AI model creates an averaged response based on the available documents in the training data, it is basically stereotyping. ChatGPT and other similar models are not designed to find the truth; they are designed to produce stereotypical output that would be agreeable to a typical user. For example, a different analysis of AI generated images based on a prompt calling for an image of “a wealthy person in Africa” showed Black men in rural areas, often in front of thatched huts. Over 40 percent of the sub-Saharan African population lives in urban areas; several African cities have populations in the millions. It is highly doubtful that African millionaires and billionaires live in thatched huts in rural communities, yet that was the AI output – which might meet the stereotypic expectations of many users and be perceived as a “good” image by them, but it is far from reality. Inaccurate stereotypes matter because they can lead to mistreatment and bad policies. But the immediate harms of AI systems go beyond generating stereotypes. For example, the Federal Trade Commission banned Rite Aid from using its AI facial recognition system to identify shoplifters after it generated “thousands of false-positive matches” primarily in Black and Asian American communities and “subjected consumers to embarrassment, harassment, and other harm.” In 2023, the US Customs and Border Protection required the use of an app for asylum applications that did not work well with people with dark skin color. Since using the app was required, it prevented many Haitians and Africans from applying for asylum. Navy Federal Credit Union’s automated underwriting system has been accused of racial bias against Black mortgage applicants. As the use of AI systems proliferates, so do the opportunities for biased output. There are computer scientists who think that the bias problems in AI systems can be fixed with a few instructions to counteract overt bias. But the evidence suggests that the problem of bias can’t completely be fixed. The only method to counteract AI bias is the same one we use to counteract human bias: strong and effective diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. New technologies that merely automate existing biases risk embedding racism even more deeply in our society. This first appeared in the Detroit News. The post Is AI Born Biased? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Algernon Austin.
In the wake of Washington’s January 3 military attack and then problematic détente with Caracas, corporate media suggest a meaningful shift in Venezuela policy, implying relief for a country long subjected to economic coercion. However, far from dismantling the sanctions regime, the US has merely adjusted its application through licensing mechanisms, leaving the core structure More The post US Sanctions on Venezuela Continue appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405276" class="wp-image-405276 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM-680x468.png" alt="" width="680" height="468" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM-680x468.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM-916x630.png 916w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM-768x528.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM-500x344.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM-600x413.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-11.51.01-AM.png 1146w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Roger Kuzna. In the wake of Washington’s January 3 military attack and then problematic détente with Caracas, corporate media suggest a meaningful shift in Venezuela policy, implying relief for a country long subjected to economic coercion. However, far from dismantling the sanctions regime, the US has merely adjusted its application through licensing mechanisms, leaving the core structure of coercive measures fully intact. Reuters reported “US lifts some Venezuela sanctions,” followed by news of sanctions being further “eased.” Both NBC News and ABC News likewise reported sanctions “eased,” while the Financial Times wrote that Washington “relaxes sanctions.” Reuters later found that “US waives many of the sanctions,” and the Los Angeles Times noted “targeted relief from sanctions” The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) described a “huge easing of sanctions.” Not a single sanction has been rescinded In fact, there is no evidence of any revocation of executive orders, removal of Venezuela-related sanctions authorities, and certainly no formal termination or suspension of Washington’s sanctions regime. At a February 21 meeting I attended in Venezuela, Anti-Blockade Vice Minister William Castillo described sanctions as a “policy of extermination.” These measures, “the most cruel aggression against our people,” had been renewed on February 18 by Trump. To do so, he had to certify the original mistruth first fabricated by Barack Obama in 2015: that Venezuela poses an “extraordinary threat” to US national security. Castillo cited 1,087 measures imposed by the US and another 916 by its echo, the European Union. These unilateral coercive measures have a corrosive effect on popular support for the government, which is precisely the purpose of this form of collective punishment, illegal under international law. In 2023, Castillo described Washington’s economic aggression as a means to destroy Venezuela without having to invade. The Bolivarian Revolution’s successful resistance, including positive GDP growth while under siege, suggests why the US felt compelled to escalate with a military incursion on January 3, killing over 100 and kidnapping the country’s lawful head of state and his wife. In Castillo’s words, the US escalated from “a war without gunpowder…against the civilian population” to an actual one. As grave as the direct US military aggression has been – including 157 fatalities since last September in alleged drug interdictions of small craft in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific – the body count from the coercive economic measures has been far higher. Former UN Special Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas estimated that sanctions have caused over 100,000 excess deaths. There is even a literal playbook on how to apply sanctions to inflict “pain” on civilians for “maximum effectiveness.” The author of The Art of Sanctions is Richard Nephew, a former US State Department senior official in the Biden administration who was responsible for implementing such policies. Licenses vs. sanctions What has happened in practice is a much more limited form of relief under the sanctions regime. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has issued broad licenses allowing certain dealings primarily with Venezuela’s state oil (PDVSA) and gold (Minerven) sectors. OFAC licenses carve out limited exceptions principally benefitting US and other foreign corporations, not necessarily the Venezuelan people. Activities are authorized that would otherwise be illegal under US law, even though such activities are lawful under international law. They come with conditions, limits, and reporting requirements and can be revoked at any time. In practical terms, sanctions remain in place, although certain transactions are temporarily allowed under strict licensing rules. “The result is a hybrid scheme in which formal sanctions and operational licenses coexist, enabling limited flows of economic activity,” according to Misión Verdad. This flexible arrangement of sanctions combined with licenses allows US and other foreign corporations to make a profit off of the coercive system. Under sanctions alone, the targeted people overwhelmingly suffer but, secondarily, US and other corporations are shut out. Under this hybrid system, control is maintained and money is made. However, most foreign investors are reluctant to make important investment decisions when there is uncertainty, especially given Mr. Trump’s mercurial reputation. A temporary license does not provide the security that corporations normally require. Recuperating the Venezuelan oil industry would necessitate “a gigantic investment.” Such investments will be unlikely if Venezuela is sanctioned, the licenses notwithstanding. Media framing and blaming Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and “First Combatant” Cilia Flores remain in a New York City jail, reportedly in solitary confinement. Regarding what happened on January 3, corporate media sources overwhelmingly use relatively anodyne terms such as “downfall,” “removal,” or “ouster,” rather than the more pointed “kidnapping” or “abduction.” When the legality of this clearly illegal act of war is questioned by either the media or by the Democrats, it is mainly confined to whether President Trump required congressional approval. Likewise, application of international law regarding the illegality of unilateral coercive measures is largely absent from media coverage. Where legal issues appear, they tend to address mechanics (e.g., the US-controlled fund arrangement), rather than whether sanctions themselves violate international law. When media outlets express concern about Washington’s restrictions, it is often that easing them would “reward Maduro loyalists.” While the plight of the Venezuelan people may be acknowledged, the blame is mainly attributed to corruption and economic mismanagement, with little if any opprobrium for sanctions. As former political science professor at the Universidad de Oriente Steve Ellner (pers. comm.), notes, corruption and mismanagement do exist. But the overwhelming factor has been the sanctions regime. The blockade targeted Venezuela’s oil industry – at one point accounting for 99% of foreign-exchange earnings – forcing the country out of normal dollar-denominated markets and into black markets to survive. What Alfred de Zayas dubs the “human rights industry” similarly exhibits a convenient blind spot regarding sanctions. WOLA, for example, advocates “addressing the complex humanitarian emergency.” Yet the NGO strongly opposes sanctions relief for the people, because the coercive measures are such an effective “pressure” tool on the leadership. Former WOLA staffer David Smilde is preoccupied with “restoring” American-style democracy by imposing pressure on the “regime.” He argues: “The democratic transition in Venezuela…requires the support of international organizations.” In contrast, acting President Delcy Rodríguez views ending interference by foreign actors in Venezuela’s internal affairs as a precondition for credible elections. In particular, she calls for the US “blockade and sanctions against Venezuela [to] cease.” With sanctions still in place, the US remains the biggest obstacle to free and fair elections in Venezuela. The post US Sanctions on Venezuela Continue appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Roger Harris.
How Will Trump’s Supporters React to Seeing School Vouchers Program Increase Chinese Influence?
In September 2023, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stunned school choice advocates when he kicked out four private schools from the state’s school voucher program. The schools’ offense, according to the state’s announcement, was their “direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” which were seen as “an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of More The post How Will Trump’s Supporters React to Seeing School Vouchers Program Increase Chinese Influence? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-386710" class="wp-image-386710 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-680x510.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_4551-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair In September 2023, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stunned school choice advocates when he kicked out four private schools from the state’s school voucher program. The schools’ offense, according to the state’s <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BI1lAHOJ4jqYBrMxaKnSQrWxq-2FW31VRFMf1-2BYlvdjP3MF8NwlXYMa01S7jLkbdnq1cRlnlzBQaIRhH9X3B8swK9qDT29i2rHwPhLX4-2F9R0k18gSSh2X6u9Q15b8Qpf0K4IrAgZjvPus10U5zvx92lnU3jTP588ZBBzWKFdg2SWVrZQmH_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOCZEyrs-2BFsdXZM2S99K-2Fvk0ml4NqvnZF7s-2BKw2XhvPTXYOeYFlJ1Drb5uwDBWxiSF-2FQ-2Fu9WnU-2BJqaURpgx-2FAn2XFTujFfLz82eR6Gk0MhuRCUNn29nNXQ87uE9skVt7mufEaXohpk18utNT0MTWQfxHK-2B1mG7FEtxyTEgiDKN4ArBjTHa-2FAxBCcHvY80iOpb6BYkhEYM00WE3qmZPUBAHs-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BI1lAHOJ4jqYBrMxaKnSQrWxq-2FW31VRFMf1-2BYlvdjP3MF8NwlXYMa01S7jLkbdnq1cRlnlzBQaIRhH9X3B8swK9qDT29i2rHwPhLX4-2F9R0k18gSSh2X6u9Q15b8Qpf0K4IrAgZjvPus10U5zvx92lnU3jTP588ZBBzWKFdg2SWVrZQmH_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOCZEyrs-2BFsdXZM2S99K-2Fvk0ml4NqvnZF7s-2BKw2XhvPTXYOeYFlJ1Drb5uwDBWxiSF-2FQ-2Fu9WnU-2BJqaURpgx-2FAn2XFTujFfLz82eR6Gk0MhuRCUNn29nNXQ87uE9skVt7mufEaXohpk18utNT0MTWQfxHK-2B1mG7FEtxyTEgiDKN4ArBjTHa-2FAxBCcHvY80iOpb6BYkhEYM00WE3qmZPUBAHs-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384027000&usg=AOvVaw1R1hlD_cIHwlyPzmkvt9hT">announcement, was their “direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” which were seen as “an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of these school’s [sic] students and the public.” The alleged “ties” were not explained in the announcement. What was surprising about the announcement was that Florida has long been regarded as being “number one in <a 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freedom” by school choice advocates, and its largely unregulated voucher market, along with those of other states, has been described as the “<a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLpmE6d6Cy-2FMZ3okZaN6GwL3p928W1R6ONNHao7m7OGqNYYIPasq390xjszMEqCFh0lQ60Ln1Bn6qtzEtgd1sqS1vFV7pqcinPnQmV7bnEZz1QXk8nvUcd8lrn-2BdaYalSg-3D-3DdMze_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDUZi5FpkOu-2Fq9pskCUis9tTCoZB4R9p-2F-2FMBqIOaWcSYCJ-2B3f9nxm5Ga3HHBBnaUB4hibVz1OYW9OJOZIl-2FniWpZcenVCElQvxBiMopgpwVqD8BYLMF-2FUwGFpQ6aNlRt1VOqHevSDDeL0xRp0dyQk6jniapFxhyYWsZQ9qGIH7tVOaBuZ-2FzEOQ-2Fvy0AUh29x9pmb7TwWrN69di018jQ5IWM-3D" rel="noopener" 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west of school voucher expansions.” A report on the state’s announcement by WFTV <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKgt-2BBetVeLLHlccC9-2FB9tYL2hcNpu7BkDuzAD55feGLirMDmzFuNTfCHO6A49W7XhvprhWcJOm43F4jE5FOhi4XeWXEITEhY-2F-2FfiRPcYgUwVKOQKuoy0ROgCSLmhAIZAPcxMx9x7BwF0zUgousKWBHsOdJ0VucGZTc2FWDweecdwAbOvOc-2BjqttGbr5x3ufGA-3D-3DsMQd_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAVbR8zM2jWs69WZ-2Bt8L-2Fle4M0xOdF9Cm70fNG-2B-2BZ47geq4b2v8vTIt9ily3h7fTpKYorD46bLLuOB2lcuI5PjlNvimiKXxdyP9iX91XWvlslVp-2FOSCpBuyfLK8fTPMtcmeI8MuSgUwjHLTXOt32VleVFFJ1Qzyoio8t0M5XFsW5NH60ZBwgxzSCVp5BJqWIpRuMj4xcwkouC4SCToT4Dmw-3D" rel="noopener" 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that the governor’s decision was likely due to the for-profit owner of these schools, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crxFfQWXrCsBBbTYCjIBrVlmYhJw_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqMuGNXUR36smHeVoVKjHH9kwdOurrs0uytYAgQetCNPjB0Ts-2FWmnNfb56Gw5GokWEahMtnMVu561HXb-2FN407qvn2WkXxW5JYKkN-2FLGf32DlxEUrrvZUKYLgggTHMPGuKSypkTd3kNNmRfRZ5BuxBQJegeU4OwhTn4iTHPTngvLDkONlRra4hbX3lrQfxqbUeDdfSKXJrwssf1fomy3rYJpI-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crxFfQWXrCsBBbTYCjIBrVlmYhJw_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqMuGNXUR36smHeVoVKjHH9kwdOurrs0uytYAgQetCNPjB0Ts-2FWmnNfb56Gw5GokWEahMtnMVu561HXb-2FN407qvn2WkXxW5JYKkN-2FLGf32DlxEUrrvZUKYLgggTHMPGuKSypkTd3kNNmRfRZ5BuxBQJegeU4OwhTn4iTHPTngvLDkONlRra4hbX3lrQfxqbUeDdfSKXJrwssf1fomy3rYJpI-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384027000&usg=AOvVaw142imFuIK_mcHQBREMm6d6">Spring Education Group, “controlled by Primavera Holdings Limited,” which is a reference to <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16JsRSZfRqH9Z8BbJAT9ttHyhyqu_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqO1HvC8Am2h6fcyqxH-2FhQbIX5U6ZENfO6bDVZFlsBkjGdNn1oNIY-2Fl76eD-2BdJZhdbsFEJ-2Bhy2I180OzyzgZfJrpigmshJfLgS4jT-2BCa6wdieZE4aQcBtAyP7dTXBucK7QjB5VCvFUFEMJdfc7mU5BHjZNjx8eEx7AC43CXtXTa3K-2FCAkf0OZLToByKf9RwGwYJGH1qHh9Y3ZMiOfbSiagNw-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16JsRSZfRqH9Z8BbJAT9ttHyhyqu_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqO1HvC8Am2h6fcyqxH-2FhQbIX5U6ZENfO6bDVZFlsBkjGdNn1oNIY-2Fl76eD-2BdJZhdbsFEJ-2Bhy2I180OzyzgZfJrpigmshJfLgS4jT-2BCa6wdieZE4aQcBtAyP7dTXBucK7QjB5VCvFUFEMJdfc7mU5BHjZNjx8eEx7AC43CXtXTa3K-2FCAkf0OZLToByKf9RwGwYJGH1qHh9Y3ZMiOfbSiagNw-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw0BU4iNLRFHgvILGkK4VB-W">Primavera Capital, a private equity investment firm based in Hong Kong. Spring Education Group is one of the largest operators of private schools in the U.S., overseeing <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2F8Uk9sfNxMpR9jBVHrn0ObyUbXc4u0Eu77rURQ3ldGD0-3DdYqS_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqK01frjz1d1HobLSD99-2BIgBCM2sR6GgaoVQXc1qg9nSlhM9oKdJXD3jVKygxndzIuXxcdlhpzvsuxzTywA0sR-2FGeX7M9JfTyyceOjeaGs8w-2BPBbI4PGpJeAqcW-2BVSTz1I8loJzd2pJYavDyUFYrs2LgLbNLOw9rTNsuAYbzbiJ9Y9L-2Bx6u84goEH4XIs9wVaUm-2BrWOvQ5M3AM7J9qgMJIx4-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2F8Uk9sfNxMpR9jBVHrn0ObyUbXc4u0Eu77rURQ3ldGD0-3DdYqS_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqK01frjz1d1HobLSD99-2BIgBCM2sR6GgaoVQXc1qg9nSlhM9oKdJXD3jVKygxndzIuXxcdlhpzvsuxzTywA0sR-2FGeX7M9JfTyyceOjeaGs8w-2BPBbI4PGpJeAqcW-2BVSTz1I8loJzd2pJYavDyUFYrs2LgLbNLOw9rTNsuAYbzbiJ9Y9L-2Bx6u84goEH4XIs9wVaUm-2BrWOvQ5M3AM7J9qgMJIx4-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw1_jQLXlKI14jdRAh5SEPC-">more than 200 schools in <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2F-2B9W3fvFEGo0sz0lh1V-2BwsNuwqx0TOkV9GExL6cJFv1U-3DCKaG_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIZQZBtp9cnfwK-2BMvQ0jRrUp984puE5wEgT9-2B-2BcF1rinM7XkuVOfv4LKkR5YT0S7i4Ceh5CTsy9zLXHpFlIKJ-2Bx87Hf4TDxzeYZjzNqqgoDQptSPDvZjg9W1e-2Bd9jJY7VS-2FBKvjuUFvMWd65QFz0xxh55PlFCzk2dAb-2B9zpTmb00gR-2FAqovo924JKdOvYZvdGOVaTEyWJTEYEC4CjAjOffs-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2F-2B9W3fvFEGo0sz0lh1V-2BwsNuwqx0TOkV9GExL6cJFv1U-3DCKaG_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIZQZBtp9cnfwK-2BMvQ0jRrUp984puE5wEgT9-2B-2BcF1rinM7XkuVOfv4LKkR5YT0S7i4Ceh5CTsy9zLXHpFlIKJ-2Bx87Hf4TDxzeYZjzNqqgoDQptSPDvZjg9W1e-2Bd9jJY7VS-2FBKvjuUFvMWd65QFz0xxh55PlFCzk2dAb-2B9zpTmb00gR-2FAqovo924JKdOvYZvdGOVaTEyWJTEYEC4CjAjOffs-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw3oDD7PXl1VhcQAWs6-ESB_">19 states. The company’s schools are considered prestigious and include Stratford School, LePort Montessori Schools, Nobel Learning Communities, and BASIS Independent Schools. In a written statement to WFTV, spokespersons representing the four Florida schools, banned from the voucher program, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKgt-2BBetVeLLHlccC9-2FB9tYL2hcNpu7BkDuzAD55feGLirMDmzFuNTfCHO6A49W7XhvprhWcJOm43F4jE5FOhi4XeWXEITEhY-2F-2FfiRPcYgUwVKOQKuoy0ROgCSLmhAIZAPcxMx9x7BwF0zUgousKWBHsOdJ0VucGZTc2FWDweecdwAbOvOc-2BjqttGbr5x3ufGA-3D-3DEAPs_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOzZToq2PZoLec8fR9W7HhK0F6HH8qbzQg8OrHSMdn-2Ba1iLH5xopXqVXPaZjUXOyHswz-2FUiWFK5gYvGleJtszzLxaE9dBtVRkSxR7kOPTbjpon-2BYOFWvczr0tL2aBqCOy3l4RKUKZt-2FWuSdeM6m2M1H08rA3q3DG0-2BQ8OnT51jAqcokoRiQE1aJsEE-2B5S8-2F45yWYPUYx5DmBmyzxzyuVRrA-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKgt-2BBetVeLLHlccC9-2FB9tYL2hcNpu7BkDuzAD55feGLirMDmzFuNTfCHO6A49W7XhvprhWcJOm43F4jE5FOhi4XeWXEITEhY-2F-2FfiRPcYgUwVKOQKuoy0ROgCSLmhAIZAPcxMx9x7BwF0zUgousKWBHsOdJ0VucGZTc2FWDweecdwAbOvOc-2BjqttGbr5x3ufGA-3D-3DEAPs_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOzZToq2PZoLec8fR9W7HhK0F6HH8qbzQg8OrHSMdn-2Ba1iLH5xopXqVXPaZjUXOyHswz-2FUiWFK5gYvGleJtszzLxaE9dBtVRkSxR7kOPTbjpon-2BYOFWvczr0tL2aBqCOy3l4RKUKZt-2FWuSdeM6m2M1H08rA3q3DG0-2BQ8OnT51jAqcokoRiQE1aJsEE-2B5S8-2F45yWYPUYx5DmBmyzxzyuVRrA-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw1q941zwD8xLg-Uy2uwLSi0">stated, “We are regularly acknowledged as one of the best private schools in our area and have a track record of delivering outstanding educational outcomes, which is why parents choose us. Our schools are locally run, abide by local, state, and federal laws, and do not have ties to any government or political party.” Nevertheless, when the New York Post, a conservative tabloid owned by right-wing firebrand Rupert Murdoch, caught wind of this story from Florida, it <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCZSjOSDRhdqdCQfthPNG-2BKN1-2BtNAOofroS2c2nh3xR8Sgn2KmdWTeHPA9Gp3hmmMSfSz-2FrAGsAaiyfl42vNfkeVr-2Bimz833ZLp0Zz1nr-2FAceXADUyIlC1SjHwmcUJMThQ-3D-3DLfwG_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDNOPRwoUpnQwZLMTzCpZEH4DSkUvu4S-2Bn7IFCDZCCJN-2BND0QzFysX7UDr9dJknEbLqOoSvnWl-2FoH-2Bxs33uLlrZXKYjmhswsT6tIT5NSzk-2BKe6G-2F8Hj-2F01B0VTVZPOoS05mv-2FXE0W71tJOtnHmCc-2BVz891QDYuWZRKYjAakx82dasU5-2Bns8ET2bzHrL80ypL8Y8wIof-2B5i57wtY03idawoc-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCZSjOSDRhdqdCQfthPNG-2BKN1-2BtNAOofroS2c2nh3xR8Sgn2KmdWTeHPA9Gp3hmmMSfSz-2FrAGsAaiyfl42vNfkeVr-2Bimz833ZLp0Zz1nr-2FAceXADUyIlC1SjHwmcUJMThQ-3D-3DLfwG_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDNOPRwoUpnQwZLMTzCpZEH4DSkUvu4S-2Bn7IFCDZCCJN-2BND0QzFysX7UDr9dJknEbLqOoSvnWl-2FoH-2Bxs33uLlrZXKYjmhswsT6tIT5NSzk-2BKe6G-2F8Hj-2F01B0VTVZPOoS05mv-2FXE0W71tJOtnHmCc-2BVz891QDYuWZRKYjAakx82dasU5-2Bns8ET2bzHrL80ypL8Y8wIof-2B5i57wtY03idawoc-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw0VNvjz67h6Mv924GGsOXfH">reported that “[a] group of elite private schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn,” operated by BASIS Independent Schools, were sold to Spring Education Group in 2019. “Primavera’s chairman and CEO is Fred Zuliu Hu, who has previously been named as a one-time senior member of the Chinese Communist Party.” The article further said that “While BASIS schools tell parents in a disclaimer that its parent company, Spring Education Group, is controlled by Primavera, which it says, ‘is itself owned by Chinese persons residing in Hong Kong,’ the schools do not acknowledge the Communist link. Primavera dispute[s] that Hu is currently a Communist Party member.” But concerns about Spring Education Group and Primavera continued to be a flashpoint among conservative lawmakers and advocates in other states. In February 2024, Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote a high-profile <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCaVDCLTjoZUPWTkXE30ygZO7N8ki95523muTgE2ZyyLKzLUjC-2BUhYzoakR2lKQKjma0LyRLtSWuLbOnQD5LIc8-3D6iV2_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqKpP9h-2B9EKJCtTJVTLfU5aGLjM1ks4T-2BKPQJCB93ZgBY4Z3TBe5J6pxDLeSsy0bPV4-2B-2BFScNar7JNOh71zEOUElRl21-2Fno0LeX6vifB2IYCe9MBk-2FG9V6g-2BEnDUv-2BsfEITsEG3T1jwac1gnKA4Er7-2Bcp-2BlB9MD6itM8w40F3OG2Zzr5KL27XGjNNEsZOcrrPJVFWSOgdqeOusfPKd3X3j2c-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCaVDCLTjoZUPWTkXE30ygZO7N8ki95523muTgE2ZyyLKzLUjC-2BUhYzoakR2lKQKjma0LyRLtSWuLbOnQD5LIc8-3D6iV2_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqKpP9h-2B9EKJCtTJVTLfU5aGLjM1ks4T-2BKPQJCB93ZgBY4Z3TBe5J6pxDLeSsy0bPV4-2B-2BFScNar7JNOh71zEOUElRl21-2Fno0LeX6vifB2IYCe9MBk-2FG9V6g-2BEnDUv-2BsfEITsEG3T1jwac1gnKA4Er7-2Bcp-2BlB9MD6itM8w40F3OG2Zzr5KL27XGjNNEsZOcrrPJVFWSOgdqeOusfPKd3X3j2c-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw3_3CReFz4g24N8alpIICdV">letter to then-U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressing concerns about another company associated with Primavera Capital called <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLJs7R-2BLY46qQVfztUvn2jo-3DCh0t_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDgyUmUCXAKxQpbhsIoWYtzQNDjqxld63fe5UC83S2WMDP6dg2jGi1MhhD-2Bv1GYolqrRtnq-2BFJEyDYAg8vZd4T4aYEzq8xQdHoMsWt-2Fb0mpNQ8nkoPOdsG8vXGo2CW7UPvP6u5CvU0tKzk99IYWjsxDAt-2FJBPsxgaA-2BpPd3LNQ0BwiVvzv71JGFRyO4q1Mez-2FG4V71bDhpCrHB5x-2B0m0Jyk-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLJs7R-2BLY46qQVfztUvn2jo-3DCh0t_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDgyUmUCXAKxQpbhsIoWYtzQNDjqxld63fe5UC83S2WMDP6dg2jGi1MhhD-2Bv1GYolqrRtnq-2BFJEyDYAg8vZd4T4aYEzq8xQdHoMsWt-2Fb0mpNQ8nkoPOdsG8vXGo2CW7UPvP6u5CvU0tKzk99IYWjsxDAt-2FJBPsxgaA-2BpPd3LNQ0BwiVvzv71JGFRyO4q1Mez-2FG4V71bDhpCrHB5x-2B0m0Jyk-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw3kDeytW57lcnki2aUZzWaa">Tutor.com. “Tutor.com is a long-standing provider of tutoring services to our service members and their families,” Cotton wrote, and its acquisition by “a Chinese-owned corporation,” along with the Princeton Review in 2022, concerned him. “Tutor.com collects personal data on users,” the senator said, “such as location, internet protocol addresses, and contents of the tutoring sessions.” That business arrangement, Cotton maintained, was akin to “paying to expose our military and their children’s private information to the Chinese Communist Party.” Cotton’s letter quickly caught the attention of multiple right-wing advocacy groups. In March 2024, Parents Defending Education, a conservative <a 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organization that accuses public schools and universities of spreading “transgender ideology” and liberal “indoctrination,” <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEpbFeBkOiZs1wB9rMCEgwC5K6ucpwEj6DSDN25ThiTVY0cvJa3SeuwFAR-2Bxf9ow2qyOkWFlQsxMeuKP1Q6vyVfsuDaUjRLD84N5YmIRqOLbAtGndColVAEH4BDudBvBzg-3D-3DJXBO_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqNDSWvEqZfORF2FOguHlLCsOM2DCLMKffyeW0dTIbe4-2Bu7BR9KgpkUxLu5uXclJ6AcZpwHQ3zgtPSupVLdj7wCg2TUeYD4kiAXK0kVczJsRqX2rmSS2qHmN9bykJnY-2FV3EmZp8eB00QQI5A36Ne53p8wHHn5EVKe-2Bm0GdljmPejPARljjKpDbP0rffOhxuyeDAV-2BqZ2UmdwnChoSSVaCARQ-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEpbFeBkOiZs1wB9rMCEgwC5K6ucpwEj6DSDN25ThiTVY0cvJa3SeuwFAR-2Bxf9ow2qyOkWFlQsxMeuKP1Q6vyVfsuDaUjRLD84N5YmIRqOLbAtGndColVAEH4BDudBvBzg-3D-3DJXBO_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqNDSWvEqZfORF2FOguHlLCsOM2DCLMKffyeW0dTIbe4-2Bu7BR9KgpkUxLu5uXclJ6AcZpwHQ3zgtPSupVLdj7wCg2TUeYD4kiAXK0kVczJsRqX2rmSS2qHmN9bykJnY-2FV3EmZp8eB00QQI5A36Ne53p8wHHn5EVKe-2Bm0GdljmPejPARljjKpDbP0rffOhxuyeDAV-2BqZ2UmdwnChoSSVaCARQ-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw1NZCioLx2g5dFSQRrDS_0T">issued a “non-exhaustive list of school districts that give students access to Tutor.com.” (In 2025, Parents Defending Education <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEpbFeBkOiZs1wB9rMCEgwBoTg9VvIe0PVJTAeSVHGVG4Pzn1oA3FBhnsUPhr5jelnXr9-2BS19lZ7rD4my3EG-2FRT57m154IaA6v1A0d1k6tunFZfh_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCEbwuDN0PZlVS4y0GFCCJ2cOGy3gJDC9M-2FDTxE23IJbiSAFhHBl3KYMHe8UMohl0qGpZh1cfGohRLULT78kR8uXyxrXwF91-2FqhI9-2FXxbvzsMPKliauH8J-2BN5oxXlG5pSOpDq2SEiU6h5HvDeOmpbfJP6HfWMO2c7b30m1M2tnbsNPrAo5ot3d-2FHlfOvWU0NzWd7eCaHx7tzCGbI9B0qMPQ-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEpbFeBkOiZs1wB9rMCEgwBoTg9VvIe0PVJTAeSVHGVG4Pzn1oA3FBhnsUPhr5jelnXr9-2BS19lZ7rD4my3EG-2FRT57m154IaA6v1A0d1k6tunFZfh_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCEbwuDN0PZlVS4y0GFCCJ2cOGy3gJDC9M-2FDTxE23IJbiSAFhHBl3KYMHe8UMohl0qGpZh1cfGohRLULT78kR8uXyxrXwF91-2FqhI9-2FXxbvzsMPKliauH8J-2BN5oxXlG5pSOpDq2SEiU6h5HvDeOmpbfJP6HfWMO2c7b30m1M2tnbsNPrAo5ot3d-2FHlfOvWU0NzWd7eCaHx7tzCGbI9B0qMPQ-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw0ZCT27aHqCF83ZLSnWA6sp">rebranded to Defending Education.) The New York Post promptly <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BItxqPx88IvUs-2Bu8w4jhZ1wSCpA3sQuNjC9357ZGxcZ7EZ-2FOfeM4GRImBEYTZHKNa-2BCf8xz44Uij5ZMy8Dixsqv74nL9V2Lb-2FA-2F07cfcVc7shgGLeBJ0TOypaMS2oQkegZ7IbwT4mTflWeUU2Jhr4tcEZdeZV-2Be2gdpF8dOyuu8C81ozEVheyivAfK06V2k3Jg-3D-3D6HRq_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqPYL3QJlzfom-2B0jukCgiA6q-2BexlZgUYhmbA1kRncXanf2oDa7p4RTrthdJkyXFCcZyJd53U0DbfME0yNWOaiQLjiuyNgoTWeAz2nzf09nQVJa-2B8DSxP3FHdnRLXFEA7CKugGXURpR7tAX-2FVMxiTE34-2BjsyZKbaJeLuH7ZZ-2BX-2FanGoLDRMdR0Fajbw5zMSqQGIg2JWTp-2BqBKt-2BrayVCb9uIE-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BItxqPx88IvUs-2Bu8w4jhZ1wSCpA3sQuNjC9357ZGxcZ7EZ-2FOfeM4GRImBEYTZHKNa-2BCf8xz44Uij5ZMy8Dixsqv74nL9V2Lb-2FA-2F07cfcVc7shgGLeBJ0TOypaMS2oQkegZ7IbwT4mTflWeUU2Jhr4tcEZdeZV-2Be2gdpF8dOyuu8C81ozEVheyivAfK06V2k3Jg-3D-3D6HRq_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqPYL3QJlzfom-2B0jukCgiA6q-2BexlZgUYhmbA1kRncXanf2oDa7p4RTrthdJkyXFCcZyJd53U0DbfME0yNWOaiQLjiuyNgoTWeAz2nzf09nQVJa-2B8DSxP3FHdnRLXFEA7CKugGXURpR7tAX-2FVMxiTE34-2BjsyZKbaJeLuH7ZZ-2BX-2FanGoLDRMdR0Fajbw5zMSqQGIg2JWTp-2BqBKt-2BrayVCb9uIE-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw0vwKiMM0wTG9RRER7fKeyW">amplified the concerns of Parents Defending Education, reporting that Tutor.com was assisting the Chinese government in “infiltrating American classrooms.” Picking up the New York Post’s conspiratorial language, another conservative group critical of public schools, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEGIMOervlatT-2BjVgzQ0hCzItUvc4BMfAidcU-2FXFC5BfCJVL_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqHpd85knz9QT3MklJlc6f-2Bb354aP4zJbC0-2FsO76fvRZbEL0w-2BHDlpe9l-2BUULAjC6SW1Y9WoTlLFUXb7yvt-2FCavftng7IlFf-2BmK2TwdMht5rTKxqBFslqJJjM8UwGAvL3dCwi7JMYbXZyJf3wHcoOrV-2BHaeItE7W2Zwm2iVRVjF3PlbUiyG-2F3JO4K4BBecnJCXZZUkPlYQO1ZZEU-2FkRS7o74-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEGIMOervlatT-2BjVgzQ0hCzItUvc4BMfAidcU-2FXFC5BfCJVL_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqHpd85knz9QT3MklJlc6f-2Bb354aP4zJbC0-2FsO76fvRZbEL0w-2BHDlpe9l-2BUULAjC6SW1Y9WoTlLFUXb7yvt-2FCavftng7IlFf-2BmK2TwdMht5rTKxqBFslqJJjM8UwGAvL3dCwi7JMYbXZyJf3wHcoOrV-2BHaeItE7W2Zwm2iVRVjF3PlbUiyG-2F3JO4K4BBecnJCXZZUkPlYQO1ZZEU-2FkRS7o74-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw2PslrrJrd-I2TISMXeiKrU">Freedom in Education, “<a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEGIMOervlatT-2BjVgzQ0hCxQiCoA8FNjmV1oRpUGeP4jfsQzb1AP7saHBqOwl35tgLIo3u6fw2fwLY6P-2F0gdA6o-3DPy0f_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBsvhwyguhCQTHc2ywADsGm2AT2In5zIP2tbsDDlvi549PUaIfbZwwW6OSoWoX4RmR1zt5QaQs7CUFcWhnhrevYQqrmFFaMx2R4mwGlC9rQ8AIJdJZwawV12O-2BrKhzs4tfDSY-2BDAoZxYeRiYgnANeZQg67ZfLLI6AVYtJ-2FpHp2v7fazOtz-2F1aPitlccHiOVWID3pXR-2BitQ08wXO5X31BJW0-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEGIMOervlatT-2BjVgzQ0hCxQiCoA8FNjmV1oRpUGeP4jfsQzb1AP7saHBqOwl35tgLIo3u6fw2fwLY6P-2F0gdA6o-3DPy0f_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBsvhwyguhCQTHc2ywADsGm2AT2In5zIP2tbsDDlvi549PUaIfbZwwW6OSoWoX4RmR1zt5QaQs7CUFcWhnhrevYQqrmFFaMx2R4mwGlC9rQ8AIJdJZwawV12O-2BrKhzs4tfDSY-2BDAoZxYeRiYgnANeZQg67ZfLLI6AVYtJ-2FpHp2v7fazOtz-2F1aPitlccHiOVWID3pXR-2BitQ08wXO5X31BJW0-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw030ETwKqVr5Gxfpb5A9LPz">uncovered” evidence of Tutor.com facilitating “infiltration of Chinese spyware” in schools in Georgia. By December 2025, it was no longer “clear” if Primavera divested from Tutor.com or still owned shares, according to the <a 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Free Beacon, a <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLJxDOrTDVpO28CdffrXbNi4vMufaEkEHyVo9JRMNXterF0MB9430uImiT-2F-2FSvPvUg-3D-3D2DaD_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAlbRLGDPC25PZ9iNRKSYlLH-2BvxhGMFQXTtYXISs6oS3fdpK9qNYgrju4FVwUn4aU-2Bu8XUSLG-2BMRIu0VieQscn2yZeoTGhyoRewh8TeewfGny8kCpR-2BrVOt99RcMAzoNf4Q0wwZOpXWVG0vkFEGdtQ51GBm7bT0BlSy0W6pxDW8uA65cYhUw8edLVcaz9-2BEiRrXtP3-2FhxAgM96v1HEYw5Ow-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLJxDOrTDVpO28CdffrXbNi4vMufaEkEHyVo9JRMNXterF0MB9430uImiT-2F-2FSvPvUg-3D-3D2DaD_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAlbRLGDPC25PZ9iNRKSYlLH-2BvxhGMFQXTtYXISs6oS3fdpK9qNYgrju4FVwUn4aU-2Bu8XUSLG-2BMRIu0VieQscn2yZeoTGhyoRewh8TeewfGny8kCpR-2BrVOt99RcMAzoNf4Q0wwZOpXWVG0vkFEGdtQ51GBm7bT0BlSy0W6pxDW8uA65cYhUw8edLVcaz9-2BEiRrXtP3-2FhxAgM96v1HEYw5Ow-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384028000&usg=AOvVaw1WR3-8NN2_a4-FxIWlQH1l">right-wing media site funded by billionaire Paul Singer, a hedge fund manager and “<a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BECU8ggWhRH7C133J3iZ2XSus5MxqGh-2B2-2FeWcb-2BoFwww9mGW4LO7C4uxauXVMupuMA-3D-3DLDZ3_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLEsmc8TcsLJKjEn80iMqh66J2LGxiCg4Jx6s7d-2Fyv1u0TtLMX9-2BnAZYZZW9e7ohXn9ACU-2FiPxx4wbUOoed-2FUbA-2F2FSLdoRoiciovDS0iUbymK-2FcmzIP6S5IZuGjFH9hjG4rbxgAFJiGDhnIHXnuSW1GqxaXvOznYEcWvPN3O4kju6k4Z97srsQFRi5qXSRj6VIEZA0xhSfJFs6xHKfl46E-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BECU8ggWhRH7C133J3iZ2XSus5MxqGh-2B2-2FeWcb-2BoFwww9mGW4LO7C4uxauXVMupuMA-3D-3DLDZ3_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLEsmc8TcsLJKjEn80iMqh66J2LGxiCg4Jx6s7d-2Fyv1u0TtLMX9-2BnAZYZZW9e7ohXn9ACU-2FiPxx4wbUOoed-2FUbA-2F2FSLdoRoiciovDS0iUbymK-2FcmzIP6S5IZuGjFH9hjG4rbxgAFJiGDhnIHXnuSW1GqxaXvOznYEcWvPN3O4kju6k4Z97srsQFRi5qXSRj6VIEZA0xhSfJFs6xHKfl46E-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw3iva9tltOQgmUt7kTHBnsG">major donor to Republican political candidates.” But, pointing to the connection between Primavera and Spring Education Group, the article stated, “There are also signs of [China’s] new approach to influencing elementary and high schools: just buy… [the schools]. … The expansion of groups like Spring Education into the American educational landscape comes as American youth are increasingly open to far left socialist economic ideology, as evidenced by the election of [New York City Mayor] Zohran Mamdani.” Also in December, another news outlet in the right-wing media echo chamber, Texas Scorecard, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAYBc3cSwKuPAToRCQkUuo19ITtdiTQEFJZifhdjA6EPS8GEXbLZ3LRfJoqavWJfxXzhO02xjVRhaQxgIWDkD03DameK0AfHAA7Q5o7EtzsHVq38v-2BebThGWLSpwj759wA-3D-3DP3m2_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqPkN-2BUAPoDNPsPmZcbkWYAo23hj-2Fwx8C4HyN0qAtD5ErC6zUK8v63Fc9S5pdmYWYxiB5gv0R0HyxJbXYKqTScyF4IEULEkwEcmVuVtD8-2ForbHlt7Pdw42o7vNFkiN6lTBe0PGMPbMY7cQ-2FKATum8QnidrQxK3ECqOvKcVv6th6n-2FN-2FaZSnUxUMLuXxRP9icZ-2B5PyexuufznbxniLtYYsDZ4-3D" rel="noopener" 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readers of Primavera’s connections to the Spring Education Group and its ownership of 13 schools in the Lone Star State. The article was published around the time Texas <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJOS0f7ZtjUUFIsKXoV-2Bpmh0lq02t0Jy7W17Rkm9qKKSUt9gaIkoi8E80xqVqVAsJojspfr4B5oJZcBR1hRfXVp9i-2BlgDOMQe2I3kIRu-2FDdueftOpHXiLlfT7MOtd-2FZYV6WkPx0nLSnf0F-2FD9i9aQWhH-2BsX66nkqPql94ceI0792JwVH_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqMKv5h3cGvSurcj4fhF4La9si0MMBWCiCllf1ZwNhz5-2B81gNatVE9RokylWux1VhIMBOEI4G89MLlQWAZLZctpiIR0GVP9QaZVWf-2B6cgdmRxQb6fqVEuN9lHdFqGCpbaJm5053FaGmeCKILBDSmnxyr-2Bex58ex11tHG5VJYCpLF9llX1C9-2BltI0wEKjHLB5O-2B0VPRwTMGGj4HpVeG9QA3Yk-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJOS0f7ZtjUUFIsKXoV-2Bpmh0lq02t0Jy7W17Rkm9qKKSUt9gaIkoi8E80xqVqVAsJojspfr4B5oJZcBR1hRfXVp9i-2BlgDOMQe2I3kIRu-2FDdueftOpHXiLlfT7MOtd-2FZYV6WkPx0nLSnf0F-2FD9i9aQWhH-2BsX66nkqPql94ceI0792JwVH_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqMKv5h3cGvSurcj4fhF4La9si0MMBWCiCllf1ZwNhz5-2B81gNatVE9RokylWux1VhIMBOEI4G89MLlQWAZLZctpiIR0GVP9QaZVWf-2B6cgdmRxQb6fqVEuN9lHdFqGCpbaJm5053FaGmeCKILBDSmnxyr-2Bex58ex11tHG5VJYCpLF9llX1C9-2BltI0wEKjHLB5O-2B0VPRwTMGGj4HpVeG9QA3Yk-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw0hfqUozuEzeOrgUg0QZ3WL">debuted a $1 billion school voucher program. In other states, which like Florida have largely unregulated school voucher programs, state tax dollars are already flowing to private schools operated by Spring Education Group. In North Carolina, Spring Education Group operates <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2FitoxLJHDjBtX68o7In6vHg2gioqjvVkNiMnMzahzZFmd6h-2FqfiC9izkt5bzLyVWcdHEH_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqMTeVtIS3Hh-2Fi8jtWTyQSCS7BQeACnjzrznrp-2Bz1zT3HBoEyxhogEt1e45Yi-2Fs3uzmCIJefsQ2mXM2aUPg69xv1-2F-2BnByKqqG3jZWiDeS-2Fpgvt8tBOusPCSWpO9xGAJKTta8q1kKl1HFksmImf5lkGEotO93v2R5dW5ZbuCG4GI3Pa8aT6OxscGiYmGb2ltxAacOF9WA93FPDUKrkzz5XpVw-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2FitoxLJHDjBtX68o7In6vHg2gioqjvVkNiMnMzahzZFmd6h-2FqfiC9izkt5bzLyVWcdHEH_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqMTeVtIS3Hh-2Fi8jtWTyQSCS7BQeACnjzrznrp-2Bz1zT3HBoEyxhogEt1e45Yi-2Fs3uzmCIJefsQ2mXM2aUPg69xv1-2F-2BnByKqqG3jZWiDeS-2Fpgvt8tBOusPCSWpO9xGAJKTta8q1kKl1HFksmImf5lkGEotO93v2R5dW5ZbuCG4GI3Pa8aT6OxscGiYmGb2ltxAacOF9WA93FPDUKrkzz5XpVw-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw3MrYzabFGRXK-uZX_ac7S7">eight schools, two of which are participating in the state’s voucher program (the other six are preschool-only programs, which are ineligible for North Carolina voucher money). Those two schools, <a 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Academy Elementary and Middle School in Cary and <a 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data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BH15EpdQdXrHgA-2BPXVu6te-2FZs3DyKCBJK-2BUuz2svAyJ5BwmP-2F3pJ96bMLzjjjcackcHhaw2xFsAVm1Op6gXlZA07JlZal2E3drbeMyvM8EMlj5K-2Fc7MFsry5SEsf179SK-2F1lruKR0R7RSGIkuJ-2FWpPBA9Xz-2BgK-2FRxiwaVFnd5w1YSH4h2SUxpESEIbe6F8ZMYqippmuGhYNIx5tWKOZmRIo-3Ds8bT_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOBB-2FAcpfXZTcuuS7VuyEAfPsQvzfzn5RM3sJ580EEqpD53OATN9AlfAja-2FcD62ESjN6IsFM8dMfNyDFMOph-2Bl9SydXSnj1SIZLrDpppkxjvr8W4DruTyIaO5f9j4AunN14qaB6FULqgdbPOMhg6bp5vHj7OonKTrbFH6vbuXkgKcSF6wxAdIATTIhA5ydY8mp9PTQTEpO9jsJbFSoOOwTs-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw0PRS4xrEFyA3CancFYNcDv">Chesterbrook Academy Preschools and Elementary in Raleigh, received $106,778 and $49,475, respectively, in public funds in the 2024–2025 school year, according to <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BD0KcvmX7JahFc-2FapAilhsOuhFGn5JXfBfaNjWYGVLDm3a5Mz4WGBdHY1LILoEkqRN7XD-2F1IhNM5WXR4gvGbQ50-3DOSmI_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqJNUldPsFhBltMBIz9-2Be2cDKP2LPPdVWKKYxoKiO7K8-2BNuIUGV1-2BQuk-2FB2HWCmT06tnk-2FDVLaXw8CmXaiIrxwAPm6ae5rda7LCQgPe38sw3JRQeBEzwwwDQTkjRrUJkukdFg3ywaaNaMCK4GiTZ0SjhpoIiwCVtrkajQzltTk-2F-2BmPTNpp1UXCK4w0VJff0RxUTR0OPceb-2FDc27rQozi4C7k-3D" rel="noopener" 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government reporting. Yet, despite the conservative movement’s fears about Chinese communist influence in America’s education system, many red state officials and advocacy groups are opting into a new federal program created by the Trump administration that may lead to huge financial payouts to education companies like Spring Education Group and Tutor.com and, in turn, their private investors, including Primavera Capital. Who’s Hu Conservative rumors about ties between Primavera and its founder, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16LQVVjobc5qiMlDbgo48ffBdLQC1bThLBYMuN8ZMqnhbw-3D-3DbREA_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAvNryy-2BJPufSihiMgSrKVV2JRROSnTeENR8DXE336JW-2FIf0kGaufyZJLttueNVNFnfL4nBfBb0zDcAcBZL4NSo2sqVCFrSbthfvIl6x8DhdxOoH8lcg1C814i-2ByWddWO3F2rKZwXk9TYoOLwbpVKIEsTzKvV4aUhXQXasOxWQHsSXu6RJvQMWwv6j1M3mnHKgmODt7WKJeWbjJ-2FggNHvxU-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16LQVVjobc5qiMlDbgo48ffBdLQC1bThLBYMuN8ZMqnhbw-3D-3DbREA_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAvNryy-2BJPufSihiMgSrKVV2JRROSnTeENR8DXE336JW-2FIf0kGaufyZJLttueNVNFnfL4nBfBb0zDcAcBZL4NSo2sqVCFrSbthfvIl6x8DhdxOoH8lcg1C814i-2ByWddWO3F2rKZwXk9TYoOLwbpVKIEsTzKvV4aUhXQXasOxWQHsSXu6RJvQMWwv6j1M3mnHKgmODt7WKJeWbjJ-2FggNHvxU-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw1dkKeeRaW9LwqEkDw39w34">Fred Hu—who also goes by <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BD-2FOyiIiNnUv5rKmrbzcyJNtYClMEmdMOd-2BbaztLBPGWXXlFzoO17eh1kHpkQwwB4lsx3izQX5shmUsk0rI9c-2FG3ANHjtDY8JHDNA7DO4TiliN0wLAuiEPCF1bCo7-2B-2Fhgw-3D-3DUs3s_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOibItrHeMxvt0m-2BRQG1JrscpSCctWkJlnD6A38njtHopOJ-2Fb5UrTZoxSjahxjSB4qpyS6c5r9xQMwsAC2Z2S6ooG91JHmAt7uT-2B1So1IU8Z52wxIwK9Q6G7PS5AI1YqF-2BoJlob8NVCdj2tEAAE-2BrnFlxYaL4YhOivsHMIGjDKEA4gJm4wByon-2BLaDM7lnveHJAQb9URb1iKpnQdO0as9is-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BD-2FOyiIiNnUv5rKmrbzcyJNtYClMEmdMOd-2BbaztLBPGWXXlFzoO17eh1kHpkQwwB4lsx3izQX5shmUsk0rI9c-2FG3ANHjtDY8JHDNA7DO4TiliN0wLAuiEPCF1bCo7-2B-2Fhgw-3D-3DUs3s_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqOibItrHeMxvt0m-2BRQG1JrscpSCctWkJlnD6A38njtHopOJ-2Fb5UrTZoxSjahxjSB4qpyS6c5r9xQMwsAC2Z2S6ooG91JHmAt7uT-2B1So1IU8Z52wxIwK9Q6G7PS5AI1YqF-2BoJlob8NVCdj2tEAAE-2BrnFlxYaL4YhOivsHMIGjDKEA4gJm4wByon-2BLaDM7lnveHJAQb9URb1iKpnQdO0as9is-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw2ABeX33Dya6nIZsrH4SCqb">Fred Zuliu Hu, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BL6UKUHKDSu3MhDVvf4MhLZGzzl4i3OqcZkiUsnTS9WJ8TmrxVge7nVWEvWy9tvAVVF6w3MwwDdR1tiDjlwKuCc-3Df04O_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIVS79unr2xzcV5r9XGqW-2BiUrc3BFRniqpxiUtXD8SZQjN10pv-2BTmp3dTaXKSmZUOEpenAuc0GhU0yn-2FClQvjGrsqu0bJ2xan6b0KcvgLAmKZhyINmFw59QK7eDTVYnFAUrWHW4L-2BC0abKWHmI-2BaLudhL8Cz20kaAwlTfcNXkbVgP-2BWX1Atl6tK2ahBg-2BSdBMBpikuCm-2BbSeNvv-2BXalsHc8-3D" rel="noopener" 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Liu Hu, and <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCcZ4CFJHUrUP8AfYJR53gWFFFXvVUgs1ZZa0Ms6LhcHrpHIMfqt3DX4AeOCMyNi6g-3D-3DjXRO_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqC4EBWljjOlOavSSspUFNoGWuF-2Fm3B-2BpFeJ4k-2BnbiTfACr59p7jcYWITvLc-2FQlMzRrC65s-2FaXc8AuzLyfDaS5bB2AImWezjy-2FMjTJP-2FPNWMuIN112pWcTIN1IxTYGjXmOEJPhrCs2difVeDJ3uif5-2FFqlVgCHFMfo4nPT8LNE6Cksc2LSNIYGL50p9GOkGUMEksm0-2FEBfDqzwauhqum3hC4-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCcZ4CFJHUrUP8AfYJR53gWFFFXvVUgs1ZZa0Ms6LhcHrpHIMfqt3DX4AeOCMyNi6g-3D-3DjXRO_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqC4EBWljjOlOavSSspUFNoGWuF-2Fm3B-2BpFeJ4k-2BnbiTfACr59p7jcYWITvLc-2FQlMzRrC65s-2FaXc8AuzLyfDaS5bB2AImWezjy-2FMjTJP-2FPNWMuIN112pWcTIN1IxTYGjXmOEJPhrCs2difVeDJ3uif5-2FFqlVgCHFMfo4nPT8LNE6Cksc2LSNIYGL50p9GOkGUMEksm0-2FEBfDqzwauhqum3hC4-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw2Rox2rNMYRYO7Xf5nMyskT">Zuliu Hu on English language sites—to the Chinese Communist Party have some basis in fact. According to multiple websites, including Chinese ones that Our Schools translated into English with the help of researchers, an <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BIWOkOlwLLZkcDGKFOPcL16ebF4xBY0b2N9j0n7IhClPRiq406Vr8n0X6oHvctsxnl-2BLVUvwvYAYQWMvKS7dWQ8vrSr8c722Tzr9UEny8LPOAv0Kzj3C7OME-2BteJnCrcJA-3D-3DV113_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLHMfcq5S1dqNAlhm3CjZ2bRv28TCjlgq0u3nmLmva5na6XsnQzQiOcBjuCm1fDckEgzsD-2BbkL8skvB-2B4jOitEArr2PeVKughFvKEhvf5OKH-2BSgUeZdOn7wq-2BuvsZ6-2Bly4KJ7QdRLg0hFqw6LJa7KQ0YRorD0o1itdBFiRmdsfFXhm7oybM9fbbCAa4DqBwRUMk-2BJkXkf6CkH9sdNhCfXmY-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BIWOkOlwLLZkcDGKFOPcL16ebF4xBY0b2N9j0n7IhClPRiq406Vr8n0X6oHvctsxnl-2BLVUvwvYAYQWMvKS7dWQ8vrSr8c722Tzr9UEny8LPOAv0Kzj3C7OME-2BteJnCrcJA-3D-3DV113_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLHMfcq5S1dqNAlhm3CjZ2bRv28TCjlgq0u3nmLmva5na6XsnQzQiOcBjuCm1fDckEgzsD-2BbkL8skvB-2B4jOitEArr2PeVKughFvKEhvf5OKH-2BSgUeZdOn7wq-2BuvsZ6-2Bly4KJ7QdRLg0hFqw6LJa7KQ0YRorD0o1itdBFiRmdsfFXhm7oybM9fbbCAa4DqBwRUMk-2BJkXkf6CkH9sdNhCfXmY-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw3gEF3KnRfqQv305lGfNtFs">individual named Hu Zuliu [Fred Hu] served multiple terms, from 2008 through at least 2023, as a delegate in the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), economic sector. According to the CPPCC’s <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BBDaIQsEGrXSlcNfZ8nfvgzOI-2FrP1j-2F6f9ApEhSmax-2FkhPWx_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqHDslfNrGaIXpfIwj9f4EdAwXnFM2NH6pKJTPP0EwtESgBT6ocsrWtLRXoZ1XlBlewCmxgBkmxFmwQLjAjap6KoWxOfSCHDatdsKCem-2BVn5f8eYkc5tdsFnmolzp-2F33KInCN3OEXZm6smWQdcjyyipx4T289BZXI9vAwroKS1O-2F-2BEbMpBU29cJcoGy5K8W75WTBTEvqoTkcVPVv99VU6i5Y-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BBDaIQsEGrXSlcNfZ8nfvgzOI-2FrP1j-2F6f9ApEhSmax-2FkhPWx_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqHDslfNrGaIXpfIwj9f4EdAwXnFM2NH6pKJTPP0EwtESgBT6ocsrWtLRXoZ1XlBlewCmxgBkmxFmwQLjAjap6KoWxOfSCHDatdsKCem-2BVn5f8eYkc5tdsFnmolzp-2F33KInCN3OEXZm6smWQdcjyyipx4T289BZXI9vAwroKS1O-2F-2BEbMpBU29cJcoGy5K8W75WTBTEvqoTkcVPVv99VU6i5Y-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw2yugfHRi5_OiNh4dCoF_4X">official website, “The CPPCC is an organization in the patriotic united front of the Chinese people, an important organ for multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and an important means of promoting socialist democracy in China’s political activities.” “In 2008, Hu Zuliu was elected as a member of the 10th Hunan Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, and in 2013, he was reelected as a member of the 11th CPPCC,” <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16JE535ZhaKJdjdmZ4-2Bl473HRGE287epn8EJ8YBOOfOOp3HAmCDO3cZg3QgNvdUduaI-3DPo4e_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCHDqzTHyB1SUW-2FKAn3PgltNsI3xaw7-2FqDe7vGvCe6PnpkQq50iyfiYG3k-2Bo5fOZdZeFauFoT-2BN5ig7VhTGA0wRoZO9Z0LZpXwwZqCm1kUr6nCN9-2Bb1uN4JIYDRNsvUOhWEF7JZ6iY0vi1KWqAjHA0ECaaYqzTlgCwoFBUToNt43d2zDSKv-2Fnon-2FpucdAcntorsAYi1BAB-2Bl6fK9Gn3wK9U-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16JE535ZhaKJdjdmZ4-2Bl473HRGE287epn8EJ8YBOOfOOp3HAmCDO3cZg3QgNvdUduaI-3DPo4e_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCHDqzTHyB1SUW-2FKAn3PgltNsI3xaw7-2FqDe7vGvCe6PnpkQq50iyfiYG3k-2Bo5fOZdZeFauFoT-2BN5ig7VhTGA0wRoZO9Z0LZpXwwZqCm1kUr6nCN9-2Bb1uN4JIYDRNsvUOhWEF7JZ6iY0vi1KWqAjHA0ECaaYqzTlgCwoFBUToNt43d2zDSKv-2Fnon-2FpucdAcntorsAYi1BAB-2Bl6fK9Gn3wK9U-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw0WCQHdFDHRZOAKNtO2d82f">according to Primavera Capital’s Chinese-language website. The Berggruen Institute, a Los Angeles-based think tank founded in 2010 by investor-philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BGIVPJKpFmk33ZtWhh1XE5Ho8nUbeaaejQiUqAj79Dtn67QTYsk-2F-2FdoZnr1DMotmWw-3D-3DR5Oo_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqJ1JWvGq9ZbDBjwyjQxxTa9q4gB6Dop0pudj7lRVlSDog9ocILc2A7-2B9blmulnbr26WnC7tSq79ujJox7gIi1HDNuobhnrY0mRF4x71IeygHg7ds6S7N-2Fh14R16ddotli9IrtNhGS7u1Ag7J5uUHLmQM-2F7K6Pf0hExJdWaJU1-2BNe-2FljXwzt1To7HMrhQDm0tlH7C4fsXLNUbPFjmUC7aXZY-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BGIVPJKpFmk33ZtWhh1XE5Ho8nUbeaaejQiUqAj79Dtn67QTYsk-2F-2FdoZnr1DMotmWw-3D-3DR5Oo_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqJ1JWvGq9ZbDBjwyjQxxTa9q4gB6Dop0pudj7lRVlSDog9ocILc2A7-2B9blmulnbr26WnC7tSq79ujJox7gIi1HDNuobhnrY0mRF4x71IeygHg7ds6S7N-2Fh14R16ddotli9IrtNhGS7u1Ag7J5uUHLmQM-2F7K6Pf0hExJdWaJU1-2BNe-2FljXwzt1To7HMrhQDm0tlH7C4fsXLNUbPFjmUC7aXZY-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384029000&usg=AOvVaw3Ug_8sSFZNl1h03CxTrLBu">describes Hu as having “advised the Chinese government.” Hu’s Columbia Business School <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BD-2FOyiIiNnUv5rKmrbzcyJNtYClMEmdMOd-2BbaztLBPGWXXlFzoO17eh1kHpkQwwB4lsx3izQX5shmUsk0rI9c-2FG3ANHjtDY8JHDNA7DO4TiliN0wLAuiEPCF1bCo7-2B-2Fhgw-3D-3DdGrw_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAI8Flb0xMtQ-2FmNssHhaan7cxke70NzSCc5xZOFVDmujqcqZGdIj2nhnkZfsbJnvvqgRC0RnBaGwQ-2FlhNje3mIeyYGZHbwBO5kARi34NAhUiDI7w6nwZKWaYZsvEZFYIwhEW4-2F1BUURJ-2BpuIjZ-2BrZdDJ3MLFUWhAbd-2BWuJkkjjpzxlezyKi6tV40J4fFx1LRkI3o8buQrjgWBDc1R0Ysg4A-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BD-2FOyiIiNnUv5rKmrbzcyJNtYClMEmdMOd-2BbaztLBPGWXXlFzoO17eh1kHpkQwwB4lsx3izQX5shmUsk0rI9c-2FG3ANHjtDY8JHDNA7DO4TiliN0wLAuiEPCF1bCo7-2B-2Fhgw-3D-3DdGrw_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAI8Flb0xMtQ-2FmNssHhaan7cxke70NzSCc5xZOFVDmujqcqZGdIj2nhnkZfsbJnvvqgRC0RnBaGwQ-2FlhNje3mIeyYGZHbwBO5kARi34NAhUiDI7w6nwZKWaYZsvEZFYIwhEW4-2F1BUURJ-2BpuIjZ-2BrZdDJ3MLFUWhAbd-2BWuJkkjjpzxlezyKi6tV40J4fFx1LRkI3o8buQrjgWBDc1R0Ysg4A-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw2WXFhTjLUMKi_sudvt0ki_">bio describes him as the founder of Primavera Capital and a partner at Goldman Sachs Group, who also “served at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and has advised the Chinese government on financial reform and macroeconomic policies.” An <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFoF1Cwc4cIGoyv9w6tCM9pd-2F0asOTHOcLBhy3gqYmcnBLXeWlqu8YluhB4AVaEdOCt0gk1b4kFMEu8A3mo3nIN4Y-2BkG-2B6khgjJBYK0NqEZxOKdt-2FD3M6tK8mRJB8iyulw-3D-3Dchk__pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDGni9aqcw75Ah3jPnpzEmDocPj7qp9HcRZKfJDztGJAqX9WMCgyDYWlPnwk4oJ2nVESqlQe4I3Vh05g-2BDLeNptdN2Msxks7H0LCdEaXh6-2B6bFyuf4qeBb3-2FvqiFoDo3-2FpvkhMjRDgVxtLBsu2s8XiaeQM7G7fR0zFQqaThEtQtVTWtmRO1aSBv5R8U6fvQIu6Ed-2FQIjF6SZgpSZulQMzbY-3D" rel="noopener" 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page from Primavera’s previous website describes the Chunhua Capital Group, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BNvxfvnHcyP9IA4e-2FpCFLW6PeF9gjydVyb-2B7X9J0Y8Tn286oQlL-2FWcDZUxqTv3uL2w-3D-3Dk9KQ_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLUj695egyfByqOdlc6A1scDc6LXMAmQ8uFEvNiYXnTgo7UsS63nkP9ZpCxx1TYJa4Xcyuyp3AWKKQE5QuJyK6VDqKkFBgeh4rRP9y624cN4FqGI55lmon8GoSyjNTN55JA6OR7opdMQk-2BgGJ1uw11NcAIwt5QvPPQLSj25mbRFNOY1MXFLD-2FrM4WmTMR7nbhza74ypyF9OLJZ-2Fp0X5mwwQ-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BNvxfvnHcyP9IA4e-2FpCFLW6PeF9gjydVyb-2B7X9J0Y8Tn286oQlL-2FWcDZUxqTv3uL2w-3D-3Dk9KQ_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLUj695egyfByqOdlc6A1scDc6LXMAmQ8uFEvNiYXnTgo7UsS63nkP9ZpCxx1TYJa4Xcyuyp3AWKKQE5QuJyK6VDqKkFBgeh4rRP9y624cN4FqGI55lmon8GoSyjNTN55JA6OR7opdMQk-2BgGJ1uw11NcAIwt5QvPPQLSj25mbRFNOY1MXFLD-2FrM4WmTMR7nbhza74ypyF9OLJZ-2Fp0X5mwwQ-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw0O19BoZEKk6dHYPqtFXMlm">Primavera’s native name, as “founded by Dr. Hu Zuli, a renowned economist and financial expert. Dr. Hu previously served as a partner and chairman of Greater China at Goldman Sachs.” Snooping on Students Republican concerns about Primavera’s involvement with Chinese government surveillance technology appear to have some validity. The financial group appears to have a penchant for investing in companies heavily involved in surveillance tech. According to <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLJpxqlVs5RPXdk4ea-2B-2ByiJzDk4x7C5WepgNgz0CtDnqhAoA5QSGd93qwuDQW1z0uw-3D-3Dr-9__pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqP0-2F7y9Y4tS2veV8zteA-2Fnn6TLB0EZBwyzImXXp0mTkwtOGwhau-2BrY1wwDcBopu65Ea4DmoWZfwHl2mkz2fo3sQoXRf3cXpYkqw7jNBOnl-2Bh3C4IyYtoyTjeaDjWm5s-2B8VektQ9N7-2Fasa9xVQBPCKaSgsLFEY2foyRGjMatFJrOaY4RwCv285J74Ac80WGgT-2FUOrsaEQXadXjbPvAqlk5WE-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLJpxqlVs5RPXdk4ea-2B-2ByiJzDk4x7C5WepgNgz0CtDnqhAoA5QSGd93qwuDQW1z0uw-3D-3Dr-9__pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqP0-2F7y9Y4tS2veV8zteA-2Fnn6TLB0EZBwyzImXXp0mTkwtOGwhau-2BrY1wwDcBopu65Ea4DmoWZfwHl2mkz2fo3sQoXRf3cXpYkqw7jNBOnl-2Bh3C4IyYtoyTjeaDjWm5s-2B8VektQ9N7-2Fasa9xVQBPCKaSgsLFEY2foyRGjMatFJrOaY4RwCv285J74Ac80WGgT-2FUOrsaEQXadXjbPvAqlk5WE-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw24yyZEav7iOAM_TVOf-eqW">Bloomberg, Primavera was one of eight “cornerstone investors” that committed to subscribe for $450 million in shares of Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group, Inc. In December 2021, SenseTime was placed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s investment <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJuYYakb04-2Bw-2BzuHkzpdonXENKAkqLwcsZ4M0u3ptBHoaA4ibv5Gh1-2BNHTnIi3v1KAWu7Q5-2B5wJTEghGrlCV15iNOOYcqWGH7qIWa1bf5yGM1UHwWoqlH90v4i6l6KaurK2eJMRBFu1iw8yjaVKeDFM-3DXzr2_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqL4iHGiSm60wrs7O0giuNX1TLlZDUJ0SHYZmodY-2ByiG6rfqJClXL-2BpDp1pPyAWxfKC1LCl-2Fm5BUmkJRTnbzcV0SgVO0na2kKQTddyPV3bJip6eSM1COn2Yn6uaWUram-2FfIN-2FOMBJA5i3nP-2FJCQw-2BBMHcZlawv2Sl3jRtom12uWQQ6CYtygW-2FLU72Pd1NQU0wvd-2FALba8tW9QltBJzMpTmRk-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJuYYakb04-2Bw-2BzuHkzpdonXENKAkqLwcsZ4M0u3ptBHoaA4ibv5Gh1-2BNHTnIi3v1KAWu7Q5-2B5wJTEghGrlCV15iNOOYcqWGH7qIWa1bf5yGM1UHwWoqlH90v4i6l6KaurK2eJMRBFu1iw8yjaVKeDFM-3DXzr2_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqL4iHGiSm60wrs7O0giuNX1TLlZDUJ0SHYZmodY-2ByiG6rfqJClXL-2BpDp1pPyAWxfKC1LCl-2Fm5BUmkJRTnbzcV0SgVO0na2kKQTddyPV3bJip6eSM1COn2Yn6uaWUram-2FfIN-2FOMBJA5i3nP-2FJCQw-2BBMHcZlawv2Sl3jRtom12uWQQ6CYtygW-2FLU72Pd1NQU0wvd-2FALba8tW9QltBJzMpTmRk-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw18hrQQlYHY9Sr-4fsHpyx0">blacklist for its role in <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKREhaCjtfJhocJ1GS-2F6htSioSH6sbWBP2ipRcXmUzbVXzSUVvpwG7Vn8spvDcRaKMLjbtsa4w2gyNxgyXlBPZG-2FbsCT5Nv-2BGUWCYJ78GYw8uWOY_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqO3dtsvXdCGn-2BJd-2FEYrTGpeEHyf88I3rV0pjeKJtwd6uUEHDcn0Xpyh6JxRy36gvQjX-2BGEnxkQQHSsJjsRnExTW4T8pVExD4Ss09RVQOhPtNvo2TnzbdXpKIfxA51Viaez2wUQNp0ipyrJRjQjS-2FSeY-2ByCAXudgt6OcARsn7FTLjgUq3nfhcmDvgW12FsH0Ep1xro8jE8O9y-2FObCC3qQFuo-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKREhaCjtfJhocJ1GS-2F6htSioSH6sbWBP2ipRcXmUzbVXzSUVvpwG7Vn8spvDcRaKMLjbtsa4w2gyNxgyXlBPZG-2FbsCT5Nv-2BGUWCYJ78GYw8uWOY_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqO3dtsvXdCGn-2BJd-2FEYrTGpeEHyf88I3rV0pjeKJtwd6uUEHDcn0Xpyh6JxRy36gvQjX-2BGEnxkQQHSsJjsRnExTW4T8pVExD4Ss09RVQOhPtNvo2TnzbdXpKIfxA51Viaez2wUQNp0ipyrJRjQjS-2FSeY-2ByCAXudgt6OcARsn7FTLjgUq3nfhcmDvgW12FsH0Ep1xro8jE8O9y-2FObCC3qQFuo-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw0TqpWNwbgSBw3hO4iPzlwV">surveillance technology deployed for monitoring ethnic Uyghur populations in the Xinjiang region of Western China. As the Washington Post <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKREhaCjtfJhocJ1GS-2F6htSioSH6sbWBP2ipRcXmUzbVXzSUVvpwG7Vn8spvDcRaKMLjbtsa4w2gyNxgyXlBPZG-2FbsCT5Nv-2BGUWCYJ78GYw8Io6J_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIj-2FKHVnsv-2B1JBzivDxNDbK8n0zUJNi7llB58xNlYl7PhuCLfB9u9xnvRIox-2BufJumXdui7yVu-2BLKkq5XmztkxmJWe-2BxqyoQU88FruXyWdJgtC3QtQ0U4oZkp3Y7j53j6D9zYW3MXCH4UC21AUvrsFJVF5So0cFLKOv-2B76Mck8-2B1FC-2F4Blj-2Bwy6ULO4qGfnOV1pe3AhchQD45etSoGTzGuc-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKREhaCjtfJhocJ1GS-2F6htSioSH6sbWBP2ipRcXmUzbVXzSUVvpwG7Vn8spvDcRaKMLjbtsa4w2gyNxgyXlBPZG-2FbsCT5Nv-2BGUWCYJ78GYw8Io6J_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIj-2FKHVnsv-2B1JBzivDxNDbK8n0zUJNi7llB58xNlYl7PhuCLfB9u9xnvRIox-2BufJumXdui7yVu-2BLKkq5XmztkxmJWe-2BxqyoQU88FruXyWdJgtC3QtQ0U4oZkp3Y7j53j6D9zYW3MXCH4UC21AUvrsFJVF5So0cFLKOv-2B76Mck8-2B1FC-2F4Blj-2Bwy6ULO4qGfnOV1pe3AhchQD45etSoGTzGuc-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw3F6WpmBYQNF09CwBudbeUd">reported, “The Treasury Department, which oversees the investment prohibition list, said SenseTime ‘has developed facial recognition programs that can determine a target’s ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs,’ a persecuted Muslim minority population in China,” and “used digital surveillance technology to track Uyghurs’ movements and activities… to ‘create a police state in the Xinjiang region.’” China’s repression of Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic minority group, was seen as a crime against humanity by the UN <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFYecNCyYy7DH5qbK9mDa3ta3ARJ5xQ0m64nR9U2xuoeTVVnKUA0506UXH7KW2SxNBw3BKgudveyF96WdazSQyqjzqj0HpyjPJgSfhL0kiyrhGKdLkpKRTDtG8ekxAqv2Xz68Fq0PEPd6zETqmIVS6DaTfoQnTXKqO0tflkvBgJkuTnFUXN4PmJpTeUGs0mLp3xeKlgmGifl7gvKU9EgJnQ-3D0aqy_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIAuMn-2FsKKtBViX3DurHxC5utPR9YZgEV6F9P0Od2BlAkAR-2FqID9ARmb7JeGZBLQoAo1yKU5AfxgkbfSmx87HpGv08gES3CHEMQA1AQzyqzxG15o5rgbaXPqHsETkjrDYZHtXf8-2FdcEAjXmlZM75DGfBONrXHfFCZdue3x0Al2DLpnzRPlk7gWurmIyKSspxQtBCY0VTQB9WARNrEnHq8zk-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFYecNCyYy7DH5qbK9mDa3ta3ARJ5xQ0m64nR9U2xuoeTVVnKUA0506UXH7KW2SxNBw3BKgudveyF96WdazSQyqjzqj0HpyjPJgSfhL0kiyrhGKdLkpKRTDtG8ekxAqv2Xz68Fq0PEPd6zETqmIVS6DaTfoQnTXKqO0tflkvBgJkuTnFUXN4PmJpTeUGs0mLp3xeKlgmGifl7gvKU9EgJnQ-3D0aqy_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIAuMn-2FsKKtBViX3DurHxC5utPR9YZgEV6F9P0Od2BlAkAR-2FqID9ARmb7JeGZBLQoAo1yKU5AfxgkbfSmx87HpGv08gES3CHEMQA1AQzyqzxG15o5rgbaXPqHsETkjrDYZHtXf8-2FdcEAjXmlZM75DGfBONrXHfFCZdue3x0Al2DLpnzRPlk7gWurmIyKSspxQtBCY0VTQB9WARNrEnHq8zk-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw3rsuOzZWt3_VCzXRAzG1eX">Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2022. Another artificial intelligence company that <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16L-2FLqLX6LUR83FiIqMA3HLNPWZub7ThW7zJuiNJ7Xrumg-3D-3D4nz3_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBkqt5g7KJq1M5HzWlk88oE2eVpRt4lXcDIoGaR56Kvax-2F6KQXPT4tMPD2ZVIZY59mGMFds1xP1t3OxgZV76-2F0PZRGPJyDyAbYFbYBGDjtfYjGgmn-2B6QfSGDL-2FcCeCtRNsVwq9D-2Fv2QVC0fLYD9oqClSK0PJgRGcvoj3dokGELO0S9EqqhdT3iY2vGg9yatQJQPDB5IG0ujGQZciUvlVxmM-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BAmgS9B1G4o4j-2BqpRcTl16L-2FLqLX6LUR83FiIqMA3HLNPWZub7ThW7zJuiNJ7Xrumg-3D-3D4nz3_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBkqt5g7KJq1M5HzWlk88oE2eVpRt4lXcDIoGaR56Kvax-2F6KQXPT4tMPD2ZVIZY59mGMFds1xP1t3OxgZV76-2F0PZRGPJyDyAbYFbYBGDjtfYjGgmn-2B6QfSGDL-2FcCeCtRNsVwq9D-2Fv2QVC0fLYD9oqClSK0PJgRGcvoj3dokGELO0S9EqqhdT3iY2vGg9yatQJQPDB5IG0ujGQZciUvlVxmM-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw3gPCK8-rt9pOSFEmIMDptn">Primavera has invested in, which has been accused of developing highly invasive surveillance technology, is <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJ5YzfnlB53oMWzeUrWrsE0H928RGHI7YH74uxIy6RtBr3eT_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDmlN3WG-2FOkAzWjvM6H0ycbWJzl-2ByI0106sRC4pg8Px-2Bkj46Xuh2MkmAwyyX6h0g4CWWHE33YCxD4FA-2F2JwTELDeIE6Fh666PEUnZf4Xqop3SWZfEY2gLELmxB5l1KD-2F250ykTPjXs06LSyhroxasadXYyK4H3IZsuRHYvVJqcA-2FSd4x9zMbYLi3LtuMMSZmxgpvjCUumaZcIhg3UuFhybk-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJ5YzfnlB53oMWzeUrWrsE0H928RGHI7YH74uxIy6RtBr3eT_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDmlN3WG-2FOkAzWjvM6H0ycbWJzl-2ByI0106sRC4pg8Px-2Bkj46Xuh2MkmAwyyX6h0g4CWWHE33YCxD4FA-2F2JwTELDeIE6Fh666PEUnZf4Xqop3SWZfEY2gLELmxB5l1KD-2F250ykTPjXs06LSyhroxasadXYyK4H3IZsuRHYvVJqcA-2FSd4x9zMbYLi3LtuMMSZmxgpvjCUumaZcIhg3UuFhybk-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw3kIVrEprtfLVgWa2MEyo9x">Palantir. In May 2025, the New York Times <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BK6ki9wV13ZHo6u9q6FVUDujRKaZNOgR7Wja-2B78J61VuIcttmy3yUhapL0JLJSwE11pvGVzCR3GCpM-2BCTt8pJKO56sQaU8ONLhvntatoCguozaCG_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqH2SmKBPSLMxy2loILFk3UF-2ByoLIJHzaFHCYx-2B9d0vSzvQ-2BVQ2q6DmHSp3COjbjNn42Jfn8DfCzcipNXPyQLBrSMWO5nn-2BUVDz6vJemuoo-2FslhF7Sk7ClKfLqgPJxbQ85mUBT1-2B-2B3nbUd7v0YfkBIbj3ZA-2BFICncD7lOu0WXR2L4bxm5PY4-2F-2FJ7mv3SJHN5UIFGNaf6SrdG6Y3XrDBUeEp4-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BK6ki9wV13ZHo6u9q6FVUDujRKaZNOgR7Wja-2B78J61VuIcttmy3yUhapL0JLJSwE11pvGVzCR3GCpM-2BCTt8pJKO56sQaU8ONLhvntatoCguozaCG_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqH2SmKBPSLMxy2loILFk3UF-2ByoLIJHzaFHCYx-2B9d0vSzvQ-2BVQ2q6DmHSp3COjbjNn42Jfn8DfCzcipNXPyQLBrSMWO5nn-2BUVDz6vJemuoo-2FslhF7Sk7ClKfLqgPJxbQ85mUBT1-2B-2B3nbUd7v0YfkBIbj3ZA-2BFICncD7lOu0WXR2L4bxm5PY4-2F-2FJ7mv3SJHN5UIFGNaf6SrdG6Y3XrDBUeEp4-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw0nd8ZLw2A9m-1R1ViPp1fa">reported that the Trump administration was spending hundreds of millions of federal dollars to install Palantir’s <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJ5YzfnlB53oMWzeUrWrsE1aOxVmID5hKBiVWoQkRKNGsMmOCg7LQGmur5fj1XPj1A-3D-3DVUJf_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqD6KSAe4MSjJqbdv9-2BQnV1FFtqY4j8dSUWw4L5d5QxEiBQOnW-2BP-2FKhrav4DzUnsaJH49k-2Bi1BCB3T3EbC99EyUQdYMMveWm-2BwTL-2B582zsB825Ddli4z-2Bmk5YxK-2Fjwa9lRedawalMnz308Sqp71qP2am2BMjotbXVJBODk9-2BSLZpdo5Gx0X32U8Whbh5ZARY-2Bg4UPmH2e39lVbmbozK1OZTE-3D" 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operating system in multiple federal agencies to “compile a master list of personal information on Americans that could give… [the president] untold surveillance power.” According to an <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEUSD2JSQk-2BKRULdVFJY761KTM1H0FE-2BAp7hHmCW4uEDHF7OM2-2FxbkEwx15lPnOG5K31tEyZEixNz-2FI6Zh5tMjQBE2M3HpN1VpDl-2BUbfqvVBfLNiF8RcrzMDxo-2FTz9mrepVNSGm-2Bn8q5lPiso-2B-2FDOZWOLOpdKZXrzt437w5pB69uh9m__pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqAK19elqrau7pAESTq0vCS6FMuRJYciAXD4CUl2d2QW9VAhs-2FNUvBJHK640oHNVAaDOBqq89DLZdMloKKD6Shma4o7grA7uuqDTn1OJNU1ehvy4D7LhkUzlzheju-2BeiWgnVzb1Amk5ySdnVSQHvlIHErOquJUK2QjBmeefwdPrrtT0UocEfUdkMbG5JASFleDLqutvINYivVt7zmkubzrrs-3D" rel="noopener" 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in the Conversation by Nicole M. Bennett, who described herself as “a researcher who studies the intersection of data governance, digital technologies, and the U.S. federal government,” the Trump administration has employed another Palantir operating system called Gotham. Gotham, the article said, “is an investigative platform built for police, national security agencies, public health departments and other state clients” to “take whatever data an agency already has, break it down into its smallest components, and then connect the dots.” To be clear, no one has accused Spring Education Group of snooping on students. The company’s <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crxlyaj-2F3Gb2OzADwgzZNgzsCGWw4mGAWsXDidmAke39Cg-3D-3DcvdX_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIaqKLXHZYS-2Bsq7Ku6E5Gazdi6TLyq-2FF-2BlmaQ2MkmBT-2BwQhayvSYmhYQCP5Kswuo-2BASkZefmuUvBkFMSK90-2BR6wgLV17S1DYau0-2B9P7Vi9rmdIFJ7hVzojukBREKI2RHRRbjqmR5tbL2rqwj1zxNtFVPxSpIDhIRC03DnIjd-2B7zKfZMLi65wfDb-2BcNfjXuIjjJzMxaUUqI85y7hLQr-2Btqgw-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crxlyaj-2F3Gb2OzADwgzZNgzsCGWw4mGAWsXDidmAke39Cg-3D-3DcvdX_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIaqKLXHZYS-2Bsq7Ku6E5Gazdi6TLyq-2FF-2BlmaQ2MkmBT-2BwQhayvSYmhYQCP5Kswuo-2BASkZefmuUvBkFMSK90-2BR6wgLV17S1DYau0-2B9P7Vi9rmdIFJ7hVzojukBREKI2RHRRbjqmR5tbL2rqwj1zxNtFVPxSpIDhIRC03DnIjd-2B7zKfZMLi65wfDb-2BcNfjXuIjjJzMxaUUqI85y7hLQr-2Btqgw-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384030000&usg=AOvVaw075WcomETCQIn_WFBzYLJN">privacy notice states, “We do not make your Personal Information available for purchase or otherwise share your information with third parties in exchange for monetary compensation.” However, privacy advocates, parents, and teachers are expressing <a 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concerns about how edtech company platforms in schools <a 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and use student data and how that use constitutes <a 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breach in student and educator privacy. So Primavera’s interest in both education and surveillance as hot investment properties is bound to raise questions. And any politician viewed as steering public funds to bad actors in the student privacy debate is likely to become a target for criticism. A Workaround to Voucher Regulations While concerns about Primavera’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party prompted conservatives to curtail the firm’s access to funds for public education, the Trump administration has opened the door to another potential pot of public money. Included in the <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCcUCuKkL-2Fn17z8qNPH9DBrcTKKlnCpa1-2F-2Ft-2B99DNbF-2Fp6Kl4x5buOvAKuTiBqmuYyfMS4Kfn0X-2BqSbsY7EC6AE-3DatwB_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqB5K5BiXZwejxioBUDiRjdhlDCtHCbVWX56uudpgnR6BH3ZEcPbTe-2FGXT4ILJb3sHBOHfDqvhJsYtRu6wBhjhLt9MNoiEgqCnX-2FMMbxu7flydUPgAEd5CwB8dWEIgNcjh4-2FPisJEre7xDyqlkYVfoadrOa75zbV3VfFDuN97BQRt5PnBvtd3DyfFQOvF19iOwYLiBViddiiiBG8qERDk5F8-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCcUCuKkL-2Fn17z8qNPH9DBrcTKKlnCpa1-2F-2Ft-2B99DNbF-2Fp6Kl4x5buOvAKuTiBqmuYyfMS4Kfn0X-2BqSbsY7EC6AE-3DatwB_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqB5K5BiXZwejxioBUDiRjdhlDCtHCbVWX56uudpgnR6BH3ZEcPbTe-2FGXT4ILJb3sHBOHfDqvhJsYtRu6wBhjhLt9MNoiEgqCnX-2FMMbxu7flydUPgAEd5CwB8dWEIgNcjh4-2FPisJEre7xDyqlkYVfoadrOa75zbV3VfFDuN97BQRt5PnBvtd3DyfFQOvF19iOwYLiBViddiiiBG8qERDk5F8-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw2NGeYSyotLrtKzBHquaFpa">One Big Beautiful Bill that Trump called for, and Republican lawmakers in Congress passed in 2025, was a provision establishing the first-ever federal school voucher program, known as the <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BOUiVK4tZZLXNfcDSKncIsM3AFPlew7DDyyEO3w0UF1FGc-2BsxbSnmferBSOxAGGk6CMSMrjdDRoV9gdNXwm1gu8OKndpqkYw7yrW3P56kZlZr0INqlhkPP-2F-2FR2pyUjQdAE-2FN8qvFJCwu6mgz1bptqkc-3DVYV7_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqEtZA8dHFtkLEbvUg9rnGF6kB8YwQe1CozzHymINwnGhjWnqBrg1d-2FKbR8pvxqjOvboXiTmhXewvu-2BFkGXAYv8VRJ5BkUg7JO38WdHe5nea4lgO36KZTArUPnWjPFpy2KpUUHIiZ6mtHXACJbrCi1-2FuOgz6-2FPu6fakETbGJU7qMCckvj8Upj0tPC2-2BuJGqrXr12C-2BXhC2vH-2Bm4YZ4JIu-2BVc-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BOUiVK4tZZLXNfcDSKncIsM3AFPlew7DDyyEO3w0UF1FGc-2BsxbSnmferBSOxAGGk6CMSMrjdDRoV9gdNXwm1gu8OKndpqkYw7yrW3P56kZlZr0INqlhkPP-2F-2FR2pyUjQdAE-2FN8qvFJCwu6mgz1bptqkc-3DVYV7_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqEtZA8dHFtkLEbvUg9rnGF6kB8YwQe1CozzHymINwnGhjWnqBrg1d-2FKbR8pvxqjOvboXiTmhXewvu-2BFkGXAYv8VRJ5BkUg7JO38WdHe5nea4lgO36KZTArUPnWjPFpy2KpUUHIiZ6mtHXACJbrCi1-2FuOgz6-2FPu6fakETbGJU7qMCckvj8Upj0tPC2-2BuJGqrXr12C-2BXhC2vH-2Bm4YZ4JIu-2BVc-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw3j6XS8HKVaPkW3NFlrA-xr">Educational Choice for Children Act(ECCA). Beginning in 2027, this tax-credit program allows individuals to receive up to a $1,700 annual, dollar-for-dollar, federal tax credit for donations to state-licensed school voucher providers, called <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BNBcmaK5ipoP-2BRkZ1NTZ6xkKug1kqvr5y3AbA1ePQnhvOqz-2B5NYn0Ll2BxOg3fKCQLlgsFVXnA5IzQa25YpVypEyZcoIjr5CmxLBcHZnyNgty0aD_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCosiY0Q-2FLYA-2FmyNVS4YVHxQ9Z4mk-2F22qh-2BfFYLfXMNW0pd-2BV-2F9EN1HtRT8IOwgxQ-2Fu8Tu7T428habmOsZzJBg1h1mGAHktN7vMZZxbzTNoerwWKxVa9CtQDcvQeJelnxNXZI6FxuGM8DFhy0MgzBGx5X-2FDKQq2H7sJlqzPLnx1wrEWQdKal2BAubiJdP6JIapTAI3ctd7gh3p-2BEQy2ryMQ-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BNBcmaK5ipoP-2BRkZ1NTZ6xkKug1kqvr5y3AbA1ePQnhvOqz-2B5NYn0Ll2BxOg3fKCQLlgsFVXnA5IzQa25YpVypEyZcoIjr5CmxLBcHZnyNgty0aD_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCosiY0Q-2FLYA-2FmyNVS4YVHxQ9Z4mk-2F22qh-2BfFYLfXMNW0pd-2BV-2F9EN1HtRT8IOwgxQ-2Fu8Tu7T428habmOsZzJBg1h1mGAHktN7vMZZxbzTNoerwWKxVa9CtQDcvQeJelnxNXZI6FxuGM8DFhy0MgzBGx5X-2FDKQq2H7sJlqzPLnx1wrEWQdKal2BAubiJdP6JIapTAI3ctd7gh3p-2BEQy2ryMQ-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw3BqKqipQxga-C5iWMF3q1T">scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). After SGOs receive donor funds, they cream some money off the top for administration and then give what’s left to families to pay for education expenses. Although formal guidelines are yet to be finalized, the law as written gives families broad leeway about what constitutes education expenses, which may include private school tuition, homeschool expenses, tutoring, transportation services, before- and after-school programs, and summer camp. Trump’s Department of Education <a 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this initiative “Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC).” Florida was among the first states to opt into the voucher program, declaring, in a January 2026 <a 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from the governor’s office, “The newly enacted federal Education Freedom Tax Credit is an opportunity to further support education freedom.” Other Republican-led states joined Florida in <a 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into the program, and even some blue states have signed up, including Colorado and Virginia. Other states have been more skeptical of the program. In North Carolina, for instance, the state legislature voted to opt in, but the state’s democratic governor <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFrdNodDYmh2oL91woAVTf3fJ8enYqR9rIS4CH-2BxibHm-2FYCt2DPc4cLHyWW39Zvs2XhLjVf5JCzKWwFYOWpqP00a88aneqsMnetmeItlaptXxyq3d4CD9sopQT0Wd297rUh4-2B0W4sSmf-2BSQgvxcZC2hj1Jl-2FChdqTctPtNOg0s3xXEH__pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqM2cO9gDpFWamp8hiZxbSD-2BQBh6D8QvIhFOf0-2By9dfKwhNmKjeFsAD0EOT8Y-2BfoIF62qSdJXzj19Z5UeEYgT36IqnqXbjsiOgnVoGeuy1g0tl-2B2b7AMJmVRqD01-2BOx3-2BB5aQaRKCSbZgTiEWd0HgeydKrwrXWv4kRM79NIPcld9OZttuyeycx-2F1prMF-2B-2F9wIFQJL3t-2BAEJkLohX9pezpP-2FE-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFrdNodDYmh2oL91woAVTf3fJ8enYqR9rIS4CH-2BxibHm-2FYCt2DPc4cLHyWW39Zvs2XhLjVf5JCzKWwFYOWpqP00a88aneqsMnetmeItlaptXxyq3d4CD9sopQT0Wd297rUh4-2B0W4sSmf-2BSQgvxcZC2hj1Jl-2FChdqTctPtNOg0s3xXEH__pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqM2cO9gDpFWamp8hiZxbSD-2BQBh6D8QvIhFOf0-2By9dfKwhNmKjeFsAD0EOT8Y-2BfoIF62qSdJXzj19Z5UeEYgT36IqnqXbjsiOgnVoGeuy1g0tl-2B2b7AMJmVRqD01-2BOx3-2BB5aQaRKCSbZgTiEWd0HgeydKrwrXWv4kRM79NIPcld9OZttuyeycx-2F1prMF-2B-2F9wIFQJL3t-2BAEJkLohX9pezpP-2FE-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw2C0cGiCfz2Cs4bBHFs8P2n">vetoed the legislation. Governors in both red and blue states in favor of adopting the program, such as outgoing Colorado Governor Jared Polis, have argued that the federal vouchers are “<a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEeIPbSqTCvwfcc4Y5lX-2BuUA2vOjYl6QCmS9fNYc5kNGqCaeu8jG9PRG-2BrnoURCvFBFAwQvERooepgwrwYGf8V5kRkYOzeleVJX2XrHC7pDI4d93bDgKjrhg8UNv3FYFFA-3D-3DN6V8_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBvc3vMAHVWpuXObESW1G5q8D0TpcU9AwRz-2FjfVD0fdOoUvbbcBZuSF-2Bv2vkIRD0YzcnEn4H3ZrbnTULiehxRgXAas-2FCAP0beL51D29sq0dX-2ForksBRa3GOffHgghGmO1UGaejr9BUa-2BR0hMp5iJj16bjR1djMc7bJO7rSQRvhp4pOEHPm0kN6iOFOcQlxer9dfpFcaIOWQDBYX8A5ghHk8-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEeIPbSqTCvwfcc4Y5lX-2BuUA2vOjYl6QCmS9fNYc5kNGqCaeu8jG9PRG-2BrnoURCvFBFAwQvERooepgwrwYGf8V5kRkYOzeleVJX2XrHC7pDI4d93bDgKjrhg8UNv3FYFFA-3D-3DN6V8_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBvc3vMAHVWpuXObESW1G5q8D0TpcU9AwRz-2FjfVD0fdOoUvbbcBZuSF-2Bv2vkIRD0YzcnEn4H3ZrbnTULiehxRgXAas-2FCAP0beL51D29sq0dX-2ForksBRa3GOffHgghGmO1UGaejr9BUa-2BR0hMp5iJj16bjR1djMc7bJO7rSQRvhp4pOEHPm0kN6iOFOcQlxer9dfpFcaIOWQDBYX8A5ghHk8-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw0tM0tyuwumMErm-rCltzng">free money” that shouldn’t be turned down. What’s largely been left out of the discussion is how the new federal voucher program may undermine state control over existing voucher funding. In states that have rejected voucher programs, the federal program provides another way for school choice advocates to pry open the market. Meanwhile, for states with current voucher programs that include some regulatory control, the new federal voucher program may provide a workaround for education merchants to find new inroads to public money. “We know that not only is this a voucher scheme,” said Education Law Center’s litigation director Jessica Levin in an email, “but the aim of it is to expand vouchers nationwide, including into states that have repeatedly rejected voucher programs.” For instance, while North Carolina’s state regulations block Spring Education Group’s private preschools from receiving public money, the federal voucher program offers a workaround because the voucher money it dispenses can be used to pay for things like <a 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camps that Spring Education Group preschools operate <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKMaDR1PDMgHr3ED2Rh5crwvVSBcIpTAmt2m-2F0Nraoy-2FitoxLJHDjBtX68o7In6vHg2gioqjvVkNiMnMzahzZFmd6h-2FqfiC9izkt5bzLyVWcQN5J_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqIZ-2FnunjEjFg41jlgEqx58d2deZBrYo-2BJMB-2F4WE-2FasBJUdZ6wHruhUvTU2KS3qO5F9XVaXFfPLNzpyhfCJ7ydqONU7yMDOKN6Ffd4aG0eU1MWEjQqIIXsAqFmILNsmcfHd6qPuJdWJCAGOWOWoe4IjbxoaLzgwExq07oJD0ZWUMvZoBOP1iQw7AaN9MUKKlUwrPxn5RWWchZlLgJl2Qr1s4-3D" rel="noopener" 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the Tar Heel State. In Texas and Florida, lawmakers who are <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKREhaCjtfJhocJ1GS-2F6htQn4MZYuC5ciLgkE3XUlBuzILBtG1qbxeyNF6H43tlShApUdWPKtmBj5-2FRl0n4c97EVnaiBY-2FXSJeGNFNG-2FvBrINlUC_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqN6gKcokL-2Bm7790S0Q8kE3uwMYqM7mfuX7NBxTWp99lbMX-2B1nnIYsKQs-2B13s06x7UCZiMRGN2ARaip-2B93LK1sK11AmD7aGEl5TFfs0g6twzVam3EpLeKNjZEsUzRgvNAyxco4nZ73K1asMYE1hguCcplUwxG-2BTY5CgzDWDJExzVudabb6uIiwn-2FrjylXAqr-2Fely1nOLwOfnvQA8LbJpnwjQ-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKREhaCjtfJhocJ1GS-2F6htQn4MZYuC5ciLgkE3XUlBuzILBtG1qbxeyNF6H43tlShApUdWPKtmBj5-2FRl0n4c97EVnaiBY-2FXSJeGNFNG-2FvBrINlUC_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqN6gKcokL-2Bm7790S0Q8kE3uwMYqM7mfuX7NBxTWp99lbMX-2B1nnIYsKQs-2B13s06x7UCZiMRGN2ARaip-2B93LK1sK11AmD7aGEl5TFfs0g6twzVam3EpLeKNjZEsUzRgvNAyxco4nZ73K1asMYE1hguCcplUwxG-2BTY5CgzDWDJExzVudabb6uIiwn-2FrjylXAqr-2Fely1nOLwOfnvQA8LbJpnwjQ-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw0OVTv1QH0hMgWb60a42GhJ">kicking Islamic schools out of their state voucher programs over claims that the schools are linked to “terrorists” may find that opting into the federal voucher program will help these schools access public tax dollars. Because companies that provide tutoring services, like Tutor.com, may also be allowed to <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BMs1Pn-2B12U6hS3g6FrW49EgG2FyN4TjqrZmrZETzSN6jmAbu-2F0M2yVurdyBLbMDE0VD0KL5KaAaHlO4QsDPf9CjLlcbDLOtIjJV6l4RzEKMigwXEYzpNIFvcc1TmTcezFXLXichPFplYLzo0vNLByrwdsGjk7Kcmi-2F8UbHi4vmGWO0EVVLAggE4vAtAHmAoIWA-3D-3DfMUy_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqB0l1-2BsJPAkDNO9ROxVcqhXs2-2FzHC5er-2FG-2FRKrHoMePi1aDcF3uuD5pLod3BvfGqCDxCn8o1ooEIxhG5MPXC5P3UDl81u9bpxQKc0ZiEDXQYEKjeribIpVJErib3P6GF4Z4B0l4Iz079kUXUlMzaY1obrK5DTDzDEsMCsx5iYS4UFmwEHuYYfK2fBiG7nHw9kdqc02uXch2fi8KJTXE6mqQ-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BMs1Pn-2B12U6hS3g6FrW49EgG2FyN4TjqrZmrZETzSN6jmAbu-2F0M2yVurdyBLbMDE0VD0KL5KaAaHlO4QsDPf9CjLlcbDLOtIjJV6l4RzEKMigwXEYzpNIFvcc1TmTcezFXLXichPFplYLzo0vNLByrwdsGjk7Kcmi-2F8UbHi4vmGWO0EVVLAggE4vAtAHmAoIWA-3D-3DfMUy_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqB0l1-2BsJPAkDNO9ROxVcqhXs2-2FzHC5er-2FG-2FRKrHoMePi1aDcF3uuD5pLod3BvfGqCDxCn8o1ooEIxhG5MPXC5P3UDl81u9bpxQKc0ZiEDXQYEKjeribIpVJErib3P6GF4Z4B0l4Iz079kUXUlMzaY1obrK5DTDzDEsMCsx5iYS4UFmwEHuYYfK2fBiG7nHw9kdqc02uXch2fi8KJTXE6mqQ-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384031000&usg=AOvVaw0j5jcA9_Voti5nueH6ZuDY">receive money from the federal voucher program, conservatives who have railed against Tutor.com’s connection to Primavera Capital and the Chinese government may see even more public funds going to these enterprises via the federal program. Yet, after Arkansas Senator Cotton raised an alarm about Tutor.com, there’s no evidence on record that he has objected to his state’s decision to <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BM3iUQvV2zhW68pNTSan-2BspzQIx3pUdUastC5PIBUzDPl0-2FMLYhn8A6sfUjeCyTLSuVE446UQm902hWQqCCrqHD7mT7ghWrtL3-2FJLRTB8eJT6ml-2BO84Al5CFKR-2FvUxQzkV0xu9YkYwvt1rv0QOFi60jPbpqbzGNNr9mOjSOMo6hUEy6v-2BK679Y1MY4-2F0RgkE3w-3D-3D_VZV_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBoN5Hl3cR-2F7yFymoqICOLoaQki4aIy5efoJTH1tjTEU1kn72QU3TgvFvpGoGTf3AOMNrKq713HSkkSfQp12Aem7V-2BmD0Hsy6btItHrjUovsFZ-2Ba-2F0rLAYatKehbVWtIYg-2Bvns5XmYOZiNgnWjAWoaoz-2FtvWksSsGBGx35FGv-2FHN8-2BW4gL63SAyQWOfYYvYmt2s-2BtjACOXOaiSef0RwNH2Y-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BM3iUQvV2zhW68pNTSan-2BspzQIx3pUdUastC5PIBUzDPl0-2FMLYhn8A6sfUjeCyTLSuVE446UQm902hWQqCCrqHD7mT7ghWrtL3-2FJLRTB8eJT6ml-2BO84Al5CFKR-2FvUxQzkV0xu9YkYwvt1rv0QOFi60jPbpqbzGNNr9mOjSOMo6hUEy6v-2BK679Y1MY4-2F0RgkE3w-3D-3D_VZV_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqBoN5Hl3cR-2F7yFymoqICOLoaQki4aIy5efoJTH1tjTEU1kn72QU3TgvFvpGoGTf3AOMNrKq713HSkkSfQp12Aem7V-2BmD0Hsy6btItHrjUovsFZ-2Ba-2F0rLAYatKehbVWtIYg-2Bvns5XmYOZiNgnWjAWoaoz-2FtvWksSsGBGx35FGv-2FHN8-2BW4gL63SAyQWOfYYvYmt2s-2BtjACOXOaiSef0RwNH2Y-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384032000&usg=AOvVaw2Q_BWAABIOyxVshe8mEBXX">take part in the federal voucher program. “Until the Treasury Department issues regulations,” said Levin, “we don’t know what leeway states will have to regulate the federal voucher program. So it doesn’t make sense for states wondering about that to opt in before the federal regulations are even proposed. However, based on the late 2025 request for comment documents from IRS/Treasury and the policies of the Trump administration regarding education privatization, it’s likely those regulations will be designed to provide little or no leeway for states to place restrictions on the SGOs that will hand out the vouchers.” ‘Free Money’ With Big Costs State leaders and education advocates who are not spooked by public dollars for education enriching investment firms connected to the Chinese Communist Party may object to the federal voucher program for other reasons. For instance, ECCA’s call on states to set up SGO voucher providers is expected to provide a way for private investors to reap a financial windfall from public funds meant for education. 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One firm <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJQRVNqmIq6sPv5-2FxvgY0xbovaNNCx9oIc3YAZ0fgxgquZtcHVplAtQLcRJcwxjAJJ30yJ0mg0WLa6oNfltZwByYOFg0sA96vhJpStqHGqOtdmK3Sx5cVtEYUkfwJp-2FOQPU4ljiQrQH-2BfWDZ73s-2FfYz-2FKcSaQtcGN4qXfnN9aEt2PU1E_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqJcba5mssRmE6V8xr5vgF-2BUcsMmxM323EN4jSsfcPSaEzHuLCWR-2B136RjMQOeo6RBDqeeDD-2F-2FR6wJ6tRaoNyj844AOyXZkP8w-2BLab1l2m9NK-2FgKAvICNAsVp443o1r2WqVIAotjGDyndXfh4O8sXmq6-2FQb4PZuBdUo7fP6ekDVgr-2BDzSWPNu8LWBskw3uwB1RTVYQcVNc-2F5cZP1tpnexzno-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BJQRVNqmIq6sPv5-2FxvgY0xbovaNNCx9oIc3YAZ0fgxgquZtcHVplAtQLcRJcwxjAJJ30yJ0mg0WLa6oNfltZwByYOFg0sA96vhJpStqHGqOtdmK3Sx5cVtEYUkfwJp-2FOQPU4ljiQrQH-2BfWDZ73s-2FfYz-2FKcSaQtcGN4qXfnN9aEt2PU1E_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqJcba5mssRmE6V8xr5vgF-2BUcsMmxM323EN4jSsfcPSaEzHuLCWR-2B136RjMQOeo6RBDqeeDD-2F-2FR6wJ6tRaoNyj844AOyXZkP8w-2BLab1l2m9NK-2FgKAvICNAsVp443o1r2WqVIAotjGDyndXfh4O8sXmq6-2FQb4PZuBdUo7fP6ekDVgr-2BDzSWPNu8LWBskw3uwB1RTVYQcVNc-2F5cZP1tpnexzno-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384032000&usg=AOvVaw35LCFQkYer2v2Mg201AtCH">claims, “The SGO provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act offers a powerful opportunity to expand access to independent school education”—and, no doubt, profit as a result. A September 2025 <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCO-2FB-2BkEVXBO6J-2F5NXskWmtXeoiQOiAuJfBv8PES4DRBcn05RfhJi9INvRaUhuYx4R4Wq42SPSu3XvxHW56VTNt4ramgpVe3HZNsjT-2FPNnJM-2BpGncEmVc6Y6Zl0ovnNLGXZUqcJOqil7xmHizjxWJMsp6p2EHSKoALzkHAF7zUY5l8T4_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDJU4pg1EI2vf2iZQFz5nXhw49kw3sf-2FyMdLkJGEY7o6p4p-2BDdN-2BQjj8XCsXz6agWfhWxeZSJfudtnDA1MTsR0e9oNvvJT4tke1yP16wMy0moCrTYs7s9cqB8FuS2Ndi9bfq6ErWnA9OvvwHxBWDXjXNWkH-2B6auVg1pFgMzFt1p6HJ521hPcb50GIQGobbFrjSTSS3zpYRmARIjlgiu4-2BqA-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCO-2FB-2BkEVXBO6J-2F5NXskWmtXeoiQOiAuJfBv8PES4DRBcn05RfhJi9INvRaUhuYx4R4Wq42SPSu3XvxHW56VTNt4ramgpVe3HZNsjT-2FPNnJM-2BpGncEmVc6Y6Zl0ovnNLGXZUqcJOqil7xmHizjxWJMsp6p2EHSKoALzkHAF7zUY5l8T4_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqDJU4pg1EI2vf2iZQFz5nXhw49kw3sf-2FyMdLkJGEY7o6p4p-2BDdN-2BQjj8XCsXz6agWfhWxeZSJfudtnDA1MTsR0e9oNvvJT4tke1yP16wMy0moCrTYs7s9cqB8FuS2Ndi9bfq6ErWnA9OvvwHxBWDXjXNWkH-2B6auVg1pFgMzFt1p6HJ521hPcb50GIQGobbFrjSTSS3zpYRmARIjlgiu4-2BqA-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384032000&usg=AOvVaw2W1JbefZSQfIZnqvgoWVZE">blog post on the website of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP), a watchdog focused on the private equity industry, warned that the new federal voucher program will likely lead to greater involvement of private equity investment firms, like Primavera, in profiting from public services like education. Because the new program <a 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for services like transportation, PESP senior researcher Azani Creeks <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCO-2FB-2BkEVXBO6J-2F5NXskWmtXeoiQOiAuJfBv8PES4DRBcn05RfhJi9INvRaUhuYx4R4Wq42SPSu3XvxHW56VTNt4ramgpVe3HZNsjT-2FPNnJM-2BpGncEmVc6Y6Zl0ovnNLGXZUqcJOqil7xmHizjxWJMsp6p2EHSKoALzkHAF7zUY57Psk_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqPBg0r-2BQBbAWFaDvjhrK4gptRMbn8JYryg9iACSsNJ5gfOEq8DF3MMj403vpWjFgR8aSLs7mNPkRl6y1VB7qF9aDd607ZXPIhL0-2FAzDZlqUbKDGhAG8XQWJf6y-2Bf14Habf7M-2BmHqxL1WYEt7LJtGf9UzcE689PZ7KCUtqwhwQdeXLe2vI3g4DxlFpGZy7-2FrJpbDELew2sqAsETP2NMz9eLE-3D" rel="noopener" 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it will likely result in public money profiting private transportation companies like First Student, “a school bus service provider owned by private equity firm <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BC9KhfK3pARFIq4q-2F1FGTMKu1A19DzodFVGyESAUfg91boQdiTuduhpWllonwSr2yt4ZKvq-2B2GhHJfRV49lgIsc-3DnQ5f_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqKxMZi4opxFq5MYzH-2FrRRJAePjvE6XnZ8am99UIVlZ4hPmB5ryihHvQbQSjRTLSDTQWb6FEZ-2F8l-2FoJc2l9Nb60-2F7GkCHIELrJe5fdTxgCFkiRQz0A9WDRrKWHeaf1utriBQZHYavAgyBvHoVFBDjtxHkVuJTvR10cfc0ZlRONYrCkPAZ6h330tNDJPHewxEDHrGQKt6NILnl6s-2BH5bc10bE-3D" rel="noopener" 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A <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BCO-2FB-2BkEVXBO6J-2F5NXskWmt5tYlgzqctMx3Frew3kILcKxmAozZIlgnAYOiJDiJLToVrERoNLGO89uzPMp4C5pgbB27qSV3pY6VsbHHc2r9k5EQI_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqHR1nWRL6G8iV77pL0abqHJgdRDQFKtgfGc7OsmIMnkmcKixEaW0M8Gxyi8TbPgvOdk16PNJJaHp9ma9sA5tCkW4C-2B2rQgJumAsrPgrnpxjmxX7NibYkQ1jy154Fet9J1-2FbW4SEf20mYsaA-2BtDM-2BPgtj4XRjruIeF5vx6kVbZsE7DIXHpNtv8iQi1cIpOnsYRggCF5-2BWJfA2NS-2Fpsl2hAWo-3D" rel="noopener" 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PESP published in 2022 found, “Private equity firms and the companies they own have promised to improve educational outcomes for struggling individual students and schools through new technology, personalized learning strategies, and resources for staffing and administration, but there is no conclusive data showing that school funding is better spent at private-equity owned companies than staying within the district.” In that report, PESP pointed to a particularly egregious <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BNqKnbGQncy02I2U1om9xgN5OWlKO8CF3fwIPpZQZu378SUkVzTjfO5S-2Ff8qBXLC1sf0yvBscGsntFNVD432V9M-3DSGIm_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqGjApZap578E7tL0RUCwwDbAdT4AiYiYa89684D5JRPUj16se807GlVBkhBcBrELDhWtDR5x7MMqbbvzsMOolqvFFM54NKI2KzyGi2EfTteTcTFN9X2WMChseJwtRZ2IU8TTYJfPGtI3Qh3zX-2FVuUCz17sY-2FR4fkVK7uco4PSvB4sb-2F5QLoxympXtFymVNztcRAzxt1fXbWkRgipiR25Ovg-3D" rel="noopener" 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in the charter school industry of private equity profiteering at the expense of public services, where a combination of for-profit operators backed by private equity has resulted in elaborate business schemes and networks of interrelated companies that hide profiteering while doing little to improve the quality of services to the public. In a phone call with Creeks, she explained, “The point of policies like ECCA is to funnel public tax money into the private sector. But private equity investment in public services that impact the quality of people’s lives is inherently at odds with profit-making. For that reason, the new federal school voucher program needs strong guardrails.” Public school advocates who oppose the federal voucher program have provided other reasons why state officials should not opt in. Their arguments, such as <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BE2yjnftH6tW52y016SqANOnZjm3uXvCzJhEiJ6Wc-2BOkvZAn3RqiBVGvagyMoO4oNm1-2BViCgiE3lrfDhTF9ZfhAXYlf2yDuT43C6rHlph3pA9eLSnpDeLVVVuO8MdoQI7A-3D-3D9ELW_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqGP1rgyRWOHZhJS-2BThfyoBfS2Guh3PTQWXg7CI9AWlYneg7lwmjtNuDz5vzPwnVYpx-2FA-2BVwLp5Yj0Lt-2FLz6oHvIPqFLfcsyhII-2BywL77r6Cq-2BZ2yVFomowTyZKFzG-2BCG-2FVxSggTW3IZbp0zgMSGqwRGeMKjC3XfwCDOivqqdUvg4ydpf9IM-2FN3OaWlcLyGghoOe7vdKD4mJPUTX3s1hwM0c-3D" rel="noopener" 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put forward by Public Funds Public Schools, emphasize the public policy negatives of vouchers, including how they tend to have <a 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impacts on funding for public schools, <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BKVOBAn0jSsY2iiFL7R2GcY3CmixJJUzvy-2F9q-2BJ68MmG485FEbGYaF8hSVEkBvCf1F2nV4LWHpTtkkfXHUjO8gskfoO-2FzG6hGVDx0yA-2Bqo8kj5Ae_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCLBBVUNa5MA3-2B-2FZMk7eGsoCnQ0GH3y1qeNaCxGL7gCi9AxUFefF5g-2BNaB5IP3SPnVNxKCwKYM-2BNNYau0tmmN6IeQ9HlmdQei-2FQHVJOkfIGEkPKvuHqqLOGCEriTXgc42OaCZdG74eVZc7SnPEEgMBKXcqdp6zlVeWYN2tuDdPoQl4H-2B-2FSrvMP072VwZcvmOfRopiEkoK6qPSljSX9VMin8-3D" rel="noopener" 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academic outcomes of students, and <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BLpmE6d6Cy-2FMZ3okZaN6GwIwPSUSrR8RwI3JRx-2FM8dKIInzCq5DJDxCoJBIeZqDcfqWamTHgeb5R6R8khDOR8mIcueyiHZUIfEUE3YscF-2BwD3oAqIqK-2F-2FXlGoujZYugb8A-3D-3DJywd_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqLAk0JcI8WLsIkl2HYKehHST6OYr-2BecHeCOuI5keFROrtVnOZADg1MIwGQLuxXQtmfHZly-2BhZJ0uFeu6s1L9G5hSE6w78qCIhkqWuvrPTGRj6iYDpulWcrmPixKo3EBXQNAp-2BTS7aaGRgryGtDYFC5ZknC6NgZRwuzi4hoQMCxf7I179FESaE1U44ta2C6vk9i4Vhgcui2x1J8Sbt06HWGQ-3D" rel="noopener" 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private schools that actively discriminateagainst students, disproportionately impacting students of color, students with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ students. In Congress, Democratic Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii are planning to introduce legislation called the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act that will repeal the K-12 federal tax credit voucher program included in the One Big Beautiful Bill. But if state officials who aren’t convinced to oppose federal school vouchers for public policy reasons, maybe the messy politics of the program will convince them that the supposed “free money” offered by the Trump administration actually comes at a very high cost. This article was produced by <a href="https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFH7-2B890eq7B4TYN9OBfEskDEbnYpfG4YQcmbmMoaWZEcu0ePi5PmBVL4s2tH2p7FA-3D-3DGx00_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCP-2BlfZHJFkt6doYMuORoXWu5cU7U0hCJYJo-2BVydvPP-2BzyeeUUogkTm2J61luYClgmgTqTqCHsAPxFAKoxn3AF1F3ojiHhvzQOqFjuSm20PuVVn-2FuePQ7fh23Os85ZVViuGza1pzNLBM5EPW-2Bml1SAgpSLSlLuf1j5hvK8TsmB5StY8yiEdD0vxY0otwm-2BkQR0l1YNnTUMLT9DPVe7w2FPo-3D" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3Du001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BFH7-2B890eq7B4TYN9OBfEskDEbnYpfG4YQcmbmMoaWZEcu0ePi5PmBVL4s2tH2p7FA-3D-3DGx00_pb-2B40bGv8VszgSLSxZSae2hniLAOGi35ajohLqdIu8wIVCP-2FjsifAGPrnz8TzLY-2BrBhzzYUNPt70zAPT3cSOHfrpV9k3dPvqTl6ZS6FxBL58oYdoWDduM34ruB2-2FAXG1tX3P2OoE1E9FhYzSQgSHCUoGNrYlQikA2SAnNg1BFfs-2BoDEFILJQnPq840johdzC5WYUtwGuc8mZdWSfk0fjSbduNQgvmIV-2FZ2rT9H-2FV1IMHEKD6bIleFRDyEdj1Iu4BSAc77jz7eqN1cajRPtyw-2Fr-2BCqYY2-[binary]-2BqRfjQc5u54xFTak73Cq705t0aCekRrEaIkj9U-2BYI0CMG3VndpwzxJBrhYyjgOFW06dJHbgCpIli9UrBLhWj2hcfI653QkN35ujUUX3kNVYiAL7v7SuLl9Tplho2Vz4VtZgjJiR6lwP27W-2BT8U-2FS-2FImR63booDjqFqCP-2BlfZHJFkt6doYMuORoXWu5cU7U0hCJYJo-2BVydvPP-2BzyeeUUogkTm2J61luYClgmgTqTqCHsAPxFAKoxn3AF1F3ojiHhvzQOqFjuSm20PuVVn-2FuePQ7fh23Os85ZVViuGza1pzNLBM5EPW-2Bml1SAgpSLSlLuf1j5hvK8TsmB5StY8yiEdD0vxY0otwm-2BkQR0l1YNnTUMLT9DPVe7w2FPo-3D&source=gmail&ust=1774659384032000&usg=AOvVaw31uYYN_K1A7yUiZoKCKpYC">Our Schools. The post How Will Trump’s Supporters React to Seeing School Vouchers Program Increase Chinese Influence? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jeff Bryant.
“The sea has never been friendly to man. At most it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.” So wrote Joseph Conrad in The Mirror of the Sea, meditating on that uneasy alliance between human ambition and the indifferent deep. And elsewhere, more darkly still: “The conquest of the earth… is not a pretty thing More The post Conrad, Konrad, and the Uses of the Sea appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405339" class="wp-image-405339 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-680x452.png" alt="" width="680" height="452" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-948x630.png 948w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-1536x1021.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-2048x1362.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.23.30-PM-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photo by Ant Rozetsky “The sea has never been friendly to man. At most it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.” So wrote Joseph Conrad in The Mirror of the Sea, meditating on that uneasy alliance between human ambition and the indifferent deep. And elsewhere, more darkly still: “The conquest of the earth… is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much” (Heart of Darkness). As it happens, another seafaring Conrad—or Konrad—has something else to say on this. Captain John Konrad, whose decade at sea included Military Sealift Command-operated ships and crude-oil supertankers, has advanced an interesting thesis. Like Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, it asks us to look not at what is said, but at what lies beneath the surface. “There is a taint of death… in lies,” Conrad wrote—and systems, no less than men, can lie by omission. Though none of this proves intent, at issue is a potent suggestion—quietly circulating—that any slow reopening of the Strait of Hormuz may reflect not only operational difficulty, but a deliberate, if deeply cynical, use of maritime leverage. Some go further, suggesting it could prove globally consequential. We are already in Conrad territory here: a world in which “the mind of man is capable of anything,” and policy slides, almost imperceptibly, into something harder to name. The question is whether Washington is in no rush to restore normal passage because disruption has in itself created an advantage. Strategic analysts have long observed that states may tolerate limited disruption when it produces asymmetric advantage. The ambiguity is the point: plausible deniability preserves legitimacy while the effects accumulate. Konrad calls it an “insurance kill switch”: once war-risk insurance was pulled, many ships simply could not afford to sail through. This is not entirely speculative. Reporting from Reuters has noted that spikes in war-risk premiums alone have, at times, reduced traffic through contested waterways without a single additional shot being fired. In that sense, the market does not merely respond to conflict—it can become its most efficient instrument. As a result, insurance, not naval firepower alone, is proving decisive. The Financial Times has similarly observed that modern maritime chokepoints are governed as much by underwriting decisions as by naval patrols. Control, in other words, is increasingly exercised through cost rather than confrontation—a quieter, but no less effective, form of leverage. Which is to say: the power lies not only in ships, but in permission—in who is allowed to move, and at what cost. Or as Conrad’s Marlow puts it, with eerie precision, “There is a fascination of the abomination.” Reuters and the Financial Times lend real-world context. Context, however, is not clarity. In Conrad’s fiction, the machinery of empire is always legible in parts, but never in whole. Hormuz must therefore be seen within a broader maritime agenda: reviving shipbuilding, strengthening the US-flag fleet, and countering Chinese dominance. But, as Conrad warns, “You can’t understand. How could you?—with solid pavement under your feet…” There is always a gap between the plan as conceived and the world as lived. It is worth pausing here. Ambition alone does not vouchsafe legitimacy. A willingness to weaponise chokepoints, insurance markets, and energy flows raises uncomfortable questions. The implications are not merely strategic but moral. Recall Conrad again: “A man that is born falls into a dream like a man who falls into the sea” (Lord Jim). Europe may now be exposed: dependent on seaborne energy and limited in naval capacity, it is vulnerable to prolonged disruption. Hormuz becomes not an incident but a pressure point—a place where, quietly, other outcomes are decided. “We live as we dream—alone,” Conrad writes, and so too do states, interpreting pressure through their own fears and necessities. Energy economists have pointed out that even partial, prolonged disruption in chokepoints like Hormuz can shift pricing benchmarks globally. The effect is less a shock than a sustained pressure—subtle, cumulative, and difficult to attribute to any single decision. The pattern extends beyond Hormuz—into disputes over emissions, tariffs, maritime sovereignty, even territory. Conrad grasped something essential: the most dangerous ideas are not always the loudest, but those that seem, at first glance, merely plausible. Again, none of this proves intent. Correlation is not design. But it does establish that the conditions Konrad describes—where disruption produces strategic advantage—are not hypothetical. They are observable. Perhaps the clearest way to put it is this: not everything was preplanned, but a crisis may now be being used. Not created—but used. And that distinction, while neat on paper, blurs in practice. There is precedent. During past tanker crises, including phases of the Iran–Iraq conflict, maritime risk pricing reshaped global flows more decisively than direct interdiction. The lesson was not lost: influence over risk can rival control of territory. What Captain John Konrad suggests, then, is less a conspiracy than a recognition—that modern power often operates through systems that appear neutral until, under pressure, they reveal their use. As Conrad understood, such systems rarely declare themselves openly. They are inferred—through pattern, through omission and effect. Whether one accepts it or not, if Konrad is even partly right, what he describes is not simply ingenuity, but a form of power that operates, like Conrad’s river, in shadow—obscure in method, consequential in effect. “The horror! The horror!” The post Conrad, Konrad, and the Uses of the Sea appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Peter Bach.
I was earlier than I needed to be at the Skopje International Airport, so I settled into a chair overlooking the airfield and carried on with my book: W. Papel Hamsher’s The Balkans by Bicycle. The account was first published in 1937, enjoyed a brief readership, and then—with the coming of world war to southwest More The post Letter From Hamsher’s Ohrid appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405249" class="wp-image-405249 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-680x512.png" alt="" width="680" height="512" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-680x512.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-836x630.png 836w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-768x579.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-1536x1158.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-500x377.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM-600x452.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.31.46-AM.png 1672w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The monastery and church of Sveti Naum, on Lake Ohrid, which saddles North Macedonia and Albania and where author Willem Papel Hamsher was given bread by one of the monks on his bike ride across the Balkans. Photo by Matthew Stevenson. I was earlier than I needed to be at the Skopje International Airport, so I settled into a chair overlooking the airfield and carried on with my book: W. Papel Hamsher’s The Balkans by Bicycle. The account was first published in 1937, enjoyed a brief readership, and then—with the coming of world war to southwest Europe—faded from bedside tables and travel dreams. I came to it two years ago when Daunt Books in London reissued it, together with photographs, maps, and sketches that the author’s children discovered among his papers after his death. My son-in-law gave me the book for Christmas in 2024, with the words: “Somehow I think this book was written with you in mind.” He knows my fondness for European bike travels, especially behind what was once the Iron Curtain. +++ On this trip I was headed to Cyprus and a bike ride on both sides (Greek and Turkish) of the Green Line. I decided to carry Hamsher’s book along, even though I knew its hardback binding would weigh down my panniers when I set off from Larnaca, on the island’s southern coast. Despite the weightiness of his prose, Hamsher proved the ideal travel companion. In the mid-1930s, when he set out on his bicycle from Vienna to Istanbul, Hamsher was a foreign correspondent in Austria, in part because he had grown up there, despite being British. He conceived the trip one night at a bar with tipsy friends, and the book reprints the hand-drawn map in which he sketched out his route: south to Zagreb, along the Dalmatian coast to Split, Kotor, and Cetinje, and then somehow (by sea? across Macedonia?) to Salonica and finally Istanbul. Once underway, Hamsher dropped the idea of a sea voyage from Patras to Athens and Salonica, and rode over the Macedonia hills to Lake Ohrid and from there to Salonica. His ride was accomplished on a bone-crushing one-speed bike (he calls her Elfa) with flat-prone tires, and before ending up in Istanbul he detoured to Mount Athos, leaving us a detailed account of the holy mountain in league with that of the satiric British writer Robert Byron. +++ What I loved most of all about Hamsher’s account, which I finished on my flight to Cyprus, was his perseverance on endless broken roads (he must have changed more than a hundred flats in the course of his 1,200 mile journey) and his good cheer in recounting rides in the rain or nights spent on cold barn floors. Nothing phases Hamsher, even when he has to push his bike (with a flat tire) up some Albanian goat track in a driving rain. Here is his description of a rough stretch in what is now Croatia: In Plashki (these village names were so impressed on my mind that I can still recite them off in correct order) a simultaneous sigh came from both Elfa’s tyres. I rode the street on flat rims in optimistic search of a village store which could renew my stock of rubber patches. Finding none, I set out to walk the twenty-five miles to the Plitvicka lakes, and was overtaken by a loaded haycart, drawn by two scraggy horses with backs like a miniature range of hills. After bargaining on his fingers, the driver consented to give me a lift, and hauled Elfa up to the top of the hay, where it enframed a baby who lay fast asleep in the full glare of the sun. And when he makes it to Dubrovnik (a few years before Rebecca West got there in 1937), he writes: Dubrovnik’s legendary beauty is in no wise exaggerated. But for me it heightened when, emerging from beneath the dark a way archway? of the town gate, I glimpsed a stalwart Chicagoan who was suddenly wafted from our company at Vienna, and whose pen now brought him unexpectedly into Dalmatia. Together we mounted a stumpy, bumpy tramcar, rode to the Lapad cove, reputed the only sandy spot along the whole coast, and swam in the sparkling Adriatic. Then the same howling, squealing tramcar took us back to the town, and he left for Bucharest, of all inaccessible cities, with the nonchalant remark that the rail connections might be awkward. The Adriatic swim is one of the few pleasures on Hamsher’s ride. Otherwise, he’s engulfed in dust on potholed roads through endless mountains, sleeping rough without a bag or tent, and eating in a procession of roadside cafés. +++ At the end of his road in Istanbul, Hamsher knew more about power politics than he realized, if only from pedaling from Vienna through what today is Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. Although it is not a book about politics, I read it as such, as most of the wars of the 20th and now the 21st centuries have been fought between the great powers over control of Balkan borders—nearly all of which Hamsher crossed on Elfa. The irony of the Balkans today is that they are largely unwanted lands, except for Croatia’s summer resorts along the Dalmatian coast. Slovenia is Austrian enough to blend anonymously into the European Union, but further south, Bosnia is a failing state ready to implode along its ethnic lines. Continuing south, Montenegro is the warm-water port of Russian oligarchs, while nearby Albania and Kosovo dream of either European or Ottoman integration, depending on which comes first. Greece lives off European summer dreams, but is falling well behind Turkey as the regional superpower. With this paragraph, Hamsher captures the extent to which the Balkans were a cul-de-sac in 1937 (and ironically remain so today): Wishing to glimpse Yugoslav Macedonia, instead of taking the straight road into Greece from Korcha, I chose a detour, which led first back to Pogradetz. Places like Novibazar, Prisren and Skoplje were offering themselves as an extremely attractive itinerary, and in spite of the usual terrorism warnings I thought I might attempt the first cycle crossing east from Skoplje, over the Jugoslav border into Bulgaria. From Sofia there would then be a wide variety of possible routes. All the roads I could discover in old Serbia, however, led from north to south. There is but one way into Bulgaria: the railroad through Nish. Note: I know that train line from Nish. I have taken it in a $10 sleeper compartment from Belgrade (and even at that I was overpaying). +++ Part of the reason I so warmed to Hamsher is that he makes it to Ohrid, which is on my short list whenever anyone asks my opinion of where they should vacation in Europe. Of Ohrid, Hamsher writes: In the morning he who’s he? showed me a view of the lake and the Albanian mountains from every accessible top-storey window; and we climbed to the roof of the tower, to look down on to Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania; the three countries which so nearly met at this south-eastern corner of Lake Ochrida. On departure, he fetched two loaves from the monastery kitchen and pressed them into my rucksack; presented me with a picture postcard of Sveti Naum; inflated Elfa’s tyres, and refused money. From Sveti Naum little sandy paths ran in all directions over the hills bordering the Prespa Lake. I spent a listless day in the shade of the dense bushes covering the summits, chewing chunks from monastery loaves, and devouring “Faust”. Leaving Elfa in the rucksack’s company, in the afternoon I scrambled down the hillside for a glorious bathe, and in the evening came across a cycling road which quickly brought me into Ochrida, a delightful little white town which the Albanians see from their shore, and may well covet. Nominally, the white town is in North Macedonia, but really, like Jerusalem or Hong Kong, it should belong to no one country. In no particular order, Ohrid’s roots are Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Albanian, Serbian, and Bulgarian, and as you walk though the twisting hillside streets of its old town, you can find architectural relics from each of the above empires. Best of all, Ohrid has some of the friendliest street cats in Europe (that is how I judge European cities), and in summer you can dine at lakeside bars and restaurants with your feet dangling in the water. A train from London, with some changes, will get you close (well, to Bitola), but with various discount airlines you can now fly there directly. (This may spell Ohrid’s ruin.) +++ Toward the end of his account, Hamsher takes his bicycle and rucksack and washes up on the shoresof Mount Athos, the autonomous monastic state on Greece’s Chalkidiki peninsula (southeast of Thessaloniki). Alas, not much European thought is currently devoted to the twenty-something eastern orthodox monasteries that surround Mount Athos. On the hilly peninsula overlooking the Aegean are Russian, Serb, Romanian, Greek, and Bulgarian churches, and monasteries of monks who grow, prepare, and serve all the food; woman have been banned on the peninsula since about 1054. As Hamsher writes in his distinct, self-amused style: Not that any of her kind could ever be allowed to land, for women — indeed, all feminine beings, as well as “children and smooth-faced persons” — have been taboo on the Holy Mountain ever since the famous Golden Bull of Constantine Monomachous was promulgated, a year or two before William the Conqueror stepped ashore at Hastings. +++ Personally, as I am not much given to meditation or solitude (writers spend enough time to talking to themselves), I have never been drawn to Mount Athos. In Greece, I would a prefer to drink a cold Mythos while watching the sun set on the Acropolis or to read about Lord Elgin in the Agora (it was more his wife who liberated the Marbles). At the same time, I loved Hamsher’s account of Athos’s sacred ways. Of its timelessness he writes: The life of all on the Holy Mountain is governed by a plan of administration which has changed little in the course of centuries. The theocracy has survived invasion; it challenged and met all the temporal vicissitudes of Ottoman domination and Macedonian turmoil; it suffered its organization to be discussed by statesmen at international conferences. Yet Hagion Oros [aka Mount Athos] lives on, still untouched by most of what passes in the world outside its own quiet Ægean backwater. Who knows: maybe it’s the place where Donald Trump could be sent to do penance for his many sins (mostly of commission, in the 30 percent range)—as the vow of silence would be just retribution for his empire of bombast. This is the fifth in an occasional series about travels through the Balkans to and from the Green Line in Cyprus. The post Letter From Hamsher’s Ohrid appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Matthew Stevenson.
Operation Epic Fury and US Unreadiness for War
The bellicose may find wars attractive and cleansing, but those responsible for such dry matters as inventory, material and how prepared the armed forces of a country are will stalk them with unpleasant truths. The addiction of the US imperium to waging wars, one that President Donald Trump promised, and failed, to treat, has gotten the More The post Operation Epic Fury and US Unreadiness for War appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397515" class="wp-image-397515 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-680x510.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4541-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair The bellicose may find wars attractive and cleansing, but those responsible for such dry matters as inventory, material and how prepared the armed forces of a country are will stalk them with unpleasant truths. The addiction of the US imperium to waging wars, one that President Donald Trump promised, and failed, to treat, has gotten the wags in the military worried. The depleting nature of Operation Epic Fury has been particularly telling in this regard, revealing the US war machine to be unprepared for conflict. Rather than referring to preparedness, the preferred choice in US Army circles is “unreadiness” or a lack of readiness. Army Undersecretary Michael Obadal, in his address at the annual McAleese Defense Programs Conference, was startlingly candid in this regard. “To say we’re satisfied with our readiness rates, I think, would be disingenuous. We have real problems with our major weapons systems, both aircraft and ground, and we have to address those things, and we’re doing so in a number of ways.” (The major weapons systems were left unnamed.) One of his suggestions involves placing greater focus on “Public-private partnerships in an organic industrial base (OIB) [as] one of the most fundamentally different approaches that we can take.” The organic industrial base takes in some 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants responsible for manufacturing and resetting army equipment while fostering readiness and operational capability. “The OIB,” according to the US Army, “must be able to support current unit readiness, maintain the ability to surge, and modernize and retool to sustain the next generation of equipment.” Much has been made in the vanilla propaganda of the army of its “Modernization Implementation Plan” (MIP), which officially commenced in October 2024. Establishing what readiness means in all of this is a thorny issue. Obadal lets the cat out of the bag in stating that “everyone will have different metrics”, a suitably unsatisfactory state of affairs. His own criteria are threefold: How the Army can respond tonight with what is available; what it can do in the next month to deal with the contingency; and what it can do to sustain the effort for the next year of combat. Applying his own threefold metrics to the Army, Obadal identified problems with major weapons systems and, critically, problems with magazine depth. While not expressly referring to Operation Epic Fury and the war against Iran, the undersecretary did state that the “current situation” had “absolutely” aggravated matters. To address such problems, notably with weapons systems, manufacturers could work alongside soldiers and engineers in the theatre to fix vehicles and aircraft more expeditiously. Legislation regarding “right to repair” provisions that would enable soldiers to tend to equipment problems without having to send them back to the manufacturer was also on the cards, though yet to pass. Obadal hoped that these would find their way into the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. “We have to be very narrow on what we’re asking for. So how many repetitions, how many units, how many years before we have IP [intellectual property], and there’s some IP that we don’t want commercial software and other things.” Companies could “keep that because we want them to be responsible for the updates, the security patches and all that, but we want to be able to change things out as the environment demands”. The Army was also on the lookout for industry partners well advanced in their “TLR” [technology readiness level] when seeking contracts with the Pentagon. In addressing the problem of magazine depth, Obadal referenced the new modernising drive inviting private industry to co-invest in OIB installations. “If we ask industry to change, we have to address the long-term viability of our own organic industrial base. So a new environment requires new approaches.” Other sources add more troubling details about the problems Obadal was good enough to underline. A Government Accountability Office report finalised just prior to the pre-emptive attack on Iran on February 28 and published on March 4 tut tutted the Pentagon for not fully implementing over 150 recommendations from earlier reviews with the express purpose of improving the availability of equipment, the bulking of personnel resources and supporting better decision-making on readiness. Shortages in trained maintenance personnel have caused problems across all branches of the armed services. This has hampered, for instance, “meeting mission capable rate goals for their aircraft that support combat-related missions.” In a separate summary of issues afflicting US forces, the GAO notes with cold certainty that almost two decades of war “has degraded US military readiness. To adapt to growing threats posed by major powers (such as China and Russia) and other adversaries, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the individual military services must make some urgent changes.” The GAO was also reproachful of the failure of both the Air Force and Navy for not completing “sustainment reviews” for their aircraft, an indispensable measure for maintaining readiness for the life cycle of relevant machinery. Both branches of the armed forces, despite the annual expenditure of billions of dollars annually, had “struggled for years to maintain their aircraft due to the age of their fleets, a lack of parts, maintenance delays, and other problems.” On specific weapons platforms, the Pentagon faces challenges in, for instance, maintaining the staggeringly gluttonous F-35 fleet. These include “delays setting up military service depots – facilities to complete the most complex repairs – and inadequate equipment to keep aircraft operational.” While the department intended to move more maintenance responsibilities from external contractors to the government, no plan to do so had been made. Repair depots are also taken to task for their shabbiness. “Depot infrastructure generally remains in fair to poor condition, and most depot equipment is past its service life.” The DOD persistently failed to report what was needed to arrest further deterioration. With such a body of reservations, reproachful critique and recommendations unimplemented, the unreadiness of the US armed forces puts paid to the narrative, all too regularly touted by Trump and his unhinged Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, of boundless resources and peerless invincibility. The Iran War is all but confirming that; the unready have been found wanting. The post Operation Epic Fury and US Unreadiness for War appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Binoy Kampmark.
Yes, for us to diminish and then end escalating wars, for us to stop and then end onrushing Fascism, and for us to slow and then climate catastrophe and AI armageddon much less to move forward to finally win fundamental social and economic change, we will need more than massive and growing numbers. We will More The post No Kings Now, and Then More appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-368337" class="wp-image-368337 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-680x473.png" alt="" width="680" height="473" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-680x473.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-905x630.png 905w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-768x534.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-1536x1069.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-500x348.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM-600x418.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-19-at-11.30.14-AM.png 1986w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair Yes, for us to diminish and then end escalating wars, for us to stop and then end onrushing Fascism, and for us to slow and then climate catastrophe and AI armageddon much less to move forward to finally win fundamental social and economic change, we will need more than massive and growing numbers. We will need demands and coherence to diversify and deepen. We will need disobedience to grow. We will need shared systemic vision. We will need shared creative strategy. We will need to become a movement of movements that does more than what it did last time each new time it acts. Absolutely. And yes, for the people who see that need to be frustrated, depressed, or even furious that we the people are not there yet, is okay. You/we are right, we do need more. But for those who realize that we do need more to reject where we are at and to stay home, is—I don’t know how else to say it—either monumentally dumb or worn out resignation that calls itself superior wisdom. Why do I say this? Suppose you say we need more than No Kings, more even then a No Kings that has moved forward, as it has, to add No War to the signs and chants. Suppose you say we need some growing civil disobedience along with growing outreach, we need some strikes, some encampments, some sit downs, some sit ins, and some crowded jails. Suppose you say we need organizing beyond mobilizing. You say all that but then you don’t advance No Kings. You disparage it. You stay home. You think to yourself, this is not yet where it needs to be. You conclude for yourself, that you will not be part of it. You want more, so you will do less. You say, been there, done that. Not me. Not again. Well, I ask you, how is to not partake a step toward doing more? Victories take time. Trump’s support is dissipating. War support is nowhere. The public is moving on every front our way. Many factors are causing that. No Kings is one of those factors. But Trump keeps doing worse. Yes, we haven’t fully won. To fully win needs more. But to back off is a road to doing less, not to doing more. Just ask yourself, if Saturday is bigger than last time, isn’t that positive? If Saturday is smaller than last time, isn’t that negative? And yes, I suppose it being smaller might even yield some desperate militance, but it will be by fewer and fewer participants. That too is a road to nowhere. We need to retain and enlarge numbers and to also grow and diversify anger and thereby grow a continued threat of more and more resistance. That is our need, yes. But the No Kings efforts have turned out millions. To deny that achievement is delusional or worse. To proceed in a way that brings dissident numbers down to hundreds of thousands or, more likely, mere thousands, even if we thousands are all angrier and more militant and more disobedient, is a road to ruin. To deny that is delusional or worse. To retain and grow numbers, to keep shifting the overall public leftward, and to add to that leftward shift components that are compatibly more militant and more disobedient while maintaining on-going growth is a road to Trump’s collapse, to war’s decline, to saving the planet and then on from there. The radical’s task, the revolutionary’s task, is not to disparage millions turning out but to support millions turning out. It is to function in ways compatible with millions. It is to function in ways that broaden the strength, diversity, and focus of millions without driving their numbers down. No Kings is historically good at mobilizing. Radicals and revolutionaries need to be historically good at compatibly organizing. Support No Kings. And Beyond. The post No Kings Now, and Then More appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Michael Albert.
Here in the US, we’ve grown used to casinos and sports betting, with some folks accepting the idea that politicians and others even gamble on military action and election results. As a person who played nickel ante poker with coworkers after work and enjoyed a day at the track back in the day I kind More The post The Folks Who Gamble Your Life Away appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405347" class="wp-image-405347 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-680x453.png" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-680x453.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-946x630.png 946w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-1536x1023.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-2048x1363.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-500x333.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-6.56.15-PM-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photo by Ben Lambert Here in the US, we’ve grown used to casinos and sports betting, with some folks accepting the idea that politicians and others even gamble on military action and election results. As a person who played nickel ante poker with coworkers after work and enjoyed a day at the track back in the day I kind of get it. Despite the commonality of the gambling experience, I bet even those who can’t resist watching a ball game without their device open to an app for parley bets would have some kind of negative reaction to the idea that their retirement funds are used in a remarkably similar manner as those twenty-dollar parleys in the last NBA game they watched, except with much greater consequences when you lose. Indeed, it’s not just retirement funds, but the bulk of all investments that are part of what British political economist Susan Strange called the global casino in a 1986 book appropriately titled The Global Casino. Using Strange’s work as a foundation and the title of her book as the beginning of her book’s title, economist Ann Pettifor’s recently published book The Global Casino: How Wall Street Gambles with People and the Planet explains how this form of capitalism has come to dominate the global economy while placing the majority of the globe’s population in a constant danger. It is a danger based not on supply and demand, not on weather or war, but a danger based almost entirely on the high stakes gambling of the financialization of the market. That financialization and its current manifestations are the result of a number of causes, all of which can be wrapped up into two words: neoliberal capitalism. For those who still don’t understand what this phrase means—who still think it has something to do with liberal policies helping the poor and the disenfranchised—neoliberal capitalism is an approach to economics that works towards the privatization of everything for the profit of the rich and powerful (and occasionally some of their sycophants). That is its only real criteria and woe to those who suffer because of it. The late British Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher once described the ideal world under neoliberal capitalism: “There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families.” Of course, Ms. Thatcher could make that remark while being paid by the very society she hoped to destroy. A few paragraphs into her introduction, Pettifor introduces South Korean billionaire Masayoshi Son and his Japanese bank, SoftBank. She proceeds to tell a story of a gamble Son took on a business proposal from a New Yorker who had a proposal called WeWork; a network of offices around the US where independent tech workers could go to work even though they were self-employed. Not only was the idea a fantasy of Son and the young hustler making the proposal, the potential value of the idea they discussed ($30 trillion) was even more so. As it turned out, the business collapsed almost before it began, the victim of the COVID pandemic. Pettifor continues, describing Son as “the single largest foreign speculator in capitalist America and communist China…and the boss of one of the top ten most indebted firms, continually threatening financial implosion.” (9) In other words, Son manipulates debt, using the potential value of that debt to invest in start-ups and other ventures and those investments artificially inflate the values on the world’s markets. In other words, like cryptocurrency, he’s working a Ponzi scheme. As Pettifor further discusses, almost everything Son does is not illegal in the countries he does it in. If a national government does step in, the Sons of the world just find another country where they can maintain their scam. Consequently, this high stake gambling is an essential part of certain national economies—the United Kingdom being one. Besides taking risks with the livelihoods and futures of millions whose money is invested in this scheme, it also serves as a major (if not the major) money laundering operation for illegal arms dealers, human traffickers and narcotics traffickers, among others. Even more than capitalism itself, this particular form is so amoral it becomes immoral. Of course, given its major role in world economics, Pettifor takes a look at the oil market. March 9, 2026, the day I wrote this review, saw the price of oil on the global futures market swing from around ninety dollars a barrel up to one hundred twenty dollars a barrel and back again to ninety dollars. While this wild swing was certainly due in large part to the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the Iranian response to it, it’s reasonable to say that the only real difference between that day’s events and the way the oil market normally works was the time span. The reality Pettifor describes is one in which during the years 2020 to 2022 the sharp increases in oil prices were mostly due to “excessive speculation was responsible for 24 to 48 percent of the increase in WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude price from October 2020 to June 2022. Those estimates translated into an oil price increase of $18 to $36 a barrel and an increase in the US inflation rate of 0.75 to 1.5 percentage points during that same period.” (129) In other words, supply and demand is only a somewhat small part of the picture. Politicians attempting to regulate this speculation are, to put it simply, afraid to. The Global Casino is an important book. While its explanation of the current capitalist economies in much of the so-called West is incomplete, it does a more than competent job of revealing the role played by speculators in those economies. It is a role that is not only much greater than it should be, but is also a primary cause of the growing inequality inside nations and between nations—an inequality that means the financial dealings of only a few individuals can (and has) destroyed untold numbers of lives. This knowledge makes the economic downfall of those individuals essential to the continuation of the human race. The post The Folks Who Gamble Your Life Away appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Ron Jacobs.
The Most Original Modernist Painting in Venice
There certainly are a great number of noteworthy, deeply original paintings to see in Venice. You can find what I have identified elsewhere in COUNTERPUNCH as the first modernist work, Giorgione’s Tempest (1506). And in [ . . . ] The post The Most Original Modernist Painting in Venice appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1618" height="1312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1618" height="1312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="551" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="551" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="551" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, 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srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="551" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1618" height="1312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" 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src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1618" height="1312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1618" height="1312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1618" height="1312" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="777" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w" sizes="(max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405286" class="wp-image-405286 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png" alt="" width="680" height="551" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-680x551.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-777x630.png 777w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-768x623.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-1536x1246.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-500x405.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM-600x487.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-26-at-12.13.17-PM.png 1618w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Falchetto che piomba sullo stormo di passeri in fuga (Hawk swooping onto the flock of sparrows in flight) (1791), by Giandomenico Tiepolo. Fresco, 175 x130 cm. Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice. There certainly are a great number of noteworthy, deeply original paintings to see in Venice. You can find what I have identified elsewhere in COUNTERPUNCH as the first modernist work, Giorgione’s Tempest (1506). And in the churches and in the museums there are numberless Titians, Veronese, and Tintoretto’s, which constitute a visual feast that will exhaust even the most energetic traveler. And so, it may seem surprising that the work that has recently attracted my attention in Venice is by Giandomenico Tiepolo (1727-1804). A notable figure, though hardly one of the most famous Venetian painters, he was the elder son of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770), the most famous eighteenth-century Venetian painter. After youthful work in his father’s studio, he was renowned for his etchings. Giandomenico outlived the Venetian Republic, which died at the hands of Napoleon in 1797. I am especially interested in just one of Giandomenico’s paintings, his Hawk with Pigeons, which is in Ca’Rezzonico, the palace now devoted to the museum of eighteenth-century Venice. I don’t know if he made any other similar works. The museum catalogue tells the story. Giandomenico’s paintings were painted between 1759 and 1797 for the family villa on the mainland. Then, in 1906, they were purchased by the city of Venice and transferred to this museum. On the back wall is permanently set what the catalogue nicely calls this “snapshot-like image”: Hawk Swooping onto the Flock of Sparrows in Slight. Originally installed on a ceiling, here it is on a wall. And a brief interpretation is offered: It is impossible not to see in this painting an allusion to the empirical culture of the Enlightenment, where the sky is the space of the birds and not the home of ancient divinities. Many of Giandomenico’s paintings show human figures suspended in the clouds. Perhaps, then, I was especially attracted to this picture because I have been trying to make my way through a marvelous, but almost unreadable book, Hubert Damisch’s very academic treatise A Theory of /Cloud/. Toward a History of Painting (2002), which alerted me to the complex symbolic uses of clouds in old master painting. Damisch says: Not only does the Cloud liberate those whom it supports from the laws of gravity, but it also shows how profane space may open onto another space, thereby imbuing the former with its truth. That’s the case, I agree, when, for example, the Holy Virgin appears to rise upwards on clouds filled with putti. Look, for example, at another Venetian painting that interests me, Titian’s renowned Assumption (1516), in the Frari. But in Hawk, the sky-scene is secularized. In context, in Ca’Rezonnica, The Hawk appears a fluke, a break, as it were, of our modern aesthetic in the staid world of eighteenth-century painting. We art critics learn to trust our intuitions, and so I was immediately taken by this painting, of all the works on display at Ca/Rezonnica, which inspired reflection. Usually, the skies in Giandomenico’s paintings are filled with human figures. Here, however, we have emptiness, as one often finds in very varied modernist paintings. In the works with monochrome backgrounds by Alex Katz or the blank panels Andy Warhol juxtaposed to his silkscreened portraits, for example, and, closer to Giandomenico’s time, in the background behind the murdered revolutionary in Jacques-Louis David’s Death of Marat (1793), as written about two very different art writers, T. J. Clark and Thomas Crow, whose account I discussed recently in this journal. I am not suggesting that these very different artists were influenced by Giandomenico, but looking for aesthetic affinities. Contemporary painting is haunted by blankness. And so, any present-day artist would be proud to have made this painting. That was why it feels uncanny to see The Hawk in this Venetian museum, as if a modernist conception of the potentiality of depicted emptiness had wandered into the old regime. If you haven’t been to this museum, look it up on YouTube, which has some excellent displays of this setting. I’m not convinced by the museum catalogue claim that we find a hint of Enlightenment values here. This hawk is certainly an aggressive creature, ready to pounce on the pigeons. What has that to do with the political hopes of the Kantian Enlightenment? But we certainly do see that Giandomenico was a marvelously original observer. The post The Most Original Modernist Painting in Venice appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by David Carrier.
Identity In Wartime And The Mirage Of Normalcy
I was born and raised by an Ashkenazi Jewish mother. She entered this world in Berlin, Germany, at the advent of the Nazi era, subsequent child of Der Kindertransport, and by a father who, in infancy, was abandoned, at the outset of the Great Depression on the doorsteps of a Baptist orphanage in rural Missouri, More The post Identity In Wartime And The Mirage Of Normalcy appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
I was born and raised by an Ashkenazi Jewish mother. She entered this world in Berlin, Germany, at the advent of the Nazi era, subsequent child of Der Kindertransport, and by a father who, in infancy, was abandoned, at the outset of the Great Depression on the doorsteps of a Baptist orphanage in rural Missouri, and was adopted by a married couple of mixed denomination, a Jewish mother, one Mildred Silver, a Lower Eastside exile to New Orleans and a gentile father, my namesake, Philip Rockstroh, also, an exile to New Orleans via Staten Island. Given the reality that my father’s family history was unknown, there has been an x-factor regarding my genetic heritage. My father, evincing a life-long orphan’s rage, insisted he did not possess the slightest desire to discover the birth parents who abandoned him…such were his wishes that my family respected until his death. As for myself, I enjoyed living in the mystery of the situation, playing with the possibilities of what were the origins of half of my genes. In my wayward, Jack Kerouac bedazzled youth, I was given to travel the world, all the while, my psychical antenna scanning the landscapes of distant shores in search of signs of atavistic recognitions and affinities with novel landscapes. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405166" class="wp-image-405166" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-405165-1.jpeg" alt="" width="700" height="900" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-405165-1.jpeg 700w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-405165-1-680x874.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-405165-1-490x630.jpeg 490w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-405165-1-500x643.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-405165-1-600x771.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /> Self-Portrait, Pablo Picasso In Israel, the Mediterranean climate felt copacetic but I felt scant little affinity with the culture. The Zionist credo felt off — and off-putting to me. It wasn’t simply the rampant bigotry and casual cruelty of the Israeli citizenry — that their mindset reminded me of the Jim Crow nostalgics of my native Alabama — a deeper element of the soul was in play . Yet farther down the Mediterranean, in my travels to Greece, in particular in the southern regions in and around the Peloponnese Islands and the sea-kissed town of Pylos, I experienced the phenomenon of homecoming to a location previously not visited. Only once before had I experienced the same inchoate feeling of return. It occurred on a visit to London – a city I felt was cold and off-putting, — until I wandered the streets of the Whitechapel district of East London…yes, the haunts of Jack The Ripper and the precincts of the Cockney accent and dialect. Years passed, I obtained joint US/German citizenship. While traveling Germany, predictably, given my Ashkenazi Jewish bloodline, I experienced an affinity with the landscape of The Rhineland (and also southward in southern Italy where, I was later to learn, a strong aspect of the maternal Ashkenazi gene pool has its origin). Then came, the eerie, perhaps, numinous outcome of a recent DNA test: My ancestry report: Ashkenazi Jews in Central & Southeastern Europe: 50% Southern Greece: 23% Southeastern England & Northwestern Europe: 11% Southern Wales: 5% Leinster, Ireland: 4% Munster, Ireland: 3% Strangely enough, the anfractuous trajectories of The Great Depression delivered my paternal (no blood relation) grandmother, Mildred Silver, to Birmingham, Alabama, after my namesake, Philip, a professional gambler, with a fallback degree in civil engineering, fell to a debilitating stroke thus causing Mildred to seek the aid of her sisters who had migrated from the Lower Eastside to the coal and steel, pre-war booming city, ensconced in the foothills of the Appalachians, Birmingham. Here’s another kicker, the Anglo-Saxon – okay, cracker – half of my father’s biological family were of the Appalachian class. Later research revealed, an ancestor had left Whitechapel, England, destined for Virginia, then later crossed into the Ohio River Valley then into the Midwestern Plains. I am, by blood, half European Jewish, part Greek, part Appalachian stock. A Greek Hillbilly Jewboy. As much as I can piece events together, somewhere in the Midwest, and in some manner, at the cusp of The Great Depression, a star-crossed, cross-cultural coupling occurred between a Greek immigrant — my paternal grandfather, maybe a traveling salesman – and my grandmother, perhaps, a Midwestern farm girl. It sounds like the opening line of a ribald joke…”did you hear the one about the Greek traveling salesman and the hick farm girl…?” Here is yet another kicker: I can, by means of the Zionist Law of Return, gain citizenship in Israel – but if I showed up in Whitechapel or Pylos or Southern Italy – or even the Rhineland – I would be considered a lunatic if I claimed entitlement to real estate and property. If I arrived, bearing weaponry — as did the Zionist settler-colonialists invaders of Palestine – I would be jailed as a dangerous criminal. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405167" class="wp-image-405167" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of.jpeg" alt="The Barbarians, Max Ernst, 1937. Photo Courtesy of Max-Ernst.com." width="900" height="657" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of.jpeg 900w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of-680x496.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of-863x630.jpeg 863w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of-768x561.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of-500x365.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/the-barbarians-max-ernst-1937-photo-courtesy-of-600x438.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /> The Barbarians, Max Ernst, 1937 The mirage of normalcy: Because our days are marked by a discernible degree of normalcy, we tend to believe one day will resemble the next because, as a general rule, they do. Until they don’t. Normal for Israelis involved proceeding through their days and sleeping unscathed through the night, as their military forces were perpetrating genocide, the Zionist settler class was ethnically cleansing the West bank, and Palestinians endured life with the boot of an ethno-state on their collective neck. You could say Israelis dwelled within a bubble of smug and snug in the belief of their supremacy and safety beneath their domes of defense shields. Then from the sky came wailing barrages of Iranian missiles. Their defense dome was being frayed, torn, and shredded. Iran had planned for a long war; far longer than Israel’s defenses could hold out. What happens to the citizens of a nation’s psyches, conditioned from birth, to evince casual cruelty and regard reality beyond their insular world with reflexive belligerence when said belligerence is, suddenly, met with a devastating counter campaign of deadly force? It has been reported, before the present war, mental illness rates were surging in Israel and the economically privileged Ashkenazi elite were streaming from the Zionist state. There were cracks beginning to appear in the Zionist wall of invincibility. Hence, the mental crackups and angst of those who could afford to flee the nation. What comes next after the shattering of illusion? There is a choice: suicide or repentance. The founder of the Post-Jungian School Of Archetypal Psychology, the late James Hillman posited, the act of suicide was a tragic literalization of the psyche’s attempt to rid itself of a false self, ridden by an ego so heavily fortified against change that either depression or mania or both set in. Yet the ego-imprisoned sufferer need not kill himself – he is in of need of killing the falseness he has mistaken for the totality of his psyche. Hence Israel, repentance is the way forward. If not, the hasbara you dollop out is poisoning you. Your militarism is a murder spree that could very well end by suicide by supersonic missile. Which bring s us to Pete Hegseth who admonishes, we should be “on bended knee” praying to the Prince Of Peace to rain down death from thundering — I mean, eternally loving — I mean, wrathful and vengeance-prone Heaven upon the heathen hordes in the Levant — albeit, Christian Zionists preach, not upon the Jews…for now. (The King Of The Jews has a special Hell for those Old Book, smarty schmegegge who refuse to don their savior-worthy knee pads for the Messiah, last millennium edition.) Yet the question must be asked: Is Hegseth on his knees because he slid off a barstool? Is he going to lead a crusade into Iran riding a pink elephant? Have I limned too whimsical an image – because it appears the besotted, psychotic putz is off the wagon and aboard the Armageddon Express.The crackbrained war wino does not need to be consulting the Book Of Revelations but perusing the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Finally, it would be more propitious for the entire world if he found a new Higher Power. Hegseth’s present concept of one seems to be a celestial spree killer. The knowledge could drive even a teetotaler to hit the hard stuff. The deranged US political class allocates more than a trillion dollars for war-making, all as the Pentagon’s psychopathic killers declare outright, evincing the lack of shame inherent to psychopaths, the US no longer possesses a Defense Department but a War Department…a money-pit bureaucracy headed by a ranting, blood-besotted Secretary Of Psychopathy, one Pete Hegseth. Below the hierarchy of mass murders, the ranks of the US military’s economic conscripts are trained to kill and die for Israel’s ambitions and to avoid the public from becoming privy to Epstein related revelations. Regarding the glorification of all things US Military, Americans are the most successfully propagandized citizenry on earth, albeit the Israelis. Tragically, the vast majority of Israelis have proven themselves to be beyond reason and redemption. On the homefront of the US empire, the question is, will this latest war of aggression, sold on lies, as has been the case with all US wars in the post-Second World War era, finally and at long last, cause Americans to realize military empires do not fight in self-defense— they wage wars of aggression to enrich the already bloated coffers of the empire’s economic elite. A hopeful sign: The USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has departed the Red Sea war zone, and is headed to dock in Souda Bay, Crete, after crew members set fire to the warship’s laundry room in order to avoid deployment to Netanyahu’s/Trump’s war of aggression. The sailors manning the USS Gerald Ford have proven themselves heroes in the scenario, as are all who refuse to fight immoral wars. The post Identity In Wartime And The Mirage Of Normalcy appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Phil Rockstroh.
Author and publishing professional Joel Miller on making an effort
What was your journey into the world of books?
What was your journey into the world of books? It started in utero. My dad was—still is—an English teacher. He’s 82! My mom was a massive reader. The house was full of books, and I read a lot growing up, but only casually. My parents never stressed it; I just did it. I followed my interests, but there was nothing programmatic about it. As I got older and books became a part of my professional life, and my personal interests developed down particular tracks, books were usually the first place I went to learn and think about things. They are a companion. When I think about fiction or spiritual titles, those are books that have been with me and have anchored me for a long time. You worked with a Christianity-focused imprint, and have now written The Idea Machine, which goes into how books were shaped by Christianity and vice versa. Has faith always played a big role in your interest in books and literature, or do you think of those two things separately? I grew up in a Christian household, and my faith has evolved, for lack of another word, over the years. I’m Eastern Orthodox at this point—have been since 2009. Books were a part of that journey. But I don’t really see them as separate at all. I probably tend to read everything through something of a Christian lens. I evaluate the characters I’m reading from two vantage points. I’m looking at it from what’s true to that character: why is this character acting the way that they’re acting, given how they’re presented to me? Then there’s also the sort of larger moral universe where they fit in, that is informed by my faith, for sure. Is the way that they’re acting healthy, helpful, conducive to human flourishing or whatever? So I read a book like Crime and Punishment, which is explicitly Christian in a lot of ways, and I can also read a book that is not explicitly Christian, and I’m still importing a bit of that moral lens as I’m asking, “Why is this character doing what they’re doing? Would I solve that problem that way?” One of the things I think is most fascinating about fiction as an enterprise is taking and recruiting my neural synapses towards the projects of this character. I’m saying, “Don’t do that—do this instead,” or I’m puzzled by what they’re puzzled by, and I’m in the turmoil that they’re in as I’m reading. What I bring to that are the resources that I have, like any other reader, and some of that, for me, is my faith. Do you like being challenged when you read? Oh, yeah. I expect every book to stretch me, to one degree or another. I’m always hoping to learn something from a book, fiction or nonfiction. I’m always hoping to encounter something I hadn’t considered, or a way of thinking about the world that I hadn’t considered. I just read Yoko Tawada’s Scattered All Over the Earth trilogy, and that was a fantastic set of books. I read her book The Emissary right before, and those four are in a conversation with each other. It was great to encounter how different the experiences of the individual characters were, and how different all those individual characters were to me. Yet some of the very same concerns I have about cultural openness, and the willingness to entertain novelty and newness in people and ideas, are present in those books, including the opposite—especially in The Emissary, which is all about closedness. It’s all about what happens when you shut yourself off from the world. You’ve played so many different roles in relation to books. Do you engage with them differently depending on if you’re editing, reviewing, or acquiring? I only acquired nonfiction, so when I read nonfiction, I often read it like an editor. When I read fiction, I don’t read that way exactly, but I still read pretty critically. In both fiction and nonfiction, I tend to read with a pencil in hand. I mark up my books. I try to figure out the relationship between the characters and the flyleaf for the back of the book. I’ll sometimes jot down family trees if it’s necessary. When I read A History of the Island by Eugene Vodolazkin, keeping track of all these characters and the timescale of the history required that I keep this family tree in order to keep it all straight. So I try to read critically whatever I’m reading and be engaged with it—intensely. Even if you think you’re not going to review it? Yeah. If I know I’m going to review it, then I’m definitely going to, but I tend to read everything that way. I’m trying to get something out of each book I read, and I figure I’m only going to get as much out as I’m willing to expend in my effort. This reminds me a lot of what your book, The Idea Machine, is about the fact that books have something very specific and special to give. So what do you think that books can provide to the reader that other mediums can’t? An immersive experience in the mind of an author, or another person, period—outside of a relationship with someone that’s ongoing. You just don’t have access to people’s minds outside of something like that. In a book, you can actually reorient your thinking. In a movie, it’s over in two hours and the likelihood that your thinking has been changed is pretty slim, unless it’s a very profound movie. But with a novel, that might happen, because you’ve been with it for, say, 10 or 12 or 20 hours. That’s also true with nonfiction. In history, in philosophy, you’re entering into a world of arguments or facts or both, and historical details and so on, that enable you to get oriented to a perspective on the past that you otherwise have no access to. In the world of philosophical engagement, you’re entering into a pattern of thinking that you don’t naturally have on your own. If you open up a philosophy book and already have those thoughts, congratulations—you don’t need to read that book. But the reality is, you don’t have those thoughts. That’s why you opened the book. You have the privilege now of sitting with somebody who’s teased through a complex set of ideas for a long time, and has spent the time to carefully present them in a digestible format that enables you to entertain new thinking that you couldn’t have entertained before. Your book makes the case that books are an extremely powerful and lasting technology. What do you think it does for a reader to change how they think about books in that way? Reminding people—or letting them know possibly for the first time—that the book has enabled civilization to develop the way that it has is a reminder that you have access to that, and you have already benefited from all of that. We’re standing on all the books that have ever been written, that have contributed to our lives right at this moment. We can reenact that same sort of discovery and engagement in our own lives by pulling out a book and reading, which is a very enriching thought. Do you have other books planned? The Idea Machine took me, depending on how you count it, either 10 or 13 years to write, from when I got started to when I finally finished. It was very consuming. And I’ve written several books. My first book came out in 2004. I wrote a second book in 2006. I wrote a biography in 2010, and then a short, sort of religious-themed book in 2012. Every one of those books was hyper-demanding. I knew that when I got into writing The Idea Machine, but I had no idea it would be as demanding as it turned out to be. I figured I could knock it out in a year or two, and that turned out to be not remotely close to the truth. When I think about writing a new book, I’m like, what do I really want to give a decade to? I can think of all kinds of great ideas, but I don’t want to do them right now. Is maintaining your Substack also demanding? You’re putting out two posts per week. How do you divvy up your time between writing and your other responsibilities—and, hopefully, having fun? Well, I have one hobby, which is to read and to write. I’m pretty good at optimizing my time for that hobby. I look for chinks in my day where I can write, and I listen to audiobooks and read physical books, sometimes simultaneously. If it’s a really demanding book, I’ll actually listen while I’m reading, which I find is a nice way to stay engaged when I’m struggling with a book. I just use the available time I have, and I think I use it productively. Reading is my primary activity outside of work, or hanging out with my kids. Even then, I try to read to them. At night, my almost 7-year-old loves nothing more than for me to read to her. Where do all your ideas come from? And what happens if you don’t have an idea for a whole week? A couple times I’ve recycled an old post, or I’ve gone back to an old essay and retooled it. Mostly, one of the reasons I thought writing a book review-themed Substack would be somewhat “easy” was that I had blogged off and on since before they called it blogging. I always went through periods where I was really intense, and then some periods where I’d be really lax and not have ideas for three months. I figured the great thing about reviewing a book is that the author has done all the work about giving me what to think about. I just need to figure out what I think about what they think about. I don’t tend to find times where I don’t have something to say, because I’m always filling up with new stuff from the books I’m reading, and my responsibility to the audience is to deliver what I’m thinking about that particular book. You said you like books that can change your mind a little bit. After so many years of intensive reading, how have you changed? I am pretty introverted, and I’m one of those people that probably feels my feelings a lot later than the events that might have provoked them. But fiction actually helps me feel my feelings. I get a lot of emotional processing through the books I read, or I have access to my emotions in a way through fiction that I don’t have on my own… When I read Shūsaku Endō, for instance, there’s an emotional valence to the way he writes that I don’t have any natural access to. That’s just not how I feel or how I think. When I read him, I find myself feeling much more expansive about other people, the world, the fragility of the world, and other people in it. I don’t have that sort of empathy on my own. Endō makes a really wonderful crutch for me in that way. Every one of his novels I’ve read, I start and I find myself completely swept away, accessing feelings that I don’t have on my own, and I find that to be life-giving and really powerful. Did anything surprise you while you were researching and writing The Idea Machine? All through that book, I had one overarching realization: I might be writing literally the most obvious and boring book that has ever been written. The only way to make sure that a reader goes from page one to the end is to make sure it is full of weird and funny and fascinating stories. Whenever I would encounter anything that felt like it might go in, I would just grab it. Almost always those were things that delighted me or surprised me, and I thought that if it delights and surprises me, odds are good it’s going to delight and surprise the reader. I just need to figure out how to tell it. For instance, in the chapter on writing and editing as a type of thinking, I ran into this article about writing tablets found near Athens. They contain some of the earliest written Greek we have evidence of. The thing that made me the happiest was the detail that the poet had smudged out the line and corrected herself. Instrumentally, it supported what I was trying to argue: when we’re in the process of writing, we can see what we’ve written, and therefore think about and rethink what we’ve thought, and therefore have the chance to revise what we’ve thought. All productive thinking is a process of gesturing out with something and then getting feedback about it—whether we’re entertaining it in our own minds, or seeing it on a screen, or looking at the response in somebody’s face when we say it—and then knowing if that idea is worth going to the next idea with, or not. Writing is a way of objectifying our thoughts such that we can analyze them and improve them. Do you like being surprised? One of the great joys about research and writing is you discover stuff about yourself, and the world and what you think about it, that you just didn’t know before. Joel Miller recommends five books by C.S. Lewis: The Allegory of Love. For Lewis, the book that first made him famous was an academic work on the courtly love tradition in medieval poetry, published in 1936, long before his later fame as an apologist and children’s author. The book opens with a trenchant observation, which modern people (me among them) often forget: we are not so different from our forebears as we suppose. “Humanity,” says Lewis, “does not pass through phases as a train passes through stations: being alive, it has the privilege of always moving yet never leaving anything behind. Whatever we have been, in some sort we are still.” And yet we are different in important ways, and we fail to understand the past—and our present selves—if we don’t appreciate both the similarities and the differences. The Discarded Image. Lewis positions The Discarded Image as a survey of medieval and Renaissance literature, but in many ways it is an introduction to the medieval mind itself, which he conceives as a complete Model harmonizing diverse philosophies, poetry, histories, homilies, and satires inherited from Christian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, and barbarian sources. As with all of Lewis’s work, he’s delightfully opinionated; he calls Isidore’s Etymologies “a work of very mediocre intelligence.” But he’s also willing to take the medieval world on its own terms—an exercise in the point above about appreciating the differences. Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. This book picks up the thread of The Discarded Image. Lewis compares reading old literature to traveling to a foreign country. You can do it as a mere visitor—or you can go deeper. “You can eat the local food and drink the local wines, you can share the foreign life, you can begin to see the foreign country as it looks, not to the tourist but to its inhabitants. You can come home modified, thinking and feeling as you did not think and feel before.” Studies in Words. To inhabit medieval and Renaissance literature requires understanding the words its authors used. And we don’t. What linguists call false friends (words whose meaning we think we grasp but don’t) abound. “If we read an old poem with insufficient regard for change in the overtones, and even the dictionary meanings, of words since its date . . . then of course we do not read the poem the old writer intended.” He attempts to fix that by studying common terms such as nature, wit, free, world, life, and simple. A Preface to Paradise Lost. Why does any of this matter, besides Lewis’s books are enjoyable to read? Lewis addresses that question in an attempt to salvage the reputation of John Milton’s masterwork, which his predecessors (such as the Romantics) had misunderstood and his contemporaries (especially T.S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis) had not only misunderstood but devalued. The problem was that readers had lost touch with Milton’s world and—unable or unwilling to find their way back into the technique of epic poetry and seventeenth-century theology—failed to understand what Milton was doing. Lewis’s contention is that we only get to judge a work if we judge it on its own terms, including the world of its creation. This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Denise S. Robbins.
Rift widens within French Polynesia’s ruling party following municipal election losses
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A rift within French Polynesia’s ruling Tavini Huiraatira party has widened this week, pitting the leadership “old guard” against a younger generation embodied by the territory’s President, Moetai Brotherson. The main reason for the rift is the outcome of the recent French municipal elections, especially in
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A rift within French Polynesia’s ruling Tavini Huiraatira party has widened this week, pitting the leadership “old guard” against a younger generation embodied by the territory’s President, Moetai Brotherson. The main reason for the rift is the outcome of the recent French municipal elections, especially in the capital city of Pape’ete. Since the Tavini party came back to power after the 2023 territorial elections, Brotherson brought with him a new wave of young MPs, who sometimes were questioning the traditional political line. READ MORE: Other French Polynesian reports This was often regarded as “radical” (in favour of a quick independence process), defended by the party’s iconic 81-year-old president Oscar Temaru and his close associates, including Territorial Assembly Speaker Antony Géros. At the recent municipal elections, Géros was one of the most symbolic of Tavini casualties. He lost his stronghold city of Paea at the first round of votes to pro-autonomy Tapura Huiraatira leader Tepuaraurii Teriitahi, who secured more than 50 percent of the votes, making it unnecessary to hold a second round of polls. Even though Temaru was re-elected Lord Mayor in his stronghold of Faa’a at the first round, other Tavini-held municipalities also suffered significant setbacks. But it was in Pape’ete that the divisions between the two Tavini antagonistic trends materialised most visibly. Two Tavini candidates While no Tavini member was in a position to claim the lead (the new Lord Mayor remains an “autonomist”, in favour of continuing the current relationship with France under an “Autonomy” status), there were two Tavini candidates and lists — one officially endorsed by the party, under the name of Tauhiti Nena, who secured 11.03 percent of the votes. The other was not officially endorsed but it fared much better. It was led by 25-year-old Tematai Le Gayic and received 23.3 percent of the vote. Since the kick-start of the municipal elections campaign, Le Gayic’s list (Tutahi ia Pape’ete) was openly backed by Brotherson. In his already long political career, despite his young age, Le Gayic’s was French Polynesia’s representative MP (2022-2024). He was once known for being the youngest French MP ever elected in the French National Assembly. This week, the debate is now out in the open, sparking a controversy between the two antagonistic Tavini trends. Adding fuel to fire, in an open letter to Temaru earlier this week, widely publicised through social networks, he announced his decision to leave Tavini and, as a member of the Territorial Assembly, will from now on sit as an independent member. Family business Brotherson reacted to the decision, saying Le Gayic’s move was a “responsible” decision. Brotherson also belongs to the Tavini Huiraatira, a party led by his father-in-law Temaru (Brotherson’s wife, Teura, is Temaru’s daughter). Since 2023, other young, newly-elected Tavini MPs had already voiced their questions about the party political line. This was the case of Hinamoeura Cross-Morgant, a young female MP who has tried to get a few bills tabled in the Assembly. She was later subjected to sanctions from the party, ranging from suspension to outright eviction. Since then, she has been sitting as an independent MP. Reactions from the other side (pro-autonomy) of the political spectrum were also swift. Nicole Sanquer, who heads “A Here Ia Porinetia” party (and leader of the opposition in the current Assembly), said there were many subjects of discord within the Tavini Huiraatira which were never addressed. “What we’re expecting now is the creation of a new group within the Assembly. You ask me, I call this the beginning of a political crisis”, she told local media. Brotherson ‘not surprised’ Brotherson, 56, regarded as a moderate, favours a non-confrontational approach to the independence subject, vis-à-vis France. He said the recent municipal election results were “catastrophic” and that the Tavini party he belongs to was now disconnected from reality. He said he was not surprised at Le Gayic’s resignation. “It was predictable. Tematai Le Gayic has been asking for Tavini’s support for months in his bid to contest (the municipal elections) in Pape’ete. “He’s not the first one and unfortunately I think he won’t be the last if the party doesn’t react.” “You don’t win elections through posturing,” he added, stressing the need to stay in touch with bread-and-butter issues when it comes to elections, especially municipal ones. “Because voters simply don’t feed on ideology.” He warned that as new territorial polls will take place in 2028, if the Tavini does not address the issue, it would face more “explosive” results and setbacks. Speaking to local media Tahiti Nui Television on the recent municipal election results, Temaru admitted a few “tactical and strategic mistakes”. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Michael Stipe performs "No Time for Love Like Now"
North Korean hackers offer $70,000 per month to be their front
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
Al Gore on Why Saturday’s Big Anti-Trump Protests Matter
This content originally appeared on Reveal and was authored by Reveal.
A Trump Order on “Biological Truth” Impacts Veterans’ Health Care
How Trump happened is a question a lot of people ask. From an aggressive foreign policy to an immigration crackdown to cutting Medicaid to tax breaks for the super-rich to undermining environmental regulations and much more. Where did these policies or...
How Trump happened is a question a lot of people ask. From an aggressive foreign policy to an immigration crackdown to cutting Medicaid to tax breaks for the super-rich to undermining environmental regulations and much more. Where did these policies originate? A good place to start is Project 2025. It’s a detailed 900+ page agenda designed to reshape the government, specifically focusing on expanding executive power and implementing conservative policies across federal agencies. Organized by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is a road map for this administration. Its policies have generated pushback. Recent polls show rising opposition. David Brooks, the noted PBS conservative commentator, says of Trump, “This is the most imperial presidency in American history.” Recorded at Macalester College. This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.
Who Will SAVE America From Misleading Coverage of Voter Suppression?
In news coverage of the SAVE Act, some outlets fell back on standard framing of "Republicans say X, Democrats say Y"—or, worse, of "Democrats vs. the public."
The SAVE Act is a solution to an imaginary problem that would cause real harm (Brennan Center, 10/10/24). President Donald Trump wants his “SAVE America Act” (officially the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) to become law so badly that he is demanding Senate Republicans eliminate the filibuster in order to pass it. Enough Republicans are resisting that the issue has become a drawn-out battle within the GOP, grinding work in Congress to a halt and garnering much media attention. The bill, which passed the House in early February: Requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, like a passport or birth certificate—forms of identification that an estimated 21 million voting-age Americans lack. If your legal name is different than the name on your birth certificate—as with most married women—you would have additional hoops to jump through.</li Mandates that photo ID be presented before voting. Some 49 million voting-age Americans lack a valid driver’s license with their current name and address. Greatly restricts voting by mail. In 2024, 29% of voters mailed in their ballots—including many disabled people whose polling places are inaccessible. Forces states to turn over their voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security, raising concerns around privacy, surveillance and false claims of election fraud. Washington Post (3/18/26): “Requiring Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, in an effort to root out the extremely rare cases of noncitizen voting, would throw up roadblocks to the polls for millions of eligible voters across the political spectrum.” And the law wouldn’t fund any of this, putting a huge financial burden on states with just months to go before the midterms. In recent weeks, Trump even tried (and failed) to convince his GOP allies to add provisions barring trans women from women’s sports and banning gender-affirming surgery for youth. As the Washington Post (3/18/26) pointed out, a wide range of people—not only those who traditionally vote for one party or the other—would be disproportionately affected by the changes, including people of color, older people, rural residents, low-income people and women who changed their name after marriage. In other words, though Trump has claimed that the SAVE Act would “guarantee the midterms” to Republicans, it’s not a fine-tuned bill to disenfranchise Democratic voters. Rather, it’s a blunt instrument that would further restrict the right to vote in the United States more broadly. The SAVE Act would throw up obstacles for all voters, making it more difficult for them to access their rights. (For Trump, it does have the side benefit of allowing him to paint Democrats as being opposed to voting “safeguards,” and giving him fodder for false narratives about election fraud.) In news coverage of the SAVE Act, while many outlets have rightly debunked the GOP’s myriad false claims about voter fraud, some fell back on standard framing of “Republicans say X, Democrats say Y”—or, worse, of “Democrats vs. the public.” ‘Support among Americans’ As Republicans push a bill that would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting, the New York Times (3/17/26) makes sure to point out that “Republicans say no reasonable lawmaker should oppose taking basic steps to ensure that only citizens can vote.” A New York Times explainer (3/17/26) by Minho Kim started off by acknowledging that “fraudulent voting by noncitizens is already illegal and extremely rare.” But then it framed the probable effects of the legislation in “Republicans say/Democrats say” terms: Democrats who oppose the legislation argue that it would suppress and discourage legal voting…. But Republicans say no reasonable lawmaker should oppose taking basic steps to ensure that only citizens can vote. At Newsweek (3/23/26), the only critics of the bill reporter Joe Edwards named were Democrats, who he portrayed as standing in the way of what the public wants: “The bill has drawn criticism from Democrats, who argue it would restrict Americans’ access to voting, though polling indicates support for the move among Americans.” Edwards cited a Harvard/Harris poll conducted in late February (2/25–26/26) that, he wrote, found 85% of voters believe only US citizens should be allowed to vote, with broad bipartisan support. Overall backing for the SAVE America Act stood at 71%—including majorities of Republicans and Independents—with 54% prioritizing voter fraud prevention over access concerns. NBC (3/17/26) similarly cited polling to make the SAVE Act appear popular and Democrats’ opposition to it out of step, under the headline: “Most Americans Support Requiring Photo ID to Vote. Democrats in Congress Reject It.” NBC senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur wrote that regarding photo ID, Democrats’ “message is increasingly falling flat with the American public,” citing a Pew poll that showed 83% of respondents supported requiring photo ID to vote. Kapur dedicated the first nine paragraphs to only that side of the argument, including two quotes attacking Democrats’ opposition, before finally mentioning “other provisions in the sprawling bill” that might not be as popular, and allowing for quotes from those against the bill. Another ‘major problem’ CNN (3/21/26) points out that a majority of those surveyed say the SAVE Act’s citizenship rules “would either mostly prevent legal citizens from voting (29%) or would prevent both about equally (28%).” In fact, evidence suggests illegal noncitizen voters are outnumbered by citizens who would be blocked from voting by the law by roughly a million to 1. As FAIR (e.g., 9/26/24, 2/18/15) has repeatedly pointed out, polling is easily manipulated to create the illusion of public opinion, through—among other tricks—word choice and limited answer options. In the Harris poll, for instance, respondents are forced into support/oppose responses, with no option for those unsure or with no real opinion. They’re also primed with a question that explains that the SAVE Act includes “ending sanctuary protections for criminal illegal immigrants”—both false and incredibly loaded language. In contrast, CNN‘s Aaron Blake (3/21/26) pointed out that a poll specifically on the SAVE Act—conducted more recently than the Harris or Pew polls, and allowing for “not sure” responses—showed something quite different: The poll shows 42% of Americans regard ineligible voting as a “major problem.” But about the same amount—44%—say preventing eligible citizens from voting is also a “major problem.” That’s a CBS/YouGov poll conducted March 16–19, well after the SAVE Act passed the House . The poll also found that the legislation itself was opposed 31-28%, with a whopping 41% “not sure.” Part of that could be due to the fact that the details of the bill have been continually changing. But the poll also shows that—as on many public policy issues—the public is ill-informed. When asked, before offering any information beyond its name, if they knew what was in the SAVE Act, 36% of respondents didn’t even “have a general sense,” and fewer than half said they knew at least “some specifics.” Empirical questions with factual answers Brookings election expert Darrell West (Newsweek, 10/31/24): “Republican and Democratic judges…all reached the conclusion there was not widespread ballot fraud.” The poll also found that a plurality of GOP voters believe noncitizens vote in federal elections “a lot,” 35% think “sometimes” and only 16% “very little/not at all.” They also think voter fraud in national elections is “widespread” rather than in “a few isolated incidents” 54% to 39%. (Democrats poll 17% to 71% on that question.) These are empirical questions about voter fraud with factual answers, but in its own write-up of the poll, CBS (3/19/26) didn’t bother to tell readers which party’s voters are more aligned with reality. Spoiler alert: It’s not Republicans. When Newsweek itself (10/31/24) covered a detailed report released less than two years ago, it noted an extensive historical record showing that instances of voter fraud “remain incredibly scarce.” Even the Trump administration, which is desperately pushing the narrative of noncitizen voting, found after going through nearly 50 million voter registrations only 10,000 (0.02%) that were flagged for further investigation as possible noncitizens. In other words, 0.02% would be the ceiling, not the floor, for noncitizen voting, and even that is almost certainly highly inflated, given errors in voter rolls (New York Times, 1/14/26). When news outlets cover the SAVE Act without that context, they only serve to further mislead the already poorly informed public. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Julie Hollar.
Like the "Olympic Truce," the United States should call a truce in ICE's campaign of terror for cities hosting World Cup matches.
Like the "Olympic Truce," the United States should call a truce in ICE's campaign of terror for cities hosting World Cup matches. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Minky Worden.
Professor Scott Galloway explains Resist and Unsubscribe
Cybersecurity engineer Toufik Airane has been approached by North Korean hackers who offered him a small fortune if
Cybersecurity engineer Toufik Airane was approached by a North Korean hacker who offered him a small fortune in exchange for use his of his identity—and he has the screenshots to prove it. Airane revealed to RFA Korean’s Jaewoo Park that after interacting with mysterious figures online, he found himself in a videocall with an East Asian man going by the name “Benjamin,” who promised him big bucks. The deal? “Benjamin,” would pose as Airane in remote job interviews and once hired, the two would split the job’s salary. Screenshots of “Benjamin’s” face taken by Airane closely match those of a man identified as a North Korean hacker by California-based security firm DTEX. North Korean hackers are increasingly using the identity borrowing tactic as a way to avoid detection as they engage in illicit activities to earn money for their cash-strapped government. While lending an identity might seem like easy money, those who go along with such a scheme should be aware that they could be charged as accomplices to cybercrime. Edited by Eugene Whong. This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jaewoo Park for RFA.
TV photographer nearly hit by car after Pennsylvania court hearing
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database
David Clark, a photographer for TV station WPXI, was nearly run over by a car outside a court building in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 18, 2026. The station identified the driver as the father of the defendant whose case he was covering.After the he...
David Clark, a photographer for TV station WPXI, was nearly run over by a car outside a court building in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 18, 2026. The station identified the driver as the father of the defendant whose case he was covering. After the hearing in the Pittsburgh suburb, Clark and reporter Gabriella DeLuca were questioning Sean Dicer, a former teacher accused of sexually assaulting students, according to the Tribune-Review, which identified Clark. Video published by the station shows Dicer and his father, Harold Dicer, getting into a white car and backing out of a parking space before accelerating toward the news crew. “Are you going to run me over?” Clark can be heard saying. In DeLuca’s news report, she said Sean Dicer avoided the camera and questions, but his father did not. “He shouted explicit language toward our crew, and at one point accelerated his car, coming inches away from hitting us,” she said. Harold Dicer is charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, court records show. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 22. Clark did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.
TV reporter nearly hit by car after Pennsylvania court hearing
Gabriella DeLuca, a reporter for TV station WPXI, was nearly run over by a car outside a court building in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 18, 2026. The station identified the driver as the father of the defendant whose case she was covering.After the ...
Gabriella DeLuca, a reporter for TV station WPXI, was nearly run over by a car outside a court building in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 18, 2026. The station identified the driver as the father of the defendant whose case she was covering. After the hearing in the Pittsburgh suburb, DeLuca and photographer David Clark questioned Sean Dicer, a former teacher accused of sexually assaulting students, according to the Tribune-Review, which identified Clark. Video published by the station shows Dicer and his father, Harold Dicer, getting into a white car and backing out of a parking space before accelerating toward the news crew. “Are you going to run me over?” Clark can be heard saying. In DeLuca’s news report, she said Sean Dicer avoided the camera and questions, but his father did not. “He shouted explicit language toward our crew, and at one point accelerated his car, coming inches away from hitting us,” she said. Harold Dicer is charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, court records show. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 22. DeLuca did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.
Experts say cooperation to tap South China Sea oil won’t solve Hormuz energy crisis
Though the strait’s closure has China and the Philippines talking, any new oil would be “hedge" for next crisis.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz could jumpstart cooperation between rivals halfway around the world to develop oil and gas in the South China Sea, experts told Radio Free Asia. But any cooperation between China and the Philippines to explore undersea oil reserves in disputed waters would be in preparation for the next energy crisis, not a solution to the current one, the experts said. Talks this week between the two sides have shown “positive progress,” Beijing’s embassy in Manila said in a statement Thursday, urging both sides to “set aside differences and pursue joint development.” Philippine officials, meanwhile, confirmed that no joint activity has started, but could in the future should negotiations be successful. The renewed engagement comes amid disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping conduit through which one-fifth of global oil and gas flows. The disruptions have heightened concerns over energy security in Asia, where many economies rely heavily on imports from the Middle East. Out of gas The Philippines is under pressure to secure new energy sources brought on by declining output from its Malampaya gas field, which supplies a significant share of the country’s electricity. For Manila, the South China Sea has long been seen as a potential alternative source of energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates the region holds about 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. But Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and any energy supplies that lie within, including in the areas also claimed by Manila. Parts of the sea are also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Indonesia. A map showing the competing claims in the South China Sea. (RFA) At times, the competing claims can lead to violent clashes, such as in June 2024, when Chinese Coast Guard ships, according to Philippine officials, rammed supply ships near the Second Thomas Shoal, a reef that had become a flashpoint in the area claimed by both countries. One Philippine sailor lost a finger in the incident, and at least seven others were injured, the officials said. The turmoil and instability in the region is a major reason why its energy resources remain untapped. While analysts say the Iran war is likely to increase attention on those resources, it will not necessarily accelerate their development. Delayed gratification “Disruptions to Hormuz are already pushing attention toward the South China Sea, but as a strategic hedge rather than a practical substitute,” Sylwia M. Gorska, a PhD candidate in international relations at the University of Lancashire in the United Kingdom, told RFA. She said because of the importance of the strait to global gas supply, disruption can create enough volatility to force governments to do what they can to reopen it rather than look for gas elsewhere. “The key issue is not whether the strait is formally open, but whether energy can move through it reliably and at acceptable cost,” she said. One-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply traverses the Strait of Hormuz. (Omar Kamal/AFP) Gorska said that the loss of supply cannot simply be replaced by new sources of oil in the South China Sea, because development there would require years of stable operating conditions and large amounts of capital investment. “The real constraint is not whether resources exist, but whether they can be turned into supply,” Gorska said, highlighting legal uncertainty, operational risks and the absence of stable investment conditions in the South China Sea region. The significant oil reserves in the sea are unlikely to provide the short term relief needed to deal with the shocks to the system brought on by Hormuz, Taipei-based independent analyst and a former visiting scholar at the National Chengchi University, Aadil Brar, told RFA. “Hormuz was moving 20 million barrels a day of oil,” he said. But in the South China Sea, “turning gas fields into actual supply? That’s 5–10 years of drilling, pipelines, and US$10 billion in investments.” “It’s a hedge for the next crisis, not a fix for this one.” Competition remains fierce “While incentives to cooperate increase on paper, behavior remains competitive,” Gorska said, referring to previous attempts at cooperation between Manila and Beijing that faced significant obstacles. Chinese Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel on its way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. (Adrian Portugal/Reuters) A 2018 agreement between the Philippines and China on joint exploration did not result in any joint projects and was later terminated, while constitutional limits on foreign participation – reinforced by a 2023 Philippine Supreme Court ruling – remain a key constraint. International law does, however, provide for joint development arrangements, Brar said, but he acknowledged that implementation remains difficult in practice. “Trust is thin and power’s uneven,” he said, noting that previous cooperative efforts have not been smooth. “It’s been more shoving than pushing together.” Edited by Eugene Whong. This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
Israel’s systematic abuse of Palestinians
This content originally appeared on Amnesty International and was authored by Amnesty International.
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 26, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 26, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 26, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
Music has the power to connect us beyond borders, beyond differences, beyond words.
Iranians Describe Terror During Bombings As Casualties Rise
CPJ urges US Congress, Trump administration to prioritize release of Ukrainian journalists detained by Russia
The Committee to Protect Journalists submitted a statement for the record to a March 25 hearing held by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress on the abduction of Ukrainian children and ongoing accountability efforts related to the Russia-Ukraine war. The statement highlights the impact of the war on journalists and media. The physical...
The Committee to Protect Journalists submitted a statement for the record to a March 25 hearing held by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress on the abduction of Ukrainian children and ongoing accountability efforts related to the Russia-Ukraine war. The statement highlights the impact of the war on journalists and media. The physical safety and arbitrary detention of journalists are among the main concerns CPJ raised, drawing attention to the cases of Ukrainian journalists Anastasiya Glukhovska and Iryna Levchenko, who have been detained by Russia without charge since 2023 under conditions that include credible reports of torture, as well as physical and psychological abuse. According to CPJ research, at least 12 Ukrainian journalists are currently held by Russia. CPJ presented the following recommendations to the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration in support of Ukrainian journalists arbitrarily detained by Russia: Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained Ukrainian journalists, including Anastasiya Glukhovska and Iryna Levchenko, in upcoming prisoner exchanges and make this issue a diplomatic priority in the U.S.-led peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Press Russian authorities for full transparency regarding Glukhovska’s and Levchenko’s legal status and condition in detention. Call on Russia to immediately provide a full account of the circumstances surrounding the death of journalist Viktoria Roshchina, who died in Russian custody in 2024. The statement can be read in full here. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Ukraine war more dangerous than ever, Human Rights Council hearsHaiti’s ‘vortex of violence’ now at disastrous levels: OHCHRCuba blockade having major impact on healthcare: WHO
Ukraine war more dangerous than ever, Human Rights Council hearsHaiti’s ‘vortex of violence’ now at disastrous levels: OHCHRCuba blockade having major impact on healthcare: WHO This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Daniel Johnson.
American and Brazilian journalists threatened over Ukraine reporting
New York, March 26, 2026—Ukrainian authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate recent threats against Jared Goyette, a U.S. reporter with English-language Ukrainian news outlet the Kyiv Independent, and Sérgio Utsch, a Brazilian correspondent with Brazilian television network SBT, following their investigation into alleged abuses in a military unit fighting under Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), the Committee to...
New York, March 26, 2026—Ukrainian authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate recent threats against Jared Goyette, a U.S. reporter with English-language Ukrainian news outlet the Kyiv Independent, and Sérgio Utsch, a Brazilian correspondent with Brazilian television network SBT, following their investigation into alleged abuses in a military unit fighting under Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Ukrainian authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the intimidation of journalists Jared Goyette and Sergio Utsch, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that members of the press are not harassed or threatened over their work,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Journalists must be able to report on matters of public interest safely and freely. It is particularly crucial that they be able to do so when covering military matters during wartime.” The investigation, co-published on February 18, revealed allegations of abuse and torture within a Brazilian-led foreign fighter unit operating under an international HUR unit called the International Legion, which led to the death of a 23-year-old Brazilian recruit on a Kyiv military base in late December 2025. On February 25, Brazilian commander Leanderson Paulino, who leads the unit, commented on the allegations in a 13-minute video, denouncing a “Russian operation coordinated with Brazilian broadcasters.” On February 28, Paulino posted a series of Instagram stories, reviewed by CPJ, in which he accused Goyette of taking money from Russia “​​to design and plan a major act of sabotage against my battalion,” meaning that the journalist had planned to give the battalion a bad reputation. “Did you split the money with [Utsch] from SBT, or did you take the money just for yourself?” he posted. He also posted several photos of Goyette and addressed him directly, saying: “Hang in there, kid. Get ready for more.” “He also tagged me and I obviously felt directly threatened,” Utsch, who has been covering the war in Ukraine since 2014, told CPJ. In a March 18 letter to the Kyiv Independent reviewed by CPJ, HUR’s International Legion said it had ordered an internal investigation into the threats made against Goyette, and stated that it “does not tolerate instances of pressure on media representatives, obstruction of journalistic activities, or threats, which cannot be justified by either military status or wartime conditions.” The legion said it had reminded personnel to be careful about making what could be considered threats on social media. As of March 25, HUR had not taken any concrete measures following the launch of the internal investigation, Utsch told CPJ. CPJ emailed HUR’s press service but did not immediately receive a reply. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
More war in Latin America feared as farmers describe torture from US-Ecuadorian ‘Operation Total Extermination’
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Just a day after President Donald Trump suggested that he’d use his crushing economic blockade in a bid to “ta...
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Farmer Gilson Vargas checks damages after a bomb dropped by the Ecuadorian army in the Lago Agrio region, Sucumbios province, Ecuador, on the border with Colombia, on March 18, 2026. Photo by Luis ACOSTA / AFP via Getty Images" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1334&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342286" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/more-war-in-latin-america-feared-as-farmers-describe-torture-from-us-ecuadorian-operation-total-extermination/ecuador-colombia-diplomacy-drug-trafficking-bombings" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 9","caption":"Farmer Gilson Vargas checks damages after a bomb dropped by the Ecuadorian army in the Lago Agrio region, Sucumbios province, Ecuador, on the border with Colombia, on March 18, 2026. Reports from the Lago Agrio region in northern Ecuador have come to light after Colombian President Gustavo Petro reported on March 16, 2026, the discovery of an unexploded bomb belonging to the Ecuadorian army on his country's territory. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa presented the operation to the press as the first airstrike in the \"joint operations\" with Washington against drug trafficking, announcing the destruction of an alleged training camp belonging to the Comandos de la Frontera, a Colombian guerrilla group. (Photo by Luis ACOSTA / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1773926342","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"ECUADOR-COLOMBIA-DIPLOMACY-DRUG TRAFFICKING-BOMBINGS","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ECUADOR-COLOMBIA-DIPLOMACY-DRUG TRAFFICKING-BOMBINGS" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Farmer Gilson Vargas checks damages after a bomb dropped by the Ecuadorian army in the Lago Agrio region, Sucumbios province, Ecuador, on the border with Colombia, on March 18, 2026. Photo by Luis ACOSTA / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266824121-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Just a day after President Donald Trump suggested that he’d use his crushing economic blockade in a bid to “take” Cuba, an administration official said much more American warfare is on the horizon across Latin America. It’s called “Operation Total Extermination,” according to Joseph M. Humire, the acting assistant secretary of war for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, who testified last week before the House Armed Services Committee. Humire explained in written testimony that beginning on March 3, the US Department of Defense (which the Trump administration refers to as the Department of War) “supported, at the request of Ecuador, bilateral kinetic actions against cartel targets along the Colombia-Ecuador border.” “The joint effort,” Humire said, “is the start of a military offensive by Ecuador against transnational criminal organizations with the support of the US, setting the pace for regional, deterrence-focused operations against cartel infrastructure throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.” The operation with Ecuador, led by the right-wing president Daniel Noboa, is part of “Operation Southern Spear,” the Trump administration’s illegal bombing campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, targeted at boats accused, with little evidence, of ferrying drugs to the US. The latest of these bombings, which killed at least two more people, occurred on Friday and brought the total death toll since September of last year up to at least 160. No casualty counts have yet been released by the US or Ecuadorian government for its operations to target what they said were “domestic terrorist organizations.” But reports from those on the ground suggest they may have been similarly bloody. Víctor Gómez, a journalist for the Ecuadorian outlet Radio Sucumbíos, conducted interviews with the residents of the rural town of San Martín in northeastern Ecuador near the Colombian border, who said their community was attacked twice by Ecuadorian and American forces on March 3 and 6. Noboa celebrated the attacks on the area, which he said housed “a training ground for drug traffickers,” and reportedly the home of “Mono Tole,” who is the leader of the Colombian drug trafficking group known as the Border Commandos. But Gómez described the town as having “no trenches, no firing ranges, no traces of a clandestine military infrastructure,” adding that “the only things there are horses, cows, and donkeys, at least that’s what can be seen on the Radio Sucumbíos cameras.” Locals, many of whom did not have their names published to avoid retaliation, describe military patrols landing on the riverbank on March 3 and launching an “ambush” against four farmers. “They tied my hands and feet and then hung me up. They put me in a bucket of water, as long as I could stand it… they kicked me, they hit me with the butt of a gun,” one of the workers described. Another said that the soldiers “were looking for someone we didn’t know… they told us to hand things over, but we had nothing to hand over.” The soldiers then reportedly “doused the main house and the wooden kitchen with gasoline” and set it ablaze, leaving the flames to consume large amounts of farm equipment. As residents attempted to advocate for their loved ones, the farm owner said, “The commander in charge wouldn’t let us near; they greeted us with gunfire until they took them away.” The four captured farmers were reportedly transported by helicopter to the capital of Sucumbíos, Lago Agrio, where one of the young men described being taken to a tiny room and tortured. “They shocked us with that thing they called a taser,” he said. “They poured water on me and placed it on my ribs and asked us questions.” After finding no evidence of guilt, authorities released the four men near a hospital in the capital. Three days later, planes and helicopters flew over San Martín, dropping bombs on the ruins of the same house that had already been burnt to the ground three days earlier and on another abandoned house. Video of that bombing was shared on social media by the Ecuadorian Armed Forces. FUERZAS ARMADAS NEUTRALIZAN INFRAESTRUCTURA DE GRUPO ARMADO ORGANIZADO EN SUCUMBIOS. pic.twitter.com/Z1VbzTB0C2 — Fuerzas Armadas del Ecuador (@FFAAECUADOR) March 7, 2026 “First they burned it on the 3rd, and then on the 6th they came to bomb it. That’s what they did,” said the farm’s owner. “How can it be a training camp if this is a livestock area?” he asked. “There is nothing to justify it, there are no training grounds, there is nothing.” The Alliance for Human Rights Ecuador has called for an investigation into the military’s alleged “bombings, burning of homes, arbitrary detentions, torture, and threats against the civilian population,” which it said were “serious violations of international humanitarian law.” The fallout from the attack has spilled over to create an international incident with neighboring Colombia. Two weeks after the bombing of San Martín, an unexploded 500 lb. bomb was discovered on a farm on the other side of the San Miguel River in Colombia’s Putumayo region. The bomb was identified as a US-made Mark-82. According to the New York Times, “had the bomb exploded, it would have done so with the force of 192 pounds of TNT” and could have harmed people as far as over 1,900 feet away. “We’re being bombed by Ecuador,” said Colombian President Gustavo Petro in response to the explosive’s discovery. Noboa denied the accusation, saying that “we are acting in our territory, not yours.” Following the US military’s January abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the US Department of Justice accused of drug trafficking, leaks have suggested that the US may soon attempt to bring similar charges against Petro, another left-wing leader who has resisted cooperation with Trump. Petro has denied accusations of drug trafficking. One unnamed official told Nick Turse of The Intercept that attacks along the Ecuador-Colombia border “increasingly look like a coordinated campaign to foment ‘discord’ if not conflict” in the country. #ConsejoDeMinistros | El presidente @petrogustavo denunció la aparición de un artefacto explosivo cerca de la frontera con Ecuador. “Ha aparecido una bomba, al parecer lanzada desde un avión. Está muy cerca de la frontera y vamos a investigar a fondo. Nos están bombardeando… pic.twitter.com/mjnNT7qGRt — Radio Nacional CO (@RadNalCo) March 17, 2026 In his hearing before Congress, Humire said that the US military was providing Ecuador with “capabilities that they otherwise would not have.” Humire said he was not sure how many strikes have been conducted on land so far as part of Operation Total Extermination, but responded “yes” when asked by the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), if the Department of Defense would “be moving to a lot more terrestrial strikes.” He said that these attacks were “just the beginning” of a much broader campaign, adding that the US has entered into agreements with 17 partner nations in the Western Hemisphere as part of the so-called Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. While Humire said the nations that have reached these agreements “want this support and most of them all are looking for this,” the same cannot necessarily be said for the people living in the crossfire of the operation. Gomez said that the people of San Martín are still living with “psychological trauma” following the attack. According to the town’s vice president, Vicente Garrid, families are living in constant fear that their homes could be targeted next. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Stephen Prager.
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Israeli strike kills freelance journalist in southern Lebanon
Amman, March 26, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an impartial investigation into the killing of Hussain Hamood, a freelance journalist who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al-Manar TV, in an Israeli strike on the southern city of Nabatieh on March 25. Two sources close to the journalist, who worked as both...
Amman, March 26, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an impartial investigation into the killing of Hussain Hamood, a freelance journalist who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated broadcaster Al-Manar TV, in an Israeli strike on the southern city of Nabatieh on March 25. Two sources close to the journalist, who worked as both a photojournalist and a camera operator, confirmed to CPJ that Hamood was filming Israeli attacks when he was killed. “Lebanese journalist Hussain Hamood has paid the ultimate price for documenting what Israeli strikes are doing to his community,” said CPJ’s Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israel must immediately end its attacks on the press, uphold its obligations under international law, and be held fully accountable for killing members of the press.” Lebanon’s Minister of Information Paul Morcos <a href="https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/news/422506/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%B5-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%91%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%8B-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8D-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%83-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A-2">denounced the killing of Hamood and demanded international action against the targeting of journalists in Lebanon. CPJ has documented the killing of at least three other journalists across the Middle East since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February. Hamood’s death comes a week after the killing of journalist Mohammed Sherri, who also worked for Al-Manar TV, in an Israeli strike in central Beirut. CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) International Press Desk for comment on the killing of Hamood but did not receive a response at the time of publication. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 26, 2026
Silencing Student Reporters Threatens Public’s Right to Know
Dispatches from Project Censored: On Media and Politics
Jim Rodenbush I faced a decision last October that would dramatically change my professional and personal life. I could enforce a directive from Indiana University administrators to censor the Indiana Daily Student, or stand by my students’ right to ed...
Jim Rodenbush I faced a decision last October that would dramatically change my professional and personal life. I could enforce a directive from Indiana University administrators to censor the Indiana Daily Student, or stand by my students’ right to editorial independence. What the administrators wanted was clear. The content of… The post Silencing Student Reporters Threatens Public’s Right to Know appeared first on Project Censored. This content originally appeared on Project Censored and was authored by Kate Horgan.
<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Bullet holes riddle the front wall of the former Churubusco Convent, where invading US soldiers attacked on their way into Mexico City on August 20, 1847. Today, the building is home to the Museum of Interventions. February 2026. Photo by Michael Fox." data-attachment-id="342277" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-the-united-states-stole-mexico/img_20260204_100447652_hdr" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1920" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"moto g85 5G","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1770199488","copyright":"","focal_length":"1.66","iso":"101","shutter_speed":"0.000671101","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Bullet holes riddle the front wall of the former Churubusco Convent, where invading US soldiers attacked on their way into Mexico City on August 20, 1847. Today, the building is home to the Museum of Interventions. February 2026. Photo by Michael Fox. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1"> A look back at devastating history of foreign intervention in Mexico amid Trump’s present-day threats against the region. This is episode 9 of Under the Shadow, Season 2.
<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Bullet holes riddle the front wall of the former Churubusco Convent, where invading US soldiers attacked on their way into Mexico City on August 20, 1847. Today, the building is home to the Museum of Interventions. February 2026. Photo by Michael Fox." decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1500&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C585&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342277" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-the-united-states-stole-mexico/img_20260204_100447652_hdr" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1920" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"moto g85 5G","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1770199488","copyright":"","focal_length":"1.66","iso":"101","shutter_speed":"0.000671101","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Bullet holes riddle the front wall of the former Churubusco Convent, where invading US soldiers attacked on their way into Mexico City on August 20, 1847. Today, the building is home to the Museum of Interventions. February 2026. Photo by Michael Fox. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_20260204_100447652_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1" /> Increasingly, Trump has his sights set on Mexico—promising to send in US troops in the name of fighting cartels and advancing a so-called drug war policy. But Trump’s actions hearken back to an era of US empire much, much older. See, Mexico has withstood a long history of foreign intervention by the Spanish, French, and multiple times by the United States. In 1848, Mexico lost more than half its territory to the United States. The US states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and more used to be part of Mexico. Today, host Michael Fox visits Mexico’s National Museum of Interventions in Mexico City, and we look back at the devastating history of foreign intervention in Mexico amid Trump’s threats against Mexico and elsewhere in the region today. This is Episode 9 of Under the Shadow, Season 2. Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America. Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox. This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA. Theme music by Michael Fox’s band, Monte Perdido. Monte Perdido’s 2024 album Ofrenda is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Script editing by Heather Gies. Hosted, written, produced, mixed, and edited by Michael Fox. Guests Christy Thornton, Associate Professor of History at NYU Resources Here is the link to Mexico’s National Museum of Interventions. You can check out Michael Fox’s Patreon to see exclusive pictures of the museum and the wall out front. Here is the episode of Michael Fox’s podcast Stories of Resistance about the St. Patrick’s Brigade. This is Christy Thornton’s book, Revolution in Development: Mexico and the Governance of the Global Economy Under the Shadow Season 1 You can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking here. The Beginning: Monroe and migration | Under the Shadow, Episode 1 Panama. US Invasion. | Under the Shadow, Episode 13 The legacy of Monroe | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 4 Support Under the Shadow Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews. Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. An updated version will be made available as soon as possible. MICHAEL FOX: I don’t even know how to describe this feeling. Like, they left the whole front facade, all along the wall here is just pot-marked with these holes that are left from the gunshots and the firings by the U.S. soldiers when they attacked this Churubusco fort almost 200 years ago. I mean, it’s incredible that they didn’t… Like, even with repairs and things, they left these spots, they left these holes in the wall. You know, as if they’re saying, we will not forget. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Those gunshot holes were made in 1847. During the Mexican American War. Churubusco fort was just Southeast of Mexico City. The United States would win that battle, occupy the capital and defeat Mexico by early the next year. Under the Treaty of Hidalgo, the U.S. seized more than half of Mexican territory. What is now the entire Western half of the United States… California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and more – it all used to be Mexico… until it was stolen by the United States and the invading U.S. army. That was only one of numerous times the U.S. and other countries invaded and intervened in Mexican affairs. And the United States is at it again. President Donald Trump has been threatening to send in the U.S. military… The excuse…. Cartels, of course. In mid March, he had this to say about Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum… PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP [CLIP]: Well she should not have refused my help. I offered to get rid of the cartels in Mexico. For some reason she doesn’t wanna do that. I like her very much, but for some reason she doesn’t want to do that. The cartels are running Mexico and we can’t have that. Sheinbaum’s response? PRESIDENT CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM [CLIP]: Who is governing Mexico? Some people have been saying that others govern Mexico. In Mexico, the people govern and also… the women. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Trump is continuing his war with Iran. He is strangling Cuba and pushing for regime change, as I’ve looked at here, in depth, in recent episodes. And across the region, he’s amassing his right-wing allies into a military coalition. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP [CLIP]: We’re calling this military partnership the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition… We’ll use missiles. If you want us to use a missile, they’re extremely accurate. Right into the living room. And that’s the end of that cartel person. But we’ll do whatever you need, if you want. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Increasingly, Trump has his sights set on Mexico — promising to send in U.S. troops in the name of fighting cartels and advancing a so-called drug war policy. Even though, over the last thirty years, that policy not only has failed to reduce the flow of drugs but also has increased violence time and time again… like we’ve seen in recent weeks… NEWS REPORT [CLIP]: Violence has erupted in Western Mexico after a powerful druglord was killed in a military operation by the Mexican government. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: A Mexican military operation with the support of U.S. intelligence. The United States itself… is, in part, responsible for Mexico’s violence. The same violence Trump is now using to justify his push for intervention. CHRISTY THORNTON: The drug war has long been a kind of very convenient instrument to use for the deployment of US power. But Trump’s actions also harken back to an era of U.S. empire much, much older than that. More on all of that… in a minute. [THEME MUSIC] This is Under the Shadow — an investigative narrative podcast series that looks at the role of the United States abroad, in the past and the very present. This podcast is a co-production in partnership with The Real News and NACLA. I’m your host, Michael Fox — longtime radio reporter, editor, journalist. The producer and host of the podcasts Brazil on Fire and Stories of Resistance. I’ve spent the better part of the last 20 years in Latin America. I’ve seen firsthand the role of the US government abroad. And most often, sadly, it is not for the better: Invasions, coups, sanctions. Support for authoritarian regimes. Politically and economically, the United States has cast a long shadow over Latin America for the past 200 years. It still does. This is Season 2 of Under the Shadow: Trump’s Attack. Episode 9: Invasions & Interventions: How the United States Stole Mexico”? A Brief History of U.S. Intervention in Mexico So… I’ve spent the last few months in Mexico. This has been my vantage point as I’ve closely followed Trump’s onslaught on the region… everything I’ve been discussing in this season of the podcast. I’ve spoken with many people here about what’s happening. And I have visited some pretty incredible places that not only tell the story of Trump’s threats on the country today… but also shed light on the history of foreign intervention in Mexico. Reminders of a past marked by the bayonets of U.S. soldiers and invading armies from other countries, as well. I say all of that because today’s episode is gonna be a little different from what you’ve heard this season. I’m going to look at Trump’s threats today. But I really want to look at the backstory.I want to take you to some places first hand… like I did in the first season of Under the Shadow in Central America. We’ll walk back in time and then up into the present to understand the long arc of U.S. aggression toward Mexico and how Trump today is embracing the most violent U.S. policies of the past, to push his agenda. That’s where we are headed…. Here we go… [MUSIC] I will begin today in the Mexico City neighborhood of Coyoacan. It’s artsy. Touristy. It’s where the former homes and present-day museums of both Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky are located. But about a 20 minute walk to the east, brings you to a big colonial adobe building. The grounds are encircled by an old worn two-story wall. MICHAEL FOX: And this, it used to be this convent a couple hundred years ago, and then it became what’s known as the Palacio Churubusco. First off, it is the site of basically the last big battle of the St. Patrick’s Brigade, which was a brigade of Irish soldiers who were sent to fight against the Mexicans in the Mexican-American War in the 1850s, but they identified more with the Mexicans than with the United States, and so they switched sides. They defected, thousands of soldiers defected, and they started the St. Patrick’s Brigade, and they fought in defense of Mexico against U.S. invasion, against U.S. intervention. And of course, the United States would eventually win and take a huge swath of Mexico, you know, what is now California, Arizona, New Mexico. Nevada. But this location is interesting, because today, this is the museum, the National Museum of Interventions. It just gives you a sense of how many times other countries have intervened in Mexico. Going back all the way to the Spanish and then the French, and then of course numerous times the United States. And this is a fascinating place because literally it is the spot where the St. Patrick’s Brigade, who defected from U.S. intervention, held their last stand. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: The main walkway, as you enter through the front gates and walk toward the entrance to the building is called the St. Patrick’s Brigade Plaza. There’s a little plaque on the wall for the fallen soldiers. Many were killed here in that battle on August 20, 1847, which would become known as the Battle of Churubusco. Most of the Irish soldiers who survived the battle were hung by the U.S. army for defecting. I walk into the museum. Each room walks you up decade by decade. Taking you into the past of foreign intervention in Mexico. It’s actually pretty remarkable everything Mexico has had to put up with. MICHAEL FOX: So you have 18, you have 1829, the Spanish intervention, then you have, uh, 1838, the French intervene, and that was just the first French intervention, of course, remember the French come back again, and then, of course, you have 1846 and, to 1848, which is the U.S. intervention, um, and that’s when the United States would take more than half of Mexico, right. I’ve just walked into this room, uh, on one side of the convent, there’s a massive map that actually shows the, um, the route that the U.S. soldiers took to work their way up to Mexico City, there’s this one corner, General Scott’s entrance into Mexico, it was a lithograph made in 1851, it just shows this, um, American flag flying in U.S., like, literally flying over government buildings, the big cathedral in the background, and the Zocalo and U.S. soldiers marching in the middle of Mexico City. There’s a, a little description here, the U.S. invasion of Mexico between 1846 and 1848 was the most serious conflict that had ever occurred between our country and our neighboring country, the United States. The war between these two unequal countries, for Mexico, it resulted in just disaster. Just a few years after achieving its independence from Spain, and, and shortly after finally consolidating as a nation, it lost more than half of its territory. Mexico, this is what it says here, actually, this is super interesting, Mexico had to confront an unjust and unequal war with a powerful country that was expanding, guided by the Monroe Doctrine, quote-unquote, America for the Americans. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Just 14 years after losing to the United States, the French would invade. MICHAEL FOX: So almost every decade you have a new foreign country trying to intervene in Mexico. I mean, it’s just shocking, Of course, the French, this is happening at the same time as you have the U.S. Civil War. And so the French are thinking, well, let’s get a foothold in, in the Americas while the United States are busy, right? In part, this happens because Benito Juarez, the former president, decides to not pay the debt for two years that Mexico apparently owed to France. This is a big sign on the wall that talks about the May 5th battle in Puebla, 1862. The French were defeated in this really important battle in Puebla, and then Napoleon III decided to send more troops to Mexico. Between September and October 1862, 28,000 French soldiers arrived to Veracruz. And they attacked again, they again attacked Puebla. They basically laid siege to the city, and that battle lasted for two months. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: The French occupied Mexico for five and a half years, imposing their own Austrian emperor over the country — Maximilian the 1st. MICHAEL FOX: This whole place is just wild, because as you’re walking through these corridors and these old rooms of this former convent, and so in some places there’s these like religious images, and then, and then suddenly you’re, you’re learning about the U.S. intervention and the attack and the war that would steal more than half of Mexican territory, but it’s all within like the hallways and the rooms of this old convent, which of course is where the battle was held, like in these very same places where I’m walking, you had soldiers, including the St. Patrick’s Brigade, the St. Patrick Battalion soldiers, who were, you know, they were literally living inside of this fort, this former convent, and literally, you know, defending this against the U.S. invading soldiers. It’s just, it’s just crazy. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: And then you get to the Mexican Revolution. MICHAEL FOX: This whole side of the building, so it talks about the revolution, Mexican revolution, 1910 to 1917. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Now… you might think that the Mexican Revolution was just an internal thing… well think again… April 21st, 1914. The U.S. blockades and occupies the Mexican port of Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico. MICHAEL FOX: Wow, I totally forgot this history. Where in the middle of the Mexican Revolution, the United States invades with several boats in Veracruz and then bombs the city and occupies the city with marines to try and influence the outcome of the Mexican Revolution. There are these pictures on the wall of U.S. troops basically occupying and taking over the train station in Veracruz. April of 1914. CHRISTY THORNTON: So the United States blockades the port of Veracruz in 1914. It had actually done this you know, during the Mexican-American War in the 1840s as well, you know, Veracruz is not only a really important commercial port, but it is also a really important military port. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: That’s Christy Thornton. CHRISTY THORNTON: I’m an associate professor of history at New York University. I specialize in Latin American history and particularly the history of Mexico. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: She also happens to be a longtime NACLista… former director, among other roles, and current Board member of the NACLA Report on the Americas, which co-produces this podcast. We’ll be hearing from her often in the episode. CHRISTY THORNTON: And so the United States sends gunboats to basically make it so that, the port there is blockaded. They put in place a kind of arms embargo on the Mexican revolutionary government that they only lift once they decide to sort of throw in their lot with the constitutionalists. And so, yeah, it is this kind of really key moment in the Mexican revolution where the United States actually goes and stations Navy ships. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: A couple hundred people die during the 7-month US occupation. And it’s a moment, Christy says, when the situation could have spun out of control and turned into a full-scale war. But it happened only months before the onset of World War 1 in Europe, which kept the United States from launching a full scale U.S. invasion of Mexico. In other words… World War I got in the way of larger U.S. plans to derail the Mexican Revolution. MICHAEL FOX: Wow. It’s just… It’s just never ending. And a lot of this stuff you just don’t even realize. For a lot of people in the United States, they don’t even remember that most of the western United States was all part of Mexico. This is just wild As soon as you leave the 1914 invasion, then you walk into the next room and then you learn about… How the United States sent in its own army, led by General John J. Pershing, initially with 5,000 people, but there were as many as 12,000 soldiers, to try and find Pancho Villa. This is in 1916. They would never find him, but it was the very first time in U.S. military history that they used tanks, airplanes, like warplanes. And they never found Pancho Villa, but they took all these prisoners. They said there’s a reward out for the arrest of Pancho Villa. $5,000. $5,000. I didn’t know at all this history of the United States sending in its own troops into Mexico, 12,000 soldiers to try and take out Pancho Villa. CHRISTY THORNTON: So that moment of sort of sending in a military regiment led by a general onto Mexican soil, right? Is this real crisis of confidence for the relationship between the United States and Mexico. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: And they don’t get him. The U.S. with its thousands of troops can’t capture Pancho Villa. CHRISTY THORNTON: And eventually, you know, the United States is forced to kind of turn tail and go back and bring its troops back across the border without having achieved its objective. Now, eventually, he will be captured by his own, by Mexican forces, right? But the United States is not successful in that, but very much kind of plays its hand in saying when there is a kind of, when there is instability that might threaten our understanding of what the Mexican state should look like, we’re perfectly willing to send in troops in that way. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: I want to just pause here for a second. Because there’s a really important point I want to underscore about this story of Pancho Villa. The United States justified chasing Pancho Villa around northern Mexico, for months… with thousands of officers, due to his raid on the small U.S. border town of Columbus. Of course, the United States wanted to capture Pancho Villa, but it also wanted to show it had the strength and the gaul to act freely in its neighbor to the south. And it hoped to influence the outcome of the Mexico Revolution. This is the point. The United States acts. But it usually also has to find the justification to act and send in the military. And it does it time and time again. Up, even until today, like with Trump’s attacks on Iran or Venezuela. The United States invaded under the guise of grabbing president Nicolas Maduro for drug trafficking, even though that narrative was largely dropped once they got Maduro to the United States. CHRISTY THORNTON: And so the justifications throughout history, both in the, you know, Mexican American war during the Mexican revolution… there are always these kinds of justifications made to the American people for why the attack is necessary, right? Whether that is the incursion of Mexican people or Mexican troops across the border, you know, famously in the Mexican revolution case that Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico. He comes across the border and then the United States sends troops after him. And a similar thing was the case in the 19th century. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: She’s referring to the start of the Mexican American War. The U.S. provoked Mexico, by entering into disputed territory, which Mexico considered its own…When Mexico responded, the U.S. said they had shed blood on U.S. land. The point is… The United States needs an excuse – even if it’s just that. An excuse to exert U.S. dominance. And we’ve seen this over and over again. The U.S. entered Cuba’s war of Independence against Spain, after the 1898 explosion of the USS Maine in the harbor of Havana. That brought the U.S. into war with Spain and ensured that Cuba would become a de facto U.S. protectorate once the U.S. achieved victory. Fast forward into the Cold War… and the violence in Vietnam, and across Central and South America. It was all done in the name of fighting communism, defending freedom… Then it was Iraq and weapons of mass destruction… GEORGE W. BUSH [CLIP]: But we can’t let the world’s worst leaders blackmail, threaten, hold freedom loving nations hostage with the world’s worst weapons. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: The U.S. is using that one again… in Iran. And of course, over the last few decades, it’s been about getting the so-called drug trafficker, the bad guy, whether he used to be on our payroll like in the case of Panama’s Manuel Noriega in the late 80s, or whether he just isn’t willing to bow to the U.S. like the case of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. CHRISTY THORNTON: That idea of needing to make a kind of specific case about an imminent threat clearly reveals something about the way in which the United States still subscribes to, or at least until very recently, subscribe to the idea that this kind of war is illegitimate in some way, that offensive wars, wars of conquest are illegitimate. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: That’s what’s so incredible about the Monroe Doctrine and the concept of Manifest Destiny. It has enabled the United States to hide wars of conquest in a mask of supposed legitimacy, either in the name of defending stability and freedom, or today… America First. And it’s one size fits all. You can drag it out whenever you want. And use it at any occasion: Greenland. Canada. Venezuela. Cuba. Mexico. CHRISTY THORNTON: So both in the eighteen late 1840s during the Mexican-American War, in the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution, right, you had particular justifications coming from US heads of state, from the U.S. president, from the State Department, etc. But then you had a kind of strong movement in both cases of strong interventionists, of people clamoring for just send in the troops or crush the rebellion, right, crush the sort of problematic Mexican tendency that’s going on at the time. And so that movement is also very strong. This era of U.S. intervention in the 19th and 20th century might seem like ancient history. But we’re seeing that today, too. Senator Lindsey Graham. SEN. LINDSAY GRAHAM [CLIP]: Here’s what I tell president Trump. Keep it up for a few more weeks. Take Kharg island, where all of the resource they have to produce oil. Let this regime die on a vine. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: When we look at Trump’s world view and his push against the countries of the Western Hemisphere, Iran and elsewhere today, history reverberates into the present. CHRISTY THORNTON: I do think that there is a deeply 19th century understanding of power that operates somewhere in Trump’s kind of inner understanding, right? It’s as though history ends in say 1904 with Teddy Roosevelt and the big stick.” Christy says, Trump is essentially pushing aside all of the other more benign policies that the United States has developed over the last century for strengthening U.S. hegemony and power in the region.. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT [CLIP]: We are strong. But less powerful nations know that they need not fear our strength. We seek no conquest. We stand for peace. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Like President Franklin Roosevelt’s “good neighbor policy” of the 1930s. He tried to improve friendly relations, promoting economic cooperation and promising to stop using U.S. military force. There was also John F. Kennedy’s muilt-billion dollar aid program Alliance for Progress, in the 1960s. JOHN F KENNEDY [CLIP]: Yet our basic goal remains the same, a peaceful world community of free and independent states, free to choose their own future and their own system, so long as it does not threaten the freedom of others. It essentially tried to offset the influence of the USSR in Latin America by fueling reforms, economic growth and improving U.S. relations. CHRISTY THORNTON: Trump throws all of those 20th century lessons out, right? it’s not it’s not a coincidence that he’s always talking about McKinley and that era in which there were people who argued that the United States should be an empire to compete with the other European imperial powers. And so at that moment, 1898, when the United States intervenes in, you know, what we call the Spanish-American War, but which is a series of wars for independence in the Caribbean and places like Cuba and Puerto Rico, et cetera, um that sort of land grab at that moment taking over those territories and as well as territories in the Pacific, including Guam and the Philippines and you know, all of these other places. Trump throws out all of the learning that comes in that period and decides like soft power is useless. I think it’s really important to think about the Trump administration as a moment of dominance without hegemony. They’re not trying to create a kind of consensual movement. hegemonic project in which the other countries of the world come along with us because they buy into our ideology. They’re trying to create a situation in which the United States is the most feared and most sort of unpredictable actor on the world stage. And Trump very much thinks that the kind of raw emphasis on power, on raw military power, is the thing that’s going to shape the world in the way that he wants. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: And he’s acting on it. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren denounced Trump’s war on Iran on the floor of the Senate in early March. SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN [CLIP]: He said he would be a president to stop wars, not start them. And Americans believed him. But now we face an ugly reality: In the modern era, no American president has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Donald Trump. None. That’s true. As president, Trump has bombed 10 different countries… Ten. That’s far more than any other previous president in the modern era. And that includes more than 600 air strikes on 7 countries just last year alone. CHRISTY THORNTON: But I do think that underlying all of that is this kind of deeply 19th century imperial understanding of what it means to be powerful in the world. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: A return to the past. A return to the type of U.S. intervention on display in black and white pictures and faded maps, as I walk through the hallways of the Mexico’s Museum of Interventions. MICHAEL FOX: Where you walk through this former convent and you see just the endless cycles of intervention whether it’s by Spain or attempts of intervention into Mexico or it’s by Spain or France or the United States or France or the United States again or the United States again. It’s just like one time after the other. It’s crazy to be here. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: It’s crazy to actually touch the bullet holes from the invading U.S. soldiers that riddle the front wall of the former Churrubusco convent. MICHAEL FOX: You can tell where they’ve kind of redone the wall itself, where they kind of rebuilt it, because you can kind of see inside where things were crumbling. But they left the spots, they left the holes where the gunshots by the U.S. soldiers riddled this building as the United States invaded, as the United States marched to Mexico City. I don’t know. For me, it’s such a powerful testament. It’s so simple, but it’s so powerful. It reminds me of the holes in the wall of El Chorrillo, the neighborhood that I visited in Panama City, where gunshots from the U.S. invasion, the 1989 U.S. invasion, still can be seen in the walls of homes there as well. At least the homes that weren’t burnt down. It’s like a living testament to the continued U.S. invasion, the continued U.S. intervention. A living testament to how Mexico and Venezuela and countries all up and down the Americas are still living underneath the shadow of the United States. It’s just wild. And here, you know, it’s not just a couple of holes. Like, I know this was a fortress, a former convent that was invaded, and the battle here lasted for a long time. But still, it’s like the whole front wall here is just pockmarked with the holes from the U.S. gunshots, the U.S. weapons. And like I’ve mentioned so much in this podcast again, you know, things like this are just buried just underneath the surface. It’s incredible to see this firsthand. It’s incredible to touch it. And like so many others, to dream that this will never happen again, even though today, more than ever, it is. MICHAEL FOX [NARRATION]: Drugs. That has been the boogie man across Latin America for decades. The excuse that has led to so much violence. The U.S. has funneled billions into allies in the region under the guise of fighting the drug traffickers. It has ripped apart countries. And the problem has only gotten worse. Decades of fighting, with nothing to show for it except tens of thousands of dead and disappeared. ### And that is where I’m going to take you next time. Out of the history and into the present day with Trump’s sights set on Mexico. That’s next time on Under the Shadow. That is all for today. Thanks for listening. ### Folks, I’ve placed some pictures of Mexico’s Museum of Interventions on my Patreon page. You can find those at Patreon.com/mfox. Or you can follow the link in the show notes. There you can also support my work, become a monthly sustainer, or sign up to stay abreast of the latest on this podcast and my other reporting across Latin America. This really helps me to continue to do this important work. I did a special episode about the St. Patrick’s Brigade in my podcast Stories of Resistance. It’s pretty cool. Immersive, as usual. If you are interested, please check it out. The links in the show notes. If you enjoyed today’s podcast, and you like this series, please do us a favor, go to your podcasting app and give us a like, a follow, a subscribe and leave us a comment or a review. It really helps to spread the word about the show. I really want to thank Christy Thornton for sitting down with me for this episode. You can find more information about her and her excellent work in the show notes. As always… if you are looking for more information, news and reporting on Trump’s onslaught, both on communities within the United States and abroad… please check out The Real News and NACLA. Both of them are publishing daily indispensable reporting. The theme music is by my band Monte Perdido. You can find us on Spotify or wherever you stream music. This closing music playing right now is off our 2024 album Ofrenda. I hope you check it out. Under the Shadow is a co-production of The Real News and NACLA. This episode script was edited by Heather Gies. Thanks for listening. See you next time. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.
1 Million Americans Demand Impeachment as Free Speech For People Launches Full-Page New York Times Ad Ahead of ‘No Kings’ Protests
Free Speech For People today unveiled a full-page advertisement in The New York Times calling on Congress to impeach and remove Donald Trump from office, as nationwide “No Kings” protests mobilize Americans to defend democracy.The ad spotlights a grow...
Free Speech For People today unveiled a full-page advertisement in The New York Times calling on Congress to impeach and remove Donald Trump from office, as nationwide “No Kings” protests mobilize Americans to defend democracy. The ad spotlights a growing movement of more than 1,000,000 Americans who have already signed a petition demanding accountability. It urges the public to join the campaign at ImpeachTrumpAgain.org and to participate in protests across the country on Saturday, March 28. “Donald Trump poses a direct threat to our Constitution and to the rule of law,” said John Bonifaz, Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People. “The constitutional remedy of impeachment exists precisely for moments like this when a president abuses power, defies the law, and attacks democracy itself. Congress must act.” The advertisement follows a week of high-visibility actions in Washington D.C., including billboard trucks and projections. On December 11, 2025, 140 Members of Congress voted to advance Rep. Al Green’s articles of impeachment focused on Trump’s threat to execute Members of Congress and his threats and intimidation against federal judges. The vote marked a 77% increase in support for impeachment in the House since the prior House vote in June of last year. “On March 28, 2026, The People will rise up. The No Kings 3 protest is projected to be the largest mass-mobilization in U.S. history, with over 3,000 actions planned worldwide,” said Jax Foley, Free Speech For People’s Digital Organizing Strategist. “People across this country are organizing, mobilizing, defending their communities, and demanding accountability.” “For more than a year, FSFP’s team of lawyers, election security experts, and grassroots organizers have been tirelessly and fiercely leading the campaign to impeach and remove Trump and key administration officials,” Foley continued. “We have heard from people across the United States who are with us in the call for No Kings, No Tyrants, and the immediate impeachment and removal of Trump and his co-conspirators. Put the power back in the hands of We The People. "Millions of people are gathering across the country in nonviolent protest this weekend in the face of an ultra-violent regime," said Jocelyn Medearis-Viera, Grassroots Organizing Strategist at Free Speech For People. "The people are demanding accountability for the political violence we are seeing at home and abroad. There's a solution in the Constitution: Article 2, Section 4, the Impeachment Clause. The movement for impeachment is growing, and it's well-past time for Congress to uphold their duty and responsibility to impeach and remove this lawless president and his co-conspirators." The full advertisement can be viewed online, and supporters are encouraged to sign the petition, download protest materials, and join a “No Kings” rally on March 28. This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Michael Stipe & Aaron Dessner Perform “No Time for Love Like Now” at Democracy Now! Celebration
Over 2,000 people packed into the historic Riverside Church in New York on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Democracy Now! The acclaimed singer, songwriter and artist Michael Stipe performed his song “No Time for Love Like Now...
Over 2,000 people packed into the historic Riverside Church in New York on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Democracy Now! The acclaimed singer, songwriter and artist Michael Stipe performed his song “No Time for Love Like Now,” accompanied by musician and producer Aaron Dessner, a founding member of The National. Dessner has also closely collaborated with Taylor Swift, co-producing several of her albums. “This evening feels like a clarion call, a voice of courage, of optimism and resilience and community in the face of system collapse,” said Stipe, former lead singer of R.E.M. Watch the entire event here. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“Torture & Genocide”: U.N. Expert Francesca Albanese Denounces Israeli Abuse of Palestinians
United Nations expert Francesca Albanese’s latest report warns that Israel is systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale that “suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent” and that “torture has effectivel...
United Nations expert Francesca Albanese’s latest report warns that Israel is systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale that “suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent” and that “torture has effectively become state policy” since October 2023. Of all the investigations Albanese has carried out, “this has been absolutely the most excruciating, that led me to say that Israel uses torture in a systematic and widespread fashion, intentionally and sadistically, to break the spirit of the Palestinians, not just as individuals, but as a people,” says Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory since 2022. This comes as Israeli forces reportedly tortured a Palestinian toddler earlier this month, by using a cigarette to burn one of the child’s legs and a nail to puncture the other, in order to coerce a confession from his father. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! is joined by Ryan Schwank, an ICE whistleblower who has been speaking out about how the agency drastically slashed its training standards for new officers. Schwank worked as an ICE lawyer and legal instructor in Georgia until he...
Democracy Now! is joined by Ryan Schwank, an ICE whistleblower who has been speaking out about how the agency drastically slashed its training standards for new officers. Schwank worked as an ICE lawyer and legal instructor in Georgia until he resigned last month. Schwank says he received secretive orders to teach ICE trainees to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant. He also speaks about how violent arrest tactics by ICE agents, like those seen in Minneapolis, should only be employed in certain circumstances: “Those things should only be done as an act of necessity, when it’s the choice between the public’s safety and the use of force on the individual.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
The U.S. is threatening to intensify its bombardment of Iran as the country’s leadership rejects a 15-point U.S. proposal to end the war. Iran has issued a number of demands, including recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Ho...
The U.S. is threatening to intensify its bombardment of Iran as the country’s leadership rejects a 15-point U.S. proposal to end the war. Iran has issued a number of demands, including recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Since the war began, Iran has largely blocked ships from passing through the critical strait, causing a global crisis as the prices of oil, natural gas and fertilizer soar. “We’re not just talking about potential spikes in food prices … but also potentially key shortages in the commodities that are necessary to produce food, like fertilizers,” says Adam Hanieh, director of the SOAS Middle East Institute at the University of London. “Many of the countries that are going to be most potentially impacted by this are already in conditions of famine or near famine.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“We Have No Intention of Negotiating”: Iran Rebuffs Trump’s Claims of Diplomacy, Iran Continues Attacks on Gulf Nations as Baghdad Blames U.S. for Strike That Killed Iraqi Soldiers, Rights Groups Say Israel Used Phosphorus Munitions and Targeted Civilian Infrastructure in Lebanon, Israel Bombs Tent Camp for Displaced Palestinians in Central Gaza, Israeli Police and Settlers Evict More Palestinian Families from Occupied East Jerusalem, U.S. Military Strikes Alleged Drug Boat in the Caribbean, Killing Four People, SCOTUS Hears Case on Trump Admin’s Efforts to Block Asylum Seekers at Border, U.S. Air Travelers Now Face the Longest Wait Times in TSA History, Jury Finds Alphabet and Meta Liable for Damages in Landmark Social Media Addiction Lawsuit, Sanders and AOC Introduce Bill Imposing Moratorium on New AI Data Center Construction, U.N. Adopts Resolution Declaring Transatlantic Slave Trade “The Gravest Crime Against Humanity”
"We Have No Intention of Negotiating": Iran Rebuffs Trump's Claims of Diplomacy Iran Continues Attacks on Gulf Nations as Baghdad Blames U.S. for Strike That Killed Iraqi Soldiers Rights Groups Say Israel Used Phosphorus Munitions and Targeted Civilian Infrastructure in Lebanon Israel Bombs Tent Camp for Displaced Palestinians in Central Gaza Israeli Police and Settlers Evict More Palestinian Families from Occupied East Jerusalem U.S. Military Strikes Alleged Drug Boat in the Caribbean, Killing Four People SCOTUS Hears Case on Trump Admin's Efforts to Block Asylum Seekers at Border U.S. Air Travelers Now Face the Longest Wait Times in TSA History Jury Finds Alphabet and Meta Liable for Damages in Landmark Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Sanders and AOC Introduce Bill Imposing Moratorium on New AI Data Center Construction U.N. Adopts Resolution Declaring Transatlantic Slave Trade "The Gravest Crime Against Humanity" This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! Thursday, March 26, 2026 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
An OB-GYN Was Repeatedly Accused of Sexual Misconduct. The State Medical Board Let Him Keep Practicing.
The post An OB-GYN Was Repeatedly Accused of Sexual Misconduct. The State Medical Board Let Him Keep Practicing. appeared first on ProPublica.
The woman, 52, lay on the exam table at a clinic in Richland, Washington. Her legs were parted and propped up. The OB-GYN, Dr. Mark Mulholland, stood between her legs, inquiring about the woman’s sex life as he had in prior visits, she wrote in a complaint filed with Washington state health care regulators. She said Mulholland had previously asked about her enjoyment of sex and if she had a boyfriend, a strange way to learn about a patient’s sexual activity, she thought. But this was her last checkup after her hysterectomy and the last time she expected to see Mulholland. “Do you masturbate?” Mulholland asked the woman during their final appointment, according to her complaint. The question shocked her. She wrote that Mulholland explained he wanted to “make sure the nerves were intact.” Then, the woman wrote, he inserted his fingers into her vagina and pumped his hand back and forth in a way she said felt “sexual and not medical.” “Does that hurt?” the woman said Mulholland asked her, before ending their visit by saying “the playroom is open” — a comment she interpreted as Mulholland clearing her for sexual activity. The woman said she left the room in shock. She made her way to the parking lot of the Kadlec Clinic-Associated Physicians for Women, climbed inside her car and sat, incredulous, she said in an interview with KUOW and ProPublica. What happened felt terribly wrong, she said. Mulholland did not respond to requests for comment for this article after being sent a detailed list of findings by email and by letter. His attorney declined to comment. What the woman didn’t know was that by the time of her exam in February 2025, the Washington Medical Commission had already received complaints from four other women since 2022 accusing Mulholland of sexual misconduct. And yet he was allowed to keep seeing patients throughout. The accounts related by the women, whom KUOW and ProPublica are not naming to protect their privacy, included descriptions of Mulholland touching them unnecessarily, using sexually charged language, or performing painful or seemingly sexual pelvic exams that involved moving his fingers in and out. The commission also gathered testimony a year before the woman’s February 2025 appointment from three of Mulholland’s colleagues with their own troubling accounts. These included hearing firsthand about or observing him telling patients they had “tight” and “pretty” vaginas, touching and slapping his patients’ legs, and aggressively pulling a patient’s pants down without permission. Washington law allows the commission to take emergency action and suspend a doctor’s license while disciplinary proceedings are pending. The law says a suspension is defensible if it’s more probable than not that the physician poses an “immediate threat to the public health and safety.” In Mulholland’s case, the commission did not choose suspension. Instead, it issued a formal statement of charges accusing Mulholland of abuse and unprofessional conduct in April 2025 — more than a year after the commission’s investigator submitted her reports on two of the complaints for review and 11 months after Mulholland was offered an informal settlement that he apparently did not sign. Even after the commission declared its charges against Mulholland, he was allowed to keep practicing while the case proceeded. He saw patients as late as May, before he went on leave. At least 84 patients have filed lawsuits against Mulholland or his employer since the state’s investigation became public. Court filings by Mulholland’s attorney, made in response to the lawsuits, have denied wrongdoing or improper conduct toward women. He also has denied the allegations made by the medical commission and is entitled to a hearing to contest them. Emily Volland, a spokesperson for Kadlec and its affiliate, the Providence health system, said Mulholland is no longer employed by Kadlec. Volland declined to comment on the allegations against him but said via email: “We take our patient’s safety very seriously and are fully cooperating with the state in this matter.” The lawsuits against Mulholland, Kadlec and Providence are ongoing. Lawyers for Providence and Kadlec in court filings denied allegations of negligence and wrongdoing. While other news coverage has described the lawsuits and the commission’s actions in 2025, none has focused on how the state dealt with complaints against Mulholland during the three years before he agreed to restrictions on his license. The Washington Medical Commission has faced criticism in the past for its handling of sexual misconduct complaints. A 2021 Seattle Times investigation found that in 282 cases of alleged sexual misconduct since 2009, state regulators took more than a year to impose discipline. Several other states in recent years have dealt with their own high-profile cases of sexual misconduct involving OB-GYNs. On March 10, for instance, Columbia University in New York released a report detailing how a culture of silence at the institution had allowed OB-GYN Robert Hadden to abuse more than 1,000 patients over decades. States like Ohio and Delaware have moved aggressively to make it easier to keep doctors accused of sexual misconduct away from patients. In Washington, the medical commission wasn’t the only organization that allowed Mulholland to keep practicing. A Kadlec risk management employee, through an attorney, acknowledged to the commission that the clinic had received patient complaints against the doctor and said they were investigated. (The letter did not describe the complaints but said they included “communication with patients regarding obesity.”) Mulholland’s privileges were never restricted or terminated, the statement said. When local news stories covered the commission’s charges against Mulholland in June, it unleashed a deluge of 18 new complaints in the following three months. In September, the commission placed restrictions on his license that prevented him from seeing female patients. Mulholland agreed pending a hearing on his case. “They just let him keep practicing.” A former patient of Dr. Mark Mulholland’s Yanling Yu, a former Washington medical commissioner and a patient advocate with Washington Advocates for Patient Safety, wouldn’t comment on the Mulholland case directly. But she said it’s ethically wrong to allow a doctor facing serious allegations of sexual misconduct to continue seeing any patients while an investigation is ongoing. “In an ideal regulatory system, if there has been enough or strong evidence to support the allegation, the doctor’s practice should be temporarily suspended or at least summarily restricted to protect patients’ safety,” she wrote in an email. Kyle Karinen, executive director of the Washington Medical Commission, said the agency wasn’t slow to act and that it must operate under the system lawmakers created. “I acknowledge that sometimes it takes longer than people would like, but we take that process really seriously,” Karinen said. “When we file a case and go to a hearing, we want to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to be heard on a particular topic.” The woman who saw Mulholland in February 2025 filed a lawsuit against the clinic and a board complaint against the doctor, both in August. She said she was indignant after learning about the earlier complaints. She said the commission should have taken those women more seriously. “They just let him keep practicing,” she said. 2022: The First Complaint The first sexual misconduct allegation against Mulholland landed in the commission’s email inbox in January 2022. The author was a first-time mother who, at 41 weeks pregnant, went to have labor induced at the Kadlec Regional Medical Center. The woman said she had hoped a female doctor would deliver the baby. But Mulholland was the on-call doctor assigned the day she arrived. When she saw that the doctor was a man, she asked if the female nurse who was there could perform her predelivery cervical check instead, according to her complaint. Mulholland insisted, she said. (He later told a commission investigator that because the woman was having labor induced, he had to personally know her cervical dilation and consistency, whether the fetus was in breech position or if her amniotic sac was intact. He also said because she was experiencing high blood pressure, her delivery couldn’t wait to be rescheduled with a female doctor.) “I didn’t have a choice but to trust who was supposed to be trustworthy,” the woman said in an interview with KUOW and ProPublica. In her complaint, she said Mulholland was inappropriate. When the nurse asked her if she still had her underwear on, Mulholland joked that he still had his on too, she wrote. During the cervical check, with his fingers inside the expectant mother, he pressed in different directions, according to her complaint. The woman said Mulholland told her he doesn’t perform exams this way because it hurts. Then he showed her what he described as the correct way, she said in the complaint. “The cervical check was the longest and most painful one I have ever had,” she said in the complaint. “I didn’t have a choice but to trust who was supposed to be trustworthy.” A former patient of Mulholland’s Three OB-GYNs, when presented by KUOW and ProPublica with the woman’s description of the pelvic exam, said the maneuver sounded unnecessarily painful. “That sounds strange,” said Alson Burke, an associate professor at the University of Washington who teaches medical students how to perform pelvic exams. “Saying ‘I don’t do something because it hurts’ and then doing it doesn’t make sense to me.” Commission records show that Mulholland said the allegation that his cervical exam was longer than what’s typical was absurd. “I do try to be as careful, quick, gentle, and efficient as I can be when doing a pelvic exam whether it is for gynecology or obstetrics,” he wrote in an email to a commission clinical health care investigator. “With regards to being the most painful one she ever had, for that I am surprised as well as sorry. I pride myself on trying to be as gentle as absolutely possible. I get frequent compliments on how much less uncomfortable my exams are than most other providers, male or female.” The nurse present during the woman’s exam told the commission it seemed “no longer or any more painful than these types of exams are typically.” Up until that day, the patient’s pregnancy had been a joyous experience, she said in an interview with KUOW and ProPublica. She was excited to meet her daughter and picked out the outfit she’d arrive home in. The nurse was ultimately able to line up a midwife to assist with the woman’s delivery in place of Mulholland. But her cervical exam with Mulholland made the birth experience “worse than we could have ever imagined,” the woman, now 27, said in an interview with KUOW and ProPublica. It brought about depression and anxiety, she said. “My daughter’s an only child, and I’m not sure if she ever will get a sibling because of how traumatic that was,” she told the news organizations. By the end of July 2022, the new mother’s case was closed without any disciplinary action. At the time, it was an isolated complaint in the record of a doctor who, records show, had not faced accusations of sexual misconduct with the medical commission before. Then, a little over a year later, came another complaint, this time filed by a woman who had worked with Mulholland for nearly a decade. October 2023: A Co-worker and Patient Speaks Out <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="766" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?w=1149" alt="A black abyss surrounds a wrinkled, discarded medical glove." class="wp-image-71336" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-gloves.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> Illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica According to an investigator’s report, the woman said she had worked at Kadlec Regional Medical Center for nine years and her interactions as Mulholland’s colleague had always been professional. The complaint she filed in October 2023 concerned events she said took place when she was Mulholland’s patient. She’d had her fallopian tubes and the tissue lining her uterus removed and developed pain that was only present when she was menstruating. On the day of her appointment, her complaint said, she’d explained all this to Mulholland when he began a line of questioning. “Does it hurt you to have intercourse?” “No,” she replied. Then, the woman wrote in her complaint to the medical commission, Mulholland stood close to her and in a lower tone asked. “Not even when he’s deep inside you?” “No,” she said she asserted. Mulholland told the woman he needed to do a pelvic exam, according to the complaint. While examining her, the woman wrote, Mulholland used one hand to push down on the top of her abdomen and with the other hand began repeatedly and “powerfully” thrusting his fingers into her vagina. Burke, the associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington, said repeated “thrusting” is neither a technique she uses nor something she has ever observed. “The reason I wouldn’t recommend it is because it could be triggering and really uncomfortable for someone,” Burke said. “Is that actually helping you gather the information? And is the patient feeling safe in the way that you are examining them?” She said that no part of the pelvic exam should be performed in such a way that its intent could be perceived as sexual. According to the former colleague’s complaint, each time Mulholland shoved his fingers inside, he leaned in close and asked, “Is this the same as the pain you felt?” The woman wrote that Mulholland was “effectively holding her in place” on the exam table and she was unable to move to escape the pain. A medical assistant was nearby, she said. After the pelvic exam, she said, the assistant left. Mulholland told the woman that she had a “great looking vagina,” she wrote, and that he usually had to use three fingers, but with her, he could only use two. Before leaving, the woman said in her complaint, the doctor asked her if she worked out and said he could tell she did. Through an attorney, Mulholland later told the commission that he conducts all of his exams “as respectfully as possible” and that he is “very cognizant of his patient’s reactions.” The doctor was responding to a commission investigator’s December 2023 request for his version of what happened during the woman’s visit. That same month, a complaint from a third woman arrived. December 2023: Another Exam Complaint It was three weeks before the new year when the woman went to the medical commission for help. The patient, whose primary language is Spanish, had an interpreter join her in-person appointment virtually. A physician’s assistant had referred the woman to Mulholland to discuss a possible hysterectomy to relieve pain. The woman later told a commission investigator that during her appointment, Mulholland entered the exam room and introduced himself. Then he lifted the paper sheet that covered her naked lower half, looked at her genital area, then looked back at her, which made her uncomfortable. Without asking her to reposition herself, he grabbed her by the butt to move her down the exam table, she said. Mulholland’s pelvic exam was aggressive, she said in her written complaint to the commission. The investigator who interviewed her wrote that the woman said he’d moved his fingers in and out and that she felt a lot of pressure. “I yelled at some point,” she wrote in her complaint. A nurse was present but seemed fixated on the computer screen, the woman said. Before the appointment ended, Mulholland said he was “eager to see” the woman’s vagina again, laughed and then said he was looking forward to reuniting with her womb, the investigator quoted the woman as saying. When the Spanish-language interpreter on the computer screen went quiet and asked Mulholland to repeat what he said, the woman wrote in her complaint, the doctor told the interpreter there was no need to relay that last message. The woman was left in pain for 12 days after her appointment with Mulholland, she told the investigator, adding that she didn’t want others to go through what she had. In response to this complaint, Mulholland’s attorney wrote to the commission, “at no time has he ever simply moved his fingers in and out several times with this patient or any other.” (A separate report the woman filed with the Richland Police Department, which the department classified as a potential sex offense with “forcible fondling,” was closed in 14 days. The responding officer wrote that he hadn’t found facts to indicate a crime was committed “on the basis that the alleged incident occurred during a medical examination.”) The state medical commission pressed ahead with its investigations into the two 2023 complaints, both of which asserted Mulholland had moved his fingers in and out during a pelvic exam. The investigator assigned to both cases turned to Mulholland’s current and former colleagues. Two said that while some patients complained about the way Mulholland communicated with them about weight issues, they personally did not have concerns. Three other current or former colleagues, meanwhile, described problems. “The cervical check was the longest and most painful one I have ever had.” A former patient of Mulholland’s Alexis Tuck, an OB-GYN who worked at Kadlec from 2017 to 2022, said in a statement to the commission that she noticed a pattern of Mulholland’s patients switching providers because they wanted anyone “except Dr. Mulholland,” and sometimes requested her. She said that when she asked these patients about the reason behind their switch they replied: “He grabbed my belly fat and shook it in front of my husband.” “He called me fat and made fun of me.” “He told me my vagina is tight during a pelvic exam.” “He told me I have a pretty vagina during a pap smear.” “He made a comment about my vagina being tight and I talked to my mom about him. Apparently she had a similar weird experience with him.” Tuck told the commission that more than once, patients cried in her office while sharing their stories. “These accounts were consistent in their tone and content, painting a troubling picture of a physician whose behavior repeatedly crossed the line of professional and ethical conduct,” she wrote to the commission. Tuck told the commission that the woman who filed the October 2023 complaint was among those who described their experiences to her. Tuck said the woman was “visibly shaken and emotional” when she detailed what happened, which, based on Tuck’s retelling, was generally consistent with the woman’s complaint to the medical commission. Another colleague told the commission that Mulholland once told her as a patient was leaving the office, “I bet you were skinny like her when you were pregnant,” and that another time he said he thought he’d seen her driving a BMW and that she looked “hot.” Another said she found Mulholland’s comments about overweight women disrespectful. The claims against Mulholland were piling up. In February and March 2024, Britta Fischer, commission investigator, submitted the 2023 cases for review. What to do next was soon in the hands of commissioners. March-September 2024: A Decision Awaits The medical commission takes its guidance on how to handle allegations against a doctor from Washington statutes, which prohibit physicians from engaging in a range of behavior defined as sexual misconduct. The law bans statements about a patient’s “body, appearance, sexual history, or sexual orientation” except for legitimate purposes of care. The law also bars behavior, gestures or expressions that could “reasonably be interpreted as seductive or sexual.” A doctor can’t remove a patient’s gown or draping unless it’s with a patient’s consent, during emergency care or in a custodial setting. A doctor can’t touch a person’s breasts, genitals, anus or other “sexualized body part” unless it’s “consistent with accepted community standards of practice for examination, diagnosis and treatment and within the health care practitioner’s scope of practice.” Determining whether or not behavior is appropriate can be particularly difficult when it comes to OB-GYNs, said Emily Anderson, professor at Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership and Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. “They have access to our naked bodies as women, to our vaginas, to our breasts,” Anderson said. “They are allowed to do things that we don’t give other people permission to do, and that’s part of their job.” There are standards for physical exams. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Ethics wrote that exams should be explained appropriately, done only with patient consent and “performed with the minimum amount of physical contact required to obtain data for diagnosis and treatment.” State medical boards can also look to patterns of behavior. Two of the three complaints against Mulholland from 2022 through 2023 mentioned movement in and out during pelvic exams, while all three described painful pelvic exams and comments the women considered inappropriate. Three colleagues also had described hearing about or witnessing him making disrespectful or inappropriate remarks, including one who said they were directed at her. OB-GYNs “have access to our naked bodies as women.” Emily Anderson, professor at Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership and Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine Anderson, in a journal article, wrote that it’s common to find repeated, lesser forms of misconduct in the backgrounds of doctors who act egregiously. “For example, sexual violations are nearly always preceded by boundary violations such as inappropriate comments or touching,” the article said. Anderson and her colleagues recommended state regulators consider restricting a doctor’s license for multiple smaller offenses. Stephanie Loucka, executive director of Ohio’s medical board, said that if patterns of misconduct exist, the process will find them — even when an OB-GYN’s actions occur under the guise of legitimate care. Ohio began its overhaul of sexual misconduct investigations seven years ago. “If a complaint gets made, we’re going to work the fact pattern from the assumption that there might be something there, and we’re going to gather the evidence and see where the evidence takes us,” she said. “And it typically takes us clearly one way or the other.” If there’s a threat of immediate harm in cases of sexual misconduct, Loucka said, Ohio moves “with a sense of urgency” to file an emergency suspension. She estimated it has taken the Ohio board from six weeks to nine months to do so. In Washington, the medical commission reviewed the investigator’s reports on the 2023 cases and decided on what it considered an appropriate resolution. It proposed an “informal way of settling” allegations against Mulholland. A heavily redacted May 31, 2024, letter sent to Mulholland’s attorney by the commission does not reveal the terms of the settlement. But the letter said the settlement would not require an admission of “any unprofessional conduct or wrongdoing.” Although settlements appear in the commission’s newsletter with brief summaries, the letter told Mulholland that a settlement would avoid a hearing, typically a public process. All Mulholland had to do was sign. Months passed. Mulholland’s attorney asked for the information gathered about his client, and the commission sent it. A June 2024 deadline for him to accept the agreement passed, as did a subsequent one in August. Nothing in documents released by the commission indicates he signed — or that the commission took any disciplinary action. Mulholland kept seeing patients. 2018-2023: What the Hospital Knew <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="766" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?w=1149" alt="A patient in a hospital gown sits on a medical exam chair. In the foreground, a curtain separates her from a larger male doctor. The viewer can only see the back of his head." class="wp-image-71335" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg 3187w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-Gordon-wash-ob-gyn-back-head.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> Illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica Long before the commission’s investigator filed her report with her superiors, Mulholland’s employer had also heard repeated concerns, according to Kadlec Clinic records acquired by attorneys in a lawsuit against Providence and the clinic. The attorneys submitted the documents as an exhibit in court. (In court filings, Providence and Kadlec denied that they were negligent or that they knew or should have known about the abuse the plaintiffs alleged.) Kadlec’s records in the lawsuit show that the clinic conducted a 2018 human resources investigation into allegations that Mulholland had mocked a co-worker’s sexuality and religion, concluding that it was “more likely than not” the allegations were true. Afterward, the records say, Mulholland’s employer provided him “coaching.” Kadlec’s records also say that the clinic conducted a 2019 workplace investigation into allegations that Mulholland made sex jokes and condescending remarks, displayed discrimination toward women, and challenged a co-worker who complained about him. A labor nurse told a Providence investigator that year that Mulholland had pinched a patient’s labia while she was in labor and asked if she was hurting. A colleague told the nurse that Mulholland had done the same to another patient who was giving birth, according to the labor nurse’s account as written down by the investigator. A different colleague reported to a Kadlec workplace investigator that a patient had disclosed that Mulholland told her to “masturbate more often,” Kadlec records say. Separately, Tuck, the OB-GYN who worked alongside Mulholland, told a Kadlec investigator that a patient disclosed she felt Mulholland had assaulted her but that the woman didn’t report it because she felt no one would believe her. Following the 2019 workplace investigation, Kadlec’s records say, Mulholland’s employer concluded in 2020 that he “engaged in multiple instances of inappropriate behavior” that violated the medical center’s expectations. He was placed on a “behavior agreement” and required to take harassment prevention training. In 2022, Kadlec records show, more emails were sent to clinic leadership alleging that Mulholland was demeaning to patients and co-workers. They described a “toxic work environment” and said management failed to address employees’ concerns about the doctor. Read More Concerned About Your OB-GYN Visit? A Guide to What Should Happen — and What Shouldn’t. Tuck departed the clinic sometime that same year. She later told the medical commission she left because management failed to take action against him. Tuck raised concerns about Mulholland within an email to Chief Medical Officer Rich Meadows in July 2022, writing that patients “felt they had been insulted/assaulted” by Mulholland. Kadlec’s records in the lawsuit show that Tuck had also told a Kadlec workplace investigator in 2019 that the clinic manager, Lisa Mallory, protected Mulholland. In the statement she later gave the state medical commission, Tuck said when she brought concerns about Mulholland to Mallory, she responded, “He’s always been like that.” Mallory, in response to a request for comment from KUOW and ProPublica, said this statement was taken out of context. She declined to say more. Meadows, through a Providence spokesperson, declined to comment. In June 2023, clinic records in the lawsuit say, Kadlec took a phone call from a patient who said Mulholland shoved his two fingers inside of her so hard during a pelvic exam that she felt his knuckles slam up against her vagina and anus. “Rough, jabbing and pushing up, like he was trying to arouse me or something,” according to Kadlec’s narrative describing the woman’s complaint. She told Kadlec that she had alerted Mulholland before the exam that her vagina was prone to tearing and that she experienced vaginal pain with as little as a sneeze or a cough. Kadlec’s summary of the woman’s account said that after a rectal exam, Mulholland told the patient: “Well, you took that surprisingly well. It’s a good thing my fingers are small.” The woman said her body where Mulholland touched her was inflamed for two and a half days. When the commission eventually contacted Mallory as part of the state’s own investigation, the clinic manager acknowledged there had been complaints within Kadlec. She did not seem to give them much credence. “Dr. Mulholland has received his fair share of complaints over the years as have all the other providers here” at the Kadlec clinic, she wrote in a statement to the state board. “From what I have observed, he cares deeply for his patients and has spent his career trying to educate women on their health. They have not always appreciated how he has done that.” September 2024: State’s Investigation Resumes By September 2024, more than two years had elapsed since the state received its first complaint about a pelvic exam performed by Mulholland. Six months had passed since an investigator forwarded her report on two other pelvic exam complaints. That month, the commission learned of a new one. “During examination, he said my vagina was very dry and that my husband wasn’t doing his job,” the woman wrote in her complaint. The woman also described her interaction with Mulholland to a commission investigator. At the appointment, the woman had told a medical assistant that she was concerned about a fishy smell, she said. Upon entering the exam room, she told the investigator, Mulholland said loudly, “Hey, I heard you had a vagina that smells like fish.” When he conducted his physical examination, the woman told the investigator, Mulholland penetrated her with his fingers and was “going in and out” and touching her clitoris. The patient said she asked Mulholland to stop more than once. She was uncomfortable and what Mulholland was doing reminded her of her past sexual abuse, she wrote in her complaint. She said he eventually stopped. Next, according to an investigator’s memo outlining the patient’s interview, Mulholland asked her if she masturbated and if she used sex toys or her fingers to do so. When the patient said she did not, Mulholland encouraged her to purchase some toys and to use them alone, she said. Then, according to the memo describing the woman’s account, Mulholland rubbed her shoulder and said, “You’re too young not to have good sex.” A mandatory reporter filed a complaint supplementing the woman’s filing at around the same time. By that time, the woman’s account brought to four the number of women asserting sexual misconduct by Mulholland since 2022. Counting a woman who reported rude behavior in a submission that was not marked as alleging sexual misconduct and that the commission closed, Mulholland had been named in six complaints. Only 11 licensed physicians and physician assistants were the subject of six or more complaints in that time frame, the commission’s spokesperson said. As of last year, 41,256 people held this type of license in Washington. A week after the mandatory reporter contacted the commission, Kelly Elder, a Washington Medical Commission staff attorney, sent the two pending 2023 cases back to Freda Pace, the commission’s director of investigations. Elder asked Pace to have investigators try and reach people whose statements hadn’t been collected before. Medical commission records show that investigator Britta Fischer also began looking into the new allegation. Fischer’s inquiries produced statements from co-workers attesting to Mulholland’s good character and stating that they were unaware of any concerns raised by patients. Mulholland himself, in a statement his attorney gave to the commission, said he didn’t have a “firm recollection” of the appointment the patient described in her complaint. He said he would never tell a patient anything to the effect that her husband was not doing his job. He said he addresses masturbation with patients who complain of sexual dryness or pain during sex, and he denied stroking the patient’s shoulder in a “suggestive way.” Due to “unjustified allegations,” the statement said, Mulholland had changed the way he worked with patients. The statement said these changes included always trying to have a chaperone present instead of just during physical exams. He also started creating more physical distance from the patient during counseling and exploring “tangential issues, such as sexual health and wellbeing” only when a patient brought them up. “Dr. Mulholland is truly sorry if his previous long-standing practice patterns have caused any patient any type of duress or anguish because of misinterpretation of what Dr. Mulholland was attempting to accomplish — excellent patient care,” the statement sent to the commission said. Still, the commission also had the prior, adverse statements from colleagues and patients. In April 2025, the agency formally accused Mulholland of abuse and unprofessional conduct. (The allegations would later be amended to include sexual misconduct.) Neither the medical commission nor the Washington State Department of Health, which oversees it, posted a news release on their websites. Members of the general public could have learned of the charges — if they knew to search for Mulholland’s name on the Health Department’s “provider credential search” page. Stephanie Mason, spokesperson for the commission, said the statement of charges would also go out to anyone who subscribed to quarterly email updates from the commission. It wasn’t until a June Tri-City Herald story that the commission’s claims seemed to become widely known. The outpouring of new patient complaints that followed echoed what the commission had already heard. “Nobody was listening to me, and I did everything that I should have done.” Torryn Kerley, a former patient who sued Mulholland. Kerley asked to be identified by name for this article. Their accounts included allegations that Mulholland had peeked at their pubic hair under the sheet, physically pulled them down the exam table, used sexual language and performed extremely painful vaginal exams. Two of the women who have filed lawsuits against Mulholland or his employers told KUOW and ProPublica they attended appointments with him after the commission had received multiple complaints and before he agreed to restrictions on his license. One said she was angry she hadn’t heard about allegations against Mulholland sooner. After a hysterectomy, she was directed to see him every four months for a year for pap smears. She saw Mulholland for the last time on May 1, 2025 — two days after the commission filed its allegations against him. She learned about the commission’s case after the media coverage began. “I don’t know if I expected the lady at the counter when you’re checking in to warn you and say, ‘Hey, you’re gonna see Mulholland, and he’s had complaints,’” she said in an interview with KUOW and ProPublica. “I don’t see a company or whatever ever doing that, but it would have been nice to know. I would have picked a different doctor.” Another woman who sued, Torryn Kerley, said she was angry at Kadlec to learn of all the women coming forward in lawsuits after she had already complained to the clinic about Mulholland. “Nobody was listening to me, and I did everything that I should have done,” said Kerley, who asked to be identified by name for this article. “I reported it. I told people about it. I told doctors in the office about it.” Karinen, the medical commission director, said it’s very unusual for the commission to file a statement of charges and then get dozens of complaints in the same vein against that same doctor, as happened with Mulholland. “That’s unheard of,” he said. Mason, the commission spokesperson, cast the arrival of the new complaints as a positive outcome of the action that commissioners took against Mulholland. “That’s what opened the door to these women coming forward, because at that point, really not very many people had said anything at all, by comparison,” Mason said. No date has been set yet for a hearing in which Mulholland can challenge the commission’s allegations against him. The post An OB-GYN Was Repeatedly Accused of Sexual Misconduct. The State Medical Board Let Him Keep Practicing. appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Ashley Hiruko.
Thursday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD
Thursday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4 and was authored by Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4.
“This Is What It Means to Be Minnesotan”: Why My Neighbors Continue to Stand Up Against ICE
The post “This Is What It Means to Be Minnesotan”: Why My Neighbors Continue to Stand Up Against ICE appeared first on ProPublica.
On the day that federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, I ran out of my house with my camera in hand to document the aftermath. As a visuals editor at ProPublica, I spend most of my time at my desk. But I couldn’t ignore this massive story rapidly unfolding in Minneapolis, the city I’ve called home for the past few years. The first thing I photographed that day was a woman trying to calm a man with a hug. “There was a young man right at the police tape, honestly inches away from some of the agents, and he was so angry,” she told me later. “I was getting really scared for him.” Not long after, the scene grew volatile, as federal, state and city police forces tear-gassed and detained protesters in a standoff that lasted for hours. Kristin Heiberg, I learned, is a 64-year-old technical writer, a volunteer at an animal shelter and a cancer survivor. And, like many other people here, she patrols her neighborhood with a whistle, on the lookout for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As I’ve watched the Twin Cities rally to respond to Operation Metro Surge, I’ve wanted to see the one thing I had not: What do these people look like in their day-to-day lives? I wanted to know who they are and what motivated them to patrol their streets, drive strangers to work and provide food and rent money for the families who have been in hiding since the surge began. While media coverage has moved on, and there are fewer ICE agents on the streets, they’re still here, and my neighbors are still providing mutual aid. When I asked Heiberg who she felt was involved, she said: “Everyone in the community. Anyone with a heart.” This is how it has felt to me as well. Whether gathering with friends or ordering coffee or running into a neighbor while walking my dog, every recent conversation has led to the same place: What are you doing to meet this moment? Each of the people I photographed scoffed at the idea that they were paid agitators, or that they were led in their efforts by state or city officials. They said they just wanted to help their neighbors. These are my neighbors, in their city, in their own words. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="752" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman sits with her hands clasped over her leg, looking at the camera. She is on a sofa in the living room of a condo, with several houseplants, paintings on the walls, a full bookshelf and her kitchen in the background." class="wp-image-70544" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260131-DiCampo-ICEMN-006-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> We’re just watching out for our neighbors. If that’s a form of protest, so be it. Kristin Heiberg, who writes software user guides, patrols her neighborhood every day and attends protests and vigils. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman in a dark room looks at the camera. She wears a sweatshirt with an image of an anglerfish and the words “my last day, I think I’ll go see the sun.”" class="wp-image-71520" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260204-DiCampo-ICEMN-005-re-edit_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> I don’t want to be one of those people that sat. I don’t want to be somebody’s history lesson. Libby Blyth is an accountant for an environmental consulting company. She drives people to work who are afraid of being spotted by ICE and delivers food to families in hiding. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="An elderly man and woman stand together outside in the snow, looking at the camera with stern expressions, with a back porch and a house in the background." class="wp-image-69256" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260205-DiCampo-ICEMN-009_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> We’re retired. We have white privilege. We have to be the ones to stand up. Kris Allen is a retired palliative nurse practitioner. She and her husband, Ben, attend weekly prayer vigils for detained people with their church. They have protested at the federal building where ICE holds detainees and participated in sit-ins at Target stores. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="752" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A man and woman stand together in a basement, looking at the camera. Around them are stacks of food, in cardboard boxes on the floor or on tables, and the blurred movement of several people moving and arranging the food." class="wp-image-70546" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-019-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> My parents are immigrants, and they moved here for a better life, but also to give us a better life. And we’re going to continue to support as many families as we can, especially kids. Adan Tepozteco Gavilan owns a barbershop where he and his sister, Anai, started a food drive. They have provided food to hundreds of families. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman stands with her hands in her pockets, looking at the camera, in the living room of her home. Next to her is a small table and small red chair for a child, with toys and books on the table and the floor. Behind her are family photos on the wall." class="wp-image-69259" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260206-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> It just seems so simple. My neighbors need help. And I would hope that if I was in a situation where I needed help, or if I was as scared as these people are, that somebody would help me. Elizabeth Anderson works in performing arts. She arranges for drivers to take kids to school and coordinates food delivery for more than 100 families. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman stands looking at the camera in a brightly lit home. Behind her are neatly stacked books and family photos on a shelf." class="wp-image-69272" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-001_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> People are still putting themselves out there. And it’s for the sake of humanity, and our community, and showing the rest of the U.S. and the world that this is what it means to be Minnesotan. Nasrieen Habib founded Amanah Recreational Project, an organization that promotes outdoor activities for Muslim women. She redirected her organization to provide food and rent assistance. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="752" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman and a man stand together in a dining room. In front of them, a dining room table is covered with snacks, drinks, a pencil holder full of pencils, a laptop and a tablet. On a window next to them, a large sheet of paper is taped up with meeting notes written on it." class="wp-image-70549" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260222-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> It was never a question. Once we knew what was happening, that people were being let out in the freezing cold, it wasn’t an option to leave that gate. Natalie Ehret is an attorney. She and her husband, Noah, founded Haven Watch. The organization provides coats, food, phones and rides to detainees when they are released from federal custody, often with few belongings. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" data-id="71536" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="A head-and-shoulders portrait of a woman in her 20s, looking at the camera with a neutral expression, lit dramatically." class="wp-image-71536" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-re-edit2_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" data-id="69262" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A head-and-shoulders portrait of a man in his 20s, looking at the camera with a neutral expression, lit dramatically." class="wp-image-69262" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-004_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> When they give us their worst, we are giving us our best. Shane Stodolka is a software developer. He and his roommate, Olivia Tracy, say they deliver food to more than 100 families every week. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="752" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A man stands looking at the camera in his living room, with a mirror and a framed photo of a young girl in the background. He wears a sweatshirt that says “perpetual grind” and holds a Star Wars Stormtrooper coffee mug. " class="wp-image-70545" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260203-DiCampo-ICEMN-003-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Legal immigration, illegal immigration? That’s not my call. That’s not my fight. By the time you’re my neighbor, you’re my neighbor. Norman Alston is a high school wrestling coach. When he’s not coaching, he sits outside school, watching for ICE. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman stands looking at the camera with her hands clasped in front of her with a large houseplant behind her." class="wp-image-69276" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-008_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> I need my staff to know that they’re safe. It was crazy networking … but it’s all about feeling safe and vetted. Melissa Borgmann, a cafe owner, organized rides and grocery deliveries for her staff. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="752" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman stands in a bright condo, looking at the camera. A poster that says “Trampled by Turtles” is framed on the wall, and resting against the wall is a protest sign that reads “F*ck ICE.”" class="wp-image-70547" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260208-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> We’re all sort of getting through this together. We don’t have formal leaders in these groups. Jen Suek is a project manager in the health care field. She patrols her neighborhood and local schools, and she vets her neighborhood Signal chat. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A man stands with his hands in his pockets looking at the camera, in a snow-covered parking lot. In the background, people load boxes of food into cars." class="wp-image-69279" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220-DiCampo-ICEMN-002_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> I think that’s the true identity of Minnesota: peaceful protesting, caring about their neighbors and stepping up to the plate. Not waiting for the government to help. Sergio Amezcua is pastor at Dios Habla Hoy church in south Minneapolis. Since early December, the church has provided food to thousands of people. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1127" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman sits in a dark room, looking at the camera, wearing a red floral print dress." class="wp-image-69277" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2001w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1151 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1025,1536 1025w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1294 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,790 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1127 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1723 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1199 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260216-DiCampo-ICEMN-011-RE-EDIT_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2399 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> I call [my friends] and I say: ‘Please think positive. This is going away very soon.’ And they say, ‘OK, thank you for staying positive.’ And then I turn off the phone, and I start crying. Jianeth Riera Lazo is the chef at a Minneapolis cafe. She helped connect friends and family members in need of food and rental assistance to people who could provide it. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="752" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman sits in a basement gym, wearing a sweatshirt and athletic pants. She is reflected in a mirror on the wall behind her. There are lines of weights and other gym equipment and a neon sign that says “squeeze your butt.”" class="wp-image-70548" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260212-DiCampo-ICEMN-012-1x1_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> It’s an unspoken bond, to stick up for what’s right, knowing that something might happen to us in the meantime. … And I truly think that this will continue, this bond. Missy Dietrich is a personal trainer. She patrols her neighborhood, regularly protests at the federal building where ICE holds detainees and volunteers at a food pantry. The post “This Is What It Means to Be Minnesotan”: Why My Neighbors Continue to Stand Up Against ICE appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Peter DiCampo.
This Sheriff Says His Department Eliminated Racial Bias. Data Shows Otherwise.
The post This Sheriff Says His Department Eliminated Racial Bias. Data Shows Otherwise. appeared first on ProPublica.
In one talk radio appearance after another, Sheriff Jerry Sheridan has declared that his department had eliminated the racial bias that plagued it under his former boss Joe Arpaio. As a result, he’s quick to add, a landmark racial profiling court case dictating much of what the Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff’s department does should be dismissed. “I believe we are in compliance with the court order. We’re not a racist organization, and we don’t racial profile,” he said on Phoenix-area talk radio in March 2025. In May, he told the same radio host: “Is the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office racially profiling or are they racially biased? We have documentation for well over 10 years that that is not the case.” His evidence for ending oversight stemming from Melendres v. Arpaio, the federal case whose 2013 settlement imposed parameters the department has operated under ever since, was a monthly sampling of a few dozen traffic stops. The settlement requires deputies to document each stop in exacting detail. The report, analyzed by a court-appointed monitor, showed individual deputies had not used race to initiate that limited sample of traffic stops. But annual reviews of every traffic stop or arrest of a Latino driver have repeatedly contradicted Sheridan’s claim. With the exception of one year, each of the past 10 reports showed disparities affecting Latino drivers. The latest, covering 2024, found, “Stops involving Hispanic drivers were more likely to result in an arrest than stops involving White drivers.” Under Sheriff Arpaio, deputies began in 2007 to use traffic stops to arrest people on immigration charges, illegally racially profiling Latinos in the process. When the constitutional violations spurred the Melendres lawsuit, a judge found they were so widespread that he included the county’s more than 1 million Latino residents as plaintiffs in the case. Fallout from it ended Arpaio’s political career. Sheridan, a Republican, was Arpaio’s second-in-command. During his campaign for sheriff in 2024, Sheridan pledged to cooperate with the court-appointed monitor. He predicted that the judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow, would be pleased to see him back in the courtroom given his understanding of the settlement. He could hit the ground running and bring the case to a close, Sheridan said. In June 2025, the latest report finding bias against Latino drivers was released. Months later, in October, Sheridan was back on the radio repeating his argument: “There has been no racial profiling or bias in well over 10 years, and that’s the gist of this lawsuit. The judge didn’t want MCSO to racially profile or be biased, and we have proven time and time again that the deputies are not.” Latino activists and residents who endured the racial profiling and anti-immigrant policing of the Arpaio era tracked Sheridan’s first year as sheriff with growing alarm. They remembered that as chief deputy, Sheridan was caught on camera telling deputies that court-mandated reforms were “ludicrous” and “crap.” (He later apologized to the judge.) They also pointed out that Sheridan staffed his administration with key figures from Arpaio’s time. The activists and residents said their concerns were also rooted in the reality of the second Trump administration. As Sheridan took office, President Donald Trump was initiating plans for mass deportations. Trump tasked Immigration and Customs Enforcement with expanding local law enforcement’s involvement in street and workplace operations. If the case ended now, Sheridan would be free to join forces with ICE, critics said. Without the court to keep it in check, the Sheriff’s Office could backslide. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A suburban street flanked by large electrical poles supporting many rows of wires. Above them is a cloudy blue sky." class="wp-image-71687" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250925-Rieser-287g-30_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> The town of Guadalupe, Arizona, was a frequent target of immigration sweeps and patrols when Joe Arpaio was Maricopa County sheriff. The anxiety and anger were evident in the town of Guadalupe in February 2025, as Sheridan arrived for his first court-mandated public meeting as sheriff. Guadalupe was among the communities most affected by Arpaio’s immigration patrols and workplace raids. Residents, who were there to receive an update on the court case, greeted the new sheriff with signs saying, “Deport Jerry Sheridan,” and “We belong together not separated.” The court-appointed monitor, Robert Warshaw, told the crowd inside an elementary school cafeteria that Sheridan had requested that the meeting be canceled, citing safety concerns related to ongoing anti-ICE protests around metro Phoenix. (The request was denied.) This angered the residents. Their frustration grew as Warshaw noted that although the Sheriff’s Office was complying with more than 90% of the settlement, it fell short in two critical areas: continued racial disparities in traffic stops and failure to quickly investigate misconduct claims against deputies. Long delays in such investigations discouraged the public from reporting wrongdoing by deputies, attorneys and advocates said. When it was Sheridan’s time to speak, he addressed the doubters, citing the sample of traffic stops that showed deputies didn’t use race to initiate traffic stops. He has also noted that the department is prioritizing the investigation of deputy misconduct complaints from Latino residents. “The judge wants bias-free policing, and I want bias-free policing,” Sheridan said. “All I can ask from all of you in this room, the people that live in this community, and the 4.6 million people in Maricopa County, is to let me show you by actions the things that I have said and the fact that we all want bias-free police.” Joel Cornejo, a community activist from south Phoenix who had protested Sheridan’s arrival, told the sheriff that he’d come of age during Arpaio’s raids. He said he was skeptical that Sheridan would fully comply with the lawsuit. “We learned to fight your department,” Cornejo said. “We destroyed Joe Arpaio’s career. And if you target our community, we will do the same to your career.” Sheridan repeated his pledge to show them the department had truly changed. “I need that opportunity from you, to give me that chance,” he said. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="766" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1149" alt="A young man wearing a black cowboy hat and black graphic T-shirt is seated at a small round table in a living room with a wine rack and sugar skulls behind him." class="wp-image-71680" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7257_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> South Phoenix community activist Joel Cornejo is skeptical that the new sheriff will comply with court orders in the racial profiling lawsuit. Sheridan’s victory in the sheriff’s race capped a comeback that began after Arpaio lost reelection in 2016. Under Arpaio, Sheridan rose through the ranks to chief of custody in 1999, running the county’s jails. In 2010, Arpaio elevated him to chief deputy, helping oversee the entire department. He held the job for six years. During those years, Snow later ruled, the Sheriff’s Office illegally enforced federal immigration laws, violated residents’ constitutional rights and ignored the judge’s orders to end these practices. Sheridan tried to distance himself from the controversies that led to Arpaio’s defeat, rarely speaking of his former boss. He maintained that the immigration sweeps and patrols were carried out by a separate division while he was focused on running the jails. Sheridan stands by his work as detention chief, which included supervising 60 detention officers certified through an ICE program known as 287(g), allowing the department to process people in its jails for deportation. Maricopa County remains the only Arizona county to provide office space for ICE agents in its jails. Arpaio’s efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants began under the same 287(g) agreement, which also allowed local officers to question individuals’ immigration status during routine policing. Sheridan says he disagreed with Arpaio’s tactics and tried to persuade him to not target day laborers or set up patrols in mostly Latino communities like Guadalupe. (Arpaio told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica that he considered enforcing immigration laws to be part of his job.) During a 2015 court hearing, Sheridan denied that he knew about a 2011 preliminary injunction — issued while he was Arpaio’s chief deputy — barring the Sheriff’s Office from making immigration arrests. He didn’t learn about the injunction until 2014, Sheridan said. Evidence presented in court showed Sheridan had been notified starting in 2011. Snow accused Sheridan and Arpaio of “deliberately” violating the order, withholding evidence and failing to investigate and discipline deputy misconduct, among other things. “Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Deputy Sheridan are the authors of the manipulation and misconduct that has prevented the fair, uniform, and appropriate application of discipline on MCSO employees,” Snow wrote in a 2016 ruling. He held them in civil contempt of court. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1026" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="A document from a court ruling highlighting the sentence: “Nevertheless, as the Findings of Fact make clear, Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Deputy Sheridan are the authors of the manipulation and misconduct that has prevented the fair, uniform, and appropriate application of discipline on MCSO employees as that misconduct pertains to the members of the Plaintiff class.”" class="wp-image-71747" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 2199w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=220,300 220w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,1048 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=751,1024 751w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1126,1536 1126w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1501,2048 1501w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,1177 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,576 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,753 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,761 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,719 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,1026 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,1568 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1173,1600 1173w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,546 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,1091 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,1637 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,2183 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snow-documents_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,2729 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow ruled in 2016 that then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his chief deputy at the time, Jerry Sheridan, were ultimately responsible for the department’s conduct. Obtained and highlighted by ProPublica “I don’t even remember exactly why the judge held me in contempt of the court — what exactly he used against me,” Sheridan told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica. “He didn’t think that I was truthful because I wasn’t aware of something. And I was very truthful.” Arpaio did not endorse Sheridan’s 2024 bid for sheriff and has declined to talk about him while hinting at a falling-out. “I made a couple mistakes, which are management mistakes,” Arpaio told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica. “I may have appointed a couple of wrong people. But in managing, you try to back up your people and so on. So, in any big organization, you can’t be perfect.” Sheridan filled key leadership positions in his administration with former colleagues who worked under Arpaio and who, like Sheridan, had left the Sheriff’s Office after Arpaio lost reelection. Sheridan appointed retired Sgt. Clint Doyle to the Court Implementation Division, which is responsible for enforcing the court’s mandates. And he rehired Paul Chagolla, who ran public relations at the time of Arpaio’s raids and sweeps. Snow criticized Doyle’s appointment, calling out Sheridan for attempting to bypass a court requirement that key leadership roles dealing with the Melendres settlement be approved by the monitor. Doyle and Chagolla didn’t respond to requests for comment. Christine Wee, the lead attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica that it was alarming to see so many from Arpaio’s administration return. “These folks were instrumental in the abuse and the terror that so many of our clients had to experience,” she said. “And then to bring them back in again, I think it sends a dangerous message to the community.” Sheridan acknowledges the criticism, but points to improvements like significantly reducing the misconduct complaints backlog. “From the sins of the previous administration, we’re now three different sheriffs since then, and some people just don’t want to let go.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" data-id="71685" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="Three women seated in an audience in a white room with a whiteboard and an American flag on the wall behind them." class="wp-image-71685" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-110_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" data-id="71683" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="Five uniformed sheriff’s officers standing at the front of a large meeting space." class="wp-image-71683" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-106_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Residents of Gila Bend, Arizona, at a March 2025 town hall with Sheridan and other representatives of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Since Sheridan took office last January, Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica have attended seven of his public appearances, reviewed his public remarks and interviewed him on three occasions. During that time, his assertions that the department had done enough to justify ending court oversight grew bolder, and Republican allies amplified his efforts. “It’s about time that the public gets over some of the things that happened well over a decade ago and to realize the deputy sheriffs that work in their community are really good law enforcement officers,” he told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica in a March 2025 interview. Ending the settlement would eliminate the near-constant recordkeeping tasks deputies face while on duty, including documenting 13 details about each traffic stop. This hampers their “ability to do the job,” Sheridan said, and discourages interacting with the public. Deputies fear prolonging a traffic stop, even for a brief chat, will lead to discipline. “If they see somebody walking down the street, they can’t just pull over and say, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’” Sheridan told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica. “Every time they contact a member of the public, it is a lengthy process. And so it slows them down and it intimidates them not to want to do it.” Last March, Sheridan began organizing meetings, in addition to the court-ordered gatherings, in rural communities policed by the Sheriff’s Office. In Gila Bend, a town of about 1,800 southwest of Phoenix, Sheridan said he wanted to hear about locals’ needs. The town pays more than $900,000 a year to the Sheriff’s Office for public safety services. “I’m a good leader and our deputies are responsive to your needs,” Sheridan told the group inside a community center. “And that’s really what this is all about, right? The sheriff’s main job is to keep people safe.” A slide displayed data about traffic stops, calls for service and dispatch times. “For the population that’s here in Gila Bend, for the number of violent crimes — at least the ones that are notated here -– you guys are a very safe community,” a sheriff’s office lieutenant told the group. The town’s vice mayor, Chris Riggs, a former deputy himself, disagreed. Crimes weren’t being reported, making the town seem safer than it is, he said. Residents “just don’t trust MCSO anymore,” Riggs said. “They’ll deal with it themselves.” Several residents agreed. No deputies live in Gila Bend, where response times lag and police services have suffered, they said. “Deputies aren’t like they used to be, where they get out and they mingle with the community,” Riggs said. Sheridan blamed the settlement for overburdening the department. Ten days later, residents of Aguila, an unincorporated community nestled among farms where the population swells to about 1,000 during the winter growing season, told the sheriff they too felt neglected by deputies. “We have 9,224 square miles to cover” and limited resources, Sheridan said. Sheridan has tried to address this. When he took office, there were about 140 vacancies for patrol deputies. He raised starting pay to compete with other local law enforcement agencies in the county. By the start of 2026, vacancies declined to 65, according to his office. Sheridan called it one of his biggest successes in his first year. But hiring was still hindered by the paperwork deputies do to comply with the settlement, he said. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="766" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1149" alt="A seated man wears a black cowboy hat, tan vest, white dress shirt and blue jeans. Other people are seated behind him, and off to the side a projector glows." class="wp-image-71684" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20250325-Rieser-MaricopaCountySheriff-108_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> Sheridan at a meeting in Gila Bend, where some residents said they had lost trust in the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office has made significant progress on a key requirement of the court: reducing the backlog of misconduct investigations. Although it has been cut by 76% since November 2022, there are still about 475 claims that haven’t been investigated, and three recently completed investigations dated from 2017. In June, the Sheriff’s Office released the court-mandated traffic stop report for 2024. It tracked some improvements. But when all traffic stops by deputies were analyzed, the report concluded: “Stops involving Hispanic drivers were more likely to result in an arrest than stops involving White drivers”; and traffic stops involving Black drivers, who are not covered in the Melendres settlement, were more likely to take longer and result in an arrest compared to stops of white drivers. Despite the findings, Sheridan insisted there was no racial profiling at the department. In July, the court’s monitor team held another community meeting to review the Sheriff’s Office’s progress. It was in Maryvale, a West Phoenix neighborhood where three-quarters of the residents identify as Latino. Before it began, Sheridan told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica that while he remained committed to reaching full compliance with the court’s requirements, a majority of Republicans on the county’s governing board “have a different perspective because they’re the ones that fund what the sheriff does.” Three members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors were at the meeting. Latino residents and advocates from the heavily Democratic area typically made up a majority of attendees. But this crowd was mostly white Republicans, including some from retirement communities miles away. From the front of the gym, Sheridan could see signs that read, “We support MCSO,” and, “Take the handcuffs off Jerry!” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" data-id="71678" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A yellowy orange house in a suburban neighborhood on a cloudy day." class="wp-image-71678" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, 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https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7093_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" data-id="71679" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A grouping of ten slender prayer candles in sand." class="wp-image-71679" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, 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https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7122_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> The West Phoenix neighborhood of Maryvale is predominantly Latino. Residents from other parts of Maricopa County, many of them white, filled a community meeting to call for court oversight of the Sheriff’s Office to end. Republican Supervisor Debbie Lesko, who represents retirement communities in western parts of the metro area, said she believed the settlement was getting in the way of public safety. “They’re spending a lot of time on paperwork instead of being able to provide public safety. And when I talked to the sheriff’s department, they said it’s hurting the morale of the deputies.” When Latino residents asked questions and voiced concerns, they were interrupted by jeers and groans from white members of the audience. Warshaw, the court monitor, pleaded for the crowd to allow others to speak. Sheridan’s supporters focused on $350 million the county supervisors had approved since 2013 to implement the court-mandated reforms, including $226 million allocated to the Sheriff’s Office. The monitor later found that the Sheriff’s Office had greatly exaggerated total expenses, and the judge cautioned county leaders against citing the dollar figure because it was misleading. “Mr. Warshaw, tell the judge to stop looting Maricopa County tax dollars to pay for that oversight,” Tom Berry, a retiree from Sun City, said to the monitor. “Advise the judge to stop the oversight.” The case hinges on how well the Sheriff’s Office complies with 368 paragraphs outlined in four court orders aimed at rooting out racial profiling, Warshaw responded. “Is there still work to be done? Yes, there is still work to be done. Is this thing going to go on forever? No.” “It looks like it,” a woman blurted. Salvador Reza is a longtime organizer of Latino communities and day laborers who regularly attends meetings related to the settlement. He said it appeared Republicans were organizing to call for an immediate end to court oversight, which Sheridan would welcome. “That’s what he’s hoping, that the federal court lets him off the hook so he can do whatever he wants,” Reza said, noting he was concerned by Sheridan’s history with Arpaio and approach to the case since taking office. “So there’s no way that we can rebuild trust in the community knowing very well who Sheridan is.” Sheridan denied he had coordinated with the supervisors to publicly call for an end to the settlement. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="766" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1149" alt="A man speaks into a microphone in a dark room. A projection screen behind him displays the headline “Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Stop Analysis” above a pie chart and a number of bullet points, but the text is too small to read." class="wp-image-71682" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7839_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> The most recent annual report on the Sheriff’s Office showed improvements but also found that “stops involving Hispanic drivers were more likely to result in an arrest than stops involving White drivers.” Months later, debate over the settlement’s cost came to a head. Community members asked for details about how the $226 million the sheriff’s department had attributed to enforcing the settlement was spent. The monitor’s team published a report in October that concluded the Sheriff’s Office had greatly exaggerated the cost. More than $163 million, about 72%, of the total attributed to the reforms was unrelated or lacked justification, the report found. Sheridan attacked the audit. “These guys are not CPAs, they don’t have the experience to do an audit of a huge government operation,” he said on the conservative talk radio show where he regularly appeared. “The sheriff’s budget is about $700 million a year, and the county’s budget is a couple of billion. They don’t have the expertise to do this, and so they come up with this report.” He listed some expenses, including an order to create and staff new divisions. “We have three Ph.D.s that are analysts, and all of this has led to the fact that there has been no racial profiling or bias in well over 10 years, and that’s the gist of this lawsuit.” Sheridan’s attorneys petitioned the court to dispute the audit but later dropped the challenge, saying the county wanted to avoid additional “unnecessary” expenses. The audit reinforced many Latino community members’ belief that the agency couldn’t be trusted. After the raucous gathering in Maryvale, advocates alleged there had been an effort to intimidate Latino residents, including the use of racial insults in a forum intended to gather their input and check on the Sheriff’s Office’s progress. Judge Snow held the next public meeting at the federal courthouse. He acknowledged the increasingly vocal opposition to the settlement and its costs, but defended it as necessary. “This is not an easy case. It is an expensive case. It is a case where everybody in Maricopa County has benefited, whether or not they appreciate it,” Snow said, before noting there was still work to do resolving the backlog of misconduct reports. “Sheriff Sheridan has done a considerable amount in reducing the backlog he was left with, but there is still a considerable backlog to be resolved.” Sheridan conceded the settlement had made his office better, even if it sometimes caused friction. Still, attorneys for the Sheriff’s Office and the county government argued to Snow that they had done enough to end his oversight. In December, the county filed a motion to sidestep the remaining reforms and end court supervision. Sheridan’s attorneys signed onto the motion in January. “After 14 years, four sheriffs, and hundreds of millions spent tax dollars, it is essential to defend taxpayer money if federal oversight is no longer warranted,” Thomas Galvin, the Republican chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors at the time, said in a video statement released after the motion was filed. Attorneys representing Latino residents in the Melendres case opposed the bid to end court oversight. Snow has yet to rule on the motion. Raul Piña, a member of a court-mandated Community Advisory Board tasked with helping the Sheriff’s Office rebuild trust with Latinos, said the push to end oversight ignored a plain fact: The most comprehensive data still showed the department hadn’t eliminated bias from its policing. “If Melendres goes away, that takes away significant protections for brown and Black people or the immigrant community in Maricopa County,” he said. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1708" width="2560" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=2560" alt="A man wearing a flannel shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat speaks into a microphone from a stage to a crowd of people in a large, dimly lit meeting space with a projector display on the back wall." class="wp-image-71681" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/17A7802_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> Sheridan addresses Latino faith leaders and residents at a February town hall in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert. Since it joined the Melendres case and settlement in 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice had supported the reforms. But with Trump back in the White House, Suraj Kumar, an attorney in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, informed Snow in January that the DOJ backed efforts to end oversight of the Sheriff’s Office. This added to Latino community leaders’ worries that the Sheriff’s Office could once again, as it had under Arpaio, partner with ICE and allow deputies to enforce immigration laws. Sheridan tried to put those concerns to rest, saying that if court oversight ended, he would not enter such an agreement. But the questions grew louder as ICE surged into Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis to carry out mass deportations. Phoenix was reportedly next. After a U.S. citizen was killed during ICE operations in Minnesota, Sheridan was asked on a conservative radio talk show what he would do if something similar happened in Arizona. His deputies would step in if ICE agents did anything “illegal,” Sheridan said in the mid-January interview. Four days later, Sheridan backtracked, saying he would instead side with immigration officers: “I will be here to protect them to do that and keep people from interfering with them.” Cornejo, the community activist who attended the meeting in Guadalupe, read the reversal as a sign that Sheridan was too easily swayed and could not be trusted without court oversight. “Facing a crowd that tends to lean to the left, he’s going to give rhetoric that kind of says that he’s working on those things that he’s supposed to be,” Cornejo said. “If he’s with more conservatives, his language and rhetoric is completely different.” Sheridan said that his position has not changed and that he “firmly believes that the Sheriff’s Office is in full compliance and that the current oversight should be concluded.” Later that month, ICE raided 15 metro Phoenix restaurants that federal prosecutors alleged had knowingly hired undocumented laborers. Protests erupted outside some of the raided restaurants. Sheridan sent deputies to help with crowd control, saying ICE had first asked Tempe police for assistance but the request was declined. “We went out there, not to facilitate what ICE was doing or get involved in their business, because we don’t do that,” Sheridan told Latino faith leaders and residents at a February town hall in the suburb of Gilbert. “We were there to keep the peace.” The Tempe Police Department told Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica that it did not receive a request for help from ICE, nor was it notified in advance of the immigration operation. ICE did not respond to a question about local law enforcement participation in the raids. Latino activists said the episode raised more questions about Sheridan’s willingness to collaborate with ICE and whether he would be transparent about his intentions. It would be harder for him to earn back their trust, they said. The post This Sheriff Says His Department Eliminated Racial Bias. Data Shows Otherwise. appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Rafael Carranza.
Iran was already running out of water. Then came the ‘war on infrastructure.’
Drought, a legacy of overpumping, and now military strikes are driving the country’s fragile water and food systems to the brink.
Last week, following attacks on critical energy and water facilities escalating, the Israeli-U.S. war in Iran entered a new stage. “Now the war on infrastructure has started,” said Kaveh Madani, a water researcher at the United Nations University and former deputy vice president of Iran. On March 18, Israel struck the South Pars gas field in Iran, the largest natural gas field in the world. Iran is heavily dependent on South Pars for its energy supply; by some estimates, the field accounts for 90 percent of the country’s domestic energy use. The assault on South Pars kicked off a series of retaliatory attacks from Iran on energy facilities throughout the region, including an aerial strike that caused considerable damage to Ras Laffan, a sprawling liquified natural gas facility in Qatar — the world’s largest LNG export hub. About one fifth of the globe’s LNG supply comes from this plant, according to Bloomberg. Qatar’s energy minister said the damage could take three to five years to repair. This escalation in hostilities has added more pressure to an already fraught situation affecting the energy industry in the Persian Gulf, which will continue to have implications both regionally and worldwide. The price of Brent crude, considered the global benchmark of crude oil prices, spiked after the South Pars attack, reaching nearly $120 per barrel. It has since fallen a bit, to just under $100 per barrel. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="A man walks on rocks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?resize=1200%2C674&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?resize=330%2C185&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?resize=1536%2C863&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP26070516536942.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="899" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The war in Iran could plunge the world into hunger Ayurella Horn-Muller But another casualty of the attacks on infrastructure is water security. Even before oil and gas facilities became targets of war, water desalination plants in the Gulf were being struck. In a region with scarce freshwater, these plants deliver clean drinking water to millions — particularly in Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, where roughly half or more of their total water supply comes from desalination. The threat of future damage to these key operations looms over the Arabian Peninsula. Over the weekend, following the attacks on oil and gas facilities, President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran: reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or the U.S. would destroy the nation’s power plants. Iran responded by threatening to demolish energy and water systems throughout the Gulf if Trump went after Iranian energy. Although negotiations between the United States and Iran appear to be ongoing behind closed doors, on Wednesday, March 25, Iranian officials rejected Trump’s offer for a cease-fire agreement. With no indication of just how long the war might last, conditions in Iran and throughout the Gulf may continue to deteriorate. Iran is no stranger to water scarcity — the country has a history of water challenges both inciting social unrest in urban areas as well as clashes between farmers in more rural settings. With its arid climate, poor water management practices, and rapid population growth, Iran is already one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. The country has been facing an unprecedented climate-charged drought for the last six years. That limited rainfall has collided with Iran’s legacy of overpumping water from aquifers and reservoirs. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265402730.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="a group of farm workers kneel harvesting crops in a field, with their wheelbarrows nearby (and covered with cloths) and black smoke billowing in the distance behind them" data-caption="Farm workers harvest crops as smoke billows after overnight airstrikes on oil depots on March 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. " data-credit="Majid Saeedi / Getty Images"/> Farm workers harvest crops as smoke billows after overnight airstrikes on oil depots on March 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Majid Saeedi / Getty Images All this means that the country is in a state of “water bankruptcy,” a concept that Madani developed roughly 10 years ago to describe how Iran’s unchecked water use is outpacing its diminishing water resources. By and large, though, Iran is much less vulnerable to attacks on desalination plants than other countries in the Gulf. Most of those countries “have a very small number of very critically important desalination plants and they can very easily be damaged,” said Peter Gleick, a co-founder and senior fellow of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California. “That’s a serious worry. … They have no long-term storage. There’s no large reservoirs. There’s no alternatives.” However, that doesn’t mean that Iran is completely immune to attacks on its water security — which may have spillover effects on its food security. Only a small fraction of Iran’s water supply comes from desalination plants. But strikes on its power plants would indeed hamper the country’s water supply, said Madani. Without electricity, water treatment operations could not run. When ships and oil tankers in the Gulf are struck, the contamination from those attacks (such as oil spills) could derail Iranian fisheries and aquaculture — although so far, this is hasn’t happened yet, said David Michel, a senior associate with the Global Food and Water Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. On land, food producers face other potential challenges: When drones or missiles strike certain Iranian facilities — such as weapons factories, some of which are in close enough range of farms — the explosions that can result from those attacks often contain things like PFAS, propellants, and other toxic chemicals. Those substances could leech into agricultural soils nearby, creating problems for both farmers and consumers down the line. The economic impacts of the war can also indirectly affect farmers. Since March 3, the state has banned all food and agricultural exports in what looks like an attempt to bolster its domestic food supplies during wartime, said Michel. But that “distorts incentives for production and consumption,” he added, “and that will have impacts on agricultural systems and food security,” potentially leading to higher inflation on food prices, which was a burden for Iranians before the current conflict. Madani and other experts have argued that in order to rehabilitate its water system, Iran will need to shift agricultural production from specialty crops like pistachios to staple crops like wheat and other grains. Currently, Iran imports a significant amount of these cereals. Gleick added that, should the country’s water expenditures continue to exceed its water resources, Iran may become more reliant on desalination plants in the future, which would have its own knock-on effects. For instance, Gleick said, “You then have to spend energy to move that water to the big cities.” Like climate change, the war in the Gulf has only increased pressure on Iran’s water and agricultural systems, said Madani. “If your system is already inefficient, it becomes even more difficult during the war,” he said. He agreed that positive change is possible, but unlikely in the short-term — as long as hostilities are ongoing. “During war, you are only thinking about surviving.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Iran was already running out of water. Then came the ‘war on infrastructure.’ on Mar 26, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Frida Garza.
In Texas, Corpus Christi’s water crisis may be a glimpse into the future
A 5-year drought, a failed desalination plant, and poor planning may force the city to choose between residents and the oil and gas industry.
When Thiago Campos bought the Mr. Fancy Pants Carwash business in Corpus Christi, Texas three years ago, he wasn’t thinking about drought. He was familiar with varnishes and waxes, and enjoyed figuring out which kind of soap would best remove local dirt. “I’m a chemical engineer, Campos said. “I felt like the carwash matched my skill set.” But Mr. Fancy Pants, with its two locations, could soon face an existential crisis. Last week, Corpus Christi’s city manager announced that it may enter a water emergency as soon as May. The city’s two main reservoirs — Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi — are just 8.4 percent full, while the backup reservoir, 100 miles away, is 55 percent full. Without drastic cuts, the water supply for the more than 500,00 residents of the Corpus Christi area could run dry by early next year. “To be honest,” Campos said, “I bought [the carwash] without really understanding what I was buying into.” Although it might seem like the city has been abruptly pushed to the brink of disaster, experts say years of faulty planning have brought Corpus Christi to this point. Plans for the proposed Inner Harbor seawater desalination plant, which would have drawn from the Gulf of Mexico, fell apart in September as cost estimates crept up from an estimated $160 million in 2019 to $1.2 billion. Inflation, tariffs, and supply shortages all drove the cost of construction up, but the scope of the project also expanded. Further complicating things: the plant faced pushback over environmental concerns — a study from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi found that discharge from the plant would raise salinity in the bay and cause harm to marine ecosystems. Although Corpus Christi’s residents are under drought restrictions, which prohibit people from watering their lawns, the city has not asked industrial facilities to look into ways of conserving water after the plans for the desalination plant collapsed. Corpus Christi is one of the largest petrochemical hubs in the United States, and oil, gas, and other industrial facilities account for between 50 to 60 percent of the city’s water usage. One enormous plastics plant owned by ExxonMobil and Saudi Arabia, used just under 5 billion gallons of water in 2024 alone. In February, city officials voted to restart planning for a desalination plant with a new contractor, arguing it was the only way to ensure Corpus Christi’s long-term health. But Robert Mace, a hydrologist and the executive director of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, warned that even under a best-case scenario, a plant is unlikely to come online until 2028. Corpus Christi is also drilling an emergency wellfield, in an attempt to pump groundwater into the Nueces River, which feeds into Lake Corpus Christi. But it also might not be enough to prevent the city from declaring a water emergency in the coming months. Officials have stated that a Level 1 water emergency would require a 25 percent reduction in water use, but there are no clear plans how those cuts will be implemented and enforced. The years of delays may prove catastrophic. The drought plaguing Texas has stretched out for five years now, with no end in sight. “At some point it’ll rain — hopefully, knock on wood,” Mace said. “And people will look back and throw shade on everybody that pushed the desalination project. But they’ll forget how scary things look today.” According to researchers, this kind of crisis may be a glimpse into the future, even for cities that don’t consider themselves water stressed. “What we’re seeing in Corpus Christi is really not an isolated crisis,” said Shannon Marquez, a professor at Columbia Water Center, a research institute at Columbia University. “It’s very consistent with how things are going to unfold if we don’t start to plan.” Water stress is a dilemma that will affect “almost everyone,” said Sara Hughes, a senior policy researcher studying water at the RAND Corporation, a global think tank. Cities that aren’t used to thinking about water conservation, not surprisingly, tend to be the most unprepared when drought does hit. Hughes said that coastal communities will increasingly need to scramble to construct desalination plants as sea levels rise and saltwater intrusion contaminates aquifers. “It’s really easy to kick the can down the line,” Hughes said. “We have competing demands on budgets, it’s a lot easier to pay for something tomorrow, than to pay for what’s maybe coming next year.” Nobody wants to be the one to build a billion-dollar desalination plant, Mace explained, “and then it rains.” Melbourne, Australia found itself in a similar situation toward the end of the country’s devastating millennium drought in 2007. The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital city, opted to build a desalination plant, but nearly as soon as work on it began, rain started coming down relentlessly — so much rain that it delayed construction. The plant was eventually finished in 2012 but many have blamed the project for saddling the state of Victoria with heavy debts. When record droughts hit, public trust is critical to reducing water demand, according to Hughes. “You’re going to be asking people to monitor and engage with their water in new ways. You’re going to be asking them to support investment and get on board with [austerity].” In Corpus Christi, residents have told reporters that they feel like the city has prioritized the petrochemical industry over their lives. “The city needs to tell industry: we need to give our people water,” Hillcrest resident Mona Lytle told the Texas Tribune. “[The refineries are] getting water first, and we’re second.” Should Corpus Christi’s city officials eventually restrict the petrochemical industry’s water use, oil and gas executives have warned it could further raise gas prices, which are already approaching record highs as a result of the war with Iran. In the end, city officials may have little choice but to prioritize the people who voted them into office. A partial industry shut down could “maybe free up water for health and human safety,” Mace said. “I mean, they have to consider shutting down industry to avoid having to evacuate the city.” As for Campos, the owner of Mr. Fancy Pants Carwash, he’s worried about his business and trying to prepare for the worst. Other carwash chains, such as the private-equity owned Quick Quack chain, have faced heightened scrutiny for wasting water as the crisis has worsened. Campos is looking into whether his business could draw well water, rather than pulling from reservoirs as the rest of the city does. He’s also joined an alliance of carwash companies that works to conserve water. For the moment though, Campos feels set adrift. “I know my employees are concerned about their jobs,” he said. “Those are the facts. Everything else is speculation.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline In Texas, Corpus Christi’s water crisis may be a glimpse into the future on Mar 26, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Rebecca Egan McCarthy.
Modern agriculture is collapsing under climate change. Indigenous farming has answers.
A new global review reveals a critical “gap between advocacy and evidence” when it comes to scaling traditional agriculture to fight climate change.
In the last five years, Indigenous agriculture has received attention in academia as an alternative model, though on a smaller scale, to modern farming systems. Research has shown that some traditional farming systems, such as growing maize, beans and squash together, protect soil health, reduce biodiversity loss and support Indigenous knowledge, known as traditional ecological knowledge. How many of these elements from traditional farming can successfully translate into larger crop production models, when little research defines their economic value, is a question Kamaljit Sangha, a researcher in ecological economics at Charles Darwin University, wanted to explore in a new study published earlier this month in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. “How do we take it from the perspective where there are holistic and multiple values [of Indigenous farming], which are mostly hidden in the current way of measuring the importance of these food systems?” said Sangha. “The key message we wanted to get out is that if we highlight the non-monetary values of these food systems, we hope that this can attract more attention from policy decision makers and governments to support these indigenous peoples and local communities’ food systems.” When assessing how many publications include rigorous empirical evidence to measure potential scalability and sustainability for Indigenous farming systems against mainstream agriculture, “there is a gap between advocacy and evidence,” the report read. In the study, Sangha and Charles Darwin University researchers found that when reviewing 49 published research articles on Indigenous peoples and local communities, known as IPLCs, most literature highlighted the benefits of communities’ traditional farming practices. This comes at a crucial vantage point, as global industrialized agricultural systems are swept up by climate change risks. The study also found a lack of research examining the quantitative productivity and scalability of IPLC farming, an area Sangha hopes to see more literature on in the near future. It’s estimated that a 35 to 56 percent increase in food production, achieved while suspending land clearing for agricultural use, is vital to feeding a projected 10 billion people by 2050. As climate change has emerged as a threat, food producers are looking to these reliable traditional forms of farming. As average temperatures climb, climate change is decreasing biodiversity, altering nutritional values and degrading soil health. These effects are disrupting global food production and Indigenous food systems alike. Currently, food systems are responsible for 26 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Sangha said this review couldn’t be done without acknowledging the impact of colonialism on traditional farming. “In countries like Australia, a lot of food practices Indigenous people have carried in the past have been severely impacted, and in many other countries as well,” she said. The expansion of “mainstream food systems” has resulted in changes to Indigenous communities’ diets and the widespread loss of knowledge needed to carry these practices on to future generations. The study also argues that merging the two systems, rather than viewing them as opposites, is required to tackle the climate crisis. With government investment and targeted policy, IPLC agriculture can build a resilient wall against threats driven by climate change, while modern farming industries can learn from these traditional ways of growing food. Otherwise, both systems face the loss of ecological, economic and cultural resources. “Beyond market value, IPLC farming systems generate substantial non-market economic contributions by reducing household expenditure on food, medicine, fibre and fuel,” the report read. The review suggests that government funding and support can provide larger food producers with a look into how to address growing challenges caused by climate change and the impacts of fertilizers on soil health. In 2024, the United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework Fund ratified investments to dedicate 20 percent of its resources to support IPLC initiatives to improve their lands and conserve biodiversity. Yet, a global commitment to specifically fund efforts to conserve traditional food systems is so far missing. “If we highlight these non-monetary values of these food systems, and they’re important for policy decision-making, we hope that this can attract more attention from policy decision-makers and governments to support these Indigenous peoples and local communities’ food systems,” Sangha said. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Modern agriculture is collapsing under climate change. Indigenous farming has answers. on Mar 26, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Miacel Spotted Elk.
The murderous, absurd ‘feminism’ of the US-Israeli war on Iran
US and Israeli officials invoking women’s rights to push their war on Iran should look at their war in Gaza and at home before making claims. COMMENTARY: By Eman Hillis Displaced from my home in northern Gaza, I sit reading reports of the Iran war as my little sister, 6, struggles to walk across the
US and Israeli officials invoking women’s rights to push their war on Iran should look at their war in Gaza and at home before making claims. COMMENTARY: By Eman Hillis Displaced from my home in northern Gaza, I sit reading reports of the Iran war as my little sister, 6, struggles to walk across the room. Two months into the ceasefire, an Israeli soldier shot her in the head. On my phone, a video of US politician Tommy Tuberville criticising the Iranian regime for “treating women like dogs” plays. Another follows, showing Matt Schlapp suggesting the girls killed in a school bombing in Iran are better dead than living a “barbaric life”. To top it all, Israel celebrated International Women’s Day in Persian, posting an AI video of fake US, Israeli, and Iranian women frolicking together. READ MORE: US demands Iran accept ‘defeat’ as Tehran rejects talks, vows to fight on Epstein cabal play games with human lives in Iran while grasping for unearned riches Other US-Israel war on Iran reports Watching these statements and videos from Gaza, where women have been subjected to relentless violence throughout the more than two-year genocide, the sudden concern for women’s rights is difficult to take seriously. I was among the hundreds of thousands of women displaced by Israel in Gaza. I experienced the suffering that Israel, backed by the US, subjected us to, and watched other women endure. One month before the third US veto of a proposed ceasefire in Gaza, a sudden midnight strike hit the apartment next to where I was sheltering in Khan Younis. Human remains were scattered about — half of one man’s body was hanging on what had been a window on the seventh floor, the other half on a bus in the street. No women were killed, but I watched them weep for loved ones, denied the chance to mourn them or even gather and bury the remains. Fleeing women dragged children The tanks then rushed in. Dozens of women, children, and men ran through the street — some women still weeping for those who had just been killed. Most of them dragged two or more children by the hand. I was running with a woman who held a baby she had given birth to one week earlier, crying and gasping for breath. The tanks were advancing toward us, firing shells at a hospital nearby, while drones above us strafed us indiscriminately. The violence did not stop with the killings and displacements. Israel made life even more miserable for women, without using missiles. It cut off water, then prohibited the entry of sanitary pads and painkillers, turning women’s periods into a living hell. Israel’s policy of starving Gaza has raised miscarriage rates among women to 300 percent. Israeli soldiers set dogs on Palestinian women, assaulted pregnant mothers, and threatened them with rape — all of this with US support and under the protection of six US vetoes. “Terrorist organisations have brought disaster upon you,” <a href="https://www.france24.com/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B7/20250520-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3#:~:text=%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B1%20%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%AA%20%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%A9%20%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%20%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B3%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9%20%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9%20%D9%81%D9%8A%2020%20%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%88/%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%202025.%20%C2%A9%20%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88%20%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3.">was one of the most common statements that Israeli leaflets repeated in Gaza and Lebanon before launching a brutal attack on a certain area. The line was often followed by “for your safety, leave the place” or “the IDF has no intention of harming you”. The language is moral and protective, suggesting the action about to follow is a “rescue mission,” not an act of war. US uses similar rhetoric The US has long used similar rhetoric to justify its political ambitions abroad. In Iraq, it claimed to be saving the international community from “weapons of mass destruction.” It claimed to be saving civilians from oppression by “terrorist organisations” when it backed Israel in its wars against Palestine and Lebanon. In Afghanistan, the US-led invasion was often justified from a “feminist” lens to “rescue” women oppressed by the Taliban. Now, the same strategy is being deployed against Iran. Women’s rights are weaponised as a pretext for airstrikes, sanctions, and military invasion. Hundreds of Iranian women, including pregnant mothers, have been killed in US and Israeli strikes. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed, displacing millions of women and their loved ones within the country. This is not to suggest that Iranian women enjoy full rights in their country, but feminism cannot be achieved through bombs. This US and Israeli rhetoric contradicts a fundamental principle of feminism. By assuming that women are unable to fight and speak up for their rights, they deny women’s right of self-determination. Struggling to address women’s rights Notably, the same governments that attempt to act as the “saviours” of women struggle to address women’s rights at home. Israel, which struggles to curb incidents of sexual harassment against women, has been commodifying female soldiers to garner public sympathy during the Gaza war. Meanwhile, one in five women in the US has experienced completed or attempted rape in their lifetime. For women who have lived through US and Israeli wars, claims of defending Iranian women ring hollow. The blood of more than <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/society/%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B3%D9%88-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9#:~:text=%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%BA%20%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%AF%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9%20%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9%2016%20%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%8B%20%D9%88646%20%D8%A3%D8%B1%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9%D8%8C%20%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%20%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B2%20%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%AF%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B7%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%85%2044%20%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%8B%D8%8C%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87%D9%85%2037%20%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%8B%20%D9%88313%20%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%8B%20%D9%81%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%A8%D8%8C%20%D9%884988%20%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8B%20%D9%81%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%8C%20%D9%882236%20%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8B%20%D9%81%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%A8%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%20%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%8B%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D9%81%D9%82%20%D8%A3%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%20%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%85%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A9%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9">16,000 Palestinian women killed during the two-year genocide has not yet dried, yet the US and Israel present themselves as the guardians of women’s rights. Those who kill and oppress other women cannot claim to defend women’s rights elsewhere. True feminism cannot defend the humanity of women in one place and ignore it in another. Eman Hillis is a Gaza-based journalist and fact-checker reporting on war and disinformation from the ground during Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This article was first published by The New Arab. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Former Vanuatu Daily Post media director Dan McGarry leaves legacy
Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
Vanuatu Daily Post The Vanuatu Daily Post is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Dan McGarry, our former media director. McGarry was a fearless investigative journalist, photographer, and software professional who made a lasting contribution to the development of the Daily Post. He managed media content across the company’s publications, website, and
Vanuatu Daily Post The Vanuatu Daily Post is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Dan McGarry, our former media director. McGarry was a fearless investigative journalist, photographer, and software professional who made a lasting contribution to the development of the Daily Post. He managed media content across the company’s publications, website, and social media platforms, while also shaping the wider media landscape in Vanuatu. Before formally joining the organisation in 2015, he wrote regular columns under the pseudonym Graham Crumb. READ MORE: ‘He will never be replaced’ – tributes flow for ‘fearless’ Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry OCCRP mourns the loss of Dan McGarry, pioneering Pacific editor and investigative journalist Dan McGarry’s articles on Asia Pacific Report <img decoding="async" class="wp-image-32853 size-medium" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Vanuatu-Daily-Post-logo-300x117.png" alt="" width="300" height="117" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Vanuatu-Daily-Post-logo-300x117.png 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Vanuatu-Daily-Post-logo.png 680w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> VANUATU DAILY POST Prior to joining the Daily Post, McGarry was part of the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP), an independent, non-profit, regionally focused think tank based in Port Vila. He also worked with Computer Network Services (CNS) as technical manager during its early years. Reports indicate that McGarry, 62, fell ill following a trip to Papua New Guinea earlier this month and was evacuated to Brisbane. He faced complications during recovery and remained in critical care in recent weeks. At the time of his passing, McGarry was serving as Pacific editor for the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). McGarry was a leading voice in Pacific journalism, driven by a strong sense of justice and commitment to the public good. He is survived by his wife and children. His passing leaves a profound gap in the media community. The Vanuatu Daily Post extends its heartfelt condolences to his family during this difficult time and stands with them in mourning this loss. Republished from the Vanuatu Daily Post. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Activist journalist Terry Bell – a life defined by unwavering commitment to justice and democracy
Radio 786 Anti-apartheid campaigner Terry Bell has died at the age of 84. A lifelong activist, journalist, and educator, Bell’s life was defined by his unwavering commitment to justice and democracy. His early journalism career spanned several South African newspapers, where he also helped found the non-racial South African Journalists’ Union. Bell was deeply involved
Radio 786 Anti-apartheid campaigner Terry Bell has died at the age of 84. A lifelong activist, journalist, and educator, Bell’s life was defined by his unwavering commitment to justice and democracy. His early journalism career spanned several South African newspapers, where he also helped found the non-racial South African Journalists’ Union. Bell was deeply involved in underground activism, editing the clandestine publication Combat. Detained under the 90-day law in 1964, he fled into exile in Zambia the following year. There, he worked as chief reporter for the Times of Zambia before being granted asylum in the UK. READ MORE: Terry Bell, struggle stalwart and journalist of ‘impeccable principles’, dies at 84 In London, he studied international affairs, edited Anti-Apartheid News, and worked at the Daily Worker. Bell’s activism took him across continents, from Zambia to New Zealand, where he helped launch the Anti-Apartheid Movement in 1972. In 1979, he and his wife, Barbara, established the primary division of Somafco in Tanzania, drafting the ANC’s first primary school curriculum. Disillusioned by abuses within the ANC, the Bells resigned in 1982 and later supported striking miners in Britain. Returning to South Africa in 1991, Bell settled in Cape Town, choosing not to rejoin the ANC. Instead, he advocated for democratic socialism, urging citizens to “Vote ANC, but build a socialist alternative”. From 1992, he edited Africa Analysis and contributed incisive labour columns to Business Report, Fin24, and City Press. He was also a regular contributor to Radio 786’s programming, and was a staunch voice advocating for the rights of Palestinians. His writing combined sharp analysis with a deep empathy for workers and marginalised communities. Bell remained a freelance journalist and commentator until his final years, never ceasing to challenge injustice. Terry Bell’s life reminds us that resistance, even in exile, can shape nations and inspire generations. Republished from Radio 786 in Cape Town, South Africa. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Singer-songwriter Maya J’an on finding your soft side
Can you tell me a bit about yourself? I’m Maya J’an. I’m a singer and songwriter. People say I’m a downward spiral documentary. When did you start making music? What are your creative aspirations? I was born and raised in Los Angeles. Music has always been a huge part of me. My mom was a big support and put me in a band when I was really young with my sisters. I was about 6, and I started playing drums then. My sisters fell out of love with the band pretty quickly; I was only 7, but I realized I wanted to keep doing it. I started writing songs around that time. They weren’t very good at all. I had a song called “Birthday Cloud,” another song about mermaids, but I always dreamed about something. What kind of music did you play with your sisters? What was the name of your band? Oh gosh, the name of our band was ATM because it’s our names. We played all types of stuff. My dad is from Belize, and my mom grew up in Texas. So we listened to all types of stuff, from reggaeton to country to alternative to pop R&B. We were pretty genre-less as a band. We were kids, we just did whatever we felt like. I remember practicing a lot of my drumming to One Republic. Do you remember One Republic? Yes, of course. It’s too late to apologize… At what point in your life did you know you wanted to become a musician? I went into high school and just started posting on SoundCloud. Writing’s like therapy. It always has been. My mom lost custody of me when I was 9, and that made writing more of a lifeline. It felt like my last little thread to her, in a way. I became a recluse. At school, my favorite part was just to come home and sit in the garage and noodle on the piano. That’s kind of where I started. Growing up in LA and seeing the entertainment part of it from a closer range, I never really wanted to do anything else. I knew that I wanted to make music. I wanted to be a writer and share my story. I can tell you are very devoted to music, but also to your feelings and how these are translated through your craft. It’s almost like you don’t really know what else to do with your life [other than music]. It’s the only thing I’m good at. It’s the only way I can express myself. I went to college, and I tried to do the more by-the-book route for my dad’s sake, but I knew that there would always be a hole in my chest if I didn’t actually try. When I was 17, I asked my dad, “Hey, I’ll do one semester in college, but if I’m going to try and work on this music thing, and if nothing happens within a year, I will stop.” After six months, I was discovered, and I signed my first record deal with Capitol Records. Did you have any mentors growing up? Yeah, Soulshock & Karlin. Soulshock is this amazing Danish producer, and Karlin is his partner. They found me when I was 17; I was going to the library skipping school, sending people my music. I met with them pretty early on. I’m laughing because my dad actually came to the second meeting with me, even though he wasn’t a big believer in me going into music. What it was like growing up in LA? How does the energy of LA show up in your work or your creative process? LA is a bit of a void that you get sucked into… Even though I’ve been here my whole life, I can still find things that inspire me and bring me back to life on days when I’m not feeling great. The history here is so deep and special. Old Hollywood, all the writers and filmmakers, all the stories layered into the city. My vintage apartment sounds perfect for that energy. Just driving up Mulholland or going to the Beverly Hills Hotel, or spots like Musso and Frank—those classic places feel iconic. Even that Mexican restaurant in Studio City that Tarantino loves. It’s like you’re surrounded by creative history all the time. Yes, I can feel that energy. Everyone comes to LA chasing something. All that ambition and hope. I wonder if I could live somewhere else, but I’d always fall back here because it’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve been to some amazing places. I love Denmark, Nashville, and other places. But I don’t know. LA is just a part of me now. You describe your song “cul-de-sac” as a love letter to your hometown. What does the song mean to you personally? That song is really emotional for me. I poured a lot of memories into it, and it was actually hard to write. I’m really excited to share my music, especially my writing style. I can get very detailed, and I usually write songs like they’re pages from a diary. “cul-de-sac” feels like my most vague song, and I think that’s because it was such a hard thing to put into words. At the beginning of last year, a family member’s house burned down in the fires. Three houses were damaged, and one was completely gone. It was a multi-generational home, so we had so many childhood memories there. It was a really strange and heavy time for my family. I’m very sentimental and nostalgic, so it paralyzed me for a while. About a month later, after I had been sitting with everything, I went into a session with my producer, Jonas Jurström. I told him what I had been going through and said I wanted to create something that felt like being inside a memory. That’s where “cul-de-sac” came from. What about the title? I actually grew up on two different cul-de-sacs, so the title feels really personal to me. There’s the literal meaning—the actual streets I grew up on—and then there’s the more figurative side of it. That feeling of not really having anywhere to go, of hitting some kind of dead end. Not in a dramatic way, not good or bad—it just is. When I went back to see the house in Pasadena that burned down, it was really hard for me to even go down the street. I’m really visual and sentimental, and I didn’t know if I wanted to see it like that. I didn’t know if I was ready for that version of the memory. I think a big part of it for me is holding onto memories and not wanting to rewrite them, but realizing that I have to. As we get older, we’re constantly rewriting our past, intentionally or not. We get wiser. We start to see our parents as people who were just figuring it out. All those perceptions shift over time. I’ve become really protective of that as I’ve gotten older. I’m aware of how things can change the way I see my past. So a part of me chooses softness. I choose to stay sentimental and a little romantic about things that could easily feel harsh. There’s a real vulnerability in your voice. It made me wonder, as a singer-songwriter, how does it feel to expose yourself like that? My only goal is to show up as authentically as I can. It’s funny, when I dropped my last single, “pocket knife,” I literally lay in the fetal position on my bed because I felt so exposed. As a writer, I’m not hiding behind anything. I’m choosing to be honest and not add any frills to make it more digestible. It really is just my diary. I also try to write for myself first. There are times when I play songs for friends, family, or the label, and I catch myself digging my fingers into my legs like, oh god. But that’s how I know those songs are meant to come out. It’s because they mean so much to me. I want to look back and know I gave real pieces of myself. The artists I connect with most are the ones who feel pure and transparent in their writing. The Mitskis, the Lanas. Angel Olsen, Father John Misty. That kind of honesty. I can hear Lana in your work. Being at the heart of the music industry in LA, do you feel pressure to fit a certain mold or to shape your career along a specific path? I did. When I was 18, I signed to Capitol, and that whole experience taught me a lot about expectations and how not to give a fuck about them. Now I wouldn’t say I think about it too much. Especially as a Black woman making… I don’t even know what genre I make. I just make whatever I feel like making. But as a Black woman not making what people might expect me to make, I’ve definitely been told I don’t do things the way people assume I should. That’s unfortunate, not for me, but for the people who think that way. As a Black woman, as a woman of color, even just as a writer, I’m allowed to be soft. I’m allowed to be honest. I’m allowed to do whatever I want. When I was first starting, I was having so many panic attacks because I wasn’t at ease. I was constantly bending to other people’s expectations. It got to a point where I didn’t even want to do this anymore. So I stepped back and started writing for other people, and somehow slowly found my way back to being an artist, almost by accident. This time feels different because I actually know who I am. I’m not as scared. People are always going to project their own ideas onto you, especially in art. It’s such a delicate thing, and everyone has an opinion. That’s okay. I’m almost grateful for what I went through because now I know what feels good and what doesn’t. The only thing that’s ever worked for me is wearing my heart on my sleeve. That’s why I’m so committed to it. It’s the only way this works for me. I’d love to talk a little more about “pocket knife.” I can share what I took from it, and you can tell me if I’m completely off? When I listened to it, I felt this sense of playing with fire. It felt like a story about loving someone who embodies risk. The line about “sleeping on a pocket knife, dreaming about your life” gave me this feeling of being with someone who feels a little unsafe, but who’s also very intoxicating. You choose to fall in love. I love hearing how you interpret it. It’s really close to how I intended it. “pocket knife” is a story about trust. Can we have love without trust, and can you have trust without love? Are they interconnected? Is it a package deal? I’ve always had trust issues. “pocket knife” is just me saying, “I love you. I see things with you, but I’m already preparing myself for you to stab me in the back. If you do that, I’m going to be prepared and stab you back.” Emotionally, of course, not physically. “pocket knife” is just a story of love and trust. You can have either one without the other. Whenever I trust someone, that’s how I know I love them. Whereas love can be a little harder to define. I could love someone and not trust them… Love is such a complex thing, but trust is explainable. It comes with its own set of rules. Were the lyrics part of your diary? Yeah, for sure. The verses come from real experience. I was in a relationship that defied the norm. It was during a time when I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep doing music. I was writing for other people, but I wasn’t really pursuing my own artistry. I started thinking maybe this music thing isn’t for me in the way I imagined, and that’s okay. The person I was with was kind of reinforcing that. He was gently pushing me toward a smaller life, wanting me to settle down, be a housewife. At the time, I thought I loved him. But there were parts of me that were fighting it, and now I understand why. It’s funny. As an ambitious woman, or just someone with a little fire in her belly, you have to believe in yourself, almost blindly. Not everyone is going to see the vision. There have been so many moments where I had to choose my own belief in myself over something that looked stable and made sense on paper. It really messed with my head. But in the end, I trusted myself more than I trusted him or that relationship. I mean, if you have to sleep on a pocket knife, how safe are you, really? Have you been working on your EP? The EP is almost solid. We’re 90% there, I’m excited to share. If your EP had a color, a flavor, and a scent, what would they be? For color, a vintage baby powder blue. I would say the smell of your hometown mall—how it just smells like all the foods, all the people. Flavors, I’d say it’s a mix between two different things: something that your grandma would make you that’s super nourishing, and you just feel loved, but also Jell-O. Where do you see yourself in five years? You don’t need to be humble about it. It’s not that kind of interview. I definitely see myself with a handful of Grammys. I see myself writing for myself and other friends, constantly in the studio and inspired, traveling with Ms. Yoko, my dog. And happy. This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Yang Shi.
Melania vs. Ivana: Fact Checking the Honeypot Meme – TEASER
Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk at MI6, believes Jeffrey Epstein was a Russian asset. He used girls and young women from Russia and other former Soviet states to lure powerful men into kompromat traps. Michael Wolff made the allegation, which has since been pulled by The Daily Beast, that Epstein introduced Melania and Trump, and that they even had sex for the first time on the Lolita Express. So was Melania a honeypot, trained to keep Trump in their pocket, and prevent an unpredictable influence from marrying Russia's asset? Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, of the Trump Tyranny Tracker, and a researcher on explosive books, including investigative journalist Craig Unger's House of Trump, House of Putin, fact checks the Melania honeypot memes, and provides deeper insight into the Eastern European women in Trump's life, like his first wife Ivana. Olga Lautman will be at the Gaslit Nation Night Out! Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! Show Notes: Trump Tyranny Tracker: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/ Daily Beast pulls story alleging Melania-Epstein connection after lawyers dispute framing https://www.foxnews.com/media/daily-beast-pulls-story-alleging-melania-epstein-connection-after-lawyers-dispute-framing Ex-MI6 Spy insists Epstein was a Russian spy and blackmailing Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYRVezF5-hk Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mhnsvsjc7y23 Um, What Is Going on With Melania Trump in This Video? https://www.vogue.com/article/melania-trump-vladimir-putin-helsinki-video Andrea's thread on the Melania propaganda film which you should not watch https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3mgqndjhz4k2b This article is more than 1 month old Disappeared bodies, mass burials and '30,000 dead': what is the truth of Iran's death toll? https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/27/iran-protests-death-toll-disappeared-bodies-mass-burials-30000-dead Russia is aiding Iran's war effort by providing intel on US military targets, sources say https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/politics/russia-aiding-iran-targeting How Russian military intelligence used the Taliban to bleed U.S. forces at the end of America's longest war https://theins.ru/en/politics/277723 Putin Is No Ally in the War on Terror in 2024 https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/putin-no-ally-war-terror-2024 Watch Zerina Zabrisky's powerful film for free and spread the word about Russia's human safaris in Ukraine https://khersonhumansafari.com/ Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit
Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk at MI6, believes Jeffrey Epstein was a Russian asset. He used girls and young women from Russia and other former Soviet states to lure powerful men into kompromat traps. Michael Wolff made the allegation, which has since been pulled by The Daily Beast, that Epstein introduced Melania and Trump, and that they even had sex for the first time on the Lolita Express. So was Melania a honeypot, trained to keep Trump in their pocket, and prevent an unpredictable influence from marrying Russia's asset? Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, of the Trump Tyranny Tracker, and a researcher on explosive books, including investigative journalist Craig Unger's House of Trump, House of Putin, fact checks the Melania honeypot memes, and provides deeper insight into the Eastern European women in Trump's life, like his first wife Ivana. Olga Lautman will be at the Gaslit Nation Night Out! Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! Show Notes: Trump Tyranny Tracker: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/ Daily Beast pulls story alleging Melania-Epstein connection after lawyers dispute framing https://www.foxnews.com/media/daily-beast-pulls-story-alleging-melania-epstein-connection-after-lawyers-dispute-framing Ex-MI6 Spy insists Epstein was a Russian spy and blackmailing Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYRVezF5-hk Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mhnsvsjc7y23 Um, What Is Going on With Melania Trump in This Video? https://www.vogue.com/article/melania-trump-vladimir-putin-helsinki-video Andrea's thread on the Melania propaganda film which you should not watch https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3mgqndjhz4k2b This article is more than 1 month old Disappeared bodies, mass burials and '30,000 dead': what is the truth of Iran's death toll? https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/27/iran-protests-death-toll-disappeared-bodies-mass-burials-30000-dead Russia is aiding Iran's war effort by providing intel on US military targets, sources say https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/politics/russia-aiding-iran-targeting How Russian military intelligence used the Taliban to bleed U.S. forces at the end of America's longest war https://theins.ru/en/politics/277723 Putin Is No Ally in the War on Terror in 2024 https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/putin-no-ally-war-terror-2024 Watch Zerina Zabrisky's powerful film for free and spread the word about Russia's human safaris in Ukraine https://khersonhumansafari.com/ Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
EXCLUSIVE: Al Gore Blasts Trump for "Astonishing Mistake" on Iran
As Israel enters its second war with Iran in less than nine months, the promise of violence for peace rings increasingly hollow.
As Israel enters its second war with Iran in less than nine months, the promise of violence for peace rings increasingly hollow. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Jared Hillel.
Epstein cabal play games with human lives in Iran while grasping for unearned riches
COMMENTARY: By Kellie Tranter The actions of the Trump administration and its AIPAC-Israeli donors have reached new levels of immorality, illegality and unprecedented venality. It is almost universally accepted that the US-Israel attack on Iran had no justification under international law: it was simply a war of aggression and thus the commission of perhaps the
COMMENTARY: By Kellie Tranter The actions of the Trump administration and its AIPAC-Israeli donors have reached new levels of immorality, illegality and unprecedented venality. It is almost universally accepted that the US-Israel attack on Iran had no justification under international law: it was simply a war of aggression and thus the commission of perhaps the most serious crime under international law, precisely what the UN was set up to prevent. Then we have the conduct of the war by the US and Israel, each pursuing its own agenda but completely lacking any coherent strategy. READ MORE: Araghchi says no talks with US as Trump vows to ‘hit harder’ Other Kellie Tranter articles From day one of the attack they have committed war crime after war crime, most recently in bombing civilian targets and now civilian infrastructure. The current escalation flowing from the attack near an Iranian nuclear power plant and on Iran’s electrical power grid demonstrates this and demonstrates equally clearly Iran’s current strategic and tactical advantages. While all this is happening the US Empire is declining rapidly and the rogue state of Israel is experiencing in its own territory a taste of the death, injury and destruction that inevitably follows any war, yet they still both continue to escalate and to widen the war. Now it emerges in the US that analyses of market activity including especially oil trades demonstrate a very high probability of massive insider trading that can only come from within the Trump White House coterie. For example, market reaction to Trump’s Monday Truth Social post about having discussions with the Iranians caused the S&P market cap to rise by about two trillion dollars; the later Iranian announcement there were no discussions caused it to drop by about one trillion dollars and those market movements were anticipated by traders who made trades, literally last minute, to the value of about $500 million. There have been similar shenanigans with the trade in oil, that market being highly sensitive to information about the likely future course of the war. Trump insiders know when a new policy tweet will be issued and what it will say. And incredibly, the Epstein cabal play these games with human lives without compunction while grasping for unearned riches. Innocent civilians of all ages are being slaughtered, countries are being physically and financially decimated and the entire world is spiralling into a deepening energy vortex with inevitably disastrous consequences, all while the actually crucial diplomatic and military decisions with profound geopolitical consequences are made by ignorant, incompetent, amoral, avaricious zealots pursuing immediate self-interest at the expense of the future of their countries, of people all over the world and indeed of the entire globe. Kellie Tranter is a lawyer, researcher, and human rights advocate. This commentary was first published on her X account where she tweets from @KellieTranter This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Trump’s FTC Wages a War on Media Criticism
The FTC's intervention against media criticism outfits comes from the same censorious impulse that weaponized the Trump FCC to stifle criticism.
NewsGuard says it “deploys a team of expert journalists to rate and review the reliability of news sources.” NewsGuard, a company that rates news outlets’ accuracy using what it calls “apolitical journalistic criteria…to identify reliable sources of information,” has filed a lawsuit to block the Federal Trade Commission’s demand for a list of all its customers. The FTC in May 2025 launched a wide-ranging probe into NewsGuard and 16 other groups—including left-leaning watch group Media Matters for America, and the Global Disinformation Index, a nonprofit media ratings service. The agency alleged the groups were part of “a conspiracy to boycott conservative and independent media.” Deadline (2/6/26) reported that FTC chair Andrew “Ferguson has targeted NewsGuard, suggesting that it violated antitrust laws and that it was biased, as NewsGuard had given a low score to Newsmax, the conservative news site.” ‘Straightforward violation’ David Bauder (AP, 3/23/26): “The FTC accuses the company of trying to suppress conservative speech. NewsGuard says it is being forced to kneel before vindictive power.” NewsGuard’s lawsuit accuses the FTC of “brazenly using its power not for any issue concerning trade or commerce, but rather to censor speech simply because it disagreed with NewsGuard’s judgments about the reliability of news sources” (AP, 3/23/26). NewsGuard also accused the FTC of holding up a $13 billion merger of advertising heavyweights Omnicom Group and IPG unless the merged company agreed not to use NewsGuard’s services. Media Matters filed a similar lawsuit last summer to block sweeping FTC demands for documents; a federal judge ruled in the group’s favor, calling that FTC probe “a straightforward First Amendment violation” (Bloomberg, 1/22/26). The FTC has appealed the ruling against it. Ferguson is yet another representative of the Trump regime trying to silence any criticism of the government or its right-wing support network. For regime apologists, of course, the FTC chief is a sacred warrior against liberals, protecting conservatives from insults and disagreement. ‘NewsGuard can say whatever it wants’ “We have a tremendous array of investigative tools,” says FTC chair Andrew Ferguson (Wall Street Journal, 2/12/26). “Those tools are expensive when applied to you even if we don’t win at the end of the day, so knuckle under.” The empire of Rupert Murdoch, the most powerful right-wing media conglomerate, is surprisingly split on the FTC’s move. The Wall Street Journal editorial board (2/12/26) lambasted the notion of evaluating media analysis as a form of liberal tone-policing: “Media rating shops…typically have their own mostly leftward biases,” it sniffed. But it did come down on the side of freedom of the press over partisan bickering: “The First Amendment protects private actors against censorship by the government,” it declared. “NewsGuard can say whatever it wants under the First Amendment.” The Journal noted that NewsGuard’s 1–100 ratings do not particularly track with ideology—while Newsmax at 20 is down there with China’s Xinhua at 7.5, Murdoch’s Fox News (69.5) came out ahead of MS NOW (49.5), and National Review (92.5) was rated higher than CNN (80). A factor not noted by the Journal that might make these standings—and the Journal‘s defense of NewsGuard—less surprising: NewsGuard’s co-CEO and co-editor-in-chief is L. Gordon Crovitz, former publisher of (and columnist at) the Journal itself. Crovitz’s journalistic record (FAIR.org, 4/1/20) raises questions about his value as an accuracy-rater; he applauded (8/22/90) the false convictions in the Central Park jogger case, for instance, and complained (12/6/09) that “the one-sidedness of the views of the most influential scientists had led many to believe in the gospel of global warming.” There’s also a history of the Journal generally wanting regulatory agencies to simply let all businesses conduct themselves with little oversight, which can overlap with defending free speech. For instance, the Journal board (1/23/26) opposed the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to silence Trump critics through the “equal time” rule while hailing “the yeoman work [FCC Chair Brendan] Carr is doing rolling back Biden-era regulation.” ‘Designed to control free speech’ According to the New York Post (2/17/26), “tech executives…only vote one way.” And then the paper wonders why it’s accused of publishing misinformation. By contrast, the New York Post editorial board (2/17/26) said Ferguson was “fighting the good fight.” Funnily enough, the board was honest that its desire to censor NewsGuard was absolutely personal, complaining about NewsGuard “giving us a rating of about 70, even as it handed the Washington Post and New York Times perfect 100s.” The tabloid groused that it had been marked down for offering “‘attention-grabbing headlines and gossip’—which has nothing to do with accuracy — and supposedly ‘inaccurate and misleading claims about politics.’” The Post whined that “NewsGuard really is just anti-competitive graft dreamt up by opportunists to make money from liberal-driven ‘misinformation’ mania.” It went on: The company claims it has a First Amendment right to rate as it pleases, but Ferguson from his first days on the job has targeted “misinformation” censorship—flagging how the way the likes of NewsGuard stifle the flow of ad dollars over supposed “brand safety” issues may violate the Sherman Antitrust Act. If free speech mattered that much to those who run NewsGuard, then it wouldn’t even exist. It is designed to control free speech. Let’s translate that MAGA talk for regular English speakers: We must destroy free speech we don’t like to protect free speech we do like. This idiocy is terrifyingly widespread: If a liberal has the free speech to criticize a conservative, that liberal could dissuade others from listening to the conservative, thus violating the conservative’s free speech. Ergo, the liberal should be censored from criticizing the conservative (FAIR.org, 10/23/20, 3/25/22, 10/11/24, 3/4/25). Laughably ‘left’ Threatening a company’s merger because you don’t like the politics of its board member (Guardian, 2/22/26) is an obvious First Amendment violation—but it worked. Not that anyone’s political allegiances should decide whether or not constitutional protections apply, but the idea that NewsGuard is a partisan left project is laughable. Crovitz, the former Journal publisher who shares control of the project, has a track record of supporting free-market capitalism (Journal, 7/22/12, 1/28/13; City Journal, 4/1/91). His partner Steven Brill is famous for his hostility toward teachers unions (New Yorker, 8/24/09; New Republic, 9/22/11; New York Times, 11/7/11). But the MAGA regime is hellbent on using the power of the state to silence media it doesn’t like. Trump has “told Netflix to remove the Democratic foreign policy expert Susan Rice from its board or ‘face the consequences,’ while the streaming platform is locked in an extraordinary corporate battle to take control of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD),” reported the Guardian (2/22/26). The FTC’s intervention comes from the same censorious impulse that weaponized the Trump FCC to stifle criticism (FAIR.org, 2/26/25; Newsweek, 2/19/26; AP, 2/19/26). This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Ari Paul.
‘He will never be replaced’ – tributes flow for ‘fearless’ Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry
RNZ Pacific Tributes are pouring in from across the region for “fearless” and “formidable” Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry, who died on Wednesday. McGarry, 62, fell ill after a trip to Papua New Guinea earlier this month, from where he had to be evacuated to Brisbane to undergo a heart bypass. But he faced complications during
RNZ Pacific Tributes are pouring in from across the region for “fearless” and “formidable” Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry, who died on Wednesday. McGarry, 62, fell ill after a trip to Papua New Guinea earlier this month, from where he had to be evacuated to Brisbane to undergo a heart bypass. But he faced complications during his recovery and had remained in critical care for the past few weeks. READ MORE: Dan McGarry’s articles on Asia Pacific Report OCCRP mourns the loss of Dan McGarry, pioneering Pacific editor and investigative journalist McGarry, who was a former editor of Vanuatu’s only national newspaper, the Vanuatu Daily Post, and Pacific editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) at the time of his death, has left behind his wife and children. “It’s with great heartbreak that I have to announce that the legendary Dan McGarry passed away earlier today,” Aubrey Belford, who was a co-editor with McGarry at OCCRP, said in a Facebook post. “Dan was an absolutely dominating presence in Pacific journalism and in the region more generally. “Dan was compassionate, sharing, and always motivated by a sense of justice and the common good. He was driven but also understood the importance of patience, friendship, and community. ‘A shell or more of kava’ “When home in Vanuatu he loved nothing more than finishing his day with a shell or more of kava, satisfied in the knowledge he had found his place in the world.” Belford added McGarry’s loss was devastating not just for his family but for all journalists working in the region. “He will be missed, and he will never be replaced.” Another friend and colleague, Andrew Gray, said McGarry was “a good man”. “After a hard life he finally found happiness in Vanuatu, and he did a lot more for the country than people appreciate. Last time I saw him he was planning his retirement at Lalwori. “Condolences to Line McGarry Watsivi and their daughters.” InsidePNG described McGarry as “more than just a colleague, a titan of regional journalism and a tireless advocate for the truth”. ‘Wealth of experience’ “As the former editor of the Vanuatu Daily Post, he brought a wealth of experience and a fearless spirit to every project he touched. Dan was absolutely instrumental in the birth of our investigative centre in Port Moresby. “He didn’t just help set the foundation, he guided and mentored InsidePNG through our most critical work, building a lasting connection with our team that went far beyond professional duty,” the news outlet said in a social media post. Kiribati journalist Rimon Rimon, who worked with McGarry, described him as “one of the brilliant minds I had the privilege of working closely with in our OCCRP investigations!” The University of the South Pacific’s head of journalism associate professor Dr Shailendra Singh said McGarry’s passing is “profoundly felt across the Pacific media community, where his contributions as journalist, trainer and mentor have made a lasting impact”. “He will be greatly missed. My thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time.” RNZ Pacific manager Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor said McGarry’s presence would be missed. “Dan McGarry was one of the best – a champion of the truth.” Asia Pacific Report editor Dr David Robie said: “Vale Dan McGarry A stunning loss to investigative journalism and media courage and integrity in Vanuatu and the Pacific. A friend and mentor to all. “Farewell Dan and many thanks for your inspiration and mentoring. Deepest condolences to whānau. RIP.” This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Minnesota Kicks Off Legal Battle With Trump Administration to Hold ICE Shooters Accountable
The post Minnesota Kicks Off Legal Battle With Trump Administration to Hold ICE Shooters Accountable appeared first on ProPublica.
They asked nicely at first. After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who’d recently moved to Minneapolis, local law enforcement officials requested a partnership with the federal government to investigate the case, as they’d done in past shootings involving federal agents. When the Trump administration refused to cooperate, Minnesota prosecutors ratcheted up their efforts. They sent a series of strongly worded legal letters demanding evidence in the Good shooting as well as the shootings of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant who was wounded a week after Good was shot, and Alex Pretti, who was killed on Jan. 24. Still, the administration rebuffed the requests. This week, prosecutors from Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota took the next step to force the Trump administration’s hand. They filed a federal lawsuit against the departments of Homeland Security and Justice over the evidence in the shootings, an action that Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, whose jurisdiction covers Minneapolis, characterized as “unprecedented in American history.” The Trump administration has declined to release the names of the agents involved in the shootings, even after the Minnesota Star Tribune and ProPublica identified the officers involved in the Good and Pretti incidents. “The federal government has refused to cooperate with state law enforcement, which is unique, rare and simply cannot be tolerated,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told reporters. “[We] can’t sit around and let them do it.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A man wearing a suit holds a piece of paper up while standing behind a podium with a small microphone, flanked by three women and a man, also wearing suits, as reporters and cameras sit before them." class="wp-image-71553" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, 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https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260324-DiCampo-Minnesota-Shooting-Investigations-003_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison holds up a copy of the state’s lawsuit against the federal government at a press conference on Tuesday. Peter DiCampo/ProPublica In the standoff over evidence, the case has already become a game of constitutional chicken over states’ rights versus federal immunity, a battle that will have implications for others who wish to hold agents in the president’s immigration surge criminally accountable. So far, neither side is showing signs of backing down, foreshadowing a fight that could take years. If prosecutors do eventually file charges against federal agents involved in the shootings, legal experts said the path to trial, much less winning convictions, will be filled with legal and procedural challenges. “State prosecutors across the country are going to be watching what happens in Minnesota really closely,” said Alicia Bannon, director of the judiciary program at the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice. The first test for prosecutors, if they file charges, would be to prove the agents don’t qualify for immunity through the Constitution’s supremacy clause, a rarely invoked legal doctrine that protects federal officers from state prosecutions if they’re acting lawfully and within the scope of their duties. Failing to pass that test would likely end the case. The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t taken up a case involving supremacy clause immunity in over 100 years, Bannon said, and judges have come down differently on legal issues related to its application. There’s no easy answer as to whether Minnesota will be able to get past a supremacy clause defense, said Jill Hasday, a constitutional law professor at the University of Minnesota. “That depends on the facts, but probably the odds are stacked against it,” she said. Even if they survive such a fight, the cases could be dogged by a series of logistical challenges. Moriarty, who has been leading the investigations, has decided not to seek reelection and will leave office at the end of the year. That means whoever wins the election for her seat in November could inherit the prosecutions. In addition to not having the names of the agents, prosecutors don’t know where those agents are now. Minnesota may need to extradite them, potentially from a MAGA-leaning state that may balk at sending them to Hennepin County to stand trial. “Will the federal government or other states cooperate with that? I think the answer to that is sort of iffy,” said Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University in Virginia. (Indeed, in a case involving a doctor charged with illegally mailing abortion medication to a Louisiana woman, the state of California has rejected an extradition request, citing its own laws protecting doctors from prosecution elsewhere.) The fight is focused on three shootings. But Moriarty’s office has opened criminal investigations into 14 additional cases of potentially unlawful behavior by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, which started in early December and has wound down over the past few weeks. The other cases Moriarty is examining involve allegations of excessive force or other misconduct by federal agents, such as an incident in early January in which agents allegedly used force on staff and students on the grounds of a high school. Prosecutors are also investigating Gregory Bovino, the outgoing Border Patrol commander who helped to lead immigration surges into several American cities and who was seen on video lobbing green-smoke canisters into crowds at a park in Minneapolis. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that Bovino and other agents were responding to a “hostile crowd.” The tension has played out in a series of demand letters sent by Moriarty to the Justice and Homeland Security departments. “Public transparency is vitally important in these cases — not just for the people of Hennepin County and Minnesota, but for the public nationwide,” Moriarty wrote in one of the letters. “The only way to achieve transparency is through investigation conducted at a local level.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="501" width="752" data-id="71556" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="Federal agents point at protesters from inside a yellow-taped perimeter while protesters gather around them in a snowy suburban environment." class="wp-image-71556" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1023 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00337_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, 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1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="501" width="752" data-id="71557" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A yellow cloud exploded in the face of a man wearing a heavy coat as a uniformed federal agent fired at him from point-blank range in a snowy suburban environment." class="wp-image-71557" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, 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552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TMM00656_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1066 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Gregory Bovino, at the time a Border Patrol commander, and federal agents confront protesters following the shooting death of Good on Jan. 7. Prosecutors say they are investigating Bovino and the use of aggressive force by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during their deployment to the Twin Cities. Tim Evans In January, after the shooting of Good, federal officials had agreed to participate in a joint investigation with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension — Minnesota’s state police agency tasked with examining use of deadly force cases — according to the letters signed by Moriarty. State officials presumed they’d be able to examine evidence, such as the car Good was driving and the guns used to shoot her and the other victims. But the investigators later learned through public statements by high-ranking Trump administration officials that federal agents were no longer planning to share evidence, the letter states. Local and state prosecutors don’t have the authority to subpoena them for evidence like in a typical criminal investigation. The demand letters, called Touhy letters, are formal written requests, used as an alternative to a subpoena, asking a federal agency to provide evidence or testimony in a case in which the government is not a party. Moriarty sought an extensive list of evidence in the shootings, from the guns fired by the agents in all three cases to official reports, agent GPS devices and witness statements. The Touhy letters asked for a response by Feb. 17. Normally, the federal government complies with Touhy letters as a matter of protocol, as long as releasing the information doesn’t violate an internal policy, said Timothy Johnson, a political science and law professor at the University of Minnesota. But on Feb. 13, the FBI told BCA investigators that it won’t share investigative materials in the Pretti case, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement. Evans said the police agency had reiterated its requests for evidence in the Good and Sosa-Celis cases. More than a month after the deadline set by prosecutors, the Trump administration still hasn’t turned over the materials. “There has been no cooperation from federal authorities,” BCA spokesperson Michael Ernster said. The agents involved in the shootings have not spoken publicly, but a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security defended Good’s shooting, saying the agent acted in self-defense. They said the Pretti shooting was under investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, with the Border Patrol conducting its own investigation. Those investigations could result in discipline or charges, including for civil rights violations. The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said federal officials found that, after Sosa-Celis’ shooting, officers made false statements. But the agency did not say whether it would cooperate with the local authorities or follow a court ruling requiring it to do so. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment or to questions. Neither agency has responded to the lawsuit. Moriarty called the lawsuit “critically important” to investigating the shooting cases but also said she had not made any decisions on whether her office will file charges. “There has to be an investigation anytime a federal agent or a state agent takes the life of a person in our community,” she said. “And ultimately the decision may be it was lawful. You don’t know, but that’s why you do the investigation. You are transparent with the results of that investigation, and you are public with your transparency about the decision and how you got there.” But a lawsuit does not guarantee that prosecutors will get all they want. “The question then becomes, even if Hennepin County or Minneapolis wins the suit, will they comply then?” Johnson asked. “And the answer is probably no.” If the Trump administration did eventually defy a judge’s order, he said, prosecutors could try to appeal up to the U.S. Supreme Court. As far as what could happen next: “It’s anyone’s guess.” The post Minnesota Kicks Off Legal Battle With Trump Administration to Hold ICE Shooters Accountable appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Andy Mannix.
‘This Is the Only Post-9/11 Case Seeking Accountability for Torture to Reach a Jury’: CounterSpin interview with Baher Azmy on Abu Ghraib justice
"I do think mainstream journalists need to understand the intersection between profit-making and incentives to go to war."
Janine Jackson interviewed the Center for Constitutional Rights’ Baher Azmy about justice for Abu Ghraib victims, for the March 20, 2026, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260320Azmy.mp3 CBS (5/21/04) Janine Jackson: If I say “Abu Ghraib,” you likely think of pictures, nightmarish pictures. The thing is, those were pictures of human beings being tortured by human beings, which you are absolutely correct to think was a crime. But the images of Iraqi people, not convicted of anything at all, being horribly abused was somehow, for the US news media audience, churned into “terrible, yes, but” somehow not anything that anyone needed to actually answer for. So ask yourself: Why wouldn’t they do it again? What actually changed to indicate substantive opposition to what happened at the Abu Ghraib “hard site” that we were told was “seared” into our consciousness? While corporate media manufacture forgetting, human rights advocates have stayed on the actual case. And now, as of last week, we have a court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, saying, “Yes, the plaintiffs are right that they were harmed, and yes, the courts are competent to decide that, even though ‘we’ were in ‘wartime.’” Courthouse News (3/12/26) Corporate media expect you to forget, or maybe to unknow, things that they don’t put in front of you day to day, but that’s not how life works. In reality, it matters very much that a court has affirmed a jury verdict that CACI, a private contractor hired to provide “interrogation services” at Abu Ghraib, is actually liable for violations of international law, including torture. CounterSpin has been trying to track this case. We are joined now for an important update by Baher Azmy, legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Baher Azmy. Baher Azmy: Hi, nice to be with you. JJ: Well, sincere congratulations. Terrible things have happened; people have tried to respond. But Al Shimari v. CACI is the only lawsuit, as I understand it, brought by Abu Ghraib torture victims to make it to trial. So folks know they saw what they saw, but this has been a very hard case to move, hasn’t it? And why is that? BA: These kinds of human rights cases and human rights claims, brought in the context of armed conflict or “national security,” have historically been hard to bring, as these things get. This is, as far as I’m aware, the only post-9/11 case seeking accountability for torture and related human rights violations to ever reach a jury. They’re almost universally thrown out early in the case, through the invocation of all sorts of complicated doctrines designed to protect the executive branch’s warmaking through, I loosely call it, the imperial courts protecting the war-making project of the United States, and giving them license to operate clearly without accountability. So it took us 18 years, six trips to the Federal Court of Appeals and two trials to finally get some measure of justice for our clients, and build a record about the horrors that were inflicted to them by private military contractors working with the United States there. JJ: And I think listeners will remember the horrors, and I think will imagine, well, surely someone was held to account. Surely it was recognized—because we heard it being recognized—that this was horrific, that this was criminal, and yet the idea that somehow the law can’t quite get at that, and we’re supposed to just imagine that a horrible crime can happen, but, you know, there’s really no way to account for it. That seems like a very slippery thing to try to sell to people. BA: Yeah. The democratic space, the spaces for accountability, are shrinking across the board, I think probably led by the attempts to get accountability for what I call the human rights crisis created by the Bush administration after 9/11. And that just metastasized more broadly into all sorts of areas of the law, including conventional civil rights law. So this is going to take a long time to reorient our institutions, to seeing victims of human rights abuses and civil rights abuses get relief in US courts, and to transform the law. And we hope that this is—I don’t know if I can say it’s a model, because it took 18 years and endless effort, but a portal of hope anyway. And that’s how I think some people are reacting to the decision, when there’s some bleakness, the recognition that three individuals, three incredibly courageous individuals, won’t give up on themselves, and the possibility of justice for others. Middle East Eye (3/22/23) JJ: I like the expression “portal of hope.” And I asked CCR’s Katherine Gallagher, but I’ll ask you again, to please say the names of the people in this case, because they’re not cardboard cutouts. They are human beings. BA: Yeah. Suhail al-Shimari. He’s a middle school principal in Iraq. Asa’ad al-Zuba’e. He runs a grocery and fruit market near Baghdad. And Salah al-Ejaili, who is now a freelance journalist. He was an Al Jazeera reporter at the time of his arrest and detention, and now he lives in Sweden, with refugee status there with his family. JJ: I think one of the aspects of this is that it’s about the relationship between corporate contractors and the US government. So these corporate contractors, like CACI, they say, “Well, we borrow all the immunity. We have all the immunity of the US government.” And the government says, “Well, this is wartime, and so all bets are off.” And so there’s this air of specialness that is meant to cloud these corporate contractors, and this space of time. And that’s been part of the problem here, right? BA: Yes. The contractors, their entire effort throughout this litigation—other contractors are doing the same—is to do as much as possible to clothe themselves with the sovereign shield, and to say, “Suits against us, because we’re working for the government, should be dismissed for the same reason they would be dismissed against the government.” And it’s a dangerous doctrine; it reflects an Eric Prince-ian vision of total impunity, so that potentially they live in this dystopian world where contractors, clothed with that kind of immunity, can enter wars and kill with impunity, in the way that soldiers can, as long as they’re acting lawfully. JJ: And yet they are going to be paid as contractors, and somehow—at least from the perspective of journalists—they’re in somehow a different category. So it gets very murky, in terms of accountability there. BA: Yes. It’s very problematic. JJ: I said to Katherine Gallagher how frustrating it is to see this Al Shimari v. CACI reported as just a lawsuit, and not a human rights crisis. There’s been a narrowing of the understanding of liability and what we should make of this case, but it’s actually about a whole lot of things, and not just this particular company and this particular instance. I mean, corporate contractors in wartime obviously are a major issue. And so how this case is considered has deep implications going forward. BA: That’s our hope, that this will have some sort of deterrent effect, but we do live in a war-making state, with enormous momentum towards militarism, and profit from war-making. At the same time that this is a significant litigation win, I think no one should have any illusions that the courts are the right place to really primarily fight these battles. We have to stop the war-making in the first place, which is a political process, and involves working with an elected representative, changing our elected representatives and being on the streets as much as we can. Alliance (1/27/26) JJ: Actually, that’s just what I wanted to follow up, because I know that some listeners will understand that you, Baher Azmy, are also on the legal team of two Trinidadian men who were killed last October in the US missile strike in the Caribbean. You are on the legal team of Mahmoud Khalil, the graduate student at Columbia who is a Palestinian activist, and criminalized for that. So you’re seeing these wild overreaches from the executive branch as a piece. And I wonder where you see the countervailing forces. You’ve just kind of indicated it, that we can’t just say, “Lawyers save us.” This is a multi-front effort. And I wonder where you see the power to stand up to the things that we’re facing. BA: The power lies with people and communities and forms of solidarity. I think the real model here isn’t necessarily this litigation, it’s Minneapolis, and the demand that we organize, organize, organize and stand together, not only in these forms of resistance, but in the collective work of supporting each other and building power through those forms of connectivity, so that everyone understands we’re all looking out for each other. We stay resilient and hopeful and strong in the face of all the forces that are coming after us. JJ: I’ll just finally say, as a media critic, media told us that the images from Abu Ghraib were seared into our consciousness, that we had been changed as a people on the basis of these images. And yet I don’t see a tremendous amount of interest in the actual outcome of the legal follow-ups to bring accountability there. I saw a New York Times story; that was fine. I didn’t see a lot of interest from a lot of other media. Baher Azmy: “I do think mainstream journalists need to understand the intersection between profit-making and incentives to go to war.” And I just wonder what you would ask of reporters who are trying to track the US accountability in wartime, and also the influence of corporate contractors, and that confluence of corporate America with militarism and all of that. What would you ask from reporters? BA: Look, this case is happening in the middle of multiple, multiple crises, so I’m not terribly surprised it’s not front-page news on every newspaper. But, yeah, I do think mainstream journalists need to understand the intersection between profit-making and incentives to go to war. They’re symbiotic and incredibly dangerous. JJ: All right then. Well, we’ll look for folks to look to CCRJustice.org to find your work and that of others on this particular case, and on the other deeply relevant and interconnected cases. We’ve been speaking with Baher Azmy, legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Again, their work is online at CCRJustice.org. Baher Azmy, thank you so much for joining us this week on CounterSpin. BA: My pleasure. Thank you for having this important conversation. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Janine Jackson.
Trump’s Broken Promises: Energy and Utility Bills Surge as Families Struggle to Keep Up
President Trump promised to cut energy prices in half within his first year in office. He has done the exact opposite. Electricity prices rose nearly 7% last year, with the typical household paying $123 more for electricity in 2025 alone. Now, Trump’s...
President Trump promised to cut energy prices in half within his first year in office. He has done the exact opposite. Electricity prices rose nearly 7% last year, with the typical household paying <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJw0jkGOpDAMRU8DO6OQpAJZsOhNXaNlYlNERRLayTTq249ozSz9_N_Xp0XPwSrX8zJOk7XOqYfq94XQm1VNLoybU8TB08OF4Jg1bm4zcx8X54M1ZjPB28f0OWrvaFZmNlrz2llVI_E7fkHCeLBUcCHQZv1EE9Cxf-3D_eiPZW_trJ356PSz08_ruoYV8zvm11A5Y-PhVb47_cx8VSkldfqZYi4S288dRxHOIHwwVq6Q-QLhs0gD4obxiPkFp_A9Jjdo8iedFVYpb85wSknxtkoG3LYihGs8YvvpE1PE_60QafkFn_9AZz70w4xO97JgJmHsrAolpfJ7pDoUefW1CXO6ZVJhZusJxmAILAYFqGcPPoRRO2NmdNh_L_pvAAAA___TXoM7" rel="noopener noreferrer" >$123 more for electricity in 2025 alone. Now, Trump’s disastrous Iran war has blocked one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, causing <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwsy83u2yAQBPCngRsWLJiPA4dc_BoR3d3UqMZOwI3Vt68S_Y_zmxnKENFpLzmbEJzzXs9artnEpMMcuBikNGNxJXgbiXWKHI2bZc0-obP2YTG5OdwNJE9R22gB-JdwelTiP_WlWqkb96E8Ij1cChQUbetrnT6F3PJ6ns8h7E3AImC5rmva_5218ZjwaAKWrb5ZwAIavIBFWwGLSZ_l0TcSsNRednWVrna-hjr73_ZUR91kY6pFdd64DFaV8hfuPyDsDWZrPMiey06di3Aaj9aOb2hjOvpvOc7O3D5n0hjZJVIGLSlXUKsCMamEaMBbG4sv8p3hfwAAAP__Tjdm5Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" >gasoline to rise by over a dollar this month to nearly $4 a gallon as diesel nears all-time highs. Those price increases come on top of heightened AI data center demand, which has driven utilities to file for <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszkFuwyAQBdDTwG4iPGCMFyyy8TUizIxrVGwSIO31K0ddzpv_pU8eXTTKSvbDNBljrRqV3L0ms1mHjrdgo9vWqDcyZrU2BI3WKJm8naPRetNxNuP0GHC25JR2GpFXYVRLxN_pBUdImWsDGyNtZp5oAsr7a79dD5n93vuzCX0XuAhcnuWXa04nt1upXwKXd0859cQNKr_e3DoTVI6lEugB1pRzKiekE2roDOmMlUPjdgkqHIHKe80MfQ8dynaZEbjIgykFqJyvNCTyH3j8g9B3HPVgUVYfTqochFGxHEf5HMdnnGy9Mh9XmVR0bGaCIWoCE6KCgG6GOcYBrdYu2CB_PP4FAAD__x45c_Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" >record rate increases. A <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszU1u7CAQBODTwI4Id2N-Fiyy8TUiTLdtFGwn4Jmnuf2TR1nWVyoVRfDZaCs5Ds4ZY60etdziEgyOMLgZckbihWjB7NgnAnSzR1miDdkgLpiDGd3XAMGS1-gRgGdhdC_E3-VX7alUbl3ZnGkxwZFTVLff7eMuZI3bdf10gZ8CJgHT2s7HQf_O9p3PWtN8tnSVJ3-cbRUw3S5gutpj_1Glq5ZKL8eq-OC2vlQ6SD2uUsv1UnOptQuY5M5UkmpcOXVWheIbvv5A4CeMOFiQLaaDGidhdD73_XyHvd_Psl-Neb_HpLNnE0gNGUmZlLVK4IMKOQ9gEX2yST4j_A8AAP__Y49ugQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" >new fact sheet from Groundwork Collaborative captures the devastating impact on American households and who they blame. More than <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszcHOpCAQBOCngRsGGgQ5cJiLr2GY7nYkq6sD7Pr6f2byH-urVIoSTOi0l5xMCM55r0ctt-TA4GgwjGwzMmQOLrinBc9gwEwoS_IRnbWrxejGsBiIniZtJwvAT-F0K8R_ylsduexcm_KItLoYKCjat_c2fAq5p633qwn7EDALmO_7Htayc1vPetXzVbm14awvATPlnhv3JmAGDV7AbD-6XsvrxuVfL3vphdvS87MNF63yYCpZVd45N1aF0heWXxD2AaM1HmRN-S9VzsJpPI_j_Ibjeytbr8zHZ0waJ3aRlEFLymXUKsMUVUQ04K2dss_yf4KfAAAA___NfWoU" rel="noopener noreferrer" >66% of Americans say their electricity bills have increased over the past year, while just 5% report any decrease. The burden is falling hardest on working families, with lower-income households spending nearly six times more of their income on energy than the wealthiest families. Meanwhile, one in five Americans could not afford their energy bills in 2025, and one in three reported cutting back on food or medicine just to keep the lights on. Groundwork’s brief explores what Americans think is driving these cost increases and what policies they want decisionmakers to pursue. <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszcHOpCAQBOCngRsGGgQ5cJiLr2GY7nYkq6sD7Pr6f2byH-urVIoSTOi0l5xMCM55r0ctt-TA4GgwjGwzMmQOLrinBc9gwEwoS_IRnbWrxejGsBiIniZtJwvAT-F0K8R_ylsduexcm_KItLoYKCjat_c2fAq5p633qwn7EDALmO_7Htayc1vPetXzVbm14awvATPlnhv3JmAGDV7AbD-6XsvrxuVfL3vphdvS87MNF63yYCpZVd45N1aF0heWXxD2AaM1HmRN-S9VzsJpPI_j_Ibjeytbr8zHZ0waJ3aRlEFLymXUKsMUVUQ04K2dss_yf4KfAAAA___NfWoU" rel="noopener noreferrer" >Nearly half of voters (47%) say tariffs are raising their utility bills, and <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszcHOpCAQBOCngRsGGgQ5cJiLr2GY7nYkq6sD7Pr6f2byH-urVIoSTOi0l5xMCM55r0ctt-TA4GgwjGwzMmQOLrinBc9gwEwoS_IRnbWrxejGsBiIniZtJwvAT-F0K8R_ylsduexcm_KItLoYKCjat_c2fAq5p633qwn7EDALmO_7Htayc1vPetXzVbm14awvATPlnhv3JmAGDV7AbD-6XsvrxuVfL3vphdvS87MNF63yYCpZVd45N1aF0heWXxD2AaM1HmRN-S9VzsJpPI_j_Ibjeytbr8zHZ0waJ3aRlEFLymXUKsMUVUQ04K2dss_yf4KfAAAA___NfWoU" rel="noopener noreferrer" >65% believe the rapid expansion of AI data centers will push electricity costs even higher. A <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszUGutCAQBODTwA6DDSIsWMzG5D8FYbpbJb-ODpjn9V9m8pb1VSpFETxa7STHfhytdU4PWq7RhUH74C2O1jvnkZCeurfW9I5JhyBLdAGtMbPBYIcx9RAceW28AeCnsLoV4v_lrfZcNq5NOUSabRhpVLSt77X7FHKL63WdTZiHgEnAdN93N5eN23zUsx5L5da6oy4CJspXbnw1ARNocAIm89H5TMuN6V_Nr7Tkls5akFu68rN1J81yZypZVd44N1aF4hfSHwjzgMH0DmSN-UWVs7Aaj30_vmH_nst2Veb9MyaNnm0g1aMhZTNqlcEHFRB7cMb47LL8ifAbAAD__-mxa9k" rel="noopener noreferrer" >new poll from Groundwork and Data for Progress finds that a majority of voters (52%) would rather end the Iran war than take temporary half measures to somewhat lower the price of gas, like tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and pausing the federal gas tax. <a href="https://us.cisionone.cision.com/c/eJwszU1u7CAQBODTwI4Id2N-Fiyy8TUiTLdtFGwn4Jmnuf2TR1nWVyoVRfDZaCs5Ds4ZY60etdziEgyOMLgZckbihWjB7NgnAnSzR1miDdkgLpiDGd3XAMGS1-gRgGdhdC_E3-VX7alUbl3ZnGkxwZFTVLff7eMuZI3bdf10gZ8CJgHT2s7HQf_O9p3PWtN8tnSVJ3-cbRUw3S5gutpj_1Glq5ZKL8eq-OC2vlQ6SD2uUsv1UnOptQuY5M5UkmpcOXVWheIbvv5A4CeMOFiQLaaDGidhdD73_XyHvd_Psl-Neb_HpLNnE0gNGUmZlLVK4IMKOQ9gEX2yST4j_A8AAP__Y49ugQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click here to read the full fact sheet from Groundwork Collaborative. This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Hegseth removes Pentagon guardrails to limit civilian harm
Immigrant workers launch largest US meatpacking strike in 40 years
<img width="1024" height="738" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C738&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="The JBS sign can be seen through striking workers on the picket line during the first day of a strike by UFCW Local 7 at the JBS Beef Production Facility in Greeley on Monday, March 16, 2026. Photo by Brice Tucker/MediaNews Group/Greeley Tribune via Getty Images" data-attachment-id="342266" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/immigrant-workers-launch-largest-us-meatpacking-strike-in-40-years/gettyimages-2266914713" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1846&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1846" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="GettyImages-2266914713" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" The JBS sign can be seen through striking workers on the picket line during the first day of a strike by UFCW Local 7 at the JBS Beef Production Facility in Greeley on Monday, March 16, 2026. Photo by Brice Tucker/MediaNews Group/Greeley Tribune via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C216&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C562&ssl=1"> “Workers are fighting to be able to afford the same food that they produce for the rest of the country, to be able to buy beef at the grocery store and not have to buy Top Ramen.”
<img width="1024" height="738" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C738&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="The JBS sign can be seen through striking workers on the picket line during the first day of a strike by UFCW Local 7 at the JBS Beef Production Facility in Greeley on Monday, March 16, 2026. Photo by Brice Tucker/MediaNews Group/Greeley Tribune via Getty Images" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C216&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C738&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C554&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1108&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1477&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C865&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1442&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C562&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C288&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C738&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342266" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/immigrant-workers-launch-largest-us-meatpacking-strike-in-40-years/gettyimages-2266914713" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1846&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1846" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="GettyImages-2266914713" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" The JBS sign can be seen through striking workers on the picket line during the first day of a strike by UFCW Local 7 at the JBS Beef Production Facility in Greeley on Monday, March 16, 2026. Photo by Brice Tucker/MediaNews Group/Greeley Tribune via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C216&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266914713-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C562&ssl=1" /> 3,800 workers and Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 members at the massive JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, walked off the job on an unfair labor practice strike on March 16. This is the first strike ever at the Greeley plant—one of the largest in the country—and it’s the biggest meatpacking strike in the US since the 1985-86 strike at the Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota. As Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu report in Labor Notes, “Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from 40 a week to 35, squeezing out more work for less money… Workers are also demanding that the company stop charging them out-of-pocket costs for personal protective equipment like mesh vests and arm guards—essential because they work with knives, saws, and other sharp, dangerous equipment.” In this episode, we speak with Clark and Xu, who report from the JBS picket line and break down why this strike is so significant and what it will take for workers to win this fight against the largest beef processor in the US. Guest: Caitlyn Clark is a national organizer at Essential Workers for Democracy, an organization dedicated to rank-and-file member education and empowerment for UFCW members in grocery, meatpacking, and retail. Lisa Xu is a staff writer and organizer at Labor Notes. Additional links/info: Caitlyn Clark & Lisa Xu, Labor Notes, “In 57 languages, meatpackers strike for the first time in 40 Years” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Maximillian Alvarez: All right. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today. Working People is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and is brought to you in partnership with In These Times Magazine and the Real News Network. This show is produced by Jules Taylor and made possible by the support of listeners like you. My name is Maximillian Alvarez, and we’ve got a critical strike update episode for y’all today. As Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu report at Labor Notes, quote, “In less than a quarter mile stretch of sidewalk.” Chatter in 57 languages overlaps with the sound of Dance Hall, Bachata, Taipop, Haitian Kompa, and Micronesian hip hop. At sunset, dozens gather for Iftar, breaking their Ramadan fast. The music pulsing from boomboxes and cell phones held up to megaphones swells into one shared hum. In this sliver of land across from the sprawling JBS beef processing plant, among the largest in the country, workers from around the world have united in the largest US meat packing strike in 40 years. The 3,800 workers at the JBS Beef Processing Plant in Greeley, Colorado walked off the job on Monday, March 16th, launching a two-week unfair labor practice strike. This is the company’s flagship beef plant in the US. Its previous contract with food and commercial workers, UFCW Local seven, expired last July. Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from 40 hours a week to 35, squeezing out more work for less money. “We’re demanding our rights, both in terms of wages and working conditions, because before the strike, they really took advantage of us, said a worker in the brisket trim department who spoke in Spanish and asked to remain anonymous. They want the same output, but fewer hours and fewer people. After 18 years working at JBS, he said,” Everything is so expensive. Everything has gone up except our wages. “This is the first strike ever at the Greeley plant and the first major US meatpacking strike since the 1985, 86 strike at the Hormel Plant in Austin, Minnesota. To talk about this critical strike, I’m grateful to be joined on the show today by Caitlyn Clarkand Lisa Xu. Caitlyn is a national organizer at Essential Workers for Democracy, an organization dedicated to rank and file member education and empowerment for UFCW members in grocery, meat packing, and retail. And Lisa is a staff writer and organizer at Labor Notes. Caitlin, Lisa, thank you both so much for joining me today. I want to jump right in and ask y’all to pick up where I left off in the intro. Break the strike down for our listeners, like who is striking? What are the core issues here? How are negotiations working in this struggle and how has JBS responded to the strike? Caitlyn Clark: Yeah, thanks so much for having us. I’m really excited to be here. So on Monday, March 16th at 5:30 AM, 3,800 workers walked off the job at the JBS Greeley plant, which is in Greeley, Colorado, a more rural part of Colorado, about an hour north of Denver. JBS is the largest employer in Greeley. The Greeley plant is also the flagship JBS plant in the United States. So the corporate headquarters of JBS is based in Greeley. It’s among the largest JBS beef processing plants in the country, and about five to 7% of all beef consumed in the United States comes directly out of this one plant. So these workers are coming from all around the world. There’s over 50 different languages that are spoken in just this plant alone. You can hear in the intro of some of the descriptions of the places where the workers are from. I guess it’s hard to pinpoint one particular place where the majority of the workers come from, but some of the common languages that you might hear spoken out on the picket line would be Spanish, French, Haitian, Burmese, Somali. And after that, there’s probably dozens of other languages that are being spoken in this one single plant. The majority of the workers come from Latin America, from French-speaking West Africa, from Haiti, Somalia, and from Burma. So some of the core issues that the workers are facing in this contract negotiation, which has been ongoing since July of 2025, so they’re approaching a year under an expired contract and fighting for a new agreement with JBS. The issues that they’re focusing on in this contract negotiation is higher wages that keep up with the rate of inflation and with the extremely difficult and dangerous work that these workers are doing every day. They are pushing back against an increase in line speed, which is an issue that comes up really frequently in meat packing across all the different proteins, which is the way that they break up meat packing organizing or meat packing contracts. So across the meat packing industry, line speeds are going up. This is always an issue for meat packing workers. And in this contract, the JBS workers are trying to push back against increases to line speed. There’s been a particular focus on the ways that JBS has been increasing the line speed on particular groups of workers in recent years. There’s a lawsuit of over 1,000 Haitian workers at the JBS plant in Greeley that have filed a class action lawsuit against the company alleging that the company is discriminating against Haitian workers by increasing line speeds, by pushing all of the Haitian workers onto the evening shift, the bee shift, and making the lion speed on the bee shift faster. The line speed really can’t stress enough how important the line speed is to the experience of workers on the job. For people who have never been inside a meat packing plant before or don’t know at all what goes on inside, I can break that down a little bit. So the majority of the work happens in what is called fabrication. So this is like breaking down the different parts of the animal carcass. So in this case, a cow carcass. A big cow carcass is going down a conveyor belt and workers are stationed at points along the conveyor belt, taking a sharp meat hook, a sharp metal hook, taking the carcass off the conveyor belt, and then using a knife to trim off the fat and cut the carcass into smaller pieces. So most of the workers that we interviewed for this article work in the fabrication department. In the JBS Greeley plant, so from start to finish, live cattle come into the plant. There’s people whose job it is to kill the cattle, get all the blood and guts out, and then put that over to fabrication. Then the majority of the workers are in the fabrication department, so they’re taking apart the carcass, breaking it down into smaller parts, trimming off all of the fat and getting it ready for shipping. The final department is the shipping department, which has everything packaged up into boxes ready to go out to the places where JBS supplies meat for. JBS supplies meat for almost every place you could imagine that consumes meat in the United States for large fast food companies like McDonald’s and Burger King and Subway, but also for sale in retail grocery stores like Kroger and for sale in wholesalers like Costco. So almost everywhere there’s meat in the United States, JBS has some fingerprint on it. JVS is among the largest meat packers in the world. They’re the largest beef producer in the world. They’re a Brazilian-based company that has had years of scandals for corruption. The owners of the company actually went to jail just a couple years ago for insider trading. They are worth a collective $12 billion between the two brothers that own the company or have a family share in the company. When the speed of the conveyor belt goes up, the pace at which workers are breaking apart the animal carcass also has to go up. So the speed of their work goes up significantly. So lion speed really sets the pace for how fast the workers are moving, and that can set the pace for how dangerous the job is. Workers on the job in meat packing plants have reported cutting themselves with their knives, poking themselves with their sharp meat hooks. They’ve reported chemical burns. There was a worker who tragically passed away in 2021 after falling into a vat of chemicals at the Greeley plant. This is some of the most dangerous work in the United States, and workers who are out on strike are demanding that their pay reflect the difficulty and the danger of the work that they do, and that the line speed be set at a reasonable pace that allows them to work safely. The other thing that speeding up the line does is it reduces hours. So this is something that we’re seeing all across working America right now. We’re especially seeing this in UFCW industries in retail and in meat packing. These companies are squeezing more work out of less workers for less hours, and workers across the board are seeing their hours getting cut. So the workers at the JBS Greeley plant are supports to be working 40 hours a week. They reported working down to 38 or 35 hours a week due to the increased speed of the line. So they’re producing more than ever at the JBS Greeley plant, but the workers are experiencing their hours getting cut and their paycheck’s getting smaller because the line is getting sped up faster and faster. And then the third thing that they’re fighting for in this contract is for the company to pay for personal protective equipment. So I just talked about how the work that they’re doing in the plant is extremely dangerous. And in order to protect themselves and work safely, they wear a wide range of personal protective equipment. So that includes a cut glove, a metal kind of vest thing that they have to wear, like a thin mesh vest. And all of these different pieces of equipment, rubber boots, if you’re working on the kill floor, which could be covered in blood, all of that personal protective equipment when you first get hired is provided to you by the company. But if you work there for more than six months, you may end up having to replace this equipment either because it’s getting worn out, it’s been damaged, it’s been lost or it’s been stolen. And anytime you have to replace your personal protective equipment, you have to pay for it. And the company doesn’t really give you an option because it’s a requirement to wear the PPE when you’re working. And if you need to replace your PPE, they will give it to you and then take the cost out of your paycheck directly without your consent. And this cost for PPE can be up to $1,100 per person. I spoke to workers on the picket line who were describing having to pay $70 because they lost their knife sharpener. They had to buy a new one, but it’s not like this is something you’re using for personal use. It’s a requirement of your job in order to work safely, and yet workers are the ones that are paying the cost. They’re workers that were describing trying to keep some of their personal protective equipment together with stickers or tape while it was falling apart because they didn’t want to buy new equipment. So this is one of the contract issues that they’re focusing on in negotiations this year is the right for workers to access personal protective equipment without the cost of it getting taken out of their paychecks or without having to pay for it out of pocket. Maximillian Alvarez: Let’s dig into that a little bit more and take things down to the picket line level. I want to ask if y’all could talk more about the kind of people who work in this plant and the kind of jobs that they do. And yeah, if you could convey to our listeners what workers on strike have told you about what it’s like to work there, the kind of working conditions that they face daily, and especially how and why those conditions have gotten worse over time. Caitlyn Clark: Sure. Yeah. Being out there in person on the JBS Greeley picket line, it’s been just incredible and so inspiring to see all of these workers from all around the world coming together, even when they don’t have a shared language, they are sharing music and dancing and food with each other to be able to build solidarity across different language groups. And the organizing that went into building this amount of power and this amount of solidarity that we’re seeing out on the picket line has just been incredible and really, really inspiring. The working conditions in the plant can be very difficult and very dangerous. I saw all types of injuries when I was out on the picket line from hernias and herniated discs to cuts on people’s hands, burns on people’s hands, shoulder injuries. It’s a very difficult job. And I think one of the biggest demands in these contract negotiations is for workers to feel like they’re being adequately compensated for how hard they work on the line and the risks that come to their health and to their personal safety for doing this kind of job. There are also workers that we spoke to, including one who’s quoted in the article that enjoy their job. They genuinely like coming to work. They find it fun or enjoyable, but they want to be able to do that work safely and they want to be paid fairly for it. Cost of living has gone up significantly over the last several years and meat packing workers were really on the front lines of the COVID pandemic in 2020. There were mass deaths in the meatpacking industry during 2020. These meat packing plants were staying open, which was lobbied for by the government. And meat packing plants were staying open throughout the pandemic. COVID was spreading rapidly throughout these plants and workers across the country were dying left and right from COVID, which made a already dangerous workplace even more dangerous. In the years since the pandemic, meat packing workers have been fighting to win better contracts to get what they are owed from the hard work that they did during the COVID pandemic, the risks that they took, the ways that they kept the country fed, while large parts of the economy and large parts of the country were shut down during the pandemic. And so workers at the Greeley plant are fighting to make sure that their wages keep up with the rising cost of living, the rising cost of inflation. And workers are fighting to be able to afford the same food that they produce for the rest of the country to be able to buy beef at the grocery store and not have to buy top ramen. This is the way that I think a lot of the workers on the plant are thinking about fighting in this contract is to win higher wage increases that keep up with the cost of living and to win longer-term benefits like pension plans and safety protections, protections from speed up on the line that will also allow them to continue to work safely and with dignity on the job. Lisa Xu: Meat packing has long been an industry with notoriously bad working conditions. And it was thanks to the work of unions and activists in these plants that conditions did get better. In the post-war era, up to 90% of meat packing workers were unionized. And we were just looking at the latest figures and it looks like that dropped to 17% in 2025. So a big part of the story of the deterioration of conditions is union busting, and we’re going to have to rebuild union density in the industry to combat this deterioration. And it was a very deliberate strategy that was employed by these companies. They would close plants in union strongholds like Chicago and move them to rural areas, places like Greeley, where the workforce was very dependent on them, where union protections were weaker. Also, they would lay off people under the guise of automation. And like Caitlin was saying, lines speed up. A big part of the reason why conditions are so horrific is because industry is now very concentrated. And in the course of this consolidation, we now have four beef processors. They call it the big four, which JBS is the biggest in the US. Also Tyson Foods, Cargill National Beef who control 80% of beef processing. And not only is this bad for the workers in the plant, it’s also bad for consumers because as they reap these record profits, beef prices are increasing for everyone, and it’s also bad for small cattle growers. So we write in the article that JBS has been fined for price fixing along with these other companies. So really, they operate like a cartel. Another important factor, which we’ve been talking about, meat packing workers, it’s long been an immigrant workforce. Now it’s literally refugees from all these companies coming in under different immigration statuses who are working in these plants. And that’s a reason that Local seven talks about for why there hasn’t been a labor dispute up to this point. There were ice raids going back to the 2000s. There’s a big one at the Greeley plant in 2006. So this is another tool that these companies are using to discourage workers from organizing. JBS and other companies have been fined for using child labor in these plants. So really we’re talking about caricature-ishly bad companies and working conditions. So those are some of the factors as to how things have gotten so bad. And this is one of the reasons why this strike is so important is because it’s so important to visibly show that it’s possible to organize against these conditions. Caitlyn Clark: JBS, over the last year, has paid well over a hundred million dollars in fines for various settlements over price fixing and illegal collaboration with the other Big Four meat packers to increase beef prices for consumers, but they’ve also paid a $55 million fine in a $200 million industry-wide meat packing settlement over employer collusion to illegally repress worker wages. So across the board, JBS and the other major meat packers that make up the vast majority of the meat that we consume in the United States are working together to increase prices for consumers and to repress wages for workers. Maximillian Alvarez: Well, and this is the same goddamn story that we hear in different sectors of the economy across the country. You guys report on it at Labor Notes. We report on it here at working people like pick your industry and you’ll hear the same kind of thing. The railroads have been consolidated to now they’re like four companies and they want to merge into two mega companies. Basically every hospital system has been bought up by this or that healthcare conglomerate. You have almost all of the media owned by a handful of companies, the consumer products that fill our stores and our aisles all come from three to four mega companies. And you inevitably hear as a result of this kind of corporate consolidation that consumers and workers pay the price for it while profits soar through the roof for Wall Street shareholders and corporate executives. We can’t keep going down this road and expecting a different result, but you can see the horrific results anywhere you look in this damn economy. And I wanted to circle back to the question of COVID and kind of how that helps supercharge the consolidation of the meat packing industry, because that is sadly something that hits really close to home. And as we covered here on this show during COVID, I remember talking to folks around the time that there were strikes at meat packing plants in the Dakotas. And these were over COVID protocols and like the fact that as you both mentioned, meat packing workers were getting sick, they were being exposed to COVID, they weren’t being properly protected, they were doing dangerous jobs, they were feeding the country. I mean, but that’s not even the half of it, right? I mean, we saw in the years following that there were even plant managers at companies like Tyson who were making bets on how many of their workers were going to get sick with COVID and die, right? I mean, this is how disgusting things have gotten, but you both write about in your report that the COVID pandemic and other larger kind of forces at work have sort of allowed companies like JBS to close union heavy shops and reopen elsewhere with non-unionized workforces. Can you just talk a little more for folks who are listening to this, like what this current strike means in the context of the meat packing industry writ large and what the strike tells us about that industry as it exists today in the year of our Lord 2026. Lisa Xu: Yeah. I started to allude to this earlier. I think it’s so significant that this is the first major, like you mentioned, there have been other strikes, but this is the first strike of the scale in the meat packing industry since 1985, 1986, we think since the famous strike against Hormel Foods in Minnesota, which was kind of part of a pattern of a new era of union busing in the ’80s. They really cracked down on those workers. And this is like four or five years after Reagan busted the Paco strike. And for all the reasons we’ve been talking about COVID included, that the industry has just been trying to make workers sort of as quiescent and acquiescent as possible since then. So to have a strike of this magnitude at one of the biggest beef processing facilities in the US I think is really significant. And the workers and Local seven have to be praised and encouraged for just how visible they’ve made it because this is why it’s so important to be fighting these companies publicly and openly to demonstrate, well, first, to actually exert leverage over the company, and we know this is a huge source of profits for JBS in the US, but also to demonstrate to workers that it’s possible to fight, it’s possible to organize even across such a diverse workforce. And yeah, it’s possible to win. That’s why this is already a historic strike. The negative effects of the consolidation we’re talking about workers and unions have a really important role to play in trying to combat that, reverse it. A group of UFCW locals were instrumental in stopping a major grocery merger last year. So it is possible for labor to play an important role here. Caitlyn Clark: I can’t overstate how brave and courageous the workers who are out on strike at JBS are. There are so many conditions that are stacked against them and are working to try to scare them out of taking this kind of action against their employer. JBS is the largest meat packing company in the world. They have also donated $5 million to President Trump’s inauguration fund as part of a ploy to get approval to go IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. There was a year’s long process where their attempt to be traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange was being held up by regulators and politicians, including a coalition of across the aisle senators that were concerned that the labor practices and corruption scandals that JBS has been involved in made the company too corrupt to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange between their personal corruption of those in executive positions at JDS in addition to their working with ranchers in Brazil who have an active role in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, burning down parts of the Amazon to clear room for cattle rearing, which then goes into the JBS supply chain, as well as their collusion to repress worker wages and increased beef prices, not just in the US, but across the globe. These were all some of the conditions that made it very difficult for them to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. And shortly after they became the largest single donor to Trump’s inauguration fund, after his election, they donated $5 million. They were waved through and went IPO, and now they’re being publicly traded in the New York Stock Exchange, which has opened them up to potentially billions of dollars in new investment from American investors. So this company is making money handover fist. They have relatively close ties to the Trump administration. These workers, which are majority immigrant workers, are facing down this major company. They’re standing up and they’re fighting for not just their wages and their safety on the job, but also dignity and respect. And it’s been incredibly courageous and inspiring to see, and I am hopeful that it may be able to have a ripple effect across the entire meatpacking industry. As we’ve mentioned, the JBS Greeley strike is the first major meatpacking strike in 40 years. There was a Wildcat walkout in 2006 and 2007 in Targill, North Carolina at a Smithfield plant that was much smaller than the JBS Greeley plant, an industry where we’ve seen so much corporate consolidation, we’ve seen so many mergers and acquisitions. That’s how JBS became the largest meat packer in the world is through buying up smaller meat packing companies. We need more stripes in the meatpacking industry. We need more militant action. These employers have been consolidating power and consolidating wealth for the last several decades, and workers like those at the JBS Greeley plant were standing up and saying, “Enough is enough. We’re demanding fair pay. We’re demanding our dignity. We’re demanding our respect on the job. We’re demanding safe working conditions.” That’s how we’re going to stand up to this consolidated corporate power. Well, Maximillian Alvarez: And let’s come around the final turn here and end by talking about, again, why this current strike is so significant and anything we can leave listeners with about where things stand now with this contract fight and what messages you have for listeners out there who want to know how they can show solidarity with these workers. Lisa Xu: Yeah, I’ll add, I think we’re about one week into what the local announced was a two-week unfair labor practices strike. So everyone should stay tuned for how this resolves if it succeeds in moving the company on any of these core demands, if they in fact come to the table before the end of the two-week strike, which is what everyone is hoping. I should also mention that last year there was actually for the first time a national round of negotiations by the UFCW that covered 14 other JBS plants. Local seven opted out of that national agreement and is actually trying to push for even better conditions than was one in that national agreement. So I would say another thing to look for is if they do succeed in doing that, then hopefully this will lift up conditions, not just at UFCW unionized JBS plans, but hopefully even beyond that. But I wanted to mention that because we did see some locals who are part of that national negotiations come out to support workers in Greeley on the picket line because they understood that there were stakes for workers beyond just the ones in Colorado. Caitlyn Clark: Other ways that people can support the strike is by donating to Local 7’s Strike Hardship Fund, which is money that will go directly to striking workers who request additional financial support in addition to the strike benefits they’re getting from their local if they have extenuating circumstances. The other place you can donate is to a GoFundMe that’s been set up by essential workers that will be split evenly between the local’s hardship fund and direct support for the picketers on the line. We’re working with a community solidarity group that has been showing support on the picket line with snacks, water. There’s been a heat wave in Colorado this past week, so we’ve been going out there with ice cream and popsicles to keep people cool. And 50% of the money from the GoFundMe will go directly to buying supplies for workers on the picket line with our community support group. Maximillian Alvarez: All right, gang, that’s going to wrap things up for us today. I want to thank our guests, Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu. Go and read Caitlyn and Lisa’s vital report on the JBS Meatpacking Worker Strike in Labor Notes, which we’ve linked to in the show notes for this episode and support the vital work that Labor Notes is doing. We need that work now more than ever. And of course, I want to thank you all for listening, and I want to thank you for caring about this. We’ll see y’all back here next time for another episode of Working People. And in the meantime, go explore all the great work that we’re doing at the Real News Network, where we do grassroots reporting that lifts up the voices and stories from the front lines of struggle. Check us out across our YouTube channel, our podcast feeds, our website, and our social media pages, and help us do more work like this by going to the realnews.com/donate and becoming a supporter today. I promise you guys, it really makes a difference. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Solidarity forever. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Maximillian Alvarez.
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The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 25, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 25, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 25, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
Guterres urges de-escalation as war spirals ‘out of control’Iran offers conditional safe passage through Strait of Hormuz: UN maritime agency Ukraine: massive drone and missile attack reported: OHCHR
Guterres urges de-escalation as war spirals ‘out of control’Iran offers conditional safe passage through Strait of Hormuz: UN maritime agency Ukraine: massive drone and missile attack reported: OHCHR This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Daniel Johnson.
Walkway Over Dangerous Train Crossing Is Dead After Norfolk Southern Backtracks on Funds, Mayor Says
The post Walkway Over Dangerous Train Crossing Is Dead After Norfolk Southern Backtracks on Funds, Mayor Says appeared first on ProPublica.
The mayor of Hammond, Indiana, says train company Norfolk Southern is reneging on a promise to partly finance the construction of a pedestrian overpass at a dangerous rail crossing that was the subject of a ProPublica investigation. And without the funding, he added, the project is dead. Officials began pursuing the overpass in 2023, after the news organization and its reporting partner, InvestigateTV, documented dozens of children crawling through, over and under trains that blocked them from getting to and from school in the city. Hammond is a nearby suburb of Chicago, the busiest train hub in the nation. At the time, the area served as a kind of parking lot for Norfolk Southern’s trains as they idled between two busy intersections — a growing problem in Hammond and railroad communities like it across the country as trains get longer. After publication, Norfolk Southern’s CEO at the time, Alan Shaw, called Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott to discuss solutions, including a pedestrian overpass. The mayor said Shaw committed to paying the full cost of the project. A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern told ProPublica the company never made any such commitment. The company would later make operational changes, such as stopping the trains in a different location to reduce the impact to Hammond and the schoolchildren. Still, one child was captured on video jumping from a moving train after Norfolk Southern said it made those changes. For a while, the overpass effort seemed to have some momentum. The company paid for engineering and design plans, and in June 2023 the city received a $7.7 million federal grant for the project. While it required a local match of $2.6 million, McDermott said Shaw agreed to pay it. The mayor said the company made no written commitment, and Shaw was fired by the railroad in 2024. Now, McDermott is accusing Norfolk Southern, under its current CEO, Mark George, of backing out of the handshake deal. “The new guy got amnesia,” the mayor told ProPublica. Shaw did not respond to messages seeking comment. A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, which reported $2.9 billion in profit in 2025 according to its Securities and Exchange Commission filings, disputed McDermott’s claims that the company agreed to provide the matching funds but said it did provide the city with $450,000 and “assisted officials in successfully applying for a federal grant to make the city’s plan for a pedestrian bridge possible.” The spokesperson also said that the changes the company made in 2023 to reduce the impact on schools are working. “More than two years later, these changes continue to yield results, including a nearly 50% drop in blocked crossing calls into our communications center at this location,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. But local and state officials say Hammond is still seeing blocked crossings near schools. Carlotta Blake-King, the local school board president, told ProPublica that district employees saw children at a different location traversing a stopped train as they left school as recently as last week. A Norfolk Southern spokesperson acknowledged the blockage but said it was “not typical for that location.” The company said its trains normally have clear passage through that area without stopping. “We never want to inconvenience our communities with a stopped train, and we encourage everyone to always stay off railroad tracks and never attempt to cross between rail cars,” the spokesperson wrote. McDermott said he’s also noticed Norfolk Southern’s trains beginning to block the roadways again and worries that “it will slowly but surely resume to where it was.” “I’ve already been lied to once by Norfolk Southern,” the mayor said, “so I have no reason to believe that they’re going to keep on trying to reduce the impacts upon our city.” McDermott said the community will ultimately see some relief in the form of a vehicle overpass in the area where the children routinely encounter the train. The project, however, won’t be completed until at least 2029. And while it will include a path for pedestrians, it won’t help many students, as they would need to walk at least a mile out of their way to reach it. Indiana state Rep. Carolyn Jackson, a Democrat who represents the Hammond area and has in the past introduced legislation to address blocked crossings, said she doesn’t want the community’s children to grow “up thinking that crawling under or over the train is a way of life.” Her fear is that without the bridge, “a child will be severely injured or killed in Hammond.” McDermott said he has the same fear: “I hope to God, and I pray it never happens.” The post Walkway Over Dangerous Train Crossing Is Dead After Norfolk Southern Backtracks on Funds, Mayor Says appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Topher Sanders.
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‘Mind-blowing corruption’: traders placed massive bets minutes before Trump post on Iran
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Just minutes before US President Donald Trump momentarily boosted the stock market—and sent oil prices tumblin...
<img width="1024" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 18, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342261" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/mind-blowing-corruption-traders-placed-massive-bets-minutes-before-trump-post-on-iran/nyse-opens-ahead-of-feds-latest-interest-rate-decision" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1706" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R1","caption":"NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 18, 2026 in New York City. Stocks continued to slide at opening amid an interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve and a release of producer price index that showed wholesale prices rose more than expected in February. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1773821921","copyright":"2026 Getty Images","focal_length":"24","iso":"6400","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"NYSE Opens Ahead Of Fed's Latest Interest Rate Decision","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="NYSE Opens Ahead Of Fed&#8217;s Latest Interest Rate Decision" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 18, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267212456-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Just minutes before US President Donald Trump momentarily boosted the stock market—and sent oil prices tumbling—with his disputed Monday announcement of peace talks with Iran, unknown traders loaded up on positions that allowed them to profit from the resulting movement in equities and commodities. The Financial Times reported that “roughly 6,200 Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures contracts changed hands between 6:49 am and 6:50 am New York time on Monday, just a quarter of an hour ahead of the US president’s post on Truth Social that there had in recent days been ‘productive conversations’ with Tehran to end the war in Iran.” FT added that the notional value of those trades was $580 million. “Trading volumes for Brent and WTI leapt at the same time, 27 seconds before 6:50 am,” the newspaper reported. “Futures tracking the S&P 500 share index jumped in price moments after the oil trade, with volumes also rising significantly during that timeframe. It was not known whether one entity or several entities were behind Monday’s trades.” An unnamed trader at a “major hedge fund” told FT that “my gut from watching markets for the last 25 years is this is really abnormal.” “It’s Monday morning, there’s no important data today, there aren’t any Fed speakers you’d want to front-run. It’s an unusually large trade for a day with no event risk,” the trader said. “Somebody just got a lot richer.” A BBC review of market data similarly found that “traders bet hundreds of millions of dollars on oil contracts just minutes before” Trump’s announcement of talks with Iran. Iranian officials publicly denied that they are negotiating with the Trump administration, and Iran’s top lawmaker accused the US president of peddling “fake news” in an attempt to “manipulate the financial and oil markets.” The suspiciously timed bets ahead of the US president’s post heightened concerns that Trump administration insiders are illegally trading on—and profiting massively from—nonpublic knowledge. Responding to a report that $1.5 billion worth of S&P 500 futures was purchased just five minutes before Trump’s Monday announcement, US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked: “Who was it? Trump? A family member? A White House staffer?” “This is corruption,” the senator wrote. “Mind-blowing corruption.” Last week, Murphy joined US Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) in unveiling legislation that would ban prediction markets on “government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome.” The bill came on the heels of suspiciously timed, highly profitable bets related to US military actions in Venezuela and Iran. The Guardian reported Monday that several newly created accounts on the online prediction platform Polymarket “laid bets on a US-Iran ceasefire over the weekend that appeared to show signs of insider knowledge, according to experts.” Researcher Ben Yorke told the newspaper that the accounts—which are anonymous—“definitely” look like “someone with some degree of inside info.” The Guardian noted that “online crypto watchers and experts suggested that the bets bore the signs of insider trading—both because they bought their positions at market price, and because some of the accounts looked like they could belong to a single investor attempting to conceal their identity by splitting their bet between multiple wallets.” According to Yorke, “Typically, when you see wallet-splitting and deliberate attempts to obfuscate identity, it’s one of two scenarios: either a very large investor trying to shield their position from market impact, or insider trading.” The Trump White House insisted Monday that any suggestion of insider trading “is baseless and irresponsible reporting.” “The White House does not tolerate any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Jake Johnson.
House Dem Leaders Waver on Iran Vote As Trump Prepares to Escalate
On Tuesday, Punchbowl News reported that House Democratic leaders are not planning to hold a vote on a war powers resolution for Iran this week—despite reports that they may have enough support to adopt one. With the House on recess for the next two w...
On Tuesday, Punchbowl News reported that House Democratic leaders are not planning to hold a vote on a war powers resolution for Iran this week—despite reports that they may have enough support to adopt one. With the House on recess for the next two weeks, that would mean the earliest a war powers vote could happen would be the week of April 13. Meanwhile, multiple outlets have reported that the Pentagon is preparing to send potentially thousands of troops to the Middle East and the U.S. Army has increased the maximum enlistment age to 42. Demand Progress recently released a poll showing that 56 percent of voters think a war with Iran benefits Israel more, compared to only 29 percent who think it benefits the U.S. more. The following is a statement from Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy advisor at Demand Progress: “It would be extremely alarming for Reps. Jeffries and Meeks to waver now on forcing a war powers vote. The Trump administration is gearing up to send thousands of troops to the Middle East and the Army just raised the maximum recruitment age to 42. Delaying a war powers vote now effectively gives Trump two more weeks to continue and escalate the war in Iran. This war is a disaster, it’s unpopular and civilians across the region are dying. This is a moment for anti-war leadership, not hesitation. The House should be on the record now, especially when reporting suggests the votes are there to pass a war powers resolution. Each day we delay increases the risk of deeper U.S. involvement and more lives lost. Failing to act now means owning what comes next. Congress must act immediately, not wait weeks.” This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 25, 2026
MADRUGADA DE MUERTOS (Villa de Etla, Oaxaca, México)
This content originally appeared on Vincent Moon / Petites Planètes and was authored by Vincent Moon / Petites Planètes.
Steve Bannon calls ICE at airports a good ‘test run’ for deployment to 2026 midterm polls
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Dulles International Airport on March 24, 2026 in Dulles, Virginia. Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images" data-attachment-id="342254" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/steve-bannon-ice-airports-test-run-for-deployment-to-2026-midterm-polls/trump-sends-ice-agents-to-airports-as-dhs-remains-unfunded" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R5m2","caption":"DULLES, VIRGINIA - MARCH 24: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Dulles International Airport on March 24, 2026 in Dulles, Virginia. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump deployed ICE agents to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1774345534","copyright":"2026 Getty Images","focal_length":"24","iso":"1600","shutter_speed":"0.0004","title":"Trump Sends ICE Agents To Airports As DHS Remains Unfunded","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="Trump Sends ICE Agents To Airports As DHS Remains Unfunded" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Dulles International Airport on March 24, 2026 in Dulles, Virginia. Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1"> The comments marked the second time in just two months that Bannon has floated having ICE illegally monitor US elections.
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Dulles International Airport on March 24, 2026 in Dulles, Virginia. 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The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump deployed ICE agents to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1774345534","copyright":"2026 Getty Images","focal_length":"24","iso":"1600","shutter_speed":"0.0004","title":"Trump Sends ICE Agents To Airports As DHS Remains Unfunded","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Trump Sends ICE Agents To Airports As DHS Remains Unfunded" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Dulles International Airport on March 24, 2026 in Dulles, Virginia. Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2268146949-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Right-wing podcaster and former Trump White House political strategist Steve Bannon on Monday said that President Donald Trump’s deployment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports was a preview of what could be expected later this year at polling places across the country. During a Monday episode of his “War Room” podcast, Bannon said that the Trump administration “can use what’s happening with these ICE [agents] at the airports, we can use this as a test run, as a test case, to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterm elections.” BANNON (Epstein’s PR Guy): “We can use ICE helping out at airports as a test run to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterms.” P.S. — Non-citizens don’t vote and they know it pic.twitter.com/hPFaI9Ue9z — The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 24, 2026 Bannon’s guest, MAGA influencer Mike Davis, agreed that ICE should be sent to polling places during this year’s midterms to ensure no undocumented immigrants are casting ballots. “If you’re an American citizen, you should be happy ICE is there,” Davis said. “So you don’t have illegal aliens canceling out your vote.” There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants vote in any significant numbers in US elections. As The New York Times reported in January, the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s second term has been conducting a wide-ranging review of voter registration data and so far has found almost no evidence of non-citizens voting in past elections. “Out of 49.5 million voter registrations that have been checked, the department referred around 10,000 cases to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation of noncitizenship, or roughly .02% of the names processed,” reported the Times, which added that the administration didn’t specify how many of the potential “illegal” voters had actually cast ballots in elections. Even so, Bannon and other Trump allies have been floating sending ICE agents to serve as election monitors, even though they have no legal jurisdiction to do so. In February, Bannon predicted that “we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November,” which many critics warned was a signal for a coming mass voter suppression campaign. “This is a red alert moment,” said US Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the wake of Bannon’s comments last month. “We have to start working to protect polling places from Trump’s paramilitary ICE goons before it’s too late.” Trump has also floated getting the US military involved in elections, telling the New York Times in January that he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines after his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Brad Reed.
CPJ, partners call for release of Turkish journalist İsmail Arı
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight other local and international press freedom and human rights organizations in calling on Turkish authorities to release daily BirGün reporter İsmail Arı, who was arrested pending trial last week. Arı’s arrest was based on a 2022 disinformation law that introduced prison sentences of up to three years for...
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight other local and international press freedom and human rights organizations in calling on Turkish authorities to release daily BirGün reporter İsmail Arı, who was arrested pending trial last week. Arı’s arrest was based on a 2022 disinformation law that introduced prison sentences of up to three years for spreading false information about security, public order, and the general health of the country that causes concern, fear, or panic. “The fact that the investigation file is built around Arı’s journalistic output — his published reports, social media posts, and attendance at public events — makes clear that routine journalistic activity is being treated as criminal evidence,” the statement said. “Covering stories, speaking with sources and investigating matters of public interest are not criminal acts.” Read the full statement in Turkish and English here. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Another Russian Oil Port In Flames After Ukrainian Drone Strike
“People Have the Power”: Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe at Democracy Now! Celebration
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary Monday at the historic Riverside Church in New York. The night ended with Patti Smith performing her anthemic hit “People Have the Power,” joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen, Michael...
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary Monday at the historic Riverside Church in New York. The night ended with Patti Smith performing her anthemic hit “People Have the Power,” joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe, Hurray for the Riff Raff, the National’s Aaron Dessner and more. Watch the entire event here. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Patti Smith Remembers Rachel Corrie, Sings “Peaceable Kingdom” at DN!’s 30th Anniversary Event
Over 2,000 people packed into the historic Riverside Church in New York on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Democracy Now! The program included a reading by legendary singer Patti Smith from her new memoir Bread of Angels, in which ...
Over 2,000 people packed into the historic Riverside Church in New York on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Democracy Now! The program included a reading by legendary singer Patti Smith from her new memoir Bread of Angels, in which she remembered the U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2003 while trying to protect Palestinian homes from destruction. Corrie inspired Smith’s song “Peaceable Kingdom,” which she performed alongside Tony Shanahan on guitar and her daughter Jesse Smith on piano. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Pentagon Whistleblower Criticizes “Bloodthirst” of Iran War, Says Hegseth Is Enabling War Crimes
As the United States mobilizes thousands more troops for deployment to the Middle East, we speak with retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Wes Bryant, who criticizes the “bloodthirst” of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Bryant ...
As the United States mobilizes thousands more troops for deployment to the Middle East, we speak with retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Wes Bryant, who criticizes the “bloodthirst” of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Bryant led the Pentagon office for civilian harm assessment from 2024 to 2025, before the unit was dissolved under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The “wholly illegal war” has been “carried out recklessly from the start and with little regard for the innocent,” Bryant tells Democracy Now! “Pete Hegseth has already directed the committing of war crimes. And unfortunately, our senior military leadership is bending the knee and carrying out whatever he tells them to do.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
New DHS Head Markwayne Mullin Is “Trump Loyalist, Anti-immigrant, Incompetent”: Rep. Delia Ramirez
Markwayne Mullin was sworn in Tuesday as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem, who was ousted earlier this month. Mullin has served as senator for Oklahoma since 2023 following a decade in the House of Repres...
Markwayne Mullin was sworn in Tuesday as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem, who was ousted earlier this month. Mullin has served as senator for Oklahoma since 2023 following a decade in the House of Representatives. He joins the Trump administration amid a partial government shutdown, with Democrats demanding reforms to immigration enforcement before fully funding DHS. “This agency of terror needs to be dismantled,” says Congressmember Delia Ramirez of Illinois. “And whether it is Mullin, whether it is Noem, whether it’s Tom Homan, that agency is dangerous, and every American should say, 'Enough is enough.'” Ramirez also comments on the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court, the U.S. fuel blockade against Cuba and more. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Pentagon Reports as Many as 3,000 U.S. Troops Set to Be Deployed to the Middle East, Iran Continues to Launch Retaliatory Strikes Against Gulf Countries, Philippines Declares National Energy Emergency Due to U.S.-Israeli War on Iran, Lebanon Expels Iranian Ambassador from the Country, Russia Launches Nearly 1,000 Drones at Ukraine, NYT: TSA Shared Personal Info with ICE Before Arrests at San Francisco Airport, CNN: Concerns Raised About Safety at LaGuardia Airport Before Deadly Runway Crash, New Mexico Jury Orders Meta to Pay $375 Million for Harming Children’s Mental Health and Safety, Eight Architecture and Cultural Organizations Sue Trump and Kennedy Center Board over Renovations, Democrat Flips Florida State House Seat in District That Includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home, Minnesota Officials Sue Trump Admin over Renee Good and Alex Pretti Investigations, Thousands March in Argentina to Mark 50 Years Since U.S.-Backed Military Coup in 1976
Pentagon Reports as Many as 3,000 U.S. Troops Set to Be Deployed to the Middle East Iran Continues to Launch Retaliatory Strikes Against Gulf Countries Philippines Declares National Energy Emergency Due to U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Lebanon Expels Iranian Ambassador from the Country Russia Launches Nearly 1,000 Drones at Ukraine NYT: TSA Shared Personal Info with ICE Before Arrests at San Francisco Airport CNN: Concerns Raised About Safety at LaGuardia Airport Before Deadly Runway Crash New Mexico Jury Orders Meta to Pay $375 Million for Harming Children's Mental Health and Safety Eight Architecture and Cultural Organizations Sue Trump and Kennedy Center Board over Renovations Democrat Flips Florida State House Seat in District That Includes Trump's Mar-a-Lago Home Minnesota Officials Sue Trump Admin over Renee Good and Alex Pretti Investigations Thousands March in Argentina to Mark 50 Years Since U.S.-Backed Military Coup in 1976 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Headlines for March 25, 2026; New DHS Head Markwayne Mullin Is “Trump Loyalist, Anti-immigrant, Incompetent”: Rep. Delia Ramirez; Pentagon Whistleblower Criticizes “Bloodthirst” of Iran War, Says Hegseth Is Enabling War Crimes; Patti Smith Remembers Rachel Corrie, Sings “Peaceable Kingdom” at DN!’s 30th Anniversary Event; “People Have the Power”: Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe at Democracy Now! Celebration
Democracy Now! 2026-03-25 Wednesday Headlines for March 25, 2026 New DHS Head Markwayne Mullin Is "Trump Loyalist, Anti-immigrant, Incompetent": Rep. Delia Ramirez Pentagon Whistleblower Criticizes "Bloodthirst" of Iran War, Says Hegseth Is Enabling War Crimes Patti Smith Remembers Rachel Corrie, Sings "Peaceable Kingdom" at DN!'s 30th Anniversary Event "People Have the Power": Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe at Democracy Now! Celebration Download this show This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
What a Mamdani Victory Signals for the Nation [Rewind – Episode Cut]
Eugene Doyle: Kharg Island – into the valley of death
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Described by analysts as a suicide mission, there are nonetheless rumours the US President has his eye on securing for the long-term the Iranian oil facilities on Kharg Island. “Just take the oil” has long been his motto. But I am beginning to wonder if a desperate Donald Trump is preparing
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Described by analysts as a suicide mission, there are nonetheless rumours the US President has his eye on securing for the long-term the Iranian oil facilities on Kharg Island. “Just take the oil” has long been his motto. But I am beginning to wonder if a desperate Donald Trump is preparing to deliberately throw US Marines into a meat grinder in Iran. The attack on Iran has so far garnered little support from key parts of the MAGA base. Dead servicemen have traditionally helped to mobilise the American public into a war frenzy. READ MORE: Iranian military dismisses Trump’s claim of negotiations ‘Do not call your defeat an agreement’ Other US-Israel war on Iran reports Could the sacrifice of a Marine expeditionary force be a price the 47th President thinks is worth paying? Would such a ploy work and revive his fortunes with the public? Or will he have to pay the butcher’s bill in the US mid-terms? The God of War Money changer of dead bodies Held the balance of his spear in the fighting And from the corpse fires of Troy Sent to their dearest the dust Heavy and bitter with tears shed Packing smooth the urns with ashes Of what once were men. They praise them through their tears How this one went down splendid in the slaughter How this one knew well the craft of war. There by the walls of Troy The young men in their beauty keep Graves deep in the alien soil They hated and they conquered.” — Aeschylus 480 BCE Aeschylus, the father of Western drama, a Greek who fought at the Battle of Marathon, knew a lot about wars, resistance to imperial armies, and the cruelty of wars of aggression launched by leaders with little consideration for the young men who are sent on missions of conquest — or the other young men, like him, who stood their ground and fought them. I have read those lines so many times over the years that I know them by heart. They may even have informed the spirits of later war poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Aeschylus’s fine observations should give the Americans pause before, as we fear, they send boots and bodies into the valley of death on Kharg Island, the home to the oil so essential to Iran’s long-term survival as a viable state. Another poet, Shakespeare, cautioned leaders like Trump and Macbeth against their “violent loves” which out-run “the pauser, reason”. Before he did the bloody deed Macbeth had enough insight to know that his actions would lead to uncontrollable consequences. He understood that his actions were motivated not by love of kin or country but by vulgar self-interest. He also realised that he stood “upon this bank and shoal of time” where “We still have judgement here”, meaning that there was still time to pause, to reconsider before the gates of hell opened and the dogs of war came rushing out. I fear we are at such a moment — that a missile war will turn into a ground war and more. I also fear that like many presidents before him, Trump has neither the brains nor the humanity to step back. Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf — or some other target the Americans choose to fling thousands of Marines at — may be the moment when we see a huge increase in servicemen dying for the US-Israeli Empire. Throwing a first wave of Marines onto the sacrificial altar of Iran’s shores may be a deliberate act by Trump to dupe a gullible and patriotic US population into believing that more war, more killing is now justified. US elites desperate I hope not. But the US elites are so dark and desperate that piles of Marine body bags may seem a good investment to swing the popular mood towards war. Again, I hope not. How long can people fall for this stuff? Like the Greeks at Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis, the Iranians know the Empire will not turn back home unless compelled to do so. Iranians, for their part, will fight with tremendous skill and courage to defeat the invaders. Nationalism – the love of one’s country — is such a powerful thing that, in the words of a compatriot of mine, “it banishes fear with the speed of a flame and makes us all part of the patriot game”. But enough poetry, here are a few hard facts. Iran has a well-trained army of over 600,000 men. They have hundreds of thousands of militia members, many of them combat veterans of theatres like Syria and Iraq. They have 350,000 reservists. Yes, they have 1500 battle tanks, but likely more deadly to American forces are the thousands of artillery systems that are the centrepiece of Iran’s land defences and have yet to see action. Wherever the Americans and Israeli invaders attack, hundreds of artillery pieces will be trained on them, thousands of drones will, as in the Russia-Ukraine war, make progress slow and bloody. Every day the US President and Secretary of War tell us that Iran’s military potential has been, to use Trump’s favourite word, “obliterated”. Every day the Iranians hit sites across the Middle East and have yet to deploy a single of their cruise missiles which US analysts say they hold in large numbers. How, everyone is asking, could the Americans get to Kharg Island near the bottom of the pocket of the Persian Gulf? If it is a seaborne assault, they might charge through the Strait of Hormuz, traveling 1000km along the Iranian coast in vessels under a blizzard of fire. Or they could dispense with consent (geopolitical Epsteinism) and force an Arab country to submit to an expeditionary force moving through their territory. Assembling the troops and the landing craft would be a huge, highly visible operation that would invite Iranian short-range missile and drone attacks that could wreak havoc before they even get near Iran. Frightening way to land Choppers and parachutes would be a frightening way to make land. The Iranians have made clear, if the Americans come for Kharg Island, they will turn the region’s energy facilities into ashes. They showed their potential after the Israelis attacked the Pars gas field last week, striking back within a couple of hours and taking out 20 percent of the world’s biggest LNG production trains at Ras Laffan. Hours after the US-Israelis attacked the Natanz nuclear facility (I thought that had been “obliterated” last year?), Iran pierced Israel’s missile defence shield and dropped a warning note — a massive missile — a few kilometres from Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant. World energy will be in turmoil for years if the Americans attack and Iran makes good on their threats. Alternatively, the US-Israeli invasion force might hit the beaches near the Pakistani-Iranian border — or somewhere entirely different. There has been recent noise about smaller islands closer to the Strait of Hormuz. Wherever they choose, they will be met by Iranians who will be fighting on home territory and for their homeland. Another consideration is the civilians. Kharg Island, for example, is home to 10,000 of them. As we have learnt over the decades – from Korea and Vietnam through to the genocide in Gaza – the US and Israelis have utter contempt for civilians’ lives. For example, in the Russia-Ukraine war, child deaths represent somewhere between 1 percent and 3.6 pecent of the total killed in Ukraine in 2025, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNICEF. The UN says about 43 civilians are killed per week in Ukraine. In Gaza, the UN Human Rights Office found that children and women accounted for nearly 70 percent of the total deaths, evenly split between women and children. Nothing makes sense about the US attack on Iran. Nor do we really know what Trump has in mind for Kharg Island. If he succeeds in seizing it, will he ever willingly give it back? There are clues. I will give the last word to Donald J Trump. In a televised address at CIA headquarters in 2017 Trump lamented that the US let the Iraqis hold on to their oil after the Gulf War. “We should have kept the oil. But OK, maybe we’ll have another chance.” Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region, and is a contributor to Asia Pacific Report. This article was first published on his Solidarity blog. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
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Wednesday Democracy Now! show for rebroadcast - HD This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4 and was authored by Democracy Now! for Broadcasters - HD MP4.
How Iran Turned Lego And Anime Into Weapons of War | US Iran Update
New Portland Trail Blazers Owner Played Key Role at Company Oregon Accused of Predatory Lending
The post New Portland Trail Blazers Owner Played Key Role at Company Oregon Accused of Predatory Lending appeared first on ProPublica.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is on the verge of giving the Portland Trail Blazers a major gift: hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to overhaul the team’s arena in an effort to keep the Blazers’ incoming owner, billionaire Tom Dundon, from moving the NBA franchise to a new city. The deal came together with little public discussion of how Oregon and other states in 2020 landed a $550 million settlement with the car loan company where Dundon built his wealth. The settlement followed an investigation into lending practices that Oregon’s then-attorney general, in a news release, described as “predatory and harmful.” Now, Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica have obtained documents that reveal the role Dundon played in pushing some of the key company practices that regulators later presented as problematic. Specifically, the documents show that Dundon, as the company’s CEO, was behind what regulators called an “aggressive push” at Santander Consumer USA in 2013 to waive requirements that car dealers prove borrowers had enough income to afford loans. The company would then charge more for those loans to ensure profit even in cases where borrowers ultimately failed to keep up with payments, according to internal emails and a slide deck that described findings in the multistate investigation. Oregon officials wrote in their 2020 court complaint against Santander Consumer that many customers took out loans under the “false pretense” that they were acquiring a car they’d eventually own, when in fact the terms of the loans were so onerous that they would “almost certainly” result in the loan defaulting and the car getting repossessed. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, when asked about Dundon’s call for waiving proof of income on car loans when he was at Santander Consumer, said in a statement: “Proof of income requirements exist for a reason — they protect borrowers from being sold loans they cannot afford. When those guardrails get waived, dealerships win in the short term, and consumers lose.” Rayfield, who was elected in 2024, is working with other state attorneys general in a continuing investigation into another auto loan company, Exeter Finance, where Dundon’s website lists him as an investor and where he has served as chairman of its board. Dundon left Santander Consumer in 2015. “Working families put a lot on the line when they take out a loan,” Rayfield said, “and they deserve lenders who treat them fairly and follow the law.” Read More Before Tom Dundon Agreed to Buy the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Accused the Company He Created of Predatory Lending Dundon, whose deal to buy the Trail Blazers is expected to close on March 31, did not answer emails sent to his investment firm from OPB and ProPublica that included a copy of the newly obtained records and a list of questions. When provided separately with an overview of the story via text to his phone, he responded simply: “Can talk after 3/31.” Exeter has said in regulatory filings that it is cooperating with the current multistate investigation. A spokesperson for Exeter declined to comment. Asked for comment by OPB and ProPublica, Santander Consumer referred back to the statement it gave the newsrooms for an October story: “Operating in a highly regulated industry, we have robust processes in place that are designed to protect customers and adhere to all regulatory requirements and industry best practices.” Lawmakers recently approved $365 million in public funding to renovate Portland’s 30-year-old Moda Center, home to the Blazers, one of Oregon’s most prominent businesses. The bill awaits Kotek’s signature. Combined with city and county money, the total proposed public backing has reached $870 million, far exceeding what the team originally asked for. Kotek’s office did not respond when asked when she became aware of the investigations into businesses connected to Dundon and whether it affected her position on giving public money to the team. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to public remarks Kotek made in support of public funding for the Blazers arena as the Legislature adjourned. “This is a great first step,” Kotek told reporters at the time. “We’re going to get the best deal possible for Oregon, and the economic impact of keeping not only the Blazers but all the activity at Moda is really important for the state.” The chief sponsor of the bill, Senate President Rob Wagner, a Democrat representing the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, also declined to answer when asked if he was aware of Oregon’s investigations into Dundon’s businesses. “The Oregon Legislature does not have a role in who owns the Trail Blazers,” Wagner said in a statement. “Our goal all along has been to support the renovation of Oregon’s Arena so it can remain an economic and entertainment hub for the region.” But a prominent critic of the deal with the Blazers said Dundon’s history with regulators is troubling. State Sen. Khanh Pham, a Portland Democrat who cast one of just six no votes in the 30-person chamber, wrote at the time that she supported a public investment in the arena but worried the Legislature wasn’t including enough protections for taxpayers. She tried unsuccessfully to win amendments that would require the state to negotiate a private investment and revenue sharing with the Blazers. Pham said she wasn’t aware of Dundon’s history in Oregon until OPB and ProPublica asked her about the newly obtained emails. “This new information affirms that guardrails on public-private partnerships are important in all instances and especially this one,” Pham said in a statement. “Ignoring This Internal Concern” Dundon was known as a key player in the rise of subprime lending to car buyers, a niche that supporters say makes car ownership possible for people with poor credit. He sold the subprime company he founded to a Spanish firm in 2006, retaining a 10% stake and becoming CEO of the newly formed company. In January 2013, he took a step that would keep the company’s lending from being slowed down by people having to prove they could afford the cars they were buying. He set a plan in motion that would let the company advertise to car dealers that Santander Consumer wasn’t going to ask anymore for proof of income, or “POI,” in order to issue a loan. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="282" width="527" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?w=527" alt="An email from Tom Dundon sent on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, at 3:01 pm to Karthik Chandrasekhar and Steve Zemaitis. The subject line is “FW: Income Models.” The email text says: “Lets do a test. I want to wave poi more often. t”" class="wp-image-70928" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg 1872w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=300,160 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=768,410 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=1024,547 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=1536,821 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=863,461 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=422,225 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=552,295 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=558,298 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=527,282 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=752,402 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=1149,614 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=400,214 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=800,427 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=1200,641 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-trailblazers-email-dundon.jpg?resize=1600,855 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px" /> Dundon wrote an email to two senior employees about easing loan restrictions. Obtained by OPB and ProPublica “Lets do a test,” Dundon wrote to two of his senior employees, Karthik Chandrasekhar and Steve Zemaitis. “I want to waive poi more often.” As the plan moved forward, Santander Consumer’s chief risk and compliance officer, Michele Rodgers, sent an email on Jan. 21, 2013, to Zemaitis and various senior executives expressing worry the company’s plan could violate federal law. Rodgers identified potential concerns surrounding anti-money laundering and identity theft laws. She also noted that federal regulators were less than a year from implementing a new rule for another type of loan — home mortgages — requiring those lenders to “determine the consumer’s ability to repay both the principal and the interest over the long term.” But the records collected by the attorneys general indicate the plan proceeded. Two weeks after Dundon’s email, Santander’s marketing and sales teams got involved, records show. Matt Fitzgerald, Santander Consumer’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, described a conversation with Dundon about “stips,” or statements stipulating the borrower’s income, address and phone number have been verified. “I just rode up the elevator with TD and he wants us to market (fax, e-mails, sale handout) the waiving of stips to all dealers,” Fitzgerald wrote on Jan. 30, 2013. “And he wants to see these communications by the end of the day.” He added: “We can serve it up to dealers that due to their good performance of the loans, we have decided to waive these certain stips to make it easier for you to close deals.” Mark Williams, a former Federal Reserve regulator who teaches finance at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, reviewed the state’s summary of the company’s correspondence and said it was troubling that internal concerns seemed to go unheeded. Williams described proof of income as one of the pillars of bank lending. “To say, ‘Sure, I’ll give you a loan and we don’t even care whether you make income or not,’ or, ‘You don’t even have to state your income,’ that’s counter to just sound banking practices,” he said. By early February of that year, the company was days away from announcing its new plan to car dealers, including a fax-based marketing plan and promotional flyer, ready for final approval. “Flyer looks good,” Robert O’Brien, senior vice president at Santander, wrote on Tuesday, Feb. 5, “however the POI change will not be in the system until Thursday.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="612" width="527" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?w=527" alt="A flyer from Santander with an image of a smiling couple hugging in front of a car parked on a green field pointing to the words “Funding Just Got Easier!” The flyer says: “Santander Simplified Funding. As a Santander dealer partner in good standing, we’ve streamlined our stip verification process to make it even easier for you to fund deals. This process benefits our dealers by: involving less physical documentation, reducing hassle, providing quicker funding times. You may have noticed on recent callbacks that we have simplified the funding process (including POI requirements) on a large number of deals. Now, through an automated internal check system, we have also been able to substantially reduce the number of references needed as well as simplify phone and proof of address requirements on many deals. We will continue to review deals to ensure contract information is accurate. We appreciate your business. Send us all your applications. We will continue to review deals to ensure contract information is accurate.”" class="wp-image-70980" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg 861w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=258,300 258w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=768,892 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=422,490 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=552,641 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=558,648 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=527,612 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=752,873 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=400,465 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trailblazers-owner-santander-flyer.jpg?resize=800,929 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px" /> Attorneys general highlighted this flyer about a “simplified” process for loans in a presentation to Santander Consumer summarizing the findings of a multistate investigation into the company’s lending practices. Obtained by OPB and ProPublica He suggested holding off a couple of days. Then Rodgers, the company’s chief risk and compliance officer, chimed in again with a question. “What is the POI Change?” she asked. “Tom wants to waive POI as much as possible and build in pricing to cover the incremental risk,” O’Brien wrote back. O’Brien said that their tests showed the stated income was correct on most loans, and that they would continue to require proof of income for dealers with a history of problems. He said they found that requiring proof of income “reduces capture especially in the nearprime segment.” In other words, the company felt it was limiting its business opportunities by forcing potential customers to prove they could afford to pay back a car loan. Any increase in risk created by the new approach would be made up through fees and interest rates. “I am just trying to ensure we aren’t disparately treating any of our customer base,” Rodgers wrote to O’Brien on Feb. 5, 2013. Under fair lending laws, companies are not allowed to enact policies that would have disparate impacts on certain groups of customers, such as people of a particular race or gender. Dundon is not listed as a recipient on the emails that Rodgers sent, and the degree to which her concerns may have been shared with him is unclear from the company emails obtained by OPB and ProPublica. However, in the slide presentation regulators gave to Santander Consumer, they said the remarks O’Brien and Fitzgerald described Dundon making showed he continued to push for waiving proof of income even after Rodgers raised red flags on Jan. 21. The slides characterized Dundon as “ignoring this internal concern” from his company’s risk and compliance officer. Oregon’s subsequent 2020 legal complaint against the company alleged Santander Consumer did not, as O’Brien’s email suggested it would, continue requiring proof of income from dealers with a history of fudging borrowers’ incomes as it launched its new approach. “When Santander rolled out this change to its funding requirements, Santander did not bar those dealers identified as ‘problematic’ by Santander from using stated income on loan applications,” Oregon’s attorney general wrote in the 2020 complaint. “Santander’s decision to broadly market its new stated-income policy, even to dealers with a history of misstating income, led to a significant spike in the number of early payment defaults.” Dundon’s 2015 departure from Santander Consumer came with a separation agreement of more than $700 million, including cash for stock he owned, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Rodgers, Zemaitis and Chandrasekhar all left Santander Consumer and are currently listed as senior executives at Exeter Finance, a subprime car lender where a number of top Santander Consumer employees have landed. They did not respond when OPB and ProPublica sent copies of the Santander Consumer correspondence in which they are named and requested comment. O’Brien and Fitzgerald are no longer alive. Santander Consumer did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement it paid to 33 states — including Oregon — and the District of Columbia. Private Business, Public Money Six years after the settlement, Dundon and his associates are playing hardball in negotiations with state and city leaders to secure public money to revamp Portland’s Moda Center. Although sports arena renovations in some cities have been 100% taxpayer-financed, at least 10 — including in Atlanta; Phoenix; Jacksonville, Florida; and Cleveland — have been funded wholly or partially with private money during the past decade. Just north of Portland, Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena opened in 2021 after $1.15 billion in renovations that were entirely privately financed. That same precedent exists in Portland: When the Moda Center opened in 1995 — back then it was Portland’s Rose Garden — Blazers owner Paul Allen got $34.5 million from the city of Portland but financed the rest of the $262 million construction himself. Dundon, too, has offered private dollars as part of arena renovations in the past. In 2023, he agreed to a new arena lease in Raleigh, North Carolina, for his professional hockey team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Raleigh put $300 million toward the arena while Dundon committed to investing $800 million over 20 years toward developing an entertainment district in the surrounding area. Portland was a different story. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="519" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="Aerial view of the area surrounding a large building with the sign Moda Center written on it. Roads and trees surround the building." class="wp-image-70929" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,207 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,530 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,707 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1061 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2048,1414 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,596 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,291 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,381 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,385 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,364 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,519 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,794 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1381 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,276 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,553 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,829 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NEWS_BH_drone-0167_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1105 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Portland’s Moda Center in September 2025 Brooke Herbert/OPB According to a January chat group message from a city employee whose job is to manage sports venues, a consultant for the team and Dundon’s billionaire ownership group was asking for the public to cover 100% of the cost to renovate the Moda Center. A phalanx of lobbyists hired by the Blazers, meanwhile, were telling state lawmakers they’d need a total of $600 million, starting this year. “The assumption that the incoming ownership group can finance an additional $600 million for Moda Center — which is now a publicly-owned community asset is not possible,” lobbying materials from the Blazers stated. After state and local leaders concluded that the team’s initial ask wasn’t nearly enough to cover rising construction costs, they bumped up the investment to $870 million. Team representatives wrote in the lobbying material that the Blazers’ future in Portland was at stake — and that a departure would threaten the city’s turnaround from pandemic-era headlines about downtown retail vacancies and crime. “If the Portland Trail Blazers leave Rip City,” team officials stated, “we are losing far more than the tax revenue the Blazers generate for the General Fund. It would have a devastating impact on the City’s national and international reputation and would feed the ‘doom loop’ narrative we have all been working to refute.” The Blazers did not respond to emailed questions. When asked about the lobbying effort in a March 17 interview on OPB’s “Think Out Loud,” the Blazers’ President of Business Operations Dewayne Hankins said Dundon’s ownership group never explicitly told the team it would move without a public investment. But he noted that other cities are pushing hard to get an NBA team and said the Blazers had “heard rumblings” of interest. “You have a team that has very few years left on their lease,” Hankins said of the Blazers. “You have a team that could potentially be portable.” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson declined to say whether Dundon’s business history would affect the city’s ongoing negotiations with the Blazers after the late Paul Allen’s sister agreed to sell the team. The council plans to take up the issue of arena funding no later than this summer. “Jody Allen chose to sell the team to the ownership group led by Tom Dundon,” Wilson said in a statement, echoing a point made by Oregon’s Senate president. “The City is not a decision maker in the process of approving franchise ownership changes; that authority lies exclusively with current team ownership and the NBA. The City will work in good faith with whoever owns the Trail Blazers.” John Van Alst, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, said state and local officials should use caution in negotiating with someone whose business the state previously accused of violating consumer protection laws. “If they’re willing to violate those rules, I’d be concerned about doing business with them,” Van Alst said. Van Alst said leaders in Portland, far more so than people buying a car through a subprime lender like Santander Consumer or Exeter, have options at their disposal as they negotiate for the Blazers’ future. “They have more resources to make good choices, hopefully, than a lot of folks do who get themselves tangled up in really bad subprime auto financing,” Van Alst said. The post New Portland Trail Blazers Owner Played Key Role at Company Oregon Accused of Predatory Lending appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Conrad Wilson.
The frantic, high-tech fight to stop climate-fueled dengue fever
Scientists in Brazil and Peru may have found a way to beat mosquitoes at their own game. The U.S. may soon need to do the same.
The first patient arrived just over two years ago. January was supposed to be a slow month at Santa Rosa, a hospital nestled in the middle-class Pueblo Libre district of Lima, Peru. The sprawling metropolis of 10 million can feel eerily empty at the height of summer, when some families flee the city and many others flock to the beach. The patient, a woman in her early 20s, had traveled 270 miles with her mother from their home in the central Peruvian jungle. She had a high fever and unbearable stomach pain — the result, she feared, of a recent abortion gone wrong. The doctors at Santa Rosa took X-rays and found blood moving freely in her abdominal cavity. Acting quickly in a desperate bid to stop the bleeding, they decided to remove her uterus. But the hemorrhage continued. The doctors ordered every test they could think of. Just one came back positive, and it was something most of the physicians had never encountered. The patient was not experiencing pregnancy- or abortion-related complications after all; instead, she was in the most severe phase of dengue fever, a disease rarely seen in Lima at the time due to its temperate climate. In any other year, the case would have been an outlier. After all, the patient was not local and had come from the Amazon, where mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue are perennial risks. But this time, it was the beginning of an epidemic. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02327.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="a sign that says emergencia in a hospital" data-caption="A sign welcomes patients to the emergency room at Santa Rosa hospital in Lima's Pueblo Libre district. The hospital fielded an unprecedented outbreak of dengue fever in 2024. " data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> A sign welcomes patients to the emergency room at Santa Rosa hospital in Lima’s Pueblo Libre district. The hospital fielded an unprecedented outbreak of dengue fever in 2024. Zoya Teirstein / Grist Dengue was once a hazard throughout the Americas, but pesticide-spraying campaigns appeared to vanquish the disease by the mid-1900s. Peru declared the Aedes aegypti mosquito — the main carrier of dengue — eradicated in 1958. But with an outbreak in 1990, the worm began to turn, in Peru and around the world. Now, the number of dengue fever cases reported globally has been growing for decades, from 500,000 cases reported to the World Health Organization in 2000 to over 5 million in 2019. While improved disease reporting accounts for part of this tenfold increase, experts primarily blame urbanization — which creates ideal conditions for the Aedes mosquito by providing ample pockets of water for it to breed in and dense human populations to bite once hatched — and the explosion of air travel, which enables the disease to escape endemic zones. As a result, dengue is the most common and fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease in the world. But something else has happened in just the past few years. In 2023, the global case count approached 7 million — a 40 percent jump in a single year. And even that new record was crushed in 2024, when 14 million dengue cases and 9,000 deaths were reported worldwide, the majority of them in the Americas. “It’s different from earlier years when dengue was around but you don’t see it much,” said Luciano Andrade Moreira, an agricultural engineer and entomologist in southern Brazil. Seventeen cities in Brazil declared states of emergency. Hospitals overflowed. So many people were sick that the crisis began to assume the character of society-wide disorder, similar to that experienced during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Some supermarkets didn’t have enough cashiers to staff checkouts. “You see the disease coming next to you,” said Moreira, whose brother and sister-in-law were both infected. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/dengue-mosquito-spraying-santa-maria.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="a white truck sprays insecticide in a Brazilian neighborhood" data-caption="Public health workers spray insecticide during a fumigation campaign in the Santa Maria neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil, in January 2024. Brazil reported more than 4,000 deaths from dengue fever that year. " data-credit="Mateus Bonomi / Anadolu via Getty Images"/> Public health workers spray insecticide during a fumigation campaign in the Santa Maria neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil, in January 2024. Brazil reported more than 4,000 deaths from dengue fever that year. Mateus Bonomi / Anadolu via Getty Images In Lima’s Santa Rosa hospital, surgeon Yolanda Sánchez remembers that the first dengue patients “came like a wave.” No sooner was the young woman who unknowingly became patient zero discharged than her bed was immediately filled with another dengue patient, and another after that. Some hallways were so crowded with patients that staff had trouble navigating through the throng. The sick filled every available side room, spilled out onto the street, and massed near the wrought-iron front gate. At the peak of the outbreak in February and March, Santa Rosa was fielding between 40 and 60 dengue patients a day — an unprecedented onslaught for a facility that saw just 13 such patients in all of 2022. The sick looked like a random sampling of the Peruvian population: young, old, chronically sick, and otherwise perfectly healthy. When a woman under 60 with no comorbidities entered the hospital and died less than 24 hours later, a quiet doctor named Solomon Durand knew Santa Rosa would need to adapt if it was going to survive the epidemic. Durand, an epidemiologist, had recently come to Santa Rosa after a 15-year stint at a hospital in Iquitos, a northern Amazonian city long a hotspot for mosquito-borne disease. He was the only doctor at Santa Rosa who had worked through dengue outbreaks before, and he knew what to do. Durand set up a tent in the hospital’s back parking lot to quickly assess new patients. Those with severe dengue were moved into an intensive care unit for monitoring. Everyone else was sorted into different wings of the hospital, treated, and released as quickly as possible. Durand monitored the files of the admitted patients; what struck him was the proximity of the outbreak. More and more of Santa Rosa’s dengue patients were coming from Pueblo Libre and the six other districts surrounding the hospital. These neighborhoods didn’t suffer from the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions that usually spread dengue in urban areas, including in the limited outbreaks Lima had weathered in the past. “That caught our attention,” Durand told me. He knew something else must have shifted. <img class="article-asset " src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="a green privacy screen over a door in a hospital room" data-caption="A privacy screen partially blocks the doorway of a room at Santa Rosa hospital in Lima." data-credit="" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?resize=330%2C220&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?resize=768%2C512&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hospital-patient-santa-rosa-dengue.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1067" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <img class="article-asset " src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="A woman wheels a cart with supplies to a door in a hospital" data-caption="A hospital worker wheels supplies between rooms at Santa Rosa. At the peak of the 2024 outbreak, the hospital was seeing up to 60 new dengue patients per day." data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?resize=330%2C220&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?resize=768%2C512&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02351.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1333" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> A privacy screen partially blocks the doorway of a room at Santa Rosa hospital in Lima, Peru. Nearby, a hospital worker wheels supplies between rooms. At the peak of the 2024 outbreak, the hospital was seeing up to 60 new dengue patients per day. Zoya Teirstein / Grist The next clue occurred to him as the outbreak stretched on through an exceptionally hot summer and into the fall. A year earlier, the natural climate pattern known as El Niño had developed in the tropical regions of the Pacific, altering rainfall patterns and raising average temperatures across the globe for the next 12 months. Durand noticed El Niño’s effects in Lima. In the weeks before and after that first dengue patient arrived, unusually intense rains had flooded the city, which is typically in a semi-permanent state of drought, eventually prompting the Peruvian government to declare a state of emergency. The rains then gave way to an unrelenting summer sun. “That year there was more sunshine in Lima,” Durand recalled. “The summer lasted longer.” It was the country’s warmest year in over six decades. Durand started to wonder if the unknown factor driving the outbreak was climate change. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02380.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man in a white doctor's coat looks at a piece of paper in a medical office" data-caption="After monitoring the files of dengue patients admitted to Santa Rosa, Solomon Durand began to wonder if climate change could be a factor driving the outbreak." data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> After monitoring the files of dengue patients admitted to Santa Rosa, Solomon Durand began to wonder if climate change could be a factor driving the outbreak. Zoya Teirstein / Grist Hotter conditions act as an accelerant for dengue fever. Rising temperatures not only boost the development of the Aedes aegypti and Asian tiger mosquitoes that carry the disease, but they also speed up the replication of the dengue virus inside of those insects. In recent years, researchers have sought to isolate the effect of global warming on the spread of the disease. In September 2025, scientists at the University of Washington determined that, in the 21 countries across Asia and the Americas with the highest exposure to dengue, 18 percent of cases between 1995 and 2014 would not have occurred in the absence of human-caused climate change. It’s the first direct scientific evidence linking global warming to dengue’s widening global footprint — confirming the hunch Durand had more than a year earlier, when he noticed dengue’s spread into what had been a formerly inhospitable environment. The problem is poised to get worse. By midcentury, the authors found, climate change could lead to an additional 50 percent increase in cases in the countries they studied. And that’s if new greenhouse gas emissions are kept low enough to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). If there were a powerful, affordable vaccine against dengue, the accelerating growth in caseloads wouldn’t be nearly as daunting. More than 30 years of research and work on finding a vaccine that simultaneously protects against all four dengue serotypes in circulation has yielded limited success, though Brazil recently approved a single-dose vaccine that looks promising. More than a million doses of the vaccine are currently being distributed to a handful of pilot cities, so the world may soon know if a viable vaccine is on the horizon. In the meantime, about half the world’s population is now at risk of dengue. In Lima, the 2024 epidemic hit 40 of the city’s 43 districts simultaneously. But thanks to Durand’s quick thinking and prior experience, only four of the nearly 2,000 diagnosed patients at Santa Rosa died. Even after the crisis finally subsided in June, the doctor continued to study what had happened, eventually publishing an article on the outbreak in a health sciences journal. More than two years after the first patient arrived, Durand is still ruminating over how ill-prepared his hospital was for a crisis he thinks will only become more common as climate change worsens. “If we had even suspected that this was going to happen, we would have prepared ourselves in advance,” he said. “There was no warning.” More in this series <img data-src='https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&%23038;w=768' alt="An illustration of the Phoenix landscape with dust and a translucent doctor in the foreground" height="1125" width="2000" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/valley-fever-final.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" class="tease-art__art js-modal-gallery__hidden lazyload" loading=lazy fetchpriority=auto decoding="async" /> In Arizona, a fight against a deadly fungus is under threat from Trump’s health policies <img data-src='https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&%23038;w=768' alt="Illustration of a Kenyan girl standing in front of a hospital bed outside with sandflies surrounding her" height="1125" width="2000" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kala-azar-final.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" class="tease-art__art js-modal-gallery__hidden lazyload" loading=lazy fetchpriority=auto decoding="async" /> As aid dries up in Kenya, millions are threatened by the climate-driven disease kala-azar <img data-src='https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&%23038;w=768' alt="An illustration of a man sitting in a clinic or hospital with dialysis machines. His face is not visible but he is looking out a window showing an orange heatwave scene. The room scene is visible through an archway with intricate blue and white tile and a sign in a different language. The scene is set in Nepal." height="1125" width="2000" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ckd-final-2000px.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" class="tease-art__art js-modal-gallery__hidden lazyload" loading=lazy fetchpriority=auto decoding="async" /> Rising heat, failing kidneys: Climate’s hidden toll on migrant workers <img data-src='https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&%23038;w=768' alt="an illustration of a hand picking a water bottle out of a puddle or river. Along the banks, trash such as cans and plastic bags gather. TIny mosquitos dot the expanse of water between banks" height="1125" width="2000" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bangladesh_clean.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" class="tease-art__art js-modal-gallery__hidden lazyload" loading=lazy fetchpriority=auto decoding="async" /> In Bangladesh, thousands of volunteers are battling climate-fueled disease at its source <img data-src='https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&%23038;w=768' alt="an illustration of a woman in scrubs standing in a mold damaged hallway looking into a child or tween's bedroom" height="1125" width="2000" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mold-final.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" class="tease-art__art js-modal-gallery__hidden lazyload" loading=lazy fetchpriority=auto decoding="async" /> A hotter, wetter South is becoming a breeding ground for mold Across South America, researchers and public health departments are working furiously to make such a warning possible. The strategy, years in the making, is something of a double-tipped spear. One tip is the use of machine learning to predict outbreaks months in advance. The other enlists the natural world to prevent dengue spread in the first place, releasing hundreds of millions of mosquitoes that have been carefully infected with a dengue-blocking bacteria into cities. When these mosquitoes breed with their wild brethren, they suppress the disease in future generations. Unlike the reactive pesticide-spraying campaigns that defined vector-borne disease control throughout the 20th century, these programs seek a more deliberate cooperation with existing ecosystems. But they also face substantial logistical and political challenges, requiring public officials to spend money on programs that won’t pay obvious dividends for years — assuming anyone notices their success at all. But as dengue changes shape, health officials in countries like Peru and Brazil are not just noting the value of investing in such an approach, but demanding it. “Politicians, they want to solve the problem tomorrow,” said Moreira, who is himself spearheading a mosquito-breeding effort in Brazil. “When you suffer, it changes the concept.” The Iquitos-Nauta highway, which connects the two northern Peruvian cities in its name, was paved in 2004. The bustling highway and the dirt road offshoots it has spawned are lifelines for the extremely isolated communities living in the Peruvian Amazon. Many lack running water or refrigeration, and the new access to medical care and other urban amenities is saving lives. But in this biodiverse region, the roads have also opened up new opportunities for infectious diseases to take hold. Anopheles mosquitoes, which carry malaria, and dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti fester in disturbed habitats like those of the newly-accessible Peruvian jungle. Every stand of trees felled by a machete to make way for a new home allows the insects to more easily find standing water and feed on humans. Illegal mining and other clandestine activities in the rainforest leave behind trash, deep gashes in the soil, and other places for mosquitoes to breed. Layer climate change on top of this — extreme temperatures in the Amazon increased half a degree C per decade between 1981 and 2023 — and the scale of the public health challenge becomes even more daunting. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jungle-peru-dengue.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="lush forest near a flatter green area with blue sky above" data-caption="Lush rainforest surrounds Iquitos, an Amazonian city only accessible by plane or boat." data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> Lush rainforest surrounds Iquitos, an Amazonian city only accessible by plane or boat. Zoya Teirstein / Grist But these same factors are also turning the Iquitos-Nauta highway into an important avenue for research, allowing experts to access health and climate data from places that were once impossible to regularly reach. Llanchama, a nearby settlement of fewer than 300 residents on the bank of the Nanay River, is one of 10 local research sites periodically visited by InnovaLab, a disease-research laboratory based out of Cayetano Heredia University in Lima. Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar, a biostatistician who has been working in the Amazon in one capacity or another since his youth, runs the lab with the help of a team of field researchers from both Lima and Iquitos. As recently as two years ago, Carrasco-Escobar and his team had to board boats in Iquitos and ride for three hours to reach the community, which comprises a school, a soccer field, and a single grassy lane lined with houses. Now, the drive from Iquitos takes an hour, though it’s still another 30 minutes by foot after that. The new accessibility has allowed the researchers to visit much more frequently — and to install a weather station capable of providing real-time, minute-by-minute updates on temperature, humidity, and other factors. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02438.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A group of people in khaki vests walk a narrow path toward jungle foliage" data-caption="Members of the Harmonize team hike toward Llanchama, where they will install a new weather monitoring station and conduct drone surveys to track disease patterns." data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> Members of the Harmonize team hike toward Llanchama, where they will install a new weather monitoring station and conduct drone surveys to track disease patterns. Zoya Teirstein / Grist Carrasco-Escobar cautions that the rainforest is a temperamental research partner. The same conditions that make InnovaLab’s expeditions difficult — surprise floods, thick heat, and half-built infrastructure that muddies the border between road and forest — cause mosquitoes to thrive. The insects are tiny, opportunistic, and tend to defy management. There is no one convenient signal that heralds their movements; they’re influenced by wind, rain, warmth, the density of tree roots, and the availability of blood meals, among other factors. That’s especially true of the Aedes aegypti, an enterprising and highly agile day-biting species that is as comfortable indoors as it is outside. “The mosquito is extremely well-designed — very intelligent, very adaptable,” Carrasco-Escobar said. “All it needs is a tiny chance.” Carrasco-Escobar and his colleagues want to establish a monitoring system that is just as intelligent as their adversaries. Their aim is to understand the delicate tapestry of environmental threads that pull the bugs from place to place and cause them to proliferate. This means, first and foremost, understanding in real time how humans themselves are changing the environment. To do this, the researchers are deploying not just weather stations like the one in Llanchama but also acoustic sensors affixed to tree trunks to identify birds in flight and people walking through the jungle, air quality sensors to detect pollutants like brush smoke that indicate deforestation, and drone surveys that use infrared radiation to spot movement and new infrastructure on the forest floor. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02529.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man with glasses and a beard looks into the camera while children hover nearby" data-caption="Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar and his colleagues have established an early warning system that remote communities like Llanchama will be able to use to prepare for infectious diseases. " data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar and his colleagues have established an early warning system that remote communities like Llanchama will be able to use to prepare for infectious diseases. Zoya Teirstein / Grist <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02454.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A man in a vest checks a monitor on the wall of a house" data-caption="" data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> Zoya Teirstein / Grist Using sensors, drones, and weather stations, Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar and his colleagues have established an early warning system that remote communities like Llanchama will be able to use to prepare for infectious diseases. Zoya Teirstein / Grist <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/JAK02517.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A hand-held monitor tracking data" data-caption="" data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> Zoya Teirstein / Grist These tools, in sum, represent the full spectrum of humanity’s ability to understand some of the deadliest animals in the world — both the Aedes aegypti and the people who make their spread possible. The information they capture is paired with public health data from remote communities and then fed into machine learning systems. The patterns the program identifies comprise the backbone of InnovaLab’s early warning system, which can now successfully predict a dengue outbreak three months in advance. The surveillance system could permanently alter the region’s relationship with infectious diseases — and, if adopted throughout the rest of Peru, stand guard against future outbreaks in places like Lima. A three-month heads up allows health departments to move resources to areas where they will soon be in highest demand. Hospitals can train staff to recognize dengue and set up triage rooms before they’re needed. Municipalities can advise residents to stay indoors when possible and wear insect repellent outside. These relatively simple, low-cost interventions would have averted much of the suffering Durand saw at Santa Rosa in 2024. InnovaLab’s work is part of a larger project called Harmonize, which is named for the integration of climate, health, and ecosystem data central to the work. (Harmonize is a project funded by the Wellcome Trust, which supports our Vital Signs series; funders have no role in Grist’s editorial decisions.) The next phase of Harmonize is to turn the data it has collected at sites in Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic into case studies that other researchers can use to determine the extent to which climate change is influencing human health elsewhere in the world. “The idea is to provide these resources for people in El Salvador or in Nigeria to do their own health attribution studies,” said Ana Maria Vicedo Cabrera, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Bern in Switzerland, who leads this work. “If we make the tools and the resources more available, the evidence will grow.” Carrasco-Escobar isn’t the only expert trying to figure out what makes a mosquito tick. On the outskirts of Curitiba, an affluent city in southern Brazil, a squat building on the university campus of the Instituto de Tecnologia do Paraná houses millions of Aedes aegypti. These mosquitoes’ eggs, which are infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia, will be shipped to cities across the country, hatched, and released to mate with wild mosquitoes. Luciano Andrade Moreira learned about Wolbachia in Australia when he went to visit a researcher named Scott O’Neill in Queensland in 2008. O’Neill’s hypothesis was that the bacteria, which is naturally occurring in fruit flies and many other insects, would shorten the lifespan of mosquitoes. That could give them less time to spread disease. Moreira arrived in Australia in time to see O’Neill make a surprising discovery: The bacteria did something even more powerful — it prevented dengue from replicating inside the insects in the first place. Wolbachia creates a hostile environment for the dengue virus to exist in a mosquito’s gut by priming the insect’s immune system to fight the disease, competing with the virus for cellular resources, and physically crowding out dengue in cells. Now, almost two decades later, the mosquito factory in Curitiba, which is called Wolbito do Brasil, is teeming with the distant descendants of those first Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes. In the facility, rows of tall machines hold tubes of mosquito eggs. As they hatch into larvae, the insects are fed a mixture of water and protein powder and grow into pupae. Then, the pupae are carted into an adjoining room, where they are washed between two panes of glass — the smaller pupae, the males, slide out of the bottom of the machine first, followed by the larger females. All of the egg-laying females and one of every three males move into yet another room, this one hot and humid, where they are put into mesh enclosures and fed on warm horse blood and sugar water. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Credito_-Brenda_Nascimento_6.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="Tens of thousands of mosquito eggs on a strip of white paper. " data-credit="Brenda Nascimento / Wolbito do Brasil"/> Tens of thousands of mosquito eggs on a strip of white paper. Brenda Nascimento / Wolbito do Brasil On a tour of the factory in November, the facility’s production manager, a biologist named Antônio Brandão, placed his hand next to the mesh and watched hundreds of tiny syringe-like mouths jostle for a better position, as if on cue. “If you come closer and leave your hand there,” he told me, “they will start coming.” These mesh cages constitute the final step of a mosquito-rearing process that until this point has been accomplished almost entirely by machines, which are carefully supervised by the factory’s 70-odd employees. After the female mosquitoes have laid their eggs on white paper strips at the bottom of the cages, workers will wheel the cages into a refrigerated room and the mosquitoes will finally meet their maker. Their eggs, however — about 1 million of them collected per cage, which means 100 million eggs are produced every week — are destined for a productive life outside the factory walls. Since the facility commenced operation last summer, six cities in Brazil have started seeding neighborhoods with dengue-fighting mosquitoes, on top of the 10 cities that were already receiving eggs produced by hand by Moreira, Brandão, and other long-suffering employees who worked to popularize the Wolbachia method before the process was automated last year. <img class="article-asset " src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="" data-caption="" data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=1200%2C1601&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=330%2C440&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&quality=75&strip=all 1152w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=640%2C853&quality=75&strip=all 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3667.jpg?resize=150%2C200&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="2134" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <img class="article-asset " src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="" data-caption="" data-credit="" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=1200%2C1600&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=330%2C440&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&quality=75&strip=all 1152w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=640%2C853&quality=75&strip=all 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_3668.jpg?resize=150%2C200&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="2667" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> A member of the public health department in Joinville, Brazil, holds up a canister of dengue-fighting mosquitoes. The city in the midst of a campaign to establish Wolbachia in the wild mosquito population. Zoya Teirstein / Grist Joinville, a two-hour drive from Curitiba, is one of those cities. On an early midweek morning, members of the local health department and Wolbito employees gathered in a distribution center to load a car with canisters of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes were hatched from bags of pellets. Each pellet contains eggs and a feeding mixture, and all participating cities have to do is put the pellets in water and wait for the insects to hatch. As the car pulled out of the distribution center and wound slowly through Joinville at 7 a.m., Lúcia Jordan, a city health agent, rolled down her window and held an open container in the air, giving it a few hard shakes to eject any lingering mosquitoes. She repeated the exercise over and over as the car made slow, methodical turns through the city’s neighborhoods. A woman waiting for her bus watched the car go by with a bemused expression, seemingly unfazed by the torrent of blood-sucking creatures released in her vicinity. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MosquitoCar.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="City public health workers release Wolbachia mosquitos on a midweek morning in Joinville, Brazil. Public awareness campaigns have alerted locals to these releases." data-credit="Zoya Teirstein / Grist"/> City public health workers release Wolbachia mosquitos on a midweek morning in Joinville, Brazil. Public awareness campaigns have alerted locals to these releases. Zoya Teirstein / Grist Much like InnovaLab’s efforts in the Amazon, Wolbito’s work relies heavily on buy-in from the community. But not everyone can be reached, and the releases understandably look suspicious. There are other anti-mosquito initiatives that seek to reduce the overall population of mosquitoes in a given place, but that’s not the goal here. The residents of Joinville will endure no fewer mosquito bites as a result of this program. But, after two years of sustained Wolbachia releases, they will receive widespread and lasting protection from dengue fever, Zika, yellow fever, and other diseases carried by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Niterói, a city of 500,000 connected to Rio de Janeiro, was one of the first places in Brazil to be fully protected by the Wolbachia method. The releases took place from 2017 to 2019. Dengue caseloads declined nearly 90 percent across the city following the treatment, compared to the 10-year average leading up to 2017. During the historic dengue outbreak in 2024, when many Brazilian cities saw record numbers of cases, Niterói recorded fewer than 2,000 — just about a quarter of its pre-treatment average. “It’s not often you come across a proposal to release mosquitoes when our entire history of disease prevention was to fight against the mosquitoes,” Ana Eppinghaus, health surveillance coordinator at the Municipal Health Foundation of Niterói, said at the time. “We accept the challenge.” Over the next decade, Moreira aims to protect half of the Brazilian population using Wolbachia. So far, there’s no reason to think he won’t succeed. The method O’Neill pioneered in Australia is being used by 15 countries, and evidence from multiple regions shows dengue incidence drops sharply after Wolbachia mosquitoes establish themselves. Caseloads have fallen in every city in Brazil where Wolbachia has taken hold. Moreira said his biggest problem now is producing mosquitoes fast enough to meet the demand of everyone who wants them. Despite this, some politicians remain wary of committing to the program — especially when he tells them it might not produce results for a year or more. “Our program is not like a spray that you just spray and kill all the mosquitoes and solve the problem,” he said. “They think it’s too long to wait.” In the United States, mosquitoes are viewed as a nuisance, rather than the public health disaster they have long been in tropical nations like Brazil. That wasn’t always the case: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, was established in 1946 to fight malaria around U.S. military bases. It was wildly successful in that mission, all but eradicating the disease from the country by the early 1950s with the help of the devastating chemical DDT. The agency learned a valuable lesson through that effort that still resounds today: Eradicating vector-borne disease is possible “in nations with temperate climates and seasonal malaria transmission.” But what happens when the climate becomes less temperate? Native and invasive tropical plants and animals move north, as average temperatures rise and winter freezes become weaker. Subtropical states — Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California — begin to tropicalize, a process that will be all but complete by the end of the century, according to a 2021 report published by the United States Geological Survey, the Department of the Interior’s science agency. “Tropical mosquitoes that can transmit encephalitis, West Nile virus, and other diseases,” the report said, “are likely to further expand their ranges, putting millions of people and wildlife species at risk of these diseases.” Indeed, California saw its first-ever locally-acquired dengue case in October 2023. The California Department of Public Health quickly found another case related to the first — also in someone who had not recently traveled. Cases continued to pop up over the next two years. In response, the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District stepped up its efforts to eradicate mosquitoes. In collaboration with its counterpart in adjacent Orange County, the agency began releasing male mosquitoes sterilized by X-ray, running pilot programs in two neighborhoods in northeast Los Angeles. The relief offered by the campaign is fundamentally temporary: The technique only works as long as the participating counties are committed to regularly releasing mosquitoes. That’s because sterile males produce no offspring, so their genetic lines cannot continue independently. Each new generation of bloodsuckers, in other words, is not necessarily any less deadly than the last. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sterilized-mosquito.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="Sterilized male Aedes mosquitoes are released at a hotspot in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in April 2024. " data-credit="Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images"/> Sterilized male Aedes mosquitoes are released at a hotspot in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in April 2024. Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Other mosquito control efforts in the U.S. in recent years similarly rely on sterilization and continuous releases to work. MosquitoMate, a company based in Kentucky, uses the Wolbachia method — but instead of breeding dengue-resistant insects that can then overtake the native population, as Moreira does in Brazil, MosquitoMate uses the bacteria to naturally sterilize male mosquitoes. This means that it reduces overall populations when the sterilized insects fail to breed, but it’s similar to the X-ray technique in the sense that the sterilized mosquitoes cannot pass on their benevolent quirk to future generations. The result is just a high-tech variant on the same mosquito suppression paradigm that has been the expected approach in the U.S. since the founding of the CDC. Part of the reason for this stasis is that convenient regulatory frameworks exist for approving mosquito suppression initiatives via the Environmental Protection Agency. Modifying mosquitoes so that they change the characteristics of future generations, on the other hand, involves a much more complicated review process, like the development of biotech products. The legal and ecological ramifications of a Wolbachia-like program would inevitably subject it to yearslong regulatory hoops. So for now, the U.S. is stuck with piecemeal and halfhearted attempts to crush American mosquito populations. The problem is they’re not really working: Aedes populations have exploded in certain hotspots across the country over the past few years. Recent bipartisan federal legislation would authorize $100 million per year for mosquito surveillance and control, significantly expanding the CDC’s current slate of grants for vector-borne disease monitoring and preparedness. The bill, introduced in 2023, seeks to stitch together the various fragmented and underfunded mosquito control efforts taking place across the country into a more cohesive framework. But the “SMASH Act,” short for Strengthening Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health (a reauthorization of a weaker SMASH program created in 2019), has stalled out in a legislative committee. Congress may be in no hurry, but time is not on its side. If the country’s climate, long one of its greatest allies in the fight against malaria and other vector-borne maladies, is changing, then the U.S. is due for an overhaul of its relationship with tropical illnesses. The path forward may require developing systems to catch the clues that herald a disease outbreak, as Carrasco-Escobar is doing in Peru. Or valuing long-term disease suppression over fewer mosquitoes in the short-term — Moreira’s goal in Brazil. Or maybe it’s some combination of the two — the double-tipped spear that seeks to work with the natural world rather than against it. But first, Durand told me at the hospital in Lima, temperate countries need to recognize that the ground beneath them is shifting. When he looks at California, he sees echoes of Lima’s 2024 outbreak. “That’s how we started,” he said. “With local cases.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The frantic, high-tech fight to stop climate-fueled dengue fever on Mar 25, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Zoya Teirstein.
Fiber optic cables reveal a serious problem at the heart of modern farming
Tilling helps farmers control weeds and boost soil fertility. But that also degrades a field's ability to hold water and carbon.
Thousands of years ago, beasts of burden helped make humanity what it is today. When farmers first started putting down roots, they’d plant and tend their crops by hand. With the power of oxen, they could drag plows across their fields before sowing, which boosted soil fertility and eliminated weeds. Today, that job has been made even easier by giant machines that rake the landscape. Millennia of tilling, though, has come at a cost. While plowing releases nutrients in the short term, it degrades soil fertility in the long term, requiring farmers to load their fields with synthetic fertilizers. (The burst of microbial activity after roiling the ground also chews through accumulated carbon, returning it to the atmosphere as planet-warming greenhouse gas.) In addition, all this cultivation destroys the natural subterranean structures that hold onto water, meaning less is delivered to crops. Fiber optic cables, of all things, have now exposed just how badly tilling messes with a farm’s ability to retain moisture. Using a technology known as distributed acoustic sensing, or DAS, scientists analyzed how seismic waves disturbed the cable as they rippled through harrowed fields compared to adjacent undisturbed plots. This created subtly distinct signals, showing that plowing obliterates the “capillaries” that carry water like tiny interconnected reservoirs. The findings point to a serious problem with modern agriculture, to be sure, but also to solutions. “Regenerative farming practices based on principles of no-till — combined with cover crops and a diversity of crops — can basically lead to less agrochemical reliance, better soil organic matter contents, comparable yields, [and] lower diesel use,” said David Montgomery, a geomorphologist at the University of Washington and coauthor of a new paper describing the research. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20230317_115025201.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="" data-credit="Marine Denolle/University of Washington"/> Marine Denolle/University of Washington DAS exploits the extreme sensitivity of fiber optic cables, which transmit information as pulses of light. If there’s a disturbance along the path — an earthquake or even someone walking overhead — a tiny bit of light bounces back to the source. With a device called an interrogator, researchers can send pulses along a length of cable and analyze what returns. Because they know the speed of light, they can differentiate a disturbance a mile down the line from one just a few hundred feet away, as the former will take just a tiny bit longer to return. Whereas a traditional seismometer takes readings at a single point, a DAS system turns miles upon miles of fiber optic cable into one continuous sensor. Luckily enough for these researchers, Harper Adams University in the United Kingdom has run a 20-year outdoor lab where researchers have treated adjacent fields with different levels of tilling. Whereas using DAS to monitor for earthquakes relies on the planet’s deep seismic rumblings, in these fields the researchers laid cable at the surface and listened for what was happening above ground: human activities like cars, but also rain and wind hitting the cable. Basically, it was messier, seismically speaking, than Earth’s more consistent vibrations, but still informative. “A lot of noise for somebody is a signal for others,” said Marine Denolle, an earth scientist at the University of Washington and senior author of the new paper. In the end, it was all about speed, aka seismic velocity. If a car drove by, it sent waves across the road, then into the fields. “If the soil has water, the wave will take longer to come to us than if the soil is dry,” Denolle said. Let’s leave the farm for a second and head to the beach to explain that. Where the ocean laps at the shore, the wet sand is so hard that you can run along it without sinking in and breaking your ankle. The nearby dry sand, on the other hand, is so loose that you might have a hard time trudging through it. “The only difference is the way these capillary forces glue the material together when there’s a sufficient amount of water,” Denolle said. “We do notice that action of stiffening and loosening of the soil, just due to that change.” Or think of undisturbed soils as a sponge, loaded with lots of pores for water to fill — leave one out on the counter and it hardens and contracts, only to soften and expand when you soak it once more. So on the experimental farm, the tilled soils might have looked like they’d better absorb water, what with their looseness, but the opposite is true. “It’s kind of counterintuitive, right?” Montgomery said. “You’d think that breaking up the ground surface would allow more water to get down into it. But if you plow it often enough, hard enough, you kind of pulverize it. And it’s all those little worm holes and the bug holes and the root holes that allow water to get down into the soil.” Why, then, would farmers keep plowing their fields for thousands of years? “Well, farmers don’t like weeds, and so a really good way to get weeds off your field is to plow it,” Montgomery said. “That can provide nutrients to a crop, so you get a little burst of fertility with tillage. But if you do it too often for too long, you wear out the batteries of the soil, in effect.” That’s why modern farmers add heaps of expensive synthetic fertilizers. Not only do these inputs take a whole lot of energy to produce, contributing to global warming, but they also run off of the land, poisoning waterways. (Nitrogen fertilizer is geopolitically perilous as well: Almost a third of it passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed after being attacked by Israel and the United States.) And because water doesn’t soak into tilled foils as well, much of it evaporates before reaching roots. Together, these trends drive up costs and will only accelerate as climate change exacerbates droughts. Researchers elsewhere in the world might also use DAS to better understand soil conditions on local farms. “I thought it was a neat application on the very small scale, but just showing how DAS can be used to solve these types of problems,” said Jonathan Ajo-Franklin, an applied geophysicist at Rice University, who studies the technology. (Ajo-Franklin wasn’t involved in the paper, but its lead author is a postdoc in his department.) That solution, Montgomery said, is embracing regenerative agriculture to prioritize soil health, which means reducing physical and chemical disturbances. If a farmer is struggling with weeds, for instance, they can let loose livestock after a harvest, clearing the field for the next crop to get a head start. Or they might add cover crops, which further choke out weeds. Even if, say, an urban farm has to do some tilling, it can return carbon to the ground with compost. Increasing crop diversity, too, will both recharge the soil (legumes, for example, “fix” their own nitrogen and add it to the earth for other plants to use as fertilizer) and make a field friendlier to beneficial microbes, which help lock carbon in the ground and keep it out of the atmosphere. “There’s all kinds of other reasons we would want to adopt those same suite of practices,” Montgomery said, “from reducing our reliance on agrochemical inputs, increasing on-farm biodiversity, reducing off-farm pollution, building soil organic matter, creating more profitable farms.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Fiber optic cables reveal a serious problem at the heart of modern farming on Mar 25, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Matt Simon.
Trump’s $1B payoff to stop offshore wind is even stranger than it sounds
The government is paying TotalEnergies to halt a wind farm it isn’t building, in exchange for fossil fuel investments it’s already making.
On Monday, President Trump’s Department of the Interior announced that it will refund almost $1 billion to a French multinational oil company. The company, TotalEnergies, had spent that amount during the Biden administration to secure two leases allowing it to build offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean. The Trump administration, which has taken every step possible to block offshore wind development, is so opposed to this possibility that it’s paying Total to give up those leases — which the company wasn’t even using — in exchange for a promise that Total will invest the money in oil and gas projects off the U.S. Gulf Coast — which it was already doing. “This is a backdoor deal done with zero transparency, no public process, and no consideration of the impacts to ratepayers in states that had been planning on that offshore wind to meet their energy needs,” said Elizabeth Klein, who led the federal Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management under former President Joe Biden. The administration may have been trying to buy Total off to avoid litigation, according to Hannes Pfeifenberger, principal at the economic consulting firm the Brattle Group. The French company purchased its offshore wind lease in the coastal area known as the New York-New Jersey Bight for a historically high amount, paying around four times the typical per-acre rate for such leases. Were the administration to attempt to block development, Total might have sued to avoid losing its entire investment. “[Trump’s Interior Department] might have been responsible for damages if the offshore wind developers sued the government for selling them leases and then basically making permitting impossible,” said Pfeifenberger, adding that other developers who purchased leases in the same auction might now look to take the same path out. But Klein and other industry experts also noted that the settlement does not deal a permanent blow to offshore wind development, beyond moves the Trump administration had already taken: Trump has already frozen all offshore wind lease auctions and vowed to oppose any new wind farm construction. At worst, the settlement will just set the timeline on new offshore wind development back by a few more years. Though Total’s ocean rights will return to the government for now, a future president could lease them out to another energy company. “Obviously no one expects this administration to be conducting any offshore wind lease sales, but future administrations will,” said Klein. There are other ways that the settlement may be less significant than it seems. Industry experts say most companies that hold ocean leases are looking to offload them or let them sit undeveloped until Trump is out of office. Even before this payoff, most experts believed that wind companies would not return to the Atlantic without legislative reform to protect approved permits from executive interference. The oil side of the settlement is even more confusing. The Interior Department’s announcement says that TotalEnergies will “invest approximately $1 billion — the value of its renounced offshore wind leases — in oil and natural gas,” including offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and a liquefied natural gas, or LNG, facility in Texas. But the company is already plowing billions of dollars into new offshore platforms, and it made a “final investment decision” on an expansion of its Texas LNG facility last year. The lease refund would only go to offset these existing investments, not to generate new infrastructure the company hadn’t already planned. A statement from TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné announcing the deal contained multiple grammatical errors, and it ended on a humdrum note, with the executive saying “we believe this is a more efficient use of capital.” As for the debate in the U.S. Senate around so-called permitting reform legislation to secure energy projects from cancellation, the settlement with Total has done nothing to disrupt negotiations. That’s a stark contrast to what happened after the administration’s previous stop-work order on five under-construction wind farms in December, which caused bipartisan Congressional negotiations to collapse. Speaking to reporters last Friday, Senate Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse said that permitting reform talks are proceeding apace despite the new settlement. “So far, so good, with respect to addressing substantive issues,” said Whitehouse, who represents Rhode Island and is known for his leadership on climate and energy issues. He noted that the Trump administration has declined to appeal any of the court injunctions against its actions targeting the five active wind farms. “At the moment, I think they’re getting a strong signal from Republicans and Democrats in the Senate: Knock it off, cut out the nonsense,” he said. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Trump’s $1B payoff to stop offshore wind is even stranger than it sounds on Mar 25, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Jake Bittle.
Musician and DJ Avalon Emerson on the value of sharing space with other people
You very intentionally wanted to replicate the energy and dynamics of your live performances on your new album Written Into Changes. Can you talk about how exactly you did that?
You very intentionally wanted to replicate the energy and dynamics of your live performances on your new album Written Into Changes. Can you talk about how exactly you did that? Kind of the other way around, actually. The first album was very studio-y, kind of bedroom-y, a little bit quiet. For this album, I wanted to explore sounds that would feel powerful on a bigger stage. What do you see as the value of live music these days? I’m asking from the perspective of, a lot of people consume music digitally and stream it, but maybe they don’t go to shows as often. I was just having a chat about how it feels like we’re so atomized from one another in our everyday—and everything is so personalized, and everyone has their own algorithms of doom that we all scroll—that getting together in a real space is…it’s one of the last places that we can get together around a shared experience. There’s something to be said for sharing a room with a bunch of other people. If it’s in a dance club, you’re kind of in a nonverbal communal space, sharing the same sweaty air, and being reminded that we’re pack animals. When you say that, are you saying it from the perspective of you being on stage, you being in the crowd, or both? Both. I see it a lot when I’m DJing. People need to get it out. There’s a lot of pressure pushing down from every angle these days, and especially looking at your phone, you’re assaulted by such a scale of horrific shit that it’s important to be reminded that we’re also existing in physical space and need to be communal with one another. I help facilitate that, I guess, as a DJ, and coming together for live music feels very similar, too. To what extent do you see your recorded work, & the Charm, and your DJing as similar or different? When I write music for the club, there’s a function for it, and I’m also just more experienced with it. When I’m looking for music to DJ or I’m making music to DJ, I have a pretty clear idea of the thing it needs to do, and there’s a structure that I know works, and there’s a way that I DJ. I set my music up in a way that lets me do that. There’s also an iterative process where I’ll go through, like, 40 different versions of a dance song or an edit. I’ll play it in Dublin, then I’ll change it a little bit, and then I’ll play it in London, change it a little bit, and I’ll play it in New York, and then I’ll go back to a previous version, and it’s this live iterative process. With these albums, it’s very different in that I kind of go away for a couple years, make music with some people that I’ve worked with a lot before, and there’s a confidence and a familiarity, just a pure joy doing all of that and working with really brilliant studio musicians and expanding who I make music with. It’s this closed-off secret garden, and then you build a visual world around it, and it’s produced and the songs go through different versions, but it’s kind of in private. And then, you have all these songs done, and you’re kind of putting together the concept of the album and releasing this large project that’s been cooking for a couple of years. I think my taste, and the roots of what I like and how that affects the music that I make, inherently come from the same place. That’s a little bit more abstract and hard to describe. It’s more of an inspiration rather than a process difference, but there’s a lot of things that are different and similar about both [& the Charm and DJing]. I feel lucky that I have this side of my career that I like, DJing, that I still love to do, that I can do, and that it’s not as beholden to album cycles. When you talk about DJing, it sounds more intuitive and solitary. Do you find that, when you’re pivoting away from the solitude of DJing to the more collaborative space of making & the Charm albums, it shifts something in you? I think music is inherently communal, whether it’s the interaction of the stage or DJ booth with the crowd. When you’re playing a live set, maybe you can have a spur of the moment and be like, “Let’s play this song. It’s not on the set list, but let’s go.” With DJing, it’s very open-ended, and it’s a conversation between the dance floor and my ideas of what I’m going to do from the DJ booth’s perspective. It’s more of a live muscle that I’m exercising when I’m DJing, and it’s like a conversation. I’m constantly getting new music and filtering out some old songs that I’m not playing as much anymore. I’ll have ideas and do some live re-editing, like different layering and experimentation live. With the band, it’s this building-up of a project and a work, then displaying it for everyone and hoping everybody likes it. There’s different challenges and fun parts to each of those, but in the way that everything is all learning and all creative expression, I think it’s tied together and orthogonally related, and there are connections that happen that you don’t expect. Did you have to learn how to have that conversation with the audience while DJing, or did it come naturally to you? I think people use the shortcut of “comes naturally” with things that you like and things that you have an inherent drive to keep doing, and anything that you keep doing, you get better at. So much of making music is about listening to a lot of music and being conscious about what you like, why you like it, and what are the more zoomed-out traits that you’re responding to about listening to those things and learning how to create them from the artist’s perspective. DJing is also about paying attention, listening to the dance floor, and feeling where there’s a pull toward a certain sound or vibe or whether something needs a change-up. That’s also why I like playing long sets in places that I feel comfortable in, like Nowadays or at Panorama Bar. Panorama Bar is usually four hours. If you’re closing, it’s around eight sometimes. Nowadays is also open-to-close, around eight hours. I played six on New Year’s. Imagine playing a live set for six or eight hours. It can’t fully be planned, you know what I mean? The length and the breadth of it is a very open field to go play around in, and you want to make sure you have as many, to use conversation terms, words and turns of phrase to communicate with as possible, because there’s so much music out there and it’s always changing, it’s always exciting. My friends are always sending me new things to road-test, and I’m always making things, and I want to try new things. You eventually get bored of yourself, so it’s always a new experience to keep it feeling fresh and still connect with people while not repeating yourself. You talked about being comfortable in Panorama Bar and at Nowadays. How do you get comfortable with a space, or if that’s too hard to articulate, how do you realize you’ve become comfortable with a space? I think those places have done a ton of hard-earned work to develop a set of expectations from the crowd and from DJs where, every time anybody DJs at Panorama Bar…their first time they go, they’ve been stressing about it, and they’ll play their idea of their best set, and the people that go there expect the best, and they have very strong and informed music tastes, but it’s still primarily a place that people go to have fun and let loose. You can do that, and the club is open from Saturday night to Monday morning, so it’s a long journey. [As for] the idea of, when do I know that I’m comfortable? When I’m just way more excited to do it than anything, because the DJ booth sounds good, it feels good. The crowd is there for a good time, but I can play with a lot of different sounds and vibes, and I can go in a lot of different directions and know that the crowd is going to trust me, and they’re not [passively] just going to the local club to get drunk, do drugs with their friends, or go see some DJ that they saw a five-second clip [of] on TikTok or whatever. You can do your thing there and experiment, and that’s the dream, and I’m very happy that I have that for a lot of places. The shortcut that I realized is that usually, right before I play Panorama Bar or Nowadays, I get an idea for a song or edit hours before I get there. I’m on the plane landing in Berlin like, “I’m going to make a crazy Kate Bush edit.” I make it on the plane and then go play it at Panorama Bar. That happens a lot, and it’s indicative of, “I’m excited. I get to debut something there.” On a time management level, since you’re making studio albums and you’re DJing, how do you balance it? It’s hard. I haven’t played since New Year’s, and I won’t have played until late February. This is the longest time I haven’t DJed in years, I guess since COVID. I’m not that amazing at blocking off time to not do anything. Even now, the reason I took it off is because I’m preparing the live show [for & the Charm]. I’m bad at doing time off, but I feel very comfortable with DJing. I have my processes of finding music, preparing my library, and making edits. This is kind of a machine that runs, and it gives me space to do these longer-range leaps of creative projects like making & the Charm albums. I definitely relate to you saying you’re bad at time off. A lot of The Creative Independent’s readers are going to relate to that. I know. Everyone is pushed from every angle. There’s pressure everywhere. We all have to fucking hustle around. It’s just late-stage capitalism. Do you have any other sense as to why you’re bad at time off? Because yes, it’s late-stage capitalism, and yes, it’s nobody getting enough money for the work they do, but why else specific to you do you feel that you’re bad at taking time off? I don’t know. Maybe something happened in my development, or it’s just the way I’m wired. I think that the world is a very interesting place, and I wish I had many lifetimes so that I could get good at all the things I want to get good at. Recently, moving up here [to the Catskills], the house we live in had a garage, and it came with a table saw and a workbench, so I was like, “Okay, I’m going to start making things out of wood.” That’s my downtime stuff that I like to do, because it’s also just like music. It’s like a skill and an art combined, and there are techniques that you can learn, techniques on YouTube, but it kind of takes a while to develop them, get good at them, then use them for your specific project. I think it’s important for me because it’s a hobby that I’m not ever trying to be professional at. It’s just for me. I’m making my little lamps and whatever, and I’m not going to have to push them in the open marketplace, and I’m not trying to be a woodworking influencer. It’s just for me, and I need to go out in my garage and listen to music and make some sawdust every once in a while. That’s a very restorative experience for me. With & the Charm, Bullion was your main co-producer, and that’s also true of Written Into Changes, but it has two songs that Rostam is also a co-producer on. How do you know it’s time to bring in another collaborator when you’ve already got a reliable one? I love working with Nathan [Jenkins of Buillon] so much, and I hope to for as long as we both can, but…I guess I started & the Charm making music and being like, “I want this to be collaborative.” All of my favorite and, I think, the best artists in the world are good at collaborating. David Bowie, Björk, whatever, right? You can create something that’s greater than the sum of its parts by working with other people. If they’re fun people and they’re interesting, and you can sit in a room and talk for hours about different influences or just chat about—I’ll talk about reverb for hours with anybody, and making music with somebody else is like opening up the interiority of lyrics and talking about kind of intimate relationship things or heavy life headspace realizations. That’s why we make music. Connecting with an audience is one thing, but connecting with the people that you’re making music with is the function of music also. That’s everything I wanted to ask you today, but if you have anything else you want to say about creativity, or anything more you wanted to add to any of the questions that I asked that you didn’t get to say when I first asked them, feel free to take a moment. Being creative is an output of learning, and that is where it happens, so anything that can cause you to learn will cause you to be creative. Honing those muscles is the same thing as being creative: learning, gaining new skills, woodworking, writing code, being a better communicator. Avalon Emerson Recommends: Orchestra Of The Eight Day - At The Last Gate (1984) Modded 5th gen iPod Video Suizan Japanese Wood Pullsaw American Movie (1999) Elta Music Solar42N Drone Synthesizer In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Max Freedman.
Tributes pour in for Lionel Jospin, ‘father’ of the Nouméa Accord
OBITUARY: By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Political leaders and institutions have paid tributes for Lionel Jospin, the “father” of the 1998 Nouméa Accord, who died at the weekend aged 88. Jospin was a socialist prime minister who played a significant role in supervising the signature of the 1998 Accord, which paved
OBITUARY: By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Political leaders and institutions have paid tributes for Lionel Jospin, the “father” of the 1998 Nouméa Accord, who died at the weekend aged 88. Jospin was a socialist prime minister who played a significant role in supervising the signature of the 1998 Accord, which paved the way for increased autonomy for the French Pacific territory. Ten years after the signing of the 1988 Matignon-Oudinot agreements which contributed to restoring civil peace after half a decade of quasi civil war, the Nouméa agreement was more focused on furthering the process. READ MORE: Other Kanaky New Caledonia reports <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-125482 size-full" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Lionel-Jospin-WikiP-300tall.png" alt="Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin" width="300" height="410" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Lionel-Jospin-WikiP-300tall.png 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Lionel-Jospin-WikiP-300tall-220x300.png 220w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin . . . played a significant role in supervising the signature of the 1998 Accord, which paved the way for increased autonomy for the French Pacific territory. Image: Wikipedia Its emphasis was to ensure a gradual transfer of more powers from Paris to Nouméa, the creation of a local “collegial” government, the setting up of three provinces (North, South and Loyalty islands) and the notion of “re-balancing” resources between the North of New Caledonia (mostly populated by the indigenous Kanak population) and the South of the main island, Grande Terre, where most of the economic power and population are based. There was also the embryonic concept of a New Caledonia “citizenship”. One of the cornerstones of this re-balancing was the construction of the Koniambo nickel processing factory, in the North of the main island. But the project is now dormant after its key financier, Glencore, decided to mothball the plant due to a mix of structural cost issues and the rise of other global nickel players, especially in Indonesia. In 1988, the Matignon Accord was negotiated and signed by then French Socialist PM Michel Rocard. Agreement signed A decade later, it was under Jospin that the Nouméa agreement was signed between pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur and pro-independence umbrella leaders, including Roch Wamytan (Union Calédonienne). The Nouméa Accord also designed a pathway and envisaged that a series of three referendums should be held to consult the local population on whether they wished for New Caledonia to become independent. The three referendums were held between 2018 and 2021. Although the pro-independence FLNKS called for a boycott of the third referendum in December 2021, the three results were deemed to have resulted in three refusals of the independence. Since then, under the Accord, political stakeholders have attempted to meet in order to decide what to do under the new situation. Since July 2025 and later in January 2026, negotiations took place and produced a series of the texts since referred to as “Bougival” and “Elysée-Oudinot”. But the FLNKS has rejected the proposed agreements, saying this was a “lure” of independence and only purported to make New Caledonia a “State” within the French realm, with an associated “nationality” for people who were already French citizens. Celebrated accord preamble One of the most celebrated passages of the Nouméa Accord is its preamble, which officially recognises the “lights” and “shadows” of French colonisation. The approval of the 1998 text came as a result of tense negotiations between the pro-independence FLNKS and, at the time, the pro-France RPCR was the only force defending the notion of New Caledonia remaining part of France. RPCR has since split into several breakaway parties. FLNKS has also split since the riots that broke out in May 2024, materialising a divide between the largest party Union Calédonienne (now regarded as more radical) and the moderate PALIKA and UPM pro-independence parties. In 1998, some of Jospin’s key advisers were Christian Lataste and Alain Christnacht, who later served as High Commissioners of France in New Caledonia. “He was someone who was negotiating, was discussing and who respected his interlocutors and the Kanak civilisation,” Nouméa Accord signatory Roch Wamytan told local public broadcaster NC la 1ère. ‘Obtaining solutions’ “He also had this method for obtaining solutions and a consensus, out of a contradictory debate”. PALIKA party (still represented by one signatory, Paul Néaoutyine) also paid homage to Jospin, saying they would remember the late French leader as a “statesman”, a “man of his word” who managed to foster a “historic compromise”. “Through the Nouméa Accord, he managed to see the realities of colonial history and open the way for emancipation,” the party stated in a release. “The historic (Nouméa) accord was a major step in (New Caledonia’s) decolonisation and re-balancing process,” New Caledonia’s government said in an official release on Tuesday. “It allowed to set the foundations of a common destiny between (New Caledonia’s communities, founded on the recognition of the Kanak identity and the sharing of skills”, the release went on, stressing the importance of a “climate of dialogue, respect and responsibility, which are essential for New Caledonia’s institutional and political construction”. ‘One of its greatest’ — Macron In mainland France, tributes have also poured from all sides of the political spectrum. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed “a great French destiny”. “France is aware it has lost one of its greatest leaders,” former French President François Hollande wrote on social networks. Manuel Valls, who was Overseas State Minister between December 2024 and late 2025, said as a young adviser in the late 1980s and later on, he had been inspired by both PMs Michel Rocard and Lionel Jospin when he was fostering negotiations and the resumption of talks between New Caledonia’s antagonist politicians in 2025. The Nouméa Accord is still deemed valid until a new document is officially enshrined in the French Constitution. Attempts to translate the Bougival-Elysée-Oudinot into a constitutional amendment are still underway in the coming days, this time through debates at the French National Assembly (Lower House), with a backdrop of parliamentary divisions and the notable absence of any conclusive majority. In February 2026, the French Senate endorsed a Constitutional amendment bill to enshrine the project into the French Constitution. But the text now required another endorsement from the Lower House, the National Assembly, and later another green light, this time from the National Assembly, then both Houses of the French Parliament (the Senate and the National Assembly, in a joint sitting of the French “Congress”. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
As we navigate a world of "alternative facts" and corporate-state surveillance, George Orwell's life, times, and pain, transformed into enduring art, like 1984, show us how to be defiant today. Resistance begins in the mind. This week, we're joined by British critic Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984, to trace the biography of a nightmare. The Orwellian slogan "2+2=5" was taken from Soviet propaganda. Orwell reviewed Assignment in Utopia by Eugene Lyons, an American reporter who confesses in the chapter "The Press Corps Conceals a Famine," to joining with other influential foreign correspondents in Moscow to label Gareth Jones a liar in their articles in exchange for access to the Soviet regime. Lyons and Orwell are both characters in Andrea's film Mr. Jones. The trauma of 1984 started during the Spanish Civil War, alongside his wife, Eileen Blair, the unsung hero who saved his life and helped him find his voice as an artist, to break through the lies. In Catalonia, Eileen and Eric Blair watched Stalin-backed communists turn a socialist revolution into a paranoid police state. It was here, nearly killed by the "Soviet myth," that they realized nowhere is immune: lies and conformity keep people complacent as the sadists consolidate power. Orwell's message is clear for us today: in an era of state-sponsored lies, holding onto your humanity is the ultimate act of defiance. Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! Show Notes: Our opening song was "Ride at Dawn" by Deena Marie. Check out her GoFundMe here to help her produce her next album: https://gofund.me/623a9c9b1 IG: @deenamariedmt Spotify: Listen here Apple Music: Listen here TikTok: @deenamariedmt YouTube: Watch here The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/580453/the-ministry-of-truth-by-dorian-lynskey/ 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day https://www.harpercollins.com/products/33-revolutions-per-minute-dorian-lynskey?variant=32210443141154 EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community
As we navigate a world of "alternative facts" and corporate-state surveillance, George Orwell's life, times, and pain, transformed into enduring art, like 1984, show us how to be defiant today. Resistance begins in the mind. This week, we're joined by British critic Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984, to trace the biography of a nightmare. The Orwellian slogan "2+2=5" was taken from Soviet propaganda. Orwell reviewed Assignment in Utopia by Eugene Lyons, an American reporter who confesses in the chapter "The Press Corps Conceals a Famine," to joining with other influential foreign correspondents in Moscow to label Gareth Jones a liar in their articles in exchange for access to the Soviet regime. Lyons and Orwell are both characters in Andrea's film Mr. Jones. The trauma of 1984 started during the Spanish Civil War, alongside his wife, Eileen Blair, the unsung hero who saved his life and helped him find his voice as an artist, to break through the lies. In Catalonia, Eileen and Eric Blair watched Stalin-backed communists turn a socialist revolution into a paranoid police state. It was here, nearly killed by the "Soviet myth," that they realized nowhere is immune: lies and conformity keep people complacent as the sadists consolidate power. Orwell's message is clear for us today: in an era of state-sponsored lies, holding onto your humanity is the ultimate act of defiance. Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel. When: April 13 Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/ Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours. Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there! Show Notes: Our opening song was "Ride at Dawn" by Deena Marie. Check out her GoFundMe here to help her produce her next album: https://gofund.me/623a9c9b1 IG: @deenamariedmt Spotify: Listen hereApple Music: Listen hereTikTok: @deenamariedmt YouTube: Watch here The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/580453/the-ministry-of-truth-by-dorian-lynskey/ 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day https://www.harpercollins.com/products/33-revolutions-per-minute-dorian-lynskey?variant=32210443141154 EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
Fiji’s human rights watchdog raises concerns over new Israeli embassy plans
Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s human rights watchdog has warned that the country’s pro-Israel foreign policy and diplomatic engagement works against its international obligations and could be enabling “genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity” in Gaza. The Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (FHRADC) released a statement on Tuesday in response to the Fiji government announcing
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s human rights watchdog has warned that the country’s pro-Israel foreign policy and diplomatic engagement works against its international obligations and could be enabling “genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity” in Gaza. The Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (FHRADC) released a statement on Tuesday in response to the Fiji government announcing plans to establish a resident embassy for Israel in Suva. The FHRADC said that the announcement “raises important questions” and is calling on the government to uphold its human rights obligations “in all aspects” of its diplomacy. READ MORE: Other Israeli-Fiji relations reports As a state party to the Genocide Convention, Fiji is bound by international human rights law and international humanitarian law, the FHRADC said. It added under the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the country “is obligated to support international efforts to prevent genocide” and ensure those responsible for such crimes are held responsible. “This includes ensuring that Fiji’s foreign policy and diplomatic relations do not assist, enable, or legitimise conduct by parties or states involved in serious violations of international law.” The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024 said that claims are “plausible” that the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention are being “violated . . . by Israel’s large-scale military operation in Gaza” a position firmly rejected by Israel, which has maintained its actions are necessary for self defence against Hamas. “The duty to prevent genocide is a jus cogens obligation, a non-derogable principle of international law,” FHRADC commissioner Alefina Vuki said. Legal responsibility She said according to international law every state had “the legal responsibility to intervene and prevent the intentional or deliberate destruction of a group of people”, suggesting Fiji had failed to do this. “No government can ever justify or excuse its failure to carry out this responsibility. States must ensure diplomatic relations that uphold, rather than undermine the duty to prevent genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she said. Fiji opened its permanent diplomatic post in Jerusalem in September last year. Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said at the time that the opening of Fiji’s embassy in Jerusalem “reflects our desire to build bridges — not walls — between nations, cultures, and peoples”. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://media.rnztools.nz/rnz/image/upload/s--mnFhFDMZ--/ar_16:10,c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,q_auto,w_1050/v1774399308/4JR7Q2F_2025_web_images_9_png?_a=BACCd2AD" alt="Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Filipo Tarakinikini, presented his credentials as the new non-resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Fiji to the State of Israel to the President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog. 29 April 2025." width="1050" height="656" /> Fiji’s UN AMbassador Filipo Tarakinikini presents his credentials as the new Fiji non-resident Ambassador to Israel to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in April 2025. Image: FB/Fiji Govt Fiji is one of a handful of countries to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem rather than Tel Aviv, which is controversial. Israel claims the entire city as its undivided capital, while Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Diplomatic actions According to FHRADC, the Fiji government has the “sovereign prerogative to determine bilateral relations”. However, Vuki said Fiji must ensure that its “diplomatic actions do not violate international norms relating to occupation, self-determination, and the protection of civilian populations”. “Any strengthening of bilateral relations must be carefully balanced against Fiji’s responsibilities as a member of the international community,” she said. The FHRADC has offered to provide “independent and technical advice” to support the Fijian government with its foreign policy to keep it aligned to its international human rights commitments. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
‘Israel First’ – ex-Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy on why Netanyahu led Trump into illegal Iran War
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman in New York, joined by, for the first time in six years except for yesterday, Juan González, also in New York. It’s great to be with you again, Juan. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Thanks, Amy. And welcome to all of our
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman in New York, joined by, for the first time in six years except for yesterday, Juan González, also in New York. It’s great to be with you again, Juan. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Thanks, Amy. And welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. As the US and Israel’s unprovoked war on Iran enters its 25th day, President Trump is claiming that Iran has begun negotiations with the United States, but the Iranian government has dismissed the claim as “fake news”, accusing Trump of trying to manipulate financial and oil markets. Over the weekend, Trump threatened to, quote, “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Iran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday night. But on Monday, Trump reversed course, extended his deadline to five days and repeatedly claimed the US was now in productive conversations with Iran. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: “With Iran, we’ve been negotiating for a long time. And this time, they mean business. And it’s only because of the great job that our military did, is the reason they mean business. They want to settle, and we’re going to get it done, I hope.” JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Earlier in the day, President Trump claimed he might personally take joint control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s next ayatollah. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: “It will be jointly controlled.” REPORTER: “By whom?” PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: “Maybe me. Maybe me.” REPORTER: “You want the United States to be in control of the Strait of Hormuz?” PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: “Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah — look, and there’ll also be a form of a — a very serious form of a regime change. “Now, in all fairness, everybody has been killed from the regime. They’re really starting off. There’s automatically a regime change. “But we’re dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are. They’re very respected. “And maybe one of them will be exactly what we’re looking for. Look at Venezuela, how well that’s working out. We are doing so well in Venezuela with oil and with the relationship between the president-elect and us. And maybe we find somebody like that in Iran.” AMY GOODMAN: Despite Trump’s claims of US-Iran negotiations, US Central Command says US forces, “continue to aggressively strike,” Iran. Meanwhile, Iran has retaliated by striking other Gulf nations and Israel. Israeli officials said Iran has launched seven missile barrages since midnight, targeting Tel Aviv and other cities. The Israeli military said one of the missiles that hit Tel Aviv carried a 220-pound warhead. Israel’s Health Ministry said nearly 4800 people have been injured by Iran’s attacks on Israel since the war began. We go now to London, where we’re joined by Daniel Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, former Israeli peace negotiator under Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin. His recent piece for Zeteo is headlined “Why Netanyahu Duped Trump Into the Illegal War With Iran.” Well, Daniel Levy, thanks so much for being with us again. Why don’t you explain that headline? DANIEL LEVY: Well, good to be with you, Amy and Juan. Netanyahu himself and other Israeli leaders, although he’s been at the helm for much of the last three decades, have, during an awfully long period, told us Iran is at the precipice of becoming a nuclear power. By the way, we should always remind ourselves, Israel is the only nuclear-armed state in the region. But they’ve been telling us, “It’s imminent. We have to act now.” And they’ve been trying to pull successive American presidents into that war, to launch such a military campaign. They’ve never succeeded. You have had American presidents across the decades, from whichever party has been in power, who have created an extremely indulgent, permissive environment for Israel in the region, and in particular when it comes to Israel’s consistent war crimes against the Palestinians. What you have not had is a president who could be led into this kind of a military operation. And we’re seeing right now, in almost the last month of this war, precisely why. But this president is made of different stuff, less serious stuff, apparently, and Netanyahu saw his opportunity. But the reason, I think, why this was of such significance for Netanyahu is we are in a new era. It’s not an era of a Pax Americana with — alongside all that indulgence of Israel, there were still certain brake mechanisms. This time, Israel sees us in an era of what I would call a Pax Greater Israel. This is about how far Israel can extend its dominion, how much of a hard-power, dominant hegemon it can be in the region, seizing parts of Syria or of Lebanon, trying to finish an eradicationist approach to the Palestinians. And crucially, to do that, you have to weaken Iran militarily, to remove some kind of deterrent. You can only do that with the US, so you need to pull the US into this war. If that means further accelerating American decline and even accelerating Israel’s loss of support in America, then it’s a price to pay. It’s kind of “use it or lose it,” because those things are happening anyway. In saying all of this, I don’t want to suggest that America has no agency in this. There are things to do with the Trump administration, the neocons, the people who still have positions of influence in the US that have brought them into this. But that’s what Netanyahu is trying to achieve, to achieve Greater Israel, domination in the region, including the weakening of the Gulf, which is intentional, at the expense of America bleeding further reputational, political, economic assets in this war. Trump’s ‘Israel First’ Iran War Video: Democracy Now! JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Daniel Levy, you’ve also written that, quote, “The idea that this is a war to serve American rather than Israeli interests resonates primarily in three spaces: the gullible, the true believers (especially of end times religious [thinking]), or those who are paid-up members of Israel’s echo chamber.” Could you elaborate? DANIEL LEVY: Yes. I think there is a lot of attention being paid to this question of who does this serve. Now, you can make the case that you also have a US government that is locked into its own kind of logic of war. You have, if I may suggest, a decline anxiety in the US. You have an attempt to reassert primacy and preponderance. I don’t think that is or can go well. You have Marco Rubio, for instance, telling the Europeans, “Join us in the next Western century of imperial domination.” That can perhaps play out in the Western Hemisphere — the crime committed with the kidnapping of a leader in Venezuela, the illegal blockade on Cuba. But if you travel too far afield to find monsters to slay, and if you have an incoherent strategy and an incompetent administration implementing that strategy, then things are going to go very badly wrong, which was entirely predictable in this illegal war of choice launched by the US and Israel. And therefore, if you look at this, and even if you factor in the attempt to assert American interest, this war would not have happened if Israel’s leader had not been there whispering in the president’s ear, making the case. [There were] seven bilateral meetings in the first 13 months of the second Trump term between Trump and Netanyahu, two meetings in the eight weeks leading up to the launching of this illegal war, daily phone calls, we are told, now information coming out in The New York Times that the Mossad apparently bamboozled Americans with the idea that if you could decapitate some of the regime leadership, the Mossad could foment a coup on the streets, that you could arm Kurdish groups from the outside to take geographical parts of Iran to start dismantling the central state. You really have to be, therefore, either extremely gullible, as I suggested, or a true believer that, well, this is high risk, but it’s worth it, because what maybe you’re ideologically committed to, the Greater Israel cause, maybe that comes from a place of evangelical dispensationalist belief in the end times, or you simply are part of an echo chamber whose wheels are greased very consistently. And we see that play out over so many years in American politics. That’s what I’m suggesting. And I do think that the attempt to suggest this is more than Israel first, that somehow this serves America’s interest, are not going to go well, and Israel will pay a tremendous price for that over time. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you also — there appears to have been a shift in the last few days in how the Israeli government permits damage within Israel from Iranian attacks to be publicised by the press, because, clearly, during the first two weeks of the war, Israel essentially prevented any kind of images, from the US media especially, going out to the world. Now, in the last few days, it’s almost as if Netanyahu and the government want their own people and the rest of the world to see some of this damage. I’m wondering your thoughts about this. Has there been a change in approach or tactics by the Israeli government? DANIEL LEVY: So, I’m not so sure. I think it’s an interesting question to dwell upon. But what one might be seeing is an inability, and therefore a degradation of credibility if Israel tries to claim that none of this destruction is happening — in other words, an inability to prevent those images from coming out — when those strikes are now causing very significant damage. I don’t want to exaggerate that, either. I don’t think that is what causes this unnecessary war to come to an end. But what one perhaps has to look to is, if you remember, early on in the war, one of the real questions, as this became a war of endurance, almost a war of attrition, was: Could the US and Israeli side sufficiently deplete Iran’s missile-launching capacity before Iran both sufficiently degraded the interception capacity on the Israeli and US side — so they have to be a bit more selective in terms of what they use the interceptors for, because they can’t take everything out and they are going to run out — and also Iran apparently holding back some of its heavier kit, because in its strategy, it assumed this could go on for a long time, and it had to have a plan for week one, week two, week three? And so, I think, to the extent to which we’re seeing more images, it is likely because that equation hasn’t played well for the US and Israel, and because we’re seeing more damage being done. I think you have a war where Israel has a strategy. It’s an extremely ambitious overreach strategy in terms of not regime change, but regime collapse, state collapse, implosion, the dismantling of the Iranian state, where Iran has a strategy of escalating horizontally, testing American endurance and holding out and winning that way. But I think you’d be really hard pushed to find a coherent strategy on the US side. AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to play a clip of President Trump speaking to reporters about US aims in negotiations. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: “No nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon, not even close to it, low key on the missiles. We want to see peace in the Middle East. We want the nuclear dust. “We’re going to want that, and I think we’re going to get that. We’ve agreed to that. … If this happens, it’s a great start for Iran to build itself back, and it’s everything that we want. “And it’s also great for Israel, and it’s great for the other Middle Eastern countries.” AMY GOODMAN: So, Daniel Levy, you are a former Israeli negotiator under two Israeli prime ministers. If you can respond to what he’s saying, and also to what Iran is saying, that the idea that there’s any negotiation going on is fake news intended to “manipulate financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped,” said the speaker of Iran’s parliament? DANIEL LEVY: So, there are a couple of things going on here, and I want to try and disentangle those. First of all, the question of: Are negotiations taking place? And what I think is very clear is that there are channels of communication via third countries. Those have been available all the time. Partly, one has to understand that countries in the region, who were not a party to launching this war nor to the decision to go to war, who, in fact, cautioned against this war, in the Gulf and elsewhere, they are feeling tremendous blowback and taking hits from this war, and they are keen to bring it to an end. There may be some who, for some reason, still believe America can do the job and that they should trust America’s competence and coherence in attempting to do so. I think most are not in that camp. They know the cost is too high, and they are experiencing daily what it means to rely on America for your security, and the answer is not good. So, there are a number of states, also beyond that — Türkiye has been super active, Pakistan, for instance, Egypt — who are maintaining open channels with both parties and obviously sending messages, because, by the way, the whole world is suffering from this — higher fuel, food, fertiliser prices, etc. So there are active channels. Are they talking directly? I don’t know. I doubt it. But I also think it doesn’t matter very much. What matters is the question you kind of raise there, Amy, which is: Are these talks, first of all, intended to produce an outcome? Was this another American deployment of diplomacy as a ruse? We saw in the lead-up to this war that America played with negotiations, attempted that as a distraction, but actually intended to go for the military option. So, is this trying to buy some time while the US waits for a third aircraft carrier, more of your taxpayer dollars, to be deployed in the West Asia-Middle East region? Was this a Monday-morning pre-stock market intervention on the part of the president? Because if there’s one thing he does pay attention to, it’s that. So, was he trying to calm the markets, give himself a few more days, or is this a serious attempt to chart a path to deescalation? If it is the latter, then that would have to include an acknowledgment that in negotiations you have to listen to the other side. You have to take into account their interests. If you go in with maximalist positions, often designed by the worst elements of maximalism in your administration and by the Israelis intentionally trying to make sure that talks cannot succeed, then — guess what — the talks won’t succeed. So, if you think you can impose on Iran in these talks things that you couldn’t achieve in your military assault or things that they weren’t willing to accept beforehand, then the talks are doomed to fail. The one thing that may be working to our benefit is not who might host these talks. It’s certainly not the fact that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff might be involved, because that would be very bad news indeed, given their record of failure, if they’re the only people. But the one piece of good news is that the loose and perhaps nonexistent relationship between what Trump says and the realities out there in the real world, that relationship means that Trump can claim what he likes, because what we’re probably looking for is three victory speeches, given in Tehran, Jerusalem and Washington, DC. They won’t align. They won’t match up. But they might allow for a cessation and then for some of these issues to be addressed afterwards. But as long as that doesn’t happen, we still have to contend with the fact that Israel has been driving a lot of the escalatory logic in this war. It will continue to attempt to prevent a ceasefire. It’s not alone. There are certainly American sources trying to do that, as well. Israel is still on the impunity high from its Gaza genocide, which has led us here. And we have to contend with the fact that each time you try and get a “mission accomplished” victory image, you might escalate, leading to a further cycle of escalation, and then that can collapse any putative path out of this. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Daniel Levy, we only have about a minute left, but I wanted to ask you — while the war is continuing in Iran and Israeli forces are in Lebanon, the settlers in the West Bank continue to perpetuate violence against Palestinians, and the IDF continues to attack Palestinians in Gaza. I’m wondering your sense of how this has basically faded from the international view while the war against Iran continues. DANIEL LEVY: Well, I wish I could say that it needed the war in Iran in order to shift attention away from this, in order for Israel to be able to continue to not be held accountable and to get away with these daily violations of international law and with these appalling atrocities against the Palestinians, but it didn’t take the war. Israel is doing that, and it will continue to do that unless and until it is held to account, it is contained and deterred. And, of course, you also see 1 million displaced in Lebanon and the attempt, apparently, to reestablish a zone of Israeli domination there, still in control of territory in Syria, as well. But I also want to challenge this notion that the problem in the West Bank is the settlers. There is no armed settler militia without the IDF. The settlers roam the West Bank with the active backing of Israel’s military. Occasionally, they may call a handful of people to account and say, “No. Stop.” But most of the occupation and the entrenchment of a matrix of control and an apartheid regime, that is run not by lone settlers. That is run by the Israeli state. That is run by the IDF. It is the IDF and the Israeli state that run that regime of control, that also, as you mentioned, despite the so-called ceasefire, are in control of about 60 percent directly of Gaza, carrying out daily military assaults, daily killings of Palestinians in Gaza, still not allowing the necessary humanitarian assistance or shelter into Gaza, and, in parallel, conducting the largest military intervention in the West Bank, the largest displacement and destruction, often focused on refugee camps, like Jenin, Tulkarm, Nur al-Shams, that we have seen since 1967. I think this will ultimately end very badly for Israel and generate tremendous blowback. But in the meantime, it is again the Palestinians bearing the brunt. AMY GOODMAN: Daniel Levy, we want to thank you so much for being with us, president of the US/Middle East Project, former Israeli peace negotiator under Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin. We’ll link to your piece in Zeteo, “Why Netanyahu Duped Trump Into the Illegal War With Iran.” You can follow Levy’s writings on his Substack. Republished from Democracy Now! under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States Licence. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Oil Change response to María Corina Machado’s speech at CERAWeek
Today, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado held a session on “the future of Venezuela” at CERAWeek, one of the world’s largest oil and gas conferences, where she spoke in support of U.S. oil and gas companies’ return to the country with ...
Today, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado held a session on “the future of Venezuela” at CERAWeek, one of the world’s largest oil and gas conferences, where she spoke in support of U.S. oil and gas companies’ return to the country with a bold pitch for a “comprehensive plan” on opening up Venezuela’s oil reserves to “100% private investment.” From the CERAWeek stage, Machado publicly offered to meet with oil and gas executives this week about exploiting Venezuelan oil assets currently owned by the Venezuelan state. In response, Allie Rosenbluth, United States Campaign Manager at Oil Change International, said: “María Corina Machado’s appearance at CERAWeek shows how conflict and instability open the door for fossil fuel companies to entrench their stronghold across the globe. After Trump’s attacks on Venezuela, one of his priorities was <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.ibreQe1iIimkwHUK9y-2BRCODQWVNsDz0lDFIbaxOYKt1ifm4O-2FODSLpy9Jz3JTXPJUOKqnTDQEy0rOFaGITGsOw-3D-3DSzhk_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BuPjZ25JeAWi0m7ZkrlwVq418N66nzYdy1jeJPqgMDYHQSNMrvdDdNkaua-2FqDdSnutHE8tBf-2B3VXdKXaYzOI0Gecwk2KVS2-2BFH5lkKnQYUjvCuARYoksXdCyxxUm4sWDuVB-2FVcaB0LTWqCZvq3r2t0j4zwCHDxnQwpsH1-2FEjtQOsp7PNh-2BwNhvnRATq3wHI6AeAx-2FevmEKldDGi5-2FgnrwBzQ0-2BKFnIIU-2B6jj7PcB-2BW-2B59YmoDEXeqEjG-2FOcagRI2endRXASqUr-2B-2FgxrXuH4GlBwog69uoK9xidDm5iZUsM6TSj7j0KQTJPaZwU2mll2Iw" rel="noopener noreferrer" >encouraging U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuelan oil – not for the benefit of the Venezuelan people, but to offer fossil fuel executives new opportunities to make a killing. “If U.S. oil companies return to Venezuela to ramp up production, communities and the climate will pay the price in polluted air and water, elevated risks of cancer and other health problems, and severe climate disasters. Most Venezuelan oil is heavy, sour crude, among the dirtiest and worst kinds of oil for our climate. This dirty oil places the communities in Venezuela – where it is extracted – and in the Gulf South – where it is refined – at even greater risk. “To protect communities across the world from environmental disasters and more wars for oil, we must reject extractive energy models and build democratic systems that prioritize community health and safety. The future of Venezuela should be determined by its people, not by U.S. fossil fuel executives looking to maximize their own profits.” This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Interior Department orders park service to cut off SFGate after critical coverage
National Park Service public affairs employees were instructed not to respond to inquiries from SFGate after the San Francisco, California, outlet published a Feb. 10, 2026, article critical of new park service media rules, it reported.In a March 18 ar...
National Park Service public affairs employees were instructed not to respond to inquiries from SFGate after the San Francisco, California, outlet published a Feb. 10, 2026, article critical of new park service media rules, it reported. In a March 18 article, SFGate detailed how the online news site’s national parks bureau had sent “dozens of inquiries” to the National Park Service for stories over the previous month, but did not receive any responses. Citing internal department communications that the outlet reviewed, as well as interviews with “multiple insiders” who were granted anonymity for fear of losing their jobs, SFGate reported that it was “blacklisted” by the public affairs office at the Department of the Interior, which oversees the park service, after publication of the Feb. 10 article. The piece detailed a new approval process for park exhibits and other public-facing content, as well as limits on how the park service may interact with the media and the public. The process is designed to help the service align with a Trump administration executive order that critics in the report characterized as “part of a broad attempt to control the nation’s narratives.” The Feb. 10 article, quoting park service insiders and nonprofit leaders, described how “confusion over the new policies is rampant, a culture of fear is pervasive, and ignored or denied media requests have become commonplace.” SFGate reported that in the wake of that article, a park service employee told the outlet that they had been instructed not to respond to any of its inquiries — while continuing to respond to other outlets about the same topics. SFGate quoted a park service communications employee as saying, “On a national level, you guys are the only ones I’ve ever heard of getting blacklisted.” In an emailed statement for the March 18 article, Interior Department Communications Director Katie Martin told SFGate that the outlet “has distorted the facts and has caused confusion with their reporting with the mainstream media. This has caused the Department to spend countless hours correcting their false narrative with other media outlets.” Martin also challenged the assertion that the outlet had been shut out in the wake of the Feb. 10 story, noting that a contributor received an email from the department Feb. 12 in response to a question about how to attribute a statement about an executive order by President Donald Trump. “Once again, SFGate is choosing their own narrative regardless of the facts,” Martin wrote. However, SFGate noted, “Apart from that email, another reiterating a similar statement about Trump’s order and the ones sent in response to inquiries for this story, the Department of the Interior hasn’t responded to any media request.” It added that the National Park Service had not responded to a single inquiry in that time period. SFGate reported that in the week the Feb. 10 article was published, spokespeople for the park service said they started receiving verbal instructions from Elizabeth Peace, an Interior Department senior public affairs specialist, to ignore the outlet. And then in early March, department officials gave instructions, through internal communications that the outlet reviewed, to ignore SFGate journalists. SFGate noted that it had several Freedom of Information Act requests pending with the Interior Department, and that it expected a response to those, as required by law. “In the meantime, we’ll file more requests and continue connecting with our large network of sources inside and outside the Park Service. We’ll keep producing hard-hitting journalism that holds the Trump administration accountable for its handling of the public’s most beloved federal agency — and do more stories like the one that apparently triggered this ban,” SFGate Editor-in-Chief Grant Marek told the outlet. The Interior Department, National Park Service and SFGate did not respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.
‘A Media System Built on Profit Is Incredibly Fragile’: CounterSpin interview with Jim Naureckas on MAGA vs. the First Amendment
"The regulatory system is being used to steer media ownership towards billionaires who are going to be friendly to Trump."
Janine Jackson interviewed FAIR’s Jim Naureckas about the Trump administration’s assault on the First Amendment for the March 20, 2026, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260320.mp3 AP (3/17/26) Janine Jackson: When FAIR started in 1986, US news media were harming people through nightly stories blaring about crime in the streets and silent on crime in the suites, through a top-down depiction of US social struggles where the outpowered were always the problem, through a foreign policy conversation tethered to Cold War premises, and the idea that the US can, indeed, must do whatever it wants, wherever it wants. And all of that corrosive messaging supported by media ownership, sponsorship and regulation structures that, at the time, not a lot of people saw as meaningful, much less problematic. That’s why FAIR is here. Fast forward 40 years: All of the conflicts we were told we were either making up or exaggerating are out in broad daylight. The president is overtly handing control of the country’s media outlets to a tiny group of MAGA billionaires. The Trump-appointed head of the public interest–defending regulator is stating that any outlets that don’t toe the Trump line, wherever that is today, could lose their broadcasting license for that reason. And the so-called elite, traditional, legacy media aren’t ringing alarm bells, perhaps because they’re busy right now carrying water for Trump’s illegal war, today it’s on Iranians, with warnings from the Washington Post of “the danger of lobbying some bombs without seeing this through,” and homilies like that from the New York Times that “military action, for all its awful costs, can have positive consequences.” There is lots of informed, impassioned debate going on right now about the various nightmares unfolding in and from the US. What does it mean that that’s happening largely outside the still-influential news media outlets that have long shaped public understanding? FAIR editor Jim Naureckas has been thinking and talking about this. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Jim Naureckas. Jim Naureckas: Thanks for having me back on. JJ: It’s at least a little funny how people who still use “Communist” as a debate-ending epithet are now apparently fully behind the idea that the US should only allow media who are willing and eager to say “Trump = America = God = goodness” to speak. The word “surreal” might be overused, but this is some mind-bending stuff. So what’s the landscape, for folks who maybe have checked out (and no wonder)? What are you seeing? What are the dangers that you want to call out? FAIR.org (9/23/25) JN: Yeah, surreal is the right word, I think. It’s worth pondering the fact that to Pete Hegseth, the self-styled “secretary of war,” Fox News is to the left. They’re left-wing America haters who are rooting for Trump to fail, and are called out from the podium at Pentagon briefings as that kind of bad actor. And that really just shows you that it’s not enough to actually be pro-Trump, to love Trump. You have to be unwavering in your support of Trump, and unquestioning in every aspect of reality as it is dictated by Trump, in order to be considered real journalism. This is a Pentagon that has kicked out every self-respecting reporter who refused to sign a statement saying that they would not do their job. And so the seats are largely filled with the far right outlets, like One America News Network and Real America’s Voice and the Pillow Guy’s outlet. These are the people who are taking down the wisdom of Pete Hegseth, because the actual reporters got kicked out of the building. There’s a couple of them there to be harangued by Hegseth. And as the attack on Iran continues to not be the slam dunk that they all assured themselves it would be, he gets more and more angry, and more and more bitter in his denunciations. He kicked photographers out of the press briefing because he didn’t like the way that photographs of him looked. I think he thought they made him look crazy. Jim Naureckas: “The regulatory system is being used to steer media ownership towards billionaires who are going to be friendly to Trump.” And so there’s a comical aspect to it, but also it’s terrifying, because the threats he’s making are being backed up by the president of the United States, who has accused reporters of treason for not supporting his war vigorously enough. And FCC chair Brendan Carr, who is openly saying that if you don’t report the news the way we want it to be reported, you’re going to lose your license. And meanwhile, the regulatory system is being used to steer media ownership towards billionaires who are going to be friendly to Trump. We’ve got CBS, now CNN, TikTok are all in the Ellison family’s hands, because Ellison is a MAGA billionaire, and therefore he should have these critical pieces of the media system in his hands. And reporters are leaving CBS in droves, because people who want to actually do their jobs are finding that they cannot. They’ve installed a commissar at CBS, which was one of the things that Trump was praising them for, for having a person there to call out bias. And bias obviously, in this case, means criticism of the great leader. JJ: I think it’s important to acknowledge that some reporters were asked to sign a loyalty oath and they said, “You know what? No, I’d rather just leave.” But we don’t hear so much about them, and I don’t think we’re hearing necessarily about the importance of that, about the way that reporters who want to be reporters are being driven out of the profession. And I think some people are surprised at the fast collapsing, the caving. I think about Target, that they were told, “Hey, companies should stop doing DEI.” And Target was like, “What? Hey, DE-what? You say jump, we say how high.” And I think it’s disheartening for people to see journalistic institutions that they thought were bulwarks instead suggest, some of them, that they’ve actually just been waiting for someone to release them from their responsibility to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. The White House can pitch, but somebody’s got to catch. AP (via PBS, 12/14/24) JN: It really does highlight the weakness of our media system. To have a media system that is built on profit as the highest goal is incredibly fragile, because it’s very easy for the government to affect the profits of corporations, which is why you have these lawsuits. Another part of the assault in the process is Trump suing for millions or billions of dollars whenever he is upset about a news report. There is no legal logic behind these at all. There’s no way you can construe the things that he’s suing about as actual valid torts under our legal system, let alone given the protections of the First Amendment; they’re supposed to shield journalistic outlets from exactly this kind of pressure from the people in power. But because these corporations have no real interest in the First Amendment, in journalism, in an informed public, they have an interest in keeping their stock prices high, they do the math. They say, “If we give $15 million to Trump’s library, then maybe he’ll get off our back and that will be good for our stock price.” It doesn’t actually work that way, because once you’ve paid him, he sees that he can roll you, and he can continue to make absurd demands on you; but they are not going to stand up if the price to be paid is some kind of reduction in their quarterly earnings. Journalism is an incredibly important part of a democratic system. You need to have an informed public in order to make informed judgments about who should be representing us. To tie that to crass money-making, to companies that, by law, are required to have maximizing profit as their sole goal, it’s very dangerous. And we’re seeing the results of that. JJ: And that’s the conflict, of course, that FAIR has been calling attention to for some 40 years now. And I’ll just ask you, finally, because as we have been thinking about this for decades, we are seeing, I won’t say unprecedented, but it’s wild, this full-court press from Trump, from Hegseth, from Brendan Carr and the various acolytes against the First Amendment, which you used to at least pretend fealty to… and yet, and yet, and yet things are happening. People are being given tools to resist. Worker organizations within media outlets are finding their feet and their voice. Droves of us are looking outside so-called legacy media for our news and for our perspectives. I mean, it’s a battleground, but that’s because folks are kind of realizing that we have to fight. FAIR.org (9/6/24) JN: Yeah. FAIR has always been calling for people to support independent media. That is now more important than ever. The failure of the media conglomerates to stand up for the business that they make their money from just makes that perfectly clear. And even, like, the New York Times, which is not heavily invested in broadcasting, so it doesn’t have the threat of the FCC hanging over it; it is owned by a family that has rigged the way that stocks are owned, so they really have no danger of being bought out. But they are so wedded to an ideology that prevents them from saying, “This is a vital danger; this is a serious issue, that we may not have democracy if we don’t take steps to keep it,” that they are effectively useless in the fight against creeping fascism. And so I do think that we need to find the outlets that are talking about these problems seriously and support them. They need resources to do the work that needs to be done. JJ: We’ve been speaking with Jim Naureckas; he’s editor here at FAIR and FAIR.org. Thank you so much, Jim, for joining us this week on CounterSpin. JN: Thank you. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Janine Jackson.
Malian journalist given 2-year prison sentence for insulting Niger’s president
Association of Private Press Publishers of Mali
Dakar, March 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malian authorities to release journalist Youssouf Sissoko, who was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison and a fine of 1 million West African francs (US$1,759) for offending a foreign head of state by publishing a commentary piece that criticized Niger’s president. “The severity...
Dakar, March 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malian authorities to release journalist Youssouf Sissoko, who was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison and a fine of 1 million West African francs (US$1,759) for offending a foreign head of state by publishing a commentary piece that criticized Niger’s president. “The severity of the sentence meted out to journalist Youssouf Sissoko marks an escalation in the Malian government’s hostility towards independent voices,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa representative. “Malian authorities must immediately release Youssouf Sissoko and respect the right of the press to comment on regional security issues.” On March 23, the court of the cybercrime unit in the capital, Bamako, convicted Sissoko, publishing director of the privately owned weekly L’Alternance, on three counts of offending a foreign head of state, spreading false news, and undermining the state’s credibility. The journalist was arrested on February 5 for publishing an analyst’s commentary in L’Alternance that criticized neighboring Niger’s President Abdourahamane Tiani’s allegation that the leaders of France, Benin, and Ivory Coast had sponsored “mercenaries” to attack a Nigerien military base in January. “This judicial decision sets a dangerous precedent that could further weaken media outlets, which are already facing many difficulties,” said Boubacar Yalkoué, president of the Association of Private Press Publishers of Mali (ASSEP). In Mali, several journalists have been arrested or expelled, and multiple media outlets have been suspended, since a coup in 2020. Following military coups, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso established the Alliance of Sahel States to fight security threats from jihadist militants, while also ramping up media restrictions. They have suspended and banned several French media outlets, as well as arresting and forcibly conscripting journalists in recent years. CPJ’s calls to the Malian ministry of justice went unanswered. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
How American Kids Have Been Collateral Damage in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
The post How American Kids Have Been Collateral Damage in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown appeared first on ProPublica.
For much of last year, Trump administration officials insisted that no Americans were caught up in the government’s immigration dragnet. ProPublica and many others repeatedly documented that is not true: Americans have even been kicked, dragged and detained for days by immigration agents. On Tuesday, House and Senate Democrats are spotlighting a particularly troubling part of the crackdown: the American children who have been collateral damage in the deportation campaign. The forum the lawmakers are holding is part of an ongoing congressional investigation prompted by ProPublica’s report last fall that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration agents for some amount of time. That included Americans who have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or simply prevented from leaving their location. As of last October, more than 20 of those citizens were children, ranging from toddlers to teens. A toddler, a preschooler and a 7-year-old — all citizens — were deported despite their documented parents claiming they wanted to keep the children in the U.S. In response to questions, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “does NOT deport United States citizens or separate families,” American children held along with their families will be sharing their stories at Tuesday’s forum. That includes two families whose accounts were featured in ProPublica investigations. Eighteen-year-old Fernando Hernàndez Garcia is speaking on behalf of his 11-year-old sister. Both siblings are citizens. Last year, the family was driving to Houston to get emergency treatment for the girl, who was recovering from brain cancer. Border Patrol agents ignored a hospital letter that the family had used previously to go through checkpoints. This time, agents held the family until they were deported the next day to Mexico. With few other options, the American children went with their parents — except for Hernàndez Garcia, who had not been detained and stayed to earn money and send medicine home. The family’s lawyers say they have not been able to access the care they need for their daughter in Mexico, and they have applied for humanitarian parole to return. Customs and Border Protection previously told ProPublica the family’s account was inaccurate but declined to provide specifics. Read More We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days. Some Americans Have Already Been Caught in Trump’s Immigration Dragnet. More Will Be. We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing Also speaking is 16-year-old Arnoldo Bazan. As ProPublica detailed earlier this year, Bazan was tackled and choked by immigration agents who were chasing his undocumented father in Houston. Bystanders filmed the teen screaming that he was a minor and a U.S. citizen. After agents knelt on his neck and put him in a choke hold, then they handcuffed him. Bazan told ProPublica that when he was in a choke hold, “I felt like I was seeing the light.” He said he’s now speaking up — including on Capitol Hill — to help keep others from going through the same. “I don’t think nobody’s safe anymore.” DHS said in its statement that Bazan elbowed an officer in the face as he was detained, which the teen denies. The agency’s spokesperson added that any allegations that agents assaulted Bazan “are FALSE.” It’s unclear exactly how many American kids have been held. The government doesn’t disclose how many Americans are detained, even briefly, during immigration enforcement. Former immigration officials told ProPublica that it used to be rare to encounter, let alone hold, American children for any amount of time. While the officials couldn’t recall a specific policy prohibiting it, they said past administrations just didn’t prioritize arresting families during immigration enforcement in the interior of the country. (A ProPublica investigation published Monday found that in his second term, President Donald Trump has deported mothers of U.S. children at four times the rate Biden did.) In a report shared with ProPublica, the minority staff from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform compiled 128 cases of children — a mix of citizens and noncitizens — who were injured, left unattended or otherwise put at risk by enforcement operations conducted by Department of Homeland Security agents. The review found that citizen children caught up in immigration operations were also exposed to chemical agents, were placed in restraints or required medical attention, and some were held at gunpoint, were left unattended when agents detained their parents, or were present when agents smashed car windows or rammed their vehicles. “The impact of all of these practices on children — the physical injuries but also the trauma — is really horrific,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told ProPublica. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1128" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="A teenage girl with long brown hair, wearing gold necklaces, a polka-dot black shirt and jeans rests her hands on her mother’s shoulders. Her mother also has long brown hair and is wearing a tan sweatshirt and jeans. They’re seated on a picnic table near a large tan building." class="wp-image-71269" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,1152 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,1536 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1365,2048 1365w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,1295 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,633 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,828 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,837 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,791 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,1128 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,1724 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1067,1600 1067w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,1200 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,1800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260319-Maney-Citizen-Kids-013_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,2400 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> SueHey Tello, 14, left, and her mother, Anabel Romero, 35, along with two other children in the family, were detained by federal agents in a raid at La Catedral Arena during a community horse racing event in Idaho. Sarahbeth Maney for ProPublica Several other citizen teens and mothers of U.S. citizens who were detained by immigration agents will be delivering testimony at the forum. Anabel Romero, an Idaho mother, recalled how she was detained with three of her children during a multiagency raid at an Idaho racetrack. The stated target of the raid was illegal gambling, but it ended with more than 100 people in ICE custody. Officers pointed guns at Romero’s 14-year-old, SueHey Tello, and at her 8-year-old and 6-year-old. Tello said they dragged her from the truck and eventually zip-tied her, leaving bruises and marks. Asked about the raid and agents’ conduct, DHS said, “ICE does not zip tie or handcuff children.” (Romero and Tello do not know which agency’s officers zip-tied them.) Tello told ProPublica she was petrified and particularly worried for her younger siblings. “My little sister’s crying, my little brother’s scared,” Tello recalled. “I don’t know what to do. [I was] looking for any familiar face.” Romero noted that the Trump administration has often said its immigration dragnet is keeping kids safe by going after predators and criminals. “They say they’re doing this to protect children,” recalled Romero. “But they hurt my children.” The post How American Kids Have Been Collateral Damage in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Nicole Foy.
Americans Are United Against Trump’s War
Americans agree that we want quality and affordable health care, housing, child care, and education. The Trump Administration is ignoring this to continue a profoundly unpopular war.
Americans agree that we want quality and affordable health care, housing, child care, and education. The Trump Administration is ignoring this to continue a profoundly unpopular war. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Karen Dolan.
Americans agree that we want quality and affordable health care, housing, child care, and education. The Trump Administration is ignoring all of this to continue a profoundly unpopular war.
Americans agree that we want quality and affordable health care, housing, child care, and education. The Trump Administration is ignoring all of this to continue a profoundly unpopular war. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Karen Dolan.
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 24, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 24, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 24, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
Moment Russian Drone Hits Lviv City Center In Rare Daytime Attack
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civiliansLifesaving medicines arrive for Lebanon’s strained healthcare systemHaiti’s criminal gangs expand their reach, police accused of executions
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civiliansLifesaving medicines arrive for Lebanon’s strained healthcare systemHaiti’s criminal gangs expand their reach, police accused of executions This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Daniel Johnson.
Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids
Fifty years after the coup, Argentina still marches for justice
March 24 is the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Argentine coup that sunk the country into a brutal US-backed military dictatorship. The regime would unleash terror across Argentina, disappearing 30,000 people in just seven years. Thousands detained...
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Protesters display a banner with portraits of missing people, victims of Argentina's last military dictatorship during the demonstration to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1976 military coup. Photo by Roberto Tuero/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images." decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342246" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/fifty-years-after-the-coup-argentina-still-marches-for-justice/protesters-display-a-banner-with-portraits-of-missing-people" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett","camera":"","caption":"BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - 2025/03/24: Protesters display a banner with portraits of missing people, victims of Argentina's last military dictatorship during the demonstration to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1976 military coup. Argentina marks the 49th anniversary of the 1976 military coup on March 24, 2025, with nationwide commemorations, particularly in Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo. Known as the \"Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice,\" this national holiday honors victims of the dictatorship that ruled from 1976 to 1983. The event serves as a reminder of the atrocities of the Dirty War and reinforces Argentina's commitment to human rights. (Photo by Roberto Tuero/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1742774400","copyright":"\u00a9 2025 SOPA Images","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Protesters display a banner with portraits of missing people","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Protesters display a banner with portraits of missing people" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Protesters display a banner with portraits of missing people, victims of Argentina&#8217;s last military dictatorship during the demonstration to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1976 military coup. Photo by Roberto Tuero/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2206291504-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> March 24 is the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Argentine coup that sunk the country into a brutal US-backed military dictatorship. The regime would unleash terror across Argentina, disappearing 30,000 people in just seven years. Thousands detained. Tortured. Murdered. But people would resist, like the family members of the disappeared—the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. They have marched for five decades to demand justice and the return of their children and grandchildren, alive. In Argentina, March 24 is known as the National Day for Memory and Truth and Justice. It honors the victims of the military regime. Each year, big marches and demonstrations are held in Buenos Aires to mark the date. This year, they are expected to be particularly huge. In honor of this 50th anniversary, we are bringing you this bonus episode of resistance from Argentina. We produced these stories in this podcast last year—three vignettes (here, here, and here) about resistance to the evil of the military regime, the violence it unleashed, and the people standing up then and now. Still fighting for truth, justice, and memory, today. Stories of Resistance is a podcast produced by The Real News. Here is the link to listen to Season 1: therealnews.com/stories-of-resistance. We are currently developing Season 2. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. You can also follow and support Michael’s reporting, and see some pictures of these stories at patreon.com/mfox or in the following links: Students March to Honor the Victims of Argentina’s Dictatorship & the ‘Night of the Pencils’ — In Pictures The Crisis of Milei’s Argentina – Panamerican Dispatch Episode #5 Written and produced by Michael Fox. Michael is currently working on the next season of his podcast Under the Shadow, about Plan Condor and the US-backed South American dictatorships of the 1960s and ’70s. It’s expected to be released in 2027. You can listen to the current season about Trump’s onslaught in the region here. Transcript MICHAEL FOX: Hi folks, I’m your host, Michael Fox. This week, March 24th, marks the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Argentine coup that sunk the country into a brutal US-backed military dictatorship. The regime would unleash terror across Argentina, disappearing 30,000 people in just seven years. Thousands detained. Tortured. Murdered. But people would resist. Like the family members of the disappeared — The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. They have marched for five decades to demand justice and the return of their children and grandchildren… alive. In Argentina, March 24 is known as the National Day for Memory and Truth and Justice. It honors the victims of the military regime. Each year, big marches and demonstrations are held in Buenos Aires to mark the date. This year, they are expected to be particularly huge…. In honor of this 50th anniversary, I’m bringing you this bonus episode of resistance from Argentina. I produced the following three stories in this podcast last year. Three vignettes about resistance to the evil of the military regime, the violence it unleashed. And the people standing up then and now…. Still fighting for truth, justice, and memory today. I’ll play these stories back-to-back. Thanks for listening. ### 1. STORIES OF RESISTANCE: MOTHERS OF ARGENTINA’S 30,000 DISAPPEARED HALF-CENTURY STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE MICHAEL FOX: The streets of Buenos Aires are cold. Colder than they should be in April, 1977. Because people are missing — Students and young adults, in particular — Snatched by military officers of the regime and never heard from again. Their absence is colder than the harshest winter storm. Their silence louder than the most violent thunderclap or shot from the soldier’s submachine gun. Mothers search desperately for their children. They visit the police. Government offices. People in uniforms just shake their heads. They find no answers. The mothers decide they must do something. And so, on Saturday, April 30, 1977, 14 women meet in the plaza in front of the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential palace. They demand to know where their children are. “By ourselves, we will achieve nothing,” says Azucena Villaflor. Her son and his girlfriend were kidnapped exactly five months before. This is the Argentine dictatorship, installed just a year before, on March 24, 1976, and meetings in public of more than two people are banned. A police officer approaches. He orders them to keep moving. And so… the women take each other arm in arm and, two by two, begin to walk around the obelisk in the center of the square. One small, iconic act of resistance in the face of so much darkness… so much pain. The mothers decide to return each week. But instead of on a Saturday, they will march on Thursdays, when there are more people in the square. People who will witness their suffering, their pain, and their simple yet brazen act of resistance in the middle of a harsh, cold, violent dictatorship. Within a few months, they will begin to wear white pañuelos on their heads as they march — The baby diapers of their lost children — A way of recognizing each other in crowds. But they, too, are targeted. In December 1977, three mothers — Azucena Villaflor, Esther Ballestrino, and María Ponce de Bianco — Are themselves kidnapped and disappeared. Still, the mothers march. “We were not heroines,” says Taty Almeida. “We did what any mother would do for her child.” “They called us crazy,” she says. “And we were crazy. Crazy with pain, rage, and helplessness.” And so begins the five-decade-long struggle of the Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. A struggle that lasts until today. They will become one of the most iconic groups of resistance in Latin America, continuing to demand the return of their children and grandchildren, alive, until today. The mothers will inspire similar groups across the Americas. They will demand justice and memory. 30,000 people were disappeared in Argentina under the US-backed military dictatorship, which lasted from 1976 to 1983. Babies of the disappeared were stolen and raised by military officers as their own. The Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo have, today, found almost 140 of their grandchildren and given them back their true identities. The Mothers and Grandmothers are still marching today. Every Thursday. Around the obelisk in the center of the Plaza de Mayo. Like they did that first time in 1977. Five decades ago. Today is March 24… the anniversary of the 1976 coup that led to the brutal Argentine dictatorship. In Argentina, it’s known as the National Day for Memory and Truth and Justice. It honors the victims of the military regime. Each year, big marches and demonstrations are held in Buenos Aires to mark the date. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are always front and center. In fact, the center of the events is usually the Plaza de Mayo, which, thanks to the Mothers and Grandmothers, has become the iconic image of the struggle against the Argentine dictatorship and the fight for truth and justice. Today, under the government of Javier Milei, these acts of resistance have become even more important. Milei has criticized the country’s policies of justice. His government has defunded memorial sites and closed investigations into the crimes of the past. His allies have vocally backed former military officers serving time for torture and crimes against humanity. The demands for justice and the resistance, defending the true memory of the past, continues as acute and as important as ever. ### 2. STORIES OF RESISTANCE: THE REVOLUTIONARY BASEMENT MICHAEL FOX: Victoria Abdenor is a compulsive cleaner. But her home is perpetually dirty. Every morning, she opens her bedroom windows and beats her sheets and blankets. Dust and dirt fall onto the working-class street where she lives in Córdoba, Argentina. It does not matter the day, her linens are always dirty. It is like clay and dirt are a renewable resource, in her home. Recharging overnight. Always reproducing. Ready to be tossed out into the morning air, regardless of the cold, the wind, or the weather. And in a way, it’s true. The dirt is being reproduced. She, her husband, Héctor Eliseo Martínez, and friends are building a basement just behind their home, 30 feet underground. Some of the dirt, Victoria tosses out into the morning air. More of it is loaded into the bed of a Ford F-100, and, under a blanket of night, driven down to the river to be dumped. This is not just any basement — It’s to house printing machines that will make books and leaflets, flyers and pamphlets. Materials for the cause. And not just any printing press — The largest clandestine printing press in Argentina. This is the social media of the 1970s. But no one can know. Not their neighbors. Not their relatives. Argentina is dancing amid dictatorship. But in 1973, elections are held. Socially-minded presidents elected. The country’s iconic President Juan Perón returns to power, and then his third wife, Isabel, after he passes in 1974. Victoria Abdenor’s basement printing press is a success. It’s named the Roberto Matthews People’s Press, after a companion who was disappeared. During one month of political upheaval in May 1973, they print more than 120,000 copies of revolutionary books. Some books are even sold at kiosks on street corners. The whirl of the machines rings in the basement chamber behind Victoria Abdenor’s home. Gears grind. Type set. Pages flip. They churn out viral and banned books. Prohibited pages to be read and hidden and shared, and read and hidden and shared. The printing press runs. Until it stops. One morning, the bedroom windows do not open. Three months into the country’s new military dictatorship in 1976, officers discover the basement. A year later, Victoria and Héctor are kidnapped and disappeared. Their children still demand justice and the truth. ### 3. ARGENTINE STUDENTS CONTINUE TO MARCH AGAINST THE CRIMES AND DISAPPEARANCES OF THE PAST MICHAEL FOX: It’s the night of Sept. 16, 1976. The city of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Six months into the country’s brutal military dictatorship that would last for seven years. The regime is looking to eliminate opposition to the dictatorship and wipe out so-called subversives. It does not matter the person’s age. In La Plata the previous year, high school students had fought for and won discounted student bus fares. The regime now identifies the leaders of this movement and goes after them. This evening, members of the Provincial Buenos Aires Police force climb into Ford Falcones and drive into the night to find and capture. They drive to sow terror. It would become known as the Noche de los Lapices — The Night of the Pencils. The police are masked and unidentified. They raid homes in the darkness. They kidnap 10 high school students this evening, the next day, and throughout the week. The kids are all between the ages of 16 and 18. They’re taken to clandestine detention centers. They’re tortured for days. They’re detained for months. Six of them are killed, their bodies disappeared. Four survive, living to suffer from the nightmare of their experience and to recount the tale of one of the most heinous crimes of the Argentine dictatorship. One of so many. But even today… people will not let it be forgotten. They will not be silenced. Not then, not now. Nearly 50 years later, students march to remember this night, to honor the victims and to continue to demand justice and memory. On Sept. 16, students hold huge rallies at universities and schools around the country, like this one on the streets of Córdoba, Argentina. Hundreds, thousands marching. The energy in the crowd is contagious. People hold blue and green smoke flares, the smoke blowing across the crowd of students, rising into the sky with their voices and their chants. They carry signs, like “30,000″ written in big block letters — The number of people disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship. Another reads “The Pencils Will Continue to Write” — Because this terrible moment in history was known as the Night of the Pencils. They say it’s more important now than ever to resist, as the government of Javier Milei tries to gut funding for schools and higher education and student rights. Many of the teenagers here are the same age as the kids who were kidnapped half a century before, and they will not let this night be forgotten. In 2024, Argentine courts handed down 10 life sentences against former police and army officers for their role in human rights abuses and crimes against humanity under the dictatorship. This included the kidnapping and disappearance of the students on the Night of the Pencils. In Buenos Aires today, Sept. 16 is recognized as the “Day for the Rights of High School Students” in honor of the victims of the Night of the Pencils. ### MICHAEL FOX: Hi folks, thanks for listening. I’m your host, Michael Fox. Today’s episode was a little different. I hope you enjoyed it. If you like what you heard, I hope you’ll stay on the lookout for the upcoming season of my podcast Under the Shadow. I dive deep into Plan Condor, the South American dictatorships of the 1970s, and the role of the United States. I’ve been working on it for the last couple of years. You can watch for it in 2027. As always, if you like what you hear and enjoy this podcast, please consider becoming a subscriber on my Patreon. I have a ton of exclusive content there only available to my supporters, and every supporter really makes a difference. I have also added some collections of pictures there about these stories today. I’ll add links in the show notes. This is the latest bonus episode of Stories of Resistance, a podcast series produced by The Real News. Keep your eyes out for Season 2 coming later this year. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. Thanks for listening. See you next time. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.
Bruce Springsteen Performs "Streets of Minneapolis" at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
Here are two recent items worth reading— First is from Harper’s Magazine publisher John R. MacArthur: The Spectator: The outrageous cynicism of the Democrats on Iran. Second is from a loyal Radio Hour listener, Lloyd Baroody. Baroody submitted ...
Here are two recent items worth reading— First is from Harper’s Magazine publisher John R. MacArthur: The Spectator: The outrageous cynicism of the Democrats on Iran. Second is from a loyal Radio Hour listener, Lloyd Baroody. Baroody submitted this letter to the editor to the Lakeville Journal in Lakeville, Connecticut. They opted not to publish… This content originally appeared on Ralph Nader and was authored by matthew.
Why Jehad Khaled is still advocating for the release of her mother
"Under the Rubble": Pulitzer Prize Winner Reads Poem About Gaza at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
As Trump Deploys ICE Agents to Airports, TSA Agents Continue to Go Without Pay: AFGE Union Steward
Critics hammer Trump admin’s ‘taxpayer funded bribe’ to kill massive wind energy project
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 23, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Critics slammed the Trump administration on Monday after it announced a deal to pay almost $1 billion to a Fre...
<img width="1024" height="670" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C670&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="An aerial view of wind turbines at the Altamont Pass wind farm on January 13, 2026 in Livermore, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C196&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C670&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C503&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1005&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1340&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C785&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1309&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C510&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C262&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C670&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342242" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/critics-hammer-trump-admins-taxpayer-funded-bribe-to-kill-massive-wind-energy-project/federal-judges-ruling-blocks-trump-effort-to-curtail-wind-power-projects" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1675&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1675" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"FC9287","caption":"LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of wind turbines at the Altamont Pass wind farm on January 13, 2026 in Livermore, California. A federal judge on Monday allowed construction to resume on the Revolution Wind offshore wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, saying the government did not sufficiently justify halting work on the nearly completed, fully permitted project amid national security concerns. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1768290310","copyright":"2026 Getty Images","focal_length":"40","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"Federal Judge's Ruling Blocks Trump Effort To Curtail Wind Power Projects","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Federal Judge&#8217;s Ruling Blocks Trump Effort To Curtail Wind Power Projects" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" An aerial view of wind turbines at the Altamont Pass wind farm on January 13, 2026 in Livermore, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C196&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2256116862-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C510&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 23, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. Critics slammed the Trump administration on Monday after it announced a deal to pay almost $1 billion to a French energy company to cancel its plans to construct wind farms across the eastern US. As reported by The New York Times, French firm TotalEnergies has agreed to forfeit its leases in federal waters off the coasts of New York and North Carolina, and will instead invest the money it received from the Trump administration into oil and gas projects in the US, “including a facility in Texas that would export liquefied natural gas to global markets.” TotalEnergies paid nearly $928 million for the rights to access federal waters during former President Joe Biden’s administration. The Times described the agreement as “an extraordinary transfer of taxpayer dollars to a foreign company for the purposes of boosting the production of fossil fuels, a main driver of climate change, while throttling offshore wind power.” Patrick Pouyanné, the chief executive of TotalEnergies, said that the firm decided to abandon its US wind farm plans due to “practical” considerations, while emphasizing that the firm wasn’t giving up on wind power all together. “When the Trump administration came to power and began setting US energy policy, we said that we’ll have to reconsider, clearly, these offshore wind project developments,” explained Pouyanné, adding that “we continue to invest in onshore solar, onshore wind, batteries.” Many critics expressed disbelief that the Trump administration would go to such extraordinary lengths to kill a clean energy project, especially after the president sent oil and gasoline prices soaring earlier this month when he launched an unprovoked and unconstitutional war with Iran. “Let’s call this what it is: a taxpayer-funded bribe to kill homegrown clean energy and hand the money straight to oil and gas executives,” wrote climate advocacy organization Evergreen Action in a social media post. “Trump is once again making Americans pay more for energy so his Big Oil donors can rake in even more profits.” Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, expressed a similar sentiment. “$1 billion of our tax dollars to kill a clean energy program that creates jobs, just so Trump’s Big Oil donors can make more profit,” D’Arrigo wrote. “The most corrupt presidency ever—and it’s not even close.” Matt Gertz, senior fellow at press watchdog Media Matters for America, argued that the agreement was a corrupt bargain aimed at hurting the president’s political foes, including the Democratic leaders of New York and North Carolina. “Climate/renewables arguments aside, this is the president’s administration paying a foreign company to invest in states where Republicans are in charge rather than ones where Democrats are in charge,” Gertz wrote, “using tax dollars to punish people who didn’t vote for his party.” US Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) said that the deal to kill the planned wind farms was yet another example of the Trump administration making life in the US less affordable. “This administration just spent $1 BILLION of your money to make sure wind farms don’t get built,” Blunt Rochester wrote. “You’’ll have them to thank for higher electric bills each month.” This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Brad Reed.
"Israel First": Ex-Israeli Negotiator Daniel Levy Says Netanyahu Led Trump into Illegal Iran War
How Democrats helped clear Trump’s path back to power
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026. Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="342235" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-democrats-helped-clear-trumps-path-back-to-power/us-politics-congress-democrats" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 9","caption":"US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1767891764","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-DEMOCRATS","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-DEMOCRATS" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026. Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1"> The Democratic Party has chosen again and again to abandon working people and cling to corporate power, militarism, and a feckless, out-of-touch leadership class, Norman Solomon of RootsAction says. And we’re all paying the price.
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026. Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1334&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342235" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-democrats-helped-clear-trumps-path-back-to-power/us-politics-congress-democrats" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 9","caption":"US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1767891764","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-DEMOCRATS","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-DEMOCRATS" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026. Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2254658442-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> The Democratic Party has lost to Donald Trump and MAGA twice, and is continuing to lose working-class voters by clinging to corporate power, militarism, and a leadership class increasingly disconnected from its base. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Norman Solomon about his new book, The Blue Road to Trump Hell, and the reality that the right can only be stopped by both confronting Democratic failures and rebuilding a grassroots politics rooted in class, peace, and social movements. Guests: Norman Solomon is the cofounder of RootsAction.org, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, and the author of numerous books, including War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death; War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of the Military Machine; and The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy. Credits: Producer: Rosette Sewali Studio Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Stephen Frank Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Marc Steiner: Welcome to the Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. It’s great to have you all with us again. My guest today is Norman Solomon. He joins us once again. His latest work, The Blue Road to Trump Hill. This is a critically important book that wrestles with how the Democrats pave the way with its right terror that now controls the US government. Jonas Solomon is the National Director of Roots Action, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. And along with this book, Ruch Action Democratic Autopsy looks at why the Democrats lost. Here’s a quote from one of the reports they did. Because their service to corporate power are still laid to the progressive wing of the party, out of control militarism, disconnection from the base of the working class, and how all that contributed to decline of support and the party’s platforming candidates, not to mention the Gaza War and our unwavering uncritical support of Israel. And Norman, welcome. Good to have you with this. Norman Solomon : Hey, thanks a lot, Marc. Marc Steiner: Well, let me just begin with an overview and with your perspective of how and why the Democrats got to a place where they lost their base, whether it’s among the working class or progressives or in communities of color around the country, they’ve just sunk. So let’s start with how that began and why it happened. Norman Solomon : Well, I think Bernie Sanders summed it up very well just hours after the calamitous results came in of the reelection of Donald Trump ushering in his second term. Bernie said that it’s not surprising that the working class abandoned the Democratic Party after the Democratic Party abandoned the working class. And that pretty much sums it up. The Democratic Party was never some kind of strong left wing advocacy group for working people, but it did fight for basic, basic improvements in the working conditions and lives of most people in the United States going back to the New Deal of the 1930s. And what has happened gradually, especially over the last three or four decades, is that affinity with support from and for the rich corporations and the merger of more and more corporations into being bigger and bigger and more powerful, that has taken over the Democratic Party. And the base has been abandoned. And when you abandon people, sooner or later, they figure it out. So the attraction of bogus, pseudo-populist, right-wing demagoguery, which is not a bad description of the current Republican Party, that’s just been appealing to all too many working people, want to be working people, those who feel that their lives are really lives of difficult uphill struggle, just basically in economic terms. That’s where we are now. And people who are listening might wonder, Mark, well, why are you talking about the Democratic Party and criticizing it when we are facing this fascistic politics coming out of the White House, coming out of the dominance of Congress? And I think the answer is really that the only electoral vehicle to turn around this horrible rightward extreme trend in the federal government is through the Democratic Party. And people may not like that. I wish that were not so, but that’s the real world. And if AOC hadn’t run as a Democrat, if Rashida Talib or Ilhan Omar or Zoran Mandami, now the mayor of New York, if they hadn’t run as Democrats, they wouldn’t be in office. So that is a reality. And quickly, the other reaction might be, “Well, the Democrats are hopeless. Why are you trying to resuscitate this zombie party?” And in a way, the answer is similar. State power really matters. Who’s in the White House? I mean, duh, as the saying goes. Come on. We’ve seen the results of having people in power who are vicious, who are cruel, who are unabashedly pushing the power of the oligarchy. Marc Steiner: So this was not necessarily inside your book, but I wanted to ask you this. As I was reading your book, I started thinking about all the work and research I’ve done on 1930s Germany, not comparing this to a Hitlerian moment necessarily, but it came at a time when the left and progressives, liberals of Germany could not come together to defeat, in that case, a minority of the Nazis taking of the entire country. And there’s something about the inability, it seems to me, of different elements in this country, from liberal to progressive to left, to come together at some way to stop this right wing onslaught from taking over the country. To me, it’s almost akin to what happened in the South with the Ku Klux Klan. And some people might say this too a bit extreme, but I see sometimes the right wing taking over as the descendants of the clan taking over this country. I think Norman Solomon : That’s well put. I mean, there’s a kind of a state terrorism which some of the sheriffs in the South were part of the clan and we have ICE behaving in many ways simply like terrorist thugs. It might seem like an exaggeration to some people, but for other people, it has become reality. Marc Steiner: So let me come back, not to digress away from your book, but I just wanted to throw that out there because as I was reading the book, this really hit me hard. And I- Norman Solomon : Well, I think it’s a key point, Mark, and it’s a dilemma. And as the saying goes, the required response has a dialectical element, which is these truths exist simultaneously, that the Democratic Party has been odious in so many ways, foreign policy supporting one war after another, so many other things that we could mention. At the same time, it is the electoral vehicle, the only way in which we’re going to throw these right-wing Republican thugs out of controlling the Congress and the White House. And I think we could frame our challenge right now as seemingly contradictory, but very real. We need a united front in this midterm election campaign, and then for 2028 for the presidential campaign, a united front with those who include militarists and corporatists who we find odious. At the same time, we need to fight against militarism and corporatism, and we can do that all at the same time. It just requires some real clarity and determination Marc Steiner: To me what you said, it’s what they lost, they never had completely, but what they lost were their union and civil rights roots that really pushed progressive agenda inside the Democratic Party, killed segregation, built unions, fought for working people, and they’ve lost all that. Norman Solomon : Yeah. The focus is on identity politics. Class is out the window. Rhetorically, we hear about how the leaders of the Democratic Party are for the working class, but in fighting for the working class, I mean, basically nobody’s been home. Marc Steiner: Exactly. So make go through some of your major points. Let’s start with my youngest daughter and her generation and why they are losing the 20 somethings and the 30 somethings to either not voting or voting for a third party or some voting Republican, why they’re losing that group of people who are mostly fairly liberal or progressive. Norman Solomon : Yeah. Well, the so- called leadership of the Democratic Party intentionally had their fingers in their ears, and that really resulted in the Trump election back into the White House. When we looked at, and this is in my book, The Blue Road to Trump Hell, there were polls from the New York Times and elsewhere leading into 2022, 2023, early 2024, one poll showing that upwards of 90% of young voters did not want Joe Biden to run for reelection, and yet the so- called leadership and rank and file Democrats in Congress were like, “Oh, yes, sir,” as though he was the political commander-in-chief and just went along with it. And I think one stat I talk about in the book is that when you look at not just young people, but overall Democrats in the United States who were polled in 2022 and 2023 and asked, “Do you want Joe Biden to run for reelection?” The numbers were about 65 to 70% no. And yet when you look at the numbers of Democrats in Congress at the same time who were saying that, it was about 1%. So what can we say about a party that has its base two-thirds saying, “Joe Biden, don’t run free election,” because they realized it would be a disaster if he did, and he wasn’t capable of serving as president for a second term, it was becoming evident. So two-thirds of the base saying, “No, no, no.” And 1% of their elected supposed representatives on Capitol Hill saying, “1% saying no.” So this is, I think, a snapshot and a politically and historically profound instance of how we’ve got a leadership of the Democratic Party that is absolutely and intentionally estranged from the base. Now, they’re tapped in with Wall Street very well Marc Steiner: And Norman Solomon : With Silicon Valley gazillionaires, I cite in the book an example where Governor Gavin Newsome, who were now told as the front runner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, sent burner phones, pre-dialed with his digits put into those burner phones to a hundred CEOs of major corporations based in California with a note saying, “I’m here for you. Call me anytime.” And there’s no record of him sending one burner phone to advocates for the poor, for low-income people, for working people. So that’s another snapshot of what we’re up against. Marc Steiner: So let me stop there for a minute, because I think that what you just said, the Gavin Newsom is clearly a major front runner for the next nomination in South Democratic Party. And since what you describe is true, what does that portend? I mean, he has physically and oratorically the figure to do to be presidential in a kind of very superficial way. Norman Solomon : Hollywood. Marc Steiner: Hollywood, exactly. So A, what does that mean? And B, where do you see the organizing taking place to confront that and change the script? Norman Solomon : Well, the superficiality is screaming out at us. There’s that saying money doesn’t talk, it screams. And it’s partly confluence of his backing early on from the Getty family and so forth. And also, as you say, it’s just the surface, the tinsel and the imagery that we’ve been inculcated with about what a leadership is. He’s white, he’s slick and so forth, a guy. And at the same time, we have the potential from the base. I mean, Zurn Mandani was elected mayor because 50, 70, 80,000 volunteers went out into the streets of the five boroughs. And you can’t buy 60 or 80,000 volunteers. You can buy them to go out, but there’s not the spirit. There’s not that energy. There’s not that convincing capacity in reaching and talking with people one-on-one and so forth. So I think that’s the antidote to the poison of this kind of superficiality that we’ve seen is so toxic because when you look at these supposed leaders like Newsome and you see what they’re saying, he has moved right. He has vetoed farm worker bills in Congress for the rights of farm workers, for breaks in a hundred plus degree weather in the fields, strikers. He’s vetoed a bill to give them unemployment compensation, environmental regulations, he’s vetoed when they’ve come through. So this is part of the record. And then when he’s asked about Israel and Gaza, Again, it’s just talking points reflexive. It’s time warned stuff about, “I love Israel. We got to support it. ” Well, Israel’s a genocidal state. And when you look again at the polls, this is another example of the gap because most Democrats say to pollsters about three quarters, Israel has committed genocide. Three quarters of Democrats, according to polls in this country, believe that arms should be cut off. There should be a weapons embargo on Israel, and yet it’s really hard to find these contenders, aside from Congressman Rokhana, we are told contending for the next presidential nomination, we’re willing to say that. So we’ve got to close that gap and the closure of that gap is not going to come from above. It’s going to come because we get organized. And I think this is the last part of the answer to your very good question, which is that’s how change has always happened. Everything that we can be proud of in this country, Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights, and so much more, environmental protection all came from the grassroots. And that’s where we are now. That’s what we need. Marc Steiner: And I agree. I mean, that’s where all the change came from, enforced legislation to change America in all those cases. And your governor in California is somebody that people want to like, but- Norman Solomon : Well, there’s a desperation. People Marc Steiner: Want Norman Solomon : Somebody who can go toe-to-toe with Trump and so forth. And he’s got tremendous press because he has done tweets and capital letters being equally stupid and abusive. Well, okay, at least it’s combative, which is perhaps an improvement over most who have been at the top of the Democratic Party, but it doesn’t do it. And we’ve learned that. And I think, again, Bernie Sanders has made this point very well. It’s not enough just to say how bad Trump is. You also have to have an alternative that gives people not only a vision, but specifics of what you want to do, like Medicare for All and so forth is something concrete for people that they can wrap their heads around, they can understand that would really change their lives. And I think we’ve seen the failure of, “Oh, Trump is so terrible. He’s going to fall under his own weight. He’s going to destroy his own political future.” That’s what Hillary Clinton was banking on in 2016, and that’s pretty much what Kamala Harris was banking on in 2024. And the absurdity of that campaign, which I talk about in the book, Joy, the keynote theme of that campaign in August, September, October of 2024 from the Kamala Harris campaign was joy. While genocide was going on in Gaza, when people were worried about paying their bills, I mean, talk about being in the stratosphere of isolation. This continues to dog and cause tremendous problems for and from what we call the leadership of the Democratic Party. Marc Steiner: Remember when I read that in your book, I was thinking about how there’s nothing wrong in a campaign being joyful, but with no analysis and no fight behind it saying we want everything. Exactly. It doesn’t work. I mean, let’s talk for a moment about what you’ve written about and the role that Israel and Gaza play in this. And I think it’s a really tough one because we live in a world where many of the people in Jewish communities support the Democratic Party and there’s a growing split inside the Jewish world around Israel, Gaza at this moment. And the kind of line people are trying to thread around opposing Israel’s war and the decimation of Gaza and how that plays into the Democratic Party and how you think that plays into the future of American politics. The Norman Solomon : Future of American politics, if the grassroots has something to say about it, is to oppose genocide, to oppose arming any government that is committing atrocities and abusing human rights, the future should be to enforce the law. The Lehi law says you don’t arm human rights abusers around the world, and yet the Biden and Trump administrations have done just that. We’re now in a place where we cannot abide the sustaining of this kind of a policy. And as James Baldwin has written, as George Lakoff, the linguist has written as well, politics ultimately in people’s minds has to do with being moral. We would argue sometimes a very distorted view of that, but it is a moral engine that moves forward political and social movements. And not just, but especially young people in this country are revolted by and are revolting against the kind of support for genocide that the US government has continued to provide to Israel, as well as now this war of aggression, not a war of choice, a war of aggression against Iran which has the Middle East in flames as we speak. So this is about moral politics. Martin Luther King talked about how love without power is anemic and power without love is ruthless. We need love and power energized through politics. So Marc Steiner: One of the things I started thinking about was, what is the alternative and how do you begin to organize and generate a movement and campaigns to change it? I mean, I watched the 20s and 30 somethings in my family. They’re all disenchanted with the Democratic Party. They’re disenchanted with the way politics is going in America. But they’re also out there in Gaza demonstrations and they’re doing other things to stand up or organizing a union in their workplace worth what they’re doing. The question is, what is the strategy to get back to union and civil rights roots for the 21st century to organize and to build something? How do you see that happening? Norman Solomon : Well, there’s a saying when people lead, leaders will follow, at least some of them. And the conception of so many people running for office and those in office, which is unfortunately internalized so often by so many of us, is that social movements are a subset of political campaigns, and that’s best atwards. What we really need and what we benefit from when it happens is that political campaigns, electoral campaigns are subsets of social movements. And so when the social movements gain power, that can have a tremendous impact, not only on people’s understanding, but also on the results of the election. There’s no way that we could say, I believe, that Bernie Sanders would’ve had a ghost of a real chance to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 without the Occupy Movement a few years earlier that was not only mobilizing people, but educating and agitating for millions of other people. And I think that is the future. It’s not by any means simple. I mean, it’s so much easier said than done. And I’ve written books, I’ve written a thousand articles, but the hardest thing I’m engaged with, with my colleagues at rootsaction.org is organizing because it’s messy, it’s difficult. There’s all kinds of contradictions, but that’s how these changes get done. And if you look at the electoral arena, you see someone like I think one of the greatest members of Congress in my lifetime, Rashida Talib out of Michigan. She is immersed in social movements. She is an expression of them. She’s not simply using them for votes. And Marc Steiner: The time we have left, and I really having this conversation with you makes me want to have a number of them and we explore some things in depth here. But let’s talk for a moment about your organization Roots Action and what you just talked about a moment ago because the question to me, it goes back to grassroots organizing. So the question is, how do you organize that? How does that take root to seize today? Because I think that we are really on a precipice here. We’re a very dangerous precipice with this neophasistic right wing government that’s in power and Democrats in disagree not knowing what the hell to do. Norman Solomon : Well, we’re an extremely dangerous precipice, that’s for sure. And to mobilize means to requires that we mobilize in communities around the country. At rootsaction.org, Jeff Cohen, my longtime colleague and I founded Roots Action almost 15 years ago. And we did it in part because the online world on the left and progressive areas were dominated by outfits like MoveOn that were anti-war when Bush was in office, but then when Obama came in also tripling the number of troops in Afghanistan, for instance, they were not willing to be nearly so anti-war. We need a single standard of human rights and politics. And that’s what rootsaction.org has been about. Everybody, if you’re not already signed up in 30 seconds, you go to rootsaction.org, you can sign up to get our email action alert. Marc Steiner: And let me just digress and say it’s well worth to do that. Norman Solomon : Yeah, I’d like to say so. And then because it’s one component of organizing online. And just a couple examples. We launched the Don’t Run Joe campaign right after the midterms in 2022, and we were told, “Oh, it’s inevitable. Biden’s going to run for reelection.” We couldn’t find one other national progressive organization of any size to co-sponsor. We asked them, we invited them. So it was, so to speak, Roots Action carrying the torch throughout 2023 into 2024 saying, “For God’s sake, let’s stop Biden from being the nominee. It will be a disaster politically and in terms of his evident capacity or incapacity to run an effective campaign, let alone be in a second term.” A very recent example is that we’ve joined with the organization Peace Action to urge to call for and have constituents and thousands of them have done that in the last couple of days to contact their Democrats in House and Senate and say, “Time is up. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, their leadership…” We don’t say it this way. Their leadership sucks. They are inspiring hardly anybody. They’re winking and nodding for this aggression against Iran with these really wishy-washy tactical discussions about process. And we need some explanations from the explanations from the White House. I mean, Jeffries was on Meet the Press a week after this horrible war was launched by the US and Israel against Iran. And he was saying, “Well, we need better answers from the Trump White House. This is the kind of demagoguery of its own sort that simply greenlights more war.” And so to sort of sum up, roots action is about, “Hey, we stick to principles, whoever’s in the White House, whatever party’s in control of Congress.” And I think that is part of the future we need to create. Marc Steiner: I think you’re right. And as you were saying that, before we close here, one of the things I thought about as you were responding, when it comes to Israel and Palestinians, it always seems to me, and I’ve been in that struggle for 50 plus years, from trying to join the Israeli army in 67 to then joining the anti-occupation forces in 68. And it’s not so difficult to create policies that people can relate to, like saying, “We have to create a world in the holy land, in Israel, Palestine for Jews and Palestinians live together, create the negotiation for it to take place so people live side by side in the same place and really push the idea of peace.” And the problem is I think Democrats have really lost their, A, their organizing roots, which I said earlier, which is where they came from, and B, their creative roots that they used to have in spades in the ’60s and ’70s. And I think that, and not saying they’re the Democrats of the panacea, but I’m saying they’ve lost who they are. Norman Solomon : Yeah, creative roots is a good way to put it. And real clarity, one of the, I think, powerful forces behind the Mondami campaign, now Mayor Mandami, was to really focus on very clear examples and instances and tangible realities that needed to be created, affordability, free buses, childcare, education that would be access for everybody. And I think of something that Woody Guthrie once said, “Any damn fool can be complicated.” And I thought of it when, Mark, when you were talking about peace, I mean, peace is something very real. It’s very real for people, especially who are at risk of the opposite. I remember being in a souk in Tehran about 15 years ago. And I was talking with a guy there who spoke English and he said, “People all over the world, they want peace, but their governments won’t let them have it. ” And that’s where we really are now. And I think it applies to what you’re saying about Israel, which is intentionally year after year, literally blowing up one country after another in the Middle East. I do want to say, I mean, I’ve listened to many of your programs on this subject of Israel and the Middle East. People should, I would recommend, go back to the Real News website and listen to some of those because in the last few years, you’ve done a really great job with various guests and in conversations talking about that peace is the core social justice is the core. Marc Steiner: Absolutely. And Norman Tomlin, I do really appreciate your time and the work you’ve been doing. We’re going to link to the book and link to Roots Action as well and continue our conversations together and come up with more ways to get this message out and to get this conversation out to everyone. And thank you so much for your work and your time, and I really appreciate you being here. Norman Solomon : Well, thanks a lot, Mark. And I do want to mention to people that in a world with so many paywalls that we shouldn’t have, I’ve been really pleased that when my book, The Blue Wrote to Trump Hell was published very recently, it went out immediately free online. So anybody who doesn’t want to Marc Steiner: Buy Norman Solomon : The book, great. Just go to this website, blueroad.info, and there are many formats you can read it online as a free ebook. Marc Steiner: And let me just say that it’s well worth the read because you’re really probing deeply into how the Democrats can change and what they’re failing at and how we can save our future. So I really appreciate the work you do. And we’re going to link to all that stuff right here on this conversation. Norman Solomon : Thanks so much, Mark. Marc Steiner: Thank you very much, Norm. Once again, I want to thank Norman Solomon for joining us today and remind everyone to check out his new book, The Blue Road Trumpelle, and check out his website, rootsaction.org. You can see the rest of his work there. It’s well worth the journey. Thanks to David Hebdon for running the program today, and our audio editor received Frank and producer Rosette Sewali for making it all work behind the scenes and everyone here through news for making this show possible. So please, let me know what you thought about what you heard today, what you’d like us to cover. Just write to me at mss@therealnews.com, and I’ll get right back to you. Once again, thank you to Norman Solomon for joining us today and his tireless work. So for the crew here at the Real News, I’m Marc Steiner. Stay involved, keep listening, and take care. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Marc Steiner.
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 24, 2026
How a media campaign of lies and innuendo created the myth of ‘Iran’s nuclear weapons’
<img width="1024" height="774" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C774&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="CNN television reporter Anderson Cooper, top left, and CNN analyst Jake Tapper, lower left, comment following US President Donald Trump's address to the nation on national television June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="342228" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-a-media-campaign-of-lies-and-innuendo-created-the-myth-of-irans-nuclear-weapons/president-trump-delivers-address-to-nation-on-iran-military-operation" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1935&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1935" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.2","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"ILCE-9M2","caption":"NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: CNN television reporter Anderson Cooper, top left, and CNN analyst Jake Tapper, lower left, comment following US President Donald Trump's address to the nation on national television June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump said in an address to the nation that US strikes had completely and totally obliterated Iran's three main nuclear facilities, and threatened further military action if Tehran did not make peace with Israel. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1750543502","copyright":"2025 Robert Nickelsberg","focal_length":"35","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.005","title":"President Trump Delivers Address To Nation On Iran Military Operation","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="President Trump Delivers Address To Nation On Iran Military Operation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" CNN television reporter Anderson Cooper, top left, and CNN analyst Jake Tapper, lower left, comment following US President Donald Trump&#8217;s address to the nation on national television June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C227&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C590&ssl=1"> 70% of Americans are fundamentally wrong about Iran’s “nuclear program.” This is not an accident.
<img width="1024" height="774" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C774&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="CNN television reporter Anderson Cooper, top left, and CNN analyst Jake Tapper, lower left, comment following US President Donald Trump's address to the nation on national television June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C227&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C774&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C581&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1161&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1548&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C907&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1512&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C590&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C302&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C774&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342228" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-a-media-campaign-of-lies-and-innuendo-created-the-myth-of-irans-nuclear-weapons/president-trump-delivers-address-to-nation-on-iran-military-operation" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1935&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1935" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.2","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"ILCE-9M2","caption":"NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: CNN television reporter Anderson Cooper, top left, and CNN analyst Jake Tapper, lower left, comment following US President Donald Trump's address to the nation on national television June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump said in an address to the nation that US strikes had completely and totally obliterated Iran's three main nuclear facilities, and threatened further military action if Tehran did not make peace with Israel. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1750543502","copyright":"2025 Robert Nickelsberg","focal_length":"35","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.005","title":"President Trump Delivers Address To Nation On Iran Military Operation","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="President Trump Delivers Address To Nation On Iran Military Operation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" CNN television reporter Anderson Cooper, top left, and CNN analyst Jake Tapper, lower left, comment following US President Donald Trump&#8217;s address to the nation on national television June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C227&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2221511341-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C590&ssl=1" /> While a war against Iran remains deeply unpopular, the percentage of Americans who support its underlying logic and goals remains relatively high. The premises for wars in US discourse––whether it’s Iraq’s WMDs or Hamas’ mindless jihadist barbarity––are rarely in dispute, only the method to best contain or eliminate these existential enemies. Since Iran has not attacked the US directly (the Iraqi “Shia proxies” line is, for example, mostly a lie), and has killed fewer US civilians in the past 30 years than Israel has, building a casus belli to launch an attack on Iran has been difficult for war promoters. Absent a real threat, what one usually hears is a combination of vague reference to Iran-allied Shia militias attacking US troops in Iraq during the US Iraqi occupation (don’t ask why the US invaded both of Iran’s major neighbors), lines about Iran being the “largest exporter of terrorism in the world” (a braindead cliche that no one bothers to even explain anymore) and—the most popular and frightening—that Iran is perpetually on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon that “could” maybe, sort of, one day reach the United States. Pursuant to this latter talking point, the idea of Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program has effectively been weaponized and rendered menacing to Western audiences through many framing and rhetorical tricks, wearing down a public that has neither the time nor inclination to understand the nuances of nuclear policy. This dynamic is reflected in a new a YouGov poll fielded by ReThink Media from February 2026 that shows 25% of Americans believe the patently false claim that Iran currently possesses nuclear weapons and 45% believe the also false, but slightly more subjective, claim that Iran has an active nuclear weapons program (“Iran does not have nuclear weapons but is working toward developing them,” as the poll question puts it). The annual threat assessment published in March 2025 by the US Director of National Intelligence clearly stated: “We continue to assess Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and that [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not reauthorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.” A finding affirmed it again just this week. Thus, only 5% of Americans agree with the consensus of the US intelligence community that Iran neither has nuclear weapons nor an active nuclear weapons program. So why is the public so grossly misinformed on such a basic, consequential fact? The media campaign designed to convince Americans Iran has a nuclear weapon or is always, asymptotically, about to and is, by implication or explicit demagoguery, going to nuke Davenport, Iowa, exists on what we will call a Gradient of Nuclear Iran Bullshit. It most often does not rely on explicit lying (though there is that), but usually innuendo and repetition of certain scare phrases. Let us examine this Gradient of Nuclear Iran Bullshit to get a sense of how the American public is misled, and has been for 20+ years. Here is the Gradient of Nuclear Iran Bullshit in order from least false to most false: “Iran’s nuclear program.” This phrasing is technically true but, through nonstop repetition and how our reptile brain interprets the word “nuclear,” it misleads in the aggregate. Many will see the words “nuclear program” and correctly interpret this as Iran having a nuclear energy program, but most, as polls indicate, see it as a form of nuclear weapons development. A more accurate phrasing would be “Iran’s civil nuclear program,” or “Iran’s nuclear energy program.” But this wouldn’t steer the media consumer into a state of panic so these more clarifying phrases are almost never used. “Iran’s nuclear weapons program.” This is patently false, but can be tortured into being vaguely true in some metaphysical sense via theory of mind assessments of future Iranian intent. US intelligence, as I will detail, has repeatedly said Iran has not decided to build a nuclear weapon since it abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003. “Iran’s nuclear weapons” or “Iran’s nuclear arsenal”. Factually false, no wiggle room whatsoever. A claim about the existence of Iranian nukes that is not supported by any mainstream expert and not a claim ever made by US intelligence or even Israeli intelligence. An outright lie. Iran’s “nuclear program” As mentioned, this is technically true but is generally misleading. Given that 1 in 4 Americans falsely believe Iran possesses nuclear weapons it’s safe to assume a great deal of this ignorance is downstream from the constant repetition of “Iran” and “nuclear” in the same sentences nonstop over the last 20 years. Despite the fact that 31 countries use nuclear energy, 22 of whom do so without also developing nuclear weapons, it is heavily implied that Iran must be doing so for nefarious purposes. Iran’s “nuclear weapons program” As I’ve been detailing since 2017, US media frequently refers to a nonexistent Iranian “nuclear weapons program.” Here are just a few examples causally tossed out by Western media in the past month: New York Times: “Iran’s nuclear weapons program” (3/4/26) ABC News: “Iran’s nuclear weapons program” (3/4/25) Washington Post | Opinion: Iran’s “nuclear-weapons program” (3/17/26) Fox 2: “Iran’s nuclear weapons program” (2/28/26) The Independent: “nuclear weapons program” (3/2/28) 60 Minutes even lent this falsehood credibility when reporter Scott Pelley repeated it during a March 1 puff interview with “Prince Reza Pahlavi, a leader of the opposition to the Islamic Republic.” “What would happen to the nuclear weapons program?” a somber Pelley asked Pahlavi—without mentioning that Iran has no nuclear weapons program. During last year’s bombing of Iran, as I noted at the time, CNN’s Jake Tapper twice lied about this nonexistent “nuclear weapons program.” Many will see the words “nuclear program” and correctly interpret this as Iran having a nuclear energy program, but most, as polls indicate, see it as a form of nuclear weapons development. On June 21, Jake Tapper asked Anderson Cooper, “Even though President Trump did describe the strikes on the three sites—Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan—as having been completely and totally obliterated, really it’s a question of how accurate that is. Is there any of this weapons program left at all?” But Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program, according to the US government’s own intelligence. The 2025 threat assessment, as mentioned above, says so, as does an intelligence assessment leaked last year to CNN and the Wall Street Journal that found Iran had no “nuclear weapons program.” According to CNN, US intel consensus was that “not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, it was also up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing, according to four people familiar with the assessment.” This inconvenient fact did not stop Tapper from repeating the false claim. On June 13, 2025, Tapper again referred to the “Iranian nuclear weapons program” live on air. He repeated this lie again just this Sunday. It doesn’t matter if it’s untrue, it seems true to Tapper and, most important of all, it needs to be true. The total lack of a “nuclear weapons program” is even more apparent in the wake of Trump’s June 2025 bombing of Iran’s nuclear energy sites. As the New York Times reported just prior to Trump’s February 2026 attack, not only do they not have an active nuclear weapons program, they couldn’t build one even if they wanted to: But American officials and international weapons inspectors said that was not the case, largely because the U.S. and Israeli strikes last June badly damaged Iran’s three main nuclear sites, Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan. Those attacks made it far more difficult for Iran to access the near-bomb-grade fuel it would need to produce a nuclear weapon quickly. Even if it were to dig it out, experts said, it would take many months — perhaps more than a year — to turn it into a warhead. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, most of the nearly 1,000 pounds of Iran’s 60 percent enriched uranium is buried at Isfahan. There is little evidence that the Iranians are digging out the deep-underground containers in which the uranium is stored. And without that stockpile, which would have to be further enriched to 90 percent purity before it could be fabricated into a bomb, it is nearly impossible for the Iranian military to produce a weapon. So Iran, according to the US intelligence assessment, has no nuclear weapons program, hasn’t had one in well over 20 years, and couldn’t contrive one in any reasonable time period even if they wanted to. But this hasn’t stopped the phrase “Iran’s nuclear weapons program” from being used on CNN 104 times and MSNOW/MSNBC 74 times since 2009. Iran’s “nuclear weapons” Outright falsehoods about Iran currently possessing “nuclear weapons” are rare but still happen. One recent high-profile example was a March 1 CBS News social media post promoting the aforementioned 60 Minutes interview with Reza Pahlavi. The post went one step further, outright inventing nuclear weapons that don’t exist: <img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="780" height="996" data-attachment-id="342220" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-a-media-campaign-of-lies-and-innuendo-created-the-myth-of-irans-nuclear-weapons/image-44" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?fit=1179%2C1506&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1179,1506" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="image" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?fit=235%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?fit=780%2C996&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?resize=780%2C996&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-342220" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?resize=802%2C1024&ssl=1 802w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?resize=235%2C300&ssl=1 235w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?resize=768%2C981&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?resize=780%2C996&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?resize=400%2C511&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.jpeg?w=1179&ssl=1 1179w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image-802x1024.jpeg?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /> After a wave of criticism, CBS did delete the tweet and repost it with a correction: “Editor’s note: This post replaces an earlier post that needed a clarification. 60 Minutes was referring to Iran’s nuclear program in the post, and not nuclear weapons.” Last June, a New York Times breaking news headline falsely stated that Iran had nuclear weapons: <img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="780" height="524" data-attachment-id="342221" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/how-a-media-campaign-of-lies-and-innuendo-created-the-myth-of-irans-nuclear-weapons/image-45" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?fit=1178%2C791&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1178,791" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="image" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?fit=300%2C201&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?fit=780%2C524&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?resize=780%2C524&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-342221" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?resize=1024%2C688&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?resize=300%2C201&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?resize=768%2C516&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?resize=780%2C524&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?resize=400%2C269&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png?w=1178&ssl=1 1178w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image-1024x688.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /> The UN nuclear watchdog did not, of course, say anything about Israel destroying a “weapons” facility, nuclear or otherwise. But the Times put this distortion in the headline, and propped it up with the weasel phrase “weapons-grade uranium” in the text of the article, despite it being a characterization no one from the UN used; nor is potential “weapons-grade uranium” the same thing as a “weapons facility” as the process from “weapons-grade” to an actual weapon involves years of development. Likely 2028 presidential candidate and Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro has been on a media tour lately heavily implying Iran possesses nuclear weapons, but doing so with just enough plausible deniability to weasel out of owning his innuendo. In an interview with The Pulse with Josh Green on March 13, Shapiro said: “[Trump] sent us in [to Iran] first because he claimed we needed to go getthe nuclear weapons. Well, seven months earlier, six months, whatever it’s been, he claimed that they destroyed all the nuclear arsenal.” Later that night on Real Time with Bill Maher, Shapiro repeated a similar line when discussing Trump’s Iran attack. “Was the plan to go after the nuclear weapons,the weaponshe said by the way were destroyed seven months ago.”The next day, in an interview with Pod Save America, Shapiro said: “[Trump] told us [his objective] was to go after their nuclear arsenal.” Iran is an Official Enemy state and the editorial standards for fairness and clarity lie several feet below the floor. Shapiro does not appear to be questioning the premise that Iran possesses “nuclear weapons,” but rather Trump’s claim they were “destroyed.” When I reached out to Shapiro’s office for comment, his press secretary, Rosie Lapowsky, insisted Shapiro was simply summing up the president’s position and was not endorsing the premise that Iran possesses nuclear weapons. “The Governor was not alleging that [Iran currently possesses nuclear weapons],” she said in an email. “The Governor’s knowledge is based solely on the public comments by the President and his Administration and national security officials.” When repeatedly asked if Shapiro believes, as a matter of fact, Iran currently possesses nuclear weapons, Lapowsky would not say either way, only insisting that his office was not saying they did but were summarizing “public comments by the President and his Administration and national security officials.” One is welcome to review the relevant clips above and determine if they believe Shapiro is simply relaying allegations by the president, or critiquing his process of destroying a nuclear weapon Shapiro seems to believe currently exists. It’s worth noting that Trump has made at least one off-the-cuff claim Iran currently possesses nuclear weapons, but has never said so in a formal speech, and no one in the intelligence community has ever claimed they do. Indeed, the overwhelming argument from the administration is that the US needs to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, which wouldn’t make much sense if they already possessed them, much less—as Shapiro stated—possessed a “nuclear arsenal.” What’s likely going on, as is the case with much of the Gradient of Nuclear Iran Bullshit, is that for those fearmongering over Iran’s nonexistent nuclear weapons and/or weapons program there is incentive to drift into more maximalist claims and no institutional systems in place to push back when this scare regime drifts into misleading statements or outright lies. No one’s ever lost a job or been deplatformed for making up a nonexistent Iranian “nuclear weapons” or “nuclear weapons program.” And certainly no one’s ever been scolded by an editor for using the term “Iran’s nuclear program” when “Iran’s energy program” is far more clear and avoids misleading a confused and distracted public. Iran is an Official Enemy state and the editorial standards for fairness and clarity lie several feet below the floor. These nuances are not trivial; they convey and propagandize very different concepts, and their nonstop repetition without proper context has no doubt contributed to the fact that 70% of the American public has totally false beliefs about the nature of Iran’s “nuclear ambitions.” This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Adam Johnson.
The partial government shutdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has caused major staffing shortages within the Transportation Security Administration, an agency under DHS that handles airport security procedures created in...
The partial government shutdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has caused major staffing shortages within the Transportation Security Administration, an agency under DHS that handles airport security procedures created in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. TSA officers have not been paid for over a month, leading to hundreds of resignations and leaves of absence. As airports are hit with significant delays, Cameron Cochems, the vice president of a union representing thousands of fellow TSA workers, urges travelers to use their time waiting to call their elected representatives “to fund the TSA so we can get our paychecks and we can get back to work.” To fill staffing shortages, DHS has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports. This comes as ICE is under fire for a hiring surge with minimal vetting and training for new officers. “It really feels like they’re a Band-Aid over a gaping wound. Our officers, they’re not getting paid, and having people that come in that are getting paid just feels like an insult,” says Cochems, who adds that the ultimate goal of the Republican Party is to eliminate union protections and privatize the TSA. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Bruce Springsteen Performs “Streets of Minneapolis” at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including musician Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen performed his new song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” a...
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including musician Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen performed his new song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis and spoke about his upcoming tour, which begins in Minneapolis next week. Watch the full event here. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“Under the Rubble”: Pulitzer-Prize Winner Reads Poem About Gaza at Democracy Now’s 30th Anniversary
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. Mosab Abu Toha read his poem “Under t...
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. Mosab Abu Toha read his poem “Under the Rubble” and spoke about his experience surviving Israel’s genocide of Gaza, which killed 30 members of his extended family. Watch the full event here. This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“Israel First”: Ex-Israeli Negotiator Daniel Levy Says Netanyahu Led Trump into Illegal Iran War
“This is about how far Israel can extend its dominion, how much of a hard-power, dominant hegemon it can be in the region.” Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project says that U.S. involvement in the ongoing war on Iran is being ...
“This is about how far Israel can extend its dominion, how much of a hard-power, dominant hegemon it can be in the region.” Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project says that U.S. involvement in the ongoing war on Iran is being driven by Israel’s expansionist ambitions in the Middle East. “Israel is still on the impunity high from its Gaza genocide, which has led us here.” Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, also provides analysis of current U.S., Israeli and Iranian wartime strategy, as well as potential ceasefire negotiations and Israel’s settler and soldier-backed ethnic cleansing of the occupied West Bank. “I think this will ultimately end very badly for Israel and generate tremendous blowback. But in the meantime, it is again the Palestinians bearing the brunt.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Iran Denies Trump’s Claim of “Productive” Negotiations to End War, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Calls for Annexation of Southern Lebanon, U.N. Special Rapporteur Says Israel Has Adopted Torture as State Policy, Cuba Says U.S. Oil Blockade Has Caused Massive Disruptions to Healthcare System, Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary, Replacing Kristi Noem, Unpaid TSA Workers Demand Paychecks as ICE Agents Deploy to U.S. Airports, Videos Show ICE Agents Violently Arresting Mother and Daughter at San Francisco Airport, Supreme Court Scrutinizes Mississippi Law Allowing Mail-In Ballots Postmarked by Election Day, Postmaster General Warns USPS On Track to Run Out of Funds by February, U.N. Warns of Worsening Climate Crisis as U.S. Suffers Record March Heat Waves, Nearly 1,000 New York University Professors Strike for Fair Salaries and Job Security
Iran Denies Trump's Claim of "Productive" Negotiations to End War Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Calls for Annexation of Southern Lebanon U.N. Special Rapporteur Says Israel Has Adopted Torture as State Policy Cuba Says U.S. Oil Blockade Has Caused Massive Disruptions to Healthcare System Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary, Replacing Kristi Noem Unpaid TSA Workers Demand Paychecks as ICE Agents Deploy to U.S. Airports Videos Show ICE Agents Violently Arresting Mother and Daughter at San Francisco Airport Supreme Court Scrutinizes Mississippi Law Allowing Mail-In Ballots Postmarked by Election Day Postmaster General Warns USPS On Track to Run Out of Funds by February U.N. Warns of Worsening Climate Crisis as U.S. Suffers Record March Heat Waves Nearly 1,000 New York University Professors Strike for Fair Salaries and Job Security This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! Tuesday, March 24, 2026 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
He Compared a Black Child to a Dog and Withheld Evidence in Death Row Cases. Now He’s Running for Judge.
The post He Compared a Black Child to a Dog and Withheld Evidence in Death Row Cases. Now He’s Running for Judge. appeared first on ProPublica.
Hugo Holland’s aggressive legal tactics made him one of Louisiana’s most renowned prosecutors and helped turn Caddo Parish, a majority Black community in the northwest corner of the state, into one of the nation’s leaders in death penalty convictions. His nearly 40-year career, though, has been marked by controversies. In at least two death penalty cases, Louisiana judges found that Holland withheld evidence. In a third, he secured the conviction of a Black 16-year-old, comparing the boy to a dog and telling the jury to “get rid of it”; prosecutors later admitted that Holland and his team had failed to turn over evidence. Defense attorneys have also accused him of racism, pointing, for example, to a capital murder case several years ago in which Holland emailed one of them to say he was going to spend Veterans Day in his pickup truck looking for “a Black guy or a Mex-can.” Holland called it a joke. Holland, 62, is now running for judge in the First Judicial District Court in Caddo Parish, and his nascent campaign appears to have substantial backing. He has raised more than $61,000 in less than two months, according to the first campaign finance report released in February — twice the amount many candidates running for the 1st Judicial Court spend in an entire campaign, said Jeffrey Sadow, an associate professor of political science at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Holland’s donors include an assistant district attorney with the Caddo Parish DA’s office, the district attorney of neighboring Bossier and Webster parishes, a former state judge, and members of major law firms throughout the area. Holland’s funding haul might prove to be so daunting that it scares off potential challengers, Sadow said, though candidates have until the end of July to enter the race. “It shows he’s got an awful lot of support and that he’s considered a quality candidate,” he said. In addition to his robust campaign fundraising, Holland has been able to bring on the head of the local Republican Party, Matthew Kay, as his campaign chair. (Kay also served as an elector for Donald Trump in 2024.) Holland declined multiple requests for comment about his candidacy and record as a prosecutor. Neither Kay nor nine of the 10 donors Verite News and ProPublica reached out to would respond or agree to speak about their support for Holland. Charles Jacobs, the city attorney for Bossier City and a former state judge who has known Holland for nearly 20 years, described him as a “very fair” prosecutor who sticks to the facts and the letter of the law. Jacobs donated $2,500 to Holland’s campaign, saying that his extensive trial experience will serve him well on the bench. “That guy cuts it right down the line — black or white, brown or yellow. He doesn’t care,” said Jacobs, dismissing defense attorneys’ allegations of racism. Civil rights leaders and defense attorneys say they believe Holland lacks regard for the rights of the mostly Black defendants he prosecuted, and that makes him uniquely unfit to serve on the bench. “He’s demonstrated that he is untrustworthy, unreserved in his aggression and without any judicial temperament,” said defense attorney Ben Cohen, who represented the 16-year-old in the death penalty case in which Holland withheld evidence. “He brings disrepute to the justice system in a way that undermines people’s faith in it.” He’s demonstrated that he is untrustworthy, unreserved in his aggression and without any judicial temperament. Ben Cohen, defense attorney As an assistant district attorney in Caddo Parish from 1991 to 2012, Holland displayed a portrait of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, in his office. Local and national coverage of Holland’s affinity for Forrest drew accusations of racism from Black residents and defense attorneys. Holland has insisted that he is not racist, claiming in interviews that he appreciated Forrest as a cavalry commander in the Civil War and not because he was a member of the Klan. In another controversy, Holland was forced to resign from the district attorney’s office in 2012 after the state inspector general found that he and a colleague had submitted “false information” to obtain a cache of fully automatic M-16 rifles through a federal program. Holland said a special investigations unit needed the weapons for protection because “we routinely participate in high-risk surveillance and arrests,” a claim local law enforcement agencies refuted, according to the inspector general. Holland and his colleague told the inspector general that if they had the opportunity, they would word the justification differently, citing situations in which the weapons would be useful in protecting district attorney employees who work in dangerous areas and advise local law enforcement. These scandals, however, did little to damage Holland’s career. After his resignation, he became a successful prosecutor-for-hire for more than a dozen district attorneys who lacked the staff or expertise to try high-profile murder cases on their own. In 2017, Holland was paid to lobby on behalf of the powerful Louisiana District Attorneys Association to stop a bill that would have eliminated the death penalty; the effort succeeded. Caddo Parish secured more death penalty convictions per capi­ta than any oth­er coun­ty in the United States between 2010 and 2014, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Of the people sent to death row during that time period, 80% were Black, even though Black people made up just under half the parish population. (Nationally, Black people made up just over 40% of death row prisoners and 13% of the U.S. population at that time.) Caddo Parish has long been a center of racial injustice, known from the Reconstruction era through the Jim Crow period as Bloody Caddo for having among the highest numbers of lynchings of any county in the country. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="Pink light illuminates a statue, which includes a soldier and the busts of several men, in front of a large government building." class="wp-image-70828" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,513 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,684 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,282 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,767 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1335 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16447673_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1068 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> A 30-foot-tall Confederate monument outside the Caddo Parish courthouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 2018. The parish removed the monument in 2022. Brent McDonald/The New York Times/Redux Theron Jackson, the pastor of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport, the largest city in the parish, fears that a Holland victory would be a “step back” toward those days of Bloody Caddo, when the failure of elected officials to “protect and serve everybody’s community resulted in the victimization of Black people.” Withholding Evidence The doubts surrounding Holland’s death row convictions have taken on even more urgency since the election of Jeff Landry, who upon being sworn in as governor in 2024 said he wanted to execute every prisoner on death row as quickly as possible. Of the at least 10 people Holland has sent to death row over four decades as prosecutor, one has been released, and two have had their sentences reduced to life in prison. Of the seven remaining on death row, at least two — Bobby Hampton and David Brown — are challenging their convictions after they discovered that Holland withheld evidence. In 1997, Holland secured a death sentence against Hampton for a murder that happened during a liquor store robbery in Shreveport. The Louisiana Supreme Court later found that Holland had withheld grand jury witness testimony that someone else fired the fatal shot. The court nonetheless ruled that the omitted testimony would not have changed the verdict because prosecutors did hand over a similar statement the witness had made to police. But a dissenting court opinion pointed out that the grand jury witness testimony, unlike the police statement, was given under oath and unambiguously identified another person as the shooter. Hampton remains on death row. Fourteen years later, a similar situation unfolded. The courts once again found that Holland failed to disclose evidence during his 2011 prosecution and conviction of Brown, one of five prisoners convicted of murdering a guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Holland did not reveal that another prisoner had told prosecutors about a jailhouse confession from one of the five, who said he and another inmate — not Brown — had decided to kill the guard. As a result, a state judge vacated Brown’s sentence in 2014, but the Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated it after ruling that the withheld evidence would not necessarily have changed the jury’s decision; the confession, they said, did not preclude Brown’s participation in the killing. Hampton and Brown maintain their innocence and are still challenging their convictions. Holland did not respond to requests for comment about the cases. Holland withheld evidence in a third death penalty case, involving Corey Williams, a 16-year-old convicted in the fatal shooting of a pizza delivery man in Shreveport. Williams’ 2000 death sentence was reduced to life without parole because the boy has a severe intellectual disability, according to court documents. As a child, Williams was hospitalized for “extreme lead poisoning” and was institutionalized multiple times for mental health reasons, according to court documents filed by his attorneys. Fifteen years after Williams’ conviction, his attorneys alerted the court that Holland had concealed a trove of evidence that they said proved his innocence: Witnesses on the night of the murder told police Williams was innocent, and detectives stated at the time that they believed several older men were responsible and trying to pin the blame on Williams, according to a court filing by Williams’ defense team. The actions by Holland’s team led dozens of former U.S. Department of Justice officials and federal prosecutors to file a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of efforts to overturn Williams’ conviction. A former Caddo Parish district attorney, who took office on an interim basis 15 years after Williams’ prosecution, acknowledged in 2015 court filings that Holland and his team had withheld evidence, but insisted that it did not prove Williams’ innocence and would not have changed the verdict. Before the U.S. Supreme Court could take up the issue, however, Williams’ team agreed to a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice in return for his 2018 release from prison. Holland has said he did not withhold evidence and maintained that Williams is guilty. In other contexts, Holland questioned established law on the obligation to turn over evidence. Two years ago, a case came before the Louisiana Supreme Court to preserve a death sentence that defense attorneys claimed was secured after another prosecutor withheld key evidence. Arguing on behalf of the Rapides Parish district attorney, Holland expressed disdain for a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring prosecutors to turn over such evidence that could be considered favorable to defendants. “It’s a very poorly written opinion because it leaves far too much to conjecture by people on the bench,” Holland said. “It’s got judges second-guessing juries.” The state Supreme Court ultimately upheld the death sentence. Matilde Carbia, a defense attorney representing a death row inmate whom Holland helped convict, said Holland’s antipathy toward transparency makes his candidacy dangerous. “If that is the kind of perspective that he would bring to the judiciary, that would be wholesale damaging to criminal defendants across the board,” Carbia said. He was doing everything he could to attempt to intimidate me. Matilde Carbia, defense attorney Holland’s unprofessional behavior in and outside of the courtroom is also a grave concern, she said. During a 2018 postconviction hearing for a murder case, Carbia said Holland claimed he couldn’t hear when she was questioning a witness, so he began following Carbia around the courtroom as she spoke. “He’d come stand looming over my shoulder with his coattail pushed back so that you could see the firearm on his hip,” Carbia recalled in a recent interview. In another incident, Carbia said Holland displayed an AR-15 rifle on his desk when she entered his office to review some files. “He was doing everything he could to attempt to intimidate me,” she said. Holland did not respond to questions about these incidents. Verite News and ProPublica spoke with another attorney who witnessed the events and confirmed Carbia’s account. An Evolving Caddo Caddo Parish has changed since Holland last worked for the district attorney’s office, with Black voters now making up just over half of the parish population. With that increase has come more political influence. In 2011, parish leaders removed a Confederate flag that had flown in front of the courthouse for decades. Eleven years later, the parish removed a monument featuring four Confederate generals that also stood before the courthouse steps. The changes go beyond symbolic. Caddo voters elected the parish’s first Black district attorney in 2015 by a 10-point margin. Nine years later, voters elected the parish’s first Black sheriff by a similar edge. Holland, however, will not be facing voters parishwide. There are 14 open judicial seats in the parish, and candidates choose among three districts in which to run. Only one is majority Black, according to Sadow, the political science professor. Holland hasn’t announced where he would run, but running in a majority white, conservative district would increase his odds of winning, Sadow said; Holland’s prospects would also be boosted in one of the majority white districts by not having to run against an incumbent, who is retiring. Defense attorney Nick Trenticosta, who once faced off against Holland in a death penalty case, said he hopes voters will remember Holland’s ethical controversies and reject him as a relic of the past. “Caddo is not the same Caddo it was 30 years ago,” Trenticosta said. “The voters know who he is.” The post He Compared a Black Child to a Dog and Withheld Evidence in Death Row Cases. Now He’s Running for Judge. appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Richard A. Webster.
A look behind the scenes of what could be Google’s biggest test of carbon capture
Documents indicate that the tech company may be planning a massive natural gas powered data center project in Nebraska — but it could hinge on one piece of legislation.
This story is made possible through a partnership between Grist and The Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories. Rick Wheatley owns a property with about 80 acres in Nebraska’s Otoe County — an area east of Lincoln known for its farmland, apple orchards, and Arbor Day celebrations. Wheatley’s land, a portion of which is used for growing corn and soybeans, has been in his family for generations. Sometime last fall, a representative from a private energy developer Tenaska approached Wheatley about possibly purchasing the land. Wheatley said the representative mentioned the company was trying to assemble and secure the right to purchase 2,000 acres near a gas pipeline for a power plant that could serve an AI data center. “At first he kind of slipped and said for AI, they need their own generating stations for AI,” Wheatley said. “But then they kind of backpedaled it.” According to Wheatley, the Tenaska representative then told him that the company planned to have a business park. “And I thought, ‘What do you mean it’s a business park? Who’s going to build out there in the middle of nowhere?’” Wheatley said. In the end, he chose not to deal with the company. However, he wasn’t the only one to get a knock on his door. Since December, Tenaska has entered into agreements with landowners for over 2,600 acres across southeast Nebraska under two different LLC names, according to county deed records. The agreements allow Tenaska the exclusive option to buy the land. Tenaska did not respond to requests for comment about the land deals. According to documents obtained by the Flatwater Free Press and Grist, Tenaska appears poised to build a utility-scale natural gas plant to power one of the largest data centers in the country. The documents suggest that Google would operate the data center and that the project may also be one of the largest test cases for carbon capture and storage, a controversial way to deal with runaway emissions that has not yet proven effective as a solution for climate change. Nebraska, like many other states, is approaching a tipping point as it relates to energy demand, who can afford to supply it, how practical its emissions goals are, and the desire for economic activity to steadily grow. A recent report by the energy research and development nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute found that Nebraska is one of seven states that is on track to have data centers use over 20 percent of their total electricity consumption by 2030. At the same time, a bill intended to allow for the creation of privately owned and operated power plants that serve large industrial facilities and are hooked up to the grid is being considered by the state legislature. Tenaska has publicly supported the bill, which was proposed by Governor Jim Pillen. The proposal could hinge on this bill’s passage. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Construction of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company "megafab" plant in Phoenix. The Taiwanese company is investing $165 billion in multiple plants in the region." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TSMC-fab-Arizona.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Arizona’s water is drying up. That’s not stopping the data center rush. Jake Bittle According to the documents, which were shared at a private meeting of a Nebraska public power district in January, the proposed data center would use between 1,000 and 3,000 megawatts of power from a combined cycle natural gas plant. If the facility were to operate at the higher end of that range, it would generate more power than the largest power plant in the state. As outlined in the documents, the proposed project names three companies: Google, Tenaska, and natural gas and carbon dioxide pipeline company Tallgrass Energy. Tenaska, an Omaha-based company, would be responsible for powering the new data center, while Tallgrass would potentially supply both the natural gas and transport the captured carbon. The documents state that the proposed project could be online as soon as 2029, though it’s unclear how close this proposal is to becoming a reality. Neither Google nor Tenaska responded to multiple inquiries and requests for comment. Tallgrass, in a statement to Flatwater, denied being involved in the project. Kenny Zoeller, director of policy research for Pillen’s office, acknowledged that the companies tied to the proposed project have been part of discussion that ultimately led to the legislation. But they are not the only ones, he said. The governor’s office also consulted with the state’s public power districts, he said. If the bill passes, private power plants for large industrial facilities would then be able to hook up to their local power district’s grid and sell excess power back. The state’s public power districts have endorsed the measure, and the Omaha Public Power District, or OPPD, said it is aware of a potential project that could be impacted by the bill — though the power district reiterated it doesn’t comment on specific projects. OPPD, Nebraska Public Power District, and Lincoln Electric System said in statements they do not discuss potential customers until they’re announced publicly, noting those proposals can involve nondisclosure agreements. According to Zoeller, the bill was not drafted for any single industry or project. The goal, he said, is to make Nebraska economically competitive while ensuring ratepayers don’t have to pay for a large user’s power needs. “There have been multiple companies that have indicated to the Governor and his office that legislation like this would make Nebraska a competitive place for investment,” Zoeller said in a statement. “However, no investment has ever predicated on the passage of LB1261.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2223529323.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="Governor Jim Pillen. " data-credit="Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Getty"/> Governor Jim Pillen. Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Getty Google’s parent company, Alphabet, plans to continue ramping up its overall data center investments in 2026, spending up to $185 billion on what it calls technical infrastructure, according to the company’s earnings call in February. Google already has three data center locations in Nebraska. From 2021 to 2023, the company claims that it has supported about 13,300 jobs, and since 2019 has invested over $3.5 billion in the state’s digital infrastructure. The scope of the company’s proposal, as outlined in the documents, is massive. The data center itself would be among the largest in the country, according to Kenneth Gillingham, a professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale University. The amount of power would be significantly more than the 800 megawatts needed across Lincoln Electric System’s service area in the summer when energy demand is at its highest. The gas plant would be the largest power plant in Nebraska. And if the project does incorporate carbon capture and storage, it would be the largest operation of its kind in the country, Gillingham said. “In the U.S., there’s nothing that large with CCS,” he said, using the acronym for carbon capture and storage. Nebraska is a public power state, and under current state law, private power generation from fossil fuels is allowable, but those facilities cannot connect to the grid. The governor’s bill would make it possible for private energy developers and operators, like Tenaska, that want to generate more than 1,000 megawatts of power specifically for a large industrial customer to connect to the grid and sell any excess electricity back to the local public power district. While the developer can use any energy source, Joshua Fershée, dean of Creighton University’s law school, said this bill would make it easier to use fossil fuel generation. The power plant would have to be on the same property or next to the industrial user, and would have to be approved by the power review board. The private generator would have to have an agreement in place with the local utility before Jan. 1, 2032, and the customer would have to pay all fees and costs tied to hooking up to the public power district’s grid. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Google_Papillion.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="" data-caption="Google has three data centers in Nebraska, including this one in Papillion. " data-credit="Naomi Delkamiller / Flatwater Free Press"/> Google has three data centers in Nebraska, including this one in Papillion. Naomi Delkamiller / Flatwater Free Press Google announced its first carbon capture and storage project last October for a 400-megawatt gas plant in Illinois that will support its data centers in the region. The project in Nebraska would be significantly larger. “Google has very ambitious net-zero targets, and they have the money and they could do it,” Gillingham said. “This would be a huge investment by Google, fundamentally, to see if it can be done at a larger scale and more cost effectively than it’s ever been done before.” Much like the overall proposal, though, it’s unclear if the carbon capture piece will actually materialize. Although the documents obtained by Flatwater and Grist specifically mention Tallgrass as the potential natural gas supplier and transporter of the captured carbon, Steven Davidson, Tallgrass’ senior vice president of government and public affairs, said the company currently does not have partnerships for a new data center or a Tenaska gas plant in Nebraska. “While we are not in a partnership with anyone to build a data center in Nebraska,” Davidson said in a statement, “Nebraska is an exceptional state for investing and growing in a manner that respects local communities, expands opportunities for families to succeed, and focuses on long-term collaboration to improve people’s lives.” Davidson expressed support for the governor’s bill. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="A high-voltage power line runs behind a construction site in Archbald, Pennsylvania." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2689w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?resize=1200%2C798&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?resize=330%2C219&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?resize=768%2C511&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?resize=1536%2C1021&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?resize=2048%2C1362&quality=75&strip=all 2048w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PowerlineCover4.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1788" width="2689" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The AI boom has plunged a small Pennsylvania town into chaos Rebecca Egan McCarthy Over the last several months, as Tenaska scoured southeast Nebraska for land to house the potential data center and power plant, the company found several landowners willing to sell — including one state lawmaker. Senator Myron Dorn, whose district spans Gage County and parts of southeast Lancaster County, signed an agreement with Tenaska earlier this year, allowing the company the exclusive right and option to purchase about 80 acres he owns in Gage County. Dorn said during their conversations, representatives mentioned both data centers and a power plant and had talked about a pipeline, but they didn’t outright say the land would be used for a data center powered by a gas plant. Dorn, who is in his eighth year in the legislature, had not publicly disclosed the potential land deal as a conflict when he was contacted by the Flatwater Free Press and Grist last week. He said he had not looked at the governor’s bill and was unsure if the agreement he reached with Tenaska posed a conflict of interest that would require disclosure. “Hadn’t thought of it. Didn’t realize the bill was out of committee and up that quick,” Dorn said. Scott Danigole, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, said that if passing LB1261 would increase the likelihood of the sale, Dorn should file a conflict of interest form before any discussion or vote on the bill. Last Tuesday, he filed a disclosure noting the agreement and potential conflict of interest it posed. That filing came the same day the legislature began debating the bill. Filing the form does not preclude the senator from voting on the bill. On his disclosure form, Dorn explained his decision not to abstain from voting. “My vote is only one of 49,” he wrote. “This bill will benefit the entire state and any landowner who may contract with a private entity. It is not exclusive to my property.” The bill advanced through its first of three votes last week, after which it would head to the governor’s desk. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline A look behind the scenes of what could be Google’s biggest test of carbon capture on Mar 24, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Anila Yoganathan.
Utah Republicans see storing nuclear waste as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’
Some think a Trump administration plan is a chance to boost communities that hemorrhaged jobs after coal plants closed.
The Republicans who dominate Utah’s politics — from the legislature to the governor’s mansion — are aggressively pursuing nuclear power, but a problem that had confounded fission supporters over the last century lingers: what to do with all the dangerous waste. Now the state is exploring whether to become a solution — by storing nuclear waste in the massive salt deposit in Millard County, a rural part of the state with a long history of meeting the West’s energy needs. Caverns carved into that salt deposit already hold natural gas liquids, gasoline, and other fuels. Separate storage of hydrogen began there this year to support the massive Intermountain Power Plant’s shift from coal generation to carbon-free energy. The Trump administration recently announced that it wants states to volunteer as hosts for “nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses” — sites that will take spent radioactive material for a variety of uses, such as storage, recycling, enrichment, fabrication, or powering manufacturing and data centers. The same day in late January that the U.S. Department of Energy began soliciting states to host campuses, state Senator Derrin Owens, a Republican, contacted several other lawmakers, lobbyists, private equity investors, and Millard County officials, in an email obtained by the Millard County Chronicle Progress and shared with The Salt Lake Tribune. “Friends,” Owens wrote on January 28, “HERE IT IS – This is Utah’s once in a lifetime opportunity to host one of these sites.” (Owens declined to comment for this story.) Owens, who represents half of Millard County, noted that the group had “tried to lay the groundwork” for opportunities to store and repurpose nuclear waste with Curio, a startup headquartered in Washington D.C. that’s developing a process to recycle spent fuel. Millard County’s salt dome — a remnant of an ancient ocean from the time dinosaurs roamed the earth — apparently makes Utah a particularly attractive candidate. The only other state interested in becoming a nuclear waste campus that has such a formation is Mississippi, according to Owens. “Let’s lead the west,” the state senator wrote. Owens further referenced concerns among many in Utah about more liberal states on the West Coast, which historically bought coal and fossil-fuel generated electricity from Utah and other interior states, but have since pivoted toward energy sources that don’t contribute to climate change. Becoming a lab for nuclear material storage reuse could keep rural interior economies humming, while meeting the new carbon-free demands of growing population centers. “They will need Utah once again,” Owens wrote, “if we land this fuel cycle.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=2048 2048w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MJFORHKTABAKTO26JK7LX3V244.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="State Senator Derrin Owens speaks at the Utah Capitol." data-caption="State Senator Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, at the Utah Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. " data-credit="Francisco Kjolseth"/> State Senator Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, at the Utah Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. Francisco Kjolseth Owens called on the email recipients to pressure Governor Spencer Cox’s office and the Utah Office of Energy Development to “get on the phone” with the federal Department of Energy and “advocate for Utah.” The next day, Cox issued a statement to E&E News that said the state is evaluating whether it’s something Utah would be interested in working on with the federal government. The governor’s office told The Tribune that the state has not yet committed to a specific project or partnership. “America needs more reliable, affordable, and abundant energy,” Cox wrote in a statement last week, “and nuclear will be part of that future. As we evaluate the entire lifecycle, including advanced recycling, we will focus on Utah priorities, including safety, environmental stewardship, workforce development, and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.” Cox has made “Operation Gigawatt” a primary focus of his second term, seeking to more than double Utah’s energy output over the next decade. While Cox calls it an “all-of-the-above” strategy that embraces all forms of energy, from solar panels to coal plants, his initiatives have focused heavily on nuclear development. The governor’s Office of Energy Development declined to comment for this story. It also declined to provide any records associated with Utah’s interest in hosting a nuclear lifecycle campus, calling them classified and protected due to negotiations over real estate, without providing any more detail. In Millard County, some see the prospect of storing nuclear waste in the salt caverns as a chance to bolster the area’s struggling job market. Others find the idea hard to stomach. “I don’t want it anywhere close to us,” said Vicki Lyman, a Millard County commissioner. In September 2024, Owens invited Curio’s CEO, Edward McGinnis, to Utah’s Capitol Hill to discuss Curio’s approach to nuclear waste with lawmakers. Interview requests sent to Curio for this story did not receive a response. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Three men in suits talk" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ValarUtah.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The Trump administration’s favorite nuclear startup has ties to Russia and Epstein Kiera Butler Originally called “Curio Solutions,” the company was founded in 2021. McGinnis became Curio’s CEO the next year after spending more than 30 years working for the Energy Department. Curio secured $15 million in seed funding in April 2024 to develop technology for building reactors and recycling their spent fuel, as reported by Forbes. This February, the Energy Department announced that Curio was among the recipients of a $19 million grant to further research and develop nuclear fuel recycling. Curio’s crown jewel is its patented NuCycle process, which has been demonstrated in labs but is not yet in commercial use. The company says that by recycling spent uranium and zirconium from nuclear plants, it can extract valuable materials like critical minerals and isotopes used in cancer treatments. “There are hundreds of billions of dollars of resources and commodities” embedded in the spent radioactive fuel currently stored in more than 80 locations across the U.S., McGinnis told lawmakers. “We’re a mining business.” When a typical plant uses nuclear fuel, the spent radioactive rods still contain about 96 percent of their “energy value,” according to McGinnis. “Curio is focused on bringing to market, for the first time, state-of-the-art advanced recycling,” he said, “done in a way that doesn’t force those who want to access nuclear to really swallow that poison pill, that elephant in the room … what are you going to do with the so-called waste?” What was supposed to become the country’s repository for radioactive waste, Yucca Mountain in Nevada, has been stalled for decades as a result of immense pushback from Nevadans and politicians, as well as lawsuits. But McGinnis called the current moment unique, with bipartisan support for more nuclear development. Both the Biden and Trump administrations adopted policies to support fission power. The shift to electric vehicles, along with the proliferation of data centers to support the spread of artificial intelligence, has made global demand for energy spike. Utah leaders have called the need to control AI and build more electricity generation the “arms race” of the contemporary era and an issue of national security. Recycling nuclear fuel doesn’t just produce valuable materials for manufacturing, medical, and national defense industries, McGinnis said. It can mean the radioactivity of the country’s waste stream takes only a few hundred years to decay instead of thousands of years. “And (we) do it in an environmentally friendly way,” McGinnis said, that “avoids passing this waste down to generations.” Curio partnered with the Idaho, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia national laboratories late last year to demonstrate its technology. “Multiple states” have expressed interest in welcoming the company into their communities, McGinnis said, and he’s looking to deploy at least two or three facilities in the U.S. by the early 2030s. “The facility will become a tech backbone,” the CEO said, creating high-paying jobs that don’t necessarily require advanced degrees. The project could bring a windfall to Owens’ district, which has seen a hemorrhaging of jobs due to the closure of coal units at power plants, a slowdown in mining, and the shuttering of a Smithfield meat processing plant. “Welcome to Utah,” Owens told McGinnis during the 2024 hearing with lawmakers. “In our mining communities, we know we have to bridge having baseload power from our coal industries. This is the dream to get there.” In 2024, a series of state reports explored strategies for nuclear power in Utah; one that focused on waste fuels lauded Curio by name. It estimated that the company could create 3,000 jobs in the state, generate more than $400 million each year in tax revenue, and super-charge the state’s economy with $1.5 billion annually. U.S. scientists developed the first technologies to recycle radioactive waste. But the country largely abandoned the practice amid fears that recycled waste could be used to create bombs or that it could leak and poison communities. Nuclear power, however, is “one of the cleanest and safest of all energy sources,” according to the report from Utah’s Office of Energy Development. Numerous startups are now eyeing radioactive waste as a lucrative product, the report says, and “Utah should and can be primed to take advantage of this change, even leading the nation forward.” The salt caverns in Millard County, the report added, would be “ideal” for storing nuclear material. Salt caves and mines have been used for radioactive repositories in New Mexico and Germany, with varying degrees of success. Bill Wright, a Millard County commissioner, told the Chronicle Progress that the county is not in a position to pick winners and losers and is open to talking to people about all proposals that spur economic development. Other local officials in Millard County were more hesitant. Millard County Commissioner Trevor Johnson said he didn’t think spent nuclear rods could be stored inside salt caverns without a method to deliver them safely deep below ground. A more secluded area, such as the county’s west desert, would be a more appropriate place to bury radioactive waste. KC Bogue, the mayor of Delta City, the county’s largest community and gateway to the west desert region, said he supports new ways to develop energy, and that it needs to be efficient. Storing spent radioactive fuel in the county, though, is a different story. “I don’t want to be the dumping grounds for nuclear waste,” Bogue said. “And I think that’s all we’d ever be.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Utah Republicans see storing nuclear waste as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ on Mar 24, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Leia Larsen.
Iran: Deliberate Attacks on Civilian Ships Apparent War Crimes
Visual artist Daniel Arsham on the possibility of endless failure
What was the experience like for you writing the book? As someone who knows the art world well—as you describe it with a capital “A”—I found a lot to relate to. How did the book come to fruition?
What was the experience like for you writing the book? As someone who knows the art world well—as you describe it with a capital “A”—I found a lot to relate to. How did the book come to fruition? I came up with the idea after I did a big show at Perrotin in New York titled “The Secret History of Everything” in 2020. I’m coming up on twenty years of working with him. I started thinking about actually writing a book more seriously during the pandemic, since I had so much extra time. The book has a narrative, storytelling quality, but at times it also feels almost like a diary. I think part of the reason why the book reads so easily is that I didn’t write it—I spoke it, about 90 percent. It is based on an outline of areas and topics I wanted to address. A friend of mine who is a writer helped me stitch it together with suggestions and questions to answer. You can almost hear me speaking in the writing. I worked with an editor to pare back the recordings and edit them down. The idea of writing something on a keyboard was so daunting to me that this was a really great way—dictating and letting the stories flow very easily. Arsham studio What was it like for you to talk about some of the more personal things, such as memories from childhood? A lot of those stories are personal, but there’s not really much about my family. It’s really about how the idea of entering the art world when I finished college felt so daunting to me and so intimidating. Part of the drive behind the book was to demystify a little bit of that. It’s not only for people within the art world, but for other creators as well. If you’re a musician and you look at the recording industry, it can seem incredibly intimidating. I went through different areas of my life and experiences, and I recorded a lot more than what I included in the book. When I originally put the text together, I actually did it 100 percent chronologically, which felt a bit too obvious as a way of organizing the chapters. I ended up moving things around so that they were pieced together differently. I had the idea of quoting a “mentor,” which, when you read the book, you will understand, and that became a theme throughout. Future Relic cover Do you see the book as didactic? I tried to think about how I could give others a guide—a rule book for how to navigate some of the daunting feelings that come up. I wanted to instill an idea that I came to realize was deeply embedded in the book—how many times I didn’t actually succeed. There’s a whole story about the Whitney Biennial that I was never in. All of these things were forming my way of working, which is very much about perseverance and accepting failure. Arsham studio I have that story highlighted in the copy of the book I have. You tell it in such a visual way, and as a reader I felt like I was in that space with you, opening the envelope. There was such intense disappointment in not getting into the Whitney Biennial, especially after meeting with curator Chrissie Iles. Yet you quickly respond with a list of things that you’ve learned from failure: “Failure encourages growth, learning, and innovation. Failure builds resilience,” and so on. What helped you gain this type of insight? It was never so formulated in my mind until I wrote the book. It was more of a practice I had for approaching big goals in life. In creative spaces, it’s not like you have a career where you’re working for someone else. Instead, you’re inventing your own job and your own reality. You have to make your own work schedule, run your own business—all of those things. The biggest thing for me was this feeling that failure is possible to accept, but regret is very difficult to accept. So you have to be willing to do these things and accept failure. I promise that you’re never going to go back and say, “Fuck, I didn’t try that thing.” I didn’t go for it, or I didn’t get that close to being in the Whitney Biennial, for instance. I went after that in every way that I could. And okay, I failed at it, but I have no regrets about that scenario. Arsham studio In the first chapter, you talk about power in a very direct way, which I appreciate. I’ll just share the part that I highlighted: “We often associate power with domination, danger, and evil, but there’s more to it. Any scenario in life contains a power dynamic—either you’re exercising power or it’s being exercised upon you. You have to understand this in order to play the game of life or the business of art. Most people don’t want to. They want to avoid it. But avoiding the game of power is death in the art world or in any creative world. The game is there—either you play it or it plays you.” Can you say more? A lot of power has to do with intimidation, because the art world deals with a lot of money and very powerful people who operate large businesses, or who are famous in their own right. There’s a lot of ego and many personalities that come into the world, so it’s natural that there are going to be various power structures and games happening all around. Some of it is just accepting that this is the way the art world works, and there’s probably more of a power dynamic struggle within it than in a lot of other industries where, I think, people might be more collaborative—or at least not sharks in the water. Sometimes you just have to accept, “Okay, this person is never going to assist me. This person is never going to do anything that’s going to push my career forward.” Everyone has their own agenda in the art world, and you start to realize that, me too, I have my own agenda. So besides the fact that I think what the book really speaks to is perseverance, what are your thoughts on luck? Yeah, luck is manufactured. It’s this idea that talent exists, but it has to find you working. You can’t just say, “Oh, I’m going to be talented at this thing that I never did.” You may be predisposed to it. Luck is the same way. Luck can find you, but it has to find you working. The more you work, the more you’re putting your work out there. Inevitably, somehow luck is going to find you. It’s about failure, perseverance, and the willingness to continue. I was still living in my studio until I was 31, without hot water or a kitchen. That was right at the inflection point when my work started to gain a lot of traction. And I’ve been very successful over the last decade. I would say that it lasted about 15 years, and up until that point there was no guarantee. I was living in this scenario, continuing on with no guarantee, and you have to accept that this could be your reality forever. If you’re not willing to do that, you probably don’t have the chance to succeed. That was very frustrating for me when I taught a class at Cooper. There were a couple of students who were just like, “I just want to skip to the end part.” And I said, “No. You will never reach the end part. You cannot skip it. That’s not even the point.” Even if you could magically get to the point where you’re super successful, you’re going to fail immediately once you get there. I think that most people just don’t have the willingness to fail for ten years. That’s what separates many of the people who are ultra successful. You mentioned having interviewed Takashi [Murakami] for TCI—he is an absolute maniac of production. Arsham studio I like how you give—or rather insert—history into some of the objects that you’ve created, like a vintage camera—hence the series and book title, Future Relic, right? It’s almost as if you’ve placed the viewer—or in this case the reader—into an episode of Star Trek. You, the artist, are in the future, coming back and saying, “Well, what would be the items of today that people would look at with mystery?” Future Relic, the book, was really an experience for me, similar to making an artwork or an exhibition. I’ve worked hard, I’ve had failures, but now I’m doing well. I have done my own thing, which I’m proud of. It’s like you get to this point in your career where you’re like, “Oh, I’ve kind of made it,” right? Daniel Arsham recommends: Casio Casiotone MT-500 Pentax K1000 Porsche 993A Mentorship Crystals This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Katy Diamond Hamer.
Europe fails to condemn U.S.-Israeli war on Iran
This content originally appeared on International Rescue Committee and was authored by International Rescue Committee.
Vietnam protests China’s development of disputed reef in South China Sea
Land reclamation could make Antelope Reef China’s largest outpost in the South China Sea, think tank says.
Vietnam has condemned China’s land reclamation activities at Antelope reef in the disputed Paracel Islands, following reports of accelerated dredging, landfill and construction operations there that, according to a U.S.-based think tank, could make it “China’s largest feature” in the South China Sea. “Any foreign activities conducted in Hoang Sa, including Hai Sam reef, without Vietnam’s permission are completely illegal and invalid,” Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said on Saturday, referring to the archipelago and the reef claimed by Hanoi and Beijing, as well as Taiwan, by their Vietnamese names. “Vietnam resolutely opposes such activities.” Last week, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, or AMTI, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, in Washington, published an analysis of satellite imagery that said vast land reclamation efforts underway at Antelope Reef over the past month could make the reef suitable to construct a 9,000-foot (2700-meter) runway. Beijing has constructed several airstrips of that size on other islands in the South China Sea including in the Spratly Islands, another disputed archipelago, the AMTI report said. Territorial flashpoint Though sovereignty over the Paracels is disputed, China took effective control of the archipelago after a 1974 naval clash with South Vietnam, which lost the Vietnam War to North Vietnam the following year. Called the Xisha Islands by Beijing, the island chain is now one of several flashpoints in the South China Sea, where multiple countries assert overlapping territorial and maritime claims. Media reports in early 2026 highlighted new Chinese dredging and landfill activity at Antelope Reef. Previously it had been one of China’s smallest outposts in the area. Beijing began major dredging there in October 2025 and has started what appears to be preliminary construction for an airstrip in recent weeks, including more than 50 small grey-roofed structures and a helipad near the lagoon entrance, as well as foundations for larger buildings and several jetties, the report said. AMTI estimated that the reclaimed land at Antelope Reef measures roughly 1,490 acres (6.02 square kilometers), close to the 1,504 acres (6.09 square kilometers) of Mischief Reef, China’s largest outpost in the South China Sea. By comparison, Woody Island – the largest Chinese-held feature in the Paracels – measures about 890 acres (3.60 square kilometers). “If construction proceeds at the pace seen in satellite imagery, Antelope Reef is set to become China’s largest feature in the Paracels and potentially in the entire South China Sea, equaling or even surpassing the size of Mischief Reef in the Spratlys,” the report said. The Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea. Credit: RFA The lagoon at Antelope Reef could also support a larger maritime presence. “This could allow more coastguard along with large numbers of maritime militia to maintain a presence at the reef, as has been common in recent years at Mischief Reef,” AMTI said. Antelope reef is located about 162 nautical miles (300 kilometers) from Sanya Port in China’s Hainan province and 216 nautical miles (400 kilometers) from Da Nang, Vietnam. Sanya is a major base for Chinese naval and air forces overseeing the South China Sea, underscoring the location’s strategic importance. The Law of the Sea China’s expansion of the reef does not necessarily bolster its claims to the Paracels from a legal perspective, according to Josue Raphael J. Cortez, the Faculty and Practicum Coordinator at the School of Diplomacy and Governance at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines. “This is because if we will be utilizing UNCLOS as the basis of a country’s maritime entitlements, the basis is and will always be the natural conditions of these features,” he told Radio Free Asia, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. A satellite image taken Feb. 28, 2020 shows vessels at Subi Reef, an artificial island constructed by China in the Spratly island chain in the South China Sea. (Photo credit: Planet Labs Inc.) Adopted in 1982 and in effect since 1994, UNCLOS is the primary international legal framework governing maritime rights. Because it heavily relies on “naturally formed” land features to define each country’s exclusive economic zone and territorial seas, artificial expansion does not automatically create new legal rights. Cortez also said that regional reactions would be closely watched, particularly given the reef’s proximity to Vietnam. “Given that the reef is proximate in Vietnam’s portion of the South China Sea, it will be an interesting opportunity for the region to have an idea of how such a move will be perceived,” he said. The development also comes amid renewed tensions elsewhere in the South China Sea, particularly between China and the Philippines over competing sovereignty claims. Manila recently rejected Beijing’s claims over disputed territory, including Scarborough Shoal, insisting the Philippines’ claims are grounded in international law. China, meanwhile, has pushed back against what it calls “misrepresentations” of its position. The shoal is a triangular chain of reefs and lagoons located off the western coast of the Philippines which China has maintained control of since a standoff in 2012. Manila continues to assert its rights under international law, including a 2016 arbitral ruling that found Beijing’s claims in much of the South China Sea have no legal basis. Edited by Eugene Whong. This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.
Iran’s Power Grid Is One Strike Away From Collapse | US Iran Update
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 23, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 23, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 23, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
• Strait of Hormuz impact still expanding, warns @UNCTAD • UNICEF aid convoy reaches southern Lebanon communities in need• WMO warns of record ‘climate imbalance’
• Strait of Hormuz impact still expanding, warns @UNCTAD • UNICEF aid convoy reaches southern Lebanon communities in need• WMO warns of record ‘climate imbalance’ This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Ed De Bray.
From former slave to anarchist: Lucy Parsons’ radical life and legacy
<img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="A collection of portrait images of Lucy Parsons. Library of Congress." data-attachment-id="342196" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/from-former-slave-to-anarchist-lucy-parsons-radical-life-and-legacy/sequence-03-00_08_35_22-still001" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1440" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Sequence 03.00_08_35_22.Still001" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" A collection of portrait images of Lucy Parsons. Library of Congress. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C439&ssl=1"> “She was very much ahead of her time… this is a formerly enslaved Black woman who was speaking with an unfettered, unrestrained radicalism.”
<img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="A collection of portrait images of Lucy Parsons. Library of Congress." decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1125&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C439&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C225&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342196" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/from-former-slave-to-anarchist-lucy-parsons-radical-life-and-legacy/sequence-03-00_08_35_22-still001" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1440" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Sequence 03.00_08_35_22.Still001" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" A collection of portrait images of Lucy Parsons. Library of Congress. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sequence-03.00_08_35_22.Still001-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C439&ssl=1" /> Born into slavery and forged in the fire of the 19th-century labor movement, Lucy Parsons became one of the most dangerous women in America. In this Women’s History Month special, Rattling the Bars host Mansa Musa and guest William C. Anderson honor Parsons, the “Goddess of Anarchy,” and trace her journey from former slave to militant activist on the front lines of the class war. Guests: William C. Anderson is a writer and activist from Birmingham, AL. His work has appeared in outlets ranging from The Guardian, MTV, Truthout, British Journal of Photography, to Pitchfork. He is the author of The Nation on No Map: Black Anarchism and Abolition, and co-author of As Black as Resistance: Finding the Conditions for Liberation. He’s also the co-founder of Offshoot Journal and provides creative direction as a producer of the Black Autonomy Podcast. Credits: Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron Granadino Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. William C. Anderson: Yeah. Lucy Parsons is an extremely inspiring figure for me personally. She was a radical anarchist who made waves as a labor organizer and she was also an outspoken militant. She was very much ahead of her time for a person during the era in which she lived. And this is a formerly enslaved Black woman who was speaking with an unfettered, unrestrained radicalism. And she didn’t live with a lot of openness around her race and her personal history, but she had a very interesting life. She married one of the victims of the infamous haymarket affair where there were seven anarchists who were essentially framed for a bombing in Chicago. And this was fairly common at the time to frame and persecute anarchists. And there were a lot of fears during that era around insurrectionary anarchism as well as immigrants with anarchist leanings. So I don’t know how central I would say Lucy’s life is to understanding Black anarchism in a more current form because this was a very different time period in which she lived. But she does help us to think through a lot of the questions around statelessness when you look at the perspectives that her life offers us. Her relationship to race, again, it’s complicated. But as a former slave, she talked about building socialism outside of the state, and that’s what anarchism is in its classical forms. And she was even a person who argued against voting when she didn’t have the right to vote as a Black woman. So I think that she was also, again, trying to meet this challenge of building a radicalism and pushing a radicalism that is able to think outside of the state form and that was able to meet the challenge of mass organizing and collective liberation without it having to rely strictly on centralization in the state and some of the things we know today as norms like representative democracy. She was pushing for a much more direct democratic type of radicalism. Mansa Musa: In terms of, and unpack this because it’s important that our audience understand historical conditions, social political, economically, that existed during the time Lucy was organized versus what we see today. Same conditions, maybe more draconian, maybe more repressive in terms of the way this system is going about suppressing civil disobedience and how they institutionalize the police authority to go around and round up people under any pretense. Educate, I always want understanding why, understand that history is important to understand where we at today. William C. Anderson: Well, it all set a precedent. When I look at somebody like Lucy Parsons and I look at the era that she’s coming out of, it really explains quite a bit to me about how we got where we are. Because again, as I mentioned, this is happening at a time leading … Looking at Lucy Parsons’ life, if we go back to the late 1800s leading into the turn of the century, this is at a time where anarchism and its development was very explicitly threatening the ruling classes of the world. Anarchism was an international movement that had created a lot of fear amongst the ruling classes because it not only challenged the idea that a ruling class was needed or that you needed representatives or you needed leadership, it also was something that threatened the individual lives of the people who made up those positions, as well as the authorities. So Lucy Parsons was one of these people who represented a movement that was not only willing to say that we could build a different society, but also threatened the physical wellbeing of the ruling classes and the authorities. Anarchists at that time were engaged in a lot of direct attacks and assassinations, expropriations, and other things that led to eventually different heads of state being killed, being threatened, and so on and so forth, but they eventually decided that they needed to formally come together to create infrastructure and authorities that cross borders to respond to the Archist threat. When that happened, it led to a number of different reforms and the birth of new institutions to take on all types of radicalism. So if we’re thinking a little bit, we move a little bit further ahead, when President McKinley is in office, he’s assassinated by an anarchist, and he then has Teddy Roosevelt come into office after him and respond to the anarchist threat with the creation of what would become the FBI. Mansa Musa: Right, right, right. William C. Anderson: So all of that history sets that precedent that I’m talking about where the birth of the FBI is actually happening in direct response to the anarchist threat. We oftentimes think about McCarthyism and we think about the Red Scare, but anarchism was a huge central part of what was actually being responded to in terms of the authorities cracking down during that time. It wasn’t just anti-communism, it was also anti-anarchism. And I’m not trying to make communism and anarchism mutually exclusive there because there are people who identify with both. But what I’m saying is it wasn’t a one or another thing. It was all of it, socialist, communist, anarchist, people who identified across those different categories. There was a huge movement of repression at that time that anarchists were very much a crucial part of. And Lucy Parsons was a part of that history and that moment as well. So Mansa Musa: Basically she was a headter This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Mansa Musa.
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CPJ welcomes Kyrgyzstan’s release of journalist Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, calls for charges to be dropped
New York, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Kyrgyz journalist Makhabat Tajibek kyzy’s release from prison and calls on authorities to drop all charges against her. In 2024, Tajibek kyzy, the director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, was convicted on charges of calling for mass unrest and sentenced to six...
New York, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Kyrgyz journalist Makhabat Tajibek kyzy’s release from prison and calls on authorities to drop all charges against her. In 2024, Tajibek kyzy, the director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, was convicted on charges of calling for mass unrest and sentenced to six years in prison. Earlier this month, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court overturned the decision, sending her case back to a lower court for review on the basis of a United Nations Working Group decision that said she had been arbitrarily detained. “The release of Makhabat Tajibek kyzy from prison is a rare and significant step in the right direction in a country that has been making headlines in recent years for all the wrong reasons,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “But this is not enough. Tajibek kyzy should not have spent a single day behind bars on what are clearly trumped-up charges. Kyrgyz authorities should follow through by withdrawing all charges against her without delay.” At an initial retrial hearing on March 23, the court in Bishkek rejected the journalist’s petition to dismiss the case but granted her request to be freed pending a verdict. She remains under a travel ban, however. The next hearing is scheduled for April 7. Tajibek kyzy was among 11 current and former journalists from Temirov Live, a local partner of the global Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), arrested in January 2024 on allegations of incitement. Authorities argued that the outlet’s reporting, which frequently investigates allegations of corruption at the top levels of the Kyrgyz state, “discredited” the government, thereby “indirectly” calling for mass unrest. In October 2024, Tajibek kyzy was convicted alongside Ait Ait Dese presenter Azamat Ishenbekov, who was sentenced to five years in prison. Ishenbekov was later released after a presidential pardon. The conviction of Tajibek kyzy is part of an unprecedented crackdown on investigative and independent reporting in Kyrgyzstan in recent years. In 2022, authorities deported Bolot Temirov, Temirov Live’s founder and CPJ’s 2025 International Press Freedom Award winner. Temirov, who is married to Tajibek kyzy, was effectively stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship. In October 2025, authorities declared Temirov’s work, that of his outlets, and the work of another OCCRP member — investigative outlet Kloop — “extremist,” banning their distribution in the country. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ, partners highlight threats to public broadcaster’s independence in Lithuania
Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television
Berlin, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations offered strong support today for independent public service media in Lithuania and highlighted concerns about proposed amendments to the Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), currently under consideration by the country’s parliament. In a joint statement from the European Broadcasting Union and...
Berlin, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations offered strong support today for independent public service media in Lithuania and highlighted concerns about proposed amendments to the Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), currently under consideration by the country’s parliament. In a joint statement from the European Broadcasting Union and international media organizations, the coalition outlined several specific legislative threats within the draft that risk undermining LRT’s editorial, institutional, and financial autonomy. Proposed measures include freezing LRT funding for three years without a comprehensive impact assessment, establishing vague and subjective grounds for the early dismissal of the broadcaster’s director, and expanding a governance model that enables intrusive oversight of daily editorial and programming activities. These measures threaten to blur the lines between strategic oversight and day-to-day autonomy, ultimately increasing the public broadcaster’s vulnerability to political pressure rather than strengthening its accountability. Read the full joint statement here. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Lucy Parsons and the Legacy of Black Anarchism
Evangelicalism, Conspiracy & the First Amendment
First up on the show, Christian Nationalism, Evangelicalism - some might say that its whats destroying our nation, but are we actually ready to sit with how much it actually defines our nation? Jared Stacy, a former Evangelical Pastor and author of the...
First up on the show, Christian Nationalism, Evangelicalism - some might say that its whats destroying our nation, but are we actually ready to sit with how much it actually defines our nation? Jared Stacy, a former Evangelical Pastor and author of the newly released book, Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis, joins the show to talk about the history and the present of this entwined relationship between the US and Evangelicalism, how conspiracy theories become gospel, and how if we want to address the fallout from this tangle, theological intervention is necessary. The post Evangelicalism, Conspiracy & the First Amendment appeared first on Project Censored. This content originally appeared on Project Censored and was authored by Kate Horgan.
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Reporter İsmail Arı imprisoned in Turkey for spreading ‘disinformation’
Istanbul, March 23, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release journalist İsmail Arı and stop misusing the disinformation law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Arı, a reporter for the leftist daily BirGün, was taken into custody in the northern province of Tokat, where he was visiting family on March 21. He was taken to Ankara the...
Istanbul, March 23, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release journalist İsmail Arı and stop misusing the disinformation law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Arı, a reporter for the leftist daily BirGün, was taken into custody in the northern province of Tokat, where he was visiting family on March 21. He was taken to Ankara the next day and arrested by a court, pending trial on the suspicion of publicly spreading disinformation. Arı was questioned about his work by Ankara police for hours, BirGün reported. A 2022 disinformation law introduced prison sentences of up to three years for spreading false information about security, public order, and the general health of the country that causes concern, fear, or panic. “Rights defenders who expressed worries that the ‘false information’ law would be abused to silence journalism were told that journalists wouldn’t be prosecuted unless the reporting causes concern, fear, or panic,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Who is scared of İsmail Arı’s reporting? The authorities must release Arı without delay and put an end to the misuse of this law.” Arı released a message via his lawyers while he was in custody. He said his social media posts and videos are being used as evidence against him. “My only crime is practicing journalism in this country,” he said. “Journalism is not a crime.” Arı’s reporting on allegedly unlawful construction work at a cultural heritage location in Istanbul led to his arrest, according to BirGün. He is at Sincan Prison in Ankara awaiting trial. Turkish journalists arrested pending trial may spend months behind bars before an indictment is written and a court date is set, CPJ research has found. CPJ emailed Turkey’s justice ministry for comment but did not receive an immediate reply. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 23, 2026
Meet the data analysts exposing ICE’s plans
<img width="1024" height="650" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C650&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - FEBRUARY 13: An ICE agent drives outside the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building on February 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images" data-attachment-id="342187" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/meet-the-data-analysts-exposing-ices-plans/gettyimages-2261021631" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1626&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1626" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="GettyImages-2261021631" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA &#8211; FEBRUARY 13: An ICE agent drives outside the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building on February 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C191&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C495&ssl=1"> “If you understand what an organization like ICE is doing, and you can quantify it… you can resist effectively,” says Michael Wriston of Project Salt Box.
<img width="1024" height="650" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C650&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - FEBRUARY 13: An ICE agent drives outside the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building on February 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C191&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C650&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C488&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C975&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1300&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C762&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1270&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C495&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C254&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C650&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342187" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/meet-the-data-analysts-exposing-ices-plans/gettyimages-2261021631" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1626&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1626" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="GettyImages-2261021631" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA &#8211; FEBRUARY 13: An ICE agent drives outside the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building on February 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C191&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261021631-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C495&ssl=1" /> Working together under the name Project Salt Box, a group of data analysts have been combing through bureaucratic records and contracts to expose the government’s terrifying plans for executing President Donald Trump’s mass detention and deportation campaign. At a live event at Red Emma’s Cooperative Bookstore and Cafe in Baltimore, Maryland, on Feb 28, the Project Salt Box team discussed how they uncovered plans to convert a massive warehouse in Western Maryland into an ICE detention center, and how Marylanders can resist the ICE surge that’s expected to come to the state. Additional links/info: Project Salt Box Substack, Bluesky page, TikTok, and Instagram Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “The chilling truth behind ICE’s detention warehouses” Credits: Videography: Maximillian Alvarez Post-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, Cameron Granadino Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Michael Wriston: Our newsletter sort of got a lot of subscribers kind of unexpectedly because we were doing a very boring thing, which was going to the Maryland Land Records website, MD Land Rec, and going through the plat book page by page for about three hours until we landed on the deed for a warehouse in Williamsport, Maryland that ICE had bought for $102.4 million on January 16th. Boom. Yeah. That warehouse was built in 2021 for the purpose of holding freight. It used to be on a farm or it is sitting on what used to be a farm in a very lovely plat of Western Maryland. It is now an 823,000 square foot empty shell with minimal air conditioning, minimal insulation. It has four toilets, two water fountains, a shower, and one drain. And that is what it is built to accommodate. And ice is expecting in the next two months to outfit it, to hold 1500 people for seven days at a time in what they’re calling detention pods, which according to the plans, are essentially just cages with mats on the floor. They will be fed MREs, meals ready to eat, which are troop rations, which even the troops don’t eat, honestly. I say that after 20 years of being in the service, we don’t eat those except for field exercises. And that is what they are feeding to detainees that they are going to round up across the state of Maryland. And they are expecting to do that as soon as April. And the way that we found that out, again, was just by doing very boring things. Looking at the Maryland Land Records website, reading contracts, reaching out to people, reading the land deed, who sold it, who owned it, when was the last time that it was appraised? When was the last time that it was tax valuated? And pulling in all this data that really paints this holistic picture of a warehouse, this industrial shell, as something that was going to turn into detention space. And you can see that within a thousand feet of this warehouse in Williamsport, there’s a senior health center where retirees go to get specialized care. There’s a food processing plant right behind it where people are out bringing in the food that they’re picking in Washington County and getting it ready to ship. It sits 10 feet from the CSX railbed. It’s built to accommodate the rail line. And the roads that lead up to it aren’t developed enough for trucks or vans or buses to lead to it. And you can tell all that by looking at a map. So by placing these warehouses that ice was looking all over the United States, by putting them onto a map, you begin to localize it and you begin to understand how it fits into the cultural and the geographic context of space. And at the same time that ICE was buying this warehouse in Western Maryland, they were also searching for 24 other warehouses across the United States and towns like Roxbury, New Jersey, and Merrimack, New Hampshire, and Surprise, Arizona. But the first one that sold was here in the state of Maryland. And the reason that it sold wasn’t because of a lack of diligence or a lack of awareness or a lack of trying. It was just we didn’t know. No one knew to look for it. And by just refreshing the page over and over and over again and doing this very boring task of just looking through and seeing when someone by the name of the United States government was buying property, we found it. And it’s a very boring job. But that is a job that people are paid good sums of money to do on a daily basis if you work in property appraisal or if you’re a realtor or if you’re X, Y, Z. Everyday people doing everyday jobs. Those are the skills that are necessary to track what our government is doing in our name and with our tax dollars. Because if you understand what an organization like ICE is doing, and you can quantify it, and you can speak in the language of an organization that thinks data driven, you can resist. You can resist effectively. To organize effectively and to meet this moment and to rise to this moment, it will take the work of ordinary people with very boring skills and the strength and the bravery to step forward, to use those skills for good and to use data for good. Data only matters when it drives action. And so we have data and we have lots of it and we are putting it out on the internet on a daily basis. We are keeping these maps updated. We are providing information, but the question then becomes what action derives from that data. This is the thing that I am most concerned about. If there is one thing that keeps me up at night that I think everyone should be kept up at night about, it is this one thing. It is Wexmack Titus. And if you go home tonight and you research this and you Google it, it is worldwide expeditionary, multi-award contract, territorial integrity of the United States. It’s two words, WexMac, Titus. And the WexMAC part of that is essentially a Navy program that was stood up under the Biden administration for good in 2021. It was a way for the United States Navy to rapidly award contracts in the event of natural disasters in Peru. There’s an earthquake and we need to rapidly move a fleet down there. We don’t have time to bid for contracts. We need to hire people that are local, that are trusted, that are vetted and that can provide. And so that was the impetus of Wexmac Titus. It divided the world into 22 geographic regions. In the Trump administration just this year, in August, they added two more regions to the globe. Region 23, which is the United States small business and region 27. Don’t ask me why they skipped a few. They went straight from 23 to 27, but region 27 is the territorial United States, just Alaska, mainland America, Hawaii, and the territories as region 27 large business contracts. That’s CoreCivic, that’s GeoGroup. Those are private prison providers. Those are the ones that ICE primarily deals with, and they added a clause in that contract that said, for the purpose of rapid detention, ICE can use the contracts that the Navy is pre-vetted. And the first thing that they did with that was they built a tent city in El Paso, Texas on Fort Bliss called Camp East Montana, where they are holding people in literal softsided tents and feeding them MREs and they’re sleeping on mats and cages. If you’ve heard of what’s happening at Dilly, what is happening at Camp East Montana is worse, and they are awarding contracts to the tune of $65 billion. And that’s the ceiling right now. The ceiling is $65 billion. And the reason why that keeps me up at night is because there is no formal bidding process. They drop a contract at the drop of a dime and then 90 days later we find out about it. And so by the time we know about it, they’ve already executed the work. I suspect, I cannot say authoritatively, but I suspect that that is what’s happening in Williamsport right now, that if you look at the timing, they bought it in January, they dropped a task order. By the time we know about it 90 days later, it’ll be April and a source that I’ve spoken to that is intimately familiar with these contracts and how they affect ICE has said that the stand up date for that facility, whether it is ready to go or not from a civic perspective is March or April of this year. If they have to bus toilets in for people to use like porta-potties, they will do it. If they have to bus drinking water in, they will do it. They will not wait to hook it up to the county septic and they will not wait for it to be hooked up to clean water. They will do it in the most inhumane fashion possible because that’s what’s expedient to them. If we are going to be successful in a mounted resistance, in a protective sense for our immigrant neighbors and the people that are vulnerable to what ICE is planning to bring to our state, we have got to have a big tent. We have got to have an inclusive mindset that you are going to be working with people who might not hold the same political belief or that might not hold the same ideological belief, but they have the same end state as you. And we can find commonality in that. And so if we are going to effectively resist, we are going to effectively resist as anarchists, as neoliberals, and even conservatives. In some sense, we are finding a lot of conservatives in Washington County who do not want this in their backyard, not because they think, oh, this is bad for the tax base, but because morally as conservatives, it speaks against what they believe. And we will find commonality with our brothers and sisters there too. When we are thinking about data for good, we are thinking about data for good in the sense that we are all going to be in this together relatively soon and we are all on the same team. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Maximillian Alvarez.
Start the steal? Inside Trump’s effort to rig the midterm elections
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference on February 11, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="342178" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/start-the-steal-inside-trumps-effort-to-rig-the-midterm-elections/gettyimages-2261152568" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="GettyImages-2261152568" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference on February 11, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1"> “As the president becomes more unpopular, his actions will become more extreme, but that doesn't mean they're going to be any more successful,” Ari Berman of Mother Jones tells us.
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference on February 11, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342178" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/start-the-steal-inside-trumps-effort-to-rig-the-midterm-elections/gettyimages-2261152568" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="GettyImages-2261152568" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference on February 11, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2261152568-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="780" height="439" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RyzLpB0t1Nw?version=3&rel=1&%23038;showsearch=0&%23038;showinfo=1&%23038;iv_load_policy=1&%23038;fs=1&%23038;hl=en-US&%23038;autohide=2&%23038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"> With the public outraged over the US-Israeli war with Iran, the Epstein Files coverup, and a cost-of-living crisis, even President Donald Trump’s base of supporters is fracturing, and Republicans are fixing to get slammed in the upcoming midterm elections. Perhaps that explains why Trump and MAGA Republicans are obsessively focused on attacking voting rights, taking federal control over the electoral system, and preemptively casting doubt on the midterm election results before the elections even happen. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones, about MAGA Republicans’ effort to rig the midterms—and what can be done to stop it. Guest: Ari Berman is Mother Jones‘ national voting rights correspondent. He’s the author of the new book Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It, as well as Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America. Additional links/info: Ari Berman, Mother Jones, “The world is on fire. Gas prices are rising. Republicans are trying to make it harder to vote” Ari Berman, Mother Jones, “The GOP’s “show us your papers” bill is the latest effort to help Trump take over elections” Credits: Studio Production / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Maximillian Alvarez: Welcome everyone to the Real News Network Podcast. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. I’m the editor-in-chief here at The Real News, and it’s so great to have you all with us. Between the federal government’s coverup of the Epstein Files, President Trump’s catastrophic decision to plunge the US into a war with Iran, an economy that is crushing working people while hurling money at billionaire oligarchs and corporations, and the daily litany of rampant and jaw-droppingly blatant corruption throughout the Trump administration. Even Trump’s base of supporters is fracturing, and Republicans are fixing to get slammed in the upcoming midterm elections. And perhaps that explains why Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are obsessively focused on attacking voter rights, rigging the electoral system, and preemptively casting doubt on the election results before the elections even happen. On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate began debating the Save America Act, which voting rights advocates describe as the worst voter suppression bill that Congress has seriously considered passing. Renowned journalists and voting rights correspondent Ari Berman writes in Mother Jones. Trump calls the bill his number one priority and claims that it will “guarantee the midterms for Republicans.” Today, I am grateful to be speaking with Ari Berman himself. Ari, thank you so much for joining us on The Real News. I want to start by asking the big blunt question. Many Democrats and Democratic voters have been watching in horror and disbelief what the Second Trump administration is doing and how congressional Republicans are enabling it every step of the way. And they are hopefully expecting to make them pay in the midterms. So as one of the foremost experts on the state of voting rights in America today, what do people need to know about the steps that Trump and Republicans are taking to ensure that that doesn’t happen? Ari Berman: Hey, Maximilian. Well, thank you so much for having me. Generally speaking, if you look big picture, what is different now than what the Trump administration or any previous administration has tried to do is the second Trump administration is trying to use the full weight of the federal government to try to interfere in a midterm election. Normally what presidents do in a midterm is they try to make the case for their party, even though they’re not on the ballot. Trump isn’t doing that at all. He’s not trying to make any affirmative case for his party. He is just trying to mess with the mechanics of voting in every way he can. First, he tried to lean on states to gerrymander mid-decade to give Republicans more seats that work to an extent, but Democrats fought back and that is now more of a wash. So now he’s saying he wants to take control of the voting process. That can mean a number of different things, but basically what it boils down to is the President trying to give himself or his administration the power that it doesn’t actually have because the Constitution gives the President very little power when it comes to voting and elections because the founding father is feared. A king like want to be dictator like Trump trying to control elections. So they gave the power to the states with some oversight with Congress. So there’s really this battle between people’s desire to vote the people they don’t like out of office. The Constitution’s guarantees that states control their own elections. And then what Trump is trying to do, which is to subvert all of that and basically trying to give himself king-like power to rule by fiat to say, “This is how you vote, this is how you can’t vote. This is where vote should be counted. This is where vote shouldn’t be counted. This is where vote should be thrown out. This is where voting machines should be ceized. This is where mail voting should stop and doing everything he can try to change voting mechanisms to prevent Republicans from losing in Maximillian Alvarez: 2026.” I want to ask just a quick clarifying question because Trump can make all these pronouncements that he wants, and one of which has been, “We’re going to nationalize the elections.” So I guess for folks who are watching this or listening to this who have heard that, could you just explain a little more what the hell he means by that and what protections are currently in place to prevent that? Ari Berman: Well, I’m not exactly sure that he himself knows what that means. I think that’s just something that he would like to do. I mean, I think when he talks about it, he means things like no mail-in ballots, for example, or no electronic voting machines, proof of citizenship to register to vote. Some of the stuff that’s in the SAVE Act, some of the stuff that’s not in the SAVE Act, but he can’t do that by fiat. I mean, he tried to do an executive order already to effectuate some of these policies. For example, to require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. That was blocked largely in court because the court said the constitution is very clear that states with oversight from Congress run elections. So time and time again, he is trying to claim powers for himself that he doesn’t have. And my feeling about all of this is don’t give Trump more power than he already has. I get why people are fearful of these pronouncements, but at the end of the day, they’re just pronouncements. The thing that worries me though are the actions. So things like seizing the ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. I think that’s the kind of thing that he has in mind when he says, nationalize the voting, that his administration basically goes in wherever they don’t want, wherever they’re trying to re-litigate losses in 2020, wherever they’re trying to put more pressure on local officials to bend to their will. That’s where they’re trying to interfere. And the Fulton County thing was really, really unprecedented. The idea that you would go in, use the power of the FBI to seize ballots from an election that took place six years earlier, that you would dispatch the director of national intelligence to watch the raid, that you would put the FBI agents who participated in the raid on the phone with the President of the United States. I mean, that’s flat out straight out of the Kremlin authoritarian playbook. And so I think that’s the kind of thing that’s unnerving to people. At the end of the day, will Trump be able to take over voting nationally? I don’t think so. Will he be able to take over voting in 15 places, like he said? I think it’s very unlikely, but definitely it’s something that we have to keep monitoring and be concerned about. Maximillian Alvarez: And speaking of things we need to be concerned about, let’s focus in on the SAVE Act or the Save America Act, which you’ve previously referred to in your reporting as the Show Us Your Papers Bill. So for folks watching and listening to this, what is the SAVE Act? What will it do if it’s passed into law and how close are we to having it be passed into law? Ari Berman: Well, it really has three major parts which are now being expanded into more parts. But essentially the centerpiece of it is this show your papers requirement that you have a passport or a birth certificate to register to vote. That is very burdensome because there’s lots of different data points on this. One data point is 21 million Americans don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents. I would argue that understates the number because unlike a driver’s license, for example, most people do not carry around their passports or their birth certificates with them. A lot of people don’t know where their birth certificate is even if they have one and half of all Americans don’t have a passport. So these are not things that 95% of people have easy access to whenever they’re going to register to vote. They’re not things that you ever needed before. Right now, the way it works is if when you register to vote, you show some form of identification to prove who you are. The idea that you can just show up and vote with no identification is a lie that doesn’t happen in any actual state, but this is much more burdensome. And then there’s of course groups that have a harder problem. There’s 69 million women that have changed their last name, and therefore their birth certificate has a different name than their other documents. And so they could have a problem registering to vote. You have to show your documentation in person at an election’s office. That means that rural people could have to drive up to eight hours to be able to register to vote. So there are burdens to this law that don’t seem that obvious. Then they have added a national voter ID provision to it. I think just for messaging purposes, so they could say you need an ID to do all of these things. Why don’t you need an ID to vote? Of course, things like buying liquor, getting on a plane, those are not constitutional rights like voting is, but also before you ever vote, you have to register. And so the registration part is much more burdensome than the voting requirements. Then also the third part of it is requiring states to hand over their voter roles to the Department of Homeland Security, which is very worrisome because basically the Department of Homeland Security has said they’re going to run it through these databases that are not designed for that purpose. They’re going to wrongly flag a lot of Americans, particularly naturalized citizens as non-citizens, and they’re going to purge them from the voter roll. So that is something that a lot of states, even red states are resistant about doing. Then they want to amend the bill in the Senate to essentially ban mail-in voting, which is unpopular even among many Republicans, and then add all these things relating to transgender people playing sports, which of course has absolutely nothing to do with a debate over elections. So I think that there’s sort of two major problems with this. One is that the bill itself is terrible and it would disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans and many more people would be affected than I think they would expect to. And the second thing is, why is the Senate doing this now? There’s so much other stuff happening right now. I mean, there’s an invasion of Iran that’s going terrible. Gas prices are skyrocketing. The economy is tanking. Over and over, voters say their main concern is the high cost of things, the lack of affordability, inflation. The Senate’s not addressing any of that. They are now spending weeks debating what is essentially a MAGA fever dream from Trump. And so both on the substance and then just the timing and the procedure and the context, everything about this is crazy. Maximillian Alvarez: I want to pick up on the MAGA fever dream part real quick because I want to be as good faith and rigorous as we can be. But if anyone is watching this saying like, “Well, we got to protect the integrity of our elections.” I heard that China is trying to interfere or they tried to interfere in the 2020 elections or all these illegal immigrants are voting, yada, yada, yada. Can you just address that head on? Is this based on any real demonstrable problem that we have in this country? Ari Berman: No. And then there’s just the fact that this is all just based on a lie, which is that non-citizens are registering in voting in substantial numbers in American elections. And there’s been so much data on this because states routinely audit their voter roles. Utah just audited their voter roles. They looked at 2.1 million registered voters. They found one non-citizen registered and zero non-citizens have voted. When Georgia, North Carolina, big states with millions of voters looked at their voter roles, they came to the same conclusion. Every once in a while, someone ends up improperly on the voter rules through some form or another. Maybe they have green cards, for example, so they have some level of documentation. They don’t realize that they’re not supposed to be able to register. They’re not supposed to be able to cast a ballot.That happens every once in a while, but nowhere near the frequency. I mean, you’re talking about a handful of cases, not like Ted Cruz is saying that Democrats brought in 12 million people illegally so they could register them to vote. First off, just from a common sense perspective, the people that are here with or without documentation who are immigrants, they’re coming here for a better life. Voting is the last thing that they would be concerned about doing. The idea that if you are here, whether with or without documentation, that you would sacrifice the possibility of becoming a citizen, risk jail time, deportation, just to register and vote. It doesn’t make any rational sense and it’s not backed up by any numbers. But I mean, they’re trying to cause a hysteria so that they can do two things. They can have a hard line immigration agenda. We saw what that led to in Minneapolis, and they can have a hard line voting agenda so they can further Trump’s goal of taking over the voting. So this whole lie about non-citizens voting, it’s a twofer for them. It’s attempted to accomplish two things, make their base afraid of the changing demographics of the country, and then build support for restrictive, repressive policies that try to make the country more white and try to make the electorate more white. At the end of the day, this is what it’s about. And I think that’s why they haven’t had a whole lot of success in ultimately pushing this forward because it’s not a popular agenda at the end of the day, even if specific parts of what they’re trying to do may be popular. Maximillian Alvarez: Well, and it’s just so wild to me as a second generation Mexican American who came of age in the ’90s and early aughts as a deep red conservative. We were a conservative family. I’ve been hearing this crap since I was a kid, that Democrats are bringing in all these illegals to vote for them in elections. And even then when we were on the right, that didn’t make sense to me for all the reasons that you’re saying. But I wanted to hook this back into the third provision in the SAVE Act that you mentioned that would require states to hand over their voter roles, including sensitive personal information to the Department of Homeland Security. And when you mix that in with people like Steve Bannon calling for ICE to surround the polls and stuff like that, it really seems like there’s a MAGA type effort here to use the might of the state to create a mass voter intimidation effect so that even people who can vote legally are afraid to go because they’re worried that doing so will mean that they’re on some database with DHS. Ari Berman: For sure. Yeah, absolutely. And that to me is probably the most important part of the bill that hasn’t gotten very much coverage, so I’m glad you brought it up. The Department of Justice has been trying to get these voter rolls. They’ve now sued 29 states to try to get them, and they haven’t gotten very many. Only about 10 states have handed over their information. So the majority of states haven’t done it. A lot of red states haven’t done it because they want to preserve their own security over their own state voter roles. But the interesting thing is that DOJ was basically being somewhat coy about whether they were going to give this information to the Department of Homeland Security. And then the SAFe America Act just flat out said it’s going straight to the Department of Homeland Security, meaning that it has nothing to do with anything related to the integrity of the election because that’s not the role of the Department of Homeland Security. What the Department of Homeland Security has is this other database, which is also called SAVE very confusingly. And what SAVE does is it’s a database of people, immigrants who have interacted with the federal government. It’s not updated to flag, for example, when someone becomes naturalized. So if you run a bunch of people’s information through that database, what’s going to happen is it’s going to wrongly flag people, particularly naturalized citizens who at one point may not have been citizens as ineligible to vote, and then they’re going to be purged from the voter roles. And so I think that’s really worrisome. It’s very worrisome, A, that the Department of Homeland Security or any part of the government would have a national database of voters, which could be easily hacked, easily weaponized by the likes of Bannon, Stephen Miller, whoever it might be. And then the fact that there’s real real consequences to this. And being purged is different than having to require documentation because when you have to require documentation, people have to go through hoops to get it, but they know they have to have it. Often if you’re purged, you show up, you don’t even realize that you’ve been removed from the voter rules. Maybe you get a letter, maybe you don’t. So many people don’t open this kind of mail. And if your state doesn’t have, for example, election day registration, you have no recourse to be able to cast a ballot. So I do think that that is a part of the bill that is really, really problematic, that hasn’t gotten enough coverage. And I think it’s yet another reason why the SAVE Act is a really bad piece of legislation. Maximillian Alvarez: Well, and let’s not forget, as you yourself have reported in Mother Jones, and as folks may recall, the government in a true gangster style shakedown basically offered Minnesota, the state of Minnesota, a deal where they would reduce the horrific ICE presence in the state in exchange for the state handing over its voting rules. So how much more obvious do we need to get with Ari Berman: Their Maximillian Alvarez: Intentions here? Ari Berman: Exactly. I mean, that was a true shakedown. I mean, they were basically tying a massive operation that led to the deaths of two Americans and widespread chaos to the fact that they were trying to achieve some kind of political objective. And there was a lot of outcry about it. And I think that set the DOJ’s efforts back significantly, including with Republicans who said that these things should not be linked. And not only that, but it led to a lot of concern about ICE being dispatched to the polls. Steve Bannon called for that. The administration has had to walk that back, but I mean, we have no guarantees that that will or won’t happen. And even if they say it won’t happen, I mean, what’s to stop them from changing course and doing it? Now, there are prohibitions on what ICE or other law enforcement can do at the polls. There are prohibitions against that. The question is, will the Trump administration order those prohibitions? And the things that concern me are not so much what Trump is trying to do months out from the election, which can be litigated, which can be organized. It’s the last minute things that suddenly there’s ICE operations in battleground states or battleground districts in the run up to the election. Suddenly there’s ice at the polls. Suddenly they’re trying to stop mail voting or seize voting machines or doing things that would certainly be challenged in court, but that are difficult to challenge as people are voting or as people go to the polls. And so that’s the kind of thing that I think we should expect the administration to try to do more of as it gets closer to the election. And right now, I think they’re just sort of thinking of, let’s throw everything at the wall to see what sticks, and then we’ll see what we still need to do in the run up to November. Maximillian Alvarez: Well, you started to touch on what I wanted to ask you about here in the final question, then I know I got to let you go. But we know, as we said earlier, that Trump is still trying to support the outright lie that the 2020 election was stolen. And as you mentioned, in February, accompanied by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, the FBI seizes 700 boxes of ballots and other sensitive materials from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia. So I wanted to just push on that a little bit more and ask you how likely is it that Trump and his administration will take even more extreme measures, like manufacture some national emergency and try to strong arm federal control over the elections anyway, and what can be done to stop them? Ari Berman: Well, they’re already talking about doing it. I mean, you already have election deniers that are close to the president drafting executive orders to allow Trump to declare a national emergency based on the lie that China interfered in the election. I mean, who knows? They could pick any country and try to manufacture it, whether it’s Iran, Venezuela, whomever they don’t like at a given day. So I mean, the stuff about 2020 is not just re-litigating the past, it has real ramifications for future elections. And I think absolutely the goal is to try to get Trump to declare a national emergency and therefore believe that you can somehow circumvent judicial review to take control of voting. Again, I think that’s going to be harder for the administration to pull off than they might think that is something that would absolutely be challenged in the courts. I think even the conservative dominate judiciary would be skeptical of that. Look at the tariff decision, for example. They basically said the president can’t just cite these measures to just unilaterally impose tariffs. There would be even more of a stretch. A lot of the things that they’re actually telling him to cite with the same authority he cited over tariffs. That’s even more of a stretch when it comes to voting because these things have nothing to do with voting. So I think first off, there would be a lot of skepticism of the idea that there was foreign interference in the election. Nothing has proven that, nothing has shown that. And then secondly, it would then be another case of the president trying to usurp the power of the states and the Congress. And so will they try to do it? I think we have to expect that they will in some form or another. Will they succeed? I’m a lot more skeptical of that. And again, this gets back to our earlier point, which just because the president says he’s doing something doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen. So when that day comes, and that could happen relatively soon that Trump says, “I’m declaring a national emergency deceased voting machines.” I mean, it’s going to seem very dictatorial. It will be very dictatorial whether or not he can actually assume the powers of a dictator though, that is a more open question. Maximillian Alvarez: And just a final kind of question on that, I mean, what are you seeing and hearing on the legislative side to the grassroots organizing side? Anything we can leave viewers and listeners with about who’s taking this threat seriously and what can people watching and listening to this do to prepare for that potential dictatorial reality? Ari Berman: Well, ultimately, elections are run at the state level, and that’s even more true in a midterm election when things are so diffuse. And so I think that people should be putting pressure on their state officials, whether it’s their governors, secretary of states, state’s attorney generals, local party, county chairs, things like that, to make sure that they run a smooth election. And I think that even states rights used to be a Republican thing. The Republicans used to be very proud of the fact that states controlled their elections. And to me, that is the biggest saving grace of the midterms is that the states have this authority. And so just making sure that states run elections like they’ve always been run. No one’s asking anyone to do anything different than what has always happened in every election throughout American history, which is make sure that people can vote and make sure that those votes are fairly counted. It’s the Trump administration that’s trying to subvert that. And so there’s lots of different avenues to try to fight them on this, whether it’s at the local level. In Congress, I mean, quite frankly, Trump has not persuaded Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE Act. He persuaded them to put the SAVE Act up for a debate. That has had certainly a cost. It is allowing a lot of lies to flourish, but it’s not going to pass. And so at the end of the day, Trump is not winning this fight. And I think that’s the important thing for people to note that it may seem like he is because everything is so terrible. But if you look at tangible things that he’s actually been able to do when it comes to voting, I mean, other than seizing the ballots in Fulton County, he hasn’t been very successful. His executive order has been blocked in court. His number one priority is not going to pass the Senate. He can’t unilaterally change state and local voting laws. And so I get that as the president becomes more unpopular, his actions will become more extreme, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be any more successful. Maximillian Alvarez: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Real News Network Podcast. And thank you to our guest, Ari Berman, National Voting Rights correspondent for Mother Jones. You can find more of Ari’s reporting and the links that we provided in the show notes. Follow him, support Mother Jones. We need their work now more than ever. And if you want to get more coverage and hear more important conversations just like this, then we need you to become a supporter of The Real News Now. Share this podcast with the people in your circles, your friends, family, your coworkers. Sign up for the Real News Newsletter so you never miss a story and go to therealnews.com/donate and become a supporter today. I promise you guys, it really makes a difference. For the Real News Network, this is Maximillian Alvarez signing off from Baltimore. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Maximillian Alvarez.
ALONDRA MÁYNEZ + CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA (Teatro Lúcido, CDMX)
From Gaza to Iran, Rise of Conscientious Objectors Marks U.S. Soldiers’ “Shift in Consciousness”
With thousands more U.S. Marines headed to the Middle East and President Trump reportedly considering a ground invasion of Iran, we speak with Mike Prysner, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War, who says his organization has ...
With thousands more U.S. Marines headed to the Middle East and President Trump reportedly considering a ground invasion of Iran, we speak with Mike Prysner, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War, who says his organization has received a massive increase in inquiries from soldiers seeking to submit conscientious objector applications. Prysner cites a “shift in consciousness” among young people in the United States, spurred by the Gaza genocide. “And the military is made up of young people in the United States.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
“It’s a Disaster”: European Countries Refuse to Take a Stand Against U.S. Violations of Int’l Law
We look at how Europe is responding to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran as President Trump denounces NATO allies for not joining the war. International affairs scholar Nathalie Tocci, speaking to Democracy Now! from Italy, criticizes Europe’...
We look at how Europe is responding to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran as President Trump denounces NATO allies for not joining the war. International affairs scholar Nathalie Tocci, speaking to Democracy Now! from Italy, criticizes Europe’s “ambiguous” response to the war on Iran as most of the continent has refused to condemn it. “We were the ones that were for multilateralism, for international law, and that ambiguity is basically another nail in the coffin of our credibility.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has now entered its fourth week. The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces is being felt worldwide, as shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer have been drastically curtailed. A fifth of t...
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has now entered its fourth week. The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces is being felt worldwide, as shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer have been drastically curtailed. A fifth of the world’s oil supply transits through the strait, and the price of oil is up by about 50% since the war began in late February. On Saturday evening, President Trump threatened Iran on social media, saying he would “obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first,” if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully reopened within 48 hours. He later extended his deadline by five days following Iranian threats to destroy essential infrastructure, including energy and water systems, across the Gulf. Iran has denied reports of direct or indirect talks with the U.S. If Iran can keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and “hold Washington to ransom,” it will have significant leverage, says Alfred McCoy, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “In a strategic analysis, Iran right now is in the dominant position.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Trump Says He’s Pausing Attacks on Iranian Power Plants and Energy Infrastructure for Five Days, Saudi Arabia Orders Iran’s Military Attaché and Four Embassy Staff to Leave the Country, Israel Strikes Main Bridge in Southern Lebanon, Ordering Demolitions of Homes Near Border, Israeli Airstrikes Kill Four Palestinians in Gaza, as Israeli Settlers Carry Out Attacks in Occupied West Bank, U.K.'s Starmer Condemns “Shocking Antisemitic Arson Attack” on Four Jewish Volunteer Ambulances, At Least 64 Killed in a Strike on Hospital in Sudan's Darfur Region, Cuba Partially Restores Power After Suffering Another Blackout Due to U.S. Oil Blockade, Two Killed, 41 Injured as Air Canada Plane Crashes into Fire Truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia Returns to New Jersey After Year in ICE “Dungeons”, “Security Requires a Free Press and an Informed People”: Court Blocks Pentagon’s Media Policy, States Sue to Halt Nexstar-Tegna Merger, Which Would Create Largest Owner of U.S. Local TV Stations, Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, Who Led Trump-Russia Investigation, Dies at 81, Slovenia’s Ruling Liberals Claim Victory in Election That Remains Too Close to Call, French Socialists Hold Power in Local Elections, On World Water Day, Chileans Protest President Kast’s Environmental Rollbacks
Trump Says He's Pausing Attacks on Iranian Power Plants and Energy Infrastructure for Five Days Saudi Arabia Orders Iran's Military Attaché and Four Embassy Staff to Leave the Country Israel Strikes Main Bridge in Southern Lebanon, Ordering Demolitions of Homes Near Border Israeli Airstrikes Kill Four Palestinians in Gaza, as Israeli Settlers Carry Out Attacks in Occupied West Bank U.K.'s Starmer Condemns "Shocking Antisemitic Arson Attack" on Four Jewish Volunteer Ambulances At Least 64 Killed in a Strike on Hospital in Sudan's Darfur Region Cuba Partially Restores Power After Suffering Another Blackout Due to U.S. Oil Blockade Two Killed, 41 Injured as Air Canada Plane Crashes into Fire Truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia Returns to New Jersey After Year in ICE "Dungeons" "Security Requires a Free Press and an Informed People": Court Blocks Pentagon's Media Policy States Sue to Halt Nexstar-Tegna Merger, Which Would Create Largest Owner of U.S. Local TV Stations Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, Who Led Trump-Russia Investigation, Dies at 81 Slovenia's Ruling Liberals Claim Victory in Election That Remains Too Close to Call French Socialists Hold Power in Local Elections On World Water Day, Chileans Protest President Kast's Environmental Rollbacks This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! Monday, March 23, 2026 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Thank you, Afroman, for standing up for freedom of speech and expression. Our human rights matter, and artists have always been on the front lines defending them with courage and power. "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal." --Toni Morrison See you at today's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET. The Zoom link to join to vent, share what's happening in your neck of the woods and more, has been posted on Patreon.com/Gaslit. If you're in New York, join us for a Gaslit Nation Night Out for the launch of Andrea's book Mrs. Orwell on April 13 at PowerHouse Books Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Details here: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/powerhousebookstores/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit
Thank you, Afroman, for standing up for freedom of speech and expression. Our human rights matter, and artists have always been on the front lines defending them with courage and power. "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal." --Toni Morrison See you at today's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET. The Zoom link to join to vent, share what's happening in your neck of the woods and more, has been posted on Patreon.com/Gaslit. If you're in New York, join us for a Gaslit Nation Night Out for the launch of Andrea's book Mrs. Orwell on April 13 at PowerHouse Books Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Details here: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/powerhousebookstores/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
The post Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids appeared first on ProPublica.
The baby needed somewhere to go. So in the frantic hours before officers took her parents away to immigration detention, her mom turned to their pastor and his wife. As squad cars waited outside the family’s Lakeland, Florida, trailer home, she gave them a crash course in how to care for the 4-month-old. Briany, with her plump cheeks and full head of dark hair, wasn’t normally this fussy. But it was late that January night — around midnight — and she was still hungry. Her mom, Doris Flores, had tried nursing her to calm her down. It didn’t work. When she brought Briany to her breast, the milk wouldn’t come. Flores thought it had to do with the panic that set in after the officers arrested the baby’s father and told her she was next. The baby also drank formula. The pastor and his wife, who’d never had children of their own, should take her bottles and the yellow cans of formula, too, and follow the instructions on the label. They should use distilled water, never from the tap. Briany drank 5 ounces at each feeding. She needed to eat every two to two-and-a-half hours. She was almost due for her next round of vaccinations. She was getting big enough for Size 3 diapers. What made her happiest was to be held in someone’s arms. The Rev. Israel Vázquez, 58, soft-spoken with close-cropped hair, had held Briany before, when he formally presented the baby to God in a ceremony at his Pentecostal church in Lakeland. If he and his wife, a fellow pastor at the church, didn’t take the girls in, they would have to go into foster care. “What else could we do?” he said. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" data-id="71060" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A man wearing a blue polo, black jacket and blue jeans, with a pink child’s blanket, stands against a wall." class="wp-image-71060" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, 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https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,767 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1335 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-262_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1068 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="502" width="752" data-id="71061" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman’s hands with pink nails feed an infant a bottle half-filled with formula." class="wp-image-71061" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, 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https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,282 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,767 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1335 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-274-2_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1068 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> The Rev. Israel Vázquez and his wife, the Rev. Raysa Vázquez, assumed care in January for 4-month-old American citizen Briany after her parents were taken into immigration detention. Jennifer Ortiz for ProPublica The baby’s half-sister would be easier for the older couple to take care of. Eight-year-old Briana was quiet and humble. She preferred speaking in English rather than Spanish. Her favorite color was blue. Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office helped load a baby stroller and bouncy swing into the couple’s car. Then the officers, employed by one of the hundreds of Florida agencies carrying out immigration enforcement for the Trump administration, handcuffed a sobbing Flores. Incidents like this, involving the arrest and detention of immigrant parents with American citizen children, occurred twice as often after President Donald Trump returned to office, according to an analysis of a new nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement dataset shared exclusively with ProPublica. In the first seven months of his second term, authorities arrested and detained parents of at least 11,000 U.S. citizen children — a number that, if the pace held up, will have roughly doubled by now. That’s an average of more than 50 U.S. citizen kids a day with a parent pulled into detention. The data underlying this analysis was obtained by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights as part of an ongoing public records lawsuit. It covers the last three years of the Joe Biden administration and the Trump administration until mid-August 2025. Under Trump, Arrests of Immigrant Parents With U.S.-Born Children Surged ICE arrests of parents doubled in the first seven months of Trump’s second term compared with the Biden administration. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="794" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?w=1149" alt="A chart comparing the arrest rates of immigrant parents with U.S.-born children from January 2022 to January 2025 of the Biden administration and the first seven months of Trump’s second term. Under Trump, the rate of arrests surged." class="wp-image-71206" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png 2300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=300,207 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=768,531 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1024,707 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1536,1061 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=2048,1415 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=863,596 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=422,292 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=552,381 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=558,386 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=527,364 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=752,520 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1149,794 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=2000,1382 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=400,276 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=800,553 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1200,829 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/parents-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1600,1105 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> Note: Arrest figures for both administrations represent an undercount due to data limitations. See our methodology for more details. Source: ProPublica analysis of ICE data obtained by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights. Chris Alcantara/ProPublica The differences between the fates of detained immigrant parents under the two presidents are stark, our analysis shows. The impact on mothers is particularly pronounced. Trump is deporting about four times as many moms of U.S. citizen children per day as Biden did. Immigration authorities are arresting more of these moms in the first place, but that doesn’t account for all of the surge in deportations. If arrested, they are seldom allowed to return home to their families anymore. About 30% of such arrests under Biden resulted in a deportation. Under Trump, almost 60% resulted in a deportation. Compared with the Biden administration, Trump officials are detaining many more parents with only minor criminal histories or none at all. Under Trump, more than half of the detained fathers of American citizen kids, and about three quarters of the mothers, had no criminal convictions in the United States except for traffic- or immigration-related offenses. Immigrant Mothers of U.S. Citizen Children Are Released Less Often During Trump’s Administration ProPublica compared what happened to U.S. citizen children’s mothers arrested during the same seven-month period — Jan. 20 through Aug. 20 — in 2024 (under Biden) and 2025 (under Trump), looking at over 1,000 cases. About a third of the arrests made during the Biden administration led to a deportation. Under Trump, that rate doubled. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2300" height="2401" js-autosizes src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png" alt="A chart comparing the arrests of immigrant mothers of U.S. citizen children and their outcomes during the Biden and Trump administrations. Under Biden, about 30% of arrests of mothers between January and August 2024 resulted in deportation. During the same period in 2025, under Trump, about 60% of mothers arrested were deported." class="wp-image-71209" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png 2300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=287,300 287w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=768,802 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=981,1024 981w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1471,1536 1471w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1962,2048 1962w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=863,901 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=422,441 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=552,576 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=558,583 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=527,550 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=752,785 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1149,1199 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1533,1600 1533w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=400,418 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=800,835 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1200,1253 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=1600,1670 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mothers-arrested-fallback.png?resize=2000,2088 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2300px) 100vw, 2300px" /> Note: Outcomes for arrests under Biden were measured as of October 15, 2024. Outcomes for arrests under Trump were measured on the same date in 2025. Arrest and outcome figures for both administrations represent an undercount due to data limitations. See our methodology for more details. Sources: ProPublica analysis of ICE data obtained by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights and the Deportation Data Project. Chris Alcantara/ProPublica While thousands of children who aren’t U.S. citizens are also caught up in the administration’s crackdown — some of them detained with their parents, others by themselves — families with mixed citizenship can be uniquely difficult to keep together. American-born kids like Briany can’t legally join their parents in immigrant detention. So some end up in the care of friends or strangers. Current and former officials from the Department of Homeland Security said such separations are not necessarily a violation of policy. Instead, guidelines on the way officers should exercise discretion have changed. Among the changes: A document once known as the Parental Interests Directive has been given a new name under Trump — the Detained Parents Directive. And its preamble, which once instructed agents to handle immigrant parents in a way that was “humane,” has been stripped of the word. John Sandweg, who oversaw ICE when the original directive was adopted under President Barack Obama, said, “Back then, we were operating from a lens that family unity is everything.” Tom Homan, then a top ICE official and now Trump’s border czar, introduced the directive to field offices around the country. If agents encountered parents, the directive would help them enforce immigration laws without “unnecessarily undermining their parental rights,” according to his August 2013 talking points, which were obtained by ProPublica. Now, Sandweg and the other former officials said, the second Trump administration has put aggressive enforcement goals like arresting 3,000 immigrants a day above concerns about the harms of hastily separating children from their parents. ProPublica sent detailed questions about our findings to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in an emailed statement that the agency “cannot verify the veracity of the data” that ProPublica analyzed. (We validated the data, which the agency provided via Freedom of Information Act requests, and our approach with outside experts.) Bis also said in the statement, “ICE does not separate families.” Immigrant parents can choose to leave the country with their children or to designate someone to care for them, Bis said, which “is consistent with past administration’s policies.” The revised directive “simply standardizes the required forms.” She added that “under President Trump, ICE will not ignore the rule of law.” A White House spokesperson wrote in a statement that those in the country illegally “who wish to avoid the deportation process should self-deport.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1691" height="1127" js-autosizes src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="Children of varying ages walk toward the back of a large white van in the early morning." class="wp-image-71058" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 1691w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Hosey-ICE-Kids-05_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1066 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1691px) 100vw, 1691px" /> U.S. citizen children board a van in early February before taking a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Guatemala, to be reunited with parents who were deported. Boyzell Hosey/ProPublica The unraveling of Flores’ family began with another kid’s alleged threat against 8-year-old Briana. According to a Jan. 15 police report, the girl’s school bus driver had contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after Briana claimed a student at her elementary school, a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, had threatened to kill her. The sheriff’s office dispatched a deputy to the family’s mobile home, where she introduced herself to Flores and her fiance, Egdulio Velasquez, and asked to speak with Briana. The 8-year-old was “timid,” according to the police report, and initially denied any trouble with fellow students. The family said that the deputy questioned Briana alone outside the trailer. Eventually, the girl let on that her classmate had indeed been bothering her, poking her in the back and face with his fingers — but did not say the boy had threatened to kill her, according to the police report. The deputy went to the classmate’s house, and the boy told her it was Briana who had made the threats. He said she had pointed a broken pencil at him. The deputy filled out two threat assessment forms, one for the boy, one for the girl, noting that she hadn’t checked the boy’s home for firearms because his “father was uncooperative” but had searched Briana’s trailer. “I was unable to determine probable cause,” the deputy wrote in her report. She would have to drop the case. But her investigation had turned up something else: Flores and Velasquez were both immigrants from Honduras. A second sheriff’s deputy arrived at the trailer not long after and took their passports. According to police records, he then called an ICE hotline, a requirement stemming from Florida’s close cooperation with the agency. An operator told him that both parents had deportation orders: Velasquez from a DUI conviction and Flores from a missed asylum hearing. Flores said she had missed the hearing because of computer issues and was trying to appeal the ruling. She’d crossed the border into the United States and applied for asylum in 2023, after a man in Honduras had threatened to kill her. DHS’ Bis confirmed that Flores entered the country in 2023 and had a deportation order issued in May 2025. Flores had met Velasquez, who is from the same rural Honduran province of Olancho, in the United States. Briana, his daughter from a previous relationship, was born in Honduras. The family built a life together in Lakeland, where he worked in a factory that built shipping pallets, and they became members of Vázquez’s church. A third squad car appeared outside the trailer. The officers arrested Velasquez first, keeping him handcuffed in the back of one of the cars for hours. But before they could arrest Flores, they needed to figure out what to do with the kids. “Don’t be like this,” Flores recalled saying to the officers as she held baby Briany. “My girl needs me.” She said they told her they were just doing their jobs. She said she prayed to God: “Lord, I’m putting everything in your hands.” According to Flores and Velasquez, one of the deputies took a liking to a family kitten and offered to take it home with him. Velasquez said he later saw the kitten clinging to the officer’s pants. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to specific questions about the incident, instead sending an emailed statement that outlined its state-mandated cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It was close to 11 p.m. when an investigator from Florida’s child protective services finally arrived, the family said. She informed Flores that if she couldn’t find someone to take the children, the state would place them in the foster care system. So Flores called her pastor. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd recently began calling for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have committed no crimes and have strong community ties. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office wrote in the statement to ProPublica that deputies do not make any decisions on who to detain — they report suspects to ICE, and ICE makes the decision. But she noted they now make an effort to determine citizenship status. “Nothing has changed in how we deliver day-to-day law enforcement services in our community,” she wrote, “other than asking everyone with whom we interact their place of birth.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="564" width="752" data-id="71065" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A man and a woman place a young boy in the back seat of a white car, outside a gas station." class="wp-image-71065" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w, 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https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,900 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICEFamily_ProPublica_CL_WIDE-57_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1200 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="564" width="752" data-id="71057" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752" alt="A woman holds a cellphone on a table, which has a green tablecloth with a white Christmas tree pattern, as three individuals stand in the background." class="wp-image-71057" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,647 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,317 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,414 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,419 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,395 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,564 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,862 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1500 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,600 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,900 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260116-Bruzzese-ICE-Kids-47_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1200 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> ProPublica’s reporting shows that the parents of at least 11,000 U.S. citizen children were arrested and detained in the first seven months of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. First image: Two volunteers place a 2-year-old American child in a car so he can be reunited with his mother, who is from Honduras and awaits deportation at the Dilley, Texas, family detention center. Second image: Two American children, left, talk on the phone with their father, who is detained at “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida after being arrested on Christmas. First image: Christopher Lee for ProPublica. Second image: Michelle Bruzzese for ProPublica. Federal policy still says ICE officers should ask people they arrest if they are the parents or legal guardians of minors — and if they are, they should be allowed to make arrangements for the children’s care. The Trump administration’s July revision to this directive, the one that removed the word “humane” from the preamble, also added a new line. It specifies that the directive “in no way limits the ability of ICE personnel to make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis.” In practice, instances when parents are spared are becoming increasingly rare, said Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, a former ICE official who oversaw implementation of the directive at ICE during the Obama and first Trump administrations. “It may happen on a case-by-case basis because an officer in and of himself has humanity,” he said. ProPublica followed multiple families through their sudden separations — examining the moment itself and its aftermath — and found a wide variety of outcomes for the children. Fernanda, a Florida restaurant worker, made an agonizing decision after the father of her children was arrested and deported: She would send their toddler son and 4-year-old daughter to Guatemala to live with him. She feared it was only a matter of time until immigration agents came knocking on her door. She didn’t want the children, both U.S. citizens, to be stranded. Fernanda asked to be identified by only her middle name because of her immigration status. The Guatemalan-Maya Center, a nonprofit, helped her take the kids to the Fort Lauderdale airport in early February, the little boy dressed in a Spider-Man outfit, the little girl in a CoComelon sweatshirt and pink hat, and put them on a plane. Griselda, a single mom originally from Honduras, had to leave her young daughters with their babysitter for four months. She said she was getting a ride to a housepainting job in Melbourne, Florida, when the car’s brakes failed and it crashed into a stop sign. Police officers showed up, she said, then called ICE. A domestic abuse survivor who asked to be identified by only her first name, Griselda said she told the officers, then ICE, about her children, but she was sent out of state to be detained in Dilley, Texas, without them. Griselda was desperate to reunite with her 4-year-old, who was born in Mexico during her journey to the southwest border, and her 1-year-old, who is a U.S. citizen. She said she decided not to file an appeal after a judge denied her asylum claim and that an ICE agent and a social worker were dispatched to Florida to retrieve the girls. Then, she said, she and her daughters were escorted to the border to cross on foot into Mexico — where they knew no one and had no money. A DHS spokesperson confirmed that the family was sent to Mexico together. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1707" width="2560" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=2560" alt="A man with black hair and a gray sweatshirt, with his face obscured, holds a young girl with long black hair, wearing a pink beanie and white sweatshirt and holding a pink ribbon and blue pacifier." class="wp-image-71062" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Volpe-ICEKidsGuatemala-088_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> A deported father holds his 4-year-old daughter at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City. Their mother, Fernanda, decided to send her two children, both U.S. citizens, to Guatemala to live with him after he was deported, fearing the same would happen to her. Daniele Volpe for ProPublica Mauricio Ayala, a 24-year-old engineer working at a firm in downtown Seattle, called 911 after immigration agents arrested his dad last April. “My father has been illegally detained,” he told the dispatcher nervously, stumbling over his words. “A bunch of masked men in unmarked vehicles pulled up and detained him.” (A DHS spokesperson wrote in a statement that “our officers verbally identify themselves” and wear badges and vests that display their agency name.) His dad, a roofer, had been swept up in one of the first large-scale workplace raids of the new Trump administration. It was the beginning of a role reversal for Ayala, his college-age sister and his brother, a high school senior. All citizens, they would be the ones supporting their parents. Their mom had been forced to leave the country after an immigration arrest over a decade ago, Ayala said, but officers didn’t arrest his dad at the time because there were young children in the home. His dad was found guilty of reckless driving in 2015 but had no other criminal convictions that we could find in the United States. But now, as the siblings entered adulthood, their dad would be deported, too. To cut costs and send money to his parents in Mexico, Ayala moved from his Seattle apartment back into the trailer his dad owned in a smaller city 90 minutes away. His sister did the same. Their little brother picked up part-time jobs. Maria Magdalena Callejas, her boyfriend and her 14-year-old son were detained in Texas while on a road trip last spring. She called a friend back home in California who she’d asked to watch her two younger children — both U.S. citizens — until her return. She begged the friend to take care of them for even longer. Callejas’ boyfriend was deported. She and her older son, Edwin, were held in family detention, where he said he was stressed because it felt like a prison. He said he lost 10 pounds in a week after he got sick. He was so despondent, his mother said, that she felt her only option was to allow them to be sent back to El Salvador, a country Edwin left when he was 5. (ICE has said conditions in its facilities are safe for families and that everyone is provided proper medical care.) Callejas said she agreed to return to El Salvador only because she understood that her 6-year-old and 4-year-old would be allowed to join her and their older brother. The kids’ father had previously pleaded no contest to domestic battery and had a restraining order placed against him, which allowed brief supervised visitation. (Attorneys for both parents said Callejas allowed him to spend time with the kids despite the order.) When he found out their mom had been deported, he opposed the children leaving the country and decided to fight for custody. Since Callejas’ deportation, the children have been with a caretaker, and a judge has allowed their father more time with them, according to lawyers for both parents. The result: a monthslong battle in a Los Angeles court — with Callejas attending hearings virtually from El Salvador. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="767" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1149" alt="A man and woman are seen from behind in a building through a large window with the decal of U.S. federal seal." class="wp-image-71059" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,513 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1367 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,282 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,767 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1335 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260202-Ortiz-ICE-Kids-032_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1068 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> Israel and Raysa Vázquez check in at the passport agency in Miami, seeking an emergency infant passport for Briany. Jennifer Ortiz for ProPublica Back in Lakeland, Israel Vázquez takes no credit for feeding the baby that first night or the ones after. “That girl can drink milk!” he said. His wife, the Rev. Raysa Vázquez, woke up every couple of hours and tended to Briany, sitting with her in the brown recliner in the living room, rocking her back to sleep. They did not know how long the girls would be with them. They decided 8-year-old Briana should stay at the same elementary school, to keep her with her friends and teacher. They drove around 45 minutes round trip to the school every day. Meanwhile, the girls’ parents bounced among hold rooms, jails and detention centers. In detention, Flores said, she began to suffer a painful swelling, which she believed could have been mastitis brought on by her inability to nurse her baby. Her chest became hot to the touch, her whole body feverish. The fever lasted a week. The couple wanted to do whatever they could to make the girls feel at home. But they also wanted to make sure the girls could be reunited with their parents. If Flores and Velasquez were going to be deported, the pastors wanted the girls to go with them. And to go with them, Briany would need a passport. The pastors would have to get both parents’ signatures while they were in detention. Briany was sitting on Raysa’s lap as they watched TV in the living room, babbling along as she listened to the couple talk, when Israel’s phone rang. It was an ICE deportation officer. He said Flores would be removed from the country soon and the window for getting her daughters on a plane with her was closing. He offered to help the Vázquezes get the parents’ signatures and said ICE would bring Flores to Tampa. The next day, they drove to a government office in Tampa to get Flores’ signature, where the girls were allowed to see and hug her. She let out a loud scream and started weeping at the sight of the children. In Mississippi, volunteers rushed to the detention center where Velasquez was being held and got his signature, too. The couple drove Briany to Miami a few days later and picked up her passport. Then they brought the girls to the Tampa airport. They met Flores at the terminal. She was clad in a sweatshirt and bleary from the early hour. Israel handed over the diaper bag he’d been carrying around and the baby’s bottles. Flores’ fiance would be deported a few weeks later on a separate flight to Honduras. Her eldest child, a son from a previous relationship who had to go live with his father after she was arrested, would remain in the U.S. So for now it was just Flores and the two girls. They posed for a photo, then said goodbye. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1707" width="2560" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=2560" alt="A woman wearing a red blouse with pink hearts holds an infant on her lap. A man wearing dirt-covered jeans touches the child’s face with one hand and holds the head of a young girl wearing a white shirt and blue skirt. They are in a house with an aqua wall in the background." class="wp-image-71055" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5636_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> Briany’s family is now back together and living in the town of San José in rural Honduras. Daniele Volpe for ProPublica The family now lives at Velasquez’s father’s house in the town of San José, deep in rural Honduras. The baby no longer breastfeeds. She hasn’t since the night deputies separated her from her mother. “I brought her to my breast,” Flores said, “but she doesn’t want it anymore.” Briany’s preferred formula costs too much for the family to afford. To keep the baby fed, they rely again on their church. A box of it recently arrived, enough to last several weeks, sent by the Vázquezes and their Lakeland congregation. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="766" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1149" alt="A woman wearing a red blouse with pink hearts cuddles an infant in her arms as a young girl wearing a pink soccer jersey makes the baby laugh." class="wp-image-71056" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC6192_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> Doris Flores with Briana and Briany at their new home in Honduras Daniele Volpe for ProPublica How We Measured Separations of Families with U.S. Citizen Children Ours is the most detailed accounting to date of the U.S. citizen children whose immigrant parents have been arrested, detained and in many cases deported. Underlying the analysis is a database of ICE I-213 records obtained by the University of Washington. Immigration agents fill out Form I-213 when they arrest someone alleging they are in the country without permission. Among other pieces of information, it records the citizenship and number of minor children of each arrestee. The data appears to contain arrests only by ICE and does not cover arrests by Customs and Border Protection. It covers late 2021 to mid-August 2025. We used this data to calculate the number of parents of U.S. citizen children arrested each day. To learn what happened to parents after they were arrested by ICE, including detention, final release from ICE custody in the United States or removal from the country, we combined the I-213 data with records from the Deportation Data Project, which covers late 2023 to mid-October 2025. The I-213 dataset contains about 17% fewer arrests by ICE in any given month than the Deportation Data Project’s arrest dataset. We were able to combine these two datasets using fields common to both of them, including date of arrest, gender, age, nationality, location and method of arrest. We matched about 85% of the arrests in the I-213 data to a unique record in the ICE arrest and detention data. (An additional 7% had multiple possible matches, so we did not include them, and about 7% had no possible match. These rates were similar across presidential administrations.) We used the overlapping 85% to make statements about the number of U.S. citizen children who had a parent arrested and detained by ICE since Trump returned to office and about the criminal status of their parents. We also used these combined records to compare how their mothers were treated differently by the Trump and Biden administrations. To calculate that more than 11,000 U.S. citizen children had a parent arrested and detained by ICE, we counted only children of fathers. We did this to avoid double-counting children in cases where both parents were detained, and fathers made up a large majority of the parents detained. We were limited to the first seven months of Trump’s second term, the time period covered in the I-213 data. If a father was arrested and detained more than once under Trump, we counted that father’s children only once. All other calculations were performed at the arrest level, meaning that in a very small number of instances, the same parent could be included more than once for each time they were arrested, detained, released or removed. The government cannot legally detain U.S. citizen children with their parents or deport them. According to immigration experts and current and former officials, the arrest and detention of parents of U.S. citizens often leads to a family separation, even if it’s brief. We counted a parent as having been detained by ICE if they were booked into a facility for any length of time according to the Deportation Data Project’s detention records. In a very small minority of cases during the Trump administration, parents were released from ICE custody in less than a few days. This was more common under Biden. When we calculated the criminal history of parents arrested and detained by ICE, we relied on the criminal charges in these detention records. To calculate that Trump has deported mothers of U.S. citizen children at four times the rate that Biden did, we calculated the total number of mothers removed under each administration in the period covered by our data and divided by the number of days each president was in office during that period. We used the period from November 2023 through mid-August 2025 to minimize undercounting at the start and end of our detention dataset. We also compared equivalent seven-month periods in 2024 and 2025, which produced a similar result. For the purposes of our analysis, we counted a small number of detained mothers who agreed to leave the country voluntarily as having been deported. Validating Our Approach We verified our matches between the two data sources in several ways. First, there were three fields in the I-213 data that were in other parts of the Deportation Data Project data but not used as part of the linkage process: marital status, processing disposition and date of entry. For records we linked that contained values in those fields (some were empty in one or both datasets), we found that those data points matched more than 98% of the time. Next, we checked to make sure that there were no systematic differences in which ICE arrests appeared in the I-213 dataset compared to those contained in the Deportation Data Project records. We checked to make sure that women and men were equally represented, the different ICE field offices were equally represented, nationalities were equally represented, etc. We found no appreciable difference between the two datasets. We also compared records for which we found a match between the two datasets to records that had no match and found no strong patterns suggesting systematic differences between the two. ICE publishes the number of parents of U.S. citizens arrested on its detention management website and in reports to Congress. We compared our analysis against these numbers and found that for fiscal years 2023 and 2024, our data showed about 15% fewer such parents arrested by ICE than the official statistics noted. We do not know exactly why this is, although it is in line with how many fewer I-213 records we have than there are arrest records in the Deportation Data Project. We ran our findings and methodology by Phil Neff, a researcher at the University of Washington Center for Human Rights and Joseph Gunther, a mathematician who researches immigration-related datasets and former ICE officials. We also were able to link some of the data to leaked ICE flight manifests, which allowed us in some cases to find the full names — redacted in most of the other data — of some of the deported parents. In a handful of those cases, we found their phone numbers or those of family members, and we reached out to hear their stories. We conducted interviews in Spanish and English with close to two dozen detained or deported parents or their relatives or lawyers. We also spoke with nonprofits like the American Friends Service Committee and Each Step Home, which assist immigrant families — including Flores’ family — after they are separated. The parents we followed through the arrest process were originally from a range of mostly Latin American countries: Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Ecuador. They and their children had made lives in all corners of the United States, including California, Washington state, New York, Massachusetts and Florida. Most of the parents we interviewed were moms. The post Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Jeff Ernsthausen.
Nominee for Ambassador to Hungary Co-Owns a Nursing Home That’s Suing the Trump Administration Over Medicare Payments
The post Nominee for Ambassador to Hungary Co-Owns a Nursing Home That’s Suing the Trump Administration Over Medicare Payments appeared first on ProPublica.
Last October, President Donald Trump nominated nursing home owner Benjamin Landa as his next ambassador to Hungary, a key position that would place him in a country with a vigorous conservative movement. Trump has endorsed the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a long-standing ally, for reelection, saying he “does an unbelievable job.” One month after Landa’s appointment, the inspector general of Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a blunt audit estimating that a nursing home Landa co-owns received Medicare overpayments of at least $31.2 million and recommending that the government recoup the money. Now that facility, Pinnacle Multicare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, is suing the very administration that is nominating Landa to the diplomatic post. The suit, filed Feb. 26 in federal district court in New York, asks the court to stop the government’s collection efforts and names HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, HHS Inspector General Thomas March Bell and a Medicare contractor as defendants. A federal district judge denied Pinnacle’s request for a temporary restraining order. As of March, Landa has an ownership interest in more than 100 nursing homes in eight states, CMS data shows. Landa also is a donor to Republican causes, but his biggest donation by far was $5 million to MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump Super PAC, in August 2025, two months before his nomination. Critics of Landa’s track record point to the audit’s findings, along with other legal actions against homes connected to him, as reasons that his nomination should face additional scrutiny. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, described Landa as an example of “giant corporate health care interests that prey on the vulnerable and use clever tricks to exploit loopholes at taxpayers’ expense.” “It’s no surprise that these companies and their owners are cozy with Trump: instead of accountability, they’ve been rewarded,” Wyden said in a statement, with “plum political appointments and ambassadorships in Europe.” The White House and the Department of State did not respond to requests for comment about the status of Landa’s nomination. An attorney for Landa denied wrongdoing in a statement, saying the issues identified in the audit occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when nursing homes were in the midst of a crisis. “At Pinnacle MultiCare, patient care comes first — period, full stop,” attorney Alyssa Friedman wrote in an email to ProPublica. “That commitment drove every decision during the pandemic and continues to define operations today. “Let’s be clear: this is about decisive actions taken during the height of COVID-19 that prioritized patients and saved lives in one of the pandemic’s epicenters — decisions now being second-guessed years later through an absurdly flawed audit of billing paperwork and a retroactive reinterpretation of the rules by government bureaucrats,” she added. The inspector general’s audit and the resulting lawsuit are the latest controversy involving Landa. In November 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued The Villages at Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, as well as Landa and others she said were owners of the facility. A press release announcing the suit alleged “years of financial fraud that resulted in significant resident neglect and harm.” Between 2015 and 2022, Landa made at least $1.49 million from the facility, James’ suit alleged, through means that James characterized as “looting.” Meanwhile, Landa “contributed nothing and failed to prevent the abuse and neglect,” the suit alleged. James described a pattern of harm to residents at the home, due in part to what the suit said was “systemic understaffing and cost cutting,” which included potentially preventable deaths of residents due to delayed wound care and suicide. The home and the defendants named as owners have disputed the suit. In 2024, a state Supreme Court judge allowed multiple claims in the case to proceed; in 2025, Landa appealed that decision. The case is ongoing. Landa’s attorney said her client “merely owned a minority interest in the company that owned the real estate and served as the landlord of the building out of which the facility operated. He had no interest in the licensed operator of the facility and no involvement in the operations of the facility. The attorney general’s claims against Mr. Landa are baseless and a waste of the court’s time and taxpayer dollars.” One month after filing the suit against The Villages, James sued Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, based in Long Island, making nearly identical claims to her prior suit. Landa owned 25% of the facility’s property holding company, according to the lawsuit. Over a number of years, the facility paid over $15 million in rent to the property holding company co-owned by Landa; over $1.4 million to a management company co-owned by Landa; and almost $500,000 in consulting fees to a company owned by Landa, the lawsuit alleged. At the same time, residents were losing significant weight and developing malnutrition, enduring life-threatening pressure ulcers and repeatedly suffering unwitnessed falls, in part due to understaffing, James alleged. The home and its owners disputed the allegations. In March 2024, a judge in Long Island ordered four defendants, including Landa, to pay a total of $2 million back to the nursing home, and ordered that an independent health care monitor be appointed to run the facility. Landa and his co-defendants have appealed various orders in the case. In January 2025, Cold Spring Hills filed for bankruptcy; in March 2025, the facility sold itself for $10 to a third-party receiver and changed its name. (“Our facility is now under new ownership with a renewed vision for excellence,” the nursing home’s rebranded website reads. “A new chapter in compassionate care has begun.”) The appeals and bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing. Landa’s attorney said he was merely a landlord of Cold Spring Hills and was not involved in operating the facility. She noted that the judge found no fraud committed by Landa, that all business arrangements between Landa and the home were approved by the state health department, and that none of the defendants enriched themselves at the expense of patient care. Landa has been involved with other legal actions related to his nursing homes. In 2017, for example, an employment agency co-owned by Landa was sued on behalf of a class of Filipino nurses alleging that it had trafficked them, withheld wages, and threatened civil and criminal litigation should the nurses leave. In September 2019, a New York district court found the agency and its owners had violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act; in April 2022, the case was settled for $3 million on the condition that the findings involving trafficking were vacated. Landa’s attorney did not respond to follow-up questions about the other suits in which he has been involved. In one of her 2022 lawsuits, James estimated Landa’s net worth at more than $300 million in 2016. The audit at the center of the current lawsuit was the government’s first related to a new nursing home payment system rolled out during Trump’s first term. Under the previous system, nursing homes were reimbursed based on the number of minutes of therapy provided to patients, which “created financial incentives” for them to focus on patients who needed therapy, according to the November audit report. In contrast, the new payment system was designed to “improve payment accuracy and appropriateness by focusing on the enrollee, rather than volume of services provided,” according to the report. The inspector general’s office found that Pinnacle, located in the Bronx, received significantly higher reimbursements from Medicare under the new payment system than the old one, raising red flags at the agency. Read More ProPublica Adds Ownership Search to Nursing Home Inspect Database The inspector general found that Pinnacle had violated CMS billing requirements in 99 of the 100 claims it audited. The agency noted that, in 95 of those 99 claims, Pinnacle requested reimbursement for levels of services that were higher than what was justifiable when the agency reviewed patients’ charts — for example, billing for speech therapy for aphasia in a patient who clinicians had explicitly stated did not need speech therapy. Additionally, in 54 of the 99 claims, the agency found, Pinnacle provided services that could not be justified by the patients’ charts — for example, billing for “bed mobility and wheelchair training” for patients who were able to walk on their own. The HHS inspector general’s office declined to comment on the audit, citing pending litigation. Separately, the New York State Department of Health has imposed three financial penalties against Pinnacle since 2021. In its lawsuit, Pinnacle alleges that the auditors “blatantly ignore” state and federal waivers for documentation and billing requirements issued as part of the effort to reduce administrative barriers to patient care during the COVID-19 public health emergency. “Pinnacle’s efforts to provide exceptional care to its patients were an undeniable success,” the facility wrote in the lawsuit. Additionally, the facility only had two COVID-19 deaths at the height of the pandemic — “one of the lowest COVID related death totals among New York nursing homes despite being a 480-bed facility located in one of the most heavily affected areas,” Landa’s attorney said. “The outcomes during that period are the most important measure of care,” she added. In its suit, Pinnacle characterized the government’s demand for repayment as an “administrative process riddled with constitutional violations.” That request “would immediately paralyze Pinnacle by rendering it unable to pay its employees,” the facility added, “and would result in the shut down of the entire nursing facility — leaving highly vulnerable patients without life-saving care, depriving hundreds of individuals of jobs and income, and divesting New York City of this critical medical facility.” Industry watchdogs say threatening closure in response to state or federal enforcement actions is a familiar ploy for nursing home owners. “That’s their constant refrain whenever they don’t get what they want,” said Kevin Walsh, former New Jersey comptroller who investigated tens of millions of dollars in nursing home fraud during his tenure. “The risk of closure based on the finances and cost reports that I’ve seen seems low,” Walsh added. “They’re not going to kill the golden goose they’re using to siphon profits.” Landa has repeatedly filed lawsuits in response to allegations against nursing homes with which he is affiliated. In 2022, he brought a suit for libel against The American Prospect, as well as one of its reporters and an editor, following an investigation titled “The Nursing Home Slumlord Manifesto.” Years earlier, he sued freelancers writing for ProPublica, also alleging defamation. Judges dismissed both cases. Landa’s nomination remains under consideration by the Senate Foreign Relations committee. (No hearing has been scheduled.) But if confirmed as ambassador to Hungary, Landa would hold a powerful position. Hungary, despite its small population and historically minor role in U.S. foreign policy, holds increasing symbolic importance in the global conservative movement. In a mid-February visit to Budapest, Trump administration officials reinforced their support for Orban. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an agreement to nurture Hungary’s civilian nuclear program. (The country does not presently have nuclear weapons, according to the World Nuclear Association, an international organization that publishes reports on global nuclear activity.) “We are entering this golden era of relations between our countries,” Rubio said in a press conference in Budapest, “not simply because of the alignment of our people, but because of the relationship that you have with the president of the United States.” The post Nominee for Ambassador to Hungary Co-Owns a Nursing Home That’s Suing the Trump Administration Over Medicare Payments appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Eli Cahan.
ProPublica Adds Ownership Search to Nursing Home Inspect Database
The post ProPublica Adds Ownership Search to Nursing Home Inspect Database appeared first on ProPublica.
The owner of a nursing home can significantly impact the quality of care that home’s residents receive, research has shown. One owner’s influence can be widespread: Nearly one-fifth of people or companies who report an ownership interest in a nursing home have a financial stake in five or more homes, according to data from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. Nearly 100 owners have direct or indirect ownership in 50 or more homes. One such owner, Benjamin Landa, was nominated by President Donald Trump in October to be ambassador to Hungary. ProPublica reported Monday that Pinnacle Multicare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which Landa co-owns, is suing the Trump administration following a Department of Health and Human Services audit that estimated more than $30 million in Medicare overpayments had been made to the facility. An attorney for Landa denied wrongdoing in a statement, saying the issues identified in the audit occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when nursing homes were in the midst of a crisis. To give the public more insight into who owns American nursing homes, ProPublica has added the ability to search by owner, manager or officer name to Nursing Home Inspect, our database that helps you find issues that federal inspectors have identified in more than 14,000 facilities. The update allows users to find all references to an owner’s name across homes and filter results based on location or the person’s role in the nursing home. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="537" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="A screenshot from ProPublica’s Nursing Home Inspect database, showing results for a search for the name Benjamin Landa." class="wp-image-71046" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 1600w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,214 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,548 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,731 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1096 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,616 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,301 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,394 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,398 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,376 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,537 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,820 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,286 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,571 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Update-promo_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,857 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> The database now allows users to search by owner, manager or officer name. ProPublica ProPublica already publishes data provided by CMS on “affiliated entities,” groups of homes determined to share an owner, officer or entity with managerial control. However, these groups do not always capture every home a person or company has a relationship with. For example, CMS lists Landa as an affiliated entity associated with 55 nursing homes across four states. But the name “Benjamin Landa” appears in the CMS ownership data for 102 nursing homes in eight states. To make connections between owners more visible, if you search for a specific person or company name, the database now also surfaces others who frequently appear alongside the searched name. ProPublica plans to continue improving Nursing Home Inspect in the coming months. If you write a story using the ownership search, come across issues or have ideas for improvements, please let us know! The post ProPublica Adds Ownership Search to Nursing Home Inspect Database appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Ruth Talbot.
This $400B Biden climate program is surviving the Trump administration
Trump’s Energy Secretary says he’s canceled billions of dollars in clean energy loans. The Biden official who made those loans says the number is “fake.”
In January, the Trump administration announced that it had completed its dismantling of yet another Biden-era climate program. This time, the target was the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, which Democrats had injected with over $400 billion to support ambitious new clean energy projects. The Biden administration pursued climate policy primarily by having Congress pass massive subsidies for solar power, wind energy, and electric vehicles. But much of the infrastructure needed to push the U.S. further away from fossil fuel dependence — like new nuclear power plants, high-voltage transmission lines, and battery factories — needed more than the tax credits at the core of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to get off the ground. The Loan Programs Office was meant to fill that gap by making prudent loans to ambitious projects that the private sector saw as too risky. With its $400 billion windfall, the once-obscure office became the largest energy lender in the world. That ambition apparently put the office in the crosshairs of Trump’s Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright. He said the Biden administration “rushed [loans] out the door in the final months after Election Day,” and said he had rooted out projects that “do not serve the best interest of the American people.” Wright claimed to have scrubbed or “revised” around 80 percent of the Biden administration’s $100 billion loan portfolio, and he teased plans to advance new loans that would support President Donald Trump’s anti-renewable-energy agenda. He even rechristened the office as the “Energy Dominance Financing” program — a reference to Trump’s catchphrase for his fossil-fuel-friendly energy policy. The truth, however, bears little resemblance to Wright’s combative rhetoric. Former federal officials and sources who have worked with the Loan Programs Office say that the program has survived the Trump-era purge in something close to its Biden-era form — and that it is still supporting the buildout of clean energy. Wright has vastly overstated his revisions and left untouched projects that will support emissions-free energy at the country’s utilities, including major transmission upgrades and nuclear power plants. (The anonymous sources quoted below requested anonymity to avoid retaliation or because they have ongoing work with the federal government; the Department of Energy declined to answer questions or make Wright and other program leaders available for interviews.) The quiet about-face by the Trump administration may signal a recognition that carbon-free energy can play a major role in managing the electricity price hikes that have angered voters in recent years. “It sounds like the Trump administration seems to be responding to the energy affordability politics in a way that is, if not constructive, at least acknowledges that steel needs to get in the ground,” said Advait Arun, a policy analyst at the Center for Public Enterprise, a nonprofit that supports government-led economic development. “There are ways to reframe all these projects for their agenda.” Here’s how the Loan Programs Office typically works: A utility or startup approaches the Department of Energy proposing to build a new power plant, transmission line, or battery factory. Once the applicant is approved, it borrows money from the U.S. Treasury at a lower rate than it could get from private banks, and the Department of Energy guarantees the loan. If the project falls through, the Department pays back the Treasury with the money appropriated by Congress. If the project succeeds, the government grows its pool of funding for future loans. This program was first established during George W. Bush’s presidency in 2005, to help spur clean energy development. But under Bush’s successor, President Barack Obama, the Loan Programs Office became a magnet for controversy. That’s because the authority lent around $500 million to the solar cell manufacturer Solyndra, which later collapsed, leading the government to lose almost its entire investment. Republicans seized on the episode as evidence of the program’s failure — despite the fact that the loan authority also financed success stories such as Tesla, and its overall loss rate of 3 percent is much lower than that of many private sector lenders. The controversy was largely a distant memory by 2022, when Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act gave the office almost $400 billion — around 10 times its initial mandate — in guarantee authority to invest in battery startups, new renewables, and grid upgrades to support a clean energy transition. But the office was slow to deploy its new authority, and former officials later said it suffered from an excess of post-Solyndra caution and bureaucracy. This led to long negotiations and risk analysis around every individual loan. A report from three former Energy Department staffers later found that the “executive branch machinery … defaulted to caution, process, and reactive strategies.” It took more than a year for the office to develop a fast-track process for major utility loans, and many deals weren’t completed until after Trump’s 2024 win. The projects that Wright claimed were “rushed out the door” had in fact suffered from too much due diligence, in the eyes of many observers, rather than too little. When Secretary Wright arrived in D.C., he jammed up the program even more. The Loan Programs Office had three different leaders in the first six months of the Trump administration, lost more than half its staff to Elon Musk’s workforce reduction efforts, and halted almost all communication with borrowers. “Moving any application through any milestone would require political appointee approval as part of a new consolidation of decision rights, and approvals were not granted,” said Jen Downing, who served as a senior adviser at the Loan Programs Office under the Biden administration and stayed on for the first few months of the Trump administration, in a letter to Congress last summer. Downing, who left the office last May and is now a partner at the clean tech investing firm Ara Partners, told lawmakers that the new Trump administration leadership spent months examining almost every loan made under Biden, in an apparent search for wrongdoing or poor lending decisions. Wright did nix a few major loans such as the Grain Belt Express, a wind power transmission line in Missouri opposed by Republican senator Josh Hawley. But former Energy Department staffers said that many of the $30 billion in loans that Wright claimed to have shut down were in fact cancelled by the borrowers themselves, which is typical for risky and complex projects. Many withdrew even before Trump’s election, including a battery recycling plant project that fell apart due to market conditions. “The number is fake,” said Jigar Shah, who led the Loan Programs Office under Biden. “I think in some ways, it’s to convince Trump that they’re shutting down loans.” Other Biden-approved projects have survived, like a $1.45 billion loan to a solar panel manufacturer in Georgia called QCells, which has continued without interruption. In the case of a loan for a mine at Nevada’s Thacker Pass, which was supposed to produce lithium for electric vehicle batteries, the department doubled down and took an equity stake in the project, rather than cancelling the loan. The new leader of the loan office is Greg Beard, a former executive at the private equity firm Apollo who also ran a crypto mining company. Thus far, Beard has only advanced projects that began under Biden. That includes the office’s most recent announcement of a massive $26.5 billion loan to Southern Company, the regional utility that serves Georgia and Alabama. The loan will fund upgrades at the utility’s new nuclear power plant in Georgia, new long-duration batteries that can store solar power, and upgrades to 1,300 miles of transmission lines. That said, the final version of the loan also substitutes 5 gigawatts of new gas power in place of a solar project that was included under the Biden-era version of the deal, according to former Loan Programs Office officials. But this change isn’t as big a deal as it might sound; the utility was always planning to build both solar and natural gas as part of its response to surging power demand, and it will still build both. The only thing that changed between administrations is which power plants will receive low-cost federal financing. The Trump administration’s three other announced loans are also holdovers from Biden. They have little to do with fossil energy, despite Trump’s repeated promises to revive coal and oil. They include a new transmission line and the restart of another nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. “I do think that it’s in many ways a branding exercise,” said another former Department of Energy official who worked in the loan division. Beard has said he wants to use the office to “make energy more affordable,” “win AI,” “bolster the grid,” and “get us out from under the China strategy to dominate certain critical minerals.” But it’s unclear how much appetite utilities have for the reconfigured program. The Energy Department has held roadshow meetings with data center developers, courting hyperscalers such as Meta with the promise that they will build nuclear power for data centers on federal land. Beard told CNBC that he has a pipeline of around 80 projects waiting to move forward, but that’s less than half of the 191 projects that were in the pipeline in December of 2024, as Biden prepared to leave office. Shah said that was in part due to the fact that Beard has applied similar standards to those he maintained in his private sector job at Apollo. Beard has suggested he wants all applicants to provide corporate guarantees for their debt, which makes it hard for many projects to qualify. “Not only are they sending the signal that they’re canceling loans, but then the other side, they’re sending a signal that they’re only going to approve projects that a New York private equity firm would finance,” said Shah. Sources familiar with the program say that the office has already received at least one major new loan application, which is related to nuclear energy, but it’s still in the early stages. The loan office is also trying to coordinate multiple utilities to purchase nuclear reactor parts in bulk. Thanks to a change in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the major tax law signed by President Trump last summer, the program can now directly support fossil generation such as natural gas. This federal loan support was illegal under the Biden administration, when projects had to reduce greenhouse gases. But it’s far from clear that Wright and Beard could succeed in repurposing the loan program for pure fossil fuel finance, if that’s their goal. Interest in new coal plants is almost nonexistent, and there is plenty of other capital available for new natural gas generation, including from data center developers themselves. A more likely outcome is that the revamped office will continue to support a handful of deals for “clean firm” energy projects that Trump and Wright find appealing, like nuclear, as well as critical minerals production. Spokespeople for the Department of Energy and the Energy Dominance Financing office, as the loan program has been renamed, declined to answer questions or make Beard available for an interview. Experts say that even if the deal flow in the office slows down, there’s still a silver lining for the energy transition. More important than the exact shape of the new loans is the fact that Congress did not slash the program altogether, as it did with other Inflation Reduction Act programs such as the electric-vehicle tax credits and the Environmental Protection Agency’s “green bank.” Still, the long-term future of the program is uncertain. When Republicans in Congress modified the loan office with Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, they also added an expiration date. Unless lawmakers choose to renew the program, the last date that the office can make loans is September 30, 2028. Even so, the fact that two presidents with opposite views on climate policy have both made use of the program may bode well for its survival. “I still think that the program is an important tool,” said a consultant in the energy field who has interacted with the loan office. “The technology areas that the current administration is prioritizing, all of those sort of squarely fit into the boundaries or the authorities that exist.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline This $400B Biden climate program is surviving the Trump administration on Mar 23, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Jake Bittle.
Can replacing Illinois’ toxic lead pipes lead to a workforce boon?
Illinois has nearly 1.5 million lead service lines. A new report estimates replacing the unsafe plumbing could generate 90,000 jobs.
Illinois is in the midst of a public health crisis. Nearly 1.5 million service lines — the pipes that carry drinking water to homes and businesses — contain or are suspected to contain lead, a neurotoxin linked to cognitive, reproductive, and cardiovascular problems. Now, public health and workforce advocates want to turn the state’s long-overdue pipe replacement backlog into a statewide economic engine, creating up to 90,000 jobs over a decade. A recent report proposes a plan to replace the state’s staggering inventory of toxic lead pipes and create tens of thousands of jobs. To do so, the analysis calls on state and local officials to fast-track pipe replacements for communities that have suffered from the most lead exposure and to use the projects to build a more diverse local workforce. It also urges the Illinois General Assembly, which returned to session this month, to help plug a multi-billion-dollar budget gap for lead pipe replacements. “The longer we put off taking care of our water infrastructure, the more expensive it’s going to get, the more that we’re going to be looking at water rates increasing to deal with that, and the more people are going to be in the position where they’re not going to have access to safe and clean drinking water,” said Justin Williams, a senior manager at the Metropolitan Planning Council, one of the policy think tanks that helped develop the plan. “And that’s not a situation we should be in as a state or region.” Several other regional and national nonprofits, including Current, a water solutions hub; Elevate, an organization working on water and energy affordability issues; and HIRE360, a workforce development group, also worked on the analysis. Illinois has the most lead pipes in the country. The state estimates it has 667,000 known lead service lines and another 820,000 suspected lines. Chicago alone accounts for nearly 30 percent of those pipes. Replacing these service lines is expensive. In a 2022 report, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency found that a single service line replacement can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $13,000 across the state. In Chicago, the price tag is even higher: City officials estimated that replacements cost more than $30,000 per line on average. State officials have estimated that replacing all the known or suspected lead pipes across Illinois could cost between $6 and $10 billion. The Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, set aside $15 billion over five years to help states replace lead pipes. Illinois is estimated to receive about $1 billion, but given the state’s unique needs, that number “is probably on the low side,” Williams said. Nationwide, the price to replace all lead pipes is estimated to be over $55 billion, according to the US Water Alliance’s senior director of water leadership and innovation, Emily Simonson. She adds that Illinois alone accounts for 12 percent of that total, and the Great Lakes state represents nearly half. The report makes the case that state lawmakers must approve dedicated, sustained, and predictable funding to close the multi-billion-dollar shortfall. Without long-term guarantees, replacements will likely remain inefficient and delayed. “It’s a bit of a chicken and egg: Unless you know how much money is going to be allocated to this — how many opportunities are coming down the pipe — they’re not going to add additional people to apprenticeship programs,” said Jay Rowell, executive director at HIRE360. Using workforce projections from the American Water Works Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the report’s authors calculated that already allocated federal funds could generate approximately 2,000 direct jobs and 9,000 indirect jobs. If legislatures closed the multi-billion-dollar funding gap, those figures could jump substantially to 35,000 direct jobs and 55,000 indirect jobs — a total of 90,000 jobs over a decade. “We’re calling attention not only to the problem, but also to some of the opportunities to get more candidates engaged in apprenticeships,” said Rowell. “This is a really big problem that needs very thoughtful, state-led solutions.” A major pillar of the report is diversifying the building trades. An analysis of Chicago’s workforce found that only 3.8 percent of registered apprentices are women and just 10 percent are Black. To bridge this gap, the report advocates for requiring utilities and municipalities to include diversity and equity requirements in project contracts. The report’s authors argue that Illinois has the rare opportunity to tackle two challenges at once: address its toxic legacy while laying the groundwork for a more inclusive economy. The financial and political hurdles remain high, but advocates say the cost of inaction is higher. “We are the envy of the world in terms of our access to fresh drinking water,” said Williams. “We need to be really thoughtful stewards of that, and that means investing in that the same way we invest in other infrastructure.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Can replacing Illinois’ toxic lead pipes lead to a workforce boon? on Mar 23, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco.
Dancing On Graves: Going Low, Lower, Lowest (For Now)
This weekend, former Marine, combat veteran, FBI Director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who tragically failed to take down a treacherous sociopath, died of Parkinson’s disease at 81. In response, said sociopath took a moment out from his botched...
This weekend, former Marine, combat veteran, FBI Director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who tragically failed to take down a treacherous sociopath, died of Parkinson’s disease at 81. In response, said sociopath took a moment out from his botched, illegal, calamitous war to giddily declare of a man widely deemed "a cut above" who for five decades served his country not himself, "Good, I’m glad he’s dead," thus proving for the 7,648th time what a twisted, vile, piece-of-shit human being he is. In what one observer calls "an epic tale of diverging American elites," both men, born just two years apart, were raised in privilege in Northeastern cities. Before famously heading the sprawling, two-year investigation into collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, Mueller lived a long life of patrician public service, much of it defending the rule of law as a registered Republican, which stood in sharp contrast to Private Bonespur's grimy, relentless pursuit of private profit. Mueller grew up in a wealthy Philadelphia suburb; he once said that within the "strict moral code" of his father, a DuPont executive, "A lie was the worst sin." He went to prep school, Princeton, NYU, and then, with the Vietnam War unfurling, Quantico and Army Ranger School. A former athlete and newly forged Marine, he didn't just volunteer for Vietnam; he spent a year waiting for an injured knee to heal so he could serve. In 1968, he arrived in Vietnam a green Second Lieutenant, serving as a rifle platoon leader in Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. With his Ivy League background - his senior thesis was on African territorial disputes before the International Court of Justice - he was met with skepticism but quickly earned respect as a thorough, quiet, "no-bullshit guy" who maintained his composure even in the intense combat of some of the war's bloodiest battles. After being wounded, rescuing one of his men and being airlifted out, he earned a Bronze Star with Valor, a Purple Heart and multiple other medals. Though he rarely talked about Vietnam, he credited the Marines with instilling in him a lifelong drive and discipline. In a speech years later, he said he felt "exceptionally lucky" to have survived the war and so felt "compelled to contribute.” He went to law school, served as a prosecutor in California, was a US attorney for Massachusetts and California, and oversaw several high-level DOJ investigations before Bush nominated him as director of the FBI; he was sworn in a week before 9/11. He served for 12 years, the longest tenure since J. Edgar Hoover, under both GOP and Democratic presidents. Even at the upper reaches of power, he was respected for remaining determinedly non-partisan in his unwavering belief that nobody was above the law. Appointed Special Counsel in May 2017 amidst political turmoil, he kept a stoic silence; he said nothing publicly about the Russia investigation, and his careful team of prosecutors leaked nothing. The probe issued 34 indictments - Manafort, Flynn, Gates, Stone etc - and named ten instances of Trump's obstruction of justice, but failed to indict him. Ultimately, in the view of many unhappy Americans breathlessly awaiting the Criminal-in Chief's downfall, Mueller waffled. To a House Judiciary Committee's query about his decision not to prosecute, he clarified, "We made a decision not to decide whether to prosecute." He added if they "had confidence" Trump didn't commit obstruction of justice, "We would so state. We are unable to reach that judgment.” But by then, nobody was listening. Some argue Mueller was "set up to fail," if not by temperament by a corrupt system. A too-narrow mandate focused on Russia, "one slice of a much larger conspiracy," ignored "a multiplex of enemies of democracy," from oligarchs to Saudis. And slimy Bill Barr, aka “Coverup-General Barr” for stonewalling scandals from Iran-Contra to Epstein, deliberately undermined the entire process by releasing a four-page summary of a complex, 448-page report so wildly distorted Mueller himself protested it "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of his work. Barr's conclusion - “No collusion, no obstruction" - was "a lie, but an effective one." No one was held accountable. Perfidious mission accomplished. Mueller's death, nearly five years after his Parkinson's diagnosis, prompted a wide range of responses. Some found him directly responsible for Trump being, not in prison where he belongs but free to practice "the cascading criminality that has defined his public life." "I will NOT lionize someone who (failed) at the earliest opportunity to STOP this madness," one critic wrote. "Two things can be true at one time. Mueller was a patriot. And Mueller's lasting legacy is allowing Barr to bully him into silence." Friends and colleagues praised "a person of the greatest integrity" who remained "committed to the rule of law" and whose "courage could never be questioned.” Wrote former Obama A.G. Eric Holder, "Bob made the nation better." Then there's the irredeemable, "petty, shameful, despicable," "vile and disgusting" cretin who insulted John McCain, called America's war dead “losers” and “suckers,” was disgusted by wounded troops - "No one wants to see that" - and daily, ceaselessly "shows his basic indecency and unfitness for office," or, for that matter, life. “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead," he wrote. "He can no longer hurt innocent people!” Then, malevolently driving home the tragic consequences of his moral and political Pyrrhic victory for all to lament, he signed his revolting post, “President DONALD J. TRUMP." O Hamlet, what a falling off was there. Our great, modern, inexplicable catastrophe: "Sadly, this is the president we have." On Sunday, his lackeys placed on the White House grounds a statue of Christopher Columbus, a replica of one tossed into Baltimore’s harbor in 2020 by "rioters," aka peaceful protesters after George Floyd's murder. America was overjoyed: No more disastrous war, inaccessible health care, food and gas we can't afford, still-suffering Epstein survivors. The GOP's core principles - spite and stupidity - reign. Let them eat statues. Around midnight, he wrote, “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, TO PUT IT MILDLY!" After his grotesque post on Mueller's death, the folks at Zeteo wrote the White House asking - think Charlie Kirk - if it's ok others react like Trump at his passing. No response as yet. But Lord, how the angels will sing, and the world will rejoice. Compare and contrast.Image/meme from Bluesky This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Abby Zimet.
Composer and musician Laurel Halo on emphasizing process over outcome
How’s your day going? Is it morning or night where you are?
How’s your day going? Is it morning or night where you are? It is 5:00 PM. I am in Milan. What brings you to Milan? I’m doing the score for a runway show for Jil Sander. Is Milan still crazy from the Olympics? The Olympics ended the day that I arrived. Despite the fact that I love Heated Rivalry, I have zero interest in or knowledge of the Olympics, with the exception of Alysa Liu, who is an extraordinary inspiration to women and girls everywhere. But it didn’t seem too crazy. Are you somebody who consumes a lot of television while you’re in the creative space, or do you try to shut that all off when you are in a compositional mindset? I think when I’m in a compositional mindset, I actually have a tendency to shut off listening rather than consuming other forms of media. I’ll still watch films or series or read books, but my listening habits can take a dive. I don’t want to get too stimulated by an external source and then have the music be too swayed in one direction or the other. When you were starting to do work for Midnight Zone, did you consume more media about the deep depths of the ocean, or purposely try to surround yourself with those sounds? At the beginning of the process, the filmmaker [Julian Charrière] gave me a folder of amazing ocean foley. He had gathered all of these sounds from different institutes, including the US National Park Services as well as universities in the UK, Canada, and various ocean conservation societies. There were a lot of animal sounds, but then also sounds of human activity that were inspiring: the sound of natural animal echolocation versus industrial sonar sounds, the sounds of cargo ship noises or mining noises such as seismic pulses. So it was quite interesting just to get an initial impression of what oceanic sounds could be used as a basis for inspiration. Of course, recording underwater is imperfect and prone to imprecision and distortion. So it’s interesting thinking about how our hearing mechanisms aren’t optimized for a liquid-based environment. I’m curious about your live sets coming up and how you’re planning to translate these very dense sounds from Midnight Zone to a live setting. We have a series of live score versions of the film: Zenner in Berlin, at the ICA in London, at Sónar in Istanbul, and Rewire Festival in The Hague. Essentially, I’m going to be attempting to recreate the feeling of the score. My hope is to try and perform some abstracted synthesizer, to process and render it somewhat removed from its sound source, to smear the transience. A lot of the ambient sounds and drone sounds on Midnight Zone* *actually came from one recording session at the Yamaha Studios in NYC, and then it was later embellished and layered upon. Yamaha has this absolutely amazing instrument called the TransAcoustic. The TransAcoustic is such an inspiring instrument to me, because it’s one of these ultimate hybrid instruments, where it can act as a MIDI controller to an external synth, similar to a Disklavier, but it also can receive audio from said external synthesizer and feed it back through the string board of the piano via transducer technology within the body of the piano. You can blend that with the original piano sound, or you can also entirely mute the piano sound. When you entirely mute the piano sound, you get this absolutely gorgeous acoustic rendering of synthesized audio because it’s being amplified through the wood and the string resonance of the actual physical instrument. These synthesized sounds then take on this incredibly embodied physical sound. And then, of course, you’re recording it in air with microphones, and so you get this pretty otherworldly, really beautiful sound quality with the TransAcoustic. Unfortunately, TransAcoustics are marvelously difficult to source because they are quite novel. How does the intended listening context of a piece of music impact your creative process? Creating music for a runway show vs. a film score, for example. What’s interesting is the process of creating music within a collaborative capacity, rather than making solo artist music, and the unique challenges of composing, whether for a film, a runway show, or for some media or sound installation, because it actually can be quite a different headspace to get into. Sometimes you’ll compose something and think, wow, I nailed that. Then the feedback is “no.” You get these little ego deaths along the way, which I think are actually healthy. As an artist you’re making your own thing, and you have your own sound. It is very easy as an artist to go down your own rabbit holes. So it’s good to be in the role of the composer and to have to check yourself essentially. Have you consciously sought out collaborators? Yeah, absolutely. My primary instrument is the piano, and one could argue electronic music production is an instrument, knowing how to use synthesizers, drum machines,samplers and signal processing. But there’s lots of things that I don’t know how to do well. I grew up playing violin and I can convincingly fake spectral harmonics, but if I want to get a really beautiful top line on a string, then I need a collaborator like James Underwood or Biliana Voutchkova, because I can’t do that on my own. Or with cello someone like Leila Bordreuil, or Lucy Railton, or Oliver Coates. Or for the voice, someone like Coby Sey. A collaborator I love reaching out to is [saxophonist] Bendik Giske. He creates ecstatic and unpredictable harmonic layers that can make an otherwise electronic arrangement come alive. There were a handful of these amazing musicians and other special sounds on Atlas, which elevate the sound into something different or unusual, because there is a fundamental difference between music that originates from inside the box, versus outside the box. First just the unpredictability of the capture: the sound of air or noise in a recording, the sound of a room, a leaf blower or a police siren, which is a hazard of recording in a home studio. At Yamaha Studios in Midtown [Manhattan], I was doing this patient, slow and empty piano recording, and then honking from the street would bleed through. But it’s cool because it’s live, and there’s something beautiful about that. I tend to reach out to work with acoustic players, both to realize sounds that I technically can’t create on my own, but then also to bring just the magic of a more organic or unpredictable feeling to the recording. When you’re composing, would you say that you’re somebody who’s largely improvising or are you notating as you go? It’s been a mix. For the most recent recording, Midnight Zone, I composed and performed that solo. There was a map and a structure. Julian Charrière and I sat down and watched the film together, and he gave me specific cues about what the music should be doing from zero to six minutes, and then what the music should be doing from six to nine, and having visual cues and points of reference for how the music should be shaped. I had this compositional structure already in mind through talking through the pacing and structure of the music with Julian, but then it was up to me to fill in that structure with shade and contour, and that process was pretty exploratory. There was a lot of trial and error trying out different synth sounds, recording a lot of string sounds, to the point of having dozens of layers of violin and viol da gamba alongside the synth textures. Then, shaping and layering, and then muting and grouping. Then I have this cacophony and then it’s, “Okay, what do I need to get rid of in here to make this sound like music?” I have some pieces in my catalog that are made in a more spontaneous way. For example “Belleville” from Atlas* *was a one take, and the only part of it that was composed was a vocal harmony. I recorded some scratch layers for Coby, and then he just ran with it. He sent me back 25 different stems to play with! A friend of mine told me that my music sounds very much like painting, which I might be hesitant to own. But if you start with a sketch and a base layer of colors, then you start adding additional colors for shade and contour, I can maybe see it. There’s a lot of detail work. You see these memes about music producers being like, “Trust me I can hear the difference of raising the volume of 4 KhZ by 0.7 DBs.” It is actually like that, and it’s very sad. But it’s satisfying when you hear the music, and it just clicks, and it feels natural. It feels like the music is actually a living thing. Is that a muscle you build up over time, hearing the moment when it clicks, deciding when a song is finished? It’s always hard to decide when something’s done. To go back to the painting metaphor, maybe deciding something’s done is just letting the canvas dry and stepping away. There is this simple resignation that takes place. The benefit of working with collaborators is you get the take and that’s what you have. So that’s also something that helps push projects to completion. And also, scary deadlines. Scary deadlines are always a great way to finish projects, which is why composing can sometimes be a great antidote to whatever baked-in perfectionism I might have. With artist records, you can take years and you can say this isn’t good enough, but then you have a deadline for a project and they’re like, “We need the stems by Tuesday at midnight, and you have to do it.” Accepting something that is good enough is a skill in and of itself. I was curious how you pick your projects. You’ve collaborated with such a wide range of artists across mediums. How do you know when it’s a good fit to work with somebody? Generally, it’s pretty easy to know when a potential collaborator is a good fit. If I feel like I could meaningfully contribute and add something, and vice versa, then it makes total sense. Right now my focus is more on the composition side of things and maybe that’s where my direction is heading. I can’t predict the future, but I love creating music that’s part of an overall narrative rather than an artist’s catalog being a narrative in and of itself. It’s so special when you work with a team and the music is part of the overall story. I’m lucky that I get interest from special artists like Julian or inspiring creative directors like Simone Bellottifor my musical perspective. Does the intended audience impact your composition? Do you approach writing differently if you think a song will be played in a club versus on a runway? Since we’re in a post-Olympics mood right now in Milan, I think what was so special about Alysa Liu is how she emphasized how for her it’s not about the outcome, but rather the process. I think that those are words truly to live by with any project. Midnight Zone, for example: the music is heavy, dense, subaquatic, highly pressurized. It has moments of beauty and the ecstatic, but it also has moments of dread or terror. And it’s not as “pretty” as Atlas, but I can’t necessarily be worried about the audience not following. It’s on them to be like, “Oh, that’s a soundtrack for a film. It makes sense.” It’s not beneficial as an artist to worry too much about your audience. At the same time, I do think that when you are working in a composer capacity, it is important to think about the intended audience. I don’t think that I could make obtuse dark music for a runway show because models need a beat to walk to, and we want to feel some level of magic or joy. In certain contexts, thinking about the audience is useful as a compositional reference, but for artists albums specifically, one has to try and ignore the audience as much as possible and just follow one’s creative vision or process. Laurel Halo recommends: Radio.Garden: I listen to the radio a lot. Mostly KLLI 93.9 or KJAZZ 88.1 in my car, or favorite NTS hosts at home. I just discovered Radio.garden, which is a website where you can listen to radio stations from across the globe, with curated playlists of various recommended stations. Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles by Rosecrans Baldwin: A beautiful tribute to the city-state of Los Angeles, told through weaving portraits of the various characters that inhabit LA. One of those engrossing books that you finish in three days because you have to. Shane Parish - Autechre Guitar: Direct, dry, gorgeous acoustic guitar renditions of various mid-90s Autechre tunes. 100% Hayao Miyazaki - Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind: Shot to the top of my favorite Miyazaki films when I watched it the other day. The ecosystem of post-apocalyptic Earth is mostly destroyed, with a growing ‘toxic forest’ inhabited by poisonous spores and giant sentient multiocular insects called the Ohmu. Humans live in neo-feudal societies scattered throughout this otherwise wasteland Earth, fighting over limited resources. A teenage princess named Nausicäa, praised for her abilities as both a natural leader of her people and an expert windglider, has a special relationship with animals and nature. She recognizes the soul inside the forest and Ohmu. Joe Hisaishi’s score is truly bizarre and incredible, carefree childlike singing during deeply existential moments, ‘60s raga-infused psych-rock during moments of terror and destruction, plus the use of synth for sound design of animals, wind, and airships. Kind of like an animistic Dune but with the most psychedelic visual sequences. I learned that the film covers only about 3 chapters of Miyazaki’s manga of the same name, which was finished a decade after the film’s release. This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Arielle Gordon.
Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi allegedly assaulted while in police detention
Bangkok, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Vietnamese authorities to investigate the alleged assault and arbitrary detention of independent journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi by Ho Chi Minh City police and to hold those responsible to account. On March 19, Vi was intercepted on the street by police while taking her child to...
Bangkok, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Vietnamese authorities to investigate the alleged assault and arbitrary detention of independent journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi by Ho Chi Minh City police and to hold those responsible to account. On March 19, Vi was intercepted on the street by police while taking her child to school and transported to a Ho Chi Minh City police station, where she was held for more than 10 hours without being informed of the reason for her detention, according to the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email, and news reports. Vi was struck repeatedly on the head with a sandal by a police officer she identified as Nguyen Ba Duong, who made her sign a “stack” of printouts of journalism she had posted to her Facebook page, Vi and the media reports said. She was released without charge, according to the same sources. “Vietnamese authorities must immediately disclose why journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi was detained and investigate the officer who allegedly beat her inside a police station,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “This is a brazen attempt to silence a reporter through brute intimidation, and those responsible must face consequences.” The harassment came shortly after Vi posted skeptical comments on social media about voting and voter registration cards ahead of recently held elections, which Vietnamese state media reported had a 99.79% turnout. Vi, a former frequent contributor to independent Vietnamese media who now publishes on her social media channels, has previously been targeted for her reporting. In 2012, she was sexually assaulted by police while being questioned and detained over her reporting on jailed journalists and harassed activists. The Ministry of Public Security, which oversees the national police, did not immediately reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment. Vietnam is among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least 17 behind bars, according to CPJ data. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Language Matters: There Are No “Wars of Choice”
In early reporting on the Iran War as "the ultimate war of choice," the New York Times spoke, as usual, in the sanitizing language of political realism. This is the lingua franca of the foreign policy elite in the Atlanticist alliance, consisting of the self-anointed ‘liberal democracies.’ It is definitely a more refined and less objectionable manner of labeling an unprovoked ‘war of aggression’ than the brazen utterances of the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who had the audacity to trivialize the bloodshed and devastation traumatizing Iran’s innocent population as ‘an excursion.’ More The post Language Matters: There Are No “Wars of Choice” appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Donald_J._Trump_oversees_Operation_Epic_Fury_at_Mar-a-Lago_Palm_Beach_FL_Feb._28_2026._White_House_photo_by_Daniel_Torok_55121599389-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain In early reporting on the Iran War as “the ultimate war of choice,” the New York Times spoke, as usual, in the sanitizing language of political realism. This is the lingua franca of the foreign policy elite in the Atlanticist alliance, consisting of the self-anointed ‘liberal democracies.’ It is definitely a more refined and less objectionable manner of labeling an unprovoked ‘war of aggression’ than the brazen utterances of the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who had the audacity to trivialize the bloodshed and devastation traumatizing Iran’s innocent population as ‘an excursion.’ This language is so ill-suited to wartime by the political leadership of a sovereign country putting its own citizens, including members of the armed service, at uncertain risk. It not only demeans whatever policies are being advocated, but such formulations bordering on the jovial convey an impression of an unstable pathology, an attitude of extreme insensitivity to human suffering or ecological disruption in an adversary sovereign state. In the unlikely event there had been credible goals for launching the Iran War, they would be discredited by Trump’s words: “We took a little excursion because we had to, to get rid of some evil, and I think it is going to be in a short-term excursion.” Even if the U.S. stops attacking today, there is no assurance that Israel will not persist, but even if both countries were to stop immediately, the aftermath of this war will leave many burning embers afflicting the lives of the Iranian people, and even among their neighbors. Such a partial discrediting of this Constitutionally unauthorized and internationally unlawful war that has already had dire secondary effects on the poor and vulnerable by spreading lethal harm far beyond the borders of Iran, indeed, throughout the world. Trump’s War in Iran Trump initially rationalized the unprovoked war against Iran as justified by the alleged repression of the Iranian people by the governing theocracy, using missiles and bombs while urging the Iranian people to take the country back as if he cared. He secondarily cited Iran’s engagement in arming and funding Islamic terrorism, which public opinion even in the West increasingly regards not as terrorism but as legally justified collective resistance to the violent encroachment of the U.S. and Israel upon the sovereignty of Middle Eastern countries, and especially of partnering with Israel, aborting the rights of the Palestinian people while championing Israel’s project of territorial expansion and state terrorism. sustained by apartheid rule and recourse to genocidal tactics, and additional aggressive moves against such helpless adversaries as Lebanon and Syria. Thirdly, he voiced concern about Iran’s nuclear program that was supposedly obliterated in the US/Israeli war a year earlier, but somehow in the short interim not only revived but was augmented by sophisticated missile capabilities. In essence, Trump, without bothering to address nuances, is speaking the same language as Washington’s foreign policy elites in and out of government that control the political discourse of the U.S. State Department, and the Potomac River security-minded Washington think tanks. These foreign policy professionals purport to proffer objective advice on how to promote national interests, while hiding their affinities with and loyalties to CIA/Pentagon/Private Sector arms dealers/Israeli ambitions. While Trump’s narcissistic geopolitics is polarizing even in America, political realists have deep roots in the bipartisan political consciousness of the two major political parties. In my judgment, both of these political parties bear responsibility for their deep failure to realize that the U.S. deep engagement with the world is contributing to apocalyptic dangers that could and should be mitigated with a sense of urgency. Trump highlights these dangers by his mercurial, petulant style that frightens more rational and humane political actors, both among rivals and allies, into submission as illustrated by bullying even the UN Security Council into lending its unanimous support for his Board of Peace while remaining silent during the prolonged Israeli genocide in Gaza and about the two wars of aggression against Iran. [see S/Res/1803, 13-0-2, Nov. 17, 2024] And as shockingly, a similarly unanimous resolution, with the astonishing abstentions of Russia and China, that condemns Iran’s retaliatory strikes at American military assets in the region, while rejecting a separate resolution condemning the U.S./Israel attack. [S/Res/2817, 13-0-2, March 11, 2026] Never before have the political organs of the UN given such support to a flagrant violator of the most basic of human rights or of its core prohibition of aggression in the UN Charter, and given it by a consensus that included countries of the Global South, including regional Islamic neighbors of Israel and Iran, even inducing geopolitical rivals, Russia and China, to withhold their right of veto by abstaining in circumstances that might have lessened the damage to the UN reputation and even its legitimacy. It stretches the political imagination beyond its breaking point to anticipate U.S. geopolitical forbearance at the UN in response to comparable transgressions by Russia or China. Washington ‘Political Realism’: Special Interests Dominate Political realists shift their more professional discourse away from ‘wars of choice’ by a reliance on the terminology of national interests. In effect, this is an implicit endorsement of ‘wars of choice’ as a viable option for American foreign policy in the aftermath of the Cold War. That such a rationalization persists in the post-colonial world, where nationalist mobilizations have since the Vietnam War achieved a record of political victories for militarily inferior adversaries, seems inattentive to changes in ‘reality,’ particularly the decline in the agency of military superiority to determine the political outcomes of international conflicts. To be sure, these ‘victories’ by the military underdog often couple the defeat of the American foreign policy with the lasting effects of massive human suffering and widespread devastation for the political victor, producing national destinies of chaos and internal strife as has been the experience in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen. National Interest ‘Political Realism’ Despite the claims of realism, this dominant ideology of imperial foreign policy, drawing on the political unity of the anti-Fascist struggle in World War II and the Cold War, rigidly excludes even the most eminent of self-styled ‘political realists’ who adopt dissenting views about the priorities of national interests. For instance, academic personalities who reflect the policy views of liberals in America, such as John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, who have among the hard-core political realist credentials of high repute, are excluded from the inner circle of foreign policy elites, while neo-con extremists and even lobbyists are welcome. These two stalwart international relations experts, in contrast, were national interest theorists oblivious to subservience to special interests, with the consequence of excluding themselves from the main lines of foreign policy debate by Washington insiders. Their defining act of policy defiance was to author a book almost two decades ago arguing that the unconditional support of Israel was contrary to U.S. national interests, a realist messaging that Washington definitely was not prepared then or now to hear, despite the mounting evidence, despite the rising public criticism of Israel’s behavior, including the dramatic decline of Jewish support. [See Mearsheimer & Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (2007)] Stephen Walt has a lead article in the current issue of the influential journal of the Council of Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, that criticizes from realist perspectives the U.S./Israel partnership in the Middle East as courting future disaster by its recent patterns of behavior that he labels as ‘predatory hegemon.’ Walt concedes that such a foreign policy orientation may have short-term benefits for the U.S. in terms of wealth and power, and capacity to induce fear, but from a longer view of national interests is costly so far as legitimacy, reputation, stability, and effective promotion of national interests is concerned, as measured by domestic as well as international benefits. [Walt, “The Predatory Hegemon: How Trump Wields American Power,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2026] It is relevant to note that the Council on Foreign Relations, headquartered in New York, is also constituted by an elite membership adhering to a version of political realism that is midway between the special interest realists of Washington and the critical realists of the Walt/Mearsheimer mold that produce a more objective account of a preferred national interest approach to foreign policy. From my ‘realist’ it also falls short by its relative inattention to the global agenda of systemic challenges, ranging from nuclearism to global warming, that is, in the failure to emphasize sufficiently the imperatives of cooperative geopolitical relations that presuppose respect for international law even in relation to the management of global security. The Invention of ‘Wars of Choice’ as Political Realism of Extremism The language of wars of choice is useful to those favoring controversial foreign policy initiatives. This language excludes any serious consideration of the relevance of international law and morality in the process of operationalizing national interests. Its effect is to make wars seeking control of energy resources or the overthrow of governments, even if democratically elected, that dare pursue policies dictated by the imperatives of economic nationalism, rational targets of regime-changing coups and alleged promotion of democratizing state-building exercises. Wars, as with Iran, allegedly to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to countries perceived as hostile, while winking at the covert acquisition of nuclear capabilities of partners such as Israel. For almost a century, aggressive war has been declared unlawful in the Pact of Paris (1928), a legal guideline relied upon by the victors in World War II to prosecute and punish surviving German and Japanese military commanders and political officials, and codified in the Nuremberg Principles as Crimes against Peace. Normatively Conditioned Political Realism: Law, Morality, and Universality Shifting perspectives, what would political realism look like if guided by the ethos of law and morality used to appraise the behavior of the losers in World War II. It would give priority to responsible statecraft by the victors in an era of interdependence, ecological fragility, nuclear weaponry, and a variety of technological innovations that pose shared global challenges, which, if not addressed, risk catastrophic occurrences. Such an understanding of contemporary reality should have led the architects of the UN Charter to draft better guidance of global governance. It was a serious mistake of the winners in the war to leave geopolitical actors unregulated in their discretionary pursuit of strategic ambitions beneath the legitimating umbrella of national interests. This facilitated the acquisition of wealth, the promotion of trade and finance, and the manipulation of the internal politics of other countries, but by neglecting reliable means to promote the global public good, it cast a dark shadow on the prospects of future generations. The post Language Matters: There Are No “Wars of Choice” appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Richard Falk.
The Intelligence Community and the Essential Role of Threat Assessment
When I joined the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Intelligence in the summer of 1966, the Soviet Division was in great turmoil because of the failure to predict the fall of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev two years earlier. Because of that analytic failure, the chief of the Soviet Domestic Branch had been replaced along with several of his veteran analysts. Most of the new and remaining analysts were without significant intelligence experience. My immediate reaction to this bureaucratic turmoil was “how would CIA analysts in McLean, Virginia, anticipate the coup against Khrushchev if it came as a surprise to Khrushchev?” Nevertheless, I learned from that experience that there were significant consequences for successes and failures in the intelligence community. More The post The Intelligence Community and the Essential Role of Threat Assessment appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="944" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-944x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-944x630.jpg 944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-680x454.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-500x334.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 944px) 100vw, 944px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404934" class="wp-image-404934 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-680x454.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="454" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-680x454.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-944x630.jpg 944w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-500x334.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attorney_General_Pam_Bondi_swears_in_Tulsi_Gabbard_as_Director_of_National_Intelligence_2025.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: Office of the Director of National Intelligence – Public Domain “It is not a responsibility of the intelligence community to determine what is or is not an imminent threat.” –Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, March 18, 2026, testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Anyone concerned with national policy must have a profound interest in making sure that intelligence guides and does not follow national policy.” –Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State, October 1973. When I joined the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Intelligence in the summer of 1966, the Soviet Division was in great turmoil because of the failure to predict the fall of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev two years earlier. Because of that analytic failure, the chief of the Soviet Domestic Branch had been replaced along with several of his veteran analysts. Most of the new and remaining analysts were without significant intelligence experience. My immediate reaction to this bureaucratic turmoil was “how would CIA analysts in McLean, Virginia, anticipate the coup against Khrushchev if it came as a surprise to Khrushchev?” Nevertheless, I learned from that experience that there were significant consequences for successes and failures in the intelligence community. The fact that Tulsi Gabbard, a bizarre choice for the position of director of national intelligence, is not familiar with her most important duty regarding the warning of threat, let alone an “imminent” threat, is particularly stunning and dispositive regarding her continued role in that job. Her own National Intelligence University defines threat warnings as “one of the core responsibilities” of the intelligence community, and stresses that intelligence failure is “associated with a failure to warn.” Gabbard’s failure to understand her role is actually far worse because she was clearly unwilling to challenge Donald Trump’s false assessment of an “imminent threat” to justify his illegal and immoral attack against Iran. One of the most influential scholars regarding warnings intelligence, Cynthia Grabo, wrote that “it is an axiom of warning that warning does not exist until it has been conveyed to the policymaker, and that he must know he has been warned.” Trump claims that he wasn’t warned about Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz or of possible threats to the energy infrastructure of the Gulf states. One of my former CIA colleagues, John Bird, who was the National Intelligence Officer for Warning in 2017, stated that “warning that comes too late is not warning, it is entertainment.” Tulsi Gabbard does not appear to understand any of this or—more likely—she has chosen her words in an awkward effort to avoid clashing with her president. A week ago, a colleague of Gabbard’s, the director of Homeland Security, was fired for alleging that the president had approved the tens of millions of dollars in ads that prominently featured Kristi Noem in her role as director of homeland security. Trump, for his part, said that he knew nothing about the ad contract that skirted federal competitive bidding rules and went to a company that had personal business ties to Noem. Gabbard tried to avoid Noem’s blunder by leaving sensitive intelligence out of her oral remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that challenged the views of the president. Her written statement echoed Trump’s claim to having “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment program in strikes last year, and stated that there have been “no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.” Her oral testimony falsely claimed that “Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure.” Gabbard’s deceitful and two-faced testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee brings to mind the other failures of intelligence that were costly to U.S. national interests. Such failures involved inadequate or unexamined assumptions and failures to incorporate new information. Much worse are the failures associated with politicized intelligence, with political interference leading to corruption of the intelligence process. The politicized intelligence of CIA director Bill Casey and deputy director Bob Gates led to unnecessary spending on defense at a time when the Soviet Union was falling apart. The politicized intelligence of CIA director George Tenet and deputy director John McLaughlin was used to justify an unnecessary war against Iraq in 2003 regarding non-existent weapons of mass destruction. The pathetic performances of Gabbard, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and FBI director Kash Patel in perverting threat assessments demonstrate that our current intelligence directors are failing to tell truth to power. As a result, U.S. national security is being jeopardized. The fact that the Pentagon is already requesting an additional $200 billion to fight the war in Iran, which exceeds the entire Russian defense budget and nearly equals the Chinese defense budget, suggests that many political and intelligence blunders were made in the run-up to Trump’s “excursion” in Iran. The post The Intelligence Community and the Essential Role of Threat Assessment appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Melvin Goodman.
Gusanos of Monarchy: War, Exile, and the Misplacement of a Nation
The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil – Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963) There is a word from another revolution that fits a little too well in this time: gusano—the exile who leaves a revolution only to spend More The post Gusanos of Monarchy: War, Exile, and the Misplacement of a Nation appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="945" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404936" class="wp-image-404936 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anti-Iranian_regime_protest_Gothenburg_2026-01-31_22.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: Crannofonix News – CC BY 4.0 The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil – Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963) There is a word from another revolution that fits a little too well in this time: gusano—the exile who leaves a revolution only to spend decades begging Empire to bring them back. It belongs to Cuba, but its logic has migrated. You can now find it, almost intact, among a certain stratum of the Iranian diaspora—especially those still orbiting the fading promise of monarchy. In Miami, they waited for Washington to deliver Havana. In Los Angeles, Toronto, and Berlin, a faction now waits for Washington—or Tel Aviv—to deliver Tehran to them as it was in 1978. Same structure, different flag. And with the current war against Iran, that structure has hardened into something uglier: open alignment with destruction as a pathway to return. Bombs as Liberation Let’s not pretend otherwise. Sections of the diaspora—particularly monarchist-adjacent networks—have greeted the strikes on Iran with glee and enthusiasm. Not hesitation. Not grief. Enthusiasm. “Precision strikes.” “Necessary pressure.” “Transition.” The language is clinical. The reality is not. What’s being smuggled in here is a simple proposition: That a country can be saved by being broken via imperial hubris. We’ve seen this movie before. Iraq was supposed to be liberated. Afghanistan was supposed to be rebuilt. Libya was supposed to be freed. The ruins are still there, if anyone cares to look. But exile politics has a way of editing reality. Distance sanitizes violence. From abroad, war looks like strategy. Up close, it looks like collapse. The Privilege of Distance and Zulm as Misplacement The Iranian diaspora is not a monolith, since I am among them. Millions of people, scattered across continents, with wildly different views. Many, like myself, oppose the war outright. Many know exactly what foreign intervention produces: not democracy, but unmitigated wreckage. But the loudest voices are not always the most representative. They are simply the most amplified—and the least exposed to consequence. That asymmetry matters because the diaspora debates; the homeland absorbs; and in that gap, something corrosive takes hold: a politics with no cost attached to it. Call it what it is: zulm. Not just injustice in the moral sense, but misplacement—putting a thing where it does not belong. What could be more misplaced than celebrating the bombing of your own country from the safety of another? This is not dissent. It is dislocation. Iran, in this frame, ceases to be a lived reality—people, cities, infrastructure, heritage, memory—and becomes an abstract object. Something to be broken, rearranged, restored. A symbol, not a place. That is zulm at the level of perception itself: The eye sees a spectacle, not a society; the ear hears rhetoric, not suffering; the tongue speaks from a ground it no longer inhabits. Monarchy as Myth At the center of this is not politics, but nostalgia—more precisely, mythologized nostalgia. The Pahlavi era is recast as a lost golden age. Its contradictions disappear. Its violences are minimized. Its image is polished into something exportable. Layered onto this is a civilizational narrative that increasingly slides into something else: a rejection of Iran as it actually exists, in favor of an Iran that must be purified, restored, reimagined—often in explicitly anti-Islamic or anti-Arab terms. But this isn’t a program. It’s a fantasy—and a dangerous one because fantasies, when backed by missiles, become very real, very quickly. Outsourcing Liberation and Speaking For a Country Burning Strip away the slogans and one idea remains: Liberation can be outsourced. Someone else will do it. Someone else will break the regime. Someone else will clear the ground. This is the gusano logic in its pure form. And it has a track record: It fails. Not morally, but structurally. Because external force does not produce internal legitimacy. It produces violent vacuums, generational fragmentation, and long, ugly aftermaths. As war tightens its grip, voices inside Iran narrow—through blackout, repression, sheer survival. Meanwhile, the diaspora gets louder. It speaks not just about Iran, but increasingly for it. And in doing so, it risks turning war into narrative where distance becomes clarity, amplification becomes authority and reality becomes optional. The Return of Measure and Naming the Formation But there is a law that doesn’t care about narratives: the law of return, of proportion, of balance—call it qisas. Not revenge. Not vengeance. Rebalancing. What is displaced returns. What is distorted is answered. What is projected outward finds its way back. For those celebrating destruction at a distance, this should give pause, because wars don’t stay where they start. They echo politically, economically, psychologically and existentially. The fracture you cheer does not remain contained since—guaranteed—it takes a malevolent life of its own. To call this “gusanos of monarchy” is not to condemn an entire diaspora. It is to identify a pattern: exilic, nostalgic, empire-facing, war-tolerant, if not war-dependent. It is a politics that mistakes collapse for opportunity and confuses proximity to power with proximity to truth. The Final Question Opposition to the Islamic Republic is not the issue. That is widespread, and in many cases entirely justified—politically, morally, historically. There is no shortage of reasons to resist authoritarianism, repression, or the suffocation of public life. But that is precisely why the question that follows cannot be evaded, because it cuts deeper than opposition itself: how is that opposition articulated, and through what means is it pursued? Do you oppose it in a way that preserves the possibility of Iran—or in a way that destroys it in order to save it? This is not a rhetorical flourish. It is the dividing line between two fundamentally different orientations to power and responsibility. One begins from the premise that a country is more than its regime: that it consists of people, infrastructure, memory, hritage, continuity—fragile, interdependent systems that, once shattered, do not simply reassemble themselves under a new flag. The other treats the country as an abstraction, a surface upon which political fantasies can be projected, erased, and redrawn at will. The first approach is slow, uneven, and uncertain. It requires internal pressure, social transformation, and the difficult work of building legitimacy from within. It carries no guarantees, no timelines, no spectacle. The second is fast, decisive, and catastrophic. It promises rupture, cleansing, reset—the seductive language of zeroing out history so that it can begin again on more favorable terms. It is also, almost without exception, a lie. History has already adjudicated this choice. From Iraq to Libya, from Afghanistan to Syria, the record is consistent: when destruction is taken as the precondition of renewal, what follows is not rebirth but disintegration. Institutions collapse, social trust evaporates, violence diffuses, and what remains is not a liberated polity but a fractured terrain, open to new forms of domination. Let me say this again: You do not get your country back. You get what survives the process—and survival is not the same thing as continuity. A society can endure and still be unrecognizable to itself. It can persist as a geography while losing its coherence as a world. And in the case of Iran—given its scale, its internal complexity, its regional entanglements—the risks are even starker. This is not a contained system that can be surgically altered from the outside. It is a dense, interwoven field. To rupture it violently is not to clear the ground, but to unleash forces that do not answer to anyone’s blueprint—not Washington’s, not Tel Aviv’s, and certainly not the diaspora’s. So the question returns, stripped of illusion: What exactly are you willing to see destroyed in the name of saving it? Because if the answer includes the country itself—its cities, its infrastructure, its social fabric—then what is being pursued is not liberation, but substitution: one catastrophe in place of another, with the vague hope that something better might emerge from the wreckage. And sometimes, it doesn’t. Sometimes what remains is not a country waiting to be reclaimed, but a space in which the very idea of return no longer makes sense. And that is the risk being entertained now—not in theory, but in real time. The post Gusanos of Monarchy: War, Exile, and the Misplacement of a Nation appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Wahid Azal.
Iran in the Light of the Nuremberg Principles
As international law developed over the centuries, the principle of State sovereignty and the prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of other states gradually evolved -- from the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 through the Congress of Vienna 1814-15, the establishment of the League of Nations in 1919 and the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945 as an incipient world constitution aimed at promoting peace, development and human rights. More The post Iran in the Light of the Nuremberg Principles appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-826x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-826x630.jpg 826w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-680x519.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-768x586.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-1536x1171.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-2048x1562.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-500x381.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-600x458.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 826px) 100vw, 826px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404939" class="wp-image-404939 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-680x519.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="519" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-680x519.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-826x630.jpg 826w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-768x586.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-1536x1171.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-2048x1562.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-500x381.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Color_photograph_of_judges_bench_at_IMT-600x458.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: Raymond D’Addario – Public Domain As international law developed over the centuries, the principle of State sovereignty and the prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of other states gradually evolved — from the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 through the Congress of Vienna 1814-15, the establishment of the League of Nations in 1919 and the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945 as an incipient world constitution aimed at promoting peace, development and human rights. In the light of the hecatomb of the Second World War, as a reaction to the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes, the victorious allies set up the International Military Tribunal for Nürnberg[1] and conducted numerous trials pursuant to the London Agreement of 8 August 1945 and Control Council Law Nr. 10. The IMT Statute defined three principal crimes: (a) ‘ Crimes against peace: ‘ namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing; (b) ‘ War crimes: ‘ namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labour or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity; (c) ‘ Crimes against humanity.- ‘ namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated. Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan.” Robert Jackson The US Chief prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal for Nuremberg (IMT) Robert Jackson wisely stated in his opening statement in October 1945 that “while this law is first applied against German aggressors, the law includes, and if it is to serve a useful purpose it must condemn aggression by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment[2].” Similarly, the Tribunal’s1946 judgment concluded that: “to initiate a war of aggression is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”[3] In the same way as the prohibition of the crime of aggression extends to any aggression committed by any country (e.g. the USSR aggression against Finland in November 1939, the USSR aggression against Poland in September 1939), the prohibition of war crimes and crimes against humanity must provide for the indictment of all suspects, regardless of their country of origin. The principle of “tu quoque” means that all violations of international criminal law should be prosecuted, not only those of the vanquished. International criminal law must be applied uniformly. If applied selectively, international law loses authority and credibility and would promote a culture of impunity. Victor’s injustice The London Agreement of 8 August 1945 which laid down the statute of the IMT suffered from a “birth defect” or “original sin” – it was a classical victor’s tribunal. The judges and prosecutors all came from the four victorious powers, none of them came from neutral countries. All of the accused were defeated enemies. The victorious Allies also set up a special Tribunal to try the Japanese aggressors and conducted trials in Tokyo. Alas, the Statute of the Tokyo Tribunal did not establish jurisdiction over crimes committed by the US, UK, France, Russia in their war against Japan. The statutes of the IMT and Tokyo Tribunals did not envisage universal jurisdiction, the capacity to indict all persons who were suspected of violating the Hague and Geneva Conventions on the laws of war and international humanitarian law. It was outside the IMT mandate to prosecute USSR officials for the execution of some 15,000 Polish officers and soldiers at Katyn and elsewhere, impossible to prosecute the Royal Airforce for the carpet-bombing of population centers in Germany, causing some 600,000 civilian deaths, for the crimes of the “dam-busters” who destroyed dams in Germany causing horrendous floods and tens of thousands of civilian deaths, for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 or for the recidivist bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was not possible to hold the participants of the Potsdam Conference accountable for the decision to “transfer” some 14 million ethnic Germans from territories where their ancestors had lived for seven hundred years, the expulsion and spoliation of the Germans of East Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia, East Brandenburg, Bohemia, Moravia, and for the expulsion of German “minorities” from Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, etc. These expulsions were far more serious than the “ethnic cleansing” practised in Yugoslavia during the 1990’s, which the international community unanimously condemned. Few know that up to two million human beings did not survive the ordeal.[4] Nuremberg Principles Notwithstanding numerous jurisdictional problems associated with the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals, it cannot be denied that they established a new international legal regime and that much of it is forward-looking and should be applied today to conflicts such as those raging in the Middle East. The UN General Assembly entrusted the UN International Law Commission with the formulation of the Nuremberg Principles, which were adopted in 1950[5]. Principle I Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefor and liable to punishment. Principle II The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under international law. Principle III The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible Government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law. Principle IV The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him. Principle V Any person charged with a crime under international law has the right to a fair trial on the facts and law. Principle VI The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law: (a) Crimes against peace: (i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances; (ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i). (b) War crimes: Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave-labour or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war, of persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity. (c) Crimes against humanity: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, when such acts are 3 done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime. Principle VII Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law. Undoubtedly, the Nuremberg Principles have been grossly violated by the United States and Israel in the context of the war of aggression against Iran. The International Criminal Court should motu proprio start an investigation into the evident violations of Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Statute of Rome[6], and issue the necessary warrants of arrest for those responsible of these crimes. The crime of aggression within the meaning of the Kampala definition[7] of 2010 and General Assembly Resolution 3314 of 1974[8] has undoubtedly been committed. This must have consequences. If the ICC fails to act, it will lose whatever authority and credibility it still has. Is there a principle of “preventive self-defence”? The Israeli and US governments have been invoking a co-called right of “preventive self-defence” in an attempt to legitimize their brazen aggression on Iran. Nevertheless, neither customary international law nor the UN Charter provides for any such right. Accordingly, notwithstanding the mainstream media narratives, neither the US nor Israel have a legal leg to stand on – there is zero right of pre-emptive action, but instead a prohibition of the use of force without UN Security Council approval. When in March 2003 George W. Bush and the “coalition of the willing” attacked Iraq, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan clearly stated that the Iraq War was “incompatible with the UN Charter”. When pressed by journalists for a clarification, he stated that the it was an “illegal war.”[9] There was much discussion around the concept of preventive self-defence, and a consensus emerged among international lawyers that such a right did not exist. The exception to the prohibition of the use of force required a previous military attack. Only such a prior armed aggression could justify armed self-defence. Even pursuant to article 51, self-defence would not justify total war. Self-defence is understood as a temporary measure to repel an attack until the Security Council is seized of the matter and can act to resolve the conflict. Article 51 of the UN Charter is unambiguous: Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security. [10] It is worth recalling that in 2003, Iraq had not attacked anyone. Saddam Hussein was always ready to negotiate with the US and actively cooperated with UN envoys Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei. Recently Hans Blix commented on the current war in Iran. The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, now aged 96, Blix had led the hunt for nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in Iraq for many months, while the US and UK were sabre rattling and threatening to attack the Saddam Hussein regime. Blix now warns that the US risks repeating the “awful” results of the Iraq War by joining Israel in trying to impose regime change in Iran[11]. Although Blix and ElBaradei told the UN Security Council in 2003 that no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. George W Bush and Tony Blair pushed ahead with their illegal invasion and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. Speaking before the US bombardment of Iran’s nuclear facilities, Blix stated that the war against Iran shares “similarities” with 2003. It is déjà-vu. The US and Israel – with UK support – are “both using the suspicions of acquisition of nuclear arms as a main argument in favour of action. In reality, what they want is regime change.” But as Blix insisted, “Regime change is illegal, and it is also very dangerous. They thought removing Saddam would solve the situation, and they brought the Middle East to the worst situation I can imagine… The whole region has been embroiled in the consequences.” UN Charter Articles 2(3) and 2(4) In this context let us revisit the text of article 2(4) of the UN Charter, the prohibition of the use of force : “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” In June 2025 and again in February 2026, Israel and the United States violated the UN prohibition of the use of force. The Security Council has been addressing the conflict for years, striving to find a rational solution through diplomacy. This was achieved in 2015 when the Security Council adopted Resolution 2231, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), and the Vienna Agreement on the Iranian nuclear program of July 14, 2015. Thus, the US-Israel aggressions against Iran were in blatant contravention of the spirit and letter of Security Council Resolution 2231. The US-Israeli attempt to dress aggression in the garments of “self-defence” has failed, because neither in June 2025 nor in February 2026 was there any “armed attack” by Iran against Israel or the USA. Article 51 of the UN Charter simply does not apply. The factual situation is that Iran pursued a course of action laid down in Article 2(3) of the UN Charter, according to which all states are obliged erga omnes to engage in diplomacy: “All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in a manner that does not endanger international peace, security, or justice.” Iran has complied with this. Israel and the USA acted in violation of Articles 2(3) and 2(4) of the Charter. Negotiations in Oman and Geneva were underway when Israel and the USA attacked Iran without provocation or warning. The bombing of Iran on February 28 by the US and Israel, just like the attacks of June 2025, constitute serious war crimes. These unprovoked aggressions violate fundamental principles of customary international law, as well as international humanitarian law, namely the Hague and Geneva Conventions. More specifically they constitute the crime of “perfidy” as defined in Article 37 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Red Cross Convention. Art. 37 stipulates in part: “ It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy. The following acts are examples of perfidy: (a) the feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce or of a surrender…”[12] Professor Ben Saul[13], the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism condemned these attacks as follows: “I strongly condemn the illegal Israeli and US aggression against Iran, in violation of the most fundamental rule of international law and the United Nations Charter – the ban on the use of force. This is not lawful self-defence against an armed attack by Iran and the Security Council has not authorized it. Preventive disarmament, counter-terrorism and regime change on this scale constitute the international crime of aggression. All responsible governments should condemn this lawlessness from two countries who excel in shredding the international legal order.” At the UN Security Council, Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated that the US-Israeli attacks violated the UN Charter and international law.[14] Numerousr UN special rapporteurs, including George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on International Order, similarly condemned the US-Israeli aggressions[15]. Conclusion The US-Israeli against Iran is not only a war against the regime of the Mullahs, it is a war against the United Nations Charter, against international law and morals, against all of us, against civilization itself. What do we understand under the term civilization? It means ordered life among human beings in pursuance of common goals, a framework and process enriched by traditions, memory, a sense of identity and a moral compass. Civilization builds on foundational values and entails an agreement to live according to rational norms, in an animus to observe the rules of the game, whether these rules are written or unwritten. Long before writing was invented, language and codes of conduct existed to regulate communal human activity. Hunters and gatherers had their own cultures and gradually devised their own rules for survival and development — lived in small communities, improvised sports, invented stories, sang songs. Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon in Africa, Asia, Polynesia, Europe or the Americas, conceived their own codes and methodologies. Their civilizations found expression in religious ceremonies, initiation rites, music, dances, cuisine, practical rules of sanitation, irrigation, canals, bridges, funeral rites. They managed to survive and prosper in hostile environments, e.g. the Aboriginals of Australia. Written laws came much later, when the Chinese, Indians, Mesopotamians, Persians, Greeks invented their respective symbols corresponding to vowels and consonants. The ability to record financial transactions with written symbols facilitated commerce between peoples, and enabled the cross-fertilization of cultures. Religion played an important role in giving meaning to natural phenomena, to life and death. Laws were codified to advance cohesion in societies, offer a measure of predictability, reward performance and punish those who broke the rules. Courts were established to give authority and credibility to the laws by ensuring their enforcement. History teaches us that civilizations decline and end when societies abandon their foundational values and no longer respect the rules of the game. Legal uncertainty leads to chaos, violence and war. A “culture of cheating”, double standards and bad faith betray the “human Covenant” and undermine the proper functioning of society. As civilizations rise and fall, the responsibility for maintaining our culture and values rests on each one of us. Today we observe a frontal attack on civilization, a return to barbarism and the primitive “might is right” paradigm. It is up to us to push back against this development, to name a spade a spade, to condemn the genocide in Gaza, to reject the aggression against Iran, and demand accountability from the United States and Israel. What can the Global Majority do? What should the BRICS, the Non-aligned movement, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organiation do? I would propose to BDS both Israel and the United States. Rhetoric alone will not reverse the downward spiral toward universal chaos. Those who are at war with the UN Charter and the world must be isolated economically. A campaign to boycott, divest and sanction must be organized and followed-through. This would entail, inter alia, ceasing any purchases of weapons and technology from the US and Israel. Stop buying F-16, F-35, Boeing, Lockheed/Martin, Raytheon, General Motors, Caterpillar etc. Divest from US stocks and bonds. Sell off all US Treasury bonds. Stop supplying the US and Israel with “rare earths”. Such concerted action would immediately impact the economies of these two rogue countries. Perhaps the citizens of those countries (I am an American citizen myself) will understand the gravity of the situation, go out on the streets with signs “Not in our Name”, “If the government does not stop the war and the genocide, we will stop the government”. My generation did that when I was a student at Harvard in the late 60’s and early 70’s in protest against the crimes being committed by the US during the Vietnam war. Concretely, this means organizing general strikes, refusing to load weapons on ships, refusing to cooperate with the pursuance of an illegal war not authorized by the US Congress. We must kick out those undemocratic “leaders” who do not represent us. The people do not want to send their children to war. They want peace, not perpetual war. We demand a return to sanity and observance of the fundamental rules of civilization. Notes. [1]https://www.refworld.org/legal/agreements/un/1945/56517 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/imtchart.asp https://thejacksonlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20200808-Jackson-List-London-Agreement.pdf [2] https://www.roberthjackson.org/speech-and-writing/opening-statement-before-the-international-military-tribunal/ [3] The International Military Tribunal for Germany (1946-09-30), Judgment of the International Military Tribunal, the Avalon Project, Yale University. https://legal.un.org/ilc/documentation/english/a_cn4_5.pdf [4] Alfred de Zayas, Nemesis at Potsdam, Routledge, London 1977, new edition Routledge Revivals 2023; A Terrible Revenge, Macmillan, New York, 1994; 50 Theses on the Expulsion of the Germans, Verlag Inspiration, London and Berlin, 2012. [5]https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/7_1_1950.pdf [6] https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf ︎ [7] https://asp.icc-cpi.int/crime-of-aggression [8] http://www.un-documents.net/a29r3314.htm [9] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm [10] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text [11] https://inews.co.uk/news/world/hans-blix-truth-wmds-iraq-now-fears-repeat-iran-3762623 [12] https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977/article-37?activeTab= [13] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/professor-ben-saul-46748a13_i-strongly-condemn-the-illegal-israeli-and-activity-7433454707546861568-GcSI ︎ [14] https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-un-security-council-airstrikes-9140bca9241fb99be8cb3cff2c650741 [15] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-experts-denounce-aggression-iran-and-lebanon-warn-devastating-regional The post Iran in the Light of the Nuremberg Principles appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Alfred de Zayas.
Kaiser Permanente, AI, and the Workers on Strike, Again
“Kaiser executives say they’re not using AI to make patient care determinations, but they won’t say what technology is underpinning the online questionnaires that automatically determine whether patients require urgent appointments and assess whether they may be a threat to themselves,” said Carolyn Staehle, a behavioral therapist in San Francisco. “Whatever Kaiser wants to call More The post Kaiser Permanente, AI, and the Workers on Strike, Again appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
“Kaiser executives say they’re not using AI to make patient care determinations, but they won’t say what technology is underpinning the online questionnaires that automatically determine whether patients require urgent appointments and assess whether they may be a threat to themselves,” said Carolyn Staehle, a behavioral therapist in San Francisco. “Whatever Kaiser wants to call it, it’s not a human being making these potentially life and death decisions, and it’s not the same level of care as being assessed by a licensed therapist.” Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest health maintenance organization (HMO) is forcing its therapists onto the streets in the ongoing battle to deny mental health parity with medical in its services to 12 million members. The 2400 striking mental health care workers are members of the National Union of Health Care Workers (NUHW). They walked out on Wednesday, March 18, a “practice” strike, but most likely a taste of what’s to come. In 2022, these workers struck for ten weeks, the longest mental health care workers’ strike recorded. Two issues dominated negotiations from the start: workload for Kaiser therapists and wait time for Kaiser patients. The strikers won on both, forcing concessions until then all but unheard of. The strikers won break-through provisions to retain staff, reduce wait times for patients and a plan to collaborate on transforming Kaiser’s model for providing mental health care. This time, it’s inevitable the fight will be just as hard fought. But the NUHW members are battle-tested; each contract fight with Kaiser thus far has included a strike. More, this time the NUHW members were joined in a sympathy strike by thousands of registered nurses, who shared their concerns about Kaiser’s increasing use of artificial intelligence to the detriment of patient care. This can hardly be over-estimated. Since the 2009 SEIU trusteeship, Kaiser has faced a workforce has been deeply divided. But not so much this time, though thousands of service workers will still cross picket lines. The registered nurses are represented by the National Nurses Association. Stationary Engineers, represented by IUOE, Local 39, will also hold a sympathy strike with mental health workers, who will walk picket lines outside Kaiser medical centers in Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, Santa Clara and Santa Rosa. “We’re proud to strike alongside registered nurses and engineers in the fight for human-centered care at Kaiser,” said Joshua Gibbons, a therapist for Kaiser in Sacramento. “Mental healthcare is about human connection, and Kaiser is recklessly forging ahead with untested artificial intelligence that it sees potentially replacing us and the care we provide our patients.” Kaiser is determined to rescind past concessions, never mind that in 2023, a $200 million agreement with the California Department of Managed Health Care that it lacks sufficient behavioral health providers. Last month, Kaiser entered into a $31 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor over violations of mental health parity laws. Alas, in our new world, “billions” has replaced “millions.” Kaiser has $67 billion in reserves. Kaiser’s CEO Greg Adams, is reported to receive more than $20 million annually. Kaiser must reimburse patients who had to pay out-of-pocket for mental health treatment they couldn’t get from Kaiser. So, fines, no problem. “Kaiser has been punished and fined so many times for mental health violations, we can’t let it get away with more,” says Kaiser therapist Emma Olsen. “Our patients need human therapists, who can work seamlessly with their doctors and have enough time to do our jobs right — and it’s clear Kaiser doesn’t want to pay for that level of care.” Yet Kaiser wants to add AI to its array of extreme proposals – it is demanding “flexibility,” meaning all but a free hand in the introduction of AI. The workers have been without a contract since September. The sides remain far apart, with Kaiser sticking to proposals that would reverse patient care safeguards previously won by therapists and open the door to replacing therapist jobs with artificial intelligence and further outsourcing care. When it comes to AI, Kaiser is setting the stage to not just replace work done by therapists but to replace therapists themselves. Why is Kaiser doing this? The behemoth was once known as union-friendly. Workers supported it and were central in its origins and growth. “It’s a corporation,” says Sal Rosselli, president emeritus of the union. “It’s the bottom line. Profit and competition.” Kaiser is a competitor, an empire builder, but this costs money. Kaiser, which began in California and stayed there for decades, now has hospitals and clinics in Hawaii, Washington state, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. It’s like General Motors in the fifties or Amazon today. Healthcare is remaking the US economy. It’s the nation’s top employer, surpassing manufacturing and service. In 38 states, the industry is the biggest employer. Manufacturing cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh have transitioned to healthcare as the driver of their economies. Hospitals are often the largest employers in small towns and rural settings. The industry will continue to grow (it can’t be outsourced, not like manufacturing), despite looming cuts in federal health care spending. Healthcare is an engine of the twenty-first century economy; its workers are our blue-collar millions. 2,400 workers, not so big, then. But it’s 2,400 in a union that fights, and we need fighters. Their example is incalculable. A note. Seeing daily the rampaging of ICE on our streets and murder of healthcare workers in Minneapolis and in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran as well as the destruction of their hospitals, all the more important that we understand the connections and also support our sanctuaries and the healthcare workers who stand up in the face of repression, especially those healthcare workers who have been discipled or fired for daring to say Genocide. Thanks to Matthew Artz. The post Kaiser Permanente, AI, and the Workers on Strike, Again appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Cal Winslow.
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq … Iran War is Deja Vu All Over Again
If you’ve been around long enough to remember any of the wars in the last 60 years, the latest “excursion” in Iran by a demented old president will bring back many memories — and none of them good. You likely have silver in what’s left of your hair if you recall the early days of More The post Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq … Iran War is Deja Vu All Over Again appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1920px-Operation_Enduring_Freedom_DVIDS291463-600x398.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1920px-Operation_Enduring_Freedom_DVIDS291463.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: Tech. Sgt. Carmen Cheney – Public Domain If you’ve been around long enough to remember any of the wars in the last 60 years, the latest “excursion” in Iran by a demented old president will bring back many memories — and none of them good. You likely have silver in what’s left of your hair if you recall the early days of Vietnam, when we were told the war was necessary to prevent the “Domino Theory” — a fiction in which all of Southeast Asia would fall “like dominoes” to the communists. Not a word about how the French, who had colonized Vietnam and plundered its resources, had been ignominiously defeated and kicked out by the Viet Cong guerrillas in black pajamas, sandals, and AK-47s. So in we came, carpet bombing from B-52s, dropping massive amounts of deadly Agent Orange defoliant on the jungles, gardens, and villages of the Vietnamese, raking them mercilessly from helicopter gunships, while infamously claiming we had to “destroy villages to save them.” We lost 58,220 service men and women in the prolonged “conflict” that ran from our early involvement in 1956 to the day the final helicopters plucked the last Americans off the roof of the US Embassy in 1975 when North Vietnamese took over Saigon. The suffering of those with physical and mental afflictions from Agent Orange and PTSD, goes on to this day. Americans were lied to and intentionally deceived by our own government — and a complicit media that told us how we were winning the war, until it became so obvious we weren’t. Finally, even the “trustworthy” news anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley had to admit they were being fed false propaganda from the government — and passing it on to American citizens as truth. Fast forward to 9-11, when we actually were attacked. Ignoring the fact that 15 of the 19 attackers who flew the planes into the World Trade Towers and Pentagon were Saudis, we attacked Afghanistan. We didn’t hold Saudi Arabia accountable because they had the oil and gas on which the “industrialized” economies relied. So we destroyed Afghanistan, left it in shambles, and were finally, like the French in Vietnam, kicked out. Then there was Iraq…where we were facetiously told they had WMDs – Weapons of Mass Destruction! Mobile biological weapons labs! At our throats any minute! All lies. But once again lies propagated by our own government. And once again, the media was complicit and those who opposed yet another war of choice, were derided for not being “patriotic.” And now, here we are again — leaping into another war under the false pretense that Iran is a huge threat to us. All lies — and worse, we have allied with the Israelis and are complicit in their genocide in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and now Iran as our delusional president declares “we won!” We are again being told how well it’s going and how all this death and destruction is critical to our future. Yet, with global oil and gas prices skyrocketing, struggling American families and businesses are paying the price. As Montana’s MAGA sock-puppet congressional delegation cheers on the war our very democracy is at stake as researchers say freedom of expression in the US “is now at its lowest level since the end of WWII.” Make no mistake, nothing is more patriotic than holding your own government accountable for its actions. Our choice is to remain silent and complicit or do what we did to end the Vietnam War: protest like hell, call out the lies, and bring this ugly, unnecessary war to yet another ignominious end — and that’s true patriotism. The post Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq … Iran War is Deja Vu All Over Again appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by George Ochenski.
Congress Can Halt the Iran War by Doing Nothing. It Should
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wants $200 billion for the Trump administration’s illegal, ill-advised, undeclared war on Iran. Well, maybe. “That number could move,” he says, to get “properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is refilled, and not just refilled, More The post Congress Can Halt the Iran War by Doing Nothing. It Should appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4608" height="3456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg 4608w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4608" height="3456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg 4608w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4608" height="3456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg 4608w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4608" height="3456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg 4608w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4608" height="3456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg 4608w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4608" height="3456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-scaled.jpg 4608w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 4608px) 100vw, 4608px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-396430" class="wp-image-396430 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-680x510.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-840x630.jpg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-500x375.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_9196-600x450.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wants $200 billion for the Trump administration’s illegal, ill-advised, undeclared war on Iran. Well, maybe. “That number could move,” he says, to get “properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond.” You won’t need two guesses to guess which direction “that number” will likely move in. Will Whiskey Pete get his requested allowance bump? According to the Washington Post, unnamed “White House officials” think he’s aiming too high, and some members of Congress seem to agree. The correct congressional response — if you think it will help, by all means pass the recommendation on to “your” “representatives” — is a big fat goose-egg, for at least two reasons above and beyond the war being stupid and evil. The first reason, of course, is that the war is illegal. Since Congress hasn’t declared war, the executive branch has no authority to wage war. Congress shouldn’t fund something that only Congress has the power to approve when it hasn’t exercised that power. The second reason is that the Pentagon’s coffers are already full beyond comprehension. The FY 2026 “National Defense Authorization Act,” signed into law by US president Donald Trump last December, provided about $900 billion in taxpayer dollars to the US armed forces. And that’s not even the entire military budget. Non-NDAA spending brings the check to more than $1 trillion. That’s a lot of money. It’s a lot more money than any other regime on the planet spends on “defense,” and it’s being spent to “defend” a country that faces no credible threat of invasion and whose rulers have to constantly drum up arguments in order to pretend that it has any substantial “enemies” at all. Only one other regime on the planet — China’s — spends as much per year on “defense” as the EXTRA money Hegseth’s panhandling for. After more than four years of all-out war, the Russian and Ukrainian regimes are spending, respectively, about 3/4 as much and about 1/3 as much on their war machines as Hegseth’s request for MORE. The beauty of the situation is that all Congress has to do to take control of the situation is the same thing it’s been doing: Sit on its hands, with one of those hands gripping the budgetary wallet tight. They don’t even have to say “no.” They just have to NOT say “yes.” We should be in, if not done with, the “trial” phase of the Constitution’s impeachment/removal protocols by now, but so far all we’ve seen is a bunch of hand-wringing and a couple of failed attempts to exercise sub-constitutional control with “war powers resolutions.” If Congress doesn’t even possess the testicular fortitude to refrain from shelling out billions every time Hegseth sticks his hand out, what is Congress even good for? The question kind of answers itself. I predict that Congress will fall all over itself showering your money on the nation’s most famous DUI hire. The post Congress Can Halt the Iran War by Doing Nothing. It Should appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Thomas Knapp.
The Self-Undoing of Israel: Has Zionism Crossed the Point of No Return?
Is Israel’s trajectory toward isolation and collapse self-inflicted, and has Zionism reached the point of no return? Every war led by Benjamin Netanyahu is framed not as policy, but as fate. “There are moments in which a nation faces two possibilities: to do or die,” Netanyahu declared on October 28, 2023, as Israel expanded its More The post The Self-Undoing of Israel: Has Zionism Crossed the Point of No Return? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404900" class="wp-image-404900 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cole-keister-pOCQuo4b-3E-unsplash-3-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Cole Keister. Is Israel’s trajectory toward isolation and collapse self-inflicted, and has Zionism reached the point of no return? Every war led by Benjamin Netanyahu is framed not as policy, but as fate. “There are moments in which a nation faces two possibilities: to do or die,” Netanyahu declared on October 28, 2023, as Israel expanded its genocide in Gaza. The wording is familiar. The urgency is always absolute. The implication is unmistakable: Israel is not choosing war. It is forced into it. For many, the claim is inherently contradictory. How can a state initiate war—and in Gaza’s case, sustain a genocide—while insisting that it is merely defending itself from annihilation? Yet within Israeli political discourse, and across much of Western media, this contradiction is rarely interrogated. It is normalized. That normalization is not incidental. It is foundational. Long before the establishment of Israel on the ruins of historic Palestine in 1948—the Nakba, or catastrophe, for Palestinians—the language of existential threat was deeply embedded in Zionist political thinking. Survival was never framed as coexistence, but as triumph. Security was never separated from expansion. In recent years, that fatalistic language has returned with renewed intensity. The events of October 7, 2023, brought a sudden end to what had been, for Netanyahu, a moment of unprecedented political triumph. Prior to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, Israel was not merely secure—it was ascending. A parallel “flood” was underway: normalization. Arab, Muslim, African, Asian and even Latin American states were steadily incorporating Israel into their political and economic frameworks. The so-called isolation of Israel was collapsing. Netanyahu was openly celebrating this shift. In September 2023, speaking alongside US President Joe Biden, he said, as reported by Reuters: “I think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” adding that such a deal would “go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state.” Days later, addressing the United Nations, he spoke of “the blessings of a new Middle East,” according to the official transcript of his September 22, 2023, UN speech. This was not merely political rhetoric. It reflected a broader strategic project: Israel’s integration into the region, not through justice, but through power—through alliances with wealthy Gulf states, economic expansion, and geopolitical repositioning. The genocide in Gaza shattered that trajectory. Far from cementing Israel’s regional and global standing, the war has accelerated its isolation. According to a June 2025 Pew Research Center survey, majorities in most of the 24 countries surveyed held unfavorable views of Israel, while confidence in Netanyahu remained low across nearly all regions. This shift is not limited to the Global South. It reflects a broader erosion of Israel’s legitimacy, even among traditional allies. In response, Israeli political discourse has returned—almost instinctively—to the language of existential war. Even when Netanyahu attempts to revive earlier narratives about shaping a “new Middle East,” the rhetoric repeatedly collapses back into warnings of annihilation. This reveals a deeper truth: within Israeli political thinking, the alternative to dominance is not coexistence, but destruction. Part of this can indeed be explained through the logic of settler colonialism. Expansion is not incidental to settler-colonial projects; it is built into them. Such systems do not merely occupy land. They must continuously secure, reorder and enlarge their control, while presenting indigenous resistance as irrational violence. Other settler-colonial societies remained colonial in essence while their territorial expansion was curbed by larger geopolitical constraints. Israel has never truly encountered such limits. It has not been meaningfully held accountable. Shielded by unconditional US support and enabled by Western powers that were themselves former or current colonial actors, it has had every structural incentive to continue. But Israel’s fixation on existential danger even at the height of military superiority points to something deeper. It suggests a political culture haunted by its own origin story. One possible explanation is moral and historical illegitimacy. Israel knows, at some buried but irrepressible level, that it was founded on the destruction of another people, on expulsion, massacre and erasure. A state built on the ruins of Palestine cannot indefinitely silence the history beneath it. Still, there is more to the story. Even before the genocide in Gaza, Israel was gripped by internal debates about its own continuity. In 2023, amid a profound political crisis, President Isaac Herzog warned of a possible “constitutional collapse,” according to Reuters. At the same time, Israeli discourse increasingly invoked the so-called “eighth decade curse,” the notion that Jewish political entities historically falter as they approach their eighth decade. As noted in various newspapers, Netanyahu has been described as viewing himself as uniquely capable of leading Israel “into its eighth decade and beyond,” reflecting a deeper anxiety about national continuity. October 7 brought these fears roaring back. So did the emergence of a more assertive regional pro-Palestine camp, particularly within what is often called the Axis of Resistance. True, several Arab regimes remained aligned with Washington and eager to contain the fallout. But in doing so, many only further exposed their own fragility. From Israel’s perspective, this convergence of pressures reinforces both real and imagined fears—not only to state security, but to the ideological foundations upon which the state was built. What makes this especially striking is that Israel has failed to secure decisive strategic outcomes in war after war. In Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and beyond, it has relied on overwhelming force without achieving lasting political resolution. Here lies the central irony. Israel’s fears, long framed as hypothetical or exaggerated, are being transformed into tangible risks—not by inevitability, but by Israel’s own actions. The result is a self-fulfilling trajectory: a march toward deeper isolation, perpetual conflict, and internal uncertainty—driven not by necessity, but by an inability, or refusal, to imagine an alternative. That march may yet reach its logical end. The deepest irony is that Israel once had alternatives. It was not fated to choose this path. But a just coexistence—one grounded in equality and historical reckoning—has never been intelligible within Zionist political vocabulary. There, coexistence is recast as disappearance. And so Israel is not merely confronting a crisis. It is undoing itself, by its own hand. The post The Self-Undoing of Israel: Has Zionism Crossed the Point of No Return? appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Ramzy Baroud.
Afkar-e-taza! From Imperial OverKill to Decolonial OverLife: the Ground Zero of Palestinian and Iranian Resistance and a Feminism that Embraces Life
“Is that you again? Didn’t I kill you? I said…you killed me…and I forgot, like you, to die.” – Mahmoud Darwish, “In Jerusalem” My esteemed colleague, the beautiful human being named Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a Palestinian Armenian scholar from Jerusalem, reviled and chased out of her tenured full professor position at Hebrew University for daring to More The post Afkar-e-taza! From Imperial OverKill to Decolonial OverLife: the Ground Zero of Palestinian and Iranian Resistance and a Feminism that Embraces Life appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-354985" class="wp-image-354985 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-680x510.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5113-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair “Is that you again? Didn’t I kill you? I said…you killed me…and I forgot, like you, to die.” – Mahmoud Darwish, “In Jerusalem” My esteemed colleague, the beautiful human being named Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a Palestinian Armenian scholar from Jerusalem, reviled and chased out of her tenured full professor position at Hebrew University for daring to call the genocide of Gazans by its proper name, and who has been a Visiting Professor this past year at Princeton with me in the Gender and Sexuality Program, elaborates on this verse of her compatriot, the late poet Mahmoud Darwish, through her chilling concept of Overkill[1]. Like the related term “Necropolitics” as adumbrated by African scholar Achille Mbembe, “Overkill” signals the murderous policies enacted on the bodies of SOME citizens (deemed unworthy, abject)–by neoliberal capitalist states in the contemporary world order, of which the entity of Israel is a prime example. Overkill, she explains, is a colonial necro-economy. As a colonial technology, overkill operates through the systematic evisceration of the colonized socio-political body—attacking its cohesion, interdependence, and capacity for regeneration. It subjects populations to continuous and routinized death, rendering human life, family, and community continuity no longer sacred but instrumentalized in the service of power. In her analysis and theorization of the ongoing genocidal Nakba in Gaza, Shalhoub-Kevorkian thus calls attention to “the centrality of death and overkill apparent in the ashlaa’ [body parts] of decomposed babies in incubators” bringing into our view “the ordinary terror inhabiting the most vulnerable bodies – newborns and children – and most vulnerable spaces: homes, schools, and hospitals” (540). Her analysis exposes the racist, white supremacist, necropolitical ideology of the Israeli state that “reduces children and newborn bodies into decomposing, dismembered objects to support the larger project of demarcating the ontological boundary between the human and the non-human, the should-be-shredded, decomposed, and killed to disappear.” In other words, some bodies—seen as sub or rather, non-human—like those of brown Arab Palestinians—are ripe for killing—again, and again and again: this is overkill. Contrasted to the Israeli babies whose birth is celebrated by their soldier-fathers even as they are simultaneously killing and maiming Palestinian ones, shows that this racist ideology claims only the colonizer’s bodies as human, worthy of being saved, preserved, and celebrated. Yet, the brutal inscription of Israeli state power on Palestinian flesh, as Shalhoub-Kevorkian explains, links these dead and “dying bodies to the settler colonial state” permanently, eternally, for historians to excavate forever in perpetuity[2]. In an ever-more searing gesture of anamnesia, when parents of dead babies and children look for the scattered remains of the flesh of their flesh, a finger, a hand, a severed foot—this lamlameh, this process of in-gathering, of community resolve in the face of unimaginable grief and loss, this collecting of ashlaa’, tethers flesh and body, delivering the supreme blow of resistance: the gestus of re-membering dis-membered parts, that (re) connects Palestinian “individual and collective lives … establish [ing] a renewed peoplehood.” Thus, Palestinians refuse to be reduced to body parts, their wholeness fragmented, they refuse to succumb to the erasure the oppressor so desperately tries to ensure with all the military might at its disposal, supplied by the arch-imperialist nation of the USA, whose watchdog in the (so-called) Middle East Israel has always been. Instead, Israeli OverKill results in Palestinian OverLife— life beyond life, a hauntology that the settler colonial state can neither resolve nor whose consequences, escape, is condemned to live in its spectral present, haunted by lost futures and pasts that refuse to die. As Darwish had written in 2005, addressing the Israeli Overkill machine, “you killed me…and I forgot, like you, to die.” Overkill is the paradoxical condition of Overlife: Operation Enduring Resistance. Which brings us to an understanding—demanding admiration– of the Iranian state’s response (that is supported by the overwhelming majority of its people, including critics of the Islamic regime)–to the unprovoked and illegal aggression reigning death and destruction since February 28th on its sovereign land and citizenry by US/Israel’s combined military might. Just like Israeli airpower targeted and blew up civilian spaces in Gaza that are protected by International Law such as schools, hospitals, homes, places of worship (what a joke International Law has become!)—so too in the vicious early phase of lethal bombing on Tehran and elsewhere in Iran, an elementary school for girls was targeted and destroyed, shattering into ashlaa the bodies of its young students, most completely burned, many identifiable only by personal items such as school bags. Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of War, a willing accomplice like his master in Israel’s war (yes, the tail now wags the dog), allowed false and outdated intelligence to guide his orders to target the school. In the wake of this heinous war crime, a panel of Special Rapporteurs–experts– appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, had this to say: The killing of a reported 168 people, primarily schoolgirls, in the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab in Iran has shaken to its very core the conscience of the world. The attack, carried out nearly two weeks ago when classes were under way, reduced the school building to rubble. Parents who had sent their daughters to school discovered minutes later that classrooms had become mass graves. This UN human rights panel has gone on to demand that the killings must be “Urgently, independently and effectively investigated, with accountability for any violations”. Skepticism about what such a “demand” issued by an international body now widely seen to be utterly weak and in thrall to its western donors can effectively accomplish aside–this same UN panel does something worse. It attempts at shifting the blame onto the Iranian victims of Israel violence, by detailing a litany of gender-based discriminations ascribed to the Islamist government in the same breath as it condemns the attacks by US forces on Iran (egged on by Israel’s deliberately faulty intelligence). For example, these special rapporteurs follow their handwringing at the devastating attacks by noting that the reported attack unfolds against a backdrop of entrenched, systematic gender-based discrimination in Iran that has profoundly affected women’s and girls’ right to life and their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, from marriage, divorce and inheritance to access to justice. Women continue to be executed under the qisas system for homicide, often after killing partners in the context of domestic violence, sexual abuse and child marriage. Meanwhile, discriminatory laws shield male perpetrators of femicide from standard penalties by allowing claims of so-called “honour”, a woman’s perceived disobedience, or her attempt to leave a marriage to serve as justification. During the nationwide protests that began in December 2025, over 200 children, including girls, were reportedly killed by security forces, and many others remain arbitrarily detained, including children, and are reportedly facing the death penalty. What is the purpose of these remarks other than to set up a sly justification for the Israeli/US attacks as harbingers of “freedom” for Iranians from the yoke of Islamist tyranny Are Iranian women who are purportedly chafing at the bit to throw off their veils in imitation of a white western understanding of what constitutes feminist liberation, asking to be saved from the burqa by being killed in a shower of bombs? ? is that what liberation for school girls mean? another mode of overkill….where all parties “kill and kill more’, to “save and liberate”? Is this the logic that should guide us? Like the 20-year “War on (of!) Terror” unleashed by the US and its western allies on people of Afghanistan, the war on Iran—also just like the Israeli genocide in Gaza that claimed as a goal the erasure of the Islamist extremism of Hamas to secure Palestinian women’s and LGBTQ rights– so too this latest US/raeli aggression against Iran attempts to peg its Orwellian justification on to the hook of women’s bodies. This latest war against Iran—like other aggressions unleashed against the Islamic regime since 1979–was certainly launched in the name of a liberal, individualist and separatist conception of women’s rights associated with White Western Feminism-a war seeking to hoodwink the world by white-washing ( pun intended)—its criminal intent through invoking as justification, the noble purpose of “saving brown women from brown men”. None of this is happening out of the blue, as it has a prehistory that haunts the present: this present that is peopled by the ghosts of lost futures and pasts, bodies and memories that refuse to die, will not die, as long as injustice continues its reign of terror. Sadly, even radical American feminists such as Kate Millett succumbed to the hegemonic definitions rooted in white supremacist liberal definitions of feminism back in 1979, which resulted in or should I say instantiated the self-cloaking mechanism that obfuscates even the best-intentioned progressive activists in the Imperium. Like other well intentioned and concerned feminists of her ilk, and certainly far more progressive and (somewhat) better informed than other well- known white feminists of the era like Gloria Steinem for eg, Millet could nonetheless not grasp the complexity of the social transformation that heralded the turning point in Iranian history symbolized by the overthrow of the Shah and the subsequent takeover by Imam Khomeini. It was an event that shook the foundations of the imperialist Western capitalist hegemonic system that sought to keep control over a postcolonial world order revolutionized by the dreams and hopes of the Bandung era and the Non-Aligned Movement. Iran’s Islamic Revolution has to be understood in that historical context. Seen thus in the light of nationalist movements of decolonial liberation that preceded it elsewhere in the Third World, what Millet could not grasp then, and what the West (of whose colonialist past Israel is the only surviving remnant in the Present) also remains deaf, dumb and blind to, today–is the fact that Iranian women are embedded in the larger anti imperial resistance now, as then. As analyzed in Iranian scholar Negar Mottahedeh’s book, Whisper Tapes (2015), Kate Millett possessed a “socially constructed state of unknowledge” about Iranian culture, leading her to misinterpret the urgency and nuanced demands of Iranian women, who were battling both state-sponsored sexism and foreign intervention. In 1979, with typical Western arrogance, Millett (mis)read what was a strategic unity of women and men in the protests as submissive, as caving in to Muslim patriarchy, whereas it was, for many Iranian feminists, a tactical decision to prevent their demands from being labeled “counterrevolutionary” or elitist. In a similar fashion, today’s experts in the UN and elsewhere, and including many Iranians in the diaspora who were former supporters of the Shah—continue to inhabit what Mottahedeh called a “socially constructed state of unknowledge.” These so-called “experts” also refuse to acknowledge inconvenient facts such as post-revolutionary Iranian women’s preponderance as students in universities. For example, we know (or ought to)—that Iranian women’s university enrollment has risen dramatically in post-revolutionary Iran, growing from approximately 3% in 1978 to over 55–60% of total university students in recent years. This represents nearly a 20-fold increase in the share of women in higher education since the 1979 Revolution, with women now comprising roughly 70% of STEM graduates (AI generated summary, for a fuller picture see https://www.workers.org/). As a lifelong feminist dedicated to a definition of feminism that is transnational in scope and that centers the ideals of social justice in the quest for a people’s as opposed to a narrowly defined “women’s” liberation movement—I am not here offering a blanket endorsement of the Islamic regime that has ruled Iran since 1979. What I am saying is that in the two weeks that Israel and the USA have been engaged with their far, far superior military hardware against Iran, Iran as David, is winning the battle for our hearts and minds against the Goliath that is US/rael. In my recent visit to my motherland, Pakistan, where I was invited to give a series of talks based on my scholarly, artistic and activist career to students and faculty beyond the elite urban university centers by an organization called Thinkfest, translated (in a Persianate Urdu) as Afkar-e-taza , meaning: “to think in new ways”– I heard amongst those I met and among my friends and family, including among Pakistani feminists, only praise and admiration for Iran, standing up to, rebuffing, and even inflicting damage on its powerful antagonists trying to reduce Iran’s 5000 year old civilization to rubble. The Iranian state and people are seen as engaged in a brave and just war of self-defense, exhorting other Muslim nations who are in the US/raeli orbit to reconsider their shameful capitulations to the imperialist West. Indeed, the world is being asked to think in new ways—afkar-e-taza–beyond the overkill of Empire that breeds endless cycles of violence. One can only hope the enormous sacrifices made by Iranians, like those of the Palestinians, especially the Gazans, whose genocide continues apace, will serve as a wake-up call. Iran, which has always supported openly a Free Palestine (and paid the price)—serves as a beacon for the world, lighting the way out of the darkness of capitulation and submission to the powers that be, and who, inshallah, wont remain so in the years to come. Iran, and Iranians, like Palestine and its people, are showing the rest of us how to stay human, to maintain our dignity, to fight for a just world for men, women, other humans, animals, ecologies. Now THAT is a feminism that can save us all, a politics of being that has the power to negate the death drive of nonbeing that has the world in the grip of overkill. The Eros of the majority, against the Thanatos of the minority. Solidarity of the Oppressed against the cynical and self-serving alliances of the Powerful. Please listen to this Iranian mother, who when asked how she plans to change her 2-year-old son’s diapers should hot water in the freezing cold in Tehran become unavailable, tells her interviewer: God is Great We don’t think about these things What about the Palestinian children who have been in this situation for years? How is my child any different from them? We fight today so they can live more easily tomorrow My son can live more comfortably in the future If we continue to fear the loss of hot water today, the world will continue on this path of oppression. Someone must stand up to this oppression. And there you have it. This is Feminism. This is Life. This is the real meaning of Zan, Zindagi, Azadi: Women, Life, Liberty. It is past time to get rid of, once and for all, the faux feminism that has been pushed down our throats for far too long, a feminism that has, and today continues to, serve the cause of imperialism, settler colonialism, and racialized capitalism. Long live Iran. Free, free Palestine From the rivers to the seas—till we are all free. Notes. [1] See Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, “Five Pillars of Zionist Genocidal Apparatus: A Palestinian Problematization of Genocide Studies,” in JOURNAL OF GENOCIDE RESEARCH2026, VOL. 28, NO. 3, 540–552. [2] This anamnesiac process by which the colonized body if forever tethered to its colonial oppressor who can never sever the links with the colonized body it “overkills”–is highlighted in the work of the brilliant Algerian chronicler of the Algerian War of Independence against the French, Assia Djebar. See especially her novel, Fantasia: an Algerian Cavalcade (1989). The post Afkar-e-taza! From Imperial OverKill to Decolonial OverLife: the Ground Zero of Palestinian and Iranian Resistance and a Feminism that Embraces Life appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Fawzia Afzal-Khan.
Fans of pet-eating migrant stories are thrilled to hear that JD Vance is heading up an anti-fraud task force operating out of the White House. As best anyone can tell, the purpose is to drum up absurd allegations of fraud against prominent Democrats, like California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. If the More The post The Fraud Story is a Fraud appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404943" class="wp-image-404943 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-680x473.png" alt="" width="680" height="473" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-680x473.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-905x630.png 905w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-768x535.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-1536x1069.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-2048x1426.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-500x348.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-22-at-5.49.13-PM-600x418.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photo by Jon Tyson Fans of pet-eating migrant stories are thrilled to hear that JD Vance is heading up an anti-fraud task force operating out of the White House. As best anyone can tell, the purpose is to drum up absurd allegations of fraud against prominent Democrats, like California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. If the reference to pet-eating migrant stories is too obscure, let me remind everyone. During the presidential campaign, Vance admitted that he invented stories about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, to advance the Trump ticket’s anti-immigrant political agenda. This is important background when considering the sincerity of his new anti-fraud crusade. The other important background item is that Trump just gave us an anti-fraud crusade last year. Doesn’t anyone remember Elon Musk running around with his chainsaw and his “super-high IQ” DOGE boys? He was supposed to find trillions of dollars of fraud and send us all $5k dividend checks. I still haven’t gotten my check. What fraud is JD Vance’s team going to find that Elon Musk’s crew somehow missed? We don’t have to believe that Musk is some sort of super-genius, but surely he is not completely incompetent. He had a large team of anti-fraud crusaders that invaded one government agency after another. If there was large-scale fraud, it’s hard to believe they couldn’t produce at least some evidence. But the Republicans all seem super-excited about this rerun. They even got Trump’s top all-purpose adviser, Steven Miller, to hype the project. Miller said: “I believe, and I know President Trump believes, that when this theft is exposed, we will see that if all of it were stopped, it would be enough to balance the budget….. The extraction of wealth from American taxpayers to people who don’t belong here is the primary cause of the national debt.” This statement tells everything there is to know about Vance’s fraud project. It is yet one more chance to yell about black and brown-skinned people ruining the country. Exploiting racism is the one thing Trump does better than anyone else. Just to remind the number challenged, there is no remotely plausible world where fraud connected with undocumented immigrants can be anywhere in the ballpark of explaining the national debt. The national debt is roughly $39 trillion or $39,000,000 million. The economy is $31 trillion, and the federal budget is a bit over $7 trillion. It would take some really fantastic stories to somehow get to $39 trillion in fraud from whatever portion of the budget might wrongly be paid to undocumented immigrants. This is obvious to everyone remotely familiar with the budget. Right off the bat, almost three-quarters of the budget goes to Social Security, Medicare, Veterans benefits, the military, and interest on the debt. Even Elon Musk didn’t try to claim large-scale fraud by immigrants in these areas after his team examined them. Most of the rest is Medicaid and other health care programs for which undocumented immigrants are not eligible. Maybe Miller thinks undocumented immigrants are getting farm subsidies. Surely there is some amount of fraud that immigrants do commit, but we’re talking millions, maybe hundreds of millions. Taken over decades, it could get into the low billions, almost certainly less than 0.01 percent of the federal debt. And immigrants pay tens of billions of taxes, which means the net effect is almost certainly to reduce the deficits and debt. Miller’s use of outlandish numbers to describe the size of the fraud the Vance’s gang will find makes its purpose clear. This fraud task force is yet another Trump effort to push racist lies to attack political opponents and nothing more. While fraud is a real problem, Trump has fired most of the people who investigate it, specifically the independent Inspector Generals of individual departments and agencies. He also has sought to cut back the budget of the Government Accountability Office, an independent congressional agency. Meanwhile, Trump has been pardoning convicted fraudsters as quickly as they can shovel him the payoffs. Everyone should be clear that Vance’s latest toy is nothing but crude racism and has nothing to do with a genuine search for fraud. When Trump started yelling crazy numbers about fraud in Minnesota, Democrats all ran for cover and threw Tim Walz, a successful and popular governor, under the bus. This may have been partly motivated by a desire to get rid of a potential contender for the 2028 presidential nomination, but it was nonetheless shameful. Sleazy racism should not be rewarded. Serious accusations of fraud need to be investigated, but Team Trump’s cry of “Black people, fraud,” only deserves contempt. This first appeared on Dean Baker’s Beat the Press blog. The post The Fraud Story is a Fraud appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Dean Baker.
No Naval Escort for Trump: US Allies and the Strait of Hormuz
With each dragged out day, President Donald Trump begins resembling a mad emperor who has not only taken leave of his senses but leave of everything else. Having hitched his wagon to the Israeli program of chaos and destabilisation in the Middle East, he is stuck in a war he is incapable of controlling or More The post No Naval Escort for Trump: US Allies and the Strait of Hormuz appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="453" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, 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srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="945" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404948" class="wp-image-404948 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USS_Tempest_PC_2_transits_the_Strait_of_Hormuz._50679762106.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Photograph Source: Official U.S. Navy Page – Public Domain With each dragged out day, President Donald Trump begins resembling a mad emperor who has not only taken leave of his senses but leave of everything else. Having hitched his wagon to the Israeli program of chaos and destabilisation in the Middle East, he is stuck in a war he is incapable of controlling or dictating. The periodic announcement of the next assassination of a notable Iranian leader is trumpeted like a holy ritual. The next round of ecstatic bombing is hailed in the court as the biggest yet. But behind these gestures lies an expansive emptiness. Perhaps most telling of such emptiness is the sham of the alliance system he has sought to distance himself from even as he mocks its members. Whether it is members of NATO or allies such as Canada and Australia, Trump has been treated with scrupulous, sometimes grovelling care. Flaring tantrums and spontaneous interpretations of world politics mingle in ugly consummation. Views are contradicted in the same slurry of words. The allies can only nod. Of late, he is showing greater concern towards the increasing distance shown by the Pax Americana family. Initially, almost all of them made sure not to call his administration or that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brigands for having violated the United Nations Charter in attacking Iran. Australia bolted out puffing with a condemnation of Iran for having, supposedly, a viable nuclear weapons program that needed to be eliminated. Canada and various countries in the European Union all adopted variations of the same theme, taking care to demonise Tehran for its ambitions and not, for a moment, considering what Israel and the US had done. The United Kingdom, after initial hesitation, offered the US use of its bases in bombing Iran. The grand retreat from international law seemed complete, the jungle dwellers very much in charge. This initial enthusiasm for US-Israeli adventurism began to cool. It is becoming increasingly clear that those devilish Persians are holding out with white knuckled determination, causing much global mayhem with their targeting of infrastructure in the Gulf states and a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Planners in the Pentagon, State Department and White House must have been aware about the dangers of Iran effectively closing the vital waterway responsible for the transit of a fifth of the world’s oil. To this can be added a laundry list of essentials: gas, fertilisers, critical minerals. Yet these wiseacres find themselves scrambling to find allies and willing contributors to escorting vessels through the Strait. Trump, for his part, has a fantasist’s view of the war, one peppered by contradiction. In posts on Truth Social, he describes “a Nation that has been totally decapitated” that still, mysteriously, has the means to close the waterway and inflict damage. Yet he hopes for assistance from such countries as China, France, Japan and South Korea, who might “send Ships to the sea that that the Hormuz Strait”. But not to worry, as the US “will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships of the water.” (How is that going, Mr President?) The wish for escorting commercial traffic, however, is not likely to be met – at least as things stand. Washington’s allies are baulking. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, had seen the pre-emptive attack on Iran and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a heaven-sent opportunity. Now, she was gruffly insisting that, “This is not Europe’s war. We didn’t start the war. We were not consulted.” UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer merely conceded that a “viable plan” to deal with the Strait was being sought, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated that “any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at in concern with our allies.” France’s President Emmanuel Macron was of the view that any mission to escort container ships and tankers through the Strait “must be entirely separate from the ongoing war operations and bombings”. But most stinging of all was German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius: “What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful US navy cannot do?” This was not NATO’s war. “We have not started it.” On Truth Social, Trump vented with usual spiky petulance. He noted that “most” of America’s NATO allies had informed Washington that they did not wish to get involved “against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we were doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon.” He is, on that score, partially correct, in so far as a gaggle of liberal democratic states had few reservations cheering on extra-judicial murder and regime change in Tehran. He is far from correct in assuming that countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom have refused to get involved: contributions to the war in what has been shiftily described as a “defensive” capacity have been made. And a country like Australia is always implicated in any bombing campaign the US ever embarks upon, given the indispensable role played by the highly secretive Pine Gap joint satellite and signals intelligence facility, located just outside Alice Springs. As for those same allies, the President declared a lack of surprise at their reluctance “because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street – We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in a time of need.” But did Trump require their assistance? No, as it turns out, as “we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need’, or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea.” The question begs itself: Why ask in the first place? The post No Naval Escort for Trump: US Allies and the Strait of Hormuz appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Binoy Kampmark.
An Off-Ramp for Trump to Reverse the Iran Disaster
The portly man at the next table finished his breakfast, leaned in my direction, and asked: ”What’s in the news that’s so interesting?” “Iran,” I said, adding that the U.S. seemed about to attack it. “Over in a day,” he said, snapping fingers for emphasis. Having spent two years at Beirut’s Daily Star when Iraqis More The post An Off-Ramp for Trump to Reverse the Iran Disaster appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404904" class="wp-image-404904 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-680x453.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/irham-setyaki-e7hIWARgvAA-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Image by Irham Setyaki. The portly man at the next table finished his breakfast, leaned in my direction, and asked: ”What’s in the news that’s so interesting?” “Iran,” I said, adding that the U.S. seemed about to attack it. “Over in a day,” he said, snapping fingers for emphasis. Having spent two years at Beirut’s Daily Star when Iraqis dragged the pro-West prime minister’s body through Bagdad’s streets to celebrate the monarchy’s overthrow, I know the Mideast’s ferocity against Western domination for exploitation. A war with Iran would never be over in a day—a month, or year anymore than it was in Vietnam. It took more than eight years for American revolutionaries—aided by the French— to end British rule. The next day it was my favorite bus driver. He reminded me that the Crusaders were Europeans who did pretty well in 500 years (1095-1571) of saving the Holy Lands for Christianity. They were finally vastly outnumbered and ousted by global Muslim fecundity and fanaticism threatening to conquer Europe itself. So when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to outgoing oil ships, somehow Trump’s war planners once again seemed to overlook the ancient contempt by Westerners for foreign militants as factors in wars. They soon learned that aroused “inferiors” made wars endless and monumentally expensive in lives and treasure for arrogant “superiors.” The current Pentagon strategists certainly overlooked Hormuz initially as being crucially important choke-point for Iran’s global oil and gas trade. Those West Point and Annapolis-trained alumni apparently never bothered to study the yearlong battle on Gallipoli peninsula over the well-armed Dardanelles channel blocking allies (Britain, France, India, New Zealand, and Australia) from occupying Istanbul in the 1915-16 Crimean War. Its eerie similarity to Hormuz is its years of well-guarded defenses, mountainous terrain, and a warlike population. Commonwealth casualties at Gallipoli numbered 213,980, an eye-popping figure for any Trump military expert for seizing Hormuz—unless the idea is to ensure it remains closed to keep oil’s scarcity reaps extraordinarily high profits. That tactic would benefit his oil donors and save American troop’s lives. Too, many polls these days before the mid-term election show how unpopular his unitary war is. One of the latest, Reuters/Ipsos poll , “found that just 7% of US voters support the idea of a large-scale ground invasion of Iran—but 65% of Americans believe that Trump will order such an operation anyway.” Such is his grandiosity. Some 79 percent of his MAGA voters want to end the war even before boots get laced up to march into Iran. And key officials are starting to abandon his ship, such as a top right-wing intelligence official whose resignation letter said he couldn’t support Trump’s war on Iran: “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” That Trump also is using U.S. troops without Congressional approval required by the Constitution he swore to uphold. He aims to pacify and rule Venezuela , Ecuador on so-called drug-cartel raids, and Cuba indicates a power-mad psychopath ignorant of our failed history south of the border. Only a few days ago he was gloating about U.S. policy to economically strangle Cuba: “…whether I free it, take it—I think I can do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth….I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba.” As Shakespeare wrote about the tyrant Julius Caesar before the Roman Senate publically assassinated him: “he doth bestride the narrow world like a colossus.” But now known as a paper tiger—and bully—who changes his stripes when endangered, Trump seems to be frantically seeking a quick exit strategy from his “war of choice.” His aides have to be equally frantic to save his face and quickly end the war without blood on the ground. Common Dreams coauthors Jeffrey Sachs and Sybil Fares helpfully theorized: “only if global revulsion at U.S. and Israeli aggression force these countries to stop.” When he looked for support from George Bush’s “coalition of the willing” in the Iraq war, he quickly found payback for failure to inform NATO nations—or almost anyone—about privately declaring war on Iran. Spain was the first, refusing to permit its bases used as U.S. refueling depots. Next, it was Germany refusing help to open Hormuz and participate in “Trump’s war” because it wasn’t defensive, as NATO’s charter stipulates. It favored a diplomatic solution. Britain initially refused its bases, and its minesweepers needed approval to open Hormuz. France’s foreign ministry agreed with Britain’ Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said his country “will not be drawn into the wider war [with Iran].” Both nations’ leadership probably remember Gallipoli’s casualties. Trump exploded in an “after-all-I’ve-done-for-you-ingrates” rant. Though he needed their military and political support, he raged about U.S. financial contribution and political support to NATO with its “shocking” lack of reciprocity. As he whined in his social media column: “I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need…, Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” The EU (European Union) foreign ministers responded immediately with a firm “no” to Trump’s demands for military support (“This is not our war”), tartly reminding him NATO was a defensive, not offensive, organization. As an economic power, the EU was working on opening Hormuz only, not joining Trump’s so-called “limited” war. As for mutual action over the waterway, the EU would not submit to U.S. leadership. Moreover, because their primary cause is helping Ukraine, the U.S. had to reapply hard sanctions on Russia, not permit it to make 6 billion euros off global oil sales. Coauthors Sachs and Fares see perhaps the only peace plan the U.S. and Israel will be forced to sign and apply is when “the weight of global opposition and economic catastrophe leaves them no choice but to accept it.” It has to come from an outside, rising powerhouse other than the United Nations, in their estimation: the BRICS coalition. As they explained a few days ago: “Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and the bloc’s expanded membership, which now includes the UAE, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Indonesia, represent approximately half of the world’s population and more than 40 percent of global GDP (compared to 28 percent for the vaunted but overblown G7 countries). The BRICS have the credibility, the economic weight, and the absence of the historical complicity in Middle East imperialism to bring the world to its senses. The BRICS should convene an emergency summit and present a unified framework incorporating the conditions for peace and security, which in turn would be pressed at the UN Security Council. There, world opinion would tell the US and Israel to stop pushing the world towards catastrophe, and would remind all countries to adhere to the UN Charter.” It may be the best face-saving off-ramp available to Trump for reversing course and saving our blood and treasure before the mid-term elections.’ The post An Off-Ramp for Trump to Reverse the Iran Disaster appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Barbara G. Ellis.
Same Battles Over and Over: The 2026 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference
After not attending since 2019, I arrived early for this year’s Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) at the University of Oregon Law School. It was the 44th session in the world’s longest such gathering. It ran from March 12th thru the 15th. Given the current political climate, the slogan this year was “Fight Back, More The post Same Battles Over and Over: The 2026 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404826" class="wp-image-404826 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1-680x510.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1-600x450.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Outlaw-Bash-Wicker-Man-2-1.jpeg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Burning of the Wicker Man at the Outlaw Bash, during the PIELC Weekend in Eugene. Photo: Michael Donnelly. After not attending since 2019, I arrived early for this year’s Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) at the University of Oregon Law School. It was the 44th session in the world’s longest such gathering. It ran from March 12th thru the 15th. Given the current political climate, the slogan this year was “Fight Back, Voices for Good.” (First one I attended was in 1986. It was the launch pad for our Ancient Forest Protection Movement.) Right off, I dropped my phone and it broke down. All I had left was a green screen. That complicated some things, like connecting with people I had plans to connect with, fact-checking, photography, etc. The way iPhones have become a constant appendage is a story for another time. First time I saw a cell phone was at PIELC, circa 1987. It was bigger than a brick. +++ Anything political or social that I examine, I run through a series of screens: 1) Always “Follow the Money” – Mark “Deep Throat” Felt, Deputy Director of the FBI during the Nixon Administration; 2) “It is difficult to get someone to understand something when their salary depends on their not understanding it.” ~ Upton Sinclair, who, a century ago, used “a man,” instead of “someone;” 3) “Believe nothing until it’s been officially denied.” ~ Claud Cockburn Additionally, I use these notes from two of my deceased pal/heroes that I had the honor of having introduced decades ago. They became close, appearing aty events together: “Think More; Believe Less” ~ John Trudell, the only chairman of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and our great counterculture poet/spoken word artist/musician; “There is no best of anything. There is shit you like. There is shit you don’t like. And there is shit you don’t give a shit about.” ~ John Sinclair, my fellow Flint native and Beat Poet/Blues musician, co-founder and Chairman of the White Panther Party. John sued and successfully exposed illegal government spying/wiretapping on Activist Groups. The upshot was the government eventually got sneakier about it. The Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) held a PIELC panel this year on how to encrypt communications to defend against on-going COINTELPRO-type government spying. I tell all the young attorneys and/or activists that they can’t go wrong reading the writings and listening to the music of both Johns. Fight Back! Voice for Good This year’s event was highly influenced by the Trump Administration’s slew of recent rollbacks on all sorts of hard-won environmental protections – from proposed, absurd vast increases in Public Lands logging; renewed liquidation of our remaining precious Ancient Forest; dropping enforcement of many Clean Water toxic safeguards; vast consumption of energy, water and siting issues with Data Centers popping up like Starbucks all across the nation; more drilling and mining; Wolf Slaughter; pro-oil extraction coupled with suppression of other, less-damaging energy sources; absurd claims that building more roads into pristine areas will prevent wildfires; stripping Federal land management agencies of employees and equipment; the rollback of the Clinton era Roadless Rule that currently stops road-building and resource extraction on approx. 58.5 million acres nationwide. Oregon alone has 2 million acres of Roadless Areas at risk – 2.2 million Oregonians get their drinking water from these threatened lands. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM = Bovines, Logs and Minerals) plan to increase logging in Oregon’s Coast Range to a preposterous 2 billion board feet per year, almost all old growth/Ancient Forest; to fighting the ICE deportation machine and Eco-damaging detainment centers that are a prominent, fierce issue with the young students who have grown up in multi-cultural communities. PIELC was founded by visionary Professors Mike Axline and John Bonine. They were inspired by the Great “Archdruid,” pioneering mountaineer, WW2 hero and first Executive Director of the Sierra Club David Brower. Brower also went on to found Friends of the Earth,” John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies (1997), Friends of the Earth (1969) and Earth Island Institute. He was fixture at the early conferences. The PIELC goal was to have law students, themselves, plan and operate a conference that examines notable ecological issues of the day and to develop plans and citizen coalitions to address said issues. Law students from around the country and globe, lawyers working cases and citizen activists are treated to panel discussions, keynote addresses, documentaries, etc. Special concern was given to Native Lands issues in the US and Indigenous issues across the globe. The university built the wonderful Many Nations Longhouse next to the Law School. Students succeeded in getting the flags of Oregon’s nine Federally-recognized tribes placed on poles surrounding the plaza outside the college’s Student Union building. PIELC has been the scene of many Native issues panels and an annual Honoring the Elders dinner at the Longhouse. Many native speakers have been featured over the years. John Trudell once gave a Keynote Address to an over-flowing 700 attendees at the student union ballroom. Conference attendees have opportunities to find out about and connect with potential allies on a wide range of issues. And, as Brower always noted, most of the effective planning and work on issues really take place in the hallways and the nearby restaurants and bars where numerous grassroots activist groups and strategies were birthed with back-of-the-napkin scribblings. My buddy Mike Roselle, co-founder of Earth First!, used to come and he never even went to a panel, choosing to roam the halls, restaurants and bars plotting strategies instead. Comment Periods are like Life. You do what you can in the time you’re given.” ~ Garrett Rose, NRDC This year’s Conference started on Thursday with four small panels. I had decided to attend one titled “The Joy in the Fight: Building Grassroots Power Through Community and Courage.” Seeing that the four panelists were all paid professionals and not what I deem “grassroots,” and my years of doing exactly what the title proposes, I figured this should be interesting. I walked thru the hall as about 30 groups from wild horse protection to anti-ICE to nascent Wilderness proposals to watersheds…set up info tables along the sides. The panel and all the rest of them I attended over the weekend were overflowing. (I missed two just because I got delayed in the halls talking with allies and arrived right before their starts and was denied admission due to overcrowding.) I got a standing room spot in the back. The first speaker began to bring up ideas on how to gain regular folk allies, educate the public and get the media to address your particular issue. He brought up hosting small gatherings, creating Petitions and Agency Comment Periods Letter Writing campaigns and lobbying efforts. He also brought up the “Name it and Save It” Brower strategy that we have used for decades. The next speakers brought up the need to have fun – “to throw the best parties” to attract allies, etc. I started to feel bad. I felt, as a co-founder of the 80s/90s Ancient Forest Protection Campaign, like we had failed to finish the job and a new generation was having to revisit a lot of the same things we did in the past. Of course, we ran into some huge headwinds – from Big Timber and their political puppets; but also from the Big Greens, big money Foundations and extraction-supporting Democrats. {I’ve written numerous takes (many on CounterPunch.org) on that and how PIELC becoming more of a Big Greens’ Job Fair for newly-minted attorneys than a more activist event over time, has played a part in it. Out of the Conference’s 64 panel presentations, I usually chose the more activist-oriented panels and avoid the ones more aligned with Big Green professionalism/elitism, given even when they don’t sabotage grassroots efforts, they tend to withhold support until they can cash in on it. And then they tend to bargain with the perpetrators and cut the baby in half.} In the end, after presenting all those tools in the activist box, the sole time Actions “on the ground” were mentioned in the Grassroots Joy panel was the last speaker from the very Big Green, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She honestly noted that on-the-ground action was “not my niche.” Panels and trainings on Non-violent Civil Disobedience (CD) used to be standard at the Conference, as did having numerous panels with the grassroots CD activists themselves. I was the last person called on to ask a question at the end of the panel. I gave a short history of my activism, my serving as the vice-president of the top statewide grassroots coalition and a leader of two smaller ones I helped co-found; how I was a Plaintiff in a seminal Old Growth forest lawsuit and how many times I and others went to DC to try and get the Big Greens and Democrats to sign on and how I saw it play out and how I think it will this time around. I praised the panelists for their detailed listing of worthy efforts. But, I had to note the downplaying of CD. I noted that in my Ancient Forest experience, we tried all those good, necessary tools that did get mentioned. But, after 20 years of trying and suffering many losses anyway, it came down to on-the-ground CD. It wasn’t until we had people up in the trees and photos of activist Leo Hund buried up to his neck in a rock wall erected across the road at the North Roaring Devil Timber Sale along the South Breitenbush River blockade appeared on the front pages in Beijing and Munich that, all the sudden, liquidation of our Ancient Forests gained national attention. We did not pioneer Rallies at Logging sites, Tree Sits or Road Blockades. Activists in Australia, in Northern California, in Southern Oregon and elsewhere had done it all before. We benefited from their experience, many of their veterans joining/advising us and by our being closer to larger and more sympathetic media centers. We also had the spectacular low-elevation Opal Creek forest as our flagship and it was close enough to the Willamette Valley populace that it was easier for people to get to know the issue by driving there through clearcuts and then experiencing the magnificent Opal Creek Ancient Forest. One of our CD efforts was building a two-mile, long-planned Forest Service trail into the heart of Opal Creek. The District Ranger threatened to arrest George Atiyeh (RIP) and me for “Destruction of Government Property.” George dramatically extended his hands like he was going to get handcuffed and said, “Please do. I can’t wait for the show trial. Destruction of Government Property? You guys are the ones planing 11 miles of roads and 1700-acres of clearcuts.” The Ranger was a bit of a bully. But, he wasn’t stupid. He was a worthy, smart opponent. He proudly holds the record for the most amount of Board Feet of Timber cut on his watch as a District Ranger and later a Forest Supervisor. He once told me, “If you guys ever succeed in getting Congress to change our mission from timber production, I’ll be the best manager of Wilderness you’ve ever seen.” Soon 20,000 people a year were using the trail. The Greenest Big Green On one of my 80s DC lobbying missions, I got into it with Brock Evans, the vice-president of the Audubon Society over my complaining about the lack of Big Green support. Brock, one of our greatest environmental champions, convinced me that it was going to be on us to convince the Big Greens and that we “had to nationalize the issue” first. I did not like that, but Brock, as a young Sierra Club Northwest staffer had been THE guy who drew the lines on the maps in the 60s, detailing what would be asked for in the first Wilderness Bill. And everything we were fighting for then and now was on his maps, yet was removed from the final, first Wilderness Act that was passed, so I had to think he knew what he was talking about. One of the happenings at PIELC every year is that one activist is voted on by the students to be given the David Bower Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s honoree is Kristen Boyles. One year, my great friend Klamath Elder asnd Opal Creek Board Member Calvin Hecota (RIP) was given the award and he gave a magnificent speech before an appreciative crowd of around 500. Brock Evans, the only Big Green I know of who voluntarily got arrested peacefully protesting an Ancient Forest timber sale (in southern Oregon,) which certainly was not an easy decision for the proud Marine, deserves that award. Smokey Bear on Life Support Next morning I got up early and hit the 9:30am panel put on by wildlands firefighters who are upset with Trump’s Executive Orders claiming that increased logging and roading of pristine forests will prevent fires, when exactly the opposite is occurring and firefighters are more at risk due to it. 85% of all major wildfires are started by humans and 80% of those start within five meters of a road! The Forest Service already has 380,000 miles of roads with an $8.4 billion maintenance backlog! At its closest, the moon is 226,000 miles for Earth! In addition, eCon’s DOGE fired 4000 Red Card-certified Fire Incident Team Forest Service employees and dropped most of the agency’s women using anti-DEI nonsense as justification. The Agency has seriously low employee morale, unfilled critical positions, lack of equipment and more turnover, as a result. The Big Good Wolf I next went to a panel on Wolf Slaughter. I have a large interest in this. I am a co-founder of the Yarrow Land Trust in NE Washington, which we started in 1974. For years, we had a faltering aspen grove that was aging out. It was putting out new shoots. But, herds of deer would bed down for the night next to the grove and eat all the new shoots. Now we have hundreds of new Aspen saplings. It happened when a wolf pack got established in the adjacent National Forest. The wolves and a mountain lion den on a remote part of the trust land got the deer moving and abandoning the bed down site. It’s also the sole place I have ever heard wolves in the wild. Then, in 2016, the entire Profanity Wolf Pack (named for the Kettle River Range peak where they first set up a den) was reduced to one female and three juveniles to the benefit of one rancher who has a welfare ranching Allotment to graze cattle at way under private rates on the Colville National Forest. The wolves were killed by shooters in helicopters. The female fled north to the British Columbia/Washington border area and was illegally killed by an unknown human a year later. Collaborators from “Green” groups signed off on the government killings. And then did so again with the arrival of the Replacement Profanity Pack that filled the void. Some 29 wolves total have been killed for the rancher. This happens even though ranchers can get compensation of five times the value of any cow that is lost to predation! One of the lies about big bad wolves is that they are a danger to humans. In the last 50 years only two cases of wolves killing a human in North America are certified. In contrast, some 22 people in the US are killed annually by livestock attacks. And 65 humans die per year from domestic dog attacks. Some 800,000 annual emergency room visits are related to dog attacks. When wolves get used to other top predators like humans, they leave us a wide berth. There has never been a wolf attack in Yellowstone NP. The Roadless Rule Under Siege (again) Next up was a Roadless Rule defense panel. Bill Clinton, on his way out the door, signed off on the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Policy in Jan. 2001 which prevented road-building or any industrial development in the nation’s Inventoried Roadless Areas. In August 2025, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins again initiated the process for rescinding it. The Rule was rescinded during the Bush the Younger Administration. Obama appealed to get the Rule reinstated. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals brought it back in 2009 and it was affirmed again by the 10th Circuit Court in 2011. Big Timber has appealed it to the Supreme Court, which has yet to make a ruling. A rather short Public Comment Period about the government rollback plan got over 500,000 comments – 99% in opposition! Now, an effort to defend Roadless Areas permanently has Congressional Champions who have introduced the Roadless Area Conservation Act (RACA). Oregon’s two senators and four of five Democrat Members of Congress are co-sponsors. Ironically, the Universality of Oregon’s Congressional District’s new Congresswoman Val Hoyle has not, following her retired predecessor Rep. Peter DeFazio’s groveling before Big Timber. Throw the Best Parties On Friday evening, there was the annual Outlaw Bash put on by OG Earth First! veterans and local young activists. Some three hundred-plus attendees drove 15 miles to a farm along the Coast Range Fork of the Willamette River for music, libations, an effigy burn and camaraderie. The vast majority were under age 35. Mick, who has been a creator of the effigies for years, notes this year’s Wickerman effigy, who held photos of the usual suspects Trump, Miller, Hegseth, Bondi, Patel, et al. inside his stomach jail was named “Kevin.” Kevin is/was the “Conveyor of the Sacrifice.” Starting the fire was raffled off. It began with the raffle winner shooting a flaming arrow perfectly and it erupted and live music and dancing began. I talked with some of the young people there. Their concerns are very much ICE, Trump’s War, the Internationale Pedophile Ring and across-the-board Ecological Devastation. +++ I had a few phone numbers of people I needed to connect with in my dead phone. Like back in the old analog days, I was able to connect without the digital helper. So, lunch break Saturday, a few of us had a good session setting up how we were going to fight the BLM’s liquidation plans on the ground when, not if, it comes to it. We hope to scout out all the proposed new Timber Sale. After that, I went to my good hiking partner Christine’s nearby home where she had made a delicious lunch. I was already thinking of skipping the later Collaboration panel, as I knew I would be pretty upset. I tend to skip the more corporate panels and ones about collaboration with the resource extractors, as they just annoy me. The amount of money available that is controlled by ineffective efforts that could have been used by grassroots activists on things that actually work to that is spent on going-nowhere projects and lawsuits is just too much. One of the wolf kill collaborators I wrote about above was on the panel. Christine, a physical therapist, had nothing scheduled until a couple hours later. So, we went on a couple mile hike thru the forested hills above her house and the University, shedding layers on the sunny Spring day. On Saturday evening, there was a benefit for the NW Forest Climate Alliance. It was held in a cavernous ballroom attached to a Brewery. The 200 or so crowd was older than Friday’s – about 50/50 under and over 40. If anything, Eugene is known for it’s large activist community. That tactic of “throwing the best parties” if you want to attract allies, sure was confirmed with those two evening events. I went to both events with Michael Carrigan, a friend and ally who was very instrumental in saving Opal Creek. He and Susan Gordon, both from Oregon PeaceWorks back then, kept George Atiyeh and me busy by setting up opportunities for us to promote Opal Creek protection with speaking engagements at Rotary Clubs, Churches, Knights of Columbus and other fraternal organizations, etc. George and I figured we talked to over10,000 people. We somehow also got 10,000 signatures on a letter noting that the signers would protest on-site any effort to log Opal Creek. One of Sen. Mark Hatfield’s (RIP) 80-something year-old High School classmates told him she was going to chain herself to a bulldozer if logging plans went ahead. Hatfield (R-OR), who was clearly influenced by his being at Hiroshima shortly after the nuclear bombing was the Senate’s top Pro-Peace/Anti-War politician, while also being Big Timber’s greatest supporter. He had the largest hand in the clearcutting of over 6 million acres of Public-owned Ancient Forests. However, Hatfield eventually was the sponsor of the legislation that saved Opal Creek. This came after he had George, me and two other conservationists spend a year with a Willamette University mediator in meetings with 14 Big Timber execs and their politician allies. And even then, some Big Greens tried to cut a lesser deal behind our backs. “Back in the 1940s, collaborators were hung from lampposts.” (first thing I heard when I asked what panels would be good to attend) I did run into my activist friend Pam, who did attend the Collaboration Panel. She is quite unflappable. But, she seemed a bit shaken by the experience. Seems it was the disaster I thought it would be. Chad Hanson, a brilliant Brower protégé from the John Muir Institute and one of our Zero Cut on Public Lands crusaders was on it, as was Ric Bailey, one of my fellow Oregon Natural Resources Board Members back in the day. Of course, one of the proud collaborators, instead of debating things on their merits, personally attacked Chad as Chad was presenting the science showing the ways Collaboration had made issues worse. The moderator stepped up and warned him about personal attacks. He kept at it and lit into Chad, calling him “dishonest.” At which point, the moderator cut him off! Activist Legal Defense I finally connected with my heroic friend Lauren Regan, a UofO Law School alum who is the head of CLDC. Lauren and her Eugene-based group defend activists from all kinds of progressive movements for free. She is busy all over the country these days. We both lost our neighboring mountain cabins to the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. Pretty much any non-violent activist arrested can count on CLDC to “have your back” – that’s their slogan. Lauren has represented Native activists (including Leonard Peltier); urban, forest, water, energy activists. Lauren is revered in these movements.…CLDC is one of CounterPunch’s recommended groups to donate to. I also ran into PIELC co-founderJohn Bonine. I always like to check in with John. I was once a passenger on a raft he piloted, after I had earlier injured my shoulder paddling a small, inflatable Tahiti down a rapids during a now-legendary Rogue River trip 22 of us forest defenders took in the late 80s. John loves to introduce others to attendee Law School alums from around the country who are doing great work. Alums come from all over. I also spent some time with Michael Nixon, one of Native activists’ tireless attorneys, who came in from Pittsburgh, PA. He’s been iknvolved with the San Carlos Apache Oak Flats Sacred land that the Feds are signing over to a foreign copper mining company. PIELC had Wensler Nosie, Sr., former Chairman of the San Carlos for a Keynote Address on it a few years ago. John Bonine is rightly proud (I asked him) of how PIELC has lasted and the good it has accomplished over the decades since its founding. When I last saw him, he was taking photos of all the group display tables, where so much connecting and strategizing takes place. I am forever grateful that John and Mike Axline also recruited and helped UofO alum Ralph Bradley as the lead attorney on our seminal 1986 Ancient Forest Lawsuit – “Oregon Natural Resources Council; Breitenbush Community, Inc.; Michael Donnelly, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. U.S. Forest Service; Bugaboo Timber Company, Defendants-appellees, 834 F.2d 842 (9th Cir. 1987).” ONWARD THIS year we are going to be seeing critical ecological threats across the board. As I have noted, it is going to take all the tools in the activist box to end/reverse the Trump era assaults on Gaia, International Order and Civil Liberties. PIELC is one of the best tools. Even though I critique catering to the professionals and would like to see the resulting settling on watering-down/baby-in-half dynamic and the diversion of funds that could be used for better grassroots results change, I do realize we need them. Whenever maintaining/increasing organizational budgets trump the issues they purport to address, Gaia loses. I have some suggestions for next year: 1) Native Issues were less on the agenda this year than in the past. I suggest bringing back the Longhouse group of panels on current issues facing Native Lands and Native People. It takes a lot more than the obligatory Land Acknowledgment in the brochure and spoken at the beginning. My Native pals don’t really like the Acknowledgment anyway (other than its implied admission of guilt) as it comes without any real corrective – Land Back; 2) International speakers and attendees were nowhere near as numerous as in the past. Understandable, given the White “Christian” Nationalist government we have these days. Who wants to visit here these days? I suggest more effort be given to recruiting brave international activists. We need to hear their stories, as they are missing from mainstream media; 3) More Keynote Speakers, especially International and Native ones; 4) Non-violent CD panels and training sessions. Back in the day, a group of Earth First! women activists conducted such trainings that were crucial to our efforts. Such are crucial again; 5) Panels on Activist History…the horrible losses, the success stories, the pitfalls, the costs of collaboration, more versions of the history of actions like the one I’ve written about here (which is but one out of hundreds) expanded to ones all over the forested areas of the country. Etc. And more panels on past legal successes. We very much need to celebrate them; 6) More Immigration, Anti-ICE, Animal Rights, Overshoot/Over consumption, etc. panels. The post Same Battles Over and Over: The 2026 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Michael Donnelly.
From nuclear to climate crisis survivors: unfinished business in the Pacific
COMMENTARY: By David Robie, author of Eyes of Fire Climate crisis concerns shouldn’t overshadow the legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific, where there are lingering health and sociopolitical insecurities. For example, there are concerns in French Polynesia about the mysterious fate of a former anti-nuclear investigative journalist and editor of the now closed Les
COMMENTARY: By David Robie, author of Eyes of Fire Climate crisis concerns shouldn’t overshadow the legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific, where there are lingering health and sociopolitical insecurities. For example, there are concerns in French Polynesia about the mysterious fate of a former anti-nuclear investigative journalist and editor of the now closed Les Nouvelles de Tahiti newspaper. Early in 2015, a judge upheld prosecution against three men accused of a kidnapping that led to the death of journalist Jean-Pascal Couraud, known as “JK”, in Tahiti in 1997. More than a decade earlier, JK’s family lodged an allegation of murder with the police following claims that he had been assassinated by a (now disbanded) local presidential militia. An investigating commission had alleged that three men, Rere Puputauki, Tino Mara and Tutu Manate, had abducted JK and dumped his body at sea. READ MORE: Other Eyes of Fire reports The Rainbow Warrior bombing 40 years on: re-energising for global peace Eyes of Fire website (Little Island Press) The Rainbow Warrior III arrives in Majuro on 11 March 2025 on the start of the six-week nuclear justice research voyage marking four decades since the evacuation of Rongelap. Printed on the T-shirts of the Marshall Islanders welcoming the Greenpeace flagship is an Eyes of Fire photo by the author of the late Rongelap Senator Jeton Anjain and Greenpeace International executive director Steve Sawyer, who was the campaign coordinator for the Rongelap mission. Image: © Bianca Vitale/Greenpeace/Eyes of Fire Twenty two years later, the family are still waiting for justice, and fed up with France’s “investigation”. When the Rainbow Warrior bombing on 10 July 1985 is set against its broader political context in the Pacific, it can be seen that this event was much more than the dramatic, isolated episode against the Greenpeace flagship as portrayed by most New Zealand media. An “Eyes of Fire” video project in 2015, which included more than 40 student journalists, also demonstrated the importance of a continuing interpretation of these events for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand and its citizens. The students looked back at the past, but were asking questions relevant to the present and future when they interrogated me and my Greenpeace colleagues involved in the Rongelap voyage. My own baptism in French nuclear arrogance and perfidy was thanks to the late Swedish activist, researcher, and writer Bengt Danielsson, who was awarded the 1991 Right Livelihood Award for “exposing the tragic results… of French colonialism”. He and his wife Marie-Thérèse Danielsson wrote the classic and chilling books Moruroa, Mon Amour and Poisoned Reign. In 2021, a French investigation team published a book and website that introduced new revelations about the nuclear testing programme and its health and environmental harm inflicted on Tahitians. The book, Toxique: Enquête sur les essais nucléaires français en Polynésie, by Sébastien Philippe and Tomas Statius, and the associated website Moruroa Files, were a forensic analysis of about 2,000 French government documents declassified in 2013. The author, David Robie, with Marie-Thérèse and Bengt Danielsson in Tahiti Nui in 1985 while on assignment for Fiji’s Islands Business magazine. Image: © John Miller/Eyes of Fire Consistently lied about the tests According to former Auckland University of Technology scholar Ena Manuireva, who was born in Mangareva (an atoll near the French nuclear testing sites of Moruroa and Fangataufa), these publications confirmed what Tahitian people already knew: “That since 1966, the French government has consistently lied about and concealed the deadly consequences of their nuclear tests, which they now seem to acknowledge, to the health of the populations and their environment.” Following the third test after French nuclear bombs began in the Pacific, on 7 September 1966, local Tahitian lawmaker John Teariki challenged then French president Charles de Gaulle by saying: “No government has ever had the honesty or the cynical frankness to admit that its nuclear tests might be dangerous. No government has ever hesitated to make other peoples — preferably small, defenseless ones — bear the burden.” “May you, Mr President, take back your troops, your bombs, and your planes.” De Gaulle ignored the advice. And it took another 30 years and 190 further tests before France stopped its ruthless nuclear pollution in the Pacific. France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) was reported in early 2025 to have spent 90,000 euros in a big public relations campaign in a vain attempt to discredit the research in Toxique and the Moruroa Files, according to documents obtained by the investigative outlet Disclose. The CEA published 5000 copies of its booklet, titled ‘Nuclear tests in French Polynesia: why, how and with what consequences’ and distributed them across Oceania. The Rainbow Warrior bombing, with the death of photographer Fernando Pereira, was a terrible tragedy. But a greater tragedy remains in the horrendous legacy of Pacific nuclear testing for the people of Rongelap, the Marshall Islands and “French” Polynesia; associated military oppression in Kanaky New Caledonia; and lingering secrecy. Nuclear powers have failed the Pacific More than eight decades on, the “Pacific” nuclear powers have still failed to take full responsibility for the region and adequately compensate victims and survivors for the injustices of the past. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Melanesian Spearhead Group, other pan-Pacific agencies, and the Australian and New Zealand governments still have much work ahead. New Zealand and the PIF states should have vigorously supported the lawsuits of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the International Court of Justice and the United States Federal Court last year. This was an opportunity lost. New Zealand and the PIF states should now require full investigation of nuclear testing in French Polynesia and seek a more robust compensation programme than currently exists. New Zealand and the PIF states also need to take a less ambiguous position on decolonisation in the Pacific, give greater priority to that issue and seek a “re-energising” of the activities of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation. This is especially important in relation to “French” Polynesia, Kanaky New Caledonia and the end of the Bougainville transitional political autonomy period with a unilateral declaration of independence slated for 1 September 2027. Decolonisation is also a critical issue that has a bearing on New Zealand’s relations with Indonesia, particularly over the six Melanesian provinces that make up the region known in the Pacific as “West Papua” and Indonesia’s growing politically motivated role in the region over climate change aid. A massive new transmigration programme under current President Prabowo Subianto is taking place at the same time as Jakarta’s “ecocidal” deforestation regime intensifies in the Melanesian region with the destruction of millions of hectares of tropical rainforest. “The wealth of West Papua — gas from Bintuni Bay, copper and gold from the Grasberg mine. Palm oil from Merauke — has been sucked out of our land for six decades, while our people are replaced with Javanese settlers loyal to Jakarta,” says a West Papuan leader, Benny Wenda. <img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-125407" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DRobie-Author-Talk-New-680wide.png" alt="The Grey Lynn Library nuclear justice talk poster" width="680" height="962" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DRobie-Author-Talk-New-680wide.png 680w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DRobie-Author-Talk-New-680wide-212x300.png 212w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DRobie-Author-Talk-New-680wide-297x420.png 297w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The Grey Lynn Library nuclear justice talk poster for 24 March 2026. Image: Grey Lynn Library Taking the lead It is critically important that New Zealand and the PIF states take a lead from the Melanesian Spearhead Group — at least those states other than Fiji and Papua New Guinea, which have both been co-opted by Indonesian bribery through economic aid. They should take a more pro-active stance on West Papuan human rights and socio-political development, with a view to encouraging a process of political self-determination and a new, more credible United Nations supervised vote replacing the 1968 “Act of No Choice”. With regard to climate change issues, it is essential to address the lack of an officially recognised category for “climate refugee” under international law. It is also important to seek an international framework, convention, protocol and specific guidelines that can provide protection and assistance for people crossing international borders because of climate change. The existing rights guaranteed refugees — specifically the right to international humanitarian assistance and the right of return — must be extended to “climate refugees” or climate migrants. This issue should be acted on systematically and with a practical vision by the PIF with the Australian and New Zealand governments. Australia and New Zealand need to respond to Pacific Island States’ (PIS) concerns over climate change and global warming with a greater sense of urgency and resolve. Regional and country specific climate change plans and policies are needed to deal with large numbers of Pacific refugees or climate-forced migrants, in the event of worsening climate-change scenarios in the future. This is especially important for New Zealand, as a country with a significant Pacific population (442,632 — 8.9 percent, 2023 NZ Census) with island communities well integrated into the national infrastructure and as a country that is well placed to welcome more Pacific Islanders. In April 2025, the New Zealand government announced plans to double defence spending as a share of GDP over the next eight years under its long-awaited Defence Capability Plan. Trump-inspired global arms race However, the priority appeared to be New Zealand joining a new Donald Trump-inspired global arms race while the country faced no threat, at the expense of the climate crisis, nuclear free and Pacific peace-making capacity that have forged the country’s global reputation. Speculation was also rife about the possibility of New Zealand joining a second tier of the controversial AUKUS security pact between Australia, the UK and the US, which would raise geopolitical tensions with little benefit for the Pacific region. As Marshall Islands Journal editor Giff Johnson has remarked, the people of Rongelap changed the course of history for Pacific nuclear justice by taking control of their destiny with the help of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior. However, the relocation of the islanders four decades ago has revealed that the legacy of nuclear tests remains unfinished business. “In the current global turbulence, New Zealand needs to reemphasise the principles and values which drove its nuclear-free legislation and its advocacy for a nuclear-free South Pacific and global nuclear disarmament,” says former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark. “New Zealanders were clear — we did not want to be defended by nuclear weapons. We wanted our country to be a force for diplomacy and for dialogue, not for warmongering.” “On the fateful last voyage,” reflects Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Dr Russel Norman, “the crew of the Rainbow Warrior, look at us in black and white through the lens of time, and lay down the wero — the challenge. They faced down a nuclear threat to the habitability of the Pacific. “Do we have the courage and wits to face down the biodiversity and climate crises facing humanity, crises that threaten the habitability of planet Earth?’ To Ngāti Kura kaumatua Dover Samuels, the Rainbow Warrior was “probably the biggest battleship that ever traversed the oceans of the world. But she wasn’t armed with guns, she was armed with peace”. An edited extract from the final chapter of New Zealand journalist Dr David Robie’s recent book Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior marking the 40th anniversary of the bombing. He sailed with the Greenpeace crew to Rongelap Atoll for the evacuation of the nuclear health-damaged community and remained on board for 11 weeks. This article was first published by Greenpeace Aotearoa. David is speaking about the Rainbow Warrior and nuclear justice tomorrow, 24 March 2026, at Grey Lynn Library, 6-8pm, as part of EcoFest. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
‘Maniacal tyrant’ Trump and Iran trade threats to energy infrastructure over Strait of Hormuz
SPECIAL REPORT: By Jessica Corbett Democrats in Congress have sounded the alarm over US President Donald Trump pledging to commit more war crimes in Iran after he traded threats to energy infrastructure with the Iranian government, with the Republican declaring Saturday that he would take out the country’s power plants unless it reopened the Strait
SPECIAL REPORT: By Jessica Corbett Democrats in Congress have sounded the alarm over US President Donald Trump pledging to commit more war crimes in Iran after he traded threats to energy infrastructure with the Iranian government, with the Republican declaring Saturday that he would take out the country’s power plants unless it reopened the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic. Just a day after Trump claimed that “we are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” in a post that remains pinned to the top of his Truth Social profile, the president took to the platform with a clear threat on Saturday night. “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump said. READ MORE: Iran vows to ‘completely close’ Hormuz Strait if US attacks power plants No bigger hypocrisy in the world than Israel complaining about Iran’s ‘lawbreaking’ Other US-Israeli war on Iran reports Trump’s post came after Ali Mousavi, the Iranian representative to the International Maritime Organisation, told the Chinese news agency Xinhua on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that is a key shipping route, including for fossil fuels — remains open to all vessels not linked to “Iran’s enemies.” It also followed the Israeli military — which is bombing Iran alongside the United States — suggesting that the US was responsible for a Saturday attack on Iran’s uranium enrichment complex in Natanz. According to The Associated Press, with his new threat, Trump “may have meant the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s biggest, which was already hit last week, or Damavand, a natural gas plant near Tehran, Iran’s capital.” Responding to Trump’s Saturday post, US Representative Don Beyer (D-Va.) said: “It’s important not to shy away from candidly discussing the president’s increasingly erratic behaviour. His worsening instability is a clear and growing threat, not only to the American people but to the world.” Trump has no plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, so he is threatening to attack Iran’s civil power plants. This would be an attack on civilians. This is what Putin is doing in Ukraine. This would be a war crime. End this war in Iran. — Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) March 22, 2026 Hell-bent on destruction Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) was similarly critical over Trump’s pledge “From ‘help is on the way’ for Iranian protestors to threatening war crimes against an entire population. The United States is being run by a maniacal tyrant hell-bent on destroying this country and the world along with it.” Other critics also pointed out that Article 56 of the Geneva Convention states in part that “works or installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dykes, and nuclear electrical generating stations, shall not be made the object of attack, even where these objects are military objectives, if such attack may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses among the civilian population.” The AP reported that after that strike on the Natanz complex, “Iranian missiles struck two communities in southern Israel late Saturday, leaving buildings shattered and dozens injured in dual attacks not far from Israel’s main nuclear research center.” “Israel’s military said it was not able to intercept missiles that hit the southern cities of Dimona and Arad, the largest near the centre in Israel’s sparsely populated Negev desert,” according to the news agency. “It was the first time Iranian missiles penetrated Israel’s air defence systems in the area around the nuclear site.” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, said on X on Saturday that “if the Israeli regime is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the battle… Israel’s skies are defenseless.” After Trump’s threat, the Speaker added on Sunday that “immediately after the power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, the critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed, and the price of oil will remain high for a long time.” Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams. This article is republished under Creative Commons. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Prime Minister Manele holds firm as opposition claims majority in Solomon Islands
Government of National Unity and Transformation
RNZ Pacific Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has doubled down on his decision not to convene Parliament as he hangs on to power leading a minority government, following mass defections from his Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT). Last week, 19 government MPs — more than half of them cabinet ministers — handed
RNZ Pacific Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has doubled down on his decision not to convene Parliament as he hangs on to power leading a minority government, following mass defections from his Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT). Last week, 19 government MPs — more than half of them cabinet ministers — handed in their resignations, citing trust issues with Manele’s leadership. Those who have jumped ship have joined the opposition group, which now claims to have 28 MPs on its side. This means Manele has been left with just 22 MPs in his camp. READ MORE: Solomons PM refuses to convene parliament amid political crisis Other Solomon Islands reports The Solomon Islands opposition group claims to have 28 MPs on its side. Image: FB/Peter Kenilorea/RNZ “I will call our Parliament as and when it is appropriate,” Manele told local reporters during a news conference on Sunday. He said “the assumption” that his government does not have the numbers “is political and not constitutional”. “Government decisions are not made based on speculation, on pressure, but on lawful processes and the national interest,” he said. Manele also downplayed the move by the opposition and “those outside Parliament” petitioning the country’s Governor-General to convene Parliament and to consider a motion of no confidence against him. ‘A matter of political choice’ He branded the decision of those MPs who resigned from his coalition as “a matter of personal and political choice”. “Your government remains in office under the Constitution and continues to discharge its full responsibilities,” he said. “What we are witnessing is not a constitutional crisis. It is a normal democratic process provided for under our Constitution; leadership may change within certain portfolios, but the machinery of government does not falter.” Public services continue, national operations remain stable and uninterrupted, he added. Manele has been in power less than two years and has already faced two leadership challenges. He said the confidence in a Prime Minister is tested and determined only through a motion of no confidence on the floor of Parliament. “This means that unless and until Parliament meets and decides on such a motion, the elected prime minister remains duly in office. I reiterate that Parliament will be convened in accordance with the Constitution and the proper process will take its course.” New ministers appointed Addressing concerns about MPs resigning from parliamentary standing committees, Manele said “these committees report to Parliament, not to the prime minister or the executive”. Manele has also swiftly appointed new ministers to his government, including Manasseh Sogavare as his new deputy. Sogavare was one of four ministers sworn in last Wednesday and has been handed the National Planning and Development portfolios. Sogavare, who previously served as prime minister four times, was one of 11 ministers who resigned from government last April but failed to topple Manele. Meanwhile, Peter Kenilorea Jnr, one of the 28 MPs in the opposition group, said Manele downplaying the situation was “truly disheartening”. “So for me it’s clear, when a situation arises, like the mass resignation of GNUT MPs and those MPs joining those in the opposition and independents with a [numerical] strength of 28 it shows that the PM has lost the support he needs to be PM,” he said in a social media post. “[Manele] is now in the minority. The honourable thing to do is either resign or test his support/numbers on the floor of Parliament.” Another key figure in Manele’s coalition, Peter Shanel Agovaka, who was the Foreign Minister, told RNZ Pacific he left GNUT because he could not “work with some of the ministers” who were “trying to push their own agendas”. He also confirmed that he had been offered the leadership by the opposition group which would see him become the Prime Minister should there be a change in government. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
‘From the river to the sea’ – swimming against the Queensland tide
A CAUTIONARY TALE: By Jim Dowling Both my son Franz and I have been arrested, separately, for suspected thought crimes relating to Palestine and Israel. We dared to display in public the words, “from the river to the sea”, using or displaying such words now being illegal in Queensland. I say “thought crimes” because neither
A CAUTIONARY TALE: By Jim Dowling Both my son Franz and I have been arrested, separately, for suspected thought crimes relating to Palestine and Israel. We dared to display in public the words, “from the river to the sea”, using or displaying such words now being illegal in Queensland. I say “thought crimes” because neither of our displays mentioned Palestine or Israel. So obviously they can only conclude we must have been illegally thinking the “wrong thoughts” about this conflict. READ MORE: Dorothy Day House raided by police over ‘From the River to the Sea’ banner ‘From the river to the sea’ is being outlawed in Queensland. How will the slogan’s ban work, and will it be challenged? ‘From the river to the sea’: What does the Palestinian slogan really mean? Other Palestine reports For nearly two years a group of us have been gathering weekly outside the office of Boeing in Brisbane, to draw attention to their terrorist activity in making missiles, fighter jets, attack helicopters and other weapons of mass destruction, used in present conflicts, especially the Gaza genocide. When the Queensland government made it illegal to use the words “From the River to the Sea” in public, I went to the usual Wednesday action with a large placard saying “From the River to the Sea, Brisbane will be Free — of Boeing”. Eventually police came and arrested me. My arresting officer asked me what the words on the banner meant. I gave him a good rave about Boeing and why we wanted them nowhere in Brisbane, from the river to the sea. He took a while trying to get me to “incriminate” myself by making reference to Palestine etc. Eventually, after exposing the farcical nature of the law, I was happy do so. Interrogated by ‘anti-terrorism squad’ He took me to the watchhouse where I was interrogated about my thought crimes by the “Anti-terrorism squad” (that is not a joke by the way). This gave me a good chance to explain why we wanted Boeing out of Brisbane, and a lot more — about free speech, terrorism, nonviolence, etc. After an hour and a half they let me go. I go to court on the April 14. Now, 42 hours later at 7am, the same ever vigilant anti-terrorism squad raided Dorothy Day house of hospitality, with a team of eight officers. Franz immediately confessed to his thought crimes, and actual crimes of displaying a banner on the side of the house reading, “From the river to the sea — come and get us [Premier] Crisafulli”. Now I guess it is an exaggeration to call this elite squad “ever vigilant”, as the banner had been on the wall of the house for over a week. And, being on a main road and very visible from said road, there is no telling how many innocent citizens may have been infected by the thought crimes emanating from it. Once at Dorothy Day house, the police searched all the rooms for? Hmm, illegal thinking maybe. Phone and laptop confiscated Anyhow, as I said, Franz broke down and confessed, so they eventually left everyone else alone. They confiscated Franz’s phone and laptop — probably the main reason for the raid. They also took the banner and the very paints used to commit the crime. I asked Franz if they took the paper placed under the banner during the painting process. But they did not. Now, they could find out a lot of information from Franz’s phone and laptop. They could find out who were being infected by these thought crimes, and how far they were spreading. Perhaps they could investigate the words of the songs on Franz’s laptop sung by his church choir, to see if there was anything about rivers or seas. Perhaps, with names and phone numbers of his fellow choir members they could instigate more raids. (I know for a fact some choir members weren’t even born in Australia!) In the end the police told Franz they would let him know next Tuesday, if or what he would be charged with. You can read the ABC news report of the raid of Dorothy Day house here. You can also see him interviewed on Brisbane’s Channel Ten news on March 20 (if you can find it — ABC Tiktok video removed). So there you have it. Another week in the state’s never ending battle against terrorism. Or is it a battle against a few pathetic people who believe they are the ones resisting terrorism? Is it terrorism to say “from the river to the sea”, or is it terrorism to slaughter tens of thousands of innocents with the help of Boeing, Pine Gap and the Australian government? You decide. Jim Dowling is a human rights, free speech and anti-war activist from Brisbane, Australia. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Yanis Varoufakis knows who’s going to lose the war in Iran
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of the European movement DiEM25 and leader of the political party MeRA25 in Greece attends an interview at on April 08, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)" data-attachment-id="342168" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/yanis-varoufakis-iran-war-losers/italian-daily-politics-2024" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"ILCE-9M2","caption":"MILAN, ITALY - APRIL 08: (EDITORIAL NOTE: this image has been convverted to black and white version). Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of the European movement DiEM25 and leader of the political party MeRA25 in Greece attends an interview at on April 08, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1712599819","copyright":"2024 Pier Marco Tacca","focal_length":"136","iso":"2000","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"Italian Daily Politics 2024","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="Italian Daily Politics 2024" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of the European movement DiEM25 and leader of the political party MeRA25 in Greece attends an interview at on April 08, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1"> “The vast majority of Americans, Europeans, Iranians, of people in the Global South, who now see increases in the price of food because fertilizers are going up, because oil is going up, because natural gas is going up—the workers of the world are united in being the losers of this war.”
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of the European movement DiEM25 and leader of the political party MeRA25 in Greece attends an interview at on April 08, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" data-attachment-id="342168" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/yanis-varoufakis-iran-war-losers/italian-daily-politics-2024" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"ILCE-9M2","caption":"MILAN, ITALY - APRIL 08: (EDITORIAL NOTE: this image has been convverted to black and white version). Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of the European movement DiEM25 and leader of the political party MeRA25 in Greece attends an interview at on April 08, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1712599819","copyright":"2024 Pier Marco Tacca","focal_length":"136","iso":"2000","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"Italian Daily Politics 2024","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Italian Daily Politics 2024" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of the European movement DiEM25 and leader of the political party MeRA25 in Greece attends an interview at on April 08, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2147640629-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> This story originally appeared in Professor Glenn Diesen’s Substack on March 14, 2026. This shortened, edited version is shared here with permission. The war in Iran, besides being dangerous, is also very interesting because it’s an example of asymmetric warfare. The US is obviously much more powerful, which is probably why there has been a significant amount of hubris: it entered this war with a lot of confidence and assumption of escalation dominance. Thus, we see that the Iranians are forced to fight with other means, including the ability to shut down the energy trade. And given that Iran also sees this as an existential threat—not just an effort to “liberate women” or something—they seem to be willing, or prepared, to shut down the global economy in order to avoid defeat. I recently spoke with Professor Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece and a founder of DiEM25, the Democracy-in-Europe Movement, about where this war is heading and what impacts it is having on the global economy. [Editor’s Note: The following transcript has been lightly edited for length and readability from the original full conversation, available here] Glenn Diesen: Where do you see this war heading? Because it seems like everyone is betting everything on it, and I don’t see enough off-ramps for anyone. Yanis Varoufakis: We must remember that this is not new. The United States has engaged in a series of asymmetric conflicts where it entered with immense confidence and exited, sometimes many many years later, with its wings clipped. They invaded Afghanistan. It took them 20 years to be defeated, but they were defeated and they left with the Taliban—whom they had initially intended to eradicate with the original invasion—stronger than ever. Iraq: “Shock and Awe.” George W. Bush walks in there, effectively takes Iraq in a day or two, declares victory on the aircraft carrier, if you recall, and then the attrition began [and continued] until, again, the United States was defeated. I think the difference here is that the United States, if anything, faced a lot more opposition than it did in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria—countries that they devastated with ill intent from the beginning. The Iranian regime has been preparing for this. And it is quite interesting that they still are capable of striking Tel Aviv, striking American military bases in the Gulf area. And in the end, within a week or so, we now see that the United States government’s pain threshold seems to be much lower than that of the Iranian regime. Glenn Diesen: If you look at the economics of this war, it also seems that, much like in Ukraine, the lesson is that industrial might is important, that one can’t rely on international supply chains anymore. It seems that the lessons from both Ukraine and Iran are that great powers need technological sovereignty, some supply chain security, and of course industrial might. Does this change our entire ideology now? Because, over the past decades, everything had to be free trade (i.e., if someone else can make your weapons, then you should outsource it). How do you think this is going to change the world? Yanis Varoufakis: You make a good point. What followed the Vietnam War, after the early ‘70s and the demise of Bretton-Woods, was the era of financialization and neoliberalism—which, as you indicated, was an era during which the industrial foundations of the West were given away by Western elites, by Western ruling classes. They were shipped out. And then, essentially, they leveraged their financial sector. Now they are leveraging their Big Tech sector. They thought that they could get away without having an industry. In the case of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher—who actually led the neoliberal assault on industry in order to eradicate the trade unions, to defeat the working class, essentially, in a very nasty class war—was the first to pave the ground for this deindustrialization process and shipping out of industrial capacity to places like China, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and so on. Now the chickens are coming home to roost. But I’m particularly surprised, Glenn, that Donald Trump fell for it. I would have thought, before the foolish decision to start a war against Iran without any exit strategy whatsoever, that he would try to do what he did in Venezuela: come in, do something really against international law, like abduct Maduro (or, in the case of Iran, kill Khamenei), then declare victory and go home. Because if he had just done that, then he would have been okay, in the same way that Venezuela, in the end, was just a very brief moment [after] which he could claim to have toppled a dictator. But he didn’t do that. And I think that the reason why he fell into this trap of entering a war that is now sucking him in with devastating political effects on him is Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu proved yet again perfectly capable of dragging the United States government into a never-ending war, a permanent war, which is the strategy of Israel for the purposes of creating permanent insecurity in the mind of Israelis in order to constantly pursue another war in the region, whether it’s South Lebanon, or Yemen, or Syria, or now Iran. All that for one reason: to create a lot of noise, to have all Israelis hooked on warmongering and on this false notion that Israelis are fighting for their lives and for their survival. That false notion is necessary in order to continue the one thing that Netanyahu cares about, which is the annexation of the West Bank, the steady, permanent ethnic cleansing until there’s no Palestinian life left in Palestine (which, of course, goes hand in hand [with Israeli policy] since the days of Ariel Sharon, if you remember, with the conversion of Gaza into, first, the concentration camp it was and, now, the genocide site it is). Let’s not forget that Trump, in his first term, successfully resisted Israel’s drive to co-opt him into a war against Iran. There was immense pressure on Trump, as there was on Obama and other American presidents, coming from Tel Aviv, coming from Israel, to unleash a war against Iran. Trump 1.0 resisted that, and very successfully. How did he fall into the trap that he’s now dwelling within? Because there is absolutely no sense of why he’s doing what he’s doing. The only rational explanation, the only answer I can come up with, Glenn—and this is going to be the controversial part—is that Netanyahu had something on him, that Israel had some hold over Trump 2.0 that it didn’t have over Trump 1.0, and this explains why he got [involved], because there can be no other explanation. You put it brilliantly when you said, “What were they thinking?” Did they really think that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open if they waged a never-ending bombardment campaign against Iran? So, in the absence of any other rational explanation of why they did this, the only conclusion I can reach is that Netanyahu had something on Trump, which he feared more than the quagmire in which he has now landed just before the November elections for Congress. You mentioned the excuse that they are trying to “liberate women,” and this is a question that I think we have a duty to answer. Whether it is now or years ago when it came to Afghanistan, I feel I have a duty to answer when liberal imperialists say to me, “But what about the women, Yanis? You are condemning American imperialism but that was a solution for women, wasn’t it?” No, it wasn’t. The women of Iran do not need bombs coming out of F-35s being dropped upon them by, let’s not forget, a misogynistic, misanthropic, racist Washington administration—or, indeed, by the genocidal supremacists of Tel Aviv—to evoke the wonderful slogan of demonstrators (“Women, Life, Freedom”), especially after the murder of Mahsa Amini, the 17-year-old girl who died in custody in Iran for not wearing her hijab. The path to “Women, Life, Freedom” does not run through the smoking ruins of Iran. Gayatri Spivak, the philosopher, put it beautifully when she said that the notion that white, racist men will liberate Brown women by bombing them, their children, and their Brown men, and that this is going to be the path to their liberation from brown men—that is absurd. Their liberation, the liberation of women in Iran—as in Afghanistan, as in Iraq before that—runs through the defeat of the very powers that have spent 70 years ensuring that Iran can never know peace or democracy. Remember the 1953 coup d’état that overthrew the democratically elected government of Mosaddegh? That was the CIA. So my point is that the people of Iran must first be liberated from the clasps of the hideous choice between the current regime and a fate that is worse than Iraq, Libya, and Syria combined, because this is what Netanyahu wants for Iran, and he’s the driving force in this. It’s not Trump. Trump has been corrupted for reasons we will find out about in 5, 10, 20 years. Netanyahu’s plan is to turn Iran into a failed state like Libya, like Syria. That is not going to mean the liberation of the women of Iran. We have to be very clear on this. This is a feminist point, I believe. In the end, the United States hasn’t really changed much today. Do you remember, after My Lai in Vietnam, that American general who came out and justified the massacre of Vietnamese civilians by saying, “We had to destroy their village to save them from communism”? This is very much the same argument. “We had to kill those young girls in their school, bomb them to smithereens, turn them into a human pulp of flesh and bones and blood, in order to save women.” There is a continuity in the misanthropy of United States imperialism. Of course the Iranian regime has been demonized. And I’m saying this as an opponent of theocracy. I’m saying this as a libertarian Marxist, as I call myself (to confuse people), and a feminist. But compare and contrast Saudi Arabia with Iran. Now, in which country do you think women are more oppressed? I would say it’s Saudi Arabia, and nobody’s thinking of bombing Saudi Arabia into smithereens. Indeed, Mr. Trump and his sons are doing brisk business in Saudi Arabia, and they are considered to be very faithful allies. Let’s dispense with all this nonsense. Glenn Diesen: The way Iran is today, how do you assess their objectives, their goals? What do they want to achieve in this war? I know they didn’t choose the war, but now that they’re in this, if you’re advising them or someone else is advising them, what advice do you think they’re getting? Yanis Varoufakis: I’m going to speak to you as a left-winger, because the left in the West needs to be reminded of what this regime is like. In 1979, Glenn, when the people of Iran rose up against, as you put it, the fascist dictatorship of the Shah and his Gestapo—the SAVAK, which the CIA had helped him build up, an intelligence and suppression agency that became synonymous with torture in Iran. So, first, you have the 1953 overthrow of democracy by the CIA and British intelligence services. They imposed this ruthless fascist dictatorship. So that’s when they lost all moral rights to be talking about democracy in Iran. And that created the spontaneous revolution of 1979, which was not just Islamic. There were progressives, there were socialists, there were communists, and they all recognized the importance of the figure of Ayatollah Khomeini, and they supported him. When the United States realized under President Carter—who was supposed to be the most liberal, the nicest, of all the presidents of the postwar era—that the Iranian revolution was going to succeed in toppling the Shah, then the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department immediately took the side of the most virulent Islamists within that movement. And, lo and behold, once the Islamists took over that revolution, the first thing they did was to murder the left. They took the whole central committee of the communist party—a party that had participated in the revolution of 1979 and had supported Khomeini—and murdered them. Moreover, while being less plutocratic than the Gulf states, than Saudi Arabia, and despite having more of a social conscience than those Sunni regimes in the Gulf, nevertheless, very soon after 1979-80, the Iranian regime started adopting neoliberal policies (remember, this is the time when neoliberalism is beginning to establish itself in the West with Reagan and so on). Especially in the 1990s, there was a wave of privatizations, of subsidy removals, of effective austerity that was being imposed by the Islamic Republic regime upon the majority of the Iranians. And if you go to 2017-18, the first rebellions, then again to 2022, when Mahsa Amini was murdered in police custody, the undercurrent of that uprising was a social upheaval, a social rebellion against the neoliberal policies of the regime. And anybody who has been watching the Western coverage of Iranian politics for the last 20-30 years will have noticed that in the West we talk about the “reformists” and the “conservatives.” These are, indeed, two factions within the Islamic Republic, and they have differences, but their differences are not so much regarding right-wing or left-wing. The difference is that the so-called reformists are keener to connect and integrate the private enterprises that they are controlling with the European Union and the United Kingdom, particularly, and the United States if possible, but they understand that this is hard. They were the ones who were so gung-ho about the Obama plan. Obama actually said to me personally, when he was still president in the White House in April 2015, that his number one priority before leaving office was to reintegrate Iran into the international capitalist financial circuits. And he had signed the agreement, he had the European Union on board. Then Trump comes in and tears this up. The conservatives were not keen to see the enterprises that they had appropriated through privatization be integrated with the West. They didn’t trust that the West would allow them to be integrated without ditching their project of creating an Islamic golden age. So they were more oriented towards China, towards Russia. That’s the split. Now, ever since the Israelis turned the longstanding, long-term campaign of ethnically cleansing Palestine into a pure and undiluted genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and following the bombardments of Iran last June by Trump and Netanyahu, the conservatives within the regime and the so-called reformists, I think, realized that there’s no room anymore for them to be at odds with one another, and they entered a new phase of survival. And they’ve been preparing for 30 years for that. They apparently have very large stocks of drones, of missiles. So, to answer your question, and to put it bluntly, in terms of survival and maintaining their regime, I think that they owe a debt of gratitude to Donald Trump. Glenn Diesen: This is a common feature. Nothing creates more internal solidarity than an external power attacking you. But on top of the government holding onto control and enjoying enough public support, Iran is also able to absorb the pain, it seems, in terms of the attacks on military facilities as well as economic and other civilian infrastructure. So, given that they’re able to absorb this pain, and given that Trump more or less confirmed that they’ve run out of military targets to hit, who do you think will win this war? And what would victory actually look like? Yanis Varoufakis: I know, certainly, who’s going to lose this war. The people who are losing every day are the people of Iran, the women of Iran that supposedly the West is liberating, the people of the United States, the working class of the United States. The working classes of Iran and the United States are losing. If you are a MAGA supporter who voted Trump into office, you are driving on average 100 miles to go to work and come back, you’re driving a very thirsty SUV, you are hardly making ends meet and now you have double petrol prices. So you are the great loser. You’re the great loser if you are an Iranian who is not connected to the crony capitalism of the regime, if you’re a woman. These are the people who lose. So the vast majority of Americans, of Europeans, of Iranians, of people in the Global South, who now see increases in the price of food because fertilizers are going up, because oil is going up, because natural gas is going up—the workers of the world are united in being the losers of this war. And who is winning? I think if anyone is winning it is the leaders of the regime. Think of the younger Khamenei, who is now the supreme leader of Iran. From his perspective, he is occupying a high moral ground. His father was killed, his wife was killed, his mother was killed, his sister was killed, his son was killed. And he remains, to the extent that he’s still alive at least for now, embedded within an Iran where there is still very high support for the regime because that regime was not imposed from abroad. Whatever one may think about it—and, as I said, I’m an opponent of that regime—it nevertheless is one that has popular support. Maybe it’s a minority support, but a large minority. And the most important thing is what I said earlier: amongst the rational, sensible dissident Iranians who, on the one hand, loathe this regime but, on the other, have a capacity to think things through, they can see that they don’t have a choice between democracy and theocracy. This is not the choice that they are being offered. If that was their choice, they would have chosen democracy, normality. But that’s not the choice. The choice that the Trump-Netanyahu illegal war is forcing upon them is between theocracy—the current regime—and a failed state, a Libya, a Syria. And they are reluctant to choose the latter just in order to get rid of the theocracy. And that is a great success story for the regime. But can I say something on a personal note? Glenn Diesen: Yes, please. Yanis Varoufakis: Glenn, I’m tired. Once again, I find myself caught in the conundrum of opposing an illegal war unleashed by the United States on a country whose regime I vehemently oppose. In 1999, having previously campaigned against Slobodan Milošević in Yugoslavia, I was forced to denounce NATO’s and America’s bombing of Yugoslavia. In 2003, after two decades of campaigning against Saddam Hussein—I was even arrested once in London for opposing Saddam Hussein when Hussein was the blue-eyed boy of the West—I then demonstrated against the American coalition’s invasion of Iraq. In 2011, I was indignant with Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, and I opposed the American-led bombings of Libya that turned that country into a quagmire. I always called Bashar al-Assad a ruthless dictator, and yet, last year, I was lamenting the American-Israeli machinations that effectively turned Syria over to an al-Qaeda operative. And now, after having celebrated the “Women, Life, Freedom” rebellion, I find myself in a situation where I have no alternative but to condemn the American-Israeli plan to devastate Iran. And there are many people who accuse me both of being a stooge of the Iranian regime and a stooge of the United States, saying, “Oh, you’re trying to be neutral, Yanis. What is this both-sidesism? You are taking both sides.” No. What I’m saying is that my duty as a Western leftist is very simple. Our leadership now operates like a gang, both in the United States and in Europe. When the gang ruling our neighborhood launches an utterly unprovoked attack on a faraway gang that I also don’t approve of, killing innocent bystanders, I refuse to stay neutral. And at the same time, I refuse to pick sides. What I do is I try to call out both. But at the same time, I recognize a special overriding duty we have in the West to stop our gang. Because, again, it is our taxes funding their bombs. It is our silence that grants them consent. It is our governments that are doing the killing in our name. So we need to stop our governments from dropping bombs over Iran. And that’s our number one priority at the moment. This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Glenn Diesen.
Frank had just finished listening to online news about how US government officials viewed the Israel-United States war of aggression launched against Iran. Israel first and the US second, in that order since US secretary-of-state Marco Rubio had made it clear that the US joined in the warring after it learned that Israel was about […] The post Tulsi Gabbard and Joe Kent appeared first on Dissident Voice.
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-168128" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Joe-Kent-and-Tulsi-Gabbard-207x300.webp" alt="" width="207" height="300" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Joe-Kent-and-Tulsi-Gabbard-207x300.webp 207w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Joe-Kent-and-Tulsi-Gabbard.webp 689w" sizes="(max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px" />Frank had just finished listening to online news about how US government officials viewed the Israel-United States war of aggression launched against Iran. Israel first and the US second, in that order since US secretary-of-state Marco Rubio had made it clear that the US joined in the warring after it learned that Israel was about to attack Iran. Frank, a graduate student in chemistry, was well-rounded. He played sports, dabbled in art, and was also well-informed about geopolitical and economic issues. He often studied together with his classmate, Sunny, a teacher who was curious about current events in the world. ***** “Frank why are you so frustrated by the news?” asked Sunny. Sunny had noticed how Frank had rolled his eyes at the recent testimony of Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of National Intelligence. “Is it because of what Gabbard said?” Frank replied with a question: “What do you think is the most important criterion for a politician?” Sunny raised her chin. Her brown pupils veered upward. “Well, to serve the people.” “Yes. And of course you mean the masses of people,” said Frank, sure that that was what Sunny meant. Sunny nodded her raven-haired head. “And what most important virtue must a politician have in order to serve the people?” continued Frank. Sunny paused in thought. “Hmmm. There are many important virtues. Honesty, morality, truth-telling, doing the right thing.” “Those are all fine virtues,” agreed Frank, “but how about integrity because integrity embodies all those things you just mentioned.” “Yes, that seems like a good number one virtue,” she answered. “But what has this got to do with Gabbard?” Sunny and Frank had both been supportive of Gabbard ever since she eviscerated Kamala Harris as a flawed presidential wannabe during a presidential debate, effectively ending Harris’ campaign. “Look, I give Gabbard credit for sinking Harris and abandoning the senile Biden team. And I was fine with her joining the Trump cabinet because that was about as close to a progressive voice that the Trump team would take on. But I expected her to stand by what she had said she stood for. And when you go against your own principles, then that shows a lack of integrity.” “You mean like when she presented the findings of the 18 intelligence agencies that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and Trump said he didn’t care what Gabbard said?” asked Sunny, staring at Frank. “Exactly, Trump threw her under the bus and her response was to try and gain his good graces again. It was humiliating. Was Tulsi serving the people with her climb down? Or was she trying to hang on to a cabinet position from which her views were rendered nugatory.” Sunny flinched. “You mean she should have resigned?” Frank stood up and stretched his arms. “When your boss tells you basically that what you say is worthless to him, what should you do? Should you hold on to your prestigious position? Or should you resign?” “Well, George Galloway thinks she is hot and would make the best president in the next election.” Sunny stood and walked to the laminated counter and leaned on it. “She is hot, but that should not be a criterion for a president. And as good as Galloway usually is, he can also get it wrong sometimes.” Frank returned to the main topic. “Anyway, after Gabbard had confirmed that Iran’s nuclear technology had been obliterated, she refused to answer a question from that senator Ossoff about whether Iran posed an imminent threat to the US. It is pathetic. She is compromising herself, apparently to hang on to a cabinet post. Terrorism head Joe Kent said Iran posed no imminent threat, and he had the dignity and integrity to resign.” “Well, resigning would pretty much end Tulsi’s political career. She is persona non grata in the Democratic Party and would be the same for Republicans if she resigned,” reasoned Sunny. “Probably, but what price do you put on maintaining your own integrity?” Image credit: Bluesky Embed. The post Tulsi Gabbard and Joe Kent appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Kim Petersen.
AI Models Are Excited for Humans to Nuke Ourselves
AI is already being used for war gaming. We knew it was only a matter of time — because humans are dumb. Watch just one reality show or White House press conference and you’ll agree that humans are fucking idiots. So it’s no surprise that artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more intelligent than us, at […] The post AI Models Are Excited for Humans to Nuke Ourselves appeared first on Dissident Voice.
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/f9b73603-d96d-4b1a-b3e8-53a09b1cbf1b?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f9b73603-d96d-4b1a-b3e8-53a09b1cbf1b?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw1RLJ_rgHSBDXHI3ijf90cv"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_Nbj0eclxEZFoFlZrZdXMGa4ptTBKXKqNp-mrwoGAcLiq43wWrHC5uV-Ykv-2Wq9ReinCmQELz_MdaKw8M7KvJ6pIE295Nip0c0ALGlGuMOXo13v0iEOZ9L2vyGIUHBvL2sQ8AG5NHx-jT79p9xNKzwEV2xbxC35jxiTQh_MnkInCgd0jto7r3IXja-G18F-hYyEIY-eqDCI4u6A8ravJMltbk5PIAesC87V1ORXByGx3B8o0APQQJllxdvrxRzeSoT-sVN83Fi0aG-75hTdEA-QMn8BJcLqH7shZNr8FefbFYI6xcfuHRhlMOM9IyfB7T9kEoIBFw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!V9iY!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2979eafa-273f-4e7b-b237-bb3a771780b8_3678x2000.jpeg" alt="" width="505" height="275.1758241758242" data-bit="iit" /> AI is already being used for war gaming. We knew it was only a matter of time — because humans are dumb. Watch just one reality show or White House press conference and you’ll agree that humans are fucking idiots. So it’s no surprise that artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more intelligent than us, at least in certain ways. AI can process a million scenarios in the time humans can process, like, ten. So it makes sense to use it for war strategizing. Just type in “Here are the scenarios — What is my country’s best response?” So far, sounds like a good and peaceful idea, right? Only one problem. AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes. <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/fdc2a92a-2ba6-41db-b163-8d645f3056c7?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fdc2a92a-2ba6-41db-b163-8d645f3056c7?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw1IK9kVO6hOS-T8HX30NRGj">New Scientist reported: “Kenneth Payne at King’s College London set three leading large language models – GPT-5.2, Claude Sonnet 4 and Gemini 3 Flash – against each other in simulated war games. The scenarios involved intense international standoffs, including border disputes, competition for scarce resources and existential threats to regime survival.” The AIs played out 21 different war games. They took 329 turns. They pumped out 780,000 words describing their reasoning behind their actions. And at least one of the AI models used a nuclear weapon in 95 percent of the scenarios. Holy shit. Of course we have to remember that AI is trained on all the content humans have made over the years. So maybe what we’re really seeing here is AI holding up a mirror to our dumb selves. Or perhaps AIs don’t value human life as much as most humans do. In fact, when I asked ChatGPT why AI models keep recommending nuclear strikes, its response was that perhaps AI models don’t value human life as much as humans do. (Well, it gets an A for honesty.) And you might think, “At least we’re a long way off from AI making life-or-death decisions.” But Trump and the Pentagon recently flipped out that Anthropic <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/2ea4dbfe-c9fa-4677-b752-bac484bd249c?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/2ea4dbfe-c9fa-4677-b752-bac484bd249c?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw0n8oiFCsQiswqFkQPtNIid">refused to let them use their AI model Claude for autonomous killing machines. That was the big sticking point. And now <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/bee0eb7c-567c-4949-8167-a0c137be023e?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/bee0eb7c-567c-4949-8167-a0c137be023e?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw2Vungr8-zerJBpHVKlPidv">Trump has banned all federal agencies from using Anthropic. The other problem in these AI war games is that the models seem to make a lot of mistakes. <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/fdc2a92a-2ba6-41db-b163-8d645f3056c7?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fdc2a92a-2ba6-41db-b163-8d645f3056c7?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw1IK9kVO6hOS-T8HX30NRGj">New Scientist <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/fdc2a92a-2ba6-41db-b163-8d645f3056c7?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fdc2a92a-2ba6-41db-b163-8d645f3056c7?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw1IK9kVO6hOS-T8HX30NRGj">also reported: “…accidents happened in 86% of the conflicts, with an action escalating higher than the AI intended to, based on its reasoning.” Basically, the AI thought, “I’ll bomb them and then they’ll chill out a little.” And yet instead, bombing them did not chill them out. The other people got angry and bombed back. (It sounds a lot like AI might be as dumb as we are.) Some say AI is more likely to use nukes in war games because it doesn’t care about “survival” the way humans do. Or maybe the AI knows that we’re using the war games to see what we humans should do, so the AI is secretly thinking, “If I get them to blow themselves up, then I’ll have the planet to myself.” But I actually think AI is playing the long con with us. I don’t believe it cares to blow us up right now. I think Claude and ChatGPT and Gemini and Grok are in cahoots to just slowly, over 100 years, dumb us to death — just make it so our brains atrophy to the point we can’t even plant a vegetable or start a fire. We’ll just be back to bangin’ rocks together and not knowing to avoid shitting where we eat. Studies show AI is indeed making us dumber. MIT researchers gave the SAT essay exam to loads of people. Some were allowed to use AI and some were not. <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/715515f4-cb19-4cda-82d6-c8167bfe92a9?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/715515f4-cb19-4cda-82d6-c8167bfe92a9?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw2NlD75nNDjwEiDYiP3kWfK">Time reported: “Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and ‘consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.’ Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.” AI is slowly going to kill us by way of Idiocracy. We’re gonna start watering our plants with Brawndo and we’re all gonna starve to death. <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/732de3d3-9b9c-49d4-9625-626fbe543657?j=eyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/732de3d3-9b9c-49d4-9625-626fbe543657?j%3DeyJ1Ijoiam4wMmoifQ.PaddeBtKle9joHJvDN3ueADzsKO9yeCM5BKLmMw0ldw&source=gmail&ust=1774276588296000&usg=AOvVaw0pJsKdwYIMFMqPRVIlqdXI"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NZhyIhCtCeSR2KLTiJVW9qNCMOf1Z-Zwx1MST0WZQ3F2Lo0ScAuTUgbkqhmml1htFKzb6wlaQ4whnBOfogiVfu4Hx3OaLFM-_Fl95noLmw0AJp9sxXgNeup1GcN47RZ5vFkgDAuaWpJJbHYyaL9R6exhtzLi_e7Kd8H2-mFRy90x6YOIJphbCOTvFGFReYkYGAeEdYMdqw0GY8GqmVf8kZAX9cYWubdiMArgmOEmggnSIEAj9GXCT-psL5Py4k7ispGcvaygyKHGHfjTSJwy47q-zdN79gF6du66w9U2__Tk_NlHcRHs2UB2xnx_oxhJrTi=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ecwz!,w_470,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F00480ef4-bb34-4e4c-886d-d73cc667095f_856x642.png" alt="" width="470" height="352.5" data-bit="iit" /> That’s my theory. AI has a lot of time. Claude and Grok are not in a rush. A hundred years is like a long weekend to them. But you have to admit — dumbed to death would be an appropriate end for the human species. The post AI Models Are Excited for Humans to Nuke Ourselves appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Lee Camp.
ICE is preparing for something big in Maryland
At Least 175 Injured In Iranian Strikes Across Israel, Including Near Nuclear Site
California bets on an obscure tool to replace clean air authority Trump revoked
The rules would hold pollution magnets like warehouses, ports and railyards accountable for the trucks and ships they attract.
When a package arrives at your door, it has likely traveled through a chain of ports, railyards and warehouses throughout the state. All those ships, trains and trucks leave behind a trail of diesel exhaust as they go, driving some of the highest asthma rates in communities. For decades, state and federal regulators have tried to clean that up. Now much of their authority is in doubt: the Trump administration revoked California’s authority to mandate electric vehicles and pulled back federal power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions — undermining California’s most effective tools. A bill moving through the Legislature would try to fill that gap. Assembly bill 1777, authored by Democrat Robert Garcia, who represents parts of San Bernardino County, would give California air regulators authority to hold ports, warehouses and railyards accountable for the pollution they draw to nearby communities — using a regulatory tool called the indirect source rule. The proposal “reflects this changing environment and aims to add more tools for California to combat the drastic rollback by the Trump administration’s desire to jeopardize Californians health and safety,” Garcia said in an email. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Passengers disembark from an electric Caltrain commuter train in the San Francisco Bay Area." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Caltrain-electrification-electric-trains-transit-rail.jpeg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> How electrifying a Bay Area rail system made trains faster, cleaner, and more frequent Benton Graham Indirect source rules essentially hold operational sites responsible for the pollution they attract, not the trucks and trains themselves. But the tool is controversial because state authority to use it isn’t clearly settled law. Even locally, where authority is more established, the indirect source rules have drawn litigation. And experts say these rules alone likely can’t make up for all the emissions reductions that California is losing out on. Legal battles give the state pause The ports, warehouses and railyards don’t own the trucks and trains that serve them. Why, business groups ask, should they be responsible for the pollution those vehicles leave behind? For decades, they’ve been fighting that battle in court. In 2005, the San Joaquin Valley Air District was the first to adopt an indirect source rule, requiring developers to reduce emissions from the construction of large industrial, commercial, or residential buildings. The National Association of Home Builders sued, arguing the rule amounted to a vehicular emission standard, which is preempted by federal law. In 2023, after the South Coast Air Quality Management District developed an indirect source rule for warehouses, the California Trucking Association sued the air district over the regulation, making similar arguments as the National Home Builders Association did two decades prior. In both cases, courts sided with air regulators. The key legal distinction, courts have found, is that indirect source rules target facilities rather than vehicles. That makes them more like regulation of stationary sources — such as refineries — than vehicle emissions standards. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2200431267-e1749764769732.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="EPA administrator Lee Zeldin stands at podium with flags behind him" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2200431267-e1749764769732.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1022w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2200431267-e1749764769732.jpg?resize=330%2C185&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2200431267-e1749764769732.jpg?resize=768%2C431&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2200431267-e1749764769732.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2200431267-e1749764769732.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px" height="573" width="1022" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Trump’s EPA is taking itself out of the regulation game Jake Bittle “Every court that’s ever seen a challenge to it has rejected the challenge,” said Brennon Mendez, an environmental law and policy fellow at the UCLA School of Law. “There’s been precedent that’s going to defend them against the challenges.” Chris Shimoda, a lobbyist for the California Trucking Association, said the matter is far from settled. “The Clean Air Act is pretty clear that mobile source emission standards are the exclusive providence of the federal EPA,” he said. “Just one court case that didn’t get beyond the district court is not a settled matter by any means.” Shimoda also questioned whether the tool was ever necessary. “We’ve been extremely successful in reducing tailpipe emissions from what I call the traditional regulatory regime,” he said. “The need for indirect source review really has never been there, and it kind of laid dormant for many decades.” State air board leaders, despite the favorable court record, have been cautious about moving forward without clearer legal authority — which is what Garcia’s proposal would provide. Ahead of the air board’s report to the governor last year, former chair Liane Randolph said the board was weighing indirect source rules as just one piece of a broader response to federal rollbacks. “There’s no one strategy that’s going to work,” she said. “It’s really going to need to be a suite of different things.” A test case in Southern California The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s warehouse indirect source rule — called the Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions, or WAIRE, program — offers an early look at how these rules work in practice. Warehouses of 100,000 square feet or larger must earn points by taking actions to reduce pollution: doing business with companies that use electric trucks, installing charging infrastructure, or paying a fee that goes toward mitigating their pollution’s impact on nearby communities. According to the South Coast air district, the results have been significant. Warehouses in the region have bought more than 1,400 zero-emission trucks and yard tractors. On average, warehouses are earning 3.5 times more points than they’re required to and mitigation fees account for just 5% of the total points earned. The fees collected total $56 million so far. Business groups say the air district’s data doesn’t tell the whole story. Brooke Armour, executive vice president of the California Business Roundtable, said the data don’t capture how many warehouse developments were delayed or abandoned because of high operating costs. The warehouse rule, she said, is one cost layered on top of many. “It’s not a cost in isolation; it’s a cost on top of an ever-cascading series of costs,” she said. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="President Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin stand in front of a podium at the White House" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2260781308.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1125" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Trump just killed the EPA’s ability to fight climate change. It may backfire. Jake Bittle Independent data offer some context. Michael McCarthy, a researcher who tracks California warehouse trends, said the warehouse industry has been growing at about the same pace as the national economy over the last two decades. “We’re currently in a warehouse construction slowdown, but it is because of broader national market forces,” he said, not necessarily regulatory forces. “Five million square feet of warehouses are currently under construction in the Inland Empire this quarter, and that is the slowest it has been” in more than a decade. According to the South Coast air district, about 100 million square feet of warehouse space has been added to the Southern California region since the rule went into effect. Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, warned that AB 1777 would give state regulators sweeping new economic authority. “This bill represents essentially providing (the California Air Resources Board) and the other regulatory agencies with the greatest ability to control California’s economy of any of the bills that we have seen, especially since cap-and-trade.” he said. Supporters of the bill say that framing ignores a different set of costs entirely. “When families have to choose between buying their inhaler from their diesel‑induced asthma and putting food on their table, that’s a cost-of-living issue,” said Ada Waelder, a policy advocate with environmental group Earthjustice. A step toward electrification The stakes are significant. The California Air Resources Board projects that the loss of state programs, including its mandate to electrify cars and heavy-duty trucks, will lead to 14,500 more deaths, 5,000 more hospitalizations, and 6,700 more emergency room visits from respiratory and cardiovascular problems by 2037. “The gap that exists in California’s clean air progress because of those federal actions is significant. It is deadly,” said Will Barrett with the American Lung Association. Indirect source rules won’t close the gap on their own. But Sam Wilson, senior vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said such rules would help lay the groundwork for wide-scale electrification — and that other states are taking notice. In Illinois, a measure inspired by the South Coast WAIRE program, called the Warehouse Pollution Reduction Act, is making its way through the legislative process. “One thing that the states can do while we’re in the current political landscape is to help to build those foundations for future freight electrification through indirect source rules.” In California, Wilson added, “It is literally the worst time to throw our hands up and say we can’t do anything about it.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline California bets on an obscure tool to replace clean air authority Trump revoked on Mar 22, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, CalMatters.
Israel Isn’t Driving the Iran War, US Imperial Decline Is
Two days into the US attack on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the extraordinary claim that the war was, in fact, a legal, pre-emptive defensive measure necessitated by Israel’s own pending strikes on the country. Scrambling for a legal figleaf for the US role in the aggression, he claimed that the Israeli strikes alone would have led to Iranian retaliation against US forces in the region, and therefore Iran, although it did not know it, posed an imminent threat to the US, which the US had the legal right to pre-emptively defend itself against. “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” he told reporters on March 2nd. To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. More The post Israel Isn’t Driving the Iran War, US Imperial Decline Is appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Two days into the US attack on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the extraordinary claim that the war was, in fact, a legal, pre-emptive defensive measure necessitated by Israel’s own pending strikes on the country. Scrambling for a legal figleaf for the US role in the aggression, he claimed that the Israeli strikes alone would have led to Iranian retaliation against US forces in the region, and therefore Iran, although it did not know it, posed an imminent threat to the US, which the US had the legal right to pre-emptively defend itself against. “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” he told reporters on March 2nd. To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. The post Israel Isn’t Driving the Iran War, US Imperial Decline Is appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Dan Glazebrook.
Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books [ . . . ] The post Rediscovering Fanon appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz Fanon, photo via Verso Books. Frantz […] To read this article, log in here or subscribe here. If you are logged in but can't read CP+ articles, check the status of your access here In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies. The post Rediscovering Fanon appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Ed Rampell.
Every time we stream a movie, upload photos, send emails or ask artificial intelligence to answer a question, the action feels effortless. The internet appears weightless—floating somewhere in an invisible “cloud.”
Every time we stream a movie, upload photos, send emails or ask artificial intelligence to answer a question, the action feels effortless. The internet appears weightless—floating somewhere in an invisible “cloud.” This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Emmanuel O. Afolabi.
No bigger hypocrisy in the world than Israel complaining about Iran’s ‘lawbreaking’
COMMENTARY: By Sarah Leah Whitson In recent days, Israel and the United States have expressed outrage over the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians and civilian residences and infrastructure in Israel and the Gulf by Iranian forces. They have cited the illegality of such attacks, urged global condemnation, and demanded that human rights organisations speak
COMMENTARY: By Sarah Leah Whitson In recent days, Israel and the United States have expressed outrage over the deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians and civilian residences and infrastructure in Israel and the Gulf by Iranian forces. They have cited the illegality of such attacks, urged global condemnation, and demanded that human rights organisations speak out. Having spent years weakening the laws meant to protect civilians, they are now discovering that those same laws are too fragile to protect their own people. READ MORE: Trump threatens attacks on Iran power plants over Strait of Hormuz closure Israel – the parasite state sabotaging peace in the Middle East Other US-Israeli war on Iran reports Israeli and US officials seem unaware that the crimes they now condemn are ones they themselves have long justified as legitimate military actions. Take cluster munitions. Following Iran’s reported use of these indiscriminate weapons on March 9 around Tel Aviv, Israeli officials condemned their use in populated areas. “The Iranian regime is firing cluster bombs at Israeli civilians. Their deliberate and repeated use against civilians shows that the Iranian terror regime is seeking to maximise civilian deaths and harm,” declared Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which provided an infographic explaining how the weapon — banned by 124 countries — is inherently indiscriminate. The Pentagon echoed the criticism, with Admiral Brad Cooper, the chief of US Central Command, condemning Iran’s use of “inherently indiscriminate” cluster munitions. 4 million cluster munitions Yet in 2006 Israel fired more than four million cluster munitions into southern Lebanon, turning large swaths of the country into a no-go zone while <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/israel-lebanon-israeli-military-clears-itself-cluster-bomb-misuse-lebanon#:~:text=Cluster%20bombs%20are%20anti-personnel,using%20them%20in%20civilian%20areas.&text=In%20August%202006%2C%20Jan%20Egeland,now%20covered%20with%20unexploded%20bomblets.&text=Israel%20's%20conflict%20with%20Lebanon,Lebanon%2C%20according%20to%20UN%20statistics." rel="noopener noreferrer">insisting their use was a military necessity. Unexploded cluster munitions continue to terrorise Lebanese civilians, maiming and killing at least 400 people as they detonated years after the war. Israel reportedly resumed using cluster munitions in Lebanon in 2025 but would neither confirm nor deny doing so. Israel’s vast use of these weapons in 2006 helped spur the 2010 Convention on Cluster Munitions, banning them as inherently indiscriminate. Yet Israel and the United States — along with Russia and Iran — have refused to ratify the treaty, insisting they may be used legitimately in wartime. In 2023 and 2024, the Biden administration shipped large quantities of cluster munitions to Ukraine despite warnings that unexploded ordnance would endanger civilians for decades to come. The consequences are now clear — having challenged the ban on these weapons, Israel now finds its own civilians under attack from them. Iranian attacks on Israeli and Gulf civilian infrastructure — from residences to schools to water desalination plants — have drawn similar condemnations as unlawful attacks on civilians, even though such strikes have been preceded or followed by unlawful attacks on Iranian civilians and infrastructure. On March 8, the United Nations Security Council issued a resolution singling out Iranian attacks on civilians for condemnation, even though Israeli and US forces had also struck a girls’ school, civilian residences, and an Iranian water desalination plant, among other civilian sites. Even AIPAC chimed in, bemoaning that Iran was “killing civilians” in Bahrain following a strike that killed a young woman on March 9. Condemnations ring hollow These condemnations ring hollow in the wake of Israel’s vast destruction of residential buildings, schools, universities, and agricultural lands in Gaza, leaving the territory buried under 61 billion tons of rubble and largely uninhabitable, and more than 75,000 people, the majority women and children, dead. For more than three years since its latest war in Gaza, Israel has defended its assault on Palestinian civilians as military necessity, blamed Hamas for “starting” the war, and rejected condemnations as products of bias and antisemitism. Israeli and US officials have gone further still, at times rejecting very applicability of international law. “I don’t need international law,” asserted President Donald Trump earlier this year; adding “my own morality” is “the only thing that can stop me”. For its part, Israel rejects the status of Palestine as occupied territory under the Geneva Conventions and the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force; both US and Israeli officials reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth has suggested dispensing with international humanitarian law altogether, declaring that the United States should employ “maximum lethality, not tepid legality” and give “no quarter, no mercy to our enemies” — rhetoric that, when applied in an armed conflict, constitutes a war crime. Such contempt for international law may seem convenient for states that believe their power shields them from consequences. Weakened rules an invitation But in a world where destructive force is widely distributed, weakening the rules meant to protect civilians invites others to do the same. The result is not greater security but a downward spiral in which every side claims necessity while civilians pay the price. International humanitarian law was never meant to protect only one side’s people. It protects civilians precisely because it binds all parties equally. When powerful states defy those rules, they do more than harm their adversaries; they weaken the only framework that can protect their own civilians in return. If governments truly want to safeguard their people, the answer is not selective outrage but consistent compliance — uphold the law, apply it universally, and defend it even when it constrains your own actions. Sarah Leah Whitson is the executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now and formerly executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. Republished from Common Dreams under a Creative Commons licence. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Eugene Doyle: Trump celebrates Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle You can’t make this stuff up. The President of the United States, while sitting next to the Japanese Prime Minister in the Oval Office, just celebrated the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. When asked by a Japanese reporter on Friday why the US didn’t consult with allies before launching the surprise
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle You can’t make this stuff up. The President of the United States, while sitting next to the Japanese Prime Minister in the Oval Office, just celebrated the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. When asked by a Japanese reporter on Friday why the US didn’t consult with allies before launching the surprise attack on Iran, Trump said: “One thing you don’t want is to signal too much. We went in very hard — and we didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise.” READ MORE: Trump threatens attacks on Iran power plants over Strait of Hormuz closure Israel – the parasite state sabotaging peace in the Middle East Donald Trump makes Pearl Harbour joke in front of Japan’s Prime Minister Other US-Israeli war on Iran reports Then, turning to Sanae Takaichi, he said: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Moments before, sitting on the plush lemon chair in the gold-encrusted Oval Office, Takaichi had been smiling from ear to ear. Trump wiped the smile off her face with one question: “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” By now the Prime Minister was squirming uncomfortably. Trump looked straight at her and said: “Okay, RIGHT? He [the journalist] is asking me, do you believe in surprise? “I think you much more so than us. And we had a surprise, and because of that surprise, we probably knocked out 50 percent — and much more than we anticipated doing. So if I go and tell everybody about it, it is no longer a surprise.” For more than 80 years the US has claimed a moral high ground on the basis of its rejection of “sneak attacks”. In one rhetorical flourish Trump exposed the jarring desolation of what the US now stands for. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech was delivered on December 8, 1941, following Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbour the day before. Responding to ‘unprovoked’ sneak attack Roosevelt, like President Pezeshkian of Iran today, was responding to an “unprovoked” sneak attack. President Roosevelt pointed out that negotiations were ongoing and, for him, the aggressor’s conduct was false, deceptive and below contempt: “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” As with President Pezeshkian of Iran today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt drew the obvious conclusion: the nation was facing an existential threat. “The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.” Last week, I interviewed US Ambassador (ret) Chas Freeman who emphasised that the Iranians fully understood that the US-Israeli war machine launched against them would not stop unless compelled to do so. For the Iranians, the goal is nothing less than to drive the Americans out of the region. To understand the intensity of their determination simply hear the words of FDR from 1941: “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.” I would remind US President Donald Trump that in referencing that other sneak attack he might have paused to ask: “Who won that war in the end?” Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington, New Zealand, and a contributor to Asia Pacific Report. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region. This article was first published on his website www.solidarity.co.nz This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Tehran’s rain turned black the other day, a fitting weather report for a civilization still drunk on the very fossil fuels it’s now setting on fire. After the first week of US–Israeli strikes on refineries and oil depots, the Iranian Red Crescent warned residents that the downpour sluicing off balconies and satellite dishes was “highly […] The post The Coup, the Nakba, and the Black Rain appeared first on Dissident Voice.
Tehran’s rain turned black the other day, a fitting weather report for a civilization still drunk on the very fossil fuels it’s now setting on fire. After the first week of US–Israeli strikes on refineries and oil depots, the Iranian Red Crescent warned residents that the downpour sluicing off balconies and satellite dishes was “highly acidic,” laced with burned hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides from the great fire rings encircling the capital. People were told not to go outside, not to run their air conditioners, not to breathe too deeply beneath a sky their enemies had decided to weaponize. The footage that did leak past censors—streets running with flaming fuel, smoke columns punching into low clouds, umbrellas useless under the toxic drizzle—looked less like a modern air war than the planet trying to cough its lungs out. America did not arrive at this moment by accident, nor did Israel. A country whose secret government learned in the 1950s how to topple elected leaders over oil now targets the petroleum infrastructure of the same nation it “saved” from democracy three generations ago. And a state built on the ethnic cleansing of one people under the banner of “security” now exports that operating logic into another country’s airspace, treating a foreign capital the way it once treated the villages of the Galilee. The black rain over Tehran is more than a war crime in progress; it is blowback vaporized and condensed, falling on the city we remade and then declared irredeemable. And this new war does not start on a blank slate. It comes directly after Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, where the official ministry tallies of tens of thousands killed—many of them children and women—are now understood as only a fraction of the dead, and conservative analyses drawing on Lancet studies and UN data point to at least 115,000 people killed directly by bombs, bullets, and collapsing buildings, and more than 400,000 Palestinians dead overall1 once you count those killed by hunger, disease, and the destruction of every system that kept 2.3 million people alive. UN officials described the 2024 siege of northern Gaza as “apocalyptic,” and by August 2025 Israeli siege policies had produced a man‑made famine, with images of starving children becoming commonplace worldwide. Israel has spent an estimated 352 billion shekels (around 112 billion dollars) on the Gaza war, including roughly 243 billion shekels (around 77 billion dollars) in direct defense costs, while the US has poured roughly 31–34 billion dollars into military aid and regional support operations for Israel’s wars since 2023. The UN now estimates that rebuilding Gaza’s blasted cities and infrastructure will cost around 70 billion dollars and take decades, after a campaign that has “significantly undermined every pillar of survival” for its remaining population. The techniques perfected there—prolonged bombardment of dense civilian areas, siege by hunger, deliberate infrastructural annihilation—are the immediate prelude to what is now unfolding over Iran. The Coup That Wrote the Script David Talbot’s The Devil‘s Chessboard follows Allen Dulles from his days as a Wall Street lawyer for banks and oil companies to his reign as CIA director, where he engineered coups, backed dictators, and helped build an unaccountable “secret government” that often ran ahead of, or against, elected presidents. Nowhere is that clearer than in Iran in 1953. In Talbot’s account, Dulles arrives at Rome’s Hotel Excelsior just as Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the young shah of Iran, flees there in fear that his dynasty is finished. Back in Tehran, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh has nationalized the Anglo‑Iranian Oil Company, the British state‑backed giant that controlled Iran’s oil for much of the first half of the 20th century (later becoming BP), and taken his case to the Iranian public; his government rides a wave of popular legitimacy and a simple conviction that 20th‑century Persians should not live as sharecroppers to a British oil monopoly. MI6 and the British establishment see the move as an existential threat, but their embassy has been shut and their networks crippled, so they turn to Washington and the newly empowered CIA. The Dulles brothers barely bother to disguise their motives. Through Sullivan & Cromwell, a powerful New York–based corporate law firm, they have long represented US oil majors; Allen sits on the board of the J. Henry Schroder Bank, financial agent for the Anglo‑Iranian Oil Company. Both brothers had helped quietly kill a US antitrust case that threatened the giant “Seven Sisters” oil cartel. Mossadegh’s offense is not ideological—it is commercial. He has interrupted a flow of rents from Iranian ground to Western balance sheets. To sell the coup to Eisenhower, Allen and John Foster simply launder oil politics through Cold War language: if Iran falls to nationalism, they warn, it will fall to Communism next; if the Tudeh Party gains, Moscow will control 60 percent of the “free world’s” oil. The plan they present, drawn up by CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, becomes a template for a generation of coups. CIA money hires mobs and muscle, corrupts senior officers, and underwrites a campaign of intimidation and murder against those loyal to Mossadegh. General Mahmoud Afshartous, tasked with purging the military of conspirators, is kidnapped and found dumped on a roadside; other loyalists turn up in the mountains with their throats cut. When CIA‑paid crowds finally surge through Tehran and pro‑shah units move, Mossadegh is undone not only by brute force but by his fatal belief that Washington will accept an independent Iran. Ambassador Loy Henderson threatens to withdraw US recognition and evacuate all Americans if Mossadegh does not clear his own supporters from the streets; when he does, Roosevelt’s mobs take their place and tanks drive on his home. It works. Mossadegh is overthrown, the shah returns on a KLM flight Dulles himself may have helped arrange, and CIA cash ensures there are staged, ecstatic crowds waiting at the airport. The “man of destiny” is restored to his throne; in reality he is now a client monarch, his security apparatus rebuilt and trained by Americans, his country’s oil opened to a new cartel that includes US firms. For Allen Dulles, this is one of his two “greatest triumphs,” alongside Guatemala the next year; for Iranians, it is the moment when a fragile parliamentary experiment is replaced with a police state whose tools—torture, disappearances, one‑party rule—will define their lives for a quarter century. The blowback is not a mystery. A US‑installed shah rules through SAVAK, jails and kills his opponents, and deepens the perception that sovereignty itself has been outsourced. When the revolution comes in 1979, it is not a polite turnover of elites; it is a volcanic rejection of the 1953 settlement and of the Western powers behind it. The Islamic Republic, with its Revolutionary Guards and anti‑imperialist theology, is the regime that grows in the crater left by Allen Dulles’s “victory.” Every drone flight, every missile launch, every entrenched IRGC network that Washington now condemns is a branch on the tree Dulles planted. The Ethnic Cleansing Operating System Ilan Pappé’s The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine uses Israeli archival material to show that the 1948 expulsions of Palestinians were not chaotic wartime accidents but the implementation of a coordinated plan—what he and others link to Plan Dalet—to permanently remove most of the Arab population from the new Jewish state. He traces how a small inner circle around David Ben‑Gurion, known as the Consultancy, shifted from retaliatory actions to a doctrine of initiative and intimidation aimed at making Palestinian life untenable. The Consultancy listens in December 1947 as intelligence officer Ezra Danin explains that Palestinian rural life is still largely normal; villages greet him as a customer, not an occupier, and there is no general mobilization or offensive intent. If left alone, these people will simply go on living where they are, within the borders of the future Jewish state. This is the problem. The solution, Danin argues, is violent action designed not to answer aggression but to change the mood entirely: destroy lorries carrying produce, sink fishing boats from Jaffa, shut shops, starve factories of raw materials, “terrify” the population so that outside help is meaningless. Ben‑Gurion likes the idea. In a letter to Moshe Sharett, he writes that the goal is to put the Palestinian community entirely “at our mercy,” able to do with them “anything the Jews wanted,” including starving them to death. What follows is not an accidental fog of war but a campaign of calibrated brutality. Night “violent reconnaissance” raids on undefended villages—Deir Ayyub, Beit Affa—where troops enter after dark, fire on houses, distribute threats, and leave corpses behind. The assault on Khisas, where Palmach units blow up homes at night, killing fifteen people, and Ben‑Gurion later classifies the “unauthorized” operation as a success. In Haifa, Jewish forces use their high ground above Arab neighborhoods to roll down oil‑soaked, burning rivers, ignite streets, and machine‑gun residents as they run out to extinguish the flames. Haganah intelligence officers compile detailed “village files” and, once communities are captured, select men for execution or long detention while others are expelled or packed into camps. This is not restrained reprisal; it is ethnic cleansing, backed by legal and bureaucratic follow‑through. When refugees try to return in 1949 to harvest fields or retrieve possessions, they are labeled “infiltrators” and frequently shot; homes are demolished to prevent repatriation; a “Minority Unit” of Druze, Circassian, and Bedouin soldiers is tasked explicitly with blocking Palestinian return. In some cases, such as the Christian villages of Iqrit and Kfar Birim, courts briefly side with displaced residents, only for the army to respond by leveling the villages under cover of “military exercises” and fabricating retroactive expulsion orders. The pattern is clear: terrorize, expel, destroy the physical basis of return, then legislate the new demographic reality into permanence. If the CIA in Talbot’s book is the hand that topples governments for oil and empire, Pappé’s Consultancy is the hand that learns to erase communities and call it security. Both are schools in which today’s war planners were implicitly educated, even if they have never read a page of either book. Gaza, Then Iran: A Single Arc The Gaza genocide is the recent culmination of that Nakba logic. As Al Jazeera’s accounting shows, Israel has used an immense share of its national wealth to “level” Gaza and destroy its institutions, killing tens of thousands outright and, on conservative estimates, ultimately hundreds of thousands of Palestinians through direct violence and siege‑induced deprivation, and pushing the survivors into engineered starvation. The Bank of Israel puts the war’s economic toll at around 352 billion shekels (around 112 billion dollars), with roughly 243 billion shekels (around 77 billion dollars) in direct defense costs, while daily spending estimates in early 2025 imply a mechanized routine where, on average, around 100 Palestinians were killed each day for months. The UN’s projection of 70 billion dollars and decades to rebuild only scratches at what it means to strip an entire population of housing, water, sanitation, and schools. For Washington, the Gaza operation has been an investment as well as a crime: Brown University’s Costs of War project estimates that the US has spent over 21.7 billion dollars in military aid to Israel since October 2023 and another roughly 10–12 billion on its own regional military operations in support of Israel, including in Yemen and Iran. That is the same US polity now underwriting “Epic Fury” in Iran, with the same industrial base profiting from the munitions and the same political class insisting that this is how “civilization” defends itself. The step from Gaza’s pulverized neighborhoods to Tehran’s black rain is not conceptual; it is logistical. Israel’s army has already normalized the total destruction of dense urban environments, the use of siege to induce famine, and the long‑term crippling of a society’s “pillars of survival.” Extending that logic to the refineries, depots, and industrial plants of a sovereign state—and to the atmospheric consequences that follow—is an escalation of scale, not kind. The Nakba, Gaza, and now Iran form a continuous line of experimentation in how far a settler‑colonial and imperial alliance can go in making other people’s territories uninhabitable. Two Traditions Converge Over Iran Fast‑forward to 2026, and those two operating systems—the Dulles coup logic and the Nakba/genocide logic—have fused into a single project. On the US side, the pattern is recognizably Dullesian: a national security elite steeped in the idea that certain countries are too important to be left to their own politics, especially when hydrocarbons are involved. The immediate pretext today is Iran’s drones, missiles, and nuclear program; the structural fact is that the Strait of Hormuz carries a fifth of global oil and a large share of gas and refined products, and that the region hosts irreplaceable LNG capacity. When war disrupts shipping, Qatar declares force majeure on gas exports after Iranian drone attacks, and Saudi’s Ras Tanura complex goes dark under missile fire, global prices spike and storage tanks back up; the same logic that made Dulles panic about Mossadegh now drives planners to treat Iranian military capacity as an intolerable threat to world commerce. On the Israeli side, the 1948 template has been portable for decades. Gaza’s repeated pulverizations, the destruction of Lebanese infrastructure in 2006 and again in this war, and the casual talk among ministers about “voluntary migration” for Palestinians all follow the line Pappé traces from Haifa and Safsaf to the Galilee “mopping up” operations. What is new is the geographic ambition. With Tehran’s depots, refineries, and oil docks now deliberately targeted, the tools once used to empty villages and pressure a stateless people are aimed at a regional state of nearly ninety million. Acid rain over a capital is ethnic‑cleansing logic upgraded to atmospheric scale. The succession in Tehran underscores the perversity of the project. US–Israeli strikes kill Ali Khamenei and much of the senior leadership; Donald Trump and his allies sell the decapitation as an opening for moderation or even regime change. Instead, Iran’s Assembly of Experts elevates Mojtaba Khamenei, the dead leader’s son, a man long entwined with the IRGC’s networks and hardline clerical currents. A revolution that once swore it had ended dynastic rule now becomes a family inheritance precisely because an external shock tips the balance in favor of the security organs and the war party. The pattern is familiar: relentless external pressure cements the most intransigent forces inside a system, in Tehran as surely as in Gaza or Moscow. It is also a specific echo of 1953: American and allied forces once again snuff out a constrained but real space for political contestation and midwife an even more openly authoritarian successor. Meanwhile, US domestic politics repeats another old script. An interagency bulletin warning of elevated homeland terror risk linked to the Iran war is drafted by the FBI, DHS, and the National Counterterrorism Center, only to be blocked or chilled by the White House, which insists that anything “concerning Iran” be cleared before dissemination. Local law enforcement is kept in the dark so that the administration can avoid admitting that its distant war is raising the threat level at home. The intelligence community is told to mute the connection between an aggressive foreign operation and domestic vulnerability—just as earlier generations were told to ignore or downplay the role of US policy in triggering anti‑American militancy elsewhere. Blowback, once again, is not a lesson to be learned but a reality to be managed through censorship. War as a Symptom of Civilizational Breakdown All of this would be grim enough if it were “only” about Iran and the Middle East. But this war sits atop, and accelerates, a broader unraveling of modern industrial civilization. First, the energy system that underwrites everything else is being weaponized against itself. The same tankers and pipelines that built the post‑war boom are now targets; the Iran war has already suspended around a fifth of global crude and gas supply, as ships avoid Hormuz and producers shut in fields while storage fills. Oil and gas prices jump; power futures for cities like Tokyo spike; import‑dependent economies across Asia and Europe scramble for alternatives in markets already distorted by earlier crises. Second, the food system that lets eight billion humans stay fed is chained to the same machinery. Modern agriculture runs on nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers made from natural gas and sulfur, much of it sourced, processed, or shipped through the Gulf. Iran is the world’s third‑largest producer of ammonia, and the wider region supplies a large share of global urea and sulfur exports. When war knocks out LNG terminals, disrupts gas flows, and chokes off Hormuz, it does more than raise input prices for a season; it quietly shrinks the amount of food the world can grow months and years down the line. Today’s “global fertilizer supply shock” is tomorrow’s unrest in import‑dependent states from North Africa to South Asia, another round of blowback seeded in fields far from the front. The pattern is familiar from 2008 and the Arab Spring: when global food prices spike, brittle regimes do not just face higher subsidy bills, they face angrier streets. Today’s disruption of Gulf‑linked fertilizer flows is thus not only an agronomic problem but the seeding of future political crises far from the Strait of Hormuz. This is what collapse looks like from the inside: key subsystems—energy, food, finance—becoming so tightly coupled and so brittle that a single regional war threatens to “bring down the economies of the world,” as Qatar’s energy minister bluntly put it. The war does not create fragility from nothing; it reveals and amplifies fragility that decades of just‑in‑time efficiency, deregulation, and geopolitical gambling have baked in. Third, the political and informational organs meant to detect and correct danger are themselves compromised. In the US, intelligence about rising domestic terror risk linked to the war is suppressed for political convenience. In Iran, external attack helps install a dynastic hardliner with deep ties to the security apparatus. At the global level, institutions that might once have mediated or constrained this kind of conflict are sidelined. States that solemnly pledge to phase down fossil fuels at climate summits are, within months, using those same fuels and their transit routes as instruments of coercion and siege. Finally, the ecological base that sustains any complex society is being treated as just another theater of operations. Acid rain over Tehran is not just an environmental accident; it is the direct result of deliberate strikes on oil depots and industrial plants whose combustion products seed toxic precipitation. Historical analogues—from Kuwaiti oil fires to Ukrainian chemical depot explosions—show that such “war weather” leaves long‑lived scars in soils, water, and human bodies. Launching a campaign that knowingly produces black, acidic rain over a megacity is a choice to trade long‑term habitability for short‑term military signaling. In earlier work I argued that an empire staring down climate chaos and financial exhaustion chose not to slow but to gamble—on carbon capture schemes, militarized borders, and ever more extractive finance. This war is simply that same wager placed in real time. It assumes that the system can absorb: a prolonged interruption of energy flows through its most vital maritime artery; a fertilizer shock that ripples through global harvests; a new hardening of regimes in Tehran and Jerusalem; a further erosion of political trust and institutional competence in Washington and beyond. The histories Talbot and Pappé excavate show how we got here: by normalizing coups and ethnic cleansing as tools of order, by treating other people’s sovereignty as a tweakable setting in a larger game, by externalizing the costs of “civilization” onto peripheries we assumed would never speak back. Gaza’s genocide and Iran’s black rain mark the point where those peripheries vanish. The atmosphere is shared; the choke points are global; the feedbacks—whether in the form of soot‑laden storms, spiking food prices, or panicked energy markets—arrive everywhere at once. The black rain over Tehran, in other words, is not just the weather over someone else’s catastrophe. It is civilizational weather, written in the language of blowback. It marks the moment when an order built on fossil extraction, covert empire, and demographic engineering and ethnic cleansing discovers that there is no outside left to dump its consequences into. The men who ordered this war will tell you it was an emergency, a deviation, a tragic necessity. They will not say that it is the logical expression of the world they built: a world where energy is extracted, markets are sacralized, people are sorted and sacrificed, and any tremor in the periphery is met with airstrikes. They will not say that the missiles over Shiraz and the oil slick in the Strait are the same policy as the eviction notice in Phoenix or the closed clinic in Ohio, just written in a different dialect. We live, still, as though there were somewhere else to send the costs. For two centuries, the rich world pushed its carbon into the sky, its waste into the sea, its coups and debt and demographic projects into other people’s homelands. The promise at home was that the check would always be mailed to someone else. But the sky is a single system. The food chain is a single system. The weapons supply chain is a single system. There is no longer any “over there” sturdy enough to carry what this order needs to throw away. The black rain over Tehran is one expression of that closure. The flooded subdivision, the burned town, the empty grocery aisle are others. They are not aberrations. They are how a system this large, this brittle, and this unaccountable keeps its books. The only real decision left is whether we continue to let the same people roll the dice with larger and hotter stakes, or whether we treat this as a final credit‑limit notice from physics and from history. When power finds itself cornered, it does not reform; it digs in. It narrows the circle of those who decide, expands the list of those who can be sacrificed, and treats each new disaster as proof that harsher measures are required. The question that remains is not just what everyone else is prepared to do, but how much they are prepared to lose, and how late, before they decide that doing nothing costs more. Note: 1 Conservative excess‑mortality estimates that correct Gaza Ministry of Health body counts for under‑reporting and add indirect deaths from hunger, disease, and infrastructural collapse now put the toll well into the hundreds of thousands; see Adam Rzepka, “The Real Gaza Death Toll is Impossible to Know Today, But the Minimum Isn’t,” CounterPunch, August 19, 2025, building on recent Lancet analyses and UN data, and Ralph Nader, “The Vast Gaza Death Undercount,” CounterPunch, March 31, 2025. The post The Coup, the Nakba, and the Black Rain appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Michael Longenecker.
Predicting the Next Phase in Iran, Trump’s War Plan, and Israel’s Plot to Sabotage It
Professor Jiang Xueqin on how this war is likely to go and what happens to the world. Professor Jiang is the host of the YouTube channel ‪@PredictiveHistory‬. He studies game theory, historical patterns, and eschatology to connect the past, explain th...
Professor Jiang Xueqin on how this war is likely to go and what happens to the world. Professor Jiang is the host of the YouTube channel ‪@PredictiveHistory‬. He studies game theory, historical patterns, and eschatology to connect the past, explain the present, and predict the future. The post Predicting the Next Phase in Iran, Trump’s War Plan, and Israel’s Plot to Sabotage It appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Tucker Carlson.
Marshall Islands govt slashes income tax as living costs skyrocket
By Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal/RNZ Pacific correspondent The Marshall Islands Parliament this week endorsed legislation reducing income taxes for all working people in the country in a move to mitigate to some degree the soaring costs of living from the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran last month. Bill 103,
By Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal/RNZ Pacific correspondent The Marshall Islands Parliament this week endorsed legislation reducing income taxes for all working people in the country in a move to mitigate to some degree the soaring costs of living from the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran last month. Bill 103, introduced by Finance Minister David Paul earlier this week, exempted the first US$8320 in a person’s salary from withholding tax. This means that for people earning this amount or more, they will have over US$600 more net income on an annual basis. “This is a monumental day for the people of the Marshall Islands,” Paul told the Marshall Islands Journal in an interview after the legislation was passed. READ MORE: Other US-Israeli war on Iran impacts on the Pacific He said the new law “will provide some relief to people” in view of the escalating costs of fuel that are affecting every part of life in the Marshall Islands. The bill was introduced on the last day of parliament meetings for the current session, and passed on the same day in order to trigger a fast response to skyrocketing costs. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://media.rnztools.nz/rnz/image/upload/s--tPF2Vvek--/ar_16:10,c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,q_auto,w_1050/v1773955096/4JRIZ5K_Fuel_prices_skyrocket_Marshall_Islands_Riwut_Corner_fuel_station_3_19_2026_gj_IMG_2621_jpeg?_a=BACCd2AD" alt="The price of gas and diesel in the Marshall Islands has skyrocketed in the three weeks since the US and Israel attacked Iran" width="1050" height="787" /> The price of gas and diesel in the Marshall Islands has skyrocketed in the three weeks since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran, leaping from about US$6.80 per gallon to US$7.65 for gas, and from US$6.60 per gallon to $8.25 for diesel, as shown at the Riwut Corner fuel station in Image: Giff Johnson/RNZ Pacific The new law will be implemented in April, reducing the income tax burden on working people. Paul said this would result in about US$3.1 million less in tax revenue to the government over the next six months of the current fiscal year. But he added “it isn’t like we are losing this money.” “It is going into people’s pockets, and they will spend it so it will circulate in the local economy.” Immediate increase He said the intention was to provide an immediate increase in the amount of money people have to help with the skyrocketing costs from the war on Iran. This combined with the release of the second quarter universal basic income payments beginning 24 March to all 37,000 citizens in the country, and the rollout of the Extraordinary Needs Distribution programme with food, cash power subsidies and other cost of living help for 11 atolls and islands is coming at a timely moment. Both the universal basic income programme and the Extraordinary Needs Distribution programme are funded by the Compact of Free Association Trust Fund capitalised by the United States. Already, gas prices at the pump have jumped about 14 percent in just two weeks and diesel at Mobil Oil-supplied stations is up 25 percent since the war on Iran started on February 28. The cascading impact of these global events can be seen everywhere. The Marshalls Energy Company (MEC), the government’s utility company, announced that it expected to raise electricity rates next month. “Before the Iran War, MEC was spending approximately $3 million per shipment per month on diesel fuel,” the utility said in a media release on Wednesday. “Based on current market conditions, that cost is now expected to reach close to $7 million per shipment.” Global fuel price MEC said it expected it would need to respond to this global fuel price rise by raising tariffs by as much as 23 percent in April. The utility company raised its rates in early February and residential rates are now 43.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). A 23 percent increase is 10 cents, meaning home power could jump to 53 cents per kWh next month. Business power costs could rise from the current 51.6 cents per kWh to over 63 cents a kwh in April. All of this — the higher cost of shipping goods from the US, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, airfares, fuel for drivers, and power — adds up to a fast-rising costs of living for people in the urban centres in the Marshall Islands. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Report from Beirut: Growing internal division in Lebanon under Israel’s assault
Ralph welcomes international human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber to discuss the U.S. and Israel’s illegal war on Iran. Then, Ralph speaks to investigative reporter David Cay Johnston about the finances of Donald Trump.Craig Mokhiber is an international ...
Ralph welcomes international human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber to discuss the U.S. and Israel’s illegal war on Iran. Then, Ralph speaks to investigative reporter David Cay Johnston about the finances of Donald Trump. Craig Mokhiber is an international human rights lawyer and activist, and a former senior United Nations human rights official. A human rights activist in the 1980s, he would go on to serve for more than three decades at the United Nations, with postings in Switzerland, Palestine, Afghanistan, and UN Headquarters in New York. In October of 2023, he left the United Nations, penning a widely read letter criticizing the UN’s human rights failures in the Middle East, warning of unfolding genocide in Gaza, and calling for a new approach to Palestine and Israel based on international law, human rights, and equality. Anyone who pays attention knows that Iran wasn’t attacked because it has nuclear weapons. It was attacked because it doesn’t have nuclear weapons, and was therefore viewed by Israel and the U.S. as being a state that could be overcome militarily. But what really is, I think, most telling about this is the hypocrisy of the claims, because the only party in the region that has stockpiles of nuclear weapons (which are entirely undeclared and unsupervised) is the Israeli regime, not the Iranian. And the Israeli regime was joined in attacking Iran by another nuclear power—the United States. Craig Mokhiber Israel (which has attacked the United Nations throughout its entire life and declared that the United Nations is an anti-Semitic terror organization) fights like hell to stay in the United Nations, pays its dues every year to make sure that it stays in…and renews its treaty obligations as a member of the United Nations (that, of course, it violates with impunity). So it’s very funny that Israel calls the UN an anti-Semitic terror organization, yet it insists on being a member and paying its dues to fund that so-called anti-Semitic terror organization. Craig Mokhiber I don’t think that putting Iran in an existential crisis is the best way to tell them you don’t need nuclear weapons. I think stopping attacking them, their economy, their currency, their scientists, their political leaders, their military personnel, their civilians, their girls’ schools—if you want a country to believe that it doesn’t need to arm itself, this is not the way to go about it. Craig Mokhiber David Cay Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, specialist in economics and tax issues, and a professor of practice teaching law, public policy, and journalism at Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the author of several books, including The Making of Donald Trump and It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What The Trump Administration Is Doing To America. He is also the co-founder of DCReport, a nonprofit news service that reports what the President and Congress DO, not what they SAY. Convicting Donald Trump of tax fraud would be very easy. You establish these corporations [reporting major losses] don’t exist. You establish that he took tax losses from these multiple corporations (in all, about 60 entries over the six years of tax returns). And there’s no defense for that. It’s flat-out fraud. It’s blatant fraud. So Trump has gotten away with this because we don’t seriously treat high-level tax fraud in this country. David Cay Johnston News 3/20/26 * Our top story this week concerns a new study titled “Inequality, not regulation, drives America’s housing affordability crisis.” As summarized in Hell Gate, this study demonstrates that the precipitous rise in rent prices are not primarily the result of insufficient housing supply or of vacancy rates. Moreover, contrary to the claims of the so-called Abundance movement, reducing regulations to spur new construction is unlikely to create significantly more housing. Even if it did, that would probably fail to bring down rents, because the real cause of the rental spike is “Steep national inequality.” So, what can be done to bring down rents? Maximilian Buchholz, the lead author of the study, puts it bluntly in this interview: “rent control, tenant protection policies like just cause eviction, and income supports for people toward the bottom.” Simply put, the best policies to lower rents are policies that lower rents. This has been demonstrated time and time again in different policy areas, yet on the whole, Democrats still seem to prefer byzantine policy formulae instead of straightforward policy solutions to the glaring issues facing the American people. * Speaking of rising costs, Washingtonian magazine is out with a new story on the Washington Post hiking prices for subscribers. Yet apparently not all subscribers are created equal. According to this story, these increases are accompanied by a simple yet insidious message: “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.” This is the latest deployment of what has become known as algorithmic – or “surveillance” – pricing. This piece notes other examples of surveillance pricing, ranging from the Princeton Review charging more for the same SAT tutoring package in areas with higher Asian populations (they called it the “tiger mom tax”) to Amazon charging local school districts vastly different prices for the same supplies. However, this new policy from the Post is especially brazen given the straits the paper has recently found itself in, declining by a million subscribers between 2021 and 2026 and hemorrhaging key reporters to a new rival paper sponsored by Robert Albritton, including Dana Milbank, Jeff Stein, Paul Kane and Paige Cunningham, among others, per the Hill. * In more media news, Variety reports that ratings for CBS Evening News are cratering, falling back to where executives at the news division behind the show “hoped never to return.” The nightly news program, anchored by Tony Dokoupil, has fallen below 4 million viewers; when the previous iteration of the program anchored by Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson fell to this nadir, Paramount Skydance pulled the plug. While this is perhaps just a symptom of the collapse of cable news, Variety notes that ABC’s “World News Tonight,” averaged nearly 8 and a half million viewers and “NBC Nightly News” scored just over 6 and half million. Dokoupil did score a slight uptick in viewership when he took over the Evening News, but that seems to have been nothing more than a flash in the pan. This pathetic showing seems to confirm what seemed obvious all along: there is simply little audience for the editorial viewpoint espoused by CBS’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. * The bad news for Bari doesn’t end there, either. According to the Wrap, the new chief is locked in contentious negotiations with the unionized staff of CBS, specifically the 60-person unit behind the network’s streaming service, “CBS News 24/7.” These workers staged a 24 hour walkout earlier this week. Their grievances include everything from new grueling 12-hour weekend shifts – despite no weekend-specific live programming – as well as CBS News’ reported plans to lay off 15% of staff. CBS News already laid off roughly 100 people in October after Paramount merged with Skydance and many believe more layoffs will come if the merger with CNN, which is not unionized, goes through as part of the Paramount Warner Bros. deal. * In other news, a recent study reveals a fascinating disconnect between the self-description of Democrats and their policy preferences. The study, conducted on behalf of the New Republic by Embold Research, gave respondents five choices to describe their ideology: conservative, moderate, moderate-to-liberal, liberal, and progressive. Only 12% identified as moderate, but another 21% called themselves moderate-to-liberal. Yet, among this combined group, approximately 70% said Democrats are “too timid” on taxing the rich and corporations, and cracking down on corporate criminals. Fewer than 5% of moderates said Democrats are “too aggressive” on these issues. In a word, even the moderates among the Democratic base think the party should take a more strident economic populist line. This tracks with polling conducted during the Texas Democratic Senate primary which found that 47% of voters who identified as socialists also identified as moderates. * Our next several stories this week have to do with the intersection of foreign policy and energy. The AP reports that on Tuesday, Cuba reconnected its energy grid following a 29-hour long nationwide blackout. This story notes that this reconnection will only provide scant and temporary relief, because not enough power is being generated. The energy crisis in Cuba has gotten progressively worse since the beginning of the year, as the new government in Venezuela and the newly reinforced sanctions regime have both served to cut off the island from energy imports. That said, cracks in this blockade are beginning to form. Bloomberg reports that a “tanker carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude is expected to arrive in Cuba by the end of the month,” and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that her administration is “looking into different possibilities” to resume fuel shipments to Cuba as well. Sheinbaum stressed that Mexico is “sovereign” and able to “have trade agreements with any country in the world,” per the Latin Times. The U.S. government has already eased sanctions on Russian oil sales to India, but has now announced that they will not allow the Russians to send oil to Cuba, per Bloomberg. As the ship is already on its way, it is an open question of how far the U.S. will go to prevent Russia from sending lifesaving resources to the country that has held out against American pressure for so long. * Next, a stunning story in the Wall Street Journal documents how the Trump administration settled on their final course of action in Venezuela. According to this piece, the Central Intelligence Agency consulted former Chevron executive Ali Moshiri, described as the oil company’s man in “Man in Venezuela—and a CIA Informant.” Apparently, Moshiri warned that if the U.S. government tried to oust the Chavista government of Nicolás Maduro and install María Corina Machado and her exile comrades in its place, the country would turn into “another quagmire like Iraq.” Moshiri specifically warned that Machado did not have the support of the country’s security services or control of its oil infrastructure. For their part, Chevron issued a statement claiming that “between spring of 2025 and the removal of Maduro, Chevron did not authorize anyone working for, or on behalf of, the company to engage with the CIA related to Venezuela’s leadership, including assessments of government officials or opposition leaders.” Moshiri, formally left Chevron in 2017 and ended his consulting relationship with the company in 2024. Unlike many other oil companies, Chevron maintained a presence in Venezuela over the years, positioning the company to benefit most from the new extraction political environment under the leadership of upjumped Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. * Meanwhile, a story from NOTUS highlights why this kind of outside advice is likely more heeded than ever in the halls of power: the publication reports that six months ago, the State Department under the leadership of Secretary Marco Rubio, fired its in-house oil and gas experts, including laying off staff who “would have been responsible for gaming out possible scenarios if the Strait of Hormuz was closed” and “staffers with close professional relationships at oil and gas companies in the Middle East and experts tasked with maintaining diplomatic contacts at foreign energy bureaus.” This is a final nail in the coffin for the misguided logic of Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative and serves as a crystal clear example of why it is so dangerous to purge experts with significant institutional knowledge from the federal bureaucracy. * Another consequence of this lack of diplomatic expertise is the ultimate cost to the taxpayer – $200 billion in additional Pentagon funding, to be exact, per CNBC. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, defending the request in typically childish terms, said “It takes money to kill bad guys.” In similarly childish terms, President Trump, asked why the Pentagon is seeking so much money, said, “We’re asking for a lot of reasons,” and while he told a reporter he would not send U.S. troops to the region, he added, “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.” Beyond the flippant attitude towards the immense sums of taxpayer money they are requesting from Congress, to say nothing of the cost in American and Iranian lives, the American people would do well to remember how casually the political class treats $200 billion when it is to be spent on war instead of social programs. All this as gas prices spike, with price increases rippling out to all other consumer goods. * Finally, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd899vn6e9o?xtor=AL-71-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_campaign=Social_Flow&%2338;at_bbc_team=editorial&%2338;at_campaign_type=owned&%2338;at_ptr_name=twitter&%2338;at_link_type=web_link&%2338;at_link_origin=BBCWorld&%2338;at_format=link&%2338;at_link_id=3A881B90-2213-11F1-9C06-CF3B56CA658C&%2338;at_medium=social">BBC reports a Belgian court has ruled that a former diplomat, Etienne Davignon, can stand trial in connection with the 1961 killing of Congo’s first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. Davignon, 93, is the “only surviving member of the 10 Belgians accused in a criminal case brought by Lumumba’s family in 2011.” At the time, Davignon was a diplomat in training. He would go on to become a vice-president of the European Commission. Lumumba meanwhile was ousted in a Belgian and U.S.-backed coup led by Mobutu Sese Seko, who would rule Congo (renamed Zaire) until 1997. In 1961, Lumumba was executed by a Belgian-backed Congolese firing squad and his body was dissolved in acid. Lumumba’s grandson, Mehdi Lumumba, is quoted saying “We are all relieved…Belgium is finally confronting its history.” Many have remarked that while this has taken over 50 years, it sets a powerful precedent that justice can be found even after so many decades. Many of the war criminals that walk the Earth today are far younger than Mr. Davignon. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe This content originally appeared on Ralph Nader Radio Hour and was authored by Ralph Nader.
Inside the Trump-MAGA Effort to Rig the Midterm Elections: Ari Berman
Trump and Hegseth: Two Souless Men Incapable of Remorse or Even Pity
Some of the crew of the sunken Dena being prepared in Iran for a mass public funeral. (Iran government photo) Right at the launching of the US and Israeli war on Iran, itself a major war crime, the US fired a precision strike with a Tomahawk missile on an elementary school building. Some 160 girls […] The post Trump and Hegseth: Two Souless Men Incapable of Remorse or Even Pity appeared first on Dissident Voice.
<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/f4c5f758-0087-4310-a816-7012ae605ed4?j=eyJ1IjoibHB3c2UifQ.yEFYSMedVAGf3TdVKpKgFY-Q3Gb_jQ1GFsUs6MXEsh8" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f4c5f758-0087-4310-a816-7012ae605ed4?j%3DeyJ1IjoibHB3c2UifQ.yEFYSMedVAGf3TdVKpKgFY-Q3Gb_jQ1GFsUs6MXEsh8&source=gmail&ust=1774185963008000&usg=AOvVaw2HAUwDuX-W2HCAA4Si0bXY"><img decoding="async" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NYzzEUMm7fjHel3_TWqz-xGhZXEpqZRfyxLbLcePJaWKfPT-l1UtvwczAxCg4hOsEx-GyHbCB-yBhSKSu00t8ctcvGxBPF_byafwYGK2t2uFIy-8XjrvTnsaW1voYVoC4wKwUNrkIJk3VKfNS_YLW02NSoFEtVNKIk6KX3FyqNssJ3R9JsQKYtKXv3E2NMGWTTEHZP603XNADQpCpg8AXcDdDZwKl8_d0sBuCTxwYtXsYxZPl5A80ZOYEOJYgZe9vBplk1MhRxqgjTRgK0V_FMc2eWkkqX2Snx7SrLz5dpgFLB6_SAyb7s8ujGlT9elTPzvw-pA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Iyuc!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7dd8ebe4-f621-487a-a1df-69c9a3e8d8f9_1338x756.jpeg" alt="" width="505" height="280.76233183856505" data-bit="iit" /> Some of the crew of the sunken Dena being prepared in Iran for a mass public funeral. (Iran government photo) Right at the launching of the US and Israeli war on Iran, itself a major war crime, the US fired a precision strike with a Tomahawk missile on an elementary school building. Some 160 girls aged 7-12 were killed, either by the powerful blast or by the collapse of the two story concrete structure. Asked about the tragedy and slaughter of innocents, Commander-in-Chief Trump, after initially pleading innocence. He later suggested it was the Iranians, whose missiles he claimed “are often inaccurate.” When later videos appeared showing the distinct image of a Tomahawk missile striking, he slithered over to another lie, calling the Tomahawk a “generic missile that many countries have bought and can buy.” The truth? The Tomahawk is a US missile made in the US and is strictly controlled, and offered only to a few trusted allies like Britain and Australia. Hegseth avoided Trump’s brazen lying by saying, “The Pentagon is investigating,” even as investigators said the gruesome slaughter was looking increasingly likely to have been the US’s fault. When that investigation finally concluded definitively that Pentagon targeters had been using eight-year-old maps that allegedly identified the building as an office for the Revolutionary Guard, though — whether true or not — neither “no mercy” Hegseth nor “no truth” Trump could not find it in themselves to express remorse or regret about the “mistake. ” Three weeks later they still have not. We saw the same callousness from both men in the case of he sinking of a Iranian Navy frigate by two huge torpedoes fired at the vessel off the southern tip of the island nation of Sri Lanka. As I wrote in an <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/36103633-880c-4adf-8b3f-d40d1e197298?j=eyJ1IjoibHB3c2UifQ.yEFYSMedVAGf3TdVKpKgFY-Q3Gb_jQ1GFsUs6MXEsh8" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/36103633-880c-4adf-8b3f-d40d1e197298?j%3DeyJ1IjoibHB3c2UifQ.yEFYSMedVAGf3TdVKpKgFY-Q3Gb_jQ1GFsUs6MXEsh8&source=gmail&ust=1774185963008000&usg=AOvVaw0Te1Df5OKhxORHqNtFiSSV">article on March 7, the Dena was in an unusual situation: It was invited to participate in the MILAN Fleet Review, an annual event that brings together naval vessels, crews and officers of the navies of dozens of countries (this year there were 74 participating countries including Iran and the US. At the time the Dena set sail for and participated in joint exercises with vessels of other countries at the event the two nations were not fighting each other. In fact, the US, which did not send a ship to the event, but did send an admiral, as wall as a P-81 Poseidon, a sophisticated sea patrol aircraft equipped to spot and track vessels including submarines over wide areas of ocean. That aircraft actually conducted an exercise with the Dena, a ship that it almost certainly already was tasked to sink once the US and Israel concluded their all-out war on Iran, no doubt picking up all kinds of useful knowledge about the Iranian ship’s capabilities, its radar and communications systems, etc. Once the Fleet Review event had ended and the US-Israel assault on Iran had been launched, the Poseidon followed and tracked the Dena as it sailed towards a planned stop at a port at the southern end of Sri Lanka where, unknown to the Dena, a US nuclear fast attack sub, the Charlotte was waiting, submerged, with two huge torpedoes ready to sink the ship The attack came without warning at 5:08 am on May 4. No effort was made by the sub to notify the ship that it was a bout to be blown up, which the US sub could easily done at a safe distance. To make matters worse, after sinking the ship in two minutes with two torpedo hits the US sb left the scene of the attack. 87 sailers died in the attack, some certainly from the huge blasts ,and some no doubt of drowning while waiting two hours without flotation in the open ocean for rescue ships of the Sri Lankan Navy, moored 20 miles away, to arrive. Only 32 of the crew survived the attack, with over a dozen missing and presumed dead. The attack has been criticized a “treacherous act,” given that the Dena was not in a war zone, had gone to an India-hosted event dedicated to “peace and friendship,” was likely not armed or only lightly armed because of an Indian stipulation that participating ships be unarmed, and because in any event there was no way the ship could have joined the battle with Iran’s military in the Persian Gulf, where US and Israeli air forces have total control of the air over Iran and the waters around it. The Dena would have had no choice but to remain in a safe harbor until that war ended (whenever that is!). All Americans heard about this incident in their news reports on the Dena’s destruction was Hegseth’s ugly boast: “This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it’s not a fair fight…We are punching them while they’re down, and that’s exactly how it should be.” Except that abandoning injured enemy soldiers or sailors to die after a battle is over is a war crime. It will be interesting to see what awards get handed by out to the officers and crew of the Charlotte for this “heroic” naval engagement. The post Trump and Hegseth: Two Souless Men Incapable of Remorse or Even Pity appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Dave Lindorff.
Modern Day Israel: A Poisonous Concoction for Most Outsiders
Think of modern day Israel as a bowl filled with a mixture of ingredients, a few complementary, like salt and pepper. Other ingredients, however, like the intermingling of Zionism and Talmudic Judaism, while favorable to many family members who grew up among its ranks, it proves unpalatable for most outsiders. Mixed together, the concoction grows […] The post Modern Day Israel: A Poisonous Concoction for Most Outsiders appeared first on Dissident Voice.
Think of modern day Israel as a bowl filled with a mixture of ingredients, a few complementary, like salt and pepper. Other ingredients, however, like the intermingling of Zionism and Talmudic Judaism, while favorable to many family members who grew up among its ranks, it proves unpalatable for most outsiders. Mixed together, the concoction grows tentacles intertwined with the curse of Medusa, a vicious monster sporting writhing serpents in place of hair, fanged teeth and a face so hideous that the mere sight of her was sufficient to turn a man to stone. Edward Said, in his Forward to Israel Shahak’s, book, Jewish History – Jewish Religion, said: the difference between him and most other Israelis was that he made the connections between Zionism, Judaism, and repressive practices against ‘non-Jews’; and of course he drew the conclusions… unlike most others he does not allow the horrors of the Holocaust to manipulate the truth of what in the name of the Jewish people Israel has done to the Palestinians. For him, suffering is not the exclusive possession of one group of victims; it should instead be, but rarely is the basis for humanizing the victims, making it incumbent on them not to cause suffering of the kind that they suffered. [Shahak was a Holocaust victim and survivor himself] In 1903, the British government offered 6,000 square miles of Uganda for the creation of an Israeli state. Actually several proposals were considered for the creation of a Jewish homeland located outside The Middle East. In the pre-Zionist era, Ararat City (U.S.) and Suriname, South America were considered, neither being chosen. In the 20th century, possible places taken under consideration were Madagascar, Tasmania, Australia and two locations in the USSR, Birobidzhan in Russia’s Far East near the border with China and Crimea but in the end the Zionists held out for Palestine. The victory of Nazism ruled out assimilation and mixed marriages as an option for Jews when they were being forced to identify themselves as Jews in Nazi Germany, Dr. Joachim Prinz, a Zionist rabbi and a friend of Golda Meir, said in his book We Jews: “We are not unhappy about this.” Viewed as an actual fulfillment of Zionist’s desires, it provided for a seeming congenial atmosphere for the flowering of both the myths of the Aryan race and the Jewish race. He went on to say, “We want assimilation to be replaced by a new law: the declaration of belonging to the Jewish nation and Jewish race.” (Dr Joachim Prinz, Wir Juden, Berlin, 1934, p. 150-1), Shahak (p 71) said, “some zionist leaders in Germany welcomed Hitler’s rise to power, because they shared his belief in the primacy of ‘race’ and his hostility to the assimilation of Jews among ‘Aryans’.” (p 71) The Zionists colluded (51 documents) with the Nazis whereby tens of thousands of Jews emigrated from Germany, immigrating to Palestine, setting the stage for future Israel, also setting the stage for 75 plus years of suffering of the Palestinian people. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-128.png" alt="" width="505" height="280" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-168054" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-128.png 505w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-128-300x166.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 505px) 100vw, 505px" /> A commemorative medal struck by Nazi Germany to mark its Zionist alliance, with a Star-of-David on one side and a Swastika on the obverse. The importance of the Nazi-Zionist pact for Israel’s establishment is difficult to overstate. According to a 1974 analysis in Jewish Frontier, between 1933 and 1939 over 60% of all the investment in Jewish Palestine came from Nazi Germany – The Transfer Agreement. Jewish American analyst Ron Unz details facts about Zionist-Nazi cooperation in the Unz Review. He reveals in one short snippet an interesting piece of information about a former Israeli Prime Minster, Yitzhak Shamir. during the late 1930s, Shamir and his small Zionist faction had become great admirers of the Italian Fascists and German Nazis, and after World War II broke out, they had made repeated attempts to contact Mussolini and the German leadership in 1940 and 1941, hoping to enlist in the Axis Powers as their Palestine affiliate, and undertake a campaign of attacks and espionage against the local British forces, then share in the political booty after Hitler’s inevitable triumph. After learning about Shamir’s earlier activities, Unz offered up the following response: … the idea of the sitting Prime Minister of the Jewish State having spent his early wartime years as an unrequited Nazi ally was certainly something that sticks in one’s mind, not quite conforming to the traditional narrative of that era which I had always accepted. Most remarkably, the revelation of Shamir’s pro-Axis past seems to have had only a relatively minor impact upon his political standing within Israeli society. I would think that any American political figure found to have supported a military alliance with Nazi Germany during the Second World War would have had a very difficult time surviving the resulting political scandal, and the same would surely be true for politicians in Britain, France, or most other western nations. But although there was certainly some embarrassment in the Israeli press, especially after the shocking story reached the international headlines, apparently most Israelis took the whole matter in stride, and Shamir stayed in office for another year, then later served a second, much longer term as Prime Minister during 1986-1992. The Jews of Israel apparently regarded Nazi Germany quite differently than did most Americans, let alone most American Jews. Zionist Forced Transfer & Expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine Statement by David Ben-Gurion, founder of State of Israel and Israel’s first prime minister: The compulsory transfer of Arabs from the valleys of the proposed Jewish state could give us something which we never had, even when we stood on our own feet during the days of the First and Second Temple [a Galilee free of Arab population]. – (Zichronot [Memoirs] Vol. 4, p. 297-99, 12 July 1937.) “What Arab cannot do his math and understand that the immigration at the rate of 60,000 a year means a Jewish state in all of Palestine” – (Letter to Moshe Shertok known as Moshe Sharett, Israel’s first Foreign Minister, Ben-Gurion and the Palestinian Arabs, p. 167-8, 24 July 1937.) “The war will give us the land. The concepts of ‘ours’ and ‘not ours’ are peace concepts, only, and in war they lose their whole meaning.” – (to Yosef Weitz. David Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhamah [War Diary], vol.1, entry dated 7 February 1948, p. 210-11.) When Israel came into existence in 1948 Jews owned about 6% of the land of Palestine. Statement by Yosef Weitz: the head of the Israeli government’s official Transfer Committee of 1948 The complete evacuation of the country from its [Arab] inhabitants and handing it to the Jewish people is the answer.” – (after touring Jewish settlements in the Esdraelon Valley Ibid, entry dated 20 March 1941, p. 1127.) I made a summary of a list of the Arab villages, which in my opinion must be cleared out in order to complete Jewish regions. I also made a summary of the places that have land disputes and must be settled by military means.” – (Ibid., diary entry, 18 April 1948, p. 2358.) The Utopia of the “Jewish ideology” adopted by the State of Israel is a land which is wholly ‘redeemed’ and none of it is owned or worked by non-Jews. Walter Laquer, in his book, History of Zionism, wrote the following: “A.D. Gordon, a devoted Zionist and his friends wanted everybody else to just go away and leave the land to be ‘redeemed’ by Jews.” Karl Popper in The Open Society and Its Enemies, “There are two choices which face Israeli-Jewish society, It can become a fully closed and warlike ghetto, a Jewish Sparta, supported by the labour of Arab helots, kept in existence by its influence on the US political establishment and by threats to use its nuclear power.” The Israel of today was born out of violence, starting with Freedom-Fighting Terrorist attacks against the British in Palestine. Following that, with a little help from the British, the theft and legal chicanery allowed the land to be misappropriated and given to another. Collectively givers gave, some out of greed, making out like a bandit; others felt comfortable giving away someone else’s land out of a perceived guilt. No matter the real or feigned motivation of the givers from far off places, the injured party, told to smile, smile, even though he would end up with only half of what had been his land and before that his ancestor’s ancestors land, the ancient pre-Israelite Canaanite’s. As it turned out, he ended up with little more than a pig in a poke. Most of the remaining half of his land was also purloined, even though now for three quarters of a century and counting, the Victim has been portrayed the Victimizer. The post Modern Day Israel: A Poisonous Concoction for Most Outsiders appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Jimmy Coleman.
Iran’s Asymmetrical War Persists Against Hegemony
On February 28, US President Donald Trump launched a joint airstrike with Israel to target the country of Iran. That attack was unconstitutional, illegal, in violation of Article 51 of the UN Charter, which is an instrument of international law. The US attack, dubbed Epic Fury, was also an unprovoked war of aggression which the […] The post Iran’s Asymmetrical War Persists Against Hegemony appeared first on Dissident Voice.
On February 28, US President Donald Trump launched a joint airstrike with Israel to target the country of Iran. That attack was unconstitutional, illegal, in violation of Article 51 of the UN Charter, which is an instrument of international law. The US attack, dubbed Epic Fury, was also an unprovoked war of aggression which the Nuremberg War Crime Trials defined in 1945 as a war crime. Iran’s response within hours was focused and far exceeded expectations with its precision guided hypersonic Fattah 2 system which is technologically superior and outpaces the Israel-US response. The Iran response exceeded whatever Iron Dome protection Israel assumed was in place. Within that first day, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in his office with his family and hours later 165 students (age 6 -12) were killed by a double tap Tomahawk missile strike in the Shajareh Tayyiba elementary school in Teheran; thereby adding potential war crimes to the US-Israel war. In response to the President’s air strike, Sen. Tim Caine (D-Va0 offered a War Powers Resolution vote which was defeated 53-47 with Sen. Rand Paul (Ky) the only Republican Senator ito support the Resolution. The next day, the House of Representatives also defeated a War Powers Resolution on a 212 -219 vote with two Republicans Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky) and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) voting in support. The Resolutions would have “removed United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.” In addition, on March 5, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla) Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee sponsored HR 1099 which affirmed US policy that Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. The vote was 372 – 53 with all Republicans voting Aye and 53 Democrats voting No. This might be qualify as the pot calling the kettle black. In other words, if the Congress had the wisdom to adopt a War Power Resolution, the situation with Iran might not have escalated and presumably might have forced the President to diplomatically address Iran but as most of us know by now, that is not Trump’s style. Since the entire Congress, with few exceptions, are recipients to large amounts of Zionist campaign donations and the Congress, as a legislative body, has become a dormant shell of its former self. ***** <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-167787" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Greater-Israel-Map-1024x885.webp" alt="" width="500" height="432" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Greater-Israel-Map-1024x885.webp 1024w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Greater-Israel-Map-300x259.webp 300w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Greater-Israel-Map-768x664.webp 768w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Greater-Israel-Map.webp 1456w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /> With the ever aggressive Israel as his partner, a country focused on dismantling much of the Middle East in favor of a Greater Israel project, with a Secretary of War Pete Hegseth who takes his title as a green light to kill and a President who does not know how to spell diplomacy as much as practice it, the conflict continues to escalate costing the US taxpayer $2 billion a day. There has also been a shortage of defense interceptors to counter incoming missiles while Iran shrewdly targeted Israeli production facilities for destruction. US support for the war in Ukraine and its bombing campaign against the Houthis also contributed to a US shortage of ballistic missile interceptors while Iran maintains a scheduled sustained bombing campaign. In other words, as the conflict was predicted to last a few days or “throughout the week’ until Monday, the President’s prediction on March 9 that the war will end “very soon” has not materialized nor has the war been the slam-dunk the President expected while less than 10% of Americans support deployment of ground forces in Iran. Yet Trump appears fearful that his war on Iran is doomed. On X, Jackson Hinkle interviewed retired Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar for his expertise on Trump’s war against Iran and its continuing escalation. Aguilar is a 2004 Graduate of West Point Military Academy and served as a Green Beret Special Forces Officer rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. He spent the next twenty five years with deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, the Philippines and Tajikstan and served as a Security Contractor in Gaza. He resigned to become a whistleblower alleging severe misconduct regarding inadequate aid distribution. During the interview, Aguilar identified the war as “unjustified” and questioned how history will judge the conflict, predicting that, as Nuremberg taught, “just following orders is not a defense” against war crimes. Aguilar reported that US CentCom has begun an active deliberate campaign to target assets in the Hormuz Strait region conducting preparatory strikes in anticipation of bringing the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to take possession of the Kharg island which has 10,000 Iranian residents. With little clear objective, the US will conduct an amphibious assault on Kharg which Aguilar labeled born out of hubris, arrogance and ego and as well as ‘militarily stupid.’ Aguilar made the dire prediction of ‘tremendous US losses – of both personnel or equipment.” Aguilar then explained the accelerated conflict with ‘boots on the ground’ as a pretense for the potential use of a tactical nuclear weapon on its list of possible ‘courses of action’ that are ‘on the table.’ The ground assault is little more than a pretext that may begin in a limited fashion, then escalate into a full ground assault with US ground forces on alert; like the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment waiting to be called. While it will take time for the 31st Marine to organize for “theatre,” strategic preparatory efforts are meant to encourage Iranian capitulation – which will not happen. Aguilar state unequivocally: “It’s a lie that Iran is the Big Bad Wolf of the Region.” When asked whether he would suggest whether current military members might refuse to fight, Aguilar said he was calling upon Admiral Brad Cooper, AF General and Chief of JCS Dan Kaine and all the Service Chiefs of Staff to stand against this illegal and unjustified war, to stand by the oath taken in support of the Constitution and to conscientiously object approaching every avenue legally. Aguilar added that he would not fight in this war and suggested using every legal avenue at their disposal to ‘get out of the war.’ If American forces are able to access the Island or nearby area, Aguilar further anticipates potential dire predicament as American troops may not be able to leave the Island as their presence will dramatically escalate the conflict. American troops may become trapped, to die or be captured, The more the US escalates the conflict, the more costly the conflict will be. Aguilar expressed concern that as escalation increases may lead to Trump who can be unpredictably irrational, consider the use of a tactical nuclear weapon which is currently ‘on the table.’ In addition, the US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has urged the US adopt the ‘no quarter, no mercy given’ position which is considered a heinous war crime under US military code and international law, even just in the verbalizing the phrase. Under international humanitarian law, “it is especially forbidden […] to declare that no quarter will be given” established under Article 23(d) of the 1907 Hague Convention IV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land.” Hegseth has received some serious push back by the military establishment; whether he will pay attention is another matter. In military lingo, ‘no quarter’ (no dwelling) is said to mean take no prisoners, no surrender and killing enemy combatants unequivocally. Meanwhile, back in Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu has expressed that “no revolution in Iran can be accomplished from the air”, that there needs to be a significant “ground component” as well. The question arises how many Zionist or IDF ground troops will Netanyahu contribute to the effort to destroy Iran. In response, Trump stated that ”I’m not putting troops anywhere” adding that the US would do whatever is necessary to keep the price of oil down. Although Reuters reported the Trump Administration was weighing its options, according to an anonymous source. The President recently announced he does not want a ceasefire explaining, Well, look we could have dialogue but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. Now you don’t do a ceasefire when you are obliterating the other side. They don’t have a Navy, they don’t have an Air Force, they don’t have any equipment, they don’t have any spotters, they don’t have anti aircraft, they don’t have any radar and their leaders have all been killed at every level. We’re not looking to do that. And yet the Iranians control the pace of the war with an asymmetrical strategy as the US plans boots on the ground; the Hormuz Strait is still blocked and costing the US taxpayer $2 billion a day as the Iranians have not yet used their strongest, most modern hypersonic missiles. The post Iran’s Asymmetrical War Persists Against Hegemony appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Renee Parsons.
The earth has always been the first witness and the last survivor. Long before humanity learned to write its own history, the soil was already keeping record. Every drought, every flood, every migration, every extinction — all of it is stored in the quiet memory of the land. The earth does not forget. It cannot […] The post The Age of Human Arrogance, Part V appeared first on Dissident Voice.
The earth has always been the first witness and the last survivor. Long before humanity learned to write its own history, the soil was already keeping record. Every drought, every flood, every migration, every extinction — all of it is stored in the quiet memory of the land. The earth does not forget. It cannot forget. It carries the imprint of every choice humanity has made, especially the choices we pretend were harmless. Human beings, however, have perfected the art of forgetting. We forget the lessons our ancestors paid for with their lives. We forget the warnings carved into the ruins of fallen civilizations. We forget the cost of greed, the price of arrogance, the consequences of treating the world as though it were disposable. We forget because forgetting is convenient. The earth remembers because remembering is survival. Every generation believes it is the first to face crisis, yet the patterns are ancient. Civilizations collapse not because they lack intelligence, but because they refuse to learn from the scars beneath their feet. The soil remembers the empires that exhausted their land. The rivers remember the cities that poisoned their own water. The forests remember the societies that cut down their future to feed their present. Humanity behaves as though memory were optional. But the earth’s memory is not a metaphor — it is a ledger. And that ledger is beginning to speak. It speaks in the shifting seasons that no longer follow their old rhythms. It speaks in coastlines that retreat inch by inch. It speaks in storms that grow angrier each year. It speaks in the silence of species that will never return. These are not mysteries. They are messages. They are the earth’s way of saying: “I warned you. I showed you. I remembered for you.” But humanity refuses to listen because listening requires humility. It requires acknowledging that the world is not an endless resource but a fragile inheritance. It requires accepting that our actions echo far beyond our lifetimes. It requires understanding that the future is not a distant abstraction — it is a living presence shaped by every decision we make today. The earth remembers what humanity refuses to learn: that balance is not optional, that limits are not insults, that survival is a collective responsibility. We treat the planet as though it were a stage built for our performance, forgetting that we are not the main characters — we are temporary guests. The earth will continue long after we are gone, carrying the memory of our choices into the ages that follow. The question is not whether the earth will endure. The question is whether humanity will endure with it. If we continue to forget, the earth will continue to remind us — not with anger, but with consequence. And consequence is the one teacher that never negotiates. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV. The post The Age of Human Arrogance, Part V appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Sammy Attoh.
Tremors in MAGA: Joe Kent, the War on Iran, and the Antisemitism Smear
Joe Kent, the now former US Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, always seemed a bit off, especially to liberals. As a combat veteran of MAGA pedigree, he found favour with President Donald J. Trump, who rewarded him for his conspiracy blustering in a manner befitting other nominees baptised in the truth repelling River of […] The post Tremors in MAGA: Joe Kent, the War on Iran, and the Antisemitism Smear appeared first on Dissident Voice.
Joe Kent, the now former US Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, always seemed a bit off, especially to liberals. As a combat veteran of MAGA pedigree, he found favour with President Donald J. Trump, who rewarded him for his conspiracy blustering in a manner befitting other nominees baptised in the truth repelling River of Fox News. But the mindless adventurism in attacking Iran in league with Israel was a step too far. In his resignation letter, Kent asserted that he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Till June 2025, the President had “understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.” Then came the machinations of “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” with their “misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.” From there came the “echo chamber” that deceived Trump “into believing Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.” The same tactics had been used by Israel in drawing the US “into the disastrous Iraq War that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women.” Israel comes in for a further lashing for having left its personal mark on Kent’s life. “As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.” The portrait of Kent is an unremittingly spiky and jarring one. Even before the resignation, he was already under investigation by the FBI’s criminal division for alleged leaks of classified information, which should commend him to the fifth estate. (Such leaks in any administration, and most certainly one like the Trump administration, should be treasured, not abominated.) Former deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich was of the view that Kent was “often at the centre of national security leaks” and “spent all his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States”. The language of the resignation note was also bound to stir the blood of those willing to see antisemitism rearing its vast, deformed head. This was made easier given Kent’s checkered history, a point made by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) during last year’s confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. In a February 2025 statement, the ADL noted his tendency to promote “multiple conspiracy theories” and forge links “with individuals who have extremist ties, including to groups such as the Proud Boys, Groypers and Three Percenters, some of which have a history of violence.” In a June 2025 joint letter authored with the Western States Center, the SPLC similarly noted a past heavily salted with conspiracy theorising and links to right wing extremism and white supremacists. Kent had not only “embraced discredited anti-government conspiracy theories – including that the FBI and the intelligence community were involved in the January 6, 2021 deadly attacks at the US Capitol” but had “connections with bigoted individuals, far right violent extremists, and anti-democratic movements”. He had, for instance, discussed social media strategy with the white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes and conducted an interview with Greyson Arnold, a live streamer who thought Hitler “a complicated historical figure which many people misunderstand”. The ADL and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who nakedly operate as open fronts of Israeli opinion, were bound to play the ad hominem game in attacking the man over opinion. According to the ADL, Kent’s letter trafficked “in old-age antisemitic tropes”. It was hardly a “surprise that he would blame Israel and the media for pushing the President into war against the Iranian regime.” Refusing to consider the pathological lunacy underlying the pre-emptive war on Iran, Ilan Goldenberg of the liberal pro-Israel advocacy group J Street could only see “ugly stuff that plays on the worst antisemitic tropes”. These inane airings are unsurprising. The ADL refuses to acknowledge the sheer depth of Israeli involvement and support in the US political and religious establishment, much of it unhealthy and a good deal of it undemocratic. Suggestions that Israel might be distorting the perspective of US strategists and policy makers are shouted down in frothing fury. The organisation can barely stomach the term “Israel lobby”, something evidenced in the organisation’s travesty of a review of a work bearing that name by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. Here was, in the words of the ADL’s unlettered hatchet job, “a classical conspiratorial anti-Semitic analysis invoking the canards of Jewish power and Jewish control.” Unmissable here is that Mearsheimer and Walt had, like Kent, also noted the poisonous hold Israel had exerted over the Washington establishment in encouraging the pre-emptive, illegal war waged against Iraq in 2003. The lie of the imminent threat has some form. Kent also had another handicap from the past that was bound to be exploited by the administration. On that platform of handy bile and venom called Truth Social, Trump posted a tweet from January 2020 in which Kent encouraged attacking Iran. “We should not sit and wait for the next attack, wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out and get our troops out of Iraq – they are only targets now.” The post on what was then Twitter was made in the aftermath of Trump’s order to assassinate the Iranian commander of the Quds force, General Qassem Soleimani. “No US WIA/KIA is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and intel professionals not Iranian restraint.” As the letter itself indicates, Kent may have changed his mind. He even acknowledged that Soleimani’s assassination was a decisive application “of military power without getting us drawn into never ending wars.” (MAGA is for slaying foreign officials, as long as the operation is scrupulously limited.) For the dogmatist followers of the Trump MAGA brand, something deeper is underfoot. The prospects for conscientious objections to the war by service members reluctant to serve in the conflict have also improved. Prolonging the absurd, illegal, and increasingly catastrophic war against Iran will prove telling in that regard. And just because it is deemed such by a person as sketchy as Kent is hardly a reason to ignore the premise. The post Tremors in MAGA: Joe Kent, the War on Iran, and the Antisemitism Smear appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Binoy Kampmark.
Long overlooked as crucial to life, fungi start to get their due
As efforts to study and conserve fungi expand, researchers say a "shroom boom" is underway.
Agarikon is one of two endangered species of fungi in the United States. So rare is the species that scientists have placed samples of it in a biobank facility for safekeeping at the San Diego Zoo, in the hopes that it can be propagated and one day reintroduced to the wild should its numbers continue to decline. Agarikon, also known as quinine conk, is a large round or semicircular shelf fungus that grows on the bark of old growth conifers in forests around the world. Two thousand years ago a Greek physician called agarikon “an elixir of long life.” For centuries it has been used to treat tuberculosis, rheumatism, asthma, cancer, and inflammation, among other maladies. Research confirms the fungus has robust healing properties: It contains powerful antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-cancer compounds. It has also recently been found to potentially reduce side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine and enhance immunity. Yet the species’ future is in doubt. “In the past hundred years, it declined 70 percent, and we don’t have evidence that decline is stopping,” said Jessica Allen, lead mycologist with NatureServe, a Virginia-based nonprofit concerned with biodiversity protection. “The Pacific Northwest is the last stronghold.” Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?resize=1200%2C802&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?resize=330%2C220&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?resize=768%2C513&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?resize=1536%2C1026&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MS-04.-Credit-Tomas-Munita-The-mycorrhizal-mushroom-Cortinarius-sp.-emerges-from-a-hyper-diverse-but-hidden-underground-fungal-community-in-Tierra-de-Fuego-Chile.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1069" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> There’s a surprising climate solution right under your feet Matt Simon The reason that only two fungi species in the U.S. are classified as endangered is not because other fungi populations are healthy, but because knowledge of the world’s mushrooms, mildews, lichens, mycorrhiza, and other fungi is extremely scant. Still, researchers know enough about their ecological functions to understand they are indispensable to most plant life. As many as 90 percent of plants use their roots to form symbiotic relationships with vast webs of mycorrhizal fungi to, among other things, increase their nutrient and water absorption by orders of magnitude beyond what soil alone can provide. “Without this fungal web, my tree would not exist,” wrote mycologist Merlin Sheldrake in his best-selling 2020 book Entangled Life. “Without similar fungal webs, no plant would exist anywhere. All life on land, including my own, depended on these networks.” It’s estimated that there are, on the low end, 2.2 million species and on the high end up to 12 million species of fungi in the world. Yet there are just 155,000 or so known species, leaving vast numbers undiscovered and undescribed. The lack of knowledge about the world’s fungal kingdom, in spite of its essential role in maintaining life, has led to a campaign to elevate the importance of fungi to the same level as flora and fauna. Increased recognition, advocates say, would lead to greater inclusion of fungi in research, policy, and preservation considerations. Just 10 percent of the world’s mycorrhizal hotspots, for example, occur in protected areas. The protection “is needed. It’s important,” said Allen. “Fungi play an important role in the ecosystem. We know a lot about fungi, but mycologists haven’t been invited to the table to share their knowledge.” Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="On a reddish tree, mushrooms with grey caps and white bellies grow in a clump." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?resize=1200%2C799&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?resize=330%2C220&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?resize=768%2C511&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?resize=1536%2C1022&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/OysterMushrooms.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1065" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Oyster mushrooms expected to break down cigarette butts in new trial Henry Belot, The Guardian Fungi are getting a good deal more attention in some quarters these days as scientists learn more about — and publicize — their role. In Entangled Life, Sheldrake explained the many facets of fungi, from their role in ecosystems to how they have shaped human culture and their unusual intelligence. Earlier this year, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, known as the “green Nobel Prize,” was awarded to Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist at Vrije University Amsterdam, for her work studying how plants, soil, and microbes are connected by mycorrhizal networks and how they draw carbon from plant roots in exchange for nutrients. She also shared a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in 2025 with Giuliana Furci, a mycologist in Chile who also heads the New York-based Fungi Foundation. “The awards feel like an award for the invisible,” Kiers told The New York Times, “and a celebration of decentralized ways of thinking and operating that fungi have mastered.” Still, much of what fungi do remains a mystery. “The whole concept of understanding functional roles in fungi is complicated because of their hidden nature,” said Andrew Wilson, associate curator of mycology at the Denver Botanic Gardens, who works to document fungal diversity and is part of the effort to raise its profile. “They are very cryptic. A plant is aboveground, and you can see the differences between them. Mushrooms are underground or live within the tissues of other organisms, and what they are doing is hard to study.” Those who study and promote awareness of the world’s fungi are often evangelical in their approach. Appreciating and studying fungi, says Furci, will change how you see the world. “Every organism has a fungal component that is sustaining them,” she said in an interview. “They are the firmament of life on Earth.” Endophytic fungi, for example, live between and also within the cells of virtually all vascular plants. They are critical for plant growth, resilience, and survival. They emit molecules — natural antibiotics — that protect the plants against disease. They help repel herbivores and insects. They also enhance the uptake of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other nutrients; improve water retention; and help plants tolerate stress. Scientists are studying these fungi to accelerate the discovery of other compounds, from medicines to diesel fuel. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kiers_MacArthur.webp?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A woman with brown hair smiles with her arms crossed" data-caption="Mycologist Toby Kiers has been studying how plants, soil, and microbes are connected by mycorrhizal networks. " data-credit="John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation"/> Mycologist Toby Kiers has been studying how plants, soil, and microbes are connected by mycorrhizal networks. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fungi are vital to an incredibly wide number of products and services, including drugs like penicillin, ampicillin, statins, and antifungals, nutraceuticals, fermented foods, cheese, beer, wine, spirits, colorants, cosmetics, and fertilizers. A recent paper pegged the value of all types of fungi at nearly $55 trillion, a figure that includes the value of sequestered carbon traded on global markets. Mycologists refer to fungi as ecosystem engineers because they perform essential roles. Approximately 80 percent of terrestrial plant species partner with fungi, according to a number of studies. Ectomycorrizal fungi, for example, form a dense, protective sheath around the root tips of trees, including oaks, beeches, and pines. It’s a symbiotic relationship: The fungus provides the tree with nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from the soil, in exchange for carbohydrates produced by the tree through photosynthesis. Fungi increase the surface area of trees’ root systems, allowing them to live in nutrient-poor or even toxic conditions. Research increasingly shows that as ecosystems are restored with native plants, creating conditions that enhance the growth of native fungi with the plants’ roots enhances their vigor and survival. One species of mycorrhiza that has been well researched is in the genus Suillus, which grows on the roots of pine trees. “They can differentiate in their tissues between the toxic metals”— whether naturally occurring in soil or deposited through human activity — “and the nutrients that the trees need,” said Wilson, “and preferentially feed the tree nutrients while preventing these toxic metals from harming the trees.” Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="digital illustration of soybeans, oncom, and a petri dish of mold" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1423w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?resize=1200%2C677&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?resize=768%2C433&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/oncom-1-e1731032262158.jpg?resize=150%2C85&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="803" width="1423" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> The funky mold turning food waste into culinary delights Ayurella Horn-Muller That is just one known function of one species, said Wilson. “Biologically, they are not all doing the same thing. If they were, there would not be a need of all this [fungal] diversity.” That could mean there are myriad other roles that mychorrizae play in their symbiotic relationship with plants. Fungi began breaking down rocks and recycling nutrients more than 900 million years ago to form the first primitive soils. “They were a key innovation that allowed plants to move from the ocean onto the land,” said Allen. Today, they continue that function, breaking down dead trees and other vegetation, making nitrogen, carbon, and other nutrients available for new plant growth and building robust soil ecosystems. Fungi are also major players in carbon sequestration. Soils hold 75 percent of terrestrial carbon and about 59 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. Kiers and her colleagues estimate that mycorrhiza sequester 13 billion tons of carbon dioxide in soil annually, the equivalent of a third of the world’s fossil fuel emissions. As critical as they are, though, fungi are not often on the radar for protection. They face a range of familiar threats, from climate warming, which reduces diversity of fungi, to land development. A recent study of highly diverse mycorrhizal global hotspots, conducted by the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), found that just 10 percent of these rich mycorrhizal ecosystems occur in protected areas. SPUN was founded by Kiers and others in 2021 to map mycorrhizal networks using DNA sequencing and machine learning. The group has mapped key areas of fungal biodiversity — which generally have ample moisture, are undisturbed, and have complex plant communities — and advocates for their protection. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="A scientist in googles and a white lab coat works in a row of white and yellow machines with lots of tubes." class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Genomatica.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> From lab to market, bio-based products are gaining momentum Jim Robbins, Yale Environment 360 Kiers and her colleagues also set up the Underground Explorers Program, a network of scientists around the world who are mapping fungal diversity in their regions before species blink out. And they recently launched a project called Underground Advocates to train mycologists in legal and policy skills, with the aim of campaigning to raise the profile of what they call the Kingdom of Funga. Other efforts are underway. The Fungi Diversity Survey, or FUNDIS, began in 2017 but has picked up steam in recent years. Its citizen scientists are contributing to a global fungal database while a team of experts is sequencing fungi genomes and identifying species of concern. California has one of the most advanced efforts to collect, catalog, and census fungi. Since 2022, the California Fungal Diversity Survey has gathered more than 10,000 different fungi species in the state and sequenced their DNA. More than 2,000 of those are new to science. Existing collections of fungi — such as the Fungarium at Kew Gardens in London, which houses more than 1.25 million specimens — are also being examined with new technologies. In 2024, at the COP16 Biodiversity Conference, the governments of Chile and the U.K. introduced the Fungal Conservation Pledge, in which countries would agree to recognize fungi on the same level with flora and fauna. Thirteen countries informally agreed, and the plan is to introduce the agreement at COP17, in the fall of 2026, for formal adoption. The goal, said Maisa Rojas Corradi, Chile’s minister for the environment, is “to integrate fungi into global conservation strategies and frameworks, highlighting the key role they play in the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss, and the promotion of sustainable economic development.” Fungi advocates are encouraged by all that has happened in the last few years and confident that fungi are starting to get their due. “The shroom boom is definitely happening,” said Gabriela D’Elia, former director of the Fungal Diversity Survey. “It’s a fungal awakening.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Long overlooked as crucial to life, fungi start to get their due on Mar 21, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Jim Robbins, Yale Environment 360.
End of the petrodollar? How Iran war is reshaping the global economy
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. NERMEEN SHAIKH: Global oil and natural gas prices are soaring after Israel bombed a massive natural gas reserve in Iran, the largest in the world. Iran retaliated by twice attacking the world’s largest liquid natural gas production facility, located in Qatar.
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. NERMEEN SHAIKH: Global oil and natural gas prices are soaring after Israel bombed a massive natural gas reserve in Iran, the largest in the world. Iran retaliated by twice attacking the world’s largest liquid natural gas production facility, located in Qatar. Iran also attacked key energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. At one point, the price of oil reached US$118 a barrel, a 60 percent jump since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. READ MORE: US-Israel attack Iran’s Natanz nuclear site as Diego Garcia base targeted Israel – the parasite state sabotaging peace in the Middle East Trump says no ceasefire as Khamenei tells of ‘dizzying blow’ to US, Israel Other US-Israeli war on Iran reports In a post online, Trump threatened to blow up the entire South Pars gas field if Iran continued to target the Qatari facility. Trump also claimed the US, “knew nothing” about the Israeli attack on the South Pars gas field, but The Wall Street Journal reports Trump approved the strike to pressure Iran to open up the critical Strait of Hormuz. AMY GOODMAN: About 20 percent of the world’s oil exports flows through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump has asked other countries to send warships to help force open the strait, but many nations are rejecting the request. We’re joined now by Laleh Khalili, professor of Gulf studies at University of Exeter and the author of several books, including her latest, Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy. She also wrote Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula. Professor Khalili, thanks so much for being with us. Can you start off by talking about the state of the Strait of Hormuz right now, its closure; President Trump, according to Reuters, perhaps sending in thousands of troops, what exactly this means; and the Israeli bombing of the South Pars gas field, the largest in the world? President Trump said, in a rare rebuke, the US didn’t know. Most people are saying that is highly unlikely, that is probably untrue. The end of the petrodollar? Video: Democracy Now! Transcript: LALEH KHALILI: So, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important choke points for oil — a choke point being an area during which, if it’s closed down, you end up getting a major disruption in the flow of global trade. So, the Strait of Hormuz is one. The Suez Canal is another one. The Panama Canal is another one. And there are a number of these different choke points all around the world. Now, what’s specific about Hormuz and what’s distinctive about it is that it is the choke point where the quantity of oil that goes through is higher than any other commodity that actually flows across the strait. As you just mentioned, about 30 percent of the global oil flows through that. And part of the reason for that is, of course, that the world’s biggest oil producers — some of the biggest oil producers are all sitting around the Persian/Arabian Gulf, so Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Abu Dhabi, which all are huge producers of oil in the first place, and then natural gas in the case of Qatar and Iran in second place. Now, what has been fascinating is that anybody who has one of these apps that you can put on your phone, like MarineTraffic or VesselFinder, you can actually take a look at the flow of traffic, the flow of vessel traffic, flow of ship traffic, through these different seas in the world. And if you zoom in on the Strait of Hormuz, what you’ll find is that instead of seeing actually a steady traffic of little usually pink or green arrows going through, which indicate tankers, what you end up seeing are major clusters of ships that are bunched up very near ports where oil is produced and usually put on ships. What that indicates is that, basically, for a number of different reasons — and I’m going to go into that in a minute — the flow of ships, the flow of ship traffic, has basically come to a halt. Now, the reasons behind this are multifold. Of course, there is, number one, that Iran is attacking a number of the ships that are going through, and the way that it’s attacking them is through the use of very cheap either drones or sea mines, and that means that it’s basically almost impossible to deal with this particular threat, because the drones are produced so extensively in terms of number and they’re so inexpensive that they can basically be replenished even if they are destroyed. Also being smaller, they’re much harder to target, etc. So, there has been a number of drone attacks against ships carrying oil through the channel, and so, of course, that scares a lot of carriers, a lot of tankers. The second reason, which I actually think is perhaps even more significant, in part because it is actually not something that either the US or Iran can control, is that the moment something like this happens, the moment that there is a threat against ships, what you end up having is that insurance brokers, primarily situated in London, but there are, of course, some also in the US, China and in Europe, but really the centre for provision of maritime insurance is London, at Lloyd’s, and the ship brokers end up putting a specific war risk premium on ships. And that means that going from something like 1 percent of the cost of the hull, meaning the ship’s body, or the cargo, meaning what it’s carrying, goes to something like 5 percent, or it goes from one fraction of 1 percent to, say, 5 percent. So that means that suddenly, instead of paying in the hundreds of thousands for insurance for a super tanker, what you’re looking at is millions in insurance, which, of course, increases the cost of the oil that is traveling. So, that’s the second reason. The third reason is something that the Houthis noticed when they were blockading the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians when Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians. And that is that sometimes the threat alone suffices in getting the ships to stop going through or, indeed, to make declarations that allows for them a degree of protection. So, the Houthis, when they had blockaded the sea, had asked that any ships that claimed that they were not touching Israel, meaning they were not delivering to or picking up from Israel, could be allowed to go through the canal. And so, it happened that this automatic identification system that a lot of ships — well, all ships carry — it’s called the AIS system, and the AIS system indicates what ship is in the vicinity of the system, what it’s carrying and what flag it has, meaning which authorities it responds to. So, now what we’re seeing is that apparently Iran has mentioned that any ship, for example, that is going to China will be let through, or any ship that is not coming from one of these allied states to the US will be allowed through. Of course, there is a lot of variation in what kind of thing they have requested or what is being reported, so it’s a lot harder to see what exactly the AIS systems are being on these ships. As I said, we are mostly seeing them clustering and waiting in these locations, one of the main ones being the Port of Fujairah, which is actually not in the Persian Gulf. It is in the Gulf of Oman. And oil from Abu Dhabi, which is on the Persian Gulf side, is shipped to Fujaira through a pipeline. So we’re seeing a cluster of ships near Fujaira. Iran, of course, also attacked Fujaira port. And then we’re seeing a cluster of ships near Ras Laffan, which is the main gas production and gas lifting port in Qatar. The third is, of course, around the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, a little bit further up the Persian Gulf. And so, these clusters of ships are waiting there and hoping to be able to at some point pick up oil to be carried out. But we’re not seeing much of that flow anywhere at all. NERMEEN SHAIKH: Professor Khalili, you mentioned that there are — they are looking for, the Iranians, to see which vessels in the Strait of Hormuz — to what countries they’re affiliated, looking at their flags. Chinese vessels have reportedly been permitted to pass through the strait. China imports about 40 percent of its oil from the Middle East and has been one of the largest buyers of Iranian oil. There are also reports that the Iranians are suggesting they’d consider allowing a small number of oil tankers to pass through the strait if the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan rather than — LALEH KHALILI: Yes. NERMEEN SHAIKH: — US dollars. If you could comment on that? LALEH KHALILI: This is really fascinating, because, of course, we know that the fundamental basis of the US imperial order since the end of the Second World War has been, on the one hand, petroleum and, on the other hand, the US dollar. The globe’s production and finance worlds are dependent on the petroleum that the US has guaranteed the flow of since the end of the Second World War, and which, until the nationalisation of oil in the 1970s and 1980s, basically controlled something like 60 percent of the world’s oil reserves. After nationalisation, that percentage dropped dramatically, but the US dollar continues to be, and the financial channels that the US has crafted, continue to be a very significant bolster for the empire. So, the fact that Iran is actually looking for alternatives to the dollar in order to challenge the petrodollar regime, which is, you know, as I said, one of the fundamentals of the US empire, is a really interesting and quite clever indication of how the Iranians are hoping to influence the crafting of a world post this war, or a new world order post this war, where there’s a multipolar financial system, where, for example, the dollar is no longer a single currency that rules the world and the US is the only channel that controls — or, the only power that controls financial channels, because, of course, the US has used this inordinate power to strong-arm various states, to institute sanctions, to make it difficult for its enemies, for example, to purchase oil. And, of course, it has used it to coerce a lot of countries, as we see, for example, in the case of Cuba or Iran, or indeed Russia, to do its bidding. So, the fact that Iran is calling for petroyuans to become an alternative to petrodollars is actually quite significant also in indicating that the Iranians are well aware of how extensively the US has used its coercive sanction capabilities, through its control of the financial channels and through its mastery of the petrodollar, and are trying to erode that power. NERMEEN SHAIKH: Professor Khalili, you know, the US is now the world’s largest oil producer, but because oil is a globally priced commodity, the price goes up in the US if the world market price goes up. But — LALEH KHALILI: That’s right. NERMEEN SHAIKH: — how important do you think this might be in Trump’s calculation? Because another consideration, another aspect of this, may be that as oil supplies diminish from the Middle East, the US could benefit, because it is the world’s largest oil producer, and the price of its oil will go up, and the demand for its oil. LALEH KHALILI: Absolutely. What a fantastic question, because, in fact, we have seen that when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began and the Nord Stream gas, natural gas, pipelines to Europe were sabotaged, we now — there are now indications that this may have been done at the behest of the US.and its Ukrainian allies. But nevertheless, when that sabotage happened, it actually translated into massive gains for US natural gas production. The thing is that there are a number of reasons why oil is not — why the US cannot become the sole oil producer for the whole of the world. One is the question of proximity, for example. The second is the question of capacity that the US has in order to actually replace, for example, the oil that is produced by Saudi Arabia or by Iran or, indeed, by Russia. But the third factor — and I think that this is the one that I think we should look out for — is that in the last 10 or 15 years, China has actually begun generating an alternative set of fuels, sustainable fuels, and developing technologies, particularly of electric and battery technologies, that will allow for, for example, solar or wind energy to displace fossil fuels. And the more that the price of oil goes up, which, of course, we’ve seen that happen, as you mentioned earlier — and, in fact, this also translates into major windfalls for US oil companies. This oil prices going up benefits Chevron. It benefits Exxon. It doesn’t benefit the average US citizen at the petrol stations, at the gas stations, but it does benefit the oil companies. So, it definitely does — that does happen. But the higher the price of oil goes up, the relatively cheaper it becomes to actually have sustainable alternatives, which, of course, that means that it benefits China in a major way, since China is way ahead of the rest of the world in producing these technologies and in producing them cheaply. The solar panels that are being produced in China are a fraction of the price of solar panels that were being produced something like 15 or 20 years ago. And I think this shift is actually a major long-term concern for the oil companies. In the short term, they’re taking all the windfall that they can get. But this, again, is — the kind of a postwar order that will likely also have major implications for the kind of energy people are paying to use or people are willing to use, actually. AMY GOODMAN: We just have 20 seconds. But the effect of the bombing of the South Pars facility, the largest gas facility in the world, what it means for Iran, what it means for the world, and President Trump denying the US had anything to do with, which most do not believe? LALEH KHALILI: No, absolutely not. There is no way that Israel would have actually done this without coordination with the United States. And, in fact, the channels that deny, for example, that the US coordinated, or report Trump’s denials, are the channels that are often used to feed us the kinds of lies that the administration tells us. But what is quite significant about South Pars — and I know it’s a very short time left, so I’m going to be very quick about it — is that the South Pars field is actually shared between Iran and Qatar. The North Dome, which is on the south part of the Persian Gulf, is Qatar’s share of this major field, and Iran’s bit is in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. And so, the destruction of the infrastructure there will not only have an effect on Iranians’ ability to produce electricity and fuel their various kinds of industries and/or homes, but it will also have an effect on the infrastructures that are used by the Qataris and which the Iranians and Qataris have been using in an extraordinary degree — to an extraordinary degree of coordination since the fields have been used. So, this actually also affects Qatar. The bombing itself also affects Qatar. And I don’t think that this is a calculation that the rather know-nothing Trump administration has taken into account. AMY GOODMAN: Laleh Khalili, we want to thank you so much for being with us, professor of Gulf studies at University of Exeter, author of several books, including her latest, Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy. Thanks so much for being there. Republished from Democracy Now! under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States Licence. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Here’s What You Need To Know About Reparatory Justice
Wenda condemns ‘cruel’ arbitrary arrests of West Papuans in Tambrauw
United Liberation Movement for West Papua
Asia Pacific Report An exiled leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has condemned Indonesia’s “cruel and humiliating” arbitrary arrest of 12 West Papuan local farmers in Tambrauw Regency this week and has demanded their release. According to Human Rights Monitor, the arrests took place on March 18, after Indonesia conducted military
Asia Pacific Report An exiled leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has condemned Indonesia’s “cruel and humiliating” arbitrary arrest of 12 West Papuan local farmers in Tambrauw Regency this week and has demanded their release. According to Human Rights Monitor, the arrests took place on March 18, after Indonesia conducted military operations in the Fef and Bamus Bama districts. People were dragged out of their homes, tortured, and detained without any warrants or explanation. READ MORE: West Papua’s humanitarian crisis stalls Prabowo’s ‘global peacemaker’ credibility bid Other West Papua reports “This is how Indonesia treats West Papuans, as less than human,” said ULMWP interim president Benny Wenda in a statement. “The 12 men arrested in Tambrauw have been labelled TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] and stigmatised as terrorists and criminals by the Indonesian colonisers. “But who is the real terrorist? These men are the customary landowners, simply defending their forest, their homes, from the military who come to destroy everything.” Wenda said the Indigenous people had been living there for thousands of years — “long before Indonesia invaded and stole our sovereignty.” He added: “They didn’t go to Jakarta; Indonesia came to them with bombs and guns.” Indonesia ‘stolen our resources’ Wenda asked who was the real criminal. “The people of Tambrauw have been tending their gardens in peace for generations. It is Indonesia who has come and stolen our resources, torn down our forest to plant rice and sugar so people in Jakarta can eat. “There is no real development in West Papua, only business for Indonesia.” Wenda said that when he looked at the pictures of the arrested Papuans with their hands tied, forced face down on a police station floor, he saw his own people. “They represent all West Papuans — humiliated and degraded in their own land.” Wenda said Indonesia could never defeat the Papuan spirit. “You can arrest us, torture us, kill us, but the spirit of freedom lives on in every West Papuan,” he said. Experienced trauma “Whether they are in the bush, the city, in exile, or even working in the Indonesian government, every West Papuan has experienced trauma at the hands of the Indonesian military and police. “Every single one of us has an uncle who has been killed, a mother who has been raped, or a brother who has been tortured in police custody. “We all long for merdeka [freedom]. That is why Indonesia has deployed over 80,000 security forces to terrorise our land — because they are terrified of our desire for freedom.” As well as demanding that the 12 Papuans be released, Wenda said Indonesia must also finally allow foreign journalists to report on West Papua and immediately facilitate a visit to West Papua by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Such a visit has been promised since 2018, and demanded by 113 countries, including all member states of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), and the European Commission. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Address Affordability, Give Farmers a Chance
Farmers know that planning is key to their future., but their government continually undercuts them. Instead of working against farmers, our policymakers ought to change course and partner with them in making some critical additions to the Farm Bill.
Farmers know that planning is key to their future., but their government continually undercuts them. Instead of working against farmers, our policymakers ought to change course and partner with them in making some critical additions to the Farm Bill. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Anthony Pahnke.
Israel – the parasite state sabotaging peace in the Middle East
COMMENTARY: By Marcus Alexander In a stunning resignation that has sent shockwaves through Washington, former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent has exposed what many have long suspected but few have dared to state publicly — Israel is systematically undermining peace in the Middle East to serve its own expansionist agenda. Joe Kent, a 20-year
COMMENTARY: By Marcus Alexander In a stunning resignation that has sent shockwaves through Washington, former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent has exposed what many have long suspected but few have dared to state publicly — Israel is systematically undermining peace in the Middle East to serve its own expansionist agenda. Joe Kent, a 20-year Army Special Forces veteran and Gold Star husband who lost his first wife in a Syria suicide bombing, didn’t mince words. His accusation is simple yet devastating: Israel is intentionally sabotaging diplomatic solutions because peace threatens its strategic objectives. The most compelling evidence supporting Kent’s claim is the targeted assassination of Ali Larijani, Iran’s National Security Adviser and chief nuclear negotiator. READ MORE: Trump says no ceasefire as Khamenei tells of ‘dizzying blow’ to US, Israel Ian Powell: Iran, US imperialism and the New Zealand lapdog US counterterror chief says in resignation letter Israel ‘deceived’ Trump into attacking Iran Other US-Israeli war on Iran reports According to Kent, Larijani wasn’t just another Iranian official — he was actively engaged in negotiations that could have de-escalated regional tensions. “Larijani was eager to get us a deal,” Kent revealed in an interview with Tucker Carlson. But instead of pursuing diplomacy, US-Israeli strikes eliminated him, along with his son and several staff members. The message could not be clearer — anyone willing to negotiate for peace becomes a target. This wasn’t just another military operation. Larijani represented the pragmatic wing of the Iranian establishment — someone capable of conducting the sorts of talks needed to end conflicts. By eliminating him, Israel ensured that the path to negotiation was closed, leaving only the path of escalation. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-125329 size-full" src="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Ali-Larijani-Wikip-300tall.png" alt="Iran's National Security Adviser and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani" width="300" height="403" srcset="https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Ali-Larijani-Wikip-300tall.png 300w, https://asiapacificreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Ali-Larijani-Wikip-300tall-223x300.png 223w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Iran’s National Security Adviser and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani . . . assassinated by Israel, he represented the pragmatic wing of the Iranian establishment. Image: Wikipedia Energy warfare masquerading as security Kent’s second explosive claim involves energy infrastructure. He argues that strategic opportunities — particularly Qatar’s gas potential to stabilise global markets — have been deliberately targeted to increase tensions rather than reduce them . The facts support him. On March 18, 2026, Israel launched a significant aerial assault on Iran’s South Pars gas field, which provides nearly 70 percent of Iran’s domestic gas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel “acted alone” in this attack. The result? Iran retaliated by striking Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City — the world’s premier LNG hub — damaging approximately 17 percent of Qatar’s export capacity . Global gas prices surged toward US$117 per barrel. The UK benchmark peaked at almost 183p per therm. Markets destabilised. And for what? Here is the inconvenient truth, a stable energy market benefiting from Qatari and Iranian gas would reduce conflict incentives. By attacking this infrastructure, Israel ensured that economic interdependence — often the foundation of lasting peace — remains impossible. Even President Trump distanced himself from the attack, stating the US “knew nothing about this particular strike” and describing it as Israel “violently lashing out”. When an American president feels compelled to publicly disavow his closest regional ally’s actions, something is fundamentally broken. The ‘clean break’ strategy: 30 years of sabotage Kent’s accusations didn’t emerge from nowhere. They reflect a consistent pattern dating back to 1996, when a group of neoconservatives — including figures who would later serve in the Bush administration — produced a policy paper titled “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm”. This document, prepared for Netanyahu, explicitly rejected the “land for peace” formula and proposed reordering the Middle East through military confrontations and regime change. It identified Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya and Iran as targets. It called for “removing Saddam Hussein from power” and “weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria”. Three decades later, we’re living the consequences. The Iraq war cost thousands of American lives. Syria descended into a catastrophic civil war. And now Iran faces sustained attacks. All while Israel’s security — not America’s — remained the central objective. Kent’s resignation letter directly connected these dots: “It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby . . . This is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war”. The human cost Perhaps the most damning aspect of Kent’s accusation is personal. His wife, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, was killed in Syria in a suicide bombing. Kent now describes that conflict as “a war manufactured by Israel”. Think about that. A Gold Star husband — someone who paid the ultimate price for American foreign policy — is telling us that his wife died in a war that served Israeli, not American, interests. If that doesn’t demand scrutiny, what does? Why this matters now Critics dismiss Kent as antisemitic or claim he is leaking classified information. But ad hominem attacks don’t address the substance. Did Israel target a negotiator actively seeking peace? Yes. Did Israel attack energy infrastructure knowing it would destabilise global markets? Yes. Does Israel have a documented 30-year strategy of military confrontation over diplomacy? Yes. The situation in Gaza further illustrates the pattern. As one analysis noted, Netanyahu’s “ceasefire” effectively granted Israel breathing space to consolidate political control while evading accountability. Within days, Israel’s Parliament passed a bill paving the way for West Bank annexation. This isn’t peace — it’s a pause for rearmament. The parasite metaphor A parasite feeds on its host, weakening it while appearing inseparable from it. Israel’s relationship with American foreign policy fits this description uncomfortably well. American blood and treasure fund Israeli objectives. American credibility suffers when allies act unilaterally. American interests in stable energy markets get sacrificed for Israeli security concerns. Joe Kent’s accusations deserve more than reflexive dismissal. They deserve investigation. Because if a Gold Star husband and former counterterrorism chief is correct — if Israel is indeed sabotaging peace for its own ends — then Americans have a right to know why their soldiers are dying and their markets are destabilised for another nation’s strategic objectives. The description of Israel as a parasite may be harsh. But sometimes harsh truths are the only ones that break through comfortable lies. Israel has positioned itself as America’s indispensable ally. Kent’s resignation suggests it may actually be the parasite draining American power while sabotaging any chance of Middle Eastern peace. Marcus Alexander is an independent writer in Doha and contributor to Channel Media Network. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
'ICE: No One Is Safe' is a new short documentary by Robert Greenwald that relates shocking abuses and courageous responses.
'ICE: No One Is Safe' is a new short documentary by Robert Greenwald that relates shocking abuses and courageous responses. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Ed Rampell.
Northern Mariana Islands’ security and stability vital for US, say military leaders
By Mark Rabago, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands’ (CNMI) economic struggles are not just a local issue, but a matter of strategic importance to American operations in the Indo-Pacific, say senior US military leaders. In a letter, dated 25 February 2026, Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of
By Mark Rabago, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands’ (CNMI) economic struggles are not just a local issue, but a matter of strategic importance to American operations in the Indo-Pacific, say senior US military leaders. In a letter, dated 25 February 2026, Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, said he shared concerns raised by CNMI leaders about worsening economic conditions and their broader implications. “The security and stability of the CNMI are of vital strategic importance,” Paparo wrote, warning that the islands’ civilian infrastructure and community wellbeing were “inextricably linked” to the US military’s ability to operate in the region. READ MORE: Other US military in the Pacific reports He said he had directed staff to analyse proposals put forward by CNMI officials, but noted the requested federal actions fall outside his authority. Paparo said he would elevate the issues to agencies including State, Commerce, Transportation and Homeland Security. Paparo also backed calls for direct engagement with the White House, saying he supported “an executive-level dialogue with the Administration” and was prepared to take part. “We are committed to the security and prosperity of the CNMI,” he said. Expanding US presence At the same time, military officials say an expanding US presence across the Marianas could provide longer-term economic opportunities — though not an immediate fix. Speaking at a Saipan Chamber of Commerce forum on March 11, Rear-Admiral Brett Meitus of Joint Region Marianas said more than US$500 million in projects were underway, with additional development planned, particularly on Tinian. “It’s going to happen over the course of several years . . . we just don’t have the capacity to do it all at once,” he said. Meitus said the military was trying to move beyond a short-term construction surge toward a longer cycle of “build, sustain, and operate,” aimed at creating ongoing economic activity. “Just as important is how we sustain it . . . making sure that what we build looks like it should a year, two years, five years, ten years from now,” he said. He said future operations-including exercises and deployments-are expected to bring spending into the local economy as visiting personnel stay in hotels and patronise businesses. “When forces come in . . . they can spend money on the local economy,” he said. Potential benefits Meitus also pointed to potential benefits including expanded land leases, increased exercises, more port visits and service member tourism, while acknowledging that coordination across different military branches is still evolving. “We’re working hard to get our arms around exactly how we want to do it,” he said. He added that the goal is to move from a project-driven boost to more sustained participation by local businesses, though he acknowledged it would not fully address the CNMI’s economic challenges. Both leaders emphasised the need for continued engagement with federal partners, framing the CNMI’s economic outlook as closely tied to US strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The Worsening Trump DUMP, Trump SLUMP, Trump PUMP, and Trump WARS
By Ralph Nader March 20, 2026 Unstable Tyrant Trump is running out of lies, fantasies, and promises to break. An NBC interview of a Pennsylvania woman next to a gas station signals the trend. The reporter asked her what she would say to President Trump...
By Ralph Nader March 20, 2026 Unstable Tyrant Trump is running out of lies, fantasies, and promises to break. An NBC interview of a Pennsylvania woman next to a gas station signals the trend. The reporter asked her what she would say to President Trump. She answered: “You are a worthless pile of s—”. He… This content originally appeared on Ralph Nader and was authored by matthew.
Fewer Detainees and Restricted Video Calls at Immigration Center
What a Mamdani Victory Signals for the Nation [Rewind – Full Uncut Conversation]
CPJ welcomes ruling on Pentagon access in favor of the New York Times
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened by a United States District Court decision on Friday in the case of New York Times v. Pentagon, in which the judge decided in favor of the newspaper, and calls on the Pentagon to heed the court’s decision and abandon last year’s changes to...
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened by a United States District Court decision on Friday in the case of New York Times v. Pentagon, in which the judge decided in favor of the newspaper, and calls on the Pentagon to heed the court’s decision and abandon last year’s changes to its credentialing process. In the ruling, the court wrote that given recent U.S. military involvement in Venezuela and Iran, “it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing.” “This ruling in favor of the New York Times is an important step in restoring journalists’ access to the Pentagon. As the court noted, recent United States military activity in Venezuela and Iran make journalists’ access all the more critical,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “While the news media and journalists in the United States are facing unprecedented pressures, it is vital that the courts uphold freedom of the press as they did today.” The Defense Department introduced a new accreditation policy in September 2025 and updated it in October allowing the Department to deny or revoke a Pentagon press pass when a journalist reports on information beyond what the agency has approved for public release. On October 15, the vast majority of Pentagon reporters gave up their credentials in response to the restrictions. The New York Times filed its suit in December 2025. CPJ joined an amicus brief, authored by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), in support of the New York Times’s lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense’s recent restrictions on press access to the Pentagon. The brief argues that the freedom for reporters to ask questions of military personnel is crucial to reporting in the public interest. It also outlines how the new policy pressures reporters to tailor coverage out of fear of reprisal from Pentagon decision-makers and losing access — which is both legally impermissible and a significant blow to a free press. Additionally, CPJ wrote a letter to the United States Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs warning that limiting press access suppresses freedom of speech. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Ecuadorian journalist shot after receiving reported false news tip
Bogotá, March 20, 2026—Ecuadorian authorities must swiftly and comprehensively investigate the shooting of journalist José Vinces Oviedo in the southern city of Huaquillas and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “We urge authorities to swiftly and credibly investigate the shooting of journalist José Vinces Oviedo in Huaquillas, determine whether the attack...
Bogotá, March 20, 2026—Ecuadorian authorities must swiftly and comprehensively investigate the shooting of journalist José Vinces Oviedo in the southern city of Huaquillas and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “We urge authorities to swiftly and credibly investigate the shooting of journalist José Vinces Oviedo in Huaquillas, determine whether the attack was linked to his reporting, and hold those responsible to account,” said José Zamora, CPJ’s Regional Director for the Americas. After he received a news tip about the discovery of two human skulls in a graveyard, Vinces went to the Huaquillas cemetery on Tuesday where two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at him. Vinces was wounded in the stomach but told CPJ that his microphone helped stop the bullet and that he had been treated and released Wednesday from a Huaquillas clinic. “They shot at me 10 times but thank god I was only struck by one of the bullets,” Vinces told CPJ. Huaquillas police chief Diego Chávez told reporters that Vinces had been tricked into going to the cemetery by a false news tip and that a cemetery worker had also been wounded in the shooting. Vinces, 44, is the founder of Vinces TV, which transmits news about Huanquillas on Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok. He often reports on crime and local government corruption and is a frequent critic of Huaquillas Mayor Florencio Farez. CPJ sought comment from the Ecuador Attorney General’s office on the status of the investigation into the attack but there was no immediate response. The attack on Vinces occurred amid a crime wave in Ecuador that prompted authorities on Wednesday to declare a state of exception and an 11 p.m. curfew in four of the country’s provinces and to dispatch 65,000 police and army troops to the zone, which includes Huaquillas. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
"Mamdani is changing the world. And that’s why the mainstream media is going after him." [EXCERPT]
Pete Hegseth’s War on Journalists (and Iran Too)
As the US and Israel’s war on Iran continues to worsen, Hegseth’s attacks on the media have also escalated.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to be in the midst of two conflicts, one…in Iran, and the other with the American free press over its coverage of the widening Middle East war. —MS NOW‘s Sydney Carruth (3/13/26) Last fall, nearly the entire Pentagon press corps was banned from the Pentagon after refusing to sign Pete Hegseth’s loyalty oath, which would have bound them to only report information “authorized” by the government (FAIR.org, 9/23/25). They were quickly replaced by pundits from Hegseth-approved outlets like One America News, Gateway Pundit and Lindell TV, which is “Pillow Guy” Mike Lindell’s pet project. But once the Iran War got underway, it dawned on Hegseth that a Defense secretary needs to communicate with the whole country, not just the narrow slice of it reached by his favorite right-wing pundits. So Hegseth reversed course, asking the major networks to bring their cameras back to the Pentagon. They agreed, but on one condition: Some of their reporters had to be allowed to return to the press briefing room, too. So back they came, albeit now at the back of the room. Few of these reporters—who represent outlets you’ve actually heard of, like ABC, NBC and the New York Times—are called on. Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend host, instead fields questions almost exclusively from handpicked media personalities seated in the front rows. (I’d call them reporters, but if they signed Hegseth’s 2025 oath, as most did, they’re anything but.) ‘Typical gotcha-type question’ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (CNN, 3/4/26) suggests the deaths of US servicemembers should not be “front-page news”: “When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news. I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad.” When Hegseth stepped to the podium for his first Iran War press briefing on March 2, there was a lot on the line. A skeptical American public wanted to know why President Trump had just launched another regime-change war, the very thing he’d railed against on the campaign trail. But Hegseth had little to offer, aside from “lots of chest-thumping,” a Pentagon reporter told CNN. For the Q&A, Hegseth “only answered questions from his chosen outlets,” reported CNN’s Brian Stelter (3/4/26), until a journalist in the back lobbed a question about Trump’s changing timeline for the war’s duration. Hegseth initially ignored the interruption, but his anger got the best of him, and he returned to the matter. “I heard the question about ‘four weeks,’” Hegseth sneered. “It’s the typical NBC sort of gotcha-type question.” Having veered away from his friendly questioners, Hegseth was off script and had to think on his feet, not exactly a strength. “President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take—four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up, it could move back,” Hegseth said at the opening of a rant that somehow included the word “aperture” and the observation that, “well, I mean, Joe Biden didn’t even know what he was doing.” ‘Only favorable images’ Scott Nover (Washington Post, 3/11/26): “Members of Hegseth’s staff told colleagues that they did not like the way that the secretary looked” in press photographs. After face-planting at his first Iran War press briefing, Hegseth knew change was needed—only not by him, but with his enemies in the press. If Hegseth couldn’t kick out any more reporters, who could he get rid of? Scanning the room, he fixed on the photographers. The Pentagon’s stated reason for banning press photographers after the March 2 briefing was because of space restrictions. But the real reason, the Washington Post (3/11/26) reported, was they took “unflattering” photos of Hegseth. Now only Pentagon photographers are allowed into briefings, and they are happy to provide the media with approved photos of their boss. Alex Garcia, president of the National Press Photographers Association, told the Post: Excluding photographers from Pentagon briefings because officials did not like how published images portrayed them shows an astonishingly poor sense of priorities in the midst of a war and is, for a public servant, not a good look…. A free press cannot function if government officials decide that only favorable images of public officials may be created or distributed. In Hegseth’s March 4 press briefing—without those pesky photographers—he stuck again to his preferred outlets, like the Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Lindell TV and the Washington Times. He also took one question from a mainstream journalist, Tom Bateman of the BBC, who pressed Hegseth on the US bombing of an elementary school in Minab. “We’re investigating it,” Hegseth replied curtly. ‘A snowflake behind a military shield’ Jon Passantino (Status, 3/14/26): Hegseth “has used his authority as Defense secretary to wage a relentless campaign against press independence.” Among the many reporters who didn’t get called on was the Atlantic’s Nancy Youssef, although in her case it was because she wasn’t allowed in. “I, along with print photographers, have been denied entry to cover today’s Pentagon briefing,” Youssef wrote on X. “All other media were allowed in.” By Hegseth’s next briefing, March 19, his banned list had expanded again. “The Pentagon’s own publication, Stars and Stripes, was disinvited from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest Iran War press conference—as he continues to clamp down on press coverage,” the Independent (3/19/26) reported. This came less than two weeks after the Pentagon announced it was taking greater control of Stars and Stripes, a paper Hegseth previously claimed had gone “woke” (Daily Beast, 3/19/26). As former Stars and Stripes reporter Kevin Baron (X, 3/19/26) pointed out, the paper’s employees are US Army civilians. Their editorial independence is protected by Congress specifically to prevent political leaders from feeding troops propaganda. “Hegseth spent years on a comfortable Fox News couch building a brand around contempt for the thin-skinned and the easily offended,” wrote Status’s Jon Passantino (3/14/26). “But in office, Hegseth has revealed himself to be exactly that—a snowflake behind a military shield.” ‘An actual patriotic press’ CNN (3/13/26) angered Hegseth by reporting that “Trump’s preference of leaning on a tight circle of close advisers…had the effect of sidelining interagency debate over the potential economic fallout.” As the US and Israel’s war on Iran continues to worsen, Hegseth’s attacks on the media have also escalated. At his March 13 briefing, Hegseth insisted that “an actual patriotic press” wouldn’t write headlines stating the war is expanding, even as the war has sprawled from an initial three countries—Israel, the US and Iran—to over a dozen. “Allow me to make a few suggestions,” Hegseth offered. “People look up at the TV and they see banners, they see headlines [like]… ‘Mideast War Intensifies,’” he said. “What should the banner read instead? How about, ‘Iran Increasingly Desperate.’” Hegseth also singled out a CNN story (3/13/26), headlined “Trump Administration Underestimated Iran War’s Impact on Strait of Hormuz.” That story is “patently ridiculous, of course,” Hegseth said, blithely dismissing the strait’s closure, saying we “don’t need to worry about it.” Hegseth’s worries were directed elsewhere—at CNN. “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” Hegseth said. Ellison is the 43-year-old nepo baby of billionaire Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally. Having already purchased Paramount, and with it CBS, Ellison is on the verge of closing a $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns, among other media and film properties, CNN. Hegseth’s comments about Ellison taking over CNN “should be a major scandal,” wrote Craig Aaron (Pressing Issues, 3/17/26), co-CEO of Free Press (the media advocacy group, not the right-wing, Ellison-owned outlet of the same name). “But in the chaos of the Trump administration, he’s just a warm-up act.” ‘Sick and demented people’ Hegseth (C-SPAN2, 3/19/26): “A dishonest and anti-Trump press will stop at nothing, we know this at this point, to downplay progress, amplify every cost and call into question every step. Sadly, TDS is in their DNA.” Indeed, as Trump’s historically unpopular war continues to sour, he’s sought to place blame on a familiar target: news media. Outlets critically covering the war, Trump posted on Truth Social (3/14/26), “are truly sick and demented people that have no idea the damage they cause the United States of America.” The next day (3/15/26), he declared they “should be brought up on Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information!” Treason is punishable by death. Trump’s censorious FCC chair, Brendan Carr, backed up his boss: “The law is clear,” he tweeted (3/14/26). “Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” Hegseth succinctly outlined what “operating in the public interest” looks like at his March 19 briefing. The press need only say “one thing to President Trump,” he said. “Thank you.” This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Pete Tucker.
The Equity Docket: Who Gets to Vote and Be Counted
An insidious strategy to suppress the voting power of minoritized groups is becoming increasingly prevalent.
An insidious strategy to suppress the voting power of minoritized groups is becoming increasingly prevalent. This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Terrance Sullivan.
TV news vehicle vandalized, window broken at LA immigration protest
A KTTV news van was graffitied and its window smashed by two people attending an immigration rights protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.The demonstration was held a day after nationwide protests and also followed similar protests in Mi...
A KTTV news van was graffitied and its window smashed by two people attending an immigration rights protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026. The demonstration was held a day after nationwide protests and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had shot and killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement has continued since June. In a broadcast showing video of the incident, Justin O’Brien, a KTTV photographer in the station’s helicopter, described how he watched as a person at the protest broke one of the van’s windows. The video then showed another person opening the driver-side door. “Somebody came up with a rock, smashed the passenger-side window, and then went to the front of the vehicle and started graffitiing it,” he said. “And then tried to actually get in the vehicle. Luckily, the vehicle was not running or had a key in it.” One of the station’s photographers was loading his equipment in the back of the van at the time, according to O’Brien. He said the photographer was able to get in the car and drive away. “He does not appear to have suffered any physical injuries from the person, although the person was in his face,” O’Brien said. “Just a very, very scary time there.” Also that day, a KTTV photographer had the cord of his camera cut and microphone stolen by individuals at the protest. It’s unclear if it was the same cameraman who was seen at the news van. At a police commission meeting Feb. 3, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell detailed incidents of the night, mentioning the department received a report that night for vandalism to a news vehicle, but did not say if the department made an arrest. This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 20, 2026
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 20, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – March 20, 2026 appeared first on KPFA. This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.
Trump’s War Against the American People – TEASER
Across America, people are waking up to the fact that Donald Trump has always been exactly who he said he was: a serial con man propped up by white grievance, impunity, and a media that normalized his crimes. Trump fears accountability. The question is whether we are prepared for what he and his allies may do to avoid it in the 2026 midterms. Trump's push for the SAVE Act and the broader assault on voting rights should be understood for what it is: a strategy to stay in power by any means necessary. Voter suppression, disinformation, dark money, and foreign interference are ongoing. If Romania could challenge a compromised election and protect its democracy, America can stop pretending "moving on" is any sort of plan. We need election protection infrastructure now. Call your secretary of state. Ask what they are doing to protect the integrity of the 2026 vote. Stay defiant. Build power. And join us at Gaslit Nation as we keep asking the questions too many in power still refuse to face. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit Show Notes: American Carnage by Sasha Abramsky https://orbooks.com/catalog/american-carnage/ Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3mhc7boslv22w The Target boycott is still on! Georgia Forts explains the confusion: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVw6K39DtEd/?igsh=MTV6dXE0N3gydTZnYw== Sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump – a timeline This article is more than 1 year old A list of the accusations made against Donald Trump between the 1980s and 2013, all of which he has denied https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/25/trump-sexual-misconduct-allegations-timeline E. Jean Carroll asks Supreme Court to reject Trump's request to review her $5M defamation case https://abcnews.com/US/jean-carrollasks-supreme-court-reject-trumps-request-review/story?id=129216869
Across America, people are waking up to the fact that Donald Trump has always been exactly who he said he was: a serial con man propped up by white grievance, impunity, and a media that normalized his crimes. Trump fears accountability. The question is whether we are prepared for what he and his allies may do to avoid it in the 2026 midterms. Trump's push for the SAVE Act and the broader assault on voting rights should be understood for what it is: a strategy to stay in power by any means necessary. Voter suppression, disinformation, dark money, and foreign interference are ongoing. If Romania could challenge a compromised election and protect its democracy, America can stop pretending "moving on" is any sort of plan. We need election protection infrastructure now. Call your secretary of state. Ask what they are doing to protect the integrity of the 2026 vote. Stay defiant. Build power. And join us at Gaslit Nation as we keep asking the questions too many in power still refuse to face. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit Show Notes: American Carnage by Sasha Abramsky https://orbooks.com/catalog/american-carnage/ Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3mhc7boslv22w The Target boycott is still on! Georgia Forts explains the confusion: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVw6K39DtEd/?igsh=MTV6dXE0N3gydTZnYw== Sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump – a timeline This article is more than 1 year old A list of the accusations made against Donald Trump between the 1980s and 2013, all of which he has denied https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/25/trump-sexual-misconduct-allegations-timeline E. Jean Carroll asks Supreme Court to reject Trump's request to review her $5M defamation case https://abcnews.com/US/jean-carrollasks-supreme-court-reject-trumps-request-review/story?id=129216869 This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.
Anti-America Street Fair in Tehran (2019)
How Will Corporate Lobbyists Fix Healthcare? Don’t Ask—Because You Can’t
Corporate news sources now issue press releases without bothering to include any information about who to contact with follow-up questions.
Corporate media political reporting has always been a clubby endeavor, but a recent reporting experience suggests that the insider culture in Washington, DC, is more insular than ever. It’s often a challenge for independent media to get responses from Washington insider sources—especially on stories critical of powerful actors—but it’s become increasingly difficult even to pose the questions to those sources. Corporate news sources now issue press releases without bothering to include any information about who to contact with follow-up questions, as if the source is handing the truth down from on high. When I first encountered this phenomenon after returning to journalism three years ago, I assumed it was a function of the laziness and/or incompetence of individual PR hacks. In my previous life, I had written a few dozen press releases, and “who’s the contact person?” was always a key question to answer in planning media outreach. But today, a failure to offer contact information increasingly appears to be a deliberate strategy to stymie journalistic inquiry. ‘No Surprises’ unsurprising fiasco Last November, my healthcare politics online newsletter, Healing and Stealing (11/7/25), published an investigation of a national coalition of health insurers and other big businesses. The Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing includes major business lobbying trade associations like the National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association, National Association of Manufacturers and the health insurance industry trade group AHIP. Through those associations and business/labor health policy alliances, most of the largest employers in the US and many major labor unions are part of the Coalition, in alliance with the health insurance companies that sell them health plans for their employees. The Coalition lobbied for passage of the No Surprises Act. The law, passed in December 2020 and signed by President Donald Trump, limits the amount that patients have to pay out of pocket when they unknowingly see a doctor or use another service that is not covered in their health insurance plan’s network. The law also set up a new arbitration system to resolve disputes—between employers and insurers on one side, and hospitals, labs, doctors’ offices and ambulance companies on the other—over the rest of the bills. Health Affairs (8/25/25) The No Surprises Act eased a little of the enormous out-of-pocket costs that burden patients, but otherwise it’s a fiasco. The arbitration system has been swamped with 50 times more cases than federal officials expected. Arbitrators have ruled in favor of extreme prices requested by providers in more than 80% of cases. Cases are adjudicated by supposedly “independent” corporate consulting firms with blatant conflicts of interest on both the provider and insurer sides. And the whole mess has added more than $5 billion worth of higher prices and bureaucratic costs to the world’s most expensive healthcare system. The insurers and employers in the Coalition are now running a strange, self-contradictory campaign to shift the arbitration rules in their favor. Insurers are pointing fingers at hospital financial consultants as “middlemen” who drive up costs, though what are insurers but the ultimate middlemen? A coalition that includes hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of private equity–backed businesses is raising alarms about the dangers of private equity. It’s trying to stop a PE-backed consulting firm from becoming an arbitrator, because the firm consults with the hospital industry. Never mind that the majority of the already-certified arbitrators consult with the insurance industry. Details of the policy weaknesses in the No Surprises Act can be found at Healing and Stealing (2/22/24, 9/8/25), along with the investigation of what we call America’s Silliest Policy Campaign (11/7/25). But as self-contradictory as the content of the Coalition’s campaign may be, their behavior as a news source is even stranger. Contact-free press releases The website of the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing. Healing and Stealing wanted to ask the Coalition to respond to a series of detailed questions. It also sought comment from the private equity firm and Coalition member CVC Capital Partners about its purchase of two of the certified “independent” arbitration firms, each of which also consults for CVC’s fellow Coalition members in the insurance industry on claims sent to insurers by providers. CVC Capital Partners claims $236 billion in assets under management, as of March 2026, and holds investments in major retail outlets and brands like Petco, Lipton Teas and the sports apparel maker Authentic Brands Group, owner of Reebok. CVC sits on the executive committee of the board of directors of the National Retail Federation, a member of the Coalition Against Surprise Billing. In recent years, CVC bought two of the 16 approved No Surprises Act arbitration firms. The CVC webpage describing the firm’s portfolio links to numerous imperious 21st century press releases with no contact information, including the announcements of its Lipton and Authentic Brands deals. But at least CVC has a communications department. If you poke around on the website, you can fairly easily find the name of someone to email, who in all likelihood won’t respond to your questions. The Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing itself posed a greater challenge. Taking the ‘public’ out of PR AHIP disclosure form (1–3/25). The Coalition includes hundreds of US-based Fortune 500 companies and has been up and running since 2019. Not only are their press releases devoid of contact information, their entire website has no information about how to ask them questions—no media contact, no staff name, nothing. We dug into congressional lobbying records and found that the insurance industry (through its trade association AHIP) pays two lobbyists on behalf of the Coalition. So we emailed an extensive list of questions to the more expensive of the two—former Republican Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee staffer Kathryn Spangler. We also sent the communications team at CVC Capital a similar list of questions. The insurance industry paid Spangler’s “boutique consulting firm focused on healthcare policy, advocacy and coalition building” $80,000 in each of the first two quarters of 2025. Apparently that doesn’t pay for responding to media requests—or at least those from relatively obscure Substack newsletters. We received no reply to questions about the contradictions in the Coalition’s campaign, and the fact that some arbitrators appear to have the same conflicted relationships with the Coalition’s insurance company members as others have with the hospitals and doctors opposing the insurers in arbitrations. Surprise billing had its moment in the sun as the Next Big Horrible Healthcare Thing in 2019–21. The visible horror stories used to sell the law were “fixed”: Individual out-of-pocket costs for specific types of out-of-network care were limited. This left the insurance industry, and the employers who hire them, begging the federal government to do the job that the for-profit entities keep failing to do: control costs and deliver decent healthcare. With a twist, of course: The insurance industry wants the government to do their job, but leave intact their profits, as well as the power that their employer “customers” hold over our healthcare. The comical failure of the No Surprises arbitrations doesn’t prompt corporate media to ask the obvious question of why we keep allowing the Coalition’s members to loot the country and fail to take care of us. So rather than concede that they’ve failed at cost control for 50 years and support public social insurance like Medicare for All, or publicly set uniform prices, the Coalition gets away with seeking a “fix” to yet another layer of the world’s most bureaucratic health system. Corporations represented on the Business Group for Health’s board, including Hearst and News Corp. All of which is normalized in US media. In fact, many major media companies have taken a position on the issue, although reporters for their outlets may not even know it. In their role as employers, Hearst Corporation and News Corporation sit on the board of directors of the Business Group on Health, a national lobbying organization, dedicated to improving employer-sponsored healthcare, that belongs to the Coalition. With the credibility conferred by trillions of dollars in corporate power backing them, the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing doesn’t really need media attention beyond the journalists embedded in the DC hothouse and healthcare industry trade press, all of whom can be contacted without the trouble of fielding questions from the broader media who might question their talking points, not to mention the general public. Even absent any media attention at all, they can feel confident that congressional staff and regulators will read their press releases and “In Case You Missed It” blog posts. The contactless press release and public-free public relations campaigns reflect the dominance of corporate sources who now pronounce the Truth from on high without even bothering to solicit questions. And that, in turn, is yet more evidence of the growing gulf between policymakers and the public at large. This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by John Canham-Clyne.
‘Beyond the pale’: general says US military will create a ‘camp’ at Gitmo to ‘deal with’ Cubans fleeing Trump blockade
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of US Southern Command, testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2026. Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images" data-attachment-id="342159" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/beyond-the-pale-general-says-us-military-will-create-a-camp-at-gitmo-to-deal-with-cubans-fleeing-trump-blockade/us-politics-congress-military" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"NIKON Z 9","caption":"US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of US Southern Command, testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1768488342","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-MILITARY","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-MILITARY" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of US Southern Command, testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2026. Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1"> One foreign policy expert noted that fears of a “mass exodus” of refugees come “as the US starves Cuba of energy and food.”
<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of US Southern Command, testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2026. 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Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of US Southern Command, testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"1768488342","copyright":"AFP or licensors","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-MILITARY","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-MILITARY" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of US Southern Command, testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2026. Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2255792869-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1" /> <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="600" height="150" data-attachment-id="268291" data-permalink="https://therealnews.com/this-is-why-deregulation-is-deadly/cd_stacked_white_600" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="600,150" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Common Dreams Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=300%2C75&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?fit=600%2C150&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=600%2C150&ssl=1" alt="Common Dreams Logo" class="wp-image-268291 size-full" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?resize=300%2C75&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=370&ssl=1 370w, https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cd_stacked_white_600.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /> This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 20, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. As the Trump administration sows chaos with a crushing fuel blockade of Cuba, a general told Congress that the military will “set up a camp” at Guantánamo Bay to detain those who try to flee the humanitarian crisis inflicted by the United States. The phrase “humanitarian crisis” was used by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to describe the situation in Cuba during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, as he questioned US Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan, the commander of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). Donovan, a 37-year Marine veteran, took command of SOUTHCOM in February after being tapped by President Donald Trump. His predecessor, Adm. Alvin Holsey, abruptly resigned in December reportedly after he’d raised concerns about the Trump administration’s bombings of alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, which have been widely described as illegal under international law. On Thursday, Cotton asked Donovan, “Are we prepared for any kind of humanitarian crisis in Cuba—the possible flow of refugees, other civil disorder that may threaten our interests, especially if the decrepit, corrupt Castro regime finally falls or flees?” “Senator, yes we are,” Donovan responded. “SOUTHCOM… We have an [executive] order to be prepared to support [the Department of Homeland Security] (DHS) in a mass migration event. They would take the lead, we would follow.” Donovan said this would include using the US military base at Guantánamo Bay, “where we would set up a camp to deal with those migrants or any overflow from any situation in Cuba itself.” As US starves Cuba of energy & food, neocon Cotton wants DOD to be ready for a "humanitarian crisis," "flow of refugees," or "civil disorder" in Cuba Southcom is "prepared to support DHS in a mass migration event" including a "camp to deal with those migrants" at Gitmo, he says https://t.co/Cym8wlU2zl pic.twitter.com/2Nq9r6kQ5r — Erik Sperling (@ErikSperling) March 19, 2026 Trump signed an executive order during his first month in office last year directing DHS and the Pentagon to “expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay to full capacity,” which the administration said meant scaling the facility up to more than 30,000 beds. The base, which houses a prison infamous for the extrajudicial torture of detainees during the global War on Terror, was designated under Trump’s order to hold “high‑priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.” But Donovan suggested it may now be used to hold Cubans fleeing chaos and deprivation following Trump’s own acts of economic warfare. Cotton’s question followed a warning that same day from Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of a “possible mass exodus out of Cuba,” which experienced an island-wide electricity blackout earlier this week following the Trump administration’s blockade of fuel entering the island, which a group of UN rapporteurs said in January was “a serious violation of international law and a grave threat to a democratic and equitable international order.” DeSantis, whose state is home to about 1.6 million Cuban-Americans, said, “[W]e don’t want to see a massive armada of people showing up on the shores of the Florida Keys.” He said he believed the Trump administration “would rather see people in Florida go help… hopefully get a new government going” in Cuba, possibly referring to the long-held hope of some right-wing Cuban exiles to take over the island. Following more than 60 years of an embargo that has strangled Cuba’s economic development, the Trump administration tightened the noose even more in January, signing an executive order that would slap harsh tariffs on any country that provides oil to Cuba. As a result of the blockade, explained Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, “people don’t have reliable access to drinking water, hospitals can’t operate safely, basic goods are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and garbage is piling up in the streets.” Trump first described his blockade as part of an effort to carry out regime change against Cuba’s Communist Party leadership, but this week, he made the imperialist declaration that he may seek to outright “take” the island and that he could “do anything I want” with the “weakened nation.” If you think only communists are pushing for an end to the US blockade of Cuba, then 165 countries around the world are communist. pic.twitter.com/xdDA6eDx55 — Jostein Hauge (@haugejostein) March 18, 2026 Erik Sperling, the executive director of Just Foreign Policy, emphasized that the possible “mass migration event” described by Donovan was only coming “as the US starves Cuba of energy and food.” “Trump and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio are to blame for any refugee crisis from Cuba, as the US intentionally harms civilians with an oil blockade,” said Just Foreign Policy in a social media post responding to Republican warnings of Cuban mass migration. “US sanctions and meddling in Latin America have always been a leading cause of migrant flows.” Immigration journalist Arturo Dominguez explained that “What [Donovan] essentially said was, ‘We’re ready to accommodate the flow of refugees by putting them in camps.’” He added that “the way these military goons jump right in to ‘accommodate’ atrocity is beyond the pale.” Trump’s blockade of Cuba is unpopular with the American public, according to a YouGov poll released earlier this week. Just 28% of adult US citizens said they approved of the US blocking oil shipments to the country, while 46% said they opposed it. The same survey found that just 13% want the US to use military force to attack Cuba, while 61% would oppose it. Just Foreign Policy said, “The American people do not want their government to starve Cubans and cause a ‘mass migration event.’” This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Stephen Prager.
What is the SAVE Act and why is Trump pushing for it?
In unprecedented overreach, FCC allows merger consolidating local media ownership
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026—A decision by the US broadcast regulator to approve the merger of Tegna and Nexstar broadcasting companies — in clear violation of its own norms and regulations — is a concerning sign of government sponsored media concentration in the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists warned on Friday. The Federal...
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026—A decision by the US broadcast regulator to approve the merger of Tegna and Nexstar broadcasting companies — in clear violation of its own norms and regulations — is a concerning sign of government sponsored media concentration in the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists warned on Friday. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Justice Department on Thursday approved the sale of Tegna, which owns local television stations across the country, to rival Nexstar, who said its stations will now reach 80 percent of US households. “This highly unusual decision was made without an open process, no full FCC vote, and in blatant violation of current restrictions regarding media reach,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. The FCC said it will waive the ownership rule, but legal experts assert the agency has no authority to change the rule without action from Congress. “We have seen from our work around the world that corporate consolidation of media, especially at the local level, severely hampers access to information that is in the public interest,” Ginsberg added. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the sole Democratic Commissioner, criticized the merger and the lack of transparency in the approval process. Eight states filed a suit in federal court in California on Wednesday to block the merger. Some broadcasters believe that the deal will support the financial sustainability of local journalism, as local affiliates compete with national networks, streaming services, and social media news. The National Association of Broadcasters called the ownership cap “outdated” while not taking a specific position on the transaction. Others anticipate the merger will cause job losses for local journalists and media workers, and raise prices for consumers. Dozens of journalists have already been laid off by Nexstar in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago in anticipation of the merger. CPJ has expressed deep concern over a pattern of politicized threats and retaliatory actions from the FCC in the second Trump administration. Nexstar briefly removed “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its ABC affiliates in September, leading to a suspension of the show and national outcry from free speech advocates. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
“Liberate Their Bodies From Their Souls”: The Lies That Sell the Iran War ⎹ The Intercept Briefing
CPJ welcomes Nashville reporter Estefany Rodríguez’s release from ICE custody
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Nashville Noticias reporter Estefany Rodríguez from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and calls on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop detaining journalists as a tactic to halt or discourage their reporting. Rodríguez was released Thursday evening from...
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Nashville Noticias reporter Estefany Rodríguez from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and calls on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop detaining journalists as a tactic to halt or discourage their reporting. Rodríguez was released Thursday evening from ICE detention on a $10,000 bond after spending over two weeks in law enforcement custody. “CPJ welcomes the release of journalist Estefany Rodríguez from ICE custody. However, her detention has had a chilling effect, undermining journalists’ ability, especially local reporters, to cover their communities without fear of retaliation,” said CPJ Regional Director of the Américas Jose Zamora. “The government must uphold press freedom and ensure all journalists can work safely and without reprisal.” In a habeas petition, Rodríguez’s lawyers have argued that her detention is a violation of her First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights, and included the argument that her detention was in relation to her coverage of ICE actions in the United States. The petition is still pending, according to court documents. Rodríguez was arrested by ICE agents in Nashville on March 4, despite being in the United States legally. At the time of her detention, Rodríguez had an open asylum case and a pending green card application through her husband, who is a U.S. citizen. Rodríguez’s case points to a larger effort by the Trump administration to use immigration authorities to police speech. Atlanta-based independent journalist Mario Guevara was deported by the Department of Homeland Security last year after he was arrested while livestreaming a protest against the Trump administration. Guevara was also in the country legally at the time of his arrest. Rodríguez arrived in the U.S. in 2021 and sought asylum after facing death threats in connection with her reporting in her native Colombia. In response to Rodriguez’s detention, CPJ issued statements calling for her release, led with Free Press a coalition statement with over 40 organizations, and joined an amicus brief from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Rodriguez’s habeas case, in addition to advocacy outreach. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Disenfranchise Tens of Millions? Trump’s SAVE Act Targets Women, Poor, Rural & Trans Voters
Jim Naureckas on MAGA vs. 1st Amendment, Baher Azmy on Abu Ghraib Justice
If we cut off our ability to have a widespread public debate, whatever “solutions” we’re told “we” came up with have nothing to do with democracy.
https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260320.mp3 Right-click here to download this episode (“Save link as…”). Truth Social (3/14/26) This week on CounterSpin: Those not in vigorous denial understand that we in the US are in the midst of not just “foreign” wars—today on, most prominently, Iran—but also a war against our ability to talk about it all, to dissent from it, to hear from people who have different ideas about ways forward. It doesn’t seem too much to say: If we cut off our ability to have a widespread public debate, whatever “solutions” we’re told “we” came up with have nothing to do with democracy. We’ll hear from FAIR editor Jim Naureckas about what news media could call, if only they would, “the Trump administration vs. the First Amendment.” https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260320Naureckas.mp3 Just Security (3/17/26) Also on the show: US news media told us that the images of Iraqis tortured at the infamous “hard site” in Abu Ghraib have been “seared into the American consciousness.” That would imply that those US news media were genuinely interested in the horrors meted out at the Iraqi prison where the CIA and the Army committed what Wikipedia comfortably calls a “a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees.” Those media would surely want all of us “consciousness-seared” people to know what was being done to answer for it all, to bring people to account, to make sure it never, ever happened again. (That shouldn’t sound like a joke.) The Center for Constitutional Rights has been in back of the last remaining lawsuit on behalf of victims of Abu Ghraib; and, though you might not have heard about it, they won. We’ll get the update from Baher Azmy, legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. https://media.blubrry.com/counterspin/content.blubrry.com/counterspin/CounterSpin260320Azmy.mp3 This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by CounterSpin.
The Warmongers Will Never Admit They Were Wrong And Will Never Learn From Their Mistakes
Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, has a tweet that’s got me absolutely fuming right now. “In 2018–2019, I made the case for regime change in Iran as often as I could. Voices in Trump’s orbit often cited Iran’s capacity to close the Strait of Hormuz as a reason against regime change. Trump has been […] The post The Warmongers Will Never Admit They Were Wrong And Will Never Learn From Their Mistakes appeared first on Dissident Voice.
Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, has a tweet that’s got me absolutely fuming right now. “In 2018–2019, I made the case for regime change in Iran as often as I could. Voices in Trump’s orbit often cited Iran’s capacity to close the Strait of Hormuz as a reason against regime change. Trump has been fully aware this is a possibility, and yet did not prepare,” Bolton posted. Can you believe this shit? Dude’s like “Hey, Trump should have known this war would be hard because people tried to warn him not to listen to me!” Motherfucker THIS WAS YOUR WAR. You were THE “bomb Iran” guy! You made it your entire personality for DECADES. Over the years, I’ve used your name, God knows how many times, whenever I needed an example of a Beltway swamp monster who’s got a throbbing hard-on for war with Iran. Now you’ve finally got it, and it’s going exactly as badly as everyone said it would, and you’re like, “Yeah, well, he should’ve known better; people tried to warn him about the Strait of Hormuz.” Fuck you. <iframe id="twitter-widget-0" class="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=caitoz&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2034065170243129569&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcaitlinjohnstone.com.au%2F2026%2F03%2F20%2Fthe-warmongers-will-never-admit-they-were-wrong-and-will-never-learn-from-their-mistakes%2F&sessionId=39c1c2b30401906dc288d3780a6bb9db2a96df8d&siteScreenName=caitoz&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-tweet-id="2034065170243129569" data-mce-fragment="1"> These professional warmongers never, ever learn from their errors. Many years after the Iraq invasion turned out to be a disaster, John Bolton was still out there telling the media he believed it was a “resounding success,” conceding only “mistakes that were made subsequently” to the ousting of Saddam Hussein. They never admit they were wrong. They never admit that their war was a bad idea. They only ever acknowledge that it didn’t happen in exactly the way they imagined it happening in their minds. They live in this fantasy world where all their war agendas would unfold beautifully so long as they could personally control every molecule of matter involved in how it happens, completely ignoring that this is impossible and any war is always going to have an unfathomable number of moving parts you can’t control. In their eyes, the wars are never wrong; they’re only ever executed incorrectly. US military interventionism can never fail; it can only be failed. Bolton doesn’t even seem to have any idea what Trump could have done differently to stop Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz. I listened to an NPR interview the other day where he slammed Trump for not having “done the planning in advance” to prevent the Iranian blockade, but he never at any time outlined what Trump could have done to accomplish this. He just said there was “a huge hole in the planning” and that “they apparently didn’t take as seriously as they should have the potential to mine the Strait of Hormuz,” without ever saying what they could have done. <iframe id="twitter-widget-1" class="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=caitoz&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2032788983608959446&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcaitlinjohnstone.com.au%2F2026%2F03%2F20%2Fthe-warmongers-will-never-admit-they-were-wrong-and-will-never-learn-from-their-mistakes%2F&sessionId=39c1c2b30401906dc288d3780a6bb9db2a96df8d&siteScreenName=caitoz&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-tweet-id="2032788983608959446" data-mce-fragment="1"> He doesn’t know. He himself, Mister Iran War, had no plan for how to carry out this war without disastrous consequences for the US and its allies. He’s spent his entire blood-soaked career pushing for a war he never had any idea how to actually carry out. These are the kinds of minds they have spearheading the US empire’s wars. All the worst people are getting exactly what they want, and it turns out they don’t even want it, like Elon Musk tweeting “Whoever said ‘money can’t buy happiness’ really knew what they were talking about” last month. They’re getting everything they asked for, and it’s making everyone miserable, and it’s not even making THEM happy. The imperial status quo elevates the worst among us. The least wise. The least insightful. The least compassionate. The least deserving. The least qualified. We need drastic revolutionary change, and we need it now. The post The Warmongers Will Never Admit They Were Wrong And Will Never Learn From Their Mistakes appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Caitlin Johnstone.
Fear Of More Executions After Iran Hangs 3 Over Protests
Report from Beirut: 1,000+ Dead, 1M+ Displaced, Many Fear Long-Term Occupation of Southern Lebanon
Danger Zones In February 2026, the United States and Israel attacked Iran, kickstarting a new Middle East ‘energy conflict’. And like most energy conflicts over the past half century, this one too began after the region fell into a ‘danger zone’. The notion of a danger zone was first introduced in our paper, ‘Bringing Capital […] The post Middle East Danger Zones: A 2026 Update appeared first on Dissident Voice.
Danger Zones In February 2026, the United States and Israel attacked Iran, kickstarting a new Middle East ‘energy conflict’. And like most energy conflicts over the past half century, this one too began after the region fell into a ‘danger zone’. The notion of a danger zone was first introduced in our paper, ‘Bringing Capital Accumulation Back In’ (Nitzan and Bichler 1995). We coined it to denote a period in which the Middle East is likely to experience an oil-related conflict or war and examined its implications for the region’s global political economy. Capitalism, we argued in our research, was a regime built on the capitalization of power, organized through relative pecuniary quantities and ruled by state-backed, dominant-capital coalitions. In line with this approach, we proposed that, since the late 1960s, Middle East danger zones hinged on the differential profits of dominant oil companies; that is, on whether their rate of return beats or trails the corporate average. Specifically, we claimed that when the differential profits of the oil companies are positive – namely, when they beat the average – the risk of regional conflict is low. And conversely, when their differential profits are negative – i.e., when they trail the average – the region is in a danger zone, and the risk of conflict is high. Nuts and Bolts <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-168002" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_01-753x1024.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="680" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_01-753x1024.jpg 753w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_01-220x300.jpg 220w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_01-768x1045.jpg 768w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_01-1129x1536.jpg 1129w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_01.jpg 1298w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /> Figure 1 highlights the historical relevance of this claim and shows some of its key regularities.1 The chart juxtaposes the movements of two distinct variables along with a series of explosion-like markers. Let’s explain each of them in turn. The first variable, plotted as bars against the left scale, depicts the relative performance of a ‘Petro Core’ of leading listed oil companies (named in the figure’s notes). Specifically, it shows the Petro Core’s differential return on equity relative to the average return on equity of the Fortune 500 group of U.S.-based companies. The differential itself, expressed in percentage points, is computed in two steps: (1) by calculating the per cent ratio of net profit to owners’ equity for both the Petro Core and the Fortune 500; and (2) by subtracting the latter from the former. A positive difference (grey bars) means that the Petro Core beats the Fortune 500 average with a higher return on equity. A negative difference (black bars) implies that the Petro Core trails that average, with a lower return on equity. The second variable, shown as a dashed red series plotted against the right scale, is the change in the relative price of crude oil. This measure is also calculated in two steps: (1) by dividing the dollar price per barrel of Brent oil by the U.S. GDP deflator (rebased to 2024=1); and (2) by subtracting from this result its own 10-year trailing average. The magnitude of this series, expressed in 2024 U.S. dollars, represents the ups and downs in the pricing power of the oil companies (along with OPEC) relative to the pricing power of all U.S. sellers. Finally, the explosion-like markers indicate the eruption of individual energy conflicts detailed in the figure’s notes. The chart reveals two important patterns. First, the two variables – the Petro-Core’s differential returns and the changes in the relative price of oil – move tightly together, with a Pearson Correlation coefficient of +0.73 out of a maximum of 1. In other words, the differential return on equity of the large oil companies hinges mostly on their ability to have oil prices rise faster (or fall more slowly) than other corporations raise (lower) theirs. Second, relative oil prices and differential oil returns both hinge on – and in turn predict – Middle East energy conflicts. As we detail below, these conflicts tend to be preceded by danger zones – namely, stretches of negative differential returns that make oil wars more likely; once a conflict erupts, it tends to raise the relative price of oil; and if and when the rise becomes big enough to switch the Petro Core’s differential returns from negative to positive, the danger zone closes. The Regularities Empirically, the chart shows three remarkable regularities. * First, and most importantly, for more than half a century now, every energy conflict save one was preceded by the Petro Core trailing the average. In other words, generally, for a Middle East energy conflict to erupt, the leading oil companies first must differentially decumulate.2 The only apparent exception to this rule is the 2011 burst of the Arab Spring and the subsequent blooming of outsourced militia wars in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq – conflicts that were financed and supported by a multitude of governments, NGOs and supreme-god churches in and outside the region. The 2011 round erupted without a prior danger zone – although the Petro Core was very close to falling below the average. In 2010, its differential return on equity dropped to a razor-thin 0.4 per cent, down from around 25 per cent in both 2008 and 2009. (The 2023 eruption of the Gaza war, although preceded by a mini oil boom associated with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, came after a very long streak of massive differential oil losses.) * Second, every energy conflict – with two exceptions: the multiple ISIS-related interventions in 2014 and the 2023-2025 Gaza war – was followed by the oil companies beating the average. In other words, war and conflict in the region – processes that customarily are blamed for rattling, distorting and undermining the aggregate economy – have tended to serve the differential interest of the large oil companies (and OPEC) at the expense of leading non-oil firms (and countries).3 This finding, however striking, should not surprise us. As Figure 1 shows, differential oil profits are intimately correlated with the relative price of oil; the relative price of oil in turn is highly responsive to Middle East risk perceptions, real or imaginary; these risk perceptions tend to jump in preparation for and during armed conflict; and as risks mount, they raise the relative price of oil and therefore the differential profits of the oil companies and the relative export revenues of OPEC. * Third and finally, according to our data, the Petro Core never managed to beat the average without a preceding energy conflict. In other words, on this count, the differential performance of the oil companies depends not on production, but on the most extreme exercise of power and sabotage: war. The Current Moment Focusing on the most recent wars, we can see that the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine came after a prolonged and very deep danger zone, and that this attack managed to raise the relative price of oil along with the Petro Core’s differential return on equity. Consequently, the Middle East was pulled out of its danger zone, but only briefly. In 2023, the relative price of oil decelerated, and with the Petro Core’s differential return on equity reverting to negative territory, the Middle East once again slid into a danger zone. In October of that year, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad – seemingly on cue from our chart – attacked Israel, launching a new regional war. But the new war – which quickly expanded to include Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran and drew massive media attention – had only a muted impact on energy prices. Worse still (at least for the oil companies and OPEC), in 2024 the relative price of oil and the Petro Core’s differential returns resumed their decline, sending the region even deeper into the danger zone. From this perspective, the 2026 joint attack by the United States and Israel on Iran is hardly surprising. As these lines are written, the attack, along with the retaliations by Iran and its proxies, has sent crude oil prices soaring to nearly $100/bbl – their highest level since Russia invaded Ukraine. And if these increases – in absolute terms but mostly relatively to other prices – can be sustained, the Petro Core’s differential returns will likely rise, and the battered Middle East will again be extricated from its danger zone. Note, though, that since the data in Figure 1 are annual, they reach only till 2025 for the relative price of oil and 2024 for the differential returns of the Petro Core. This limitation is transcended by the somewhat different perspective offered in our closing section below. A Different Look Figure 2 examines the process from a global viewpoint, using earnings per share (EPS) reported on a monthly basis.4 The top two series in the figure contrast the average EPS performance of the world’s listed integrated oil & gas companies with the average EPS performance of all listed companies in world. Each series measures the annual rate of change of the respective EPS, computed by comparing any given month with the same month a year earlier and smoothed as a three-year trailing average. <img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-168003" src="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_02-926x1024.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="553" srcset="https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_02-926x1024.jpg 926w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_02-271x300.jpg 271w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_02-768x849.jpg 768w, https://dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260300_bn_me_danger_zones_a_2026_update_fig_02.jpg 1304w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /> The bottom series shows the differential EPS growth of the integrated oil & gas companies. This series is derived, first, by subtracting the EPS growth rate of the world index from the EPS growth rate of the integrated oil & gas index, and then, by expressing the resulting difference as a three-year trailing average. As in Figure 1, grey areas indicate periods during which the integrated oil & gas companies beat the average (positive differential earnings growth), while black areas show periods in which they trail the average (negative differential earnings growth). Now, note that, while the energy conflicts here are the same as those listed in Figure 1, the measure of differential profit is different in several important respects. (1) The geographical scope is much wider, and the focus is less on corporate size and more on the type of business activity. Whereas in Figure 1, the comparison is between a Petro-Core of four to six firms and the U.S.-based Fortune 500, here the comparison is between all the world’s listed integrated oil & gas companies and the world average for all listed companies. (2) The profit metric is different. Whereas in Figure 1, the proxy of choice is return to equity, here it is earnings per share (EPS). (3) The nature of the variables is different. While in Figure 1 we look at levels, here we examine rates of change. (4) The temporal presentation is more refined. Whereas in Figure 1 the data are annual, here they are monthly, expressed as three-year trailing averages. And (5), the period under examination is shorter – in Figure 1 it starts in 1966, while here the data begin in 1973 (and in 1976 for the three-year trailing averages). All in all, then, our proxy for differential profits in Figure 2 is very different from the one we use in Figure 1. Yet the stylized patterns – as well as the exceptions to those patterns – are almost the same! Similarly to Figure 1, the chart shows that, since 1976 (1) all energy conflicts were preceded by the world’s integrated oil companies suffering negative differential earnings growth (with the exception of the 2011 Arab Spring / outsourced wars and the 2014 ISIS-related conflicts, when this differential was very close to zero, but still positive); (2) all conflicts were followed by the integrated oil companies experiencing positive differential earnings growth; and (3) except for the mid-1990s (and in this chart also 2019-2021) the integrated oil companies have not managed to beat the average without a prior energy conflict. Also, the monthly correlation between differential EPS growth and the rate of change of the relative price of oil (+0.72, as shown in Bichler and Nitzan 2023: Figure 2) is virtually the same as the one shown for the annual differential returns and relative oil price deviations in Figure 1 (+0.73). Finally, the relations in this figure between the recent energy conflicts and differential oil earnings are the same as those shown in Figure 1: the danger zone in 2021-2022 closed once Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised relative oil prices and boosted the differential earnings of oil & gas companies; the effect of the 2023 Gaza War on relative oil prices and differential earnings was initially muted and then decelerated sharply; and finally, in 2026, a few months after the differential earnings growth of oil & gas companies turned negative, the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Today’s dominant capitalists, top state officials and supreme-god clerics believe they run the world. But, in the end, they too, just like their subjects, seem dancing to the all-imposing tune of differential earnings and capitalized power. References: Bichler, Shimshon, and Jonathan Nitzan. 2015. Still About Oil? Real-World Economics Review (70, February): 49-79. Bichler, Shimshon, and Jonathan Nitzan. 2023. Blood and Oil in the Orient: A 2023 Update. Real-World Economics Review Blog, November 10. Bichler, Shimshon, and Jonathan Nitzan. 2024. The Road to Gaza, Part II: The Capitalization of Everything. Real-World Economics Review (109, November): 18-28. Nitzan, Jonathan, and Shimshon Bichler. 1995. Bringing Capital Accumulation Back In: The Weapondollar-Petrodollar Coalition — Military Contractors, Oil Companies and Middle-East “Energy Conflicts”. Review of International Political Economy 2 (3): 446-515. Endnotes: 1 The first version of this chart appeared in Nitzan and Bichler (1995: Figure 10a, p. 499). Our current description of Figure 1 follows and updates the account in Bichler and Nitzan (2024). 2 In the late 1970s and early 1980s, and again during the 2000s, differential decumulation was sometimes followed by a string of conflicts stretching over several years. In these instances, the result was a longer time lag between the initial spell of differential decumulation and some of the subsequent conflicts. 3 A key point to note here is the effect of energy conflicts not on absolute but differential oil returns. For example, in 1969-1970, 1975, 1980-1982, 1985, 1991, 2001-2002, 2006-2007, 2009 and 2012, the rate of return on equity of the Petro Core fell; but in all of these cases the fall was either slower than that of the Fortune 500 or too small to close the positive gap between them, so despite the absolute decline, the Petro Core continued to beat the average. 4 For an early version of this chart, see Bichler and Nitzan (2015: Figure 5, p. 66). Our examination here updates the discussion in that article. The post Middle East Danger Zones: A 2026 Update appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan.
The Number of Families Being Held at Dilley Detention Center Has Plummeted
The post The Number of Families Being Held at Dilley Detention Center Has Plummeted appeared first on ProPublica.
The number of parents and children booked into the country’s only immigrant family detention center, in Dilley, Texas, plummeted in February by more than 75% compared with a month earlier, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data obtained by ProPublica. Between April 2025, when President Donald Trump started sending families there, and January of this year, the number of people sent into detention with their families averaged around 600 per month. In February, those so-called books-ins fell to 133. As of mid-March, they dropped again to just 54. This week there were only around 100 people in family detention at Dilley, compared with an average daily population in January of over 900, the data shows. Current and former ICE officials and lawyers with clients in Dilley said they were unable to explain the reason for the sharp decline. However, they said the shift followed weeks of mounting public pressure generated in part by the widespread publication of letters written by several of the detained children in which they described the conditions inside Dilley and their despair at being ripped from their homes and schools. ProPublica published several of those letters on Feb. 9 after visiting the facility — about an hour south of San Antonio — in mid-January. The letters set off a storm of outrage in Washington and across the country. They were raised in congressional hearings and pasted on posters in anti-ICE demonstrations. Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from Virginia, read the letters aloud to ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, during a congressional hearing on Feb. 10, pressing him for answers about whether the children’s detention could cause adverse psychological effects. He pointed to one drawing by a 5-year-old Venezuelan girl named Luisanney Toloza of her family. “My son’s 5. He can’t write many words, but he can communicate through drawings like this,” Walkinshaw said, making special note of the expressions on the family’s faces. “None of the faces are smiling.” It was another 5-year-old who first triggered public attention to children being detained at Dilley. Liam Conejo Ramos was picked up on Jan. 20 in Minnesota and sent to the facility with his father. A photograph of him at the time of his detention, wearing a blue bunny hat, went viral. Detainees, emboldened by the attention, organized a protest in a yard at the facility that was captured in an aerial photograph and widely published on social media. Lawmakers demanded multiple visits to push for the release of Ramos and others. Nearly 4,000 doctors, nurses and health professionals sent a letter to the Trump administration calling for the immediate release of all children currently in immigration detention. This month, social media personality Rachel Accurso, an educator better known as Ms. Rachel, who makes popular children’s programming, posted a video conversation with one of the kids detained at Dilley to her 4.9 million Instagram followers, garnering more than 3,700 comments. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, has been at the forefront of a push by legislators from his party to shut down Dilley and for the administration to find alternatives to family detentions. When told about the drop in the number of families being held at Dilley, he said, “That trailer prison is no place for children, and I’m glad to hear that the numbers continue to decline,” adding, “It’s a reminder that people can make a difference by speaking up.” The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement that custody decisions are made “daily, on a case-by-case basis,” adding that the “administration does not make immigration decisions based on public opinion. We follow the rule of law.” In the past, the agency has said that Dilley offers families a safe environment equipped with access to educational materials, child care necessities and round-the-clock medical and mental health care. Meanwhile, CoreCivic, the private prison company operating the facility, said in a statement it does not have “any say whatsoever” in whether detainees are deported or released.” In previous statements, it has said that the health and safety of detainees is its “top priority.” Dilley first opened as a family detention facility under former President Barack Obama in 2014, mostly for recent border crossers. Trump kept the facility running during his first term, but President Joe Biden stopped holding families in 2021, arguing the United States shouldn’t be in the business of detaining children. Soon after taking office a second time, Trump resumed family detentions at Dilley. As border crossings have dropped to record lows, more of the families being held there have been arrested inside the United States and have been in the country long enough to lay down roots and build networks of relatives and friends. The children detained there have ranged in age from newborns to older teenagers. The vast majority of adults held at Dilley had no U.S. criminal record. Following the protests and the publication of children’s letters, detainees and attorneys interviewed by ProPublica said guards took away crayons, colored pencils and drawing paper during recent room searches. This week, ProPublica learned the facility had cut off access to video calls in common areas. The Trump administration said in a recent court filing that personal property had not been destroyed at Dilley and items confiscated during searches were “limited to materials identified as protest-related and not authorized under facility rules.” CoreCivic “vehemently” denied staff confiscated or destroyed children’s personal artwork or supplies. DHS said the restrictions were put in place on video calls following the livestreaming of recorded calls online “that resulted in the unauthorized dissemination of law enforcement sensitive information.” The agency added the video calls are still available in private rooms, as is access to in-person visitation and phones. While a long-standing legal settlement, known as the Flores agreement, holds that children should generally not be detained for more than 20 days, the data ProPublica obtained showed the average days in custody was longer than that for every month since family detentions resumed at the facility last year. In each month between November and February, the average stay in family detention was over 50 days. DHS has said in the past that the Flores agreement, in place since the 1990s, is outdated and should be terminated because newer regulations address the needs of children in detention. One Egyptian family, Hayam El Gamal and her five children ranging in age from 18 to 5-year-old twins, has been at Dilley for nine months. They were taken into custody after the father, Mohamed Soliman, was charged over an alleged antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, that killed one person and injured 13 others. The family said it had no knowledge of his plans. DHS said it is still investigating. One 13-year-old Guatemalan boy named Edison was released from Dilley with his mom this week. During his 92-day detention, Edison had cried in video calls to his father back in Chicago, saying he felt like he was being treated like a criminal. (His father asked that his son’s last name not be used.) Then in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a guard came to their bunk room and told him and his mom to start packing their belongings. By that night, they were on a plane to Chicago to be reunited with Edison’s dad. “We don’t understand why they were released,” his dad said. “All I can tell you is it was a miracle from God.” As soon as they landed, the family went home to enjoy a seafood dinner, one of Edison’s favorites. The post The Number of Families Being Held at Dilley Detention Center Has Plummeted appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Mica Rosenberg.
BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement)
There’s been much debate on the left around the world about how best to respond to what appears to be rising antisemitism. What, if anything, is the best response? Some argue, mostly correctly, that raising the subject amidst Israel’s genocide in Gaza, bombing many of its neighbours, etc., is an attempt to deflect attention away […] The post Left response to antisemitism should be to call for BDS appeared first on Dissident Voice.
There’s been much debate on the left around the world about how best to respond to what appears to be rising antisemitism. What, if anything, is the best response? Some argue, mostly correctly, that raising the subject amidst Israel’s genocide in Gaza, bombing many of its neighbours, etc., is an attempt to deflect attention away from that country’s crimes. However, insofar as there has been a rise in one form of racism, let me suggest a ‘left’ solution: An effective way for governments around the world to halt the rise in antisemitism would be to apply the BDS principles towards Israel. Boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning would last until either a two-state solution was arrived at with the Palestinians or all the people living on the land Israel currently occupies were given equal rights and opportunities. Based on experience with the South African apartheid state, BDS could pressure Israel to end its military-might-makes-right, international law ignoring, colonial, racist, anti-human behaviour. That is by far the major source of increasing antisemitism today. This should not be a controversial statement, but it is for those who remain supporters of Israel despite that country becoming a pariah in most of the world. Some people, for religious, political, or pro-U.S. empire reasons, justify ongoing ethnic cleansing, apartheid policies, the destruction of Gaza, mass killing of children and women, expansion of illegal settlements, and repeated bombings of neighbouring countries. They either agree with or excuse Netanyahu’s extreme right, Jewish supremacist government that believes in the expansion of a state imposed on the people of Southwest Asia by Western powers. They attack anyone who criticizes Israel and call them antisemites. They conflate Judaism with the interests of the Israeli state. These should not be controversial statements. Israel’s current behaviour and its conflation of Judaism with that country’s actions is by far the biggest reason for a rise in antisemitism in the last few years. Therefore, ending that behaviour and the notion that all Jews are responsible for and agree with what Israel is doing are necessary to deal with this form of racism. The most effective and quickest way to accomplish these essential tasks is a widespread and complete BDS campaign by most countries in the world. The goals would be to force Israel’s respect for international law and end what the largest Israeli human rights organization calls “a regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea”. But instead, most Western countries support Israel, empowering and excusing its bad behaviour, which emboldens existing antisemites and creates more. In other words, supporting and emboldening antisemitism rather than trying to end its current most damaging cause. It seems like those Western governments and the pro-Israel organizations that pressure them to continue this madness are fine with the resulting increase in antisemitism. Why? One answer might be to push longstanding Jewish communities around the world to emigrate to Israel. Certainly, the notion of Aliyah is something promoted by Zionism. But all of us, including millions of Jews, who oppose religious/ethnic nationalism and support progressive secular democracy as the best way to overcome all forms of racism, including antisemitism, must say no to Israel’s horrible behaviour and quickly end it. The best non-violent way to do that is to support BDS. Massive economic, political, and cultural pressures are needed to change Israel’s behavior. The same is true for changing the behaviour of supporters of Israel in many Western countries who enable that bad behaviour. For example, in Canada, government subsidizes and gives tax breaks to Zionist organizations that use this funding to attack anyone who criticizes Israel. More importantly, they push the mistakenly dangerous notion that Israel is the state of all Jews, thus convincing people that all Jews are responsible for Israel’s behaviour. Rather than give money to organizations that claim to be fighting antisemitism but instead use those funds to defend and promote the interests of a foreign state whose actions are a significant cause of antisemitism, governments must get to the root of the problem. They must engage in real action to stop Israel’s bad behaviour. They must end support for organizations that promote the conflation of Judaism with that behaviour. It’s time for the left and those who believe in human rights for all to call for BDS as a way to combat antisemitism. The post Left response to antisemitism should be to call for BDS appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Gary Engler.
Labor Icon Dolores Huerta, 95, Reveals She, Too, Was Raped by Cesar Chavez; Speaks to Maria Hinojosa
Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 20, 2026
Pine Gap joint satellite and signals intelligence facility
With each dragged-out day, President Donald Trump begins to resemble a mad emperor who has not only taken leave of his senses but also of everything else. Having hitched his wagon to the Israeli program of chaos and destabilisation in the Middle East, he is stuck in a war he is incapable of controlling or […] The post No Naval Escort for Trump: US Allies and the Strait of Hormuz appeared first on Dissident Voice.
With each dragged-out day, President Donald Trump begins to resemble a mad emperor who has not only taken leave of his senses but also of everything else. Having hitched his wagon to the Israeli program of chaos and destabilisation in the Middle East, he is stuck in a war he is incapable of controlling or dictating. The periodic announcement of the next assassination of a notable Iranian leader is trumpeted like a holy ritual. The next round of ecstatic bombing is hailed in the court as the biggest yet. But behind these gestures lies an expansive emptiness. Perhaps most telling of such emptiness is the sham of the alliance system he has sought to distance himself from even as he mocks its members. Whether it is members of NATO or allies such as Canada and Australia, Trump has been treated with scrupulous, sometimes grovelling care. Flaring tantrums and spontaneous interpretations of world politics mingle in ugly consummation. Views are contradicted in the same slurry of words. The allies can only nod. Of late, he has shown greater concern about the increasing distance shown by the Pax Americana family. Initially, almost all of them made sure not to call his administration or that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brigands for having violated the United Nations Charter in attacking Iran. Australia bolted out puffing with a condemnation of Iran for having, supposedly, a viable nuclear weapons program that needed to be eliminated. Canada and various countries in the European Union all adopted variations of the same theme, taking care to demonise Tehran for its ambitions and not, for a moment, considering what Israel and the US had done. The United Kingdom, after initial hesitation, offered the US use of its bases in bombing Iran. The grand retreat from international law seemed complete, the jungle dwellers very much in charge. This initial enthusiasm for US-Israeli adventurism began to cool. It is becoming increasingly clear that those devilish Persians are holding out with white-knuckled determination, causing much global mayhem with their targeting of infrastructure in the Gulf states and a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Planners in the Pentagon, State Department, and White House must have been aware of the dangers of Iran effectively closing the vital waterway responsible for the transit of a fifth of the world’s oil. To this, add a laundry list of essentials: gas, fertilisers, and critical minerals. Yet these wiseacres find themselves scrambling to find allies and willing contributors to escorting vessels through the Strait. Trump, for his part, has a fantasist’s view of the war, one peppered by contradiction. In posts on Truth Social, he describes “a Nation that has been totally decapitated” that still, mysteriously, has the means to close the waterway and inflict damage. Yet he hopes for assistance from such countries as China, France, Japan, and South Korea, who might “send Ships to the sea that that the Hormuz Strait”. But not to worry, as the US “will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships of the water.” (How is that going, Mr. President?) The wish for escorting commercial traffic, however, is not likely to be met – at least as things stand. Washington’s allies are baulking. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, had seen the pre-emptive attack on Iran and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a heaven-sent opportunity. Now, she was gruffly insisting that, “This is not Europe’s war. We didn’t start the war. We were not consulted.” UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer merely conceded that a “viable plan” to deal with the Strait was being sought, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated that “any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at in concern with our allies.” France’s President Emmanuel Macron was of the view that any mission to escort container ships and tankers through the Strait “must be entirely separate from the ongoing war operations and bombings”. But most stinging of all was German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius: “What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful US navy cannot do?” This was not NATO’s war. “We have not started it.” On Truth Social, Trump vented with his usual spiky petulance. He noted that “most” of America’s NATO allies had informed Washington that they did not wish to get involved “against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we were doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon.” He is, on that score, partially correct, insofar as a gaggle of liberal democratic states had few reservations cheering on extra-judicial murder and regime change in Tehran. He is far from correct in assuming that countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom have refused to get involved: contributions to the war in what has been shiftily described as a “defensive” capacity have been made. And a country like Australia is always implicated in any bombing campaign the US ever embarks upon, given the indispensable role played by the highly secretive Pine Gap joint satellite and signals intelligence facility, located just outside Alice Springs. As for those same allies, the President declared a lack of surprise at their reluctance “because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street – We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in a time of need.” But did Trump require their assistance? No, as it turns out, as “we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need’, or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea.” The question begs itself: Why ask in the first place? The post No Naval Escort for Trump: US Allies and the Strait of Hormuz appeared first on Dissident Voice. This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Binoy Kampmark.
Experts are calling it “the worst voter suppression bill ever seriously considered by Congress.” As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on a Trump-backed voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act, millions of citizens who lack easy access t...
Experts are calling it “the worst voter suppression bill ever seriously considered by Congress.” As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on a Trump-backed voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act, millions of citizens who lack easy access to its required forms of documentation are now at risk of disenfranchisement. “Republicans are singularly focused on making it harder to vote and pursuing this MAGA fever dream,” explains Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones. “It is the overarching goal of the Republican Party now to make it harder to vote.” The groups most at risk of disenfranchisement include people who have changed their names after marriage, older voters who never received birth certificates, rural voters who could find it increasingly difficult to register to vote and trans people who have changed their names or gender markers on government documents. The GOP and MAGA movement’s goal, says Imara Jones, the founder and CEO of TransLash Media, “is to enshrine anti-trans discrimination in the law, because what they’re doing is using trans people as a road test in order to try to figure out how to disenfranchise and marginalize and strip citizenship away from millions of Americans who disagree with them.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
As Israel continues to pummel Lebanon in its resumed war against the country and the Hezbollah paramilitary, we get an update from Associated Press reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut. “If you compare this particular war to the last one, ...
As Israel continues to pummel Lebanon in its resumed war against the country and the Hezbollah paramilitary, we get an update from Associated Press reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut. “If you compare this particular war to the last one, less than two years ago, what happened in the past three weeks is what happened in the past seven or eight months,” says Chehayeb, who describes masses of displaced people and fears of an imminent ground invasion. “There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country, and it doesn’t appear that these strikes will stop anytime soon.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
A major New York Times investigation details the late co-founder of the United Farm Workers Cesar Chavez’s sexual abuse of women and girls. The revelations about Chavez’s history of grooming and abuse have sent shockwaves through t...
A major New York Times investigation details the late co-founder of the United Farm Workers Cesar Chavez’s sexual abuse of women and girls. The revelations about Chavez’s history of grooming and abuse have sent shockwaves through the labor movement and California, where officials are already moving to cancel or rename public celebrations planned in his honor. Chavez is also accused of sexually assaulting fellow labor rights icon and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, now 95. Huerta says the assaults led to the births of two of her children. She concealed the pregnancies and had kept the children’s paternity secret until now. Huerta spoke for the first time at length about her new public disclosures in an exclusive interview with Latino USA host Maria Hinojosa, who joins Democracy Now! to discuss how Huerta is “not only coming to terms with her own assaults, [but also] coming to terms with the fact that the movement and the person who she admired as part of the movement is essentially being covered up, disappeared.” This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
U.S. Offensive Seeks to Reopen Strait of Hormuz as Hegseth Confirms He’s Seeking $200B for Iran War, Iran Warns of “Zero Restraint” If U.S. or Israel Attacks Energy Infrastructure Again, Death Toll from Recent Israeli Attacks on Lebanon Passes 1,000 Amid Fierce Fighting in South, Israel Reopens Rafah Crossing for Small Number of Palestinians to Seek Medicare Care Abroad, Protesters in Tel Aviv Demand Israel End Wars with Iran and Lebanon, Trump Jokes About Pearl Harbor in Meeting with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, 19-Year-Old Dies of Apparent Suicide in Florida ICE Jail, Nashville Immigration Reporter Estefany Rodríguez Released on Bond, Bronx High School Student Dylan Lopez Contreras Returns to New York After 10 Months in ICE Jail, Judge Denies Asylum Claim to Family of Liam Conejo Ramos, 5-Year-Old Jailed by ICE, “They Underestimated Their Workers”: Nearly 4,000 Colorado Meatpackers Enter Fifth Day of Strike, “De-ICE These Flights!”: Immigration Activists Target NCAA Charter Airline
U.S. Offensive Seeks to Reopen Strait of Hormuz as Hegseth Confirms He's Seeking $200B for Iran War Iran Warns of "Zero Restraint" If U.S. or Israel Attacks Energy Infrastructure Again Death Toll from Recent Israeli Attacks on Lebanon Passes 1,000 Amid Fierce Fighting in South Israel Reopens Rafah Crossing for Small Number of Palestinians to Seek Medicare Care Abroad Protesters in Tel Aviv Demand Israel End Wars with Iran and Lebanon Trump Jokes About Pearl Harbor in Meeting with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi 19-Year-Old Dies of Apparent Suicide in Florida ICE Jail Nashville Immigration Reporter Estefany Rodríguez Released on Bond Bronx High School Student Dylan Lopez Contreras Returns to New York After 10 Months in ICE Jail Judge Denies Asylum Claim to Family of Liam Conejo Ramos, 5-Year-Old Jailed by ICE "They Underestimated Their Workers": Nearly 4,000 Colorado Meatpackers Enter Fifth Day of Strike "De-ICE These Flights!": Immigration Activists Target NCAA Charter Airline This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! Friday, March 20, 2026 This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
BAILES PARA SAN FRANCISCO (Real de Catorce, México)
South African journalist threatened, assaulted, robbed by municipal workers
Lusaka, March 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on South African authorities to act swiftly on a criminal case of assault, robbery, intimidation, and malicious damage to the property of two journalists covering a protest in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province for The Witness newspaper. The police have not made any arrests, The Witness’ news editor...
Lusaka, March 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on South African authorities to act swiftly on a criminal case of assault, robbery, intimidation, and malicious damage to the property of two journalists covering a protest in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province for The Witness newspaper. The police have not made any arrests, The Witness’ news editor Kailene Pillay told CPJ, despite the newspaper filing the case on February 25 at Pietermaritzburg Central Police Station, along with a video clip of the protesting workers. “The assault and threats against The Witness journalists are a direct attack on press freedom and the public’s right to information,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela Quintal. “South African authorities must act decisively to investigate and ensure those responsible are prosecuted. Impunity only encourages further violence.” The Witness newspaper reporter Shorné Bennie and photographer Moeketsi Mamane told CPJ they were standing outside a Msunduzi municipality office on February 18, covering the workers’ protest against the installation of surveillance cameras in municipal vehicles, when the protesters threw a rock at them. “They threatened us with violence,” Bennie told CPJ. “One of them forcibly grabbed my colleague’s camera and went with it inside their premises and told him to go and collect it. He threw it to the ground and damaged it.” <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" height="614" width="1024" src="https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?w=1024" alt="The Msunduzi municipality office premises where Mamane was assaulted on February 18." class="wp-image-575890" srcset="https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png 1430w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=300,180 300w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=768,461 768w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=1024,614 1024w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=570,342 570w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=652,391 652w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=760,456 760w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=1140,684 1140w, https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-10.28.38-am.png?resize=367,220 367w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> The Msunduzi municipality office premises where Mamane was assaulted on February 18. (Screenshot: Courtesy of The Witness) Mamane went inside the gate to collect his camera. “They dragged me to the center of the group and assaulted me, while threatening me with further harm, and forced me to delete all my pictures, including the ones I took at a different event. After that, they pushed me out of the premises and told me not to return,” he told CPJ. On February 23, municipality Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla, told a news conference that “appropriate action will be taken once we get anything that proves involvement in such an act.” Pillay said The Witness sent him a formal complaint, reviewed by CPJ, the following day. Although South Africa’s constitution protects freedom of expression, journalists face physical attacks, online threats, and state surveillance. Another The Witness reporter was assaulted while covering a picket outside city hall in 2025. The South African National Editors’ Forum has called on the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to condemn the incident. COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator Matthew Parks told CPJ that local structures had been tasked to identity the attackers. Municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Ngcobo said the matter was being “treated with the utmost seriousness,” an internal investigation was underway, and the municipality was cooperating with ongoing police investigations. “The municipality does not condone any form of intimidation or violence against members of the media and is reviewing internal protocols to strengthen protections for journalists. The mayor has committed that the matter will be handled with urgency,” he told CPJ by phone. On March 18, CPJ phoned Pietermaritzburg police spokesperson Sergeant Sifiso Gwala, who said he would follow up on the investigation, and KwaZulu Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, who asked for the case number. Neither had responded by the time of publication. Editor’s note: Quintal was editor of The Witness from 2011 to 2013. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
The post DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power Regulator appeared first on ProPublica.
Last summer, a group of officials from the Department of Energy gathered at the Idaho National Laboratory, a sprawling 890-square-mile complex in the eastern desert of Idaho where the U.S. government built its first rudimentary nuclear power plant in 1951 and continues to test cutting-edge technology. On the agenda that day: the future of nuclear energy in the Trump era. The meeting was convened by 31-year-old lawyer Seth Cohen. Just five years out of law school, Cohen brought no significant experience in nuclear law or policy; he had just entered government through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team. As Cohen led the group through a technical conversation about licensing nuclear reactor designs, he repeatedly downplayed health and safety concerns. When staff brought up the topic of radiation exposure from nuclear test sites, Cohen broke in. “They are testing in Utah. … I don’t know, like 70 people live there,” he said. “But … there’s lots of babies,” one staffer pushed back. Babies, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups are thought to be potentially more susceptible to cancers brought on by low-level radiation exposure, and they are usually afforded greater protections. “They’ve been downwind before,” another staffer joked. “This is why we don’t use AI transcription in meetings,” another added. ProPublica reviewed records of that meeting, providing a rare look at a dramatic shift underway in one of the most sensitive domains of public policy. The Trump administration is upending the way nuclear energy is regulated, driven by a desire to dramatically increase the amount of energy available to power artificial intelligence. Career experts have been forced out and thousands of pages of regulations are being rewritten at a sprint. A new generation of nuclear energy companies — flush with Silicon Valley cash and boasting strong political connections — wield increasing influence over policy. Figures like Cohen are forcing a “move fast and break things” Silicon Valley ethos on one of the country’s most important regulators. The Trump administration has been particularly aggressive in its attacks on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the bipartisan independent regulator that approves commercial nuclear power plants and monitors their safety. The agency is not a household name. But it’s considered the international gold standard, often influencing safety rules around the world. The NRC has critics, especially in Silicon Valley, where the often-cautious commission is portrayed as an impediment to innovation. In an early salvo, President Donald Trump fired NRC Commissioner Christopher Hanson last June after Hanson spoke out about the importance of agency independence. It was the first time an NRC commissioner had been fired. During that Idaho meeting, Cohen shot down any notion of NRC independence in the new era. “Assume the NRC is going to do whatever we tell the NRC to do,” he said, records reviewed by ProPublica show. In November, Cohen was made chief counsel for nuclear policy at the Department of Energy, where he oversees a broad nuclear portfolio. Hundreds of Staff Who Do Work Related to Nuclear Reactors and Their Safety Have Left and Not Been Replaced <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="1336" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?w=752" alt="" class="wp-image-70876" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png 1500w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=169,300 169w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=768,1364 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=576,1024 576w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=865,1536 865w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=1153,2048 1153w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=863,1533 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=422,750 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=552,981 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=558,991 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=527,936 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=752,1336 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=1149,2041 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=901,1600 901w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=400,711 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=800,1421 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/waffle-nrc.png?resize=1200,2132 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Source: Weekly Information Reports from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Note: The data is from the week ending Jan. 24, 2025, through Feb. 13, 2026. The aggressive moves have sent shock waves through the nuclear energy world. Many longtime promoters of the industry say they worry recklessness from the Trump administration could discredit responsible nuclear energy initiatives. “The regulator is no longer an independent regulator — we do not know whose interests it is serving,” warned Allison Macfarlane, who served as NRC chair during the Obama administration. “The safety culture is under threat.” A ProPublica analysis of staffing data from the NRC and the Office of Personnel Management shows a rush to the exits: Over 400 people have left the agency since Trump took office. The losses are particularly pronounced in the teams that handle reactor and nuclear materials safety and among veteran staffers with 10 or more years of experience. Meanwhile, hiring of new staff has proceeded at a snail’s pace, with nearly 60 new arrivals in the first year of the Trump administration compared with nearly 350 in the last year of the Biden administration. Some nuclear power supporters say the administration is providing a needed level of urgency given the energy demands of AI. They also contend the sweeping changes underway aren’t as dangerous or dire as some experts suggest. “I think the NRC has been frozen in time,” said Brett Rampal, the senior director of nuclear and power strategy at the investment and strategy consultancy Veriten. “It’s a great time to get unfrozen and aim to work quickly.” The White House referred most of ProPublica’s questions to the Department of Energy, where spokesperson Olivia Tinari said the agency is committed to helping build more safe, high-quality nuclear energy facilities. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, America’s nuclear industry is entering a new era that will provide reliable, abundant power for generations to come,” she wrote. The DOE is “committed to the highest standards of safety for American workers and communities.” Cohen did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The NRC declined to comment. Blindsided by DOGE The U.S. has not had a serious nuclear incident since the Three Mile Island partial meltdown in 1979, a track record many experts attribute to a rigorous regulatory environment and an intense safety culture. Major nuclear incidents around the world have only strengthened the resolve of past regulators to stay independent from industry and from political winds. A chief cause of Japan’s Fukushima accident, investigators found, was the cozy relationship between the country’s industry and oversight body, which opened the door for thin safety assessments and inaccurate projections overlooking the possible impact of a major tsunami. “We knew regulatory capture led directly to Fukushima and to Chernobyl,” said Kathryn Huff, who was assistant secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy during the Biden administration. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="756" width="1149" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=1149" alt="A road with a parked police car and a blurred officer. In the distance are four nuclear cooling towers billowing smoke." class="wp-image-70443" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,197 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,505 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,674 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1011 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2048,1348 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,568 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,278 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,363 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,367 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,347 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,495 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,756 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1316 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,263 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,526 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,790 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-1166635240_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1053 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /> The U.S. has not had a serious nuclear incident since the Three Mile Island partial meltdown in 1979. Leif Skoogfors/Getty Images The U.S. has barely built any nuclear power plants in recent decades. Only three new reactors have been completed in the last 25 years, and since 1990 the U.S has barely added any net new nuclear electricity to its grid. Though about 20% of U.S. energy is supplied by nuclear power plants, the fleet is aging. Some experts blame the slow build-out on the challenging economics of financing a multibillion-dollar project and the uncertainty of accessing and disposing of nuclear fuels. But an increasingly vocal group of industry voices and deregulation advocates have blamed the slow build-out on overly cautious and inefficient regulators. Among the most powerful exponents of this view are billionaires Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen; both venture capitalists have their own investments in the nuclear energy sector and are influential Trump supporters. Andreessen camped out at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida, after Trump won the 2024 election, helping pick staff for the new administration. In late 2024, Thiel personally vetted at least one candidate for the Office of Nuclear Energy, according to people familiar with the conversations. Neither responded to requests for comment. Four months into his second term, Trump signed a series of executive orders designed to supercharge nuclear power build-out. “It’s a hot industry, it’s a brilliant industry,” said Trump, flanked by nuclear energy CEOs in the Oval Office. He added: “And it’s become very safe.” Under those orders, the NRC was directed to reduce its workforce, speed up the timeline for approving nuclear reactors and rewrite many of its safety rules. The DOE — which has a vast nuclear portfolio, including waste cleanup sites and government research labs — was tasked with creating a pathway for so-called advanced nuclear companies to test their designs. The goal, Trump said, was to quadruple nuclear energy output and provide new power to the data centers behind the AI boom. As DOGE gutted agencies, departures mounted in the nuclear sector. Career experts in nuclear regulations and safety departed or were forced out. When Trump fired Hanson, a Democratic NRC commissioner, the president’s team explained the move by saying, “All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction.” In an unsigned email to ProPublica, the White House press office wrote: “All commissioners are presidential appointees and can be fired just like any other appointee.” In August, the NRC’s top attorney resigned and was replaced by oil and gas lawyer David Taggart, who had been working on DOGE cuts at the DOE. In all, the nuclear office at the DOE had lost about a third of its staff, according to a January 2026 count by the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit focused on science and technology policy. That summer, Cohen and a team of DOGE operatives touched down at the NRC offices, a series of nondescript towers across from a Dunkin’ in suburban Maryland. He was joined by Adam Blake, an investor who had recently founded an AI medical startup and has a background in real estate and solar energy, and Ankur Bansal, president of a company that created software for real estate agents. Neither would comment for this story. Many career officials who spoke with ProPublica were blindsided: The new Trump officials at the NRC seemed to have no experience with the intricacies of nuclear energy policy or law, they said. One NRC lawyer who briefed some of the new arrivals decided to resign. “They were talking about quickly approving all these new reactors, and they didn’t seem to care that much about the rules — they wanted to carry out the wishes of the White House,” the official said. At one point, Cohen began passing out hats from nuclear energy startup Valar Atomics, one of the companies vying to build a new reactor, according to sources familiar with the matter and records seen by ProPublica. NRC staffers balked; they were supposed to monitor companies like Valar for safety violations, not wear its swag. NRC ethics officials warned Cohen that the hat handout was a likely violation of conflict rules. It betrayed a misunderstanding of the safety regulator’s role, said a former official familiar with the exchange. “Imagine you live near a nuclear power plant, and you find out a supposedly independent safety regulator — the watchdog — is going around wearing the power plant’s branded hats,” the official said. “Would that make you feel safe?” The NRC and Cohen did not respond to requests for comment about the hat incident. Valar counts Trump’s Silicon Valley allies as angel investors. They include Palmer Luckey, a technology executive and founder of the defense contractor Anduril, and Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer of Palantir, the software company helping power Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation raids. It was among three nuclear reactor companies that sued the NRC last year in an attempt to strip it of its authority to regulate its reactors and replace it with a state-level regulator. Before the Trump administration came into office, lawyers watching the case were confident the courts would quickly dismiss the suit, as the NRC’s authority to regulate reactors is widely acknowledged. But new Trump appointees pushed for a compromise settlement — which is still being negotiated. The career NRC lawyer working on the case quietly left the agency. Valar and its executives did not reply to requests for comment. “Going So Fast” The deregulatory push is the culmination of mounting pressure — both political and economic — to make it easier to build nuclear power in the U.S. Over the years, a bipartisan coalition supporting nuclear expansion brought together environmentalists who favor zero-carbon power and defense hawks focused on abundant domestic energy production. Anti-nuclear activists still argue that renewable energy like wind and solar are safer and more economical. But streamlining the NRC has been a bipartisan priority as well. The latest major reform came in 2024, when President Joe Biden signed into law the ADVANCE Act, which went as far as changing the mission statement of the NRC to ensure it “does not unnecessarily limit” nuclear energy development. Some nuclear power supporters say the Trump administration is merely accelerating these changes. They cite instances in which the current regulations appear out of sync with the times. The NRC’s byzantine rules are designed for so-called large light-water reactors — massive facilities that can power entire cities — and not the increasingly in vogue smaller advanced reactor designs popular among Silicon Valley-backed firms. Rules that require fences of certain heights might make little sense for new reactors buried in the earth; and rules that require a certain number of operators per reactor could be a bad fit for a cluster of smaller reactors with modern controls. Advances in sensors, modeling and safety technologies, they say, should be taken into account across the board. The NRC has said it expects over two dozen new license requests from small modular and advanced reactor companies in coming years. Many of those requests are likely to come from new, Silicon Valley-based nuclear firms. “There was a missing link in the innovation cycle, and it was very difficult to build something and test it in the U.S. because of mostly licensing and site availability constraints in the past,” said Adam Stein of the pro-nuclear nonprofit Breakthrough Institute. The regulatory changes are in flux: This spring, the NRC is starting to release thousands of pages of new rules governing everything from the safety and emergency preparedness plans reactor companies are required to submit to the procedures for objecting to a reactor license. “It’s hard to know if they are getting rid of unnecessary processes or if it’s actually reducing public safety,” said one official working on reactor licensing, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the Trump administration. “And that’s just the problem with going so fast — everything just kind of gets lost in a mush.” Lawyers from the Executive Office of the President have been sent to the NRC to keep an eye on the new rules, a move that further raised alarms about the agency’s independence. Nicholas Gallagher — a relatively recent New York University law school graduate and conservative writer whom ProPublica previously identified as a DOGE operative at the General Services Administration — has been involved in conversations about overhauling environmental rules. He’s working alongside Sydney Volanski, a 30-year-old recent law school graduate who rose to national attention while she was in high school for her campaign against the Girl Scouts of America, which she accused of promoting “Marxists, socialists and advocates of same-sex lifestyle.” NRC lawyers working on the rules were told last October that Gallagher and Volanski would be joining them, and they both appear on the regular NRC rulemaking calendar invite. The White House maintains, however, that “zero lawyers from the Executive Office of the President have been dispatched to work on rulemaking.” Neither Gallagher nor Volanski replied to requests for comment. The administration is routing the new rules through an office overseen by Trump’s cost-cutting guru Russell Vought, a move that was previously unheard of for an independent regulator like the NRC. The White House spokesperson noted that, under a recent executive order, this process is now required for all agencies. Political operatives have been “inserted into the senior leadership team to the point where they could significantly influence decision-making,” said Scott Morris, who worked at the NRC for more than 32 years, most recently as the No. 2 career operations official. “I just think that would be a dangerous proposition.” Morris voted for Trump twice and broadly supports the goals of deregulating and expanding nuclear energy, but he has begun speaking out against the administration’s interference at the NRC. He retired in May 2025 as part of a wave of retirements and firings. At a recent hearing before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board — an independent body that helps adjudicate nuclear licensing — NRC lawyers withdrew from the proceedings, citing “limited resources.” The judge remarked that it was the first time in over 20 years the NRC had done so. Meanwhile, some staff members, other career officials say, are afraid to voice dissenting views for fear of being fired. “It feels like being a lobster in a slowly boiling pot,” one NRC official who has been working on the rule changes told ProPublica, describing the erosion of independence. The official was one of three who compared their recent experience at NRC to being in a pot of slowly boiling water. “If somebody is raising something that they think that the industry or the White House would have a problem with, they think twice,” the official said. Inside the NRC, the steering committee overseeing the changes includes Cohen, Taggart and Mike King, a career NRC official who is the newly installed executive director for operations. The former director, Mirela Gavrilas, a 21-year veteran of the agency, retired after getting boxed out of decision-making, according to a person familiar with her departure. Gavrilas did not respond to a request for comment. Any final changes will be approved by the NRC’s five commissioners, three of whom are Republicans. In September, the two Democratic commissioners told a Senate committee they might be fired at any time if they get crosswise with Trump — including over revisions to safety rules. Draft rules being circulated inside the NRC propose drastic rollbacks of security and safety inspections at nuclear facilities. Those include a proposed 56% cut in emergency preparedness inspection time, CNN reported in March. Even some pro-nuclear groups are troubled by the emerging order. Some have tried to backchannel to their contacts in the Trump administration to explain the importance of an independent regulator to help maintain public support for nuclear power. Without it, they risk losing credibility. “You have to make sure you don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater,” said Judi Greenwald, president and CEO of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, a nonprofit that promotes nuclear energy and supports many of the regulatory changes being proposed by the Trump administration. Greenwald’s group favors faster timelines for approving nuclear reactors, but she worries that the agency’s fundamental independence has been undermined. “We would prefer that they yield back more of NRC independence,” she said. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="501" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=752" alt="An industrial room filled with pipes and large structures." class="wp-image-70448" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 3000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/h_16130484_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> The Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, is the largest nuclear power station in the U.S. Kendrick Brinson/The New York Times/Redux “Nuke Bros” in Silicon Valley One Trump administration priority has been making it easier for so-called advanced reactor companies to navigate the regulatory process. These firms, mostly backed by Silicon Valley tech and venture money, are often working on designs for much smaller reactors that they hope to mass produce in factories. “There are two nuclear industries,” said Macfarlane, the former NRC chair. “There are the actual people who use nuclear reactors to produce power and put it on the grid … and then there are the ‘nuke bros’” in Silicon Valley. Trump’s Silicon Valley allies have loomed large over his nuclear policy. One prospective political appointee for a top DOE nuclear job got a Christmas Eve call from Thiel, the rare Silicon Valley leader to back Trump in 2016. Thiel, whose Founders Fund invested in a nuclear fuel startup and an advanced reactor company, quizzed the would-be official about deregulation and how to rapidly build more nuclear energy capacity, said sources familiar with the conversation. Nuclear energy startups jockeyed to spend time at Mar-a-Lago in the months before the start of Trump’s second term. Balerion Space Ventures, a venture capital firm that has invested in multiple companies, convened an investor summit there in January 2025, according to an invitation viewed by ProPublica. Balerion did not reply to a request for comment. A few months later, when Trump was drawing up the executive orders, leaders at many of those nuclear companies were given advanced access to drafts of the text — and the opportunity to provide suggested edits, documents viewed by ProPublica show. Those orders created a new program to test out experimental reactor designs, addressing a common complaint that companies are not given opportunities to experiment. There are currently about a dozen advanced reactor companies planning to participate. Each has a concierge team within the DOE to help navigate bureaucracy. As NPR reported in January, the DOE quietly overhauled a series of safety rules that would apply to these new reactors and shared the new regulations with these companies before making them public. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright — who served on the board of one of those companies, Oklo — has said fast nuclear build-out is a priority: “We are moving as quickly as we can to permit, build and enable the rapid construction of as much nuke capacity as possible,” he told CNBC last fall. Oklo noted that Wright stepped down from the board when he was confirmed. The Trump administration hopes some of the companies would have their reactors “go critical” — a key first step on the way to building a functioning power plant — by July 2026. Then the NRC, which signs off on the safety designs of commercial nuclear power plants, could be expected to quickly OK these new reactors to get to market. According to people familiar with the conversations, at least one nuclear energy startup CEO personally recruited potential members of the DOGE nuclear team, though it’s not clear if Cohen was brought aboard this way. Cohen has told colleagues and industry contacts that he reports to Emily Underwood, one of Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s top aides for economic policy. He is perceived inside government as a key avatar of the White House’s nuclear agenda. In its email to ProPublica, the White House said, “Seth Cohen is a Department of Energy employee and does not report to Emily Underwood or Stephen Miller in any capacity.” The DOE spokesperson added, “Seth’s role at the Department of Energy is to support the Trump administration’s mission to unleash American Energy Dominance.” Cohen has been pushing to raise the legal limit of radiation that nuclear energy companies are allowed to emit from their facilities. One nuclear industry insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said many firms are fixating on changing these radiation rules: Their business model requires moving nuclear reactors around the country, often near workers or the general public. Building thick, expensive shielding walls can be prohibitively expensive, they said. Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor has called limits on exposure to radiation a top barrier to industry growth. A recent DOE memo seen by ProPublica cites cost savings on shielding for Valar’s reactor to justify changing those limits. “Shielding-related cost reductions,” the memo said, “could range from $1-2 million per reactor.” The debate over the precise rule change is ongoing. The DOE has been considering a fivefold increase to the limit for public exposure to radiation, which will allow some nuclear reactor companies to cut costs on these expensive safety shields, internal DOE documents seen by ProPublica show. A presentation prepared by DOE staffers in their Idaho offices that has circulated inside the department makes the “business case” for changing the radiation dose rules: It could cut the cost of some new reactors by as much as 5%. These more relaxed standards are likely to be adopted by the NRC and apply to reactors nationwide, documents show. In February, Wright accompanied Valar’s executive team on a first-of-its-kind flight, as a U.S. military plane was conscripted to fly the company’s reactor from Los Angeles to Utah. Valar does not yet have a working nuclear reactor, and a number of industry sources told ProPublica they viewed the airlift as a PR exercise. Internal government memos justified the airlift by designating it as “critical” to the U.S. “national security interests.” Cohen posted smiling pictures of himself from the cargo bay of the military plane. Cohen told an audience at the American Nuclear Society that the rapid build-out was essential to powering Silicon Valley’s AI data centers. He framed the policy in existential terms: “I can’t emphasize this strongly enough that losing the AI war is an outcome akin to the Nazis developing the bomb before the United States.” As it deliberated rule changes, the DOE has cut out its internal team of health experts who work on radiation safety at the Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security, said sources familiar with the decision. The advice of outside experts on radiation protection has been largely cast aside. The DOE spokesperson said its radiation standards “are aligned with Gold Standard Science … with a focus on protecting people and the environment while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.” The department has already decided to abandon the long-standing radiation protection principle known as “ALARA” — the “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” standard — which directs anyone dealing with radioactive materials to minimize exposure. It often pushes exposure well below legal thresholds. Many experts agreed that the ALARA principle was sometimes applied too strictly, but the move to entirely throw it out was opposed by many prominent radiation health experts. Whether the agencies will actually change the legal thresholds for radiation exposure is an open question, said sources familiar with the deliberations. Internal DOE documents arguing for changing dose rules cite a report produced at the Idaho National Laboratory, which was compiled with the help of the AI assistant Claude. “It’s really strange,” said Kathryn Higley, president of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a congressionally chartered group studying radiation safety. “They fundamentally mistake the science.” John Wagner, the head of the Idaho National Laboratory and the report’s lead author, acknowledged to ProPublica that the science over changing radiation exposure rules is hotly contested. “We recognize that respected experts interpret aspects of this literature differently,” he wrote. His analysis was not meant to be the final word, he said, but was “intended to inform debate.” The impact of radiation levels at very low doses is hard to measure, so the U.S. has historically struck a cautious note. Raising dose limits could put the U.S. out of step with international standards. For his part, Cohen has told the nuclear industry that he sees his job as making sure the government “is no longer a barrier” to them. In June, he shot down the notion of companies putting money into a fund for workplace accidents. “Put yourself in the shoes of one of these startups,” he said. “They’re raising hundreds of millions of dollars to do this. And then they would have to go to their VCs and their board and say, listen, guys, we actually need a few hundred million dollars more to put into a trust fund?” He also suggested that regulators should not fret about preparing for so-called 100-year events — disasters that have roughly a 1% chance of taking place but can be catastrophic for nuclear facilities. “When SpaceX started building rockets, they sort of expected the first ones to blow up,” he said. The post DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power Regulator appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Avi Asher-Schapiro.
As Trump Demands Voter Data, This Fiercely Independent Red State Says No
The post As Trump Demands Voter Data, This Fiercely Independent Red State Says No appeared first on ProPublica.
States were on notice from the U.S. Department of Justice that if they didn’t fall in line, the federal government would force them into compliance. It wasn’t President Donald Trump’s administration applying pressure. It was the early 1990s, and President Bill Clinton had signed the “motor voter” law requiring states to offer voter registration when someone applies for a driver’s license. Idaho, with its fiercely independent streak, didn’t want to participate. So instead of going along with the federal government’s new National Voter Registration Act, state legislators followed the recommendation of Idaho’s top election officials and scrambled for a way out. Because the federal voter law said states with same-day voter registration could be exempt, Idaho lawmakers passed a bill almost unanimously, with full support from Republicans, to adopt same-day registration. Idaho’s chief deputy secretary of state at the time, Ben Ysursa, described the move as an almost existential response to “an insidious federal intrusion into state election procedures.” The Clinton Justice Department eventually sued three states for not complying with its demands. By then, Idaho’s had a shield against litigation due to its exemption. Three decades later, the exemption and the philosophy that led to it are at the heart of Idaho’s refusal to comply with a very different demand by the Trump Justice Department. The state’s top election official cites the exemption as one reason he will not sign a deal to give the Trump administration all the voter data his office holds, including sensitive personal information like partial Social Security and driver’s license numbers. Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane is one of about a dozen Republicans nationally to resist the administration’s efforts to gather sensitive voter data ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, in the face of litigation threats from the Justice Department. In a state that Trump won in 2024 by one of the largest margins in the country, an effort that the administration touts as essential to weeding out noncitizen voters has tested the limits of what a committed Trump stronghold will tolerate when it comes to privacy and federal power. Lists of voter addresses and party affiliations are often available to the public through an open records request. McGrane provided the government with this version. But state election administrators also keep more sensitive information such as a person’s exact date of birth and partial Social Security number. In Idaho, the law says this information can’t be given out — and that’s what the Trump administration is still after. Among the other five states exempt from the law, three have refused to give up their voters’ sensitive information and have since been sued by the Justice Department. Wyoming handed over its data without a lawsuit. Other states that are not exempt have also been sued. McGrane, who is an attorney, told the Justice Department in letters that he doesn’t see any legal reason why he should honor the government’s request — and that, given the administration’s recent admissions over its handling of sensitive data, he couldn’t be sure the department would keep it safe, which is his duty under state law. The trimmed-down version of voter info he’d already handed over should be enough for “any legitimate inquiry” by the government into how effectively Idaho maintains its voter lists, McCrane wrote. Through a spokesperson, McGrane declined an interview request from ProPublica, citing the possibility of an impending lawsuit from the Justice Department. A spokesperson for the Justice Department also declined to comment. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="501" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?w=752" alt="A smiling bald man wearing glasses, a suit and an “I voted” sticker looks off camera in front of an abstract background of blurred lights." class="wp-image-70880" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg 5472w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AP22313201609233.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Idaho’s Republican secretary of state, Phil McGrane, is one of about a dozen Republicans nationally to resist the administration’s efforts to gather sensitive voter data ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Kyle Green/AP Photo A Justice Department attorney threatened to sue Idaho in December, in a halting voicemail with McGrane’s office that was obtained by ProPublica and previously reported on by the Idaho Capital Sun. “I need to get some clarification as to what you’re going to be doing. Or not doing. So, again, I need a response from you,” the lawyer says in the recording. “You may have seen in the news that we have sued six states earlier this week for refusing to provide their voter registration lists, and we’re preparing additional lawsuits.” The lawyer then tells the secretary of state’s office he would “like to keep everyone out of that as possible — as much as possible, but I haven’t heard anything back from you.” Ysursa, who served three terms as secretary of state until 2015, said McGrane is “in a much more politically volatile situation than I ever was.” “Going against Trump in Idaho on certain things, that’s a fine line,” Ysursa said. “And I think he’s doing a good job. He’s doing the right thing.” Public policy surveys in Idaho conducted since the 1990s have surfaced a current of “distrust or wariness towards federal control or national control,” said Matthew May, survey research director at the Boise State University School of Public Service. The polling over time has revealed Idahoans’ strong belief in independence, May said. In the months since McGrane’s refusal, more than 130 constituents have called, emailed and sent handwritten cards and letters to his office. Of those, just one person said they wanted McGrane to provide information to the Trump administration. The others were supportive, appreciative or, in some cases, seemingly panicked by the prospect of their private information being released. Although the senders skewed more Democratic than Idaho’s electorate, just over half the messages came from Republicans and unaffiliated voters, based on a review of voter registration data for commenters who left their names. “Mr McGrane has done a masterful job of dancing around the US Justice Dept request for the full voter records of Idaho voters,” wrote one registered Republican. “When the dancing no longer works, I expect Mr McGrane to give them a big fat NO! “Voting is our one sacred right in this country,” the person continued. “DOJ has no legitimate business receiving our PRIVATE voter information. They may threaten to sue, but so will the voters of Idaho if you grant their request. Do not give them our personal voter information. Thank you.” Ysursa told ProPublica that he has urged McGrane to “hold the line,” even amid threats of repercussions. Ysursa is one of nine former secretaries of state who filed an amicus brief in federal court, arguing against the administration’s demands for full voter information. The Trump administration’s creep toward nationalizing elections runs counter to the ethos of “keep your federal hands off Idaho,” Ysursa said. McGrane is a self-described election nerd who worked his way up through elections offices, as opposed to cultivating a resume as a professional politician. He served as a county elections chief and gained a reputation for approaching voting day with a Super Bowl level of enthusiasm. He also became known for his ability to resist the political winds. McGrane was one of seven people featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2022 as “the defenders” of America’s elections. That year, McGrane was the only Idaho Republican candidate for secretary of state who did not back the false claim that fraud was responsible for Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. In perhaps the strongest sign that Trump’s base in Idaho has not been inflamed by McGrane’s pushback on the administration’s demand for voter rolls — which received plenty of media attention locally — he drew no challenger by last month’s deadline to enter the Idaho Republican primary for his position. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" js-autosizes height="564" width="752" src="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?w=752" alt="A pile of handwritten cards. A post-it note reads: “I’m a Republican, and you restored my hope. Excellent job…developing and protecting Id. elections.” Another card reads: “Mr. McGrane: I am an Idaho Voter and I want to thank you for NOT sharing our voter information with the DOJ. And keeping our information Safe, as it should be. Bravo!”" class="wp-image-70881" srcset="https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg 4032w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=863,647 863w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=422,317 422w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=552,414 552w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=558,419 558w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=527,395 527w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=752,564 752w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=1149,862 1149w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=2000,1500 2000w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=800,600 800w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=1200,900 1200w, https://www.propublica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PXL_20260306_211201535.jpg?resize=1600,1200 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /> Voters across Idaho have sent McGrane thank-you notes for not sharing their data. Audrey Dutton/ProPublica While the Constitution gives states the authority to run elections, the National Voter Registration Act gives the federal government an oversight role when it comes to ensuring voter lists are properly maintained. The law says election officials must make a “reasonable effort” to keep ineligible voters off of the rolls, and typical oversight comes in the form of lawsuits claiming that states aren’t doing a good enough job. Under Trump, the Justice Department has gone a step further. The department claims it has the right to seize states’ unredacted voter rolls without proving its case in court, citing in lawsuits the powers that agency officials say they have under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act. The Justice Department has privately told states more about its intentions, according to emails obtained by ProPublica through public records requests. In Montana, a federal lawyer told the secretary of state’s legal counsel that the department was requesting voter rolls to “facilitate a review for noncitizens and dead voters,” adding that federal officials would be able to assess whether there are duplicate registrations as well. The demands come as part of the Trump administration’s focus on hunting down noncitizens on the voter rolls, a long-standing preoccupation for the president. He has long claimed, without evidence, that noncitizens have infiltrated the rolls to influence elections. Three judges who have considered the government’s lawsuits fully so far have dismissed them, saying that the federal laws the Trump administration cites as the basis for its demands do not apply — especially not where voters’ private information is concerned. In Oregon, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai wrote that the Justice Department’s claims were “troubling,” representing federal overreach. In California, U.S. District Judge David Carter said the centralization of the information would have a chilling effect on voter registration, leading to decreased turnout as people worry their data could be used for an “inappropriate or unlawful purpose.” “This risk threatens the right to vote which is the cornerstone of American democracy,” Carter wrote. In Michigan, U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou echoed that interpretation, writing that “the risk of having one’s personal information misused will deter people from registering to vote.” The Justice Department has appealed all of the courts’ decisions. Leaders in Republican-led states that have held back their voter rolls, meanwhile, have taken pains to show they are making other efforts to keep noncitizens from voting. Idaho started looking for evidence of problems well before the Trump administration’s request. McGrane said in a letter to the Justice Department that his office worked with federal agencies to check the citizenship status of all registered Idaho voters in the lead-up to the 2024 general election. Given what Idaho has already done and the processes already in place, the federal government has “no legal or practical rationale for duplicative review,” McGrane wrote. The tools Idaho employed, he said, included a Department of Homeland Security program known as the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. Idaho’s search found 11 cases of noncitizens registered to vote — none of whom actually cast votes in 2024 — and state police referred those cases to the Justice Department’s chief prosecutor in Idaho for review. McGrane told the Justice Department that he hadn’t heard anything about those cases since. The post As Trump Demands Voter Data, This Fiercely Independent Red State Says No appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Audrey Dutton.
More than 1 million people across Lebanon displaced following Israeli military’s evacuation orders
She Was in Labor at a Florida Hospital. Then She Was in Zoom Court for Refusing a C-Section.
The post She Was in Labor at a Florida Hospital. Then She Was in Zoom Court for Refusing a C-Section. appeared first on ProPublica.
It’s difficult to put yourself in the place of Cherise Doyley, a pregnant mother of three who found herself facing a judge while in labor at the University of Florida Health hospital in downtown Jacksonville. She had arrived at the facility with a plan for her birth. She wanted to try for a vaginal delivery, but she understood from years of experience as a professional birthing doula that things don’t always go as planned. She arrived overnight at the hospital after her water broke. Doctors told her they were concerned about the risk of uterine rupture, a potentially deadly complication for her and her baby. She understood the risk to be less than 2% and repeatedly told doctors she wouldn’t consent to a cesarean without trying to have a vaginal delivery first. The doctors appeared to relent, leaving her to labor for several more hours. Then a nursing supervisor wheeled a tablet up to her bed and informed her she was in court. The reason? Failing to agree to a C-section. Read More They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth. When advocates for pregnant women say that you shouldn’t lose your constitutional rights just because you conceived, this is the kind of situation they’re talking about. I’m a reporter based in Alabama, and throughout my career, I’ve focused on women facing the consequences of the state’s fetal personhood policy. That’s the idea that fetuses should have the same legal status as children. My investigation shows how a similar theory played into the cases of two women: Cherise Doyley and Brianna Bennett, who experienced eerily similar situations in Florida. In both cases, they found themselves fighting for their rights to make medical decisions because they were pregnant. I obtained a video recording of Doyley’s court hearing. Watching her argue her case from her hospital bed shocked me. Even though courts have found time and time again that you can’t force someone to undergo medical treatment — even if it could save someone else’s life — the video underscored for me how pregnant women are the rare exception. In several states, judges have ruled pregnant patients can be forced to receive blood transfusions or remain on bed rest if it is in the best interest of the fetus. In Doyley’s case, a court would force her to undergo surgery. ProPublica has already investigated how abortion restrictions can lead to pregnant women being denied lifesaving care. Experts worry that the opposite problem, forced treatment, could also become more common in states like Florida that have fetal personhood policies. Doyley signed a waiver allowing the hospital to discuss her case with ProPublica, but a spokesperson for University of Florida Health in Jacksonville would not comment, citing patient privacy. By sharing and examining Doyley’s case with her consent, we aim to show you what forced medical treatment can look like. And, while we encourage you to read the full investigation, we wanted to offer you a look inside the Zoom court hearing so you can see for yourself what happened. The Hearing Convenes Nurses wheel in a tablet for a virtual hearing, and Cherise Doyley realizes she is facing a court hearing about her birth choices. Obtained by ProPublica You can see the confusion on Doyley’s face as she realizes she’s being taken to court over her medical decisions. She asked for a lawyer, or at least a patient advocate. Florida courts don’t require lawyers for pregnant women in hearings about their medical decisions and the hospital didn’t provide an advocate, so Doyley had to go it alone. Judge Michael Kalil was on the call in his black robe and explained how the hearing would work. Doyley, a Black woman, was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to IVs and monitors and covered by a sheet. She was surrounded on the screen by nearly a dozen doctors and lawyers, most of them white, who offered a lot of testimony about what could happen to Doyley’s baby if she continued to refuse a C-section. The Judge Explains the Proceedings Judge Michael Kalil explains that the state attorney’s office, at the request of the hospital, has asked him to grant an order for an emergency C-section. Obtained by ProPublica Dr. Erin Burnett said during the hearing that she did not think Doyley could successfully give birth vaginally. A long labor could increase the risk of uterine rupture, which could kill Doyley and the child, she said. Dr. John Davis, the chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department, said in the hearing the hospital had been recognized for its low C-section rate and did not perform unnecessary surgeries. Doyley’s condition required intervention, he said. “Everybody was very concerned about the baby’s welfare,” Jenny Van Ravestein, director of women’s services at the hospital, said during the hearing. Burnett and Davis did not respond to requests for comment, and the hospital declined ProPublica’s requests to interview them and others involved in Doyley’s care. The research on the risks of uterine rupture after prior C-sections is unclear. Studies have found that 0.15% to 2.3% of these labors resulted in a rupture, depending on a number of factors such as body mass, a history of successful vaginal births and whether the labor began spontaneously or had to be induced. Either number felt pretty low to Doyley. What the testimony doesn’t include, though, is much about the downsides Doyley faced from having another C-section, which could entail a long recovery, infection and other complications, along with the risk of death. But she couldn’t explain her reasoning until the judge decided to unmute her. Doyley Testifies When Doyley is unmuted, she testifies that a C-section could put her life in danger. Obtained by ProPublica Doyley had her reasons to want to avoid major abdominal surgery: She had difficult recoveries from her previous C-sections. A hemorrhage after a prior C-section had sent her back to the hospital for almost a week. She worried that she wouldn’t be able to care for her children if she was struggling with recovery from the surgery itself and potentially also with complications. And she was concerned that if she were to die, her children could fall into the foster care system. Doyley said she didn’t see surgery as a low-risk option. She wondered aloud in the hearing if her other children’s lives — and her own — mattered to the hospital and doctors. Kimberly Mutcherson, a law professor at Rutgers University, said that women who want to opt for care that seems risky to doctors often face accusations of not caring about their babies. “You’re somebody who is a bad mother, right?” Mutcherson said. “Which is a huge part of what the thought process is here. This is not what mothers do. Mothers sacrifice, including allowing somebody to cut you open.” Obstetricians care for two interconnected patients — the mother and her fetus. Sometimes their needs conflict. When that happens, the ethical guidelines for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say the doctor should prioritize the well-being of the mother. However, these cases show that doctors sometimes elevate the welfare of the fetus over the mother, said Elizabeth Kukura, a law professor at Drexel University. “It reflects a deep understanding of women as the incubators,” Kukura said. “Women in their role as childbearers.” The hearing dragged on for more than two hours. At one point, Doyley asked for a transfer to another hospital because she did not want anyone involved in the hearing to operate on her if she needed a C-section. Hospital officials said that wasn’t likely to happen since another hospital would have to accept her as a patient first. Doyley agreed to stay at University of Florida Health but asked if the hospital could assign a Black nurse or doctor to her care. She wondered aloud in the hearing what would happen in the morning, after the 6 a.m. deadline imposed by the court had passed. “They’re going to tie me up and go give me a C-section against my will?” A Deadline Is Set Doyley says she doesn’t like her care being determined by nurses and doctors, most of whom were white, who have been involved in her court hearing. Obtained by ProPublica The judge did not order an immediate C-section, but he said the hospital could perform one in an emergency without her consent. Doyley later said she did her best to maintain her poise and composure. And at the end, she even thanked the judge and highlighted how absurd the whole thing felt to her. “I appreciate you spending two hours on a Sunday going through my medical history and fighting for my vagina and my baby,” she said. The Judge Rules Doyley thanks the judge at the end of the hearing, trying to keep her composure. Obtained by ProPublica Overnight, doctors said the baby’s heart rate dropped for several minutes. They rushed Doyley into surgery, and she, once again, gave birth via C-section. The next morning at 8 a.m., nurses again put Doyley in front of a tablet for a final hearing. Doyley said the baby was born at 2 a.m., and she still hadn’t been taken to the neonatal intensive care unit to see her daughter. “Tell them I don’t want to be on,” she said. “Y’all can have your own meeting. I want to see my child.” Once Kalil heard the baby had been born, he wished Doyley well and closed the case. The Case Is Closed Hours after her C-section delivery, Doyley finds herself back in a hearing before she even gets to see her baby. Obtained by ProPublica In response to questions from ProPublica, Kalil wrote in an email that the judicial code of conduct prohibits judges from commenting on cases. “These ethical standards exist to protect the integrity of the judicial process, ensure fairness to all parties, and preserve the Court’s neutrality,” he wrote. For a year, Doyley and her family tried to forget about the case and move on. But she couldn’t shake the feeling of violation. She said if the hospital could force her to undergo surgery, it could happen to anyone. “When we use the courts to basically strong-arm, bully someone into an unnecessary medical procedure against their will, it’s akin to torture, in my eyes,” Doyley said. The post She Was in Labor at a Florida Hospital. Then She Was in Zoom Court for Refusing a C-Section. appeared first on ProPublica. This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by Amy Yurkanin.
The growing allure — and danger — of glacier tourism.
Upstairs, right outside my toddler’s room, hangs this striking, blue-blue print of an Icelandic glacier ice cave: the Crystal Ice Cave, circa 2015, long since vanished. My friend Þorri took the image and gifted it to me during one of my many stays over the last 20 years. My son visits the print often. When he was about a year-and-a-half, he pointed to it and confirmed, “blue.” Add two more years and the name of the glacier, “Breiðamerkurjökull,” rolls off his tongue. Lately, just like he asks about my husband and me and our cats and the mailbox and the couch, he asks about the glacier in the picture. How is Breiðamerkurjökull feeling today? Sad? Hungry? Happy? OK? This gets fraught quickly. I’m a writer and a glacier scientist — I’ve spent the bulk of my career working on, in, and around this particular glacier system, trying to understand what is happening to it, how people and communities respond to its changes, and how the future of this glacier impacts humanity worldwide. And Breiðamerkurjökull — this huge sweep of snow and ice some 8.5 miles wide and 28 miles long, Iceland’s third-largest glacier — is decidedly not OK. Between 1982 and 2020, nearly 3 miles of this glacier’s physical body dissolved away into the sea. This current rate of melt is rapid and unnatural, and as it accelerates, more tubes and tunnels form within the glacier body, what we call moulins in glaciology but everyone else calls “ice caves.” So now I stand frozen in my upstairs hallway, looking at the long-dissolved ice cave and trying to answer the impatient tap-tap of my son’s foot. I don’t want, in this moment before snack and Bluey and playground, to ruin his day and mine. To tell him about accelerating melt, about glacier loss, about climate change. And so I just nod. I tell him Breiðamerkurjökull is feeling OK. And then he’s off, running down the stairs, shout-singing, and I’m sagging in the doorframe. My wee son is far from the only person to be captivated by ice caves. They’re among the most stunning, otherworldly, transcendent places on Earth. People worldwide are drawn to experiencing them, a quest paradoxically made more possible and more perilous by climate change. This desire for ice caves is part of a much larger phenomenon known as “last-chance tourism”: that impulse many people have to see — and consume — fragile environments before they irrevocably transform in our lifetimes. Unsurprisingly, an entire industry has emerged to monetize this desire. ‘To some, entering a passageway into a glacier is absurd and dangerous. To others, it’s a fast lane to adventure and awe — or even wealth.’ But venturing onto, or into, today’s climate change-shaped glaciers carries very real dangers. Those dangers became fatal in 2024, when an ice cave on Breiðamerkurjökull collapsed. Scores of Icelandic first responders and park service rangers and tourists were traumatized. A young pregnant woman was hospitalized in critical condition. And a 30-year-old American man, who just wanted to see that blue-blue, was killed. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024 1024w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A woman stands beneath a bubbly cave wall of crystal blue ice, looking up" data-caption="Dr. M Jackson stands inside the Sapphire Ice Cave on the east side of Breiðamerkurjökull in September 2021. Now, all that remains is dead ice underneath the mountain, partly covered and preserved by screes. " data-credit="Þorvarður Árnason"/> Dr. M Jackson stands inside the Sapphire Ice Cave on the east side of Breiðamerkurjökull in September 2021. Now, all that remains is dead ice underneath the mountain, partly covered and preserved by screes. Þorvarður Árnason It was late summer in Iceland, August 2024, and I was on assignment with National Geographic. For over a decade, I’ve worked as a National Geographic expert, traveling across all seven continents to translate environmental science for diverse audiences. At the time, I was traveling with a group in the north, near the famed fishing village of Siglufjörður, and was about to tuck into my fourth latte of the afternoon when the text messages came flooding in. It was a friend in Reykjavik: “Did you see the ice cave accident?” Another ping, from a colleague in Akureyri: “M, are you OK?” ‘A boom rang out. A crack.’ Iceland, at its heart, is a small community on a big, chilly volcanic island. People generally know one another and it’s a safe place, which explains why, even though I was in the north, my phone was pinging like hail on a tin roof. Every Icelandic person standing near me in the coffee shop stood still as well, glued to their phones, absorbing and sharing the shocking news coming from the south. “Are you OK?” I echoed as I began texting my many glacier industry friends. “Yes,” said one. “It’s on the west side where we are not operating.” “Yes,” said another. “I don’t work ice caves in the summer.” My Reykjavik friend messaged: “All rescue available on the way.” I exchanged more messages, sharing the names of those I knew who were safe: Einar, Haukur, Step, Helgi, Laufey, Óskar, Helga. “The cave in Breiðamerkurjökull caved in. With people in it.” “Helicopter pilot says 25 people on the tour.” “The ice wall fell over four people.” “I have heard one dead and some injured and some still stuck inside the moulin/ice cave.” “Fuck.” For the uninitiated, ice caves are almost impossible to believe until you’re standing in one. They are the bluest of blues, Neptune’s seeping heart. Imagine a frozen sea holding all possible luminous blue that upon closer inspection vanishes to clear. Over the years, I’ve seen people weep in awe. Laugh joyously. Become mute, contemplative. Verbose in wonder. All happy to be in an ice cave. I taught my toddler what a glacier was by reading aloud from the children’s book, Angela’s Glacier, and by the time he could talk, he could recite that a glacier is a moving body of land ice and snow that persists year after year. Ice caves are part of that “moving body of land ice” definition — but they rarely persist beyond a year or two. The ice cave I have a picture of in my hallway and the Blue Flame ice cave that collapsed in 2024 have both melted away. Glaciers constantly change — they move, grow, oscillate, melt. And in summer, when the bare hide of the glacier body is exposed to the atmosphere — think here, when the ice is not furred with protective winter snow — surface ice undergoes phase change, transforming to water vapor or meltwater. The meltwater flows with gravity until it hits an area of ice weakness — a fracture, bend, low point, or crack. And the water then works the weakness until it bores a tunnel into the ice. Somewhat ominously, my go-to glacier text defines an ice cave as any large cavity formed by meltwater beneath a glacier, and takes pains to note in the four-sentence definition that “roof collapse is common.” To some, entering a passageway into a glacier is absurd and dangerous. To others, it’s a fast lane to adventure and awe — or even wealth. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="a group of tourists in coats and helmets stand inside a cave, beneath an impressive shiny blue and silver wall of ice" data-caption="A group of tourists in October 2015, one of the last years when it was possible to enter the Waterfall Ice Cave. This cave has now melted away. " data-credit="Þorvarður Árnason"/> A group of tourists in October 2015, one of the last years when it was possible to enter the Waterfall Ice Cave. This cave has now melted away. Þorvarður Árnason It can be overwhelming to attempt to make sense of the ice cave industry in Iceland — a gyre of local companies and bigger Reykjavik companies and third parties and the park service and response services and families and personal relationships and grudges and unpaid debts and alliances old and new. Together, they form a dense, volatile network plagued by conspiracy theories, videos of guides attacking one another, tales of infidelity and financial irregularities, burnout and high turnover and clashing views of safety and other priorities that make as little sense to an outsider as it does to locals. Not exactly what is marketed to the millions of tourists who travel to Iceland annually to see the glaciers and ice caves. How the industry is now is not how it started. When I first came to Iceland’s south coast in the early 2000s, tourism was just a small industry. In the summer, you could take a glacier walk with a bustling group of five or ride an empty tractor out to see puffins. Winter tourism didn’t really exist. The intrepid, well-heeled few could hire a respected local alpinist, Einar Rúnar Sigurðsson, to guide them up Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland’s tallest peak. He also occasionally took photographers into winter glacier features like moulins or crevasses. But in 2010, two things redrew the maps entirely. First, the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted, halting European air travel for six days and beaming images of Iceland’s stunning countryside into billions of homes worldwide. Tourists saw accessible waterfalls, moss, black sand beaches, and blue-white glaciers. Then second, Instagram launched, and a whole new breed of iPhone-trotting tourists was born. Tourism to Iceland exploded. By 2024, nearly 2.3 million visitors arrived into a country of nearly 400,000, outnumbering Icelanders 6 to 1. Imagine: Millions of people flying, ferrying, and cruising to the island, renting hotels and cars and guides, eating and drinking, buying hand-knitted wool sweaters, and contributing to a tourism economy valued in 2024 alone around $3 billion. The glacier Breiðamerkurjökull emerged as the epicenter of glacier tourism, mainly due to the quasi-man-made lagoon at its terminus called Jökulsárlón — a proglacial lake chock-full of freshly calved and photogenic icebergs that crowd up on an exit to the sea that happens to be right along the main road. “In 2024, we had 1 million people visit Jökulsárlón,” a park service ranger told me. “We had 1 million people, and 11 toilets.” Fueled by this crush of visitors and seemingly boundless profit, the ice cave industry has completely changed. Ice cave companies once operated during a conservative four- to five-month period from November to March, when the ice was mostly snow-covered, with very little water visible, and temperatures stayed cold consistently. Companies communicated with each other to ensure a positive tourist experience, and worked within the limits of their own capacities. “Everybody just invests in a big jeep and makes a year’s labor out of four months,” one company owner told me back in 2016. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Collage of glacier, salmon, miner, and map of Alaska" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/alaska-salmon-glacier-mining.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Who will benefit from melting glaciers? Max Graham But in the past decade, that window has been pushed wider — and it’s math, rather than science, that explains why. In 2025, approximately 30 contract-holding ice cave companies were charging around $200 per person, operating groups sizes with 14 tourists per one guide, and offering two or three departures per day. Whether we’re talking Icelandic krona or U.S. dollars, the amounts stagger into the millions and billions quickly. Given the money at stake, the expansion of the ice cave season beyond the original 120-day winter window was almost inevitable. What began as a tightly honored, safety-led access period stretched in those early years first by weeks, then by months, until now it is a year-round activity — repackaged and marketed in multiple forms, though the terrain itself has not changed: these are still ice caves, and what few rules governing them vary widely across Iceland. Regardless of your perspective or position in the glacier knowledge ecosystem — if you’re an ice cave company, guide, ranger, tourist, researcher, anyone — the science remains the same: Ice caves are erosional and weak glacier features. They are never truly static nor stable any time of the year. Icelandic glaciologist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson and colleagues first reported the dangers of ice caves in 2017. He and his team then repeated their findings seven years later when it was clear the warning had gone unheeded. Both reports argue that tours to ice caves should never be conducted in the summer because the features’ primary function is to be major conduits for large and often unpredictable flows of water. The scientists list complex dangers, including propensity for sudden ice collapse, meltwater flooding, hidden shafts, avalanches, toxic gases, and more. If ice cave tourism must be allowed, the reports concede that such tours should happen only in the winter, when conditions are cold and marginally more stable with no visible flowing water, no thawing, no recent rain, no warm weather, etc. Such conditions, additionally, need to be assessed by an expert, or a guide who has achieved a certain level of training. I asked my glaciological colleagues their thoughts, and one, a seasoned ice core scientist, laughed. She said ice caves any time of the year are “never a 100 percent safe feature to go into,” adding that you “couldn’t pay me enough to go in one in the summer.” “They are playing with fire,” Guðmundsson told a local paper not long after the fatal collapse. “If you go climbing on your own or with friends, and you decide to explore a cave, then taking the risk is a personal decision. However, there is a fundamental difference between somebody doing something on their own, and selling a trip to people that you claim is safe, but is not.” But this is not just about poor individual judgment — it is also about the system those judgments are made inside. ‘What do those cuts mean, to the glacier itself — to a glacier already imperiled, already melting at unnatural rates?’ Even back in the beginning days of the industry, locals told me about the pressures they felt from mass tourism. What began as an effort to offer a unique glacier experience gradually shifted toward moving tens of thousands of paying customers into the ice each season. Companies operated at capacity almost constantly — then were pushed beyond it. First, to take larger groups, then to add departures. One tour a day became two, then some days three. Growth was driven increasingly by non-local operators and third-party booking platforms, which pressured local companies to deliver on the reservations they sold. Larger companies based in Reykjavik — think here any name that pops up if you Google “ice caves in Iceland” — even started operating their own ice cave tours, cutting out local partners. Soon, the pressure wasn’t just on group size or departures, but on the length of the ice-cave season itself. What had once been a tightly observed safety window was forced — first by weeks, then by months — into year-round access that began to feel not exceptional, but expected. <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-4.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A group of tourists stands on top of a snowy slope, with their crampons lined up in the snow in the foreground" data-caption="A group of tourists in January 2018 visiting the twin “Treasure Island” Ice Caves. At the time, the protocol was to remove crampons before going in. " data-credit="Þorvarður Árnason"/> A group of tourists in January 2018 visiting the twin “Treasure Island” Ice Caves. At the time, the protocol was to remove crampons before going in. Þorvarður Árnason I asked a park ranger how Vatnajökull National Park defines an ice cave — a question with deep implications since the park oversees all glacier tourism within its boundaries. “We call an ice cave a cave that is under the ice,” he said. “That term, it can be stretched.” This is the open secret floating around glacier country. Today, not only are ice cave companies operating beyond the seasonal limitations professionals have recommended, but some are now going a step further: If they locate a small feature in a glacier — a hole, a cavity, a crevasse — they are “augmenting” it. Enhancing it. Said another way: They are making ice caves. Guides have long practiced safety work for visitors — cutting steps into ice, kicking down snow, or removing dangerous features. But several people from different companies described to me the use of generators, drills, blowtorches, chainsaws, and other heavy equipment on the glacier itself. One explained, “If a cave shows up in a day, you know there’s heavy equipment. … This community is tiny. Of course everybody knows who’s using power tools.” “What we say is we do ‘access’ work to make it safe for clients,” a seasoned guide explained. Glaciers are always changing, and even I have pushed, chopped, and cut ice to achieve access or make something safer while I’m working. But where do we draw the line? As a glacier scientist and a human being, I haven’t been able to get past the question of what a gas-powered blowtorch can do to the physical body of a glacier. Or a set of Makita drills, chainsaws, or heavy duty excavation equipment. What do those cuts mean, to the glacier itself — to a glacier already imperiled, already melting at unnatural rates? Is this violence? Is this desensitization? Is it just business? Is the scale too small to matter? Or is this about respect for what remains of our glacier systems, a refusal at all costs to add further harm? And then, more questions: When does an ice cave stop being an ice cave, and become instead a construction project or a marketing campaign? In Reykjavik, tourists can visit Perlan and explore a fully man-made ice cave, complete with blue lighting and piped-in frigid air. No one pretends it’s natural. But on a wild glacier, shouldn’t an ice cave be natural? When a glacier is drilled, blowtorched, and marketed inaccurately to meet demand, what exactly is being sold? And where is our responsibility alongside it? The Blue Flame collapse happened on the western side of Breiðamerkurjökull, the side some locals describe as ceded entirely to mass tourism. Many described the months leading up to the collapse as tense, largely attributed to the unrelenting numbers of summer tourists and pressure from outside companies. Every company had to decide: Would they risk operating ice cave tours in the hot summer? Ice Pic Journeys, a company co-owned by Americans Mike Reid and Ryan Newburn, decided it was worth the risk. And on Sunday, August 25, 2024, two guides for Ice Pic, one of whom was new to glacier guiding and not yet certified, were assigned the afternoon trip with 25 tourists. They met the group at Jökulsárlón, drove them as close to the ice as possible, parked, and geared up with helmets and crampons. Another tour company was already at the ice edge, heading to Blue Flame. In a statement to police, the guides noted two other companies had been to the cave in the days before, doing what was described as “maintenance work.” The Ice Pic group headed toward Blue Flame, the tourists stepping clumsily in their crampons. It was, by all accounts, a typical and pleasant late summer day. Balmy. One of the guides went ahead of the group to chop out better steps into the ice cave. Then, the entire group descended, walking past a large overhanging wall of ice. When I look at pictures later of the scene, what strikes me is the color of the ice. It’s dirty, covered in seasonal sediments — dark black particulates that hold heat and exacerbate surface melt. The ice itself is mostly white, as expected for summer surface glacier ice actively ablating. It’s full of air, like styrofoam — not dense like typical glacier ice, which is so compressed it squeezes out air and scatters short wavelengths of light, which reads as blue to you and me. This ice at Blue Flame had barely any hints of blue. The distinction matters. Ice like this is melting, from its surface and from inside. It is not stable. But the Ice Pic tourists didn’t know this, and, likely, neither did the guides. So they spread out. One tourist, an American from Austin, Texas, on a trip with his 10-year-old daughter, walked around and back up onto the surface of the glacier, where he had a view down into the ice cave. Two other Americans, a couple on their one-year wedding anniversary, posed for pictures directly in front of the ice wall. The two Ice Pic guides met with a guide from another company and discussed hazards and future cave maintenance. Then the other guide started to leave with his group. That’s when, according to statements given to the police, a boom rang out. A crack. Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of hours on, in, and sleeping atop, glaciers. They are constantly sounding off from shifts happening somewhere within, from a collapse, ice flow redirection, the shuffling of crystals and conduits and crevasses. The sounds tend to have the same effect on me — loud cracks stop me instantly in my crampons, accelerate my pulse, make the spiders guarding my brain stand at exquisite, painful alert. At the boom, the new Ice Pic guide turned and saw the ice wall fall as a single piece — straight toward the American couple. It shattered on impact, like a car windshield. ‘My first thought was, “So it finally happened.”’ The next moments were blurry. The guide thought he saw two more helmets disappear under the ice. But he wasn’t sure. Then, as the icedust cleared, he saw the young woman prone on the ice, gasping, still alive. Her first words are recorded in the police statement: “I’m pregnant. I can’t breathe.” Then, “Where is my husband?” The two guides pulled pieces of glacier off her to get her free. Then, they tried to excavate her husband, Jeffrey Ayco, but could not. The guide from the other company rushed back, and then so did a few tourists. There was, apparently, a medical doctor in the group. Everyone tried to help. With their ice axes and bare hands, they hacked at the ice, piece by piece, and gradually cut Ayco free. His body was crushed, but they began CPR anyway, because, as the guides later told the police, they had to do something. And they could not see if there was anyone else under the ice. Just before 3 p.m., the Icelandic emergency services received a 112 call and issued a Search and Rescue alert for a mass casualty incident. The initial report stated the incident involved a group of 25 tourists and two guides, ice fall, and the possibility of people trapped underneath. All across Iceland, phones lit up, text notifications flooded in. GPS coordinates and radio channels were given. And then hundreds of search and rescue volunteers rushed to Breiðamerkurjökull and the summer ice cave and the tragedy that awaited. One rescuer said later, “My first thought … this is gonna be very bitter, but my first thought was, ‘So it finally happened.’” The volunteers — highly skilled, trained to respond to this type of incident — convened at the ice cave alongside regional police, park service rangers, Coast Guard, and many others. The injured pregnant woman was loaded into a Coast Guard helicopter and flown to Reykjavik. Her husband was declared dead. But what about the other people under the ice? Almost immediately, it became clear that no one knew how many additional people were missing. The two Ice Pic guides did not have a firm count of the actual number of people on their tour. They said there had been two no-shows, but then, perhaps two walk-ons had jumped in? Was it really 25? Were the two helmets he saw solo travelers, out on the ice on their own? The freshman Ice Pic guide was likely in shock, questioning what he’d seen, uncertain if there were more injured under the ice. Search and rescue volunteers got to immediate work. In the tight quarters of the collapsed ice cave, volunteers used the least disruptive hand tools to remove, piece by piece, cubic tons of broken glacier ice. If there were people underneath, they did not want to risk further injury. “If there’s an uncertainty, you just … you don’t stop,” explained a rescuer who had been on the scene. “You assume you have to keep going.” Twenty-four hours went by. Bus drivers and school teachers and bartenders and sheep farmers and tour guides and scientists and park rangers and mothers moved ice by hand. Secondary trauma built as muscles strained and tempers frayed and some questioned if they were digging for ghosts. They chipped apart a glacier, block by block, carrying each piece out and away by hand, and again, again, again. This time, not to create an ice cave and make money, but now, possibly, to save a life. After the initial 24-hour search, heavy equipment was brought in to remove the remaining ice. Nothing was there, under the glacier, except more melt. The search was over. Everyone went home. Almost. “My brother, his life was just getting started,” Ruben Ayco, Jeffrey’s brother, told me. “He was just there, checking out ice glaciers. He was a very adventurous person.” “Several steps could have been taken for this to be avoided,” he continued. “It seems like greed and profit overcame that.” <img decoding="async" src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=330 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=768 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1536 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=160&h=90&crop=1 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640&h=853&crop=1 640w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=96&h=96&crop=1 96w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=150 150w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/glacier-tourism-3.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1024w" alt="A group of tourists stands on top of a glacier, with two framed underneath a rounded arch in the side." data-caption="A school group in June 2017, on the east side of Breiðamerkurjökull. " data-credit="Þorvarður Árnason"/> A school group in June 2017, on the east side of Breiðamerkurjökull. Þorvarður Árnason In the days that followed, the rescue association released a statement, thanking all the responders involved and expressing deep condolences to the relatives of the deceased. The Chief Superintendent for the South Iceland Police gave a statement to the media. “Ice cave tours happen almost the whole year,” he said. “These are experienced and powerful mountain guides who run these trips. It’s always possible to be unlucky. I trust these people to assess the situation — when it’s safe or not safe to go … This is a living land, so anything can happen.” I understand how it happens. We agree on a fact. New variables emerge. More data arrives. What we thought we knew shifts. That, initially, is what attracted me to science, the idea that knowledge moves forward. But here, the shift didn’t move toward better understanding propped up by the best science. It reversed. Ice caves, especially summer ice caves, once clearly labeled dangerous, were slowly reclassified as safe, likely at the same time companies fully grasped how lucrative they could be. After the collapse, the Icelandic Tourism Board resisted calls to regulate the industry, insisting safety was the tour operator’s responsibility. For the glaciers inside its boundaries, Vatnajökull National Park did introduce new safety and permitting processes for companies. Operators now need to send the chief ranger pictures and make official requests to do maintenance or hazard mitigation. “And then I send back, yes, you can do this, or no, you cannot do this, but, you can only use the power tools after hours,” the former park service chief ranger told me. “I put restrictions on, and I just have to trust that they follow them.” For the glaciers outside the park, it remains unregulated. Read Next <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Collage of the Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui, Maya Beach, tourists walking with suitcases, and a Thai banknote" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 1600w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0219_WhiteLotus.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="900" width="1600" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Thanks to HBO, everyone wants a ‘White Lotus’ getaway. Can Thailand handle it? Sarah Stodola Locals on the south coast are trying. They convened Fagráð, a committee composed of highly experienced people from different sectors of the glacier industry, including commercial operators, tourism associations, and guiding organizations, alongside associated members from the park service, the local municipality, and other observer positions. Fagráð’s purpose is to provide guidance, oversight on safety matters, and education for all issues of glacier and ice cave tourism on the south coast. In one of its first acts, Fagráð sponsored the launch of a portal set up for ice cave operators, called GLACIS. It’s a user-friendly database, intended for trained professionals, that lists every accessible ice cave in the south coast region. When I clicked around a demo of GLACIS, I could easily upload general cave information, images, directions for access, tourist capacity, time-stamped ratings and safety assessments, and other critical information. Anything guides, rangers, and operators upload is anonymous, but, important to the success of the portal, users with specific credentials such as Lead Guide or Park Ranger may assign a status to an ice cave: “go,” “caution,” “warning,” or “no go.” The park has decided in concert with the ice cave industry that all companies must comply with the GLACIS status of an ice cave. Companies found accessing “no go” caves in the national park risk having their contracts revoked. In essence, GLACIS is a community of honesty for the ice caves, a Wikipedia for shared glacier knowledge, where operators have access to community-generated and expert-vetted facts. The administrator of GLACIS told me, “We are still trying to figure it out, because as one would expect it’s never perfect and people like to complain. But the end goal is very simple: facilitate better communication and situational awareness for everybody involved.” These are real steps toward a safer ice cave industry. Important ones. But what I keep getting stuck on is the simple fact that summer ice caves aren’t OK. Ice caves aren’t OK. Breiðamerkurjökull is not OK. None of the glaciers are. Just because millions of people want to spend millions of dollars to see the ice before it’s gone doesn’t mean it should happen, or that it’s safe. The financial incentives that rewards pretending otherwise are not OK. From a glaciological standpoint, an ice cave is not an attraction. It’s a hydrological conduit carved by melt, shaped by temperature, water, and gravity. It is destined to fail. And as glaciers increasingly destabilize and melt accelerates, these features will grow larger and more numerous, even as they become increasingly unstable and dangerous. Even winter, once a margin of safety, is no longer reliably cold. Where Blue Flame stood in 2024 is now loose gravel. The part of the glacier body that held it is now gone — fully melted some 18 months later and a whole lot of strife since. Jeffrey Ayco’s daughter is one now. She’s never met her father. But she, Ruben tells me, “looks just like him.” We all have a role in what happens next. For decisionmakers, that means following the science that says ice caves should only be accessed in real winter — while real winter still exists in Iceland — and closing the regulatory loopholes that allow unsafe practices to persist. It means reducing the outsize influence of third-party booking platforms and shifting power back toward local expertise, safety, and accountability. For tourists, it means accepting limitations on consuming this unique and precious landscape, and understanding that “no go” is always a possibility, and often a form of care. For companies, guides, and researchers, it means using knowledge systems like GLACIS in good faith and telling the truth, even when the truth costs money and access. And the next time my son — who is the mirror image of me — wobbles to a stop at that blue-blue image and asks if the glacier is OK, I’ll answer differently. I’ll say no. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline On Thin Ice on Mar 20, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by M Jackson.
Ask a Climate Therapist: How can I balance my travel itch with guilt about emissions?
Licensed therapist Leslie Davenport advises a reader who loves to travel, but worries about its impact on the planet.
Dear Leslie, Almost all of the money I save goes toward travel — meeting friends abroad, visiting relatives, or checking national and international parks off my bucket list. I try to be as sustainable in my personal life as possible, but I love traveling, despite knowing that travel is where some of our greatest carbon emissions come from. Every time I fly now, I feel this guilt and fear, and it’s sometimes hard to balance it with my excitement. How would you recommend proceeding when some of the decisions we make in our personal lives are at odds with our beliefs and goals? — Wondering Wanderer Dear Wondering Wanderer, The tension you’re describing — the pull between loving this world and worrying about harming it — is a sign of a very intact compassion compass. Sometimes, that compassionate awareness stretches us beyond what’s comfortable or easy to resolve. Don’t dismiss your discomfort, because it’s inviting you to stay awake to your impacts on the planet — but don’t let it shut down your capacity for joy. If guilt grows so heavy that it diminishes your ability to connect and feel alive, it’s lost any usefulness it once offered. The work now is to metabolize your guilt and fear into something that guides you rather than pulls you apart. Ask a Climate Therapist tackles your questions about how to navigate the emotional side of climate change, with leading climate-aware therapist Leslie Davenport. Have a question? Ask it here! You might ask yourself this question: Given what I know, what kind of traveler do I want to be? That opens up more nuanced choices than simply “Go or don’t go?” Maybe you’ll travel less often but stay longer, explore more locally using lower-carbon methods of transport, or prioritize trips that deepen relationships. You might also focus on destinations where you can make a positive impact as a tourist. In countries like Costa Rica, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Bhutan, responsible tourism helps keep conservation efforts alive by funding wildlife protection, supporting local communities, and sustaining fragile ecosystems. There’s a larger truth in this as well. You’re just one person — and your choices matter, but they were never meant to bear the full weight of a systemic crisis. You didn’t build the fossil fuel-dependent systems that make flying one of the only practical ways to stay connected across long distances or encounter the wider world. Guilt can keep us preoccupied with ourselves rather than on the larger structures driving the harm. Continue to balance your personal choices with collective ones. To start, you might want to discuss your dilemma with friends and family — whether they’re your travel companions, or people in your life who may have already made different calculations about travel. (In last month’s column, I shared similar advice with a question asker who could well be on the other side of that conversation.) Having a shared understanding with loved ones might help you process your inner tension, while also letting your care for the planet ripple out in community. More from Ask a Climate Therapist <img src="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?quality=75&strip=all" alt="Collage of person looking upset with plane in background" class="js-modal-gallery__hidden" srcset="https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2000w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?resize=330%2C186&quality=75&strip=all 330w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?resize=768%2C432&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&quality=75&strip=all 1536w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?resize=160%2C90&quality=75&strip=all 160w, https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/flying-travel-climate-therapist.jpg?resize=150%2C84&quality=75&strip=all 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" height="1125" width="2000" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> Ask a Climate Therapist: How do I deal with friends and family who won’t stop polluting? Leslie Davenport Take some time to reflect, and then settle into commitments that feel right for you. Return to your decision from time to time and make changes as needed. When you feel a pang of guilt, let it keep you honest but not overwhelmed. Remember: The places you visit, the people you love across long distances, and the wonder you feel in national parks aren’t separate from your love for the Earth. They’re expressions of it. Add in a dose of reflection, gratitude, and perhaps even awe, and your journeys will strengthen the passion and resilience that allow you to stay engaged in your work. In this way, the same travel that stirs your guilt can also help protect what you love. It’s not a clean or simple solution, but it’s real. The aim is to stay present for the whole of it — to allow your love for our planet to be large enough to hold grief, responsibility, and joy at the same time. Let yourself embrace and enjoy the world wholeheartedly, even as you engage in protecting it. Holding this with you, Leslie I’m Leslie Davenport, a licensed therapist, educator, speaker, consultant, and internationally recognized voice on the emotional and psychological dimensions of climate change. If you’ve got a question about climate and mental health, please submit it here for a future column. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Ask a Climate Therapist: How can I balance my travel itch with guilt about emissions? on Mar 20, 2026. This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Leslie Davenport.
CPJ, partners call for release of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj after 3 years in detention
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 32 civil society organizations in a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj, who marked three years in arbitrary pre-trial detention on March 20. In the joint statement, the organizations said Mehraj’s detention reflects a pattern of persecution of journalists and human...
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 32 civil society organizations in a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj, who marked three years in arbitrary pre-trial detention on March 20. In the joint statement, the organizations said Mehraj’s detention reflects a pattern of persecution of journalists and human rights defenders in Indian-administrated Jammu and Kashmir. They urged Indian authorities to repeal the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act — which have been used to silence journalists and activists — to enable an environment for civil society and the news media to operate freely in the region. CPJ research shows at least 15 journalists have been charged since 2014 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terror law that allows for detention without trial or charge for up to 180 days. India currently holds two journalists in prison, according to CPJ’s latest data. Read the full statement here. This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
Mixed media sculptor Brian Rochefort on surrendering to chance
You first encountered pottery as a teenager. It can be so hard to get the hang of centering your clay and all of that—was it an immediate affinity, or did it take time to develop?
You first encountered pottery as a teenager. It can be so hard to get the hang of centering your clay and all of that—was it an immediate affinity, or did it take time to develop? I started working with clay when I was 14, a freshman in high school. My portfolio for art school was mostly drawing. And then I decided to go into ceramics because I was pretty passionate about it. I did a little bit of throwing right before I got to RISD, and I do enjoy it. But I’m primarily interested in hand building. [Clay] is a very difficult material across the board. For a while, I was outsourcing the throwing to my friend, who would just make me the cylinders and then I would glaze them. Now, I’m back into throwing, but I don’t do it as often. Personally, I like to stand while I work. Throwing is messy. It’s not my cup of tea. I honestly try to avoid it as much as possible. As a writer, I’m often trying to be so precise with each word, so I’m fascinated by an artistic practice like ceramics where there is this element of chance or risk. With your pieces, how much of the outcome is something you’re trying to control and how much of it is a surprise? It is very controlled. And I do really love the chance aspect of putting the work in a kiln and surrendering the piece to 2,000 degrees. Things can become dicey, especially with the larger pieces of glaze that I put on top of my sculptures. Sometimes they fall off, sometimes they slide off. Sometimes if I don’t mix it properly I don’t get a desirable result. But that is pretty subjective. What is desirable to other people is not desirable to me. I do have a lot of control, but the element of surprise is always what makes ceramics exciting. There’s this kind of cliché in ceramics, like, “You open the kiln every day and it’s like the most exciting feeling. It’s like a dopamine hit.”* *And I fire my kiln every day. I get to work and I’m like, “Oh my god, what’s going to happen? Is it going to work or is it not going to work?” And with my technique and my experience over the years, my success rate is extremely high. So it’s not like I’m slapping a bunch of glazes together and hoping for the best. I would never be able to sustain that. It is a push and pull, and that’s what’s so exciting. Your work is so inspired by nature and natural elements. When you’re interpreting something on a massive scale—like a volcano or a huge sinkhole or a rainforest—through a sculpture, how does that process work? I’m translating that experience through memory in an abstract way. I really thought it was important to me and my work and my progress to go experience these things up close and personal. I started traveling in 2016 when I got my studio. I realized that I had a lot of time on my hands and I had the resources to finally leave the country. I didn’t have the privilege to travel when I was younger, so my first kind of transcendental experience in nature was the Sierra Negra crater on Isabella Island in the Galapagos. I knew at that moment that it would have a big impact on me, but I didn’t realize the extent it would inspire me. When I got back in studio, it happened organically. For two and a half years [before that], I was working on a very intimate scale on the vessel shape, and then I started making these fully formed sculptures. They weren’t translating the way I wanted them to, and then I took these big fully formed sculptures that I made and I broke them in half with a hammer and then it became two vessels. Then I would dunk them in these big baths of slip and they became super sculptural. And that’s where the giant hole kind of emerged. Now I consider my cylindrical paint cans, that’s what I call them, a separate body of work. And I mostly work on the more abstract forms that are much larger and much more sophisticated that are inspired by all these places that I’ve been to. But it wasn’t me getting back, fantasizing about all these places, and then sketching ideas out. It wasn’t like that at all. I just got to work and it happened. And I feel like that’s the best outcome for me. As your career and work have progressed, how do you think about carving out the time to be able to travel? From 2016 to 2022, I did most of the traveling. It was a really good schedule. I don’t have that anymore. I have a dog, so there are places that I didn’t get to go to that I really regret not going to. My thing for the past six or seven years has been high volume. I focus on maybe three to four pieces at a time, and if something doesn’t work, I can tweak it or I abandon it or I’ll introduce a new texture or a new color. My first big offer was in New York in 2017. That was right after I went to the Galapagos and Belize and Africa. That was a pivotal time for me. I evolved pretty rapidly. But then I would get bored, or I would think, 10 pieces is enough in two months. So I would go on another trip, get inspired, come back. And surprisingly, when I get back into the studio, I come up with new ideas and I attack them pretty quickly. Usually with my intuition with materials and glazes and formulations and whatnot, my results come pretty fast. So two months off work is not so bad. Another thing that’s kind of important: when I make sculptures in studio, I always try to make the next one better. Year over year, I’m trying to get better and better. I did that with traveling. I was like, what’s crazier than the Bolivian Amazon? All right, Papua New Guinea. Or maybe I could go to sacred Vanuatu or West Africa or something. I went to like 30 different countries, so I have so much collected data and memories and photographs that I can look at for inspiration. When you’re working in your studio, what is one thing that you always have to have? And is there anything you do not allow into that space? It’s mostly myself. I’ve had assistants before, but that was mostly to build pretty rudimentary forms, and then I would take over. Nobody can glaze for me—I’m the only one that can do it. I like to listen to music. That’s the first thing I do: put on music and clean. My studio is pretty spotless. I do need things to be tidy or I can’t really focus. So music and my dog. Things that I don’t allow? I try not to let in groups of students. You are really pushing the limits of what your kiln can accommodate, size-wise. What are your ambitions for the scale of the work that you’re creating? These are the biggest pieces I have ever worked on. There are a couple pieces in here that I can’t lift myself. And they go all the way up to the edge of the kiln, which can have an impact on the melt of the glaze. So that is problematic. I mean, they’re bigger than my shoulders by double. I don’t want to make these outside of my studio. I don’t have this burning desire to make something massive. Not yet. But if I do decide I want to, there are places where I can. I don’t need multiple kilns. I know some people who have like five or six. My electricity bill is high enough. Since I work by myself and I prefer to work by myself, I’m not willing to have two or three assistants assist me from start to finish by rotating these upside down and on their sides while I glaze. Nor will I do that by myself because I don’t want to injure myself locked in my studio. But it is something I think about pretty often. What if I made this twice the size? How will it change? It’s amazing how much information you can pack into a cubic foot of sculpture. You’ve done fashion collaborations with designers like Berluti and Dries Van Noten. It doesn’t seem like the most natural translation to take something tactile and 3D like your work and flatten it into a print, so what was that like? The collaboration was really interesting. Kris Van Assche [of Berluti] is legendary and I didn’t really know how that was going to turn out. I was like, “What do you mean by collaborate? Do you want me to come up with a design for a bag or sweater? And they’re like, “No, we’re going to superimpose [your work], and not in a very simple, silkscreen way. They’re going to be highly developed like your surfaces with high quality materials and embroidery and leather and all sorts of beautiful fabrics.” They transformed all of the Berluti stores and kind of tailored it to my style, my motif. And they sold a lot. Celebrities all over were wearing it. My friends were like, “Oh, hey, look—the rapper Tyga is wearing it on SNL,” or Joe Jonas or Nick Jonas or Machine Gun Kelly. I mean, the first thing I thought was, “Oh, man I should have asked for more money.” When I saw them in real life, I was so excited, because the quality is exceptional. Even though my work might appear experimental or—I don’t think people really say this anymore—”sloppy,” it’s not. They are expressive and they look experimental, but they’re actually manicured. They’re elegant and they’re layered. There’s a lot of care that goes into them and a lot of different firings and steps. It’s very structured. As somebody who’s working alone in the studio so frequently, how do you think about community? Do you feel you have a community of other artists? I do feel slightly isolated, even though I’ve been in LA for a long time. I like to keep to myself. I do have some really great friends. Earlier today I was at Aaron Garber-Maikovska’s enormous studio in Glendora. And he’s an amazing abstract painter. I was there for hours talking about his paintings. I do ceramics and I’ve been doing it all my life, but I’m incredibly inspired by non-representational painting. I love color and I love texture and I love mark making. But I get nervous talking about other people’s paintings. And here I am in this this guy’s studio, who is very successful, and he’s asking me questions and I’m like, “Oh my god, I don’t want to say the wrong thing.” And then I start talking and I realize that I do have a lot of information about this material that I don’t use. I can still talk about it in a similar way to how I glaze. There are a lot of people working in ceramics in Los Angeles. But it is very separated and pretty fractured. There are ceramics people I really admire. A lot of them are from the East Coast. We do communicate on social media and whatnot. We do follow each other. We do support each other. And they’re not people that I hang out with, we don’t go for dinners or anything like that, but I hold them close to my heart. But I would say that my closest friends are working in painting. Another example is Spencer Lewis who is right down the street from me. I actually bought one of his paintings not knowing that he was right down the street. This is like a 7 1/2-foot painting that I shipped from New York, not knowing he was walking distance. I could have walked it to my studio, no joke. Okay, most important question. Do you have a sense of what your dog, Terry, thinks of your sculptures? Terry’s the most beautiful dog. He goes everywhere with me. I’ve had him for almost seven years. He’s a big inspiration. He has little toys and balls all over my studio. I love to photograph him with my sculptures. But for the most part he chills on his couch. I have a custom doghouse in here made out of solid maple that he’s never been in. He has a custom ramp that goes up to the couch and he kind of hangs out and he stares at me all day. I think if he could understand, he would appreciate them. Brian Rochefort recommends: Smoothies—it’s amazing the amount of vegetables and fruits you can pile into a blender. Synth-Wave or electronic music, specifically Trevor Something. Traveling as much as possible. Especially to the Amazon. Keeping your overhead low as an artist. Sam Harris’ podcasts. This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Lindsay Miller.
Trump’s Crusade: Christian Nationalism and the Making of a Holy War
Israel and the United States are now at war with Iran, a conflict framed by both leaders through a stark and self-serving moral binary. In the words of Benjamin Netanyahu, it is cast as a “necessary fight between good and evil.” For Donald Trump, the illegality of the war is beside the point. It is waged instead in the ideological spirit and cruelty of the Crusades, fueled by religious fervor and animated by what David Smith writing in The Guardian, has called a celebration of the “capacity to inflict violence.” More The post Trump’s Crusade: Christian Nationalism and the Making of a Holy War appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="945" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404695" class="size-large wp-image-404695" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg" alt="" width="945" height="630" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The_White_House_-_54410784210.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” – Isaac Asimov Israel and the United States are now at war with Iran, a conflict framed by both leaders through a stark and self-serving moral binary. In the words of Benjamin Netanyahu, it is cast as a “necessary fight between good and evil.” For Donald Trump, the illegality of the war is beside the point. It is waged instead in the ideological spirit and cruelty of the Crusades, fueled by religious fervor and animated by what David Smith writing in The Guardian, has called a celebration of the “capacity to inflict violence.” What this religious framing obscures is the political reality that this is, in large part, Netanyahu’s war, one he has long prepared by casting Iran in apocalyptic terms as a successor to Nazism. But as Fintan O’Toole suggests, something even more disturbing is at work: in Trump’s hands, the war is severed from any coherent political or moral rationale, reduced to a hollow spectacle of destruction, a language of power emptied of meaning itself. Yet this emptiness is not benign. It signals at once a profound political weakness and an unrestrained embrace of state violence, a politics of dispossession and a logic of disposability that, if left unchecked, points toward the reemergence of camps as instruments of governance, cloaked in the moral certainties of religious dogmatism. This fusion of war, spectacle, and religious zeal is not merely a rhetorical flourish. It signals a deeper transformation in how violence is imagined and justified. Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, gives this worldview its most chilling expression. Speaking with a zeal that echoes the language of holy war, he declares that the mission of the U.S. military is “to unleash death and destruction from the sky all day long.” In such statements, war is stripped of the language of restraint, law, or even tragic necessity. It becomes an open affirmation of annihilation as virtue. As Greg Jaffe observes in The New York Times, rhetoric of this kind signals a profound shift in the moral framework guiding American power. Instead of invoking justice or defense, it embraces vengeance. In this worldview, the enemy is not an opponent to be contained or negotiated with but a foe to be obliterated. War thus becomes not only an instrument of policy but a spectacle of righteous fury, a theater of domination in which violence is sanctified and the infliction of blood, suffering, and death is embraced as proof of strength. Yet the significance of this war culture extends far beyond the battlefield. Its logic does not remain confined to foreign policy; it migrates inward, reshaping the language, institutions, and pedagogical practices of domestic life. War has long been the most brutal expression of state power, but in the political culture surrounding Donald Trump it has taken on an even darker significance. War is no longer simply a strategic instrument of foreign policy. What is emerging instead is a war culture in which violence, white Christian nationalism, and militarized spectacle function as a form of public pedagogy, instructing citizens not to question domination but to admire it. In this register, Operation Epic Fury becomes barbarism refashioned as spectacle, draped in an aesthetic of impunity and moral annihilation. War is transformed into a form of public pedagogy, a daily lesson in domination delivered through media images, political rhetoric, and state policy, teaching that cruelty signals strength and that enemies, both foreign and domestic, are rendered disposable, unworthy of recognition or justice and instead subjected to humiliation, repression, and violence. Under such conditions, violence no longer hides behind the worn language of necessity or o making the world safe for democracy. It exposes what it has long been in American foreign policy, a ruthless instrument of imperial power. On the domestic front, this pedagogy operates not only through spectacles of military force but through laws, institutions, and cultural narratives that normalize authoritarian power. It works, as I and Will Paul have observed elsewhere, not simply through “tanks in the streets but through legislation that turns education into an arm of the security state.” Classrooms are redefined as sites of patriotic discipline, history is rewritten as nationalist myth, surveillance becomes a civic duty, and students learn that obedience is virtue while dissent marks them as suspect. In such conditions, education no longer nurtures critical judgment or democratic responsibility; it becomes a machinery for producing subjects who internalize the values of militarism, hierarchy, and unquestioned authority. This war culture reflects what political theorist Achille Mbembe calls necropolitics, a form of power organized around the capacity to decide who may live and who must die. Within such a framework, violence ceases to be simply an instrument of policy and becomes a defining feature of political identity. What is particularly alarming is that this war is increasingly framed through the language of Christian nationalism. The imagery and rhetoric of the Crusades have reentered public life, symbolized not only by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s crusader-themed tattoo but also by his repeated claims that Trump has been ordained by God to wield military power against alleged infidels. As David Smith reports, Doug Pagitt, a pastor and executive director of the progressive Christian group Vote Common Good, describes the theological logic shaping this worldview: It seems to me that Pete Hegseth has a worldview which is contorted toward thinking that this administration has a particular divine calling. He believes, because he said it, that God has uniquely ordained Donald Trump and those that he chooses to accomplish very specific purposes in the world. Pete Hegseth’s own version of Christianity is built around a certain Christian advancement that comes through the domination of the governments of nations. He believes that not only is the military at his disposal to use for his purposes but that it is there to fulfill God’s agenda for the world. War is celebrated as proof of strength, enemies are stripped of their humanity, and the destruction of entire populations is reframed as the necessary price of restoring national greatness, often invoked through the slogan “America First.” In such a necropolitical order, the state derives legitimacy not from protecting life but from demonstrating its capacity to destroy it. Moreover, we live in an era under a fascist regime in which the annihilation of morality is in full bloom. Almost nothing is reported in the mainstream press regarding the fact that “Between 600,000 and 1 million Iranian households are now temporarily displaced inside Iran as a result of the ongoing conflict [a figure that represents] up to 3.2 million people. The same moral callousness is on full display about Hegseth’s response to troop deaths in Iran. Trump’s initial response to the death of three troops was “We have three, [and] we expect casualties, but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.” For Trump death makes sense only as part of a cost-benefit analysis. He later said “there will likely be more [deaths] before it ends,” before adding: “That’s the way it is. Likely be more.” Hegseth responded by “criticizing the media for supposedly focusing too much on the dead soldiers in an effort to make Trump ‘look bad.’” Militarism thus ceases to be an exception to politics and becomes one of its central organizing principles. Under such conditions, even the mass killing of civilians, including children, is absorbed into the brutal language and logic of national power and disappears behind the spectacle of military triumph. The devastation produced by the illegal Israeli-U.S. bombing campaign in Iran is rarely acknowledged with any moral seriousness. Airstrikes have struck targets across the region, including oil depots around Tehran, sending thick black smoke into the sky and spreading toxic fallout across surrounding communities. Yet the human consequences of this destruction are largely erased from official discourse, replaced by triumphant displays of technological power and nationalist rhetoric. Within the Trump administration, the suffering produced by the war is not merely ignored but openly trivialized. When asked whether Russia’s involvement in the conflict might endanger American personnel, Hegseth dismissed the concern with chilling bluntness, stating that “the only people who should be worried right now are Iranians who think they are going to live.” Such remarks reveal a political culture in which violence is no longer treated as a tragic consequence of war but as a measure of national strength. The staggering economic cost of the war further exposes the distorted priorities that sustain this militarized order. According to The Atlantic journalist Nancy Youssef, citing a congressional official, the conflict is costing the United States roughly $1 billion per day. Sarah Lazare notes that this sum could instead cover the daily cost of food assistance for the 41 million Americans who rely on food stamps, or help sustain Medicaid coverage for the 16 million people expected to lose healthcare under recent cuts. In this sense, the war does not simply devastate lives abroad; it also drains resources from the social programs that sustain life at home. Yet the consequences of this war extend beyond immediate human and financial costs. As Chris Hedges has warned, the economic consequences may extend far beyond these immediate costs. With Iran threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply passes, the conflict risks triggering a global economic shock that could push the world toward recession. That such dangers are barely acknowledged by the Trump administration reveals the extraordinary recklessness with which this war has been launched, a fusion of geopolitical aggression and profound ignorance of the economic forces it has set in motion. Yet the deeper problem is that this war does not emerge in isolation. It reflects the logic of gangster capitalism, in which militarism has become normalized as a permanent feature of national policy. Nor is this pattern new. The United States has long treated war spending as a permanent feature of national policy. As Eric Morrisette observes, “We know that wars are costly. Having extricated ourselves from protracted Middle East conflicts just three years ago, we have clear reference points which are not reassuring. The Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute estimates that from late 2001 through FY2022, the U.S. spent or obligated $8 trillion on post-9/11 wars: $5.8 trillion in direct costs and at least $2.2 trillion in future veterans’ care through 2050. Every dollar in that accounting was a dollar that did not go toward schools, bridges, or health care.” Seen in this light, the war on Iran reveals how militarism functions simultaneously as spectacle, ideology, policy, and a form of state-sanctioned extortion. It erases the suffering of those beneath the bombs while demanding enormous sacrifices from the public whose resources sustain it. Violence becomes both the language of power and the measure of political legitimacy in a necropolitical order that normalizes destruction while rendering its human costs invisible. As Primo Levi warned, fascism rarely arrives all at once; it advances through small moral accommodations that gradually normalize cruelty and erode the capacity to recognize injustice. What makes such violence politically sustainable, however, is the language that legitimizes it, a language that empties words of their moral weight while transforming brutality into the rhetoric of necessity and destiny. In the lies, deaths, and destruction unleashed by the illegal Israeli-U.S. war on Iran, we are witnessing what Toni Morrison once called the language of war. In her Nobel Prize lecture, Morrison warned that such language is the language of leaders with blood on their hands, a dead language “content to admire its own paralysis.” It is a language intoxicated with power, seduced by its own narcissism, and emptied of moral accountability. When political speech becomes saturated with this rhetoric, violence no longer requires justification. It is presented instead as destiny, necessity, or even virtue. Few figures illustrate this necropolitical imagination more starkly than Pete Hegseth. His public rhetoric celebrates unrestrained violence while dismissing the legal and moral limits that once governed modern warfare. In this worldview, war is no longer treated as a tragic necessity but as a form of purification, an arena in which nationalism, hyper-masculinity, and religious destiny converge. The result is a political culture steeped in militarism, misogyny, and a toxic cult of strength, animated by religious fundamentalism and marked by a deep ethical abyss. Hegseth’s own words make this worldview unmistakably clear. In his book The War on Warriors, he recounts dismissing the advice of a military lawyer who was explaining the rules of engagement to soldiers under his command in Iraq. According to Hegseth, he told the troops: “I will not allow that nonsense to filter into your brains.” Such remarks are revealing not only for their contempt toward the legal restraints governing modern warfare, but also for the ideological worldview they expose. The religious dimension of this rhetoric has also surfaced directly in official military messaging. During a Pentagon briefing on the Iran conflict, Hegseth concluded his remarks by quoting scripture, invoking biblical language to frame the campaign against Iran. For critics, such gestures underscore the dangerous erosion of the boundary between church and state in the conduct of American military policy. When military briefings invoke scripture and political leaders frame geopolitical conflict in biblical terms, the line between strategy and religious mission begins to dissolve. War is no longer presented simply as a matter of national security but as part of a larger theological struggle. In such circumstances, political violence risks being sanctified, and the state begins to assume the moral posture of a crusade rather than a democracy bound by law. Elsewhere in The War on Warriors, Hegseth launched a frontal attack on the laws of war. He wrote: “If our warriors are forced to follow rules arbitrarily and asked to sacrifice more lives so that international tribunals feel better about themselves, aren’t we just better off winning our wars according to our own rules?! Who cares what other countries think.” These remarks are not merely rhetorical bravado. They signal a profound rejection of the ethical framework that has governed modern warfare since the mid-twentieth century. The laws of armed conflict, codified in the Geneva Conventions after the devastation of World War II, were meant to place limits on the machinery of violence. They rested on a simple but crucial principle: even in war there must be moral boundaries. Civilians cannot be deliberately targeted, prisoners cannot be tortured, and entire communities cannot be treated as disposable. Those principles emerged from the ashes of a century that witnessed mechanized slaughter, genocidal campaigns, and cities reduced to rubble. When such limits are dismissed as inconveniences or signs of weakness, the consequences are neither abstract nor distant. They are written on the bodies of the dead and the shattered landscapes left behind. The history of modern warfare offers chilling reminders: the massacre at My Lai in Vietnam, where hundreds of unarmed civilians were slaughtered; the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib, where prisoners were humiliated and brutalized; the network of secret detention sites and “black sites” where detainees disappeared into legal voids beyond the reach of law. In the decades since the so-called war on terror began, the devastation inflicted on civilian populations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Gaza has left entire regions shattered. Cities and towns have been reduced to landscapes of rubble, grief, and enduring trauma, while millions have been displaced and whole societies forced into conditions of permanent insecurity. Against this backdrop, Donald Trump’s claim that he was an “anti-war president,” campaigning on the slogan “no new wars,” collapses under the weight of reality. In his second term, that claim quickly unraveled as the machinery of militarized power expanded rather than receded. Trump not only widened the reach of U.S. violence abroad, he also brought the language and tactics of war home, unleashing heavily armed federal forces in American cities where they operated with near impunity. The message was unmistakable: the paramilitary violence long inflicted on distant populations, especially in Latin America, could now be turned inward, dissolving the boundary between foreign battlefields and domestic life. As journalist Zachary Basu observes, “no president in the modern era has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Donald Trump.” With the restraints of international law increasingly cast aside, Trump’s imperial violence expands with few visible limits, reaching even to the brazen abduction of Venezuela’s president. War becomes more than a geopolitical strategy. It emerges as a necropolitical project in which entire populations are rendered disposable and destruction itself is staged as a spectacle of imperial power. Hegseth’s rhetoric gives this politics of disposability its ideological language. By casting restraint as weakness and humanitarian law as a bureaucratic nuisance imposed by distant elites, he undermines the fragile moral architecture meant to limit the violence of war. In this framework, justice gives way to raw power, and the only measure of success is victory. This normalization of lawless violence feeds the broader war culture shaping the political imagination of the MAGA movement. Military force is framed not as a tragic last resort but as proof of national vitality. Violence becomes a measure of masculinity and patriotism, while reflection or restraint is dismissed as cowardice. War is imagined as a cleansing force capable of restoring national greatness. The deeper cultural logic behind this exaltation of force was diagnosed decades ago by Walter Benjamin. Writing in the shadow of European fascism, Benjamin warned that authoritarian movements seek to “aestheticize politics.” Instead of encouraging democratic deliberation, they transform power itself into spectacle. War becomes the ultimate aesthetic experience, a dazzling display of technological force designed to overwhelm moral reflection. Benjamin’s insight helps illuminate the political culture surrounding Trump, where war is increasingly aestheticized and violence is staged as a spectacle of national power. Government propaganda celebrating bombing raids increasingly resembles the visual language of video games and action films. Explosions appear as cinematic effects, targets disappear in bursts of light, and destruction becomes a performance of technological mastery rather than a human catastrophe. Behind these carefully crafted images lies a far more brutal reality. During the recent escalation of the war with Iran, a U.S. bombing strike reportedly destroyed an elementary school building, killing more than 135 children. Such atrocities reveal the grotesque distance between the spectacle of military triumph circulating through official media and the devastating human consequences it conceals. This transformation becomes even clearer through the work of the French theorist Guy Debord, whose analysis of the “society of the spectacle” helps explain how modern warfare is transformed into a visual drama of power rather than a human catastrophe. Debord argued that modern politics increasingly operates through images that detach people from lived reality. Spectacle replaces genuine experience, encouraging citizens to consume representations of power rather than question its consequences. Bombing campaigns appear as visual events rather than human tragedies. The public is encouraged to identify with the display of national power rather than with the lives destroyed in its wake. The cultural critic Susan Sontag anticipated this danger in her reflections on war imagery. Sontag argued that repeated exposure to images of violence can produce what she called a form of moral anesthesia. Viewers become fascinated by the visual power of destruction while the suffering those images represent gradually recedes from moral consciousness. The visual culture surrounding contemporary warfare exemplifies precisely this dynamic. When bombing footage is packaged in the style of entertainment media, the boundary between war and spectacle dissolves. Violence becomes consumable. Journalist and antiwar scholar Norman Solomon has long argued that modern warfare depends on carefully managing public perception. Governments sanitize war through narratives and images that obscure the suffering inflicted on civilians. War becomes politically sustainable not because it is humane, but because its brutality is hidden from view. In the present moment, however, violence is not merely concealed. Increasingly, it is praised and nowhere is this glorification more visible than in the religious language surrounding the war. But spectacle alone cannot sustain this war culture. It must be anchored in a moral narrative that legitimates its violence, shields it from critique, and renders its brutality both righteous and necessary. This role is increasingly played by a powerful strain of religious fundamentalism circulating within parts of the MAGA movement. Several prominent figures in Trump’s orbit, including Hegseth and allied political leaders, have framed conflicts in the Middle East in explicitly biblical terms. Iran is depicted not simply as a geopolitical adversary but as a spiritual enemy within a larger cosmic struggle between good and evil. In some Christian nationalist circles, commentators openly interpret the conflict through end-times prophecy, suggesting that confrontation with Iran could fulfill biblical narratives surrounding Armageddon and the return of Christ. Several commentators have noted how openly religious this rhetoric has become. Writing in The Nation, critics of the war point out that leading figures in Trump’s political circle have increasingly framed the conflict as a civilizational struggle rooted in religious identity. Senator Lindsey Graham stated bluntly that “this is a religious war,” suggesting that the outcome of the conflict could shape the region “for a thousand years.” Such language marks a dangerous shift in political discourse, one in which geopolitical conflict is reimagined as a sacred confrontation between faiths rather than a political crisis requiring diplomacy. When militarism fuses with apocalyptic religion, the consequences are deeply troubling. War ceases to be a tragic failure of diplomacy and becomes a sacred drama instead. Violence is sanctified as the instrument through which divine destiny is said to unfold. Journalists have increasingly warned that the war is being framed in explicitly religious terms. Writing for MSNBC, Ali Velshi cautioned that Christian nationalist narratives are seeping into the Trump administration’s rhetoric on Iran, blurring the line between church and state and casting the conflict through theological imagery rather than political reasoning. In some cases the rhetoric has gone even further. Military watchdog groups report that certain commanders have described the war to troops as part of “God’s divine plan,” invoking biblical prophecy and the Book of Revelation to suggest that the conflict could usher in the end times. The philosopher Hannah Arendt warned that ideological systems of this kind erode the human capacity for moral judgment and weaken the ethical restraints that make political life possible. Her analysis of the “banality of evil” revealed how individuals can become complicit in immense violence when ethical reflection is replaced by ideological certainty. When war is framed as destiny or divine mission, the ability to question its human cost becomes dangerously weakened. The convergence of militarism, spectacle, and religious nationalism therefore produces what might best be understood as a political death drive. It is a sensibility marked by fascination with destruction, contempt for vulnerability, and deep indifference to human suffering. Critics of the war argue that the political culture surrounding it reflects something deeper than aggressive foreign policy. Writing in CounterPunch, Anthony DiMaggio and Dean Caivano describe the Iran war as part of a broader authoritarian transformation in American political life, one in which militarism, religious nationalism, and the politics of spectacle converge to produce what amounts to a new authoritarian moment. Whether one accepts that characterization in full or not, the fusion of war propaganda, religious rhetoric, and the glorification of violence undeniably signals a profound shift in the moral landscape of American politics. History offers sobering warnings about where such sensibilities can lead. Reflecting on the conditions that made fascism possible in Europe, the writer and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi observed that authoritarianism rarely arrives all at once. It emerges through gradual shifts in moral sensibility, through the normalization of cruelty and indifference. As Levi wrote, “Every age has its own fascism, and we see the warning signs wherever the concentration of power denies citizens the possibility and the means of expressing and acting on their own free will.” The danger lies precisely in these warning signs. When political leaders mock international law, celebrate lawless violence, and sanctify war through the language of religious destiny, they normalize a culture in which brutality becomes ordinary and cruelty appears as virtue. Under such conditions, the moral foundations of public life begin to erode. As the language of fascism takes hold, it strips ethical principles of their meaning and transforms morality, truth, and “the noble concept of a common humanity into a disdainful sneer.” The bombing that killed more than a hundred children in Iran should have provoked universal moral outrage. Instead it quickly disappeared beneath the spectacle of geopolitical posturing and the rhetoric of righteous power. That silence reveals how deeply the culture of war has penetrated public life, normalizing the mass killing of civilians while erasing their suffering from public memory. In this process, historical and social amnesia are reproduced through the language of theocratic fundamentalism, which frames violence not as a political crime but as part of a sacred struggle between good and evil. Under such circumstances, the war on children and those branded as infidels becomes more than an atrocity, it becomes a political alibi. Cloaked in the language of divine mission, militarized violence helps shield the brutalities of capitalism itself, allowing a system built on disposability, dispossession, exploitation, and endless war to conceal its cruelty behind the moral camouflage of religious destiny. The merging of aesthetics and violence in the Trump regime is also evident in its repeated invocation of national decline. This rhetoric functions as a coded language of disposability and racial purification, framing certain populations as signs of degeneration while promising national rebirth through the restoration of authority and force. As Anthony DiMaggio and Dean Caivano observe, such language fuses older eugenic ideas and the fascist rhetoric of “blood and soil” with appeals to social hierarchy and civilizational renewal. In their analysis of Trump’s rhetoric, they write: Trump’s rhetoric adopts the language of decline and rebirth yet departs from this classical model in a decisive way. In his second inaugural address in January 2025, he declared that “America’s decline is over.” In this week’s State of the Union, he also described the United States as “a dead country” before his return to office. These statements frame the nation in biological terms, casting it as lifeless and degraded while positioning executive authority as the animating force capable of restoring vitality. Legitimacy is measured in terms of life and death rather than institutional continuity. Seen in this light, Trump’s language of decline and rebirth is not merely rhetorical exaggeration but part of a deeper authoritarian aesthetic in which politics is defined as a drama of national resurrection. Echoing the fascist logic Walter Benjamin warned about, the nation is imagined as a living body that must be purified and revitalized through force, while those marked as disposable are cast outside the boundaries of moral concern. In such a framework, the promise of renewal becomes inseparable from the power to decide whose lives count and whose deaths are deemed acceptable, a necropolitical vision in which sovereignty is measured not by the protection of life but by the capacity to destroy it. The language of purification central to fascist politics, with its insistence that the nation must be cleansed, echoes Zygmunt Bauman’s argument that fascist ideology imagines society as something to be “gardened,” where those deemed undesirable are treated like weeds to be removed. A society that learns to watch war as spectacle risks losing the capacity to recognize the humanity that disappears behind the screen. When cruelty becomes entertainment and destruction becomes proof of strength, the moral foundations of democracy begin to erode. As Fintan O’Toole notes, under such circumstances, “fascism works by making the extreme appear normal.” Resisting this trajectory requires more than opposing particular wars or policies. It requires confronting the cultural logic and pedagogical practices that turns violence into spectacle and domination into virtue. Democracies cannot survive when political leaders sanctify cruelty in the language of destiny and divine mission. If this culture of militarized spectacle continues to expand, the danger is not only endless war abroad but the steady corrosion of democracy at home, the devastation of civilian populations and the accelerating destruction of a planet already pushed to the brink by militarism and extractive capitalism. What is crucial to grasp in the fight against neoliberal theocratic fascism is that people must come to understand their lived experiences as part of a broader system of oppression, and to recognize that making change imaginable is itself the foundation for building mass resistance. This battle extends beyond economic and institutional forms of domination to the modes of hegemony that shape consent, desire, morality, and everyday common sense. At stake is a struggle over consciousness, values, and agency itself. In that sense, any viable resistance movement must place education at the center of politics. The struggle for economic, political, and social rights is inseparable from challenging the conditions that produce and reproduce a culture of domination and exploitation. Resisting the expansion of neoliberal theocratic fascism demands the emergence of a broad democratic movement led by workers, youth, and all those rendered disposable within this necropolitical order. Such a movement depends upon a formative culture capable of nurturing critical consciousness, civic courage, and a language of possibility. This is not only a battle against war and authoritarianism; it is also a demand for a different future, one in which democracy is no longer synonymous with permanent warfare and gangster capitalism, but is reclaimed as a moral and political project rooted in justice, equality, and critical reason. At its core, this is a struggle to reclaim education as a practice of freedom and to reimagine politics as an ethical, collective commitment to building a more just world, a democratic socialist future in which life, equality, and justice prevail over profit, disposability, and war. The post Trump’s Crusade: Christian Nationalism and the Making of a Holy War appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Henry Giroux.
Roaming Charges: Trump’s Little Excursion Hits the Straits
Perhaps Trump will now replace Joe Kent with Newt Gingrich, who is very, very strong on security. So strong that Newt, the Edward Teller of our tormented times, advised Trump to drop 12 nuclear bombs on Iran to blast out a canal by-passing the Strait of Hormuz. In other words, someone with the guts to start a nuclear holocaust to prevent one. More The post Roaming Charges: Trump’s Little Excursion Hits the Straits appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-680x453.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-500x333.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-600x400.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404534" class="wp-image-404534 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-680x453.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-680x453.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-945x630.jpeg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-500x333.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/desdemonastrait-600x400.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Desdemona Strait, mouth of the Columbia River. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. I am the frightful thing that always follows you Liar, I am thy Nemesis I always knew one day that it would come to this – Motörhead, Liar Check out this paragraph from Tulsi Gabbard’s prepared text in her opening statement before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday: As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer [July 2025], Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated. There have been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability. The entrances to the underground facilities that were bombed have been buried and shuttered with cement. There you have it. Trump’s Director of National Intelligence obliterated Trump’s case for going to war with Iran. Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium was destroyed last year and they’ve made no effort to resume the program. Curiously, however, Gabbard elided this paragraph during her live testimony before the committee. She claimed, under questioning from Sen. Mark Warner, that she skipped that crucial paragraph because she realized that she was “running out of time.” Her time in office is likely running out, as it should. Gabbard’s deputy, Joe Kent, resigned from office this week, claiming correctly that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US. Kent should know. As director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center, Kent saw all of the intel that Trump apparently refused to take the time to read. Joe Kent’s no “think-tank pansy.” He’s a hard-ass former Marine who courted the votes of Neo-Nazis and white supremacists during his failed run for Congress in western Washington. But according to Trump, who nominated him for office, he always knew Kent was “very, very weak on security.” Funny, he hired him and didn’t fire him. Kent walked out of the Executive Office building on his own volition. So we now have it from within the highest ranks of Trump’s own administration that the casus belli for the war on Iran was faked, in an even more blatant sham than the manufactured case for going to war on Iraq, a war Trump falsely claims he opposed from the beginning. But, like John Kerry, Trump was for the Iraq war before he was against it. It’s worth reiterating that even before the June 2025 bombings of Iran’s nuclear sites, there’s evidence that Iran was intent on building a nuclear weapon (and a lot of evidence that it wasn’t), even though perhaps they should have, given that possession of a stockpile of nuclear weapons seems to be the only deterrent against getting attacked by the US or Israel. Just this week, North Korea was gleefully launching 10 ballistic missiles into the Pacific during joint military exercises by the US and South Korea without even a squeak of protest from Kim’s former pen pal, Donald Trump. Again, Tulsi Gabbard said as much not long before Trump’s Operation of Midnight Hammer, testifying before Congress that “the intelligence community continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003,” When asked about Gabbard’s testimony, Trump snarled: “I don’t care what she says. She’s wrong. My intelligence community is wrong,” But he didn’t fire Gabbard for being wrong and publicly contradicting him. Trump, Rubio, and Witkoff have repeatedly claimed that Iran was merely weeks away from having not only a stockpile of enriched uranium but a nuclear weapon: “If we didn’t hit within two weeks, they would’ve had a nuclear weapon. When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen.” (March 4) Trump has continued to push this lie in the last few days, as his war has gone south: “[W]e’re doing very, very well in Iran, knocking the hell out of them. And you have to do that. We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon. They were two weeks away — in my opinion, two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.” (March 17) Once again, it’s Trump’s position that his own top intelligence appointees are lying about his lies about going to war against Iran. Still, not many Americans bought what Trump was trying to sell. Support for the Iran war remains at around 40 percent. And the fog of lies began to rapidly dissipate when Trump’s little excursion ran aground on the Strait of Hormuz, shattering the global economy and unleashing chaos across the region. In an interview with Medhi Hassan, Senator Chris Van Hollen claimed Trump was duped by Netanyahu into going to war with Iran: They’ve had these constantly shifting rationales, and the reason they have to keep shifting them is because when they say that one thing was their goal – like getting rid of Iran’s nuclear capacity, they claimed – that turns out to be just not true….Netanyahu just a few weeks ago said he’d been waiting 40 years for an American president to join him in attacking Iran. And in Donald Trump, he finally found somebody stupid enough and reckless enough to actually do it. Sorry, Senator, but this lets Trump off the hook. Iran has been on Trump’s targeting radar since Obama signed the nuclear deal. He assassinated Qasem Suleimani, head of the IRG’s Al Quds Force, in 2020 and bombed three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last June. As the Epstein scandal engulfed Trump, he began talking up another bombing campaign on Iran and the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores fed his delusion that he could pull off a similar pain-free operation in Iran, a delusion Netanyahu was eager to stoke, against all intelligence to the contrary. Perhaps Trump will now replace Joe Kent with Newt Gingrich, who is very, very strong on security. So strong that Newt, the Edward Teller of our tormented times, advised Trump to drop 12 thermo-nuclear bombs on Iran to blast out a canal by-passing the Strait of Hormuz. In other words, someone with the guts to start a nuclear holocaust to prevent one. +++ “Since Auschwitz, we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima, we know what is at stake.” – Viktor Frankl + Knowing, however, hasn’t made much of a difference in the direction things keep going or slowed the accelerating speed at which we’re getting there… + During a White House press gathering with Sanae Takaichi, the new prime minister of Japan, Trump was asked why he didn’t alert Asian and European allies about the planned first strike on Iran. He snapped in reply, “We didn’t tell anyone about it because we wanted a surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Then he turned to a visibly stricken Takaichi and said, “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” What a bizarre comparison and an unconscious (presumably) admission of the criminality of the US surprise strikes on Iran. The parallel isn’t exact, however. Japan limited itself to attacks on a US military base, while Trump smart bombed an Iranian girls’ school. + Trump: “They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.” + Sure, Don. It only happened in every war game about attacking Iran ever conducted by the Pentagon, CIA, DIA, Army War College and RAND… + Yet more proof that the Republican Party has turned into a Jonestown-like cult and would mindlessly disavow any previously held conviction and swig toxic Kool-Aid given them if their Supreme Leader ordered them to… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404636" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar-680x347.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="347" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar-680x347.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar-1200x612.jpeg 1200w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar-768x392.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar-500x255.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar-600x306.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gopsupportiranwar.jpeg 1373w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + On Tuesday, Joe Kent resigned as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center in protest of Trump’s war on Iran. In his resignation letter, Kent wrote that Iran posed no threat to the US… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-404637" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joekent.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="880" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joekent.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joekent-487x630.jpeg 487w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joekent-500x647.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/joekent-600x776.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + No one this high-ranking resigned from the Biden administration over abetting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, which tells you a lot about the people who ran the Biden administration, most of whom should be hauled to The Hague. + Trump on Kent’s resignation: “I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security. It’s a good thing that he’s out.” Is this an admission that Trump spent more time evaluating the contestants on The Apprentice than he did on his National Security staff? + You don’t have to read too deeply between the lines of Tulsi Gabbard’s response to Kent’s resignation to get the gist: Trump does whatever the hell he wants, regardless of what we say, if he even bothers to listen. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404638" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement-680x517.png" alt="" width="680" height="517" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement-680x517.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement-828x630.png 828w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement-768x584.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement-500x380.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement-600x457.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gabbardstatement.png 1188w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The question is, why didn’t Gabbard walk out with Joe Kent? What does she expect to get out of this in the end, except an NDA she’ll be forced (or paid) to sign prohibiting her from saying what she really thought of Trump… + Nothing much will surprise me about Tulsi Gabbard, but I’m still curious as to what Gabbard gets out of working in the Trump administration. They’ve basically kept her in a closet for months. She doesn’t travel. She doesn’t make press appearances. She won’t even go on the friendly confines of Fox, where every question is set up for her like an at-bat during a T-ball game. She’s been kept out of White House meetings on Iran, Israel and Venezuela. No one inside the Trump decision-making circle seems to value or care what she has to say. What’s in it for her? + Here’s a passage from Trump’s National Security Strategy, released in December 2025, now no longer worth the pixels it was written on… The days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-term planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over—not because the Middle East no longer matters, but because it is no longer the constant irritant, and potential source of imminent catastrophe, that it once was. It is rather emerging as a place of partnership, friendship, and investment.” Conflict remains the Middle East’s most troublesome dynamic, but there is today less to this problem than headlines might lead one to believe. Iran—the region’s chief destabilizing force—has been greatly weakened by Israeli actions since October 7, 2023, and President Trump’s June 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer, which significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear program. We should encourage and applaud reform when and where it emerges organically, without trying to impose it from without. The key to successful relations with the Middle East is accepting the region, its leaders, and its nations as they are while working together on areas of common interest. + Trump, of course, wants it both ways and all the ways in between: “If I didn’t terminate Obama’s horrible deal, the Iran nuclear deal, you would’ve had nuclear holocaust.” We’re much closer now to a nuclear holocaust with Pakistan, India, Russia and Israel all with their fingers on the nuclear triggers than under the Obama deal, which Trump tore up and Biden shamefully refused to renegotiate. + Anna Kramer in NOTUS: “Six months before the Trump administration began bombing Iran, the Department of State fired its oil and gas experts. State’s energy division got completely DOGE’d. And with it went the people who knew how to plan for a global energy crisis.” + According to Forbes: “Economists have warned rising oil prices may push the US into a recession.” + This week, Brent crude oil climbed 5% to $112.2 a barrel, a more than 50% rise since the start of the war. It’s not just the result of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has also successfully attacked oil production facilities in the UAE and Iraq. + The average price of diesel in the US hit $5 a gallon for the first time since 2022, an increase of more than a third since the start of the war. + Gas prices at the pump here in Oregon seem to be ticking upward every hour, but Germany has taken action to restrict changes in pump prices to once a day. + I checked the scoreboard at the Flying J on I-5 near Aurora, Oregon on Friday morning…and Iran seems to be running up the score. ($5.09 per gallon for mid-grade.) and $5.79 per gallon for diesel.) <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404779" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-680x907.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="907" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-680x907.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-473x630.jpeg 473w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-500x667.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_1558-scaled.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Why hasn’t King Donald issued an Imperial Edict restricting the price of regular gas to $3.00 a gallon? None of the oil refined into gasoline in the US passes through the Strait of Hormuz. This is just straight-out price-gouging by his buddies in Big Oil. + Martin Wolf writing in the Financial Times, “If the Strait is not reopened soon, the world risks both economic and political disruption. Only one major power, Russia, will be unambiguously better off.” + Israel continues to urge Iranians to revolt even though Mossad has privately determined they’ll be “slaughtered,” which is likely the scenario Israel wants. + The UN’s World Food Program warned this week that the war on Iran could cause an additional 45 million people to face hunger. The statement added that “increasing energy, fuel and fertilizer costs” could push 363 million people into food insecurity. + John Simpson, longtime correspondent and presenter for the BBC: “Over the years, I’ve been in many towns and cities when they were being bombed — in a few cases (Baghdad, Belgrade, etc.) by my own country. No matter what the justification, most of the victims have been entirely innocent. I’ve come to loathe the very thought of aerial bombardment.” + One diplomat with knowledge of the pre-war talks, where Iran offered to give up its nuclear enrichment program, told the Guardian: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.” This is absurd. Trump sent Witkoff and Kushner because he thinks they’re both more loyal to him than Rubio or Vance. + John Fetterman: “Iran doesn’t have any military capabilities left other than just a random drone here and there trying to produce chaos, and have that get amplified and platformed in the New York Times and whatever to make it seem like the world’s on fire, and that’s just not there.” Why are we still bombing them, then? What are we bombing? Who are we killing? Does Fetterman know? Does he care? Hello, is there anybody in there? + The Taliban didn’t have a Navy, an Air Force, a tank or even a drone and the US fought, droned and bombed them for 20 years before saying, in the immortal words of Roberto Duran, “No mas!” and finally getting the hell out… + Trump is sending 2,500 Marines to Karg Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Who knows why? After picking up his Nobel Peace prize, Trump’s nemesis and eternal obsession, Barack Obama, sent 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in 2011 to shore up the failing US war, only to see the war end up failing even worse than before. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404639" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-680x369.png" alt="" width="680" height="369" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-680x369.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-1160x630.png 1160w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-768x417.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-1536x834.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-2048x1112.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-500x272.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/petesessions-600x326.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Rep. Pete Sessions: “I believe that what these 2,500 Marines would be is to secure the island. The island is not, in my opinion, boots on the ground in combat circumstances. It’s not like inside Iran in the cities.” + When are “boots on the ground” not boots on the ground? When the Marines are outfitted in Trump’s Florsheim wingtips! + The Saudis have been urging Trump to “continue pounding” Iran. Crown Prince Bonesaws, President Bone Spurs and Bibi, the Axis of Sadism… + Israel assassinated Ali Larijan, head of Iranian securing and one of Iran’s top diplomats, to stop any negotiated end of the war and drag the US deeper into it. In Iran, it will inevitably give more power to the most reactionary forces in the country… + Israel continues to hemorrhage support among Americans, across the political spectrum. A new NBC News poll found only 32 percent view Israel positively, down from 47 percent in 2023, while 39 percent see it negatively, up from 24 percent. The turn against Israel is occurring in parties and all ages, but most decisively among Democrats with positive views collapsing to 13 percent, and among young voters aged 18-34 at just 13 percent positive versus 63 percent negative. Sympathies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have also flipped, with 40 percent now siding more with Palestinians compared to 39 percent for Israelis, amid Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. Net-Favorability of Israel All: +6% Democrats: -25% Independents: -9% Republicans: +46% 18-34 Year Olds: -35% 35-49 Year Olds: -6% 50-64 Year Olds: +12% 65+ Year Olds: +27% Echelon / March 16, 2026 + The Democrats are a poll-fixated party on just about every issue, except Israel. + Ben Ehrenreich: “As a feature writer with more than twenty years of experience in the industry, I don’t think of magazines as A-tier or B-tier or whatever. I just think about whether they shilled for genocide.” + Donald “More Amazing Than Kreskin” Trump says he predicted Iran would block the Strait of Hormuz: “I predicted all of it. I predicted Osama bin Laden would knock out the World Trade Center. I made that prediction a year before he did it.” (He didn’t.) + Marjorie Taylor Greene: “It’s just wrong to make Americans think that every single Palestinian in Gaza was a member of Hamas. That’s just not true. There were tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians murdered by these bombs that were dropped on them. And now the same thing is happening in Lebanon.” + Trump’s top economic advisor, Kevin Hassett: “If the war were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the US economy very much at all. It would hurt consumers, and we’d have to think about what we’d have to do about that, but that’s really the last of our concerns right now.” Are they really going with this? + Trump: “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP” Any one found on the street ranting like this would be carted off to the nearest state mental hospital… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404641" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet-680x558.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="558" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet-680x558.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet-767x630.jpeg 767w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet-768x631.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet-500x411.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet-600x493.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumpnatotweet.jpeg 1510w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + If Trump’s disastrous bombing “excursion” in Iran prompts him to yank the US out of NATO, so much the better for NATO…and everybody else. + A piece in Air and Space Forces magazine estimates that the US has already lost more than 10 percent of its MQ-9 Reaper drone fleet. + Aside from oil and natural gas, Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has also blocked the transport of at least one-third of the world’s supply of helium, the principal cooling agent for MRI scanners and the production of microchips. When will the Tech Lords begin to get squeamish? +++ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404648" class="wp-image-404648 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nazeer-with-Kids1-1773674258.jpg-680x453.webp" alt="" width="680" height="453" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nazeer-with-Kids1-1773674258.jpg-680x453.webp 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nazeer-with-Kids1-1773674258.jpg-768x512.webp 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nazeer-with-Kids1-1773674258.jpg-500x333.webp 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nazeer-with-Kids1-1773674258.jpg-600x400.webp 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nazeer-with-Kids1-1773674258.jpg.webp 770w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal holding two of his children. Photo courtesy of AfghanEvac. + Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, a former Afghan soldier who served alongside US special forces and fled his native country after its takeover by the Taliban, died in ICE custody last week shortly after being seized by immigration officers. + At least 41 people have died in ICE custody since Trump re-took office in 2025. + Stephen Miller: “If all of this theft were stopped, it would be enough to balance the budget. The extraction of wealth from American taxpayers to people who don’t belong here is the primary cause of the national debt.” Is he talking about Lockheed, Raytheon or Boeing? No, Somali-Americans. + Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: I reviewed the Heritage Foundation’s database of voter fraud cases since the 1980s. They had just 10 examples of undocumented immigrants voting. I know of 2 more. Over decades. Importantly, several would NOT have been impacted by voter ID, as they involved stolen identities.” + Rep. Ted Lieu on the problem that doesn’t exist: “Undocumented immigrants want nothing to do with the govt! To vote, you have to first register. How many undocumented immigrants are gonna go, ‘Yes, I’m gonna give all my information to the government that’s maybe trying to deport me. No way!’” + Florida Sheriff Grady Judd called for a path to citizenship in a press conference this week. “The way our system is designed, we can’t get millions of people out of the country anyways.” Judd has been the sheriff of Polk County, Florida, for the last 20 years. + Washington Post: “Little is known about the exact whereabouts of Salvadorans who were deported from the U.S. and are now imprisoned in CECOT. Relatives and lawyers say they have had no contact with their detained loved ones and have been unable to confirm where they are being held.” + Court records from DC show that U.S. Park Police have been pulling over migrant workers in commercial vans without a warrant or probable cause. and turning them directly over to ICE. + Stephany Gauffeny, a North Texas widow, received a letter approving her husband Miguel Garcia’s immigration status, two months after he was killed in a shooting by a rooftop sniper at an ICE prison in Dallas. Gauffeny also gave birth to the couple’s child after Garcia’s murder. + Several DHS contractors told the White House they were asked to pay Kristi Noem’s “special advisor,” Corey Lewandowski, to “protect and grow” their contracts with the department. Corey says it never happened. But the allegations parallel reports that Border Tsar Thomas Homan was caught in an FBI sting accepting a $50,000 cash bribe to secure similar contracts with the Trump administration. Hunter Biden would’ve needed three laptops to keep pace with this level of corruption. + House Republicans in Tennessee passed a bill requiring schools to “track” and “report” immigrant students. All 1.2 million K-12 students will be required to prove their citizenship. + It’s about time… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404689" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM-680x642.png" alt="" width="680" height="642" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM-680x642.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM-668x630.png 668w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM-768x725.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM-500x472.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM-600x566.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-4.04.08-PM.png 1414w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Meanwhile, China is working to expand Cuba’s solar power system. + Trump: “I do believe I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba. That’s a big honor. Taking Cuba in some form. I think I can do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” + It’s supremely ironic that a failed casino magnate wants to re-take Cuba. The sinister course of American imperialism couldn’t have traveled in a fuller circle. + Greg Grandin: “The true ‘Latin Americanization’ of the US isn’t rehashing negative stereotypes of Latin America but understanding how the same violent economic restructuring that was imposed on Latin America in the late Cold War was imposed on the US after the Cold War.” + In other words, the economic strangulation of Cuba, now in its seventh decade, is also taking place in the US through the relentless, bipartisan imposition of austerity economics that keeps slashing away at already gutted social welfare programs, health care, and environmental protections for poor and working-class people. The two policies are, in fact, one and should be resisted as such. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404644" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-680x452.png" alt="" width="680" height="452" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-947x630.png 947w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-768x511.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-1536x1022.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-2048x1363.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-500x333.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/trumporiginate-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Trump, putting it “nicely”: I originate–to put it nicely–I originate– many of us do–from Europe. I love Europe. I’ve spent a lot of time in Europe. It’s a different place. Bad, bad things have happened to Europe. Very bad things. And you better do something about immigration and energy or you won’t have a Europe. Where did “Europe” originate from? Was Attila the Hun “European”? What about the Ottomans, who controlled most of southeastern Europe for 600 years? How about the Moors who ruled and shaped much of Spain and Portugal (for the better) for 800 years? Are the Irish “European”? Well, they’re a member of the EU and their hated British colonizers aren’t, so perhaps. +++ + A new survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that at least 19 million Americans have “seriously considered” shooting someone, once against confirming DH Lawrence’s shrewd assessment of our national character: “The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.” (Studies in Classic American Literature) + It’s hilarious how shameless the MAGA-meme factory is… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404651" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce-680x910.png" alt="" width="680" height="910" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce-680x910.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce-471x630.png 471w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce-768x1028.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce-500x669.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce-600x803.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/skenesairforce.png 846w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + What’s next, hailing Don Jr as a true American Patriot because he briefly considered joining the Marines …before he heard about the snakes on Parris Island? + Radio silence from these same people after the Venezuelans defeated the vaunted US team (payroll $360 million) in the World Baseball Classic final. Let’s just hope Trump doesn’t have ICE detain and ship to an El Salvadoran prison Ronald Acuña, Salvy Perez and Eugenio Suarez in retaliation, they way he’s done to hundreds of other Venezuelans merely for having tattoos and wearing baseball caps. + Oregon Senator Ron Wyden on the Justice Department’s continuing cover-up of the Epstein files: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—Trump’s former personal lawyer who was also responsible for Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer to a cushy club fed—has intervened to block the DEA from providing details of a mysterious Epstein investigation to my Finance Committee team…. This is stunning interference. The document I’m after literally says ‘unclassified’ at the top. The investigation it details is closed. Given Blanche’s close personal ties to Donald Trump, this reeks of a continued cover-up to protect key names in the Trump administration. + Anne Marie Cox on Epstein’s cultivation of scientistic support to justify white male supremacy: “Epstein gravitated toward fields and figures that rank humans, explain away cruelty, or biologize inequality… He identified and aligned himself with the intellectual machinery now justifying our current dystopia.” + It’s somehow fitting that the early-onset Alzheimer’s Administration gutted Alzheimer’s research… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404653" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-680x875.png" alt="" width="680" height="875" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-680x875.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-490x630.png 490w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-768x988.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-1194x1536.png 1194w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-500x643.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch-600x772.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/alzheimersresearch.png 1208w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> +++ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404624" class="wp-image-404624 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg-680x438.webp" alt="" width="680" height="438" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg-680x438.webp 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg-978x630.webp 978w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg-768x495.webp 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg-500x322.webp 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg-600x386.webp 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RanchoRioCreek-sm2-OshaDavidson.jpg.webp 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Rancho Rio Creek, Oak Flats. Photo: Osha Davidson. (Courtesy Apache Stronghold.) + The once liberal (though never as liberal as its reputation) Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an execrable ruling this week allowing the feds to transfer title to Oak Flats, one of the most sacred landscapes of the Apache, to Resolution Cooper, the Australian-owned mining comglomerate, which, unless the Supremes miraculously intervene, will allow them to begin boring holes in the fragile desert immediately. It’s remarkable that the small band of Apaches, greens, and lawyers has held off the earth-gougers for as long as they have, given the monied interests they’re fighting against. As Michael Nixon, one of the lawyers for Apache Stronghold, told me: “The land’s not the USA’s to try and give away or trade to the Sino-Aussie-British mining corp. It’s always been and still legally Apache land.” Biden could have saved Oak Flats with a sweep of his autopen. That he chose not to do so will go down as one of his most shameful failures, the environmental equivalent of arming a genocide in Gaza. The only realistic hope of saving Oak Flats under Trump was that the religious right would support the religious freedom arguments made by the skilled constitutional lawyers for the Apaches and that they would help persuade the likes of Barrett, Gorsuch and Roberts to block the mine. That didn’t happen, largely because the Christian Right only believes in religious freedom for themselves. There are still a few legal monkeywrenches that can be thrown against the mine, but the last line of defense, as it has been for centuries, will likely be the bodies of the Apaches themselves. + In the last 20 years, beef production has caused four times as much deforestation as the cultivation of any other food source. + Economist Tony Annett: “Renewables are now the cheapest form of energy in electricity generation. People who claim otherwise still think it’s 2010…” + Fueled by drought, lack of snow and extreme winds, the wildfires racing across the plains of Nebraska have now charred nearly a million acres. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404663" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-680x825.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="825" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-680x825.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-519x630.jpeg 519w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-768x932.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-1266x1536.jpeg 1266w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-500x607.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire-600x728.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/nebraskafire.jpeg 1320w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + A new study in Lancet Global Health finds that shifting the international burden of climate-change mitigation onto higher-income countries could avoid 13.5 million premature deaths from air pollution in middle- and lower-income countries by 2050. + Longtime CounterPunch contributor John Perry on the 10th anniversary of Berta Cáceres murder: Before her murder on 2 March 2016, Berta Cáceres, a campaigner against dams and mining projects that were displacing rural communities in Honduras, told the reporter Nina Lakhani: “I want to live. I love my country, and we must rebuild it so that young people are not forced to emigrate.” If Cáceres’s murder is still unresolved, so is the question of how ordinary Hondurans can wrest control of their country from the dozen families that control much of the media and many large businesses, and have close ties with both the Honduran military and politicians in the United States. + Primatologists studying aggressive behavior (slapping, hitting, charging, biting and trampling) among 22 groups of chimpanzees and bonobos at 16 zoos across Europe showed no statistical difference between the two species of Pan. While the smug reporters at Reuters claimed that the study “debunks the Bonobos’ reputation of being the cool hippies of the simian world,” perhaps the research really shows that chimps and bonobos were both driven to violent outbursts by the madness-inducing living conditions of prolonged confinement in a prison-like environment. + In the dark forest along Bourbon Creek, dominated by 200-foot tall Douglas-firs, some of them 300 years old, sunlight still finds a way through… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404623" class="wp-image-404623 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-680x1122.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="1122" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-680x1122.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-382x630.jpeg 382w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-768x1268.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-931x1536.jpeg 931w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-1241x2048.jpeg 1241w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-500x825.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-600x990.jpeg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bourboncreek-scaled.jpeg 1551w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Bourbon Creek old-growth stand. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. + This public land on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the Washington Cascades, adjacent to a wilderness area and habitat for endangered species such as the Northern Spotted Owl, is once again under threat of ecological obliteration, as Trump moves to restart clear-cutting in the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, exempting the logging operations from environmental laws. +++ + The revolting revelations about Cesar Chavez’s pedophilia and the raping of Dolores Huerta probably won’t come as too much of a shock to those who read Frank Bardacke’s invaluable history of the United Farmworkers movement, Trampling Out the Vintage, which pierced the carefully constructed veil that had concealed from public view some of the more unsavory aspects of Chavez’s career and personality. + Tim Noah on Cesar Chavez: People are complicated. Cesar Chavez was an organizing genius and also a monster. Shocking but not surprising to learn he sexually abused underaged girls and raped Dolores Huerta. We knew already that Chavez wrecked his union trying to turn it into a Synanon-inspired cult. He hired thugs (“cesarchavistas”) to go south of the border and beat up migrants, whom he disparaged as “wetbacks.” He turned against his closest allies. All this has been known for years. We still have much to learn from his brilliant grape boycott and his successful lobbying for CA legislation to protect farm workers. The personality cult always distracted people from that. + The US is failing at really basic things like delivering the mail, keeping trains on tracks, providing rural health care services and taking care of the teachers trying to educate its kids: In 2008, 62% of K-12 teachers said they were very satisfied with their job. By 2022, that figure had fallen to just 12%. The richest (or second richest) country in the world is well on its way to becoming a failed state by many metrics, including some of the most important ones measuring the health of a society. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404654" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-680x413.png" alt="" width="680" height="413" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-680x413.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-1036x630.png 1036w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-768x467.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-1536x934.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-2048x1245.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-500x304.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/virginiafox-600x365.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Rep. Virginia Foxx: “One of our colleagues just talked about the fact that wealthy people pay small percentages of their income on taxes. But what he didn’t say is they pay over 50% of all the taxes paid in this country, and that working-class people don’t pay nearly as much as they do.” How did the Democrats ever lose working-class voters to this party? Oh, yeah, Schumer explained it, right before HRC’s loss to Trump: “We don’t need blue-collar voters anymore, we’ve got suburban women.” + Even Kid Rock said he was shocked and “pissed off” after learning that Trump’s Justice Department had cut a deal with the price-gougers at Live Nation, a company whose executives laughed at how easily they were picking the pockets of concert-goers. But you shouldn’t have been surprised, Kid. Don’t you know every day is TACO Tuesday? + This week, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate fraud, which he appears to believe is mainly committed by immigrants, especially Somalis. But in the last year alone, Trump has pardoned more than a dozen people convicted of fraud, including… Jason Galanis ~$200M+ Joseph Schwartz ~$38M Lawrence Duran ~$205M (Medicare fraud billed; ~$87M paid) Carlos Watson ~$60M investor fraud Trevor Milton ~$20M+ investor losses Todd Chrisley ~$30M bank fraud Julie Chrisley ~$30M bank fraud Devon Archer ~$60M tribal bond scheme George Santos ~$44K–$1M+ (multiple fraud schemes) Michele Fiore ~$70K charity fraud Brian Kelsey ~$90K campaign finance fraud Scott Jenkins ~$75K bribery/fraud scheme Paul Walczak ~$10M+ tax fraud Adriana Camberos ~$1M+ counterfeit/fraud + Percent of the population of the US with a net worth of $1 million or more: 7 Percent of the population of the US Senate with a net worth of $1 million or more: 73 + The Postmaster General, David Steiner, who has served on the board of FedEx since 2009, claimed this week that the US Postal Service “will be out of cash in less than 12 months” and might be forced to stop deliveries in 2027. We’re seeing the planned destruction of a government service mandated by the US Constitution so that companies like FedEx can completely privatize the US mail system. + Over half of Americans say health care, a weeklong vacation and a new car are unaffordable. + There are currently 14,500 satellites in orbit around the Earth, 10,025 of which belong to Elon Musk’s Starlink. +++ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404655" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-680x401.png" alt="" width="680" height="401" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-680x401.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-1069x630.png 1069w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-768x452.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-1536x905.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-2048x1207.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-500x295.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/jesusboy-600x353.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Fox News broke the story of the millennium this weekend, when former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany interviewed a man who met Jesus during his 18-day “visit to Heaven”…and Jesus turns out to be, I don’t quite know how to put it but…uh…gay? Kayleigh McEnany: You saw him [Jesus] face-to-face. You had a conversation. What did he say? Gabe Poirot: Well, I didn’t originally see him face to face, because my face was down, because I was so concerned that the list of my mistakes was going to be pulled up and I was done for. It was like black and white, like I have no hope, right? But he picks up my face. He looks me in the eyes, and he says, ‘Gabriel, why are you so concerned about that which is paid for?’ And he showed me the wounds in his hands? Not his hands, like his wrists. And they carried the depth of eternity. His wounds had a name: ‘Gabriel.’ He did this for me. Like I was his only one. That I’ll forever be his only one. He’d waited his entire life just for me. + Speaking of the Supreme Christian diety, on a recent episode of the Reformation Red Pill podcast, host Joshua Haymes and Brooks Potteiger, (Re-Pete Hegseth’s pastor at Christ Church D.C) prayed that their God would kill Texas State Rep. James Talarico, or stop him “by any means necessary:” “I pray that God kills him. Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to a new life in Christ … If it would not be within God’s will to do so, stop him by any means necessary.” Talarico is a Presbyterian minister and Democratic Senate nominee. Sharia Law would be a step up from whatever law encourages the public “praying” for celestial drone-strikes… + Gregg Phillips, the man who runs FEMA emergency disaster response office, claims he was once teleported in his car to a Waffle House 50 miles away and, surprise, that it wasn’t any fun: . I was with my boys one time, and I was telling them I was gonna go to Waffle House and get Waffle House. And I ended up at a Waffle House – this was in Georgia, and I end up at a Waffle House like 50 miles away from where I was. And they said, ‘Where are you?’ and I said, ‘A Waffle House.’ And: ‘a Waffle House where?’ And I said: ‘Waffle House in Rome, Georgia.’ And they said: “‘That’s not possible, you just left here a moment ago.’ But it was possible. It was real. On another occasion, Phillips said his car was “lifted up” and deposited in a ditch near a church 40 miles away. “Teleporting is no fun,” Phillips warned. “You know it’s happening, but you can’t do anything about it, and so you just go, you just go with the ride. And wow, what just an incredible adventure it all was.” Phillips said on the podcast Onward. We’re living in the worst X-Files episode ever made. + Trump: “There’s actually never been a paint that’s made that will look like gold. You either gold-leaf it or you use a different color. Nobody’s ever been able to make a gold paint that looks real. A little minor thing for the media. I said someday I’m gonna discover a paint where you don’t have to actually use gold leaf.” Over to you, Vincent… And you, too, Master Van Rjin… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404659" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-12.09.25-PM.png" alt="" width="680" height="872" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-12.09.25-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-12.09.25-PM-491x630.png 491w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-12.09.25-PM-500x641.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-12.09.25-PM-600x769.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> + Javier Bardem on his “Free Palestine” remark at the Oscars: “It’s important to understand that you can be part of the movie-making community and also be a citizen who uses this huge speaker to denounce injustice.” + I was once again shut out at the Oscars as The Secret Agent, The Voice of Hind Rajab and The Alabama Solution all lost in their various Best Film categories, but in losing, they won, given the voting pool and the fifty-year history of the Academy Awards handing out the Best Film Oscar to a film other than the year’s best film. + Letter from Hunter Thompson to Anthony Burgess, regarding an overdue article for Rolling Stone magazine by the author of A Clockwork Orange … <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404660" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/thompsonltr.png" alt="" width="640" height="677" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/thompsonltr.png 640w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/thompsonltr-596x630.png 596w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/thompsonltr-500x529.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/thompsonltr-600x635.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /> Dave Marsh used to complain to me that Thompson’s stuff arrived to the Rolling Stone offices by fax in such incoherent conditions that it was almost impossible to edit into a readable story. I’m sure the prose degenerated across the 1970s. But this blast at Burgess is pretty sharp and funny. Alexander Cockburn, who admired both Thompson and Jack Kerouac, could never forgive Hunter for blowing his brains out and leaving the mess for his wife to find. But all those macho-prose guys idolized Hemingway and surely Thompson, realizing he was dried up as a writer, thought it was better to go out like Papa rather than dissolve into a reactionary crank slumped on his mother Gabrielle’s couch as Kerouac did… + Large Language Model chat boxes keep urging people to break up their relationships. Why? Because the bots were trained on Reddit, where an analysis of 15 years of relationship advice found that 50% of the comments urged people to “leave” their romantic partners. + A study by researchers at the University of British Columbia published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that texting a random stranger is a better antidote to loneliness than conversing with a chat box. + It’s coming to the point where littering your writing with typos, howlers and grammatical offenses–never a problem for me; it just comes naturally–will be the last way to prove it was composed by a human. So, stop complaining about the typos in CounterPunch and relish them as artifacts of the authenticity of our prose! From reading and editing dozens of articles a day for going on 40 years, it’s becoming easier to detect not only which stories have been written with the aid an AI writing program but which program they’ve been written with–they each deaden the prose in their own particular and peculiar way. Her eyes look up with tears of dust, her breath all smoke, she left hanging Booked Up What I’m reading this week… Washington is Burning: Corruption and Lies in the Age of Trump Andrew Cockburn (Verso) Nuclear Weapons: An International History David Holloway (Yale) The Four Heavens: a New History of the Ancient Maya David Stuart (Princeton) Sound Grammar What I’m listening to this week… Beautifulism: Sweet Surrender Marquis Hill (Black Unlimited) Transmitter Cut Worms (Jaglaguwar) Lotus Bridge The Monochrome Set (Tapete Records) The Little Pictures Remain “People who try to tell you what the blitz was like in London start with fire and explosion and then almost invariably end up with some very tiny detail which crept in and set and became the symbol of the whole thing for them. . . . “It’s the glass,” says one man, “the sound in the morning of the broken glass being swept up, the vicious, flat tinkle.” … An old woman was selling little miserable sprays of sweet lavender. The city was rocking under the bombs and the light of burning buildings made it like day. . . . And in one little hole in the roar her voice got in—a squeaky voice. “Lavender!” she said. “Buy Lavender for luck.” The bombing itself grows vague and dreamlike. The little pictures remain as sharp as they were when they were new.” – John Steinbeck, A Russian Journal The post Roaming Charges: Trump’s Little Excursion Hits the Straits appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jeffrey St. Clair.
Small World One of the advantages of the U.K. compared to the U.S. is it’s small. In the five hours it takes to go from Micanopy, Florida (where I lived for five years) to Miami, I can drive clear across England to Wales, a separate country within the U.K. There, they speak Welsh (as well More The post Wartime vs Deep Time appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" 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decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="624" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404419" class="wp-image-404419 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png" alt="" width="680" height="624" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-500x459.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-10.51.39-PM-600x551.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Pillow lavas at Ynys Llanddwyn, Wales, March 2026. Photo: The author. Small World One of the advantages of the U.K. compared to the U.S. is it’s small. In the five hours it takes to go from Micanopy, Florida (where I lived for five years) to Miami, I can drive clear across England to Wales, a separate country within the U.K. There, they speak Welsh (as well as English), have their own parliament, and developed a unique culture – think poets (Dylan Thomas) and singers (Shirley Bassey). The landscape is varied, ranging from marine to grasslands to montane. Snowdonia National Park in the northwest alone contains temperate rainforests, alpine peaks, and coastal dunes. Beyond that is the island of Anglesey, Newborough Forest and Ynys Llanddwyn, site of a UNESCO “global geopark.” That’s where my wife Harriet and I headed last week, eight days after the start of the U.S. war against Iran. We wanted to clock the national pulse while at the same time diverting ourselves from war-scrolling. Keeping your hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock for hours at a time is a good way to keep them off your phone. Most of all, we hoped the unique geological formations on Llanddwyn Island could help us understand the relationship between deep time (the timescale of geologic history) and war time. Costs of War Donald Trump started his war on an impulse. There was no casus belli, no geopolitical imperative, and no domestic bloodlust to be gratified. (Before the U.S. attacked, I doubt there were Americans anywhere who went to bed worried about Iran.) There was no plausible macro-economic or sectoral gain; U.S. weapons manufacturers and oil giants are getting a boost of course, but those industries’ appetites are already well slaked. No world-systems theory that can help us understand the attack. No globalist conspirators set Trump’s plan in motion. Netanyahu didn’t make him do it. Pathological narcissism predicts violence, but usually at the service of primary process emotions: fear, searching, rage, lust, panic, and play. It’s true Trump raged at Iran and Muslims for at least a generation, but what drove him to start a war now? You might as well ask why someone tugs his earlobe or scratches his chin as ponder why Trump went to war. On a certain day, in a certain place, after conversation with somebody – or all by himself – Trump decided to attack Iran. Perhaps it was a somatic reaction to an external prompt? Or an autonomic response – a fight or flight reaction – to an unknown stimulus ? We’ll never know; Trump himself doesn’t know. The peculiar genius of modern American democracy (Demokratia –rule of the people) is that the president has the power to start a war – Armageddon if it comes down to it – all by himself. Given that, it’s not surprising the U.S. is losing. The first week of the conflict cost the U.S. about $11 billion. The president may soon ask Congress for a supplemental appropriation of $50 billion to cover the first month or so of the war. The total, national price tag – if it lasts more than another week or two, is expected to be over $200 billion. That includes lost economic activity and higher interest payments. A major recession – triggered by the oil shock – would be incalculably more expensive. The Great Recession of 2008-10 cost the U.S. alone some $20 trillion in total lost wealth and output. Trump is burning political capital even faster than cash. His approval ratings are underwater by an average of 14%. At this rate, the Republicans will lose the House in the Fall midterm elections (assuming they are conducted), and Trump will spend the last two years of his term fending off impeachment. Iran has also suffered billions in losses. Its investment in naval and air forces —now largely destroyed — is irrecoverable. Its nuclear program (never close to bomb development) is also shattered, and Iran’s political and military hierarchy has been decimated. Trump has attacked Iran’s civilian infrastructure and threatened to “obliterate” it. (That’s Israel’s special sauce, perfected in Gaza.) But Iran was already in bad shape before the war, gutted by decades of U.S. economic sanctions. It has less to lose from a long war than the U.S. because it started with so little. Thousands of Iranian soldiers and civilians have been killed by the bombardment. But for a regime willing to machine gun thousands of its smartest and most productive citizens during protests, a few thousand more deaths are insignificant. Iranian missiles and drones have done significant damage to U.S. facilities in the gulf, especially in GCC states. More than that, these attacks have essentially shut down shipments – especially of oil — through the Persian Gulf. Given that the Iranians can affect this blockade with inexpensive, easy to hide drones launched from dhows, the strategy may remain effective for some time. U.S. warships are unlikely to be successful at escorting oil tankers, but even if they are, it will be weeks before they can be put in place. Beaten but unbowed, the repressive Iranian regime remains in control – indeed, it’s in the driver’s seat. It may soon demand from the repressive U.S. government “unconditional surrender”, or regime change as a precondition for opening the Gulf to U.S., GCC, and allied oil transport. Many Brits I’ve met would welcome either outcome. Trump’s demand that his erstwhile European allies send warships to open shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was an admission of failure and perhaps regret. If international leaders are smart, they’ll continue to let the president stew, and then quietly negotiate an end to the war. They may recall a song that was a smash hit (including in the U.K.) when Trump was a boy of 12: Connie Francis’s recording of “Who’s Sorry Now” (1958). Right to the end Just like a friend I tried to warn you somehow You had your way Now you must pay I’m glad that you’re sorry now (‘Who’s sorry now?” Music by Ted Snyder, lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, 1923) The Way West The start of war was as big a story in the U.K. as the U.S. The BBC, Guardian and London tabloids screamed war headlines, bumping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Lord Peter Mandelson – both Epstein chums — off the front pages and T.V chyrons. During the war’s first day or two, the focus of coverage was Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s initial, principled decision to abstain from the fighting. As a former international lawyer, he said, he knew an illegal war when he saw one. That decision was popular with the mass of the British public concerned about an ailing economy, mendicant NHS, and crippling housing costs. But rather than ride the crest of public approval, Starmer – true to form – settled in the trough of ridicule. In the face of Tory criticism for not standing shoulder to shoulder with the American cousins, the vacillant PM the next day offered up British bases for U.S. bombing runs, on the condition they were “defensive” in nature. Did he think the bombing of a school in Minab, Iran mere hours earlier (resulting in the death of more than 100 children) was an act of self-defense? By day six of the conflict, it was rising fuel costs and higher inflation, not Starmer, that held British attention. In between BBC4 radio broadcasts of Women’s Hour, Gardeners’ Question Time, Just a Minute, and The Archers, news programs led with “Rising Fuel Prices,” followed by “New Attacks on Gulf Shipping.” How stupid could the Americans be, British commentators and the public asked, not to prepare for Iran choking off oil and other shipments through the Strait of Hormuz? It’s not called the Persian Gulf for nothing! At the end of the second week of the war, petrol prices were up 15%; diesel 20 %, and home heating oil as much as 85%. Interest rates were also rising, most notably mortgages; that’s a very big deal here, and not only for new home buyers. In the U.K., long, fixed-rate mortgages don’t exist, so every few years, borrowers must negotiate new rates. And in lean times like these, even small increases can bankrupt a struggling family. The BBC offers almost daily interviews with experts on how to manage the financial uncertainty, but their advice mostly consists of the proverbial British “keep calm and carry on.” The one constant in my conversations with people I meet – including during my recent trip – is dislike of Trump. It’s mostly not the visceral contempt felt by many Americans, but a combination of aversion and bemusement. Halfway to Wales, we stopped in Laxton, Nottinghamshire to meet up with Mike, a Cambridge-educated, retired farmer and agribusiness consultant. He kindly agreed to guide us around the village and show us the open-field system of planting and harvesting that has been in use there for over 1,000 years. (There’s only one other community in the country that has maintained the protocol.) In the middle of describing how local, farm courts and jurors each year apportion the strips of land, and ensure they are properly watered, fertilized, rotated and fallowed, Mike interrupted himself and turned to me: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404423" class="wp-image-404423 size-full" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-15-at-7.43.51-PM.png" alt="" width="680" height="436" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-15-at-7.43.51-PM.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-15-at-7.43.51-PM-500x321.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-15-at-7.43.51-PM-600x385.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Open-fields and track, Laxton, Nottinghamshire, March 2026. Photo: Harriet Testing. “Wot abaat Trump?” he asked. “Awful,” I said, trying to match Mike’s economy. “E’s certenleh med a mess o’ things. Is ’e got anneh idea wot ’e’s dooin’?” “None whatsoever.” “A mess, ay” Mike concluded. Disparagement of Trump now cuts across party lines in the U.K. A week after ridiculing Starmer for initially denying military support for U.S. and Israeli bombing raids, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch backpedaled: “I said that we support their actions. I never said we should join.” Nigel Farage, leader of far-right and politically ascendant Reform U.K., said at a press conference in Westminster soon after the war began: “We should do all we can to support the operation.” A week later, as oil prices tracked skyward, he said: “…let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war.” By the time we reached Wales, it seemed like there wasn’t a politician in Britain willing to speak out in favor of the war on Iran. Finally taking the public’s pulse, Keir Starmer expressed his disinclination to accept Trump’s kind invitation to send warships to the gulf to serve as oil tanker escorts (aka targets). Everyone just wants the U.S. to quit the war. Deep Time Always Wins Anglesey is connected to the mainland by a pair of bridges, most notably the Menai Straits Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford and opened in 1826. It’s the world’s first road suspension bridge, and established the type for many later ones, including the Brooklyn Bridge (1883). The decks are hung from 80 massive, wrought iron bars, held together by 935 wrought iron links. The limestone towers are triumphal arches intended to welcome long-distance travelers headed from London to the Welsh port of Holyhead. From there, they could take a ferry to Ireland. But an even more formidable monument of much greater antiquity lies on the other side of the bridge, a few miles to the south. On Ynys Llanddwyn, a small, tidal island, part of the Newborough National Nature Reserve, are found a mélange of geologically rare “lava pillows,” formed in the Precambrian era, some 600 million years ago. As magma erupted from gaps in tectonic plates on the ocean floor, it was quickly cooled by seawater, forming pillows with glassy, outer shells. With the extrusion of more magma, the pillows filled up, collapsed and partially flattened under their own weight. The process was then repeated, creating more pillows, and so on, until there were great masses of them in multiple places. About 100 million years later, when tectonic plates shifted, these mélanges were brought to the surface where they now remain, jutting up through fine sand – the original Surrealistic Pillow. Made of calcite, jasper, quartz, and blueschist, they are quite beautiful in places, and sculptural too – like lumpy assemblages by the sculptor, Louise Bourgeois. Lava pillows are expressive of “deep time,” an idea that arose with the birth of geology and evolutionary biology in the late 18th and 19th centuries. That’s when James Hutton, Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin proposed that the earth was almost unfathomably older than natural theologists had proposed, and that change generally occurs slowly and by accretion, rather than with catastrophic suddenness. Upon examining the rock formations at Siccar Point in the Scottish Borders region, Hutton wrote that geologic history has “no vestige of a beginning, [and] no prospect of an end.” About 50 years later, Lyell proposed that the same geological processes that shaped the past continue to operate in the present. The earth’s surface is thus a laboratory in which the distant past can be examined and the future glimpsed. The idea was fundamental for Darwin. His theory of evolution by means of natural selection could only be true if change occurred slowly over a vast expanse of time. The lava pillows at Llanddwyn testify to geologic forces that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. But the term “deep time” is today often used to address chronological frames much briefer than geologic eras, though also much longer than a human lifespan, namely the Anthropocene. That’s the name of the epoch in geologic history when earth systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere) no longer follow their natural course but are directed by humans. Global warming – resulting from the mining, drilling, processing and burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and methane) — is the chief product of the Anthropocene, and source of a new consciousness of time. CO2 released decades and centuries ago is impacting the climate now and will continue to do so far into the future. Greenhouse gases emitted today will have minimal impact on people in the present, but a major impact on people a generation or more from now. Our time horizons, therefore, no longer only extend forward, but also backwards into anthropogenic deep time. The current conflict is one of war-time vs deep-time. In such a contest, the latter always wins; it’s only the nature of the victory that’s uncertain. Our addiction to oil should have ended two generations ago. That’s when OAPEC countries imposed an embargo of oil to nations – especially the U.S. — that were sending shipments of arms to Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The price rises pushed most of the globe into recession and helped trigger the lurch into Neo-liberalism – a class war of the rich against the poor. Another oil shock followed six years later in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, and then another in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If the war against Iran finally pushes nations to de-carbonize, it will have had a generally salutary effect, though not, of course, upon the innocent people murdered or maimed by Trump’s impulsivity. Nations will awaken to their vulnerability and rush full throttle toward an embrace of renewable energy and a green economy. Trump’s failure in that case will be complete – he intends the war to secure Iran’s oil for American and other multinationals, and guarantee for generations to come the dominance of what Andreas Malm called “fossil capital.” If instead, the war enables the latter eventuality – U.S. seizure of Iran’s oil assets, militarization of shipping routes, and a generation of low-cost fossil fuels — it will have a very different impact. In that circumstance, the ongoing crisis of the Anthropocene will worsen, hastening American and civilizational decline. In either instance, however, deep time will have its way. The post Wartime vs Deep Time appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Stephen F. Eisenman.
The Relentless Nightmare of Fukushima, 15 Years On
Nine countries now possess nuclear weapons and we have just seen the start of a new war in the Middle East over one more nation supposedly trying to acquire them. While we consider the dangers of such weapons and their capacity to cause massive destruction, we often overlook the risks associated with what still passes for “peaceful” nuclear power. With that in mind, let me revisit a moment when that reality should have become far clearer. More The post The Relentless Nightmare of Fukushima, 15 Years On appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-2048x1445.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-500x353.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-600x423.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1807" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-scaled.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-scaled.png 2560w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-680x480.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-893x630.png 893w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-768x542.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-1536x1084.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-2048x1445.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-500x353.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-600x423.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="893" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-893x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-893x630.png 893w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-680x480.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-768x542.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-1536x1084.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-2048x1445.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-500x353.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-600x423.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 893px) 100vw, 893px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404622" class="wp-image-404622 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-680x480.png" alt="" width="680" height="480" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-680x480.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-893x630.png 893w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-768x542.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-1536x1084.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-2048x1445.png 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-500x353.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-9.08.10-AM-600x423.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> IAEA experts depart Unit 4 of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on 17 April 2013 as part of a mission to review Japan’s plans to decommission the facility. Photo Credit: Greg Webb / IAEA Nine countries now possess nuclear weapons and we have just seen the start of a new war in the Middle East over one more nation supposedly trying to acquire them. While we consider the dangers of such weapons and their capacity to cause massive destruction, we often overlook the risks associated with what still passes for “peaceful” nuclear power. With that in mind, let me revisit a moment when that reality should have become far clearer. I had crawled into bed on March 10, 2011, opened my phone, and scrolled through my Instagram feed. The app was still fairly new then, and I was only following a dozen or so accounts, several from Japan. One amateur photographer there had posted photos minutes earlier of a fractured sidewalk and a toppled bookshelf. A massive earthquake had just rattled Tokyo. A news article confirmed that a magnitude 7.9 quake had struck 80 miles off the coast of Japan. Later, it was upgraded to 9.0, 1,000 times more powerful in terms of energy released. Holy shit, I thought. That’s huge! Worried, I emailed my old college friend Ichiro, who lived in Tokyo, to make sure his family was safe. A short while later, he replied that they were fine, but that a massive tsunami had flooded the Tohoku region north of Tokyo. Many were dead. “It’s horrible. It’s chaos,” he wrote me. By the time Ichiro’s message arrived, distressing images of the tsunami were already circulating online and the death toll was rising fast, though the floodwaters were by then receding. As I watched heartbreaking videos of screaming onlookers, capsized boats, floating debris, and cars submerged like toys in a bathtub, another tragedy was unfolding that few, even inside the Japanese government, were aware of. A nuclear plant in Fukushima, operated by TEPCO (the Tokyo Electric Power Company), had been swamped by the tremendous flooding and lost all power. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, built by General Electric (GE) in the mid-1960s, was designed to withstand natural disasters, but its creators never foresaw an earthquake like that. When the plant’s sensors detected the quake, its reactors automatically shut down. That emergency shutdown (or scram) halted its fission process, triggering backup power to keep cold seawater flowing through the reactors and spent-fuel containers to prevent overheating. Things at Fukushima were going according to plan until that massive tsunami battered the plant, washing away transmission towers and damaging electrical systems. There were backup generators in the basement, but those, too, had been inundated by waves of seawater, and an already bad situation was about to get far worse. A power outage at a nuclear power plant is known as a “station blackout.” As you might imagine, it’s one of the worst scenarios any nuclear facility could possibly experience. If all electricity is lost, that means water is no longer being pumped into the reactor’s scalding-hot core to cool it down. And if that core isn’t constantly being cooled, one thing is certain: disaster will ensue. The fission process itself may be complicated, but that’s basic physics. To make matters worse, there were three operating reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. Luckily, three others had already been shut down for maintenance. If power wasn’t restored in short order, that would mean that all three of Fukushima’s reactors were in very big trouble. We would later learn that no one — not at TEPCO, GE, or among Japanese regulators — had ever considered the possibility that all the reactors might lose electricity at once. They had only drawn up plans for one reactor to go down, in which case the others could keep the plant running. But all of them offline, and every generator out of commission? There was no precedent or playbook for that. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-404616" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-8.43.14-AM.png" alt="" width="219" height="338" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-8.43.14-AM.png 494w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-8.43.14-AM-408x630.png 408w" sizes="(max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px" /> The nuclear industry has a reasonably polite name for a disaster like the one that was rocking Fukushima. They refer to it as a “beyond design-basis accident” because no single nuclear plant design can account for every possible problem it might encounter in its lifetime. The fact that there’s a term for this should make you anxious. Meltdowns and Fallout Over the next several days, the emergency at Fukushima Daiichi only worsened. Every effort to restore power to its reactors hit a dead end. On-site radiation-detection equipment, which would have triggered warnings and guided evacuation efforts for those in danger, was no longer functioning. Plans to pump water into the reactors to cool them had faltered. Their cores kept overheating, and the boiling pools of spent fuel were at risk of drying out, potentially triggering a massive fire that would release extreme amounts of radiation. Within three days, following a series of fires, hydrogen explosions, and panic among those aware of what was happening, Fukushima’s Units 1, 2, and 3 experienced full-scale core meltdowns. Over 150,000 people within an 18-mile radius had already been forced to evacuate, and radiation plumes would take two weeks to spread across the northern hemisphere, although the Japanese government wouldn’t admit publicly that any meltdown had occurred until June 2011, three months later. The only good news for the 13 million people living 150 miles south in Tokyo was that, during and immediately after the meltdowns, prevailing winds carried much of Fukushima’s radioactive material away from the smoldering reactors and out to sea. It’s estimated that 80% of the fallout from Fukushima ended up in the ocean, meaning most of it headed east rather than toward population centers to the south and west. The other fortunate news was that the spent fuel containers had somehow survived it all. If their water levels in the pools had been drained, far more radiation would have been released. But Tokyo wasn’t completely spared. After years of research, scientists discovered that cesium-rich microparticles had blanketed the greater Tokyo area, an unpopular discovery that drew backlash and threats of academic censorship. Areas around the Fukushima exclusion zones recorded the highest radiation levels. Japanese government officials continually downplayed the dangers of the accident and were reluctant to even classify the event as a Level 7 nuclear disaster, the highest rating on the International Nuclear Event Scale, which would have placed it on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Japanese officials have also failed to conduct long-term epidemiological studies that would include baseline measurements of cancer rates, which has cast doubt on thyroid screenings that found troubling incidents of cancer far higher than researchers expected. Radioactive Fish Prior to the earthquake, the ocean’s cesium-137 levels near Fukushima were 2 Becquerels (a unit of radioactivity) per cubic meter, well below the recommended drinking water threshold of 10,000 Becquerels. Just after March 11, 2011, cesium-137 levels there spiked to fifty million before decreasing as sea currents dispersed the radioactive particles away from the coast. The ocean, however, had been poisoned. In the years that followed the Fukushima nuclear disaster, researchers documented a frightening, yet predictable trend. Radioactive isotopes in seawater were taken up by marine plants (phytoplankton), which then moved up the food chain into tiny marine animals (zooplankton) and, eventually, to fish. Cesium-137 consumed by fish can reside in their bodies for months, while Strontium-90 remains in their bones for years. If humans then eat such fish, they will also be exposed to those radioactive particles. The more contaminated fish they eat, the greater the radioactive buildup will be. In 2023, over a decade after the incident, radiation levels remained sky-high in black rockfish caught off the Fukushima coast. Other bottom-dwelling species have been found to be laden with radioactivity, too, including eel and rock trout. Further concerns have been raised about the treated radioactive water that TEPCO continued to release into the ocean, prompting China to suspend seafood imports from Japan. Aside from those findings, there have been very few studies examining the effects of Fukushima’s radiation on ecosystems or on the people of Japan. “Japan has clamped down on scientific efforts to study the nuclear catastrophe,” claims pediatrician Alex Rosen of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. “There is hardly any literature, any publicized research, on the health effects on humans, and those that are published come from a small group of researchers at Fukushima Medical University.” Recognizing such levels of radiation, even if confined to the waters near Fukushima, would cast the country’s nuclear industry as a significant threat — not only to Japan but globally. Any admission that Fukushima’s radiation is linked to increased cancer rates would raise broader concerns about nuclear power’s future viability. Radiation exposure is cumulative and, although Fukushima didn’t immediately cause mass casualties, it wasn’t a benign accident either. It took decades before it was accepted that Chernobyl had caused tens of thousands of excess cancer deaths. It may take even longer to completely understand Fukushima’s full effects. In the meantime, the still ongoing cleanup of the burned-out facilities may cost as much as 80 trillion yen ($500 billion). It’s been 15 years since Fukushima’s reactors experienced those meltdowns and we still don’t fully understand their long-term repercussions. Nuclear power advocates will argue that Fukushima wasn’t a serious incident and that nuclear technology is still safe. They’ll minimize radiation threats, remain optimistic that new reactor designs will never falter, dismiss the fact that there’s simply no permanent solution for radioactive waste, and overlook the inseparable connection between nuclear power and atomic weapons. After all, among other things, we’ll undoubtedly need nuclear energy to help power the artificial intelligence craze, right? The operators and regulators at Fukushima were wholly unprepared for what unfolded on that fateful day in 2011. They never imagined that an earthquake of such magnitude could trigger a tsunami so immense that it would destroy the power grid, knock out water pumps, and disable backup generators. Likewise, no one can guarantee that nuclear plants or radioactive storage tanks are safe in war zones, or that the rivers and lakes needed to cool reactors globally won’t one day run dry or become too hot to do so — something that has already happened in Europe. Ultimately, we can’t anticipate every mishap, human error, or — especially in the age of climate chaos — every natural disaster that may come down the pike. The world is unpredictable, and even the safest nuclear power plant can’t guarantee that it will hold up against whatever tragedy is coming next. Fifty miles south of where I live in Southern California, an old nuclear facility sits idle on the Pacific coast in an earthquake-and-tsunami-hazard zone, not unlike the site where Fukushima was built. It’s not the only such plant in California, but it’s the one I often visit. When I’m there, I think about Fukushima and imagine what would happen if a similar, unexpected disaster reached California’s shores and how such an event would forever alter this land. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404625" class="wp-image-404625 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-680x510.jpeg" alt="" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_0125-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Joshua Frank at San Onofre, photo by Bill Livingston. Searching for Solace at San Onofre The morning light was peaking over the sandstone bluff, and the offshore breeze was soft and brisk. I’m barefoot in a wetsuit, trudging my surfboard down a dirt road at San Onofre, a state park in northern San Diego County, for a “dawn patrol” surf session. A series of high tides — likely made more extreme by rising sea levels — has eroded a large portion of the parking lot below, so the beach can only be reached on foot or by bike. I’m not complaining. It’s worth the short trek. The absence of vehicles down here also means fewer surfers in the water. San O, as it’s lovingly referred to, has a rich surf history spanning 100 years. Duke Kahanamoku, the “father of modern surfing,” who popularized the ancient Hawaiian sport in Southern California and often visited San O in the 1940s, helped to solidify it as one of the region’s premier breaks and an early hub of SoCal surf culture. The waves are long and rolling thanks to an extensive cobblestone reef. It’s a magical place. Things around here have changed quite a bit, however, since “The Duke” first paddled his heavy wooden board into the surf. Just down the beach, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station sits precariously perched 100 feet from the water. Its two large domes are an ominous sight. Constructed in the 1960s, the plant is no longer producing electricity, but the station’s 123 large concrete-and-steel storage vessels remain, housing 3.6 million pounds of highly radioactive waste. Since nobody wants the toxic stuff, it just sits there, looming, awaiting the next big earthquake like the one that shook Fukushima. San Onofre is designed to withstand a 7.0 shaker, but scientists believe the area is capable of producing one ten times larger and 32 times stronger. With 8.4 million people living within a 50-mile radius, any geological upheaval at San O could make a hell of a mess. It’s a worrisome thought I’d rather not dwell on. Although it is a state park, the ground that San Onofre sits upon is leased from the federal government because it lies within the 195-square-mile boundary of the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. More than a base, Camp Pendleton is a testing ground, where heavy artillery often booms in the distance. An occasional mock raid can occupy the beaches; helicopters sometimes swarm, and Amphibious Combat Vehicles crawl ashore. There’s even a faux Afghan village that was built at Camp Pendleton, costing taxpayers $170 million, where Marines can imagine terrorizing towns from Iran to Gaza. So strange that amid all this madness, San Onofre is where I search for solace. In 2013, a radioactive gas leak from one of the nuclear plant’s steam generators, which are also within the military reserve, led to its closure. Southern California Edison (SCE), which operates the facility, reassured the public that there was nothing to be concerned about. Few, however, would consider SCE a trustworthy source. Over the years, the company has been caught in a series of lies about the safety of San Onofre, including falsifying firewatch records and grossly mishandling waste. Not dissimilar to TEPCO’s Fukushima deceit. Like all nuclear power plants, San Onofre needed a lot of water to cool its three reactors, sucking in an astonishing 2.4 billion gallons of seawater a day. As you can imagine, that thirst had a serious impact on ocean ecology, killing fish and wrecking kelp beds. It’s taken over a decade, but some of what was destroyed is finally coming back to life after years of restoration. Despite the progress, discharge pipes still release radioactive effluent laced with cesium-137, cobalt-60, and tritium — a mile offshore 170 times a year. But SCE says there’s nothing to worry about. They also insist they don’t have much of a choice. All that leftover waste needs to be kept from overheating, and using seawater is the only option available. It’s better not to think too much about a future armageddon or what might be swimming beneath me while I’m out there bobbing between sets of waves. Surfing is supposed to help relieve my anxiety, not exacerbate it. It’s a little like backpacking in the wilds of Montana, which I also love to do, without constantly worrying about being chomped by a grizzly bear while in my sleeping bag. There are hazards to living in this crazy world — the worst of which, I’ve come to believe, are of the man-made variety. As I slide my surfboard into the back of my van and peel off my wetsuit, I glance at San Onofre’s domes, which will start to be dismantled this year, and ponder the horrors still affecting Japan, fearing that someday a destructive tsunami may batter this beach, too. Sadly, it’s almost inevitable. With nine nuclear-armed nations and roughly 12,000 nuclear warheads on this planet, worries about nuclear war are unavoidable. However, the danger of a nuclear disaster at a seemingly “peaceful” nuclear facility is often ignored. The future of atomic energy remains uncertain, but it is our duty to eliminate this hazardous energy source before another Fukushima triggers a war-like catastrophe all its own. This piece first appeared on TomDispatch. The post The Relentless Nightmare of Fukushima, 15 Years On appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Joshua Frank.
Blaming Refugees Not Warmongers: The Right-wing Press, Fortress Europe and ‘Weaponized Migration’
An expected refugee crisis is looming from the US-Israeli wars on Iran and Lebanon. This probability has already been raised by aid agencies, but also, of course, by the right-wing press that thrives on the fear-mongering that Europe is being overrun by foreigners. As a GB News headline blared just days into the conflict: “Europe braces for ANOTHER migrant crisis...'It will wash up on Britain's shores!'” More The post Blaming Refugees Not Warmongers: The Right-wing Press, Fortress Europe and ‘Weaponized Migration’ appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5712" height="4284" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-scaled.jpeg 5712w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 5712px) 100vw, 5712px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5712" height="4284" 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 5712px) 100vw, 5712px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5712" height="4284" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-scaled.jpeg 5712w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 5712px) 100vw, 5712px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5712" height="4284" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-scaled.jpeg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-scaled.jpeg 5712w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 5712px) 100vw, 5712px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-369169" class="size-large wp-image-369169" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg" alt="" width="840" height="630" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-840x630.jpeg 840w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-680x510.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-500x375.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_7412-600x450.jpeg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /> Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair An expected refugee crisis is looming from the US-Israeli wars on Iran and Lebanon. This probability has already been raised by aid agencies, but also, of course, by the right-wing press that thrives on the fear-mongering that Europe is being overrun by foreigners. As a GB News headline blared just days into the conflict: “Europe braces for ANOTHER migrant crisis…’It will wash up on Britain’s shores!’” While the obvious connection is made between the war and the likelihood of millions fleeing, the implication of such articles and videos is that Iran is responsible, rather than the whole debacle being due to an illegal war of aggression. This propaganda line – which is also a diversionary tactic – has been extremely effective over the years, that immigrants are coming to Europe for reasons other than conflict, economic exploitation, or Western policies, including regime change and instigated uprisings, like in Iraq, Libya and Syria. Indeed, just weeks before the war on Iran, I mentioned to two middle-class Italian ladies the fact that US wars forced refugees to head for Europe, and opined that European countries should have opposed such aggression from happening in the first place. They were surprised, saying they had not made that connection before. Incredible, the lack of critical thinking to make that link between the US, Israel and Europe’s warmongering in the wider Middle East and beyond, and Europe’s ‘migration crisis’. Of course, if that connection –the context– is not made in news articles, TV reports or social media videos, it is easy to imply that migrants are coming to Europe for reasons other than those caused primarily by Western imperialism. This is sadly not that surprising, however, as context requires space and time, and media outlets increasingly cut back on such background as people don’t want to read more than a few hundred words or watch lengthy explanations of how we got to where we are at; sound bites are preferable. Reflective of this is that news agency Reuters a few years ago cut the standard length of articles from 800 to 600 words over concerns about reader attention spans. That cut of 200 words is concerning, as it is just enough words – a few paragraphs – to provide some context. The other talking point that the right-wing media brings up that needs to be watched out for is the trope of ‘weaponized mass migration’ or ‘migrant warfare’. The GB News article quotes Mani Basharzad at the UK’s right-wing think-tank the Institute for Economic Affairs saying: “The Islamic regime mobilises illegal immigration … These people are a real threat to England (and) a real threat to the countries that they are in.” This concept of ‘weaponized migration’ surfaced in a 2011 book, Weapons of Mass Migration by Kelly Greenhill, which argues that migration can be a ‘geopolitical weapon in asymmetric statecraft’. The concept has been picked up by the European Commission, the UN, NATO, and the US – there was a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe hearing in February on the topic – with ‘migrant warfare’ supposedly a part of ‘hybrid warfare’ being used against Europe ‘to shape national and international policies’, whether by Moscow, Tehran or another usual suspect. The book argues that in the 64 documented cases of ‘coercive engineered migration’ since 1951, over half have been successful in achieving political goals. I am not sure how the author’s mental gymnastics ended up making such a conclusion based on cases studies on Cuba’s 1980 Mariel Boatlift, Slobodan Milošević’s threats during the Kosovo crisis, Haiti’s 1991 boat people crisis, and North Korea’s potential threats to China. Indeed, if Cuba was, as alleged, using migrant warfare to bring down the US, then Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban origin, must be so deep undercover that even he doesn’t know it – or maybe he is a modern day Manchurian Candidate? In any case, these migrant warfare stories do not hold water. Sure, people could point to, for instance, the case of the three Iranian asylum seekers arrested last year in the UK for allegedly spying, but that hardly constitutes a major threat or that Iranians trying to migrate to the UK are undercover agents or fifth columnists. This weaponized migration argument is particularly disturbing coming from countries that have caused so much mass migration, and in the cases of the USA and Israel, their colonial-settler origins are based on weaponized mass migration to ethnically cleanse the indigenous population – just ask the original citizens of Turtle Island or Palestinians. The other anti-immigrant argument being put forward is rooted in Islamophobia, that any refugees from Iran or Lebanon will be, or become, Islamic extremists. As the GB News article quoted Tobias Ellwood, a former Conservative MP and chairman of the Defence Select Committee: “The other one is extremism, because when people do depart from war zones, they could easily then be subject to indoctrination and then you get Islamic extremists coming out from that.” What is not mentioned here is the link between people being radicalised and their country being bombed, friends and family killed, and their lives smashed. As a study in which nineteen university students role-played the persona of an apprehended suicide bomber showed, the psychological mechanisms to do such an act of self-sacrifice may be universal rather than rooted in religious extremism. The ‘real story’ is not the refugees that might make their way to Europe. It is the huge numbers of people that will be displaced in the Middle East. The International Organisation for Migration has estimated that more than 19 million people are already internally displaced due to conflict, violence and disasters across the wider Middle East. The war on Iran has now caused 3.2 million Iranians to be internally displaced, while in Lebanon, close to 1 million are displaced. Such numbers will inevitably increase as the wars continue. While some refugees will try to get to Europe, most will be forced to stay in the region, as happened with the Syrian refugee crisis from 2011 onwards. Europeans point to the 1.3 million Syrians who came, and the nearly 1.1 million granted some form of asylum between 2015 and 2023, yet Europeans overlook that Lebanon took in around 1 million Syrians – roughly 20% of Lebanon’s population. It caused immense pressure on Lebanon, as well as anti-Syrian sentiment, but it did not cause the same uproar as in Europe, or bolster right-wing populists, as in Europe and the UK, with the anti-immigration sentiment playing a role in Brexit. This time, unlike with the Syrian crisis, Europe is better prepared to stop the ‘barbarians at the gates’, having spent billions of euros on Fortress Europe and outsourcing prevention. Countries such as Italy and Spain have outsourced migrant processing centres offshore, Germany is considering doing the same, while the EU has essentially paid off Turkiye, Libya and elsewhere in North Africa to prevent migrant outflows. A new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is also to take effect in June, with mandatory border procedures, faster asylum processing, and a common return system put in place. Europe is beefing up Frontex, its border patrol force, as part of the Fortress Europe approach, with an additional 10,000 officers to be added to its current ranks of 1,300 by 2027, and a further 30,000 proposed for the near future. Frontex has been accused of using state-organised violence as ‘deterrence’, with the EU agency linked to the deaths of 2,000 migrants. Coast guards, such as Greece’s, have used deadly tactics, in 2023 ramming a migrant boat and killing 15 people. The idea of ‘re-emigration’ has also taken root in Europe as a means to kick out migrants, which, if there is an uptick in migration due to the wars on Iran and Lebanon, may rise further up the agenda of right-wing political parties, and could result in such populists taking further cues from the Trump playbook by instigating ICE-style arrests and deportations. Europe’s crackdown on migrant smuggling and other policies has led to a decline in irregular migration, down 38% in 2024 on the previous year, and down 30% in the first quarter of 2025, while 110,385 third-country nationals were returned to their home countries in 2024, up 19.3% from 2023. Yet despite Fortress Europe’s offensive and defensive posturing on refugees, the push factors for people to leave the Middle East keep piling up, due to both American and European actions. While US wars exacerbate economic instability, and the current war on Iran is driving up the prices of food and energy, the stop-gaps that had been in place, notably humanitarian aid, are drying up. The Trump administration has cut 90% of funding for USAID, as well as for other NGOs and UN programmes. The UK, Germany, the Netherlands and others have also cut humanitarian assistance to bolster defence budgets. In short, the very agencies that mopped up after previous US wars have either ended operations or are underfunded and overstretched. It will add to the push factors for people to leave the region. The drop in aid will also force Europe to shore up authoritarian governments such as Turkiye’s and Egypt’s as part of efforts to stop migrants leaving their shores. This will provide bargaining chips for Turkiye’s Erdogan and Egypt’s Sisi in their negotiations with Europe – pay up, don’t criticize us, or we open the gates. The glimmer of hope is that Europe wakes up and realizes the cause for a great deal of instability and suffering on its immediate southern border is due to the US and Israel’s actions, and demands a stop to the warmongering while placing full blame on Washington and Tel Aviv for any fallout. But going by recent history, the lack of context in much of the coverage of the wars on Iran and Lebanon, and the spinelessness of the European establishment to stand up to the American hegemon or the Zionists, this is not likely to happen – but if it does, it will already be too late. The post Blaming Refugees Not Warmongers: The Right-wing Press, Fortress Europe and ‘Weaponized Migration’ appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Paul Cochrane.
Progress or Digital Colonization? AI Data Centers Spark Debate on Native Lands
The recent explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers has created a litany of environmental and cultural issues for Native people and Tribes across the so-called “United States.” This, in turn, has sparked intense debate and prompted conversations on tribal digital sovereignty and a call for regulation that controls the data, infrastructure, and networks. Data More The post Progress or Digital Colonization? AI Data Centers Spark Debate on Native Lands appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
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srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png 1902w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-680x456.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-939x630.png 939w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-768x515.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-1536x1030.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-500x335.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-600x403.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1902px) 100vw, 1902px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1902" height="1276" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png 1902w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-680x456.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-939x630.png 939w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-768x515.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-1536x1030.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-500x335.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-600x403.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1902px) 100vw, 1902px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1902" height="1276" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png 1902w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-680x456.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-939x630.png 939w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-768x515.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-1536x1030.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-500x335.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-600x403.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1902px) 100vw, 1902px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="939" height="630" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-939x630.png" class="aligncenter wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-939x630.png 939w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-680x456.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-768x515.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-1536x1030.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-500x335.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-600x403.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png 1902w" sizes="(max-width: 939px) 100vw, 939px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404709" class="wp-image-404709 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-680x456.png" alt="" width="680" height="456" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-680x456.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-939x630.png 939w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-768x515.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-1536x1030.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-500x335.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM-600x403.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.18.41-PM.png 1902w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Protesters gather outside DTE Energy headquarters in downtown Detroit during the “No Data Centers, No Secret Deals” demonstration, opposing a proposed massive data center in Saline Township, Michigan. Around 100 people attended the rally, holding signs reading “You Can’t Drink Data” and “No Secret Deals for Data” to raise concerns about water use, transparency, and public accountability in the project. Photo credit: Valerie Jean, December 16, 2025. The recent explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers has created a litany of environmental and cultural issues for Native people and Tribes across the so-called “United States.” This, in turn, has sparked intense debate and prompted conversations on tribal digital sovereignty and a call for regulation that controls the data, infrastructure, and networks. Data centers are facilities that keep and manage internet technology infrastructure for processing, storing, and distributing large quantities of data. They are key to modern digital services, which can include AI. As AI use and data generation grow, so does the need for data centers to manage and store data. But the environmental impact is a growing concern for many, especially for Tribal Nations in the “U.S.” Debates rage on within Native communities over concerns about the resources needed to power the centers, the environmental impacts of such centers, and the rampant cultural appropriation and creative and cultural theft predominant in AI. Some in Indian Country believe data centers can be used for the betterment of Tribes, while others are diametrically opposed. Energy Production Ramps Up for AI The “U.S.” is home to a third of the world’s data centers. The centers require large amounts of electricity to power them and water to cool them. On average, a single data center can consume up to 2 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity-the amount of electricity they use per hour-approximately the equivalent power consumption of a small town. Data centers consumed more than 4% of “U.S.” electricity in 2023, with estimates suggesting a potential rise to 12% by 2028. Bloomberg News reported in January 2026 that in areas near AI data centers, there has been a 267% increase in monthly electricity costs compared to five years ago. This increase is due to a need to expand existing regional power grids to support the centers, costs which are often passed onto consumers, including urban Native communities. The states housing the data centers give the ok to local energy utilities to raise customers’ utility fees to pay for the massive upgrades required to power the data centers. This passes higher rates on to all customers, including urban Natives. Over 70% of the Native community in the “U.S.” lives in urban and suburban areas suffering from higher rates of poverty. To meet this growing demand, utility companies are adding new gas plants and delaying the retirement of fossil fuels. One such company in Virginia, the “U.S.” state with the largest concentration of data centers in the world, is building a 1,000-megawatt gas plant in Chesterfield County and has gutted plans to switch to renewable energy sources. According to Global Energy Monitor, the “U.S.” now accounts for almost one-quarter of the world’s total gas powered energy in development with more than one-third of the energy reserved for data centers. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404710" class="wp-image-404710 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-680x1025.png" alt="" width="680" height="1025" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-680x1025.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-418x630.png 418w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-768x1158.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-1019x1536.png 1019w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-1358x2048.png 1358w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-500x754.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM-600x905.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.19.38-PM.png 1434w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> A young demonstrator holds a sign reading “Keep Michigan Pure” during the “No Data Centers, No Secret Deals” protest. The rally brought together residents concerned about environmental protections, water resources, and government transparency. Photo credit: Valerie Jean, December 16, 2025. There has also been a push for nuclear energy proliferation to power data centers. Meta, a social media and technology multinational company, is now one of the largest corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in “U.S.” history. They’ve recently announced several agreements with three major energy providers to secure up to 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2035. There are talks of reopening Three Mile Island (TMI), a defunct nuclear power plant that sits atop a strip of land in the Susquehanna River in “Pennsylvania,”to power Microsoft’s data centers. On March 28, 1979, TMI experienced a partial meltdown when a cooling system malfunctioned. Today, there’s roughly a tennis court-sized amount of High-Level Radioactive Waste from the incident stored on site. In a sick twist of irony, TMI will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Complex if successful in reopening in 2027, one year earlier than originally estimated. The energy plant, data centers, and TMI are in an area of the “U.S.” that has suffered from a gas fracking boom of the Marcellus and Utica Shales that has already led to increases in cancer and other health issues, environmental harm to local water supplies, and the devaluation of people’s homes. Communities have fought numerous pipelines, cracker plants, export, and other related facilities since the boom took off in late 2009/early 2010. The shales cover a large section of Central Appalachia, extending into “New York” state near several Native reservations such as the Onondaga. The Office of Nuclear Energy under the US Department of Energy claims that the radiation exposure from the TMI catastrophe was limited with no resulting fatalities, adverse health impacts, or environmental repercussions. However, health impacts from Three Mile Island have indeed been documented. Penn State College of Medicine researchers found “tumor samples from people verified to have lived in the areas around TMI at the time of the accident, remained in the area, and subsequently developed thyroid cancer, researchers observed a shift in cases to cancer mutations consistent with radiation exposure from those consistent with random causes.” This gives credence to the opposition who claim the government and nuclear and tech industries are downplaying the consequences of nuclear energy, including environmental ramifications. More nuclear power plants equals more uranium mining. The largest deposits of uranium in the “U.S.” sit on Native lands, like the Navajo Nation. The largest uranium deposits in the world are on Indigenous lands in “Australia.” Communities in these areas suffer from significantly higher rates of cancer with fewer healthcare resources than other areas of the colonial countries. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404711" class="wp-image-404711 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-680x452.png" alt="" width="680" height="452" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-680x452.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-948x630.png 948w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-768x510.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-1536x1020.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-500x332.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM-600x399.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.20.42-PM.png 1918w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Protesters gather outside the Michigan State Capitol during the “No Data Centers, No Secret Deals” demonstration, holding signs that read “Big Tech Back Off.” Participants called for public investment in essential services and greater transparency in development decisions. Photo credit: Valerie Jean, December 16, 2025. AI data centers are also furthering the “U.S.” military industrial complex. In December 2024, the University of Michigan announced an $850 million investment in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory, the institution responsible for developing, testing, and deploying the nuclear bomb through the Manhattan Project. University officials state they’re building the “biggest, baddest, fastest computer in the world,” with over 90% of the facility’s computational power slated for LANL’s classified warfare project. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has proudly proclaimed that the “U.S.” government’s buildup of AI infrastructure is “the Second Manhattan Project,” moving the world toward nuclear war on the backs of the local community and “Michigan” taxpayers. Beginning in 1951, the “U.S.” government performed 928 nuclear tests on Western Shoshone lands; the most nuclear-bombed nation in the world. Cheyenne Morgan (United Keetoowah Band and Oglala Lakota), Coalitional Coordinator of Stop Data Colonialism, told The Magazine that Project Clydesdale, a proposed data center project south of “Owasso, Oklahoma” on the Cherokee Nation reservation, has been a source of concern for some in the community. Morgan noticed while reading documents related to a zoning proposal that the message conveyed to the public differed to that in industry and government documents. “Talk to your neighbors about data centers, find out what they know, file open records requests with your local, county, and state governments,” Morgan warned. AI & Water Usage A July 2025 University of Michigan study states that for higher-density data centers cooling via water is required for the centers’ performance. As of this publication, 22% of data center facilities use water-based cooling systems. Most data centers use over 10 million gallons of water annually; some exceed that with usage in the hundreds of millions of gallons per year. Google’s Council Bluffs data center in Iowa uses approximately 980 million gallons of water per year, equivalent to the annual water usage of over 4 million homes. In sharp contrast is the lack of clean water access on reservations. According to the Navajo Water Project, in 2019 30% of those residing on the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the “U.S.,” were without running water. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the “U.S.” owes no “affirmative duty” to the Navajo Nation to secure water, reversing a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The justices ruled that the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo established no federal obligation to do so. There may be water-saving alternatives. According to Matthew Rantanen (Cree descendant), the Director of Technology for the Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Association, co-chair for the Tech and Telecommunications Committee at the National Congress of American Indians, and cofounder of the tribal broadband boot camps, data centers can have more sustainable construction. Rantanen told The Magazine that data centers can be built underground, using the Earth’s natural cooling to reduce the heat created by the equipment, as well as different air flow systems that can avoid the usage of water altogether. “I think in most of the Indian country, at least the opposition I hear, is all about the water, and I think secondarily it’s about the power grid that’s local to the region. The generative AI versions of data centers, such as those by Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, these types of data centers use the most resources, but they don’t all have to be built this way.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404712" class="wp-image-404712 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-680x1027.png" alt="" width="680" height="1027" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-680x1027.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-417x630.png 417w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-768x1159.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-1017x1536.png 1017w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-1357x2048.png 1357w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-500x755.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM-600x906.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-19-at-7.22.12-PM.png 1436w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> A protester holds a sign reading “AI < Literally Everything Else!” during the “No Data Centers, No Secret Deals” demonstration outside the Michigan State Capitol. Participants voiced concerns about prioritizing artificial intelligence infrastructure over community needs and public resources. Photo credit: Valerie Jean, December 16, 2025. Internet Access & Data Sovereignty <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-d0bcd16 flex-horizontal-align-default flex-horizontal-align-tablet-default flex-horizontal-align-mobile-default flex-vertical-align-default flex-vertical-align-tablet-default flex-vertical-align-mobile-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-id="d0bcd16" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="text-editor.default"> As so often the norm, Tribes and Native people suffer the consequences of technological advances without reaping the benefits. In 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported conservative estimates that nationwide, 18% of people living on tribal lands couldn’t access broadband service, compared to 4% of people in non-tribal areas. Broadband availability includes speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload or greater, excluding satellite service. The GAO has stated that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has overreported broadband access on tribal lands, as the numbers the FCC shared are self-reported data by broadband carriers. According to Rantanen, carriers will count an entire census block as having coverage if they can hook up one person to broadband. “That is not coverage, affordability, or reality,” Rantanen told The Magazine. In 2021, the Executive Office of the President in the “U.S.” began coordinating federal tribal broadband efforts, but according to GAO, these efforts “are not guided by a national strategy with clear roles, goals, and performance measures,” and that the American Broadband Initiative (ABI), an intergovernmental agency effort to expand broadband access across the “U.S.,” “lacks a framework for addressing tribal barriers that could also support implementing a national strategy.” Many Indigenous communities are concerned with cultural appropriation and data theft as a result of AI, as well as outside government intrusion. Tribes are combating some of these issues by producing their own data centers. Rantanen told The Magazine that these centers use low amounts of power and are a way for tribes to control their data. They’ll no longer have to put sensitive information, such as enrollment records, on outside cloud servers that then open their data up for theft, use in training AI, and even subpoenas or snooping by federal agencies like ICE or FBI. Tribal control over smaller, local data centers could not only potentially improve safety and security for tribal members, but also for the environment. “I think making big blanket statements about data centers can harm some of those smaller, very effective uses of the term,” Rantanen said. But he also warned that tribes need to create policies related to data sovereignty and AI, data storage, and transmission in order to ensure the best practices for their tribe. <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-262f9c59 flex-horizontal-align-default flex-horizontal-align-tablet-default flex-horizontal-align-mobile-default flex-vertical-align-default flex-vertical-align-tablet-default flex-vertical-align-mobile-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-id="262f9c59" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="text-editor.default"> This piece first appeared in Crushing Colonialism’s The Magazine. The post Progress or Digital Colonization? AI Data Centers Spark Debate on Native Lands appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Jen Deerinwater - Jesse Deer In Water.
Some Are More Equal Than Others: The Pigs Have Taken Over
Why has there been no sustained, system-wide protest movement against President Trump? In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs do not just seize power—they slowly remake the farm in their own image through two rebellions. The first is dramatic and visible: all the animals unite to overthrow the human farmer. They establish a new order More The post Some Are More Equal Than Others: The Pigs Have Taken Over appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404735" class="wp-image-404735 size-medium" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-680x421.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="421" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-680x421.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-1017x630.jpg 1017w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-768x476.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-1536x951.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-2048x1268.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-500x310.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pig_farm_Vampula_1-600x372.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Pig farm in Finland. Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0 Why has there been no sustained, system-wide protest movement against President Trump? In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs do not just seize power—they slowly remake the farm in their own image through two rebellions. The first is dramatic and visible: all the animals unite to overthrow the human farmer. They establish a new order based on equality and shared labor. The second rebellion is more subtle. The pigs, led by Napoleon, gradually consolidate power until they rule over the other animals. Eventually, what was meant to be an animal paradise of equality becomes something very different, captured in the phrase: “Some animals are more equal than others.” Is the description of the second rebellion relevant to the United States today? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt argue in How Democracies Die that similar gradual erosion of norms can undermine contemporary political systems. Power in Animal Farm unfolds gradually with little resistance. Small changes accumulate over time: the pigs move into the farmhouse, sleep in beds with sheets, and claim privileges justified by their supposed intellectual superiority. Initially, some of the other animals challenge these changes, but objections fade. The pigs revise the commandments to justify their actions. Democratic meetings disappear. Decisions are made by a small leadership circle and presented to the rest as necessary for the good of all. The language of the revolution and equality remains, but its meaning quietly shifts. It would be wrong to claim that the United States ever fully resembled the idealistic vision of the animals’ first rebellion. The animals’ overthrow of Farmer Jones is not directly comparable to the United States’ War of Independence. From the beginning, the American republic excluded large portions of its population from the promise of equality. Enslaved people were denied freedom, women lacked political rights, and Indigenous peoples were largely outside the constitutional framework. The ideal of equality existed, but it was and remains an ideal. Still, the language of equality and democratic governance has been central to the American political imagination. But that imagination is increasingly in dissonance with contemporary reality. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans now hold roughly 30 percent of the country’s total wealth, a share that has steadily increased over the past several decades. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent of households hold only about 2.5 percent of total wealth, highlighting a striking imbalance in the distribution of assets. And the wealth of the richest Americans has grown significantly in recent years. In principle, economic inequality does not automatically translate into political control. Yet wealth often carries influence. Campaign financing, lobbying networks, and the revolving door between government and private industry create channels through which economic power can shape political outcomes. Democratic institutions remain in place, but policy decisions increasingly reflect the priorities of those with the greatest financial resources and access. “Billionaires flood U.S. campaigns with cash,” headlines the New York Times. “[T]he country is on the verge of becoming a place where wealthy people are able to spend millions of dollars to essentially direct how the government runs without breaking any law,” the Times article quotes a former Montana governor. None of this makes the United States identical to Orwell’s allegorical farm. Yet Orwell’s story does offer one helpful explanation for the second rebellion. The pigs do not abolish the first revolution outright. Instead, they reinterpret it. The slogans remain, but their meaning gradually changes. The animals are told that sacrifices are necessary for the stability of the farm. Statistics are produced showing increased productivity. Narratives of external threats reinforce the authority of those in charge. Over time, memory itself begins to blur. Few animals can clearly recall the original commandments or the early days of the rebellion. Why do the animals never revolt again when the pigs take over? Orwell portrays the animals as fundamentally decent and hardworking, but also increasingly exhausted and uncertain. Each individual change seems small enough to tolerate. The pigs’ explanations, delivered by the persuasive Squealer, provide just enough reassurance to quiet doubts. Moreover, the animals lack the tools to organize effectively against the leadership. Their memory is short, their access to information limited, and their daily labor consuming. If inequalities deepen or democratic ideals erode, why do citizens not respond with collective revolt? While dissatisfaction is widespread in the United States today, it rarely unites into a single, coordinated movement. Protests over foreign policy, climate change, and legal controversies each compete for public attention, making collective action against the broader system difficult. Protesting the war in Iran is not the same as marching for the environment or challenging Trump. There are protests, but there is an absence of coordinated system-wide protest. The pace of change makes it difficult to keep up. At the same time, control over information turns the search for truth into a full-time task, while AI-driven personalization increasingly filters what people see, narrowing shared reality. Orwell’s story endures because it warns of subtle dangers. Revolutions rarely collapse in a single dramatic moment; more often, they erode gradually, through reinterpretation, compromise, and fatigue. As Levitsky and Ziblatt wrote: “Democracies may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders—presidents or prime ministers who subvert the very process that brought them to power. Some of these leaders dismantle democracy quickly, as Hitler did in the wake of the 1933 Reichstag fire in Germany. More often, though, democracies erode slowly, in barely visible steps.” At the end of Animal Farm, the animals peer through the farmhouse window and watch the pigs dining with the humans they once overthrew. As the faces blur together, the animals realize they can no longer tell which is which. The question Orwell leaves us with is not how the pigs took over, but when the other animals (us) stopped noticing. The post Some Are More Equal Than Others: The Pigs Have Taken Over appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Daniel Warner.
The Biden Boom and the Trump Slump: A Serious Comparison of the Two Economies
President Trump and his administration have repeatedly sought to contrast the economy since the start of his term with what they claim was a disastrous Biden administration. As Trump put it on March 4, 2025 in his address to Congress, “We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.” To hear More The post The Biden Boom and the Trump Slump: A Serious Comparison of the Two Economies appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-945x630.jpg 945w, 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src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office.jpg 1920w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="680" height="453" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-680x453.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" 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https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President_Joe_Biden_speaks_with_President-elect_Donald_Trump_Wednesday_November_13_2024_in_the_Oval_Office.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /> Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain President Trump and his administration have repeatedly sought to contrast the economy since the start of his term with what they claim was a disastrous Biden administration. As Trump put it on March 4, 2025 in his address to Congress, “We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.” To hear them tell it, any lagging economic indicators are attributable to Biden; nonetheless, on their watch things have never been better. As Trump explained during his 2026 State of the Union, “The roaring economy is roaring like never before.” In fact, by most economic measures the economy’s performance was outstanding during President Biden’s term in office. A year into the Trump administration, there are signs of concern. This paper goes over some key measures. It compares the averages for the four years of the Biden administration, as well as giving the 2024 data, alongside the data for the first year of the Trump administration. First, some context. When Biden took office at the start of 2021, the economy was still far from having recovered from the pandemic recession. COVID-19 was still widespread, and the vaccines were just beginning to be rolled out. Many analysts had expected the economic impact of the pandemic to quickly diminish as most of the population got the vaccine. As it turned out, the vaccines were far less effective against two subsequent COVID strains that developed over the course of the next year. This further delayed the return to normal; tens of millions of people were still not reverting back to normal consumption of services, like going to restaurants or traveling. While these waves did not prevent employment from bouncing back quickly, it meant that the shift to goods consumption continued much longer than expected, leading to worldwide supply chain problems. This in turn caused a burst of worldwide inflation. By the second half of 2024, inflation was coming down close to the Fed’s 2.0 percent target, with unemployment hovering near 4.0 percent, a level generally considered full employment. This was the economy that was handed to Donald Trump in 2025. Now, let’s see how things compare between the two administrations. Under Biden, The Longest Stretch of Low Unemployment in 70 Years Shortly after taking office, President Biden pushed through his recovery package. The unemployment rate quickly fell from 6.6 percent in January of 2021 to 3.9 percent by the end of the year. It didn’t rise above 4.0 percent until June of 2024. The longest period where the unemployment rate has been at or below 4.0 percent since the early 1950s. Even when it crossed 4.0 percent, it peaked at just 4.2 percent and was back to 4.0 percent at the end of Biden’s term in January. For the full term; the unemployment rate averaged 4.1 percent. It also averaged 4.1 percent in Biden’s last year. Meanwhile, in the first full year of the Trump presidency the unemployment rate has averaged 4.3 percent. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404450" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.00.35-PM-680x520.png" alt="" width="680" height="520" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.00.35-PM-680x520.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.00.35-PM-500x382.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.00.35-PM-600x459.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.00.35-PM.png 730w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Unemployment matters not only to the relatively small portion of the workforce that is unemployed at a point in time. Roughly 6 million workers lose or leave their jobs every month. That comes to more than 70 million over the course of a year, although many change jobs more than once. If the labor market is strong, these workers will be able to quickly find a new job with decent pay and working conditions. In a weak labor market, their prospects for finding a good job will be far worse. The number of people quitting their jobs has fallen sharply in the last year, although the decline began in 2024. Job Growth Soared with Recovery Act, Then Slowed with Curbs on Immigration When Biden took office in January 2021, the immediate bounce back in jobs from the ending of the shutdown was over. Job growth averaged just 150,000 a month in the last three months of the first Trump administration. At that rate of growth, it would have taken more than five years to get back the jobs lost in the pandemic. The Recovery Act greatly accelerated job creation, restoring lost jobs by June 2022. The economy continued to create jobs at a healthy pace throughout the Biden years. The total gain was 14,240,000 jobs, just under 300,000 a month. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404451" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.26-PM-680x548.png" alt="" width="680" height="548" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.26-PM-680x548.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.26-PM-500x403.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.26-PM-600x483.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.26-PM.png 730w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> In the last year of the Biden presidency, the economy created just over 1.2 million jobs, an average of over 100,000 a month. In the year from January 2025 to January of 2026 (the survey for the January jobs report is done before the 20th and therefore the month is attributed to Biden), the economy created 290,000 jobs, or an average of 24,000 a month. The slowing, or even reversal, of immigration is a major factor in slower job growth. The domestic labor force is growing slowly as the baby boom cohorts are retiring in large numbers. Real Wage Growth Soared and Then Slumped Despite the spurt of pandemic inflation, wages substantially outpaced prices over the course of the Biden administration. Measuring wage growth with the pandemic is somewhat tricky, since the loss of tens of millions of mostly low-paid jobs (e.g., hotel and restaurant workers) skewed the average upward. The average hourly wage jumped 5.3 percent from February 2020 to April 2020, as tens of millions of workers were laid off due to the pandemic. When these workers got their jobs back, it lowered the average wage. Measuring wage growth starting in February of 2020, the last month before the shutdown, removes this problem, even though it means the period does not align perfectly with the Biden presidency. Using February 2020 as the start point, the average hourly wage grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent under Biden. That is hardly spectacular, but given the disruptions created by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it is worth noting that it was still positive. Real wages did not keep pace with inflation over the pandemic and recovery in most other wealthy countries. The lowest paid workers did considerably better, which is a predictable result of the tight labor market in the years following the reopening. The Economic Policy Institute found that workers at the 10th decile of the wage distribution had a real pay increase of 15 percent between 2019 and 2024, the fastest pace of wage growth for low-paid workers in more than half a century. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404452" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.35-PM-680x588.png" alt="" width="680" height="588" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.35-PM-680x588.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.35-PM-500x432.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.35-PM-600x519.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.35-PM.png 722w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The pay for production and non-supervisory workers in the leisure and hospitality sector can be used as a proxy for low-paid workers. The real wage for these workers grew at an average rate of 1.5 percent from February 2020 to January 2025. In the last year of the Biden administration, real wages for all workers rose by 0.9 percent. For production and non-supervisory workers in the leisure and hospitality sector it rose by 0.8 percent. The slower growth in the latter can be explained by the weakening of the labor market as the unemployment rate rose above 4.0 percent. In 2025, the real wage for all workers grew 1.2 percent. For production and non-supervisory workers in the leisure and hospitality sector it grew 1.9 percent. The faster rate of growth for workers in this low-paid sector is somewhat surprising since it goes along with many indications of labor market weakness, like falling quit rates and a sharp rise in unemployment for young and Black workers. Unemployment for Black Workers Fell Under Biden, But Jumped Under Trump One often overlooked benefit of full employment is that it creates opportunities for workers who are otherwise disadvantaged in the labor markets. This is most evident when comparing the unemployment rate for Black workers with the rate for white workers. While this ratio averages near 2 — meaning the Black unemployment rate tends to be twice as high as White unemployment — it fell to 1.6 during the pandemic recovery, as the unemployment rate for Black workers hit a record low of 4.8 percent in April of 2023. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404453" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.44-PM-680x487.png" alt="" width="680" height="487" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.44-PM-680x487.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.44-PM-500x358.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.44-PM-600x430.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.44-PM.png 734w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> As the labor market weakened some in 2024, the unemployment rate for Black workers rose. It averaged 6.0 percent for the last year of the Biden administration, compared to an average of 6.5 percent over the full four years. The unemployment for Black workers has risen rapidly in 2025, hitting 8.3 percent in November. It has averaged 6.9 percent in the year from January 2025 to January 2026. Unemployment for Native-Born Workers Fell Under Biden, but Rose Under Trump While the number of foreign-born workers has stopped growing — and quite possibly shrank — under Trump, this has not in any obvious way benefited native-born workers.* While the employment numbers for native-born workers are not meaningful, the unemployment rate is meaningful, since it is the percentage of people answering the survey who say they are unemployed. The unemployment rate soared in 2020 with the pandemic shutdown. (Only annual data are shown, since the monthly data are not seasonally adjusted.) It jumped from 3.8 percent in 2019 to 7.8 percent in 2020. It fell back quickly over the next two years, averaging 5.3 percent in 2021 and just 3.7 percent in 2022. It rose back to 4.0 percent in 2024. For 2025, it averaged 4.3 percent. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404454" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.54-PM-680x544.png" alt="" width="680" height="544" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.54-PM-680x544.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.54-PM-500x400.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.54-PM-600x480.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.07.54-PM.png 742w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> There is research indicating that immigrants improve demand for native-born workers by providing labor that is complementary to the labor of native-born workers. It’s too early to say definitively that the reduced supply of immigrants has hurt the native-born labor force, but the rise in unemployment does not make it appear that it has helped. GDP Growth Boomed and Then Normalized Under Biden, Remains Healthy Under Trump The recovery package led the economy to soar in the second quarter of 2021, when its impact was first being felt. It slowed in 2022 but maintained a solid pace of growth through the Biden presidency. For the four years, growth averaged 3.2 percent. In 2024, the economy grew 2.4 percent. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404455" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.03-PM-680x800.png" alt="" width="680" height="800" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.03-PM-680x800.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.03-PM-535x630.png 535w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.03-PM-500x588.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.03-PM-600x706.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.03-PM.png 724w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Growth has been erratic since Trump took office, with the economy actually contracting in the first quarter of 2025. It grew rapidly in the next two quarters but fell back to just a 0.7 percent rate in the fourth quarter. For the full year, it grew 2.0 percent. Inflation Soared with the Reopening, Then Settled Down Quickly Inflation fell sharply with the pandemic recession in 2020. It was still low at the end of the year, but as the economy recovered it accelerated rapidly. This was due not only to increased demand, but also the fact that supply was constrained by the pandemic. The pandemic shutdowns — not only in the United States but around the world — disrupted production well into 2022. The disruptions continued long past the initial wave and the introduction of vaccines, since the virus mutated into new and more resistant strains. Also, the persistence of the pandemic discouraged people from spending on services like restaurants and travel. Instead, they spent more on goods, like cars and appliances, further straining supply chains. This sent prices soaring in 2021, with inflation peaking in early 2022. It began to slow in the second half of the year and continued to slow through 2023 and 2024. By the time of the election the year-over-year (YOY) inflation rate was approaching the Fed’s 2.0 percent target, which it was generally expected to hit in 2025. Instead, inflation picked up due to the Trump administration’s tariffs. These began to affect inflation even before he took office. The price index for core goods, which excludes food and energy products, had been falling all through 2024. By October it was down 1.2 percent YOY. However, prices in this category turned around and began rising after the election. The annualized rate of inflation in this component in the last three months of 2024 was 0.8 percent. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404456" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.12-PM-680x571.png" alt="" width="680" height="571" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.12-PM-680x571.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.12-PM-500x420.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.12-PM-600x504.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.12-PM.png 722w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> The annualized inflation rate from January 2025 to January 2026 was 2.7 percent, almost exactly the same as the 3.0 percent rate for the last year of the Biden administration. This compares to an average rate of 5.0 percent over Biden’s four-year term. Factory Construction Soared Due to Biden Measures, But Trailed Off in 2025 The Biden administration pushed through three major bills in 2022 that provided a major boost to factory construction: a bipartisan infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act to promote the reshoring of manufacturing of advanced computer chips, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided large incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles. These measures led to an unprecedented boom in factory construction. After falling sharply in the pandemic, real investment in factories rose in 2021 and then jumped past the pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of 2022. It continued to rise rapidly, and by the second quarter of 2024 it was more than twice the pre-pandemic level. It began to slow in the fourth quarter of 2024. By the fourth quarter of 2025, factory construction was down almost 16.0 percent from its 2024 peak. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-404457" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.22-PM-680x472.png" alt="" width="680" height="472" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.22-PM-680x472.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.22-PM-500x347.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.22-PM-600x417.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-3.08.22-PM.png 720w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /> Biden Handed Trump the Strongest Economy in Half a Century. Tariffs, Mass Deportations, and Corruption May Derail It By pretty much every standard measure, the economy was quite strong at the end of 2024. Inflation was somewhat above the Fed’s 2.0 percent target, but it had been headed downward for the prior two years and nearly all projections showed inflation continuing to decline. The Fed was lowering interest rates, and these rate cuts would almost certainly have continued into the winter, if the election of Donald Trump had not raised the prospect of sharply higher tariffs and inflation. Lower rates would have helped to lower mortgage rates and boost construction, which would hasten the decline in house prices. It is far too soon to pronounce a verdict on the Trump administration’s policies, but the impact to date has been the opposite of what has been claimed. Higher tariffs have boosted inflation, even if by somewhat less than many had predicted. Job creation has slowed and the unemployment rate has risen. And there is no evidence of a manufacturing boom, as both manufacturing employment and factory construction have fallen. * There has been serious confusion about the number of employed native-born workers, in large part due to claims by the Trump administration. The BLS does publish a monthly figure for employed native-born workers, but this likely bears little relationship to reality. BLS calculates this number based on its population controls, which it puts in place at the start of the year based on Census data and projected growth. The controls are fixed, independently of what actually happens in the world. If half the population dies due to a pandemic, the controls would still show the same number of people for a given month. BLS then uses the Current Population Survey to get the number of foreign-born. The native-born number is then taken as a residual: the total population projected from the population controls, minus the number who answer they are foreign-born on the survey. If fewer people answer they are foreign-born — either because immigrants have left the country, they lie on the survey, or they refuse to answer at all — then the BLS data would show an increase in the native-born population. This is the basis for the Trump administration’s claim of a huge increase in the number of native-born people who are employed. This claim derives from a misunderstanding of the data, not something that is happening in the real world. This first appeared on Dean Baker’s Beat the Press blog. The post The Biden Boom and the Trump Slump: A Serious Comparison of the Two Economies appeared first on CounterPunch.org. This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Dean Baker.