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Today is the 138th anniversary of Randolph Bourne’s birthday. Antiwar.com named its parent institute for this early 20th century antiwar activist. Read Jeff Riggenbach’s biography of Bourne. [Transcribed from the Libertarian Tradition podcast episode “Randolph Bourne (1886–1918)”] Randolph Bourne was an American intellectual journalist who flourished for a few years in the second decade of … Continue reading "Celebrate Our Namesake’s Birthday: The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne"

The post Celebrate Our Namesake’s Birthday: The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne appeared first on Antiwar.com.

The warning by President Putin could not be starker: “In the event of the use of long-range weapons, the Russian Armed Forces will again have to make decisions about expanding the sanitary zone further (…) Do they want global conflict? It seemed they wanted to negotiate [with us], but we don’t see much desire to...

The Jewish Virtual Library asserts that “The US-Israel relationship is based on the twin pillars of shared values and shared interests. Given this commonality of interests and beliefs, it should not be surprising that support for Israel is one of the most pronounced and consistent foreign policy values of the American people.” That is, of...

Senator Lindsay Graham was bursting with contempt for the International Criminal Court (ICC) when he grilled Secretary of State Blinken at a May 21 Congressional hearing. Wagging his finger, he warned that, if the ICC gets away with issuing arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, “we are next.” … Continue reading "The ICC Takes on Israel and the US Congressional Mafia"

The post The ICC Takes on Israel and the US Congressional Mafia appeared first on Antiwar.com.

Rumble link Is a university professor’s job to make students regurgitate his own views? Or is it, rather, to call attention to the most noteworthy extant interpretations, and encourage students to use critical thinking to come to their own conclusions? My academic training favored the latter approach, perhaps because I was fortunate enough not to...

All of the trouble in the world revolves around three artificial states: Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. Ukraine was part of Russia for longer than the United States has existed. It was first created as an independent country in the early 1990s by Washington following the Soviet government’s collapse and replacement of the Communist Party rule’s...

I suppose my title could have been couched in the singular form, as Hermann Hesse, the Nobel Prize winning German/Swiss author, did with his collection of anti-war essays about World War I (the war to end all wars that didn’t), If The War Goes On . . . Or more appropriately, I might have eliminated...

If I was going to do something like this, I would be blasting “Burning for You” by Blue Oyster Cult. Of course, I would never do something like this. There is also no evidence the driver was blasting that song, but I think we can all just assume he most likely was. New York Post:...

Demonstrierende fordern Antworten zu den Verschwundenen der Diktatur. Gesetzentwurf der Rechten begünstigt Täter. Montevideo. Die Beteiligung an der traditionell größten Demonstration in Uruguay, dem Schweigemarsch am 20. Mai, hat in diesem Jahr alle Erwartungen übertroffen. Ein Meer von Menschen, die Hälfte davon Jugendliche, füllte die Hauptstraße von Montevideo. Der Schweigemarsch... weiter 30.05.2024 Artikel von Georg Stein zu Uruguay, Menschenrechte, Soziale Bewegungen

Washington/Havanna. Die Regierung von US-Präsident Joe Biden hat erstmals seit zwei Jahren neue Lockerungen der Handelsblockade gegen Kuba bekannt gegeben. Das Amt für Kontrolle ausländischer Vermögenswerte (Office of Foreign Assets Control, Ofac) kündigte am Dienstag die Aufhebung... weiter 30.05.2024 Artikel von Marcel Kunzmann zu Kuba, USA, Politik, Wirtschaft

Caracas. Die Delegationen der kolumbianischen Regierung und der Guerilla Nationale Befreiungsarmee (ELN) haben ein Abkommen über die Entwicklung des Prozesses der Beteiligung der Gesellschaft am Aufbau des Friedens unterzeichnet. Nach einer Woche des Dialogs in Caracas verlasen... weiter 30.05.2024 Artikel von Prensa Latina zu Kolumbien, Politik, Soziale Bewegungen

In der Vergangenheit kam es immer wieder zu gewalttätigen Ausschreitungen nach den Wahlen. CNE lädt Europäische Union von Wahlbeobachtung aus Caracas. Präsident Nicolás Maduro hat einen weitreichenden Dialog mit allen Teilen der venezolanischen Gesellschaft nach der Präsidentschaftswahl am 28. Juli zugesagt. "Venezuela ist viel größer als die uneinsichtige Rechte, es hat wunderbare Sektoren, die in der Hitze dieser... weiter 30.05.2024 Artikel von José Luis Granados Ceja zu Venezuela, Politik

Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):

For the last eight months people have been expressing frustration and confusion about the reluctance of celebrities to use their immense platforms to speak out against the US-backed slaughter in Gaza. But it’s not really a mystery why this happens: celebrities are reluctant to criticize the US-centralized empire because they benefit from it directly.

It’s actually a very important aspect of imperial narrative control how all of our society’s largest and most influential voices are intimately dependent on the political status quo upon which the empire is built. Fame and fortune come as a result of being elevated by the wealthy owners of media production platforms like film studios, record labels, TV and news media, and those extremely wealthy people have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo upon which their wealth is premised. Those who are threatening to the status quo are therefore not elevated to celebrity status, and the ones who get rich and famous either (A) understand this acutely or (B) are too shallow and vapid to have any interest in rocking the imperial boat.

Nobody becomes a superstar all on their own; it requires an extensively collaborative relationship with many individuals, and many of the most important of these are in positions of great wealth and power and have no desire to see socialism or anti-imperialism threaten their kingdoms by gaining a foothold in the political realities of their nation. This creates an impressively thorough gatekeeping system which filters out any clear-eyed rebels who might otherwise shine their way to the top.

Of course the filtration system isn’t perfect; sometimes someone sneaks through, or, more likely, is waved through and then has a political awakening after achieving stardom. But for every Susan Sarandon and Roger Waters there are a hundred enthusiastic celebrity supporters of the status quo, and a thousand others who just stay silent on all matters of real importance.

Just making someone a multimillionaire and giving them a cushy lifestyle is enough to make them loyal to the political status quo of the land. The mere fact that the empire is capitalist and allows the wealthy to live like gods ensures that most people who ascend to stardom will be heavily biased in favor of the system which allows for that lifestyle, and everything they say publicly will reflect this. This gives the empire a massive propaganda bullhorn which creates an information landscape where all the biggest voices speak as though the system is working perfectly, and the voices of all the ordinary people whose experience tells them otherwise are drowned out.

When Macklemore rapped about how “the music industry’s quiet, complicit in their platform of silence” about Gaza, he asked, “What happened to the artist? What d’you got to say?” And this is the answer. What happened to the most influential artists is that they stand too much to gain from supporting the status quo politics of the empire, and stand too much to lose by opposing it. 

And that’s why the mainstream “artists” of today are so artless. How much depth and profundity can you express if you’re compartmentalizing away from reality like that? How authentic and meaningful can your art be while you are duty bound to help preserve the status quo of a mind-controlled dystopia where everything is fraudulent and meaningless? 

Everything that draws human beings to art in the first place needs to be sacrificed to retain celebrity status — truthfulness, sincerity, rebelliousness, sensuality, inspiration, aliveness. That wild connection with something mysterious and strangely sexy which crackles just below the surface of everything. 

All that needs to be flushed down the toilet to become a celebrity guardian of the information interests of the globe-spanning US-centralized empire. You’ll live like a king, but you’ll also have to sacrifice everything inside you that makes life worth living.

We are ruled by weird, phony freaks in Washington and Virginia who collaborate with weird, phony freaks at the top of the corporate world, and their rule is enforced by weird, phony freaks in New York and Los Angeles who use their celebrity status to help create an artificial mainstream culture that is mindless, heartless, soulless, and completely uninterested in the emergence of a healthy world.

That is why celebrities are silent on Gaza today.

__________________

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to find video versions of my articles. Go here to buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

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In northern Gaza, Palestinians have to make an impossible choice after an Israeli attack: leave the wounded to die, or risk their lives trying to save them.

The post ‘The smell of death and blood wafts throughout Jabalia camp’ appeared first on +972 Magazine.

Damascus, SANA- was martyred and ten civilians were injured as a result of an Israeli aggression that targeted a site in the central region and a residential building in the city of Baniyas in Tartous Governorate.

“At approximately 19:30 this evening, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of Lebanese territory, targeting a site in the central region and a residential building in the city of Baniyas in the coastal region.” A military source said in a statement to SANA.

The source added that the aggression led to the martyrdom of a girl, the injury of ten civilians, and some material losses.

Mhamad

In a letter to Senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse, senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito rejected their calls for his recusal from cases involving January 6th. Durbin and Whitehouse urged Chief Justice John Roberts to act following reports that symbols supporting the January 6th insurrection were displayed at Alito’s homes in Virginia and New Jersey.

Stand Up America’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, Brett Edkins, issued the following statement:

“Justice Alito’s refusal to recuse himself from cases related to January 6th is unacceptable. By dismissing concerns about potential bias and conflicts of interest and placing the blame on his wife, he is making a mockery of the fundamental principles of impartiality and fairness upon which the Supreme Court was founded.

“The Senate must take immediate action to address this bald-faced display of judicial misconduct. Majority Leader Schumer should schedule a floor vote on a binding code of conduct for justices, and Senator Durbin should fulfill his duty as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee by launching a thorough investigation into Justice Alito’s actions and corruption on the Court.”

In den alten, unerträglich unwoken und doppelplusunkorrekten westdeutschen Besatzungszonen, aber auch in den Biotopen der mitteldeutschen “Wir hatten ja nüscht“-Ostzonendödel wurde noch bis vor wenigen Jahrzehnten gerne und viel gemeinsam gesungen. Auf dem Lande mehr, in den Städten etwas weniger – aber es gab sie, in durchaus beachtlicher Zahl: die Chöre der Hochkultur. In den […]

<p>The post Döp-dö-dö-döp in der retardierten Clownswelt der Verbotsschlümpfe first appeared on Ansage.</p>

This morning, the jury in the Trump trial began deliberations on the criminal case. In response, Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY issued the following statement:

"The former president has repeatedly demonstrated a sneering disregard for the rule of law, so we know that he will continue to attack any process that doesn't support his interests. But the project of democracy is much bigger than this one individual and the public deserves a truthful resolution. As we anticipate the jury's verdict – and Mr. Trump's inevitable lies – it's important to review the incontrovertible facts of the trial:

• The President, the Department of Justice and the federal government had no role in bringing a case under New York Criminal Law.
• First-degree falsification of business records is a serious crime that's routinely prosecuted in New York. Many individuals, including first-time offenders, are sentenced to imprisonment for this crime in New York.
• Trump and his counsel helped select the jury. He and his lawyers were able to object to individuals whom they thought would not hear the evidence fairly. And those individuals were not selected as jurors.
• Trump was afforded every opportunity to present his defense. His well-paid lawyers mounted hours of testimony and cross-examinations of witnesses, and gave a three-hour closing argument.
• Nothing prevented Trump from testifying at trial.
• The jury received instructions in the law that Trump's lawyers had a hand in drafting.
• The trial proceeded in an orderly and organized fashion, without undue delay. Mr. Trump was treated as any other defendant facing a felony charge.

It is now the jury's responsibility to carefully weigh all of the evidence that was presented to it and everyone should recognize that arriving at a unanimous verdict takes time. As we await the jury's verdict, Common Cause/NY recognizes the jury's time and dedication spent doing their civic duty, and trusts that the public will accept their decision as well as their right to privacy. Respect for the rule of law is the foundation of democracy, but so is public trust in the process. That's why Common Cause/NY fought to make the trial transcripts free and accessible, and we invite anyone to review them on the court website."

Damascus, SANA- The Police College in Damascus graduated Wednesday a new batch of Internal Security Forces officers.

Minister of the Interior, Major General Muhammad al-Rahmoun, said in his speech that the graduation of new batch comes on the 79th anniversary of the great parliamentary epic, noting that the graduates form new fabric of the internal security forces supported by training and qualifications capable of giving, and sacrifice for the sake of the pride, dignity, security of the Syrians.

Director of Police College, Brigadier General Ghassan al Harisi, pointed out that the College has been keen to prepare successive generations of highly qualified officers through professional training programs aimed at developing security capabilities and skills to combat crime and maintain the stability and security of society.

Minister Rahmoun and college director presented certificates of appreciation to the first graduates and the ceremony included military and sports shows and oath-taking ceremonies for the graduates.

Hybah/Mhamad

Der im Iran inhaftierte Kurde Hatem Özdemir kann jeden Moment hingerichtet werden. Sein in der Türkei lebender Onkel Ali Özdemir appelliert an die öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit und ruft zum Handeln gegen die Todesstrafe auf. „Mein Neffe ist nicht einmal iranischer Staatsbürger, er hat die türkische Staatsangehörigkeit. Wir akzeptieren diese Ungesetzlichkeit nicht und werden alle gesetzlichen Rechte nutzen. Wir möchten Aufmerksamkeit für diese Situation“, sagte Ali Özdemir.

Hatem Özdemir ist 1997 in Agirî (tr. Ağrı) geboren und hat sich 2014 der PKK angeschlossen. Am 2. Juli 2019 wurde er im Zuge einer Militäroperation der iranischen Revolutionsgarde bei einem Gefecht in Çardêran (Tschaldiran) nahe Makû schwer verwundet. Bei seiner Gefangennahme war er bewusstlos.

„Feindschaft gegen Gott“

Nach seiner Verhaftung wurde Özdemir nach Angaben des Kurdish Human Rights Network in die Geheimdienstzentrale der Revolutionsgarde in Ûrmiye gebracht, wo er etwa 50 Tage lang verhört und gefoltert wurde. Am 19. August 2019 wurde er in das Zentralgefängnis der Stadt verlegt und im März 2022 ohne Rechtsbeistand vor einem Islamischen Revolutionsgerichts in Xoy (Khoy) wegen „bewaffneten Aufstands“ und „Mitgliedschaft in einer terroristischen Vereinigung“ zum Tode verurteilt. Nachdem er gegen das Urteil Berufung eingelegt hatte, wurde das Todesurteil vom Obersten Gerichtshof aufgehoben und der Fall in Ûrmiye neu verhandelt. Im April dieses Jahres wurde Özdemir wegen „Feindschaft gegen Gott“ erneut zum Tode verurteilt. Über das Todesurteil wurde er am 19. Mai im Zentralgefängnis von Ûrmiye offiziell informiert.

Hinrichtungen im Iran

Im Iran sind im vergangenen Jahr nach einem Bericht der in Norwegen ansässigen Menschenrechtsorganisationen Iran Human Rights (IHR) und Together Against the Death Penalty mindestens 834 Menschen hingerichtet worden. Amnesty International zählte sogar 853 staatliche Morde in dem von einem Mullah-Regime regierten Land. Das ist die höchste Zahl an Hinrichtungen seit 2015 und ein Anstieg um mehr als 45 Prozent im Vergleich zum Vorjahr.

https://anfdeutsch.com/menschenrechte/iran-todesstrafe-gegen-hpg-kampfer-bestatigt-42343 https://anfdeutsch.com/kurdistan/iranisches-regime-bestatigt-todesurteil-fur-hpg-kampfer-31659 https://anfdeutsch.com/frauen/kampagne-nein-zur-hinrichtung-ja-zum-freien-leben-42247