Educate!
Education is the foundation of political change. In this section we provide news and analyses of current events that you won’t likely read or hear in the corporate media. Our sources are from organizations and independent media outlets free of corporate and government propaganda. We strongly encourage you to share these articles by email and social media so that together we create an echo chamber that overcomes the influence of the oligarchy. You will find large social media sharing buttons on the left side of each article when you open the article to read.
One year after Oct. 7 attacks, Netanyahu is on a winning streak.” So reads the title of a recent Axios article describing the Israeli prime minister riding on an unbeatable wave of triumphs. These stunning military “successes,” its author Barak Ravid notes, include the bombing of Yemen, the assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the pager attack against Lebanon.
The same author recently went viral for an article that claimed that Israeli attacks against Hezbollah are “not intended to lead to war but are an attempt to reach ‘de-escalation through escalation.'”
Iran’s Bomb Is Real And It’s Here
October 21, 2024
Scott Ritter, Consortium News.
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Iran, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Wars and Militarism
The outbreak of conflict between Iran and Israel appears to have changed Iran’s stance against possessing a nuclear weapon as Israel is poised to strike after Teheran’s retaliation with two major attacks of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles.
Iran has issued at least three statements through official channels since April that has opened the door to the possibility of religious edicts against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons being rescinded.
The circumstances which Iran has said must exist to justify this reversal appear to have now been met.
War With Iran More Concerning Than A National Security Leak
October 21, 2024
Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter.
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Iran, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism
President Joe Biden’s administration has deployed at least 100 United States troops to Israel, along with an anti-ballistic missile defense system, to help the Israeli government as it pursues an attack on Iran.
When the Israeli military strikes targets in Iran, the U.S. will become a party to the armed conflict between Israel and Iran.
"To introduce troops into hostilities, per the 1973 War Powers Act, you either need an authorization from Congress, or there needs to be some urgent and imminent self-defense threat," said former U.S. Army major Harrison Mann, who resigned in protest over Israel's war on Gaza.
US Reinforces Control Over Peru
October 21, 2024
La Línea, Orinoco Tribune.
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China, Dina Boluarte, Pedro Castillo, Peru, US Imperialism, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
On June 7, 2021, a political earthquake occurred in Peru. A political outsider, the rural teacher Pedro Castillo, was elected president of the country with the promise of transforming a political and economic system built on great inequalities among the Peruvian population.
The first measure taken by this government was the initiative of Foreign Minister Héctor Béjar to leave the Lima Group, which weakened the regime change operation against Venezuela, initiated by the United States. The foreign minister’s sovereign decision would cost him his job. Just 15 days after taking office, he was dismissed by Congress.
Why Do Approved American History Textbooks Contain Missing Links
We study American history for important reasons. We study because it helps us understand how events in the past continue to influence the present. We study because American history tells us who we are.
Yet teaching a full and honest history is much more difficult than it should be.
There are history textbooks that ignore the fact that white elites grew rich off the labor of the enslaved. There are textbooks that continue to minimize extraordinary struggles for universal suffrage. There are textbooks that fail to examine the long-term effects of forcing Indigenous young people into off-reservation boarding schools.
Why All Hurricanes Should Be Named ‘Jim’
October 20, 2024
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, Black Agenda Report.
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Appalachia, Class Struggle, climate crisis, Environmental Justice, Environmental racism, Extreme weather, Florida, Georgia, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, Systemic Racism
The devastation effectuated by Hurricane Helene represents yet another elucidation of a quintessential climate crisis that is right here and right now. It demonstrates that climate change is not a conclusion that awaits us, but a set of present day precarities taking and altering lives right now. According to initial assessments, Helene could cost U.S. taxpayers upwards of $175 billion , and of course, there is no way to quantify the estimated 230 lives that were taken, thus far, with the death toll expected to rise.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm, continued this season of carnage and calamity with a death toll of approximately 20 people and an estimated $50 billion in damages.
‘Goodbye Lebanon – High Israeli Official; Biden Says OK, So Far
October 20, 2024
Ralph Nader, Scheer Post.
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Israel, Joe Biden, Lebanon, US Aid To Israel, Wars and Militarism
Biden’s bombs and missiles, dropped daily on Lebanon, a U.S. ally, by his puppet master Netanyahu, is wreaking havoc in this small defenseless country. The Israeli genocidal machine is waging an incinerating assault on fleeing civilians and critical facilities. The scorched-earth Israeli strategy is the same as what we have seen in Gaza. Attack in Lebanon anyone who moves or anything that stands – whether a hospital, a dense residential area, a café, a municipal building, a market, a school, or a Mosque – and allege there was a Hezbollah commander or a Hezbollah site here or there.
Students And Faculty Encountering Stricter Anti-Protest Rules
October 20, 2024
Michael Arria, Mondoweiss.
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Campus Movement, Free Speech, Israel, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Repression, Student Activism, Suppression
This semester returning university students have encountered stricter anti-protest regulations at their schools, while advocates continue to deal with fallout from last spring’s Gaza solidarity
“University administrators across the United States have declared an indefinite state of emergency on college campuses,” wrote National SJP organizer Carrie Zaremba in September. “Schools are rolling out policies in preparation for quashing pro-Palestine student activism this Fall semester, and reshaping regulations and even campuses in the process to suit this new normal.”
Palestine Legal senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath told Mondoweiss those changes have included new encampment bans, stricter rules against wearing masks, a weaponization of ‘Time, place, and manner restrictions’, and stricter rules for holding protests.
The State Is Wielding Grand Jury Subpoenas Against Cop City Activists
With each passing day, the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center (dubbed “Cop City” by opponents) inches toward completion. It’s been just under a year since the last Stop Cop City mass mobilization march attempted to breach the site, but the struggle against the militarized police training facility continues.
Activists are organizing ping pong ball drops at city council meetings, pursuing legal remedies to recover what remains of the Weelaunee Forest, and continuing to hold teach-ins and small-scale protests. Organizers wait with bated breath for the resolution of the 61 pending RICO cases against activists.
Cuba: Power Outages Prolonged Due To Delays In Energy Recovery
October 20, 2024
Telesur, Resumen English.
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Cuba, Economic Blockade, Energy, Solidarity, Venezuela
Today, Cuba once again experienced a total power outage after the recovery process of the National Electric System (SEN), initiated the day before following a blackout caused by a failure at a thermoelectric plant, failed. The Caribbean nation is unable to purchase or modernize its electrical machinery due to the draconian, unilateral blockade of the US.
The process of re-energizing the SEN was then initiated, gradually restoring power to certain areas of the country with the goal of expanding and connecting them to eventually reach the thermoelectric plants and restart them. However, a new total disconnection thwarted the progress that had been made.
Censorship, War Propaganda And Fascism
October 19, 2024
Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report.
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Censorship, Fascism, Propaganda, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism
The F-word of the moment is fascism. Establishment pundits, Democratic Party politicians, and corporate media are of one accord and agree that a Donald Trump presidency will bring fascism to the United States. All of them ignore the authoritarian nature of the state that already exists and the actions taken to date which can accurately be described as fascistic.
On October 13, the same day that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) bombed refugees at the Al-Aqsa Hospital and burned patients alive, the U.S. announced it was sending troops to Israel to man the THAAD missile system which will be used in the imminent attack on Iran. Congress has not approved such a deployment. Most citizens of the U.S. are unaware that their government has chosen to fulfill Israel’s long held fantasy of attacking Iran with U.S. help or that the repercussions could lead to a wider regional war with other nations.
Capitalism’s In-House Critic: Hedges’ Monbiot Interview
October 19, 2024
Jonathan Cook, Consortium News.
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Capitalism, Media, Ruling Class, The Guardian
Chris Hedges hosts a very interesting discussion with Guardian columnist George Monbiot on his new book about capitalism and its modern incarnation, neoliberalism. Monbiot rightly sees capitalism as a supremely “coercive, destructive and exploitative mode of economic organisation.”
Neoliberalism, observes Monbiot, emerged as capitalism’s response to its biggest challenge: democracy.
After centuries of struggle, Western publics managed to win the vote. The capitalist ruling class faced a major problem. The public sought to use its newfound political power to secure other rights, such as labour protections. Workers organised into trade unions to demand a bigger share of the value of the commodities they created. These new voters also wanted a better quality of life, including weekends off and proper housing, and an environment free of industrial pollutants that were (and still are) contaminating the air they breathed, the food they ate, and the water they drank.
Samidoun’s Coordinator Speaks Out On US And Canada’s Targeting Of Them
October 19, 2024
Michael Arria, Mondoweiss.
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Canada, Press Freedom, Samidoun, U.S. Sanctions
On October 15 the United States Treasury Department announced a joint action with the Canadian government, targeting the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. The U.S. slapped sanctions on the organization and Canada listed the group as a terrorist entity.
The Treasury Department press release refers to Samidoun as a “sham charity” and accuses it of raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular Marxist-Leninist Palestinian political party, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department.
“Samidoun is particularly targeted because of our political and vocal support for the Palestinian prisoners movement and the Palestinian people’s right to resistance,” reads a statement put out by the group in response to the development.
34 Million Seniors In Medicare Advantage Plans Face Rude Awakening
October 19, 2024
Emma Curchin, Counter Punch.
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Health Care, Medicare Advantage, Privatization, Seniors
October 15 marks the first day of open enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans – a time that will deliver chaos and confusion for many of the 34 million seniors who depend on these plans to pay their healthcare bills. It’s yet another reminder that Medicare wastes billions of dollars funneling public money to private companies that are primarily driven by profit-seeking.
Last year, more MA members than expected used their benefits to get necessary medical care. One might assume that companies would expect beneficiaries to use health care services. But after years of making outsized profits, the insurance companies that own these plans are reacting to this by downsizing plans, cutting benefits, increasing copays, and raising prescription drug deductibles. In other words, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are being penalized for using the health care that they pay for.
Tribal College Campuses Are Falling Apart
October 19, 2024
Matt Krupnick, ProPublica.
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Government Programs, Higher Education, Indigenous Peoples, Systemic Racism
In the 1970s, Congress committed to funding a higher education system controlled by Indigenous communities. These tribal colleges and universities were intended to serve students who’d been disadvantaged by the nation’s history of violence and racism toward Native Americans, including efforts to eradicate their languages and cultures.
But walking through Little Big Horn College in Montana with Emerson Bull Chief, its dean of academics, showed just how far that idea has to go before becoming a reality. Bull Chief dodged signs warning “Keep out!” as he approached sheets of plastic sealing off the campus day care center. It was late April and the center and nearby cafeteria have been closed since January, when a pipe burst, flooding the building, the oldest at the 44-year-old college. The facilities remained closed into late September.