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.
University administrators across the United States have declared an indefinite state of emergency on college campuses. 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.
Many of these policies being instituted share a common formula: more militarization, more law enforcement, more criminalization, and more consolidation of institutional power. But where do these policies originate and why are they so similar across all campuses? The answer lies in the fact that they have been provided by the “risk and crisis management” consulting industries, with the tacit support of trustees, Zionist advocacy groups, and federal agencies.
Israeli Army Classifies West Bank As Combat Zone
September 3, 2024
News Desk, The Cradle.
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Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Jenin, Palestine, Wars and Militarism
The Israeli army has internally classified the occupied West Bank as “the second most critical front, immediately after Gaza,” according to security officials who spoke with Israel Hayom.
“The Jenin operation is just the beginning,” security officials told the Israeli daily, adding that ongoing raids in the northern West Bank are “set to continue in the foreseeable future.”
“The IDF aims to reach October, the month of major Jewish holidays, with a calmer West Bank than the current mini-uprising unfolding on the ground. While a full-scale war across extensive areas is unlikely, Operation ’Summer Camps’ is expected to expand to other West Bank regions soon,” the report highlights.
Report From Nicaragua: Solidarity With The Sandinista Revolution
September 3, 2024
Jason Cohen, Workers' World.
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Nicaragua, Sandinista Revolution, Social Movements, Socialism
In July I took my first trip outside of the United States as part of a solidarity delegation to Nicaragua in order to learn more about the Sandinista Revolution and the process of socialist construction in this Central American nation. Truthfully, I did not know what to expect when visiting Nicaragua, and in reality, I never could have imagined the profound impact that this experience would have on my life.
During those nine glorious days our delegation traveled throughout Nicaragua, visiting various community development projects, museums and monuments. We attended a series of meetings with cadres of various organizations, such as labor unions and mass organizations. I was utterly amazed by the high political consciousness of the Nicaraguan masses.
On A Highway To Hell
September 2, 2024
Scott Ritter, Consortium News.
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China, Joe Biden, Nuclear War, Nuclear Weapons, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism
An interesting thing happened on the road to Armageddon.
In January 2017, then-Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warned about the dangers inherent in expanding funding for, and by extension increasing the importance of, nuclear weapons.
“If future budgets reverse the choices we’ve made, and pour additional money into a nuclear buildup,” said Biden — referring to Obama administration policies that included secured the New START Treaty limiting the size of the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals — “it hearkens back to the Cold War and will do nothing to increase the day-to-day security of the United States or our allies.”
The French Left Won The Election But Macron Is Blocking Them
September 2, 2024
James Wright, The Canary.
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Elections, Emmanuel Macron, France, Left Politics
The Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front) left-wing alliance won the most seats in France’s snap legislative election in early July. It took 182 seats, while president Emmanuel Macron’s ‘centrist’ coalition Ensemble took 168 and far right Rassemblement National (National Rally) won 143. The New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon’s La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France), social democrats, Greens, and communists, were short of the 289 seats needed for a majority.
But they still won the most seats, with other coalitions even further off.
Nonetheless, Macron, as president, has refused to appoint a prime minister from the left-wing coalition.
The Condition Of The American Working Class Today
September 2, 2024
Jack Rasmus, LA Progressive.
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Debt, Employment, Labor Day, Unions, United States, Wages, Worker Rights, Working Class
On Labor Day this writer has summed up the condition of the American working class over the past year. This national election year it is perhaps useful to review not only the past year but what has happened since the last election in 2020. How has the American worker fared the past four years—in terms of wages, benefits, inflation and jobs? How have their unions, now a mere 10% of the labor force, also fared during the period of recovery since the deep Covid era recession of 2020, the uneven recovery of 2020-21 that followed, and the past thirty months of what has been a modest economic growth.
‘Havana Syndrome’ Research Cancelled For Unethical Coercion Of Participants
September 2, 2024
Cubadebate, Resumen English.
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CIA, Ethics, Havana Syndrome, Human Rights, NIH, Research
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported Friday that it is ending its investigation of what is commonly known as “Havana syndrome,” a mysterious illness experienced by a number of spies, soldiers and diplomats who have reported sudden debilitating symptoms of unknown origin.
The NIH said it would end the work “out of an abundance of caution” after an internal investigation found that people had been coerced into taking part in the research.
The coercion, the agency specified, was not on its part, but NIH did not elaborate on who may have coerced participation. It noted, however, that voluntary consent is a fundamental pillar of ethical research conduct.
Perdue Seeks To Dismantle Tribunals For Whistleblower Complaints
September 2, 2024
Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter.
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Legal System, Perdue, Supreme Court, Whistleblowers
Poultry manufacturer Perdue Farms Inc. sued the United States Labor Department and whistleblower Craig Watts, who has pursued litigation through the department’s administrative process for nearly a decade. The corporation now maintains that this administrative process is unconstitutional.
“Their suit could demolish whistleblower protections across issues [including] food safety, railroad and aviation safety, shareholder fraud, and environmental protection,” warned the Government Accountability Project (GAP), which represents Watts, a former Perdue chicken grower.
Administrative proceedings in Watts’ case were previously scheduled to begin on April 14, 2025.
Demystifying How The Hamas Leadership Works
September 1, 2024
Hanna Alshaikh, Mondoweiss.
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Ceasefire, Hamas, Negotiations, Palestine, Politics
After Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas Political Bureau, was assassinated in Tehran, the Movement’s senior consultative body, the Shura Council, quickly and unanimously chose Yahya Sinwar as his successor. At the time of his killing, Haniyeh had been leading the Hamas effort in the ceasefire negotiations with mediators, and many analysts claimed that Sinwar’s rise signaled a total break with the policies of Haniyeh and other senior Political Bureau members.
Much of this analysis is misinformed.
It betrays a shallow understanding of not just the leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), but the wider Movement as a whole.
Professor Danny Shaw Becomes Latest Victim Of Assault On Free Speech
September 1, 2024
DD Geopolitics, X.
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Danny Shaw, FBI, Free Speech, Palestine, State Repression
Professor Danny Shaw, a former Madison Square Garden heavyweight championship boxer, was detained and interrogated by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (ORD). Professor Shaw was returning from the Free Palestine Film Festival in London. He was invited to the festival because of his being fired by New York City’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice for his vocal opposition to the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. For three hours, Chicago-based federal agents grilled Professor Shaw. Agents from the FBI’s Chicago Field Office pressed Shaw about his activities at home and abroad in advocating for an end to the Israeli government’s invasion of Gaza.
Ukraine’s Kursk Raid And Its Imminent Loss Of Metallurgy Industry
September 1, 2024
Dmitri Kovalevich, Orinoco Tribune.
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NATO, Russia, Ukraine, Wars and Militarism
The situation in late August 2024 for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) remains critical in the key war front of the Donbass region (in former eastern Ukraine). The AFU is losing several towns and villages every day to the continued advances of the Russian army. Russia is now poised to cut off the key transportation and supply city of Pokrovsk (pre-war population of 60,000), which is located 60 km north and west of Donetsk city and 140 km east of the Dnieper River in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic.
Despite its worsening military situation in Donbass, Kiev decided in early August to withdraw some of its troops from there to join a military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro Rejects US Interference
September 1, 2024
People's Dispatch.
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coup, Elections, Honduras, US Intervention, Venezuela, Xiomara Castro
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on August 28 that she ordered the suspension of the extradition agreement between her country and the United States. The move was in response to comments made by the US Ambassador to Honduras, Laura Dogu, regarding different high-ranking Honduran officials who had traveled to Venezuela.
The Honduran head of state wrote in a post, “The interference and interventionism of the United States, as well as its intention to direct the politics of Honduras through its Embassy and other representatives, is intolerable. They attack, disregard and violate with impunity the principles and practices of international law, which promote respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples, non-intervention and universal peace.
Do Civilian Review Boards Work?
September 1, 2024
Zina Hutton, Governing.
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Accountability, Civilian Review Boards, Police, Police abuse, Rebellion2020
In the years following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, states and localities across the country introduced hundreds of pieces of legislation meant to address police violence. Many of those new laws included the creation of civilian police accountability boards: civilian-led groups that receive complaints about police misconduct and have the power to advise police departments on potential consequences.
These boards were a kind of low-hanging fruit for people looking to make immediate changes to policing, says Rachel Moran, founder of the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic.
Human Rights Abuses In $40 Billion Tuna Industry Still A Major Problem
September 1, 2024
Greenpeace USA.
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Fishing, Human Rights, Oceans, Sustainability, Tuna, Worker Rights
Fourteen out of 16 major US grocery retailers received failing grades in Greenpeace USA’s latest scorecard on tuna supply chain practices, highlighting ongoing issues in human rights and sustainability on the high seas. The new report, The High Cost of Cheap Tuna 2024, 3rd Edition, finds that while some retailers have made improvements in sourcing tuna, U.S. retailers’ current human rights and sustainability practices are failing.
Of the 16 retailers, only Aldi and HyVee passed the scorecard and Trader Joe’s finished last, with a 12% score. Trader Joe’s score reflects the retailer’s failure to respond or complete a survey and its website providing almost zero transparency on its sustainability and human rights practices.
An Arms Embargo On Israel Is Not A Radical Idea, It’s The Law
August 31, 2024
Yoana Tchoukleva, Mondoweiss.
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International Law, Israel, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Palestine, Weapons Embargo
As Israel launches its largest military assault in the West Bank in twenty years, I cannot stop thinking about the people I met in the occupied territory. I think of the mother in Jenin who was on the phone with her two sons seconds before their house was burned in an Israeli raid. I think of the wife of a man who was being held in an Israeli prison without charge or trial asking me, “Is there anything you can do? My husband is dying.” I think of the farmer who gifted me a melon even though he could barely put food on his own table and I was there only for a short period of time, traveling and volunteering with Faz3a, an international protective presence organization.