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Political Power

A Word On The Meaning Of Political Self-Empowerment For Our Movement

Frank Chapman wrote this statement to call for unity in struggle by Black, Latino and working-class communities. Chicago saw great victories earlier in 2023 through a united front under a Black and Latino leadership, with the first-in-the-country elections for democratic civilian oversight of the police, and the election as mayor of a trade unionist, Brandon Johnson. Johnson defeated a racist who was backed by the Fraternal Order of the Police, Paul Vallas. Vallas is known in Chicago history for introducing neo-liberal policies, which included major attacks on funding for public schools. 90% of Chicago Public School students are Black and Latino.

Crisis In The UK Regime: From A Summer To A Winter of Discontent?

Just six weeks after taking office, Liz Truss resigned as head of the Conservative Party, the third UK prime minister to step down in as many years. In recent weeks, a growing number of Tory ministers had been calling on her to resign following the economic turmoil set off by her proposed economic adjustment plan. The final blow to the Truss regime came with the one-two punch of her sacking her finance minister and close ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, and receiving the resignation of Home Minister Suella Braverman. Although she had vowed to stay and fight, quoting the architect of Tony Blair’s neoliberal reign and saying she was not a quitter but a fighter, the chips were hard to consolidate. Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation on a slew of ethics violations, Truss was selected as PM by the Tory majority, inheriting a regime that is in deep economic, social, and political crisis.

On Contact: Confronting The Ruling Elite

On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Richard Falk about the inner workings of the power elite and the institutions that do its bidding. Falk is professor emeritus of international law and practice at Princeton University, and the former United Nations human rights rapporteur in the Israeli-Occupied Territories.   Falks’ new memoir, ‘Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim’, documents how he confronted entrenched political, military and economic power, especially after visiting Hanoi in 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War. During his tenure as rapporteur from 2008 to 2014, he often clashed with Israeli officials and the Israel lobby in his efforts to document and condemn human rights violations against Palestinians.

The CIA Has Been Taking Over For Decades

December 22, 1963 — exactly one month after President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, former President Harry S. Truman published an op-ed in the Washington Post that most people, especially our perfumed ruling elite, wanted to ignore.  Truman, who signed the CIA into existence just after World War II, wrote, “I think it has become necessary to take another look at the purpose and operations of our Central Intelligence Agency—the CIA. […] For some time I have been disturbed by the way the CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government. This has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas.
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