/leftypol/ - Leftist Politically Incorrect

White House says furloughed federal workers not entitled to back pay amid shutdown
“The legislation that ends the current lapse in appropriations must include express language appropriating funds for back pay for furloughed employees, or such payments cannot be made,” said Mark Paoletta, OMB’s general counsel, in a draft addressed to White House budget director Russell Vought, the Washington Post reported.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/07/government-shutdown-federal-workers-pay

FBI shuts down corruption group, fires agents after they monitored GOP lawmakers
In a post on X, Patel said that CR-15, which aided in Smith's probe, was "dismantled" after they "weaponized law enforcement against the American people." "Transparency and accountability aren't slogans, they're promises kept," Patel wrote. It was unclear if the CR-15 agents were fired or simply reassigned.
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/07/fbi-kash-patel-agents-fired
https://archive.ph/KVjLX

Trump administration considers sale of federal student loan debt
Trump administration officials have also discussed the issue with finance industry executives, including potential buyers of the debt. The talks earlier this year briefly involved DOGE officials embedded at the Education Department and elsewhere, but they are being led by senior political appointees, according to the people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/07/trump-administration-selling-federal-student-loan-portfolio-00595456
https://archive.ph/ra6dX

AFL-CIO opposes major crypto legislation
The group argues that the bill, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, "provides the facade of regulation" that could cause cryptocurrency to become more mainstream in investment funds. "Passing this legislation will allow the proliferation of assets that investors will wrongly perceive as safe," Jody Calemine, AFL-CIO's director of government affairs, writes in the organization's legislative alert.
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/07/crypto-market-structure-afl-cio
https://archive.ph/cUgr4

Mamdani attends Israelis for Peace vigil after his 7 October statement draws ire from Israel
The New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday evening attended a vigil in Manhattan convened by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group of Israelis in New York who have rallied weekly since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages. … “Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities,” Mamdani said in the statement on Tuesday. He denounced Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government for launching a “genocidal war” in Gaza as well. He also accused the US government of being “complicit”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/07/zohran-mamdani-statement-october-7-anniversary

Warnings of ‘Irreversible’ Damage From Trump Order to Ravage Alaskan Wilderness for Corporate Profits
Green groups warn that Trump’s order to begin the controversial 211-mile Ambler Road Project, which was approved by the Republican president during his first term but subsequently blocked under former President Joe Biden, will irreparably harm the Gates of the Arctic National Park, destroy 1,400 acres of fragile wetlands and spawning regions for inland fish, and bisect the state’s largest wild caribou herd.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-ambler-road-project-corruption

European Communist Action: The war machine of Euro-Atlanticism, NATO and the EU against the peoples
The European Communist Action Parties met via teleconference hosted by Communist Party of Turkey on 28 September 2025 under the title: “The war machine of Euro-Atlanticism, NATO and the EU against the peoples - The communists’ proposal for a way out in conditions of intensifying imperialist competition”. This meeting took place only days after the 80th United Nations General Assembly, which showcased the inter-imperialist rivalries, conflicts and regional wars around the world . Once again, the hypocrisy of bourgeois governments—whose interests are tied to war,—became apparent.
https://www.idcommunism.com/2025/10/european-communist-action-war-machine-of-euro-atlanticism-nato-and-eu-against-the-peoples.html

A Youth Revolt in Madagascar Is Shaking the Government
Since September 25, an organization calling itself Gen Z Mada has organized spontaneous demonstrations in most of the country’s cities, particularly in Antananarivo, the country’s capital. In response to crackdowns, students and young people from the big cities have also gathered in front of one of the capital’s universities to denounce the government’s authoritarian turn and the police’s violent repression. In many ways, this protest movement resembles those that have taken place in recent weeks in Indonesia, Nepal, and, now, Morocco: young people on the front line, organizing through social media, who are deeply opposed to the economic and political elites and their luxurious lifestyles amid deep poverty. In fact, protesters even burned down the private residences of three politicians close to the administration. The water and electricity cuts symbolize the humiliation endured by millions of Malagasy workers. The dilapidated state of public infrastructure reflects the contempt of the local bourgeoisie and the broken promises of Andry Rajoelina, the current president, who presented himself as a modernizer. It also reflects two centuries of submission to imperialist powers, enabled by successive governments since the country was colonized by France. Madagascar is among the world’s poorest countries, even though the island possesses enormous natural wealth.
https://www.leftvoice.org/a-youth-revolt-in-madagascar-is-shaking-the-government/

Senior Hamas Leader Mousa Abu Marzouk on Trump’s Gaza Plan and the Future of Hamas
“There has never been in history an open war, a genocide broadcast on television like this war, a war in which starvation is used as a weapon, the killing of children is used as a weapon, and the blocking of medicine is used as a weapon. Is it possible that Trump is devoid of humanity to this extent? Is that possible?” Amidst high-stakes talks underway in Egypt that will determine the future of the Gaza war, Mousa Abu Marzouk, an original member of Hamas who remains a senior official within the movement, is calling on President Donald Trump to block Israeli attempts to sabotage an agreement and to use his influence to bring an end to the two year genocide. In an exclusive interview with Drop Site on Monday, Abu Marzouk said, “Stopping the war means a complete [Israeli] withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. I want Trump to fulfill his pledge and promise.” Addressing Trump, Abu Marzouk said, “Thank you for your efforts, and for your promise to stop the war and release the prisoners. We are committed to it. Just stop the war.” Under Trump’s 20-point plan released last week during a joint appearance at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the initial phase of a ceasefire deal would require Hamas to release all Israeli captives remaining in Gaza within a 72-hour period. There are believed to be 48 in total—20 of them living and 28 deceased. In return, Israel would then free nearly 2,000 Palestinians—250 serving life sentences and 1,700 people, including all women and children, snatched from Gaza after the October 7 attacks. Israel is insisting that it will not link its total withdrawal from Gaza to the exchange of captives and Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will remain entrenched in Gaza indefinitely. Hamas, recognizing that the Israeli captives represent its primary—if not exclusive—leverage in making any deal have said that the exchange must be linked to a clear roadmap to total Israeli withdrawal, an end to the genocide and the delivery of massive amounts of food and other life essentials. In a wide-ranging interview with Drop Site, which is printed below in-full, Abu Marzouk discussed the core issues at the center of the indirect negotiations in Sharm El-Sheikh, Hamas’s view of Trump, and how he sees the future of Hamas. Abu Marzouk, who joined Hamas upon its founding in 1987, was the first head of the movement’s political bureau and has served in various senior posts in the ensuing decades. He said that Hamas recognizes the inherent risks that Israel would try to retrieve all captives held by Hamas in Gaza and then resume the genocide.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/senior-hamas-leader-mousa-abu-marzouk-gaza-ceasefire-israel
[full interview video]: https://youtu.be/ofRgj2-cH80