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The struggle for democratic change is linked with winning lasting peace in Iran: Payam Solhtalab talks to GAWAIN LITTLE, general secretary of Codir, about the connection between the struggle for peace, against banking and economic sanctions, and the threat of a further military attack by the US/Israel axis on Iran
What is the role of the US sanctions regime in this situation?: US sanctions have undoubtedly played a massive role in deepening the plight of the Iranian people, as the country’s economy has already been hollowed out by a parasitic financial and mercantile elite and three decades of unrestrained neoliberalism. This top echelon, whose interests are safeguarded by the regime in a relationship of mutual dependency, has made Iran’s weak and corruption-riddled economy even more vulnerable — essentially rendering it easy prey to crippling US sanctions. The main impact of this has been felt by working-class Iranians.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/struggle-democratic-change-linked-winning-lasting-peace-iran

Camila Azeñas of the Communist Youth of Bolivia: Preliminary Analysis of the General Elections in Bolivia
The general elections in Bolivia, held on August 17, have yielded a result that traditional political science and superficial analysis attribute exclusively to the internal fracture of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS-IPSP). According to their conclusions, the struggle between the factions led by Evo (without a presidential candidacy, who officially campaigned for the null vote and achieved 19.78%, from which 5% average null vote from recent elections must be substracted), Arce (the current president, represented in the elections by Eduardo Del Castillo, his ex-Minister of Government with 3.17%), and Andrónico Rodríguez with 8.51% (current president of the Chamber of Deputies) would have divided the pro-government vote, allowing the victory of an 'outsider'. However, this explanation is insufficient because it mystifies the underlying class reality. The triumph of Rodrigo Paz and Edman Lara with the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) is not a conjunctural accident, but rather the result of the structural convergence between the exhaustion of social-democratic reformism, which ideologically disarmed the working cPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Deal to restructure Puerto Rico power company debt crumbles as some bondholders walk away
On Monday, bondholder groups that had opposed the board’s proposals filed a document noting that BlackRock and others were joining them in a deal that would become effective on Oct. 1. The enlarged group now holds or insures nearly 90% of outstanding bonds issued by Puerto Rico’s power company, according to a court filing. Experts have said the dismissal of almost the entire board could lead to the appointment of new members who might be favorable to hedge funds seeking full repayment.
https://apnews.com/article/puerto-rico-power-company-debt-board-blackrock-620450990cfc0f867a5332894272bf6c

1,400 school workers strike Evergreen Public Schools in Washington state
On Tuesday, August 26, more than 1,400 classified staff in the Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, Washington, walked out, launching the first strike in the district’s history. The strike by members of the Public School Employees of Washington (PSE SEIU Local 1948) forced the district to postpone the start of the 2025–26 school year until September 2.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/08/30/hppd-a30.html

California lawmakers reach deal with Uber, Lyft that would allow drivers to unionize
The agreement includes a bill for collective bargaining backed by the Service Employees International Union along with a measure sponsored by Uber and Lyft that would significantly reduce the companies’ insurance requirements for accidents caused by underinsured drivers.
https://apnews.com/article/uber-lyft-drivers-union-gig-worker-california-transportation-74ea0034d3b1d7211e4a0fbc43e98ebf

Mother of boy, 15, held at gunpoint by US immigration agents files $1m claim
The teenager, a US citizen with disabilities, was in a vehicle with his mother outside Arleta high school in Los Angeles on 11 August when masked immigration agents surrounded tPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Daughter of the Revolution
While the famous and infamous inevitably attract admiration and attention in abundance, a very particular strain of curiosity is reserved also for their offspring. Children of the Revolution is a well-received 2011 documentary by Shane O’Sullivan about two women whose mothers were leading figures in radical leftist politics in, respectively, West Germany and Japan: Bettina Röhl, daughter of the Rote Armee Fraktion’s Ulrike Meinhof, and Shigenobu May, daughter of the Japanese Red Army’s Shigenobu Fusako. O’Sullivan’s film struggles under the sheer weight of the historical legacy and complexities of the movements in West Germany and Japan, but makes the savvy decision to focus on the personal reflections of the two women, whose lives were indelibly shaped by the ideologies and underground activities of their mothers. Though I’m His Daughter is a recently released documentary by Nagatsuka Yō about one of the daughters of Asahara Shōkō, the infamous leader of the Aum Shinrikyō doomsday cult who was executed in 2018 for orchestrating fatal sarin gas attacks in Tokyo and Matsumoto in the mid-1990s. The daughter, Matsumoto Rika, has faced discrimination and stigma due to her father and her putative status as heir to Aum’s successor group, which is closely monitored by police (officers raided the home of Asahara’s widow and son earlier this year, finding huge sums of cash allegedly donated to them by the group). Matsumoto was denied admission to a university due to her family background and had to fight a legal battle to win the right to attend.
https://throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2025/07/23/daughter-of-the-revolution/

Elections in Bolivia: tectonic shifts in the political landscape
For the first time in 20 years, Bolivia’s Movement for Socialism (MAS) has lost the presidential election – and it was not just any defeat. Having won almost 55 percent of the votes in 2020, MAS now barely reached 3 percent. In second place, with 26.7 percent of the valid votes, is Tuto Quiroga, a right-wing establishment candidate with ties to former dictator Hugo Banzer. Victory – with more than 30 percent of the vote – went to Christian Democratic candidate Rodrigo Paz and his vice president, former police officer Edman Lara, who has gained prominencePost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Nearly 1,000 'Workers Over Billionaires' Protests Planned Across US for Labor Day
Unions and progressive organizations are planning nearly 1,000 "Workers Over Billionaires" demonstrations across the United States this Labor Day to protest President Donald Trump's assault on workers' rights. The day of national action has been organized by the May Day Strong coalition, which includes labor organizations like the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, and National Union of Healthcare Workers, as well as advocacy groups like Americans for Tax Fairness, Indivisible, Our Revolution, and Public Citizen.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/workers-over-billionaires-protests

Detainees report alleged uprising at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’: ‘A lot of people have bled’
The allegations, made by at least three detainees in phone calls to Miami’s Spanish language news channel Noticias 23, come as authorities race to empty the camp in compliance with a judge’s order to close the remote tented camp in the Everglades wetlands. The incident took place after several migrants held there began shouting for “freedom” after one received news a relative had died, according to the outlet. A team of guards then rushed in and began beating individuals indiscriminately with batons, and fired teargas at them, the detainees said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/29/alligator-alcatraz-uprising-florida-immigration

'AI Death Panels': Trump Pilot Program Seeks to Bring 'Very Worst' For-Profit Insurance Practices to Medicare
As reported by The New York Times on Thursday, the pilot program will hire private firms to deploy AI to make what are known as "prior authorization" decisions regarding whether Medicare should pay for certain procedures, including spinal surgeries and steroid injections. The program is set to run first in Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-ai-medicare-program

Massive CDC walkout eruptPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

The DSA Voted Against Zionism — But Will It Break from the Democrats?
Every rupture carries its shadow. In Chicago, the same convention that declared support for anti-Zionism also codified loyalty to the very party arming Israel. Resolution 7, “Principles for Party-Building,” reaffirmed DSA’s surrogate strategy, stating outright that an independent ballot line “is not the primary goal or an indication of political independence.” Resolution 18, adopted unanimously, pledged a massive push in the 2026 midterms on the Democratic ballot line and even created a committee to explore a DSA-backed campaign for the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries. This is no longer inertia about the “dirty break” — which is the term used to describe the DSA’s self-evidently “dirty” decision to stay in the Democratic Party for now and break at some undetermined point in the future. What was once justified as a temporary tactic has now hardened into the DSA’s long-term strategy — a consolidation made explicit in Resolution 18, which commits the organization to remain within the Democrats through 2028. The contradiction could not be sharper: even as the convention voted to strip Zionism from the organization’s politics, the leadership secured resolutions that bound the DSA more tightly to the very party financing genocide. Today, some sectors of the DSA’s leadership wrap themselves in more radical, anti-imperialist rhetoric than in 2023 — but beneath the new language lies the same reformist strategy: to keep the socialist Left tethered to the Democratic Party, one of the main pillars of imperialism. This debate over strategy isn’t abstract — it’s unfolding through real campaigns and real figures. Nowhere is that clearer than in the phenomenon of Zohran Mamdani. His mayoral campaign in New York electrified millions. For the first time in decades, a Democrat running for high office said “Free Palestine,” called Israel an apartheid state, and endorsed boycotts against Israel. And crucially, his campaign showed that Palestine is not separate from so-called “bread-and-butter” issues. People rallied to him because his campaign has fused the fight against genocide abroad with the fight against skyrocketing rents, precarity, and exploitation at home. The link is not rhetorical but material: the same state that sends billions to fund Israel’s bombs is the one slashing housing, healthcare, and education; the same ruling class that justifies ethnic cleansiPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Trump administration announces a $825 million arms sale to Ukraine
The State Department announced Thursday that it had notified Congress of the sale of extended-range attack munition missiles and navigation systems for Ukraine. The sale will cover 3,350 ERAM missiles, 3,350 GPS units, along with components, spare parts and other accessories, as well as training and technical support.
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-us-weapons-sale-trump-russia-74e01123c0067d5fc160141e0cabf207

State DFL chair's text fueled tension after Fateh endorsement reversal
For some Fateh supporters, the message reinforces a belief that top party officials were eager to intervene on incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey's behalf after his convention defeat. That suspicion is at the heart of an intra-party feud that has erupted since the state party's rules committee revoked Fateh's endorsement. Carlbom told Axios the text "was purely about procedural mistakes that we would need to address, not a preference for or against any candidate."
https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/08/27/dfl-carlblom-text-fateh-endorsement

Former Memphis police officers granted new trial in Tyre Nichols killing
Three former Memphis police officers who were convicted on federal charges related to the beating death of unarmed Black motorist Tyre Nichols have each been granted a new trial. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman on Thursday ordered the new trials after finding that another judge held communications with federal prosecutors without defense lawyers present, giving the appearance of possible bias.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/former-memphis-police-officers-granted-new-trial-tyre-nichols-killing-2025-08-29/

Top Human Rights Group Makes Case for Countries to 'Break Up' Big Tech
A report published Thursday by Amnesty highlights five tech companies: Alphabet (Google), Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, whichPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

On the Twenty-Fourth Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Secretary-General, Commander Abu Ali Mustafa: PFLP
“With the unity of our people, our resistance, and by harnessing the energies of the Arab nation, we can stop the genocide and thwart the ‘Greater Israel’ plan.” “If I fall, take my place, my comrade in the struggle.” O valiant masses of our people in the homeland and the diaspora Sons of our Arab nation and the free people of the nation and the world, We commemorate the twenty-fourth anniversary of the martyrdom of the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the great national and pan-Arab leader, Abu Ali Mustafa. He was assassinated by treacherous zionist aircraft while performing his national duties in his office in the occupied city of Ramallah, in a perfidious zionist crime. He left behind an honorable legacy of sacrifice and giving, immortalizing his presence in the record of the great and eternal figures. The enemy tried to assassinate the idea by assassinating its holder, but Abu Ali’s blood turned into a flame that illuminates the paths of resistance and fighters. His immortal testament, “We returned to resist, and on the principles, we do not compromise,” remains alive among the generations of our people. The national leader dedicated his life to Palestine and returned to the occupied homeland believing that resistance and unity are the only path to freedom and return. He was a living symbol of a resistant Palestine, a voice for the poor and the toilers, a conscience for the unity of our people, and an example of revolutionary steadfastness and resolve that knows no compromise.
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/21112/

Greedflation With A Side Of Gaslighting
A new study shared exclusively with The Lever details how corporate media has routinely downplayed the effects of corporate greed on price increases, often citing industry talking points or providing no explanation at all for crippling inflation over the past few years. Lawmakers then parroted these anti-greedflation narratives as they slashed pandemic aid, blocked spending, and abandoned efforts to increase the national minimum wage. Now, with greedflation making a comeback as companies use President Donald Trump’s tariff threats to justify jacking up prices, the study’s co-author warns thatPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Five current and ex-Microsoft workers arrested at sit-in over Israeli military ties
At least two current and three former Microsoft employees – as well as two other tech workers – were arrested at the company’s headquarters after staging a sit-in demonstration at the company president’s office urging that Microsoft cut ties with the Israeli government. Police placed the protesters in full-body harnesses and carried them out of the building, according to Abdo Mohamed, a former Microsoft worker and who helped organize the demonstration. “No arrests, no violence, will deter us from continuing to speak up,” he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/26/microsoft-employee-sit-in-israeli-military-ties

Israeli official Alexandrovich skips US court hearing on child sex charges
On Wednesday, Chesnoff suggested that he had a deal with prosecutors relating to Alexandrovich’s court appearances going forward. “My client is not here. We have an agreement with the state, and I informed your staff earlier that he was not going to be here,” the lawyer told the court.But Schifalacqua said the district attorney’s office has “no authority to waive appearances” at a felony arraignment. “Nobody got a waiver from my court,” Schifalacqua said. Eventually, Chesnoff and the court agreed that Alexandrovich would appear remotely before the court next week, on September 3, for his arraignment – a hearing where he would be formally presented with the charges and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/27/israeli-official-alexandrovich-skips-us-court-hearing-on-child-sex-charges
https://archive.ph/Ro9MW

Judge questions if Spanish-language journalist can stay in immigration detention without charges
DeKalb County prosecutors within days dismissed all charges Guevara faced related to the protest, which included unlawful assembly and obstruction of police. The sheriff’s office in neighboring Gwinnett County then took out warrants charging Guevara with Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Disaster Capitalism in Haiti
Senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington D.C., Jake Johnston, is the author of Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti (Saint Martin’s Press, 2024). He was the premier analyst for the center’s “Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Watch website since 2010, just weeks after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti.” Originally from Portland ME, and now residing in Washington D.C., Johnston has contributed to the New York Times, The Nation, The Boston Review, and The Intercept. Journalist and author Naomi Klein praised Johnston for his “stubborn commitment to tracking Haiti’s struggles for a just recovery and real democracy — and his deft narrative and investigative skills.” Yale historian Greg Grandin remarked that “Aid State is a harrowing journey into the heart of modern neocolonial darkness, revealing the thick network of international organizations, including The United Nations, that have occupied Haiti for decades.” And professor of French and African American studies at Yale, Marlene L. Daut, stated that the book “should be required reading for all world leaders before they even think about meddling in Haitian politics — challenging popular notions of what it means to best support Haiti and with decades-long experience reporting on Haitian affairs to support his shrewd analysis, [the author] dismantles the idea that aid after disaster has anything to do with humanitarianism.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/22/disaster-capitalism-in-haiti/

In the UK, Poverty Is Driving Mental Illness Among the Young
If you’ve spent any time at all on TikTok recently, you’ll have seen plenty of videos from young people despairing about life in the UK. Videos with captions like “Why is everything so expensive?” “Why is rent so high?” “Why can’t I get a doctor’s appointment?” are going viral every day. With no clear answers, let alone solutions, to any of these questions, many are opting to leave the country altogether. Now more than ever, young people feel as though they are facing these challenges alone. Without the social and community infrastructure that was destroyed by austerity, they have nowhere to go for support. And the hypercompetitive culture created by nePost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Protesters confront U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell at town hall about his support of Israel
The condemnation from some in the crowd at the Post Building in downtown St. Louis largely drowned out support for Bell. Attendee Saul Glist said he was unimpressed with the congressman’s response to some questions and to the crowd’s criticism.
https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-08-20/wesley-bell-st-louis-town-hall-israel-protest

Chinese scientist at University of Michigan enters “no contest” plea despite Fifth Amendment violations
In a Detroit federal courtroom on August 19, Chengxuan Han, a 28-year-old Chinese doctoral student at the University of Michigan (U-Mich), entered a plea of nolo contendere, or “no contest,” to politically motivated federal charges. This decision comes just days after Han’s defense team filed a motion to suppress statements obtained through egregious violations of her Fifth Amendment rights.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/08/26/djdb-a26.html

Judge rejects Cuomo’s attempt to make texts in harassment lawsuit public as he runs for NYC mayor
The decision comes more than a month after New York agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit from Brittany Commisso, an ex-aide who alleged Cuomo sexually harassed and groped her while he was in office. Cuomo, who has denied the allegations, resigned as governor in 2021 after a report from the state attorney general determined that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women.
https://apnews.com/article/cuomo-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-commisso-new-york-b66c59c7de22c283e87b75ed6cd723d1

DNC Votes Down Resolution Calling for Israeli Arms Embargo to Halt US Complicity in Gaza Genocide
NOTUS reports that, in the wake of the resolution's failure, DNC Chairman Ken Martin announced that he "was forming a task force to continue discussion of the issue, indicating that the committee planned to consider a new resolution about Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Latin American Communist Parties denounce US imperialist aggression against Venezuela
The Communist Party of Mexico condemns the military threat of US imperialism against the people of Venezuela. Under the guise of combating drug trafficking, the US has deployed three destroyers and more than 4,000 troops to the coasts of Venezuela. The close ties between the United States and its agencies, such as the CIA and the DEA, and drug trafficking groups are widely documented, as evidenced by the Iran-Contra scandal. This is also the paramilitary and counterinsurgency use of its "war on drugs" strategy. Its current use is a pretext to escalate imperialist aggression against Venezuela, with a view to securing control of Venezuelan oil fields and combating the positioning of Chinese and Russian capital in the region. We denounce this interventionist maneuver, as well as any attempt at imperialist intervention in Venezuela. We express our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and working class, who must independently decide their future, as well as our solidarity with the Communist Party of Venezuela, which is fighting under difficult conditions for Venezuela's sovereignty and the concrete and historic rights and objectives of the working class.
https://www.idcommunism.com/2025/08/latin-american-communist-parties-denounce-us-imperialist-aggression-against-venezuela.html

The Uncommitted Movement, a Year Later
In Chicago last August, the Democratic Party staged the version of itself it prefers: lights on cue, music in major keys, speeches polished for unity. For those of us who organized the Uncommitted campaign, the absence onstage told the real story. In the fall of 2023, I was pitching stories to mainstream media outlets about antiwar protests and how Muslim, Arab, and young voters were souring on the Democratic Party over Joe Biden’s Israel policy. Meanwhile, at Thanksgiving, several of my own relatives told me outright this would be the first election where they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the Democrat at the top of the ticket. Around the same time, a producer at a major network told me that soon I’d have a harder time getting Gaza stories on air, because by January “everything will be about the election.”Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Judge halts Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Ábrego García for now
Xinis, who was appointed by former president Obama, told justice department lawyers that the government is “absolutely forbidden” from deporting Ábrego until she holds an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Friday. Xinis further instructed that Ábrego must remain at his detention center in Virginia. She then asked deputy assistant attorney general Drew Ensign whether her order was sufficient for the justice department to follow, which he agreed it was.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/25/kilmar-abrego-garcia-uganda-deportation-trump

Millions in Harris campaign expenses still weigh on the DNC
Democrats have asked Harris and her team to hold more fundraisers and call more donors to solicit contributions to help pay off the expenses, but her team believes she's done her part. Harris has allowed the DNC to continue using her email list to help raise money and has held a few small fundraising events. But the total money raised from the events has been disappointing, according to two people familiar with the matter.
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/25/kamala-harris-campaign-expenses-dnc
https://archive.ph/jZpwN

Trump signs orders aimed at ending cashless bail policies
U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday that aimed to limit no-cash bail in the nation's capital and threatened to revoke federal funding for other jurisdictions that use it, part of a White House effort to push crime-fighting to the top of the national agenda. "Cashless bail, we're ending it," Trump said during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-signs-orders-aimed-ending-cashless-bail-policies-2025-08-25/

Philadelphia’s mass transit cuts foreshadow possible similar moves by other agencies across US
The cuts took effect Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

( TrueAnon) Episode 483: Brandy Melville Cattle Prod
We’re joined by Ezra Marcus to discuss his new article in NY Mag (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/william-duplessie-john-woeltz-nyc-clubs-crypto-soho-torture.html) about two Bitcoin guys alleged to have gone nutty and kidnapped an Italian, torturing him in a house filled with Brandy Melville employees.
https://soundcloud.com/trueanonpod/brandy-melville-cattle-prod

Critique of the Florence Program: On Democracy & Mediation - Leon V (2025)
In the aftermath of the most recent convention of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the organization stands in a precarious situation. Conflicts between the “Left” and “Right” of the DSA threaten to dismantle, or at the least disrupt, the current activities of the organization. However much the Left and Right disagree on issues, such as Palestine, the American national question, etc., they have found themselves united in the meditation of class conflict instead of its escalation. Many are familiar with “the largest socialist organization in the country” (in their own words), and many more will certainly become more familiar with their name following the primary election of Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor and other minor campaigns, such as those of Omar Fateh. This is where both wings of the DSA unite together into a single organization that has seemingly shifted its dedication towards putting up candidates for public office. If this everlong, and ultimately futile, quest to obtain any modicum of political power was only sought after by the liberal elements of the DSA, we would have nothing to say as we are not liberals nor have any interest in opining on what tactics and strategies liberals take. Our issue comes when some of the most ardent defenders and proponents of electoralism are coming from the “Communist” camp of the DSA, those of the neo-Kautskyite Marxist Unity Group or the post-Trotskyist Bread and Roses (just to name a few). We have prepared some criticisms of a draft program written by Marxist Unity Group called The Florence Program, and while this specific draft program is slightly out of date (written in FePost too long. Click here to view the full text.

European postal services suspend shipment of packages to US over tariffs
The exemption, known as the “ de minimis” exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency. It is set to expire on Friday. On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties.
https://apnews.com/article/us-tariffs-goods-services-suspension-85c7b36b9e92c0e640dfe2ac418cd907

Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Bernie Sanders in urging US to end Gaza famine
“Let’s be clear: President Trump has the power to end the starvation of the Palestinian people,” Vermont’s politically independent senator Bernie Sanders posted on X. “Instead he is doing nothing while watching this famine unfold. Enough is enough. No more American taxpayer dollars to Nethanyahu’s [sic] war machine.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/23/marjorie-taylor-greene-bernie-sanders-famine-gaza

Trump administration seeks to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda
The court filing on Saturday said the idea of sending Abrego Garcia to Uganda came after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/23/trump-administration-seeks-to-deport-kilmar-abrego-garcia-to-uganda
https://archive.ph/Lb2xn

Insurance companies using drones to inspect homes without alerting owners. Here's what you should know.
Insurance companies are using drones to fly over and photograph properties that they insure without homeowners knowing. In some cases,Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

The Far-Right Protest Vote in Romania
Romania’s recent elections saw surging support for “ultranationalist” candidates — especially after a breakthrough for the eccentric Călin Georgescu. The December 2024 cancellation of the initial first-round results over claims of Russian interference soon plunged the race into turmoil, heightening the sense of mounting pressure on the country’s institutions. The eventual rerun this May handed victory to former Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan, a pro-European candidate, albeit not without a strong showing for Donald Trump admirer George Simion. Despite Dan’s victory, Romania’s far right is within touching distance of the successes of its Polish and Hungarian counterparts. In these elections, we got a sense of what its base of support looks like. Andrei Țăranu is one of the most insightful political analysts in Romania. In an interview with Pablo Castaño in Bucharest, he examines the roots of the rise of Romanian ultranationalism.
https://jacobin.com/2025/08/romania-far-right-ultranationalism-elections

Bagong Pilipinas, Same Old Story
The 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was, as expected, a circus of illusions and empty promises meant to deodorize the rotting carcass of a state in deep crisis. Marcos Jr. touted supposed economic growth, foreign investment inflows, and infrastructure projects as signs of a “Bagong Pilipinas.” But beneath the rhetoric lies the enduring reality of a semicolonial and semifeudal state, ruled by a corrupt and fascist regime fully subordinated to US imperialist interests. More than anything else, Marcos Jr.’s SONA was a report card to his US masters and to the local ruling classes, signaling that the Philippine reactionary state remains open for plunder and repression, and that the US-Marcos regime remains committed to its historic role as a puppet of US imperialism.
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/20976/

The funeral of the so-called “21st century socialism” in Bolivia
The results of Sunday's elections in Bolivia were devastating for the leftist “Movement of Socialism” (Movimiento al Socialismo), known by the acronym Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is freed from Tennessee jail so he can rejoin family in Maryland to await trial
The release order from the Tennessee court requires Abrego Garcia to travel directly to Maryland, where he will be in home detention with his brother designated as his custodian. He is required to submit to electronic monitoring and can only leave the home for work, religious services and other approved activities.
https://apnews.com/article/abrego-garcia-jail-release-deportation-trial-6eb8e95da3bfb7b7ed89dc156702b295

CEO-to-worker pay gap surges to 632 to 1 at US’s lowest-paying large firms, study shows
As executive remuneration ballooned, the average CEO-to-worker pay gap across the 100 companies in the S&P 500 with lowest median worker pay – dubbed the Low-Wage 100 by the Institute for Policy Studies – widened by 12.9% between 2019 and 2024, from 560 to 1 to 632 to 1. “Median pay increased only modestly, whereas CEO pay really skyrocketed,” said Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, and author of the report.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/21/ceo-worker-salaries

Immigrant dairy workers strike to stop Wisconsin cheese company from violating their basic rights
W&W Dairy, a producer of Hispanic-style cheeses, was purchased recently by DFA, which gave all employees until August 30 to provide proof of legal status through the E-Verify online system. While roughly half the nearly 100-strong workforce resigned immediately, the remaining 43 workers—some with decades of service—refused to comply without receiving three weeks of severance pay per year worked. The company not only denied this demand but reportedly threatened to call ICE should workers engage in legally protected strike action.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/08/21/jily-a21.html

Crumbling dam reveals potential risks of private hydroelectric ownership
For at least 15 years, the federal governmPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

CP of Venezuela, 88 years after the First National Conference of the PCV: We continue to stand up with class consciousness and revolutionary dignity
Today, as yesterday, we true Venezuelan communists face the immense challenge that was taken up 88 years ago by that generation of forgers and builders. It is not a question of starting over, but of identifying and learning from the historical experience contained in our struggles, from the moral and ethical lessons present in the heroic example of those first communists, which should strengthen us for the new times and struggles ahead. This implies strengthening the link between our cells and the militancy with the social organizations of the people, especially those that fight for just rights and challenge the power of the bourgeois state, its authoritarian government, and its repressive apparatus; in addition to promoting permanent collective study and reflection, relying on the works of our classics for the scientific analysis of reality and the problems we face as exploited, excluded, and persecuted. In short, it is a matter of returning to social life fully armed ideologically and politically with the strength of our history, our organizational forms, and our practices of struggle, forged over nearly a century of existence. This legacy, the inalienable heritage of the PCV-DIGNIDAD, is at the service of workers and the people in their struggle to overcome the backwardness of dependent Venezuelan capitalism and its collapsed model of rentier accumulation. The Venezuelan people are not condemned to endure the inhuman conditions of dependent capitalism or the renewed and crueler forms of economic exploitation based on neoliberalism, which privatizes resources that belong to the entire nation. Nor should they submit to the domination of a corrupt, inept, and authoritarian bureaucratic elite that exploits power for its own benefit, violating rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and laws, and dragging the country toward a dangerous abyss.
http://www.solidnet.org/article/CP-of-Venezuela-88-years-after-the-First-National-Conference-of-the-PCV-We-continue-to-stand-up-with-class-consciousness-and-revolutionary-dignity/

Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

US Senator Sanders favors Trump plan to take stake in Intel, others
The unusual alignment between Sanders and President Trump on government ownership stakes in private companies highlights a marked shift by Trump toward policies of state intervention in the economy that are typically associated with the left.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senator-sanders-favors-trump-plan-take-stake-intel-others-2025-08-20/

Medicaid effort to target undocumented immigrants may create enrollment hurdles
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will begin providing states with "monthly enrollment reports identifying individuals whose citizenship or immigration status could not be confirmed through federal databases," the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. The reports will draw on data from sources including the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. HHS emphasized that states are responsible for reviewing cases, verifying the immigration status of individuals on the CMS' reports, and "taking appropriate actions." All states will receive these reports within the next month, per the HHS.
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/19/trump-medicaid-chip-undocumented-immigrants
https://archive.ph/Z6QMy

MAGA erupts after Israeli official charged in child sex ring flees U.S.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the handling of the case was "standard," and the State Department denied that the U.S. government intervened. But acting U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah, whose jurisdiction covers Nevada, posted on social media: "The individual who fled our country should have had his passport seized by the state authorities. He must be returned immediately to face justice." Chattah said that Attorney General Pam Bondi was "outraged" and placed calls to both her and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

961 - The Dogs of War feat. Seth Harp (8/18/25) (Chapo Trap House)
Journalist and author Seth Harp returns to the pod to talk about his horrifying and expansive new book The Fort Bragg Cartel. We talk with Seth about America’s forever-war machine and the global drug empire it empowers, with a special focus on the case of Delta Force officer William Lavigne, who killed his best friend before turning up dead near Fort Bragg in a still-unsolved murder. We also discuss the rise of JSOC, the third Iraq War and its ongoing ramifications, the US military’s ties with the brutal Los Zetas cartel, and the eternal shadow war waged in the name of empire.
https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/961-the-dogs-of-war-feat-seth-harp-81825

There is no Revolution Without Revolutionary Consciousness
Haiti is plunged into insecurity in all its forms: poverty, arms trafficking and trade, organ and drugs trafficking and a lack of transportation, all of which have plunged the country into total financial insecurity. For many, Haiti has never experienced such a chaotic situation in history. This critical situation is not without consequences for society. It forces the population to adopt a different understanding of life; many essential sectors in the society, including the universities, the media, organizations and political parties, etc, have suffered an unprecedented state of discouragement. These sectors have lost their true mission, which is to support the people by sharing a set of emancipatory values. The proper transmission of these customs and principles can help build hope in this total despair. Without this preventive education and movement, any group has a free field to approach the people and give them bad directions. This disengagement prompts anyone, including those in the most reactionary group in the country, to chant a series of words that sound as if they carry a series of emancipatory values; but very often, the practices and activities of these people are not in line with these values. Let us take some examples: a criminal gang leader who claims he is “doing social work” or “fighting for the people,” while others even say his group is conducting a Revolution. This creates great confusion because, in the context, the word “revolution” seems to have lost its Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Senior Israeli official flees US after paedophilia arrest, sparking debate over Israeli impunity
According to police statements, Alexandrovich was one of eight individuals apprehended as part of the sting. He was charged with the felony offence of “luring a child with a computer for sex acts” and later released on $10,000 bail. He subsequently returned to Israel, prompting questions about how and why a foreign national accused of such a crime was allowed to leave the US before facing trial.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250818-senior-israeli-official-flees-us-after-paedophilia-arrest-sparking-debate-over-israeli-impunity/

US to ‘root out anti-Americanism’ in reviewing immigration applications
The latest guidance on immigration decisions said that authorities will also look at whether applicants “promote anti-Semitic ideologies”. … Under the new measures, US diplomats are directed to review applicants’ social media profiles to look for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States” before issuing visas.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/19/immigration-social-media

Kilmar Abrego accuses US government of 'vindictive prosecution'
Federal law allows for the dismissal of criminal charges if a judge determines they were brought to punish someone for exercising their due process rights. Such requests rarely succeed. "Even as government officials recognized both publicly and privately that Mr. Abrego's removal to El Salvador had been a serious mistake, the government responded not with contrition, or with any effort to fix its mistake, but with defiance," the motion stated.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/kilmar-abrego-accuses-us-government-vindictive-prosecution-2025-08-19/

Katherine Clark backs off Gaza ‘genocide’ comments
“Last week, while atPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Serbia: the revolution has outgrown its naïve phase
Since the collapse of the canopy that killed 16 people last November, Serbia has seen massive mobilisations, including the largest in the country’s history on 15 March. They have continued down to the present yet still no justice has been had for the victims. Patience has run out. Instead of justice, the regime has met the masses with continuous violence that has added to the bubbling anger in society. Back in January, members of the ruling party, the SNS, emerged from their party offices and broke the jaw of a female student. Other students attempted to enforce restraint by cordoning the offices to prevent violence from escalating. Since then, the culprits in that attack have been pardoned by Vučić. And we’ve seen more attacks by thugs and car ramming attacks on students. Still, throughout it all, the official stance of the students was that the violence of the Vučić regime should be met with restraint and dignity. But now things have reached their limits. Fatigue had been setting in without justice being achieved, and many began to feel that the students did not have a way forward. The blockades of the university faculties were slowly falling apart. It had become clear that the students’ attempts to peacefully achieve justice were ineffective. It was in this context that, on the national Vidovdan holiday, 28 June, the students gave the green light for the masses to use any form of civil disobedience. Until this point, only the restraint of the students themselves, whose authority had provided the leadership of the movement, has held the masses back. In a speech, the students have now given the “green light” to the masses not to hold back any longer in the face of a regime that clearly will not refrain from using violence.
https://marxist.com/serbia-the-revolution-has-outgrown-its-naive-phase.htm

The Alternative: Zarah Sultana interview
Zarah Sultana is among Britain’s most prominent socialist leaders. Born in Birmingham in 1993, she became politically active in the student movement and later in the upsurge of Corbynism: serving on the national executive of Young Labour, working as a community organiser for the party and eventually running for parliament, where she now represents Coventry South. Her electiPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

US pipeline protester’s obstruction conviction overturned by appeals court
Vialard was charged after attaching herself to a 25ft bamboo tower erected to block a pumping station in Aitkin county in August 2021, as part of a crackdown on non-violent Indigenous-led protests opposing the expansion and re-routing on Line 3 – a 1,097-mile tar sands oil pipeline with a dismal safety record that crosses more than 200 bodies of water from Alberta in Canada to refineries in the US midwest.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/18/mylene-vialard-pipeline-protester-conviction-overturned

Draft of new 'MAHA' report suggests RFK Jr. won't target pesticides
The draft's language, if left unchanged, would constitute a win for the agriculture industry and a potential setback for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) allies, who have railed against the use of chemical additives in America's food supply, arguing that they harm children.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/draft-new-maha-report-suggests-rfk-jr-target/story?id=124714523

Private-equity backed prison health companies continue despite decade of alleged constitutional violations
Since 2014, in eight cases involving these two private equity-backed healthcare companies examined by the Guardian, investigators from the Department of Justice, New York City department of investigation and other local investigators, have found their negligence so severe that it violated inmates’ eighth amendment rights protecting them from substantial risk of harm, including preventable death. Staff shortages are often a contributing factor – a 2023-24 Santa Barbara county grand jury investigation into Wellpath-managed jails found that staffing shortages led to delays in care.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/18/us-private-prison-healthcare-industry

Vast Majority of 'Refugees' AccePost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Is This the End of MAS?
As Bolivia celebrated its two hundredth year of independence last week, the mood on the streets and in the countryside was far from jubilant. National elections take place on Sunday, and Bolivia is confronting a spiraling economic crisis and the total collapse of the left-wing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) that has been in power for the past two decades. It looks more than likely that the right wing will win power, with the latest polls putting far-right Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in the lead at 24.5 percent and center-right Samuel Doria Medina in a close second at 23.6 percent. Bolivia now stands on the brink of a new historic cycle without the MAS in power.
https://jacobin.com/2025/08/bolivia-movement-toward-socialism-election

CP of the Workers of Spain, On the new wave of wildfires
On the new wave of wildfires razing thousands of hectares in several Autonomous Communities, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain wants first to convey its condolences to the families and friends of the deceased people as well as its full support and solidarity with both the displaced people and the workers and volunteers that are carrying out extinction works under very harsh conditions. The PCTE considers that the key element easing the ferociousness of the current wildfires is the lack of planning and the absolute neglection of the different administrations. Even though they presume to pursue “green policies”, they continue to let the wilderness burn every year while they maintain miserable and precarious labor conditions for those who fight the wildfires.
http://www.solidnet.org/article/CP-of-the-Workers-of-Spain-On-the-new-wave-of-wildfires/

V. I. Lenin: Where to Begin?
In recent years the question of “what is to be done” has confronted Russian Social-Democrats with particular insistence. It is not a question of what path we must choose (as was the case in the late eighties and early nineties), but of what practical steps we must take upon the known path and how they shall be taken. It is a question of a system and plan of practical work. And it muPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

US suspends visas for Gaza residents after right-wing social media storm
The United States has announced that it is halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a “a full and thorough” review, a day after social media posts about Palestinian refugees sparked furious reactions from right-wingers. The Department of State’s move on Saturday came a day after far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer posted on X that Palestinians “who claim to be refugees from Gaza” entered the US via San Francisco and Houston this month.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/16/us-suspends-visas-for-gaza-residents-after-right-wing-social-media-storm
https://archive.ph/u0dqH

States move to send hundreds of National Guard members to Washington
So far, National Guard members have played a limited role in law enforcement in D.C. and it’s unclear why additional troops are needed. They have been seen patrolling at landmarks like the National Mall and Union Station and assisting with crowd control. A protest against Trump’s intervention drew scores to Dupont Circle on Saturday before a march to the White House, about 1.5 miles away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said, “No fascist takeover of D.C.,” and some in the crowd held signs saying, “No military occupation.”
https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-washington-west-virginia-trump-crime-3aa338b80442e12559273ff5e526edc3

Farmers in US midwest squeezed by Trump tariffs and climate crisis
With the 2025 harvest of corn and soybeans approaching – America’s biggest two crops and the linchpins of agriculture – crop growers are facing down the gauntlet. Climatic swings, rocketing operating costs and low international demand, caused, in large part, by government policy in the shape of tariffs, has created the perfect storm.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/16/farmPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Trump Is Launching a Hostile Takeover of Puerto Rico
On Monday, August 4, President Donald Trump dismissed five of the seven members of the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), the entity that, for all intents and purposes, governs Puerto Rico. The move likely signals the start of a Trumpian takeover of the island that will only intensify austerity, poverty, and the multifaceted crises afflicting the oldest colony in the world. No one should shed a tear for members of the board — or La Junta, as Puerto Ricans not-so-lovingly call it. The FOMB was created by federal law (PROMESA, signed by President Barack Obama in 2016) to address Puerto Rico’s financial crisis and oversee its debt restructuring process. It was given near-unlimited power by Congress to set Puerto Rico’s budget, veto local laws, and overrule the elected governor. For the past decade, the board has used that authority to implement a draconian austerity regime in Puerto Rico. It has slashed pensions, cut funding for public education, and pushed for privatization of the island’s electrical grid to companies that charge Puerto Ricans more money for a poorer service. While Puerto Ricans feel the pain, bondholders swim in profits. The board’s members, and its army of lawyers and consultants, are handsomely paid as well. Executive director Robert Mujica Jr, who was Andrew Cuomo’s former budget chief in New York, makes $625,000 a year — more than the president of the United States. As of 2022, McKinsey had raked in $120 million for consulting on the island’s debt restructuring. By now, that figure is surely higher. The Trump administration has cited the board’s profligacy and excess as cause for the five members’ dismissal, but that’s a cheap misdirection. First, because while the FOMB was created by Congress and its members are appointed by the president, all salaries and fees are paid for by Puerto Rico’s government. Few reasonable people will believe that the Trump administration is particularly concerned about the well-being of Puerto Ricans. Second, because the five members of the board dismissed by Trump were all appointed by Democrats. The two remaining members of the FOMB, John Nixon and Andrew Biggs, are Republicans.
https://jacobin.com/2025/08/puerto-rico-trump-takeover-fomb

Trump Is Sending ThoPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Judge drops domestic terrorism charges against Atlanta ‘Cop City’ protester
DeKalb superior court judge Gregory Adams ruled on Thursday that defendant Jamie Marsicano’s due process and constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated by the state’s ongoing delays and failure to issue an indictment two and a half years after arresting them at a nearby music festival. “The judge acknowledged that the state was delaying on purpose, which is what the public suspected and activists have been saying,” said Xavier de Janon, Marsicano’s attorney. “It’s the idea that the process is the punishment.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/15/cop-city-protester-charges-dropped

A rescinds weeks of parental leave — even for some giving birth this week
These workers aren't losing all their leave — 12 weeks of paid family leave is guaranteed under a federal law that President Trump signed during his first administration. But their union contract provided for another four weeks of unpaid time off on top of that. That's now gone.
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/15/va-maternity-leave-veterans-union

Blue No Matter Who?: Jeffries Slammed for 'Gutless' Refusal to Endorse Zohran Mamdani
"He's going to have to demonstrate to a broader electorate—including in many of the neighborhoods that I represent in Brooklyn—that his ideas can actually be put into reality," Jeffries said in comments that drew praise from scandal-ridden incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who opted to run independently. Another Democrat, disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is also running on his own.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/hakeem-jeffries-zohran-mamdani

New Mexico Republican candidate gets 80 years for shootings at Democrats’ homes
A failed political candidate in New Mexico has been sentenced to 80 years in federal prison for his convictions in a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in the aftermath of the 2020 election. A jury convPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

San Francisco’s Ultrarich Are Blocking a Zohran-Style Agenda
Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary is no doubt the shot of adrenaline that democratic socialism needs right now. But while his win shocked most of the nation, democratic socialists have always known that Mamdani’s platform was a winning one. We knew in 2016 that Bernie Sanders could have won. We knew it when COVID-19 hit and the stimulus checks started printing — if the government could provide something like a universal basic income for unemployed people when the economy was flatlining, could they not afford it during boom times? We knew it during the fiasco of the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris campaign while centrist Democrats ignored the economic gasps for breath from working-class America. And although New York’s primary election surprised almost everybody, democratic socialists have been excited, even exuberantly optimistic, about Mamdani’s campaign as a model for other socialists since early 2024. A bold, populist economic platform has massive appeal. As the Zohran adrenaline courses through our networks, to the soundtrack of Bernie’s latest directive to run for office at every level, it’s no wonder many politicians are trying to jump on this winning bandwagon (and making sure to hit record on their iPhones). But in San Francisco — a city known for its progressivism — some mainstream commentators still don’t seem so sure. As Cal Matters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu asked last month: “Could we have a Zohran in San Francisco?” The truth is, for years San Francisco voters have tried to pass Mamdani’s agenda — almost to a tee — and it has been as popular as you’d expect, even without his dimples and killer social media. The people of San Francisco have always been fans of a Mamdani-style platform. They’re not the ones opposing such an agenda; it’s the Andrew Cuomos of the city and their ultrarich backers. The political establishment and the economic elites that fund them have worked to block economic prosperity for working people at every turn.
https://jacobin.com/2025/08/san-francisco-zohran-democratic-socialism

Hundreds of Former Israeli Spies Are Working in Big Tech, Database Shows
In late July, the U.S. cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks (PANW) announced thPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

L.A. volunteers who document ICE raids are being arrested. How to do it safely
She was pinned to the ground, handcuffed and put into an unmarked black van by masked federal agents. The arrest put a spotlight on the risks faced by a growing number of volunteers who work to document immigration enforcement actions across Southern California. Trebach is a member of Unión del Barrio, an immigrant rights organization, one of several advocacy groups that conduct local patrols to respond to and document immigration enforcement operations in Southern California.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-08-13/la-volunteers-who-document-ice-raids-are-being-arrested-how-to-do-it-safely
https://archive.ph/a6qVY

D.C. man accused of throwing sandwich at federal agent faces felony charges
Sean Charles Dunn, 37, is accused of being the man in a viral video who threw "a sub-style sandwich" at a CBP agent who was patrolling with Metro Transit Police in northwest D.C. late Sunday, after President Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence in the U.S. capital, per a court filing. "The video has become emblematic of how some Washington residents feel about Mr. Trump's injection of federal law enforcement officers into the city's streets," per the New York Times. "It has also been condemned by others as indicative of disrespect and dehumanization of the police."
http://www.axios.com/2025/08/14/trump-dc-federal-agent-sandwich-assault-charge
https://archive.ph/FILw6

Groups sue Trump agencies for using 'secret' report to reverse core of US climate rules
The Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists filed the lawsuit in a federal district court in Massachusetts, arguing that the so-called Climate Working Group that Energy Secretary Chris Wright put together, evaded public view, delivered erroneous results and was illegally used to inform the Environmental Protection Agency's decPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

How Syria became the battleground for Israeli and Turkish influence
Watching the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East in recent months, it would be tempting to conclude that Israel’s strategic position has improved. The same could be said for Turkey. Could this situation constitute a recipe for stability, or presage further troubles ahead? Although engaged in conflict on multiple fronts - Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran - Israel appears to have prevailed for the time being, while the Tehran-led “axis of resistance” seems in disarray. Iran’s military leadership and infrastructure were severely hit during the June war, which also damaged the state’s nuclear programme, although how much it has been set back remains unclear. The Iranian response was muted after the US bombed the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites on 22 June. Syria, meanwhile, is now ruled by a former al-Qaeda militant whose reputation was laundered at record speed by western democracies. Decades of American and European mobilisation against extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham were tossed into the garbage within days, further confirming western double standards. Iran’s main logistical route to support Hezbollah in Lebanon has thus been severed. As for the Lebanese movement itself, it has been severely weakened with the loss of leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top figures. It is now under strong pressure, both internal and international, to give up its military arsenal. At the same time, Israel’s ruthlessness in Gaza, which has been turned into a massive killing field as starving civilians queue to receive limited humanitarian aid, has degraded much of its international support. But Israel’s extremist government does not really care about the world’s opinion, as long as western nations continue to provide support (and others, such as Russia and China, remain inexplicably neutral). As for Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently succeeded in neutralising the main security threat along its southeastern border, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. It also prevailed in its long-sought objective to remove Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria, replacing him with Ahmed al-Sharaa. And last but not least, Ankara has bolstered its global reputation as the go-to mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war. Alongside Israel, Turkey has become a top regional actor. In this context, any path towards stability in sPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Train with at least 35 cars carrying hazardous materials derails in Texas
Emergency services responded to a derailed train in Palo Pinto county, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon, with officials noting that nearly three dozen cars were carrying hazardous materials. “A Train has derailed at the Coalville Rd Bridge. Multiple cars off the track on their side. No cars are leaking contents. No injuries reported,” Palo Pinto county emergency services district 1 said in a social media post.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/12/texas-train-derailment-palo-pinto

While Los Angeles Burned, Rules to Protect Homes From Wildfires Were On Hold
With climate-driven wildfires now capable of raining flaming embers down on far away neighborhoods, scientists say removing vegetation, wood gates and other combustible material within five feet of a home to create an ember-resistant zone is one of the most effective ways to avert an urban firestorm. California in 2020 had enacted a law that mandates the establishment of such protections, called Zone Zero, in wildfire-vulnerable communities.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-08-12/california-failed-to-roll-out-home-fire-protections-ahead-of-la-wildfires
https://archive.ph/Hopbb

'Release the Cuomo List': Zohran Mamdani Launches Scathing New Attack on Rival
"In April, Bloomberg revealed that Cuomo advised a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Seychelles as it faced federal investigation," he said. "Then in May, Politico reported that Cuomo failed to disclose $2.6 million in stock options to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. His excuse? The stocks were technically owned by Innovation Strategies, LLC, of which he's the sole proprietor."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/zohran-mamdani-andrew-cuomo

Upstate NY groups demand Hochul stop delaying decision on permitless Bitcoin gas Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Interview of Reem Hazan, Politburo member of the Communist Party of Israel, to Rizospastis: "Reactions within Israel are growing"
The weekend 9/10 August edition of “Rizospastis”, Organ of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), published an interview with Reema Hazan, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Israel (Maki) and head of its International Relations Section. Read below the interview translated into English: “Last night (Thursday) the Israeli cabinet approved the beginning of a full-scale occupation of the Gaza Strip. We warn of the continuation of ethnic cleansing, the war of extermination and the further destruction of Gaza,” Hazan says and continues: “This government, motivated by racial supremacy and messianic fanaticism, must stop. Even those in the Israeli leadership who hesitate to expand the war do so out of concern for their soldiers and their prisoners, not out of concern for committing war crimes against an entire people. Israelis must not accept the continuation of this war and this criminal government. The protests demanding an end to the war and the overthrow of this government must continue. Only with an agreement and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces can the cessation of the extermination of the Palestinian people be ensured.
https://www.idcommunism.com/2025/08/interview-of-reem-hazan-politburo-member-of-communist-party-israel-to-rizospastis-reactions-within-israel-are-growing.html

Ballard Partners Is the Lobbyist King of the Trump Era
The Securities and Exchange Commission, overseen by crypto millionaire Paul Atkins, just agreed to drop its lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Ripple after Biden-era regulators sued the firm for alleged securities fraud. Ripple, which will still have to pay a $125 million fine, gave $4.9 million to Trump’s inauguration in January and paid nearly $800,000 to lobby the federal government in the first half of fiscal 2025. That included $260,000 spent lobbying on issues related to crypto regulation paid to DC’s newly crowned lobbying king, Ballard Partners. Ballard Partners was founded in 1998 by wealthy conservative donor Brian Ballard — a major MAGA fundraiser since Trump’s first cPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Largest US socialist organisation passes resolution supporting Palestinian resistance
Sunday’s resolutions contained both political and practical commitments for DSA. Politically, the resolution supports al-Thawabit, or the Palestinian red lines, the unifying principles outlined by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in 1977. These principles include the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, the Palestinian right to resist and the right to self-determination. The resolutions also make publicly and consistently opposing the BDS movement, taking money from pro-Israel lobbying groups, and supporting the transfer of funds or weapons to Israel an expellable offence. Elected officials are expected to be held to similar standards by DSA.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/largest-us-socialist-organisation-passes-resolution-supporting-palestinian-resistance

Trump to deploy National Guard to D.C. and federalize city police
The news comes on what Trump is calling the "Liberation Day" of D.C., which he has said is "one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world," despite violent crime trending down in the District for the second straight year. 800 National Guard members are being called to D.C., Trump said at a Monday press conference, adding that he may bring in the military "if needed." The D.C. Guard is the country's only National Guard unit reporting exclusively to the president.
https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/08/11/trump-national-guard-dc-police

Waste from agricultural plant poisoned US town’s water with Pfas, lawsuits allege
Perdue Farms acknowledged that its 300-acre Salisbury, Maryland, operation is polluting local waters, but the chemicals’ sources have not been confirmed. It appears the Pfas is in part also coming from some combination of sludge used as fertilizer and pesticides, attorneys for plaintiffs say.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/11/wastewater-perPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

‘A Nation of Shopkeepers’: The egotism of the petty bourgeoisie
A Nation of Shopkeepers is a 2023 book by (ostensibly) Marxist academic Dan Evans. It is an attempt to develop our understanding of the ‘petty bourgeoisie’ or middle class, which the author perceives as an ignored part of society. Evans argues that the petty bourgeoisie – the intermediate class of small business owners and independent professionals, squeezed between the working class and the big capitalists, – has in fact grown to the point where it constitutes a third of the British population (23 million). This, he argues, nullifies the analysis of Marx and Engels, who wrote in the Communist Manifesto that: “[t]he lower strata of the middle class – the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen and peasants – all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which Modern Industry is carried on, and is swamped in the competition with the large capitalists, partly because their specialised skill is rendered worthless by new methods of production. Thus the proletariat is recruited from all classes of the population.” Deindustrialisation, Evans argues, has changed the nature of work, and therefore has undermined the classical Marxist understanding of class. The mentioned claims of a swelling in the ranks of the petty bourgeoisie is explained by the creation of what Evans labels the ‘new petty bourgeoisie’. Within this ‘new petty bourgeois’ class is included “[d]eclassed graduates, call centre workers, teachers and teaching assistants, salesmen, estate agents, nurses, firemen, public sector workers and more”. In terms of their relations to work, this ‘new’ class is identical to the working class, in that they must sell their capacity to work in order to live, and in fact work side by side with workers. What separates the ‘new petty bourgeoisie’ from the working class, Evans tells us, is that they aspire to “social mobility”; they dream of better things for themselves – and so are therefore individualistic – whereas the working class is happy with its lot. By changing the definition of class to a set of cultural values, Evans has managed to perform a magic trick, by pulling a completely new class out of thin air! Rather than seeing things such as classes in their process of historical development, Evans takes them as a finished product, a checklist of cPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

EPA axes contracts with unions
Bob Coomber, EPA’s senior labor adviser, said the reason for terminating the contracts was “to prevent irreparable harm to national security.” He referred not only to the contract with AFGE, but also to ones with the National Association of Government Employees, Engineers and Scientists of California, and the National Association of Independent Labor.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/epa-axes-contracts-with-unions-00501208
https://archive.ph/r741e

Unionized Berkeley REI workers get pay raises after Labor Board claimed they were shut out
The payout comes months after investigators from the National Labor Relations Board issued complaints that the Washington-based outdoor equipment retailer illegally excluded unionized workers at stores like the one in Berkeley from wage increases and other bonuses that were otherwise given to non-unionized employees. After NLRB issued its complaint in March, Berkeley workers said they felt REI’s alleged actions were “punishment” for unionizing. The complaint was at least one of four the Board had issued against the company at the time. And dozens of claims, alleging violations of labor laws like illegally terminating and intimidating workers, were under investigation at the time by the NLRB.
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/08/08/unionized-berkeley-rei-workers-get-pay-raises-after-labor-board-claimed-they-were-shut-out
https://archive.ph/tP2eS

As electric bills rise, evidence mounts that data centers share blame. States feel pressure to act
It’s not clear that any state has a solution and the actual effect of data centers on electricity bills is difficult to pin down. Some critics question whether states have the spine to take a hard line against tech behemoths like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta. But more than a dozen states have begun taking steps as data centers drive a rapid build-out of power plants and tranPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Episode 480: GI Go Home (TrueAnon)
We’re joined by Jake Romm of the Hind Rajab Foundation to discuss taking legal action against IDF soldiers, compiling war crimes reports from atrocity TikToks filmed by the soldiers themselves, and Israeli war criminals fleeing to Argentina.
https://soundcloud.com/trueanonpod/episode-480-gi-go-home

Towards 2026: The Fight for Recognition
Both parties fear the DSA. The Republican Party screams of the specter of Democratic Socialism in all corners of their rival party, the Democratic Party. Republican pundits in Fox News write articles endlessly fretting about DSA, pairing us with communism, Beijing, seizing the means of production, and, when our pro-Palestine work is mentioned, even Islamism. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party wishes us dead. This is because, as KIND snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky vocalizes in his whinging op-ed, we are their Project 2025, an existential threat to their existence. We are stoking the fears of the capitalist class in concrete ways that the country has not seen in decades. Yet, we cast a shadow that is larger than our physical presence. Our organization is below 100,000 members. We have elected officials sporadically spread across the nation. We have made inroads in the labor movement, but have yet to reestablish fighting unions. We have won ballot initiatives and other popular vote struggles, but all of these have not been threaded together. We are a specter haunting the pundit class, but we go largely unnoticed among the checked-out masses. We should be proud of our success! We should be proud that the $2.2 billion CEO of a $5 billion company states that “the once marginal group [DSA] has become the most prominent ‘socialist’ organization in American politics.” We should be proud that we strike fear in the hearts of capitalists and their political class. But the fear and concerns of individuals among their class does not destroy the inequalities present in our society, much less move them to dismantle our undemocratic government structure. If the DSA wishes to realize the vision for democratic socialism outlined in the political program, we need more than fear to reach our base, who are either coerced to vote for one of two parties who do not have their interests at heart, or who do not vote because they are keenlPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

UAW Faction Seeks to Oust President Fain in Sign of Union Unrest
Workers at a Stellantis NV truck factory in suburban Detroit and an engine plant in southeast Michigan voted over the weekend to start the union’s process to remove its leader, said two UAW members involved with the effort. The votes join earlier ones by four other local UAW chapters, reaching the threshold needed for Fain’s opponents to bring allegations of financial mismanagement, workplace retaliation and other issues against him to the federal monitor overseeing the union for potential discipline.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-05/uaw-faction-seeks-to-oust-president-fain-in-sign-of-union-unrest
https://archive.ph/p3OBw

Portland, Oregon, to pay $3.75M to estate of unarmed man fatally shot by police
The city settled with Immanueal Clark’s estate, which had filed a wrongful-death lawsuit last year, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. An officer mistook the 30-year-old as someone involved in an armed robbery earlier in the evening and shot him in the back as he fled from a police stop in November 2022.
https://apnews.com/article/portland-oregon-police-shooting-settlement-immanueal-clark-eb8726fd3ba948469b704e123476a4a6

Georgia: suspected gunman and police officer dead after shooting near CDC and Emory University
A suspected gunman and a police officer are dead after law enforcement responded to reports of an active shooter near the adjoining campuses of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, authorities said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/08/atlanta-police-emory-university-georgia

NYPD head count doesn't correlate to crime rates, data suggests, despite candidate rhetoric
More than 3,800 officers left the force Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Swiss CP, Customs tariffs on Swiss products: Resist imperialist attacks with a class orientation
After months of negotiations, the United States has set a 39% customs tariff on Swiss products, a decision that came into effect on 7 August 2025. This situation explicitly confirms the subordinate nature of the so-called “national” bourgeoisie to imperialist interests, even if the Swiss government negotiates an agreement in the future to modify this tax in exchange for concessions. The globalised capitalist system, of which Switzerland is an integral part, is the fundamental cause of these developments, particularly through the concentration of capital and inter-imperialist competition.
http://www.solidnet.org/article/Swiss-CP-Customs-tariffs-on-Swiss-products-Resist-imperialist-attacks-with-a-class-orientation/

From Vinnytsia to Berlin: against 'anarcho'-militarists & their war propaganda
On August 2 2025, the soliparty Konvulsismo #2 took place in the city of Berlin in support of the Assembly collective in Kharkiv, Ukraine. As both a political group and media outlet, the collective denounces forced conscription. It also reports on social struggles taking place in the context of the Russian invasion and occupation and the increasing authoritarianism of the Ukrainian state in the name of ‘national unity’. Konvulsismo is a party collective dedicated to organising experimental/electronic music shows in support of anti-war groups around the world in the face of growing remilitarization in Europe. Its first event was a concert that raised money for New Profile, a support network for military objectors in Israel, recently defunded by the the German state. Months later, Konvulsismo #2 was the target of a disinformation campaign by the group “Good night imperial pride” (themselves linked to the so-called “Solidarity Collectives”). According to a text circulating on social media a few days before the party, Assembly is only apparently an anarchist and anti-war collective, hiding a political agenda of collaboration with the Russian occupying forces. This resulted in a series of cancellations, forcing Konvulsismo #2 to change its venue and much of its lineup in a matter of days. Fortunately, the party went off withoutPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

US: Massachusetts city divests from companies linked to human rights violations in Israel
Members of the Medford City Council voted to pass legislation that would divest city funds from weapons manufacturers, private pensions, fossil fuel companies, prisons and other organisations that contribute to human rights violations. Medford City Council president Isaac Bears sponsored the investments ordinance, which overwhelmingly passed with five council members voting in support, one member opposing, and another abstaining.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/massachusetts-city-divests-companies-linked-human-rights-violations-israel

'Disaster in the Making': Trump to Open 401(k)s to Crypto, Private Equity Vultures
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday that would allow private equity and cryptocurrencies into Americans' 401(k)s, appeasing corporate interests that lobbied for the change and disregarding warnings about the risks it poses to retirement accounts. Citing an unnamed senior White House official, CNN reported that "the order calls for the Labor Department and Securities and Exchange Commission to issue guidance to employers about providing access to those alternative investments in their retirement accounts."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-private-equity-401k

Neo-Nazi group leader sentenced to 20 years in prison for planned Maryland power grid attack
Bredar previously sentenced Clendaniel to 18 years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to her role in the plot. He said Russell should receive a longer sentence because he was more culpable and contributed the “intellectual horsepower” that propelled the plot closer to fruition.
https://apnews.com/article/brandon-russell-maryland-power-grid-attack-plot-neonazi-9e6d8ff8c7695e356f566cce8caa902b

VA terminates union contracts, as WH labor actions hit veterans again
The Trump EO enPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

957 - Democracy Soon! feat. Osita Nwanevu (8/4/25) (Chapo Trap House)
Osita Nwanevu stops by to discuss his new book The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding. Osita leads us through his case that American “democracy” as it currently stands isn’t that democratic at all. We discuss the real intentions of the founders, the actual American revolution of the Civil War, and the stalled re-founding of reconstruction. We also look at the potential for economic democracy, the political reforms needed to re-found the country, the problem of the judiciary, and the challenges of a new media environment to democratizing movements. Yes, today the wacky morning DJ actually does say democracy’s a joke.
https://soundgasm.net/u/ClassWarAndPuppies/957-Democracy-Soon-feat-Osita-Nwanevu-08-04-2025

BRICS+: Anti-Imperialist Solidarity in the Global South?
At the 17th BRICS+ summit, held in Brazil on June 6-7, the assembled governments claimed to continue their shift away from the U.S.-dominated world order by “strengthening Global South Cooperation for a more inclusive and sustainable governance.” On the surface, these goals might seem to align with socialist and anti-imperialist positions. Western neoliberal institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank guarantee the rule of a few big capitalist powers. This leads some socialists, like the Party of Socialism and Liberation (PSL), to see BRICS+ as having “the potential to create openings for this [socialist] project by challenging imbalances among nations in the global economy and diplomacy.” However, BRICS+ is full of internal contradictions. Its aim of democratically reforming the United Nations does not go beyond giving a select few Global South nations a seat at the exploiters’ table. It is a reformist solution which does not address the root of global inequality. The New Development Bank, established by the BRICS states and headquartered in Shanghai, claims to offer “sustainable infrastructure development” in a multilateral spirit, yet its development projects still operate on foreign debt. Patrick Bond, Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg, summarises this as “maintaining policies of economic liberalisation that lower national econPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Army sergeant shot 5 soldiers before he was tackled and arrested at Fort Stewart, officials say
A sergeant shot five soldiers Wednesday at one the country’s largest Army bases before he was quickly tackled by other Fort Stewart troops, forcing a brief lockdown, officials said. Few details were immediately available about what led to the gunfire, but officials said the shooter was Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, who used a personal handgun, not a military firearm.
https://apnews.com/article/georgia-army-post-lockdown-shooter-0b3b2cda384d1f33d107d988e6088d92

Democrats Rebuked for Backing GOP War on Public Schools, Trump Voucher Expansion
Evidence is mounting across the United States that school vouchers are harming public schools—and numerous studies have shown they largely do not benefit students academically as proponents have long claimed—leaving education advocates to wonder why the issue of so-called "school choice" is a fault line within the Democratic Party.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/public-school-vouchers

Trump administration makes it easier to join ICE
The change illustrates one of the challenges with Trump’s oft-promised goal of deporting 1 million people per year. The White House has enlisted the help of local law enforcement through cooperation agreements, and states such as Florida and Texas have volunteered to help, but any concerted effort will require hiring thousands more agents by an agency that has struggled with retention and retirements in recent years. In addition to lifting the age restrictions, DHS is also offering a signing bonus of up to $50,000, student loan repayment assistance and other benefits to attract recruits, the agency said in a news release.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/06/trump-ice-immigration-00496051
https://archive.ph/5Yrx2

Trump moves to shut down NASA missions that measure carbon dioxide and plant healthPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

CP of Greece, What should be the perspective of the anti-war and anti-imperialist movement?
Some argue that the war can be stopped or prevented from escalating. For example, Israel may back down under pressure from international solidarity or from actions such as boycotting Israeli products and companies. The truth is that, however strong and massive it may be, a protest movement against war cannot prevent it. It is utopian to believe that “the powerful” can back down under popular pressure, or that the EU, for example, can be pressured into defending Palestine. This notion ignores and underestimates the true nature of imperialist war: it is a war backed by the enormous interests of capitalist enterprises and bourgeois states; behind it lies a life-or-death struggle for a foothold within the imperialist system, for the division of territories and spheres of influence. This notion harbours illusions and delusions about the ability of bourgeois institutions and trans-state imperialist alliances to become “pro-peace” under “popular pressure”. It causes the anti-war movement against war to pursue various temporary peace agreements mediated by imperialists, and turns it into a supporter of various temporary and fragile truces. In other words, while imperialist war is in full swing, is escalating and becoming more widespread, and the workers' and popular movements must prepare for this, positions such as the above lead to complacency. This leaves the people’s struggle vulnerable to propaganda calling for temporary compromises with a gun held to the peoples’ head. Although there is potential to broaden the confrontation and challenge the dominant policy, this notion essentially neutralizes radicalization and perpetuates the utopic idea that the hawks of war can become doves of peace.
http://www.solidnet.org/article/CP-of-Greece-What-should-be-the-perspective-of-the-anti-war-and-anti-imperialist-movement/

Corbyn’s New Party and the Socialist Left
This new formation is part of an international trend: an upsurge in neo-reformist parties and figures. Ten years ago, when parties like Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain represented the hopes of a generation battered by the global economic crisis, Corbyn channeled that same yPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

More than 40 arrested at protest against Gaza war at Trump hotel in New York
The protest, organized by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, had begun earlier in the evening at Columbus Circle. Hundreds gathered under the banner “Trump: Jews Say No More” to demand an end to the war in Gaza and that the Trump administration pressure Israel to allow greater humanitarian aid to enter into territory, as health officials there continue to report deaths from starvation and malnutrition.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/04/gaza-protest-trump-hotel-new-york

Prosecutor who negotiated Epstein's sweetheart deal left off subpoena list
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that he had issued subpoenas to a number of prominent figures to appear for depositions in the following weeks and months. Those individuals included former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. A House panel last month approved a motion by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) to direct Comer to subpoena those individuals. Acosta wasn't among those subpoenaed, which raised eyebrows from reporters and followers of the Epstein probe, given Acosta's role in negotiating the deal at the heart of the scandal.
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/05/jeffrey-epstein-files-alex-acosta-subpoena
https://archive.ph/Q91JD

New York Post to launch a version of the rightwing tabloid in California in 2026
According to New York Post Media Group – a News Corp subsidiary and home of New York’s biggest tabloid, as well as Page Six and Decider – the California Post will look and feel similar to its New York counterpart, delivering reporting, sports coverage and celebrity gossip from a California perspective.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/aug/04/new-york-post-california-murdoch

GOP congressman faces heated toPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Misusing the Children: The UK Online Safety Act, Privacy and Censorship
The United Kingdom can always be relied upon to supply us with the eccentric, the admirably dotty, and the odd extreme bit of adventure in policy. Lately, those mad protectors and censors with their shields of false virtue and hollow intellect have decided to launch an assault on the users of the Internet. In this, they are joining the platoons of hysteria from such countries as Australia, where age verification restrictions on platforms are all the rage. It’s all about the children, and when adults start meddling with children, all sorts of trouble arise. Much in line with the foolish, and potentially dangerous efforts being made by the eCommissioner (not a misspelling) in Australia to impose “industry codes” of child safety, the UK Online Safety Act (OSA) is being used to blanket social media, search engines and virtually any other site of service with age verification restrictions. The OSA lists three categories that are said to be harmful to children: primary priority content, priority content and non-designated content. Primary priority content is a British favourite of the repressed classes: pornography, and content that supposedly encourages suicide, self-harm, or various behaviours and disorders with eating. (If only there was a form of pornography that might encourage good eating habits.) Priority harmful content covers abuse relevant to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability or gender reassignment and any content that incites hatred against such people. To this, among others, can be added bullying, the promotion of “serious violence, and depiction of serious violence” whether authentic or fictional. To make things even more expansively ludicrous, the regulations cover content that is non-designated (NDC), which might as well be the entire body of knowledge and existence on this planet and beyond seen by the regulators of the day as dangerous. Examples are skimpy, and do not mention the enriching apple in the Garden of Eden offered to Eve by the opportunistic serpent. Something, however, is “NDC if it presents a material risk of significant harm to an appreciable number of children in the UK”. What a triumph of insufferable vagueness.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

FEMA to Deny Grants to States and Cities That Boycott Israeli Companies
The policy underscores how the Trump administration has linked its stance on Israel to unrelated federal funding, including billions of dollars in research grants for colleges and universities. But the move to restrict FEMA grants may be largely symbolic, because no states — and only a handful of cities — have enacted laws or policies that prohibit state agencies from doing business with Israeli firms.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/us/politics/fema-will-deny-disaster-funding-to-states-and-cities-that-boycott-israeli-firms-under-new-grant-rules.html
https://archive.ph/VXcYu

Raven Software gets its union contract with Microsoft three years after voting to organize
Workers voted unanimously to ratify the first contract between the company's Game Workers Alliance-CWA (GWA-CWA) members and Microsoft. This contract includes a guaranteed 10-percent wage increase over two years, along with additional raises through "merit and promotions." It also eliminates crunch time, with a requirement to give employees seven days' notice for mandatory overtime. There will be no excessive overtime on back-to-back weeks and "no mandatory overtime of any duration for the majority of weeks in a quarter."
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/raven-software-gets-its-union-contract-with-microsoft-three-years-after-voting-to-organize-150133353.html
https://archive.ph/QsFZn

State Department may require visa applicants to post bond of up to $15,000 to enter the US
The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something that was not required in the past. In addition, the department is propoPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

The BBC: An institution in crisis
Gary Lineker, Huw Edwards, Masterchef. Kneecap and Bob Vylan. Journalists in revolt. Commissioned documentaries cancelled. Cuts, declining TV license payers, declining viewership. From every angle, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – one of the main pillars of the British establishment – is in perpetual crisis. This is no accident. The eroding legitimacy of the BBC is the product of countless totemic events that have rocked Britain over the past two decades. Supporting the Iraq war; providing propaganda for the Tory-Lib Dem coalition lies that “we’re all in it together”, as they launched a colossal wave of austerity; bias towards the No campaign in the Scottish referendum; overt hostility to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party: all this has greatly weakened the public’s confidence in ‘Auntie Beeb’.
https://communist.red/the-bbc-an-institution-in-crisis/

Proletarian Report on the Burned Periphery: Mexico in the Global Management of the Surplus - Conatus Editorial (2025)
What Mexico reveals about the authoritarian reorganization of global capital In the manner of John Reed, from this side of the wall, we have constructed a summary and expository report that we consider urgent. It does not pretend to exhaust the complexity of the processes it analyzes nor to offer a definitive diagnosis, but to draw an initial map of coordinates that, for those of us who struggle from below, are necessary. It was elaborated by a group of communist militants concerned about the current course of the global crisis and the place that Mexico occupies and will suffer within this violent reconfiguration of capital. What is presented here is neither a technical inventory nor an exercise in erudition. It is a materialist reading of the devices that traverse the daily lives of millions: tariffs as a form of economic punishment, austerity as internal warfare, forced migration as structural policy, narco-capitalism as territorial management, exclusionary automation, profitable ecocide, and debt as an infrastructure of control. Each section of this report takes a visible phenomenon and inscribes it in the general framework of dispossession that defines our times. Mexico is not on the margins of this crisis: it is one of its active frontiers. And we are noPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Senate confirms former Fox News host Pirro as top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital
In 2021, voting technology company Smartmatic USA sued Fox News, Pirro and others for spreading false claims that the company helped “steal” the 2020 presidential election from Trump. The company’s libel suit, filed in a New York state court, sought $2.7 billion from the defendants.
https://apnews.com/article/jeanine-pirro-attorney-trump-senate-confirmation-5a2c7c087e67fde1f8ac8ae4aa25d4e1

Senate Democrats call for probe into DOJ settlement over HPE-Juniper merger
In late June, the agency announced a settlement, allowing the acquisition to go forward as long as HPE divests its division for small and medium businesses and licenses Juniper’s software to independent competitors. Axios reported Wednesday that the U.S. intelligence community weighed in on the lawsuit, urging the DOJ to allow the merger to proceed to boost American companies competing with China’s Huawei.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5432686-senate-democrats-demand-doj-probe/
https://archive.ph/M84Q7

Dems are trying to stop a "nasty" internal battle in Texas
Texas' mid-decade redistricting has left members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus scrambling to fend off what some predict would be one of the most brutal battles in the group's history, Axios has learned. A new map would put the group's chair, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), and one of its longest-serving members, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), in the same district. Lawmakers fear it would be a bloodbath if they both run. … The race would be yet another front in Democrats' bitter civil war over age: Casar is 36 and seen as one of the party's rising stars, while Doggett is 78 and was first elected in 1994.
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/01/texas-redistricting-democrats-doggett-casar
Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

PRWC » The US-Marcos Regime’s Continuing Violence
After three years of bloody rule, the Marcos regime is now further intensifying its fascist repression of the Filipino people. Bloodshed and increasing cases of human rights violations in the name of counterinsurgency continue. It is obsessed with destroying the Filipino people’s patriotic and democratic aspirations and struggles, and ending their revolutionary resistance. It serves the interests of foreign monopoly capitalists, big comprador bourgeois, landlords, and bureaucrat capitalists. To spotlight the intensity and extent of the regime’s brutality and echo the people’s cry for justice, Ang Bayan (AB) issues this report highlighting the long trail of abuses and human rights violations committed by Marcos’s armed minions in the last six months (January to June of this year). The report involves fascist personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), paramilitaries, and other armed agents of the reactionary state. This report is based on information AB has reported, gathered, and analyzed. Because the regime’s intensified repression made it more difficult to send reports, many cases in the countryside went unrecorded. The report also does not include many cases of human rights violations against the Moro people which have not been publicized. AB uses international standards in estimating the number of victims of evacuation and militarization, and in the number of affected children.
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/20439/

The War on Communists in the Hotel Workers’ Union
The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union (HERE) gathered in Milwaukee in 1947 for its largest convention in history. With over 400,000 members, HERE was the fifth-largest affiliate of the American Federation of Labor — and growing. But a majority of delegates arrived in a less-than-celebratory mood, seeking to ban the Communists who had been so central to the union’s successes from the organization altogether. Before the vote on a constitutional anti-communist clause, newly elected HERE president Hugo Ernst spoke against the “drastic” motion. He praised “the officers of Local 6 for the splendid work they have done in the hotels in New York, which we tried unsuccessfully to organize a Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends decision to support military aid for Israel
"What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue," she said. "I have long stated that I do not believe that adding to the death count of innocent victims to this war is constructive to its end. "That is a simple and clear difference of opinion that has long been established. I remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza." On Saturday, the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Ocasio-Cortez is a member, said it was crucial that lawmakers backed all-encompassing arm embargoes against Israel, including those concerning defensive weapons. “While the Congresswoman voted against the defense appropriations bill itself, voting against funding for the imperialist military-industrial complex and the Israeli genocide, we were further deeply disappointed by her clarifying statement on her position on the Iron Dome.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-defends-decision-support-military-aid-israel

Woman accuses NYPD of failing to protect her from Brooklyn mob in $1.25 million claim
The claim, which is a procedural step required before filing a lawsuit against the city, alleges NYPD officers ignored threats to the woman as she was set upon by the large crowd. A video that went viral after the incident shows one officer ultimately escorting her to safety as dozens of men and boys shout insults at her, threaten her with sexual assault, kick her and throw objects at her.
https://gothamist.com/news/woman-accuses-nypd-of-failing-to-protect-her-from-brooklyn-mob-in-125-million-claim
https://archive.ph/UCgVX

AFSCME rams through Philadelphia city workers contract in vote marked by low turnout
Out of approximately 9,000 eligible members, fewer than 2,400 cast ballots, marking a voter turnout of under 30 percent. The low turnout was effectivPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

New left party’s polling a wake-up call for Labour
Of course, it is only an opinion poll. And it is four years until Starmer next has to face a general election. But the findings are consistent with other polls, showing Labour support dropping still further and potential backing for a new socialist electoral option swelling. The new party has no formal existence or name. Its policies on many issues can be readily inferred but it has no agreed platform or manifesto. Nor is its strategy clear. That there is nevertheless so much enthusiasm for so ill-defined a project speaks both to the yawning gaps left by Starmer’s stampede to the right and to the legacy of Corbyn’s own leadership of the party, which inspired so many. The warnings from Unite of union disaffiliation if there is no change in government attitudes compounds the sense of crisis around Labour and of possibility around a new party. One way to address Labour’s crisis is therefore obvious. Cease the degrading and futile pursuit of Reform and Tory voters by pandering to their presumed prejudices and remake the government around a consistently progressive agenda. That would entail abandoning welfare cuts and other austerity measures and, at the same time, discarding the fiscal rules which are strangling the economy. If such a turn requires buttressing by capital controls, so be it. There should be a sustained programme of state intervention to address inequality and corporate abuses — start with nationalising Thames Water without further prevarication. It would also require a complete halt to all forms of support for Israel and real pressure to secure freedom for the Palestinians, as well as disengaging from Nato’s futile war in Ukraine, while restoring the eye-watering cuts to the overseas aid budget.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/new-left-partys-polling-wake-call-labour

On Trial for Solidarity: Germany Targets Palestine Activist
Baki Devrimkaya, a nursing student and activist in solidarity with Palestine in Germany, is on trial for alleged assault. The plaintiff is one of Berlin’s most well-known Zionists. The lawsuit for alleged assault is based on a lecture hall occupation on December 14, 2023, at the Free University of Berlin. There, Baki nonviolently defended access to the occupied lePost too long. Click here to view the full text.

2,000 sanitation workers at Republic Services involved in nationwide strikes
A wave of strikes and solidarity actions by sanitation workers at Republic Services, America’s second-largest waste disposal company, has erupted across the country. It is an important development in the growing resistance of the American working class.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/07/15/jstk-j15.html

Federal judge reverses rule that would have removed medical debt from credit reports
Removing medical debts from consumer credit reports was expected to increase the credit scores of millions of families by an average of 20 points, the bureau said. The CFPB states that its research has shown outstanding healthcare claims to be a poor predictor of an individual’s ability to repay a loan, yet they are often used to deny mortgage applications.
https://apnews.com/article/cfpb-medical-debt-credit-reports-41f212ee6b89f9902deb267d75ab8443

US launches new bid to keep migrants detained by denying hearings, memo shows
the new ICE policy limiting bond hearing eligibility, citing a July 8 memo by its acting director, Todd Lyons. The guidance shared with Reuters called for ICE to interpret several immigration law provisions as "prohibitions on release" after an arrest, adding the shift in policy was "likely to be litigated." It encouraged ICE prosecutors "to make alternative arguments in support of continued detention" during immigration court hearings.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-launches-new-bid-keep-migrants-detained-by-denying-hearings-memo-shows-2025-07-15/

'There Is Something Rotten in Washington': House Republicans Unanimously Reject Releasing Epstein Files
The vote was 211-210 along party lines. While nine Republicans—and two Democrats—did not participate, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) voted with his party, after joining Democrats for the Monday night panel vote on Rep. Ro Khanna's (D-Calif.) amendment, whiPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

Athens Dockworkers Obstruct Military Cargo Headed to Israel
A successful mobilization led by dockworkers at the port of Piraeus in Athens has prevented the transport of military cargo bound for Israel on the ship Ever Golden. On Monday, July 14, dockworkers were joined by youth groups, other trade unionists, and community members in a large protest against the port’s involvement in the shipment of arms and related materials to Israeli ports, as the genocide in Gaza continues.
https://www.newsclick.in/athens-dockworkers-obstruct-military-cargo-headed-israel

Edinburgh students defy authorities in graduation ceremony walk-outs, protesting Gaza genocide
In a powerful show of opposition to the Gaza genocide, large numbers of students at University of Edinburgh, Scotland held dramatic walkouts and protests at their graduation ceremonies over the past fortnight, to oppose their university’s financial ties to the Israeli arms industry and its complicity in genocide. Young people interrupted their graduation ceremonies, unfolding flags and banners with slogans including, “Fund teaching not genocide”, “No Graduates in Gaza” and “No universities in Gaza”, before walking out of the graduation halls, to cheering and clapping.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/07/15/sznf-j15.html

New left party polls level with Labour – but disagreements on its future remain
Mr Corbyn was surprised by Ms Sultana’s announcement, which he had not signed off on and believed should not have been issued, insofar as it mentioned him too. Since then, Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana have held a warm personal meeting but have been unable as yet to agree a formulation that carries forward the co-leadership decision. Both are committed to launching a new electoral challenge and have no known policy differences. Mr Corbyn favours an alliance of already-existing local independent initiatives under a common electoral umbrella, and is more reluctant than Ms Sultana to directly attack Labour.
https://morninPost too long. Click here to view the full text.