Welcome to The Now

  Mint Press News : The Trump Administration, on behalf of AIPAC and others, are risking the 1st Amendment to target Americans protesting Israel's actions in Gaza.  Black Agenda Report : Bernie Sanders has once again be unleashed to sheepdog voters into the Democratic Party.  Scheerpost : Trump's offer to Iran: a nuclear deal or war.  Prism Reports :  Chair of the Religious Zionists of America : “ Look, we’ve been accused of genocide, so maybe it’s up to us to actually kill civilians .”

 

 

 

 

  Juan Cole : The US is #25 "for self-reported happiness and well-being," mostly because we're lonely, suspicious and stingy . Mint Press News: Eleanor Goldfield talks about International Women's Day . Responsible Statecraft: " Does the US Military Even Know Why It's Bombing Yemen ?" Prism Reports: A workforce crisis is hurting the disabled population in Massachusetts . 

Wasn't that long ago when people (mostly MAGA) was gung-ho about boycotting businesses like Disney. But now that the boycott energy is being directed at Tesla (and to be honest, Israel to a degree) now the act is considered a crime: Boycotts, like regular protests, is how Americans can voice their frustrations without resorting to violence. But the thing about boycotts is that they can have an economic impact, which is a big "No-No" for capitalists. But they can't force people to not speak out against a company any more than they can force them to buy what the company is selling, so they use the guise of violence for sympathy and an excuse to be authoritative.

When your base is more gung-ho about your policies than your own staff, well...  

 

 

 

 

 

 Allegedly the a student from Tufts University was taken: More to the story : A Tufts University international graduate student is in federal custody after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and PhD student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, was arrested outside her off-campus apartment. “Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast on the evening of March 25th when she was detained near her home in Somerville, MA by Department of Homeland Security [DHS] agents,” said her attorney Mahsa Khanbabai in a statement. “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of— We hope Rumeysa will be released immediately,” she said. Khanbabai said Ozturk had valid F-1 visa status as a PhD student. She has filed a habeas petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts for Ozturk’s relea...

 Interesting : Most Republicans support the right to protest — unless it’s against Israel, according to new polling.  In the latest Economist/YouGov survey, a strong majority of GOP respondents, 73%, said they support Americans’ ability to protest against actions they view as unjust. Just 12% said they oppose this, and 14% said they weren’t sure. But, when asked if it should be legal or illegal to protest “against Israeli actions in Gaza,” less than half of Republicans, 42%, said it should be legal. Meanwhile, 23% said this kind of public demonstration should be illegal, and 35% said they were not sure.  The poll — conducted March 16-18 with 1,618 U.S. adults — found support for protests was more consistent among Democrats and independents.  Eighty-six percent of Democrats and 81% of independents said they backed the right to demonstrate against actions perceived as unjust, while less than 20% of both groups said they opposed this or were unsure.  When it came t...

 Consistency involves being able to criticize all leaders, even if they happen to share your ideology. Tucker is not a consistent journalist:

 

 

 

 Well, that depends on what you're reading: Or maybe it depends on where you stand on genocide. 

 

Since resuming the genocidal conflict, the Israeli military has gone full force:

 

  Much like George Floyd, is takes a travesty of justice to get people in the streets. Nevertheless, Mahmoud Khalil should be freed.

 

 

 If you've seen any other videos posted in this space on the subject, you may find yourself agreeing with his assessment:

 Scheerpost: Chris Hedges on American Christian Nationalists and Palestine .  Middle East Eye: Will the University of Essex expel students for sharing news posts ? Prism Reports: How media bias shapes our perception of war and resistance .  Black Agenda Report: Dilara Sengul from A Thousand Youth for Palestine on the war crimes in Gaza .  Mint Press News: What does sex education have to do with Israel-Palestine?

 

 

 

 

 Black Agenda Report: talking about the " modern carceral state " with Freedom Agenda's Darren Mack.  Middle East Eye: Israeli settlers set their sights on The West Bank.  Scheerpost: Ben Norton on the " IMF Debt Trap " that Argentina is experiencing.  Prism Reports: Marisa Wright interviews Elon Green about his book ("The Man Nobody Killed") about murdered Black artist Michael Stewart.  Mint Press News: Supporters of Palestine among the Celtic FC Fans .

 

 W/Professor Wolff:

Via Associated Press : President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey. The European tariff, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration, is expected to go into effect on April 1, just ahead of separate reciprocal tariffs that Trump plans to place on the EU. But Trump, in a morning social media post, vowed a new escalation in his trade war if the EU goes forward with the planned 50% tariff on American whiskey. “If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES,” Trump wrote. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.” The U.S. president has defined his opening weeks in the White House with near daily drama regarding tariffs, saying that taxing impo...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Time to move on: For those invested in electoral politics, the third-parties need to step up (and if the ones that are in existence can't step up, then new ones need to be formed). Democrats and Republicans are not the answer.

 

Like I said before, the Left has a Cenk Uygur problem . Aside from ego , cognitive dissonance and ineffective side quests , a big part of that problem is that Uygur still believes that the key to the success of leftist ideas lies through the Democratic Party:

 ...because really, what comes next?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  From Al-Jazeera : Israel has halted the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza and threatened Hamas with more “consequences” if the Palestinian group does not agree to extend the now-ended phase one of their fragile ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that “the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted,” accusing Hamas of refusing to accept a framework for the continuation of talks proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The A.P. breaks down what this may mean : No word from the U.S. The ceasefire’s first phase ended early Sunday. Minutes later, Israel said it supported a new proposal to extend that phase through the Jewish holiday of Passover in mid-April. It called the proposal a U.S. one from Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. Israel also warned it could resume the war after the first phase if it believes negotiations are ineffective. Negotiations on the second phase were meant to start a month ago, incre...

 File under, "Can't Make This Stuff Up:" And speaking of Bernie Sanders, latest attempt to recruit for Democrats using quasi-socialist rhetoric:  Seriously; compare Bernie Sanders' language to Kshama Sawant's:  Neither Democrats nor Republicans will save America. They both want to orchestrate the fall of China (and Russia), increase the country's imperial stranglehold on the planet and maintain the capitalistic oppression of their citizens. They may say different things and take different approaches, but the endgame is the same. 

Whether the United States could win World War III is uncertain, as it depends on many factors and different scenarios could lead to different outcomes.  Factors that could affect the outcomes. Technology The US has historically focused on being a generation ahead in technology, but its adversaries are growing their own technology.  Allies The US would likely have allies like NATO members in Europe and partners in Asia-Pacific, but these allies could be strained in a conflict.  Nuclear weapons All major powers are building new nuclear weapons, and an accidental war could occur.  Possible outcomes The US could help Taiwan defend itself, but lose many ships, aircraft, and personnel.  China could win a war.  A Trump loss in Ukraine could embolden other countries and lead to World War III.  Other considerations The US has spent a lot of money on defense planning, but its adversaries are also investing in their own defense.  The US is not alone in its e...