Welcome to The Now

 

 

 Well, according to Mint Press News : Since the October 7, 2023, attacks, virtually every user on social media has been exposed to images of Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure. But a large subsection of the internet —particularly young males—also see another side of the Israeli military. A myriad of IDF thirst trap accounts also pepper the internet. Pages like “IDF Babes,” “Hot IDF Girls,” and “Girls Defense,”—each with hundreds of thousands of followers across different platforms—post content sexualizing and lionizing female Israeli soldiers in equal measures. The images and videos often come with explicit political messages. This weekend, for example, IDF babes posted a picture of an IDF soldier in nothing but a bikini, with the caption, “Corporal Dina stumbled across a Syrian T-34/85 tank in our Golan Heights,” thereby explicitly claiming the Golan Heights—Syrian territory illegally occupied since 1968—as Israeli. Another common template for posting is the “on/off” forma...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine is at war against Russia. The hot conflict started when Russia invaded Ukraine; Russia stated that it's actions are justified because (1) the 2014 Minsk Agreement was violated, (2) Ukraine has attacked and killed their own people of Russian descent, and (3) there is a Nazi element that may have had something to do with the first two points (Ukraine, naturally, objects to these accusations).  Israel is at war with the people of Palestine; I say, "the people of Palestine" because Palestine is not universally recognized as a nation. Israel claims that they are justified because the Palestinian political party/militia group Hamas attacked Israeli citizens unprovoked (Palestinians, naturally, point to the systematic oppression done to them by Israel as the source of civil unrest.) People will argue about the origins of both conflicts, who's right and who's wrong, but here's something that can't be argued at this point in time: Russia has the advantage i...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As in, "every iteration you can think of." Well, those that translate well in the Lego video game world:

 

 

 

 Scheerpost:  Stopping the genocide in Gaza is entirely up to the United States . Mint Press News: A conversation with Ahmed Kaballo, founder of African Steam .  Black Agenda Report: " Washington DC Mayor Bowser Epitomizes Black Misleadership ."

 

 

 

 

 Richard Wolff answers in this conversation about the latest tariffs:

 

 

 Apparently some from the Fox News and the pro-Trump crowd are angry that Gavin Newsome has adopted a quasi-Trump-like tone as of late, an with no hint of irony they are clutching pearls and fainting on couches:

 Former RBN member and current activist Afeni was arrested this past weekend for basically trying to protect kids from police harassment (and potentially police brutality). She was pepper-spayed and assaulted for her actions as well:

 

 Sabby has her take:

 

 

 

 

 BreakThrough News tackles this question:

 

 Via MintPress News; The CIA's 885 Fake Websites : The CIA didn’t just infiltrate governments; it infiltrated the internet itself. For over a decade, Langley operated a sprawling network of covert websites that served as global spy terminals disguised as harmless blogs, news hubs, and fan pages. Beginning in 2004, the CIA established a vast network of at least 885 websites, ranging from Johnny Carson and Star Wars fan pages to online message boards about Rastafari. Spanning 29 languages and targeting at least 36 countries directly, these websites were aimed not only at adversaries such as China, Venezuela, and Russia, but also at allied nations, including France, Italy, and Spain, showing that the United States treats its friends much like its foes. [SNIP] The network of websites spanned a wide range of topics. Few would guess that Rasta Direct, a website dedicated to the relatively niche religion of Rastafari, had anything to do with U.S. intelligence. The CIA also created Star Wa...

 One of the targets of the mob wasn't even part of the protest: Interesting how this behavior aligns with how Palestinians are being treated in Gaza/West Bank/Israel.  

 

Israeli attack kills more journalists, this time from Al-Jazeera .  ICE invades New York . The "Zionification" of CBS is underway .  Miccosukee Tribe ss fighting "Alligator Alcatraz" better than most.

From the AP : President Donald Trump said Monday he’s placing the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control and deploying the National Guard to make the nation’s capital safer. Trump has promised new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets. Ahead of a news conference, Trump said Monday on social media that the nation’s capital would be “LIBERATED today!” He said he would end the “days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.” Yes; much like his initial swing at tariffs , Trump called this " liberation day ." Also: yes; crime is at a 30-year low .  Is this the beginning of the "Gaza-fication" of the US capitol? Or simply a variation of when "city managers" took over Flint, Michigan ( and caused the water crisis )? Hard Lens Media has more:

 The same Donald Trump they enable by not blocking every single thing in Congress he's trying to do, from legislation to nominations. 

 

 It seems that when Jewish people go after Zionists, the holes in their arguments are more profound:

 

  BBC : the 30-year-old baby (hint: frozen embryo).  The Hill : President Trump wants a $200 million White House renovation. The Times of Israel : (flashback) AOC's true political origins.  Reuters : Should the CEO of Intel resign because of ties to China?

 

 Political Gatekeepers (PG) are a tricky bunch. They have representatives on both the right and left of the political spectrum, so neither side can claim a monopoly. At first glance, they actually seem like they want real fundamental change, and some may even position themselves as influencers or leaders of the movement of the moment. But there are some signs that reveal their true identity: You Can Never Be More "Left" Or "Right" Than They Are : Be careful when objecting over a policy or a tactic; you may be dubbed "extreme" or "alt." The PGs are standard-barer, and even if you're on the same side most of the time, the times you are not it will be you who are in the wrong. The full wrath of a PG will come out if your objection threatens their bottom line, which is usually connected to the movement, it's leader(s), and/or the political infrastructure. Which leads to... You Cannot Ever Challenge the Overall Leader of the Movement . The Le...

 Between fighting for Climate Change and being on the first Freedom Flotilla, Thunberg has not really been in the spotlight. Lee Camp has a good theory:

 

 By "actions" we mean, "genocide:"

 When starving kids aren't taking $5 million to give up information, you have to question their effectiveness...

 

 

 Professor Wolff responds:

 

 

 

 

 Two stories from Delish, a year apart, about how food is playing a role in relationships (and by extension how capitalism is playing a part in both)... First, from July 2024: " The Shady Way Some Restaurants Are Catfishing People on Dating Apps " If you’ve spent any time watching Catfish on MTV, you’re probably familiar with the risks of online dating. People posing as someone they’re not is something all singles need to watch out for as they swipe on apps. But apparently there’s a chance you might not be catfished by another person at all—you might be getting scammed by a restaurant. A trend is emerging where restaurants are posing as eligible singles on dating apps to lure users to dine at their establishment. The scam has been dubbed “food digging,” derived from the term “gold digger.” The scam has been primarily reported in cities like Delhi, India, but Taylor Paré, also known as @paretay on TikTok, claims that food digging has come stateside. Paré posted a video to TikT...

 

 

 

 

 

 While it's still part of the distraction from Epstein, it's important to remind people that RussiaGate was not real: