Progressive Politics

On 7 July, a convoy of federal agents descended upon Los Angeles’s MacArthur Park – in the heart of a predominantly immigrant neighborhood. Chaperones from a summer camp hurried children indoors, as protesters and media rushed to the scene. It was unclear whether immigration officials actually arrested anyone that morning.

City leaders denounced the spectacle as a “political stunt” designed to terrorize Angelenos who have been reckoning with a relentless onslaught of immigration raids that began in early June.

The ubiquitous presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, and the threat of arrest, have become a part of daily life for immigrants across the city and broader region. The raids have also taken an economic toll on neighborhoods like MacArthur Park, where business owners say trade has slowed to a crawl as people choose to stay home.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32932975

SponsorBlock Timestamps, and Generated Summary below:

SponsorBlock Timestamps:

1. 0:00.000 - 3:00.000 Intermission
2. 3:44.500 - 5:03.000 Thumbnail Segment Overview
3. 5:03.000 - 1:05:59.000 Kshama Sawant Joins
4. 1:06:05.000 - 1:06:08.000 Theme: Enough is Enough
5. 1:06:17.500 - 1:19:35.000 Breaking News: Iranian President Wounded by Assassination Attempt by Israel
6. 1:19:35.768 - 1:45:05.500 Tucker Carlson Flips

Video Description:

#trumpepstein #sabbysabs #tuckercarlson #alandershowitz #trumpblamesobama #kshamasawantnews #blackpastorrejected #geopoliticsinconflict

Generated Summary:

Main Topic:

The video features an interview with Shama Sawant, former Seattle city councilor and current independent candidate for Congress, discussing her campaign platform and her reasons for running against incumbent Adam Smith. The discussion also covers various political issues, including the conflict in Gaza, healthcare, and rent control.

Key Points:

• Shama Sawant's Congressional Run: Sawant is running as an independent socialist against Adam Smith, a long-term Democratic Congressman she characterizes as corrupt, pro-corporate, and a war hawk.
• Adam Smith's Record: Smith is criticized for his support of military funding for Israel, his votes for the invasion of Iraq, and his pro-corporate stance, including support for bank bailouts and donations from corporations like SpaceX.
• Worker Strike Back and a New Party: Sawant is affiliated with Worker Strike Back and advocates for building a new political party rooted in movements that challenge both Democrats and Republicans.
• Gaza and BDS: Sawant calls for an end to military aid and occupation in Gaza. While she supports boycotts of the weapons industry and sanctions against Israeli leaders, she expresses a nuanced position on the broader BDS movement, aiming to avoid alienating working-class individuals in Israel.
• Free Healthcare for All: Sawant advocates for free healthcare for all, funded by taxing the rich, and proposes a ballot initiative in Seattle to achieve this. She criticizes the Democratic Party's approach to healthcare reform.
• Rent Control: Sawant highlights the crisis of skyrocketing rents and advocates for rent control and the expansion of publicly owned social housing. She attributes rising rents to the agenda of corporate landlords and Wall Street billionaires.
• Unions and Worker Cooperatives: Sawant emphasizes the importance of unions and advocates for militant action within the labor movement. While she sees worker cooperatives as a positive example, she believes socialism is the ultimate goal.

Highlights:

• Sawant's strong criticism of Adam Smith's voting record and corporate ties.
• The discussion of a nuanced position on the BDS movement, focusing on international working-class solidarity.
• The emphasis on building independent movements and challenging the Democratic Party.
• The call for militant action within the labor movement and the need for elected officials to support workers' strikes.

About Channel:

Leftist news commentary and interviews. Fighting for political and social change. Sabby Sabs podcast is a part of Revolutionary Blackout Network.

These results suggest that mental health professionals may need to pay closer attention to the emotional toll of election periods, particularly among young adults.

The mandate calls on Christians to gain influence, or “take dominion,” over seven key areas of culture: religion, family, education, government, media, business and the arts.

Out running errands and see a cluster of weirdos kitted out for war, milling about like they’re stuck in a Call of Duty matchmaking lobby? Grab some pics and vids to raise the alarm. Keep in mind that specificity is paramount when logging these sightings, both to increase efficacy and avoid panic. Fortunately, one of master’s own tools has proven itself an invaluable counterintelligence asset. Plucked straight from U.S. military field books, the acronym S.A.L.U.T.E. can help you gather the most pertinent details. It’s also the practice almost universally recommended by the groups I spoke to.

• Size: How many people and/or vehicles do you see?

• Activity: What, specifically, are they doing that’s suspicious?

• Location: What address, cross streets, or landmark are they at (the more specific the better)?

• Uniform: What are they wearing, whether it’s fatigues, nondescript civilian clothes, or something else entirely?

• Time: What date and time did you observe them?

• Equipment: What guns, weapons, or devices do they appear to be carrying?

Thanks for taking such comprehensive notes. Now where do you send them?

There’s no evidence the feds are conducting “how do you do, fellow antifa” honeypot busts. But anyone attempting to post alerts about the activities of federal agents would be wise to operate as if they were. The groups I spoke to remain concerned about infiltrators stymying their efforts. Even at the press conference, activists clocked and called out a suspected undercover among the crowd.

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for this element of activism. To safely discover and interact with the patchwork of anti-ICE activities around LA, I relied on trusted individuals from my personal network of journalists and activists, as well as community groups and organizers leading local efforts. But if you’re just getting started, the accounts mentioned in this article, any of the more than 65 groups that have joined LA’s Community Self Defense Coalition, or the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights are solid sources of information. And if you’re ever unsure about an entity’s bona fides, sites like mutualaidhub.org can help determine if an outfit is legit or carpetbagging.

Prophecizing his mistake.

On the Fourth of July, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that constitutes one of the largest transfers of wealth in history — taking money away from working people and giving it to the nation’s elite.

The bill is the culmination of years of giveaways that have allowed corporations and billionaires to tighten their grip on the government. The law triples the budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, slashes taxes for the most wealthy, and pays for it all by cutting health care for as many as 20 million people and gutting funding for public education and meals for school children.

This week on The Intercept Briefing, Lee speaks to host Akela Lacy about what Democrats are doing to meet the moment and how they can break through Republican messaging on the bill.

“ Democrats are screaming into a void,” Lee says. “The reality is that we have been talking about Medicaid, and it’s very hard to break through in a 24-hour news cycle and this big bubble where we are in a sea of red coverage, conservative media, conservative narratives, disinformation, misinformation. And to break through in that moment takes more than just us.”

CAMARILLO, Calif. (KABC) -- During the chaotic clashes between demonstrators and federal agents following an immigration raid at a farm near Camarillo Thursday, one individual was spotted allegedly firing a weapon towards agents.

AIR7 captured the moment a person at the demonstration near the Laguna Road facility appeared to fire a gun at federal agents, moments after the agents fired smoke canisters at the crowd in an attempt to disperse them.

No injuries were reported.

The FBI has now launched an investigation into the alleged shooting and is offering a reward up to $50,000 for information leading to a conviction.

Paywall removed https://archive.is/UnSQN

Pro-Palestinian student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil on Thursday began the process of suing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration for $20 million in damages for the harm he suffered as a result of the government's "politically motivated plan to unlawfully arrest, detain, and deport" him.

"This is the first step towards accountability," Khalil said in a statement. "Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss. But let's be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza."

"There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power," he asserted. "And I won't stop here. I will continue to pursue justice against everyone who contributed to my unlawful detention or spread lies in an attempt to destroy my reputation, including those affiliated with Columbia University. I'm holding the U.S. government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention."

It appears that in Israel they believe that it's sufficient to attach the label "humanitarian" to convert every act into a legitimate one. Just like the term "the most moral army in the world", which is no longer connected to what IDF soldiers are doing, they're now trying to present a concentration camp to be used for the transfer of population as the most moral one in the world.

An Israeli source said Wednesday that "the plan is to move all civilian Gazans southward to a large tent city in Rafah, in which they'll have hospitals and plenty of food." He added: "Just like the prime minister said, as far as I'm concerned, they can be given Ben & Jerry's ice cream." A source of blue-and-white pride: In our concentration camp they have ice cream.

In Israel, you're not allowed to make comparisons, and when you do compare to benighted periods, something always "goes wrong in the translation." As long as the concentration camp isn't a waystation on the way to gas chambers, it's easy to refute the comparison and thereby normalize almost any evil. As long as it's not a Holocaust, everything's okay. Thus the historical comparison, which was meant to be cautionary, becomes a tool for muzzling critics and for normalizing the evil.

In an interview with CNN, former Congressman Dean Phillips was asked whether "there is room" for him and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic Party—but progressive Rep. Summer Lee was among those saying on Thursday that Phillips' rejection of Mamdani wwas really about millions of Americans who have voted for candidates like him.

"These guys aren't just rejecting him, but the millions moved to electoral action by candidates like him," said Lee (D-Pa.) in response to Phillips' interview.

CNN's Omar Jimenez asked Phillips about the "big tent" philosophy often promoted by Democratic leaders who believe the party should welcome lawmakers and candidates who don't agree with every aspect of its platform—politicians like anti-choice Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and former Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who made millions of dollars from his coal business.

Major leaders in the Democratic party – including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and NY Governor Kathy Hochul – have still refused to endorse Democratic nominee for New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, despite him winning the primary fair and square.

In this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, Mehdi presses Doug Jones, a former Democratic senator from Alabama, on the matter. Jones admits, “If you were a Democratic leader, it's hard to not endorse a Democratic nominee.”

“The mayor of New York's got a whole bunch of folks that he's got to deal with in order to get New York where he wants it to be,” Jones explains. “And that's going to take some ability to compromise. If he [Mamdani] does that, he can be successful. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32730153

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer. And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right." — George Orwell, 1984

A federal rule designed to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up for them has been struck down by a US federal appeals court just days before it was scheduled to take effect.

The US court of appeals for the eighth circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s “click-to-cancel” rule, which would have required companies to allow consumers to cancel subscriptions using the same method they used to sign up, after finding that the commission behind it failed to follow required procedures under the FTC Act during the rule-making process.

“While we certainly do not endorse the use of unfair and deceptive practices in negative option marketing, the procedural deficiencies of the Commission’s rulemaking process are fatal here,” the court wrote, adding that “vacatur of the entire Rule is appropriate in this case because of the prejudice suffered by Petitioners as a result of the Commission’s procedural error”.