RANIA KHALEK—To discuss Israel’s intensifying atrocities in Gaza, including its weaponization of rape, Rania Khalek was joined by Miko Peled, the son of an Israeli general and the head of the newly established Palestine House of Freedom in Washington, D.C. Peled is the author of “The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine.”
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Two leading critics of global imperialism, Profs. Michael Hudson and Richard D. Wolff, analyse the present political/economic situation shaping events across the world, and the behaviour of the US empire in this historical phase characterised by the decay of US hegemony, and the rise of powerful independent powers determined to build a new order grounded in sovereignty, peace, international solidarity, and multipolarism. The guests focus on the Kursk invasion supported by NATO, which is being presented in diametrically opposite ways by the mass media. Those in the West are advancing a complete lie, suggesting that the invasion is a huge victory for Ukraine that could end up destroying Russia’s armies and the much hated “Putin regime”. The reality media used by the West’s opponents describes a Ukrainian incursion that can easily become Kiev’s last “Hail Mary”, their desperate “Last Hurrah!”. Dr Wolff concludes that we may be witnessing (from Ukraine to the Middle East) a lot of theatrics. Dr Hudson speaks about the creation of a Nazi Ukraine, via the Anglo-American persistent exploitation of regional hatreds and prejudices, especially in Western Ukraine (Galizia, etc.), all of which has created a monster in Eastern Europe, just as the West has created a similar monster in Israel (occupied Palestine). The experts are in agreement that the likelihood of the Ukraine war ending through negotiations is next to nil, as Putin has frequently suggested, since there’s no Kiev government capable of such an agreement, and the West, especially the US, is not agreement capable.
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KIM PETERSEN—Ritter points out the multitudinous crimes of US empire, the racism, the crimes against whistleblowers and publishers (e.g., Julian Assange), the crimes of US allies (e.g., Israel; it took him a while to realize the evil of Zionism, but credit to him that he rejected a previously held position that he later found to be intellectually and morally untenable), the unfair “trade” practices (e.g., sanctions, theft of another country’s assets), the deterioration of US infrastructure (e.g., water in Flint, MI), the destruction of the environment, the inequality, homelessness, poverty, etc. Yet, he always says he is an American patriot and that he loves his country.
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BRUCE LERRO—The Democratic and Republican parties are in no position to hold out for the perfect answer to a political problem. The truth is these parties are not deciding anything of consequence. They are thrown hither and yon by conflicts between ruling class capitalists, the deep state FBI and CIA, the neocons controlling foreign policy and the powerful Israeli lobby, AIPAC. All these political actors have overlapping but conflicting interests. The heads of parties are figureheads. Those that are relativist/ cynics might understand the complexity of issues and their interconnectedness, but because they don’t set priorities, they wind up solving a couple of problems in watered down way and then kick the can down the road. Democrats typically do this when it is their turn to assume power.
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EDITORS—The official death toll in Gaza now stands at just under 40,000, though the true number of casualties is likely far higher with many thousands of the dead unaccounted for. In one of the deadliest attacks of the entire war, Israel on Saturday bombed the al-Tabin school in Gaza City where thousands of Palestinians had sought shelter. Officials in Gaza say over 100 Palestinians were killed in the attack, many of them while they were praying at a mosque inside the school. Many of the dead were dismembered or destroyed beyond recognition, with medics reportedly collecting body parts in plastic bags. CNN has confirmed a U.S.-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb was used in the strike, which resulted in “over 100 pieces of people,” says Palestinian journalist Shrouq Aila in Gaza. “I’m saying ‘pieces’ because nobody was able to recognize the full body of their beloved ones.”
