BOUGHT POLITICIANS & PHONIES

EDITORS—An eloquent discussion of the evolution of US imperialism from the end of WW2, when it quickly rose to global supremacy, to its marked 21st century rapid decline. Americans—misled by the political and media classes, live in denial, says Wolff, not to mention the noxious exceptionalist/chauvinist indoctrination all Americans receive, making them practically immune to unpleasant truths about their nation’s realities and despicable deeds around the globe, from Ukraine to Palestine, Europe, and the Far East, all part of Washington’s penchant for constant war, which is now courting a global disaster by seeking a possible nuclear confrontation with Russia, China, and Iran. The Transition, notes Wolff, from FDR social democracy, when the economy was in good shape due to its robust set of income supports, to the free-marketism of “Neoliberalism” in the 1970s, which culminated with Reagan’s presidency and the massive offshoring of jobs and manufacturing to low-wage nations such as China, were the decisive points in US capitalism’s trajectory from affluence and power to oligarchic decrepitude.

KARL SANCHEZ—It is a wild story, and a juicy tale, and several Israeli media have been digging into it. But I have yet to find any media outside of Israel, except Seymour Hersh, which have touched on the latest issue.

There were suspicions from the very beginning that Israeli authorities had knowledge about the Hamas attack on October 7 2023 before it happened but had failed to raise the alarm. Claims were made, unfortunately without any evidence, that this was done not out of negligence, but on purpose.

We now can finally say that this was indeed the case. Israeli authorities, up to the prime minister, knew that the attack was coming, but rejected to raise the alarm to an appropriate level. They let the attack happen on purpose (LIHOP).

All that followed since was, from the very beginning, part of their long-term plans.

MARK TAYLOR—In politics, reciprocity has been scorched away. Watch the Breaking Points interview (fourth clip below) with Jim Zogby as he describes what things are like now inside the Democratic Party. The only role members of the party are expected to play is to be good little boys and girls, send in money and show up to vote for the candidates those in power have so considerately put in place. Your role, your voice mean nothing.

EDITOR—Garland’s wide-ranging conversation with Palestinian journalist Laith Marouf about the latest developments in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and other key regions in the Resistance, and how Hezbollah’s tenacity and good strategic and tactical planning —despite enormous losses in its leadership—have been defeating Israel’s big army and its criminal air force. Israel has not been able to penetrate more than a mile into Lebanon, and Netanyahu’s promise to return settlers to Northern Palestine dissipates into thin air with each passing day.  Looking at the election, Garland believes that Democrats being voted out of office because of their loyalty to Zionism is not a deterrent for many of these politicians. Their calculus is simple: If they lose because of their support for Israel, they can always count on a cushy job somewhere. If they vote against Israel, they stand to lose plenty. Short of a real revolution, they become “political orphans.” Besides, the Dems have long made their pact with the ruling elites, seeing themselves as the natural political platform for the PMC class and its billionaire class sponsors, not to mention their MICIMATT-dominated Deep State. For his part, Trump will not be able to deliver on any of his promises. He won’t upset the abominable status quo that MAGA people abhor because he is fully embedded in it, he’s a con man. 

EDITOR—ERIC ZUESSE provides a thorough backdrop for the Trump policy choices, one worse than the next, all of them certifiable 100% swamp creatures, noxious imperial figures trading in fake patriotism that should have been retired a long time ago. ||| ACTIVE MEASURES editors examine some of the people already nominated and being considered for key posts in Trump’s cabinet. |||. THE GRAYZONE Max Blumenthal and Wyatt Reed discuss the shocking psy-op that ensued in Amsterdam, where Israeli football hooligans instigated violence, then played victims of a pogrom, then Anya Parampil joins to discuss Trump’s re-election and the sordid history of his top foreign policy picks. So we go from sneaky and utterly hypocritical liberal totalitarianism to batshit corrupt war hawks and fascistoid chauvinists. ||| RBN’s Nick Cruse comments on the pathetic choices hitherto made by Trump, confirming the man’s severe lack of historical depth and opportunism. ||| DUE DISSIDENCE team provides a rich discussion on the Trump incoming cabinet and what that portends for a nation batered by division, insoluble problems and stunning misleadership.