EDITOR—We are revolted by Bill Maher’s vile trajectory from mildly progressive but usually funny comedian to his current incarnation as an insidious and mostly unfunny defender of a rotten global imperialist status quo, with emphasis on the defence of the morally bankrupt Zionist entity. So we are happy to see Kyle Kulinski, an ambitious liberal (and current Krystal Ball’s team-mate) take Maher to the woodshed, which he richly deserves. But we hold no long-term hope of consistent leftism for Kulinski, who, as a liberal, and often comfortable establishmentarian celebrity, may disappoint us sooner than we expect.
CULTURE & CRITICISM
-
-
EDITOR—Episode 77 of Blowback: Exposing Imperial Decline with special guests Dust James and Greg Rosen.
The roundtable discusses the most recent developments in the global battle between Russia and its Eurasian allies and the collective West, the latter representing the dying values of exploitative hierarchy, hegemony, colonialism and imperialism at any cost. The world is quickly approaching flashpoints where tactical nukes could be employed, something that could easily happen in both the Ukraine and Middle East, where the main problem is the uncontrolled and depraved conduct of the Israelis, currently celebrating the start of their offensive on Rafah. The panel also weighs the honesty or dishonesty of US attempts to restrain Israel from committing further acts of genocide on helpless Palestinians. -
US Protests & Marxist Critique of Žižek, Foucault, Arendt & the Frankfurt School, w Gabriel Rockhill
120 Mins readEDITOR—This discussion took place on May 2, 2024. It was co-sponsored by India & the Global Left and the Critical Theory Workshop. Here is IGL’s summary: “In this video, we have discussed the US sit-in and encampment movement in solidarity with Palestine. We have then discussed how the capitalist system produces propaganda against the Left. In this regard, Prof. Rockhill talks about the French theorists, Frankfurt School theories, the New York group of non-Marxist Left intelligentsia, and British Marxists. Finally, he offers a framework that can be an alternative to bourgeois propaganda culture.”
-
CANTAROW / LOEWENSTEIN—The Antisemitism Awareness Act, which indeed weaponizes antisemitism against those protesting Israel’s savagery in Gaza and the cruelty of its overall occupation policies, is soon to be voted upon by the Senate. Its enactment would mark a giant step towards degrading the U.S. Constitution, in particular its protection of freedom of speech, assembly, and a free press. It also threatens the status of academia as a realm in which the free exchange of ideas can flourish.
-
CBS pulls out all the stops to prop up Israel’s accusations.
7 minutes readEDITOR—Using all the dog whistles in the Zionist playbook to justify Tel Aviv’s horribly disproportionate response to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, CBS Sunday Morning is apparently happy to allow its huge megaphone to reiterate pro-Israel accusations.