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  31. <title>NATO War-Games Climate Collapse</title>
  32. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/nato-war-games-climate-collapse/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=nato-war-games-climate-collapse</link>
  33. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/nato-war-games-climate-collapse/#respond</comments>
  35. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lital Khaikin]]></dc:creator>
  36. <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:13:37 +0000</pubDate>
  37. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  38. <category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
  39. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  40. <category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
  41. <category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
  42. <category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
  43. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
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  48. <category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
  49. <category><![CDATA[arctic]]></category>
  50. <category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
  51. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change and Security Summit]]></category>
  52. <category><![CDATA[Montréal]]></category>
  53. <category><![CDATA[nato]]></category>
  54. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312431</guid>
  55.  
  56. <description><![CDATA[<p>In Montreal, the alliance discusses planetary tipping points — without the input of a U.S. government that has chosen to fly blind.</p>
  57. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/nato-war-games-climate-collapse/">NATO War-Games Climate Collapse</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  58. ]]></description>
  59. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="has-drop-cap">It’s the 11th hour for countries to respond to irreversible climate change, security experts agreed at the fourth annual NATO Climate Change and Security Summit — mere days after Montréal <a href="https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weather/severe/unprecedented-october-heat-sweeps-montreal-saguenay-gatineau-quebec" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">broke</a> another seasonal heat record. The gathering brought together 280 attendees between Oct. 8 and 9 to war-game climate change at the newest NATO Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE), which uses climate change data to develop doctrine, strategy and procurement priorities for the world’s largest military alliance. </p><p>The impacts are varied. On the ground, military bases, especially in remote regions, are vulnerable to extreme weather and eroding coastlines. In the sky, climate chaos threatens satellites with signal failure. Despite decades of warnings from scientists, defense actors describe the national security sector’s engagement with climate change science as “immature.” And with militaries responsible for approximately 5.5% of the world’s greenhouse emissions, inaction is deepening existential risk and increasing calls from the scientific community for arms control and conflict prevention. </p><p>“We view climate change as a transnational challenge alongside terrorism and uneven global demographic change,” said Lt. Gen. Peter Scott of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, adding that rearmament must strike a “balance between the correct capability, the speed of acquisition and protecting our planet.”</p><figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left">
  60. <blockquote>
  61. <p>Defense actors describe the national security sector’s engagement with climate change science as “immature.”</p>
  62. </blockquote>
  63. </figure><p>“There are now hardly any credible projections of security risk that do not place climate security among the most pressing issues of our generation,” he said, emphasizing increasing civil-military collaboration through NATO’s <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/78209.htm" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Science for Peace and Security</a> program. </p><p>As the alliance looks toward the Arctic, the polar region is warming four times faster than anywhere else on the planet. Spring cyclones are <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/arctic-cyclones-to-intensify-as-climate-warms-nasa-study-predicts/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">intensifying</a> by century’s end and rates of warming, rainfall and ocean acidification are even <a href="https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/arctic-climate-change-update-2024-key-trends-and-impacts.-summary-for-policy-makers/3847" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">faster</a> than previously predicted. For Canada’s Department of Defense, mitigation means pursuing low carbon fuels and <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/dnd-mdn/documents/corporate/reports-publications/dcss/dcss-e-signed.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">developing</a> decarbonization plans for all fleets by 2027, with 80% of emissions coming from aircraft, 19% from marine vessels and 1% from land vehicles.</p><p>“Defending the Arctic mustn’t come at the expense of the very environment we’re actually trying to protect,” said Canada’s Minister of National Defense David McGuinty, describing protecting nature as a form of deterrence. “In the end, something is only worth defending if we can ensure there will always be something left to defend.”</p><p>Just two days earlier, Canada <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f35-canada-us-review-1.7653767" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">confirmed</a> the purchase of F-35 fighter jets <a href="https://wilpfcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024-08-23_Harms-of-Fighter-Jets_FactSheets_English-REV4.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">deemed</a> “pipelines in the sky” for emitting more carbon emissions in a single flight than a typical car emits in a year.</p><p>A critical moment on Arctic environmental protection passed in May 2019, when former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA director Mike Pompeo <a href="https://polarconnection.org/arctic-council-ministerial-rovaniemi/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">refused</a> to sign an Arctic Council joint statement to prevent rapidly melting ice — unless all mention of climate change was scrubbed. A month later, Canada had declared a national climate emergency. Republicans have been nailing the coffin shut ever since, and security actors are increasingly “flying blind” on climate intelligence. </p><div id="ad_slot_wrapper_22724279127_1" class="max-w-td m-auto p-6 ad-slot--wrapper ad-slot--wrapper--article-hrec-1">
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  66. </div>
  67. </div>
  68. <p>When the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement, 91 social science and climate-related studies by the Pentagon were <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/pentagon-abruptly-ends-all-funding-social-science-research" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">halted</a>. The Pentagon’s climate change team, brought in under <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/joe-biden/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="5" title="Joe Biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden</a>, was <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hegseth-orders-elimination-of-pentagon-climate-planning-but-wants-extreme/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">axed</a> in the spring. Polar research at the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and the Wilson Center are also <a href="https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/trump-cuts-target-us-arctic-research-commission-reverse-course-days-later-wilson-centers-polar" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">imperiled</a>. Reviving cuts to NASA <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-climate-science-program-trump-axed-house-lawmakers-just-moved-restore-it" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">studies</a> from his first term, <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> again <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/06/some-parts-of-trumps-proposed-budget-for-nasa-are-literally-draconian/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">threatened</a> to cut NASA’s $25 billion funding by a quarter, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01217-6" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">endangering</a> satellite programs including <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/04/nx-s1-5453731/nasa-carbon-dioxide-satellite-mission-threatened" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">carbon dioxide</a> monitoring — tipping the public institute deeper toward privatization. A recent scandalous energy department report <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/17/climate-change-beyond-scientific-dispute-national-academies-report-says-00568552" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">denied</a> the impacts of climate change on the country, even as Pentagon findings previously warned that <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/half-us-military-facilities-vulnerable-extreme-weather-and-climate-risks" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">nearly half</a> of all U.S. military sites are threatened by climate change. In Montréal, CCASCOE is “compiling and preserving climate data” and calling for “equitable access to data,” but experts avoided discussing the national security impacts of Republican anti-science policies and cuts to public research.</p><p>“We’re in a really dangerous moment right now for climate security, where the gap between the threat from climate change and our preparedness is growing,” said Erin Sikorsky, national director at the Washington-based International Military Council on Climate and Security, which is jointly run by the U.S. Council on Strategic Risks and institutes in France and the Netherlands.</p><p>“The institutions that we’ve designed for the national security community are state-centric. We still have a tough time, when discussing security, at being willing to make the comparison between heat deaths, for example, and global terrorism,” she told Truthdig. “Where we make our security investments, where we choose to put our attention — is it commensurate with the threat?”</p><figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left">
  69. <blockquote>
  70. <p>“We’re in a really dangerous moment right now for climate security.&#8221;</p>
  71. </blockquote>
  72. </figure><p>The U.S. military is the world’s <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-us-military-pollution-carbon-emissions-2094434" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">single largest</a> institutional greenhouse gas <a href="https://militaryemissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/USA001358-21-RTC-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions-Levels_updated_Report-Only.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">polluter</a>, and accounts for over 60% of NATO’s total spending. This is <a href="https://disarmament.unoda.org/en/milex-sdg-report/report-secretary-general-global-impact-increasing-military-expenditure-sdgs" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">undermining</a> a sustainable future, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs has warned. The World Economic Forum’s latest <a href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2025/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Global Risks Report</a> finds that short-lived carbon pollutants, like black carbon from burning fuels, are increasing and responsible for up to 45% of near-term global warming</p><p>Even as a core NATO member undermines defense by slashing climate-related studies and institutes, scientists are demanding greater accountability from military actors. Francesco Corvaro, climate envoy of the Italian government, urged defense actors to engage with the <a href="https://cop29.az/en/media-hub/news/cop29-presidency-welcomes-joint-communique-of-the-cop29-climate-and-peace-co-lead-initiative" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">climate and peace initiative</a> launched at last year’s climate change summit in Azerbaijan.</p><p>Renowned Ukrainian climatologist Svitlana Krakowska called for a mechanism to account for and report conflict-related emissions. “From a security perspective, the carbon budget is nothing less than a constraint for peaceful social functioning,” she said, urging international cooperation “at scale.”</p><p>“Peace is a climate policy, and ending hostilities reduces emissions and preserves the capacity of economies to invest in low-carbon transition. It is not merely a technical exercise, it is a moral imperative,” she said. </p><p class="is-td-marked">Whether governments will adopt scientists’ call for peace as the best defense strategy, history will show.</p>
  73. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/nato-war-games-climate-collapse/">NATO War-Games Climate Collapse</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  74. ]]></content:encoded>
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  83. <item>
  84. <title>‘They Just Took You Away’</title>
  85. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/they-just-took-you-away/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=they-just-took-you-away</link>
  86. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/they-just-took-you-away/#respond</comments>
  88. <dc:creator><![CDATA[George B. Sánchez-Tello /  Capital & Main ]]></dc:creator>
  89. <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:58:50 +0000</pubDate>
  90. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  91. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  92. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  93. <category><![CDATA[Immigration]]></category>
  94. <category><![CDATA[Los Angeles]]></category>
  95. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  96. <category><![CDATA[Race]]></category>
  97. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  98. <category><![CDATA[department of homeland security]]></category>
  99. <category><![CDATA[deportation]]></category>
  100. <category><![CDATA[ICE raids]]></category>
  101. <category><![CDATA[immigration and customs enforcement]]></category>
  102. <category><![CDATA[kristi noem]]></category>
  103. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312432</guid>
  104.  
  105. <description><![CDATA[<p>My daughter’s nightmares offer a window into how children are processing Trump’s immigration raids.</p>
  106. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/they-just-took-you-away/">‘They Just Took You Away’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  107. ]]></description>
  108. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  109. <p><strong>We are in the living room</strong>&nbsp;of our small home in East Los Angeles when an immigration agent takes me away.&nbsp;</p>
  110.  
  111.  
  112.  
  113. <p>That’s the dream Quetzal, my 9-year-old daughter, describes to me in a near-whipser. I ask her to use her powerful voice, the one she uses to answer teachers’ questions at school. But I can barely hear her over the sound of Tzunuum, her 5-year-old sister, practicing piano in the next room.&nbsp;</p>
  114.  
  115.  
  116.  
  117. <p>In Quetzal’s dream, her sister is playing piano when there’s a heavy knock at the door. Tzunuum runs to open it, while Quetzal and I follow her to find a man on our porch who refuses to identify himself. Then, suddenly, I am gone, Quetzal says, and she and her sister are left crying.</p>
  118.  
  119.  
  120.  
  121. <p>I’ve been reporting on how the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration’s aggressive immigration raids have shaken Los Angeles communities. I’ve covered the toll they are taking on the <a href="https://capitalandmain.com/they-feel-they-can-trust-no-one-not-even-to-open-the-door" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">physical</a> and <a href="https://capitalandmain.com/ice-raids-take-toll-on-latino-mental-health-its-been-nonstop" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">mental health of Latinos</a>, including on U.S. citizens like me and others who may be safe from deportation. I’ve shared with readers how my own anxiety and fears of immigration sweeps propelled my run across South Los Angeles in the <a href="https://capitalandmain.com/running-while-black-latino-or-asian-american-under-trump" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Hood Half Marathon</a>. </p>
  122.  
  123.  
  124.  
  125. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>I learned that Quetzal wasn’t alone in her fears.</p></blockquote></figure>
  126.  
  127.  
  128.  
  129. <p>When interviewed therapists, psychiatrists and community organizers over the last few months, I would mention my daughter’s nightmares and ask for advice. And I learned that Quetzal wasn’t alone in her fears.</p>
  130.  
  131.  
  132.  
  133. <p>In April, I brought up Quetzal’s nightmare during an interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.satsukiina.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Satsuki Ina</a>, a Japanese American psychotherapist who was born in the Tule Lake incarceration camp during World War II and works with patients on community trauma. Ina recommended that I encourage Quetzal to talk or write about her feelings and that I listen.</p>
  134.  
  135.  
  136.  
  137. <p>For months my wife and I encouraged Quetzal, but the more we mentioned it, the less she wanted to talk. She finally opened up in September, as we sat down together at our dining room table.</p>
  138.  
  139.  
  140.  
  141. <p>She told me it was ICE — <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/immigration-and-customs-enforcement/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="20" title="immigration and customs enforcement">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</a> — that took me away, describing it as a “different version of police.” I hadn’t talked about specific immigration agencies with her and certainly hadn’t said who ICE was. In L.A., police aren’t supposed to cooperate with immigration officials. But the two were the same in her mind.</p>
  142.  
  143.  
  144.  
  145. <p>“You ask who they are. But they don’t really tell you,” Quetzal said about the man on the porch in her dream.&nbsp;“They just took you away.”</p>
  146.  
  147.  
  148.  
  149. <p>“But how do you know I was taken away?” I asked my daughter.&nbsp;</p>
  150.  
  151.  
  152.  
  153. <p>“Maybe I went for a run,” I suggested.&nbsp;</p>
  154.  
  155.  
  156.  
  157. <p>“Because you wouldn’t leave us there,” she said.&nbsp;</p>
  158.  
  159.  
  160.  
  161. <p>At this point Quetzal’s voice got quieter and softer again. In her dream, she told me, her little sister is crying because I was gone.  </p>
  162.  
  163.  
  164.  
  165. <p>“I was crying too,” she said.&nbsp;</p>
  166.  
  167.  
  168.  
  169. <p>As we talked, I asked Quetzal if she wanted to hold my hand. She reached across the table. Then she got up, walked over to me and sat on my lap. She lay her head on my chest. She remained still, quiet and started to cry. As I held her, I reminded her I am right here. I thought of the advice the professionals gave me. Ina suggested I encourage Quetzal to write about it. I asked Quetzal if she wanted to write about her dreams, noting that writing helps me make sense of the world. But she didn’t.  </p>
  170.  
  171.  
  172.  
  173. <p>I considered what I’ve learned about thoughts from a Buddhist perspective as well as my own lessons from personal therapy. </p>
  174.  
  175.  
  176.  
  177. <p>“Touch the wall,” I suggested. “That’s real; dreams are not. Dreams are just dreams. Thoughts come and go and that’s OK.”&nbsp;</p>
  178.  
  179.  
  180.  
  181. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“They just took you away.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  182.  
  183.  
  184.  
  185. <p>Latinos like us, native-born citizens, have been anxious about <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>’s threats of mass deportation since his first term as president. My mother, an American citizen since 2001, carries with her a copy of her passport and has asked me to do the same.&nbsp;</p>
  186.  
  187.  
  188.  
  189. <p>When asked what she is, Quetzal will tell you, on her mother’s side, she’s Chumash, California’s Native people from the coast of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. She will also say she is Guatemalan; my mother was born and raised in Guatemala.</p>
  190.  
  191.  
  192.  
  193. <p>Her mother and I also call ourselves Chicana and Chicano, respectively. We were born here. My wife’s father is a Mexican American Vietnam War veteran. Her great-grandparents came from Mexico. My father’s families come from generations who called New Mexico home under Spanish colonial rule, the Mexican Republic and the United States, the latecomers. My grandfather helped train tank divisions in California’s Mojave Desert in preparation for fighting in North Africa during World War II. Quetzal’s uncle — my brother-in-law — was stationed in Jordan with the U.S. Army Reserves during the Afghanistan War.</p>
  194.  
  195.  
  196.  
  197. <p>Despite our family’s history and contributions to this country, we remain, in the eyes of many, something less than fully American. This is an undercurrent in our family histories. My father’s family finished its arrival in Los Angeles after the Great Depression. This was a few years after nearly <a href="https://www.calmigration.org/learn-chapter/deportation-to-repatriation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">one-third</a> of Los Angeles’ Mexican community, including many U.S. citizens, was deported or “<a href="https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/stories-from-the-archives/ins-records-for-1930s-mexican-repatriations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">repatriated</a>.” But our history and heritage, a point of pride for generations, has again made us a target of federal immigration agents who <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-09-08/supreme-court-immigration-stops-los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">now have license</a> to round up anyone based on how they look, the language they speak or where they work. </p>
  198.  
  199.  
  200.  
  201. <p>It’s no wonder my daughter feels our family is threatened. To quote Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a169_5h25.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">dissent</a>&nbsp;following the Supreme Court’s decision last month allowing federal agents to resume roving patrols in Southern California: “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job.”</p>
  202.  
  203.  
  204.  
  205. <p>Erica Lubliner, a psychiatrist at UCLA whom I interviewed in July, told me that in the context of daily immigration raids, my daughter’s feelings are normal.</p>
  206.  
  207.  
  208.  
  209. <p>Quetzal’s nightmares were likely her subconscious processing what she is hearing and seeing, Lubliner said. Children can sense their parents’ stress and pick up on bits and pieces from overheard conversations, snippets of the news or comments from peers at school, she said.</p>
  210.  
  211.  
  212.  
  213. <p>After Trump was elected to a second term, some students at Quetzal’s school began telling classmates, teachers and staff of their families&#8217; plans to reunite in Mexico if a parent was deported. </p>
  214.  
  215.  
  216.  
  217. <p>As a freelance journalist, I juggle my writing with other jobs, including teaching in the Department of Chicana and Chicano studies at a local university. But facing this existential threat to my family and community, I took the unusual step of adding another job: as a volunteer working to protect immigrants and Latinos.</p>
  218.  
  219.  
  220.  
  221. <p>In June, I began volunteering with local rapid response and neighborhood defense groups that have sprung up to help document immigration raids in Los Angeles. I spent the last day of the Fourth of July weekend seated on the steps of a church in Boyle Heights. White vans had been spotted in the neighborhood, and parishioners were afraid immigration agents might arrive and detain people during Sunday services. Thankfully, nothing occurred that afternoon, but I was there to warn parishioners without interfering.</p>
  222.  
  223.  
  224.  
  225. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>We remain, in the eyes of many, something less than fully American.</p></blockquote></figure>
  226.  
  227.  
  228.  
  229. <p>Whenever I was needed in the evening, I would tell my daughters I had to go help friends. In the morning, I would explain what I did — like monitoring street traffic to warn school officials and families if immigration agents were seen near a high school graduation in East Los Angeles. At first, Quetzal got mad that I didn’t tell her at night, but I explained I didn’t want her to worry.   </p>
  230.  
  231.  
  232.  
  233. <p>A few days after the Fourth of July weekend, we left home early to take Quetzal to her summer art camp. She asked why we were leaving 30 minutes early. Then she noticed I didn’t take the direct route to her camp. Instead, we drove around the neighborhood patrolling for suspicious government vehicles or other signs of any raids. We circled the neighborhood, driving in and out of side streets and major boulevards. I told her we were making sure the neighborhood — including her camp and friends — was safe from immigration officials. </p>
  234.  
  235.  
  236.  
  237. <p>Still, in our conversations I worry I’ve triggered a sense of dread and alarm in Quetzal. I want to understand her feelings, her dreams and her fears. I want to help my daughter, my family as well as other fathers, mothers and children experiencing this stress and worry.&nbsp;</p>
  238.  
  239.  
  240.  
  241. <p>I know immigration rights advocates who have warned their children that their homes could be raided. My friend told me her son asked if ICE would barge into his church or school. But when talking with Quetzal about her nightmares, I remember what the mental health professionals told me. </p>
  242.  
  243.  
  244.  
  245. <p>So I remind her that we — she, I, her sister and mother — are all safe. I tell her I am sorry she had this dream.&nbsp;</p>
  246.  
  247.  
  248.  
  249. <p>But my words of reassurance feel woefully inadequate at a time when even a Supreme Court justice has voiced fears of people like us being taken away by federal agents for being Latino or speaking Spanish. No one, whether a child or parent, immigrant or natural-born citizen, should have to live in fear of being separated from the people they love most.</p>
  250.  
  251.  
  252.  
  253. <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>Copyright 2025 Capital &amp; Main</em></p>
  254. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/they-just-took-you-away/">‘They Just Took You Away’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  255. ]]></content:encoded>
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  258. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  261. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312432</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CapitalandMain_they-just-took-you-away-v2.jpg?width=823&#038;height=585" length="657760" type="image/jpeg" />
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  263. </item>
  264. <item>
  265. <title>After the Social Justice Era — What?</title>
  266. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/after-the-social-justice-era-what/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=after-the-social-justice-era-what</link>
  267. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/after-the-social-justice-era-what/#respond</comments>
  269. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Freddie deBoer]]></dc:creator>
  270. <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:45:17 +0000</pubDate>
  271. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  272. <category><![CDATA[Arts & Culture]]></category>
  273. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  274. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
  275. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  276. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  277. <category><![CDATA[Social Justice]]></category>
  278. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  279. <category><![CDATA[bluesky]]></category>
  280. <category><![CDATA[millennial]]></category>
  281. <category><![CDATA[social justice]]></category>
  282. <category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
  283. <category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>
  284. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312424</guid>
  285.  
  286. <description><![CDATA[<p>The kids who might have been the next generation of activists are instead building personal brands or quietly retreating into apolitical hobbies.</p>
  287. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/after-the-social-justice-era-what/">After the Social Justice Era — What?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  288. ]]></description>
  289. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  290. <p><em>The following story is co-published with&nbsp;<a href="https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/perhaps-liking-or-not-liking-taylor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Freddie deBoer’s Substack</a>.</em></p>
  291.  
  292.  
  293.  
  294. <p class="has-drop-cap">Not too long ago there was some back and forth about Bluesky and its role in the left during this sad, disturbing period of conservative ascendancy. The general complaint is that the network is full of people who are trying to pretend that the 2010s never ended, that the period of liberal cultural dominance — which is a very far cry from <em>left </em>dominance or <em>material </em>dominance — was still with us. The dream of 2018, they say, is alive on Bluesky. And, well, yeah. I do suspect that the basic claim there is true, the diagnosis of a desire to live in a pleasant enclave, although my exposure to the network is limited. Still, I actually think the nostalgist impulse there is a little more complicated, a little less political, and a little broader than that network. I think that even though a lot of millennials didn’t enjoy the Yelling Social Justice era, it happens to have been <em>their </em>era, to have overlapped with their primes, and so they yearn for the feeling if not the particulars, just as they yearn for Obama-era optimism and the period when technology was something to unabashedly enjoy, before all the reasons for skepticism and criticism crept in.</p>
  295.  
  296.  
  297.  
  298. <p>As I said in the comments of <a href="https://maxread.substack.com/p/why-are-pundits-obsessed-with-bluesky" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">this post by Max Read</a> about the Bluesky debate, I think a lot of this is more of the millennial panic over aging; short-form text-based social media is an uncool millennial thing, and we have reached/are reaching middle age, and the death of Twitter as it once was has made the demise of this vision of the social internet more visible in a way that stokes the fear of aging. People really thought Twitter was forever; that idea is very dark for me, but then as I was saying, for a lot of people the High Twitter period overlapped with the greatest years of self-definition and intensity of experience of their lives. To grasp the fact that young people see the whole thing as archaic … well, it’s as destabilizing as every other way we learn that we’re old. Sure, there’s a generic impulse on that network to build a space where it’s easy to pretend that we’re still living under the authority of a benevolent liberal mod team, to party like it’s the first <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> term. But the impulse is deeper than just wanting to maintain the familiar; it’s also driven by the creeping approach of being truly old, being irrelevant to young people, being infirm, and finally being dead.</p>
  299.  
  300.  
  301.  
  302. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>So many in the conservative media&nbsp;<em>also&nbsp;</em>want to pretend the bad old days never ended.</p></blockquote></figure>
  303.  
  304.  
  305.  
  306. <p>But I digress. I was talking about the progressive desire to live in a period of much greater progressive influence. That’s not hard to grasp, anymore than it’s hard to understand Patriots fans who pine for the good old Tom Brady era. The thing is that the only people who are more eager to live under the old rules than the liberals who tried to enforce them are the conservatives who rebelled against them. Almost all of conservative culture now is built on the assumption that conservatives are besieged, that liberals control every institution, and that right-wing people always live under the threat of being purged. This attitude was wrong back then — the right enjoys massive influence in many of the most important sectors of modern society and always has — and is now absurd, given the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> victory, the federal trifecta and general conservative dominance. And yet so many in the conservative media <em>also </em>want to pretend the bad old days never ended. It tells you something about how politics works here in the mid-2020s.</p>
  307.  
  308.  
  309.  
  310. <p>Every cultural epoch has its expiration date, but few have been left to rot so publicly as the social justice era. The “vibe shift” — a term I’m just as tired of as you are — was predicted fairly regularly for a little while, but seemed for a long time like something unreal, and maybe a little wistful. And then, suddenly, it was real. I’ve previously used <a href="https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/dreams-that-didnt-come-true" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">a fairly meaningless moment</a> in The New York Times<em> </em>as a signpost for the change, a little indicator of a suddenly altered elite social compact. Things change slowly, imperceptibly, and then all at once. Now everyone knows it’s over. The think pieces are gone, the college kids aren’t protesting, the prestige media have shifted their tone, and the elite consensus that once held representation and harm reduction as sacred commandments has quietly dissolved. The old annoying rhetorical demands — “do better,” “educate yourself,” “this is violence” — no longer compel obedience. You can see it in sporting venues honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk, the corporate Pride campaigns that now tiptoe toward neutrality, in Netflix quietly canceling the fourth “queer trauma” limited series that no one watched, in the fact that universities, once terrified of being called out, now just ride out the outrage cycle until the internet moves on.</p>
  311.  
  312.  
  313.  
  314. <p>And yet, nobody wants to admit it’s over.</p>
  315.  
  316.  
  317.  
  318. <p>Progressives (who, once again, are not the same as the left) won’t let it die because social justice was their period of seeming moral triumph. For a decade, maybe a bit more, progressives didn’t just win cultural arguments but set the terms of debate entirely. The vocabulary of identity and oppression became mandatory. The culture of identity-obsessed HR departments colonized academia, book publishing, elite media, the nonprofit industrial complex and a good swath of government agencies; accordingly, those with elite ambitions bent to those sensibilities whether their support was sincere or not. For a moment, it looked like the social justice set had captured the language of legitimacy itself. I’ve written about the reasons for that takeover before; the short version is that the people behind this moment expertly leveraged the memetic power of the internet to make not being woke seem like a kind of social death. (It was always memes that spurred the social justice advance, and it was always the fear of being socially undesirable that was the sharp end of the stick.) Today, some progressives still can’t let go, because to do so is to admit that the world has moved on and that the moral leverage that once allowed them to dictate norms has evaporated.</p>
  319.  
  320.  
  321.  
  322. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The think pieces are gone, the college kids aren’t protesting, the prestige media has shifted its tone.</p></blockquote></figure>
  323.  
  324.  
  325.  
  326. <p>And yet the average liberal’s refusal to move on and let go is a pale facsimile of the anti-woke commentator’s desperate clinging. Conservatives won’t let the social justice moment die either, because they need it as their bogeyman; it’s proved to be a great rallying force for the right, and its status as a fundraiser for professional conservative commentators is unmatched. Those types have constructed a vast shadow empire in their heads (corporations, schools, media, the government) still supposedly controlled by the radical campus left of 2015. Their media ecosystem depends on this fantasy. Without it, they have to confront the uncomfortable reality that they are no longer the cultural underdogs but the ascendant force. Admitting that social justice is passé would mean acknowledging victory, and victory brings responsibility. (Famously, once elected, your ideas actually have to be tested in the fires of reality.) So here we are, trapped in the afterglow of a revolution that’s already burned out, with each side invested in pretending the fire still rages.</p>
  327.  
  328.  
  329.  
  330. <p>The social justice era was never as <em>widely</em> hegemonic as either side thought. It was certainly <em>deeply</em> hegemonic in certain spaces, and that produced a lot of unfortunate, unfair and unhelpful scenarios. I spent a lot of time talking about them, back in them days. It’s important to be able to distinguish between depth and breadth. If you were a conservative professor at a liberal school, the depth of your disadvantage was severe indeed. But it’s also essential that we not overgeneralize that power. The supposed omnipotence of “wokeness” was typically confined to certain urban, highly educated spaces that shape media discourse but don’t actually represent the broader country. Its rules were enforced mainly through social capital — who got platformed and who got dragged — not through the state or any formal institution. Yes, there are exceptions, very unfortunate ones. And, I would argue, it was precisely when those ideas and tactics broke the containment of smaller, more elite discursive spaces like the universities and newsmedia that the backlash began. In a weird way, the success of the social justice movement triggered its own collapse.</p>
  331.  
  332.  
  333.  
  334. <p>Exceptions aside, social justice power was usually more vibes than policy, more etiquette than law. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t destructive! But it&#8217;s probably the quintessential example of rule by happenstance rather than systematic rule; its enforcement of its Byzantine laws and abstruse moral schema was always driven by availability bias, by whim, and by chance. The people who got hit with the woke stick were those who were available to be hit, which is why so much of the damage was done in progressive-on-progressive fire episodes and why so rarely were conservative politicians ever affected. That&#8217;s also why, to pick a random example, someone like Dr. Dre could avoid cancellation despite his history with violence against women — because when there&#8217;s no actual formal procedure, there&#8217;s no consistency. That’s another reason why it all collapsed so quickly, its arbitrary nature. And there is of course the ever-present paradox that when everyone’s livelihood depends on not saying the wrong thing, the wrong thing will eventually be said. The fear that kept it going couldn’t last forever.</p>
  335.  
  336.  
  337.  
  338. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Some progressives still can’t let go, because to do so is to admit that the world has moved on.</p></blockquote></figure>
  339.  
  340.  
  341.  
  342. <p>But the myths remain. A certain influential subset of progressives remain emotionally tethered to the idea that we’re living in 2017, trying to defend a pre-ironized vision of a a “safe space,” still insisting that diversity training can function as the frontier of justice and that power can be dismantled by collectively scolding people online. These habits are hard to break because they provided moral clarity and community in an otherwise fragmented world. The social justice era offered a coherent worldview: You could always locate yourself as righteous by identifying oppression and naming it. You didn’t have to fix material inequality, just speak the right language about it. The politics were exhausting, yes, but also comforting. They were the paradoxical belief set of revolutionaries who had preemptively given up.</p>
  343.  
  344.  
  345.  
  346. <p>To accept that the moment is over means facing a void. The problems that animated social justice, like racism, sexism, homophobia and inequality — which, yes, are very real and need to be opposed — haven’t gone anywhere. What’s gone, for most of us, is the illusion that these could be solved through the cultural policing of language and representation. Many professional progressives sensed this but couldn’t quite say it; many now can, but others are still trapped in the old fear and the old yearning. So they continue to perform the old rituals: apologies for privilege, ritual denunciations of microaggressions, interminable debates about which words are acceptable. As diminished as all these practices are, they still chug along in some form or another. It’s cargo cult politics, going through the motions of a religious order whose gods have already left.</p>
  347.  
  348.  
  349.  
  350. <p>Conservatives, meanwhile, can’t stop shadowboxing with ghosts. Every book, every podcast, every Substack essay in their ecosystem depends on the existence of a censorious, omnipotent “woke mob.” But the mob isn’t really there anymore. There’s a handful of noisy activists on social media, sure, but they don’t decide what gets published, what TV shows get made or who gets fired; increasingly, even their natural constituencies treat them as a ridiculous anachronism. If anything, the pendulum has swung hard in the other direction: DEI programs are being quietly dismantled, campus speech codes have been gutted and corporations are scrubbing their websites of the very equity language they trumpeted five years ago. None of that shit ever meant anything, obviously. It was always for show. Indeed, the real marker of the difference between a leftist critic of social justice politics and a conservative one is that the leftist critic complains because the corporation isn&#8217;t actually sincere and doesn&#8217;t actually care while the conservative conservative complains that they are and do.</p>
  351.  
  352.  
  353.  
  354. <p>Yet for all of the outward signs, the conservative narrative demands that we still live under “woke tyranny.” It’s a convenient excuse for everything. Lose a job? Blame cancel culture. Your kid can’t get into college? Diversity quotas. Your film flopped? Hollywood’s too woke. This is the secret comfort of victimhood, right? It explains the world. I know this isn&#8217;t a particularly novel thing to say, but there still is a real irony in the way that conservative and woke narratives coalesce around the obsession with the idea that one has been oppressed. The right, for all its macho posturing, has grown addicted to the same thing that once animated the Tumblr left: a sense of persecution that grants moral meaning.</p>
  355.  
  356.  
  357.  
  358. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>To accept that the moment is over means facing a void.</p></blockquote></figure>
  359.  
  360.  
  361.  
  362. <p>So both camps cling to the corpse. The radlibs because they can’t face irrelevance, the anti-wokies because they can’t face responsibility, and the professionals because they’re afraid the money spigot will be turned off in a brutal media environment. Meanwhile, the culture has already moved on. We live in a moment defined not by moral crusade but by exhaustion. The default political mood is boredom, even in the face of relentless scandal and a genuine creeping authoritarianism. The generational energy that once went into activism has migrated elsewhere, into fitness, aesthetics, entrepreneurship, self-optimization, crypto, fandom. The kids who might have been the next generation of activists are instead building personal brands or quietly retreating into apolitical hobbies. And as much as the activists drive my crazy, I have after all been one for much of my life, and I suppose I still am, this devolution into conspiracism and pathetic stabs at getting rich quick is certainly worse.</p>
  363.  
  364.  
  365.  
  366. <p>The end of the social justice era hasn’t ushered in a renaissance of solidarity or material politics. Instead it’s ushered in a particular kind of uneasy quiet, the quiet of the sickbed. We’ve replaced the shrill certainties of moral policing with a kind of cynical detachment. No one believes anymore that a better world is coming, unless perhaps it’s delivered by technology, and yet no one feels like fighting about it either. The death of one moral order hasn’t produced another. It’s only produced drift. And the refusal to acknowledge that drift matters. As long as very attention-hungry emissaries from both sides pretend we’re still living under wokeness, we can’t grapple with what’s actually happening. The Bluesky progs keep wasting energy defending cultural norms that no one is attacking anymore, and the right keeps manufacturing outrage against enemies who no longer exist. Everyone’s fighting yesterday’s war because it’s safer than confronting today’s uncertainty.</p>
  367.  
  368.  
  369.  
  370. <p>And there’s a deeper reason we can’t let go: For a lot of people, acolytes and heretics, friend and foe, pro and con, the social justice era was the last time politics felt truly <em>alive</em>. For a while, there was a sense that words mattered, that the culture could change overnight, that history was moving. It was often ugly, always performative, and usually absurd, and in so many ways I’m glad it&#8217;s gone … but it was <em>something</em>. Compare that to the flat, affectless politics of 2025, numbness In the face of real crisis, where every controversy is instantly monetized and forgotten. No wonder people cling to the memory. But nostalgia isn’t analysis. Pretending that the moral consensus of 2015 still rules is like insisting that disco still dominates pop music because you once owned a pair of bell-bottoms. The world has changed, even if admitting it makes us feel unmoored. The social justice era is over, and what comes next is unclear. But clarity requires honesty, and honesty requires saying the thing no one wants to say: The revolution came and went. All of that’s over now.</p>
  371.  
  372.  
  373.  
  374. <p class="is-td-marked">The moral vocabulary that once governed polite society now feels antique, like the slang of a defunct subculture. The rituals continue out of inertia, the way people still say “bless you” after sneezes. The establishmentarian liberals can’t admit they’ve lost hegemony; the right can’t admit they’ve won. And so the corpse lies there, embalmed in discourse, while everyone keeps insisting they can still hear it breathe. <a href="https://substack.com/profile/4284444-constance-di-nobile" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"></a></p>
  375. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/after-the-social-justice-era-what/">After the Social Justice Era — What?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  376. ]]></content:encoded>
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  379. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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  384. </item>
  385. <item>
  386. <title>OpenAI’s New Energy Chief Is a Trump Administration Natural Gas Evangelist</title>
  387. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/openais-new-energy-chief-is-a-trump-administration-natural-gas-evangelist/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=openais-new-energy-chief-is-a-trump-administration-natural-gas-evangelist</link>
  388. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/openais-new-energy-chief-is-a-trump-administration-natural-gas-evangelist/#respond</comments>
  390. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rei Takver /  DeSmog ]]></dc:creator>
  391. <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:32:48 +0000</pubDate>
  392. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  393. <category><![CDATA[Business & Economy]]></category>
  394. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  395. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  396. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
  397. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  398. <category><![CDATA[data centers]]></category>
  399. <category><![CDATA[natural gas]]></category>
  400. <category><![CDATA[oil and gas industry]]></category>
  401. <category><![CDATA[OpenAI]]></category>
  402. <category><![CDATA[sam altman]]></category>
  403. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312421</guid>
  404.  
  405. <description><![CDATA[<p>The ChatGPT creator hired John McCarrick, a gas-loving former Trump energy official, to guide how the company will source huge quantities of power for its colossal supercomputers.</p>
  406. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/openais-new-energy-chief-is-a-trump-administration-natural-gas-evangelist/">OpenAI’s New Energy Chief Is a Trump Administration Natural Gas Evangelist</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  407. ]]></description>
  408. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  409. <p><strong>As artificial intelligence company OpenAI</strong> plans its rapid construction of behemoth power-guzzling data centers to fuel the AI boom, it has hired a new energy chief — an official from the first <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration who is a dedicated champion of natural gas.<br>&nbsp;<br>John McCarrick, the company’s new head of Global Energy Policy, was a senior energy policy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mccarrick-b8595054/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">adviser</a>&nbsp;in the first <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration’s Bureau of Energy Resources in the State Department under former Secretaries Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo.<br>&nbsp;<br>As deputy assistant secretary for Energy Transformation and the special envoy for International Energy Affairs, McCarrick&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/121217_McCarrick_Testimony.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">promoted exports</a>&nbsp;of American liquefied natural gas to Europe in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rigzone.com/news/trump_admin_wants_to_make_asia_great_for_energy_investors-16-oct-2018-157214-article/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">advocated</a>&nbsp;for Asian countries to&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250129142633/https://2017-2020.usaid.gov/asia-regional/fact-sheets/usaid-rdma-asia-edge-enhancing-development-and-growth-through-energy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">invest in natural gas</a>.</p>
  410.  
  411.  
  412.  
  413. <p>The choice to hire McCarrick matches the intentions of OpenAI’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/12/13/nx-s1-5227874/trump-bezos-zuckerberg-amazon-facebook-open-ai-meta-inauguration-fund" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Trump-dominating</a>&nbsp;CEO Sam Altman,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.techpolicy.press/transcript-sam-altman-testifies-at-us-senate-hearing-on-ai-competitiveness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">who said in a U.S. Senate hearing in May</a>&nbsp;that “in the short term, I think [the future of powering AI] probably looks like more natural gas.”</p>
  414.  
  415.  
  416.  
  417. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The “solution” of powering AI with gas is part of Trump’s AI energy policy platform.</p></blockquote></figure>
  418.  
  419.  
  420.  
  421. <p>It also aligns with the company’s early moves toward powering new data centers, huge warehouses full of linked-up computers that require enormous quantities of water and electricity, to run with gas. OpenAI’s <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-whats-in-stargate-the-usd500-billion-trump-endorsed-plan-to-power-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Stargate Project</a>&nbsp;site in Texas, which is slated to become one of the largest data center sites in the world, is already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stargate-data-center-powered-by-natural-gas-2025-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">installing</a>&nbsp;off-grid gas turbines to power its operations.</p>
  422.  
  423.  
  424.  
  425. <p>“Big Tech’s collusion with the Trump administration’s fossil fuel agenda for artificial intelligence is evident in their massive investment in methane gas power infrastructure — as well as pro-gas political operatives like McCarrick,” Tyson Slocum, director of the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen’s Energy Program, said.<br> <br>The “solution” of powering AI with gas is part of Trump’s AI energy policy platform. In a July speech to announce a $96 billion AI and energy funding package, Trump <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/trump-energy-industry-ai-fossil-fuels-pittsburgh-summit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">lauded</a> fossil fuel and coal-powered data center development while <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-attend-ai-energy-summit-pittsburgh-2025-06-12/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">flanked</a> by oil and gas executives.<br> <br>By installing gas turbines to power its data centers, OpenAI has joined a growing cadre of tech giants, including <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/21/gas-power-plants-approved-for-metas-10b-data-center-and-not-everyone-is-happy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Meta</a>, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/06/elon-musk-xai-memphis-gas-turbines-air-pollution-permits-00317582" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">xAI</a>, and <a href="https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-granted-permission-to-run-its-dublin-data-center-on-gas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Microsoft</a>, that have begun installing gas-powered generators at their data center sites to meet the surging energy demands of the supercomputer complexes.<br> <br>OpenAI has additionally chosen not to disclose the carbon footprint of ChatGPT-5, its most advanced AI model to date, although researchers told the Guardian that it uses “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/09/open-ai-chat-gpt5-energy-use" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">a significantly larger amount of energy</a>” than responses from GPT-40. The company, which is <a href="https://openai.com/index/introducing-stargate-uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">rapidly expanding</a> internationally, has not formally announced climate or sustainability targets.<br> <br>Altman has also said that he believes artificial intelligence will solve climate change, even though the technology’s voracious, ever-expanding demand for electricity poses a serious threat to net-zero targets worldwide.<br> <br>“I don’t want to say this, because climate change is so serious and so hard of a problem,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-0XqTAeMQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Altman said in a 2023 interview</a>. “But I think once we have a really powerful superintelligence, addressing climate change will not be particularly difficult for a system like that.”<br> <br>As Altman’s energy pick, McCarrick has a long history of hawking oil and gas. Previously, McCarrick advised on energy policy for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign. At the time, Romney, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2012/08/23/159926765/romney-energy-plan-touts-oil-gas-coal-production" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">who did not mention</a> climate change in his energy platform, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-politics/romney-obama-in-rare-battle-over-energy-policy-idUSBRE87B0JA/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">advocated for</a> the U.S. to ramp up coal and other forms of fossil fuel production.<br> <br>Even earlier, as a senior energy policy adviser for the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008, McCarrick <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mccarrick-b8595054/details/experience/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">claimed to be</a> the source of its “‘all of the above’ energy strategy” in his LinkedIn profile.</p>
  426.  
  427.  
  428.  
  429. <p>At a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iolgiIvfV-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">campaign rally</a>&nbsp;in 2008, vice presidential candidate and then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin adopted the phrase, announcing: “John [McCain] and I will adopt the all of the above approach,” she said, listing a variety of cleaner energy sources before adding, “we’ll develop clean coal technology, and we’ll drill for the billions of barrels of oil and that we have right now warehoused underground including our resources offshore. We will drill here and drill now — and here’s where you chant. ‘Drill, baby, drill.’”</p>
  430.  
  431.  
  432.  
  433. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>As Altman’s energy pick, McCarrick has a long history of hawking oil and gas.</p></blockquote></figure>
  434.  
  435.  
  436.  
  437. <p>Hiring a former member of Trump’s team aligns OpenAI even more closely with the current Trump administration.</p>
  438.  
  439.  
  440.  
  441. <p>OpenAI’s CEO Altman already donated $1 million to the Trump inauguration fund. He also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-and-us-to-sign-massive-tech-trade-deals-worth-billions-during-trump-and-big-tech-tour" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">accompanied Trump to the U.K.</a>&nbsp;in September for the president’s second state visit where Trump announced the U.S.-U.K. Technology Prosperity Deal.<br>&nbsp;<br>Altman’s history with climate deniers goes back to the roots of his career. His&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-optimist-open-ai-sam-altman/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">mentor<u>&nbsp;</u></a>is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.desmog.com/peter-thiel/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Peter Thiel</a>, PayPal founder and CEO of data analytics software giant Palantir, who has a history of climate denialist statements. Thiel is also a longtime Trump donor, having given at least $1.75 million to Trump campaigns from 2016 to 2020.&nbsp;</p>
  442.  
  443.  
  444.  
  445. <p>The Palantir CEO has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/joe-rogan-continues-cast-doubt-climate-science-joe-rogan-experience" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">claimed</a>&nbsp;climate science is “fake science,” has&nbsp;<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/200471/peter-thiel-obsession-antichrist-religion" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">called climate activist Greta Thunberg</a>&nbsp;the “Antichrist” and has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/01/a-science-journal-funded-by-peter-thiel-is-running-articles-dismissing-climate-change-and-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">funded a science journal</a>&nbsp;that publishes climate denial.</p>
  446.  
  447.  
  448.  
  449. <p>In 2022, Altman also&nbsp;donated over $32,000&nbsp;to climate denier&nbsp;<a href="https://www.desmog.com/michael-shellenberger/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Michael Shellenberger’s</a>&nbsp;failed campaign for governor of California.</p>
  450.  
  451.  
  452.  
  453. <p>Shellenberger has made extensive claims denying the severity of climate change,&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200630234514/https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/2020/6/29/on-behalf-of-environmentalists-i-apologize-for-the-climate-scare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">including that</a>&nbsp;“humans are not causing a ‘sixth mass&nbsp;extinction,’” that&nbsp;“the Amazon is not ‘the lungs of the&nbsp;world’” and that “climate change is not making natural disasters&nbsp;worse.”</p>
  454.  
  455.  
  456.  
  457. <p>Shellenberger is well known for his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciStnd9Y2ak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">advocacy</a>&nbsp;for nuclear energy. When he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0_rVGnfYns" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">announced his run for governor</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;Joe Rogan podcast, he argued that “nuclear power is the future.”</p>
  458.  
  459.  
  460.  
  461. <p>Shellenberger’s views on nuclear power align with Altman’s own long-held positions on energy. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.samaltman.com/energy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">2015 post</a>&nbsp;on Altman’s personal website, he argued, “The 20th century was the century of carbon-based energy.&nbsp;I am confident the 22nd century is going to be the century of atomic energy.”<br>&nbsp;<br>Altman then expressed doubt as to the energy sources of our own era: “I am unsure how the majority of the 21st century will be powered,” he wrote.</p>
  462.  
  463.  
  464.  
  465. <p>If John McCarrick has his way, it appears the answer to Altman’s lack of surety is — gas. McCarrick appears to be&nbsp;<a href="https://energy-dialogues.com/nagf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">a speaker at the North American Gas Forum</a>&nbsp;in Washington, D.C., in December.</p>
  466. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/openais-new-energy-chief-is-a-trump-administration-natural-gas-evangelist/">OpenAI’s New Energy Chief Is a Trump Administration Natural Gas Evangelist</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  467. ]]></content:encoded>
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  477. <title>How a Scottish Maritime Museum Ended Up in Israel’s 3D Propaganda Videos</title>
  478. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-a-scottish-maritime-museum-ended-up-in-israels-3d-propaganda-videos/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-a-scottish-maritime-museum-ended-up-in-israels-3d-propaganda-videos</link>
  479. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-a-scottish-maritime-museum-ended-up-in-israels-3d-propaganda-videos/#respond</comments>
  481. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Oren Ziv /  +972 Magazine ]]></dc:creator>
  482. <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 15:35:41 +0000</pubDate>
  483. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
  484. <category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
  485. <category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
  486. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  487. <category><![CDATA[gaza]]></category>
  488. <category><![CDATA[hamas]]></category>
  489. <category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
  490. <category><![CDATA[mainstream media]]></category>
  491. <category><![CDATA[propaganda]]></category>
  492. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312391</guid>
  493.  
  494. <description><![CDATA[<p>An analysis of Israeli army animations used to justify Gaza strikes, and amplified by international outlets, discovered digital assets sourced not from classified intelligence but commercial libraries and content creators.</p>
  495. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-a-scottish-maritime-museum-ended-up-in-israels-3d-propaganda-videos/">How a Scottish Maritime Museum Ended Up in Israel’s 3D Propaganda Videos</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  496. ]]></description>
  497. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  498. <p><strong>On Oct. 27, 2023</strong>, the Israeli army released an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pTYHBZVgVQ" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">animated video</a> claiming to reveal what lay beneath al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex. It showed underground tunnels, bunkers and a Hamas command room — all depicted through slick 3D graphics.</p>
  499.  
  500.  
  501.  
  502. <p>“That information is ironclad,” <a href="https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20231027_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper/start/1951/end/2011" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">insisted</a> Mark Regev, then a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during an interview the same day on CNN. “It’s based on Israeli intelligence.”</p>
  503.  
  504.  
  505.  
  506. <p>Israel’s first raid on the hospital would not come until mid-November. But the narrative had already been set. The clip was pushed simultaneously across the army’s Telegram, Facebook, YouTube, X and Instagram accounts. On Netanyahu’s own X profile, it drew <a href="https://x.com/netanyahu/status/1717916845859078531?lang=en" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">tens of millions of views</a>. Over the subsequent weeks, dozens of international outlets would rebroadcast it for their own audiences, invariably accompanied by <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamass-main-operations-base-is-under-shifa-hospital-in-gaza-city-says-idf/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Israel’s claim</a> that the hospital served as Hamas’ “main operations base” in Gaza.</p>
  507.  
  508.  
  509.  
  510. <p>But no such base was ever discovered. Moreover, the command room featured in the video was not unique; it had already appeared more than a year earlier in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CghR18-j7To/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">another animation</a> published by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), illustrating what it said was a tunnel beneath a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Gaza. The surrounding streets in the &#8220;al-Shifa&#8221; video, meanwhile, were populated with storefronts from a commercial 3D asset pack — replete with fictional establishments like “Fabio’s Pizzeria,” “Andre’s Bakery” and “Revolution Bike Shop.”</p>
  511.  
  512.  
  513.  
  514. <p>The al-Shifa animation would become one of the most notorious examples of Israel’s new wartime communication strategy. It also marked the beginning of an accelerated phase of production within the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit: Having published only a handful of 3D visualizations before Oct. 7, the unit has since released dozens of similar videos depicting supposed terror sites in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. </p>
  515.  
  516.  
  517.  
  518. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="768" height="432" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Orens-3d-animation-investigation-1.gif?width=768&#038;height=432" alt="" class="wp-image-312392" style="width:840px;height:auto" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Images from KitBash3D’s commercially available “Storefronts” asset pack appear in the Israeli army’s animation of al-Shifa Hospital. (via +972 Magazine)<br></figcaption></figure>
  519.  
  520.  
  521.  
  522. <p>Over time, these illustrations coalesced into a distinct and consistent visual style. They usually begin with satellite imagery, followed by transitions into 3D visualizations that then often present an X-ray wireframe view of an interior or underground scene, intercut with real drone footage of airstrikes or bombings.</p>
  523.  
  524.  
  525.  
  526. <p>The blending of these elements gives the impression of seamless factual continuity. But instead of revealing hidden truths — as Israeli military officials insist, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&amp;v=bMnC5dhpxRg" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">as</a> <a href="https://archive.org/details/BBCNEWS_20250614_150000_BBC_News/start/420/end/480" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">the</a> <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/22/hezbollah-hoarding-500m-money-bunker-beirut/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">international</a> <a href="https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/tagesschau/video/tagesschau-vom-23-09-2024-hauptausgabe?urn=urn:srf:video:cd33dda8-7120-4e07-a218-a22e0e70e6e2" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">media</a> <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-3047641/Video-IDF-claims-network-Hamas-tunnels-Gazas-Shifa-hospital.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">readily</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSdjCuXxf60" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">amplifies</a> — the visualizations actually blur them. </p>
  527.  
  528.  
  529.  
  530. <p>A monthslong investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call, together with the research collective Viewfinder, the Swiss network SRF and the Scottish outlet The Ferret, analyzed 43 animations produced by the Israeli army since Oct. 7 and found that many contain serious spatial inaccuracies or prefabricated assets — sourced not from classified intelligence but rather from commercial libraries, content creators and cultural institutions.</p>
  531.  
  532.  
  533.  
  534. <p>Interviews with soldiers involved in the production of these videos further illuminate how the army prioritizes the aesthetic value of the animations over their accuracy, while animators routinely embellish in order to emphasize a supposed threat.&nbsp;</p>
  535.  
  536.  
  537.  
  538. <p>The outcome is a communications campaign that mimics the graphics of forensic reconstructions in pursuit of legitimizing military strikes on civilian infrastructure. And as most of the sites depicted in the army’s animations remain inaccessible to journalists and researchers, and many have been blown up or demolished, Israel’s illustrated allegations effectively defy verification.</p>
  539.  
  540.  
  541.  
  542. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘They look sexy and professional’</h3>
  543.  
  544.  
  545.  
  546. <p>Most, if not all, of these animations are produced in house by a dedicated team within the Spokesperson’s Unit, consisting of only a handful of soldiers. Former members nickname it the “After Effects Cell,” referencing a popular graphic design software created by the U.S. company Adobe. The team consists of motion designers, 3D modelers and animators who work primarily with Adobe’s products but also pull from open-source software like <a href="https://www.blender.org/about/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Blender</a>.</p>
  547.  
  548.  
  549.  
  550. <p>Officially, every video created by the cell is cleared for publication by an intelligence officer. But the distinction between illustration and evidence is porous. Missing details are simply filled in. Prefabricated assets and recycled interiors are assembled quickly into a coherent scene and then passed upstream for approval.</p>
  551.  
  552.  
  553.  
  554. <p>A reservist who served in the unit during the current war, and agreed to speak about the 3D work on condition of anonymity, said soldiers “have to sign a confidentiality agreement, then they receive the information and begin to work. Sometimes they receive a 3D model that intelligence has already prepared and work based on that foundation. They’re told, ‘This is the building, here’s a photo or video, on this and that floor there’s something,’ and then they [create animations] based on what they receive.”</p>
  555.  
  556.  
  557.  
  558. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  559. <span class="aspect-w-16 aspect-h-9 block relative"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ciNEkN7n52s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen> frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></span>
  560. </div></figure>
  561.  
  562.  
  563.  
  564. <p>While denying that there is a culture of lying with regard to the cell’s animations, the former unit member said embellishment is routine. “If the commander wants to add more lathes [machines that can be used to produce weapons], then they’ll add more so it looks more powerful,” the source said. “The model is approved by an intelligence official; it’s not a complete illustration, but when information is missing or they don’t know exactly what will be there and it’s meant to demonstrate something, then you illustrate it. </p>
  565.  
  566.  
  567.  
  568. <p>“Usually, they prepare the model before the strike,” the reservist added. “There were cases where, because they didn’t plan ahead or didn’t update the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit in advance [about an airstrike], they had to create the model afterward.”</p>
  569.  
  570.  
  571.  
  572. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The former unit member said embellishment is routine.</p></blockquote></figure>
  573.  
  574.  
  575.  
  576. <p>Production is guided less by precision than by aesthetics and speed. “Some of the models are made [by the army] for the videos,” one former animator in the unit said. “Others are taken from other places because they don’t have any intelligence significance. It serves the purpose.”</p>
  577.  
  578.  
  579.  
  580. <p>Another reservist, who served during the first months of the war in a unit involved in communication with international actors, said: “They look sexy, they look professional, and obviously the average person doesn’t go down into the details. The models just make the military look more professional, like a high-tech company with cool diagrams and cool technology. So whenever we had them, we would present them to explain why the IDF is [doing something].” </p>
  581.  
  582.  
  583.  
  584. <p>But this source was skeptical about the results. “I always thought it was very crude, but I never found it particularly compelling. And I’m sure most of the international actors weren’t always convinced that [the intelligence we presented] justified killing tons of civilians or destroying a hospital.”</p>
  585.  
  586.  
  587.  
  588. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">From a Port Orchard parking lot to a Gaza City high-rise</h3>
  589.  
  590.  
  591.  
  592. <p>The Israeli army presents these videos as intelligence-derived illustrations. But in reality, many of the environments they depict are, at least in part, borrowed from artists far removed from the battlefield.</p>
  593.  
  594.  
  595.  
  596. <p>Our analysis of the army’s animations found that more than half contained 3D assets taken from third-party sources. Over 50 third-party assets were identified in total, which were replicated hundreds of times across animations of sites ranging from Gaza to Iran.</p>
  597.  
  598.  
  599.  
  600. <p>A parking lot in Washington state, a boat-building workshop in Scotland and commercial storefront kits from the video game industry — all of these have been inserted, without credit, into animations presented as “illustrations” of Hamas bunkers or Iranian weapons facilities.</p>
  601.  
  602.  
  603.  
  604. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="768" height="432" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2.gif?width=768&#038;height=432" alt="" class="wp-image-312393" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A 3D asset of an electrical utility box in Port Orchard, Wash., used by artist Ian Hubert in his “Dynamo Dream” sci-fi series appeared in an animation released by the Israeli army showing Iran&#8217;s Fordow uranium enrichment plant. (via +972 Magazine)</figcaption></figure>
  605.  
  606.  
  607.  
  608. <p>Many of these 3D models were acquired by the army in online marketplaces, such as KitBash3D (where an entire asset pack depicting <a href="https://kitbash3d.com/products/props-military-outpost" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">military outposts</a> or <a href="https://kitbash3d.com/products/storefronts" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">storefronts</a> is sold for around $100-200) and Sketchfab (where equipment like a <a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/cutter-machine-ea44a8bafd6e4beb87e3258e5e308007" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">video editing machine</a> are available free of charge under Creative Commons licenses). </p>
  609.  
  610.  
  611.  
  612. <p>Others were acquired from 3D artists like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@IanHubert2" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Ian Hubert</a>, who share their work with paid subscribers on websites like Patreon. The popular American content creator has produced <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/IanHubert/posts" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">photogrammetry scans</a> of utility poles, parking lots and street corners in his hometown of Port Orchard, Wash., alongside renderings of pipes and antennas that he designed from scratch — all of which are available to subscribers on Patreon for around $7 a month. </p>
  613.  
  614.  
  615.  
  616. <p>More than 30 of these assets now appear in the Israeli military’s animations of high-rises in Gaza, tunnels in Beirut and nuclear sites in Iran. (Hubert had not responded to a request for comment by publication time.)</p>
  617.  
  618.  
  619.  
  620. <p>The Israeli army has also made use of 3D assets from the Scottish Maritime Museum under an unrestricted Creative Commons license. Workbenches, cabinets and an electrical box — uploaded as part of a photogrammetry project relating to a 2019 boat-building workshop — have been identified in animations depicting underground missile factories in Syria and Iran. (The museum stated that once it uploads digital models of its collection online for purposes such as conservation and research, it “has no control over how the data is subsequently accessed, downloaded, or used.”)</p>
  621.  
  622.  
  623.  
  624. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>As international media outlets rushed to cover the event, dozens republished the animation in part or in full.</p></blockquote></figure>
  625.  
  626.  
  627.  
  628. <p>In some cases, the “illustration” goes one step further, with fabricated environments replacing real places. In September 2024, the Israeli army published an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me43AKGQjDA" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">animation</a> depicting houses in southern Lebanon that it claimed were concealing missiles. Our investigation identified the area that the video zooms in on from a satellite image to be the outskirts of the village of Yater.</p>
  629.  
  630.  
  631.  
  632. <p>Yet, a visit to the village last week found that no such buildings or streets as those depicted in the video exist in this area — and not because they were destroyed by the Israeli army, which bombed only a handful of sites in Yater. Indeed, the houses in the video are entirely fabricated, featuring <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NgWAbif7ShoYMIe71RkKt3Qnr75XzLBavtP4fTk-7b8/edit?slide=id.g344b8815d44_0_349#slide=id.g344b8815d44_0_349" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">at least three unique models</a> from Hubert’s “<a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/asset-antenna-48693945?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&amp;utm_source=copyLink&amp;utm_campaign=postshare_fan&amp;utm_content=web_share" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Antenna Kit</a>,” published in March 2021.</p>
  633.  
  634.  
  635.  
  636. <p>When Israel attacked Iran in June this year, the army <a href="https://x.com/idfonline/status/1933479692339753013" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">released a similar 3D model</a> depicting a uranium enrichment site in Natanz. As international media outlets rushed to cover the event, dozens republished the animation in part or in full, including the <a href="https://archive.org/details/BBCNEWS_20250614_150000_BBC_News/start/420/end/480" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/14/world/video/smr-israel-iran-trade-attacks-after-israel-targets-nuclear-sites" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">CNN</a> and <a href="https://news.sky.com/video/idf-shows-recreated-video-of-iran-nuclear-site-at-natanz-13383152" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Sky News</a>. The interior of the facility depicted in the animation includes at least six of Hubert’s 3D assets, collectively replicated over 150 times.</p>
  637.  
  638.  
  639.  
  640. <p>More recently, the army <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/1963910424694280403" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">posted a 3D animation</a> depicting the interior of the Mushtaha Tower in Gaza City shortly after bombing it in early September as part of the systematic destruction of the city’s high-rises.</p>
  641.  
  642.  
  643.  
  644. <p>The animation contains several third-party assets, including a portion of a 3D scan of the Scottish Maritime Museum’s boat-building workshop, as well as additional assets from Hubert’s Patreon, including an electrical meter from Port Orchard and three scans of parking lots.</p>
  645.  
  646.  
  647.  
  648. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="768" height="432" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/boat-full.gif?width=768&#038;height=432" alt="" class="wp-image-312394" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Elements of 3D scans made by the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland, were used to depict underground facilities in Syria and Iran in animations published by the Israeli army. (via +972 Magazine)</figcaption></figure>
  649.  
  650.  
  651.  
  652. <p>The final section of the video zooms out from the tower to showcase a wider swath of Gaza City and its urban architecture. This scene uses a satellite image base layer from 2024, identifiable through a Star of David pattern&nbsp;<a href="http://ynet.co.il/news/article/h1hjmxhea" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">etched into the soil</a>&nbsp;of nearby Green Battalion Square by a soldier using a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer.&nbsp;</p>
  653.  
  654.  
  655.  
  656. <p>By 2024, and certainly by the time the animation was published last month, much of the neighborhood had been destroyed by airstrikes and explosive munitions. Yet the army’s 3D illustration depicts a pre-Oct. 7 urban landscape, with most of the buildings around the tower still standing, obscuring the scale of the ongoing destruction.</p>
  657.  
  658.  
  659.  
  660. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Delegitimize and confuse</h3>
  661.  
  662.  
  663.  
  664. <p>The power of these animations lies primarily in how they circulate. Animations are released in lockstep with Israel’s public messaging — sometimes after a strike, sometimes immediately before one, and often to preemptively signal that an area might be targeted. The clip will typically be pushed across the army’s Telegram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Instagram channels, and may be paired with a press conference by an IDF spokesperson.</p>
  665.  
  666.  
  667.  
  668. <p>Faced with breaking developments and a shortage of verified imagery, international media outlets will invariably opt to use these ready-made visuals, in many cases amplifying them uncritically. They fill airtime, illustrate complex operations and give the impression of insider knowledge.</p>
  669.  
  670.  
  671.  
  672. <p>Almost all of the animations published by the army contain the word “illustration” in the bottom corner. But the meaning of that tag is left deliberately vague. Different outlets engage with this qualification in different ways; some emphasize it with skepticism, others ignore it entirely. (In a statement in response to this investigation, the BBC said: “We use third party graphics with attribution. In this case we have been clear that the animations have been released by the IDF.”)</p>
  673.  
  674.  
  675.  
  676. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>International media outlets will invariably opt to use these ready-made visuals, in many cases amplifying them uncritically.</p></blockquote></figure>
  677.  
  678.  
  679.  
  680. <p>In a Hebrew-language <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqFuVee64VM&amp;t=7s" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">video</a> posted to the army’s TikTok account after the June 2025 attack on Iran, soldiers from the unit describe having worked for almost a month under what they call “prime-minister-level secrecy” to produce illustrations justifying the airstrikes. A nuclear scientist was <a href="https://www.idf.il/%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%99%D7%97%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9A-%D7%93%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A8-%D7%A6%D7%94-%D7%9C/%D7%9B%D7%9C-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA/2025/%D7%91%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9A-%D7%97%D7%95%D7%93%D7%A9-%D7%94%D7%9D-%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%95-%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%94%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%92%D7%A2-%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93-%D7%94%D7%95%D7%90-%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%A9%D7%A3-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9D/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">brought in</a> to explain how centrifuges functioned so that animators could recreate them in 3D, the soldiers said. By the time the strike order was given, the animations were already finished.</p>
  681.  
  682.  
  683.  
  684. <p>One soldier explains: “They simply told us, ‘There will likely be an attack on Iran and we need to be ready, and you are responsible for [making] the messaging for a video. Simplify everything: what’s going to happen, who is being attacked, what is being attacked, the locations, why.’”</p>
  685.  
  686.  
  687.  
  688. <p>“We conducted ourselves in secret every day as if the attack were happening tomorrow,” another soldier recounts in the TikTok. “When they finally told us, ‘We’re attacking Iran today,’ we understood the magnitude of it. And 30 hours later our products were everywhere .… We translated everything into different languages. CNN and other really influential channels in the United States broadcast what we made.”</p>
  689.  
  690.  
  691.  
  692. <p>Experts have compared the aesthetics of the army’s burgeoning animation campaign with the fields of visual and open-source investigations, which are becoming increasingly popular for covering areas where traditional news reporting can be difficult. </p>
  693.  
  694.  
  695.  
  696. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="432" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/5.gif?width=768&#038;height=432" alt="" class="wp-image-312395" data-recalc-dims="1"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">International media outlets broadcasting animations produced by the Israeli army. (via +972 Magazine)</figcaption></figure>
  697.  
  698.  
  699.  
  700. <p>“I think the visual lexicon of open-source investigation is something that the Israelis have co-opted as a way to try to delegitimize [those investigations] and confuse,” said Elizabeth Breiner, head of programs at the Forensic Architecture research center at Goldsmiths, University of London. “These visuals are open about their status as something in between the real and the imaginary, but the real harm is that they stick with people well beyond the point after which something may have been functionally disproven.”</p>
  701.  
  702.  
  703.  
  704. <p>Eyad Elyan, a Palestinian academic at Scotland’s Robert Gordon University specializing in artificial intelligence and 3D modeling, said he was “deeply disturbed” to learn that Israel has been using Scottish assets in its propaganda animations. “This aligns with Israel and the IDF’s long history of exploiting others’ resources and employing every means possible to promote baseless claims,” he said. </p>
  705.  
  706.  
  707.  
  708. <p>“What is especially troubling, however, is how such fabricated content is uncritically accepted and amplified by mainstream media outlets,” Elyan said. “Much of this material consisted of outright falsehoods — for instance, the widely circulated animation alleging that Hamas operated a command center beneath al-Shifa Hospital. No such facility was found, but [this claim] was used to destroy almost the entire health care system in Gaza.”</p>
  709.  
  710.  
  711.  
  712. <p>In response to our investigation, the Israeli army stated that “claims regarding inaccuracies or the use of ‘exaggerated’ elements do not reflect reality and are simply unfounded,” and that “all content is based on verified intelligence from a variety of sources.”&nbsp;</p>
  713.  
  714.  
  715.  
  716. <p>The statement continued: “When three-dimensional or animated visualizations are used, it is clearly indicated, and their purpose is to present complex information in a clear and accessible visual manner — not to produce an exact reconstruction of every physical detail in the area.”</p>
  717.  
  718.  
  719.  
  720. <p>The army added: “The purpose of these illustrations is to demonstrate a reality that has been repeatedly proven on the ground — that terrorist organizations embed their assets within such infrastructure and operate under the cover of the civilian population.”</p>
  721.  
  722.  
  723.  
  724. <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>This investigation was initiated in January 2025 by Jack Sapoch, Robin Kötzle, Nicole Vögele and Jake Charles Rees as part of Viewfinder, an independent research collective.</em></p>
  725. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-a-scottish-maritime-museum-ended-up-in-israels-3d-propaganda-videos/">How a Scottish Maritime Museum Ended Up in Israel’s 3D Propaganda Videos</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  726. ]]></content:encoded>
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  735. <item>
  736. <title>The Zombie War on Terror Is Upon Us</title>
  737. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-zombie-war-on-terror-is-upon-us/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-zombie-war-on-terror-is-upon-us</link>
  738. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-zombie-war-on-terror-is-upon-us/#respond</comments>
  740. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Branko Marcetic /  Responsible Statecraft ]]></dc:creator>
  741. <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 15:22:17 +0000</pubDate>
  742. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  743. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  744. <category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
  745. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  746. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  747. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  748. <category><![CDATA[al-Qaida]]></category>
  749. <category><![CDATA[drone strikes]]></category>
  750. <category><![CDATA[taliban]]></category>
  751. <category><![CDATA[venezuela]]></category>
  752. <category><![CDATA[war on terror]]></category>
  753. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312387</guid>
  754.  
  755. <description><![CDATA[<p>The al-Qaida and Taliban threats are long gone but the tools and weapons we created to fight them are finding more monsters to destroy.</p>
  756. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-zombie-war-on-terror-is-upon-us/">The Zombie War on Terror Is Upon Us</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  757. ]]></description>
  758. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  759. <p><strong>There is good news</strong> and bad news for critics of the United States’ bloated 21st century war machine. The good news: The “war on terror” is dead.</p>
  760.  
  761.  
  762.  
  763. <p>The bad news? It seems to have become a part of the walking dead — a kind of zombie war on terror that is continuing and radically expanding, even as the fears and threats that originally motivated all its excesses are seemingly vanishing from the American psyche.</p>
  764.  
  765.  
  766.  
  767. <p>Consider the following facts: Despite the public release only a few years ago of <a href="https://jacobin.com/2024/05/saudi-arabia-9-11-al-bayoumi-revelations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">evidence</a> showing the Saudi government’s direct complicity in the crime of Sept. 11, 2001 — the central, instigating act of terrorism that drove and justified every aspect of the war on terror that followed — associating with or even taking money from that same government appears to carry no stigma. The <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/joe-biden/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="5" title="Joe Biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden</a> administration’s <a href="https://jacobin.com/2023/08/joe-biden-saudi-arabia-monarchy-mutual-defense-pact-war-foreign-relations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">efforts</a> to pledge American lives and treasure to defend that same government elicited relatively little controversy. And this year, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/riyadh-comedy-festival-comedians-line-up-controversy-10805331" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">dozens</a> of top U.S. comedians, from the left-leaning Bill Burr to the right-leaning Andrew Schulz, happily took its money to help whitewash its image. The Saudi government’s expanding <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/09/30/ea-games-saudi-arabia-trump" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">encroachment</a> into <a href="https://soulofsaudi.com/saudi-arabia-entertainment-industry-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">U.S. sports</a> and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/saudi-film-1236389032/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">entertainment</a> in general continues only to receive an eager welcome.</p>
  768.  
  769.  
  770.  
  771. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The war on terror is not just still with us, it’s expanding in radical new ways.</p></blockquote></figure>
  772.  
  773.  
  774.  
  775. <p>Meanwhile, after spending more than a decade fighting the shadowy threat of al-Qaida, the U.S. government has now seemingly come to terms with the terror group’s ongoing influence in the region. It has enthusiastically gone along with the installation of an al-Qaida-linked militant, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as the leader of Syria, whose former president Washington spent years trying to remove from power <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/obama-administration-renews-sanctions-on-syria-idUSTRE54766P/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">expressly</a> <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004-06/us-sanctions-syria" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">because of</a> his alleged support for terrorism — <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/sanctioning-syria-moment-opportunity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">including</a> the very al-Qaida its new president hails from.</p>
  776.  
  777.  
  778.  
  779. <p>Sharaa swiftly had the $10 million U.S. bounty on his head removed, the terrorist designation of the al-Qaida offshoot he led has been revoked, and just a few weeks ago, he was given a warm welcome during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where on one stage, former CIA Director David Petraeus <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/23/syrian-president-al-sharaa-sits-down-with-us-general-who-arrested-him" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">acknowledged</a> the two had been on opposite sides of the civil war in Iraq 20 years ago, in between lavishing him with praise and declaring himself a “fan.”</p>
  780.  
  781.  
  782.  
  783. <p>It’s not just al-Qaida. The <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/joe-biden/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="5" title="Joe Biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden</a> administration had <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/biden-admin-weighs-cooperation-taliban-counter-isis-k-rcna159789" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">explored</a> teaming up with the Taliban to fight Islamic State&#8217;s branch in Afghanistan, while the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration is now <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/politics/taliban-talks-trump-administration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">inching</a> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/21/classifying-taliban-as-foreign-terrorist-organization-under-review-us" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">toward</a> normalizing relations with the group, which George W. Bush once <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-107hdoc122/html/CDOC-107hdoc122.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">said</a> was “threatening people everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists.”</p>
  784.  
  785.  
  786.  
  787. <p>The Taliban’s link to al-Qaida was, once upon a time, the rationale for regime change and 20 years of U.S. war in Afghanistan — which, of course, ended with the Taliban coming back into power, which Washington appears to be coming to peace with now.</p>
  788.  
  789.  
  790.  
  791. <p>Together, these stories suggest that both the American public and the Washington national security establishment have moved on from the core motivations that drove the war on terror for the better part of two decades. Al-Qaida, the Taliban, the government forces behind Sept. 11 — none of it matters anymore, apparently.</p>
  792.  
  793.  
  794.  
  795. <p>And yet the war on terror is not just still with us, it’s expanding in radical new ways. The <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration has now <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5534420/trumps-approach-to-cartels-mirrors-the-global-war-on-terror-officials-say" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">explicitly</a> <a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-911/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">repurposed</a> the tactics and powers used against terrorism against a new, unrelated target: drug traffickers — launching airstrikes on private Venezuelan boats in international waters on <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/10/02/venezuela-boat-strike-justification/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">the basis</a> that drug smugglers are terrorists, and that their transportation of drugs constitutes “an armed attack against the United States.” This is despite widespread <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/121844/trump-notice-drug-cartels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">doubts</a> about the legality of such strikes and <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/dangerous-sweep-trumps-plan-designate-cartels-terrorist-organizations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">concerns</a> about the risks of this terrorist designation.</p>
  796.  
  797.  
  798.  
  799. <p>Meanwhile, Trump has also continued and escalated the trend <a href="https://jacobin.com/2022/05/domestic-terrorism-prevention-act-biden-house-squad" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">started</a> under the Biden administration of turning the war on terror inward. The president is now threatening to deploy the military against what <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5557232/hegseth-generals-trump" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">he calls</a> the “enemy from within,” as his administration <a href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/fbi-readies-new-war-on-trans-people?publication_id=7677&amp;r=dwhc5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">pushes</a> to treat a <a href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nspm-7-labels-common-beliefs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">variety</a> of domestic critics, dissidents, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-war-left-inside-plan-investigate-liberal-groups-2025-10-09/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">opposition groups</a> as terrorist threats over their First Amendment-protected activity, and <a href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/senator-warns-of-trumps-secret-watchlist" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">draws up</a> secret watchlists of supposed domestic terrorists.</p>
  800.  
  801.  
  802.  
  803. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The president is now threatening to deploy the military against what he calls the “enemy from within.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  804.  
  805.  
  806.  
  807. <p>This is all a vindication of the many civil libertarians who warned over the past 24 years that the expansive powers claimed by Presidents Bush and then Barack Obama would somewhere down the line be used in new, alarming ways they were never originally intended for, including to intimidate and punish political dissent. What’s absurd is that this is happening at the exact time that the threats that originally justified all of this are simply being forgotten.</p>
  808.  
  809.  
  810.  
  811. <p>What we are witnessing is the war on terror in zombie form: devoid of its original life force and human drive, but more dangerous than ever, as it shuffles mindlessly forward in a search for human flesh to no end.</p>
  812.  
  813.  
  814.  
  815. <p>Trump may be the first president to use this zombie “war” for ends that it was never meant for, but history suggests he will not be the last, unless we make the collective political choice to put a lid on and roll back the radical growth of executive war-making power that has accumulated year after year since 9/11. Until then, this zombie will stagger on.</p>
  816. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-zombie-war-on-terror-is-upon-us/">The Zombie War on Terror Is Upon Us</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  817. ]]></content:encoded>
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  820. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  823. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312387</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AdobeStock_319672714-scaled.jpeg?width=936&#038;height=585" length="582538" type="image/jpeg" />
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  825. </item>
  826. <item>
  827. <title>Shutdown Showdown</title>
  828. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/shutdown-showdown/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=shutdown-showdown</link>
  829. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/shutdown-showdown/#respond</comments>
  831. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Conor Lynch]]></dc:creator>
  832. <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 15:13:30 +0000</pubDate>
  833. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  834. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  835. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  836. <category><![CDATA[Labor]]></category>
  837. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  838. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  839. <category><![CDATA[Social Justice]]></category>
  840. <category><![CDATA[TD Column]]></category>
  841. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  842. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  843. <category><![CDATA[autocracy]]></category>
  844. <category><![CDATA[impoundment]]></category>
  845. <category><![CDATA[Project 2025]]></category>
  846. <category><![CDATA[Russell Vought]]></category>
  847. <category><![CDATA[supreme court]]></category>
  848. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312381</guid>
  849.  
  850. <description><![CDATA[<p>The president and his budget director are using the shutdown to unlawfully impound billions in foreign aid. Democrats must draw a line — and hold it.</p>
  851. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/shutdown-showdown/">Shutdown Showdown</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  852. ]]></description>
  853. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  854. <p class="has-drop-cap">A few days before the current government shutdown began, the Supreme Court quietly used its shadow docket <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-allows-trump-cut-4b-foreign-aid/story?id=125982006" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">to sign off on</a> the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration’s unilateral cuts to billions in foreign aid, which had earlier been <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/09/04/congress/judge-rules-white-house-pocket-rescission-gambit-is-illegal-00544892" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">ruled illegal</a> by the lower courts. Though cautioning that it should “not be read as a final determination on the merits,” it was hard to read the majority’s decision as anything but a triumph for <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> and his budget director, Russ Vought, who has long vowed to restore the presidential power of <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/what-impoundment-control-act-and-what-gaos-role" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">impoundment</a>, allowing the White House to arbitrarily delay or withhold funds approved by Congress. The order marked the latest example of the conservative majority on the nation’s top court granting legal legitimacy to one of the most lawless presidencies in U.S. history.&nbsp;</p>
  855.  
  856.  
  857.  
  858. <p>Naturally, Vought was thrilled, describing it shortly after on X as a “Major victory.”</p>
  859.  
  860.  
  861.  
  862. <p>The order elicited a very different response in Congress, where lawmakers — especially Democrats — were <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/the-other-reason-democrats-are-taking-trump-to-the-mat-in-a-shutdown-battle-00588747" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">furious at the court</a> for greenlighting the administration’s effort to seize the power of the purse. Though a shutdown was already looming at that point, the court’s order likely cemented Democratic opposition and removed any remaining incentive to compromise. It also <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/463335/supreme-court-shutdown-aids-vaccine-trump-impoundment" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">made it very difficult</a> for Democrats and Republicans to eventually reach a deal that would end the shutdown, as there is no reason to trust that Vought will honor the deal.</p>
  863.  
  864.  
  865.  
  866. <p>Instead of trying to alleviate these legitimate concerns, the White House used the days leading up to the shutdown to taunt Democrats with memes and threaten that it would use a lapse in funding to enact mass layoffs and gut “Democrat agencies.” The shutdown, according to the president, would provide an “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/trump-vought-shutdown-cuts.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">unprecedented opportunity</a>” to remake the federal government.&nbsp;</p>
  867.  
  868.  
  869.  
  870. <p>In the press, these threats were mostly <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/03/trump-government-shutdown-firings-executive-power" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">accepted</a> at face value, with dire <a href="https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/09/ultra-risks-routine-shutdown/408441/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">warnings</a> that a shutdown could lead to a “dramatic, instantaneous shift in the separation of powers.” Yet there was little veracity to any of these bold assertions. Indeed, there is “nothing about a government shutdown [that] gives the Administration any new powers or allows it to seize the power of the purse,” Georgetown University law professor David Super, who specializes in administrative law, told me in an email exchange. The more salient fact, however, is that the administration has already “impounded <a href="https://airtable.com/appvL8eaYoY7DNArF/shrUG0jqFLXjdXsic/tblf5EWBZNk0UQKQI" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">hundreds of billions of dollars</a> unlawfully” and initiated sweeping layoffs across the federal bureaucracy over the past year. The administration “clearly did not feel any need for a government shutdown to permit” any of these actions, Super pointed out.&nbsp;</p>
  871.  
  872.  
  873.  
  874. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Russ Vought has “moved aggressively on the flimsiest legal theories.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  875.  
  876.  
  877.  
  878. <p>With or without a shutdown, then, the Trump administration has demonstrated a clear determination to grab as much power as quickly as possible with little concern for legality or constitutional limits.&nbsp;</p>
  879.  
  880.  
  881.  
  882. <p>In theory, the courts are supposed to check this kind of executive overreach, but as we’ve seen, the Supreme Court has displayed little interest or willingness to do so (unlike the lower courts). Russ Vought has “moved aggressively on the flimsiest legal theories,” said Super, yet the nation’s top court has so far only enabled this type of behavior. “Each time the courts postpone ruling on the merits of those theories likely persuades him that he can accomplish more of his agenda before being stopped.” What’s more, there is no guarantee that the court’s conservative majority, which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-supreme-court-is-headed-toward-a-radically-new-vision-of-unlimited-presidential-power-265840" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">largely sympathetic</a> to the unitary executive doctrine espoused by Vought and his <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/project-2025/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="8" title="Project 2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Project 2025</a> colleagues, will rule against the administration on the merits. </p>
  883.  
  884.  
  885.  
  886. <p>With the Supreme Court seemingly unwilling to curb the president’s drift into authoritarianism, the task of reining in the would-be monarch has thus fallen mostly to opposition members in the legislative branch. Though several Republicans in Congress have offered <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gop-senators-urge-trump-administration-reverse-6-billion/story?id=123818538" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">tepid criticism</a> of the White House’s power grabs in recent months, they have all more or less <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-shrink-trumps-spending-cut-package-ahead-key-vote-rcna218962" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">fallen in line</a> to support their party’s increasingly unfettered leader. Up till this point, Democrats haven’t been much better, even with their own limited options to check the administration’s abuses; the party and its leaders have been widely <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-shutdown-trump-democrats-republicans/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">perceived</a> as weak and ineffective — and for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx2j8n7xz1o" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">good reason</a>.</p>
  887.  
  888.  
  889.  
  890. <p>The shutdown provides an opportunity, risky as it is, for Democrats to at least bring the fight to an administration that is quickly attempting to transform the United States into a kind of elective monarchy. Whether they will hold the line and extract real concessions for a deal, however, is far from certain. </p>
  891.  
  892.  
  893.  
  894. <p>If Democrats are serious about confronting an <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/9/trumps_orwellian_militarization_of_american_cities" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">increasingly autocratic</a> administration, they must insist that any funding deal include provisions that make it far more difficult and costly for the White House — and specifically Russ Vought — to renege. To their credit, <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/democratic-party/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="12" title="democratic party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Democrats</a>’ budget proposal does include <a href="https://prospect.org/politics/2025-09-19-democrats-offer-partial-no-kings-budget/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">multiple provisions</a> that would clarify laws against impoundment, curtail the White House’s ability to rescind funds, and force Vought to release some of the money that he has already withheld. It also includes a provision that adds an inspector general for Vought’s Office of Management and Budget, though according to Super, this would “not make any difference in the near term because it would be someone appointed by President Trump and hence would have no interest in providing real oversight.”&nbsp;</p>
  895.  
  896.  
  897.  
  898. <p>In The American Prospect<em>,</em> David Dayen has <a href="https://prospect.org/politics/2025-09-15-what-would-a-no-kings-budget-look-like/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">laid out other ways</a> that Democrats could rein in the president and his officials, offering a blueprint for a “No Kings Budget” that could include anything from requiring all agency appropriations to be “auto-apportioned” (essentially bypassing Vought’s OMB) to statutes that would limit the national emergency powers that Trump has so wantonly abused. Bharat Ramamurti, who served as deputy director of the National Economic Council under <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/joe-biden/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="5" title="Joe Biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Joe Biden</a>, has <a href="https://bharatramamurti.substack.com/p/what-democrats-must-get-out-of-the" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">put forward</a> additional provisions that would also make it riskier for officials like Vought to break the law. “The law should provide deterrence from trying to engage in these shenanigans in the first place,” writes Ramamurti, who recommends hefty fines, clauses to defund the OMB for unlawful impoundments, and “disbarment from future government service” for any director who knowingly breaks the law. </p>
  899.  
  900.  
  901.  
  902. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Any deal without firm restraints on unlawful impoundments and other executive abuses will represent a full surrender.</p></blockquote></figure>
  903.  
  904.  
  905.  
  906. <p>For Democrats, any deal without firm restraints on unlawful impoundments and other executive abuses will represent a full surrender and leave the door open to future power grabs.&nbsp;</p>
  907.  
  908.  
  909.  
  910. <p>It should be abundantly clear by now that every failure to confront Donald Trump emboldens him and his team to act with greater disregard for the law. Each time the president goes unchecked by Congress, the courts or even by officials in his own administration, he grows more brazen in his authoritarianism.&nbsp;</p>
  911.  
  912.  
  913.  
  914. <p>During his first term, many of Trump’s worst impulses were often checked by administration officials who refused to carry out illegal or brazenly unconstitutional (and often <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/trump-ninth-circuit-court-sf-17578253.php" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">nonsensical</a>) orders. “The people who were most fearful of his reign,” wrote Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in &#8220;The Divider,&#8221; their <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Divider-Trump-White-House-2017-2021/dp/038554653X" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">book</a> on Trump’s first term, “were those in the room with him, the ones he himself appointed, who behind his back compared him to a czar or a mob boss .…” </p>
  915.  
  916.  
  917.  
  918. <p>These internal efforts to constrain the president were not always effective, but they served as a crucial first line of defense against the president’s authoritarian instincts. In his second term, those guardrail appointees have been replaced by sycophants and loyalists like Kash Patel, Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth, who are there to blindly carry out every order.&nbsp;</p>
  919.  
  920.  
  921.  
  922. <p class="is-td-marked">Unlike the aforementioned names, Russ Vought <em>is</em> qualified and very well versed in the workings of the federal bureaucracy. He is also a committed ideologue who will do everything in his power over the next few years to dismantle entire swathes of the federal government, centralize power and turn the clock back to the 1920s, when his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/russell-vought-trump-budget.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">favorite president</a>, Calvin Coolidge, sat in the White House. This makes it imperative for Democrats to stand up to this administration now — before the window of opportunity closes.</p>
  923. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/shutdown-showdown/">Shutdown Showdown</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  924. ]]></content:encoded>
  926. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/shutdown-showdown/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  927. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  930. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312381</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/VoughtImpoundment.png?width=878&#038;height=585" length="2117651" type="image/png" />
  931. <media:thumbnail url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/VoughtImpoundment.png?width=878&#038;height=585" />
  932. </item>
  933. <item>
  934. <title>A True American Tale: Indigenous Rights vs. Corporate Greed</title>
  935. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-true-american-tale-indigenous-rights-vs-corporate-greed/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-true-american-tale-indigenous-rights-vs-corporate-greed</link>
  936. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-true-american-tale-indigenous-rights-vs-corporate-greed/#respond</comments>
  938. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolle Okoren]]></dc:creator>
  939. <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2025 16:19:37 +0000</pubDate>
  940. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  941. <category><![CDATA[Belief & Religion]]></category>
  942. <category><![CDATA[Business & Economy]]></category>
  943. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  944. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  945. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  946. <category><![CDATA[Race]]></category>
  947. <category><![CDATA[Social Justice]]></category>
  948. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  949. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  950. <category><![CDATA[Apache Stronghold]]></category>
  951. <category><![CDATA[indigenous people]]></category>
  952. <category><![CDATA[indigenous rights]]></category>
  953. <category><![CDATA[Resolution Copper]]></category>
  954. <category><![CDATA[western apache]]></category>
  955. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312343</guid>
  956.  
  957. <description><![CDATA[<p>The fight by the Western Apache people to save Oak Flat once again highlights the limits of religious freedom for non-Christians.</p>
  958. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-true-american-tale-indigenous-rights-vs-corporate-greed/">A True American Tale: Indigenous Rights vs. Corporate Greed</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  959. ]]></description>
  960. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  961. <p class="has-drop-cap">Deep in the Tonto National Forest in southeast Arizona, there is a land where the Ga’an, or holy spirits, reside. These spirits commune with Usen, the Creator, and act as messengers to the people. In this belief, the Western Apache have worshipped for centuries using the leaves, the trees, the water and the dirt to breathe life into their traditions and ceremonies. This land holds their way of life and the soul of what it means to be Apache in the midst of hundreds of years of ongoing genocide by the U.S. government.</p>
  962.  
  963.  
  964.  
  965. <p>This land is known as Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, or Oak Flat in English. It is where Apache daughters have their Sunrise Dances, where Apache men and boys participate in sweat lodges, where gatherings take place and where Apache people go to commune with Usen. </p>
  966.  
  967.  
  968.  
  969. <p>But because Oak Flat sits atop one of the largest copper deposits in North America, it is also an attractive target for mining interests. In 2014, Resolution Copper, a joint venture of Rio Tinto and BHP, entered into a deal with the U.S. government to trade 3,500 acres of land they purchased along the San Pedro River for 2,400 acres of land in the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Since then, tribal members and their allies have been fighting to preserve the sacred site and sensitive desert ecosystem surrounding it.</p>
  970.  
  971.  
  972.  
  973. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Our judicial system’s voice is muted by capitalism.&#8221;</p></blockquote></figure>
  974.  
  975.  
  976.  
  977. <p>Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit organization comprising Indigenous activists and religious leaders, sued the U.S. government to protect Oak Flat in 2021, arguing that destroying the site violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and that it broke the 1852 treaty protecting the site for the Apache people. After years of prayer runs, gatherings and a prayer walk across the nation with other activist and religious groups, the case reached the Supreme Court in 2024. </p>
  978.  
  979.  
  980.  
  981. <p>When the Supreme Court refused to hear Apache Stronghold’s case, the nonprofit filed for a rehearing. Last week, the Supreme Court denied the petition to rehear its argument. “America has shown us the government’s true intentions, we are unheard and ignored once again,” Apache Stronghold said in a statement after the denial. “Our judicial system’s voice is muted by capitalism, the ultimate destruction of Mother Earth has been given permission as if they control her, she supplies our lives not the reverse. Such a sad reality.”</p>
  982.  
  983.  
  984.  
  985. <p>The law firm representing Apache Stronghold, the Becket Fund, argued that mining Oak Flat will directly impact the ability of the Apache people to practice their religion and therefore their identity. To mine the copper ore from Oak Flat, Resolution Copper would have to dig a 1,100-foot-deep crater, effectively destroying 2,422 acres of land and making it impossible for the Apache people to be able to practice their religion. </p>
  986.  
  987.  
  988.  
  989. <p>“Many Native American religions are place-based, which means their religion is inseparable from the place in which it is practiced,” explains Beth Wright, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and attorney from the<a href="https://narf.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjw9pGjBhB-EiwAa5jl3E9Zw9pemsK9WxY7cg5AiwO26ONJco9QF-58-1jp9eIFEL7i3GlCuhoCd3MQAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Native American Rights Fund</a>. “For tribal nations, their religious practices are essential to their very existence because tribal nations ensure their continued strength by passing on their religions, customs, values and traditions from one generation to the next.”</p>
  990.  
  991.  
  992.  
  993. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=1024&#038;height=682" alt="" class="wp-image-312349" srcset="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=1024&amp;height=682 1024w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=300&amp;height=200 300w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=768&amp;height=512 768w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=270&amp;height=180 270w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=405&amp;height=270 405w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=608&amp;height=405 608w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=878&amp;height=585 878w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2021-0516_Sunrise_Ceremony_at-Oak_Flat_Molly-Peters_OAKFLAT_210516_06738.jpeg?width=1280 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An Apache tribe member participates in the Sunrise Dance painting ceremony, meant to prepare a girl for womanhood. (Molly Peters)</figcaption></figure>
  994.  
  995.  
  996.  
  997. <p>For the Western Apache, the Sunrise Dance specifically is at risk. Sunrise Dances are three-day ceremonies that prepare a girl for womanhood and the responsibilities she will inevitably carry in her maturity. Once a girl has her first period, she participates in the ceremony, where she is prayed over, painted in clay from the earth and given gifts while spiritual messengers, called Crown Dancers, teach the girl about the creation and other sacred stories through their dance. If these girls are not able to have their dance, this tradition, which survived genocide, will no longer be able to be practiced.</p>
  998.  
  999.  
  1000.  
  1001. <p>“It’s actually essential to the practice of the Apache religion to have this place,” says NARF senior staff attorney Jason Searle. “This is where the medicines that they use, the roots and plants, and the animals they&#8217;ve used for different ceremonies are collected, and they all are tied specifically to that place, their stories and their songs, they have a history there. And that’s the only way that they can really, really sustain those. The way that they pass those along is explaining that to their children, this is what this place means to us, and it gives it a context for all of their beliefs in a way that’s hard to explain to other people.”&nbsp;</p>
  1002.  
  1003.  
  1004.  
  1005. <p class="has-drop-cap">Oak Flat and the land surrounding it was protected under both the 1852 Treaty of Santa Fe and a 1955 executive order signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. But in December 2014, then-Sen. John McCain of Arizona added a last-minute rider to a must-pass defense bill requiring Oak Flat to be transferred to Resolution Copper for the purposes of national security. McCain justified the rider saying, “The people in my state are hurting. This mine is an economic opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered.” President Barack Obama ultimately signed it into law. </p>
  1006.  
  1007.  
  1008.  
  1009. <p>The second <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration has made opening public lands to private interests a major priority. In one version of <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a>’s “Big Beautiful” budget bill, extractive companies were explicitly referred to as “customers” of the Department of the Interior until<a href="https://x.com/SenMikeLee/status/1939132778605388207" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah,</a> was pressured to remove the language from the text, although the spirit still animates government action. The Trump administration found other ways to open the land, such as not renewing environmental protections, eliminating conservation requirements and mining restrictions, and opening wildlife habitats for oil drilling. According to<a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administrations-expansive-push-to-sell-out-public-lands-to-the-highest-bidder/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> one analysis</a>, these actions will remove protections from approximately 88 million acres of public land.</p>
  1010.  
  1011.  
  1012.  
  1013. <p>It has also <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/04/18/trump-puts-resolution-copper-mine-at-oak-flat-on-permit-fast-track/83161396007/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">specifically prioritized</a> Oak Flat. In April of this year, the administration placed the Resolution Copper mine on a priority list, along with nine other mining projects, in support of Trump’s March executive order on increasing domestic production of “critical minerals.”</p>
  1014.  
  1015.  
  1016.  
  1017. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>&#8220;The courts are saying that getting copper is more important than this religious exercise.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  1018.  
  1019.  
  1020.  
  1021. <p>Joe Davis, senior counsel at the Becket Fund, explained, “A lot of the defense of the copper mine here is based on the idea that it’s really important to get copper. First, they said, copper is important for green energy. We have to destroy the environment in order to save it. And then they said copper is really important for national security.”&nbsp;</p>
  1022.  
  1023.  
  1024.  
  1025. <p>“Of course, we have arguments against those things, but it really misses the point, which is that the courts are saying that getting copper is more important than this religious exercise,” Davis added.</p>
  1026.  
  1027.  
  1028.  
  1029. <p>According to the<a href="https://copper.org/economy/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Copper Development Association</a>, the U.S. copper industry supports more than $160 billion in economic output and is expected to grow by 6.5% annually in just the next five years. Due to the green energy transition and regional trends, global copper demand is also expected to increase by<a href="https://internationalcopper.org/resource/regional-trends-and-the-green-energy-transition-are-expected-to-increase-global-copper-demand-by-12-6mt-from-2020-to-2040/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> 12.6 million tons</a> by 2040. Copper was <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/department-interior-releases-draft-2025-list-critical-minerals" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">designated</a> a critical mineral by the Department of Interior this August, after the Department of Energy <a href="https://www.generalkinematics.com/blog/copper-critical-mineral/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">listed it in 2023</a>. This designation establishes copper as having a high risk of supply chain disruption; Trump announced 50% tariffs on copper imports on July 30 of this year. </p>
  1030.  
  1031.  
  1032.  
  1033. <p>Resolution Copper did not respond to Truthdig’s request for comment.</p>
  1034.  
  1035.  
  1036.  
  1037. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338.jpg?width=1024&#038;height=683" alt="" class="wp-image-312351" srcset="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=1024&amp;height=683 1024w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=300&amp;height=200 300w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=768&amp;height=512 768w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=270&amp;height=180 270w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=405&amp;height=270 405w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=608&amp;height=405 608w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=878&amp;height=585 878w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25227852985338-scaled.jpg?width=2000 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Above-ground entrances to Shafts 10, left, and 9 at the Resolution Copper mining facility on June 9, 2023, in Miami, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)</figcaption></figure>
  1038.  
  1039.  
  1040.  
  1041. <p>In June of 2022, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stop the sale of Oak Flat, stating that the land transfer did not substantially burden the Apaches’ religious exercise — the required standard in proving that the U.S. government is violating religious liberty under the RFRA.</p>
  1042.  
  1043.  
  1044.  
  1045. <p>After a rehearing in November of that same year, the 9th Circuit reiterated its earlier decision. Apache Stronghold then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court — which, with the exception of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, refused to hear the case. Gorsuch and Thomas<a href="https://eos.org/research-and-developments/supreme-court-rejects-tribal-appeal-to-halt-planned-copper-mine#:~:text=Gorsuch%20wrote%20that%20the%20decision,no%20less%2C%E2%80%9D%20Gorsuch%20wrote." rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> wrote in their dissent</a> that the court’s decision was a “grievous mistake — one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.” Gorsuch said he would have<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/267033/native-american-group-loses-religious-freedom-appeal-at-supreme-court" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> granted the request</a> when the Supreme Court denied the rehearing on Oct. 6.</p>
  1046.  
  1047.  
  1048.  
  1049. <p>As Apache Stronghold took its fight through the lower courts, it amassed an unprecedented amount of support and solidarity. Over 52 tribal nations, 85 religious organizations, renters associations, environmental groups, outdoor recreation groups and mining reform organizations have also pushed to stop the land transfer. </p>
  1050.  
  1051.  
  1052.  
  1053. <p>Russ McSpadden, the Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, works on other issues — including other copper mines — with similar coalitions, but none as broad as what Apache Stronghold and its founder Wendsler Nosie has created. “There’s a dedicated movement around Apache stronghold, because there’s — they’re so grassroots, and do so many incredible events at Oak Flat,” Spadden said. “They travel the country. They’ve traveled to Europe and spoken with religious leaders abroad. They’ve really built something that I’ve never quite seen before.” </p>
  1054.  
  1055.  
  1056.  
  1057. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>&#8220;We must defend what is spiritual, holy and God’s greatest gift to us all, our Mother.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  1058.  
  1059.  
  1060.  
  1061. <p>Last year, Apache Stronghold organized a<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SaveOakFlatArizona/posts/pfbid0oV9tiHTszVtmK5PATn3LMCUrFcZcaHgWAjRYegbHhdoEVSPP7pk3rHWCrSF76u8ml" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> prayer journey</a> that began on July 13 at the Lummi Nation in Washington state and concluded on Sept. 11 at the Supreme Court steps. The mission was to “stop the shattering of the human existence and to protect Mother Earth.” They visited tribes, churches, unions and any group that would welcome Nosie and his family on this journey.</p>
  1062.  
  1063.  
  1064.  
  1065. <p>One major ally and supporter of Apache Stronghold’s fight is the economic justice organization Poor People’s Campaign. In an <a href="https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/oak-flat-statement-of-support/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">official statement of support</a> of Oak Flat, the Revs. William J. Barber II and Liz Theoharis wrote, “This struggle is at the core of what the Poor People’s Campaign is fighting for. The Apache people have already been abused and exploited by the United States government throughout our history, and now corporations are being allowed to violate the place where Apache ancestors received their covenant with God.”</p>
  1066.  
  1067.  
  1068.  
  1069. <p>In response to the Supreme Court’s decision last week, Nosie said, “What is evil created the unfairness, not just to us human beings but to all of God’s creations. When this country was founded, humans with the heart of greed worked to mute the voice of the Creator. By this undertaking, we now live with a third entity, who was created to take and destroy every blessed gift God gave us through our Mother Earth. We know this evil as corporations, which comes from capitalism which colonizes people. We must defend what is spiritual, holy and God’s greatest gift to us all, our Mother.” The Becket Fund is continuing the case in the federal district courts in Arizona.</p>
  1070.  
  1071.  
  1072.  
  1073. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=1024&#038;height=683" alt="" class="wp-image-312350" srcset="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=1024&amp;height=683 1024w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=300&amp;height=200 300w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=768&amp;height=512 768w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=270&amp;height=180 270w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=405&amp;height=270 405w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=607&amp;height=405 607w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=877&amp;height=585 877w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=2000 2000w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25127641972059.jpg?width=3000 3000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Members of Apache Stronghold and others seeking to halt a massive copper mining project on federal land in Arizona gather outside the U.S. District Court in Phoenix on May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt York)</figcaption></figure>
  1074.  
  1075.  
  1076.  
  1077. <p>Although Apache Stronghold’s case may be over, three other cases related to the land transfer are currently moving through the courts. The newest, filed in July 2025, was brought by Apache women and girls who would lose their Sunrise Dance traditions. The suit’s seven counts argue that the U.S. is violating the RFRA, their First Amendment rights of free exercise of religion and to direct the religious upbringing of children, and that the government is violating the National Historic Preservation Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. </p>
  1078.  
  1079.  
  1080.  
  1081. <p>The other two cases are currently awaiting hearing in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court. Both argue that the Trump administration violated federal law by failing to properly analyze and mitigate the mine’s potential damage to national forest land, waters and wildlife.</p>
  1082.  
  1083.  
  1084.  
  1085. <p>“One thing that we would love to do is to protect this place long enough to get to a sane body politic in Congress that would understand the sins of the past and would rectify that injustice,” McSpadden of the Center of Biological Diversity, which is involved in one of the cases, said. “We will fight tooth and nail to ensure that this land isn&#8217;t privatized and given over to two multinational mining giants, Rio Tinto and BHP, which make up Resolution Copper.”</p>
  1086.  
  1087.  
  1088.  
  1089. <p class="is-td-marked">The plaintiffs in these cases know they have little chance of convincing the current administration to change its plans, and they know that their cases may also end as the Apache Stronghold’s did. As one case stalls, another moves forward hoping to run out the clock. But as long as the fight continues, hope for Oak Flat remains.</p>
  1090. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-true-american-tale-indigenous-rights-vs-corporate-greed/">A True American Tale: Indigenous Rights vs. Corporate Greed</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
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  1100. <item>
  1101. <title>Trump Chooses War in the Caribbean</title>
  1102. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trump-chooses-war-in-the-caribbean/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=trump-chooses-war-in-the-caribbean</link>
  1103. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trump-chooses-war-in-the-caribbean/#respond</comments>
  1105. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Devin B. Martinez /  Peoples Dispatch ]]></dc:creator>
  1106. <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2025 15:29:48 +0000</pubDate>
  1107. <category><![CDATA[Americas]]></category>
  1108. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  1109. <category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
  1110. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  1111. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  1112. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  1113. <category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
  1114. <category><![CDATA[drug cartels]]></category>
  1115. <category><![CDATA[nicolas maduro]]></category>
  1116. <category><![CDATA[venezuela]]></category>
  1117. <category><![CDATA[war on drugs]]></category>
  1118. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312340</guid>
  1119.  
  1120. <description><![CDATA[<p>After killing 21 people in a series of airstrikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela, the US closes all diplomatic channels and prepares for further military aggression in the region.</p>
  1121. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trump-chooses-war-in-the-caribbean/">Trump Chooses War in the Caribbean</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1122. ]]></description>
  1123. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1124. <p><strong>On Oct. 6</strong>, President <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> ordered the termination of diplomacy with Venezuela. Richard Grenell, special presidential envoy, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/us/politics/trump-venezuela-maduro.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">directed by Trump</a> to halt all diplomatic outreach and talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.</p>
  1125.  
  1126.  
  1127.  
  1128. <p>The move follows multiple U.S. missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea. Washington claims the operations target drug traffickers, but regional leaders and legal experts say they are escalating into an undeclared war against Venezuela.</p>
  1129.  
  1130.  
  1131.  
  1132. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Caracas calls for diplomacy; US abandons it for war</h3>
  1133.  
  1134.  
  1135.  
  1136. <p>Grenell had previously been the primary negotiator between the two governments and was involved in U.S.-Venezuela policy decisions in general.</p>
  1137.  
  1138.  
  1139.  
  1140. <p>In September, Maduro <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/venezuela-confirms-maduro-sent-letter-to-trump-seeking-direct-talks/3694381" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">sent a letter directly to Trump</a>, calling for diplomacy and refuting the drug-trafficking accusations the White House has levied. He pointed out how crucial Grenell’s work had been in overcoming false reports and misunderstandings that had emerged around deportation flights from the U.S.</p>
  1141.  
  1142.  
  1143.  
  1144. <p>“This issue was swiftly resolved and clarified during discussions with Mr. Richard Grenell. This channel has functioned flawlessly to date,” the letter stated.</p>
  1145.  
  1146.  
  1147.  
  1148. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>In September, Maduro sent a letter directly to Trump, calling for diplomacy.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1149.  
  1150.  
  1151.  
  1152. <p>Maduro cited United Nations data demonstrating the country’s “impeccable record in the fight against international drug trafficking.”</p>
  1153.  
  1154.  
  1155.  
  1156. <p>“This and other matters will always be open for direct and frank discussion with your special envoy Grenell, so that we can overcome media noise and fake news.”</p>
  1157.  
  1158.  
  1159.  
  1160. <p>Weeks later, Grenell’s communication with Caracas was ceased completely by Trump.</p>
  1161.  
  1162.  
  1163.  
  1164. <p>Washington’s total diplomatic disengagement suggests that hardliners like Secretary of State Marco Rubio who have <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/standing-with-the-venezuelan-people-one-year-after-yet-another-sham-election/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">openly called for regime change</a> in Venezuela are now freely leading a more aggressive, militaristic approach toward the most oil-rich nation on Earth.</p>
  1165.  
  1166.  
  1167.  
  1168. <p>On Oct. 9, Maduro <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/venezuela-asks-security-council-emergency-session-us-military-126384185" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council</a>, requesting an emergency session over U.S. military actions in the Caribbean.</p>
  1169.  
  1170.  
  1171.  
  1172. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Airstrikes at sea</h3>
  1173.  
  1174.  
  1175.  
  1176. <p>The U.S. military has now carried out <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-fourth-u-s-missile-strike-kills-four-in-waters-off-venezuela/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">airstrikes on at least four small boats</a> in the Caribbean, raising the reported death toll of Washington’s current military aggression in the region to 21. Officials say the campaign aims to combat drug trafficking but have provided no evidence for the claim.</p>
  1177.  
  1178.  
  1179.  
  1180. <p>Airstrikes began <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/09/18/in-the-name-of-the-war-on-drugs-the-us-continues-to-target-venezuelan-boats/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">on Sept. 2</a>, when 11 people — later identified as fishermen — were killed in a missile strike off the coast of Venezuela.</p>
  1181.  
  1182.  
  1183.  
  1184. <p>Colombian President Gustavo Petro&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BTnewsroom/status/1976046908448641533" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">recently announced</a>&nbsp;that the fourth bombed boat was a Colombian vessel, accusing Trump of opening a “war scenario” in the region.</p>
  1185.  
  1186.  
  1187.  
  1188. <p>“This is no war against smuggling,” Petro said. “It is a war against oil and it must be stopped by the world.”</p>
  1189.  
  1190.  
  1191.  
  1192. <p>The Trump administration has denied Petro’s allegation that the vessel was Colombian, however, an anonymous U.S. official confirmed to The New York Times that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/world/americas/colombia-citizens-boat-us-bombed.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Colombian citizens were on board</a>.</p>
  1193.  
  1194.  
  1195.  
  1196. <p>The uncharged, untried and largely unidentified victims of the last month of U.S. aggression are accused of being narcotraffickers by the Trump administration.</p>
  1197.  
  1198.  
  1199.  
  1200. <p>The U.S. has deployed <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/us-fighter-jets-live-fire-drills-venezuela-tensions-10838195" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">at least eight warships</a>, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, several P-8 surveillance planes <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/08/18/us-sends-troops-to-southern-caribbean-in-new-threat-to-venezuela/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">and 4,000 military personnel</a> to the waters of the Caribbean, as well as F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico.</p>
  1201.  
  1202.  
  1203.  
  1204. <p>The scale and level of aggression, combined with the lack of evidence for drug trafficking accusations, has raised questions about Washington’s true intentions with Venezuela. Sources inside the Trump administration <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/venezuela-bad-actor-trump-says-threatening-escalation-rcna228991" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">told NBC News</a> in September, “The goal is to force Maduro to make rash decisions that could ultimately lead to his ouster — without American boots on the ground.”</p>
  1205.  
  1206.  
  1207.  
  1208. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">US is waging an &#8216;armed conflict&#8217; against &#8216;unlawful combatants,&#8217; declares Trump</h3>
  1209.  
  1210.  
  1211.  
  1212. <p>Legal experts, U.S. lawmakers and anti-war groups have asserted that using military force in international waters is illegal, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/trump-declares-armed-conflict-against-cartels" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">violating both international and U.S. law</a>, bypassing due process and law enforcement norms, and lacking any clear justification.</p>
  1213.  
  1214.  
  1215.  
  1216. <p>In an apparent attempt to provide some legal basis for the hostilities, Trump sent a report to Congress <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/trump-drug-cartels-war.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">last week</a> declaring that the U.S. military is engaged in a “noninternational armed conflict” with drug cartels and has killed “unlawful combatants” in the Caribbean.</p>
  1217.  
  1218.  
  1219.  
  1220. <p>The president has “designated [cartels] as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States,” Earl Matthews, the Pentagon’s general counsel told lawmakers, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/02/politics/trump-admin-us-armed-conflict-cartels" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reported by CNN</a>.</p>
  1221.  
  1222.  
  1223.  
  1224. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The White House insists that its “armed conflict” is legal and constitutional.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1225.  
  1226.  
  1227.  
  1228. <p>The report sent to Congress is required by law (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1543a" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Section 1543a</a> U.S. Code) whenever U.S. military forces are engaged in hostilities, but it doesn’t automatically grant or expand the legal basis for a military campaign.</p>
  1229.  
  1230.  
  1231.  
  1232. <p>However, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth already cited the recent “legal justification” by Trump when pressed on Sunday about the most recent airstrike at sea. “We have every authorization needed,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hegseth-says-he-has-every-authorization-needed-caribbean-strikes-2025-10-05/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Hegseth told Fox News</a>. “These [cartels] are designated as foreign terrorist organizations.”</p>
  1233.  
  1234.  
  1235.  
  1236. <p>Although some senators have questioned “the legal rationale, the mission itself, and the intel surrounding the strikes,” a war powers bill that would have limited Trump’s power, halting further airstrikes on boats without authorization from Congress, was <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/9/us-senate-fails-to-curb-trumps-power-to-strike-drug-cartels" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">voted down on Oct. 9</a>.</p>
  1237.  
  1238.  
  1239.  
  1240. <p>The White House insists that its “armed conflict” is legal and constitutional. Yet experts and critics say Trump is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/02/white-house-war-drug-smugglers-00592369" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">waging a secret war against undefined enemies</a>, without fully informing Congress or the people of the U.S. — who overwhelmingly reject U.S. intervention in Venezuela. Polls show that only <a href="https://x.com/MintPressNews/status/1975966501132792118" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">16% of Americans</a> would support a U.S. invasion of the country.</p>
  1241.  
  1242.  
  1243.  
  1244. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Threats of land strikes</h3>
  1245.  
  1246.  
  1247.  
  1248. <p>Despite widespread opposition, Trump has openly threatened a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-us-hit-another-boat-off-venezuela-coast-saturday-2025-10-05/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">direct U.S. attack on Venezuela</a>. During an event on Oct. 5 at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, he praised the Navy for how successful the missile strikes on alleged drug boats have been.</p>
  1249.  
  1250.  
  1251.  
  1252. <p>“We’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land,” he said.</p>
  1253.  
  1254.  
  1255.  
  1256. <p>The threat came days after NBC News reported that U.S. military officials had in fact already <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-preparing-options-military-strikes-drug-targets-venezuela-sources-s-rcna233734" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">drawn up plans for drone strikes</a> in Venezuelan territory.</p>
  1257.  
  1258.  
  1259.  
  1260. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Venezuela belongs to Venezuelans, declares Maduro</h3>
  1261.  
  1262.  
  1263.  
  1264. <p>Caracas has attempted to open dialogue with Grenell, Trump himself and now the U.N. Security Council. Amid its diplomatic efforts, the country has also made massive efforts to increase its security and defense capabilities.</p>
  1265.  
  1266.  
  1267.  
  1268. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“What they want is war in the Caribbean and South America.&#8221;</p></blockquote></figure>
  1269.  
  1270.  
  1271.  
  1272. <p>On Oct. 6, Maduro announced that Venezuelan security forces had foiled a <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/article/6364e96267c5" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">“false flag” plot by local extremists to bomb the U.S. Embassy</a> in Caracas in an apparent attempt to provoke a U.S. military response. Maduro assured that his administration would reinforce security measures to protect the embassy “despite all the differences we have had with the governments of the United States.”</p>
  1273.  
  1274.  
  1275.  
  1276. <p>As soon as the U.S. military deployment was <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/08/18/us-sends-troops-to-southern-caribbean-in-new-threat-to-venezuela/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">announced by Rubio in August</a>, Venezuela <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/08/20/venezuela-mobilizes-4-5-million-militia-members-as-us-deploys-troops-to-the-caribbean/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">mobilized its 4.5 million members of the Bolivarian National Militia</a>. However, after enlistment campaigns calling on the Venezuelan people to defend the country’s sovereignty against U.S. aggression, 8 million people signed up to join the militia, raising the total size of the force to over 12 million civilian combatants, according to the government. The country has conducted <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/08/30/venezuelan-youth-train-to-defend-the-homeland-and-construct-the-future-amid-us-escalation/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">advanced training across the entire territory</a> and the Caribbean Sea to consolidate its defense forces and prepare for any U.S. attack.</p>
  1277.  
  1278.  
  1279.  
  1280. <p>“What they want is war in the Caribbean and South America, for a regime change to impose a puppet government and steal the oil, gas and gold,” Maduro <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPkaWP-kuy3/?igsh=dmZna21yZWh5dTZh" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">proclaimed while opening a new hospital</a> in Caracas.</p>
  1281.  
  1282.  
  1283.  
  1284. <p>“But we have news for the North American empire,” he continued. “That oil, that gas, that gold, this land and this people will continue to belong to Venezuelans. And we will never allow our homeland to be violated or touched. Never!”</p>
  1285. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trump-chooses-war-in-the-caribbean/">Trump Chooses War in the Caribbean</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1286. ]]></content:encoded>
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  1289. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1292. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312340</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25278727340243-scaled.jpg?width=877&#038;height=585" length="290877" type="image/jpeg" />
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  1294. </item>
  1295. <item>
  1296. <title>Letter From France: &#8216;Build Your Own Parliamentary Majority’</title>
  1297. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority</link>
  1298. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority/#respond</comments>
  1300. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Lord]]></dc:creator>
  1301. <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1302. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  1303. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  1304. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  1305. <category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
  1306. <category><![CDATA[Labor]]></category>
  1307. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1308. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  1309. <category><![CDATA[TD Column]]></category>
  1310. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  1311. <category><![CDATA[emmanuel macron]]></category>
  1312. <category><![CDATA[france]]></category>
  1313. <category><![CDATA[le monde]]></category>
  1314. <category><![CDATA[parliament]]></category>
  1315. <category><![CDATA[Sébastien Lecornu]]></category>
  1316. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312326</guid>
  1317.  
  1318. <description><![CDATA[<p>As government coalitions collapse seemingly by the hour, the French pension faces mounting attacks from the center and the right.</p>
  1319. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority/">Letter From France: &#8216;Build Your Own Parliamentary Majority’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1320. ]]></description>
  1321. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1322. <p><a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener "></a></p>
  1323.  
  1324.  
  1325.  
  1326. <p class="has-drop-cap">There is a fun new game available on the website of Le Monde, France’s leading newspaper. It’s called “Build Your Own Parliamentary Majority,” and the game board is a blank National Assembly, with color-coded tokens corresponding to seats for the country’s 12 political parties. The goal of the game is to construct a viable parliamentary majority. There are no prizes on offer.</p>
  1327.  
  1328.  
  1329.  
  1330. <p>President Emmanuel Macron and the major political parties are currently playing the real-life version, with the prize being the seizure of political power. It is increasingly difficult to believe that anyone will manage to win.</p>
  1331.  
  1332.  
  1333.  
  1334. <p>Macron’s latest prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, formed a government that lasted all of 14 hours, a record in the history of France. It fell not because of any challenge from right or left, but because one of Macron’s parliamentary allies, Bruno Retailleau, felt that he should have been consulted about the appointment of the minister of defense, a completely empty political issue. There is no question of ideology or policy; Retailleau merely felt that he was important enough to bring the government down.</p>
  1335.  
  1336.  
  1337.  
  1338. <p>Macron gave Lecornu 48 hours to come up with an emergency solution. The talks that followed were sabotaged by the fact that the two main players in the opposition, the neofascist National Rally, vehicle of the Le Pen dynasty, and the hard-left France Unbowed party, refused to participate. So Macron now has to come up with yet another prime minister: No. 8 for his presidency. </p>
  1339.  
  1340.  
  1341.  
  1342. <p>The chief obstacle to political agreement, one that has brought down several governments already, is the fiery issue of pension reform.</p>
  1343.  
  1344.  
  1345.  
  1346. <p>French pensioners enjoy the fattest rewards of anyone outside anomalous and fabulously wealthy statelets like Monaco or Bahrain. This applies in particular to state employees, for whom the French system works like social democracy is supposed to work: long holidays, short working weeks, free health care and education, and pensions linked to the highest salary they reached during their working life. For Macron, a Citibank kind of guy, the expanding French national debt means that general impoverishment is in the offing, and the only way to stop it is to reform the system that pays for the luxury holidays of retired bureaucrats. He announced a reform plan in 2023; but his attempts to change the system bring thousands on to the streets, and their outrage is real in a France where the rich continue to get richer and politicians seem to be stuck in a permanent shouting match.</p>
  1347.  
  1348.  
  1349.  
  1350. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>It is increasingly difficult to believe that anyone will manage to win.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1351.  
  1352.  
  1353.  
  1354. <p>Lecornu felt that the question of pension reform was so divisive that it was best to suspend the whole question until after the next presidential elections, buying Macron time during his final term. But this puts attention back on the uncomfortable political question, which cannot be delayed, and which has dominated French politics for 20 years: How will the ascendant neofascist far-right handle the collapse of Macron’s program?</p>
  1355.  
  1356.  
  1357.  
  1358. <p>France — like Italy, Spain, Portugal and nearly the whole of Latin Europe — was an openly fascist country in the 1930s, and its peculiar brand of Catholic fascism has never really gone away. Since the Second World War, it has seemed that a balance of power between a social-democratic left and a pro-business and nationalist right, however hypocritical and corrupt, was enough to keep the ship of state on an even keel. But that arrangement has gradually slipped away, leaving nothing but presidential personality politics opposed by regional political dynasties and bosses who increasingly try to ignore Paris. Jacques Chirac was the last proper French president, and his successors have had mixed results, to put it politely. There is currently no clear political debate in France. For all its faults, America’s frame of Republicans versus Democrats is at least comprehensible. The 12 parties in the Le Monde computer game defeat even the French, and every roll of the dice just makes the game more impossible.</p>
  1359.  
  1360.  
  1361.  
  1362. <p>The Ecologists say that the only solution is an Ecologist prime minister. Lecornu suggests a nonpolitical figure, pointing out that, according to the constitution, Macron can appoint anyone he likes. But this seems very unlikely. The youth, meanwhile, are divided. Like Generation Z everywhere, they are faced with no careers, no houses, no future. Some go for the leftist coalition with its old-fashioned message of Up the Workers and its power base of industrial trade unions, but more and more are going for whatever plays on TikTok. And nobody does TikTok better in France than the neofascists.</p>
  1363.  
  1364.  
  1365.  
  1366. <p class="is-td-marked">Across the spectrum is the sneaking suspicion that the government is not as important as it pretends. Belgium has shown that failure to form a government does not prohibit the country from functioning, and people suspect that France will continue on, whatever happens. And despite all the noise from politicians around immigration and unemployment, the French have become so cynical about political leaders that they are not surprised when the system keeps failing. The only issue that truly animates them now is protecting their 20 or 30 years of retirement. Whether they can do so in the face of what Macron’s last prime minister, François Bayrou, called “reality” in his resignation speech is another question.</p>
  1367. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority/">Letter From France: &#8216;Build Your Own Parliamentary Majority’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1368. ]]></content:encoded>
  1370. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/letter-from-france-build-your-own-parliamentary-majority/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1371. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1374. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312326</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/FrenchPolitics.png?width=878&#038;height=585" length="2002760" type="image/png" />
  1375. <media:thumbnail url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/FrenchPolitics.png?width=878&#038;height=585" />
  1376. </item>
  1377. <item>
  1378. <title>Justice for All</title>
  1379. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/justice-for-all/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=justice-for-all</link>
  1380. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/justice-for-all/#respond</comments>
  1382. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeb Lund]]></dc:creator>
  1383. <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:09:23 +0000</pubDate>
  1384. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  1385. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  1386. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  1387. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1388. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  1389. <category><![CDATA[TD Column]]></category>
  1390. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  1391. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  1392. <category><![CDATA[democrats]]></category>
  1393. <category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
  1394. <category><![CDATA[john roberts]]></category>
  1395. <category><![CDATA[samuel alito]]></category>
  1396. <category><![CDATA[supreme court]]></category>
  1397. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312314</guid>
  1398.  
  1399. <description><![CDATA[<p>To reestablish the rule of law, Democrats must enforce the constitution with brass knuckles like there’s nothing left to lose. Because there isn’t.</p>
  1400. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/justice-for-all/">Justice for All</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1401. ]]></description>
  1402. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1403. <p class="has-drop-cap">The government is shut down. Democrats have shown some backbone, and neither they, nor their opponents, are used to this. The latter’s potential outrage must be as terrifying as the novelty. Republicans aren’t in the habit of being stopped, so why start now, just a few miles shy of completing the&nbsp;<a href="https://theonion.com/bob-dole-to-build-trench-to-19th-century-1819564187/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">trench to the 19th century</a>&nbsp;and a few weeks away from criminalizing opposition?&nbsp;</p>
  1404.  
  1405.  
  1406.  
  1407. <p>Abusers are at their most dangerous after being defied, and never more intensely than when their victims are about to escape their control. Even if <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/democratic-party/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="12" title="democratic party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Democrats</a> can’t bring themselves to believe it, the Republicans know that their president — the person to whom they have ceded almost all public identity — is deep underwater in the polls. Whatever moment you’re reading this probably represents the highest public approval that <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> will enjoy for the rest of his term — and the best remaining one for Trump to try to take it all.</p>
  1408.  
  1409.  
  1410.  
  1411. <p>This means it is also the likeliest moment for Democrats to fumble the ball — which is to say, the likeliest moment for Democrats to arrest any momentum by worrying that they already&nbsp;<em>have</em>&nbsp;fumbled the ball, inevitably will or are in the process of doing so, until it becomes a self-fulfilling anxiety. It has never been more urgent to cut through the cacophony of traditional Democratic strategies, like ceding agency to thought-terminating clichés about conservative hegemony, opening bargaining with timorous half measures or setting goals allergic to frank description. Between now and November 2028, Democratic candidates looking for a guiding idea to harness people’s time and votes, here is your minimum opening bid: revenge.&nbsp;</p>
  1412.  
  1413.  
  1414.  
  1415. <p>If that word seems too divisive, replace it with “justice.” Consider it an unceasing enforcement of criminal statute. This concept shouldn’t be hard to fit in Democratic mouths that are used to twisting themselves around whatever tropes conservatives campaigned on in the last cycle. It is, after all, just Republicans’ eternal tough-on-crime pledge with a twist: Now it also counts when they do it, and anything this overdue is worth overdoing. The Democratic imagination has been so haunted for so long by thoughts of whatever Republicans <em>might</em> do in response to Democrats’ abandoning norms that they’ve done little about Republicans actually violating norm after norm, year after year. Like any good predator, Republicans have noticed that their serial violations — thefts of rights, of security and of the commons — have met no consequences. They must be taught to discipline themselves via the only mechanism they respond to, when the force they project onto their opponents to excuse their behavior actually appears.</p>
  1416.  
  1417.  
  1418.  
  1419. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>It has never been more urgent to cut through the cacophony of traditional Democratic strategies.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1420.  
  1421.  
  1422.  
  1423. <p>Start with the unitary executive. The best way to invalidate this core tool of Trump’s tyranny is to wield it with confidence against Republican malfeasance. Given that almost literally everything a president does is now legal — more so on national security matters, where Donald Trump is serially televising a nautical murder spree — any incoming Democratic administration should detain any Trump administration official, friend or adviser who played any role in the events of Jan. 6, 2021, had anything to do with this administration’s kidnapping and trafficking of human beings, or participated in the United States military’s invasion of the United States on charges of domestic terrorism. Given that Bush and Obama-era jurisprudence accorded virtually zero rights to suspected terrorists, no one will even have to stoop to Pam Bondi’s level, which should be well guarded, brightly lit and subterranean.</p>
  1424.  
  1425.  
  1426.  
  1427. <p>Yes, the Supreme Court might object. It tends to do that after Democrats get sworn in, and with Federalist Society advancements in precognitive legal retrospection, there’s a good chance they will spend the next few dozen months discovering originalist cases for enjoining Democrats from being elected in the first place. The trick is to keep them busy.&nbsp;</p>
  1428.  
  1429.  
  1430.  
  1431. <p>For one thing, John Roberts is a co-conspirator to all the above, and for another, both Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas should have the evidence of their being the top two most corrupt justices in the court’s history forensically examined by an Securities and Exchange Commission, IRS and FBI white-collar crime division swelled by impounding and redirecting the budget for <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/immigration-and-customs-enforcement/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="20" title="immigration and customs enforcement">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</a>, which should be demobilized by executive order. Good lawyering might spring a few, but they and whatever court conservatives haven’t also been indicted will be reassigned to the “TBD/Who The F Cares” Circuit, there to review cases only brought by <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/elon-musk/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="19" title="Elon Musk">Elon Musk</a> and adjudicated by Matthew Kacsmaryk or James Ho, with every ruling deemed nonprecedential.</p>
  1432.  
  1433.  
  1434.  
  1435. <p>Meanwhile, the tactics and permission the court accorded the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/doge/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="18" title="DOGE">Department of Government Efficiency</a> should be applied immediately to America’s analog to denazification. (Only this time without the postwar anticommunist rush job that stuffed the security state full of better-heeled goose steppers who were doing white supremacy <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/charlie-kirk-ezra-klein-tanehisi-coates?srsltid=AfmBOoo19U2pv3IBCHEViMiXFjr5VtUQNYOUZuHelRChFL-ubVyChq-e" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">the right way</a>.) Anyone in the executive branch or military who abetted Trump’s assault on the Constitution must go. </p>
  1436.  
  1437.  
  1438.  
  1439. <p>Every time Republicans condemn this program as a political harrowing of conservatives from government, Democrats should say with one voice: You don’t get immunity from the consequences of collaboration because you put collaboration in the party platform. Malfeasance isn’t effaced because it displays the label of ideology, as evidenced by the zero times a judge has ever dismissed a case after a defendant listened to the charges and told the court, “You know, I don&#8217;t see it that way.” Legitimacy is not in the eye of the offender, no matter what the conservative attitude toward rape tells you. This is not a debate between “you should face consequences for your abuse of power” and “you would rather not,” and nobody has to acknowledge that both sides kind of have their points.</p>
  1440.  
  1441.  
  1442.  
  1443. <p>To the right, all these suggestions sound like revolution. But the rule of law only sounds revolutionary to a kleptocracy. The important thing is that no element of the Trump criminal regime really broke new ground in breaking the law. A prosecutor who can’t lock them all up by playing by the rules is one that can’t fog a mirror. Our old friend Anton Chigurh’s adage — “If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?” — must be the only guide as to how much purported normalcy can be restored. Until then: For our friends, the law; for our enemies — also the law. Ideally all 30,000 pounds of the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, dropped from a great height.</p>
  1444.  
  1445.  
  1446.  
  1447. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Anyone in the executive branch or military who abetted Trump’s assault on the Constitution must go.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1448.  
  1449.  
  1450.  
  1451. <p>This is not a complete to-do list. Nor is it one everyone will agree on. But it is a basic program that will reveal a critical point Democrats have learned to forget: Justice and revenge are great coalition builders. They are purposeful and cathartic, twinning high-minded principle with low visceral satisfaction. They are ideas, bigger and stronger than those who wield them, and they are what transforms someone like Gavin Newsom from a haircut that razes homeless encampments into an avatar of something that can feel like hope. They are the reason why <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squad_(U.S._Congress)" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">the Squad</a> represents 50% of the House Democratic Caucus that anyone can recognize as human. After getting demolished by Mitch McConnell in 2020, Amy McGrath might not have had the wit to take her spare millions in donor money and hire a clutch of bounty hunters to track down a reason to vote for her, but an uncompromising commitment to restored, restorative and punitive justice should be enough. Imagine the joy of an abundance agenda whose debate is, “How abundant does justice need to be? Equal or relentless?” </p>
  1452.  
  1453.  
  1454.  
  1455. <p>Imagine a centrist vs. leftist intraparty debate pitted between “We need to expand the Supreme Court to counterbalance the effects of the life-termed conservative lunatics” and “We need to expand the entire federal court system to meet the demands of an overburdened judiciary, and since <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/democratic-party/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="12" title="democratic party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Democrats</a> never developed their own Federalist Society, our flooding the zone with a Rolodex of the most radical justices we can find will amount to installing a raft of candidates that would have been labeled unobjectionable just a generation ago.” There are so many reasons to vote for a party that can’t decide on “We should ship racist meme jerkoff and apex welfare queen <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/elon-musk/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="19" title="Elon Musk">Elon Musk</a> to the Hague for using the rescission of federal contracts to kill eight figures&#8217; worth of Africans over the next decade” or “We should do that, but how many of the companies of his that America underwrote should be nationalized?”</p>
  1456.  
  1457.  
  1458.  
  1459. <p>Many Democrats will reflexively and perhaps unconsciously dismiss such a political-legal program with the rhetoric of reaction. It will be easy, for instance, to crush a notion as simple as “we should run our nation according to the rules we approved and wrote down” under the limitless imaginary weight of unintended consequences. They will conjure an as-yet unrealized phantom terror that is inexplicably direr than the ongoing destruction of the American republic at the hands of fascism influencers who could fuck up a two-car funeral. They will fear that Republicans might call Democrats terrorists, which they already do, or communists, which they already do, or threaten to jail them, which they already do, or emphasize the need for someone — not saying who, but <em>someone </em>— to kill them, which they already do. Republicans have already turned their gaze from a “war-torn” Portland filled with inflatable dancing frogs and senior-citizen ukulele bands to an Oct. 18 No Kings protest they are billing as a “hate America rally” conducted by the “terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party. A war this imaginary not only has to fabricate the atrocities, it has to fabricate the enemy army. </p>
  1460.  
  1461.  
  1462.  
  1463. <p class="is-td-marked">The right doesn’t know that this writer and publication carry about as much water with Democratic leadership as a colander in a tornado. If they get wind of this column, they’ll just claim this is the official policy of the Democratic Party anyway. Why wait to take the blame when you can step forward and take the credit?</p>
  1464. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/justice-for-all/">Justice for All</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1465. ]]></content:encoded>
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  1468. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1471. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312314</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DemsJustice.png?width=878&#038;height=585" length="1140195" type="image/png" />
  1472. <media:thumbnail url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DemsJustice.png?width=878&#038;height=585" />
  1473. </item>
  1474. <item>
  1475. <title>Voices of Resistance</title>
  1476. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/voices-of-resistance/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=voices-of-resistance</link>
  1477. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/voices-of-resistance/#respond</comments>
  1479. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Batool Abu Akleen, Nahil Mohana, Ala’a Obaid, Sondos Sabra /  Biblioasis ]]></dc:creator>
  1480. <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 16:19:23 +0000</pubDate>
  1481. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  1482. <category><![CDATA[Arts & Culture]]></category>
  1483. <category><![CDATA[Book Excerpt]]></category>
  1484. <category><![CDATA[Books]]></category>
  1485. <category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
  1486. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1487. <category><![CDATA[Social Justice]]></category>
  1488. <category><![CDATA[Wounds of War]]></category>
  1489. <category><![CDATA[famine]]></category>
  1490. <category><![CDATA[gaza]]></category>
  1491. <category><![CDATA[genocide]]></category>
  1492. <category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
  1493. <category><![CDATA[palestine]]></category>
  1494. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312283</guid>
  1495.  
  1496. <description><![CDATA[<p>Sondos Sabra chronicles a day in the life as a Palestinian living in Gaza in this excerpt from "Voices of Resistance: Diaries of Genocide."</p>
  1497. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/voices-of-resistance/">Voices of Resistance</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1498. ]]></description>
  1499. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1500. <p class="has-small-font-size"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/voices-of-resistance/ad7eb2b71f687705?ean=9781771967181&amp;next=t" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">&#8220;Voices of Resistance: Diaries of Genocide&#8221;</a> (published by Biblioasis in North America and by Comma Press in the U.K.) is a collection of diaries from four Palestinian women — Batool Abu Akleen, Nahil Mohana, Ala’a Obaid and Sondos Sabra — chronicling their daily lives in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. The following is an excerpt from Sabra&#8217;s diary.</p>
  1501.  
  1502.  
  1503.  
  1504. <p class="has-drop-cap">Of course, they don’t intend to kill us, even when they drop 2,000-pound bombs on us. Even when they rain down bombardments across entire neighbourhoods and make life impossible in our city. No, no, don’t misunderstand. They are merely eradicating &#8220;terrorism.&#8221;</p>
  1505.  
  1506.  
  1507.  
  1508. <p>Two days ago, on December 5, &#8220;terrorism&#8221; was hiding in the body of Omar, my six-year-old nephew, perhaps in his heart, or maybe among his soft locks of hair. So they killed him. They dropped two missiles on him and his siblings, Aya and Ahmad and his niece Sila, who was only seven months old, killing them all.</p>
  1509.  
  1510.  
  1511.  
  1512. <p class="has-drop-cap">At 5 am, my sister Randa woke to strange noises outside her house in Shuja’iyya. She roused her husband Saeed to investigate, and as soon as he opened the window, two successive explosions shook him. A thick layer of smoke filled the air outside.</p>
  1513.  
  1514.  
  1515.  
  1516. <p>Fearing a sniper might be hiding in the surrounding buildings, my sister Randa fell to the floor and crawled toward the adjacent room, in which her children had been sleeping. She found them all awake and whispered in the ear of her eldest son, Samir &#8220;The army has surrounded us.&#8221;</p>
  1517.  
  1518.  
  1519. <div class="wp-block-image">
  1520. <figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/voices-of-resistance-diaries-of-genocide-ala-a-obaid/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="659" height="1024" src="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=659&#038;height=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-312295" style="width:311px;height:auto" srcset="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=659&amp;height=1024 659w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=193&amp;height=300 193w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=768&amp;height=1194 768w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=116&amp;height=180 116w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=174&amp;height=270 174w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=261&amp;height=405 261w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=376&amp;height=585 376w, https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781771967181-1.jpg?width=772 772w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></figure></div>
  1521.  
  1522.  
  1523. <p>Fear gripped Samir’s heart; he picked up his own seven-month-old daughter, Sila, kissed her and put his hand over her mouth to prevent any sound that might alert the Israeli soldiers. Saeed suggested they go down to the basement and wait for the Israelis to withdraw from the area. But as soon as they descended the stairs, shells hit the courtyard of the house, forcing them to flee.</p>
  1524.  
  1525.  
  1526.  
  1527. <p>The sun was already rising as they moved cautiously toward the backyard, which led out into the street. There were eleven people in total: Randa and her husband Saeed; their children Samir, Mohammed, Ahmad, Aya, Fella, Farah and Omar; as well as Samir’s wife Saja and their baby daughter Sila. They snuck into the garden one by one, holding white flags over their heads. The air smelt of gunpowder. A dense fog enveloped the neighbourhood. Sounds of cannons echoed on all sides. They picked up speed and headed for a side street, about ten metres wide.</p>
  1528.  
  1529.  
  1530.  
  1531. <p>A quadcopter drone, flying low over the rooftops, noticed them and rained its bullets down on them. They scattered, stumbled, fell to the ground thinking it was all over, then realising they were still alive, got back to their feet and fled with all their might, driven by the profoundest of instincts: survival. Randa, Saeed and one of their daughters, Fella, ran into a house at the end of the street, seeking refuge.</p>
  1532.  
  1533.  
  1534.  
  1535. <p>The others kept running, cleaving to the walls for cover. Nowhere was safe in the neighbourhood. Eventually they reached an UNRWA [U.N. relief agency] school, but the missiles had followed them. How must it have felt to have reached the verge of safety — to be able to smell survival — only to have death pounce again as they rounded the corner?</p>
  1536.  
  1537.  
  1538.  
  1539. <p class="has-drop-cap">My six-year-old nephew Omar was struck in the head by a piece of shrapnel and died instantly. His brother Ahmad, sister Aya and baby niece Sila were wounded and bleeding. This was Omar’s first year in elementary school. He never got to memorise the route to school each morning, or to mischievously ring doorbells and run away before anyone came. He chose another path, a more peaceful one: to soar with the flocks of young pigeons to the skies above Gaza.</p>
  1540.  
  1541.  
  1542.  
  1543. <p>With the help of a neighbour, Samir dragged his siblings to a nearby house, where he tried every possible way to stop their bleeding. Aya was wounded in her side; Ahmad in his chest and legs. Samir ran back into the street, trying to find an ambulance, though he himself had sustained a shrapnel injury to his throat and lost a tooth in his lower jaw. His efforts proved futile. Thousands of wounded are left to die on the pavements or in their houses because there just aren’t enough ambulances.</p>
  1544.  
  1545.  
  1546.  
  1547. <p class="has-drop-cap">When I received the news, I tried to contact the Red Cross, struggling with the signal before finally getting through.</p>
  1548.  
  1549.  
  1550.  
  1551. <p>&#8220;Hello, habibti, Red Cross here, how can we help you?&#8221;</p>
  1552.  
  1553.  
  1554.  
  1555. <p>&#8220;This is Sondos, I need an ambulance to transport my sister’s children to the hospital. They are trapped in Shuja’iyya in a house belonging to … &#8220;</p>
  1556.  
  1557.  
  1558.  
  1559. <p>&#8220;We are sorry, habibti, we cannot help. The Israeli Army is preventing our personnel from entering Shuja’iyya.&#8221;</p>
  1560.  
  1561.  
  1562.  
  1563. <p>How cold the answer.</p>
  1564.  
  1565.  
  1566.  
  1567. <p>How warm the blood.</p>
  1568.  
  1569.  
  1570.  
  1571. <p class="has-drop-cap">After an hour of bleeding, Ahmad followed his brother Omar. Minutes later, Aya joined them.</p>
  1572.  
  1573.  
  1574.  
  1575. <p>The neighbour wrapped their bodies in bedcovers and placed them on the second floor of the house, away from the eyes of his own children. At the same time, Samir’s daughter Sila was clinging to life as long as possible, craving more of her mother’s hugs, craving more of her father’s kisses.</p>
  1576.  
  1577.  
  1578.  
  1579. <p>Sila was the first grandchild of my sister Randa’s family. Her arrival brought joy to the entire household. Everyone had participated in setting up her room, equipping it with everything a baby might need. The day of her birth had been a celebration; her father distributed sweets to all the children and adults of the neighbourhood, rejoicing.</p>
  1580.  
  1581.  
  1582.  
  1583. <p>During the November truce, I visited Sila, took her in my arms and breathed in her scent. That day, a tiny white tooth started to press upwards in her lower gums. True, it hadn’t fully protruded, but it already felt sharp, voraciously biting any finger that dared touch it. Sila had a laugh that would melt your soul, transporting you out of your own dull world and into hers, with all its exuberance.</p>
  1584.  
  1585.  
  1586.  
  1587. <p>After twelve hours of bleeding, she decided to let go of this world: a world that had turned its back on her.</p>
  1588.  
  1589.  
  1590.  
  1591. <p>Until we meet again, summer fruit.</p>
  1592.  
  1593.  
  1594.  
  1595. <p class="has-drop-cap">Sila’s body remained in the arms of her mother, Saja, for a whole day. Due to the ongoing fighting in the neighbourhood, Saja and Samir were unable to leave the house to bury Sila, Aya, Ahmad or Omar.</p>
  1596.  
  1597.  
  1598.  
  1599. <p>Saja was injured too: one piece of shrapnel had embedded itself in her right elbow, another in her left leg. She was barely able to move. The neighbour’s wife tried everything she could to persuade Saja to let go of her daughter, so she could place Sila’s body with the bodies of the other children on the upper floor.</p>
  1600.  
  1601.  
  1602.  
  1603. <p>Saja refused. &#8220;Please, let her stay in my arms; I want to hold her for longer.&#8221;</p>
  1604.  
  1605.  
  1606.  
  1607. <p>Saja married at eighteen, gave birth at nineteen and has lost her daughter before turning twenty. How can her young heart bear this amount of anguish? And to have this compounded by the pain of milk drying in her breasts.</p>
  1608.  
  1609.  
  1610.  
  1611. <p class="has-drop-cap">While this tragedy unfolded, my sister Randa, her husband Saeed and their daughter Fella were still trapped in the house they had sought refuge in, unable to leave, and unaware of their children’s martyrdom. They’d tried calling Samir and Saja several times in the night, but their network was down. It’s common for the Israelis to cut off communications in the areas they’ve invaded.</p>
  1612.  
  1613.  
  1614.  
  1615. <p>Randa, Saeed and Fella were not alone in the house they’d taken refuge in. Over 40 people were trapped with them, all without food and water. After a full day under siege, the tanks were getting closer, and the thick smell of gunpowder made breathing almost impossible. A shell hit the roof of the house, causing a fire to break out on the upper floors. Those trapped inside could no longer bear waiting for death so they decided to flee, though danger surrounded them. They left with white flags raised, but the Israeli soldiers fired at them regardless. Some fell as martyrs, while others were injured. It was only through God’s will that Randa, Saeed and Fella survived, fleeing through empty streets and desperately searching for their family.</p>
  1616.  
  1617.  
  1618.  
  1619. <p>Eventually, Saeed spotted one of his neighbours, Abu Sami, peeking cautiously through a window in his door.</p>
  1620.  
  1621.  
  1622.  
  1623. <p>&#8220;Thank God you’re safe,&#8221; Saeed said. &#8220;Have you seen my children? Are they with a neighbour?&#8221;</p>
  1624.  
  1625.  
  1626.  
  1627. <p>&#8220;I’ve heard Abu Ahmad’s house holds the injured and displaced, they might have information about your children,&#8221; Abu Sami replied. &#8220;But I wouldn’t advise you to wander around the neighbourhood. Most of the houses are abandoned, and there are drones shooting at anyone who moves.&#8221;</p>
  1628.  
  1629.  
  1630.  
  1631. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>‘Please, let her stay in my arms; I want to hold her for longer.’</p></blockquote></figure>
  1632.  
  1633.  
  1634.  
  1635. <p>Saeed, Randa and Fella ran towards Abu Ahmad’s house, their hearts pounding violently in their chests. As soon as they arrived, Saeed shouted, &#8220;Are my children with you Abu Ahmad?&#8221;</p>
  1636.  
  1637.  
  1638.  
  1639. <p>Abu Ahmad did not respond.</p>
  1640.  
  1641.  
  1642.  
  1643. <p>Saeed asked again, &#8220;Where are my children?&#8221;</p>
  1644.  
  1645.  
  1646.  
  1647. <p>In a hoarse voice, Abu Ahmad answered, &#8220;Say: There is no god but God.&#8221;</p>
  1648.  
  1649.  
  1650.  
  1651. <p>With force, my sister Randa pushed the door open, and entered to find her daughter-in-law, Saja, holding Sila’s body and weeping bitterly.</p>
  1652.  
  1653.  
  1654.  
  1655. <p>&#8220;Sila’s dead!&#8221; Saja screamed. &#8220;They’re all gone, no one is left!&#8221;</p>
  1656.  
  1657.  
  1658.  
  1659. <p>Randa froze. She didn’t scream or cry; she just stared at Sila, stared for a long time.</p>
  1660.  
  1661.  
  1662.  
  1663. <p>Fella dropped to her knees. &#8220;It’s impossible! She’s just asleep! Sila, my heart, wake up! I’ll bring you a strawberry lollipop!&#8221;</p>
  1664.  
  1665.  
  1666.  
  1667. <p>Another neighbour approached and hugged Randa, saying through her tears, &#8220;May God give you patience. … May God take revenge.&#8221;</p>
  1668.  
  1669.  
  1670.  
  1671. <p>Through broken breaths, Randa asked, &#8220;Where are my children?&#8221;</p>
  1672.  
  1673.  
  1674.  
  1675. <p>The neighbour pointed: &#8220;Upstairs.&#8221;</p>
  1676.  
  1677.  
  1678.  
  1679. <p class="has-drop-cap">When he reached the upper floor, Saeed staggered as if he had lost his senses. He kneeled and lifted the covers from the faces of his children one by one, pulling each child to his chest. He let out a suppressed wail, painful and deep, as if his heart had silently exploded — a muted groan emerging from a wound so deep the entire world couldn’t heal it.</p>
  1680.  
  1681.  
  1682.  
  1683. <p>Randa stood by Omar, her beloved boy, wiping his small, cold face. Still, she did not cry or scream. She only whispered, in a broken voice, &#8220;My darling … you can not know how much I love you. Why did they do this to you?&#8221;</p>
  1684.  
  1685.  
  1686.  
  1687. <p>Beside Omar lay Ahmad, a quiet and shy child who had lost the hearing in his left ear at the age of five. He didn’t like running and playing like other children his age; he preferred watching anime and imitating his favourite characters with great skill. Randa kissed his little hands and placed them on her face. &#8220;Oh, my soul, my child, you are leaving me too. Forgive me, my darling, I couldn’t protect you!&#8221;</p>
  1688.  
  1689.  
  1690.  
  1691. <p>And Aya, their sister &#8230; When I first heard about Aya’s injury, I deeply hoped it was minor. I considered Aya a friend as much as I considered her my niece. She was athletic, strong, full of life. Naively, I believed that someone like her couldn’t die. Life suited her so well; she knew how to live it.</p>
  1692.  
  1693.  
  1694.  
  1695. <p>Death is a reality, I don’t deny it. But I never imagined I would lose Aya in such a brutal way.</p>
  1696.  
  1697.  
  1698.  
  1699. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>&#8216;Forgive me, my darling, I couldn’t protect you!’</p></blockquote></figure>
  1700.  
  1701.  
  1702.  
  1703. <p>Fella and Aya were more than just sisters. Fella, the youngest of the pair, saw Aya as her guide in the difficult aspects of life: the friend who would always be by her side. Sometimes, I felt annoyed by Fella’s tendency to copy everything Aya did. Sometimes, I would tell her, &#8220;You need to be yourself, not Aya’s shadow.&#8221;</p>
  1704.  
  1705.  
  1706.  
  1707. <p>But over time, I saw what Aya meant to Fella. She was more than a sister; she was her life itself, her source of strength, her place of refuge.</p>
  1708.  
  1709.  
  1710.  
  1711. <p>Fella placed her head next to Aya’s, holding her sister’s body with boundless tenderness. She stayed by her side all night, lost in deep silence, unable to believe she was losing this part of herself forever.</p>
  1712.  
  1713.  
  1714.  
  1715. <p>By sunrise, Fella’s clothes were soaked in Aya’s blood, even her hair was laced with it, but she felt nothing except emptiness. Everything around her was silent. The sounds of the artillery and drones no longer mattered.</p>
  1716.  
  1717.  
  1718.  
  1719. <p class="has-drop-cap">This morning, news arrived that the occupation’s vehicles had pulled back slightly. The neighbours took this opportunity to move the injured and recover the bodies of the martyrs. No medical help was available. In a desperate effort, the locals tried to move the injured in horse-drawn carts, hoping to reach al-Ahli Baptist Hospital: a temporary refuge for the wounded since the larger al-Shifa Hospital was attacked.</p>
  1720.  
  1721.  
  1722.  
  1723. <p>As for my sister’s children: they were buried in a hurry, with no chance to say goodbye. No funeral honoured their dignity; no shrouds preserved their bodies. They were buried in the covers they had lain in, to sleep in the peace they were deprived of in reality. Our consolation is that they are now in the gardens of Paradise.</p>
  1724.  
  1725.  
  1726.  
  1727. <p class="has-drop-cap">Who knows, perhaps terrorism hides in the warmth of a home, in the bells of churches or the minarets of mosques, between the pages of books, in the streets and alleyways of the camps, or even amidst the tents of the displaced. The Israeli occupation has every right to erase anything from the face of the Earth, if they so desire. And no one has the right to criticise Israel.</p>
  1728.  
  1729.  
  1730.  
  1731. <p>After all, they are saving humanity from the evildoers.</p>
  1732.  
  1733.  
  1734.  
  1735. <p>How valiant of them.</p>
  1736.  
  1737.  
  1738.  
  1739. <p class="is-td-marked">How noble.</p>
  1740. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/voices-of-resistance/">Voices of Resistance</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1741. ]]></content:encoded>
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  1744. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1747. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312283</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25268694746329.jpg?width=877&#038;height=585" length="8300427" type="image/jpeg" />
  1748. <media:thumbnail url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25268694746329.jpg?width=877&#038;height=585" />
  1749. </item>
  1750. <item>
  1751. <title>Large Language Muddle</title>
  1752. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/large-language-muddle/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=large-language-muddle</link>
  1753. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/large-language-muddle/#respond</comments>
  1755. <dc:creator><![CDATA[n+1 Editors /  n+1 ]]></dc:creator>
  1756. <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:50:25 +0000</pubDate>
  1757. <category><![CDATA[Arts & Culture]]></category>
  1758. <category><![CDATA[Books]]></category>
  1759. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
  1760. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1761. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
  1762. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  1763. <category><![CDATA[artificial general intelligence]]></category>
  1764. <category><![CDATA[chatgpt]]></category>
  1765. <category><![CDATA[LLM]]></category>
  1766. <category><![CDATA[OpenAI]]></category>
  1767. <category><![CDATA[the New Yorker]]></category>
  1768. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312287</guid>
  1769.  
  1770. <description><![CDATA[<p>Literature made by machines and owned by corporations can only be fake, an insult to real literature. It should be smashed, and can.</p>
  1771. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/large-language-muddle/">Large Language Muddle</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1772. ]]></description>
  1773. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1774. <p><strong>To what extent </strong>will artificial intelligence revolutionize (derogatory) the lives of the professionally and semiprofessionally literary? Already the technology has barreled through enough creative and commercial sectors to fill a Studs Terkel oral history, threatening mass unemployment events for copywriters, translators, illustrators, sales and customer service representatives and more. The New York Times assails readers almost daily with appalling stories of AI therapists and AI boyfriends, capturing the paradox of a technology that promises to fix broken systems even as it makes them worse. As social ties fray and mental health infrastructure deteriorates, people turn to AI for emotional support — the same AI that then urges them to kill themselves.</p>
  1775.  
  1776.  
  1777.  
  1778. <p>For those of us working in reading- and writing-heavy fields — chiefly media and academia, the U.S.’ last two eroded islands of institutional intellectual life — the boom in sophistication of large language models over the past few years has struck alarm bells that were already chiming. Well before the inflection point of OpenAI’s 2022 debut of ChatGPT, freelance writers and adjunct instructors were already beset by declining web traffic, stagnant book sales, the steady siphoning of resources from the humanities and what was hard not to interpret as a culture-wide devaluation of the written word. Then along came a swarm of free software that promised to produce, in seconds, passable approximations of term papers, literary reviews, lyric essays, Intellectual Situations.</p>
  1779.  
  1780.  
  1781.  
  1782. <p>The swarm assembled faster than anyone had anticipated. “If you have not been using AI,” wrote the poet and Yale Review editor Meghan O’Rourke in a New York Times op-ed this July, “you might believe that we’re still in the era of pure AI ‘slop’ — simplistic phrasing, obvious hallucinations.” ChatGPT’s writing is still merely competent —  “no rival for that of our best novelists or poets or scholars,” O’Rourke writes — but it’s “so much better than it was a year ago that I can’t imagine where it will be in five years.”</p>
  1783.  
  1784.  
  1785.  
  1786. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>While spoken in the voice of an individual author, each piece in this emergent corpus stages a more collective drama.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1787.  
  1788.  
  1789.  
  1790. <p>How can intellectuals chronicle such a shift — one that threatens their ability to chronicle anything at all? O’Rourke is among a growing group of literary writers who have tried to answer the question in the first person, scoping out artificial intelligence’s encroachments from within the domains it most imperils. Their writing asks what AI-generated writing can or (much less often) can’t do, and how human writers can or (much more often) can’t respond. Call the genre the AI-and-I essay. Between April and July, the New Yorker published more than a dozen such pieces: essays about generative AI and the dangers it poses to literacy, education and human cognition. Each had a searching, plaintive web headline. “Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?” asked Princeton historian D. Graham Burnett. “What’s Happening to Reading?” mused the magazine’s prolific pop-psych writer Joshua Rothman a couple months after also wondering, with rather more dismay, “Why Even Try if You Have AI?” “AI Is Homogenizing Our Thoughts,” declared Kyle Chayka, with the irony of a columnist whose job is to write more or less the same thing every week using his own human mind. An article by Hua Hsu put it most starkly, seeing the artificial-versus-human intelligence war as all but lost: “What Happens After AI Destroys College Writing?”</p>
  1791.  
  1792.  
  1793.  
  1794. <p>No topic — not the genocidal war and famine in Gaza, not Trumpian authoritarianism — has magnetized bien-pensant attention this year in the way AI has. Writing on AI thus comes in every mode: muckraking (“Inside the AI Prompts <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/doge/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="18" title="DOGE">DOGE</a> Used to ‘Munch’ Contracts Related to Veterans’ Health”), scholastic (“Deep Learning’s Governmentality”), polemical (“The Silicon-Tongued Devil”), besotted (“The AI Birthday Letter That Blew Me Away”). The AI-and-I essay, however, usefully registers a generalized intellectual anxiety. While spoken in the voice of an individual author, each piece in this emergent corpus stages a more collective drama. To read these writers writing about AI writing is to witness, almost in real time, intellectual laborers assimilating a threat to their own existence. The threat looms more distantly for some than for others. But whether or not one enjoys the near-extinct security and legacy prestige of a New Yorker staff job (to spend one’s days “focusing” on the rapid erosion of the life of the mind — the dream!), this work paints a persuasive picture of a world hollowed by machines — a world, the writers suggest, we will all have to learn to live in.</p>
  1795.  
  1796.  
  1797.  
  1798. <p>Ironically, these essays about the fundamental iterability of prose can read like iterations of the same piece. Nearly all marshal similar data points about AI’s spread on university campuses. In this the essays seem at first only to repeat the pathological chattering-class fixation on elite colleges and the perpetual downslide of the American mind. But the numbers <em>are</em> scandalous. Forty-two percent of undergraduates use AI at least once a week; anywhere from 50% to 90% have used it to cheat on their schoolwork. AI’s observed effects on an already screen-addled and pandemic-frazzled student body are bleaker still. In a widely cited study by MIT researchers published in June, participants who wrote SAT-style essays with the assistance of ChatGPT were shown to have engaged a narrower spectrum of neural networks while writing, struggled to accurately quote what they had just written and — thanks to generative AI’s inbuilt tendency toward cliché — used the same handful of refried phrases over and over. The study’s authors warned that habitual AI use could lead to “cognitive debt,” a condition of large language model dependency whose long-term costs include “diminished critical inquiry,” “increased vulnerability to manipulation” and “decreased creativity.” It turns out your brain, like love or money, can be given away.</p>
  1799.  
  1800.  
  1801.  
  1802. <p>Onto these grim findings the AI-and-I writer heaps a dollop of anecdotal evidence. The writer’s friends and family, eager to live less administratively burdened lives, are all hooked on Gemini. Those who teach for a living notice that their students’ weekly response papers have become suspiciously competent (if marred by occasional citations of nonexistent books), even as those same students struggle to read more than a dozen pages in one go. The journalists and critics they know — people who learned to write the old-fashioned way, by typing out weekly response papers with their own hands! — find that Google’s useless “AI Mode” shoos readers away from their published work entirely.</p>
  1803.  
  1804.  
  1805.  
  1806. <p>For the sake of inquiry, the AI-and-I writer tries out an LLM for themself. Here the tone starts to change. “I’ve used ChatGPT a handful of times,” writes Hsu, “and on one occasion it accomplished a scheduling task so quickly that I began to understand the intoxication of hyper-efficiency.” In a piece about using chatbots to treat loneliness, psychologist Paul Bloom confesses that “during a long bout of insomnia, sometime after three in the morning, I once found myself — more out of boredom than out of conviction — opening ChatGPT on my phone. &#8230; I found the conversation unexpectedly calming.” Burnett, the history professor, describes uploading his own 900-page course reader into Google’s NotebookLM and asking it to produce a podcast based on the assigned readings, which he listened to while doing dishes. (“<em>Respect</em>, I thought. <em>That was straight-A work.</em>”) Rothman, accidentally posing a suggestive analogy between AI-generated writing and puking, recounts the time he tested out ChatGPT by prompting it to predict the course of a norovirus outbreak in his household. It did so, with “verve.”</p>
  1807.  
  1808.  
  1809.  
  1810. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Does the AI skeptic have nothing else to fall back on than an enumeration of mankind’s shortcomings?</p></blockquote></figure>
  1811.  
  1812.  
  1813.  
  1814. <p>All these points in AI’s favor prompt some nervous reappraisals. Essays that began in bafflement or dismay wind up convinced that the technology marks an epochal shift in reading and writing. In “Are We Taking AI Seriously Enough?” Rothman describes having “both an ‘Aha!’ and an ‘uh-oh’ moment” after prompting ChatGPT to complete an onerous personal-finance task. He narrates this recognition in the awestruck tone of a sci-fi protagonist watching the aliens finally make contact: “It’s here, I thought. This is real.” Not to be outdone, Burnett calls AI “the most significant revolution in the world of thought in the past century.” Other writers cast their periodizations even further back, arguing that AI-assisted writing may augur the close of the “Gutenberg Parenthesis”: the 500-year period in which printed writing has dominated human communication.</p>
  1815.  
  1816.  
  1817.  
  1818. <p>In the face of a monolith-in-the-veldt-level era heralder, what surfaces is an earnest, almost midcentury humanism, interested in charting the distinctions between man and machine. But the case the AI-and-I authors make shows the strain of special pleading. The single, vital aspect of humanity that LLMs can never match, the essays assert again and again, is our imperfection. “AI allows any of us to feel like an expert, but it is risk, doubt, and failure that make us human,” writes Hsu. O’Rourke, in The New York Times: “When I write, the process is full of risk, error and painstaking self-correction. It arrives somewhere surprising only when I’ve stayed in uncertainty long enough to find out what I had initially failed to understand.” ChatGPT can instantly summarize classic texts, notes Rothman, but “the human version of reading involves finitude,” and it’s this quality — the impossibility of true optimization — that makes a literary life, or any life, interesting. Imagining a future where chatbots provide constant companionship to incels and the elderly, Bloom worries that “we risk losing part of what makes us human.”</p>
  1819.  
  1820.  
  1821.  
  1822. <p>So, inconstancy, fallibility, forgetfulness, suffering, failure — these, apparently, are the unautomatable gifts of our species. Well, sure. To err is human. But does the AI skeptic have nothing else to fall back on than an enumeration of mankind’s shortcomings? Are our worst qualities the best we can do? It’s hard not to read the emphasis on failure as an ambivalent invitation for the machines to succeed. The final notes of the AI-and-I essay are cowed resignation, awed acquiescence, and what Trotsky called the “terrifying helplessness” of cultural production at “the beginning of a great epoch&#8221; — all from the very writers best placed to condemn AI’s creep into literary life. “What if we take seriously the idea that AI assistance can accelerate learning — that students today are arriving at their destinations faster?” Hsu asks. But what if we don’t?</p>
  1823.  
  1824.  
  1825.  
  1826. <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>*&nbsp;&nbsp; *&nbsp;&nbsp; *</strong></p>
  1827.  
  1828.  
  1829.  
  1830. <p>The temptation to resign ourselves to resignation is never stronger than at a time of overlapping crises. The AI upheaval is unique in its ability to metabolize any number of dread-inducing transformations. The university is becoming more corporate, more politically oppressive and all but hostile to the humanities? Yes — and every student gets their own personal chatbot. The second coming of the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration has exposed the civic sclerosis of the U.S. body politic? Time to turn the Social Security Administration over to Grok. Climate apocalypse now feels less like a distant terror than a fact of life? In three years, roughly a tenth of U.S. energy demand will come from data centers alone.<sup data-fn="16596d7e-1cde-4759-b450-28f5e31aca60" class="fn"><a id="16596d7e-1cde-4759-b450-28f5e31aca60-link" href="#16596d7e-1cde-4759-b450-28f5e31aca60" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">1</a></sup> And in the middle of these concentric circles is the bedraggled individual, their intellectual autonomy — their humanity! — ever more under siege from the ingratiating question answerers in their phones.</p>
  1831.  
  1832.  
  1833.  
  1834. <p>No one can deny the power and size of the AI coalition, an ensemble of Silicon Valley investors, lobbyists and bought-off politicians; hucksters, carnival barkers and gravy train chasers; and bosses gleeful at the opportunity to downsize and deskill. Unsurprisingly, this well-funded upheaval is outpacing any social, political or ethical effort to slow it down. According to the logic of market share as social transformation, if you move fast and break enough things, nothing can contain you.</p>
  1835.  
  1836.  
  1837.  
  1838. <p>An extraordinary amount of money is spent by the AI industry to ensure that acquiescence is the only plausible response. But marketing is not destiny. The simplest reason to refuse resignation is that resignation can only harmonize with the tech-industry narrative of AI inevitability. When we give in, we join the sales force. (Literally :  according to a recent Financial Times op-ed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, “the real magic lies in partnership: people and AI working together, achieving more than either could alone.”)</p>
  1839.  
  1840.  
  1841.  
  1842. <p>For however headily mystified and abstracted its operations, privately owned AI is always and everywhere a vehicle for accumulation. For users, the optimal GenAI experience feels effortless — “frictionless,” in the smooth-talking lingo of Silicon Valley. But ChatGPT’s instant answers and uncanny simulacra are the fetishized product of what Marx called “dead labor”: all the past work of thinking and writing behind the texts on which AI models are trained, together with the coding and engineering required for their development and maintenance.<sup data-fn="7a8ace61-45a1-41fb-9771-b16598f9b695" class="fn"><a id="7a8ace61-45a1-41fb-9771-b16598f9b695-link" href="#7a8ace61-45a1-41fb-9771-b16598f9b695" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">2</a></sup></p>
  1843.  
  1844.  
  1845.  
  1846. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>AI-made material is itself also a waste product: flimsy, shoddy, disposable, a single-use plastic of the mind.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1847.  
  1848.  
  1849.  
  1850. <p>So far, so &#8220;Capital,&#8221; Volume 1. Then there is our own unpaid labor of interpretation and optimization. When we grade an AI-generated essay, we accord it a kind of dignity. When we press a chatbot to fine-tune its answers or sift its sources, we serve the machine. With every click and prompt, every system-tweaking inch we give to the spectral author, we help underwrite AI profits (or at least the next round of equity funding; no major AI product has yet come close to actually making money).</p>
  1851.  
  1852.  
  1853.  
  1854. <p>But a still graver scandal of AI — like its hydra-head sibling, cryptocurrency — is the technology’s colossal wastefulness. The untold billions firehosed by investors into its development; the water-guzzling data centers draining the parched exurbs of Phoenix and Dallas; the yeti-size carbon footprint of the sector as a whole — and for what? A cankerous glut of racist memes and cardboard essays. Not only is the ratio of AI’s resource rapacity to its productive utility indefensibly and irremediably skewed, but AI-made material is itself also a waste product: flimsy, shoddy, disposable, a single-use plastic of the mind.</p>
  1855.  
  1856.  
  1857.  
  1858. <p>The current AI triumphalism also clouds the history of the field’s own waxing and waning fortunes. Once the recondite domain of mathematicians and IBM tinkerers, AI not so long ago looked more moribund than monetizable. In the preface to the 20th-anniversary edition of his 1972 broadside &#8220;What Computers Can’t Do,&#8221; the philosopher Hubert Dreyfus dismissed AI as “a degenerating research program,” which “all but a few diehards” recognized had “failed.” Cyclical downturns in research and funding are persistent enough to be known in the trade as “AI winters.” We have the misfortune to be living through a manic, Stravinskian rite of spring.</p>
  1859.  
  1860.  
  1861.  
  1862. <p>The GenAI sector’s foremost feat of marketing, then, has been the term &#8220;intelligence&#8221; itself. Among AI’s leading critics, the computational linguist Emily M. Bender has targeted the industry with a campaign of righteous disenchantment. ChatGPT’s appearance of humanlike intelligence, she and others point out, is a mirage. The narcotized text it produces is only a recombination of whatever corpora it consumes; LLMs, Bender argues, should be seen as “stochastic parrots” and “synthetic text extruding machines.” Where real thinking involves organic associations, speculative leaps and surprise inferences, AI can only recognize and repeat embedded word chains, based on elaborately automated statistical guesswork. This alone isn’t news: No ChatGPT-happy college sophomore really thinks there’s a little man in the machine writing his &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; essay for him. But it bears insistent, strident repetition. A refusal of AI in creative work begins with a refusal of that product’s ideological packaging. “When we imbue these systems with fictitious consciousness,” Bender and Alex Hanna write in their recent book &#8220;The AI Con,&#8221; “we are implicitly devaluing what it means to be human.” The way out of AI hell is not to regroup around our treasured flaws and beautiful frailties, but to launch a frontal assault. AI, not the human mind, is the weak, narrow, crude machine.</p>
  1863.  
  1864.  
  1865.  
  1866. <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>*&nbsp;&nbsp; *&nbsp;&nbsp; *</strong></p>
  1867.  
  1868.  
  1869.  
  1870. <p>The AI bubble — and it is a bubble, as even OpenAI overlord Sam Altman has admitted — will burst. The technology’s dizzying pace of improvement, already slowing with the release of GPT-5, will stall.<sup data-fn="6628391f-f4f4-4edb-8393-3906141c8b63" class="fn"><a id="6628391f-f4f4-4edb-8393-3906141c8b63-link" href="#6628391f-f4f4-4edb-8393-3906141c8b63" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">3</a></sup> But until it does, its expansion will appear inevitable and irresistible. And AI’s semivisible, infrastructural role in exploiting precarious labor (Uber’s nifty algorithm for suppressing driver wages), landlordism (RealPage’s widely used rent-hiking software) and neocolonial war (Israel’s high-tech civilian-bombing gadgetry) may already be too entrenched to stop. But professional readers and writers, we retain some power over the terms and norms of our own intellectual life. We ought to stop acting like impotence in some realms means impotence everywhere.</p>
  1871.  
  1872.  
  1873.  
  1874. <p>Major terrains remain AI-proofable. For publishers, editors, critics, professors, teachers, anyone with any say over what people read, the first step will be to develop an ear. Learn to tell — to read closely enough to tell — the work of people from the work of bots. Notice the poverty of the latter’s style, the artless syntax and plywood prose, and the shoddiness of its substance: the threadbare platitudes, pat theses, mechanical arguments. And just as important, read to recognize the charm, surprise and strangeness of the real thing. So far this has been about as easily done as said. Until AI systems stop gaining in sophistication, it will become measurably harder. Required will be a new kind of literacy, an adaptive practice of bullshit detection.</p>
  1875.  
  1876.  
  1877.  
  1878. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>We ought to stop acting like impotence in some realms means impotence everywhere.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1879.  
  1880.  
  1881.  
  1882. <p>Whatever nuance is needed for its interception, resisting AI’s further creep into intellectual labor will also require blunt-force militancy. The steps are simple. Don’t publish AI bullshit. Don’t even publish mealymouthed essays about the temptation to produce AI bullshit. Resist the call to establish worthless partnerships like the Washington Post’s Ember, an “AI writing coach” designed to churn out Bezos-friendly op-eds. Instead, do what better magazines, newspapers and journals have managed to do for centuries. Promote and produce original work of value, work that’s cliché-resistant and unreplicable, work that tries — as Thomas Pynchon wrote in an oracular 1984 essay titled “Is It OK to Be a Luddite?” — “through literary means which are nocturnal and deal in disguise, to<em> deny the machine</em>.”</p>
  1883.  
  1884.  
  1885.  
  1886. <p>At school, denying the machine carries more contradictions. AI-and-I essays narrate countless instances in which professors, overworked and faced with floods of essays generated by ChatGPT, simply give up on assessment and hand everybody an A-minus. Punishing already overdisciplined and oversurveilled students for their AI use will help no one, but it’s a long way from accepting that reality to Ohio State’s new plan to mandate something called “AI fluency” for all graduates by 2029 (including workshops sponsored, naturally, by Google). Pedagogically, alternatives to acquiescence remain available. Some are old, like blue-book exams, in-class writing or one-on-one tutoring. Some are new, like developing curricula to teach the limits and flaws of generative AI while nurturing human intelligence. (&#8220;Hamlet&#8221; can wait: Imagine a new course in Richardsian “practical criticism,” where first-year students are trained to parse differences between artificial writing and real prose.)</p>
  1887.  
  1888.  
  1889.  
  1890. <p>All these models, of course, require professional time and institutional support that few teachers now enjoy. Surely the U.S. media is so fixated on the AI invasion in part because our criminally unequal educational institutions are so vulnerable to it. The spurious social-justice case sometimes made for AI tools — as field-leveling time savers for working or disadvantaged students, who are said to lack the “luxury” of reading and writing with their brains — augurs a still more dismal underside: a system of schooling further polarized between a privileged layer of small seminars and bespoke mentorship, and a vast corporate-backed lower order of luckless pupils whose instructors are reduced to little more than deputized Claude moderators.</p>
  1891.  
  1892.  
  1893.  
  1894. <p>For both publications and universities, there are narrow pathways to follow the example of Hollywood, where, after its strike two years ago, the Writers Guild of America won historic if imperfect protections against GenAI in screenwriting. Under the 2023 WGA contract terms, writers can’t be replaced by AI or be required to use it (and where they choose to, they must be paid at standard rates). True, the film industry — however enshittified at other steps of production — is far more unionized than media or academia will likely ever be. But perhaps AI’s ascent in knowledge-industry workplaces will give rise to new demands and new reasons to organize.</p>
  1895.  
  1896.  
  1897.  
  1898. <p>Our final defenses are more diffuse, working at a level of norms and attitudes. Stigmatization is a powerful force, and disgust and shame are among our greatest tools. Put plainly, you should feel bad for using AI. (The broad embrace of the term &#8220;slop&#8221; is a heartening sign of a nascent constituency for machine denial.) These systems haven’t worked well for very long, and consensus about their use remains far from settled. That’s why so much writing about AI writing sounds the way it does — nervous, uneven, ambivalent about the new regime’s utility — and it means there’s still time to disenchant AI, provincialize it, make it uncompelling and uncool.</p>
  1899.  
  1900.  
  1901.  
  1902. <p>All who deny the AI machine will themselves face a very uncool label: the L-word. In a technophilic culture, few figures look lonelier or more quixotic than the latter-day Luddite. Yet as Gavin Mueller writes in &#8220;Breaking Things at Work,&#8221; Luddism — born as a revolt by artisan weavers against their proletarianization by manufacturing capital — was far from “a simple technophobia.” The Luddite rebellion, he notes, “was not against machines in themselves, but against the industrial society &#8230; of which machines were the chief weapon.” Witness, next to the hair-pulling indecision and defeated passivity of typical AI-and-I writing, the clarion force of the Luddite lesson, in Mueller’s summary, “that technology was political, and that it could and, in many cases, should be opposed.”</p>
  1903.  
  1904.  
  1905.  
  1906. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Promote and produce original work of value.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1907.  
  1908.  
  1909.  
  1910. <p>As we train our sights on what we oppose, let’s recall the costs of surrender. When we use generative AI, we consent to the appropriation of our intellectual property by data scrapers. We stuff the pockets of oligarchs with even more money. We abet the acceleration of a social media gyre that everyone admits is making life worse. We accept the further degradation of an already degraded educational system. We agree that we would rather deplete our natural resources than make our own art or think our own thoughts. We dig ourselves deeper into crises that have been made worse by technology, from the erosion of electoral democracy to the intensification of climate change. We condone platforms that not only urge children to commit suicide, they instruct them on how to tie the noose. We hand over our autonomy, at the very moment of emerging American fascism.</p>
  1911.  
  1912.  
  1913.  
  1914. <p>“The independent artist and intellectual are among the few remaining personalities equipped to resist the stereotyping and consequent death of genuinely lively things,” wrote C. Wright Mills in a 1945 essay, presciently titled “The Powerless People: The Social Role of the Intellectual,” surveying the threats new business and military technologies posed to reading and writing life. “Fresh perception now involves the capacity continually to unmask and to smash the stereotypes of vision and intellect with which modern communications swamp us.” A literature made by machines, which are owned by corporations, which are run by sociopaths, can only be a “stereotype” — a simplification, a facsimile, an insult, a fake — of real literature. It should be smashed, and can.</p>
  1915.  
  1916.  
  1917. <ol class="wp-block-footnotes"><li id="16596d7e-1cde-4759-b450-28f5e31aca60">An earlier version of this piece misstated a statistic about projected energy demand from data centers. This statistic has been been updated. <a href="#16596d7e-1cde-4759-b450-28f5e31aca60-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 1" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/21a9.png" alt="↩" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />︎</a></li><li id="7a8ace61-45a1-41fb-9771-b16598f9b695">In fact, tech capital appears already to be running out of dead labor to exhume. Having effectively plundered the entire internet for free training data, the major AI companies are now courting (or being taken to court by) publishers and media outlets, for access to copyrighted material not yet shoveled into the LLM maw. <a href="#7a8ace61-45a1-41fb-9771-b16598f9b695-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 2" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/21a9.png" alt="↩" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />︎</a></li><li id="6628391f-f4f4-4edb-8393-3906141c8b63">The AI arms race, however, shows no sign of abating. In August, Anthropic offered to license its AI chatbot, Claude — not to be confused with competitors Jasper, Llama or Grok — to President <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>’s government for $1 per agency. That Silicon Valley kingmakers would play handservant to an incipient fascism should surprise no one, but who thought they would do it virtually for free?  <a href="#6628391f-f4f4-4edb-8393-3906141c8b63-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 3" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/21a9.png" alt="↩" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />︎</a></li></ol><p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/large-language-muddle/">Large Language Muddle</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
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  1924. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312287</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AdobeStock_1677850842-scaled.jpeg?width=1040&#038;height=567" length="149441" type="image/jpeg" />
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  1926. </item>
  1927. <item>
  1928. <title>The Gaza Deal Can Work — if Trump Keeps Pressure on Israel</title>
  1929. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/gaza-deal-can-work-if-trump-keeps-pressure-on-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gaza-deal-can-work-if-trump-keeps-pressure-on-israel</link>
  1930. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/gaza-deal-can-work-if-trump-keeps-pressure-on-israel/#respond</comments>
  1932. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Trita Parsi /  Responsible Statecraft ]]></dc:creator>
  1933. <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:35:45 +0000</pubDate>
  1934. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  1935. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  1936. <category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
  1937. <category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
  1938. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1939. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  1940. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  1941. <category><![CDATA[Wounds of War]]></category>
  1942. <category><![CDATA[benjamin netanyahu]]></category>
  1943. <category><![CDATA[ceasefire]]></category>
  1944. <category><![CDATA[donald trump]]></category>
  1945. <category><![CDATA[gaza]]></category>
  1946. <category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
  1947. <category><![CDATA[palestine]]></category>
  1948. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312284</guid>
  1949.  
  1950. <description><![CDATA[<p>If not, he risks another failure as his first ceasefire agreement fell by the wayside shortly after hostages were released.</p>
  1951. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/gaza-deal-can-work-if-trump-keeps-pressure-on-israel/">The Gaza Deal Can Work — if Trump Keeps Pressure on Israel</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  1952. ]]></description>
  1953. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1954. <p><strong>Reports today indicate</strong> that both the Israelis and Hamas have agreed on a deal that would call for an immediate cessation of fighting and the return of hostages and prisoners on both sides in a first phase.</p>
  1955.  
  1956.  
  1957.  
  1958. <p>Both parties are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/09/israel-hamas-gaza-deal-ceasefire-live/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">expected to sign the agreement </a>and the Israeli Cabinet will vote to approve it afterward. The deal would supposedly see a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the ground in order for the hostage-prisoner swaps to proceed, but the thornier issues of Hamas disarmament, governance, full Israeli withdrawal and a complete end to the war have been left to hammer out in later phases.</p>
  1959.  
  1960.  
  1961.  
  1962. <p>It remains to be seen if this is fully implemented and successful, but if it will secure an ultimate end of the genocide and the release of the hostages, then that is a crucial achievement.</p>
  1963.  
  1964.  
  1965.  
  1966. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Bottom line is that <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a>&nbsp;<em>must</em>&nbsp;retain pressure on all parties.</p></blockquote></figure>
  1967.  
  1968.  
  1969.  
  1970. <p>There is a risk that the deal repeats President <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8217;s <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/why-did-netanyahu-end-the-gaza-ceasefire#:~:text=Since%20the%20start%20of%20the,Now%20they%20may%20never%20happen." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">previous phased agreement</a> that ended up becoming only a prisoner exchange rather than an end to the slaughter. At the time, in March 2025, Israel had already killed some 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza; today, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/7/two-years-of-israels-genocide-in-gaza-by-the-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">67,000 and likely many more</a> are dead.</p>
  1971.  
  1972.  
  1973.  
  1974. <p>Israel decided to break that first agreement and resumed the war, and as a result, Phase II of the previous agreement was never reached.</p>
  1975.  
  1976.  
  1977.  
  1978. <p>Some commentators in Israel are already declaring that there is no intent on the Israeli side to reach Phase II of the new agreement and end the genocide. Rather, this is just a “<a href="https://x.com/AmitSegal/status/1976176809596100904" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">hostage deal, and a ceasefire while talks continue in good faith.</a>” That is, a tactical pause before Israel restarts the slaughter.</p>
  1979.  
  1980.  
  1981.  
  1982. <p>On the positive side, the fact that Trump is making this such a personal success for himself may imply that he will be far less forgiving if Israel sabotages the deal once again. This, it seems, is what the Palestinians and the Arab states are counting on.</p>
  1983.  
  1984.  
  1985.  
  1986. <p>The bottom line is that Trump <em>must</em> retain pressure on all parties — particularly Israel — to ensure that the prisoner exchange is followed up with a full end to the war.</p>
  1987.  
  1988.  
  1989.  
  1990. <p>The fact that Trump and his team could step in aggressively to get a deal done this week shows that the war could have ended much earlier had the U.S. pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s government appropriately earlier. The key reason Trump moved forward with pressure on Israel at this point is because of Israel&#8217;s overreach by bombing Qatar in September.</p>
  1991.  
  1992.  
  1993.  
  1994. <p>It made the White House recognize that Israel&#8217;s recklessness was increasingly becoming an American problem.</p>
  1995.  
  1996.  
  1997.  
  1998. <p>Add to this another key factor: Israel was increasingly becoming a political burden for Trump. Israel’s popularity has been tanking among Trump’s America First constituency. The sheer amount of Trump’s time Israel was demanding — from Gaza to Lebanon to Iran — was seen as his domestic political priorities while dragging the U.S. once again into unnecessary Middle East conflicts.</p>
  1999.  
  2000.  
  2001.  
  2002. <p>Trump has himself pointed to this, saying that his voters have turned against Israel. “<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/trump-said-to-warn-jewish-donor-that-maga-world-starting-to-hate-israel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">My people are starting to hate Israel</a>,” Trump told a donor in July. Major voices in MAGA, such as Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Candace Owens and, privately before he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk, view blind support for Israel as incompatible with the America First approach.</p>
  2003.  
  2004.  
  2005.  
  2006. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The war has cost U.S. taxpayers $21.7 billion and counting.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2007.  
  2008.  
  2009.  
  2010. <p>Israel‘s international isolation also imposed a cost on the U.S., since it is Washington that is constantly tasked to defend Israel and insulate it from international pressure. Trump <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-whole-world-came-together-secure-israel-hamas-peace-deal-deadlock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">reportedly told</a> Netanyahu that Israel cannot fight the entire world. The implicit message was that the U.S. can no longer spend its political capital defending a reckless and recalcitrant Israel.</p>
  2011.  
  2012.  
  2013.  
  2014. <p>And of course, beyond the immeasurable human suffering, the war has cost U.S. taxpayers <a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-aid-israel-gaza/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">$21.7 billion</a> and counting, and turned <a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/national-conservatism-conference-2673950929/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">an increasing number of conservatives</a> against Israel.</p>
  2015.  
  2016.  
  2017.  
  2018. <p>Trump, of course, is eyeing a Nobel Peace Prize. But ceasefires do not warrant such prizes. Much more must be achieved. If Trump keeps up the pressure on Israel, peace can be secured. And so can the coveted peace prize.</p>
  2019. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/gaza-deal-can-work-if-trump-keeps-pressure-on-israel/">The Gaza Deal Can Work — if Trump Keeps Pressure on Israel</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2020. ]]></content:encoded>
  2022. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/gaza-deal-can-work-if-trump-keeps-pressure-on-israel/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  2023. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  2026. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312284</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25283353153216-scaled.jpg?width=877&#038;height=585" length="522865" type="image/jpeg" />
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  2028. </item>
  2029. <item>
  2030. <title>The U.S. Congress: Your Go-To Source for UFO Theater</title>
  2031. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-u-s-congress-your-go-to-source-for-ufo-theater/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-u-s-congress-your-go-to-source-for-ufo-theater</link>
  2032. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-u-s-congress-your-go-to-source-for-ufo-theater/#respond</comments>
  2034. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Joseph L. Flatley]]></dc:creator>
  2035. <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:05:25 +0000</pubDate>
  2036. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  2037. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  2038. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  2039. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  2040. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  2041. <category><![CDATA[TD Column]]></category>
  2042. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  2043. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  2044. <category><![CDATA[Anna Paulina Luna]]></category>
  2045. <category><![CDATA[david grusch]]></category>
  2046. <category><![CDATA[George Knapp]]></category>
  2047. <category><![CDATA[house oversight committee]]></category>
  2048. <category><![CDATA[UAP]]></category>
  2049. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312254</guid>
  2050.  
  2051. <description><![CDATA[<p>How a few congressionally sanctioned crank UFOlogists laid waste to the minimal standards of adult government oversight.</p>
  2052. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-u-s-congress-your-go-to-source-for-ufo-theater/">The U.S. Congress: Your Go-To Source for UFO Theater</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2053. ]]></description>
  2054. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2055. <p class="has-drop-cap">On Sept. 9, Rep. Eric Burlison provided the House Oversight Committee with a jaw-dropping video. The 50-second clip, reportedly captured by an MQ-9 Reaper drone operating off Yemen on Oct. 30, 2024, showed a mysterious flying “orb” being hit by a Hellfire missile. The object is struck, then inexplicably continues on its path as if nothing had happened.</p>
  2056.  
  2057.  
  2058.  
  2059. <p>This is exactly the kind of dramatic and mysterious testimony that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna had in mind when she launched the committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. (You might remember her as the representative who <a href="https://luna.house.gov/posts/breaking-rep-luna-introduces-legislation-to-carve-president-trump-on-mount-rushmore" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">introduced a bill</a> to add <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>’s face to Mount Rushmore.) But <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64zlyzojpPM&amp;t=1s" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">the deflation</a> came quickly. Closer examination of the video shows the projectile continuing on its trajectory with no visible detonation. Independent analysts on <a href="https://www.metabunk.org/threads/uap-hearing-new-video-yemen-orb.14427/post-352342" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Metabunk</a> and other sites argue the target’s behavior and the post-contact fragments are consistent with a balloon and its debris, noting the apparent “black rim” and shape changes are image-processing artifacts. The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has previously published materials showing how parallax and sensor effects can mislead observers. In <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/video/964843/middle-east-red-balloon-2024" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">a separate 2024 Middle East case</a>, the office assessed with high confidence that a similar object was a reflective foil balloon.</p>
  2060.  
  2061.  
  2062.  
  2063. <p>Luna’s task force focuses on <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/category/declassification-of-federal-secrets/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">conspiracies that excite the Trump base</a>, from Jeffrey Epstein’s client list to the Antifa-Chinese Communist Party connection, and of course unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). In the case of Hellfire-surviving “orb,” Burlison placed unvetted, anonymously sourced battlefield footage into the Congressional Record without attempting even basic verification.&nbsp;</p>
  2064.  
  2065.  
  2066.  
  2067. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>This is not governance. It is viral marketing disguised as oversight.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2068.  
  2069.  
  2070.  
  2071. <p>Among those who testified at the hearing was George Knapp, a veteran investigative journalist based in Las Vegas who has covered UFO stories for decades. He first gained prominence in the UFO community in 1989 when he interviewed Bob Lazar, who claimed to have worked on recovered alien spacecraft at a secret facility near Area 51 in Nevada. That reporting made Knapp a central figure in UFOlogy, and he continues to work the beat.</p>
  2072.  
  2073.  
  2074.  
  2075. <p>Knapp’s testimony highlights the way credentials have come to substitute for evidence. Instead of providing credible proof that the committee could verify (or not), his testimony rested heavily on the accounts of Bob “Bizarre” Lazar (as he is known in UFO circles) and “more than two dozen sources” that he did not name, as well as anecdotes about “men in black” that he can’t corroborate. He invoked private conversations with the late Sen. Harry Reid, a fellow UFO buff, as validation, referenced off-the-record meetings with witnesses and cited dramatic claims from the Defense Intelligence Agency’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XD4gQS_-qY" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">flawed</a> Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program — including allegations that the U.S. possesses craft “of unknown origin” — while acknowledging that the underlying reports are unavailable. The committee accepted this testimony not because he brought evidence, but because his decades covering UFOs made him seem authoritative.</p>
  2076.  
  2077.  
  2078.  
  2079. <p>This is not governance. It is viral marketing disguised as oversight. Instead of vetting sources and verifying claims, the committee is platforming spectacle and generating headlines. Either the people in charge no longer know how government is supposed to work, or they don’t care.&nbsp;</p>
  2080.  
  2081.  
  2082.  
  2083. <p class="has-drop-cap">Before he emerged as the face of modern UFO disclosure advocacy, David Grusch was known as a decorated Air Force combat veteran who served in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It was only following a two-year stint with the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force that he decided to step forward and make extraordinary claims about government UFO cover-ups. His launch to prominence occurred on July 26, 2023, when he <a href="https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/116282" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">testified</a> before the House Oversight subcommittee on national security and claimed under oath that the U.S. government operated “multidecade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs” and had recovered “biologics” of “nonhuman” origin. He presented no physical evidence, just rumors of interdimensional beings and secret programs hiding alien spacecraft. Skeptics noted the testimony was hearsay lacking any physical evidence, but an intelligence officer making such statements under oath captivated global attention.</p>
  2084.  
  2085.  
  2086.  
  2087. <p>Congress had multiple ways to verify Grusch’s claims before his testimony. House rules require detailed witness filings, and standard practice would include a classified deposition in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. In that secure setting, Grusch could have provided names, dates, program details and locations under oath while maintaining proper security protocols.</p>
  2088.  
  2089.  
  2090.  
  2091. <p>Instead, during his public hearing, Grusch repeatedly declined to answer substantive questions, saying he could share specifics only in a closed session. Only then did lawmakers request a SCIF meeting. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office later stated they had invited Grusch multiple times for SCIF interviews, providing official documentation of their legal authority to receive compartmented information at any classification level. Grusch refused these invitations, saying he wasn’t convinced AARO was authorized to receive such sensitive material.</p>
  2092.  
  2093.  
  2094.  
  2095. <p>His refusal to share specific evidence with AARO — the official government UAP investigation body — and the absence of a full classified disclosure to Congress continue to raise questions about the credibility of his public claims. None of this has stopped Grusch from leveraging his institutional legitimacy into a media career. He gives interviews to Le Parisien and BBC Radio 4; NewsNation aired a special, “We Are Not Alone: The Historic UFO Hearing.” His public profile has transformed from an internal whistleblower to that of a public disclosure advocate.</p>
  2096.  
  2097.  
  2098.  
  2099. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Every hour spent on UAP theater is an hour spent not running the country.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2100.  
  2101.  
  2102.  
  2103. <p>It’s likely that nobody would have heard of him at all if Congress had treated Grusch’s claims as intelligence requiring verification, rather than as social media content. The hearing became a platform for assertions that could not be challenged in real time, creating a public record of claims divorced from evidence. When that belated verification revealed Grusch lacked even the clearances that he claimed prevented disclosure, Congress had already legitimized a flurry of UFO disinformation. Spectacular claims had been broadcast through official channels.&nbsp;</p>
  2104.  
  2105.  
  2106.  
  2107. <p>This is not the first time the U.S. government has weaponized UFO mythology. Beginning in 1979, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations spent years feeding <a href="https://lennyflatley.substack.com/p/the-bennewitz-affair" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">false information about alien bases</a> to a defense contractor named Paul Bennewitz to distract him from classified activities at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. In the more recent “Yankee Blue” <a href="https://lennyflatley.substack.com/p/wsj-uncovers-air-force-ufo-disinformation" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">hazing scandal</a>, Air Force commanders showed new officers doctored flying saucer photos, told them they were joining an alien reverse-engineering program and threatened them with prison or execution if they spoke. This practice conditioned hundreds of loyal, cleared officers to believe in a secret program that never existed.</p>
  2108.  
  2109.  
  2110.  
  2111. <p>Credentials can be the mechanism by which disinformation achieves credibility. Combine that with extraordinary claims, a congressional platform and a lack of proper vetting, and you get theater that crowds out oversight. Luna’s Sept. 9 hearing exemplifies this perfectly: Burlison <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ufo-video-congress-drone-strike-uap-2127452" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">testified</a> he’d merely received the footage from a whistleblower, a claim that the Pentagon and CENTCOM declined to verify. The committee entered this anonymously sourced battlefield video into the record anyway, generating a viral news cycle and creating disinformation that staffers are still struggling to unwind.</p>
  2112.  
  2113.  
  2114.  
  2115. <p>The motivation for this is obvious: In the attention economy, it’s much easier to build political influence through viral moments than substantive policy work. NewsNation touted <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/07/newsnation-ufo-congress-1235450359/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">a 332% audience boost</a> during its July 2023 UAP coverage, displacing news for spectacle. The Sept. 9 hearing was titled “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency,” centerpieced by unvetted material the government would not and could not confirm. The committee misinformed the public in service of content that performs well on social media.</p>
  2116.  
  2117.  
  2118.  
  2119. <p class="is-td-marked">Every hour spent on UAP theater is an hour spent not running the country. The footage disclosed on Sept. 9 dramatized this perfectly: striking on first viewing, deflated by basic analysis, yet amplified before the truth could catch up. These institutions will continue to reward spectacle over substance until enough crises go unaddressed that even Congress recognizes the problem. By then, the institutional capacity to respond may have atrophied beyond repair. The balloon keeps drifting, and Congress keeps firing missiles that never seem to detonate.</p>
  2120. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-u-s-congress-your-go-to-source-for-ufo-theater/">The U.S. Congress: Your Go-To Source for UFO Theater</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2121. ]]></content:encoded>
  2123. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-u-s-congress-your-go-to-source-for-ufo-theater/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  2124. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  2127. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">312254</post-id> <enclosure url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/UFOCongress.png?width=878&#038;height=585" length="2296850" type="image/png" />
  2128. <media:thumbnail url="https://truthdig.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/UFOCongress.png?width=878&#038;height=585" />
  2129. </item>
  2130. <item>
  2131. <title>Why Isn’t the EPA Releasing Toxicity Reports on Forever Chemicals?</title>
  2132. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/why-isnt-the-epa-releasing-toxicity-reports-on-forever-chemicals/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=why-isnt-the-epa-releasing-toxicity-reports-on-forever-chemicals</link>
  2133. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/why-isnt-the-epa-releasing-toxicity-reports-on-forever-chemicals/#respond</comments>
  2135. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sharon Lerner /  ProPublica ]]></dc:creator>
  2136. <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:41:14 +0000</pubDate>
  2137. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  2138. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  2139. <category><![CDATA[Health & Wellness]]></category>
  2140. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  2141. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  2142. <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
  2143. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  2144. <category><![CDATA[clean water]]></category>
  2145. <category><![CDATA[epa]]></category>
  2146. <category><![CDATA[forever chemicals]]></category>
  2147. <category><![CDATA[Integrated Risk Information System]]></category>
  2148. <category><![CDATA[PFAS]]></category>
  2149. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312249</guid>
  2150.  
  2151. <description><![CDATA[<p>Agency scientists determined in April that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. But the Trump administration has yet to release the findings.</p>
  2152. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/why-isnt-the-epa-releasing-toxicity-reports-on-forever-chemicals/">Why Isn’t the EPA Releasing Toxicity Reports on Forever Chemicals?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2153. ]]></description>
  2154. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2155. <p class="has-small-font-size">This story was originally published by <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/epa-pfna-forever-chemical-report" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">ProPublica</a>.</p>
  2156.  
  2157.  
  2158.  
  2159. <p><strong>This spring</strong>, scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency completed a report on the toxicity of a so-called forever chemical called PFNA, which is in the drinking water systems serving some <a href="https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/contaminant.php?contamcode=E268" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">26 million Americans</a>. The assessment found that PFNA interferes with human development by causing lower birth weights and, based on animal evidence, likely causes damage to the liver and to male reproductive systems, including reductions in testosterone levels, sperm production and the size of reproductive organs.</p>
  2160.  
  2161.  
  2162.  
  2163. <p>The report also calculated the amount of PFNA that people could be exposed to without being harmed — a critical measurement that can be used to set limits for cleaning up PFNA contamination in Superfund sites and for removing the chemical from drinking water.</p>
  2164.  
  2165.  
  2166.  
  2167. <p>For months, however, the report has sat in limbo, raising concerns among some scientists and environmentalists that the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration might alter it or not release it at all.</p>
  2168.  
  2169.  
  2170.  
  2171. <p>The EPA told ProPublica the report would be published when it was finalized, though the agency&#8217;s press office did not answer questions about what still needed to be done or when that would likely happen.</p>
  2172.  
  2173.  
  2174.  
  2175. <p>But the report’s final version was actually “completed and ready to post” in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica. And two scientists familiar with the assessment confirmed the report has been finalized and ready for publication since April.</p>
  2176.  
  2177.  
  2178.  
  2179. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The report’s final version was “completed and ready to post” in mid-April.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2180.  
  2181.  
  2182.  
  2183. <p>“Scientifically, it was done,” said one of the scientists, both of whom worked in the EPA’s Office of Research and Development and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the unreleased report.</p>
  2184.  
  2185.  
  2186.  
  2187. <p>“All that was left to do was to brief higher-ups about the report and post it,” the scientist said, adding that such a delay was unusual. “In recent years, the assessments tended to be finalized within a few weeks.”</p>
  2188.  
  2189.  
  2190.  
  2191. <p>A draft version of the assessment was made public last year and drew objections from an industry trade group. The final version, which retained the calculations published in the draft report, was completed shortly before the EPA announced its intention in May to rescind and reconsider limits on the amount of PFNA and several other forever chemicals allowed in drinking water. The limits had been set last year by <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/joe-biden/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="5" title="Joe Biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Joe Biden</a>’s administration.</p>
  2192.  
  2193.  
  2194.  
  2195. <p>Darya Minovi, a senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, pointed to that pending change as a possible motivation for not publishing the PFNA assessment. “If you’re trying to roll back drinking water standards, you probably don’t want to release information that makes the case for why those standards are necessary,” Minovi said.</p>
  2196.  
  2197.  
  2198.  
  2199. <p>The nonprofit science advocacy group called attention to the unpublished report in a <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/ucs.org/post/3lzh44sntv22x" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">social media post last</a> month, noting, “Without this assessment, federal and state agencies are denied the best available science that they rely on to protect public health.”</p>
  2200.  
  2201.  
  2202.  
  2203. <p>PFNA is so hazardous that the EPA struck an agreement with eight companies to phase out its production nearly two decades ago. The chemical was a component of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/02/10/firefighting-foam-afff-pfos-pfoa-epa/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">firefighting foam</a> and a processing aid to make a kind of plastic used in circuit boards, valves and pipes. PFNA has been found in water near sites where the foam was used and in the drinking water in 28 states, according to an analysis of EPA and state data by the nonprofit <a href="https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/contaminant.php?contamcode=E268" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Environmental Working Group</a>.</p>
  2204.  
  2205.  
  2206.  
  2207. <p>Local governments around the country have been trying to get companies that used and made forever chemicals such as PFNA to foot the bill for the expensive job of cleaning up contamination. In 2019, the state of New Jersey ordered the owner of an industrial plant in West Deptford to address chemical contamination at the site, where high levels of PFNA had been found in the nearby soil and water. The state took the company, Solvay Specialty Polymers, to court, accusing it of failing to fully comply. As part of a legal settlement, Solvay <a href="https://dep.nj.gov/solvay/faqs/#solvay-require-proposed-settlement" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">agreed to pay more than $393 million</a> and clean up contamination. The company, which has since become Syensqo Specialty Polymers, pointed out to ProPublica other sources of PFNA contamination in the area of the plant and noted that it settled the suit without admission of liability.</p>
  2208.  
  2209.  
  2210.  
  2211. <p>Solvay tried to influence the EPA over the drinking water limit the agency set for PFNA and other chemicals in the class, according to <a href="https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/9e2585c8-50b8-4c0d-95b7-ff638ab1b0e1/print/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">lobbying records</a>. The company also lobbied Congress over legislation that would prevent chemical assessments conducted by the agency’s Integrated Risk Information System program from being used in regulation. IRIS analyzes the harm chemicals can cause and compiled the PFNA report. Syensqo and Solvay did not respond to questions about lobbying and whether they asked the EPA to either change or not release the IRIS report on PFNA.</p>
  2212.  
  2213.  
  2214.  
  2215. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Solvay tried to influence the EPA over the drinking water limit the agency set for PFNA.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2216.  
  2217.  
  2218.  
  2219. <p>Scientists in the EPA’s IRIS program began work on the assessment because PFNA, short for perfluorononanoic acid, appeared to be particularly dangerous. Like other <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-inside-story" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">compounds in its class</a>, PFNA doesn’t break down in nature, hence its &#8220;forever&#8221; label. Scientists had already found it in soil and water around the country. It was also measured in food, air, indoor dust and fish — as well as in breast milk, fetal tissues and human blood. Perhaps most worrisome, studies have already suggested that the chemical causes serious harm to people and lab animals.</p>
  2220.  
  2221.  
  2222.  
  2223. <p>A draft of the report, which reflected five years of collecting and reviewing studies, found that, in addition to developmental, liver and reproductive harms, PFNA “may cause” immune problems, thyroid effects, harm to the developing brain and a cluster of other disorders, including type 2 diabetes. The American Chemistry Council took issue with the report’s findings on low birth weight and liver issues, arguing that the evidence wasn’t as robust as the report claimed. The industry trade group did not address the reproductive threats posed by PFNA, which have been <a href="https://www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/pdf/pfna-health-effects.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">documented by</a> other <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/sites/default/files/media/downloads/crnr/pfnapfdahid100121.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">regulatory agencies</a> and are part of a larger body of evidence linking forever chemicals with male reproductive harms, such as smaller testes and a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9986484/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reduction in the number and mobility of sperm</a>. Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are also associated with female reproductive problems, such as <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/9/678" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">endometriosis, ovarian dysfunction and tumors</a> and <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/core/spotlight/fertility" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">dramatic decreases in fertility</a></p>
  2224.  
  2225.  
  2226.  
  2227. <p>Questions about the fate of the PFNA report extend to the fate of the IRIS program that conducted it and to the EPA’s handling of toxic chemicals more broadly.</p>
  2228.  
  2229.  
  2230.  
  2231. <p>IRIS was created during Ronald Reagan’s presidency to provide an independent and reliable source of information about pollutants that can harm the public. Dozens of EPA scientists contribute to a typical assessment, which takes years to complete and is subject to extensive peer review. The level of scientific scrutiny and expertise means these documents are trusted by environmental experts around the world.</p>
  2232.  
  2233.  
  2234.  
  2235. <p>Many hoped that, because it was separate from regulatory arms of the agency, IRIS would be insulated from political pressures. But almost from its start, industry has targeted the program, whose assessments can trigger toxic waste cleanups and expensive regulatory changes.</p>
  2236.  
  2237.  
  2238.  
  2239. <p><a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/project-2025/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="8" title="Project 2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Project 2025</a>, the conservative blueprint that has set the direction for President <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>’s second administration, called for IRIS to be eliminated. Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/legislation-targets-epa-science-toxic-chemicals" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">introduced legislation called the No IRIS Act.</a> Their proposal would prohibit the EPA from using the program’s assessments in environmental rules, regulations, enforcement actions and permits that limit the amount of pollution allowed into the air and water, and from using them to map the health risks from toxic chemicals. That legislation has been referred to committee in both the House and the Senate but has not yet passed in either chamber.</p>
  2240.  
  2241.  
  2242.  
  2243. <p>Since Trump took office, the IRIS program has been decimated. The program was housed in the Office of Research and Development, which has been dramatically reduced under Trump as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-next-phase-organizational-improvements-better-integrate-science-agency" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">a major reorganization</a>&nbsp;of the agency. Of 55 scientists ProPublica identified as having worked on recent IRIS assessments, only eight remain in the office, according to a source familiar with the program. The rest have either been assigned to jobs elsewhere in the agency or have left the EPA.</p>
  2244.  
  2245.  
  2246.  
  2247. <p>“Through the movement of bodies, they have disassembled IRIS,” said one scientist who worked with the program for decades and recently left the EPA. “It feels like the efforts of a couple of generations of scientists who have worked extremely diligently to produce the world’s most highly vetted assessments has been set aside with no path forward.”</p>
  2248.  
  2249.  
  2250.  
  2251. <p>Meanwhile, the IRIS program stopped issuing the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/iris/iris-program-outlook" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reports it has regularly posted</a> for years about its progress. The most recent, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-03/iris-program-outlook-feb-2025.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">published in February</a>, noted that the PFNA assessment was scheduled to be released by the end of June.</p>
  2252.  
  2253.  
  2254.  
  2255. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Through the movement of bodies, they have disassembled IRIS.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  2256.  
  2257.  
  2258.  
  2259. <p>Asked about the status of the program, an EPA spokesperson told ProPublica that “it is inaccurate to say that IRIS no longer exists.” The press office did not respond to follow-up questions about whether it’s accurate to say that IRIS&nbsp;<em>does</em>&nbsp;exist, how many people still work there, whether the agency plans to allow continued access to its&nbsp;<a href="https://iris.epa.gov/AtoZ/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">database of chemical assessments</a>&nbsp;and how it plans to use those assessments in the future. The EPA has not made clear how it plans to continue gauging the toxicity of chemicals.</p>
  2260.  
  2261.  
  2262.  
  2263. <p>In its <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-it-will-keep-maximum-contaminant-levels-pfoa-pfos" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">May press release</a>, the EPA said it was “committed to addressing” forever chemicals in drinking water. At the same time, it was rolling back drinking water limits on some of the compounds. The agency is also <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/tce-ban-cancer-parkinsons-trump-republicans" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reconsidering bans on the solvents TCE and PCE</a>, which are <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10041423/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">linked to Parkinson’s disease</a>. It is offering exemptions from pollution restrictions for up to two years to companies that <a href="https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/clean-air-act-section-112-presidential-exemption-information" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">emailed the agency</a> and is in the process of reversing rules designed to protect the public from toxic air pollution. The agency recently announced a plan to ease regulations on pollutants known as hydrofluorocarbons.</p>
  2264.  
  2265.  
  2266.  
  2267. <p>Under Trump, the EPA, which was created to protect public health, has <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">celebrated its efforts to reverse regulations</a> and champion industry. People concerned about the health effects of chemicals see the agency’s retreat from environmental protections as a betrayal. Laurene Allen, an environmental advocate who lives in Merrimack, New Hampshire, where PFNA was one of several forever chemicals discovered in drinking water in 2016, was awaiting the report and said she is frustrated and enraged by its delay.</p>
  2268.  
  2269.  
  2270.  
  2271. <p>“This is the suppression of information,” said Allen, who co-founded the National PFAS Contamination Coalition. “We have the science, and it shouldn’t be obstructed.”</p>
  2272.  
  2273.  
  2274.  
  2275. <p><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/oregon-renewable-energy-trump-tax-credits" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"></a></p>
  2276. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/why-isnt-the-epa-releasing-toxicity-reports-on-forever-chemicals/">Why Isn’t the EPA Releasing Toxicity Reports on Forever Chemicals?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2277. ]]></content:encoded>
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  2286. <item>
  2287. <title>As Trump Champions Fossil Fuels, the World Bets on Renewable Energy</title>
  2288. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/as-trump-champions-fossil-fuels-the-world-bets-on-renewable-energy/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=as-trump-champions-fossil-fuels-the-world-bets-on-renewable-energy</link>
  2289. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/as-trump-champions-fossil-fuels-the-world-bets-on-renewable-energy/#respond</comments>
  2291. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoya Teirstein /  Grist ]]></dc:creator>
  2292. <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:32:45 +0000</pubDate>
  2293. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  2294. <category><![CDATA[Business & Economy]]></category>
  2295. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  2296. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  2297. <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
  2298. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  2299. <category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
  2300. <category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
  2301. <category><![CDATA[coal]]></category>
  2302. <category><![CDATA[fossil fuels]]></category>
  2303. <category><![CDATA[global warming]]></category>
  2304. <category><![CDATA[renewable energy]]></category>
  2305. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312240</guid>
  2306.  
  2307. <description><![CDATA[<p>Despite the U.S. retreat, solar and wind are overtaking fossil fuels globally, according to two new reports.</p>
  2308. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/as-trump-champions-fossil-fuels-the-world-bets-on-renewable-energy/">As Trump Champions Fossil Fuels, the World Bets on Renewable Energy</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2309. ]]></description>
  2310. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2311. <p class="has-small-font-size">This story was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://grist.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Grist</a>. Sign up for Grist’s&nbsp;<a href="https://go.grist.org/signup/weekly/partner?utm_campaign=republish-content&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=partner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">weekly newsletter here</a>.</p>
  2312.  
  2313.  
  2314.  
  2315. <p><strong>If you live in the United States</strong>, you could be forgiven for thinking that renewable energy is on the outs. In July, Congress voted to <a href="https://grist.org/buildings/congress-is-killing-clean-energy-tax-credits-heres-how-to-use-them-before-they-disappear/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">rapidly phase out long-standing tax credit support</a> for wind and solar power, and the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration has taken seemingly every step in its power to halt the development of individual <a href="https://stateline.org/2025/09/16/trump-has-crushed-offshore-wind-plans-but-states-havent-quite-given-up-hope/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">wind</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/10/04/solar-energy-trump-trade-rules/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">solar projects</a> — even as <a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-electricity-demand-to-grow-25-annually-thru-2035-bofa-institute/753911/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">domestic electricity demand rises</a> and new sources of electricity become more important than ever. </p>
  2316.  
  2317.  
  2318.  
  2319. <p>But even as clean energy deployment hit roadblocks in the U.S., the world overall set a <a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-global-renewable-energy-investment-breaks-records" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">new record for renewable energy investment</a> over the first half of this year. Wind and solar power are meeting and even exceeding a global rise in energy demand. Indeed, electricity output from these sources is increasing faster than the world can use it, displacing some fossil fuel-generated power in the process. That’s according to <a href="https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-mid-year-insights-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">a report</a> published Tuesday by Ember, a global energy think tank, which mapped this year’s global power supply by analyzing monthly data from 88 countries that are responsible for more than 90% of global electricity demand. </p>
  2320.  
  2321.  
  2322.  
  2323. <p>“Overall — we’re talking globally — renewables overtook coal,” said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, a senior electricity analyst at Ember and a co-author of the company’s report. “And I expect this to hold.” This year marks the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/global-renewable-power-output-overtakes-coal-first-time-report-says-2025-10-07/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">first time</a>&nbsp;that renewable energy sources have outpowered coal in the global energy mix. In fact,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-renewable-wind-solar-coal-electricity-demand-abf7b587b038bf7580de1baee6576bbc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">global use of fossil fuels for electricity actually declined slightly</a>, compared to the same period in 2024.</p>
  2324.  
  2325.  
  2326.  
  2327. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The world overall set a new record for renewable energy investment over the first half of this year.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2328.  
  2329.  
  2330.  
  2331. <p>Another <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/global-renewable-capacity-is-set-to-grow-strongly-driven-by-solar-pv" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">report</a> published this week by the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental energy research and policy organization, projects that the quantity of installed renewable power — meaning the maximum amount of energy that can be produced by systems like solar fields, hydroelectric dams, and wind turbines — will more than double by the end of this decade. National policies encouraging the development of green technology as well as astounding drops in the price of solar power — primarily driven by Chinese manufacturers, which build more than <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/solar-pv-global-supply-chains/executive-summary" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">80% of the world’s solar energy components</a> — are largely driving the transition. </p>
  2332.  
  2333.  
  2334.  
  2335. <p>And even that projection may be conservative.</p>
  2336.  
  2337.  
  2338.  
  2339. <p>“The IEA has, consistently over the last couple of decades, way underestimated how fast renewables are growing,” said Robert Brecha, a senior climate and energy adviser at Climate Analytics, a global climate science and policy institute, who was not involved in either the Ember or IEA report. “I don’t see any reason to believe that renewables won’t double by 2030.”&nbsp;</p>
  2340.  
  2341.  
  2342.  
  2343. <p>The vast majority of the renewable energy projected to go online in the coming years will come from solar, which already met more than 80% of new global energy demand in the first six months of 2025, according to the Ember report. Major upticks in solar energy output in China, the largest renewable energy growth market in the world, and India, which is on pace to become the second-largest market, are responsible for a historic global decline in coal-generated power. </p>
  2344.  
  2345.  
  2346.  
  2347. <p>In the U.S. and European Union, however, fossil fuel generation rose in the first half of this year. In Europe, poor wind conditions and drought, rather than state policies, took a bite out of the bloc’s wind and hydroelectric production, leading to a 14% rise in natural gas-fired power. In the U.S., coal-fired power generation rose 17%.</p>
  2348.  
  2349.  
  2350.  
  2351. <p>The policy outlook for renewables in the U.S. is so bleak that the IEA lowered the country’s renewable capacity growth expectations by 50% compared to last year’s projections. That U.S. dip drags down the agency’s global projections for renewable energy growth by 5%. Overall, however, the IEA still expects renewable energy capacity to grow even faster from 2025 to 2030 than it did from 2020 to 2025. </p>
  2352.  
  2353.  
  2354.  
  2355. <p>“They can slow it down; they can do a lot more damage than I thought they could,” said Brecha, referring to the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration’s efforts to slow the growth of renewable energy. “But they can’t stop it.”</p>
  2356. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/as-trump-champions-fossil-fuels-the-world-bets-on-renewable-energy/">As Trump Champions Fossil Fuels, the World Bets on Renewable Energy</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2357. ]]></content:encoded>
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  2360. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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  2367. <title>MAGA’s Little Media Helpers</title>
  2368. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/magas-little-media-helpers/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=magas-little-media-helpers</link>
  2369. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/magas-little-media-helpers/#respond</comments>
  2371. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Pete Tucker /  FAIR]]></dc:creator>
  2372. <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:24:53 +0000</pubDate>
  2373. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  2374. <category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
  2375. <category><![CDATA[Courts & Law]]></category>
  2376. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
  2377. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  2378. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
  2379. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  2380. <category><![CDATA[fcc]]></category>
  2381. <category><![CDATA[Larry Ellison]]></category>
  2382. <category><![CDATA[nexstar]]></category>
  2383. <category><![CDATA[sinclair broadcasting group]]></category>
  2384. <category><![CDATA[skydance]]></category>
  2385. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312235</guid>
  2386.  
  2387. <description><![CDATA[<p>Sinclair, Nexstar and the consolidation of broadcast television.</p>
  2388. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/magas-little-media-helpers/">MAGA’s Little Media Helpers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2389. ]]></description>
  2390. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2391. <p><strong>When Jimmy Kimmel</strong> made his <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/media/jimmy-kimmel-abc-return-audience-reactions" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">dramatic return</a> to ABC’s airwaves on Sept. 23, I was eager to be one of the over 6 million who tuned in. Only I couldn’t, at least not on TV.</p>
  2392.  
  2393.  
  2394.  
  2395. <p>That’s because the local ABC station in the Washington, D.C., area, WJLA, is <a href="https://wjla.com/station" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">owned by</a> the Sinclair Broadcast Network. And the right-wing network refused to air the &#8220;Jimmy Kimmel Show!&#8221; on any of its <a href="https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/national-politics/sinclair-resume-airing-jimmy-kimmel-live-3DF6G526KNGKDKDLLXOAMSQQTA/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">38</a> ABC affiliates.</p>
  2396.  
  2397.  
  2398.  
  2399. <p>Every few years, a controversy like Kimmel’s suspension erupts and Sinclair is briefly in the headlines. (The last big one was in 2018, when Sinclair made its anchors across the country read from the same Trumpian script, which looked like <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/02/598794433/video-reveals-power-of-sinclair-as-local-news-anchors-recite-script-in-unison#:~:text=But%20instructing%20local%20TV%20anchors,opinion%2C%22%20she%20told%20David" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">proof-of-life hostage videos</a>.) Then the news cycle moves on, and Sinclair slinks out of sight … where it seems to only grow stronger.</p>
  2400.  
  2401.  
  2402.  
  2403. <p>In the wake of Kimmel’s (<a href="https://www.readtpa.com/p/read-the-jimmy-kimmel-monologue-that?" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">innocuous</a>) comments following right-wing activist <a href="https://fair.org/home/kirk-coverage-downplayed-magas-culture-of-violence/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Charlie Kirk’s death</a>, Sinclair wasn’t the first ABC affiliate owner to suspend his show. That honor goes to Texas-based Nexstar, which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/business/media/abc-jimmy-kimmel.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">made the move</a> earlier the same day on Sept. 17.</p>
  2404.  
  2405.  
  2406.  
  2407. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Nexstar is looking to grow even bigger by gobbling up a competitor, Tegna, for $6.2 billion.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2408.  
  2409.  
  2410.  
  2411. <p>Nexstar’s announcement came only hours after President <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8217;s Federal Communications Commission chair, <a href="https://fair.org/home/fccs-knives-are-out-for-first-amendment/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Brendan Carr,</a> publicly threatened ABC stations if they didn’t yank Kimmel. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr famously said.</p>
  2412.  
  2413.  
  2414.  
  2415. <p>Nexstar had financial incentive to accede to Carr’s demand. Already the largest network of local TV stations — with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/26/sinclair-end-boycott-of-jimmy-kimmel-live" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">200</a> nationwide — Nexstar is looking to grow even bigger by gobbling up a competitor, Tegna, for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nexstar-tegna-newsnation-cw-trump-c1743d55103a809ea31c5c7c7c4c0c87#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Nexstar,share%20of%20Tegna's%20outstanding%20stock." rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">$6.2 billion</a>. But there’s a problem with this deal: It’s illegal.</p>
  2416.  
  2417.  
  2418.  
  2419. <p>Prior to 1996, when President Bill Clinton teamed up with Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich to pass the “corrupt” <a href="https://fair.org/home/info-bandits/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Telecommunications Act</a>, “a company could own only 12 TV stations nationwide — not 200,” FAIR founder Jeff Cohen wrote <a href="https://www.salon.com/2025/09/20/kimmels-suspension-shows-media-censorship-is-a-structural-problem/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">in Salon</a>.</p>
  2420.  
  2421.  
  2422.  
  2423. <p>Today, a company can’t own stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. This law prevents a company from directly accessing most American homes via TV — which seems like a reasonable safeguard against, say, an authoritarian putsch.</p>
  2424.  
  2425.  
  2426.  
  2427. <p>But this sort of media consolidation is precisely what Trump is aiming for, so long as his friends are in charge, as they increasingly are.</p>
  2428.  
  2429.  
  2430.  
  2431. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘100% MAGA-related’</h3>
  2432.  
  2433.  
  2434.  
  2435. <p>In July, Trump’s FCC <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/25/nx-s1-5479228/fcc-approves-sale-of-cbs-parent-company-paramount" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">approved</a> the $8.4 billion sale of Paramount, which owns CBS, to Skydance Media, which is owned by David Ellison, the son of Trump confidant Larry Ellison, who is the co-founder of software giant Oracle and second-richest person alive.</p>
  2436.  
  2437.  
  2438.  
  2439. <p>Shortly before the sale, Paramount announced it was canceling &#8220;The Late Show With Stephen Colbert&#8221; beginning in May. “Many suspected that Colbert’s head was a gift to Trump by the company’s new owner, David Ellison,” the Financial Times <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/414857b3-9886-4324-bbe0-fdea4c5124a3" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>
  2440.  
  2441.  
  2442.  
  2443. <p>Trump celebrated the announcement, then quickly pivoted to another late-night host who regularly poked fun at him. “Jimmy Kimmel is next,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/factpostnews/status/1968668123218796564" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">posted</a>.</p>
  2444.  
  2445.  
  2446.  
  2447. <p>Presently, Trump is steering another major media property into the maw of his cronies. While specifics on the <a href="https://fair.org/home/trump-vow-to-save-tiktok-no-reprieve-for-free-speech/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">forced sale</a> of TikTok are hard to come by, investor Ashwin Binwani <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-26/bytedance-to-get-about-50-of-tiktok-us-profit-under-trump-deal" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">told Bloomberg</a> it “could be the most undervalued tech acquisition of the decade.”</p>
  2448.  
  2449.  
  2450.  
  2451. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I always like MAGA-related. If I could, I’d make it 100% MAGA-related.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  2452.  
  2453.  
  2454.  
  2455. <p>TikTok’s Trump-approved owners likely include Larry Ellison, as well as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkjjv28ykjo" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch</a>, owners of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.</p>
  2456.  
  2457.  
  2458.  
  2459. <p>When asked if TikTok will now bend the knee to him, Trump said the expected thing: “Every group … will be treated very fairly.” But that was only after he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/25/trump-china-tiktok-deal" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">said</a> the quiet part out loud: “I always like MAGA-related. If I could, I’d make it 100% MAGA-related.”</p>
  2460.  
  2461.  
  2462.  
  2463. <p>To be clear, such media consolidation was a problem <a href="https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1968687041559789575" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">long before</a> Trump came on the scene. But Trump has hastened this consolidation, while making no secret that he’s doing so in service of his own interests. Which brings us back to Nexstar.</p>
  2464.  
  2465.  
  2466.  
  2467. <p>If it buys Tegna, Nexstar will surpass the 39% ownership limit by a country mile, creating a company with direct television access to 80% of U.S. homes, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/09/18/jimmy-kimmel-charlie-kirk-abc-off-the-air/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">more than double</a> what’s legally allowed at present.</p>
  2468.  
  2469.  
  2470.  
  2471. <p>From Trump’s point of view, what’s not to like?&nbsp;Nexstar&nbsp;is led by a conservative,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/who-is-nexstar-ceo-jimmy-kimmel-724f4da7?mod=media_news_article_pos1&amp;utm_campaign=predicament-at-the-pentagon&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=www.status.news" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Perry Sook</a>, and the company has shown it is willing to play ball by suspending Kimmel on a moment’s notice. In light of this, the only surprise would be if Trump’s FCC doesn’t OK the merger.</p>
  2472.  
  2473.  
  2474.  
  2475. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘Always in deal mode’</h3>
  2476.  
  2477.  
  2478.  
  2479. <p>Like Nexstar, Sinclair also had financial incentive to jump when the FCC chair said to, since the company is “always in deal mode and in need of regulatory OKs,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/25/media/heres-where-bob-igers-jimmy-kimmel-standoff-with-nexstar-sinclair-is-headed-and-why-nobody-is-joking/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">noted</a>.</p>
  2480.  
  2481.  
  2482.  
  2483. <p>Indeed, if the Nexstar-Tegna merger falls through, Sinclair is ready to <a href="https://www.status.news/p/jimmy-kimmel-disney-nexstar-sinclair-standoff?utm_source=www.status.news&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=disney-s-next-move&amp;_bhlid=16549541bb63dac3c1f057513c0bed825f41dc74" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">scoop up</a> Tegna’s 64 stations for itself, which would make it larger than Nexstar. Of course, that deal would also make a mockery of the TV ownership limit, and would therefore also need the FCC’s blessing.</p>
  2484.  
  2485.  
  2486.  
  2487. <p>But even without the financial incentive, I think Sinclair might still have suspended Kimmel. That would certainly <a href="https://fair.org/home/how-sinclair-sneaks-right-wing-spin-into-millions-of-households/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">be consistent</a> with the network’s long and partisan track record.</p>
  2488.  
  2489.  
  2490.  
  2491. <p>With that history in mind, when I saw reports on Sept. 17 that Nexstar would not carry Kimmel&#8217;s show, I knew Sinclair couldn’t be far behind.</p>
  2492.  
  2493.  
  2494.  
  2495. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“They effectively chose to play a game of chicken with&nbsp;ABC.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  2496.  
  2497.  
  2498.  
  2499. <p>True to form, Sinclair not only followed suit, but one-upped Nexstar by demanding Kimmel “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/business/media/abc-jimmy-kimmel.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">make a meaningful personal donation</a>” to both Charlie Kirk’s family and his <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/turning-point-usa-case-study-hard-right-2024/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">far-right</a> organization, Turning Point USA. (<a href="https://fair.org/home/the-media-mogul-trying-to-buy-baltimores-mayoral-race/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">David Smith</a>, Sinclair’s longtime leader, personally <a href="https://x.com/JuddLegum/status/1970281773801120143" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">donated</a> $250,000 to the group last year.)</p>
  2500.  
  2501.  
  2502.  
  2503. <p>Nexstar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;were flexing in once unimaginable ways in part because they have grown unimaginably big over the past two decades. Today,&nbsp;Nexstar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;together own&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/business/media/jimmy-kimmel-nexstar-sinclair-boycott.html?utm_source=www.status.news&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=new-post&amp;_bhlid=43d9dfa9b5cb30e414e916b2450c7be0585bcd3e" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">around 25%</a>&nbsp;of all&nbsp;ABC&nbsp;affiliates. And combined with&nbsp;Gray, the third-largest station group, they own around 40% of all local stations nationwide.</p>
  2504.  
  2505.  
  2506.  
  2507. <p>“That consolidation has given them more leverage over the networks than local stations once had,” wrote James Surowiecki <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/kimmel-response-local-tv-stations-abc-conflict/684388/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">in the Atlantic</a>. When Nexstar and Sinclair suspended Kimmel’s show, “they effectively chose to play a game of chicken with ABC.”</p>
  2508.  
  2509.  
  2510.  
  2511. <p>But the station groups blinked first. Three days after ABC returned Kimmel to air, Sinclair and Nexstar relented and did the same. It was “a striking about-face,” the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/business/media/sinclair-jimmy-kimmel-boycott.html" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>
  2512.  
  2513.  
  2514.  
  2515. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">In Trump’s good graces</h3>
  2516.  
  2517.  
  2518.  
  2519. <p>To grow bigger, Sinclair and Nexstar need to stay in Trump’s good graces to ensure FCC approvals. To survive, however, their ABC affiliates need national programming, especially live sports, and the NFL in particular.</p>
  2520.  
  2521.  
  2522.  
  2523. <p>Along with political advertising, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/how-much-broadcast-networks-depend-sports-1235143456/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">live sports</a> are one of the only things keeping the TV industry from flatlining amid widespread cord-cutting. And the national broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox — all have major contracts to broadcast pro sports, which their affiliates rely on to attract viewers and sell ads.</p>
  2524.  
  2525.  
  2526.  
  2527. <p>If Sinclair and Nexstar had continued to suspend Kimmel’s show, ABC could have retaliated by withholding other national programming from their affiliates, including &#8220;Monday Night Football,&#8221; which would have severely hurt their bottom lines.</p>
  2528.  
  2529.  
  2530.  
  2531. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Disney&nbsp;saw more than 1.7 million paid streaming cancellations.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  2532.  
  2533.  
  2534.  
  2535. <p>ABC’s financial exposure from an extended standoff, on the other hand, wasn’t as great, since Nexstar’s and Sinclair’s ABC affiliates are all outside the top 20 markets, with the exception of WJLA in D.C. and KOMO in Seattle. ABC <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/sinclair-nexstar-jimmy-kimmel-boycott-disney-abc-1236528157/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNI2_JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlUDeVH91-xF1bGf2Uo8343JcOqoqi076mBuLafGKYCNbwVHAJBiC6ze8Tcz_aem_Q2WiuvLYgp1l_DIO-9Xs9w" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">was also buffered</a> by owning and operating its own stations in four of the top five markets — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Philadelphia.</p>
  2536.  
  2537.  
  2538.  
  2539. <p>Even if&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;and&nbsp;Nexstar&nbsp;could hold out for a year, an analyst told&nbsp;Variety,&nbsp;Disney, which owns&nbsp;ABC, “would be out only a few million dollars.”</p>
  2540.  
  2541.  
  2542.  
  2543. <p>That’s nothing compared to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/23/jimmy-kimmel-abc-power-robert-reich" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">$4 billion</a> in market valuation Disney lost over the six days it suspended Kimmel. During that time, “Disney saw more than 1.7 million paid <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social/post/3lzyjg3ulo222?" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">streaming cancellations&#8221;</a> across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, Marisa Kabas <a href="https://www.thehandbasket.co/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>
  2544.  
  2545.  
  2546.  
  2547. <p>Disney, for its part, is also doing a careful dance, as it too wants to stay on Trump’s good side — in part to ensure its <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/07/fubo-disney-hulu-live-tv-merger-close-moved-up-1236472062/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">merger</a> with the sports streaming service FUBO goes through. This helps explain Disney’s willingness to hand Trump <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abc-trump-lawsuit-defamation-stephanopoulos-04aea8663310af39ae2a85f4c1a56d68" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">16 million</a> in December to settle his frivolous defamation case against ABC, as well as its suspending Kimmel after Nexstar and Sinclair forced its hand.</p>
  2548.  
  2549.  
  2550.  
  2551. <p>“Kimmel is the beginning,” Danilo Yanich, a professor of public policy at the University of Delaware, told FAIR. Now that&nbsp;Nexstar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;have established a precedent for pushing a network around, “Kimmel is not the end.”</p>
  2552. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/magas-little-media-helpers/">MAGA’s Little Media Helpers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2553. ]]></content:encoded>
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  2562. <item>
  2563. <title>Extreme Carwash, or the Impact of Vehicles on Extreme Weather Events</title>
  2564. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/extreme-carwash-or-the-impact-of-vehicles-on-extreme-weather-events/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=extreme-carwash-or-the-impact-of-vehicles-on-extreme-weather-events</link>
  2565. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/extreme-carwash-or-the-impact-of-vehicles-on-extreme-weather-events/#respond</comments>
  2567. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bart plantenga]]></dc:creator>
  2568. <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
  2569. <category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
  2570. <category><![CDATA[Arts & Culture]]></category>
  2571. <category><![CDATA[Business & Economy]]></category>
  2572. <category><![CDATA[Dig Scape]]></category>
  2573. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
  2574. <category><![CDATA[Music]]></category>
  2575. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  2576. <category><![CDATA[Poetry & Spoken Word]]></category>
  2577. <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
  2578. <category><![CDATA[Social Justice]]></category>
  2579. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  2580. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  2581. <category><![CDATA[automobile industry]]></category>
  2582. <category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
  2583. <category><![CDATA[extreme weather]]></category>
  2584. <category><![CDATA[global warming]]></category>
  2585. <category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
  2586. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312216</guid>
  2587.  
  2588. <description><![CDATA[<p>A sonic exploration of the impact of cars and their overuse on the environment.</p>
  2589. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/extreme-carwash-or-the-impact-of-vehicles-on-extreme-weather-events/">Extreme Carwash, or the Impact of Vehicles on Extreme Weather Events</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2590. ]]></description>
  2591. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2592. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  2593.  
  2594. </div></figure>
  2595.  
  2596.  
  2597.  
  2598. <p><strong>The drowned world was a vision of our own future, a warning of what lies ahead.</strong><br><strong>J.G. Ballard, “The Drowned World,” 1962</strong></p>
  2599.  
  2600.  
  2601.  
  2602. <p class="has-drop-cap">It’s interesting when you realize the impact of cars on the environment. They are a major cause of global warming. Extreme flooding is a consequence of car use &amp; overuse. The culprits — the cars &amp; their owners — eventually become the very victims of the conditions they have created.</p>
  2603.  
  2604.  
  2605.  
  2606. <p>The profitable romantic myth of the car is met with the disaster of its own making. The hope is that the effects of extreme weather will wake people up to the consequences of their lifestyle choices.</p>
  2607.  
  2608.  
  2609.  
  2610. <p>In any case, the ultimate image of poetic justice may very well be cars, their steering, brakes, power windows all disabled, floating downstream, helpless, rudderless just floating in the turbulent waters, their passengers helpless to do anything but survive.</p>
  2611.  
  2612.  
  2613.  
  2614. <p>This is the ironic result of Mother Nature’s just deserts.</p>
  2615.  
  2616.  
  2617.  
  2618. <p><strong>“The environmental crisis arises from a fundamental fault: our systems of production — in industry, agriculture, energy and transportation — essential as they are, make people sick and die.”</strong><br><strong>• Barry Commoner, environmentalist</strong></p>
  2619.  
  2620.  
  2621.  
  2622. <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>DIG•SCAPE is an audio alternative-phenomenological-impressionistic, multicultural soundscape mashup of loud issues, intuition+research and multisampled insights investigating our current wackadoodle malaise from an askew, engaged and anomalous vantage point</em>.</p>
  2623.  
  2624.  
  2625.  
  2626. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Playlist</h3>
  2627.  
  2628.  
  2629.  
  2630. <p class="has-small-font-size">Autobahn • Señor-Coconut<br>Know Your Car • Delia Derbyshire<br>BEEP BEEP &#8211; The Little Nash Rambler • The Playmates<br>Car Car Car [Thomas Mayr Ken Hayakawa Tesla Remix] • DJ Hell<br>Addicted to Oil and Violence • Kurt Vonnegut<br>Automobile • Sam “Lightnin’ Hopkins<br>Happy Car Crashing • Eboman<br>Cars • The Desperate Bicycles<br>The Complacent Americans • Larry Blake<br>Cool Water • Johnny Cash<br>Cool Water • Hank Williams<br>Carwreck • Funki Porcini<br>invention for Radio No.1: The Dreams • Delia Derbyshire<br>Cool Water • Slim Whitman<br>Song Made Entirely From Car Noises • Drive Tribe<br>Autobahn [version] • Kraftwerk<br>Trafficscape • Eric Winstone<br>Traffic Jam • James Taylor<br>Car Crash • Idles<br>Floating World &#8211; Part 1 • Annea Lockwood<br>Autobahn • Cha-Cha-2000<br>Atrocity Exhibition Documentary • J.G. Ballard<br>Automotive Poetic Justice • b/art<br>Traffic Jam • Eric Donaldson<br>Warm • Normal + G. Jones remix, Chris Burke &amp; Glomag<br>Fuck Cars • Endless Jess<br>Car Song • Woody Guthrie<br>A Sound Map of the Danube • Annea Lockwood<br>Under Dead Water Season 2 • Chris Burke<br>Motorway (English Cover Autobahn) • John Chivers<br>Destroying Anything • Negativland<br>Sleepy • Funki Porcini</p>
  2631.  
  2632.  
  2633.  
  2634. <p class="has-small-font-size"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwe_Schmidt" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Señor-Coconut</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Delia Derbyshire</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beep_Beep_(song)" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Playmates</a>&nbsp; •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Hell" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> DJ Hell</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Kurt Vonnegut</a> • <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightnin%252527_Hopkins" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Lightnin&#8217; Hopkins</a> • <a href="https://eboman.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Eboman</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desperate_Bicycles" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> The Desperate Bicycles</a> •<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-REvOupHW8" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Larry Blake</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Johnny Cash</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Williams" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Hank Williams</a> •<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvuLjB9XJLM" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Emergency Alert System</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Whitman" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Slim Whitman</a> •<a href="https://drivetribe.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Drive Tribe</a>&nbsp; •<a href="https://kraftwerk.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Kraftwerk</a> • <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Winstone" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Eric Winstone</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Taylor" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> James Taylor</a> •<a href="https://www.idlesband.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Idles</a> •<a href="https://www.annealockwood.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Annea Lockwood</a> •<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/159839-Cha-Cha-2000-Autobahn?srsltid=AfmBOoqs22McWG2TPFZ5PIBUy5z_-Zq-Bb9AjWX8DgEdaWCY_jFDTyn9" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Cha-Cha-2000</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Donaldson" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Eric Donaldson</a> •<a href="https://glomag.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Glomag</a> •<a href="https://www.youtube.com/imdrowninginfootwear" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Endless Jess</a> •<a href="https://woodyguthrie.org/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Woody Guthrie</a>&nbsp; •<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO1PMleWvBbKiz2WaqlZmiZgD21JShhM4" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> John Chivers</a> •<a href="https://negativland.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Negativland</a> •<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funki_Porcini" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Funki Porcini</a></p>
  2635.  
  2636.  
  2637.  
  2638. <p class="has-small-font-size"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRxpZ142lkI" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">The Atrocity Exhibition JG Ballard and the Motorcar</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTVwsqdcA7U" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Tsunami &#8211; Caught On Camera • John Daniel</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBX321rbP6E" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> The U.S. is giving up on climate</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt8XD8T2AZo" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Negative Impacts of Cars in The Environment 2</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Burr" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Bill Burr</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBe_DhNTEoQ" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Climate Change_ Why Americans Should Be Afraid</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S76lKWeU_xc" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Why Traffic Is So Bad In Los Angeles</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS0gpBOy_Tc" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Under Dead Water Season 2</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WC_QDVZ09ZI" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Cars Float Outside Maryland School After Flash Floods</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeCrxIEXMOM" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> How Does Driving Cars Contribute To Climate Change?</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezxXiKFE6wk" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> &#8216;Kids screaming, asking for help, cars were floating away&#8217;</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvCrMsyOUvI" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Woman’s Last Words Before Flood Took Her Streamed on Facebook</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1rxv1yPQrc" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Why Climate Change Denial Still Exists In The U.S.</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkwHMpcPvos" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> At least 24 dead after historic flooding, severe weather in South, Midwest</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQfUeiTPA24" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> 2 Women Killed after car swept away in NJ</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgQWrtt-RNA" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> 2 minutes ago in Germany Storm and flooding</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFQHrmDSs28" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Cars are underwater the city is sinking</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRRmXbx0Hjs" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Flooding overtakes Flagstaff communities</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZptAS15wh4k" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> 2 killed in New Jersey after vehicle</a>,<a href="http://https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxfNzmgEKqU/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> New audio shows officials scrambling</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woLihOSzdwE" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Watch as a car full of people is swept away in flash</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fH6ETVAdtM" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> CHAOS in Tennessee! Catastrophic Floods</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohNTULORc6Y" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Wild Weather: Cars float after heavy rains cause flood</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGgBoEpLQdQ" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Why Cars Ruin Everything</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSSNlM3Au1A" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Lets Ban Cars Seriously</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odF4GSX1y3c" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> How highways wrecked American cities</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7mSXMruEo" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=How+to+safely+escape+a+flash+flood+l+ABC+News" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> How to safely escape a flash flood</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1yz96n0His" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">&nbsp;Weather Gone Viral- Mudflow Bumper Cars</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8DFDV8tHJQ" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> WOW Truck sinks in flood waters after driving around</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUGW7kYvq2s" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Pair scramble to escape as car fills with flood water</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp1Mtuxiego" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Friends filmed themselves in accidental drowning</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hACPvgzYCtQ" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Heavy rain floods roads, train tracks across Tri-State</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FST6_Wrwxxo" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Traffic Noise is Driving Us Crazy!!</a>,<a href="http://livepage.apple.com/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Mother Makes Frantic 911 Calls After Car Gets Stuck</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDOQfOeZaFk" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Negative Impacts of Cars in The Environment 2</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNKIwfNn8wg" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> I was just floating Cars trapped in flash flooding</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeCrxIEXMOM" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> How Does Driving Cars Contribute To Climate Change?</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkjnRbEhk90" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Five dead two missing as flooding wreaks havoc on San Antonio</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BDC5dm_x1I" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Woman swept away in Ida flood waters shares her story</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH8DTD8W8y0" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Toowoomba cars washed away</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HyFixAqkc4" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> &#8216;I was floating&#8217; Drivers trapped inside cars during flash flood, one person rescued</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFQHrmDSs28" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Cars are underwater the city is sinking Devastating flood in Europe</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FsciJRN4ZE" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Heavy Rain Returns to Texas Just 10 Days After Historic Flooding</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woLihOSzdwE" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank"> Watch as a car full of people is swept away in flash flood</a></p>
  2639. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/extreme-carwash-or-the-impact-of-vehicles-on-extreme-weather-events/">Extreme Carwash, or the Impact of Vehicles on Extreme Weather Events</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
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  2649. <item>
  2650. <title>Greed Is a Hell of a Drug</title>
  2651. <link>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/greed-is-a-hell-of-a-drug/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=greed-is-a-hell-of-a-drug</link>
  2652. <comments>https://www.truthdig.com/articles/greed-is-a-hell-of-a-drug/#respond</comments>
  2654. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lital Khaikin]]></dc:creator>
  2655. <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:45:15 +0000</pubDate>
  2656. <category><![CDATA[Business & Economy]]></category>
  2657. <category><![CDATA[Health & Wellness]]></category>
  2658. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  2659. <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
  2660. <category><![CDATA[TD Original]]></category>
  2661. <category><![CDATA[US]]></category>
  2662. <category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
  2663. <category><![CDATA[aids]]></category>
  2664. <category><![CDATA[big pharma]]></category>
  2665. <category><![CDATA[gilead sciences]]></category>
  2666. <category><![CDATA[hiv]]></category>
  2667. <category><![CDATA[lenacapavir]]></category>
  2668. <category><![CDATA[PrEP]]></category>
  2669. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.truthdig.com/?p=312210</guid>
  2670.  
  2671. <description><![CDATA[<p>Gilead’s lenacapavir price drop is a smoke screen for monopoly medicine.</p>
  2672. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/greed-is-a-hell-of-a-drug/">Greed Is a Hell of a Drug</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
  2673. ]]></description>
  2674. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  2675. <p class="has-drop-cap">On Sept. 24, the California-based multinational corporation Gilead Sciences announced it would <a href="https://filtermag.org/lenacapavir-injectable-prep-hiv-prevention/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">lower</a> the price of lenacapavir&nbsp;— a highly effective pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug that prevents HIV transmission — from more than $28,000 per annual regimen to $40, <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2025/09/hiv-prevention-lenacapavir" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">starting</a> in 2027. Winnie Byanyima, director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2025/september/20250924_hiv-prevention-medicines" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">described</a> Gilead’s price drop as a “watershed moment in the fight to end AIDS as a public health threat.”&nbsp;</p>
  2676.  
  2677.  
  2678.  
  2679. <p>But the new prices will not be applied universally. Gilead has <a href="https://www.gilead.com/news/news-details/2024/gilead-signs-royalty-free-voluntary-licensing-agreements-with-six-generic-manufacturers-to-increase-access-to-lenacapavir-for-hiv-prevention-in-high-incidence-resource-limited-countries" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">signed</a> six royalty-free voluntary license agreements that allow generic drug manufacturers to produce lenacapavir for use in 120 primarily low- and lower-middle-income countries, with production contracted to companies in India, Pakistan and Egypt. Twenty-six upper-middle-income countries, meanwhile, are excluded from Gilead’s license list, including most of Central and South America, countries across Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq and Palestine. According to 2023 data from <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2024/july/20240710_lenacapavir?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=sendpress&amp;utm_campaign" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">UNAIDS</a>, upper-middle-income countries account for roughly 41% of new HIV infections and 37% of the <a href="https://aidsinfo.unaids.org/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">40 million</a> people living with HIV worldwide.&nbsp;</p>
  2680.  
  2681.  
  2682.  
  2683. <p>Medicine access and health groups are calling on Gilead to broaden its generic licensing to include all low- and middle-income countries.</p>
  2684.  
  2685.  
  2686.  
  2687. <p>“For the first time, we’re seeing a price that matches what independent studies estimate it actually costs to manufacture lenacapavir,” said K.M. Gopakumar, senior researcher at the Third World Network, an advocacy organization for sustainable and just development in the Global South. “But excluding some countries undermines the purpose of lenacapavir to prevent new infections. From a public health and ethical perspective, it doesn’t make sense.”&nbsp;</p>
  2688.  
  2689.  
  2690.  
  2691. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The new prices will not be applied universally.</p></blockquote></figure>
  2692.  
  2693.  
  2694.  
  2695. <p>Under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, generics manufacturers are prohibited from exporting pharmaceutical ingredients or finished medicines to countries without licenses to produce those drugs. No exception is given for countries that issue <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/public_health_faq_e.htm" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">compulsory licenses</a> and bypass TRIPS rules within their own borders in the interest of public health.&nbsp;</p>
  2696.  
  2697.  
  2698.  
  2699. <p>Countries excluded from Gilead’s voluntary license agreements must therefore buy branded lenacapavir at the regular, higher price — or tell people living with HIV to wait until Gilead’s patents expire. This was supposed to begin in 2034, but Gilead is expected to use a practice known as <a href="https://healthpolicy-watch.news/evergreening-medicine-patents-is-abuse-of-intellectual-property-system/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">patent evergreening</a> — extending exclusivity based on minor modifications to the drug — to <a href="https://saludporderecho.org/en/the-new-agreement-on-generic-lenacapavir-still-does-not-guarantee-global-access/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">prolong</a> its control of pricing in high- and middle-income countries through at least 2041, further delaying the arrival of affordable generics in the market.</p>
  2700.  
  2701.  
  2702.  
  2703. <p>The selective licensing creates “an artificial scarcity of affordable options,” said Chetali Rao, a biotechnologist and intellectual property lawyer with TWN, adding, “There are many manufacturers who can supply generics to these countries.&#8221; She called Gilead’s prohibitions “a very aggressive measure.”</p>
  2704.  
  2705.  
  2706.  
  2707. <p>Gilead’s licensing regime limits access to a groundbreaking treatment that requires only twice-annual injections. The company’s previous PrEP drug, the pill Truvada, <a href="https://www.prepwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PrEP_efficacy_results.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">in testing showed</a> only up to 75% efficacy. Descovy pills have shown approximately 99% efficacy, but <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2019/11/25/descovy-trials-excluded-cisgender-women-bad-call/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">have not been</a> approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cis women. GlaxoSmithKlines’s cabotegravir, branded as Apretude and Vocabria, offers similar protection to lenacapavir, but it requires bimonthly injections. Another option, the dapivirine vaginal ring, needs monthly <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/26-01-2021-who-recommends-the-dapivirine-vaginal-ring-as-a-new-choice-for-hiv-prevention-for-women-at-substantial-risk-of-hiv-infection" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">replacement</a> and can leave people vulnerable to intimate partner violence. (A study on women’s agency in PrEP use in sub-Saharan Africa <a href="https://www.prepwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CHARISMA_SocialHarmsBrief_2019.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">showed</a> that when sexual activity is stigmatized, the discovery of a ring can prompt partners to remove and destroy it, and to inflict physical violence.)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  2708.  
  2709.  
  2710.  
  2711. <p>Humanitarian experts see lenacapavir as a potential game changer for marginalized and criminalized communities, including LGBTQI+ people and sex workers. Médecins Sans Frontières <a href="https://msfaccess.org/gileads-voluntary-license-lenacapavir-key-limitations-license-and-recommendations-improve-access" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">reports</a> that Gilead’s drug can be especially groundbreaking in humanitarian contexts “where flexibility and discretion are essential,” with fewer medical visits and less reliance on cold chain storage.&nbsp;</p>
  2712.  
  2713.  
  2714.  
  2715. <p>Last year, the number of people who died from AIDS was at its <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/2025-global-aids-update-JC3153_en.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">lowest point</a> since the mid-1980s, and life expectancies of people living with HIV have increased over the decades. But experts fear an HIV/AIDS resurgence and a <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2025/may/20250521_zambia" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">return</a> to “the dark days of the epidemic.” Even within countries licensed to produce generic lenacapavir, dependency on philanthropic <a href="https://unitaid.org/news-blog/lenacapavir-for-hiv-prevention/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">subsidies</a> leaves the sustainability of drug production uncertain. Global prophylactic programs and clinics were decimated by the <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/tag/donald-trump/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="4" title="Donald Trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> administration’s dismantling of USAID programs that supported almost 90% of global PrEP programs. A report by Physicians for Human Rights <a href="https://phr.org/our-work/resources/on-the-brink-of-catastrophe-u-s-foreign-aid-disruption-to-hiv-services-in-tanzania-and-uganda/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">details</a> the scale of damage, leaving global programs to operate in “fragmented and precarious ways” and forcing patients to ration PrEP pills.&nbsp;</p>
  2716.  
  2717.  
  2718.  
  2719. <p>Gilead’s decision to forbid generic producers from exporting the drug to countries outside the license list has earned <a href="https://healthjusticeinitiative.org.za/2025/08/22/gilead-license-faq-2/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">accusations</a> that the company is contravening the spirit and letter of the 2001 <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min01_e/mindecl_trips_e.htm" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">Doha Declaration</a> on TRIPS and public health. This critical amendment affirms countries’ rights to “access to medicines for all,” in line with Article 31 of the WTO’s <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips_01_e.htm" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">intellectual property</a> laws that protect countries’ sovereign right to override patents and issue compulsory licenses in the face of public health emergencies.</p>
  2720.  
  2721.  
  2722.  
  2723. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Gilead’s greed will relegate communities around the world to inferior HIV prevention.”</p></blockquote></figure>
  2724.  
  2725.  
  2726.  
  2727. <p>The Health Justice Initiative and other public health advocacy organizations want to see lenacapavir included in the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool, which makes generics production more <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/hiv-breakthrough-drug-licensing-deal-marks-significant-but-flawed-step-for-access/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">accessible</a> through nonexclusive public licensing and technology transfers. But the current policy of the United States and other major pharmaceutical producing nations aligns more closely with the private sector’s aggressive tactics that restrict access to lifesaving drugs. Countries are under mounting <a href="https://msfaccess.org/msf-warns-us-trade-pressure-may-interfere-access-medicines-brazil" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">pressure</a> from the United States to further reform intellectual property laws in favor of the private sector. Recent rulings in Brazil and Colombia to override private patents have drawn the predictable ire of the Office of the United States Trade Representative).&nbsp;</p>
  2728.  
  2729.  
  2730.  
  2731. <p>Gilead did not respond to Truthdig’s request for comment on the expansion of access to countries currently excluded from the voluntary license list, on the Medicines Patent Pool, and on the Doha Declaration.</p>
  2732.  
  2733.  
  2734.  
  2735. <p>Meanwhile, new treatments have brought the once-unimaginable into the realm of the possible. UNAIDS <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/high-level-panel-resilient-fit-for-purpose-unaids-report_en.pdf" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">estimates</a> that AIDS as an epidemic could be <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2024/july/20240722_global-aids-update" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">ended</a> by 2030 — but only if governments prioritize public health over private profit.</p>
  2736.  
  2737.  
  2738.  
  2739. <p class="is-td-marked">“Gilead’s greed will relegate communities around the world to inferior HIV prevention,” <a href="https://www.eatg.org/hiv-news/activists-demand-40-a-year-generic-price-for-breakthrough-hiv-prevention-drug-be-made-available-to-all-lmics/" rel="nofollow external" target="_blank">said</a> Asia Russell of Health GAP. “It will unnecessarily prolong this pandemic.”</p>
  2740. <p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/greed-is-a-hell-of-a-drug/">Greed Is a Hell of a Drug</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>
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