Author: Talia Baroncelli

Gaza Victims’ Lawyer Rebuts Western Objections to ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant – Triestino Mariniello Pt. 1/2

Gaza Victims’ Lawyer Rebuts Western Objections to ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant – Triestino Mariniello Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

Following the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s release of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Germany, France, and the U.S. falsely characterized the warrants as inapplicable. International lawyer Triestino Mariniello, who represents Gaza Victims at the ICC, explains the legal obligation of state parties to the Rome Statute to enforce these arrest warrants. Mariniello exposes the U.S.’ false statements around the ICC’s supposed lack of jurisdiction over the State of Palestine and Israeli nationals.

AI Border Surveillance Tech Profits Soar, Human Rights Across the Board Sink – Petra Molnar Pt. 1/2
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AI Border Surveillance Tech Profits Soar, Human Rights Across the Board Sink – Petra Molnar Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of people draws attention to longstanding practices of tracking and intercepting migrants using artificial intelligence and high-risk surveillance technologies. Petra Molnar, human rights lawyer and anthropologist, underscores how border surveillance tech firms drive and profit from the U.S., Canada, and the European Union’s criminal migration policy agenda. Yet the application of these insidious technologies, largely developed by Israeli tech firms and billionaire Peter Thiel’s Palantir, is not limited to borderlands and has dystopian human rights impacts in everyday life.  

The Corporate Coup Against FDR – Jonathan M. Katz Pt. 2/2
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The Corporate Coup Against FDR – Jonathan M. Katz Pt. 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part two, journalist Jonathan M. Katz discusses the financial elite and fascist sympathizers who were conspiring to undo FDR’s economic reforms in what is known as the foiled Business Plot of 1933. Retired U.S. Marine General Smedley Butler, who outed the coup plotters in Special House committee hearings in 1934, subsequently published War is a Racket, a pamphlet critiquing the monied interests behind America’s imperial war machine. Katz describes Butler’s transformation from “racketeer for capitalism” to anti-war critic and underscores the political salience of working-class issues in the Great Depression’s aftermath, as demonstrated in the Bonus March of 1932 and in FDR’s New Deal.

Gangsters of Capitalism – Jonathan M. Katz Pt. 1/2

Gangsters of Capitalism – Jonathan M. Katz Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

U.S. interventions at the turn of the 20th century were numerous and widespread, including bloody operations in Cuba against the Spanish and then against the Cubans themselves, in northern China against the Boxer Rebellion, and most notably, the Balangiga massacre on the island of Samar in the Philippines. General Smedley Butler, a decorated U.S. marine, was stationed on all these fronts and was subsequently involved in invasions of Mexico, Nicaragua, and Haiti in 1915. Jonathan M. Katz, author of Gangsters of Capitalism, recounts the story of Butler and how he ultimately turned against the American war machine, describing himself as “a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism,” who had propped up the pillaging of Latin America by monopolists and bankers such as J.P. Morgan. 

Who Owns America’s Debt? – Bob Pollin Pt. 2/2

Who Owns America’s Debt? – Bob Pollin Pt. 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part 2, Bob Pollin, economist and Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), lays out policies to increase workers’ wages and bargaining power and bring down the price of food items such as eggs. He tackles the issue of U.S. government debt, as well as fiscal conservative and MAGA Republican claims that China owns most of this debt. These falsehoods deflect from Trump’s massive tax cuts for the rich and his high military expenditure, which ran up U.S. debt far more than under the Biden administration. Pollin asserts the best way to reduce high-interest payments on U.S. debt and support social services is to increase government revenue via capital gains and income taxes.

Inflation Control and Curbing Workers’ Power in the Neoliberal Era – Bob Pollin Pt. 1/2

Inflation Control and Curbing Workers’ Power in the Neoliberal Era – Bob Pollin Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

Following the inflationary period of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation is largely down and currently at 2.1% in the U.S. Bob Pollin, economist, and Co-Director at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), explains the causes of inflation, including demand-side and supply-side factors. He illustrates how the economic models used to tackle inflation are essentially tools to chip away at workers’ bargaining power. Pollin recounts the history of policies of inflation control, tracing their development to the era of globalization and neoliberalism championed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan.

Class Struggle and Palestinian Self-Determination – MK Ofer Cassif part 2/2

Class Struggle and Palestinian Self-Determination – MK Ofer Cassif part 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part 2, Member of Israeli Knesset Dr. Ofer Cassif discusses the regional class interests that actively oppose Palestinian statehood and equality for Israelis and Palestinians. He describes the U.S.-backed bilateral Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, and Israel and Bahrain, as agreements to further entrench class inequalities and capitalist military-industrial interests in the Middle East and foreclose the possibility of Palestinian self-determination.

America’s Twisted Iran Policy – Barbara Slavin
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America’s Twisted Iran Policy – Barbara Slavin

ByTalia Baroncelli

The Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), which the United States was a signatory to but abandoned under former President Trump, is unlikely to be revived. Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center and journalist with extensive experience reporting from Iran, underscores Iran’s desperate need for sanctions relief. She argues that the JCPOA is an outdated framework, given President Biden’s refusal to sign an executive order to bring the U.S. back into the deal, and that current twisted American foreign policy greenlights Israel’s maniacal plans to target Iran.  

Member of Israeli Parliament: “After Sinwar’s Killing, Netanyahu Doubles Down on Genocide” – MK Ofer Cassif Pt. 1/2

Member of Israeli Parliament: “After Sinwar’s Killing, Netanyahu Doubles Down on Genocide” – MK Ofer Cassif Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

Following Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, U.S. President Joe Biden asserted that Sinwar’s death could represent an opportunity to reach a political settlement in Gaza. Yet member of Israeli Knesset Dr. Ofer Cassif argues that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will continue his spree of massacring Palestinians and Lebanese with impunity. Cassif represents the Hadash-Ta’al political faction, which is a union of the Arab-Jewish far-left party Hadash, and the Arab nationalist party Ta’al – comprising the only remaining opposition in Israel’s right-wing political sphere.

U.S. Approval of Israel’s Assassinations Enabling War Against Iran – Richard Silverstein part 2/2

U.S. Approval of Israel’s Assassinations Enabling War Against Iran – Richard Silverstein part 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part 2, Richard Silverstein, analyst and author of the Israeli security state blog Tikun Olam, breaks down the Biden administration’s explicit support for Israel’s war crimes in Lebanon and efforts to eliminate Hezbollah. Unlawful U.S. approval for Israel’s extrajudicial killings of Iranian IRGC leader in Lebanon and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil propelled Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel, which inconveniently degraded Israeli military assets. Will Israel now strike Iran’s nuclear facilities?

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