GROVER FURR—Many such people begin to look at the history of the Soviet Union during the period of Stalin’s leadership. They see a desperately poor country, largely destroyed by the World War, the anticommunist Civil War, a devastating typhus epidemic, and four deadly famines during the 1920s alone.

They see that, under the leadership of Stalin and the Bolshevik party, the country industrialized, without foreign capital, using only the labor and ingenuity of the Soviet working class and peasantry; collectivized agriculture, putting an end to the centuries-long cycle of murderous famines; trained and armed its military to the point that the Soviet people defeated the invading fascist forces, the largest and best army that had ever existed.

EDITOR—It was fair to remember on this historic date the causes that led Gerardo, René, Antonio, Fernando and Ramón to their unjust imprisonment.

Ramirez reminded the audience that The Five were arrested on September 12, 1998 “for monitoring the terrorist organizations of the anti-Cuban mafia, which historically enjoy the impunity granted to them by the various U.S. administrations.”

JACQUES PAUWELS—The history of the United States is bursting with myths, such as the notions that the conquest of the Wild West was a heroic undertaking, that the country fought in World War I for democracy, and that Oppenheimer’s Bomb wiped out over 100,000 people in Hiroshima to force Tokyo to surrender, thus presumably saving the lives of countless Japanese civilians and American soldiers. Yet another myth involves American “aid” to Europe in the years following World War II, epitomized by the so-called “European Recovery Program”, better known as the Marshall Plan, because it was George C. Marshall, a former chief of staff of the army and Secretary of State in the Truman administration, who formally launched the project in a speech at Harvard University on June 5, 1947.

RICK STERLING—Why did the Syria army collapse? 

“This is a mystery because there are no true data about this. Some people say that Assad was informed by Russia that they can’t protect him any more. So he informed the army that they should surrender and they don’t need to fight back. There are many stories. What is true?  Unfortunately, President Assad didn’t leave any statement behind him, which makes people very angry to be frank with you.” 

EDITOR—On this edition (2 videos) On this stream: 12 Republican Senators sign disturbing “warning” letter to ICC officials – Israel orders evacuation of Rafah as invasion nears – exclusive interview with journalist Lee Fang at Dissident Dialogues festival – and more. Plus Shark Tank celebrity plutocract Kevin O’Leary brags about the AI-enabled blacklist that his class, the 0.001%, may impose on ordinary Americans as punishment for expressing dissident views.

EDITOR—First, Katie introduces her new dog Floof! Then, best-selling, Award-winning Palestinian novelist and activist Susan Abulhawa talks of the tragedies facing animals and the ecosystem in Gaza as their homes are being destroyed. From the start there’s been a systematic persecution of animals ad every living thing in Gaza: horses, donkeys, small animals, cats, dogs, have been shot at indiscriminately by the IDF, and frequently used for target practice. Animal food, of course, is also scarce if not non-existent in most of Gaza now. So human and animal starvation run in parallel tracks. 

JOE LAURIA—The U.S. relationship with Ukraine, and its extremists, to undermine Russia began after the Second World War. During the war, units of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B) took part in the Holocaust, killing at least 100,000 Jews and Poles. 

Mykola Lebed, a top aide to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the fascist OUN-B, was recruited by the C.I.A. after the war, according to a 2010 study by the U.S. National Archives. 

Lebed was the “foreign minister” of a Banderite government in exile, but he later broke with Bandera for acting as a dictator. The U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps termed Bandera “extremely dangerous” yet said he was “looked upon as the spiritual and national hero of all Ukrainians….”

MAHBOOB KHAWAJA—Continued occupation, forcible displacement, and daily killings of civilians are the strategic goals, of the Israeli extremist political leadership who were encouraged by the US-hired supporters who envisage plans of a ‘greater Israel’ inclusive of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and parts of Egypt. The neo-colonial installed puppets – the former tribal agents – now self-made kings, princes, and presidents follow the European and American dictum for their survival. They are immune to logic and advice from Muslim scholarly experts in global affairs.

EDITOR—The DD team does an extensive dissection of Tulsi Gabbard’s actual political identity, and finds the brand can’t be trusted, as Gabbard, in Russell’s words, “has been all over the place.”  Her sudden conversion to rabid Zionism and Team Trump doesn’t help much, either. 

AMARYNTH—Because the steady increase in world shipping may make it an economically viable project, speculation on a new shipping route has continued. In June 2013, Nicaragua’s National Assembly approved a bill to grant a 50-year concession to the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND Group) to manage the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project to build the canal, but little development took place, and the concession to HKND was canceled in May 2024.  This has now changed as Chancay demonstrated without a doubt that this kind of route is not only possible, but highly encouraged.