Recorded back in November, the Minister of Defense for the Black Panther Party talks rednecks and shares his time-tested wisdom with the current social revolutionary movement, warns us of past and coming challenges to our solidarity and solutions to overcome the divide-and-conquer tactics that have separated us for far too long.

1. Choose your moment. Ok, you’ve been ethnically cleansing, occupying, oppressing and killing your neighbours for decades. The international courts have ruled your actions illegal. But none of that will matter the moment your neighbours retaliate by attacking you. Don’t worry. The western media can be relied on to help out here. They will be only too ready to pretend that history began on the day you were attacked.

2. Declare, in response, your intention to starve your neighbours, treating them as “human animals”, by blocking all food, water and power. You will be surprised by how many western politicians are ready to support this as your “right to defend yourself”. The media will echo them. Important not to just talk about blocking aid. You must actually do it. There will be no serious pushback for many, many months.

3. Start relatively slowly. Time is on your side. Let a little bit of aid in. But make sure to relentlessly smear the well functioning, decades-old aid distribution system run by the international community – one that is transparent, accountable and widely integrated into the community it serves. Say it is infiltrated by “terrorists”.

4. Use that claim – evidence isn’t really necessary, the western media never ask for it – as the pretext to bomb the aid system’s warehouses, distribution centres and community kitchens. Oh, and don’t forget to bomb all the private bakeries, destroy all the farmland, shoot all the animals and kill anyone who tries to use a fishing boat, so that there are no other sources of food. You are now in control of the trickle of aid reaching what is rapidly becoming a severely malnourished population.

5. Time to move into higher gear. Stop the international community’s aid getting in all together. You will need a humanitarian cover story for this bit. The danger, particularly in an age of social media, is that images of starving babies will make you look very bad. Hold firm. You can get through this. Claim – again evidence isn’t really necessary, the western media won’t ask for it – that the “terrorists” are stealing the aid. You will be surprised how willing the media is to talk about babies going “hungry”, ignoring the fact that you are starving them to death, or speak of a “famine”, as though from drought and crop failure, not from your carefully laid plans.

For the second time in a year, the FBI came to my home yesterday after I published the so-called manifesto of the man charged with killing two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington.

Not a single mainstream media outlet has published the text because, as they claim, the FBI hasn’t confirmed its authenticity. But the real reason is simple. The media just doesn’t want to publish it. And the FBI doesn’t want the media to think it can

These are those 11 questions (from the email I’ve reproduced below):

• When did he first encounter the manifesto?
• How did he first encounter the manifesto?
• Did he receive any instruction from the source of the manifesto about how to disseminate it?
• Does the system or platform from which he received the manifesto capture metadata concerning the transfer of the manifesto?
• Did he make any edits or changes to the manifesto?
• Was this his first and only interaction with whomever submitted the manifesto?
• Has anyone else submitted any other documentation regarding this incident?
• Did his receipt of the manifesto predate the attack?
• Where else, if anywhere, did he disseminate the manifesto?
• Does he have any knowledge of where else the manifesto was published or shared?
• Why does he think he was the one who received the manifesto?

Other than the questions implying the FBI is entertaining an outlandish theory that I conspired with the shooter, the others seem pretty straightforward and routine.

But there’s a Trump administration dimension to all of this. The administration has many times publicly warned about shadowy, unseen forces that it believes are bankrolling everything from Tesla vandalism to the college protests. That tone from the top, labeling seemingly everything terrorism, tells personnel that the gloves are off and more aggressive work in the field is now permissible.

Get ready to hear that I’m impeding the investigation, giving people a roadmap to the “sources and methods” that are used to catch terrorists, or whatever reason the national security state soundboard offers up for why the public isn’t allowed to know things.

The freeze is a further escalation from current screening measures, which have primarily targeted students who participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Since March, consular officers have been required to conduct mandatory social media reviews looking for evidence of support for “terrorist activity or a terrorist organization” which could be as broad as showing support for the Palestinian cause, according to a cable obtained by the Guardian at the time. That directive required officers to take screenshots of “potentially derogatory” content for permanent records, even if posts were later deleted.

The new expansion would apply social media vetting to all student visa applicants, not just those flagged for activism. Under the screening process, consular officers would examine applicants’ posts, shares, and comments across platforms such as Instagram, X, and TikTok for content they deem to be threatening to national security, which has since been tied in to the Trump administration’s stance on combating antisemitism.

That means we could soon live in a world where all online transactions will require us to pay for goods in billionaires’ own made-up monopoly money, for which tech giants will be able to charge exorbitant transaction fees.

After hours of waiting under the scorching sun, starving Palestinians stormed the militarized aid distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Live fire was reportedly opened on the crowd, as people struggled to get their hands on aid.

New polling from the campaign of Zohran Mamdani has the the democratic socialist surging closer to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the upcoming NYC mayoral primary. In the first round of ranked-choice voting, Cuomo leads him 40-27 percent, a lead that becomes 56-44 when the tabulations are finished.

Cuomo, though, thanks to two major super PACs that are pumping more than $10 million into the race, has far more resources to throw at voters, making him the favorite heading into the final stretch.

In the summer of 2024, Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of an antisemitism advocacy group called Never Again, NOW! At the time, cynics wondered aloud whether Cuomo was sincerely dedicated to the cause or using the group to fuel a coming political campaign.

One year later, Cuomo, with the heavy backing of pro-Israel donors, has managed to turn June’s New York City mayoral primary into a referendum on support for Israel. A fed up Scott Stringer, a moderate Jewish Democrat trailing in the race, lamented that Cuomo’s group was simply “a vehicle for his mayor’s race—and everybody knows it.”

As the June 24 election nears, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, currently in second place with a new internal poll showing him narrowing the gap with Cuomo, has faced a relentless barrage of questions regarding his outspoken support for Palestinian rights.

Accused killer of two Israeli Embassy aides ranted against many things — but not Jews

"These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse," said the executive director of Breaking the Silence.

This essay isn’t meant to be comfortable. It’s not an endorsement of anything. It’s a refusal to pretend this world isn’t already soaked in violence. Some lives, no matter how bureaucratic, help sustain it.

Begin on October 7th, 2023.

Nothing important happened before this date.

History began on October 7th.

Never say the word occupation and avoid using terms like, “apartheid,” “segregation” and “illegal settlements.”

Avoid writing about the wall. If you do, preface its existence by talking about terrorism and security.

Terrorism and security are very important words. Use them a lot in reference to Palestinians.

Remind your audience that Palestine is a “complicated” situation.

Avoid the word genocide — for legal and technical reasons of course.

If you must use the word, put it in quotes.

Do not describe the escalation of Israeli hostility as an assault on the people of Gaza.

Instead, use words like “war,” and “conflict,” because that makes it easier to avoid the g-word.

When writing about Palestine, do not let facts get in the way of telling a good story. To this end, ignore Palestinian sources. They may be biased.

On the other hand, the Israeli military is a highly credible source of information.

If the Israeli army says nothing happened, then nothing happened.

Linking countries that fund weapons to the armies that use them fosters transparency.

So, when you write about attacks on Tel Aviv, it is important to mention that the missiles were fired by Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Do the same when you write about the Houthis.

Do not follow the same protocols when it comes to Israel.

The American-backed Israeli army makes its own decisions about when to drop American and British bombs.

When talking about Muslim communities, throw around phrases like “terrorist hotbed,” and “Hamas sympathizers.” This works even when those communities are in the UK or America.

Repeatedly demonize people who peacefully protest for Palestine.

Center the voices of people living in Western countries who feel unsafe when they hear the phrase “from the river to the sea.”

Don’t ask your readers to imagine how unsafe children actually living, wounded and dying in Gaza and the West Bank feel.

A Valid Visa Wasn’t Enough

The U.S. government-led crackdown on student protestors against the genocide in the Gaza Strip may be extending to checkpoints with exit controls at land-to-land border crossings. In recent weeks, reports have emerged of plans for new checkpoints near land exits from the U.S., as well as the implementation of programs that use photography and facial recognition technology to identify people attempting to leave the country.

The U.S.-Canada land border has been the point of exit for a large number of students who have had their immigration status revoked after their participation in pro-Palestinian protests on campus, according to lawyers who have worked on their cases. These lawyers told Drop Site that they believe the new measures may be aimed at targeting students who attempt to leave via that route in the future.

Lawyers who have advised students say that so far none have faced detention at the Canadian border when exiting the U.S. “There is a U.S. law that actually requires DHS to match entries and exits, so tracking the departure of the person from the US who is not a citizen is consistent with that statutory obligation. But using the border as a checkpoint for the detention of people based on their political opinions is an entirely different level of concern,” said Greg Nojeim

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/28713860

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30499115

Interview with-
Katie J.M. Baker
investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Stefanie Fox
executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace.

May 22 (Reuters) - The Trump administration’s latest blow against Harvard University – cutting off its ability to enroll foreign students – rippled throughout higher education Thursday, because it aims at a major source of revenue for hundreds of schools across the United States

Because international students are more likely to pay full tuition, they essentially subsidize other students who receive aid, said educational consultant Chuck Ambrose, former president of the University of Central Missouri.

The administration’s move to stop foreign enrollment is a huge blow to Harvard and sends a message to other universities: "You could be next,” said Robert Kelchen, a professor at the University of Tennessee who researches university finances.

A protest was staged in Rotterdam on Wednesday after a ship carrying F-35 fighter jet parts from Israel docked at the city's port, drawing criticism from activists, who accuse the Netherlands of enabling arms transfers to the country despite a court ruling.

The large crowd, mostly consisting of Dutch citizens, gathered outside Rotterdam City Hall to denounce the arrival of the Maersk vessel. “Maersk profits from genocide,” they chanted.

Speakers at the protest recalled a 2023 Dutch court ruling that ordered a halt to the export of F-35 components to Israel, citing violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Despite the ruling, organizers claimed that Rotterdam municipality and port officials facilitated the docking of the ship through indirect channels, effectively aiding Israel's military industry.

Demonstrators temporarily blocked the street and tram lines in front of City Hall, later marching through the city center and staging a sit-in protest at a busy intersection leading to the Erasmus Bridge, halting traffic.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prevented detained Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil from holding his newborn son during a family visit, according to a report published by CBS News citing his legal team.

Khalil, 30, met his month-old baby for the first time behind a glass partition at a detention center in Louisiana, where he has been held since March. His wife, Noor Abdalla, traveled from New York for the visit, hoping for a contact meeting.

However, ICE officials and the private contractor operating the facility denied the family’s request for physical contact, citing the detention center’s no-contact visitation policy and vague "security concerns," Khalil’s lawyers said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30175558

Timestamps and Generated Summary below:

Video Description:

Two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed on Wednesday evening by a man who yelled “Free Palestine.” The man allegedly wrote a manifesto, and it isn’t clear yet what his motives are, his mental state, if he was a lone actor, or as our guest today puts it: “crazy.”

Useful Idiots: Let's start with the top news in the US: the shooting of two Israeli embassy officials outside an event in Washington, DC. What we know so far is that the alleged shooter chanted Free Palestine. There's also a manifesto that's been purported to be written by him, although we haven't confirmed that. With so much going on in Gaza, atrocities day by day, it feels a little inhuman to talk about two deaths in Washington when there's thousands of deaths going on in Gaza. But what is your reaction?

Norman Finkelstein: Well, my first reaction is that you have to have the facts and make a careful evaluation on the basis of the facts. When I first read about it this morning, I thought it had occurred at the Israeli consulate. And I assumed it was a Palestinian who had committed the action. And my first reaction was to remember the [Polish Jewish] fellow Herschel Grynszpan, who assassinated the second-level diplomat in the German legation in Paris in 1938.

He reacted in sheer horror at what was being done to the Jews. And he did an act. Of course, the Germans called it an act of terrorism, and that's what triggered Kristallnacht. I'm not aware of any [historians] who condemned him for the act, even though you could say it was not a very smart thing to do because it triggered Kristallnacht.

So that was my initial reaction. But then that turned out to be wrong because of two things. It didn't occur in the Israeli consulate. It occurred in front of a Jewish museum in Washington. And secondly, it's unclear at this point whether the alleged perpetrator was even aware that these two people worked in the Israeli consulate. So that throws a large number of variables into the equation. There seems to be this big disconnect between a sophisticated manifesto and a fellow just going randomly in front of a Jewish museum in Washington and attempting to assassinate two people who presumably he thought were Jewish.

So everything remains foggy now. I would say for me, the bottom line is it could have been a nutty guy. That's always possible. It could be a smart guy with a crazy project. It could be a crazy guy with a crazy project.

Subscribe to hear the full interview with Norman Finkelstein – 50 MINUTES longer. Norman reveals the “main enabler” of the genocide, calls out the New York Times for its coverage of the Israeli embassy shooting, discusses his debate with “that thing called Destiny,” and gives his prediction for how quickly Israeli crimes will be forgotten.

Timestamps:

1. 00:00 Intro
2. 01:14 Dems want power until death
3. 03:20 Trump's Big Beautiful Bill
4. 08:10 MSM coverage of Israeli embassy shooting
5. 10:26 ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt on the shooting
6. 14:31 Norman Finkelstein interview preview
7. 15:50 Israeli Embassy Shooting: Norm's Initial Reaction
8. 21:58 GOP Congressman wants to NUKE Arab countries
9. 25:05 Norm's Take on Israel
10. 38:56 The "Main Enabler" of the Genocide

Generated Summary:

Main Topic: The video features Norman Finkelstein discussing the shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington D.C., the media coverage surrounding it, and the broader context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the situation in Gaza.

Key Points:

• Initial Reaction to Shooting: Finkelstein initially thought the shooting occurred at the Israeli consulate and was perpetrated by a Palestinian, drawing a parallel to Herschel Grynszpan. However, he later learned it occurred at a Jewish museum and the shooter's motives were unclear.
• Shooter's Motives and Manifesto: The shooter allegedly chanted "Free Palestine" and may have written a sophisticated manifesto, creating a disconnect with the seemingly random nature of the attack.
• Media Coverage Disparity: The hosts and Finkelstein criticize the disproportionate media coverage of the embassy shooting compared to the ongoing deaths and atrocities in Gaza, including malnutrition deaths and Israeli attacks.
• ADL and Jonathan Greenblatt: The discussion touches on Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and his attempt to link the shooting to Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, accusing him of using "genocidal rhetoric."
• Israeli Government's Response: The video highlights the Israeli government's blaming of Israeli Democratic Party leader Yair Golan for the shooting, due to his criticism of Israel's actions.
• Broader Context of Israeli Society: Finkelstein discusses the current state of Israeli society, suggesting that the events of October 7th have unleashed previously repressed "demons" and allowed for the public espousal of hateful views. He contrasts this with Nazi Germany, noting that while Germans may have had some ignorance, Israelis are fully aware of the situation in Gaza.
• Legitimacy of Israel: The discussion raises the question of whether Israel loses its legitimacy as a state due to its actions over the past 19 months.

Highlights:

• Finkelstein's historical perspective, drawing parallels to Herschel Grynszpan and the US war with Japan.
• The critique of media bias and the selective valuing of lives.
• The discussion of the internal dynamics within Israeli society and the extent of public support for the actions in Gaza.
• Randy Fine, a Florida congressman, suggesting nuking the whole Arab world.

About Channel:

Useful Idiots is an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalists @aaronjmate and @kthalps