Thursday, April 10, 2025

Common Dreams:
" 'I think when we talk about America is a democracy, I think we should rephrase it, call it a pseudo-democracy.' That's what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday morning in response to questions from CBS News about the state of the nation, with President Donald Trump gutting the federal government from head to toe, challenging constitutional norms, allowing his cabinet of billionaires to run key agencies they philosophically want to destroy, and empowering Elon Musk—the world's richest person—to run roughshod over public education, undermine healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and attack Social Security.

Taking a weekend away from his ongoing 'Fight Oligarchy' tour, which has drawn record crowds in both right-leaning and left-leaning regions of the country over recent weeks, Sanders said the problem is deeply entrenched now in the nation's political system—and both major parties have a lot to answer for.

'One of the other concerns when I talk about oligarchy,' Sanders explained to journalist Robert Acosta, 'it's not just massive income and wealth inequality. It's not just the power of the billionaire class. These guys, led by Musk—and as a result of this disastrous Citizens UnitedSupreme Court decision—have now allowed billionaires essentially to own our political process. So, I think when we talk about America is a democracy, I think we should rephrase it, call it a 'pseudo-democracy.' And it's not just Musk and the Republicans; it's billionaires in the Democratic Party as well.' "
https://www.commondreams.org/news/bernie-sanders-2671682239

-->Sanders is one of the visionaries of our nation's turn from being a democracy to being an oligarchy. Like most visionaries, the NYT rarely prints what Bernie Sanders actually has to say. How often does the NYT report what Noam Chomsky has to say? The NYT is the newspaper of the empire.

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Global Delinquents:
"On March 13th, the UN Human Rights High Commission published a horrifying report exposing in oft-emetic detail how the Zionist entity has employed 'sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians' on an industrial scale since the Gaza genocide erupted in October 2023. The UN concludes these hideous acts are a central component of Israel’s 'broader effort to undermine [Palestinians’] right to self-determination,' their systematic nature pointing unambiguously to endorsement by Tel Aviv’s military and political leaders.

The report records, 'sexual and gender-based violence is by no means a new element of the Israeli occupation.' However, in the wake of October 7th, there has been a 'sharp increase in sexual violence against Palestinian women and men', both by Zionist Occupation Forces and settlers. The UN encountered no obstacles collecting voluminous highly incriminating evidence of this vile abuse. In addition to a welter of victim and witness testimony, perpetrators often voyeuristically captured themselves and their confederates openly committing these crimes on camera.

Frequently, these abhorrent images were pridefully posted on the culprits’ personal social media accounts. Such actions amply attest to the culture of total impunity in which ZOF soldiers literally rape and pillage. 'Despite the abundance of witness and digital evidence of Israeli soldiers committing crimes in Gaza,' the UN found 'there have been no meaningful efforts by Israel to hold the perpetrators accountable.' Requests submitted to Tel Aviv for clarity on investigations into sexual violence committed by Occupation Forces have been ignored."
https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/un-exposes-systematic-israeli-rape

-->The NYT role in the holocaust of the Palestinian people is to leave out stores like this. Maybe it is just too condemning of this genocidal regime. Our newspaper of record will always be known for its role in covering up Israel's slaughter.

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Common Dreams:
"Emails Show Trump Official Targeted Maine Social Security Services as Political Revenge. 'Trump is clearly comfortable weaponizing Social Security for political purposes, and we fear that this is only the beginning,' said one critic.

The top Democrat on the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Wednesday led calls for the resignation of acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dudek following the revelation of internal emails confirming that the SSA canceled contracts with the state of Maine as political payback after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills publicly defied President Donald Trump in support of transgender student athletes.

The emails—which were obtained by House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.)—show that Dudek ordered the cancellation of enumeration at birth and electronic death registration contracts with Maine, even though SSAd subordinates warned that such action 'would result in improper payments and potential for identity theft.'

'These emails confirm that the Trump administration is intentionally creating waste and the opportunity for fraud.' "
https://www.commondreams.org/news/leland-dudek-resign

-->The NYT didn't print this story. The paper rarely comes out in favor of Social Security. Let's face it, Wall St. is dying to get its hands on the trillions in this program.

Wednesday, April 02, 2025

The Guardian UK:
"Who is Jeffrey Goldberg, the journalist who broke the Signal leak scandal? Though exactly how Jeffrey Goldberg ended up on a Signal group chat to discuss what were meant to be secret plans to bomb Yemen remains a mystery, posterity may render it one of recent US history’s most serendipitous chance encounters.

Had the fates been conspiring to add a journalist to the forum whose presence would inflict the maximum discomfort to Trump and his circle, they could hardly have chosen a more fitting candidate. ... At the same time Goldberg is also widely criticized by some on the left of US media and politics for his views on Israel, his past record serving in the Israeli military and his hawkish views on Iran and his support for the US invasion of Iraq.

However, since becoming the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief in 2016, he has built a track record of unearthing stories that have managed to specifically get under Trump’s skin with the type of journalism loathed by the president’s 'Make America Great Again' (Maga) followers.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/27/who-is-jeffrey-goldberg-atlantic-signal-chat-leak

-->Again we have to go to the Guardian for the complete story. Goldberg served in the IDF and has been a consistent champion of the US wars in the Middle East. Since 2016, His journalism has upset some Maga followers. Why does the NYT leave all this out of its coverage?

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Common Dreams:
"Jewish Groups Denounce Latest 'Cynical' GOP Hearing Equating Criticism of Israel With Antisemitism. 'Israel is a nation state, not a Jewish person, said Rabbis for Cease-Fire. 'Criticism of Israel's genocidal assault is not equivalent to antisemitism.'

Following the Republican Party's latest hearing on antisemitism on college campuses—part of a campaign in which discrimination against Jewish people has been conflated with calls for Palestinian liberation and opposition to Israel's U.S.-backed killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza—the rights organization Rabbis for Cease-Fire on Thursday said it rejected 'the basic premises' of the hearing.

The hearing held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday, titled 'Antisemitic Disruptions on Campus: Ensuring Safe Learning Environments for All Students,' was part of an effort to 'instrumentalize concern for Jewish safety to shield Israel from accountability,' said the group.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/congress-antisemitism

-->The NYT did cover statements by Rabbis for Cease-Fire, but conveniently left out any mention of the group's warning about conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

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Mondoweiss:
"Colonial violence is on display from Gaza to U.S. universities

As global attention is drawn elsewhere, Israel has resumed its full-scale assault on Gaza. Tareq Hajjaj reports on the deepening catastrophe: water and electricity have once again been cut off to over 2 million Palestinians, plunging Gaza into darkness pierced only by the flash of Israeli bombs. On the ground, Palestinians face a grim ultimatum: death or displacement. Chris Hedges describes it as the 'final stage of genocide'—a campaign of total erasure.

This push is not just military. Qassam Muaddi unpacks Israel’s latest plan to facilitate the 'voluntary emigration' of Palestinians from Gaza—another euphemism for ethnic cleansing. The world must not be fooled by the language of bureaucracy.

In the West Bank, Israeli forces are intensifying violence, turning refugee camps into battlefields. Felix Nobes documents how even Palestinian sports, a source of pride and resistance, are being systematically dismantled."
https://newsletters.mondoweiss.net/emails/webview/59730/150219247528707703

-->Mondoweiss coverage of Palestine is an example of how a free press should operate. The NYT coverage is the exact opposite. The paper offers readers pages on Ukraine, but disturbingly little on the hunger and slaughter going on in Gaza as well as the West Bank. Soon, we will see the broken bodies of Palestinians being starved to death. They are the same pictures that came to us from Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Dachau. They are America's shame, and its no wonder that the NYT would try to divert our attention.