Krono

Leftists: its deregulation and reagan and the destruction of labor unions and forever wars and wall street and the death of manufacturing and and and

Libertarians: "GOLD!"

Brutal US sanctions cut them off from global trade. An over-reliance on oil meant their economy crashed along with oil prices. A seemingly high level of corruption in government. Multiple coup attempts by foreign actors.

The old stance: No ceasefire

The new stance: Yes to a (temporary) ceasefire (only if Hamas capitulates to every Israeli demand) (then after the short ceasefire, Israel can continue the invasion and genocide)

…Look in the mirror: The horror, the horror! The butt of your M-16 on my cheekbone The yellow patch it left The bullet-shaped scar expanding Like a swastika, Snaking across my face, The heartache flowing Out of my eyes dripping Out of my nostrils piercing My ears flooding The place. Like it did to you 70 years ago Or so.

I am just you. I am your past haunting Your present and your future. I strive like you did. I fight like you did. I resist like you resisted And for a moment, I’d take your tenacity As a model, Were you not holding The barrel of the gun Between my bleeding Eyes.

…The very same gun The very same bullet That had killed your Mom And killed your Dad Is being used, Against me, By you.

Mark this bullet and mark in your gun. If you sniff it, it has your and my blood. It has my present and your past. It has my present. It has your future. That’s why we are twins, Same life track Same weapon Same suffering Same facial expressions drawn On the face of the killer, Same everything Except that in your case The victim has evolved, backward, Into a victimizer. I tell you. I am you. Except that I am not the you of now.

I do not hate you. I want to help you stop hating And killing me. I tell you: The noise of your machine gun Renders you deaf The smell of the powder Beats that of my blood. The sparks disfigure My facial expressions. Would you stop shooting? For a moment? Would you?

All you have to do Is close your eyes (Seeing these days Blinds our hearts.) Close your eyes, tightly So that you can see In your mind’s eye. Then look into the mirror. One. Two. I am you. I am your past. And killing me, You kill you.

• Dr. Refaat Alareer

I'm a big fan of Yanis Varoufakis, specifically his book "And the Weak Suffer What they Must?". I haven't read his new book "Technofeudalism" but it seems to be making an impact. You can find lots of interesting long-form videos of him on YouTube, not just on economics but also politics(he was an EU finance minister), and technology (he once worked at Valve, designing their community marketplace).

I haven't fully come to a conclusion about Modern Monetary Theory, but I would recommend Stephanie Kelton, she's serious and interesting.

I would also recommend Thomas Piketty's books, hes the expert on modern inequality.

If those are too far left for you, then honestly Robert Reich isn't so bad. His position is further left than every president in my lifetime, but that's not saying too much. His plans to "save" capitalism are serious and technocratic, it would be great if they were implemented, but imo they dont solve the core problems of capitalism.

So uhh you got Marx on the team, solid choice.

And Richard Wolff, not my personal favorite but definitely a Marxian economist, he fits in.

And then you add in... Robert Reich? The milquetoast neoliberal? The guy from the Clinton administration who implemented NAFTA?

Does the team want to save capitalism, or dismantle it? I'm confused.

Sorry to be pessimistic. Voting local is a good thing, but I just dont see how local elections could ever add up to large systemic change that we agree is necessary. There is no way to vote out the military industrial complex.

What else is there to do? I think broad-based protest movements, like the moment for Palestinian liberation that we are watching today, have a shot at changing things. It's a long shot though - the same forces that crushed George Floyd, Occupy Wallstreet, anti-WTO, etc. will be back again with their winning tactics.

Overall I think our best hope is with organized labor. Join a union or create one.

But the roots of the compromised DNC are its corporate donors, not your choice of county commissioner. How do you suggest we actually tear it out by the roots?

Actual prevention of terrorism comes by building a just society. People who have basic needs, healthcare, education, and justice do not become terrorists.

And how do you expect a sharpshooter team to stop a suicide bomber, acid attack, or dirty bomb? Even stopping a crowd-driving-maniac would require significant luck. This isn't an action movie.

Death? Other places are saying he suffered minor injuries.

Either way, lol. lmao.

It's not naive to learn from history, like when Reagan told Israel to stop their assault on Lebanon and Israel stopped in less than 24 hours.

Or when HW Bush called up Israel and ended that conflict overnight.

But maybe you're right, maybe Netanyahu is too entrenched to stop this time. Biden can still stop sending the bombs. He can stop sending the money. He can stop vetoing UN peace resolutions. He could tell his press office to stop running cover for Israel. He could stop bringing up the "40 beheaded babies" lie.

He could do so much to stop this genocide, yet he refuses.

What makes you think a vote for Biden is voting for genocide that "can be curbed"?

Every statement and action from the Biden admin, even the meme we are commenting on, shows that Biden is unwilling to curb the genocide.