Podcasts about Abu Ghraib

Send us a textLatinx Book Recommendations:Cantores by Caroline de RobertisThe Name Bearer by Natalia HernandezOlga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez Monstrilla by Gerardo samano cordovaFiebre Tropical Julián Delgado LoperaBlanca y Roja Anna-Marie McLemoreThank you to Drea @DreaReads for these recommendations US History RecommendationsA people's history of the United States by Howard ZinnKill anything that moves: the real American war in Vietnam by Nick TurseChain of Command: The road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour M HarshOutsourced Empire: How Miliias, Mercenaries, and contractors support us statecraft by Andrew ThomsonGhost wars: the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the soviet invasion to Sept 10, 2001 by Steve CollYemen in Crisis: the road to war by Helen LacknerAll of this comes from James Ray on TikTok @jamesgetspoliticalNative/Indigenous History Recommendations:Native historians write back by Susan A Miller and James RidingAn American genocide by Benjamin MadleyNative American history by Captivating HistoryThis information is from recycledstardust on Tiktok - mohawk native

E. Michael Jones, Ph.D., is the editor of Culture Wars magazine and the author of numerous books and e-books.Invited to speak at Valparaiso University in a symposium on torture, E. Michael Jones found his time cut in half. His original plan was to show Israeli influence at Abu Ghraib, but that required first showing feminist complicity in the torture there. Abu Ghraib, like it or not, showcased the results of feminism in our culture.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Episode: 2268 The Lucifer Effect: From Stanford University to Abu Ghraib.  Today, our guest, UH journalist Michael Berryhill, looks at the Lucifer effect.

The eyes of the world are on the images coming from a prison in El Salvador. The photos are being used as propoganda for U.S. deportation efforts; and are shocking those who care about abuse and the judicial process. For some, they are reminiscint of the photos that emerged during the Iraq War from the Abu Ghraib prison. Niki shares her thoughts as part of our "Some Sunday Context" series -- and then we return to our episode from 2023 about the Abu Ghraib photos that shocked America.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, want merch, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Yooree Losordo, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is apparently alive. There goes history rhyming again! Poisonous trees produce poisonous fruit. Congressman celebrates in front of a concentration camp cell, recalling the infamy of Abu Ghraib. The U.S. crosses the halfway mark on measles. Whalehead Deadbear Brainworm claims there aren't any "71 year olds" with autism. 

Today, Trump goes to war with his biggest adversaries yet: The Golden Girls. A popcorn warlord rich moron attempts a one-man mayoral coup in a small village in New York, proving once again America has an unlimited supply of Guys Like This. Plus, the administration's plan to Abu Ghraib everyone who frowns at a Tesla, and why are they acting like he's going broke? All that and more on tonight's Skews.Support the show

Seriah is joined by Aaron Gulyas and Mike Clelland for the much anticipated year-in-UFO-history episode. Topics include drone viral panic, Luis Elizondo's new book “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs”, changes in policy on top-secret personnel testifying before Congress, audiobooks, long-term government observation of the UFO phenomenon, Project Blue Book, Hal Puthoff, Roswell, Collins Elite, Nick Redfern, the book “Final Events”, the UFO “truth” vs personal safety and making money, lack of disclosure martyrs, an in-event-of-my-untimely-death video, the 90's book “The Day After Roswell”, Chris Mellon, Lou's involvement with torture at Guantanamo Bay. Abu Ghraib, the ineffectiveness of torture, the TV show “24”, Dick Cheney, further UAP whistleblowers, the “egg video”, Trump's very limited statements on UAPs, Bob Lazar, Stephen Bassett and “buy a bigger TV” for disclosure, Ufology vs pro wrestling, “The Manhattan Alien Abduction” documentary on Netflix, Budd Hopkins, Carol Rainey, real estate deals, Linda Cortile, George Hansen, the 1996 Budd Hopkins book “Witnessed; The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions” , the apparent incessant liar “Yancy”, apparent MIB or other fake agents impersonating NYPD cops, Cardinal O'Connor based in NYC, A.P. Strange, Debbie Cobble and Budd Hopkins interpreting her dream as a real event, John Keel and reluctance to edit, the book “The Exiles” contactee memoir, U.S. government agents obsessively “in love” with UFO abductees, unreported kidnappings involving UFOs, the podcast “Bunker Eight”, the drone hysteria, the previous drone activity centered in Colorado, a federal statement in reference to drones over New Jersey, the difficulties of smartphones vs pro-level cameras, photo/film fakery, Seriah's dashcam experiences, Mark Wyatt and owls, Mike's new book on owls, the scientific method vs legal evidence, Dean Radin, psi evidence and it's dismissal by academia, “The Psychic Tapes” podcast, Steven Greer and “Alien Invasion Day”, the “Cosmosis” documentary starring Kelly Chase and Jay King, Daniel Elizondo [no relation], the James Webb telescope and an alien ship, the “the Gobbly Gooker” in the 90's WWF, Blue Avians, and much more! This is every bit as excellent as one would expect!

Seriah is joined by Aaron Gulyas and Mike Clelland for the much anticipated year-in-UFO-history episode. Topics include drone viral panic, Luis Elizondo's new book “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs”, changes in policy on top-secret personnel testifying before Congress, audiobooks, long-term government observation of the UFO phenomenon, Project Blue Book, Hal Puthoff, Roswell, Collins Elite, Nick Redfern, the book “Final Events”, the UFO “truth” vs personal safety and making money, lack of disclosure martyrs, an in-event-of-my-untimely-death video, the 90's book “The Day After Roswell”, Chris Mellon, Lou's involvement with torture at Guantanamo Bay. Abu Ghraib, the ineffectiveness of torture, the TV show “24”, Dick Cheney, further UAP whistleblowers, the “egg video”, Trump's very limited statements on UAPs, Bob Lazar, Stephen Bassett and “buy a bigger TV” for disclosure, Ufology vs pro wrestling, “The Manhattan Alien Abduction” documentary on Netflix, Budd Hopkins, Carol Rainey, real estate deals, Linda Cortile, George Hansen, the 1996 Budd Hopkins book “Witnessed; The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions” , the apparent incessant liar “Yancy”, apparent MIB or other fake agents impersonating NYPD cops, Cardinal O'Connor based in NYC, A.P. Strange, Debbie Cobble and Budd Hopkins interpreting her dream as a real event, John Keel and reluctance to edit, the book “The Exiles” contactee memoir, U.S. government agents obsessively “in love” with UFO abductees, unreported kidnappings involving UFOs, the podcast “Bunker Eight”, the drone hysteria, the previous drone activity centered in Colorado, a federal statement in reference to drones over New Jersey, the difficulties of smartphones vs pro-level cameras, photo/film fakery, Seriah's dashcam experiences, Mark Wyatt and owls, Mike's new book on owls, the scientific method vs legal evidence, Dean Radin, psi evidence and it's dismissal by academia, “The Psychic Tapes” podcast, Steven Greer and “Alien Invasion Day”, the “Cosmosis” documentary starring Kelly Chase and Jay King, Daniel Elizondo [no relation], the James Webb telescope and an alien ship, the “the Gobbly Gooker” in the 90's WWF, Blue Avians, and much more! This is every bit as excellent as one would expect!Recap by Vincent Treewell of The Weird Part PodcastOutro Music is Lee TNB AKA Monkey Mind with Lights Over Phoenix Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is soft power? It was a term conceptualised by Joseph Nye at the end of the Cold War to encapsulate America's moral and cultural appeal to the world. The current decline in the use of soft power by Trump administration was first accelerated by the neocons under George W. Bush, who accepted explicitly that the War on Terror would mean the abandonment of the pretence of moral leadership and this was encapsulated by torture at Abu Ghraib prison, rendition flights and Guantanamo Bay. This podcast explores the meaning and importance to America's empire of soft power and what the world will look like without it.Help the podcast to continue bringing you history each weekIf you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways:If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership hereOrYou can support the podcast via Patreon hereOr you can just say some nice things about it here Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Air Date 1/31/2025 The genocide and subsequent ceasefire in Gaza is only the latest horrifying consequence of botched military misadventures in the Middle East and if the history of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons can teach us anything it's that atrocities have long shadows. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Gaza Ceasefire Explained Reading Between The Lines - The Socialist Program - Air Date 1-16-25 KP 2: The Ceasefire in Gaza w Mohammad Alsaafin - American Prestige - Air Date 1-19-25 KP 3: Trump's Middle East Plans w Mouin Rabbani - Behind the News - Air Date 1-23-25 KP 4: On the Situation in Syria and its Implications for the Region - Revolutionary Left Radio - Air Date 1-6-25 KP 5: Katherine Gallagher on Abu Ghraib Verdict - CounterSpin - Air Date 11-29-24 KP 6: Trump's Middle East Plans w Mouin Rabbani Part 2 - Behind the News - Air Date 1-23-25 KP 7: Egypt, Jordan Reject Trump Plan to Clean Out Gaza; Palestinians Return to N. Gaza in Historic Day - Democracy Now! - Air Date 1-27-25 KP 8: Gaza Ceasefire Explained Reading Between The Lines Part 2 - The Socialist Program - Air Date 1-16-25 (51:16) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the echos of atrocities DEEPER DIVES (1:02:15) SECTION A: THE DEAL (1:24:41) SECTION B: CEASEFIRE POLITICS (1:46:00) SECTION C: THE EMPIRE (2:28:35) SECTION D: NOW WHAT? SHOW IMAGE Description: Photo of Palestinians walking through a street of rubble and debris with collapsed buildings on either side. Credit: “Damage in Gaza Strip during the October 2023 - 27” by WAFA, Wikimedia Commons  | License: CC-SA 3.0 | Changes: Cropped   Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastadon | Threads | X

Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know!The CopDoc Podcast - Season 7 - Episode 145Mentors count! Listen as we sit down with Dr. John Hussey, a retired Major General and author, who takes us on an incredible journey from a lively Bronx Irish neighborhood to a distinguished military career. Dr. Hussey shares how crucial mentorship was in steering him away from potential pitfalls during his mischievous youth and guiding him toward unexpected academic and professional success. This episode unveils personal stories of resilience and perseverance, shedding light on how constructive criticism and accountability can propel personal growth in both the military and law enforcement arenas.Listen to the leadership stories from Abu Ghraib, where command decisions had to be made under intense pressure. Dr. Hussey and I dive into empowering teams by trusting them to operate independently, a lesson echoed in sports coaching and organizational leadership. We draw parallels between leading diverse groups and coaching, showcasing the importance of visibility, direct engagement, and empathetic support to foster a cohesive and motivated team environment. Learn how leaders can thrive by embracing autonomy and tackling external challenges head-on.Venture into leadership approaches and the preservation of institutional knowledge with reflections on military service. We explore the strategic engagement of the National Guard and Reserve in post-Vietnam America and the ongoing need for structured mentorship to prepare future leaders. Through personal anecdotes, we emphasize the power of compassion, empathy, and understanding in modern leadership approaches. This episode offers a compelling narrative on the necessity of learning from history, advocating for a leadership style that is both supportive and effective, preparing today's leaders for the complexities of tomorrow.Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com Website: www.copdocpodcast.comIf you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

24-year-old awakened & awakening soul (as it never ends), Bailey Burgess explains her middle school critical thinking to her perspective on the CA fires, MK-Ultra from the CIA to Disney/Hollywood/TV/music (P Diddy, Olsen twins, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, etc), what is Adrenochrome, reptilians, galactics, Dolores Cannon, to the core of this Great Awakening... getting back to source/God/universe. The "Just Be Practice" focuses on care and connection through this time.Good videos keeping inline with the show:https://rumble.com/v68a3qs-kansas-carry-on-wayward-son.html Abu Ghraib Controversy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnSiLM0j1NwDolores Cannon/3 Waves of Volunteers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1LiK7T0L2EConnect to Bailey:TikTok: @white.rabbit.33*Host Eden Koz is a soul realignment specialist utilizing such gifts as psychological empathy, intuition, psychic ability, mediumship, meditation, mindset shift, Reiki, dimensional and galactic healing, to name a few. She can also perform a spiritual Co#id Vac+ Healing as well as remote & face-to-face sessions with individuals and groups. Contact info for Eden Koz / Just Be®, LLC:Website: EdenJustBe.com Socials: Insta, FB, FB (Just Be), LinkedIn Just Be~Spiritual BOOM Podcast can be found on the audio directories: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, TuneIn+Alexa, ...

On today's podcast, Lawfare Executive Editor Natalie Orpett talks with Michael Posner, a professor of business and human rights at New York University, about the landmark verdict last month in Al-Shimari v. CACI. The case involved claims against a government contractor for its role in the abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq in 2004. It became the first case of its kind to make it to trial—and now a jury has returned a verdict finding the company liable and imposing $42 million in damages. They discuss how the case will affect private companies, government contractors, and the future of human rights litigation. To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Please note that this episode contains content that some people may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comWhat the hell just happened in Syria? We asked one of the sharpest scholars on the subject to give us a primer. Aaron Zelin is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he also directs the “Islamic State Worldwide Activity Map” project. He's also a visiting research scholar in the politics department at Brandeis and the founder of the website Jihadology. His first book is titled Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad, and his forthcoming book covers the history of Syrian jihadism. We talk about the entire history of Syria, as it faces what could be a turning point. For two clips of our convo — on the evil of the Assad dynasty, and the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: how Aaron's career was influenced by 9/11 at age 15; becoming an expert on jihadism; St. Paul at Damascus; the Ottoman Empire; the Arab Congress; Syria's independence from France after WWII; the subsequent coups; the Sunni majority in Syria; the rise of the Alawites; the Druze and Christians; the Kurds; the optimism in the ‘60s/‘70s for Arab liberalization; pan Arabism and Nasser; the Muslim Brotherhood; Hafez al-Assad coming to power in 1971; his son Bashar educated in the UK; how a former Nazi for real helped shape the regime; al-Qaeda and bin Laden; the Islamic State; “Baby It's Cold Outside”; the secret police of Syria; the 1982 massacre in Hama; Bashar coming to power in 2000 because of his older brother's early death; Bashar seen as nerdy and uncharismatic; the Damascus Spring; the Iraq War; the rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani; his imprisonment in Abu Ghraib; Zarqawi; the Arab Spring; civil war erupting in Syria in 2011; the Free Syrian Army; the Assad regime torturing kids; the refugee crisis; Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine; Hezbollah and Hamas decimated; Iran on the defense; how the Assad regime collapsed in ten days; and Golani's potential as a reformer.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Brianna Wu on trans lives, Mary Matalin on our sick culture, Adam Kirsch on his book On Settler Colonialism, John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on his new book on “Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Subscriber-only episodeTW: SAVeronica goes deep undercover at a sorority house, while a beloved figure from Stacey's childhood acts like a complete monster out of nowhere. Veronica's main character energy really shows, when she asks very few questions of her late-to-return-home-from the desert father. We map out Veronica's unnecessarily long walk through an office. Plus we sing you TWO test songs! The experiment we were referencing is called the Stanford Prison Experiment from the 70s. There is a recent 3-part docuseries about this on Hulu. However, what they were actually referencing in the show was what U.S. soldiers did at the Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War.Subscribe to our Patreon to access the video version, our Discord community, plus all of our other bonus content.Send us a text

A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia: Searching for Truth (Routledge, 2024) provides psychoanalytic insight into the motives of this complex and contradictory topic. The chapters written by the editor of this book focus on the importance of truth-telling and evidence as it relates to presidents of the United States. She studied the way in which some of these leaders have failed to tell the American people the truth about the Maddox incident, Abu Ghraib, the Iran-Contra affair, My Lai, and the real reasons why atomic bombs were detonated in Japan. In the process of uncovering lies, over time this process has eroded trust in our leaders. She also explains epistemic trust which refers to the trust we place in others as sources of knowledge and information. It is a fundamental aspect of how we learn and understand the world, relying on the belief that the knowledge we receive from others is reliable and truthful. It plays a crucial role in various contexts, including education, science, with the media, and in everyday interpersonal interactions. The other contributors, from different professional and academic backgrounds, use a range of methods including quantitative research and literary analysis to shed light on Putin's background, outlook and current actions. Reflecting a range of perspectives on how Putin's background may have informed his beliefs and his actions, particularly with respect to the invasion of Ukraine, the book brings together diverse viewpoints. A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and to readers seeking to understand the complex dynamics of populist leadership. Interview conducted by C.K. Westbrook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis

A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia: Searching for Truth (Routledge, 2024) provides psychoanalytic insight into the motives of this complex and contradictory topic. The chapters written by the editor of this book focus on the importance of truth-telling and evidence as it relates to presidents of the United States. She studied the way in which some of these leaders have failed to tell the American people the truth about the Maddox incident, Abu Ghraib, the Iran-Contra affair, My Lai, and the real reasons why atomic bombs were detonated in Japan. In the process of uncovering lies, over time this process has eroded trust in our leaders. She also explains epistemic trust which refers to the trust we place in others as sources of knowledge and information. It is a fundamental aspect of how we learn and understand the world, relying on the belief that the knowledge we receive from others is reliable and truthful. It plays a crucial role in various contexts, including education, science, with the media, and in everyday interpersonal interactions. The other contributors, from different professional and academic backgrounds, use a range of methods including quantitative research and literary analysis to shed light on Putin's background, outlook and current actions. Reflecting a range of perspectives on how Putin's background may have informed his beliefs and his actions, particularly with respect to the invasion of Ukraine, the book brings together diverse viewpoints. A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and to readers seeking to understand the complex dynamics of populist leadership. Interview conducted by C.K. Westbrook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia: Searching for Truth (Routledge, 2024) provides psychoanalytic insight into the motives of this complex and contradictory topic. The chapters written by the editor of this book focus on the importance of truth-telling and evidence as it relates to presidents of the United States. She studied the way in which some of these leaders have failed to tell the American people the truth about the Maddox incident, Abu Ghraib, the Iran-Contra affair, My Lai, and the real reasons why atomic bombs were detonated in Japan. In the process of uncovering lies, over time this process has eroded trust in our leaders. She also explains epistemic trust which refers to the trust we place in others as sources of knowledge and information. It is a fundamental aspect of how we learn and understand the world, relying on the belief that the knowledge we receive from others is reliable and truthful. It plays a crucial role in various contexts, including education, science, with the media, and in everyday interpersonal interactions. The other contributors, from different professional and academic backgrounds, use a range of methods including quantitative research and literary analysis to shed light on Putin's background, outlook and current actions. Reflecting a range of perspectives on how Putin's background may have informed his beliefs and his actions, particularly with respect to the invasion of Ukraine, the book brings together diverse viewpoints. A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and to readers seeking to understand the complex dynamics of populist leadership. Interview conducted by C.K. Westbrook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia: Searching for Truth (Routledge, 2024) provides psychoanalytic insight into the motives of this complex and contradictory topic. The chapters written by the editor of this book focus on the importance of truth-telling and evidence as it relates to presidents of the United States. She studied the way in which some of these leaders have failed to tell the American people the truth about the Maddox incident, Abu Ghraib, the Iran-Contra affair, My Lai, and the real reasons why atomic bombs were detonated in Japan. In the process of uncovering lies, over time this process has eroded trust in our leaders. She also explains epistemic trust which refers to the trust we place in others as sources of knowledge and information. It is a fundamental aspect of how we learn and understand the world, relying on the belief that the knowledge we receive from others is reliable and truthful. It plays a crucial role in various contexts, including education, science, with the media, and in everyday interpersonal interactions. The other contributors, from different professional and academic backgrounds, use a range of methods including quantitative research and literary analysis to shed light on Putin's background, outlook and current actions. Reflecting a range of perspectives on how Putin's background may have informed his beliefs and his actions, particularly with respect to the invasion of Ukraine, the book brings together diverse viewpoints. A Psychoanalytic Study of Political Leadership in the United States and Russia will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and to readers seeking to understand the complex dynamics of populist leadership. Interview conducted by C.K. Westbrook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

This week on CounterSpin: It wasn't the horrific abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, but rather, the pictures of it that forced public and official acknowledgment. The Defense Department vehemently resisted the pictures' release, with good reason. Yet when, after the initial round, Australian TV put out new images, Washington Post executive editor Len Downie said they were “so shocking and in such bad taste, especially the extensive nudity, that they are not publishable in our newspaper.” The notion that acts of torture by the U.S. military and its privately contracted cat's paws are, above all, distasteful may help explain corporate media's inattentiveness to the efforts of victims of Abu Ghraib to find some measure of justice. But a federal jury has just found defense contractor CACI responsible for its part in that abuse, in a ruling being called “exceptional in every sense of the term.” The Center for Constitutional Rights has been behind the case, Al Shimari v. CACI, through its long roller coaster ride through the courts — which isn't over yet. We hear about it from CCR senior staff attorney Katherine Gallagher. Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at recent press coverage of the ICC's Israel warrants.   The post Katherine Gallagher on Abu Ghraib Verdict appeared first on KPFA.

A federal jury has just found military contractor CACI responsible for its part in Abu Ghraib abuse, in a ruling being called “exceptional in every sense of the term.”

Robert Guffy - Gang StalkingFebruary 20Robert Guffey shared the remarkable story of Damien (called Dion in Guffey's book), an unrepentant heroin addict who in 2003 sheltered a US Marine that had stolen 22 pairs of night vision goggles, a DoD laptop, and perhaps a few top secret files from Camp Pendleton, a military base in the San Diego area. Arrested under the Patriot Act, Damien underwent a six-day-long Abu-Ghraib-style interrogation by the NCIS, and was accused of trying to sell the military equipment to terrorists. Damien refused to testify against the Marine, or cooperate in any way, and was eventually released.But after his release he began to notice he was being "gang stalked" around San Diego, with 7-9 people following him into a 7-11, restaurants, and various places. They wanted him to feel discombobulated and paranoid, Guffey explained. Vehicles were parked outside Damien's house, and Guffey knew someone at the DMV, and found out that none of the license plate numbers "officially existed," which suggested they were government vehicles. After this, Damien began to be bombarded with hallucinations, such as seeing multiple moons in the sky, and the dimensions of his apartment were changing. Further, invisible people were in the room, interacting with him and moving things around, and he saw a black amorphous energy.A woman from the NCIS visited Damien on a number of occasions, asking if he was ready to cooperate, implying that the harassment would end if he worked with them. Guffey was able to track down Richard Schowengerdt, said to be one of the scientists behind a project code named "Chameleo" that involved bizarre experimentation including "cloaking"— electro-optical camouflage so extreme it rendered observers practically invisible, which correlated with what Damien experienced. Damien was likely used as a guinea pig to test out the effect of this technology, Guffey concluded, adding that he and Damien suspected the missing night vision goggles may have been especially important to the military as they possibly allowed wearers to see that which had been made invisible.Blog BookBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZBBX2v7N8E Patrick dives into the recent trial which found US company CACI liable for damages from it's work at the Abu Ghraib military prison following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Vital Dissent website Join my email list and become a premium member: http://www.vitaldissent.club Vital Dissent Merch 10% off with code VD10 Show notes:  Get Scott Horton's new book! Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine: Horton, Scott: 9781733647373: Amazon.com Factsheet: Torture at Abu Ghraib and Al Shimari v. CACI | Center for Constitutional Rights Al Shimari, et al. v. CACI | Center for Constitutional Rights Document: Judge in Abu Ghraib Case Denies U.S. Sovereign Immunity for Jus Cogens Norms | Lawfare Shimari v. Caci Premier Tech., Inc., 368 F. Supp. 3d 935 | Casetext Search + Citator https://theintercept.com/2024/11/12/abu-ghraib-torture-caci/ https://vitaldissent.com/real-magna-carta-ep-58 https://vitaldissent.com/lysander-spooner-jury-nullification-ep-56

Patrick dives into the recent trial which found US company CACI liable for damages from it's work at the Abu Ghraib military prison following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Vital Dissent website Join my email list and become a premium member: http://www.vitaldissent.club Vital Dissent Merch 10% off with code VD10 Show notes:  Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine: Horton, Scott: 9781733647373: Amazon.com Factsheet: Torture at Abu Ghraib and Al Shimari v. CACI | Center for Constitutional Rights Al Shimari, et al. v. CACI | Center for Constitutional Rights Document: Judge in Abu Ghraib Case Denies U.S. Sovereign Immunity for Jus Cogens Norms | Lawfare Shimari v. Caci Premier Tech., Inc., 368 F. Supp. 3d 935 | Casetext Search + Citator https://theintercept.com/2024/11/12/abu-ghraib-torture-caci/ https://vitaldissent.com/real-magna-carta-ep-58 https://vitaldissent.com/lysander-spooner-jury-nullification-ep-56

A federal jury found CACI International Inc. responsible for the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, ordering the company to pay $42 million. KCSB's Eva Wang has the story.

We look at President-elect Donald Trump's picks for his incoming administration and what's expected from the next Republican-controlled Congress with USA Today's Francesa Chambers and NBC's Scott Wong. And, a jury found the Virginia-based contractor CACI liable for "conspiring with" U.S. soldiers to "inflict torture" at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. We take a look at the decision with The New York Times' Mattathias Schwartz. Then, Sy Montgomery, author of the bestselling "The Soul of an Octopus," talks with us about her new book, "What the Chicken Knows," which explores the extraordinary individuality and intelligence of the ordinary fowl.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Friday November 15, 2024 Federal jury awards former Iraqi detainees $42 million for Abu Ghraib prison abuse

Pres. Joe Biden hosts Pres.-elect Donald Trump at the White House, Libya announces the formation of morality police, Palau's president criticizes China as his re-election is confirmed, in the UK, Archbishop Justin Welby resigns over a Church abuse cover-up, Donald Trump picks Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead Dept. of Govt. Efficiency, special counsel Jack Smith will reportedly resign before Trump enters the White House, Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira is sentenced to 15 years in prison, a US jury finds a military contractor liable for Abu Ghraib prison abuse, Argentina's monthly inflation drops to 2.7%, and Canada's women's soccer coach is fired over an Olympic drone spying scandal. Sources: https://www.verity.news/

President-elect Donald Trump's unconventional picks for his second-term team signal a shift in U.S. foreign policy. A jury awarded $42 million to three Iraqi men tortured at Abu Ghraib, holding a military contractor accountable for its role in their abuse. And, as the Trump administration signals rollbacks on climate action, the UK is stepping up with ambitious plans to combat global warming. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Megan Pratz, Lauren Migaki, Neela Banerjee, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Julie Depenbrock.We get engineering support from Robert Rodriguez. Our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On today’s show: A federal jury awarded $12 million to a Michigan woman who was fired after refusing the COVID vaccines for religious reasons. The Lansing State Journal has the story. The U.S. gave Israel a 30-day deadline to ramp up aid to Gaza or lose some American military support. But the Washington Post says little has changed since the deadline passed. Jack Herrera reports for Politico about how Trump made major gains with Latino voters in the 2024 election. Plus, Trump’s latest appointments, the decline in split delegations, and a civilian contractor is held liable for torture at Abu Ghraib for the first time. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration plans to send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before it leaves office so it can hold Russia's military forces at bay. Also, the Archbishop of Canterbury resigns after an investigation found he failed to report physical and sexual abuse at Christian summer camps. And, an American defense contractor whose employees worked as interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison during the US occupation of Iraq has been ordered to pay $42 million dollars in damages to three Iraqi plaintiffs over the torture and abuse they suffered while in detention. Plus, a mobile health clinic tries to help patients in need of health services in South Africa.Listen to today's Music Heard on Air.Listener support ensures that the coverage we provide on air, online and through our podcast is free and accessible to everyone. Help us keep The World free! Give today!And, we're looking for feedback on our website. Take our quick survey!

Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Sign up to Brilliant and you'll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription: https://brilliant.org/tldr/Welcome to the TLDR News Daily BriefingIn today's episode, we run through more eyebrow-raising appointments into the incoming Trump administration. Also, we discuss the UK's commitment to climate change; the US says it will no longer restrict arms to Israel; & 3 men tortured at Abu Ghraib receive payout.

*) New Israeli strikes kill at least seven Palestinians in southern Gaza In Gaza, at least seven Palestinians were killed, and several more were injured in recent air strikes by Israel. According to witnesses, the Israeli military targeted a roadside stall selling goods in Qizan Abu Rashwan, south of Khan Younis, leading to two fatalities and injuries to others. In a separate incident, a medical source reported that an air strike on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza resulted in the killings of three Palestinians and injuries to ten others, most of them children. *) Trump picks pro-settlement Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Mike Huckabee as his pick for US ambassador to Israel, signalling strong support for the Israeli government from his incoming administration. In a statement, Trump praised Huckabee's career in public service and faith leadership. He added that Huckabee's long-standing support for Israel is mirrored by the admiration many in Israel hold for him. *) Germany sets February 23 for snap elections after Scholz coalition collapse Germany is gearing up for snap elections set for February 23, after an agreement between its major political parties. This decision follows the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition last week. Parliamentary leader Rolf Muetzenich of Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) shared that Scholz will seek a confidence vote on December 16, setting up a path toward the February election. The decision was part of a compromise worked out with the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian allies, the CSU. *) Car ramming in southern China kills, injures dozens in rare violent incident In a rare and tragic incident, 35 people were killed and 43 injured when a car drove into a crowd around a sports centre in Zhuhai, southern China, while people were out exercising. Initial police reports only mentioned injuries, but details of the attack and videos were quickly removed from social media. By Tuesday, police announced that the incident was a “serious and vicious attack” and confirmed the death toll at 35. The injuries suffered by the 43 wounded are not currently life-threatening. *) Jury orders US contractor to pay $42M for torture of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib A federal jury has found CACI International, a US defence contractor, liable for its involvement in torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003-2004. The verdict, delivered Tuesday, holds the Virginia-based company accountable and orders it to pay $42 million in damages, awarding each of the three plaintiffs $14 million. This decision marks the first time a civilian contractor has been held legally responsible for torture at the notorious prison, where the three plaintiffs testified about being subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other forms of brutal treatment.

Today on America in the Morning   Trump Makes More Cabinet Appointments As a Republican House, Senate, and Presidency is aligning in D-C, President-Elect Donald Trump continues to make his appointments as he forms his new administration. Correspondent Clayton Neville reports.    Trump To White House President-elect Donald Trump will be in Washington, DC today where he will meet with President Biden at the White House. Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson say they're ready to deliver on the Election Day's resounding mandate.    Former Guardsman To Prison A former member of the National Guard who prosecutors said was behind one of the biggest violations of the Espionage Act in American history faced a judge and learned his fate. Correspondent Ed Donahue reports.   Latest On The Trump Hush Money Case A week after winning the presidency, Donald Trump has won a reprieve in his New York hush money criminal case.  Correspondent Julie Walker reports.    Abu Ghraib Judgment A Virginia-based military contractor has been held responsible for the treatment of three Abu Ghraib prison detainees. Correspondent Shelley Adler reports.    Haiti Ban Extended The FAA has increased the ban on American carriers flying into Haiti, after investigations found that an American Airlines and JetBlue plane was also hit by gunfire prior to a Spirit Airlines passenger jet being damaged by bullets. Correspondent Haya Panjwani reports.     Trump's Surprise Secretary of Defense Appointment President-Elect Donald Trump and his team are quickly filling important posts in his next administration, including a surprising nomination for Secretary of Defense. John Stolnis has more from Washington.    Senate Majority Finalized Democrat Ruben Gallego wins the Arizona Senate race, wrapping up the 2024 Senate election results and finalizing the GOP majority. Correspondent Jennifer King reports - audio courtesy of ABC-15-Arizona.    Plans For The Border He won the White House on a promise to fix the Southern Border, and President-Elect Trump's Border Czar is telling leaders of sanctuary cities to "get out of the way" as the incoming administration plans to crack down on illegal immigration. Correspondent Clayton Neville reports.    Biden-Israel White House Visit President Joe Biden hosted the president of Israel at the White House, as the outgoing administration is working toward a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon before President-elect Trump takes office. Sue Aller reports.    A Possible TikTok Reprieve Although Republicans in Congress have led the charge to ban the popular social media app TikTok next year, Lisa Dwyer reports that the Chinese-owned company could receive a lifeline from President-elect Trump.     Tech News Verizon's Fios network is one of the largest Internet providers in the world, and on Tuesday, over 1 million customers were without service for a time, and cellular operator T-Mobile also experienced an outage in Salt Lake City. Here's Chuck Palm with today's tech report.     Nowhere To Play A major league baseball team has some important goals in 2025, but the most paramount the Tampa Bay Rays have is – what city will they play their home games after a hurricane ripped the roof off their stadium. Correspondent Ed Donahue reports.     Finally   A trio of famous toys are being honored, marking their entry into the National Toy Hall of Fame.  Correspondent Shelley Adler reports.     There have been some interesting answers over the years on the Wheel of Fortune, but a Connecticut contestant may have had one of the best flubs yet. Kevin Carr reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AP correspondent Shelley Adler reports a Virginia-based military contractor has been held responsible for the treatment of three Abu Ghraib detainees.

We are reposting this episode in honor of Veteran's Day!  On this week's episode of Next Level Minds I had the opportunity to sit down with Rick Yarosh. He is is a Retired US Army Sergeant turned husband and father of two. He served in Iraq for nine months before being severely injured by an IED while on patrol in Abu Ghraib on September 1, 2006. Rick suffered 2nd and 3rd-degree burns on over 60% of his body, had his right leg amputated below the knee, lost both ears, nose, multiple fingers, and most of the function in both hands. He spent half a year in the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, recovering. For his heroic service, Rick received the purple heart and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Since then, he has spoken to millions from all walks of life, including sports teams, schools, churches, the military, non-profits, and even on Fox News! His message of overcoming adversity and turning a negative situation into a positive one has made Rick one of the world's HOPE experts. We chatted all about how to overcome an adversity, the importance of having hope, and ways to stay mentally strong.  Check out out Rick's website here! Sign up for my newsletter: https://next-level-minds.ck.page/newsletter

Ante up, listeners - we're dealing out another big one this week. Paul Schrader's 2021 follow-up to FIRST REFORMED, the (ostensible) poker drama THE CARD COUNTER, was another "Man in a Room" film, this time exploring the moral weight of past actions. Joining us to talk about Abu Ghraib, Iraq War films, and how much a filmmaker's stated politics really matter compared to what's on screen is writer and critic Roxana Hadadi! Don't worry, there's plenty of Star Wars prequel digression on this one, too. Further Reading: Roxana's review of THE CARD COUNTER Homeland: The War on Terror in American Life by Richard Beck Lynndie England interview in Stern Paul Schrader interview in GQ Paul Schrader interview with The Playlist Further Viewing: STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (Morris, 2008) CAMP X-RAY (Sattler, 2014) FIRST REFORMED (Schrader, 2017) THE REPORT (Burns, 2019) Follow Roxana: https://x.com/roxana_hadadi http://www.roxanahadadi.com/ Follow Pod Casty For Me: https://www.podcastyforme.com/ https://twitter.com/podcastyforme https://www.instagram.com/podcastyforme/ https://www.youtube.com/@podcastyforme Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PodCastyForMe Artwork by Jeremy Allison: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyallisonart  

Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist who's best known for running the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, died last week. That's a good excuse to discuss his legacy: what did his famous experiment tell us about the power of the situation to make normal people commit evil and sadistic acts?In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart go back to the original report of one of the most famous psychology studies of all time, and then see how the experiment is looking after more than 50 years of discussion and debate (spoiler: not good).The Studies Show is brought to you by Semafor. You can sign up for their variety of online newsletters that give you in-depth information in digestible chunks. This week, we discussed the Semafor Business newsletter with Liz Hoffman, which included an interview with an electric vehicle company CEO who's making a bet, after something of a downturn, that EVs really are the future.Show notes* The first academic paper to describe the Stanford Prison Experiment, from 1973* More details on the study, including the prisoners' “rebellion”, on Zimbardo's website* The first critique from 2019, from social psychologists* The second critique from 2019, from Thibault le Texier* Zimbardo's response to the critiques* Zimbardo on the Abu Ghraib prison torture during the Iraq War* Zimbardo's cringeworthy BBC interview on the effects of videogames* Guardian critique of Zimbardo's videogame claims by Pete EtchellsCreditsThe Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe

This week, we are thrilled to have Tim Wenzel, a former Army medic and paramedic, join us on the Legacy Leaders Show. Tim's journey from the battlefield to the medical field has shaped his unique leadership philosophy, blending compassion with tactical precision. As a military veteran, he has handled some of the most demanding environments, from frontline medical care to securing high-risk areas. Tim's diverse experience also includes creating The Kindness Games by redefining the meaning of kindness while leading high-profile security missions for diplomatic figures and top Fortune 100 companies' executive protection with kindness values.A thought leader in Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) and a passionate advocate for building effective teams, Tim brings a powerful message of kindness and resilience to leadership through security programs. His background also includes working as a phlebotomist and cleaning the morgue after autopsies to Iraq, the Benghazi attack and Abu Ghraib prison high-risk situations.These experiences have further shaped his empathetic and hands-on leadership and risk management approach.

Dr. David Gushee returns to continue the timely discussion of his new book, The Moral Teachings of Jesus. Ken and David expand on the Golden Rule. Gushee's doctoral work at Union Seminary focussed on ethics and the Holocaust. His work on the horrors of torture got the attention of Christianity Today when the horrific American abuses against prisoners held at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay came to light. Christian military officials asked the magazine for guidance. In reponse, David was commissioned to write CT's extensive cover story. In it, he clarified, “the prohibition on torture in international law admits no exceptions,” and then offered an ethical treatise rooted in Jesus' teaching. Dr. Gushee expands on Jesus' emphasis on what we do over what we say - “By our fruit” we will be known. He points to the heavy implications that relate to money and wealth in Jesus' direct challenge. No one can serve both God and money. “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be.” It's a lively, insightful conversation filled with wisdom, humor and common sense - especially valuable for those sorting out the demands of toxic religion from the potent, life-altering teachings of the Rabbi from Nazareth. SHOW NOTESThe Moral Teachings of Jesus: Radical Instruction in the Will of God Become a Patron | Ken's Substack PageSupport the show

The Documentarian - Roger Nygard, ACE Roger Nygard's The Documentarian is the ultimate go-to source for making and selling documentaries, answering every question and containing crucial strategies every filmmaker needs to know to succeed as a documentarian. Included are insights from experts and award-winning documentary filmmakers such as Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), Liz Garbus (Ghosts of Abu Ghraib), Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp), Freida Lee Mock (Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision), Errol Morris (The Fog of War), Sam Pollard (4 Little Girls), Michael Tollin (The Last Dance), Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies), Marina Zenovich (Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind). The book includes a case study profiling the making and selling of the documentary Trekkies; what it took to push it to a record-setting sale to a major studio, with a huge payout to the filmmakers. This book is inspirational and leaves people—after reading a chapter or finishing the book—feeling more inspired to go forth with their own struggle. Roger Nygard, ACE Roger Nygard has balanced humor and seriousness in his documentaries Trekkies, The Nature of Existence, The Truth About Marriage, and The Comedy Store. Nygard has also directed TV series The Office and The Bernie Mac Show, and edited Emmy-nominated episodes of VEEP and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Roger wrote a book about editing comedy called Cut to the Monkey. He didn't learn his lesson, so he did it again; his new book is called The Documentarian. Despite reports to the contrary, Roger has never been indicted OR convicted. It's important to have goals. Writing The Documentarian In our discussion with The Documentarian editor and author Roger Nygard, ACE we talk about: The biggest mistake new doc makers make It's not a pitch, it's a project Working backwards to move forward The intrinsic link between the interview and the edit Editorial shortcuts through the material minefield The Credits Visit Extreme Music for all your production audio needs Get your own copy of The Documentarian Listen to Roger talk about his work on Curb Your Enthusiasm and his other book Cut to the Monkey See the latest new features in Avid Media Composer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

Associated Links: Support unbanked/underbanked regions of the world by joining the "at home in my head" Kiva team at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kiva.org/team/at_home_in_my_head⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Blog Link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://harrisees.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoS6H2R1Or4MtabrkofdOMw⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mastodon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://universeodon.com/@athomeinmyhead⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Paypal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://paypal.me/athomeinmyhead⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Citations for this Episode: On trying to close Guantanamo https://time.com/3672066/guantanamo-bay-history/ Letter to America - US Archive version https://archive.org/details/bin-laden-letter-to-america-2002/page/10/mode/2up Richard Medhurst's arrest https://www.commondreams.org/news/richard-medhurst Norman Finkelstein's story about his parents https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eEz22kyukY&t=5191s Israel's Administrative Detention https://youtu.be/XF8wgoXZT1E?si=3gy6gjnHAFd9hn7j Healthcare Workers/Doctors testify to their time in Administrative Detention https://www.huffpost.com/entry/medical-workers-israeli-torture-gaza-health-care-system_n_66d0e899e4b08063c0bfcee6 Black Site Wikipedia articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_detaineehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site Articles related to one of the most notorious murders in Abu Ghraib https://abcnews.go.com/2020/News/story?id=429459&page=1https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/11/14/a-deadly-interrogationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Manadel_al-Jamadihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse The Torture Memos https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/safefree/yoo_army_torture_memo.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AYoo_memo.pdf&page=1https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/international/24MEMO-GUIDE.html?_r=1 International Law and the West Bank/Palestine https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/19/middleeast/israel-west-bank-jerusalem-occupation-icj-opinion-intl/index.html Torture Doesn't Work https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22830471-200-torture-doesnt-work-says-science-why-are-we-still-doing-it/ January 6th motivations https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a36040222/robert-pape-cpost-report-january-6-insurrection/ Helpful Resources: Ranked Choice Voting (may give us some hope?) https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting/https://campaignlegal.org/democracyu/accountability/ranked-choice-votinghttps://rankthevote.us/https://www.rankedvote.co/guides/understanding-ranked-choice-voting/pros-and-cons-of-rcv Music Credits: “Wishful Thinking” – Dan ⁠⁠Lebowitz:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOg3zLw7St5V4N7O8HSoQRA⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tracie-harris/support

Today, our episode's all about discipleship around political engagement, based on a series of Bible studies Jonathan and his team at his real job recently created for this election season and beyond. Some points we hit:-        Why it is essential for our political action to understand  we were not created for this world-        Why followers of Jesus won't overemphasize the importance of political victories and losses-        The reality that we are all connected to each other and God desires everyone's political liberation-        And, after that discussion, we dive into a recommendation from one of our recent newsletters on the fallout from Israel's torture of Hamas operativesCredits-            Follow KTF Press on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Subscribe to get our bonus episodes and other benefits at KTFPress.com.-        Follow host Jonathan Walton on Facebook Instagram, and Threads.-        Follow host Sy Hoekstra on Mastodon.-        Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra – listen to the whole song on Spotify.-        Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess – follow her and see her other work on Instagram.-        Editing by Multitude Productions-        Transcripts by Joyce Ambale and Sy Hoekstra.-        Production by Sy Hoekstra and our incredible subscribersTranscript Introduction[An acoustic guitar softly plays six notes in a major scale, the first three ascending and the last three descending, with a keyboard pad playing the tonic in the background. Both fade out as Jonathan Walton says “This is a KTF Press podcast.”]Jonathan Walton: If we are clear-eyed about the brokenness of the world, I would love for us to be as clear-eyed about the bigness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't think our concept of sin and our concept of redemption is actually mature enough to deal with the problems of the world.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Jonathan Walton: Welcome to Shake the Dust, seeking Jesus, confronting injustice. I'm Jonathan Walton.Sy Hoekstra: And I'm Sy Hoekstra. I'm so excited about what we're gonna be talking about today. We have concluded our series of interviews with authors from the anthology that we published in 2020 about Christianity and politics in the era of Trump. For the next several five or six episodes until the election, you will be hearing more from the two of us. We'll probably have a couple more interviews, but it will not be from those authors. But today, we are jumping into something that I think is very core to what we do at KTF Press. We're talking about political discipleship and how the ways that some stuff that we maybe in some churches relegate to the realm of personal salvation, like the incarnation and the death and resurrection of Jesus, actually have a whole lot to say about how we engage politically. But before we get to all of that, Jonathan.Jonathan Walton: Remember, if you like what you hear and what you read from KTF Press, and would like for it to continue beyond this election season, please go to KTFPress.com and become a paid subscriber and encourage your friends to subscribe as well. We've got a ways to go if we're gonna have enough people to sustain this work, but we believe this work is valuable for us and for you, and so we hope that you do too. Go to KTFPress.com, that'll get you the bonus episodes of this show, access to monthly Zoom chats with the two of us and more, but only if you are subscribed. So again, go to KTFPress.com, subscribe today.The Bible Studies Jonathan's Team Created about Christian Political EngagementSy Hoekstra: All right. So Jonathan, this conversation is actually coming from some work that you are doing in your regular job with InterVarsity. First of all, remind people what you do with InterVarsity [laughter], and then tell people about these resources that you've produced and kind of what the goal of them is.Jonathan Walton: So I'm a Senior Resource Specialist with InterVarsity. And what that looks like is when there are some significant problems, then those things get sent up to the discipleship and leadership team to think about, and one of the things in our sandbox is political discipleship. And so for the last six months, we've been working on a curriculum that folks will be able to use to not just see and seek Jesus during this election season, but actually be formed into people who can see Jesus on the seat in our image as a seat of a stool with three legs, and on the seat. The Lord over our feelings, over our thoughts, over our actions, is Jesus. And so this five part Bible study really leans into that and prayerfully will push people to make that decision, to say, “Oh yes, if I'm a follower of Jesus, then my orthopathy, my orthodoxy and my orthopraxy will be under the Lordship of Jesus.”Sy Hoekstra: You just said three big words. I think a lot of people know that orthodoxy kind of means right belief, and orthopraxy kind of means right practiceJonathan Walton: Yep.Sy Hoekstra: Orthopathy, what does that mean?Jonathan Walton: Orthopathy, which most of us function on is our feelings and passions. So what does it look like for us to actually say, “I feel uncomfortable, I feel afraid, I feel sad.” And instead of acting out of that feeling and then forming a theology that justifies our actions that were based on our feelings of fear or anxiety or discomfort or loss of control, we actually said, “Oh, I feel afraid of this,” or “I feel uncomfortable about this, but I can actually put that fear, that discomfort, that anger, under the seat of Jesus,” and be able to have our thoughts and actions be in line with the kingdom of God, and not just in line with our deepest wounds or whims.Sy Hoekstra: Okay, so that is some helpful context. You have created these Bible studies as part of your job as a resource developer, and we will have links to those Bible studies that are available for free online. So if you wanna do a five session Bible study with a small group or whatever, you can go get Jonathan's stuff and talk about politics with your small group, which I think everybody should be doing right now [laughter], at least if you live in the United States. Not everybody that listens to the show is in the United States, but for all the Americans, go do that, please. Oh, and actually, sorry you didn't write these. You were part of the team that developed these.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: The actual writing was done by other people, but you were very involved in the process.We Were Not Created for This World, and That Affects Our PoliticsSy Hoekstra: So let's get into one of the main ideas here, which I think is, let's talk about some of the implications of the idea that we were not created for the world that we live in. This is kind of a big deal I think, in your thinking, and I would like you to tell us what, first of all, what kind of world were we created for, and then what does that imply for our politics?We Were Created for a World Where Everything Existed in HarmonyJonathan Walton: One of the things that gets lost in most of our theology about the quote- unquote, fall is that we don't engage as much with what the world could have looked like if we had not, quote- unquote, fallen. And so I like to think about every possible thing in the world that is broken and not working well, what if it had been working just fine? So let's imagine for a moment that work, like Adam and Eve in the Garden doing the stuff, was good. Like work was good. Let's imagine for a moment that a man never blamed the problem on a woman, and a woman never blamed the problem on the man. Let's imagine a world free of shame, jealousy, deceit and blaming. Let's lean into that slim window in Scripture and that slim window and stories that were passed down for generations, and generations where there was no deceit.We could know one another and be known. We could forgive, because I don't imagine that no one got hurt, but I imagine though, is people were quick to forgive and quick to ask for forgiveness. To be able to live in harmony with the world, that includes that big Shalom theology, where there's peace in me, there's peace between me and others, there's peace between me and creation, there's peace between me and God. There's reconciliation, there's Shalom there. And so since we do not have that world, the world that we currently live in is one that we will have constant dissonance with.We Must Be People Who Rejoice When Empires FallJonathan Walton: So fast forward all the way to Revelation 18,19, and 20, when quote unquote, Babylon, or the Empire is destroyed.And there are people that are weeping over Babylon, and there are people that are rejoicing that Babylon has been destroyed. Followers of Jesus need to be in the camp that says we are rejoicing that Babylon is destroyed. Hallelujah, salvation and glory be unto our God. If we are those people that say, “Ah, you know what? We're so sad that all the spices and all the products and all the slaves are no longer being brought to our shores to serve us,” then you suffer under the judgment of God. The judgment of God says these systems are unjust. A lot of followers of Jesus and other folks don't like to talk about the judgment of God, but I will be honest, I am totally fine talking about the judgment of God when talking about destroying unjust systems and structures in the world [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: Like Jesus, let that come as quickly as possible. So in Amos via Martin Luther King, how most people recognize it, let justice roll down like a mighty stream. That's what we are talking about. When these systems of injustice and violence are washed away. We were not made to be exploited or to exploit other people. We were not made to dominate, destroy, rule and violate. That's not what it is. And so that's what I mean when we say we should have dissonance with this world that we are in because we were not made for this nonsense that we experience regularly.Sy Hoekstra: And then our politics should reflect that dissonance.We Should Not Be Seduced by ColonialismJonathan Walton: Yes. Our politics should reflect that dissonance, and what we should not do is be seduced by coloniality. And here's what I mean by that. Aníbal Quijano, who was a Peruvian sociologist and scholar on coloniality, talked about the seduction of European colonialism, such as that, even though you take colonialism away, we cannot imagine ourselves independent of that colonized structure being in place. And so if we look around the world, the sun never set on the British Empire in that way, there are entire people groups including Black people in the United States, who it's very difficult to imagine life outside of the stratified, segregated society that we find ourselves in.And so for me, I think when we think about our political systems, and we talked about this before on the podcast, one of the things we need a radical revolution of is imagination. Like to be able to imagine a different way of share, like mutual aid, reciprocity. Being able to say, “You know, what? What if I'm not a wage earner in a society, I am still valuable.” Sy, you've talked about this in your essays about disability. Like, what would it look like for us not to see the CEO and the kid with down syndrome as equally valuable for God, even though one of them contributes more to the GDP, like we need to lean into that. And so when we make decisions in politics, we actually need to wrestle with that dissonance as opposed to trying to impose a perfect will in an imperfect world, because it will not exist or come to pass.We Should Always Be Unsatisfied with Political Outcomes, and Be Aware We Don't Control ThemSy Hoekstra: Yeah. So I think one of the things that you and I have talked about that is basically how we will almost always be unsatisfied with the decisions and the activity that we engage in in politics.Jonathan Walton: Yes, and that is okay [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Yeah, exactly. Right. That's part of it. You should be that way, is what we're saying.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: You shouldn't be someone who votes wholeheartedly like, what I'm rejecting right now is people who are just like, “Yes, Trump is God's man. We're with him 100 percent. He's gonna do all the stuff we need him to do.” There isn't really a Christian equivalent to that on the left, or I would reject that as well, if anyone was saying that same thing with that same level of fervor about Kamala Harris [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: But well, we'll talk about how there is still some idolatry on the left, but we'll get into that nuance in a second. I just want to emphasize this point, that it's the lack of satisfaction with our votes and the lack of satisfaction with outcomes of activism isn't just what you should expect, it's reflecting a reality in a good way [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: That you are not… you know what I mean? You're always going to feel that tension because you were made to be loved and treated with justice and kindness and generosity and to do the same for others, and that is fundamentally not how our system ever works.Jonathan Walton: Exactly.Sy Hoekstra: We will know that we don't have control over the systems that we have. We should know that [laughs]. We should go into our political engagement with that in the front of our minds, that we don't control the outcomes, and we shouldn't be surprised when they don't come out exactly the way we want them to. But again, when we were talking about this, another thing you pointed out was we also don't have control over God and how God affects the outcomes that God wants to affect [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: We don't know how that's going to happen. So a political loss for us does not necessarily mean anything about God or God's plans, right?Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: So that is kind of the hopeful other side of that coin that I was just talking about. And that doesn't mean by the way, that we don't make clear decisions in certain contexts and be like, “No, this person is absolutely better than this person.” I have no problem saying that. You know what I mean? I feel like sometimes when you talk about being a citizen of the kingdom, there's a lot of like, especially White Christians, who will say that kind of means that we should never really judge anybody's choices at all [laughter], and I fully disagree with that [laughs], because in a given context, someone can be much better than somebody else. They're just not perfect.We Should Want to Make Things Better in Small Ways and Do as Little Harm as PossibleJonathan Walton: Well, the only other thing I'll say, and this actually may apply to later questions in the conversation as well. But I had a conversation, I was one of the keynote speakers for the Community Boost nonprofit leaders conference this week. And one of the speakers, she was on the panel I was moderating, her name is Jennifer Jones Austin. She's the Executive Director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare organizations in New York City.Sy Hoekstra: Gotcha.Jonathan Walton: She used to have a position in corrections in New York City as an advocate [laughs]. She said, “It is my job in this space,” holding her faith in all these things she possibly can, she said “This system is toxic, it's broken, it is terrible, and in so much as I can, I will prevent all harm that I can. And if I also could do incrementally better, then I will do that, knowing full well that this is not the kingdom of God, and I will be wholly dissatisfied with all the things, even the progress, quote- unquote, progress that I'm able to make.” And I think that is a sobering embrace of the realities of where we stand as followers of Jesus who are able to and in so far as we are willing to actually participate in the change of the systems and structures that we are in.So that's Priscilla with education. She is going to [laughs], in Jesus name, do as little harm as she possibly can and make as much progress, quote- unquote, progress as she possibly can.Sy Hoekstra: This is your wife, who's the principal of a school for people who don't know.Jonathan Walton: Yes, and I've recognized also that this is me within InterVarsity, an evangelical organization in the United States that fully participates in the system of this country. Like philanthropy is broken, giving is broken. We all know these systems will not usher in the kingdom of God. At the same time, we are called to participate and reflect the kingdom of God as best as we can. And so I think as we vote, as we enter in, as you were saying, we do not have control over the system, we do not have control over God, but we do control if we are obedient to him and faithfully wrestle with what it looks like to follow him in context. Because, as Munther Isaac, Palestinian theologian, prophet, amazing person said, a theology without context is irrelevant, and we are doing our best to live out of theology in our context.Sy Hoekstra: Both of us saw him speak last week, or I guess when you're hearing this, it'll be two weeks ago at Riverside Church, and it was incredible. And one or two of the things Jonathan has said so far, are certainly inspired by Reverend Isaac. If you look at our newsletter from the 23rd you can watch the entire talk on YouTube. It's incredible. I really suggest everyone does it. When Jonathan says he's a prophet, that's not…Jonathan Walton: Oh, I'm not joking. Yeah [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: It's not an exaggeration. It's like the word prophet is something that gets thrown around a lot, and it can be grandiose when you apply to certain people. This man fits the bill [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Yes.Why Christians Shouldn't Overemphasize Political Wins and LossesSy Hoekstra: Okay, so let's get into another point that we were talking about that I think is important when it comes to political discipleship, especially in this moment of heightened tension in the election. Which is there are so many ways that understanding yourself as a citizen of the kingdom of God makes you less likely to overemphasize political victories and losses. And you can err to one side in the way that Trump does, which is what I was talking about before, or the way that Trump supporters do, where they can say, “Trump being elected will basically be our political salvation [laughs]. We will be fine. Our power will be given back to us the way that we deserve, our enemies shall be defeated,” etcetera, etcetera.But like I also said, there are ways that the left does this and there are ways that the right does this when it's not Trump and we're not in a sort of cult of personality situation. So can you talk to us about what overemphasizing political victories and losses looks like, and why understanding the kingdom helps you avoid doing that, making that mistake?Our Hope Is Not in Political Victories or Material ProsperityJonathan Walton: Yeah, absolutely. So I think the way the right predominantly does this is using salvific language like, “We are going to save you.” And so there's this identification alliance with right wing rapture theology that says, we just need to be redeemed from the world or going back to something that is more holy, just, beautiful, righteous and good. Usually for White evangelicals, that's around 1958. 1958 was the peak of White evangelical and White American leadership and ownership of all these different things in the United States. And so that reality that many people in the current day White evangelical movement are trying to get back to. 1958 also signals what the left tries to do.1958 was the advent of the civil rights movement coming into the mainstream of the United States when Martin Luther King wrote, when White evangelicals in the United States had to contend with Martin Luther King. So Jerry Falwell writing, segregation or not, like which is it, and then doubling down on segregation. But from 1958 you can begin to see this surging of the rights of women being talked about, the rights of people of color being talked about. Then you get into quote- unquote, the sexual revolution, feminist revolution of the 70s and 80s, like music changing into a way that there's television, things to be broadcast. Folks being shocked that the people they listen to on the radio are people of color, like you start to get this change [laughs].And so what the right says is salvation, the left says is progress. And so pastors and people who push towards more progressivism and politicians who don't read in context like to pull out that piece when Martin Luther King says, the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice. We take that out, and basically what that does is a soft baptism of generational superiority. Meaning that I'm better than the last generation, and the generation after me will be better, when scripture does not say that. Ecclesiastes says there's nothing new under the sun. There have always been people fighting against slavery, oppression, abuse and violence, and there have always been people who are trying to impose those systems, whether they be the Roman government or the American government or the Spartans or the Cretans, it doesn't matter who it is.This has always been the same argument and fight. The Nazis before, the Americans today, Israelis one day, slaveholders another day, Palestinians one day, enslaved Africans another day. The reality is this has always been going back and forth. The invitation has always been the same, to follow Jesus. That's the invitation. There isn't a like, “Man, you know what? In 1950, it was really bad.” That's what progressives would say, “But we've come a long way, and we're continuing forward, onward and upward.” And then conservatives would say, “Oh, man, you know it used to be this way. Let me go back to my little town and…” but both of those are salvation narratives that actually don't leave us saved. They don't. Jesus is the only way.They don't leave us saved, because the salvation of Jesus is ultimate and all encompassing at once. The quote- unquote, safety that moral progressivism or conservatism offers us is for a few, for moments in time. The only thing in my estimation, as an individual that has read a little bit and prayed a lot is the only thing that has been as pervasive and adopted by so many people is colonialism. The idea of White supremacy, the idea that we need to exploit and violate, the idea that we need to extract as much as possible and we deserve to accumulate at an unfettered pace, that is pervasive across cultures, backgrounds and narratives. That has been carried everywhere even more so than the gospel.And so I would hope that the salvation of all things through Christ would be as comprehensive and fierce as the salvation through works. So it's life, liberty and pursuit of property slash our own comfort equals happiness, or take up your cross, deny yourself and follow me, they are fundamentally opposed to each other.Sy Hoekstra: That was good and deep, and I love it. Let me drill down for a second on the progressivism, because I think some people would hear you say, and you've explained this a little bit, but I mean, some people hear you say, things haven't gotten better, or things took off in some fundamental and helpful way in the 60s, that that's not something that we should think of as salvation. And they might kind of go, “What does he mean by that? I don't know. That's a little…” Because I know you are saying things have gotten better.Jonathan Walton: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.Sy Hoekstra: Like, obviously, there are people who materially did a whole lot better [laughs] after the Civil Rights Movement.Jonathan Walton: Yes. Absolutely. Right.Sy Hoekstra: But what you are saying is, when you are clear-eyed about the amount of harm that the hierarchies and systems of oppression do in this country globally, there are so many things to be concerned about and so many things to deeply lament that the true and good and incredible thing that Black people can vote now [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yes, me and you can have this conversation [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Yeah, all those kinds of things. Those things are incredible and should be celebrated, and there are just so many other things that are so wrong and terrible.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: You're just being clear-eyed about the world as it is.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: Because you can do that, because you're not looking toward a narrative of progressivism to assure you that you are okay.Jonathan Walton: Yes. Yes. The fundamental container that you and I find ourselves in has improved. That's true.Sy Hoekstra: You and I, like meaning literally you and I.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, me and you. Literally, Sy Hoekstra and Jonathan Walton, the container that we find ourselves in has improved since the lives of our parents. My momma was not born with all of her rights, I was born with all of mine, to an extent in this country. That container has gotten better. The container is still on this side of heaven, which means it's incomplete.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: So can I celebrate, and I do celebrate, the reality that I could go to a bank and get a mortgage and it would be illegal if they discriminated against me and my wife for being people of color, that is awesome. I can celebrate the fact that my wife can get a credit card in her own name, and my daughters will be able to as well. That was something that was illegal. go look it up. I appreciate that. At the same time, let me not be seduced to think that this is the container I was made for because I wasn't. I was made for Genesis 1.Sy Hoekstra: Or seduced into a kind of softer, subtler idolatry of America.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: Or the West, or the societies that we live in, or wealth, or whatever it is that you think has made things more comfortable for you.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Good Political Fruit that Comes with Putting Hope in JesusSy Hoekstra: The reason I spent so much time on that is it's a complicated idea, but I think it's important for people to understand, because it really does free you from the problems that inevitably come when you sort of think, let's say Harris gets elected. We're just like, “Oh, good. We staved off Trump, we beat back fascism. We defeated it, hooray.” [laughs] It stops you from looking at the long history of America and saying no, fascism, authoritarianism, like real oppression of people is a normal part of the DNA of this country, and will continue to come back, and we need to continue to be ready to fight it all the time.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: It does not ever go away, and if you want to sit in comfort and say, “Good, we finally did it,” or “I can rest now,” you can't. You're being seduced into something that is not true [laughter]. And also, being clear-eyed in this way also stops you from doing something that people complain about progressives doing all the time, which is show up to your door every four years or every two years, and ask for your vote, and then not do anything to actually fight the oppression that you're under on a daily basis once they're elected [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: If you're clear-eyed in this way, you can fight for people's flourishing 365 days a year…Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: …and every year. What I'm just doing now is talking about some of the good fruit that comes from letting go of these sort of soft political idols that sometimes people have. Because, I think… And the reason I say soft political idols, they're just political idols, but I think people look at the obviousness and the brazenness of the way that people idolize Trump and Christian power in America, and they think, “I'm not doing that in any similar way,” and a lot of us actually are.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: So that's why I'm harping on this.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. And two sentences that I hope will help people as well, is that the reason we're saying this too is because what will drive you is actually hope in the right stuff, as opposed to ending up with putting, literally, for me, like my hope in Obama. I remember the posters, like I was excited.Sy Hoekstra: Do you remember that music video?Jonathan Walton: Which one? There were many.Sy Hoekstra: The “Yes We Can” music video.Jonathan Walton: Oh, yes, yes, yes. I do remember that.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah [laughs]. I remember that in particular, I remember you being so excited and emotional about that video, and then later coming back to me and being like, “I should not have cared about that video that much,” [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Right. But man, it is attractive. Like Lil Jon at the DNC right now is there to seduce a certain group of people [Sy laughs]. And Kid Rock is just, let's swap out Kid Rock. Kid Rock was at the RNC. We have to engage, like you said, clear-eyed, so we know what to put our hope in. Because the gospel is a hope that does not disappoint.What Is God's Good News about Politics, and How Can We Apply It to Our Lives?Sy Hoekstra: Amen to that, Jonathan [Jonathan laughs]. But let's talk about the hope that does not disappoint, because I think the stuff that we've been talking about, if you just stopped there would be a little bit, I don't know, it can be a little bit depressing. If you don't already have this perspective [laughs] it's like, it can be hard.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: It can be hard to deal with being clear-eyed about the brokenness of the world, it's not an easy thing to do [Jonathan laughs]. So let's talk about what actually is the good news about politics that you are trying to get people to see through, through these Bible studies and through this kind of work that you're doing.Question Your Assumptions, and Understand the Connectedness of All PeopleJonathan Walton: Yeah. I mean to what you just said, if we are clear-eyed about the brokenness of the world, I would love for us to be as clear-eyed about the bigness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't think our concept of sin and our concept of redemption is actually mature enough to deal with the problems of the world. And so I think that one, the first session is just what are our starting points? Most of us have been cultured into political discipleship, we've never actually consciously thought about it. And so that's the first part, just where are our starting points? Then we get into the reality that the theology of the kingdom of God, and the theology that we are all made in God's image is a political reality.If I believe that I am made in the image of God, and every single person around me is made in the image of God, then that has political implications, because my flourishing and their suffering, or my suffering and their flourishing, they are actually intertwined. If I actually live out that theology, when they bleed, I bleed, when I bleed, they bleed. That's why the command to mourn with those who mourn is not, it shouldn't be far off, because I'm mourning my own human family, or I'm rejoicing with my own human family. And so that first study gets into that, and then we have, each study has a real-life story, and each study has a testimony about how these things have been applied or wrestled with in the current day.Making Informed Decisions about Whether We Want to Seek God's LiberationAnd so when we get into the choices that the Israelites made in Samuel, they wanted a king. Wrestling with that, oh snap, the Israelites literally said to the Prophet Samuel, we want to be like everybody else.Sy Hoekstra: And sorry, just really quickly for people who are unfamiliar, there's a moment in the book of 2 Samuel, I think, where Israel goes from saying, “We don't want to just be this people of God who kind of live in this promised land and follow these instructions that God gave us, we want to have a king,” which was not part of like God's plan for their society, “The way that all the societies around us have a king, so that we can have kind of similar power and influence the way that they do.”Jonathan Walton: Exactly. And so when Samuel responds, he says, “Your king will be exploitative. Your king will violate. Your king will take your kids. Your king will do all these things.” And they say, “Yes, sign us up.” And so we need to have conversations about what will actually happen when we say, “Yes, we do want this,” instead of what God intends. And then make concrete decisions about, do we actually want that, and what are the implications? And then if we do decide to follow Jesus, then what does he do and what is his response. When Jesus shows up and says, “I am the Messiah,” out of Isaiah, chapter 61 pulled into Luke chapter 4, the initial sermon is, “I have come to set the oppressed free, proclaim sight to the blind, proclaim freedom for the captives.”He did not say, “I have come to convert you to a certain political ideology, a certain political party or platform.” He didn't say that because he literally says, the kingdom of God is not of this world. And so how do we see that as good news as followers of Jesus? And do we see that as good news in the context we're in today? And then finally, if we do see that as good news, how do we partner with God to actually participate as followers of Jesus in seeking the shalom of all the people around us? Because we do live as followers of Jesus in exile. Now, we are different from the Israelites because, friends, we are not disempowered as Americans.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: I have an American passport, which puts me in a fundamentally different political bracket than my brothers and sisters who are undocumented, than my human family that suffers under drone strikes. It's different. But at the same time, I can hold fast to the reality that how can I steward my power, my influence, my resources, towards the flourishing of all people, not just myself, which is resisting the gospel of Babylon. And so we have, one of my favorite people in the world is Connie Anderson, and she talks about how she was one of those White women in a midwestern state who had no idea who she was voting for and why. But then she goes to a board meeting at the invitation of someone to really get involved in local politics, and she realized the person that she was voting for had dementia, and he was on the city council voting for things, arguing for it in one minute, and then some time would pass, arguing against it in another minute.And then when someone said, “Hey, didn't you just say the opposite?” Then shout at them, “Don't try to tell me what I think.” And she said, “The only reason I voted for this person was because I recognized their name.” And she began to get involved, and now she leads workshops on anti-racism, trying to help White people do the work of deconstruction, not deconstruction of their faith, but a deconstruction of the White supremacy in their lives and how they can partner with God towards more redemptive things. And she is doing the good hard work of politics, and not politics from a lens of this world would be better if we get the right person in power, but this world will be better and transformative when Jesus is in power.And so how do I partner with him to reflect his kingdom in the system and structures that I have influence and power over? And besides a lot of the work that we do with KTF, this is probably the thing with InterVarsity that I am most proud of. So I sincerely hope that folks will grab it.We Need to Revolutionize Our ImaginationSy Hoekstra: Absolutely. Go check it out. Thank you for sharing the wisdom from it. And I especially want to emphasize what you said about, what did you say about our imagination? You said change or, the verb I can't remember [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Oh, bring a revolution in our imagination [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Yeah, there you go. That's what you said. I knew it was good [Jonathan laughs]. That is something that I am particularly passionate about, and kind of dovetails into why I spend so much time reading speculative fiction, like sci-fi and fantasy and everything [laughs], because… and thinking about how the people who write those books affect the worlds that we imagine too. That may seem like a weird, random turn into another subject to some people, but it is the way that I exercise my imagination, and I find a lot of the way that God talks to me in that work [laughs]. Like in the ways that I think about how we can imagine really different worlds and other stories that we don't see here now.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: That to me, is extremely important, and I know that there have to be at least some of you who feel that way too.Jonathan Walton: Amen.Sy Hoekstra: So [laughs] I know there are some avid fiction readers out there. Jonathan, we have a segment to get into.Which Tab Is Still Open? Israel's Horrifying Treatment of Palestinian DetaineesJonathan Walton: Yes. Yes, we've talked a lot, and we are still talking as we're going to get into our segment, Which Tab Is Still Open, because this is something we're still talking about 10 months later, 76 years later, where we dive a little deeper into one of the recommendations from our newsletter. So Sy, this one is yours, so tell us a little bit about it.Sy Hoekstra: It is mine, although I think I maybe originally got it from you. This is something that we have both been thinking and talking about a lot, so I will just summarize the story very quickly, and then we'll both talk about it for a while. So we're gonna be back on Israel and Palestine. Now, listen everything we just talked about is gonna affect this conversation that we're having now [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yep.Sy Hoekstra: But there have been some horrible whistleblower stories, and I will not get into the details. So hopefully we're avoiding the need for a content warning here. But some horrible whistleblower stories about some things going on, I believe you pronounce it, the Sde Teiman detention center in Israel, which is where basically they're keeping a lot of known or suspected Hamas operatives who attacked on October 7. The allegations are about basically physical and sexual torture, and that's all the detail that I will get into, being regularized and just a part of the culture at this particular detention center. So recently, after a lot of these reports, there were 10 IDF soldiers who were charged by military courts, or nine soldiers and one reservist who were charged by military courts with perpetrating one of these acts of violence.And what followed is something that's a little bit unimaginable to me, until I think about January 6th, which was a series of riots at this detention center of people literally trying to just charge into the detention center and take the IDF soldiers who have been charged and put in detention themselves, and just kidnap them out of the place, just like free them. And these rioters, there were a couple hundred of them. A lot of them were just regular people living in the area. But some of them were actual government administrative workers and some of them, a couple of them were actual members of the Israeli parliament who participated in this riot, and they did not succeed. Like the soldiers are still there.Two of them were let go eventually, meaning, the charges were dropped. Eight of them, the military is actually pursuing the charges against them. There has not been any punishment for any of these rioters [laughs]. Nothing's happened to them. There's been no legal consequences. There was another riot and another base, same thing, no real consequences. I was trying to see if maybe just like the American media wasn't reporting on it, but I used multiple large language models [laughter] to look into whether there were any stories about these rioters and what consequences they face, and it's really been nothing. The members of parliament are still just sitting in parliament.Some people who are not in the government, who are in the opposition parties have called for investigations, but nothing has happened. There were many statements made by different far-right government members of parliament that were in support of the rioters. One person in Benjamin Netanyahu's party, basically stood up in Parliament and said, “I do not care what these soldiers did to Hamas operatives, because anything done to Hamas operatives is legitimate, in my view.” Like there's just no limits. When we say that there's an apartheid in Israel, this highlights kind of what we're talking about, because there is sort of within Israel proper, there is, you can still make some arguments about this, but there is a lot of democratic representation and rights for people who live there.And then in the West Bank, since 1967 there's basically been martial law where a general is in charge and makes all the decisions on behalf of people who live there, with the exception of the Jewish settlers who live there, who still have all the rights, as though they lived in Israel proper. And so there's this kind of weird thing going on where even though this base is in Israel, it is under the jurisdiction of the military. So it's this kind of martial law, I don't know, running into Israel's law in a sort of way that's highlighting some divisions in Israel. Because obviously, there are a lot of people within Israel who are very concerned that this has happened, and that people are going completely unaccountable for it.I mean, some people are literally talking about, I don't think this is a mainstream idea, but there's some people talking about, what if a civil war breaks out in Israel, because there are people who are so against what has happened, but the ruling government coalition is just so in favor of continuing the war at all costs, they're now starting to fight with Lebanon. They may start to fight with Iran. So anyways, those are the basics of the story. Jonathan, what are your thoughts [laughs]?Privilege Marginalized Voices in Your Media So You Don't End UP Believing FalsehoodsJonathan Walton: If you are listening, you've made it this far in the podcast and all those things, I hope you would privilege Palestinian voices and the voices of Jewish activists in your media diet, so that you are not persuaded towards believing what is not true. The reality is Israel, not the people, but the state, is a settler colonial project, and much of this I'm gonna repeat from Munther and other people that I have learned from because I am now trying to privilege their voices. I remember, and I've said this on podcast before, my RA when I was 18 years old, who lived in the West Bank, arguing with a Zionist Jewish young man who lives in Brooklyn and had never been to the West Bank about what it looks like.So you're watching someone from a lived reality argue with someone downstream of propaganda. And so the exact same thing could be true of someone who lives in a segregated Black neighborhood trying to explain how law enforcement works to someone who has never actually dealt with law enforcement in the United States, or a man who is having a conversation with a woman about what it's like to have her rape kit submitted and then it never be tested or run or anything. So just trying to bring things home a little bit in that we have to prioritize the voices of marginalized people in these conversations.Now, that is true all the time, particularly when there is no media or video. And in this particular case, there is video of all of this, similar to George Floyd, similar to Sonya Massey in the United States, there's video of this terrible perpetration of sexual violence, and there's video of the soldiers guarding this action so that people don't see it from the cameras and that it continues to happen, which is why these soldiers were quote unquote, arrested in the first place.What Would It Take for Americans to Wake Up to the Reality of This Suffering?Jonathan Walton: Now, my final thought around this is, which really a question, is like I wonder how desensitized we have become to the suffering of others and made it normal for these types of things to happen. And I wonder what it would take, in Jesus name I pray it is not violence.But I wonder what it would take for us to be awakened to actually do something about it as American citizens, because it is our tax dollars, our money, it's all of us that are funding that. And so those are my thoughts as I consider this, because there's a population of people that is further desensitized running into a population of people as being further radicalized because they are seeing more and more images and media come across their feeds. And my longing and hope is that there would be an awareness of the people who have been so desensitized and propagandized of the pain and suffering of the people who are experiencing deep harm, so that there can be some sort of reconciliation and just peace and a ceasefire and all those things before, not because of a war. That's my prayer.And so, yeah, as I am, [laughs] I'm gonna in Jesus name, be at Hunter College, be at Brown, be at MIT, be in Florida this fall, I'm gonna be talking about that. Having conversations, encouraging people to advocate so that there is a lesser chance of violence. Sy, that was a lot for me [laughs]. What are you thinking and feeling?Dehumanization Always Leads to Horrifying Violence, and Turns Oppressors into MonstersSy Hoekstra: That was very good. The thing that is so frustrating to me is how incredibly predictable this was.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. Right.Sy Hoekstra: From the moment October 7th happened, they said, “This is our 911” Okay, This is your Abu Ghraib. This is your Guantanamo. Like we cannot expect to react the exact same way to an attack and not have this happen again. You can't expect to have the same dehumanization and racism against Arabs and not have this happening again. I don't know. It's just so frustrating to me, having grown up with the War on Terror, and just feeling like I'm watching it all over again. And just like it was in America, there's a lot of people in Israeli society who think this is all fine and totally support it.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: And we may have done it in a little bit more of a buttoned up way. We might have done it with some lawyers making questionable interpretations of international humanitarian norms or whatever. We might have put the stamp of approval on it of some more powerful forces than they have available to them in Israel, but they're doing the same thing that we were doing. The thing that we need to come away from this is knowing that your dehumanization of other people has real life consequences, and the consequences are both for the victims who experienced horrific things and for the victimizers. Because one of the whistleblowers, when they were talking to CNN, the CNN reporter who doesn't believe this himself, and he put to the soldier, “A lot of people in Israel would say, well, Hamas does way worse than this to our captives. So what's the problem?” And he said, “Hamas is not your bar.” It's like, fine, if you want to be a terrorist organization, go ahead, be a terrorist organization. But you have to recognize that that's the moral decision you're making. You are not better than them, if this is what you are willing to do to them. And your dehumanization of other people at some point will turn you into a monster, is what I'm saying.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: And I just, I don't know [laughs]. I'm mad about it because of the horrifying consequences that it has on individual people, so it's a little bit visceral for me, but it is just so frustrating to watch all these things happen all over again and with our same stamp of approval.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: And if you want an example of why electing Kamala Harris will not be a victory for all things good and moral, it is because this sort of thing will continue.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.The Church Is Complicit in This TerrorSy Hoekstra: Another thing from Reverend Isaac last week was he really did a good job of emphasizing how complicit in all this the church is. Emphasizing points like, Christian Zionism actually predates Jewish Zionism, and there are actually way more Christian Zionists in the world than there are Jewish Zionists, just the raw numbers.Jonathan Walton: Yep.Sy Hoekstra: And our support of that theology, our creation of that theology, our failure to fight it at every turn, that is what makes us just wholly complicit in what is happening over there. And Jonathan literally, here's the last note that I wrote in our outline: “Hopefully Jonathan has something uplifting to say before we end” [laughter], because I'll be real, I'm not thinking of it right now.Followers of Jesus need to Focus on Doing Small Advocacy out of Deep Love for OthersJonathan Walton: Yeah. So God's good news about politics is what we're talking about. We are talking about the allocation, distribution of resources, and how people have decided to govern ourselves, and what has happened in the United States, if we're just gonna hang out in the container that we're in, that in the United States we have decided with billions of dollars of our tax dollars, that we are going to build, then send, then advise the genocide of another group of people. I do not want the voting and advocacy and time and work that I do to be perpetrating that or be complicit in that. I might be involved because I have no choice not being overruled, but I will not be unopposed or complacent.And so as followers of Jesus, I think we have two options, and Peter did this really, really well. Peter was suffering under the oppression of the Jewish people, just like Jesus was, and Jesus' family and Jesus' friends and all the disciples as they were being occupied by Romans. And Peter thought he was doing the absolute just right, good thing in carrying a knife all the time, so that when Jesus got arrested, he pulled out his sword and chopped off the dude's ear. And this is John 18, the scene when Jesus was arrested. Jesus then picks up dude's ear, puts it back on his head, tells Peter to fall back. And Peter had two options. Peter could have said, “You know what, this sucks. I'm just not gonna do this anymore. Jesus, you're wrong.”He could have done that. He could have said, “You're presenting me with this gospel of hope in the world that is to come, not the world that is right now.” And he could have said, “I'm just going to give up, or I'm going to… look Simon the Zealot, we listen to this dude talk. It's time to start this.” He could have done that, but instead, eventually he got to, “I'm actually going to be the rock of this Church that Jesus said I was going to be,” which is why you and me and so many people listening to this podcast, have decided to follow this man who happens to be God named Jesus, who 12 ordinary men and a bunch of women that we did not name because they too are from a patriarchal society, we know a few of them, like Mary and Mary Magdalene and Dorcas and Phoebe, who decided to say yes, and thousands of years later, we're still talking about them.And so my hope would be that we as followers of Jesus, would say, “Hey, you know what? What small group of people can we do a little bit of revolutionary actions out of a deep, deep love for so that many, many, many years from now, people are still choosing love over fear and violence.”Sy Hoekstra: There we go, Jonathan. I knew you had it. I knew you had it in you [Jonathan laughs]. But I appreciate that, because when I say uplifting, that feels like something I can resonate with even while I'm looking at the horrifying nature of what I'm looking at. That feels like something where you're not sugarcoating it.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, right.Sy Hoekstra: And that's what I appreciate, and that's what I meant by uplifting. I don't want us just to end on a happy note, because you're Christian and you have to or whatever [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Amen, amen.Sy Hoekstra: So thank you so much for all this work that you're doing trying to create those small communities where people love and do good things. We did a lot of work and tried very hard to do it when we were in college, and I appreciate that you're still trying to get people to do the same thing as they go through that time in their lives.Jonathan Walton: Amen.Prayers and Support for Protesting Students Returning to CampusSy Hoekstra: And you and I will be absolutely praying for and supporting in any way that we can the students as they come back to campus and continue to, again as Munther Isaac said, lead the way in ways that the church has been so afraid to do and so unwilling to do.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, exactly.Sy Hoekstra: If you're listening to this, and you're about to go on to a campus [laughs], or you're already on a campus, we are praying for you, and we absolutely cannot imagine, I don't know, just the uncertainty and the strangeness of what you're doing, but we so appreciate it that you are doing it. And if you're not, and you're just choosing to support people in other ways, because there are many reasons to make that decision, then more power to you as well.Outro and OuttakeSy Hoekstra: Okay. We are going to end there. Jonathan, thank you so much. This was a great conversation. I'm really glad that we got to do it. We'll have those Bible studies that Jonathan created in the show notes.Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra. Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess. Editing by multitude productions. Transcriptions by Joyce Ambale. Production of the show, by me and all of our lovely paid subscribers. Please remember, go to KTFPress.com and become a paid subscriber. Get the bonus episodes of this show, as well as access to the monthly Zoom conversations. When you're listening to this we will just have had one, so be sure to sign up for the next one coming in September. Thank you all so much for listening, and we will see you all in two weeks.Jonathan Walton: Bye.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Jonathan Walton: We are close to the camera. We are ready to go.Sy Hoekstra: Oh, yeah. By the way my camera, I tried so many different things to make it work here in Canada, and there's just nothing to be done.Jonathan Walton: I understand.Sy Hoekstra: So highlight reels from this episode will come from Jonathan Walton [laughs].Jonathan Walton: No worries, yes.Sy Hoekstra: Just make sure everything you say, you look really cool saying it.Jonathan Walton: I do look really great [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Hey, I'm glad you know that about yourself, Jonathan, I cannot confirm [Jonathan laughs]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ktfpress.com/subscribe

Folks, EVERY CONTENT WARNING IMAGINABLE: Do not listen, Do Not Come, if you don't wanna hear about some messed up shiz. Today we're talking about the Israeli detention center that's making a name for itself in the war crimes community, Abu Ghraib, and how one polycule brings it all together. FULL EP AT PATREON.COM/PODDAMNAMERICA

E. Michael Jones, Ph.D., is the editor of Culture Wars magazine and the author of numerous books and e-books.Invited to speak at Valparaiso University in a symposium on torture, E. Michael Jones found his time cut in half. His original plan was to show Israeli influence at Abu Ghraib, but that required first showing feminist complicity in the torture there. Abu Ghraib, like it or not, showcased the results of feminism in our culture.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

In a much-anticipated ruling, the ICJ has unequivocally denounced the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as illegal. Israeli-American historian and genocide scholar Omer Bartov contextualizes Israeli society's widespread justification of the occupation and how Israeli politicians and mainstream media pundits are cheering on the torture of Palestinian detainees. He discusses the recent release of footage documenting the rape of Palestinians at the Sde Teiman detention center and the storming of several detention sites by Israeli far-right mobs in defense of Israel's "right to torture."

We speak with the lead attorney in the historic case against U.S. military contractor CACI brought by three Iraqi survivors of torture at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, which just ended in mistrial.

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