Podcasts about Lebanon

Ralph speaks with Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Colin Powell, about the fall of the American Empire and self-proclaimed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. Then we welcome the CEO and co-founder of the Canadian-based organization Corporate Knights, Toby Heap, to break down Trump's unprecedented trade war with our closest ally. Plus, Ralph has some choice words for Hakeem Jeffries and his meeting with Jared Kushner and for Hillary Clinton and her take on the war with Iran.Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Over his 31 years of service, Colonel Wilkerson served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2005, and Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Colonel Wilkerson also served as Deputy Director and Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia, and for fifteen years he was the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network, senior advisor to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and co-founder of the All-Volunteer Force Forum.Two-thirds of the world now thinks that we are an enemy of their state. Two-thirds of the world. And it happens to be the two-third that has the greatest amount of the GDP in the world.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonI've lived for 81 years, almost 82, and I've watched my country go to hell right in front of my face… And the billionaires who want all of this to happen, they do not want a democracy. A democracy is fallible. A democracy can't beat China. A democracy can't beat Russia. A democracy can't even beat Iran. They want a technocracy that is run by them, armed by them, technical revolution by them. They want all of this, and oh by the way they want to live to 150 while they're doing it too.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonEvery freaking hour they create a series of war crimes in Iran. Every freaking hour they perpetrate war crimes in the Persian Gulf. Every freaking hour they perpetrate war crimes in Lebanon with Israel. “What's new?,” I want to say. We are a criminal state. There is no other way to describe it. We are a criminal state. We pay no attention whatsoever to domestic or international law. Only when it benefits the person who is doing the deed do we pay any attention at all.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonToby Heaps is the CEO and co-founder of Corporate Knights, and Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Knights magazine. He spearheaded the first global ranking of the world's 100 most sustainable corporations in 2005, and in 2007 coined the term “clean capitalism.”What we're seeing is a sort of political physics—for every action is an equal and opposite reaction. Canada has in many ways benefited and rallied around our nationhood. We're often not the most boisterous or loudest type of folks. But this continued disrespect for our statehood and the continued attacks and the unreasonableness and the unfair play, our prime minister said something to the effect of: when the United States signs something, it's in pencil. It's really denigrating the United States' reputation globally and in Canadians' minds.Toby HeapsNews 8/28/26* This week, the left-wing insurgency in the Democratic Party scored several new victories. First, NBC reports that in Oklahoma, N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, who Trump selected to lead the Department of Homeland Security following the resignation of Secretary Kristi Noem. Thomas will go up against Republican Congressman Kevin Hern in November. Unfortunately, Thomas stands little chance of winning the state, which has not elected a Democratic Senator since 1990. Thomas is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and identifies as a Democratic Socialist, but is “not yet” a member of DSA.* Next, in California, Democracy Now! reports progressive state lawmaker Aisha Wahab has prevailed in the special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell. This piece notes that Wahab “overcame a flood of attack ads from pro-Israel groups,” which sought to bolster her Democratic primary rival, Melissa Hernandez. In an interview, Wahab said that she “appreciates” voters in her district for “seeing through” the “lies that were spread by AIPAC.” Wahab will make history as the first Afghan American in Congress and has called for the United States to engage with the Taliban government and attempt to “[steer] them in the right direction” on human rights.* In Georgia, the Hill reports another progressive – Everton Blair – won the special election to fill the seat of Congressman David Scott, who passed away in April during his 12th term in the seat. Blair, the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, defeated Scott's daughter Marcye Scott. However, Blair will only represent this seat until the end of the year. Beginning in January, State Rep. Jasmine Clark, who won the May primary, will fill the seat for the 120th Congress.* Meanwhile, in the Cornhusker State, the Nebraska Examiner reports that the “Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin announced he can't put more ‘energy' into the Senate race because of health issues and endorsed nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.” Marvin will remain on the ballot, but is “urging all who supported [him] to now support…Osborn.” This piece notes that this announcement comes on heels of reporting by Flatwater Free Press showing that two staffers from Osborn's 2024 independent Senate campaign joined the Legal Marijuana NOW executive board and sought to dissolve the party from the inside. This, combined with the fact that former Democratic Senate nominee Cindy Burbank paid Mike Marvin's $1,740 candidate filing fee and dropped out of the race one day after the secretary of state verified Osborn's signatures to be on the fall ballot has fueled speculation that these were coordinated efforts to clear the field for Osborn. Marvin for his part disputes this and says he never planned to leave the race. Osborn is quoted saying “We hope to earn the support of the LMN voters and hope that we can represent their concerns well in the US Senate.”* In more third party news, Trump has launched new broadsides against the emerging ex-MAGA clique – consisting of Tucker Carlson, Congressman Thomas Massie, and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to the Hill, Trump attacked the group, said to be exploring the possibility of founding a new right-wing party, calling Carlson “a loser,” Greene “a highly neurotic woman” and Massie a “real JERK” on Truth Social. The president added, “What a team this would be, THREE LOSERS, and a pocketful of change!...The only chance they have is to join the Radical Left Dumocrats, and try breaking into the Primary System. To all of them I say, PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” The proximate cause of this latest flare-up between the camps is Trump's decision to allow in 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported in the next 90 days, a move Massie called “worse than socialism.” Greene, who has been perhaps the most vocal defector from the MAGA camp, said “He attacks us with such vitriol because we actually are everything he claimed to be…he has proven as President that he is nothing more than a neocon puppet for Israel, corporations, big donors with special interests, and his dear friends in the Epstein class…We never changed, Trump did.”* Another story from this side of the aisle comes to us from NOTUS, which reports that an “unknown actor” has stolen over $16,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). This incident, alternatively characterized as a “theft” from a “foreign country” or simply a “fraud,” occurred in early July, when the NRCC “attempted to pay a bill from Ranger Wi-Fi Consulting, a Texas-based firm that specializes in helping clients ‘optimize their wireless networks while ensuring healthy security measures are in place.'” Seeking to assuage the fears of donors, NRCC spokesman Will Kiley told the press that “Protecting donor funds is a top priority for the NRCC,” and vowed that the committee is “working to recover the funds, and…taken steps to ensure it can't happen again.” Listeners might remember that in July, the DNC admitted that they had fallen prey to a scammer, losing almost $30,000 in the process. It would seem that these committees do not have functional safeguards against such schemes.* Our final stories this week all deal with the Middle East. First up, Axios reports that while AIPAC was gearing up for a major ad blitz in Michigan against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and on behalf of Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, those plans have apparently been iced at the behest of the Rogers campaign. According to this story, Rogers believes that AIPAC spending in the Democratic primary – over $30 million on behalf of El-Syed's rival Haley Stevens – actually helped boost El-Sayed's candidacy, making his opposition to AIPAC a “centerpiece of his…campaign, using the group's spending against him to portray Democratic opponent Haley Stevens as beholden to the pro-Israel lobby.” Rogers fears the same fate, so he has sought to keep his distance from AIPAC while his allies are urging AIPAC to “get involved without putting the group's name front and center.” However, Rogers' attempts to put some daylight between his campaign and AIPAC has resulted in the latter turning cold towards the Republican candidate. Republicans now worry that AIPAC will “sit out the general election entirely.” As for the perception of AIPAC in Michigan, a recent poll found that “55% of Michigan voters oppose continued U.S. aid to Israel.”* On the other end of the Michigan political spectrum, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that he “ensure the immediateand permanent release of U.S. citizen Sama Safi, a 20-year-old university student with a severe complex chronic health condition, who the Israeli military has arbitrarily and wrongfully detained since June 2nd.” This letter goes on to describe how “armed Israeli soldiers raided her family's home in the occupied West Bank in the middle of the night and tore her from her family,” and that since then, she has “suffered under appalling conditions in Israeli military detention including “frequent physical assault, shackling, and the throwing of gas and stun grenades into already overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells,” among other horrors. 40 more members of Congress signed this letter, including six senators, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Chris Van Hollen among them. 85 civic groups also signed onto this demand, ranging from faith-based groups to human rights organizations and beyond.* In the region itself, a broad coalition of Muslim states – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and, perhaps most notably, the United Arab Emirates – have issued a categorical condemnation of Israel's new “E1” settlement plan. This plan relates to new settlement activities east of occupied East Jerusalem and the signatories decry the plan as constituting “a dangerous escalation that further advances settlement expansion and annexation and undermines the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory…thereby threatening the viability and realization of an independent, contiguous Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.” The UAE was the most significant state in the region to sign onto the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, which sought to normalize relations between Israel and its neighbors at the expense of the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia was said to be on the verge of signing the accords prior to October 7th and Israel's subsequent genocidal military campaign in Gaza. The UAE taking a new stand against Israel on behalf of the Palestinian cause is widely seen as the final death knell of the Abraham Accords and the beginning of a new era of relations in the Middle East.* Finally, the Economist reports that a group of seven top officials within the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is consolidating power in Iran. The man rumored to be leading this junta is Mohsen Rezaei, the new national-security adviser, former presidential candidate and the longest-serving chief of the IRGC, having led the corps though the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Others include the head of the navy, currently overseeing Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the IRGC's commander-in-chief and founder of the Quds Force. Notably absent from this group is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. This piece judiciously avoids making any definite predictions about whether this new clique will rule as hardliners or pragmatists, but emphasizes that the late Ali Khamenei expertly “balanced the competing interests of his realm” while these military men favor action.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Continuing our exploration of Truckers, we turn our eyes to space. A crew of space truckers (canonical job title) are awoken from hypersleep when the ship detects a mysterious signal coming from planet scary. And bad news: The company says if you don't check it out, you get no bonus. ---- HANDS OFF LEBANON Here are some fundraisers to support collective rebuilding and survival efforts on the ground in Lebanon. -Beit El-Baraka started out as a food bank, but has grown to help people afford rent, cover their essentials, and live with dignity.  https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-directly/ or donate in general https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-now/ -LiveLove was a charity for a number of other matters, but since 2024 has been solely comitted to helping people displaced by Israeli attacks. https://livelove.org/donate -Lebanese Food Bank supports displaced and impoverished people https://lebanesefoodbank.org/take-action/donate/ Solar Powered Lebanon is an initiative to restore people's power using solar panels, since larger infrastructure is at constant risk of attack. https://fundahope.com/en/campaigns/solar-powered-lebanon ----- FREE PALESTINE My friend Ahmed still needs to feed his family and afford medicine. Anything you can kick in would be hugely appreciated. https://chuffed.org/project/150817-please-help-ahmed-and-his-family-get-food-drink-and-medicine And these are some more general links you can support collective efforts with! -The Palestinian Communist Youth Union is doing a food and water effort, and is part of the official communist party of Palestine https://www.gofundme.com/f/to-preserve-whats-left-of-humanity-global-solidarity -Water is Life, a water distribution project in North Gaza affiliated with an Indigenous American organization and the Freedom Flotilla https://www.waterislifegaza.org/ -Vegetable Distribution Fund, which secured and delivers fresh veg, affiliated with Freedom Flotilla also https://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1102739514947848 ----- WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here:  https://www.tomallen.media/ Kill James Bond is hosted by November Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon. You can find us at https://killjamesbond.com

SPONSORS: 1) MARS MEN: Head to mengotomars.com and for a limited time, our listeners get 50% off for life plus Free Shipping AND 3 Free Gifts. Mars dot com. 2) MOOD: Get 20% off your first order at https://mood.com with code JULIAN. JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey CLIPPERS DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8QmWEKJ3BT NEWSLETTER: https://juliandoreypodcast.beehiiv.com/get-julians-top-10-books (***TIMESTAMPS in Description Below) ~ Sabbatical (Tommy Beard) is an American travel YouTuber and polyglot known for exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations and immersing himself in local cultures and languages TOMMY'S LINKS - YT: https://www.youtube.com/@UCib80j_q5o_C5XsCA9YsAFg - IG: https://www.instagram.com/sabbatical.tommy/ FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY IG: https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://x.com/juliandorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 0:00 - Russian Prison, FSB Sting & 15-Minute Trial 11:31 - Day to Day in Prison & Getting the Footage Out 22:31 - Living in China, COVID & Tanzania 33:00 - Learning Aztec Language & Filming With No Experience 46:35 - Nazi Descendants in Argentina & Colonia Dignidad 57:31 - First Viral Video, Polygamy & Safaris 01:07:50 - Nigeria, Iraq 2025 & Going Viral on National News 01:16:00 - Iraq Now, Holy Site in Samarra & Shia Militants 01:29:31 - Yazidis, Devil Worshippers & The Kurds 01:41:37 - Turkey, Iran War & Three Weeks After October 7th 01:52:30 - Palestine, West Bank & Why It Is Unsolvable 02:02:13 - Eritrea, Horn of Africa & Being Questioned as a Terrorist 02:12:10 - Detained in Wuhan & Ukraine After Russia 02:22:30 - Largest Attack of the War & Unintentional Journalism 02:32:30 - Strait of Hormuz & What He Actually Saw 02:44:03 - Lebanon, Cuba & The World Gets Small 02:52:35 - Tommy's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 468 - Tommy Beard Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nepal: Humanitarian situation remains dire as rescues persistLebanon: Civilians face difficulties returning homeIMO: Six-thousand seafarers remain trapped in Strait of Hormuz

Paul and Mark take listener questions and wrap up Bengals' training camp with the final preseason game on deck. Paul gives a recap of Ja'Marr Chase Day. They break down their favorite Bengals' stories of the week, including the national media's reaction to Joe Burrow's urgency comments and Marvin Lewis' take on Bengals' ownership. They answer your questions on potential extensions, Jonah Williams, Pro Bowl replacements, and Ja'Marr Chase's HOF chances.We're back at 50 West! Our first live show of the season is September 10 at the Deerfield location. See the full schedule at www.fiftywestbrew.com/state-of-the-bengalsWin up to $5,000 in bonus bets for free at BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks. Paul will be there for the first half of Friday's game. Go say hi and get started in Survive the Season.Buying or selling a home? Reach out to Growl Pal Eric Sztanyo of Keller Williams at www.teamsztanyo.com or info@teamsztanyo.comSharefax Credit Union has 9 branches across Cincinnati with locations in Batavia, Blue Ash, Eastgate, Evendale, Lebanon, Liberty Township, Mason, Milford & Western Hills. Learn more at www.sharefax.org or call 513-753-2440.02:00 Theme song, Ja'Marr Chase Day recap & Intro10:48 Favorite Bengals' stories of the week22:10 Return of Sztanyo & optimism32:01 Sharefax Credit Union poll question results34:03 Your questions55:09 Ambush Light57:28 Growl Pal Spotlight1:02:20 Hometown meth raccoon?1:05:14 Go see Mark!1:07:44 Dad lifeWatch and subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGrowlerPodcastThe Growler on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-growler/id1733476604The Growler on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70iJjqgPQrVzQ2pdOwVvDYLinks to all socials, podcast platforms, merchandise from Cincy Shirts and more: thegrowlerpodcast.comSee Mark's tour schedule at markchalifoux.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A.M. Edition for Aug. 26. President Trump sends his landmark nuclear accord with Saudi Arabia to Congress for review, kicking off what's likely to be months of debate among lawmakers. Oxford Analytica's Rawan Maayeh breaks down whether the kingdom is likely to normalize relations with Israel as a part of the deal, as Trump has insisted. Plus, Bill Gates issues a stark warning on AI's impact on jobs and humanity, saying big tech has “no plan”. And we look ahead to Nvidia's earnings, with sky-high investor expectations for the world's most valuable company. And Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dan Diker and Yishai tackle Iran, Gaza and Lebanon in the discussion you've been waiting for which gives the real background and motivations behind why all of this fighting keeps going and never is resolved. More from Dan Diker (Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) X: Dan_DikerPODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://yishaifleisher.com/podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/YishaiFleisherTVSUPPORT & CONNECT:Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/yishaiFight4Israel: https://fight4israel.givecloud.coTwitter: https://twitter.com/YishaiFleisherLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaifleisherFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/YishaiFleisherSupport the show

Janatyn Sayeh and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine Iranian official Ghalibaf's public appearance in Iraq, signaling defiance to the US and Israel before secondary sanctions are revealed. Sayeh explains that Iran views Iraq as its backyard, using it to evade sanctions by blending Iranian oil with Iraqi exports. Under President Trump, US economic scrutiny on Iraq has increased to block this smuggling. While maximum pressure has devalued Iran's currency and caused hyperinflation, Iran aims to overwhelm Washington by utilizing its regional proxy networks across Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. The US must view these proxies as Iranian arms rather than local actors. (2)

CONTENTS THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 8-24-2026.OTTAWAConrad Black and co-host Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the collapse of trade negotiations and subsequent US tariff threats that have sparked a major political crisis in Canada, leading to opposition calls to immediately reconvene Parliament. Black describes a stark contrast in national attitudes, noting that President Trump's rhetoric effectively denies Canada's sovereignty. This perceived affront has deeply united Canadians across party lines, who view the tariffs as an assault on national identity rather than a mere commercial dispute. Black highlights potential Republican electoral fallout in key US Senate races like Maine and Michigan, and suggests a bilateral phone call could resolve the dispute. (1)Janatyn Sayeh and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine Iranian official Ghalibaf's public appearance in Iraq, signaling defiance to the US and Israel before secondary sanctions are revealed. Sayeh explains that Iran views Iraq as its backyard, using it to evade sanctions by blending Iranian oil with Iraqi exports. Under President Trump, US economic scrutiny on Iraq has increased to block this smuggling. While maximum pressure has devalued Iran's currency and caused hyperinflation, Iran aims to overwhelm Washington by utilizing its regional proxy networks across Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. The US must view these proxies as Iranian arms rather than local actors. (2)Ernesto Araújo and Alejandro Peña Esclusa, with Edmund Fitton-Brown: In Brazil, falling poll numbers have panicked President Lula, prompting him to call Donald Trump despite years of anti-American rhetoric. Araújo explains this reflects the US's central role in combating South American "narcosocialist" regimes. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Delcyand Jorge Rodríguez are simulating cooperation with the US while delaying presidential elections to buy time. Peña Esclusa notes that Venezuelan opposition members are negotiating Supreme Court appointments rather than election dates or political prisoners. Both guests will attend Slovenia's Bled Strategic Forum to discuss Latin America's right-wing political shift and potential energy partnerships with Europe. (3)Malcolm Hoenlein and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss rising security concerns in Israel after incendiary balloons from Gaza were discovered, potentially testing Israel's border preparedness. Concurrently, Turkey is expanding its regional footprint, occupying 5% of Syria and attempting to establish military bases, which Israel countered with airstrikes. In Gaza, Jared Kushner met with Hamas in Cairo, a move that critics argue bolsters the group's status despite declining local support. Meanwhile, the US Treasury has previewed secondary sanctions on Iranian trading partners, including China. Iran's economy is in collapse, with inflation skyrocketing and the currency reaching an all-time low. (4)David Daoud and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine UNIFIL's mandate, which restricts it to acting as an auxiliary to the Lebanese Armed Forces, preventing independent disarmament of Hezbollah. Consequently, Hezbollah operates freely near UN watchtowers and tunnel networks. Daoud argues that while new US Treasury sanctions expanding target parameters to include Iranian violations are positive, they fail to address Hezbollah's deep integration into Lebanon's socio-political fabric. To be effective, the West must treat Hezbollah as a Lebanese entity with sovereign responsibilities, rather than purely an Iranian proxy. True security requires targeting all of Hezbollah's activities, including its social and political wings. (5)Ivana Stradner and Edmund Fitton-Brown analyze Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's visit to Belgrade, which does not signal a split between Serbia and Russia. President Vučić's weapons sales to Ukraine are merely lucrative business deals. Serbia remains highly dependent on Russia, sharing deep intelligence ties and cooperating with the FSB to test crowd-control equipment. Vučić balances these relationships to survive domestic protests sparked by environmental concerns and a severe heatwave. Stradner, recently returning from Israel, reports that Israeli morale remains exceptionally high despite facing a multi-front threat from Iran's proxy network, which Russia continues to exploit through regional propaganda and strategic manipulation. (6)Edmund Fitton-Brown critiques the term "economic D-Day," explaining that Pakistan's mediation in Iran is self-interested, driven by fears of secondary US sanctions. These sanctions have suffocated Iran's economy, reducing oil exports and sparking hyperinflation. Iraq also struggles with contradictory policies, balancing its US alliance with pro-Iranian gestures, such as securing tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz. In the Red Sea, the Houthis demand tribute from Saudi Arabia to halt attacks on tankers and pipelines. Fitton-Brown warns that paying the Houthis only delays their long-term expansionist goals against Saudi territory and Israel. (7)Samuel Ben-Ur and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss how, following a temporary lull, Hamas has intensified attacks in Gaza, emboldened by disarmament frameworks proposed by Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators. Ben-Ur notes Hamas only accepted the deal under the pretense of disarming while intending to survive intact. However, following Jared Kushner's visit, the US aligned with Israel's stance, demanding total disarmament before military withdrawal. Fitton-Brown and Ben-Ur discuss the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (ENCAG), a secular government planned to replace Hamas. Lacking military power, ENCAG's deployment depends on an international stabilization force, though troop commitments remain severely short. (8)Michael Sobolik and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine how Chinese AI company Moonshot bypassed US export controls by "distilling" technology from Anthropic's Claude Opus model to train its own system, Kimi K3. This intellectual property theft threatens American market dominance and national security. Sobolik recommends three policy actions: imposing crushing financial sanctions on violating Chinese firms, closing export control loopholes related to remote cloud access, and banning open CCP models in the United States. He warns that American tech companies prioritizing short-term profits over security risk losing the AI race, mirroring historical patterns of Chinese piracy. (9)John Hardie and Edmund Fitton-Brown outline Russia's military assistance to Iran via the Caspian Sea, a highly secure transit route. This collaboration benefits Moscow by raising energy prices and draining US munition stockpiles like Patriot interceptors, giving Russia a freer hand in Ukraine. Russia provides Iran with tactical intelligence, drone components to resist satellite jamming, and has agreed to deliver shoulder-launched air defense missiles. While Ukraine and Israel have attempted long-range strikes against trade vessels and ports to disrupt this flow, interdiction is difficult because the Caspian Sea operates as a protected, non-transparent Russian-Iranian military lake. (10)Standing corrections applied: Janatyn Sayeh, Ernesto Araújo, Alejandro Peña Esclusa, Delcy Rodríguez (and Jorge Rodríguez), Zelenskyy, Vučić with diacritics, and Kimi K3 (source again had "Kimmy"). One anomaly in the source: segment 7 listed Fitton-Brown as both guest and co-host, so I've formatted it as his solo segment — flag it if there was a second voice in that file.

David Daoud and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine UNIFIL's mandate, which restricts it to acting as an auxiliary to the Lebanese Armed Forces, preventing independent disarmament of Hezbollah. Consequently, Hezbollah operates freely near UN watchtowers and tunnel networks. Daoud argues that while new US Treasury sanctions expanding target parameters to include Iranian violations are positive, they fail to address Hezbollah's deep integration into Lebanon's socio-political fabric. To be effective, the West must treat Hezbollah as a Lebanese entity with sovereign responsibilities, rather than purely an Iranian proxy. True security requires targeting all of Hezbollah's activities, including its social and political wings. (5)

Aurélie Daher, author of a piece for Responsible Statecraft, looks at the destruction Israel is visiting upon southern Lebanon. Annie McClanahan, author of Beneath the Wage, discusses nonstandard forms of work and compensation. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

Paul and Jay sift through what's happening at the final stretch before roster cutdown.We're back at 50 West! See the schedule for our live shows at www.fiftywestbrew.com/state-of-the-bengalsWin up to $5,000 in bonus bets at BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks. It's free to enter.Sharefax Credit Union has 9 branches across Cincinnati with locations in Batavia, Blue Ash, Eastgate, Evendale, Lebanon, Liberty Township, Mason, Milford & Western Hills. Learn more at www.sharefax.org or call 513-753-2440.-Intro and show rundown-State of the Bengals at 50 West: https://www.fiftywestbrew.com/state-of-the-bengals-Win $5K in bonus bets at BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks. Free to enter.-C.J. Uzomah returns-Cody Ford released-What's next at swing OT?-Hear from OL coach Scott Peters-Sharefax Credit Union Poll Question-Jay's Got Preseason Stats-Active Monday practice-Position Battle RPBs-Growler Bet results-ARBIESWatch and subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGrowlerPodcastThe Growler on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-growler/id1733476604The Growler on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70iJjqgPQrVzQ2pdOwVvDYLinks to socials, Growl Pal shirts, YouTube, podcast platforms and more: www.thegrowlerpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jrisi Jusakos is an Australian dancer, choreographer, educator, and producer with more than 35 years of experience in dance. Born in Chile to a Greek family and raised in Australia, she first connected with Arabic music and dance through Sydney's Lebanese community before beginning her formal belly dance training as a teenager. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a major in Contemporary Choreography and has extensive training in Raqs Sharqi, ballet, jazz, contemporary, flamenco, and Persian dance. Her career has included professional performance in Sydney's Arabic live music scene, international study across Egypt, Lebanon, Germany, and New York, and the founding of the Hathor Persian Dance Ensemble. Today, her work centers on musicality, improvisation, artistic individuality, and the relationship between dancer and live musician, while she also creates accessible movement programs for seniors, mixed-ability participants, and culturally diverse communities.In this episode you will learn about:- What Sydney's Arabic nightlife looked like when full live bands were everywhere- Why dancing to live music feels completely different from recorded tracks- What to do with stage anxiety before a live performance- How to practice improvisation before you ever step onstage- How grief, life changes, and personal experiences inevitably enter our dancingShow Notes to this episode:Find Jrisi Jusakos on Instagram, YouTube, and website, as well as her Hathor Dance Studio on Facebook.Details the BDE shows and training programs are available at www.JoinBDE.comCheck Iana's online platform the Iana Dance Club HERE.Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

In this unlocked bonus episode from March, Josh returns to the podcast to talk about the Theatre of Cruelty, and the Trump administrations use of ICE agents to create bizarre viral content for its diminishing base of supporters. We talk about how the administration's content strategy has changed since 2016, and how it's had to change to adapt to aimless scrolling and lowered attention spans. We also visit the UK and talk about the results of the Gorton & Denton by-election, and ask: did Matt Goodwin lose because he spent too much time on his phone?  Listen and subscribe to The Worst of All Possible Worlds: https://www.worstpossible.world/ Follow Josh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bosh.worstpossible.world ------- LEBANON AID LINKS Here are some fundraisers to support collective rebuilding and survival efforts on the ground in Lebanon. -Beit El-Baraka started out as a food bank, but has grown to help people afford rent, cover their essentials, and live with dignity.  https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-directly/ or donate in general https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-now/ -LiveLove was a charity for a number of other matters, but since 2024 has been solely comitted to helping people displaced by Israeli attacks. https://livelove.org/donate -Lebanese Food Bank supports displaced and impoverished people https://lebanesefoodbank.org/take-action/donate/ Solar Powered Lebanon is an initiative to restore people's power using solar panels, since larger infrastructure is at constant risk of attack. https://fundahope.com/en/campaigns/solar-powered-lebanon ----- PALESTINE AID LINKS These are some general links you can support collective efforts with! -The Palestinian Communist Youth Union is doing a food and water effort, and is part of the official communist party of Palestine https://www.gofundme.com/f/to-preserve-whats-left-of-humanity-global-solidarity -Water is Life, a water distribution project in North Gaza affiliated with an Indigenous American organization and the Freedom Flotilla https://www.waterislifegaza.org/ -Vegetable Distribution Fund, which secured and delivers fresh veg, affiliated with Freedom Flotilla also https://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1102739514947848 ----- PHOEBE ALERT Okay, now that we have your attention; check out her Substack Here! Check out Masters of our Domain with Milo and Patrick, here! -------- Ten Thousand Posts is a show about how everything is posting. It's hosted by Hussein (@HKesvani), Phoebe (@PRHRoy) and produced by Devon (@Devon_onEarth).

August 25, 2026Today's Reading: Isaiah 29:17-24Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18“Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: ‘Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction.'” (Isaiah 29:17–24)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We live in the midst of a fruitful Lebanon. The First day of the Lord has come, and the prophet Isaiah spoke the words of God that would come to pass. The Gospel for this week was opening the ears of the deaf man. That man was healed, and he heard the words of Christ; he heard the Word of God speaking to him. We can also look at other places in Jesus' ministry and see him fulfilling this prophecy. Between putting down scoffers to the meek obtaining fresh joy, Jesus does it all. However, all of those miracles pale in comparison to the fulfillment of verses 22-24. This is where the effects of Jesus' mission on earth come to pass.Christ comes and sanctifies Jacob. Jesus' unblemished life, death, and resurrection take the shame of Jacob away. When Jacob sees his children, the work of God's hands, in his midst, they will sanctify God's name. Because of Jesus's work of salvation, not only are we made righteous before God, but God's name is sanctified as well. Yahweh dwells with his people and brings his people back to Himself. The relationship has been restored between God and man. Christ is the fulfillment of the prophets and is the fulfillment of the first prophecy made to Eve in the Garden. Jesus is the one to crush the head of the serpent forever. We live in the victory of Christ until he comes again to bring us to be with him for all eternity.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Anoint them prophets, men who are intent. To be Your witnesses in word and deed, their hearts aflame, their lips made eloquent. Their eyes awake to every human need. (LSB 682:2)Jonah Clausen, seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.

74 MinutesPG-13 The parents of Hunger the Dye Merchant left Lebanon and immigrated to the US. He frequently travels to Lebanon.Pete and Hunger discussed the various political and religious ideologies at work in Lebanon. He also discusses the tensions that have existed between Israel and Hezbollah for the past 60 years. This was episode 1126.Hunger on Twitter The Delaware Crossing SocietyThe Chatham House Version RecordingsPete and Thomas777 'At the Movies'Support Pete on His WebsitePete's PatreonPete's Substack Pete's SubscribestarPete's VenmoPete's Buy Me a CoffeePete on FacebookPete on TwitterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-pete-quinones-show--6071361/support.

Raad Enlightenment is a psychic, astrologer, and channel who lives in Lebanon and works directly with what he calls the divine truth within. What he shares in this conversation is heavier than most of what I put on the show. His awakening happened at 21 when something completely pierced open his third eye and never fully closed, and for the past several years he has been living inside a full-time transmission that he estimates comes through him at 75 to 100 percent of the time. He speaks with a directness that is rare in this space. He names the entities. He names the mechanism. He names the reason we get caught. ⠀ We go into all of it. Why his awakening pushed him into direct confrontation with what he calls the reptilian program. Why almost every fast food company brands in red. The cord you are already plugged into and the two-way stream sending your essence out to the system and pulling false light back. The eight to twelve entities the average person is carrying inside their vehicle. Why fear is the food but false identity is the trap. The dark side of the moon and what happens to souls who get caught on their way out. The projection system running through the English language itself. The Middle East grid he says he has been transmuting for the last three years from Lebanon, and the karmic overlay from Jesus he says he still feels walking down the street. The specific signs someone has an entity attached including one you would not expect. And the timeline he keeps being shown for the collective — full spirit utilization by 2030.  

This week on Oil & Whiskey, we're joined by Josh Wallace of Reviving Relics.Josh made the trip from Lebanon, Tennessee to talk about how he went from diesel trucks, Peterbilt quality control, and working on Matt Hagan's NHRA crew to starting Reviving Relics and figuring out what it actually takes to run a hot rod shop that can survive.We get into the early days of taking on service work, learning how to quote jobs, tracking time, finding the right customers, building relationships with vendors, and why making a business profitable in this industry is a lot harder than just working harder.Of course, we also dig into Terry's '59 truck, the SEMA push, the Roadster Shop booth, the custom tailgate, the big-window conversion, the thrash to get it done, and why that build became Reviving Relics' first real business card.Josh also talks about building for repeat customers, the importance of the experience, current shop projects like the '70 Challenger, the LT4/T-56 Camaro, the Viper-powered Power Wagon, and what's next for the shop.Add in a '72 F100 first car story, Eagles Greatest Hits, Wild Turkey, work ethic debates, Lebanon pronunciation lessons, and the normal amount of Oil & Whiskey nonsense.

The glut of new small parties throwing their hats in the ring is increasing the chances that after the voters have their say, there will not be a decisive win either for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition nor the opposition parties determined to topple him. "All of these new little parties are headed by individuals who are placing their ego above the political outcome. They can't possibly join an existing party – they have to try to start their own," said Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin on the Haaretz Election Podcast. As a result, the voters may not end up determining who will be prime minister, and instead a “little gang” of “six, seven or eight male party leaders” will meet and decide the make-up of the coalition, Scheindlin said. Scheindlin joined fellow columnist Esther Solomon and host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the results of the Likud primaries, opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot’s declaration that there will be no Palestinian state on his watch, what appears to be a politicized decision by Israel’s internal security service not to officially protect Eisenkot, and how Netanyahu, stuck in the polls, appears to be dangerously “firing in all directions” in order to find a way to victory. "He has the capacity to aggravate, or provoke, or exploit any number of crises that are happening in this region,” Solomon said. Little, however, Scheindlin pointed out, appears to be moving the needle for the prime minister. He has shown that "you can attack Iran and attack Iran again. You can bomb Lebanon. You can kill Hassan Nasrallah, and nothing has changed the polls." Read more: The U.S. Peace Plan Is Grave for Gaza and Great for Netanyahu Netanyahu Rival Eisenkot Vows No Palestinian State: 'Not Now, Not in Next Government' Reality Check: As the Election Nears, Haaretz Debunks Israeli Politicians' Biggest Lies The Petty Politics Destroying Israel's Opposition Likud's Casualty List: The Netanyahu Loyalists Headed Home After a Brutal PrimarySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iran's 60-day window with the United States has expired — and there is still no diplomatic breakthrough. In today's Israel Daily News, Shana Fuld breaks down the latest developments across Israel, Iran, and the region, including reports that Tehran used the 60-day period to expand missile and drone production and strengthen coordination with its proxy forces in Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon. The Trump administration is now pushing what it calls an “economic D-Day” against Iran, targeting the country's oil exports, banking system, and foreign trade networks. Iran's currency has fallen to a record low, while tensions continue to rise across the region. Meanwhile, Israel's domestic political battle is intensifying ahead of the October 27 election. Ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked Highway 4 near Bnei Brak following the arrest of a yeshiva student who failed to report for his IDF draft summons. The Haredi draft exemption debate has become one of the defining political issues in Israel, with coalition parties pushing new legislation while critics argue that all Israelis should share the burden of military service. Shana also breaks down Netanyahu's warning to right-wing voters about smaller parties potentially failing to cross the electoral threshold — and why reaching 61 seats is so important for forming a government. Plus, a major historical discovery: Divers have located the wreck of the Altalena, the ship at the center of one of the most painful episodes in Israel's early history. The ship, carrying weapons, fighters, and immigrants, arrived in Israel in 1948 and became the center of a confrontation between David Ben-Gurion's government and Menachem Begin's Irgun. When the IDF opened fire on the ship, Begin ordered his fighters not to retaliate in order to prevent a civil war. Now, decades later, the wreck has been located intact roughly 500 meters underwater off the coast of Tel Aviv. In this episode: • Iran's 60-day U.S. memorandum expires • Trump's new “economic D-Day” sanctions campaign • Iran's collapsing currency • Rising tensions near Saudi Arabia • Israel's Haredi military draft crisis • The fight over new draft exemption legislation • Netanyahu's warning to right-wing voters • Shin Bet chief David Zini and Gadi Eisenkot • Settler violence in the West Bank • International stabilization plans for Gaza • Mansour Abbas and Palestinian statehood • The discovery of the Altalena wreck • Ben-Gurion vs. Menachem Begin • How the Altalena nearly triggered civil war • Israel Daily News updates and how to support independent journalism • The Maccabiah Games and the “Jewish Olympics” Support Israel Daily News: Your support helps us continue producing independent journalism about Israel and the Middle East. Visit israeldailynews.org to make a one-time or monthly contribution. Don't forget to subscribe to Israel Daily News on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and sign up for the Israel Weekly News newsletter for the top stories from Israel each week. Timestamps 00:00 Iran's 60-Day Window Ends With No Deal01:00 Trump's “Economic D-Day” Against Iran02:00 Israel's Haredi Draft Crisis Explodes03:00 The Battle Over Haredi Draft Exemptions04:00 Why the Draft Is a Major Election Issue05:00 Shin Bet Chief Defends Eisenkot Decision06:00 Netanyahu Warns Right-Wing Voters07:00 Settler Violence & Gaza Stabilization Plans08:00 Mansour Abbas & the Gaza Debate09:00 The Altalena Wreck Has Been Found10:00 How the Altalena Clash Began11:00 Menachem Begin's Decision That Changed Israel12:00 Israel Daily News Updates13:00 Rosh Hashanah Gift Recommendations14:00 Upcoming Israel Travel & Holiday Content15:00 The Maccabiah Games: The Jewish Olympics16:00 Sign-Off & Israel Weekly News17:00 Thanks to Our Sponsors & Production Team #Israel #IsraelNews #Iran #IranIsrael #Trump #Netanyahu #IsraelPolitics #IsraeliPolitics #IDF #HarediDraft #DraftCrisis #Knesset #IsraeliElections #MiddleEast #Gaza #Altalena #MenachemBegin #BenGurion #WestBank #IsraelDailyNews #IsraelDailyNewsPodcast #BreakingNews #JewishHistory #Maccabiah Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lebanese people struggle to return home amid ‘systematic' destruction: UNIFIL100 days into DRC Ebola outbreak, deadly toll continues to climb: WHOSudan war: $22 million education investment for 200,000 children – Education Cannot Wait 

Melissa Jun Rowley is an author, journalist, and global communications strategist whose career has taken her across some 75 countries, from the startup ecosystems of Silicon Valley and Beirut to the front lines of climate activism and conflict reporting. She has produced business news for CNN, reported for BBC News, co-founded a humanitarian tech platform with Peter Gabriel called The Toolbox, and most recently served as Director of Communications at the environmental nonprofit REVERB, leading campaigns with artists including Billie Eilish and Dave Matthews Band to mobilize fans around climate action. She is currently pursuing a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration at Harvard University, and her new book, Beyond the Mic Drop: How Our Stories Shift Culture, Power and Policy, is a call to every person to recognize the storytelling power they already carry.Our conversation moved from the origins of the book to the deeper question of why so many of us, women especially, have quietly surrendered control over our own narratives. Melissa traced that surrender back to childhood, describing how the stories handed to us by families, institutions, and systems can calcify into what feels like fixed fact until we learn to question them. She talked about what her time in Lebanon, Puerto Rico, and across the Middle East taught her about the gap between the story a place is assigned by mainstream media and the stories actually being lived on the ground, and how that gap mirrors what happens to individual people who let others do their narrating for them. Connect with Melissa: Website | Instagram | Substack | Buy the BookIf you're looking to unleash your potential, find your personal, professional, or political fire, and to connect with a community who is doing the same, click here to learn more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shannonwatts.substack.com/subscribe

This week: 326 days into a ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,285 Palestinians in Gaza.  A US envoy met with Hamas' leadership. Israeli settlers continue to terrorize Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israel is threatening escalation in southern Lebanon. Israel has killed at least 73,391 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023. In this episode: Hani Mahmoud, Al Jazeera Correspondent Nida Ibrahim (@nida_aljazeera), Al Jazeera Correspondent Ali Hashem (@Alihashem), Al Jazeera Correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced and mixed by David Enders. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Andrew Greiner and Munera AlDosari is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Behind the News, 8/20/26 - guests: Aurélie Daher on Israel's war on Lebanon • Annie McClanahan on nonstandard forms of service work - Doug Henwood

The takings of Pelham 123 will continue until morale improves. ---- HANDS OFF LEBANON Here are some fundraisers to support collective rebuilding and survival efforts on the ground in Lebanon. -Beit El-Baraka started out as a food bank, but has grown to help people afford rent, cover their essentials, and live with dignity.  https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-directly/ or donate in general https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-now/ -LiveLove was a charity for a number of other matters, but since 2024 has been solely comitted to helping people displaced by Israeli attacks. https://livelove.org/donate -Lebanese Food Bank supports displaced and impoverished people https://lebanesefoodbank.org/take-action/donate/ Solar Powered Lebanon is an initiative to restore people's power using solar panels, since larger infrastructure is at constant risk of attack. https://fundahope.com/en/campaigns/solar-powered-lebanon ----- FREE PALESTINE My friend Ahmed still needs to feed his family and afford medicine. Anything you can kick in would be hugely appreciated. https://chuffed.org/project/150817-please-help-ahmed-and-his-family-get-food-drink-and-medicine And these are some more general links you can support collective efforts with! -The Palestinian Communist Youth Union is doing a food and water effort, and is part of the official communist party of Palestine https://www.gofundme.com/f/to-preserve-whats-left-of-humanity-global-solidarity -Water is Life, a water distribution project in North Gaza affiliated with an Indigenous American organization and the Freedom Flotilla https://www.waterislifegaza.org/ -Vegetable Distribution Fund, which secured and delivers fresh veg, affiliated with Freedom Flotilla also https://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1102739514947848 ----- WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here:  https://www.tomallen.media/ Kill James Bond is hosted by November Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon. You can find us at https://killjamesbond.com

My guest on the show today is David Sugarman, writer, Arc magazine editor, podcast producer of this very show, and agonizing, ambivalent American Jew. It's in this last capacity that he's joining me today to discuss his essay in the new issue of The Point magazine titled “Goodbye West Orange: Two Paths for the American Jew.” I want to note, before I say anything more about the essay or our conversation about it, that over the course of the three-plus years that I've been doing this Substack and podcast, there are two issue constellations that I have been especially gun-shy about confronting. One is the various issues surrounding trans people and policies in America, and the other, of course, is Israel-Palestine. As to why I've been so gun-shy, it should almost go without saying. There is no winning when you wade into these topics. They seem to devour people's capacity to contain nuance or complexity. They also seem to just devour people. You think you're just dipping in a toe, and then suddenly you're neck deep. Then you are underwater, completely defined by the issue, captured by the emotions around it, forever stigmatized or lionized as a hero or villain of the debate, and I have not wanted that fate for myself. I thought and continue to think that it is honorable to abstain from public comment when no one is waiting around breathlessly to hear your opinion, when you don't know that much, and when you don't feel like you have anything particularly interesting or useful to say. So that is why I've stayed away. As to why I'm breaking with that policy, both with this episode with David and with my upcoming episode with sociologist Rogers Brubaker, whose new book, Gender Identity: The Career of a Category, is very much in the space of the trans issue, I'm not wholly sure. It may be that I have a touch of a bad conscience for opting out to this point, notwithstanding my protestations of honorability around abstention. Or maybe, and this isn't mutually exclusive, I've just started to glimpse a narrow opening, where I didn't before, for the having of complicated conversations about these immensely complicated topics. And maybe I have been waiting, without realizing I'm waiting, to run across texts that dignify my desire have a different kind of conversation, and then I found them. David's essay, "Goodbye West Orange: Two Paths for the American Jew," is about two Jews, Moshe and Tova. It's about them both as themselves in their human complexity and about them as avatars of rival sides of the increasingly stark divide in American Jewry between what we might call (and David and I get into our discomfort about just reducing it to this) the Zionists and the anti-Zionists. It's also about David's own lived experience, if you will, as a former member in good standing of both camps, and about his current disaffection with both. It's also about why language itself has become such a battlefield in this intra-American contest, and it's about what comes next for all of us. To give you a taste, here's David writing in the piece:Each side demanded, Moshe's and Tova's, that I disavow the other: the antisemitic left, the genocidal right; progressive secularism with all its dangerous bedfellows, Zionism in all forms. The logics were nearly identical: look at this community you belong to, this failed project you've supported; look at what it's doing in the world and at the rot at its core: What would you need to see to finally understand its immorality?Moshe and his community monopolized the pull of peoplehood, and of historical trauma, and of a rising sense of insecurity that has only deepened, as Jews have been murdered in D.C., in Manchester, in Melbourne. Moshe, I'd assume, has both an explanation and solution: antisemitism; Zionism.Tova, too: empire; revolution. Such an explanation frames Israel's collective punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza, or the state-sanctioned settler violence in the West Bank, or the war against Iran and Lebanon, as parts of a coherent colonial project that should be resisted by any means necessary—even the violent means deployed by Hezbollah and Hamas.…How can anti-authoritarians be so forgiving of some forms of authoritarianism? I wonder about this as I drive from Moshe's house to Tova's, a ground-level unit in a quiet complex surrounded by woods. It's a matter of language, I conclude—that our words can't really travel with us, even from one side of West Orange to another. To talk about Zionism or anti-Zionism with Moshe is entirely different from talking about Zionism or anti-Zionism with Tova, the words hollowed out by conflicting interpretations. Into that vacuum rush politicians, university professors, the media, the synagogue, the family, all working to impose their own definitions. When I say Zionist or anti-Zionist, I do so against the background of what those words have been made to mean, and by whom.Which is not to say that these coalitions don't hold real appeal. To live in a community like Moshe's, as I once did, is to know its deep cohesion and spiritual intensity. To have left it and joined a secular and progressive community like Tova's is to know its powerful sense of justice. And to have been a part of either is to know their shortcomings. The dogmatism and conformity, the us/them thinking. It is also to know the blind spots: sometimes there really are colonizers in the synagogues; sometimes it really is a Hamas supporter on the front lawn.So that's just a taste. It's a really good piece. You should read it maybe before listening to the rest of this podcast, or if not then after. Eminent Americans is produced in collaboration with David's employer, the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, and distributed through its publication, Arc, of which David is deputy editor. You can find all of Arc's podcasts and much more at arcmag.org. I hope you enjoy this conversation. I know I did. You can email me with thoughts, comments, hate, love at djopps@gmail.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

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Paul and Jay react to a full joint practice between the Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears on the practice fields adjacent Paycor Stadium.Sharefax Credit Union has 9 branches across Cincinnati with locations in Batavia, Blue Ash, Eastgate, Evendale, Lebanon, Liberty Township, Mason, Milford & Western Hills. Learn more at www.sharefax.org or call 513-753-2440.02:00 Theme song and intro04:03 Takeaways from Bengals' joint practice08:01 Plays of the day12:06 Sharefax Credit Union Poll Results13:16 Things heard at Bengals' training campWatch and subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGrowlerPodcastThe Growler on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-growler/id1733476604The Growler on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70iJjqgPQrVzQ2pdOwVvDYLinks to socials, Growl Pal shirts, YouTube, podcast platforms and more: www.thegrowlerpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week the SUNDAY WIRE returns with guest host Bryan 'Hesher' McClain, joined by Adam "Ruckus" Clark and Basil Valentine to unpack another turbulent week in international affairs. We'll look at Washington's increasingly overstretched war machine, new reports of Israeli forces deliberately burning agricultural land in southern Lebanon, escalating settler violence against Palestinians, and the systematic destruction of Gaza's physical and human evidence. We'll also examine Britain's refusal to release files concerning alleged Israeli-linked election interference. Later, host Patrick Henningsen also joins the program live from 'the free Republic of Liberland' while attending the Liberpulco Conference. All this and more… Watch this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9SN6BipyFQ  This month's featured music artists: The Real Anthem Band, Joseph Arthur, Peyoti for President, Peter Conway & Red Rumble, and Phil Zimmerman SUPPORT OUR MEDIA OUTLET HERE (https://21w.co/support)

Aurélie Daher on the destruction Israel is visiting upon southern Lebanon • Annie McClanahan, author of Beneath the Wage, on nonstandard forms of work and compensation The post How and why is Israel pummeling Lebanon? • nonstandard forms of work appeared first on KPFA.

Paul and Jay crank out a packed show with Cincinnati Bengals' training camp hitting a crescendo with the joint practice against the Bears on Thursday.Get up to $1500 in bonus bets from BetMGM. Download the BetMGM app for details.Sharefax Credit Union has 9 branches across Cincinnati with locations in Batavia, Blue Ash, Eastgate, Evendale, Lebanon, Liberty Township, Mason, Milford & Western Hills. Learn more at www.sharefax.org or call 513-753-2440.Come hang out with us for our season preview show at 50 West in Deerfield on September 10 at 7! We're back!!!02:00 Theme song and intro04:58 Special announcement: Back at 50 West!11:08 Bengals' offensive roster22:59 Sharefax Credit Union Poll Question26:23 Offensive line shakeup38:10 Bengals' defensive roster55:02 Evan McPherson's camp58:27 Jay's Got Preseason Kicking Stats1:00:33 #bengalsgrowlerbet1:04:38 ARBIESWatch and subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGrowlerPodcastThe Growler on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-growler/id1733476604The Growler on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70iJjqgPQrVzQ2pdOwVvDYLinks to socials, Growl Pal shirts, YouTube, podcast platforms and more: www.thegrowlerpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An IDF soldier answers the genocide charge with what he saw in Gaza.In this episode, Pastor Nathan Brown talks with Rabbi Pesach Wolicki and his son, IDF reserve Sergeant First Class Meir Wolicki, who served three years in Gaza and Lebanon. The rabbi opens Psalm 83 as the Bible's theology of war, and the IDF soldier walks through evacuating civilians, the famine claims, and the first Gazan family he ever saw. Perfect for the commute or the drive home.You'll Learn:✅ Why Psalm 83 names Philistia and Tyre, and where those places are today✅ How an IDF soldier answers the genocide and starvation charges✅ What Exodus 19 says about God's purpose for Israel and the nations✅ Why one rabbi says Christians are ignoring the persecuted Church

David Daoud details the escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, noting that Hezbollah's refusal to disarm has prompted the IDF to prepare for a major operation. Israel is currently conducting "clearing operations" to destroy Hezbollah installations near the Al-Aishiyeh Ridge. Daoud highlights the recent deaths of senior commanders from the elite Radwan and Badr units, which indicates that Hezbollah's operational security remains compromised. Despite these losses, Hezbollah is working with Iran to rebuild its command structure and has attempted to smuggle advanced weaponry, including cruise missiles, into Lebanon. (7)

TABLE OF CONTENTS, THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 8-17-2026.Bill Roggio reflects on the five-year anniversary of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, highlighting the accuracy of the maps he built that predicted the Taliban's takeover. He describes the withdrawal as disorganized, noting there was zero plan for the Afghan government or military equipment. Roggio specifically criticizes the abandonment of Bagram Air Base, which he believes was the superior evacuation site. He also addresses current Middle East policy, dismissing proposed land blockades against Iran as "fanciful" and impractical. He warns that current strategic failures mirror the indifference seen in Afghanistan. (1)Bridget Toomey analyzes the reawakening of the Yemeni Civil War, noting that the Houthis are launching fresh offensives to seize the Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb choke point. While the Houthis claim to target Saudiinterests, their primary focus has shifted to defeating government-backed ground troops. Toomey highlights the extensive use of drone technology by both sides, with the Houthis demonstrating sophisticated capabilities while the Yemeni government adopts modified Chinese systems. She notes that Saudi Arabia remains hesitant to fully re-initiate a large-scale military intervention despite continued Houthi aggression. (2)Janatyn Sayeh explores the "secret plan" of Iranian hardliners to escalate regional conflict and raise costs for the United States. He notes that while the Iranian economy is an existential vulnerability, the regime is willing to ride out sanctions to maintain its Islamist agenda. Sayeh critiques the viability of a U.S. land blockade, citing the difficulty of gaining cooperation from neighbors like Afghanistan and Pakistan. He argues that power is concentrated within the IRGCsecurity establishment rather than just the Supreme Leader, and that internal rifts are secondary to the elite's collective survival. (3)Malcolm Hoenlein provides an overview of the October 27th Israeli election, explaining the complex "list" voting system and Netanyahu's challenges. He discusses the "Board of Peace" negotiations, stressing that the central hurdle remains Hamas's refusal to disarm before Israeli withdrawal. Hoenlein also touches on regional tensions, including Hezbollah's rearming and internal unrest in Iran fueled by economic desperation. Finally, he notes Turkey's significant lobbying efforts in Washington through a new headquarters and a "glorious new front" of diplomatic normalization between Israel and several South American nations including Colombia. (4)Edmund Fitton-Brown argues that the U.S. is "running out of ideas" regarding economic pressure on Iran, labeling a land blockade as far-fetched due to uncooperative neighbors. He suggests that secondary sanctions on Chinese "teapot" refineries are a more practical tool. Regarding Yemen, Fitton-Brown observes that the Houthis have become emboldened by U.S. irresolution and are pushing south to capture the Bab el-Mandeb. He expresses cautious optimism regarding Jared Kushner's diplomatic delegation, noting that experienced figures like Tony Blair are unlikely to be "dupes" for Hamas during negotiations. (5)John Hardie reports on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, specifically Russia's rejection of a Black Sea ceasefire in favor of striking Ukrainian food supplies. He notes that while Russia maintains a maritime blockade advantage, Ukraine is retaliating with high-precision long-range drone strikes against Russian oil refineries and defense plants. Hardie suggests that the Kremlin may be receptive to a moratorium on deep-strike operations because their own infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable. He concludes that Ukraine currently holds a tactical edge in drone technology, aided by Western intelligence to bypass Russian air defenses. (6)David Daoud details the escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, noting that Hezbollah's refusal to disarm has prompted the IDF to prepare for a major operation. Israel is currently conducting "clearing operations" to destroy Hezbollah installations near the Al-Aishiyeh Ridge. Daoud highlights the recent deaths of senior commanders from the elite Radwan and Badr units, which indicates that Hezbollah's operational security remains compromised. Despite these losses, Hezbollah is working with Iran to rebuild its command structure and has attempted to smuggle advanced weaponry, including cruise missiles, into Lebanon. (7)Kamran Bokhari examines the evolution of the Iranian regime, arguing that the Supreme Leader has become a figurehead for the IRGC and security establishment. He suggests that the war has accelerated a process of internal fragmentation, though the elite remains united by a shared fear of collapse. While public uprisings have gone "underground," the regime continues to conduct mass arrests to prevent a critical mass of resistance. Bokhari describes a "post-clergy" era where the military dominates political life, noting that the regime has evolved into a different entity than it was decades ago. (8)Alan Tonelson exposes a massive Chinese tariff evasion scheme, where goods are rerouted through countries like Cambodia and Mexico to bypass U.S. duties. This "scam" is estimated to cost the U.S. up to $26 billion in annual revenue. While the White House is developing AI-based systems to strengthen customs enforcement, there is criticism regarding the lack of direct penalties against Beijing. Tonelson notes that 40 countries are currently complicit in these practices, harming the U.S. manufacturing base. He predicts only modest changes to these trade dynamics through the remainder of the current administration. (9)Samuel Ben-Ur discusses the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, focusing on Jared Kushner's meeting with Hamas leadership to discuss a 15-point peace plan. Ben-Ur explains that Israel rejected the plan because it lacked a verifiable mechanism for Hamas's disarmament before Israeli withdrawal. He dismisses reports of famine in Gaza as propaganda, noting that international bodies currently view aid levels as acceptable. The conversation emphasizes that Hamas remains committed to the destruction of Israel, making voluntary disarmament a "fiction," while Israeli politics remain divided over the war's prosecution. (10)Richard Epstein critiques Senator Bernie Sanders' characterization of Israeli politicians as "extremists," viewing it as a provocative attempt to shift American Democratic policy. Epstein argues that a two-state solution is fundamentally unstable because an autonomous Palestinian region cannot be prevented from remilitarizing. He contends that proponents of this solution often act in bad faith, ignoring Hamas's history of violated ceasefires. Furthermore, Epstein describes the Democratic Socialists of America as isolationists who focus disproportionately on Israel while ignoring other global aggressors like Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. (11)Jeremy Zakis reports on the looming weather crisis in Australia, where meteorologists predict a "super El Niño" combined with a positive Indian Ocean Dipole. This rare combination is expected to cause extreme drought and record-breaking temperatures in New South Wales and Victoria. Zakis warns that a wet winter has fueled rampant eucalyptus growth, creating a massive volume of flammable oils. These conditions have "primed" the landscape for catastrophic wildfires. Residents are being urged to clear undergrowth immediately, as the upcoming fire season could surpass the severity of the devastating 2020–2021 bushfires. (12)One small fix beyond the log: Badr unit (source had "Bader," segment 7) — the standard rendering of Hezbollah's Badr unit. Janatyn Sayeh applied per your confirmed spelling.

“Golden age” is an easy line to sell. Living through the consequences of a war of choice is harder. We're joined by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson for a blunt look at where the United States stands as the Iran conflict drags on, and why the economy, the military, and public trust can't be separated when policy decisions start compounding. We talk through the gap between political messaging and real constraints: munitions shortages, JDAM kit limitations, and a defense industrial base that can't simply surge precision weapons overnight. Wilkerson explains why rare earth metals and critical inputs like gallium matter for systems Americans hear about every day, including Patriot, THAAD, and HIMARS. When supply chains tighten and tariffs add friction, readiness becomes a spreadsheet problem before it becomes a battlefield problem. If you care about U.S. national security, military readiness, and the US Iran war, this is the kind of nuts-and-bolts discussion that rarely makes the headlines. From there, we widen the lens to Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, including the internal pressure inside Israel and the risk of escalation if Iran responds with more sophisticated missile capability. We also revisit a key historical comparison: how H.W. Bush used leverage to pressure Israel, and how U.S. politics and campaign money can shape what presidents are willing to do today. If this conversation made you rethink anything, subscribe, share the episode with someone who follows foreign policy, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What's the most undercovered risk right now: supply chains, escalation, or politics?

Rescue workers have been attempting to reach suvivors of a powerful earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Flores in the early hours of Saturday morning. Around fifty people have died and some five thousand have been evacuated from their homes.Also: Israel has carried out its deadliest strikes in Lebanon for months killing eleven people. Moroccan police stopped hundreds of people from illegally crossing into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta, two weeks after tens of thousands entered the exclave. International observers of Zambia's election have told political parties to tone down inflammatory statements, saying the poll was marred by intimidation, abductions and an hours-long pause in the vote count. The Spanish government has ordered an investigation into the likely shooting of an endangered killer whale that was captured on video with wounds to its dorsal fin. The nineteen year old British cyclist Fin Tarling has died in a crash during the Tour of Portugal race. The Miss Universe Canada pageant is introducing a ''comprehensive costume guide'' after a row triggered by two contestants wearing Indigenous-style costumes.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.ukPhoto: A man cries outside his family house that was damaged by the earthquake in Indonesia Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

In this episode of The PDB Situation Report: First up—President Trump is turning back to economic pressure on Iran, betting that a sustained naval blockade and financial squeeze can force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Former deputy national security advisor Victoria Coates joins us with analysis. Later in the show—an international military presence could soon be deployed to southern Lebanon to help verify Hezbollah's disarmament. David Daoud, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins us to break down the proposal and what it could mean for the conflict with Israel. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Cardiff: Get fast business funding without bank delays—apply in minutes with Cardiff and access up to $500,000 in same‑day funding at https://Cardiff.co/PDB  HomeServe: Protect your home systems from expensive repairs with https://HomeServe.com/dailybriefand get 50% off your first year of coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ralph speaks to Baroness Beeban Kidron, a member of the UK House of Lords and a leading voice on children's rights in the digital environment, whose book is “Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back.” Then we welcome back whistleblower Becky McClain a biotech scientist injured in an unsafe lab and author of “Exposed: A Pfizer Scientist Battles Corruption, Lies, and Betrayal, and Becomes a Biohazard Whistleblower.”Baroness Beeban Kidron is a member of the UK's House of Lords and a former film director. She is a leading voice on children's rights in the digital environment and a global authority on digital regulation. She has played a central role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across the world. She is the author of Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back.The things that children experience online are deliberately designed to distract them. Now, they are there to distract them because those companies want the attention so they can advertise. They want their data so that they can perfect their commercial terms,their product. And they even want their attention to compete against the other people who are competing for their attention. So here we have an absolute arms race for a child's attention.Baroness Beeban KidronI do want to say very clearly to anyone listening: This is a battle you shouldn't be fighting on your own. And there is a responsibility for politicians—for both local politicians and federal politicians (national in our case, here in the UK) —to actually put these companies under the same sort of strictures that all other corporate companies do… One of the things I'm looking at is whether we can recategorize apps as products. And then they'll have all the product liability, the product safety, consumer rights—all the things that we expect of everything else in our life from our food to our cars to our toys. That they would actually have to think before they roll them out: Are they safe? And when they've proven unsafe, we would have a very clear set of legal approaches to address that.Baroness Beeban KidronBecky McClain is a retired biotech worker and research scientist. She is known as the first successful biotech whistleblower who spoke and reported on biolab safety issues of public concern. On April 1, 2010, Ms. McClain won a federal court whistleblower trial against Pfizer, Inc., which centered on free speech rights concerning biosafety and public health. She is the author of Exposed: A Pfizer Scientist Battles Corruption, Lies, and Betrayal, and Becomes a Biohazard Whistleblower.The public wants transparency to ensure that biolabs are run ethically, safely, responsibly, and with accountability. Transparency into these matters builds public trust with science and with government. But without free-speech protections for scientists and also medical physicians, transparency fails, accountability is dismissed, and the public trust hits rock bottom.Becky McClainNews 8/14/26* This week, a new round of primaries was held in the upper midwest and New England. The biggest shock of the night was the defeat of Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary. Hong, a Wisconsin State Assemblywoman and member of Madison DSA, went into election night leading in the polls and while she won an astonishing 311,000 votes, her opponent – Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, with the endorsement of sitting Democratic Governor Tony Evers – maintained a lead of approximately one-half of one percentage point throughout the night. As the final margin will be under 1 percent, Hong is entitled to request a recount, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but WKOW reports she has conceded the race. Hong was seen as the best chance for the insurgent, DSA-aligned left to capture a gubernatorial nomination this cycle, particularly in a crucial swing state, but her campaign was dogged by electability concerns and unpopular past statements made by the candidate. Crowley will face Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who cruised to an easy victory in the GOP gubernatorial primary, in November.* The Minnesota primaries delivered more encouraging results for the left. In the high-profile Senate primary to replace retiring Senator Tina Smith, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan emerged victorious over her opponent, Congresswoman Angie Craig. Flanagan was backed by a broad, progressive coalition – including Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, and outgoing Senator Tina Smith herself – while Craig was backed by more centrist Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and ultrazionist Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer. If elected, Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, would be the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, per the Minnesota Reformer. Flanagan has also gone on record saying that Chuck Schumer, who would be poised to lead the Senate Democrats as Majority Leader if the party retakes that chamber, needs to be replaced with a “progressive champion” though she has not gone as far as Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan who explicitly called for Schumer to be replaced by Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, as reported by Semafor.* In more Minnesota news, Congresswoman Craig's decision to vacate her old seat in the state's second congressional district “created a crowded primary for her seat,” according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. On Tuesday, progressive candidate Matt Little triumphed. Little is a strong proponent of Medicare for All and does not blanch at describing Israel's campaign in Gaza as a genocide. Little overwhelmingly won the endorsement of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and of congressional progressives like Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Greg Casar, as well as the Progressive Caucus PAC. If Little wins in what the Star Tribune describes as a swing district historically, it will send a strong signal that progressives can win even in tough districts.* In New England, the results tell a somewhat different story. Specifically, in Connecticut's first congressional district, 14-term incumbent Congressman John Larson lost his primary to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, over 30 years Larson's junior, by over 20 points. However, Bronin is far from a progressive challenger. Whereas Larson enjoyed the backing of the Working Families Party and Congressman Jamie Raskin – though he also had the backing of AIPAC – Bronin's only major national endorsement was from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. In short, this would best be described as a non-ideological, but rather age-based primary challenge. This will surely set off major alarm bells for another aged incumbent in New England facing a much younger primary challenger: Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts. Additionally, as Ryan Grim notes, “John Larson was/is the champion of the bill to expand Social Security, which was up to…200+ cosponsors but [former Speaker Nancy] Pelosi would never allow it to get to the floor. There's now an extremely popular bill that could actually pass that needs a lead sponsor.”* Another recent primary loss is worth examining: that of Kshama Sawant in Seattle. Sawant, a former Seattle City Councilmember aligned with the Trotskyist Socialist Alternative party, resigned her council seat and sought to unseat her local Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, running as an independent in Washington's ninth congressional district. The state of Washington has a top two primary system, so Sawant would have only had to get the second most votes to secure a head-to-head matchup against Smith in November. Yet, instead Sawant finished a distant third behind Smith and the Republican candidate Doug Basler. Perhaps that doesn't seem surprising – independent and third party candidates are often outspent by huge margins. Yet, the facts belie that explanation. In fact, a new piece on the Joe Wrote substack finds that “Sawant's campaign wasn't the rag-tag, bootstrapped operation that we typically see from insurgent socialists. Sawant reported $607,493 in campaign spending, meaning she outspent Republican Doug Basler by over six-to-one and still lost to him.” Wrote goes on to state that “The Sawant campaign spent $25.33 per vote, the highest for any candidate in the race…The only registered PAC that spent on the race was Sawant's Revolutionary Change PAC, which raised $5,600 through ActBlue and spent it on billboards.” If nothing else, this test case demonstrates that money is not enough for the left to break through the two-party duopoly. A candidate also needs institutional, organizational support – like that of DSA – and, perhaps most importantly, broadbase solidarity with the other component parts of the movement. Going it alone simply will not get the job done.* In more independent and third party news, we have an update to a previous story about the race for Congress in Pennsylvania's seventh congressional district. Last week, we discussed Andrew Tupone, a candidate running in this race on the Green Party ballot line, despite the GP of Pennsylvania distancing themselves from him – and spokesman Chris Robinson even calling him a “a nice Republican.” According to Lehigh Valley Public Media, the Green Party is now going a step further, formally requesting the Pennsylvania courts “either kick Tupone off the ballot or require him to identify himself as a member of another party.” In their petition to the court, the Green Party argues that “Candidate Tupone and his agents or affiliates who circulated his nomination papers misled voters into signing the nomination papers on the mistaken belief that they were helping to place a candidate supported by the Green Party onto the ballot.” This piece also notes that three Lehigh Valley residents are challenging the petitions Tupone presented to get on the ballot, arguing that technical errors would disqualify thousands of these signatures. For his part, Tupone “has denied having any ulterior motive to enter the race or accepting financial assistance from any outside groups.”* At the same time, in Nebraska, it seems there are two, dueling faux third parties seeking to siphon off votes from the other side. The Nebraska Examiner reports that both the “Nebraska Democratic Party and the national Working Families Party have sued Nebraska's Working People Party to block it from the fall ballot.” The Democrats and WFP are seeking to block Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen from officially recognizing the party, and to “declare that the party's name is breaking state law because it is meant to confuse voters.” Apparently, Nebraska election law includes a provision allowing the secretary of state to “reject a candidate's filing if…that someone is not a ‘good-faith candidate' or is trying to cause confusion for voters,” and that “objections to party names can be considered.” The kicker is that last week, the Nebraska Republican Party filed a lawsuit alleging that the “America First Party” is a similarly bad-faith attempt to confuse and deceive voters and thereby undercut the fortunes of Nebraska Republicans. A Nebraska judge has issued an emergency injunction stopping certification of both the Nebraska Working People Party and America First Party through August 20th.* Turning to local news, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appears to be moving against Councilmember Nithya Raman, her Democratic rival for the mayoralty in the general election. LAist reports that while Raman has chaired the Council's powerful Housing and Homeless Committee since 2023, Bass' close ally, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson is “planning to announce…that the city will split the committee into two parts — one on housing, the other on homelessness — neither of which will be led by Raman.” In a campaign video, Raman alleged that the move constituted political retaliation, saying “I called for an audit of our homelessness programs…and now I've been removed…I might be getting punished for running against Mayor Bass, but Angelenos are the ones paying the price for these political games.” Mayor Bass and Councilmember Raman finished first and second respectively in the June primary, meaning they will face off in November with no Republican on the ballot.* In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced this week that he will throw his weight behind a new bill in the city council seeking to curb Amazon's practice of utilizing subcontractors instead of directly employing delivery workers. The Wall Street Journal explains that although these subcontractors “aren't direct employees of…Amazon [or other companies], they often wear branded uniforms or vests and drive corporate-branded vans or trucks,” but are not entitled to the same workplace protections and are excluded from collective bargaining. In a statement, Mamdani highlighted how “Corporations like Amazon build billion-dollar business models by insulating themselves from accountability through a system of exploitative subcontracting.” The Journal reports the bill would also “require warehouse operators to obtain licenses from the city,” and in order to get a license, ”operators would have to adhere to new safety, training and employment requirements, including hiring thousands of the city's contract couriers.” In response, Amazon is, as usual, threatening to move its business out of the city, but also deploying its secret, New York-specific weapon: their chief lobbyist, Jessica Schumer, daughter of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, according to the American Prospect. This sets up a major clash between an array of titanic forces in New York politics and whether or not Mayor Mamdani emerges triumphant will be a huge test of his political clout.* Finally, AP reports the parliament of Lebanon voted this week to abolish the death penalty, making it the first nation in the Arab world to do so. This piece notes that the country has maintained an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment for over 20 years; while death sentences have been issued since then, they have all been suspended or commuted. The official sentence of capital punishment will be replaced with “life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor,” a somewhat vague legal concept that will have to be defined and refined as time goes on. AP adds that this vote comes amidst the Lebanese parliamentary debate over a proposed general amnesty law, that could “reduce sentences or even release convicted militants,” from the country's various civil wars, as well as others convicted of drug-related crimes. The parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah voted against the law. Lebanon banning capital punishment stands in stark contrast to the Israeli Knesset, which voted in May to adopt a new death penalty statute described by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as perpetuating “racial discrimination against Palestinians” and amounting to “a grave erosion of human rights.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

AOC is having a bad week. First she tried to make us forget she was Woke 1.0. Now she's freezing her eggs, because she broke up with her longtime fiancé. But it's time for her to find love again. Alex Stein joins to shoot his shot at AOC, his favorite big-booty Latina. The WNBA's gender politics just collided with reality, and former NBA pro Royce White is now testing the limits after declaring he's now a woman and wants to play ball. Trump is celebrating American kids, and the Left is comparing them to Nazis. The Patriot Games are supposed to showcase athleticism, competition, patriotism, and faith, but liberals are calling them dystopian and comparing the children to the Hitler Youth. Zohran Mamdani's wife is traveling to terrorist hot spots Syria and Lebanon and thought the New York Police Department would provide security for her travels. The NYPD's response? NOPE! ► Catch up on my H-1B Visa investigations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkJEwf2wliqrtNlYs9D78nmE_Gnja_PpC ► Email me at saratips@blazemedia.com if you have uncovered potential fraud in your area. ► Subscribe to my second YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SaraGonzalesTX?sub_confirmation=1 ► Shopify Sign up for your $1-per-month trial at www.shopify.com. 0:00 - AOC + Alex Stein 23:13 - Ex-NBA Players Challenge WNBA 32:43 - Trump's Patriot Games 44:53 - Mamdani's Wife Visits Terrorist States Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices