“South Korean governments committed numerous human rights violations over decades in a controversial programme that sent at least 170,000 children and babies abroad for adoption, a landmark inquiry has found. It said the government’s lack of oversight enabled the ‘mass exportation of children’ by private agencies that were driven by profit, and found examples of fraud, falsified records and coercion. Since the 1950s, South Korea has sent more children abroad for adoption than any other country, with most sent to Western countries. South Korea has since moved to tighten its adoption processes, but some adoptees and their biological parents say they are still haunted by what they went through. The BBC spoke to one woman who claimed her adoptive parents ‘took better care of the dog than they ever did of me’. ‘This is a shameful part of our history,’ said Park Sun-young, the chairperson of the commission, at a press briefing.” (03/26/25)
“The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage. An appeals court turned away a plea from the administration to allow them to resume. The government asked the high court to step in, arguing that the order is one of several issued by federal judges around the country wrongly forcing it to keep paying out millions in grant money. The Supreme Court called for a response to the appeal by Friday. It comes after U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued a temporary restraining order sought by eight Democratic-led states that argued the cuts were likely driven by efforts from President Donald Trump’s administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.” (03/26/25)
Source: In These Times
by Naomi Klein, Astra Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Chenjerai Kumanyika
“About a month after Donald Trump was inaugurated to a second term, and as it became overwhelmingly clear that Elon Musk’s role alongside him is to gut the administrative state and pave the way for widespread privatization, Haymarket Books held ‘An Emergency Town Hall’ to help situate this ‘Corporate Coup in Global Context.’ The roundtable discussion included bestselling journalist and author Naomi Klein …; writer, author and organizer Astra Taylor …; author, journalist and professor Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor …; and professor Chenjerai Kumanyika, who helped guide the discussion, cohosts the Uncivil podcast and also created and hosts the widely popular Empire City podcast.” (03/26/25)
“In the history of countries that offer models of reconciliation after long conflicts, Syria is now trying to make its mark. A good example is a grassroots rescue organization known as the White Helmets. During a severe but short flare-up of sectarian violence in early March, the group’s volunteers quickly entered the killing zone in a minority area to help any and all, conducting around 30 responses a day. ‘When we go to rescue someone in need, we don’t ask them about their religion or political opinion,’ said Abdulkafi Kayal, head of the group’s operations in the coastal region where the killings took place. ‘Our mandate is to help those in need,’ he told the BBC. A reporter from the BBC was able to join the Syrian Civil Defence, as the White Helmets are formally known, as it went about its humanitarian missions.” (03/24/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a recent interview that his job is ‘to keep the left pro-Israel,’ which is just sad. Being a liberal Israel supporter these days probably feels like being a defense attorney for an accused murderer who won’t shut up about how much he loves murdering. A Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning film No Other Land was assaulted and injured by a gang of Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Susya before being abducted by Israeli soldiers on Monday. Hamdan Ballal and two other Palestinians were reportedly transferred from the Israeli military to the police for questioning, and as of this writing are still detained. No Other Land is a documentary about Israeli abuses toward Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which makes the lynch mob assault by the settlers not only ironic but completely vindicating of Ballal’s work.” (03/25/25)
“Four years ago, I published Subtle Tools, a book on the erosion of American democratic norms in the face of what came to be known as the Global War on Terror. Both what had been done in the name of ‘national security’ in response to the 9/11 attacks and how it had been done — through the willing neglect of procedural integrity, the exploitation of all-too-flexible norms, a remarkable disregard for transparency, and a failure to call for accountability of any sort — left the country wide open to even more damaging future abuses of the rule of law. And — lo and behold! — now, that future is all too distinctly here. What happened in the first quarter of this century is already being weaponized in a startling fashion in the second era of Donald Trump.” (03/25/25)
America’s military budget is more than just numbers on a page; it’s a reflection of the priorities that shape our society. Right now, that nearly trillion dollar budget is bloated, inefficient, and far removed from the needs of everyday Americans. We’ve identified six simple yet effective ways to cut at least $100 billion from the Pentagon’s budget, without sacrificing even the most hawkish of war hawk’s sense of national security. Ready to take the scissors to that excess spending? Here’s how we can do it. 1) Halt the F-35 Program (save $12B+ per year) … 2) Reassess Long-Range Missile Defense (save $9.3B+ per year) … 3) Cut the Sentinel ICBM Program (save $3.7B+ per year) … 4) Cease Procurement of Aircraft Carriers (save $2.3B+ per year) … 5) Cut Redundant Contracts by 15% (save $26B per year) …” (03/25/25)
“Democrats are wandering around in the political wilderness: lost, desperate–and blaming each other. The latest target of their rage is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer [D-NY], who committed the unforgivable crime of ‘helping Trump,’ hatred of the president being the only acceptable posture in leftist circles these days. The one thing Democrats seem unable to come to terms with is the actual cause of their problems: the leftward ideological lurch that has alienated them from regular Americans. I write about this in my new book, Califailure: Reversing the Ruin of America’s Worst Run State. That’s because California represents today’s Democratic Party better than anywhere else in America. Democrats have had complete control of state government for nearly two decades. California — Califailure — is what you get when Democrats get everything they want.” (03/25/25)
“The head of Turkey’s main opposition party visited jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Tuesday after six nights of massive protests calling for his release. Imamoglu, arrested on March 19 on corruption charges, is seen as the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22-year rule. His arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated and sparked demonstrations, some turning violent, across the country. The government insists Turkey’s judiciary is independent and free of political influence. Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party, or CHP, held a two-hour meeting with Imamoglu at Silivri prison, west of Istanbul. Ozel told reporters that he was ‘ashamed on behalf of those who govern Turkey of the atmosphere I am in and the situation that Turkey is being put through.'” (03/25/25)
“Why is Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, hyperventilating about Social Security? Why is he inventing unhinged tales about ‘fraudulent’ hordes of Social Security grifters? Why is his DOGE chopping away staffers at the already understaffed Social Security Administration? Let’s start with the political reality that most Americans see Social Security as absolutely essential to their future financial security. These average Americans, Musk and his like-minded super wealthy fear, are eventually going to start demanding that America’s rich pay a far bigger share of the revenue Social Security so desperately needs. What are these rich paying now into Social Security? Peanuts.” [editor’s note: What ‘the rich” pay in is capped, but so are the benefit payments they receive. Pizzigati is just upset that his favorite Ponzi scheme can’t fleece bigger “investors” at a higher rate because REASONS – TLK] (03/25/25)
