“Between the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, the US government has a long history of waging bloody and unsuccessful wars against broad concepts that can not be meaningfully defeated. What makes the government’s latest ‘armed conflict’ unique is not just its combination of these two failures, but also that its target (‘narco-terrorism’) is largely a myth. Under the title “Operation Southern Spear,” the Trump administration has launched a campaign intended to target the drug cartels that it designated as terrorist organizations earlier this year. So far, this has involved at least 21 airstrikes, killing upwards of 83 people on small boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific; a military buildup involving 15,000 troops; and covert operations by the CIA in Venezuela. Though President Donald Trump lacks the legal authority for these activities, the Senate’s latest attempt to restrain military action failed in a narrow vote of 49-51.” (12/04/25)
“A prominent international human rights organization is warning that the United States’ plan for postwar Gaza will impose ‘unlawful collective imprisonment’ on the Palestinian civilians who have survived two years of genocide. In November, several news outlets reported on the Trump administration’s plan to carve Gaza in two: a so-called ‘green zone’ controlled by Israel and a ‘red zone’ controlled by the militant group Hamas. The US would construct what it called ‘Alternative Safe Communities’ for Palestinians to live in the Israeli-controlled portion of Gaza, which is over half of the territory under the current ‘ceasefire’ agreement. The New York Times described these communities as ‘compounds’ of 20,000 to 25,000 people, where Israeli officials reportedly argued they should not be allowed to leave.” (12/04/25)
“George Bernard Shaw famously observed that ‘England and America are two countries separated by the same language.’ It appears, however, that this chasm has finally been overcome by the common dialect of rage. The new word of the year was announced this week by the Oxford University Press and it is tragically apt: ‘rage bait’. First used in 2002, the new word is defined as ‘online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content’. … Rage is a curious emotion. It is the ultimate release. It allows you to do things and say things that you would not otherwise do or say. That is why it is addictive and contagious.” (12/04/25)
“The Navy admiral who reportedly issued orders for the U.S. military to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat is on Capitol Hill for a classified briefing with top congressional lawmakers overseeing national security. The information from Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who is now the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, comes at a potentially crucial moment in the unfolding congressional investigation into how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth handled the military operation in international waters near Venezuela. There are mounting questions over whether the strike may have violated the law. The briefing in a secure facility at the Capitol is with congressional leaders, including the Republican chairs and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, and separately to the GOP chairman and Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.” (12/04/25)
“The State Department renewed its ‘do not travel’ advisory for Venezuela. Without edits, the travel advisory was reissued Wednesday, with the State Department citing a myriad of high risks related to crime, terrorism, detention and poor health infrastructure. ‘All U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately,’ the advisory says. In 2019, the U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Venezuela, closing its embassy. It says it no longer has the ability to provide emergency services or consular assistance to U.S. citizens in the country. ‘There is no safe way to travel to Venezuela,’ the advisory states, adding that people should avoid traveling to the country by any means.” (12/04/25)
Source: The American Prospect
by Shoaib Mir & Parthu Venkatesh P
“Sitting outside his modest house in India’s eastern state of Bihar, Sudeshwar Singh, 48, scrolls on his smartphone through the recent Global Tuberculosis Report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month to check India’s status. Just eight countries account for 67 percent of global TB cases, according to the report, with India contributing 25 percent of the total, topping the chart. Seeing India leading in global TB disappoints Singh. As the day starts to fade, he puts on a jacket with a ‘Stop TB’ logo, packs a few copies of handbooks and pamphlets in a tote bag, and starts walking toward a nearby village. Singh, himself a TB survivor and a renowned health advocate, has been a guide for a network of TB advocates in the region, working toward a global commitment to end the epidemic by 2030 under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” (12/04/25)
“There were hundreds, then dozens, and then just a few. Now there’s one Israeli hostage left in Gaza: Ran Gvili. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as ‘Rani’, was killed while fighting Hamas militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. After a series of ceasefire-mandated exchanges of hostages for Palestinians held by Israel, Gvili’s body still has not been recovered. His remains are somewhere in Gaza. On Thursday, as Israel woke to the news that remains militants returned the previous day belonged to another hostage, the country mourned Gvili as a hero who died fighting to save a kibbutz that was not his own.” (12/04/25)
“Immigration – both legal and illegal – is a hot topic in Western nations. Governments are taking measures to restrict the flow. And citizens are debating how to maintain a national identity while integrating those bringing different cultures and values. In the United States, the issue has gone from boil to broil in the wake of two recent events – the shooting of two National Guard members (one of whom has died) and revelations of large-scale fraud in the use of Minnesota’s pandemic relief funds. The alleged perpetrators are from communities made up largely of legal immigrants: An Afghan national, who served alongside American troops, has been charged in the shootings, and the large majority of those arrested in the fraud case have Somali roots.” (12/03/25)
“There’s a reason that women like Olivia Nuzzi used to be shunned by polite society in more orderly times. Any woman who sets her sights on a married man is making a deliberate, selfish choice to cause pain to another woman. This is not a sisterly act. Throughout history, women who make enemies of other women are seen as lethal to the tribe’s cohesion and are cast out. That’s the way it was when shame existed, and genteel social norms had replaced stoning or drowning or other horrors the medieval world bestowed on women. But social punishment still exists and is no less brutal than in the days of the crucible. In a form of reverse shunning, Nuzzi is granted the spotlight she craves for a million cold eyes to watch as she preens and gyrates in the special place in hell reserved for women who steal another woman’s husband.” (12/04/25)
“During a Wednesday interview on CNN’s ‘The Lead with Jake Tapper’, Rep. Ilhan Omar [D-MN] appeared to struggle to explain how fraud became ‘so out of control’ in Minnesota after federal officials announced an investigation into an alleged Somali fraud network operating in the state. After being pressed by Tapper to explain how fraud became so rampant within her state, the congresswoman gave a meandering response, attributing the problem to inadequate ‘guardrails’ for COVID relief funds that were subsequently exploited. ‘I think what happened, um, is that, you know, when you have these, kind of new programs that are, um, designed to help people, you’re oftentimes relying on third parties to be able to facilitate. And I just think that a lot of the COVID programs that were set up — they were set up so quickly that a lot of the guardrails did not get created,’ Omar told the host.” (12/04/25)
