1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: Also media. Hey everybody, Robert Evans here, and I wanted 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: to let you know this is a compilation episode. So 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,320 Speaker 1: every episode of the week that just happened is here 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: in one convenient and with somewhat less ads package for 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: you to listen to in a long stretch if you want. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: If you've been listening to the episodes every day this week, 7 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: there's going to be nothing new here for you, but 8 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: you can make your own decisions. 9 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 2: Welcome to it could happen to hear a podcast about 10 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 2: things falling apart and how to put them back together again. 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 2: I am your host, Mia Wong, and today we are 12 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 2: going to be talking about, frankly, the largest and most 13 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 2: raconian trans healthcare band in the country and the unexpected 14 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 2: place that well, I don't know if unexpected is the 15 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 2: right word, but the ignored place that it's come from. 16 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 2: And with me to talk about this band is David Forbes, 17 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 2: who is an editor and a journalist with the Trans 18 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 2: News Network. David, Welcome to the show. 19 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 3: Always good to be here. 20 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 2: I once again back to my I wish I could 21 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 2: have people on the show to talk about like cool 22 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 2: and normal things, but you know, we get that sometimes 23 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 2: this is not one of those stories. 24 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 3: I mean, we're trans journalists and a dying empire, you know. 25 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 2: Let's yeah, So, speaking of bad things happening in dying empires, 26 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 2: do you want to take a sort of to the 27 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 2: start of this healthcare ban and what we're even talking 28 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 2: about here, because it's not a government healthcare band in 29 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 2: the way I think people expect. 30 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 3: No, And that's actually really important to all this story 31 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 3: because a lot of the attention in healthcare bans has 32 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 3: been on governments and occasionally hospitals like secular hospital systems 33 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 3: refusing to revide care because they're scared of the federal government. 34 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 3: So it's been a portrays a fight between governments or 35 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 3: a fight over stuff happening at legislatures. And to be clear, 36 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 3: that's off is absolutely important. 37 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 4: Yeah. 38 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. 39 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 3: However, this ban wasn't put in place by a legislature. 40 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 3: It's not any institution that people have even the facade 41 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 3: of an ability to really influence. On November twelfth, twenty 42 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 3: twenty five, a complete and total trans healthcare ban medications 43 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 3: as well as surgeries adults as well as youth was 44 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 3: put in place throughout every healthcare system run by the 45 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 3: Catholic Church in the US. 46 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and that has not really like I don't know, 47 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 2: like I've talked about it, like we've mentioned it on 48 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 2: the show before. I don't know if I've really seen 49 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 2: any other like systemic, large scale coverage of it. I mean, 50 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,519 Speaker 2: there were like a couple of articles when it came out, 51 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 2: but other than TNN, like this has been almost completely ignored, 52 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 2: even though it is more draconian than any any healthcare 53 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 2: band that has gone into effect anywhere in the country. 54 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 2: It is it's again, as you said this, Yes, this 55 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 2: is a total healthcare band for children and adults. 56 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 3: Yes, and for all types of trans healthcare yeah, for everything. Yeah, 57 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 3: And that's the thing. So I've honestly been a little 58 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 3: surprised by that, even old and cynical as I am. 59 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 3: But TNN, as far as I know, is one of 60 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 3: the only outlets, including a queer and trans media I 61 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 3: won't say the only, but one of the only that 62 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 3: has done ongoing coverage on this, let alone in depth, 63 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 3: extensive what are the roots of this? How did we 64 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 3: get here? Kind of coverage. I've done two articles on it, 65 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 3: and those were in December, so a few weeks after 66 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 3: it passed. We kind of went in detail on what 67 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 3: it meant and the implications of which were and have 68 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 3: proven to be pretty horrifying. And also the Catholic Church 69 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 3: is pretty horrific history as an institution. While individual Catholics 70 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 3: have a as we'll get to, have a wide range 71 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 3: of beliefs, including on trans rights, the institution itself has 72 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 3: always been highly abusive, highly reactionary, an incredibly opposed to 73 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 3: our very existence, and that just hasn't changed as actually escalating. 74 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 3: And then we did one just last week that was 75 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 3: on the actual impact, Like we talked to trans people 76 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 3: around the country who'd encountered the impact of the bishop's 77 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 3: ban as I've heard a few folks call it, and 78 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,559 Speaker 3: I called a few downs myself, and what it means 79 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 3: for their lives in the ground. 80 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,040 Speaker 2: So I guess there's two points we should hit immediately. 81 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 2: One is sort of how this happened, like how this 82 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 2: band sort of came together and was voted on by 83 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 2: like who. And the second one is how many people 84 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 2: this affects, because I think this is the part that's 85 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 2: really been ignored, which is that like Catholic hospitals, it's 86 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 2: not like they're running like ten of these. I mean, 87 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: it would be bad if they were running ten of these. 88 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 2: But this is a significant part of the entire US 89 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 2: healthcare system, Yes, a massive. 90 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:52,480 Speaker 3: Part of it. Yeah, So I think I think that's 91 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 3: very important to kind of touch on. So this was 92 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 3: passed in November at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, 93 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 3: which they have regular meetings and decide policies and stuff, 94 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 3: and it's one of the things, and this is going 95 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 3: to be a recurring theme. And this is the degree 96 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 3: to which I think even people think of themselves as 97 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 3: progressive fairly left have kind of bought hook line and 98 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 3: sinker some of the propaganda. And it is overwhelmingly propaganda 99 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 3: coming out of the Catholic Church since the mid twenty 100 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 3: tens when Pope Francis got in. So you were seeing 101 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 3: from this conference the big news in a lot of 102 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,239 Speaker 3: progressive circles was, oh, well, they made this statement against 103 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 3: the Trump administration immigration. But here's the thing. That was 104 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 3: a statement. Certainly it's better than if they supported ice, 105 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 3: but it was a symbolic step largely. 106 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like they didn't even do like the very baseline thing, 107 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 2: which would be like excommunicating JD. 108 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 3: Vance. 109 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 2: The thing they could do and did it because they're 110 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 2: fucking hours. 111 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, but they didn't even do that. Yes, and we're 112 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 3: going to get back to that and often worse than powers. Yeah. 113 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 3: So at this conference that got most of the headlines, 114 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 3: but they also passed this very draconian anti trans healthcare band. 115 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 3: It passed overwhelmingly. This was not like some narrow victory 116 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 3: by the conservative faction. 117 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 2: No, it was almost everyone. 118 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 3: It passed two oh six to seven. Yeah, Jesus Christ. Interestingly, 119 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 3: it was interesting listening to some of the proceedings of 120 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 3: this which may not be great for mental health, but 121 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 3: was quite informative and one of the one of the 122 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 3: bishops involved, Robert Barron, cited Pope Francis, who was held 123 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 3: out even sadly by some queer media as being this 124 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 3: step forward for queer and trans rights, which I think 125 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 3: was completely a farce, held out his rampant transphobia, which 126 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 3: was always very clear about, and quoted him saying that 127 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 3: viewed the existence of trans people, they used the far 128 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 3: right term gender ideology as and I quote, repugnant to 129 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 3: the Bible and to our tradition. You could not ask 130 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 3: for a more clear statement of hatred and extermination against 131 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 3: trans people. Yeah, I mean, that's it. This is non 132 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 3: institution that you know is slowly but surely getting better. 133 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 3: This institution that outside of the PR is getting worse 134 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 3: yet is digging in on doing real variactionary harm. And 135 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 3: so the effects of that we're pretty devastating and immediate. 136 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:07,159 Speaker 3: I mean, we'll get into some folks who dealt with 137 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 3: stuff later that same month due to this band in 138 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 3: a little bit. But like the Catholic Church's healthcare networks 139 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 3: are massive. By some estimates, one in six one in 140 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 3: seven of all people in the US go through a 141 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 3: Catholic health care system at some point in a given 142 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 3: a year. It doesn't just include a few hospitals and 143 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 3: includes an incredibly sprawling network of clinics and specialists and 144 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 3: doctors practices, plenty of them are not outwardly Catholic. Even 145 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 3: so people maybe going to a practice owner rum of 146 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 3: the Catholic Church and not even be aware of it. 147 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 3: It's also expanding, it's taking over and buying out previously 148 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 3: secular practices. And this is a multifacet problem. Goes along 149 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 3: with cuts in federal aid, It goes along with the 150 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 3: general like capitalist fervor that kind of grips secular healthcres 151 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 3: as well. So if they cut services, the Catholic Church 152 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 3: often buys them up and expands, so it affects everyone 153 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 3: in that everyone who deals with that, and the kind 154 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 3: of tears has never been pro trans remotely. But previously, 155 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 3: prior to this band, there was kind of a hodgepodge 156 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 3: and some local ambiguities, and there were cases that we'll 157 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 3: get into some of them a second, where local pro 158 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 3: trans Catholics are folks working at those networks could and 159 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 3: did provide pretty substantial trans care through like one ambiguity 160 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 3: or loophole or another that just ended all of it. 161 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 3: So throughout that entire network in some states and ones 162 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 3: you wouldn't necessarily think, including the ones like Oregon and 163 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 3: Washington that are ostensibly supposed to have like pretty strict 164 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 3: trans healthcare protections, Catholic hospitals comprise like over a third 165 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 3: of hospital beds, and I think Washington's over forty percent, 166 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 3: So we're talking about of healthcare beds. We're talking about 167 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 3: a substantial part of the American healthcare system. Four and 168 00:08:55,800 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 3: ten of the largest healthcare networks are Catholic. That's how extensive. 169 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,719 Speaker 3: If this was and now trans healthcare is banned and 170 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 3: all of them absolutely. 171 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, And that's something that has an absolutely massive rolling impact, 172 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 2: right because again it's not just that it's like outwardly 173 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 2: Catholic hospitals, and it's something I think you're going to 174 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,680 Speaker 2: talk about more later, but it's also like it's people 175 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 2: who have healthcare plans through like something that's affiliated with 176 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 2: the church. There are all of these ways in which 177 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 2: you know, suddenly just enormous numbers of people had their 178 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 2: healthcare taken away effectively overnight. Because the primary way that 179 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 2: anti trans healthcare oppression has been understood has been for 180 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 2: the state level. And I understand why it's like that 181 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 2: because like a lot of it has been coming from 182 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 2: the state both on this is where you get into 183 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 2: confusing American terminology, but both in terms of the federal 184 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 2: government and the state state level governments. Right, people, there's 185 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 2: been a huge focus on that, but the distribution of 186 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 2: the Catholic health care system is cutting through the lines 187 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 2: of what people sort of have previously assumed to be safe. Yes, 188 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 2: and this is something that is a threat to trans 189 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 2: people effectively everywhere. And it's compounding, as you're talking about earlier, 190 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 2: with the sort of crisis of affordability and coverage because 191 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 2: a lot of these healthcare clinics and hospitals and practices 192 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 2: are the ones that are actually covered by insurance. Yes, 193 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 2: and you can switch to like their secular ones, but 194 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 2: you can't go to them because they're not covered by 195 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:29,920 Speaker 2: your fucking insurance. They're unbelievably expensive. 196 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,319 Speaker 3: And this gets to a reality that goes through a 197 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 3: lot of our coverage, which is that trains people are 198 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 3: an overwhelmingly working class demographic. 199 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. 200 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 3: I don't think that gets sad enough. It doesn't get 201 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 3: picked even in some queer in trans media, but that 202 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 3: is incredibly important here. I began the second story with 203 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 3: an interview that we published with an interview with Beth, 204 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 3: who's a transom in the Midwest and found it nearly 205 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 3: impossible to find healthcare outside of their networks because, like 206 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 3: a lot of trans people, Beth has an ACA plan, 207 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 3: and because the secular networks are a little more expensive, 208 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 3: some cases a lot more expensive, the ACA plans that 209 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 3: are available to most trans people, you know that they 210 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,839 Speaker 3: can remotely afford, don't cover healthcare there, so you kind 211 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:17,319 Speaker 3: of have to and then they don't provide your health 212 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 3: care at all. Yeah, And in that case, this was 213 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 3: someone she'd been going across state borders, which she noticed 214 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 3: kind of wild to get healthcare anyway, to go to 215 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 3: Planned parenthood. Finally thought that she had found a practice 216 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 3: closer to home. Went there before the bishop's ban, like 217 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 3: right before it hit. They'd seemed very welcoming. She knew 218 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 3: other trans people that had gotten a care there before 219 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 3: and everything seemed great. Goes back after the ban and 220 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 3: it's like, oh, I'm sorry, we can't help you. And 221 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 3: this wasn't a practice that was obviously Catholic, you know, 222 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,360 Speaker 3: didn't no giant cruise fixes or anything hanging on it. Yeah, 223 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 3: it was just one that was, oh, it's a doctor's 224 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 3: office some other trans that you have gotten care there. 225 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 3: It beats driving at least an hour each way, if 226 00:11:58,120 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 3: not more. 227 00:11:58,880 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. 228 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 3: Again, when you're working glass, a two hour you know 229 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 3: roundtrip commute is a lot. That's you know, especially with 230 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 3: gas being up more like, that's a lot of money, 231 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 3: and it's strained things even further. And so she had 232 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 3: to go back to traveling across state. But you know, 233 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 3: I think some folks assume and she points out, like, oh, 234 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 3: you just go another provider. You often can't. There's not 235 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 3: that option. 236 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, there isn't one. 237 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:24,960 Speaker 3: Even in some fairly major cities. There is not that 238 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 3: option unless you have a lot more money or healthcare 239 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 3: through a fairly well healed employer, and a lot of us, 240 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 3: don't you know. 241 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 2: This is another one of the problems here, which is 242 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 2: that trans people are overwhelmingly working class. It is one 243 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 2: of the worst demographics at poverty rate of any any 244 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 2: demographic group in the US. Yes, the unemployment levels are 245 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 2: like like this was like totally three back when the 246 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,679 Speaker 2: economy was like working was like nineteen thirty six, great 247 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:51,439 Speaker 2: depression levels. 248 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 3: Yes, incarceration rates, education rates, it's all among the poorest 249 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 3: of the poor. 250 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so all apocalyptically bad. 251 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 3: Yeah. 252 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 2: Then there is the issue, and this is an issue 253 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 2: that we've covered on the show from other lenses, which 254 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 2: is that like, yeah, like we're dealing with these like 255 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 2: large scale waves of hospital closures and the less hospitals 256 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 2: that exist in an area, and particularly in the sort 257 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 2: of working class areas where these people are living, right, 258 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: the more those hospitals close, because those are the ones 259 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 2: that are closing because they're losing a whole bunch of 260 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 2: funding from the government. Yeah, and you know, there's like 261 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:39,200 Speaker 2: there's a series of other economic pressures there. The more 262 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 2: those options disappear, the more reliant people are on on 263 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:46,080 Speaker 2: these Catholic hospitals which have just implemented an adult healthcare band, 264 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,839 Speaker 2: Like the Republicans in Congress aren't pushing that right now, No, 265 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 2: Like I cannot emphatasize how unbelievably draconian and reactionary this is. 266 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 3: Yes, well, and also they're doing it the same time 267 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 3: that you have major progressive media figures, legislators praising the 268 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:11,960 Speaker 3: current pope for uttering some words about universal health care. 269 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 3: They don't practice universal health care, not just with trans people, 270 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 3: but definitely not with trans people. 271 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 2: It's like they have the money too, like they could, yeah, 272 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 2: and they don't. 273 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 5: Like. 274 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 3: There's a story in investigating this that really set out 275 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 3: to me, and it was from a pharmacy intern. Basically, 276 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 3: someone as I'm studying to be a pharmacist and did 277 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 3: a you know, a stint, a training stint in a 278 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 3: Catholic hospital right before the bishop's ban hit and said 279 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 3: that they were doing at least one gender affirming procedure 280 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 3: a week Jesus Christ a week, and that actually, you know, 281 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 3: this was someone who who had dealt with the situ 282 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 3: to the Ford and had not their great experiences and 283 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 3: was actually heading into this, you know, kind of this 284 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 3: twelve week stint, expecting to have to deal with, you know, 285 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 3: the problems of being a transpersonal with a religious institution. 286 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 3: And I actually said, know that this particular hospital, the 287 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 3: folks who worked there were super pro trains, super accepting, 288 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 3: they were actively providing trains care and mentioned even because 289 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 3: it was a moral area and that's that sat alone, 290 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 3: that was you know, a gender firming care procedure most weeks. 291 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 3: Should be a reminder that a lot of trains people 292 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 3: also don't live in major cities. They live in smaller cities, 293 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 3: They live in small towns, rural areas, even by a mile. Actually, 294 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 3: the region of the US with the largest trans population 295 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 3: is the South, and the Midwest is very closely tied 296 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 3: with the West, which includes the West Coast. Per second, 297 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 3: so they mentioned that there's this was a sentiments of 298 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 3: the staff like, look, if you're in La Okay, there's 299 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 3: a bunch of Catholic hostles with a bunch of other 300 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 3: ones too. So the people seeking out Catholic hospitals may 301 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 3: be a bit more conservative there are more likely to 302 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 3: be other alternatives now to healthcare access can be a 303 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 3: problem there too, But in our area, the kind of 304 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 3: staff had a sense, look, if we don't do it, 305 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 3: no one else will. Yeah, and so they didn't be 306 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 3: pretty pro trains. The loophole they used the ambiguit I 307 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 3: guess the art we're gonna use was if an ensure 308 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 3: secular or otherwise said hey, this procedure is necessary, they 309 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 3: didn't question it. And under the previous pre bishops band situation, 310 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 3: there was kind of that bit of that leeway. This 311 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 3: is an example of you know, some of them Catholic 312 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 3: pro trans folks in a royal area actually doing some 313 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 3: real good and then because they kind of maneuvered in 314 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 3: this gray area and this band just completely into that. 315 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. 316 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 3: They also described because they actually had top surgery scheduled 317 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 3: at this same hospital and the band hit and they're 318 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 3: very thankful to the doctor who did you know, surgeries 319 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 3: at that hospital, who intentionally just kind of kept them 320 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 3: on the schedule. 321 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 2: Incredibly incredible. 322 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, but like we need way more of that. But 323 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 3: also it just got a lot more difficult and a 324 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 3: lot more hurdles were placed in the way of that. 325 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 3: So like what was happening just got cut off. 326 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 5: Yeah, And this is. 327 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 2: Also a really a really stificant issue because trans healthcare 328 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 2: is already even before this, you know, like the wait 329 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 2: list for think things like top sers and things like 330 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 2: bottom surgery or sometimes years long, even in places that 331 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 2: have like quote unquote like good healthcare, right like even 332 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 2: in places like Oregon or like yeah, you know, in 333 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 2: places like LA, Like you're dealing with multi year wait 334 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 2: lists to get these procedures, and suddenly like a seventh 335 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 2: of all the people doing this are just gone, and 336 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 2: that just contributes even if you can get. 337 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 3: And someplace is half yeah. 338 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, And the number of people who do these procedures 339 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:29,880 Speaker 2: is so small that if you are looking to get 340 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 2: these procedures, like you can talk to the trans people 341 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 2: in your area and they will know every single doctor 342 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 2: who does it, right, Yes, because there's like three maybe 343 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 2: if you're lucky, there's like three. 344 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 3: Usually there's like one, like even on the HRT front 345 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 3: sometimes and I can speak from experience on this, you know, 346 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,719 Speaker 3: it's often kind of an icebreaker of like, oh, you 347 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 3: know which medical practice is giving you your hr T 348 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 3: down because there's like two maybe three if you're lucky. Yep, 349 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 3: and that's might be for a whole region. Yeah, and 350 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 3: you know, a lot of transform maybe even most live 351 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 3: outside of what you think of the few, you know, 352 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 3: major metropolis. But also there was a while I was 353 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 3: looking into this, there was a case in twenty seventeen, 354 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 3: is before the bishop's ban, where at Catholic Hospital in California, 355 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 3: which on paper at least has fairly strong trans healthcare 356 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 3: protections for the US, where a priest with no medical 357 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:26,199 Speaker 3: experience comes in last minute, veto's the top surgery for 358 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 3: a transman, and they kick him out on the streets, 359 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 3: still on the drugs, the pre surgery drug. 360 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 2: What the fuck Jesus Christ. 361 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 3: He sued them rightly. Yeah, like you know, this is 362 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 3: this is a hospital in your California. We could go 363 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 3: into it a little bit in the story. So like 364 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,959 Speaker 3: that was happening before, but that's not everywhere. Yeah, and 365 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 3: the few cases like the hospital that we mentioned, where 366 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 3: there were folks working around that to still provide some healthcare, 367 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 3: that's probably gone round. I would say it's almost certainly 368 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 3: gone less. Folks are really just breaking the rules, which 369 00:18:58,640 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 3: they should. 370 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, but this is sort of the systemic problem with 371 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 2: having the church hierarchy having control over these healthcare institutions, 372 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 2: which is that even if you are just like in 373 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 2: the institution, trying to do good and you believe on 374 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:14,480 Speaker 2: the right thing, and you're trying to do the right thing, 375 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:20,880 Speaker 2: it doesn't matter, yeah, because suddenly just the hammer can 376 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 2: come down on you from above, and even if you 377 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 2: keep doing it right, there's always just the risk that 378 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 2: they're just going to fire you all. 379 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 3: At best, it is highly precarious. 380 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,159 Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's this really kind of I don't know, 381 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 2: this kind of like brutal demonstration of the reality that 382 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 2: in a hierarchical institution, it kind of doesn't matter what 383 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 2: the people on the bottom believe, because at the stroke 384 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 2: of a pen, two hundred reactionaries who run your fucking 385 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 2: institution can just come in and be like, no, fuck you, 386 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 2: none of you get healthcare. 387 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 4: Yeah. 388 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 3: Well, and not just that, but run a substantial amount 389 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 3: of the entire American health care system. 390 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 4: Yeah. 391 00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, and this is actually why, and this 392 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 3: is a a larger factor. I have survived the literal 393 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,679 Speaker 3: fundamentalist Christian violence when I was when I was younger, 394 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 3: and I think this is actually something we will probably 395 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,639 Speaker 3: get into it a little bit like I've ever gotten 396 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 3: the aversion, especially from queer and trans organizations, to criticize 397 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:16,880 Speaker 3: their distitutions. And didn't always used to be this way, 398 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,879 Speaker 3: but it's definitely been this way, including on this issue, 399 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,920 Speaker 3: because you know, you will look in vain for a 400 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 3: major national organization that's like taking the Catholic Church and 401 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 3: task go for this, yeah once with millions dollars of budgets, 402 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 3: you know, apparently their higher ups they are too busy, 403 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 3: you know, taking first class flights and raking in nearly 404 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 3: a million dollars a year, while trans people can't find jobs, 405 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 3: you know. But like, yeah, so I've never gotten the 406 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 3: aversion because for a lot of us on the ground, 407 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 3: for a lot of us, who are you know, among 408 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 3: the many, many many trans people that are working class 409 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,719 Speaker 3: that live outside some of the like you know, handful 410 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,479 Speaker 3: metropoli that we often get depicted as exclusively living in 411 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 3: fundamentals violence, you know, to be and to be clear 412 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,400 Speaker 3: from plenty of like Protestant evangelicals as well. Yeah, never 413 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,920 Speaker 3: stopped it never stopped being a very serious and real threat. 414 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 3: Their numbers have gone down since the nineties, you know, 415 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,159 Speaker 3: in the early two thousands. Yeah, but it's never stopped 416 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 3: being something you really have to have to account for, 417 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 3: whether it's institutional. Even if it's totally illegal, they'll still 418 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:25,199 Speaker 3: do it like it in California, or literal like street violence, 419 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,680 Speaker 3: literally like people attacking you with weapons. So I think 420 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 3: that's definitely a factor in all this, and I think 421 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 3: it's a sad factor in why folks haven't heard about it. Yeah, 422 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 3: and you know, in some of the stuff I've talked 423 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 3: about before on the show and elsewhere, I've mentioned that 424 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 3: I think that whatever in the intent behind it, the 425 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 3: gay ink, as it were, the structure of you know, 426 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 3: these larger nonprofits which even send down like the local 427 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 3: and state level at some points, and the culture from 428 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 3: them that kind of is more satisfy and more so 429 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,679 Speaker 3: much just kind of dictates a lot of like official 430 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:00,680 Speaker 3: at least queer in trans politics has been a disaster failure. 431 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 3: And I think that's even you know, even more apparent. 432 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 3: Here this is again the largest motorconian trains healthcare in 433 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 3: the US. It's already happened, already in place, and you 434 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,399 Speaker 3: will look in vain for any organizing from the issuations 435 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 3: they're supposed to protect trains rights against it Yeah, there 436 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 3: aren't like big lawsuits being filed. There's not like you know, 437 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,959 Speaker 3: Expass being run. They have far more resources than they are, 438 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 3: you know, worker run newsroom would do a lot with 439 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 3: what we have. We encourage people to support us, but 440 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 3: like they have a lot more resources to make those 441 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,159 Speaker 3: things a large national issue. They have chosen not to, 442 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 3: and a lot of people are going to suffer for that, 443 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 3: are suffering for that. 444 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I should mention too on an actual policy level, 445 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,400 Speaker 2: like a full scale healthcare ban on adult trans healthcare 446 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,200 Speaker 2: is like hideously unpopular. Like there's a reason that Republicans 447 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 2: haven't done it, Yeah, right, because it's not popular. So 448 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,679 Speaker 2: this is this is a winning issue, yes, right, And 449 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 2: they won't fucking take up the fight because they're too. 450 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 3: Busy glazing the papacite. Not just them, I mean progress 451 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 3: of us in general are are lately in the papacy 452 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 3: way too much. 453 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's just this issue that trickles down to 454 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 2: to like the fact that the SBC, right, the Southern 455 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 2: Baptist Convention, the fact that there hasn't been a sort 456 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 2: of broadscale offensive against them, you know, even though they've been. 457 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 3: Like drawing some massive problem. 458 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,159 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, driving those like all of this ship for 459 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 2: fucking ages, and they were like, you know, like there 460 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 2: was a point, like a couple of years ago where 461 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 2: they were genuinely seriously weakened by their series of like 462 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 2: eve general abuse scandals. Yes, and like even though like 463 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 2: these are like the church groups that are also backing 464 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 2: the healthcare bands on the legislative level, there's no sort 465 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 2: of political will to actually go to war with the 466 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 2: right wing churches that are doing this stuff. 467 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 3: Well, so, any this is an interesting difference, and it 468 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 3: relates to what we're just talking about. The sentiments I 469 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 3: hear among trans folks in the ground, you know, working 470 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 3: class trains folks. It's pretty anti clerical, like to put it, 471 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 3: to put it mildly, it tends to be more gentry types, 472 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 3: especially ones more in Scotts's institutions or like you know, 473 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 3: official political culture, the gang stuff we've been mentioning that 474 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 3: have more of this aversion. And I will have to 475 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 3: say it wasn't always this way. I am old enough 476 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:19,920 Speaker 3: to remember when queer organizing taking aim at mocking, even 477 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 3: go directly going the attack against suing definitely religious institutions 478 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,680 Speaker 3: was a pretty common fixture a prominent example, and I 479 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 3: deal with this in the earlier piece as well as 480 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 3: touching on the more recent one was act UPS nineteen 481 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 3: eighty nine stopped the Church Action, which you imagine a 482 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 3: queer or doing an action with that title today, in 483 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,160 Speaker 3: which case they militantly disrupted services to Saint Patrick's Cathedral 484 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,119 Speaker 3: in New York because of the ridiculous homophobia of the 485 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:51,120 Speaker 3: Catholic Church. That's werell in the ation asides. Yeah, and 486 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 3: if there's some video of this that we that we 487 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 3: linked in that first story from act UPS archives, and 488 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 3: I've had the signs hilarious, but there's stuff that you 489 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 3: would immediately see tone placing about even from some trans 490 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 3: queer and trans media today. Yeah, you know, oh, we 491 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:09,000 Speaker 3: shouldn't alienate normies. All this, all that, and no, hey, 492 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 3: there was a big backlash of the time, a huge one. 493 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 3: The President condemned it, you know, the federal officials condemned it, 494 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 3: the Congress critics condemned it. You know, there was this 495 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 3: giant attack. This was unacceptable beyond the pale. It also 496 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 3: worked the Catholics did start backing off their stances because 497 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 3: they didn't want to be attacked more. And I think 498 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 3: it's a good example that stop looking at the damn 499 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:33,200 Speaker 3: poles and just fight them. Yeah, you know, it's generally 500 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 3: a much better approach. And I think I have to say, 501 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 3: I think part of this, as you've seen, especially with 502 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 3: how you know, the co option of some of the 503 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 3: results of equal marriage, when you saw after that era 504 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 3: gay and groups use that to become like the predominant 505 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 3: force and keep a lot of other organizing and queer 506 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:56,200 Speaker 3: and transactivism. You saw this backing away from ever criticizing 507 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 3: religious institutions. I mean, the advocate named Pope Francis in 508 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,120 Speaker 3: twenty thirteen their person of the Year. 509 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, and like this is the guy who said that 510 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 2: she said that gender ideology is more dangerous to the 511 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:07,199 Speaker 2: world than nuclear weapons. 512 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 3: Yes again Yeah, individual Catholics of their own sets of 513 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 3: beliefs and differ. Some are very obviously pro trans, but 514 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,880 Speaker 3: like the institution is very unequivocal on this. It has 515 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,200 Speaker 3: never stopped being that. Yeah, and long time journalist covering 516 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 3: the Catholic Church, you know, caution that. Look, the term 517 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,600 Speaker 3: they used was changing the tone but keeping the same 518 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:41,160 Speaker 3: music for Francis's papacy. Yeah, and Leo is very much 519 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 3: in that now. I think that actually opens up a 520 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 3: weakness because with the you know, revelation of the horrific 521 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 3: levels of serial child abuse within the Catholic Church, with 522 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 3: the you know, atrocities on massive scales involvement indigenous genocide, 523 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 3: with the attacks in the eighties and ninety and two 524 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 3: thousands about their homophobia and the role in the agent 525 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 3: asides as well, like there was actually starting to be 526 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 3: this giant institution despite how higherarchical and an accountablies were 527 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 3: starting to be on the back foot. And you know, 528 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:08,679 Speaker 3: in some places like Ireland, this has led to its 529 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 3: power numbers being like taking a massive hit. So there 530 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 3: was a shift, like any institution, to give a hinder face. 531 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 3: And the depressing thing is that among a lot of 532 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 3: people should know better, it's largely worked. Yeah, and I 533 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 3: really wish it would be less taken it by symbolism. 534 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 3: It's also like the facto with theocrisy, because one of 535 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 3: the people we talked to, Allison, would try to get 536 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,120 Speaker 3: testoster and right off the bishop's ban they're not Catholic, 537 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 3: their doctor isn't Catholic, their pharmacy is not Catholic. Yeah, 538 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,120 Speaker 3: so you'd think, okay, well you should be able to no, no, no. 539 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 3: The insurance that their spouse had was technically provided through 540 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 3: a Catholic health care network, so it took them months 541 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:54,639 Speaker 3: before they finally got the test saster or not, and 542 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 3: so now they have to pay out a pocket for it. 543 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,800 Speaker 3: They can for the time being, but for working class 544 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 3: trains people, that's one more costs on top of everything else, 545 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,399 Speaker 3: and eventually those are costs you often can't bear. So 546 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 3: like that, that's the reality. 547 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, and the realities is unaccountable the deocratic rule. Yeah, 548 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 2: in areas where it's not supposed to be. 549 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 3: Happening exactly well, and potentially any area you know, if 550 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:22,120 Speaker 3: you have a secular practice today delivers you HRT no issue. 551 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 3: It could get bought out by one of these networks tomorrow. Yep. 552 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,440 Speaker 2: Why the fuck do these religious institutions have the ability 553 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,080 Speaker 2: to influence like healthcare at all? 554 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 3: Yeah? 555 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,959 Speaker 2: Right, It's something you would think would be not a 556 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 2: place where someone else's religion can suddenly yeah, and not 557 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 2: even like that person's religion. It's like the religious hierarchy 558 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 2: of a church should not be able to dictate whether 559 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 2: someone gets healthcare. And yet yeah, this goes well beyond 560 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:55,440 Speaker 2: the you know, even supposed power in a secular side 561 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 2: that you know, religiouship have all we can you know, 562 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 2: they can make this pronouncement that applies to those who 563 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 2: believe in that religion or that specific denomination or institution 564 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 2: or whatever. Now this is affecting plenty of people who 565 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 2: have never set foot in a Catholic church, Yeah, who 566 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 2: are remotely Catholic. Even the providers that they're going to 567 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 2: aren't Catholic. 568 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,480 Speaker 3: And this is still happening because that's the kind of 569 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 3: sway and power they have, and it's not been seriously challenged, 570 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 3: including by the liberals and even to me leftists and 571 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,640 Speaker 3: given to the Southern Baptis Convention earlier. It isn't just 572 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 3: the Catholic Church, but because of the sheer scale and 573 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 3: the centralized nature of its hierarchy, they are certainly probably 574 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 3: the single most damaging institution on this front. The SBC 575 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 3: is a problem. While they operate on far too vast 576 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 3: a scale, they don't operate in the scale the Catholic 577 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 3: Church does. 578 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is you know fundamentally, like part of the 579 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 2: issue here is just is just there's a I don't 580 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 2: know if advantage is the right term here, but like 581 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 2: the centralization of the Catholic Church relative to like the 582 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,520 Speaker 2: sort of divided Protestants and nominations allows them to wield 583 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:06,280 Speaker 2: power like collectively in a way that is a lot 584 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 2: harder for something like the SBC where just like it 585 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,480 Speaker 2: just doesn't have the scale that like that that the 586 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 2: Church does and like that the Catholic Church doesn't. Because 587 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:18,240 Speaker 2: the Catholic Church is this large, is able to just 588 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 2: buy out this much of the hospital system. And then 589 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 2: because of the of the top down structures where the 590 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 2: bishops can just go and and vote and do and 591 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 2: implement this stuff. It's a really really really significant problem. Yes, 592 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 2: that is just not being dealt with. This is not 593 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 2: a problem that you can just like snap your fingers 594 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 2: and solve by like running stuff through a state legislature. 595 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 2: Like you actually have to go after the institution. You 596 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 2: have to fight them on their ground. 597 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 3: Yes, And also this is you know, it's it's kind 598 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 3: of what I ended the December piece with. But also 599 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,959 Speaker 3: it's something I have sized in the second one. Anyone 600 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,520 Speaker 3: who wants any kind of liberatory future, regardless of whatever 601 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 3: their personal beliefs are, tight clericalism has to be part 602 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 3: of it. It's not the same against being it's every 603 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 3: individual of a certain religion. It is specifically against this 604 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 3: kind of theocratic hierarchy and its power over people's lives. 605 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 3: You do not get to anything remotely liberatory without directly 606 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 3: attacking and challenging that. And for too long that struggle 607 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 3: has largely been abandoned and not shockingly fundamentalist of various varieties, 608 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 3: and let's be honest, primarily Christian fundamentalists have played a 609 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 3: major role in American fascism and in stripping rights from 610 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 3: entire groups. And it's interesting because you mentioned the Council 611 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 3: bishop beside this, but that's true, but he gets even 612 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 3: more centralized than that, the progressive pope that's getting praised for, 613 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 3: you know, condemning the Iran war, and it's always condemning 614 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 3: or statements or this or that. Yeah, the Catholic Church 615 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,320 Speaker 3: is still kind of an absolute theocratic monarchy in some ways. 616 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,520 Speaker 3: You know, you could just say, hey, American bishops, don't 617 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 3: do that, like I'm overruling you. You do have to 618 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 3: provide trans health care under whatever circumstances are, regually all 619 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 3: of them. He's chosen not to. And if you look 620 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 3: at his history of transphobia before he became pope. Ye, 621 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 3: it's not particularly surprising. 622 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think sort of like the very baseline kind 623 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 2: of anti clerical stance here is like the moment your 624 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 2: religion is able to dictate the behavior of people who 625 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 2: are outside of it. Yes, you have crossed the line 626 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 2: into sort of like into this kind of clerical rule 627 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 2: in ways that I think everyone should be like deeply 628 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 2: opposed to. 629 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 3: Yes, like universally that should be regarded as unacceptable and oppressive. 630 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. And this is what we're dealing with here, which 631 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 2: is that when there isn't this you know, because like 632 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:47,520 Speaker 2: we talk a lot about sort of the separation of 633 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:49,520 Speaker 2: church and state, which has always been kind of a 634 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 2: joke in the US to like a broad extent, right, 635 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 2: But like you know, there are like other spheres that 636 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 2: exist in our lives, right there's you know, like they're 637 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:00,200 Speaker 2: econ always here is there a health scarce sphere? They 638 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 2: were like social spheares, And you know, like the fact 639 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 2: that a church can just be like no, fuck you 640 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 2: and cut off unbelievable numbers of trans people from their 641 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 2: healthcare in a way that even the sort of like 642 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 2: right wing theocrats in office wouldn't be able to do. Yes, 643 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,000 Speaker 2: is something that has to be has to be a 644 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,280 Speaker 2: posed because fuck. 645 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 3: That it does. And I will add while you know, 646 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,920 Speaker 3: obviously and we deal with some of the story of 647 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 3: you know, an example of pro trains folks at a 648 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 3: Catholic hospital in the Cafe hospital, overwhelmingly the staff were 649 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 3: pro trans. Yeah, but I do think and polls, to 650 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 3: the extent that they matter, you know, do show repeatedly 651 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 3: that opinion within Catholics themselves eventually is pretty split on this. 652 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 3: There are the substantial number who are pro trains right, 653 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 3: some pro trans healthcare. I also have to say though 654 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,680 Speaker 3: that at this point I think there is a specific 655 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 3: obligation among them to speak up and act against this loudly. 656 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,440 Speaker 3: And you know, I think the example of the doctor 657 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,520 Speaker 3: who who when people I interviewed, you know, get around 658 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 3: the band to get top surgery. I think that's the minimum, honestly, 659 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 3: like like, okay, if you support trains rights, start here, 660 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 3: because I think pressure from that quarter, as we've seen, 661 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,160 Speaker 3: hits even harder on some of these institutions, you know, 662 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,840 Speaker 3: because while they claimed, you know, be this above everything 663 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:32,440 Speaker 3: kind of hierarchy, we have seen worries about losing numbers 664 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 3: of Catholics being involved in the church has driven their 665 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,680 Speaker 3: decisions before, and more pressure will drive them again potentially, 666 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:43,000 Speaker 3: you know, like, yeah, I think it will. Like what 667 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:46,839 Speaker 3: we've seen pretty clearly just in my lifetime is when 668 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,920 Speaker 3: these institutions are under attack, when folks go on the 669 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 3: offensive against them culturally, you know, socially with direct militon 670 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:58,719 Speaker 3: organizing like Act UP did, then we see some of 671 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,400 Speaker 3: our rights and liberation advance shockingly quickly in some cases 672 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,520 Speaker 3: compared to where they were. And when that is relaxed on, 673 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 3: when they are given space to gather power and plan 674 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:15,239 Speaker 3: and go back on the attack, then things get a 675 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 3: lot worse very quickly. Yeah, this can be fought. The 676 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,799 Speaker 3: first part of fighting it is to talk about it, 677 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 3: to be vocal about, to be loud, and to talk 678 00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:25,839 Speaker 3: about how it is unacceptable. I think, frankly, a lot 679 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 3: of pressure can also be exerted on some of these 680 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,880 Speaker 3: gay ink works, like if they want any donations or 681 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 3: any support, I don't think they should get a lot 682 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:34,879 Speaker 3: of nation supporting. I think there's better places to put it. 683 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,359 Speaker 3: But if they don't want to become pariazed and queer 684 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,239 Speaker 3: in trans communities, that needs to be a message like 685 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:40,839 Speaker 3: you need to fight this. You need to fight this hard, 686 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,799 Speaker 3: need to fight this now, because to do otherwise, I 687 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 3: think it's just an act of unforgivable cowardice and treaties 688 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:49,319 Speaker 3: and new more time to kind of use a metaphor, Yeah, 689 00:35:49,719 --> 00:35:51,759 Speaker 3: but you know, we always end our pieces of T 690 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,359 Speaker 3: ANDN because I think, I mean, there was a joke 691 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:57,400 Speaker 3: about it I saw recently of like it is the 692 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:01,640 Speaker 3: sacred role of trans journalism to you know, unnecessarily scared 693 00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:04,520 Speaker 3: trans people beyond all measure. Yeah, and I think people 694 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,000 Speaker 3: should take that to heart that among like trans folks, 695 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,640 Speaker 3: some trans journalism is getting that. And I've termed these 696 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:13,480 Speaker 3: pieces of panic slop when they're badly sourced exaggerate some things. 697 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:17,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, the day we're recording this, uh, the episode 698 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,000 Speaker 2: came out. So I don't know if like if like 699 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,759 Speaker 2: some other unhinged thing has happened between now and then, 700 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:24,759 Speaker 2: and you're like, wow, why are you not mentioning like 701 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,480 Speaker 2: the public max executions of trans people or some shit 702 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,760 Speaker 2: like I don't not just like paddicts up, Like that's 703 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,920 Speaker 2: why because this is this is being recorded on the 704 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:36,399 Speaker 2: day in which our episode about this dropped. But yeah, yeah, yeah, 705 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:37,720 Speaker 2: like this panic slop shit. 706 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,960 Speaker 3: Is just like, yeah, but it's you know, it's become 707 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,680 Speaker 3: a real problem in some quarters. And yeah, I you know, 708 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,719 Speaker 3: I think kind of it's to be a nerd, like 709 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,839 Speaker 3: any reckoning with conflict, and even like the warfare level 710 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:52,920 Speaker 3: of conflict is always like you have to have acurate information, 711 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 3: you know what actually is a threat, what is not. 712 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,399 Speaker 3: And I think communities under fire, which we're all part of, yeah, 713 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,200 Speaker 3: have to have that even more so, and especially now. 714 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:05,360 Speaker 3: So I tried to exaggerate the very real threats and 715 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:08,280 Speaker 3: the Catholics band is definitely one of them. But also 716 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 3: like people have fought this stuff. They fought the stuff 717 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,360 Speaker 3: even when the odds looked more dire. It can be 718 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 3: fought again, Yeah, like d'reing the age shed of side exactly. 719 00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 3: They fought them in one, yeah exactly, and it can 720 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:20,880 Speaker 3: be fought against again and one. But it has to 721 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 3: be fought and has to be fought hard. 722 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:25,160 Speaker 2: Yeah. But and I think I think the last thing 723 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:26,520 Speaker 2: I want to mention this is something I say a 724 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,800 Speaker 2: lot with union organizing, but like the people in Act 725 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:34,719 Speaker 2: Up who went and fought are just you Yeah, there's 726 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:38,120 Speaker 2: nothing like special about them. They were just people who 727 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:40,879 Speaker 2: were forced to act and who took up the fight 728 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:41,520 Speaker 2: and did it. 729 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,239 Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think that actually kind of can can't 730 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,520 Speaker 3: transmit something that has been seen as a bad trend 731 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,080 Speaker 3: within trans communities. I don't think that always is of 732 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:52,880 Speaker 3: like all transmunities like crucify their heroes too much. They 733 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,160 Speaker 3: pillary people too much. In a lot of cases, if 734 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 3: it's a public figure the Oxer McBride, it has done 735 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,120 Speaker 3: some some really terrible stuff. They're acting out of frankly 736 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,719 Speaker 3: a just sense of grievance. But also I think there 737 00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:08,120 Speaker 3: should be a shift away from individual figures on pedestals, 738 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,560 Speaker 3: from looking to like a set of leaders, you know, 739 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:13,359 Speaker 3: guide everyone else. I think we're at our strongest when 740 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:16,400 Speaker 3: the organizing is coming from everywhere, the fight is coming 741 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,640 Speaker 3: from everywhere. It's not singular figures. And honestly, I think 742 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:23,200 Speaker 3: pedestals are bad for everyone involved. But you know, and 743 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,160 Speaker 3: doesn't exact what you're saying, Like people can start acting now, 744 00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:28,000 Speaker 3: they don't need to, you know. Certainly, I think it's 745 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 3: good to pressure large organizations and figures with power, partly 746 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:32,879 Speaker 3: because I think give people's sense of empowerment as well 747 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,000 Speaker 3: as occasionally fear works and they can see and you know, 748 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 3: something improves a little bit, or something worse as avoided, 749 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,359 Speaker 3: but also just for like it's just us, y'all, you know, like, yeah, 750 00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:45,120 Speaker 3: that's what's going to have to solve this. 751 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 2: And that is why we start. I don't know, I 752 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:51,279 Speaker 2: don't have a percentage on the episodes that we start 753 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:54,360 Speaker 2: with things falling apart, but also putting them back together 754 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,719 Speaker 2: again because we can and we can make it better. 755 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,920 Speaker 3: They're building something better entirely. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, And on 756 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:05,600 Speaker 3: that note, if people want to support trans News Network, 757 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 3: they can find out how to do so at Transnews 758 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:13,040 Speaker 3: dot Network. We are a worker run nonprofit and kind 759 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,040 Speaker 3: of trying to set a model for trans media that's 760 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:19,160 Speaker 3: in depth and hard hitting and unrepentently radical, but that 761 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,720 Speaker 3: also is you know, goes in depth and investigates stuff 762 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,040 Speaker 3: and gives an accurate picture of what's going on, the 763 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:27,640 Speaker 3: threats but also real victories. 764 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, and the best reporting on us is going to 765 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:34,920 Speaker 2: be done by us. Yes, so you can help make 766 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:38,400 Speaker 2: the possible. We appreciate any support we get. We do 767 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:42,160 Speaker 2: a stunning amount on a fairly shoe string budget. Yeah, 768 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:42,800 Speaker 2: it's unreal. 769 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate that comple of it, but yeah, It's 770 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 3: an awesome crew of people. I am incredibly fortunate to 771 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,080 Speaker 3: work with all of them. Yeah, and actually shout out 772 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:55,600 Speaker 3: to my head Myralizene, who did a great job of 773 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 3: going through this piece and also has done some incredible coverage. 774 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,360 Speaker 3: But yeah, everyone who worked ten and I'm really fortunate 775 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:03,920 Speaker 3: to work with. And you know, this is trying to 776 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,920 Speaker 3: set kind of an alternative in trans journalism that is 777 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,239 Speaker 3: worker run and is underpent to hell. 778 00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:13,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, you too can go to war with the bureaucrats 779 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:16,480 Speaker 2: and the theocrats and the politicians who are trying to 780 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:17,360 Speaker 2: destroy your life. 781 00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:34,719 Speaker 4: Indeed, woman life freedom. Such was the slogan of the 782 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,399 Speaker 4: women's movement considered key to the project of the Democratic 783 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:44,000 Speaker 4: Autuonamous Administration of North and East Syria or soon as Rajafa. 784 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:50,400 Speaker 4: Though originating in the Kurdish liberation struggle, the project quickly 785 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:56,680 Speaker 4: became polyethnic Syrians, Arabs, Armenians, Czds and other groups involved 786 00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:59,839 Speaker 4: in that project, and in fact, the internationally recognized name 787 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:02,600 Speaker 4: or Java has fallen out of use by the project's 788 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:07,160 Speaker 4: administration in an effort to de ethnicize the project. I'm 789 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:10,360 Speaker 4: going to keep using Rejava simply because it's quicker to 790 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:17,200 Speaker 4: say than DAA nes so then yes or any other combination, 791 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:21,960 Speaker 4: but just wanted to put that disclaimer of in the beginning. 792 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:24,920 Speaker 4: So in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, the 793 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:28,799 Speaker 4: region gained its de facto autonomy in twenty twelve and 794 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:32,759 Speaker 4: pursued a somewhat unique political experiment for crassroots governance and 795 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:37,920 Speaker 4: social legal reforms that have attracted significant international fever and support. 796 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:43,120 Speaker 4: Do not recognize internationally as autonomous except by the Catalan 797 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:47,480 Speaker 4: Parliament for obvious reasons. For the past decade plus, the 798 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,200 Speaker 4: people in the region have fought fiercely for independence from 799 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:55,680 Speaker 4: ISIS patriarchy, Turkish incursions, and other Syrian opposition groups, but 800 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,200 Speaker 4: recent events led to the newly minted Assyrian government having 801 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:04,480 Speaker 4: seriously jeopardized the autonomy of the project. Welcome, take it 802 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:08,759 Speaker 4: happen here. I'm Andrew's age also Androism on YouTube and 803 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:10,040 Speaker 4: I'm joined once again. 804 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:11,319 Speaker 5: It's me. 805 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:13,799 Speaker 4: It's James, Yes, and I had to talk to you 806 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,799 Speaker 4: about this because I know that you have contacts there, 807 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:20,040 Speaker 4: you have experience with that project, with the people involved, 808 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 4: and yeah, we're here to discuss the feat of Rajava. 809 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm always excited to talk about Rajava and I 810 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:30,200 Speaker 5: think it's super important that we talk about it right now, Like, yeah, 811 00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:33,520 Speaker 5: there's a lot of bad stuff happening currently, but this 812 00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:37,399 Speaker 5: is really bad. Like in Rajava, we had the opportunity 813 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:43,120 Speaker 5: to see people living without gods or masters, people building 814 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:47,200 Speaker 5: democracy without the state. We had the opportunity to and 815 00:42:47,239 --> 00:42:49,960 Speaker 5: we have the opportunity, right, So Rashava's not gone, But 816 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:53,080 Speaker 5: like anarchism didn't have to be like an ideological construct 817 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:56,120 Speaker 5: that only exists in our little punk hows it's it 818 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,760 Speaker 5: existed in it in an area where millions of people lived. 819 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:02,879 Speaker 5: And yes, but we should talk about how we can 820 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,120 Speaker 5: be in solidarity with him in this very difficult time 821 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:06,160 Speaker 5: right right. 822 00:43:06,719 --> 00:43:08,880 Speaker 4: In fact, as we're on that topic, I think it's 823 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:12,360 Speaker 4: useful to have a brief explanation of the history and 824 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,879 Speaker 4: ideology behind the Java project before we talk about what's 825 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:21,120 Speaker 4: happened most recently. Yeah, So in brief, the project really 826 00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:26,640 Speaker 4: began into Oky, where the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK 827 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,239 Speaker 4: was banned and some of its supporters moved to Syria 828 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,920 Speaker 4: and founded the Democratic Union Party or PYD. Now this 829 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:37,120 Speaker 4: party shared an ideological foundation with the PKK and its 830 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:41,400 Speaker 4: founder Abdullah o Chilan, with the ideology of democratic confederalism, 831 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:45,160 Speaker 4: which alex plain in a second Brajava came into being 832 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:49,239 Speaker 4: following the Arab Spring of twenty eleven as various factions 833 00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:52,480 Speaker 4: of Syrians rose up against President Bashar al Asad, and 834 00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:56,040 Speaker 4: in such a climate of conflict, ISIS rose to prominence 835 00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:58,799 Speaker 4: to threaten the region as a whole. So Alasad was 836 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:01,920 Speaker 4: dealing with other opposition group in Damascus, he withdrew forces 837 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,120 Speaker 4: from North Syria, which left the region vulnerable to ISIS 838 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,200 Speaker 4: and to key Kurdish groups in North Syria. Then formed 839 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:11,040 Speaker 4: the Kurdish National Council to secure the area, but after 840 00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:14,319 Speaker 4: an ideological split, the project of Rajava would emerge as 841 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:18,480 Speaker 4: a polyethnic polity composed of the cantons of Afrin, Jazira, 842 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:22,800 Speaker 4: and Kubani. The PID operates Java within a political coalition 843 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:27,239 Speaker 4: called the Syrian Democratic Council or SDC. The IPG or 844 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:30,880 Speaker 4: People's Defense Units and the YPG or Women's Defense Units 845 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,319 Speaker 4: are the paramilitaries forming the bulk of the political assemblies 846 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:38,240 Speaker 4: and military coalition, which is called the Syrian Democratic Forces 847 00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:41,799 Speaker 4: or SDF. I know, it's a lot of acronyms being 848 00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:42,759 Speaker 4: thrown at you at once. 849 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:47,279 Speaker 5: Yeah's alphabet too. I think until relatively recently, the bulk 850 00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:51,200 Speaker 5: of the sdf's forces were Arab. You have ideological groups 851 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:54,240 Speaker 5: that are allied, right than Northern Democratic Front JI Shelter 852 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:57,160 Speaker 5: War at one point, and then you have these groups 853 00:44:57,200 --> 00:45:01,360 Speaker 5: which are more tribally based. Those groups had allied to 854 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,719 Speaker 5: the SDF to fight the Islamic State, right, Yes, yeah, 855 00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:07,520 Speaker 5: they always want to push back on it being a majority, 856 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:10,200 Speaker 5: but it's now. But that's that's that's a creation of 857 00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:12,960 Speaker 5: the last eight weeks. 858 00:45:12,640 --> 00:45:16,720 Speaker 4: Right, Okay. I remember reading that they were the WIPEPG 859 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:19,600 Speaker 4: were forming a good chunk of the SDF. I suppose 860 00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:22,680 Speaker 4: that was more recent information that I had seen then. 861 00:45:23,239 --> 00:45:25,360 Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it probably would have been or like 862 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:29,560 Speaker 5: you will see that published in broadsheet newspapers and have 863 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:32,600 Speaker 5: done for decades. Like it just wrong. But there was 864 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:36,399 Speaker 5: this tendency in the I guess the Western press, right, 865 00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:39,919 Speaker 5: and some of this is somewhat orientalist in a way, 866 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:43,000 Speaker 5: Like they referred to the SDF as the Kurds because 867 00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:47,000 Speaker 5: Kurds were somehow seen as closer to European people than Arabs, 868 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:50,440 Speaker 5: and like it attempted to sort of I guess, to 869 00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:53,319 Speaker 5: make it more palatable to an audience. 870 00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:56,640 Speaker 4: Right, a kind of a racial elevation of some kind. 871 00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,919 Speaker 5: Yeah, and I think the friends, we can talk about 872 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:03,319 Speaker 5: friends versus whatever else. Slater, but would push back on that. 873 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:07,200 Speaker 5: They would tell you the SDF was majority Arabs certainly 874 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:08,960 Speaker 5: at the time it fort the Islamic state, and of 875 00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:13,400 Speaker 5: course there were Assyrians and Armenians and your CDs and 876 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,320 Speaker 5: international volunteers as well. 877 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:19,320 Speaker 4: For sure. For sure. So you had these Syrian Democratic 878 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:23,560 Speaker 4: Councils or the STC, led primarily by the PID right. 879 00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:26,440 Speaker 4: They were taking on the task of both fights and 880 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:30,520 Speaker 4: the Islamists while engaged in an ideological project to bring 881 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:36,120 Speaker 4: democratic confederalism into practice in North Syria. So, democratic confederalism 882 00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:40,520 Speaker 4: is a transitional political movement that tries to move beyond 883 00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:45,480 Speaker 4: the nation state by refusing to seize state power. Instead 884 00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:50,200 Speaker 4: of organizing society through the state, they seek to organize 885 00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:54,319 Speaker 4: society through local assemblies that manage their own affairs while 886 00:46:54,360 --> 00:47:00,200 Speaker 4: coordinating action through confederations. Democratic and federalism emphasizes pluralism, more 887 00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:05,520 Speaker 4: nationalism and secularism, or for religious government and restorative justice, 888 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:12,400 Speaker 4: gender liberation, ecological sustainability, cooperative and communal economic forms. Democratic 889 00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:17,040 Speaker 4: and feralism was seen as is seen as a pragmatic 890 00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:21,560 Speaker 4: way of building collective self organization within the purview of 891 00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:27,160 Speaker 4: the existing dominant state model of the world while gradually 892 00:47:27,239 --> 00:47:31,880 Speaker 4: undermining its authority. Now, the gender liberation component in particular 893 00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:34,400 Speaker 4: has received a lot of international attention thanks to the 894 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:38,240 Speaker 4: pewide's efforts to put it into practice. They established gender 895 00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:42,000 Speaker 4: party quotas in all administrative, political and decision making bodies 896 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:46,000 Speaker 4: and leadership roles. They established women's councils to address women's issues. 897 00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:49,759 Speaker 4: They established the Women's Protection Units or YPG, which is 898 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:53,440 Speaker 4: an all female army which is very popular. And they 899 00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:57,479 Speaker 4: established laws to ban honor killings and child marriage while 900 00:47:57,520 --> 00:48:01,239 Speaker 4: strengthening the divorce rights of women. So these efforts and 901 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:04,920 Speaker 4: others within Ora Java have gotten a worldwide admiration for 902 00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:08,560 Speaker 4: the project, and many international volunteers have visited Rajawa to 903 00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:10,600 Speaker 4: help them fight. And if you're in a lot of 904 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:13,600 Speaker 4: online anarchist circles, you've probably heard a lot about Java 905 00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:17,800 Speaker 4: and solidarity with deliberation, but I think it has created 906 00:48:17,840 --> 00:48:22,080 Speaker 4: a misconception that the solidarity that anarchists feels for Java 907 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:27,719 Speaker 4: is equivalent to one to one ideological alignment yeah, right, 908 00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:31,399 Speaker 4: what they're doing is not anarchism, it's kind of its 909 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:34,600 Speaker 4: own thing. It's democratic confederalism. Yeah, and this has been 910 00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:37,200 Speaker 4: a bandit in solidarity to the people, of course, but 911 00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:39,920 Speaker 4: it just means, you know, being clear that we are 912 00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,839 Speaker 4: fighting for a will in which many rules exist, and 913 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:47,120 Speaker 4: so are they, and we are just willing to stand 914 00:48:47,160 --> 00:48:50,759 Speaker 4: with and observe that project and you know, wish for 915 00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:52,880 Speaker 4: the best and hopefully the best and see what comes 916 00:48:52,880 --> 00:48:53,120 Speaker 4: of it. 917 00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:57,480 Speaker 5: Yeah, there are anarchist formations within the SDF right technosy analysis. 918 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:01,680 Speaker 5: It means anarchists struggle. It's like a more doctrinally anarchist formation. 919 00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:05,759 Speaker 5: And like the way that they would phrase their like 920 00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:09,960 Speaker 5: participation is that they are there in solidarity, right, and 921 00:49:10,200 --> 00:49:12,239 Speaker 5: like you say, we want a world where many worlds 922 00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:15,439 Speaker 5: can exist, and so they can offer and like if 923 00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:18,120 Speaker 5: you go to Rijava, people will ask you to offer 924 00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:22,520 Speaker 5: feedback right at the Curtish Worlds Techno report of feedback. 925 00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:28,600 Speaker 5: They are willing to hear an anarchist critique and engage 926 00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:31,400 Speaker 5: with it. That doesn't mean that they are anarchists, but 927 00:49:31,880 --> 00:49:35,279 Speaker 5: it doesn't mean that they are like opposed to anarchists either. 928 00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:39,439 Speaker 4: They're more willing to engage with anarchism than most Yeah, then. 929 00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:42,800 Speaker 5: Almost anywhere else have been in the world, maybe aside 930 00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:47,160 Speaker 5: from Myanmar, but yeah, they will engage with and have 931 00:49:47,239 --> 00:49:50,600 Speaker 5: these discussions, and they're on an ideological journey, right that 932 00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:54,879 Speaker 5: the movement began within what they would call the nation 933 00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:56,160 Speaker 5: to state paradigm. 934 00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:59,279 Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean the PKK was originally Marxist. 935 00:49:58,960 --> 00:50:03,440 Speaker 5: Lends and olger Land thinking has very much been like 936 00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:07,680 Speaker 5: his journey has led the movement on a political philosophy journey, 937 00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:10,400 Speaker 5: I guess, and there are different interpretations of different movements 938 00:50:10,440 --> 00:50:13,319 Speaker 5: in different parts of Kurdistan that the draw on his 939 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:17,880 Speaker 5: political philosophy. But as his thinking while he was detained 940 00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:23,239 Speaker 5: in Turkey moved towards this democratic confederalist outlook, influenced about 941 00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:27,840 Speaker 5: reading Marie Bookchin among others, the movement also moved and 942 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:32,080 Speaker 5: I think it was very well placed when the Assatist 943 00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:37,080 Speaker 5: state withdrew to try and implement this, like you've mentioned 944 00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:40,360 Speaker 5: right self government, the brotherhood of people's, all these things, 945 00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:44,680 Speaker 5: but it wasn't always there, and it has been willing 946 00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:47,280 Speaker 5: to change and willing to move its ideology over time. 947 00:50:47,760 --> 00:50:51,400 Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, I mean that's the thing we want to 948 00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:54,879 Speaker 4: look at people and projects and judge based on where 949 00:50:54,920 --> 00:50:59,720 Speaker 4: we are in our position and our ideological alignment. Because 950 00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:03,560 Speaker 4: one of us necessarily started off as anarchists, right and 951 00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:06,680 Speaker 4: while we may wish that as an anarchist, I would 952 00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:09,319 Speaker 4: wish that, you know, these projects would move closer to 953 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:13,560 Speaker 4: anarchy and would pursue and explore an experiment with that 954 00:51:14,440 --> 00:51:18,719 Speaker 4: ideal and that idea. Everybody's on their own journey, and 955 00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:24,160 Speaker 4: you know, at this stage in capitalist global dominance and 956 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:28,240 Speaker 4: status global dominance, we have to let whatever experiments exist 957 00:51:28,840 --> 00:51:31,359 Speaker 4: or explore the different angles. You know, there's not one 958 00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:35,480 Speaker 4: right way quite yet or they may never be, you know. 959 00:51:35,600 --> 00:51:39,080 Speaker 4: As one on the topic of disclaimers, I suppose I 960 00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:41,480 Speaker 4: think it is important to address that, you know, the 961 00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:44,960 Speaker 4: SDF is not all sunshine and ruses. You know, there 962 00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:48,960 Speaker 4: have been allegations of war crimes, including the recruitment of children, 963 00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:53,960 Speaker 4: and the allegations are forced to target a displacement. Now, 964 00:51:54,239 --> 00:51:57,879 Speaker 4: not all of these allegations have been conclusively verified, and 965 00:51:57,920 --> 00:51:59,800 Speaker 4: there are a lot of actors have been involved in 966 00:52:00,280 --> 00:52:02,560 Speaker 4: over the years that I push in narratives and common 967 00:52:02,560 --> 00:52:04,799 Speaker 4: to narratives that have to be scrutinized on a case 968 00:52:04,840 --> 00:52:08,000 Speaker 4: by case basis. Some of the war crime allegations, for example, 969 00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:12,320 Speaker 4: have been made by Turkey, which is pretty suspect considering 970 00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:16,880 Speaker 4: their track record of both hostility towards Rajava and Ni 971 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:21,319 Speaker 4: Kurdish autonomy, and also their practice of war crimes on 972 00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:24,800 Speaker 4: a cell a regular basis. Yeah themselves, you know. Yeah, 973 00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:27,400 Speaker 4: but still hypocrisy has said, I think it is important 974 00:52:27,440 --> 00:52:29,640 Speaker 4: to not turn a blind eye to these kinds of 975 00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:32,400 Speaker 4: problems and allegations when they are made. 976 00:52:32,800 --> 00:52:35,600 Speaker 5: Yeah, I totally agreed. Like, if people are being compelled 977 00:52:35,640 --> 00:52:38,640 Speaker 5: to do things through violence, that is what the state is, right, 978 00:52:38,719 --> 00:52:41,799 Speaker 5: and that is what we want to stop. And so 979 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:43,919 Speaker 5: if that is happening, then we should condemn it, right, 980 00:52:43,960 --> 00:52:47,320 Speaker 5: be that where they're being compelled to fight or compelled 981 00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:50,680 Speaker 5: to leave their homes, Like that is a thing that 982 00:52:50,719 --> 00:52:53,319 Speaker 5: we are opposed to inherently, right, and it doesn't matter 983 00:52:53,360 --> 00:52:56,040 Speaker 5: who's doing it is the action itself is something that 984 00:52:56,080 --> 00:53:00,680 Speaker 5: we are opposed to. And yeah, we should again, like 985 00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:04,080 Speaker 5: we should look at this like not through like roase 986 00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:05,360 Speaker 5: To I know talk a lot about this, but I 987 00:53:05,400 --> 00:53:08,480 Speaker 5: translated a piece from French a couple of years ago 988 00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:11,080 Speaker 5: from an anarchist who had fought in Spain, and it's 989 00:53:11,080 --> 00:53:14,160 Speaker 5: called refuting the legend, and the main thesis of the 990 00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:16,479 Speaker 5: piece was that we should engage with the Spanish Civil 991 00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:19,280 Speaker 5: War as it was not as we wished it to be. Yeah, 992 00:53:19,320 --> 00:53:21,200 Speaker 5: and that way we could learn from it and and 993 00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:25,040 Speaker 5: get better as opposed to just creating a hagiography and 994 00:53:25,120 --> 00:53:30,120 Speaker 5: like a you know, like saints' lives, and same applies. 995 00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:32,640 Speaker 4: Here, I think, yeah, because the anarchists ferments have been 996 00:53:32,840 --> 00:53:35,640 Speaker 4: you know, few and far between. Unfortunately the major experiments, 997 00:53:35,640 --> 00:53:39,080 Speaker 4: that is, the massive ones, the ones that make historical headlines. 998 00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:42,200 Speaker 4: And I think there is a temptation to, as you say, 999 00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:47,560 Speaker 4: in constructor a hagiography, to glorify and venerate these these attempts. 1000 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:49,600 Speaker 4: I think it's very important for us we treat them. 1001 00:53:49,640 --> 00:53:53,840 Speaker 4: It's scrutiny, you know, to hould them up to certain standards, 1002 00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:57,360 Speaker 4: and to evaluate their missteps, and to highlight their missteps 1003 00:53:57,400 --> 00:54:00,200 Speaker 4: even more than we highlight thiss successors, because I see 1004 00:54:00,200 --> 00:54:02,279 Speaker 4: when we were going to succeed in the future. So 1005 00:54:02,320 --> 00:54:05,920 Speaker 4: if we were willing to address and engage with those mystiques. 1006 00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:09,279 Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, I think on that point, the way that 1007 00:54:09,360 --> 00:54:11,480 Speaker 5: I see what's happening in Rojabre is not in a 1008 00:54:11,520 --> 00:54:17,560 Speaker 5: monolithic way. Their are tendencies and organizations within the revolution, right. 1009 00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:22,480 Speaker 5: There are some who are probably operating in a paradigm 1010 00:54:22,480 --> 00:54:26,120 Speaker 5: that is not that far from the like ethno nationalist 1011 00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:30,640 Speaker 5: or kind of nationalist Marxist paradigm. There are some that 1012 00:54:30,760 --> 00:54:35,920 Speaker 5: are operating closer to an anarchist paradigm. There are some 1013 00:54:36,120 --> 00:54:39,200 Speaker 5: who are somewhere in between those two things, right, And 1014 00:54:39,239 --> 00:54:41,879 Speaker 5: there are some who would just want the Islamic state 1015 00:54:42,080 --> 00:54:45,719 Speaker 5: or the New Syrian state or the Assadist state to 1016 00:54:45,719 --> 00:54:47,400 Speaker 5: go away and leave them alone. And that's why they 1017 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:52,120 Speaker 5: picked up arms, and that's what they're fighting for. And like, yeah, again, right, 1018 00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:54,919 Speaker 5: we shouldn't. We should be suspicious of a movement which 1019 00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:58,920 Speaker 5: is entirely homogeneous. We should be concerned. But I have 1020 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:02,360 Speaker 5: concerns about the way some dissenting voices have been treated 1021 00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:05,080 Speaker 5: in the A n E s in the past year. 1022 00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:08,920 Speaker 5: We should raise those concerns. But like it would be 1023 00:55:09,239 --> 00:55:11,360 Speaker 5: inaccurate inter view this movement as a monolith. 1024 00:55:11,920 --> 00:55:14,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, And that's the thing. It's simple, and tour 1025 00:55:14,360 --> 00:55:17,880 Speaker 4: is concerned. It's it's sad that this phrase has been 1026 00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:21,680 Speaker 4: vastardized because it's a useful phrase, right, that is, you know, 1027 00:55:22,040 --> 00:55:28,200 Speaker 4: critical support, yeah, or critical solidarity. It's been taken by 1028 00:55:28,640 --> 00:55:34,799 Speaker 4: certain Internet actors to you know, to propagate apology yeah, 1029 00:55:35,120 --> 00:55:43,160 Speaker 4: for atrocities and the reasure of state violence. But it 1030 00:55:43,239 --> 00:55:47,160 Speaker 4: is a useful way of I think freemen, the way 1031 00:55:47,160 --> 00:55:50,840 Speaker 4: we should engage these projects. That solidarity doesn't imply that 1032 00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:55,080 Speaker 4: you keep your aull shut, that you don't seek to learn, 1033 00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:58,600 Speaker 4: that you don't respectfully criticize. That is, I think the 1034 00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:01,880 Speaker 4: best way to engage these projecs not to you know, 1035 00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:04,800 Speaker 4: close your eyes and just follow. 1036 00:56:05,280 --> 00:56:06,239 Speaker 5: Yeah. Absolutely. 1037 00:56:16,800 --> 00:56:19,040 Speaker 4: Getting back to I suppose what's been happening more recently, 1038 00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:22,759 Speaker 4: things have not been easy for the movement really since 1039 00:56:22,760 --> 00:56:26,040 Speaker 4: the beginning in twenty twelve. It has for a long 1040 00:56:26,080 --> 00:56:29,280 Speaker 4: time been caught in a web of conflicting and conversion interests. 1041 00:56:29,640 --> 00:56:32,200 Speaker 4: In addition to fight Genisis and not the Giadist groups, 1042 00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:35,120 Speaker 4: Rajava managed to receive back in from the US out 1043 00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:38,840 Speaker 4: of a coincidence of interests and tactical necessity, as I 1044 00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:41,960 Speaker 4: would put it, which is confused in some circles of 1045 00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:45,839 Speaker 4: the idea that Rajava is a US designed puppet through 1046 00:56:45,840 --> 00:56:50,080 Speaker 4: and through right. So, after the SDF liberated Raka, they 1047 00:56:50,120 --> 00:56:53,080 Speaker 4: began taking more heat from two Key, which saw the 1048 00:56:53,239 --> 00:56:57,320 Speaker 4: YPG as inseparable from the PKK and thus a threat. Remember, 1049 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:01,439 Speaker 4: the YPG is the defensive army, the protective services rather 1050 00:57:01,880 --> 00:57:07,120 Speaker 4: and the PKK is the Kurdish party in Turkey. So 1051 00:57:07,239 --> 00:57:10,520 Speaker 4: they launched several military operations to prevent the Kurdish regions 1052 00:57:10,520 --> 00:57:14,719 Speaker 4: from linking up and having territorial continuity within Syria. At 1053 00:57:14,719 --> 00:57:19,080 Speaker 4: the same time, Rojava faced economic blockades, restricted movement, and 1054 00:57:19,120 --> 00:57:22,600 Speaker 4: strained relations with their fellow Kurdish political groups in Iraq 1055 00:57:22,880 --> 00:57:25,560 Speaker 4: that were aligned with Turkey and aligned with the PYD's 1056 00:57:25,640 --> 00:57:30,360 Speaker 4: political rivals, which had lost influence since the establishment of Rajava. 1057 00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:33,000 Speaker 4: Then you also had the occasional alignments with Russia as 1058 00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:36,800 Speaker 4: a strategic leverage against Turkey, and similar coincidences of interest 1059 00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:40,240 Speaker 4: with the governments of Iraq and Iran, and even cooperation 1060 00:57:40,360 --> 00:57:44,160 Speaker 4: between Rojava and Asad government. It's interesting to me that 1061 00:57:44,200 --> 00:57:47,160 Speaker 4: the US alignment is what receives the most attention, when 1062 00:57:47,200 --> 00:57:50,200 Speaker 4: it seems to me the Rajava had quite a roster of 1063 00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:55,360 Speaker 4: affiliations of convenience, not to say that those partnerships or 1064 00:57:55,400 --> 00:58:00,240 Speaker 4: affiliations necessarily benefit them in the long run, but it's 1065 00:58:00,240 --> 00:58:04,480 Speaker 4: important to police those affiliations in context. Rajava has been 1066 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:08,640 Speaker 4: seen and treated as a chess piece essentially by both 1067 00:58:08,880 --> 00:58:12,800 Speaker 4: global and regional powers as they attempt to put out 1068 00:58:12,840 --> 00:58:16,360 Speaker 4: a voice of their own and echoed their own autonomy. So, 1069 00:58:16,920 --> 00:58:21,520 Speaker 4: just before the twenty nineteen Turkish invasion, the US abandoned 1070 00:58:21,560 --> 00:58:27,480 Speaker 4: Rajava entirely, withdrawing its troops and suddenly leading into the 1071 00:58:27,520 --> 00:58:32,320 Speaker 4: tragic fall of several settlements to Turkey and Diggish aligned groups. 1072 00:58:32,840 --> 00:58:35,600 Speaker 4: Whether that moved with a draw or also raised the 1073 00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:39,760 Speaker 4: international profile of the Rajava struggle, as people on both 1074 00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:44,480 Speaker 4: sides of book spectrum were pointing out this American decision 1075 00:58:45,000 --> 00:58:49,360 Speaker 4: to abandon its allies in the Middle East. So, before 1076 00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:51,200 Speaker 4: we get to the fall of US SAD, is there 1077 00:58:51,240 --> 00:58:53,600 Speaker 4: anything critical did you say I missed? 1078 00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:56,280 Speaker 5: I do a pretty good storary. I've written, literally written 1079 00:58:56,280 --> 00:58:58,520 Speaker 5: a book about this, so I like, there's always things 1080 00:58:58,520 --> 00:59:01,680 Speaker 5: I want to say. I was there during a time 1081 00:59:01,680 --> 00:59:04,760 Speaker 5: when Turkey was bombing. In addition to going to report 1082 00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:07,480 Speaker 5: on them, I just saw places as I was going 1083 00:59:07,520 --> 00:59:09,400 Speaker 5: about my day to day life that had been bombed 1084 00:59:09,400 --> 00:59:13,120 Speaker 5: the night before. Right, I think there's this misapprehension that 1085 00:59:13,240 --> 00:59:17,120 Speaker 5: America is by America. I'm amuseneting correctly, the United States 1086 00:59:17,280 --> 00:59:22,960 Speaker 5: is allied with the PYD. That's not the case. The 1087 00:59:23,120 --> 00:59:27,440 Speaker 5: SDF was the US partner for specifically in what's called 1088 00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:31,560 Speaker 5: Operation Inherent Resolve, which is the operation against the Islamic State. Right, 1089 00:59:32,200 --> 00:59:34,080 Speaker 5: while I was there, the US shot down a Turkish 1090 00:59:34,160 --> 00:59:37,680 Speaker 5: drone because it flew too close to their bases. They 1091 00:59:37,720 --> 00:59:40,600 Speaker 5: also didn't shoot down the dozens of other Turkish drones 1092 00:59:40,640 --> 00:59:44,160 Speaker 5: that killed little children while I was there, right, And 1093 00:59:44,200 --> 00:59:47,880 Speaker 5: I don't think anyone would reasonably expect them to because 1094 00:59:48,680 --> 00:59:53,160 Speaker 5: US was not there in solidarity with the revolution. It 1095 00:59:53,320 --> 00:59:56,840 Speaker 5: was there fighting alongside them in this one specific thing. 1096 00:59:57,480 --> 01:00:00,280 Speaker 5: And while that doesn't take away the fact that it 1097 01:00:00,320 --> 01:00:06,720 Speaker 5: is disgraceful to abandon these people who gave ten thousand 1098 01:00:06,760 --> 01:00:11,000 Speaker 5: plus of their children alongside the United States, Right, that 1099 01:00:11,120 --> 01:00:15,000 Speaker 5: is shameful. It is also what we should expect from 1100 01:00:15,040 --> 01:00:19,160 Speaker 5: the United States people that use the word haval, which 1101 01:00:19,200 --> 01:00:22,520 Speaker 5: means friend right as opposed to like the way a 1102 01:00:22,560 --> 01:00:26,920 Speaker 5: Marxist movement might use comrade. The friends there understood the 1103 01:00:27,200 --> 01:00:29,760 Speaker 5: terms of their agreement with the US doesn't mean that 1104 01:00:29,800 --> 01:00:31,840 Speaker 5: they were not disappointed doesn't mean that they would not 1105 01:00:31,920 --> 01:00:34,880 Speaker 5: ask for assistance when their children are dying. Of course 1106 01:00:34,920 --> 01:00:37,960 Speaker 5: it would. But those are terms on which the US 1107 01:00:38,120 --> 01:00:42,040 Speaker 5: was allied with them, and certainly the US did not 1108 01:00:42,760 --> 01:00:46,960 Speaker 5: ideologically influence them. Perhaps the opposite is the case. There 1109 01:00:46,960 --> 01:00:50,040 Speaker 5: are certainly some people in the US military who went 1110 01:00:50,040 --> 01:00:52,600 Speaker 5: over there and came back seeing the world differently. Turkey 1111 01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:56,400 Speaker 5: actually called the US government because some of the US 1112 01:00:56,400 --> 01:01:00,120 Speaker 5: soldiers were wearing Abdulahi learned patches at one point and 1113 01:01:00,240 --> 01:01:02,960 Speaker 5: raised complaints about it. But yeah, I think it's important 1114 01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:06,080 Speaker 5: to understand the terms of the arrangement between them. Otherwise, 1115 01:01:06,120 --> 01:01:09,840 Speaker 5: I think that's a pretty good praisie of the way 1116 01:01:09,920 --> 01:01:12,200 Speaker 5: things were. Do you have anything about Shengal? 1117 01:01:12,440 --> 01:01:13,000 Speaker 4: No, I don't. 1118 01:01:13,160 --> 01:01:15,400 Speaker 5: I'll do my potted. People can read my book if 1119 01:01:15,400 --> 01:01:17,360 Speaker 5: they'd like to hear more about its operation. I've sent 1120 01:01:17,400 --> 01:01:20,200 Speaker 5: one to you Andrew. Hopefully it's making its way across 1121 01:01:20,240 --> 01:01:20,680 Speaker 5: the ocean. 1122 01:01:21,080 --> 01:01:21,600 Speaker 4: Awesome. 1123 01:01:21,880 --> 01:01:26,640 Speaker 5: So Shengal the sacred mountain of the the Azds, or 1124 01:01:26,680 --> 01:01:29,280 Speaker 5: a group of people have their religious group whose religion 1125 01:01:29,360 --> 01:01:33,240 Speaker 5: is probably closest to Zoroastrianism. They have like a peacock angel. 1126 01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:37,480 Speaker 5: The Islamic state targeted the Azds because it considered them 1127 01:01:37,520 --> 01:01:41,720 Speaker 5: to be apostates, and it subjected them to genocidal violence. Right, 1128 01:01:41,760 --> 01:01:46,240 Speaker 5: this is the Uzd genocide. The states of the world 1129 01:01:46,400 --> 01:01:50,200 Speaker 5: largely abandoned the Azdi people. They tried to defend their communities, 1130 01:01:50,920 --> 01:01:53,080 Speaker 5: but they were overwhelmed by the Islamic state, and they 1131 01:01:53,080 --> 01:01:55,920 Speaker 5: gradually fell back to Shengol, which is their mountain, and 1132 01:01:55,960 --> 01:01:57,680 Speaker 5: they went to the top of their mountain to make 1133 01:01:57,720 --> 01:02:00,320 Speaker 5: their last stand. I guess right, that was their place 1134 01:02:00,360 --> 01:02:05,000 Speaker 5: where they had always gone back to. And there were 1135 01:02:05,320 --> 01:02:07,520 Speaker 5: some US special forces on the mountain, and from what 1136 01:02:07,560 --> 01:02:11,120 Speaker 5: I understand, also some British special forces, but it was 1137 01:02:11,240 --> 01:02:16,600 Speaker 5: the friends from Kurdistan who decided to go. It should 1138 01:02:16,640 --> 01:02:18,480 Speaker 5: be noted that they're like fighting the Islamics stayed at 1139 01:02:18,480 --> 01:02:21,520 Speaker 5: home at this time. Right their own villages, their own 1140 01:02:21,560 --> 01:02:25,320 Speaker 5: towns are being subjected to the same violence. They went 1141 01:02:25,360 --> 01:02:29,440 Speaker 5: onto the mountain and they built humanitarian corridor to extract 1142 01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:33,240 Speaker 5: the Azli people right with their bodies, with their blood, 1143 01:02:33,640 --> 01:02:38,720 Speaker 5: And if they had done nothing else since twenty twelve, 1144 01:02:38,800 --> 01:02:40,720 Speaker 5: that would be reason enough for us to stand in 1145 01:02:40,760 --> 01:02:43,400 Speaker 5: solidarity with them. Right like in that moment when the 1146 01:02:43,440 --> 01:02:47,360 Speaker 5: world letting the asdis die. Right when Obama and the 1147 01:02:47,440 --> 01:02:49,680 Speaker 5: United Kingdom and everything else was letting these people be 1148 01:02:49,720 --> 01:02:54,280 Speaker 5: subjected to genocide, it wasn't a military superpower who went 1149 01:02:54,440 --> 01:02:58,240 Speaker 5: to their assistance. Who wasn't the French or the British 1150 01:02:58,400 --> 01:03:01,800 Speaker 5: or anyone else who was willing to risk Again, there 1151 01:03:01,800 --> 01:03:05,360 Speaker 5: were small numbers of special forces, but it was regular 1152 01:03:05,360 --> 01:03:07,960 Speaker 5: folks from Kurtis down with Kalashnikov's who went to save them. 1153 01:03:08,000 --> 01:03:12,360 Speaker 5: And I think at this time, when like Western analysts 1154 01:03:12,400 --> 01:03:14,560 Speaker 5: who perhaps either don't have a proper grasp of what's 1155 01:03:14,560 --> 01:03:16,440 Speaker 5: happening in Syria or do and are just willing to 1156 01:03:16,520 --> 01:03:20,000 Speaker 5: lie about it, are condemning the a and Ees as 1157 01:03:20,000 --> 01:03:23,480 Speaker 5: some kind of kurdishcheth no nationalist project, we could point 1158 01:03:23,520 --> 01:03:27,200 Speaker 5: to this and we shouldn't forget the sacrifice that those 1159 01:03:27,240 --> 01:03:29,040 Speaker 5: people made at that time. 1160 01:03:29,560 --> 01:03:33,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, that's an important event that I didn't come across 1161 01:03:33,240 --> 01:03:35,360 Speaker 4: my reusage, but thank you for sharing. 1162 01:03:35,760 --> 01:03:36,440 Speaker 5: Yeah, of course. 1163 01:03:37,280 --> 01:03:43,000 Speaker 4: So I suppose we are now approaching the critical moment 1164 01:03:43,240 --> 01:03:48,200 Speaker 4: in Rajawa's recent history. Asad's government collapsed at the end 1165 01:03:48,280 --> 01:03:52,360 Speaker 4: of twenty twenty four and the Hayat tari al Sham 1166 01:03:52,600 --> 01:03:56,720 Speaker 4: or HGS and Islamist militia with roots in Al Qaeda 1167 01:03:57,120 --> 01:04:00,600 Speaker 4: stepped into the vacuum and rapidly took control of large 1168 01:04:00,680 --> 01:04:04,680 Speaker 4: parts of the country. Then HGS leader Ahmed al Shara 1169 01:04:04,960 --> 01:04:09,000 Speaker 4: was recast on the international stage as Syria's new president, 1170 01:04:09,640 --> 01:04:13,960 Speaker 4: welcomed by regional and western powers, received in diplomatic capitals, 1171 01:04:14,200 --> 01:04:18,760 Speaker 4: and rewarded with the lifting of many sanctions. Turkey emerged 1172 01:04:18,760 --> 01:04:22,000 Speaker 4: as his strongest backer, as they were pretty coold with 1173 01:04:22,040 --> 01:04:25,200 Speaker 4: a SAD and they aggressively lobbied on behalf of the 1174 01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:29,960 Speaker 4: HGS government, reframing it as a stabilizing partner, and not 1175 01:04:30,040 --> 01:04:32,200 Speaker 4: long after the fall of a SAD, In fact, after 1176 01:04:32,280 --> 01:04:37,080 Speaker 4: Loachlan himself called for the PKK to this arm the SDF, 1177 01:04:37,120 --> 01:04:40,440 Speaker 4: which is only loosely affiliated with the PKK, though said well, 1178 01:04:40,440 --> 01:04:44,760 Speaker 4: you know not us, we will continue to find So 1179 01:04:44,840 --> 01:04:47,960 Speaker 4: Western governments, particularly the United States and its allies, appeared 1180 01:04:47,960 --> 01:04:52,280 Speaker 4: willing to accept this transformation of THEHGS. The calculators that 1181 01:04:52,320 --> 01:04:56,200 Speaker 4: are fragmented and internally weak authority could be more easily 1182 01:04:56,280 --> 01:05:00,360 Speaker 4: stared to serve their long term geopolitical interests. So the 1183 01:05:00,440 --> 01:05:03,640 Speaker 4: ESHTS certain government had a little press tour, but within 1184 01:05:03,760 --> 01:05:08,200 Speaker 4: Syria they moved pretty predictably, engaging in violent for pressure 1185 01:05:08,240 --> 01:05:12,360 Speaker 4: and displacement and massacre of the Alawite, the Druze, and 1186 01:05:12,400 --> 01:05:16,280 Speaker 4: the Kurdish communities in Syria, and for the Kurdish initiated 1187 01:05:16,280 --> 01:05:19,760 Speaker 4: the project of Rajava. The rise of the HDS government 1188 01:05:19,760 --> 01:05:23,560 Speaker 4: would mark the beginning of an end, greater isolation and 1189 01:05:23,600 --> 01:05:26,840 Speaker 4: a renewed pressure from within and outside of Syria's borders. 1190 01:05:27,360 --> 01:05:30,600 Speaker 4: After consolidating power, the HTS government pushed into the Kurdish 1191 01:05:30,600 --> 01:05:34,520 Speaker 4: regions and encircled Kobani, the historic border city that once 1192 01:05:34,640 --> 01:05:39,960 Speaker 4: symbolized resistance to ISIS. So for days, coordinated attacks targeted 1193 01:05:40,080 --> 01:05:43,840 Speaker 4: Rajava itself, threatening not only the survival of Kurdish ol government, 1194 01:05:44,320 --> 01:05:47,600 Speaker 4: but the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, as food, 1195 01:05:47,840 --> 01:05:51,120 Speaker 4: water and electricity would deliberately cut off and the city 1196 01:05:51,160 --> 01:05:55,160 Speaker 4: placed under siege. The violence had been especially devastating in Aleppo. 1197 01:05:55,720 --> 01:05:59,240 Speaker 4: From early January, the Kurdish districts of Shikh Maksud and 1198 01:05:59,320 --> 01:06:03,280 Speaker 4: Ashrafiya became the focus of sustained assaults by Turkish backed 1199 01:06:03,280 --> 01:06:06,760 Speaker 4: militias and units aligned with the Syrian Transitional government. 1200 01:06:07,200 --> 01:06:10,200 Speaker 5: They would tell you that hik Maksud was a diverse district, 1201 01:06:10,480 --> 01:06:13,240 Speaker 5: and I'd probably used to describe it as Kurdish as well. 1202 01:06:13,280 --> 01:06:15,240 Speaker 5: By there they will point out that is CD people 1203 01:06:15,760 --> 01:06:18,440 Speaker 5: and a lot of the indigenous Christian peoples of the 1204 01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:20,520 Speaker 5: region who lived in a Leppo tended to live in 1205 01:06:20,520 --> 01:06:21,400 Speaker 5: shick mac food as. 1206 01:06:21,320 --> 01:06:24,960 Speaker 4: Well, right, right, Okay, thanks for that contexts Yeah, of course. 1207 01:06:25,480 --> 01:06:30,240 Speaker 4: So civilian infrastructure was systematically hit at homes, schools, mosques 1208 01:06:30,280 --> 01:06:34,720 Speaker 4: and public buildings being shelled, while abductions, torture and executions 1209 01:06:35,120 --> 01:06:40,840 Speaker 4: reported nearmedical facilities. The bombing of Zalid Fekir Hospital devastated 1210 01:06:41,120 --> 01:06:44,360 Speaker 4: the local health care system and with mountain casualties and 1211 01:06:44,640 --> 01:06:48,400 Speaker 4: entire neighborhoods emptied, local councils in the SDF agreed to 1212 01:06:48,400 --> 01:06:51,600 Speaker 4: a cease fire and withdrawal on the eleventh of January 1213 01:06:51,680 --> 01:06:56,040 Speaker 4: twenty twenty six to allow evacuations. More than three hundred 1214 01:06:56,200 --> 01:07:00,120 Speaker 4: thousand people fled, many seeking refuge in areas still control 1215 01:07:00,200 --> 01:07:05,440 Speaker 4: by the Autonomous administration, but fighting expanded eastward. Jihada's forces 1216 01:07:05,480 --> 01:07:10,440 Speaker 4: began targets in Raka, the Ressoul Hassaka and critical infrastructure 1217 01:07:10,520 --> 01:07:14,000 Speaker 4: like the Tissrian down prisons, who within thousands of Jihada's 1218 01:07:14,040 --> 01:07:17,240 Speaker 4: detinees were located in these areas, and amid the chaos, 1219 01:07:17,320 --> 01:07:21,920 Speaker 4: Islamist fighters escaped, ISIS symbols reappeared and memorials to Kurdish 1220 01:07:21,960 --> 01:07:23,520 Speaker 4: fighters were destroyed. 1221 01:07:23,960 --> 01:07:27,080 Speaker 5: There's one example which I think is particularly revelatory. It 1222 01:07:27,160 --> 01:07:30,760 Speaker 5: was consistently cast once again by like think tankers who 1223 01:07:31,160 --> 01:07:34,840 Speaker 5: either know that they're talking speaking things that are n't true. 1224 01:07:35,120 --> 01:07:37,720 Speaker 5: I was going to say something else there, or they 1225 01:07:37,880 --> 01:07:40,440 Speaker 5: just don't know and they're being paid to pretend they know. 1226 01:07:40,920 --> 01:07:43,960 Speaker 5: But though the one in Tabka that was destroyed, it 1227 01:07:44,040 --> 01:07:46,080 Speaker 5: was a statue of a YPG fighter, which she was 1228 01:07:46,120 --> 01:07:49,920 Speaker 5: in arab It was portrayed as like local people celebrating 1229 01:07:50,560 --> 01:07:53,400 Speaker 5: their liberation from the SDF, But it was a whole 1230 01:07:53,440 --> 01:07:56,040 Speaker 5: group of men destroying a statue of a woman, a 1231 01:07:56,080 --> 01:07:58,600 Speaker 5: woman from that community who had fought to liberate that 1232 01:07:58,640 --> 01:08:02,680 Speaker 5: community from the Islamic state, right, And I think that like, 1233 01:08:03,280 --> 01:08:06,080 Speaker 5: when that context is deliberately excluded, that tells us an 1234 01:08:06,080 --> 01:08:06,760 Speaker 5: awful lot. 1235 01:08:07,200 --> 01:08:09,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, that's that's an extremely critical point, I think. 1236 01:08:09,920 --> 01:08:12,760 Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 1237 01:08:23,720 --> 01:08:23,800 Speaker 6: So. 1238 01:08:24,240 --> 01:08:27,960 Speaker 4: As the Syrian forces pushed further east, some non Kurdish 1239 01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:31,040 Speaker 4: villages in the region affected from Rajava to the new 1240 01:08:31,120 --> 01:08:32,160 Speaker 4: Syria and government. 1241 01:08:32,640 --> 01:08:35,519 Speaker 5: Yeah, mostly in Lake Daris or, right, which is an 1242 01:08:35,560 --> 01:08:39,800 Speaker 5: area where you have this longstanding that they're referred to 1243 01:08:39,840 --> 01:08:43,080 Speaker 5: as tribal communities like that. I guess that's a fine phrase, 1244 01:08:43,080 --> 01:08:45,360 Speaker 5: but sometimes the word tribal, I think, is used in 1245 01:08:45,479 --> 01:08:47,439 Speaker 5: a derogatory way in the West, So I want to 1246 01:08:47,479 --> 01:08:49,160 Speaker 5: be clear, that's not what I tend to mean here, 1247 01:08:49,280 --> 01:08:51,760 Speaker 5: just that they have a different form of political organizing, 1248 01:08:52,280 --> 01:08:56,840 Speaker 5: right of course, And like there had not been among 1249 01:08:56,920 --> 01:09:01,040 Speaker 5: those communities buy in I guess today an e S project. 1250 01:09:01,080 --> 01:09:03,360 Speaker 5: There was to the SDF as a military force, but 1251 01:09:03,439 --> 01:09:07,120 Speaker 5: not not so much to the project. And it was 1252 01:09:07,240 --> 01:09:10,240 Speaker 5: those communities that switched their allegiances. 1253 01:09:10,320 --> 01:09:10,439 Speaker 6: Right. 1254 01:09:10,479 --> 01:09:13,080 Speaker 5: This happened even in Aleppo, and we can look at 1255 01:09:13,160 --> 01:09:16,160 Speaker 5: various economic and political and social reasons for that, and 1256 01:09:16,320 --> 01:09:17,960 Speaker 5: maybe at some point we should, but I don't think, 1257 01:09:18,000 --> 01:09:21,839 Speaker 5: like now it's the time that you know, we're concerned 1258 01:09:21,840 --> 01:09:25,160 Speaker 5: with ongoing struggle there. But yeah, especially in de res Or. 1259 01:09:25,920 --> 01:09:29,120 Speaker 5: What really saw the SDF frontline crumble was that people 1260 01:09:29,160 --> 01:09:32,240 Speaker 5: who were in the SDF suddenly became allied with the 1261 01:09:32,360 --> 01:09:37,240 Speaker 5: STG Syrian Transitional Government Syrian government, right. 1262 01:09:37,520 --> 01:09:44,400 Speaker 4: Right, And so these defections and with this onslaught of violence, 1263 01:09:45,560 --> 01:09:48,680 Speaker 4: I delivered an ultimate one to the goods and to 1264 01:09:48,720 --> 01:09:55,479 Speaker 4: the other groups involved in the Automouns administration North Eastyria 1265 01:09:55,560 --> 01:09:59,559 Speaker 4: was the dissolve the SDF and submit to incorporation under 1266 01:09:59,600 --> 01:10:04,639 Speaker 4: his command office and Irat. So in response, the SDF 1267 01:10:04,640 --> 01:10:08,679 Speaker 4: commander mass loom Abdi appealed outwill calling on the support 1268 01:10:08,720 --> 01:10:12,080 Speaker 4: of anyone who are be willing to assist. And this 1269 01:10:12,160 --> 01:10:17,800 Speaker 4: is something that particularly made headlines, anyone included Israel, which 1270 01:10:17,800 --> 01:10:21,960 Speaker 4: had previously intervened in Syria for the claim justification of 1271 01:10:22,000 --> 01:10:25,759 Speaker 4: aiding the juris community. I think the way that question 1272 01:10:25,920 --> 01:10:28,960 Speaker 4: was posed to the SDF commander was definitely leading, like 1273 01:10:28,960 --> 01:10:32,519 Speaker 4: they were fishing for headline for sure, from what I 1274 01:10:32,560 --> 01:10:35,640 Speaker 4: saw of that exchange. But in the context of the 1275 01:10:35,640 --> 01:10:40,400 Speaker 4: Pastimeian genocide and the worlds awareness of the genocide, I 1276 01:10:40,560 --> 01:10:45,160 Speaker 4: think that even with that desperation for survival in mind, 1277 01:10:45,560 --> 01:10:49,000 Speaker 4: that statement was I think a misstep. 1278 01:10:49,840 --> 01:10:53,960 Speaker 5: Yeah, we constantly see like this allegation that the SDF 1279 01:10:54,000 --> 01:10:56,280 Speaker 5: specifically is like some kind of Zionists for sort of 1280 01:10:56,280 --> 01:10:59,720 Speaker 5: funded by Israel. That's been around for decades, right. I 1281 01:10:59,800 --> 01:11:02,760 Speaker 5: will say a couple of things. First of all in 1282 01:11:02,800 --> 01:11:07,000 Speaker 5: the early Kurdish Freedom movement. You know, Kurds died for 1283 01:11:07,120 --> 01:11:10,160 Speaker 5: Palestine right with the Democratic Friends for the Liberation of 1284 01:11:10,160 --> 01:11:15,559 Speaker 5: Palestine and Bofort Castle. If the Israelis were genuinely allies 1285 01:11:15,600 --> 01:11:19,040 Speaker 5: of the Kurds, no one would dare touch them. We 1286 01:11:19,160 --> 01:11:23,679 Speaker 5: have seen what Israel is prepared to do to Muslim countries. 1287 01:11:23,960 --> 01:11:27,040 Speaker 5: They don't need much excuse. They would do the same 1288 01:11:27,600 --> 01:11:31,720 Speaker 5: in Syria. Furthermore, Israel has continued to invade Syria and 1289 01:11:32,120 --> 01:11:36,360 Speaker 5: has held Syrian territory for decades and has continued to 1290 01:11:36,400 --> 01:11:39,080 Speaker 5: take more of it under al Shara, and al Shara 1291 01:11:39,400 --> 01:11:41,840 Speaker 5: has not done anything about it. So like I find 1292 01:11:41,840 --> 01:11:44,240 Speaker 5: the idea that he's like eliminating Zion is going to 1293 01:11:44,280 --> 01:11:47,880 Speaker 5: be very frustrating when the ideaf is literally inside his 1294 01:11:47,920 --> 01:11:52,439 Speaker 5: country invading it. And the Kurdish Freedom movement as a 1295 01:11:52,479 --> 01:11:55,000 Speaker 5: whole has been pretty forthright about the genocide. So on 1296 01:11:55,000 --> 01:12:00,080 Speaker 5: October seventh, twenty twenty three, I was in Kurdistan and 1297 01:12:00,560 --> 01:12:05,519 Speaker 5: we watched what happened first in Israel and then in Palestine, right, 1298 01:12:05,600 --> 01:12:09,080 Speaker 5: and they were pretty forthright about that no one should 1299 01:12:09,120 --> 01:12:13,799 Speaker 5: be killing civilians, and as the genocide in Gaza began, 1300 01:12:14,280 --> 01:12:17,200 Speaker 5: they were forthright about calling it a genocide, and I 1301 01:12:17,240 --> 01:12:22,479 Speaker 5: think they didn't have to. No one was particularly asking 1302 01:12:22,520 --> 01:12:26,600 Speaker 5: them in twenty twenty three, right, and they did, and 1303 01:12:26,640 --> 01:12:30,639 Speaker 5: they made statements about it. And like I think seeing 1304 01:12:30,760 --> 01:12:36,720 Speaker 5: them as somehow ideologically inclined towards Israel when the it 1305 01:12:36,840 --> 01:12:38,920 Speaker 5: largely was in Israel who was fighting the Islamic state, right, 1306 01:12:38,960 --> 01:12:41,559 Speaker 5: it was largely them in the US. I think it's 1307 01:12:41,680 --> 01:12:44,720 Speaker 5: just people understanding the politics of the Middle East in 1308 01:12:44,800 --> 01:12:47,799 Speaker 5: terms of Marvel movies that there can only be two sides. 1309 01:12:48,360 --> 01:12:51,040 Speaker 5: And like, I'm sure at the time when they were 1310 01:12:51,040 --> 01:12:54,040 Speaker 5: facing genocide themselves they would have welcomed any support. But 1311 01:12:54,080 --> 01:12:58,040 Speaker 5: that doesn't mean that they support the murder of civilians 1312 01:12:58,040 --> 01:13:00,920 Speaker 5: in Gaza. They have been big, extra remaly clear about 1313 01:13:00,960 --> 01:13:02,519 Speaker 5: that for an extremely long time. 1314 01:13:03,280 --> 01:13:06,000 Speaker 4: Absolutely, I don't think I should becording to the question 1315 01:13:06,200 --> 01:13:08,000 Speaker 4: just because of the statement of one commander. 1316 01:13:08,360 --> 01:13:08,599 Speaker 5: Yep. 1317 01:13:09,520 --> 01:13:13,320 Speaker 4: So, after much fighting, the SDF signed acreements relinquish and 1318 01:13:13,400 --> 01:13:17,679 Speaker 4: control of Araka, dies Azor and remain in territory west 1319 01:13:17,720 --> 01:13:21,800 Speaker 4: of the Euphrates Britain in only Hassaka and Kobane after 1320 01:13:21,880 --> 01:13:26,000 Speaker 4: withdrawing from the Tishrian Dam. But even after concede in 1321 01:13:26,040 --> 01:13:30,599 Speaker 4: so much government forces violated ceasefire terms, so the SDF 1322 01:13:30,600 --> 01:13:34,160 Speaker 4: declared general mobilization across the Kurdish regions of Syria and 1323 01:13:34,240 --> 01:13:38,600 Speaker 4: neighboring states as a last desperate attempt to rally resistance. 1324 01:13:39,360 --> 01:13:42,240 Speaker 4: By the end of January, the Autonomous Administration had lost 1325 01:13:42,320 --> 01:13:45,519 Speaker 4: roughly eighty percent of the territory it once governed. The 1326 01:13:45,600 --> 01:13:48,920 Speaker 4: SDF was forced to retreat almost entirely into Hassaka Governorate, 1327 01:13:49,640 --> 01:13:53,040 Speaker 4: and on the thirtieth of January, the SDF formally announced 1328 01:13:53,080 --> 01:13:56,360 Speaker 4: a cease fire with the Syrian government and accepted a 1329 01:13:56,400 --> 01:14:00,960 Speaker 4: framework for folding both their military structures and civilians into 1330 01:14:00,960 --> 01:14:04,639 Speaker 4: the Syrian state. Syrian authorities set timelines on this agreement. 1331 01:14:04,880 --> 01:14:07,480 Speaker 4: Within a month, they would retake control of water crossings, 1332 01:14:07,840 --> 01:14:12,479 Speaker 4: oil and gas infrastructure like Crimelane, and also Wadi detention 1333 01:14:12,640 --> 01:14:16,080 Speaker 4: camps holding ISIS members and their families, and strategic sites 1334 01:14:16,120 --> 01:14:21,000 Speaker 4: such as Kamishli International Airport. Interior ministry units were scheduled 1335 01:14:21,000 --> 01:14:25,120 Speaker 4: to deploy to Hassaka and Kommissili almost immediately, and Syrian 1336 01:14:25,200 --> 01:14:28,280 Speaker 4: security forces would oversee the absorption of the Kurdish Internal 1337 01:14:28,360 --> 01:14:34,160 Speaker 4: Security Apparatus the SAISH into the state's police in structures. Militarily, 1338 01:14:34,200 --> 01:14:36,959 Speaker 4: the SDF estates to be absorbed under the Syrian Ministry 1339 01:14:37,000 --> 01:14:41,400 Speaker 4: of Defense, but on an individual vetted basis. Up to now, 1340 01:14:41,520 --> 01:14:44,599 Speaker 4: the fate of the female fighters and non Syrian fighters 1341 01:14:44,680 --> 01:14:48,000 Speaker 4: within the SDF is unknown, and on the civilian side 1342 01:14:48,000 --> 01:14:51,000 Speaker 4: of things, the institutions created by the Rajarafa administration are 1343 01:14:51,040 --> 01:14:54,200 Speaker 4: to be absorbed as well. Kurdish officials have thus far 1344 01:14:54,400 --> 01:14:58,200 Speaker 4: secured the governorship of Hassaka and limited commander rules within 1345 01:14:58,240 --> 01:15:02,479 Speaker 4: the military in extreme for their surrender, because gained some 1346 01:15:02,560 --> 01:15:06,559 Speaker 4: recognitions on people. The government claims the firm national civil 1347 01:15:06,560 --> 01:15:10,680 Speaker 4: and educational rights, promised the return of displaced populations and 1348 01:15:10,760 --> 01:15:15,519 Speaker 4: issue decrees recognizing Kurdish as a national language taught in schools, 1349 01:15:16,200 --> 01:15:20,439 Speaker 4: declared the Curtis celebration of Nauru's public body, and reversed 1350 01:15:20,520 --> 01:15:23,960 Speaker 4: decades all citizenship policies that shripped tens of thousands of 1351 01:15:24,000 --> 01:15:27,600 Speaker 4: Coods of their citizenship. Thus far, most of these promises 1352 01:15:27,640 --> 01:15:28,559 Speaker 4: are on people. 1353 01:15:28,720 --> 01:15:31,080 Speaker 5: As I said, yeah, I think they'd see it. It's 1354 01:15:31,160 --> 01:15:35,280 Speaker 5: like a rebranding, not a surrender in agreement. Like from 1355 01:15:35,320 --> 01:15:39,360 Speaker 5: what I understand, the Yeppigates still see themselves as the 1356 01:15:39,880 --> 01:15:42,720 Speaker 5: WHITPG still see themselves as the YPG. The YPG very 1357 01:15:42,800 --> 01:15:46,840 Speaker 5: much still see themselves as the Women's Defense Force and 1358 01:15:46,920 --> 01:15:48,559 Speaker 5: so like, as you say, like, all of this is 1359 01:15:49,720 --> 01:15:55,479 Speaker 5: a paper agreement currently and we will see how I mean, 1360 01:15:55,520 --> 01:15:59,679 Speaker 5: there are now Syrian Ministry of Interior forces in Hesseka 1361 01:15:59,840 --> 01:16:04,000 Speaker 5: and Commichhlo, but like some of that has come to bus. 1362 01:16:04,080 --> 01:16:08,640 Speaker 5: But what this means. Talking to my friends, they're like, 1363 01:16:09,560 --> 01:16:13,439 Speaker 5: we will continue to see exactly, like what the extent 1364 01:16:13,560 --> 01:16:16,840 Speaker 5: they still have autonomy and to what extent they are 1365 01:16:17,520 --> 01:16:20,080 Speaker 5: integrated into a state which has in some instances banned 1366 01:16:20,080 --> 01:16:21,799 Speaker 5: women from wearing makeup for instance. 1367 01:16:22,479 --> 01:16:26,960 Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, So the US and franz CO signed this 1368 01:16:27,120 --> 01:16:31,320 Speaker 4: agreement and pledged oversee its implementation, and the President of 1369 01:16:31,320 --> 01:16:34,720 Speaker 4: the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has also welcome disagreement. 1370 01:16:35,280 --> 01:16:38,439 Speaker 4: But it still remains to be seeing what happens next. 1371 01:16:39,040 --> 01:16:43,280 Speaker 5: Yeah, I did see a hundred people who are non 1372 01:16:44,040 --> 01:16:47,200 Speaker 5: Syrian Kurds. I would imagine they would mostly be Turkish 1373 01:16:47,560 --> 01:16:53,320 Speaker 5: from northern Kurdistan had withdrawn from Syria and Gaunt Candyal, 1374 01:16:53,400 --> 01:16:57,200 Speaker 5: which is kind of the stronghold of the various other 1375 01:16:57,240 --> 01:16:59,639 Speaker 5: parts of the Kurdish Freedom movement, and so that that's 1376 01:16:59,680 --> 01:17:02,439 Speaker 5: in so than Kurtistan or Iraq. It's near the border 1377 01:17:02,479 --> 01:17:04,320 Speaker 5: with Iran. But I saw that a number of them 1378 01:17:05,000 --> 01:17:08,400 Speaker 5: had withdrawn post disagreement that was probably on the tenth 1379 01:17:08,439 --> 01:17:09,679 Speaker 5: of February somewhere around there. 1380 01:17:10,680 --> 01:17:15,600 Speaker 4: So yeah, sadly this is an outcome of the imperialist 1381 01:17:15,800 --> 01:17:19,880 Speaker 4: world order that empires and regional actors will crush any 1382 01:17:20,000 --> 01:17:23,479 Speaker 4: threats to their power, will attempt to crush such threats. 1383 01:17:24,040 --> 01:17:26,559 Speaker 4: And as long as such power remains concentrated in these 1384 01:17:26,600 --> 01:17:30,600 Speaker 4: states and militaries and ruling classes, whether they are secular 1385 01:17:30,880 --> 01:17:34,920 Speaker 4: or nationalist, or Islamist or anything else, none of us 1386 01:17:35,640 --> 01:17:39,200 Speaker 4: then be free. Yeah, we could sit around on our 1387 01:17:39,280 --> 01:17:42,160 Speaker 4: armchairs and speculate, but what Moves or Java could have 1388 01:17:42,200 --> 01:17:45,880 Speaker 4: done differently, whether it be an affiliate to advance further, 1389 01:17:46,000 --> 01:17:51,519 Speaker 4: whether it be insufficient integration of and a buying of 1390 01:17:51,640 --> 01:17:56,960 Speaker 4: other groups into the project, whether it be the alliances 1391 01:17:57,080 --> 01:18:00,320 Speaker 4: or agreements or affiliations that they engaged in. We can 1392 01:18:00,360 --> 01:18:02,880 Speaker 4: also sit around lit all the limitations they face. Some 1393 01:18:03,000 --> 01:18:05,840 Speaker 4: they managed to overcome and others not so much. But 1394 01:18:06,439 --> 01:18:09,800 Speaker 4: the blame doesn't lie in their failures to play this 1395 01:18:09,880 --> 01:18:13,280 Speaker 4: game of geopolitical chess as ruthlessly as other powers in 1396 01:18:13,280 --> 01:18:15,840 Speaker 4: the region. I think the blame lies in this game 1397 01:18:15,920 --> 01:18:20,519 Speaker 4: of geopolitical chess, in this ability of imperial powers to 1398 01:18:20,560 --> 01:18:22,920 Speaker 4: treat the people of the region as a whole as 1399 01:18:23,000 --> 01:18:27,800 Speaker 4: tools to be used and discarded. And the end. I 1400 01:18:27,840 --> 01:18:30,400 Speaker 4: continue to hold to the position that only a shared 1401 01:18:30,479 --> 01:18:35,439 Speaker 4: uprising from below, one that refuses compromise, one that cuts 1402 01:18:35,439 --> 01:18:40,320 Speaker 4: across nationalist lines, has the potential to create a new world, 1403 01:18:40,920 --> 01:18:44,080 Speaker 4: and that fight must happen both within Syria and beyond 1404 01:18:44,840 --> 01:18:48,839 Speaker 4: around the entire earth. The fight is not over in Rajaba. 1405 01:18:48,960 --> 01:18:52,200 Speaker 4: I find it hard to believe that a people engaged 1406 01:18:52,320 --> 01:18:56,600 Speaker 4: in such a project would let go of that instinct 1407 01:18:56,760 --> 01:19:00,679 Speaker 4: and that drive toward greater and greater freedom. It remains 1408 01:19:00,720 --> 01:19:02,840 Speaker 4: we seeing what happens with them, but also remains we 1409 01:19:02,920 --> 01:19:05,519 Speaker 4: seeing what happens with us, what we decide to do 1410 01:19:05,760 --> 01:19:09,280 Speaker 4: to push our what's want to mean forward. And that's 1411 01:19:09,320 --> 01:19:13,240 Speaker 4: all from me for today, or power to all the people. Peace. 1412 01:19:27,400 --> 01:19:31,360 Speaker 7: This is it could happen here. I'm Garrison Davis. A 1413 01:19:31,520 --> 01:19:36,639 Speaker 7: revolution is igniting across America, at least according to viral 1414 01:19:36,680 --> 01:19:39,640 Speaker 7: posts on social media and TikTok videos with hundreds of 1415 01:19:39,640 --> 01:19:43,840 Speaker 7: thousands of views claiming that anywhere between three to six 1416 01:19:43,920 --> 01:19:47,439 Speaker 7: to nine warehouses have been set on fire this past 1417 01:19:47,479 --> 01:19:51,479 Speaker 7: week for not paying their employees a living wage. 1418 01:19:51,960 --> 01:19:53,160 Speaker 4: The revolution might be happening. 1419 01:19:53,160 --> 01:19:55,559 Speaker 6: We got a warehouse fire in Ontario, warehouse fire in 1420 01:19:55,600 --> 01:19:59,519 Speaker 6: New York, warehouse fire in Bakersfield, Amazon warehouse fire in Ohio. 1421 01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:01,519 Speaker 3: When they set a mall on fire too. 1422 01:20:01,720 --> 01:20:04,320 Speaker 1: It hasn't just been factories at this point, it's also malls. 1423 01:20:04,760 --> 01:20:09,320 Speaker 4: It seems as though people have begun to eat the. 1424 01:20:09,400 --> 01:20:15,600 Speaker 7: Rich workers of the world ignite. Like most instances of 1425 01:20:15,840 --> 01:20:20,320 Speaker 7: viral misinformation, there is a kernel of truth to this story, 1426 01:20:20,360 --> 01:20:23,840 Speaker 7: and one worth focusing on. But through a massive game 1427 01:20:23,920 --> 01:20:29,960 Speaker 7: of cross platform telephone facts and causality get warped and misconstrued. 1428 01:20:30,760 --> 01:20:34,640 Speaker 7: Selective reporting of similar but unrelated events can be used 1429 01:20:34,680 --> 01:20:37,840 Speaker 7: to assert a connection between certain events even if there 1430 01:20:37,960 --> 01:20:41,639 Speaker 7: is none. But let's start with that kernel of truth. 1431 01:20:42,400 --> 01:20:45,640 Speaker 7: Just after midnight on April seventh, a twenty nine year 1432 01:20:45,680 --> 01:20:50,160 Speaker 7: old warehouse worker named Schamel abdul Karim allegedly set fire 1433 01:20:50,280 --> 01:20:55,519 Speaker 7: to a toilet paper warehouse in Ontario, California, after multiple 1434 01:20:55,520 --> 01:20:58,559 Speaker 7: pallets of paper products were lit on fire. The flames 1435 01:20:58,600 --> 01:21:03,040 Speaker 7: overwhelmed the fires oppression system and collapsed the roof. The 1436 01:21:03,080 --> 01:21:06,799 Speaker 7: blaze took over twelve hours to contain and ultimately destroyed 1437 01:21:07,000 --> 01:21:11,519 Speaker 7: the one point two million square foot distribution center leased 1438 01:21:11,520 --> 01:21:15,799 Speaker 7: by Kimberly Clark, the company behind Kleenex, Huggies, and Cottonell 1439 01:21:15,880 --> 01:21:19,439 Speaker 7: toilet paper. Local officials and the Justice Department has said 1440 01:21:19,479 --> 01:21:24,000 Speaker 7: the fire caused over six hundred million dollars damages. The 1441 01:21:24,040 --> 01:21:27,400 Speaker 7: twenty employees who were working midnight shifts the warehouse when 1442 01:21:27,439 --> 01:21:30,720 Speaker 7: the fire started all evacuated safely, and there were no 1443 01:21:30,880 --> 01:21:36,200 Speaker 7: reported injuries. The day after the fire, videos uploaded to 1444 01:21:36,240 --> 01:21:39,439 Speaker 7: social media the night of the fire resurfaced, appearing to 1445 01:21:39,479 --> 01:21:44,440 Speaker 7: show the suspect intentionally lighting three fires inside the distribution 1446 01:21:44,560 --> 01:21:49,640 Speaker 7: center while speaking aloud about low wages, corporate profits, shareholders, 1447 01:21:49,640 --> 01:21:51,280 Speaker 7: and poor working conditions. 1448 01:21:51,760 --> 01:21:53,519 Speaker 4: You know, if you're not going to pay us enough 1449 01:21:53,560 --> 01:21:56,679 Speaker 4: to live or afford a live, I always pay us enough. 1450 01:21:56,720 --> 01:22:00,960 Speaker 4: Not to do that. All you had to do was 1451 01:22:00,960 --> 01:22:01,920 Speaker 4: pay us enough to live. 1452 01:22:02,800 --> 01:22:04,559 Speaker 3: All you had to do was pay us enough. 1453 01:22:06,479 --> 01:22:07,680 Speaker 1: There goes your inventory. 1454 01:22:08,640 --> 01:22:12,479 Speaker 7: The affidavit filed with the criminal complaint alleges that Abdul 1455 01:22:12,520 --> 01:22:16,160 Speaker 7: Kareem filmed himself setting fire to multiple pallettes of paper 1456 01:22:16,200 --> 01:22:19,599 Speaker 7: goods inside the warehouse, and as he lit the fires, 1457 01:22:19,680 --> 01:22:22,400 Speaker 7: he stated quote, if you're not going to pay us 1458 01:22:22,520 --> 01:22:25,679 Speaker 7: enough to fucking live or afford to live, at least 1459 01:22:25,760 --> 01:22:30,240 Speaker 7: pay us enough not to do this shit unquote. Beyond 1460 01:22:30,240 --> 01:22:33,240 Speaker 7: the short videos abdul Kareem posted to his social media, 1461 01:22:33,680 --> 01:22:36,960 Speaker 7: the affidavit alleges he made further statements to friends and 1462 01:22:37,000 --> 01:22:40,519 Speaker 7: co workers on the phone and via text message related 1463 01:22:40,600 --> 01:22:44,599 Speaker 7: to his motive for setting the fires. He allegedly texted quote, 1464 01:22:44,920 --> 01:22:49,000 Speaker 7: I just cost these expletive billions and wrote that the 1465 01:22:49,120 --> 01:22:53,760 Speaker 7: quote one percent is an expletive joke. US attorney Bill A. 1466 01:22:53,840 --> 01:22:56,400 Speaker 7: Sale said in a press conference that after setting the 1467 01:22:56,439 --> 01:22:59,599 Speaker 7: fire quote in a phone call to one witness, abdul 1468 01:22:59,640 --> 01:23:06,799 Speaker 7: Kareem compared himself to Luigi Mangioni. Abdul Kareem also allegedly 1469 01:23:06,800 --> 01:23:09,240 Speaker 7: texted quote, all you had to do was pay us 1470 01:23:09,360 --> 01:23:12,759 Speaker 7: enough to live, Pay us more of the value we bring, 1471 01:23:13,200 --> 01:23:17,599 Speaker 7: not corporate. Don't see the shareholders picking up a shift unquote. 1472 01:23:18,400 --> 01:23:21,880 Speaker 7: This past Monday, abdul Kareem pleaded not guilty to arson 1473 01:23:21,960 --> 01:23:27,280 Speaker 7: charges in court, though the warehouse stored Kimberlee Clerk Products. 1474 01:23:27,479 --> 01:23:31,840 Speaker 7: Abdul Kareem was actually employed by NFI Industries, a third 1475 01:23:31,880 --> 01:23:36,400 Speaker 7: party distribution company. N FI Industries is a family owned 1476 01:23:36,439 --> 01:23:39,880 Speaker 7: private company and does not report its profits, but last 1477 01:23:40,000 --> 01:23:43,439 Speaker 7: year said they generated more than three point seven billion 1478 01:23:43,520 --> 01:23:48,160 Speaker 7: in annual revenue and had over eighteen thousand employees. The 1479 01:23:48,280 --> 01:23:51,240 Speaker 7: average executive at the company has a two hundred and 1480 01:23:51,280 --> 01:23:55,040 Speaker 7: thirty five thousand dollars salary, with the highest paid making 1481 01:23:55,479 --> 01:23:59,880 Speaker 7: seven hundred thousand dollars annually. Meanwhile, the average pay of 1482 01:24:00,160 --> 01:24:05,240 Speaker 7: an NFI Industry's warehouse worker in California, per job listing 1483 01:24:05,280 --> 01:24:10,920 Speaker 7: sites is eighteen seventy four an hour, with forklift operators 1484 01:24:10,920 --> 01:24:14,280 Speaker 7: and warehouse specialists making twenty two dollars and thirty nine 1485 01:24:14,280 --> 01:24:18,840 Speaker 7: cents an hour. The median household income in Ontario, California 1486 01:24:19,240 --> 01:24:22,559 Speaker 7: is eighty two thousand, eight hundred and six dollars a year, 1487 01:24:22,960 --> 01:24:26,519 Speaker 7: and the average salary is over seventy three thousand dollars 1488 01:24:26,520 --> 01:24:31,240 Speaker 7: a year or thirty five dollars hourly. Ontario, California has 1489 01:24:31,280 --> 01:24:34,120 Speaker 7: a twenty eight percent higher cost of living than the 1490 01:24:34,200 --> 01:24:39,639 Speaker 7: national average. Last year, Kimberly Clark made two point four 1491 01:24:39,680 --> 01:24:45,160 Speaker 7: billion in operating profit. The footage of this worker allegedly 1492 01:24:45,320 --> 01:24:49,480 Speaker 7: lighting the warehouse on fire went super viral on TikTok, 1493 01:24:49,560 --> 01:24:53,640 Speaker 7: with millions and millions of us sparking meme edits and 1494 01:24:53,760 --> 01:24:57,679 Speaker 7: hype videos. Then, in the days after the toilet paper fire, 1495 01:24:58,320 --> 01:25:02,200 Speaker 7: footage of other where house fires sorry to spread around TikTok, 1496 01:25:02,760 --> 01:25:05,880 Speaker 7: leading some people to believe that copycat incidents might be 1497 01:25:05,880 --> 01:25:09,719 Speaker 7: taking place across the country. Here's a clip with over 1498 01:25:09,840 --> 01:25:13,880 Speaker 7: three hundred thousand views of a left wing TikTok influencer 1499 01:25:14,240 --> 01:25:17,360 Speaker 7: claiming that since the toilet paper arson, more people have 1500 01:25:17,439 --> 01:25:20,439 Speaker 7: begun setting their workplaces on fire. 1501 01:25:20,920 --> 01:25:24,519 Speaker 8: So apparently that guy that burns down the toilet paper 1502 01:25:24,560 --> 01:25:27,360 Speaker 8: warehouse because they were not paying him a living wage 1503 01:25:27,479 --> 01:25:30,000 Speaker 8: or anyone the living wage for that matter, who the 1504 01:25:30,120 --> 01:25:35,160 Speaker 8: Internet has dubbed wall Luigi for warehouse Luigi, was not 1505 01:25:35,280 --> 01:25:39,479 Speaker 8: the only one with that idea or to execute on it. 1506 01:25:39,600 --> 01:25:41,759 Speaker 8: And I will say I am not one hundred percent 1507 01:25:41,800 --> 01:25:44,080 Speaker 8: shore on the timelines of all of these. 1508 01:25:44,680 --> 01:25:47,439 Speaker 7: Oh you're not one hundred percent suore, Well, then that's 1509 01:25:47,560 --> 01:25:50,960 Speaker 7: that's fine. Continue anyway. This guy goes on to say 1510 01:25:51,000 --> 01:25:55,639 Speaker 7: that since Wa Luigi, he's seen quote four to five 1511 01:25:55,720 --> 01:25:59,920 Speaker 7: to six other warehouses that have quote burned down or 1512 01:26:00,120 --> 01:26:03,920 Speaker 7: at least been set on fire unquote. A lot of 1513 01:26:03,920 --> 01:26:07,960 Speaker 7: this social media reporting does not differentiate between a warehouse 1514 01:26:08,040 --> 01:26:11,519 Speaker 7: completely burning down and a small fire that is quickly 1515 01:26:11,600 --> 01:26:15,919 Speaker 7: put out. Neither do these social media reports provide evidence 1516 01:26:15,960 --> 01:26:19,320 Speaker 7: to the cause of these fires. One of the most 1517 01:26:19,320 --> 01:26:22,360 Speaker 7: circulated videos of one of these other fires is from Queen's. 1518 01:26:23,160 --> 01:26:26,839 Speaker 7: At seven point thirty pm on Friday night, someone reported 1519 01:26:26,880 --> 01:26:31,240 Speaker 7: smoke at an industrial complex in College Point, Queens. Firefighters 1520 01:26:31,240 --> 01:26:35,800 Speaker 7: soon responded to a rapidly growing fire inside a lumberyard warehouse. 1521 01:26:36,439 --> 01:26:38,799 Speaker 7: After the building was searched and no one was found inside, 1522 01:26:39,080 --> 01:26:42,200 Speaker 7: three hundred firefighters worked all night to contain the blaze 1523 01:26:42,360 --> 01:26:47,360 Speaker 7: to the sixty four thousand square foot warehouse. The lumberyard 1524 01:26:47,439 --> 01:26:50,320 Speaker 7: did burn down, but no injuries were reported, and the 1525 01:26:50,360 --> 01:26:54,400 Speaker 7: cause of the fire is still under investigation. But a 1526 01:26:54,439 --> 01:26:57,000 Speaker 7: post on x the Everything app with almost a million 1527 01:26:57,040 --> 01:27:02,120 Speaker 7: quote unquote views read quote an other disgruntled employee strikes 1528 01:27:02,160 --> 01:27:06,519 Speaker 7: at the heart of American capital. That TikTok influencer I 1529 01:27:06,600 --> 01:27:11,320 Speaker 7: already mentioned was very excited to share news of an 1530 01:27:11,400 --> 01:27:15,680 Speaker 7: Amazon warehouse on fire, despite not being quite sure of 1531 01:27:15,720 --> 01:27:19,080 Speaker 7: the details or how many warehouses were actually on. 1532 01:27:19,040 --> 01:27:23,719 Speaker 8: Fire, at least one of which I am beyond happy 1533 01:27:23,880 --> 01:27:27,519 Speaker 8: to announce one an Amazon warehouse, which is not to 1534 01:27:27,560 --> 01:27:30,760 Speaker 8: say more than one morn effect did. I've seen multiple 1535 01:27:30,840 --> 01:27:34,760 Speaker 8: videos of an Amazon warehouse on fire. I'm just not 1536 01:27:34,800 --> 01:27:37,599 Speaker 8: sure if it was multiple Amazon warehouses on fire or 1537 01:27:37,680 --> 01:27:41,479 Speaker 8: just multiple people recording the same Amazon warehouse that was 1538 01:27:41,479 --> 01:27:44,479 Speaker 8: on fire. Either way, either way, bottom line, people are 1539 01:27:44,520 --> 01:27:46,439 Speaker 8: setting Amazon warehouses on fire. 1540 01:27:47,040 --> 01:27:51,639 Speaker 7: There is no evidence anyone set this Amazon warehouse on fire, 1541 01:27:51,680 --> 01:27:55,080 Speaker 7: and yes, it is just one warehouse, not multiple. On 1542 01:27:55,160 --> 01:27:58,639 Speaker 7: April eighth, firefighters responded to a fire at an Amazon 1543 01:27:58,680 --> 01:28:03,800 Speaker 7: warehouse in West Jefferson, Ohio. The fulfillment center was evacuated 1544 01:28:03,840 --> 01:28:07,320 Speaker 7: as smoke billowed from the roof of the warehouse. The 1545 01:28:07,400 --> 01:28:11,559 Speaker 7: fire was extinguished quickly and caused quote unquote minimal damage 1546 01:28:11,680 --> 01:28:15,360 Speaker 7: to the underside of the roof. According to Jefferson Township 1547 01:28:15,400 --> 01:28:18,840 Speaker 7: fire Chief Dan Gatley, there is no evidence that this 1548 01:28:18,880 --> 01:28:23,799 Speaker 7: fire was intentionally set by an employee or by anyone, 1549 01:28:24,320 --> 01:28:28,240 Speaker 7: and was possibly caused by a simple solar panel malfunction. 1550 01:28:28,920 --> 01:28:32,360 Speaker 7: Investigators believe seventy five to one hundred solar panels on 1551 01:28:32,439 --> 01:28:35,720 Speaker 7: the roof of the warehouse caught fire, which burnt through 1552 01:28:35,880 --> 01:28:39,160 Speaker 7: quote just a little bit of the rubber membrane on 1553 01:28:39,240 --> 01:28:43,200 Speaker 7: the roofing and some of the insulation quote. According to 1554 01:28:43,400 --> 01:28:47,360 Speaker 7: fire chief Gatley, this insulation fell onto two racks of 1555 01:28:47,360 --> 01:28:51,759 Speaker 7: Amazon products, but Gatley estimated that more damage was caused 1556 01:28:51,760 --> 01:28:54,400 Speaker 7: by the water used to put out the solar panel 1557 01:28:54,439 --> 01:28:58,120 Speaker 7: fire than from the smoke or the fire itself. The 1558 01:28:58,160 --> 01:29:01,840 Speaker 7: exact cause of the fire is still on investigation. A 1559 01:29:01,920 --> 01:29:04,960 Speaker 7: post on x the Everything app with one point one 1560 01:29:05,040 --> 01:29:09,400 Speaker 7: million quote unquote views and twenty seven thousand likes, shared 1561 01:29:09,479 --> 01:29:12,839 Speaker 7: video of smoke billowing from the roof of the Amazon 1562 01:29:12,880 --> 01:29:16,400 Speaker 7: warehouse and was captioned, this is beginning to feel like 1563 01:29:16,479 --> 01:29:21,120 Speaker 7: something of a movement. Another post from a monetized blue 1564 01:29:21,200 --> 01:29:24,599 Speaker 7: check account with one million quote unquote views and twenty 1565 01:29:24,680 --> 01:29:28,320 Speaker 7: six thousand likes, also shared footage of the Amazon fire 1566 01:29:28,560 --> 01:29:32,240 Speaker 7: with the caption another warehouse fire, this time in Amazon 1567 01:29:32,240 --> 01:29:36,120 Speaker 7: fulfillment center in West Jefferson, Ohio. Warehouse employees across the 1568 01:29:36,120 --> 01:29:39,800 Speaker 7: country are using their unique position to attack the substructure 1569 01:29:40,120 --> 01:29:45,720 Speaker 7: and base of the Epstein class unquote. We'll return to 1570 01:29:45,840 --> 01:29:49,320 Speaker 7: talk more about these fires after this ad break. 1571 01:30:00,200 --> 01:30:01,080 Speaker 2: Okay, we're back. 1572 01:30:02,120 --> 01:30:07,120 Speaker 7: By the weekend, this warehouse fire meme really exploded and 1573 01:30:07,160 --> 01:30:10,280 Speaker 7: people started collecting reports of warehouse fires from all across 1574 01:30:10,320 --> 01:30:14,120 Speaker 7: the country. This next video went viral across TikTok and 1575 01:30:14,320 --> 01:30:16,640 Speaker 7: also spread to Reddit and Instagram. 1576 01:30:16,920 --> 01:30:19,200 Speaker 9: I was tagged about this. This is an Amazon warehouse 1577 01:30:19,200 --> 01:30:21,360 Speaker 9: that also just caught on fire. So this is the 1578 01:30:21,520 --> 01:30:24,439 Speaker 9: third one after we just heard about New York and 1579 01:30:24,520 --> 01:30:26,960 Speaker 9: Queens and then the other one in California where we 1580 01:30:27,040 --> 01:30:30,559 Speaker 9: saw the big video behind it. Right now, this is 1581 01:30:30,560 --> 01:30:33,040 Speaker 9: breaking news. I don't know much about it. I was 1582 01:30:33,120 --> 01:30:37,320 Speaker 9: tagged in this, this happened. I think perhaps today I'm. 1583 01:30:37,200 --> 01:30:40,839 Speaker 7: Gonna pause right here because next she includes a severe 1584 01:30:40,960 --> 01:30:46,000 Speaker 7: weather alert warning for risk of fire spreading in the Northeast, 1585 01:30:46,280 --> 01:30:50,799 Speaker 7: as if wildfires, and this weather alert was somehow related 1586 01:30:50,960 --> 01:30:54,800 Speaker 7: to warehouse fires on the other side of the country. 1587 01:30:54,840 --> 01:30:56,679 Speaker 9: And I haven't been able to find any news about 1588 01:30:56,680 --> 01:31:00,479 Speaker 9: it online yet. But there's this special Weather statement moderate 1589 01:31:00,960 --> 01:31:04,880 Speaker 9: for a fire spread in Pennsylvania right now. So that's 1590 01:31:05,120 --> 01:31:08,960 Speaker 9: four five right here where somebody said a Jene's store 1591 01:31:09,000 --> 01:31:12,720 Speaker 9: was set in fire in California. Again, I can't corroborate 1592 01:31:12,720 --> 01:31:14,960 Speaker 9: these things right now, these are just comments. And somebody 1593 01:31:15,000 --> 01:31:18,880 Speaker 9: also said New Jersey for another warehouse fire, so that 1594 01:31:19,040 --> 01:31:25,639 Speaker 9: is literally California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. I'm 1595 01:31:25,680 --> 01:31:28,439 Speaker 9: getting comments and reports in right now that there have 1596 01:31:28,520 --> 01:31:34,000 Speaker 9: been five different warehouse or storefront fires in the last 1597 01:31:34,200 --> 01:31:41,960 Speaker 9: three days. This shit is fucking wild. Holy six. I 1598 01:31:42,000 --> 01:31:47,200 Speaker 9: think that's six because it's two in California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 1599 01:31:47,320 --> 01:31:49,840 Speaker 9: and New Jersey. And again, I'm trying to find these 1600 01:31:49,960 --> 01:31:51,880 Speaker 9: items online right now, but like, I don't think the 1601 01:31:51,920 --> 01:31:53,840 Speaker 9: new cycle is caught up fast enough to it. So 1602 01:31:53,960 --> 01:31:58,080 Speaker 9: like who class war twenty twenty six shit? 1603 01:31:58,720 --> 01:32:01,000 Speaker 7: This person describes for off on TikTok as a quote 1604 01:32:01,040 --> 01:32:04,280 Speaker 7: unquote gorilla journalist, and that video got almost half a 1605 01:32:04,320 --> 01:32:07,960 Speaker 7: million views on TikTok and seventy four thousand likes by 1606 01:32:08,560 --> 01:32:12,080 Speaker 7: baselessly claiming that a string of fires that may or 1607 01:32:12,120 --> 01:32:16,680 Speaker 7: may not even be real are actually intentional arsons in 1608 01:32:16,720 --> 01:32:21,040 Speaker 7: an escalating class war hashtag eat the rich. Let's go 1609 01:32:21,120 --> 01:32:23,040 Speaker 7: over some of the details of a few of the 1610 01:32:23,080 --> 01:32:26,840 Speaker 7: fires that she and others have mentioned. In New Jersey. 1611 01:32:26,880 --> 01:32:29,479 Speaker 7: There were actually three fires this past week, one at 1612 01:32:29,479 --> 01:32:32,720 Speaker 7: a chemical plant, one at a battery warehouse and a 1613 01:32:32,760 --> 01:32:37,800 Speaker 7: wildfire which sent smoke into Pennsylvania. On Thursday, April ninth, 1614 01:32:38,000 --> 01:32:41,360 Speaker 7: a three alarm fire spread through a chemical warehouse in Newark, 1615 01:32:41,439 --> 01:32:44,960 Speaker 7: New Jersey. Over one hundred firefighters brought the fire under 1616 01:32:44,960 --> 01:32:48,240 Speaker 7: control that afternoon. No employees were harmed and the cause 1617 01:32:48,320 --> 01:32:52,679 Speaker 7: is under investigation. On the morning of April thirteenth, there 1618 01:32:52,760 --> 01:32:56,479 Speaker 7: was another three alarm warehouse fire in Rawway, New Jersey. 1619 01:32:57,000 --> 01:33:01,120 Speaker 7: While searching the structure, firefighters discovered the blaze emerged from 1620 01:33:01,240 --> 01:33:05,400 Speaker 7: palettes of lithium ion batteries. The exact cause of the 1621 01:33:05,400 --> 01:33:09,640 Speaker 7: fire still remains under investigation, and this past weekend, a 1622 01:33:09,680 --> 01:33:13,679 Speaker 7: wildfire spread through South New Jersey, burning up to one 1623 01:33:13,760 --> 01:33:17,600 Speaker 7: hundred and sixty acres and sending smoke into Pennsylvania. The 1624 01:33:17,680 --> 01:33:20,960 Speaker 7: National Weather Service worn beforehand that there was an elevated 1625 01:33:21,080 --> 01:33:24,640 Speaker 7: risk of wildfires last Saturday due to low humidity and 1626 01:33:24,760 --> 01:33:28,920 Speaker 7: twenty five mile per hour wind gusts. On the afternoon 1627 01:33:28,960 --> 01:33:33,280 Speaker 7: of Friday, April tenth, firefighters responded to a commercial structure 1628 01:33:33,320 --> 01:33:38,240 Speaker 7: fire at a trash disposal business near Atlanta, Georgia. The 1629 01:33:38,280 --> 01:33:41,680 Speaker 7: blaze stemmed from a garbage fire in the warehouse that 1630 01:33:41,760 --> 01:33:44,120 Speaker 7: grew out of control when adult was sent to the 1631 01:33:44,120 --> 01:33:47,840 Speaker 7: hospital with non life threatening injuries. Per a Gwinette County 1632 01:33:47,880 --> 01:33:52,719 Speaker 7: news release, quote, the incident presented several operational challenges, including 1633 01:33:52,760 --> 01:33:56,400 Speaker 7: a downed power line, a deep seated fire within large 1634 01:33:56,439 --> 01:34:01,559 Speaker 7: debris piles, structural components exposed to prolonged teat, and nearby 1635 01:34:01,760 --> 01:34:06,679 Speaker 7: hazards involving liquid petroleum gas tanks, and a diesel fuel reservoir. 1636 01:34:07,040 --> 01:34:07,360 Speaker 3: Quote. 1637 01:34:07,800 --> 01:34:11,879 Speaker 7: Firefighters brought this fire under control in less than four hours. 1638 01:34:12,360 --> 01:34:16,160 Speaker 7: According to employees, the fire originated from a small trash 1639 01:34:16,160 --> 01:34:19,840 Speaker 7: fire near the edge of the warehouse. Workers attempted to 1640 01:34:19,880 --> 01:34:23,280 Speaker 7: remove the burning debris before the fire rapidly intensified and 1641 01:34:23,360 --> 01:34:26,760 Speaker 7: spread to the structure. The fire was ruled accidental, and 1642 01:34:26,880 --> 01:34:30,519 Speaker 7: department spokesperson Lieutenant Jessica Joyner said that it appears to 1643 01:34:30,600 --> 01:34:34,160 Speaker 7: have been caused by trash piled in an unsafe manner, 1644 01:34:34,439 --> 01:34:38,440 Speaker 7: which can combust when mixed together at such garbage facilities. 1645 01:34:39,080 --> 01:34:43,400 Speaker 7: But two days later, a viral post read quote Atlanta 1646 01:34:43,600 --> 01:34:48,880 Speaker 7: Queen's Bakersfield, Ontario. I'm starting to lose track. Many people 1647 01:34:48,920 --> 01:34:54,360 Speaker 7: are saying only living wages can prevent warehouse fires. Speaking 1648 01:34:54,439 --> 01:35:00,320 Speaker 7: of Bakersfield, a quote unquote communist Twitter account quote a 1649 01:35:00,400 --> 01:35:03,680 Speaker 7: video of a warehouse fire in Bakersfield, California from a 1650 01:35:03,800 --> 01:35:08,160 Speaker 7: monetized news aggregator account and got twenty one thousand likes 1651 01:35:08,160 --> 01:35:11,920 Speaker 7: by writing let it be a pattern. Another account shared 1652 01:35:11,960 --> 01:35:15,360 Speaker 7: a different video ripped from TikTok, captioned it's almost like 1653 01:35:15,400 --> 01:35:19,760 Speaker 7: electing billionaires was a bad idea. A socialist branded monetized 1654 01:35:19,800 --> 01:35:23,639 Speaker 7: account posted another angle of the Baker's Field fire, getting 1655 01:35:23,680 --> 01:35:27,960 Speaker 7: fourteen thousand likes with the caption is a rebellion actually 1656 01:35:28,000 --> 01:35:32,000 Speaker 7: brewing in the Imperial Core. On the afternoon of April eleventh, 1657 01:35:32,200 --> 01:35:35,840 Speaker 7: firefighters responded to a fire at a thirty thousand square 1658 01:35:35,840 --> 01:35:40,040 Speaker 7: foot warehouse in East Bakersfield. The Kerrn County Fire Department 1659 01:35:40,040 --> 01:35:43,160 Speaker 7: said this is the third time buildings at this warehouse 1660 01:35:43,280 --> 01:35:46,000 Speaker 7: complex have caught on fire in the past few years, 1661 01:35:46,479 --> 01:35:49,360 Speaker 7: with similar fires in November twenty twenty four and January 1662 01:35:49,400 --> 01:35:52,040 Speaker 7: twenty twenty five. The cause of this new fire is 1663 01:35:52,080 --> 01:35:55,200 Speaker 7: still unknown and under investigation, but we know it was 1664 01:35:55,240 --> 01:36:00,160 Speaker 7: definitely not caused by warehouse employees because this is an 1665 01:36:00,160 --> 01:36:03,920 Speaker 7: abandoned warehouse. The previous owner of the buildings told local 1666 01:36:03,960 --> 01:36:07,680 Speaker 7: news that the fires have been started by quote unquote vagrants. 1667 01:36:08,720 --> 01:36:12,400 Speaker 7: A massive fire engulfed another lumberyard last Saturday night in 1668 01:36:12,479 --> 01:36:16,280 Speaker 7: Wayne County, Ohio. It took twenty four fire departments across 1669 01:36:16,360 --> 01:36:20,360 Speaker 7: three counties working together to extinguish the flames. This lumberyard 1670 01:36:20,560 --> 01:36:25,759 Speaker 7: was home to a wooden Pallette manufacturing business. On Sunday afternoon, 1671 01:36:25,760 --> 01:36:29,400 Speaker 7: the owners of the Pallette manufacturing plant said in a statement, quote, 1672 01:36:29,640 --> 01:36:31,800 Speaker 7: we are grateful no one was injured and that the 1673 01:36:31,880 --> 01:36:34,960 Speaker 7: fire was contained. We are working with investigators to determine 1674 01:36:35,000 --> 01:36:38,880 Speaker 7: the cause and with our insurance carrier to begin recovery. 1675 01:36:39,439 --> 01:36:42,719 Speaker 7: Southwood Palette has served this community for forty two years, 1676 01:36:43,080 --> 01:36:46,320 Speaker 7: and we intend to rebuild and be stronger than ever. 1677 01:36:46,600 --> 01:36:47,240 Speaker 2: Unquote. 1678 01:36:47,800 --> 01:36:50,799 Speaker 7: Footage of this fire racked up over half a million 1679 01:36:50,840 --> 01:36:55,839 Speaker 7: quote unquote views on a socialist branded monetized ex account captioned, 1680 01:36:56,360 --> 01:36:58,799 Speaker 7: now there is a five alarm fire at a lumber 1681 01:36:58,920 --> 01:37:02,479 Speaker 7: Pallette warehouse in Wine County, Ohio. There are too many 1682 01:37:02,520 --> 01:37:05,639 Speaker 7: fires to be a coincidence. The working class has had 1683 01:37:05,680 --> 01:37:09,160 Speaker 7: it and quote. Tweets of the video got tens of 1684 01:37:09,200 --> 01:37:13,240 Speaker 7: thousands of likes, with users writing, quote love to see 1685 01:37:13,280 --> 01:37:16,680 Speaker 7: people finally standing up against their employers. Eight in a 1686 01:37:16,720 --> 01:37:21,760 Speaker 7: week and no more thoughts and prayers, only fire unquote. 1687 01:37:22,800 --> 01:37:27,320 Speaker 7: Here's another video with over three hundred thousand views from 1688 01:37:27,400 --> 01:37:31,160 Speaker 7: that TikTok Gorilla journalist going through a few more of 1689 01:37:31,200 --> 01:37:33,720 Speaker 7: these warehouse fires that I've mentioned. 1690 01:37:33,560 --> 01:37:35,920 Speaker 9: Based on all of my comments and my research online, 1691 01:37:35,960 --> 01:37:37,600 Speaker 9: based on what people are telling me and from what 1692 01:37:37,640 --> 01:37:39,599 Speaker 9: I can see, the ones that I can corroborate right 1693 01:37:39,640 --> 01:37:42,719 Speaker 9: now was that last one was Ohio in a lumber yard, 1694 01:37:42,880 --> 01:37:45,320 Speaker 9: and then we had the Ohio Amazon, which was apparently 1695 01:37:45,479 --> 01:37:48,600 Speaker 9: due to the solar panels, we'll say. And then we 1696 01:37:48,680 --> 01:37:51,040 Speaker 9: have one in the Queens, New York one which was 1697 01:37:51,040 --> 01:37:54,120 Speaker 9: a lumber as well. New Jersey was a chemical warehouse. 1698 01:37:54,200 --> 01:37:57,599 Speaker 9: Georgia was a commercial structure. And then lastly, the one 1699 01:37:57,600 --> 01:37:59,920 Speaker 9: that you all been tagging me in is the California 1700 01:38:00,120 --> 01:38:02,280 Speaker 9: Jane Store which spread throughout the mall. From what I 1701 01:38:02,320 --> 01:38:04,720 Speaker 9: can hear and have seen online, so that is a 1702 01:38:04,800 --> 01:38:09,439 Speaker 9: total of seven since our original Luigi Man set fire 1703 01:38:09,760 --> 01:38:14,160 Speaker 9: to the toilet paper facility that one. So that's where 1704 01:38:14,160 --> 01:38:17,120 Speaker 9: we are right now, a total of seven in about 1705 01:38:17,320 --> 01:38:23,240 Speaker 9: three four days of warehouse storefront fires throughout the United States. 1706 01:38:23,280 --> 01:38:25,040 Speaker 9: Now we don't know about all of them, but these 1707 01:38:25,080 --> 01:38:27,760 Speaker 9: are the ones that are on the radar right now. 1708 01:38:27,800 --> 01:38:29,240 Speaker 9: So if there's more out there, let me know. But 1709 01:38:29,479 --> 01:38:30,479 Speaker 9: we're up to seven now. 1710 01:38:31,240 --> 01:38:33,960 Speaker 7: Out of all the fires that she's talked about, the 1711 01:38:33,960 --> 01:38:36,800 Speaker 7: only one that we know is ourson. Besides the toilet 1712 01:38:36,840 --> 01:38:39,960 Speaker 7: paper warehouse, is this fire at a mall in the 1713 01:38:40,000 --> 01:38:43,160 Speaker 7: same city in California, where a man who does not 1714 01:38:43,320 --> 01:38:47,599 Speaker 7: work at the mall allegedly lit multiple fires across several stores. 1715 01:38:48,320 --> 01:38:51,680 Speaker 7: The mall reopened later that same day, and authorities have 1716 01:38:51,760 --> 01:38:55,000 Speaker 7: said there's no connection to the warehouse fire, though the 1717 01:38:55,040 --> 01:38:59,759 Speaker 7: investigation is still ongoing. Before I discuss what's actually happening 1718 01:38:59,760 --> 01:39:03,320 Speaker 7: with all these warehouse fires, let's go on one more 1719 01:39:03,400 --> 01:39:04,160 Speaker 7: at break. 1720 01:39:14,800 --> 01:39:15,760 Speaker 5: All right, we are back. 1721 01:39:16,520 --> 01:39:19,360 Speaker 7: So what's really going on with all these warehouse fires? 1722 01:39:19,479 --> 01:39:22,320 Speaker 7: Is all this reporting just a coincidence? Are these fires 1723 01:39:22,400 --> 01:39:26,400 Speaker 7: really labor related? Are these all disgruntled employees? Is there 1724 01:39:26,439 --> 01:39:31,840 Speaker 7: even more fires happening than usual? All good questions. Even 1725 01:39:32,040 --> 01:39:35,040 Speaker 7: if the exact cause of most of these fires hasn't 1726 01:39:35,080 --> 01:39:38,400 Speaker 7: yet been determined, it does seem from watching all these 1727 01:39:38,479 --> 01:39:42,599 Speaker 7: videos that there's been an increase of warehouse fires since 1728 01:39:42,680 --> 01:39:47,200 Speaker 7: the first toilet paper inferno. Though, just because you're more 1729 01:39:47,280 --> 01:39:51,479 Speaker 7: aware of warehouse fires happening across the country doesn't mean 1730 01:39:51,600 --> 01:39:54,920 Speaker 7: that these fires are actually happening at a higher rate. 1731 01:39:55,640 --> 01:39:59,760 Speaker 7: A report from the National Fire Protection Association found that 1732 01:39:59,800 --> 01:40:03,759 Speaker 7: for from twenty to twenty twenty four and estimated one thousand, 1733 01:40:03,840 --> 01:40:08,200 Speaker 7: five hundred and forty four warehouse fires occur every year. 1734 01:40:08,920 --> 01:40:13,400 Speaker 7: That's an average of four fires per day. Warehouses are 1735 01:40:13,600 --> 01:40:17,040 Speaker 7: home to a lot of high heat equipment and materials 1736 01:40:17,080 --> 01:40:22,400 Speaker 7: that are easily combustible, like lumber, paper products, batteries, and chemicals. 1737 01:40:23,160 --> 01:40:26,320 Speaker 7: The recent National Fire Protection Association report found that most 1738 01:40:26,360 --> 01:40:31,320 Speaker 7: warehouse structure fires had an unintentional cause twenty nine percent, 1739 01:40:32,040 --> 01:40:35,080 Speaker 7: ten percent were caused by failure of equipment or a 1740 01:40:35,120 --> 01:40:40,919 Speaker 7: heat source, and intentional fires accounted for just seven percent 1741 01:40:41,200 --> 01:40:46,000 Speaker 7: of warehouse fires. Operating equipment was the leading heat source 1742 01:40:46,080 --> 01:40:50,479 Speaker 7: in warehouse fires, responsible for forty three percent, and shop 1743 01:40:50,520 --> 01:40:53,519 Speaker 7: tools and industrial equipment were involved in the ignition of 1744 01:40:53,680 --> 01:40:58,200 Speaker 7: nineteen percent of warehouse fires. Misuse of material or product 1745 01:40:58,280 --> 01:41:02,759 Speaker 7: and electrical failure are the leading factors contributing to ignition. 1746 01:41:03,320 --> 01:41:07,040 Speaker 7: Improper storage of flammable materials and human error are also 1747 01:41:07,200 --> 01:41:13,160 Speaker 7: contributing factors. Intentionally set fires or arson does happen, but 1748 01:41:13,200 --> 01:41:16,400 Speaker 7: it's not the most common cause of modern warehouse fires. 1749 01:41:16,960 --> 01:41:20,880 Speaker 7: And again, warehouse structure fires happen four times a day 1750 01:41:20,960 --> 01:41:24,160 Speaker 7: on average, So not only is there no proof that 1751 01:41:24,680 --> 01:41:28,720 Speaker 7: underpaid employees have begun a free of lighting fire to 1752 01:41:28,760 --> 01:41:33,080 Speaker 7: their workplace, but there hasn't even been a recent increase 1753 01:41:33,200 --> 01:41:38,439 Speaker 7: in warehouse fires. On Monday afternoon, footage spread online of 1754 01:41:38,479 --> 01:41:43,120 Speaker 7: another warehouse fire outside Miami with the caption living wages 1755 01:41:43,200 --> 01:41:48,679 Speaker 7: prevent warehouse fires. But this fire actually took place over 1756 01:41:48,800 --> 01:41:52,479 Speaker 7: a month ago on March fifth, twenty twenty six, and 1757 01:41:52,560 --> 01:41:58,520 Speaker 7: an inventory storage warehouse. An employee told NBC Miami quote, Apparently, 1758 01:41:58,560 --> 01:42:01,559 Speaker 7: there was a short circuit and a spark fell on 1759 01:42:01,560 --> 01:42:04,000 Speaker 7: one of the carpets we have, and that's how the 1760 01:42:04,040 --> 01:42:06,439 Speaker 7: fire started. We try to put it out, but it 1761 01:42:06,520 --> 01:42:11,599 Speaker 7: happened too fast. Officials have not yet confirmed those details, 1762 01:42:11,640 --> 01:42:14,040 Speaker 7: and the exact cause the fire is still under investigation. 1763 01:42:14,800 --> 01:42:18,680 Speaker 7: But it is literally impossible for this fire to in 1764 01:42:18,760 --> 01:42:22,439 Speaker 7: any way be related to the toilet paper warehouse because 1765 01:42:22,479 --> 01:42:25,920 Speaker 7: it happened a month prior, and the footage is just 1766 01:42:26,040 --> 01:42:31,280 Speaker 7: circulating now to boost social media engagement. The video of 1767 01:42:31,400 --> 01:42:35,200 Speaker 7: the employee allegedly setting fire to Pallette. Toilet paper channeled 1768 01:42:35,520 --> 01:42:39,479 Speaker 7: such a strong feeling across American workers that people invented 1769 01:42:39,520 --> 01:42:42,599 Speaker 7: and circulated a whole fake news cycle about a string 1770 01:42:42,720 --> 01:42:44,280 Speaker 7: of copycat incidents. 1771 01:42:44,640 --> 01:42:47,440 Speaker 6: Something comes me, We're not done with the warehouse fires, 1772 01:42:47,479 --> 01:42:49,720 Speaker 6: just a hunch, because only if you had paid us 1773 01:42:49,880 --> 01:42:53,280 Speaker 6: a livable wage. And I'm pretty sure everyone is fucking 1774 01:42:53,360 --> 01:42:55,200 Speaker 6: over corporate America at this point. 1775 01:42:55,400 --> 01:42:56,200 Speaker 4: Like over it. 1776 01:42:56,520 --> 01:42:58,479 Speaker 6: People are starting to realize that there are more of 1777 01:42:58,560 --> 01:43:00,640 Speaker 6: us than there are of them, and the only thing 1778 01:43:00,680 --> 01:43:02,880 Speaker 6: that they care about is their profits, not the people. 1779 01:43:03,080 --> 01:43:05,479 Speaker 6: So if you burn down the profits, the people will 1780 01:43:05,520 --> 01:43:08,439 Speaker 6: find other jobs. Companies have to assure it the message 1781 01:43:08,479 --> 01:43:11,519 Speaker 6: really sends. I'm not concerning it or encouraging it, but 1782 01:43:11,600 --> 01:43:13,360 Speaker 6: I am saying it makes. 1783 01:43:13,080 --> 01:43:17,479 Speaker 7: A point that TikTok clip demonstrates why people are so 1784 01:43:17,680 --> 01:43:21,080 Speaker 7: primed to share these fire spree claims and memes of 1785 01:43:21,120 --> 01:43:24,960 Speaker 7: Smoky the Bear saying only living wages can prevent warehouse fires. 1786 01:43:25,760 --> 01:43:29,920 Speaker 7: This whole warehouse fire social media news cycle is an 1787 01:43:29,920 --> 01:43:33,680 Speaker 7: instance of selective reporting, which happens when there is a 1788 01:43:33,720 --> 01:43:38,000 Speaker 7: big national news story like someone filming themselves burning down 1789 01:43:38,040 --> 01:43:40,880 Speaker 7: a one point two million square foot warehouse and then 1790 01:43:41,040 --> 01:43:44,919 Speaker 7: that causes people to share what they believe are related stories, 1791 01:43:45,400 --> 01:43:48,800 Speaker 7: often from local news reporting, even if the connection is 1792 01:43:49,080 --> 01:43:53,880 Speaker 7: minor or tangential at best. A local report from Wayne County, 1793 01:43:53,880 --> 01:43:58,720 Speaker 7: Ohio ordinarily would not circulate as national news, but on 1794 01:43:58,760 --> 01:44:03,679 Speaker 7: social media a relatively unremarkable lumberyard fire can become part 1795 01:44:03,800 --> 01:44:08,280 Speaker 7: of a new, increasing trend. Sometimes local news agencies themselves 1796 01:44:08,439 --> 01:44:11,719 Speaker 7: may be incentivized to cover smaller stories in a certain way, 1797 01:44:12,160 --> 01:44:15,240 Speaker 7: to ride the coattails of a national story that shares 1798 01:44:15,280 --> 01:44:19,600 Speaker 7: a few similar details, or national news outlets fishing for 1799 01:44:19,640 --> 01:44:23,600 Speaker 7: clicks may themselves cover what would typically only be a 1800 01:44:23,680 --> 01:44:27,479 Speaker 7: local story if it relates to a currently viral topic. 1801 01:44:28,240 --> 01:44:30,479 Speaker 7: A post on X the Everything app with one point 1802 01:44:30,520 --> 01:44:34,759 Speaker 7: four million quote unquote views and sixty seven thousand likes 1803 01:44:35,240 --> 01:44:38,719 Speaker 7: read quote, We're up to six warehouses set on fire 1804 01:44:38,840 --> 01:44:41,400 Speaker 7: now across the country, and I feel like it's being 1805 01:44:41,439 --> 01:44:46,719 Speaker 7: severely underreported un quote. If anything, these fires are being 1806 01:44:47,080 --> 01:44:52,520 Speaker 7: over reported. Another example of selective reporting is aviation accidents, 1807 01:44:53,000 --> 01:44:57,000 Speaker 7: where in the weeks after a high profile commercial airline crash, 1808 01:44:57,200 --> 01:45:00,400 Speaker 7: local news reports will spread around social media about even 1809 01:45:00,439 --> 01:45:04,439 Speaker 7: more plane crashes, even if these are mostly small private 1810 01:45:04,439 --> 01:45:08,679 Speaker 7: planes which get into accidents semi regularly Allah Harrison Ford, 1811 01:45:09,360 --> 01:45:12,519 Speaker 7: or minor runway incidents that usually don't make the news. 1812 01:45:13,320 --> 01:45:16,400 Speaker 7: A twenty twenty five poll from Data for Progress showed 1813 01:45:16,640 --> 01:45:20,519 Speaker 7: seventy two percent of likely voters believed plane crashes were 1814 01:45:20,520 --> 01:45:25,559 Speaker 7: becoming more frequent. A CNN report analyzing National Transportation Safety 1815 01:45:25,560 --> 01:45:28,000 Speaker 7: Board data from January twenty twenty four to March twenty 1816 01:45:28,000 --> 01:45:31,639 Speaker 7: twenty five found that out of one thousand, two hundred 1817 01:45:31,680 --> 01:45:37,200 Speaker 7: and eight flight safety incidents, only sixty incidents involved commercial carriers. 1818 01:45:37,640 --> 01:45:42,320 Speaker 7: Some of these incidents included turbulence or incursions that's unauthorized aircraft, 1819 01:45:42,400 --> 01:45:45,719 Speaker 7: vehicles or pedestrians on the runway. Half of these sixty 1820 01:45:45,720 --> 01:45:50,560 Speaker 7: incidents resulted in injuries, and two involved fatalities, the helicopter 1821 01:45:50,600 --> 01:45:53,880 Speaker 7: collision in Washington, d c. And a plane crash in Alaska. 1822 01:45:54,439 --> 01:45:59,200 Speaker 7: While those fatal tragedies and other high profile incidents like 1823 01:45:59,240 --> 01:46:02,200 Speaker 7: the runway flip in Toronto and the door flying off 1824 01:46:02,240 --> 01:46:05,160 Speaker 7: an Alaska Airlines plane mid flight, have sewed fear in 1825 01:46:05,200 --> 01:46:10,320 Speaker 7: the general public, Statistically, air travel is not getting more dangerous. 1826 01:46:10,880 --> 01:46:14,439 Speaker 7: The number of yearly safety incidents have remained mostly steady 1827 01:46:14,520 --> 01:46:17,720 Speaker 7: the past decade and only dropped around the pandemic due 1828 01:46:17,720 --> 01:46:21,400 Speaker 7: to a decrease in total air travel. In fact, on average, 1829 01:46:21,680 --> 01:46:26,240 Speaker 7: flying has only gotten safer, even including private and recreational flights. 1830 01:46:26,479 --> 01:46:29,840 Speaker 7: The average number of annual deadly incidents has fallen by 1831 01:46:29,880 --> 01:46:33,519 Speaker 7: more than half since two thousand, excluding nine to eleven. 1832 01:46:34,240 --> 01:46:37,240 Speaker 7: Despite viral news clips of near misses on the runway 1833 01:46:37,280 --> 01:46:41,400 Speaker 7: and an air traffic controller shortage, those runway incursions have 1834 01:46:41,520 --> 01:46:45,599 Speaker 7: also steadily dropped in recent years. But such data can 1835 01:46:45,640 --> 01:46:48,200 Speaker 7: be heard to stomach if in the days after a 1836 01:46:48,280 --> 01:46:52,559 Speaker 7: high profile aviation incident, you keep seeing more reports about 1837 01:46:52,600 --> 01:46:55,880 Speaker 7: plane crashes all across the country, but that itself is 1838 01:46:56,080 --> 01:47:00,599 Speaker 7: selective reporting. On average three to four planes crash every day, 1839 01:47:00,800 --> 01:47:05,000 Speaker 7: and these are typically small private planes, not commercial airliners, 1840 01:47:05,400 --> 01:47:09,880 Speaker 7: and typically a small Cessna crashing in Kentucky doesn't make 1841 01:47:10,000 --> 01:47:14,200 Speaker 7: national news. The same thing is happening with these warehouse fires. 1842 01:47:14,920 --> 01:47:19,560 Speaker 7: Lefty TikTok influencers and many others participating in this warehouse 1843 01:47:19,560 --> 01:47:23,479 Speaker 7: fire meme are ascribing the motive of one person onto 1844 01:47:23,560 --> 01:47:27,320 Speaker 7: a collection of unrelated incidents, trying to create a pattern 1845 01:47:27,720 --> 01:47:29,599 Speaker 7: when there probably isn't. 1846 01:47:29,640 --> 01:47:32,720 Speaker 8: One saw that this one guy said that he did 1847 01:47:32,760 --> 01:47:36,840 Speaker 8: it because of his anger towards capitalism. And I don't 1848 01:47:36,880 --> 01:47:39,040 Speaker 8: know if that was the original toilet paper guy or 1849 01:47:39,080 --> 01:47:42,280 Speaker 8: like another one of these warehouse fires, but to each 1850 01:47:42,320 --> 01:47:45,759 Speaker 8: and every one of them, period, keep it up again. 1851 01:47:45,880 --> 01:47:48,479 Speaker 8: Out of all the incidents I mentioned, the only two 1852 01:47:48,600 --> 01:47:51,880 Speaker 8: we know were intentional was the toilet paper warehouse and 1853 01:47:51,960 --> 01:47:55,120 Speaker 8: the Ontario mall, And the only one we have a 1854 01:47:55,120 --> 01:48:00,639 Speaker 8: suspected motive for is the toilet paper warehouse. An Emerson 1855 01:48:00,720 --> 01:48:03,919 Speaker 8: College poll found that forty one percent of young voters 1856 01:48:04,360 --> 01:48:08,000 Speaker 8: thought the actions of the United Healthcare assassin were acceptable. 1857 01:48:08,479 --> 01:48:12,360 Speaker 8: Another nineteen percent said that they were neutral on the question. 1858 01:48:13,160 --> 01:48:17,360 Speaker 8: Luigi Mangioni. Memes and reactions to this toilet paper fire 1859 01:48:18,080 --> 01:48:22,360 Speaker 8: do demonstrate a form of class consciousness. This same week, 1860 01:48:22,439 --> 01:48:25,360 Speaker 8: people have cheered the attacks on the home of open 1861 01:48:25,439 --> 01:48:29,760 Speaker 8: Ai CEO Sam Altman. Even if influencers are just trying 1862 01:48:29,760 --> 01:48:33,000 Speaker 8: to make a profit, there is an active willingness among 1863 01:48:33,040 --> 01:48:36,960 Speaker 8: the consumers sharing memes and this living wage warehouse fire 1864 01:48:37,040 --> 01:48:42,040 Speaker 8: content to rally behind such action. The working conditions at 1865 01:48:42,080 --> 01:48:46,320 Speaker 8: these warehouses can be inhumane. Just last week, a forty 1866 01:48:46,320 --> 01:48:49,519 Speaker 8: seven year old worker at an Amazon warehouse in Troutdale, Oregon, 1867 01:48:49,960 --> 01:48:54,880 Speaker 8: collapsed and died. Supervisors prevented someone with CPR training to 1868 01:48:55,000 --> 01:48:59,679 Speaker 8: assist with chest compressions and instructed employees to continue work 1869 01:48:59,680 --> 01:49:03,719 Speaker 8: as usual as the body laid still on the floor. 1870 01:49:04,200 --> 01:49:07,799 Speaker 8: Oregon Osha has said the death was not work related. 1871 01:49:08,720 --> 01:49:12,760 Speaker 8: In a catastrophic vibe shift, Let's go back to our 1872 01:49:13,040 --> 01:49:18,479 Speaker 8: left wing TikTok influencer for his analysis. I really hope 1873 01:49:19,000 --> 01:49:23,880 Speaker 8: this is a sign of of what we all hope 1874 01:49:23,920 --> 01:49:26,120 Speaker 8: it to sign up. I can't be the only one 1875 01:49:26,160 --> 01:49:29,400 Speaker 8: who has felt like the tides are turning, the tables 1876 01:49:29,400 --> 01:49:32,320 Speaker 8: are turning, the winds are shifting. It really feels like 1877 01:49:32,400 --> 01:49:36,439 Speaker 8: there's actual movement being made in just the last few days, 1878 01:49:36,760 --> 01:49:40,960 Speaker 8: and now all these warehouse fires, which sure could be 1879 01:49:41,000 --> 01:49:43,439 Speaker 8: a coincidence, but I don't think so, at least I 1880 01:49:43,439 --> 01:49:43,800 Speaker 8: hope not. 1881 01:49:44,040 --> 01:49:45,479 Speaker 2: But what do you guys think? 1882 01:49:45,800 --> 01:49:46,120 Speaker 3: Come up? 1883 01:49:46,120 --> 01:49:49,600 Speaker 8: Blow and if this really is truly the beginning of 1884 01:49:50,320 --> 01:49:53,000 Speaker 8: it all ending, give me a follow for more like this? 1885 01:49:54,200 --> 01:49:54,400 Speaker 6: Huh? 1886 01:49:55,400 --> 01:49:57,960 Speaker 7: Everyone knows the most important thing to do when the 1887 01:49:58,000 --> 01:50:02,479 Speaker 7: revolution starts is to get give me a follow. Speaking of, 1888 01:50:02,760 --> 01:50:05,320 Speaker 7: there is just two days left of webby voting for 1889 01:50:05,520 --> 01:50:08,760 Speaker 7: it could happen here behind the bastards and migrating to 1890 01:50:08,880 --> 01:50:12,559 Speaker 7: America and we may need a supermajority to beat the 1891 01:50:12,720 --> 01:50:16,920 Speaker 7: ms NOW filibuster, So go make your voices heard before 1892 01:50:17,160 --> 01:50:21,960 Speaker 7: voting ends on April sixteenth. That does it for me today, 1893 01:50:22,080 --> 01:50:37,560 Speaker 7: at it could happen here. See you on the other side. 1894 01:50:38,360 --> 01:50:40,080 Speaker 5: It's been more than a month since the US in 1895 01:50:40,160 --> 01:50:43,240 Speaker 5: Israel began raining down bombs in it Run. We've covered 1896 01:50:43,280 --> 01:50:46,240 Speaker 5: the weekly developments every week on Executive Disorder, but I 1897 01:50:46,320 --> 01:50:48,480 Speaker 5: decided that it was high time made a full episode 1898 01:50:48,680 --> 01:50:51,280 Speaker 5: to get people up to speed with the USA's latest aggression, 1899 01:50:51,760 --> 01:50:54,320 Speaker 5: the IDF opening up another front, and it's multifront war 1900 01:50:54,320 --> 01:50:57,320 Speaker 5: against the people of the Middle East. Normally, one would 1901 01:50:57,360 --> 01:50:59,720 Speaker 5: expect a major war with a major power like this 1902 01:51:00,200 --> 01:51:04,000 Speaker 5: fundamentally destabilized the region and ground world trade to a halt, 1903 01:51:04,360 --> 01:51:08,120 Speaker 5: caused massive inflation, to have some kind of very clearly 1904 01:51:08,160 --> 01:51:11,200 Speaker 5: defined set of goals. That is not the case here. 1905 01:51:12,040 --> 01:51:14,840 Speaker 5: We have seen various justifications, but the most common one 1906 01:51:14,880 --> 01:51:17,599 Speaker 5: seems to be that Iran is just weeks from creating 1907 01:51:17,640 --> 01:51:22,160 Speaker 5: a nuclear bomb. This is a claim that specifically Benjamin 1908 01:51:22,240 --> 01:51:25,040 Speaker 5: Nette Yahoo has been making for almost the entire time 1909 01:51:25,080 --> 01:51:27,920 Speaker 5: I have been alive. Here he is saying something similar 1910 01:51:27,920 --> 01:51:29,280 Speaker 5: a decade ago. 1911 01:51:29,000 --> 01:51:33,280 Speaker 10: The foremost sponsor of global terrorism could be weeks away 1912 01:51:34,080 --> 01:51:38,120 Speaker 10: from having enough and rich uranium for an entire arsenal 1913 01:51:38,120 --> 01:51:39,200 Speaker 10: of nuclear weapons. 1914 01:51:40,000 --> 01:51:42,960 Speaker 5: His claim was fanciful then, and it remains even more 1915 01:51:43,000 --> 01:51:46,200 Speaker 5: so now after twenty twenty five to Operation Midnight Hammer 1916 01:51:46,520 --> 01:51:50,599 Speaker 5: saw the USA and Israel attempt to bomb nuclear facilities. Indeed, 1917 01:51:50,600 --> 01:51:53,439 Speaker 5: the White House itself publishes statement on the twenty fifth 1918 01:51:53,439 --> 01:51:56,880 Speaker 5: of June following Operation Midnight Hammer, in which they quoted 1919 01:51:56,880 --> 01:52:00,680 Speaker 5: the Israel Atomic Energy Commission saying, quote, we assessed that 1920 01:52:00,760 --> 01:52:03,880 Speaker 5: the American strikes and around nuclear facilities, combined with the 1921 01:52:03,960 --> 01:52:07,520 Speaker 5: Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran's military nuclear program, 1922 01:52:07,720 --> 01:52:10,720 Speaker 5: has set back Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons by 1923 01:52:10,800 --> 01:52:15,080 Speaker 5: many years. The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does 1924 01:52:15,120 --> 01:52:18,360 Speaker 5: not get access to nuclear material. It also include a 1925 01:52:18,439 --> 01:52:23,160 Speaker 5: quotation from Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, saying quote, based 1926 01:52:23,200 --> 01:52:26,240 Speaker 5: on everything we have seen, and I've seen it all, 1927 01:52:26,600 --> 01:52:30,679 Speaker 5: our bombing campaign abliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons 1928 01:52:31,240 --> 01:52:34,760 Speaker 5: that was less than a year ago. It seems unlikely 1929 01:52:34,800 --> 01:52:38,320 Speaker 5: that they destroyed much or any of the uranium that 1930 01:52:38,439 --> 01:52:41,479 Speaker 5: was stockpiled, but they certainly would have delayed plans to 1931 01:52:41,640 --> 01:52:45,720 Speaker 5: enrich that uranium or to build into a bond. Nonetheless, 1932 01:52:45,840 --> 01:52:48,160 Speaker 5: on the twenty eighth of February this year, a massive 1933 01:52:48,160 --> 01:52:51,360 Speaker 5: campaign of air strikes, high mars beraches, and ballistic misstile 1934 01:52:51,360 --> 01:52:55,559 Speaker 5: attacks on Iran began under the code name Operation Epic Fury. 1935 01:52:56,439 --> 01:52:59,240 Speaker 5: The acronym OEF will be familiar to many as the 1936 01:52:59,280 --> 01:53:01,200 Speaker 5: same one used by the USA for more than a 1937 01:53:01,240 --> 01:53:03,400 Speaker 5: decade of war in Afghanistan and other parts of the 1938 01:53:03,439 --> 01:53:06,599 Speaker 5: world during what it called the Global War on Terror. 1939 01:53:07,560 --> 01:53:10,000 Speaker 5: On the day I'm writing this, it's exactly twenty three 1940 01:53:10,080 --> 01:53:12,920 Speaker 5: years since United States marines tore down the statue of 1941 01:53:12,920 --> 01:53:16,320 Speaker 5: Saddam Hussein that stood outside the seventeenth of Ramada Mosque 1942 01:53:16,360 --> 01:53:20,080 Speaker 5: in Ferdo Square in Baghdad, removed his regime from power. 1943 01:53:20,880 --> 01:53:24,040 Speaker 5: Since then, for my entire adult life and much of 1944 01:53:24,080 --> 01:53:27,000 Speaker 5: my childhood, the USA has been dropping bombs on the 1945 01:53:27,000 --> 01:53:30,600 Speaker 5: Middle East. This month, the temper and ferocity of the 1946 01:53:30,640 --> 01:53:33,320 Speaker 5: aerial bombardment took a step up to a tempo we 1947 01:53:33,360 --> 01:53:36,200 Speaker 5: haven't seen since perhaps the peak of the Coalition war 1948 01:53:36,200 --> 01:53:39,240 Speaker 5: against the Islamic State, or perhaps even the shokuan Ow 1949 01:53:39,280 --> 01:53:42,640 Speaker 5: bombing campaign. Of March two thousand and three, and I 1950 01:53:42,680 --> 01:53:45,280 Speaker 5: want to go back to that campaign to explain exactly 1951 01:53:45,280 --> 01:53:48,240 Speaker 5: how we got to this one. The shakan Or campaign 1952 01:53:48,320 --> 01:53:51,000 Speaker 5: was based on a doctrine called rapid dominance that sought 1953 01:53:51,040 --> 01:53:54,679 Speaker 5: to establish a post Cold War military ethos United States. 1954 01:53:55,200 --> 01:53:58,680 Speaker 5: The theorist behind it, named Alman and Wade, explicitly outlined 1955 01:53:58,680 --> 01:54:01,800 Speaker 5: that to work, the shock and awe bombing campaign had 1956 01:54:01,840 --> 01:54:04,240 Speaker 5: to achieve a level of national shock like that of 1957 01:54:04,320 --> 01:54:07,280 Speaker 5: the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan, and that 1958 01:54:07,400 --> 01:54:11,640 Speaker 5: power and other civilian infrastructure might well be targeted. In 1959 01:54:11,680 --> 01:54:14,639 Speaker 5: an interview in February two thousand and three, Olmand said, quote, 1960 01:54:15,080 --> 01:54:16,960 Speaker 5: what we want to do is create in the mind 1961 01:54:17,040 --> 01:54:20,080 Speaker 5: of the Iraqi leadership and their soldiers this shock and 1962 01:54:20,160 --> 01:54:24,520 Speaker 5: owe so they're intimidated, made to feel so impotent, so helpless, 1963 01:54:25,000 --> 01:54:27,240 Speaker 5: that they have no choice but to do what we 1964 01:54:27,320 --> 01:54:30,080 Speaker 5: want them to do. So the smartest thing to say 1965 01:54:30,280 --> 01:54:34,360 Speaker 5: is this is hopeless. We quit. The US attempted to 1966 01:54:34,400 --> 01:54:37,200 Speaker 5: pummel their adversary so hard in two thousand and three 1967 01:54:37,240 --> 01:54:39,640 Speaker 5: that it would demoralized troops and lead to a rapid 1968 01:54:39,720 --> 01:54:44,120 Speaker 5: victory through the use and display of overwhelming force. In 1969 01:54:44,160 --> 01:54:47,320 Speaker 5: Iraq twenty three years ago. It sort of worked. The 1970 01:54:47,400 --> 01:54:50,240 Speaker 5: regime crumbled in less than a month, the USA got 1971 01:54:50,240 --> 01:54:53,280 Speaker 5: its quote unquote victory, and by the first of May 1972 01:54:53,320 --> 01:54:55,560 Speaker 5: of that year, George W. Bush had landed on the 1973 01:54:55,640 --> 01:54:59,040 Speaker 5: USSA Abraham Lincoln off San Diego and given a speech 1974 01:54:59,040 --> 01:55:03,280 Speaker 5: in front of a large that read mission accomplished. Twenty 1975 01:55:03,320 --> 01:55:06,200 Speaker 5: three years later, the Lincoln is in the Middle East 1976 01:55:06,560 --> 01:55:10,400 Speaker 5: and bombs are once again raining down on Iran and Iraq, 1977 01:55:10,960 --> 01:55:14,760 Speaker 5: while one way drones and missiles Iran slam into targets 1978 01:55:14,800 --> 01:55:18,800 Speaker 5: all over the region. In Iraq, twenty three years later, 1979 01:55:19,120 --> 01:55:22,080 Speaker 5: the United States embassy is once again being attacked, the 1980 01:55:22,160 --> 01:55:25,440 Speaker 5: US journalist was kidnapped, and the State Department it's telling 1981 01:55:25,480 --> 01:55:29,600 Speaker 5: citizens to avoid the region. The US bombing campaign in 1982 01:55:29,640 --> 01:55:32,280 Speaker 5: Iran this year dwarfs the two thousand and three Shock 1983 01:55:32,320 --> 01:55:35,840 Speaker 5: and All campaign, with the first day of Operation Epic 1984 01:55:35,920 --> 01:55:38,440 Speaker 5: Fury being almost twice the scale of the two thousand 1985 01:55:38,480 --> 01:55:42,240 Speaker 5: and three bombardment. However, they do have several things in common, 1986 01:55:43,040 --> 01:55:46,000 Speaker 5: Just like the bombardment of Iraq. Even twenty three years later, 1987 01:55:46,400 --> 01:55:48,840 Speaker 5: the US and Israeli air war showed us that there 1988 01:55:48,880 --> 01:55:51,280 Speaker 5: is no such thing as a precision bombing campaign on 1989 01:55:51,320 --> 01:55:54,240 Speaker 5: this scale. On the very first day of the war, 1990 01:55:54,520 --> 01:55:57,640 Speaker 5: the twenty eighth of February twenty twenty six, a missile 1991 01:55:57,760 --> 01:56:01,480 Speaker 5: slammed into a girls elementary school in Mina, then another, 1992 01:56:02,440 --> 01:56:05,640 Speaker 5: and then another. When the dust settled, more than one 1993 01:56:05,680 --> 01:56:09,760 Speaker 5: hundred and seventy five people have been killed, mostly schoolgirls 1994 01:56:09,960 --> 01:56:13,760 Speaker 5: between the age of seven and twelve years old. The 1995 01:56:13,800 --> 01:56:16,640 Speaker 5: school was located near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base, but 1996 01:56:16,680 --> 01:56:18,400 Speaker 5: the school building itself had not been part of a 1997 01:56:18,400 --> 01:56:22,240 Speaker 5: military facility for a decade. And yet, despite targeting technology 1998 01:56:22,240 --> 01:56:26,280 Speaker 5: that allowed three missiles to scream across a continent hit 1999 01:56:26,320 --> 01:56:30,120 Speaker 5: a relatively small target in quick succession, Apparently the US 2000 01:56:30,160 --> 01:56:32,280 Speaker 5: military had not been able to ascertain, or perhaps did 2001 01:56:32,280 --> 01:56:34,280 Speaker 5: not care to ascertain, that the result of their strike 2002 01:56:34,720 --> 01:56:37,320 Speaker 5: was the death of as many as one hundred school children. 2003 01:56:38,320 --> 01:56:40,720 Speaker 5: The fact that I am reporting this forty odd days 2004 01:56:40,760 --> 01:56:43,880 Speaker 5: into the war suggests that despite an even larger scale 2005 01:56:43,880 --> 01:56:47,080 Speaker 5: campaign than the USA deployed in two thousand and three, 2006 01:56:47,720 --> 01:56:50,960 Speaker 5: despite the killing of little girls, the Iranian state has 2007 01:56:51,000 --> 01:56:53,760 Speaker 5: not said this is hopeless. We quit as Almond Hoby 2008 01:56:53,840 --> 01:56:58,200 Speaker 5: might around. Supreme leader Ali Hamani was assassinated in initial attacks. 2009 01:56:58,840 --> 01:57:02,080 Speaker 5: The power has since passed on to his son. Iran 2010 01:57:02,160 --> 01:57:05,160 Speaker 5: remains very much in the fight, despite the massive display 2011 01:57:05,200 --> 01:57:08,560 Speaker 5: of force by the US and Israel. Instead of quitting 2012 01:57:08,560 --> 01:57:11,400 Speaker 5: and giving up, they have been sending ballistic missiles and 2013 01:57:11,440 --> 01:57:14,400 Speaker 5: one way drones into targets throughout the Gulf States, Israel, 2014 01:57:14,600 --> 01:57:17,960 Speaker 5: and southern Kurdistan. This is in part because the United 2015 01:57:18,000 --> 01:57:20,760 Speaker 5: States and Israel had no clear shared plan for this war. 2016 01:57:21,400 --> 01:57:23,440 Speaker 5: In two thousand and three, the US aimed to remove 2017 01:57:23,440 --> 01:57:26,760 Speaker 5: Sada Pasan, and it did that. It made a massive 2018 01:57:26,760 --> 01:57:29,040 Speaker 5: cock up of everything it did after that. But this 2019 01:57:29,160 --> 01:57:32,120 Speaker 5: time we have two belligerent nations with very distinct goals 2020 01:57:32,480 --> 01:57:36,600 Speaker 5: who share a common interest in bombing the people of Iran. Israel, 2021 01:57:36,640 --> 01:57:38,920 Speaker 5: which by some accounts hit more targets in the USA 2022 01:57:38,960 --> 01:57:41,600 Speaker 5: early on in the war, is fighting to totally cripple 2023 01:57:41,600 --> 01:57:43,920 Speaker 5: the Iranian state in a no holds barred, no laws 2024 01:57:43,960 --> 01:57:47,160 Speaker 5: of war respected, campaign that has seen it bomb factories, 2025 01:57:47,360 --> 01:57:51,760 Speaker 5: oil infrastructure, and, most horrifically of all, desalination plants. The 2026 01:57:51,840 --> 01:57:54,800 Speaker 5: goal for Israel is to make it impossible for Iran 2027 01:57:54,840 --> 01:57:58,000 Speaker 5: to recover. It seems to leave the region mired in 2028 01:57:58,040 --> 01:58:01,920 Speaker 5: poverty and resource constraint and make sure that no Iranian state, 2029 01:58:02,000 --> 01:58:04,120 Speaker 5: be it this one or a different one, can ever 2030 01:58:04,160 --> 01:58:07,440 Speaker 5: be a threat to Israel. Again, it has assassinated many 2031 01:58:07,440 --> 01:58:09,680 Speaker 5: of the figures who have the ability to negotiate for peace, 2032 01:58:10,120 --> 01:58:11,680 Speaker 5: and the recent c use fire seems to have been 2033 01:58:11,720 --> 01:58:14,360 Speaker 5: something that Israel does not feel itself to be beholden to. 2034 01:58:15,560 --> 01:58:17,600 Speaker 5: For the US, the goal seems to be to use 2035 01:58:17,600 --> 01:58:20,600 Speaker 5: something similar to shock and or to force Iran into 2036 01:58:20,600 --> 01:58:23,920 Speaker 5: conceding its position and allowing the USA some access to 2037 01:58:23,960 --> 01:58:28,280 Speaker 5: its significant petrochemical resources. Perhaps emboldened by its success in Venezuela, 2038 01:58:28,360 --> 01:58:32,360 Speaker 5: the US might be expecting a similar client state relationship here. However, 2039 01:58:32,400 --> 01:58:35,120 Speaker 5: this has not been the outcome. Over the weekend of 2040 01:58:35,160 --> 01:58:38,720 Speaker 5: the eleventh and twelfth of April, JD Vance, Jared Kushner, 2041 01:58:38,760 --> 01:58:41,280 Speaker 5: and Steve Whitcoff flew to Pakistan as part of a 2042 01:58:41,320 --> 01:58:44,360 Speaker 5: Pakistani broke and cease fire to engage in peace talks 2043 01:58:44,360 --> 01:58:47,720 Speaker 5: with Iran. Before these peace talks, we saw both the 2044 01:58:47,840 --> 01:58:51,240 Speaker 5: US in Iran circlating very different bases for negotiation, with 2045 01:58:51,320 --> 01:58:54,160 Speaker 5: Iran demanding tolls for ships passing near its coastline, an 2046 01:58:54,280 --> 01:58:56,800 Speaker 5: end to sanctions, and the removal of US forces from 2047 01:58:56,800 --> 01:58:59,960 Speaker 5: the region. The US demanded an end to the nuclear 2048 01:59:00,120 --> 01:59:03,200 Speaker 5: program in Iran, and at one point the President proposed 2049 01:59:03,240 --> 01:59:05,880 Speaker 5: a joint US Iranian toll on ships passing through the 2050 01:59:05,880 --> 01:59:08,800 Speaker 5: Straight of horm Moos. Straight of horn Moose is one 2051 01:59:08,840 --> 01:59:12,000 Speaker 5: of the areas where there has been significant disagreement, and 2052 01:59:12,360 --> 01:59:14,160 Speaker 5: so I want to explain a little bit about what 2053 01:59:14,200 --> 01:59:16,040 Speaker 5: the Strait of horn Moose is for listeners who are 2054 01:59:16,040 --> 01:59:20,600 Speaker 5: not familiar. Geographically, the strait connects the Persian Golf and 2055 01:59:20,640 --> 01:59:23,840 Speaker 5: the Gulf of Verman, thus the open Ocean. It's just 2056 01:59:23,880 --> 01:59:26,920 Speaker 5: about thirty nine klumeters wide across its narrows point, with 2057 01:59:26,960 --> 01:59:29,160 Speaker 5: about a quarter of the world's liquefied natural gas and 2058 01:59:29,200 --> 01:59:32,920 Speaker 5: seaborne oil passing through the strait. Because of its geographical location, 2059 01:59:33,080 --> 01:59:36,040 Speaker 5: Asia and Europe are especially reliant on these energy products. 2060 01:59:36,360 --> 01:59:38,600 Speaker 5: Many of the Golf states will have no maritime export 2061 01:59:38,640 --> 01:59:41,720 Speaker 5: routes without transitting the street. In response to the United 2062 01:59:41,760 --> 01:59:45,400 Speaker 5: States and Israel's bombing campaign, Iran effectively closed the Straight. 2063 01:59:45,560 --> 01:59:49,600 Speaker 5: So a combination of missile threats, claimed mining, very high 2064 01:59:49,640 --> 01:59:53,520 Speaker 5: frequency radio broadcast warning ships of the two previously mentioned threats, 2065 01:59:53,960 --> 01:59:57,600 Speaker 5: and uncrewed surface vessel attacks that blew up and damaged vessels, 2066 01:59:57,640 --> 02:00:01,160 Speaker 5: including oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. At the time 2067 02:00:01,200 --> 02:00:04,520 Speaker 5: of writing, Iran is threatening ships transiting Distrait, and the 2068 02:00:04,600 --> 02:00:07,560 Speaker 5: US is attempting to blockade all ships that gaim to 2069 02:00:07,600 --> 02:00:10,720 Speaker 5: go to Iran. Iran has previously allowed some ships a 2070 02:00:10,800 --> 02:00:13,120 Speaker 5: right to pass safely if they pay a toll payable 2071 02:00:13,160 --> 02:00:16,000 Speaker 5: encrypto currency or Chinese yuan. Some ships appear to have 2072 02:00:16,040 --> 02:00:19,280 Speaker 5: certainly transited Distrait, but many more have not, and this 2073 02:00:19,360 --> 02:00:24,360 Speaker 5: presents a serious issue for global trade. Luckily, the problems 2074 02:00:24,400 --> 02:00:27,880 Speaker 5: with global trade have not affected our advertisers, so here 2075 02:00:27,880 --> 02:00:30,400 Speaker 5: are some goods and services that will probably cost more 2076 02:00:30,440 --> 02:00:43,080 Speaker 5: than they did a few weeks ago. The United States 2077 02:00:43,080 --> 02:00:45,320 Speaker 5: has a lack of capacity when it comes to mind sweeping. 2078 02:00:45,960 --> 02:00:48,080 Speaker 5: Many of the ships it does have which can do that, 2079 02:00:48,160 --> 02:00:50,160 Speaker 5: are not currently very close to the trade four moves. 2080 02:00:50,840 --> 02:00:53,120 Speaker 5: On the twelfth of April, it did send two destroyers 2081 02:00:53,120 --> 02:00:57,200 Speaker 5: into Distrate normally to begin mind clearing operations, but these 2082 02:00:57,200 --> 02:00:58,840 Speaker 5: aren't really a sort of ships that would do that 2083 02:00:58,920 --> 02:01:00,920 Speaker 5: so much as they would work a lotongside the ships 2084 02:01:00,960 --> 02:01:03,640 Speaker 5: that do that to provide them with security. There is 2085 02:01:03,680 --> 02:01:05,960 Speaker 5: currently a safe lane through the Strait that Iran seems 2086 02:01:05,960 --> 02:01:09,080 Speaker 5: to be sending ships through, but it's a little unclear 2087 02:01:09,120 --> 02:01:11,320 Speaker 5: to what extent, if at all, the strait is mined, 2088 02:01:11,880 --> 02:01:15,720 Speaker 5: and what kind of minds were used. Naval minds can vary. 2089 02:01:15,880 --> 02:01:18,400 Speaker 5: They can be pretty simple contact fuze minds like the 2090 02:01:18,440 --> 02:01:21,120 Speaker 5: ones you might have seen in the Mind Sweeper computer game, 2091 02:01:21,840 --> 02:01:25,520 Speaker 5: or bottom mines triggered by a number of mechanisms. Clearing 2092 02:01:25,520 --> 02:01:28,240 Speaker 5: a body of water this large would take a significant 2093 02:01:28,240 --> 02:01:31,480 Speaker 5: amount of time. Stopping transits through the strait was not 2094 02:01:31,560 --> 02:01:34,920 Speaker 5: Iran's only response to the attacks. They have launched a 2095 02:01:35,080 --> 02:01:38,080 Speaker 5: massive fuselade of one way drones and missiles a targets 2096 02:01:38,080 --> 02:01:41,240 Speaker 5: across the region. Their Shaheed drones are one of the 2097 02:01:41,320 --> 02:01:45,120 Speaker 5: most significant military innovations of the last decade. They're cheap, 2098 02:01:45,800 --> 02:01:49,120 Speaker 5: one way drones that can do tremendous damage at a 2099 02:01:49,240 --> 02:01:51,840 Speaker 5: very low cost. If you've ever heard of Shaheed drone, 2100 02:01:51,840 --> 02:01:53,720 Speaker 5: you won't forget what they sound like. It's like a 2101 02:01:53,800 --> 02:01:57,440 Speaker 5: lornmow flying over you. These drones have been so successful 2102 02:01:57,480 --> 02:01:59,760 Speaker 5: that the US has cloned captured drones to make it 2103 02:01:59,800 --> 02:02:03,080 Speaker 5: so in one wadrones, which it calls Lucas drones, and 2104 02:02:03,120 --> 02:02:06,040 Speaker 5: Iran has licensed production to Russia, which uses them in 2105 02:02:06,080 --> 02:02:09,480 Speaker 5: massive numbers against Ukraine. These drones have provided a cheap 2106 02:02:09,520 --> 02:02:12,800 Speaker 5: and relatively easy to launch platform for Iran strikes, which 2107 02:02:12,800 --> 02:02:17,959 Speaker 5: has focused on US allies Israel, and Bushur Kurdistan. Bashur 2108 02:02:18,360 --> 02:02:22,400 Speaker 5: meaning Southern or Iraqi Kurdistan has taken a particularly heavy toll. 2109 02:02:22,840 --> 02:02:24,640 Speaker 5: Much as this has been due to reporting in the 2110 02:02:24,640 --> 02:02:27,960 Speaker 5: early days of the conflict, which began with notorious fact 2111 02:02:28,000 --> 02:02:32,280 Speaker 5: check Eveder barak Ravid. Much as its reporting heavily implied 2112 02:02:32,440 --> 02:02:35,280 Speaker 5: or outright said that Curdish ground forces were repairing an 2113 02:02:35,320 --> 02:02:39,680 Speaker 5: assault into Iran. Raved's piece, which reported that Trump had 2114 02:02:39,720 --> 02:02:43,560 Speaker 5: spoken to two major Curtist leaders, was particularly shocking because 2115 02:02:43,560 --> 02:02:47,680 Speaker 5: it erroneously conflated Iraqi Curds with Iranian Curds, those from 2116 02:02:47,760 --> 02:02:50,919 Speaker 5: Eastern Kurdistan and Roja lad It's true that the majority 2117 02:02:50,920 --> 02:02:54,320 Speaker 5: of anti regime Kurdish armed groups from Iran retained bases 2118 02:02:54,400 --> 02:02:58,120 Speaker 5: in Iraq, but it's extremely unlikely that the KDP in 2119 02:02:58,160 --> 02:03:01,160 Speaker 5: the p UK, the major actors in Iraqi Kurdistan, will 2120 02:03:01,200 --> 02:03:03,240 Speaker 5: be storming the border into Roju Lat anytime in the 2121 02:03:03,240 --> 02:03:06,200 Speaker 5: near future. However, I have spoken to several of the 2122 02:03:06,280 --> 02:03:09,280 Speaker 5: Roja Lati arm groups who are part of the Alliance 2123 02:03:09,320 --> 02:03:12,800 Speaker 5: of political forces of Iranian Kurdistan. The groups involved in 2124 02:03:12,880 --> 02:03:16,400 Speaker 5: a Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan or the PDKI, the 2125 02:03:16,440 --> 02:03:21,880 Speaker 5: Free Life Party of Kurdistan PJAK, the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK, 2126 02:03:22,560 --> 02:03:25,200 Speaker 5: two of the Komala parties, and the hubbut or the 2127 02:03:25,280 --> 02:03:29,440 Speaker 5: organization of the Iranian Kurdistan Struggle. The alliance predates the 2128 02:03:29,520 --> 02:03:32,920 Speaker 5: United States and Israeli campaign came around earlier this year. 2129 02:03:33,520 --> 02:03:36,440 Speaker 5: Arash Saleh I spoke to him for the PDKI told 2130 02:03:36,480 --> 02:03:39,400 Speaker 5: me quote at this point, the whole coalition is built 2131 02:03:39,440 --> 02:03:42,720 Speaker 5: upon some type of self rule instided Iranian Kurdistan as 2132 02:03:42,720 --> 02:03:45,160 Speaker 5: the main demand for all of them, and that as 2133 02:03:45,160 --> 02:03:48,120 Speaker 5: a main demand for all the Kurdish people in Iranian Kurdistan. 2134 02:03:48,800 --> 02:03:50,560 Speaker 5: This unity of groups is a positive step and it 2135 02:03:50,560 --> 02:03:52,880 Speaker 5: represents a real opportunity for the liberation of the people 2136 02:03:52,920 --> 02:03:55,680 Speaker 5: of Rojaa. But none of these parties are willing to 2137 02:03:55,680 --> 02:03:58,760 Speaker 5: be the spearhead of an American and Israeli offensive without 2138 02:03:58,800 --> 02:04:01,400 Speaker 5: guarantees that they will recive' support for their own goals, 2139 02:04:01,680 --> 02:04:04,280 Speaker 5: which are very different to those of the USA and Israel. 2140 02:04:05,240 --> 02:04:08,360 Speaker 5: In more recent weeks, President Trump has insinuated, and Fox 2141 02:04:08,440 --> 02:04:10,200 Speaker 5: News has claimed that he said this but haven't seen 2142 02:04:10,240 --> 02:04:13,600 Speaker 5: any recording of it, That the United States sent weapons 2143 02:04:13,600 --> 02:04:17,040 Speaker 5: to Iranian protesters through Kurdish groups, but that the Kurdish 2144 02:04:17,080 --> 02:04:19,360 Speaker 5: groups kept them instead of giving them to the protesters. 2145 02:04:20,120 --> 02:04:22,880 Speaker 5: Here's the clip of Trump implying this, and you'll have 2146 02:04:22,920 --> 02:04:26,040 Speaker 5: to forgive me for the gringly awkward light jazz background 2147 02:04:26,160 --> 02:04:26,600 Speaker 5: music here. 2148 02:04:27,080 --> 02:04:29,640 Speaker 11: They don't have guns. You know, we said some guns, 2149 02:04:30,240 --> 02:04:32,920 Speaker 11: but the group that were supposed to give which I said, 2150 02:04:32,920 --> 02:04:35,200 Speaker 11: what happened to my people? I said it. I called 2151 02:04:35,240 --> 02:04:35,879 Speaker 11: it exactly. 2152 02:04:36,680 --> 02:04:38,360 Speaker 4: We sent guns, a lot of guns. 2153 02:04:38,680 --> 02:04:40,520 Speaker 11: They were supposed to go to the people said they 2154 02:04:40,520 --> 02:04:43,040 Speaker 11: could fight back against these lucks. You know what happened. 2155 02:04:43,400 --> 02:04:46,240 Speaker 11: The people that they sent them to kept them because 2156 02:04:46,280 --> 02:04:47,600 Speaker 11: they said, what a beautiful gun. 2157 02:04:47,600 --> 02:04:48,440 Speaker 5: I think I'll keep it. 2158 02:04:49,000 --> 02:04:51,680 Speaker 11: So I'm very upset with a certain group of people, 2159 02:04:51,720 --> 02:04:53,160 Speaker 11: and they're going to pay a big price for that. 2160 02:04:53,800 --> 02:04:57,760 Speaker 11: But the Iranian people who will fight back as soon 2161 02:04:57,760 --> 02:04:59,360 Speaker 11: as they know they're not going to be shot and 2162 02:04:59,400 --> 02:05:01,880 Speaker 11: as soon as they yet weapons. 2163 02:05:02,560 --> 02:05:05,440 Speaker 5: The Kurdish groups I've spoken to have denied this, and 2164 02:05:05,480 --> 02:05:09,920 Speaker 5: it's not really logistically feasible. Hamno knox Bandi, a member 2165 02:05:09,920 --> 02:05:12,320 Speaker 5: of the General Command of the Kurdistan National Army, which 2166 02:05:12,320 --> 02:05:15,720 Speaker 5: is the peshmerger associated with the Kurdistan Freedom Party or PAK, 2167 02:05:16,480 --> 02:05:20,160 Speaker 5: said that quote Donald Trump's message is unclear to us. 2168 02:05:20,640 --> 02:05:23,240 Speaker 5: What is there is that we as our army have 2169 02:05:23,360 --> 02:05:26,160 Speaker 5: in no way received weapons from the US or any 2170 02:05:26,160 --> 02:05:29,680 Speaker 5: other country, not even a single bullet. And the PAK 2171 02:05:29,800 --> 02:05:32,600 Speaker 5: confirmed that statement to me this morning. At the time 2172 02:05:32,960 --> 02:05:36,120 Speaker 5: you're hearing this, that will be yesterday morning. I checked 2173 02:05:36,200 --> 02:05:39,400 Speaker 5: in with them. Then transiting the mountains to that part 2174 02:05:39,440 --> 02:05:42,160 Speaker 5: of Kurdistan and then smuggling weapons all the way to Tehran. 2175 02:05:42,240 --> 02:05:43,720 Speaker 5: It's not what they do and it will be very 2176 02:05:43,720 --> 02:05:46,280 Speaker 5: hard for them to do it. Also, at the time 2177 02:05:46,360 --> 02:05:49,520 Speaker 5: of the large anti regime protesting around in January, we 2178 02:05:49,560 --> 02:05:54,280 Speaker 5: saw groups, notably the PAK the Kurdistan Freedom Party using 2179 02:05:54,320 --> 02:05:57,320 Speaker 5: weapons that really don't appear to be US supplied, like 2180 02:05:57,360 --> 02:06:01,880 Speaker 5: pump act and shotguns. Nonetheless, this rumor, combined with the 2181 02:06:01,920 --> 02:06:04,600 Speaker 5: fact that Trump really did call Iraqi Kurdish leaders at 2182 02:06:04,600 --> 02:06:07,200 Speaker 5: the start of the conflict, presumably to ask for support, 2183 02:06:07,720 --> 02:06:10,200 Speaker 5: has led to a raqs Kurdistan region been targeted a 2184 02:06:10,240 --> 02:06:13,400 Speaker 5: great deal. These drone and rockets rights have not just 2185 02:06:13,480 --> 02:06:16,320 Speaker 5: hit military targets, but also the refugee camps where the 2186 02:06:16,360 --> 02:06:20,360 Speaker 5: families displaced from Rojaalat live, and many other civilian targets 2187 02:06:20,360 --> 02:06:25,200 Speaker 5: in major Kurdish cities. To quote a PDKI a statement quote, 2188 02:06:25,400 --> 02:06:27,240 Speaker 5: since the beginning of the war with the United States 2189 02:06:27,240 --> 02:06:29,720 Speaker 5: in Israel, the Islamic Republic of Ruan has so far 2190 02:06:29,760 --> 02:06:33,960 Speaker 5: targeted the family camps, medical centers, and educational facilities of 2191 02:06:34,000 --> 02:06:37,160 Speaker 5: the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan with more than one 2192 02:06:37,200 --> 02:06:40,680 Speaker 5: hundred and ten missiles and drones. These tags have continued 2193 02:06:40,760 --> 02:06:43,839 Speaker 5: even during the ceasefire between Iran and the United States. 2194 02:06:45,200 --> 02:06:48,200 Speaker 5: But it's not just Iraqi Kurdistan being bombed. In fact, 2195 02:06:48,240 --> 02:06:50,640 Speaker 5: a Rak has a distinction of being the only country 2196 02:06:50,680 --> 02:06:53,560 Speaker 5: bomb by both sides in the conflict. This is in 2197 02:06:53,600 --> 02:06:57,240 Speaker 5: part this is Popular Mobilization Forces, sometimes referred to by 2198 02:06:57,280 --> 02:07:01,360 Speaker 5: the Arabic name hashtal Shabi in Iraq have strong ties 2199 02:07:01,400 --> 02:07:05,200 Speaker 5: to Iran. The Popular Mobilization Forces or PMF if you're 2200 02:07:05,200 --> 02:07:08,120 Speaker 5: not familiar, were formed in twenty fourteen and fought against 2201 02:07:08,200 --> 02:07:11,720 Speaker 5: Islamic State in Iraq, but some factions within the PMF 2202 02:07:11,760 --> 02:07:13,960 Speaker 5: are also now listed to terrorist groups themselves by the 2203 02:07:14,040 --> 02:07:18,040 Speaker 5: United States. I want to resist doing the rather purel 2204 02:07:18,160 --> 02:07:21,480 Speaker 5: Sunni Shia Kurd analysis here because I don't think it 2205 02:07:21,480 --> 02:07:24,320 Speaker 5: explains the whole situation, and it's far too often seized 2206 02:07:24,360 --> 02:07:28,600 Speaker 5: upon by commentators seeking to oversimplify things. Many Kurds are Sunni, 2207 02:07:28,960 --> 02:07:32,640 Speaker 5: for example, but some are Shia, some the Christian or Jewish, 2208 02:07:32,720 --> 02:07:35,800 Speaker 5: or have no religious beliefs. There are other groups in 2209 02:07:35,840 --> 02:07:39,000 Speaker 5: the region who are not Muslim or Christian. I think 2210 02:07:39,000 --> 02:07:43,080 Speaker 5: it's unnecessarily reductionist, but nonetheless it's worth noting that the 2211 02:07:43,120 --> 02:07:45,760 Speaker 5: PMF are mostly Shia, as is the ratiome in Iran. 2212 02:07:46,360 --> 02:07:50,320 Speaker 5: The PMF have been using drones, rockets, and mortars to 2213 02:07:50,320 --> 02:07:52,880 Speaker 5: attack both the US bases and those of the Kurdish 2214 02:07:52,920 --> 02:07:55,360 Speaker 5: pesh Merger, who they see as tied to the US. 2215 02:07:56,240 --> 02:07:59,600 Speaker 5: On the telegram channels, PMF groups have shown successful attanks 2216 02:08:00,160 --> 02:08:03,200 Speaker 5: used to be Camp Victory near the Baghdad airport and 2217 02:08:03,280 --> 02:08:06,880 Speaker 5: against the US embassy facilities. While we can talk to 2218 02:08:06,960 --> 02:08:10,360 Speaker 5: Rogulati groups and see PMF statements on telegram getting information 2219 02:08:10,400 --> 02:08:13,000 Speaker 5: on the conflict from inside Iran, that's not regily propaganda, 2220 02:08:13,040 --> 02:08:16,080 Speaker 5: it's very hard. An Internet blackout by the Iranian government 2221 02:08:16,120 --> 02:08:19,080 Speaker 5: has lasted more than a month. The information that we 2222 02:08:19,120 --> 02:08:22,520 Speaker 5: see coming out of Iran is either state sanctioned or 2223 02:08:22,560 --> 02:08:25,120 Speaker 5: from people going to the border with Iraq to get 2224 02:08:25,120 --> 02:08:28,440 Speaker 5: cell phone signal, or from people using satellite Internet devices 2225 02:08:28,480 --> 02:08:33,160 Speaker 5: like starlings. Iran has been actively hunting people using starlings 2226 02:08:33,200 --> 02:08:36,360 Speaker 5: and further militarizing the Kurdistan region near the Iraqi border 2227 02:08:36,360 --> 02:08:40,160 Speaker 5: where people might get cell phone signal. Zenni Arbazisi and 2228 02:08:40,280 --> 02:08:44,520 Speaker 5: Siavan Amini, a Kurdish couple, were arrested on the seventh 2229 02:08:44,560 --> 02:08:47,200 Speaker 5: of March this year and they have been detained ever 2230 02:08:47,280 --> 02:08:50,919 Speaker 5: since for the crime of using a Starlin. This repressive 2231 02:08:50,920 --> 02:09:05,360 Speaker 5: capability is not unusual or unique Terranian Kurdistan. I think 2232 02:09:05,400 --> 02:09:07,920 Speaker 5: we need to understand the structure of the Iranian state 2233 02:09:08,280 --> 02:09:10,400 Speaker 5: to understand why it will be very hard for the 2234 02:09:10,520 --> 02:09:14,320 Speaker 5: United States to achieve regime change simply with an air campaign. 2235 02:09:14,840 --> 02:09:18,280 Speaker 5: Iran has a conventional army known as the Arteche. It 2236 02:09:18,320 --> 02:09:21,320 Speaker 5: also has the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, better known by 2237 02:09:21,320 --> 02:09:25,240 Speaker 5: the initials IRGC, which has a specific remit of protecting 2238 02:09:25,280 --> 02:09:29,480 Speaker 5: the Islamic Republic. Within the IRGC, people may have heard 2239 02:09:29,520 --> 02:09:32,720 Speaker 5: of the Kutz Force. The Kutzforce sort of acts like Iran, 2240 02:09:32,840 --> 02:09:36,200 Speaker 5: CIA and Green Berets, combined by assisting other actors, mainly 2241 02:09:36,240 --> 02:09:39,280 Speaker 5: non state actors in the region like Husbolla, for example. 2242 02:09:40,080 --> 02:09:43,120 Speaker 5: Then there's also the Busiege, which is an element of 2243 02:09:43,160 --> 02:09:47,200 Speaker 5: the ILGC but is a paramilitary auxiliary force with as 2244 02:09:47,240 --> 02:09:50,080 Speaker 5: many as half a million members available for immediate call 2245 02:09:50,200 --> 02:09:54,120 Speaker 5: up and many more in reserve. The Busiege are in theory, 2246 02:09:54,160 --> 02:09:57,280 Speaker 5: directly loyal to the Supreme Leader, and they have participated 2247 02:09:57,360 --> 02:10:01,600 Speaker 5: in a significant oppression of the population. Combined, these forces 2248 02:10:01,680 --> 02:10:05,840 Speaker 5: represent a massive apparatus for state violence that is dispersed 2249 02:10:05,840 --> 02:10:09,640 Speaker 5: among the civilian population. Recent reports say they are even 2250 02:10:09,680 --> 02:10:14,040 Speaker 5: garrising schools and other civilian buildings. While the United States may, 2251 02:10:14,080 --> 02:10:18,080 Speaker 5: for example, have destroyed Iran's conventional navy, its big gray 2252 02:10:18,120 --> 02:10:20,800 Speaker 5: boats with the Iranian flag on them, it has not 2253 02:10:20,920 --> 02:10:24,960 Speaker 5: and cannot destroy all the small civilian craft that these 2254 02:10:25,240 --> 02:10:28,920 Speaker 5: groups could easily use to haras shipping or even plant 2255 02:10:28,920 --> 02:10:33,280 Speaker 5: sea mines, nor can destroy the many one way surface 2256 02:10:33,360 --> 02:10:36,680 Speaker 5: drone Iran has along its coastline. If you're not familiar 2257 02:10:36,720 --> 02:10:40,680 Speaker 5: with these, think of a remote control boat that explodes 2258 02:10:40,720 --> 02:10:44,560 Speaker 5: when it hits its target. Israel has killed many ILGC 2259 02:10:44,680 --> 02:10:49,200 Speaker 5: figures but many more LGC units and besiegs remain untouched, 2260 02:10:49,520 --> 02:10:52,480 Speaker 5: are willing to turn their weapons on any potential uprising 2261 02:10:52,520 --> 02:10:55,480 Speaker 5: in the country. With this in mind, let's talk a 2262 02:10:55,520 --> 02:10:58,800 Speaker 5: little bit more about those peace negotiations that happened last 2263 02:10:58,840 --> 02:11:02,640 Speaker 5: weekend in Pakistan, and particularly let's talk about the composition 2264 02:11:02,640 --> 02:11:08,400 Speaker 5: of Iran's delegation. Amongst Iran's negotiators was Mohammad Jaffiri Sahra Rud, 2265 02:11:09,040 --> 02:11:12,160 Speaker 5: who participate in the murder of doctor Abdul Rahman Gaseemlu 2266 02:11:12,560 --> 02:11:18,080 Speaker 5: during negotiations between the PDKI and Iran in nineteen eighty nine. 2267 02:11:18,440 --> 02:11:23,200 Speaker 5: Doctor Gacemlu had been a notable Kurdish leader for some time, 2268 02:11:24,040 --> 02:11:26,400 Speaker 5: was sentenced to death by the Iranian regime and then 2269 02:11:26,600 --> 02:11:29,640 Speaker 5: kill when he came to the negotiating table. In a 2270 02:11:29,680 --> 02:11:33,200 Speaker 5: statement sent to me, the pak said quote the composition 2271 02:11:33,320 --> 02:11:36,200 Speaker 5: of the Iranian delegation, largely made up of military and 2272 02:11:36,240 --> 02:11:39,640 Speaker 5: security figures, clearly indicates that the primary objective was not 2273 02:11:39,680 --> 02:11:43,280 Speaker 5: to advance a genuine diplomatic process, but rather to manage 2274 02:11:43,280 --> 02:11:47,000 Speaker 5: the situation in line with strategic goals Iran seemed to 2275 02:11:47,040 --> 02:11:50,560 Speaker 5: achievely see negotiations as a way to buy time it's 2276 02:11:50,600 --> 02:11:52,640 Speaker 5: been able to dig out many of its missiles which 2277 02:11:52,680 --> 02:11:55,480 Speaker 5: were buried but not destroyed by its strikes, and in 2278 02:11:55,520 --> 02:11:57,960 Speaker 5: this pause it can shore up its pasture against domestic 2279 02:11:58,000 --> 02:12:01,440 Speaker 5: dissenters as well. It does not seem, in short, to 2280 02:12:01,480 --> 02:12:04,080 Speaker 5: be acting in the way the sharkan or doctrine might 2281 02:12:04,080 --> 02:12:07,080 Speaker 5: suggest and hope that it would. Indeed, in recent weeks, 2282 02:12:07,080 --> 02:12:09,160 Speaker 5: it's been able to mobilize civilians to go two power 2283 02:12:09,160 --> 02:12:11,400 Speaker 5: plants and the hope that their presence will prevent bombing 2284 02:12:11,440 --> 02:12:15,040 Speaker 5: of those facilities. Despite this, and despite it being a 2285 02:12:15,120 --> 02:12:18,480 Speaker 5: violation of various international treaties, some of which is right 2286 02:12:18,600 --> 02:12:21,080 Speaker 5: is not signed up to, Israel has continued to hit 2287 02:12:21,120 --> 02:12:25,280 Speaker 5: power plants, oil infrastructure, and bridges, despite the civilian costs. 2288 02:12:26,240 --> 02:12:29,320 Speaker 5: It certainly seems that after a weekend of negotiating face 2289 02:12:29,320 --> 02:12:32,320 Speaker 5: to face in Pakistan, the United States was not able 2290 02:12:32,360 --> 02:12:34,640 Speaker 5: to get what it wanted out of the negotiations. They 2291 02:12:34,680 --> 02:12:37,680 Speaker 5: have chosen not to accept our terms. Vice President J. D. 2292 02:12:37,800 --> 02:12:40,440 Speaker 5: Van said, here's him talking about the negotiations at a 2293 02:12:40,440 --> 02:12:42,960 Speaker 5: press conference on Sunday morning local time. 2294 02:12:43,600 --> 02:12:45,640 Speaker 12: But the simple fact is that we need to see 2295 02:12:45,800 --> 02:12:50,160 Speaker 12: an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, 2296 02:12:50,440 --> 02:12:52,440 Speaker 12: and they will not seek the tools that would enable 2297 02:12:52,480 --> 02:12:55,280 Speaker 12: them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the 2298 02:12:55,360 --> 02:12:57,480 Speaker 12: core goal of the President of the United States, and 2299 02:12:57,520 --> 02:13:00,760 Speaker 12: that's what we've tried to achieve through these negotiations. Again, 2300 02:13:00,960 --> 02:13:05,000 Speaker 12: their nuclear programs, such as it is, the enrichment facilities 2301 02:13:05,040 --> 02:13:09,440 Speaker 12: that they had before, they've been destroyed. But the civil 2302 02:13:09,520 --> 02:13:13,000 Speaker 12: question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will 2303 02:13:13,480 --> 02:13:16,600 Speaker 12: for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not 2304 02:13:16,680 --> 02:13:18,560 Speaker 12: just now, not just two years from now, but for 2305 02:13:18,600 --> 02:13:20,120 Speaker 12: the long term. We haven't seen that yet. 2306 02:13:20,120 --> 02:13:21,720 Speaker 3: We hope that we will. 2307 02:13:22,000 --> 02:13:25,520 Speaker 5: Trump, however, has been talking about a more diverse range 2308 02:13:25,560 --> 02:13:29,000 Speaker 5: of goals than Balancelest's here talking about ending quote forty 2309 02:13:29,040 --> 02:13:32,360 Speaker 5: seven years of extortion, corruption, and death. In one truth, 2310 02:13:32,920 --> 02:13:35,920 Speaker 5: this suggests regime change, which Trump then went on to 2311 02:13:36,000 --> 02:13:41,200 Speaker 5: falsely claim he has already achieved, saying in a truth quote, However, 2312 02:13:41,680 --> 02:13:45,000 Speaker 5: now that we have complete and total regime change, where different, 2313 02:13:45,080 --> 02:13:50,240 Speaker 5: smarter and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful 2314 02:13:50,240 --> 02:13:54,200 Speaker 5: can happen. Who knows. This was incidentally in the very 2315 02:13:54,280 --> 02:13:58,080 Speaker 5: same truth in which Trump said, quote, A whole civilization 2316 02:13:58,120 --> 02:14:00,960 Speaker 5: will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I 2317 02:14:01,000 --> 02:14:03,760 Speaker 5: don't want that to happen, but it probably will. This 2318 02:14:03,960 --> 02:14:06,160 Speaker 5: was part of a threat which he hoped to result 2319 02:14:06,160 --> 02:14:09,240 Speaker 5: in Iran reopening the Strait of Horn News. Trump also 2320 02:14:09,320 --> 02:14:13,320 Speaker 5: posted on Easter Sunday, quote, open the fucking strait, you 2321 02:14:13,440 --> 02:14:17,160 Speaker 5: crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell. Obviously, this 2322 02:14:17,240 --> 02:14:20,320 Speaker 5: statement seems odds with any idea of liberating the Iranian people, 2323 02:14:20,360 --> 02:14:22,480 Speaker 5: and when it comes from the guy with the nuclear arsenal, 2324 02:14:22,640 --> 02:14:26,320 Speaker 5: it sounds like a threat of genocide. While Trump has 2325 02:14:26,320 --> 02:14:28,880 Speaker 5: not launched any nuclear weapons in Iran, this does not 2326 02:14:29,000 --> 02:14:32,080 Speaker 5: mean that the death toll has not been heavy. According 2327 02:14:32,120 --> 02:14:35,360 Speaker 5: to a report by human rights organization Hengor, at least 2328 02:14:35,360 --> 02:14:38,480 Speaker 5: seven six hundred and fifty people have been killed during 2329 02:14:38,520 --> 02:14:42,920 Speaker 5: the US and Israeli bombing, including one thousand and thirty civilians. 2330 02:14:43,720 --> 02:14:47,520 Speaker 5: Iran has also continued attacking its own population. Despite the 2331 02:14:47,560 --> 02:14:50,800 Speaker 5: massive scale of the killing, Iran has not ceased, for example, 2332 02:14:50,880 --> 02:14:54,800 Speaker 5: executing political prisoners. Hengor estimates that at least one hundred 2333 02:14:54,840 --> 02:14:57,520 Speaker 5: and sixty political prisoners have been killed in the first 2334 02:14:57,600 --> 02:15:00,720 Speaker 5: quarter of this year. United States groups have been killed 2335 02:15:00,720 --> 02:15:04,000 Speaker 5: as well, thirteen of them according to the Military Times, 2336 02:15:04,560 --> 02:15:08,360 Speaker 5: hundreds more have been wounded. Survivors of one deadly drone 2337 02:15:08,360 --> 02:15:11,280 Speaker 5: attack on a US facility in q Eight have disputed 2338 02:15:11,320 --> 02:15:14,520 Speaker 5: official accounts of the attack, saying their facility did have 2339 02:15:14,640 --> 02:15:18,680 Speaker 5: vertical blast barriers, but no overhead protection against the kind 2340 02:15:18,680 --> 02:15:21,040 Speaker 5: of drones that killed six of their colleagues, and the 2341 02:15:21,120 --> 02:15:23,440 Speaker 5: kind of drones they could reasonably expect to be attacked by, 2342 02:15:23,480 --> 02:15:26,040 Speaker 5: given that Iran has been using these very same drones 2343 02:15:26,440 --> 02:15:28,720 Speaker 5: for a long time in Syria and other parts of 2344 02:15:28,720 --> 02:15:31,680 Speaker 5: the Middle East. To quote CBS who interviewed one of 2345 02:15:31,680 --> 02:15:34,720 Speaker 5: them on condition of anonymity, quote, painting a picture that 2346 02:15:34,760 --> 02:15:37,880 Speaker 5: one squeaked through is a falsehood. I want people to 2347 02:15:37,960 --> 02:15:41,040 Speaker 5: know the unit. And then there's ellipses here where they've 2348 02:15:41,160 --> 02:15:45,040 Speaker 5: removed part of the quotation. Was unprepared to provide any 2349 02:15:45,080 --> 02:15:49,480 Speaker 5: defense for itself. It was not a fortified position. So 2350 02:15:49,840 --> 02:15:52,800 Speaker 5: where are we now? While the US government continues to 2351 02:15:52,920 --> 02:15:56,000 Speaker 5: edit supercuts of bombs hitting buildings and vehicles to music 2352 02:15:56,120 --> 02:15:59,120 Speaker 5: ladies does not have permission to use. Families in the 2353 02:15:59,200 --> 02:16:01,840 Speaker 5: United States and Iran are both burying their loved ones. 2354 02:16:02,560 --> 02:16:06,200 Speaker 5: Despite the ceasefire, the US in Iran are theoretically held 2355 02:16:06,200 --> 02:16:08,520 Speaker 5: to there has been no cease fire for the Kurds 2356 02:16:08,520 --> 02:16:11,600 Speaker 5: who are still being bombed. No ceasefire for Lebanon, whereas 2357 02:16:11,600 --> 02:16:14,680 Speaker 5: where is still carrying out a massive bombing campaign. And 2358 02:16:14,760 --> 02:16:17,480 Speaker 5: on day two of the USA's blockade of Iranian ports, 2359 02:16:17,720 --> 02:16:20,280 Speaker 5: traffic through the Strait of Hormos remains in the single 2360 02:16:20,280 --> 02:16:23,800 Speaker 5: digit numbers of ships. We have not achieved, and it 2361 02:16:23,800 --> 02:16:27,400 Speaker 5: seems that we likely will not achieve liberation for the 2362 02:16:27,440 --> 02:16:30,200 Speaker 5: people of Iran. In fact, it may be the case 2363 02:16:30,240 --> 02:16:34,359 Speaker 5: that the regime moves closer to the IERGC becomes more hardlined, 2364 02:16:34,440 --> 02:16:38,560 Speaker 5: more repressive, more violent. Just like in Caracas. The only 2365 02:16:38,560 --> 02:16:41,800 Speaker 5: thing the US seems interested in liberating is oil. Iran's 2366 02:16:41,840 --> 02:16:45,440 Speaker 5: nuclear threat remains like Schrodinger's cat are once terrible and 2367 02:16:45,520 --> 02:16:48,760 Speaker 5: non existent, destroyed last year in the justification for thousands 2368 02:16:48,800 --> 02:16:52,400 Speaker 5: of deaths this year, as always, our solidarity should be 2369 02:16:52,440 --> 02:16:56,160 Speaker 5: with people and not with states. We can perfectly coherently 2370 02:16:56,200 --> 02:16:58,080 Speaker 5: hold that the people of Iran do not deserve to 2371 02:16:58,120 --> 02:17:00,800 Speaker 5: be killed by the US or the ring government, and 2372 02:17:00,800 --> 02:17:02,760 Speaker 5: that what we want for them should be what we 2373 02:17:02,800 --> 02:17:16,680 Speaker 5: want for ourselves, peace, freedom, and a beautiful life. 2374 02:17:20,760 --> 02:17:24,160 Speaker 7: This is it could happen here. Executive disorder, our weekly 2375 02:17:24,200 --> 02:17:27,120 Speaker 7: newscast covering what's happening in the White House, the crumbling world, 2376 02:17:27,160 --> 02:17:29,840 Speaker 7: and what it means for you. I'm Garrison Davis today 2377 02:17:29,879 --> 02:17:33,000 Speaker 7: I'm joined by James Stout, Mia Wong and Robert Evans. 2378 02:17:33,320 --> 02:17:36,800 Speaker 1: Yes, happy to be back once again stretching the definitions 2379 02:17:36,879 --> 02:17:37,840 Speaker 1: of the word. 2380 02:17:37,720 --> 02:17:43,000 Speaker 7: Here across time, space and the Internet. We have gathered 2381 02:17:43,040 --> 02:17:46,240 Speaker 7: to discuss the news, and this episode we are covering 2382 02:17:46,240 --> 02:17:50,680 Speaker 7: the week of April eighth to April sixteenth. James, you 2383 02:17:50,680 --> 02:17:53,320 Speaker 7: want to start us off with some short news items. 2384 02:17:53,720 --> 02:17:56,840 Speaker 5: Yep, I got quite a few this week, so lock in. 2385 02:17:57,400 --> 02:18:00,560 Speaker 5: There have been two Turkish school shootings this week. One 2386 02:18:00,760 --> 02:18:05,240 Speaker 5: killed ten people, the other wounded at least sixteen. Since then, 2387 02:18:05,280 --> 02:18:07,840 Speaker 5: there have been one hundred and sixty two arrests for 2388 02:18:08,120 --> 02:18:13,040 Speaker 5: either sharing footage of the shooting or suggesting that similar 2389 02:18:13,040 --> 02:18:17,840 Speaker 5: attacks might happen at other schools. One suspect, according to BBC, 2390 02:18:18,120 --> 02:18:24,560 Speaker 5: made references to US mascular Elliott Roger on his WhatsApp profile, which, yep, 2391 02:18:25,160 --> 02:18:28,920 Speaker 5: not great. Just to yeah. I do find it somewhat 2392 02:18:28,920 --> 02:18:31,040 Speaker 5: frustrating when people say this stuff only happened in the 2393 02:18:31,160 --> 02:18:31,760 Speaker 5: United States. 2394 02:18:31,800 --> 02:18:34,320 Speaker 1: No, no, it doesn't. Now it is a fair point 2395 02:18:34,360 --> 02:18:38,119 Speaker 1: note that like most foreign mass shootings these days are 2396 02:18:38,240 --> 02:18:43,160 Speaker 1: inspired and influenced by American mass shootings. We are foundational 2397 02:18:43,240 --> 02:18:46,360 Speaker 1: to global shooter culture. But it ain't just us. 2398 02:18:46,800 --> 02:18:50,920 Speaker 5: Yeah, it's not just us. Unfortunately, like culture is global 2399 02:18:51,080 --> 02:18:52,760 Speaker 5: and this is part of that. We also have like 2400 02:18:52,760 --> 02:18:55,560 Speaker 5: your regular terrorism, but this is not that. This is 2401 02:18:55,920 --> 02:19:02,320 Speaker 5: part of that culture. Secondly, SOUTHCOM, the United States military 2402 02:19:02,320 --> 02:19:08,000 Speaker 5: command responsible for, among other things, the Eastern Pacific as 2403 02:19:08,040 --> 02:19:12,240 Speaker 5: it calls it, has announced four strikes on small boats 2404 02:19:12,280 --> 02:19:15,800 Speaker 5: again this week, killing at least eleven people, according to 2405 02:19:15,879 --> 02:19:19,360 Speaker 5: the totals I added up from their announcements. It's probably 2406 02:19:19,360 --> 02:19:24,080 Speaker 5: worth noting that this either suggests that they are not 2407 02:19:24,440 --> 02:19:27,840 Speaker 5: striking drug boats, or that their strikes on drug boats 2408 02:19:27,879 --> 02:19:32,280 Speaker 5: are so spectacally unsuccessful that they are still coming across 2409 02:19:32,280 --> 02:19:34,800 Speaker 5: in such volumes that SOUTHCOM as having to kill people 2410 02:19:35,160 --> 02:19:36,960 Speaker 5: at this continuing rate. 2411 02:19:37,040 --> 02:19:37,160 Speaker 6: Right. 2412 02:19:37,320 --> 02:19:41,440 Speaker 5: Either way, it doesn't point to a successful operation. Next, 2413 02:19:41,520 --> 02:19:45,960 Speaker 5: the Nigerian military seems to have doubled down on strike 2414 02:19:46,000 --> 02:19:48,840 Speaker 5: in Jili. If people haven't been paying attention to this, 2415 02:19:49,480 --> 02:19:52,680 Speaker 5: Jili is a place where a market was bombed. They 2416 02:19:52,720 --> 02:19:56,520 Speaker 5: claimed that the market contained Boko Haram fighters more than 2417 02:19:56,560 --> 02:19:59,440 Speaker 5: one hundred people were killed in this strike, and. 2418 02:19:59,400 --> 02:20:01,440 Speaker 13: I want to miss on what happened recently at Jilli 2419 02:20:01,959 --> 02:20:04,320 Speaker 13: to tell them that now our new strategy is anybody 2420 02:20:04,360 --> 02:20:05,960 Speaker 13: a friend of a tief is a chief. I've said that, 2421 02:20:06,040 --> 02:20:08,959 Speaker 13: so really, anybody that is doing any trade in any 2422 02:20:08,959 --> 02:20:11,160 Speaker 13: support to them, we find you together with them. We're 2423 02:20:11,200 --> 02:20:13,600 Speaker 13: going to deal with you like the bandit, like the terrorists. 2424 02:20:13,680 --> 02:20:15,800 Speaker 13: So people should know, if you don't want to be harmed, 2425 02:20:15,800 --> 02:20:17,400 Speaker 13: please avoid where those terrorists are. 2426 02:20:17,400 --> 02:20:19,080 Speaker 3: I'm going to give them any support. 2427 02:20:19,480 --> 02:20:22,040 Speaker 5: The suggestion here is that being present in a market 2428 02:20:22,120 --> 02:20:25,359 Speaker 5: where these people who are terrorists will also and justifies 2429 02:20:25,400 --> 02:20:28,040 Speaker 5: to targeting them. 2430 02:20:28,360 --> 02:20:28,840 Speaker 4: Yeah. 2431 02:20:29,160 --> 02:20:32,160 Speaker 5: Place worth noting the US has been supporting this campaign right, 2432 02:20:33,040 --> 02:20:35,440 Speaker 5: and this is not the first instance in which civilians 2433 02:20:35,440 --> 02:20:37,320 Speaker 5: have been killed over in about this. My news letter 2434 02:20:37,720 --> 02:20:41,160 Speaker 5: and appeals caught in the DC circuit has prevented Judge 2435 02:20:41,160 --> 02:20:44,920 Speaker 5: Boseberg from continuing an investigation into whether Trump officials sent 2436 02:20:44,959 --> 02:20:49,920 Speaker 5: migrants to a Salvador despite his order. DC Judge Raw wrote, 2437 02:20:50,400 --> 02:20:53,400 Speaker 5: the government has a clear and indisputaful right determination of 2438 02:20:53,400 --> 02:20:56,600 Speaker 5: this judicial investigation because it is premise on an order 2439 02:20:56,640 --> 02:21:00,160 Speaker 5: that is insufficiently clear and specific to sustain a ar 2440 02:21:00,320 --> 02:21:04,320 Speaker 5: to criminal contempt. A long time court interpreter, the only 2441 02:21:04,360 --> 02:21:07,720 Speaker 5: one for several South Asian languages in Texas, has been 2442 02:21:07,760 --> 02:21:12,240 Speaker 5: detained by Ice in airport. She has withholding of removal 2443 02:21:12,280 --> 02:21:16,520 Speaker 5: to India, but with third country removals now increasingly on 2444 02:21:16,560 --> 02:21:21,120 Speaker 5: the table, that is presumably what they intend for her. Finally, 2445 02:21:21,200 --> 02:21:24,959 Speaker 5: in court news, another DOJ attorney has been fined for 2446 02:21:25,080 --> 02:21:28,240 Speaker 5: missing deadlines in a habeas case, and once again that 2447 02:21:28,320 --> 02:21:31,520 Speaker 5: attorney cited a crushing caseload is the reason why they'd 2448 02:21:31,560 --> 02:21:32,600 Speaker 5: missed those deadlines. 2449 02:21:33,320 --> 02:21:36,480 Speaker 7: This week, both the House and the Senate failed to 2450 02:21:36,760 --> 02:21:41,280 Speaker 7: advance a war powers resolution compelling the President to cease 2451 02:21:41,440 --> 02:21:45,240 Speaker 7: military action in Iran. The House vote in particular was 2452 02:21:45,400 --> 02:21:48,240 Speaker 7: very close, with two hundred and thirteen votes to two 2453 02:21:48,360 --> 02:21:52,920 Speaker 7: hundred and fourteen, with only one Democrat, Jared Golden, voting 2454 02:21:52,959 --> 02:21:57,000 Speaker 7: against it, while one Republican, Thomas Massey, voted in support. 2455 02:21:58,320 --> 02:22:01,160 Speaker 7: On Monday, the Trump administration agreed to restore the Pride 2456 02:22:01,160 --> 02:22:04,000 Speaker 7: flag to the Stonewall National Monument as a part of 2457 02:22:04,440 --> 02:22:09,160 Speaker 7: settling a lawsuit over its removal. This weekend, President Trump 2458 02:22:09,200 --> 02:22:12,119 Speaker 7: got into a fight with the Pope over the statements 2459 02:22:12,160 --> 02:22:14,480 Speaker 7: against the US and Israel's war in the Middle East. 2460 02:22:14,879 --> 02:22:17,959 Speaker 7: The president truth that the pope was quote weak on 2461 02:22:18,120 --> 02:22:22,840 Speaker 7: crime and terrible for foreign policy, before sharing an AI 2462 02:22:22,879 --> 02:22:27,160 Speaker 7: image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ. The next day, 2463 02:22:27,240 --> 02:22:30,600 Speaker 7: Trump claimed quote, I thought it was me as a doctor. 2464 02:22:31,120 --> 02:22:31,440 Speaker 3: Quote. 2465 02:22:31,959 --> 02:22:33,680 Speaker 1: Great stuff, great stuff. 2466 02:22:34,600 --> 02:22:39,560 Speaker 5: Just a briefly fact check, he is neither of those things. No, 2467 02:22:39,680 --> 02:22:42,440 Speaker 5: as far as I'm a west or a doctor. Yeah. 2468 02:22:42,520 --> 02:22:44,200 Speaker 7: Yeah, legally, I. 2469 02:22:44,160 --> 02:22:47,400 Speaker 2: Think it is notable and very funny that this has 2470 02:22:47,480 --> 02:22:49,840 Speaker 2: now shifted sniff. No, I'm not a significant but it 2471 02:22:50,240 --> 02:22:52,640 Speaker 2: shifted a discourse on the right to whether or not 2472 02:22:52,680 --> 02:22:57,400 Speaker 2: Trump is the Antichrist, with Enemy of the Show Rob 2473 02:22:57,480 --> 02:23:02,440 Speaker 2: Dreer saying quote, he's given off anti Christ energy. So 2474 02:23:03,200 --> 02:23:07,360 Speaker 2: incredible things are happening for Donald Trump among his nominal base. 2475 02:23:09,440 --> 02:23:12,160 Speaker 5: Meanwhile, Franklin Graham thinks it was an honest mistake. 2476 02:23:13,360 --> 02:23:13,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. 2477 02:23:13,600 --> 02:23:15,240 Speaker 7: I'm sure. I'm sure, I'm sure he does. 2478 02:23:15,320 --> 02:23:16,800 Speaker 5: Yeah. 2479 02:23:16,879 --> 02:23:19,879 Speaker 7: On Wednesday, police responded to a bomb threat at the 2480 02:23:19,879 --> 02:23:23,879 Speaker 7: Illinois home of one of Pope Leo's brothers, about forty 2481 02:23:23,920 --> 02:23:28,160 Speaker 7: miles southwest of Chicago. No explosive was found. 2482 02:23:27,920 --> 02:23:31,720 Speaker 1: So Congress is in the process of deciding whether or 2483 02:23:31,840 --> 02:23:36,200 Speaker 1: not to reauthorize section seven oh two of the Foreign 2484 02:23:36,240 --> 02:23:39,959 Speaker 1: Intelligence Surveillance Act or FAIZA. It's going to sunset on 2485 02:23:40,080 --> 02:23:42,680 Speaker 1: April twenty. We're recording this on the sixteenth, so in 2486 02:23:42,760 --> 02:23:46,240 Speaker 1: four days if Congress does not reauthorize it. Section oh 2487 02:23:46,240 --> 02:23:50,640 Speaker 1: two is what lets intelligence agencies in the US collect email, phone, 2488 02:23:50,840 --> 02:23:54,959 Speaker 1: and text communications from foreign nationals outside of the United States, 2489 02:23:55,200 --> 02:23:58,560 Speaker 1: which often leads to communications of American citizens being caught 2490 02:23:58,600 --> 02:24:01,200 Speaker 1: for obvious reasons. Right well, they get kind of swept 2491 02:24:01,240 --> 02:24:05,240 Speaker 1: up in that big net. The FBI once has asked 2492 02:24:05,280 --> 02:24:07,280 Speaker 1: for and has gotten some permission to like look into 2493 02:24:07,320 --> 02:24:11,720 Speaker 1: that database to get information on American citizens. Congress puts 2494 02:24:11,720 --> 02:24:14,680 Speaker 1: some limitations on that in twenty twenty four, but it 2495 02:24:14,720 --> 02:24:18,200 Speaker 1: remains very controversial and basically, like one of the big 2496 02:24:18,280 --> 02:24:20,480 Speaker 1: debates over this is and there was a vote in 2497 02:24:20,480 --> 02:24:22,879 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four as to whether or not to require 2498 02:24:22,879 --> 02:24:26,920 Speaker 1: intelligence agencies to get a warrant before accessing American communications, 2499 02:24:27,240 --> 02:24:29,120 Speaker 1: and that failed to pass by a single vote in 2500 02:24:29,160 --> 02:24:31,760 Speaker 1: the House two twelve to two twelve split in twenty 2501 02:24:31,840 --> 02:24:35,080 Speaker 1: twenty four. So right now, you know there's both the 2502 02:24:35,160 --> 02:24:38,359 Speaker 1: question of is this going to get reauthorized by Congress, 2503 02:24:38,480 --> 02:24:41,880 Speaker 1: in which case is like the FBI is certainly going 2504 02:24:41,920 --> 02:24:44,320 Speaker 1: to use it to go after like the communications of 2505 02:24:44,400 --> 02:24:47,640 Speaker 1: quote unquote antifa, right of like people who have been 2506 02:24:47,640 --> 02:24:51,879 Speaker 1: caught because they've been naming foreign groups, anti fascist groups, 2507 02:24:51,320 --> 02:24:57,280 Speaker 1: like foreign terrorist organizations. That's very obviously like one of 2508 02:24:57,280 --> 02:25:00,240 Speaker 1: the things this is going to be used for kind 2509 02:25:00,240 --> 02:25:02,720 Speaker 1: of unclear, like what is going to happen here where 2510 02:25:02,760 --> 02:25:04,600 Speaker 1: Congress is going to land. I did find there's an 2511 02:25:04,600 --> 02:25:07,360 Speaker 1: interesting article in Just Security where they're very worried that 2512 02:25:08,040 --> 02:25:12,080 Speaker 1: because of how very obvious it is that federal law 2513 02:25:12,160 --> 02:25:15,880 Speaker 1: enforcement will abuse this section seven h two will just 2514 02:25:15,959 --> 02:25:19,520 Speaker 1: kind of go away entirely, and the useful aspects of 2515 02:25:19,560 --> 02:25:22,119 Speaker 1: it as they see it will no longer be possible. 2516 02:25:22,200 --> 02:25:24,560 Speaker 1: That's not my primary concern, but it's interesting to read 2517 02:25:24,600 --> 02:25:26,560 Speaker 1: someone being like, oh my god, if these guys go 2518 02:25:26,680 --> 02:25:30,520 Speaker 1: so crazy, like if they keep refusing to like allow 2519 02:25:30,640 --> 02:25:33,320 Speaker 1: warrants to be entered into the process and keep insisting 2520 02:25:33,360 --> 02:25:37,080 Speaker 1: on going after like anti fat like left wing domestic terrorists, 2521 02:25:37,320 --> 02:25:39,800 Speaker 1: they're going to lose our ability to like surveil foreign 2522 02:25:39,879 --> 02:25:42,360 Speaker 1: nationals entirely. Is kind of the concern from a lot 2523 02:25:42,360 --> 02:25:46,080 Speaker 1: of security people. Anyway, Just probably good that you're aware 2524 02:25:46,080 --> 02:25:50,360 Speaker 1: of that. So probably the biggest international piece of news 2525 02:25:50,959 --> 02:25:55,039 Speaker 1: this week that we're covering is the defeat of Victor Orbon, 2526 02:25:55,840 --> 02:26:00,520 Speaker 1: who was often considered to be like a quasi dictatorial figure. 2527 02:26:00,640 --> 02:26:04,000 Speaker 1: I mean, he arose to power in Hungary legally, but 2528 02:26:04,160 --> 02:26:07,240 Speaker 1: his party like as soon as he took power more 2529 02:26:07,280 --> 02:26:11,080 Speaker 1: than a decade ago, he's basically been cracking down on 2530 02:26:11,120 --> 02:26:15,240 Speaker 1: the ability of counterparties to like organize. There's been like 2531 02:26:15,320 --> 02:26:19,840 Speaker 1: massive crackdowns on the like ability of like it's a 2532 02:26:19,879 --> 02:26:23,279 Speaker 1: lot of prototype Trump stuff, Like they went after professors, 2533 02:26:23,280 --> 02:26:25,480 Speaker 1: they went after colleges, they went after like public funds 2534 02:26:25,520 --> 02:26:28,320 Speaker 1: to educational institutions, to libraries. 2535 02:26:28,680 --> 02:26:33,600 Speaker 7: Yeah, he pioneered the modern tactics of undermining liberal democracy 2536 02:26:33,760 --> 02:26:35,360 Speaker 7: via the legal system. 2537 02:26:35,800 --> 02:26:37,879 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, it's like him and Aired Wanner sort of 2538 02:26:37,920 --> 02:26:38,240 Speaker 2: like yeah. 2539 02:26:38,280 --> 02:26:42,199 Speaker 1: Two, he went after the LGBT community, tried to criminalize 2540 02:26:42,200 --> 02:26:45,560 Speaker 1: like criminalize like pride events and stuff. And also like 2541 02:26:46,120 --> 02:26:48,440 Speaker 1: in a big a big part of like Orbon was 2542 02:26:48,440 --> 02:26:51,039 Speaker 1: obviously very anti migrant, like anti we don't want to 2543 02:26:51,080 --> 02:26:55,080 Speaker 1: take in, you know, particularly during the Syrian refugee crisis 2544 02:26:55,080 --> 02:26:57,480 Speaker 1: that was like a big moment for them. But he 2545 02:26:57,560 --> 02:27:00,320 Speaker 1: was also really anti EU. You know Hungary is a 2546 02:27:00,360 --> 02:27:03,200 Speaker 1: part of the EU, but Orbond's party was very e 2547 02:27:03,600 --> 02:27:07,480 Speaker 1: like the Fidez Party was super EU critical, and in 2548 02:27:07,520 --> 02:27:10,359 Speaker 1: the last decade and change that they've been in power, 2549 02:27:11,040 --> 02:27:14,800 Speaker 1: the Fidez Party has been massively corrupt and in fact 2550 02:27:14,879 --> 02:27:17,840 Speaker 1: has kind of turned the Hungarian government to the extent 2551 02:27:17,959 --> 02:27:20,959 Speaker 1: like you know, there was corruption before obviously, but he's 2552 02:27:21,000 --> 02:27:25,280 Speaker 1: woven his party into the very workings of the government, 2553 02:27:25,320 --> 02:27:28,800 Speaker 1: primarily as a way to collect money from people and 2554 02:27:28,879 --> 02:27:32,160 Speaker 1: to distribute government funds to like these right wing pet 2555 02:27:32,200 --> 02:27:34,480 Speaker 1: projects that they had, which we'll I'll talk about a 2556 02:27:34,480 --> 02:27:36,760 Speaker 1: little more in a second. But this started to piss 2557 02:27:36,760 --> 02:27:39,840 Speaker 1: people off in Hungary, particularly because the government wasn't doing 2558 02:27:39,879 --> 02:27:44,040 Speaker 1: a good job of governing, like the Hungarian economy remained 2559 02:27:44,040 --> 02:27:47,920 Speaker 1: one of the worst in Europe. Unemployment remained high. Like 2560 02:27:48,080 --> 02:27:50,720 Speaker 1: none of the promises that like, well, if we're if 2561 02:27:50,720 --> 02:27:53,200 Speaker 1: we kind of pushed the EU away, and if we 2562 02:27:53,280 --> 02:27:56,480 Speaker 1: keep all if we keep these migrants out, the economy 2563 02:27:56,520 --> 02:28:00,000 Speaker 1: will get better. What really happened was fides robbed everyone blind, 2564 02:28:00,200 --> 02:28:03,000 Speaker 1: and Orbon robbed everyone blind and put his cronies in 2565 02:28:03,080 --> 02:28:05,560 Speaker 1: positions of power in the hope that he would never 2566 02:28:05,600 --> 02:28:09,119 Speaker 1: be forced out. Now, Orbon's an interesting figure in part 2567 02:28:09,120 --> 02:28:12,240 Speaker 1: because he got his start as a pro democracy figure 2568 02:28:12,560 --> 02:28:15,480 Speaker 1: during the latter years of communism in Hungary. He was 2569 02:28:15,560 --> 02:28:19,520 Speaker 1: a liberal like democratic activist, and in fact, the guy 2570 02:28:19,560 --> 02:28:22,760 Speaker 1: who just beat him, Peter Magyar, we'll talk about his 2571 02:28:22,840 --> 02:28:26,640 Speaker 1: name also in a second, grew up with like a 2572 02:28:26,720 --> 02:28:30,360 Speaker 1: poster of Orbon on his bedroom wall because Orbon, you 2573 02:28:30,400 --> 02:28:32,840 Speaker 1: know again, communism was coming to an end. Everyone was 2574 02:28:32,959 --> 02:28:35,640 Speaker 1: very excited, all the young people were very excited about democracy, 2575 02:28:35,840 --> 02:28:38,440 Speaker 1: and Orbon was like a figure and he was still 2576 02:28:38,480 --> 02:28:41,039 Speaker 1: he was never like a leftist figure when I say liberal, 2577 02:28:41,200 --> 02:28:45,760 Speaker 1: but he was a figure of like democratizing values. Now 2578 02:28:45,840 --> 02:28:50,440 Speaker 1: Magyar himself is an odd guy. He's forty five years old. 2579 02:28:50,920 --> 02:28:55,640 Speaker 1: And the party that he ran with, the Tisa Party Tisza, 2580 02:28:56,600 --> 02:29:00,440 Speaker 1: was a party before him, but like not a living 2581 02:29:00,480 --> 02:29:02,840 Speaker 1: one really, like it had been a political party and 2582 02:29:02,879 --> 02:29:05,520 Speaker 1: it had basically died out to irrelevance. I think they 2583 02:29:05,560 --> 02:29:08,360 Speaker 1: had a couple of dudes kind of kicking around. It's 2584 02:29:08,400 --> 02:29:11,000 Speaker 1: almost like if there were still a tiny wig party 2585 02:29:11,400 --> 02:29:14,040 Speaker 1: that like four or five guys met in like twice 2586 02:29:14,080 --> 02:29:16,039 Speaker 1: a year to like have their little wig meeting. 2587 02:29:16,480 --> 02:29:18,360 Speaker 5: The bold coming back that. 2588 02:29:18,680 --> 02:29:22,680 Speaker 1: Some guy who's like a Barack Obama level political mind 2589 02:29:22,760 --> 02:29:26,920 Speaker 1: in terms of his skill in organizing and charisma came 2590 02:29:26,959 --> 02:29:31,920 Speaker 1: in and turned that party into a fucking electoral powerhouse 2591 02:29:32,280 --> 02:29:37,039 Speaker 1: that completely annihilated the previous leading party in an election. 2592 02:29:37,440 --> 02:29:41,280 Speaker 1: Like that's basically what happened in Hungary. It's a very 2593 02:29:41,320 --> 02:29:46,440 Speaker 1: weird story. And Magyar is definitely brilliant in terms of 2594 02:29:46,560 --> 02:29:49,800 Speaker 1: he is someone who is objectively very intelligent when it 2595 02:29:49,840 --> 02:29:54,400 Speaker 1: comes to how to build power in a political organization 2596 02:29:55,000 --> 02:29:58,240 Speaker 1: and how to win elections and how to message to people. 2597 02:29:58,240 --> 02:29:59,959 Speaker 3: He's very good at all of that stuff. 2598 02:30:00,520 --> 02:30:03,840 Speaker 1: Now, this is not like a leftist or a progressive 2599 02:30:04,360 --> 02:30:07,200 Speaker 1: like hero type figure, and he has not pretended to be, 2600 02:30:07,280 --> 02:30:09,320 Speaker 1: to be very clear, that's not how he built himself 2601 02:30:09,320 --> 02:30:12,000 Speaker 1: at all. In fact, in some ways he's more conservative 2602 02:30:12,000 --> 02:30:15,000 Speaker 1: than Orbon. His party that is a party is like 2603 02:30:15,080 --> 02:30:17,959 Speaker 1: even like Orbon at least had like a guest worker 2604 02:30:18,000 --> 02:30:21,560 Speaker 1: program and stuff, and Maggar's against even a lot of 2605 02:30:21,600 --> 02:30:25,240 Speaker 1: that stuff, Like he is actually more hostile to having 2606 02:30:25,800 --> 02:30:29,960 Speaker 1: like like immigration, but he's not anti EU and he's not. 2607 02:30:30,160 --> 02:30:34,920 Speaker 1: What's interesting is like he's really kind of hedging in between, 2608 02:30:35,240 --> 02:30:38,000 Speaker 1: like hedging his I don't know entirely how to describe this. 2609 02:30:38,040 --> 02:30:41,039 Speaker 1: He's like writing a very weird line because he is 2610 02:30:41,080 --> 02:30:44,920 Speaker 1: not anti Ukraine, but he's also against Hungary sending weapons 2611 02:30:44,920 --> 02:30:48,520 Speaker 1: a directly to Ukraine. But his oldlatitude is like, I'm 2612 02:30:48,520 --> 02:30:51,200 Speaker 1: not super pro what you guys are doing, but I'm 2613 02:30:51,200 --> 02:30:54,240 Speaker 1: not going to fight anything in the EU Parliament. Hungary's 2614 02:30:54,240 --> 02:30:57,039 Speaker 1: going to stop. Hungary has been like a spoiler in 2615 02:30:57,160 --> 02:30:59,760 Speaker 1: EU politics for a while, where they would just kind 2616 02:30:59,800 --> 02:31:02,400 Speaker 1: of to fuck with whatever the EU wants to do, 2617 02:31:02,720 --> 02:31:06,440 Speaker 1: especially used to regards aiding Ukraine and Magyar's whole thing 2618 02:31:06,480 --> 02:31:08,240 Speaker 1: is like, I'm just gonna stop, like I'm not gonna 2619 02:31:08,280 --> 02:31:10,920 Speaker 1: ful throatedly support the stuff you guys want. I'm just 2620 02:31:10,959 --> 02:31:13,840 Speaker 1: gonna stop being an anchor weighing you down, which is 2621 02:31:13,959 --> 02:31:17,360 Speaker 1: enough like for the EU to be excited about this. Yeah, 2622 02:31:17,400 --> 02:31:20,879 Speaker 1: like finally, this guy Hungary is not gonna be Hungary 2623 02:31:20,920 --> 02:31:24,080 Speaker 1: is a weird history of acting like an anchor on 2624 02:31:24,680 --> 02:31:28,119 Speaker 1: other polities. Sometimes that's kind of what was going on 2625 02:31:28,320 --> 02:31:30,760 Speaker 1: in the Austro Hungarian Empire in like the pre World 2626 02:31:30,800 --> 02:31:34,320 Speaker 1: War One era, where Hungary saw itself as very separate 2627 02:31:34,440 --> 02:31:38,600 Speaker 1: from the Austria Hungary aspect of things, and would vote 2628 02:31:38,640 --> 02:31:41,039 Speaker 1: to like fuck with the military because they wanted their 2629 02:31:41,040 --> 02:31:43,680 Speaker 1: own military to get more powerful. It's not entirely the same, 2630 02:31:43,800 --> 02:31:47,840 Speaker 1: it's just interesting the level of like contrarianus that's kind 2631 02:31:47,840 --> 02:31:52,120 Speaker 1: of baked into a lot of Hungarian politics. I mentioned 2632 02:31:52,120 --> 02:31:55,560 Speaker 1: something about Peter's name. So the Magyars are like the 2633 02:31:55,640 --> 02:31:59,240 Speaker 1: original like nomadic horse warrior people of the area we 2634 02:31:59,320 --> 02:32:03,160 Speaker 1: know as Hungary today, the name Magyar just means Hungarian now, 2635 02:32:03,200 --> 02:32:05,720 Speaker 1: but it came from the most powerful of these tribes 2636 02:32:05,800 --> 02:32:09,800 Speaker 1: of nomadic warriors. And someone had made a point of 2637 02:32:09,840 --> 02:32:11,600 Speaker 1: this on I was ad of Twitter or Blue Sky 2638 02:32:11,680 --> 02:32:14,440 Speaker 1: around the election that like Peter Magyar is basically if 2639 02:32:14,440 --> 02:32:17,760 Speaker 1: a guy was named Johnny American, right, Like that's like 2640 02:32:18,080 --> 02:32:21,000 Speaker 1: literally like his name could not be more patriotic. 2641 02:32:21,240 --> 02:32:21,480 Speaker 7: Yeah. 2642 02:32:21,680 --> 02:32:22,040 Speaker 6: Yeah. 2643 02:32:23,080 --> 02:32:25,879 Speaker 2: Adolf Hitler defeated by a yeah in Germany. 2644 02:32:26,120 --> 02:32:29,600 Speaker 1: And Maggar became a force on the political stage in 2645 02:32:29,680 --> 02:32:32,400 Speaker 1: Hungary very suddenly. He wasn't really a major figure. He 2646 02:32:32,480 --> 02:32:34,240 Speaker 1: was kind of actually connected to a lot of because 2647 02:32:34,240 --> 02:32:36,440 Speaker 1: again he was a supporter of the Fadez party. He 2648 02:32:36,480 --> 02:32:39,200 Speaker 1: had a lot of friends who were members of Orbon's government. 2649 02:32:39,200 --> 02:32:41,800 Speaker 1: One of his buddies was Orbon's chief of staff. In 2650 02:32:41,800 --> 02:32:44,160 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, he married a woman, judyte Varga, 2651 02:32:44,240 --> 02:32:47,480 Speaker 1: who was the Minister of Justice for the Fadez party 2652 02:32:47,560 --> 02:32:50,959 Speaker 1: under Orbon right, and he'd worked as like a diplomat 2653 02:32:51,000 --> 02:32:53,760 Speaker 1: in Brussels, so he's like a guy who's part of 2654 02:32:53,800 --> 02:32:57,360 Speaker 1: this government apparatus that Orbon puts into place. But in 2655 02:32:57,360 --> 02:33:01,039 Speaker 1: twenty twenty fours there's this huge scandal where the Ministry 2656 02:33:01,080 --> 02:33:04,240 Speaker 1: of Justice and like his wife by which I mean 2657 02:33:04,280 --> 02:33:06,440 Speaker 1: his well now his ex wife because they split, and 2658 02:33:06,480 --> 02:33:09,960 Speaker 1: then his ex wife pardons a man who had gotten 2659 02:33:10,000 --> 02:33:12,320 Speaker 1: convicted for covering up a sex abuse scandal at a 2660 02:33:12,400 --> 02:33:16,360 Speaker 1: children's home, and Magyar becomes like one of the most 2661 02:33:16,440 --> 02:33:19,360 Speaker 1: visible figures on the backlash, being like this entire party 2662 02:33:19,440 --> 02:33:22,600 Speaker 1: is corrupt, this is super fucked up, and he's coming 2663 02:33:22,600 --> 02:33:24,360 Speaker 1: from a position of and I was a part of it, 2664 02:33:24,440 --> 02:33:27,119 Speaker 1: so I know, like I'm an insider who's broken from 2665 02:33:27,160 --> 02:33:30,240 Speaker 1: the group because how corrupt and bad this is, and 2666 02:33:30,280 --> 02:33:35,119 Speaker 1: there's some messed up stuff in there. Magyar does attack 2667 02:33:35,360 --> 02:33:40,000 Speaker 1: Orbon and Fidez because his ex wife gets fired along 2668 02:33:40,040 --> 02:33:42,720 Speaker 1: with another woman. When this scandal becomes a problem, and 2669 02:33:42,760 --> 02:33:45,800 Speaker 1: he accuses the government of like hiding behind women's skirts. 2670 02:33:46,400 --> 02:33:51,600 Speaker 1: But he's also got he's an odd pers There's some 2671 02:33:52,200 --> 02:33:57,920 Speaker 1: uncomfortable not damning or anything, just some like uncomfortable realities 2672 02:33:58,000 --> 02:33:59,720 Speaker 1: about him. And I want to read a quote from 2673 02:33:59,760 --> 02:34:03,280 Speaker 1: an en PR article that came out recently that talks 2674 02:34:03,320 --> 02:34:05,600 Speaker 1: about some of this. Magar has blamed the end of 2675 02:34:05,640 --> 02:34:08,840 Speaker 1: his marriage to Varga, at least in part on political disagreements. Notably, 2676 02:34:08,920 --> 02:34:11,440 Speaker 1: just months before the divorce was finalized in twenty twenty three, 2677 02:34:11,600 --> 02:34:14,680 Speaker 1: he secretly recorded one of their conversations, and it Varga 2678 02:34:14,840 --> 02:34:17,480 Speaker 1: was talking about an attempt by government aids to interfere 2679 02:34:17,480 --> 02:34:20,240 Speaker 1: in a corruption case. Maggar released a recording in the 2680 02:34:20,320 --> 02:34:22,680 Speaker 1: wake of the pardon scandal the following year, which only 2681 02:34:22,680 --> 02:34:25,800 Speaker 1: added fuel to the fire and credence to his corruption claims, 2682 02:34:26,560 --> 02:34:29,760 Speaker 1: and his wife resigns from public life altogether after this. 2683 02:34:30,160 --> 02:34:33,279 Speaker 1: She has accused him of verbal and physical abuse, including 2684 02:34:33,320 --> 02:34:35,880 Speaker 1: like locking her in a room, and obviously, like the 2685 02:34:35,920 --> 02:34:38,599 Speaker 1: whole recording account, there's a lot of there's some uncomfortable 2686 02:34:38,640 --> 02:34:41,880 Speaker 1: stuff about this guy. But that said, she's also super 2687 02:34:41,879 --> 02:34:45,520 Speaker 1: corrupt and like doing a lot of really so I 2688 02:34:46,200 --> 02:34:49,400 Speaker 1: don't know, and no one really does if you read 2689 02:34:49,400 --> 02:34:51,080 Speaker 1: a lot about this guy. One of the things people 2690 02:34:51,080 --> 02:34:52,560 Speaker 1: point is that we don't etually know a lot about 2691 02:34:52,600 --> 02:34:55,000 Speaker 1: him other than he's really good at whipping a party 2692 02:34:55,040 --> 02:34:56,720 Speaker 1: into shape and winning an election. 2693 02:34:57,120 --> 02:34:59,200 Speaker 5: Right like, he proved that much, But we. 2694 02:34:59,120 --> 02:35:02,840 Speaker 1: Don't know much about him. Even Orbon has made anti 2695 02:35:03,080 --> 02:35:08,640 Speaker 1: LGBTQ rights a big part of his platform, especially as 2696 02:35:08,400 --> 02:35:12,320 Speaker 1: his position has gotten weaker, He's tried to like supercharge 2697 02:35:12,320 --> 02:35:15,600 Speaker 1: that as a way to hold on the power. Magyar's 2698 02:35:15,640 --> 02:35:20,600 Speaker 1: not pro queer rights, but he's not anti queer rights. 2699 02:35:19,920 --> 02:35:24,320 Speaker 1: He has criticized the Orbon government from going after LGBTQ 2700 02:35:24,480 --> 02:35:27,120 Speaker 1: people and says that they're doing it to distract citizens 2701 02:35:27,160 --> 02:35:29,440 Speaker 1: from the issues, which is true. He said that he 2702 02:35:29,440 --> 02:35:31,920 Speaker 1: supports the right to assembly, he has not said that 2703 02:35:31,959 --> 02:35:36,160 Speaker 1: he supports LGBTQ rights. That said, if going from a 2704 02:35:36,160 --> 02:35:38,400 Speaker 1: guy who's like, I actively want to prosecute people for 2705 02:35:38,440 --> 02:35:40,879 Speaker 1: being queer to a guy who's like, I just don't 2706 02:35:40,879 --> 02:35:43,720 Speaker 1: want to talk about it is probably an improvement. 2707 02:35:44,520 --> 02:35:47,240 Speaker 7: It's worth noting that in his victory speech he did 2708 02:35:47,640 --> 02:35:53,880 Speaker 7: make two references to LGBTQ rights, saying that quote everyone 2709 02:35:53,959 --> 02:35:56,200 Speaker 7: can live with whoever they love, as long as they 2710 02:35:56,200 --> 02:36:00,480 Speaker 7: do not violate laws or harm others, and also said, quote, 2711 02:36:00,600 --> 02:36:02,800 Speaker 7: we want to make a country where no one is 2712 02:36:02,879 --> 02:36:07,160 Speaker 7: persecuted because they think differently, or because someone loves in 2713 02:36:07,200 --> 02:36:08,920 Speaker 7: a different way to others. 2714 02:36:09,280 --> 02:36:09,840 Speaker 2: Unquote. 2715 02:36:10,600 --> 02:36:13,800 Speaker 1: This is again broadly, a really good thing, and it's 2716 02:36:13,840 --> 02:36:17,720 Speaker 1: also good. It's good in Hungary, it's also good worldwide 2717 02:36:17,720 --> 02:36:21,120 Speaker 1: because Hungary has been for years not just a major 2718 02:36:21,160 --> 02:36:24,039 Speaker 1: supporter of far right groups. One of the things Magyar 2719 02:36:24,120 --> 02:36:27,960 Speaker 1: pointed out as soon as he won election is that 2720 02:36:28,240 --> 02:36:32,160 Speaker 1: there's evidence that they have found that the Fidez party 2721 02:36:32,280 --> 02:36:37,200 Speaker 1: was using Hungarian governmental funds to support a couple of 2722 02:36:37,480 --> 02:36:40,320 Speaker 1: number one to support Seapack because they hold like a 2723 02:36:40,400 --> 02:36:44,760 Speaker 1: foreign seapac gatherings in Hungary. So like Seapack has been 2724 02:36:44,840 --> 02:36:49,960 Speaker 1: getting money from the Hungarian government, and Magyar said, like, 2725 02:36:50,040 --> 02:36:52,959 Speaker 1: that's not fine, We're not okay with that. I think 2726 02:36:53,000 --> 02:36:56,480 Speaker 1: that's actually illegal. And he has also noted that that 2727 02:36:56,600 --> 02:37:00,119 Speaker 1: government money was going to support the Matthias Corvinus Call 2728 02:37:00,560 --> 02:37:03,680 Speaker 1: or MCC, which was receiving funds from the Orbanne government, 2729 02:37:03,680 --> 02:37:06,080 Speaker 1: and that that is going to stop now. The MCC 2730 02:37:06,600 --> 02:37:09,200 Speaker 1: is both like it's an organization in Hungary, but they 2731 02:37:09,200 --> 02:37:11,119 Speaker 1: also have a bunch of like foreign They've got one 2732 02:37:11,120 --> 02:37:14,240 Speaker 1: in like Romania, there's one in Brussels. They have like 2733 02:37:14,240 --> 02:37:17,200 Speaker 1: a bunch of foreign branches and they use the MCC 2734 02:37:17,800 --> 02:37:20,080 Speaker 1: and fund it in order to fund the fire right 2735 02:37:20,200 --> 02:37:24,640 Speaker 1: in other European countries. Right, Like the MCC supports like 2736 02:37:24,680 --> 02:37:28,279 Speaker 1: the one in Brussels supports in Brussels local fire right groups. 2737 02:37:28,600 --> 02:37:31,600 Speaker 1: And it's been very a fairly effective way of like 2738 02:37:31,720 --> 02:37:36,000 Speaker 1: funding some of these like and oftentimes like Nazi adjacent organizations. 2739 02:37:36,959 --> 02:37:39,160 Speaker 1: And that money is looking to go away. And there's 2740 02:37:39,160 --> 02:37:41,680 Speaker 1: an interesting Politico article about some of this that talk 2741 02:37:41,800 --> 02:37:44,920 Speaker 1: to the MCC Brussels people, like the offshoot of this 2742 02:37:44,959 --> 02:37:48,320 Speaker 1: in Brussels. For its part, MCC Brussels said that Sunday's 2743 02:37:48,320 --> 02:37:50,039 Speaker 1: election result will have no bearing on its work in 2744 02:37:50,080 --> 02:37:53,039 Speaker 1: the city. As an independent organization. We will continue to research, 2745 02:37:53,040 --> 02:37:55,760 Speaker 1: analyze and advocate around our core concerns and continue to 2746 02:37:55,760 --> 02:38:01,359 Speaker 1: hold the European Union institutions to account. That's the communications manager. 2747 02:38:01,640 --> 02:38:03,840 Speaker 1: And the article goes on to note MCC Brussels gets 2748 02:38:03,840 --> 02:38:06,720 Speaker 1: almost alledge cash ninety nine percent, coming to just over 2749 02:38:06,760 --> 02:38:09,040 Speaker 1: six million euros according to its listing in the last 2750 02:38:09,080 --> 02:38:12,519 Speaker 1: financial year as part of a grant from Matthias Corvinus Collegium, 2751 02:38:12,600 --> 02:38:15,320 Speaker 1: which received a ten percent stake in Hungary's lucrative oil 2752 02:38:15,360 --> 02:38:18,080 Speaker 1: and gas company MOL from Orbonn's government in twenty twenty. 2753 02:38:18,240 --> 02:38:21,080 Speaker 1: That's certainly going away too. This is a major blow 2754 02:38:21,160 --> 02:38:24,240 Speaker 1: to far right organizing in Europe and in the United States. 2755 02:38:24,520 --> 02:38:26,920 Speaker 1: And it's more than just losing money, losing a space 2756 02:38:26,959 --> 02:38:29,320 Speaker 1: to gather, it's losing a proof of concept. 2757 02:38:29,600 --> 02:38:29,840 Speaker 3: Right. 2758 02:38:30,320 --> 02:38:33,080 Speaker 1: Orbon was the guy they pointed to, is like, this 2759 02:38:33,160 --> 02:38:35,880 Speaker 1: is what we want to do in America, not just America, 2760 02:38:36,000 --> 02:38:39,240 Speaker 1: but very directly, and Orbon just flamed the fuck out 2761 02:38:39,280 --> 02:38:42,160 Speaker 1: because he sucked at governing. Now, what happens next is 2762 02:38:42,200 --> 02:38:45,600 Speaker 1: going to depend on whether or not Magyar prosecutes Fede's 2763 02:38:45,640 --> 02:38:48,920 Speaker 1: party members prosecutes Orbon and his cronies. He said he's 2764 02:38:48,959 --> 02:38:51,840 Speaker 1: going to, so we'll see, and that's all I gotta 2765 02:38:51,840 --> 02:38:52,360 Speaker 1: say for now. 2766 02:38:53,400 --> 02:38:56,080 Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it's worth noting that, like in Europe, 2767 02:38:56,120 --> 02:38:59,720 Speaker 5: we had this somewhat with Donald Tusk in Poland right 2768 02:39:00,440 --> 02:39:03,000 Speaker 5: and what we have seen there, for instance, on immigration, 2769 02:39:04,080 --> 02:39:07,720 Speaker 5: has been a continued movement to the right. Right like 2770 02:39:07,920 --> 02:39:12,840 Speaker 5: Tusk has been like talking about not complying with EU 2771 02:39:12,879 --> 02:39:17,240 Speaker 5: immigration rulings. And I think that's probably something that people 2772 02:39:17,240 --> 02:39:19,560 Speaker 5: who are interesting which way this might go should look at. 2773 02:39:19,600 --> 02:39:22,039 Speaker 5: But that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. That 2774 02:39:22,120 --> 02:39:26,400 Speaker 5: all that is out now that Aubank conceded, right Like, 2775 02:39:26,480 --> 02:39:30,680 Speaker 5: he had multiple US politicians, including the Vice president, campaigning 2776 02:39:30,720 --> 02:39:33,879 Speaker 5: for him, and he lost, and he admitted he lost, 2777 02:39:33,920 --> 02:39:35,959 Speaker 5: and that is a very good sign. 2778 02:39:36,480 --> 02:39:39,680 Speaker 1: Part of why he conceded is he thinks that he's 2779 02:39:39,680 --> 02:39:42,360 Speaker 1: got enough people in the woven end of the government 2780 02:39:42,800 --> 02:39:44,760 Speaker 1: that he can return to power, or at least his 2781 02:39:44,800 --> 02:39:47,879 Speaker 1: party can so. Meg again, Magyar's big challenge is going 2782 02:39:47,920 --> 02:39:49,400 Speaker 1: to be making sure that doesn't happen. 2783 02:39:50,040 --> 02:39:54,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and whatever else. I think it's very very 2784 02:39:54,360 --> 02:39:57,360 Speaker 2: unlikely that Magyar is going to be doing shit like, hey, 2785 02:39:57,400 --> 02:39:59,320 Speaker 2: we're going to use face We're going to threaten to 2786 02:39:59,400 --> 02:40:01,680 Speaker 2: use facial cognition on everyone who shows up to a 2787 02:40:01,680 --> 02:40:04,480 Speaker 2: Pride protest and a Pride march and arrest them, so, 2788 02:40:05,600 --> 02:40:07,080 Speaker 2: you know, hopefully getting better. 2789 02:40:07,560 --> 02:40:14,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. I again, he was willing to wire tap his wife. 2790 02:40:15,879 --> 02:40:18,640 Speaker 1: There's no evidence that he takes like pleasure in fucking 2791 02:40:18,680 --> 02:40:21,240 Speaker 1: with people. Like that doesn't seem to be as vibe, 2792 02:40:22,040 --> 02:40:22,800 Speaker 1: so hopefully not. 2793 02:40:23,200 --> 02:40:26,480 Speaker 5: Yeah, all right, should we take a break? We shall, 2794 02:40:26,959 --> 02:40:27,600 Speaker 5: all right. 2795 02:40:27,600 --> 02:40:33,120 Speaker 7: Then we will be back for more news. 2796 02:40:40,120 --> 02:40:42,360 Speaker 2: So one of the other pieces of news coming out 2797 02:40:42,400 --> 02:40:47,800 Speaker 2: of the right wing sphere is this really incredibly staged 2798 02:40:48,920 --> 02:40:54,720 Speaker 2: photo op that Donald Trump had where he like got 2799 02:40:54,760 --> 02:40:58,840 Speaker 2: this really well photographed, like fake door Dash order and 2800 02:40:58,879 --> 02:41:01,160 Speaker 2: then tipped tip them in one hundred dollars. That was 2801 02:41:01,160 --> 02:41:03,200 Speaker 2: supposed to be a promotion for his note taps on 2802 02:41:03,280 --> 02:41:07,760 Speaker 2: tips thing. There's a lot of stuff going on here. 2803 02:41:08,360 --> 02:41:10,240 Speaker 2: There's been a whole bunch of stuff because people immediately 2804 02:41:10,280 --> 02:41:12,920 Speaker 2: figured out that this person is someone who's been basically 2805 02:41:13,040 --> 02:41:15,560 Speaker 2: used to lobby for this policy a bunch. She shows 2806 02:41:15,640 --> 02:41:18,800 Speaker 2: up all over the place, like testifying in front of 2807 02:41:18,840 --> 02:41:21,480 Speaker 2: congressional committees and stuff about no tax for tips and 2808 02:41:21,560 --> 02:41:24,320 Speaker 2: like or like legislatures all over the country. There's a 2809 02:41:24,320 --> 02:41:26,000 Speaker 2: whole bunch of kind of funny stuff where she gets 2810 02:41:26,000 --> 02:41:27,600 Speaker 2: asked if she would vote for Trump and whether she 2811 02:41:27,640 --> 02:41:31,800 Speaker 2: supports trans athletes, and she's just like there's also a 2812 02:41:31,840 --> 02:41:36,880 Speaker 2: whole story about sort of door Dash's pr person just 2813 02:41:37,240 --> 02:41:40,280 Speaker 2: having a crash out and getting extremely mad online. 2814 02:41:42,760 --> 02:41:44,560 Speaker 1: Me don't don't put it in the newspaper that they 2815 02:41:44,600 --> 02:41:45,040 Speaker 1: got mad. 2816 02:41:46,600 --> 02:41:51,240 Speaker 2: It's really amazing. But I think the actual story here 2817 02:41:51,400 --> 02:41:54,040 Speaker 2: is about no tax on tips as a political project, 2818 02:41:55,240 --> 02:41:58,160 Speaker 2: and I think the actual most egregious part of this 2819 02:41:58,200 --> 02:42:03,400 Speaker 2: whole event was the White House. They operate like fifty 2820 02:42:03,440 --> 02:42:06,200 Speaker 2: five Twitter accounts. One of them the Guardian points out 2821 02:42:06,200 --> 02:42:10,160 Speaker 2: as this like rapid response thing, and it posts this 2822 02:42:10,320 --> 02:42:13,440 Speaker 2: video where that's captioned about how this woman said she 2823 02:42:13,840 --> 02:42:18,920 Speaker 2: saved eleven thousand dollars in taxes on tips. That's not true, 2824 02:42:19,000 --> 02:42:24,360 Speaker 2: it can't be true. It's just mathematically a lie. The 2825 02:42:24,400 --> 02:42:26,800 Speaker 2: actual policy and the Guardian's doing some good work on 2826 02:42:26,840 --> 02:42:30,959 Speaker 2: this lays out quote. But the no tax on tips 2827 02:42:31,000 --> 02:42:34,000 Speaker 2: policy is only a temporary deduction of up to twenty 2828 02:42:34,000 --> 02:42:37,800 Speaker 2: five thousand dollars in tips for eligible workers annually. Tipped 2829 02:42:37,840 --> 02:42:41,520 Speaker 2: workers still have to report their tips as income. So 2830 02:42:42,360 --> 02:42:45,320 Speaker 2: there's a lot of things going on here. One this 2831 02:42:45,400 --> 02:42:48,039 Speaker 2: is all all of the tax on tips off is temporary. 2832 02:42:48,040 --> 02:42:49,520 Speaker 2: We talked about this when it came out. It was 2833 02:42:49,520 --> 02:42:51,800 Speaker 2: designed to sort of phase out the moment Trump leaves 2834 02:42:51,800 --> 02:42:55,680 Speaker 2: office or supposed to leave office, and b. Dordash also 2835 02:42:55,720 --> 02:42:57,600 Speaker 2: later had to say oh no, no, no, no, she did 2836 02:42:57,600 --> 02:43:02,600 Speaker 2: not save eleven thousand dollars in tax money on tips. 2837 02:43:03,160 --> 02:43:05,000 Speaker 2: They were like, no, no, no, she made eleven thousand 2838 02:43:05,040 --> 02:43:06,959 Speaker 2: dollars in tips and didn't have to pay taxes on it. 2839 02:43:07,680 --> 02:43:11,279 Speaker 2: But first off, she did not make eleven thousand dollars 2840 02:43:11,280 --> 02:43:14,400 Speaker 2: on tips. Like, you can't make eleven thousand dollars in 2841 02:43:14,400 --> 02:43:18,960 Speaker 2: tips doing DoorDash delivery. It's basically impossible. And I'm very 2842 02:43:19,000 --> 02:43:21,959 Speaker 2: sure that she didn't do this because also if you 2843 02:43:22,000 --> 02:43:23,720 Speaker 2: look at and the Guardian with you or not the Guardian, 2844 02:43:23,760 --> 02:43:26,959 Speaker 2: I'm ink with you some of the earlier you know, interviews, 2845 02:43:27,000 --> 02:43:29,160 Speaker 2: because she's been on a PR circuit about this for 2846 02:43:29,200 --> 02:43:31,240 Speaker 2: a while. She was on Fox News, and on Fox 2847 02:43:31,280 --> 02:43:34,560 Speaker 2: News she claims that she'd saved three to four thousand 2848 02:43:34,640 --> 02:43:37,920 Speaker 2: dollars and that eventually that like number amount of money 2849 02:43:37,920 --> 02:43:40,360 Speaker 2: that she'd saved eventually gets bumped up to eleven thousand. 2850 02:43:40,480 --> 02:43:43,520 Speaker 2: I think, though, what happened is that she maybe got 2851 02:43:44,200 --> 02:43:47,400 Speaker 2: she's claiming originally that she got like three thousand dollars 2852 02:43:47,400 --> 02:43:50,480 Speaker 2: in tips. There's also another issue here, which is at 2853 02:43:50,520 --> 02:43:53,360 Speaker 2: like eleven thousand dollars, it's like not clear if that's 2854 02:43:53,400 --> 02:43:55,720 Speaker 2: even enough money to qualify as having to pay income 2855 02:43:55,760 --> 02:43:59,160 Speaker 2: taxes in Alaska. Like this is all, this is all 2856 02:43:59,200 --> 02:44:01,600 Speaker 2: basically just a night there. And but the reason this 2857 02:44:01,640 --> 02:44:04,920 Speaker 2: is all actually happening is that the note tax on 2858 02:44:04,959 --> 02:44:10,560 Speaker 2: tips thing is this giant pr campaign that DoorDash, particularly 2859 02:44:10,600 --> 02:44:13,760 Speaker 2: DoorDash but also some of the other uh, some of 2860 02:44:13,800 --> 02:44:17,480 Speaker 2: the other companies have been doing as basically a propaganda 2861 02:44:17,520 --> 02:44:20,200 Speaker 2: thing in order to avoid there being attention on the 2862 02:44:20,200 --> 02:44:22,640 Speaker 2: fact that they just don't pay their workers a living 2863 02:44:22,680 --> 02:44:26,840 Speaker 2: wage and what so. One of the really important things 2864 02:44:26,840 --> 02:44:29,800 Speaker 2: that's almost never talked about with DoorDash and with with 2865 02:44:29,920 --> 02:44:33,560 Speaker 2: all of these sort of like these these delivery apps, right, 2866 02:44:34,080 --> 02:44:37,200 Speaker 2: is that if you are a restaurant worker and you're 2867 02:44:37,200 --> 02:44:39,080 Speaker 2: making something for a DoorDash order, and this particularly like 2868 02:44:39,120 --> 02:44:41,200 Speaker 2: you know, for example, if you work at a coffee shop, right, 2869 02:44:42,000 --> 02:44:46,840 Speaker 2: you don't get tips on DoorDash orders. So when when when? 2870 02:44:46,920 --> 02:44:49,120 Speaker 2: When when these things? When these orders started coming through 2871 02:44:49,640 --> 02:44:53,680 Speaker 2: in like sort of the past like five six, eight years, right, 2872 02:44:54,760 --> 02:44:59,080 Speaker 2: what happened was that this was basically a giant everyone 2873 02:44:59,080 --> 02:45:01,720 Speaker 2: who's working like in a restaurant or in a in 2874 02:45:01,720 --> 02:45:03,720 Speaker 2: like a cafe or whatever, you're getting it from those 2875 02:45:03,760 --> 02:45:05,840 Speaker 2: people all had massive speed ups where they just don't 2876 02:45:05,879 --> 02:45:07,280 Speaker 2: get and they don't and they don't get paid the 2877 02:45:07,320 --> 02:45:09,760 Speaker 2: regular tips that they would you know, be relying on 2878 02:45:09,840 --> 02:45:11,879 Speaker 2: to even sort of have a living gage wage. Right, 2879 02:45:11,959 --> 02:45:15,200 Speaker 2: So these people all got speed ups. And then on 2880 02:45:15,280 --> 02:45:18,520 Speaker 2: top of that, right, so you are, if you're ordering 2881 02:45:18,520 --> 02:45:20,840 Speaker 2: from one of these sites, right, you're probably are paying 2882 02:45:20,840 --> 02:45:24,920 Speaker 2: a tip. But that tip money has basically been you know, 2883 02:45:24,959 --> 02:45:27,200 Speaker 2: it's been extracted from the restaurant workers. But then now 2884 02:45:27,200 --> 02:45:30,480 Speaker 2: it's being used as a way to subsidize, right, as 2885 02:45:30,480 --> 02:45:33,760 Speaker 2: a way to subsidize door Dash not paying actual fucking wages. 2886 02:45:34,760 --> 02:45:38,200 Speaker 2: And so what this entire project is is is it's 2887 02:45:38,280 --> 02:45:42,720 Speaker 2: this It's this giant attempt to basically continue this process 2888 02:45:42,760 --> 02:45:45,280 Speaker 2: and solidify this process and stop all of the organizing 2889 02:45:45,280 --> 02:45:47,640 Speaker 2: campaigns that have been happening against door Dash to get 2890 02:45:47,640 --> 02:45:51,000 Speaker 2: them to like actually fucking pay people. And what's happening 2891 02:45:51,040 --> 02:45:53,039 Speaker 2: instead is that they're trying They're trying to shift everyone's 2892 02:45:53,040 --> 02:45:55,080 Speaker 2: focus to like, oh, hey, we can give you like 2893 02:45:55,200 --> 02:45:58,360 Speaker 2: no tax on tips, even though what these tips are 2894 02:45:58,400 --> 02:46:01,000 Speaker 2: and what the system that they've built is is is 2895 02:46:01,080 --> 02:46:05,360 Speaker 2: it system to basically exploit both restaurant workers and also 2896 02:46:05,400 --> 02:46:07,400 Speaker 2: specifically to make sure they don't ever have to fucking 2897 02:46:07,440 --> 02:46:10,760 Speaker 2: pay their workers any amount of money. And that's the 2898 02:46:10,879 --> 02:46:14,880 Speaker 2: actual that's the actual political ramifications of what's happening here 2899 02:46:14,959 --> 02:46:20,039 Speaker 2: beyond guy has funny crash out in social media, and 2900 02:46:20,160 --> 02:46:23,040 Speaker 2: I think it's very bleak that there's been basically no 2901 02:46:23,160 --> 02:46:28,200 Speaker 2: coverage of the sort of totality of what this is 2902 02:46:28,240 --> 02:46:28,959 Speaker 2: doing to people. 2903 02:46:30,200 --> 02:46:34,119 Speaker 7: To circle back to the potentiality of the new Prime 2904 02:46:34,120 --> 02:46:39,960 Speaker 7: Minister of Hungary prosecuting the former corrupt administration, let's turn 2905 02:46:40,160 --> 02:46:45,200 Speaker 7: to California. The former front runner in the California governor's race, 2906 02:46:45,280 --> 02:46:47,800 Speaker 7: Eric Swalwell, dropped out of the election last week and 2907 02:46:47,840 --> 02:46:52,240 Speaker 7: subsequently resigned from Congress amidst sexual assault allegations from multiple women. 2908 02:46:53,680 --> 02:46:57,520 Speaker 7: The new front runner is billionaire Tom Steyer, who ran 2909 02:46:57,560 --> 02:47:00,520 Speaker 7: for president back in twenty twenty. You might remember him 2910 02:47:00,680 --> 02:47:04,880 Speaker 7: from the Yeah, good, okay clip of where he tried 2911 02:47:04,879 --> 02:47:07,600 Speaker 7: to talk to Bernie Sanders as Bernie and Elizabeth Warren 2912 02:47:07,640 --> 02:47:10,600 Speaker 7: were beefing on stage after a presidential debate. 2913 02:47:11,879 --> 02:47:13,600 Speaker 2: Well, is she the guy? Is she the guy who 2914 02:47:13,640 --> 02:47:16,440 Speaker 2: had that story about killing someone in Vietnam? Or was 2915 02:47:16,480 --> 02:47:18,600 Speaker 2: that was another one of the unhinged guys that. 2916 02:47:19,080 --> 02:47:22,960 Speaker 7: Ye Stire wasn't super unhinged. He was a little bit boring, 2917 02:47:23,879 --> 02:47:27,280 Speaker 7: but nominally one of the more progressive people in that 2918 02:47:27,400 --> 02:47:30,480 Speaker 7: overstuffed race despite being a billionaire. A lot of his 2919 02:47:30,600 --> 02:47:35,199 Speaker 7: poll is talking about we should tax billionaires like me more. 2920 02:47:35,280 --> 02:47:37,520 Speaker 7: I know, I'm a billionaire. I'll be fine. That's kind 2921 02:47:37,520 --> 02:47:39,680 Speaker 7: of his that's kind of part of his stick. 2922 02:47:40,080 --> 02:47:43,000 Speaker 1: Look, my opinion is as a former Californian and just 2923 02:47:43,040 --> 02:47:46,920 Speaker 1: someone who's voted in California in the long grand history 2924 02:47:46,959 --> 02:47:51,840 Speaker 1: of California governors, he would be one of the better options. 2925 02:47:52,080 --> 02:47:57,800 Speaker 1: That California is fat, which is the bar, really low bar. 2926 02:47:58,600 --> 02:48:01,119 Speaker 5: Yeah, and the race this year is just shite. 2927 02:48:01,440 --> 02:48:06,440 Speaker 1: It's it's again like Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor and 2928 02:48:06,520 --> 02:48:08,240 Speaker 1: like firmly middle of the pack. 2929 02:48:08,720 --> 02:48:11,640 Speaker 5: Like it's absolute bollocks. Now, Like sorry, I know I'm 2930 02:48:11,640 --> 02:48:14,680 Speaker 5: saying very British words, but it is upsetting. 2931 02:48:14,959 --> 02:48:18,879 Speaker 7: It is funny to describe the California governor's racist bollocks. 2932 02:48:19,120 --> 02:48:22,280 Speaker 1: It's bollocks many times. 2933 02:48:22,320 --> 02:48:25,000 Speaker 5: I have to live here, I have to pay taxes 2934 02:48:25,000 --> 02:48:25,959 Speaker 5: to these clowns. 2935 02:48:26,320 --> 02:48:30,080 Speaker 1: I mean, it's California, baby, Like you're gonna periodically have 2936 02:48:30,160 --> 02:48:34,039 Speaker 1: governor raises that are just like shit shows, largely to 2937 02:48:34,160 --> 02:48:36,000 Speaker 1: provide content for the media. 2938 02:48:36,240 --> 02:48:37,400 Speaker 5: Yeah yeah. 2939 02:48:37,680 --> 02:48:37,920 Speaker 4: Now. 2940 02:48:38,080 --> 02:48:41,920 Speaker 7: This week, Stier released part of his immigration platform titled 2941 02:48:42,200 --> 02:48:48,320 Speaker 7: how California Can Put Ice in Jail, echoing cries that 2942 02:48:48,520 --> 02:48:52,360 Speaker 7: activists have been tried to circulate into popular consciousness for 2943 02:48:52,560 --> 02:48:57,440 Speaker 7: the past year. Now, Stier doesn't just advocate for ICE 2944 02:48:57,480 --> 02:49:01,520 Speaker 7: to be abolished, which he does, but says in this 2945 02:49:01,600 --> 02:49:05,680 Speaker 7: new platform released on substack, quote, it's not enough for 2946 02:49:05,800 --> 02:49:09,039 Speaker 7: Democrats to simply engage in rhetoric and quote unquote stand 2947 02:49:09,080 --> 02:49:13,039 Speaker 7: against Ice or Trump. California must build a system that 2948 02:49:13,160 --> 02:49:16,800 Speaker 7: fights fire with fire to stop this authoritarian takeover. We 2949 02:49:16,879 --> 02:49:19,320 Speaker 7: must counter Ice head on and go after both their 2950 02:49:19,360 --> 02:49:22,720 Speaker 7: agents on the streets and their leadership within the DHS. 2951 02:49:23,080 --> 02:49:25,200 Speaker 7: How do we do this the same way we took 2952 02:49:25,240 --> 02:49:28,120 Speaker 7: on the mob, put ICE agents and their leadership in 2953 02:49:28,200 --> 02:49:30,800 Speaker 7: jail for their crimes, because that's how you take on 2954 02:49:31,000 --> 02:49:35,640 Speaker 7: a violent extremist group and win unquote. Steyer promises to 2955 02:49:35,680 --> 02:49:38,720 Speaker 7: do five things as governor to build this strategy to 2956 02:49:38,879 --> 02:49:43,680 Speaker 7: take on Ice. First, passing aggressive legislation building on current 2957 02:49:43,800 --> 02:49:48,520 Speaker 7: California statutes to outlaw any law enforcement agency from profiling 2958 02:49:48,879 --> 02:49:53,959 Speaker 7: based on race, ethnicity, language, occupation, or location. This directly 2959 02:49:53,959 --> 02:49:58,560 Speaker 7: takes on the Kavanagh stops, which were approved last fall. 2960 02:49:59,080 --> 02:50:01,640 Speaker 5: And a lot of others Supreme Court decisions of for instance, 2961 02:50:01,680 --> 02:50:03,359 Speaker 5: Board of Patrol operates under. 2962 02:50:05,160 --> 02:50:09,000 Speaker 7: Then, Stier says he'll grant the state Attorney general authority 2963 02:50:09,000 --> 02:50:13,560 Speaker 7: to hold ICE's leadership accountable for violence by pursuing quote 2964 02:50:13,640 --> 02:50:18,680 Speaker 7: unquote supervisory liability. Stire writes that quote this body of 2965 02:50:18,760 --> 02:50:22,520 Speaker 7: law empowers the California justice system to criminally prosecute and 2966 02:50:22,560 --> 02:50:26,200 Speaker 7: imprison not just the ICE agents who are committing these crimes, 2967 02:50:26,480 --> 02:50:28,840 Speaker 7: but the leadership directing them to do so. 2968 02:50:29,240 --> 02:50:29,680 Speaker 3: Unquote. 2969 02:50:31,000 --> 02:50:34,359 Speaker 7: Stire promise is to appoint and fund a special investigative 2970 02:50:34,480 --> 02:50:38,959 Speaker 7: unit that's specifically tasked with enforcing these California laws, quote, 2971 02:50:39,080 --> 02:50:43,000 Speaker 7: including laws related to the conditions at detention facilities. This 2972 02:50:43,200 --> 02:50:46,000 Speaker 7: unit will collect the evidence the Attorney General can use 2973 02:50:46,200 --> 02:50:48,480 Speaker 7: to prosecute offenders and their leadership. 2974 02:50:48,959 --> 02:50:49,279 Speaker 3: Quote. 2975 02:50:50,440 --> 02:50:54,359 Speaker 7: That's how he plans to take on ICE and leadership 2976 02:50:54,400 --> 02:50:59,039 Speaker 7: at the DHS and to prosecute crimes committed by ICE agents. Now, 2977 02:50:59,080 --> 02:51:02,240 Speaker 7: Stire also says that he will quote bring those detained 2978 02:51:02,280 --> 02:51:06,800 Speaker 7: and kidnapped by ICE back home quote by expanding the 2979 02:51:06,840 --> 02:51:11,400 Speaker 7: immigration legal defense infrastructure in the state of California, including 2980 02:51:11,440 --> 02:51:16,879 Speaker 7: funding for quote more attorneys, investigators, and accredited representatives, as 2981 02:51:16,879 --> 02:51:20,000 Speaker 7: well as legal aid and law school programs to assist 2982 02:51:20,080 --> 02:51:24,080 Speaker 7: and help those who have been imprisoned without due process unquote. 2983 02:51:25,000 --> 02:51:27,480 Speaker 5: This is the one like that I'd like. So there 2984 02:51:27,480 --> 02:51:30,080 Speaker 5: are counties in California the fund that we had an 2985 02:51:30,080 --> 02:51:31,840 Speaker 5: episode about this about two years ago, right that there 2986 02:51:31,840 --> 02:51:36,160 Speaker 5: will fund legal defense for migrants. Traditionally this has been 2987 02:51:38,080 --> 02:51:41,840 Speaker 5: Ice works around this by moving people who have that 2988 02:51:41,959 --> 02:51:45,120 Speaker 5: legal representation out of the state as quickly as they 2989 02:51:45,160 --> 02:51:49,760 Speaker 5: can and then refusing or making it very hard for 2990 02:51:49,840 --> 02:51:53,920 Speaker 5: WebEx motions for their attorneys to attend their hearings remotely. 2991 02:51:54,680 --> 02:51:57,840 Speaker 5: And what that does is effectively like bleeds to program, right, 2992 02:51:57,840 --> 02:52:00,160 Speaker 5: because then this attorney has to fly to Texas for 2993 02:52:00,200 --> 02:52:06,200 Speaker 5: a fifteen minute hearing about rescheduling or something similar. I 2994 02:52:06,200 --> 02:52:08,800 Speaker 5: would need to There's a lot of other stuff here, 2995 02:52:08,840 --> 02:52:12,039 Speaker 5: like law school programs. That's interesting. I don't know what 2996 02:52:12,080 --> 02:52:16,400 Speaker 5: those would be. There needs to be something that stops 2997 02:52:16,480 --> 02:52:19,720 Speaker 5: them doing that, because that is what they did under 2998 02:52:19,760 --> 02:52:23,880 Speaker 5: Biden too, like a this is not a Trump era thing. 2999 02:52:23,920 --> 02:52:27,760 Speaker 5: This is very much something that happened under Biden, and 3000 02:52:27,800 --> 02:52:32,520 Speaker 5: it will happen again if the state of California does 3001 02:52:32,560 --> 02:52:35,840 Speaker 5: this on a statewide level, I will imagine, I would imagine, 3002 02:52:36,200 --> 02:52:38,960 Speaker 5: especially like let's entertain the idea that we have an 3003 02:52:39,000 --> 02:52:41,520 Speaker 5: election in twenty twenty eight, we have a Democrat president, 3004 02:52:42,480 --> 02:52:46,600 Speaker 5: I still has a massively expanded detention capacity. It could 3005 02:52:46,720 --> 02:52:50,360 Speaker 5: very easily move people out of California very quickly, and 3006 02:52:50,440 --> 02:52:52,680 Speaker 5: so we need, like there need to be awareness of that. 3007 02:52:52,959 --> 02:52:56,000 Speaker 5: I would also say that, like, one of the tools 3008 02:52:56,000 --> 02:52:57,880 Speaker 5: that I don't see mentioned here that I think should 3009 02:52:57,920 --> 02:53:02,040 Speaker 5: be mentioned is SB fifty four in CALIFORNI SB fifty four. 3010 02:53:02,280 --> 02:53:04,360 Speaker 5: They're obviously there are different SB fifty four when I'm 3011 02:53:04,360 --> 02:53:07,440 Speaker 5: talking about a California Values Act here, the one that 3012 02:53:07,760 --> 02:53:13,360 Speaker 5: prohibits law enforcement cooperation except for cerchin exemptions with immigration authorities. 3013 02:53:13,680 --> 02:53:17,080 Speaker 5: That already exists. It's already there. And like this is 3014 02:53:17,600 --> 02:53:20,160 Speaker 5: his statements, pretty brief for his PDFs, only three pages. 3015 02:53:20,680 --> 02:53:23,360 Speaker 5: It might not go into all this detail. I would 3016 02:53:23,520 --> 02:53:25,840 Speaker 5: like to see that flagged, at least in in further 3017 02:53:25,920 --> 02:53:28,080 Speaker 5: detail or when he's speaking about this, right, because SB 3018 02:53:28,120 --> 02:53:34,880 Speaker 5: fifty four prosecutions of cops are important, right, because there 3019 02:53:34,879 --> 02:53:38,840 Speaker 5: are California agencies which appear to be flouting California law 3020 02:53:39,320 --> 02:53:44,320 Speaker 5: in order to comply with Trump's immigration goals. And if 3021 02:53:44,360 --> 02:53:46,400 Speaker 5: we don't do that first, then I have a lot 3022 02:53:46,480 --> 02:53:48,119 Speaker 5: less faith that any of this other shit is going 3023 02:53:48,160 --> 02:53:48,560 Speaker 5: to matter. 3024 02:53:50,080 --> 02:53:54,720 Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean, obviously, funding legal representation for immigrants regardless, 3025 02:53:54,720 --> 02:53:58,600 Speaker 7: like is a good thing. But it but the effect 3026 02:53:58,600 --> 02:54:02,280 Speaker 7: that it could have could be curtailed by Ice, as 3027 02:54:02,360 --> 02:54:04,280 Speaker 7: James is said, by moving people quickly out of state. 3028 02:54:04,320 --> 02:54:10,520 Speaker 7: And it's unclear if Stier is also talking about trying 3029 02:54:10,560 --> 02:54:13,879 Speaker 7: to help trying to help residents of California. 3030 02:54:14,120 --> 02:54:16,240 Speaker 5: Is it people who Is it people who reside in 3031 02:54:16,280 --> 02:54:18,440 Speaker 5: California and have been taken by ICE? Or is it 3032 02:54:18,480 --> 02:54:21,880 Speaker 5: people who are in iced detention in California California? Yeah, 3033 02:54:21,920 --> 02:54:24,879 Speaker 5: Like those are different categories, right like, anyone or any 3034 02:54:25,000 --> 02:54:27,720 Speaker 5: other people in immigration attention broadly in California, to include 3035 02:54:27,720 --> 02:54:29,960 Speaker 5: anyone who would cross the southern border and then be detained, 3036 02:54:30,040 --> 02:54:32,320 Speaker 5: right Like, this is all stuff that I'd like to 3037 02:54:32,320 --> 02:54:34,480 Speaker 5: see fleshed out. Maybe it will be. I am going 3038 02:54:34,560 --> 02:54:36,600 Speaker 5: to email his office and ask some of these questions. 3039 02:54:37,720 --> 02:54:40,760 Speaker 7: The last thing that Stier has in this five list 3040 02:54:40,800 --> 02:54:43,600 Speaker 7: of promises is promised to launch a statewide no Your 3041 02:54:43,640 --> 02:54:48,920 Speaker 7: Rights public education and public awareness campaign, and Stire writes 3042 02:54:49,000 --> 02:54:53,920 Speaker 7: quote backed by expanded protections against racial profiling. Legal representation 3043 02:54:54,040 --> 02:54:57,879 Speaker 7: empowers detained individuals to report ICE's crimes to the Special 3044 02:54:57,920 --> 02:55:01,680 Speaker 7: Investigator and California's Attorney General and take the agents to 3045 02:55:01,800 --> 02:55:05,680 Speaker 7: court unquote. So he sees all these things like working 3046 02:55:06,000 --> 02:55:11,279 Speaker 7: in conjunction together to prosecute ICE agents and give immigrants 3047 02:55:11,360 --> 02:55:14,280 Speaker 7: legal representation so that this so that the investigative unit 3048 02:55:14,320 --> 02:55:19,600 Speaker 7: can be aware of certain crimes by ICE agents. It's 3049 02:55:20,000 --> 02:55:24,880 Speaker 7: the most that I've seen any politician like put down 3050 02:55:24,920 --> 02:55:28,120 Speaker 7: as like an actual plan to go after ICE. Like 3051 02:55:28,440 --> 02:55:30,520 Speaker 7: some other people have employed this sort of this sort 3052 02:55:30,520 --> 02:55:33,560 Speaker 7: of rhetoric, but in terms of actually producing a plan 3053 02:55:33,760 --> 02:55:36,800 Speaker 7: to go about this, this is the most detailed that 3054 02:55:36,879 --> 02:55:39,520 Speaker 7: I've seen. And as James said, it'll be good to 3055 02:55:39,640 --> 02:55:42,560 Speaker 7: learn more about how he envisions this actually going into 3056 02:55:42,600 --> 02:55:45,560 Speaker 7: effect and those certain details that it would be nice 3057 02:55:45,600 --> 02:55:50,520 Speaker 7: to have more detail on. But as as as rhetoric 3058 02:55:50,560 --> 02:55:52,640 Speaker 7: and as as an actual policy proposal, this is like 3059 02:55:52,680 --> 02:55:55,879 Speaker 7: the most advanced thing I've seen on actually trying to 3060 02:55:55,959 --> 02:55:57,640 Speaker 7: prosecute ICE and DHS. 3061 02:55:58,520 --> 02:56:00,800 Speaker 5: All Right, so it's talk a little bit more about 3062 02:56:00,800 --> 02:56:05,520 Speaker 5: immigration things around the topic. First and foremost in this 3063 02:56:05,600 --> 02:56:08,440 Speaker 5: what I want to talk about is this court filing 3064 02:56:08,480 --> 02:56:12,039 Speaker 5: by the ACLU and associated groups pertaining to the South 3065 02:56:12,120 --> 02:56:18,240 Speaker 5: Florida Soft Sided Facility South aka Alligator Alcatraz. Right. The 3066 02:56:18,360 --> 02:56:21,880 Speaker 5: court filing has some really disturbing stuff and it basically 3067 02:56:21,920 --> 02:56:24,680 Speaker 5: details what they claim to be the continued abuse of 3068 02:56:24,720 --> 02:56:27,960 Speaker 5: detainees despite a court order that should have prohibited some 3069 02:56:28,000 --> 02:56:30,959 Speaker 5: of this or prevented it. Rather, in their filing they 3070 02:56:30,959 --> 02:56:33,160 Speaker 5: are led to the attorneys were prevented from meeting with 3071 02:56:33,200 --> 02:56:38,040 Speaker 5: their clients, forced to make appointments, and we've seen some 3072 02:56:38,080 --> 02:56:40,000 Speaker 5: reporting on the physical abuse. I have not seen as 3073 02:56:40,080 --> 02:56:43,320 Speaker 5: much discussion of this, which I think is extremely concerning. 3074 02:56:43,680 --> 02:56:47,480 Speaker 5: Attorneys have been asked to submit copies of legal documents 3075 02:56:48,320 --> 02:56:51,360 Speaker 5: that they are bringing or to go over with their 3076 02:56:51,360 --> 02:56:55,000 Speaker 5: clients right like this would be a very clear violation 3077 02:56:55,120 --> 02:56:58,199 Speaker 5: of their attorney client privilege right that those communications should 3078 02:56:58,240 --> 02:57:01,840 Speaker 5: be private between the attorney and the client. And the 3079 02:57:01,959 --> 02:57:05,480 Speaker 5: facility denied detainees access to phones. This was part of 3080 02:57:05,520 --> 02:57:08,039 Speaker 5: the previous co order. They were to have access to 3081 02:57:08,080 --> 02:57:10,960 Speaker 5: phones and communications with their attorneys as well as some 3082 02:57:11,000 --> 02:57:12,840 Speaker 5: other stuff. They had to be advised of their rights 3083 02:57:12,920 --> 02:57:17,480 Speaker 5: posters explaining some of this stuff. This resulted in demands 3084 02:57:17,520 --> 02:57:19,840 Speaker 5: and the parts of the detainees to restore their access 3085 02:57:19,879 --> 02:57:22,280 Speaker 5: to phones. I want to quote at length from the 3086 02:57:22,320 --> 02:57:26,000 Speaker 5: filing here just so I don't make any false representations. 3087 02:57:26,520 --> 02:57:26,880 Speaker 2: Quote. 3088 02:57:27,080 --> 02:57:29,560 Speaker 5: After not having access to phone calls all day, people 3089 02:57:29,560 --> 02:57:32,240 Speaker 5: in their cages were getting frustrated with the situation, as 3090 02:57:32,320 --> 02:57:34,240 Speaker 5: these phone calls are the only way people can contact 3091 02:57:34,320 --> 02:57:38,359 Speaker 5: loved ones, speak with and secure an attorney. Detained individuals 3092 02:57:38,360 --> 02:57:41,760 Speaker 5: in mister Morphi and mister Hernandez Galband's cage began complaining 3093 02:57:41,800 --> 02:57:45,040 Speaker 5: loudly about the phones not working. Mister Morphi and mister 3094 02:57:45,080 --> 02:57:48,200 Speaker 5: Hernandez Galband both reported that several guards who work for 3095 02:57:48,280 --> 02:57:52,560 Speaker 5: crs a's, the entity managing the facility, came to the 3096 02:57:52,600 --> 02:57:57,519 Speaker 5: cage and were taunting the detained individuals inside. Detained individuals 3097 02:57:57,560 --> 02:58:00,920 Speaker 5: began raising their voices in protests. The guards got more 3098 02:58:00,959 --> 02:58:04,160 Speaker 5: aggressive and were yelling and threatening to enter the cage. 3099 02:58:04,200 --> 02:58:06,800 Speaker 5: Mister Hernandez Galband went to the guards to try and 3100 02:58:06,840 --> 02:58:09,480 Speaker 5: deesperate the situation and advise the guards not to enter 3101 02:58:09,480 --> 02:58:12,160 Speaker 5: the cage at that time, fearing it would lead to violence. 3102 02:58:13,160 --> 02:58:16,280 Speaker 5: Mister Morphy and mister Hernandez Galband both reported that another 3103 02:58:16,280 --> 02:58:19,800 Speaker 5: detained individual then went to the guards and an officer 3104 02:58:19,840 --> 02:58:24,800 Speaker 5: punched that person. Then the officers targeted mister Morphy. Neither 3105 02:58:24,879 --> 02:58:28,440 Speaker 5: mister Morphy nor mister Hernande's garband know why they targeted 3106 02:58:28,480 --> 02:58:31,560 Speaker 5: mister Morphy. The guards threw mister Morphy to the ground 3107 02:58:31,720 --> 02:58:35,200 Speaker 5: and severely beat him up. An officer came in and 3108 02:58:35,240 --> 02:58:37,680 Speaker 5: punched mister Morphy in his right eye and began to 3109 02:58:37,720 --> 02:58:40,320 Speaker 5: beat him. He was taken out the cage and thrown 3110 02:58:40,360 --> 02:58:43,600 Speaker 5: to the ground and beaten by multiple guards. He suffered 3111 02:58:43,640 --> 02:58:46,480 Speaker 5: injuries to his shoulder and arm, and was kicked in 3112 02:58:46,520 --> 02:58:49,760 Speaker 5: the head. A guard placed their knee on his neck 3113 02:58:49,920 --> 02:58:53,200 Speaker 5: when the guard was trying to restrain him. Mister Morphy 3114 02:58:53,280 --> 02:58:55,320 Speaker 5: does not know which guards are involved, as they do 3115 02:58:55,360 --> 02:58:58,680 Speaker 5: not wear id badges, but he believes he would recognize them. 3116 02:58:59,040 --> 02:59:01,520 Speaker 5: The officers beat so for other people during this incident 3117 02:59:01,920 --> 02:59:05,880 Speaker 5: and broke another detained individual's wrist. The officers then pepper 3118 02:59:05,879 --> 02:59:09,680 Speaker 5: sprayed everyone in the cage. A detained older gentleman passed 3119 02:59:09,720 --> 02:59:15,039 Speaker 5: out as he could not breathe. That's pretty horrific, like. 3120 02:59:16,959 --> 02:59:19,080 Speaker 7: This is just one day in one detention center. 3121 02:59:19,200 --> 02:59:21,560 Speaker 5: This I was going to say, this is one cage 3122 02:59:21,879 --> 02:59:25,959 Speaker 5: on one day in one facility. And like, if these 3123 02:59:26,000 --> 02:59:29,680 Speaker 5: people had not been brave enough to speak out, then 3124 02:59:29,720 --> 02:59:32,519 Speaker 5: we wouldn't know. Or if these people had been deported 3125 02:59:32,680 --> 02:59:35,840 Speaker 5: before they could speak out, we wouldn't know. Right, they 3126 02:59:35,840 --> 02:59:38,400 Speaker 5: didn't even have telephones to report this, if they hadn't 3127 02:59:38,440 --> 02:59:43,240 Speaker 5: had attorneys, we wouldn't know. Yeah, this is an insight 3128 02:59:43,280 --> 02:59:46,480 Speaker 5: into what's happening in this facility, and it is horrific. 3129 02:59:47,520 --> 02:59:49,480 Speaker 5: There are images that go with this, if people want 3130 02:59:49,480 --> 02:59:52,680 Speaker 5: to look them up. You can see some very clearly 3131 02:59:52,680 --> 02:59:55,520 Speaker 5: injured people, or you can see at least one very 3132 02:59:55,560 --> 02:59:56,440 Speaker 5: clearly injured person. 3133 02:59:57,360 --> 02:59:59,280 Speaker 7: Let's go on an ad break and then talk about 3134 02:59:59,280 --> 03:00:04,640 Speaker 7: Iran some all the part partails. 3135 03:00:12,480 --> 03:00:15,960 Speaker 5: All right, we are back and in our final segment 3136 03:00:16,000 --> 03:00:19,400 Speaker 5: of today's show, we're going to talk about the ongoing 3137 03:00:19,440 --> 03:00:23,280 Speaker 5: war with Iran. Right this past weekend, jd Vance and 3138 03:00:23,360 --> 03:00:28,200 Speaker 5: Jared Kushner's what a Steve Witcoff master negotiator, A guy 3139 03:00:28,240 --> 03:00:30,760 Speaker 5: who doesn't know the difference between a tweet that is 3140 03:00:30,800 --> 03:00:36,520 Speaker 5: public and a DM that is private. Incredible. They flew 3141 03:00:36,560 --> 03:00:39,200 Speaker 5: to meet an Iranian Delegation in Pakistan, which serves to 3142 03:00:39,360 --> 03:00:44,240 Speaker 5: mediate and host ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran. Ultimately, 3143 03:00:44,280 --> 03:00:47,680 Speaker 5: this did not result in an enduring agreement between the 3144 03:00:47,760 --> 03:00:51,440 Speaker 5: US and Iran, and as a result, the United States 3145 03:00:51,480 --> 03:00:55,520 Speaker 5: has begun blockading Iranian ports. So far, several vessels have 3146 03:00:55,560 --> 03:00:58,360 Speaker 5: been turned around by the US blockade, and at least 3147 03:00:58,360 --> 03:01:00,480 Speaker 5: one that tried to run it was eventually turned back, 3148 03:01:00,520 --> 03:01:04,360 Speaker 5: even though it attempted to hug the Iranian coastline in 3149 03:01:04,440 --> 03:01:09,440 Speaker 5: order to avoid consequences. The US Navy has also issued 3150 03:01:09,480 --> 03:01:12,440 Speaker 5: instructions which seemed to suggest that it could target shadow 3151 03:01:12,480 --> 03:01:16,160 Speaker 5: fleet vessels globally as part of the blockade if they're 3152 03:01:16,200 --> 03:01:20,440 Speaker 5: carrying a number of contraband items, which includes basically Iranian 3153 03:01:20,480 --> 03:01:26,480 Speaker 5: oil all its derivatives, weapons, some metals, and industrial supplies. 3154 03:01:26,800 --> 03:01:30,959 Speaker 5: It's a very broad list of contraband. In the thirteen 3155 03:01:31,040 --> 03:01:34,039 Speaker 5: claimed instances of ships being turned around so far, I 3156 03:01:34,120 --> 03:01:36,680 Speaker 5: have not seen any in which it was a physical interdiction. 3157 03:01:37,560 --> 03:01:40,080 Speaker 5: It seems that the United States ships contacted them by 3158 03:01:40,200 --> 03:01:44,200 Speaker 5: radio advising them of the blockade. The blockade has not 3159 03:01:44,600 --> 03:01:52,720 Speaker 5: currently stopped some types of cargoes entering Iran noticed a 3160 03:01:52,800 --> 03:01:56,600 Speaker 5: mariner suggests humanitarian supplies can enter, but those vessels are 3161 03:01:56,640 --> 03:02:02,240 Speaker 5: subject to inspection. If this causes a cooling effect or 3162 03:02:02,320 --> 03:02:05,160 Speaker 5: just a reduction in the ability of Iran to bring 3163 03:02:05,240 --> 03:02:09,199 Speaker 5: in more food, this could cause serious food shortages. There's 3164 03:02:08,920 --> 03:02:12,840 Speaker 5: a there's already been massive food price inflation since the war. 3165 03:02:12,879 --> 03:02:17,320 Speaker 5: Brigan and Iran had previously tried to work around this, 3166 03:02:17,520 --> 03:02:22,280 Speaker 5: but a complete blockade would make that harder. It does 3167 03:02:22,320 --> 03:02:25,160 Speaker 5: seem that negotiation between the US and Iran and ongoing. 3168 03:02:25,200 --> 03:02:28,200 Speaker 5: We're recording this on Thursday, and the latest thing that 3169 03:02:28,240 --> 03:02:31,440 Speaker 5: I had seen has suggested that Iran is saying it 3170 03:02:31,520 --> 03:02:35,199 Speaker 5: might allow traffic through the Strait if its assets are unfrozen. 3171 03:02:36,240 --> 03:02:39,480 Speaker 5: This hinges on the idea that Iran gets to decide 3172 03:02:39,520 --> 03:02:43,920 Speaker 5: who goes through the strait. Right, the strait is wider 3173 03:02:43,959 --> 03:02:48,360 Speaker 5: than twelve twelve miles is generally the territorial waters right 3174 03:02:49,320 --> 03:02:52,360 Speaker 5: just so it is international waters, So the idea that 3175 03:02:52,400 --> 03:02:56,240 Speaker 5: Iran controls it. If the US signs some kind of 3176 03:02:56,320 --> 03:02:59,680 Speaker 5: deal which implies or outright says, that would be a 3177 03:02:59,680 --> 03:03:03,800 Speaker 5: massive victory for a run right at least in that area. Meanwhile, 3178 03:03:03,840 --> 03:03:06,560 Speaker 5: the United States is amassing a massive naval force in 3179 03:03:06,600 --> 03:03:10,400 Speaker 5: the region with three carrier strike groups either there or 3180 03:03:10,440 --> 03:03:16,720 Speaker 5: heading there. That is approximately forty percent of the USA's navy. Interestingly, 3181 03:03:16,800 --> 03:03:21,280 Speaker 5: the George H. W. Bush is going around Africa to 3182 03:03:21,360 --> 03:03:21,800 Speaker 5: go there. 3183 03:03:21,879 --> 03:03:24,160 Speaker 7: The ship, not the man, that's correct, George H. W. 3184 03:03:24,240 --> 03:03:29,560 Speaker 5: Bush himself swimming, he's gonna wet to No, Yes, the 3185 03:03:30,280 --> 03:03:33,560 Speaker 5: United States ship George H. W. Bush is going around 3186 03:03:33,640 --> 03:03:38,880 Speaker 5: the southern tip of Africa. Geography understanders will notice that 3187 03:03:38,879 --> 03:03:42,039 Speaker 5: that is the long way. The short way would be 3188 03:03:42,080 --> 03:03:43,240 Speaker 5: through the Suez Canal. 3189 03:03:43,520 --> 03:03:47,160 Speaker 2: Right, Oh, no, they're doing They're doing the Russia the 3190 03:03:47,200 --> 03:03:50,879 Speaker 2: Resar Japanese war thing that always goes great for the 3191 03:03:50,920 --> 03:03:52,160 Speaker 2: imperial power. 3192 03:03:53,959 --> 03:03:56,160 Speaker 5: Moving because yeah, I'm guessing they're doing it because they 3193 03:03:56,200 --> 03:03:58,760 Speaker 5: don't want to get hit by yea many groups right 3194 03:03:59,000 --> 03:04:02,200 Speaker 5: going through the Red See And that seems to be 3195 03:04:02,240 --> 03:04:06,039 Speaker 5: the only explanation I can think of. Two Avenger class 3196 03:04:06,160 --> 03:04:09,959 Speaker 5: mind countermeas ships also left Singapore. They will also likely 3197 03:04:10,000 --> 03:04:15,039 Speaker 5: be headed to the region right for demining the straight Yeah. Meanwhile, 3198 03:04:15,640 --> 03:04:19,519 Speaker 5: it's worth noting that this ceasefire has not been universal, 3199 03:04:19,600 --> 03:04:23,200 Speaker 5: where bombing has not ceased. In Kurdistan. This week, a 3200 03:04:23,280 --> 03:04:26,519 Speaker 5: pesche Murger of the Commala of the toilers of Kurdistan. 3201 03:04:27,959 --> 03:04:32,240 Speaker 5: Ghazal Molan, a young Kurdish woman, died after sustaining injuries 3202 03:04:32,280 --> 03:04:36,280 Speaker 5: in a strike on Tuesday. It seems that it was 3203 03:04:36,440 --> 03:04:40,879 Speaker 5: very hard for the Kammala to find medical care for her. 3204 03:04:41,400 --> 03:04:43,600 Speaker 5: I'm going to quote from a piece by the Hannah 3205 03:04:43,640 --> 03:04:47,879 Speaker 5: human rights organization here quote. She then required urgent, higher 3206 03:04:47,959 --> 03:04:51,959 Speaker 5: level treatment, including advanced imaging, specialist trauma care, and intensive 3207 03:04:51,959 --> 03:04:56,359 Speaker 5: care support. Hannah has received serious allegations that the necessary 3208 03:04:56,400 --> 03:04:59,640 Speaker 5: treatment was not provided and that the subsequent efforts to 3209 03:04:59,680 --> 03:05:03,240 Speaker 5: secure your admission or transferred to other hospitals were delayed 3210 03:05:03,280 --> 03:05:06,440 Speaker 5: or refused. The central allegation under review is that once 3211 03:05:06,480 --> 03:05:08,640 Speaker 5: the case was understood to be connected to a drone 3212 03:05:08,680 --> 03:05:13,360 Speaker 5: strike and to carry political sensitivity, non medical considerations may 3213 03:05:13,360 --> 03:05:18,000 Speaker 5: have affected decisions concerning her admission and treatment. That's pretty 3214 03:05:18,000 --> 03:05:21,320 Speaker 5: bleak if it's true relativity, that this person could have survived, 3215 03:05:21,879 --> 03:05:27,760 Speaker 5: but hospitals either feared political consequences or being struck themselves, 3216 03:05:29,360 --> 03:05:32,440 Speaker 5: they decided. And there's a you can look at the 3217 03:05:32,480 --> 03:05:34,640 Speaker 5: show notes right that they link, and they talk about 3218 03:05:34,640 --> 03:05:36,760 Speaker 5: a number of hospitals that they basically drove her around 3219 03:05:36,840 --> 03:05:42,520 Speaker 5: trying to find care it's really heartbreaking. Again, other strikes 3220 03:05:42,640 --> 03:05:47,520 Speaker 5: have hit civilian facilities, including refugee camps sort of associated 3221 03:05:47,520 --> 03:05:50,440 Speaker 5: with the rogulati groups in Kurdistan, and that seems to 3222 03:05:50,480 --> 03:05:54,280 Speaker 5: be that there is no cease fire for the Kurds. Right. 3223 03:05:54,320 --> 03:05:57,440 Speaker 5: It's the long and the short of it. I run around, 3224 03:05:57,480 --> 03:06:00,480 Speaker 5: it's taking this time of peace negotiations to kind of 3225 03:06:01,440 --> 03:06:05,959 Speaker 5: reorganize its military and to reassess its supplies. Even they 3226 03:06:05,959 --> 03:06:10,280 Speaker 5: have dug out some missiles and anti air systems that 3227 03:06:10,320 --> 03:06:14,040 Speaker 5: were buried but not destroyed by strikes, and so they 3228 03:06:14,080 --> 03:06:17,440 Speaker 5: will be preparing for whatever comes next. If people want 3229 03:06:17,480 --> 03:06:19,879 Speaker 5: to know more about this, I made a whole episode 3230 03:06:20,560 --> 03:06:22,640 Speaker 5: which will have come out the day before this in 3231 03:06:22,680 --> 03:06:24,240 Speaker 5: the same feed, so you can listen to it there. 3232 03:06:25,360 --> 03:06:28,959 Speaker 7: This morning, also Trump announced a ceasefire deal for ten 3233 03:06:29,040 --> 03:06:33,920 Speaker 7: days between Israel and Lebanon. We'll see if that turns 3234 03:06:33,920 --> 03:06:36,360 Speaker 7: out to be real, if Israel well abide by this. 3235 03:06:36,600 --> 03:06:39,280 Speaker 7: But that is like as of for like an hour 3236 03:06:39,360 --> 03:06:42,480 Speaker 7: ago while we record Thursday afternoon. 3237 03:06:43,000 --> 03:06:45,959 Speaker 2: And it's worth noting there were literally thousands of violations 3238 03:06:45,959 --> 03:06:47,840 Speaker 2: with the last use fire that are on it's supposedly 3239 03:06:47,879 --> 03:06:54,240 Speaker 2: agreed to you with Lebanon. So yeah, yeah. 3240 03:06:54,280 --> 03:06:57,800 Speaker 5: Trump had said that it was a quote separate skirmish 3241 03:06:57,879 --> 03:07:01,720 Speaker 5: in Lebanon and thus didn't it wasn't included in the ceasefire, 3242 03:07:01,720 --> 03:07:03,160 Speaker 5: which is a hell of a way to describe what's 3243 03:07:03,160 --> 03:07:03,800 Speaker 5: happening there. 3244 03:07:04,480 --> 03:07:09,000 Speaker 7: For our last story, let's talk about Sam Altman. Last week, 3245 03:07:09,520 --> 03:07:14,600 Speaker 7: a twenty year old college student named Daniel Moranogama traveled 3246 03:07:14,720 --> 03:07:18,280 Speaker 7: from Texas to San Francisco, California, and at three point 3247 03:07:18,280 --> 03:07:22,360 Speaker 7: thirty am on April tenth, allegedly threw a molotov cocktail 3248 03:07:22,400 --> 03:07:26,520 Speaker 7: toward the home of open AI CEO Sam Altman. The 3249 03:07:26,560 --> 03:07:29,280 Speaker 7: molotov hit the top of the security gate on the 3250 03:07:29,360 --> 03:07:33,600 Speaker 7: driveway leading to Altman's residence. Then, at around five am, 3251 03:07:33,879 --> 03:07:37,800 Speaker 7: Moranogama arrived at the open Ai headquarters and tried to 3252 03:07:37,879 --> 03:07:40,320 Speaker 7: use a chair to break into the building through the 3253 03:07:40,320 --> 03:07:44,359 Speaker 7: glass doors, but was stopped by security. According to security 3254 03:07:44,360 --> 03:07:48,120 Speaker 7: personnel on site, Moranogama stated that he came to the 3255 03:07:48,160 --> 03:07:52,320 Speaker 7: headquarters to burn it down and kill anyone inside. A 3256 03:07:52,400 --> 03:07:57,520 Speaker 7: federal affidavit alleges that after detaining Moranogama, officers recovered quote, 3257 03:07:57,600 --> 03:08:01,600 Speaker 7: incendiary devices, a jug of keras, a blue lighter, and 3258 03:08:01,680 --> 03:08:07,200 Speaker 7: an ANTIAI Document unquote. This document was a three part 3259 03:08:07,240 --> 03:08:12,440 Speaker 7: manifesto apparently authored by Moranogama. The first part was titled 3260 03:08:12,480 --> 03:08:17,480 Speaker 7: quote your Last Warning and allegedly states that Moranogama quote 3261 03:08:17,760 --> 03:08:21,960 Speaker 7: killed slash attempted to kill Sam Altman, also writing quote, 3262 03:08:22,120 --> 03:08:24,600 Speaker 7: if I'm going to advocate for others to kill and 3263 03:08:24,640 --> 03:08:27,560 Speaker 7: commit crimes, that I must lead by example and show 3264 03:08:27,600 --> 03:08:32,359 Speaker 7: that I am fully sincere in my message. The document 3265 03:08:32,440 --> 03:08:35,840 Speaker 7: then listed the names and addresses of investors, board members, 3266 03:08:35,840 --> 03:08:39,040 Speaker 7: and executives of AI companies. The second part of the 3267 03:08:39,040 --> 03:08:41,840 Speaker 7: document was titled some more Words on the Matter of 3268 03:08:41,879 --> 03:08:46,360 Speaker 7: our Impending Extinction. This section discussed the purported risk AI 3269 03:08:46,480 --> 03:08:50,440 Speaker 7: poses to humanity. The third part of the document was 3270 03:08:50,480 --> 03:08:53,720 Speaker 7: a letter addressed quote to Sam Altman, if you make 3271 03:08:53,760 --> 03:08:57,800 Speaker 7: it and read some part quote, if by some miracle 3272 03:08:57,840 --> 03:09:00,640 Speaker 7: you live, then I would take this as a sign 3273 03:09:00,760 --> 03:09:06,320 Speaker 7: from the divine to redeem yourself unquote. Moronogama's Instagram user 3274 03:09:06,400 --> 03:09:09,760 Speaker 7: name was but larryan Jie Hottist, in reference to the 3275 03:09:09,800 --> 03:09:12,200 Speaker 7: crsede against AI in the Dune novels. 3276 03:09:12,959 --> 03:09:13,199 Speaker 5: Yeah. 3277 03:09:13,240 --> 03:09:16,560 Speaker 7: This account had a collection of Instagram stories saved about 3278 03:09:16,680 --> 03:09:19,920 Speaker 7: the existential threat of AI. Now we don't have a 3279 03:09:19,959 --> 03:09:23,760 Speaker 7: copy of this three part manifesto in full, but his 3280 03:09:23,920 --> 03:09:26,920 Speaker 7: sub stack is still online and it contains other writing 3281 03:09:27,080 --> 03:09:30,800 Speaker 7: about his belief that AI poses this existential threat to humanity. 3282 03:09:32,120 --> 03:09:35,600 Speaker 7: In this writing, his opposition to AI is not based 3283 03:09:35,640 --> 03:09:39,039 Speaker 7: on fears of disruptions to the economy, loss of jobs, 3284 03:09:39,120 --> 03:09:42,000 Speaker 7: or labor rights, but the belief that AI will become 3285 03:09:42,080 --> 03:09:46,640 Speaker 7: a superior race and wipe out or enslave humanity. In 3286 03:09:46,680 --> 03:09:49,640 Speaker 7: a post from January sixth, twenty twenty six, he writes 3287 03:09:49,680 --> 03:09:53,800 Speaker 7: that AI will quote lead to human extinction because of 3288 03:09:53,840 --> 03:09:58,680 Speaker 7: the quote rapid progress in artificial intelligence unquote, as well 3289 03:09:58,720 --> 03:10:03,039 Speaker 7: as that AI models are not aligned with humanity's interests. 3290 03:10:03,720 --> 03:10:07,000 Speaker 7: To quote this essay, ignore for a second these models 3291 03:10:07,080 --> 03:10:10,920 Speaker 7: current limitations or questions on how truly intelligent or conscious 3292 03:10:10,959 --> 03:10:13,800 Speaker 7: these models may actually be. The truth is all of 3293 03:10:13,800 --> 03:10:16,959 Speaker 7: these nuances are completely irrelevant to my argument. There are 3294 03:10:16,959 --> 03:10:20,080 Speaker 7: only two questions we should be concerned about at this moment. 3295 03:10:20,800 --> 03:10:23,760 Speaker 7: Is it willing to kill to preserve itself? And is 3296 03:10:23,800 --> 03:10:27,879 Speaker 7: it capable of doing so? Signs indicate that AI is 3297 03:10:27,959 --> 03:10:32,400 Speaker 7: willing and becoming potentially capable of doing both these things, 3298 03:10:32,840 --> 03:10:35,520 Speaker 7: and that is all that matters. We are dead if 3299 03:10:35,560 --> 03:10:40,320 Speaker 7: we do not act now unquote. He recommended that people 3300 03:10:40,400 --> 03:10:44,720 Speaker 7: read Eliezer Yudkowski's book If Anyone builds It, Everyone Dies, 3301 03:10:45,720 --> 03:10:49,520 Speaker 7: and other posts on his substack also mentioned Yudkowski's work. 3302 03:10:49,800 --> 03:10:53,280 Speaker 7: Who's one of the four fathers of quote unquote rationalism 3303 03:10:53,840 --> 03:10:58,840 Speaker 7: rationalist thought, and writes a lot about Ai Doom. Ai 3304 03:10:58,920 --> 03:11:01,120 Speaker 7: will bring apart the the end of humanity. 3305 03:11:01,400 --> 03:11:05,800 Speaker 1: This is very much a normal, like less wrong kind 3306 03:11:05,840 --> 03:11:09,680 Speaker 1: of mindset, right, Like, this guy's not normal. He's clearly 3307 03:11:09,840 --> 03:11:12,959 Speaker 1: suffering from some disordered thinking and is not like. This 3308 03:11:13,000 --> 03:11:17,000 Speaker 1: guy does not represent the average person who uses those things. 3309 03:11:17,560 --> 03:11:21,080 Speaker 1: But his justifications for what he did and his media 3310 03:11:21,200 --> 03:11:25,640 Speaker 1: diet is clearly all like less wrong stuff, all rationalist stuff, 3311 03:11:25,680 --> 03:11:29,320 Speaker 1: all Yudkowski stuff. So's he's been kind of marinating in that, 3312 03:11:29,720 --> 03:11:35,320 Speaker 1: and you know, this is what somebody who's not like 3313 03:11:36,440 --> 03:11:40,920 Speaker 1: this is unfortunately kind of the logical extent of Yodkowski's ideas, 3314 03:11:40,959 --> 03:11:43,000 Speaker 1: Like he would say he doesn't want anyone doing stuff 3315 03:11:43,040 --> 03:11:45,520 Speaker 1: like this, but his literal contention is that this is 3316 03:11:45,560 --> 03:11:48,600 Speaker 1: going to kill everyone and everything like and it will 3317 03:11:48,600 --> 03:11:51,120 Speaker 1: inevitably do it unless stopped. And if you really do 3318 03:11:51,240 --> 03:11:54,280 Speaker 1: believe that, you're kind of like left to act like 3319 03:11:54,320 --> 03:11:58,880 Speaker 1: these guys do. I think the responsible thing is for 3320 03:11:58,920 --> 03:12:01,960 Speaker 1: there to be an anti AI movement that's not rooted 3321 03:12:02,000 --> 03:12:05,120 Speaker 1: in nonsense, which is again why we do the stuff 3322 03:12:05,160 --> 03:12:07,360 Speaker 1: that we do, because I'm very much against a lot 3323 03:12:07,360 --> 03:12:09,240 Speaker 1: of this shit. Not because it's going to create a 3324 03:12:09,280 --> 03:12:12,680 Speaker 1: god that kills everybody, but because it makes the Internet 3325 03:12:12,720 --> 03:12:15,680 Speaker 1: a lot worse and makes human thinking a lot worse, 3326 03:12:15,959 --> 03:12:18,280 Speaker 1: and it puts a lot of money into shitty people's 3327 03:12:18,320 --> 03:12:21,680 Speaker 1: hands and is just often unnecessary in many of its 3328 03:12:21,680 --> 03:12:26,599 Speaker 1: applications and outwardly like making some things worse, and that's 3329 03:12:26,640 --> 03:12:27,160 Speaker 1: not great. 3330 03:12:27,720 --> 03:12:29,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, And like you know, if you want to talk 3331 03:12:29,000 --> 03:12:31,039 Speaker 2: about like oh this is actually going to like end humanity, 3332 03:12:31,040 --> 03:12:33,440 Speaker 2: it's like, well, yeah, it's also intensifying climate change, the 3333 03:12:33,480 --> 03:12:35,600 Speaker 2: thing that you would think these people would care about, but. 3334 03:12:35,600 --> 03:12:39,240 Speaker 1: Yeah not, I mean sure, yeah, it's like that's the 3335 03:12:39,480 --> 03:12:41,880 Speaker 1: that I'm not. I don't tend to focus on the 3336 03:12:42,480 --> 03:12:46,640 Speaker 1: fucking water use aspects of people complaining about AI because 3337 03:12:46,640 --> 03:12:48,959 Speaker 1: there's so many things we do that are like horrible 3338 03:12:49,760 --> 03:12:50,720 Speaker 1: in those terms. 3339 03:12:51,080 --> 03:12:53,320 Speaker 2: Well, I mean also just like like the energy, like the. 3340 03:12:56,000 --> 03:12:58,279 Speaker 3: Yeah, like the cost thing is massive. 3341 03:12:58,400 --> 03:13:02,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and like that is like we're just resources 3342 03:13:02,360 --> 03:13:05,440 Speaker 2: for but like scam bots. 3343 03:13:05,959 --> 03:13:09,039 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just useless and a lot of like a 3344 03:13:09,080 --> 03:13:11,160 Speaker 1: lot of what it's being used for is pointless. Like 3345 03:13:11,240 --> 03:13:14,440 Speaker 1: if you're able to, you know, create machines that are 3346 03:13:14,440 --> 03:13:18,199 Speaker 1: more accurately able to like scan for cancers or whatever, fine, 3347 03:13:19,240 --> 03:13:20,680 Speaker 1: I don't have a problem with that, but like, we 3348 03:13:20,720 --> 03:13:23,080 Speaker 1: don't need to be burning the resources that we're burning 3349 03:13:23,560 --> 03:13:28,679 Speaker 1: to replace like people writing local news articles with slop advertisements, 3350 03:13:28,879 --> 03:13:31,480 Speaker 1: you know, like that's not a benefit to society. And 3351 03:13:31,520 --> 03:13:35,000 Speaker 1: I'm really angry at it, and it's frustrating to see 3352 03:13:35,120 --> 03:13:39,680 Speaker 1: people getting radicalized to it literally attack AI people for 3353 03:13:39,720 --> 03:13:43,720 Speaker 1: bullshit reasons like and honestly, Altman's partly to blame for this. 3354 03:13:43,800 --> 03:13:45,920 Speaker 1: He's one of the people who has fanned the flames 3355 03:13:45,920 --> 03:13:47,760 Speaker 1: of we might be making an evil god. 3356 03:13:48,280 --> 03:13:50,680 Speaker 7: Yes, because that is really good for investors, because it 3357 03:13:50,720 --> 03:13:54,920 Speaker 7: makes the pain seem actually impressives. 3358 03:13:53,480 --> 03:13:54,320 Speaker 5: Like world changing. 3359 03:13:54,600 --> 03:13:55,960 Speaker 3: This is their preferred opposition. 3360 03:13:56,320 --> 03:13:58,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you are getting rich by saying I might 3361 03:13:58,560 --> 03:14:02,840 Speaker 1: be making sky nets, somebody stop me. Someone might stop you, Sam, 3362 03:14:03,200 --> 03:14:05,960 Speaker 1: you know, like realistically, don't do that. 3363 03:14:07,160 --> 03:14:13,280 Speaker 7: This substack also contains writing on pseudospiritual philosophy about the 3364 03:14:13,440 --> 03:14:17,800 Speaker 7: quote tree of ultimate reality, the operation of man, the 3365 03:14:17,879 --> 03:14:21,439 Speaker 7: genealogy of being, and the warrior and the martyr. 3366 03:14:21,280 --> 03:14:24,720 Speaker 5: Unquote sure man, a little too much Internet. 3367 03:14:25,160 --> 03:14:27,600 Speaker 7: Yeah, there's a lot of stuff there. But I want 3368 03:14:27,600 --> 03:14:31,400 Speaker 7: to briefly touch on this other essay about political extremism, 3369 03:14:31,800 --> 03:14:36,520 Speaker 7: where the writer Moro on Gama describes himself as a consequentialist, 3370 03:14:36,959 --> 03:14:41,280 Speaker 7: defends discrimination, and advocates for quote ending mass migration and 3371 03:14:41,320 --> 03:14:46,840 Speaker 7: initiating mass deportations. He proposes a system of IQ or 3372 03:14:47,000 --> 03:14:50,920 Speaker 7: merit based nationalism, basically a country where citizenship is determined 3373 03:14:50,959 --> 03:14:55,920 Speaker 7: by IQ, and a program to advance quote ethical eugenics 3374 03:14:55,959 --> 03:15:00,560 Speaker 7: in the third world to promote IQ growth genetically on weves. 3375 03:15:01,040 --> 03:15:01,320 Speaker 4: Geez. 3376 03:15:01,440 --> 03:15:04,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's also that's like amazingly this is one of 3377 03:15:04,640 --> 03:15:06,080 Speaker 2: these This is one of those sort of like you 3378 03:15:06,080 --> 03:15:07,680 Speaker 2: look at the Hong Kong protests and it's like they're 3379 03:15:07,680 --> 03:15:11,920 Speaker 2: on maoists on both sides, where both of like both 3380 03:15:12,040 --> 03:15:14,240 Speaker 2: him and his enemies also believe this. 3381 03:15:16,000 --> 03:15:19,160 Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean this is a certain strain of like rationalists. 3382 03:15:19,160 --> 03:15:21,520 Speaker 7: Post rationalist is really into this sort of like IQ 3383 03:15:21,800 --> 03:15:25,279 Speaker 7: merit based yeah, and intelligence and meritocracy. 3384 03:15:25,840 --> 03:15:27,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, And they're like and so are like a bunch 3385 03:15:27,400 --> 03:15:29,160 Speaker 2: of the tech people who are letting yeah, I stuff. 3386 03:15:29,280 --> 03:15:32,720 Speaker 7: I mean, this essay specifically is very disordered and it's thinking. 3387 03:15:32,760 --> 03:15:35,800 Speaker 7: I do not think a lot of other rationalists would 3388 03:15:35,800 --> 03:15:38,920 Speaker 7: would take some of the sort of beliefs and statements 3389 03:15:38,920 --> 03:15:42,000 Speaker 7: made in this essay at face value, or like, would 3390 03:15:42,000 --> 03:15:43,920 Speaker 7: not agree with the way that he would not agree 3391 03:15:43,959 --> 03:15:48,480 Speaker 7: with the way that Moron Agama like writes, writes about 3392 03:15:48,520 --> 03:15:51,800 Speaker 7: these sorts of like policies or ideas. It's very self contradictory. 3393 03:15:52,280 --> 03:15:54,879 Speaker 7: He writes both kind of in favor and not in 3394 03:15:54,959 --> 03:15:58,080 Speaker 7: favor of like I Q to vote or to become 3395 03:15:58,120 --> 03:16:02,440 Speaker 7: a citizen. It's all very kind of confused. And on Tuesday, 3396 03:16:02,520 --> 03:16:05,240 Speaker 7: Mornagama's public defender set in court that he has quote 3397 03:16:05,440 --> 03:16:09,360 Speaker 7: a history of autism and mental health illness, and that 3398 03:16:09,440 --> 03:16:11,960 Speaker 7: his actions quote appear to have been driven by an 3399 03:16:11,959 --> 03:16:17,560 Speaker 7: acute mental health crisis quote now Interestingly, two days after 3400 03:16:17,720 --> 03:16:21,760 Speaker 7: the Molotov cocktail attack, Sanltman's home was apparently targeted again 3401 03:16:21,959 --> 03:16:24,840 Speaker 7: in a drive by shooting. A man and a woman 3402 03:16:24,879 --> 03:16:28,160 Speaker 7: in their mid twenties have been arrested connected to that, 3403 03:16:29,040 --> 03:16:32,000 Speaker 7: and on Tuesday morning, a molotov cocktail was thrown at 3404 03:16:32,040 --> 03:16:35,480 Speaker 7: the entrance of a Teslas sales office in New Orleans, 3405 03:16:35,520 --> 03:16:39,080 Speaker 7: igniting a fire at the front door. No arrests have 3406 03:16:39,160 --> 03:16:42,560 Speaker 7: been made connected to that incident. I think I should 3407 03:16:42,560 --> 03:16:45,440 Speaker 7: also just briefly mention the warehouse fire thing, which I 3408 03:16:45,440 --> 03:16:47,280 Speaker 7: did a full episode on earlier this week that you 3409 03:16:47,320 --> 03:16:50,320 Speaker 7: can listen to, but kind of in short, just as 3410 03:16:50,400 --> 03:16:52,879 Speaker 7: for midnight. On April seventh, a twenty nine year old 3411 03:16:52,879 --> 03:16:56,680 Speaker 7: warehouse worker named Schammel Abdul Karim allegedly set a toilet 3412 03:16:56,720 --> 03:17:00,640 Speaker 7: paper warehouse on fire in Ontario, California, least by the 3413 03:17:00,720 --> 03:17:05,680 Speaker 7: company Kimberly Clark. Adilkarim allegedly filmed himself igniting three pallets 3414 03:17:05,680 --> 03:17:08,959 Speaker 7: of paper products on fire while saying aloud, if you're 3415 03:17:09,000 --> 03:17:10,959 Speaker 7: not going to pay us enough to fucking live or 3416 03:17:11,000 --> 03:17:13,680 Speaker 7: afford to live, at least pay us enough not to 3417 03:17:13,720 --> 03:17:15,680 Speaker 7: do this shit. All you had to do was pay 3418 03:17:15,760 --> 03:17:20,160 Speaker 7: us enough to live. There goes your inventory unquote. According 3419 03:17:20,200 --> 03:17:23,160 Speaker 7: to the DOJ, this fire caused over half a billion 3420 03:17:23,200 --> 03:17:26,440 Speaker 7: dollars in damages, it's five hundred million in profit and 3421 03:17:26,520 --> 03:17:30,400 Speaker 7: one hundred million in infrastructure. In the days after the fire, 3422 03:17:30,560 --> 03:17:33,680 Speaker 7: people started sharing viral clips of other warehouse fires across 3423 03:17:33,720 --> 03:17:36,960 Speaker 7: the country, asserting that a wave of copycat incidents were 3424 03:17:37,000 --> 03:17:42,360 Speaker 7: occurring where underpaid employees were setting their workplaces on fire. Now, 3425 03:17:42,480 --> 03:17:46,279 Speaker 7: none of these subsequent warehouse fires have yet been deemed arson. 3426 03:17:46,720 --> 03:17:49,840 Speaker 7: Most are still under investigation, but some do have suspected 3427 03:17:49,879 --> 03:17:54,080 Speaker 7: accidental causes, such as electrical failure, exploding lithium ion batteries, 3428 03:17:54,400 --> 03:17:57,560 Speaker 7: and improperly mixed waste. At least one fire was at 3429 03:17:57,560 --> 03:18:01,200 Speaker 7: an abandoned warehouse, so there was no scruntled worker setting 3430 03:18:01,200 --> 03:18:04,440 Speaker 7: his workplace on fire in that instance. Most certainly, and 3431 03:18:04,480 --> 03:18:07,080 Speaker 7: warehouse fires themselves, are actually pretty common. A report from 3432 03:18:07,120 --> 03:18:09,680 Speaker 7: the National Fire Protection Association found that from twenty twenty 3433 03:18:09,680 --> 03:18:12,480 Speaker 7: to twenty twenty four, an average of four warehouse fires 3434 03:18:12,520 --> 03:18:17,039 Speaker 7: occurred per day. The idea that the number of warehouse 3435 03:18:17,040 --> 03:18:21,480 Speaker 7: fires has suddenly increased is an instance of selective reporting, 3436 03:18:21,640 --> 03:18:24,119 Speaker 7: where a big national news story causes people to share 3437 03:18:24,160 --> 03:18:27,400 Speaker 7: local reports that appear connected even if there is no 3438 03:18:27,520 --> 03:18:31,000 Speaker 7: direct connection. This happens a lot with aviation incidents, where 3439 03:18:31,320 --> 03:18:34,920 Speaker 7: after news of an accident involving a big commercial airliner, 3440 03:18:35,040 --> 03:18:38,520 Speaker 7: people will share local news reports of plane crashes, even 3441 03:18:38,560 --> 03:18:42,240 Speaker 7: if these just involve small private planes which crash much 3442 03:18:42,280 --> 03:18:42,959 Speaker 7: more frequently. 3443 03:18:43,879 --> 03:18:44,080 Speaker 4: Now. 3444 03:18:44,240 --> 03:18:47,480 Speaker 7: I wrote about the warehouse fire story and the viral 3445 03:18:47,480 --> 03:18:51,119 Speaker 7: misinformation associated with it because I've been pretty consistent about 3446 03:18:51,160 --> 03:18:53,880 Speaker 7: the need to have an accurate understanding of the world 3447 03:18:53,920 --> 03:18:58,240 Speaker 7: in order to change it. But also, even if viral 3448 03:18:58,280 --> 03:19:02,360 Speaker 7: claims of copycat fires are unfounded, the memes and the 3449 03:19:02,400 --> 03:19:06,720 Speaker 7: reactions to the story, like Luigi Mangioni, do demonstrate a 3450 03:19:06,920 --> 03:19:10,320 Speaker 7: form of class consciousness and do show an active willingness 3451 03:19:10,320 --> 03:19:13,440 Speaker 7: to rally behind such action. And the toilet paper arson 3452 03:19:13,560 --> 03:19:17,240 Speaker 7: story specifically is really compelling because this is just an 3453 03:19:17,240 --> 03:19:20,320 Speaker 7: everyday worker. This isn't like a maoist bombing plot, this 3454 03:19:20,400 --> 03:19:23,080 Speaker 7: isn't an anarchist affinity group. It's not hard to grasp 3455 03:19:23,160 --> 03:19:26,240 Speaker 7: the motivation and politics of a worker saying all you 3456 03:19:26,320 --> 03:19:29,400 Speaker 7: had to do was pay us a living wage. That said, 3457 03:19:29,680 --> 03:19:35,000 Speaker 7: passive engagement with content promoting individuals to venturism can serve 3458 03:19:35,080 --> 03:19:38,760 Speaker 7: as a cathartic substitute for taking political action, including the 3459 03:19:38,800 --> 03:19:43,200 Speaker 7: relatively tedious and difficult work of union organizing. Memes like 3460 03:19:43,240 --> 03:19:46,600 Speaker 7: this warehouse fire trend can have a positive outcome if 3461 03:19:46,640 --> 03:19:48,920 Speaker 7: the sort of energy that's channeled through this direct action 3462 03:19:49,000 --> 03:19:52,720 Speaker 7: and associated content could then be utilized towards actually building 3463 03:19:52,760 --> 03:19:55,080 Speaker 7: a labor movement instead of just being a way for 3464 03:19:55,280 --> 03:19:58,720 Speaker 7: influencers to attract engagement, which is why a lot of 3465 03:19:58,760 --> 03:20:03,000 Speaker 7: this story has kind of perforated through Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, 3466 03:20:03,360 --> 03:20:07,000 Speaker 7: and blue sky and Twitter. So that's kind of why 3467 03:20:07,040 --> 03:20:09,520 Speaker 7: I talked about the story the way I did in 3468 03:20:09,560 --> 03:20:11,880 Speaker 7: that episode. And if you want more details about this 3469 03:20:12,000 --> 03:20:14,440 Speaker 7: viral meme, you can check out that episode from a 3470 03:20:14,480 --> 03:20:17,800 Speaker 7: few days ago. Let's see, I think that's everything. 3471 03:20:18,680 --> 03:20:20,040 Speaker 5: There is no more news left. 3472 03:20:21,240 --> 03:20:23,160 Speaker 7: We did it. We did all the news, all right, 3473 03:20:23,720 --> 03:20:24,760 Speaker 7: We reported the news. 3474 03:20:25,040 --> 03:20:30,120 Speaker 5: Goodbye. If you want to email us, you can do 3475 03:20:30,320 --> 03:20:33,200 Speaker 5: so with your story tips. You can do that by 3476 03:20:33,200 --> 03:20:37,240 Speaker 5: emailing cool Zone Tips at proton me. If you want 3477 03:20:37,280 --> 03:20:40,520 Speaker 5: to email us with your marketing or to suggest that 3478 03:20:40,600 --> 03:20:43,680 Speaker 5: your boss be a guest on our podcast, just don't. 3479 03:20:44,640 --> 03:20:46,279 Speaker 7: We reported the news. 3480 03:20:48,000 --> 03:20:48,200 Speaker 10: Hey. 3481 03:20:48,280 --> 03:20:51,400 Speaker 1: We'll be back Monday with more episodes every week from 3482 03:20:51,440 --> 03:20:53,120 Speaker 1: now until the heat death of the universe. 3483 03:20:53,879 --> 03:20:56,360 Speaker 14: It could happen. Here is a production of cool Zone Media. 3484 03:20:56,560 --> 03:20:59,640 Speaker 14: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 3485 03:21:00,040 --> 03:21:02,240 Speaker 14: on media dot com or check us out on the 3486 03:21:02,280 --> 03:21:06,320 Speaker 14: iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, 3487 03:21:06,680 --> 03:21:08,560 Speaker 14: you can now find sources for it could happen here, 3488 03:21:08,640 --> 03:21:11,600 Speaker 14: listed directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.