Al-Jazeera reports on how the Israeli occupation is turning Palestinian towns in the West Bank into open-air prisons.
Under far-right Israeli minister Ben Gvir, Israeli prisons have become sites of systematic torture, where guards compete in brutality.
Brian Becker is joined by Manolo De Los Santos of The People’s Forum to discuss Trump’s “total blockade” against Venezuela — an “act of war” targeting oil tankers and ports, according to members of Congress as they vote on a War Powers Resolution to prevent the president’s attacks from escalating even further.
De Los Santos also reviews Venezuela’s response to Trump’s attacks, as well as its history of foreign colonization and how it has shaped the consciousness of every generation in the country.
I heard Tucker Carlson say today that he spoke to a member of Congress who told him that Trump is going to announce war with Venezuela any minute.
I went to my acupuncturist this afternoon and he told me that he treats a couple of members of the US Coast Guard who were outraged by Trump's vicious attacks on small (most likely fishing) boats off the coast of Venezuela.
They told my doc that it is their job to interdict any suspected drug boats, to apprehend them and then move them into the court system. Even to the people whose job it is to handle such situations, it is their opinion that Trump is circumventing the normal procedures and laws of the nation.
We know that the US has a national debt of $38 trillion. Venezuela has enough oil and other resources that could essentially cover that massive debt if Trump could steal it all.
The woman in Venezuela that wrongfully won the so-called 'Nobel Peace Prize' has declared that if Trump would please take over her country then she would give the US control of all of Venezuela's resources.
Trump is indeed a Don - a mafia Don.
He should be locked up and put on trial for numerous crimes against humanity - starting with Palestine and Venezuela.
It is often said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Cuban gusano - worm) is calling the shots on Venezuela. I know he is a favorite of the zionists who wish to make him the next president.
Get out on the streets now folks.
Bruce
BOLIVARIAN GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA
COMMUNIQUÉ
On the night of today, December 16, 2025, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in violation of International Law, free trade, and freedom of navigation, has issued a reckless and serious threat against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Through his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, lands, and mineral wealth are his property. Consequently, Venezuela must immediately hand over all its wealth to him. The President of the United States intends to impose, in an absolutely irrational manner, an alleged naval military blockade against Venezuela with the objective of stealing the riches that belong to our Homeland.
Venezuela, in the full exercise of the International Law that protects us, of our Constitution and the laws of the Republic, reaffirms its sovereignty over all its natural resources, as well as the right to free navigation and free trade in the Caribbean Sea and in the oceans of the world. Consequently, it will proceed, in strict adherence to the UN Charter, to fully exercise its freedom, jurisdiction, and sovereignty above these war-mongering threats.
Our Ambassador to the United Nations will immediately proceed to denounce this grave violation of International Law against Venezuela.
We call upon the people of the United States and the peoples of the world to reject by all means this extravagant threat, which once again reveals Donald Trump’s true intentions to steal the riches of the country that gave birth to the United Liberating Army of South America and to our Liberator, Simón Bolívar. The people of Venezuela, in perfect popular, military, and police unity, will know how to defend their historical rights and prevail along the path of Peace.
Mr. Donald Trump, verbatim, brandishes the following interventionist and colonialist expression: “until they return to the U.S. all the oil, land, and other assets they previously stole from us.” His true intention, which has been denounced by Venezuela and by the people of the United States in massive demonstrations, has always been to appropriate the country’s oil, land, and minerals through gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulation.
Venezuela will never again be a colony of any empire or foreign power and will continue, together with its people, along the path of building prosperity and the unrestricted defense of our independence and sovereignty.
The Venezuelan people, in perfect popular, military, and police unity, remain firm in the unrestricted safeguarding of their territory, their wealth, and their freedom. With our Father Liberator we say: “fortunately, it has been seen that a handful of free men can defeat powerful empires.”
Caracas,
December 16, 2025
Niklas Gustafson just dropped the clearest, most chilling explanation of how we lost control of our food.
This is what he shows, step by step:
Biden’s Appointee Gen. Xavier Brunson Rejects President Lee Jae Myung's Peace Initiative
Korea’s sovereignty has been reduced to financing the U.S. occupation of its own territory and shouldering the costs of American militarism.
Washington continues to veto even modest Korean efforts to foster inter-Korean rapprochement. General Brunson’s recent comments on South Korea’s [ROK] joint military drills reveal an imperialist, arrogant mindset that treats allies as subordinates rather than partners.
“Whenever someone talks about… exercising less or exercising differently… they need to understand that there are two times in a year where we absolutely need some support,” Brunson said, referring to the spring and summer exercises involving roughly 28,500 American troops. Brunson’s tone and message disregard Korea’s sovereignty, asserting control over a sovereign nation’s military decisions.
In this context, on 3 December, for the first time since his inauguration, President Lee Jae Myung publicly mentioned the possibility of suspending or reducing U.S.–ROK joint military exercises. South Korean President Lee has expressed openness to reviewing joint drills if it facilitates dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a position reflecting Seoul’s commitment to diplomacy and regional stability.
He even reinforced his point by citing President Trump’s own words from 2018: “I think it’s very provocative… We will be stopping the war games… which will save us a tremendous amount of money.” A U.S. Army budget analysis later confirmed that canceling certain exercises in 2018 had saved the U.S. an estimated $14 million.
Building on this, in recent weeks, several Korean senior officials—including Unification Minister Chung Dong-young—have suggested that adjusting U.S.-led South Korea military exercises may be necessary to revive stalled inter-Korean diplomacy. Chung has consistently argued that “we cannot hold South Korea–U.S. military exercises and simultaneously expect a North Korea–U.S. summit,” criticizing what he calls “bureaucratic thinking that waits for American approval.”
Nevertheless, President Lee’s calls, along with those of his senior officials, have not only fallen on deaf ears in Washington but have also reportedly been rebuked by American diplomatic officials in Seoul. These officials expressed “concerns” about such proposals and emphasized the strategic importance of U.S. Forces Korea, reportedly noting that the Trump administration now views a strong U.S.–ROK combined defense posture as essential. Although Trump had previously criticized the joint military drills as overly costly during his first term—even suggesting suspending them—his current stance has shifted. Moreover, he has made no public statement regarding President Lee’s proposal.
Meanwhile, under apparent pressure from Washington and in an effort to appease it, Lee’s hawkish and pro-U.S. National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac last week rejected reducing U.S.–ROK joint military drills as a means of encouraging talks with the North.
In short, even with his historic legitimacy from stopping [former President] Yoon’s martial law, an approval rating above 60 percent, and public pledges to safeguard Korea’s national sovereignty, President Lee remains unable—or unwilling—to fully exercise Korea’s sovereignty on the most important national security matters.
Occupied and Overcharged: Korea’s National Sovereignty Crisis Under the Trump Administration
Under the Trump administration, Washington’s encroachment on Korea’s national sovereignty has become more severe. The newly released National Security Strategy (NSS) reveals the U.S. confronting the reality that it can no longer sustain a globally overextended military empire, opting to avoid direct confrontation with strategic rivals like Russia and China while systematically shifting the financial costs, operational burdens, and strategic risks of its Indo-Pacific and global defense commitments onto subordinate allies—most notably South Korea, Japan, and Australia—through mechanisms such as hosting U.S. bases, purchasing U.S. weapons, and aligning economic, technological, and military policies—effectively using its allies to maintain American influence while narrowing their strategic autonomy.
South Korea, deeply tied to the U.S. economically, militarily, and ideologically, exemplifies subordination within this system.
Reaffirming the “America First” agenda, NSS 2025 explicitly demands that allies increase defense spending and contribute “far more” to collective defense:
“We will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain. But the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone... Our allies must step up and spend—and more importantly, do—much more for collective defense.”
“Given President Trump’s insistence on increased burden-sharing from Japan and South Korea, we must urge these countries to increase defense spending, with a focus on the capabilities—including new capabilities—necessary to deter adversaries and protect the First Island Chain.”
In sum, under the Trump administration, Seoul is required to fund the U.S. military presence on its own territory, fund U.S. occupying forces, purchase billions in American weapons, act as a counterforce against China at Washington’s direction, and maintain the world’s largest overseas U.S. base at Camp Humphreys—all while its sovereignty remains subordinated to Washington’s strategic agenda. Korea’s sovereignty has been reduced to financing the U.S. occupation of its own territory and shouldering the costs of American militarism. Ultimately, the real danger to South Korea’s security is not North Korea; the gravest threat it faces is Washington’s encroachment on its sovereignty.
“It is the Pentagon’s assumption that they own and control South Korea no matter what", [says long-time Korea activist] Tim Shorrock.
Trump now appears to think he is the boss-man of the planet!
He's got his military operatives thinking they run the whole world.
How much longer can nations allow their national sovereignty to be erased?
Trump gets the FIFA 'peace prize' and it has gone to his head!
Bruce
