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  • Top Dem Says Video of Military ‘Attacking Shipwrecked Sailors’ Among ‘Most Troubling Things’ He Has Ever Seen

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    Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    US Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) speaks to members of the press after a briefing at the US Capitol on February 14, 2024 in Washington, DC. 
    (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

    “Two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, were killed by the United States.”

    US Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, expressed horror on Thursday after watching a video of the September 2 double-tap strike on a suspected drug trafficking vessel off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago.

    Speaking to reporters after a briefing on the strike delivered by Adm. Frank Bradley, Himes (D-Conn.) called the video he saw of the attack “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”

    Himes proceeded to describe the video, which showed the US military firing missiles at two men who had survived an initial attack on their vessel and who were floating in the water while clinging to debris.

    “You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, [who] were killed by the United States,” he said.

    Himes then started to walk away before a reporter asked him to describe more of what he saw in the video. The Connecticut Democrat then said the video showed a clear “impermissible action,” according to the laws of armed conflict.

    “Any American who sees the video that I saw will see its military attacking shipwrecked sailors,” he said. “Now, there’s a whole set of contextual items that the admiral explained. Yes, they were carrying drugs. They were not in position to continue their mission in any way… People will someday see this video and they will see that that video shows, if you don’t have the broader context, an attack on shipwrecked sailors.”

    Himes finished his talk with reporters by saying that Bradley told lawmakers there had not been a “kill them all” or “no quarter” order given to him by higher-ups. Asked by a reporter if he thought the full video should be released to the public, Himes said, “I do.”

    Himes’ reaction to the video stood in stark contrast to the reaction of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who praised the military for its actions.

    According to HuffPost reporter Jen Bendery, Cotton described the strikes on the two survivors as “righteous strikes” that were “entirely lawful.”

    Cotton also claimed that the video showed “two survivors trying to flip a boat, loaded with drugs, bound for the United States, back over, so they could stay in the fight.”

    Reports from the US government and the United Nations have not identified Venezuela as a significant source of drugs that enter the United States, and the country plays virtually no role in the trafficking of fentanyl, the primary cause of drug overdoses in the US.

    Additionally, many legal scholars have said that a strike on the two men who survived the initial attack on the boat is very likely either an act of murder or a war crime, regardless of whether they were intending to traffic illegal drugs in the US.

    Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
    Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.

  • Global System ‘Rigged for the Wealthy’ Delivers World With ‘More Billionaires Than Ever’

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    Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Tech billionaires Susan Dell and Michael Dell speak as US President Donald Trump makes an announcement about “Trump accounts” in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    New annual report on “ambitions” of billionaires by wealth management giant UBS shows just 2,919 individuals have a combined wealth of $15.8 trillion.

    A new assessment by the international wealth management giant UBS this week shows that the number of billionaires in the world has reached new heights and that the acceleration of inherited wealth represents a new chapter for the ultra-rich in the 21st Century.

    The latest UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report, unveiled Thursday, details how just 2,919 individual billionaires have a combined wealth of $15.8 trillion. The number of billionaires in the world is up nearly 9 percent from the previous year. In the United States—where nearly a third of those on the list reside—924 billionaires hold a collective $6.9 trillion in wealth.

    The assessment by UBS—which surveyed its own billionaire clients as part of the survey, now its eleventh edition—emphasizes a surge of inherited wealth among the billionaire class. According to the report:

    In 2025, 91 heirs (64 of them male and 27 female) inherited a record USD 297.8 billion. That’s 36% more than in 2024, despite fewer people inheriting overall. Globally, inheritance bolstered the number of multigenerational billionaires, with some 860 multi-generational billionaires now overseeing total assets of USD 4.7 trillion. That’s up from 805 with USD 4.2 trillion in 2024.

    Across the world, multi-generational billionaires are slowly extending down the generations, with the number of second-generation billionaires growing by 4.6% in the 2025 report, the number of third generation
    by 12.3%, and the number of fourth generation and beyond by 10%.

    The growing number of billionaires, including a rapidly increasing share who inherited their wealth rather than generating it themselves, says UBS, “heralds a new era” for the ultra-rich as “the great wealth transfer is intensifying as heirs inherit more than ever before.

    The coming decades, the report notes, “will see growing numbers of billionaires and centi-millionaires as the Great Wealth Transfer continues to accelerate. Billionaires are estimated to transfer approximately USD 6.9 trillion of wealth globally by 2040, with at least USD 5.9 trillion set to be passed to children—either directly or indirectly through spouses.”

    Of the $6.9 trillion currently held by US billionaires, the report estimates that $2.8 trillion of that wealth will be passed down to heirs over the next 15 years.

    “The world has more billionaires than ever because of a system that’s broken for workers and rigged for the wealthy and CEOs who already make 285 times what workers do,” said the AFL-CIO in response to the report.

    The union federation says that organized workers winning better collective bargaining is the first step needed to “level the playing field” for working people, while others see the surging fortunes of the ultra-wealthy as just more evidence that taxing the rich must remain at the top of the economic and political agenda both at the national level and internationally.

    With the UBS report showing that 91 of the new billionaires created this year arrived at their financial status through inheritance, Hal Singer, economics professor at the University of Utah, said, “That’s 91 additional reasons for a wealth tax.”

    Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
    Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.

  • Greens responds to Reform’s £9 million donation

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    Green party leader Zack Polanski (Green Party of England and Wales). Image: Bristol Green Party Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
    Green party leader Zack Polanski (Green Party of England and Wales). Image: Bristol Green Party Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

    Responding to news that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has received a £9 million donation from a single donor, Green Party leader Zack Polanski said

    “Reform hoovering up vast sums of private donations isn’t a sign of political strength, but a sign of a weakness in the foundations of our democracy. When a single party can be bankrolled by a handful of wealthy individuals, it drowns out the voices of ordinary people and tilts the entire system towards the interests of those elites. 

    “This is exactly why we need a cap on political donations. Democracy should never be for sale. Every party should compete on ideas, not on the size of their donor spreadsheet.

    “While Reform pockets eye-watering cheques, Greens are building a movement powered and funded by people through thousands of new members. 

    “When we win elections, it will be because of the tens of thousands of people volunteered, not the people who donated tens of thousands. If we want a politics that serves the public, not billionaire backers, then capping donations is essential. Let’s end the influence of big money and put democracy back where it belongs: in the hands of voters.”

    Nigel Farage reminds you that he's the man that brought you Brexit and asks what could possibly go wrong.
    Nigel Farage reminds you that he’s the man that brought you Brexit and asks what could possibly go wrong.

  • Resistance builds within the United States against Trump’s drive to war with Venezuela

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    Original article by Devin B. Martinez republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Billboard up in New York City against the US threats against Venezuela. Photo: The People’s Forum

    As Trump continues to lodge threats against the Bolivarian Republic, US Congress and grassroots movements mobilize to stop a new war.

    The US government has continued to accelerate its drive to war with Venezuela. While rumors circulate about phone calls and possible talks between US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in tandem, the US head of state has continued to launch bizarre and illegal threats and accusations against the South American nation. On Saturday, November 29, Trump unilaterally declared that Venezuelan airspace was closed, despite international law stipulating that only Venezuela has authority over the airspace above its territory and that air traffic above Venezuela has since continued.

    While Trump, his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have claimed land strikes and “action” against Venezuela could begin imminently and that the country should be on alert, as of now, only the aerial attacks on vessels in the Caribbean have continued. To date, the US missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean have killed at least 83 people. Washington claims they were trafficking drugs, without providing evidence.

    The unprecedented military buildup in the region now consists of aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), F-35 fighter jets, at least eight war ships, and 15,000 US troops, as well as coordinated US military activity in Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic.

    Despite Trump’s brazen appetite for war, it appears that public opinion in the United States is against Trump’s escalation against Venezuela. A recent poll conducted by CBS News/YouGOV found that 70% of people in the US would oppose the US taking military action in Venezuela. At the same time, some, albeit limited, bipartisan initiatives have been taken in Congress to attempt to use congressional authority to block Trump from taking military action. From the legislature down to the grassroots movements, opposition to a US war on the Caribbean nation is growing.

    Pressure mounts in Congress against Trump’s threats of war

    As the Trump cabinet prepares for fresh international law violations, they are already feeling the backlash of ones already committed. Committees in US Congress have reportedly launched investigations into US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for crimes related to missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean, in which the order was reportedly to “kill everybody”.

    “These are serious charges, and that’s the reason we’re going to have special oversight,” said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as reported by PBS.

    The mounting scrutiny follows a Washington Post report that details Hegseth’s direction to strike a bombed boat a second time, called a “double tap” strike, even as survivors clung to the edge of the burning vessel. In addition to the investigation, several congressional democrats are calling for Hegseth’s resignation.

    When questioned about the targeting of boat strike survivors in an interview with The Hill on December 2, Trump distanced himself from the order and Hegseth blamed Admiral Mitch Bradley for the second strike.

    “I moved on to my next meeting. A couple hours later I learned that that commander had made the … correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat,” said Hegseth.

    Adding to the pressure on Hegseth in particular, the Pentagon’s inspector general released a report on Thursday, December 4, concluding that the defense secretary violated department rules and put US forces at risk when he used a signal chat to share details of airstrikes on Yemen back in April.

    The renewed scrutiny comes after a bipartisan coalition in both the Senate and the House attempted to check the US president’s ability to carry out deadly strikes in the Caribbean through the War Powers Act.

    As opposition continues to build in the legislature, grassroots movements are also mobilizing against the US war drive on Venezuela.

    As threat of war grows, so does the people’s resistance

    In the same CBS/YouGov poll, 75% of people in the US said that the government needs to show evidence that the boats it is bombing are carrying drugs. Only 13% of Americans believe that Venezuela is a “major threat” to US national security.

    “The Trump administration is wildly out of step with public opinion as he threatens to initiate a new forever war with the aim of looting Venezuela’s vast oil resources,” said Brian Becker, National Director of the ANSWER coalition.

    After Trump declared Venezuelan airspace to be “closed”, claiming that land strikes would begin “very soon”, a coalition of organizations, including the ANSWER coalition, The Peoples Forum, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and others, announced a national day of action on December 6. According to a press release by the coalition, over 50 cities will host protest actions under the slogan “No war on Venezuela – Stop the war before it starts”.

    “The Trump Administration’s repeated strikes in the Caribbean have shocked the world as brazen violations of international law,” the coalition asserts.

    “Now, Trump is openly threatening to escalate his aggression to land strikes on Venezuelan territory – an unmistakable act of war. This could easily spiral into a ‘boots on the ground’ invasion, and lead to catastrophic death and destruction.”

    Organizers expect the day of action to be a “powerful display of the mass opposition” to the US war drive against the Bolivarian nation.

    In the wake of decades-long US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the growing resistance in Congress and the streets shows that the people of the United States refuse to be dragged into yet another imperialist disaster.

    Original article by Devin B. Martinez republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
    Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.

  • UN adopts resolutions to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories and Syria’s Golan Heights

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    Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    UN General Assembly. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

    The move came more than six decades after Israel occupied the concerned territories, and over two years after it started its all-out aggression across West Asia.

    The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted two resolutions on Tuesday, December 2, demanding Israel withdraw from Palestinian and Syrian territories that it occupied in 1967. These territories include the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the besieged Gaza Strip, and Syria’s Golan Heights.

    It is worth noting that the first resolution, which called for ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories passed with 151 votes in favor, 11 against, and 11 abstentions. Meanwhile, the second resolution on ending the occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights passed with 123 votes in favor, 7 against and 41 abstentions.

    Annalena Baerbock: self-determination is “not a privilege to be earned, but a right to be upheld”

    “For 78 years the Palestinian people have been denied their inalienable rights – in particular, their right to self-determination. Now, it is high time that we take decisive action to end this decades-long stalemate,” the President of the UNGA, Annalena Baerbock, stated at the 80th session, during which the resolutions were adopted.

    Referring to Israel’s all-out multi-front war across West Asia, Baerbock pointed out that what happened during the last couple of years underscores the importance of the two-state solution to achieve “lasting peace”. A solution, which according to the UN senior official, should have been reached decades ago.

    Baerbock emphasised that “self-determination, and the right to live in one’s own state in peace, security, and dignity, free from war, occupation and violence, is not a privilege to be earned, but a right to be upheld.”

    UN considers Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights as “null and void”

    Regarding the Syrian Golan Heights, the resolution adopted by the UNGA considered the decision which Israel made on December 14, 1981 “to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan” as “null and void”, calling for its withdrawal.

    The resolution demanded Israel “withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.”

    The UNGA further resolved that Israel’s continued occupation and de facto annexation of the Syrian Golan constitute “a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region.”

    The United Nations Security Council had already unanimously adopted resolution 497 on December 17, 1981, deciding that the Israeli Golan Heights Law, based on which Israel effectively annexed the Golan Heights, was “null and void and without international legal effect”. The resolution had also called on Israel to rescind its action.

    UN resolutions are nominal when Israel is the aggressor

    While the UNGA’s resolutions were welcomed by many states including the Palestinian Authority and Syria’s interim government, critics deemed the efforts as nominal, performative, and with a low likelihood of being implemented as long as the United States continues to support Israel unconditionally.

    The multiple US vetoes of UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire during Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza, proves this particular argument.

    Furthermore, many Palestinians still view the two-state solution as unfeasible and insufficient to address the inalienable Palestinian rights and demands, above all the right of return, and another way to recognize and cover the occupation.

    This is reminiscent of late Palestinian writer and revolutionary leader Ghassan Kanafani when he said:

    “They steal your bread, then give you a crumb of it. Then they demand you thank them for their generosity. O their audacity!”

    Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.