People take part in a march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, from Russell Square to Whitehall in central London, June 21, 2025
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We live in a country now where the police round up hundreds at peaceful sit-ins for the slogans on their placards, where they inspect the books and flyers on political stalls, where peace movement leaders get convicted of public order offences for leading a march to lay flowers on the road in memory of dead children.
Suppressing these movements does nothing to address their grievances and Labour’s support is in freefall. Arrests such as those at Lakenheath air base, protesting at the US using British territory as a launchpad to bomb Iran, are not even made to shield our government but a Donald Trump regime that humiliates and undermines it at every turn, while dragging our country into illegal wars.
Wales First Minister Eluned Morgan, demanding an end to military co-operation with the United States on a military radar project in Pembrokeshire, sees how toxic and dangerous the US alliance has become.
There is little Labour can do to turn things around by May: doing so at all will require a complete overhaul of government policy, and the ejection of Starmer himself.
But Morgan’s intervention does point to an immediate step needed to show Labour intends to change: dump Trump, and Netanyahu. Stop arresting people to shield them.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street, London, to attend Prime Minister’s Questions at the Houses of Parliament, April 15, 2026
Polls show Labour facing meltdown in May elections for devolved parliaments and local authorities
LABOUR is facing a May meltdown in elections for devolved parliaments and local authorities, latest polling confirms.
The party is on course for wipeout in Wales, a setback in Scotland and evisceration across England, particularly in “red wall” districts in the Midlands and north.
The Greens and hard-right Reform are set to be the beneficiaries in England, with nationalist parties winning in Scotland and Wales.
If the results on May 7 bear out these predictions it will revive pressure on Labour MPs to act to end Sir Keir Starmer’s disastrous leadership of their party and the government.
James Johnson, of JL Partners, which conducted the detailed survey for the Telegraph, said the research pointed to “a major political earthquake” across Britain.
“It could be the worst local election ever for Labour in England, a collapse for the Conservatives in their historic Blue Wall heartlands, and a brutal third place for Starmer’s party in Wales,” he said.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) stand on either side of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US policy toward Venezuela on January 28, 2026. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
“From Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, President Trump has shown that he is willing to recklessly enter military conflicts without congressional support,” noted an Issue One campaigner.
With the status of US-Iran talks unclear halfway through a two-week ceasefire, a dozen faith, science, veterans, and watchdog groups on Monday pressured key congressional committee leaders to swiftly reassert Congress’ “constitutional authority over matters of war and peace,” and put an end to President Donald Trump’s new conflict in the Middle East.
“The founders were clear: Article I of the Constitution vests in Congress—not the president—the sole authority to declare war, fund military action, and oversee its execution,” stresses the letter, addressed to leaders of both congressional foreign relations panels: Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Sens. James Risch (R-Idaho) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
Abigail Bellows, senior policy director for anti-corruption and accountability at Common Cause, one of the groups behind the letter, said in a statement that “the Constitution places decisions of war and peace in the hands of Congress because the American people deserve a voice before their lives and tax dollars are put on the line.”
The letter acknowledges that “over time, presidents of both parties have pushed the limits of their constitutional authority, gradually eroding Congress’ role in decisions of war and peace. Reasserting Article I authority is not about one president or one party. It is about restoring the constitutional balance that protects our democracy, our national security, and our troops.”
Víctor Guillén, director of national campaigns at Issue One, which spearheaded the letter, said that “while presidents of both parties have stretched the boundaries of constitutional authority, we are especially concerned about the actions of President Trump. From Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, President Trump has shown that he is willing to recklessly enter military conflicts without congressional support.”
“His impulsiveness has led to suffering for millions of Americans, from American troops who were wounded and killed to people living paycheck to paycheck, wondering how they will afford groceries, gas, or childcare,” Guillén said of Trump. “Now that Congress has seen what the president is capable of, it must stop the president from repeating it.”
“If Congress does not check him now,” the campaigner declared, “the president will most likely start more poorly planned and pointless conflicts in the future—on Truth Social, no less—to the detriment of the American people and citizens around the world.”
Trump and Israel’s war on Iran has already led to thousands of deaths across the Middle East, plus damaged civilian infrastructure throughout Iran. Israeli forces have also ramped up attacks on Lebanon, including during the ceasefire agreed to last week.
“Every moment lawmakers fail to act weakens accountability and puts both our democracy and more lives at risk,” said Bellows. “Common Cause stands ready to work with Congress to restore the proper balance of power and ensure that decisions about war reflect the will of the people.”
Specifically, the coalition is calling on lawmakers to:
Advance measures requiring congressional authorization before further military escalation;
Conduct robust oversight of ongoing military operations and expenditures;
Reaffirm Congress’ Article I authority over war powers and the use of taxpayer funds; and
Revisit and reform the War Powers Resolution to ensure that Congress has a meaningful consultative and decision-making role in any significant military deployment.
“This is a bipartisan responsibility,” the letter emphasizes. “The Constitution is clear and the stakes are high.”
The letter’s other signatories are Democracy Matters, Faith in Democracy, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Principles First, Project on Government Oversight, Protect Democracy, RepresentUs, Stand Up America, The Chamberlain Network, and Union of Concerned Scientists.
So far, nearly all Republicans and a short list of Democrats in the GOP-controlled Congress have blocked multiple war powers resolutions on Iran and Trump’s other unauthorized military action. Another round of votes on Iran are expected this week.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also plans to force senators to consider cutting off the flow of Americans weapons to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Specifically, on Wednesday, Sanders intends to force votes on a pair of resolutions that would prohibit a $151.8 million sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose 1,000-pound “dumb” gravity bombs and related logistics and technical support services, as well as a $295 million sale of Caterpillar bulldozers along with related materials and support.
“US taxpayers have spent tens of billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government. Enough is enough,” Sanders said Tuesday. “The United States must use the leverage we have—tens of billions in arms and military aid—to demand that Israel ends these atrocities.”
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
US Deputy State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott speaks during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC on July 31, 2025. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images)
As the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was advised not to investigate the bombings, Pentagon officials expressed support for strikes on land, ostensibly against drug traffickers.
The former president of a top international human rights watchdog views the United States’ monthslong campaign of bombing boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean as a clear-cut case of “murder,” he told The Intercept Monday, but he warned that pressure from the Trump administration may stop the body from investigating the Pentagon’s actions.
Juan Méndez, a former president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, noted that a month after the IACHR held a hearing on the boat bombing campaign, officials “may well feel that this is a very delicate situation, and if they take the initiative, they’re going to incur the wrath of the United States.”
The hearing last month was the first of its kind and included testimonies from the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, International Crisis Group, and Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights. The groups presented evidence that the US has been violating both domestic and international law by bombing vessels that it has claimed—without making any evidence publicly available—are involved in drug trafficking. Nearly 170 people have been killed in dozens of strikes, and legal experts worldwide have asserted the US is violating international law and has committed extrajudicial killings—potentially making those involved in the strikes liable for murder.
The hearing was followed by a statement from Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, who said the IACHR had “strayed far outside its mandate” by looking into the boat attacks—as the family of one man killed in a bombing requested it to—and accused the ACLU of trying to manipulate the body.
“The United States calls on the commission to adhere to its statute and rules of procedure in the future and avoid inserting itself into matters that are in active domestic litigation and fall outside the human rights sphere,” said Pigott. “Convening hearings under these circumstances risks undermining—not strengthening—the credibility of the inter-American human rights system.”
Pigott also called on the commission to “redirect its focus toward the individual petitions languishing on its docket, sometimes for decades.” He did not mention specific petitions or issues the IACHR should focus on.
Carl Anderson, a legal adviser at the State Department, also rebuked the commission for holding the proceedings.
“If the United States cuts the funding, they probably would have to shut down—at least for a while.”
A person with close ties to the IACHR told The Intercept that Pigott’s demand that the commission focus on other topics pointed to a pressure campaign aimed at stoking fear that the IACHR could lose its funding.
President Donald Trump’s zeroed out US contributions to the commission during his first term in 2018, and withdrew some funding the following year due to its support for abortion rights. The administration terminated funding last year for at least 22 programs under the IACHR’s parent body, the Organization of American States, of which the US is the largest international funder.
“They are stretched for funding,” Méndez told The Intercept. “And if the United States cuts the funding, they probably would have to shut down—at least for a while.”
Stuardo Ralón, the IACHR’s current president, denied that there is “pressure from the United States on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,” but suggested it may not conduct a comprehensive investigation into the Trump administration’s boat bombings—saying the body “does not conduct investigations.”
The Intercept noted that the IACHR has conducted numerous investigations that it has publicly acknowledged and described as such, including into US immigration detention centers and the kidnapping and apparent killing of 43 students in Mexico in 2014.
Ralón told the outlet that it has not yet taken any steps to launch an investigation into the strikes following the hearing, and said it “will continue to monitor the situation in accordance with its mandate.”
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s human rights program, emphasized that “the commission is within its competency and its bounds to fully investigate the egregious violations of international law happening in its own backyard.”
“We have asked the commission to fulfill its responsibilities as the premier regional human rights body to conduct a fact-finding investigation of these heinous killings,” Dakwar told The Intercept, “and to ensure that no country can act in this fashion because that will have severe implications on human rights in the region and beyond.”
As the State Department has pushed the IACHR away from probing the legality of the boat bombings, administration officials like Joseph Humire, acting assistant secretary of war for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, have warned that the attacks at sea are “just the beginning” of what officials claim is an effort to defeat drug cartels—against which Congress has not authorized any military action.
US Southern Command announced a joint ground operation with Ecuador last month to defeat “narco-terrorists.”
Humire said the Pentagon supports “joint land strikes,” while Gen. Francis Donovan, the head of US Southern Command who has been directing the boat attacks, told the Senate Armed Service Committee that the Pentagon is moving toward “a counter-cartel campaign process that puts total systemic friction across this network.”
“I believe,” he said, “these kinetic [boat] strikes are just one small part of that.”
Original article by republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Protesters in opposition to the US war on Iran gather outside of Lafayette Park across from the White House on April 7, 2026. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
“We recognize the gravity of what we are asking. We ask it because the gravity of the situation demands it.”
A group of four psychiatrists warned congressional leaders on Monday that US President Donald Trump has recently exhibited “every behavioral sign of a personality in acute crisis,” presenting a “constitutional emergency” that demands immediate action from lawmakers and members of the administration.
In a letter to the top Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both chambers of Congress, the psychiatrists and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs—who helped organize the letter—pointed to Trump’s recent genocidal threats to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization” and bomb the country “back to the stone ages” as examples of rhetoric that has “crossed a threshold.”
“President Trump exhibits what forensic mental health experts have, across dozens of independent assessments, identified as the ‘Dark Triad’ of personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy,” the letter states. “Rather than constituting a clinical diagnosis, this trait-based assessment is grounded in behavioral observation and is particularly useful for assessing the level of danger an individual poses in a political leadership position. We do not offer this as a clinical verdict. We offer it as the considered judgment of a substantial body of professional opinion, based on well-researched evidence that is consistent, accumulating, and impossible to dismiss.”
The psychiatrists who signed the letter are James Gilligan, clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University; Prudence Gourguechon, former president of the American Psychoanalytic Association and former vice president of the World Mental Health Coalition; Bandy Lee, president of the World Mental Health Coalition and former professor at Yale School of Medicine; and James Merikangas, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at George Washington University.
The experts’ letter came amid growing calls from congressional Democrats for Trump’s removal from office, whether through the impeachment process or the pathways offered by the 25th Amendment.
The psychiatrists stop short of demanding Trump’s immediate removal. Rather, they urge Congress to reestablish its constitutional authority over war in response to the president’s unauthorized assault on Iran; convene “urgent consultations” with top administration officials to prevent Trump from escalating “toward catastrophe”; and “formally initiate consultation” with Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet members “regarding the president’s fitness for office under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.”
“We recognize the gravity of what we are asking. We ask it because the gravity of the situation demands it,” the letter states. “A president who publicly threatens to destroy a foreign civilization, who launches a bombing campaign and then imposes a naval blockade without congressional authorization, and who shows every behavioral sign of a personality in acute crisis is not merely a political problem. He is a constitutional emergency. The mechanisms for addressing such an emergency exist. They were placed in the Constitution and its amendments for moments precisely like this one.”
The letter was released days after Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to White House physician Sean Barbabella requesting an “immediate and comprehensive cognitive and neurological evaluation of President Donald Trump, along with full public disclosure of the findings,” in response to his “increasingly volatile, incoherent, and alarming public statements,” specifically regarding the war on Iran.
“This is plainly out of the realm of normal politics,” Raskin wrote. “When the president of the United States threatens to extinguish a civilization on social media, rants about combat missions with children at the Easter Egg Roll, and drops profane tirades on Easter morning, we have indisputably entered the realm of profound medical difficulty and concern.”
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
People take part in a march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, from Russell Square to Whitehall in central London, June 21, 2025
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street, London, to attend Prime Minister’s Questions at the Houses of Parliament, April 15, 2026
