Guess whose wealth has almost tripled here in Trump 2.0? www.commondreams.org/news/trump-s...

Happy May Day and all power to the workers! "From the outset, May Day was a direct demonstration of the masses... The more the reaction, the closer we get to the time when the masses themselves take the reins." www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/r...

If you buy a book on Amazon, the Audible (audiobook) version should be free.

One month before the Colombian next month, the latest Invamer poll has Iván Cepeda breaking into the 40+ percent range for the first time and winning in the second round. He beats Abelardo quite easily, but faces a competitive race against Paloma Valencia.

Bailouts for Argentina, billions spent on war instead of healthcare, tariff refunds for corporations who barely absorbed them, insider trading, & now they want a financial bailout for the UAE in addition to more war/militarism against Cuba. The Trump admin hates their working class constituents.

Hey all, it’s publishing day for my book “How to Sell a Genocide,” which is a data-driven account of centrist and liberal media’s role in creating the conditions of mass death in Gaza. 100% of royalties go to @mecaforpeace.bsky.social. > www.plutobooks.com/product/how-... > a.co/d/00CQcElr

Florida is one of the worst states to be a renter: zero tenant protections in one of the most unaffordable states despite an oversupply of housing. The YIMBY math ain’t mathing. Social housing is the key to permanent affordability. therealdeal.com/miami/2026/0...

"Unsurprisingly, four platforms – Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok – identified the same five Washington-based institutions as also having played leading roles in promoting the U.S. invasion of Iraq 23 years ago." responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-thi...

TODAY at 3:00 ET! If you’re serious about the future of giving, don’t miss this one.

#EleccionesColombia2026 #EleccionesCongreso

Trump theoretically had some leeway in his illegal & criminal war with Iran bc there was a glut in the global oil market. That is being wiped out faster than expected, prices are spiking, & working-class households will be put under more financial stress. Renewable energy is a must.

NEW: The military systems that the U.S. sent to the Iran region in recent weeks ALONE cost us nearly $60 MILLION per day — just a fraction of the cost of this war. That ~$60 million could cover Medicaid for 4 million Americans per day, or SNAP for 9.5 million. From @nationalpriorities.bsky.social:

The West’s "age of dominance” that Rubio spoke of in Munich trafficked drugs into China; instituted regimes of apartheid; committed multiple genocides; engineered a transfer of wealth from colonies to the North; & turned Europe into rubble (world wars). It is a system that has killed 100M+ people.

The Washington Post dies in a billionaire oligarch's darkness.

An opportunity to improve relations. They'll agree on bilateral issues but disagree on regional security - the US wants to dominate LatAm & Petro wants to protect sovereignty. Petro needs to avoid a "Zelensky scenario" bc Trump will intervene in COL's elections à la HND & ARG if it goes poorly.

Exhibit A of why the private market will never solve the housing affordability crisis: homeowners have an interest in keeping the value of their asset (residential real estate) high and want politicians to pursue policies that will continue to appreciate the price of their asset.

Trump's desire in annexing Greenland has a lot to do with the development of new maritime shipping routes that will open up thanks to the progressive retreat of Arctic ice sheets. It'll shorten international trade routes & Trump wants to ensure foreign shipping has access to the Northwest Passage.

It is recreational sadism. #AbolishICE

Maria Corina Machado speaking at the Heritage Foundation is not surprising when you consider that she contributed to the stigmatization of the Vzlan diaspora in the US. She gave legitimacy to Trump's assertion that undocumented Vzlan immigrants were Tren de Aragua or criminals sent by Maduro.

U.S. billionaires made record-breaking extreme wealth gains last year. But "Average taxpayers like you and I," says IPS @inequality.org researcher @ocampomar.bsky.social in @truthout.org, "still pay income tax at triple the rate of the wealthiest Americans."

NEW: No, it was never really about drugs. Yes, it was about oil — but it wasn't *only* about oil. And no, it wasn't even close to being legal. In a new explainer out today, IPS scholars clear up the biggest questions about the U.S. attack on Venezuela:

While oil is one factor in the decision to carry out military operations against Venezuela, the Trump administration’s real agenda is even more troubling — an attempt to exercise complete political control over Latin America. @ocampomar.bsky.social on Foreign Policy in Focus:

NEW: Yes, oil is a factor in Trump's attack on Venezuela. But it's not the primary one, argues IPS scholar @ocampomar.bsky.social. The core motivation is "to exert complete political control — and economic domination — over Latin America. It’s classic U.S. imperialism."

In FPIF, I argue that Vzlan oil was a secondary motivation. The main motive is to oust China from having access to strategic assets in LatAm & Trump is not afraid to use the War on Drugs as a pretext. Vzla is a test lab to see how the world reacts to US interference. fpif.org/venezuela-an...

“It’s not just that US billionaires are entering 2026 with record-breaking increases in wealth: it’s that they are also paying far less in taxes compared to the huge amount of wealth they amass." My quote in this article by @ohiocapitaljournal.com

Bicycle socialism.

NEW: Not only is there "certainly no fentanyl involved" between Venezuela and the U.S., but the region's most prolific drug traffickers have often in fact been U.S. allies. In a new BBC interview, IPS drug policy scholar @sanho.bsky.social dismantles Trump admin claims. Watch:

And just like that, Trump’s imaginary “narcoterrorist cartel” vanishes. I talked about it in my BBC interview last night.

Drug trafficking was always a BS pretext, but oil is a secondary motivation. Trump appealed to extractive imperialism to sell the intervention. Maduro's removal always implied oil sector development bc it's Vzla's cash cow, but US oil companies are now guaranteed to get profitable oil concessions.

The situation is obviously fluid, but if true, this means there was a negotiated settlement where Venezuela's top brass sacrificed Maduro in exchange for a long-term transition. Vladimir Padrino López and Diosdado Cabello were most likely the ones behind giving him up.

There is only one democratic force, and that is the working class.

My New Year’s Resolution is to actively post on Bluesky.

Oh. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

El Pacto Histórico in Colombia had their primaries yesterday and elected Iván Cepeda as their presidential candidate next year. Experts expected a turnout of about 700,000 voters, but more than 2.7 million went to the polls. www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacion...

According to La Silla Vacía, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has not been added to the traditional Clinton List, but a list created by Joe Biden in 2021 where "a direct link with a drug trafficker does not need to be shown." WTF! www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacion...

First World Series between two cities threatened with invasion or invaded by a U.S. president.

NEW: Massachusetts is one of a few states considering subsidizing Sustainable Aviation Fuels, or SAFs. In reality, SAFs won't help reduce greenhouse gas emissions — instead, the best solution is simply to reduce flying and increase other transit. REPORT from Neil Rasmussen and @chuck77.bsky.social:

It is important that we do not separate politics from economics. Extreme wealth disparities undermine our democracy, increase political inequality & makes us vulnerable to the arbitrary power of oligarchs. Here are a couple of graphs illustrating the extreme concentration of material resources 👇🏻

NEW: Since 1989, the share of U.S. wealth owned by the top 0.1% has grown nearly 60%. In the same time, the share owned by the bottom 50% of households has declined 26%. This is wealth concentration. IPS scholars @chuck77.bsky.social and @ocampomar.bsky.social in @inequality.org:

Sounds like an argument for worker-ownership of businesses where workers decide, democratically, how to distribute the surpluses/profits they produce 👍🏻

I have a theory that the authoritarian agenda of the Trump administration is upstream from Florida's fanatical and undemocratic state politics.

A historic moment here at Sheridan Circle as the four sons of Orlando Letelier (former Chilean ambassador & government official and fellow at my office) approach the place where their father was assassinated by a car bomb planted by General Pinochet’s thugs 49 years ago.

We are $37 trillion in debt.

I'm sorry, but Milei is not that important of an ally for the US to dedicate our taxes to bail out a president who considers any state intervention in the economy an attack on liberty. Everyone warned of the dangers of shock therapy. Let them suffer the consequences of libertarianism.

There is no law or censorship regime on the books (yet), but this action against Jimmy Kimmel is an assault to our civil liberties. All individuals and the press are now vulnerable to the temperament of the Trump administration. There is no freedom if we all have to watch and filter what we say.

Horrors of Trump detention centre: Lisburn man tells his story after arrest for 'looking like a Mexican' Lee Stinton was lifted by US immigration police on an American street — in an incident he compared to a kidnapping. Here, he tells us his story.

It was a pathetic display of bowing and scraping.

Right now is the perfect time to trial balloon a millionaires' tax in both Texas and Florida. The net migration of millionaires that both states received has not helped or benefited Texans or Floridians.

I am convinced the US will not invade Venezuela, but it's unsurprising that a country that materially supports genocide in Gaza breaks international law by bombing a vessel. We may never know the full details, but Rubio's State Department is not afraid to commit war crimes just to grandstand.