Author: Talia Baroncelli

Debunking the IMF Myth: South Korea A ‘Free Market Miracle’? – Martin Hart-Landsberg Pt. 1/2
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Debunking the IMF Myth: South Korea A ‘Free Market Miracle’? – Martin Hart-Landsberg Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

Despite being (mis)characterized by the IMF as a free-market “success story,” South Korea’s development model involved state planning and import controls for decades prior to the 1997 East Asia debt crisis. Economist Martin Hart-Landsberg, Professor Emeritus at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, explains how capitalist globalization materialized and morphed in East Asia, often to the detriment of its worker population. With Trump’s inauguration nearing, Hart-Landsberg sheds light on why contemporary U.S.-China hawks view China as a threat rather than a technological competitor. 

How the Left Won Sri Lanka – Devaka Gunawardena Pt. 2/2
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How the Left Won Sri Lanka – Devaka Gunawardena Pt. 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part two, political economist Dr. Devaka Gunawardena outlines the political dynasties in Sri Lanka that governed the country until the National People Power’s (NPP) recent electoral victory. Gunawardena discusses how NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has garnered widespread support across different ethnic and class lines despite being a political outsider. 

Historic Victory for Sri Lankan Left – Can They Deliver? – Devaka Gunawardena Pt. 1/2
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Historic Victory for Sri Lankan Left – Can They Deliver? – Devaka Gunawardena Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In November 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) coalition won a two-thirds majority in Sri Lanka’s general elections, marking a historic win for the Sri Lankan left. NPP’s victory came at a time of prolonged economic crisis exacerbated by the crushing terms of Sri Lanka’s IMF agreement. Political economist Dr. Devaka Gunawardena traces the factors leading to Sri Lanka’s economic woes and how international sovereign bonds (ISBs) held by private equity firms such as BlackRock constitute a large segment of Sri Lanka’s debt. Given the government’s recent private creditor debt restructuring agreement, can the NPP still deliver on its campaign promises of wealth redistribution and reversing austerity? 

Lawyer Who Won $9.5B Case Against Chevron Spent 993 Days Under House Arrest – Demands Biden Pardon
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Lawyer Who Won $9.5B Case Against Chevron Spent 993 Days Under House Arrest – Demands Biden Pardon

ByTalia Baroncelli

Steven Donziger, an American environmental and human rights lawyer, won a landmark case against Chevron, requiring it to pay 9.5 billion USD in damages to indigenous communities in Ecuador for destroying and polluting their land. In retaliation, Chevron launched a suit against Donziger, accusing him of fabricating evidence in the case. In an unprecedented move, a U.S. judge appointed a corporate prosecutor, paid for by Chevron itself, to litigate a case against Donziger after the U.S. Justice Department refused to prosecute the case. Donziger was released after spending a total of 993 days under house arrest for a bogus criminal contempt of court charge but has yet to be pardoned. Donziger urges viewers to call the U.S. White House at (202) 456 – 1111 and demand a pardon from President Biden to undermine Big Oil’s corporate prosecution of climate justice.

Israeli, U.S., and EU Tech Firms Uphold Global Power Hierarchies – Petra Molnar Pt. 2/2
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Israeli, U.S., and EU Tech Firms Uphold Global Power Hierarchies – Petra Molnar Pt. 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part two, Petra Molnar, anthropologist and human rights lawyer, speaks about the dangers of high-risk AI systems and state efforts to sabotage its regulation, as seen in the recent watering down of the European Union’s AI Act. Molnar explains how Israeli and U.S. surveillance tech firms market their drone technology and other AI products as “solutions” to state “problems.” The lucrative border and surveillance tech sector has grown exponentially as a result of governments deploying these technologies to experiment on the world’s most marginalized populations – from Palestinians in Gaza to migrants at the U.S. and EU’s deadliest land and sea borders. 

Genocide Scholar: U.S. Policy Undermining Post-Holocaust International Law – Omer Bartov Pt. 2/2

Genocide Scholar: U.S. Policy Undermining Post-Holocaust International Law – Omer Bartov Pt. 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part two, historian and genocide scholar Omer Bartov discusses the U.S.’ gross rejection of numerous human rights organizations’ reports substantiating Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, as well as France’s comical rebuttal of the ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Bartov contends that the West’s dangerous sabotage of international legal norms flies in the face of the very post-WWII edifice of international conventions established in response to the Nazi genocide of the Jews and designed to prevent state actors from committing such atrocities. He also discusses Trump’s victory, highlighting Biden/Harris’ Middle East policy as a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party, which greatly alienated young voters. 

Israel’s Elimination of Palestinians from Northern Gaza Continues with Impunity – Omer Bartov Pt. 1/2

Israel’s Elimination of Palestinians from Northern Gaza Continues with Impunity – Omer Bartov Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

According to recent Lebanese Health Ministry figures, Israel has killed a total of 4,047 people in Lebanon since October 2023, with 3,402 people killed in the past few months alone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel’s invasion of Lebanon a political victory for his coalition of right-wing fanatics. Omer Bartov, Israeli American genocide scholar and historian, characterizes Israel’s war crimes in Lebanon as a political exercise in saber-rattling for Bibi’s domestic audience, while the IDF prioritizes the elimination of Palestinians from northern Gaza and the starvation of Gaza’s besieged population. Will the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire— now on shaky ground after numerous Israeli violations— actually hold?

U.S. Threatens ICC, Undermines International Legal Norms – Triestino Mariniello Pt. 2/2

U.S. Threatens ICC, Undermines International Legal Norms – Triestino Mariniello Pt. 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part two, Triestino Mariniello, Legal Representative of Gaza Victims at the International Criminal Court, discusses U.S. hypocrisy in accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin but not for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Mariniello discusses how international legal instruments, such as the ICJ rulings on the risk of Israel committing genocide in Gaza, have been effective when not subject to U.S. intervention, unlike proceedings in the UN Security Council. Whatever is left of international law, he argues, is due to the perseverance of the Global South in pursuing justice for Palestinians. 

Gaza Victims’ Lawyer Rebuts Western Objections to ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant – Triestino Mariniello Pt. 1/2

Gaza Victims’ Lawyer Rebuts Western Objections to ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant – Triestino Mariniello Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

Following the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s release of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Germany, France, and the U.S. falsely characterized the warrants as inapplicable. International lawyer Triestino Mariniello, who represents Gaza Victims at the ICC, explains the legal obligation of state parties to the Rome Statute to enforce these arrest warrants. Mariniello exposes the U.S.’ false statements around the ICC’s supposed lack of jurisdiction over the State of Palestine and Israeli nationals.

AI Border Surveillance Tech Profits Soar, Human Rights Across the Board Sink – Petra Molnar Pt. 1/2
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AI Border Surveillance Tech Profits Soar, Human Rights Across the Board Sink – Petra Molnar Pt. 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of people draws attention to longstanding practices of tracking and intercepting migrants using artificial intelligence and high-risk surveillance technologies. Petra Molnar, human rights lawyer and anthropologist, underscores how border surveillance tech firms drive and profit from the U.S., Canada, and the European Union’s criminal migration policy agenda. Yet the application of these insidious technologies, largely developed by Israeli tech firms and billionaire Peter Thiel’s Palantir, is not limited to borderlands and has dystopian human rights impacts in everyday life.  

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