Author: Talia Baroncelli

Blood Gun Money – How America Arms Gangs and Cartels – Ioan Grillo
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Blood Gun Money – How America Arms Gangs and Cartels – Ioan Grillo

ByTalia Baroncelli

Thousands of guns used by Mexican cartels, as well as other gangs throughout Latin America, have been traced back to U.S. gun manufacturers. Journalist Ioan Grillo describes how the flow of guns to Mexico from the U.S. exacerbates the drug war and its accompanying forced displacement of people. Baroncelli and Grillo debate drug legalization and whether it can break up cartels that use American guns to maintain global drug distribution.  Cartels increase their profit margins by cutting their product with fentanyl and other lethal substances at the expense of people’s lives. 

Defunding UNRWA to Starve Gaza – Sari Hanafi part 2/2 

Defunding UNRWA to Starve Gaza – Sari Hanafi part 2/2 

ByTalia Baroncelli

Israel’s accusations against a total of 19 UNRWA staff members alleging their involvement in the October 7 attacks prompted 16 countries to pause or suspend $450 million in funding to the agency. A UN investigation resulted in one of the 19 cases being closed and four suspended due to a lack of evidence. Of the 12 staff members initially accused by Israel, 10 of them were fired by UNRWA, while the other two were killed. Israeli claims that 10% of UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas have yet to be substantiated. As Sari Hanafi explains, UNRWA provides critical infrastructure, housing, and education to Palestinians in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza. 

Selective Outrage: Why the Slaughter of Palestinians is Ignored by Western Governments – Sari Hanafi part 1/2

Selective Outrage: Why the Slaughter of Palestinians is Ignored by Western Governments – Sari Hanafi part 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

Following Israel’s killing of 7 WCK aid workers, Western politicians appeared to reconsider their unwavering support of Netanyahu’s government, if only for a brief moment. Iran’s attack on military targets in Israel, in response to Israel’s strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, has since been cited by the U.S. and Germany as a justification for continued military support for Israel. Sari Hanafi, Professor of Sociology at the American University of Beirut, discusses Germany’s past genocidal war crimes as well as the ICJ case brought by Nicaragua examining Germany’s complicity in genocide in Gaza. 

Boeing and Baltimore Bridge Scandals: Monopolization and Criminal Negligence? – Katya Schwenk
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Boeing and Baltimore Bridge Scandals: Monopolization and Criminal Negligence? – Katya Schwenk

ByTalia Baroncelli

The fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX passenger aircraft and the recent Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident, in which a door-plug blew out after take-off, are consequences of Boeing’s systemic incentivization of profits over safety. Katya Schwenk, reporter at The Lever, discusses the policies of recent administrations to enable Boeing’s industry takeover and criminal negligence, as well as similar practices of covering up safety issues in the shipping industry, which potentially led to the Dali cargo ship’s collapsing of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. 

Genocide in Gaza Supported by Venture Capital’s AI Military Tech – William Hartung
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Genocide in Gaza Supported by Venture Capital’s AI Military Tech – William Hartung

ByTalia Baroncelli

The Israeli attack on a civilian aid convoy, which killed seven World Central Kitchen workers, has pushed U.S. officials to entertain policy alternatives to unconditional aid to Israel. Bill Hartung, national security and U.S. foreign policy analyst at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, discusses the Biden administration’s weapons sales to Israel, many of which have not been reported to U.S. Congress. Hartung addresses the role of venture capital firms in shaping the U.S. defense industry, firms which advocate the development of dual-use technology or artificial intelligence as optimized tools to wage warfare.

Capitalocene: How Capitalism Created the Climate Crisis – Jason W. Moore pt 1/2
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Capitalocene: How Capitalism Created the Climate Crisis – Jason W. Moore pt 1/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

The current climate crisis emerged out of a specific set of historical and economic factors which have maintained capitalist accumulation and class inequalities to this day. Jason W. Moore, geographer and Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, explains how the development of capitalism fueled European colonialism and Western imperialism, resulting in a novel form of climate destruction.

The Assertion of Popular Power: A Climate Movement Imperative – Jason W. Moore pt 2/2
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The Assertion of Popular Power: A Climate Movement Imperative – Jason W. Moore pt 2/2

ByTalia Baroncelli

In part 2, historian and geographer Jason W. Moore explains why climate and revolutionary struggles must understand capitalist dynamics and deploy a language of universal class solidarity to overthrow transnational power structures perpetuating the climate crisis.

Catastrophic Foreign Intervention in Haiti – Jafrikayiti (pt 1/2)
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Catastrophic Foreign Intervention in Haiti – Jafrikayiti (pt 1/2)

ByTalia Baroncelli

Following a disastrous UN mission in 2010, several Western-backed coups d’état, and the U.S. occupation of 1915-1934, the initiation of yet another foreign intervention in Haiti aligns with the longstanding imperial policy of the U.S., Canada, and European powers towards the country. Jafrikayiti, author and activist for Solidarité Québec-Haiti, underscores the broken social contract in Haiti, where installed leaders are neither elected by nor are accountable to the people but serve the interests of the private sector, over a dozen rich families, and the countries of the Core Group.

Corporations and Haiti’s Ruling Families Profit From Young Labour and Warring Gangs – Jafrikayiti (pt 2/2)

Corporations and Haiti’s Ruling Families Profit From Young Labour and Warring Gangs – Jafrikayiti (pt 2/2)

ByTalia Baroncelli

Western interventionist policies in Haiti go beyond installing unelected government administrations: embezzling public funds earmarked for infrastructure and health purposes and providing illegal arms to gangs it claims to oppose. In Part 2, Jafrikayiti, an activist for Solidarité Québec-Haiti, discusses the various gangs operating on the streets of Port-Au-Prince, the differences between them, and their connections with Haiti’s notoriously decadent elite.

Julian Assange: Most Decisive Press Freedom Case of Our Time – Stefania Maurizi
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Julian Assange: Most Decisive Press Freedom Case of Our Time – Stefania Maurizi

ByTalia Baroncelli

Facing extradition to the United States, WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange has been held in arbitrary detention under psychologically distressing conditions for years in the U.K. Stefania Maurizi, a journalist for the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, recounts what she witnessed at Assange’s most recent hearing at a U.K. High Court in London, where his lawyers argued for the right to appeal his extradition. She lays out the case for releasing Assange in the name of preserving press freedoms and serving the public’s right to be informed of war crimes and abuses of state power.

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