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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Michael Bloomfield

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Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues rock guitarist Michael Bloomfield. Enjoy!

^{Paul Butterfield & Mike Bloomfield - Walking by Myself}

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."

-- Blaise Pascal

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News and Opinion

Israel Tortured And Sexually Humiliated Greta Thunberg

In an interview with Swedish paper Aftonbladet, Greta Thunberg has corroborated earlier eyewitness reports that she and her fellow Global Sumud Flotilla activists were subjected to monstrous abuses by Israeli officials after being abducted from their boats carrying aid for Palestinians in Gaza.

Here are some excerpts (quotes from Thunberg are italicized, quotes from Aftonbladet are in bold):

“They grab me, pull me to the ground, and throw an Israeli flag over me.”

“They dragged me to the opposite side from where the others were sitting, and I had the flag around me the whole time. They hit and kicked me.”

“They moved me very brutally to a corner that I was turned towards. ‘A special place for a special lady’, they said. And then they had learned ‘Lilla hora’ (Little whore) and ‘Hora Greta’ (Whore Greta) in Swedish, which they repeated all the time.”

In the corner where Greta was sitting, the police placed a flag. “The flag was placed so that it would touch me. When it fluttered and touched me, they shouted ‘Don’t touch the flag’ and kicked me in the side. After a while, my hands were tied with cable ties, very tightly. A bunch of guards lined up to take selfies with me while I was sitting like that.”

“They were thrown to the ground and beaten. But I could only see it out of the corner of my eye, because every time I lifted my head from the ground, I was kicked by the guard standing next to me.”

Greta was then taken into a building to be searched and undressed. “The guards have no empathy or humanity, and they keep taking selfies with me. There’s a lot I don’t remember. So much is happening at once. You’re in shock. You’re in pain, but you go into a state of trying to stay calm.”

Outside, she was forced to take off her clothes again, she says. “It was mockery, rough handling, and everything was filmed. Everything they do is extremely violent.”

“It was so hot, like 40 degrees. We begged the whole time: Can we have water? Can we have water? In the end, we screamed. The guards walked in front of the bars the whole time, laughing and holding up their water bottles. They threw the bottles with water in them into the trash cans in front of us.”

“When people fainted, we banged on the cages and asked for a doctor. Then the guards came and said, ‘We’re going to gas you.’ It was standard for them to say that.”

“This shows that if Israel, with the whole world watching, can treat a well-known, white person with a Swedish passport this way, just imagine what they do to Palestinians behind closed doors.”

Thunberg told Aftonbladet that the Swedish government greatly downplayed the abuse she and her fellow Sumud Flotilla activists suffered, and wouldn’t even bring them water:

“We were together and told them about the treatment we received. About the lack of food, water, about the abuse. The torture. We showed them the physical injuries we had — bruises and scratches. We gave them all our contact details — I gave them my father’s number and the number of our contact in the organization. We were clear: everything we say now must be released to the media.”

“They didn’t do anything, they just said: ’Our job is to listen to you. We are here and you are entitled to consular support.’”

“We said over and over again: we need water. And they saw that the guards had water bottles. The embassy staff said: ’We’ll make a note of that.’ One of us, Vincent, said: ’Next time we meet you, you must bring water.’”

Then it took two days before the embassy staff showed up again.

“They didn’t bring any water, except for a small bottle of their own that was half empty. Vincent, who was in the worst shape, got to drink it. We kept asking the guards, ‘Can we have some water?’ but they just walked around with their water bottles and didn’t answer.”

“I said, ‘Are you going to leave us like this? If you leave now, they will beat us up.’ But they just kept walking.”

When Aftonbladet compares emails sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relatives, with what the captives describe telling embassy staff, it becomes clear that the seriousness of the situation has been downplayed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes the scene at the port, where Greta Thunberg was beaten for hours, as follows: “She told us about harsh treatment and that she had been sitting on a hard surface for a long time.”

On Saturday, several media outlets published testimonies that Greta had been subjected to torture.

Aftonbladet has spoken to three other members of the flotilla who largely confirm what Greta Thunberg says and who have all experienced various types of abuse and humiliation. We have also spoken to relatives. Everyone is highly critical of how the Swedish embassy staff acted.

“Filmed while stripped naked” is sex assault btw https://t.co/B3GjwT5XEp

— Jacob Coxey's Ghost (@yung_coxey) October 15, 2025

Thunberg’s statements are not just in alignment with eyewitnesses who said these things were done to her, but with statements from the Israeli government itself.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said last month that Sumud activists must be treated as terrorists in order to “create a clear deterrent” from future flotilla activism, declaring that “Anyone who chooses to collaborate with Hamas and support terrorism will meet a firm and unyielding response from Israel.”

“We will not allow individuals who support terrorism to live in comfort. They will face the full consequences of their actions,” Ben-Gvir said at the time.

After the flotilla activists were abducted by the IDF, Ben-Gvir filmed himself taunting them and calling them “terrorists” and said he “was proud that we treat ‘flotilla activists’ as terror supporters.”

Israel, needless to say, has an extensively documented record of torturing and raping individuals who’ve been given the “terrorist” label by the regime.

So what Thunberg is describing would be Israel doing what it said it was going to do in order to send a message and deter future efforts to feed starving Palestinians — perhaps singling out the most high-profile activist on the flotilla for special abuse in order to really drive the point home.

Israel is so evil it’s actually hard to wrap your mind around it.

"Israeli Sadism": Amira Hass on Abuse of Palestinian Prisoners, Settler Violence & Gaza Ceasefire

Israel and Hamas trade accusations as tensions rise over hostages’ remains

Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations amid tensions over the flow of aid into Gaza and warnings that the humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory risks deteriorating further. The ceasefire deal signed last week between Israel and Hamas raised hopes of a surge of humanitarian aid finally reaching the territory after two years of war, but most restrictions have remained in place, throttling the supply of desperately needed assistance.

Israeli officials said on Thursday that the Rafah crossing with Egypt would remain shut to individuals until Sunday at least – and may not open to humanitarian convoys at all. Aid agencies say opening Rafah, which has been controlled by Israel since May last year, is critical for bringing sufficient humanitarian assistance into the territory. “We need more fuel to go into Gaza, we need more food, more medical equipment, medications, medics, doctors,” said Hanan Balkhy, the regional director for the WHO, echoing demands by international leaders for Israel to allow in a massive increase of aid.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement by failing to return the remains of deceased hostages. On Monday, Hamas returned the last 20 surviving hostages but handed back only nine of 28 deceased captives, saying it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.

US advisers working on the implementation of Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal, and the Red Cross, have said there are significant practical difficulties in recovering remains of hostages amid the devastation caused by Israel’s offensive during the past 24 months. ...

A senior Hamas official accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire by killing at least 24 people in shootings since Friday, and said a list of such incidents had been handed over to mediators. “The occupying state is working day and night to undermine the agreement through its violations on the ground,” he said.

Israel BANS Palestinians From CELEBRATING RELEASE Of Their Family Members

Who is Yasser Abu Shabab - and is his time up?

Trump Threatens To ‘Go in and Kill’ Hamas Over Internal Clashes

President Trump on Thursday threatened that “we” would have to “go in and kill” Hamas in Gaza if the group continues killing alleged criminals and Israeli collaborators, reversing his previous support for Hamas’s armed action.

Over the weekend, dozens were killed in clashes between Hamas and other militias in Gaza, and some Palestinians were summarily executed. But it’s unclear if there have been any internal clashes or executions in Gaza in recent days, while Israeli forces have continued to kill Palestinians despite the ceasefire, something Trump hasn’t condemned.

Israel has armed gangs and militias as part of its strategy against Hamas, including a gang led by Yasser Abu Shabab, who is known for looting aid trucks. Some members of the Abu Shabab gang, which controls territory in southern Gaza under the watch of the IDF, have ties to ISIS.

Trump’s Fake Peace Plan EXPOSED By Ex-UN Lawyer & Palestinian Analyst | Useful Idiots

Heavy Israeli Airstrikes Reported in Southern and Eastern Lebanon, One Killed

Israel continues to escalate its airstrikes against Lebanon today, launching massive airstrikes against multiple targets in the country, including targets in the southern town of Bnaafoul, where both warplanes and drones caused major explosions and damaged multiple buildings.

Other strikes were reported near Nabatieh and the Bekaa Valley town of Chmistar. A sound bomb was dropped at Ras Naqoura, and a drone also struck an area of the town of Blida while locals were harvesting olives. They also fired artillery near Yaroun. ...

The IDF issued statements claiming that strikes in both the south of Lebanon and Bekaa Valley actually targeted underground Hezbollah storage facilities. The IDF did not provide any evidence to support the claim that Hezbollah facilities were located at these sites, and the terms of the ceasefire were meant to have them inform Lebanon of the discovered locations so the army could dismantle them, which did not happen.

Prof John Mearsheimer : Why Trump’s Gaza Deal Will Fail

Trump’s Middle East ‘peace’ pitch to Iran falls flat in Tehran and Jerusalem

Amid the fanfare accompanying Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East and Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas, one aspect of the US president’s pitch as a peacemaker went relatively unscrutinised. In the highly unlikely setting of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Trump proffered an olive branch to an even less likely recipient: the Jewish state’s arch enemy, Iran. “It would be great if we made a peace deal with them. Wouldn’t it be nice?” he said. “I think they want to.”

The price for ending nearly half a century of hostilities between Washington and Tehran – dating back to the 1979-81 US embassy takeover that followed the Iranian revolution – would be for the theocratic regime to stop funding militant proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah and “finally recognize Israel’s right to existence”, he said.

If this was hardly music to the ears of politicians in Jerusalem – conditioned by decades of enmity and a belief that Iran’s Islamic rulers constituted an existential threat – it received an even colder reception in 1,000 miles away in Tehran. Having rebuffed Trump’s highly unorthodox invitation to attend a gathering in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh hastily arranged to celebrate the end of the war in Gaza and herald a supposed new era of peace in the Middle East, senior regime figures projected an uncompromisingly familiar posture.

They were in no mood to forgive the US bombing last June of their nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan and Nantanz, or for the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Qods forces, in January 2020 during Trump’s first presidency. “While favoring diplomatic engagement, neither President [Masoud] Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us,” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, posted on social media, explaining the refusal of the invite to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Accordingly, Trump’s diplomatic gambit is unlikely to go anywhere soon.

Putin Warns Trump On Tomahawks; Agrees Last Ditch Budapest Summit; Orban Happy; Zelensky EU Furious

Washington and Berlin push NATO to the brink of war with Russia

The planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday threatens to push the world to the brink of nuclear war. According to reports, the United States is preparing to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles—long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets up to 2,500 kilometers away, including Moscow and other major Russian cities.

Trump confirmed that Zelensky would visit him at the end of the week. “He wants weapons. He would like to have Tomahawks,” the US president said, adding that he was “disappointed” in Russian President Vladimir Putin and would “not rule out” sending such missiles. The delivery of these systems would mark a qualitative escalation in the conflict: Tomahawks require direct US technical and operational involvement, meaning American personnel would effectively be operating within Ukraine. The line between “indirect support” and direct warfare would be erased. What is being prepared is nothing less than a full-scale NATO air war against Russia.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated that at least 1,655 Russian military facilities, including 67 air bases, lie within range of existing Tomahawk variants with a 1,600-kilometer reach. A 2,500-kilometer model could strike nearly 2,000 Russian military targets, including 76 air bases. “Ukraine could significantly degrade Russia’s combat power at the front by targeting its logistical nodes with Tomahawks,” said ISW analyst George Barros.

Moscow has warned that any Ukrainian attack on Russian territory using such missiles would provoke immediate retaliation against military targets in NATO countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that such a delivery would be an act of “direct participation in the conflict” and a “grave threat to Russian security.” Tomahawks can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, he stressed, and their deployment in Ukraine would bring the world to the threshold of a nuclear confrontation.

The escalation coincides with NATO’s ongoing nuclear war exercise “Steadfast Noon,” currently taking place over Northern Europe. The annual maneuver involves around 2,000 soldiers and more than 70 aircraft, including German Tornado fighter jets capable of carrying US nuclear bombs stationed in Europe. According to NATO headquarters in Mons, Belgium, the drills simulate the dropping of nuclear weapons on Russian targets. ... These “exercises” underscore that the NATO powers are not preparing for defense but for nuclear war. On Wednesday, just two days before the Trump–Zelensky summit, NATO defense ministers met in Brussels to coordinate the next phase of the war. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made clear that Washington expects its allies to massively increase arms spending and weapons purchases, chiefly from the United States. “Our expectation today is that more countries contribute more money, that they buy more to support Ukraine,” Hegseth declared, cynically insisting this was necessary to bring the war to a “peaceful end.” In the Orwellian doublespeak of the 21st century, “peace” is to be achieved through total war.

India casts doubt on Trump’s claims that it has agreed to stop buying Russian oil

India has cast doubt on claims by Donald Trump that its prime minister, Narendra Modi, had agreed to stop buying Russian oil. On Wednesday, Trump claimed that Modi had assured him “today” that India would put an end to its purchase of Russian oil. “I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he [Modi] has assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. You know, you can’t do it immediately. It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,” Trump told reporters, before claiming he would soon convince China of the same thing.

However, in a press briefing on Thursday Indian officials appeared to undermine the US president’s account, stating that there was “no telephonic conversation between PM Modi and US President Trump yesterday”.

India, which maintains a strong relationship with the Kremlin, has become one of the biggest purchasers of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine. It has been a significant source of contention with Washington in recent months since Trump failed to secure a peace deal with Russia. In August, the US president imposed some of his highest tariffs on India to penalise its purchase of Russian oil as he accused Delhi of helping to finance Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. India is subject to additional 25% import tariffs, on top of a base of 25%.

India has publicly stood firm, claiming it would not let the US dictate its energy needs or interfere in its relationship with Russia, which dates back to the cold war. Russia remains the largest supplier of arms to India.

Amb. Chas Freeman: How the U.S. Is Spiraling Toward Disaster

Survivors reported after latest US attack on alleged drug boat in Caribbean

The US military carried out a new strike on Thursday against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, and in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew, a US official told Reuters.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer additional details about the incident, which has not been previously reported. But it raises new questions, including whether the US military rendered aid to the survivors and whether they are now in US military custody.

The Pentagon, which has labeled those it has targeted in the strikes as “narcoterrorists”, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prior to Thursday’s operation, US military strikes against suspected drug boats off Venezuela killed at least 27 people, raising alarms among some legal experts and Democratic lawmakers, who question whether they adhere to the laws of war.

US admiral to retire amid military strikes in Caribbean and tensions with Venezuela

Amid escalating tensions with Venezuela and US military strikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean, the US admiral who commands military forces in Latin America will step down at the end of this year, the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced on social media. Adm Alvin Holsey’s abrupt departure comes less than a year after he took over as head of the US military’s southern command, which oversees operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The posting typically lasts three years.

A source told Reuters that there had been tension between the four-star commander and Hegseth as well as questions about whether he would be fired in the days leading up to the announcement. The New York Times reports that an unnamed US official said that Holsey “had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats”.

In a statement shared on social media, Hegseth did not disclose the reason for Holsey’s plan “to retire at year’s end”.

“On behalf of the Department of War,” Hegseth said, referring to his rebrand of the department’s name, “we extend our deepest gratitude to Admiral Alvin Holsey for his more than 37 years of distinguished service to our nation as he plans to retire at year’s end.”

Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton indicted on charges of mishandling classified information

The justice department filed federal charges against John Bolton, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump who turned into one of his biggest critics, accusing him of transmitting and retaining highly classified information under the Espionage Act. The 18-count indictment was handed up by a grand jury in federal district court in Maryland on Thursday. Bolton has been charged with sending diary entries to two unnamed individuals about his day-to-day activities when he was national security adviser, many of which contained highly classified information.

The indictment marked the third time in recent weeks the justice department has secured criminal charges against one of Trump’s critics. In response to a question about the charges, Trump told reporters on Thursday that he was not aware of them but that Bolton was a “bad guy”. While Bolton parted on sour terms from the White House, the criminal investigation gained momentum during the Biden administration over disclosures that troubled the US intelligence community. ...

“BOLTON took detailed notes documenting his day-to-day meetings, activities, and briefings. Frequently, BOLTON handwrote these notes on yellow notepads throughout his day at the White House complex or in other secure locations, and then later re-wrote his notes in a word processing document,” the indictment said.

“The notes that BOLTON sent to Individuals 1 and 2 using his non-governmental personal email accounts and messaging account described in detail BOLTON’s daily activities as the National Security Advisor. Often, BOLTON’s notes described the secure setting or environment in which he learned the national defense and classified information that he was memorializing in his notes.”

US Senate vote to end government shutdown fails for 10th time

The US Senate failed on Thursday to re-open the government and to vote to fund the military during the federal government shutdown, ensuring that the standoff will stretch into next week.

The Senate vote on a short-term Republican funding bill failed for the 10th time with just 51 votes. A second vote on Pentagon funding in the afternoon similarly failed in a floor vote, meaning the process to begin fully funding military operations also becomes a non-starter. After the votes, senators are expected to leave Washington for the weekend, almost guaranteeing the shutdown lasts until at least Monday.

Thursday’s vote on defense spending exposed how deep the divisions go in the Senate, with only three Democratic senators – Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada – breaking ranks to support the measure. The $852bn bill had sailed through subcommittee in July, led by appropriations committee leaders Chris Coons, a Delaware senator, and Mitch McConnell, a senator from Kentucky, with broad Democratic backing. But the politics on it have fallen apart since then.

“I won’t vote just for the defense appropriations bill, even though that’s my bill,” Coons, the top Democrat on the appropriations panel overseeing military spending, told reporters.

The Senate majority leader, John Thune, made his clearest offer yet to Democrats on Thursday morning, telling MSNBC he would guarantee them a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies – the most crucial ask from the Democratic side – by a fixed date if they agree to reopen the government. On Wednesday evening, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pre-emptively rejected that kind of promise during a 90-minute CNN town hall, insisting they need actual legislation signed into law before they will budge.

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Observers Surprised After Dem Moderate Rejects AIPAC Cash

A centrist Democratic lawmaker on Thursday surprised many political observers when he announced he would be returning donations he'd received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who is running a primary challenge against Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), said that he was rejecting donations from AIPAC because it had aligned itself too closely with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last year was accused of committing crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

"I'm a friend of Israel, but not of its current government, and AIPAC's mission is to back that government," Moulton said in a social media post. "I don't support that direction."

As flagged by New York Times reporter Annie Karni, Moulton is now the fourth Democratic lawmaker who once received heavy support from AIPAC to reject their donations, following Reps. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Deborah Ross (D-NC), and Valerie Foushee (D-NC).

Hamid Bendaas, communications director for the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, observed in a post on X that Moulton appeared to be ignoring advice given by a prominent Democratic consultant over the summer to not focus on the Israel-Palestine conflict because polls showed it wasn't important to voters.

Dylan Williams, the vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, argued that Moulton's rejection of AIPAC cash showed how far the organization's reputation with the electorate has fallen over the past several years.

"AIPAC is now so toxic to Democratic voters that support from it is widely seen as a political liability," he wrote. "The NRA-ization of AIPAC is nearly complete."

Ishaan Tharoor, a Washington Post global affairs columnist, also reflected on how much AIPAC's brand has been damaged over the last two years of war in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 68,000 Palestinians.

"There was a time when people would refer to AIPAC as the gold standard in lobbying," he wrote. "So many in India and the Indian diaspora have talked about a future 'Indian AIPAC' one day influencing US politics in similar fashion. But AIPAC's brand is increasingly, perhaps irredeemably toxic."

Upcoming “No Kings” Rally Is A LIE For The Establishment!

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Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) pump out nearly five times more planet-heating pollution than official figures show, a report has found. The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by European carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive – unlike fully electric cars – while still reducing emissions.

Data shows PHEVs emit just 19% less CO2 than petrol and diesel cars, an analysis by the non-profit advocacy group Transport and Environment found on Thursday. Under laboratory tests, they were assumed to be 75% less polluting. The researchers analysed data from the onboard fuel consumption meters of 800,000 cars registered in Europe between 2021 and 2023. They found real-world carbon dioxide emissions from PHEVs in 2023 were 4.9 times greater than those from standardised laboratory tests, having risen from being 3.5 times greater in 2021.

“Real-world emissions are going up, while official emissions are going down,” said Sofía Navas Gohlke, a researcher at Transport and Environment and the co-author of the report. “This is the gap that is getting worse and it is a real problem. As a result, PHEVs pollute almost as much as petrol cars.” The researchers attributed most of the gap to overestimates of the “utility factor” – the ratio of miles travelled in electric mode to the total miles travelled – finding that 27% of driving was done in electric mode even though official estimates assumed 84%. ...

Even when the cars were driven in electric mode, the analysis found that levels of pollution were well above official estimates. The researchers said this was because electric motors were not strong enough to operate alone, with their engines burning fossil fuels for almost one-third of the distance travelled in electric mode.

Indigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing state intimidation

Indigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing a wave of state intimidation ahead of a national referendum next month on whether to rewrite the world’s only constitution that recognises the rights of nature. The pressure is being applied by the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, who has begun his second term with a Trumpian agenda of consolidating power and sweeping away legal and social barriers to extractivist businesses, such as mining.

The 37-year-old heir to the powerful Noboa family business group says the existing constitution is an obstacle to his national security and economic development agenda, which includes the construction of a US military base and new housing and hotel complexes on the Galápagos Islands, a Unesco world heritage site and biosphere reserve.

The referendum on 16 November will decide whether to establish a constituent assembly to reform or replace the constitution, a process that would enable the president to put pressure on the main organisation that is resisting his push for more power: the constitutional court. It will also address several other far-reaching changes proposed by Noboa, including a reduction of seats in the legislative assembly, party funding and foreign military bases.

The referendum will be the most controversial move yet by the president, who has already prompted alarm with several pieces of legislation that critics say undermine environmental safeguards and democratic checks and balances. A protected areas law, for example, purportedly enhances environmental sustainability and the management of conservation areas, but Indigenous groups say it is a ruse to bypass their right to free, prior and informed consent, while potentially opening up protected land to privatisation and extractive industries.

Social unrest has mounted steadily in Ecuador. The country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Rising prices of food and diesel have added to the tensions, prompting an ongoing national strike. Last month, an Indigenous land defender, Efraín Fueres, was shot and killed by the army during a protest against the high cost of living, a lack of medicine in hospitals, the deterioration of schools and growing social insecurity. Demonstrators are also angry that at least 61 civil society leaders and organisations have had their bank accounts frozen, pending an “unjustified private enrichment” investigation by the public prosecutors office. The Guardian has seen a list of those facing persecution. More than half were Indigenous activists, several of them campaigning against mines. Another quarter were environmental defenders. The rest were academics, journalists, women’s rights activists and local politicians.

Nearly two dozen states sue to stop Trump ending $7bn solar grant program

Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7bn grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers. In a statement on Thursday, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced two lawsuits by a group of states that received grants under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program. The EPA’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced the termination of the program in August. The agency said in an email that it would not comment on pending litigation.

Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, said the cancellation of the program would affect 900,000 low-income households nationwide. Some 11,000 low-income households in Arizona will see a 20% spike in energy bills after the state lost $156m for Solar for All.

The lawsuit is among dozens the country’s 23 Democratic attorneys general have filed against the Trump administration on issues ranging from suspension of federal grants to immigration and deployment of national guard troops to cities. “Without this program, for many Arizonans, clean energy will be out of reach,” Mayes said in an online call.

The first complaint seeks monetary damages and was filed on Wednesday in the court of federal claims. A second suit will seek reinstatement of the program and is expected to be filed later on Thursday in federal court in Washington state, Bonta’s statement said.

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Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Israel’s exploding robots still terrorise Gaza neighbourhoods

Israel: A Huge Airbase With a Small Country Attached

US depleted its missiles in Ukraine, Israel. Now it wants more fast.

Trump’s War Against ‘Left-leaning’ Groups Extends Further

'A Man-Made Crisis Caused by Trump': US Soy Farmers Reeling Amid MAGA Trade War

There’s A Reason I Say “Climate Change and Environmental Collapse”

Young Republicans BUSTED in RACIST Group Chat Leak

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A Little Night Music

Michael Bloomfield – Big Chief From New Orleans

Michael Bloomfield – If You See My Baby

Michael Bloomfield – You Was Wrong

Mike Bloomfield – Buried Alive In The Blues

Michael Bloomfield – Let The People Dance

Michael Bloomfield – Kid Man Blues

Nick Gravenites & Mike Bloomfield – Lonesome Star Blues

Bloomfield / Hammond / Dr. John – Ground Hog Blues

Michael Bloomfield - One Way Out

Michael Bloomfield - Little Wing

Mike Bloomfield – Farther Up The Road

Mike Bloomfield – (1975) Bottom Line NYC FM

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