Useful Idiots
Politics • Comedy
Norman Finkelstein: UN ceasefire resolution shows that Biden is scared
On the long battle ahead and why it's not time to despair
March 29, 2024
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Israel is confronting a legitimation crisis, political scientist and prolific author Norman Finkelstein observes, as international pressure on Israel grows from both global protesters and the UN.

He flashes back to before the current war for context: “Another war was inevitable, senior Israeli officials observed in 2016. We cannot conduct a constant war of attrition. Therefore, the next conflict has to be the last conflict.”

This conflict will be the last one. They’re not going to mow the lawn again, Norm explains. They’re going to extirpate every blade of grass from Gaza.

“It’s not about Hamas,” he says, shedding light on Israel’s real plan to solve the Gaza question. “It’s about the refusal on the part of the people of Gaza to accept the fate that has been meted out to them by the state of Israel to languish and die in a concentration camp.”

That’s the dark part, but Norm also gives his reason why we can’t give up.

“During the Iraq War, many young people concluded in despair that here are the largest anti-war demonstrations in world history and nonetheless the Cheney-Rumsfeld administration goes ahead with the war in Iraq. That to me is a naive understanding of how formidable and concentrated the power we’re up against is. It’s a very long battle.”

But though it’s hard to see, the protests are working: “The pressures on Biden gradually accumulate and accumulate until they reach the proverbial critical mass and have a real political impact.

“You’re not going to see it. You’re not going to see the connection between your demonstration in your town square and the abstention in the UN Security Council, but it’s there. And so we should always remember not to despair.”

Subscribe for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein where we discuss Bernie Sanders’ recent comments on Israel and Golda Meir, the history of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, and what comes next in this genocide.

Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: MSNBC's Hypocritical Meltdown Over Ronna McDaniel’s Hire

Watch the full interview here:

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Sanctions Are a Form of Warfare

“Sanctions are a form of war. They’re economic warfare. And they destroy people’s lives.”

Joshua Landis (https://twitter.com/joshua_landis), Sandra Mackey Chair in Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, is one of the foremost experts on Syria. This week, as Syria, along with neighbor Turkiye, grapples with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Professor Landis joins the Useful Idiots to explain the deadly consequences that sanctions pile on to the damage.

“America likes to talk about all its precision bombing and hitting someone with a drone to avoid collateral damage,” Landis explains. “But sanctions? It’s all about collateral damage. Very little of it is targeted.”

But if you read corporate media outlets like the New York Times or Washington Post, you’d find a much different story. Both papers this week published headlines that were hastily changed when they realized they were being a little too truthful. See if you can tell the difference:

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00:01:17
"Shameful" New York Times Changes Headline to Protect Sanctions

“Sanctions are a form of war. They’re economic warfare. And they destroy people’s lives.”

Joshua Landis (https://twitter.com/joshua_landis), Sandra Mackey Chair in Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, is one of the foremost experts on Syria. This week, as Syria, along with neighbor Turkiye, grapples with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Professor Landis joins the Useful Idiots to explain the deadly consequences that sanctions pile on to the damage.

“America likes to talk about all its precision bombing and hitting someone with a drone to avoid collateral damage,” Landis explains. “But sanctions? It’s all about collateral damage. Very little of it is targeted.”

But if you read corporate media outlets like the New York Times or Washington Post, you’d find a much different story. Both papers this week published headlines that were hastily changed when they realized they were being a little too truthful. See if you can tell the difference:

The ...

00:01:24
Free preview: Matt Taibbi Exposes Russiagate Bots

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but a wild, liberated waltz

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the universe unfolds like a secret map,

revealing uncharted realms in every fracture,

while 88 becomes the score for a cosmic ballet,

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Good to be part of the community. I think that Aaron and Katie do a brilliant job in these hellish times when such great in - depth research and reporting are essential.

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It Doesn’t Go Well When JD Vance Tries to Define Socialism
Plus, Laura Ingraham asks Scott Bessent how young, poor losers can feel better about capitalism

How do you define socialism personally?

A reporter asked this seemingly simple question to JD Vance, who has been busy racing around the country in a 32-day campaign blitz in an attempt to turn the Republicans’ failing poll numbers around. With prices rising, housing becoming unaffordable, and an oil shortage stemming from the administration’s disastrous war on Iran, Vance had an important choice to make:

Do I say what socialism actually is, with the risk that its principles of helping workers afford basic goods may sound enticing to voters? Or do I hit ‘em with an epic culture-war slam that has nothing to do with the question?

You can now guess which one he picked:

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“I think in reality what it actually means in the American context is you want to replace American workers with foreigners workers, and you want boys to play in girls’ sports!”

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In completely unrelated news, Pete Hegseth unveils a powerful new military role: the Office of Religious Affairs
MAGA Congressman Warns that Belligerent, Religious Army is Planning to Destroy the Middle East

There’s a belligerent, religious-fanatic army run by a madman that’s planning to destroy the Middle East!

This warning comes from the very serious Congressman from Georgia, Rich McCormick, who, after blaming high gas prices on Obama, ripped into the religious army spreading across the Middle East.

In other, unrelated news, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the unveiling of a new military sect: the Office of Religious Affairs. The chaplains at ORA will reportedly have a line directly to the secretary himself, who in turn has a direct line to God, making it one of the most powerful offices in the land.

After all, Hegseth says in his speech, “as Psalm 33:12 extolls us, blessed is the nation in which God is the Lord."

Watch out for the religious army in Iran though…

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It’s all this, and more insanity, on this week’s Friday Free-for-All. Thanks for supporting our work, catch the full episode here:

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Beware Iran! The Colony of Reptile Quarterback Hookers!
Plus, mocking two celebrity Zionists who expose themselves for knowing NOTHING about the genocide in Gaza

We’ve got an extended Friday Free-for-All this week, jam-packed with ignorant Zionist professors, racist senators tripping over mixed metaphors, Hollywood agents unraveling over Macklemore, psychopath economists drooling over “choking” Iranian civilians, and even the Hasan Piker craze reaching all the way up to Netanyahu himself.

And Katie and Aaron don’t pull punches.

Just look at NYU Professor Scott Galloway, also known as the “Pervy Prof.” While interviewing Abdul El-Sayed (a chat that was really more of a monologue by the Pervy Prof), Galloway unleashed a lecturing tirade over why his religion gives him special power to judge whether Israel is committing genocide or not. The problem is, he admits he doesn’t actually know the definition of genocide.

But it gets worse:

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