TGP—Overall, there is little question that “post-modernism” is an affectation of petit-bourgeois intellectuals wishing to appear as “thought lions” without paying the price of holding truly radical critiques of the the existing imperialist order. Post-modernists, especially in cultures like the French and German, easily exploit the belief that complicated,often “insolent” theories and positions, imply philosophical profundity. Intellectual poseurs, like Bernard-Henri Levy (BHL) have made an industry of this.

DD—The materialist view of free speech analyzes expression not as an abstract, sacred ideal, but as a product of concrete economic, social, and physical conditions. Rooted heavily in Marxist and materialist philosophies, this perspective argues that the practical ability to speak, be heard, and influence society is fundamentally determined by who owns and controls the material resources of a given society.

In The German Ideology, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels famously wrote: “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” From this view, the class that controls material production also controls mental production. Free speech under capitalism naturally tends to validate and protect capitalist property relations.

DW—This video features a discussion between Larry Johnson and Colonel Larry Wilkerson, moderated by Nima R. Alkhorshid, regarding the global diesel shortage and the ongoing geopolitical conflict involving the United States, Iran, and the Middle East as of October 2, 2026.

The panel argues that there is no short-term resolution for the current diesel shortage (1:38-15:09). They contend that the crisis stems from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following attacks on Iran, which depleted global strategic petroleum reserves (1:44-3:16).
Strategic Reserves: The participants criticize the Trump administration’s decision to release additional oil from strategic reserves, labeling it as dangerous and a potential violation of law, noting that reserves have already dropped significantly since the war began.

In addition, Nima chats w. Amb Chas Freeman about the broad geopolitical situation precipitated by Washington criminal actions in Ukraine and West Asia.

CJ—Life isn’t about racking up a bunch of accomplishments or hitting certain milestones, it’s about living. Literally physically being alive, and making sure you fully live it.

When I say “fully live” your life, I don’t mean having a bunch of exciting experiences like going skydiving or running with the bulls, and I don’t mean ticking a bunch of boxes like getting married and having kids. I mean actually being present for it. Having your attention in what’s really going on instead of in a bunch of made-up thought fluff in your head. And that actually gets a lot easier to do once you let go of the notion that you’re doing life wrong and that your story isn’t unfolding correctly.

DW—Regarding the Diesel Crisis Prof. Wolff argues that the current diesel crisis is not primarily driven by the war in Ukraine or the bombing of refineries, as claimed by Donald Trump and his administration. Instead, he contends it is a result of capitalist market dynamics, where American refining companies are prioritizing high-profit exports to Europe and Asia over domestic supply, causing scarcity and price hikes at home. Re the supposed intended sabotage of the RAF Fairford air base, Helmer questions the official narrative, characterizing it as a likely propaganda effort intended to influence public opinion toward conflict with Iran and Russia.

RB—The Taiwanese-American Angelica Oung (Amherst College) is part of the thoroughly Americanized diaspora, who returned to Taiwan in 2020 and has been somewhat changing her world view since. Working at the Taipei Times before founding the newsletter Offshore Wind Unredacted and then becoming a substack contributor with Elemental (on Taiwan nuclear issues) and Taipology (on politics). She was a very vocal supporter of the separatist DPP, but has now become disenchanted with them but still operates from many Western ideological suppositions. This is very obvious in her piece on One Country Two Systems. She attempts to make sense of what happened in Hong Kong and does correctly note that the British never really provided Hong Kong with anything near full democracy, while noting that the Party-state offered the direct election by universal suffrage of the Chief Executive in 2015. But she then makes a very major error in completely ignoring the extensive foreign interference in Hong Kong internal affairs and the deep linkages of what she refers to as the “pan-Democrats” with US and other foreign interests; the same when she refers to the Tiananmen protests.