ASSHOLES, BASTARDS & CRIMINALS

GLENN GREENWALD—The transcript paints a sobering picture of the current state of the MAGA movement under Donald Trump’s leadership. Once a banner for nationalist populism and anti-interventionism, MAGA has transformed into a vehicle for neoconservative war hawks and a cult of personality where loyalty to Trump’s shifting views is paramount.

JD—Jimmy Dore speaks with Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi in Tehran, who provides an on-the-ground perspective on the U.S.-Iran war, confirming that all U.S. military bases in the region have been attacked and that Iran, with satellite intelligence from Russia and China, is faring unexpectedly well. Marandi profiles the late Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei as a multilingual intellectual and military strategist who anticipated this conflict and built underground bases that U.S. bombs cannot destroy. Jimmy and Marandi condemn Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s rhetoric about “punching them while they’re down” and “playing for keeps” as genocidal thuggery, contrasting it with the massive street protests in Iran where people are rallying under air strikes to defend their country.

DL—On February 14, during the Munich Security Conference, the governments of the U.K., Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands issued a joint statement about the death of Alexei Navalny. According to their statement, lab tests had confirmed that Navalny – a Russian nationalist who despised Vladimir Putin – had been poisoned with a deadly toxin extracted from dart frogs. On Reason2Resist’s latest livestream, Dimitri Lascaris and Rami Yahia critique the ludicrous ‘evidence’ underlying their accusation.

DD—The video presents a critical and satirical review of prominent media personalities, political figures, and influencers labeled as “hacks” of the year. It opens with a focus on Megyn Kelly, who is portrayed as a divisive figure using inflammatory rhetoric, particularly regarding controversial topics like the war on Christmas and racially charged debates such as the depiction of Jesus and Santa Claus. The DD Team highlights Kelly’s extreme commentary on a military incident involving fishermen, exposing her lack of empathy and provocative stance.

The discussion then shifts to other media figures like Douglas Murray, who is criticized for speaking authoritatively about places he has never visited, and Matt Taibbi, [obviously a sell-out], who is accused of abandoning critical issues like Israel-Palestine in favor of superficial cultural commentary. Barry Weiss is singled out as a twice-nominated hack for promoting biased narratives and setting questionable editorial standards at CBS, including pulling stories under dubious pretexts.

Joe Rogan is mentioned as a podcaster who avoids hard-hitting questions, especially when interviewing influential figures connected to oligarchic interests, thus enabling elite agendas.

SCOTT RITTER—Since Gilbert couldn’t convict me of FARA-related crimes, today he attacks my sources and methods when it comes to making assessments about Russia and the SMO. Doctorow has singled out my relationship with Lieutenant General Apti Aluudinov. In short, Doctorow has “reasonable doubts about the value of using such back channels as Alaudinov.”

As Doctorow points out, “Back in the days of the battle for Bakhmut, we saw a lot of Alaudinov on the Sixty Minutes news and talk show. Each day, presenter Olga Skabeyeva warmly welcomed him on air, and he handled himself very well, speaking optimistically of Russia’s progress but giving no specifics that could be of use to the enemy. In short, his lips were sealed.”

The problem, it seems, isn’t with General Alaudinov, it seems, but the fact that I use him as a source.