FALSE LEFT

BAR—Margaret Kimberley was recently a guest on James Fauntleroy’s YouTube program, Jaybefaunt. They discussed the upcoming mayoral election in New York City that pits the Democratic Party nominee, Zohran Mamdani, against a republican and former governor, Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. In these excerpts of their conversation, they discussed why this local election is of national importance.

ROGER BOYD—The dire position of the US government’s finances, together with the need to intensify exploitation and looting at home in the face of increasing opposition and Chinese competition abroad, also support the need to move to the more authoritarian and fascistic approach being taken by Trump. With these ongoing changes in the balance of power within the US oligarchy it can be expected that the culling and disciplining of the courtier class will continue apace. By 2029, even if a Democratic president is elected, the new capitalist class consensus will mean that there will be very little real change in policies from those of the Trump administration.

GARY OLSON—Here we might recall that on September 4, 1970, the Chilean Left held an enormous rally of some 800,000 workers and peasants who marched before President Salvador Allende, who was standing on the balcony of the Moneda Presidential Palace in Santiago. They chanted, “Build People’s Power! Allende, Allende! The People Will Defend You!” And perhaps more importantly, they pleaded, “We Want Guns! We Want Guns!” For clearly debatable reasons, Allende refused to arm the workers and peasants, and on September 11, a military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the socialist government. Allende was too late in finding out that there is no “peaceful road to socialism” when faced with the implacable force of U.S. imperialism that refuses to allow the “threat of a good example.” Maduro learned from the Chilean case and has distributed AK-47s to millions of citizens who are eager to defend the country’s sovereignty.

GLENN GREENWALD–The host introduces Ken Klippenstein, an independent investigative journalist who uncovered and highlighted the memorandum’s disturbing implications. The conversation explores how NSPM7 broadens the scope of what constitutes domestic terrorism by including a wide range of ideological stances—such as anti-Christianity, anti-traditional family values, anti-government sentiment, anti-capitalism, and extremist views on immigration and gender—as indicators of potential threats. This broad and vague definition risks criminalising lawful political expression and dissent, potentially chilling free speech and creating a culture of self-censorship.

MEE—In a fiery and deeply personal return to The Big Picture Podcast, professor Norman Finkelstein explains why Israel and its allies in the West have destroyed the international order, and how the election of a Muslim socialist in New York threatens their grip on power. Finkelstein is a political scientist and one of the world’s foremost scholars on Israel-Palestine, as well as a critic of culture and empire. He is the author of ‘The Holocaust Industry’ and most recently, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It.