At the end of last month the US Supreme Court endorsed – and effectively advanced – the Trump/MAGA sadist agenda by ruling against those working to stop ICE’s (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) abduction, kidnapping and torturing of mostly non-whites before (often illegally) expelling them to countries other than their homelands without giving them the chance to appeal or adduce the deportations as human rights violations. These include, for instance, being flown into war zones or areas where LGBTQ+ people are targets. Given that ICE (also implicated in voter suppression efforts) was recently ordered to increase the number of arrests it has to make each day back up to the previous ‘target’ of 3,000, such abuses seem certain to increase. Bo French is a candidate to lead the Texas Railroad Commission, the body that regulates that state’s oil and gas industries. But he has other interests. He enjoys posting images of non-whites at a sports event and describing them as being “…far worse than any of us could imagine…” and calling for the public execution of his opponents. After asking on social media last year whether Jews or Muslims posed the greater threat, French won the nomination in May. This is, of course, well in line with the ways in which the US government also frequently acts towards LGBTQ+ opponents. The US State Department (the equivalent of the UK’S Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) appears to be illegally diverting a significant amount of money (the equivalent of roughly £152m) officially apportioned by Congress for human rights. It’s going to far right, Fascist and racist/supremacist groups and organisations in order to ‘safeguard western civilisation norms’. This is largely consistent with a view expressed belligerently and unequivocally by the US Vice President Vance recently when, referring to a black candidate for the US Senate in Florida, he said that because of her views and race she should “Get the hell out of here”. The same treatment is meted out to those drawing attention to and actively opposing the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, such as lawyers like Florida-based Jalal Shehadeh.  They have either been detained or had their phones and other belongings seized without cause. High profile critics of Trump continue to be subjected to deliberately intimidating searches of their homes – without cause. After all, if Trump can order an investigation by the FBI into posts on TikTok because he doesn’t like them, and can defy a court ruling that he must reverse his exclusion on media of which he disapproves, he can pretty much do anything – including apparently turning a blind eye to, even encouraging, an attack on Los Angeles and San Diego, which would take 10 million lives. In fact, Trump’s supremacist incitements to violence against non-whites reached a new low last week when he posted just about as clear a threat as possible that he will use government terrorists to kill and injure guest-workers in (in this case) Minnesota if he wants to. As long as supremacist rants of this kind on fascist propaganda outlets like Fox are broadcast, accepted and consumed by the estimated third of the adult population in the US, which is still taken in by MAGA, it’s of little surprise that not more people have yet caught up with what’s really happening; and why. Little that the Trump/MAGA cult has done in their second term more starkly highlights corruption and arrogance than their illegal campaign advertisements for next month’s midterm elections. They have been estimated to cost a total of $20 million dollars (about £15 million). So each resident in the US is having to pay to be lied to. It is illegal to use government funds for (party) political campaigning. Indeed, what is happening may even count as theft. But the Supreme Court has already ruled [pdf] that everything which a sitting president does in furtherance of their official activities automatically indemnifies them from criminal prosecution. The Trump/MAGA censorship wave continues with – according to a new report issued last week by PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists) America – a total of almost 12,000 books being banned in the school year, 2025-2026. Texas and Florida, unsurprisingly, account for by far the greatest numbers, 68% and 27% respectively. Many of those titles which the cult deems unfit to be read are young adult fiction by non-white authors. The same demographic, however, is trusted with weapons. ENVIRONMENT Minimally satisfactory though it was, the last administration did make a show of promoting electric vehicles, and a move away from transport using fossil fuels. Trump and members of his cult can’t or won’t understand the wisdom of taking (such) steps to address climate collapse. So at the end of last month they announced a significant reduction in the requirements to which car makers must adhere on the control of emissions from cars and smaller lorries produced between 2022 and 2031. Vehicles are the largest source (nearly 30%) of greenhouse gas generation in the US. In the middle of last month it was widely reported that Trump’s Environmental ‘Protection’ Agency (EPA) was planning to repeal limits to carbon pollution for coal- and gas-powered power plants. This is well in line with MAGA’s environment lying. With few objections from lawmakers, they soon did just that! Although there will be legal challenges, the time those may take and the favour with which the ultimate legal authority, the US Supreme Court, looks upon MAGA suggest that this, but the latest move for the cult in characterising climate collapse as a ‘hoax’, may well be successful. As El Niño promises to be fiercer than for many years, the emissions from fossil fuels are likely to accelerate the disaster. The cult inflicted double damage last week when its border patrol agents attacked and arrested protesters to remove a 200-year-old cottonwood tree in southern Arizona. They both destroyed ancient plant life, inflicting irreparable harm on the environment; and desecrated the ‘grandmother tree’ sacred to local populations. This was to further the building of Trump’s border wall to keep non-whites out of the US. HEALTH Of major concern are also the assertions by prominent Trump/MAGA cult members such as this one by quack secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr, that we should prefer the diagnostic conclusions of AI to those made by qualified doctors. Kennedy has also announced an ‘inquiry’ into ‘injuries caused’ by vaccines. Cult members at every level have also so far failed to make it clear why Trump’s own AI chatbot should be believed when it returns several assertions such as that Trump did not lose the 2020 election. One wonders how long it’ll be before he abandons it and takes it down. The post Paying to be lied to appeared first on Freedom Press.

Crushed by price hikes, humiliations, social rollbacks of every kind, and authoritarianism in every sphere, the French people seemed to be ending this decade of Macronism drained and listless. Like a boxer knocked out cold, staring blankly ahead, waiting for the final blow. Then came this uprising, sparked in high schools in the Paris suburbs; it spread like wildfire, turning the end of the presidential term into a nightmare for the powers that be—and a dream for all those who are still somewhat alive and yearning for a better future. Tuesday, 6 October, was a test: following the spontaneous high school blockades, would the crowds turn out? Would the high school movement link up with other sectors? The answer is a resounding yes. The streets were filled with people young and old—students, wage-earners, parents, and teaching staff—all there to show that high school students do not stand alone against state violence and to back their cry of revolt. According to the CGT, at least 450,000 people took to the streets: 100,000 in Paris, 30,000 in Toulouse, 25,000 in Lyon and Lille, 20,000 in Nantes, 15,000 in Strasbourg, 8,000 in Brest… and in dozens of other towns and villages. State terror was intended to force the youth back into line. It failed. Even more impressive, according to the high school student union, over 1,800 schools were blockaded on October 6—representing nearly two out of every three public high schools. Similarly, 90% of universities were closed; excluding overseas territories and Corsica, 100% of universities in mainland France came to a standstill. This is unprecedented in the last 20 years. The movement taps into something very deep within an entire generation. A remarkable fact: this movement did not erupt “against a reform” or in “reaction” to a specific event. It has its own agenda, and that is precisely why it has the potential to go far. It is an offensive movement aiming for victory. Paris (Global Project) Finally, the marches were generally very calm, with the exception of a few cities. This calm is surprising given the extreme brutality unleashed in recent days—violence that could easily have sparked widespread upheaval. For three days, the government and the media had been predicting chaos for today. In the end, it was a massive yet disciplined wave of protest. Yet now, the government can boast that it has quelled the dissent and that the movement is running out of steam. Ultimately, whether things explode or not, those in power will always have a narrative that suits them: when anger burns hot, it is criminalised; when it is peaceful, it is dismissed as defeated. Our methods of action must therefore be based on effectiveness rather than on our enemies’ opinions of the struggle. High school and university student organisations are calling for another day of mobilisation on Thursday, October 8, to ramp up the pressure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Machine translation The post France: A tidal wave of youth appeared first on Freedom Press.

France is bracing for another massive wave of demonstrations by striking students and teachers. The mobilisation follows a week of escalating tension, spontaneous school blockades, and a record-breaking government crackdown What began as a series of protests in the Parisian suburbs quickly evolved into a nationwide youth uprising. From major metropolises to rural towns in Brittany, hundreds of high schools have been blockaded. In an attempt to break the momentum of the physical blockades, the government administratively closed nearly 500 schools and mandated “distance learning.” However, the move backfired as students organised “e-blocus.” Using TikTok and Snapchat, they have coordinated the sabotage of virtual classrooms, flooding video calls with noise and fake profiles to disrupt instruction. France’s public school infrastructure is severely degraded, with 18% of premises containing mould and 5,000 schools containing asbestos. Staffing is also in crisis, with 4,000 teacher positions cut this term and a reported 50% burnout rate among educators. Meanwhile, the state provides approximately 12 billion euros in annual subsidies to private schools—covering roughly 65.7% of their budget—while several top political leaders are noted to have attended private institutions. These protests coincide with a proposed government budget that would freeze family and housing benefits (APL) to offset tax cuts for large corporations. Additionally, students are protesting the Parcoursup selection system and rigid school schedules, which they say prioritise discipline over learning. Approximately 5,000 people have been detained, most of them minors, surpassing arrest records from the height of the “Gilets Jaunes” protests and the 2023 riots. In Argenteuil, a student was reportedly blinded by a rubber-coated bullet, while in the Val d’Oise, a 15-year-old suffered a double jaw fracture after being hit by a grenade. Further allegations include a “car-ramming” incident in Troyes, where a police vehicle allegedly drove into a group of students while deploying tear gas. Reports indicate that parents and educational staff, have also been targeted. Yesterday (5 October), CRS riot police entered the Sorbonne Nouvelle university in Paris during a General Assembly attended by over 500 students. Officers reportedly kettled students for several hours and forcibly entered buildings, with reports of assaults on those inside. While the government suggests the movement is a manoeuvre organised by the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), recent polling suggests the anger is far more widespread. Data from Ipsos indicates that 62% of the French population views the student mobilisation as justified, while President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating has plummeted to between 16% and 18%, marking one of the lowest points of his presidency. The Minister of National Education has attempted to open dialogues with unions and parent associations, but these gestures have been dismissed by protesters as “smoke and mirrors.” Today’s scheduled protests are expected to centre on major hubs, including Place de la République in Paris, Place Bellecour in Lyon, and the Miroir d’Eau in Nantes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Machine summary from contre-attaque.net [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13] by gemma4:31b-cloud on Ollama The post French students disrupt mandatory distance learning appeared first on Freedom Press.