Global

BANGKOK, Thailand -- When you come to Bangkok, a visit to the capital's sprawling, inexpensive, amulet market will take you on a trip into another dimension.

Here in the market's crowded riverside amulet market, a two-headed baby "zombie" is the most terrifying thing you can buy, but if you promise to feed it every day, the undead spirit could become your loyal slave and protect you against misfortune.

   "In Thailand, the lowest level of believers buy these zombies and other amulets like this," said a saffron-robed Buddhist monk, warily examining the grotesque doll-like totem.

"The next highest level of believers buy amulets which have the faces of Buddhist monks. 

"The highest level of believers are people like me, who believe only in Buddha," the monk said.

   Most Thais are Buddhists, but they also mix a bewildering slew of other beliefs -- including Hindu, animist, and superstitious -- into their spiritual outlook.

   Buddha was not into amulets, and advised followers to ignore such illusions.

The events in Tell, southwest of Nablus, were not an isolated act of violence. They were a warning.

For years, Israel has treated Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank as open spaces for military raids, settler invasions, land theft and collective punishment. The expectation was that Palestinians would endure the violence, bury their dead and return to the same unbearable routine.

In Tell, however, that carefully maintained equation was briefly disrupted.

The confrontation began when armed Israeli settlers entered the area near the village, attempting to attack Palestinian homes. Villagers confronted them. Israeli soldiers and armed settlement personnel then intervened, transforming the settler attack into a broader military assault.

The introduction of the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act marks a significant potential shift in how ordinary citizens can check governmental overreach. By empowering citizens and state attorneys general to sue federal officials—up to the President—to claw back funds obtained through corruption, this federal proposal opens a compelling dialogue about structural accountability. ​

When examining how initiatives like "Protecting Ohioans' Constitutional Rights" align with this federal framework, we see a shared underlying philosophy: the belief that immunity doctrines and bureaucratic red tape should never place public officials above the law. ​At its core, the movement to protect constitutional rights—whether on a state level regarding qualified immunity or on a federal level regarding executive corruption—asserts that rights are meaningless without a direct mechanism for enforcement and remedy. 

I felt both saddened and angered after reading the Associated Press story on August 5 reporting that "Trump's immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 military spouses and parents."

When the parents or spouses of military service members are taken into ICE custody, nobody may be available to care for their children or their property if those service members are deployed overseas to a war zone. Why should there be no exception for such extenuating circumstances?

Whether the spouse or parent of a military service member was once undocumented is, in my view, beside the point. Consider a simple analogy: if my car insurance or registration lapsed, I would be driving illegally until I renewed them. Once I obtained valid insurance and registration, I would be legal again, and my previous lapse would not continue to define my status.

We start GREEP #276 in Ukraine with the Green Party’s HOWIE HAWKINS and an opposing view from VINNIE DISTEFANO, both of whom ask “When will this awful war end?”

For the fabulous new film SELMA SISTERS we hear from CHARLES THOMAS, JR., and LISA LIDDLE about the nitty-gritty of the legendary Selma March.

We further speak with DENISE JARIGAN-HOLT & PLEZE MOORE about risking their lives as young people in this monumental civil action.

From ANDREA MILLER we hear about new tools including “Make it Fast” and “See Something Say Something” aiming to stop election theft this fall.

Long-time participants STEVE CARUSO, MYLA RESON and JOHN STEINER add critical links & feedback to the dialogue.

For our on-going HOMEBREW2 discussion on AI we’re joined by founding GodFathers LEE FELSENSTEIN and TATANKA BRICCA, whose historic perspective is completely priceless.

From media maven DAVID SALTMAN we get a haunting question about librarians.

For over a year, we’ve tracked a global hybrid warfare operation combining cyberattacks, financial manipulation, satellite technology, political influence, and foreign election interference into a single interconnected system.

Then last week, six House Democrats crossed party lines to approve the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The $1.15 trillion defense policy bill outlines sweeping military funding, includes Section 219 directing the Pentagon to expand and accelerate joint military research, development, and industrial co-production with Israel, and incorporates the SAVE Act.

If it feels like nothing the Democrats are doing makes sense, welcome to the club.

Despite the overwhelming unpopularity of the war with Iran, continued funding for Israel, and the SAVE Act, six Democrats helped ensure that the NDAA passed by a vote of 216–212.

Seven Republicans voted against the legislation, meaning that if Hakeem Jeffries had whipped his caucus, the bill would have failed.

Those Democrats need to answer for their votes.

“Nation” equals identity. I’m an American! Hurray!

It’s almost embarrassing to confess this, but yeah, that’s me (or used to be me), sitting back in my easy chair, waving a flag. My “nationality” is such a profound, lifelong part of who I am I rarely actually questioned it. At best I shrugged, then momentarily glared in anger at . . . the government, the media, whoever. Why do we have a trillion-dollar military budget, or a president who wants to up it to one point five trillion? Why do we always have an enemy or two or three, who isn’t as human as we are and must be defeated, or at least arrested?

At least being an American comes with a fair amount of rights – freedom of speech, freedom to question authority, and so-o-o much more – and usually I embrace those rights with a sense of hope that the future will be saner. But that sense of hope has been ebbing lately. I have come to realize over the years that I am no longer just an American. I’m a citizen of Planet Earth.

Abuse against women is not a partisan problem, it is a men problem. Pretending otherwise is both dishonest and strategically stupid, because the moment you claim your men are safer, you hand the other side a gotcha it will use forever.