Podcast: politics of the NYC synagogue attack

Central SynagogueFollowing the attack on Manhattan's historic Central Synagogue, Jewish establishment voices are calling for stepped up surveillance and policing. But the threat, alas, is real. The assailant spewing the "fake Jews" epithet indicates either that he has been indoctrinated by the Neturei Karta cult, which holds all Jews outside their micro-schism to be apostate, or the "Khazar thesis"—just barely laundered anti-Semitism, inevitably linked to ugly stereotyped images of evil Jews and wacky conspiracy theories. Cynical attempts to blame Mayor Mamdani for the attack are predictable. Alas, some figures on the political left really have traded in denialism about the reality that the attack was, in fact, an anti-Semitic attack. This is linked to a more general denialism on much of the "left" about the very existence of Jewish ethnicity. Efforts to weaponize anti-Semitism to silence pro-Palestinian voices are to be opposed, but do not mean anti-Semitism doesn't exist—or change the reality that any legitimate anti-Zionism must be committed to fighting anti-Semitism in the diaspora. In Episode 342 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg again breaks it down. (Image: Wikipedia)

Russia sentences anti-war politician to prison

YablokoA Russian court sentenced politician Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony on charges of "discrediting" the Russian military and spreading "false information." Amnesty International called the charges "blatant reprisals for exercising his right to freedom of expression to call for peace," and demanded his immediate and unconditional release. Shlosberg, 63, is deputy chair of Yabloko, the only registered Russian party openly opposing the war in Ukraine. On the same day as his sentencing, Russia's Supreme Court rejected Yabloko's appeal of its removal from the upcoming State Duma ballot on dubious charges of campaign finance violations. (Photo: Yabloko via Amnesty International)

Podcast: Resist digital hegemony! V

Rise and ResistEighty-one years after Nagasaki, there is growing awareness of the heightening threat of nuclear war. There must be similar awareness of the existential threat to humanity posed by AI, and the hegemony of digital technology generally. The past week has seen cyber-attacks on critical water infrastructure in the US. The Flock AI-boosted surveillance system is being used for doxxing and stalking. Police use of "brain decoders" portends the very eradication of any notion of privacy whatsoever. And there have been still more instances of AI going rogue. The growing use of AI by cyber-criminals and jihadis is hardly more terrifying than its "legitimate" (sic) use by the techno-fascist establishment. Recent protests against the tech giants (such as that by Rise & Resist outside the Google headquarters in New York) are a good start. But in Episode 340 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case for an abolitionist position on Artificial Intelligence—and practical resistance to digital hegemony in everyday life. (Photo: CounterVortex)

China arrests activist for Dalai Lama photo

Dalai LamaAmnesty International urged Chinese authorities to immediately release a human rights activist who was detained for showing a photograph of the Dalai Lama at a monastery in Tibet, emphasizing that his detention violates fundamental rights to freedom of expression and religion. Zhang Yi, a prominent pro-democracy activist, was arrested for "inciting separatism" under China's new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity & Progress. Critics contend that the legislation serves as a sweeping legal tool to impose forced assimilation and eliminate the distinct cultural identities of minority populations. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Thai rights defenders face online death threats

Angkhana NeelaphaijitHuman Rights Watch called on authorities in Thailand to take urgent measures to address a wave of online death threats and harassment against members of parliament Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Romadon Panjor, as well as human rights activist Anchana Heemmina, after they voiced their disapproval of actions of the Thai military and expressed their support for the Muslim community in the country's Deep South. The online campaign of threats and disinformation comes as the long-simmering insurgency in the Deep South is again escalating. (Photo: Front Line Defenders)

Iran: intensified persecution of Bahá’í

Baha'iUN human rights experts raised alarm over reports of torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention of members of Iran's Bahá'í religious minority amid the ongoing US-Iran war. The UN experts say that approximately 57 Bahá'ís are currently detained or imprisoned in Iran. They report claims of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, physical and psychological abuse, and coerced confessions. Some detainees were reportedly subjected to mock executions to pressure them into making confessions that were subsequently broadcast throughout Iranian state media. The prosecutions have focused on national-security charges, including "propaganda against the state," "acting against national security," and espionage. (Photo: Baha'i followers in Brazil protest repression in Iran. Via Wikimedia Commons)

India: emergency powers amid Cockroach protests

CJPAmnesty International condemned the decision of Delhi's lieutenant governor to invoke Section 3(2) of India's National Security Act (NSA), which effectively grants police the power to hold individuals in administrative detention without procedural guarantees. The move to invoke this contentious section of the NSA comes amid mass youth protests in India, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding accountability over apparent examination paper leaks that affected millions of students. (Photo: Pelph Hoters via Wikimedia Commons)

AI chatbots shill for repressive regimes

TiananmenNew research from Meta's Oversight Board found commercial large language models (LLMs) from Anthropic, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, OpenAI and xAI are far less likely to criticize repressive leaders and governments. The research calls it "free speech infringements by proxy." Apps and material produced by these generative AI tools could actively reproduce restrictions, including on political criticism. It's unclear why these AI models are doing this—underscoring the need for companies to be transparent and build "human rights due diligence" into the process, before it’s too late. China, Thailand, Cambodia and Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries with the highest refusal rates when LLMs were prompted to create materials criticizing governments. (Photo: chinaworker.info)

Egypt: dozens detained over Gen Z online group

EgyptAmnesty International called on authorities to immediately release dozens of people detained in Egypt over their alleged involvement with Gen Z002, a Discord-based group used to discuss political issues, criticize government policies, and host dialogue about bringing meaningful change to the country. In January, Gen Z002 organized an online poll titled "Popular Referendum to Remove El-Sisi," which asked participants whether or not they supported removing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi from power. Reports indicated that the poll received more than 330,000 responses and spread across social media platforms through Arabic-language hashtags. (Photo: Abdelrhman 1990 via Wikimedia Commons)

Mahmoud Khalil sues US officials, pro-Israel groups

Mahmoud KhalilProminent Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil filed a lawsuit in US federal court alleging a "coordinated" conspiracy between senior Trump administration officials and three private organizations—the Heritage Foundation and online surveillance or "doxxing" groups Canary Mission and Betar—to target him for deportation over his advocacy work. Khalil is a former Columbia University graduate student who became the public face of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism following his detention by ICE last year. (Photo: Office of Rep. Jim McGovern via Wikimedia Commons)

Mexico to seek charges over deaths in ICE custody

MexicoMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government plans to seek criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican citizens while in immigration custody or during anti-immigration operations. Since President Donald Trump launched the current immigration crackdown, at least 14 Mexican nationals have died in the custody of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and three more have reportedly died in arrests conducted by the agency. (Map: PCL)

Podcast: Resist digital hegemony! III

cycleAt the UN's Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa warned that artificial intelligence poses the threat of an "information Armageddon." Scholars of critical theory perceive that online culture reproduces a "cycle of epistemic injustice" by fostering "organized stupidity" that fuels extremism and authoritarianism. And the same technology now implements the grim material application of this degraded intellectual climate, with a UN Human Rights Council study especially accusing Palantir of being part of an "economy of genocide" through its enabling of Israel's AI-enhanced targeting in Gaza. Meanwhile, the pollution generated by the data centers that power AI is now "almost incomprehensible." Despite all this, UNESCO in Geneva glibly called for a "safe and inclusive AI that benefits all," and an openly boosteristic "AI for Good" confab was held alongside the Global Dialogue. The "anti-tech rebellion" against screens in school classrooms is a significant sign of hope, but the end of reading and death of literacy are already upon us. Moves toward greater regulation of AI are most significant as a catalyst for the conversation that needs to be had: how to launch an effective movement for abolition. In Episode 336 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case. (Image: CounterVortex, after JSCSR)