Medicine Comprehensive49 • Now • 100%

ELAM - Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine, providing free training to physicians from around the world

This documentary provides an incredible in-depth view of learning at ELAM. ELAM (the Latin American School of Medicine) is an international medical school run by the Cuban government to train physicians from around the world on free scholarships. ELAM is the largest medical school in the world by enrollment, 19,550 students as of 2012. For comparison, Harvard Medical School only teaches 712 medical students today. ELAM is incredibly diverse, with students from all across the world. For example, [over 500 Palestinian students attend ELAM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWe9IigF5SU). USians can [apply to ELAM](https://ifconews.org/our-work/elam-medical-school/) via the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization. For those of you in other countries, you can apply to ELAM through Cuban diplomatic missions in the your home country. Here's [ELAM's website](https://instituciones.sld.cu/elam/) (in Spanish) if y'all find it helpful.

World News Comprehensive49 • Now • 100%

Life & Death in the Information Domain: Implications of Israel's Pager Terror Attack

Israel's pager terrorist attacks underscore the importance of securing tech supply chains. To protect national sovereignty, nations that aren't yet US vassals must protect their information space and use only home-built or ally-built electronics.

Medicine Comprehensive49 • Now • 100%

Doctors, Physicians, and For-Profit Medicine?

How does capitalism and for-profit medicine infect the intentions of doctors and physicians? How is this related to things like capitalist alienation? I'd love to read y'all's thoughts about this. I'll go first 😅: Especially in the USA, due to their much higher wages and command over nurses, doctors are practically petty bourgeois, not regular workers. As such, American doctors are quite disconnected from the hardships of regular workers, usually own sizable portfolios of rental properties and other rentier enterprises, and have political views more similar to a Wall-Street trust-fund baby. Just so you know I'm not bullshitting, **several people in my family are medical doctors** (MDs). I'm intimately familiar with the goings-on's in the US medical industry, and the general views of those in medicine. While they do care about their patients, they don't really seem to care about whether their wages and moneymaking enterprises indirectly harm patients, nor do they seem to have much control over the consequences either. This rot even extends to MD associations. If you didn't know, the American Medical Association, which lobbies for physicians and doctors, deliberately lobbied from 1980-2000s to reduce the number of physicians trained in order to "prevent a physician surplus" and increase physician wages (possibly to stop doctors from suffering the same wage decreases other US workers faced under neoliberalism). They were a bit overzealous and singlehandedly caused the physician shortage in the USA today.^[https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-planning-of-u-s-physician-shortages/] Purdue Pharma didn't sell opioids directly to people, it **paid doctors** to sell it to patients. Some doctors even went along with it despite seeing the consequences their patients suffered. The kickbacks were just too good to pass up.^[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/02/magazine/money-issue-insys-opioids-kickbacks.html] One of the MDs I know personally is a pain management physician and works with pain medicine daily. They know other doctors who have gotten fired for their Purdue kickbacks, and even one that got themselves addicted to Purdue opioids (IDK what that idiot was thinking). The doctors I know do find health insurance to be super annoying, though their large wages make them OK with the situation (Doctors in the USA are paid much more than doctors in single-payer systems, like a bribe to accept the shittiness of the system. For example, many Canadian doctors move to the USA to increase their wages by **2X**). They have to employ a dedicated nurse for insurance paperwork just to wrangle money out of insurance companies. All in all, I can't say that US doctors are shitty humans, especially since I know them. They mostly seem to have resigned themselves to accept the capitalist system for what it is, and to just try to maximize personal benefits from it. If their patients feel better along the way, that's nice too.

Scott Ritter discusses the history of false pretenses the US government has used to repeatedly search him, and the events around the [most recent raid](https://lemmygrad.ml/post/5319924). ### TLDW Summary of Discussed Points: #### FBI's Raid of Ritter's House When Scott Ritter went on his book tour in Russia, he talked with the Russian embassy about what he was doing so they wouldn't suspect him of anything malicious. Since Ritter was a former intelligence officer, this was important to clear up misconceptions. The Russians talked with him and showed him an essay about peace written by [Anatoly Antonov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoly_Antonov) (the Russian ambassador to the USA). Later, Ritter used this as a source in an article he wrote as a journalist, in which he lays out how he obtained the essay. The FBI used this to accuse him of "working for the Russian government" and raid his house. They're using the Foreign Agents Registration Act act (FARA), which lets the US gov act against any citizen who writes non-State Department approved stuff on the basis that they are "working for a foreign government". The FBI raid carted away his massive archive of already-declassified evidence of the Iraq War sham on false pretenses of "keeping classified documents", which Ritter has used over the years to write articles, books, and documentaries on the Iraq War lie. The FBI took away all his family's electronics and bugged his TV, so he had to replace those. #### Kursk Offensive Aftermath Ritter has previously met and talked with [Apti Alaudinov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apti_Alaudinov), one of the Russian commanders now assigned to clean up after the Kursk Offensive. Apti has said that the Kursk Offensive was the result of the Russian Ministry of Defense leaving parts of the border poorly guarded against NATO-armed units. Apti and co. have already knocked out the Kursk invasion’s logistics, is capturing their equipment, and now just has to kill and capture the leftover Ukrainian stragglers. Ritter is waiting to interview him in a bit. On a related note, Ritter says the US government regularly releases known fake declassified evidence to produce false inflammatory headlines in the media about Russia, China, Iran, etc. and lie to the US people. Any stuff in the US media about this invasion is guaranteed bullshit. The invasion force was equipped with the nicest NATO gear (Starlink, latest training, live US intelligence) and speak English/French/Polish, indicating this incursion was planned and executed by NATO, not Ukraine alone. Do not believe the shit in the media about Zelensky ordering this alone. NATO ordered this, its failure is just a nice excuse to get rid of Zelensky for someone more malleable. We will see severe Russian retaliation for this, possibly even attacking F16 bases in Poland and Romania in return. #### Overall Russia-Ukraine Situation The Russians have exhausted Ukrainian reserves and are advancing continuously, forcing the Ukrainians into unreinforced positions. The Kursk invasion has used up all of Ukraine's new equipment without distracting any significant amount of the Russian army, as the Russians merely deployed troops from reserve to clean up and did not shift any off of the frontline. In response to the invasion, Russia is changing their peace deal to unconditional surrender for Ukraine and incorporate all Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine into Russia. Russia has no choice but to do so to halt further NATO assaults on their borders. #### Israel and the Axis of Resistance Israel is fatally losing from the Palestinian genocide. The Houthis have completely shut down Israel's southern port, Hezbollah has depopulated Northern Israel via their rockets and settlers' fears. Most of the world is committed to a two-state solution, which will require Israel to remove its settlements and make it collapse. Israel cannot take on the Axis of Resistance. It is running out of tanks, spare parts, and ammunition. Its army is exhausted. To stay in power, Netanyahu wants to keep the conflict just below all-out war so he can stay in power. Hezbollah and Iran are looking for a balance between an effective response to stop Israel from attacking again without provoking all-out war, for example by bypassing the Iron Dome to take out airfields and F35s, to show even more clearly that they can destroy Israel's military if needed. Russia and China are also working to help this along. > America is an empire in decline, and this crumbling empire seeks to take everything down with it. I don't want that solution, and that's why I and [alternative media] struggle to correct this slide by empowering the American people with knowledge and information about the reality of what's going on so they can better hold their government officials accountable for what's done in their name. > … > The US, in my case, is seeking to interfere in my ability to carry out advocacy journalism by manufacturing .. a case of violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. > > — Scott Ritter --- ::: spoiler Again, if anyone brings up his supposed history of child sexual offenses, see my \[previous writeup\](https://lemmygrad.ml/post/5319924/4836806) which I have repeated below: Just in case anyone brings up his weird history of child sexual offenses, he was never prosecuted for harming actual children. Both prosecuted offenses were supposedly sting operations (aka entrapment) by FBI and police, which makes them super suspicious. For example, the first one in 2001 was conveniently timed to interfere with his anti-Iraq War advocacy. The US government seized his passport in early June just to stop him from attending the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and derail his planned tour of Russia, where he would’ve gotten more coverage of his antiwar advocacy. I would not be surprised if the FBI makes up a new sex offense charge based on this raid to try to shut him up about Russia, since that got the media so riled up the last 2 times. Another kind of bogus charge also wouldn’t be a surprise. :::

World News Comprehensive49 • Now • 100%

US Regime Change in Bangladesh: The Danger of Ignoring US Interference

Regardless of the possibly legitimate origins of Bangladeshi protests, we must keep a close eye on their possible co-opting by the USA and the resulting new administration. Bangladesh is in a great location for the USA to use it to fuck with India and China.

Belly of the Beast is a Cuba-based journalism collective trying to provide a counterweight to anti-Cuba propaganda.

TLDR: Israel deliberately attacked the USS Liberty spy ship in 1967 during the Six-Day War, with the intention of sinking it, for 3 reasons: 1. To stop the ship's crew from informing the USA that Israel had started the Six-Day War via their surprise attack on Egypt 2. To stop the ship from overhearing their plans to invade the Golan Heights, which might prompt the USA to stop them and slow their acquisition of more Lebensraum 3. As a Gulf of Tonkin style false-flag operation, with the goal of pinning blame on the Egyptians for sinking the ship in order to get the US to help them invade Egypt for even more Lebensraum. After failing to sink the ship, which would have killed all crew and witnesses, Israel used AIPAC and associated organizations to lobby for the view of the attack as an "Israeli mistake". --- The Israel-USA relationship seems mutually parasitic. The USA uses Israel as a military base, but gets to use Israeli settlers surrounding it as human shields. In return, Israel can kill Americans for their own goals.

Ask Lemmygrad Comprehensive49 • Now • 94%

Should all anti-imperialist countries strive to acquire nukes?

Acquiring nukes seems like the best way for any country to protect themselves against outside interference. We know that as soon as Gaddafi decommissioned his nukes, Libya was targeted and invaded. If Iraq actually did have nukes, the USA wouldn't have been so brazen to invade. China, Russia, and North Korea's acquisitions of nukes are also some of the main reasons why they are not easy targets for direct US invasion. If Iran had nukes, it would drastically limit Israel's ability to indiscriminately attack Iranian assets. Western policies against nuclear proliferation always seem to target the countries that need them the most to ensure national sovereignty, and never refer to their own nukes. For example, they always fearmonger about "rogue states" like North Korea getting nukes, while being perfectly okay with Israel's own nukes. It might be best if these policies are ignored entirely.

GenZedong Comprehensive49 • Now • 98%

TIME magazine says "Capitalism Can't Solve Climate Change"

time.com

TLDR: China is the only significant force in renewables adoption in the world, because the country uses central planning to advance its environmental objectives. The West's reliance on the profit motive to drive green energy is not working and will not work because renewables are not profitable enough. This article is the most positive I have ever seen any mainstream news be towards China and central planning. I don't think there is a single "but at what cost" statement in the entire article. Frankly, I'm impressed this managed to get past the TIME editors. The author, Brett Christophers, wrote *The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet* and *Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World*, and *Rentier Capitalism: Who Owns the Economy, and Who Pays for It?*, among others, published via [Verso Books](https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/authors/christophers-brett).

US News Comprehensive49 • Now • 100%

Cincinnati's Bribed Sale of its Railway to Norfolk Southern

www.youtube.com

TLDR: The sale has already happened. Norfolk Southern bribed Cincinnati politicians and funded shittons of ads to trick Cincinnati citizens to sell their government-owned railroad to them for cheap. More info: - https://jacobin.com/2023/10/cincinnati-public-railroad-norfolk-southern-east-palestine-disaster - https://jacobin.com/2023/10/cincinnati-ohio-rail-worker-publicly-owned-privatization-norfolk-southern - https://www.governing.com/infrastructure/say-goodbye-to-the-last-city-owned-interstate-railroad - https://www.derailthesale.org/economics.html - http://archive.today/2023.12.16-020729/https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/12/15/norfolk-southern-paid-6m-convincing-cincinnati-voters-to-sell/71745654007/ The Cincinatti government possessed the last municipally owned interstate railroad in the USA, running from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It leased the railroad to Norfolk Southern (of East Palestine disaster fame) for $25 million per year, and it was indispensable for Norfolk Southern's operations. Norfolk Southern (NS) funded a PAC, *Building Cincinnati’s Future*, and donated tons to the Cincinnati mayor's election campaign. Together, they made tons of ads to convince Cincinnati citizens to sell the railroad for $1.6 billion to NS, to be put in an investment trust fund. If you calculate from the previous per-year lease, Cincinnati would have made that $1.6 billion off of the lease anyways after 64 years. A report commissioned by Cincinnati even showed that due to the railroad's importance to NS's operations and NS's impressive financial profits, the city could actually get away with raising the lease to ~$70 million per year. At that rate, the city would have made $1.6 billion back in less than 23 years. Even better, the city would have been able to continue making money on the railroad forever, and be able to raise the lease to match inflation, thus making even more money. Now that the city has sold the railroad, it has lost that guaranteed income stream forever. That $1.6 billion now sits in "The Building Our Future Trust Fund", and the city will try to make money from it by paying professional money managers to invest in the unstable market. Data shows that more than 90 percent of professional money managers underperform the market in the long term. Not only that, these Wall Street bankers will take a cut of the money that belongs to the people of Cincinnati for the privilege of doing so. If the fund does end up losing value, the city receives nothing. Any person with basic money sense knows that a stable asset that makes guaranteed money over time is better than a random lump sum which may or may not perform well when invested into stocks and bonds. After all, its why landlords buy and rent houses instead of just flipping them. Along with the loss in money, Cincinnati has also lost the ability to use access to the railroad as leverage to force NS to do good stuff. For instance, they could have forced NS to add safety features, modernize the track, and let Amtrack run on the line. Now, NS is free to pour toxic waste all along the right-of-way, and the city can't do anything about it.

The fact this guy was on the record for such heinous crimes, yet got such a generous deal from the government, virtually guarantees he is some sort of CIA informant or COINTELPRO-type agent. Make sure to verify your information sources!

The Deprogram Podcast Comprehensive49 • Now • 90%

r/TheDeprogram Che Guevara

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2024-01-03%% # Ernesto "Che" Guevara > If you are capable of trembling with indignation each time that an injustice is committed anywhere in the world, we are comrades. > > — Che Guevara. (1964). Quoted in _Guerrillas in Power: The Course of the Cuban Revolution_ (1971) by K. S. Karol Ernesto "Che" Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. As a young medical student, Guevara traveled throughout South America and was radicalized by the poverty, hunger, and disease he witnessed. His burgeoning desire to help overturn what he saw as the Capitalist exploitation of Latin America by the United States prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Árbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow at the behest of the United Fruit Company solidified Guevara's political ideology. Later in Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to [[r.TheDeprogram Cuba|Cuba]] aboard the yacht Granma with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime. After the Cuban Revolution, Guevara played key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian land reform as Minister of Industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both President of the National Bank and instructional director for Cuba's armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban Socialism. Such positions also allowed him to play a central role in training the militia forces who repelled the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Additionally, Guevara was a prolific writer and diarist, composing a seminal guerrilla warfare manual, along with a best-selling memoir about his youthful continental motorcycle journey. His experiences and studying of Marxism–Leninism led him to posit that the Third World's underdevelopment and dependence was an intrinsic result of imperialism, neocolonialism, and monopoly capitalism, with the only remedies being proletarian internationalism and world revolution. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment continental revolutions across both Africa and South America, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and summarily executed. # Additional Resources You can find his writings in the Marxist Internet Archive: [https://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/index.htm](https://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/index.htm) ## Video Essays: - [Who Did Che Guevara Murder?](https://youtu.be/nkBXFXwGuJE) | BadEmpanada (2019) - [Che Guevara: Homophobic Racist? Response to Steven Crowder & PragerU](https://youtu.be/F5eFPgvhS60) | BadEmpanada (2019) - [Che Guevara's True Legacy](https://youtu.be/5-HkPLFjQc8) | BadEmpanada (2020) - [Conservatives Love Lying About Che Guevara, Inventing Fake Quotes](https://youtu.be/k1M5LnXC8eo) | BadEmpanada (2020) - [Cuba and Che Guevara TALKING POINTS by Sky News - How Do They Hold Up?](https://youtu.be/ZTZwmOHJwq0) | BadEmpanada (2021) - [Che Guevara: Revolutionary Hero | Che's Life, Legacy, and Theory](https://youtu.be/d3yVJghCn9Q) | Marxism Today (2022) ## Books, Articles, or Essays: - _Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life_ | Jon Lee Anderson (1997) ## Podcasts: - [In Defense of Che Guevara: Analyzing his Life and Answering his Critics](https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/in-defense-of-che-guevara-analyzing-his-life-and-answering-his-critics) | Revolutionary Left Radio (2017)

The Deprogram Podcast Comprehensive49 • Now • 100%

r/TheDeprogram Cuba

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2024-01-03%% # Cuba The Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro and Ernesto "[Che](https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3203336)" Guevara, was a Communist revolution which aimed to address issues of inequality, poverty, and national self-determination. Under Castro's leadership, the Cuban government nationalized industries, implemented land reforms, and initiated programs to improve healthcare and education access. # Brief History Slavery was introduced to Cuba by the Spanish during the early 16th century. African slaves were brought to the island to work on sugar plantations, which became the backbone of the Cuban economy. The brutal conditions of slavery led to various slave rebellions and uprisings throughout the colonial period. In 1898, the Spanish-American War resulted in Spain ceding control of Cuba to the United States. The majority of workers in Cuban sugar plantations during this period were either former slaves or descendants of enslaved Africans. Despite the _official_ abolition of slavery in 1886, workers faced extreme economic exploitation. They were trapped in a cycle of poverty, with low wages and limited opportunities for social and economic mobility. The _patronato_ system emerged, where former slaves and their descendants continued to work on the plantations under debt peonage, a form of economic bondage. In 1952, Fulgencio Batista seized power in a military coup, suspending the Cuban Constitution and ruling as a dictator. Batista's regime was backed by influential Cuban elites, including large landowners, sugar magnates, and business tycoons who benefited from Batista's policies. The U.S. provided military aid and economic support to Batista's military dictatorship. > ...as Castro's revolutionary threat became progressively more potent... the Batista regime sought to counter it with a campaign of terror. As regime-inspired terrorism mounted, anti-Batista groups engaged in counter terrorism against regime supporters and by mid-1958 killings had become widespread and general throughout the country. The regime's campaign of terror got out of control and the government in Havana probably had no clear idea of how many killings the police and army forces were committing. Similarly, the anti-Batista forces--which by mid-1958 had the support of 80 to 90 percent of the population-- had little control over the acts of counterterrorism being committed against pro-Batista elements throughout the country. > > ...the large-scale campaigns of murders and terrorism characteristic of the last years of the Batista regime have not occurred during the Castro regime. > > — CIA. (1965, declassified 2005). [Political Murders in Cuba: Batista Era Compared With Castro Regime](http://web.archive.org/web/20201119103419/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00429A000300030015-8.pdf) # The Embargo > The majority of Cubans support Castro... The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship... it follows that every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba. If such a policy is adopted, it should be the result of a positive decision which would call forth a line of action which, while as adroit and inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government. > > — Lester D. Mallory. (1960). [499. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Mallory) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom)](https://archive.is/HE7Hf) Later that year, the Eisenhower administration instituted the embargo which persists to this day, over 60 years later. > The non-binding resolution [calling for an end to the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba] was approved by 185 countries and opposed only by the United States and Israel... It was the 30th time the United Nations has voted to end the embargo... The trade embargo was put in place following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and has remained largely unchanged, though some elements were stiffened by Trump. > > — Reuters. (2022). [Cuba and U.S. spar over U.N. resolution calling to end embargo](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-us-spar-over-un-resolution-calling-end-embargo-2022-11-03/) - [The U.S. Embargo on Cuba Is MUCH WORSE Than It Seems](https://youtu.be/dM7_wTqDUCU) | BadEmpanada (2021) - [The Cuban Embargo Explained](https://youtu.be/zmM8p9n6Z9E) | azureScapegoat (2022) # Castro Stole My Stuff > The US claims that it has instituted a policy of tightening the economic noose around Cuba with the Helms-Burton bill on the grounds that Cuba refuses to compensate US companies following nationalisation of their property. This is patently untrue, as Cuba not only successfully negotiated compensation agreements with other countries, but has and is ready to negotiate with the US. > > — S. J. Noumoff. (1998). [The Hypocrisy of Helms-Burton: The History of Cuban Compensation](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4406691) - [The Cuban Nationalization of US Property in 1960: the Historical and Global Context](https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/29/the-cuban-nationalization-of-us-property-in-1960-the-historical-and-global-context/) | Charles McKelvey (2019) # Doctors Despite the challenges posed by the embargo, Cuba has the most doctors per capita in the world and recently surpassed the US in life expectancy. - [The Truth About Cuban Doctors](https://youtu.be/tGFCIAZ_RA4) | BadEmpanada (2020) - [[Meet the U.S. Students Studying Medicine For Free in Cuba - YouTube]] | BreakThrough News (2022) # Democracy - [[How Democracy Works in Cuba - YouTube]] | azureScapegoat (2018) - [[How does Cuba work - YouTube - Viki1999]] | Viki1999 (2021) - [We Asked Cuban Voters If They Live In A Democracy Or Dictatorship. Here's How They Responded.](https://youtu.be/20DgWZtImUk) | BreakThrough News (2022) # Participatory Democracy in action: LGBT rights Prior to the revolution, homosexuality was stigmatized and criminalized in Cuba, reflecting the prevailing attitudes of the time. Unfortunately, the revolutionary government under Fidel Castro initially continued this stance. However, Cuba's stance on LGBT rights has evolved to the point where it has become a symbol of progress within the Latin American context. In 2010, Fidel Castro himself admitted that the persecution of homosexuals in the early years of the revolution was a mistake: > If anyone is responsible, it's me. > > — Fidel Castro. (2010). [I am responsible for the persecution of homosexuals that took place in Cuba: Fidel Castro](https://www.jornada.com.mx/2010/08/31/index.php?section=mundo&article=026e1mun) In 2022, Cuba became the first Latin American country to mark LGBT History Month. Now, Pride parades in Havana are held every May, to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, and attendance grows every year. Cuba also passed one of the most progressive Family Codes in the entire world: > The Family Code not only protects the most vulnerable in Cuba, it protects the course of Cuban socialism. Writing the referendum involved the whole population throughout the processes of drafting and amending. It went through 25 revisions over the course of 3 ½ years. > > After the referendum was introduced in 2019, Cuba carried out a nationwide process of education and outreach. Discussions took place in every workplace, organization, neighborhood and community group. To keep all Cubans well-informed, people took the discussions to rural areas and to those who do not have internet access. > > The Family Code was approved by Cubans 2 to 1. A large percentage of Cubans, 74%, took part in the vote... > > In Workers World Sept. 25, 2022, Minnie Bruce Pratt wrote, “Nearly 6.5 million Cubans took part in more than 79,000 meetings facilitated by the Federation of Cuban Women, the Committees to Defend the Revolution and other community organizations. Over 400,000 proposals were offered by the people; these were submitted to the National Assembly of People’s Power for evaluation, and a revised draft was returned to the people for further discussion and proposals... > > Cubans are very proud of what they call participatory democracy, the process they used to introduce and pass the referendum. It is an example to the world and a lesson in democratic centralism. > > — Lyn Neeley. (2023). [Cuba’s new Family Code, a law of love](https://www.workers.org/2023/01/68708/) - [Millions of Cubans Vote on New Family Code, LGBT Marriage, Adoption Rights & More](https://youtu.be/DXL3ScNn5VE) | BreakThrough News (2022) # Additional Resources ## Video Essays: - [Cuba: Before and After the Revolution - The Story of When Michael Parenti Visited Cuba](https://youtu.be/YIqm075vC1A) | azureScapegoat (2017) - [The Truth About The Cuban Missile Crisis](https://youtu.be/adrQweOX5c4) | Spooky Scary Socialist (2018) - [How Cuba Works](https://youtu.be/DXBYlC4-0bQ) | BadEmpanada (2020) - [The Truth About The Cuba Protests](https://youtu.be/zIOw6fSOJI4?t=1087) | Second Thought (2020) - [Why They Hate The USA: CUBA](https://youtu.be/WgWK6_AYq_o) | Hakim (2023) ## Podcasts: - [Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution](https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/fidel-castro-and-the-cuban-revolution) | Revolutionary Left Radio (2017) - [Season 2 - The Cuban Revolution](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QhgtGyW7ws173eENjddNT) | Blowback (2021) - [Episode 13 - Cucked by Fidel (CIA pls no assassinate)](https://youtu.be/YwMZYNzHd7U) | The Deprogram (2022)

The Deprogram Podcast Comprehensive49 • Now • 90%

r/TheDeprogram The Information Research Department (IRD)

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2023-08-13%% # The Information Research Department (IRD) The Wikipedia article for this organization is damning enough: > The IRD was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and information to anti-communist politicians, academics, and writers, and to use weaponised information, but also disinformation and "fake news" to attack not only its original targets but also certain socialists and anti-colonial movements. Soon after its creation, the IRD broke away from focusing solely on Soviet matters and began to publish pro-colonial propaganda intended to suppress pro-independence revolutions in Asia, Africa, Ireland, and the Middle East. The IRD was heavily involved in the publishing of books, newspapers, leaflets, journals, and even created publishing houses to act as propaganda fronts, such as Ampersand Limited. Operating for 29 years, the IRD is known as the longest-running covert government propaganda department in British history, the largest branch of the Foreign Office, and the first major anglophone propaganda offensive against the USSR since the end of World War II. By the 1970s, the IRD was performing military intelligence tasks for the British Military in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. > > The IRD was the government department to which George Orwell submitted his list of suspected Communists (Orwell's list), including many prominent people such as Charlie Chaplin, Paul Robeson, and Michael Redgrave. With the help of Orwell's widow Sonia Orwell and his former publisher Fredric Warburg, the IRD gained the foreign rights to much of Orwell's work and spent years distributing Animal Farm onto every continent, translating Orwell's works into 20 different languages, funding the creation of an animated feature film based on Animal Farm, and working with the CIA to create the feature-length Animal Farm animated movie, the first of its kind in British history. Many historians have noted how Orwell's literary reputation can largely be credited to joint propaganda operations between the IRD and CIA. The IRD heavily marketed Animal Farm for audiences in the middle-east in an attempt to sway Arab nationalism and independence activists from seeking Soviet aid, as it was believed by IRD agents that a story featuring pigs as the villains would appeal highly towards Muslim audiences. The IRD funded the activities of many authors including Arthur Koestler, Bertrand Russell, and Robert Conquest. > > Internationally, IRD agents took part in many historic events, including Britain's entry into the European Economic Community, the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Malayan Emergency, The Troubles, the Mau Mau Uprising, Cyprus Emergency, and the Sino-Indian War. Other IRD activities included forging letters and posters, conducting smear attacks against British trade unionists, and attacking opponents of the British military by planting fake news stories in the British press. Some of these fabricated stories the IRD created included accusations that Irish republicans were killing dogs by setting them on fire, and falsely accusing EOKA members of raping schoolgirls. > > Although the existence of the IRD was successfully kept hidden from the British public until the 1970s, the Soviet Union had always been aware of its existence, for Guy Burgess had been posted to IRD for a period of two months in 1948. Burgess was later sacked by the IRD's founder Christopher Mayhew, who accused him of being "dirty, drunk and idle". The IRD closed its operations in 1977 after its existence was discovered by British journalists after an investigation into a heavy amount of anti-Soviet propaganda being published by academics belonging to St Antony's College, Oxford. An exposé published in The Guardian titled by David Leigh "Death of the Department that Never Was", became the first public acknowledgement of the IRD's existence. > > — Wikipedia. [Information Research Department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Research_Department)

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r/TheDeprogram The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2023-08-13%% # The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) The CFR is a powerful and influential organization, sometimes called "Wall Street's Think Tank", which represents the interests of the capitalist ruling class in the United States and plays a significant role in shaping U.S. foreign policy in favour of corporate and imperialistic interests, while downplaying the needs of the working class and other marginalized groups. Founded in 1921, the CFR is a private non-profit headquartered in New York City. Its funding comes from membership dues, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and individual donations. Membership is by invitation only (typically proposed by current CFR members), prospective members must undergo a rigorous nomination and vetting process based on their expertise, experience, and potential contributions to the CFR's mission. - **Imperialist**: The recommendations made by the CFR often reflect imperialistic goals aimed at maintaining and expanding U.S. global dominance. It advocates for military interventions, economic sanctions, and other measures that serve the interests of multinational corporations and the capitalist ruling class, even at the expense of other nations and peoples. - **Influential**: Government officials, policymakers, and media outlets have very close ties to the CFR. The organization's concerning influence on foreign policy decisions leads to policies that prioritize capitalist interests over broader social and humanitarian concerns. - **Undemocratic**: There is a lack of transparency and democratic accountability in the CFR's operations. The organization is not subject to public scrutiny or electoral processes, allowing its members to exert considerable influence on U.S. foreign policy behind closed doors. - **Neoliberal**: The CFR's policy recommendations tend to align with neoliberal economic principles, advocating for free trade, deregulation, and privatization. This approach is seen as promoting corporate interests at the expense of workers' rights, social welfare, and economic equality. # In the Whitehouse Biden's current administration is comprised of a (perhaps) shocking number of CFR members: > The CFR is funded and led by members of the old plutocracy. For example, David Rockefeller was the CFR’s chair for fifteen years and has been its leading financial donor historically. No less than seventeen Biden team members (out of thirty total, or 56.7 percent) are members of, have close family ties to, or are otherwise connected to the CFR (see box on page 3). These include: vice president Kamala Harris; secretary of state Antony Blinken; secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen; secretary of defense Lloyd Austin; CIA head William J. Burns; national security advisor Jake Sullivan; secretary of agriculture Thomas Vilsack; secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo; secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas; chief of staff Ron Klain; climate envoy John Kerry; domestic council chief Susan Rice; Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt M. Campbell; ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield; chief of Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse; director of science and technology Eric S. Lander; and counselor Jeffery Zients. All have at least a minimum level of commitment to the CFR, in the sense of having the necessary connections, making the effort needed to become a member, and paying expensive annual dues. Several of this group are especially close to the Council. For example, Blinken is not only a CFR member, but his wife, father, and uncle are also members. Since 2004, Blinken has also often donated to the Council’s annual fund drive. Kerry, a Boston Brahman member of the old money plutocracy whose family wealth exceeds a billion dollars, has at least four other family members in the CFR. Rouse has been a director of the Council since 2018. Vilsack was the cochair of a CFR independent task force study group in 2007. Many have spoken at CFR meetings, such as Mayorkas in June 2011. > > Vice President Harris and Chief of Staff Klain are the only ones of the seventeen listed in the box on page 3 who are not members but are tied to the CFR by family. Harris’s sister Maya, who was her campaign manager, has been a Council member since 2013. Klain’s wife, Monica Media, was elected to CFR membership in 2016.3 > > Although not currently a CFR member, National Security Advisor Sullivan also has close ties to the Council. In recent years, he has written no less than five articles for the CFR’s in-house journal _Foreign Affairs_, and spoken at the CFR’s New York headquarters. > > Finally, Biden himself was allowed to write an article for _Foreign Affairs_ during the presidential campaign. Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren were the only presidential candidates invited to advertise themselves and their ideas in _Foreign Affairs_ during the 2019–20 election period. > > — Lawrence Shoup. (2021). [The Council on Foreign Relations, the Biden Team, and Key Policy Outcomes](https://monthlyreview.org/2021/05/01/the-council-on-foreign-relations-the-biden-team-and-key-policy-outcomes/) # Additional Resources - [The American Empire and its Media](https://swprs.org/the-american-empire-and-its-media/) | Swiss Policy Research (2017) - [Wall Street’s Think Tank: The Council on Foreign Relations and the Empire of Neoliberal Geopolitics, 1976-2019](https://monthlyreview.org/product/wall-streets-think-tank/) | Lawrence Shoup (2019)

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r/TheDeprogram The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2023-08-13%% # The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) The USAGM is a federal agency of the United States government responsible for overseeing and funding U.S. government-supported media organizations that provide news, information, and cultural programming to audiences around the world. It was formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) until 2018 when the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 restructured and rebranded it as the USAGM. Despite many of these organization's claims to the contrary, it should be obvious that none of them are unbiased and all of them have an agenda. > “Freedom of the press” in bourgeois society means freedom for the rich systematically, unremittingly, daily, in millions of copies, to deceive, corrupt and fool the exploited and oppressed mass of the people, the poor. > > — V. I. Lenin. (1917). [How to Guarantee the Success of the Constituent Assembly](https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/sep/28.htm) USAGM oversees several media organizations, including: ## Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was initially established during the Cold War to broadcast to audiences in countries under Soviet influence. It was funded by the United States government through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) until 1971 when it was reorganized as a private, non-profit corporation, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Incorporated. ## Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a sister organization to RFE/RL, both sharing similar missions. RFA was established in 1996 with funding from the U.S. government, specifically through the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), which is now part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Similar to RFE/RL, RFA has also received grants from the NED to support some of its activities. ## Middle East Broadcasting Networks Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) was established in 2004 and targets Arabic-speaking audiences in the Middle East. From MBN's USAGM profile: > MBN is an Arabic-language news organization with a weekly audience of 27.4 million people in 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. ... > > Alhurra and Alhurra-Iraq are 24/7 Arabic-language television networks that provide news and analysis to more than 15.7 million viewers each week. Its in-depth discussion programs provide points of view from throughout the region and the U.S. ## Office of Cuba Broadcasting Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), headquartered in Miami, operates Radio and Television Martí, providing news and information to audiences in Cuba. From OCB's USAGM profile: > The Martís are a multimedia hub of news, information and analysis that provide the people of Cuba with interactive programs seven days a week through satellite television and shortwave and AM radio, as well as through emails, DVDs, and SMS text. Combined with the online platform, radiotelevisionmarti.com, the Martís are a one-of-a-kind service that brings unbiased, objective information to all Cubans. ## Voice of America Voice of America (VOA) provides news and information in more than 40 languages, reaching a global audience. From VOA's USAGM profile: > Voice of America provides trusted and objective news and information in 48 languages to a measured weekly audience of more than 326 million people around the world. For more than 80 years, VOA journalists have told American stories and supplied content that many people cannot get locally: objective news and information about the US, their specific region and the world. VOA uses the devices and platforms target markets use to connect audiences on five continents with the people, thoughts and institutions that make America unique. > > VOA uses digital, web and mobile media to engage viewers, listeners, users, and friends. Radio and television broadcast to approximately 3,500 affiliates and satellite transmissions reach countries where free speech is banned or where civil society is under threat.

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r/TheDeprogram The National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2023-08-13%% # The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) The NED is an organization based in the United States that was established in 1983 and is funded through an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress. Its creation was authorized by the National Endowment for Democracy Act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. The NED's primary purpose is to promote and spread the United State's values and version of democracy around the world and advancing its foreign policy objectives. The NED operates by providing grants to a wide range of organizations, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civic groups, labor unions, media outlets, political parties, etc. These organizations, in turn, implement programs that align with U.S. foreign policy interests, often under the guise of protecting human rights, promoting free and fair elections, etc. > In a nutshell, the idea of what was to become NED arose as a response to revelations about covert CIA efforts to promote democracy, and was debated periodically in Congress between 1967 and 1983. NED was funded initially entirely by Congress, chaired initially by the chairman of the relevant congressional committee, and formally incorporated on the day a congressional conference committee finally decided to authorize spending for it. > > ...NED acknowledges its ongoing relationship with lawmakers, saying that its "continued funding is dependent on the continued support of the White House and Congress." Those who spearheaded creation of NED have long acknowledged it was part of an effort to move from covert to overt efforts to foster democracy. President Reagan said in 1983 that "this program will not be hidden in the shadows. It will stand proudly in the spotlight, and that's where it belongs." Allen Weinstein, a former acting president of NED and one of the authors of the study that led to its creation, told David Ignatius in a 1991 interview that: "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA. The biggest difference is that when such activities are done overtly, the flap potential is close to zero. Openness is its own protection." > > — ProPublica. (2010). [The National Endowment for Democracy Responds to Our Burma Nuclear Story -- And Our Response](https://www.propublica.org/article/the-national-endowment-for-democracy-responds-to-our-burma-nuclear-story) An article written by David Ignatius, which contains more details and context, can be found here: [Innocence Abroad: The New World of spyless Coups](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/)

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r/TheDeprogram The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

%%last updated to match [The Deprogram Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDeprogram/wiki/index/) on 2023-08-13%% # The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) The CIA is an instrument of capitalist imperialism and covert interventionism which serves the interests of the ruling (Capitalist) class in the United States. It works to maintain global dominance and advance U.S. geopolitical interests: subjugating nations, exploiting their resources, and preventing the rise of Socialist or anti-imperialist movements. Methods including coups, assassinations, and support for right-wing regimes are used to undermine sovereign nations and popular movements that challenge Capitalist hegemony. The CIA's historical association with anti-Communist activities is a significant concern for us. During the Cold War, the CIA was involved in countering Socialist and Communist movements around the world, often collaborating with repressive regimes and engaging in propaganda campaigns against leftist ideologies. The CIA's secretive nature and lack of transparency make it susceptible to abuses of power. The agency's covert operations are a way for Capitalist interests to exert control without public scrutiny, undermining democratic principles. - [The CIA is a Terrorist Organization](https://youtu.be/_2khAmMTAjI) | SecondThought (2020) - [Former CIA Agent John Stockwell Talks about How the CIA Worked in Vietnam and Elsewhere](https://youtu.be/NK1tfkESPVY) - [CIA Officer Frank Snepp Discusses Planting Stories in Vietnam](https://youtu.be/UwerBZG83YM) - [John Pilger interviews former CIA Latin America chief Duane Clarridge, 2015](https://youtu.be/ER77vxxGVAY) - [Kissinger and the CIA in Chile: An Interview With Peter Kornbluh, Part I](https://www.truthdig.com/articles/kissinger-and-the-cia-in-chile-an-interview-with-peter-kornbluh/) | Truthdig (2023)