CovertAction Bulletin

Movement Repression and the HR 9495 Bill

Shortly after we recorded our last episode and mentioned the bill, the House of Representatives tried and failed to vote on HR 9495, the “Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act” bill. House Republicans tried to suspend the rules and push a vote through, and got 52 Democrats to vote with them, but weren’t able to get the ⅔ majority they needed under House procedural rules.

But HR 9495, also called the “nonprofit killer” bill, isn’t dead yet. If passed, it would allow the Trump administration to revoke an organization’s nonprofit status by simply saying the organization is connected to or supports terrorism. It’s another weapon the US government would have to attempt to crush dissent, targeting organizations standing up against the genocide in Gaza and many more. Civil society, activist, nonprofit and legal organizations from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund to the National Council of Nonprofits, CAIR, ACLU and beyond have called for the bill to be rejected.

To understand where this bill comes from and what its impact would be, we’re joined today by Wassim Kanaan, a grass-roots-oriented advocate, focusing on direct advocacy and working with the community on high impact projects.

Wassim currently serves as the Chair-person for the New Jersey Chapter of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).

Struggle Continues Under Trump

Within days of winning the election, Donald Trump is already making announcements about who will - and won’t - be in his cabinet and influencing his administration. On today’s show, we’re going to take a look at what a second Trump term is going to look like. From Elon Musk being on calls with Trump and Zelenskyy to RFK having influence over health policy and beyond, workers in the US and around the world will be under attack on many fronts.

We’re joined later in the show by Walter Smolarek, producer of The Socialist Program, to talk about Trump’s foreign policy and in particular what his election means for the genocide in Gaza, conflict with China, and the war in Ukraine.

Activists Take on Elections: No Votes for Genocide

We’re just days out from the US presidential elections. With many polls putting Trump and Harris within just a few points of each other, it’s easy to get caught up in the fear and uncertainty of the race as we continue to see horror after horror unfolding in Gaza and Lebanon as well as critical domestic crises like housing and infrastructure going unaddressed.

On this show, we’re focusing on the work of activists looking past the mainstream. They’ve been in the streets, they’ve pushed local resolutions, called for ceasefires and weapons embargoes, they’ve voted Uncommitted and called to abandon Biden and Harris and any candidate who won’t speak out against genocide. We talk with some organizers who have been building peoples’ movements for power and solidarity about how they view the elections, what they’ve been doing in the lead-up, and most importantly, we’ll hear what they’ll be doing on November 6 after all the ballots have been counted. 

We’re joined by Dr. Hassan Abdel Salam - co-founder of Abandon Biden, which is now Abandon Harris.

Later in the show, we discuss the No Votes for Genocide campaign with Francesca Maria, an organizer with the CT Palestine Solidarity Coalition and co-chair of Connecticut DSA.

U.S. Blockade Threatens Cuba’s Electric Grid

The devastation of Hurricane Oscar, which hit Cuba on October 18th, has significantly worsened the deep crisis of the island’s electric grid. The US government and its media lackeys are trying to blame the socialist government for supposed mismanagement of the country’s power system, but the reality is that the biggest contributor to the situation is the U.S. blockade of Cuba.

On October 22nd, The People’s Forum published an open letter in the New York Times calling on President Biden to overturn the Trump administration’s anti-Cuba policies. Biden has 90 days left in his term to restore the Obama-era reforms and steps towards normalization that are desperately needed.

We talk more about the history of the criminal blockade and its impact on Cuba.

A Handful of Billionaires are Causing Climate Chaos for the World

Hurricane Milton approached the physical limits of what a hurricane can be before it made landfall, and this was driven in part by the fact that 13 major Western corporations are responsible for the deforestation of 17% of the Amazon rainforest over the last few decades.

The drastic effects of climate change are causing havoc across the globe. In the southeastern US and into Appalachia, hurricanes Helene and Milton have killed hundreds, left thousands without shelter and caused untold billions in damage. On the other side of the planet, parts of the Sahara desert flooded for the first time in nearly 50 years after intense rainstorms dropped 8 inches of rain in 2 days on parts of Morocco that don’t get more than an inch or so yearly. These storms and many other examples  are showing that no one is safe from so-called storms of the century that seem to be happening weekly.

Meanwhile, insurance companies in Florida have been denying claims even from people who have been paying for hurricane-specific policies, and big landlords and investors are looking to profit from these disasters by buying up more land - all while doing nothing to address the climate crisis.

We’re joined today Ali by Abdel-Qader, a Palestinian organizer and Tampa-based activist who’s involved in relief efforts on the ground, and Tina Landis, author of Climate Solutions Beyond Capitalism.

Support the relief work in Florida by clicking here.
Find Tina’s book at 1804 books here.

Will there be a draft? Active-duty resistance and the anti-war movement

As the U.S. & Israeli war in the Middle East continues to expand with new threats of a significant Israeli attack on Iran, the Pentagon last week sent thousands of additional troops to the region. The USS Harry S Truman has been preparing for much of 2024 for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and departed on September 20th. Squadrons of F-15E, F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, along with A-10 attack aircraft, will not replace the American troops and equipment already in the region, but instead will now supplement them.

 

The history of resistance and refusal within the ranks of active-duty servicemembers is usually hidden or when it is mentioned, it’s maligned by the mainstream media and politicians. To dig into some of that history, the lessons for the anti-war movement, and what you should know if you yourself are going to be deployed or know someone who’s going to be deployed, we’re joined today by Mike Prysner. He’s an Iraq war veteran turned anti-war organizer, a producer of The Empire Files, co-host of the podcast Eyes Left and much more.

Tribute to Palestinian Journalist Wafa Al-Udaini

On Monday, September 30th, an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah killed Wafa al-Udaini, her husband and two of her children. Wafa was a founder of the October 16 group, a mentor to young journalists and media professionals in Gaza and especially worked to highlight the voices of women impacted by the Israeli occupation. Wafa was the 174th journalist to be killed by Israel in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza just under a year ago.

Romana Rubeo wrote at the Palestine Chronicle, “Wafa’s writing captured the essence of why we do what we do on a daily basis for years: amplifying Palestinian voices, and not any voices, but those that reflect the spirit of the Palestinian people, their defiance of injustice, their quest for freedom, and their courage in word and action.”

Long-time listeners of this show may remember that we had Wafa on twice. First, in April 2023, she joined us to explain how the mass protests happening in Israel against Benjamin Netanyahu were about internal Israeli matters, and not concerned with the liberation of Palestinians. “So for us as Palestinians, we see that the occupation has one face, they are all the same, even if it is a far right government or a left-right government or any, it is occupation at the end.” she told us.

She then came on the show a few months later for our October 11th 2023 episode, immediately after the resistance movement launched Al Aqsa Flood, to give an on-the-ground report on the Israeli bombardment, its use of white phosphorus and how people viewed the resistance.

For today’s episode, we’ll be revisiting our past conversations with Wafa as we discuss the current and rapidly-escalating situation. We dedicate this episode to Wafa al-Udaini and her family.

Israel ignites Middle East as UN General Assembly meets

As the United Nations General Assembly meets this week, world leaders have adopted a Pact for the Future to build towards a multilateral world. But the meeting is happening as regional conflicts could flare up and ignite across many parts of the globe. The US & NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine rages on with few serious efforts being made towards a peaceful resolution. And it comes just days after Israel killed dozens and injured thousands in Lebanon with a long-term coordinated plan to explode pagers and handheld radios, following up with a devastating bombing campaign. The U.S. is now sending more troops, an aircraft carrier, two destroyers and a cruiser to the Middle East. The attacks have caused Lebanese acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati to skip his own scheduled trip to the UN this week.

To help us wade through the various threads of the growing threat of all-out war around the globe, we’re joined today by Ben Norton. Ben is the founder and editor of Geopolitical Economy Report, which you can find at geopoliticaleconomy.com.

Debate shows Harris and Trump are two sides of the same coin

The first and maybe only debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris happened just after we recorded our last show on Tuesday, September 10th. Over nearly two hours, the candidates attempted to talk over and through each other, regurgitating some of the same old talking points of each of their campaigns. It was light on policy and heavy on racism, bigotry and threats of war. Ultimately, what the debate showed us is that this contest is not about actually improving the lives of working-class people, but who will be better for the American empire and police state.

We’re joined today by Jacquie Luqman, host of Darker than Blue, as we take apart some of the key moments from the debate.

The Other 9/11: US Involvement in the 1973 Chile Coup

Fifty-one years ago, a bloody coup in Chile overthrew the democratically-elected president Salvadore Allende, leaving him dead. Sometimes now called “the other 9/11,” it ushered in the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, which lasted for 17 years. Over 3,000 people were killed or disappeared in that period, and nearly 40,000 people were targeted for political repression and tortured because they were leftists or suspected of being leftists.

The US government played a significant role in both creating the destabilizing conditions for the coup and in its support for Pinochet. We’re joined now by Abraham Márquez of Kawsachun News to discuss the legacy of the coup, the CIA’s involvement, and what lessons we can learn today.

Then, Rachel and Chris discuss the disastrous War on Terror that was launched in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and the rehabilitation of George W Bush, Dick Cheney and others in the current political climate.