https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/sep/17/ms-rachel-macklemore-palestine-donation
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Friday, September 18, 2026
Late September 2026 News.
A Russian oligarch bankrolling Donald Jr.'s wedding celebration is bizarre. Donald Trump's 2nd term has been filled with corruption and allegations of corruption. The administration solicited and moved to accept a $400 million jumbo jet from Qatar intended for use as Air Force One and future travel, sparking strong bipartisan ethical concerns over potential quid pro quo. There have been valuable gifts, like a diamond-encrusted ring from a Belgian group and a gold bar and Rolex clock from Swiss business leaders. They were accepted close to reductions or removals of import tariffs on those countries' goods. The Trump family created a digital currency and meme coin ventures around the time of inauguration, reportedly generating billions in profit. Trump used executive orders to prioritize cryptocurrency and the easing of enforcement actions or investigations into crypto firms that heavily invested in or donated to Trump-linked platforms. Trump used his pardon power to pardon January 6th terrorists and other people who were white-collar criminals (plus easing significant restitution and fines owed to taxpayers and victims). Some people have called the Trump administration one of the most corrupt administrations in history.
The enemy of fascism and authoritarianism is international in scope. The far right AfD movement in Germany is allied with the MAGA movement, praised by Elon Musk, and some of it members have been pro-Putin allies too. Elon Musk addressed the AfD party congress in January 2025 on his way to DOGE (which crippled millions of jobs including thousands of jobs once had by black women. That was a disgrace as black women deserve the right to have a job with dignity and with respect). We know that AfD foreign policy leader Markus Frohenmaier worked with the Rubio State Department and MAGA leaders to study the methods Trump used to seize power so they could copy them. Even the DOJ accused members of Russian intelligence services of conspiring to finance terrorism and commit murder for hire in America. Putin is demonic, hiding behind the Orthodox Church. AfD is not just filled with anti-immigrant xenophobes but overt anti-Semites plus racists. Our ancestors and relatives over 80 years ago defeated the Nazis (2 of my cousins were involved in the 1944 Normandy liberation in real life). Yet, we still reckon with a new generation of reactionaries, misogynists in the manosphere cult, xenophobes, racists, and fascists who promote the same tired, evil doctrines as people did back in the day. Now, the Russian Matryoshka bot network is trying to demonize Democrats, because they realize that Trump is more malleable to Putin's interests. We don't need pro-Putin propaganda or fascism. We need democracy, equality, and justice for all.
There is a lot of news in the world. In a report from September 11 and released Monday, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) documented the use of metal torture boxes against immigrants at the Florida concentration camp. Trump and his allies promoted this place as the "Alligator Alcatraz." There are images of these cages. This is similar to the open-air cages of Guantanamo Bay and other confinement boxes that the CIA used to torture prisoners at its secret prisons. These same tactics are being used domestically in America. A facility record showed that at least one man was held in a cage for 26 minutes for failing to do a command. Immigrants at the facility have reported guard abuse, being denied legal counsel, denied medical care, denied clean water, denied recreational time, and denied edible food. The administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defended the wicked torture boxes. The Bush administration back then allowed the CIA to build a CIA network of black sites where torture existed. We know about the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib during the Iraq War. Even Barack Obama admitted that the American government tortures people and no one was held into account. We see the expansion of the surveillance state, detention, and extrajudicial killing of people during the war on terror and today. ICE has killed American citizens and undocumented immigrants alike. That is why ICE should be abolished, free people from concentration camps, and create solutions to deal with immigration issues in a democratic fashion.
The Kennedy Center being under attack by Donald Trump is disgraceful and evil. President John F. Kennedy stood up for many progressive principles. President Kennedy eloquently spoke in favor of civil rights, immigrant rights, voting rights, a strong social safety net, environmental protections, health care for the elderly (which became Medicare), and investments in the arts. We have a literacy crisis in American society now when young people and adults read less than decades ago. That should change, and President Kennedy provided the inspiration to promote literature, art, dance, and other intellectual components to outline the wonder and beauty of the arts. Also, President Kennedy was an excellent author and orator. Trump has massive egoism to advocate the Kennedy Center to add his name. Trump has threatened to cancel the $257 million to the Kennedy Center renovation. Trump thinks that he can do what he wants without restraint. Trump cares more for obsessing with maintaining inordinate power instead of advocate for the people to have the power to establish their own destinies as human beings. President John F. Kennedy's legacy was about courage, intellectual development, and calling on all Americans and the human race to stand up and use service to improve the world that we have been blessed to live on. Congresswoman Rep. Joyce Beatty has worked hard in court to defend the essence of The Kennedy Center. Trump named called Rep. Beatty (and other people in a meeting) in an unprofessional fashion which is disgraceful on the part of Trump. Rep. Beatty told Trump to his face that he has more bankruptcies than anyone in this room during the board meeting. Rep. Beatty was right to stand up for truth and not let Trump bully her. The Kennedy Center belongs to all of the American people, not to one single party or one institution.
The Federal Reserve has recently raised interest rates by a quarter point in an unanimous decision. This is the first hike in 3 years. The Federal Reserve want to combat the rising inflation going on in America. This inflation has grown by many factors. They include the tariff policies from the Trump administration, the war in Iran, rising oil prices, and other issues of diesel. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh wanted to solve the problem of inflation and stabilize the prices of goods and services. Warsh said that since the economy is at full employment, Warsh said that the FED can tame inflation without depressing growth. The latest Consumer Price Index showed that prices increased 0.3% in August. The unemployment rate in America as at 4.1%. The gas price in America is at $4.371/ gal. We know that rent, the deficit, groceries, electricity, the national debt, mortgage rates, insurance premium, etc. have gone up. The rate increase comes after Trump wanted the FED to lower the interest rates. This comes when we face artificial intelligence, the wars in the Middle East, and global energy issues.
By Timothy
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Domestic and Foreign Policy News.
There is a lot of foreign policy news. The Iranian back Houthi forces are trying to block the Red Sea. We should never forget that the Houthis are terrorists who have promoted slavery against black people in Yemen too. Putin's Russian forces have escalated their war beyond just Ukraine. Recently, Russian drones have crashed or violated the airspace of Poland, Romania, and Moldova. This is completely illegal. A drone was shot down over central Lithuania that originated from Belarus (which is a Putin ally state). NATO jets have down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace. Nations have every right to defend its airspace. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany will send troops to Lithuania to help NATO allies. We know that Umar Kremlev, the Russian oligarch who sponsored Donald Trump's Jr. wedding, is a former member of the Knight Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin, and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children. Russia had a recent defeat at Lyman in eastern Ukraine, with multiple regiments routed, heavy losses, and a collapse of the front. The Russian Volunteer Corps (RSK), a unit of anti-Putin Russians are fighting with the Ukrainian army was spearheading the fight.
Recently, the Supreme Court did the right thing to reject his push to restrict mail in ballots. This was a good day for democracy. Obviously, Trump opposed the decision. Trump has no legal or moral right to control every aspect of an American election. Only state and local governments can regulate elections. The Supreme Court helped to maintain birthright citizenship and stop Trump's ability to issue tariffs unilaterally. Also, the Supreme Court did wrong to capitulate to the Trump agenda in many areas too. Only Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas publicly dissented from the Supreme Court stopping Trump's plan to restrict mail-in voting. Attorney General Todd Blanche wanted to defend Trump's commentary about the court when Blanche acts more like Trump's attorney than an independent follower of the U.S. Constitution. Trump should not be King, and there should be no unitary executive as the three branches of government should be co-equal with checks and balances among them.
Many A.I. CEOs, former A.I. workers, and others are saying that artificial intelligence are getting too powerful. Yet, many people have talked about this issue for years. Recently, many A.I. programs already have gone rogue. Many Utopians believe in transhumanism or trying merge humans with machines filled with A.I. technology. The CEO of Antropic, the San Francisco company behind Claude said that the industry must reduce the speed of A.I. He warned that A.I. agents might take over the Internet in six months to a year unless safeguards are placed. Artificial Intelligence is the most rapidly growing technology in human history. A.I.'s capabilities now are light years ahead of what they were 5 years ago. Dario Amodei shown a plan to regulate A.I. technology. There is an A.I. race globally, and many nations want to have a primary ambassador of A.I. devices. Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker Open AI, said that companies should promote AI safety processes before even the government can act. Even Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned at a conference in July of the need to keep AI from evading human control. Many of these companies have massive control of A.I. That is why we need government regulation of artifical intelligence.
There is another controversy in music. Ed Sherran dropped Macklemore from his tour over his Pro-Palestinian performance. Macklemore said nothing offensive. He said nothing anti-Semitic. He just said that Palestinians deserve freedom from oppression and he said free Palestine. Macklemore said these comments at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. He performed his protest song called Hind's Hall as images from Gaza and footage of pro-Palestinian demonstrations appeared on screens behind him. The Israeli-American Council launched a pettion calling for Macklemore to be removed from his remaining appearances on Sheeran's tour. People forget that far right settlers in the West Bank are harming Palestinians, Christians, journalists, and other people constantly to this day. Now, I don't agree with Macklemore using a Jewish stereotypical mask before that he apologized for. I want to make that clear. They omit the war crimes committed by not just Hamas, but by members of the far right Netanyahu government. Netanyahu is a supporter and ally of the racist, sexist, and xenophobe Donald Trump. Macklemore said clearly that he is not criticizing Jewish people, but Israeli policies. He believes in peace, love, and equality. We want all people in the Middle East to have justice and equality. We don't agree with genocide, occupation, and oppression, no matter who does it. The singer Pink shared criticism of Macklemore's performance when unbiased research documents the war crimes done by Hamas and some members of the Israeli government. We desire Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, equality, and justice, but we can't whitewash what is going on in the Middle East either. Silence is not an option.
This time has been the 30th year anniversary of the passing of Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a child of Afeni Shakur and William Garland, both Black Panther Party members. He was born in East Harlem, New York City in 1971. He and his relatives were monitored by the FBI, and he moved into Baltimore. Tupac was an activist at a long ago to promote anti-crime measures and economic power in Baltimore. His life long friend Jada Pinkett Smith was with him in the Baltimore School of the Arts. Tupac studied action, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He went into Marin City, California by 1988. His mentor Leila Steinberg supported him and inspired him in his music career. Many of his songs had a political message with revolutionary themes like Panther Power which exposed imperialism, colonialism, and the hypocrisies found in American society. He was in Digital Underground, and he made his own solo career. Tupac has been through ups and downs. He reflected the desperate mentality of survival, which was the common experiences of many young black men back then. Back in the 1990s, there was great joy. I lived in the 1990s, so I experienced that joy, but the 1990s has many racial, economic, and social issues that people had to deal with too. The corporate media promotion of East/West tensions was remarkably similar to the FBI's COINTELPRO's program of trying to advance East vs. West tensions in the Black Panther Party during the 1970s. Tupac made one of the most powerful songs of all time called Dear Mama that showed love and dignity to his mother, Afeni Shakur. Jealousy and envy caused Tupac's passing by a coward. I remember his passing just like yesterday. I just started the 8th grade in middle school, and I thought that he would live (as he was shot before). When he passed, there was a lot of sadness among young people and the hip hop community in general. I was in shock, and people showed his music everywhere. There won't be another Tupac Shakur. There is only one.
Rest in Power Brother Tupac Shakur.
By Timothy
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