The Trade Wars Are Here, And It’s Worse Than We Thought
Left Critique, Commentary Daniel Woods Left Critique, Commentary Daniel Woods

The Trade Wars Are Here, And It’s Worse Than We Thought

What many of us had long suspected has been ultimately proven correct, and as the trade war begins in earnest we will all begin to see just how insidious these tariffs will be in our every day lives. US oil companies export premium crude abroad for outrageous profits in less-developed countries, meanwhile importing cheap, sour crude for more rigorous refining at a profit at home. Do you believe that increased US oil drilling will lead to cheaper prices here, or larger profits for the oil oligarchy? Will US manufacturers lower prices for Americans or simply destroy/restrict their products to stretch out their always unreachable profit goals? Do you have the $1200/year that these tariffs are expected to cost US consumers? Can you spare $100/month to make the US administration feel good about itself?

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Trump Wants To Bully The World, The State Of American Soft Power Puts It All At Risk
Left Critique, Commentary Daniel Woods Left Critique, Commentary Daniel Woods

Trump Wants To Bully The World, The State Of American Soft Power Puts It All At Risk

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio heading to Panama and other Latin American countries as his first diplomatic mission tells us that the US has blinked. The threat of a hard power intervention showing itself as the tantrum it was and still not being enough to sway a country which could normally be easily managed through the velvet glove of diplomacy and a few $billion in economic aid. And it would be ignorant to think that Presidents Petro and Sheinbaum were oblivious to that reality in the moment, that any country could observe the outrageous opening salvo at Panama and see it as anything but a weak country with no political sway outside of the economic dependents the US calls “allies.”

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Mangione and Palestine: Two Faces of the Imperial Polyhedron
Commentary Daniel Woods Commentary Daniel Woods

Mangione and Palestine: Two Faces of the Imperial Polyhedron

Luigi Mangione is an example of just what happens whenever the strictures of expansionism abroad translate to real deprivation at home, the continued over-investment of resources in external affairs allowing for a complete degradation of affairs here. The pressure has mounted across the country, building against the banking, housing, education, manufacturing, service, and healthcare industries with little to no release as US legislators focus almost exclusively on the maintenance of empire and the intentional distraction of their constituencies which this necessitates.

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So You Want a Definition of Fascism
Commentary Daniel Woods Commentary Daniel Woods

So You Want a Definition of Fascism

Slavery existed before we named the system; the idea of stolen labor a fundamental principle to the ideology of the capitalist, yet predating the invention of the definition by millennia. In fact, it was chattel slavery, the reduction of human beings to a class of livestock, which truly sowed the seeds for what Capitalism is today. Indeed, the East India Trading Company was established in 1600 and what, if not capitalist, was it if not the seizure of the means of production and distribution from the commoner for the benefit of the lords and financiers of Europe? What was the Slave Triangle if not the express theft of the means of production in its rawest form for the use of landed elites in both the Old World and New?

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Identity 2024: Race and Capital in the United States
Left Critique Daniel Woods Left Critique Daniel Woods

Identity 2024: Race and Capital in the United States

Today, the United States finds itself in a perilous state; whether looking at the plight of the poor or our many communities of color (how too often these are interchangeable), it is all but impossible to ignore the intersections that exist between the two as all except the most wealthy, educated, and socially insulated continue to slide deeper into the sucking mire of a dying nation.

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Land Back & Free Palestine
US Elections, International Affairs Daniel Woods US Elections, International Affairs Daniel Woods

Land Back & Free Palestine

Palestine is precedent for all Peoples including, and especially, those who are still occupied within and by the United States in the Americas and abroad. How can Western leaders, all of which are some variant of “lawyer,” not see the writing on the wall; is this the overarching reason for Biden and the DNC’s, frankly, klannish adherence to Zionism and the Western colonialism for which it stands?

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Terrorism in Russia is Nothing Special, or Surprising
International Affairs Daniel Woods International Affairs Daniel Woods

Terrorism in Russia is Nothing Special, or Surprising

The fact is that terror like that seen today in Russia is no different than that seen anywhere else the roots of imperialism have begun to suck the ground dry; places like Prague, Serbia, and Germany saw in 2023 alone just the same impacts as Moscow today. At home, do I need to provide examples of the nationalistic hate that is flooding our society with violence? I’m sure we can all name at least 3.

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Do You Deserve to Retire?
US Elections Daniel Woods US Elections Daniel Woods

Do You Deserve to Retire?

Your benefit to society is not measured by your ability to drive a nail, drop off a letter, or run a checkout line; your value is not equivalent to moving boxes, driving trucks, planting seed, or cleaning rooms. You deserve to be secure in all stages of life irrespective of your ability to directly input in the most “valuable” forms of work in society, the current discussion around Social Security shows that Liberals of both party-designations can only see you through the lens of disposable parts.

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