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Surveillance Capitalism is a global architecture of behavior modification which poses profound threats to society. It was invented at Google, duplicated at Facebook, and has moved almost seamlessly into virtually every economic sector. Vast wealth is accumulated in an ominous new economic order where predictions of our behavior are bought and sold. Surveillance Capitalism has ominous consequences for democracy and humanity in the 21st century. It is based on extreme inequalities of knowledge and power. It claims human experience as a free source of raw material and challenges our autonomy and social solidarity. Our minds are being mined and harvested for data and are being fundamentally changed in the process. Surveillance Capitalism is a business model that Shoshana Zuboff says seeks growth by cataloguing our “every move, emotion, utterance and desire.”

For decades Palestine and Palestinians were associated with terror and terrorism. In political discourse and popular culture Palestinians were often typecast as blood thirsty killers. As the great Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said once ruefully observed, “Palestine is a thankless cause, one in which if you truly serve, you get nothing back but opprobrium, abuse, and ostracism. How many friends avoid the subject? How many colleagues want none of Palestine's controversy? How many bien pensant liberals have time for Bosnia and Somalia, Rwanda and South Africa and Nicaragua and human and civil rights everywhere on earth, but not for Palestine and Palestinians?” There are signs that may be changing. A new generation of activists has breathed fresh energy into the question of Palestine. The BDS, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, has attracted more and more adherents. The pendulum is shifting. Interviewed by David Barsamian. Recorded at KSFR.

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has one of the world's highest murder rates. More than half of its population of about ten million live in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. Since the June 2009 coup overthrowing the government of President Manuel Zelaya the country has been ruled by repressive regimes. Washington, under Obama and Hillary Clinton backed the coup. Today, oligarchic rule pauperizes the people. Corruption is rampant. Violence is widespread. Criminals literally get away with murder. Some Hondurans, seeking a better and safer future for themselves and their families join the caravans heading north to the U.S. border. The journey is fraught with peril. Their chances of getting asylum are slim. Others remain behind and resist the tyranny.

The famous words: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war no more” are attributed to Isaiah in 700 B.C. Abolition of war. An age-old dream? Idealistic? Yes. But as the planet moves closer to destruction we must abolish war. War and the threat of war. It’s an old story. Populations are subjected to propaganda. Fear is manufactured. We deploy our troops to fight around the world. At the beginning of the Cold War, Senator Arthur Vandenberg told President Harry Truman that if wanted a militarized U.S. foreign policy he’d better “scare the hell out of American people.” That’s been Washington’s playbook ever since. Everywhere we look there are threats or potential threats. Let's get rid of war before it gets rid of us.

Politicians and pundits love to go on and on about "the rule of law." The concept that no one is above the law is laudatory and central to a functioning democracy. But we can easily see the grotesque disparities in the application of law and the prosecution of those who commit crimes in the streets vs. those who commit crimes in the suites. From invading and bombing countries to suborning perjury, to witness tampering, to tax evasion, to bribery, the big boys and girls are not brought to justice, They are not held accountable for their crimes. Instead, they are rewarded by fat book contracts and lecture fees. No wonder some people are cynical. The hypocrisy is hard to miss. How can we move from being the land of the lawless to a society where the rule of law prevails?

Malcolm X is a singular figure in African-American history. He led an extraordinary life. He was born in an impoverished family in Omaha, NE on May 19, 1925. He recalled being “dizzy” with hunger. He said, “My whole life has been a chronology of changes.” Indeed it was. He went through a remarkable series of transformations from being a street hustler known as Detroit Red to going to jail, to converting to Islam then breaking with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and becoming an independent voice for black dignity, self-reliance, and economic independence. Malcolm challenged the racist white power structure and the blacks who went along with it. He was only 39 years old when he was assassinated on February 21, 1965 in New York. Maya Angelou said of him, “His aura was too bright.” He had a charismatic presence and a radiant smile. And he was an electrifying orator. At his funeral, Ossie Davis eulogized him as our “prince. Our own black shining prince.” Today, Malcolm’s autobiography continues to be read and his words continue to inspire.

One day, a few years ago, I was walking in San Francisco’s Mission district and looked up and saw a sign that said: “Arizmendi Bakery. Worker owned and operated.” This piqued my curiosity. I went inside to find out more. I learned that Arizmendi was the name of the priest who, in the 1950s, help launch the Mondragon cooperative in the hardscrabble Basque region of Spain. Today, Mondragon is one of the most successful coops in the world. The Co-op employs more than 70,000 workers and is the tenth largest enterprise in Spain. In the Bay Area, inspired by Mondragon, workers have formed multiple co-ops. Co-ops have a long tradition that is characterized by democratic decision making, equitable pay, and worker input. In response to robber baron contemporary capitalism, workers from taxi drivers to dairy farmers are forming co-ops.

Historically, Venezuela has been an ATM machine for U.S. corporations. Located on the northern coast of South America with a population of 32 million, Venezuela is rich in  natural resources: diamonds, bauxite, gold, iron ore, natural gas and oil, especially oil. The election of Hugo Chavez in 1998 heralded in what he called the Bolivarian Revolution. It was a challenge to U.S. hegemony. After his death in 2013 he was succeeded by Nicolas Maduro who stood for election in that same year and won. Maduro was reelected in 2018. The economy is in crisis. There is runaway inflation. Supermarket shelves are empty. Many people have left for neighboring countries. The economy is being crippled by sanctions imposed by the U.S., Canada, and other countries. Ordinary Venezuelans are suffering. Washington is leading the charge for regime change in Venezuela.

Historically, Venezuela has been an ATM machine for U.S. corporations. Located on the northern coast of South America with a population of 32 million, Venezuela is rich in  natural resources: diamonds, bauxite, gold, iron ore, natural gas and oil, especially oil. The election of Hugo Chavez in 1998 heralded in what he called the Bolivarian Revolution. It was a challenge to U.S. hegemony. After his death in 2013 he was succeeded by Nicolas Maduro who stood for election in that same year and won. Maduro was reelected in 2018. The economy is in crisis. There is runaway inflation. Supermarket shelves are empty. Many people have left for neighboring countries. The economy is being crippled by sanctions imposed by the U.S., Canada, and other countries. Ordinary Venezuelans are suffering. Washington is leading the charge for regime change in Venezuela.

In some ways Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered twice. First by an assassin’s bullet in Memphis and then by killing his revolutionary message. Today, King is largely remembered with special holiday sales. His vision of radical revolution muted. He posed a special threat to the power structure. It was one thing to demand desegregation of lunch counters and quite another when in his Beyond Vietnam speech he called for: “a radical redistribution of economic andpolitical power . . . a revolution of values . . . We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together. . . The whole structure of American life must be changed.” Those words in 1967 resonate today. The dream of revolution, of creating a society based on equality and justice lives on.