Dissident Voice

1. A Moral Imperative for the 2025 Canadian Election

Prime Minister Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. Photo by Thomas Padilla/AP; Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images

Back in August 2014, the New Democratic Party (NDP) was led by Tom Mulcair whose Zionism was so extreme that a sitting MP, Sana Hassainia, of the Montreal-area riding of Vercheres-Les Patriotes, could not accept Mulcair's position and chose to sit as an independent.

The current NDP leader Jagmeet Singh forthrightly denounced the genocide in Gaza and questioned current Canadian prime minister Mark Carney (Liberal Party) about his position on Gaza.

"Mr. Carney, why don't you call it what it is? It's a genocide," said Singh.

Carney replied, "This question is in front of the International Court of Justice. The situation is a horrible situation. I will not, and I will never politicize that word or this situation."

The Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is a Trump-style politician in Canada. Poilievre promises to deport critics, move Canada's embassy in Israel, and cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other international bodies assisting Palestinians.

Poilievre accused UNRWA employees of being involved in the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.

Singh demurred, "What you said about UNRWA was disgusting.… Calling it a terrorist organization is unacceptable. It's hateful and it's entirely inappropriate."

There was a choice in the United States election to vote against genocide, but people overwhelmingly voted for one of the two pro-Zionist presidential candidates in the 2024 election, despite there being presidential candidates who were opposed to the Zionist genocide.

The leaders of the two major parties in Canada present as Zionist appeasers, as demonstrated by their own words. The difference from the 2024 US election is that in Canada there is a prominent political party, the NDP, whose leader calls genocide by what it is.

Canadians have a choice to vote No to genocide on Monday, 28 April.

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2. COVID Restrictions in Ancient Times

The post COVID Restrictions in Ancient Times first appeared on Dissident Voice.

3. Trump’s Christian Nationalist Twenty-First Century Inquisition

The Inquisition was aimed at enforcing religious orthodoxy in order to preserve Christian dominance and "protect" the faithful. It was a tool for maintaining religious and political control, using interrogation, torture, and banishment. Several centuries later, in the United States, a country mostly run by White Christians, Trump, claiming "christian persecution," has launched a twenty-first century version of The Inquisition. Not only is Trump's "Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Task Force" aimed at marginalizing non-Christian communities, it is clearly geared at promoting a Christian nationalist agenda.

The Inquisition held secretive interrogations; citizens were encouraged or compelled to report heretical behavior. By encouraging anonymity, Trump's Task Force is emboldening workers to spy on each other; creating a culture of suspicion and fear. The Inquisition was religious intolerance and abuse of power on steroids. Sans brutality and physical initiation, nevertheless the impact of Trump's Task Force – thus far limited to U.S. federal institutions — appears to be heading down a path of religious orthodoxy.

Trump is escalating its war on church-state separation. Led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, the new "Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Task Force" — established by a Trump Executive Order 14202, issued February 6th, setting up a White House Faith Office headed by televangelist Paula White — recently convened a meeting of the Task Force at the Department of Justice. The room was packed with Christian nationalist cabinet members and framed as a defense against persecution.

Christians now, and since the founding, have held majority power in this country. Trump's task force is not about ending bias—it's about further institutionalizing power in favor of a single religion. And one way of consolidating power is by stoking fear.

In early April, the State Department ordered employees to report any instances of "anti-Christian bias."

This week, the Department of Veteran Affairs sent out the following internal email titled "Message From The Secretary: Task Force on Anti-Christian Bias." In the message, Secretary Douglas A. Collins encouraged all VA workers to spy on their co-workers and report any thing that a worker might claim to be anti-Christian bias. The memo from the VA's chief makes no mention of bias against Muslims, Jews or any other religious believers other than Christians.

The 11-point e-mail "Message" declared that the Veterans Administration (VA) "is establishing its own Task Force to better effectuate the Department's internal review. The VA Task Force now requests all VA employees to submit any instance of anti-Christian discrimination to vog.avnull@gnitropeRsaiBnaitsirhC-itnA.

"Submissions should include sufficient identifiers such as names, dates, and locations."

Religion News Service's Bob Smietana reported that "The email from Collins, a former Southern Baptist pastor and Air Force chaplain turned politician, lists 11 kinds of bias or discrimination — three of which specifically name Christianity — ranging from retaliation in response to requests for religious holidays or religious accommodations to discipline against chaplains in response to their sermons. The email also says the task force will "review all instances of anti-Christian bias" but makes no mention of how to report discrimination of any other faiths" (https://religionnews.com/2025/04/22/veterans-affairs-asks-employees-in-email-to-report-anti-christian-bias/).

According to The Guardian, "The email states that the department will review 'all instances of anti-Christian bias' but that it is specifically seeking instances including 'any informal policies, procedures, or unofficially understandings hostile to Christian views.'

"In addition, the department is seeking 'any adverse responses to requests for religious exemptions under the previous vaccine mandates' and 'any retaliatory actions taken or threatened in response to abstaining from certain procedures or treatments (for example: abortion or hormone therapy)'" (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/22/veterans-affairs-anti-christian-bias).

Soon after Trump's executive order, Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, "expressed concerns with the focus on anti-Christian bias but not religious liberty when Trump issued his executive order in early February.

"We have strong concerns that this new task force could be weaponized to enforce a theological conformity that will harm everyone's religious freedom, including those of Christians," she said. "Today's action is consistent with inflaming the completely unfounded claims of rampant Christian persecution in a majority-Christian nation."

The Inquisition enforced its mandate through brutality and intimidation. Trump's Task Force, which encourages anonymous reporting of so-called anti-Christian bias, is fostering a culture of surveillance and fear. With the administration hell-bent on redefining religious freedom as privileges for Christians only, we're no longer talking democracy—we're talking theocracy. This isn't about "religious freedom" — it's about Christian supremacy.

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4. Maura Finkelstein on Academic Freedom, Being Jewish, Zionism, and Palestine

Host Faramarz Farbod talks with Dr. Maura Finkelstein, writer, ethnographer, anthropologist, and author of The Archive of Loss: Lively Ruination in Mill Land Mumbai (DUP 2019). Dr. Finkelstein was falsely accused of antisemitism and fired last May (2024) from her teaching position at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. We talk about the state of academic freedom, classrooms as ethnographic spaces, decanonization, being Jewish and anti-Zionist in the US, Zionism, Israel, misuses of antisemitism, Islamophobia, empire, and the present moment in history.

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5. Ten Commandments for the New American Century

First Commandment: THOU SHALT TAKE MONEY OUT OF POLITICS

No money in politics. Zero! First, people should stand up and declare unequivocally they will not vote for anyone who takes ANY money from corporations, lobbyists and PACs. Then, down the road, by having elections 100% financed out of public funds, we can build a democracy where our legislators might actually have some time to legislate. It is common knowledge, most federal office holders spend enormous amounts of time raising funds and worrying about winning the next election, instead of doing the job we voted them in office to do. Let's end this right now!

Second Commandment: THOU SHALT HONOR CHOICE AT THE POLLS

It's time to institute instant run-off, approval or range voting. This will allow minor party candidates to run at all levels of government without the understandable fear that a voter is throwing away her or his vote. Our current system has, as Ralph Nader has been saying all along, become a choice between Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. Without real choice, meaning a range that covers the entire spectrum of political opinion, democracy becomes a sham, and purely an exercise in futility.

Third Commandment: THOU SHALT RESPECT THE COMMONS

Right off, we need to re-establish a commons. So much of what constitutes the foundation for a functioning society has been privatized — prisons, education, utilities, mail, roads, bridges. And it hasn't worked out well, has it? The nation's infrastructure is a shambles. There are some basic things we should all be able to have free and open access to, facilities and services which should not be at the mercy of the so-called free market: education, clean air and water, energy, health care, retirement security, the INTERNET, police, fire and ambulance services, nutrition and mental health counseling. This is not socialism. It's having a country that works.

Fourth Commandment: THOU SHALT PUT MONEY CREATION AND THE CONTROL OF THE NATION'S CURRENCY BACK INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

The control and issuance of currency must be returned to the federal government. The Federal Reserve is no more "federal" than Federal Express, and as a result America is now hostage to private banks and we rapidly becoming their serf-slaves. Either nationalize or abolish the Federal Reserve and return creation of our fiat currency to the people of America, regulated by a legitimate, functioning system of representative government.

Fifth Commandment: THOU SHALT LIVE BY RULE OF LAW

We have a two-tiered legal system, a gentle one for the privileged, a brutal one for the rest of us. The oligarchs do what they want unfettered by pesky legal restraints. Sometimes the same laws which should apply are used to oppress and incarcerate the rest of us. Same thing on an international level. Two tiers. The U.S. bullies the world, ignoring treaty obligations and international law, treating other countries as vassal states. But it uses the same legal instruments as a bludgeon, holding every other nation's feet to the fire with sanctions, UN resolutions, trade agreements — whatever — when it serves our interests, or more accurately, the interests of corporations and Wall Street banks, which are really setting the agenda. This gross hypocrisy is creating enemies everywhere. We are long overdue to again respect the law, apply it equally and fairly across the board, both at home and around the world.

Sixth Commandment: THOU SHALT REIN IN CAPITALISM

A nice breeze on a clear spring day — good! . . . A level 5 hurricane that destroys vast swaths of dwellings and kills countless people — bad! . . . Surfer and swimmer-friendly waves lapping up on a sandy beach — good! . . . A tsunami crushing whole towns with a 100 foot wall of terrifying force — bad! . . . Sunlight from hydrogen fusion nurturing our planet with gentle rays of light and warmth — good! . . . An inferno of hydrogen fusion raining down on cities across the world as mammoth nuclear bombs, destroying the entire human race — bad! We mostly tend to agree that capitalism provides a powerful engine to drive development and progress. But too much of it and societies are crushed, democracies destroyed, vast numbers of people are relegated to serf status. Other countries have strict regulation and state control to check the ravaging effects of unfettered capitalism. Now it's America's turn. Either we rein it in or we can kiss good-bye our once-great country as it descends into the dustbin of history. And if the capitalist monster cannot be tamed, then it's high time we eliminated it completely, replacing it with a system which more incentivizes noble and sustaining human traits than no-holds-barred competition, sociopathic greed, and ruthless exploitation.

Seventh Commandment: THOU SHALT MAKE CORPORATIONS SERVANTS OF THE GREATER GOOD

It will be tough but the whole bogus concept of corporate personhood must be expunged. Totally voided. It was put in place by devious methods and now must be rooted out. In general, it's way past time to drastically restrict the charters of corporations, such that the interests of people are balanced with the pursuit of profit. This is the way it used to be in the early days of our nation. Back then, corporations were set up for specific and usually public-spirited projects, assigned a very narrowly defined charter and a fixed duration. When whatever was supposed to get done got done, the corporation was dissolved. Maybe we don't have to return to such a limited implementation in our modern world, but we do have to require that corporations serve the common good. It is entirely legal to dictate that corporations act responsibly and take into account the needs of the community they serve, especially the communities where they reside. We have to elect individuals who are not in the pockets of the corporations and have them re-write the laws for doing the business of America. If the multinational behemoths don't like it, let them set up in China, Vietnam or Bangladesh. That's where they already have their factories anyway. Ultimately this will not harm the economy, it will create a society which is healthy and prosperous for everyone.

Eighth Commandment: THOU SHALT PROMOTE PEACE AND BE LOVED AGAIN

America must be taken off its war footing. The high-alert status both at home and around the world is nothing more than highly destructive fear-mongering. It is used to promote a belligerent self-sabotaging approach to international relations. It's the product of a grossly delusional neocon imperialistic agenda which Americans don't support — "exceptionalist" chest-beating which fills the coffers of the defense contractors but bankrupts the rest of us both financially and spiritually. We've meddled and bombed enough. It has accomplished nothing and created more problems and more enemies than we had before we decided that military force was the only way to deal with disagreements and crises in the world. It has also subjected the American people to unprecedented and unconstitutional levels of surveillance and a gross abrogation of our rights as citizens. Time to try peace and cooperation instead of threats and bullying.

Ninth Commandment: THOU SHALT RESPECT MOTHER EARTH

Enough silly arguing and tiptoeing around climate change. It's happening, it could destroy the human race. It will without a doubt reduce civilization to a shell of its former glory and sophistication. Let's get to work. Global warming and resource depletion represent the greatest threats to mankind in recorded history. Responsible use of resources and creation of sustainable sources of energy are not only necessary, but could be the greatest unifying force ever! Brainstorming and planning will create a monumental paradigm shift and the subsequent implementation of our collective ingenuity will create jobs and bring together behind a common purpose, a world which is torn by divisiveness, fear, suspicion, anger. Though time is quickly running out, the challenge of a planet in crisis doesn't have to end in total disaster. On the contrary, this could be a historic opportunity for a massive global initiative — one of renewal and fellowship.

Tenth Commandment: THOU SHALT LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

The rich and powerful have had a good run. The party is over. The wealthy should start paying back the country which gave birth to their monumental success. Inherited wealth does not give back to the community, the social and political environment that supported the accumulation of all that money. Tax it at 95% above $5 million. The heirs of the Koch brothers will just have to squeak by on their $5.2 billion. Capital gains? Capital gains is income. Tax it at the same rate as personal income. Speaking of which — time to return to the progressive tax rates of the 60s and 70s. You know them. The ones which resulted in a thriving economy! Massive tax reform across the board is in order, closing of all loopholes, penalizing off-shoring of profits, and the complete elimination of corporate welfare. Do I hear screaming of 'SOCIALISM!' out there? Get a life! Yes, this is redistribution of wealth. It's been going on for thousands of years. It's what makes a functioning society possible.

I confess, I'm not up to speed on my Bible studies. But I remember hearing at some point, there were originally twenty commandments. I guess our good guy, Moses, lost a tablet or two on his way down from the mountain.

I take this as meaning there's room on my list for even more. So let's come up with some ideas for Commandments 11-20. All reasonable and constructive ideas are welcome.

I'll bet there's a little Moses in everyone just hankering to bust out.

Come on. Go for it!

Let's make America serve all its citizens, not just the rich and powerful.

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6. How a President Becomes a Dictator

130 executive orders in under 100 days.

Sweeping powers claimed in the name of "security" and "efficiency."

One president acting as lawmaker, enforcer, and judge.

No debate. No oversight. No limits.

This is how the Constitution dies—not with a coup, but with a pen.

The Unitary Executive Theory is no longer a theory—it's the architecture of a dictatorship in motion.

Where past presidents have used executive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statements to circumvent Congress or sidestep the rule of law, President Trump is using executive orders to advance his "unitary executive theory" of governance, which is a thinly disguised excuse for a government by fiat.

In other words, these executive orders are the mechanism by which we finally arrive at a full-blown dictatorship.

America's founders established a system of checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power in any single branch. To this end, the Constitution establishes three separate but equal branches of government: the legislative branch, which makes the law; the executive branch, which enforces the law; and the judicial branch, which interprets the law.

And yet, despite this carefully balanced structure, we now find ourselves in a place the founders warned against.

Despite Trump's attempts to rule by fiat, the president has no unilateral authority to operate outside the Constitution's system of checks and balances—no matter how urgent the crisis or how well-meaning the intentions.

This is what government by fiat looks like.

Where Congress was once the nation's lawmaking body, its role is now being eclipsed by a deluge of executive directives—each one issued without public debate, legislative compromise, or judicial review.

These executive orders aren't mere administrative housekeeping. They represent a radical shift in how power is exercised in America, bypassing democratic institutions in favor of unilateral command. From trade and immigration to surveillance, speech regulation, and policing, the president is claiming broad powers that traditionally reside with the legislative and judicial branches.

Some orders invoke national security to disrupt global markets. Others attempt to override congressional control over tariffs, fast-track weapons exports, or alter long-standing public protections through regulatory rollbacks. A few go even further—flirting with ideological loyalty tests for citizenship, chilling dissent through financial coercion, and expanding surveillance in ways that undermine due process and privacy.

Yet here's where these actions run into constitutional peril: they redefine executive authority in ways that bypass the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution. They centralize decision-making in the White House, sideline the legislative process, and reduce the judiciary to an afterthought—if not an outright obstacle.

Each of these directives, taken individually, might seem technocratic or temporary. But taken together, they reveal the architecture of a parallel legal order—one in which the president acts as lawmaker, enforcer, and judge. That is not how a constitutional republic operates. That is how a dictatorship begins.

Each of these orders marks another breach in the constitutional levee, eroding the rule of law and centralizing unchecked authority in the executive.

This is not merely policy by another name—it is the construction of a parallel legal order, where the president acts as lawmaker, enforcer, and judge—the very state of tyranny our founders sought to prevent.

This legal theory—the so-called Unitary Executive—is not new. But under this administration, it has metastasized into something far more dangerous: a doctrine of presidential infallibility.

What began as a constitutional interpretation that the president controls the executive branch has morphed into an ideological justification for unchecked power.

Under this theory, all executive agencies, decisions, and even enforcement priorities bend entirely to the will of the president—obliterating the idea of an independent bureaucracy or impartial governance.

The result? An imperial presidency cloaked in legalism.

Historically, every creeping dictatorship has followed this pattern: first, undermine the legislative process; then, centralize enforcement powers; finally, subjugate the judiciary or render it irrelevant. America is following that roadmap, one executive order at a time.

Even Supreme Court justices and legal scholars who once defended broad executive authority are beginning to voice concern.

Yet the real danger of the Unitary Executive Theory is not simply that it concentrates power in the hands of the president—it's that it does so by ignoring the rest of the Constitution.

Respect for the Constitution means obeying it even when it's inconvenient to do so.

We're watching the collapse of constitutional constraints not through tanks in the streets, but through policy memos drafted in the West Wing.

No matter how well-meaning the politicians make these encroachments on our rights appear, in the right (or wrong) hands, benevolent plans can easily be put to malevolent purposes. Even the most principled policies can be twisted to serve illegitimate ends once power and profit enter the equation.

The war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on illegal immigration, asset forfeiture schemes, road safety schemes, school safety schemes, eminent domain: all of these programs started out as legitimate responses to pressing concerns and have since become weapons of compliance and control in the police state's hands.

We are approaching critical mass.

The groundwork has been laid for a new kind of government where it doesn't matter if you're innocent or guilty, whether you're a threat to the nation, or even if you're a citizen.

What will matter is what the government—or whoever happens to be calling the shots at the time—thinks. And if the powers-that-be think you're a threat to the nation and should be locked up, then you'll be locked up with no access to the protections our Constitution provides.

In effect, you will disappear.

Our freedoms are already being made to disappear.

This is how tyranny arrives: not with a constitutional amendment, but with a series of executive orders; not with a military coup, but with a legal memo; not with martial law, but with bureaucratic obedience and public indifference.

A government that rules by fiat, outside of constitutional checks and balances, is not a republic. It is a dictatorship in everything but name.

If freedom is to survive this constitutional crisis, We the People must reclaim our role as the ultimate check on government power.

That means holding every branch of government accountable to the rule of law. It means demanding that Congress do its job—not merely as a rubber stamp or partisan enabler, but as a coequal branch with the courage to rein in executive abuses.

It means insisting that the courts serve justice, not politics.

And it means refusing to normalize rule by decree, no matter who sits in the Oval Office.

There is no freedom without limits on power.

There is no Constitution if it can be ignored by those who swear to uphold it.

The presidency was never meant to be a throne. The Constitution was never meant to be optional. And the people were never meant to be silent.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, the time to speak out is now.

As our revolutionary forefathers learned the hard way, once freedom is lost, it is rarely regained without a fight.

 

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7. Not Taking a Position on Gaza IS Taking a Position on Gaza

It's not okay to claim ignorance or uncertainty about what's happening in Gaza in 2025. You're an adult. You have internet access. If you don't know, learn. You can't just go "it too compwicated, me no understandy, googoo gaga." It's not cute and it's not okay. Grow the fuck up.

Not taking a position on Gaza IS taking a position on Gaza. One you'll have to live with for the rest of your life. One you will be judged by history for. One you will have to explain to your grandkids. Failure to oppose a genocide that your own government is supporting is consenting to the genocidal status quo.

If this is the case with you, then that's a character flaw, and you need to change it. It's not okay for you to be that way. Knock that shit off.

*****

Israel is destroying the heavy machinery needed to clear rubble and rescue people trapped under buildings in Gaza.

https://x.com/AssalRad/status/1914818312133087627

Countless people have died slow, agonizing deaths trapped under destroyed buildings since this nightmare began. Have you ever taken the time to deeply contemplate that? What a horrifying way to die that is? Being alive but with your body partially crushed, alone and in agony unable to move in the darkness, surrounded by members of your family who are either dead or similarly trapped, possibly for days until you die of dehydration?

Maybe the worst part would be knowing that you're surrounded by survivors who would like to get you out of there, but can't because they don't have the equipment necessary to move the enormous pieces of rubble overtop of you. Knowing you're trapped, and you're never getting out.

This has happened to people countless times since the beginning of this onslaught in 2023. And Israel is going out of its way to make sure even more people die this way.

*****

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has rejected appeals by the World Health Organization to put pressure on Israel to end its starvation blockade on Gaza, saying, "What I would like to suggest is that we work together on putting the pressure where it really belongs — on Hamas."

Huckabee is a fanatical Christian Zionist who has said that there is "no such thing as a Palestinian" and that Israel has a right to the entirety of the West Bank.

If you believe your religion tells you to support the butchery and starvation of the people of Gaza, then your religious beliefs are bad, and you should change them. There's no point in having a religion if it doesn't even help you understand that genocide is an inexcusable evil.

There's too much religious tolerance in our society. If you believe your religion tells you to support an active genocide, then everyone should call you an asshole and tell you to get different beliefs.

I actually agree with conservatives who say we need to be less tolerant toward people with unwholesome religious beliefs — I just disagree about whom that intolerance should be directed toward. It's not Muslims telling me it's right to support the Gaza holocaust, it's Christian Zionists and Jewish Zionists. They belong to death cults which tell them that God wants them to support these profoundly evil things. These death cults should not exist, and anyone who belongs to them should leave. It should not be even slightly controversial to say this.

I don't care what you believe about any deity or deities or how we should live or what happens to us after we die. Believe whatever you want as pertains to you and yours. But if your religious beliefs tell you to support Israel's daily massacres and mass starvation, then your religious beliefs are bad, and people should not be tolerant toward them.

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8. Story Time

The post Story Time first appeared on Dissident Voice.

9. Israel Stalls and the International Court of Justice Complies

One year ago, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel had fifteen months to prepare their defense ("counter memorial") against the charges of genocide filed by South Africa. They were told to present their arguments by 28 July 2025.

That seems like a very long time in a case involving the daily killing of many people, including children. But it was not enough time for Israel, which on 27 March 2025 filed a request to extend the time.

In a very recent decision, the International Court of Justice has obliged and extended the time by six months. Israel can continue killing with impunity, and their defense to the International Court of Justice is not required until 28 January 2026.

There has been very little news of this decision.  The ICJ did not issue a press release, despite this being their most sensational case. Accordingly, the decision has not been reported in The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Guardian.  Meanwhile, Israeli media reported, "EXCLUSIVE: Israel secures six month delay in Hague Court proceedings."

Another important story that has been largely ignored by Western media is regarding the sole Judge who voted in favor of Israel in every single decision so far in this case. That person, Judge Julia Sebutinde, has been revealed to have grossly plagiarized the writings of two ultra-zionists:  Douglas Feith and David Brog. Feith is a co-author of the infamous Netanyahu plan, "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," and part of the Bush/Cheney team that campaigned for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.   Brog is Jewish but helped to found Christians United for Israel. He is currently the head of Miriam Adelson's "Maccabee Task Force".  Anti-zionist scholar Norman Finkelstein has discovered that 32% of the ICJ judge's pro-Israel dissenting opinion was plagiarized from Feith, Brog, and others.

As the saying goes, "Justice delayed is justice denied." And if nobody reports or knows about it, did it really happen?  Along with dead Palestinians in Gaza, Israel is trying and perhaps succeeding in killing the International Court of Justice.

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10. Challenges to Nepal’s Republican Structure from Monarchists and Why?

On March 28, 2025, pro-republic and pro-monarchy forces organised rival protests in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, to showcase public support for and against the Republic. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, about 4,000 people attended the pro-monarchy rally, while around 35,000 joined the pro-republican protest. This was the second major monarchist demonstration following a bigger rally welcoming the king back from Pokhara on March 9. Pro-monarchy forces have been increasingly active, particularly after the former king Gyanendra Shah's provocative statement on the eve of Democracy Day (February 19).

Sensing the offense of counterrevolutionary forces, the pro-republican protest, organized under the Socialist Front, an alliance of the four opposition left parties, aimed to counter what they call reactionary and regressive forces. While the republican demonstration remained peaceful, the monarchists turned violent, vandalizing public and private property and attacking security personnel. In the aftermath, two people lost their lives, and several were injured.

The violent pro-monarchy demonstration sparked intense debate. Republicans claim the monarchists attempted to create chaos and exploit the crisis while the government also accused them of inciting violence. The monarchists, however, argue they faced suppression from the police.

Pro-monarchy protestors turn violent in Tinkune and Kathmandu. Source: Online People's News

Recognising the impact of March 28 protests, inside and outside Nepal, the monarchists are planning nationwide protests and have already formed a joint coordination committee. Meanwhile, after the monarchists vandalised the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) [CPN (US)] headquarters and damaged properties, the Socialist Front has committed to defend the achievements of the peaceful People's Movement of 2006, which abolished monarchy and paved the way for a socialism-oriented constitution. Uncertainty remains, but two things are evident: Monarchists are uniting and mobilising aggressively, while republican forces remain firm. This could strengthen left unity, though questions persist about division within the largest parties, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) [CPN (UML)]) and Nepali Congress (NC) on republicanism.

NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba may support the Republic, but it is an open secret that many others within his party favour Hindu nationalism and monarchy, and oppose the federal structure of Nepal. There many who question the ruling CPN (UML) asking if its top leadership is pro-monarchy, even while acknowledging that majority oppose the monarchy within the party. The fourth-largest party, the independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Kathmandu's mayor, rapper Balen Shah, are exploiting the situation to challenge traditional parties and the current political system. There are reports that the monarchists are backed by Indian forces – the ruling regime, the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) active role in Nepal, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath – who are supporting financially, politically, and even militarily. The republicans struggle in Nepal for defending constitutional democracy will not be that easy.

Mekha Limbu(Nepal), We are on the way to death, 2012.

Historical Context and Dialectics

Nepal's unpredictable politics cannot be understood without historical, dialectical, and global perspectives. Its geopolitical location, India-China rivalry, Hindu fundamentalism, US influence, and EU interests, the recent populist tendencies, etc. have turned Nepal into a battleground for power struggles. When leftist coalitions emerge to govern the country India in alliance with the US and right-wing forces, works to weaken them. Internal party rifts further destabilize the government. Therefore, it may be seen that all the forces within the nation and outside, will unite to weaken Nepali state and create further crisis.

Political instability has been a great challenge of Nepalese democracy. Nepal's political instability is evident in its frequent government changes – 32 since multiparty democracy was restored in 1990, and 13 since Nepal became a republic in 2008. The current government that ruling Nepal is the 14th.

On top political instability, the republicans in Nepal underestimated the monarchy's revival. Even leftist forces overlooked the resurgence of counterrevolutionary elements. Some self-proclaimed theoreticians focused solely on comprador bourgeoisie as the enemy of Nepal's working class while ignoring conservatives, reactionaries, and fundamentalists. As previously noted, after overthrowing the monarchy, there was no significant effort to transform production relations in Nepal and create alternative cultural structures, leaving ample space for people to aspire for the monarchy's return.

Mass media and social media blame top leaders Deuba, K. P. Sharma Oli, and Prachanda, who have collectively ruled for decades, for the crises. Deuba has been prime minister six times, Oli four, and Prachanda three. Other former PMs still lead parties and remain active. These aging leaders have dominated Nepal's politics for 30 years. However, deeper systemic issues are more influential than people or parties.

Socialist Front rallies at Bhrikuti Mandap. Source: Online People's News

Why Is This Happening in Nepal?

A.) Political Instability and Systemic Crisis

Nepal faces severe political instability, deep inequality, unemployment, slow economic growth, weak industrialisation, mass migration, poverty, food insecurity, and rising debt. Climate crises and disasters add to these challenges. Various forces exploit these crises for their interests. Government changes bring only new rulers, not solutions. People are increasingly frustrated with political parties and the system itself. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal, which established a federal democratic republic, is under threat. Federalism is criticised, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascism and populism are on the rise. Pro-monarchist forces are capitalising on this turmoil. While most acknowledge Nepal's problems, reactionary forces blame political parties and the republican system itself. They falsely claim that restoring monarchy, re-establishing a Hindu state, and ending federalism as the solutions. It is prudent to note that many of these groups receive political and financial support from Hindutva-aligned conservatives.

B.) Failure of the Government to Deliver
The current government holds a two-thirds majority, with two parties who have been historically rivals uniting. Its failure to govern effectively is seen as proof that Nepal's political system itself is failing. This perception fuels calls for alternative governance models, including a return to monarchy.

C.) Corruption, Bad Governance, and Impunity

Recent scandals—such as the Gold Scam, Bhutanese Refugee Scam, and Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Scam—have exposed massive corruption within the state. People now believe that no political leader is clean, as all have been in power at some point. Lack of rule of law, poor governance, and impunity for corrupt leaders have enraged the public. The perception that all top leaders are involved in scandals has made accountability almost impossible.

D.) Public Frustration and Growing Anti-Establishment Sentiment

Government failure, rising unemployment, and foreign labour migration have fuelled widespread frustration. Reactionary and populist forces frame their movements as a revolt against the political establishment. This anti-establishment sentiment explains the rise of figures like Durga Prasai and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah. Shah's election was largely due to public anger toward traditional parties. People are increasingly rejecting established political structures, creating space for monarchists and other challengers.

Shashi Bikram Shah(Nepal), Royal Massacre Series, 2001.

E.) Lack of Development Agendas and Weak Leadership

Nepali leaders lack a vision for national development. They show little concern for public suffering, employment opportunities, or economic growth. Instead, they are focused on power, corruption, and alliances with corporate and comprador elites. Leadership incompetence is another major issue. Most leaders have failed to demonstrate effective governance. Though they may be politically experienced, they lack the ability to transform Nepal's economy and society.

F.) Weakening of the State and Attacks on the Left

There is lot of ideological degeneration in Nepal's Left movements as they are heavily infiltrated by conservatives. Also, political revisionism has made the Left on the whole indistinguishable from the bourgeois parties. Many leftists have abandoned class struggle, allowing right-wing forces to gain ground. Anti-communist elements are actively working to defame Nepal's left, weakening national sovereignty and progress. A corrupt judiciary and penetrated bureaucracy further ensure that genuine reformers are isolated or sidelined. Crime networks and muscle power dominate the political scene, making systemic change difficult.

Amid this crisis, pro-monarchy conservatives and reactionaries are exploiting public frustration. While systemic failures are widely acknowledged, these groups falsely present monarchy, Hindu nationalism, and the abolition of federalism as solutions. Many suspect these efforts are backed by right-wing Hindutva groups.

Major political parties' failure to offer a development agenda has left a vacuum that reactionary forces are filling. The 2015 Constitution, which established Nepal as a federal democratic republic, now faces threats from both political actors and street movements. Federalism is under scrutiny, republicanism is questioned, and neo-fascist and populist movements are growing.

Urgent responses from the government and political parties are necessary. Nepal's crisis is deeply systemic, with instability and foreign interference fuelling continued failure. Without addressing corruption, delivering reforms, and safeguarding democratic institutions, Nepal risks further regression. The world watches as one of the youngest republics struggles to navigate this precarious moment.

First published at Tricontinental Asia.

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