The Green Planet Monitor

Smash And Grab

A CONVERSATION WITH NIKHIL PAL SINGH From Caracas to Minnesota, from Iran and Cuba to the streets of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City, from the Persian Gulf to the waters of the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, Donald Trump and his henchmen are collapsing US foreign military and domestic policing operations into a single, unified domain of imperial impunity. A domain where anything goes; where Trump and his minions, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and US ‘Homeland Security’ chiefs, consider themselves free to carry out military/policing operations without restraint, largely immune from Congressional oversight, and beyond the reaches of international and domestic US law. Their preferred  modus: sudden, highly dramatic acts of violence and murder that can be parlayed into media spectacles, staged for instant transmission to the American public and the world on Donald Trump’s “Truth Social” platform. “Smash and grab” operations, American historian Nikhil Pal Singh calls these. In a recent article for the journal Equator [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXF1YXRvci5vcmcvYXJ0aWNsZXMvaG9tZWxhbmQtZW1waXJlLXRydW1wLUlDRQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9728], Singh unpacks the Trump regime’s core innovation: the expansion of the borders of US state power, collapsing foreign and domestic violence into a single domain of impunity. Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9728] “Homeland empire,” US academic Nikhil Pal Singh calls this. Nikhil Pal Singh [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9hcy5ueXUuZWR1L2ZhY3VsdHkvbmlraGlsLXNpbmdoLmh0bWw%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9728] is Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and History at NYU, focusing on the intersection of contemporary US history and political theory. Singh’s first book, Black is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy, was recognized as the best work of US civil rights history by the Organization of American Historians. Singh’s other works include Climbin’ Jacob’s Ladder: The Black Freedom Movement Writings of Jack O’Dell, Race and America’s Long War, and Reconstructing Democracy: Black Intellectuals in the American Century. Listen to our complete conversation with Nikhil Pal Singh. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvc21hc2gtYW5kLWdyYWIv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9728]. [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-post-id=9728]

Forests Not Forever

Forests are among planet Earth’s core biological systems. Covering about a quarter of its land surface, forest biomes regulate Earth’s climate, and host most of its biological diversity. Forests also provide humans with food, fiber, and energy. Their contribution to human cultural and psychic wellness, individually and collectively, is beyond calculation. Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707] In response to the relentless decline of terrestrial forest cover, between 1995 and 1997, an International Arrangement on Forests [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jlc3RzLmRlc2EudW4ub3JnL2Fib3V0L2ludGVybmF0aW9uYWwtYXJyYW5nZW1lbnQtZm9yZXN0cw%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707] (IAF) was established within the United Nations, as a framework for the development of forest policy and cooperation. Out of the IAF, the UN Forum on Forests [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jlc3RzLmRlc2EudW4ub3JnL2ZvcnVtL3VuZmYyMQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707] (UNFF), the Collaborative Partnership on Forests [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFvLm9yZy9jb2xsYWJvcmF0aXZlLXBhcnRuZXJzaGlwLW9uLWZvcmVzdHMvYWJvdXQvZW4%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], the Forest Financing Facilitation Network [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFvLm9yZy9jb2xsYWJvcmF0aXZlLXBhcnRuZXJzaGlwLW9uLWZvcmVzdHMvaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMvZm9yZXN0LWZpbmFuY2UtZmFjaWxpdGF0aW9uL2Vu&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2JkLmludC9kb2MvYy8zODg5L2YxMTkvNTc5NmFmY2I1Zjg2NjhhYTZhOTc5YTdjL3VuZmYtcG9zdC0yMDIwLWVuLnBkZg%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707] emerged. The Strategic Plan sets six Global Forest Goals [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jlc3RzLmRlc2EudW4ub3JnL2dsb2JhbC1mb3Jlc3QtZ29hbHM%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707]: to reverse forest cover loss, improve forest livelihoods, support the development of sustainable forest products, promote inclusive forest governance and cooperation across sectors, and to mobilize financial resources crucial to achieving these goals. The UNFF is the international community’s core venue for discussion on all matters forest-related. The UNFF is a commission of the Economic and Social Council [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9lY29zb2MudW4ub3JnL2Vu&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], one of the UN’s five principal arms. All UN members states belong to the Forest Forum. Annual sessions focus on forest protection policy, knowledge exchange, and the promotion of practical measures to conserve and expand Earth’s forested cover. Between May 11 and 15, the UNFF held its 21st session [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jlc3RzLmRlc2EudW4ub3JnL2ZvcnVtL3VuZmYyMQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707] in New York City. The GPM was there. The highlight of UNFF21 — this year’s Forest Goals Report [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWFnZXMuYXNzZXR0eXBlLmNvbS9kb3dudG9lYXJ0aC8yMDI2LTA1LTEzL2JqZTV4emhtL2dsb2JhbF9mb3Jlc3RfZ29hbHNfcmVwb3J0XzIwMjYucGRm&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707]. The Global Forest Goals Report 2026 is less than optimistic. With less than five years to go till 2030 — target date for global sustainability goals established at the 1992 Rio Summit — Earth’s forests are in peril, it says. Global forest area has declined by more than 40 million hectares over the past decade, the report says. Financing for sustainable forest management remains far below estimated needs. At the same time, it says, countries are advancing reforms, expanding restoration efforts, strengthening forest governance, and scaling up cooperation. Listen to voices from this year’s session of the UN Forum on Forests. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvZm9yZXN0cy1ub3QtZm9yZXZlci8%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707]. In order of appearance: UNFF21 chair, a Turkish forester, Ismail Belen [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbmIuaWlzZC5vcmcvbWVkaWEvaXNtYWlsLWJlbGVuLWNoYWlyLXVuZmYyMC11bmZmMjAtNW1heTIwMjU%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707]. Lok Bahadur Thapa [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudW4uaW50L25lcGFsL2ZyL3N0YWZmL2gtZS1tci1sb2stYmFoYWR1ci10aGFwYQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], Permanent Representative of Nepal, and President of the UN’s Economic and Social Council. Annaliena Baerbock [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXVyb3BhcmwuZXVyb3BhLmV1L25ld3MvZW4vcHJlc3Mtcm9vbS8yMDI2MDIwNUlQUjMzNjIyL3VuLWdlbmVyYWwtYXNzZW1ibHktcHJlc2lkZW50LWFubmFsZW5hLWJhZXJib2NrLXRoZS11bml0ZWQtbmF0aW9ucy1uZWVkLWV1cm9wZQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], former German Foreign Minister, and President of the current, 80th Session of the United Nations. Bjorg Sandkjær [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudW4ub3JnL3NnL2VuL2NvbnRlbnQvc2cvcGVyc29ubmVsLWFwcG9pbnRtZW50cy8yMDI1LTAyLTA1L21zLWJqb3JnLXNhbmRramFlci1vZi1ub3J3YXktYXNzaXN0YW50LXNlY3JldGFyeS1nZW5lcmFsLWZvci1wb2xpY3ktY29vcmRpbmF0aW9uLXRoZS11bml0ZWQtbmF0aW9ucy1kZXBhcnRtZW50LW9mLWVjb25vbWljLWFuZC1zb2NpYWwtYWZmYWlycy0lMjh1bi1kZXNhJTI5&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], former Deputy Minister for International Development at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Sandkjær presented this year’s Forest Goals Report. On the sidelines of formal sessions, the GPM spoke with: Ana Paula Vargas [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnJhemlsb2ZmaWNlLm9yZy9lbi9wb2RjYXN0cy93aG8tZmluYW5jZXMtdGhlLWRlc3RydWN0aW9uLW9mLXRoZS1hbWF6b24td2l0aC1hbmEtcGF1bGEtdmFyZ2Fz&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], a consultant for Brazil’s Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. David Flood (Zonzei Maiingun) [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaWxpbmF0aW9uaG9vZC5jYS9sZWFkZXJzaGlwLXRlYW0vZGF2aWQtZmxvb2Q%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], a member of Matachewan First Nation, an Ojibway band in Treaty 9 territory, northeast Ontario, and General Manager of Wahkohtowin Development [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2Foa29odG93aW4uY29tL2Fib3V0LXdhaGtvaHRvd2lu&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], a social enterprise jointly operated by three First Nations. Listen to our complete conversation with David here:   The GPM also spoke with Juliette Biao [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jlc3RzLmRlc2EudW4ub3JnL2Fib3V0L2ludGVybmF0aW9uYWwtYXJyYW5nZW1lbnQtZm9yZXN0cy91bmZmLXNlY3JldGFyaWF0L21lZXQtdGhlLWRpcmVjdG9y&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707], Secretary General and Director of the UN Forum on Forests. As West Africa’s first female forester, Biao helped resolve forest-related conflicts in the international park separating Burkina Faso, Niger, and her home country, Benin. Since 2022, Biao has served as the Director of the Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests. Ms. Biao is a dual national — of Benin and Canada. Listen to all these voices in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvZm9yZXN0cy1ub3QtZm9yZXZlci8%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707]. Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9707] [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-post-id=9707]

Battered, Bloodied & Victorious

Battered and bloodied by US and Israeli bombs and missiles, weakened by years of economic sanction and US maritime blockade, Iran still thinks it’s come out on top. It may be right. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu seem to think so, and are clearly frustrated. Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690] The Israeli Prime Minister spoke with Trump at least twice this past week [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGltZXNvZmlzcmFlbC5jb20vbGl2ZWJsb2dfZW50cnkvbmV3LWlyYW4tZnJhbWV3b3JrLXNwYXJrcy1jb25jZXJuLWZyb20tbmV0YW55YWh1LWluLXRlbnNlLWNhbGwtd2l0aC10cnVtcC1yZXBvcnQv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690]. Read-outs of their phone conversations (there have been dozens of calls and personal visits to the White House since the start of their war) have not been released, but we can imagine what the two discussed. Netanyahu, the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in besieged, occupied Gaza, almost certainly pressed Trump, a convicted felon [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnljb3VydHMuZ292L0xlZ2FjeVBERnMvcHJlc3MvUERGcy9QZW9wbGUlMjB2LiUyMERKVCUyMENsYXl0b24lMjBEZWNpc2lvbi5wZGY%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690], for an end to their supposed cease-fire with the Islamic Republic, and a resumption of savage bombing. Israel-USA’s declared aim: preventing Iran from developing a bomb. Washington’s position has always been clear: Only Israel has the right to enrich uranium and amass a nuclear weapons arsenal — undeclared and exempt from international inspection — and to threaten to nuke its neighbors. Israel’s aim is much more expansive: annihilating the Islamic Republic; fracturing it into a patchwork of ethnic entities; pushing it into crippling chaos. Will Trump agree to start bombing Iran again? Netanyahu, a staunch advocate of permanent war against the self-declared ‘Jewish’ state’s neighbors, does have a knack for pulling Trump by the nose. ‘Bibi’ is “a very good man,” Trump insisted, a few days after their phone talks, but he, Trump, is in charge. Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do,” Trump  reassured a crowd of corporate media flacks, somewhere between Washington and his Florida golf course. None of them asked about Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Judging from recent developments in the Persian Gulf, Iran will actually do what it wants to do. Within hours of Trump’s blustering claim that he, not Israeli’s indicted war criminal, is calling the shots, and that Iran will never, ever get a nuclear bomb, the Islamic Republic announced that its far more powerful nuclear option [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXVyb25ld3MuY29tLzIwMjYvMDUvMjIvaXJhbi1hc3NlcnRzLWp1cmlzZGljdGlvbi1vdmVyLXVhZS1hbmQtb21hbi13YXRlcnMtaW4tbmV3LXN0cmFpdC1vZi1ob3JtdXotbWFw&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690]has been fine-tuned. Henceforth, Tehran declared on X (where pronouncements of this sort are made), all maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — from the waterway’s eastern portal, between Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran and Fujairah in the UAE, to its western end, across the narrow strait between Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm al-Quwain in the UAE — will be managed by a freshly minted Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). [http://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/strait-of-hormuz_02.jpg] Alternatively pegged at a dollar per barrel of transported oil, or a $2 million flat fee, PGSA transit tolls must be shelled out in advance, in crypto currency. Iran’s transit toll appears to expand on an earlier, more modest levy, two months and a bit after Israel-USA launched its war against Iran, in flagrant breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9sZWdhbC51bi5vcmcvcmVwZXJ0b3J5L2FydDIvZW5nbGlzaC9yZXBfc3VwcDdfdm9sMV9hcnQyXzQucGRm&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690]. “Iran’s demands over the Strait of Hormuz demonstrate that Iranian officials believe they won the war,” says Washington-based Institute for the Study of War [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly91bmRlcnN0YW5kaW5nd2FyLm9yZy9yZXNlYXJjaC9taWRkbGUtZWFzdC9pcmFuLXVwZGF0ZS1zcGVjaWFsLXJlcG9ydC1tYXktMjEtMjAyNi8%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690]. They’ve certainly turned the table on the conjoined twins who’ve been assaulting them.  For his own thoughts on whether this is so, and on rapidly evolving associated events in Iran today, the GPM spoke with a distinguished scholar on all matters Iranian. [http://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ervan-abrahamian.jpg] Ervand Abrahamian [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ2MuY3VueS5lZHUvcGVvcGxlL2VydmFuZC1hYnJhaGFtaWFu&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690] is a Professor of History at Baruch College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Among the books he’s authored: Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982), Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic (1993), Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran (1999), Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria (2004), and A History of Modern Iran (2008). Professor Abrahamian’s latest work, Oil Crisis in Iran – From Nationalism to Coup d’Etat [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2FtYnJpZGdlLm9yZy9jb3JlL2Jvb2tzL29pbC1jcmlzaXMtaW4taXJhbi9EQTM5RDdGRjMyODgxM0JBRjc1Qzc2OThEMDBGNTExOQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690], explores the motivations of the US-UK-engineered overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq, back in August 1953, based on an analysis of previously unreleased diplomatic communications. Continued favourable access to Iranian oil was the key driver of the CIA-MI6-engineered coup, Abrahamian argues, not fears of Soviet influence over the democratically elected Mossadeq administration, at the height of the Cold War. The GPM sat down with Professor Ervand Abrahamian at his Brooklyn home, across the East River from the United Nations. Listen to our conversation in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvYmVhdGVuLWJsb29kaWVkLXZpY3RvcmlvdXMv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690]. Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9690] Listen to our complete conversation here: [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-post-id=9690]

Techno-Fascist Manifesto

IRAN TURNS TABLES ON ISRAEL-USA On May 4, Donald Trump swore that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkLzIwMjYvbWF5LzA0L3RydW1wLWlyYW4tdGhyZWF0LXVzLXZlc3NlbHM%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] if it didn’t immediately restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s genocidal fulminations have become familiar.  Late last month, he predicted that “a whole civilization will die” [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaGtzLmhhcnZhcmQuZWR1L2NlbnRlcnMvY2Fyci1yeWFuL291ci13b3JrL2NhcnItcnlhbi1jb21tZW50YXJ5L3dob2xlLWNpdmlsaXphdGlvbi13aWxsLWRpZS10b25pZ2h0LWRheS1hbWVyaWNhbg%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] if Iran doesn’t do what he wants. Weeks earlier, Trump vowed to send Iran “back to the Stone Ages” [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVtb25kZS5mci9lbi9pbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsL2FydGljbGUvMjAyNi8wNC8wMi90cnVtcC12b3dzLXRvLXNlbmQtaXJhbi1iYWNrLXRvLXRoZS1zdG9uZS1hZ2VzLWJ1dC1vZmZlcnMtbm8tZW5kLXRvLXRoZS13YXJfNjc1MjA0M180Lmh0bWw%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] (plural) if Iran didn’t lower its neck to US-Israeli imperialism. Well, Iran doesn’t seem to be listening. Indeed, according to numerous informed observers outside the Trump Administration, the Islamic Republic has actually turned the tables on Israel-USA, scoring what many see as a strategic victory over the conjoined entity. To catch up on the current situation, the GPM reached out to Arang Keshavarzian [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9hcy5ueXUuZWR1L2ZhY3VsdHkvYXJhbmcta2VzaGF2YXJ6aWFuLmh0bWw%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676], Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. Keshavarzian is the author of Bazaar and State in Iran: Politics of the Tehran Marketplace (2007), Geographies and Histories of the Iranian Revolution (2021), and Making Space for the Gulf: Histories of Regionalism and the Middle East [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3VwLm9yZy9ib29rcy9taWRkbGUtZWFzdC1zdHVkaWVzL21ha2luZy1zcGFjZS1ndWxm&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] (2024). Listen to our conversation in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvZXBpc29kZS8xNTM4NzE3MTMv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676]. Watch our complete conversation here:   Boys will be boys. Tech Bros certainly will. While Donald Trump and his crusading Christian warrior chief, Pete Hegseth [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucG9saXRpY28uY29tL25ld3MvbWFnYXppbmUvMjAyNC8xMi8wNi9wZXRlLWhlZ3NldGgtZGVmZW5zZS1yZWxpZ2lvbi1jaHJpc3RpYW4tMDAxOTIxMTc%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676], vow to rain hellfire on Iran, Silicon Valley ‘titans’ pronounce on how they intend to rule the world, backed by AI-based surveillance and weapon systems. Over a mid-April weekend, AI wunderkind Alex Karp, founder of the surveillance giant Palantir, posted a 22-point manifesto [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly94LmNvbS9QYWxhbnRpclRlY2gvc3RhdHVzLzIwNDU1NzQzOTg1NzM0NTMzMTI%2FcmVmX3NyYz10d3NyYyU1RXRmdyU3Q3R3Y2FtcCU1RXR3ZWV0ZW1iZWQlN0N0d3Rlcm0lNUUyMDQ1NzY3ODU3OTk3NDg0MzU5JTdDdHdnciU1RTI2NjVmYTNlYzcxY2VmODM2ZTU5NjE1NDc3YWQ4MDY4YTllOTVkMjglN0N0d2NvbiU1RXMzXyZhbXA7cmVmX3VybD1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy5hbGphemVlcmEuY29tJTJGbmV3cyUyRjIwMjYlMkY0JTJGMjElMkZ0ZWNobm9mYWNpc20td2h5LXBhbGFudGlycy1wcm8td2VzdC1tYW5pZmVzdG8taGFzLWNyaXRpY3MtYWxhcm1lZA%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] about all this. Like most pompous pronouncements, Alex Karp’s bursts with Big Narrative. The “Technological Republic” [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly90ZWNocmVwdWJsaWNib29rLmNvbS8%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] owes a “moral debt” to America and the world, and “free email” won’t cover the bill. Civilizational decadence must be squashed, says Karp, along with “vacant and hollow pluralism,” and the “dysfunctional and regressive” belief that all cultures are equal. (They’re not, says Karp) Karp’s fixes? AI-based military deterrence, obligatory “national duty” (as if humans have something to offer in his dystopian future), reinvigorated religious faith at upper state echelons … and the remilitarization of Germany and Japan. Inevitably, Alex Karp’s manifesto has drawn fire. Among those speaking out, a group of academics [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudW90dGF3YS5jYS9lbi9uZXdzLWFsbC9hY2FkZW1pYy1leHBlcnRpc2UtdGVjaG5vZmFzY2lzbS1wYWxhbnRpcnMtbWFuaWZlc3Rv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] at the University of Ottawa. David Murakami Wood is one of them. David Murakami Wood [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudW90dGF3YS5jYS9yZXNlYXJjaC1pbm5vdmF0aW9uL2NlbnRyZS1sYXctdGVjaG5vbG9neS1zb2NpZXR5L3Blb3BsZS9tdXJha2FtaS13b29kLWRhdmlk&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] is Professor of Criminology in U. Ottawa’s Faculty of Social Sciences, and Canada Research Chair in Critical Surveillance and Security Studies. His research focuses on emerging AI-based “smart cities”, private surveillance companies, AI regulation, and the relationship between surveillance and the climate crisis. Listen to our conversation in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here. [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvZXBpc29kZS8xNTM4NzE3MTMv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9676] Watch our complete conversation here: [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-post-id=9676]

Carceral Continuum

Imagine this: the incarceration of an entire people — thousands behind bars; millions more hemmed in by barbed wire, towering walls, and a seamless hi-tech surveillance system; their movements strictly monitored, mapped, controlled and restricted; millions of facial images, phone numbers, family and community networks, and past carceral history fed into the most sophisticated network of biometric, increasingly AI-based algorithms. This is the situation in Apartheid Israel. Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663] Since Israel’s conquest of the West Bank, back in 1967, the apartheid regime has spirited over a million Palestinians into prisons, most of them inside Israel ‘proper’, in flagrant breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9paGwtZGF0YWJhc2VzLmljcmMub3JnL2VuL2lobC10cmVhdGllcy9nY2l2LTE5NDkvYXJ0aWNsZS03Ng%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663]; tens of thousands without charge, including children, under  routinely extended rounds of preventive detention Palestinian political prisoners and hostages are routinely subjected to what experts define as torture. In a July 2023 report to the UN Human Rights Council [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub2hjaHIub3JnL2VuL21lZXRpbmctc3VtbWFyaWVzLzIwMjMvMDcvc3BlY2lhbC1yYXBwb3J0ZXVyLXNheXMtaXNyYWVscy11bmxhd2Z1bC1jYXJjZXJhbC1wcmFjdGljZXMtb2NjdXBpZWQ%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663], Italian legal scholar Francesca Albanese laid out Israel’s carceral system in graphic detail, a system she says has turned occupied Palestine into a “carceral continuum,” and “constantly surveilled open-air panopticon.” In her most recent report,  released in February 2026, Albanese says that “torture has become integral” [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub2hjaHIub3JnL2VuL2RvY3VtZW50cy9jb3VudHJ5LXJlcG9ydHMvYWhyYzYxNzEtdG9ydHVyZS1hbmQtZ2Vub2NpZGUtcmVwb3J0LXNwZWNpYWwtcmFwcG9ydGV1ci1zaXR1YXRpb24taHVtYW4%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663] to Israel’s system of domination and oppression. A “continuous, territorially pervasive regime of psychological terror,” is how Albanese describes Apartheid Israel’s system, “designed to break bodies, deprive a people of their dignity, and force them from their land.” Francesca Albanese is Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in occupied Palestine. The GPM has spoken with her on a couple of occasions. Here’s a conversation we had back in 2023. Listen to it in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvZXBpc29kZS8xNTM4NTQ4MDMv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663]. Here’s a more recent conversation with Francesca, following Israel’s assault on Jenin refugee camp, in the northern West Bank, in early 2025, replicating its then-well advanced genocidal assault on Gaza:  Of the ten-thousand Palestinians currently held in Israeli dungeons, none are more prominent than Marwan Barghouti. Marwan Barghouti [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi53aWtpcGVkaWEub3JnL3dpa2kvTWFyd2FuX0Jhcmdob3V0aQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663] is a veteran member of Palestine’s Fatah movement and political party. In 2002, the Second Intifada just underway, Barghouti was convicted by a military court for his alleged involvement in attacks in which five Israelis dies. Barghouti denied the charges, and refused to recognize the court. The Inter-Parliamentary Union [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cDovL2FyY2hpdmUuaXB1Lm9yZy9oci1lLzE3NC9yZXBvcnQuaHRt&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663] declared, at the time, that Barghouti was denied a fair trial. Barghouti, now 66 years-old, is serving a life sentence. He’s widely considered Palestine’s most popular leader – far more so than Israel-USA’s collaborative man in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas. Should he ever be liberated, Barghouti is considered the most likely figure to replace Abbas, uniting Palestinians across political factions, and advancing the so-called Two-State Solution. For this reason, the apartheid regime has no intention of releasing him. The Palestinian Mandela, Marwan Barghouti is commonly called. The comparison isn’t quite apt. Nelson Mandela was liberated, after 27 years in jail. A similar figure, native American leader Leonard Peltier, spent almost fifty years in jail, before Joe Biden pardoned him. Will the Israelis ever liberate Marwan Barghouti? Not unless they’re forced to — and no one is going to do that. Of late, Barghouti has been starved, beaten, denied access to health services, and set upon by dogs [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkLzIwMjYvYXByLzE1L2phaWxlZC1wYWxlc3Rpbmlhbi1sZWFkZXItbWFyd2FuLWJhcmdob3V0aS1yaXNrLWF0dGFja3MtaXNyYWVsaS1qYWlscw%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663]. Apartheid Israel’s fascist security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has gone to the bother of visiting Barghouti in jail, just to taunt him! Donate with a $15/monthly subscription [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9idXkuc3RyaXBlLmNvbS9mWmVhRnVlRTY0WU1mZGU4d3k%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663] For the latest news about Marwan Barghouti, the GPM reached out to his lawyer, Ben Marmorelli [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9iZW5tYXJtYXJlbGxpLz9obD1lbg%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663]. Listen to our conversation in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnNob3cvdGhlZ3JlZW5ibHVlc3Nob3cvZXBpc29kZS8xNTM4NTQ4MDMv&feed-stats-url-post-id=9663]. Watch our conversation here. Ben’s audio isn’t that good. Listen closely.   [https://www.greenplanetmonitor.net/?feed-stats-post-id=9663]