Krystal Ball and Kyle Kulinski dive into politics, philosophy and random BS with people they like. Krystal is co-host of Breaking Points. Kyle is host of Secular Talk on YouTube.
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Mehdi Hasan Sounds Off: Mr President, End this Genocide
Mehdi Hasan has big personal news: After announcing early this year that he’d be leaving MSNBC, it’s official that he’ll become part of The Guardian as a regular columnist. In fact, he’s got this great piece in The Guardian entitled “Biden can end the bombing of Gaza right now. Here’s how” — with the arresting subheading: “Mr President, make the call. End this genocide.”
At the beginning of this week, Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the Air Force, self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. These were his final words, before he died Sunday from the injuries he sustained:
My name is Aaron Bushnell, and I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest but, compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal. […] Free Palestine!
This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal — the senseless slaughter of tens of thousands, funded by American tax dollars and supported by the American political establishment, never had to be a historical fact. If our political leaders had courage and solidarity with the people of Palestine, they would not have decided — and they would not be deciding today — to be complicit in and to actively perpetuate the genocide. Whether they remain silent or shamelessly voice their support for a murderous apartheid regime, the highest-ranking members of our government, above all Joe Biden, are in fact making an active decision, and Aaron’s haunting last words remind us of that.
With Mehdi, we’ll discuss his latest for The Guardian and how Biden could decide to end U.S. support of a genocide, what it means for an active-duty member of the military to self-immolate in protest of a war and how the government has responded. Plus lots more! We look forward to seeing you Friday with the full video if you’re a paying subscriber, and Saturday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more.