Iran Toys with Trump; ICE Detention Abuses; US vs Cuba w/ Wali Khan, Jose Luis Granados Ceja

The hosts argue that Donald Trump's approach to Iran, characterized by alternating claims of impending deals and subsequent breakdowns, has resulted in a 'war of choice' that has empowered Iran. Trump's attempts to secure a deal, often to boost the stock market, are undermined by political pressure and Iran's increased leverage, leading to a cycle of escalation and a major foreign policy loss for the US.

Sam Seder states, 'Donald Trump just lost a major war and probably is going to send inflation soaring beyond its extremely high rate right now.' The co-host adds, 'Iran has more leverage. It's a large country and they've been able to exert that leverage and all Trump can really do is posture and bomb.'

Israel's deepest incursion into Lebanon in over a quarter-century, involving mass evacuations and extensive bombings, is framed as a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing and a tactic to derail US-Iran peace negotiations. Iran explicitly halted peace talks with the US until Israel ceases its operations in Lebanon, demonstrating the direct link between the conflicts.

A Sky News report details Israeli evacuation orders for Nabatieh (100,000 population) and Tyre (200,000 population), followed by orders for the entire south of Lebanon to leave, declaring it a 'combat zone.' Emma Vigeland asserts, 'They're doing a mass ethnic cleansing campaign and they're accelerating it as a way to sabotage the Iran ceasefire.'

Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, is described as a site of severe human rights abuses, including rotten food, maggots, inadequate medical care for chronic illnesses, and the use of solitary confinement as torture. Protests against these conditions and the retaliatory transfer of hunger strike organizers have been met with disproportionate force by New Jersey State Police and GEO Group employees, including tear gas, flash bangs, and mounted units.

Reporter Wally Khan details 'rotten' food, 'maggots,' and detainees with HIV not receiving proper care. He recounts 'ICE agents turned up' and 'New Jersey police started... moving in on protesters,' with 'most of the violence coming from GEO Group employees and New Jersey State Police, especially the mounted unit.'

The US government is actively pursuing regime change in Cuba through an economic blockade designed to suffocate the population, coupled with propaganda (e.g., false claims of Cuban invasion plans) and threats of military intervention. This strategy aims to create an 'implosion' that would allow US economic interests and Cuban exiles to reclaim nationalized assets, rather than a 'soft landing' that might preserve the current government.

Jose Luis Granados Ceja states, 'The United States government right now is very much intent on regime change in Cuba one way or another... by starving the population, conducting this medieval style siege, denying them oil.' He adds that the goal is to make the country 'accessible, particularly for the Cuban exile community... so they can come back in, take everything that was nationalized back.'

Despite the severe economic hardship caused by the US blockade, including widespread power outages and food shortages, the Cuban population and its government demonstrate strong resilience and determination to resist US intervention. The military is preparing for direct aggression, and the population remains largely unified against external attempts to destabilize the country, viewing US actions as a pursuit of 'justice' rather than genuine humanitarian concern.

Granados Ceja notes, 'The Cuban Communist Party is very deeply embedded in society, the armed forces are extremely loyal.' He quotes a militia member saying, 'if there's one word in the Cuban dictionary that doesn't exist, it's surrender. Like they're not going to give in easily.'