theintercept--2020-01-02--Chelsea Manning Spent Most of the Last Decade in Prison. The U.N. Says Her Latest Stint Is Tantamoun

Chelsea Manning Spent Most of the Last Decade in Prison. The U.N. Says Her Latest Stint Is Tantamount to Torture.

Eve , as personal reflections on the last decade flooded in , Chelsea Manning ’ s account tweeted that she had spent 77.76 percent of her time since 2009 in jail .
That same day , the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer publicly released a letter from late last year accusing the United States of submitting Manning to treatment that is tantamount to torture .
It does not take a U.N. expert to recognize the current conditions of Manning ’ s incarceration as a form of torture .
It is the very definition of torture to submit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an effort to force an action from them .
Since May , Manning has been held in a Virginia jail for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating WikiLeaks .
Manning has not been charged with or convicted of a crime .
And her imprisonment on the grounds of “ civil contempt ” is explicitly coercive : If she agrees to testify , she can walk free .
If she continues to remain silent , she can be held for the 18-month duration of the grand jury or , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the subsequent establishment of successive grand juries.
” Each day she is caged , Manning is also fined $ 1,000 .
If she is released at the end of the current grand jury , she will owe the state nearly $ 500,000 — an unprecedented punishment for grand jury resistance .
And Manning has made clear , she would “ rather starve to death ” than comply with the repressive grand jury system , a judicial black box historically deployed against social justice movements .
“ Such deprivation of liberty does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offense , but an open-ended progressively severe measure of coercion , ” Melzer , the U.N. special rapporteur , wrote of Manning ’ s treatment .
Melzer ’ s November letter , which was made public this week , stated that Manning ’ s coercive imprisonment fulfills “ all the constitutive elements of torture or other cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ” and “ should be discontinued or abolished without delay.
” The letter asks that the U.S. government provide factual and legal grounds for Manning ’ s ongoing imprisonment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ categorical and persistent refusal to give testimony demonstrates the lack of their coercive effect.
” Manning ’ s supporters and legal team have long stressed that no such legal grounds exist .
Manning has proven again and again that her grand jury resistance is unshakeable ; the coercive grounds for imprisonment are thus undermined and her jailing is revealed to be purely punitive .
Federal Judge Anthony Trenga , who ordered Manning ’ s torturous incarceration , should be compelled to release her as a point of law , regardless of U.N. censure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , that coercive incarceration is defensible in cases where it works to compel testimony — it is not .
Manning ’ s resistance has highlighted the brutality of the practice tout court .
rights lawyer Moira Meltzer-Cohen , said that she hopes the U.N. official ’ s letter calls greater attention to the use of coercive detention generally , as well as the specific cruel treatment of her client .
“ While the United States has failed to live up to its human rights obligations , I remain hopeful that the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.N. ’ s admonition , ” Meltzer-Cohen said in a public statement .
She also told me that the U.N. special rapporteur ’ s recognition of Manning ’ s refusal to be coerced can serve as further evidence to the judge .
In a statement from jail , Manning said , “ I am thrilled to see the practice of coercive confinement called out for what it is : incompatible with international human rights standards.
” The grand jury resister is , however , under no illusions about the U.S. government ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights obligations in the face of admonitions from the international community .
As she put it , “ even knowing I am very likely to stay in jail for an even longer time , I ’ m never backing down.
” Indeed , as the U.N. special rapporteur noted , his predecessor wrote a number of appeals to the U.S. government from 2010 onwards regarding the cruel and torturous treatment to which Manning was subjected prior to and during her confinement in military prison .
Yet her 35-year sentence was not commuted until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted in her New Year ’ s Eve tweet that she spent 11.05 percent of the last decade in solitary confinement and over half of her years behind bars “ fighting for gender affirming care.
” She attempted to take her own life twice during her time at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth , Kansas .
Suffice it to say , U.N. appeals have never secured Manning ’ s liberty or safety .
And as , Meltzer-Cohen noted in her statement on the U.N. official ’ s letter , “ In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the United States , Ms. Manning has remained confined , and the daily fines imposed upon her have continued to accrue.
” If the letter fails to sway the government , it should , at the very least , serve as a public reminder to support a political prisoner .
Though the last decade of Manning ’ s life has been marked by torture , she has responded with fierce resistance and struggle for liberatory social justice at every turn .
In the tweet tabulating her last 10 years , Manning ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % ” of her time “ backing down.
” The U.N. special rapporteur ’ s recognition of her refusal to be coerced is welcome .
Our solidarity is more than deserved .

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
On New Year’s Eve, as personal reflections on the last decade flooded in, Chelsea Manning’s account tweeted that she had spent 77.76 percent of her time since 2009 in jail. That same day, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer publicly released a letter from late last year accusing the United States of submitting Manning to treatment that is tantamount to torture.
“Such deprivation of liberty does not constitute a circumscribed sanction for a specific offense, but an open-ended progressively severe measure of coercion.”
It does not take a U.N. expert to recognize the current conditions of Manning’s incarceration as a form of torture. It is the very definition of torture to submit a person to physical and mental suffering in an effort to force an action from them. Since May, Manning has been held in a Virginia jail for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. Manning has not been charged with or convicted of a crime. And her imprisonment on the grounds of “civil contempt” is explicitly coercive: If she agrees to testify, she can walk free. If she continues to remain silent, she can be held for the 18-month duration of the grand jury or, as the U.N. official noted, “indefinitely with the subsequent establishment of successive grand juries.”
Each day she is caged, Manning is also fined $1,000. If she is released at the end of the current grand jury, she will owe the state nearly $500,000 — an unprecedented punishment for grand jury resistance. And Manning has made clear, she would “rather starve to death” than comply with the repressive grand jury system, a judicial black box historically deployed against social justice movements.
“Such deprivation of liberty does not constitute a circumscribed sanction for a specific offense, but an open-ended progressively severe measure of coercion,” Melzer, the U.N. special rapporteur, wrote of Manning’s treatment. Melzer’s November letter, which was made public this week, stated that Manning’s coercive imprisonment fulfills “all the constitutive elements of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and “should be discontinued or abolished without delay.” The letter asks that the U.S. government provide factual and legal grounds for Manning’s ongoing imprisonment and fines, “especially after her categorical and persistent refusal to give testimony demonstrates the lack of their coercive effect.”
Manning’s supporters and legal team have long stressed that no such legal grounds exist. Manning has proven again and again that her grand jury resistance is unshakeable; the coercive grounds for imprisonment are thus undermined and her jailing is revealed to be purely punitive. Federal Judge Anthony Trenga, who ordered Manning’s torturous incarceration, should be compelled to release her as a point of law, regardless of U.N. censure. This is not to say, however, that coercive incarceration is defensible in cases where it works to compel testimony — it is not. Manning’s resistance has highlighted the brutality of the practice tout court.
Manning’s attorney, civil rights lawyer Moira Meltzer-Cohen, said that she hopes the U.N. official’s letter calls greater attention to the use of coercive detention generally, as well as the specific cruel treatment of her client. “While the United States has failed to live up to its human rights obligations, I remain hopeful that the government will reconsider its policies in light of the U.N.’s admonition,” Meltzer-Cohen said in a public statement. She also told me that the U.N. special rapporteur’s recognition of Manning’s refusal to be coerced can serve as further evidence to the judge.
In a statement from jail, Manning said, “I am thrilled to see the practice of coercive confinement called out for what it is: incompatible with international human rights standards.” The grand jury resister is, however, under no illusions about the U.S. government’s willingness to flout its purported human rights obligations in the face of admonitions from the international community. As she put it, “even knowing I am very likely to stay in jail for an even longer time, I’m never backing down.”
“I am thrilled to see the practice of coercive confinement called out for what it is: incompatible with international human rights standards.”
Indeed, as the U.N. special rapporteur noted, his predecessor wrote a number of appeals to the U.S. government from 2010 onwards regarding the cruel and torturous treatment to which Manning was subjected prior to and during her confinement in military prison. Yet her 35-year sentence was not commuted until 2017 by President Barack Obama. Manning noted in her New Year’s Eve tweet that she spent 11.05 percent of the last decade in solitary confinement and over half of her years behind bars “fighting for gender affirming care.” She attempted to take her own life twice during her time at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Suffice it to say, U.N. appeals have never secured Manning’s liberty or safety. And as, Meltzer-Cohen noted in her statement on the U.N. official’s letter, “In the two months since the letter was conveyed to the United States, Ms. Manning has remained confined, and the daily fines imposed upon her have continued to accrue.”
If the letter fails to sway the government, it should, at the very least, serve as a public reminder to support a political prisoner. Though the last decade of Manning’s life has been marked by torture, she has responded with fierce resistance and struggle for liberatory social justice at every turn. In the tweet tabulating her last 10 years, Manning ended by noting that she devoted “0.00%” of her time “backing down.” The U.N. special rapporteur’s recognition of her refusal to be coerced is welcome. Our solidarity is more than deserved.


theintercept--2020-01-02--The Banality of Apocalypse: Escaping, With “Paw Patrol” and Daniel Tiger, From the Australian Fires

and I were still in danger , I emailed these words to a friend* back home in America : We ‘ re safe , but trapped by fires on three sides .
The ocean will be our escape if necessary .
People in other coastal towns have been evacuated by sea…If the roads open up and the authorities say it is safe , we will leave immediately .
But we know that won ’ t be today .
So we are holed up in our hotel room with a blanket at the base of the door to keep the smoke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( ages 4 and 2 ) are citizens of Australia and the United States .
We moved here a year ago , and up until fire season , it ’ s been perfect .
Our home in the Australian capital of Canberra is among the safest in the nation , as close as it is to Parliament House and the equivalents of the CIA and the Department of State .
But on December 30 , we jumped in the family car for a road trip and a long-awaited beach vacation .
The website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unaffected by the fires , but thinking of those who were .
That was still true until the last hour of our drive , when we noticed an enormous column of smoke rising over the mountains to our left .
By the time , we ’ d built sand castles and returned to Room 9 of the Pambula Colonial Motor Inn , the highway we had traveled was closed due to the Werri Berri fire .
The other westbound highway was closed due to another new fire , called the Wyndham fire , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple fires burning to our north and to our south , which had been raging for several weeks , meant that we couldn ’ t leave .
Most of the fires , nearly 100 at the moment , are burning in New South Wales , which is Australia ’ s California in more ways than one .
Although the Australian Capital Territory is nestled into New South Wales , I had been following President Donald Trump ’ s impeachment a lot more closely than the fires .
We ’ ve had a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem has been the smoke , which had forced us to choose between oppressive heat and smoke getting in our house through open windows .
On Christmas Eve , we were in Berrima , New South Wales , visiting family when I met an Australian firefighter for the first time .
Like much of the firefighting force in Australia , he was a volunteer .
Two firefighters , dads with children around the same age as mine , had been killed a few days before .
I thanked the man for his service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government doesn ’ t do more to support them .
He said the Berrima community had donated $ 30,000 to complete construction on the firehouse after the government had paid for only the outer walls and that the equipment they are using is not up to par .
He said that the locals show their support by bringing food , water , and other useful things to the firehouse .
“ Our favorite is the baby wipes , ” he said .
“ Yeah , because we get covered in soot and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we don ’ t want to use that to clean off .
The wipes are cool to the touch and it ’ s just so nice on your face .
We carry mini-packs in our pockets.
” He told me the temperatures they were facing near the blazes in Celsius , and I couldn ’ t quite compute , but I remember thinking , “ Wow , that ’ s 10 degrees hotter than Midnight Oil said ‘ The western desert lives and breathes.
’ ” Fifty-five degrees Celsius is 131 degrees Fahrenheit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it was difficult to distinguish between smoke and clouds .
“ Clouds , ” I decided , as I snapped a photo of the sun hanging above Pambula ’ s old courthouse .
I might well have been wrong .
If it was in the United States , Pambula , New South Wales , might be referred to as a one-stoplight town , except that it didn ’ t have a stoplight .
At its center was a roundabout with four little roads for spokes .
Each road had shops and restaurants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meters .
The smell of smoke was everywhere , even in our hotel room .
So before putting the kids to bed , I covered the space beneath the door with a heavy blanket .
And I crammed in six plastic shopping bags into the built-in space at the top of the window in the bathroom .
I went to bed at about 2 a.m. , but one of the kids had awakened me at 3 a.m. and I was unable to get back to sleep .
I used my phone to check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Werri Berri and Kobargo fires blocking our escape routes , and the Mallacoota fire , which had the potential of hitting us from the south .
I also pulled up some general guidelines for fires and emergencies , and I resolved to do two things first thing in the morning : ( 1 ) fill the car with gas , and ( 2 ) buy nonperishable food and water .
When the sun rose at 5:15 a.m. , I was still awake .
I thought about going out to get gas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get back to sleep .
I did so around 7 a.m. and at 9:30 , I woke to the sight of my 2-year-old son bouncing on my chest .
“ Wake up , Daddy !
” My wife , Ariane , was focused on parenting goals that would fill a typical holiday morning : getting the kids to eat breakfast and getting them outside to play before they went bonkers .
But during the night , the fires surrounding us had heaped so much smoke into the air that the sun was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact , nothing was visible beyond 50 meters .
So , Ariane ’ s intended destination was an indoor pool .
I went out to the car and found that it was coated with ash .
A woman was unpacking her car three stalls over .
“ What do you think about these fires ?
” I asked .
She said , “ Well , have you filled your car up with petrol ?
” “ No , ” I said , suddenly remembering my 4 a.m. research .
“ Well , do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t get out , that means the supply trucks can ’ t get in .
The stations will run out soon and then you won ’ t be able to leave even if you can leave.
” She was right .
Our tank was low .
Although I was feeling anxious , I talked to her a little more and learned that she was worried about friends staying on the campgrounds nearby , including firefighters who were on break from Melbourne .
One of them had raced back to Melbourne during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be trapped here and unable to relieve his buddies who would be due for their breaks soon .
I thanked her and said goodbye .
She offered a final piece of advice : Keep the radio news on at all times .
Our daughter still believed we were going to the indoor pool when I strapped her in her car seat , but Ariane and I had already agreed that we ’ d be going directly to the gas station .
There , we found a long line of vehicles stretching most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The sight of this , plus thickening orange haze , reminded me of a disaster movie and gave us the first real feeling we were in danger .
Ariane broke the news to Audrey .
No pool .
Julian cried when his mother got out of the car , but it was necessary .
While we waited for gas , Ariane walked to Pambula ’ s lone grocery store and piled a shopping cart with food , water , and diapers .
I soon got a text saying that the checkout line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that she ’ d meet us in the motel room in an hour .
Later , she told me that the run on food , like the run on gas , had been polite and orderly — but also , seeing the two lines back to back had caused her to inwardly panic .
Thirty minutes later , we were only a few cars away from the pump when I saw a man walk up to a truck that was ahead of us .
He spoke through the open window and the woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accelerated out of line .
I rolled down my window when she paused to check for oncoming cars .
“ Did they just run out of gas ?
” I asked .
“ They just ran out of diesel , ” she said .
Minutes later , I ’ d filled up our tank with unleaded .
I asked the manager how close he was to running out .
He said , “ Soon.
” Back in the motel , Ariane spent the rest of the afternoon on various devices trying to learn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ road closures .
She also beat herself up a bit for having planned the vacation .
I said what anyone would have said .
The children had been promised a beach vacation ; now we were sheltering in place .
So Ariane asked me to go out and buy some toys to keep them occupied .
“ Enough so we can roll them out slowly , ” she said , because we might be stuck in a room for days .
Pambula is so small that I was able to walk to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an art store in minutes .
The art store had toys .
At the bakery , there was a long line and a sign on the window that said , “ Due to current conditions we are closing early .
Hope you understand.
” The vegetarian pie that Ariane had asked for was sold out , so I bought seven meat pies and a chocolate doughnut .
This would be not be the last time that I grossly over-purchased ( that evening , I purchased $ 83 worth of Thai food ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ period of sequester , and it was something of a stress relief for me to be able to go out and bring things back to my family .
By now the orange , hazy streets were so thick with smoke that it hurt to breathe .
As I walked back to the motel , I had a morbid thought .
When reading about fire deaths , I had always searched for the words “ smoke inhalation ” and upon finding them , felt some comfort in thinking that the victims had not been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , smoke inhalation wouldn ’ t be that great either .
My concern deepened when I returned to the hotel room , and Ariane said our room was getting smoky .
I had assumed that the air-conditioning unit above the bed was recirculating the air already inside the room , but maybe I was wrong .
I called the front desk .
Steve , who I ’ d later learn was the owner/operator , sounded stressed out .
“ I have a few questions if you have a moment , ” I said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , won ’ t be a minute , ” he said .
Julian was napping , so when Steve knocked , I invited him in and asked him to speak quietly .
Steve explained that the cold air was coming from the unit outside .
“ Well yes , it could potentially do that , yes , ” he said .
Ariane spoke next .
“ In case the fire gets closer , what will you … uh … yeah.
” “ Well if the fire gets closer , I ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s door and say we got ta get out .
I ’ ve got the monitoring on and we seem to be OK at the moment.
” “ Where would we go then ?
” I asked .
“ Oh , I ’ d be goin ’ down to the beach ; it ’ s better than goin ’ anywhere else.
” We prepared our belongings in case we needed to leave in a hurry , putting essentials like diapers in backpacks so our hands would be free .
After unveiling the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little girl and a drowsy little boy , Ariane asked me to go out again .
The Pambula Rural Fire Brigade had announced that the sporting center was available as “ a place you can go.
” It would become the official evacuation center if that was required .
Ariane wanted me to check it out and see if we ’ d be safer there .
I said , “ When you think about the things we ’ d be sharing there , the water , the bathrooms … ” “ I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more comfortable , ” she said .
“ The firefighters can protect one big place , but they can ’ t protect a thousand little ones .
That ’ s why all the fatalities are people who stayed in their homes.
” The Pambula Sporting Complex was 2.6 kilometers west , on the same road we ’ d taken to Pambula Beach 24 hours prior .
A drive to Pambula Beach would be 3.6 kilometers .
I offered to show Ariane the video I ’ d shot at the sporting complex , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough for her .
We ’ d stay in the motel for the night .
After doing my best to eat $ 83 worth of Thai food , I was suddenly overwhelmed with a need to sleep .
I woke up some time later with the 2-year-old climbing on me again .
I opened my eyes and saw that he had a dollar coin in his mouth ( about the size of a U.S. quarter ) .
“ No !
” I said firmly , and he immediately took it out .
Chocolate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ariane had purchased at the grocery store to help us get through the day .
Julian ’ s favorite .
When he started to choke , I couldn ’ t see his face .
The sound he made did not immediately alarm me .
Maybe it was because I was so groggy .
Ariane pounced .
“ What ’ s in his mouth ?
” she asked .
She bent him over her knee , and after a few strikes to his back , the coin popped out of Julian ’ s airway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , accompanied by a light rain .
“ This could be good , ” I said as I looked out the window , knowing that it might very well not be .
I ’ d learned from my 4 a.m. research binge that fires can create their own weather systems , and that this was not a good omen but a bad one because lightning strikes could spark new fires .
The next flash of lightning looked like it was centered over the trees across the street .
It was followed immediately by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goodness it wasn ’ t a lightning bolt .
It was now 10:30 p.m. , 90 minutes after she and I had agreed to flee via Mount Darragh Road as soon as it was light .
But it was Ariane ’ s way to re-litigate decisions internally , and she often shared with me the most interesting arguments that resulted .
Playing along , I replied , “ I think if we get going early before the temperature rises , there ’ s a lot less of a chance of a new fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least Ariane had offered a new thought .
I had already said the same thing with different words .
As our children slept , we finished our preparations .
Ariane said , “ You think about the panic you feel when your family is in an unsafe situation , and how much of the world ’ s population lives with that on a daily basis.
” This reminded me that one of the reasons we decided to relocate from the United States to Australia was our inability to deal with gun violence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ massacre had been the parents ’ press conference a week or so after losing their children .
I ’ d also covered their relentless yet unyielding efforts in the aftermath .
I ’ d been on the ground for Charleston .
At least in Australia , I thought , our children would be safer .
But for December 31 , 2019 at least , this was not the case — out of the line of fire , and into the fire .
During the 12 hours we spent adjusting to that fact , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things parents have to do anyway , like taking choking hazards away from a 2-year-old and comforting a 4-year-old after they burst into tears because “ We didn ’ t do anything fun today !
!
!
” What falls by the wayside ?
Again and again , my wife and I had to decide on the fly .
We each clung to normalcy in different ways as we transitioned into survival mode .
“ In the morning , I ’ ll handle the food in the fridge because I know what we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leave behind .
You just get the toiletries , ” Ariane said about 33 minutes before Australia would ring in the new year .
“ OK , ” I said .
“ And I ’ m going to try to find Skye , ” referring to the fearless canine helicopter pilot from Nickelodeon ’ s “ Paw Patrol.
” Julian had misplaced his beloved action figure during the afternoon , much to his consternation .
“ We brought both Baby Skye and Skye .
Skye is missing , ” I said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spend the time , ” Ariane insisted .
“ I can buy a new Skye for $ 4 .
I had backed our car into its parking stall when I returned with dinner , before we knew which way the winds were blowing and that we ’ d see no flames for the foreseeable future .
I finished packing it at 11:58 p.m. We were ready to grab the kids and run .
When I reentered the room , Ariane hopped up to me and , in a hushed whisper , explained her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summarize it here : Although we already had two 1.5 liter bottles of water in the car , one of them needed to be brought back in , and we were to drink all of it tonight .
The empty bottle and the two empty bottles from yesterday were to be filled with tap water and brought on the trip just in case .
With that made clear , Ariane turned and started toward the room ’ s only sink .
“ And don ’ t step on the food , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feet and there , to my surprise , was a plastic takeout container with rice and satay chicken noodles .
“ I won ’ t step on your food .
It ’ s midnight , ” I said .
Ariane spun around and gave me a hug and kiss .
“ I ’ m sorry that I pushed us into this vacation , ” she said .
“ Well , I ’ m the one who booked it .
I was so intent on going somewhere.
” “ Our life this past year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vacation has been like the apocalypse , ” I joked .
We left the hotel shortly after 7 a.m. Julian was awake and had eaten a few bits of cereal .
Audrey had been carried directly from her bed to her car seat and was gradually waking up .
I was behind the wheel , and Ariane was shooting video at my request .
Pambula was draped in smoke , but it had cleared up some .
It looked like heavy fog .
There were a few cars on the road .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way we ’ d come 36 hours before .
Within five minutes , Ariane detected that I ’ d taken the wrong road .
In a rush and out of habit , I ’ d fully trusted my iPhone , which was navigating us back up to Snowy Mountains Highway .
This was the primary route from Canberra to the south coast , the one we ’ d taken on the way down , the one near the 68,000-hectare Bega Valley fire that had not yet been contained .
The latest reports were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite the fire , and that there were police cruisers along the way to provide assistance .
But Ariane and I had agreed to stick with the plan : Mount Darragh Road , near where the much smaller , 65-hectare Wyndham fire was burning but contained .
“ I don ’ t know , ” Ariane said with three iPhones in her hands .
I decided to pull off .
A larger SUV was on my tail , but I managed to turn left and idled next to a wooden fence behind which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did and soon passed by our motel again .
The contrast was jarring .
Whereas there had been a few cars headed to Snowy Mountains Highway , we were the only car headed toward Wyndham .
This alone might not have given us pause , but we could see that the smoke was getting worse , not better , as we drove .
Mount Darragh Road was small , remote , and winding .
Most of the falloffs beside the road did not have guardrails .
And worst of all , we lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smaller car was following behind us .
This made us both feel better .
We weren ’ t the only ones .
And now , if something did happen , at least someone else would know .
I was shocked when we reached the tiny town of Wyndham so quickly .
In my mind , I ’ d imagined the closest fire a lot further away .
We were passing by the fire , but we couldn ’ t see much of anything , let alone any flames .
Unlike the larger , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Wyndham fire was abating , and it had not destroyed its namesake .
We drove for another hour or so without phone reception , but Ariane had taken screengrabs of the route , so we only took one wrong turn .
When we did so , the car behind us did the same .
And when we both turned around , we were following them .
At the next town , our faceless travel companions took a different spoke of the roundabout .
But it was about then that we regained cellular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the road , we felt better and better .
We were out of the mountains .
No more cliffs by the roadside .
We were joined by more and more cars , and about two hours into our journey , we started calling family members to tell them we were safe .
As I write this , it ’ s 3 a.m. on January 2 in Australia .
There are over 100 fires burning in New South Wales and Victoria , the two most populous states .
Five more people are missing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While we were still in Pambula , a firefighter died in the line of duty in Jingellic , New South Wales .
The Mallacoota fire in Victoria has combined with the Weir Road fire in New South Wales .
They are now referring to it as the Border fire .
There are no contained edges .
Military ships and helicopters have been deployed to rescue thousands — many of them beach vacationers — still trapped .
Kristy McBain , the mayor of Bega Valley Shire , whose leadership and information helped us escape @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting hours ago in Eden : “ If you are preparing to leave , you need to leave early .
If you are going to stay and defend your home , you need to make sure that you are fully prepared.
” She instructed those who flee to come here to Canberra .
Meanwhile , I have taped up every door and many of the windows of our house , but it still smells like smoke in every room .
We don ’ t know how much worse it ’ s going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are usually hotter than the last two ( Australia ’ s January and February are like the U.S. ’ s July and August ) .
Earlier tonight , Ariane and I discussed driving with the kids to Sydney , flying to Darwin ( Australia ’ s northernmost city ) , and purchasing an air-filtering machine ( they are sold out on every website in Australia and presumably in every store ) .
Ariane showed me a draft of a Facebook post in which she expressed appreciation for the firefighters and sorrow for those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She ended with something like this : “ Australia ’ s present is the world ’ s future .
Global warming continues , and it ’ s terrifying.
” *The friend is an editor at The Intercept I ’ d worked with when I was back in the States producing and reporting for The Young Turks .

Photo: Eric Byler
When my family and I were still in danger, I emailed these words to a friend* back home in America:
We‘re safe, but trapped by fires on three sides. The ocean will be our escape if necessary. People in other coastal towns have been evacuated by sea…If the roads open up and the authorities say it is safe, we will leave immediately. But we know that won’t be today. So we are holed up in our hotel room with a blanket at the base of the door to keep the smoke out.
My wife and my children (ages 4 and 2) are citizens of Australia and the United States. We moved here a year ago, and up until fire season, it’s been perfect.
Our home in the Australian capital of Canberra is among the safest in the nation, as close as it is to Parliament House and the equivalents of the CIA and the Department of State.
But on December 30, we jumped in the family car for a road trip and a long-awaited beach vacation. The website for Bega Valley advertised that it was unaffected by the fires, but thinking of those who were. That was still true until the last hour of our drive, when we noticed an enormous column of smoke rising over the mountains to our left.
By the time, we’d built sand castles and returned to Room 9 of the Pambula Colonial Motor Inn, the highway we had traveled was closed due to the Werri Berri fire. The other westbound highway was closed due to another new fire, called the Wyndham fire, only 20 kilometers away. And the multiple fires burning to our north and to our south, which had been raging for several weeks, meant that we couldn’t leave.
Most of the fires, nearly 100 at the moment, are burning in New South Wales, which is Australia’s California in more ways than one. Although the Australian Capital Territory is nestled into New South Wales, I had been following President Donald Trump’s impeachment a lot more closely than the fires. We’ve had a few fires nearby, but our only real problem has been the smoke, which had forced us to choose between oppressive heat and smoke getting in our house through open windows.
On Christmas Eve, we were in Berrima, New South Wales, visiting family when I met an Australian firefighter for the first time. Like much of the firefighting force in Australia, he was a volunteer. Two firefighters, dads with children around the same age as mine, had been killed a few days before.
I thanked the man for his service and bravery and expressed my dismay that the government doesn’t do more to support them. He said the Berrima community had donated $30,000 to complete construction on the firehouse after the government had paid for only the outer walls and that the equipment they are using is not up to par. He said that the locals show their support by bringing food, water, and other useful things to the firehouse.
“Our favorite is the baby wipes,” he said.
“Baby wipes?”
“Yeah, because we get covered in soot and water is at a premium, so we don’t want to use that to clean off. The wipes are cool to the touch and it’s just so nice on your face. We carry mini-packs in our pockets.”
He told me the temperatures they were facing near the blazes in Celsius, and I couldn’t quite compute, but I remember thinking, “Wow, that’s 10 degrees hotter than Midnight Oil said ‘The western desert lives and breathes.’” Fifty-five degrees Celsius is 131 degrees Fahrenheit.
Survival Mode
A traffic circle near the center of town in Pambula, New South Wales, on Dec. 30, 2019. Photo: Eric Byler
The sun had turned red, and it was difficult to distinguish between smoke and clouds. “Clouds,” I decided, as I snapped a photo of the sun hanging above Pambula’s old courthouse. I might well have been wrong.
If it was in the United States, Pambula, New South Wales, might be referred to as a one-stoplight town, except that it didn’t have a stoplight. At its center was a roundabout with four little roads for spokes. Each road had shops and restaurants for a distance of 100 to 300 meters.
The smell of smoke was everywhere, even in our hotel room. So before putting the kids to bed, I covered the space beneath the door with a heavy blanket. And I crammed in six plastic shopping bags into the built-in space at the top of the window in the bathroom.
I went to bed at about 2 a.m., but one of the kids had awakened me at 3 a.m. and I was unable to get back to sleep. I used my phone to check the status of the Wyndham fire, the Werri Berri and Kobargo fires blocking our escape routes, and the Mallacoota fire, which had the potential of hitting us from the south. I also pulled up some general guidelines for fires and emergencies, and I resolved to do two things first thing in the morning: (1) fill the car with gas, and (2) buy nonperishable food and water.
When the sun rose at 5:15 a.m., I was still awake. I thought about going out to get gas, but I didn’t, hoping to get back to sleep. I did so around 7 a.m. and at 9:30, I woke to the sight of my 2-year-old son bouncing on my chest. “Wake up, Daddy!”
My wife, Ariane, was focused on parenting goals that would fill a typical holiday morning: getting the kids to eat breakfast and getting them outside to play before they went bonkers. But during the night, the fires surrounding us had heaped so much smoke into the air that the sun was not visible in the sky. In fact, nothing was visible beyond 50 meters. So, Ariane’s intended destination was an indoor pool.
She offered a final piece of advice: Keep the radio news on at all times.
I went out to the car and found that it was coated with ash. A woman was unpacking her car three stalls over. “What do you think about these fires?” I asked. She said, “Well, have you filled your car up with petrol?” “No,” I said, suddenly remembering my 4 a.m. research. “Well, do that straight away because if we can’t get out, that means the supply trucks can’t get in. The stations will run out soon and then you won’t be able to leave even if you can leave.” She was right. Our tank was low. Although I was feeling anxious, I talked to her a little more and learned that she was worried about friends staying on the campgrounds nearby, including firefighters who were on break from Melbourne. One of them had raced back to Melbourne during the night, fearing that he’d be trapped here and unable to relieve his buddies who would be due for their breaks soon. I thanked her and said goodbye. She offered a final piece of advice: Keep the radio news on at all times.
Our daughter still believed we were going to the indoor pool when I strapped her in her car seat, but Ariane and I had already agreed that we’d be going directly to the gas station. There, we found a long line of vehicles stretching most of the length of the very small town. The sight of this, plus thickening orange haze, reminded me of a disaster movie and gave us the first real feeling we were in danger. Ariane broke the news to Audrey. No pool.
Julian cried when his mother got out of the car, but it was necessary. While we waited for gas, Ariane walked to Pambula’s lone grocery store and piled a shopping cart with food, water, and diapers. I soon got a text saying that the checkout line snaked through half of the store and that she’d meet us in the motel room in an hour. Later, she told me that the run on food, like the run on gas, had been polite and orderly — but also, seeing the two lines back to back had caused her to inwardly panic.
Thirty minutes later, we were only a few cars away from the pump when I saw a man walk up to a truck that was ahead of us. He spoke through the open window and the woman behind the wheel dropped an F-bomb and accelerated out of line. I rolled down my window when she paused to check for oncoming cars. “Did they just run out of gas?” I asked. “They just ran out of diesel,” she said.
Minutes later, I’d filled up our tank with unleaded. I asked the manager how close he was to running out. He said, “Soon.”
Back in the motel, Ariane spent the rest of the afternoon on various devices trying to learn more information about the fires and the road closures. She also beat herself up a bit for having planned the vacation. I said what anyone would have said.
The children had been promised a beach vacation; now we were sheltering in place. So Ariane asked me to go out and buy some toys to keep them occupied. “Enough so we can roll them out slowly,” she said, because we might be stuck in a room for days.
Photo: Courtesy of Eric Byler
Pambula is so small that I was able to walk to a drug store, a bakery/cafe, and an art store in minutes. The art store had toys. At the bakery, there was a long line and a sign on the window that said, “Due to current conditions we are closing early. Hope you understand.” The vegetarian pie that Ariane had asked for was sold out, so I bought seven meat pies and a chocolate doughnut.
This would be not be the last time that I grossly over-purchased (that evening, I purchased $83 worth of Thai food). But we were preparing for an extended period of sequester, and it was something of a stress relief for me to be able to go out and bring things back to my family.
By now the orange, hazy streets were so thick with smoke that it hurt to breathe. As I walked back to the motel, I had a morbid thought. When reading about fire deaths, I had always searched for the words “smoke inhalation” and upon finding them, felt some comfort in thinking that the victims had not been burned to death. Now I realized, smoke inhalation wouldn’t be that great either.
Thick orange smoke from #AustraliaFires blankets our motel at 4 PM on New Year’s Eve. We would flee the next morning. Our story: https://t.co/hKChHAFq8A pic.twitter.com/QJrsqASJCN — Eric Byler (@ericbyler) January 2, 2020
This is the town we fled, Pambula, NSW. #AustralianFires were burning all around us, the closest 20 km away. At this point, about 1 PM on Dec. 30, all escape routes were closed due to fires. Our window would open up at dawn the next day. Story coming up ?@theintercept? pic.twitter.com/IxuV9f7A9E — Eric Byler (@ericbyler) January 2, 2020
My concern deepened when I returned to the hotel room, and Ariane said our room was getting smoky. I had assumed that the air-conditioning unit above the bed was recirculating the air already inside the room, but maybe I was wrong. I called the front desk. Steve, who I’d later learn was the owner/operator, sounded stressed out. “I have a few questions if you have a moment,” I said. “I’ll come to you, won’t be a minute,” he said.
Julian was napping, so when Steve knocked, I invited him in and asked him to speak quietly. Steve explained that the cold air was coming from the unit outside.
“So it could potentially bring smoke in?” I asked.
“Well yes, it could potentially do that, yes,” he said.
Ariane spoke next. “In case the fire gets closer, what will you … uh … yeah.”
“Well if the fire gets closer, I’ll come around and knock on everybody’s door and say we gotta get out. I’ve got the monitoring on and we seem to be OK at the moment.”
“Where would we go then?” I asked.
“Oh, I’d be goin’ down to the beach; it’s better than goin’ anywhere else.”
We prepared our belongings in case we needed to leave in a hurry, putting essentials like diapers in backpacks so our hands would be free. After unveiling the first round of new toys for a skeptical little girl and a drowsy little boy, Ariane asked me to go out again. The Pambula Rural Fire Brigade had announced that the sporting center was available as “a place you can go.” It would become the official evacuation center if that was required. Ariane wanted me to check it out and see if we’d be safer there. I said, “When you think about the things we’d be sharing there, the water, the bathrooms …”
“I don’t care if it’s more comfortable,” she said. “The firefighters can protect one big place, but they can’t protect a thousand little ones. That’s why all the fatalities are people who stayed in their homes.”
The Pambula Sporting Complex was 2.6 kilometers west, on the same road we’d taken to Pambula Beach 24 hours prior. A drive to Pambula Beach would be 3.6 kilometers.
I offered to show Ariane the video I’d shot at the sporting complex, but she said my negative assessment was good enough for her. We’d stay in the motel for the night.
After doing my best to eat $83 worth of Thai food, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a need to sleep. I woke up some time later with the 2-year-old climbing on me again. I opened my eyes and saw that he had a dollar coin in his mouth (about the size of a U.S. quarter). “No!” I said firmly, and he immediately took it out. Chocolate coins had been one of the treats Ariane had purchased at the grocery store to help us get through the day. Julian’s favorite. When he started to choke, I couldn’t see his face. The sound he made did not immediately alarm me. Maybe it was because I was so groggy.
Ariane pounced. “What’s in his mouth?” she asked.
“A coin.”
She bent him over her knee, and after a few strikes to his back, the coin popped out of Julian’s airway.
Then came the thunder and lightning, accompanied by a light rain. “This could be good,” I said as I looked out the window, knowing that it might very well not be. I’d learned from my 4 a.m. research binge that fires can create their own weather systems, and that this was not a good omen but a bad one because lightning strikes could spark new fires. The next flash of lightning looked like it was centered over the trees across the street. It was followed immediately by a roof-shaking bolt of thunder. Thank goodness it wasn’t a lightning bolt.
The remains of burnt out buildings along main street of Cobargo, New South Wales, on Dec. 31, 2019, after bushfires ravaged the town. Photo: Sean Davey/AFP via Getty Images
The rain did not last long. By 9 p.m., we had learned the following: A father and son had died trying to protect their home as the Cobargo fire, which was about 70 kilometers north of us, destroyed the town of Wandella. In Mallacoota, about 80 kilometers south, flames had forced hundreds of people to run to the beach, where evacuations were being carried out by sea. Tomorrow would be the coolest day of the week, which would get steadily hotter. And the Wyndham fire, about 20 kilometers to our west, was now contained and therefore, Mount Darragh Road was either reopened or soon to be.
“If we get stuck on a fucking beach like they are an hour south of us, it would be really traumatic for the kids,” Ariane said. “Being outside, breathing that horrible air.”
“You think about the panic you feel when your family is in an unsafe situation, and how much of the world’s population lives with that on a daily basis.”
It was now 10:30 p.m., 90 minutes after she and I had agreed to flee via Mount Darragh Road as soon as it was light. But it was Ariane’s way to re-litigate decisions internally, and she often shared with me the most interesting arguments that resulted.
Playing along, I replied, “I think if we get going early before the temperature rises, there’s a lot less of a chance of a new fire popping up in our path.” At least Ariane had offered a new thought. I had already said the same thing with different words.
As our children slept, we finished our preparations. Ariane said, “You think about the panic you feel when your family is in an unsafe situation, and how much of the world’s population lives with that on a daily basis.” This reminded me that one of the reasons we decided to relocate from the United States to Australia was our inability to deal with gun violence. My first day covering the Sandy Hook massacre had been the parents’ press conference a week or so after losing their children. I’d also covered their relentless yet unyielding efforts in the aftermath. I’d been on the ground for Charleston. At least in Australia, I thought, our children would be safer.
But for December 31, 2019 at least, this was not the case — out of the line of fire, and into the fire. During the 12 hours we spent adjusting to that fact, we also needed to do all the things parents have to do anyway, like taking choking hazards away from a 2-year-old and comforting a 4-year-old after they burst into tears because “We didn’t do anything fun today!!!” What falls by the wayside? Again and again, my wife and I had to decide on the fly. We each clung to normalcy in different ways as we transitioned into survival mode.
“In the morning, I’ll handle the food in the fridge because I know what we need to take and what we can leave behind. You just get the toiletries,” Ariane said about 33 minutes before Australia would ring in the new year.
“OK,” I said. “And I’m going to try to find Skye,” referring to the fearless canine helicopter pilot from Nickelodeon’s “Paw Patrol.” Julian had misplaced his beloved action figure during the afternoon, much to his consternation.
“Baby Skye? I thought you had her.”
“We brought both Baby Skye and Skye. Skye is missing,” I said.
“It’s not important enough to spend the time,” Ariane insisted. “I can buy a new Skye for $4.
“Not four,” I said. “Thirty-two minutes till 2020.”
“Great,” said Ariane.
I had backed our car into its parking stall when I returned with dinner, before we knew which way the winds were blowing and that we’d see no flames for the foreseeable future. I finished packing it at 11:58 p.m. We were ready to grab the kids and run.
When I reentered the room, Ariane hopped up to me and, in a hushed whisper, explained her plan for water. I’ll summarize it here: Although we already had two 1.5 liter bottles of water in the car, one of them needed to be brought back in, and we were to drink all of it tonight. The empty bottle and the two empty bottles from yesterday were to be filled with tap water and brought on the trip just in case.
With that made clear, Ariane turned and started toward the room’s only sink. “And don’t step on the food,” she added. I looked down at my feet and there, to my surprise, was a plastic takeout container with rice and satay chicken noodles.
“I won’t step on your food. It’s midnight,” I said. Ariane spun around and gave me a hug and kiss. “I’m sorry that I pushed us into this vacation,” she said.
“Huh?”
“Well, I’m the one who booked it. I was so intent on going somewhere.”
“Our life this past year has been like a vacation; our vacation has been like the apocalypse,” I joked.
We laughed. “Happy New Year.”
Escape
Ariane looks out the window of the Colonial Motor Inn as smoke continues to spread in Pambula on Dec. 30, 2019. Photo: Eric Byler
We left the hotel shortly after 7 a.m. Julian was awake and had eaten a few bits of cereal. Audrey had been carried directly from her bed to her car seat and was gradually waking up. I was behind the wheel, and Ariane was shooting video at my request.
Pambula was draped in smoke, but it had cleared up some. It looked like heavy fog. There were a few cars on the road.
We started up the mountain, back the way we’d come 36 hours before. Within five minutes, Ariane detected that I’d taken the wrong road. In a rush and out of habit, I’d fully trusted my iPhone, which was navigating us back up to Snowy Mountains Highway. This was the primary route from Canberra to the south coast, the one we’d taken on the way down, the one near the 68,000-hectare Bega Valley fire that had not yet been contained. The latest reports were that Snowy Mountains Highway had been reopened despite the fire, and that there were police cruisers along the way to provide assistance. But Ariane and I had agreed to stick with the plan: Mount Darragh Road, near where the much smaller, 65-hectare Wyndham fire was burning but contained.
“Should I turn around?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Ariane said with three iPhones in her hands.
I decided to pull off. A larger SUV was on my tail, but I managed to turn left and idled next to a wooden fence behind which two horses were calmly grazing.
“Yes, let’s go back,” Ariane said.
We did and soon passed by our motel again.
The contrast was jarring. Whereas there had been a few cars headed to Snowy Mountains Highway, we were the only car headed toward Wyndham. This alone might not have given us pause, but we could see that the smoke was getting worse, not better, as we drove. Mount Darragh Road was small, remote, and winding. Most of the falloffs beside the road did not have guardrails. And worst of all, we lost cellular reception.
Cows grazing in the smoke along Mount Darragh Road on Dec. 31, 2019. Photo: Eric Byler
With “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” playing as our soundtrack, Ariane reviewed for me the reasons why she’d recommended this route. They still made sense to me. Smaller fire, contained, roads had been reopened sooner with no conflicting reports. But it was the loss of phone reception that brought Ariane to the verge of suggesting that we turn around again. “If something happens, we won’t be able to call for help,” she said.
We pressed on. The smoke got thicker. The signs posted varying speed limits, depending on the sharpness of the curve ahead. Ariane read out the numbers, adding “under NORMAL conditions,” each time, imploring me to slow down.
“The smoke doesn’t impact the road conditions, it impacts visibility, which is already limited by the curve of the road,” I said.
We decided our best escape route was to take the backroad over the mountain. It meant going TOWARDS the nearest fire, but we would avoid a larger one to the north. #AustralianFires story to be punished ?@theintercept? soon. pic.twitter.com/ZglMk0hGk3 — Eric Byler (@ericbyler) January 2, 2020
Before long, a smaller car was following behind us. This made us both feel better. We weren’t the only ones. And now, if something did happen, at least someone else would know.
I was shocked when we reached the tiny town of Wyndham so quickly. In my mind, I’d imagined the closest fire a lot further away. We were passing by the fire, but we couldn’t see much of anything, let alone any flames. Unlike the larger, more ferocious blazes in the region, the Wyndham fire was abating, and it had not destroyed its namesake.
We drove for another hour or so without phone reception, but Ariane had taken screengrabs of the route, so we only took one wrong turn. When we did so, the car behind us did the same. And when we both turned around, we were following them.
At the next town, our faceless travel companions took a different spoke of the roundabout. But it was about then that we regained cellular coverage, and with each bend of the road, we felt better and better. We were out of the mountains. No more cliffs by the roadside. We were joined by more and more cars, and about two hours into our journey, we started calling family members to tell them we were safe.
#AustralianFires = when a safe following distance > visibility. I had my kids, ages 2 & 4, & my wife with me in the car. Our story to be published soon — follow ?@theintercept? to see it first. @RyanGrim pic.twitter.com/pyGot15QPX — Eric Byler (@ericbyler) January 2, 2020
Incredibly, the smoke never cleared. After driving for more than four hours, we arrived in Canberra to (we later learned) the worst air conditions ever recorded. We had escaped the fires of the south coast but not the smoke they created. After a few hours of normalcy — during which Audrey and I went shopping and bought Julian a new Skye — Ariane and I have begun edging ourselves back toward survival mode. We’ve learned that it’s better not to resist it.
Ariane and I have begun edging ourselves back toward survival mode. We’ve learned that it’s better not to resist it.
As I write this, it’s 3 a.m. on January 2 in Australia. There are over 100 fires burning in New South Wales and Victoria, the two most populous states. Five more people are missing and presumed dead in the Cobargo fire. While we were still in Pambula, a firefighter died in the line of duty in Jingellic, New South Wales. The Mallacoota fire in Victoria has combined with the Weir Road fire in New South Wales. They are now referring to it as the Border fire. There are no contained edges. Military ships and helicopters have been deployed to rescue thousands — many of them beach vacationers — still trapped.
Kristy McBain, the mayor of Bega Valley Shire, whose leadership and information helped us escape, said this in a webcast emergency meeting hours ago in Eden: “If you are preparing to leave, you need to leave early. If you are going to stay and defend your home, you need to make sure that you are fully prepared.”
She instructed those who flee to come here to Canberra.
Meanwhile, I have taped up every door and many of the windows of our house, but it still smells like smoke in every room. We don’t know how much worse it’s going to get. But the next two months are usually hotter than the last two (Australia’s January and February are like the U.S.’s July and August). Earlier tonight, Ariane and I discussed driving with the kids to Sydney, flying to Darwin (Australia’s northernmost city), and purchasing an air-filtering machine (they are sold out on every website in Australia and presumably in every store).
Ariane showed me a draft of a Facebook post in which she expressed appreciation for the firefighters and sorrow for those who have lost their lives today. She ended with something like this: “Australia’s present is the world’s future. Global warming continues, and it’s terrifying.”
*The friend is an editor at The Intercept I’d worked with when I was back in the States producing and reporting for The Young Turks.


theintercept--2020-01-01--Goodbye to William Greider, a Great American Democrat

He tackled gigantic subjects : the Federal Reserve ( “ Secrets of the Temple , ” 1987 ) , the evaporation of American democracy ( “ Who Will Tell the People , ” 1992 ) , globalization ( “ One World Ready or Not , ” 1997 ) , society ’ s deformation by the military-industrial complex ( “ Fortress America , ” 1998 ) , whether we can reinvent the U.S. economy ( “ The Soul of Capitalism , ” 2003 ) , and what to do when the people running this country seem determined to destroy it ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2009 ) .
If you ’ re familiar with Greider ’ s writing , you won ’ t be surprised that this news generated an outpouring of sorrow across the internet .
If you ’ re not familiar with it , you should definitely go to the library .
If you had to choose the work of a single person to understand how America ended up in our current gruesome predicament , it would be hard to do better than Greider ’ s .
William Greider , a columnist at The Nation and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political books of the past 40 years , died on Christmas Day at the age of 83 .
Greider pulled this off because he didn ’ t care about the daily political garbage tornado .
Instead , his focus was always on the huge subterranean battles that actually determine our lives , i.e.
, capital vs. labor , creditors vs. debtors , marketing vs. people , and capitalism vs. democracy .
Each of these books is still completely relevant — something that almost never can be said about aging political writing .
Pick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the bestseller by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin about the 2008 election , and you ’ ll find it ’ s now as fascinating as gossip about the Harding administration .
I used to talk about “ Who Will Tell the People ” in particular so much that a friend of mine threatened to mock up the cover for a book called “ I Will Tell the People !
” with a picture of me on the front angrily shaking my fist .
I eventually met Greider and became one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supported .
The message running through his work is that , for decades , one side in these fights has been absolutely beating the shit out of the other .
But Greider didn ’ t spend his life diagnosing America ’ s disease to make us despair .
It was the opposite : He did it because he believed we can develop the cure , if we put in the work .
He thought that normal humans were capable of understanding the world and governing ourselves .
In other words , Greider was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party , the “ democrats , ” as Thomas Jefferson defined it in 1824 : Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties .
1. those who fear and distrust the people , and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes .
2dly those who identify themselves with the people , have confidence in them cherish and consider them as the most honest & safe , altho ’ not the most wise depository of the public interests .
… call them [ by ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democrats is the true one expressing the essence of all .
Meanwhile , those at the top of America ’ s pyramid almost uniformly belong to the first party , Jefferson ’ s aristocrats .
The nicer ones want to control us for our own good , while others are true predators who would , given the opportunity , hunt and eat us .
But they all share a belief that human beings are , in general , dim pack animals , to be ignored when possible and to be herded in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exactly the opposite case : that the people in charge have no more idea what they ’ re doing than anyone else , and often less .
During his career in journalism , he wrote in “ Who Will Tell the People , ” “ I have seen up close the frailties of power .
At the pinnacles of political command , whenever I have been able to peer behind the veil of platitudes , I have usually glimpsed a scene of confusion … trial and error , folly and misapprehensions.
” Meanwhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nation of people who are mostly smart and capable and , on the whole , generously disposed.
” Even in the most brutalized parts of the country , “ I frequently came away thinking to myself : Those people would be running things if they had been born with a bit more luck .
… There is a vast pool of unrealized ability dwelling in the American population.
” He thought everyone should be angry about this , but productively angry .
The word “ anger , ” he pointed out , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Norse word that means grief .
Toward the end of his life , Greider was overjoyed to see the burgeoning movement behind Bernie Sanders and the rise of young politicians and activists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .
His case had never been that something like it would happen , but just that it could , that it was within the capability of Americans to do this and much more .
As he put it , “ Power can accumulate in mysterious ways , if citizens believe they possess this right.
” Greider was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Anyone who pays attention to what he said has to admit that you don ’ t have to be foolish or gullible to be a believer too .

William Greider , a columnist at The Nation and author of some of the most significant political books of the past 40 years, died on Christmas Day at the age of 83.
If you’re familiar with Greider’s writing, you won’t be surprised that this news generated an outpouring of sorrow across the internet. If you’re not familiar with it, you should definitely go to the library. If you had to choose the work of a single person to understand how America ended up in our current gruesome predicament, it would be hard to do better than Greider’s.
He tackled gigantic subjects: the Federal Reserve (“Secrets of the Temple,” 1987), the evaporation of American democracy (“Who Will Tell the People,” 1992), globalization (“One World Ready or Not,” 1997), society’s deformation by the military-industrial complex (“Fortress America,” 1998), whether we can reinvent the U.S. economy (“The Soul of Capitalism,” 2003), and what to do when the people running this country seem determined to destroy it (“Come Home, America,” 2009).
I used to talk about “Who Will Tell the People” in particular so much that a friend of mine threatened to mock up the cover for a book called “I Will Tell the People!” with a picture of me on the front angrily shaking my fist. I eventually met Greider and became one of the many younger writers he encouraged and supported.
Each of these books is still completely relevant — something that almost never can be said about aging political writing. Pick up, say, “Game Change,” the bestseller by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin about the 2008 election, and you’ll find it’s now as fascinating as gossip about the Harding administration.
Greider pulled this off because he didn’t care about the daily political garbage tornado. Instead, his focus was always on the huge subterranean battles that actually determine our lives, i.e., capital vs. labor, creditors vs. debtors, marketing vs. people, and capitalism vs. democracy.
Greider didn’t spend his life diagnosing America’s disease to make us despair.
The message running through his work is that, for decades, one side in these fights has been absolutely beating the shit out of the other. But Greider didn’t spend his life diagnosing America’s disease to make us despair. It was the opposite: He did it because he believed we can develop the cure, if we put in the work. He thought that normal humans were capable of understanding the world and governing ourselves.
In other words, Greider was a member of humanity’s second party, the “democrats,” as Thomas Jefferson defined it in 1824:
Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties. 1. those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2dly those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them cherish and consider them as the most honest & safe, altho’ not the most wise depository of the public interests. … call them [by] whatever name you please … aristocrats and democrats is the true one expressing the essence of all.
Meanwhile, those at the top of America’s pyramid almost uniformly belong to the first party, Jefferson’s aristocrats. The nicer ones want to control us for our own good, while others are true predators who would, given the opportunity, hunt and eat us. But they all share a belief that human beings are, in general, dim pack animals, to be ignored when possible and to be herded in the correct direction when not.
Greider made exactly the opposite case: that the people in charge have no more idea what they’re doing than anyone else, and often less. During his career in journalism, he wrote in “Who Will Tell the People,” “I have seen up close the frailties of power. At the pinnacles of political command, whenever I have been able to peer behind the veil of platitudes, I have usually glimpsed a scene of confusion … trial and error, folly and misapprehensions.”
Meanwhile, Greider wrote, “this is a nation of people who are mostly smart and capable and, on the whole, generously disposed.” Even in the most brutalized parts of the country, “I frequently came away thinking to myself: Those people would be running things if they had been born with a bit more luck. … There is a vast pool of unrealized ability dwelling in the American population.” He thought everyone should be angry about this, but productively angry. The word “anger,” he pointed out, is derived from angr, an Old Norse word that means grief.
Toward the end of his life, Greider was overjoyed to see the burgeoning movement behind Bernie Sanders and the rise of young politicians and activists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His case had never been that something like it would happen, but just that it could, that it was within the capability of Americans to do this and much more. As he put it, “Power can accumulate in mysterious ways, if citizens believe they possess this right.” Greider was a believer; he loved and believed in people. Anyone who pays attention to what he said has to admit that you don’t have to be foolish or gullible to be a believer too.


theintercept--2020-01-07--Joe Biden’s Role in Creating the Student Debt Crisis Stretches Back to the 1970s

a central role in the creation of the student debt crisis that he and other candidates are now promising to fix , according to a close look at the legislative history around the spiraling phenomenon .
Today , more than 44 million Americans collectively owe nearly $ 1.6 trillion in student loan debt , a figure that has surpassed similar numbers for nearly every other form of debt , including credit cards and auto loans .
The issue of student loan debt has even radicalized a high-ranking Trump administration student loan official , A. Wayne Johnson , who resigned from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ October to launch a Senate campaign in Georgia centered on mass student debt forgiveness .
Early in his senatorial career , Biden played a role in making it easier for students and parents to take out burdensome loans , spanning across several decades .
Later , his landmark bankruptcy reform legislation made it nearly impossible to discharge student loans , birthing a predatory industry and sinking millions into unsustainable levels of debt .
The former vice president has enjoyed a relatively leisurely stroll through the Democratic primary over the past year , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate to fade harmlessly away .
After watching Julián Castro wilt in the wake of his attack on Biden in an early debate , none wanted to be seen as the one holding the knife when the lights came on .
Yet Biden has refused to go quietly , stubbornly remaining atop the field .
And so the knives are coming out .
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has recently attacked his judgment for supporting the Iraq War and allowing his son to profit from a natural gas company in Ukraine while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders unloaded on him Monday night on CNN , hitting everything from his vote for the war and damaging trade deals to his push for a major bankruptcy reform bill , “ which has caused enormous financial problems for working families.
” On Tuesday morning , Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren pointedly released a plan to repeal the “ harmful provisions ” in the bankruptcy bill , reviving a bitter fight she had with the then-Delaware senator more than a decade ago .
A surrogate , Adam Green of the Progressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan to the line of attack against Biden that progressives see as the most potent : He is unelectable .
“ When thinking about electability , it would be complete malpractice to nominate someone who conspired in backrooms for years with credit card lobbyists and voted for every corporate bankruptcy bill , Wall Street deregulation , and trade deal that voters hate , ” Green said .
“ So if we ’ re going to beat Trump , we need turnout , ” Sanders said Monday night .
“ And to get turnout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And I don ’ t think that that kind of record is going to bring forth the energy we need to defeat Trump.
” In 1978 , Biden supported the Middle Income Student Assistance Act , which eliminated income restrictions on federal loans to expand eligibility to all students .
Biden helped write a separate bill that year blocking students from seeking bankruptcy protections on those loans after graduation .
( The income restrictions on federal loans were reinstated in 1981 . )
Then he went on to vote to create the Parent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , program in 1980 and the Auxiliary Loans to Assist Students , or ALAS , program in 1981 , which extended loan eligibility to students with no parental financial support .
“ Within a few years , the crackdown [ on student debtors filing for bankruptcy ] that began in 1978 would extend beyond just government loans .
In 1984 , as Biden was gaining seniority on the Judiciary Committee , the Delaware lawmaker reprised his role as one of his party ’ s top negotiators on a new legislative proposal , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Under that bill — which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan — bankruptcy exemptions were extended to non-higher-education loans like those for vocational schools , according to the U.S. Department of Education.
” Though Biden ultimately missed the vote for the Higher Education Amendments of 1986 , he co-sponsored the legislation and said he would have voted for it if he were able to .
( According to the Congressional Record , he had to be in Delaware for a family matter . )
One of the most significant changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provision that prevented students in default under the Guaranteed Student Loan program from receiving new federal assistance .
It also imposed new regulations that “ helped fuel the development of lending-industry giants like Sallie Mae by creating barriers to entry to smaller , newer companies wanting to enter the field , ” the think tank Education Sector wrote in a 2007 report .
“ Loosened loan eligibility requirements , together with two new federal loan programs , increased student borrowing from $ 1.8 billion in 1977 to $ 12 billion in 1989 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Middle Income Student Assistance Act , and the PLUS and ALAS programs .
Years later , as a senator from Delaware , Biden was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the disastrous 2005 bankruptcy bill that made it nearly impossible for borrowers to reduce their student loan debt .
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act raised the bar for families to pursue Chapter 7 bankruptcy protections .
It overwhelmingly passed in the Senate at the end of the Clinton administration , over the objections of Warren , then a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Biden over the issue .
She lobbied first lady Hillary Clinton , who herself persuaded Bill Clinton to veto it .
Biden came back to the legislation under the Bush administration ; it passed the Senate in 2005 on a 74-25 vote , with most Democratic lawmakers , including then-Sen. Barack Obama , voting against it .
( Clinton , by then a senator from New York , voted for it . )
George W. Bush signed it into law , and private student loan debt skyrocketed in the wake of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student loan debt more than doubled between 2005 and 2011 , growing from $ 55.9 billion to $ 140.2 billion , according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau .
A 2011 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the 2005 bankruptcy bill led to a surge of foreclosures that may not have happened otherwise , translating to an additional 29,000 foreclosures every three months .
To defend his support of the bill , Biden ’ s campaign told Politico that “ knowing that the bill was likely to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked to moderate the bankruptcy bill and protect middle class families .
He believed that if you have income and consumer debts you can pay , you should agree to a repayment plan that you can afford.
” In 2002 , during an earlier version of the legislation , Warren , who was a Harvard bankruptcy law professor at the time , singled out Biden for his push to make it harder for struggling people to file for bankruptcy — arguing the change would be particularly harmful to women .
“ The point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be left to giant corporations and paid lobbyists , and senators like Joe Biden should not be allowed to sell out women in the morning and be heralded as their friend in the evening , ” she wrote in her 2003 book , “ The Two-Income Trap.
” “ Middle-class women need help , and right now no one is putting their economic interests first.
” Out of the current primary field , only Sanders and Warren are proposing to eliminate student loan debt .
Sanders goes the furthest on the issue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every last dollar of student debt .
Warren ’ s means-tested plan would offer no debt forgiveness for those making more than $ 250,000 a year and would cap the amount that can be forgiven at $ 50,000 , regardless of income .
But her new bankruptcy reform plan also addresses the issue : It would end “ the absurd special treatment of student loans in bankruptcy , ” making them dischargeable like other consumer debts .
Young people , particularly students , flocked to the Vermont senator ’ s first long-shot bid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of his promise to make college free .
According to a September Hill-HarrisX poll , a majority of voters support the elimination of all student debt and making higher education free .
Seventy-two percent of Democratic voters said they are in favor of the two policies , compared with 40 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of independents .
Biden , who has said he ’ s still paying off $ 298,000 in student debt for his three children , opposes free college and student debt forgiveness , calling it unrealistic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ net worth of more than $ 15 million , according to the tax returns his campaign released last July .
Oddly enough , the campaign video in which he mentions his children ’ s debt with the system is captioned “ We Need a President Who Will Forgive Student Debt.
” ) The Biden Plan for Education Beyond High School , which was released in October , aims to “ expand ” the accessibility of community college and “ simplify ” income-based loan repayment programs .
During the Democratic primary , he has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help wealthy students .
“ I don ’ t think you should be paying for my son [ Hunter ] going to Yale Law School .
I don ’ t think you should be paying for my daughter [ Ashley ] to go to the University of Pennsylvania , ” he said at a campaign stop in New Hampshire , according to a Washington Post reporter .
“ I do think we should make it more affordable to attend school.
” The reporter clarified in a follow-up tweet that Biden was specifically referring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate about tuition-free college .

Joe Biden played a central role in the creation of the student debt crisis that he and other candidates are now promising to fix, according to a close look at the legislative history around the spiraling phenomenon.
Today, more than 44 million Americans collectively owe nearly $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, a figure that has surpassed similar numbers for nearly every other form of debt, including credit cards and auto loans. The issue of student loan debt has even radicalized a high-ranking Trump administration student loan official, A. Wayne Johnson, who resigned from Betsy DeVos’s Education Department last October to launch a Senate campaign in Georgia centered on mass student debt forgiveness.
Early in his senatorial career, Biden played a role in making it easier for students and parents to take out burdensome loans, spanning across several decades. Later, his landmark bankruptcy reform legislation made it nearly impossible to discharge student loans, birthing a predatory industry and sinking millions into unsustainable levels of debt.
The former vice president has enjoyed a relatively leisurely stroll through the Democratic primary over the past year, as his opponents waited for the three-time presidential candidate to fade harmlessly away. After watching Julián Castro wilt in the wake of his attack on Biden in an early debate, none wanted to be seen as the one holding the knife when the lights came on.
Yet Biden has refused to go quietly, stubbornly remaining atop the field. And so the knives are coming out. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has recently attacked his judgment for supporting the Iraq War and allowing his son to profit from a natural gas company in Ukraine while Biden was leading anti-corruption efforts there. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders unloaded on him Monday night on CNN, hitting everything from his vote for the war and damaging trade deals to his push for a major bankruptcy reform bill, “which has caused enormous financial problems for working families.”
On Tuesday morning, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren pointedly released a plan to repeal the “harmful provisions” in the bankruptcy bill, reviving a bitter fight she had with the then-Delaware senator more than a decade ago. A surrogate, Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, linked the bankruptcy plan to the line of attack against Biden that progressives see as the most potent: He is unelectable. “When thinking about electability, it would be complete malpractice to nominate someone who conspired in backrooms for years with credit card lobbyists and voted for every corporate bankruptcy bill, Wall Street deregulation, and trade deal that voters hate,” Green said.
“So if we’re going to beat Trump, we need turnout,” Sanders said Monday night. “And to get turnout, you need energy and excitement. And I don’t think that that kind of record is going to bring forth the energy we need to defeat Trump.”
Presidential candidate @BernieSanders hammers Joe Biden for his Iraq War, NAFTA votes. “I just don’t think that that kind of record is going to bring forth the kind energy we need to defeat Trump.” pic.twitter.com/3JIIVCNE48 — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 7, 2020
In 1978, Biden supported the Middle Income Student Assistance Act, which eliminated income restrictions on federal loans to expand eligibility to all students. Biden helped write a separate bill that year blocking students from seeking bankruptcy protections on those loans after graduation. (The income restrictions on federal loans were reinstated in 1981.) Then he went on to vote to create the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, or PLUS, program in 1980 and the Auxiliary Loans to Assist Students, or ALAS, program in 1981, which extended loan eligibility to students with no parental financial support.
“Within a few years, the crackdown [on student debtors filing for bankruptcy] that began in 1978 would extend beyond just government loans. In 1984, as Biden was gaining seniority on the Judiciary Committee, the Delaware lawmaker reprised his role as one of his party’s top negotiators on a new legislative proposal,” the International Business-Times reported in 2015. “Under that bill — which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan — bankruptcy exemptions were extended to non-higher-education loans like those for vocational schools, according to the U.S. Department of Education.”
Early in his senatorial career, Biden played a role in making it easier for students and parents to take out burdensome loans.
Though Biden ultimately missed the vote for the Higher Education Amendments of 1986, he co-sponsored the legislation and said he would have voted for it if he were able to. (According to the Congressional Record, he had to be in Delaware for a family matter.) One of the most significant changes in the Higher Education reauthorization was a provision that prevented students in default under the Guaranteed Student Loan program from receiving new federal assistance. It also imposed new regulations that “helped fuel the development of lending-industry giants like Sallie Mae by creating barriers to entry to smaller, newer companies wanting to enter the field,” the think tank Education Sector wrote in a 2007 report.
“Loosened loan eligibility requirements, together with two new federal loan programs, increased student borrowing from $1.8 billion in 1977 to $12 billion in 1989,” the report said, referring to the Middle Income Student Assistance Act, and the PLUS and ALAS programs.
Years later, as a senator from Delaware, Biden was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the disastrous 2005 bankruptcy bill that made it nearly impossible for borrowers to reduce their student loan debt. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act raised the bar for families to pursue Chapter 7 bankruptcy protections. It overwhelmingly passed in the Senate at the end of the Clinton administration, over the objections of Warren, then a bankruptcy expert who had tangled for years with Biden over the issue. She lobbied first lady Hillary Clinton, who herself persuaded Bill Clinton to veto it.
Biden came back to the legislation under the Bush administration; it passed the Senate in 2005 on a 74-25 vote, with most Democratic lawmakers, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, voting against it. (Clinton, by then a senator from New York, voted for it.) George W. Bush signed it into law, and private student loan debt skyrocketed in the wake of its passage. The total amount of private student loan debt more than doubled between 2005 and 2011, growing from $55.9 billion to $140.2 billion, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
A 2011 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the 2005 bankruptcy bill led to a surge of foreclosures that may not have happened otherwise, translating to an additional 29,000 foreclosures every three months. To defend his support of the bill, Biden’s campaign told Politico that “knowing that the bill was likely to make it through the Republican-led Congress, he worked to moderate the bankruptcy bill and protect middle class families. He believed that if you have income and consumer debts you can pay, you should agree to a repayment plan that you can afford.”
In 2002, during an earlier version of the legislation, Warren, who was a Harvard bankruptcy law professor at the time, singled out Biden for his push to make it harder for struggling people to file for bankruptcy — arguing the change would be particularly harmful to women.
“The point is simply that family economics should not be left to giant corporations and paid lobbyists, and senators like Joe Biden should not be allowed to sell out women in the morning and be heralded as their friend in the evening,” she wrote in her 2003 book, “The Two-Income Trap.” “Middle-class women need help, and right now no one is putting their economic interests first.”
Out of the current primary field, only Sanders and Warren are proposing to eliminate student loan debt. Sanders goes the furthest on the issue, with a universal plan that would cancel every last dollar of student debt. Warren’s means-tested plan would offer no debt forgiveness for those making more than $250,000 a year and would cap the amount that can be forgiven at $50,000, regardless of income. But her new bankruptcy reform plan also addresses the issue: It would end “the absurd special treatment of student loans in bankruptcy,” making them dischargeable like other consumer debts.
Young people, particularly students, flocked to the Vermont senator’s first long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination in large part because of his promise to make college free. According to a September Hill-HarrisX poll, a majority of voters support the elimination of all student debt and making higher education free. Seventy-two percent of Democratic voters said they are in favor of the two policies, compared with 40 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of independents.
Biden, who has said he’s still paying off $298,000 in student debt for his three children, opposes free college and student debt forgiveness, calling it unrealistic. (The former vice president has a net worth of more than $15 million, according to the tax returns his campaign released last July. Oddly enough, the campaign video in which he mentions his children’s debt with the system is captioned “We Need a President Who Will Forgive Student Debt.”) The Biden Plan for Education Beyond High School, which was released in October, aims to “expand” the accessibility of community college and “simplify” income-based loan repayment programs.
During the Democratic primary, he has characterized loan forgiveness as something that would help wealthy students.
“I don’t think you should be paying for my son [Hunter] going to Yale Law School. I don’t think you should be paying for my daughter [Ashley] to go to the University of Pennsylvania,” he said at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, according to a Washington Post reporter. “I do think we should make it more affordable to attend school.” The reporter clarified in a follow-up tweet that Biden was specifically referring to loan forgiveness and not the related debate about tuition-free college.


theintercept--2020-01-07--VOA Persian Awarded Journalism Contract to Controversial Former Trump Campaign Operative

The government contract , which was awarded last year , is the latest sign that VOA Persian has continued transform into what former employees of the nonprofit news outlet have called “ blatant propaganda ” designed to promote Trump and regime change in Iran .
Nick Muzin , a controversial Republican lobbyist and loyalist to President Donald Trump , holds a contract to provide programming services for Voice of America Persian , the American government-backed media outlet set up to produce journalistic content for the Iranian community around the world .
Muzin made headlines early last year for a controversial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relations with officials in Washington , D.C .
Along with his business partner Joey Allaham , a proprietor of high-end kosher restaurants in New York , Muzin collected $ 3.9 million from the Qatari government to secure meetings and win favor with people known to have connections with Trump .
The plan included charting out 250 “ influencers , ” with Muzin securing payments from his client to the Zionist Organization of America and Mike Huckabee ( the former governor of Arkansas who now has ties to the Trump administration as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort .
Neither Muzin ’ s lobbying firm , Stonington Global LLC , nor the U.S. Agency for Global Media , which oversees VOA Persian , responded to a request for comment .
Muzin , a physician and former aide to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz who also served on the Trump campaign and the transition , was one of the many operatives to move swiftly into lobbying over the last three years , helping both domestic clients and foreign governments curry favor with the administration .
Muzin ’ s lobbying firm , Stonington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Persian to provide public relations and talent booking on a contract that began on May 22 , 2019 , does not appear to have any journalistic credentials .
The firm lists a variety of lobbying and defense procurement services on its website and is run by a team made up largely of former Republican aides .
The VOA Persian statement of work stipulates that the contract will include a range editorial development duties .
Elliott Broidy , a prominent Republican fundraiser tapped by the United Arab Emirates to lobby the U.S. to sever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ participating in an alleged Qatari plot to hack his emails .
In August , a federal judge in California dismissed Broidy ’ s lawsuit against Muzin and his lobbying firm on jurisdictional grounds , without ruling on the merits of the case .
Muzin was paid $ 500,000 by a shell company linked to Russian individuals as part of a lobbying venture to boost an Albanian political party aligned with the Russian government .
Since 1940 , the American government has funded media programs as part of a foreign affairs strategy , first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World War II , then through expanded efforts to counter the Soviet Union ’ s influence around the world , which led to the founding of Voice of America .
VOA ’ s broadcasts into Iran began in the early 1940s , as part of a program known initially as the Farsi Service .
VOA and its affiliates have been governed by presidential appointees under close coordination with the State Department .
As the Intercept previously reported , VOA Persian once provided a relatively balanced perspective , reporting stories with mainstream journalistic standards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S .
But the quality of VOA Persian , however , quickly degraded after Trump ’ s election .
Congressional Republicans reshaped the organizational structure , handing enhanced authority to the chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media ( formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors ) that oversees the network .
Kenneth Weinstein , Trump ’ s pick to lead the agency , simultaneously serves as head of the Hudson Institute , a neoconservative think tank whose experts have repeatedly called for bombing Iran .
One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency ’ s overhaul , Vincent Trovato , previously worked for Cambridge Analytica and the Trump campaign .
VOA Persian now provides wall-to-wall positive coverage for hard-line regime change advocates .
The network provides reliably favorable coverage of Mojahedin-e Khalq , or MEK , the militant opposition that has worked with Israeli intelligence to carry out assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists , even providing a platform for Heshmat Alavi , a fake persona created by MEK .
The network ’ s journalists have also expressed far-right sentiments that have unsettled longtime former VOA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perceived critics of Trump .
Saman Arbabi , one VOA Persian host , mockingly compared the hijab worn by Rep. Ilhan Omar , D-Minn. , to a Ku Klux Klan hood .
In recent days , one VOA Persian host , Masih Alinejad , has appeared on CNN and Fox News and been quoted by major U.S. newspapers to praise Trump ’ s decision assassinate of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani .
Many outlets depicted Alinejad as an independent journalist .
Responsible Statecraft , a project of the Quincy Institute , noted that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s work for VOA Persian , and has received payments from the government totaling at least $ 305,000 since 2015 .
Update : January 7 , 2020 , 3:45 p.m. After publication , The Intercept received the following statement from VOA spokesperson Bridget Ann Serchak : “ The firm was contracted to assist VOA in booking guests in a process that was competitively bid and awarded .
The firm is paid on an hourly basis .
They are used occasionally ( not within the past few months ) when they have contacts that @ @ @ @ @ @

Nick Muzin, a controversial Republican lobbyist and loyalist to President Donald Trump, holds a contract to provide programming services for Voice of America Persian, the American government-backed media outlet set up to produce journalistic content for the Iranian community around the world.
The government contract, which was awarded last year, is the latest sign that VOA Persian has continued transform into what former employees of the nonprofit news outlet have called “blatant propaganda” designed to promote Trump and regime change in Iran.
Muzin’s lobbying firm, Stonington Global, which was retained by VOA Persian to provide talent booking under a public relations contract that began on May 22, 2019, does not appear to have any journalistic credentials. The firm lists a variety of lobbying and defense procurement services on its website and is run by a team made up largely of former Republican aides. The VOA Persian statement of work stipulates that the contract will include a range editorial development duties.
Muzin, a physician and former aide to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz who also served on the Trump campaign and the transition, was one of the many operatives to move swiftly into lobbying over the last three years, helping both domestic clients and foreign governments curry favor with the administration.
Neither Muzin’s lobbying firm, Stonington Global LLC, nor the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA Persian, responded to a request for comment.
Muzin made headlines early last year for a controversial contract on behalf of Qatar to mend relations with officials in Washington, D.C. Along with his business partner Joey Allaham, a proprietor of high-end kosher restaurants in New York, Muzin collected $3.9 million from the Qatari government to secure meetings and win favor with people known to have connections with Trump. The plan included charting out 250 “influencers,” with Muzin securing payments from his client to the Zionist Organization of America and Mike Huckabee (the former governor of Arkansas who now has ties to the Trump administration as well as Fox) as part of the lobbying effort.
Elliott Broidy, a prominent Republican fundraiser tapped by the United Arab Emirates to lobby the U.S. to sever ties with Qatar, accused Muzin of participating in an alleged Qatari plot to hack his emails. In August, a federal judge in California dismissed Broidy’s lawsuit against Muzin and his lobbying firm on jurisdictional grounds, without ruling on the merits of the case.
Muzin was paid $500,000 by a shell company linked to Russian individuals as part of a lobbying venture to boost an Albanian political party aligned with the Russian government.
Since 1940, the American government has funded media programs as part of a foreign affairs strategy, first as a counter to Nazi Germany during World War II, then through expanded efforts to counter the Soviet Union’s influence around the world, which led to the founding of Voice of America. VOA’s broadcasts into Iran began in the early 1940s, as part of a program known initially as the Farsi Service.
VOA and its affiliates have been governed by presidential appointees under close coordination with the State Department. As the Intercept previously reported, VOA Persian once provided a relatively balanced perspective, reporting stories with mainstream journalistic standards, often even airing segments critical of the U.S.
But the quality of VOA Persian, however, quickly degraded after Trump’s election. Congressional Republicans reshaped the organizational structure, handing enhanced authority to the chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors) that oversees the network.
Kenneth Weinstein, Trump’s pick to lead the agency, simultaneously serves as head of the Hudson Institute, a neoconservative think tank whose experts have repeatedly called for bombing Iran. One of the early appointees brought in to shape the agency’s overhaul, Vincent Trovato, previously worked for Cambridge Analytica and the Trump campaign.
VOA Persian now provides wall-to-wall positive coverage for hard-line regime change advocates. The network provides reliably favorable coverage of Mojahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, the militant opposition that has worked with Israeli intelligence to carry out assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, even providing a platform for Heshmat Alavi, a fake persona created by MEK. The network’s journalists have also expressed far-right sentiments that have unsettled longtime former VOA Persian reporters, including continued attacks at perceived critics of Trump. Saman Arbabi, one VOA Persian host, mockingly compared the hijab worn by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to a Ku Klux Klan hood.
In recent days, one VOA Persian host, Masih Alinejad, has appeared on CNN and Fox News and been quoted by major U.S. newspapers to praise Trump’s decision assassinate of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani. Many outlets depicted Alinejad as an independent journalist. Responsible Statecraft, a project of the Quincy Institute, noted that every outlet failed to disclose Alinejad’s work for VOA Persian. Alinejad has received payments from the government totaling at least $305,000 since 2015.
Update: January 7, 2020, 3:45 p.m.
After publication, The Intercept received the following statement from VOA spokesperson Bridget Ann Serchak: “The firm was contracted to assist VOA in booking guests in a process that was competitively bid and awarded. The firm is paid on an hourly basis. They are used occasionally (not within the past few months) when they have contacts that our journalists do not.”