Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Criminalizing Dissent, Cuba, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights, U.S. Militarism, War Resister
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Analysis Of A Transformation
Our country is going through a great transformation. We are no longer the constitutional democracy we once were. Its reported that Elon Musk, the world‘s first trillionaire, gave Trump and his MAGA organization $200 million in the last election. Miriam Adelson, the widow of a casino magnate gave another $100 million. Trump bragged about her ready access to the White House. Musk took a wrecking ball to federal jobs. Other institutions such as law firms, the Supreme Court,universities, and Congress have been transformed. Extraordinarily no one in Congress is able to say “the king has no clothes“. The media facilitate all of this.
Guest – Ann Wright is a retired colonel in the army having served 29 years in it and the reserves . She then became a diplomat and was posted in many countries around the world. In 2003 she quit over the lies the government told to manipulate the American people into supporting a war on Iraq. She then co-wrote the book with Susan Dixon titled “Dissent : Voices of Conscience : Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq. It includes a forward by Daniel Ellsberg. Ann Wright has been active since then as a the leader of the anti-war group Code Pink and a leader of Veterans for Peace. She is was on numerous flotillas that sailed across the Mediterranean to bring help to the Palestinians and publicize their plight. VoicesOfConscience.
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We Will Dismantle The ICC Brick By Brick
The United States has long endeavored to undermine the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although it is not a party to the Rome Statute, the U.S. has consistently attacked the ICC. In 2003, Congress passed, and then-President George W. Bush signed, the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, known as “The Hague Invasion Act.” It says that if a national of the U.S. or its ally (which includes Israel) is detained by the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, the U.S. military can use armed force to extricate them.
The Bush administration effectively blackmailed 100 countries that were parties to the Rome Statute by forcing them to sign bilateral immunity agreements in which they promised not to turn over U.S. persons to the ICC, or the United States would withhold foreign aid from them. In November 2024, after an investigation lasting more than three years, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. They stand charged with the war crimes of starvation as a form of warfare, and intentional attacks on civilians; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
Donald Trump has taken the U.S. assault on the ICC to a new level with punishing sanctions against those who seek to hold accountable individuals who commit the most heinous crimes. In February, Trump issued an executive order that has led to the sanctioning of nine of the ICC’s 18 judges and three ICC prosecutors. Sanctions include frozen or closed bank accounts, rejection of financial transactions, denial of access to digital services, and travel bans.
In July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court. He accused the ICC of “waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles,” but with “the force of so-called international law.” In an article in Wall Street Journal, Rubio wrote that “we will dismantle the ICC – brick by brick, if necessary.”
Now four prominent human rights organizations have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Trump’s executive order violates the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, and international law.
Guest – Marjorie Cohn, a former host on Law and Disorder is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, dean of the People’s Academy of International Law, and past president of the National Lawyers Guild. She sits on the national advisory board of Veterans For Peace, she is a member of the bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and serves as the U.S. representative to the continental advisory council of the Association of American Jurists. Her books include Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues. She writes a regular column for Truthout, including a recent one entitled, Trump Sanctioned ICC Officials to Shield Israeli Leaders. Rights Groups Sued.
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Cuba, Freedom Of Speech, Habeas Corpus, Human Rights, Targeting Muslims, Torture, War Resister
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Moving The Bar: My Life As A Radical Lawyer
Hosts Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith interviewed some of Michael Ratner’s closest friends and colleagues as part of a special broadcast highlighting Michael Ratner’s legal work and mentorship. The special also marked the upcoming release of Michael Ratner’s autobiography Moving The Bar: My Life As A Radical Lawyer published by OR Books. In this one hour taken from the two hour fundraiser broadcast, we hear from attorneys including Eleanor Stein, Richard Levy, Ray Brescia, David Cole and Baher Azmy.
Michael Ratner’s pathbreaking legal and political work is unmatched. He provided crucial support for the Cuban Revolution and won the seminal case in the Supreme Court guaranteeing the right of habeas corpus to Guantanamo detainees. Michael also challenged U.S. policy in Iraq, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Israel-Palestine. This book is a testament to his unflagging efforts on behalf of the poor and oppressed around the world.
– Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Michael Ratner personified lawyering that brought both radical and human values into challenges to the use of governmental power to violate the essence of the Bill of Rights. From the torture of prisoners after 911 to the massive racial profiling by the New York Police Department, Michael’s voice and vision continue to resonate. This book provides a powerful testament to the spirit of this extraordinary man.
– Attorney Bill Goodman
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Cuba, Freedom Of Speech, Gaza, genocide, Right To Dissent
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We Need Your Help and Support
Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism
On July 20th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department released a 100-page McCarthyite propaganda report. It is a document that seeks to serve as the ideological justification for an escalating assault on Cuba, the Cuba solidarity movement and all political dissent on the left. The report casts a wide net of unfounded accusations, maliciously painting over 40 left-leaning social movement organizations and individuals as purported Cuban “front groups” while employing guilt-by-association tactics to smear even elected officials such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Among the organizations cited is the National Lawyers Guild, an association of attorneys, law students and legal workers, of which all of the hosts here on Law and Disorder are members. It goes so far as to cite reports from the long-discredited House Un-American Activities Committee, reviving Cold War conspiracy theories from the 1950s and repackaging them for the present.
As our guest today writes, “These accusations are not meant to be rational. They, like the charges that our elections are manipulated, are transparent excuses to go after institutions and individuals that are seen as threatening Trump and the Republican Party’s absolute grip on power.”
Guest – Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author, and the former Middle East correspondent for the New York Times. Among his more than a dozen books are American Fascism: The Christian Right and the War on America; The Greatest Evil Is War; and A Genocide Foretold: Reporting on Survival and Resistance in Occupied Palestine. Chris Hedges is also one of the contributors to the book titled From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style, a book composed of summaries of interviews with guests here on the Law and Disorder radio show, and available for purchase at O/R Books.
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Khalil v Trump
Mahmood Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident has sued senior Trump administration officials and private anti-Palestinian groups for conspiring to target, detain, and attempt to deport him because of his identity and his advocacy for Palestinian rights. He is represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law firm of Beldock, Levine and Hoffman.
The lawsuit argues that government officials and private actors, including the Heritage Foundation, Betar and Canary Mission violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and the US Constitution when they coordinated to suppress political speech and support of Palestinian rights through the weaponization of immigration enforcement and baseless, pretrial accusations of terrorism and antisemitism.
Mahmoud‘s arrest, detention, and attempted deportation were part of a broader strategy to criminalized solidarity, chill speech and make an example of those who speak out against the subjugation of Palestinians. This case is about more than one person or one freedom movement. Is about whether government power can be weaponized by private actors to target human rights defenders and strip people of their constitutional rights.
Guest – New York attorney Adina Marx-Arpadi is a justice fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights ( CCR). She graduated.CUNY law school and worked at Bronx Defenders.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Cuba, Economics, Human Rights, Racist Police Violence, Torture
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The Future of Cuba
When the Cuban revolution succeeded on January 1, 1959, it drove the American supported Batista dictator out of their country. One of the first things that the revolution government did was to create a law – which is very popular because a lot of people would have fought on the side of the revolution and benefited directly from it – to initiate a comprehensive land reform.
Previously, large tracks of land had been owned by American corporations. The average peasant worked part-time, seasonally, was not literate, and lived from hand to mouth. The revolutionary government nationalized the big properties – which was their right under international law.
Not only did it nationalize the large lands but the government told the former owners that they would be compensated for their losses. They said to the American owners “we will pay you exactly the amount you said the land was worth when you listed it for tax purposes.” The Cuban government was turned down.
In retaliation the United States, which was refining all Cuba oil in American owned oil refineries, stopped refining oil and Cuba was cut off from gasoline. What did the Cubans do? They nationalized the oil refineries, then the bus company was nationalized, the phone company was nationalized, the nickel mines were nationalized, the top levels of the economy were nationalized.
Instead of having production for profit, which is really irrational and anarchical, they had a planned economy – which is called a socialist revolution. That’s what happened very quickly to America’s surprise in Cuba. Getting that property back has been the aim of American foreign policy ever since.
Cuba has great respect and support internationally because of the example it set. It has free education, universal healthcare, inexpensive housing, wonderful art, and music and dance. The United States has aimed to overturn Cuba’s accomplishments and example. Its economic, political, and diplomatic aggression against Cuba has been relentless for 67 years. But under Trump, it’s never been worse. US-CubaNormalization.org
Guest – Ike Nahem, a founder and leader of the New York -New Jersey Cuba Si Coalition. He has organized labor and educational tours of Cuba.Mr. Nahem is a retired Amtrak locomotive engineer.
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The Conviction Machine: Prosecutors, Politicians and Police Violence in Chicago
The comedian Lenny Bruce used to joke that Chicago was so corrupt. It was thrilling. He had no idea. Bruce was referring to run of the mill bribery of a traffic cop or a police officer taking your floor mats in lieu of a ticket or a pay off from a local bar owner. The corruption in Chicago ran much deeper. It went from the prosecutors who were actually in the police station, listening to the screams of men being tortured, before they went and took a signed confession from them.
It was the commander of a whole section of police who learned how to torture people from a tour of duty in Vietnam. He brought back an electric machine that they had actually used in Vietnam Vietnamese. This machine was used on Black people in Chicago. Three hundred people were convicted on the basis of tortured confessions. The corruption ran all the way up to the mayor’s office. Mayor Richard J Daily knew about it and said nothing.
It was only the work of a few attorneys like Flint Taylor and the community, the Black Panther party, and activists and progressive politicians who exposed it. Their victory included reparations, The torture of people in police stations on the west side and southside of Chicago is now taught to eighth grade and 10th graders in the public schools.
“In the halls of justice the only justice is in the halls“ said H. Rap Brown, the leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Guest – Flint Taylor, a founding member of Chicago’s Peoples Law Office. He represented the families of slain Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. He continues to represent many survivors of police torture and wrongful convictions. Attorney Taylor is co-counsel in the Malcolm X assassination case and is the award-winning author of the historical memoir “The Torture Machine“. Flint’s book is a captivating account of the most corrupt and blood soaked chapter In Chicago law-enforcement history.
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Cuba, Economics, Iran, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister
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The Long War Against Iran: New Events, Old Questions
The war the United States and Israel started against Iran has been going on now since the last day of February. It will end Trump says “when I feel it in my bones.” For the US’s part, President Trump wants a regime change and a weak client state. He had hoped that assassinating Ayatollah Khomeini the Supreme Leader, as well as many others in the top tiers of the Iranian government would accomplish this. It did not.
The Iranian people are protecting their sovereignty against an illegal war – the greatest of all crimes – which already has killed 2000 people and destroyed much of the infrastructure of their country. Twenty three years ago, President George W. Bush falsely alleged that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and attacked that country in violation of the United Nations charter.
The Israeli American war against Iran was initiated by the same sort of fraud by alleging that Iran was on the brink of developing nuclear weapons and missiles to developed them all the way to the United States. The day before the war was initiated The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that Iran did not have and was not trying to develop a nuclear bomb. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has falsely accused Iran of being on the edge of developing nuclear weapons for 30 years.
Although the United States would like to reduce Iran to a weak client state, the Israeli government would like to make it into a failed state. Are we on the verge of World War III? We don’t know. Iran is achieving successes against American military assets in the region and doesn’t want a ceasefire, although none has been offered, because they want to make sure this never happens again.
Guest – Professor Behrooz Ghamari is the author of The Long War Against Iran: New Events, Old Questions. He is affiliated with the Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto and before that was Professor and Chair of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Although he’s not a supporter of politics of the current clerical regime he is a defender of Iran sovereignty.
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Cuba’s Future After 2026 Blockade
Actions taken by the Trump Administration have ensured that Cuba’s government, weakened by decades of US sanctions and illegal boycotts, is facing one of its most severe situations in years, with the country edging toward a humanitarian crisis. Power outages are widespread, hospitals are cutting back on surgeries, shortages of fuel and food are worsening, and tourism is declining.
The situation in Cuba deteriorated further after the January 3 US military invasion that removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whose government had long supplied Cuba with heavily subsidized oil. Severing Venezuela’s relationship with Cuba is clearly part of Washington’s broader strategy of toppling Havana’s government. Since mid-December, Washington has blockaded Venezuela from shipping oil to Cuba, economically strangling the island.
US officials say the invasion to capture Maduro also exposed Cuba’s vulnerabilities, killing dozens of Cuban security personnel assigned to protect Maduro. Washington’s decision to leave some of Maduro’s allies in power in Venezuela, including allowing Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to be acting president, signaled that the Trump administration may be willing to strike deals with Cuban rival factions rather than seek total regime change.
US officials had already been quietly holding hush-hush meetings with Venezuelan elites before Maduro’s capture and are now reportedly exploring similar contacts with influential figures in Cuba. And on March 16th, President Trump, when asked about Cuba said, “I’ll take it!” And, “I’ll do whatever I want with it.”
Guest – Sandra Levinson is the Executive Director of the Center for Cuban Studies. The Center for Cuban Studies, since the early 1970’s, has been organizing trips to Cuba and hosting events and showcasing installations of Cuban art all around the United States.
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Cuba, Executive Branch Law Breaking, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister
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Taxpayers Against Genocide and the National Lawyers Guild Submit Petition To UN
Eighty years ago, after 2 world wars claimed millions of lives, nations worldwide — including the United States — came together and established the UN system “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” The UN Charter requires that all states settle their disputes peacefully and refrain from the use of armed force, except in self-defense after an armed attack against a UN state by another state, or when the Security Council authorizes it.
But, motivated by American exceptionalism — the notion that the U.S. is unique and morally superior and thus not bound by the rules — successive U.S. governments have violated the commands of the UN Charter and illegally attacked other countries with impunity. Trump has ignored the straightforward rules about the lawful use of force, but he is not the first U.S. president to do so. The last five presidents have launched armed attacks without Security Council approval against countries that had not carried out armed attacks on the U.S. or other UN member countries.
Besides violating the Charter’s prohibition on the use of force, the U.S. government – under both Biden and Trump – has aided and abetted Israel’s commission of genocide in Gaza. As the number of Palestinians killed by Israel exceeds 66,000, and famine has reached the “catastrophic” phase, thousands of taxpayers across the country have united with Palestinian-Americans to file an international legal complaint against the U.S. government for funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
An initial petition was filed in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in May by Taxpayers Against Genocide and the National Lawyers Guild. It charged the U.S. with aiding and abetting Israel in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Tomorrow, the petitioners will file a new petition with the Commission. It includes substantial evidence of the U.S. role in Israel’s campaign of starvation.
Guest – Marjorie Cohn is Professor Emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Dean of the People’s Academy of International Law, and former president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is a legal political analyst who does commentary and writes columns on Truthout and other outlets, and she a former host on Law and Disorder radio. Her most recent book is Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues. Marjorie wrote an article published last week on Truthout about U.S. violations of the UN Charter. Her article about the petition to be filed in the Inter-American Commission will be published tomorrow on Scheer Post.
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Lisa Cook is ‘Low Hanging Fruit—While Jerome Powell Is a Bridge Too Far
Sharon Kyle is the publisher of the L.A. Progressive. She has written a couple of fine articles about racism in American life in that publication. One of them, written at the end of August, is titled, Lisa Cook is ‘Low Hanging Fruit—While Jerome Powell Is a Bridge Too Far. She maintains that when political commentators, and the corporate media, describe Cook as “low hanging fruit” they expose the racism in American life and politics.
So, we’ve invited Sharon Kyle to be our guest today to explain her claim of racism in connection with Trump’s efforts to get rid of Cook on the vitally important Federal Reserve Board, and replace her with someone who would do his bidding.
Guest – Sharon Kyle is not only the publisher of the L.A. Progressive, a must read, online daily newsletter for all serious political thinkers and activists in and around L.A. She is also the former president of the Peoples College of Law, a former member of the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Southern California, and is on the editorial board of the BlackCommentator.com.
Remembering Assata Shakur (1947-2025)
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