Chris Hedges and Eurydice Eve discuss the global Corporate Coup d’ Etat, Rentier Capitalism and Corporate Welfare, the billionaire oligarchy that is privatizing everything, controlling sources of information and AI algorithms, and the global centers of power. Modeled on the Chinese capitalist totalitarianism, politics works like the Trojan war of billionaires, a war of Corporatists vs Oligarchs. In 2024 election, the oligarchs won.

Chris Hedges is an one of a kind ethical intellectual, a Cassandra like prophet, who foresaw in his many books of the last decades (like the Death of the liberal class, Empire of illusion, The Triumph of Spectacle, America the farewell tour, The end of literacy the Christian right and The War on America), the election and triumphant reelection of a political figure like D. Trump. As the second term of the Trump administration kicks off, this is where Chris Hedges sees America going, where he sees the world in general going, and Palestine in particular, which has been a focus of his since he was a Middle East bureau chief in his career as a journalist (best known for his Balkan war coverage). Acc. to Chris, the Democrats reaped what they sowed. They deserved this loss and they deserve the retributions that may come by the Trump administration.

The Silicon Valley social contract forced on the public by Obama, then Trump, then Biden and now Trump again is simple: We will let them become the richest people in human history and in exchange they will develop a tech industry that makes the U.S. dominant for a century. They did, built monopolies to keep out all competition rather than continue to innovate at a top level, got out-competed by Chinese companies in both AI and social media, and continue to be subsidized by US governments.

For more on Chris Hedges, go to https://ChrisHedges.substack.com

For more on Eurydice , go to https://Eurydice.net or https://SpeakwithEve.com or https://youtube.com/@EveEurydice or https://Eurydice.substack.com or @EurydiceEve.

Please support this podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support or donate at https://www.paypal.me/Eurydice

Learning happens in Crisis. Eurydice Eve speaks with Richard Verity, Co-Founder, along with Meike Zeirvogel, of the Alsama Project which is based in the refugee camps in Lebanon and runs the four Alsama Schools, providing innovative education for refugee teenagers, primarily from Syria, in Beirut’s Shatila and Bourj al-Barajneh camps. These schools condense 12 years of education into six, focusing on literacy, numeracy, and life skills through a tailored curriculum. They also integrate activities like yoga and cricket for holistic development. The students, most of whom lacked any access to education due to displacement and cultural barriers, benefit from these programs that aim to empower them for higher studies or employment. Alsama supports students who have missed years of education by offering a condensed curriculum that compresses 12 years of learning into six. Students are grouped by ability rather than age. The curriculum focuses on Arabic, English, and Math, alongside life skills and activities like yoga and cricket. This innovative approach helps refugee teenagers overcome illiteracy and prepares them for higher education, global citizenship and potential leadership roles back home. Alsama addresses barriers such as lack of documentation and combats challenges like child marriage through psycho-social support and community outreach. Alsama supports students in developing life skills through a holistic approach that integrates serious practical education and personal growth. Students engage in teamwork, communication, planning, financial literacy, time management lessons alongside academic subjects like Arabic, English, and Math. Activities such as critical thinking exercises and leadership training through cricket further enhance these skills. Alsama uses project-based learning to teach them how to solve real-life problems, such as budgeting or sustainable energy solutions, fostering adaptability and problem-solving abilities essential for the 21st-century workforce. Alsama integrates sports, particularly cricket, into its educational curriculum to foster teamwork, leadership, and physical training. Cricket is chosen as it is a non-contact sport that allows boys and girls to play together, promoting inclusivity and collaboration. The program emphasizes values like commitment and ambition while teaching communication, planning, and resilience. Beyond physical activity, cricket serves as a platform for empowerment and leadership development, helping students build confidence and transferable skills for their future.

CORRECTION: “In this podcast, Richard describes the work of Alsama as running schools in refugee camps. For clarity these “schools” are informal education centres approved by the Lebanese government, but are different from the formal schools run by the state.”

For more, go to www.alsamaproject.com where you can donate to the project.

For more on Eurydice’s work, go to https://Eurydice.net or https://SpeakwithEve.com or https://youtube.com/@EveEurydice or https://Eurydice.substack.com. @EurydiceEve

Please support this podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support or donate at https://www.paypal.me/Eurydice

Eurydice and Porochista discuss the phenomenon of Luigi Mangione, suddenly the most popular, most photographed killer in the world.

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He allegedly shot him from the back outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan on Dec 4th at 535am. The shooting was caught on camera. The suspect got drink at Starbucks, sat on a bench, used a cellphone, stepped out between two parked cars, shot Mr Thompson from the back, fled on an e bike to Central Park with a gray backpack which had Monopoly money in it. He tossed the backpack in the park, took taxi to G W bus terminal, left the city on bus. On Dec 9, 5 days later, at 914am a worker at Altoona McDonald’s called the police and reported a man who looked like the suspect. Luigi was caught with a 9mm home-printed pistol, a silencer, a handwritten manifesto expressing hostility toward the health care industry and its executives. He was brought to NYC by helicopter in a military posse, in a show of force attended by Mayor Adams meant to intimidate anyone who might commit a copycat killing. NYC set up a hotline for corporate executives who were threatened. The police wanted Luigi in handcuffs filmed by AP. FOX news depicted Luigi as the worst of murderers, unlike Kyle Rittenhouse in 2017 who was found innocent and Daniel Penny, found innocent in 2024.

Luigi M is held in downtown Brooklyn jail where P Diddy and Sam Bankman Fried are kept.

Luigi Mangione, 26, is an Ivy League graduate from Maryland charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A valedictorian at Baltimore’s Gilman School, he earned dual engineering degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a data engineer at TrueCar until 2023. Despite his privileged background, Mangione harbored grievances against the healthcare system, as revealed in a manifesto found during his arrest at an Altoona McDonald’s where he was apprehended in Pennsylvania with his weapon, fake IDs etc. The Federal charges make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Eurydice: “There is a direct ideological line from Occupy Wall Street to Black lives Matter to Bernie, MAGA, the election results of 2016 and of 2024 to Luigi Mangione. The same DOJ that abused the justice system to criminalize Trump and Penny has indicted this alleged shooter on terrorism charges and both state and federal murder charges in a judicial overkill that those of us who despise the authoritarian state should protest.‬ An opinion cannot, by definition, be extremist if a majority of the population holds the same view.”

For more on Porochista’s work, go to https://porochistakhakpour.com. @pkhakpour

For more on Eurydice’s work, go to https://Eurydice.net or https://SpeakwithEve.com or https://youtube.com/@EveEurydice. @EurydiceEve

Please support this podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support

or donate at https://www.paypal.me/Eurydice. We are 100% listener supported.

Enjoy.