ZNetwork

3 days ago | znetwork.org | Hamilton Nolan

Nations have governments. Nations are full of people. The government and the people are two different things. The failure to take this distinction seriously lays the groundwork for much of the world’s suffering. In China, teenagers shyly ask their crushes on dates. In Russia, families gather for a grandmother’s birthday party. In Yemen, harried mothers decide what to make for dinner. In Ukraine, men get excited for their favorite sports team.

4 days ago | znetwork.org | Michael Albert

As best I can discern both the No Kings demonstrations with 5 to 7 million participants, but also the pathetic Military March and its minuscule turnout that showed Trump’s declining public support were a huge June 14th resistance success. If Trump didn’t have the federal government, he would not have much. The trouble is, he does have the federal government and the federal government is not nothing. A week after June 14, it still represses LA at home. It still devastates Gaza abroad.

4 days ago | znetwork.org | Chase Carter

Workers at three New York City-based board game cafes have successfully ratified a union contract nearly two years after first organizing. Tabletop Workers United, which represents over 100 staff from Hex&Co, The Brooklyn Strategist, and The Uncommons, says the contract will last three years and is the first of its kind for tabletop businesses in New York.

5 days ago | znetwork.org | Sharon Zhang

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, in an unprovoked act of aggression. The strikes come after Israel launched its own unprovoked attack on Iran on June 13, leading to an all-out war between the two countries. The U.S. strikes mark a major escalation and threaten to bring further instability to the region. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the U.S. has bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

6 days ago | znetwork.org | Juan Cole

A revised version of an essay from a long time ago. It didn’t need much revision. Belief: Iran is aggressive and has threatened to attack Israel, its neighbors or the USReality: Iran has not launched an aggressive war in modern history (unlike the US or Israel), and its leaders have a doctrine of “no first strike.” This is true of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as of Revolutionary Guards commanders.