14min chapter

It Could Happen Here Weekly 168

Behind the Bastards

notes

CHAPTER

Trade Tensions and Policy Impacts

This chapter explores recent trade policies, particularly the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China, Canada, and Mexico, and their impacts on small businesses and the dropshipping economy. It discusses the implications of eliminating the de minimis exception and the broader geopolitical consequences of these tariffs, framing them as tools of foreign policy. The chapter also delves into issues surrounding border security, the fentanyl crisis, and human rights concerns linked to U.S. sanctions and prison deals with El Salvador.

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Transcript

Episode notes

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.

The Internationalists Fighting Fascism in Burma
(Maybe Don't) Read Siege
How Trump is Killing Science (And You)
Greenwashing Genocide In Artsakh
Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #2

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Sources/Link:

(Maybe Don't) Read Siege

https://www.routledge.com/Neo-Nazi-Terrorism-and-Countercultural-Fascism-The-Origins-and-Afterlife-of-James-Masons-Siege/Sunshine/p/book/9780367190606

Greenwashing Genocide In Artsakh

Donations:

VOMA
https://www.voma.center/en
VOMA is a non-governmental movement that aims to strengthen the defenses of the Republic of Armenia through preparing Armenians and Diaspora to face the immanent threat of invasion by Azerbaijan and Turkey. A defensive organization only.

Kooyrigs
https://kooyrigs.org
Kooyrigs is a women-led organization and NGO. Focused on supporting Armenia and Artsakh refugees through various humanitarian projects, especially in the areas of education, healthcare, and emergency relief efforts.

Pahapan Development Foundation:
http://www.pahapan.org/en/
Donations go toward supporting and developing Tavush: there are about 10000 children who live under regular shootings by Azeri troops in 23 borderline villages of Tavush region. This organization helps their safety as well as implementing social, cultural and educational programs.

Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
https://www.himnadram.org
This fund is one of the main sources of support for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, focusing on community development, health, education, and infrastructure.

Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU)
https://www.agbu.org
AGBU is one of the largest Armenian-American organizations that provides support for educational, cultural, and social welfare initiatives in Armenia and globally.

Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
https://www.farusa.org
FAR focuses on providing relief to vulnerable populations in Armenia, supporting programs in health, education, and economic development.

Paros Foundation
http://parosfoundation.org/available-projects/
Donations can contribute to a number of humanitarian missions they have in Armenia. You can choose to support individual projects or donate to the foundation in general.

Armenia Fund
https://www.armeniafund.org
A wide ranging charity for infrastructure projects, educational scholarships, and providing aid to vulnerable populations.

Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund
https://armenianwoundedheroes.com
This fund provides direct support to Armenian soldiers who have been injured in the line of duty, offering medical assistance and helping them reintegrate into society.

Tumo Center for Creative Technologies
https://www.tumo.org
Tumo is an innovative educational program that provides free tech and creative skills to young people in Armenia. Donations help support the growth of this pioneering center and its ability to empower youth with skills in areas such as animation, coding, game development, and design.

Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC)
https://www.avc.am
AVC connects volunteers with opportunities in Armenia to support a variety of causes, from community development to disaster relief. Donations help fund the ongoing programs and volunteer recruitment.

The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF)
https://coaf.org
COAF supports rural communities in Armenia with educational, healthcare, and technological programs.

Armenian Red Cross Society
https://www.redcross.am/en/home.html
The Armenian Red Cross provides critical humanitarian assistance in Armenia, offering emergency relief, health services, and disaster response.

IMAST
https://imast.am/
IMAST helps Armenian non-profits with micro-donations for individual projects from wildlife to health to community building.

Other:
One Armenia
https://www.onearmenia.org
A travel group that features local travel opportunities with local people. Promoting responsible travel.

Hike Armenia
https://hikearmenia.org/

Learn4Artsakh
https://learn4artsakh.org
Instagram: @learn4artsakh
Learn4Artsakh is a leftist platform dedicated to providing educational resources about Artsakh’s history, culture, and people.

Books:
The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide by Peter Balakian

The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-politics of Nagorno-Karabagh, by Patrick Donabedian & Claude Mutafian
Available on learn4artsakh.com

My Brother’s Struggle:
A great book by the brother of a complicated Armenian revolutionary who grew up in California.
Available on learn4artsakh.com

AVOID anything by Thomas de Waal

News sites:
https://armenianweekly.com/
https://evnreport.com
https://hetq.am/en

Videos:
White Phosphorus in Artsakh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjwzHkyGYQA&rco=1

Armenia: The Fall of Nagoro-Karabagh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tld7Vz42QSI

Articles:
Cultural destruction by Azerbaijan
https://hyperallergic.com/482353/a-regime-conceals-its-erasure-of-indigenous-armenian-culture/

Azeri War Crimes
https://azeriwarcrimes.org/
An archive of evidence of war crimes, ethnic cleansing and human rights violations committed by Azerbaijan. Not for the faint of heart.

University Network for Human Rights
https://www.humanrightsnetwork.org/we-are-no-one
How Three Years of Atrocities Led to the Ethnic Cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians

Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Hatred Theme Park
https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-karabakh-theme-park-armenia-ethnic-hatred-aliyev/31217971.html

History of Artsakh
https://www.armenianmuseum.org/artsakh

Armenian Genocide Historical Overview
https://genocideeducation.org/background/brief-history/

Artwashing and Sportswashing by Azerbaijan:
https://hyperallergic.com/615519/artwashing-a-dictatorship/

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #2

https://apnews.com/article/trump-netanyahu-washington-ceasefire-1c8deec4dd46177e08e07d669d595ed3
https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-lackeys-general-services-administration/ https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-lieutenant-gsa-ai-agency/
http://wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-young-engineers/
https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-associate-bfs-federal-payment-system/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/
https://x.com/USAO_DC/status/1886537850390483276
https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3lhfjn7ires2h https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/02/politics/usaid-officials-leave-musk-doge/index.html
https://bsky.app/profile/chadloder.bsky.social/post/3lhc52j6kns2d https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-gsa-terminate-office-leases-f8faac5e2038722f705587c8dd21ab26?user_email=dabc81d5ec766cfb0c88230c077bd88afdc57894c6b8dcdfcf8102146e6c

https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/pr/2024/dojpr-041224-former-border-patrol-agent-sentenced-18-years-prison-drug-smuggling-and-bribery.pdf

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-border-agent-nicknamed-goalie-took-bribes-to-let-drugs-into-u-s-prosecutors/3259608/

https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/quick-facts/Fentanyl_FY23.pdf

https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/frontline-against-fentanyl

https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1886606794614587573?mx=2

https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/el-salvador/