logo
Senator Bernie Sanders fights apathy on American left

Senator Bernie Sanders fights apathy on American left

Khaleej Times13-04-2025

Bernie Sanders is emerging as one of the most vocal opponents to US President Donald Trump, with the 83-year-old senator drawing tens of thousands of people to his "fighting oligarchy" rallies around the country.
Supporters packed the Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles on Saturday as guests including politicians, union representatives and musical acts took to the stage before speeches by Sanders and Democrat representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
"There are some 36,000 of you, the largest rally that we have ever had," Sanders told the cheering crowd.
"Your presence here today is making Donald Trump and Elon Musk very nervous."
The self-described socialist, an independent who has never been a member of the Democratic Party, has been attracting crowds over the past two months on his nationwide "fighting oligarchy" tour.
His progressive, leftist rhetoric has resonated with people opposed to Trump's policies and with those disappointed in established Democrats' lack of political resistance to Trump.
Folk rock legend Neil Young led the LA crowd on Saturday in chanting "Take America Back!" while he played the electric guitar.
Feminist singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers dubbed the event "Berniechella," a nod to the massive Coachella music festival taking place in the Californian desert.
Alex Powell, a 28-year-old art teacher in the audience, said Americans "need hope."
"I'm really disappointed by the Democrats' response, I want more action on their part, more outrage," she told AFP.
'Traumatised'
"Donald Trump's new term is distressing, it's really scary," Powell said, describing how some of her middle school pupils were "traumatized" after one of their parents was deported from the United States under Trump's anti-immigrant campaign.
Sanders addressed a litany of grievances, including Trump's massive cuts to government funding and threats to healthcare and research.
Mentions of Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and X, drew boos from the crowd.
The South African billionaire has been tasked by Trump with dramatically reducing government spending, and is for many Sanders supporters a symbol of the corrupting influence of wealth in politics.
Sanders was "right the whole time," 27-year-old Vera Loh told AFP.
"The collusion of money and politics has had terrible effects."
Loh, a housekeeper, said she was stunned by the apathy of many Democrat leaders since Trump's defeat of presidential candidate Kamala Harris in November.
"The party put too much focus on minorities," Loh said.
"If people don't see it as a class war, then we just get lost with the identity politics."
She told AFP she wanted politicians to remember "we want higher pay, we want housing, we want to be able to afford things."
'Authoritarian society'
"We are living in a moment where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life of our country," Sanders said on Saturday.
Trump is moving the United States "rapidly toward an authoritarian form of society," he said.
The senator from Vermont hopes to encourage new independents to run for office without the Democrat label, at a time when the party is at an all-time low in the polls.
Sanders has no ambitions to run for president in 2028, but has taken rising progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez under his wing.
"No matter your race, religion, gender, identity or status, no matter if you disagree with me on some things... I hope you see that this movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests, but it's about class solidarity," the 35-year-old congresswoman told the crowd on Saturday.
"She would make a good presidential candidate," Lesley Henderson, a former Republican supporter, told AFP.
Depressed by the news since January, the 52-year-old nursing assistant was attending the first political rally of her life with her husband.
"I just hope it's not too late," she said, alarmed by Trump's talk about ruling an unconstitutional third term.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Everything you need to know about the immigration protests in Los Angeles
Everything you need to know about the immigration protests in Los Angeles

Middle East Eye

timean hour ago

  • Middle East Eye

Everything you need to know about the immigration protests in Los Angeles

It was a weekend of mayhem in Los Angeles. In the midst of several large-scale raids on immigration communities, thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend to challenge the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency for detaining people said to be undocumented. The protests, which began on Friday, have been met with violent force, as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber bullets to deter protests and even intimidate journalists. By Sunday, with protests expanding and tensions escalating, US President Donald Trump mobilised the National Guard without seeking California Governor Gavin Newsom's authorisation, to try and put an end to the protests. Trump made the deportation of undocumented persons in the US a central plank of his re-election campaign last year and has implemented policies of mass deportation with little regard for due process. Just days before protests erupted in Los Angeles, Trump implemented a new travel ban. California's state attorney general announced on Monday that it is suing the Trump administration. "Commandeering a state's National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral," Newsom said on Sunday, when he declared on X that he intended to take the president to court. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Middle East Eye looks at Trump's targeting of undocumented people in the US, the protests unfolding in southern California, and the likelihood of the protests spreading to other parts of the country. How did the protests start? Protests began on Friday as ICE and FBI agents attempted to arrest migrant workers in Los Angeles' Fashion District. Protesters congregated near the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, where people arrested by ICE were being held. Protesters spray-painted anti-ICE slogans, and federal agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. As evening fell, the LAPD began advancing on the crowd, firing "less-lethal" ammunition and threatening arrests. On Saturday, an ICE raid on a Home Depot store in Paramount sparked further demonstrations. Protestors used shopping carts and cinderblocks to create makeshift barricades, and some threw rocks at ICE vehicles. On Saturday evening local time, protests continued in Compton, south of Los Angeles. These were met with a similar police response. That night, Trump also ordered 2,000 National Guardsmen to be sent to Los Angeles to quell the protests. Despite the deployment, protests continued on Sunday. Demonstrators shut down part of the 101 Freeway while police bombarded protestors with less-lethal ammunition, sometimes at near point-blank range, outside of the detention centre. Also, on Sunday evening, the city of Glendale announced that it had terminated an agreement with ICE to hold detainees. US: Palantir expanding immigrant surveillance tools for ICE to the tune of $30m Read More » During the protests, ICE detainees in a detention centre were seen flashing lights and hitting the walls, in what some protesters took as a signal to demonstrate against ICE on the outside. ICE has a long history of human rights abuses stretching back to its founding in 2003. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, ICE facilities have been overcrowded and rife with staff misconduct. In some places, detainees are said to be given only one cup of water per day. The protests come after months of rising tensions in immigrant communities, as ICE operations began to escalate. In early February, thousands of high school students in Los Angeles walked out of their classes to protest ICE raids. Last week, the Trump administration set a quota for ICE to arrest 3,000 people per day. On Tuesday, ICE arrested 2,200 people, the most arrests in a single day by the agency. The agency is also said to have used duplicitous tactics to arrest undocumented migrants. On 3 June, for example, ICE sent out mass texts urging people to arrive early to their scheduled immigration appointments, only to arrest them on site. Two days later, ICE arrested a woman while her lawyer was in the bathroom. Protesters clash with law enforcement in the streets surrounding the federal building during a protest in Los Angeles, California, on 8 June 2025 (Ringo Chiu/AFP) How has the city responded? Los Angeles is a sanctuary city, which generally means refusing to cooperate with the federal government's immigration laws, including working with ICE agents. Still, the LAPD responded to the protests with force. Throughout the weekend, the LAPD attempted to disperse protestors by continuously firing less lethal ammunition into crowds of protestors. LAPD also beat protestors with batons and arrested at least 56 people. The city's police chief, Jim McDonnell, accused outside agitators of inciting violence. However, several events caught on live television showcase incidents of police brutality that undermine police testimony. In the first incident, LAPD officers beat a protester as he lay on the floor, and appeared to stomp over him with a horse. In another, a demonstrator was knocked over by a van as he tried to hold it back from moving forward. Police were also caught on camera refusing to call an ambulance for a woman they had shot in the head with a rubber bullet. JD Vance's mentor co-founded company that helps Israel generate 'kill lists' of Palestinians in Gaza Read More » Several journalists have also been targeted by the LAPD in the past several days, with some reporting injuries from rubber bullets and tear gas. On Sunday, a clip went viral of an LAPD officer shooting an Australian journalist in the leg with a rubber bullet. Protesters have responded by slashing the tires, spray painting and breaking the windows of police vehicles. In one instance, protesters on an overpass threw Lime scooters at police vehicles parked below. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass condemned the deployment of the National Guard. However, Bass thanked the LAPD and threatened consequences for those involved in 'violence, destruction and vandalism'. Bass did not mention the LAPD's violence. What is the significance of the National Guard being deployed? Typically, a state's National Guard is only deployed after a request from the state's governor. On Sunday, Trump deployed the National Guard without the governor's authorisation for the first time since 1965. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Saturday also threatened to deploy 500 Marines to Los Angeles. California Governor Gavin Newsom requested that Trump rescind the deployment of the National Guard and accused Trump of trying to 'manufacture a crisis'. Trump's willingness to send in the National Guard without authorisation is reminiscent of his actions during the George Floyd protests of 2020, when masked federal agents indiscriminately detained protestors off the streets. However, the LAPD, not the National Guard, was responsible for most of the violence this weekend. What might happen next? In Los Angeles, protests are continuing. ICE raids on a Home Depot on Monday are already being met with resistance. The intensity of the opposition to ICE's presence could make federal authorities reconsider more incursions in Los Angeles. Protests have also spread to New York and San Francisco. In San Francisco, at least 150 protestors were arrested on Sunday evening after police declared an anti-ICE protest unlawful. Protestors spray-painted anti-ICE messages on police vehicles and damaged the windows of a Chase Bank. Earlier, on Saturday, protesters demonstrated against the transfer of undocumented immigrants detained by ICE in New York City. Over 20 people were arrested, with one protester being taken away in an ambulance. There have been several indications that more protests could expand in New York this week.

K-pop's BTS members set for military service release, fans in frenzy
K-pop's BTS members set for military service release, fans in frenzy

Al Etihad

time2 hours ago

  • Al Etihad

K-pop's BTS members set for military service release, fans in frenzy

10 June 2025 00:10 SEOUL (AFP)The world's most popular boy band are heading for a reunion: K-pop megastars RM and V from BTS will be released Tuesday from 18 months of South Korean military service, prompting a fan seven members of BTS, South Korea's most lucrative musical act, have been on a self-described "hiatus" since 2022 while they separately undertake the mandatory service, required of all South Korean men under 30 two band members who enlisted first were released last year, and this week four more will follow, plus the last member -- SUGA who has been working as a social service agent as alternative non-active duty service -- later this leader RM -- recently named "Favorite K-pop Artist" at the American Music Awards -- will be released Tuesday, alongside singer the military base in Chuncheon where V will be released, fans hung colourful banners to welcome the 29-year-old back to civilian the band's agency, urged fans not to go to the discharge location on site, citing safety the band members signed new contracts with HYBE in 2023, and once SUGA is released June 21, analysts expect reunion will work positively for the K-pop industry as a whole -- and especially for shares have seen a sharp increase, rising by 10 percent over the past week through June to beginning their mandatory military service, the mega boy band generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism accounts for roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data. HYBE has hinted at a BTS comeback this year, but has also said the members "need time for reflection and preparation".

'The Day of The Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86
'The Day of The Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86

Al Etihad

time3 hours ago

  • Al Etihad

'The Day of The Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86

9 June 2025 22:31 LONDON (AFP)Prolific British thriller writer Frederick Forsyth, who instantly became a global bestselling author when his book 'The Day of the Jackal' was published in 1971, died on Monday aged 86, his literary agents Curtis Brown famously penned his most famous work, about a fictional assassination attempt on French president Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists, in just 35 days after falling on hard times."The Jackal" went on to be made into a hit film starring Edward Fox as the assassin.A Netflix remake last year with Eddie Redmayne in the lead role was released last year."We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," his agent Jonathan Lloyd died at home surrounded by his family following a brief illness, according to Curtis former journalist and pilot wrote over 25 books including 'The Odessa File' (1972) and 'The Dogs of War' (1974), and sold over 75 million copies of his novels were also turned into films. Forsyth attributed much of his success to "luck", recalling how a bullet narrowly missed him while he was covering the Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store