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The Frog Abides: We The People Are Pissed
Just like smarmy tiny MAGA Mike warned, up to eight million Marxists, terrorists, Hamas fighters and other patriots - along with hordes of radical inflatable frogs, chickens, unicorns, bananas - stormed America's streets to march, sing, dance, feel "joyful and connected," not get arrested, and flaunt brutal hilarious signs slamming the evil idiots now unimaginably in power; in response, their idiot leader posted a grotesque AI video of himself in a crown and fighter jet dropping shit on his own citizens. What a day.
Despite a suddenly silent GOP after their incendiary drivel about a "hate America" rally - which organizers said saw RSVPs more than double - the mood of No Kings' over 2,700 rallies was jubilant. Many said it felt like a giant block party, and it was giant: Protests in small towns and big cities in all 50 states - yes Alaska! - drew two million more people than the first No Kings, and 14 times more than both Trump's inauguration crowds combined. (What a loser.) Among Dem pols was Chicago Mayor Johnson: "We will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower." Global rallies included London, Berlin, Vancouver, Mexico, a sole patriot in Estonia: "One person, one pebble is all it takes to start a landslide. Sir, thank you for your service." The message, organizers said, was clear: "America will not be ruled by fear, force, or one man’s power grab."
In New York City, over 300,000 people packed Times Square. In D.C., over 200,000 streamed through the National Mall, with one contingent carrying a massive Constitution. Chicago saw "an astonishingly large crowd," San Francisco formed a giant human banner, crowds overflowed the Boston Common, the other Portland was flooded with protesters - aptly, with many frogs visible after organizers began giving out free costumes. Many Dem members of Congress turned up. Startlingly, among over seven million terrorists gathering in thousands of locations, there were reportedly “zero protest-related arrests." There were also zero sightings of ICE, because they only appear where they can grab people with zero oversight or opposition. One observer: "They know. We know. It's all illegal. Fourth Amendment. They are cowards is what they are."
The signs, as always, were fabulous: History Has Its Eyes On Us. Trump Is the Enemy Within. This Sucks. Fuck Nazis. Nice Oligarchy You Got There: Would Be A Shame If Anything Happened To It. Fascists Are Losers. Impeach Trump Again. Stop Pretending Your Racism Is Patriotism. Know Your Parasites: Dog Tick, Deer Tick, Lunatick. Uncle Scam: Dissent Is Patriotic. So Many Things, So Little Sign. We Thought This Was Going To Be Bad But Holy Shit. Unicorns Against Fascism. Fight Truth Decay. Elect A Rapist, Expect To Be Fucked. This Is My Resisting Bitch Face. Not A Terrorist, Just A Former Republican. Attention, Clean Up On Aisle USA: Orange Stain. I Pray Big Beautiful Bill Will Be the Name of Trump's Cellmate. (Stephen Miller with horns): Fuck You Pee Wee German. Trump We All Hate You. The Frog Abides.
Republicans, of course, graciously acknowledged their fear-mongering was unjustified bullshit. Just kidding. Hysterical, face-palm-shameless Fox News chyron: "CHAOS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. No Kings Protests Brought Mayhem to Many Cities." Nancy Mace: "Democrats hit the streets today protesting law and order. Nothing says 'We care about democracy' like showing up to a rally sponsored by Communists." (Jesus, what planet/timeline do these cretins come from?) Trump, ever-astute: "I hear very few people (are) going to be there." No Kings participants, in contrast, were notably, succinctly eloquent on why they were there. History teacher Ariel Fernandez: "What I tell my students all the time is democracy is a verb. You do it. So I’m here to do it." An unnamed Black guy in Oakland: "This is the point of America right here."
Still, the mindless atrocities go on. Customs and Border officials just implemented a new rule requiring airlines to reject "X" sex markers on passports, available since 2022, and impose an "M" or "F" just to make the lives of trans or non-binary people more difficult and/or prevent them from flying internationally; said one, "The more they can keep us confused and freaked out, the more they can do whatever they want." Unions are filing dozens of lawsuits - with some success - to fight efforts to cut hundreds of thousands of government jobs, strip collective bargaining rights and gut federal agencies. Each suit demonstrates the same thing, said one attorney: "A government willing to break the law just to see if anyone will stop it. It’s governance by impulse..like handing the keys to the country to a group of 12-year-olds. They’ll keep testing the limits until an adult stops them.”
Alas, the adult is definitively, lamentably not their evil idiot leader, who somehow keeps plunging to "a new low, until the next new low." On Sunday, he said Colombia's president Gustavo Petro was an "illegal drug dealer,” also "a low-rated and very unpopular leader (pot/kettle) with a fresh mouth toward America" after Petro rightly charged Trump with murder in his latest extra-judicial killing - "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE" - of a Colombian fisherman Petro said "had no ties to the drug trade," the 29th U.S. execution of likely innocent poor brown people. Trump brazenly threatened to cut U.S. funds to Colombia and close their "killing fields" or he would, not "nicely.” (With a horse's head in his bed?) Petro: "I respect (the) culture and people of the USA...The problem is with Trump, not the USA." Join the large, sorrowful crowd.
On No Kings Day, Trump hid at Mar-A-Lago, where he hosted a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser in his gold-drenched ballroom for MAGA super Pac billionaires during a government shutdown. Then he went online and shared several AI videos, each more puerile and bizarre. In one, he and J.D. wear crowns as Dem leaders wear sombreros (again). Then he has a crown and sword as Dems bow down to him. Finally, piloting a "King Trump" fighter jet, he drops a massive load of shit on protesters below. Ha! Good one! Talk about presidential leadership! Let the American people and Billy Bragg -- who were all bigly not amused - eat shit! CNN host Manu Raju: "I don't really know what to say (except) this is the President of the United States." Maybe say this: "History will be kind to the first Republicans who meaningfully say 'enough.'" Or this: "Fuck you, you fucking fuck." Or this: "Every day is No Kings Day."
"Every single rally (including in the small towns) was bigger than the surrounding police force available. That (is) VERY IMPORTANT if (you’re) demonstrating social coherence AGAINST a fascist government and its makeshift gestapo.” - historian Lisa Corrigan
Oct 20, 2025
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World's Forests 'Still in Crisis' Halfway to Deadline to End Deforestation: Report
The world's governments are falling far short of their goal to tackle forest destruction by the end of the decade, according to a key annual report published Monday.
At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Scotland, 145 countries adopted the Forest Declaration, pledging to end deforestation and forest degradation and restore 30% of all degraded ecosystems by 2030.
Annual Forest Declaration Assessment reports—which are published by a coalition of dozens of NGOs—track progress toward achieving the objectives established at COP29. Although stopping and reversing deforestation by 2030 is crucial to averting the worst consequences of the climate and biodiversity crises, every annual report has highlighted how the world is failing to adequately protect its forests.
This year is no different. According to the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment, "in 2024, forests continued to experience large-scale destruction, with nearly 8.1 million hectares permanently lost globally."
"Primary tropical forests continue to be cleared at alarming rates, with 6.73 million hectares lost last year alone, releasing 3.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases," the report continues. "Losses in forested Key Biodiversity Areas reached 2.2 million hectares, up 47% from the previous year, threatening irreplaceable habitats."
The assessment notes:
Deforestation remains overwhelmingly driven by clearance for permanent agriculture, accounting for an average of about 86% of global deforestation over the past decade, with other drivers such as mining exerting growing pressure. Because deforestation commodities are both consumed domestically and exported internationally, deforestation represents a systemic problem; national land-use policies and practices are deeply intertwined with global demand. This highlights the urgent need for structural change in how production and trade are regulated, monitored, and ultimately governed.
Furthermore, according to the report, "financial flows are still grossly misaligned with forest goals, with harmful subsidies outweighing green subsidies by over 200:1," and "despite new pledges, the flow of funds to forest countries and local actors remains far below what’s necessary to deliver on 2030 goals."
"'Global forests remain in crisis' is not the headline we hoped to write in 2025," the publication states. "As the halfway point in the decade of ambitious forest pledges, this year was meant to be a turning point. Despite the indispensable role of forests, the verdict is clear: We are off track."
The news isn't all bad—the report highlights how "restoration efforts are expanding, with at least 10.6 million hectares hosting forest restoration projects worldwide. But global data remain too fragmented to determine whether the world is recovering forests at the scale required."
The assessment offers the following recommendations for policymakers:
- Governments must act to value forests, including through regulations and pricing in the real cost of deforestation;
- Action must become integrated, not siloed, as the climate emergency, biodiversity crisis, and social inequality are all interconnected; and
- Decision-making must be inclusive and participatory, as rapid progress toward 2030 forest goals requires the participation of Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and civil society.
"At the halfway point to 2030, the world should be seeing a steep decline in deforestation," the assessment says. "Instead, the global deforestation curve has not begun to bend."
The new Forest Declaration Assessment comes ahead of next month's UN climate conference, or COP30, in Belém, located in the Brazilian Amazon.
“This COP30 is extremely crucial for us to move these pledges to actions,” Sassan Saatchi, founder of the non-profit CTrees and a former NASA scientist, told Climate Home News on Tuesday.
"The nice thing about COP30 being in Belém," Saatchi added, "is that there is a recognition that the Global South has really come forward to say: ‘We are going to solve the climate problem, even though we may not have been historically the cause of this climate change.'"
Oct 14, 2025
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US Consumers Paying the Most for Tariffs: Wall Street Giant’s Report Exposes Trump Lies
New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump's trade wars.
As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, economists at Goldman released an analysis this week estimating that US consumers are shouldering up to 55% of the costs stemming from Trump's tariffs, even though the president has repeatedly made false claims that the tariffs on imports exclusively tax foreigners.
Goldman's research also found that US businesses will pay 22% of the cost of the tariffs, while foreign exporters will pay just 18% of the cost. Additionally, Goldman economists estimate that Trump's tariffs "have raised core personal consumption expenditure prices by 0.44% so far this year, and will push up the closely watched inflation reading to 3% by December," according to Bloomberg.
Despite all evidence that US consumers are shouldering the costs of the tariffs, the Trump administration has continued to insist that they are exclusively being paid by foreign countries.
During a segment on NBC's "Meet the Press" last month, host Kristen Welker cited an earlier Goldman estimate that 86% of the president's tariffs were being paid by US businesses and consumers, and then asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if he accepted that the tariffs were taxes on Americans.
"No, I don't," Bessent replied.
“Goldman Sachs says 86% of the tariffs have been paid by American businesses & consumers. Do you acknowledge that these tariffs are a tax on Americans?” - NBC
“No I don't.” - Scott Bessent
pic.twitter.com/6wtAznhpCc
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 7, 2025
As Common Dreams reported in August, executives such as Walmart CEO Doug McMillon have explicitly told shareholders that while they are able to absorb the cost of tariffs, Trump's policy would still "result in higher prices" for customers.
Goldman's report comes as Trump is piling up even more tariffs on imported goods that will ultimately be paid by US consumers as companies raise prices.
According to The New York Times, tariffs on a wide range of products including lumber, furniture, and kitchen cabinets went into effect on Tuesday, and the Trump administration has also "started imposing fees on Chinese-owned ships docking in American ports."
The administration has claimed that the tariffs on lumber are necessary for national security purposes, although some experts are scoffing at this rationale.
Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told the Times that the administration's justification for the lumber tariffs are "absurd."
"If war broke out tomorrow, there would be zero concern about American ‘dependence’ on foreign lumber or furniture, and domestic sources would be quickly and easily acquired," he said.
Oct 14, 2025
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'Naked Corruption': Trump Commutes Fraud Sentence of Ex-GOP Congressman George Santos
Continuing his pattern of pardoning allies and prosecuting adversaries, President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison term of former Republican Congressman George Santos, who was less than three months into a seven year sentence for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
"George Santos was somewhat of a 'rogue,' but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren't forced to serve seven years in prison," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
Once again, Trump randomly attacked Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D-Conn.) admitted lie about taking part in the US invasion and occupation of Vietnam. Blumenthal was a Marine stationed stateside during the war, in which Trump—who has been derided as "Capt. Bone Spurs"—avoided serving.
"This is what a wannabe king does."
"He never went to Vietnam, he never saw Vietnam, he never experienced the Battles there, or anywhere else," Trump said of Blumenthal. "His War Hero status, and even minimal service in our Military, was totally and completely MADE UP."
"This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!" the president added. "George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!"
Santos was subsequently released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey after 10:00 pm Friday.
According to a copy of the commutation posted on social media, Santos will also no longer have to pay $370,000 in court-ordered restitution to victims of his fraud. Trump's action does not erase Santos' conviction.
Santos, 37, resisted pressure to resign from Congress over lies about his education, employment, family, religion, residence, net worth, and more.
As The New York Times reported Friday:
Mr. Santos claimed that he was descended from Holocaust refugees. His mother, he said, had been in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He claimed to be a college volleyball star. And Mr. Santos boasted of extensive Wall Street experience that allowed him to report loaning his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. None of that was true.
Between May and October 2023, Santos was indicted on 23 criminal counts including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.
In December 2023, House lawmakers voted 311-114 to remove the freshman lawmaker from office. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was among the 112 Republicans and two Democrats who voted against expulsion. Santos became just the sixth lawmaker to ever be booted from the House.
In August 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to two felony counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The following April, he was sentenced to 87 months behind bars and ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture totaling nearly $600,000.
Trump's commutation of Santos' sentence follows a series of high-profile acts of clemency. Most notorious among these was his blanket pardon earlier this year of more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, for which the president—himself a 34-count convicted fraudster—was impeached for a historic second time. He was not convicted by the Senate either time.
George Santos is the 10th GOP Congressman to get a pardon or clemency from President Trump. The other nine were also all convicted of various criminal charges:
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— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree.bsky.social) October 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Friday's commutation also stands in stark contrast with the Trump administration's recent indictments of political foes including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Critics were quick to note this pattern, which Congressman Don Beyer (D-Va.) called "naked corruption."
"George Santos pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud, a small part of his lying and stealing that really hurt people," Beyer wrote on social media. "Trump says it plainly: Crimes don’t count if you 'vote Republican.' Just like his pardons of those who violently attacked police."
Wow, Trump just commuted disgraced former Congressman George Santos’ sentence.He must really want to distract from the Republican shutdown and the Epstein files.
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— Rep. Ted Lieu (@reptedlieu.bsky.social) October 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
West Coast Trial Lawyers president Neama Rahmani said on X following Trump's announcement: "It's weeks away, but Trump is handing out pardons like Halloween candy. Disgraced former Rep. George Santos is the latest beneficiary, showing once again that flattering the president gets you everywhere."
"Sneaking it in on a Friday night means it will get less press too," Rahmani added. "I can’t wait for Santos’ first cameo appearance post-federal prison. Is Diddy the next recipient of Trump’s clemency?"
Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) also reacted to Trump's commutation on X, writing, "This is what a wannabe king does."
"Join us tomorrow at a No Kings rally near you," Pocan added, referring to the more than 2,700 pro-democracy demonstrations set to take place Saturday from coast to coast and around the world.
Oct 18, 2025
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Body Cam Footage Shows Alleged ICE Officer Pulled Over for Drunk Driving Racially Profiling Arresting Officer
Newly released body camera footage shows a Florida man claiming to be a federal immigration enforcement official racially profiling a police officer who pulled him over on the highway for drunk driving.
The footage, which was published on Thursday by YouTube account "The CrimePiece," shows the arrest of 42-year-old Miami resident Scott Thomas Deiseroth, who was pulled over by officers from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office on August 13.
The footage begins with the officer who pulled Deiseroth over asking him for his identification and asking him if he knew his current location.
Deiseroth reacted belligerently to the officer's questions and told him that he was a federal agent who worked for the Department of Homeland Security. As reported by local news station CBS 12, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office website at one point listed his occupation as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
Deiseroth also told the officer that he was simply trying to get home and informed him that he had his two young sons with him riding in the backseat.
The officer then asked Deiseroth to step out of his car, to which Deiseroth replied, "Are you fucking serious right now?"
After exiting the vehicle, Deiseroth continued to exhibit hostility to the officer's questions, and he repeatedly demanded to know, "Are we really doing this right now?"
The officer then asked him how much he'd had to drink, and Deiseroth replied that he'd had four drinks, without specifying the nature of those drinks.
"Are you guys really trying to fuck me right now?" Deiseroth asked.
The officer informed Deiseroth that he could smell alcohol on him and he wanted to ensure that he was capable of safely driving his vehicle home.
The officer proceeded to administer field sobriety tests. During the tests, another officer came over to ensure that Deiseroth did not stumble while trying to walk a straight line along the side of a busy highway.
Deiseroth then questioned why the second officer, who was Black, was there, and the officer informed him that it was to prevent him from getting hit by oncoming traffic.
Deiseroth responded by repeatedly asking the officer, "Are you Haitian?"
Deiseroth was then informed by the officer administering the sobriety test that "it doesn't matter" where the other officer was from or his heritage.
"Yes it does," Deiseroth replied.
After failing the sobriety tests, Deiseroth was placed in handcuffs and informed that he was being placed under arrest. He then pleaded with the officers to not take him to prison and asked what they were going to do with his two children.
Later, after Deiseroth had been placed in the back of a police car, the officers informed him that his sons' mother—with whom Deiseroth had said earlier he was going through a divorce—would pick up the two children at the police station.
He repeatedly demanded that he be allowed to see his children before being taken to the police station, but the officers did not grant his request.
"Let me see my kids!" he demanded at one point.
"Brother, I really do not want them to see you in the way you're in right now," the officer replied.
Records at the Monroe County Sheriff's Office show that Deiseroth was subsequently charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and two felony counts of reckless child endangerment.
A request to the Florida State Attorney's Office in Monroe County to confirm Deiseroth's employment status at the time of the arrest was not returned by press time. The criminal case is pending.
Oct 17, 2025
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US Military Holding Survivors of Latest Trump Extrajudicial Boat Bombing: Reports
This is a developing story… Please check back for updates…
Multiple media outlets reported Friday that the US military is holding two survivors of President Donald Trump's sixth known strike on a boat in the Caribbean—bombings he claims are targeting drug smugglers and which critics argue are blatantly illegal.
Reuters was the first to report the news of survivors detained after a Thursday strike, citing several unnamed sources. According to the outlet, "Five sources familiar with the matter said the US military staged a helicopter rescue to pick up the survivors of the attack and bring them back to the US warship."
The Associated Press confirmed the development, citing two unnamed sources who said there were survivors brought to a Navy ship. The outlet added that "the survivors of this strike now face an unclear future and legal landscape, including questions about whether they are now considered to be prisoners of war or defendants in a criminal case."
The Intercept also spoke with two government sources who said that survivors are being held on a warship. Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer who is a specialist in counterterrorism issues and the laws of war, told the outlet, "Given that there is no armed conflict, there is no basis to hold these survivors as law of war detainees."
"The Trump administration is already using a make-believe armed conflict to kill people," Finucane added. "Will it also use this make-believe armed conflict to detain people as well?"
Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that the US attacked "a drug-carrying submarine," and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was beside him, said that more details would be forthcoming.
The reporting comes amid broader alarm about the Trump administration's push for regime change in Venezuela. However, human rights advocates, Democrats in Congress, legal scholars, and other critics have condemned all of Trump's boat bombings—which have killed at least 27 people—as murders.
This is the first reported case of survivors. Former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said Friday, "For the first time, some people survive a Trump-ordered strike on a boat in the Caribbean, meaning there are witnesses to what he tries to pass off as acts of war but are really murders which the International Criminal Court may be able to prosecute."
Oct 17, 2025
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'A Betrayal': Ranchers Slam Trump Plan to Buy Beef From Argentina With US Tax Dollars
"After crashing the soybean market and gifting Argentina our largest export buyer, he's now poised to do the same to the cattle market," said an Illinois cattle producer.
Oct 20, 2025
US ranchers and industry groups are responding critically to President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States "would buy some beef from Argentina," in a bid to "bring our beef prices down," while pursuing an up to $40 billion bailout for the South American country.
Trump made the suggestion to reporters on Air Force One Sunday, according to the Associated Press. A few days earlier, he'd said that a deal to cut the price of beef was "gonna be coming down pretty soon." The AP noted various reasons for "stubbornly high" US prices, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico.
"President Trump's plan to buy beef from Argentina is a betrayal of the American rancher," Christian Lovell, an Illinois cattle producer and senior director of programs at the organization Farm Action, said in a Monday statement. "Those of us who raise cattle have finally started to see what profit looks like after facing years of high input costs and market manipulation by the meatpacking monopoly."
"After crashing the soybean market and gifting Argentina our largest export buyer, he's now poised to do the same to the cattle market," he continued, referring to one of the impacts of Trump's tariff war. "Importing Argentinian beef would send US cattle prices plummeting—and with the meatpacking industry as consolidated as it is, consumers may not see lower beef prices either. Washington should be focused on fixing our broken cattle market, not rewarding foreign competitors."
"Trump has done more in the past month to help Argentina than he has to help the American people."
"With these actions, President Trump risks acting more like the president of Argentina than president of the United States," Lovell declared. The US leader is a key ally of the nation's actual president, Javier Milei, whose austerity agenda has created the need for a massive bailout from Washington, DC.
Farm Action's proposed fix for the US is to tackle the "structurally flawed system" with three steps: "Reinstate Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef and pork, restore competitive markets by enforcing antitrust laws, and rebuild the US cow herd to achieve national self-reliance in beef production."
The group was far from alone in criticizing Trump's weekend remarks and offering alternative solutions to reduce US prices.
"We appreciate President Trump's interest in addressing the US beef market, which has been producing all-time record-high consumer beef prices," said Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, the nation's largest cattle association, in a statement. "We urge the president to address the fundamental problems in the beef market, not just its symptom."
"The symptom is that the US has shrunk its beef cow herd to such a low level that it can no longer produce enough beef to satisfy domestic demand," he continued. "But the fundamental problem is that decades of failed trade policies have allowed cheap, undifferentiated imports to displace the domestic cow herd, driving hundreds of thousands of cattle farmers and ranchers and millions of domestic beef cows out of the domestic beef supply chain."
"In addition, the nation's beef packers and beef retailers have been allowed to concentrate to monopolistic levels, enabling them to interfere with competitive market forces," he asserted. "Attempting to lower domestic beef prices simply by inviting even more imports will both exacerbate and accelerate the ongoing dismantling of the domestic beef supply chain."
Instead of promoting US beef production, Trump now wants to establish a preferred position for Argentine beef in the US. Why, exactly? Is this what America First means?
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— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 2:23 PM
National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said that "NCBA's family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices."
"Additionally, Argentina has a deeply unbalanced trade relationship with the US," Woodall noted. "In the past five years Argentina has sold more than $801 million of beef into the US market. By comparison, the US has sold just over $7 million worth of American beef to Argentina. Argentina also has a history of foot-and-mouth disease, which, if brought to the United States, could decimate our domestic livestock production."
Justin Tupper, president of the US Cattlemen's Association, highlighted the rising costs that ranchers are enduring.
"The cost of producing beef today is accurately represented in the consumer markets where it is sold," he said. "Ranchers are facing historic highs for feed, fuel, labor, and land—and those costs have risen far faster than beef prices on grocery shelves."
"When policymakers hint at intervention or suggest quick fixes, they can shake the market's foundation and directly impact the livelihoods of ranchers who depend on stable, transparent pricing," Tupper warned in the wake of the president's recent remarks. "Sudden price moves make it harder for independent producers to plan, invest, and keep their operations running."
"Efforts to support consumers must consider the economic realities on the ground and ensure the voices of independent ranchers lead the discussion," he added. "Market-driven prices—not mandates or panic interventions—have delivered value for generations. Let's focus on transparency, market integrity, and maintaining the conditions for sustainable rural economies."
Trump's signal that the US may buy more beef from Argentina comes as poll after poll shows that Americans—whose federal minimum wage hasn't increased in over 15 years—are stressed about the climbing costs of groceries. In addition to beef, shoppers are facing higher prices for staples such as coffee and eggs.
The Democratic National Committee also called out Trump's proposal on Monday, with Kendall Witmer, the DNC's rapid response director, charging that "Trump has done more in the past month to help Argentina than he has to help the American people, who are struggling to afford everything from rent to groceries."
"Because of Trump, farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy, and the government has been shut down for almost a month," Witmer added. "You would think that the so-called 'America First' president would be focused on reopening the government and saving millions of Americans from skyrocketing healthcare premiums—but Trump is showing his true colors. He only cares about helping himself and his friends, even at the expense of the American people. Let's be clear: MAGA now stands for Make Argentina Great Again."
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'Historic Mistake': Brazil Opens Up Amazon to New Oil Drilling Ahead of Global Climate Summit
"For us all to have a future, the oil industry can have no future," said one campaigner.
Oct 20, 2025
As climate leaders and policymakers arrive in Belém, Brazil next month, for the global climate summit that officials have pledged will stand apart from previous conferences due to its emphasis on "implementation," the country's government-run Petrobras firm will be drilling for oil just over 200 miles away in the Amazon, after the company was granted a license Monday.
Petrobras said it plans to begin drilling immediately in a project that will last about five months at the mouth of the Amazon River—the Foz de Amazonas region.
Despite President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reputation as an international climate leader, he has claimed that oil revenue will help fund Brazil's transition to renewable energy, but Ilan Zugman, Latin America and Caribbean director at the grassroots climate action group 350.org, said Monday that in granting the license, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) was "doubling down on a model that has already failed."
Petrobras is planning to drill an oil well at an offshore site, Block 59, that is 310 miles from the mouth of the Amazon.
IBAMA previously denied Petrobras the license, saying the company had not provided adequate plans for how it would protect wildlife in the case of an oil spill.
"The history of oil in Brazil shows this clearly: huge profits for a few, and inequality, destruction, and violence for local populations."
In September, the agency approved a pre-operational environmental assessment and said a new "fauna simulation" would take place after the license was issued, allowed Petrobras to prove after obtaining permission for drilling that it would protect wildlife.
The Amazon region is home to about 10% of the planet's wildlife, and climate advocates have raised alarm that the river's currents would swiftly bring the damage from an oil spill straight to the habitats of many animals and plants.
Brazilian NGO the Climate Observatory said the approval of the license "sabotages" the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Sauro said recently "aspires to be a turning point, a moment when the world shifts from ambition to implementation."
Last year was the first year to exceed 1.5°C above average preindustrial temperatures, and the previous 10 years have been the warmest on record. Scientists and the International Energy Agency have warned that no new oil or other fossil fuel projects have a place on a pathway to reaching net-zero global carbon emissions by 2050.
“The decision is disastrous from an environmental, climate, and sociobiodiversity perspective," said the Climate Observatory.
The group told The Guardian that civil society organizations would be taking the Brazilian government to court over the license, saying its approval was rife with "illegalities and technical flaws."
Despite IBAMA's approval, an opinion signed by 29 staff members at the agency in February said they recommended denying the license due to the risk of “massive biodiversity loss in a highly sensitive marine ecosystem."
Zugman called the decision a "historic mistake."
"The history of oil in Brazil shows this clearly: huge profits for a few, and inequality, destruction, and violence for local populations," said Zugman. "Brazil must take real climate leadership and break the cycle of extraction that has led us to the current climate crisis. We urgently need a just energy transition plan, based on renewables, that respects Indigenous, quilombola, and riverside peoples and guarantees them a leading role in decisions about climate and energy—including at COP30."
Earlier this year, Indigenous leaders representing dozens of Amazon ethnicities and tribes signed a declaration demanding that officials at COP30 "nullify oil blocks that have not had the consent of Indigenous people," "halt investment in new oil infrastructure," and create phase-out plans for oil and gas operations.
Nick Young, co-head of story and communications at Greenpeace International, called IBAMA's decision "disastrous."
"A spill here would be catastrophic and uniquely hard to contain in the Amazon plume," said Young. "And in addition to the risk of oil spills, the science clearly shows that we cannot afford to burn even existing oil reserves, let alone new ones."
"For us all to have a future, the oil industry can have no future," he added. "It makes zero sense to allow them to find new oil to throw on the fire."
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Masked Israeli Settlers Assault Palestinians, Torch Cars in West Bank
A 55-year-old woman had to be hospitalized after being knocked unconscious by a baton-wielding masked Israeli settler on Sunday.
Oct 20, 2025
Israeli settlers on Sunday were caught on camera violently assaulting Palestinian civilians with batons as they were harvesting olives in the West Bank.
As reported by Middle East Eye, several attacks were reported in the town of Turmus Ayya, where Israeli settlers targeted Palestinian farmers and international volunteers who had come to help with the harvest.
One of the victims in the assault was a 55-year-old Palestinian woman named Umm Saleh Abu Alia, whom BBC reports had to be hospitalized after being knocked unconscious by a baton-wielding masked settler. Abu Alia was initially admitted into an intensive care unit, and she is currently in stable condition, according to BBC's sources.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement saying it "strongly condemns any form of violence" by settlers, but Jasper Nathaniel, a US journalist who filmed the attacks, told BBC that Israeli forces suspiciously "sped off" away from the area shortly before the assault began.
Nathaniel told Drop Site News that settlers are "hunting Palestinians" in the town.
⚡️Exclusive | Drop Site News speaks with journalist Jasper Nathaniel (@infinite_jaz), who documented a brutal settler attack today in Turmus’ayyer village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Jasper tells us Israeli settlers are “hunting Palestinians” — and that if nothing… https://t.co/DP6h89XJCz pic.twitter.com/q6OvvtEp8u
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) October 19, 2025
BBC's report noted that more than a dozen masked Israeli settlers were seen throwing rocks at Palestinians during the Sunday harvest, and Middle East Eye cited reports that the settlers had also set Palestinians' cars on fire and stole their olive crops.
According to The Times of Israel, no arrests have yet been made of any of the settlers who took part in the attacks.
Israeli settlers, who under international law are living illegally in occupied territory, have for years carried out attacks on Palestinian civilians harvesting olives in an attempt to drive them from their lands—sometimes with the participation of IDF soldiers.
Middle East Eye reports that the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission estimates there have been more than 7,000 settler attacks on Palestinians over the last two years that have claimed the lives of 33 people.
Also on Monday, Drop Site News reported that nearly 1 million of Gaza's 1.1 million olive trees have been bulldozed by the IDF, dried up from lack of water, or are inaccessible due to Israel's assault on the exclave that began in October 2023.
"Trapped in a suffocating Israeli siege since 2007, Palestinians in Gaza have long relied on local agriculture as one of the few ways to survive," wrote Gaza-based journalist Mohamed Suleiman. "Now, even that has been stripped away."
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