"The Red Green Alliance"

The Marxist/Communist view the islamist as fellow travelers in the intersectional identity politics of the left, they both have similar goals, to take down what they call the patriarial west, so both will use the other, but to know who is the stronger, remember when there was a protest in New York last year? when the islamist marching "with the global Infadia " and there was a Trans/LGBT parade and at the same time, guess which one won and the other one went away?...yep the "Free Palestine" one won....That one is the more powerful.  It is a precursor to what is to come.  and the modern left don't see the forest because of the trees.  If the West is to fall, they will be the first ones lined up against the wall and shot.

   I ripped this off farcebook....the 2nd cartoon came from my "stash"

I thought I understood the Red-Green Alliance. At least in a general sense of what it was — leftists and Islamists finding common ground in some kind of oppositional politics. I filed it under “things I know enough about.” Then this afternoon, out of morbid curiosity, I actually sat down and read about it.

It’s not just a strange marriage of convenience. It’s a case study in how movements with completely opposite end goals can work together long enough to do serious damage, and how the weaker partner in that arrangement almost always ends up destroyed by it.

Here’s the basic structure, which most already know. But it sets the stage.

“Red” refers to the radical left: Marxists, socialists, movements rooted in communist ideology. “Green” refers to political Islam: Islamist ideology, movements inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Iranian Islamic Revolution.

On paper, these two groups should have nothing in common. One wants a classless secular workers’ state. The other wants a global Islamic caliphate governed by religious law. Those aren’t compatible visions. Not even a little.

And yet somehow, some way, they keep finding each other.

The first major example happened in Iran in 1978 and 1979. Leftists, liberals, communists, and secular progressives all joined forces with Ayatollah Khomeini to bring down the Shah. They weren’t completely naive about his extremism.

Many of them knew his politics were reactionary. They just convinced themselves he didn’t have the ability to actually take over. They thought they could use him, or at least outlast him.

They were wrong. Obviously.

After the revolution succeeded, the Islamists consolidated power and turned on their former allies. Executions. Purges. The leftists who helped bring Khomeini to power were among the first casualties of the state they helped create.

What makes that history even more damning is what was happening in the West at the same time.

When Saddam Hussein expelled Khomeini to a suburb of Paris in October 1978, Western journalists suddenly had access to him.

Over three months, Khomeini gave 132 interviews. He was portrayed as a pious reformer, maybe even a progressive figure. Intellectuals across Europe bought it.

Michel Foucault, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, traveled to Iran and wrote glowingly about the revolution in progress, describing it as a new form of political spirituality. He wasn’t some outlier. He was the voice of the Western intellectual left, and he got it catastrophically wrong.

That’s the historical lesson. And it’s mindblowing that it hasn’t been learned.

Right now in the West, you can watch this weird version of a tango play out.

The Democratic Socialists of America simultaneously advocate for transgender youth healthcare and call for globalizing the intifada. University protesters march under banners that combine socialist slogans with Hamas ones. Groups with names like “Queers for Palestine” exist, apparently without any awareness of what Hamas actually does to gay people in Gaza.

Philosopher Judith Butler, a prominent queer theorist, has publicly described Hamas and Hezbollah as part of “the global Left.”

This isn’t happening at the edges or in back alleys. It’s happening in mainstream progressive spaces, on major university campuses, in prominent activist organizations.

And we already know it’s not spontaneous. Qatar has spent hundreds of millions of dollars funding academic programs at American universities, including Georgetown and Northwestern, that promote postcolonial frameworks which happen to align with both progressive and Islamist critiques of the West. Al Jazeera and its digital outlet AJ+ push the same talking points to Arabic and English-speaking audiences simultaneously. Iran and China have used bot networks to flood social media with antisemitic content, particularly since October 7. These aren’t coincidences running in parallel.

They’re deliberate pressure on the same fractures. Ouch.

The violence this produces…In May 2025, Elias Rodriguez shot and killed two young Israeli embassy workers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, outside a Washington DC event. He was captured on video chanting “Free Palestine” after the murders. His social media was full of socialist declarations and open contempt for the United States.

Days later, Mohamed Sabry Soliman threw incendiary devices at Jewish marchers in Boulder, Colorado. His online presence was wall-to-wall Muslim Brotherhood content.

Two attacks, two different ideological roads, the same targets.

Here’s what I find genuinely disconcerting.

The leftists in this alliance aren’t secretly Islamist. Most of them are sincerely progressive people who believe they’re fighting imperialism. The problem is that their energy and moral credibility are being put to work for a movement that would, if it got what it wanted, demolish everything they claim to stand for. Women’s rights. Gay rights. Secularism. Free speech. All of it.

They are, to quote a sadly tired and overused phrase that goes back to Lenin, useful idiots. There are no subtleties as to what happens to useful idiots after the revolution succeeds.

I do want to be clear about something. I’m not saying that everyone who criticizes Israeli policy, or who has concerns about U.S. foreign policy, is part of this alliance. That’s not the argument.

The Red-Green Alliance describes something specific. It’s an organized cooperation between Marxist radicalism and Islamism, aimed at taking down Western liberal democracy and, more explicitly, destroying Israel.

That’s a different thing from ordinary political disagreement, and blurring that line doesn’t help anyone think clearly.

What I am saying is that this alliance is more developed, better funded, and more deliberately organized than I previously understood. I almost wish I steered clear of this rabbit hole. Once again, I realize how unprepared I am to connect all the dots, I’m not a trained journalist.

The progressive left in the West has, in many cases, been too locked into its own worldview to see clearly what it’s walked into. Sadly, most don’t want to listen. At least, not the ones I’ve had conversations with. To them, I’m the brainwashed one. I’m the indoctrinated one. So maybe writing this is more of a catharsis for me. And maybe it’s more of an exploration so that I can deeply understand this phenomenon.

The Iranian leftists of 1979 had some excuse. Khomeini was a relatively unknown figure. They were moving fast inside a revolution with incomplete information. Foucault was writing from Paris, largely in the dark about what was coming.

But man…Western progressives in 2026? They have the complete historical record sitting right in front of them. If they had been paying attention at all to the past, then they should know where this leads in the future.

"Pax America Or Pax Naivete"

 I remember from the turn of the last century through the early 1960's having an American Citizenship and passport was a magical thing if you travelled.  people left you alone because if something happened, they knew that the U.S. government would interfere from sending people to investigate to sending in a detachment of marines to clean things up.  That is how the Americans rolled, that is having a reputation of speaking softly and carrying a huge stick.  A holdover of Teddy Roosevelt's foreign policy.  Don't screw with Americans.  But after the 1960 and later, it because a national pastime for all these groups to harass Americans and watch the "Paper Tiger"  do nothing.  This really became apparent during the 1970's after the debacle of Vietnam, and the ascency of the influence of the Soviet Union and its proxies.  I remember the various hijacking of planes, trains, bombings and they could be laid at the feet of the PLO who was supported by the Soviets, the Stasi, and when this pattern continued through the early 1980's with the seizing of our embassy in Iran by "students".   I want us to be respected again on the world stage, feared, I don't care if they don't like us, being liked has gotten us nowhere except taken advantage of.  I want the world to respect us again, with a touch of fear. like it used to be.   Am I silly? perhaps...but it has to be better than the Obama apology tour.

For half a century, the prevailing framework of world politics has rested on a set of polite fictions—mutually agreed-upon conventions and carefully maintained pretenses. America’s foreign policy establishment sustained these soothing myths through self-affirming narratives, willful blindness to uncomfortable realities, and a veneer of diplomatic nicety designed less to illuminate truth than to avoid honest debate. Over time, that posture coincided with a steady erosion of American influence. We adopted a strangely contradictory approach to the world: proclaiming strategic leadership while simultaneously shoveling taxpayer money to governments and causes across the globe with little expectation of loyalty, cooperation, or even alignment with American interests.

That contradiction lies at the heart of the frustration many people—me included—have long felt about institutions like USAID. Beyond the well-documented problems of waste, graft, and the steady flow of funds to ideologically aligned NGOs, the deeper issue was philosophical: an aid system built on the assumption that generosity alone would purchase goodwill. History suggests otherwise—and once you begin looking closely at the structure, the spending, and the incentives, there is plenty to hate.

When Trump and team looked at the overall situation, they saw that even with those “investments”, we still had to feed the leviathan that was created by the Global War on Terror to defend our citizens from terrorism—and even then, the value and protection of carrying a US passport continues to decline.

Being attuned to transactional dealmaking, I think Trump looked at the situation and said to himself, “Self, what the hell are we getting for our treasure and resources?” He looked at all the foreign aid going out the door, even the NATO and UN funding, and our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and the answer he came up with was “little to nothing.” Yeah, we “got” Bin Laden, but years after his power had peaked—the 7th Century savages had already moved on to more savagery. Pax Americana was working but getting more expensive and singularly dependent on America every day and political forces inside the US were using America’s own efforts to deal with external and internal threats under some pretty adverse conditions as weapons against her.

I think Trump’s gambit comes down to one thing—and that is getting a reasonable rate of return on America’s investment in national defense, NATO, force projection (the cost of having military bases all over the world), domestic law enforcement (including immigration enforcement, which, for all the performative grousing by Democrats is about national security), and foreign aid.

So, what if Trump’s gambit succeeds?

On his broadcast of February 4, 2015, Rush Limbaugh said:

“Why in the world do we give money to people that end up ripping us and criticizing us? Why do we end up giving foreign aid to certain countries that actively work against us? I have always thought that foreign aid should be merit based. Okay, you want foreign aid from the United States, we’re gonna have to list, and we’re gonna have the good list and we’re gonna have the excrement list. And if you get on our excrement list, you’re on it for a while. It’s gonna take you years to get off of it.”

What if the Trump administration follows the Limbaugh Doctrine and creates a Global Excrement List? I can scarcely imagine anyone better than Secretary of State Marco Rubio managing it.

What if Venezuela and Iran—as well as other perpetual trouble spots—fall under US influence rather than working for Russia and China? What if the United States becomes a regional/global hegemon with client states in orbit?

Would that be so bad?

What if America power was magnified by that collection of global client states, all working toward the same goals for freer trade, security, and liberty for their people?

A good concise definition of a “client state” would be “a nominally independent nation that relies on a more powerful state for economic aid, military protection, or political support and therefore aligns its policies with the interests of that patron state.”

I’m not talking about a bunch of client states in the mode of the old Soviet Bloc with puppet dictators, but something akin to what happened under the Monroe Doctrine, which established an American sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere, and over time U.S. interventions—especially under the Roosevelt Corollary—led several countries to function as de facto client states of the United States.

Would that be so bad?

Of course, some will say that America can’t be trusted with that kind of influence, but the fact is that power, like nature, abhors a vacuum. Empty space will be filled by something or someone and as America has weakened itself, China and Russia have been more than happy to do that job.

Winston Churchill is alleged to have said that America can be counted on to do the right thing after we have tried everything else. Now that we have tried everything else, maybe Pax Americana and Monroe Doctrine sort of hegemony is the right thing.

New App warns if "Smart Glasses" are in use around you.

 

I saw this from "Tech Crunch" I think it is a really good idea, I don't like the idea of someone surreptitiously recording me.  Yeah I know in this day and age, I know cameras' are everywhere, but "Smart Glasses" are personal.   

This is the screenshot from my phone, I went ahead and downloaded it.

One of the chief problems with “luxury surveillance” devices, like smart glasses with baked-in video recording cameras, is that they often look indistinguishable from regular eyewear, meaning you might be recorded without knowing it.

But now there is an app that can detect and alert you when someone nearby is wearing smart glasses, or potentially other always-recording tech.

The Android app, aptly named Nearby Glasses, constantly scans for nearby signals that emit from Bluetooth-enabled tech, such as wearable devices made by Meta (and Oakley) and Snap.

The app launches at a time as there is an increasing resistance against always-recording or listening devices, which critics say process information about nearby people who do not give their consent. 

Yves Jeanrenaud, who made the app, first spoke to 404 Media about the project and said he was in part inspired to make Nearby Glasses after reading the independent publication’s reporting into wearable surveillance devices, including how Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have been used in immigration raids and to film and harass sex workers.

On the app’s project page, Jeanrenaud described smart glasses as an “intolerable intrusion, consent neglecting, horrible piece of tech.”

Jeanrenaud told TechCrunch in an email that his motivation came from “witnessing the sheer scale and inhumane nature of the abuse these smart glasses are involved in.” Jeanrenaud also cited Meta’s decision to implement face recognition as a default feature in its smart glasses, “which I consider to be a huge floodgate pushed open for all kinds of privacy-invasive behaviour.”

The app works by listening for nearby Bluetooth signals that contain a publicly assigned identifier unique to the Bluetooth device’s manufacturer. If the app detects a Bluetooth signal from a nearby hardware device made by Meta or Snap, the app will send the user an alert. (The app also allows users to add their own specific Bluetooth identifiers, allowing the user to detect a broader range of wearable surveillance gadgetry.)

ScreenshotImage Credits:Yves Jeanrenaud

Jeanrenaud said that the app may be prone to false positives. This means the app may detect a nearby virtual reality headset made by Meta and alert the user thinking it is a pair of smart glasses made from the same device maker. That said, virtual reality headsets are usually larger and more obvious to someone that they’re wearing the device.

To try this out, I loaded the app on an Android phone and walked around my city’s neighborhood, and found (to my surprise) no smart glasses wearers, and did not receive an alert.

But since the app allows it, I added a specific Bluetooth identifier (0x004C), which allowed me to search for nearby devices made by Apple — and my test device immediately flooded with alerts (as you might expect), likely picking up every Apple-made device in my near proximity. 

This showed that the app works as designed.

Jeanrenaud is still adding new features, and said that there is demand for an iPhone app, but that it depends on spare time and availability.

Speaking of the app, Jeanrenaud said: “Of course, it’s a technical solution to a social problem (which is amplified by technology), and it won’t go away anytime soon,” and described the app as a “desperate act of resistance, hoping it would help at least someone.”

Spokespeople for Meta and Snap did not respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.

47 years Past due.....

 

    47 years...47 years, we have been taking crap from the mullah's in Iran, I remember as a kid in 1980 in Alabama by Ft McClellen when they rolled a TV in a cart to play President Jimmy Carter's speech apologizing for the debacle of "Desert One"

I remember the shame and the anger. we as Americans felt after hearing that. On top of having our people hostages, I remember the "Yellow Ribbons" that were tied on the front of the trees in the yards all over America. as a symbol of the hostages.

     I have to explain to people why we attacked Iran to push the mullah's out of power, "for 47 years the Iranians have been calling us the "Great Satan" and Israel "the Little Satan",  The Mullahs were behind the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut where 17 people died, the marine barrack in Beirut where 241 Marines died, by proxies of Iran.  The capture of the CIA chief in Lebanon Mr. Buckley I believe, they tortured him for 444 days, and mailed us the tapes of the torture, and finally his heart gave out. They also snatched up the head of the U.N peacekeeping force in Lebanon, also an American, and tortured and killed him too, and sent us the video's for their amusement.  The acts of terrorism on airplanes, nightclubs were linked to proxies of Iran with Libya throwing an assist.  Actually they swapped technical information back then along with the "IRA", kinda like the trifecta of terror if you will.  Also remember the brief war with the Iranians during Operation "Earnest Will" when we reflagged Kuwaiti tankers after Iran was throwing mines and silkworm missiles at the tankers in an attempt to close the Persian Gulf to the West. We can't forget the "U.S.S. Cole".  Plus all the IED's used to kill and maim U.S. Troops on Iraq and Afghanistan were designed and built by the "QUDs"  So I am glad we are putting paid to that account.

     I found out much later, there was a backroom deal between the Carter Administration and the French about Ayatollah Khomeini returning to Iran after the Shah came to the states for medical treatment, apparently there were assurances from the French "people" that the Ayatollah was going to be a moderate so the Carter administration had no objections to the Ayatollah going to Iran to formally take the reins of government basically screwing over the "Shah" an American Ally.  Well being true to form, the Carter Administration naivety bit us in the ass...Remember "Detente" where the Carter administration tried to make nice with the Soviets and the Soviets took full advantage of it, making us suckers ...yeah....Pepperage Farms Remembers.  They were greenhorns all over the foreign affairs stage, this was the same administration that gave away the "Panama Canal" for a $1 and now the Chinese runs the locks.... I am proud that we finally have a president that doesn't care about world opinion and finally taking care of business.  We should have handles this back in the 80's but every time Reagan then Bush Senior tried to use the military, you heard from the lefties and democrats "Vietnam Syndrome", and this was used to stymy any military action.  It took the 1st Gulf war to put that to rest.  

There will not be any boots on the ground, that ain't Trumps style.  We suck at nation building, unless the nation being rebuilt really wants it.  Iran before the mullah's was a very western based country.  After the mullah's are kicked out, this will be up the Iranians er the Persians to figure out.   And yes they are celebration all over the world.....except here in the states from the usual suspects.

And of course we had people in Pakistan rush the U.S consulate to seize it in a fury of religious zeal, and they paid the price.  Trump and Rubio ain't Carter and Clinton.  The cynical part of my wonders if the ISI sponsored the riot because the Pakistani's are lukewarm allies in the best of times. or am I being cynical

Monday Music "ThunderStruck" by AC/DC

 

I know that I did this song recently,  I was running with a bunch of songs from the 70's, I was planning on putting another "Kenny Rogers and the 1st Edition" today but events pushed this back.  This song also is dedicated to the Mullahs of Iran, we are putting paid to an account that is 47 years past due,  and about time.  I will do my rant er an opinion probably tomorrow.

I know that this song is er, ah well, hmm mumble 36 years old, but to me it is young because loud rock crunching songs are a throwback to the songs of the 1970's when stadium rock ruled.  

    I decided to go with AC/DC "thunderstruck"   This song hit in 1990 while I was in Germany and it was very popular, this was one song that every would play LOUD.  Something about good crunching Heavy Metal Rock and Roll.    When we were in the Gulf, we had dedicated this song to Saddam Hussain and his Republican Guard as they were "Thunderstruck" by the United States Military.

"Thunderstruck" is the first song on the 1990 album The Razors Edge by the hard rock group AC/DC.
The song was released as a single in Germany, Australia, and Japan, and peaked at No. 5 on U.S. the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 2010, "Thunderstruck" topped Triple M's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Melbourne, Australia. The top five were all AC/DC songs.
With the exception of new material from an album they are touring behind, this is one of only two songs released after Back in Black that the band still regularly performs live in concert, the other being "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".

Angus Young stated in the liner notes of the 2003 re-release of The Razors Edge:

It started off from a little trick I had on guitar. I played it to Mal and he said 'Oh, I've got a good rhythm idea that will sit well in the back.' We built the song up from that. We fiddled about with it for a few months before everything fell into place. Lyrically, it was really just a case of finding a good title ... We came up with this thunder thing, based on our favorite childhood toy ThunderStreak, and it seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That's the basic idea.

The song has sold over a million digital copies since it became available for digital download.

The video which accompanied the single was filmed at London's Brixton Academy on 17 August 1990. The audience members were given free T-shirts with the words "AC/DC – I was Thunderstruck" on the front and the date on the back, and these T-shirts were worn by the entire audience throughout the filming of the video.being "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".