3614 - Neocons Pivot To Venezuela; Mutual Aid In Gaza w/ José Luis Granados Ceja, Pal Humanity

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3614 – Neocons Pivot To Venezuela; Mutual Aid In Gaza w/ José Luis Granados Ceja, Pal Humanity
Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Emma Vigeland (in for Sam Seder)
Guests: José Luis Granados Ceja (Venezuela Analysis), Dr. Naham Abu Halimah & Dr. Noor Abu Halimah (Pal Humanity)
Regulars: Brandon Sutton

Episode Overview

This episode tackles two intertwined humanitarian and geopolitical crises:

1. The U.S. regime change escalation in Venezuela, featuring analysis by José Luis Granados Ceja, and
2. Mutual aid efforts on the ground in Northern Gaza, covered in a poignant interview with Drs. Naham and Noor Abu Halimah of Pal Humanity.

In addition, the episode opens with discussions on domestic U.S. politics, including catastrophic SNAP benefit cuts, Trump’s record-terrible approval ratings, market news, and hypocrisy in the Senate. The tone is equal parts urgent, frustrated, irreverent, and grounded in leftist critique and advocacy.

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Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. Domestic Politics: SNAP Benefit Cuts & Political Gamesmanship

[06:28 – 17:28]

Key Points:

• As of November 1, 42 million Americans are set to lose SNAP benefits, described as “the greatest catastrophe for hunger in America since the Great Depression.”
• The Trump administration is openly leveraging hunger as a weapon, refusing to use the existing SNAP contingency fund, despite a ~$8 billion shortfall.
• Multiple states are suing the administration to compel release of the funds.
• Several Democratic-led states are attempting to backfill lost benefits, but Republican-dominated states (e.g., Oklahoma) refuse to use ample state rainy day funds.
• Senate undemocratic structure is lambasted for allowing sparsely populated states to wield outsized power, obstructing action to help the poor.
• The show features moving testimonies from mothers and families grappling with food insecurity.
• There’s a broader critique of bipartisan attacks on the social safety net (SNAP, ACA, Medicaid).

Notable Quotes:

• “They're using the American public and their hunger as leverage over the Democrats.” — Emma Vigeland [08:09]
• “It is capitalism's failure. And anybody listening to this needs to understand it is not your fault. It is the fault of this political system.” — Brandon Sutton [13:40]
• “We need to abolish the Senate is what I’m saying. South Dakota—I say this as a North Dakotan.” — Brandon Sutton [15:29]

Memorable Moment:
Audio clips of mothers tearfully explaining that even with full-time work, they can’t keep up with the cost of food—a powerful reality check on the human cost of policy.

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2. Venezuela: US Escalations and Regional Geopolitics

Interview with José Luis Granados Ceja
[25:21 – 48:45]

Key Developments:

• The U.S. has intensified its attempts at regime change in Venezuela with bombings of boats in international waters, leading to civilian deaths.
• The escalation is now regional: U.S. military actions have expanded to waters near Colombia and Mexico, alarming Latin American leaders.
• Mexico’s President Sheinbaum has formally criticized U.S. attacks, stressing the necessity of international law.
• Trump administration officials are overtly discussing covert actions by the CIA.
  • “It’s not covert if you say it.” — Emma Vigeland [28:44]
• The pretext is shifting from “democracy promotion” to “narco-terrorism” and “drug interdiction”; these are regarded as transparent covers for imperialist motivations.
• There is mixed regional reaction: while some leaders (Lula, Petro) are emphasizing regional sovereignty, others (Trinidad & Tobago, Ecuador) are collaborating with the U.S. at economic and political cost.
• The U.S. is openly supporting Maria Corina Machado as the “new Juan Guaido”—a right-wing, pro-capitalist Venezuelan figure groomed by U.S. interests for a coup.
• Discussion is grounded in acknowledgment of Venezuela’s internal complexity but highlights the root causes of crisis as U.S. sanctions & destabilization.

Notable Quotes:

• “What we see is this campaign is now taking place... in the Pacific, in the Caribbean, close to Mexico, close to Colombia. This is... an aggression, not just against Venezuela, but of all Latin America.” — José Luis Granados Ceja [25:49]
• “We’re dealing with a United States government that is acting in a rogue fashion. It has no regard for international law...[it] is engaging in another regime change effort against Maduro.” — José Luis Granados Ceja [27:45]
• “They want the markets here, they want the resources here, they want access to the cheap labor... this is a very, very dangerous time in the region.” — José Luis Granados Ceja [35:00]
• “You can think what you want about Maduro, but we cannot tolerate a violation of sovereignty.” — José Luis Granados Ceja [37:24]

Key Segment Timestamps:

• 25:21 – U.S. escalations, regional expansion, and impact on civilian vessels
• 27:45 – Mexico’s diplomatic response, international law arguments
• 29:01 – Overt US regime change admissions, shift of policy pretexts
• 31:36 – Venezuelan domestic sentiment, civil defense, and resilience
• 33:41 – Potential for regional solidarity and US attempts to isolate Latin America
• 40:19 – U.S.-groomed opposition leadership (Maria Corina Machado) and coup plans
• 44:52 – Unpacking U.S. narratives on Maduro & Venezuela’s crisis

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3. Gaza: On-the-Ground Mutual Aid and Medical Relief

Pre-recorded interview with Dr. Naham & Dr. Noor Abu Halimah, Pal Humanity
[50:11 – 73:31]

Key Points:

• The sisters and co-founders of Pal Humanity describe firsthand the devastation in North Gaza: entire villages and farmlands are rubble, water infrastructure destroyed, medical clinics overwhelmed or nonexistent.
• The “Yellow Zone” designates areas off-limits for return, under continuing Israeli military control; vast numbers of Gazans remain internally displaced.
• Pal Humanity’s most pressing work is water: establishing desalination and water stations because families must walk kilometers for contaminated water, leading to widespread disease, kidney stones, and more.
• They are also setting up camps for orphans (over 15,000 orphaned children), creating spaces of psychological solace and mutual aid as well as basic necessities.
• Projects include building not only emergency medical clinics, but also schools and children’s programs to restore a sense of future and dignity.
• The sisters send an impassioned message: the international community must move beyond “feeling moved” to action, solidarity, and concrete support as Gazans continue to experience ongoing bombardment, even under supposed “ceasefires.”

Notable Quotes:

• “We Gazans had lost everything but we have gained our humanity that a lot of people in the world had lost.” — Dr. Naham Abu Halimah [66:17]
• “It’s not enough to feel moved and then move on. The people of Gaza don’t just need sympathy. They need voices to raise... and solidarity that turns into action.” — Dr. Noor Abu Halimah [67:48]
• “Water is life and you can’t live without water a day.” — Dr. Naham Abu Halimah [59:52]
• “Our children are like any children in the world. They want to laugh, they want to learn, they want to play as anyone.” — Dr. Naham Abu Halimah [71:21]

Key Segment Timestamps:

• 50:11 – Scope of devastation and fractured infrastructure in North Gaza
• 53:52 – Explanation of “yellow zones,” forced displacement, access denial
• 57:09 – Details of water crisis, desalination projects, medical impact of lack of potable water
• 61:11 – Orphan camp: psychological support, mutual aid for traumatized children
• 66:17 – Messages of hope, calls for action, what sustains Gazan resilience

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4. Fun Half & Irreverent Banter

[74:52 onward]

Key Points:

• Commentary shifts to leftist/liberal media infighting, conspiracy theories, and the performative nature of right-wing grifter outrage (notably the “Charlie Kirk assassination” conspiracies).
• The interplay between Emma Vigeland and Brandon Sutton is sardonic and meta, poking fun at the circular logic and hypocrisy of the political/online discourse.
• This banter segment is meant as comedic release after reporting on such dark topics.

Notable Quotes:

• “They’re shameless grifters, and this is how they behave.” — Brandon Sutton [78:28]

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Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• “They're using the American public and their hunger as leverage over the Democrats.” — Emma Vigeland [08:09]
• “It is capitalism's failure…It is not your fault.” — Brandon Sutton [13:40]
• “This is… an aggression, not just against Venezuela, but of all Latin America.” — José Luis Granados Ceja [25:49]
• “We’re dealing with… a rogue government… engaging in another regime change effort against Maduro.” — José Luis Granados Ceja [27:45]
• “We Gazans had lost everything but we have gained our humanity…” — Dr. Naham Abu Halimah [66:17]
• “It’s not enough to feel moved and then move on…” — Dr. Noor Abu Halimah [67:48]

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Summary Table of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Subject | Speakers | Highlight | |------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 06:28–17:28| SNAP cuts, food insecurity, political attack on poor | Emma, Brandon, callers | Mass suffering, policy critique, call to activism | | 25:21–48:45| Venezuela: US escalation, regime change, regional repercussions| Emma, José Luis Granados Ceja | Bombings, illegalities, regional consequences, US motives | | 50:11–73:31| Gaza: Pal Humanity on mutual aid amidst devastation | Emma, Drs. Naham & Noor Abu Halimah | Water, orphans, hope, practical relief in warzone | | 74:52–end | Fun half: discourse, conspiracy media, irreverent commentary | Emma, Brandon, others | Meta-political snark, decompressing |

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Mass hunger in the U.S. is being politically engineered. The Republican administration and Senate are using food aid as leverage, despite having the means to help, resulting in real human suffering.
• Venezuela is facing escalated attacks and regime change efforts from the U.S. This is no longer covert; open discussion of CIA operations, bombings beyond Venezuela’s waters, and manipulation of opposition figureheads mark a dangerous new phase.
• Latin American sovereignty is under threat, but regional pushback is growing. There are consequences for regional collaboration or resistance, underscoring the importance of solidarity.
• In Gaza, mutual aid is all that stands between life and death. The destruction is total, but grassroots efforts (like Pal Humanity) are restoring basic needs and hope for traumatized orphans and families.
• Action and solidarity are needed, not just sympathy. Both at home and abroad, structural failures are devastating. The episode directly urges listeners to call their representatives, donate to mutual aid, and amplify the ongoing injustices.

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Resource Links

• Venezuela Analysis (for José Luis’ work & podcast)
• Pal Humanity (for donations and updates)
• U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (for contacting Congress, as emphasized in episode)

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This episode blends urgent reporting with irreverent wit, offering deep insight into the intersections of US domestic and foreign policy failures—and the mutual aid efforts working to counter their impact.

Transcript

[Emma Vigiland]

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[Sam Cedar]

The Majority Report with Sam Cedar.

[Emma Vigiland]

It is Thursday, October 30, 2025. My name is Emma Vigiland in for Sam Cedar. And this is the five time award winning Majority Report. We are broadcasting live steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America, downtown Brooklyn, usa. On the program today, Jose Luis Granado Sea will be with us again to talk about the US's attempt at regime change in Venezuela. And later in the show, Dr. Naham Abu Halimah and Dr. Noor Abu Halimah, co founders of Pal Humanity Sisters. They joined us earlier. We have a pre recorded interview to talk about their immensely important mutual aid work in Northern Gaza. Also on the program, Trump's approval rating keeps breaking records. He's at -18 net approval YouGov, lower than it's ever been driven in large parts due to negatives on the economy and cratering support among young people. Meanwhile, the Fed cuts rates for a second consecutive meeting amid slowing economic growth. Nvidia hits the $5 trillion market value threshold. That's over 15% of US GDP. Does that seem sustainable to you guys?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Absolutely not.

[Emma Vigiland]

Okay, thank you. That was the right answer. Trump and Xi reportedly agree on a one year truce on the trade war that Trump started, which means China brought the United States to heel. Uncle, Uncle.

[Brandon Sutton]

Who could have foreseen this?

[Emma Vigiland]

And of course, Xi is being smarter than Trump by making it seem like it's a mutual thing. Yeah, in public.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Gracious Victor, he's beaming on Air Force One.

[Emma Vigiland]

Oh, I'm sure I've seen it.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

There's footage.

[Emma Vigiland]

He's so easily manipulated. That's one thing Kamala got right in the campaign. The Senate votes 50 to 64 to nullify Trump's tariffs on Canada. With four Republicans breaking rank or Kowski Collins, both Kentucky senators, or at the very least Mitch McConnell's office. Who knows if he even knows what's happening right now. The US military has ordered the National Guard in all 50 states to be trained in riot control. Seems bad. Andrew Cuomo's financial disclosures reveal that he made $5 million working as a private private consultant last year, but will not reveal his clients.

[Brandon Sutton]

None.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Your business.

[Emma Vigiland]

Democratic candidate Kat Abu Ghazela is facing federal charges for protesting outside an ICE facility in Chicago. A police raid in a low income neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro kills over 130 people. The deadliest police action like this in the history of the country. Hamas hands over two hostage bodies after Israel repeatedly breaks the ceasefire. Or what they think are those bodies, because there's no way to tell in many instances. And lastly, in Sudan, paramilitary forces kill hundreds of people at a hospital all this and more on today's Majority Report. Welcome to the show, everybody. Apologies, we're a little bit behind. We had a scare, technically, and then it was fine.

[Brandon Sutton]

Electrical storm.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yes.

[Brandon Sutton]

Going through our wires.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yes. It's the Havana Syndrome, or it's really just the rain outside, the torrential downpour. I was out for two days. I moved. Very, very stressful, very not fun. Could not find things like socks this morning. But hanging in there. And I now should say, because people have reminded me that I never, I keep forgetting to promote when I'm going on shows. I will be going this afternoon on the I've had it podcast with Jennifer Welch. So stay tuned for that episode. I'm really, really looking forward to getting to talk to her. But let's start here with snap benefits on November 1st. Tomorrow, no, Saturday, 42 million people are going to lose their SNAP benefits. I saw this quote in an interview with Joel Berg of Hunger Free America where he said that this is the greatest catastrophe for hunger in America since the Great Depression. I'm paraphrasing that a little, but that was what the headline was. He was interviewed or quoted in the Guardian on that. And there is a SNAP contingency fund that the Trump administration could tap into. It wouldn't cover the full month's cost of SNAP benefits across the country, but it would at the very least be supplementary.

[Brandon Sutton]

Yeah, it would help. It's about 5 to 6 billion dollars of 8 billion dollars shortfall, which would be a lot easier for states to make up the remaining deficit if you tap into that. Not tapping into it is to use hunger as a political weapon.

[Emma Vigiland]

Exactly. They're being quite clear about this. They're using the American public and their hunger as leverage over the Democrats. The problem is, is that the Trump administration's callousness on this very front is in part why Trump's approval rating is at the lowest it's been in by at least YouGov's metrics in the history of his presidency. And he might have been lower after he left office. After January 6th. People forget that was the coup attempt was pretty unpopular. But at least in terms of like when he was active in his presidency, that is, I mean, he's immensely unpopular. And it's important for us to remember that. It's important for us to remember that people don't want to see tens of millions of people and families go hungry like this. There was a plan on the USDA website about the contingency fund that the administration deleted. They laid out a scenario in which the SNAP contingency fund could be tapped into. But then they found out that that was public and they were not going to do that, so they deleted it. And in response to this, there have been dozens of states that have filed a lawsuit trying to compel the administration to use these contingency funds in an emergency situation. And meanwhile, look at these optics. House Republicans have had a six week paid vacation because Mike Johnson doesn't want to have to swear in Representative Gralva. 700,000 people don't have a representative right now because she would be the 218th vote on the discharge petition that would force the release of the Epstein files. So that is where the Republican Party is at right now. They are not working or doing anything in part because Trump says send the House home. Because I want the Senate to accept the bill as is. I don't want any, any renegotiation of this. But also because of that Epstein files piece. No, the House Republicans are going to have to come back at the very, I mean this November 1st cliff was what some folks thought would make some of these Democratic holdouts break. But I don't know if that's going to happen. And in terms of the politics of it, it shouldn't. We do have some states that are going to step up and try to fill the gaps, obviously, you know, ones that are led by Democrats mostly. But this is on top of.

[Brandon Sutton]

The.

[Emma Vigiland]

One big beautiful bill, ugly ass bill.

[Brandon Sutton]

Largest cut of food of SNAP benefits in history.

[Emma Vigiland]

In history. On top of that 186 billion in cuts to this program that's been in place since the Great Depression.

[Brandon Sutton]

And Republicans that are voicing concern about SNAP now, like Josh Hawley voted for that bill.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yep, he'll do know every excuse to be performative but actually do nothing to help people. That's Josh Hawley's mantra. And then that's not even touching the fact that around 20 million Americans are about to see their premiums explode. The ones who are on the ACA marketplaces. And that's not even touching the gutting of Medicaid. This is an all out war on the working class of this country. Here's a compilation that MSNBC put together of working mothers on social media talking about what it means for SNAP benefits to get cut like this.

[Caller/Listener 1]

I just finally got confirmation that food stamps is officially cut for next month.

[Caller/Listener 2]

About two months ago, I stopped eating dinner almost every night of the week so that my boyfriend and I could have enough food left over to have lunch the next day. This was before we were about to Lose our food stamps. Mind you, we both work.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

I don't think that we really realize the depths that this is, the damage that this is going to do.

[Emma Vigiland]

But the women, the mothers and the families, but the mothers especially, who are going to go without meals so their children don't have to.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

I know that I will absolutely be one of those mothers.

[Caller/Listener 2]

But because we have children and because aftercare and before care is too expensive, we. I've taken a job that's basically minimum wage so that I can be there to pick up my kids. I cannot fathom what we're gonna do without that food stamp money. Because if I already couldn't eat dinner with that food stamp money.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yeah, I can't read part of that, but because it's sitting here wondering what families will do next month without food stamps. I work full time, have six kids and rely on them. I'm scared, sad, and have to act like everything is fine.

[Brandon Sutton]

So much of this country right now.

[Emma Vigiland]

That's the caption. Yeah.

[Caller/Listener 1]

I'm so tired of seeing people say like, oh well, maybe if you had a job you could get your groceries or you know what I'm saying, you wouldn't have to depend on stamps. I work full time, thank you. And I do rely on stamps because guess what, it's not enough money in this economy for me to be able to pay bills and get stuff that we need and provide for my two kids. So yes, correct.

[Brandon Sutton]

It is capitalism's failure. And anybody listening to this needs to understand it is not your fault. It is the fault of this political system that has bought our political system.

[Emma Vigiland]

Noel from San Francisco just IMs in right wealthiest nation in history. Disgraceful.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

That's it.

[Caller/Listener 1]

Keeping on stamps. And I have a full time job. So please know that people out here depending on stamps is not because we out here just mooching off the government. It's because we literally need that to provide for our family. I work hard every single day. I get up every single day and clean houses. And I still rely on food stamps to feed my six children because the prices are so high. It's unrealistic to think about not having.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Food stamps next month.

[Caller/Listener 1]

I'm so terrified because six babies are always eating plus myself. I eat about one meal a day. But still.

[Emma Vigiland]

Y', all, they not giving us food for Sam's next month. How am I gonna pay my bills, feed my kids? Plus Christmas coming up too. This shit is so effed up to all the hard working mothers. That's what the caption says there. She's CRYING So there you go. There you go.

[Brandon Sutton]

And we're in this situation not just because Trump's a really bad guy, but because of things like the Senate. John Thune is a senator from South Dakota, a state that doesn't even have a million people deactivated right now, that doesn't even have a million people. He's leading the hard line against these sort of things, like, oh, no, we don't need to pay vets. We don't need to do this SNAP stuff, like basically holding the Senate hardline on it. He should not have. We need to abolish the Senate is what I'm saying. South Dakota. I say this as a North Dakota.

[Emma Vigiland]

Go, by the way of the House of Lords in the uk, they are an undemocratic institution. At the very least, we need to do away with the filibuster.

[Brandon Sutton]

Yeah, exactly. Because Thune represents everything even more as much as Trump. That's evil in this country. He's a goddamn Nazi. That's using food as a weapon here. And it's a joke that. And again, I say this as North Dakotan, that places like North Dakota and South Dakota have as much power in the Senate as a state like New York or California. It's a fucking joke. People should be ashamed of themselves.

[Emma Vigiland]

That number, 42 million, it's actually almost equivalent to when there was a 50. 50 Senate under the Biden administration. 50 Democratic senators represented 40 million more people than the 50 Republican senators. That's the undemocratic nature of the Senate that we're talking about here. And just to wrap this up, here is an example of the kind of Republican response to this, because as I mentioned earlier, there are some states that are using their state funding to backfill on SNAP benefits. I believe it's Connecticut. I saw Virginia. Vermont is another one of them, but not Oklahoma. Oklahoma has around 700,000 people in the state that rely on SNAP benefits. It's one of the most vulnerable states as well. A little under 15%, or it's like 14, 15% of families rely on SNAP in the whole state.

[Brandon Sutton]

A state with a massive amount of poverty, like leading the nation, terrible education, despite having a massive oil boom thanks to fracking.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yep. Where. Where is all of that going?

[Brandon Sutton]

Into the pockets of the people that.

[Emma Vigiland]

Own Governor Kevin Stitt, and then maybe like into the. The actual after effects, into the bodies of the people that don't see any of the benefits because of the pollution of this kind of extraction. This is the Republican Governor Kevin Stitt saying, I'm not Going to dip into our $1 billion rainy day fund to help out here.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

His net worth is $110 million. Personally.

[Brandon Sutton]

Evil.

[Caller/Listener 1]

Day fund was maxed out.

[Emma Vigiland]

Can you talk about how much use.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Was that fund and at what point.

[Emma Vigiland]

The state would actually.

[Sam Cedar]

Yeah, so the rainy day fund, it's, it's close to a billion dollars. It's about, it's 15% of our overall GR. General revenue is kind of constitutionally how it's set up. It's totally maxed out. And then we have some other. Other funds as well. But the. To access the rainy day fund, it's set up in a way that you're only supposed to access it in a revenue failure, right? Well, we don't have a revenue failure. This is a federal government problem, not a state problem. And so to access that, the max you can access is 300 million. And it's, it's. It takes two thirds of a vote at a legislature, so we'd have to call people back for a special session. Do it. And then how do we actually get it the way delivered by November 1st on those cards, which we don't have the access to do it. So that's what I mean by. It's kind of complicated to deliver that.

[Emma Vigiland]

Oh, so complicated. It's complicated.

[Brandon Sutton]

Never mind. The other states are doing it.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Yeah, I don't want to work. That's what he's saying.

[Emma Vigiland]

Do we have the Capital Switchboard number?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

It's in every show note.

[Emma Vigiland]

Every show note. I mean, like, call your. Call your senators. I'll just read it out here. You can just look it up. But Capital Switchboard is 2022-2431-2120-2224-3121. You can connect with your member of the Senate or with a member of the House of Representatives or your senator and tell them what you think.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Good luck finding Chuck Schumer.

[Emma Vigiland]

Oh, yeah. Well, did you guys play that yesterday about him again refusing to endorse Mom, Donnie. Maybe we'll play that later in the show. He's a little worried about dodging questions about whether or not he'll vote for the Democratic nominee in the city where he lives. In a moment, we will be talking to Jose Luis Granada Sea about the Trump administration ramping up potential regime change, war with Venezuela. But first, a word from two of our sponsors here. I'd like to thank Oneskin for sponsoring today's episode. Oneskin sent me the OS1 face, a moisturizer and longevity serum all in one, and the OS01. I their most concentrated formula to treat the delicate skin around the eyes. I've got sensitive skin. I get red at the drop of a hat. I need to make sure that I maintain my skin. And I've also been, you know, in true New Jersey fashion, a little bit way too obsessed with tanning. I've moved to the spray tan phase and not trying to devastate my skin anymore or the at home rub in one. 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That's Zocdoc.com Majority Zocdoc.com Majority link down below in the video and episode descriptions and@majority fm, go to zocdoc.com majority and download the ZocDoc app to sign up for free and book a top rated doctor. Quick break and when we come back, we'll be talking to Jose. We are back and we are joined once again on the show by Jose Luis Granado Sea, a journalist, staff writer with Venezuela Analysis and host of the Venezuela Analysis podcast podcast. Jose Luis, thanks so much for coming back.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Thank you very much for the invite.

[Emma Vigiland]

Of course. So since we spoke, I mean four or five weeks ago, there have been even more bombings of these boats off the coast of Venezuela in international Waters, the death toll is now, what, 57, 58? I'm losing track here, but just catch us up to where we are with this escalation militarily by the United States off Venezuela's shores.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Escalation is absolutely the right term. Things have gotten dramatically worse for the peoples of Venezuela, Colombia, and I would say all of Latin America. What we've seen is escalation after escalation after escalation. We had warned that this wasn't going to stop with Venezuela, and quite rightly, we've seen this now expanded against Gustavo Petro in Colombia for daring to stick up for the sovereignty of Venezuela, for the defense of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace. So now we've seen this mobilization of troops of ships and all the rest of it, these strikes on these boats, first in the Caribbean, but now we've seen that extended into the Pacific off the coast of Colombia. And it looks like some of the more recent ones are actually much closer to Mexico. Now, given the fact that Mexico search and rescue was called in after the second to last bombing that just happened, where they apparently identified a survivor, it's not clear if they were actually able to find that survivor, but Mexico dispatched a boat and a plane in order to try to assist in rescue efforts there. So what we see is this campaign is now taking place in the Pacific, in the Caribbean, close to Mexico, close to Colombia. This is very much now an aggression, not just against Venezuela, but of all Latin America.

[Emma Vigiland]

The Mexico piece is astonishing given the fact that the United States and Mexico's trade relationship is key to the United States economy. And you've seen that Claudia Sheinbaum has had immense leverage over the Trump administration and brought him to heel. The only person we've seen kind of do that is Xi just 24 hours ago with this, like, supposed trade truce, even though we know that it was really China that won out. At the end of the day, like, what do you anticipate the Mexican government's response is going to be to this kind of action?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Well, so far, we saw for the first time Glalia Sheinbaum express explicitly that she does not agree with these attacks. I think that's important precisely because of her standing, the place that she occupies here in the international community. She called the ambassador for consultations. Mexico and the United States have various working groups where they kind of exchange information and talk about this. And this happened at there. There was kind of a vague statement put out about, you know, making sure that life at sea is protected. Mexico's position is very much based on a defense of international law and conventions. It said that it responded to this call for a rescue precisely because it is a signatory. And I actually think that that's the correct way to approach this. We have to be honest. We're dealing with a United States government that is acting in a rogue fashion. It has no regard for international law, no regard for its bilateral relationships, clearly is engaging in another regime change effort against Maduro. I think, you know, whatever doubt may have been in people's minds about that, I think has been clearly.

[Emma Vigiland]

No, they're saying it established. They are saying it, and they're saying. I'm sorry to interrupt, but they're saying that they're doing. My favorite part of the story, even though it's so dark, is Trump announcing that the CIA is doing covert actions in Venezuela. It's not covert if you say it.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Exactly. And I think that's the sign, right, that they're doing everything. They're pulling out all the stops to engage in regime change to try to oust Nicolas Maduro. There was a really interesting piece from Reuters about all of the secret kind of negotiations that were happening with this US Administration and the hardline reactionary fascist opposition in Venezuela led by Maria Corina Machado, how they were feeding them this information, trying to basically find the excuse. We know that during the Biden administration, the line that the White House used was around democracy promotion and that this is a tyrant. And we have to do something about that because there's not a lot of, you know, space inside of the Trump administration for that kind of language. They've shifted gears, and now they're talking about drug interdiction and stopping narco terrorists and the rest of it. But to go back to what I was saying, I think this is why we have to put much of the emphasis on the defense of international law, to really point out the fact that what the United States is doing is illegal, considering international law, but also domestic law. There is actually no basis. And we've seen some criticism even from the Republican Party. Senator Rand Paul has actually been really insistent on this, saying that we actually have to declare war in order to be able to do what we're doing, which is killing people without due process. He rightly called it, as UN Experts have called it, extrajudicial killings. Of course, his interests are different. I'm not saying that his necessarily is driven by an anti imperialist imperative, but certainly at least pointing out the fact that this is illegal according to the US Constitution and the US Law. As well, the Congress has to be consulted and unfortunately we haven't seen a lot of movement on that, obviously with the shutdown and the rest of it. But clearly we have, like I said, a rogue government operating here that seems to have no consideration for the most precious right of all, which is the right to life. They are extrajudicially killing people throughout the region. Now.

[Emma Vigiland]

What is the kind of consensus understanding within maybe Venezuela or Latin America more broadly about the United States interest in Venezuela and regime change? I mean, we know that it's for capitalistic purposes and Maduro has long been an object of the eyes of neocons in terms of trying to getting to overthrow him. And that's across the aisle. Right. Like we had Chris Murphy, I believe, admit that they tried to coup him on Twitter. So, like, this is a story that is many, many years old at this point. But what would you say is the understanding amongst the general population in Venezuela and Latin America more broadly about the United States involvement here?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. This is only the latest effort at trying to oust Maduro and Chavez before him, before he passed away. So what is the mood on the ground? We recently published an column by Clodovadio Hernandez over at Venezuela Analysis, and I thought he summarized it quite well. So people are in a state of alert, but they're not falling into alarmism. You're certainly seeing an important mobilization of the Venezuelan armed forces. They have been training basically for this moment since the beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution with the election of Hugo Chavez, a military man himself, who changed the military doctrine in Venezuela to focus on the defense of the homeland in the face of an invasion by somebody like the United States. And so we do see that kind of movement. One of the more interesting things has been the response by the popular sectors. So, you know, a lot of people try to paint this picture as if, you know, Maduro is, you know, universally rejected in Venezuela. And of course that's not the case. There's still a lot of people who identify as revolutionaries and who are preparing and who are actually joining up with the militia if they weren't members already engaging in arms training. So there is a heightened state, but also life goes on because this isn't new to Venezuela. You know, Venezuela has lived a lot of efforts backed by the United States, by this far right opposition in Venezuela to try to change the government via insurrection, via coup d'. Etat. And now the latest with these military threats just off their coast.

[Emma Vigiland]

And I want to turn to that domestic reality in Venezuela in just a second. But to stay a little bit on what you were saying about how they're not stopping at Venezuela, they're threatening other countries in the region. Do you see this as something that could potentially lead to an acceleration of Central American and Caribbean solidarity, which could really be another move that isolates the United States? I mean, it feels like that's the goal. But isolates the United States because of our insane aggression, open aggression in the region?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Absolutely. I think one thing that people in the United States should always remember is that Latin America has such a long and complicated and dark history with US Intervention, with US Imperialism, that this really does provoke the ire of the populations here. You know, I mentioned Gustavo Petro, but also Lula da Silva, who have been critical of Maduro in the past. They have taken a very clear position that this is not acceptable and that they will defend sovereignty more generally. You know, this notion that the area is a zone of peace is no small thing. This is part of the region of the world that isn't seen state to state conflicts in a very, very long time. And I think it's important to highlight that. And of course, it is provoking a reaction. I saw the leader of the Landless Peasants movement, the MST from Braz State, quite clearly. If they are attacked, we will organize internationalist brigades to go and defend Venezuela. I mean, there really is a mood. But of course, this is in a time where there is a lot of division in the region. I think the United States America first strategy should be read actually more as America in the sort of Latin sense of it, of the entire hemisphere. I think you mentioned China earlier. I think the United States has recognized the fact that it's lost the fight for global hegemony.

[Emma Vigiland]

And so there's a great piece by Ido Chavez and Capital and Empire, which I know that Venezuela analysis cited that I'd recommend people check out.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Absolutely. And that's another example of it. And so what does that mean? They're retreating back into their traditional spheres of influence. And they very much view Latin America as their backyard. As much as we detest that phrase here in Latin America, they do view it that way. And I think they do see Latin America as the place where they can kind of rebuild their forces in order to, in a future moment, dispute global hegemony again with their rival, principally China. And so because of that, we see them playing a great amount of emphasis on the region and giving favors to their allies, like we've seen with Melaye in Argentina with this bailout. But then punishing their opponents. Mexico is the only one that's kind of have to balance this position of being a leftist government that normally would provoke the ire of the United States. But precisely because what you said, because of the leverage Mexico has, we don't see that. But I wouldn't be surprised if we see more pressure being put on Mexico to kind of fall into line to, to try to have this region be at the service of the United States. And as you said, it's very much capitalist interest. What do they want? They want the markets here, they want the resources here, they want access to the cheap labor because that's how they feel that they can get on stronger footing to dispute global hegemony. So it's a very, very dangerous time in the region. And one of the things that I've been really stressing is that the response has to be regional. There has been very worrisome statements, for example, from the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Obviously nobody in Ecuador, Malay, all of the US allies in the region are clearly positioning themselves as friends to the end of the United States. But the United States doesn't have friends. It has interests. And they very much will betray these same allies down the road as they did to Juan Orlando Hernandez in Honduras. And so I think these leaders here who are trying to align with the United States are playing a very, very dangerous game. And I would call on them to shape up and to get on the side, the correct side of history, which is to take a position to say that an attack against one country in Latin America is an attack against us all. We cannot go back to these days of gun blow diplomacy that is horrible for the peoples of this region. And we're already seeing the consequences of that. And so if we really want to think about the best interests of this population of all the countries of the region, the worst thing they could do is align with the United States because this would establish a terrible precedent. We cannot allow this to happen. You can think what you want about Maduro, but we cannot tolerate a violation of sovereignty. Not to mention that the regional fallout I think is actually quite difficult to predict. If the United States goes down this path, let's say they do strikes inside of Venezuela, that's going to provoke a terrible amount of unrest. If they go so far as to try to assassinate a president that is going to create undoubtedly a civil war inside of Venezuela, People aren't going to accept the leadership of Maria Corinna and Achalo, much less if it's imposed by gunboat Diplomacy, as they've been doing, and it would create a huge migration crisis. People would obviously flee the situation, given the circumstances or the situation that I'm trying to present here. And so people really need to reconsider what is happening in this. In this, and hopefully push back on that basis. You know, not to get distracted with, you know, whatever is, you know, convenient politically in the moment for this or that leader. But really understand that there are principles at play here, which is international law, defense of sovereignty, equality of states.

[Emma Vigiland]

And who are the primary villains in their complicity with the United States here? Besides the obvious Bukele, I think I.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Would point to the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago who has actually broken with a long tradition of that country in defense of sovereignty. You know, the CARICOM and the Caribbean states, these are small states, right? We understand the principle of equality of states before this. Right. But nonetheless, they are far stronger when they act in unison and coordinated fashion. And she's actually even speaking out against caricom, against the Caribbean Community, this regional organization. And so, you know, and it's come at a cost. She recently had to accept the fact that Venezuela had to take a decision to cancel the gas project in the Dragonfield because the closeness to Venezuela, it was a joint project. It was very important to Trinidad and Tobago's energy sovereignty, to its ability to actually increase government revenue. And that's now been suspended as a result of the position it's taken. And it's unfortunate that the people of her country are going to pay the price. But it shouldn't be surprising to anybody. You know, Venezuela was actually very generous with the Caribbean community back when it was in a better financial situation, providing cheap loans, cheap oil, engaging in kind of a bartering system, all of this. Right. Venezuela could. They would obviously want that. They've talked many, many times about relaunching Petro Caribe to try to assist these countries that don't have access to energy resources. All of that stuff is at risk as a result of this because of wanting to align with the United States. The other person I would obviously also point to is certainly Noboa. Noboa is right now seeking to change the constitution in order to allow for the presence of US Military on Ecuadorian soil. That's really dangerous as well. I mean, it's ironclad. There's no room for doubt in Ecuador's constitution, but he views it as a barrier. And so you can see that they're trying to take advantage of the situation to promote these policies that most of the Population in this, in this region is just not in favor of.

[Emma Vigiland]

In Venezuela, there is this figure, and you mentioned her earlier, Maria Corinna Machado, who they're trying to set this administration, the Trump administration, Marco Rubio in particular, is trying to set her up as the new Juan Guido, the new US Aligned capitalistic figurehead that can to be the face of regime change. And they're doing this openly. We played a clip a few weeks ago of her on Don Jr. S podcast speaking about like, we have to open up Venezuelan oil to capitalism. We have to make money like they are. She's saying exactly what they want to hear and maybe even more crudely than would be politically advisable given the fact that these are her aspirations. But she has been in the US Kind of think tank circles. She's been working with Rubio for years and years. What is the status of her attempt to be the coup figurehead in Venezuela?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Yeah, we have to be clear about who she is. She's a far right figure. She has always been on the far right in terms of the political spectrum in Venezuela. And she was actually mostly a marginal figure for the longest time. Her prominence grew as a result of her positioning herself as the voice of the opposition. And there are various oppositions inside of Venezuela. You know, there are some that obviously participate in elections and take their seats inside of the Congress and have, you know, always tried to kind of play by the rules of the game. She never has. She's always been in favor of the coup d' Etat in 2002 against Hugo Chavez. She denies it now, but she literally signed the sheet that tried to dissolve the constitutionally elected government of Hugo chavez back in 2002. She supported the insurrections of the Guarimbas, they called them, in Venezuela in 2014 and 2017. She obviously was a backer of the whole Waido thing. Never been a democratic actor. Obviously, you know, her group decided to contest the elections. Most recently, she was banned from running for various reasons, namely kind of her positions as a result of, you know, these kind of antagonisms that she's engaging against, against the government. And I think what we're seeing, we're certainly with like, you know, her being selected the Nobel Peace Prize winner this year is very much about that, about positioning her as the leader. I think there is a certain acknowledgement that if they do conduct an assassination, these kind of strikes against the leadership of Venezuela right now, that it would lead to chaos. And so they're trying to elevate her position and her notoriety Precisely so that she can kind of fill that void if and when something like that does take place. But I think again, I think they're underestimating how much there would be a popular rejection of her assuming the leadership. And of course all of her proposals are unconstitutional. Venezuela also has a very progressive constitution. Of course, if she were to successfully oust the regime and try to install ourselves, I wouldn't be surprised if you would see exactly what she's trying to lay out. She's trying to, you know, talks about a hundred day plan, about all the things that we do. Obviously all of these would likely run into, you know, the very entrenched bureaucracy, the armed forces.

[Brandon Sutton]

Right.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

I don't think she would have an easy go of it. But they want to convince the world that it would be easy. And I think that's part of the logic here. That's the United States. I think certainly Trump is afraid about, of putting boots on the ground. You know, he's tried to sell himself as a peace president, but, but the truth is if they did try to do this, it would likely involve some kind of presence of US armed forces on Venezuelan territory. That's the only way they would be able to control the situation on the ground there, because she wouldn't actually, despite their efforts to be able to kind of consolidate power in her own hands, it would be a very terrible situation for the Venezuelan people.

[Emma Vigiland]

Above all, lastly, what would you say or how would you explain to an American audience that hears, you know, most of what is heard about Nicolas Maduro is he's a dictator, he's undemocratic. Obviously the undemocratic part, there's truth to that. Right. But there's also less truth to it than the undemocratic parts of like what the US wants to impose. That's true anti democracy. Like how would you explain to people Maduro's reign in Venezuela to undercut maybe some of the US talking points on Venezuela?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Venezuela since the election of Hugo Chavez, basically since 99 has been subject to a relentless attack from the United States that has never been comfortable with Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro following him, particularly after the radicalization of the revolution where they did take a firm anti capitalist socialist position and started reorganizing their economy. Of course they suffered a lot economically as a result of the collapse of oil prices at one point in 2008. Financial crisis hit them hard as well. But really, principally a lot of what you see in Venezuela is precisely the result of US interference. The declaration of Venezuela as an unusual and Extraordinary threat, the sanctions against the government, basically the blockade of their oil industry because of the dominance of the US Dollar. Venezuela can't sell its oil in the international market in the way that normally states can. They have to do it through intermediaries and they have to do it at a discount. So a lot of the problems you see on the ground are due precisely as a result of these efforts to oust Maduro, to kind of apply the strategy that they used in the 70s against Allende, to make the economy scream and so that the population would rise up against the government themselves and do the hard work for them of ousting a government that's uncomfortable. And it obviously plays an important role in the region. And so to these other criticisms as well, I would say, first of all, we have to respect the institutions of Venezuela. The institutions of Venezuela made a determination. And I think particularly when you compare that with the opposition which has cried foul in every single election it hasn't won. They are the boy who cried wolf. Why should we believe them now? If you ask me, I refuse to believe the Venezuelan opposition and their claims because they've always cried foul every single time that they have lost. There were two occasions where they won. The institutions of Venezuela recognized their victory. They were able to take their seats. They also won a referendum on a constitutional reform. But of course in those instances, they didn't cry fraud because they did win. And so this is a narrative, this is a narrative aimed at regime change. And of course the situation on the ground in Venezuela has become very quite difficult for low income people. But that too again is the result of all of these efforts to make the economy scream. Exactly. And so I think if we're going to talk about that, I think the, the focus has to be on why have we made this population suffer so much. If you didn't have any of that, you wouldn't be able to have the kind of the ground laid that they have now, accusing them of driving the population into poverty, of engaging in authoritarian tactics. All of that starts with US imperialism in Venezuela.

[Emma Vigiland]

It really is remarkable how the United States has managed to, under this administration, combine two of the greatest international policy failures in the past hundred years. Regime change, wars and the war on drugs. Like melding these two failed strategies into one is, I mean, that's how you can describe this piece of foreign policy, I think. But that's just me. Jose Luis, thank you so much for your time today. I also want to plug you have a podcast on Mexico with Kurt Hackbraith. How do you say that Kurt Hackbarth.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

It's Soveranilla, which is the word in Spanish for sovereignty. And it's an English language weekly podcast covering Mexico and Latin America more broadly. So if you're interested in learning more about what's happening here in Mexico, definitely invite you to check that out as well.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yes, yes, I really want to listen to that. Thanks for reminding me about that, Matt. Also of course with Venezuela Analysis and you can also check out the Venezuela Analysis podcast. Jose Luis Coronado Sea thank you so much for your time today.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Thank you very much.

[Emma Vigiland]

Quick break folks and we will play the pre recorded interview that we have with the PAL Humanity Sisters. We had some disruptions with some wi fi. Obviously they are in the north of Gaza. Part of why we wanted to do this interview was because it's very difficult to get in contact with people in the north of Gaza.

[Brandon Sutton]

I mean to be honest, their connection wasn't much worse in Zoro.

[Emma Vigiland]

Okay, so fair enough. But it was. We will put a link to their to Paimandi down below in terms of providing medical care up in the north of Gaza. There's not UNRWA being defunded has basically left there to be no infrastructure.

[Brandon Sutton]

One of the great crimes of this century.

[Emma Vigiland]

So we'll put a link down below. But here is the interview with with those two sisters. Quick break and we'll be right back. We are back and we are joined now by Dr. Naham Abu Halimah and Dr. Noor Abu Halimah, sisters, co founders of Pal Humanity, a nonprofit organization providing critical medical care and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Welcome doctors to the show.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

We are too happy and too grateful that we are here and the majority rapport. It's our pleasure to talk with Emma and to be here and thank you for your trust and for everything.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Thank you guys for raising Palestinian and Gaza's voice.

[Emma Vigiland]

Oh thank you so much for coming on the show. I know that you are in the north of Gaza right now which is a very, very difficult situation. Your organization has been providing medical care, essential items in the north. Can you describe right now what the situation is like in the north of Gaza?

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

The situation is very bad right now in the northern area especially. It's all devastated, demolished completely. So villages right now are demolished and destructed completely. Like I'm from the northern, like the extremely northern area which is like in Beit Lahia till now we are in the yellow zone. So I can't get back and go back to my home, to my village. It all is under rubble unfortunately is all demolished before war. It was like all greenish, it's all like farmland, strawberry, olive. It all was so nice and pretty good. But unfortunately after the last entry of the Israeli forces, they had hit it very bad and all like it's a bunch of rubber right now. Unfortunately, the streets, you can't know the streets, you can't know the villages. There is no any infrastructure, there is no water. All is sea, which it's not suitable for life anymore, unfortunately. That's why we had decided in our entry here and getting back into the northern area to help and to add the water stations. Because there is no any water stations, there is no any water infrastructure. So people hesitate somehow to get back to the northern area because there is not any water access to many villages right now in northern area. Beside with the medical clinics are too, unfortunately we are in need and shortage for the medical clinics. Like we really in shortage. There is not any medical clinics here in northern area. And if there it will be like too crowded because like the need is too high and there is not any medications. And unfortunately Most of like 95 of the buildings right now in Gaza are completely demolished or like half demolished. That's why when they are getting back, they are living in tents and living in a tent. It's not too healthy at lead like to increase in plenty of diseases, skin diseases, rashes, diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infection and all lead medications. Until now the borders didn't enter like what they are saying, the aid, the trucks, as they had said in the news, it's all a propaganda to me. And it's all like fake news. Nothing is entering like it's been saying. The people need a lot of aid. The people need a lot of companies to work on ground, to help those people on ground. That's why I'm too supporting those who are working on ground. Because like we know our community needs because we are living right now in Gaza. And when you live between the people, you know their needs more than anyone else.

[Emma Vigiland]

And you mentioned the yellow zone. Can you explain that to people a little bit? And why over half of Gaza people cannot return to their homes and how Israel is still controlling that part of Gaza.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Okay, so after the peace of 2025, they had said that, okay, before giving the hostages, Israeli hostages, before this process, we will be like 3.5km of Bayt Lahiya, Bait, Hanoon, Jabali, eastern part of and eastern part of the eastern part of Darul, Balak, Khan, Younis and Drafah also all will be under the IOF unfortunately and thus till now they didn't get back from and get out from this yellow zone. And a lot of news they are saying that they will make it as if the greenish zone and the west bank. And we are like somewhat afraid because like me, my home is a sell in the area of the yellow zone. And they are still bombing and demolishing a lot of buildings and a lot of homes who are standing right now. And they are zone, they are demolishing it and destructing at even and after the genocide and even after the cease fire. So it's all propaganda. Like this home had the sense all the two years and unfortunately after two years, because it's in the yellowish zone, they are destructing it and demolishing it and they are saying no, it's in the yellow zone. So we have to do what to do because like it's under the IOF like control and control. Unfortunately a lot of people like yes, a lot of people till now are in Der El Bala and in the western part of Khan Yunis because, because they are living in those yellow zone like Beit Lahi, Beit Hanon, Jabalia and Shijaya and Zatun area. That's why a lot of people are still like in Der El Balak. They say why to go back to Gaza City and then we have to get this place back into our home. Because it cost a lot unfortunately. And still as I told you, everything is too high. The 10 as you said, like it's in the market cost $400. And if you want to like get back to the home, you need a few like nearly also $400. So it costs a lot to the Palestinian. And the same time the, the infrastructure isn't there. There is no any electricity access, there is no any wi fi access nor water access.

[Emma Vigiland]

We got cut off a little bit there. But could you tell us a little bit more about the work that you do in providing clean water for people in Gaza under these circumstances, including desalination and what some of the donations to pal humanity goes towards in that effort?

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Yes, we try to provide guys voter.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Stations here, especially in the north of Ghana because all the water stations has been destructed by Dio app. And as you know here in the north of Gaza there is no water. There is no suitable or contaminated water to drink it. So people are civilian. Gaza's people, they try to walk a long distance to get some, some liters of water to drink or to wash, to get washed. So a lot of diseases has been distributed on these camps and Tents cause of shortage. So we as fallen humanity decide to make a difference. Stations find here in the north of Gaza to provide for these families who are in need for their life, for their lifestyle, for their basic needs to get washed their way, their food, their themselves, their kids, their children and to use it for themselves for cooking and for drinking.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

I want to tell you Emma, like before getting to another area, we didn't decided or think about like a floater. But unfortunately like a lot of urinary stones and renal stones been demolishing unfortunately to the people even because like they are drinking a salt water and that's like oil make stones to their. In their bodies. And most of the patients need surgeries even until. But because like we have in the hospitals there is like a lot of people who are like Android patients and plenty others. And that's why.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

And also I want to add some things here in Gaza people, they used to live in the shores. So they used to wash their clothes by the sea, the water of the sea. So because of like a lot of alert.

[Emma Vigiland]

Sorry, we're back, we're back.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Go ahead.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Okay, as I said before, as I said a lot of the. A lot of. A lot of families they are living in the shores of the Mediterranean city because of there is. So they. They get washed, they close by the sea so they get a lot of allergies come to the hospital. A lot of cases of scale become distributed between those families. And also as Dr. Naham said, a lot of urinary stones become. We seen have become increased because of polluted water and contaminated water that is.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Not suitable to drink it even like there is no. As I mentioned before, there is no any infrastructure here in Gaza. That's why you know that water is life and you can live without water a day. And like for the babies and children, they can't tolerate living without water, unfortunately. So that's why a lot of people where's water as they live surrounding the water. That's why a lot of people are still in the southern area. So we want to create life in the northern area because like finally we are getting back to the north and that's mean a lot to us. It's our land, it's our village, it's everything to. So that's why we want to like create a life in our nation and our country, in our city, our beautiful city and like start the life to the people and make it easier to them rather than going to far places and to many kilometers far away. We are getting at to you.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Yes, as you know, all the infrastructure has been completely destroyed. So the people and the civilians, people, they travel, try to move a long distance to get a little bit of water liters. So it's not that number. So we try to make a track to reach them and to be near to them.

[Emma Vigiland]

In the north. I know that one of the other initiatives you're working on is a camp for orphan children. Can you speak a little bit more about that project? Project.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Yes. You know that a lot of children got banned, like unfortunately started to be orphans because like their mothers, fathers and the whole families maybe got unfortunately martyred or killed and genocide in Gaza City. So that's why we had like decided like more than 15,000 children are orphans in Gaza. That's why we had decided to, why not help those orphans to, why not help those like only survivors and their families? Because we as a doctors, this make a psychological effect on their psychology. Unfortunately. They feel that they are alone. They feel that they're too afraid. They don't want to see anyone, not to face anyone in the world. But when you got an orphan and you make a camp for all orphans, they feel like, oh, we are all orphans right now. We can stand by each other. I'm not alone. We are like sisterhood. We are brotherhood. Okay, If I lost my sister, I will find a sister in the camp. If I lost my brother, I can't find a brother in the camp. And some like have mothers, but others like have fathers. So like they feel somewhat in a hope and like in something with love and comfort zone.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

They feel that's why.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

We wanted to create that community. I feel like we Gazans need everything. We need like the psychological effect as a doctors, but we feel it also more like not in a doctor session, but even when it will be a community session. Like all are going to go together. So when you are creating that the whole tents are seeing at and also there is a background, there is a ground where they can pay together. They feel that we are all, we are too equal and we can make something to our community and we can help also other orphans so they can be a mother role for even other orphans. And we can make it more and more bigger. And Alhamdulillah it succeeded. But also this camp had a lot of displays because it got welded when there was like many displacement from Beit Hanun and in the northern area of Gaza. That's why also many displacements of like many displaced people from Bait Hanon had left on that camp also. But like it was like too much nice it was like a, a community full of love, comfort and hope. And I never had like dreamed of that. And Alhamdulillah at succeeded like in this.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Camp we try to offer for them all of their basics needs. As you know there is no father or mother for them. So we try to give like their older sister for them to offer for them their medicine, their foods, their clean water and there and it was like there was like a school in the.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Camp so they can play, sing and like making art all together. So you feel somewhat the children don't want to talk. Like if you give him a paper and tell him a joke he will tell you all his mentality and his thoughts on that paper and that works so nice. You can, you can like treat, you can read via art, you can treat him by music. And that's the meaning of like the psychological effect for those children. So when you are making those like in our family we had a massacre unfortunately and that was like in our village in Baitlahia unfortunately and had also lost our my grandmother in the third day of war and they had like a dear friend who was a doctor and unfortunately she got murdered her whole family and they are everybody.

[Emma Vigiland]

We're still trying to maintain our connection. I just wanted to at the very least get to speak to these two wonderful doctors from pal humanity about their work and get the word out there apologies about some of the the cuts but to wrap up with you here, you both what message would you like to send to people watching this about your work and also what gives you hope? You know over two years into this genocide what message do you want to send to people who are watching this right now? And what gives you hope? Hope over two years into this genocide.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

What gives me hope as like the love of people after two years of genocide to me talking about Sufil we Gazans had lost everything but we have gained our humanity that a lot of people and the world had lost it. Like talking about another genocide while you are living in a genocide. This is like a thing that I can't really imagine at but we Gazans had done it even everything. So my message to the world that please keep your humanity, keep your love, keep your attention to everything because we humans must stand together to gain our humanity and to keep going up. Plus we Gazans need the world to talk more about what is happening right now. And you know that what is in the news, it's all a propaganda right now. The cease fire, it's not a ceasefire. We are like sleeping and waking up on bombardments Every day like the quadcopter is like going with us to the work and getting back to us while getting back to the work work. So I want to not lose the hope with Palestinians and to keep talking about Palestinians because we have to keep raising the voice for the Gaza.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

For me, my message to the world is not enough to feel moved and then move on. The people of Gaza is not need only sympathy. They need voices to raise and solidarity. And that turns into action, not just only words share their stories, demand and end this genocide. Because they still said that the genocide is end. But it's not end. Last night it was the ceasefire is not completely stopped. They turn as she said, the quadcopter is returning and they still destroyed and demolished a lot of buildings around the Yellow Zone. And also humanity is not a stance and it's not just a feeling. So please continue raise the Palestinians and the Gazans people voice.

[Emma Vigiland]

Thank you so much. And where can people donate to pal humanity and support your work?

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Okay, so it's our page on Instagram or via Tech Talk. You will find in our bio the Langtree. You can go to our shuffle link and you can donate.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

You can see also our work in Instagram page please if you feel, if.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

You have any comment like you want to donate to any project or a certain project you want just like, like I want to donate with this for this project and blah blah blah dollars and inshallah we can do it and like and approve it via reels and photos and videos and many other.

[Emma Vigiland]

We will put a link and thank you. Go ahead.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Yes.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

I want to tell you like many Gazans and Palestinians are doing kind right now on ground because right now are in the southern area. So as you are in the northern area, we are working on ground. Like right now we are building school and we are building a clinic. In the northern area we are building a school because like, you know, for us as a, like as a people, as a child, the weapon for you is your education and more educated you are, the more powerful you are are and more respected you feel that you are. So to me, I want to tell the world that our children is like any children in the world. They want to laugh, they want to learn and they want to play as anyone. So right now we are having like a building and we are doing a school. We are having also a kindergarten on it and from grade one to grade 10. And it's super nice, it's super woe. It has like a grand and like the people the cats can play can like Draw and can like sing on it.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

And also it will be in a psychological doctor. As you know, there are lots of children, they face a trauma by losing their families or neighborhoods or by hitting the pond.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

So yes, we have. We will be having a psychological doctor in our school because not only if they are lost, anyone, anyone who had two years of genocide with PTSD or plenty other psychological effects, even depression, we all got depressed that this war won't even be ended, unfortunately. So we will be having the psychological doctor to help the students to think.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

More, to know about their lives, to.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Let them get out from that zone. And at the same time, we are building a clinic that's the clinic will help the pregnant women. And they are like finally and they are like a challenge as a pregnant woman in the war. We have a lot of pregnant women and a lot of stories because, like, a lot of pregnant women had lost like their father, their husband, unfortunately. And like they have a baby born and they are like boys and like, think about it, you have an orphan and inside your body and he's not there and his father isn't there. And you had like been talking with your husband a lot of times that you want to get like to have a child and then whereas your husband, he is got. He got martyred, unfortunately. So that's too like heavy and too bad. So we are like standing with them, like giving them the aid and giving them everything they want so we can stand with them and telling them that you are not alone. Having an ultrasound. We're having pharmacy, laboratory and also and like up and coming future days. We're having like, we want to make a department, a laboratory department, an ops and gyna department where they can like make a labor and add. And finally it would be like a complete clinic. Insha'. Allah.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Well.

[Emma Vigiland]

We'Re with you. I want to support your work as much as possible in the audience when they're watching this, I hope that they go and support. Support pal. Humanity if they can. We will put a link down below to all of the fundraising efforts and where people can learn more about your work, the mutual aid work that the two of you are doing. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

Thank you, Emma, for like hosting us and for hosting us. And you are like, that's the majority rapper. We love your trust and we love your audience. Thank you all for hearing us and for keeping with us till the end and for your patience. Patience for our Internet cut off.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Yes.

[Emma Vigiland]

We don't need to be patient with the Internet. We understand the Internet's the least of our concerns here. Thank you so much. Appreciate you both.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

You are welcome.

[Emma Vigiland]

Thank you.

[Brandon Sutton]

Back.

[Emma Vigiland]

We are back. Thank you everybody for listening to that interview. I know there's some technical issues but I thought it was pretty important that we get it out there. And we're getting some really nice IMs. People who donated Noel from San Francisco. These people are angels. A hundred dollars. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Radical leftist hoosier hero Dizzle McPhizzle. Praise God for these wonderful heroines. As socialist Christian, I'm praying for their safety and demanding the US cut off weapons to Israel and for an international peace keeping force to occupy Israel to impose a one secular democratic states with rights for all. May we be Allah's tools in this work. Amen. Agreed. Agreed. And with we'll read some more of those IMs in the fun half. But we do have Brandon Sutton with us now. So wanted to introduce our friend. We have a special clip saved just for you and I'm sure you know what it is but good to see you, Brandon. I have an inkling it's been too long because we had the tort stuff last week so I did we didn't get to have you on but what's been happening on the discourse catch us up.

[Brandon Sutton]

Well, yeah, you know honestly it's, it's never been a better time to catch up with discourse because Candace Owens is back from her sabbatical and so we've been catching up with the hottest got in the, you know, Charlie Kirk situation. I think honestly it's kind of been like a little bit pushed to the side with everything that's been going on with the shutdown and Trump's other various machinations. But she's, she hasn't let up on the beat. Yeah. And I think, sorry, I was just.

Gonna say the horse is absolutely out of the barn when it comes to Charlie Kirk assassination conspiracies. David Griscoman I talked about it on Left Reckoning about Candace Owens basically about Steven Crowder's breathy sort of panic attack because Candace Owens pretty clearly seemed to imply that they meaning I don't know if it's Israel or Trump but kind of implying Trump now killed had Charlie Kirk killed and that's why they gave him a boulevard. And also I don't know if you've seen the Charlie Kirk's chief of staff conspiracy about him supposedly like getting on the phone right after that.

Yeah.

Show like guys who are still in charge of of it did a whole 10 minute video saying how dare anybody? I mean, I think it's. I think he probably. I don't think he was calling saying, the eagle has landed or ever.

Okay, but see, no, just to your point, and it's something we addressed when we went. We were talking about on my stream today, because that was what she was talking about in the video we watched today. What people need to realize is that just like Candace, everyone who surrounded Charlie was a group grifter. And so in some ways, Charlie is going to be their MLK junior in the sense that they're going to weaponize his death in life to suit whatever political or personal agenda that they have at the current moment, just like Republicans do with mlk, just like a lot of people do with mlk. And so, like, it's not suspicious that people who were surrounding Charlie are making up lies about what he believed or what they were up to when it was going on and how close they were, because, of course they are, because they're looking to use it for, like, their own personal. Their own personal development in the sense of, like, pushing their brand. And so, yeah, now Charlie's gone, like, who's gonna be the next king of the Renaissance Fair? And that's. That's just. That's where we at. That's where we're at. So it does create fertile ground for Candace, who's trying to, like, sow doubt over who was involved and, like, whether the traditional narrative is to be believed. Because a lot of people probably are lying, but not for the reason she's implying, but just because they're looking for attention. The same reason she's doing. Doing this, she's also lying right now about this situation. But that speaks to the people that Charlie surrounded himself with because ultimately he would be doing the same thing. So, honestly, this is the. The best way to honor him.

That's the thing is, I was wondering, like, as I heard one of Charlie's friends saying, like, how dare anybody, you know, talk about this and Erica and all these people that way? Well, you guys did a whole show casting aspersions or doing conspiracies about the guy who broke into Pelosi's house and smashed her husband's head with a hammer.

[Emma Vigiland]

Right?

[Brandon Sutton]

Like, you know, this is karma.

Yeah, they love spreading conspiracies. And it's not karma, honestly. It's more just like, this is. This is what they do. This is their bread and butter. If anything, if they were behaving in any other way, it would be weird. And I think that a large portion of their audience and maybe people who are, like, just getting a glimpse into them from the outside for the first time just don't realize that, you know, they're shameless. They're shameless. We know that they're shameless. We know that they're shameless grifters, and this is how they behave.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yeah. Well said. Okay, I guess we'll head into the fun half then. We don't have Matt Bender yet, but check out the leftist mafia. Check out his newsletter, his channel, for his latest streams and such. See you in the fun half. Okay.

[Sam Cedar]

Emma, please.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Well, I just.

[Emma Vigiland]

I feel that my voice is sore. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Matt, what's happening on Left Reckoning? My bad.

[Brandon Sutton]

I didn't even realize why you cut back.

[Emma Vigiland]

No, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. We can cut that part out, right?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Breaking news.

[Emma Vigiland]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Brandon Sutton]

We cut back out of the amethyst intro. Fun half. Yeah. Patreon.com LeftReckoning Got a great show. And actually, there's going to be, frankly, some format changes coming up very soon on Left Reckoning and some big announcements. So you want to get in on, I guess, the floor before the renovations start? I don't know how this Metaphor works, but.

[Emma Vigiland]

Patreon.com leftrecom all right, now, Sorry for the tease. See you in the fun app. Okay.

[Brandon Sutton]

Emma, please.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Well, I just.

[Emma Vigiland]

I feel that my voice is sorely lacking on the Majority report. Wait, whoa.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Look, Sam is unpopular.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

I do deserve a vacation at Disney World, so. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome Emma to the show.

[Dr. Naham Abu Halimah]

It is Thursday.

[Brandon Sutton]

I think you need to take a bit for Sam.

[Emma Vigiland]

Yes, please. No, no, no. I'm gonna.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

I'm gonna pause you right there.

[Emma Vigiland]

Wait, what?

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

You can't encourage Emma to live like this. And I'll tell you why. She was offered a tour, sushi and poker with the boys. Tour, sushi and poker with boys. Who was offered a tour? Yeah, Sushi and poker with boys.

[Emma Vigiland]

What?

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Tour, sushi and poker.

[Emma Vigiland]

Tim's upset.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Twerk, sushi and poker with pooper boys was offered with twerk sushi and that's what we call biz. Twerk, sushi and poker with two boys.

[Emma Vigiland]

Right.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Twerk, sushi and poker.

[Emma Vigiland]

We're gonna get demonetized.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

I just think that what you did to Tim Pool was mean.

[Emma Vigiland]

Free speech age.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

That's not what we're about here. Look at how sad he's become now. You shouldn't even talk about it. I think you're responsible.

[Emma Vigiland]

I probably am. In a certain way. But let's get to the meltdown here.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Sushi and poker with the boys.

[Caller/Listener 1]

Oh, my God.

[Sam Cedar]

Wow.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Sushi.

[Emma Vigiland]

I'm sorry.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

I'm losing my mind.

[Emma Vigiland]

Someone.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Sushi and poker with the boys. Logic tour. Sushi and poker with the boys. I'm like a little kid. Think I'm like a little kid. Think I'm like a kid. I think I'm like a little kid. Think I'm like a little kid. Had this debate 7,000 times. A little kid. Think I'm like a little kid Little kid Think I'm like a dick.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

My.

[Emma Vigiland]

Some people just don't understand.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

So I'm not trying to be a dim right now, but like, I absolutely think the us should be combining me with a wife and kids.

[Emma Vigiland]

That's not what we're talking about here. All right?

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

It's not a fun job.

[Emma Vigiland]

Twerk.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

That's a real thing. That's a real thing. Real thing. Willie Walker. That's a real thing. That's a real thing. That's a real thing. That's real thing. Real thing. That's a real thing. That's real thing. Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Rogan has done it again. That's a real thing.

[Brandon Sutton]

I think he might be blowing it out of proportion.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Real thing that's offered. That's a real thing.

[Caller/Listener 1]

Thing.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Let's go, Joey. Sushi and poker. Take it easy. Sushi and poker. Things have really gotten out of hand. Sushi and poker Boy. Delusional sushi. You don't have a clue as to what's going on live YouTube.

[Emma Vigiland]

Sam has like the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sam doesn't want to do this show anymore.

[Dr. Noor Abu Halimah]

Anymore.

[Emma Vigiland]

It was so much easier when the majority going to report was just you.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Let's change the subject through Rangers and.

[Emma Vigiland]

Knicks are doing great now.

[Brandon Sutton]

Shut up.

[Emma Vigiland]

Don't want people saying reckless things on your program.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

That's one of the most difficult parts about this show.

[Emma Vigiland]

This is a pro killing podcast.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

I'm thinking maybe it's time we bury.

[Emma Vigiland]

The hatchet Left his best trump. Violet twerk.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Don't be foolish and don't tweet at me.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

And don't the way Emma has all.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Of his people love it.

[Emma Vigiland]

That's where my artist so I wrote my honors thesis about it.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

She wrote an honest thesis.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

I guess I should hand the main mic to you now.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

You are to the right of the unformed policy.

[Emma Vigiland]

We already found Israel. Dude. Are you against us?

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

That's a tougher question.

[Emma Vigiland]

I have an answer to.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

God. Incredible.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Theme song.

[Emma Vigiland]

Hi, bumbler.

[Unidentified Male Host/Guest]

Emma Viand.

[Jose Luis Granado Sea]

Absolutely one of my favorite, favorite people, actually. Not just in the game, like, period.