/leftypol/ - Leftist Politically Incorrect

Video contradicts Trump’s claim man killed in Minneapolis was a ‘gunman’
Video recorded by another witness, who was standing behind Pretti, obtained by Drop Site News, showed that Pretti continued recording the immigration enforcement operation on his phone, as other observers blew their whistles and honked their horns, and appeared to direct traffic so that cars could pass the scene. The same clip showed that Pretti then stepped in to defend another observer who was shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer sprayed Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with two other agents.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/24/minneapolis-shooting-ice

Immigrant families protest at Texas facility housing 5-year-old boy, father detained in Minnesota
Dozens of immigrant families protested Saturday behind the fences of a Texas detention facility where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent this week after being detained in Minnesota. Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed children and parents at the South Texas Family Residential Center clad in jackets and sweaters, some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”
https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-detention-7fa98244c1b0245deb4462e9dc25292f

Charity director stole $23M in homeless funds to support luxurious lifestyle, DOJ alleges
A Westwood man was charged on Friday for fraudulently obtaining $23 million in homeless funds and spending the money meant for his charity to support his lavish lifestyle, which included the purchase of a vacation property in Greece and shopping sprees at Chanel and Hermes, federal and Los Angeles authorities jointly announced Friday. Alexander Soofer, 42, was expected to appear in federal court Friday as he faced the charges of wire fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/los-angeles-homeless-fraud-department-of-justice-abundant-blessings/3835498/

FEMA extends housing aid for Maui wildfire survivors until 2027
Nearly 1,000 households displaced by fire were anxiously awaiting word on whether federal assistance helping them stay housed will be left to expire, forcing them to find new housing or pay more for it in one of the tightest and most expensive rental environments in the country.
https://apnews.com/article/lahaina-wildfire-fema-housing-450c926654b7744c49d3baccece5002c

Judges reject DoorDash, Uber, Instacart bids to block New York City tipping laws
Separately, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan rejected Instacart's argument that New York's state legislature forbade the city from mandating the tipping option, and from requiring grocery delivery apps such as Instacart to offer delivery workers the same minimum pay available to restaurant delivery workers.
https://www.reuters.com/world/judge-rejects-doordash-uber-bid-block-new-york-city-tipping-laws-2026-01-23/

Imperialism 101 by Michael Parenti Excerpted from Against Empire
Imperialism has been the most powerful force in world history over the last four or five centuries, carving up whole continents while oppressing indigenous peoples and obliterating entire civilizations. Yet, it is seldom accorded any serious attention by our academics, media commentators, and political leaders. When not ignored outright, the subject of imperialism has been sanitized, so that empires become “commonwealths,” and colonies become “territories” or “dominions” (or, as in the case of Puerto Rico, “commonwealths” too). Imperialist military interventions become matters of “national defense,” “national security,” and maintaining “stability” in one or another region. In this book I want to look at imperialism for what it really is.
https://www.michael-parenti.org/article-class-warfare-indeed

Dem-Backed ICE Body Cams Are a Giveaway to Weapons Makers
Amid President Donald Trump’s violent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, industry-backed Democrats just helped congressional Republicans turn proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms into a $20 million windfall for the body camera industry. Federal disclosures reviewed by the Lever show that Axon Enterprise, Inc., a weapons company and the country’s largest manufacturer of body-worn cameras, has lobbied aggressively since July on the $64 billion Department of Homeland Security spending bill that lawmakers passed on Thursday. The company’s CEO, a regular campaign contributor to Republicans, also donated directly to key Democratic lawmakers who pushed for the body camera measures. Now, the company is well-positioned to reap the benefits of the $20 million allocated by the legislation for body cameras as part of ICE’s extended $10 billion budget, on top of the $75 billion in additional funding the agency received from the One Big Beautiful bill last year. Axon has faced lawsuits for monopolizing the police body camera market and raising prices on local government contracts. Its profits have soared despite recent studies casting doubt on body cameras’ ability to curb law enforcement misconduct. The homeland security spending bill has faced public opposition as unrest grows nationwide over ICE’s tactics. But instead of organizing against the bill, Democratic negotiators have highlighted the body camera provision as a central way that the legislation — despite granting ICE billions of dollars — provides new oversight to the agency.
https://jacobin.com/2026/01/democrats-ice-reform-body-cameras

Ten Days that Shook the World by John Reed Chapter II The Coming Storm
IN September General Kornilov marched on Petrograd to make himself military dictator of Russia. Behind him was suddenly revealed the mailed fist of the bourgeoisie, boldly attempting to crush the Revolution. Some of the Socialist Ministers were implicated; even Kerensky was under suspicion.[1] Savinkov, summoned to explain to the Central Committee of his party, the Socialist Revolutionaries, refused and was expelled. Kornilov was arrested by the Soldiers’ Committees. Generals were dismissed, Ministers suspended from their functions, and the Cabinet fell. Kerensky tried to form a new Government, including the Cadets, party of the bourgeoisie. His party, the Socialist Revolutionaries, ordered him to exclude the Cadets. Kerensky declined to obey, and threatened to resign from the Cabinet if the Socialists insisted. However, popular feeling ran so high that for the moment he did not dare oppose it, and a temporary Directorate of Five of the old Ministers, with Kerensky at the head, assumed the power until the question should be settled. The Kornilov affair drew together all the Socialist groups—“moderates” as well as revolutionists—in a passionate impulse of self-defence. There must be no more Kornilovs. A new Government must be created, responsible to the elements supporting the Revolution. So the Tsay-ee-kah invited the popular organisations to send delegates to a Democratic Conference, which should meet at Petrograd in September. In the Tsay-ee-kah three factions immediately appeared. The Bolsheviki demanded that the All-Russian Congress of Soviets be summoned, and that they take over the power. The “centre” Socialist Revolutionaries, led by Tchernov, joined with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, led by Kamkov and Spiridonova, the Mensheviki Internationalists under Martov, and the “centre” Mensheviki,[1] represented by Bogdanov and Skobeliev, in demanding a purely Socialist Government. Tseretelli, Dan and Lieber, at the head of the right wing Mensheviki, and the right Socialist Revolutionaries under Avksentiev and Gotz, insisted that the propertied classes must be represented in the new Government. Almost immediately the Bolsheviki won a majority in the Petrograd Soviet, and the Soviets of Moscow, Kiev, Odessa and other cities followed suit.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/reed/1919/10days/10days/ch2.htm