US prosecutors yesterday flew to the Ecuadorian embassy in London and grabbed the personal belongings of political asylee Julian Assange, co-founder of Wikileaks, while Ecuador provided quasi-legal cover for the extraordinary violation of his human rights.

Before being arrested a month ago by the UK in the Ecuadorian embassy, Assange was detained in the embassy for nearly seven years, 19 June 2012 to 11 April 2019, where he had received political asylum, and where the United Nations found him to be arbitrarily detained by the UK for refusing to honor his refugee status to permit him to travel freely on to his host country. A change in Ecuadorian leadership prompted the reversal of the government from granting him asylum to violating his asylum status under pressure from the United States.

So in a recent theater review I revealed my guilty pleasure: Reading tell-all tomes about geniuses’ private lives. Herein I shall divulge my biggest recurring mistake as a reviewer. Because of my dread of plot spoilers (as all my loyal readers are well aware of) when I receive an invitation from a publicist to attend a show and see in it something, such as the topic or talent involved, that convinces me to critique it, I immediately stop reading said invite and RSVP. Usually, this preserves the cherished element of surprise (that too many publicists, as well as critics, ruin by giving away too much) and those plots remain unspoiled for me when it’s show time.

However, this perilous practice backfires on your humble scribbler about 10% of the time, when - due to this desire of avoiding plot spoilers I don’t complete perusing those press releases, et al - and later realize (after it’s too late), that had I finished reading those invites I probably would not have fought the L.A. traffic and made the trip all the way into urban hell to see a production I actually had no interest in, after all. Woe is moi!

“Over these last few years, given the wars it has waged and the international treaties it has arbitrarily reneged on, the U.S. government perfectly fits its own definition of a rogue state.” — Arundhati Roy

The 2008 crisis of capitalism sparked and regenerated interest in alternatives to the capitalist system, which was on the verge of collapsing. This included revived interest in socialism, with one of the results being the propelling of an obscure leftwing academic into history’s headlights. With appearances on TV shows including Bill Moyers’ and Charlie Rose’s programs, “Economic Update” (heard in L.A. on KPFK) radio broadcasts and packed live speaking engagements, the financial disaster made Prof. Richard Wolff ready for his close up. “I’ve got to pinch myself; I’m having the time of my life,” a surprised Wolff said about suddenly being thrust into prime time.

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s new governor, should be really proud of himself. He recently recalled that when he ran for governor “…[he] promised to be the most pro-Israel governor in America and that the first delegation [he] would lead would be to the state of Israel.” When he confirmed that he would be taking his entire cabinet with him as part of a 75-person delegation scheduled to leave for Israel on May 25th, he boasted that “Today I’m pleased to report that I’m keeping that promise. Our delegation will bring business, academic and political leaders to help strengthen the bond between Florida and Israel.” DeSantis has promised to hold a meeting of his Cabinet in the American Embassy in Jerusalem during his visit, the first time that such a meeting has ever been held by a state government on foreign soil. During the meeting he will ostentatiously sign a legislative bill “combating anti-Semitism.”