Today’s guest is Dr. Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. She is an expert in rehabilitation and repatriation of terrorists and their families, and has consulted with foreign governments on issues of terrorist prevention, interventions and repatriation; and the rehabilitation and reintegration of ISIS foreign fighters, wives and children. Her latest book, Homegrown Hate: Inside the Minds of Domestic Violent Extremists, examines the deepening threat of domestic violent extremism in the U.S. through more than 50 in-depth interviews with current and former members of a wide range of domestic hate groups.
In this episode, we discuss the psychological and psychosocial dimensions of violent extremism, what attracts people to these ideologies, how terrorists and violent extremists have been able to utilize social media to draw people into their ideologies, and what can be done to try to prevent people from falling into these extremist ideologies.
Listen now; link in bio.
Global violence today is metastasizing, not contained; over 180,000 violent events are reported globally, signaling a world in which conflict has become a baseline condition rather than an exception. Yet the UN system and democracies appear increasingly paralyzed—trapped in vetoes, geopolitical rivalries, and hollow declarations—offering gestures of concern instead of enforcing accountability, which is desperately needed.
I recently spoke with Dimitris Eleas, a political scientist, writer, and independent researcher, on my podcast, discussing the human impact of global wars and violence. As Dimitris poignantly observes, the poor, the children, and women are those who suffer the most.
Listen to this and more in my latest podcast episode; link in bio.
Human rights groups warn that deporting people to countries experiencing armed conflict violates international law and fundamental humanitarian protections. As the war in Ukraine continues, governments should prioritize human dignity and civilian protection instead of facilitating removals that could place vulnerable people directly in danger.
The next episode of my podcast is this upcoming Tuesday, June 16, at 10:00am EDT with Ambassador Patrick Theros, former US Ambassador to the State of Qatar, and previously Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Political Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of Central Command (CENTCOM). He is currently a Strategic Advisor and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Gulf International Forum.
Listeners can register for the live podcast recording on Zoom at the following link: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1917767007151/WN_18wzKEleSWag0P11HrMWWA
Archived episodes will be released the following day, on Wednesdays at noon. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, including Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify, to be sure to always get the latest episodes.
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Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir, featuring Ambassador Patrick Theros. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Trump’s approach to Iran is not just misguided—it is dangerously delusional. Bombing Iranian military facilities, including water and civilian infrastructure, to “speed up” negotiations betray a profound ignorance of Iran’s strategic culture and national psyche. His defense secretary’s claim that “we negotiate with bombs” reduces diplomacy to coercion tantamount to demanding surrender—something Iran, with its 2,500-year history and fierce sense of sovereignty, will never accept. This reckless posture guarantees escalation, not compliance. Iran will respond to force with force, as it has repeatedly demonstrated. Serious negotiations with Tehran require patience, credibility, and respect for mutual interests; the original nuclear deal took years, not months. Trump’s impulsive timeline and coercive tactics are not just unrealistic—they are a formula for prolonged conflict. The priority must be to sustain the ceasefire and pursue steady, disciplined diplomacy.
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Iran's nuke program gone bye bye
Of course, terrorism supporters like you want Iran to have nuclear weapons. You were disappointed that only a couple thousand died on 9/11. You want millions of deaths.
He “negotiates” with Iran the same way he “negotiated” with women sitting beside him on airplanes.
No words are strong enough to condemn the extent to which the Department of Justice has been co-opted under Trump. Reports that his administration secured protections shielding him, his family, and his business interests from IRS scrutiny are not merely improper—they are an affront to the rule of law. No individual, let alone a sitting president, is entitled to exemption from lawful investigation. Such arrangements represent a dangerous abuse of power, placing Trump above the very laws he is sworn to uphold. This is not governance; it is systemic corruption carried out in plain sight. What makes this moment especially alarming is its normalization. If institutions like the Justice Department and IRS can be bent to serve personal and political ends, the foundation of democratic accountability is at risk. Public outrage is not optional—it is essential to preserving the integrity of the law.
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My earlier Facebook post was widely criticized because many wrongly assumed I oppose lawful gun ownership. I do not. I support the rights of responsible, law-abiding citizens to own a firearm guaranteed by the First Amendment. But I also believe we must reduce the nearly 50,000 American lives lost each year to gun violence. Commonsense measures—universal background checks, safe storage laws, red flag provisions, waiting periods, closing loopholes, and limits on weapons designed for mass killing—can prevent mass shootings and make firearms less accessible to those who pose a risk, without confiscation. This is not about partisanship; it is about responsibility. Behind every statistic is a shattered family—a parent burying a child, a spouse facing irreversible loss, communities living in quiet fear. Preventing avoidable deaths is a shared moral duty.
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Well for starters, take suicide off the stat sheet for violence. That should drop it down to 15-20k per anum. Next drop accidents and lawful uses of force off that stat sheet, should be down to around 5-10k per anum now. Would you look at that, I just cut gun violence down by 85-90% just by being honest about the difference between acts of violence and tragedies.
So tell me what infringe means!
Permit to purchase laws have saved lives without denying anyone a gun. Connecticut gun deaths dropped 40% after they started requiring a permit to purchase a handgun according to a Johns Hopkins study. 11 states have such laws so they must be constitutional.
When someone says “I support the second amendment, but…”, they don’t support the second amendment
If you support the second amendment “but…”, you don’t support it
The small print in the post says FIRST AMENDMENT. 😵💫 Dude, do you proof-read?
Yeah, it's the 2A not the 1A. Yeah, it's obvious where you stand on this position.
How many of these 50000 were law abiding citizens and how many were criminals killed in the act of committing a crime How many were criminals killing criminals. If you defend yourself or someone else with a firearm and kill an armed criminal who is 18 years old the anti gunners look at it as a bonus for their statistics, it will be classified as gun violence, a citizen was killed but the biggest bonus was it was a child that was killed. Doesn't matter if you save your life or someone else's.
Yes. This month is "National Gun-Violence Awareness month." Be aware of "gun-violence" all day today. Be aware that the reason they use the term "gun-violence" is so they can avoid discussing the PEOPLE who are actually responsible for the violence. Also be aware that the ENTIRE gun-control legislative agenda REQUIRES GUN VIOLENCE to implement and enforce. Remember folks, the people selling guns (of any description), buying guns (of any description), making guns (of any description), and carrying the guns (of any description) they sell, buy, and make are all exercising a specifically enumerated and constitutionally protected right. Anti-rights politicians--and the anti-rights voters who empower them--would have you shot dead JUST for exercising and protecting your rights. Gun control WORKS everywhere its implemented... it works EXACTLY as the authors of such "common sense" measures intend. I submit Columbine, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Pulse Night Club, Luby's Cafeteria, Parkland, the Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, San Ysidro, Thousand Oaks, Virginia Tech, Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School, the El Paso WalMart, Dayton OH, the Tops Market in Buffalo NY, Uvalde TX, the Covenant Elementary School, Lewiston ME, etc. as EVIDENCE. The TARGETS of those atrocities were obeying the "common sense" gun laws governing the possession of guns at those venues. They were complying with the "reasonable" measures they were told were necessary for their own safety. These consequences of gun-control legislation are PREDICTABLE; and HAVE BEEN predicted by the opponents of such legislation every time they're brought up. I contend it is then FAIR TO CONCLUDE that those consequences are the ACTUAL OBJECTIVE of the measures demanded, advanced, and enacted by gun-control advocates and the politicians they enable. NOBODY--including those who draft gun-control legislation or those who support such legislation--REALLY believes that any level of gun prohibition/control will prevent the criminally violent from obtaining the means to their mayhem. Gun-control politicians and mass murderers share a common desire: THEY want to be the ones who decide if you (or your children) are going to be a survivor or a victim of their violence. Gun control legislation is meant ONLY for disarming the targets of the criminally violent. There is only ONE motive in the desire to disarm the targets of criminal violence. There is only one kind of person who desires to see the targets of criminal violence defenseless. These people, who seek to disarm the TARGETS of criminal violence, and who desire to see them defenseless--these VIOLENT degenerates are the problem. They are the ENTIRE problem, and they are making their violent intentions CLEAR. Don't be one of them. And don't vote for them either. Because there is NO reason to believe that anti-rights politicians--and the anti-rights voters who empower them--will limit their anti-rights agenda to the 2nd Amendment. Also, they are criminals: 18 U.S. Code § 241 - Conspiracy against rights 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law Arrest them, prosecute them, convict them, and put them in jail.
I found the issue
Why blame a tool for the actions or a person? Work on the real problems … Violence and mental health.
Guns aren’t violent. People are violent. There needs to be stricter sentencing statues for violent crimes to deter such activity. There, problem solved.
Here's a thought, why dont we actually start severely punishing people who break existing laws instead of making excuses for them. More laws won't solve the problem.
Common sense is going after criminals who don’t obey laws, not making it harder for law abiding citizens to defend themselves. Why do you favor criminals over law abiding citizens?
🐂💩
deaths from cars and deaths from guns are pretty close, but neither one of them reaches 50,000 a year. 🤷♂️ I guess you can f*** right off. also, as I mentioned on another post of yours, everytown acknowledges 70,000 defensive gun uses a year. That's a super low number compared to reality. regardless, many of those uses undoubtedly protected two or more people. some of them protected tens of people. 🤷♂️ No response to that?
You oppose gun ownership outside of government control. Which type of ownership the 2nd amendment protects. You therefore oppose people excersising rights you cannot control. And once you have the 2nd, your ilk will come for the 1st, the 4th, the 5th, and the rest of them.
All gun laws are an infringement. A Right delayed is a Right denied. 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙🦅
More than half of those are suicides, you're boy stopping those
Pass a law making criminals wait 5 days before they steal a gun
