“Move to Amend” with David Cobb
This week, Eric sits down with David Cobb to discuss the nature of corporations and their immense power over our lives. Eric and David examine the symbiotic relationship between corporations and imperialism, with particular attention to key historical examples. The conversation touches upon some of the most insidious examples of corporate power in the world today, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Monsanto and big Agribusiness, etc. Additionally, David discusses the Move to Amend coalition which is leading a grassroots movement to amend the Constitution to limit the power of corporations. They analyze ways in which this issue is trans-partisan, uniting like-minded people from across the political spectrum behind the causes of freedom, sovereignty and human rights.
David Cobb is an activist and organizer. He is one of the founders of Move to Amend as well as a former presidential candidate from the Green Party. Visit the organization’s website at movetoamend.org
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here (Subscribers Only):
This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.
“Land, Food and the Fight for Justice” with Raj Patel
This week, Eric sits down with world renowned author and activist Raj Patel to discuss a number of important issues affecting all of us. Raj provides his insights and analysis on the growing global conflict between powerful multinational corporations and small farmers. Raj explains how this fundamental conflict is part of the larger issue of the globalization of food production. However, Eric and Raj broaden the conversation to discuss the role of land and water grabbing, commodity speculation and big Agribusiness in shaping this conflict. During their discussion, they also pay specific attention to the issue of class and the way in which, at its root, this is an extension of class conflict. While corporations and George Soros and his fellow financiers continue to buy up land and dominate resources, there is a growing resistance movement. May we all be part of that resistance…
Raj Patel is the bestselling author of The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy and Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power, and the Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System. He is an activist and educator, currently serving as a visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies at the University of California Berkeley. Visit his website rajpatel.org.
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here (Subscribers Only):
This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.
“Unmasking Empire” with Glen Ford
This week Eric sits down with journalist and commentator Glen Ford to discuss a number of key political and geopolitical issues. Eric and Glen examine the ongoing political theater surrounding the Benghazi attacks, providing their analysis of the real story that is being suppressed. They also provide their analysis of US imperialism in Africa, using Libya as a starting point, expanding the discussion to include other parts of the continent. Additionally, Glen presents his perspective on the continuing imperialist aggression against Syria and the possible motivations for the US. In the second part of the interview, Eric and Glen shift to focus on domestic issues, with particular attention to Obama’s complete disregard and contempt for the Black community. Glen explains how the first black president has effectively criminalized black liberation ideology and used the power of the police state and corporate media machine to suppress dissent. All this and much more…
Glen Ford is the Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report. He has spent more than 40 years as a journalist and activist, documenting and speaking out against racism, injustice, and imperialism. He is the host of Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network and the newly created Black Agenda TV. Find all his work at BlackAgendaReport.com.
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here (Subscribers Only):
This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.
“Gitmo, Syria, and Beyond” with Eugene Puryear
This week, Eric sits down with activist and organizer Eugene Puryear to discuss a number of important issues. First, Eric and Eugene discuss the ongoing hunger strike at the Guantanamo concentration camp and the continued use of torture by the US authorities. Eugene also informs listeners about the demonstration he has helped organize in Washington for May 18th demanding the closure of Guantanamo and the end of systematic torture. Eric and Eugene also discuss the US-sponsored destabilization of Venezuela and the nature of the imperialist ruling class in the United States. In addition, they examine the current situation in Syria and the role of the United States in perpetuating this conflict for geopolitical reasons.
Eugene Puryear is an activist and organizer with the ANSWER Coalition. He was the Vice Presidential candidate from the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) in 2008. Eugene has helped organize demonstrations against the Israeli blockade of Gaza, the use of torture by the United States, and countless other important political and social causes. He is based in Washington DC.
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here (Subscribers Only):
This Podcast is available to BFP subscription members only. If you are a member, log in to listen. If you are not a member, you can subscribe by clicking on ‘Subscribe' below.
“Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil” with Stephen Lendman
This week, Eric sits down with journalist and blogger Stephen Lendman to discuss some of the most pressing political and economic issues of the first part of 2013. Eric and Stephen provide their analysis of the legacy of Hugo Chavez and the elections in Venezuela which, at the time of the interview, had not yet taken place. They also examine the use of anti-Semitism as a weapon to marginalize critics of Western imperialism like Hugo Chavez. In addition, Eric and Stephen examine the global economic situation in terms of austerity and the role of the IMF in legitimizing and perpetuating the power of Western finance capital. They also critique the so-called “alternative” media for their unabashed servitude to corporate power and the imperial system. All of this and much more!
Stephen Lendman, BFP contributing author & analyst, was born in 1934 in Boston, MA. He received a Harvard BA in 1956 and a Wharton MBA in 1960. Since 2005, Mr. Lendman has been writing on vital world and national topics, including war and peace, American imperialism, corporate dominance, political persecutions, and a range of other social, economic and political issues. He hosts The Progressive Radio News Hour on The Progressive Radio Network. Visit Mr. Lendman’s blog site here. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here:
“Demanding Peace & Rejecting Propaganda” with Cindy Sheehan
This week, Eric sits down with peace activist and author Cindy Sheehan. Eric and Cindy discuss the legacy of Hugo Chavez and the future of Venezuela. In addition, Cindy recounts her interactions and friendship with Hugo Chavez, talking about Chavez the leader and Chavez the man. Eric and Cindy examine the many accomplishments of the Bolivarian Revolution, both in terms of the anti-imperialist foreign policy and domestic policy of poverty reduction. Also, Eric and Cindy have a detailed conversation about the controlled “alternative” media and the way in which it serves finance capital and entrenched power. Beyond Venezuela though, Eric and Cindy discuss the current situation in Syria and the way in which it is depicted in the media as well as a number of other issues.
Cindy Sheehan is a world renowned peace activist and author of Revolution, A Love Story and Peace Mom. She hosts her own show Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox which can be found on her website cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com. Follow Cindy as she rides her bicycle across the US demanding peace and an end to the empire.
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here:
Ryan Dawson Presents Marc Guttman
Marc Guttman, the editor of Why Peace, joins us today to discuss a wide variety of political issues contained in his book-Why Peace. From the Drug war in Columbia to the Cold War in Asia and all things in between, hear a compilation of first-hand accounts contained in Why Peace. This is an extraordinarily valuable resource for those of you concerned with social justice who have the time, energy, and desire to become more proactive. The real pain and suffering of war does not see its share of attention. The real causes of war are masked in political jingoism that is so thick, that in the buildup to war citizens opposed to it do so with fear that they could be subjected to violence themselves. We must get off this cycle of habitual mass murder and theft. Why-Peace edited by Marc Guttman is 608 pages of knowledge to dissolve war propaganda and hits on a deep emotional level the utter absurdity and ruthlessness of modern warfare.
Listen to the podcast show here:
This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVD .
“Rejecting Compromise, Committing to Action” Presenting David Swanson
This week Eric has the pleasure of having an in-depth conversation with blogger, author, and activist David Swanson. David and Eric discuss the mythology of the fiscal cliff and the propaganda and lies of both major parties. Additionally, they examine the delusions and self-deception of many Americans who, consciously or unconsciously, legitimize and perpetuate the status quo. Eric and David also critique American militarism and imperialism, particularly those who remain willfully ignorant as to what our “elected” leaders are doing in our name. One of the major themes of the conversation is how to organize resistance to all these forces; how to become leaders of a real movement for change that can exist outside the dominant two-party paradigm.
Listen to the preview Here
Listen to the Podcast here:
State Sponsored Terrorism when the State is of the People
“A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn’t have an Air Force” - William Blum
In our nation of ‘national security’, where everything is re-defined and justified by the notion of ‘fighting terrorism’, it would be only appropriate to revisit and examine the term ‘terrorism,’ and then go a few steps further and look into its implications.
Almost everyone thinks that they know what ‘terrorism’ is or what constitutes terrorism. There are hundreds of definitions for terrorism varied by cultural, sub-cultural, national, linguistic, political, historical, and numerous other interpretations, perceptions, factors and circumstances. I am going to use the general definition of terrorism under U.S. Law: Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents.
There is another type of ‘terrorism’ with a slightly different definition which was not commonly used until recently, when our nation’s status changed to a ‘national security’ state: State Sponsored Terrorism. In general state sponsored terrorism refers to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to widespread acts of violence by a state against its own people. In February 2011 I wrote a commentary on the Supreme Court decision which upheld the broad application of a federal law making it a crime to provide “material support” to designated “foreign terrorist organizations” (FTOs), and I wrote: Read more
On Doing Something to Stop This Current & Ongoing Rape
A few weeks ago I called up an independent journalist friend and asked whether she would like to write articles on topics of mutual interest at Boiling Frogs Post. She said she had been swamped with several projects, including a book in progress, all involving George W. Bush’s wrongdoings and dirty operations dragging us into the war with Iraq. I asked, ‘What about the same categories of deeds going on right now? You know, Libya, and now being dragged to Yemen, Somalia … and let’s not forget the daily drone-bombing of Pakistan …’ She responded, ‘I know. It’s just that I can’t stand Bush getting away with everything. Don’t we all want some accountability from Bush and his men?’ I guess, she didn’t really answer my question.
Last weekend at the farmers Market I bumped in to an author, activist and a fairly popular blog-ist friend. I asked what he had been up to lately, and he said he was working with a group on bringing more pressure on Bush-Rumsfeld-Cheney from the international community, and possibly getting them banned from entering certain countries. I asked him about his plans for our current president, his undeclared wars and black operations, and his still-in-the-making trail of civilian casualties-the babies and grandmothers and all…He sincerely answered my question without any hesitation, ‘Oh, no plans for that yet. Not yet… Maybe after we are done with Bush… Obama certainly deserves being banned, but right now we are busy with our current project targeting Bush and his evil entourage.’
It seems like every time I look around I see these activists/writers/blog-ists who are extremely busy with chasing that long-gone evil president, or maybe his ghost. The guy had eight years in the White House when he was engaged in planning and executing orders for atrocious practices, and neither Congress nor the media lifted a finger to do anything about it. Even though they could; in theory, that is. Despite all our activism and whistleblowing the man came out of it without a scratch; really.
Look, I am not saying the pursuit of George W. Bush is totally futile and a waste of time. I certainly don’t disagree with those who believe the previous administration should be held accountable. After all, what do people think when they hear the name Sibel Edmonds? The FBI linguist who was retaliated against and fired by Bush’s FBI, silenced and gagged by Bush’s Justice Department, and basically, slammed and quashed and attacked nonstop by the Bush Administration (while the US Congress and the media watched detachedly without a blink). So, no, I have justifiably more reasons than many to despise the Bush Administration and seek accountability and justice. Read more
