“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.

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Have you heard the latest on Obama’s Justice Department secretly subpoenaing the telephone records of AP editors and journalists, and tracking their ingoing and outgoing calls?

All Right.

Have you been paying attention to ‘another latest’ on Obama’s IRS deliberately targeting conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 election? Did you know that the same IRS office under Obama released nine pending confidential applications of conservative groups to ProPublica late last year?

Okay.

Did you know that Obama and his administration have engaged in more government secrecy than even the Bush Administration?

Good.

Are you aware that Obama has persecuted and prosecuted more whistleblowers than all US presidents combined, and that he’s considered the worst president in the history of the US when it comes to whistleblowers and truth-tellers?

Great.

I am sure you would also agree on Obama securing his status as one of the most anti-liberties presidents in the history of this nation-Hint: NDAA

Fantastic!

Now I know the majority of Americans know, even those following establishment-mouthpiece media, all these facts. However, what this same majority doesn’t know is that it takes a village of sustainers, collaborators, obscurers and bottom-feeding foot soldiers to bring about, sustain, and shield an imperial presidency such as Obama’s. Let me give you a highly illustrative example extensively reported by Boiling Frogs Post two years ago: Read more È

“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.

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“In Defense of Teachers� with Nick Penkovsky

This week Eric sits down with attorney Nick Penkovsky who has represented a number of New York City public school teachers. Eric and Nick discuss the political and legal attacks on teachers as they are deprived of due process and other Constitutional rights. Nick explains the recent history of this phenomenon and describes the way in which the whole hearing process is essentially fraudulent. Additionally, Eric and Nick examine various examples in which corporations and their political servants use “education reform” to destroy teachers and make billions in profits through the privatization of education. Eric details his first-hand experience with, and knowledge of, the Common Core Standards, proposed as part of Obama’s so-called “Race to the Top” and how they benefit corporations at the cost of our children’s learning. All this and much more…

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Investigative journalist and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar joins us to explain what really happened with the so called “surge” in Iraq, how the sectarian violence was fostered to divide and conquer, and what a time bomb Iraq still may be. How did the pentagon and press turn 9/11 into a psychological hammer to dehumanize and demonize Iraqis? Is the media on Syria any better than it was with Iraq?

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One of the least discussed and least reported issues is the Obama administration’s effort to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement to the forefront, an oppressive plurilateral US-led free trade agreement currently being negotiated with several Pacific Rim countries. Six hundred US corporate advisors have negotiated and had input into the TPP, and the proposed draft text has not been made available to the public, the press or policymakers. The level of secrecy surrounding the agreements is unparalleled – paramilitary teams scatter outside the premise of each round of discussions while helicopters loom overhead – media outlets impose a near-total blackout of reportage on the subject and US Senator Ron Wyden, the Chair of the Congressional Committee with jurisdiction over TPP, was denied access to the negotiation texts. “The majority of Congress is being kept in the dark as to the substance of the TPP negotiations, while representatives of U.S. corporations — like Halliburton, Chevron, PhaRMA, Comcast and the Motion Picture Association of America — are being consulted and made privy to details of the agreement,� said Wyden, in a floor statement to Congress.

In addition to the United States, the countries participating in the negotiations include Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Japan has expressed its desire to become a negotiating partner, but not yet joined negotiation, partly due to public pressure to steer-clear. The TPP would impose punishing regulations that give multinational corporations unprecedented rights to demand taxpayer compensation for policies they think will undermine their expected future profits straight from the treasuries of participating nations – it would push the agenda of Big PhaRMA in the developing world to impose longer monopoly controls on drugs, drastically limiting access to affordable generic medications that people depend on. The TPP would undermine food safety by limiting labeling and forcing countries like the United States to import food that fails to meet its national safety standards, in addition to banning Buy America or Buy Local preferences. Read more È

Recent warnings of instability on the Korean peninsula by Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov come at a most appropriate time – and indeed, there is a frightening possibility that the situation could spin out of control. Since the North was heavily penalized by UN sanctions following its recent satellite launch and nuclear test, Pyongyang has embarked on a near-daily onslaught of belligerent threats, some of which include its invalidation of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War, threats to nuke the United States, and threats to occupy South Korea and subsequently take all Americans in the country hostage. Military analysts claim that North Korea is at least several years from building a nuclear warhead or a missile capable of reaching the US mainland – but there is no doubt that if the Kim regime oversteps their approach, it could certainly have severe repercussions for civilians in South Korea and Japan, both in range of North Korea’s rockets.

Despite regular threats of destruction and Pyongyang’s recent proclamation that the two Korean states are officially in a state of war, day-to-day life has retained its normality according to sources on the ground. Needless to say, there is no doubt that civilians on both sides are feeling tense in the current scenario, especially those on disputed South Korean islands in the West sea, just a stones throw away from the North Korean maritime border. The four thousands residents of the South’s Baengnyeong Island, which Kim Jong-un personally threatened to “wipe outâ€� in early March, have been severely hindered from carrying out their day-to-day activities such as fishing due to the joint US-ROK military exercises in the area. Despite inter-Korean relations reaching their lowest point in recent times with the entire South on high alert, most South Koreans are adept at brushing off the North’s rhetoric, but they’re still proceeding with caution. Read more È

In 2008, candidate Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Straightaway as president, he issued Executive Order titled “Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities.”

Sec. 3 states: “Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantanamo. The detention facilities at Guantanamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order.”

“If any individuals covered by this order remain, they shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.” Read more È